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textfromthelookout · 2 months

Note

Did you hear of the news?

I have. :(

Everyone else has their tributes so, here, a summary of my experience with Dragon Ball.

I was in fourth grade art class. A kid had the February 2005 issue of Shonen Jump, back when Shonen Jump was still physically printed here. I recognized Atem on the front cover because the Blockbuster around the corner from our house had DVDs (I think they were DVDs and not VHSs then since I distinctly remember it having a menu and special features) of some of the later episodes of Duelist Kingdom and my brother and I watched them on repeat. So I was like oh, hey, what's this? They make books of that stuff? I don't remember the conversation but the kid ended up giving me that issue, and I took it home with me.

There were a LOT of significant, groundwork things happening in that issue, now that I think about it. We were just beginning to see Sanji truly in action against Pearl. The Dark Tournament was in it's early stages still with Roto fucking around and finding out against Kurama. Sakura shears off her hair in a move that rearranged sexualities the world over. The reason Atem was on the cover was because Yu-Gi-Oh Millennium World was just debuting its first and second chapter. Bleach wasn't even serialized yet. And Dragon Ball, of course, was also there, about a hundred and fifty chapters ahead of everybody else.

Keep in mind that this was my first experience with manga, period. So my very first experience with Dragon Ball opened on this:

and ended on this:

Yeah. Truth be told, at the time Yu Yu Hakusho piqued my interest more than Dragon Ball (a guy fighting with plants? how creative!) but I never did forget these chapters. I thought the art style was so different from the others.

At some point after this, probably between several months and a year and a half, the TV happened to be on one evening when Toonami was airing Dragon Ball Z. Oh hey, I said, I recognize that art, I know those characters. So I hung around and watched some of episode 281. Two things about watching that episode stick with absolute crystal clarity in my mind to this day. Firstly: Buu choking Vegeta out with his arm freaked me the FUCK out as a child. I could not tell you why I had a fear reaction to it but hey, there you go. The second is this:

Specifically I remember 'You died once. If anything happens to you now, you won't exist anymore. There'll be nothing I can do to bring you back.' Not precisely word for word over the years, but Schemmel's tone of voice on this particular lineread. If I had to guess I'd say it was because at that point in my life, uh, death was kinda permanent? So wait, what do you mean died ONCE. Doesn't that apply to everyone?

This still wasn't enough to get me super invested in it though, it just didn't seem like something that would appeal to me that much. So a couple years go by, I don't think about it all that much, and then of course, TFS hits the scene and drops DBZ Abridged. So you know. As a shithead middle schooler with a shithead sense of humor I thought it was the best damn thing since sliced bread. (My biggest character flaw is that I still think a lot of Season 1 is genuinely funny)

And that was really the extent of my interaction with the franchise for the next several years. Say what you will about DBZA but they did manage to put it all together such that someone who had a nonexistent concept of what the original context was could grok it with not a lot of effort. Some time in high school, I think I was around 15, I decided to bite the bullet and read all the manga, as much to increase the funny factor of DBZA as sheerly for the sake of being able to say I had. Stick it to the other weebs, y'know. Now they can't say I didn't know anything about good anime. This was unfortunately at a time when all that was available online were dirty poor-quality scans and questionable translations, but read it I did. I went 'yep, that sure is about what I expected', and proceeded to get on with my life. GT came and went, I looked up and saw Battle of Gods coming out and went 'oh hey that's still a thing huh', kinda was peripherally aware of all the divisiveness of Super as it was happening, didn't really pay it much attention, just stuck to DBZA and quite a lot of wiki-ing.

And then, this time of year about three years ago now, in the middle of conversation with @prophecydungeon, Dragon Ball somehow came up. Something to do with 'Even though I'm not hugely into DBZ's story or whatever Toriyama does have some great character designs' (yes I was referring to Vegeta and Future Trunks at the time, no i will not stop being predictable, yes i am a parody of myself). They eventually brought up the DBS Broly movie and said, and i quote: 'that was a solid 1.5h of unbelievably fun and wacky animation'. Having seen the Gogeta vs Broly part of it on twitter and been like 'damn that animation's kinda off the hook actually, good for them good for them', my response was to be like. Oh word? I've got a spare hour and a half to kill, sure, fuck it, why not, time to watch DBS Broly.

I think that movie was precision crafted to hit me in the hyperfixation, if we're being honest. Opening on a solid 20 minutes of Lore and Worldbuilding and then having most of the rest of the runtime being mindless slobberknocker fun by way of some of the hardest animation flexes ever? I was done for.

In summation. I have been aware of Dragon Ball for a lot of my life, in that its presence was pervasive and enduring as I grew up. I may have been late to the game of actually wholeheartedly enjoying it, but enjoy it I do. Dragon Ball is the roots of a vast tree of anime, and in reading it I began to understand why that is. I respect it for that, and I love it for that. My current fixation may have shifted, but as far as time devoted to one individual thing goes... it took me a year and a half to watch my way through all of the anime and read all of the manga. ALL of it. So there's something good in there, I'd say.

#rip to a legend #text from the mod #tangentially related: i am not actually dead #it's just that between school and my job and the pirate brainrot #(the previous four months of which was feverishly consumed with a 16k word project)#i have had neither time nor impetus to make dragon ball funnies #there is also the fact that my stupid autism brain is still fuming over the website changes #that have fucked up the Aesthetique of the text posts and made them much more annoying to get in a usable form #thus adding steps to what was a simple and comfortable process #and aforementioned idiot dumb brain has not stopped pitching a bitch fit over the inconvenience.#i know it's a stupid hangup. believe me i am fully aware. but there is so little i can do about it #so i am sorry about my long absence. i really truly am.#especially to the asks that have been chillin in my inbox for all this time now #it's just that they're interesting questions that deserve me giving 100% of my brainpower to them ya feel #i want to devote appropriate attention to these little funnies and not phone it in or half ass it LOL

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arsenysworld · 3 years

Text

Fanfiction

Everything will be different now

Peter Parker/Natasha Romanoff

SpiderWidow

Peter doesn't want to believe what is happening. The first stage is always denial. He writes off his obsession with a hormonal surge. The guy does not cease to convince himself that he will still find his true love, because he is surrounded by quite beautiful girls of his age, and Peter himself is sure that he does it well (no)

Parker can only allow himself to fantasize, which however (as he thought) was enough for him. There were plenty of reasons to stay in the shadows. The most obvious of these was the age difference. He is 18, and she is 35. Yes, and reciprocity could not be counted on. A stately, intelligent, beautiful, and most importantly, a respected woman, and a teenager who cannot pacify his hormones. Completely different people. It's funny even to think about it. Parker understood this, and each time the awareness of reality cut him from the inside, delivering incredible pain and suffering.

***********

Natasha had fiery red hair. It seemed that only by touching them, you could get a great burn. Romanoff was all fire, and Peter was a moth, spellbound by the fire. Knowing that he was going to certain death, he continued to fly.

************

Peter loved looking at Natasha. Sometimes she noticed it, but with a great desire to look away, Parker still did not do it. After all, if he averts his eyes, one gets the impression that he was caught for something obscene. For a while, it seemed to Peter that she appreciated his attention, and that is why, in response to his studying look, she gives a warm smile, which he forever imprints in his memory. If he wanted to, Peter could remember each of her smiles, each of which he appreciated and remembered. Parker smiles back at her, hoping that he does not look stupid. At first they silently look into each other's eyes and do not need extra words, such moments come when both want to be distracted from the madness around them, and they do this, finding comfort in each other's eyes. Peter appreciates every moment that slips into these, to some extent, "intimate" minutes for the guy himself. And then Natasha looks down at him, shifting her gaze again to the eyes studying her. Peter swears he saw her bite her lip lightly one day. And after the exchange of smiles, Natasha averted her eyes, as if there were no glances and smiles a second ago. These "glances" remained only between them. For Peter, such moments were intimate and carried a special value. But each time he was forced to instill in himself, contrary to his wishes, that this was their special friendly gesture, which was long overdue to become some kind of routine. But he could not deceive himself. These views turned him wildly. A pleasant feeling burned in his chest, just thinking about how he wanted to continue. But he still preferred his fantasies.

******

There is another way to get Peter's heart to do somersaults. During their gatherings in the Avengers Tower, Parker is always in his favorite place - on the left side of the sofa. Natasha always sits down next to him, tightly pressing shoulder to shoulder, as if deliberately embarrassing the guy, but the following moments make Peter's heart literally jump out of his chest. After a minute (if not less), she grabs Peter's hand, interlaces her fingers with his, and wraps her hands behind their backs. Peter starts to shake every time Romanoff does this. They did it all the time, but for Spidey it was like the first time. He tries not to squeeze her thin hand too tightly, although in his state it is difficult to control himself. But not too weak either. Peter starts to breathe more quickly, and can hardly contain himself not to stare at her, showing his indignation.

****

Natasha feels him trembling every time, but she never says anything, because she guesses that these moments mean something to Peter and she doesn't want to hurt him with her grin (although it was very difficult to restrain herself). But she could not do this to him, no one treated her so reverently and attentively. And of course this attitude flattered her. But the boy is only eighteen. She will not forgive herself if she "seduces" a boy who has recently become an adult. After all, it's not okay to try to please a boy who is 17 years younger than her. But Romanoff probed the possible ground with such casual but obvious gestures. And, God, how she liked to watch his reaction, how he got lost, but made every possible effort to seem more confident, not even realizing that Natasha saw him through. She took pleasure in first encouraging him, and then cutting off, not letting him really understand anything and pretend that she didn’t do anything. One day she allowed herself to bite her lip. Peter even glanced around to make sure the gesture was meant for him, and then fell into a stupor with realization. This time, Peter thought it would be more appropriate to look away this time. This amused her greatly. But the Spider did not make it clear whether the Spider was scared or simply did not expect such a sharp turn of events.

*****

Usually Natasha understood what she wanted and always confidently walked towards the intended goal. But Peter ... he changed her mind. She didn't want to see anyone but herself next to Parker. Every time Romanoff saw the Spider, something warm and viscous spilled over her chest. An ordinary person would think that she was just a little nervous, but Natasha denied any thoughts of this nature. Would she be nervous? Never!

Peter became for Natasha a kind of weak point, an obsession.

One day changed the fate of both.

Peter spent his Saturday morning at his home in Queens. It was early March and that day turned out to be rather cloudy, and then huge dark clouds hung over the city, warning of imminent rain. On such days, I do not want to do anything, there comes some kind of apathy for everything. Peter liked to devote such days to watching movies or reading books. These activities somehow lifted my spirits.

But his idyll was broken only by one phone call.

"Peter!" Fury's voice came from the tube - "listen carefully, now we have a very important task, but I'm not calling you for this" - Peter was intrigued - "we don't need the whole Avengers, but Stark said that training for you will not be superfluous, so you I have to come to the base, we will leave you someone for training, and we are already flying out, so I recommend to hurry."

Before Peter had time to say anything in response, beeps were heard from the other side, announcing the end of the conversation. Peter dreamed of getting on some "top secret" assignment. He can't wait to prove himself. He wants to seem more responsible and adult than he really is, but it seems to him that no one takes him seriously (Even during telephone conversations). He wanted some kind of recognition. And each time, hoping for a serious assignment, he only gets training with Steve or, even worse, with Barnes, from whose hands it is impossible to get out alive. But it is useless to argue.

After a while, Peter was already entering the main hall, looking around such a familiar room. The interior was empty and Peter was about to turn around to search other rooms. But before he could do this, his eyes covered someone's palms. Not having time to understand anything, Peter turned sharply, brushing off other people's hands, and grabbing a potential "attacker" by the wrists. Imagine his surprise when he turned sharply and looked into Natasha's green eyes.

“What are you doing?” The redhead asked with a touch of irony. “It's just a joke, Peter.

“Sorry, reflex,” Peter justified himself, feeling a little guilty.

“Yes, I understand,” Natasha replied with a note of mockery. “Well, what do you propose to do?

“By training?” Parker answered with an obvious lack of understanding in his voice, not expecting such a question.

“Are you really doing everything Stark tells you?” Romanoff asked in surprise.

"Well ... I think it will be useful ... and ..." Not knowing what to say, Peter tried to continue.

“God, just don’t say that you’re afraid of the evil uncle Tony, who will come and scold us?” Natasha pouted her lower lip and raised her eyebrows. And then she could not restrain herself at all, she laughed.

Parker could not help smiling, realizing how funny and true it sounds.

“Why didn't you go with them?” Peter asked a question that had been of interest to him for a long time.

“They decided that I was too often involved in operations, and that I deserved to rest,” Mocking Fury, and raising her index finger, she lowered her voice and spoke just like him.

This made Peter laugh out loud. The resemblance to Fury is amazing.

“I've never heard so many jokes from you, only if during your quarrels with Mr. Stark.” Peter said.

“You just don't know me well, but you can take this wonderful opportunity and get to know me better,” said Romanoff a little more quietly, shifting her gaze to Peter's lips, but realizing what was said, she returned her gaze back to Parker's eyes.

With her phrase, she struck Peter on the spot. To be honest, Natasha herself did not expect this from herself, she was thrown into the cold from the realization of her words. But after that, the fear turned sharply into confidence. She began to slowly approach Peter with the thought of "now or never."

“Um ... Miss Romanoff?” Peter asked, clearly not expecting this turn of events. Of course, he dreamed about it from their first meeting, but now he was simply not ready.

“Peter,” Natasha is stretched out almost in a whisper, “Did you know that you are insanely beautiful?

Determined not to waste time, Red hugged Peter's face with her hands, stood on tiptoe and kissed Peter tenderly on the lips. She kissed without pressure, completely weightless, as if asking permission to continue.

"Umm ... Miss Romanoff ..." Peter began, but was interrupted by Natasha.

“No, no, no, now it's just Nat,” Romanoff muttered through half-closed lips.

"Uh ... yes, but I have to say something ..." Again, Peter does not have time to finish

“Not now ...” Natasha continued to whisper.

She was wildly hot until she looked into Peter's eyes. She saw fear there. Romanoff thought he wanted to stop her, but was afraid. Sweet excitement melted in my chest.

“What's the problem?” Romanoff asked, pulling back a little, although she understood that the problem was obvious, but it was worth asking.

“It's all ... it's all wrong, and I'm not sure ...” Stammering, Peter continued to come up with an excuse, not so much for Natasha as for himself.

"God, Peter Benjamin Parker! What's wrong with you? You dreamed about this more than anything else! What's your problem?" - one after another, thoughts flashed through the guy's head, forcing him to listen. Peter wanted to, but he was afraid. After all, he is an inexperienced teenager who simply has nothing to surprise her with. And the fear of being rejected and ridiculed became stronger than his desire. But Natasha interrupted his stormy stream of thoughts.

—Okay, I won't if you say that you don’t want me — Natasha challenged me — Come on, one phrase and Aunt Nat will no longer bother you — Natasha added, slightly dropping her eyelids, and directing her glassy gaze into Parker's eyes ...

Natasha didn't need an answer. She knew that the Spider would not resist her, and when he still admits defeat, it is only a matter of time.

Inside Parker, two feelings continued to struggle: fear and desperate desire. Fear kept saying that you shouldn't do things that you will regret for a very long time. But the desire, backed up by his dreams of this moment, insisted that trying is not torture and worth a try anyway. And at the end of this internal dilemma, Peter came to the conclusion: "If she insists on this, then she really wants it, which means she just needs to pull herself together, turn fear into confidence and act."

“You know I’ll never say that.” Peter replied, lighting up Nate with his bright and slightly nervous smile.

“I thought so.” Threw Romanoff before attacking Spider again. She felt his insecurity and wanted to help him relax as soon as possible.

This time their kiss was longer, more confident, deeper than the last time. Now their languages were fighting among themselves for primacy, but no one wanted to give up in this fight. Peter's hands went around Nat's waist and pulled her closer to him, as if Parker was afraid of losing her. A warm, pleasant feeling blossomed in my chest, because of it both felt themselves "in their place." For a second, Natasha allowed herself to pull back to get some air in her lungs, but Peter did not want to be ignored, even for such a short time. His hands went down to Romanoff's buttocks, squeezing them tighter, letting her know that Peter wasn’t the type to wait. In one sharp movement, Parker pulled her towards him, biting into her red lips. For a second, Peter was even amazed at his confidence, but decided not to waste time and move on, guided only by his instincts. Natasha smiled at him, and then continued to lick his palate and from time to time pull back her lower lip, thereby forcing the Spider to move towards her. Natasha's hands helped her in this, grabbing him by the hair and guiding him closer and closer to her. With a snap, Romanoff unzipped her latex suit, grabbing Peter's arm and placing it on her chest. The guy was not satisfied with the unzipped zipper and with this thought he pulled off the suit from her marble shoulders, and then completely exposing the whole body from the shoulders to the waist.

"It seems that the bolder, the better. Because I don't see any other explanation. Besides, she seems to be really happy, which means I'm doing everything right." - Parker's internal debate was not planned to stop.

They kissed passionately, with taste. These were magical moments, but Peter wanted to surprise Natasha, to make her really pleasant.

Captivated by this idea, Parker grabbed Romanoff and sat him on the counter, ridding his entire body of the latex suit.

“I didn't know what you can do,” Nat stretched out intrigued.

“I thought today was our discovery day.” Peter said with a grin.

Peter slowly went down to Natasha's thighs with his hands, picking up the elastic of his silk panties with his fingertips, getting rid of the interfering little thing. From desire between Natasha's thighs, everything burned, it seemed if Peter hesitated even a second, then she would just start dripping. Romanoff lowered her back to the table, propping her body up with her elbows so she could see Peter and his face. Parker gently spread Nat's legs, placing them on two high chairs on either side of him for added convenience.

Noticing the excess moisture in Natasha's crotch, he first bent down, parted the labia and began to lick every last drop. Each movement of his tongue, increasingly brushing her clitoris swollen with desire, made Natasha bend in an arc. She couldn't contain her moans escaping from her every time Peter changed his pace.

Then Parker abruptly pulled away from Natasha, leaving her dissatisfied, causing this to snort disapprovingly. Then Peter brought two fingers to Natasha's lips.

"Close." - Peter ordered imperiously.

Natasha did not object, she even liked that at least somewhere the role of the dominant was assigned not to her. She slowly opened her mouth, swallowing two fingers, and beginning to generously wet them with saliva, while she did not take her gaze from under half-closed eyelids from Peter's eyes. Parker even admired this picture for a few seconds. Natasha, lying on the table, completely belonging to him, licks his fingers without taking her lustful gaze from him. This sight awakened animal instincts in him. But Peter had to stop her. He wanted to see it through to the end.

“Enough!” Peter said, removing wet fingers from her mouth.

And now a new wave of vivid sensations rolled over her with renewed vigor, forcing her to moan more often and louder, while Peter abruptly entered her, picking up the pace. She prayed not to come in the first ten seconds. But it was not there, Peter put the thumb of his other hand to the girl's clitoris, starting to press on it, adjusting to the rhythm of the fingers, which caused a new barrage of groans that filled the entire room.

A couple more movements and Natasha's eyes roll up, her mouth opens, gasping for air, her back arches, and her hands rummage around the table in search of at least some support, but not finding anything they grab onto the edges of the table, almost tearing off the glass cover by the root. For another couple of seconds Natasha lies motionless, slowly coming to her senses. She realizes that she has never finished like this before. The redhead comes down from the table, wraps her arms around Peter's neck and whispers in his ear how much she loves him and how much she needs him. Then she feels his lips and bites into them with a kiss of gratitude. Then Natasha looks at her watch in horror and begins to dress convulsively.

“What is it, are you late somewhere?” Parker asked with undisguised surprise in his voice.

“Everyone will be back any minute, do you have any idea what will happen if they see us?” Natasha said, zipping up her zipper and putting her hair in order, thereby hiding all traces of their closeness.

Peter took a rag, wiped the table with it (to be sure)

When all the Avengers returned to the tower, they held some kind of urgent meeting, at which they discussed the details of the next mission. But neither Peter nor Natasha was interested in their discussions. They only continued to give each other their views, but both knew that now everything would be different.

#marvel #fanfic #writers on tumblr #peter parker #natasha romanoff #romace #comics #peter parker x natasha romanoff #widowspider

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razberryyum · 5 years

Video

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 2 (spoilers for everything)

(covers MDZS chaps 6 - 10 and a bit of 13)

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

(a 🐰 is earned every time there is a WangXian scene or even when they’re just thinking of each other)

I always tell people when I’m trying to get them to watch The Untamed that when they get to this particular scene in the second episode, they’ll know if they will be into the show. To me, this is the game-changer moment: you’re either in or out after this. If this scene doesn’t emotionally move you enough to at least continue on with the drama, nothing else will. It is seriously one of the most romantic scenes I have ever seen captured on screen. This was the moment that made me realize not only was I now fully committed to CQL, but that I had also found a new obsession and was ready to devote myself to Mo Dao Zu Shi. After all, something that can lead to the creation of such a beautiful scene MUST hold other invaluable treasures. So into the MDZS rabbit hole I went, happily diving head first.

Even now I’m still amazed that this scene exists in the intact form that it does. I started The Untamed with little to no expectations, especially knowing the restrictions it was under AND having just finished Guardian and experiencing how poor creative decisions can arise due to censorship (or at least, using that as an excuse for their dumb story choices). As I mentioned previously, the first episode was a hard sell since they definitely did not put their best foot forward first, but I liked Xiao Zhan immediately and Wei Wuxian as a character was interesting enough that I wanted to learn more about his past that led to his death and rebirth. The small glimpses we saw of his relationship with Lan Zhan also fascinated me, but then with this second episode, the weak points of the pilot still remained: there was still bad CGI (the statue) and very amateurish technical mistakes (in the recognition scene, at one point, in a close-up shot they’re holding onto each other, but in the next far away backside shot they’re clearly standing apart from each other, only to return to holding each other once again once the camera cuts back to a close-up...whoever the editor is on CQL probably should dunk their head in the toilet every time these editing errors pop up) that made my initial viewing of this episode a frustrating one for most of its runtime. I think I spent most of my initial viewing just distracted, playing on my phone or something, until the big WangXian moment happened and then I was shocked and awed. I know I wasn’t paying close attention that first time because when I rewatched the episode later on, I realized I missed a lot of dialogue and details. I have since revisited this second episode numerous times more, and I do feel bad about how dismissive I was initially. It’s a pretty loaded episode: it has funny, poignant, creepy, mysterious, and cool moments while still feeding us bits of the overarching plot. I definitely have developed an affection for it since my first viewing and it’s become one of my favorite episodes in the series.

Of Pining & other Heart-achy Things

This simple line from Jiang Cheng is enough to make my eyes well up with tears: I can’t help but imagine Lan Zhan traveling around the world for sixteen years, most likely all alone, stopping at different places to play Inquiry, fervently hoping that maybe one day he’ll finally receive an answering chord from Wei Ying, only to be confronted by a deafening silence again and again and again. How utterly sad and disappointed he must have been every time, and yet still, he never gave up and just went to the next location to do the same thing and experience the same heavy disappointment all over again. If that doesn’t make your heart ache, I’m sorry to tell you, your heart is no longer functional.

It’s a detail I don’t remember if the novel covered, but I’m assuming that Lan Zhan was the one to bring Wei Ying’s inventions like the spirit attraction flag and the compass back to Gusu and incorporate them for use in his sect’s normal cultivation practices. I know other people have use his tools as well since that nameless cultivator at the start of the episode was also using the spirit compass, but I feel that with Lan Wangji, he probably purposefully acquired and adapted WWX’s techniques so that every time they’re used, they can serve as a reminder of Wei Ying for him. Though it does make me wonder how Lan Zhan managed to get those approved by his uncle; I can’t imagine Lan Qiren being ok with using anything that was created by the man whom he blames for the corruption of his beloved nephew and model student. Did LWJ just pretend he created them instead? That doesn’t even sound right. Maybe Uncle Lan decided to be merciful and just let Lan Zhan win this one since he was probably obviously miserable after Wei Ying’s death. Yeah, I can buy that scenario, especially since the flag and compass are pretty useful tools.

I wondered did LWJ already suspect “Mo Xuanyu” was Wei Ying before he started playing Wuji on his flute. It’s curious that he happened to be in that part of the forest at that time. I’m guessing his Wei Ying senses were tingled when he heard about Mo Xuanyu’s skills from Sizhui and the boys so that’s why he was hanging around the vicinity just in case MXY reveals his true identity. After waiting 16 years for this reunion, it’s no wonder Lan Zhan had no qualms about holding onto WWX’s wrist in public for much longer than socially appropriate.

I actually get a little emotional every time I rewatch this episode and watch Jin Ling display his mad archery skills because I would always think of how much he takes after his dad. His parents would’ve been so proud to see him all grown up like this; Shijie would’ve been so happy she probably would get teary-eyed as well every time she saw her boy in action. Sure, he’s a spoiled little princess, but he is also a pretty skilled princess with a heart of gold and I just wish they had more time together as a family.

They looked so happy, look at all those smiles. It really makes me so sad that Wei Ying will probably never be able to hug JC like that again, and of course he’ll never be able to hug Shijie period. Great now I want to cry again.

Lan Jingyi Appreciation Section

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this precious boy by name so far, so I wanted to take this opportunity to show him some much deserved love. Lan Jingyi with his resting bitch face and steady stream of snark was really the MVP of this episode. He actually made me laugh out loud a few times...in fact, he almost always makes me laugh as soon as he scrunches up his face like he’s smelling something bad. I recently saw someone mention that he’s really the most un-Lan of the Lans (sorry, I forgot who posted that so I apologies for not giving proper credit) and that is really the perfect description of him. I love this kid as much as I love Sizhui and Jin Ling, and I am also sincerely fascinated by him. I mean, who raised him in the Gusu Lan sect? Cuz I cannot imagine Lan Qiren being the one since Jingyi undoubtedly would’ve had all his snark driven out of him at an early age. Hell, the amount of disciplinary action he probably had to have gone through would’ve probably killed him at a young age. Did he join the sect when he was already fully formed so that’s why he’s still breaking Lan sect rules right and left? He threatened an old man and is like rude to everyone. I don’t know all 3000 rules but I’m pretty sure being mean to the elderly and insulting to supposedly mentally unstable people are probably not allowed. If anything, his disposition would make him more suitable for the Lanling Jin sect and yet he’s with the stuffy Lans. WHY? I could watch a whole spin-off series with just him and the other juniors as long as we get to learn about how he came to be with the Gusu Lan sect. He’s hilarious and adorable, and among the many the reasons why I wish we had more episodes for the present-day arc, one of them is because I wanted to spend more time with the juniors, especially Lan Jingyi, even if it meant the screenwriters would’ve had to go off book and create new scenes for them. It would’ve been well worth it to hear LJY throw more shade at people.

Random Bits of Randomness

It’s kinda crazy how WWX just stood there with his back turned, oblivious to Jin Ling’s attack. If Lan Zhan’s blade hadn’t blocked JL’s sword, that would’ve been the end of our main protagonist. I just thought that was such an odd scene...I would’ve felt just a little better if Wei Ying had at least had a little more awareness that an attack was heading for him and made some attempt to get out of the way.

Ugh, that mask. First of all it’s ugly AF, and secondly it’s so freaking ill-fitting it was distracting. Would’ve been nice if the production team gave him a mask that actually fit his face. I mean, did it HAVE to be THAT damn big? I’m amazed they don’t have bts clips of Xiao Zhan tripping and hurting himself because the stupid mask blocked his vision.

Other than being a brilliant mastermind and Oscar-worthy actor, Nie Huaisang has got to be one of the greatest cultivators if not THE greatest cultivator of all time to be able to conjure up an illusion like that. That thing was doing real damage to people. If it was just a phantom, what the heck was holding up those two cultivators in midair like that? And what kicked Jin Ling around? I know Wei Ying was able to drive people crazy with his flute during his Yiling Patriarch phase, but his handiwork still felt more grounded and reasonable than this.

Questions I still have (please feel free to answer them):

- Who was that old man at the grave? Someone NHS paid to just hang around the graves until the juniors and WWX came by?

- So NHS basically fucked up Yan’s entire family and God knows how many other people just to get WWX to eventually play his flute to lure Wen Ning out from wherever he was hiding?

- How did JGY not know Wen Ning escaped? Or did he just leave those details to Xue Yang so he didn’t really care about what happened to Wen Ning? I’m trying if this was addressed in the book but my mind is coming up empty. I don’t think it was brought up in the show though, or I just completely missed it.

Overall Episode Rating: 9 Lil Apples out of 10

#The Untamed #陈情令 #spoilers #Untamed Rewatch #WangXian #Mo Dao Zu Shi #CQL #MDZS #魔道祖师 #Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation #Lan Zhan Lan Wangji #Wei Ying Wei Wuxian #Lan Jingyi #Jin Ling #Nie Huaisang #Jiang Yanli #Jin Zixuan #Jin Guangyao

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etraytin · 4 years

Text

Quarantine, Day 49

One more note on the weird time theme of yesterday; today I got an Amazon Question in my email from somebody wanting to know about a camcorder I bought twelve years ago. (It is obviously hella discontinued, but there are apparently a few third party sellers still.) For those of you who were not paying attention to camera technology in 2008, phone cameras were basically still bullshit unless you were willing to shell out a couple month's rent for your camera, which I was not. I had a flip phone until 2014, I shit you not. So phone cameras were not as much of a thing, but you could buy little pocket video cameras that ran on AA batteries and were about the size of an Iphone 5, but a little thicker. They had an internal memory of maybe an hour, and a USB port that popped out like a switchblade so you could upload it to your computer. They were, honestly, pretty cool in a dorky sort of way. I used that camera for early pictures of the kiddo, along with a tiny handheld camcorder-shaped camcorder that could do things like "let me see what I was recording even outdoors." It's long gone, of course, which is why it was so funny to see that question pop up today, someone apparently legitimately wondering about the focal length of a crappy little camera from another lifetime. I hope somebody actually knows the answer.

The kittens are doing well today and I was able to secure some more formula for them. I am very excited because Amazon informs me that people have bought formula from my wish list and it is on the way (<3<3<3) but kitten formula is apparently not essential enough to make the journey very quickly. Luckily I now have enough for at least another three or four days. They’re eating a lot and gaining quite a bit of weight, so it’s worth being patient.

I am, however, quickly losing patience with the vet tech at my rescue. Vet tech school doesn't actually include very much information about raising orphan kittens, by and large, and she has picked up some extremely...nonstandard... ideas about the state of the art. I don't claim to be an expert myself, but I've been doing it for a number of years now with pretty good success, and I have done a lot of reading, consulted with a lot of incredibly experienced people, and attended official training given by reputable agencies. What I'm trying to say is that my kitten-raising strategies are not uninformed and I didn't just make them up in my head, and getting constantly bitched out over them by text message got old about three litters ago. I probably could not have saved my littlest kitten this time even if the tech hadn't insisted that I not use Pedialyte even though it was recommended by the kitten raising experts that our own rescue brought in to teach us how to raise kittens, but I don't think not using it helped at all. And when I want to switch to a formula that literally everyone I speak to says is either superior to or at least equal to the kind we are already using, it is not appropriate to bite my head off and say that veterinarians don't approve of it because it causes vomiting and diarrhea, so I'd better stop using it quicklike. I devoted quite a bit of time today to looking for _any_ evidence of that opinion online, searching for articles online, reading product reviews, and asking other fosters. Nada.

I do my very best to be polite, and sometimes the tech can be very helpful, but too often it is this bullshit and I have trouble coping with it when usually I'm operating on way too little sleep already. The trouble is, the tech has a large amount of power over policy at the rescue, and not doing what she says could get me in trouble. Honestly, at this point I am losing interest in complying anyway. What are they going to do, take my kittens away when they are finally healthy and growing? And there are other rescues out there, and they always need bottlefeeders. It just sucks because other than that I really, really like my rescue and I do not want to leave. Ugh. At least with healthy kittens, I need to consult a lot less often.

Anyway, enough of my personal cat lady drama. The kittens are doing really well and are incredibly fluffy, and that is the important part! Now that Jackie is no longer so far down she can barely swallow, I can keep her clean much more easily and she is starting to rival Rosa for adorable soft squishableness. I am, however, increasingly willing to bet that they are not actually siblings and Rosa is several days to a week older. She's just so much bigger, and has more teeth! It's okay, they still love each other. Also, letting the kiddo cuddle with them or read to them or supervise their playtime is a good little motivating tool to help him power through his schoolwork. Double bonus!

The big, big,big grocery order came in today, and it was indeed large. I now have two boxes of staple foods to tuck away for hurricanes and/or societal difficulties, plus several cans of mackerel for trapping wily feral cats! Feral cats love mackerel, it just smells soooo bad. I decided that if I was going to lay in some extra meat, it was mostly going to be sausage and bacon, because that's the sort of meat where a little bit goes a long way in terms of enriching the flavor of a meal. I got some ground turkey and beef, but I also have textured vegetable protein in the pantry to stretch it for things like spaghetti sauce, tacos, and chili. And I scored two ultra-rare bags of 15 bean soup mix, so I can use my other hambone! You guys don't even understand how much I love ham and bean soup, or how exciting this is. The weird thing is, two weeks ago when I made my last pickup order, the pickup area was packed solid with cars, and cars were even waiting to get into the spots. Today, I was literally the only car there when my food came out. The parking lot was packed, it's just that everyone was shopping inside. Not a great sign.

Definitely the most fun I had today was playing with the excellent West Wing gifset that @donnajosh made of Josh and Sam. Watching their faces made me laugh very hard, and I had to caption it. It was a whole face journey, made by two guys who would absolutely follow the Delta shuttle all the way to Indianapolis if they were not stopped. Too funny! Thank god for people on the internet, just being there and doing stuff and making all of this feel less lonely.

#quarantine #i also got my very own big bag of reese's pieces #i'm very pleased

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courageous-she · 6 years

Text

Change- Part Three (Tom Holland Fic)

Part One Part Two

Word Count: 1454

Warnings: None

A/N: I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated this fic! I’ve been a bit busy and I’m currently on vacation. If you are reading and keeping up with these I would love to hear your thoughts!

It’s been a couple day since you started ‘testing’ to see if Tom had the same growing feelings for you that you had for him. Considering how your first plan of going step by step (based on what the website said) would take too long, you began using a different method.

Now, in order to ‘test’ Tom’s feelings for you, you would simply live life normally, or as normally as you could with your growing feelings, and just take note if Tom did any of the actions mentioned on the list.

Currently, you were lying on your bed, computer facing you, trying to get some homework done. It was about mid-day Saturday but you had devoted the following day to staying in bed and doing absolutely nothing. If you wanted that to happen, you of course had to get your homework out of the way first.

“Hey, Y/N”. You looked up and noticed Tom standing in your doorway.

“Hey, Tommy. What’s up?” you ask, closing your computer and sitting up on your bed.

“A couple of people from ‘Homecoming’ were planning on grabbing a bite tonight and I wondered if you maybe wanted to join us?”

You thought for a second. Of course, you had met the cast on multiple occasions and were fairly close to some of them. Basically done with all of your assignments, you smiled “Yeah! That sounds like fun!”

Tom smiled and nodded his head, “Sweet, I’ll let them know for the reservation. It’s not a fancy restaurant or anything, so….” He said trailing off. You chuckled and nodded before Tom left the room.

One of the items on that website said that if a guy likes you he’ll “always invite you to things”. Now obviously Tom didn’t invite you to every little thing he was doing, but thinking about it now, if he was doing something in a large group, Tom would always ask if you wanted to join.

Noted, Tom.

You smiled to yourself and noted how Tom did another thing the website mentioned. -- Getting ready for the night, you decided to dress up a little more than usual, but nothing ‘fancy’ as Tom had mentioned earlier. After showering and doing your makeup, you settled on a pair of black skinny jeans and an off-the-shoulder white blouse. Figuring this was a more ‘in-between’ outfit, appropriate for any non-fancy restaurant you made your way into the living room to meet Tom.

Tom looked up from his phone, eyes landing on you, “You look beautiful, love” while blushing only slightly. You giggled and thanked him, though this was a normal occurrence for the two of you before you went pretty much anywhere. You didn’t think much of it at the time.

On your way to the restaurant, the cab ride continued as it normally would. Both you and Tom talking about anything new and interesting in each other’s lives, which (on your end at least) wasn’t much. Tom stepped out and opened your door as soon as the cab pulled up to the entrance. Paying the driver, both you and Tom made your way inside, his hand hovering over the small of your back. -- “Y/N!” Zendaya called as you spotted her and some of the others at a long table. You made your way over, hugging her and greeting the others as well. You sat down at the end with Tom at your side. You looked around at everyone and smiled. Everyone super close to Tom was there: Zendaya, Robert Downey Jr., Laura Harrier, and Jacob Batalon.

You sat at the end, with Tom at your side and RDJ next to him. Across from you was Zendaya, Laura next to her, and Jacob sitting at the other end. Everyone was settling in and asking questions trying to catch up with one another. You noticed how Tom would continually direct questions toward you, ask you questions, or just make side conversations with you.

Another point the website mentioned. If a guy likes you he’ll “Talk to you more than anyone else”

You took this into deep consideration considering how you lived with Tom and talked to him all the time. Why would he direct everything to you, or start side conversations with you, when he was with a group of people he hasn’t seen in a while. You took this as a small ‘win’, hoping that this was one step closer to proving Tom had feelings for you.

As the night continued, so did the little side conversations with Tom. However, at this point, nobody was asking many questions anymore but they were instead telling funny or embarrassing stories. Jacob was currently telling a funny story about one of his old acting coaches which reminded you of something your professor did the other day in class.

As Jacob finished his story, you took the opportunity to begin to tell yours. “That actually reminds me of something my professor did the other day in our lecture! He was pulling something up onto the projector when he-”

You were interrupted by RDJ telling a different story and everyone turned their attention. Feeling slightly defeated, you smiled and sat back in your chair.

“Go on, Y/N. I wanna know what happened next” you heard Tom say from next to you.

“It’s okay Tom, it wasn’t really that funny anyway.”

“You can’t just leave me hanging like that Y/N! I need to know what happened!” He mock pouted. You noticed how his entire body was facing you, urging you to continue your story.

“Okay, fine!” You laughed and sat back up to continue telling Tom what happened, “So as he was pulling up the notes onto the projector he accidentally….”

---

Upon finishing your story, Tom sat back in his chair, holding his stomach from laughing. Everyone was still talking about something else, but Tom’s attention was still focused on you.

“I can’t believe he didn’t even notice! Poor guy must have been so embarrassed!”

“Yeah, he couldn’t really focus much throughout the lecture and let us go early. He was definitely embarrassed. I’m sure he hopes we’ll forget it ever happened by next week!” you laughed back.

“Tough luck with that! I’m sure it’s posted on the internet somewhere by now!” You and Tom continued to laugh about what happened before turning your attention back to everyone else. You noted how Tom had done yet another thing the website mentioned.

The website said that if a guy is into you, he’ll “give you his full attention”

Instead of getting distracted like everyone else and listening to RDJ’s story, Tom continued to listen to yours. He listened to you tell a stupid little story over the laughter of everyone at the table around you. You smiled to yourself but quickly snapped out of it as you noticed everyone starting to stand.

“Alright guys, I think I’m going to call it a night!” Zendaya said, slipping her coat on and grabbing her clutch.

“Yeah, it’s getting late, but we need to do this again soon!” Jacob replied.

“Y/N, it was so great to see you again! You, Z, and I definitely need to do something together soon; just girls!” Laura giggled as she hugged you goodbye. You said your goodbyes to everyone else as well and you and Tom grabbed a cab home.

Slipping your jacket off at the door, you turned to face Tom. He was placing his wallet down on the table and taking his jacket off as well.

“Thanks for inviting me tonight, Tom. I had a really nice time. It was nice to see everyone again” You said, breaking the silence.

“I’m glad you had fun! I just thought that you would enjoy seeing everyone. They really like having you around, and so do I” he blushed slightly saying that last bit. You smiled and gave him a hug before you made your way over to your room.

As you got ready for bed, you recounted the night’s events where Tom had ticked off things the website had mentioned.

First, he invited me (and always invites me) to spend time with his group of friends. Second, he continually talked to me throughout the night and asked me questions. And lastly, he gave me more attention than he gave any of his co-stars tonight. That has to count for something, right?

Lying down in your bed, a smile crept its way onto your face. It felt like you were onto something with figuring out Tom’s feelings. It only caused you to question how long he may have felt this way about you? What if you two could have been together sooner?

Oh, Tommy. What am I going to do with you?

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wineanddinosaur · 4 years

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What Do Instagram Home Bartenders Do Now That Everyone Is a Home Bartender?

Bars the world over were closed for several months this year, and are only just now opening. During that time, professional bartenders have been furloughed, at home, and unable to employ their craft. But some bartenders, like the Portland-based Jordan Hughes, better known as @highproofpreacher, have always worked from home. Over the last few years a small community of Instagram home bartenders (or “drinkstagrammers”) like Hughes has emerged, ostensibly amateurs who have built entire careers and even become minor celebrities by offering their own cocktail recipes and cocktail photography to increasingly large audiences, like Hughes’s 25,000 Instagram followers.

I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with the Instagram home bartenders. I’d long theorized that their massive followings were not based on them making great cocktails or demonstrating interesting techniques, but rather in them photographing drinks well and, often, offering a pretty face behind those drinks. But, if I was wrong, and people did follow them for the recipes and bartending ideas, now should be their time to shine — everybody is at home and anybody who wants a “fancy” cocktail has to make it themselves. So just how has the Covid-19 crisis impacted home bartender influencers?

“People are on their phones now more than ever and looking for more ways to not only connect with others, but to feel some sense of normalcy,” says Jordan Hughes. “I think that’s why so many people are jumping into cocktail-making during the pandemic.” Spirits category sales data and upticks in online cocktail class reservations, among other factors, support Hughes’s assertion that home bartending is on the rise.

And the surge in interest in home bartending is not limited just to the United States. “I’ve definitely had a spike in people reaching out [since lockdown procedures began],” says Matthias Soberon. The Belgian man is a music teacher in Ghent, but in his side hustle he’s @servedbysoberon, a home bartender Instagram account with some 56,000 followers from all over the world. While Soberon’s beer-loving homeland doesn’t have much of a cocktail culture, especially for drinks-making at home, that hasn’t mattered much. Soberon says many people have been contacting him wanting to know what cocktails are easy to create aside from the usual suspects like Manhattans. “[It’s] especially people not usually on Instagram,” he says. “A lot of people who like to go out for a drink on a regular basis.”

“Viewership has gone up for sure,” says Miguel Buencamino, the home bartender behind @holycityhandcraft, which has 25,500 followers. He began quarantining at home in Charleston on March 13. But he actually has another theory why his following has improved. “Since the pandemic hit I have been creating way more content,” he says. “Because I’m creating more content, people are engaging more.”

A software engineer who loved to cook, Holy City Handcraft had started as a food blog in 2015 before Buencamino started noticing that his occasional cocktail posts always got the most engagement. Now all his work is cocktail focused and, since the pandemic began, he’s left his day job in software engineering to devote full attention to his brand. He’s producing more video content and, instead of just the pretty cocktail photos he once posted, he’s trying to make them more instructional. “People are more curious these days,” he explains. “Before, people would just look at a photo, like it, and move on.”

But now, he says, they’re sticking around. Sticking around to see his technique for smoking cocktails or watch his #BacktoBasics video on how to make an Old Fashioned. Maybe some people like to stick around more because Buencamino has the best home bar setup of any of these influencers with a full wall of bottle shelving and a lengthy wooden bar he built himself. You almost feel like you’re in an actual bar watching him make his drinks, wanting to strike up a conversation with him.

“The amount of questions have gone up and I’ve started explaining, ‘OK, this is why I’m doing this,’” says Buencamino. “Lots of people are now trying to recreate the cocktail experience from the comfort of their own home because they don’t have a choice.”

Yet, I’d heard from industry friends that some other Instagram home bartenders were floundering, with their incomes down perhaps 70 percent. Hughes told me that alcohol company-sponsored Instagram partnerships — the way many of these home bartenders earn the bulk of their incomes — took a major dip when the lockdown first happened. Getting paid to produce content on press trips and work at branded pop-up bars are also off the table at the moment.

On the other hand, Andrew White, a private events bartender in Brooklyn, believes some Instagram home bartenders are struggling during this pandemic lockdown because, with all the attention now turned toward bartending at home, they’re finally being put under the microscope as never before. “Everyone is thinking they can do something like an expert when in reality they are only part of the way there,” says White, who briefly toyed with being a home bartender influencer himself, building his following to around 12,000 as @thecrafttender. “Being an excellent photographer and being photogenic doesn’t replace the 10,000-hour rule [of actually bartending].”

White is alluding to the fact that these drinkstagrammers are now facing stiffer “home bartender” competition. He points out that, in the past, “real” bartending pros were too busy working at their actual bars to build any sort of online presence and fame. Scour Instagram and you’ll find very few full-time bartenders with followings that creep into the five or six digits like the drinkstagrammers. Thus, many had to turn to these home bartenders to act as proxies for promoting their bars and brands on Instagram and other social media.

“But, with the absence of a bar to sell, the pros are now being instructional,” says White.

If, in the “before times,” Instagram had acted as a proxy for glamor — pretty people doing pretty things — now, during the quarantine, it’s become more about helping your followers learn how to get shit done, just like the experts. Thus, lots of “real” bartenders like Estelle Bossy and Sother Teague have begun offering instruction on, say, making a Negroni or how to produce draught cocktails. Meanwhile, publications have been hosting nightly cocktail tutorials on Instagram Live, featuring notable bartenders like Shelby Allison of Chicago’s Lost Lake and Orlando Franklin McCray of Brooklyn’s Nightmoves.

My favorite Instagram home bartender of the quarantine has been Naren Young, the award-winning former bar director at Manhattan’s Dante. “You know shit is getting weird when yours truly posts a random cocktail video,” Young wrote on Instagram on March 28 as he almost sheepishly began his home bartending career by making the de rigeur “Quarantini.” Previous to that, he’d never posted any sort of bartending tutorial on Instagram, using his account (and his modest 13,000 followers) to post images of his travels, food and drink he’s enjoying, friends he’s visiting. Two months into quarantine, however, Young had posted a cocktail video almost daily — over 40 Instagram videos in total by now.

Unlike many of the anodyne and brand-friendly home bartender influencers, Young doesn’t play it safe because he doesn’t really seem to give a fuck. He’s wildly funny, sometimes crass and profane, and often dressed in something a little bit wacky, like a bathrobe or a tuxedo jacket and bowtie sans shirt. Young’s videos offer little glamor; unlike the home bartender influencers, his videos have low-quality production values (his roommate holds his iPhone to film) and, believe it or not, he almost entirely lacks any sort of standard bartending equipment. Early on he was using sealed plastic Tupperware to mix drinks, and a novelty New York Yankees shaker to put together a Watermelon Martini.

“There are so many people out there that also don’t have any tools and therefore are probably too intimidated to make a drink, but they want a nice cocktail,” says Young, who has respectfully not posted any new bartending videos since the Black Lives Matter protests arose in early June. “So with these videos I wanted to take the stigma away that fancy drinks can only be made by professional mixologists. That’s BS. There’s a whole bunch of ‘tools’ that can be appropriated and turned into bar equipment on the fly and you don’t need to spend any money or have any formal training to execute.”

Indeed, by the end of each of Young’s videos you’ve inevitably learned something, and the drinks always look absolutely delicious. Still, Dr. Jessica Spector thinks it’s beside the point to compare these professional bartenders to the Instagram home bartenders. “These worlds have nothing to do with each other. Does it hurt home basketball players if Lebron James comes down to practice at their local Y?” asks Spector, who teaches about drinks culture at Yale University. “It’s not like Naren Young is the real celebrity and isn’t it quaint that Soberon is a celebrity in this little world?”

Spector believes that drinkstagrammers form a unique community, and their followers are specifically there for that, not necessarily to learn how to make a cocktail worthy of a slick Manhattan bar. In fact, she tells me many of her college students have told her they mainly enjoy this community aspect and would find, say, an overly serious “How to Make a Negroni” video insufferable.

“It has nothing to do with the circumstances in the world now — it was a community before this [the pandemic] and it’ll be a community after it’s over,” says Spector. “People bond more with their community in times of crisis.”

Most of the drinkstagrammers I spoke to likewise agree that all the bartending pros flocking to Instagram don’t impact them one bit. In fact, Hughes has been using some of his income of late to help out local bartender friends who are out of work, and has been trying to get them involved in his sponsored Instagram partnerships.

Buencamino, meanwhile, counts himself a fan of many of these star bartenders and is celebrating the fact they are now online more. “I’m not worried, I’m actually super stoked that these people I look up to are starting to do more content,” says Buencamino. Like Spector, he considers what they do almost a different art form, one more raw and real.

Of course, if we’re being honest, the truly most influential Instagram home bartenders of the quarantine have been neither furloughed professionals nor home bartender drinkstagrammers — they’ve been celebrities. And, even if they are making cocktails nowhere close to “correctly,” they are racking up viewership numbers way bigger than the rest of drinkstagram ever has before. Walton Goggins getting 67,000 views for making a Gimlet with the unexpected inclusion of muddled mint and cucumber. Stanley Tucci suavely shaking (shaking!) an unbalanced Negroni and still netting nearly 1 million views. Ina Garten mixing a comically gigantic Cosmo, and nearly blowing up the internet. “It’s always cocktail hour in a crisis!” wrote Garten.

Indeed, whether pro, amateur, nobody, or celebrity, everyone is making cocktails on Instagram right now, but it��s not affecting the drinkstagrammers. They just keep doing what they’ve always been doing, and their followings continue to swell.

“I feel bad saying this, especially since so many of my industry friends are left without work, but ever since the pandemic hit I’ve been absolutely slammed,” says Hughes. “It’s the busiest I’ve ever been in the three years I’ve been doing this.”

The article What Do Instagram Home Bartenders Do Now That Everyone Is a Home Bartender? appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/what-do-instagram-home-bartenders-do-now-that-everyone-is-a-home-bartender/

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isaiahrippinus · 4 years

Text

What Do Instagram Home Bartenders Do Now That Everyone Is a Home Bartender?

“But, with the absence of a bar to sell, the pros are now being instructional,” says White.

Indeed, whether pro, amateur, nobody, or celebrity, everyone is making cocktails on Instagram right now, but it’s not affecting the drinkstagrammers. They just keep doing what they’ve always been doing, and their followings continue to swell.

The article What Do Instagram Home Bartenders Do Now That Everyone Is a Home Bartender? appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/what-do-instagram-home-bartenders-do-now-that-everyone-is-a-home-bartender/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/622457833298001921

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johnboothus · 4 years

Text

What Do Instagram Home Bartenders Do Now That Everyone Is a Home Bartender?

“But, with the absence of a bar to sell, the pros are now being instructional,” says White.

The article What Do Instagram Home Bartenders Do Now That Everyone Is a Home Bartender? appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/what-do-instagram-home-bartenders-do-now-that-everyone-is-a-home-bartender/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/what-do-instagram-home-bartenders-do-now-that-everyone-is-a-home-bartender

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coffee-for-himchan · 7 years

Text

I’m Not Tired, I Promise (Daehyun x reader)

Requested by: @daehyunsbabyelf

Word count: 3.1 k+

Genre/warnings: fluff ❤

Summary: You and Daehyun haven’t been able to go on a proper date for a while now because of his busy schedules, so when he texts you and tells you he’s got something planned you’re more than just excited! The day finally comes, and you have a great night out, until you notice what Daehyun’s been desperately trying to hide behind his smiles and giggles not to ruin the moment.

You nervously fixed your hair as you stood in the middle of the small, dimly lit street you both had agreed to meet on. Not having anything else to do (as well as being a little self-conscious about the way you looked) lead you to grabbing your handbag and, after a little bit of rummaging through it and eventually finding the thing you were searching for, pulling out a pocket mirror. You carefully opened it just to stare at your own reflection for a little while.

You'd already forgotten how it felt. Getting ready for a date, trying to look your best even though the person you'll be going with has already confessed their love to you countless times, even when you were makeup-less, messy-haired and in your pajamas. Daehyun's been away almost all the time recently, and it didn't quite help that even when he was in town and had a little bit of spare time, your apartments were located very far from each other, so you weren't just able to come over at any given moment. The few times you had lunch together or had a quick meet-up when you came by to visit him on practice breaks and such were all your real-life interaction, while everything else would usually happen through the phone. He was the person to bug you with cute text messages, and sometimes even late night calls or a facetime (when he claimed that his daily dose of you hadn't been reached yet and that this was the easiest way to fill the bar). But you haven't been on a real date for months now, and that slightly disappointed you.

One of your favorite things in life was seeing him happy, and he most definitely was the happiest when he was performing. You'd learned to love the way he followed his dreams, always working hard and giving his best on every occasion, even if that meant you two not being able to see each other regularly and as much as you'd like to. Seeing him succeed had become your favorite thing in life, and sometimes you laughed at yourself for becoming so attached and devoted to a single person, as you never thought this would happen. But this was your life now, and you were glad, because in between your hectic work and exciting and crazy friends, Daehyun's love and company was a nice escape from the ordinary.

The lack of real-life communication was bringing you down a lot, and he didn't seem to take it any better than you did, so when he texted you a few days ago telling you he'd take you out on a date, you were on cloud nine. You'd spent all evening trying to do your makeup as good as possible, so it would still look relatively natural, and doing your hair, curling it into loose, barely-there curls. Not too much, not too little. You'd even bought a new dress for the occasion, one that you thought he might like, and put on some platform shoes and pretty jewelry, dangling earrings in your ears and the necklace he had given you for your one year anniversary looking perfect against your soft, exposed skin. He absolutely loved it when you wore it, so you decided it was the perfect occasion to put it on.

"Gosh, you're really reminding me of Himchan right now. When I walked in on him earlier today he was staring at himself in the mirror the same exact way, well, not that I expected to see him doing anything else, really," you heard a familiar voice right in front of you, making you jump slightly.

A laugh. Well, good to know that he found scaring the life out of you funny, right?

"What's so funny? I'm standing here, minding my own business, and you just literally pop up out of nowhere in front of me and decide that scaring me would be an appropriate first interaction," you tell him, trying to come off as slightly angry and annoyed, but the smile that's creeping it's way to your face giving away your true feelings immediately.

"I'm sorry, i just thought it was hilarious that I was able to creep up so close to you and even stand there for a little while, just looking at you, and you still hadn't noticed," he told you while taking a step closer to you, his arms wrapping around you happily as he planted a small kiss on your temple, leaving his lips to rest on that same exact spot for a little longer. You silently thanked God, the Universe or anyone else who could be responsible for this really, as you felt your cheeks flush bright red. You didn't want him to see you blushing like this, so you just wrapped your own arms around his torso in a cute fashion, hiding your face somewhere close to his collar bone and hoping the blush would go away as soon as possible.

"Apology accepted. For now," you mumbled quietly.

"Thank you, babe. And by the way, no worries about your looks. First thing I did when I saw you was stop dead in my tracks to catch my breath from the view in front of me," he told you, making your heart flutter a bit. Thank god he thought you looked cute being so out of the world and worried about your looks that you didn't notice anything happening around you, because you thought it was embarrassing.

"Is it really that bad?" you made him burst out laughing at your question. Of course you were aware of what he meant with his comment, but teasing and a little bit of sarcasm was what you were up to at the moment. His laugh was soul-healing, at least to you, and your eyes met with his beautiful ones as he pulled away a bit so he could look at you properly.

"I hope you're kidding, please tell me I'm right. You look stunning, babe," he gently placed his lips on yours, giving you a quick, sweet kiss. It always amazed you how big and soft his lips were, and even the simplest kisses always had a deep effect on you. A fuzzy feeling in your stomach is all you were left with when he pulled away, way too soon in your opinion, but you knew better than to start your long-awaited meeting off with a full-blown make out session. The time for that would eventually come around the corner soon enough anyways.

It was really late already, and your date, as it turned out, would consist of endlessly walking down little dimly lit almost empty streets, your fingers tangled together as he silently admired how well your hand clipped together with his and how soft and pleasantly calming your touch was. You eventually stumbled upon a little cafe after walking for a long time, and when you saw how Daehyun slowed down when you were passing by and looked at it with puppy eyes you chuckled a bit.

"Wanna go eat?" you stopped walking and suggested, knowing there is only one true answer if the person questioned is no other than Jung Daehyun.

"Well, if you wouldn't mind..." his stomach growling loudly interrupted him and sent you off laughing loudly, taking him by his sleeve and pulling him along to the entrance door.

"Say no more," you chuckled as he was relieved that his embarrassing behavior seemed rather cute than stupid to you.

You spent there almost two hours, sitting at a small table for two next to a window that was beautifully decorated with flower pots from the outside, just casually chatting away. At first he (not too gracefully, but you didn't mind) switched from stuffing his face to laughing at your jokes and remarks loudly, until both of you had eaten well and were just sitting there, enjoying your time together and chatting away. The atmosphere in the cafe, despite it being one of those "open for 24 hours" places, was quite romantic, and you felt very grateful that when it came to spending time together in a romantic fashion, Daehyun was always up for it, often being the person who started off and indicated the romantic mood, being 100% invested in it once it kicked off. When you first started dating he didn't look like one of those type of guys to you, but you soon found out how much he actually liked some of the traditional cheesy couples stuff, and that made you happy. You glanced at him while listening to his story of how Youngjae fell earlier today while walking down the corridor and praising himself to the max, and couldn't help but smile brightly in response. You weren't sure exactly when or how, but at some point he had reached for your hand that was previously lying in front of you on the table, and was holding it in his slightly bigger palm now, drawing circles with his thumb from time to time. Clingy, touchy Daehyun was the thing you lived for.

While the evening (or at this point already night) was absolutely amazing, you couldn't help but slowly pay attention the feeling of worry that has been rising within you for the last few hours. He was sitting right across of you, laughing loudly and having a lot of fun, but there were times in between his cheeky smiles and the long stories that he told when his facial expression shifted. He thought you didn't notice, but you knew him better.

The way he lost track of his words in the middle of a sentence from time to time, just shaking and laughing it off, and the way he closed his eyes for a little whenever you had a longer story to tell, claiming that it was from the pleasure that the sound of your voice gave him. The way his movements became slower and sloppier every minute.

He was tired to the point of falling.

Daehyun was holding on for the sake of you, himself, and your time that you were finally able to spend together, but it pained you to see him like this. After paying for the bill and stepping out of the cafe, opening the door for you widely first, he threw his left arm around your waist, put another smile on and started leading you further down the street.

"So, where now?" he asked, expecting you to just ask him to walk for a little longer, as always.

"How about we go back to my place?" his head snapped at your answer, showing that this wasn't what he thought you would say.

"But... I thought we would.. Babe, is something wrong?" he asked, slowing down before eventually stopping. He turned to face you, worry written across his face, and you thought that you maybe should've found a different approach to the situation. His voice sounded sad and broken all of a sudden, and you hated being the cause of it.

"No, everything is more that fine, don't worry about it, Daehyun. I would just like both of us to go home now," you told him, putting your hand on his upper arm as you spoke, stroking it with your thumb.

"But I had planned a whole night out, just for the two of us. Are you sure you want to end it now, or maybe you just didn't like my idea of this date..." he trailed off, losing himself in the middle of a sentence again.

"No, Daehyun! The date was tons of fun and I am so glad and thankful you took me out-"

"What is it then?" he cut you off, impatient to know, his tone still slightly hurt but rather worried. "Are you tired maybe? Is that it?"

"I am not," you responded, biting you lip and looking him in the eyes, "but you are."

His eyes gave away everything. His inner world breaking apart a little at the fact that you noticed, even though he hid it up perfectly.

"No, no! I'm fine, don't worry about me, I can still go on for hours!" he exclaimed excitedly in his last attempts to fool you, but he knew you too well. You wouldn't believe at this point.

"Just listen to me once, I know you're stubborn, but just try it. Let's go," you tugged at his jacket a little.

"Babe," he said, putting his hands on your hips and holding you in place, so you weren't able to turn around or start walking off, "I've been planning this for a long time, and don't try to fool me and tell me you didn't impatiently wait for us to finally be able to go on a real date. I constantly feel so bad for not always putting you first, especially in the past time. I know you're kind enough to understand that and support me in any way you can, but I feel bad for using that as an advantage and an excuse. It's my own fault that I am tired, and don't let it bother us. I've waited long enough for this, don't scrap it because of me, I'd really hate to disappoint you and make you sad" he said, making you feel a little shaken up inside.

''How about we don't scrap it but simply do it another time. Please, Daehyun, let's go. You could never disappoint me or make me feel bad, okay? Just listen to me, please. We'll do it another time," you told him and watched his face change.

He ended up silently agreeing, letting you lead him back to his car by his hand. You refused to let him drive, as you made him climb into the passenger's seat and drove yourself. He was still disappointed, more by himself than your decision to cut your date short. Both of you stayed silent until you decided that it's been more than enough, and started telling funny stories that had occurred to you again. With every word that came out of your mouth, his mood lifted a little bit, and by the end of the car ride both of you were laughing and smiling constantly again, filling up the chill night air as you climbed out of the car with your melodic giggles.

You didn't have to tell him where you stored some of his clothes that he left in your apartment at various past visits, he knew exactly. He took a quick shower, noticing how tense his muscles have been when the hot water dripped down his shoulders, and popped down on your bed as soon as he got into your bedroom, waiting for you to get ready to sleep. He still felt bad, but something else had occupied his mind completely.

The fact that you showed no sign of sadness or disappointment when cutting the date short surprised him a bit. And you noticed his tiredness, which he was sure he would be able to hide from you. He wasn't aware that you knew him this well, and he hadn’t realized how much you cared about him. Butterflies in the stomach is what he felt next, and he silently chuckled at himself for being a grown man and still feeling this way when just thinking about you.

You came out of the bathroom to see him sitting comfortably on your bed, looking at you with big, bright eyes as you came closer. The moment you sat down beside him you felt his hand brush against your cheek and cup you face, tugging it closer to his own.

You were caught off guard, but reacted immediately, reaching for him and shifting a bit to get closer to him as his lips sank into yours. It's what you've been waiting for all evening - a proper kiss from the one person you loved and cared about the most. He made the rules, and you followed, silently and gratefully. He made it feel like home, moving slowly and pulling away from time to time just to tease you, knowing more than well that you would let out tiny cute noises that showed your disagreement of him being this far away from you. Knowing that you would pull him back closer (with your hand gently placed at the back of his neck) made him want to tease you a little more, but at some point the desire to capture as much of you as possible became priority, and, teasing thrown aside, you just kept going for as long as possible. To make up for all the times he cancelled a date, and to make up for all the times he wasn't there when you needed him. With those thoughts in mind he made sure to let you feel loved, murmuring "baby", "hmm" and "I'm sorry" somewhere in between while running his hand up and down your side.

"Thank you for always taking care of me, and forgive me for not always doing the same to you," he told you in between the last few pecks as he slowly started to get both of you into sleeping position, lifting up the blankets and letting them cover your cold, tired bodies.

"I will try to do better in the future, just wait a bit and see. I promise," he said right before you wanted to open your mouth and scold him for talking about your relationship this way, because you really felt happy with him. It took him only minutes to fall asleep, his chest slowly rising and falling in a steady rhythm against your own, his barely audible little snoring filling the room.

You felt something buzzing not to far away from you, and noticed that he had left his phone on the bed. Picking it up, unlocking it and turning the brightness a little lower, you noticed he had gotten a message from the B.A.P group chat about tomorrow's plans and practice. After debating with yourself for a little, as well as thinking which one of the guys would be the most suitable for asking such questions, you went to type on a message to Himchan, who, luckily, was currently online.

"Hey, it's (Y/N)."

"Oh, hey! How are you and Daehyun doing? He told us he's taking you on a date tonight. Did you have fun? And why are you typing from Daehyun's phone?" you slightly regretted hitting up the “always worrying and always supportive mother of B.A.P”, but you felt like you could ask him about this out of everyone the easiest.

"Yeah, about that... Is it possible for Daehyun not to show up to practice or whatever you were planning tomorrow?" you went straight ahead, biting your lip.

"Well, I don't think the guys would be impressed about that, but... Hell, I don't remember when we last had a day off. And all he's been talking about for ages is how he wants to spend some time with you.."

You waited.

"Okay, wish granted, I'll think of something. Take care of him," you smiled at the screen as you read the message.

"Thank you. A lot," you answered, not bothering to wait for a reply, locking the phone and stretching out your arm to put it on the bedside table. Daehyun stirred at your movement, tightening his grip around you, and you smiled.

"We'll finish it off tomorrow, babe. Promise," you quietly whispered before shutting your eyes and letting sleep take over.

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