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specialability · 2 years

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Last night I couldn't fall asleep so I wrote an 800 word essay about TYK as a meta-narrative. Voilà.

"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." – Jessica Rabbit, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

One of the things I think many fans of Tian Ya Ke like about it is that, unlike the tv drama, it is something of a satire or deconstruction of the wuxia genre. If you are familiar with the usual wuxia tropes (of which I am by no means an expert) it becomes clear how Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu are merely side-characters in what normally would be Zhang Chengling's Hero's Journey. Wen Kexing should, as the mastermind of the plot that killed Zhang Chengling's family, be the manipulative and enigmatic final boss. Zhou Zishu should be the scruffy old retired martial arts master who reluctantly takes the young hero under his wing – and then conveniently dies in order to encourage the hero to come of age. Instead of following this usual track, we are shown the scandalous underbelly of the conventional wuxia narrative – which I think Priest really digs into with Tai Sui (so go read it!!!).

As a result, TYK often reads like really good fanfiction of a novel that doesn't exist. You know the type, some author's 150k magnum opus on two side-characters that in canon have barely any depth and the fanfic author goes on to add so much new characterization and world-building that it feels like an entirely different work. The kind of fanfic that makes the source material look lacking by comparison.

But it was reading lianzi's translated chapter 15 that made me look at the narrative from a different perspective as a post-modernist piece. If you've read Hamlet you're familiar with the idea of a play within a play. But then there is another play, Rozencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, which is Hamlet from the perspective of two minor side-characters mostly taking place "off-stage". And that's really what TYK reminds me of. You know those two old muppets who sit in theatre box seats and always make snide remarks about whatever the other muppets are doing? That's where Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu are situated.

In this Chapter 15 scene they are quite literally seated on the balcony watching Cao Weining fail to pay his dinner bill while making commentary and bickering. Zhou Zishu inserts himself into the narrative by paying Cao Weining's bill, and when Cao Weining comes up to the balcony to introduce himself Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu intentionally start acting like heroic figures from fiction. As I imagine it: the camera was originally only on Cao Weining, but then the camera pans up to see the pair on the balcony and then the camera follows Cao Weining up to the balcony bringing the narrative with it. Once the camera arrives on the balcony Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu are effectively "on stage" now and have to act the part.

Thinking about this scene reminded me of many other scenes where Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu are simply standing to the side and watching the action. Two obvious examples are outside the Scorpion's brothel and Liu Qingqiao's death, but there are also other smaller scenes where Zhou Zishu alone intentionally removes himself from the frame, like when Wen Kexing and Ye Baiyi fight. I imagine the stage where the spotlight is on Liu Qingqiao as she struggles to fight for her life, while Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing are in the wings, covered by darkness, whispering to each other. They don't quite have the powers of breaking the fourth wall and become fully self- or genre-aware, but they definitely have a cynical insiders perspective on the wuxia story they have become a part of. The themes of acting and wearing masks is a common one in the whole novel, especially the differences between how people are in public vs in private. But all of this gives the novel a voyeuristic tone at times.

Zhou Zishu already chose to leave the stage of the capital city, and although he got sucked into Zhang Chengling's story he could disappear from this new stage at any moment. Wen Kexing more actively plays his role up until the bitter end. In the end, Wen Kexing is supposed to reveal his True Identity and be killed by Zhang Chengling, allowing both of them to fulfill revenge for their families. This is the ending that Wen Kexing imagined for himself, and that's the part he knew he was playing. That's why it's so touching when he asks Zhou Zishu if it's okay that he survives. If it's okay that he selfishly violates the rules of the narrative.

Then they choose to leave the stage completely. Once off the stage (in the Extras) they can act like whoever they want. The only way to live freely is to quit the main story. And acting like a good person is pretty much as close as you can get to being a good person, regardless of how your character was written.

#misc #tyk #ruth reads light novels #tyk meta #tian ya ke #further opinions / criticisms / discussion welcome #somebody could definitely write a much longer academic essay on this theme

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dollycas · 2 months

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Murder in Masquerade (A Lady of Letters Mystery) by Mary Winters #Spotlight / #Giveaway - Great Escapes Book Tour - @marywintersauthor

Murder in Masquerade (A Lady of Letters Mystery) by Mary Winters I am delighted to shine the spotlight on Murder in Masquerade by Mary Winters today! About Murder in Masquerade Murder in Masquerade (A Lady of Letters Mystery) Historical Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series Setting - London, 1860 Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (February 20, 2024) Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593548787 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593548783 Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C5V8FY7P Extra, extra, read all about it! Countess turned advice columnist Amelia Amesbury finds herself playing the role of sleuth when a night at the theatre turns deadly. Victorian Countess Amelia Amesbury’s secret hobby, writing an advice column for a London penny paper, has gotten her into hot water before. After all, Amelia will do whatever it takes to help a reader in need. But now, handsome marquis Simon Bainbridge desperately requires her assistance. His beloved younger sister, Marielle, has written Amelia's Lady Agony column seeking advice on her plans to elope with a man her family does not approve of. Determined to save his sister from a scoundrel and the family from scandal, Simon asks Amelia to dissuade Marielle from the ill-advised gambit. But when the scoundrel makes an untimely exit after a performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, Amelia realizes there’s much more at stake than saving a young woman’s reputation from ruin. It’s going to take more than her letter-writing skills to help the dashing marquis, mend the familial bond, and find the murderer. Luckily, solving problems is her specialty! Great Escapes Praise for Murder in Masquerade (A Lady of Letters Mystery) by Mary Winters This is such a delightfully charming historical mystery. Suspects and red-herrings abound in this plot and I had no idea who the culprit was! This series should be on your TBR lists! ~Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books I absolutely adored Murder in Masquerade by Mary Winters. It’s the second book in the Lady of Letters mystery series. Though you can read this on its own, I recommend reading Murder in Postscript first since you get so much background information in that one! It’s delightful too! ~Christy's Cozy Corners Mary Winters continues to deliver a clever and entertaining Victorian mystery in the Lady of Letters Mysteries’ sophomore novel, Murder in Masquerade. Vibrant characters, a well-plotted murder investigation, witty humor, and even some delicious dashes of romance had me wishing to stay in this world indefinitely, not wanting the story to end. ~Reading is my Reading Is My SuperPower A wonderful whodunnit by Mary Winters, a fun and yet sometimes madcap adventure, Murder in Masquerade is a thoroughly delightful, masterfully intriguing, and extremely well-told historical mystery of the highest caliber. ~Novels Alive I recommend Murder in Masquerade for fans of historical mysteries, cozy mysteries, the Victorian era, and British manor house settings. ~View from the Birdhouse About Mary Winters Mary Winters is the author of the Lady of Letters historical mystery series. She also writes cozy mysteries under the name Mary Angela. A longtime reader and fan of historical fiction, Mary set her latest work in Victorian England after being inspired by a trip to London. Since then, she’s been busily planning her next mystery—and another trip! Find out more about Mary and her writing, reading, and teaching at marywintersauthor.com. Author Links Website Blog Facebook Instagram GoodReads Purchase Links Amazon - B&N - BAM - Bookshop.org - Powell's Books - Hudson Booksellers Written as Mary Angela TOUR PARTICIPANTS - Please visit all the stops. February 20 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books - REVIEW February 21 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT February 21 – Jane Reads - REVIEW February 22 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT February 22 – fundinmental- SPOTLIGHT February 23 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW February 23 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT February 24 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW February 24 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT February 25 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT February 26 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT February 26 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT February 27 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST February 28 – Novels Alive – REVIEW February 28 – Cassidy's Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT February 29 - Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW March 1 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT March 1 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW March 2 – The Mystery of Writing – REVIEW March 2 – Review Thick And Thin – REVIEW March 2 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT March 3 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW March 4 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT March 4 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT a Rafflecopter giveaway Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today! Want to Book a Tour? Click Here Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent Read the full article

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truelovevoltage · 4 years

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Jealous Of Her - Kota Igarashi

“Anonymous said: Can you do a fabric of MC being jealous of an old friend of Kota's ( Kota's friend loves him)and thinks that they love each other and kota will leave her. Pretty please!”

K/F = Kota’s Friend

Y/N didn’t know what Kota was like back in high school but her guts were telling her that he was the same Kota that you met when she became their ghostwriter. However, Y/N was jealous that someone from highschool kept in touch with Kota and its not Kyohei but another woman. At first she was jealous that K/F was able to see and know Kota before he became famous.

She trusted Kota and he’d show how much he loves Y/N but there was that tiny feeling that maybe, just maybe, he’s in love with the woman in his past. One day K/F invited Kota to hangout, Y/N felt a little uneasy that the two of them were hanging out. But Kota’s response to her through the phone shocked Y/N even more. “Sorry I’m still filming right now and I’m with my manager.” He bluntly stated. Y/N wasn’t able to hear the response but Kota sighed, “Okay see you in a bit then.”

Y/N raised your eyebrows at him. “My friend is coming over, you know the one from high school? I told her not to come but she can be quite persuasive.” She didn’t know what to say to him, and she didn’t want to seem possessive and just let it go.

While waiting for her arrival Y/N couldn’t stop thinking what her main intention was coming to the shoot. Was she going to seduce him? Is Kota going to realize that she was way better than Y/N? Is Kota going to break up with Y/N to be with K/F? These thoughts ran through her mind and she didn’t like it. She didn’t want to stress over it and decided to just play it cool.

A few minutes later K/F arrived at the set and even hugged Kota. Everyone’s attention was focused on Kota and the woman who just hugged him. “Alright you can let go now.” He untangled her grip on his neck. “Oh you must be Y/N! I’m K/F and damn you’re really cute!” She exclaimed.

K/F was a very straight forward and blunt person. Even with the small interaction between the two of them, Y/N couldn’t help but think that she was the better option and how they look cute together. There was no space for her. “Lay off will you K/F. You’re making her uncomfortable.” Y/N watched as the two bicker and she definitely felt out of place. “It was also nice to meet you Miss K/F. It looks like I’m interrupting something, I’ll come back and bring some food and drinks.” Y/N excused herself and went to a convenience store to buy food.

She replayed how the two of them were very comfortable with each other presence, Y/N felt her stomach turn. She definitely didn’t like this feeling, maybe they deserve each other and even if it costs her happiness, it is something she’s willing to sacrifice after all Kota can tolerate K/F’s presence.

Meanwhile Y/N didn’t know that the two were talking about her. “She’s the jealousy type isn’t she.” K/F laughed and continued to tease Kota. He couldn’t really do much rather than roll his eyes towards her and state facts about his dear old friend.

Once Y/N returned K/F got up and helped her. “Thank you Miss K/F but I got it. I wasn’t sure what bento you wanted, I hope you’re okay with this?”

“That’s perfectly fine, I’m not a picky person” She smiled.

The tension between the three was there and the only one that’s making it awkward is Y/N. Just then K/F sighed, “I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable Y/N but let me tell you this, there is nothing going on with me and Kota. We’re just really close friends and I would never date him, he’s more like a brother to me. He’s very easy to make fun of and tease so don’t worry he’s all yours.” She winked at Y/N.

“How d-”

“It’s cause you’re an open book Y/N. Anyone with a working brain can figure you out.” Stated Kota.

“Rude.” Y/N muttered. K/F could only chuckle at the two.

“Now that’s all cleared up. Y/N drop the Miss and just call me K/F. Let’s go shopping now and ditch Kota!” She cheered.

“You can’t just take my manager away from me just like that.”

“I can and I will. If you want to join us, then you better wrap up your shoot Mister Igarashi because now... I have your manager and we’re going to have some fun.” She grabbed Y/N’s wrists and took her away from the set earning a glare from Kota but K/F didn’t mind.

Y/N wanted to apologize to her at least for her rude behaviour but she had the a few hours with her to do so and if Kota scolds her for it, she’ll just have to ask K/F if Kota has any embarrassing stories back in high school. Either way, it’s a win win situation for Y/N not including the scolding part that she’ll probably get but it’s worth a shot.

#Kota Igarashi #Kota Igarashi Fan Fic #Kota Igarashi Fan Fiction #Kota Igarashi Headcanon #Kota Igarashi Headcanons #Scandal In The Spotlight #Scandal In The Spotlight Fan Fic #Scandal In The Spotlight Fan Fiction #Voltage #Voltage Fan Fic #Voltage Fan Fiction #SITS #SITS Fan Fiction #SITS Headcanon #SITS Headcanons #Voltage Headcanon #Voltage Headcanons

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emilyplaysotome · 7 years

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Away and Back

After seeing @hotcocosharing‘s story prompted by @hifftn‘s story challenge I wanted to participate and this is what I came up with! I did this for fun which means it was a quick write with no revisions and probably a ton of errors...hope you enjoy it.

Like most nights without him, I’d reverted back to my “gross self” as I liked to call it - wearing stained sweatpants that had been diligently broken in after a decade of hardcore lounging. My hair was tied back, my makeup was off, and I was wearing the free glasses I’d gotten a few years back thanks to a promotion at Costco.

It was fair to say that the nicest part of my outfit was an oversized t-shirt of his that I’d swiped from his apartment, but it did little to help my slovenly appearance.

I’d taken the shirt home after the first night we spent together, insisting that I’d return it after washing it when in actuality I’d hoped to keep a memento. At the time I’d been uncertain as to whether or not we’d ever see each other again but as we continued to go out and it soon became obvious that I wasn’t simply a one night stand, the shirt quickly lost its souvenir status.

Instead, it served as a reminder of the man I loved during the long stretches we were apart - something that was a common occurrence for us.

On nights like tonight when he wasn’t around, I relished my solitude while simultaneously surrounding myself with the person I missed.

With my laptop open, I watched tv as I allowed myself to go down rabbit hole after rabbit hole to a soundtrack of variety shows and comedy programs.

The cheap beer I drank on nights like tonight always made me gassy, and unconcerned with appearances I embraced it, belching loudly and allowing the noise to reverberate off the walls in my small, one bedroom apartment.

I think it’s fair to say that most girls would whine about the fact that their boyfriend spent most days on the road, but to be honest, I really liked what we had.

Our relationship had provided me with the freedom to indulge my true self - a girl who enjoyed fried food, farting, and belching without worry that those around her would judge her. On nights like this I could be totally disgusting, and thanks to his schedule, he would have no idea.

We’d met through my work, and upon first glance he thought of me what everyone did. I knew that I came across competent, charming, and professional which was more than I could say for the others on my team.

Yes, I wanted a picture as did they, but the difference was that it was my job to photograph him and his friends.

That day the stylist, beauticians, and even my assistant had taken turns swooning as they meekly asked for fan photos, all the while batting their eyelashes as they fantasized about something more. When the guys had asked me if I wanted one too I’d shaken my head and noted that I didn’t take fan photos on a job, and proceeded to ask them to disrobe so I could capture what it was we’d all been tasked with getting.

Photographing five chiseled men wearing nothing but underwear and the occasional over-shirt probably seems like a dream to most, but I promise it’s nothing but a pain.

The studio is always too cold, the talent is always uncomfortable, and on top of all that nothing is more awkward than having to objectify a group of people as you attempt to give your direction in the hopes of capturing that one, perfect salacious photo that will move magazines and further your career.

Over time I’ve learned that substituting words like “handsome” for “sexy” or “hot” allows for a more professional dialogue, and I remembered snapping away that day, saying things like, “That’s great. Three more oh-so-handsome photos and we’ll be done.”

After the shoot he’d come over to thank me for the day, like everyone always did, and I was polite in return.

He asked if I had an Instagram account and I told him that I had a professional one in order to showcase my work. To that, he immediately took out his phone and followed me, telling me to tag him in the BTS photo his manager asked me to post and I agreed, figuring our exchange was purely business.

When I shared it out an hour later, he immediately “liked it” and as a result my modest following of 10k jumped to 100k practically overnight.

I figured like most of the people I photographed I’d never speak him again, but as the months went on he’d message me over the app in response to my stories, or another shoot I’d done. I was always taken aback to see a message from someone like him, but never did I think he had any ulterior motives until the day that he messaged me in response to a BTS Instagram Story of my shoot with a popular young idol:

Kyohei Rikudoh - Beautiful! Can’t wait to see the final shot.

Me - Haha yeah it was a fun shoot.

I expected that to be it, but that night he sent more.

Kyohei Rikudoh - More fun than mine?

Me - Never ;)

I didn’t think twice about sending a playful answer seeing as how the pop idol world was full of social landmines that I’d learned were best laughed off.

I figured he was like any other pop star and craved reassurance, certain my non-response would be enough to put our conversation to bed, however he persisted.

Kyohei Rikudoh - If you think I’m fun on set, you should see me on a date...want to go out sometime?

He had to be joking, or even worse, one of those pop stars who used women for fun after working with them. Seeing as how I had no desire to be added to his roster, I laughed his message off once more.

Me - Ha. Very funny Mr. Pop star. Night.

Kyohei Rikudoh - I’m not kidding. Have dinner with me...please?

Me - Not trying to be in a tabloid and I’m more of a relationship girl...so thanks for the invitation but I’d rather not waste either of our time.

Kyohei Rikudoh - It’s not a waste if I’m with you...and there won’t be a scandal. I like you.

I’d initially rolled my eyes at the response, not believing him for a second and chose to ignore the message. I went to sleep and awoke the next morning to several new messages from him in which he made a strong case for joining him for dinner.

Ultimately I relented, joining him for dinner, then sex, and much to my surprise we’ve been together ever since.

He’d be returning in a few days, and I’d shed my “gross” self for the one better suited for a pop star’s girlfriend.

Upon reuniting I figured we’d do what we always did - catching up in each others arms after having sex, followed by a few days of living together, until he once again disappeared from my life for weeks, giving me the opportunity to revert into the person I’d never let anyone see but relished being.

The beer was making me sleepy, and I let out an unbecoming belch as I settled into the couch, too lazy to attempt to make it to my bed.

My television continued to drone on in the background and with my week free of photoshoots I had no need to worry. If I overslept, I overslept. I didn’t need to be anywhere this week and it was a great feeling.

With no obligations, I snuggled into the nest I’d created on my couch - surrounded by empty beer bottles, takeout, blankets, and pillows.

It was something you’d expect from a frat boy, not a professional woman but it was so comfortable...so freeing...so...

“Hana?”

Hearing his voice made me feel as if I’d been doused with a bucket of ice water, and I quickly shot up only to verify that my boyfriend had indeed returned and had caught...me being me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to hide my panic.

He’d seen it all (other than the burping and farting thank god), and he looked at me both surprised and amused, cocking his head to the side as he crossed his arms and shot me a teasing grin.

“They say there’s no place like home and I’d have to agree...”

“You’re such a cheeky bastard,” I said, throwing a pillow in an attempt to distract him from how mortified I was. “You know this isn’t your home, right?”

“Might as well be...you gave me a key and all.”

“With the understanding that you’d give me a heads up before coming over...”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Oh, believe me, I’m surprised.”

“Same.”

He laughed again and I threw another pillow at him.

“So this is what you do when I’m away,” he said, nimbly dodging it as he quickly pinned me down on the coach. “I had all these ideas that you went out, met guys...but really...”

“See! This is exactly why I never wanted to date a pop star in the first place! You wouldn’t understand...”

“Oh no...I totally understand,” he said before giving me a kiss. “May I join you?”

I could feel my face flush from being in such close proximity to the man I loved, and nodded, relieved that my appearance hadn’t scared him off.

Flashing me another naughty smirk, he left my side and headed to my bathroom where I watched as he removed his jewelry and hopped in the shower, returning to my living room wearing nothing other than his boxers.

It was that that I realized for the first time my perfect pop star boyfriend was without his usual embellishments and I realized that even when we hung out at home, just as I’d done, he’d always made the effort to style his hair and maintain a certain appearance in my presence.

This version of Kyohei Rikudoh was free of his usual pop prince aura, and there was something almost boy-next-door about him as he approached me with wet hair, two open beer bottles, and a playful grin.

“Cheers.”

I took a sip, and much to my surprise, for the first time since meeting, we didn’t reunite with sex. In that moment it struck me that drinking cheap beer from the convenience store as we looked our worst, somehow managed to feel more intimate than anything we’d done to date and I felt myself relax next to him.

For a few minutes we enjoyed a comfortable silence before he reached over and grabbed the remote, flipping aimlessly through channels before finally settling on a soccer match that had been played earlier in the day.

He put his arm around me, and pulled me close before taking another swig and finding myself the happiest I’d ever been in a relationship, I snuggled close to him.

“Hey Kyohei?”

“Yeah?”

“Welcome home.”

He looked at me with a smirk, and then, belched in response.

I laughed, and for the first time wondered if I’d found my perfect man.

I hope you enjoyed my little take on your challenge. I keep saying I need to focus on my IRL projects (which I do!) but I couldn’t help but take a stab at this.

As always, if you found this story and liked it...I hope you’ll consider sharing it and if you’re feeling really generous I hope you’ll consider buying me a coffee!

Thanks for reading!

#kyohei rikudoh #Scandal in the Spotlight #scandal in the spotlight fanfic #scandal in the spotlight fan fiction #voltage fanfic #Voltage fan fiction

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entertainment · 3 years

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Entertainment Spotlight: Jessalyn Gilsig, Big Shot

Actress Jessalyn Gilsig, who you may recognize from Glee, currently stars in Disney+’s Big Shot opposite John Stamos. Audiences will also know her from Nip/Tuck, Vikings, Scandal, Friday Night Lights, Heroes, Boston Public, and NYPD Blue, among others.

How are you? Seriously, how’re you doing?

I’m fine! Thank you for asking. I think I am like a lot of people—I move in and out of a place of deep gratitude and then worry and concern for the world. It’s a bit of a seesaw, but I think it’s the only way to be right now.

Which of the roles you’ve played over the years challenged and/or taught you the most, and why?

Gosh, they all teach me something. I do think Gina on Nip/Tuck challenged me to really advocate for my characters. When I first read the role, you could tell she was just a device, another conquest of the main characters. For some reason, that really woke something up inside me, and I was determined not to allow her to be written off so easily. She was only supposed to be in two episodes of the show and instead made it to the end of the series, or almost—until she was fucked off a building (can I say that?).

Can you show us a photo from the set of any show/film that you haven’t shared before and tell us the story behind it??

This is from Vikings, which we filmed in Ireland. The little girl in the photo is my daughter, who was an extra on the show that day, and it was so special to be able to share my world with her. We even ended up in a shot together, which I treasure. Living in Ireland with her while we filmed the show was one of the most special periods of my life. It was such a great adventure to be away from our normal life and exploring a new country, just the two of us. I still can’t believe we got to do that.

Do you have a routine or ritual to prepare yourself for a scene? Does it differ depending on the character and setting?

I have a few things I always do. I’m very visual, so I mark up my script a lot; I look for the beats and the progression of the scene. I often write the words “truth, love, open, listen” or something like that. And I am the kind of actor who does need to focus and think, “where am I coming from? Where am I going?” Some people I work with can be scrolling through Instagram, put down their phone, and dive right in, but I need a little more prep than that!

You’re putting together a basketball team, but no one on your team can be a professional athlete. Who’s on your team (players can be real or fictional)?

Wow. Ok. My friend Peggi. She played D1 for Georgetown and is the most competitive person I know, so she is definitely a starter. Then I just watched “Last Chance U,” and so Deshaun Highler is on my team. I think Frances McDormand would be up for a laugh so she can play. RBG because she wasn’t afraid of anything and also seemed like a lot of fun. And she can bring Kobe with her. Oof, now I’m sad. Ok, everyone can play. No cuts.

Can you teach us a Québécois saying or phrase that you use often?

“Bein zut alors,” pronounced BAH ZOOT ALOR. It’s basically a more polite way of saying “fuck.” It’s pretty useful and satisfying to say.

What’s a fact about the making of Big Shot that fans would be surprised to find out?

Probably that John Stamos is not a sports fan, and I am. It’s kind of funny how shocking that is to people. But it plays right into the show. It’s our stereotypes that keep us apart; never assume you know someone without giving them a chance.

What’re you overthinking right now?

Probably this interview! I am an over-thinker, I guess; I have a hard time shutting my brain down. Having a child was such a good remedy for that because I had to learn to be present and not worry about tomorrow or the next day. Children are so present for a good seven years of their lives, and they really call you out if you drift away. I liked being reminded to just be, get down on the floor, do a craft, and let go of time. Tomorrow will come whether you worry about it or not.

You painted and provided art for the film The Station Agent. Can you share a photo of a piece of art that you’ve made recently, and/or can you make a quick sketch of whatever/whoever is on your mind right now?

I haven’t painted in a long time. I thought I would during the pandemic, but instead, I doodled a lot. Here is a small sampling, and the pencil drawing is from a class I took which I really enjoyed. My dream is to really immerse myself in art classes someday. I have so much to learn. But it’s a great outlet for me, especially when I am on set and have so much downtime.

What would you do if you had to go back in time and relive high school with all the knowledge you have today?

Can you imagine if you knew then what you knew now? You’d be like, “ok, that’s a waste of time, you seem interesting, let’s hang out, who wants to buy a bitcoin?” But you can’t do that. It doesn’t work that way. What I love about life, and especially what I do for work, is I still get to play. I still get to be surprised and scared and learn and grow, It’s just now I don’t have a curfew, and I can eat cereal for dinner. Being a grown-up is just fine with me.

Thanks for taking the time, Gislig! Big Shot is now streaming on Disney+.

#entertainment spotlight #jessalyn gilsig #big shot

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pinkkaru · 2 years

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CHOI SOOMIN (Hangul: 최수민), otherwise known mononymously as "SOOMIN" is a fictional South Korean soloist under JYP Entertainment. She made her debut on October 7th, 2019 with the Mini-Album 'Star Gazing'

SOOMIN was a trainee under BigHit Entertainment however was forced to leave the company after Glam disbanded due to a legal scandal. Rumors say that she was supposed to debut under BigHit as a soloist but nothing was ever confirmed.

While under BigHit, SOOMIN had been put under the spotlight as she had a YouTube account where she would post covers, this account is now unavailable. Due to her pre-debut recognition, fans were quite disappointed when they discovered that Soomin had left the company.

SOOMIN went silent to the online world, fans assuming that Soomin had given up on her dream. However, in 2017, Twitter fans were shocked to find her on the survival show 'STRAY KIDS', confirming that she was now a JYP Entertainment trainee.

Two years later in September 2019, SOOMIN opened up her new YouTube channel, named Zoomin' Soomin and just a few days later her debut was announced, granting the hashtag #soominsback to trend on Twitter for hours after the announcement.

#?! soomin profile #?! soomin #?! prettysoomin #kpop oc #kpop #kpop oc soloist #idol oc #kpop imagines #fake kpop company #fake kpop idol #fake kpop group #idol au #fake kpop gg #fake kpop oc #fictional kpop idol #female addition #kpop female oc #kpop female addition #kpop fake girl group

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charming-mage · 4 years

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Exposed by the Media Prompts Part 2

I didn’t expect that much Exposed by the Media prompts. I thought the well was dry. I was wrong. Should’ve known not to underestimate the internet and reality TV shows.

Exposed by the Media Prompts Part 1

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Lies in the Media is a Different Beast: Adrien grew up in the media spotlight. He knows it’s usually not a good idea to confront the rumors in the tabloids. It gives the rumors some credibility. When he sees Lila confront a rumor that bothers her a bit too much, he doesn’t stop her. Confronting a lie in the media needs a different method than someone lying in your personal life. Just because he’s doing the high road doesn’t mean he’s going to stop her from committing a crucial mistake.

Civilian Friends Are Okay Now: It’s well known Ladybug won’t make friends in her hero persona. She’ll be friendly and kind, but with a polite distance. People accepted it after a while. This changes after Lila’s interview on the Ladyblog. People assume Ladybug changed her mind about it since there’s no retraction article. Civilians become more pushy and want to have more personal relations. From regular people to higher ranking citizens. (ex. No more formality, more personal rapport, friendship, or even the start of an epic romance.) A few uncomfortable situations and angry citizens forces Ladybug to address this.

Total Drama Island: The Miraculous users find out one of the prizes in a new season of the Total Drama Island reality TV show is an important Miraculous artifact. It could be anything from a Miraculous to a secret Guardian book. The heroes and villains are forced to participate as none of them found the item in time. Marinette and Adrien go in their civilian selves while Hawkmoth sends in Lila. Lila tries hard to hide her true self, but the contestants do find out.

Forgot to Log Out: Lila forgets to log out of her social media accounts in the school library. She gets distracted by something and clicks on minimize instead of the close tab on her browser. Since Lila didn’t log out of her session and the next person who gets the computer didn’t bother to do so either, her tabs are still there. The person is a noisy gossip and scrolls through them. They are intrigued by what they find. They decide to take screenshots and uploads them to the school website forum page. For the drama of course. (This is based on my experience when I was in high school and the library in my city. It was common to just close the browser and not bother to log out. The next person only logged out if they needed something from their own account. It’s not worth it to log in and out just for some internet searching.)

Dear Abby: Marinette, needing advice from a third party about Lila’s lying, sends an email to the Dear Abby column. (Or France’s equivalent.) She figures since Abby has no connection to either her or Lila, the writer can give her unbiased advice. She does her best to make the details as vague as possible so everyone in her life (including Lila) can have privacy. Her message is replied to and included in an article weeks later. Her request and Abby’s reply becomes popular amongst readers. Marinette did make a mistake, though. One of the examples she gives about “Lemon” is unique enough that someone eventually finds an interview on the Ladybug suspiciously similar to the lie. Marinette stopped watching new Lila interviews because it enraged her too much. She doesn’t want to deal with Lila after school hours as well. So she’s not aware Lila also mentioned it in an interview. Dear Abby readers dig through the interviews and discover nothing but lies. The Dear Abby column and the Ladybug drama gets big enough to be covered by the media.

Real Life Works Differently Than Fiction : A few classmates end up in a situation like Lila tells in her stories. Believing in Lila, they do what Lila claimed she did thinking it would work out the same. It doesn’t turn out so well. They get scolded by involved parties not to do that again. A reporter on the scene interviews them. It comes out why they did it. Lila’s lies are exposed as the fiction they are.

Tsurugi Influence: Kagami’s status as Adrien’s girlfriend makes Lila switch targets. Marinette is in the back burner until Lila deals with her new love rival. Her plans to deal with Kagami backfires and brings media attention. Lila was too used to love rivals not doing any major action towards her. The wrath of the Tsurugi family is brought upon her. She realizes afterwards how influential and powerful the family is.

Adrien’s Phone is Stolen Again: And this time the phone thief is caught. Lila steals Adrien’s phone to post social media posts an hour later gushing about Lila/or talking about in her a positive light. By the time Adrien finds out, he can’t take back what “he” said without controversy. Which Mr. Agreste would not like. That’s Lila’s plan anyway. The problem is that Lila makes these posts while Adrien is on a surprise live interview. (Which she is unaware of.) The interviewer asks Adrien about the new posts while Adrien is clearly not on his phone/laptop. On a hunch, a quick search by Adrien leads to the discovery that his phone was stolen. The model confirms it’s his personal account and not a media team behind it. The content of the posts make Lila the main suspect.

You Can’t Delete Me Now : Lila gets in a controversy. She starts deleting comments and defending herself. Gabriel is busy in a meeting and doesn’t find out in time to stop her. Commenters get so mad at her, one of them gets the bright idea to hold up signs resembling post/comment/ or tweet. Somewhere in their message includes a line saying, “You can’t delete me now.” The idea catches on and it becomes a trend to walk around in public or near photo shoots holding signs with their comments. Everyone includes the now famous phrase in their sign.

Lila’s Wild Ride: Lila manages to steal the monkey miraculous. However, she learns the hard way why the Guardian needs to think carefully when matching someone with a miraculous. (Lila is not good at using the monkey miraculous’ power. At all.) Xuppu easily figures out what happened and makes sure to give Lila a very memorable time. The wilder it is the better. A live news crew captures footage of Ladybug furious “that lying Lila Rossi” stole a miraculous. Chat Noir is worried they’ll see a new Hawkmoth ally soon. There’s more chaos as the criminal underworld, opportunistic people, and die hard Ladybug fans enter the scene. Meanwhile, the French government is not pleased with the Italian government. An Italian diplomat’s daughter stealing a Miraculous from Ladybug herself looks very bad for relations. Looks like a secret operation that got exposed to the more paranoid members.

Hell’s Kitchen: Gordon Ramsey hosts an amateur cooking competition. An older Lila Rossi is one of the competitors. Ramsey doesn’t like her food. (or the drama she starts. And sabotaging the other competitor’s food.) Sadly for him, her cooking is barely better than the worst ones so she is able to scrap on to the next round. The execs love her for the drama. When the season airs, the contestants notice the footage was edited to make Lila look innocent. They get hate from Hell’s Kitchen fans about their meanness and most of them do what they can to defend themselves. People become interested in what Lila is like in real life. The only requirement for the prompt is for Lila to be an adult. Ramsey would not let lose on a minor.

Collaboration Gone Wrong: The Gabriel brand does a collaboration with a brand outside the fashion industry. It could be anything as long as it gets the other brand to be on the same set as Gabriel staff. Gabriel decides to give Lila bigger roles starting with this. Lila is beyond happy. A bump in the road appears when an intern around her age pulls her aside and asks her to stop lying. Lila doesn’t of course and secretly does her best to ruin the credibility of the intern before they get the idea to tell someone else. Unbeknownst to the Gabriel model, the intern is a close relative of the collaboration company’s CEO. The intern just doesn’t advertise that fact. Doesn’t want special treatment. Heads start rolling when the CEO finds out what Gabriel’s muse has done to their beloved family member. Permanently damaging a profitable business relationship is the least of Gabriel’s worries when the media gets wind of the scandal.

#Lila salt #Lila Rossi #Miraculous Ladybug #prompt #Adrien sugar #Lila gets exposed #Lila exposed

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etherealeeknow · 3 years

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Aye chan accidentally exposed your relationship dispatch goes crazy and fans are divided omg the chaos

omg hahaha i’ve never thought about this but now that you said it, this sounds so fun???

i mean, i believe and support idols dating and really hope all fans can accept that too, but since this is fiction, let’s try this,,,

profiling boyfie!chan after he accidentally exposed your relationship:

is lowkey relieved because at least now the whole world knows he’s been blessed with a beautiful person like you and that he doesn’t need to conceal his feelings any longer

would nyoom straight ahead to you first (yes, YOU are his first destination. not the company, but you.) because he doesn’t want you to hear from the news or anyone else and think that he’s being disrespectful by exposing your rs without discussing first

after you, then he’d take care of it with the company, but he won’t be negotiating—instead, he’ll be like “now that the news has spread, i’ll make an official announcement to my fans.” chan, my gentleman, i swoon for you.

writes a clear announcement and will make sure it’s neutral as he has no intention on putting you more in the overwhelming spotlight and at the same time doesn’t want his fans to feel overwhelmed too—he thinks if they support him, then they’ll surely don’t mind to get to know his s/o as time goes by.

goes back to you afterwards and ask for cuddles as he’s drained—only to be welcomed with his members in your apartment, throwing him a congratulatory party...

“guys, y/n and i aren’t getting married???”

jisung: *still pops the confetti and champagne either way*

dispatch: icb he takes care of everything so fast... so what now...

dispatch: what a dreamy boyfriend though. he has everything under control. *drools*

dispatch the next day: *releases article about how chan is such a boyfriend material for taking care of his own dating scandal*

hahahahaha what even is this—

#sh w/ gen #gen’s cutie anon #bang chan #stray kids #bang chan soft hours #stray kids soft hours #bang chan fluff #stray kids fluff #bang chan crack #stray kids crack

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jungshook69 · 3 years

Text

Love is a myth :: 01

DISCLAIMER: This doesn’t represent the members’ actions or the army’s actions in any manner it’s pure fiction. This is an original work, do not copy. The taglist is open if you want. Taglist is now closed.

WORD COUNT: 4.1K words

MAIN PAIRING: musician! Yoongi X waitress! female reader

SIDE PAIRING/S: Jungkook X female reader ; Taehyung X female reader

GENRE: FWB! au ; Strangers to lovers! au

WARNINGS: Implied smut (Forgive me cuz I suck at writing it, no puns intended) ; Mentions of alcohol and smoking (I do not condone smoking) ; Profanity ; Mentions of infidelity ; Heavy angst ; Self loathing (Namjoon’s about to wack me in the head with his slipper) ; I apologize in advance if there’s any spelling errors.

SUMMARY: "You covered your bare form with the silk sheets beneath you, as you watched him walk out your door without a word." // "Love is a myth. All that existed between you two was pure lust." // "The last rule was if anyone of the two of you caught feelings for the other, the deal would be off."

SERIES MASTERLIST: Trailer » Meet the cast » Chapter #1 » Chapter #2 » Chapter #3 » Chapter #4

STATUS: Complete

You lay on your bed, chest panting, as you tried to catch your breath. Your hooded eyes fluttered open to meet the familiar sight of a white ceiling fan rotating at a painfully slow speed. Your forehead and bare chest were lined with beads of sweat as you felt the mattress dip beside you. You turned your attention to his presence, as you were met with the sight of his bare back sitting upright, his hands working hard to put his white t-shirt back on. You watched as he pulled on his boxers, followed by his jeans and walked over to your side of the bed.

You covered your bare form with the soft silk sheets underneath you as you watched him come closer to you. No, he did not lean in for a passionate good bye kiss. No, he did not bend over and embrace your petite form against his warm chest, and run his calloused fingers along your naked back. None of that was part of what you both had come to terms with. Your curious eyes followed his movements as he bent down to grab his beanie off of the floor next to your side of the bed.

He slipped on his beanie and his jacket which was strewn across your chair, not moments ago. Without a word, you watch as the man’s dark figure retreated from the shadows of your bedroom. You let out a deep breath you weren’t aware you were holding, as soon as you heard the front door click. Being too tired to get up and wash up, you let your tired eyes take control, as you drifted into a deep slumber.

You awoke to the sound of a woman’s high pitched voice yelling, contrary to most people waking up to the sound of a disturbingly loud alarm. You immediately recognized the voice to be the sound of your neighbors engaged in a routinely loud domestic argument. Maybe this time her husband accidently burned an egg on the stove, or maybe this time her toddler broke a vase, the possibilities were endless. In your time living in your apartment, you had heard your neighbors engage in a variety of arguments. The daily bickering of your neighbors, your parents’ marriage, and a certain someone from your past, were the exact reasons why your take on love was the way it is now.

Was love overrated according to you? Nope, that wasn’t the case. You just didn’t believe love existed at all. You believed that love is a myth.

You had higher priorities in life, like maintaining a proper work ethic, to earn for a living. You were one of the lucky ones whose day didn’t start at 6 in the morning. Instead your job required for you to be present quite later, at around 11 in the morning. But, to be fair, your job extended further into the next day, as far as 2 or 3 in the morning sometimes. But you did prefer your current work schedule better, as you were kind of a night owl.

You freshened up, and had a hearty breakfast composed of a buttered toast and some chai tea. Yes, unlike the people around you, you were one to prefer tea over coffee. You couldn’t count the number of times you’ve had this discussion with your colleagues. You soon got dressed in your uniform consisting of a tight white blouse, a black pencil skirt that hugged your curves, paired with classic black pumps. You didn’t forget to put on your silver ring with a black J carved into it, the one you’d taken off the night before, when you were engaged in a scandalous activity with a certain someone. You grabbed your purse and your warm grey winter coat, as you stepped out the door, ready to start your day.

The bus ride wasn’t too bad, although you wish you had enough strength to pull the window which was stuck, close, to stop the cold winter breeze from grazing your bare calves. But as soon as you entered the warm ambience of your workplace, your coat long forgotten, your mind focused on getting the job done. You walked across the rows and rows of empty tables and chairs, your heels making minimal noise against the rich carpet, as you made your way through a pair of steel doors, tying your apron around your waist. You grabbed a checklist attached onto a clipboard, and detained your responsibilities as the senior head waitress.

“Okay, do we have the 5 kilograms of sundried tomatoes from Tony’s farm?” you’re sharp voice rings through the hustling and bustling of your colleagues. “Yes ma’am!” you here a response over the ruckus of boxes being unloaded. Doing inventory was a hassle, but you were determined to complete the responsibility laid on your shoulders. About an hour of screaming later, you were wiping off the sweat that had accumulated across your forehead. “Good job today guys, we did inventory, 30 minutes early.” You said, a small smile tracing your thin lips. Although you were stern, you knew how to appreciate your colleagues work. They all gave you small smiles as they headed off to freshen themselves up, to get ready for opening up for business in 30 minutes.

You were in the washroom, touching up your deep wine lipstick, when the door flew open, followed by the click of heels against the marble floor. You caught her reflection in the mirror as you turned around and greeted her. “Hey Maria…” you said, not a trace of enthusiasm in your voice. If there was one person who you could stand the least in your workplace, it was Maria. Contrary to you, she was born with a silver spoon. She was the restaurant manager’s niece, and had been given a job here, despite her inexperience. You never had a problem with that, but it’s when she ran against you for the post of senior head waitress, you grew envious. But fortunately, the manager saw beyond just blood relations, and fairly granted you the promotion, as a result of all the blood and sweat you had put into it.

“Hey…” she mumbled, plainly as courtesy, and no real kind intention, as she walked towards the mirror and began brushing through the strands of her short black bob. Unbothered by her presence, you began to tie your long brown locks into a low braided bun and brushed your outfit free from any existing wrinkles. Your eyes drifted to the adjacent female’s form and you couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. You were pretty proud of how you looked. It’s just that you failed to be confident about your body, unlike her, who flawlessly flaunted her curves. Before you could overthink you left the washroom.

10 minutes left to opening time, you were setting folded napkins down by the pristine glassware and silverware on a table, when you heard the small bell chime, alerting you of someone entering the restaurant. You look up and immediately lock eyes with a man with deep brown feline eyes, his hair a pale mint green, contrasting with his all-black attire. Min Yoongi. The same man who was hovering over you last night, the same man whose throat was voicing your name out loud, the same man whose teeth had left evident marks on your body, multiple times in the last 2 months. You shifted your gaze onto the butter knife in your hand, and all you could think about was stabbing the man in front of you senseless, and then stabbing yourself, for doing what you did. But then again, lust was a dangerous greed in your mind.

You walked away to a table farther away from the entrance, while your eyes carefully watched as he uncovered his guitar from the case, and began setting up a mic on the center stage, right under the spotlight. “Hey, do you need help setting up?” you heard Maria ask him. You caught from the corner of your eyes, her figure bending over to his seated one on the chair, her hand landing on his shoulder. You were pretty sure his unwavering gaze was fixed down her shirt. “No I’m good.” He huffs and gets back to working on the speaker settings for his performance. You let whatever feeling was building up in the pit of your stomach subside as you left the two, making your way back into the kitchen.

Before you knew it, the whole day had gone by with you running in between tables, jotting down orders on your little notepad, and running back and forth between the loud and chaotic kitchen and the quiet and luxurious ambience of the seating region. This was your life, maintaining a calm composure, fit for a classy 5-star restaurant accompanied by casting several missed glances at a certain musician playing a beautiful rhythm.

You placed a martini at a table with a family of 4. You observed the man to be wearing a rich tuxedo finished with a neatly tucked pocket square, the woman was adorned with elegant pearls and dressed in a midnight blue gown, a small girl, embezzled in what appeared to be her mother’s gold jewelry and dressed in an obnoxious pink frilled dress. A small boy of around the age of 5, who was seated right next to where you were standing, cast you a nasty glance as you watched his hand topple the glass, spilling all the contents onto your skirt. You audibly gasped, but remembered to lower your voice and not make a scene, luckily your skirt was black. The woman at the table said nothing, her eyes fixated upon her rich manicure, while the man glanced your way and muttered a small “sorry”.

You were used to being treated this way. You were used to seeing families like this, all adorned with a picture perfect image on the outside, while you knew that their souls were writhing on the inside. You whispered a small “its okay sir” and worked on cleaning up the mess at the table. The small girl reached out to pick up a napkin and just as she was about to hand it to you, probably to help dry your skirt off, you felt her mother’s cold glare harden on her daughter, as the small child dropped the napkin and sheepishly returned her gaze back onto her lap. You sympathized with this little girl you barely knew, because you too were once in her place.

Your parents were just like the many families you had encountered at your job over the years. They maintained a perfect image on the outside while no one knew the hell they put you and themselves through inside the doors of your home. You remembered every time your mom had scoffed at you for helping someone with a lower status than yours. You remembered those endless nights of bickering when your mom and dad had lectured you on how you couldn’t let your proper image waver when you had told them that you wanted to pursue your true passion of playing the piano. You remembered the night that you watched your father slap your mother across her face in his study, the talk of divorce ensuing. You remembered being frightened and packing your bag, stuffing a roll of cash in it, and jumping out the window and escaping.

You were jolted back to reality as you felt a pair of hands grab your shoulders. Maria’s disgusted face appeared as she whisper-shouted in your ear, “What do you think you’re doing? Stop day dreaming and get back inside the kitchen, I’ll take their order!” You were about to correct her for the manner in which she talked to you, her superior, but decided to do yourself a favor, and leave the room before any more humiliation could follow. Although you remained unaware of a certain pair of eyes sharply watching your movements.

You entered the bathroom and worked on getting the stain off of your skirt. As soon as you were done, you looked at your reflection in the mirror. Your attire still remained remarkably presentable, but the dark circles etched below your eyes, were beginning to uncover from underneath the heavy concealer. Your eyes drifted towards the empty bathroom stall behind you, and you couldn’t help but form a tiny smile. You remembered the time, a week ago, when you and Yoongi had occupied the stall in a very risky endeavor in between his 10 minute break, and had almost been caught by the head chef, who had come in there looking for you.

You knew what you and Yoongi had was toxic, but so was your whole take on love. Everyone from your parents to your neighbors and just about everything in your life had convinced you, that true love didn’t exist. You only believed that a greed called lust existed. And all you thought was that you needed relief for the same. About 2 months ago, when you were getting drunk off your ass for getting promoted, you had run into Yoongi. He had been playing at the restaurant, alternating between piano and guitar, for just as long as you had been working there. He had always caught your eye, and if you were being brutally honest, you loved watching him do something that you couldn’t do, play piano.

No sooner had the words “Wanna get outta here?” been spoken, you had ended up, about 20 minutes later, squirming underneath him, grasping his shoulders and moaning shamelessly, your cries contained inside the walls of his bedroom. What was commendable though was that you both had managed to keep your word so far. You both had devised a set of rules, no cuddling, no sweet goodbye kisses after doing the deed (making out before doing the dirty wasn’t counted), no going on dates, consent was always necessary, no leverage, meaning you both were free to engage in personal affairs with other men/women as long as you promised to remain safe, and the last impending rule being, if anyone of the two of you caught feelings for the other, the deal would be off. You knew these rules sounded ridiculous, like you were writing your own constitution, but it was necessary for a relationship, where you both were doing this purely for relief, for lust.

You shook off your smile, and headed out of the washroom. You continued doing your chores, till it was finally closing time. The rest of the hour until midnight passed by as you and your colleagues worked on going through the gigantic pile of dishes. Of course it wasn’t part of your job but you’d rather spend time here with your colleagues than sit alone in the darkness of your humble abode. You also didn’t want to deal with any sort of unnecessary feelings arising, when you saw Yoongi leaving the room, Maria clinging by his side.

“Hey wanna join us for a beer?” said Mark. He was one of the few kind friends you’d made at this job, along with his girlfriend Jackie, and another girl Maya. “Sure what have I got to lose?” you say, grabbing your coat. Before you knew it, your 3rd beer bottle was hooked to your lips, as you gulped the liquid down, drowning your worries.

“Man, Maria’s a bitch huh?” Jackie spoke up. You loved her spunky personality, and she was straight forward like you. “Yeah lol” you say.

“Don’t be so mean Jackie…” Maya speaks up, only halfway through her first beer bottle. She was shy and timid, contrary to Jackie, but she was too pure for this cruel world.

“You’re just saying that because she’s never been mean to you.” Jackie stated matter-of-factly. “Amen” her boyfriend Mark said clinking his bottle with her’s.

“I never saw her be rude to you though” Maya says innocently. “Does her shoving her chest into my boyfriend’s face on purpose in front of me count?” Jackie says rolling her eyes and scoffing.

“I swear I was so freaked out.” Mark said laughing. “If it weren’t for Jackie ‘accidently’ shoving her face into the cake, I don’t know how far she would’ve gone to seduce me.”

“That was the best day of my life.” I said laughing. “Guys don’t be so loud, she’s right there” Maya whisper-yelled.

Everyone’s eyes turned to follow Maya’s line of sight and the image before you made your heart clench involuntarily. You watched with disgust, as you saw Yoongi’s tongue literally down Maria’s throat, his hands running up and down her form.

“She won’t be able to hear us bitching about her over the loud music anyways so it doesn’t matter…” Jackie said breaking your gaze away from the pair. “By the way, guitar guy is hot innit?”

“Yeah he’s pretty cool, he has good taste in music based off of the songs he plays” Mark says. You were not surprised to see that Mark didn’t get jealous over his girlfriend calling another man hot. You only wish you were so secure about your relationships.

After a moment of silence excluding the loud club music you spoke up, “I think I’m gonna head home now guys” you said looking at your watch. “It’s 2, holy shit!”

“Yeah we should get going too actually…” Mark said, getting ready to lift Jackie up. “Maya how’re you gonna get home?” you ask, genuinely concerned.

“Oh actually… my boyfriend is gonna pick me up…” she said timidly. “You have a boyfriend?” Jackie yelped.

“Yeah… see you guys…” she said rushing out of the place before any questions could follow. You bid Mark and Jackie goodbye, not wanting to wait for the war of tongues that was yet to ensue. You glanced over once again only to find a certain pair missing. You tried to suppress the unbeknownst feeling bubbling inside you, as you headed home with a heavy heart.

You weren’t too drunk as you had a high tolerance for beer. You decided since your apartment was only a few blocks away, you would walk. You were used to walking on the streets alone at night, as your job required for you to stay back quite frequently.

Along with the familiar click of your heels on the concrete, you heard a periodic scruff of shoes on the concrete behind you. You turned around to see a man, head hung low, hood covering his face walking at a pace similar to yours. To be honest, you weren’t afraid of things like these. At least that’s what you told yourself to brace your inner coward self. But living alone all these years, basically living with just scraps from when you were 16 years old and had escaped, had prepared you for a lot of conditions for the best. You decided to walk faster, the streetlights casting a warm yellow light across the two of you, highlighting the game of cat and mouse you were playing.

About a minute later, the steps of your apartment came into view, which gave you some new found confidence. You halted and turned around swiftly and yelled, “You gonna follow me up to my apartment or are you gonna make your move any time soon?”

The man walked a few steps forward and uncovered his hood, revealing his pale face under the moonlight, his shocking green hair catching your eyes. “Min Yoongi…” you said rolling your eyes.

You ignored the man and went up to the steps leading up to your building and took a seat. You watched the man linger not far behind you and finally make it to you, as he stood beside you, laying an arm on the rails. “Why were you following me?” you said, obvious annoyance laced in your voice.

“It’s 2 in the morning… I felt like taking a walk…” he said nonchalantly.

You huffed and fished out a cigarette and a lighter out from your purse. Lighting it, you brought it up to your lips and took in a huff of smoke. You leaned your head back, letting out the puff of smoke into the night sky, your head feeling light. “Seriously why’re you here? Do you want sex?” you said rolling your eyes.

“Not everything is about sex Y/N…” Yoongi spoke up, his deep raspy voice sending an untimely shiver down your spine.

“Between us it is…” you say softly.

“It doesn’t have to be…” Yoongi replies almost too immediately.

“We made the contract mutually you dumb fuck” you say huffing in another breath from the cigarette in your hand.

He walked around you and took a seat next to you on the cold steps his hand extending forward. “Who said we can’t talk like normal friends?” he says as you knowingly pass your cigarette into his willing hand, watching him, as he took a puff too, before crushing it underneath his boot.

“Sure” you say sarcastically rolling your eyes. “I’m sure you have your hands full with a certain friend already” you scoff.

He raised his eyebrow at you only to have you roll your eyes again. “Maria seems like a pretty good friend… ya know how she lets you shove your tongue down her throat, anytime you want.”

“Ahhh… So you were at the bar huh?” he says, although you remain suspicious of the fact that he knew of your presence beforehand.

“Yeah, and I for a fact know, that no one can be friends, without any pure intentions of lust hidden behind it.” You state.

“Then what about Mark?” he says looking at the empty street before you both.

“Yeah he’s the only male friend of mine, without any intentions.” You scoff.

“You never know…” Yoongi murmurs.

“He’s dating Jackie for Christ’s sake!” you say annoyed, clearly understanding his tactic.

“Oh…” he says an unnoticeable trace of guilt hidden in his voice.

“Were you seriously trying to make me jealous by hooking up with Maria in front of me, just because you thought me and Mark had something going on between us?” you ask in disbelief.

His silence confirms your suspicions. “Oh lord! Were you dreaming when Jackie and Mark got caught making out in the store room?”

“Hey, I don’t know what the hell goes on beyond those steel doors okay? I get in, play music, and get out… I don’t have a social life at my job like you do!” he huffs out.

“I’m sorry…” you say, although it hurts your pride.

“I’m sorry too, for the whole Maria thing… call it even?” he says giving you a small smile.

“You don’t have to be sorry… it’s part of the deal… you can engage in personal affairs with anyone else, it’s your choice… I have no say in your life…” you say staring at the ground.

“Well I’m sorry for following you like a creepy stalker… I was just making sure you got home alright… call it even now?” he says a small giggle leaving his throat.

You didn’t try to question why he was worried about you walking home, because you knew that argument wouldn’t lead anywhere sensible. “Call it even.” You respond looking into his eyes, returning his smile.

The gaze grew uncomfortably long before you spoke up, “I should get going…” You stood up brushing your skirt. You didn’t know whose cursed soul possessed you, but your heart took control of your actions before your head could stop you, and your hand landed on his shoulder before you pulled him in for a short kiss. You backed away to meet his wide eyes, which was expected as you, the strict rule enforcer, had gone back on the rule, ‘no sweet goodbye kisses’.

“I-I’m sorry I’m drunk…” you blabbered.

“No it’s okay… I didn’t mind…” he mumbled out the last part, too soft to hear.

You panicked and immediately tried to draw attention away from your actions. “Eeeww I just indirectly kissed Maria.” You whined.

Yoongi broke into a loud laugh “Ayy I made sure to rinse my mouth off before I followed you here”.

“Oh… were you expecting to sleep with me?” you ask confused.

“N-No not at all… I know you’re tired tonight.” Yoongi said rubbing his neck and backing away. “Well I should get going… friend” he said smirking.

“Alright, see ya… friend” you said returning his devious smile with a smirk of your own. With that you went up to your apartment and went to bed with a not as heavy of a heart as you expected.

«Previous :: Masterlist :: Next»

A/N: Don’t forget to follow @jungshook69 for more content:) You can check out more works of mine here. Have a great day:)

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myhahnestopinion · 3 years

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THE AARONS 2020 - Best TV Show

It was prime time for TV in 2020, with many more free hours to fill. I managed to get through a lot of my backlog in fact, finally getting around to watching shows like The Strain. It’s a show about a deadly disease that tears society apart because a lot of arrogant people think they are exempt from quarantining. The disease turns people into vampires, so it’s technically escapism. Here are the Aarons for Best TV Show:

#10. The Plot Against America (Miniseries) - HBO

It’s not TV, it’s not HBO, it’s real life. The Wire-creator David Simon’s penchant for illustrating the human fallout of institutional failures made him a perfect collaborator for HBO’s Plot Against America, an adaptation of Phillip Roth’s alternate-history novel. Following a Jewish family in New Jersey navigating the increasingly-fascist America of a hypothetical Charles Lindbergh administration, the show is a terrifying warning of what happens when hatred and conspiracy theories are allowed to accumulate political force. Notably, while the book ends with history back on the right track, the closing moments here are left ambiguous. The show was a limited series, but in many ways, The Plot Against America is ongoing.

#9. Mrs. America (Miniseries) - FX

Its interests are married to The Plot Against America, but Mrs. America traces the country’s rising extremism from a more historically accurate perspective. The miniseries centers on political activists in the 1970s on opposing sides of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, but its dialogue isn’t a strict dichotomy. The episodic format is expertly utilized to build out intersectional ideas from the likes of Rose Byrne’s Gloria Steinem, Uzo Aduba’s Shirley Crisholm, and Margo Martindale’s Bella Abzug, detailing the difficulties in building a diverse coalition, and the dangers of a single-minded one. Drawing parallels to current debates, its compelling centerpiece is how conservative Phylis Shafley (Cate Blanchett) successfully defeats the Amendment; voting against your own self-interests, Mrs. America says, is as American as apple pie.

#8. The Outsider (Miniseries) - HBO

Societal collapse comes from within in the two shows mentioned above, but the threat in HBO’s adaptation of Stephen King’s 2018 novel is decidedly an “other.” King clearly had his mind on modern manipulations of truth when crafting the ingenious premise: a man is arrested for the murder of two young boys due to irrefutable DNA evidence, only to provide an air-tight alibi for the crime. To match King’s procedural prose, HBO brought on The Night Of’s David Price, who layers the original work with meticulous mysteries. The Outsider has all the pulpy jolts expected of the author, but the show’s true horror lies in its overbearing grief, best brought to life by Ben Mendelsohn’s Detective Anderson. To say more would be to spoil its secrets; you’ll want to be on the inside.

#7. Perry Mason (Season 1) - HBO

Just like the famous fictional attorney, HBO can’t seem to lose, with Perry Mason marking its third entry on this list. The reimagining of the long running court drama actually takes place before the character’s illustrious law career; here he’s a down-on-his-luck private eye caught up in a scandalous child kidnapping case. The result’s a gangbusters production of old-fashioned moody noir: political corruption, femme fatales, and a more morally-complicated Mason, as played by The Americans’ Matthew Rhys. The lavish period details and character-actor cast, including Shea Whigham, John Lithgow, and Tatiana Maslany, will help draw viewers in, but, I’ll confess, I was already hooked by the season’s chilling opening moments.

#6. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (Season 1) - NBC

Dour seasons have dominated this list thus far, but Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist sings a different tune. It’s a lovably oddball premise: an accident during an MRI causes a young woman, played by Jane Levy, to hear other people’s thoughts in the form of popular music. It’s all karaoke, but, emphasized by the presence of Skylar Astin, a worthy inheritor to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s musical-comedy crown. The tracklist, workplace antics, and love-triangle drama all exist in a comfortingly familiar network TV realm, but the show takes additional steps for inclusion with stories highlighting Zoey’s genderfluid neighbor (Alex Newell) and an American Sign Language performance of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song.” During a year in need of shuffling off stress, there was no better time to queue up Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.

#5. What We Do in The Shadows (Season 2) - FX

FX’s expansion of the mockumentary feature film of the same name lit up some of the darker corners of its universe in the show’s second season, transforming mundane-seeming material into something completely, uniquely batty. Each creature of Shadows took their turn in the spotlight this season, from a middle-management promotion gifting energy-vampire Colin Robinson unlimited supernatural power, to undead Nadja befriending a doll possessed by her own ghost, to Matt Berry’s Lazlo forging a small-town persona as a bartender/volleyball coach to escape a vengeful Mark Hamill. As always, it was the sympathetic Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), a Van Helsing descendent desperate to become a vampire, who gave the show its emotional stakes, and the vampires within a different kind altogether.

#4. Stargirl (Season 1) - DC Universe

Shadows was lit, but few things burned brighter this year than Stargirl (perhaps too brightly for the flamed-out DC Universe). The superhero drama is one of several that will outlive its original streaming service - fitting, given its obsession with legacy. Based on a character created by DC Comics stalwart Geoff Johns after the tragic loss of his sister, the show finds a young girl taking on the mantle of a fallen hero after moving to a town run in secret by supervillains. With sprightly fight choreography and an unabashed embrace of its comic book lore, Stargirl outshines the overabundance of small-screen superheroes out there. Its highlight is the bright performance of lead Brec Bassinger; put simply, she’s a star, girl.

#3. BoJack Horseman (Season 6b) - Netflix

Throughout its run, BoJack Horseman garnered acclaim for routinely delivering unexpected pathos, and the final season kept it on that track until the end. ...Get it, because horses run on tracks? The unexpected porter of television’s legacy of antiheroes ended in much the same vein as its sister shows - with consequences finally catching up with its protagonist. No amount of fanciful animal puns could soften that painful catharsis, as the show finally trampled its tricky web of abuse through bittersweet means. The series closed out with an especially thoughtful scene, the kind viewers who looked past the wonky pilot years ago were regularly blessed with; to the very end, BoJack, you were a gift, horse.

#2. Better Call Saul (Season 5) - AMC

As good as Bad ever was and better than ever before, the fifth season of AMC’s spin-off completely upended the world of its eponymous lawyer while bringing Vince Gilligan’s universe one step away from full-circle. Saul Goodman found himself in way over his head, and viewers found themselves way on the edge of their seats, as his first foray into “criminal” lawyering swiftly dovetailed with an escalating drug war. Despite the emotional distress of watching fan-favorite character Kim Wexler placed in perilous situations, there are no objections to be had with the drama’s continued masterful storytelling. Ramping up the slow-burn storytelling, season five saw Kim and Saul’s relationship develop in rich and unexpected ways, while still keeping their final fates unresolved. Fans are thus waiting with bated breath for the show’s final call next year.

#1. The Great (Season 1) - Hulu

Who could be the best but The Great? There was a minor television controversy this year over Netflix marketing The Crown as a historical drama despite its fictional interpretation of events; The Great has no such pretentions. An asterix adorns every title card of the show, letting viewers know that its take on Catherine the Great’s coup against Emperor Peter III of Russia is only “an occasionally true story.” The show indeed is not great for education, but it’s the most entertaining television of the year, locking stars Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult in a battle of wits and a fight for the country’s soul under the watch of The Favourite co-writer Tony McNamara. The uproarious comedy slyly collates leadership based in cruelty with leadership based in goodwill in the background of its quite bawdy escapades, a subtle bit of relevant political maneuvering that lets it successfully claim the crown this year.

NEXT UP: THE 2020 AARONS FOR BEST TV EPISODE!

#tv #TheAarons #TheAarons2020 #TheAaronsTV #best of 2020 #the plot against america #mrs america #the outsider #perry mason #zoey's extraordinary playlist #what we do in the shadows #stargirl #bojack horseman #better call saul #the great

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timeless-hollywood-classics · 3 years

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Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singing star, vaudevillian and actress of the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tunes were "Shine On, Harvest Moon", "Ten Cents a Dance" and "Love Me or Leave Me".

Her other popular recordings included "Button Up Your Overcoat", "Mean to Me", "Exactly Like You" and "Shaking the Blues Away".

As a young girl in Nebraska, Etting had wanted to be an artist; she drew and sketched everywhere she was able. At sixteen, her grandparents decided to send her to art school in Chicago. While Etting attended class, she found a job at the Marigold Gardens nightclub; after a short time there, Etting gave up art classes in favor of a career in show business. Etting, who enjoyed singing in school and church, never took voice lessons. She quickly became a featured vocalist at the club. Etting was then managed by Moe Snyder, whom she married in 1922. Snyder made arrangements for Etting's recording and film contracts as well as her personal and radio appearances. She became nationally known when she appeared in Flo Ziegfeld's Follies of 1927.

Etting intended to retire from performing in 1935, but this did not happen until after her divorce from Snyder in 1937. Harry Myrl Alderman, Etting's pianist, was separated from his wife when he and Etting began a relationship. Snyder did not like seeing his former wife in the company of other men and began making telephone threats to Etting in January 1938. By October, Snyder traveled to Los Angeles and detained Alderman after he left a local radio station; he forced the pianist to take him to the home of his ex-wife at gunpoint. Saying he intended to kill Etting, Alderman, and his own daughter, Edith, who worked for Etting, Snyder shot Alderman. Three days after Alderman was shot, his wife filed suit against Etting for alienation of affections.

While Alderman and Etting claimed to have been married in Mexico in July 1938, Alderman's divorce would not be final until December of that year. The couple was married during Moe Snyder's trial for attempted murder in December 1938. Etting and Alderman relocated to a farm outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they were primarily out of the spotlight for most of their lives. Her fictionalized story was told in the 1955 musical film Love Me Or Leave Me with Doris Day as Ruth Etting and James Cagney as Snyder.

Etting was born on November 23, 1896, in David City, Nebraska, to Alfred Etting, a banker, and Winifred (Kleinhan). Her mother died when she was five years old and she then went to live with her paternal grandparents, George and Hannah Etting. Her father remarried and moved away from David City and was no longer a part of his daughter's life. Etting's grandfather, George, owned the Etting Roller Mills; to the delight of his granddaughter, George Etting allowed traveling circuses and shows to use the lot behind the mills for performances.

Etting was interested in drawing at an early age; she drew and sketched anywhere she was able. Her grandparents were asked to buy the textbooks she had used at the end of a school term because Etting had filled them with her drawings. She left David City at the age of sixteen to attend art school in Chicago. Etting got a job designing costumes at the Marigold Gardens nightclub, which led to employment singing and dancing in the chorus there. She gave up art school soon after going to work at Marigold Gardens. Before turning exclusively to performing, Etting worked as a designer for the owner of a costume shop in Chicago's Loop; she was successful enough to earn a partnership in the shop through her work.

While she enjoyed singing at school and in church, Etting never took voice lessons. She said that she had patterned her song styling after Marion Harris, but created her own unique style by alternating tempos and by varying some notes and phrases. Describing herself as a "high, squeaky soprano" during her days in David City, Etting developed a lower range singing voice after her arrival in Chicago which led to her success. Her big moment came when a featured vocalist suddenly became ill and was unable to perform. With no other replacement available, Etting was asked to fill in. She quickly changed into the costume and scanned the music arrangements; the performer was male, so Etting tried to adjust by singing in a lower register. She became a featured vocalist at the nightclub.

Etting described herself as a young, naive girl when she arrived in Chicago. Due to her inexperience in the ways of the big city, she became reliant on Snyder after their meeting. Etting met gangster Martin "Moe the Gimp" Snyder in 1922, when she was performing at the Marigold Gardens. Snyder, who divorced his first wife to marry Etting, was well-acquainted with Chicago's nightclubs and the entertainers who worked in them; he once served as a bodyguard to Al Jolson. Snyder also used his political connections to get bookings for Etting, who was called "Miss City Hall" because of Snyder's influence in Chicago. Etting married Snyder on July 17, 1922 in Crown Point, Indiana. She later said she married him "nine-tenths out of fear and one-tenth out of pity." Etting later told her friends, "If I leave him, he'll kill me." He managed her career, booking radio appearances and eventually had her signed to an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Records.

The couple moved to New York in 1927, where Etting made her Broadway debut in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927. Irving Berlin had recommended her to showman Florenz Ziegfeld. Etting nervously prepared to sing for Ziegfeld at the audition. However, he did not ask her to sing at all; only to walk up and down the room. She was hired on that basis because Ziegfeld did not hire women with big ankles. While the original plan for the show was for Etting to do a tap dance after singing "Shaking the Blues Away", she later remembered she was not a very good dancer. At the show's final rehearsal, Flo Ziegfeld told her, "Ruth, when you get through singing, just walk off the stage". Etting also appeared in Ziegfeld's last "Follies" in 1931.

She went on to appear in a number of other hit shows in rapid succession, including Ziegfeld's Simple Simon and Whoopee!. Etting was not originally signed to perform in Simple Simon; she became part of the cast at the last minute when vocalist Lee Morse was too intoxicated to perform. Ziegfeld asked Etting to replace Morse; she hurried to Boston, where the show was being tried out prior to Broadway. When Etting arrived, songwriters Rodgers and Hart discovered that the song "Ten Cents a Dance" was not written for Etting's voice range. The three spent the night rewriting the song so Etting could perform it.

Toward the end of Simple Simon's Broadway run, Etting persuaded Ziegfeld to add "Love Me Or Leave Me" to the show though the song was originally written for Whoopee!. She had recorded the song in 1928, but Etting's new version of it was impressive enough to earn her a Vitaphone contract to make film shorts.

In Hollywood, Etting made a long series of movie shorts between 1929 and 1936, and three feature movies in 1933 and 1934. She described the short films as either having a simple plot to allow for her to sing two songs or with no plot at all. The idea was to have Etting sing at least two songs in the film. While she received a marquee billing for Roman Scandals, Etting had only two lines in the film and sang just one song. Etting believed she might have had more success in full-length films if she had been given some acting lessons. Her perception was that the studios viewed her only as a vocalist. She later recalled, "I was no actress, and I knew it. But I could sell a song". In 1936, she appeared in London in Ray Henderson's Transatlantic Rhythm. Etting quit the show because she and the other performers had not been paid.

Etting was first heard on radio station WLS when she was living in Chicago. Her appearance drew so much fan mail the station signed her to a year's contract for twice weekly performances. She had her own twice weekly 15 minute radio show on CBS in the 1930s. By 1934, she was on NBC with sports announcer Ted Husing doing the announcing and Oldsmobile sponsoring her program.

After an unissued test made by Victor on April 4, 1924, Etting was signed to Columbia Records in February 1926. She remained at Columbia through June 1931, when she split her recording between ARC (Banner, Perfect, Romeo, Oriole, etc.) and Columbia through March 1933. She signed with Brunswick and remained there until May 1934, when she re-signed with Columbia through July 1935. After a solitary Brunswick session in March 1936, she signed with the British label Rex and recorded two sessions in August and September, 1936. Etting returned to the US and signed with Decca in December 1936 and recorded until April 1937, when she basically retired from recording.

Etting saved some of her paycheck each week, regardless of the amount she was making at the time. Her friends said she invested in California real estate rather than the stock market. Etting, who made many of her own clothes, did her own housekeeping and lived frugally, initially announced her retirement in 1935. It is not clear why she did not go through with her announced plans, but she issued a second statement regarding retirement after filing for divorce from Snyder in November 1937.

Snyder's aggressive and controlling management style began to cause problems for Etting; during her work with Whoopee! on Broadway, Snyder was a constant presence. He was never without a gun and enjoyed poking people with it while saying "Put your hands up!" then laughing when their fright was evident. Snyder also persisted in cornering Ziegfeld because he believed Etting's role in the musical could be improved. Ziegfeld had a different opinion and indicated nothing would be changed. Snyder would then mumble that it was not a suggestion but a demand.

By 1934 she was having difficulty getting engagements. Snyder's arguing and fighting at venues where Etting was employed caused her to be passed by for jobs in the United States. In 1936, she thought taking work in England might be the answer, but Snyder created problems while she was working there also. Soon after the couple arrived in England, Snyder became involved in a street fight which created adverse publicity for Etting. She divorced Moe Snyder on the grounds of cruelty and abandonment on November 30, 1937. Snyder did not contest the divorce and received a settlement from his former wife. Etting gave her ex-husband half of her earnings at the time, $50,000, some securities and a half interest in a home in Beverly Hills, California. She deducted the gambling debts of Snyder she had paid and the costs she had paid for a home for Snyder's mother.

Etting fell in love with her pianist, Myrl Alderman, who was separated from his wife. In January 1938, she began receiving threatening telephone calls from Snyder, who initially claimed Etting withheld assets from him when the divorce settlement was made. Though the couple was divorced, Snyder was also upset because of reports that she was seeing another man. Snyder told Etting that he would come to California and kill her. When Snyder telephoned and found Etting unavailable, he told his daughter Edith that he "would fix her ticket, too". He called again that evening; this time Etting took the call with her cousin, Arthur Etting, listening on an extension. Etting requested police protection after the telephone call and arranged for private protection. Apparently believing the danger was over when Snyder did not appear soon after his telephone call, Etting released her bodyguards a few days later.

On October 15, 1938, Snyder detained Myrl Alderman at a local radio station and forced the pianist to take him to his former wife at gunpoint. In the house at the time were Etting and Edith Snyder. Edith, Snyder's daughter by a previous marriage, worked for Etting and remained living with her after the divorce. Snyder held Etting and Alderman at gunpoint; when told his daughter was in another part of the house, he made Etting call her into the room. Snyder said he intended to kill all three, and told them to be quiet. When Myrl Alderman attempted to speak, Snyder shot him. Snyder then told his ex-wife, "I've had my revenge, so you can call the police."

Snyder claimed Myrl Alderman pulled a gun and shot at him first and that his ex-wife would not file charges against him because she still loved him. He also claimed he was drunk when he made the telephone threats to Etting in January 1938, saying that at the time his intentions were to kill both his ex-wife and himself. Ruth Etting said that the only gun in the home belonged to her, and after the shooting of Alderman, she was able to go into her bedroom and get it. Upon seeing Etting's gun, Moe Snyder wrested it away from her; it landed on the floor. Snyder's daughter, Edith, picked it up and held it on her father, shooting at him but hitting the floor instead. During a police reenactment of the shooting three days later, Edith Snyder said that she fired at her father to save Ruth Etting, weeping as she continued, "I don't yet know whether I am sorry I missed my Dad or whether I am glad". Snyder was accused of attempting to murder his ex-wife, his daughter, and Etting's accompanist, Myrl Alderman, the kidnapping of Alderman, as well as California state gun law violations.

Three days after the shooting of Myrl Alderman, the pianist's second wife, Alma, sued Etting for alienation of her husband's affections. Though Etting and Alderman claimed to have been married in Tijuana, Mexico in July 1938, Alma Alderman said any marriage was invalid, because her divorce from Myrl Alderman would not be final until December 1938. Police investigators could find no record of the couple's Mexican marriage. Etting publicly invited Alma Alderman to visit her husband in the hospital, in an effort to see if the couple could reconcile.

Ruth Etting testified that she was not married to Alderman. During the course of the trial, there was also a question of the validity of Alderman's marriage to Alma. Alderman's first wife, Helen, obtained an interlocutory decree on January 7, 1935; the divorce became final one year later. On January 9, 1935, Alderman married Alma in Mexico. The second Mrs. Alderman called Moe Snyder to the stand as a witness regarding an attraction between her husband and Etting. Helen Alderman Warne also appeared in court, claiming that Alma Alderman had spirited Myrl away from her. Warne added that she had married and divorced the pianist twice. Alma Alderman's lawsuit ended in December 1939, with the court finding that she was not entitled to damages from Ruth Etting.

The testimony in both trials brought much personal information into the public eye. Snyder, who claimed to still be in love with his ex-wife, gave Etting a diamond and platinum bracelet which she accepted after Snyder's telephone threat in January 1938. Etting testified that she agreed with her ex-husband's statement to police that Snyder was either drunk or out of his mind when he threatened her by phone. Snyder's attorney initially tried to prevent Etting from testifying against Snyder with a charge that the divorce she obtained in Illinois was invalid because she was a resident of California at that time.

During the trial, Snyder's attorney portrayed Ruth Etting as a calculating woman who had married Moe Snyder strictly for the benefit of her career, and that she divorced him in favor of being with another, younger man (Alderman). Snyder's attorney echoed his client's claim of self-defense and said his client never intended to kill Etting, his daughter, and Myrl Alderman. The attorney further claimed that if Snyder intended to kill the pianist, he had ample time to do so while he held a gun on Alderman during the drive from the radio station to the home where the shooting took place.

Etting married Alderman, who was almost a decade her junior, on December 14, 1938 in Las Vegas, during Moe Snyder's trial for attempted murder. Snyder was convicted of attempted murder, but released on appeal after one year in jail. Snyder won a new trial but returned to jail in January 1940 in lieu of bail. In August 1940, Myrl Alderman asked the district attorney to drop further prosecution attempts against Snyder for the 1938 shooting.

Etting, who had retired from performing prior to the shooting and subsequent trials, briefly had a radio show on WHN in 1947. She also accepted an engagement at New York's Copacabana in March 1947. Etting traveled alone to New York and during a newspaper interview, was asked if she had ever seen Moe Snyder again. She replied, "No, I hope I never do." and said that her husband never went to bed without a gun.

The couple relocated to an eight-acre farm outside of Colorado Springs in 1938. Alderman, who was raised in Colorado Springs, operated a restaurant there for a time. Etting and Alderman remained married until his death in Denver on November 28, 1966; he was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs. Etting died in Colorado Springs in 1978, aged 81. She was survived by a stepson, John Alderman, and four grandchildren. Alderman and Etting are now interred at the Shrine of Remembrance Mausoleum in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Her life was the basis for the fictionalized 1955 film, Love Me or Leave Me, which starred Doris Day (as Etting), James Cagney (as Snyder) and Cameron Mitchell (as Alderman). Etting, Myrl Alderman and Moe Snyder all sold their rights to the story to MGM; Snyder was living in Chicago in 1955. Etting expressed sadness that "the real highlight of my life", her marriage to Alderman, was omitted from the film. Shortly before her death, Etting said she thought the screen portrayal of her was too tough and that Jane Powell would have been a better choice for the lead.

Etting has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in films, located on the north side of the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard. Her recordings of Love Me Or Leave Me (2005) and Ten Cents a Dance (1999) are part of the Grammy Hall of Fame.

#ruth etting #classic hollywood #classic stars #golden age of hollywood #singer #1920s hollywood #1930s hollywood

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truelovevoltage · 6 years

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Scandal In The Spotlight Masterlist

* = Smut Content Fan Fiction

Family - Nagito Aoshima

Jealous of brunette guys - Nagito Aoshima

Secrets Revealed - Nagito Aoshima

Single Father - Nagito Aoshima

Secret Admirer - Iori Enjo

Defending You - Kota Igarashi

Don’t leave me - Kota Igarashi

Family - Kota Igarashi

Jealous Of His Old Friend - Kota Igarashi

Ex-boyfriend - Kyohei Rikudoh

Insecurities - Kyohei Rikudoh

Jealous - Kyohei Rikudoh –> Jealous*

Lazy Day - Kyohei Rikudoh

Secrets Revealed - Kyohei Rikudoh

Stressed Out - Kyohei Rikudoh

Upset Older Sister - Kyohei Rikudoh

Alone With Kyohei - Takashi Ninagawa

Headcanons

Abusive Ex

Amnesia

Cheating On You

Crying Girlfriend

Escape Artist

Famous Singer On Break

Fight And Make Up

Finding out you’re a Princess

High School Reunion And Bullies

Just for show

Meeting him after the break up [2]

Nightmare

Panic Attack

Proposal

They turn into a toddler

Trashed House

You pass away

You’re his childhood friend and you’re a model

Texts Nagito Aoshima

Drunk texting him

Drunk texting you

He’s worried that you’re really close to Iori and gets jealous

Kyohei pretends to be you and texts him

Texting the group "I got a date"

Ryo Chibana

Drunk texting him

He’s worried that you’re really close to Kyohei and gets jealous

Takashi pretends to be you and texts him

Iori Enjo

Drunk texting him

Drunk texting you

He’s worried that you’re really close to Takashi and gets jealous

Ryo pretends to be you and texts him

Kota Igarashi

Drunk texting him

Drunk texting you

He’s worried that you’re really close to Nagito and gets jealous

Iori pretends to be you and texts him

Pokémon hunting with the guys without him

Kyohei Rikudoh

Butt texting him

Butt texting you

Drunk texting him

Drunk texting you

He sends a text that you don’t have to come to work cause you’re on your period

He’s worried that you’re really close to Kota and gets jealous

Nagito pretends to be you and texts him

Prank texting him “You can come over, my boyfriend is not here”

Texting you sexy stuff while he’s in a meeting

Takashi Ninagawa

Drunk texting him

Drunk texting you

He’s worried that you’re really close to Ryo and gets jealous

Kota pretends to be you and texts him

#Scandal In The Spotlight #SITS #Scandal In The Spotlight Texts #Scandal In The Spotlight Fan Fiction #Nagito Aoshima #Ryo Chibana #Iori Enjo #Kota Igarashi #kyohei rikudoh #takashi ninagawa #SITS Headcanon #voltage #voltage inc #voltage headcanon #voltage headcanons #truelovevoltage #truelovevoltage posts #Truelovevoltage Headcanon #truelovevoltage headcanons

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emilyplaysotome · 7 years

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Part 36 - Dirty Pop

Down the Voltage Rabbit Hole is an ongoing story about our MC, who could easily be anyone in voltage fandom. She woke up in hospital bed only to discover that she’d somehow been transported Voltage universe.

This story is ongoing, so if you missed a part, or are new to the story, please use the link to the masterpost below to catch yourself up:

https://tinyurl.com/k4rrxna

Part 36 - Dirty Pop

As promised, we were taken backstage once the concert concluded and I watched as the band maintained their designated personality types in the presence of their fans.

Sakiko was over the moon to walk away from the night with both a photo of all us, and one of her and Kyohei. She stayed with me backstage for approximately an hour or so, and upon realizing how late the night had gotten, decided to leave me behind.

She was extremely apologetic about leaving me alone with the band and a handful of groupies, but had promised Eiki that she would swing by his place later and didn’t want to accidentally neglect her new relationship (even if that meant skipping out Revance).

I assured her that it was no problem, seeing as how the band wanted to speak with me about additional lyrics anyway, and with that Sakiko wished me luck and was on her way.

As it was to be expected, Revance’s “new” song had blown up Tweeter, with people sharing out snippets of the night’s performance, under the hashtag #RevancePopUp. Soon after their new song hit the internet, the tag was one of the top trending Tweeter hashtags for the entirety of Tweeter Japan, and their fan forums apparently blew up as a result, crashing their “RevanceNet” server as fans clamored for more information surrounding their upcoming LP and new song.

It was clear that the song’s positive reception had only added to the urgency in which Ryo, Iori, and Kyohei wanted me to sign on to the group, but I knew that wouldn’t be happening.

For now, I waited patiently to discuss things further, awkwardly biding my time until the band was ready to leave. After must discussion and flirtation, the groupies that would be joining us were selected, and I followed the group as we all headed to the “after party” at Revance’s home.

From the games, I knew that the band liked to celebrate after a successful performance, but found myself surprised at how real the situation felt considering the fact that the band brought along a smattering of attractive young women to keep them company. In that moment, they did not feel like romanticized otome men whose routes I’d played, but real pop stars, who were escorting home a collection of women they deemed attractive enough to spend the night with.

It was the first time I’d ever experienced anything like this and to be honest, it made my skin crawl a little at how dirty these pop stars were.

Considering how smoothly they’d transitioned from signing autographs to whittling the group down to the select few present in their limo, it was clear that this was a regular occurrence for them and I quietly tabulated the estimated number of women that each of these men had probably slept with.

With the exception of Iori and Ryo (both of whom stayed by my side the entire night), the rest of the band was getting cozy with a woman of their choosing (two in Kyohei’s case).

It was behavior I expected from Kyohei and Nagito, but in truth I was surprised to see the real life iterations of Kota and Takashi engaging in such obvious flirtation. The trip to their house felt like a scene straight out of a reality show, where a group of horny 20-somethings are forced to live in a house together and end up going at it, completely unconcerned by the lack of privacy surrounding their torrid hookups.

My general rule of thumb is that I do not oppose sexual behavior that occurs between two (or more) consenting adults. Everyone is different, and varies in comfort, kinks, likes, and dislikes, and in my opinion as long as all parties are on board, and nothing illegal is happening, I say go for it.

However, I myself, never consented to an awkward limo ride in which I was subjugated to what the games would most certainly describe as “lewd” behavior. Furthermore when it became obvious to me that each member of Revance must have slept with hundreds of women (50 cities, 3 nights, estimated 1 woman per city, with this being their 4th tour), I felt myself inadvertently scrunching my nose with worry, wondering if they at least had the good sense to practice safe sex and get tested regularly.

Iori and Ryo were so clearly desensitized to it all that they kept up a normal conversation with me the entire ride, initially inquiring as far as why I’d run off the previous day, until finally steering the conversation back to the additional lyrics they were hoping I’d write for them.

I told them that I had just accepted a full time job at the advertising agency Addison & Rhodes, and based on conversations with my coworkers it was unlikely that I’d be able to help them further. I made it clear that signing on to be a full-time ghostwriter with the band was out of the question, and upon providing this clarity I watched as Ryo glanced at Iori, with a frantic look in his eyes.

His expression only confirmed my suspicions that he was in a slump of sorts and needed my help.

I felt bad, and racked my brain in an attempt to think of the right thing to say but, I found myself unable to concentrate, thanks to the consistent background soundtrack of light moans and lips smacking, which made me feel as if I’d walked onto the set of a softcore porn flick.

As I wrestled with how to best move forward, the limo pulled up to their house.

I watched the scene unfold before me as Kyohei draped an arm around the two girls he was sitting with in the back of the limo.

Whereas Nagito, Takashi, and Kota had spent the ride preoccupied with a single lady of their choosing, Kyohei had been on overachiever of sorts, oscillating his kisses and attention between the two women. I looked on as he confidently whispered something in each of their ears, before exiting the limo with one woman on each arm, and a triumphant expression on his face.

Even though it had been obvious from the onset of the car ride that Kyohei would most likely end his night in a threesome, it was still sort of crazy to have watched the scene play out as it did.

Having never engaged in a threeway myself (considering that my one-on-one sexual encounters are always awkward that first night), it was bananas to me that adding another person would somehow make the experience less uncomfortable.

I silently said a wish to Leon that the ladies on each of Kyohei’s arm would derive as much pleasure from the experience as the man between them and watched as the rest followed suit and exited the limo, shooting Iori and Ryo a knowing look before heading to their designated rooms.

With the majority of the hookups now happening in private, I followed Iori and Ryo to the living room to finish the conversation surrounding Ryo’s slump and need for lyrics in order to move on with my life.

I felt indebted to both of them (Ryo for his kindness a couple of days ago and Iori for caring for me when I’d arrived), and despite not knowing exactly what to say, I knew that I didn’t feel right leaving them empty handed when they were clearly so desperate. I’d gleaned from the concert that Revance was reaching the end of their tour with this LP and needed to release some new songs or run the risk of being forgotten about.

Considering how eager they’d been to perform “Cry Me a River” it was clear that they needed additional material, and quick, to keep themselves on the top spot in the charts. I’d overheard Kyohei and Ryo in the greenroom, talking quietly about a rival boy band Grenade who was hot on their heels, and was certain that Kyohei was putting a massive amount of pressure on Ryo in order to deliver what they needed to ensure that they stayed the number one boy band in Japan.

Now that their performance of "Cry Me a River” had blown up on Tweeter, I could tell that they knew they needed to keep their momentum up. Iori and Ryo both bowed low before me, imploring me to help, saying that I could have or do whatever I wanted.

I sighed, slightly conflicted that my assistance might accidentally trigger another trap to keep me pinned to this world, but with an offer too good to pass up I found myself smirking.

“Whatever I want, eh?”

They needed 12 songs and I had provided 1, which meant that Revance needed 11 more.

Initially, they’d wanted me to write onsite at their apartment, but there was no way I was going to do that for fear of triggering one of their routes which I didn’t seem to be a part of.

Clearly Kyohei, Nagito, Takashi, and Kota were unconcerned with my presence in this world (made all the more obvious by the occasional moan coming from the upstairs bedrooms), and both Iori and Ryo seemed more concerned with the future of Revance than women or potential love interests.

I found it a bit surprising that Kyohei wasn’t more invested in my lyrics, but upon thinking back to Ryo and Iori’s dynamic realized that I possessed a vague memory in which Iori had felt slightly responsible for Ryo’s departure. I surmised that in this world, perhaps my existence was helping to curb the rift that might eventually happen between them, and I hoped that my actions might help me make it out of Scandal in the Spotlight without any scandal.

After Iori and Ryo had agreed to my terms, I let them know that they’d have everything they needed in their inbox by the end of the weekend.

They both eyed me skeptically, and I assured them that I’d amassed a rather large collection of unused lyrics in my years of writing as hobby. I said that if they were unsatisfied with what they received at the end of the weekend we could renegotiate the terms of our agreement. I also let Ryo know I planned to assemble everything in the cafe where he worked part time, and he eagerly let me know that he’d be far more comfortable having some proximity to me while I did so in case questions were to arise.

Even though he was working this weekend and we’d no doubt see each other, the pop stars still looked dubious as they walked me to a cab which was waiting to escort me back to the Gods’ mansion, and before leaving I felt compelled to assure them once more that they’d be satisfied with what I’d be able to provide.

After all, I had an entire decade of another world’s proven top pop songs at my fingertips. If it was good enough for Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars it’d be good enough for Revance.

It was around 2 in the morning when I opened the door to Zyglavis’ bedroom, and made my way over to the fridge to grab a late night snack.

A part of me had wished he’d be present upon my return, and I felt myself hoping that I’d find him on the bed waiting for me. When it was clear that he was nowhere to be found, I felt a bit of lonliness bubble up. The bulk of today had been spent reclaiming my independent spirit, and while I knew it was for the best that we be apart, I couldn’t help myself from gravitating towards the chocolate gateau cake he’d left behind.

Perhaps it was a result of my period, but I suspected my craving for chocolate had more to do with missing Zyglavis, and I cut myself a slick of cake all the while wondering what he was up to in the heavens. As I brought the slice over to my Operation GTFO HQ desk, I licked my fingers, dropping the plate with the cake next to my laptop.

Even though I wanted to devour the cake in a rather unladylike fashion, I decided it best to change out of my sweaty concert clothes before digging in.

I went to grab the fluffy pajamas Aigo had gifted me, and got an unfortunate whiff of post-concert Naomi. Despite being lazy, I realized that it was probably best I take a quick bath before I changed seeing as how I didn’t want the pajamas to get ruined, forcing me to do a load of laundry which I’d been putting off (as I worried it wouldn’t be as simple as Zyglavis simply snapping his fingers).

With that in mind, I wrapped a towel around me and headed to the bath in order to take a quick dip.

I was surprised upon opening the large doors to the bath to see it occupied so late.

Thankfully, the person enjoying her soak wasn’t one of the Gods, but the MC I’d met back at the planetarium. She was resting her eyes, clearly luxuriating in the bath and wore a towel, no doubt for fear she’d accidentally get walked in on by someone other than her beloved Huedhaut.

I announced my arrival as to not startle her, and in hearing my voice she offered me a warm smile and invited me to join her.

With no reason not to, I slowly lowered myself next to her, as I rinsed away the sweat and body glitter that still lingered from the concert. I felt slightly uncomfortable seeing as how our last encounter consisted of some awkward bathroom eye contact and an overly emotional exit, but I tried my best to be friendly and make pleasant conversation with her.

“You’re up late...can’t sleep?” I asked.

She shook her head no and added, “There’s an upcoming event at the planetarium that I’m in charge of. All the Gods have been helping me prepare but it’s proven to be quite an undertaking and the stress has been keeping me up.”

She sighed deeply and then force a small smile as she continued to address me.

“I was hoping a soak would help me relax so I could finally get some sleep. How about yourself?”

“Oh, I just got back from the Revance concert.”

“Revance? The boy band?”

I nodded, pleased at her reaction which seemed appropriate for a grown woman. She did not exclaim excitedly, or swoon over any of the members, but instead seemed puzzled as to why a grown woman like myself would want to attend such an event.

“It’s a long story, but I ended up writing them a song that they performed tonight so…”

“Oh wow! Are you a writer?”

“Something like that…”

We made small talk for a bit, and when the conversation led us down a road which allowed for it, I capitalized on my opportunity to apologize for my juvenile behavior. Of all the MCs I’d met in this world, I realized that I liked her the best, and was worried that she wouldn’t want to be my friend after having witnessed such a ridiculous display. I could feel my anxiety building, but forced myself to spit out the words I’d been holding on to since I’d stepped foot in the bath.

“By the way, I’m sorry about the other day,” I said timidly, “I hope you didn’t take any offense - I assure you it had nothing to do with you.”

“Oh? And who did it have to do with?”

I could tell that this MC was clever, yet kind as she asked, keenly aware of my reasons for acting so erratically.

Seeing as how it was no secret at this point, I came clean, figuring that if anything she would understand the plight of a human woman who had a sizable crush on a man that was a God.

“Zyglavis...”

“Mmmm,” she said with a knowing smile, “I see.”

She let out a quiet chuckle and I was struck by how elegant she was in her mannerisms. It was evident that she had lived her past life in the heavens, and I found myself feeling a bit insecure as I thought about Zyglavis potentially being surrounded by women like her in the heavens.

“Of all the Gods you had to go and fall for the one who loves law and order...”

“Tell me about it,” I said disparagingly.

“He is one of the most loyal men you could ask for, and in truth, I think he cares for you more than he realizes.”

The former Goddess of Fate’s eyes twinkled as she quickly surveyed the area around us to ensure that there was no one present who could overhear. She leaned in, still wary of being too loud and whispered in such a way that her breath tickled my ear as she spoke.

“After you ran out, he was so panicked and emotional...when he returned unable to find you, certain the worst had happened, I asked him if he loved you…”

“And?”

“Well, you should really ask him yourself but…”

She giggled girlishly and nodded, indicating the answer had been yes, quickly adding, “He wouldn’t say it because it’s forbidden but...a woman knows these things.”

Upon hearing her words, I placed my hands on my heart with the hope of calming it. The thought that Zyglavis loved me back was making my heart accelerate, and I found myself hoping her read was correct.

She didn’t seem to realize how flustered the conversation was making me, and continued on casually sharing her two cents as to the matter, “I’ve known him for some time now, and I’m sure he’s somewhere in the heavens trying to pull himself together and ignore everything you’ve ignited. If you love him back, if you really love him, you will not let him hide behind his logic or the rules. You will have to fight, but I really believe that if you’re willing to do that, he’ll be yours forever.”

“But what if I’m not sure,” I blurted, “I...he’s not the only person I have feelings for and…”

“I know you’re not sure Naomi but this is your chance to be happy...be it with Zyglavis, or Jin, or who was the other one?”

“Shun.”

The name tumbled from my lips at a volume which was barely audible. Not only had this MC just called me by my real name, but she seemed to be omnipotent when it came to my goings on, and I found myself backing away from her, suddenly wary.

“Are you going to take it or not?”

I nodded, “Yes. I’ll figure it out before I leave.”

“Good,” she said, before turning around to pull herself out of the bath, “You have only a week’s time so I suggest you figure it out quickly.”

I nodded, and looked away from her, completely caught off guard by everything that had happened.

When I turned back once more in an attempt to shed some light on the situation, I realized that I had been fooled. I felt my eyes widen as it sunk in who I’d really been speaking with, as it was not clear to me that the person I had been sharing a bath with had not been Huedhaut’s MC.

No, her form had been used as an illusion to disarm me, and instead I found myself standing before the King of the Heavens who was smirking, clearly amused by the Goldfish from another world.

To be continued…in Part 37!

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Thanks for reading :)

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Sorry if I missed anyone and let me know if you want to be added/removed!

#voltage fandom #voltage fanfic #voltage fan fiction #star crossed myth fan fiction #star crossed myth fanfic #scandal in the spotlight fanfic #scandal in the spotlight fan fiction #star crossed myth #starcrossedmyth #scandal in the spotlight #ryo chibana #iori enjo #kota igarashi #nagito aoshima #takashi ninagawa #zyglavis

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ofmaeves · 4 years

Text

hey y’all!! my name’s hope and i’m from the est. i’m trash and depressed so bare with me lmao. this is my daughter maeve! i’m very excited to bring her in here. and if you’d like to plot with her pls like this or shoot me a message !!!

florence pugh. cisfemale. she/her. ／ maeve kelley just pulled up blasting soulmate by lizzo — that song is so them ! you know, for a twenty-three year old author, i’ve heard they’re really -sensitive, but that they make up for it by being so +compassionate. if i had to choose three things to describe them, i’d probably say ink stained hands, the smell of coffee, and silk sheets. here’s to hoping they don’t cause too much trouble !

growing up

maeve was born to irish immigrants. her parents are wealthy in their own right, her father’s father is a famed chef and he followed in his footsteps. her mother is a world renowned oscar nominated actress. maeve is the middle of three children, all girls. each are about 2 years apart.

maeve was close with her sisters growing up, and the family bounced from city to city a bunch. her father was always opening up new restaurants and her mother was going back and forth for filming. the three young girls were either with one of the parents or with a nanny.

maeve was always the more artsy of her siblings. her older sister was following in their father’s footsteps, and her younger sister was drawn to sports. but maeve felt drawn towards neither of her parents careers, she was drawn to a pen and paper.

by the time she was ten she’d written her own children’s book. though it’s never been published, the original copy sits in her office in a shadow box along with letters from publisher’s she’s been sent.

maeve was constantly writing, which tended to get her in trouble. she would be writing when she should be paying attention in class, so her teachers often called her out on not paying attention. she’d be sent to the main office, only to be brought back to class because she did, in fact, understand what was going on in the classroom.

maeve wound up spending most of her time in the principal’s office as a kid because some of her teachers were mad how good her grades were when she clearly wasn’t paying attention. they thought the only way this could be happening was that she was cheating. which, she wasn’t.

eventually, her parents decided to pull maeve from school at the age of eleven and brought in someone to home school her because it was worth the effort.

in fact, this helped maeve and her sisters, since they decided that all the girls should be home schooled as it would help the family while they were moving around and they could really move around as more of a unified family.

maeve was struck with an idea when she was twelve and started writing a novel. she never thought it would get anywhere, but with the help of her tutor and talking it through--and the old family connections didn’t hurt--maeve was a published author at the age of fourteen.

rise to stardom

maeve’s book ( searching for something ) affectionately nicknamed by her ( a tail of being found ) was published by a big publishing house. and before she knew it, it rose to the new york times bestseller list. her small novel about mermaids and discovering your identity when you don’t know who you are skyrocketed to one of the best selling books of the year.

her publisher began pressuring maeve to write a sequel, and of course the girl didn’t want to say goodbye to the story. but she didn’t have a clear idea for what the new story would be. in the mean time, as she struggled to come up with an idea for her sequel, maeve wrote a short novella insert about one of the side characters. it quickly became a fan favorite, and people wanted more of the story.

finally, maeve knew what she wanted to write for the sequel, so she began writing.

by the time maeve was sixteen, the book was being auctioned for movie rights. she sold the rights on the condition that she would be involved in the process from beginning to end. maeve wanted people to love the movie as much as they loved the book, and she didn’t want hollywood to take over everything. she knew how easily that could happen.

maeve became a co-author of the script for the film and she was able to watch the audition tapes. maeve wanted to be proud of what happened, and though she was just sixteen, the filmmakers were easy to work with and respected her thoughts.

of course, not everything was able to work out. but maeve was there all the way to make sure things were as good as they could be.

the film came out on january 20th, two weeks before the sequel came out.

the spotlight dimmed

maeve had been in the spotlight due to her parents, but at the age of seventeen she was famous in her own right. she didn’t get that, since she was just an author. but she was stopped by people to sign copies of her books and to discuss if there would be another book.

it was scary for her, she’d never really experienced that herself, save for a couple of people who had used her to get to her parents when she was younger. and it was wild, she began to get anxious about going out into the world and put herself out there.

she cracked under the pressure, and began self destructing when she was seventeen.

her publishing firm dropped her after a scandal came out regarding her and a famous actor--pictures popped up all over the internet. and maeve, who had once been held as one of america’s sweethearts and someone to watch, was dropped cold.

maeve didn’t know how to handle this, so she went into hiding. she moved to boston and lived under a completely different name.

she fell in love and got herself back on track with her life and eventually wound up finding a small independent boston publishing house who took on her new book.

it was a quasi memoir, based on her own struggles but focused on a male protagonist. it was originally to be published under her fake name ( cecily james ) but at the end of it, maeve decided to use her own name for the new novel.

people were hesitant to read the book, after all of the scandal around her, but she was two years completely sober at that point and eventually people read it.

the book wasn’t as popular as her old fantasy and adventure stuff, but it was popular. people loved the fact that she got real and raw in the text. some reviews said that it was something akin to reading a personal journal throughout the novel’s pages. peppered with her own experiences and fictional scenarios, maeve was back in the spotlight.

so she moved away from boston after another year and began working on a new novel. except, there was something going on with her.

she was pregnant, and didn’t have any idea at the time.

a baby changes everything

maeve moved back to los angeles to be around her family, only finding out she was pregnant after arriving back there. she had already broken up with her ex and things hadn’t gone well, so she didn’t think showing back up or contacting him and telling him about the pregnancy would be such a good idea.

however, if you do the math, it’s pretty obvious who’s baby it is. but maeve has always been tight lipped about the baby.

she threw herself into her own work, focusing on coming up with a new idea. a new fantastical world, which she’s already published two books in this series. she’s not telling anyone when it ends, because she’s not entirely sure herself.

maeve wants to let the world she’s created guide her through its story, she doesn’t want to set any sort of idea for what may have happened.

maeve gave birth to a baby girl ( avery blake ) on october 15th. her daughter is currently going to be three years old this october.

it’s rumoured that there’s talks of her new book series being made into a movie, but she’s not legally allowed to say yet if it is ( it will be ).

random factoids

maeve always has a book with her. she likes to read whenever she’s in the middle of something.

she also always has a notebook and a pen with her, just in case inspiration strikes her.

she was the baby in a movie her mother was in because one day the baby didn’t show up, and maeve happened to be on set. it was the one time she acted, and she doesn’t remember it at all.

maeve loves movies, and can recite some of her favorites from heart.

on the other hand, she was never really a big tv watcher.

maeve’s favorite candy is twizzlers.

she can play the piano and guitar, and sometimes finds herself singing along to songs on the radio without ever really paying much attention to it.

has been sober since she was seventeen and a half.

#excess:intro #how long does it take one hope to write an intro? a long time and i'm still not entirely sure if this is all of maeve's story #lord it's long my b

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roger1na · 5 years

Text

careful ch5 - john deacon x reader

summary: you are a ballet student at the royal ballet academy. To pay for your tuition, you work part-time at the celebrity gossip magazine, Seven. One fateful day you’re sent to interview a band on the rise, Queen, post-concert and befriend the sweetest man on the planet.

word count: 2.3k+

warnings: swearing

author's note: i'm so happy w all the positive comments i get you guys have all my uwus <3. i've realised FAR too late that brian's supposed to have hepatitis right now so ig in this universe it didn't happen, let's save our boy from some sickness. i think if i can keep to plan, careful should be twelve whole chapters! i don't want to start any new series before it's complete, i'm prone to abandoning projects if i don't really stick with them.

[ch1] [ch2] [ch3] [ch4] [ch5] [ch6] [ch7] [ch8]

chapter five

There was a certain routine to being in love. The butterflies you got every time you wrote about him in your diary. The softness of your heart when you heard Queen play on the radio and perked up your ears to hear the often forgotten bassline.

You soon learned that ‘till next time was code for next week, when John brought you lunch again, letting you hold his hand and tease him about his thick curls and shy smile. The late July sunlight played with the shadows on his face beautifully. Sometimes you felt as if you could just stare at his face forever, get lost in his features. Rose comforted you, saying it was part of falling in love. It terrified you, as a thought. But you hadn’t even properly kissed yet. The thought was ridiculous.

“What’re you thinking about, love?” You let the term of endearment roll of your tongue nervously, relying on British culture to keep your true meaning hidden. You had been walking for quite some time in silence after enjoying lunch in Kensington.

He hesitated slightly before replying. “The new album is so Freddie, Brian and Roger. I feel like the bass is lost.”

“You wish there’d be more bass?”

“Well, I don’t mind not being in the spotlight all the time…” he trailed off.

“But?” You encouraged him.

“I miss songs like Liar. Where I had a solo and all that.”

“You should write your own song, then.”

He looked at you, eyebrows raised, incredulous expression plastered across his face. You laughed and shrugged. “I know none of the songs on Queen and Queen II are yours. Why don’t you give this one a little Deaky twist?”

“Yeah but I can’t sing.”

“Bullshit, you have a great voice.” You stopped walking and turned to him. “I at least like it.”

A small redness spread across his cheeks and he avoided your gaze. “Well, uh,” he stumbled over his words.

“And also, if you want something a little less serious, why not play a bit of a practical joke on them? Something silly and stupid, Freddie would go bonkers for that.” You trailed off before smiling softly. “And, uh, Liar is my favourite song. Especially the bass.”

“You flatter me.”

“I’m serious.”

“I am too! They’re going to have a laugh.”

“Well then, make it into a funny song. Then they’ll laugh for the humour and you won’t feel bad if they insult your poetry or whatever.”

“You really think I should do this?”

“Absolutely.” You took hold of both of his hands and grinned.

You were caught in the moment just staring into his eyes. They were a wonderful shade of grey, occasionally looking dark and black in the shadows and sometimes twinkling like diamonds. You kept going back to the concert where you’d met him. The mischievous glint in his eye kept bringing you back to the silver glint of his bass strings.

A camera shutter snapped behind you, startling you. John’s expression changed from happy to apprehensive and his stance became wary.

“Was that a paparazzi?” The word sounded so silly. So fictional. He grimaced and nodded as some college student with a pimply face and shaky legs ran off with expensive equipment, and probably a picture of you and John where you looked madly in love. Or completely ridiculous. Your skirt suddenly felt too short, your shirt cropped too low and your hair messy.

John’s grip on your hand tightened. “Can we just go back?” You mumbled, embarrassment creeping in your voice.

John looked at you, worried. “Yeah, of course. You alright?”

You nodded, but you didn’t even convince yourself. He lead you back to the office through various shortcuts and darkened alleyways, hurriedly making sure nobody followed you. Once you arrived at the big glass doors to your office he apologised profusely.

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve been more careful.” His eyes were sad.

“Hey,” you grabbed his cheeks and squeezed them together slightly to make him form a smile. “Don’t worry about it,” you assured him, although your knees were shaking slightly.

“That’s not normal, I promise.”

“I believe you.” And you wanted to. But fear was creeping in your heart.

“‘Till next time?” He asked nervously.

“‘Till next time,” you promised him, squeezing his cheeks one more time before turning and rushing to the office.

A cloud hung over you as you walked over to your desk, heart beating rapidly, blood rushing in your ears. Williams was whispering something to an intern who looked like he was about to pee his pants at the sight of her, knees clicking together in fear.

You didn’t feel like challenging her anymore. She had a superiority complex. And she definitely hated competition in the workplace, although your intention was not to rise through the ranks. She saw women as something to weed out. You never understood what made her put herself against you, until you were warming up for an audition, and you realised that all the other dancers were looking for the same prize you were. But today, you gave it no thought.

For the first time ever, it properly hit you. John Deacon was famous. He went on tours and played for lovesick fans and probably had an army of teenage girls ready to tear him to shreds if the opportunity presented itself. Or maybe you were being delusional and he was just slightly more known than usual. He was a niche, he was a bass player. He wasn’t in the spotlight that often. Maybe.

You boiled coffee for yourself in thought, stirring in cream and sugar and taking a thoughtful sip. Would your mark on the world be a paparazzi photo with a guy you maybe-dated? While he had an incredible legacy? You’d be like one of those girls in a fan photoshoot which got terribly famous - only to remain anonymous. It was all so complicated.

The office had grown quiet when you returned from the canteen. Several people shot you pitying looks and Williams didn’t look so confident anymore.

“What’s going on?” You whispered to her, suddenly uncomfortably aware of yourself.

Nat left her front desk quickly, hiding something behind her back. “Y/N, sweetheart, don’t be mad…” she trailed off before handing you a copy of the Sun’s evening paper. “It just came in print.”

On the front page there were tons of different news. About celebrity scandals and weird locals. And then a small square image on the right corner of the page. John, with a dopey smile on his face, holding hands with a girl. It was you. Stupid grin and eyes for only John. And the title of the article made you sick.

Queen’s mr. Deacon hanging with the wrong crowd? Somebody should warn you…

Earlier today Queen’s John Deacon was spotted with a girl who works for the infamous gossip magazine Seven. What’s the girl fishing out of him? More on p.13

The article itself was maybe an eighth of a page, accompanied with two pictures. The one on the cover and one where you were entering the office building. But it was pictures of you. It was tarnishing you. You were going to be sick. What would he think if he saw this? You set down the paper and stormed to the bathroom before anybody saw your tears spill over your cheeks.

You stayed like that for a while, occasionally thinking you were brave enough to face people again. Then you caught sight of your red, swollen face and bleary eyes and retreated back into your stall. You mulled things over and over again. Was it always going to be like this?

You were at the office long after hours. Eyes stinging from crying and wiping them with sandpaper-like toilet paper.

Nobody tells you this, but crying from embarrassment and humiliation is the worst type of crying. With every tear that falls, you are reminded of how you messed up or how somebody decided that your actions were something to laugh at. With every sniffle you remembered that you had to go back and face the world, even though your knees were weak and your moral low.

While you were busy letting yourself get run down, the office had emptied. The lights were off and you could hear a lone janitor whistling as he cleaned. You sat down at your desk, pulling your knees to your chest, the chair creaking under your weight. Your sniffle echoed too loud.

You sat there for a while, feeling abandoned by the world. You let yourself be vulnerable and the press snagged onto it. You let yourself fall in love and now half of England thought you were scheming slag.

Your eyes drifted around your desk and landed on the locked drawer where you kept your diary. You fiddled with the lock a bit before it clicked open.

It was filled with memories from the wonder of late july. John this, John that. Ballet had trailed off the pages. You still danced. Every day but saturdays and sometimes even then. Your toes were bleeding often and your ankles hurt and you barely slept because your job started early and ballet ended late. But you had forgotten how much it used to eat up your happiness. It was the only thing that brought you joy. Now that John was part of the scene, you had a break every day. Like an entry to a whole nother universe for half an hour. Where he told you about photography and birds and basslines and you explained how all ballet dancers were evil because every understudy hoped for the failure of the prima ballerina. It was change and it was great. The fear in your heart was losing the fight.

If Rose could astral project, she would’ve appeared to you right then and there, screaming at you to call him.

You dialed his number and picked up the phone. It rang a few times before he answered, nervous on the other line.

“Hello this is John Deacon here,” he announced and then made a small tsk noise with his mouth.

You were so overcome with the relief of hearing his voice that you only managed a small sniffle.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

You took a deep breath. “Yeah. Yeah.”

“You sound like you’re in tears.”

You laughed blearily. “Yes well, a bit. Don’t pick up the Sun today.”

“Ah, I see.”

“You read it?”

“Well, I know where you work. I’m still fine.”

You pressed your face into your hand. “God I feel like such an idiot.”

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s not your fault, y’know? I should’ve realised. You’re John Deacon of Queen.”

John’s heart stilled. You didn’t sound bitter, just sad. Like you were done with everything. The lunch dates were a bad idea. The ballet lessons and the phone calls and the pampering. Bad ideas. He was about to open his mouth but you stopped him.

“I’m all in.”

“What?”

“Paparazzi and bad reputation and all stupid things included. All in.”

“What?” He was struggling to grasp what you were trying to get across to him.

“I feel like… I was one foot out of the door? I was nervous and hesitant to fall for somebody. And when I saw that article, it was maybe the worst moment of my life so far.”

“This isn’t very convincing.”

You started laughing on the other end. “Oh, you’re right, I need to clarify. I looked through my diary and so much has happened since I fainted at that concert. I’m all in. No hesitation anymore.”

“You keep a diary?” You could hear his teasing smirk through the phone.

“That’s what you got from me pouring my soul out to you?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t pick up on the subtext that I’m definitely kissing you the next time we see?”

“Oh?”

“I’m going to hang up now-”

“No wait! Tell me more.” He urged you, laughing on the other end.

“You sure? You don’t want to tease me anymore?”

“I’ll stop, I promise.”

“Okay,” you giggled. “So, Swan Lake by my class group has its opening night next week, Friday at 8pm. And I was hoping you’d join me. Or join the audience, I suppose.”

“I get to see you dance?” His voice was alive with joy and wonder, in an almost childlike way.

“Yes, yes! That’s what I mean. That’s part of all in. You get to see me dance.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“Yes I agree, I am wonderful.” You laughed.

He scoffed on the other end. But his heart was palpitating. He was overcome with happiness. It’d been strange, courting a girl who was so carried by art, so immersed in dance that she could let herself go for weeks on end just to keep up with it. Seeing her work come to life was the biggest prize he could’ve gotten from making time for you, bringing you lunch, making sure you didn’t starve yourself for the work.

“What made you decide you’d want to kiss me?”

“It’s been too long, hasn’t it? There’s been too many almosts. To hell with almosts.”

“Have you drank something?”

“No!”

“You promise? I won’t wake up tomorrow and you’ll have forgotten all of this?”

“Of course not, I’m responsible.”

“Sure.”

You chatted for a while. He was such lovely company. So full of adoration and respect and wit. He had such a way with words. You felt deep longing in your heart. You also felt relieved, like five years worth of missing love was finally replaced with the warmth of another person.

“I think I’ve got to go now,” you whispered when the janitor entered your section of the office. “I’ll see you friday.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Bye, John.”

“Bye, Y/N.”

You set down the phone, adrenaline making your hands tremble ever so slightly. You wiped your face one last time before taking your things and leaving the office. There was a spring to your step which echoed in the empty evening London streets. You could hear the bellowing of drunks from the pubs and the crying of a baby from a nearby apartment. But it didn’t really mean anything to you anymore. You were flying on the wings of love.

God you felt ridiculous.

***

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#john deacon x reader #deacy x reader #deaky x reader #joe!john deacon x reader #joe!john x reader #john deacon #queen imagine #careful - jd #aa u guys im so excited for the following chapters #trust me it gets fantastico #youre going to love it bc it's going to be /hella/ overdramatic #and trope-y #so trope-y

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