#i’m coming out as an urban hater i think

[maidstew]

everyone always talks about how annoying and horrible Coriolanus Snow is but when will we focus on the real enemy? Urban Canville.

[harlowsbby]

Can I request the reader and Jack being in the very early stages of their relationship, like they're still technically friends but they're moving towards being more. So Jack brings her to meet his friends and Neelam is being bitter and just a hater, so she tries to embarrassed the reader by like giving her an NDA to sign in front of anyone (because Jack didn't want to give her one because he trusts her). You can choose how it goes from there, maybe Jack gets mad at Neelam because she been had a stank attitude towards the reader all day

Circles

“They’ll love you I promise baby.” You we’re a fidgeting mess in your seat, today was the day you were meeting all of Jack’s closes friends and family.

You’ve met his friends like Urban and Druski before and the three of you were stuck together since like glue. You still have yet to meet Nemo, Neelam and all of Jack’s other friends and his brother which is why you were so on edge.

“But what if they think I’m weird? What if they say I can’t dress right or that my head is too big.” Jack stiffed a laugh and moved his hand over to your thigh, caressing it and cooing. “I promise you baby they won’t say anything like that, besides I’m the only one that can say you have a big head.”

You shoved his hand off your thigh and crossed your arms over your chest before facing the window while Jack was trying his hardest to contain his laughter. “Baby I’m playing around with you, they’ll all love you I know they will.”

“I hope you’re right Jack.” Looking out the window you tried your best to ease your nerves, growing up you always cared a lot about what other people thought about you so the way you were acting tonight wasn’t really new or anything different.

Your mother always taught you that first impression is always a big deal and that you need to stand out but stand out in a good way. Your relationship with Jack was still fairly fresh and new he wanted to take things slow with you but he trusted you one hundred percent.

————————————————————————

A few minutes later the two of you were finally pulling up to Jack’s house, it was much bigger in person. Whenever the two of you were on the phone together he’d give you a little house tour but seeing his house in person almost blew you away.

“You live here?” He chucked and nodded, taking your hand in his hand. “Yes I live here baby, all my neighbors are a bunch of old rich white people so it’s always quiet over here.” “They aren’t suspicious of some young white rapper living here?” He shrugged his shoulders and pulled out his keys, unlocking the front door. “I’m not sure but I don’t really care.”

Once inside you could’ve swore your entire jaw was hanging open by now. “Damn it’s nice in here, are you sure you aren’t married with a wife and kids? It’s all clean.” He raised his eyebrow at you. “Oh so you’re calling me dirty now?” You waved your hands in defense. “I’m not saying that it just smells and looks really clean.”

“I’m messing with you baby but come on everyone is in the kitchen.” Jack took your head and led you into the kitchen, the closer you got the louder it got, several voices could be heard coming from the kitchen.

“Urban stop being so greedy! You know you didn’t need to eat three cups of noddles.” “Well actually you’re wrong because I’m a growing man and I need the nutrition.” Neelam rolled her eyes. “The nutritions? Ramen doesn’t have nutrition in it.”

“I hope you didn’t eat all of my ramen up.” Everyone turned their attention to the door by the sound of Jack’s voice coming from the doorway.

“Y/N! You actually showed up.” Urban smiled and went to give you a hug and you happily hugged him back. “Of course you know I had to come see you again, is Druski here?” “I’m right here baby.” Looking past Urban that’s when you saw Druski.

“Druski!” You smiled and went to hug him, “I see you’re still with that white man.” He said, talking about Jack. “Don’t be jealous you know that’ll be you one day.” You smirked making his eyes go wide. “Really?!” “No Druski.” Everyone laughed as Druski groaned.

“Well I’m going to go get some snacks from the store, anybody coming with?” Jack asked. “I’ll come with you.” Ace said. Jack gave you a small smile and blew you a kiss before heading out the door.

“So who are you?” You turned around seeing a fairly short women with a bunch of highlights in her hair. “Neelam that’s Y/N you know who she is.” Urban said, Neelam was one of Jack’s many mangers you heard about her a few times and how possessive she seemed to be when it came to Jack.

“I know who she is Urban but I wanna know what’s her title.” “Her title?” Druski asked Neelam. She removed herself from the doorway and walked over to the fridge and pulled out a drink and faced you all again. “Yeah are Jack’s girlfriend, are you a little fling? What do you want from Jack because if it’s money I can give you some right now so you can leave.”

You were taken off guard you didn’t even know who this lady was and she just automatically assumed you were with Jack for the money. “What are you talking about Neelam? That’s Jack’s girlfriend and Y/N isn’t like that so whatever you’re thinking stop thinking it.” Druski came to your defense.

“I have my eyes on you Y/N.” She rolled her eyes at Druski and walked away and once she left you felt as if you could finally breathe again. “Well that wasn’t awkward at all.” You tried brushing it off and changing the energy in the room. “I’m sorry she acted like that towards you just try not to pay her any mind.” Urban reassured you.

“Yeah Neelam’s just really possessive when it comes to Jack so the way she acts is understandable.” Maybe they were right she didn’t really have a reason not to like you and at the same time you understood where she was coming from especially since a lot of girls Jack had been with are only with him for his money.

“I mean I guess but it’s whatever, so Druski is it true you’re talking to somebody?” You wiggled your eyebrows at him making him grin wide. While you waited for Jack to return you tried to keep yourself busy but you kept repeating what just happened a few minutes ago in your head.

You had a feeling somebody wasn’t going to like you but maybe you were getting too much in your head right now or maybe you weren’t.

————————————————————————

The entire afternoon you tried distracting yourself and avoiding Neelam, you decided to not tell Jack mainly because you knew how important tonight was for him and it was just a small little incident.

You were all in the living room watching a few scary movies, you were leaning into Jack’s side with his arm over your shoulder while everyone else was scattered across the living room.

The entire movie you had this feeling like someone was watching you but just decided to brush it off as a sign you were being paranoid until you eventually just couldn’t stand it anymore. Looking to the side of you that’s when you saw Neelam glaring at you.

Your eyes widened and you quickly turned your attention back to the screen. “Baby? You good you keep moving.” Jack looked down at noticed how you were biting your bottom lip. “Is the movie too scary? I can turn it off.” The concern in his voice clearly evident. “No it’s okay it’s not the movie, it’s nothing.”

Jack was going to press the issue further because he hated when you kept secrets or things away from him but he decided against it and let it go.

Drawing your attention back on the movie just wasn’t happening it bothered you that Neelam had a issue with you mainly because you weren’t sure what you did to make her not like you, everyone else was so welcoming and greeted you with opened arms well everyone besides her.

All you wanted to do was go home to your place and be in Jack’s arms you no longer felt comfortable being here. Once the movie was over everyone cleaned up and back into the kitchen to figure out what to make and eat.

“We have chicken, rice, broccoli.” Jack named random things in his fridge. “Everything healthy where’s the junk food at.” Ace mumbled. “Y/N if you ask Jack if we can get pizza he’ll do it.” Urban begged. “What’s in it for me if I ask?” “I’ll give you my lifetime supply of ramen.” You thought about it for a second and took his offer. “Sounds like a deal, Jack how about we order some pizza.”

“I don’t really want pizza and I can’t eat it, some chicken and broccoli sounds good.” Neelam butted in. Jack looked over at Neelam and back at you, the pout on your lips made it hard for Jack to say no. “If my baby wants pizza then pizza is what we’re having.”

You cheered along with the guys while Neelam sat in the corner. “Gold digger much.” She muttered under her breath. “What was that Neelam?” Jack raised his eyebrow at her. “Oh I said get pineapple on the pizza.” You watched how she took her phone and went upstairs to do God knows what. “What’s her issue?” Nemo asked and you shrugged your shoulders, you had no idea but you wanted to know.

Eventually the pizza came and you were all sitting in the kitchen just eating and talking when you noticed Neelam wasn’t downstairs yet. “Is Neelam coming to eat? Her food is going to get cold.” Jack pulled out his phone and messaged her, letting her know the pizza was here.

Jack had a feeling she wasn’t going to answer based off the argument they had earlier.

flashback

“Jack you need to have her sign an NDA, I understand you love her but it’s for your own good.” Neelam argued back.

Jack didn’t want to have you sign an NDA because he trusted you and knew you weren’t like girls he’s even with in the past but Neelam kept pushing him to do it. “It isn’t necessary Neelam.”

“How do you know that Jack? I saw the way she came in here and was looking around at everything it’s only a matter of time before she’s sucking you dry.” She spat at him and flopped on the chain in Jack’s office. Jack rubbed the side of his and ran his fingers through his curls.

“Let’s just drop this alright? She isn’t signing the damn NDA and that’s final.” Jack slammed the door, leaving Neelam alone in her thoughts.

She opened up the desk and pulled out a stack of papers. “Trust me she’ll be signing that NDA.” Neelam wanted what was best for Jack and her mind everything she was doing to protect him but in reality she was only hurting him.

flashback over

After a few minutes she finally came came back down. “So how does everyone feel about Y/N?” Jack blurted out making you almost choke on your food. “Jack literally please you guys don’t have to ask that.” You nervously laughed.

“I love Y/N she’s just like you just the less annoying version.” Nemo joked making Jack toss a piece of pepperoni at him. “Yeah I agree with Nemo I really like Y/N.” Ace said.

“What about you Neelam?” It was quiet for a few seconds the only sound coming from her chewing, once she finished her pizza she looked up at you all. “Honestly I think she’s fun but not really Jack’s type.” The room got silent and this awkwardness filled the air. “What?” Nemo asked.

“Look Jack has introduced us to many girls before and all of those girls all played him and used him since he has money now and what makes Y/N so different.” She spoke as if you weren’t in the room. Jack’s grip on your thigh tightened.

“Watch what you say about Y/N.” Jack told her but Neelam didn’t care she was going to get her point across regardless. “Why are you with Jack?” She asked you, everyone in the room now looking at you. “I mean we-well I love Jack and he loves me.” She raised her left brow. “And you see yourself being with him forever?” Jack gave your thigh a reassuring squeeze. “I do.”

She wickedly smiled and pulled out a stack of paper from her purse. “I mean if you say you’re going to be with Jack I hope you don’t mind signing this NDA.” She pushed it over towards you with a pen.

You were beyond embarrassed everyone in the room was looking at you, waiting to see what you were going to do or say. “What’s this shit Neelam, I thought we walked about this earlier.” Jack told her.

“You talked about this with her? So it was your idea.” Your spoke your voice barley above a whisper as you turned to look at Jack with teary eyes. His face fell at how heartbroken and disappointed you looked. “No I’d never do anything like that Y/N I trust you baby.”

Shaking your head at him you removed his grip from you and jumped off the kitchen counter. “I want to go home.” You squeaked with your eyes shut. “Let’s just talk about this baby please.” He begged and went to grab your arm but you pulled it back. “I said I wanna go home.” You demanded.

“I’ll take you back home Y/N.” Nemo grabbed his keys and took you outside. “I’ll come with you two.” Jack went to go follow after you but Drama pulled him back. “I think she needs some space besides you need to solve things out here.” He told Jack.

Jack watched with sad eyes as you let from the kitchen with your head down, tears clearly spilling from your eyes. He wanted tonight to go smoothly and perfectly and it was at first, maybe he made the mistake of brining you tonight, he had a feeling it was too soon.

“You know you really are manger of the year huh Neelam?” The sarcasm dripping from the tone of Urban’s voice. “Oh well I did what Jack wouldn’t do.” She continued to eat her pizza while Jack stood there heartbroken.

[daily-crowley]

TELL ME ABT YOUR OTHER HYPERFIXATIONS!! Mine are currently Loki, ofmd, good omens, and Hozier :D

THANK YOU FOR ASKING, THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG!

There’s a few hyperfixations of mine I’m always talking about but right now there’s 3 main ones.

1. The Boys

2. Invincible

3. Peacemaker

The Boys is the main one; I loved it since it came out back in 2019. I moved on sometime after S3 ended and I found another hyperfixation but now new content is coming out with S4 so I’m back on my The Boys bullshit. I’m a Butchlander shipper, BILLY BUTCHER AND HOMELANDER CONSUME MY THOUGHTS. I AM BEYOND OBSESSED WITH THOSE TWO! I need them to kiss…. And-and more. Anthony Starr and Karl Urban are my current celebrity crushes that I’m only able to think about. If you follow me in insta it’s just been The Boys 24/7 that I’ve talked about since new content started dropping thanks to S4. HOMELANDER IS MY BABYGIRL I WILL DEFEND HIM I DON’T CARE FOR HIS CRIMES I DON’T CARE IF I’M SUPPOSE TO HATE HIM, I LOVE HIM. BILLY BUTCHER MY GOTH BOYFRIEND I WILL DIE IF YOU DIE. HE CANT DIE, HE JUST CAN’T. S4 teaser was insane, so much was going on, Black Noir is back?! And Jeffrey Dean Morgan is joining the cast! AND TEAMING UP WITH BUTCHER?! They said that trailer was just a scratch on the surface of what happens, wasn’t even a trailer just a teaser but it had so much going on WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT’T JUST A SMALL TASTE OF S4?! I’m scared but excited. I’m nervous but excited (Billy if you fucking die on me- that’s what I’m most worried about)

Invincible is my other current hyperfixation, S1 was so good and I can’t wait for S2 to continue. They should’ve dropped all the episodes at once that way I don’t have to wait but whatever. Vigilante is my little meow meow from Peacemaker. I love Adrian so much, hate that I gotta wait till like 2025-2026 for S2 possibly.

My other interests that I talk about all the time (not currently much though thanks to The Boys) are:

• NATM/JedTavius

• Venom/SymBrock

• SamBucky/Marvel in general

• FNAF

• Who Framed Roger Rabbit

• Maleficent

• The Simpsons

Night at The Museum came out when I was 7, I’m 24 now, I haven’t moved on. It was my first hyperfixation and ship before I even knew what that all meant. I’ve written like 30 JedTavius fics. I’m a Venom fan first and a Spider-Man hater second. I will defend Venom at all times and Eddie and him are definitely in love. When the FNAF film came out it brought me back to my FNAF phase, Foxy’s my favourite with Bonnie being second. I watched the film about 20 times. Then in November I started a personal rewatch challenge on Insta where I watched it all month long. Meaning I’ve probably watched it at least 50 times and I still haven’t gotten sick of it (also I love the Josh Hutcherson whistle meme. I don’t care how much people hate it I think it’s funny.) I’m a huge Marvel fan, I literally grew up with the comics, I’m not kidding those were read to me as my bedtime stories. My favourite characters are Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes as a result I ship them. I never shipped Stucky, that never made sense to me whilst Sam and Bucky have so much chemistry. Sam Wilson is everything to me, I adore SamCap he’s MY Captain America (still love Steve though!) Roger Rabbit is my favourite fictional character of all time, my biggest comfort character. Growing up I really tried to base my personality off of him, the world might be obsessed with Jessica Rabbit but I’m obsessed with Roger. People need to draw, edit, and cosplay him as much as they do Jessica. I’ve been a huge Simpsons fan since I was like 10 and my mother dropped me off at my aunts house and she left leaving me alone with my cousin who was watching The Simpsons and it took off from there. Nelson Muntz is my funky little son and they need to make Nelisa canon. Maleficent is my favourite Disney character (actually like quite a bit of Disney, second favourite character being Donald Duck) I based a lot of my style around her, and I have a lot of Maleficent collectibles. I absolutely love the Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent films (totally ship her with Diaval).

There’s a few other things that I really, really love. I’m also a huge horror fan my favourite being Chucky/Child’s Play as well as Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (not 3D), Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. Sanrio, Kuromi is my favourite second is Pochacco, I really love animated films and cartoons. IT, Monster High, and more. I’m also a collector of all these things.

So there you have it. Those are all my hyperfixation and fandom’s that I’m in. Right now especially those first 3 that I talked about (seriously can you tell I really like The Boys? Lol)

[buff-electra-truther]

Greaseball vs Electra- how I view the dynamic

-I view Stex with a HEAVY dose of irl train politics for these two specifically because it fits the characters well. I see them more as two sides of the same coin than opposites. They’re the two main present-day approaches to rail transport, electrification vs diesel power. There’s also a rural vs urban divide with them, since population density is a MAJOR driver in which is more practical (they also have small vs big government undertones but I don’t like to get too into the weeds with non-train politics in Stex LOL)

-I tend to default to them being similar size/ability-wise because it checks out with their implied basis engines. Electra has a bit of an edge statistically but requires so much more fragile infrastructure and has a relatively fussy design by electric loco standards (they’re usually less likely to go wrong than combustion engines due to having fewer moving parts, Electra is just an outlier! I’m sick of electrics being played up as fragile in general. It’s the infrastructure that’s fragile.)

-Greaseball symbolizes reality and pragmatism. It is how it is, for better and worse. He’s not as book smart as Electra but much more practical and rugged. He may not know the intricacies of controls and scheduling on the Northeast Corridor but he’d fare much better on a desert island. He’s good at strategizing on the ground with his Gang, for all his ~toxic masculinity~ he is NOT isolationist and very much works as a pack like irl diesel locos typically do on longer trains.

-I lean HARD into Electra being more idealistic and theoretical. He’s like Jack Kirby made a propaganda poster for Amtrak, like a cartoon superhero come to life vs an actual (US) football player type like Greaseball. In ideal conditions Greaseball can’t touch him, but boy it’s hard to line that up. And with his Gang? Electra alone does not stand a chance, he’d work maybe with one other engine and that’s it because of Amtrak’s perpetual shortage of motive power.

-Electra overestimates how stupid Greaseball is, Greaseball overestimates how fragile or weak Electra is.

-Electra can have a weird conspiratorial streak about thinking the government is out to get him (he’s onto something, honestly) and is overly obsessed with proving himself, especially in being worthy vs diesel power due to what a hassle electrification is to implement

-Greaseball views him as less of a serious threat because who the hell is gonna run catenaries over the Rocky Mountains?

-The one thing they can really be united is is hating cars (though Electra is WAY more of a car hater) and getting increasingly aggravated at railroads overworking them

-I view them as enemies with benefits. They hate each other but can’t resist each other. Caboose likes to pit them against each other so he can gets stuck in the middle and have double the fun. I’m Greasedinah-neutral, but I can see Greaseball trying to rope Electra in as an on and off third wheel and Dinah being unenthused about participating because they just fundamentally don’t fit with each other.

[heavyhitterheaux]

Fiore Pericoloso (Dangerous Flower) Chapter 2

AN: I hope everyone liked the first part! So Alani is biracial and looks like the rapper Latto (I absolutely love her, she is so talented). This part mostly features Alani and her best friends Caterina and Tiana, but there is an appearance of Jack, Urban, and Clay. Chapter 3 is told entirely from Jack’s point of view. The most recent chapter will always be pinned until I make a masterlist. 

Word Count: approximately 4k (I just don’t know how to write short chapters apparently lol oops) 

Please do not repost my content anywhere

Gif credit: troishq

Chapter 2: The Way We Run The City

Dangerous Flower Masterlist

Alani's POV

"Eww, are you serious? In front of your parents?!" I made a look of disgust as Cat was explaining her latest sexcapades with Angelo and all I could do was gag. Those two were always at it and could never keep their hands off one another. Of course me and Tiana were always the first ones to hear about it even though that was the last thing that I ever wanted to hear or think about.

"Shit, ain't nothing wrong with that Cat. Alani is just a little hater." And Tiana got on my damn nerves just as much.

"Girl, not hardly. No one wants Angelo's ass but her and her only."

We were currently sitting in one of Caterina's fathers many restaurants in the heart of the city having a late lunch and I was low-key trying to also plan my escape out of the country. I admit that one moment, I'm okay and I already know that my fate has been sealed, the next minute I'm having a mental breakdown and think that I'm not cut out for the married life more specifically the married mafia life. I was meant to be the rich auntie or in my case, the rich godmother to Cat and Ti's offspring.

"You are such a fucking goody two shoes. Just wait until Jack gets his hands on you and you'll be begging him not to stop. Besides, it was under the table, they didn't see anything. The feeling of getting caught is so worth it." She smirked while taking a sip of her sangria.

"Like that makes it any better. Anyway, I need one last night out, just me and my girls." Caterina, Tiana, and I were known to be hard party girls and we were always getting into something. I had to do it this weekend because come next week, I would be too busy prepping for the wedding. After the dress fitting it would all be downhill from there and I was not looking forward to it.

I can't tell you how many times we would get dragged out of places by our families bodyguards when we went out. I was getting into bars/lounges ever since I was 16 and my father would have a fit every time. However, I never learned my lesson. Us getting dragged out didn't happen as often now seeing as we're adults and now a part of our families' business so we really didn't have a lot of free time on our hands. I had more than Cat, but still. Cat was the oldest so she was starting to have a lot of input in the future of the family business. I however was trying to hold out for as long as I could. Yes, I would be a part of the Harlow empire, however, if anything were to happen to my father, I would be in charge along with my Aunt Dionne. I was praying that never happened.

The clock was ticking and my freedom was slowly dwindling down the drain. I need one last send off. I planned on getting fucked up and I could care less what anyone had to say about it. I haven't gone out with my best friends in awhile and I needed the stress reliever.

"Bitch, say less! Are we doing this tonight? Where should we go? What should we wear?" I could see the wheels in her head turning. Any crazy ass idea I brought up to Cat and Ti, they were always down for it. I guess that's why I call them my best friends. I remember last year when all three of us drove to Atlanta for a weekend. We all swore that everything that happened when we were there would be taken to the grave. Them more so than me since I'm considered the fucking goody two-shoes out of the three of us.

"I was thinking that new spot off of 33rd and Gwynn Falls Avenue. Apparently a lot of celebrities have gone there and it has good reviews." I replied while shrugging and taking a sip of my long island iced tea. If I was going to drink later, I needed to not go hard during the day.

"I haven't been there before either so it should be good. I think Angelo went last week."

"Why does that not surprise me?" I rolled my eyes while stealing a fry off of Cat's plate.

"Ooh yes! Maybe we'll see Drake! He has a concert this weekend I think." Ti was all smiles anytime it came to anything Drake related.

"Eat your food and stop being a groupie." I replied while laughing.

She rolled her eyes and mouthed 'you're no fun' to me before doing as she was told.

"You know, Alani... you really don't like Angelo, and I can't put my finger on as to why." I admit I always said slick shit under my breath when he was around because something doesn't sit right with me about him or his family for that matter. I feel that out of all of the families, we were treated a little bit different when it came to interactions with his. We still did business with them, but I kept them at a distance.

"Because he gives me weird vibes and you could do better. But, with the contract you two have to marry each other. As long as you like him is what's important. You're happy and I don't want to ruin that for you that's why when you bring him up I don't really say anything."

"Told you she was a hater." Ti quickly said before I threw one of the fries that I stole from Cat's plate at her.

Angelo has always made me somewhat uncomfortable when he's around. I can't quit put my finger on it, but something always feels off with the way he interacts with me. It doesn't happen with anyone else. Just me.

All Cat did was sigh.

Even Tiana liked him and Tiana didn't like anybody but us.

"He wants to get to know you. He's trying so hard because he knows how important we are to each other."

"Well, I'm not interested." And that was the God honest truth. I didn't want to be around him if I didn't have to be.

"Well, if not can you just be civil for me?" Only because she's my best friend I'll do it. If she wasn't, I wouldn't care less.

"Whatever you want, Cat. I'm just trying to figure out what I'm wearing tonight."

"Well at least we don't have to worry about paying to get in since your last name is almost Harlow after all." Ti added while while also stealing some of Cat's fries.

"Very true indeed. We won't have to wait in line either."

We literally got into anywhere we wanted because our families are known all around the city and since Ti was an honorary member she got in too.

New York City is split up into five zones amongst the families. Each zone or industry is ran by one or two families. Gambling, casinos, and tourist attractions are run by my family the DeLucas, the restaurants are run by Romano which is Cat's family, bars/clubs are run by the Harlow's, while real estate is run by the Esposito's and Bianchi's. All of the families participate in the drug cartel. They just have the other businesses so that they can be used as a cover up.

There are also many police officers on each family's payroll so that none of us would be arrested or charges brought against us. Local police weren't seen as a problem, but the FBI were. So it was important for us to keep a somewhat low profile and not causing trouble in the city. Caterina was horrible at that. She brought attention to us everywhere that we went.

Her father really needs to get her a PR team.

"What time did you want to leave out? I can come and pick you both up or we can get ready at my house. My mom says she misses her other daughters and yall little brother wants to see yall too."

"They literally just saw me 2 days ago." I adored Mama Naomi, she was the kind of wife/mother I aspired to be besides my own. She is so sweet, nurturing, and caring and in my eyes could never do anything wrong. She and her husband literally treat me as if they gave birth to me themselves which I have always been grateful for. Her little brother Leandro was always a sweetheart.

"Come on, you know how she is."

"I guess so, as long as she makes that Oreo fudge thing I like."

"Yall already know I'm in and Alani I have the perfect dress for you to wear."

Tiana was always wearing the hottest thing of the season. But the way she would get these dresses was a bit questionable.

"Tiana please don't tell me you got that dress from Peaches with the one eye at the subway station again. The last one you gave me started to unravel when I put it on."

"Damn, Alani do you always have to bring that up? I apologized for that. And Peaches got his prosthetic eye now! It looks nice, we should pay him a visit. He's down there on Tuesdays."

She cannot be serious.

"Ti, my ass was exposed! I might as well had been the centerfold in the newest playboy magazine!"

"I mean her ass was out there for everyone to see. I know Jack would've tore your ass up if he saw you that night."

"Both of yall get on my fucking nerves." I replied as I rolled my eyes. I didn't know what I was going to do with these two.

"And you wouldn't have it any other way."

---

I quickly made my way through the front entrance of my house and was attempting to skip up the steps two at a time in order to get my clothes together when I suddenly heard my father's voice.

"Fiore? Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"I'm spending the night with Cat and Ti before the big day and all."

I just left the part out where I planned to get white girl wasted in one of Jack's new clubs and hope no one takes pictures or have to be carried out by security or bodyguards.

"Okay, but promise you'll stay there tonight and not go anywhere else."

I suddenly had a look of confusion upon my face, and I knew my father's explanation was going to put me in a sour mood.

"Umm?"

"Just be mindful, just trying to keep you safe is all. You know there are always enemies lurking in the city. Especially for anyone that has anything to do with the families " I feel as though there is a little bit more to that, but he isn't going into detail.

"Daddy, I want to go out."

Now I was whining and about to have a temper tantrum all at the age of 21.

"It has to do with your safety. You and Caterina and Tiana can do anything you want to your heart's desire, except leave the premises of her family's estate."

"Daddy come on, that isn't fair at all. Me, Cat and Tiana go out all the time so what is different now? I just want one last hoorah or whatever before you hand deliver me to Jack."

"Alani, do as your told. If I tell you it's not safe for you to do something, you need to listen the first time and not question as to why I'm making the decision that I'm making. End of discussion."

I stormed off in a huff up the stairs and into my room and plopped face first down on my bed groaning.

The thing about my father was ever since my mom passed away, he has seemed a little lost. I can imagine he didn't plan on being a single parent and trying to keep multiple businesses in good standing, but truth be told Dionne was more of a parent to me then he was but I would never throw that in his face. He lost the love of his life and I can only imagine how hard that was for him.

After a few minutes of sulking, I decided that I'm an adult and I can do whatever I want to and that included going out tonight and my father can suck it. I'll deal with the consequences later. I walked over to my closet and picked out a few options for tonight since I couldn't narrow it down to one at the moment. I'm not wearing anything Tiana suggests or brings me. I also grabbed my pajamas and lounge clothes along with my make-up and hair products. My dad had another thing coming if I was going to stay cooped up in Cat's house all night. I just had to be mindful that my father also had eyes everywhere around the city and for me and Cat and Ti to be on the look out and not draw attention to ourselves.

I could handle that, but Cat and Ti were a different story.

I was going to make the night memorable and no one was going to get in my way.

---

"Alani, if you keep looking around like that, you're going to draw more attention to us. Stop being paranoid because this was your idea and you can't bail out now. I just went along with it since we’re best friends and your shit is my shit and vice versa but come on, damn. I knew we should have waited to go to that drag brunch instead."

She was right. Suck it up Alani.

"Okay, you're right. I got this."

I mean I was kind of wearing a disguise. It consisted of a black and blonde ombre wig and didn't go as far as anything else, but it was something. Cat and Ti wasn't even trying to do anything to disguise themselves.

I felt so exposed.

"Come on, maybe you need a shot to get you relaxed."

Or six shots, but one to start off with was fine.

I ordered three more after Cat had gotten the first round and we all made our way to the middle of the dance floor not having a care in the world.

I was going to make the most of this, because this time two weeks from now my last name would be Harlow and I would essentially be thrown into an entirely different role that I would have to get used to. If I could press a reset button on my life and go back to the time when I was little and had both of my parents, I would do it in a heartbeat.

After awhile, I went back to the bar to get another drink and water since it was getting a little warm in there. Cat and Ti were still in the middle of the dance floor, and I turned around to face them while I drank the rest of my water to keep an eye on them when both their eyes got as big as saucers.

I couldn't really make out what Ti's lips were saying, but it looked to be around something that resembled oh shit over and over again. I turned to look in the direction where she nodded her head and I looked to see my soon to be husband and his right hand men by his side, Urban and Clay. From the look on his face, I was definitely in trouble and my father was going to be very upset with me. There was literally no where for me to go to try and slip away as I was scrambling to find an outlet. I guess he sent my soon-to-be husband to do his dirty work.

Not going to lie, I wasn't necessarily scared of my father but I definitely could pass on seeing him pissed off.

However, the sight in front of me let me know that I was in for it.

"Clay, go get Ms. Romano and Urb go get Ms. Anderson over there." Jack uttered while not breaking eye contact with me. I glanced to see Cat trying to make a run for it in one direction and Ti trying to go the other way, but they were both caught and I couldn't do anything but stifle a laugh.

"Alani." He finally said while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Jack."

"Please come get in the car and not make a scene."

"Now, why would I make a scene? And what makes you think I will?" I replied while crossing my arms.

"You apparently already have since I heard that you didn't listen to what your father said about you not leaving the Romano's estate tonight, but here you are." He stated while putting his hands in his pockets.

"How'd you know that?"

"Because I'm the one who told him. Let's go."

Well shit.

Clay came back over with Caterina while Urban had Tiana and you know how when it's a serious moment and you try not to look over at your best friend because you know you'll laugh? That was currently me.

"Oohh, Clay what big strong arms you have. Have you been working out since the last time I saw you?" Caterina said while Tiana let out a small laugh and Clay just smirked. I looked away because I know if I looked at her it would be all over.

She literally saw him 2 days ago, but I'll let it slide.

We all piled out of the club and into separate cars. Cat and Ti gave me a sad look and then waved before they got in the car behind us. Yeah, I was definitely not going back to Cat's house and I felt like a teenager again who got caught red handed. It was silent for a few minutes before Jack spoke.

"You want to tell me what possessed you not to listen? Do you not get how reckless that was?"

"First off, Harlow. You are not my father and not my husband.. YET. So why should I have to explain anything to you?" I was in a mood and probably shouldn't have said that, but it came out anyway. I was tired of being told what I could and could not do.

"Because my ass is trying to keep you safe! You're my responsibility now and I let your father know to tell you because of some information that I got this afternoon and I couldn't have you, Caterina and Tiana in harm's way. Why is that so hard to understand? Besides, you came to a place that I own and didn't think that anyone would tell me that you were here? Not the smartest choice. I have eyes everywhere around the city."

I huffed in response and crossed my arms while looking out the window.

"Alani, I'm not trying to keep you locked away and I'm not trying to keep you from enjoying yourself. Just, please listen next time. I just don't want anything happening to you that I could have prevented."

"Okay." I quietly responded because I mean what else could I really say? Apparently I was making his job harder and I didn't want to start off our marriage with me being a headache. All because I wanted one more night.

A night that has now officially gone to shit.

"Sooo, can you drop me off at Cat's now?" I asked while smiling sweetly. Closed mouths don't get fed, so I figured that I might as well ask. People had a hard time telling me no when I asked for something.

"Only if you promise me not to leave this time."

I don't want to have another encounter like this for the night so my ass was definitely staying put.

"Pinky promise" I held out my pinky so that he could lock his with it. He looked surprised at first, but finally did it and gave me a small smirk.

That was something I did with my mom all the time when I was little and she never broke one and I don't plan on doing it either.

"I want to make this work with you Jack, but from now on if there actually is a threat can you and my dad just tell me because in my mind if you don't say that, I'm thinking that there is nothing wrong and I can go about my merry way and do what I want."

"Okay, that's fair."

It was a comfortable silence the rest of the way to Cat's house. When we finally pulled up, I gave him a small smile before I started to open the door when I heard his voice.

"See you at the wedding and don't be late." He jokingly said.

"Yeah next Thursday, right?" I asked knowing that it was on Friday two weeks from now and this made Jack's eyes go wide.

"I'm only kidding, Jack. Lighten up, I'll be there."

I hopped up the steps two at a time to the front door and I noticed that Jack waited until I was safe inside before pulling off.

I made my way to Cat's room and when I opened the door her and Ti looked at me with wide eyes.

"How much trouble are you in?" Cat questioned while stuffing her face with a chalupa from Taco Bell and Ti was munching on nachos.

"None." I responded while smiling at them. I glanced down into the Taco Bell bag to see that it was empty.

"You could have at least gotten me something." I said while rolling my eyes and plopping down beside Ti on the bed.

"Well we thought we would be going to your funeral at the end of the week instead of your wedding in two weeks so we didn't know. I convinced Clay and Urban to feed us."

"Yall are ridiculous and besides, I think Clay has a girlfriend. At least that's what my aunt told me."

"Can we talk about how your aunt always knows all the tea?" Ti asked while laughing.

"She knows everyone's business and no one knows hers. She's smart about it and I can't even be mad."

"But anyway, Jack looked PISSED. But he looked so good girl. Did you see that neck vein popping out? I thought he was going to pick your ass up on the spot. I can only imagine that angry make-up sex you guys are going to have. I can't wait to hear about it."

"CATERINA!"

"Yes?"

"Do you not think about anything else like ever?"

"No, not really, no."

"Cat, she'll find out soon enough. Just wait." Ti added while wiggling her eyebrows.

It was a comfortable silence between all of us while they finished up their food and the television was playing softly in the background. That gave me time to really be with my thoughts which was the last place that I wanted to be these last few days. The clock was winding down and there was no possible way for me to stop it.

"Yall, I'm really scared. Not of Jack or anything, but..." I whispered and I could feel my eyes start to water.

"We know." Cat simply responded while bringing me in for a hug and Ti quickly joined in.

I don't know how long we simply sat there in that position, but I wasn't complaining. What was I going to do without them by my side 24/7?

"It's going to be okay. Whatever happens, we'll conquer it together, okay?"

I simply nodded while wiping away my tears.

"Now, how about some ice cream?"

"Ti the last thing you need to be eating is ice cream. Do you remember how I had to pull over on 95 so your ass could jump the barrier and shit your guts out?"

"Bitch I'm tired of you, always bringing up old shit. You didn't stop me from drinking that milkshake."

"Don't blame that shit, pun intended, on us! We warned you."

"And you know I never learn my lesson. Like I said before, who wants ice cream? I'll make brownies to go with it."

[stxleslyds]

MY TOUGHTS ON PART FOUR OF RED HOOD BY CHIP ZDARSKY :)

THIS ONE IS A MESS.

But first a little rant about my feelings about Red Hood in general at the moment.

I am not going to lie, it took me a long time to read this comic, I am kind of tired of reading this book, I feel like I lower my expectations each issue that passes by and I still get disappointed at the result.

Maybe I just love a Jason Todd that is no more and I have to accept the one we have now, but here is the thing, if this is what we get then I just don’t like it, and on rough days I hate it. These are very negative thoughts about one of the two DC characters that I love and I don’t enjoy having them, I don’t want DC to keep giving us this version of Jason or these versions of Jason, each time they change little things that just change the character from the one that he once was even more.

I feel a bit defeated about it and I don’t know, on one side I want to fight and scream so they can finally give Jason the characterization he deserves and for them to give up the bland formula they have going on with him and on the other side I just want them to stop, stop writing Jason Todd/Red Hood and that is so sad, imagine loving a character and wanting the publisher to stop making content with them because what they give is just terrible. I don’t know, this is a rant that I felt like writing before I read the issue (I did skimm it briefly), so don’t take this as part of the review, its just me explaining my feelings right now.

Anyway, I will start the review now, sorry for the rant.

Wonderful, this book is on crack (or should I say Cheerdrops?), the thing with this particular issue is that I had a great laugh, it’s funny but in a good way, it's stupid and it kind of doesn’t make sense, the only way to describe Zdarsky’s writing here is with a phrase that we say here in my country “se pisa el palito”, which means that he lies about something and after some time he reveals the truth himself by mistake or because he got confused, in this case Zdarsky makes Jason say something like “this time I have come prepared” but he is actually not prepared at all and like two pages later (within the same scene) he has Jason call himself an amateur, it's very weird and to me it translates to Zdarsky not liking Jason or just not caring about him at all.

And that sucks and it really bothers me. As I have said before this anthologies book might be called Batman: Urban Legends but the particular story I am reading is a RED HOOD one, I am not here for Batman content, I am here for Jason Todd content.

The fact that we are not getting a Jason-specific story in a Red Hood book is killing me, it would suck if we get, let’s say, a Nightwing book and its all about his relationship with Barbara…That is not a Nightwing book, that’s a Nightwing and (fake) Oracle book.

Anyway, this issue in general is like a connector, the things that happen are all happening because they will be developed in the next issues but what is said here is absolutely absurd so I will be talking about that.

This issue starts with a flashback and Jason from the present (who is currently a popsicle because he fell in Freeze’s trap) having a monologue. The flashback is set when Jason finds out that his birth mother is alive and is being used by the Joker so he (in civilian clothes) and Batman at doing some reckon. What I want to dive into is the monologue because it's interesting but also very dumb so here we go.

“What was I supposed to do? I thought I was an orphan; I carried that sadness and anger everywhere I went and then I found the woman who gave birth to me halfway across the world. I found her…and the Joker. He was blackmailing my mother, forcing her to help him steal medical supplies, which he replaced with a deadly gas, that was being hauled to a village.”

“Batman knew what he had to do. Save people, forever saving people. Batman has always been a master of control, every situation, everyone around him. He’s always known just how to handle everything. Until I came along.”

“How could he be surprised? How could the great Batman not know? I wouldn’t listen to him and he couldn’t hear me. And the fucking cycle continues.”

The first part of the monologue is pretty simple it's basically setting the scene in time and space for the reader and it also gives us a little insight on how Jason was feeling at the time which was quite nice. It sets up the fact that Jason wanted to help his birth mother out of a horrible situation, he wanted to save her from the Joker. (Hear that DC, haters and fanon, Jason was a good Robin and a loving and caring son!!!!!)

In the second paragraph of the monologue I would have assumed that Dick never existed in this universe because the idea of Batman being able to control Robin!Dick or Gotham back in the day by himself is incredibly funny to me but because Dick exists and has been mentioned in this story already I will just take it as Zdarsky wanting to really push the “Jason could never reach the level of good Robin because he was reckless and nothing like Dick” and the “Dick was always completely obedient and Batman’s perfect little soldier” narratives. It sucks man, this is like bad fanon made real and I don’t like it!

During this part we also have a little dialogue between Batman and Jason where the narrative of Jason being so incredibly reckless is explicitly shown once more.

Let me repeat myself, Jason didn’t take on the Joker because he wanted to prove himself to the Bat or to prove that he was as good a Robin as Dick was, Jason did what he did because he wanted to save the last person that he had that he felt was family, he wanted to save the woman who birthed him and that he was hoping he could call a mother. He worried and cared for this woman and then he was betrayed and it ended up ending with him dying at the hands of a mad man that to this day is still alive.

Jason wasn’t reckless for the sake of being reckless, he took the decisions he took because he didn’t feel heard by the man that was supposed to protect him and care for him, a man that had the same feelings of sadness over being an orphan, a man that despite being the greatest detective to ever detective in the multiverse couldn’t understand that Jason felt like the woman that was his birth mother could come first in his list of priorities. Jason was a child and the adult responsible of him at the time bares the fault of his death as much as the mad man that committed the crime.

There, I fucking said it.

Gladly in the third paragraph of the monologue Jason calls out Bruce on his bullshit.

Also, what the hell was Bruce thinking leaving Jason stranded in the middle of the dessert, the man literally takes the only mode of transportation away from him. What the hell.

That’s it for the first glimpse at the past, now we are in the present with Ice!Jason where Zdarsky lies to our faces, he says that Jason is prepared for this situation…I am sorry but I do not believe this.

Anyway, Jason does manage to break the ice but he trips on the iced floor almost as soon as he breaks free and falls in a hole. Are you kidding me? I know this is supposed to be funny but Jason has been written as this incompetent dumbass in this book so much that this is just insulting.

He manages to escape for three or four seconds but he realises once more that the whole thing was a trap because Freeze had actually closed all the exists with ice because he meant to trap the Bat (also maybe Freeze is under the effects of Cheerdrops?), Jason also tries to use his guns even though he had already thought about the fact that they wouldn’t fire because of the cold AND he didn’t pack his explosives, yeah… “I am now prepared”, sure Jan.

The last thing we see in this scene is Freeze getting ready to ice Red Hood once more before we start jumping from past to present scenes as Jason’s monologue continues, he does that a lot in this issue, it’s quite impressive.

We jump into the past and we see Jason going to help his mother in his Robin suit, her betrayal and the Joker being ready to torture and kill a child. From there we go back to the present where Jason manages to ask Oracle for help but not anyone’s he asks for the Batman’s help.

First let’s talk about the monologue that happens across these scenes because it has some interesting takes.

“Stupid amateur, its not going to be okay, not if we keep repeating the same mistakes. He never trusted me, I never trusted him. Neither of us lived up to the idea of ‘Batman and Robin’, the ‘Dynamic Duo’. Because Batman and Robin requires trust, it requires knowing you can’t do it alone.”

Let’s be honest as per the modern take on Batman and Robin (if it includes Bruce as Batman) the dynamic is quite dysfunctional, Batman doesn’t know how to care for a child and children shouldn’t be responsible for an adult’s safety, so the whole thing has been weird for every Robin, its not something that happened only to Jason but here is the thing, in Under the Red Hood (which is canon in this story) when Batman and Red Hood fought side by side Bruce said the following: “…Neither of us has the strength to take him out, it will require skill and teamwork. It happens before I have time to question it, a manoeuvre that comes without thought, executed as practiced and practiced many times in the cave.”

So, him and Jason worked well, they trusted each other and the work they were doing but that is not all, because they are in the middle of a fight the Red Hood doesn’t act recklessly and takes the opportunity attack the Bat when he is vulnerable, he sticks to the coordinated fight because he trusts it will work. Batman’s thoughts confirm that because he continues saying this: “To complete it (the manoeuvre) I’m forced to leave myself unprotected from an attack, an attack from the Red Hood. But the attack never comes, he just takes cover from the blast, like practiced.”

– Batman: Under the Red Hood, chapter 10.

This thing alone, written in 2005 kills the narrative of Bruce’s Batman and Jason’s Robin not working well together.

Secondly, I have to laugh about what it's actually said in the very last panels. I am sorry but it's too funny to me, I know it acts as a parallel to Jason asking for the Bat when he was about to die but this is a man, a grown man that has experience on this job, this situation would have never happened if Jason was written fairly. This is funny because of all the people in the world I would never imagine the Red Hood asking for Batman’s help. Fuck that.

Oracle of course contacts Batman but let me say something really quickly, Barbara and Bruce are both acting like Jason getting in trouble and needing help is an annoyance. What the hell is wrong with these people? Why would Jason work with Oracle or Batman in the first place?

Batman gets in the Batmobile as soon as he can and dares call Jason his son. No thank you sir, I will not be taking that kind of bullshit today. Anyway, the Bat also has a monologue because he can’t be less, here it goes.

“Jason. Dammit, son. I’m on my way, I won’t let you…” (explosions) “You’re alive. In the here, in the now. I know this, like magic…with a curse…You’re alive.”

“I don’t need to be there again, in the past. I’ve learned my lessons, the guilt doesn’t help me, it doesn’t have a hold on me anymore. You’re alive, Jason and I intend to keep it that way.”

To this I have to say the following, the only reason why Bruce is not feeling guilty about what happened to Jason is because Jason forgave Bruce/Batman for not arriving in time in order to save Jason from the explosion back in that warehouse all those years ago. Jason forgave Bruce when the final confrontation happened in UtRH. He did it because he believed that Bruce tried and still didn’t make it.

- Batman: Under the Red Hood, chapter 13.  

And something else, Bruce might have been “keeping Jason alive” but he has harmed him. Rebirth RHatO #25 exists, I don’t know if it's canon within this particular story but I can’t not bring it up if this is what this man has to say.

My take on the Batman and Red Hood relationship is that it shouldn’t exist. Red Hood is not a Batman villain but he IS a Batman antagonist. STOP making Batman and Red Hood work together, with how things ended in UtRH Jason would never work with Bruce again. I am sorry but the concept of the Batfamily with Jason as a willing participant is the biggest lie this fandom and Lobdell gave us.

Enough of my takes, let's go back to the issue because it's ending is closer and the funniest panels in this whole ass book are coming!

Batman does Batman shit and as he grapples out of the Batmobile, he manages to get Ice!Jason out of a truck and everything comes to a stop, the bad guys come out of said vehicle and one of them is going in Red Hood's direction with the intention of killing him, Batman of course saves Jason and starts fighting the rest of the baddies.

I will show you funny panel number one.

You really want to make me believe that Bruce can pull that move, shut up!!!! There is no way! That’s some Nightwing level of leg work, stop it, if the Bat pulls that move he will break something or get stuck like that…

Ahh it doesn’t matter because as Batman finishes defeating all the baddies he goes to Jason’s side and here is where funny panel number 2 comes!

STOP IT, WHAT THE HELL IS THISSS? I am losing my mind over this, have you ever seen something and thought “oh this is wrong wrong” like what? This interaction is so wild to me, everything about it makes no sense…Imagine putting Jason Todd in such a vulnerable position that he is, I don’t know, happy or glad that the Bat showed up and that Batman would say that he will always be there for Jason, this shit is hilarious.

But that’s not the end, at this point nothing should shock me (as far as character designs) but this dude shows up…

Who the hell is this guy, and why does he look like that, why are all these new character designs the same and horrible? He reminds me of the weird discount-Joker-looking dude that we had in Rebirth RHatO #52

Anyway, the new dude that will be called Cheer (apparently) and Freeze ice Batman as well and that’s it, our Red Hood related suffering is over up until next month!

This one, this one was wild, I don’t know what else to say about it…I am honestly drained after reading the issue and writing this.

Let me know what you thought about this issue and if you want to read my reviews of the previous parts I will link them here! Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3!

[darkestcorners]

First of all, I want to clarify that ever since day one, I've been Darknets!Jungkook #1 hater, you stinky bastard I'm around men like you every day so I'm telling y'all rn if you think this man cares about anyone but himself you're going to be SO disappointed.

Even though as a person who has been to the d@rk web and knows about the stuff that goes on in this story, let me tell y'all this is not the first thing you see as soon as you log in, you have to DIG for this type of stuff, I've personally never seen "chatrooms" (they're more of a urban legend than an actual thing tbh) but there is videos of gore and other nasty stuff, people who do this can't do a live bc it will give away their location, but I like the story a lot, it's def not cringy as other stories (It's still very related to reality, h*man tr@fficking is more common than you'll think) but it's still fiction so that people who don't know about this stuff and how the dark web works can imagine what goes on there, sorry for the rant I just get excited about this topic hehe

Aha yes , finally darknetsJk has some well deserved hate mail! He’s definitely one of the more dislikable yandere characters I’ve written and he does have a very selfish and narcissistic streak to him which I think differs from my other yandere character ( ‘caring’ & savior complex Code Red Jimin & even obsessive & manipulative PolarityJk is a lot kinder to the OC ) I tried to keep his character pretty realistic despite him being a yandere, it definitely wouldn’t make sense to make him a very soft one or too doting giving the sadistic business he’s in. He’s an asshole for sure and a clear product of the disastrous life style he made for himself.

And oh thank you! I’m glad I have someone giving some perspective with personal experience with the d@rk web. That sounds absolutely terrifying and couldn’t imagine ever coming across those types of videos & content. I have heard there’s a lot of misconceptions of the d@rk web so thank you for clearing that up! Yes the ‘chat room’ and ‘live effect’ was definitely added for convenience to the story and as a l dramatic effect to the plot but it’s definitely not realistic so I do hope people know that. I did mention in an earlier ask I think that the probability of you accessing those types of websites is really low so yes I hope nobody is freaked out by that haha.

And thank you so much! 🥺 I try to make my plots pretty realistic and get some information & research beforehand. These human trafficking scenes are triggering but even just the tip of the ice berg from what I’ve seen & researched, it’s definitely gets even more darker than what I’m willing to write at times. And no worries ! I enjoy these discussions, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and input babes ❤️🙏 I appreciate you giving your insight ! :)

[shefanispeculator]

I'm slightly disappointed to log onto Zoom and find Gwen Stefani in Los Angeles. I wanted to see the ranch. Stefani spent most of the pandemic in Oklahoma with her fiancé and fellow The Voice coach Blake Shelton, with whom she has recently collaborated on a string of country radio hits, alongside a kitsch Christmas song. For a ska-pop superstar, it's a pivot, but Stefani and Shelton are cute together — picture-perfect in their opposite attraction.

Country Gwen exists, her urban counterpart assures me, but on this particular MacBook she's nowhere to be seen. I'm not sure what crude regional stereotypes I was expecting (Stefani spitting sunflower seeds? Shelton line dancing in the background?) but I get Californian sunshine instead, illuminating a version of Stefani more familiar from my teenage years, when Love. Angel. Music. Baby and its follow-up The Sweet Escape spawned millions of fans, haters and imitators. She's platinum blonde, red lipsticked and wearing a black-and-white outfit that matches the decor. The checkerboard pattern can be traced back to an even earlier era, when Stefani and her No Doubt bandmates were '80s teenagers obsessed with two-tone acts like Madness and The Specials.

Cowboy boots wouldn't fit this picture, and nor would Stefani's glitzy showgirl outfits from The Voice, where she just wrapped another season as a celebrity coach. As she prepares to release her fourth solo record, and enters the fifth decade of an extraordinarily successful music career, Gwen Stefani is re-re-branding as... Gwen Stefani.

Top: Local Boogeyman, Pants: GCDS, Shoes: Valentino, Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own, Engagement ring: Gwen's own

"But what is that?" Stefani asks with seriousness, as we consider the possibility of some essential, inherent Gwen. "Everyone's interpretation of what I am and how I sing, I mean, that's what this era is about for me."

Said era kicked off late last year, with the music video for "Let Me Reintroduce Myself." It saw Stefani playfully revisit the wardrobes of album cycles past, from the ab-bearing tomboy tank tops of "Hollaback Girl" to the club kid blue hair mascara of '90s No Doubt. Her Harajuku Girls also make a return. The entire visual is a huge flex, not only for the sheer volume of iconic career moments recreated in dutiful detail, but the fact Stefani can still fit into the clothes originally worn during all of them. She looks eerily the same, frighteningly good, ageing in reverse at the same pace as her frequent collaborator Pharrell.

"It's really a blessing to be able to have such a long career, where there really is nothing to prove anymore."

Pop stars are expected to be young forever, in looks but also in their capacity to innovate new trends. Which makes the nostalgic music video a curious choice. Doesn't Stefani know by now that the cardinal rule of pop is to avoid repeating yourself? That even the hottest artists in the world are basically required by law to create completely new eras from scratch every six months in order to appease fans and maintain maximum TikTok-ready relevance?

Of course she does, but that doesn't mean she has to participate. Stefani isn't trying to chase down her contemporaries, despite clearly possessing the physical fitness required. "It's really a blessing to be able to have such a long career, where there really is nothing to prove anymore," she says. "It's a different energy. You know, it's really just about doing it to do it, as opposed to trying to make a statement or make a mark."

Corset: Ronald van der Kemp, Bracelets: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Engagement ring: Gwen's own

Even the Saweetie remix of her latest single "Slow Clap" happened on a whim, after the younger artist happened to post a video of herself vibing to Stefani's 2004 single "Luxurious" on Instagram Stories. They knocked out the song and accompanying video in a day. Neither seems bothered by the Old Navy meme. "It was just this little video that we did on the fly," Stefani says. "It just happened. It just feels good to put new stuff out there."

Stefani completed a two-year Vegas greatest hits residency in 2019, which gave her a sense of perspective on her own legacy. "You make a new record because that's what is exciting for you," she says. "But people really just want to hear the records after a while that were the backdrop to their lives, a 'Don't Speak' or a 'Just a Girl' or a 'Hollaback Girl,' or whatever it was for them. So, you know, it's hard — you can only be new when you're new, and that's just the truth, and I know that."

She says she was pleasantly surprised that "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" charted at all, and that she only found out it did when Shelton walked into the kitchen to show her the iTunes numbers. "I burst out crying with joy, because it was like, 'Whoa, really?' I think I'd set myself up to be quite realistic about where I'm at."

Stefani, endlessly polite and self-deprecating in conversation, which on her end mostly consists of endearingly earnest run-on monologues, says she still has "tons" of insecurities. I get the impression she has been trying harder to give herself credit lately. She recalls recently hearing Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" on the car radio and finding herself in awe of the song's timeless catchiness.

Suit: Balmain, Earrings and choker: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own

"But then I started thinking," she says, in a goofy Cher Horowitz tone. "Like, I have a few of those myself." She talks of this realization as a genuine breakthrough, which is a little worrying for a woman who has sold 40 million records. No shit, she has a "few of those." More of them than Lauper, actually.

More new music is coming along slowly, but I've caught Stefani on a day when the horizon looks closer than usual, and while things haven't quite fallen into place yet, she's feeling more confident that they eventually will. "I'm at the end," she declares. "The idea of going for a session and not being with my kids or the idea of taking time away from Blake doesn't fuel my fire like it did two months ago. I need to decide, wrap it up, put out the project."

Crucially, there's no rush. The album will simply arrive sometime this year, tracklist and title currently undecided.

"You're talking to me at a weird transitional time," Stefani says repeatedly throughout our conversation, which sometimes takes on the cathartic tone of therapy. But having time in the first place is a new feeling.

Bracelet and choker: Dana Kemp (The Residency Experience), Obsession necklace: Lidow Archive, Gold necklaces: Gwen's own, Clothing: Blumarine, Boots: Philipp Plein

NO DOUBT WERE A BAND for nine years before getting on the radio. Enough time for Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal to be in a long term relationship then break up and write a whole hit album about it. All of the Fleetwood Mac drama was resolved pre-fame, which enabled the group to capitalize on the surprise success of Tragic Kingdom singles like "Don't Speak" and "Just a Girl" with a world tour that lasted almost three years. Three more albums followed, and Stefani has reinforced her household name status in every decade since, launching a solo career and multiple fashion lines while never totally cutting the cord from her original musical project.

In other words, record executives have been dictating Stefani's schedule since the mid-'90s. She even sings about it on Love. Angel. Music. Baby opener "What You Waiting For," in which her biological clock ticks like a metronome. Interscope Co-Founder Jimmy Iovine, who discovered No Doubt and continued to work with Stefani on her solo output, was quick to point out that his client's prime childbearing years were also her last opportunity to cross over into pop stardom. And after her first record went number one, it only made sense to lay down some new tracks straight away.

"Whether or not I get the response that I would hope to get — because that's what I'm used to, because I'm so damn spoiled and I've tasted the blood of success — I still got to do the creative journey."

"I had the baby, the first one, and it was only like eight weeks after I had him, that Jimmy was calling me saying, you've got to go in the studio with Akon," Stefani recalls cheerfully. "Like, Akon wants to work with you. Like, no, I'm nursing my baby. But then I couldn't say no." And then? "We wrote 'Sweet Escape.'" And then? "I went on a world tour." And then? "In the month that I got home from that one hundred and whatever shows it was, I got pregnant with Zuma. So then that was that." (It wasn't. Admittedly: "Then it was like, No Doubt, let's do another record.")

Things are different now: "You can just drop singles and you don't have to put a record out. But if you want to put a record out, you can work on it slowly." But even as she talks of slowing down, speculating that she might not even go on tour after the pandemic ends, in the next sentence Stefani's back to admitting that there's more work to be done, that she wants to write a couple more songs for her new record, "just to make sure."

Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience) Choker: Chanel, Necklaces: Gwen's own, Gloves: Laurel DeWitt, Top: Local Boogeyman

"The creation is the thing that fuels me so much," she says. "Whether or not I get the response that I would hope to get — because that's what I'm used to, because I'm so damn spoiled and I've tasted the blood of success — I still got to do the creative journey."

Like any good lyricist, she reaches out to her listener, hoping to convey a more universal point. "It's just probably the same for you as a writer," she guesses. "You know, it's the anticipation. You're in it now. You're getting the information. This is what you live for. You're doing the interview and then you're going to write it. And that's going to be the challenge."

GWEN STEFANI WAS PUTTING out diary entry pop when Olivia Rodrigo was still in diapers and Taylor Swift was but a humble Pennsylvania Christmas tree heiress. She struggles to pen lyrics that aren't confessional ("I'm not a creative writer when it comes to like, 'Oh, let's just write a sad song about something that didn't happen to me'"), and occasionally re-traumatizes herself when performing old hits. Return of Saturn deep cut "Dark Blue" triggers "crazy, just horrible" recollections of a past relationship. Even "Don't Speak" felt emotional onstage in Vegas.

But after releasing an excruciating divorce album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like, in 2016, Stefani is back to writing happy songs only. She's getting married, after all. She won't be releasing any of her trademark breakup anthems anytime soon. "Girl," she laughs, "I think I've had my fair share."

Bow: Laurel DeWitt, Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Bracelets: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Shirt: Vintage Archive, Dress: Erdem, Tights: Capezio, Shoes: Marc Jacobs (Lidow Archive)

Stefani and Shelton's relationship has puzzled some fans. Shelton, a country radio phenomenon, never endorsed Trump in the 2016 election, but he did come close. Earlier this year, he was criticized for releasing a song called "Minimum Wage," about finding small joys during periods of economic struggle, at the peak of a recession.

Is Gwen Stefani a Republican now? She's not offended by the question, or really anything I have to ask. She has been famous for so long that she expects and even embraces scrutiny. "If you're going to be a star, that's what you get," she says. "You know what I mean? You get what you get, and you don't get upset, at all."

As for her politics, it's read-between-the-lines."I can see how people would be curious, but I think it's pretty obvious who I am," she says. "I've been around forever. I started my band because we were really influenced by ska, which was a movement that happened in the late '70s, and it was really all about people coming together. The first song I ever wrote was a song called 'Different People,' which was on the Obama playlist, you know, a song about everyone being different and being the same and loving each other. The very first song I wrote."

One of very few multi-racial bands playing stadium shows for hoardes of American teenangers in the 1990s, No Doubt did very literally embody those second-wave ska principles of inclusion. Stefani even wore bindis and saris on stage as a symbol of cultural exchange with Kanal, who is Indian-American, briefly kickstarting a white girl facial jewelry trend that it's safe to say would not fly in 2021.

Rings (left): Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience)

"The Specials and The Selecter and all those groups, and what they were doing in the late '70s was this whole kind of anti-racism, we come together, Black and white ska movement," Stefani elaborates on the band's founding principles. "And we were sort of echoing that in the '80s when we did it, we were like the third generation of ska."

Ska she's always happy to discuss, but Stefani was brought up to keep her electoral preferences personal, and that rule has held for her entire career. "The whole point of voting, is you have this personal space to feel how you feel," she explains. "I use my platform to share my life story and to engage with people and to exchange whatever gift I was giving. I'm not a political science major. I am not that person. Everyone knows that. So why would I even talk about it?"

"I don't need to go on Instagram and say 'girl power.' I just need to live and be a good person and leave a trail of greatness behind me."

It never has been. Looking back, it's weird that "Just a Girl" is so integral to Gwen Stefani's brand. She's never written anything else with remotely the same message, and or publicly identified as a feminist. To Stefani, it's just a song about growing up, and "all of a sudden you realize your gender." It wasn't meant as a protest or anthem: in fact, being her breakout hit, she didn't think anyone other than her bandmates and some local fans would ever hear it.

"I don't even know if I knew what feminist at that time was," she says. "I was very sheltered growing up with my family. I wasn't political. I wasn't angry." Even now: "I don't need to go on Instagram and say 'girl power.' I just need to live and be a good person and leave a trail of greatness behind me. Stop talking about it and stop trying to bully everybody about it. Just do it. And that's how I feel like I've lived my life."

WHEN STEFANI WAS GROWING up in 1970s Anaheim, her father got a job doing market research for Yamaha, which required frequent business trips to Japan. He'd bring home Sanrio toys, as well as anecdotes about the Tokyo district of Harajuku, where teenagers were dressing like Elvis, and "taking all these American things and making them Japanese." His daughter was entranced. "He would be telling me these things my whole life, like my whole life. I had a deep fascination."

So when No Doubt played Japan in 1996, Stefani describes, "It was a pretty big deal for me." The tour was the first time she'd traveled outside of the United states, save one trip to Italy when she was 21. "I just was inspired," she recalls. "It's a world away. And at that time it was even further, because you couldn't see it on the internet. I don't think a younger generation can even imagine what it's like to not have access to the world."

From then on, Japan became one of Stefani's biggest career motivations, especially when it came to her solo albums. If she could just write more hits, she'd get to tour there again, see the street style, visit the vintage stores. "If you read the actual lyrics [in 'What You Waiting For?'], it talks about being a fan of Japan and how if I do good, I get to go back there," she says.

In the meantime, she decided she'd bring Japan to Los Angeles. "I never got to have dancers with No Doubt. I never got to change costumes. I never got to do all of those fun girl things that I always love to do. So I had this idea that I would have a posse of girls — because I never got to hang with girls — and they would be Japanese, Harajuku girls, because those are the girls that I love. Those are my homies. That's where I would be if I had my dream come true, I could go live there and I could go hang out in Harajuku."

Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience, Gold Necklaces: Gwen's own, Top: Local Boogeyman, Pants: GCDS, Shoes: Valentino

Dancers Maya Chino ("Love"), Jennifer Kita ("Angel"), Rino Nakasone ("Music") and Mayuko Kitayama ("Baby") would go on to accompany Stefani for her next two album cycles, dancing on stage and in her videos while also making silent, but very well-dressed, awards show appearances. Kita, who'd grown up in LA, visited Japan for the first time on Stefani's tour.

In a 2006 interview with Blender magazine, comedian Margaret Cho compared the Harajuku Girls to a minstrel show. The backlash against them has been consistent ever since. Stefani, to this day, disagrees.

"If we didn't buy and sell and trade our cultures in, we wouldn't have so much beauty, you know?" she says. "We learn from each other, we share from each other, we grow from each other. And all these rules are just dividing us more and more."

Hello Kitty merch was harder to come by when she was a kid, but in other ways, life felt easier. "I think that we grew up in a time where we didn't have so many rules. We didn't have to follow a narrative that was being edited for us through social media, we just had so much more freedom."

Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own, Dress: GCDS, Shirt: Faith Connexion, Tights: Capezio, Shoes: Marc Jacobs (Lidow Archive)

Stefani's penchant for rule breaking has always been apparent in her music as much as her aesthetic. Genre-wise, she's a randomista. The chart success of No Doubt's bouncing ska beats felt like an accidental post-grunge-era glitch in the matrix, and it's insane to this day that one of Stefani's biggest solo hits samples "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof, by way of '90s British dancehall duo Louchie Lou & Michie One. That another, "Wind It Up," features earnest Sound of Music yodeling.

"I just make up whatever comes out," Stefani says of her songwriting process. "I don't even know where it comes from. I feel like it just comes from the source. It's not trained, and it's not perfect, it's just real."

She looks back on the Love.Angel.Music.Baby era as unusually experimental and artistically fulfilling. "It was just a really incredible time, and a very creative time. I feel like it was just a really creative project."

STEFANI VIEWS HER CAREER success as mostly a matter of luck. Pop stardom is God-given and mysterious."Because the fact I made it, it doesn't make any sense," she reflects. "It's written in the stars. You know what I'm saying? I'm not the most talented. I'm not the most pretty. I'm not the most smart. None of those things. But I made it, right?"

Clothing: Blumarine, Bracelet and choker: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Obsession necklace: Lidow Archive, Gold necklaces: Gwen's Own

Every week on The Voice she watches objectively gifted musicians fail at becoming artists. "I watched people that went through that without seeing their faces, without knowing what color they are. And I chose the ones that pulled my heartstrings. And even though they were so talented, none of them have had careers. It's made me look at myself and even feel even more amazed by the fact that anyone cared or cares."

If all of this is actually so out of her control, then Stefani feels safe stepping back a little bit. "I don't have that fuel in me like I used to, because I already won," she says. And now she has other victories in mind. "Being a good human, a good mother. I want to have a good marriage. I want to be a good wife. I want to win at finding peace. I want to win at finding other hobbies that I'm good at."

But at the same time? "If I'm inspired, I'm going to try to do something with that inspiration." That's the most fun part: whatever else comes after has always been an amazing bonus.

The "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" era, whatever form it may eventually take, isn't a desperate grab at former glory. It's Stefani refusing to evolve for the sake of it. She's poking fun at the whole idea of having to compete with past personas alongside current ones, while acknowledging the fact she's grateful to still be in the game at all.

"You don't know what you're doing," she says, somehow both confident and resigned. "You're a cartoon of yourself at this point, and you don't know what people are thinking. They're wondering, what? Why are you still here? And I'm like, I don't know. They said I could be here. So I'm here!"

Photography: Jamie Nelson Styling: Nicola Formichetti Hair: Sami Knight Makeup: Michael Anthony Nails: Carolyn Orellana Wardrobe director: Marta Del Rio Production: Katrina Kudlick Digitatech: Sean MacGillivray Logo design: Luca Devinu Story: Kat Gillespie

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

[stuckinapatriarchalbullshitland]

About Camren being a trademark and cyclical. And about Lauren and the sorry post. I have rectified some concepts of my thoughts in that post so they are not the same as before, especially in regards to Lauren keeping Camila in the closet, my opinion has changed. Thanks for coming back and clarify this for me // 

About the trademark it was more in metaphorical way, because every public relationship(even the ones that aren’t real) has a public image and “history" attached, like while shamila have that "friend to lovers” narrative camren is the oposite, it is "friends to enemies, plus the rumours make the girls miserable" narrative, so everytime that Lauren talks about that subject it will reinforce the narrative.

About the cyclical thing, cs are renewing from time to time, a big part of the cs who are active today turned into cs in 2018, after that tweet denying camren, so, basically there are old cs, who are tired and salted and don’t giving a fuck about that because it already hapened in the past and there are more recent cs who are passing throught it for the first time, and it is new for them. Because of that, I believe L words are directed to them. Everything she said now she alread said in the past, but it is more shocking this time because we saw it going out of her own mouth; but anger and guilt are strong feelings, that why management purposely awakens these feelings in us, the fans and that was my point about your post, and other posts that I am reading, L’s words will make people have lot of bad reactions, like questioning her relationship with C, or being piss off about that her, a queer, feel gross out about a group of queers people just because of a ship(and it can make potential haters) or they just stop shiping because they feel guilt.

And media will make their show, and maybe she will repeated this words again, but I think if it work, the next times will be better.

___

With my friend @romanticentropy we were analyzing the issue again and she very intelligently came up with a possible answer, (I hope you don't get mad if she mentioned here I forgot to ask you if I could do it. But she mentioned that perhaps, the main reason for this sweep of fans and fandom is because Lauren needs a clean slate with her image for the new one, to gain new followers according to the plan she has for her LJ1 era and having us was not going to help her with that. I remember what happened when Lauren jumped from PRs from Laucy to Tyren, she deleted the Camren shippers with her was never real tweet and then Tyren showed up shortly after. A copy and paste with a different fanbase and new fandom. Urban perhaps? Reggaeton? It is what is being speculated, but if this friend theory is true, time will tell if LJ1 is going to jump to the fore with a new PR. Time is the key I think, as always. Lauren basically needs a new target with her new musical era and we kind of get in the way. And me, I'm going to be honest. I'm on this boat for so much more than Camren, I'm for the music. I am moved by the music of both and it is the main thing that I am waiting for from the girls, but if Lauren's style is going to be that mix of urban Latin and reggaeton, I don't know if I will be able to.That will be a personal conflict that I have until LJ1 is released. But since I don't want to rush, I'm going to wait and get on the boat. I'm not going to be Cnizer because really, when I get off this ship I will, but I will do it because I no longer like any of this and I would stop stanning them both. I would only support the music of both if it makes me feel things and that's it. There will be nothing else. I must admit that what you mentioned about Lauren being queer and disowning queer fans still causes me controversy. It still hurts a bit because it was a direct attack but I can't hate her either because I know her struggles are constant and difficult to face. But it has hurt us and even if we understand it, the wounded emotions are there and we have to return (even if it is the first time with me) but many have to close that wound that hurt the fandom the first time. Because not all of them have been toxic, we have not all been the bad guys of the movie and that is something that is difficult to process, even if you know the motives behind all this drama that I think is unnecessary in 2020. It is like having gone back in time to fall into the same old shit

[joe-maristopher]

«WandaVision»: 5.  NO

I didn't forget about the fifth episode, and I watched it as soon as it was possible, but I didn't want to write about it. I thought, I'd have to wait until the sixth for something to happen, but now I think it's all gone to hell. Let my anger will be left for history. So it'll be short. Possibly I made a lot of mistakes (English is not my native) but i am too angry to fix everything.

I'll try to start with good things. I'm doing my best, really.

I'm still happy with Darcy's attempt to sort things out. I have a soft sport for energetic nature, and Darcy is not stupid, so I'm pleased. It was funny when both Darcy and I literally said the same thing about Hayward at the same time, but I will talk about one moment later/

There are some amazing moments in the episode, like Wanda going outside the perimeter. I have rewatched this gorgeous moment several times!

The ad for Lagos'  towel, wiping away the allusion to blood, is wonderful.

We know the year of Wanda's birth (well, those tumblr screams about "Wanda being underage, that's why her relationship with Vision is pedophilic", will be faded away. Scarlet Vision haters can now shut the fuck up), the names of her parents.

Wanda holds the title of the strongest (Captain Marvel is not very important to me, I'm not interested in her as a character, to be honest, but I would look at Monica with newly obtained powers (she got powers, right?).

A moment with a bunch of questions.

And here we go with Vision, of course, or rather with the fate of his body. I think, I'm traumatized. The chain of events is as follows: at some point, S. W. O. R. D got Vision's body, decided to  take it to pieces (hello comics! There was such a moment!), to create a weapon (Vision would not want this, I agree), Wanda found out, got mad, logically, and broke in to take it.

And she's absolutely right! I do not know how it is seen from the law's point of view  (by the way, is it legal to conduct experiments on someone else's corpse in order to make something out of it? In my opinion, no), but from the very human side - it is understandable. I hope Hayward gets his head blown off after all this. Along the way, we learned that thePact is still working.  Hayward covered himself up, but I was distracted again.

Wanda took Vision's body... and something happened?

General questions:

 How and where and when S. W. O. R. D got Vision's body. The last time we saw, his body was in Wakanda, why didn't the remaining Avengers make sure that no one took Vision for experiments?

Why aren't the Avengers doing anything yet?

 What happened, wht Wanda created a new reality? Did she decide it herself, or did someone help her to move in that area?

Vision doesn't remember anything because he can't  do it physically , or because he can't do it being inside the perimeter? I phrased the question this way, because Wanda remembers everything perfectly well outside, but when she comes back, she acts as if nothing ever existed BEFORE her pocket reality was created, unless, of course, she is forced to remember as Monica showed us.

Notes:

Agnes is not surprised at all. The villains ' bench is ready for you,. Agnes!

Sparky is introduced (also a link to the comics!) and written out. It's very sad. Thank you for not being a cat, because I would have cried then.

Olsen and Bettany are still as beautiful as a hundred thousand sunrises. I love them and their  characters with all my soul.

Baby!Vision impressed the artists, definitely.

Vision’s trick with waking human up from Wanda’s ‘‘dream” made me think about it, I am not sure how he did it yet. But I am sure: when people suffer, they suffer from Wanda’s pain, poured out on them.

And now I allow myself to speak. Marvel, take your urban white trash and shove him in the shit you got him from. I'm serious. Take your Pietro and get the fuck out of here. Unless, of course, he's a glitch,  Mephisto/Nightmare/someone else is there. If it's Pietro, then you've ruined the episode, and Darcy's remark about the recast didn't save it in any way. Just take that face off and stop ruining a good TV show.

I am not sorry. I am not a fan of Fox!Pietro and I don´t want him mixed with MCU.

Dixi.

[mysterioh]

The Ignorant Beauty and The Beast of New York - Ch. 8

PAIRING: MOB!STEVE ROGERS X READER

Synopsis: Y/N is an exhausted bio major. Steve is danger with a capital DANGER. She thinks he’s a sarcastic prick with an impressive knowledge in art history. He thinks she’s cute even if she’s only running on one brain cell. All he wants is a single date, but she’s adamant upon denying.

Masterlist

The Language of the Arts

This is awkward. 

“So,” you spoke up, eyes strictly focused on the painting in front of you, hating the silence standing in between. “Nice weather we’re having." 

"Yeah,” Steve said, his voice was stiff with a hint of nervousness. “Really cold." 

"You like winter?" 

"No, not really.”

“I do,” you said, folding your hands behind your back and tiptoeing up and down. “It’s a great time to do cozy things, y'know? Like watching movies and drinking hot cocoa." 

"I guess it’s nice if you think of it that way,” he shrugged with a small smile. “I usually just think of how cold and dark it is." 

"I like that too, to be honest,” you replied. “I don’t know why, but I just do." 

"All the more reason to do cozy things I suppose?” he chuckled in your direction. 

You turn to him and smile. “Yeah, I guess so." 

His gaze lingers for a while before he snaps his head back towards the painting like he forgot he wasn’t supposed to be staring. Your smile falters a bit and it’s kind of annoying how different he’s acting. You liked the obnoxious version of him more.  

"So, uh,” he clears his throat, “how ya been?" 

"Good,” you nodded. “You?" 

He shrugged. Miserable "I’m fine,” he replied. “How’s your boyfriend?” He asked, straining to sound nice. 

“Oh, he’s fine,” you said. 

It’s awkward again and neither of you knows what to do. He just had to be there when you had to be there. In a city of over two million, the odds of meeting the same stranger more than once were less than likely and yet you’ve met this oaf far more times than you needed to. The universe was scheming something.

“Another art project?”

“Yeah,” you chuckled. “I wouldn’t be here if  it wasn’t." 

"Your hatred for art is something I’ll never understand,” he shook his head. 

“People like different things. I don’t like art, deal with it,” you jabbed. 

Steve puts his hands up in defense. “I’m just saying. It’s just, I don’t know – when I see something like this there’s this bubbly feeling I get on the inside. And it just doesn’t make sense to me that someone can’t see it the way I do." 

"I know how you feel,” you said. “But with science." 

Steve’s shoulders drop. "But science is boring." 

"It is not!” You retorted then sighed. “I guess someone as simple-minded as you wouldn’t get it,” you shake your head. 

“Or maybe someone as close-minded as you wouldn’t understand where I’m coming from,” he snapped back playfully. 

“I am not close-minded!" 

"Yes, you are,” Steve said. “You don’t actually try to connect with the art. You’re just trying to get an A. Maybe if you open your mind a bit and really let the art speak to you, you’ll appreciate it more and even get a better grade." 

"Are you trying to tell me I’m stupid?" 

"Not in the least,” he said with a chuckle coloring his words. “You’re probably really smart, smarter than me. All I’m trying to say is that maybe you should try stepping out of your comfort zone? Try something you don’t like or want to do. You never know you might actually like it." 

He gives you a charmingly crooked smile as he urges you to try it. You pry away from his gaze with a huff. He hit the mark when he said you needed to get out of your comfort zone, but he didn’t need to call you out on it. 

"Fine,” you replied with a groan, returning to the painting. He smiled gently before speaking.  

“Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean Leon Gerome,” he said. “I personally find this painting filled with passion for obvious reasons. The way he kisses her as she transforms into a human. His dreams come true at that moment. He’s never felt more alive in his life." 

"Personally, I think he’s a jerk. I know the story of Pygmalion and Galatea. I used to be really into mythology a while back,” you told him. “Pygmalion was a self-imposed lonely sculptor. He didn’t like mortal women because he thought they were flawed so he made a statue of what a perfect woman should be like. Aphrodite noticed how much he loved the statue so she brought her to life." 

Steve chuckled. "Then what do you think the painting’s about?" 

"Male superiority.” You stated, looking into the picture. “Look at how pure and delicate Galatea looks, isn’t that every man’s dream girl?" 

"I see where you’re coming from,” Steve chimed in. “Notice the sculptures in the back. One is of a woman with her child which could represent the role of a mother that’s pressed upon them. The other is of a woman looking into a mirror and I think that symbolizes vanity. How women only really need to worry about their appearance and how it should please men. It’s how society wants us to be or at least in a man’s eye.”

“Then there’s Pygmalion, muscular and thriving in his own creativity and imagination. The ideal for any man at the time,” you put your hands on your hips. You know the more we keep talking about this, the more I’m starting to hate it.“ 

"Nothing wrong with that,” Steve shrugged. “I thought that was rather impressive - coming from you that is." 

You growl under your breath and push him off balance. He chuckles, only making you cross your arms annoyed. 

"I actually see it differently,” Steve said. 

You raise a brow and turn to him. “How so?" 

"It’s like the roles have been switched. Pygmalion’s reaching up to Galatea since she’s up on a pedestal. While she has to crouch down for his affection. Although we can’t ignore the fact that she is his creation, we know she possesses all of his love because he’s invested every part of him into her. His heart, soul, and mind, it all belongs to her. She possesses his idolization and can make him do whatever she wants,” he said. 

You bring a hand to your cheek. “That makes sense. I like that interpretation more." 

"It makes you feel pity for Pygmalion almost. He’s blind and naive in his devotion to her. If that was the painter’s intent, I think he did a good job by adding the theatrical masks in the corner.” You pointed. “Cause it isn’t reality. The emotions when you’re on stage are only skin deep.  Even if Galatea may show love and affection towards Pygmalion, it’s not real and it never will be. Whatever emotions she holds will always be artificial. But the way he kisses and holds her shows that he believes Galatea’s love is sincere, and it makes you pity the guy. Everyone has a weakness and his is the desire to love." 

"I feel exposed,” Steve mumbled. 

“What?" 

"Nothing,” he said. “I’m honestly amazed by your analysis." 

You snorted. "I’m smarter than you, remember?” You teased and he rolled his eyes. “And thanks to you I don’t have to bang my head against the wall for the next three hours. Thanks, I guess you were right. I ended up liking it,” you said with a sheepish smile. 

“I’m glad I could help." 

Your eyes lock with his and you really look at them. Like it’s the first time you’ve seen him. You noticed the way his eyebrows raised a centimeter or two, lined between confusion and wonderment, his eyes twinkled in amusement as if he knew something you didn’t. They were like the ocean, so full of life yet so uncertain. The blue-green hue residing within pulling you deeper into the currents. 

Staring isn’t exactly the word Steve would use. Your eyes rest, not unblinking but slowed; the effect is soft and inviting instead of harsh. Perhaps it’s your lips that give away the intention, not quite smiling but tilting as if they do. 

As if you’re telling him to stay a little longer. It’s unspoken, but sometimes words aren’t needed. And he’d stay if you wanted him to, let you pull him deeper into the vast expanse of your eyes, glazed like honey and warmer than a summer breeze. 

He snapped out of his thoughts. There he goes again. Your lips part to say something, but Steve says something first. 

"I should go,” he said. 

“Oh,” you said in disappointment. “Thanks for helping,” you give him a smile. “See ya around then?" 

"Yeah, just be careful next time?" 

"I’ll make sure to,” you chuckled. “Have a nice day.”

He turned on his heel and waved goodbye. You smiled at him and waved back. The minute he turns away from you completely, the smiles on both of your faces fall instantly and it’s like you’ve lost something you never had.  

“Sweetheart, I ain’t a bad guy. I’ll be nothing but good to you." 

His smooth voice whistled in your ears. Another groan escaped your lips and you slammed your head against the cool metal surface of the kitchen table. 

Usually, the kitchen at Urban Remedy was a chaotic mess. Complete with shouting chefs and frolicking waitresses, sizzling pans and the clatter of dishes. But as the day began to wind down, so did business allowing its workers to catch a break. 

"I know this isn’t the best place to work, but-” your head shot up at the sound of your boss’ sassy voice. 

“Oh no,” you replied sheepishly. “I was just-" 

"I’m just joking,” May chuckled. She leaned over the table. “What’s wrong sister? Someone didn’t tip you well enough?" 

"No, it’s not that,” you chuckled while sitting straight up. “Just life I guess." 

"Lemme guess it’s a guy,” she laid it on the table. Your cheeks heated. 

“Dost mine ears deceive me?” Wanda popped her head in through the door. “Our residential man-hater has a guy problem?" 

"Where did you come from?" 

"I have super hearing,” the girl said, taking a seat next to you. She shakes your arm in excitement. “Now spill." 

"First off, it’s not a guy,” you lied. “I’m just in a bind is all." 

"Sweetheart,” May said, “you’re not fooling anyone." 

"It’s not!” You insisted. 

They replied with doubtful looks and a roll of the eyes. 

“It’s that cute guy that comes to visit sometimes, right?” Wanda asked. “The one with the old man name?" 

You snorted. "No, Quentin is Quentin. He’s not a guy." 

"So there is a guy, but he’s not your friend,” May conjectured. 

You exhaled deeply, feeling annoyed by them and yourself. 

“Okay, there’s a guy,” you grumbled. 

Wanda bounced in her chair while clapping her hands. “I knew it! Is he cute?" 

"I don’t know!” you retorted. Your eyes flit towards May and she’s smiling, pulling all the juicy details out of you. “Okay, maybe a little,” you mumbled and they giggled like children “But I don’t like him or anything!" 

"He wouldn’t be a problem if you didn’t,” May smirked, resting her chin in her hand. 

“It’s not like that,” you look away with a sigh. “You ever just want to stay away from something but end up getting closer? Like you want nothing to do with them but they pull you in regardless?" 

"Me with cats,” Wanda said. You turn to her puzzled. “What? I’m allergic to cats, but they’re so cute." 

"Seems like you’re in quite the predicament,” May chuckled. 

“You know a way out?" 

"Nope,” she deadpanned, “but you better get yourself out there cause I just heard the door open.” She pointed behind her with a chuckle. 

You stand with a groan and make your way to the front. 

“Hey,” Wanda called you back, “I think you should just follow your heart.” You rolled your eyes. If that isn’t the stupidest thing -“I know what you’re thinking but try it out? I mean it might be uncomfy at first but it could be worth it?" 

You shoot her a smile and a nod. "I’ll try,” you said pushing past the door and into the hall, to find a boy standing by the counter with his back to you. 

“Welcome in, how can I help you?” you asked as you approached him. 

The boy turned and you could’ve sworn you’ve seen him before. And by the way he looks at you, mouth agape and eyes wide, you probably did. 

It’s like Peter’s memory has been swiped clean and he doesn’t even know what language is anymore as he stands in front of you.

“Uhm?” You asked, totally not judging him.  

“Oh Peter,” May said from behind you. “You’re here!" 

TAG LIST: @ashwarren32​ @rootcrop​ @siriusement​ @savedbystark​ @great-goddess-of-sin​ @boxofteenageideas​ @little-dark-empress​ @imsonick​ @scuzmunkie​ @achishisha​ @chuckennuggets1213​ @captainchrisstan​

[rukakikuchi]

Dreamcatcher “BOCA” analysis

Since the release of “Dystopia: Lose Myself” and the music video for “BOCA”, we have been given the continuation of Dreamcatcher’s latest storyline with the second part of the Dystopia trilogy. (And yes, it was confirmed by JiU to be a trilogy.)

So, how does this new installment expand on the story?

After the corruption of the Tree of Language in Part 1, the former utopia becomes filled with dark, hateful words. People have forgotten how to say good things, and thus black fruit grows more and more from the tree.

I mentioned in my analysis for “Scream” that the members were all witches who served as the guardians of the Tree of Language, and after the tree was corrupted by evil, their memories became altered, along with their personalities. I think this could have also affected their powers to some degree; maybe they lost some of their magic because the tree, which their powers were tied to, became corrupted.

While the girls may have gone their separate ways, they feel deep down inside that the way the world is now is not as it should be. Their world has turned into a dystopia filled with painful words, and they want to change that and stop people from spreading more hateful, hurtful words.

What we see of Dystopia in “BOCA” is very different from how it was in “Scream”. In “Scream”, there was a heavier fantasy aesthetic, while in “BOCA”, we see the dystopia as an urban city setting, kind of like how “What” was like.

Interestingly enough, though, we also see the girls in this ethereal garden setting with a white tree, all of them wearing these beautiful dresses and surrounded by a pool of water.

I think this could be representing the inner versions of the girls. The “utopia” they are in is actually their hearts.

You know what this setting makes me think of? Siyeon’s solo song, “Paradise”. The lyrics talk about a person going to their inner “paradise” away from the sadness and pain they are suffering from. Their paradise is an escape from the chaos of reality; a place where they can breathe.

And from what we’re shown in “BOCA”, the girls are coping with the hateful words targeted towards them in different ways.

Sua and Gahyeon are in distress, the latter shown covering her ears at one point.

In the inner “utopia”, Sua’s inner self is shown standing in the rain, possibly letting it cleanse herself of her own anger, and Gahyeon’s inner self is crying tears of gold.

Dami is blocking out the hateful words and putting herself above those toxic people; they don’t matter to her and she’s showing that she can’t be hurt by them.

JiU also is unaffected by them; maybe because she’s the leader and has the closest bond to the tree, embodying the hope and goodness, she was able to resist becoming corrupted. She, just like her friends, wants justice for those who are suffering because of the hateful words being spread.

Siyeon is being chased by someone and her worldview is turned black and white, and we see the busts’ mouths are taped shut, with the tape being visibly red even after everything shifted to black and white.

And then we have Yoohyeon, who raises a bow and arrow towards the sky and shoots it, the arrow striking her inner self in the inner utopia. As several others have pointed out, I think this likely represents when someone hurts themselves due to painful words; the negativity and hate is hurting their inner light and goodness.

Sua even sings the line, “Too many angels dying now, I’m gonna change your mind.”

It’s a sad truth to our reality, but we have lost angels in the world who took their own lives because of cyberbullying and haters spreading hurtful words. Dreamcatcher is making a powerful statement in this song towards both those who spread such hateful words, but also to those people hurting themselves.

What we say matters and our words have consequences, so we need to be careful with what we say. They want the haters to stop hurting people with their words, and telling those who are suffering that they aren’t alone, they understand their pain, and to not give up.

We even see someone wearing a mask just like in “Scream”. At first I thought this could be Handong again, but she wasn’t present in any of the dance shots, so this is more likely representing the anonymous haters.

Towards the end of the MV, we see their mask lying on the ground, which I think could mean that this person was either caught and their reign of terror has come to an end, or they themselves came to their senses and made the choice to stop causing others pain.

...

Hope you guys enjoyed this analysis! Remember to stream “BOCA” and support Dreamcatcher! InSomnias have been working like crazy to get these girls their first win, so let’s keep it up and help them reach it!

Until next time, have a good day everyone! Stan Dreamcatcher! 💖

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Movie Review: Sonic the Hedgehog (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the day the movie is first released in the U.K, so if you haven’t yet seen the movie do not read on until you have.

General Reaction:

It's difficult with today's movie going audience to predict how movies like Sonic are going to perform and be received. Especially when the ad campaign did absolutely no favours for this movie other than convince Paramount that Sonic needed a more truthful redesign than what they originally put out.

Here's the thing. Sonic the Hedgehog to me is trying to be 2020's Detective Pikachu capitalising on that nostalgia of a beloved classic franchise.

However, I do feel that the haters and internet trolls out there are not going to be able to get past the comparisons this movie draws to 2011's Hop, which was a live-action/CGI-hybrid movie starring James Marsden who becomes the companion of a somewhat overbearing CG creature.

But, I encourage all movie goers, including the haters, to go into this with an open mind...particularly if you have any history with Sonic because you will get some enjoyment and walk away afterwards feeling happy overall.

My personal history with Sonic is slightly less-so than I would like. I played the original 2 SEGA games countless times and did watch some episodes of the earlier animated shows.

Having said that, my main Sonic fandom actually comes from the mid-noughties series Sonic X, which I feel this movie could have adapted but alas. Also I played the Shadow the Hedgehog spinoff game and more recently Smash Bros where I actually won as Sonic recently.

Now this movie reminds me of those shows and games practically in no way. I mean there is that opening sequence where you see Sonic running around and looping like he does in the SEGA games, I do also feel like James Marsden's character could easily be an older version of Chris, the boy from Sonic X, but aside from that, the gold rings and Robotnik...there's not a lot for the Sonic fans to spot.

I can't say this is a perfect movie, because it really is not. There are a lot of super speed gags and some of them do stick but some just fall flat and at times feel repetitive.

The worst crime this movie commits in my opinion is stealing Quicksilver's gimmick of speed scenes. By which I mean there are not one but two occasions when time is slowed down to almost a halt and we see Sonic running around still. They even have songs specific for these scenes.

Also, because I'm not fully aware of every Sonic incarnation, I did not understand why Sonic is effectively The Flash with being able to generate lightning. I mean I understand the laws of physics of generating enough friction can create static but I have never known Sonic to have any electric attacks.

I did like how the static electricity was preserved in his quills when they fell off though. In animation and the games you don’t think about Sonic’s realistic hedgehog qualities such as having quills so it was a nice touch.

I am also aware that Sonic has turned Super Saigen before with the help of the Chaos Emeralds I believe, so the fact we see a similar transformation here is quite good to see for that reason.

In terms of story I do think this is a simple plot that has been done numerous times, Hop is definitely one example that comes to mind, but I feel it’s also a very accessible story for non-Sonic fans.

I don’t know if Longclaw the Owl is an original character or one from Sonic mythology but I did not really vest much interest in her. Baby Sonic I thought was cute, but I refuse to accept anyone saying he is cuter than Baby Yoda as no one is cuter than Baby Yoda.

On the subject of age, it was good to see them acknowledging Sonic’s age for a change as opposed to just presuming because up until now I did always think he was some sort of teenager but this confirms it. If Baby Sonic is around 5-9 years old then Sonic in present day is late teens which makes sense with his temperament.

The gold rings being used as teleportation devices, I don’t know if they’re meant to be in the games but loved their use here.

I enjoyed the use of technology in this movie and particularly Robotnik’s commentary on how technology is more reliable than people which ties into his ultimate fate of being stranded alone without another soul on the planet he is sent to which forces him further into insanity.

The fact Sonic’s story is about fitting into society while James Marsden’s character is about figuring out what’s right in front of him are great parallels and do balance each other out rather well.

Also where he ends up with effectively being part of a family as well as a town hero was a nice way to wrap things up.

However, that mid-credits scene showing the arrival of Sonic’s faithful protege Tails to the real world looking for his friend screams for a sequel, especially if this means that more of Sonic’s companions could be introduced in the future like Knuckles, Shadow or even Rouge the Bat.

Characters:

Dr. Robotnik:

I don’t want to say he is the best character because I feel all four of the main cast members do a great job, but my favourite definitely is Jim Carrey as Robotnik. This is Carrey back on form and there were so many great shades of back when he was at the top of his game in the 90s with work such as Ace Ventura, The Mask and The Grinch.

From his first scene he stole every scene he was in. You could tell that he was taking the role seriously while also having the time of his life with it and this is why, back in the day, he was on such high form.

He may not have been the overweight bald megalomaniac, at least with the latter two not until the end of the movie, but he was the evil genius and mad scientist and almost every line he delivered he nailed.

I think “rockonnaissance” is going to be the new “joygasm” for him but it worked for The Riddler and it works for Robotnik.

I’m also happy he was nicknamed Eggman in the movie by Sonic because of the shape of his drones, I thought it was fitting. I can’t wait for Sonic to see the new bald version.

Sonic:

Yes Sonic is second but I said it before, there were times when he was overbearing.

Ben Schwartz by the way does a fantastic job voicing the character, I know he voices Dewey in the new Ducktales series and also for some reason voices BB-8 in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but this is my favourite role of his voice is so realistic for a wide-eyed and somewhat innocent “alien” hedgehog.

I enjoyed how when he first came to Earth he was this urban legend around Green Hills who spent those 10 years people watching and either making up nicknames for the citizens while also longing to fit in with them but knowing not to.

Also the movie’s comedy was never as vulgar as Ryan Reynolds or immature as Russell Brand. I think they had one fart joke in the movie but the rest was generic comedy movie material which was hit and miss in comedy.

It was quite touching also that he was so protective of Green Hills and the status quo so much so that when Tom said he was planning on leaving to move to San Francisco, he was so offended and I thought it was going to be that trope of “Oh now they’re going to separate only to discover they need each other later” but instead it was a few digs and then they got over it.

I am so happy they did redesign the character because the movie’s original look for him was horrendous and did make Cats look reasonable whereas this is more like the Sonic everyone knows and I did not realise he didn’t have his traditional running shoes until Jojo, the niece of Tika Sumpter’s character, replaced them for him.

I will keep saying I want a sequel just because I am interested to see where Sonic’s story takes him next, especially with Tails now on Earth and the potentiality that others could join.

The Wachowskis

Again I thought James Marsden and Tika Sumpter did very pleasant jobs. This is my favourite James Marsden performance to date. Up until now his roles have been either corny or simply bland for me but here, yes there were a couple of dodgy jokes and moments but overall I thought Tom was a very likeable character and at the very least a driven character.

His wife Maddie, first of all props to the movie writers for having a mixed-race couple front and centre in the movie. But also, Maddie, who is also an accomplished career woman alongside her accomplished career husband, did not weigh Tom down or the story down as simply being “just the wife”.

I also enjoyed Maddie’s sister and niece, Jojo is quite cute and for the little screentime that she has does well with it for a child her age. While Natasha Rothwell continues to grow in my estimations after her fabulous turn in Love, Simon as the very sassy teacher.

Others:

As for the rest of the cast, this was a great who’s who for spotting the great jobbing actors as Lee Majdoub, Neal McDonough, Michael Hogan and Adam Pally all have minor supporting roles that do not go unnoticed.

Meanwhile Colleen Villard (née O'Shaughnessey), who voices Tails in the video games as well as voicing Wasp in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes series and Sora in the Digimon franchise, reprises her role as the anthropomorphic fox in an uncredited mid-credits scene. I am hoping she returns for the sequel because it is good to hear her acting again.

Recommendation:

I do see a future for this movie in terms of a franchise. I do not quite see it crossing over with Detective Pikachu as I know there were rumblings of some sort of Super Smash Bros. movie cinematic universe.

However, if the movie does warrant a sequel, and with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 64%, considering this seems to be a deciding factor for some cinema goers, I don’t see why not. I am hoping the future of this franchise does see the introductions of Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge and even Amy.

Potentially also spinning off from this franchise, there could be Donkey Kong, Mega Man and maybe even Mario to create that Super Smash Bros. universe.

Overall I rate the movie 8/10, it’s a great movie and definitely has some rewatchability to it.

Having said that I can see where some cinema snobs or even haters may come from as they inevitably target the movie but I encourage everyone not to be taken in by other people’s opinions, not even mine, make up your own minds and see it for yourself.

So that’s my review of Sonic the Hedgehog, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Movie Reviews as well as other posts.

[guilianafms]

            new  york’s  very  own  guiliana  rasananda  was  spotted  on  broadway  street  in  gucci  marmont  logo - embellished  leather  sandals  .  your  resemblance  to  lalisa  manoban  is  unreal  .  according  to  tmz  ,  you  just  had  your  twenty  third  birthday  bash  .  while  living  in  nyc  ,  you’ve  been  labeled  as  being  doctrinaire  ,  but  also  pragmatic  .  i  guess  being  an  aquarius  explains  that .  three  things  that  would  paint  a  better  picture  of  you  would  be  the  lingering  scent  of  her  perfume  after  she’s  long  gone  ,  a  fenty  beauty  gloss  bomb  as  her  staple  to  any  makeup  look  ,  and  the  glitter  of  diamond  encrusted  jewelry  on  tanned  skin  .

            hello  ladies  ,  gents  ,  and  nonbinary  pals  !  my  name’s  jin  and  i’m  super  stoked  to  be  here  !  i’ve  seen  this  group  in  the  tags  over  the  years  ,  and  i  decided  that  it  was  high  time  for  me  to  slide  in  (  and  now  that  my  school’s  closed  ....  indefinitely  ....  i’ve  got  the  time  )  .  giuliana  is  fairly  new  so  i’m  still  working  out  some  kinks  that  may  arise  ,  but  i  have  a  pretty  good  idea  of  the  direction  i  want  her  to  go  in  !  i  can’t  believe  that  this  is  my  first  time  playing  lalisa  in  a  couple  of  years  ,  but  since  the  chance  arose  ,  i  decided  to  take  it  .  i  won’t  chat  too  much  ,  and  i  need  to  make  a  new  d.iscord  since  i  forgot  the  password  to  my  old  one  but  if  anyone  wants  to  plot  ,  feel  free  to  slide  into  my  dms  (  or  i’ll  slide  into  yours  !  )

basic  information  .

FULL  NAME  :  guiliana  kanya  rasananda  .

NICKNAME(S)  :  gigi  ,  lia  ,  liana  ,  ana  .

BIRTHDATE  +  AGE  :  february  12th  +  23  .

ZODIAC  :  aquarius  .

HOMETOWN  :  new  york  ,  ny  .

GENDER  :  cis  female  .

NATIONALITY  :  thai - american  .

ETHNICITY  :  thai  .

HEIGHT  :  5′6″  .

LABEL(S)  :  the  amaranth  ,  the  vixen  ,  the  trust  fund  baby  ,  and  the  princess  .

ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION  :  biromantic  .

SEXUAL  ORIENTATION  :  bisexual  .

LANGUAGE(S)  SPOKEN  :  english  ,  thai  ,  japanese  ,  and  learning  spanish  .

OCCUPATION  :  socialite  ,  ‘  model  ’  ,  and  youtuber  /  social  media  influencer  .

POSITIVES  :  clear - headed  ,  assiduous  ,  self - reliant  ,  pragmatic  ,  and  cosmopolitan  .

NEGATIVES  :  disputatious  ,  exigent  ,  doctrinaire  ,  selfish  ,  and  unscrupulous  .

PLAYLIST  :  roxanne  /  arizona  zervas  ,  bad  guy  /  billie  eilish  ,  body  /  loud  luxury  ft.  brando  ,  nasa  /  ariana  grande  ,  mother’s  daughter  /  miley  cyrus  ,  sway  with  me  /  saweetie  w.  galxara  ,  say  so  /  doja  cat  ,  mad  at  me.  /  kiana  ledé  ,  apeshit  /  the  carters  ,  elastic  /  joey  purp  ,  watermelon  sugar  /  harry  styles  ,  ain’t  my  fault  /  zara  larsson  ,  lemon  /  n.e.r.d.  ft.  rihanna  /  nice  for  what  /  drake  ,  sugar  /  brockhampton  ,  icon  /  jaden  smith  ,  zimzalabim  /  red  velvet  ,  come  thru  /  joji  ,  in  my  head  /  ariana  grande  ,  broke  bitch  /  tiny  meat  gang  ,  honey  /  lay  ,  deserve  /  kris  wu  ft.  travis  scott  .

biography  .

let’s  see  if  we  can  keep  this  short  ,  am  i  right  ladies  ?

ratana  saelim  has  humble  beginnings  in  bangkok  .  her  parents  owned  a  small  restaurant  in  their  neighborhood  ,  and  they  lived  comfortably  ,  but ratana  still  had  to  work  hard  to  ensure  that  she  got  into  college  and  could  stay  in   college  .  she  often  did  her  homework  behind  the  counter  of  the  restaurant  ,  and  eventually  went  on  to  attend  bangkok  university  .

she  met  her  future  husband  at  bangkok  university  ,  a  fellow  student  named  kamnan  rasananda  .  he  was  studying  business  while  she  was  studying  law  .  in  contrast  to  ratana  ,  kamnan  grew  up  in  an  extremely  affluent  home  and  was  set  to  inherit  his  family’s  company  .  he  was  a  year  older  than  ratana  ,  and  the  two  got  married  after  her  graduation  with  her  master’s  degree  .  they  settled  in  bangkok  following  their  wedding  .

the  years  passed  ,  and  the  couple  established  themselves  in  their  respective  fields  .  kamnan  started  his  own  business  in  real  estate  and  construction  ,  so  they  decided  to  expand  out  of  asia  and  into  the  states  .  they  made  their  home  new  york  city  ,  and  settled  easily  into  a  multi - million  dollar  penthouse  on  the  upper  east  side  .  since  they  were  to  focused  on  their  careers  ,  it  wasn’t  until  they  reached  their  mid - thirties  when  they  had  their  first  and  only  child  ,  a  daughter  they  named  guiliana  .

guiliana  was  a  beautiful  little  baby  who  has  an  infectious  personality  while  growing  up  .  ratana  and  kamnan  may  have  been  busy  people  ,  but  they  never  had  an  issue  with  putting  work  on  pause  to  spend  time  with  their  daughter  .  the  couple  supported  their  daughter  in  everything  that  she  did  ,  and  that  even  included  when  she  turned  fourteen  and  decided  that  she  wanted  to  start  doing  youtube  videos  . 

going  through  high  school  ,  guiliana  had  been  a  member  of  the  photography  and  yearbook  clubs  ,  and  this  was  at  the  same  time  that  she  started  to  truly  focus  on  her  channel  .  of  course  ,  her  content  at  the  time  was  quite  cringy  (  shoutout  to  that  one  song  that  everyone  used  in  morning  routines  )  .  as  the  years  passed  ,  she  obtained  the  right  equipment  to  make  her  content  better  .

by  her  senior  year  of  high  school  ,  her  channel  grew  to  massive  numbers  .  she  dropped  the  makeup  videos  since  she  found  that  she  was  more  interested  in  fashion  than  makeup  ,  and  was  comfortable  with  sharing  her  personal  style  .  she  got  a  lot  of  backlash  because  she  grew  up  rich  and  people  often  felt  that  she  was  ‘  flaunting  ’  her  lifestyle  ,  but  really  ,  most  of  her  clothes  from  the  places  that  were  often  the  rage  at  the  time  (  urban  outfitters  ,  brandy  ,  etc  )  with  the  occasional  luxury  piece  like  a  purse  or  something  .

now  ,   she  isn’t  that  active  on  youtube  anymore  since  she’s  grown  into  more  of  a  socialite  ,  but  she’ll  still  do  weekly  vlogs  ,  catching  up  videos  ,  and  her  fashion  videos  .  despite  not  being  that  active  ,  her  channel  is  still  growing  and  has  now  amassed  five  million  subscribers  .

personality  .

guiliana  has  been  a  part  of  youtube  since  she  was  a  fourteen  year  old  ,  so  she’s  been  able  to  start  ignoring  the  haters  !  quite  honestly  has  the  most  idgaf  attitude  towards  people  who  have  anything  to  say  about  her  only  showing  luxury  outfits  and  such  on  her  channel  .  that’s  all  she  knows  since  she  grew  up  in  that  ,  but  quite  frankly  she  doesn’t  care  !

out  of  all  of  her  labels  ,  i’d  say  she  mostly  resonates  with  the  trust  fund  baby  .  outside  of  her  youtube  channel  ,  guiliana  doesn’t  do  much  other  than  spend  money  and  sleep  until  eleven  so  don’t  expect  her  to  be  out  there  making  businesswoman  moves  .

don’t  give  her  a  compliment  because  what’s  the  saying  ...  give  her  an  inch  and  she’ll  take  a  mile  ?  that’s  guiliana  to  a  T  !  she  knows  that  she’s  cute  and  her  parents  have  only  ever  praised  her  ,  so  she’s  got  something  of  an  over  inflated  ego  at  times  .  she  can  go  on  and  on  ,  so  please  tell  her  ass  to  shut  up  if  she  starts  taking  it too  far  !

headcanons  .

a  born  and  bred  new  yorker  ,  guiliana  doesn’t  possess  a  driver’s  license  .  she  gets  driven  around  in  a  bentley  bentayga  and  when  her  driver’s  not  available  ,  she  exclusively  uses  uber  black to  get  around  the  city  .

her  style  is  pretty  similar  to  lisa’s  where  one  day  she’s  exclusively  wearing  streetwear  ,  another  day  she’s  a  bit  more  feminine  ,  and  then  sometimes  she’s  wearing  pieces  straight  off  the  runway  !  when  it  comes  to  her  more  feminine  style  i  think  of  the  youtuber  kerina  wang  .

she’s  most  comfortable  when  she’s  in  her  apartment  .  usually  ,  she’s  only  wearing  a  lingerie  set  (  not  the  entire  thing  )  and  lounging  around  .  she’ll  throw  on  a  robe  or  something  to  answer  the  door  ,  so  just  call  her  ahead  of  time  .

i  can’t  make  up  my  mind  on  how  guiliana  usually  has  her  hair  (  since  lisa  switches  between  long  and  short  )  so  we’ll  just  say  that  she  gets  extensions  a  lot  !  currently  ,  i  love  her  long  brown  hair  so  click  for  reference  here  .

she  has  no  real  plans  for  the  future  ?  she’s  kinda  of  taking  it  day  by  day  and  enjoying  her  twenties  while  she  has  them  .  right  now  her  main  focus  is  her  instagram  and  her  youtube  ,  and  she  has  no  real  aspirations  to  do  anything  outside  of  that  at  the  moment  .

never  leaves  the  house  without  wearing  a  pair  of  heels  ?  even  when  it’s  cold  outside  ,  she’s  wearing  ankle  boots  with  a  heel  or  the  ever  elegant  over - the - knee  boots  .  

her  go - to  drink  from  starbucks  is  a  cold  brew  with  vanilla  sweet  cream  .  she  doesn’t  drink  coffee  with  sugar  .

wanted  connections  .

            i’ll  more  than  likely  end  up  reblogging  things  into  the  tag  i  made  for  these  ,  but  since  there’s  nothing  there  right  now  ,  i’ll  just  list  off  some  specifics  that  i’d  love  to  have  !  if  none  of  these  are  to  your  taste  ,  we  could  always  brainstorm  ,  work  off  chemistry  ,  or  let  me  know  if  there’s  something  that  you  think  guiliana  could  fill  !

i  might  end  up  sending  this  in  to  the  main  ,  but  i’d  love  to  have  the  fiancé  that  she  left  at  the  altar  !  truth  be  told  ,  i  kind  of  feel  as  though  she  may  have  done  it  simply  because  she  finally  realized  that  things  were  moving  too  fast  and  she  kinda  of  needed  to  pump  the  breaks  ?  she  definitely  didn’t  do  it  in  the  best  way  ,  but  it  could  be  an  interesting  relationship  /  dynamic  to  explore  .

she’s  been  in  new  york  since  forever  so  i  just  imagine  there  being  a  slew  of  connections  stemming  from  that  ?  friendships  ,  rivalries  ,  and  romantic  connections  !  idk  why  i  love  them  so  much  ,  but  i’d  really  love  for  her  to  have  an  ex  best  friend  .  we  can  determine  why  their  friendship  ended  ,  but  i  really  love  exploring  the  demise  of  relationships  .

my  brain  is  blanking  so  🤠  .

[girls-scenarios]

Little Love Song

Idol: Sunmi (Formerly Wonder Girls, Soloist)

Prompt: Scenario (or whatever works) with sunmi where the reader and her release a romantic song together and people suggest they are dating. (They actually are dating btw)

Writer: Admin Kiwi

A/N: Sorry again for disappearing for a while. Also I took some of the lyrics and inspiration from Urban Zakapa’s song “2-1-2″ which is a great song, go check it out. Anyway, I hope I did this prompt justice and that you all enjoy!

♡ Tip Jar♡

Everything had been Sunmi’s idea. She was working on a new album, and she’d come to you with the idea to collaborate on the ending song. It wouldn’t be super long, she told you, just a short little love song to end the album. At first, you hadn’t been sure. Was that such a good idea? But she’d assured you it would be fine, so you’d shrugged and gone along with it, agreeing to help her with the lyrics and recording.

After listening to what she already had down, you wrote your own lyrics, so sweet that they even made you feel giddy while recording them.

I like wrapping your arms around me, I like you calling me,

I like the sunset evenings that call the night,

I like it so much

Because we’re not one but two.

You almost wished that it was just you and Sunmi in the studio as you sang the lyrics, blushing slightly as the producer raised his eyebrows. He was Sunmi’s close friend, so you knew he wouldn’t say anything, but it was a little embarrassing to song such lyrics in such a small space. His smile said he knew, but he said nothing, just turning to give Sunmi a thumbs-up that made her laugh out loud and hit his shoulder. Her lyrics were just as sweet, much lighter and happier than her usual music.

It’s you, what I’ve been dreaming of every day.

It’s you, not anyone else, you’re by my side, in my arms, as we walk.

I love you, every sunset night,

Because we’re not one but two.

The song said a lot about your relationship with her. You put nothing but truth on that page, singing your heart into the microphone.

Your round nose, red lips, I don’t need to hold it in,

I like it when you call my name, 

I like it when you use a nickname.

I like your heart for me, I like it so much,

We’re a pair that looks at the same place

Because we’re not one but two, together

After the song was finished and played, the two of you looked at each other and smiled, giddy and happy at the product.

“I love it so much,” Sunmi said with a giggle, leaning her head on your shoulder. “It’s such a sweet song.”

“Sugary sweet. I think I got cavities singing those lyrics.”

“You’re the one who wrote them.”

“You’re right.” You laughed softly, feeling your heart jump in your chest. “I really like the song, though. I think it’s the best one on the album.”

“Objectively, right?” She teased, looking up at you with a grin.

“Of course.” You gave her a quick kiss. “People are definitely going to talk.”

“Let ‘em talk, I’ve been talked about before. One little love song isn’t going to hurt. Plus, we are dating, so what does it matter?”

“You’re fearless, you know that?” Your words made her laugh again and nod her head, and you gave her another quick kiss. “I love that about you.”

“Well, I love you too!”

-

Of course, you were right. As soon as people heard the song, they began to speculate. As if she wanted to fan the rumors, Sunmi posted a photo with you on Instagram from when the two of you were recording the song, both of you smiling happily. She simply captioned it with a music note and a heart, and the comments went wild.

“You’re absolutely fearless,” you told her as the two of you looked through the comments and news articles. There was even a trending tag on Twitter with your ship name. She just laughed, cuddling up next to you and kissing your cheek.

“You can’t deny that it’s a little fun to look through all these fan theories.”

“It is a little fun,” you admitted, turning to look at her with a smile. “Twitter is going crazy.”

“I wonder how crazy they’d go if they knew how many times I kissed you while we were recording the song?”

“Don’t, I don’t need my company on my tail,” you said, playfully nudging her with your shoulder. You were happy, though. Almost everyone was being positive and supportive, and although there were always haters in the comments somewhere, it warmed your heart to know that so many fans would support the two of you when you actually told everyone. “At least now we know what the response will be like when we actually reveal our relationship.”

“True.” Sunmi smiled. “Although you know that I wouldn’t care what they think. I love you too much to care.”

“I know.”

“I’m happy with how things are now,” she said, running her thumb along your jawline affectionately. “But I can’t wait until we can really let them all know.”

“Soon,” you promised. “Trust me, I can’t wait either. I just don’t want to get in trouble.”

“I understand, love. And I’m willing to wait for you. It makes it feel so romantic, doesn’t it? Like Romeo and Juliet.”

You laughed at her analogy, turning off your phone. “If you put it that way, maybe we should make a song called ‘Secret Love Song’ when we do the reveal.”

“I think ‘Not-So-Secret Love’ might work better. Considering that we aren’t really hiding it as much as we just aren’t addressing the rumors.”

“And who’s fault is that?” You said, teasing her as you touched your forehead to hers, and she giggled.

“I guess I just love you too much.” With that, she kissed you, and you let your eyes flutter closed as you melted into her arms. To be honest, you had a hard time hiding your love too. You always caught yourself staring and smiling her way, and it was hard not to hold her hand in public. There were plenty of times when you rambled on about how great you thought she was on radio, and that certainly didn’t help the rumors. But when you were dating someone as great as Sunmi, it was hard to hide it. You loved her much more than that little love song could even portray, but you’d done your best to put your feelings down, and you were happy. Happy with the song, happy with Sunmi, and happy with your relationship. Later, the two of you would tell everyone. But for now, cuddling like this in her home without anyone knowing was good too.

“You aren’t the only one.”

[self-ship-love]

Hi, I'm the person who asked about the blof, thank you for answering/explaining, and im glad I wasn't being rude ( I always worry about that, especially online). That's really interesting, becuase I do that as well, ship myself with my favorite characters, I just never actually knew there was a name for it. Oh sorry, I meant s/i, apparently my phone's auto corrected switched it and I didn't notice, I'm sorry about that.

Hello again 😊 I totally relate and worry about how I type replies and stuff out to people. Hence why I’m always using emoji’s and still use the word ‘Lol’ 🙈

It’s so hard to show emotion through social media.  I’m glad you weren’t a hater - there was somebody going on a rant about this community a few months back. Dragging the community down as a whole for no good reason. People just suck sometimes.  S/i means: Self insert. So just inserting ourselves into our f/o’s lives and romantically or platonically shipping ourselves with them. I didn’t know about this community for a very long time. I’ve always had f/o’s in my life and thought I was the only one 😂😅 And then at the end of last year, I googled ‘in love with fictional character’ wondering if this was actually a thing or if I’m just crazy. Google took me to Tumblr where I found all the tags etc. I think I read about the term on urban dictionary too. I ended up reading all these imagines and searched for my own f/o and just spiralled down this rabbit hole. And then next thing I knew, I was creating another Tumblr account dedicated to this community and now here I am 😄 - a little sleep-deprived and running on f/o fuel. 

You’re more than welcome to come to me if you have any more questions. I’m still learning about all this, especially certain abbreviations but I’ll try my best to help.