#also better than much of the wider audience.

[dueling-jesters]

I beg y'all to read the article I reblogged yesterday. I've never read something written about svs that displayed such a deep understanding of the comics as this one does. There's plenty of fantastic commentary in it, and many great points are made.

[aq2003]

rewatching ben whishaw's richard ii and yea i think the biggest difference between his and the rsc version is that he plays richard's flippancy/disregard for other people's lives completely straight and in a kind of sinister way while david plays it for humor

[honeylations]

HUH YUNJIN x FEM!READER

Prompt: With Le Sserafim in New York and you coincidentally having a runway show, she makes the time to meet up with you

Warnings/Notes: G!p Yunjin, eventual smut, model reader, golden retriever Yunjin

“So I have a confession to make” Yunjin randomly blurts out during game night in some New York Hotel.

Sakura had just rolled the monopoly dice and took hold of her cat piece. “What is it?”

“You’re gay?” Eunchae sarcastically question, earning an eye roll from the American.

“We’ve established that already, yes, but no that’s not what I was gonna say”

“It better be worth pausing this Monopoly game because I am becoming richer by the second” Chaewon smirked and showed off her buildings in majority of the board.

“So I have a girlfriend” Yunjin breathed out, feeling the weight roll off her shoulders.

The red head doesn’t know why she felt the need to keep it a secret from her girls. It wasn’t like she was scared that they wouldn’t support her, it was more of the fact that she gets nervous about almost anything.

And Eunchae may also be a little of bit of a big mouth.

Once a small detail goes through the maknae’s ear, the whole kpop industry suddenly knows.

“Oh? Congratulations Yunjin!” Kazuha applauded excitedly, even giving her member a quick hug.

“I’m surprised you can even pull” Chaewon teased, feeling a wad of monopoly cash slapped in her face. “Ow!”

“Eat shit. Anyways, she’s super awesome~”

This particular side of Yunjin was an easy way for the members to bully her love struck puppy personality and Yunjin knew she wouldn’t be able to defend herself.

“What’s her name?” Eunchae was the one to ask, already planning on texting Kyujin about the news.

Yunjin fiddled with her fingers and giggled like a school girl. “Park Y/n”

All girls sat up on their knees with eyes wider than saucers. “WHAT???”

“THE MODEL?”

“THAT HOTTIE?”

“Kill yourself Yunjin, there’s no way you’re dating THE PARK Y/N”

Yunjin slapped Chaewon with the monopoly cash again, tired of her teasing. “If you don’t believe me, she’s having a runway show tomorrow night. You can come with if you’d like. She can get us front row seats”

The eyes have gone wider and jaws were dropped.

“FRONT ROW TICKETS TO A RUNWAY SHOW?!?!” Sakura jumped up and about, squealing so high that the windows shook.

“I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll message Y/n and let her know” Yunjin said with a smile.

“It’s a coincidence that you both are in New York right now” The leader hummed and took her turn in rolling the dice.

She did a small fist pump when it landed on a double 6.

“Yeah I know, I’m just as surprised as you are. I’m planning to take her out on a date here soon and even introduce her to my family”

“Awwww our Yunjinie is such a good girlfriend~” Sakura smirked and playfully shook the taller member around.

Kazuha did a small applause. “I can’t wait to see her on the runway!”

The following night of the said Runway Show…

“Yunjin can you sit still?” Chaewon had hissed.

Chaewon could’ve been louder but she’d make a total fool of herself in front of the entire audience as the show was going. Well, not much of a fool as Yunjin right now.

The red head was fussing about in her seat, trying her best to get a clear view of whenever your turn was.

Which was literally in a second.

As you began strutting down with you beautiful model face, Yunjin squealed and started shaking her sign around that read: ‘I LUV Y/N <3’

“Wooohooooo! Go baby! You look so beautiful! Oh wow yayyyyy!~”

The Le Sserafim girls looked at their American member in disbelief. Did she suddenly forget she was an idol too?

“Huh Yunjin just how unprofessional are you gonna get?! Give me that and sit still!!” Chaewon growled, snatching the poster from Yunjin.

“Whatever. My girlfriend’s turn is over anyways” The red head grumbled before pursing her lips and waiting for the rest of the show to finish.

It felt like hours for Yunjin, but within minutes you had your bag over your shoulder and approaching your girlfriend and her group.

“Bebby!~” Yunjin made grabby hands and ran to you like an actual puppy seeing its owner.

Which was not much of a surprise for anyone.

“Must you be so loud whenever I’m on the runway? Be professional next time” You scolded but also melted into your girlfriend’s embrace where her large hands rested on your small waist.

She was squishing her cheek against your head and slowly pulled back with imaginary flat guilty ears. Her boba eyes grew wider and your body melted further. It was hard trying to maintain your nonchalant personality when your girlfriend was this fricking cute.

“I’m sorry bebby. I couldn’t help it. You look so pretty…I mean you always look pretty hehe”

You tried to be annoyed by her unprofessionalism but your smirk ruined it.

And Yunjin’s abrupt peck to your lips. “Mwah! Love you bebby”

“Ugh Yunjin quit being a love sap and introduce us to your girlfriend” You heard Chaewon hiss from afar.

“Right. Bebby, this is Kim Chaewon, our leader. Her temper is as short as her height-OW!”

“Piece of shit” The short blonde gritted her teeth when she slapped the back of Yunjin’s head.

“This is Miyawaki Sakura, the eldest. Then there’s me, your cute adorable girlfriend. And then Nakamura Kazuha, our Samoyed”

“Samoyed?” You repeated in question with a smile.

“Apparently that’s how my personality is” Kazuha shrugged and grinned, letting you slowly see why she got the title.

“Last but not least our baby girl, Hong Eunchae! We spoil her with love”

You softly pinched the youngest’s cheek and smiled at her giggle. “Definitely deserves to be spoilt. It’s a pleasure to finally meet Le Sserafim” you spoke calmly.

“Congrats on your runway event Y/n, you looked beautiful” Kazuha complimented sweetly.

“Thank you Kazuha, I’m glad you liked it. Yunjin told me you’d all be in New York so I thought it would be nice to get you girls a gift” you said with a smile and your manager instantly appeared with 4 bags of designer items that you collaborated with.

“Oh wow these are limited edition! Thank you so much Y/n Unnie!” Eunchae squealed with eyes as bright as the sun.

You would’ve thought she was Yunjin’s sister from how big her smile was. “You’re welcome Eunchae. Enjoy your time in New York”

“I will Unnie, I really will!”

“I’ll be going out with Y/n tonight for our date, I’ve already informed Manager-nim” Yunjin quickly reminded to Chaewon specifically in hopes she wouldn’t go ballistic but the leader hummed and nodded anyways.

“No worries. We’ll get going now. Oh and Yunjin-ah” Chaewon quickly called.

Yunjin’s brow raised in curiosity. “Hm?”

“Don’t stay out too late okay? We got content to film”

Yunjin saluted like a dork. “Ay ay captain!”

“Idiot. Take care and it was lovely meeting you Y/n!”

You waved at the girls but could feel Yunjin’s puppy eyes on you again. “What are you staring at?”

“Just how beautiful my girlfriend is. I love you bebby” she said and kissed your temple.

“Ugh. I love you too. Now where are you taking me tonight hm? You look so handsome” you smirked up at her and adjusted her blue button up long sleeve which was open at the collar.

“It’s a surprise bebby. This night will be memorable”

Well Yunjin wasn’t technically lying when she said memorable. She took you to a beautiful Italian restaurant, then surprising you with a bouquet of roses, and finally taking you on a walk by the beach where the moon shined bright.

Of course it wasn’t gonna just end there.

Because now you found yourself riding your girlfriend’s big cock in your hotel room. Both of your clothes thrown somewhere you’d have to dig through later but right now you were focused on milking your sexy girlfriend and the way she was STILL looking at you with those boba eyes.

“F-Fuck, stop looking at me like that” you moaned.

“Mmm, can’t help it. My girl is just so pretty riding me”

Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you clawed onto her shoulder harder, feeling the tip of her dick reach deeper into your pussy. “You drive me crazy, baby”

Not needing to say another word, Yunjin quickly admired the hickeys she scattered all over your neck and collarbones, then giving into her cravings of your lips. She made the kiss slow, letting her tongue work around yours and felt the movement of your hips falter.

But your tone got louder, shamelessly moaning into your girlfriend’s mouth that some of your saliva went down your chin.

“Tired, Princess?” She whispered into your mouth.

You nodded at her, being enough of a sign for Yunjin to lift you up and make you lay face first and ass up. You supported your balance by leaning on your elbows and looking back at your girlfriend who rubbed your ass and inserting her fat cock back inside your sopping cunt.

“A-Ah!”

“Always tight for me aren’t you, Y/n? My good girl”

You moaned into the sheets from the use of your name instead of her usual nickname for you. One of the things you loved so much about Yunjin was how different she was during sex. She can be vanilla if she wanted to, but Yunjin thought where the fun was in that?

She loved making you wither under her touch. Hearing you cry for her name and beg for her to please you in all the right ways.

“Mmhm right there baby!” You screamed at the inhumane pace Yunjin was going at, the slapping sounds echoing throughout the room (and probably even outside the entire hotel).

Yunjin towered her body over your back and trailed kisses at your jaw, feeling her smile against your skin. “Your pussy is sucking me in so nice, baby. Gonna fill it up with so much of my cum. You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

You nodded, clearly too tired to properly answer and the abrupt hold on your jaw made your eyes go wide. Yunjin squeezed your mouth open. “Open up and tongue out, darling”

Doing so, the red head spat on your tongue and forcefully closed your mouth before holding your throat. “Swallow.”

She hummed in satisfaction at your obedience, the knot in her stomach growing. “Hmm fuck, gonna cum Princess”

“Yes yes please cum in me, Yunnie” you mumbled with tears.

Yunjin was panting in your ear before releasing an aggressive groan, her hips snapping in a harsh but slower pace as she reached her peak. You felt the warm flood of cum fill your needy pussy to the brim, Yunjin then slowly pulling herself out to watch your creamy pussy leak.

“So hot” you exhaled, using two fingers to scoop the liquid and popping them into your mouth. “So tasty”

Yunjin guided you to lay your body down with your head on her chest, then pulling the covers over your sweaty bodies. She kissed your head and spent a few minutes helping you calm down by rubbing circles on your back. “You okay, bebby?”

“Yeah. We haven’t fucked in so long, I almost passed out”

“I missed you so much, bebby. Sorry we haven’t been going out lately”

You shook your head and placed multiple kisses on your girlfriend’s face. “Don’t apologise, my love. We still call all the time so just hearing your voice brings me satisfaction”

Yunjin smiled at your words. “Did you want to join us tomorrow? We won’t show your face on the cameras. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care about anything else”

“You know I have a photoshoot tomorrow, babe and plus I think your fans will go on a killing spree if they see us together”

Yunjin pouted. “I won’t let them touch you, bebby. I’ll use my magic force field to protect you”

You laughed into her neck and pinched her sides. “You’re such a dork”

“A dork you’re super in love with, am I right?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Yes. A dork I’m super duper in love with”

[worldsewage]

Hehe may I ask about evil Callie?

(The evil/brainwashed) Callie here functions a bit differently… as I also use her to explore what exactly mud mouths are… and the octarian’s relationship with their ally, Salmonids…

Explanation under the cut. 🚧

Due to constrained relations between them and the other main dominating species— (salmonid/octarian vs inklings)— most Inklings, namely younger generations, are more desperate to fix and mend the relationship.

(There is plenty more to this! But I don’t want to make this come across as far more convoluted than it needs to be, so here have this for now:📒)

Octavio contacted Callie directly, albeit in secret, telling her that he has plans that would be a step forward in ending the tension between the Inklings and Octarian-Salmonid groups. What he had introduced was a new type of “ink” that would make their species “salmonid friendly”, and he wanted Callie to be the one to be the first public appearance with this new Ink in hopes to reach a wider audience…

Most of that isn’t true— but to Callie— who is a direct descendant of a war leader, was raised as an agent, and lives in a fairly dangerous city zone that floods, that sounded like a better step towards a better life, and she went for it.

This ink is known as MUD— and this “ink” isn’t technically ink at all, as mentioned in a previous post, most inks are a synthetic toxic poison, designed for warfare, but this ink on the contrary, wasn't designed by Inkfish, it was designed by Salmonids.

MUD is a slimy corrosive ink designed to rival Inkfish’s ink, namely in salmon runs and Ink Wasted territories, one that blends into the grounds and spreads out quickly and efficiently much like Inkfish ink, but one that corrodes Inklings by absorbing into them, and leaves salmonids completely safe from any burning effects.

The Octarian were the ones tasked with creating this new bio-weapon, as an added benefit being it would not affect their species, (they would be safe from it regardless, considering Salmon-Runs are an Inkling exclusive event, and Octolings were surprised when they learned about them.)

They tried different methods of testing it, and ultimately, the project failed— Mud uses both Salmonid and Inkling DNA in its creation, and when Mud was being developed, it melted Salmonids like Ink typically does due to its hyper-corrosive nature, but because it carried Inkling + Salmonid DNA, the salmonid’s skin would attempt to mimic the properties of inklings and constantly try to reconstruct itself into the “swim” form, which made Salmonids a walking (or rather, squirming) sludge, these monsters became known as MUDMOUTHS, and are not truly considered alive, since they run exclusively on the Running Instinct that exists in Salmonid DNA.

And in turn, when the ink was absorbed into Inklings— the previously noted “running instinct” would have an almost Kraken-Esque affect on inklings before corroding and splatting them.

The running instinct would work as intended, everything they eat immediately converts to growth in preparation for an arduous journey, they’re extremely aggressive, and they have a desire to return to the salmonid birthplace.

Mud would splat inklings upon prolonged contact, but Inklings who were test subjects for mud were slowly injected with Mud over a course of time. These subjects were disoriented and had a sort of “positive” aggressive attitude that didn’t falter even in the face of family or friends.

They are easy to persuade and it’s unclear if this is due to the pain of getting the ink-content in their bodies replaced by this synthetic fake-ink, or if the running instinct muddles their thoughts. It’s probably a healthy mix of both.

Dj Octavio, kept Callie by his side, since in her current state her mind would be too fogged up to dispute or make sense of what he’s making her do.

He planned on using Callie to stir up trouble in Inkopolis solely for the sake of rising tension. Octavio is constantly searching for reasons to make Inkling’s an enemy in the eyes of everyone who sees them, and painting Callie— a well known public figure; a known descendant of Captain Cuttlefish— as vicious would do wonders for allowing most people to view the Octarian as a force that would more desirably be backed up, it would reinforce their armies. And make them overall stronger if people felt they had reason to target Inklings.

He didn’t get this far due to Agent Four’s interference.

But, he got to accomplish many theft missions using Callie— which included robbing Inkopolis of some of the Zapfish Generators, which are giant machines that are powered thanks to the Zapfish, and thanks to the Zap-Ink— ⤵️

(Above image is from here) — Octavio was able to use said generators to restore power to many of the war-affected bio-domes that have been obsolete for decades, WITHOUT the need for a Zapfish.

But his reasoning can still be dumbed down to a petty move on Octavio’s part— who despite having a safer ground in the domes due to a good trade relationship with Salmonids and a vast space away from water— he still feels bitter about losing the remaining lands. And because of this the Octarian are plenty more war driven, and they are more likely to easily fall to the fervor of these schemes and battles.

[howtofightwrite]

In writing a fighting scene how many sentences need to be it is always said it needs to have a variety of how long? Technical jargon better be ditched, or sometimes needs to be written? Is there any advice on how to do this, I still trying to get an idea of how to write fighting scenes? from tournaments, corridor battles (narrow and wide), room battles, field battles, war battles, or even hit-and-run battles?

So, there are multiple questions here, but some of these are going to be kind of quick.

How many sentences do you need? Enough, but no more. You need to be able to communicate to the reader what's happening in the fight. Or, at least, be able to communicate what your PoV character experiences from the fight. The more you add to it, the longer it will take your average reader to read the scene, and (to an extent) the slower they will perceive the fight.

This creates an awkward situation for a writer. If you have some, “really cool visual,” but you can't convey that quickly and efficiently, it might need to go. Especially if it's the kind of thing you'd see in a film, or comic, but that your character wouldn't be directly aware of. For example, a character isn't going to know that a blade narrowly missed their head, shaving off several locks of hair in the process, because they're probably not looking in the direction of their hair when it happens, and they're probably not going to feel it. In attempting to completely articulate that moment, you're going to slow down the fight.

Now, there is an application for this. The better a character's reflexes (really, the faster they are at processing information, which isn't technically reflexes), the more ability they'll have to actually perceive these kinds of moments as they happen, and the slow the fight will be, for them.

Technical jargon is characterization. A character who doesn't know how to fight, and has no prior aptitude for violence, probably won't have a particularly extensive vocabulary for violence. So, if that's you PoV for a fight, they don't know what they're seeing, and they might not have a vocabulary that extends much beyond hitting, punching, and kicking. This applies both to the attacks they can (intentionally) make, and what they can see and understand when other characters are attacking.

A character who is a combat veteran, with extensive training will have a much wider range of options open to them, and also a much greater capacity to accurately articulate the violence they see. They're likely to use and recognize things like stances, parries, restraints, holds, and throws.

This can lead to a specific situation that's counter-intuitive (at least in comparison to what I said at the beginning), but also very real. An inexperienced fighter, can find themselves quickly losing to a skilled opponent without really being able to understand what just happened to them. In this specific case, accurately communicating the details to the audience can be to the detriment.

So, this is all for limited narration. If you're using omniscient narration, then you'll need to make decisions on how to describe the combat. This is one situation where it's really difficult to avoid characterizing your narrator. Though, this should help make that characterization a conscious choice, rather than an accident.

Beyond that, asking about the different venues, that's a little to vague to really give any coherent answer beyond simply pointing to the earlier paragraphs. For example, when you're looking at armies clashing in a massive battle, the PoV is still the most important factor to assessing how it should be written. A general, commanding the troops from a hill behind the front lines is going to be far more interested in the overall strategic state of the battle. They'll be directing troops, trying to get orders through, watching the enemy, and trying to anticipate what they'll do. A soldier down in the melee will have a radically different experience. They may not even have the tactical background to fully appreciate the way the battle is progressing, beyond simply that there are still people trying to kill them, and they're preemptively returning the favor.

At a grander scale, a footsoldier in a war might not even have the frame of reference to really understand the state of the world beyond the scope of their orders and the battles they find themselves in. They may know who they are fighting, but, not really understand why. And, if they encounter enemy forces unexpectedly, they may have no idea what that really means for the war as a whole, where a general or commander would likely be able to understand and explain how that happened. In fact, a diplomat or spy, with extensive experience from before the war, may have entirely different understandings for how and why the enemy is maneuvering than even a general would.

Again, violence, whether it's on a personal, or a mass scale, is a venue for characterization. Who your characters are will dictate how they perceive, understand, and interact with the world around them. There isn't one way that a fight in a corridor will occur, because there isn't one kind of person who will walk into a corridor with violent intent.

If it sounds like I'm thinking of Glen Cook's Black Company novels, I am. I'm also thinking of Sandy Mitchell's Caiaphas Cain novels, and a few other stray examples.

Ultimately, this is all about characterization of your narrator, regardless whether that narrator is also a character in the story or not.

-Starke

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[chironshorseass]

what bugs me most about the pjo show is that i know they could’ve done better. i knowwwww they could’ve been as faithful as they wanted to the books. for anyone saying “oh, but it’s an adaptation! it isn’t meant to be the same so stop whining that they took stuff out or that they’re adding things in different order!” well yes, i agree that adaptations aren’t meant to be a carbon copy of the source material for the simple fact that it’s adapting the source material into a different medium (television), yet it’s just that! a form of adapting the things that are unable to be channeled from, say, a book—or on the contrary, adding things that make sense for television but couldn’t be channeled into the books otherwise…all of this in a faithful manner. a good adaptation is one that stays true to the source material by properly adapting its themes, characters, symbolism, context, pacing, and the overall story/plot so as to not only be seen as a sort of love letter to the fans, but also to reach a wider audience.

just look at the hunger games! the movies are so faithful to the books to the point that most of the scenes are taken straight out of the books, dialogue and all. and they’re movies, aka less runtime than a freaking tv show and they still did it better. did the hg movies have to take a few scenes out? yes; they have only so much time to tell the story as it is told in the books. did they resume things, like the games themselves? also yes. but did most of the important scenes and character moments stay in the movies? also also yes. again, THESE ARE MOVIES!!!!! a medium much more limited than a freaking tv series with multiple episodes that have enough run time to add even more scenes from the books than what could be possible in a 2 hour (max) movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and yet they STILL changed so much that rly had no business being changed other than that the writers decided they felt like it because…..a lot of it im not even sure. and the worst thing of it all is that freaking rick riordan took part in script writing yet so much of the source material has been watered down???? they make a whole ass episode about a monster fight with the majority of the scenes from said episode not even present in the books instead of sticking to the perfectly good source material???? and by doing so they delete the small details that are very much integral to character development and plot???? huh???? the math isn’t mathing. don’t get me wrong, i do like some changes, but then i think: at what cost do they add these things when there was a perfectly good narrative without it? like, at what cost do we get the whole turning to gold sacrifice scene if they’re gonna take out all the fun details that make the lightning thief the lightning thief? for example the silly water park merch and then annabeth displaying her spider phobia and her mortification at going to the thrill ride of love with percy and then being broadcasted to olympus. this is just one episode, but they’ve been doing it in all of them. and u know, it’s not that i don’t hate-hate most these changes. again, what bugs me is that this was supposed to be a faithful adaptation. again, it’s a tv series, with so much more time to develop everything from the books. rick is behind it, who apparently hated the movies for how unfaithful they were. the cast is great. and yet…the script is so mediocre. the spark is lost. character traits are looked over in place for weird pacing and even weirder changes. if the hunger games could do it, then surely a pjo tv series could as well? apparently not? i really really Don’t Get It.

[northopalshore]

Zendaya birth chart analysis

•❃°•°❀°•°❃••❃°•°❀°•°❃••❃°•°❀°•°❃••❃°•°

Additional asteroids mentioned: Fama (408), Adorea (268), Charisma (627), Aura (1488), Fan (151590), Juno (3), Great Attractor, Part of Fortune

In this post, I will be writing down and explaining some aspects & placements in her natal birth chart to better understand her character as well as fame indicators in her chart.

Aquarius (7° libra) 1st house

Aquarius risings tend to have longer body proportions. Slender, and unique something you notice about her immediately is her height, her hair colour, accessories & her forehead. Their heads may seem a bit larger in proportion to their body i.e bigger forehead, wider face. Their personality will stand out in the crowd as they are not afraid to be themselves in any given situation.

ex: I had an aquarius rising friend back in high school she would be giggling uncontrollably even during assembly to herself for some joke she had in her mind. Zendaya has always stood out in terms of personality. Back when she used to make videos on Vine everybody loved her lip syncing to Beyoncé's "YONCE" but she was just excited to hear her favourite song playing randomly on the radio & decided to post the video. It was just her, being her.

With the libra degree though, it brings a lot of balance into her appearance. Not to mention she's extremely beautiful! Not everyone will agree with her ideas and that's alright to her. She's not the type to judge others for their opinion.

Saturn (5° leo) retrograde in 2nd house

This is can be seen in the chart of someone who didn't grow up with a lot of money. Both of her parents are teachers (work with children as leo rules the 5th house 5° 5 see? ). She'll have to work very hard to earn money. With saturn in retrograde and with the leo degree she always had the ability to gain a lot of money through her talents in the acting/ performing field. She has worked in the entertainment industry for YEARS before gaining mainstream recognition. And from a very young age (since then gaining a massive amount of money through acting) She found financial stability through her talents. Since her second house is in pisces, I think she probably has dreamt of affording all the best things in life and has never stopped working towards it. Her career also started off catering to children aka the younger audiences acting in family friends/kid shows.

Moon (7° libra) in her 3rd house

She has a very close harmonious relationships with her siblings. She could feel like she can never live without them as they are a source of comfort. She'll tend to rationalize her emotions, always trying to tinker with logic and how she feels. She'll find herself looking at her feelings from an outside perspective often. She was also close to her mother during early school years ( her went to the elementary school her mother taught at: Fruitvale Elementary School in Oakland) Most of her siblings will be much younger than her.

Taurus 4th house

She grew up in a very harmonious household. Very safe, loved and cared for by her parents. She didn't move homes/ left her birth place meaning her childhood was spent where she was born. There were no arguments or fighting that took place in her home aside from maybe "Who ate my snack?? I was saving that for later!"

Venus (24° pisces) in the 6th house

She could feel like her childhood was very work centric. However, given that this is Venus I believe she really enjoyed working in a sense. She was passionate about it. It may have caused a lot of fatigue, trauma & anxiety even as a child, but she this was what she truly passionate about regardless. A perfectionist placement in terms of beauty, art, talents.

Mars (25° aries) in Cancer 6th house

Similar to venus. She focuses a lot of her energy into working towards her dream. She worked with a lot of female figures, with friends & family ( also a lot of her early gigs involved family sitcoms ) she usually feels very safe at work. She knows she is always working with people that she can trust. She is also a perfectionist. She feels that everything she does must be perfect. Combined with her venus she'll take her acting very seriously, she will not feel satisfied until her performance meets her ideals.

Aura (23° aquarius) in Gemini 5th house

People are very drawn to her unique, genuine energy. She's seen as this fun loving, talkative, passionate, sometimes very stubborn person that everyone wants to be around. She exudes this rebellious magnetism. People feel like she's always doing something different in comparison to other actors for example. They'll see her as more of a friend than a celebrity. People feel like they will never be bored with her, she's always doing something exciting!

edit: there was a previous typo 23° aries instead of aquarius. It's fine now.

Fan (21° Sagittarius) in Leo 7th house

Her fans love her for her talents, she attracts fans from all over the world and people of different cultures & ethnicities. Her fans will also be very invested in her love life i.e love to see her in relationships. They genuinely want her to be happy in her love life. Her spouse/partner could also ber her biggest fan!

Fama conjunct Saturn

It took her time to gain a following, but when she does gain fame it will stay. You will see her name written down as one of the most prominent stars in Hollywood.

Fama retrograde in 2nd house

Same as conjunct saturn honestly.

Fama trine pluto

Explosive fame. It took her a while to get into mainstream media but when she did she changed the game. Her career has shifted into a more mature state as she's now taking more adult roles in her career.

Part of fortune (4° cancer) in Libra 8th house

She'll have a lot of luck in rebirth & transformation. She might be very lucky in high stakes situations. She's likely to live a long and healthy life. She'll perform better in adult or taboo roles, gaining more abundance through those roles. She'll be able to take on more emotional roles with complex character relationships. (i.e her roles in Euphoria & Challengers gained a massive amount of attention)

Mercury (3° Gemini) in Libra 8th house

She could love to talk about taboo subjects. She's not afraid to point out the things that hurt her, or things that bother her close relationships. She will be the person to talk to them through hard times. She's a loyal friend and whatever secret you tell her she's taking them to the grave.

Pluto (0° the purest form) in the Sagittarius 10th house

She will be very attractive. Whatever she does the spotlight will be on her. The public will either love her to death or hate her with every bone in their body. She will garner the attention of people worldwide. People in her field can be very jealous of her magnetism. She'll easily gain power and recognition throughout her career. A revolutionary, a trendsetter, what more can I say?

Adorea(11° aquarius) in Sagittarius 10th house

The public will adore her for her ability to stay authentic and genuine. She is also loved through the internet, the media. People will adore her in videos or anytime she's on screen.

Great Attractor(13° aries) in 10th house

She is a force to be reckoned with in her career. The great attractor being in the 10th house is one of the most powerful, magnetic and influential placements a person could have. She will be loved by the public, she will always attract attention throughout her career. People loving, adoring, praising & wanting to follow you. Ex-USA president Barack Obama has this placement too!

Chiron (14° taurus) in 8th house

People will look to her for comfort. She has the ability to heal other people with her presence. She may have had some uncomfortable experience with physical touch, or is generally uncomfortable with people she isn't close with touching her. I don't want to get too deep into this placement but she definitely has some trauma surrounding the 8th house.

Chiron trine ascendant

She might have had some insecurities concerning her looks in the past, people might have bullied her for the way she presented herself or just her appearance in general. However this placement also allows her to overcome those easily. This also gives her the ability to express complex, gut-wrenching emotions of her face. Great for acting. She's able to showcase the characters soul.

Pluto conjunct MC (26° taurus)

This usually means her image will be very public. You'll see her face & her body everywhere. Her career involves a lot of photos being taken for magazine covers, interviews and whatnot.

Jupiter (7° libra) retrograde in Capricorn 11th house

This means she will get a lot of luck with friends, and social media. She will be very popular online. Since it is in retrograde however, there was a delay in achieving that big blow up on the internet ( compared to when she started her career).

Neptune (25°aries) retrograde in Capricorn 12th house

This placement can be seen in individuals with prominent or severe mental health issues/ trauma. She can feel very depressed at times, feeling alone, feeling detached from people around her, feeling shunned. The aries degree indicates that this has started to develop from a young age. She was very shy when she was younger. Her parents even had to attend a class on raising introverted children. I've read multiple articles addressing her openness on talking about her trauma. "She felt that stress that came with being a child actor, feeling anxious and always delivering out of fear that people will lose interest. "

Uranus (1° aries) retrograde in Aquarius 12th house

This is very similar to neptune, in a sense that this stems during early childhood. She felt very alienated from the rest of her peers. She could be insecure about her personality, or her uniqueness. She doesn't feel like she truly belongs.

Sun trine Jupiter

She has a very big personality. People will notice her wherever she goes. Popular & beautiful. Taller/bigger than the average height/ people notice her height.

Saturn trine uranus

Her internet presence will be very long lasting.

Venus opposite uranus

She's the type of person who'll want to express her fashion through unconventional means. Lady gaga has venus trine uranus I keep thinking about her iconic meat dress lol. Since it is opposite in Zendaya's chart, it's more like a double negative in a way. You have Uranus but also you're going against Uranus. Which means she'll love to dress up in a unique uniform type of way.

ex: in every opening/event she goes to she will always match her outfit with her character/the theme of the movie. Extra in a tame way so to speak whereas Mother Monster, well.. is anything but tame.

Charisma sextile MC

She is seen as someone very charismatic throughout her career.

Zendaya's birth chart:

•❃°•°❀°•°❃••❃°•°❀°•°❃••❃°•°❀°•°❃••❃°•°

***disclaimer: entertainment purposes only, reader discretion is advised***

Thank you for reading ♡

@northopalshore

[the-scarlet-witch-22]

The Lark Ascending (A Chaconne Story): Chapter 2 (Agatha Harkness x Reader)

Summary: Ahead of your first rehearsal with the Los Angeles Symphony, you become reacquainted with Maestra Agatha Harkness.

Word Count: 4.6K

A/N: Helllooo, welcome to chapter 2 of The Lark Ascending! This chapter features a very, very special piece that I strongly recommend giving a listen, I'll link an earlier post with the video. I'm going to try to do updates around every 2-3 weeks but it will sadly depend on my schedule. I'd also like to give a special shoutout to 🫂 anon, who told me of an idea they had of Agatha using her baton to secure her hair back. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the inspiration, I hope I did your idea justice. As always I hope you enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think :)

Danzón No. 2

Previous Chapter

The head of marketing for the orchestra, Pepper Potts, motioned to the promotional materials laid out in front of you. “So what do you think?” 

Squinting, you tilted your head to look at it from a different angle, taking it all in. They were certainly…interesting. Your face had been blown up on all of them, some featured you holding or playing your violin. 

“Um….” You trailed off, trying to keep your tone cheerful. “Well, they’re a little different from what I was expecting, but they look nice.”

The last time you spoke with Pepper, you had explained how you were more interested in focusing on the music than yourself, you had even brainstormed on a few different campaign ideas. At the time you thought it had been a productive conversation. 

“I know they’re not what we originally discussed, but we’ve found that interest groups respond better to a face, or rather, the face of what we’re trying to promote,” Pepper explained, laying out a few different options in front of you. “As our newest artist in residence, you are the face, the center focus. We’ve been trying to appeal to a wider audience, as well as a younger audience. This is the perfect way to accomplish it.”

“What she means to say is, your original idea was boring. But she’s too professional to say that, isn’t that right, Pepper?” Tony chimed in from where he was sitting on the opposite side of the room, scrolling through his phone. 

Pepper let out an exasperated sigh, shooting Tony a glare. “That is not right, Tony.” She gave you an apologetic smile, something she appeared to be used to doing. “Just ignore him. Everyone else does.”

Tony checked the time on his watch, before turning his attention back to you. “If we could wrap this up in a few, is there anything else we need to cover?”

Pepper glanced at her tablet, shaking her head. “We’ve gone over everything as far as marketing is concerned.”

“Fantastic,” Tony said, standing up, stretching his legs out. “Let’s get those materials finalized before next week’s Donor Gala.” As he began walking to his desk, he paused, snapping his fingers. “See if we can get Harkness to conduct something? Something more modern, maybe, but not funky Glass modern. The donors will love that. She’s so much more entertaining to watch than Strange.”

“Well that’s not too difficult to accomplish when the man conducts like he’s performing surgery,” Agatha drawled out, and you jumped at the sound of her voice. 

The door to Tony’s office was now wide open as Agatha came strolling in, followed closely by Tony’s assistant.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark. I told her you were still in a meeting,” the woman profusely apologized, giving Agatha a terrified glance before adding, “but she wouldn’t listen.”

Tony waved off the apology, clearly unphased by Agatha’s behavior. “It’s fine, Sharon. Maestra! Please, come in. I hope you’ve found everything to your liking?”

“You know me, Tony, I’m not particularly picky,” Agatha replied, enunciating every last syllable as she gave you a simmering glance that resulted in you blushing and looking down at your feet. “But I must say, I’m rather enjoying my time so far.”

“Have you met our artist in residence?” Tony prompted, and you suddenly realized he had no idea of your history with the conductor. “Peps, why don’t we get a photo of the three of us for socials? Ask that one intern for a caption, she’s pretty clever. Kamala, I think?”

Pepper sighed in defeat, fishing around for her camera. “Don’t call it socials, Tony.”

Tony then turned his attention to you, as you finally broke the rather intense staring match with Agatha. “Y/N? Have you had the pleasure of meeting the Maestra?” 

Oh have you ever, you thought to yourself. Agatha merely smirked, arching an eyebrow as you stammered for a moment. “I, um, you know it’s funny you mention that, actually. I used to work for her.”

Both Tony and Pepper appeared to be equally surprised with that revelation, and the CFO’s face lit up. “You’re kidding. What a small world!”

“Y/N was my assistant a few years ago, right before she moved to Vienna,” Agatha interjected, still gazing at you with a look you couldn’t decipher. “I’ve been…quite proud of her accomplishments since.”

She was proud of your accomplishments? You knew she apparently watched a video of one of your last performances; you were curious if she had seen anything else (while also wondering why she never bothered to reach out). 

“Rather high praise coming from you, Maestra,” Tony said, folding his hands across his chest as he leaned against his desk.

“Well I wouldn’t have been able to have done any of it without Agatha,” you insisted, various memories of late night practice sessions with the conductor rushing back in nostalgic flashes. “She mentored me while I was still her assistant. She always believed in me, sometimes even more than I believed in myself.”

Tony nodded, and you watched him silently brainstorm as an idea hit him. “That’s it. The Maestra and her protegee. Who wouldn’t want to see a series of concerts with one of the most beloved conductors and her former mentee turned rising soloist? Pepper?”

Pepper was already typing on her tablet, nodding along to Tony’s words. “Already on it. I’ll book a shoot for promotional materials, and we’ll have the press release ready by the end of the week.”

Tony folded his hands together, grinning as he looked back and forth between you and Agatha. “Outstanding. What a lucky coincidence you happened to be in LA, Maestra.”

What a lucky coincidence indeed, you agreed, giving Agatha a curious look. The conductor shrugged her shoulders, her usual poker face hiding whatever emotion she was feeling. “What can I say, it must have been fate.”

Tony started rambling on to Pepper about various ideas for both the Donors Gala and marketing, all whilst you found yourself getting lost once more in the enigma that was Agatha Harkness.

Eventually, you found yourself back in the concert hall right before the start of that evening’s rehearsal. The meeting with Tony had been rather successful, even if your obligations now included doing a handful of press and events with Agatha. How the conductor felt on that subject matter was a mystery to you, as she remained uncharacteristically quiet the entire time, offering only the occasional sarcastic, witty comment whenever Tony suggested something particularly outlandish. 

Now, as you walked with your violin case in hand, you once again thought about being reunited with Agatha after all this time, as it forced you to think about your feelings for the conductor. Even after all this time, it felt as though a large part of your heart was reserved solely for her, and you weren’t entirely sure what to do with that information. Agatha wasn’t exactly the most open individual, and last time you nearly had to wrestle her feelings out of her. Plus, who’s to say she even feels the same way- you knew a lot could change in five years. 

As usual, you were getting ahead of yourself. Right now, you just need to focus on getting through your first rehearsal, and worry about your relationship with Agatha later.

You greeted a few musicians you passed, and you nearly froze as you saw someone very familiar waving at you. Standing in the front row with her violin case was your friend and formed stand partner, Monica Rambeau. You stayed in touch with the violinist after you moved to Vienna, but she never mentioned coming to LA. Running up to her, you set your violin down before embracing her in a hug, fully in disbelief she was here. 

“Monica, what are you doing here?” You breathed out, grinning at your friend who smiled back at you.

“The MSO is off for the summer while they remodel the symphony building, so a few of us are filling in out here for the season,” Monica explained, and it was then that you noticed one of the MSO flutists, Dottie and the principal cellist, Hope, up on stage.

“Dottie certainly looks happy,” you noted, watching the flutist enthusiastically chat with a few members of the orchestra on the stage. 

“I think she’s looking forward to having a break from Harkness,” Monica admitted, taking a quick glance around to make sure no one else was listening before adding, “not that Maestra was even around for the majority of the season to terrorize her.”

You felt a twinge of pity at the mention of that. Poor Dottie. Agatha did seem to get some sadistic form of pleasure from tormenting her. But it was the latter part of Monica’s sentence that caught your attention, and you gave her a curious glance. “What do you mean she wasn’t around for the majority of the season?” 

Although you and Monica had stayed in touch over the past few years, you made a point to never ask about Agatha. While Monica never knew about your relationship with the conductor, she at least knew not to bring her up whenever you talked.

Monica shrugged, grabbing her sheet music from her bag. “She was traveling a lot this year, and missed a lot of rehearsals. You know how she gets. Anytime someone would ask where she was, she would change the subject and find someone new to pick on.”

It didn’t take much effort for you to picture that particular scenario. “That certainly sounds like Agatha.”

“A few people think she’s looking for a job with a different orchestra,” Monica quietly told you. “But between you and me, I think she’s seeing someone.”

You froze in place, choosing your next words carefully. “Seeing someone? Why would you think that?”

“She seemed different whenever she’d come back,” Monica explained as she gently grabbed her violin from its case. “Happier, or as happy as she can be, I guess.”

You fell silent at that, trying to keep your facial expression neutral. Was Agatha dating someone? Was it serious? Is that why she came to LA? The questions began to pile on in your brain, the biggest of all being why did you even care?

As if Monica sensed your discomfort, she changed the subject. “So, have you met Strange yet? I’ve heard he’s pretty straight-laced during rehearsals.”

Strange? Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the question, until you remembered you never told Monica the news of the change in music directors. 

Clearing your throat, you nervously bit your lip. “Actually, Monica, I should have mentioned this earlier, but Stephen isn’t conducting-”

The all too familiar sound of clapping rang out from the entrance of the hall, cutting you off as everyone turned their attention to the noise, and you were unsurprised to hear frantic whispering at the sight of Tony Stark eagerly conversing with a brooding Agatha Harkness.

The conductor had changed from the outfit you last saw her in earlier that day, opting for a pair of black dress slacks and a violet button down. Her dark brown hair messily fell over her shoulders. In one hand she lightly grasped her baton, while a few music scores were held by the other. 

“Orchestra!” Tony called out, motioning for everyone to gather around him as he walked to the center of the stage. “Unfortunately, Maestro Strange will be taking a personal leave of absence for the duration of our summer season. But I’m very pleased to announce our interim conductor will be none other than Agatha Harkness. She’ll be taking over for the time being, so any questions or concerns are to be directed to her.”

From where you were standing, you watched Dottie’s face turn a sickeningly pale shade of white as Tony went on about what a fantastic marketing opportunity this was for the orchestra. 

“I’m going to turn it over to you now, Maestra. I think you’ll be pleased to see a few members from your orchestra are filling in for the summer,” Tony informed Agatha with a grin, giving her a final handshake before exiting through the side stage doors. 

Agatha leisurely strolled to stand on the podium, her music dropping down with a loud thud as she twirled the baton between her fingers. “Good evening, orchestra. I understand all of you on the West Coast tend to enjoy your relaxed, Erewhon smoothie drinking, sandal wearing, kumbaya lifestyles, but I have a lot to get through tonight. So, I would like to formally invite those of you not on stage to please grace the rest of us with your presence.”

“Sorry, I should have told you sooner,” you whispered apologetically as Monica stared in disbelief at the sight of the conductor. “She ambushed me earlier when I was practicing.”

“It’s fine,” Monica insisted, carefully managing to hold her violin and bow with one hand, while grasping her music with the other. “I’ll see you after rehearsal, good luck!”

While the rest of the orchestra filed on stage, quickly taking their seats, Agatha's eyes scanned the rows of musicians until she stopped, fixating on the empty chair directly to her left. “I see we’re missing our concertmaster? What a pity.”

As you settled in a seat towards the front of the hall, you noticed Dottie squirming uncomfortably in her seat. Unfortunately, Agatha also took notice, and you watched her shark tooth grin widen. “Dottie, I must say I’m rather surprised to see you. I don’t know if I should be more flattered or alarmed, are you stalking me now?”

A strikingly tall woman with jet black hair suddenly appeared out of nowhere, taking a seat next to you, as she gently opened a violin case on her lap. “She’s certainly something, isn’t she?” 

Cocking your head to the side, you frowned. “Who?” 

The woman nodded to the stage, where Agatha was still berating an increasingly embarrassed Dottie. “Harkness, she’s a bit of a wild one. Quite different from our usual Maestro.”

You nodded, watching as the mysterious woman applied a generous amount of rosin to her bow, before carefully placing her now empty case under the seat. “She’s definitely one of a kind. I don’t think we’ve met before, I’m Y/N.”

“Oh, I know who you are,” the woman quipped, a knowing smirk on her lips as she stood up. “Our esteemed artist in residence. I caught your performance with the Boston Philharmonic last winter. Your interpretation of Mendelssohn was…surprisingly tasteful.”

You weren’t sure if she was insulting or praising you, but you chose to believe the latter, offering her a polite smile. “Thanks, and you are?”

“Hela Odinson,” the woman introduced herself as she towered over you, giving your shoulder a brief squeeze before she turned away, adding, “now if you’ll excuse me, I have an orchestra to tune.”

Sauntering on stage, Hela cordially nodded to a few of the violinists who said hello to her, making her way to her seat at the front of the section.

It appeared Agatha also noticed the late arrival, as had she paused her verbal rant, curiously eyeing the violinist. “Nice of you to join us, Odinson. I see time management still isn’t one of your strong suits.”

“Well we can’t all be deranged tyrants, Maestra,” Hela playfully fired back, settling in her seat as she placed her bow on the stand, using her free hand to adjust her shoulder rest. “Some of us don’t feel the need to adhere to strict schedules.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched Dottie nearly fall out of her chair at Hela’s comment.

Rolling her eyes, Agatha’s grip on her baton tightened, eyes narrowing. “It’s always such a treat to speak with you, Hela.” Tapping her baton on the stand, she waited for the side chatter to stop. “Orchestra, your revered Mr. Stark has requested our presence at next week’s Donor Gala. So, we’ll be switching up our rehearsal schedule. We’re starting with Márquez.”

Dropping her baton on the stand, she stalked off the stage as the orchestra began to tune, the sound of winds, brass, and strings filling the hall, making her way to where you were sitting. 

“I thought you said Stephen was sick,” you reminded the conductor as she approached you.

“A personal leave of absence is just that, dear, personal,” Agatha waved off your concern, “I promise it’s nothing for you to worry your pretty little head over.”

She looked at you and for just a moment it felt like nothing had changed, as if you were still her assistant and you hadn’t spent the past five years apart. You used to love sitting in on rehearsals, always eager for any excuse you could to watch Agatha conduct. Although you’d never willingly admit it, heaven knows her ego didn’t need it, you failed to find a conductor you enjoyed working with as much as Agatha. While most conductors shared the same stubborn, prideful qualities, there was no one quite like Maestra Agatha Harkness. 

But, as quickly as the bittersweet feeling came over you, it was gone again, and you were left with the reminder of how much changed, how much you’ve changed. Leaving you to wonder if Agatha has changed much too?

Taking a step closer to you, the conductor pursed her lips, humming to get your attention. “Did you hear a single word I just said?” The guilty expression on your face gave you away, and Agatha sighed. “I hate to do this, but I need to cut Vaughn-Williams today. You know classically trained musicians have difficulty with more…wild rhythms. I’ll need the rehearsal time to run the Márquez to beat every single last syncopated rhythm into their thick skulls.”

“It’s fine,” you insisted, and you should use the extra time to rehearse other music for the Gala, but you felt something urging you to do something else entirely. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay and listen? It’s been a few years since I last played Danzón, I’d love to hear it.”

As if she was somehow expecting you to say that, she smirked. “It’s funny you mention that, because I’m short a violinist today. I know you’re a hot shot soloist now, and I’m sure this is beneath you, but why don’t you sit in with them.”

It wasn’t a question as much as a demand, but you didn’t mind. You never did when it was coming from Agatha.

“I wouldn’t say it’s beneath me, but of course, Maestra. I’d be honored,” you accepted, turning to grab your violin from its case, and your expression fell as you saw a distraught Dottie slouching in her seat. “Hey, maybe you could try to take it easy on Dottie? She really isn’t that bad, you know.”

The once familiar scent of the conductor’s perfume, subtle hints of violet, jasmine, and sandalwood, overtook your senses as she took yet another step closer to you. “I know my memory isn’t what it used to be, but I seem to recall you used to enjoy being beneath me, hm?”

Of course she brought up the memory comment you made earlier, knowing the conductor she would torture you with it for all of eternity. You felt your face grow hot as you blushed, before remembering where you were. “Agatha…”

“Besides, I thought you liked how mean I was,” the conductor murmured, in reference to your comment on Dottie, as she stood far too close to you for far too long. “This is my orchestra after all, at least for the next few months.”

Agatha gave you an absolutely filthy wink, heading back to the podium. Raising her baton, she tapped the stand to signal for the orchestra to pay attention. “We’ll be joined by our summer artist in residence, Y/N, for the rest of rehearsal.” 

She paused as the orchestra broke out into a brief round of applause, and you dared to think she looked pleased at that reaction. After a few seconds she waved her hands to cut them off. “From the top, please.”

You were thrilled to find the open chair was next to Monica, and you grinned wildly. “It’s like I’m having deja vu.”

“I know, right. I’ve gotta say, Maestra seems happier than I’ve seen in a while,” Monica said coyly, giving you an inquisitive look. 

“What?” You whispered, wondering what she was implying. Surely Agatha’s good mood had nothing to do with you, there were a few things that occasionally made her happy. She always appeared happier after picking on Dottie, for example, or when one of the interns got fired. 

“Oh, nothing,” Monica innocently replied, getting the music ready. 

Agatha raised her baton, and the room fell silent in anticipation of her downbeat. Then it began, as her hands masterfully began to conduct, cueing in the solo clarinet, piano, and then oboe with a swish of her baton. You loved almost every piece of music you ever performed, but your heart always held a special spot for Danzón No. 2. Filled with sultry and exquisite melodies, it had several different tempo changes that required you to keep your eyes locked on the conductor. In this case, you had no difficulty doing that, as Agatha Harkness was the most engaging conductor you had ever met. 

You were always surprised at how well she was able to connect with any piece and make it her own, with every flourish of her baton and wave of her hands, it was as if she was the one composing the musical masterpiece herself. Danzón No. 2 was no exception, you realized, mesmerized at the sight of Agatha in her element after so long. There was a tempo change shortly after the start of the piece, and the conductor increased the speed of her baton, urging the orchestra to follow her with little difficulty. This was a particularly fun run to play as a violinist, and you allowed your muscle memory to guide you through the familiar rhythms and notes, as it had been a few years since you had last played it, bow moving in unison with the rest of the first violin section. 

As much as you loved being a soloist, there were few things that could compare to the feeling of playing in the violin section. Mastering difficult passages while your fingers moved completely in sync, counting every rest until you were cued back in, it was a special, tingly, heartwarming feeling that you hadn’t realized you had missed until now. 

One of your favorite sections of this piece was the violin solo, and you watched Agatha cue Hela in. The concertmaster was, unsurprisingly, extremely talented, as she used an impressive amount of vibrato on all of her notes, ringing out through the hall. It was a slow, seductive melody, and every shift of her fingers was exaggerated to draw out the intended luscious sound. As you counted the rests until the rest of the section came back in, you couldn’t help but notice the prolonged eye contact between the conductor and the concertmaster. You then thought back to their brief exchange at the start of rehearsal. Did they know each other? Is Hela the reason why Agatha seemed so happy?

The solo came to an end as Hela played her final note, and as Agatha cued the rest of the section back in, she did something you had never seen before. Using the hand not holding her baton, she pulled her hair back, twisting it into a bun before securing it with her baton. Both hands now free, the conductor took more freedom with the slower tempo, leading the orchestra through the gorgeous melody. As the strings took over, Agatha exaggerated her conducting pattern to encourage the orchestra to grow in sound. Closing her eyes to truly feel the beat, you couldn’t bring yourself to look away, completely content with watching her in all her beauty.

Her eyes opened, suddenly, and they landed on you, her lips twisted upwards to form a rare, but genuine, smile. You couldn’t help but smile back, you had missed this; had missed her. You never stopped missing her. The moment was broken all too soon, as the next tempo change was approaching, and the strings went back to the background syncopated rhythm, Agatha beat out the faster tempo with her hands, baton remaining in her hair. It continued on, with the brass leading the rest of the ensemble to the home stretch, as the violinists did another run up the fingerboard. 

Embracing her dramatic flair, the conductor whipped the baton back out, her hair flying every which way as she furiously laid out the last tempo change, and the orchestra followed suit. A final piccolo and piano duet played out as the brass accompanied, and you were pleased that Agatha wasn’t glaring at Dotite at all. The rest of the piece was a colorful, loud blend of syncopated rhythms and passages filled with scales that were embellished, pushing the orchestra forward with every measure, unrelenting until they reached the ending. Agatha conducted the last beat with a final twirl of her hands, effectively cutting the orchestra off.

“That wasn’t half bad,” Agatha offered, flipping back through her score and making half scribbled notes with her pencil. “If we could go back to the beginning, I need to hear more of the oboe when they come in, so strings make sure you stay below that.” She turned another page back, making a huge circle, “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, and Dottie I need you not to fall over, but that wasn’t terrible. I need more piccolo, so play out more…please.”

From where you were sitting, you noticed the MSO cellist, Hope, raise her eyebrows almost comically high from shock, and Monica stifled a gasp. Craning your neck, you watched Dottie nearly fall out of her chair once more, and you were happy for her. You knew Agatha meant well, in most cases, but sometimes she could take things a bit too far. 

In the back of your mind you were still wondering if she had something to do with Stephen’s sudden personal leave of absence, but when you looked back to the podium, those thoughts were swept aside as the woman who occupied nearly all your thoughts was looking at you expectantly, her baton lowered. She didn’t give Dottie a half-compliment because of you, did she? 

Her hair was still flying all over, as it was even more uncontrollable than normal, and you could make out the beads of sweat on her forehead from the effort of conducting such a fast-paced, intense piece. A rather intrusive thought popped in your head as you stared, reminding you the last time you had seen the conductor that out of breath and glistening with sweat was when you were naked in her bed with her fingers curling inside you as she counted how many times she could make you come. 

No, you could not reminisce on those particular memories now, you thought as you tried to keep the blush from spreading on your cheeks.

It hit you full force, for what felt like the millionth time, how much you had missed Agatha Harkness. But here she was, in all her glory, looking at you for some sort of response and all you could do was stare dumbly at her, trying to wordlessly convey every thought, every feeling you had bottled up for the past five years. 

“Thank you,” you mouthed to Agatha, grateful if she had indeed listened to you.

Finally raising her baton, Agatha gave you a wink, another one of those special, rare smiles on her face. “Let’s take it from the top!”

[thorniest-rose]

Hi everyone,

A lot’s happened over the last few days and I know that I’ve been under a lot of scrutiny and the subject of conversation, so I wanted to take a moment to talk about it with you. I didn't address it last week when I was told that people in the fandom were posting about me and sharing screenshots of my blog. This was to protect my mental health, but now I want to share my own thoughts.

It's really hard not to lash out in situations like this because of how much it hurts. To go through something like this is shocking and humiliating, it rips the ground up from under your feet. But I didn't want to go on the attack because I knew how much worse that would make things. No matter how opinionated I am, conflict makes me feel sick and makes me want to hide. So instead of lashing out, I've done a lot of thinking over the past few days, not just about what's happened to me, but about things I've done and what could have led to this.

Firstly, I want to apologise to everyone whose feelings I may have hurt when I posted certain things in the past. I want any space that I cultivate to be a happy, positive one for the people who spend time here and at times I think I’ve unintentionally created an atmosphere that has felt combative or alienating. I honestly never consider myself to be a well-known writer or someone whose voice has reach in the wider fandom. No matter how many followers I have or how many people read my fics, I always see myself as a girl just spending time on her tumblr, but that's naive and I should have recognised that in a shared space, all opinions are seen and have an impact. 

Discourse is my least favourite thing about interacting in fandom and there have been times where I’ve let myself be drawn into it. That doesn’t mean it’s ever okay to look down on what other people enjoy and I really regret posting those things now because that’s not who I am as a person. Expressing displeasure and other negative feelings isn’t what I want to engage in and I should remember how easy it is for flippant, spur of the moment comments to be taken out of context. Saying things like “I don’t like this” even on my own blog is immature and beneath me and I’m genuinely sorry.  

I am also in no way any sort of authority on how these characters are written, no one is. A fandom is for everyone. I’m passionate and vocal in my own space because I treat my tumblr as a slumber party with my friends, but in my enthusiasm, there have been times where it seems like I’m saying my characterisations are the only valid ones. I don’t think that’s the case at all, and I genuinely love and admire the creativity in this fandom. I’ve said this before, but just because I have preferences doesn’t mean I want every characterisation to be the same as mine because that would become extremely dull. I believe that any and all interpretations should have an audience.

However, while I take responsibility for the things I've said on my blog, the things that have been said about me in response have been extremely spiteful and damaging. I never wanted a war with anyone. I should know better than to court discourse in such a volatile fandom, even inadvertently. To take issue with me and what I said is fine, I accept the criticism and apologise; at times my comments have been juvenile and mean-spirited. But a group of people targeting me, screenshotting my posts, calling me names and attacking what I write isn’t proportionate at all and encourages a wider pack mentality. I think we should all remember that there is an actual person behind the screen reading the things that we post and that our words can cause real harm. It’s easy to dehumanise an avatar and a username. And I think it speaks to a rot at the heart of fandoms that so many people find pleasure in fighting and where feelings can fester into hatred and vitriol.

I am outspoken and passionate about what I love. I sometimes bristle at things I see that don’t gel with my ideas or at a misjudged tone, and I post about them instead of seeing the bigger picture and moving on. It’s a flaw and something I’m working on, to be more open and less reactive. I don’t want fighting or tension, and I don’t want rivalries. I also don’t ever want to make people feel like their characterisations are wrong/invalid/unworthy or that they themselves don’t belong and that I’m some kind of fandom queen bee trying to ice them out. While that’s genuinely never been my intention, I can see how things have been taken that way and I’m sorry for that too.

Again, I’m sorry to everyone I’ve hurt or alienated with comments that I’ve made. I always want to be kind and compassionate. And while I don’t think what’s happened over the past few days is OK, I can see the bigger picture and why things I’ve said, or the atmosphere I’ve cultivated, has planted seeds of resentment. I've also unblocked the person who's been posting about me, if they want to reach out to talk privately.

I know there are people reading this who have been following me for the past four years, and in that time have seen me struggle, and fall down, and make mistakes, but hopefully grow and learn from those mistakes too. I’m so grateful to you all.

I’m going to take a break from tumblr for a week or so, to spend time away from socials, to connect with friends and other passions and focus on self-care. And to write, of course, because I’ll always be writing, whether it’s here or elsewhere.

See you all soon,

Brooke 💕

[ravenonice]

I'm sure at least some of you have by now seen ice dancers Gabriella Papadakis and Madison Hubbell skating together:

And let's just get this out of the way: They're STUNNING! Absolutely amazing! And I am beyond excited about what's coming!

But here's what we're NOT going to do:

Especially on Twitter I've been seeing comments like:

"IRL YURI ON ICE!"

"Viktuuri paved the way!"

Or

"Yuuri and Viktor did it first!"

And it's disappointing.

When Skate Canada changed their rules to allow couples of all gender constellations in ice dance and pair skating it was a huge deal! And now that the ISU is allegedly considering following suit and therefore same sex couples maybe being allowed in international competition in the foreseeable future is even more HUGE!

What is happening right now in figure skating and ice dance is revolutionary and a big step forward in a sport that, even though it attracts a lot of lgbtq+ individuals, is still pervaded by homo- and transphobia!

This rule change doesn't just open up the field for homosexual romance stories, it also officially includes non-binary athletes, who are kinda existing in a grey area so far.

Plus, this isn't necessarily an LGBTQ+ issue. Another issue in pairs and ice dance is that is seen as inherently romantic...and audiences and judges hardly accept any other narrative. If you and your partner don't seem like you are madly in love, you don't have any chemistry at all and your presentation is worth hardly anything.

This leaves us with juniors and sibling duos skating routines with sexual narratives (not good) and skaters who are pressured to fit in a mold of what a figure skating/ice dance pair should look like and present as. And it doesn't really matter what they're comfortable with. It's what gets you points from the judges and praise from the audience.

Also there are much more women in the sport than men. This leaves a lot of women who'd like to compete in dance without a partner. Sure, there are solo dance competitions now. But it's not recognised by the ISU yet and also it clearly is not exactly the same as with a partner as things like lifts and partnered dance spins aren't possible.

While this rule change opens up the sport for lgbtq stories, it also helps to open up the sport to a wider range of performances and stories that aren't romantic or sexual in any way.

Putting the label "gay!" on a same sex couple in ice dance and pairs isn't necessarily helping the cause...and I admit that I am guilty here and I need to tone my excitement for that side of it down a little maybe 😅

So please respect the work that people in the sport have put in and the work Gabi and Madi are putting in right now to pave the way for this exciting rule change, and don't ascribe any part in it to Yuuri on Ice, no matter how much it may remind you of that end credit scene of Yuuri and Viktor.

Thank you 🫶🏻

Here's a few links for further reading on why this is a huge step forward that do a much better and more detailed job at explaining this than I do!

[reejindeed]

It seems like a lot of us One Piece fans started to leave the fandom for other things. You have your folk lore, I really got into pokemon. I wish you luck on your new art adventure.

I was pretty much only reading One Piece whenever the Kid Pirates were involved tbh

After a lot of the Yamato drama and general transphobic/homophobic/racist bullshit that kept getting regurgitated with the same three points of discourse I just got… tired. I’ve been tired for a long time. I wanted it to be better and I can absolutely see and acknowledge One Piece and Oda for where it is and for where he is, but like… man. It just wasn’t making me happy. Keeping up started feeling like a chore and an expectation. I was actually almost happy when the Kid Pirates were written out because I had this moment of like… finally I can be free of this shit.

Unfortunately the majority of my audience is One Piece-based so I don’t think I’ll ever fully be able to leave leave, (especially because something like Irish paganism and mythology isn’t exactly enough to go off of to keep a steady flow of money and I would have COMPLICATED FEELINGS about that anyway since I’m still very much a novice here), even if I am able to allow myself space to breathe and pursue other interests outside of this big huge modern epoch. This is still my livelihood, which is another part of the reason I didn’t want my entire career to be centered around making fanart of an anime I didn’t feel great about. I wanted to be thinking more about what I want to be doing, and the type of work I want to have representing myself as well as what is marketable and will make money. Fanart for large fandoms builds more interest for commissions because it has a wider reach than original work. It does serve a function. It’s just not where my heart’s at, and given the state of everything I’d rather be putting my energy towards something that makes me want to draw again.

I still have a lot of love for the little corner I built for myself within the One Piece universe. I still really respect One Piece for what it is: an INCREDIBLY vast sandbox that allows for the immense creativity of the fandom to build upon this empire that Oda has created. That’s no small feat, and I have an IMMENSE amount of respect for Oda as a writer, world-builder, and artist. I’ll still probably be drawing the Kid Pirates for a long time.

Just not as much as I used to.

I really hope I can also continue to build an audience of people who have similar interests as me in all regards, not just one specific fandom for one specific anime.

[distracted-and-diffused]

On streaming and cancellation

Wanted to get a bit off my chest about the Dead Boy Detectives cancellation and the state of television today, so this is going to be a bit of a ramble/rant.

I know that Dead Boy Detectives cannot have been the cheapest or least challenging show to film in the Netflix Originals lineup. I am very grateful that Netflix picked it up in the first place, because the alternative seems to have been that it would have quietly moldered after having been dropped by HBO.

And I know that the realities and financials of the business of television are very different now than they have been in the past. I’m pretty sure they’re a black box to most people now, because Netflix sure isn’t sharing the fine details of how they are making those financial decisions, and their only real important metric seems to be “subscription number goes up.”

But I’m so exhausted by this current model, which seems to launch fans into the “bargaining” mode of grieving by default, even before the show gets cancelled.

As a fan, I should not be worried about whether I found and started watching the show quickly enough, or whether I should have watched more of it sooner. (I think my first watch-through ended just within that first month).

As a fan, I should not be worried about whether I posted enough, or did enough to evangelize about the show. (I like talking about stuff that I like, but I am personally uncomfortable with evangelizing about anything.)

As a fan, it is not my job to be an influencer, or the unpaid wing of Netflix’s marketing department. (And if I was going to be, oh, I have so many ideas about improvements they could make… but those improvements would probably exceed their modest in-house marketing budget. And again, not my job.)

As a fan, my only job is to love the show, and I do, and I did. So, so much. (I made it through nearly six complete rewatches; I was halfway through episode six again when I heard the news — and that’s not me putting on the show in the background, that’s actively watching each time — and they should know that from the number of times I rewound certain scenes. I had to stop putting it on while I was cooking because I kept missing parts I wanted to see more closely.)

And I know that as much as I loved this show, there are so many other fans out there who loved it that much more.

---

So it’s disheartening to hear that the show supposedly didn’t have the numbers or the engagement, but it’s also disheartening to see fans feel like this is something we could have prevented. Because I’m pretty sure we couldn’t.

Netflix doesn’t want to see that the show is critically acclaimed (it is!), or that people who like it really like it (they do!). The fact that it’s really good is great, but at the end of the day they’re not that interested.

They want to know that it’s something that will gain them subscribers. They want to see that it’s a sure thing that will make them back their money. (And this sentiment is not exclusive to Netflix, of course; any streamer, any studio has the same concerns at this point.)

And Season Two would probably cost more than Season One. Honestly, if we had gotten a Season Two I would have wanted them to give a bit more time and money to Season Two than Season One, because as great as it was, I feel like I could see places where the show was held back from being even better.

---

There’s nothing that I can do, as a fan, to let Netflix know that Dead Boy Detectives Season Two would have been a sure thing that would absolutely make them back their money. All I could have done is to go on loving the show, and telling other people about how much I love the show, and I think in time it absolutely would have found a wider audience of people who loved it.

Netflix used to be one of those companies that thrived (or at least, claimed to thrive) on the long tail, on people discovering the things that they loved and spoke specifically to them (maybe long after they were made), over and over and over again. It’s not that anymore. And I’m not even sure that the execs have ever thought of the Netflix Originals in that context.

And that’s sad for us, but it’s also sad for them, because here’s the thing:

We’re now in a climate where all of the major streamers are raising rates while also trying to maintain their user base. And that makes sense, from a certain point of view — content, licensed or in-house — is ultimately expensive. At the same time, everyone wants subscriber counts to go up, even as they start to reach saturation.

So then we start hearing streamers bemoaning churn — people signing up for a few months and then cancelling, and then coming back months or a year later to sign up for a few months again. That’s not steady or reliable income. And every time you lose someone to a cancellation, there’s a chance that they might find something else to occupy their time (could be another streaming service, could be their DVD collection, or woodworking), and they might take longer the next time to come back. Or they might not come back at all.

---

And to me, if you want a steady user base, then you want people that want to rewatch your content. You want people to find their comfort shows. You want people to find things that they don’t just like, but love, and especially to have confidence that you can offer them those things, and that you will help them find them.

But that’s just me, and I’m feeling old and tired now. I’m one of those people who can’t afford to spend more on streaming and who doesn’t like ads, and is eyeing my subscription change at the end of the month now that Basic is going away.

[margareth-lv]

😵‍💫🫡 Anxiety, apathy, withdrawal, delusions 🫡😵‍💫

@odessa-2 inspired me with her note today and a reminder of the post Oliver Jeffers shared on Instagram on 3 January 2021 (side note: I have a feeling this is a completely random date and has nothing to do with anything other than Caitríona being at the time, as many people believe, already heavily pregnant with this child, whose birth wasn't announced until August,  but I could be wrong. Is there anything that you associate with this date?).

*** *** *** My body reacts nervously to any event involving Caitríona and Oliver Jeffers. Maybe it's some kind of PTSD, I'll explain in more detail below. *** *** *** Anyway, my first reaction to the news in fandom over the weekend about the New York Times article was quite nervous.

😅

In October, […] the visual artist and author Oliver Jeffers, 46, hosted a candlelit dinner for a group of Irish and Northern Irish artists and friends.

Caitríona was also present at the dinner to celebrate the launch of Oliver's latest book, 'Begin Again'.

Caitríona/Oliver, that combination doesn't sound right to me, it means smoke and mirrors and supporting the narrative. Luckily I was wrong this time.

*** *** ***

2021. Oliver Jeffers at Caitríona's 'wedding', sitting in the fireplace recess in a white suit, accompanied by a stone dog. There was no better place for him than the soot-blackened fireplace? There was no other suit than white for a friend's wedding? There was no better companion for this wedding than a stone dog? ❓

Smoke and mirrors. As dense as a spider's web, a web of connections, dependencies and interests.

*** *** ***

July 2022. Oliver Jeffers invites Caitríona to take part in the 'Our Place' festival he is organising.

Here they are in conversation with Kathy Clugston in Belfast on 2 July 2022 ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Caitríona is sitting on the stage, tense.

Excuse me. I don't mean to be rude, but she looked like she was getting dressed for the event in the dark. And when you watch the whole thing, you realise that, surprisingly, she wasn't at all comfortable on stage. She didn't have much to say except for her personal memories. She didn't have any general thoughts, any wider perspective than her own. You could see her lack of confidence and fear in her body language, the unspoken part of communication. Sadness, stress and depression. So what does she say? What does Caitríona say?

The fandom has been buzzing for years about the fact that Caitríona never referred to 🧛🏻‍♂️ as her husband. So now Caitríona, sitting uncomfortably next to Oliver Jeffers, raised her right hand in an embarrassed laugh.

Well, her husband used to say, wait, what did he used to say? Oh yes, he used to say that a strong personality keeps their accent. I mean, the most interesting thing is what happens after that. Because the most surprising thing is what she starts talking about after she calls her 'husband'. Within a couple of sentences she starts talking about Sam, you know, the one she works with. And "Sam, who I work with, for the last three months he's been saying, 'What's up with you, you're really Irish all of a sudden'". And then she talks about her 'only son'.

A brilliantly acted scene (if it weren't for all the nervous laughing and tensing up).

💁🏻‍♀️

You ask, how do we know which 'husband' was in the festival audience? From here, of course ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Smoke and mirrors. As dense as a spider's web, a web of connections, dependencies and interests.

*** *** *** Incidentally, I am keen to compare Caitríona's pictures with her 'husband' with those of her real-life friends:

*** *** *** That's why when I saw the 'NYT' article about Caitríona and Oliver Jeffers, my stomach tightened. This time, however, I couldn't have been more wrong. 🙃🙃🙃

… because Caitríona's handbag was on the floor, near her feet, as someone on 'X' pointed out.

Which means that the professional purse-holder had been given the evening off on the day of this dinner.

Can one feel more relieved?

❓

I ate my breakfast in peace and quiet.

*** *** *** Source 1: Starting at 36:29 is the short clip I quoted above.

Source 2:

*** *** ***

Voilà. Enjoy, @lovehimloveherstuff (Although reading what I've written here probably has nothing to do with 'enjoying'. I am so sorry.)

[December 11, 2023]

[pasaatimonarkin]

No crying in the Burlesque club I part 3

Han Jisung x reader feat. OT8 Stray kids

Mafia!au

Warnings: cursing, guns, mentions of blood, sexual language, future smut

Word cound: 4,6k

part 2 I part 4

Your first performance after the incident went perfectly. The audience loved your performance, and you got long and loud cheers after the show. You instantly relaxed after the first song started and the rest went on like flying. You also got praise from your boss or let’s call him by his name Jack, and Cherry – who was upset that Han didn’t give her the attention she wanted. She didn’t admit it, but you knew that’s how she felt. After you sat down into your own seat, you texted Han to come to the dressing room in 10 minutes. He had randomly walked to your room last Tuesday to give you, his number. When leaving your room, he waved his hand in a phone sign next his ear, then mouthing ‘call me’ and winking.

As you looked yourself in the mirror, you opened your hair. Taking all the pins off and letting your long hair fall down. You rubbed your head as it was hurting from keeping all that hair up. I did well, it all went well, you thought and sighed. The anxiety that had been crawling in your stomach had finally gone away and you felt relief.

You opened the strings of your corset and let it fall to the floor and you did same with the dress. From your purse you picked black leggings and a long t-shirt. As much as you liked to be dressed up nicely, there was nothing comfier than changing into some home clothes. You brushed your hair and weighted the options whether to take your make up off now or back at the house.

There was a knock on the door which meant you would be taking the makeup off later as you expected Han to be behind the door. You smiled widely and hopped to open the door.

“You’re back- “you cut off as you saw a tall, muscular man standing in front of you. His dark eyes landed on yours and he smirked once he saw you. You took your eyes off his and your attention briefly shifted to the badge he had on his shoulder. It couldn’t be seen clearly but it looked like snake. That looks familiar. Your thoughts were stopped as the man lifted your chin for you to look at him. You breathing felt like it stopped, and you froze. Your stomach twirled around as his disgusting smirk grew wider. He eyed your body slowly like was taking in all your curves and outline of your figure.  

“Jack never told me was hiding such a gem in here.” he said with a low voice, looking into your eyes as his hand slowly wandered down your arm. His touch sent shivers down your spine, and you quickly took a step back, wanting to close the door on his face as he tried to grab you again.

“Don’t touch me” you hissed.

“Don’t get feisty kitten” his eyes darkened.

“What do you want?”

The man didn’t answer but took a step closer, and you gulped. There was something dark and scary about his presence that made you feel nauseous. It’s like you could sense that his intentions were not innocent.

You heard someone clear their throat behind him and you peeked to see Han standing there, looking at the other man’s back sharply. The man turned halfway to look at Han and then shifted his eyes back on you. “Oh, I see” he only said smiling wickedly before walking out, bumping his shoulder onto Han’s while walking past him.  Han watched him disappear from the hall and mocked the man’s words and flipped him off with both of his hands. His goofiness made you smile widely and feel more at ease.

“You know who that was?” Han looked at you, pointing at the direction the man walked. You shrugged, “I have no idea. He knocked on the door and I thought it was you”

“We better make up our signature knock then. But not too complicated otherwise I will forget it, then do it wrong and bang! You hit me with a chair” he acted getting hit by something and tumbled back while holding his forehead.

You laughed and shook your head. Han was a total clown but you kind of liked that. Considering the lifestyle he had, it was nice to see it hadn’t changed him. You turned back to the dressing room and hopped to get your stuff. You stuffed your performing clothes into your purse, swung it over your shoulder and took your walking sticks that were leaning on one of the chairs.

Once you made your way to the car, Han helped you inside like always before sitting on the driver’s side.

“I would not mind coming along more often. I had fun” Han said and left the parking space.

“Yeah? Did Cherry tell you her funny stories?”

“Cherry? Oh, right that pink haired girl you were so jealous of because I kissed her hand” Han smirked.

You looked at him with wide eyes. Was I that see through? “I wasn’t jealous!”

“But you were”

“I was not!”

“We can keep arguing about this all night. Did you feel bad because I didn’t kiss your hand?” Han said in a baby voice and pouted while looking at you.

“Oh, shut up!” you said and tried to hide your burning red cheeks from him by looking at the window. Han laughed at your reaction because he knew he was right, and you hated that he was right. Perhaps it was that you had been around him almost 24/7 for the past week or that he kept playfully flirting with you, that had made you crush on him a little. He was always making you laugh and making sure you were all right. That was his personality trait – to always be funny and caring. You knew that there could never anything between you two because of how he lived and oh yeah, he would have to like you too.

You would spend two weeks like this – Han would take you to your shows and spend the time sitting at the bar or even in the audience, eyeing you the whole time. Somedays he took Hyunjin and Changbin with him to keep him company, though only Hyunjin consented to it. Changbin had to be forced to come as otherwise he would spend his whole day at the house. Cherry and Lucky were all over the heels for the men, clinging onto Changbin’s muscular arms and admiring Hyunjin’s beautiful looks.

“Where do you find these unbelievably hot men?” Cherry asked gasping the first time Han brought the others with him. “You look like you have your own security team” Lucky laughed slightly as you came to the club with the men walking behind you. “Stop it. They are just my friends who wanted to come see the show” you said hitting both girls on their shoulders. They looked each other while rolling their eyes mockingly. It was true it might look weird that you never came alone anymore. You couldn’t just say that your half-brother was a mafia boss and didn’t let you anywhere alone anymore.

You were sitting in a booth with all of them. Someone could have thought that you were on a triple date since all you three girls had men besides you. Your show was over ages ago, but you had to wait Jack to tell you three what your schedules would be for the next two weeks.

“I could easily go and dance as one of you and no one would notice the change” Hyunjin said proudly whilst pointing at the stage.

Lucky, your other burlesque friend, who was sitting next to him laughed, “You mean you would look like just like a woman?”

“No” Hyunjin sneered at her, “I mean my performance would be so elegant and beautiful”

“How about I bring you a tutu and you can go do some dancing?” Changbin joked and made you all almost choke with laughter, even Hyunjin though he really was sure he would nail it.

“What do you two do for living by the way?” Cherry asked before taking a sip of her margarita, looking towards Hyunjin and Changbin. They looked at each other shortly, knowing that they had to figure out a lie.

“You don’t care what I do?” Han playfully raised his eyebrow at her, placing a hand on his chest to act hurt. It started to become his signature move when adding drama to his response.

“I’d imagine you don’t work since you are always here with y/n”

Han scoffed and acted even more offended, looking at Cherry, like she just told him she had crashed his car and then spat on it.

“I’m a driver. I race” Changbin answered casually, obviously not saying what it actually meant. Hyunjin nodded, “yeah me too”.

“Is that even a real job?” Lucky dumbfoundingly asked with a bit laughter in her voice. Not taking the men’s profession seriously. That started a loud arguing with the four, Changbin and Hyunjin trying to prove that it was real work and then making the mistake of asking if Burlesque was a real profession. Hell was loose as Cherry and Lucky started to spat at them.

”Do you know if Chan’s going to be at house tomorrow?” you whispered, leaning closer to Han so he would hear. The others were so deep in their arguing that they wouldn’t have realized if someone was pointing a gun at them. Han hadn’t noticed that you moved closer and turned his head towards you, your faces only a few inches from each other. You stared at each other in surprise but neither of you moved away. As you gazed to each other’s eyes, you felt butterflies in your stomach. You had never been this close to his face that you almost felt his breath on your face, his cologne filling up your nostrils. Han stared at you back also not breaking eye contact. His eyes swiftly looked at your lips and then back at your eyes. It was so quick you almost didn’t see it.

” y/n, your boss is asking you” Hyunjin interrupted, leaning over the table and clicking his fingers in front of your faces. How long did we stare at each other?

” Yeah, right” you said awkwardly and cleaned your throat. You smiled at Han slightly embarrassed before following the girls who were waiting you next to the stage, both wondering what took you so long. You didn’t say anything but just motioned for you three to move to the dressing room where your boss, Jack would be waiting with the lists.

” Alright here you go” Jack said while giving out the lists. It had all of your performance’s but there was a fourth name added to the list.

” Who’s Coco?” you three asked simultaneously, lifting your gaze to Jack who was smiling, most likely waiting for you to ask. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed on his chest.” She’s your new dance sister. She’s coming next week. Some younger blood is needed here”

You, Cherry and lucky looked at each other. It’s not like you three owned the club but it had been just you three for the past four years. It was weird to learn that another woman would start in there too, perhaps a hint of jealousy washed over you. It was usually the new ones who stole the show, leaving the others in their shadow.

” Oh, don’t worry girls. She won’t outshine you” Jack smirked, responding to your reaction and walked away from the dressing room. But his words didn’t sound reassuring at all.

” With younger blood, does he mean that she is going to be even younger that you?” Cherry asked with confusion in her voice, pointing at you. You had been the youngest for now, guess you were becoming too old for that role.

“I’m sure of it”

“Why did he have to make it like she is going to be our competitor?” Lucky asked confused, putting her hand on her waist and standing with an attitude. You shrugged thought you knew the reason. Jack wanted you four to perform like it was a war going on between you. He wanted to see cat fights behind the stage that would turn into fury and passion on the stage. And that would attract more men to watch as we would strive to prove who was the most skilled and loved among the audience. It was an appalling tactic.

The car’s wipers were on max speed as rain was pouring down while you were driving back to the House. You were sitting on the back seat with Hyunjin while Changbin and Han sat in the front, driving his Ferrari down the road. After your talk with girls, you came back to the guys and Han answered to your earlier question:  Chan was going to be in the Strays’ house tonight. Now you could talk with him about your situation and maybe ask the question you had been keeping on your tongue since you saw him. Why did he leave you?

“Since you’re going to talk with Chan today” Changbin cut the silence and turned to look at you over his shoulder, “Don’t make him angry. I need go make a gun deal with him tomorrow and for the love of god I don’t need him acting like a bomb about to explode”. You couldn’t figure out whether his voice had a hint of joking or not, his face said otherwise.

“Yeah in case you don’t know, Chan can be quite hot-headed when angry” Han spoke, looking sharing a brief eye contact with you through the rear mirror before fixating his eyes on the road again.

“Well, in case you have forgotten, I haven’t been able to really get to know him” you stated sarcastically at Han.

“Then take our advice to heart” Hyunjin answered without looking at you, his gaze staying on the window.

The car ride felt like it lasted forever. You didn’t figure out anything to talk about and neither did the guys. You just sat in silence. Your stomach had a sting in it as thinking about talking to Chan made you nervous. How would you engage him to the conversation? And how you should phrase the things you wanted to ask?

Finally, you didn’t need to wonder about it anymore as you arrived at the house and Han parked the car to the garage. You hopped out and picked the walking sticks from the car’s floor. With determination lingering on your mind, you decided to make your way straight to Chan’s office where he most likely would be.

“Good luck” Han winked as he went past you to his own room. Yeah thanks, I need it.

You didn’t knock but opened the door to his office and there he sat; a stern expression etched on his face. You took a deep breath and approached him, standing before his office table.

"Chan," you almost whispered, voice getting stuck in your throat. "We should talk"

Chan lifted his face from the papers he had on the table, annoyance once again filtering his face. “What is it?” he murmured before lowering his head back to the papers, clearly not in the mood for chitchatting. You almost wanted to give in right at the start, but this conversation had to be done.

“Why did you leave back then?” you asked, trying to steady your voice before it could tremble.

“I just had to. It’s none of your business” he snapped, still not looking at you.

"Why are you so angry with me all the time?", your voice mixed with impatience and curiosity. "It's not like I have done anything bad to you”

Chan stayed quiet, flicking through the thick paper bundles. He was likely waiting for you to give up and just leave, but you stood still eyes burning on his head like you were trying to lift his head telepathically to look at you. Eventually he sighed and let go of the bundle.

“My father was the one sitting on this chair before. I was to follow his steps as a leader. I was cursed to that future since the day I was born. When you started getting older and closer to me, I had to leave to keep you safe” Chen spoke surprisingly softly and finally looked at you in the eyes. His expression mixed with multiple emotions, like he didn’t know how to feel about it.

“But why the anger?”

“I failed. I promised myself to never let you close to this life and still here you are”. You could sense the disappointment and regret in him, “And I can’t let myself to get close to you. It’s too dangerous”

“It’s dangerous to be close to your own sister?” you raised your voice. Desperation and sadness burning in your throat.

"You don't get it, do you?" he growled. "You're in my world now, a world I never wanted you to see. It's a life that destroys everything it touches and showing your feelings can be used against you” His eyes flashed with a mix of anger and pain.

Your eyes searched his, desperate to understand his words. He was right that it was a nasty world but you were already part of it. You had started to like living in the house and wanted to get closer with Chan again. You were cared for in there the way you never had been. Ever since your mother’s death you had been alone, Burlesque being your only comfort.

“Yeah well I don’t care if it’s dangerous. Since I found you again, I’m not going anywhere” you said sternly. You had made up your mind about this in the past weeks.

"I can't let you get involved in this, y/n. It's not safe for you here."

“I admire you wanting to keep me safe, but I could be in as much danger living on my own as living in here. Since your rivals have seen my face, aren’t I safer in here?”

Chan sighed once again, moving his eyes from you elsewhere,” You’re not a part of this world, y/n. You can't just waltz in and expect to change things. It's not a fairy tale, it's a nightmare, and once you're in, there's no getting out. You can be here until you are well but then I need you to part yourself from this. I can have someone keep eye on you. You would be safe and out of this life”

You were getting impatient with his arguing and felt that he would not budge from his opinion. As you were trying to continue your reasoning, his phone rang and he glared at you, his eyes demanding you to leave room. Reluctantly, you left. You slammed the door shut behind you. You didn't get the answers you were waiting for but at least you got him to have an actual conversation with you.

"I guess it didn’t go well?" Han’s voice suddenly asked.

"Fuck, how long have you been standing there?" you jumped a little and turned to him. He was leaning against the wall, smirking at you. "Long enough”

"Were you eavesdropping?" You narrowed your eyes at him, your voice a mix of annoyance and frustration that stayed with you from the talk with Chan.

Han held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Just looking out for you. I know how he gets." His tone was light, his sarcasm could be heard a mile away.

"Yeah right, you just got curious" you accused Han, though the corner of your mouth twitched upwards slightly.

Han shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes twinkling. "Maybe. But I actually came to check if you needed help with the stairs"

You scoffed, feeling a bit of warmth spread in your chest. "You know I am more than capable of going up them now?"

"Yeah, but I like having you in my arms." Han grinned, his arms already reaching out to support you.

Surprised, you found yourself without words. Your cheeks warmed as his arms found their way on your waist ang legs, lifting you up. His arms felt strong beneath you. Your heart was racing and wondered whether he was joking or not.

"I've told you before, I can handle the stairs," you protested, trying to keep your voice steady. Though the truth was, the stairs were one hell of a mission to climb each time. The cast made it hard to put any pressure on the leg and the marble made each step feel like stepping on ice.

"I know you can," Han said, his voice soothing, "but I have seen you struggle going up and why struggle when you don't have to?" His eyes finding yours.

You rolled your eyes, trying to hide the smile that was tugging at your lips. You had grown accustomed to his help, to the gentle way he'd pick you up and carry you made your heart go insane. It was a strange sort of intimacy that had developed between you. Thought usually Han ruined the moment with his sarcastic sayings.

"Besides, Lee Know said that your cast can be taken off tomorrow. Enjoy my service while you can"

You playfully swatted at him, but the gesture was half-hearted at best. The reality was you were grateful for his help.

-

Your performance had ended, once again nailing the show despite having your leg still in the cast. Tonight, Lee Know could finally take it off.

Diamonds on your cheeks had given your show the bling it needed. You hopped in the dimly lit corridor and turned to the dressing room. Cherry and Lucky were gossiping as always. Cherry looked up as you entered, her smile as warm and welcoming, "The new girl Coco is coming" she said in a hushed tone in case she was already at the corridor behind you.

You raised your eyebrow "It was today?". Before you could discuss further, Jack burst into the room, a cloud of cigar smoke trailing behind him. "Ladies, meet Coco!" He announced, a wide grin stretching across his face as he presented the new dancer. Coco strutted in, her blonde hair cascading down her back. She looked young like Jack had said. 

Coco's yes scanned the room, taking in every detail with as if she had already found them lacking to her liking, Coco's costume was screaming easy to have. Her tiny shorts covered only half of her ass and the crop top not leaving any questions whether she had boobs or not.

The tension in the room grew thick, a silent challenge hanging in the air as you all watched at the newbie. "Welcome to the Marionette". You finally said, extending a hand with forced politeness. Coco's grip was firm, her manicured nails digging into your palm. 

Coco looked at you three over, her gaze lingering on you for a moment too long. "I've heard a lot about this place," she purred, her voice as smooth as velvet. "I can't wait to show everyone what I can do."

Cherry's smile remained in place, but her eyes narrowed slightly. She had seen this kind before: young, pretty, and full of herself, thinking she could just come in and steal the spotlight. Cherry had been in the Marionette for the longest and seen all kinds of performers. 

Jack cleared his throat, "Now, now, girls," he chuckled, "no need for the cold shoulders. We're all on the same team here." He clapped his hands together, the sound echoing off the walls of the small space. "We're going to put on the best show this town has ever seen!"

Coco's smile grew, a glint of something sharp in her gaze as she turned to face him. "Oh, I have no doubt about that," she said sweetly,” But you've got to remember, Jack, I don't share the spotlight."

You felt a rush of annoyance but kept your cool. "We're all stars here"

Coco's laugh tinkled through the room, "Darling, you're sweet," she said, patting your cheek, making your attitude towards her worse. "But some stars shine brighter than others."

The room fell silent, the air thick with the unspoken tension. You felt a heat rising in your chest as you watched her and Jack disappear back to the corridor.

"What a piece of work," Cherry murmured, her voice low and tight. "She's going to be trouble."

Lucky rolled her eyes. "Jack and his new toy" she said, applying a fresh coat of lipstick. "Hopefully she doesn't last long"

Cherry fiddled with the feathers on her dress, "There's something about her thought"

You snorted. "You mean other than the fact she thinks she's the queen bee already?"

Cherry shook her head. "Did you see the way she moves? It's like she's got a secret she's just dying to tell."

Lucky leaned in closer, curiosity piqued. "A secret, huh? Maybe she's got a huge dildo up her ass". You all laughed at Lucky's remark. Coco seemed to be full of herself.

"She acts like she's got the world in the palm of her hand." Cherry added. 

Y/n couldn't argue with that. Coco's confidence was palpable, a force that seemed to push the very air around her into submission. "We'll have to keep an eye on her," Lucky said.

The three of you nodded in silent agreement before Cherry and Lucky continued with their gossiping.  As you left the dressing room and made your way to the booths, you noticed Coco. The new dancer was leaning against one of the booth's deep in conversation with Han, His dark eyes were focused intently on Coco, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

You felt a huge spike in your heart rate, fury flashing over you at the sight. You forced yourself to walk over with a smile on your lips. You cleared her throat, hoping to interrupt their conversation. Han looked up, his smile widening as he saw you "Ah, Y/n," he said, turning slightly more towards you. "Your new friend came to introduce herself"

Coco's gaze flicked to you surprise flitting across her features for a brief moment. "You two know each other?" she asked, her tone faintly accusatory.

Han chuckled, a warm sound that made your heart flutter despite the situation. "Of course," he said, winking at her with his unspeakable charm. "Y/n's this club's best performer!"

"We'll see about that," Coco said with a smirk, her voice dripping with challenge.

With a dismissive flick of her hair, Coco threw a kiss towards Han before sauntering away, leaving you biting your lip in annoyance. You watched Coco's hips sway as she disappeared into the shadows of the backstage. Your hand balled into a fist, nails digging into your palm.

"You don't seem to like her" Han raised his eyebrow at you.

You nodded, "She's got a real attitude problem," your voice tight with irritation. It's not like you owned Han and you weren't even together but seeing Coco flirting with him and Han smiling at her made your blood boil. "She already acts like she owns the place" 

“But she doesn't. I meant what I said. You're the best performer in here" Han said smiling at you and it made you have butterflies in your stomach again. You looked back at his eyes and smiled back. 

"Thanks. I just hope she doesn't stir trouble"

"I would watch the cat fight. Sexy, mhm?" He winked playfully and a smirk formed on his lips once again. You flicked his forehead, "In your wildest dreams”.

[wildpeachfarm]

ok so this probably the only time I'll be "dooming" in ur asks and then I'll be back on the dnf baby grind but it's just a random thought I can't get out of my head:

and it's just that I feel like Caiti has majorly fucked up her own future career. like even ignoring the fact that her accountability has been torn to shreds, I doubt people will be as willing to colab/hang out with her because tbh she will probably be viewed as a lliability or ppl will be too cautious of not upsetting her to even bother interacting with her at all.

And I've seen other ppl say this and was like "nah she has all the Brighton ppl I'm sure she could recover her career with them somehow" but also that's not great for her either because, from what I've seen over the past month, a majority of the rest of the internet hates them as well(also they're shitty friends and imo she needs better ones but that's smth for another day...maybe.).

I just have the feeling that a majority of ppl would be reluctant to colab with any of that group because they've proven that anything that they perceive as a personal slight/as offensive can and will be turned against you for their personal gain(I'm mainly talking about the Brighton bastards here, not Caiti). Like with the Dteam(hell even ppl like Tommy and tubbo) they're hated by a majority of the mcyt space but a majority of ppl in the rest of the internet are either indifferent or like them, which gets them more collabs with stuff unrelated to mc and more mainstream stuff(example: dreams wired interview, the snf content with Larray, ect)

I feel like all of this combined will probably mean that Caiti(if she chooses to continue content creation) will have a significantly harder time growing her channel/audience and will likely be known by the wider audience as "that girl who accused gnf of sa" rather than her own cc. which genuinely really upsets me on her behalf. imo she really just ruined her own future rather than George's as many ppl are saying

-baby fever anon(sorry if none of this makes sense)

yeah I get what you mean anon. And unfortunately I do think you're correct- people outside of the community have already regarded caiti and the brighton bastards as liars and terrible clout chasers and no one is ever going to want to be near people who are like that.

In addition, caiti is very clearly unstable and I think that is going to drive a lot of people away from her. And she will likely be defined by this for the rest of her CC career which is so sad because this could have gone so much differently if she had treated it better.

[howtofightwrite]

How can I write a fight scene with opponents who are not just extremely capable fighters but extremely cunning and resourceful. Who adapt and the fight is never just about physical skill.

There isn't a single correct answer to this question. One common, and effective, solution is by breaking or countering a fighter's tricks.

One way to establish a character's skill in combat is to give them some specific tricks that they'll employ in a fight. Of course, having typed that, now the only specific example that comes to mind is The Operative's nerve strike from Serenity (which is, unfortunately, a terrible example for this conversation.)This is usually something like a character having a hidden weapon, or a specific method of disarming their foe. When you're using this method, letting another character hard counter their trick can instantly inform the audience that this character is far more dangerous than they initially appear.

In a very abstract sense, you can think of combat as characters having an array of actions available to them. Skilled combatants are likely to have a much wider range of options, options that are better tailored to the situation they're in, and in some cases, options that are specifically designed to counter things an opponent would attempt to use on them. Unskilled characters are likely to have a bunch of options mixed in that are either completely useless, actively detrimental, or both, with no idea which ones those are. For example: Every backyard wrestling video ever.

When you're looking at inexperienced characters, in that context, they'll attack their opponent, and then either act again if their opponent is unable to retaliate, or their foe will act against them. I will criticize writing combat as turn based, but with characters like this, it can be helpful to understand how they're operating. When you have experienced fighters, they have the ability to immediately respond to what their foe is doing. This doesn't always mean, directly countering their opponent's attack, sometimes it can mean they'll use their foe's action as an opportunity to get in.

Now, that's the abstraction, a lot of this does have some relation to the real world. Experienced fighters will have trained, and honed their responses into their muscle memory. They won't need to think about what they're going to do, they'll simply, “go.” Inexperienced, and untrained fighters will have their minds cluttered up with things they've seen in action movies, and they'll need a moment to filter through what's on their mind, and they won't have the background of knowing (either through instruction or experience) what will or won't work. So they need a moment, and then they'll try to do something.

This leads into the biggest problem for you, which is, combat between experienced fighters is fast; but, if you're writing prose, your ability to control the speed of a scene is limited. You can speed the reader up by keeping the text as spartan as possible, but it can also result in a very perfunctory, and unsatisfying, fight scene. This is part of why there's an appeal to the simplistic, “character has some combat tricks, antagonist can counter them,” structure. It can quickly convey that idea without getting too far into the weeds.

Now, one piece of bad news is the bit about how inexperienced and untrained fighters will have a lot of, “junk,” options floating around. This is also a problem for writers staging fight scenes. If you have absolutely no experience with combat, it can be pretty difficult to realize when some of those options that seem viable to you, simply wouldn't work. There is some range of forgiveness, after all if you think it should work, and can stage it out, maybe you can convince your readers that it would work, but it is something to be cautious of. A lot of the simpler, “can you do X?” questions we field tend to be cases where either that is something that works, it's similar to something that works, or it really doesn't work. Knife throwing comes to mind as one we've discussed repeatedly over the years. (It's a cool party trick, but not a great idea in a fight.) But, if you can write a scene where stabbing someone through the eye with an arrow is believable, it doesn't really matter that doing so is nearly impossible. So, even if you do run with some options that wouldn't really work, it doesn't mean that your fight scene won't.

One other piece of advice, that might first sound like a non-sequitur, it's okay for you to take breaks. Yes, your characters are fighting each other, and they're a fraction of a second away from being murdered in the most horrific ways possible, but you have the luxury of sitting back and really thinking about what their options are. Just because they could make those choices in the moment doesn't mean that you need to be just as fast.

-Starke

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