#I like his stage play actor but I've never seen him with the hair down look omg

[meownotgood]

hhhhhhh these pics of aki's stage play actor have me losing my mind

[writemekpop]

Bad Girl | Jung Jaehyun

Summary: Jung Jaehyun is the first guy you’ve ever met who isn’t attracted to you. You’re determined to seduce him. 

Genre: Enemies to lovers AU

Word Count: 1.5k

As you walked into the first play rehearsal, you felt your heart stutter. 

A painfully hot guy was standing by the cast-only coffee table. He was tall, statuesque, in a long black coat and glasses. His chest strained at the fabric of his white shirt, as if his stiff body couldn’t be contained.   

"Hey, you must be Jung Jaehyun," you said, looking up at him through your lashes. Now, you just had to wait for him to start drooling - guys couldn't resist you. 

"Afternoon," Jaehyun said. He barely glanced at you. Was he gay or something? "Thank goodness you're here, we're out of tea." 

You blinked. "Sorry…I’m your co-lead? I play Margot Warner, your character's wife?" 

He stretched out his hand to shake yours, stiffly. "Apologies - I thought you were the coffee girl." 

Damn it, even his cold stare of indifference was sexy.  

"Let’s start with the argument scene," the director said. 

You and Jaehyun took centre stage. "Does my gaze make you feel nothing?" you breathed, looking into his eyes. "My touch?" You twined your fingers in his heavenly soft hair. "My kiss?" 

Standing on your tiptoes, you squeezed a kiss to his lips. They were cool as marble. 

Jaehyun stared into your eyes. Now, overcome with desire, his character was meant to tear the buttons off your shirt and pull you close, just as the lights dimmed. 

But Jaehyun stepped away from you. "Time out!" He sighed. "I just cannot understand what my character sees in hers. Why does he suddenly give in?" 

The director nodded. "He’s right. We need some chemistry here, guys! This is… PG-13 at best.” 

Jaehyun looked at you. "Listen, you may have never seduced a man, but you are going to have to pretend. That is of course, what actors do." 

You could just strangle him. Never seduced a man?  Jaehyun thought he was so much better than you, with his stupid little theatre degree from Harvard. 

You didn’t need a fancy degree to be a good actor. Plus, you could eat Harvard boys for breakfast - and you had. You’d tasted half the football team, in fact. 

Four hours later, you still hadn’t got the scene. 

The director looked like he'd had enough. "Sort out the chemistry by tomorrow, or I’m firing one of you. Which one do you think I should fire?" 

"Him!" you said, at the same time as Jaehyun snapped, 'Her!" 

You stormed up the stairs of the auditorium to get your bag from one the seats. Chemistry problem. Bullshit. That was like saying Albert Einstein had an intelligence problem. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Jaehyun said. 

A tiny shiver ran down your spine. 

"Are you really going to give up on the scene that easily?" Jaehyun taunted. "I've seen chihuahas with longer attention spans." 

"It’s tough acting against a brick wall," you shot back. 

Jaehyun shuddered. "If I have to teach you how to act, I will. Come here."

You walked over to him. 

"Margot is trying to seduce her husband. Your acting is too unidimensional!" 

"Uni-what?" you said. 

"Obvious! You're playing it too obvious," Jaehyun said. "I can see why that would be a problem for you. The whole Barbie thing usually does the trick with men, doesn't it? With your tight dresses and your… long legs. " He glanced at your body, and quickly looked away. But you’d noticed.   

You smirked. "So you think I'm hot." 

Jaehyun scoffed. "What I'm saying is, you need to play the role with your whole body. Subtle - yet hair-raising." He grabbed your script. "I'll try Margot. Watch and learn." 

Jaehyun stepped towards you. 

On the surface, nothing had changed. But Jaehyun was a different man. His face was flushed, his breaths shaky. His eyes kept flashing to your lips, like it took everything in him not to kiss you. 

"Does my gaze make you feel nothing?" he said quietly, his black eyes searching yours. "My touch?" He twined his fingers in your hair, and you couldn't hide the sound of your breath catching.

Every inch of your skin was alive.

"My kiss?" 

Jaehyun kissed you. His lips were so much gentler than you'd expected. You knew it was just acting, but Jaehyun seemed so into you it made him nervous. His whole body trembled with desire. 

You pulled back, struggling to catch your breath. That kiss was hair-raising.  

Something told you Jaehyun wasn't that good an actor. 

Jaehyun pulled back, his face flushed, a pink cloud of lipstick rimming his mouth. He was biting his plump lips, almost as if he was fighting a smile. "Clear?" 

You smiled. "You've forgotten the end of the scene."

An unreadable expression flashed over Jaehyun’s face. 

“How did it end again?” he murmured, his eyes fixed on yours. 

Your eyes fell to Jaehyun’s lips. “Margot and Lewis find the time to… reconnect.” Your fingers found the opening of Jaehyun’s shirt. “To get to know each other again.” 

Jaehyun gulped. “I thought they hated each other.” You started unbuttoning Jaehyun’s shirt, one button at a time. He shivered under your touch. “Hate and love aren’t as different as you think,” you said. 

You abandoned Jaehyun’s shirt on the seats. His body belonged in an art gallery, a sculptor’s impression of the perfect man. Only, Jaehyun was not still and cold anymore. His chest was rising and falling, his flesh hot. 

“This doesn’t mean I’m giving in,” Jaehyun said. “I still abhor you.” 

“And I still don’t give a damn what abhor means,” you said, smirking. Jaehyun hoisted your leg up against his hip. His lips met yours now, hungrily, no script to lead the way. 

On the couch in Jaehyun's big New York apartment, you smirked down at him, stroking his chest. "How was that for seducing a man?" 

"Excellent work," Jaehyun said in mock-seriousness, trying not to look ridiculous despite still panting. "Highly commendable." 

“You know…” you said, nuzzling into his chest, “if you were so into me, why did you act like a jerk?” “I’m married,” he said.

 You felt a pang of disappointment.   

“Divorced, to be precise,” Jaehyun continued. “Eight years. She was my… my first.” He spoke into your hair now. “I didn’t know what to do with the way I felt about you. I know I’m just a fling to you, but-“ “You’re not,” you said, moving to meet his eyes. He was gnawing at his plump lip, and you smoothed your finger over it, stopping him. “The way I felt last night… let’s just say I don’t get that a lot.” Your voice dropped. “Or ever.” “Are you saying I’m the best you’ve ever had?” Jaehyun said, turning you around so he was hovering over you, wearing a smug smirk.

“You’re gonna have to work a lot harder to earn that title…” you said, fixing your fingers in his hair. 

-- 

The next day, when you returned to rehearsal, something had changed. “You- um, you first,” Jaehyun said, gesturing to the coffee pot. 

“No, really, you,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck. You had no idea how to act professionally now. Should you touch Jaehyun? Smile at him? Ignore him completely?  

You both broke out into laughter.  

When it came to that scene, however, you and Jaehyun fought the urge to rush to the end.  

"Does my gaze make you feel nothing - my touch - my kiss, blah blah blah..." you mumbled, then pulled Jaehyun towards you in a kiss that made you weak in the knees. 

A lot of the director’s throat-clearing later, Jaehyun finally prised you off him, and you stood next to each other. The spotlights were a little blurry – or was that your eyes?  

The director started a slow clap, his mouth ajar. 

"Will these two set the house on fire? I think so!" He walked towards you, lowering his voice. "But really, how did you do it? What's the secret?"

You grinned at Jaehyun. "We were just acting. That is, of course, what actors do." 

—     

MAIN MASTERLIST

Let us know what you thought in the comments or on anon! 💋

[bobcatmoran]

Just got back from seeing Les Mis for the…4th? Yeah, 4th time. Twice the last time the national tour rolled through the Midwest (once in Madison, once in Minneapolis), and once when it was in previews the last time it was on Broadway.

Quite different this time, since I was not up in the balcony, but instead waaaaaay up front, waaaaaay to the side. I could've thrown something onto the percussionist in the pit easily (though, of course, I would never, because that would be an incredibly jerk thing to do)

More under the cut to spare everyone's dashes.

First of all, Nick Cartell as Valjean was freaking amazing. What a voice. Like, he did definitely hold out the last two notes of "Bring Him Home" almost uncomfortably long, but it was a flex he could absolutely pull off. His Valjean was actually someone you could buy as a "dangerous man" pre-Bishop (though during the scene where he helped out with the harvest, one of the women gave him a very appraising up-and-down look and then ran over to her friends, where they were clearly checking him out). Probably one of the more violent stage Valjeans I've seen overall, though he also very clearly cared for Cosette (both in tiny and grown-up editions) and when he told Éponine to take care after she'd delivered Marius' letter, it was with a fatherly-type air.

Second of all, kudos for whoever came up with the, "In 1832, very few people had cameras or cell phones. Therefore, we ask that you put them away for this performance," announcement.

Haley Dortch was the first Black Fantine I've seen since watching Les Mis Dallas, and she was also really good. Just an absolutely heartwrenching "I Dreamed a Dream." Unfortunately, my below-stage seating angle meant that the foot of her bed perfectly blocked her face for most of "Come to Me," but vocally it was amazing. I did notice how her post-haircut wig(?) still had the hair along the temples pulled back, which might be because otherwise, that hair type with a shoulder-length bob would just be a chaotic poof, possibly getting in the actress' face.

Bamatabois was played by Ben Cherington, the understudy, for this performance, and I credit that with him being the least weirdly swishy Bamatabois I've ever seen live. This guy was a rich asshole, but his threat came from his willingness to use violence (he raised his cane threateningly multiple times) and the fact that he knew the police would be on his side. He wasn't, like, foppish, and that helped give his character a weight that he doesn't usually have in recent productions.

I noticed that overall, this production did less of what I've noticed with a lot of more recent performances, where you'll get people ACTING to the point where the rhythm of the songs is lost. This cast generally didn't do that, except for chunks of "Lovely Ladies" and "Master of the House," which incidentally are the two songs that have been drifting towards becoming "comedic" over the years. (I have Opinions about that trend)

Little Cosette (Olivia I. Lu) for this performance was an understudy, and unfortunately, it was kind of obvious that she was. Just. Not a great singer. Very cute, though. Did a great bit where she just ragdolled when Thenardier picked her up.

Little Éponine (Cora Jane Messer) got in some good bits during her 15 seconds of stage time, pulling faces at Cosette and then snapping to being a sweet, innocent darling while her mom sang about what a delightful girl she was…and then sticking her tongue out at Cosette again.

I was kind of surprised at how Mme Thénardier was the biggest ham in "Master of the House," but then I figured out during intermission that M Thénardier was played by an understudy, which might explain why he was relatively subdued. But only relatively. Still played the character completely for laughs, zero menace.

Honestly, I spent most of "Master of the House" tracking a couple of guys — who I'm pretty sure were played by Joly and Lesgles' actors (Les Amis were surprisingly multicultural, which helped a lot in telling them apart) — who came into the inn together and were doing a bit about, "Why did we come here, this place is sketchy," on the corner of the stage nearest to where I was sitting.

Hayden Tee was Javert for this performance — apparently a recent cast addition since his bio was a loose page in the program despite being listed as Javert for December 6–11…and also today, I guess. Vocally, I loved his performance. Unfortunately, his body language struck me as weirdly fruity for the character, and I think it might've been because he would very precisely walk putting one foot directly in front of the other, which does things to your hips while you walk that definitely read a certain way. He also did this amazing snappy little twirl with his police baton before tucking it under his arm. Like, he had the very stiff, stick-up-your-butt, razor-sharp precision that works for a certain Javert interpretation, but it was undermined by a lot of other body language elements.

I also, thanks to my seating position, could see the robot(?) (that's what some folks who were sitting next to me called it) that stealthily comes up behind Javert during his final scene on the bridge and hooks onto him for the "jump." If you were watching it, you could catch the moment it actually hooked onto him, because he had a little hiccup in his singing.

Devin Archer was Enjolras, and he had this intensity to his performance where you could absolutely buy that this guy was suffused with revolutionary fervor. It was almost enough to distract from the truly terrible blond wig he was wearing. At least, I'm hoping that's a wig, otherwise he has done a great injustice to his actual hair.

Grantaire was also an understudy for this performance, played by Daniel Gerard Bittner, who's usually Feuilly and is also the understudy for Enjolras, Bamatabois, and Grantaire, which is quite the range. I wouldn't have had any idea he was an understudy. The fact that Grantaire was the last to die on the barricade, after climbing up, weaponless, to the top of it was a big oof.

Feuilly, for the record, was played by Christopher Robin Sapp, a swing, and again, I'd have had no idea if I hadn't taken a photo of the standee in the lobby with tonight's cast and cross-referenced it with my program. He nailed that one shining moment that Feuilly gets, where he's like, "THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS WILL WATER THE MEADOWS OF FRANCE!"

I kind of loved how David Young, who played Prouvaire, and is Black, had a hairstyle that looked almost exactly like some contemporary illustrations I've seen of young Alexandre Dumas. Very vertical in its poofiness.

Harrison Fox, who played Gavroche for this performance, was the tiniest Gavroche I've ever seen. Even when he climbed up on a table to announce, "General Lamarque is dead," he was barely taller than the members of Les Amis. Nothing to write home about, acting-wise, but. so tiny.

Gregory Lee Rodriguez and Addie Morales as Marius and Cosette, respectively, were perfectly adorkable. There was some great body language in "A Heart Full of Love" where Cosette was the one taking initiative, which I really liked. Their body language while reading Valjean's final message at the start of the "Do You Hear the People Sing" reprise was also just so good. Cosette, absolutely heartbrokena and overwhelmed, and Marius supporting her, which was a perfect mirror of how Cosette had supported a grieving Marius during "Every Day." Also, yay for Black!Marius and Brunette!Cosette!

Grownup!Éponine was played by Christine Heesun Hwang, who's actually from the local area. She was very solid, definitely played up the musical character's very sassy, independent nature, and had a few bits with Montparnasse threatening her and her being like, "a knife? Is that the best you got?"

I definitely noticed, especially during the "Waltz of Treachery" that the Thenardiers seemed like they were coming from a completely different play than Valjean and Little Cosette. The "comedy" drift of those characters has been that bad, which I feel does a disservice to the story. For Cosette's situation to really hit home, it needs to feel like she's in an actually terrible situation, not a slapstick comedy.

Other people have noted this recent lyrics change, but the "Beggars at the Feast" lyric switch from "This one's a queer/but what can you do" to "This one's a queer/I might try it too" both undermines Thenardier being an asshole (the line directly before it, "This one's a Jew" has stayed intact, and works better in terms of "oh hey, this guy's just a prejudiced jerk") and, especially with the choreography I saw, where Thenardier pulls the "queer" from his (female) dance partner to twirl and dip him, actually makes it look like being "queer" is something Thenardier is on the side of. And he's a TERRIBLE character. No one is supposed to want to be like Thenardier, but here they are, saying Queers are something he enjoys and supports. Ick ick ick. Last time I saw the musical, they didn't have this lyrics change, and I don't like it.

Overall, a really solid performance. I'm sure there's some folks out there who disagree with "race-blind" casting going, "How did a Black woman give birth to an Asian kid who grew up into a white lady?" And honestly, I'd love to see a cast someday with a POC Cosette and a white Éponine, since it's always the other way around.

But on average, this was probably one of the strongest casts I've seen, and they absolutely deserved that standing ovation that they got.

[minsungotp]

Want so bad (minsung)

Ch5 class dismissed

(The last of the craziness until the next family reunion!)

Hyunjin didn't wait for an invite he just popped in.

"I'm hyunjin the artist. If I'm mad at you , you may or may not find a portrait of me pushing you off a cliff." He grinned comedically. "But I am pretty awesome. And I am a great actor."

"Don't forget comedian." Minho laughed. it so happened that he quite enjoyed the crazy antics of the groups visual.

"Right!" Hyunjin winked at Minho who threw a mini heart his way.

In the corner han bit his lip in distaste.

He already didn't like the guy. He wanted Minho's attention on him not this self proclaimed drama queen.

Han hoped that his funny outgoing introduction would be enough to draw Minho in. He wasn't quite as dramatic as hyunjin but he hoped it would still be enough to keep him interested.

"Minho."

Han felt his cheeks heat up, at the mere mention of the name.

Minho had seemed to gain a bit more confidence than before, straightening up.

"very nice to meet you."

Han gulped. Was he making eye contact with him on purpose?

Pull yourself together Han! He's just another hyung-

looking into the dancer's eyes made him spiral out of reality. He just couldn't do it. So he focused instead on his torso and shoes.

Changbin sent Han a teasing look.

Oh no I'll never hear the end of it. He groaned.

Minho continued

"I know I'm pretty good looking-"

"Oh baby." Han didn't know what he had said until it was too late.

Everyone turned in his direction.

Can I melt into the floor now?

Minho once again saved him. "You're a funny guy Han."

"Yes sir! The comedian!" Han agreed, looking at the ceiling.

"I'm down here." Minho teased.

Han laughed nervously.

"Everything doesn't have to be about you!" He spluttered.

The other members watched this exchange with interest. What was going on?

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"I'm Lee Minho but you can call me Leeknow I'm thinking about using it as my stage name."

"It's a good name." Bangchan nodded. But Han liked his real name so much more.

"I used to dance for BTS so you can come to me for help! I'm very passionate about dance and I want to do everything I can to make sure everyone can preform well. It's my top priority."

Han gave a shy smile. There was something so attractive about a passionate man.

"You look like a cat." Hyunjin randomly blurted out.

Minho jerked his head in surprise.

"I do?" He made a loud distorted meowing noise.

"Do you want me to draw you some catnip?"

Hyunjin jumped to his feet and started petting his head. Han gritted his teeth. Can this guy shut up already? I saw him first!

It was true. But the more correct term would be. I stared at him first!

Minho got on all fours and crawled to Seungmin and IN who scratched his chin all while laughing. Minho was behaving so strangely but acting oddly comfortable and chill with the other members.

They are so lucky. What would it be like to run his hands through that silky hair of his?

Much to Han's delight, Minho made his way to him.

he leaned forward expectantly.

Han tried to play it down and started out just patting his head. But he couldn't pull away and ended up tangling his fingers in the locks.

Minho stiffened nervously. Why did it feel so different when Han was the one touching him?

Han finally dared to make eye contact. Mistake mistake mistake!

His mouth opened as his breathing became more shallow. He has the most powerful eye's I've ever seen...

For a moment, he felt himself get lost in them.

"Okay!" Bangchan clapped, bringing them back to reality. They broke the eye contact in a bit of a daze.

What just happened? He was staring back?

The thought excited him but he didn't allow it to last long.

He's probably staring because YOUR staring made him uncomfortable you dumb-

"You guy's already know a bit about me. Im the leader, I'm a singer and I too am from Australia!"

"Heyyy!" Felix sent him a mini heart 🫰

"As you all know Han, Changbin and I are the producers of this group. If you have any ideas for a song or a beat just send them my way! I love fresh new ideas! Also your feelings matter to us. If you're ever having a hard time or just need some advice. Come to me, Changbin-"

Han shook his head.

"Or Changbin." Bangchan laughed.

He would never be able to get alone time if he kept getting swamped with other peoples problems.

"Okay, class dismissed!" Bangchan joked gesturing to the door.

[here4theheartbreak]

That Christmas Vlive! OMG. I remember watching that happen. I felt like Yunho. Just... 👀🍿😬 Woo really thought he was hard done by. But it turned out they all just wanted to spend more time with each other. Fools! 😭 And the way Hongjoong was basically like... 'actually, from what I've seen...' because Yeosang never really advocates for himself unless he's prompted to. Honestly, it was a great thing to see because it really laid out how they resolve the issues and tensions that will, of course, pop up from time to time. It gave me a lot of faith in them and their longevity. 🧡

I would loveeeee to see them acting more! They really are so good at conveying things — usually with just their bodies / mannerisms / facial expressions. I want one of them to get a nice meaty drama role. I want it to be so successful that people are shocked when they discover that an actor they liked is actually an idol. (AKA me with Chani in Sky Castle)

I CANNOT DEAL WITH IT. I've also watched Baby Cloud so much~! The softest part for me is when Ayun accidentally hits San. 😭 Her little 미안해 and his fast but (heart-meltingly) soft 아니요 괜찮아. Like pleaseeeeeee, boy. I can't handle this kind of gentleness. This tender masculinity. Let me breathe for a second. Woosan were SO good with the girls. They really seemed to know how to behave around them and how to adapt to them.

I'm really looking forward to the next part! I can't wait to see Seonghwa get his nails painted and for him to flex his toy knowledge. Also, our SH really ran around for ages, sweating in the sun, just to play with Jaeyul. Heroic. I would have been begging him to sit down in the shade.

SO MANY GREEN FLAGS. IT'S A WHOLE GREEN FLAG PARADE. GREEN FLAGS ARE WAVING GREEN FLAGS.

Yessssssss. Kids definitely gravitate towards Wooyoung. I think it's 70% his natural energy and 30% the fact that he has a little brother. I think he just understands them, and they know it?? OMG. The way he was talking to Jaiden about their hair?? Too cuteeeeeee. I'm literally seconds away from screaming up at the sky. 🫠

And, for real, they did sooooo well with Lina. She really was so nervous and unsure from the beginning, but they did a great job! Letting her kind of just do stuff without pressure. Encouraging her.

Ohhh! San's Goth jacket is so cool! I really love the holographic one Seonghwa was wearing the other day!

WE MUST TREASURE PURPLE JONGHO WHILE WE STILL HAVE HIM. I'm kinda glad it's not for too long though. He probably knows he has the healthiest scalp and hair out of all of them and he's saving himself. 😂

They're definitely a group of incredible dualities. Mingi is a killer on the stage and a princess at every other possible opportunity. And, really, I respect the man for wielding that kind of power!

I did see Wooyoung's kiss attempt! It seems like his lips are gravitating towards San these days. 😂 Yunho is always there. Watching. Observing. He's the one true witness to all their fruity shenanigans. My person fave is that Halloween Seongjoong one. The ARE YOU TWO ACTUALLY FLIRTING RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW expression on his face just takes me out every time! 👀🎃 He must have aged so many years by now. His soul must be ten thousand years old.

I just watched the new 1ND2 ep! The teezers with the gochu ladies?? I can't take this!! Also, Jongho blending in / bonding with women old enough to be his grandmother is a phenomenon that should be studied!!!!

My God, Yunho’s reaction killed me. Tbh the secondhand embarassment from that live, it makes me cringe 😂 I do kinda enjoy watching them get into it though, especially with Wooyoung because he’s so passionate about things, he’ll spend a full hour debating something, cameras be damned. Bless Joong for being able to wrangle control when he goes off on some debate with whichever member. I mean, I understand - I’m the same way; I’ll go off on an hours long debate with someone and get lost in my own world if I’m interested and invested so like - I’m on Wooyoung’s side here, but seeing it from the outside 😅 yikes.

But 100% agree about their longevity. I mean, it’s a group of 8 very different personalities; even if they get along better than most, they’re still bound to have disagreements - especially since they’ve been together since they were teenagers. I did laugh at one interview I’d watched, where they were talking about arguments and both of the rappers were talking about Wooyoung 🤣 - poor guy just starts all sorts of arguments by accident.

And yess, I ultimately got into SHINee bc of seeing Minho on Hwarang and absolutely falling in love with him, I barely remember the other actors 🤣 (Though that one is funny bc my friend had been trying to get me into SHINee for like a year prior to that and I kept declining.) I know half of them did that one k-drama, I still need to watch it, it’s on my list, among the mountain of other stuff of theirs lol.

And YES oh my God, San knew exactly how to make her feel okay and handled the accident so well, my heart might have exploded. Especially when Woo laughed at him and he just grinned about it, like god, guys, please. I agree about Seonghwa! He didn’t get much screen time (Sorry, Hwa, I was okay with that, I was wholly invested in Woosan and the girls 🤣) but I wanna see more of him and how he is with the kids. He was so sweet with Jaeyul even though he very clearly was dying (man why would you wear an outfit like that on a day like that???) lol San shoulda been with the boy from point one, he’s got the energy for him for sure lol - also doing Taekwondo/Karate with him - that was so friggin’ cute, and he knew exactly how to play with him versus Ayun; pushing a little harder, getting that competitive fighting edge up bc that’s what he needed, honestly - top tier parenting skills. I kinda wish they could do something like what they did ages ago with idol groups, the Hello Baby series. I know they have the Baby Cloud/Return of Superman type things now to take the place of that, but I’d love to see Ateez just handed a kid and asked to keep them for x days and make a whole series out of it, I know they’d absolutely do amazing and that kid would be over the moon.

I am so used to making allowances for “meh” behaviors from celebrities I like, coming up with excuses like yeah it’s not great but — insert whatever excuse. It’s so nice to be able to be just like no these guys are great - I would 100% trust them with my kid, wouldn’t be worried about reactions to gender/sexuality - they’re just awesome guys.

I like that jacket! Honestly all their fits. Though I didn’t appreciate waking up this morning and winding up with a pile of screenshots of San in that shirt from yesterday’s performance when I opened my eyes (my fault for going to two first thing when I opened my eyes but that’s not the point here). - Seriously tho - why bother wearing a shirt that closes when it’s gonna be that low cut. And the scarf was doing nothing 😭

Also these days 😭🤣 seems more like “since they met” he’s been gravitating his mouth toward San’s lmao - I was watching one of their older programs last night and had to stop and rewind it because I was so confused when I realized Wooyoung was in San’s blankets when he was supposed to be in a completely different (and more comfortable) space. I swear, it seems like that guy has been attached to San since forever and I’m so soft over it.

Oh my god why is it always Yunho??? I have seen so many compilations of him being the unfortunate third wheel to various pairing’s flirtations and oddities, I just… Man. Someone needs to gift him a whistle to blow whenever two members look like they’re going to do something that’s gonna get them kicked off the air in front of him 😂 (Suddenly remembering Hongjoong’s “Hey this is a bit… this has viewer age limits too” moment when he walked in on Woosan doing whatever the hell cuddling they were doing on Real Now). That face right there though. All I can hear is…

But also yes! I watched it a little late bc I was out at pride all day, but it was so cute. I knew Wooyoung had those damn chili peppers, the way I started swearing at San for not picking his 😂like man, the one time y’all aren’t attached to the hip is the one time it would’ve saved you.

Jongho blends in with the grandmas because mentally, the poor thing is one. Being with that group has aged him 150 years and he’s now mentally geriatric and needs a nap. The sheer number of times I’m sure he wonders why he didn’t just become a trot singer 🤣.

[00katrinka00]

Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #29 Part 1

Dear Diary, Tonight, is Lacy's play. I still don't know whether or not I should go to her play, or the gig Janie set up for the band tonight. I keep thinking what if this is our big break, then I remember Lacy's words. I'm young, I have plenty of time yet. I'm conflicted. -Violet

Violet decided she needed to talk it out with someone, and since Lacy had already left for her play, Violet decided to have a chat with her mother. She explained how badly she wanted to see Lacy's play, but also about Janie's ultimatum. Mads listened intently as Violet vented.

"I can't tell you what the right choice here is," Mads explained. "But have I ever told you about my ex-boyfriend, Whit?" "Only that he was a raging narcissist" "That's true, absolutely," Mads nodded. "My point is, he cheated on me multiple times, and I always forgave him"

"I'd always forgive him, because whenever I caught him cheating, he'd always say, 'but Mads, I love you. I promise I'll never do it again' and I believed him," Mads continued to tell Violet. "He was manipulating me, so I wouldn't break up with him"

"It wasn't until I met your father that I realized that someone who loves you won't try and manipulate you," Mads told her. "I think if Janie really cared about you and wanted to respect whatever choice you decide to make, she wouldn't have given you an ultimatum."

"So, I shouldn't go to the gig?" Violet asked "I think you need to make that choice yourself," Mads told her. "I won't be angry if you do decide to go to the gig, I just want you to decide on whichever choice makes you the happiest" "Thanks, Mom. I think I know what I want to do"

Meanwhile, Lacy was busy getting ready for opening night, and things were going less than smoothly. "Guys," Wade, the actor who was supposed to play Eli said as he began to fall to the floor in exhaustion. "I think the watcher, cheated my energy-" Everyone began to panic.

Jenna seized an opportunity. "You know since Wade is passed out Owen could go on as Eli, and then I can be stage manager" "Absolutely not," Owen said quickly "You wouldn't know what to do" "Oh please I just have to be all angsty and boss people around backstage, it's what you do"

"I don't know Eli's lines," Owen told her. "Sure you do," Jenna said. "I've seen you practice with Lacy." "Only once," Lacy cut in "More than once," Jenna retorted. "So it's settled, Owen let's get you over to hair a makeup and so I can make you look like a totally hot vampire."

"I feel stupid," Owen said to Jenna. "Just sit still," Jenna snapped. "You're going to ruin it." "But-" "If you don't shut up, I will slap you," Jenna told him in her most serious tone.

Owen had very little time to go over his lines before getting thrust onto stage as act 1 began. He was a bit nervous, but Owen had to admit, having Lacy there really helped calm his nerves, she was a pro at this kind of stuff.

Scene after scene began to blur together, and despite the rocky start to the evening, things seemed to be going extremely well. Before anyone knew it was time for intermission.

"Surprise!" exclaimed Violet after sneaking backstage during intermission. "It's your most favorite sim here to tell you that you're doing a great job, and the play is amazing thus far!" "Aw," Lacy couldn't help but grin. "Glad you're enjoying it. I'm surprised to see you though"

"Why's that?" Violet asked slightly offended. "Little birdie told me your band has a gig tonight," Lacy told her. "And by little birdie, I mean Janie made a post about it on social bunny." "Oh," Violet said. "Well, I guess I wanted to come to the play more." "That means a lot."

"Oh please, I'm a good sim deep down," Violet said. "Really deep down," Lacy joked. Both girls laughed, and Lacy pulled Violet in for a hug. "It does really mean a lot that you decided to come tonight, but I do have to change into my next costume." "See you after the show!"

[charthanry]

I know you've talked about your favourite Pat and Pran scenes but do you have an absolute favourite bad buddy scene overall? Everyone goes on about the rooftops in 5 and 10 or Pat's fight with his father in 10 but I will never get over the scene in Pran's room at the end of episode 4. It was the only time i properly cried throughout the show's whole run. Watching Pran's chin wobble and his eyes well up as Pat listed all his own loveable qualities thinking he liked someone else whilst the sad music played in the background really broke my heart. The performance felt so raw and authentic and made me really start to pay attention to Nanon as an actor (i'd never seen him in anything before this and just found out how many awards he's been nominated for?). It was just overall such a turning point for me in the series.

Oh anon, this is the loveliest. Thank you for sharing your favorite scene with me. The EP4 ending is definitely a standout for me as well. The direction, the mood lighting, the music, and especially the acting... it all came together magnificently. I anticipate writing an entire dissertation on this for my EP4 recap, so I won't say too much here, except that I return to this scene A LOT. The moment I consistently hit pause on is Pran’s soft smile as he watches Pat sleep. Even as his heart is breaking, he can’t help but look fondly at Pat. It gets me every time. It is so achingly relatable and oh so... human. Everything about this speaks to me. I've probably rewatched this scene more than the rooftop kiss and the beach kiss combined if that tells you anything. I’m weak for the quieter moments of the show, especially those that involve Pran giving into his longing. 

Having said that though, while this is up there for me, gun to head if I had to choose JUST ONE SCENE that is my favorite? Ohhhh, you’re really going to make me choose? Wow, OKAY. I'm going to cheat and narrow it down to two. But I’ll force myself to make it 1a and 1b, fair?

The runner-up for my favorite scene is the I ran after you with your guitar from EP10. I’ve talked about this in my favorite Pran moments, but that smile of surprise and utter contentment gets me on every rewatch. Also, the little gulp he takes because he’s choked up from Pat’s confession is just EVERYTHING to me. It’s small and nuanced but also so incredibly telling of how overwhelmed Pat makes him feel. He quite literally has to catch his breath. I love it and them sooo much. And then add to this, Pran plays the first bars of his eventual song for Pat in the same place where he wrote and sang his first song, also for Pat. It's just such a full and complete moment.

Hiding for so long and now to express their feelings openly at the same place where they weren't even allowed to be seen together years before, they’ve come full circle. The natural light that surrounds them, the gentle breeze that ruffles their hair – an unintentional parallel for their sweeping emotions. The entire atmosphere of them being back at their high school and on that very stage. The embracing warmth of nostalgia and feeling like they’re the only two people on earth. BUT more than all that, it’s their unspoken conversation as they gaze at each other:

I couldn’t tell you then so let me say it now, I’ve loved you before I knew that I had fallen. I've loved you before I knew it myself. Thank you for patiently waiting for me to catch up. I’m sorry you had to wait alone for so long, but I’m here now. And I promise you’ll never be alone again.

And the response:

I’ve always loved you. I don't even remember a time when I didn't, if anything, my loving you has given myself back to me. Being with you feels like freedom. Thank you for that and for being entirely worth waiting for. 

So, now you're thinking wow, what scene is going to top that?! Well, some of you may be surprised with my choice, but in a series that’s overflowing with memorable moments, my favorite scene overall has to be the EP12 ending. Like a siren, Pran lures Pat with song and he climbs into Pran’s window as he always has. The familiar yet lit anew with hopeful expectations for the future. The adoring looks they share, the words both said and unsaid that expresses their lifelong commitment to each other. Pat looking at Pran as though he holds Pat’s entire world in his heart and hands; he then caresses him as if he couldn't bear not to. Pran returning the mutual adoration with a look that says:

If anyone were to ask me what does love look like? I’d respond that it’s like everything I’ve ever lost come back to me. The watch, the guitar, my music, my freedom and most importantly you. All returned to me. I am overflowing in all aspects of life because I have you by my side.

They’re just so ESTABLISHED here. It's P’Aof's parting gift to us, allowing us to see this private, intimate moment between them. It’s to assure us that Pat and Pran are going to make it. They’ve weathered the storm and are still going strong. They’ll continue to face everything together. Come what may. And it is so incredibly satisfying to see. And then to understand that their journey isn’t ending, it’s only just beginning. Even if our time with them has come to an end (sobs), we find comfort in knowing that there is a world out there where Pat and Pran continue to annoy each other, fight alongside each other with pinkies attached and hearts aligned.

And THEN to bookend all of this with the tin can telephone and their younger selves? It’s magic happening on screen. It’s the show telling us that we should have never doubted our boys, it’s always been like this for them and will continue to be. Parents, friends, long distance? None of this has anything on their love. They put each other first and everything else second. They bet on themselves and won.

Yeah, they’re my favorites.

[rubysunnday]

your song | c.b

Summary: Being in love with Colin Bridgerton is hard when the man keeps running off to different continents for months at a time. But the letters he writes and the songs he sends keep the romance alive.

It had been six, long months since Y/N had last seen Colin Bridgerton.

He had gone off travelling again, disappearing off one night with nothing more than a kiss on the cheek goodbye and a promise to write.

The romance between Y/N and Colin had struck out of nowhere. One night they'd been dancing as nothing more than friends and the next moment, there was something more. The way his hands tightened on her waist whenever Cressida said something mean felt different. The way he wrote her notes with every bunch of flowers he sent read differently.

The way he took her hand as she stepped out a carriage, his fingers gently entwining with hers, felt different.

Y/N had fallen head over heels for a man who hated staying in the same place for more than a week. And it was annoying.

He'd written to her more than he had his own family. He wrote to her everyday, judging from the dates on his letters and they arrived in bundles from the postman, all tied with a ribbon that somehow managed to match the dress she was wearing that day.

In the dozens of letters Colin had sent her, he wrote down every detail of the place he was in from the sunsets to the colour of the postboxes. The friends he was traveling with were both music students, desperate for either a career break or to find a new purpose in life.

One of them, Freddy, has been teaching me about the beauty of song writing and how all great pieces of music begin. I'm nowhere near the grandure of Mozart or the beauty of Beethoven or any musicale we've ever attended, but I'm enjoying it nonetheless.

I've found that in my writings there's always one thing I can never quite describe correctly. I search through books for the right words that could even begin to do you justice, my dear Y/N, but I find none. There's no word for describing the way you watch a musicale, or the way you talk about art and reading. There's no word on earth that could do you justice.

So, I hope this poor man's attempt at a song, written under strict guidance and a watchful eye, will begin to convey, just how much I love you.

Y/N had read the letter over and over, her eyes scouring each and every line, taking in the sloppy slant of Colin's handwriting and how he smudged the ink in his desperation to write and write and write.

She pulled out the final sheet of the letter and let out a small surprised gasp. It was a piece of music, the notes written precisely and intricately, the lyrics written messily and scrunched up underneath it. It was obvious which part Colin had been trusted with.

To Y/N

Your Song - by Colin Bridgerton

Y/N stood up from her desk and walked over to the pianoforte that sat in the corner of her room, covered in a thin layer of dust. Y/N wasn't an expert on the pianoforte, her and Colin had bonded over their failed attempts at playing. Colin could sing, though. And as Y/N read through the lyrics, tentatively playing a couple of notes on her dust keys, she could hear him singing it, his hand in her hair as they watched the sunset from the garden bench at Bridgerton House.

Their romance had been kept quiet. The ton was used to the two being openly affectionate with each other, constantly hugging or holding hands and none of them realised when it turned from friendship to romance.

Y/N and Colin had sat in the rose garden of Aubrey Hall one summer night, the sounds of the ball drifting over to them along the gentle breeze. Colin had quietly begun singing along to the song, his hands gently tracing a dance on Y/N's bare arm as she rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes shut.

Colin's singing voice was beautiful. And as Y/N played the song he'd written for her, she could imagine him sitting beside her and singing along, his hands over hers as she slowly played the notes.

Attending the opera without him felt bizarre. They'd begun a routine of sitting next to each other in the box, sharing the opera glasses and softly commenting on the music, the costumes, the lighting.

Y/N sat down in the box, scooting her chair close to the balcony. Her mother sat down next to her and sighed happily as she took in the view.

"Isn't this lovely?" She asked, picking up her opera glasses and looking through them at the stage. "I do love a concert."

Y/N said nothing, merely nodded. She kept thinking back to Colin's letter, of his promised return home in time for the concert. In time for him to sit down next to her, take her hand, and whisper about the music.

Y/N glanced up at the box the Bridgerton's sat in and tried not to let out a defeated sigh - still no Colin. Francesca caught her looking and gave her a sympathetic smile along with a shake of her head and Y/N turned back to the stage, trying not to let the disappointment sink in.

The orchestra began warming up, the music notes blending in with the quiet chatter of the audience. Y/N couldn't stop her eyes from constantly scanning the audience, the stage, the boxes, for any sign of Colin.

An excited whisper went over the audience as the lights were dimmed and the lights on the stage that illuminated the thick, red curtain were turned on.

For a minute there was silence. And then the orchestra began playing as the curtain flew up, revealing the actors on the stage.

My gift is my song, and this one's for you

And you can tell everybody

Y/N felt her heart do a bizarre skip. She recognised those words. She'd read them over and over again each night before she went to sleep. The piece of paper they had arrived on was now well worn and creased and she'd meticulously copied out the notes and the lyrics for fear of loosing them.

She scanned the audience again and felt her heart stop. The concert faded away as she focused on the man standing in the corner near the side door, a tiny smile on his face.

Colin Bridgerton stood with his hands behind his back, smiling up at her, his chin covered in the stubble of a beard. He was tanner then before and his hair had gotten lighter but it was still Colin.

Her Colin.

You see I've forgotten, if they're green or they're blue Anyway the thing is, what I really mean Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

Y/N giggled and felt a smile appear on her face as she gave Colin the smallest wave possible, not wanting to attract attention. Colin waved back and nodded to the door that led to the auditorium. Y/N nodded in return and watched Colin disappear out the side door.

"Go on, then," Y/N's mother said, tapping her daughter's knee. "Go find him."

Y/N quietly slipped from her seat and pushed open the curtain, blinking at the bright lights in the corridor.

As she made her way down to the auditorium, she could hear angry voices that were trying not to yell. She rounded the corner and saw Anthony, Violet and Benedict Bridgerton all standing in front of a bemused looking Colin.

"You said you'd be back by the concert!" Anthony hissed, clearly irritated by Colin's lateness.

"It's hardly my fault the train got stuck by a tree, is it, Anthony?" Colin asked, sighing. "I'm here now, however, am I not? Stop fussing."

Anthony went off again, flailing his limbs around as he tried to knock some sense into Colin, his mother trying to be the peace maker between the two as Benedict tried, and failed, not to laugh.

"This isn't funny, Benedict!" Anthony snapped, turning to face his other brother as he snorted.

Benedict's smirk faded as he realised he was about to be on the end of Anthony's rant. He sighed and crossed his arms, physically bracing himself as Anthony went off again.

Colin, looking both bemused and annoyed at his family, turned and spotted Y/N, hovering at the stop of the stairs. His face fell from an annoyed smirk into a stunned smile as he stared up at her.

"They're actually both," Y/N said to Colin, her voice quiet enough that the three other Bridgerton's present had yet to realise she was there.

"What are?" Colin asked, walking up to meet her, taking each step slowly.

"My eyes," Y/N replied, smiling, dropping the skirt of her dress. "They're both colours."

Colin chuckled and looked like he was blushing. "I told you I wasn't good at song writing."

"Everyone else seemed to enjoy it," she replied as she heard the audience applaud loudly.

"Because Freddy worked on it for months until tonight," Colin replied. "Even then he wasn't sure about performing it. If he'd performed the version I'd written the ton would be complaining. I'm not very good at it."

"I think you're better at it than you believe, Mr Bridgerton," Y/N said as she continued walking down until they were both on the large step that broke up the stairs. "I'm not sure about the beard, however."

"Why?" Colin asked, a hand subconsciously flying to his chin and running across the stubble.

"Well, it just means that every time I go to kiss you, I will have to be tickled and scratched by it," she replied, her hand covering the one resting on his chin. She entwined her fingers with his. "But I can live with that."

Colin laughed and leant forward, kissing Y/N with the passion and desperation of not seeing her for six months. His hand rested on the back of her head, carefully minding her hair as his thumb stroked her skin.

"I think I'm going to stay here for now," Colin said softly, breaking apart from her, resting his forehead on hers. "Stay with you."

Y/N looked up at him, feeling his breath on her cheeks. "Colin Bridgerton, are you -"

"Yes," Colin said, cutting her off. "I am. Because it took being apart from you for six months to realise what I was missing. To realise that I travel the world searching for purpose and reason, when, in reality, my reason is you. The purpose of my entire being is you.

"Without you, I'm half a man. Without you, the travelling begins to feel like running away and I don't want to run from you. I want to take your hand and run with you. Forever if we wanted. I can run until you can't run anymore. And when you can't run anymore, I'll carry you."

Y/N smiled, pressing her lips together as she savoured the taste of his kiss. "Words are your forte, Mr Bridgerton," she said softly, stroking the side of his head, threading her fingers through his curls. "I'll run with you to the end of the world and back again. I'll take your hand in mine and I will never let you go. Not again."

Colin pressed his lips to her and Y/N smiled against his lips before returning the kiss. He smelt of his cologne, the sweet caramel biscuits he loved and, somehow, the floral, homely scent of Bridgerton House

He smelt of home. He was her home. Simply being in his arms was enough.

"I've just realised something," Colin whispered in her ear.

Y/N looked up at him, staring into his eyes. "What?"

"My family is watching us."

Y/N glanced behind him and saw the three Bridgerton's pretending to occupy themselves with anything else. Benedict was investigating a painting, Anthony was admiring the ceiling and Violet had been reading the program but glanced up at them with a smile.

And despite it all, Y/N let out a snort of laughter and dropped her head on to Colin's shoulder. "Of course they are."

Colin giggled, actually giggled, and rested his head on top of hers. "Better get used to it, love, I doubt they'll ever stop staring."

[deleteddewewted]

Incel!Shinsou Oneshot: "Why are you acting like that?”

To keep busy I just thought that a oneshot of Shinsou getting self conscious/needy would be cute since we already have his redemption arc rolling in. The next part of the Incel!Shinsou series (Part 3) will have him proving his worth at the Sports Festival. So in thinking of how he will prove himself to you I thought of how will all of those people affect him, especially you. ( This oneshot takes place pre changes, so Shinsou is still his disgusting self but he's figuring out how to woo a woman, especially of your caliber.)

Incel!Shinsou Series:

Part 1: Incel! Shinsou x F!Reader

Part 2: Incel! Shinsou x F!Reader

Incel!Shinsou Headcanons

"I know what you're doin' here. Made your intentions clear. Oh you, you terrible thing, you. Terrible thing, you. Terrible thing, you. Beautiful thing"

TW: Strong Language, Mild Sexism

People were never an obstacle when it came to the things Shinsou wanted. He’s aware that others would do anything for him if he played his cards right. The right words with the right question did wonders for him. So why the fuck couldn’t he have what he wanted when it came to you? You drove him up the wall with the kindness you showed him. He didn’t deserve it and you’re existence almost felt like a punishment from whatever deity that existed out there to make him suffer. You guys were suppose to be studying for your upcoming project that required a poster, a slide show, and one influential person that would help prove your projects point. You left him running circles within his own mind as to how you were so willing to challenge him. He wanted you to obey him not see through his bullshit. It wasn’t like you didn’t listen to him vent, or didn't give him attention, but he wanted to hold you under his control. To be the person you listened to.

In class you where both seated on the extreme ends of the room on opposite sides. You never realized this (you do), but his head would periodically turn towards your direction to look at you, to figure you out (liar). This time, you managed to catch him do it.

“What are you doing?” You asked plainly. You honestly didn’t care that he was staring, everyone does when you dress like you're attending an MCR concert in the middle of autumn.

“You look different....today.”

“Nice.” It was difficult to care. Shinsou was just some guy in your class that you had to deal with. Nothing special really....ok, maybe it wasn’t fully true. You didn’t really know him all that well or anything (Unless it was mocking and belittling everything you did, that was normal behavior for him so it wasn’t surprising to find out he was like that outside of campus.) but he wasn’t all that bad? If he cared for himself a bit more, hygiene wise he would be considered handsome or at least a competent human being (you weren't going to call him a man, men don't act this childish. At least the ones you knew.) Maybe then you would take his opinion seriously, but for now you’ll ignore his...interesting comments he's been throwing towards you today.

“It’s rude to ignore someone when their talking to you, you know?” The neutral face he had now possessed a frown and a furrow to his brows. You still couldn’t process how he took the time to make sure his hair stayed purple but didn’t care for his body odor. (This man dyes his hair purple yet cant bother to shower or use deodorant for once in his life.)

“I’m not ignoring you, I’m just not interested in anything you have to say.” With that you get up and take your things and leave. There was no point in wasting time on someone who couldn’t even look at you directly and had to also sneak glances at you. "Do I really look that unbearable?" you thought to yourself. In the end you didn’t care anymore, everyone was entitled to an opinion and the last thing you need is feeling self conscious because of your out of place classmate.

Shinsou was fuming. How the fuck did you just get up and leave his ass while he was trying to complement you. You should have been more appreciative that he was giving you his attention for once. A bitch like you wasn't even worth it so he doesn't understand why he even tried with you.

He never goes directly home after school but instead to the local theater. It was one of the few places where he could be around others and could genuinely be himself. It was weird, he didn't feel like himself when he was speaking with his "friends", friends that he's never spoken to verbally, never seen, and never would meet. He knew that he didn't deserve this, to have a safe haven when he acts like an ass, yet here he was.

"Good morning Shinsou! How are you? Are you ready for rehearsals? You did remember to read your lines, right?" Shinsou rolls his eyes at his theater mates antics. Monoma never seems to stop but he does know when to tone it down and when it comes to Shinsou he tones it down a bit. (Because Monoma is canonically considerate of others, look back the Sports Festival and the Joint Training Arc.)

"Im good man, yes i did read and memorized the script, dont worry about it." What an odd friendship, the most chaotic gentleman like man out the bunch with the quietist incel in the group. Shinsou should have seen it coming when he was adopted by Monoma but he's running on 2 to 4 hours of sleep so he doesn't really care.

Believe it or not Shinsou does take showers (only for theater) but very quickly and with no care (no shampoo or soap, fucking why man.) Theater means more to him and so making his character look the best they possible can was his first and foremost priority. He puts on his costume, gets to makeup (the minimum, because it's "gay" for him to wear makeup and since the world is unfair and cruel he has perfect skin for a greasy headed asshole.)

"Everyone get a move on! Kodai, Tsuburaba, and Awase! Go to stage left! Light techs, how's it up there?" One of the tech heads shouted out. Shinsou and Monoma got to their positions on the stage and the rehearsals began.

Love, the play was about love. Love that wasn't rejected but also not accepted. He didn't understand the concept fully. Was it romantic? Platonic? Familiar? Admiration? He loved his dad, but he mostly admired him. He worked long hours and middle resents him for not being there for him, yet he realizes that his dad works to give him the world, a home with all the things he wanted. He never had a mother so he never had parental or familiar, again his dad was there but he wanted a parent that would hold him when he came back from school everyday. He didn't have a girlfriend, so he doesn't know romantic. So far all of his characters where villains, or evil in some way. He was starting to get sick of them. Shinsou wanted something more, wanted to play a character that wasn't how everyone saw him as on his day to day life. He wanted a challenge, he wanted....affection. Just to show it. He wanted attraction. Just to abuse it. He wanted...love. To just...maybe...feel...enjoy...understand it.

"You terrible thing you. My love, you're so cold. You've left me hanging on every one of your words. You've made me loose my self, lose my self-control because of you!" He pours everything into his performance, his loneliness, his regrets, his experience. He's been told by his co-performers and directors that he has a great future in the arts, in theater. If he just took care of himself more he would be an amazing actor, not only incredibly talented but also attractive. He would have the world kneeling, bowing to him just from his words alone. He could have anything he wanted just because of his existence.

" You've made me do things i don't want to do...for you." Kodai stands there looking horrified. He's covered in blood, the blood of her lover, the one she left him for.

"No, i-i didn't-"

"YOU MADE ME-MADE DO THIS FOR YOU! You terrible, terrible, terrible thing! You beautiful thing, I've done this for you!...and you still cant and won't love me." He doesn't see Kodai anymore. It's not her face he sees, nor her voice that he hears.

Its you...its your voice. You. You looking back at him while he slowly lowered himself to kneel and crawl towards you. It's you who backs away from him as he starts to cry and hiccup.

"You wreck me, you made me. You leave me in your wake, please let me go!" He sees you and feels you grabbing his wrists back, pushing him into himself.

"Don't you ever let me go...."

You terrible beautiful thing, you.

And here we are again. This was a lot fun to write since it feels more concrete when it comes towards his personality and his full thought process. In many cases people like Shinsou just want attention or some sense of validation, which there is nothing wrong with wanting those things but it's more about the manner you go about it. You shouldn't pressure or force others to spend time with you, but there is always someone out there that will like to give you those things.

Tag list: @blossominglark

[robert-de-niro-only-fans]

Take Me Home Tonight

Robert De Niro x Reader

Set in the early 70s in L.A., hardly any plot, mostly smut 🤗

TW: verrrrry smutty, some vulgar words

Word Count: 3.8k

The atmosphere at The Roxy tonight is really buzzing; people are pouring in to see the newest band, and everyone knows that bands have to roll through the clubs in Los Angeles before they'll make it big in the United States.

You had become good friends with some people that worked there, and the owners certainly didn't mind the extra help, especially since it was free. Though, you do get something out of it when you meet all the bands and celebrities and executives that come through here.

You helped greet people as they came in and passed out flyers for upcoming concerts. Sometimes you would help put up posters or get the bands set up on stage before events.

"(Y/N)! Get in here!" Your friend calls from across the room that an audience is beginning to pack into. You leave your stack of flyers on a table for people to take, and join your friends in the dressing rooms. "Hey! I know you like to meet the band, and they have a little bit of time," your friend says. He befriended you a few months ago, and you think he really has a crush on you. You don't have feelings for him, but you are nice to him because he gets you backstage all the time.

He puts an arm around your shoulders and pulls you through door of the dressing room. There are of course lots of girls hanging out back there trying to get with some famous guy, not that you were any different. The guys in the band are all sat around with their big hair and lots of eyeliner, surrounded bottles of alcohol, drugs, and girls. Some staff is hanging out back there, making sure things stay tame. There are also some people back there because they're kind of popular; a lot of up-and-coming artists, actors, and models networking with one another.

Your friend takes you around the room introducing you to anyone who will stop long enough to talk to you. Just a few people away, you see a very cute guy who you're hoping you'll be able to introduce yourself to. When the models you're talking to kind of start taking to each other, you take the chance to slip away and find your way over to that cutie.

Just as you're about to speak to him, you feel your friend's hand on your shoulder. You feel yourself cringing a bit on the inside, because you had really hoped to talk to the hot guy alone.

"Oh, (Y/N)!! This is Robert! Robert De Niro! He's an actor from New York!" your friend more or less shouts.

The guy, who is apparently named Robert, turns to face you, giving you a bright smile with a hint of smugness, "Hey, (Y/N), right? It's nice to meet you."

He holds out his hand for you to shake; you put your hand in his, which he gently squeezes.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you, too," is all you can really get out as the man in front of you gently pulls your hand towards him and places a kiss on your knuckles. His eyes stay locked with yours the whole time. After a short pause, you pipe up, "So you're an actor? Theatre or film?"

"Eh, a little bit of both, but more films recently."

"Oooh, any movies I would've seen on the big screen?"

He lets out a little chuckle, clearly not a fan of bragging on himself, "Um, maybe. I was in Mean Streets a couple years ago."

"Oh yeah! I saw that. Were you the main character?"

"No, that was my friend, Harvey; I played his best friend, the guy who blows up the mailbox at the beginning."

"No way! No way that's you! You look totally different now. Your haircut is a lot better now!" You both have a laugh as Robert steps closer to you and slips arm arm around your waist. Your friend had been called over somewhere else.

"Say, that guy that was with you, he's not your boyfriend, is he?" Robert asks, a bit more confident than he had been here.

"Oh, no!! We're just friends, and he gets me into shows here," you rub your hand up and down a spot on Robert's side right above his hip before letting your hand drop back down next to you.

"Mmm, so he's not gonna be jealous if I hold onto you for the night?" Everyone in the room starts to shuffle out; the band is about to go on. However, Robert holds you firmly to your spot with his arm that was still on your waist. He even presses his fingers into you when you make a move like you're about to go with everyone else.

"Well, he does have a crush on me, but he knows I don't like him back-"

"(Y/N)! You guys coming? Show starts in 5!" Speak of the Devil. Your friend calls to you, urging you to leave the dressing room and go with him.

"I'll be out soon! I'm just gonna talk to Robert a few more minutes," you say, just to get your friend off your back.

"Alright," he yells out before leaving the room and shutting the door. You and Robert are alone now, and Robert immediately takes advantage of this bybeing much more handsy than he had been before. He pulls you into him and puts a hand on the side of your face, his fingertips tangled up in your hair a bit.

"Woah! What's the rush?" you ask, putring your hands on his chest in an effort to slow him down.

"You said you were only gonna stay a few more minutes," Robert leans in and begins to whisper in your ear, "I just wanna make the most of it, and I certainly wouldn't want to make a liar out of you."

You don't say anything; in fact, you're trying really hard not to lose your cool, because that was kind of hot. You move your hands away from his chest, one landing in his side and the other on the side of his neck, mirroring his hand.

As you lean in and let your chest rest against his, he takes that as a sign and pulls you towards him with the hand tangled in your hair and begins kissing you, gently for just a second but then much more passionately.

You don't know what else to do besides surrender your mouth to him. By now the band was playing very loudly from the main stage, and you felt secluded in your own little world with Robert. He pulls away from the kiss, and gently graces his fingertips over your neck, perhaps testing the waters for if you might be into that kind of thing.

You decide to make a move on him, showing him that you can take charge as well. Your lips latch on to his neck letting your tongue and lips work on him. He leans his head back, letting out a low moan and giving you more access to the skin there. He lets out a small gasp when your teeth nip at him. You can only imagine him blushing over letting out that little gasp, how cute that would look on him.

He puts his hand on the back of your head, urging you to keep going, pressing your face into him. You work your way up to the shell of his ear, and when he lets out a needy moan, you kiss him gently on the earlobe and let out a giggle.

"What's so funny?" he breathes out.

You pull away to get a good look at him. "Nothing," you say, observing the pink flush on his cheeks and neck and the lust blown look in his eyes, "you're just cute. That's all." You step back from him and turn to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" He says, shifting awkwardly.

"Aren't you here for a concert? And I thought you said you didn't wanna make a liar out of me... It's been more than a few minutes." You turn back to him, but at a distance now. You're able to really take in his figure, not to mention the bulge that had formed at the front of his pants.

Robert rushes over to go with you, slipping his hand into yours as you lead the way out into the concert crowd.

The concert is wild; the band really has the crowd raring to party. Robert never strays far from you, keeping his hand in yours or his arms around you while you dance for him. The place is packed, so it gives you a reason to stay extra close to him. You make a point of rubbing up against him often, and he responds by squeezing your hips or nuzzling into your neck leaving quick little kisses.

The evening turns into a bit of a teasing game, as you dance against Robert, and he showers you in affection.

• • •

After the concert, you head back into the dressing room like you normally would, but this time with Robert in tow. He whispers in your ear, "Why don't we just head out of this place, baby? You know I can't wait to get you alone."

"This is what I normally do after the shows, I don't want my friends to think I've ditched them for a guy," you giggle, "and besides, it would be rude to leave without congratulating the band."

"Mmmm..." he whines, "I guess I'm not the one with a reputation to uphold here in LA." You both chuckle as you head back into the dressing rooms.

As an unspoken compromise to Robert, you make it quick saying goodnight to the band. In a matter of a few minutes, you're out on the street hailing a taxi.

"Where ya headed?" the taxi driver asks as Robert pulls you into the backseat. He gives the name of his hotel; you hadn't really discussed where you were going, just that you needed to go somewhere.

The taxi starts rolling, and immediately, Robert's lips are on yours. He wastes no time getting to business, as he grabs your legs and pulls you over to straddle his lap. You felt a little embarrassed about the taxi driver watching, but you kept going anyway. You run your hand over Robert's chest and through his hair as you makeout fiercely. The man beneath you wraps his arms around you, so he can press your chest into his.

The way his tongue explored your mouth... You had never experienced anything like it. He was very good at what he was doing. You let out a moan against his mouth, and you feel his hips move underneath you. He gets a grip on your hair with one hand and puts the other one your hip, pushing you down as he bucks his hips up into you. You let out a loud gasp as you feel his hardness against you.

You cradle your head in the crook of his neck trying to catch your breath as you rub his chest with your hands. "Robert?" It's almost a whisper because you're so close to his ear.

"Hmm?" he questions, clearly worked up.

"Maybe we should slow down a bit, I'd hate for this to reach an end before we even get out the taxi."

"Yeah... You're right," he says through a breathy chuckle. He rubs your head lightly, enjoying you cuddling into him. There's a bit of a lull in conversation and in action. "You know, I think you're really beautiful. I should've told you that earlier."

For the first time that night, you see Robert's sweet, vulnerable side. You can tell that he likes hooking up with girls, but that he likes to hook up with girls that he actually likes, not just anyone random. He cups your cheek in his hand, once again, and strokes his thumb over your chin and lightly presses on your bottom lip. You lightly take the tip of his thumb in your mouth, sucking on it. Robert makes a small noise and pulls his thumb from your mouth, then he gently brings you in for a kiss, much slower and more sensual this time. Between kisses, you stare into each other's eyes with nervous smiles; somehow this seems more intimate than what you had been doing before.

Amidst your comfortable silence, the taxi stops at Robert's hotel. Naturally, he invites you up to his room. He quickly pays the driver and takes you by the hand into the hotel.

Upon reaching his room, he opens the door for you, but before you can go too far, he grabs you by the arm and pins you against the wall with his body. His hand finds your cheek again, and he kisses you gently. As your kissing intensifies, his hand slides down to your neck, giving a gentle squeeze. When you let out a little whimper, he can't help but be a little proud of himself. He likes the idea of you making noises because of him.

His lips move down and find your neck, returning the favor from earlier. When you start letting out little gasps and moans, Robert continues his onslaught by leaving little love bites and sucking on the skin there. You put your fingers in his hair, tugging on it whenever you ball your hand into a first. You seem to both be hitting all the right buttons on the other person.

By this point, the man in front of you is majorly turned on again, and he lets you know this but pressing his hips against yours, letting you feel how hard he is for you. You can tell he is desperate for a little attention, so you slide a have around to the front of his pants, applying some extra pressure where it was needed. He rests his head on your shoulder and groans somewhat loudly, as he rocks his hips into your open palm.

"(Y/N)..." he nearly whines for you, "I want you. I want you so bad." He places some kisses over the small bruises forming on your neck.

You get right next to his ear to whisper, "Then take me..."

With that, he wraps your legs around his waist and carries you the short distance to the bed. He lays you down and within a second is on top of you, kissing you again and again.

You begin unbottuning his shirt, and he quickly pulls it off and throws it on the floor. Your hands travel down to his pants and unlatch his belt, while he starts giving attention to your shoulders and collarbone. As you get his zipper down, he says, "Thank you, honey, those were starting to get uncomfortable," after a short pause for more kissing, he asks, "You look very cute in this dress, but would you mind if I took it off?"

"No, I wouldn't mind, sweet boy," you answer as Robert lays his head on your chest, looking up at you with those pretty eyes.

He stands up beside the bed, and you certainly don't mind the view of him shirtless with his pants undone and his hard length outlined in his underwear.

You turn over and lay on your tummy, giving Robert access to the zipper on the back of your dress. As he unzips it, he leaves a trail of kisses down your back. You get on your hands and knees to let the dress slide off your arms, as Robert slides it over your hips and butt. He kneads one of your cheeks for a moment before you turn over and he slides your dress down your legs and drops it on the floor.

"Mmm, you've got a cute butt," he says. You lean up and pull his pants off, before he crawls back onto the bed. He lies next to you running a hand over your thighs, testing the waters before going further. When he leans in to kiss you, you feel his hand gently start to rub circles on your clit over your panties. You reach over and palm him roughly through his underwear as you continue to make out.

Robert moves your panties to the side and slides a finger into you, which earns a loud moan from you. You start to lose your composure as he curls that finger, hitting a sensitive spot inside you. He continues to massage your clit with his thumb, as he adds fingers to stretch you properly.

"You have such a lovely blush, especially when you're this turned on," he whispers to you. As you start to writhe around, your body practically begging for him, he decides he can't wait any longer. He removes his fingers and gets on top of you, hands working at the back of your bra while he kisses you. Once the article of clothing is gone, he cups at your breasts, squeezing lightly and teasing your nipples. He places a few nips and sucks across your exposed chest before moving down and grabbing at your panties. He gets on his knees at the foot of the bed and slides then down your legs before tossing the cloth aside.

He stays there, looking down at you, while he rubs a hand on one of your legs. "You're so beautiful," he says so quietly.

"You're just saying that because I have my clothes off," you giggle while sitting up in front of him.

"No! I told you earlier in the car you were beautiful! You're just... pretty, gorgeous, sexy, all of it."

You blush a little at the sweet man, before telling him, "Stand up."

He does as he's told by backing off the bed and standing on the floor. You sit on the edge of the bed in front of him, and tease at the hem of his boxer briefs with your fingertips. You look up at him and slowly pull the fabric down off of his hips. His hard length finally freed, you gently take it in your hands and start stroking him up and down. He immediately relaxes into your touch, moaning lightly at the feeling of it.

You lean towards him and press your lips to the side of his cock, working your way up to the tip. Still stroking him between kisses, a ball of precum starts to form, so you spread it around the with your thumb, earning a loud moan from Robert as he bucks his hips. You start placing sloppy kisses on the head of his penis, before you open your mouth, taking a bit of his length. His hand quickly finds your hair, tugging at it as you please him with your tongue.

Suddenly, he tugs your hair, which pulls you off of his length. He looks at you with pleading eyes, and says, "I want you, (Y/N). Now."

"Oh, well yes sir!" You joke and crawl back in the bed. He lays down between your legs, his cock teasing at your entrance. Robert being the romantic that he is, just couldn't help but kiss you some more before doing anything else.

While he kisses you, he gently starts pushing into you, using a hand to guide it. His hips rock back and forth in tiny motions as he slowly works his way deeper inside you. You're both moaning furiously against each other's lips, finally feeling what you'd wanted all evening.

You hook your legs on his hips, and his actions become bigger as he gains better access to you. As he's making love to you, he never stops looking into your eyes, and he always has a hand cradling your head in some way, whether it's behind you head in your hair, stroking your cheek with his knuckles, or stroking your lips with his thumb.

Feeling him push in and out of you while he showers you in his affection really has you on cloud nine. He's an incredible lover, and he feels amazing.

As he shifts his legs slightly to find a different angle inside you, he hits that sweet spot that makes any girl go crazy. He picks up his pace hitting that spot over and over and snakes a hand down to play with your clit. In no time, you're a mess; you don't even think you could form a word if your life depended on it.

You start to become a bit noisy as Robert leads you towards your climax. He really enjoys the sound you're making: your moans and whines and even a little bit of yelling.

"Fuck, baby, you feel so good," he says in a breathy voice, "you gonna cum for me?"

You simply furrow your eyebrows and nod excitedly. His fingers teasing the same spot relentlessly combined with the feeling of his hard length rubbing over that sensitive area inside you, it sends you over the edge. Your hips start bucking and a string of sounds comes out of your mouth as you reach your orgasm.

Robert starts to grunt and moan as you tighten around him. His hand move up to your hair, and he changes position a little bit to be closer to you. You could tell he was close.

He wraps a hand around the back of one of your thighs pushing it up towards you chest, getting a deeper position. He buries his head in the crook of your neck, as he fucks into you quickly. A few seconds later, he gasps and presses his lips to yours, moaning against them. He pumps into you in a few long slow strokes, reaching his climax.

He starts giving you soft, sweet little kisses, while he comes down from his high. He presses his forehead to yours and looks into your eyes for a moment before rolling off of you. Your legs are shaky as you ease them down onto the bed.

You look at the man next to you, who is lying there with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed, and you let out a small laugh.

He cracks an eye open and asks, "What's so funny?" with a smirk.

"Nothing," you say, cuddling in to his side, "it's just been a crazy night."

"Mmm... Yes it has," he answers, putting an arm around you, "god, you're so pretty."

"Pretty enough to make you come back to L.A. sometime?"

"Definitely," he whispers with a kiss to your forehead.

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom season 2, episode 17-20 thoughts! finishing up season two! the finale is the THIRD 2-PARTER OF SEASON 2. that's so many! I wonder how many season 3 will have?

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-UERGH WHY DOES VLAD HAVE AN AI WITH MADDIE'S FACE ON IT. SOOO CREEPY. AND MORE 'CREATIONS' waiiiit. vlad is Dr. Frankenstein! (despite his ghost design obviously referencing vampires) HE HAS 'CREATIONS' HE MAKES THEN WONT TAKE REAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR!!! this bitch.

-danny was late and his friends immediately start going off about how hes inconsiderate, and has been treating them like sidekicks??? he just overslept, my god. chill. even if he has, be nicer about talking about it with him?? he really can't help that he sometimes has to chase the ghosts, or has a secret identity to protect...

-'what kind of ghost haunts a miniature golf course' umm. me as a ghost. next question

-imagine going home and theres a tiny child on your bed claiming to be your cousin. with as many cousins I have, I would probably believe her. but the 'ran away from home' BIT....SHES 12?? SHES SO TINY. I hate that they have her belly out in her ghost form, but I like how her colors are asymmetrical. something about her design...maybe the proportions?? are weird to me...anyway danny was good to feed her, but he shouldve taken her to his parents FIRST. or, tbh, probably jazz. (JAZZ DIDNT EVEN GET TO MEET HER!!! NOOO. I mean she said she'll be BACK BUT STILL)

-ANYWAY. shes voiced by AnnaSophia Robb, the girl who was in because of winn dixie, played as violet from charlie and the chocolate factory, and was the girl from bridge to terrabithia. (the movie that made me cry hysterically when I was 12 and I never watched it again because it Broke Me!) thats super cool.

-vlad sucks: the episode, basically. what's new!! I love how he's like, I'm Not A Villain. *immediately cuts to him torturing danny to make him transform, to get mid-transformation DNA, to perfect a Clone.* *immediately shows that he doesnt give a shit about his new daughter Dani and just wants a ''more perfect clone'' and will put her in danger to get that. will let her DIE to get that*

-Dani is danny's clone and is a girl? transgenderism....one of them has to be trans. or they both are.

-dani just. leaving at the end. WHAT? SHES 12. DONT JUST. NO!!! SHE WAS PROBABLY JUST BORN, A MONTH AGO AT MOST, RIGHT?? SHE NEEDS...SOMEWHERE TO LIVE. MONEY? FOOD?? A FAMILY?? AN EDUCATION???! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S LEAVING!!! OKAY BYE I GUESS!!! D: concern!!!

-the next ep opens with skulker chasing a ghost down. ...does skulker count as a ghost hunter in the way valerie and danny do? I mean, sure, he hunts the good guys too, but he. he hunts ghosts...also, we haven't seen his Real Form since his debut episode! tiny...

-the guys in white are back! ngl, I assumed they were a gag for that one episode. you're telling me they might actually be a threat? ok.

-valerie in her lil nasty burger uniform looks so cute!! glad shes not in that mascot uniform this time. I guess she stopped hiding that she's working there now?

-gregor having white hair, dressed in black and white...and green eyes...sam has a Type, I guess.

-danny being unnecessarily hostile about gregor. danny!!! hes been nice so far. he looks a little...tall to be 14, but. danny doesnt know anything about him! (he does Suspect, but...you cant just spy on people and be rude to them from a hunch.) also, gregor kissed her, and when she freaked out, he was like 'oh no!! sorry, we can take it slow! I understand!' which was NICE. I hate jealousy plots still tho.

-altho. umm. tucker, being concerned about danny spying on them??? SAM AND YOU WERE SPYING ON DANNY AND VALERIE A FEW EPISODES AGO!!!!! im not saying its RIGHT, but dont be a hypocrite!!! AND THEN SAM BEING MAD ABOUT IT, TOO.

-DANNY IS A 7 ON THE SCALE OF ECTOPLASMIC POWER!!! out of 10? so I want to know where the other ghosts rank...I mean it's a list from the guys in white, so, it may not even be accurate, like, they havent seen ALL of his powers, have they?

-Lancer being like 'im not cooperating with the FEDS' until they said they could access his tax records. they already did that joke with jack, but like, its still funny. kings of tax evasion.

-tucker's aggressive third-wheeling. but gregor being super into it. gregor/tucker is the real ship here. then gregor kissing danny on both cheeks after hugging him. bi poly king gregor. (he does turn out to be a liar with a phoney accent. unsurprising, BUT THE CONCEPT OF HIM BEING GENUINE AND THEM ALL DATING IS FUN)

-THE...GUYS IN WHITE THINKING GREGOR IS DANNY PHANTOM. LMAOOO. GET HIS ASS. or,, Elliot. lmfao

-sam saying tucker is part of the package because theyre friends was super sweet <3 but also 'part of the package'...polyships are obviously the solution to these dumb jealousy/love triangle plots.

-danny crashed a whole plane. the collateral damage...

-is he....

-you know....

.... (ITS NOT GAY IF YOU'RE DOING IT TO PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE YOU'RE NOT, AND LIE TO A GIRL. RIGHT? he was getting a little too into pretending to enjoy tucker's company, and the above...c'mon, guy.)

-lmao, freakshow is in actual prison. I didn't expect a follow up, or for him to show back up! in the finale of this season, too!

-THE SICK TATTOO GHOST IS NAMED LYDIA!!! more Lore On her. freakshow seemed genuinely concerned about her. also, is she mute? I don't think she talked the first time we saw her, either. and we didn't know freakshow 'envied' ghosts, either, the first time, we just knew he was controlling them. interesting!

-...they literally stole the infinity gauntlet from marvel and called it the reality gauntlet. is that legal. what the fuck. even with the gems in the lil slots, having different powers...they had freakshow in jail, but didnt check his pockets??! hes just still in his lil outfit??? what kind of ...oh, its in amity park. yeah, all of the adults are idiots, okay, sure.

-'freakshow!' 'in the anemic flesh!' dude take some iron pills then. also, sure, the red eyes could be contacts for his aesthetic, but the whites of his eyes are yellow! does he have jaundice?! he severely needs more...like, every kind of vitamin. (this is what im worried about as freakshow attacks danny with giant robots)

-again, goth circus is a sick theme, and I love his goth train.

-oh FUCK every single person saw danny transform. on a stage. including his parents via TV. oh god. the guys in white and immediately like 'youre coming in for experiments!' SCARY. at least the crowd is willing to help him to escape...perks of now being a local celeb! even the kids at school are accepting :) this is what, the third time his family has found out? its always been an alt timeline tho. and danny fully intending to just rewrite things again instead of...I dunno, trying to roll with it this time? hes really worried his family won't accept him, huh...

-'maybe our son IS THE GHOST BOY, but its not as if our family's ghostly activities have EVER PUT YOUR FAMILIES IN DANGER' maddie. mmmmmmmmmmmm. okay.

-danny 100% prepared to run away from home because of this :( oh :( and saying his parents are 'looking for him, or a scalpel to dissect him with' ouch...

-THE GUYS IN WHITE TRYING TO ARREST A 14 YEAR OLD. fuck da feds.

-side note (another one about voice actors...) freakshow's voice actor, Jon Cryer, was lex luthor in pretty much every DC tv show, which is why I recognized his voice, because my dad loves those shows so I've seen a good bit of them without seeking them out...)

-the old man saying 'hey, i still had minutes left!' and danny saying 'you gotta watch those roaming charges!' about danny destroying the people in the diner's phones so no one could report seeing him...would kids today understand these things. can you even BUY minutes anymore...I remember my first phone being a flip phone, and the fact I always had minutes when my sister ran out super fast, because I didnt have friends calling or texting me like she did...:/

-the fentons being genuinely like 'why didnt danny trust us and tell us this, we love him :(' and JAZZ LAYING INTO THEM WITH THE 'DISSECTION/MOLECULE BY MOLECULE' LINES. LITERALLLLY. they need to apologize

-technically, lydias stronger than you! -jazz lesbianism moments! when did you even learn her name!!! but also get freakshows ass. lydia is also cooler looking. looove her design sm still.

-jazz psychoanalyzing freakshow... (also, her also having ghost envy? au where jazz is a ghost!! id like to see it)

-im glad the kids still got to go to their respective vacation things, even if they cant really stick around and enjoy them much...

-furry: confirmed. (also tucker calling her hot. tucker is a furry confirmed)

-danny being mad someone at the comic con is selling comics of him without permission, lmfao. give him his royalties!

-freakshow > thanos because hes a drama clown and does use his gauntlet to be FLASHY AND DRAMATIC.

-jazz's 'USE PYSCOLOGY' to danny about freakshow LMAOO. AND THEN IT WORKING. but, oh, freakshow's ghost form sucks. I like him as a clown better tbh. good thing danny took away his ghost powers!

-his parents hugging him and saying theyre proud :"( and saying 'of course you lied to us, we never gave you a reason not to!' and saying they were in the wrong basically for always talking about hurting ghosts aaaa :""(

-then he WIPED THEIR MEMORIES AGAIN!!! FUCK. I can understand him wiping the goverments/student bodies' memories, but why his parents?? they were being accepting!! ARGHHH. season 3 couldve been them all trying to adjust to them knowing!

-I know, on a meta level the showrunners probably wanted to just reset things to the status quo of him having a secret identity. But. We've been doing that for (2) seasons, I'd love if season 3 could be like, his parents adjusting to this and trying way harder to learn more and accept it (and the shenanigans that could come from that) and for fun, if he didn't wipe the students memories, it could be him being popular for a while, then everyone slowly realizing, oh, he's still Danny. Like. he might have ghost powers but hes Just The Same Guy instead of putting him on a pedestal (and seeing them all try and help him hide it from the giw/people who don't know!!)

-fuck they didn't even explain WHY he wiped everyone except sam, tucker and jazz's memories. he just Did It right when his parents were saying they loved/accepted him!! and sam and tucker didnt question it at all!!! HELLO??? very annoyed about this turn of events.

-anyway. onto season 3! I know its shorter than the first two seasons, and is the last season... I might just do it in 2 bursts if I can... :3c depends on the episodes' content and how much I want to say about each!

[ahgaseforeternity]

Jackson’s Concert part 1

(A tad long, but worth it)

THE MUSIC WAS EUPHORIC AS YOU STOOD UNDERNEATH the stadium lights that were flashing bright. Laser beams of all different colors danced throughout the giant arena, filled with fans dancing to the insane beat. You weren't going to come tonight, but in the end, your heart couldn't help it.

You swayed along with the crowd, raising your hands high up in the air. This song, you knew it by heart.

But, of course you did. It was about you. He had written it about you.

That thought brought you back down to earth. From where you stood amongst the crowd, it was amazing that Jackson hadn't seen you yet. You were right there in front of him. You could reach your hand out and touch the stage if you wanted to. The screaming fans surrounding you seemed to be doing it.

You kept your hands to yourself though. You knew you shouldn't be here, but it had been a year since you last saw him.

Jackson and you didn't keep in contact much, if at all. Even though you thought about him everyday since. The only way you knew what was going on was through his Instagram and your family friend, Julia, who happened to be part of Team Wang. That's actually how Jackson and you met.

Julia had told you about this really amazing, funny guy she knew and thought he would be perfect for you, since you had just gotten out of a very, very bad relationship with some wannabe, washed up actor. You remember thinking 'what the heck?' You had nothing to lose.

Oh, how you had been wrong.

You pulled your phone out, trying hard to hold on to it. The girls behind you had been pushing and pushing just to get closer. had held your ground, but you did not want to accidentally drop your phone. There was no way you would get it back in one piece with everyone dancing and jumping around.

Your fingers scanned your scene and you tapped the first name on your messenger.

When he's done singing On The Rocks, meet me just outside the backstage doors. Give the guards my name, they know you'll be coming back.

You bit your lip. You felt your heart speed up. Were you really doing this? You weren't going to actually see Jackson, there was no way. That was the only reason you took the tickets Julia offered. Wasn't it? When Julia had told you Jackson would be coming to New York City for part of his world tour, you didn't know what to think.

That last time you heard from him, he'd been in China. He had been building up his company more.

The same company he had launched not too long after you broke up. You noticed that he went with your color ideas for the bright, neon beanies. Jackson loved his hats, and he looked damn good in them. He was wearing one now that was drenched from him dumping a water bottle on himself. He threw it into the raving crowd. You knew out there some fan was freaking out over being able to have something so simple as Jackson Wang's water bottle.

Where you had gotten the full thing, and still walked away. It brought fresh tears to your eyes.

You hurried and tried to squeeze your way through the swooning fans, making your way towards the backstage doors.

Cement walls with different bands and singers lined the walls as you drew up to two beefy looking security guards. You gave them your I.D and they nodded their heads in unison. You pushed through the door to utter chaos.

There were people running all which way, making sure those in the audience could have the best experience they ever possibly could. Jackson wouldn't want anything less. He'd always been that way.

Even with you.

You found a green, velvet couch and plopped yourself down so you were out of the way.

"Y/N? Y/N!"

You immediately jumped back up and awkwardly laughed as you took your friend in. Julia squealed as she wrapped her arms around you. You squeezed her back.

"Oh, Julia. I've missed you." You exclaimed into her ear. She squeezed you a little harder. "Oh, Y/N! I've missed you too! Oh my gosh, you look amazing. Jackson is going to DIE when he see's you."

You widened your eyes. "What?" Could she feel you shaking? You hoped not.

"Yeah, he has to see you! Oh, come on, Y/N, don’t give me that look. Are you telling me that the only reason you came tonight was to see me?" Julia was giving you that 'look' with her thick eyebrows lifted.

"Of course." You knew it was a lie.

Julia just shook her head at that. "Y/N, I love you and I have missed you, but there is no way I'm letting you leave tonight without your gorgeous ass being checked out by Mr. Wang himself. Besides, he asked me about you before we landed last night."

You felt your heart lurch. She couldn't be talking about Jackson. There was no way. You and him have hardly spoken. He couldn't have been asking about you.

"No, Julia there's no way. I came back here to just be with my best friend, okay? I don't need to see him. Besides, I don't want to ruin his night. He seemed to be having the time of his life out there." You stated, while Julia pulled you through the room that lead to a open hall way.

You could see the stairs that lead up to the stage. If Jackson came down them right now, he'd see you. You bit your lip against that thought. Julia tugged you into what seemed to be the refreshments room. Bottled water, fruits, yummy snacks were laid out on a long table.

"Do you want something to eat? We have plenty!" Julia asked.

There was no way you were going to be able to keep food down right now. Not with the major butterflies that were going on. You simply shook your head. Julia shrugged, picking up an apple, and bite into it.

You heard someone yelling Julia's name. She groaned in annoyance. Same ole' Julia it seemed.

She placed the apple in your hand. "Hold this for me, I'll be right back! Just stay here." She motioned with her hands. You watched her scurry out the door.

You sighed. This had been a bad idea. You might've thought coming back here had nothing to do with Jackson, but in your heart you knew you'd be kidding yourself. You wanted to see him, but what would you even say?

Hey Jackson, looking good.

Oh, Jackson, fancy meeting you back here.

Jackson, I still love you, do you still love me?

They all sounded terrifying. You placed Julia's apple on a napkin, and reached for a water bottle. It gave you something to focus on. You twisted the cap and gulped it. You lifted it from your lips to see you had drank about half. It wasn't doing anything for your nerves. You still felt like your skin was going to explode. You drank some more.

As you dropped the now empty bottle you turned to throw it in the trash that was just by the door. Just as the bottle was in the air, someone appeared just in front of it. The bottle hit them square in the chest. Thank goodness it was empty. You have always had terrible aim.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I was just throwing it—.”

"Y/N?"

You stopped.

You hadn't realized. In the dim lighting of the room, you hadn't recognized the piercing eyes, the silky hair that looked to be drenched with sweat. Jackson was staring at you like he was seeing a ghost. It had only been a year, but still. Being this close to him again, it sucked the air out of you. Jackson seemed to have that power with him. Whenever he entered a room, every eye was drawn to him.

When you were together though, he only had eyes for you.

Those very eyes were boring into yours. His rose bud lips were parted. Gosh, his perfect lips.

"What— Y/N, what are you doing here?"

His voice seemed to snap you from the trance his lips had on you. The thought made you bite your own. You watched his hands fist at his sides, holding the beanie he had been wearing.

"I um, I came to see the show. Oh, and Julia."

"Julia?" Jackson seemed to confused.

"Yes. I promise she was just here, but someone called her name, then she left, giving me her apple and told me just to stay here, so I did. I grabbed a water, I hope that's okay. Their your waters right? Gosh, I'm sorry." You were mumbling. You always mumbled when you were nervous, and right now you were a wreck.

Jackson looked down at his booted feet. He bent down and picked up the water bottle that you meant to throw away. You could see your lipstick around the rim of it. Jackson narrowed his eyes. "This water bottle?"

"Uh, yes. I meant to throw it in the garbage, but you know me, zero aiming skills." You huffed out with a nervous laugh.

Oh gosh, you were being ridiculous. This wasn't going the way you had imagined. Jackson clenched the bottle in his hand, as his eyes scanned you from top to bottom. Your face felt like it was on fire.

You could see the memories playing out in his eyes. He was thinking about all the times you laughed together. All the times you stayed in and cooked dinner together because it was better than going out. All the times you had said his name into the night, and all the times he had said yours.

You had loved each other. He had once told you he dreamed of having a love just like his parents, and you always wondered if someday you'd have that. Now, now that was all ruined. That dream had to of been flushed down the drain.

"I thought you never wanted to see me again?" Jackson stated, taking one step towards you.

You parted your lips in surprise at the words that were so close to the ones you had yelled at him a year ago. You had told him you never wanted to see him again. That whatever you had, was over. You had meant them then. You hadn't wanted to see him again. Jackson needed to focus on his career. You knew that. His manager knew that. Jackson was the only one that didn't.

That's when you made the decision. He had to focus on it, and he couldn't be tied down. That's what you were. You were a tither, keeping him from chasing his dreams. So you cut the tie.

"Yeah, those words were a little harsh huh?" You tried to laugh through your wince. His face was steel. You gripped your purse that was over your shoulder, fumbling the chain.

"You know what? I'll just go, yeah, that'd probably be best." You made your way for the door, but found yourself being stopped by a warm hand that was wrapped around your wrist. You gasped at Jackson's contact.

You barely had time to turn around as he pulled you down the hall into a different room. This room was darker, and had another couch. You saw Jackson's favorite pair of sneaks, and knew this had to be his room, or more over, the main entertainers room.

He turned around to shut the door, and you heard it click closed. Jackson locked you in with him. You felt your skin starting to prickle where his fingers still held your wrist. His eyes met yours then.

"Why, Y/N? Why the hell are you here? Are you here to just torture me? Are you here to rub your happy life in my face?" Jackson looked livid.

What was he talking about? Your happy life? You weren't happy. You hadn't been this whole year.

"What are you talking about Jackson? I didn't come here to rub anything in your face. I just came to see a friend, that's it." You lied. You had to lie. You knew the odds were high of running into him here, but you weren't here to rub anything in his face, you only just had to see him. Possibly one last time.

He gripped your shoulders roughly, and pushed you back, until you were against the far wall. You gasped in surprise, as your feet stumbled. He was so close, you could smell him. He didn’t smell like sweat. He smelled like home.

You watched his eyes soften as he stared at you.

"A friend? I used to be your friend too, remember."

Of course you remembered. He was your best friend. He knew you better than you knew yourself. He was always there, even on those days he was so busy, he still made time for you.

That's why you had to end things.

"Of course. You'll always be my friend Jackson." You uttered. It wasn't a complete lie. Jackson would always matter to you, but you didn't want to just be his friend. You never have.

His eyes hardened again. "We've barely even talked, Y/N. It's been a year. A year, and I hear nothing, nothing from you."

You could feel your skin burning. "Well, what would you have wanted me to say Jacks? That I hope you're doing well? Asking how China is, or your sister? I didn't want to know those things."

"Why?"

"Because Jackson..." You groaned.

"Because why?!" He gripped your shoulders harder.

"Because I missed you enough already, okay!" You shouted against him. His eyes widened at your outburst. You melted against the wall in defeat.

"I didn't ever reach out to you because I didn't want to know. I didn't want to know how well things were going. I know that's selfish. I know it's selfish for me to even come here, but I had to Jackson. I had to see you just at least once." Your voice was full of desperation. You didn't care.

"You looked amazing up there. They love you, Jackson. It's everything you ever wanted."

His eyes were hazy as they bore into yours. "Not everything."

You sighed at his words. His eyes drifted to your lips then. His stare sent bolts of lightning through your veins. It was making you shiver.

A knock sounded at the door, causing you both to jump.

"Jackson! The cars ready for you." Someone stated through the door.

"Okay, thanks," was all Jackson said back. You both listened as the feet retreated. He stumbled away from you, lifting his burning touch from your shoulders. You missed that touch.

"Where are you staying?"

He met your eyes again. He looked torn. You didn't blame him. Talking to him was opening up wounds for you too. Cuts that never truly healed.

"The Hyatt Centric in Times." He exclaimed. You simply nodded your head.

"Well, I'm sure you and your team are exhausted. I'll get going." You realized that your purse had fallen to the floor. It must've been when Jackson had knocked you backwards. You bent down to pick it up, and made for the door.

He didn't stop you this time. You almost wish he had. You felt so pathetic. You showed up to what? Bare your heart and soul to a man that didn't need you anymore? He had fans that adored him. He didn't need you to adore him. You let the tears fall freely, as you held your hand out and called for a taxi.

[jongdality]

me thinkin' about how i've grown up with exo and watched as they lived and learned and developed as professionals and humans, overcoming the struggles of a poor debut concept and scandal after scandal with their tenacity and love for each other

Then thinkin' about how Kyungsoo, a somewhat aloof, awkward and weird boy who decided to be bold and try out for SM after old people at karaoke competitions told him to and he made 8 brothers for life who love him dearly and support him and his antics and his acting career and call him cute no matter how much he says he isn't good at anything and that he's boring and Manly and how he has starred in a full-ass movie and is partially credited as breaking the "idol-actor" stereotype and writes love songs with chanyeol on the DL that chanyeol reveals on his lives and wrote the lyrics to a lovely, comforting song for us before leaving to join the military so he can become an even bigger star in multiple films once he gets out

Then thinkin' about how bbh, an outgoing boy who flicked lights on and off to make his friends giggle, met a friend for life, kjd, on the very same day they both were to audition to get into a group that was about to debut, how he worked hard to break down barriers in the group and became the moodmaker, and how people thought he was bad at dancing because he hadn't had time to train but actually every solo dance he's been given he's slayed to the point that he became the CENTER FOR CBX, how he worked hard to learn piano in a very short amount of time to play The Answer for his EXO-Ls, how even after an early scandal in which is privacy was invaded he still looks at us with such love and protection and is NOW an amazing solo artist who texts the exo group chat saying he misses them so much

Then thinkin' about Suho. Kim frickin' Joonmyeon. The underdog of the entire group. Born rich, charismatic and well-educated, could have been ANYTHING but CHOSE to train for SEVEN YEARS due to his love of music. You guys. When Baek and another member got into trouble for cussing while playing video games sometime in 2012-2013 and a sasaeng threatened to reveal the voice clips of them cussing purportedly to apink members, joonmyeon texted her personally, so cold, so professional, "are you blackmailing us? If you release the clip you won't be forgiven" big fuckin dad energy, worked so hard on his singing and dancing yet still asks not to be given too many lines or placed center too often, gives up his seats for his members ALWAYS, accepted their first awards show win alone stoic and professional as the boys broke down in the back room after the news of kris leaving broke, now has multiple solo songs and acts and is literally set to be higher-level management at SM due to all his hard work, definitely puts out that goofy mom energy but is actually extremely intelligent, protective and the go-to guy for all the members and this para has no point i just think kim joonmyun deserves everything

Remembering that chanyeol has a famous sister and is a multitalented instrumentalist that didn't actually need to become an idol, but he did because he wanted "brothers", how he skyrocketed an entire foot from debut til now, how he's all teeth and ears and big anime eyes and legs and he's confident and happy after years of struggling w his weight and self-image, makin music and writing lyrics and modeling for tommy hilfiger and riding scooters in paris and despite the fact that he can't dance he tries, despite the fact that he didn't audition to be a rapper he became one of korea's best, how he turns into a little kid every time he's around any small animal and just tries to cuddle and feed it as he coos in his Low Man Voice, his tough raps but then his soft exo station song SSFW, and now exo-sc with his bestie and ACTING!!!

Thinkin' about Xiumin. Xiumin who came in as a vocalist and ended up being one of the best dancers in the group (even tho he hits the highest notes!!!). Xiumin who is the oldest and wisest but is still willing to throw that ass back to havana to make cbx laugh. Xiumin who is korea's pick, who kids and ahjummas alike fall for. Xiumin who is beautiful and quiet and humble and supports his brothers from the sidelines, who is so loving and caring, who released an adorable solo that matches him so well and is now winning fckn awards in military training for being so goddamn amazing. Xiumin who attends TVXQ concerts and supports all of his fellow celebrities. Mark's dad. Amazing man. Says he has no friends outside of exo but literally everyone loves him. Dedicated his formative years to the group even when he wasn't spotlighted like he deserves to be and-

Lay. That's it. That's the paragraph. He came in not speaking Korean and is now one of the top-grossing musicians in all of China. Breaking barriers. Learning languages in a matter of months. Solo albums out the wazoo that he composed. Coming back to wish Kyungsoo goodbye even though he hasn't been on a stage with them in years. Didn't leave, although I'm sure he was mistreated just as much as the members who did. All of exo loves him so fucking much.

Kai. Kai who could have been a professional ballet dancer, could have been a full-time model, debuts as the SCREAMO BOY in mama. Gets made fun of for his skin complexion. Is shy and embarrassed for the first 2 or 3 years of exo interviews, and is still pretty shy and introverted. But boy became the fucking IDOL'S IDOL. FANCAMS GOING VIRAL LEFT AND RIGHT. SUSTAINING INJURIES, CRYING WHEN HE MESSES UP AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT DANCE ROUTINE TO "I SEE YOU". Is such a perfectionist to the point of pushing himself into constant injury, and besides that has had his personal life broadcasted all over the news MULTIPLE times even though he's so shy and withdrawn irl. People cry to meet him, now. Front and center of every exo dance. A dancing god and the reason half of NCT auditioned. I cannot emphasize how proud I am of Kai, who is only a few months older than sehun yet has had to grow up so fast as the face of the group. Solo during the olympics with plantar fasciitis. Model who stuns at every Gucci show in new and experimental designs.

Sehun. Oh fuckin' Sehun. Ran away from recruiters because his mom told him not to talk to strangers, and now he's modelling for every major fashion campaign, is on the cover of vogue, has his dream dog and certifiably has the biggest dick of all exo members. Became a main dancer through hard work and practice even though nobody ever talks about how hard osh works bc he's sort of overshadowed by kai. Insecure about his singing voice but makes crowds go wild every time he even croons out one beautiful, dulcet line. Babied by junmyeon, kissed and coddled by all the exo members, still has Big Baby Energy but is debuting in a group with his fellow chaotic neutral yeol and looking all sexy with his swooped back hair and his 0 follows on insta. Sings in We Young and raps his little heart out. His solo during concerts still shake my very uterus and im pretty sure he's gay. That's how powerful ohs is, and he can only go up from here.

And finally my baby boy kim jongdae. Chanyeol once said Jongdae is so nice that he comes off as stupid and that is absolutely positively true. Boy is the manifestation of the john mulaney quote "you could pour soup on my lap and id apologize to you". Is a ray of fucking sunshine whose only goal as he was singing in that video from high school was to "become a singer". It's his passion. It's the reason he LIVES. He prays to jesus before every concert but worships music. One of THE best vocalists in the game with the cleanest and most controlled voice, sings in the shower, sings in the car, sings while walking to pet some deer, sings because he loves it and now he's a soloist with his own album out and another in the works, and not only that, he dances his feet on fire in CBX and exo routines and remains steady to hit those high notes. Duets abound because everyone loves him. Will tell a bitch to back off when talking about his private life bc he's probably a husband with 6 happy, healthy children at home. Started out as the nervous boy chasing a dream on that fateful day with bbh and became the nation's pick, sings CONSTANTLY, yet is still so humble he opens up a yt channel just to cover other artists' songs. MCs for Baekhyun's solo and shows up to all his performances to monitor. Heart of gold. Smiles when he's hurting. Deserves this solo career and deserves the happiest life this world can provide him.

Words aren't enough to express how grateful I am for these men, how proud I am and how much I just want them to know that we know how hard they've worked to get as far as they have. Compare them to any other group, even other SM groups, and it's clear that their passion, drive, skill and professionalism is unrivaled. They are all born artists and musicians down to their core, and with that, they're all kind, sweet people who are who they are because they debuted as 18, 19, 20, etc year old men 7 years ago and have grown up together, suffered together, celebrated together and loved together. They've switched up sounds, concepts, gone experimental, have created some of the most beautiful ballads and harmonies music has ever seen, and they strive for nothing but the best. ALWAYS. They have never disappointed me, and they never fail to inspire me every time they show the fruits of all their labor (as well as multiple creative people and teams that come together to create EXO) onstage as one.

Exo we are one, saranghaja.

[scooperkin]

I've seen someone draw the puppet with muscles (I have the picture on my phone)

Sorry I got a bit carried away with my insight on this and the fnaf characters, style and designs in the form of horror media so it’s long and under readmore

Forgive me for any writing errors, this was written on impulse and I probably won’t look into fleshing it out:

I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with art or portrayals of the Puppet with more human-based anatomy features but it’s tiring to see this non-stereotypical gendered entity/child’s toy that isn’t supposed to be presented as anything near human both for the in-universe creative of the children’s imaginations, but also as a horror character that is importantly keep vague because a as a horror character, the unknown of what it could be and it’s odd undefined behavior coupled with this vague humanoid but, UNhuman frame makes it scary to in-universe adults, as well as real fans.

So seeing it so commonly characterized as a shapely-human just ruins the original intent and just takes away my interest in whatever story or fanart is being presented to me. And while this is a personal opinion and really doesn’t matter in what content people should do as if it disinterests me I’ll move on but those who enjoy it will still enjoy it. And there also fan content I’ll still occasionally remain interested that present not just the Puppet but other fnaf characters in campier and, stylistic content; any more serious, spooky, horror or more faithful fan media that has both the Puppet and other FNAF characters portrayed more comfortably artistic light, such as the Puppet having a “motherly” body shape (most likely thanks to Living Tombstone’s FNAF 2 song), as well as Toy Chica’s already feminine body pushed further with more defined features about her body (*ahem* boobies). And notice again how a lot of this is more aimed at the more “feminine” of the cast.

Circus Baby, along with Ballora, are the only animatronics that ends up being drawn straight up as organic entities even when in the presence of their fellow Funtimes, still depicted as their more horrific, robot designs. It’s fine if they’re drawn as regular furries and Baby and Ballora as human women (or little girl), its a chosen style someone chose, and again this isn’t wrong just because I don’t find it interesting enough, it’s not my cup of tea and I move on. But, several times I’ve come to accounter, more organically designed characters often are reduced to basic human features in their design. The Puppet gets curvy, Ballora and Baby get real hair that fluffies and moves organically, Baby herself often made into a tiny cute friendly young girl. The (fixed) Mangle, and Funtime Foxy getting more curves and floof. And don’t even get me started on people who sexualize these characters to the point they’re just human bodies with cartoon heads to just be more comfortable with consuming not safe for work content of them, proving as well these character’s designs, in the long run, don’t matter in this nsfw work, but that’s a different subject on a different type of content for a different day. (And notice how all these characters are feminine? While Scrap Baby can be portrayed as a cute girl in fan content but Molten Freddy is still what he is in the game in his fan content.)

Circus Baby is highlighted by the fact she is a massive robot towering over even the tallest of men, a single eye of her’s can fit two if not four pairs of human eyes in it’s size. Her fingers, thicker than most children’s arms. Is TERRIFYING. And she’s supposed to be. She’s a horror game character. Her scale towers over adults, their parents, the protectors of their children. Her movements are jerky and uncanny, her stare to an older audience member or child can give them the creeps. But ultimately her design–safe, safe for children to run up to, and safe for a child to trust. While her existence and design as a whole in-universe and above the surface is so supposed to be a large child, an older sister, still young enough to play with you but old enough to trust to be alone with. But behind the stage, back underground, that’s not who she really is. I’ve never seen Circus Baby as a giant child as she is seen to the outside world, no because underground, in the darkness she’s kept, we’re shown the real her, the true her. She isn’t some dumb playful child, she is a discerning actor. And her “real” mental age can be debated and discussed among fans, but it’s clear she isn’t an arrogant child. And more specifically for me, I see her depicted as an actress. An actress who’s been conformed to take on this child role both on and off stage. She purposely has a voice higher, she purposely choices her innocent-word structuring. She’s acting, she’s Pretending for the sake of her own safety against this Location she’s in. When even being off character for a moment such as taking a rest off your stage gives you a painful shock. It’s not too unusual as several stars and actors, usually young and more impressionable ones are told to act a certain way even with off-screen. A good example of this is several child stars on the work of Disney Channel original series. They tell their actresses to dress a certain way, to speak in a higher voice, don’t be serious, always smile. Because it earns the trust and love from children viewers better than just, Bella Thorne or Miley Cyrus being her honest self off set to their younger fans. Too risky, keep your voice pitched up. And even though you’re 19 please, please don’t act like it, act younger, the kids won’t ever relate to you if you sound too old, if you act to old. So while Baby and the other Funtimes’ situation is a very exaggerated version of this (no don’t worry no disney stars are getting shocked when they don’t act hard enough) to the point that it’s a horror genre story about it makes sense why this is unsettling as a player and in the Funtimes’ shoes.

So while Baby does everything to keep pretending, this is something Ballora can’t do. Ballora can’t pretend, she refuses. She refuses to pretend when under the surface away from the crowds and people, where she’s alone and can be herself. But she doesn’t get that, she gets shocked and ends up being scooped to “fix” her. Too much free will. Foxy isn’t explored as much but I feel goes through the same trouble as Ballora. And the only one who is seemingly left unpunished is Funtime Freddy, not even getting his own room, just stored somewhere until it’s time for a show. It’s implied he’s either the least sentient out of the cast or the one who acts closest to his original programmed personality. But either reason leaves him unpunished, not locked away for safety and disobedience. He’s unpunished but left alone in a single storage room. But whoops maybe having him follow his programming better than the others wasn’t the best idea. As he gets confused to when he’s on or off stage, when he should be sleeping, forgetting this hug is too tight for a child, or that said child is actually an employee that happened to go into the Breaker Room and is in fact not a birthday boy.

So Baby is unsettling both by design, in context, as well as her history, being created by the infamous William Afton making her again, do things she didn’t want to. So when I see her turned down into cutesy little teen girl or small child, and portrayed as such, I can’t help but again lose interest. And once again this is more of a personal preference, that isn’t how I understood Baby to be, or that she needed to be fixed from a large scary robot to cutesy bab. But it’s how others want it and I step away.

And I know this sounds like I’m going everywhere with this, and barely has to do with your ask, but I fear my post may have been mistaken as I feel this ask is talking about a way people shouldn’t draw or portray the Puppet when I wasn’t trying to say and I’m sorry if it came across that way.

As it stands a muscular portrayal of the Puppet is harmless, and a rarity in re-contributing fan media when compared to the more favored “curvy” puppet design trend. And of course these portrayals are no big deals in the end, and it’s just a preference but, I see more and more young artists following these trends because they seem more normalized. And no it’s not the original artists, of the young artist’s lack of understanding but, the fact that a lot of the fnaf fandom doesn’t treat fnaf like the horror media it is. Which is fine on it’s own, but when it’s brought up, I can’t help but look at a large side of fans like I’m looking at a Happy Tree Friends AMV with a song like this. Yeah Happy Tree Friends is a disturbing creation on it’s own but it’s not because it’s done in seriousness and the fact it’s cutesy IS what makes it disturbing, not any relevance it has to a subject or stories its trying to tell. So paired with a song as intestine and serious in tone as this one just seems…. silly. The editor wanted it to be horrific and scary but with the content at hand… it’s nearly impossible to do and takes a lot of figuring out to make work and only a few horror media can pull it off. And once again maybe this is just a me problem and how I intake content, for me FNAF is a horror story, a tragedy, it keeps you up at night not because the fiction itself is scary, but the contents implied and the contents hinted. Freddy Krueger was a sadistic child murderer in life because it was the evilest and scariest human conduct he could think of. And it’s why it’s so disturbing in FNAF that this ominous purple figure for the first few games was clouded in mystery and terrifying because while Krueger he killed innocent children, the purple figure was scarier over the fact he worked with these children, and he might still have worked with said children and he was Never caught and we didn’t even know his name back then. But we, the player saw him. Then we’re given just his vague actions of not only killing innocent children for no rhyme or reason (and any reasons at the time being just as horrifying )he then“Stuffed the victims in the animatronics” makes you think about how utterly disturbing that is. How did he even manage to do that, how did they not find him, that’s so horrible? And if the Puppet did that, why? The Puppet is vaguely sympathetic or is it? Because why would it do something so disturbing and as horrible as stuffing children into metal suits to the point their blood and organs leaked out, even in the name of “saving” them. It’s still horrible! It’s still tragic!

So when I see attempts at acknowledging in the horror in FNAF I want to give reminders that despite everything, Baby was HORRIFYINGLY big, looked had a cuteness that leaves people with the uncanny feeling of a porcelain doll’s stare. (as well as Ballora’s horrific treats being based off that).

That the Puppet despite everything it’s not a human, and has never been shown to bend in the same way a human can, and when it does move its arms and legs are still stretched out in space as it jumps in to kill you.

And to keep aspects like this when creating fan horror content or original horror content. The simplest of choices are usually the best ones, the feeling of being unable to move while your vague unknown attacker's inch closer and closer, to walk blindly in the dark with dangerous creatures. And in the end of this scary tragedy, or wanting things to be happy again, trying to solve the mystery, trying to make the horrible less horrible, only death awaited. For all of us.

[rndyounghowze]

Broadway Theatre of Pitman Gives US Sanctuary with The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Pitman, NJ

By Ricky and Dana Young-Howze

Broadway Theatre of Pitman really rang a bell with me in their production of Hunchback of Notre Dame. This musical with music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and book by Peter Parnell was directed by John Stephan and gave us sanctuary for the night.

All Quasimodo ever wanted was one day out in the normal world. But his adopted Father Dom Frollo forbids it. But on the Festival of Fools he ventures out and meets a lovely Gypsy girl named Esmeralda. After seeing the world she opens up for him can he ever venture back in?

Direction and Choreography by John Stephan brought his usual flair for brilliant character work and expansive dance choreography. You can tell that Stephan puts his heart and soul in everything. The dance numbers did not disappoint. You had the huge stage stealing tentpoles that make us celebrate and the small intimate choreography that steals your heart.

Now for character work I have say that I don't know whether my criticism here is an acting choice, a script problem, or a director choice. I found it a strange choice for Quasimodo to talk in a lisp while speaking to some people and dropping it to sing beautifully or talk to other people. It's not the problem of his angelic singing voice that melts my soul like butter it's the problem that it rings unauthentic for a person with a speech disability to suddenly be able to sing.

Also I don't know why but there seemed to be more questions left unanswered by Quasimodo's disability than not. Such as if he is a bit deaf why can he hear things said behind him? And if he's reading lips why isn't he looking at people's faces? This is most likely a problem that production inherited from the script but characters with disabilities deserve to have that extra work done to provide great representation for the community of a differently abled audience. Oh I understand that realism is out the window in a play where he's talking to gargoyles. However you can't rest on your laurels just looking "infirm" you have to make sure your performance does not seem unauthentic to who the musical says Quasimodo is.

Other than my questions about Quasimodo (played by Will K. Carey) this guy is what Dana called "scary good" and has a wicked talent about him. He brings a sincerity to the character that I haven't seen in a long time. He makes us immediately feel like this character is someone that we know.

Although I feel that the villainous character of Frollo became bastardized by the musical adaptation our onstage Frollo (played by CJ Kish) did not disappoint in his performance. Because this new framing had him seeming more misguided than evil he was able to show a good man gone wrong. We are watching a journey of a Godly man turning into a monster.

Phoebus (played by Justin Boyd) cut a dashing figure in a cape and sword. Dana informed me I should mention that he was very handsome. I will say that we both agree that his voice was as smooth as silk and rich as cream. And his chemistry with Esmeralda was very nice.

Esmeralda (played by Shannon Q. Harkins) had that instantly approachable quality without seeming too vulnerable. She became my handhold into the musical. Her reactions and views of the world became mine. She gave the character sensuality without making her an object. No matter how other people objectified her she carried the character like a human being.

I respect anyone who can turn a cartwheel and still sing in tune and Clopin (played by Matthew Robertson) delivers. I especially love his performance in the Court of Miracles number. Instead of a Punchinello type character we get a true leader of the Romani.

I need to give a special shout out to the Jarema brothers: CJ Jarema and Andrew Jarema. I had a hard time counting all the roles they played in the course of two acts. I do know their hard work tired me out!

Krystina Hawkinson first wowed Dana and I in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and we really loved seeing her again last night! We feel we got a really good sense of her range and talent in this show.

The minute I heard that choir I had chills up and down my spine. There are so many things that you can do with a stationary choir that you can't do with an ensemble and this show has both a choir AND an ensemble of storytellers! You can fill the entire house with the magic of the human voice and for a show about a famous Cathedral you have a huge atmosphere to create! Dana and I were divided. She thinks we could have had the choir doing something more than just sitting there. They could have been part of the action more. I believe they were just perfect and I wish that the story teller ensemble had just stayed still and joined the choir. Be sure to go and tell us what you think.

Then you hear this orchestra under the musical Direction of Jack Hill that sounds as soft as heaven one moment and as firey as gates of hell the next. The orchestra made good use of strings and percussion to sound much bigger than it was.

Set Design by David DeWeil never disappoints! I loved the expansiveness of the set which stood almost as monolithic as the great cathedral herself. However I couldn't help but notice that some of the wagons buckled and swayed as actors walked on them. If they're going to hold the weight of actors then it should support them without the audience thinking about why it's moving on its own. I say this out of love because it's beautiful.

Lighting Design by Shawn McGovern really kept a dark and dismal atmosphere throughout. I noticed that he played really heavily with light and shadow and rich shades of purple. Probably the best lighting design I've seen at Pitman in a while.

Costume Design by Thom Sirkot played with the ideas of clean and ragged. You could tell what classof society characters were by their clean white robes, their dirty smocks, or their garish colorful dresses. However onstage costume changes at the beginning seemed a little too awkward but that might have been the complex nature of them. I am sure that most nights they work like a charm.

I was so glad to see fight choreography onstage in South Jersey that finally made sense! And this past stage armorer appreciates the work of fight director Rocco Barbera in this show. But it's not without it's problems. If you're going to do dazzling sword work then don't take actors acting at full speed and make them go through fight choreography that runs at half speed. Actually let the swords hit each other. Also make sure the actors are actually moving like they want to hit something. But it was the best sword choreography I've seen in three years. If I wasn't such a stickler I would say it was the best in six.

Of course the stage was graced with hair and wig Design by John Rattacasa. I have to confess that I'm such a fan of Mr. Rattacasa that anytime I see good hair onstage I go "that's an original masterpiece by John"! And I often start bragging about wigs that aren't his. John wigged the entire female ensemble in this show and if you can't tell it's because he's just... that...good! He's my theatre good luck charm for a reason!

Before I go I have a "behind the scenes" moment for you. At intermission an usher came to our row and announced that no one should be using their cellphones. Dana was able to whisper to her that we were reviewing the show and were invited. People often ask us why we don’t just show up to show unannounced and uninvited. This is why.

There are a lot of rules for theatre reviewers and they're all about making sure the venue, the reviewer, and the audience have the best experience ever. Normally we are invited to a press night at BTOP but in this instance it was not possible in which this case means we come in whenever schedules allow. Press nights are important to make sure that reviewers don't hinder someone's fun in the course of their duties. I would love to see press openings standardized all over South Jersey

You have more chances to see this show if you haven't already seen it. Even though it's not a favorite libretto of mine the cast has several ovation worthy moments. It's really worth it.