#it's really sweet how many times i've seen this article now

[violetasteracademic]

My Two Cents on the People Magazine Article (and Elriel coming home!)

I'm sure this has already been dissected to death and I am potentially late to the game here (I only just saw the article this morning!) but I would like to share some thoughts and insight!

While by no means am I saying this to claim I am *the* expert of all experts, I would like to share that my background and previous career was in entertainment. My twenties were spent in Los Angeles, and (some of you other current or previous LA/New Yorker's may identify with this) you really learn how the sausage gets made and exactly how much money, planning, and prep goes into what we are meant to perceive as "natural." I don't mean to take the shine off of it! Just sharing my experiences. I can't share everything because some of my friends were under NDA's at the time of their employment, so I'll just give a brief overview.

Example: Late Night talk shows and many other major "live" productions that have "live" interviews are, well, not actually live. They typically film in the early afternoon even if they are set designed to look like its nighttime. And while it is in front of a "live" audience, the audience is instructed on when to clap, when to laugh, ect. This is because the interview has already been planned out, and questions approved ahead of time. This is why, even though it seems totally fresh, there are things the "host" received ahead of time. For example, all of the baby pictures and sweet photos of Sarah and Josh and then all of the staged "walking and talking photos" for the MASSIVE Today Show interview and article. And yes, this is the article where we got this absolute banger:

That "felt" like a live interview followed up with a giant article to accompany it, but was actually a full on pre-planned production. Seriously massive for Sarah. And if there's time, you can even do multiple takes and use the best shot for the "live" show. I've seen people comment on thinking Sarah seemed "not excited" in that interview and she was worried HoFaS would bomb, but I'm telling you guys, I don't think she has ever that much pressure or "lights, camera, action" on her before compared to her usual casual "chat" style interviews. Babes was nervous, and she crushed it.

Now to breakdown the new People Magazine article:

This article is being presented as "Everything You Need to Know" aka "we are your trusted resource on all things Sarah J. Mass."

People Magazine, while serving as your "trusted resource" for the world of ACOTAR, would not say the protagonists of ACOTAR are the sisters for zero reason whatsoever. What's interesting is both Lucien and Azriel get small nods, but very little otherwise and zero mention of the ship. Just Elain, baybee dolls. This further cements that this designed to portray the Archeron sisters as the leads of the series.

Now, taking a look at the author of this article to see if she specializes in anything, she really doesn't. Miss ma'am writes about everything under the sun!

She also did the Ultimate Guide to Emily Henry's books. (Major Emily Henry Stan over here. Who is dying for Funny Story to come out?!)

This is a Northwestern University journalism grad who has been with People for a few years. She certainly understands what it is that needs to come from these articles, and that is interest, clicks, money, and trust.

There is simply no reason for major networks like Today and People to invest in these thorough and in depth articles and interviews, on screen and on page, with Sarah and continue to hint towards Elain or questioning the mating bond if it will serve no purpose in improving their reputation or generating interest in the plot of the books. That is simply not how this works, and is antithetical to keeping the gears of these machines well oiled and functioning as intended.

If you read this whole thing, wow! You are an MVP. With nothing but respect to you all, I'm not sure how long I will keep this post up or how much I am willing to talk about my time in LA. I unfortunately had some experiences I am still recovering from and already feel a bit anxious putting this much information about myself out there. But for those who catch it, I hope you enjoy and can feel comforted that this is all a part of the plan. There's a reason you see repeats of themes and conversations in all her articles. It's because they are pre-planned and executed with the goal of reputation and selling books in mind.

*** Thanks to Sara Anne (@SaraAnneReads on Tiktok) who shared her insight from working on the marketing team for a magazine in 2019 that adverts have to share if an article is paid for in someway, no matter how small. Thus I have removed my statement on *this* article potentially being part of their paid marketing budget, as there is no indicator of that on the article itself which is required by law.

However, this could be what is called "Earned Media" where a marketing/publicity rep for SJM and/or Bloomsbury *could* have reached out to people magazine and basically said hey, if you want to write about this, we have an announcement coming up soon so it could be relevant and worth talking about. To which the rep for People would say to the rep for SJM, hey, thank you so much for the heads up. There is no exchange of goods or currency and no promise verbally or in writing to do the article so the ethics stay above board, but all parties benefit from earned media. Sarah's team has now earned additional buzz for the upcoming story, and a news outlet has articles out on a trending topic. However, earned media does not have to be disclosed and therefore we have NO way of knowing if this occurred here or not!

She also shared with me People's statement of integrity where People state's their high standard for ethical practices and journalistic credibility and accountability. (I mean we know they are the kings and queens of "a reliable source close to the individual," but still)

She also caught with her eagle eye that Bloomsbury explicitly states the detailed marketing plan once books are announced, including details like year-long social media campaign, arc readers, ECT. So with Sarah already posting about the next ACOTAR, we can safely assert that is part of the existing laid out marketing plan, and assume additional articles surrounding ACOTAR are all to further generate buzz.

Analysis: Elain's book announcement is coming SOON and marketing is already underway!

[corvidcorgi]

Honestly my biggest advice for any Tumblr newcomers but also for longtime users is to turn on Post Timestamps in your Dashboard Preference settings.

We talk about how one of the strengths of Tumblr is that people aren't shy about interacting with posts that are months or years old, that there's no shame in circulating content that might be considered outdated on other platforms. That it's fun to see people's art or memes or shitposts, that they generally hold up no matter how old they are and that we don't and shouldn't cringe about that. And this is true.

But it's also absolutely fuckawful for news or activism purposes.

I cannot tell you how many times people I follow have reblogged articles that are years out of date -- not just two years (2021 was two years ago no matter how fake that feels), but six or more. I've seen them lament over bad news from 2017, clearly shocked and horrified what they perceive as current events.

It's a prime outrage and misinformation engine. It's straight-up bad, not just from a misinformation standpoint but from a mental health standpoint, to be moved to fury or despair by "the state of things" from over five years ago.

That news is important, to give the context of its time and as a benchmark for how we got where we are now, but if you think what happened in 2017 is current events, you will miss what's actually happening right now. Don't risk acting on outdated information.

You get no opportunity to say, "Huh, I wonder if we've made any progress since then," or check how the situation's evolved. You can't give the benefit of the doubt to a stranger who made a bad take and hope they've grown, because you don't know if that post was made two weeks ago or half a decade ago. Things can change for the worse or change for the better and you'd have no idea.

And if you want another upside to timestamps, more positive than just "This is bad for both your information literacy and your mental health," it's genuinely really sweet and fun to see that someone's goofy post from 2012 is still making the rounds. GIFsets from 2013 for a show that went off the air in 2011 getting reblogged in 2023 make you feel the enduring love and community that show generated.

It's vital to know that bad news may be old news, and uplifting to see the parts of Tumblr's history that are still bringing joy to people. Turn on your Post Timestamps. Do it today.

[boogiewoogieweeb]

4, 10, 19, 39, 55!

hello nonnie! thank you very much for the asks - i hope my answers will be satisfactory! 🌹🌹🌹

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

as cliched as it sounds, everywhere really. all it takes for a fic idea to form is for me to see or experience something interesting and apply it to whichever characters i'm currently obsessed with. a good example of this would be my joplittle sexsomnia au - it was born from reading an article posted to reddit about how extreme stress or emotional trauma can induce this condition, and what the partners of people who suffer from it have to deal with. my brain extrapolated on this by going, "neat! now let's apply that to edward little and see where it goes!". and so now i'm a quarter of the way through a wip about the first lieutenant of hms terror getting up to sexcapades in his sleep :D

10. Cltr+f "blinks" on your WIP & copy paste the first sentence/paragraph that comes up

you would not believe how many of my wips i actually had to dig through (eight, it was eight) before i actually found one where i've used the word "blinks". anyway, here's wonderwall the snippet:

“Then I should hope to always be fortunate enough to have a Second so steadfast in his dedication as you have proven yourself to be, Lieutenant Little.” The words settle over Edward like a warm weight; an anchor dropped in calm waters, and he blinks harshly to stem the prick of tears that burn suddenly at the back of his eyes.

19. What is the most-used tag on your ao3?

the filters on my works page tells me that apparently, it's #humor. followed in short order by #angst, #drama, and #drabble in combined second-place. which really tells you everything you need to know about me as a person, probably.

39. Share a snippet from a WIP

this is one i've been sitting on for more than a month now, following some conversation with two of my favourite people, lily and helen, on the topic of the parallels between little and crozier in the terror. it's a fic that's almost as close to my heart as my "ned quits the navy" au, and it's coincidentally also the same fic where i pulled the "blinks" snippet from:

He’s going to lose the fingers, at the very least.

What had started out as frostbite has grown into something far, far more insidious; the rigid blue-white of hardened flesh having first given way to purple bloating, then to leathery, blistered brown, and finally to black decay; variegated streaks of reddish-grey striating from the tips all the way down towards the line of his knuckles.

Worse yet is the smell whenever he peels the bandages off; a faint, nauseating, slightly sweet stench that reminds him of the time when, as boys, he and James had once come upon a dead fox while out riding one afternoon - flyblown and baking in the stifling summer heat, its noxious and festering body bloated with gas and rot.

The first time he’d seen – truly seen – how bad his hand had gotten, he’d rushed outside to empty his heaving stomach into the fine fresh dusting of snow that had settled over the outpost like a blanket.

It hurts to use, nowadays. He can’t properly make a fist anymore for how swollen his hand’s become, and every touch now is its own bright, stinging agony.

Edward stares dully at his left hand in mild disgust before wrapping it again, tight enough to send pain coursing down his wrist and all the way up to his elbow; rolling waves of needling fire that beat in time with his pulse. He’s taken to doing this alone in one of the woodsheds on the outskirts of the fort, though if pressed, he wouldn’t have been able to answer as to why.

He’s shaking by the time he finishes, trembling as if palsied, breathing hard as if he'd just run a mile. But his hand is bandaged once more, and the damage is hidden from sight. In time, Edward knows, he will need to see to the matter of its removal.

He will lose the fingers, sure enough; if not more. It doesn’t matter. There are worse things to lose in life than a hand.

55. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

oh, i'd have to say it's my best boy edward little. he's far and away the character i've come to empathize with and relate to the most - probably ever - and so that makes it easier for me to get into the headspace required to write things from his perspective. as for being swayed by the reactions of others to how i write him, i don't think i am, not really. i certainly greatly appreciate and enjoy reading comments that praise my characterization, but i like to think i have a pretty clear and well-defined enough grasp of my blorbo whenever i do manage to bang out a few words on the old keyboard that i'm quietly confident in my ability to portray him relatively faithfully and accurately.

and that about covers it! once again thank you so much for taking the time to get to know a bit more about me and my writing process, nonnie! it was a lot of fun coming up with answers to your questions!

[ask-serendipity-sky]

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2012/05/19/2003533178

This is an article from 2012 where they talk about the relationship between gays and Disneyland. I accidentally came across this article and thought a lot about jikook. I don't know whether they were aware of these back then but whatever it is it was a bold movement from jeon kid to do this. And the mickey mouse hat jimin wore . Everything that they made in 2017 have meanings and they meant it too. Only the brainless trashcookers can't see it or admit it. I've seen ex-trashcooker saying that they haven't seen gcf tokyo yet. WHY? They ofcourse know it is GCF jimin ft tokyo whereas their fav has not got any as such but they're still arguing that it was actually planned with their fav and change due to some reason as if trashcookers were the ones who charted their schedules haha.

I sometimes wonder what might have happened in Tokyo but we will never know. These days things are getting complicated both for jimin and jungkook. I wonder what might be their motive to choose Disneyland as their destination place for their first trip. I'm still screaming at the thought they stayed at the hotel where the bedroom and bathroom were separated only by a transparent window. Jimin could see jungkook shower for 50 minutes through the transparent window? Wow I'm kidding but not really. The age they visited Tokyo alone is such a crucial one here. Both might be at the peak of curiosity and they are jikook lol I'll shut up now.

Now coming into jimin who is not so into amusement park rides according to him ( who would waste money on things like this + too scared lol me too yes i'm jimin's girl ) decided to get on that coffee mug ride? Are you serious!? YES! And that's how we got the most beautiful jimin smile through jungkook's eye. What we see in golden closet film Tokyo is jimin through jungkook's eye.

At the very 1st thought jungkook is the same age as jimin's brother and jimin's is the same age of jungkook's brother but nah ! I have eyes ofcourse. I didnt get any brotherly vibes. Of course they care about eo. The way jimin caresses junkookie's head or pat his head like an elder brother. But I don't wanna bring that ear sucking moment here. We had enough and that's louder than anything. I'd like to nominate the tummy caressing part by jk.mp4 lol. Jimin didn't even flinched like he is so used to those hands. They hiding at the corner at a big party ( jitb we spotted the couples ), staring at the lips while talking, jimin gesturing to keep shut when they were asked about the comfort thing that they depend on wow that was sus , and pulling him close behind yoongi?

Whatever I'm ending my rants here. I just wanted some place to rant that JIKOOK IS REAL AND MORE THAN FRIENDS OR WHATEVER. THEIR BOND IS UNBREAKABLE.

And they have done things and hinted as many things. Only blinds can't see it. That's their issue not ours. And to those who haven't seen gcf tokyo youre missing a masterplan video for how to impress your crush that's it.

thankyou 💜💛

Hi anon,

Your ask is beautiful. I love it.

It makes me wonder of all the times that jikook referenced their trip after they came back. They were smitten by each other!

Shy and sweet and even when talking about it, they would ignore the rest of the world around them.

And now they are in Japan again. History likes to repeat itself. Will they have a glass shower again?

What happened in Disneyland?!

With or without Disneyland (will they go to Disneyland?), them deciding on a project together (omg. this is a subunit created by jikook) and making it so they would work, travel, have fun, and spend time and end in Japan is a bold move.

We will see what comes out of this and if they end up in Disneyland again, I fear we might not make it through.

But yeah, "jikook is more than friends or whatever"...lol

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[destinyc1020]

I really like yr dissertations so ur fine lol i b writing novels as well wen i comment 😭

Yea honestly Kaias book club is good n she has great quesions for her guests n seems passionate about it. With her being so young and just the ignorance she has about nepotism/her priveldge it just makes her seem out of touch. Shes nt as bad as other nepo kids bt it dnt help her that shes moving away from the skill shes good at (modeling) and the thing she seems to want to do (acting), shes nt currently good at. This was the art comment: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellendurney/kaia-gerber-said-nepotism-isnt-how-art-is-made. i remember ppl clowning her for it cuz she def got a starring role in AHS cuz she auditioned with her mom and her unintentionally calling her acting "art" is just 😬 (n like u said prob due to her being naive she mignt nt even realize her being ignorant). JE n Kaia looked miserable going to that Academy Musuem thing lmao bt they seemed fine IRL most of the time

Welp Kaia learned wat NOT to do after dating Zs ex lmaoo talking about loving that man wen they only lasted a yr.. gurl 🫣. She eems to b a fan of Z now so good for her lol

W/Austin i def agree Kaia seems like a safe choice. Theres a difference between a older woman (or just a woman around his age) who is prob established in her career and mayb wanting the nxt steps in her personal life (marriage or kids) vs a 21 yr old who is still figuring out wat she wants bt has the financial means to hang out with her bf a lot more and prob isnt thinkin bout her future rn. Austin is the best bf Kaias had so far based on how her parents seem to really like him so i think their all relieved in that aspect. i think Austin dsnt like to b single for too long either tbh. i really dnt know how this relationship bout to go lol

Thnx Anon! 🥰

Glad you enjoy my dissertations lol.

Yea Kaia's book club seems great. I've seen a couple of them over the years actually. I'm all for ppl enjoying whatever hobbies make them happy, and reading seems to be an avid hobby of hers.

Her mom Cindy is actually pretty smart. She graduated with honors and had a full scholarship to attend university for Chemical Engineering if I'm not mistaken. So maybe Kaia takes after her mom's intellectual side.🤷🏾‍♀️

But, like you said, she's still very young, naïve, and basically been living in a wealthy, southern CA bubble her whole entire life imo.

Granted, she's had some life experiences that many young women her age have never had, but she's still been pretty sheltered and just comes off as a little out of touch with the "real world" if you ask me.

Again, it's not a huge slight in itself, but more so just a testament to the fact that she was born in wealth, and she's only 21 lol 😅

I'm sorry Anon lol 😅 I couldn't with this article you linked. See, yet again.... You can tell that she's a sweet girl, but very naïve..... just in MY opinion lol.

I don't think she realizes that her mom doesn't have to call in to beg people to put her on the runway or in films. I don't think she realizes that just by being Rande and Cindy's daughter, she automatically has a leg up just due to her name ONLY.

And ummm.... according to what I've heard... 👀 Supposedly, some hard-working actresses who've come from nothing and have had to WORK their way up, have complained about losing parts to Kaia Gerber, even though they are better actresses. 🥴 Again, sip or spit, but that's just what I've heard. 👀

So yea, some people aren't happy that she's been getting a lot of opportunities (even in the modeling world) just for her name and familial background only.

Re: Austin....

Like I said before, I REALLY don't seem him settling down anytime soon. I'm not getting those vibes from him. I'm sure he loves her and her family, but he seems more focused on his career rn imo. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Plus, they haven't even dated each other for 2 years yet. Idk why some fans are pushing marriage on them, or trying to make it seem like she's "the one".

I personally would not advise someone (especially an ACTOR) who travels a LOT for a living, and works away from home for months out of the year, to go and put a ring on a girl he's barely known not even two years yet. 🥴 Could it happen? Yes. But I wouldn't advise it.

I know he doesn't like to be single for too long (a lot of ppl don't lol 😂), but if he and Kaia do break up one day, my advice to him would be to take a sabbatical and just be SINGLE for a few months lol.

Based on what I saw during the awards season, I'm sure he'd have PLENTY of female options (young AND old! 👀) if he and Kaia were to ever spilt up rofl 🤣 So he doesn't have to worry about not having any options.

Idk how the rlshp will go, but they seem happy, and I can't hate on them. 🤷🏾‍♀️

I don't get the vibe that they're endgame though. Idk why, but as of right now, I'm just not seeing it. Plus, Leo DiCaprio has dated a ton of young, pretty models all his life. If they were really what they're cracked up to be, wouldn't you think he would have married one of those women by now, or at the very least, made one of these models his life partner by now? Leo's longest rlshp has been Gisele Bundchen, and they were together for 5 years. He to this day has not been in a rlshp longer than that. So, obviously, dating models isn't really the endgame for him either! You would think that after all these years, he would try smthg different since the young, 25 year old model thing hasn't been working out lol 😆

Anyway, I just hope Austin is staying smart in his decisions. Kaia's family has always kind of made me give them the side-eye.... Supposedly, female employees from Rande's business have accused him of sexual harassment.... 👀 I remember the days when Kaia looked like she may have had an ED 👀..... The son, Presley, has been giving signs to me that he's been crying out for help for years.... 🥴 They've allowed their daughter to date grown men ever since she was a teenager.... 🥴👀

Idk... part of me wants to tell Austin: "Austin run! Please run.... there's smthg off with this family!!!!" 😬

But hey, it's not my life lol 😆 And who knows? Maybe one day she will be Mrs. Kaia Butler. 🤭

[fierrochase-falafel]

The Northern Town Percy Jackson Peter Johnson Musical: (another) Appreciation Post

Quick Intro: So I made a previous appreciation post (short and sweet) about the official TLT musical here, a musical I would also greatly recommend to any Percy Jackson fan stumbling on this post who hasn't seen / heard of that musical, but that is not truly relevant to this post. I've decided that in the spirit of appreciating the adaptational musicals more in this era of us finally having a TV show, here's a post dedicated to a musical many of you have probably never heard of...

Calling all Percy Jackson and musical fans! Calling all Percy Jackson and musical fans!

If you haven't seen them, take this to be a recommendation post appealing you to check out the Northern Town Percy Jackson parodies!

To start on vibes: if you have seen or heard of Starkid's A Very Potter Musical (AVPM), the humour is quite similar I feel but a bit more Gen-Z-esque. This musical has managed to coalesce the entire plot of Percy Jackson and the Olympians into 1.5-2 hours in a way that greatly pays homage to the books and wraps everything up in a cohesive yet bonkers way (very similar to the way AVPM managed to form a cohesive yet bonkers Harry Potter plot combining the elements/events of all 7 books). You can tell from the watch that the people writing an acting in this are Percy Jackson fans, and have read the entire series again looking for ways to reference and and joke about the series in ways that convey their enjoyment of the original series too.

It has different vibes to the official TLT musical, but somehow is just as camp? The 1st version (linked above) is a jukebox musical filmed in essentially a patch of grass with a terrace, including some classic songs: for a start, it opens with I'm Just a Kid by Simple Plan (which is pretty PJO core honestly, and really echoes that "borderline-emo borderline-teenage borderline-angst" I associate with my first readings of Percy Jackson-), and has Poker Face by Lady Gaga in the Lotus Casino scene (I think that alone should be a convincing point). The 2nd version (linked below) is updated with snazzy outfits, 2 videos for the 2 acts and an original score with some banger songs (I would recommend Achilles Heel and Nobody's Sidekick as personal favourites- particularly Achilles Heel, which I believe has some really well done lyricism and composition).

The running jokes in this show are killer, with bits like Percy repeating his age constantly ("I'M TWELVE") and Luke's age increases pretty much every time it's mentioned. If you had to watch 1, I would say watch the 2nd version just so you can appreciate the original score more, which likely reflects theythe emotions are trying to portray much better as the lyrics apply specifically to this production. For instance, there's a song called 'Backbiter' sung by Luke, the title referring to the name of Luke's sword that I find makes a very interesting comparison. You also get better audio and lighting, aspects like that that make it better to watch on youtube, as well as more running jokes. However I'm always one to appreciate the silly 2000s energy of the initial version, and it feels like something you'd do for fun with your friends (which it was for them, according to this article!). If you appreciate that energy too, then here's your recommendation to watch that version right now.

All in all, I cannot stress how fun this musical parody is, even though it seems pretty underrated- at the very least, not many people are out here referencing it on this site. I believe this deserves to be recognised in the Percy Jackson fan consciousness for its ingenuity and just general fun nature. This post probably won't reach a lot of people, but I'd like to think it reaches enough people that more of us can appreciate this adaptation online. I've seen a lot of people say in the lead up to and the release of the TV series: "FINALLY we have a good adaptation". While I am as stoked as everyone else about there being a well-made show as well now, I'd also like to remember and appreciate the adaptations that came before and left a mark on this world as good adaptations of Percy Jackson in a time where the movies were all that most people knew about, and all we thought we'd ever get in way of adaptations. Between the TLT musical and the Northern Town parodies, I believe these musicals gave us the adaptations that the unhinged PJO gang and their just-as-unhinged fan following deserve.

[zeus-japonicus]

Nemo you are the coolest please tell me more about trice forgotten linguistics

i've never felt more like 3 penguins stacked on top of one another and wearing a trenchcoat until right now - you're very sweet for indulging me, anon, here is a linguistics essay just for you.

For context, I approach linguistics from the perspective of someone who is, and has always been, tragically in love with languages and yet incapable of understanding grammar. As an example, I consider myself bilingual English with Japanese, and yet I still struggle with particles (I had to google the term for them to write this post). I know innately and strongly how to use most of them, but sometimes I'm left floundering. If I'm speaking Japanese, I think in Japanese, until I don't know the word for 'racism' and then I'm reduced to explaining what I mean like a 5 year old. Hell, I barely understand English grammar, and that's the language I have (nearly) 3 degrees in.

I was born and raised in London. I lived with my very white, very middle-class-aspiring grandma for many years. Her friends used to say to me, "your English is so good!" As an attention-seeking child, I very much took that to mean they understood I was a gifted and intelligent human - looking back, I know it's because they saw an Asian, and they were surprised I didn't speak like the Asians they'd seen parodied by white actors in film or on the radio.

Alestes desperately hunts for people who will understand her broken, child's Hokkien while, at the same time, existing as someone both Black and Asian. Fluent English is not expected of her by the society she lives in. Neither is fluent Hokkien.

I don't speak Hokkien at all, and I realise that maybe a few of you probably don't know what it is - so let's start there. I'll say here that all translation was done by my dear friend Yen Ooi, whose English-language Sci-Fi are poetic and beautiful and radical.

"Hokkien originated in the southern area of Fujian province, an important center for trade and migration, and has since become one of the most common Chinese varieties overseas. [...] Hokkien historically served as the lingua franca amongst overseas Chinese communities of all dialects and subgroups, and it remains today as the most spoken variety of Chinese [in Southeast Asia]."

I will admit, when I first started writing Trice, I defaulted to assuming Alestes and her family would speak Mandarin or Cantonese, the two more well-known Chinese languages - Cantonese especially because it's a trade-language used in many interactions with the British.

Tangentially, I was reading about the indentured Chinese people brought from Batavia (Indonesia) to Cape Colony in South Africa because I was doing research on Cape Coloured people. I'd just interviewed someone for my PhD who talked to me about their family history, which made me really think about ancestries I'd never considered before - and about trade routes beyond the Atlantic.

Then I thought about who had been ejected from China. I remembered an article written about Sek Yeong / Ching Shih - about how she lived through a combined population boom & lack of food & space and so she and people like her took to piracy on the sea. I essentially did a combo of google maps & wikipedia to look around the coast of China for places and languages that might fit who Zhu Anran was in my head.

I settled on Fujian and Hokkien because they're big - and yet absolutely obliterated in the western brain. I don't personally know of any Western media where a character speaks Hokkien - any dialect of it - it's the official language of Taiwan (side note: i did just have to google "was Taiwan ever a British colony" and was genuinely surprised it wasn't - Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese) - and as mentioned, is still a lingua franca in SEAsia - my friends who speak it are mostly Malaysian and Singaporean British people.

I think many people might assume (given our abhorrent history lessons) that a character being Fujian and Xhosa is... a rare or strange mix - but people like Alestes did exist - must have - even if there are no real records - because of how linked Cape Town and Southeast Asia were - even before British/Dutch colonisation.

I first attemped to use online Hokkien dictionaries to translate the work but kept coming across the issue of not knowing what meaning words really had - especially swears - so when I asked Yen for translation help I had a caveat: I didn't want the swears to have ableist or racist meaning. Yen told me she and her dad had an excellent conversation when they were discussing swears - [content note for the list below, there is ableist and graphic language] - from Yen:

'bo jeng sin' or 'tao hong' - these are ableists... they refer to people who are crazy or have mental conditions, so probably not.

'iau siu' - this refers to a baby that'll be born dead - so very extremely aggressive cuss word.

'han ji' - potato. My preference because I grew with this phrase around me - means a useless person.

'jiak liau bi' - a waste of rice. I love the phrase... haha. It means someone who's not worth the rice they're given - useless person. 

han ji and jiak liau bi are the ones that made it into the show. As I mentioned in my previous post, Alestes swears in Hokkien because Baker didn't know what they meant when she was a kid and so couldn't tell her off for it...

And to close us out, here's a nice translation note from Yen about Alestes' attempt to speak Hokkien to the pottery seller: "carp is one of those words that isn't commonly known. It's 'le hu' in Hokkien, but if Alestes's Hokkien isn't fluent, she probably won't know the word. She could say... 'ha mi hu', which translates to 'what fish'. When we can't remember the word for something... like a type of fish/animal, we tend to just add 'ha mi' to the front... like what cat is this? what bag is this?"

The carp story is the one thing that connects Alestes to her past - her last memory of her father - and she can't even remember the word for it in Hokkien.

(Please do go an check out Yen's novels, she also writes games, and is on twitter @ yenooi)

[jellibelli123]

This channel, ooooo!!! Fucking hell, they really went the route of Kerzgesagt in a nutshell whenever politics, specifically climate change, was a video topic. And my radar has been pinging alerts in recent videos up until this point where it went on full alert.

For those who dont know KIAN went under controversy having donors like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a foundation who has a history of publishing articles that benefit their investment interests, specifically the odd Carbon Catchers KIAN was promoting in any Climate change video as well as the typical "vote with your dollar, its your responsibility" kind of propaganda similar to the late 1900s early climate activism instead of giving real meaningful solutions LET ALONE POINTING THE BLAME ON THE ACTUAL PROBLEM MAKERS, the corporations.

That and the usual "gdp makes the world better" when its not entirely accurate let alone applicable to people who existed without gdp and lots of todays systemic problems like homelessness before getting fucking colonized and genocided, like the SikSika who Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is based off of before being edited to fit a hierarchical society because of death threats from racists. See this for more details about that specifically.

Back to the video in the image

Yeah that was this video, "Just take these three sentences as lenses and put them together to make a better world! Oh and go donate to provide real impact!" And nothing else.

Note i haven't checked who their donors are if they have any, I am pointing out that they sound 1-1 how kerzgesagt did.

But it gets worse!

Their source: Our World In Data which they basically just repeated a statement article from it's CEO (nonprofit my ass). Now in the beginning while my alarms were going off, I decided to dive into this site I've never heard about.

- I first looked at who made it, Oh oxford! Calmed me down a bit...

-oh hey who's this other guy. GCDL? Global Change Data Lab! Sounds like scientists same as Our World in Data! I take a look at them, a non profit. Ok, so who's their donors?..........well wouldn't you know it, but a primary donor is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation!! Panic

But OH IT GETS WORSE!!!!

Ignoring all that because people still do trust the B&MGF, I decide to hold these guys by their word. If they have everything statistics about the ENTIRE WORLD, surely they have stuff about Palestine?.... :3

...surely they would right?

......right???

WELL YES as a matter of fact!

Oh thank god!

Oh sweet summer child the only good thing I found was that it listed Palestine as a country, which shouldn't be a plus cause that's the bare minimum.....but a plus whatever.

Taking a deep dive into many of the graphs they have which are plentiful, I noticed the numbers...were low...and the graphs not going past the year 1950.........uh oh.

I decide to look for death graphs...found not a lot of bumps in coorilation to the many atrocities we've seen happening in real time...

Some graphs where it noted per 100,000 people, it was sometimes 10 deaths-1k deaths depending on what it was focusing on.

NOW TO THE WORST PART

I went ahead and focused on "Deaths in Interstate conflict based on where they occurred". Can you guess how much they had from the Nakba, allllll the way till now?

Nope, lower

Lowerrr

Not even close, here:

A whopping flatline...

Now surely I hear you say, I got something mixed up, scrolls a little bit

Surely I got my Intra mixed with my Inter, maybe I need to select the check marks on the side! Maybe oh maybe scrolls a little more

Oh! Gotcha there, you thought I was going to compare it to the wrong example graph for Ukraine right? Hahahahah-

.......still 80k deaths listed here too, just like in the example graph I definitely didn't almost accidentally use ahahahahahhhhhhhhhhhSILLY!!

But fr fr here's the actual graphs I almost compared incorrectly!

Note according to the site they only list something if it causes 25 deaths a year....the most that's listed on Palestine's graph is 2,287 total deaths in 2014. Not "notes about per 100k", total.

Note that Ukraine's number which I went back and hovered over the spike in 2022 when russia invaded, still shows 80k~ deaths total.

So...what gives?

Well that's just what happens when science gets boarded with Imperialism from corporations and governments; one of the oldest tales in the book of sciences history we are trying to undo today.

The data, can lie.

Always remember to ask who this benefits, my fellow leftists. Is it the people, or those in power?

Always look up opposing info where you can, especially if you are in the US...

Thank you for my ted talk that will more than likely not reach anyone but whatever! Life of a furry I guess lmao!

......anddontsaythegayfurryhactivistgroupLMAOOOO

[moveslikeanape]

oh no worries, take your time with responding if you need to! i hope you had a good time visiting family, and a happy new year.

dreamlight valley is a pretty casual and simple game as well, though it does get somewhat frequent updates and have time-limited events to get cosmetics and such. but you can currently unlock every character (except for a handful that are part of a DLC expansion) just by playing the game, and have unlimited time to complete their quests. and it's available on PC as well. it's confirmed that tiana and mulan are coming this year, so i'm excited to see them! if tarzan were ever in these games like magic kingdoms or dreamlight valley, how do you think he'd react to being in a totally unfamiliar world with so many other humans like him? do you think he'd be excited, or more nervous, or maybe a mix of both? lorcana only has one treasure planet card right now, of john silver, but the game only released a few months ago so i'm really hopeful that we'll see more treasure planet cards in the future! i'm also hoping that at some point we'll get cards for atlantis: the lost empire. ooh, that tarzan art is great though, thank you for sharing it! i saw wish in theaters and had sort of mixed feelings about it myself, but i hope you enjoy it whenever you get to see it! seeing all the different movies celebrated in the credits made me glad i stayed to watch them, and there's also a really sweet little scene after the credits that's worth watching. ooh, if you'd like to read the article i came across, here's a link to it! https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshweiss/2019/06/17/youll-be-in-our-hearts-an-oral-history-of-disneys-tarzan-for-its-20th-birthday/?sh=50c8c0ab2b74 i actually have not read the original books, or watched any other tarzan adaptations for that matter, but i've heard a handful of things about how they compare to disney's version! i've heard that the books are a lot more violent, for example, that disney fleshed out jane more and gave her more to do, and that kerchak was the one who killed tarzan's father in the books. and, of course, disney's tarzan never learns that he's the earl of greystroke because he chooses to stay in the jungle with the family who raised him. which i think is a beautiful ending despite not being true to the books. would you recommend reading them? -🌟

I did, thank you! And a very happy New Year to you as well!

Unfortunately, my computer is apparently "too old" to be able to play Dreamlight Valley. I've tried but it won't let me. It currently works perfectly for everything I need it to do, so I'm in no rush to replace it. That's awesome that Tiana and Mulan are coming this year, love those characters! I personally think Tarzan would be far more excited to learn about everything new going on around him. He may be a little cautious, but for the most part he'd probably dive right into everything.

Very excited to see what the future holds for Lorcana, every card I see looks so incredible. Atlantis would be an amazing addition, there's so much they could do with it.

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about Wish. I was really excited to see it, but Disney kind destroyed that by releasing the music. It started off fine, but the more songs I heard, the worse they got. Not a single one of my friends who have seen it liked it. Not having any expectations of liking it much myself, especially given the last few Disney movies… But if Tarzan's included in anyway (even just a small nod), I gotta see it, lol.

That was a great article, thank you so much for the link! So happy Mark Mancina was part of it, his music is so gorgeous and I've always felt he's been overshadowed by Phil Collins. Much as I love Phil, it's so nice to see Mark get the spotlight for a change.

I really enjoyed the books. Haven't been able to read all of them, but I have the first 6 and have read them all many times. They are more violent, and also have some racism and sexism. They are definitely best read if you go in keeping in mind they are a product of their time. They're over 100 years old, a very different time. The apes in the books are a fictional species, separate from gorillas. They have some human like qualities, such as ritual celebration after the vanquishing of an enemy. For both them and other animals (like lions, elephants, etc) I remember thinking he'd probably only heard of the animal and didn't know much about them (there are a LOT of lions in the jungle).

That's true about Kerchak killing Tarzan's father. Disney's Kerchak is kind of a mix between the novel's Kerchak and Tublat (Kerchak is the leader, Tublat is Kala's mate). There's another ape called Terkoz who is an enemy of Tarzan. They changed him into our Terk as a best friend. I would say Disney's Tublat from the tv series is closer to the Terkoz of the novel.

Overall I find the books very well written. I've always loved reading, but it's one of those books that somehow makes me fall even more in love with reading. It does a great job of transporting you to the jungle. I also found the characters are far more developed than I expected them to be. We have that stereotype image of Tarzan being an uncivilized brute, "me Tarzan, you Jane". But he's actually incredibly intelligent (don't want to spoil it, but the things he teaches himself!) and has better moral compass than you would image going into it. And I agree that the Disney ending is beautiful, it fits with the main themes of the movie and is truly the perfect ending to the story. But I think you would really like how it plays out in the books, Tarzan is the definition of a hero in every way.

The novel is actually also in 2 parts. You could get away with just reading the first one, but reading the second as well is definitely much more satisfying… this is making me want to read them again, lol. Better go move them to by to be read pile!

[not-poignant]

There's an essay on lithub by an author who had an octopus talking to her in her head as she wrote a novel about him, and I thought you might enjoy it. Shades of stupidhead. It's called lessons learned from a year listening to the fictional octopus in my head

Hi anon!

I've been sent the link to this a few times already (a lot of people know I love cephalopods, and that I do work with spiritual and non spiritual animal teachers - I literally run and write this website about animal meanings and animal teachers)!

I found it interesting, though I didn't really connect specifically with the article (I had more of a detached 'oh neat this is something I've seen a lot of people do before' reaction).

I think it's really cool that the writer was able to have these processes and this experience, and was able to talk to an aspect of themselves - it's a thing a lot of people (especially people who work with animals on a spiritual level) have experienced and do, whether it's an inner wolf, or snail, or spider etc. It's pretty cool, 100% not a unique phenomenon, but it's just awesome that we got a cool article that markets a book about it. :D

It reminds me a lot of Internal Family Systems parts work, where you can - among other things - sometimes let a part take on a voice, or it does it anyway, and then you have literal conversations with aspects of yourself. Those sorts of internal dialogue systems are awesome, and it's a great phenomenon for self-communication, and doing it through the symbolism of an animal avatar can be really powerful, because you can ascribe characteristics of that animal to your inner voice (or it can self-ascribe), and sometimes make the voice more appealing or at least understandable because of it.

I have an inner wolverine that's been leaving commentary around the place in my life for easily over 15 years. In that sense, it can even be used as a deliberate technique for self-communication, esp if you have a fragmented sense of self. It's why some people are super drawn to spiritual animal work, they just have always connected to animals better than people, and then realised they could communicate to themselves through animals, even in their own heads.

Anyway, tl;dr, very cool article, I'm happy for the author and her self-acceptance as a writer, and that she can share that (and her book/s) with others too. :D

[clearlydiamondz]

New Partners

Erik Stevens x Black!Reader

---------------------

(Y/N) and Erik are partnered up on a mission. After getting stuck together, things get a little heated between the two.

Warning: Cursing, SMUT, 18+ Content, Semi Fight Scene, mention of infertility, self harm

---------------------

(Y/N) looked around the table with men as she rolled her eyes. So many men sitting here with their pride so far up their ass, it was showing in their face. She knew they had a problem with her being here, but it was more that just that. She was one of the best assassins this organization had to offer. They were intimidated by that. Who wouldn’t be. 

You were on of the girls that escaped the Red Room. That’s right. You were a black widow, trained along side the infamous Natalia Romanova. Better known as Natasha Romanoff. After loosing you’re home from S.H.I.E.L.D, you joined this organization. Just one thing threw it off. You were the only women here. Even though you irked something in their head, they couldn’t help but find you sexy. The only person in here who’s never given her a hard time was Erik. 

Erik was to himself. He didn’t speak to no one unless it was call for for a mission. He was just to himself.

“Good morning everyone.” Your boss Ricky came in as you put your phone away. “I’m going to keep this meeting short and simple. We heard a big deal going around the streets that some of the alien space craft parts from the attack on New York in 2012 is floating around the black market. We will be attending a bidding so that we can get those parts in our hands. Each of you guys here have been handpicked by me because you are  one of the best that we have here.” he said. 

After going her case file, she saw that was playing the role of Isabella Hardaway.  The wife of Simone Hardaway. She looked at all the information that was given to her. 

After the meeting, she was walking to her office when she felt someone tap her shoulders. She turned around seeing Erik standing there with his arms cross. It looked as if she just came back from a mission considering he had all of his tactical gear on. 

“I am going under as Simone Hardaway. Meet me at my office to discuss details before you go on lunch..” Was all he said before stepping away. She turned around walking back to her office and shutting the door. 

--------------------

Before her lunch break, she walked to Erik's office knocking on the door. She heard a come in before walking into his office. The first thing she noticed was the interior of it. Everything was black and gold. It smelled good in her, kind of like Pine Cone. And he had a lot of Wakandian artifacts. The only reason she knew about it was because back in the red room she would read all types of articles and books about Wakanda. 

“You have a very nice office..” she trailed off. 

“Let’s just talk about the mission, yeah?” he said. She nodded. 

“Sure.”

Erik was a cutie. She was always attracted to the guys who didn't say much. Due to some research, she knew it was always the niggas that didn't talk a lot knew had to handle business.

And there was nothing more than she wanted for him to handle her...

----------------------

(Y/N) rode the elevator back to the quarters that same night. It was time for them to start the plan and she was only a couple of  minutes late. As the doors opened, she walked into the building and instantly everyone's eyes were on her.

She ignored their stares as she went to the tactic room grabbing the gear that she needed. As she was signing out her equipment, Erik came beside her leaning against the wall. 

“You’re late.” he simply said as she looked up at him giving him a fake smile. She closed booklet before looking at him standing up fully. 

“Sorry but I have to look the part of a billionaire.” she said then looked at herself. “It just doesn’t happen sweet heart.” she finished before walking out the room. Erik turned around as she walked past him, looking at her backside as she walked outside the door.  

There was no hesitation that Erik wanted to have his way with her. She was fine, smart and witty. She’s been working here a little over two years now and this was the first time he could actually talk to her. Even the first time on a mission. 

They received their instructions sitting in the back of the limo, riding to the place where they were doing the bidding at. (Y/N) was looking over the notes she had tucked into her clutch before Erik spoke up. 

“You shouldn’t hide the notes in your hand bag.” he said in a suggestive tone as she looked at him. 

“I’m not. I just bring it with me so that I could go over everything before the mission.” she said folding it and tucking it under the seat. He shook his head chuckling. She looked at him raising an eyebrow. “Oh wow.. he actually laughs. Someone record this.” she said shaking her head.

“Anyways...” he trailed off turning around and looking at him. “There are somethings that you need to know about this place. It’s heavenly guarded. Metal detectors everywhere. So.. those weapons you have is useless.” he said. 

“Yeah I figured that out. But that’s why I have this.” she pulled her dress up to see a knife strapped to her thigh. Erik wasn’t really focused on the knife, more of how full her thighs looked. Damn, he wouldn’t mind being in between those thighs and getting lost. She pulled it back down, Erik not making it noticeable that he wasn’t paying attention at all. 

“A knife. You are going up against a bunch of men with guns... and your defense is a knife?” he asked pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Oh.. you have a lot to learn my friend.” 

-----------------

They inserted the hall, their arms linked with each other. “Their holding the parts on the 5th floor but it’s heavily guarded.” They heard in their coms. 

“We need to make our presence known a little bit, then we can sneak off.” she told him as he nodded.

“Ah, you must be  Simone and Isabella, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” An Italian man walked up to them. Erik reached his hand out for him to shake.

"Ah, you must be Giovanni." Erik said to him as (Y/N) shook his hand.

"Oh wow, you're even beautiful in person." he winked at her. Deep inside, she was disgusted. But she had to play along with the roll.

"Oh stop, you're making me blush." she playfully said as he smirked at her.

"Well the bidding is going to start an hour so make yourselves comfortable." he said. They were left alone as Erik whispered in her ear.

"We need to get back there before they start bidding." he said as she nodded.

"I memorized the floor plan of the place. There is a hallway on the left side of the building behind the bar. It should direct us back there." she said. They saw the entrance was blocked by two guards standing there with AK-47s.

"Yeah, but those big ass niggas standing in the way." he said as she smirked at him.

"Well, all we need is a distraction." she said to him as he leaned back in the chair. "What do you mean you have a plan?"

"Just follow my lead..."

- - - - - - - -

She walked to Fabian tapping his shoulder. He turned around about to snap until he saw who it was. "Oh, Mrs. Hardaway. Is everything alright?" he asked placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Actually, one of your guests here have been incredibly rude to me. A-And it's just making me and my husband a bit uncomfortable and I really just don't appreciate it." she said shaking her head.

"Who!?"

She pointed in the direction where a man by the name of Rodney stood. She knew who he was. Rodney was one of the dudes that ran a drug ring on the West Coast near Compton. He was a hot head that didn't mind popping off on anyone at any minute.

Mixed with Giovanni, who didn't think with his head but his fist. If this was going to be a distraction, she didn't know what was.

"Aye, what the fuck Rodney!" Giovanni yelled walking over to him. "Why the fuck you're being a bitch!?" he exclaimed as Rodney eyes went wide with pure anger.

"Nigga who the fuck are you calling a bitch, bitch."

And they fell right into place. The two guards standing at the door ran to the commotion as Erik walked calmly to the back door. She followed as they ran down the hallway.

"See, easy work." she said to him as he shook his head.

"No you're just lucky that the two of them don't know how to control their emotions." she responded as she shrugged.

"Same thing." He followed her as the posted behind a wall. She turned her head to see more guards standing at the entrances. She turned to look at Erik putting up five fingers to tell him that there were five guards.

She dug into her purse grabbing the penny electricity lock before turning around smirking at Erik. She flipped it around the corner before she heard the groans.

"Yo.. you're fucking crazy." he shook his head as she smirked.

"Okay, well look where it got us." she said walking down the hall. She picked up the guns only to see that they were digitally activated. "What kind of..." she whispered looking at this.

"Yeah we can't use these." Erik said looking over her shoulder.

"Whelp the only form of weaponry is my knife so let's get this thing rolling." They grabbed the key card opening the door letting themselves inside. Erik shut the metal door before he walked in shutting the metal doors.

"I have a feeling that Ricky only sent me on this mission for the if it goes wrong because it seems like you got this figured out." Erik said leaning against the table. She dug into her purse grabbing a pair of tweezers before she chuckled. "

"I've seen you're record file, you have some pretty impressive stunt work under your feet." she said as he tilted his head to the side.

"So you stalked me?"

"No, I was just making sure that Ricky didn't put me with an idiot. And he has not." she said cutting the wires to the safe. She heard the air exit the safe before Erik opened the safe. He grabbed the piece as (Y/N) looked at it.

"That's it? It literally just looks like scrap metal." she said as he nodded.

"Well, this is what we need so-"

"Hands up!" Both of them turned around to see a guard standing at the door. "Put it down and step away from the safe." he said as she looked at Erik. He placed it on the ground before the guard walked further inside.

"Alright, lift your dress up."

"Nigga what the fuck?'

"Excuse me?"

"I'm the one with gun here, lift it up." he said as she nodded.

"You don't have to do this? I mean-"

"Shut up! Lift it." she nodded, faking pouting. She lifted up her dress before grabbing the knife aiming it at his arm than throwing it making him drop the gun.

"What the-" Erik punched him the nose the nose before flipping him on his back, grabbing his arm and bending it before she heard a crack. Before he could scream, Erik punched him again in the face as his eyes went shut and he laid limped on the floor. She grabbed the wreckage before smiling at him.

"A bunch of men with guns.. and you bring a knife?" she mocked him as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah.. okay. You can handle yourself. I like that." he said licking his lips as she raised her eyebrows.

"Don't look at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like that. You lookin at me with some, 'I wanna fuck you' eyes." she said as he smirked.

"Maybe I do."

"Boy bye. You wouldn't know what to do with all this even if it came with instructions. Now come on." she said walking out with a sway in her hips.

"Damn..."

- - - - - - - - -

They were outside walking to the limo when the agent on the phone started talking. "Change of plans you guys. They found that there has been a breach with the stuff. So you guys have to stay in character. We guys got you a hotel downtown." they heard as Erik mumbled a 'shit'.

"Well let's get out of here before they think of something?" he said, she agreeing. They got into the car before the limo driver pulled off.

They made it to the five star hotel and settled into their rooms before she sighed. "We don't even have clothes." she groaned as he shrugged.

"I sleep naked anyways." he said walking into the bathroom. 

“By the way, they have the room wired just in case something goes left!” she yelled out for him but he didn’t hear her. She smacked her teeth before taking off her shoes. I mean she did too, but sleeping next to him. She wasn't going to lie, she was a bit intimidated by him. But oh well. 

As she waited for him to get out the shower, she went through some paperwork she bought with her before she stripped from her gown laying it on the sofa that was in the living room. She grabbed a whiskey glass from the bar before pouring herself a glass of crown royal that Erik purchased. She drink a little more before she felt herself have a little buzz. 

  She had a wet rag wiping the make up off when he stepped out of the bathroom. She didn’t even notice the shower stopped running. He had the tower wrapped around his waist before looking her up and down. She noticed the scars that sat over his body. 

Damn that shit looked sexy... 

He wasn’t hiding that he was checking her out. His eyes traced over her frame. His tongue traced his bottom lip as he looked up at her. He looked further down noticing the scar above her abdomen. 

“What happened to you?” They both said at the same time.

“I said it first.” she said quickly, as he rolled his eyes. 

“Do you want the simple version or the extended version.” he said crossing his arms over his chest. “Extended version?”

“It’s just something that I did to myself to remind me how many people I killed. You know, never make me loose sight of who I really am. Also to remind myself of what I can become.” he responded honestly. 

“You did that to yourself?” she asked, shocked. He nodded. “And you call me crazy...” she said as he chuckled. 

“And you?”

“Do you want the simple version or the extended version?” she asked him. 

“Extended.” 

“So, I grew up in the program called the red room.” she started. 

“Oh yeah. I heard about that shit. That’s why you’re so good at what you do.. huh?” he said as she nodded. 

“Yeah, well anyways. At your graduation ceremony, we had this procedure done. They told us it was just tying tubes so you don’t mess up and get pregnant. But turns out, they took... everything.”

“Ohh...” he trailed off. “That’s-”

“Yeah, It sucks. I want my life to be more than just this. I want to have a kid one day but that’s never going to happen so.. yeah.” she responded.  

“Damn, I’m so sorry.” She didn’t want to end so awkwardly, so she used a little bit of her dark humor. Something she did to avoid having to dig into her feelings.

“But on the bright side, I don’t have periods. The sex is amazing, well depending on the person I’m fucking.” she responded as he squinted his eyes. 

“Why you say that?”

“Well, if their clean, I don’t need protection. And sex is best when it’s raw.” she winked at him.  His eyebrows raised with a sense of caution. He didn’t know if that was a sign or something, but he took it as one.

“Well, I need to get going into the shower.” she walked passed him, walking into the bathroom before turning around and shutting the door. Apart of her wished that he would turn around and follow her inside but she knew he would never do that.

She stripped naked before turning the water to a comfortable temperature. After that, she stepped in letting the water drip down her skin. The water pressure in the shower was no joke.

While she was in her own little world, lathering her body up, she didn’t even notice that Erik came into the bathroom with her. He took the towel off placing it on the sink before putting his hands on the glass. She still didn’t notice that he was in the bathroom with her. Erik wanted that.

He slid the door open, (Y/N) turning around in shock to see him standing there. Dick standing tall and him breathing hard. (Y/N) was stuck. Here he is, one of the sexiest man she has ever laid eyes on, is butt naked in the shower with her. Something took over her as she wrapped her tiny hands around his dick slowly stroking it up and down.

“You want this dick, (Y/N)?” Oh his voice was deep deep. “Once I start I ain’t going back. I plan on ruin your little ass.” he said as she looked up at him.

“That’s what I want..” she whispered to him. She leaned forward placing a kiss in his chest before making her way down, placing kisses all the way until she was face to face with the monster.

His dick was just as beautiful as him. Long and thick, a vein very noticeable and his tip leaking out with ore cum. “You want this pussy?” she asked him, putting her hand down there rubbing her clit in a circular motion. “She stay wet and ready to take some big dick like this..” she whispered kissing along his dick. He clenched his jaw as he leaned against the shower wall.

“Keep talking like that. Watch me fuck that mouth of yours.” he warned her as she smirked. She wrapped lips around the tip, swirling her tongue around it collect all of the syrup he had to offer. Sweet but tangy. She liked it.

She slowly made her way down his dick as he closed his eyes throwing his head back. “Yeah... you know what you doin. Show me what ya little freaky ass got.” he said to her. She wrapped her other hand around the base stroke it as she sucked him properly. It was nice and slow. For her sake, this man was big. Way too big to fit in her mouth. She don’t even know how she managed to get this much of him.

“You’re so big Erik.. you sure it’s gonna fit in this tight ass pussy?” she asked him as he chuckled.

“You should be asking yourself that question. I’m digging in that shit no matter-ooh.” his sentence was cut short when she started to stroke him faster while sucking his dick. “Show off then. Little nasty bitch, I love me a nasty bitch. Play with that pussy. I want the shit dripping down my chin when I eat that shit you hear me?” he said as she nodded.

“Yes sir.” Oh that made his dick jump. She noticed the little peak of excitement before smirking to herself. She focused her attention on his dick before letting him fuck her mouth. Her hands were on the floor as he grabbed her hair keeping her still as he attacked her throat.

“Fuck! Your shit is dangerous ma!” With a final thrust, he came all down her throat. It came out of no where and she coughed. She wasn’t no bitch though and swallows it.

“Swallow all that shit.” he directed her. He saw her swallow it before smirking. “Stick ya tongue out.” she stuck her tongue out before he grabbed her by the throat pulling her to her foot. Within a split second, he had his tongue down her throat. He sucked on her tongue, tongue gliding along each other as she moaned.

“I know, I’m finna play in that pussy right now. I know she’s wet.” (Y/N) stuck her tongue out once more as he looked at her confused until it finally hit him.

This is just one nasty bitch... yeah he definitely keeping up with this one.

He spat in her mouth as she smiled bringing him into a soul crushing kiss. “Go put your leg on the counter, I’m hungry and I want some of that pussy.” he told her as she smiled in content. She opened the glass door before stepping out. He followed her to the counter as she placed her leg on the counter stretching out. He walked behind her wrapping his arms around her waist. She felt his hard dick rubbing against her thighs as she leaned back against him. With his other hand, he rubbed her ass then giving it a slap.

She gasped then moaned as he smirked at you. "You like that, don't you?" he said as she nodded. His fingers traced around further before he was rubbing her clit from the back.

"You got this wet just by sucking my dick?" he asked her a she nodded.

"Yes.. I love sucking dick." she told him as he smirked.

"Yeah, slutty ass." Unexpectedly, he dipped his finger in her pussy as she gasped. Damn this nigga have some thick ass fingers.

"Shit you tight.. you sure she can take all this dick." he said rubbing his dick against her ass as she nodded.

"Yes I can take it- ooh." she moaned closing her eyes throwing her head back. He curved his finger hitting her G-Spot as she moaned.

"Fuck daddy, Right there. Shit!" she gasped out as he kissed her shoulder. His pace went faster as she felt a pressure in her abdomen. "I'm going to cum.." she whispered.

"Yeah, let me get that." he said as she smirked. A couple of seconds later, she came all over his fingers. He kept going like nothing ever happened. She was overly sensitive, and he could tell bu the slight shake she had.

"Fuck... Erik wait." she gasped as he shook his head laughing.

"Nah, all that fucking teasing you did. Keep your leg up. Don't fucking move." He bent down gliding his tongue along her folds as she fluttered her eyes shut.

Erik moaned as her wetness dripped down to his tongue. He thought it was damn near impossible for someone to be this wet but here she is like a faucet. He stood up as she placed her foot on the ground. He turned her around lifting her up and sitting her on the counter. She bit her lip looking at him as he shook his head.

"It doesn't make any fucking sense how wet this pussy is.." he said to her. He grabbed his dick rubbing his tip along the fold as he sighed in pleasure.

"Stop teasing me.."

"Don't tell me what the fuck to do." he grunted at her. He teased her a bit more before entering his slowly.

"Fuck..." she whispered out as he stretched her out. "Fuck you're filling me up."

Erik on the other hand went silent. He was in complete shock about this. He slowly started to thrust as she gripped the counter top for support.

"Good ass pussy, this my shit here. You understand?" he said as she nodded.

"Yes.. oh my god." she groaned. She put her hands between their bodies, rubbing her clit in circular motions. "Faster please." she moaned a nodded. He started to fuck her faster, the sounds bouncing off the bathroom walls.

"Fuck..."he groaned picking her up. He walked out into the room, pushing her against the wall, thrusting faster into her. She let out a loud scream before he kissed her to muffle the noise.

"Fuck baby... you beating my shit up."

"Like I'm suppose to. You hear her, making all that fucking noise." he said a she nodded.

"Talk to me."

"Yes, I hear her!" she moaned.

"Yeah, she like that shit. Slutty ass pussy.." he grunted. She bit his shoulder in attempt to keep her from screaming.

"I-I think I'm about to cum." she whispered as he smiled. "Let me feel that shit." With a tight squeeze, she released all on him as she hit her head against the wall.

"FUCK!" she groaned. Her body shook once more as he carried her to the bed. He flipped her on her stomach before arching her back.

"We not done.. far from it." he said. Without warning, he thrusted fully into her, thrusting into her at a fast pace. She bit the sheet as she moaned. Tears rolled down her eyes as she let the pleasure overwhelm her.

"What happened to me not being able to handle yo ass? What was that shit you was talking?" he taunted her. Now it was her turn to be stuck. He grabbed a fist full of her hair, pulling her back to his chest. He laid his chin on her shoulder whispering in her ear. "Answer me when I'm talking to you? You got some good dick and now you can't talk?"

"Baby.. please." she whispered as he smiled at her. Oh that shit was wicked.

"Baby please what? I can already feel that pussy tugging on my shit. You about to cum again?"

"YES!" she screamed as he smacked her ass. "Stay just like that while I bust this nut all in your guts bitch." he grunted letting go of her hair. The pressure came quick again, and within a couple of seconds she squirting all over him and the bed. She lost balance falling into the bed with him following her.

It triggered his own orgasm as he let his cum drip deep inside of her. "Fuck!" he grunted out as she spasmed a bit feeling it.

"We ain't done..." he whispered to her as she groaned.

- - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, in the control room, the entire team was in shock. At first they were confused.

"It's silent, why can't we hear them?" Ricky said as one of the tech geeks, James, started typing away.

"Everything seem to be connected. We don't know. We can hear the shower running..." he said as Ricky stood up biting his nail.

"Maybe we should-"

"Fuck daddy, Right there. Shit!" They heard that shit loud and clear.

"Uhhh...." James awkwardly said. It was silent for a few moments before the heard smacking noises. That's when they heard a loud scream.

"Fuck baby... you beating my shit up."

"Like I'm suppose to. You hear her, making all that fucking noise."

"Should we turn it off?" James said about to push the mute button.

"Just put them on low. We can't risk not hearing anything if something happens." Ricky said, his face in utter disgust. "Jesus Christ..." he said walking away shaking his head.

- - - - - - - -

The next morning, they woke up to a loud banging on the door. (Y/N) shot up looking around to see Erik laying next to her snoring." She grabbed the robe that the hotel provided wrapping it around her body. She ran to the door to see guards standing outside of her door. She opened it.

"Oh well how can I help you gentlemen?" she asked smiling at them.

"We are reporting to all the guests that was at the bid last night. Some artifacts was stolen from us." she said as she gasped.

"What? Oh my goodness, who would do such a thing?" she asked.

"Well we suspect you two. You guys aren't really together are-"

"Everything alright baby?" Erik came into view as they looked at him in shock. Not because of his scars but because all of the hickies and scratch marks that was over his body. They took notice of the ones that you had on your neck.

"No, they are accusing of us of not being together! They think we stole some artifacts from that place. Well I tell-"

"So why were you the first ones to leave?" he asked as she scoffed.

"After that fight, we decided that it was out of control and unprofessional. We can take our business else where." she said rolling her eyes. "Y'all don't have any cameras or security. Just ghetto if you ask me."

"We did have cameras, they were all out."

"So you're accusing us of stealing? We don't need to steal."

"Do you want us to show our wedding pictures? Because we-"

"Actually Mrs. Hardaway, we don't have any more questions. We are sorry for bothering you." he said. She slammed the door in their face before turning around.

"I'm surprise you can even walk."

"Shut the hell up."

- - - - - - -

They made it back to the quarters for the briefing. After the briefing Ricky went to your office to talk to you and Erik. "First I would like to say congratulations. You guys did an excellent job." he smiled at the two.

"Well you know I always try my best." (Y/N) said smiling back to him.

"And another thing. If you know the room is wired, please be a little more quiet when you guys do the do. It's very uncomfortable." he said before walking out. (Y/N) eyes went wide as Erik chuckled shaking his head.

"I totally forgot that it was wired..." she said putting her hands in her face.

"To be honest... I realized half way through but I was like fuck it." he laughed as she threw a pen at him but he caught it. "While we're on topic, I need to finish up my report. But meet me in the quiet room in an hour. I want some more." he told her and with that he left.

Damn...

[sun-aries]

Hi, I read your novel to the end! I thought it would be hard to talk about the novel comment, so I came to Tumblr! It's the first time I've ever seen a story that's so stable. I like your story so much that I keep going to see your story even if it's finished. I like TP zelink's story where you wrote each letter, and I like it because it feels like I respected and cared about each person's story. I feel this novel is the best novel now, but it's not forever. A lot of time will go by and there will be more great stories. But what doesn't change after more time than that is the fact that the first novel that comes to mind when you say "TP zelink's novel" to me is your story. I didn't know, but there was a long hiatus in the middle of this novel. Thank you for completing this story even though it's been a long time! You did a great job writing. Take a good rest and tell me if you are planning to do a new work!(Whispering)

Um…For your information, this article is translated by a translator, so it might be a little weird!

It's just my curiosity from here.

1. How many more children will Zelink finally have? 2. I wonder what kind of child Sun will grow up to be! 3. Are you interested in releasing more episodes about Zelda's pregnancy with epilogue?( If you don't like this, I'm really, really sorry. I just want to see the restless link to Zelda…)

Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote it. I think it would be a burden to put too long comments, but surprisingly, this is a reduced amount. Then I'll finish writing. You did a great job reading up to here, and I really, really like your work! Bye for now

Aww this is soo frickin' sweet! 🥰 I don't even know how to begin haha! Thank you so much! ❤️ It means so much to me that you enjoyed BMTR so much. Hearing that people reread it is one of my favorite things to hear (I'm the same way 😂 I reread all my favorite fanfics)

To answer your questions:

Honestly I think that they'd probably have a lot of children! I see them with like at least 3 kids, but I'm thinking more like 5. Just cause Link's from Ordon and grew up around lots of kids, I think he'd love to just be surrounded by a big family and Zelda's all for it

I think Sol would probably be more like Link: very curious and adventurous, and eventually a very good swordsman. But I think he would be smart and cunning like Zelda

I would definitely be willing to write one-shots on this couple! I was thinking of doing like a collection or opening up requests on Tumblr if someone has any ideas. (Zelda's pregnancy is a great one and I'll definitely try and whip something up!) I love this couple and now that I'm done the story, I'd like to continue writing either for them or other Zelink pairings!

Your comment is so lovely! I honestly love longer comments so don't worry haha! Thank you so much ❤️this made my day

[tipsydipsydo]

Der Geliebte

Pairing: Jungkook x artist! Reader

Gender of the Reader: female

Word Count: 6.4k 

Rating: 16+

AU: non idol! Jungkook x artist! Reader AU!

Genre: strangers to lovers AU; friends to lovers AU! (idiots to lovers AU!); love at the first sight! AU; soulmate to lovers! AU (kinda?); unbelievable amount of fluff; a little angst (fluffy angst!!,); tiny amount of smut (one paragraph xD)

Warnings: tiny bit of smut/some sexual tension between both of them; Jungkook is a poor shy thing and is fucking nervous around the reader all the time; teeth rotting fluff; both are so in love with each other that they’re getting stupid to not realize it; both are insecure that they’re not meant for another... just fluff, fluff, fluff and painfully obvious pining over each other! 

A/N: Hallelujah, I finally did it! After I made Sibi @borathae​ wait over three months for her Christmas + Birthday Fanfic I finished it two weeks to late for my sweetest Darlings Birthday! I am so incredibly sorry that I made you wait for such a long time and really, Sweetie, you have all the rights to be still mad at my stupid ass! Nevertheless... I love you so goddamn much and I hope the fic made at least a little bit up for it... Love you!!!! 💕 💕 

Summary: You and Jungkook met right at the first day you opened your own atelier in Seoul after you had to leave your old home behind you. You love paint canvas with landscape motives, other people just roll with their eyes when they hear that you choose such usual, almost boring things to paint. Not so Jungkook, he seems to be different than most of visitors. It’s almost like he can read your feelings through your paintings...

Status: Edited (I am sorry for any still existing errors in here!) 

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「© tipsydipsydo」

This following story is my intellectual property and belongs only to my blog tipsydipsydo.tumblr.com!

I’ll not accept any kind of reposting, stealing or using/editing my work!

That includes reposting my content on other social media platforms too, even when you link me as the original author.

Thank you.

* Jungkook’s POV * 

"In what are you getting yourself into, Jungkook?"

 I quietly ask myself as I get rid of my clothes behind the paravent and throw the dressing gown over his body which you laid out for me. My hands are sweaty, they tremble slightly and my heart beats wildly, as if it wants to jump right out of my chest. Excitement spreads throughout my body, leaving a faint feeling in my stomach and a certain blush rises in my cheeks. I still can't believe what I've gotten myself into . But... you looked at me so pleadingly with your dear and downright innocent eyes that I would have done anything for you with that look of yours. I want to make you happy, see that happy and contented smile on your lips, which always makes a whole horde of wild butterflies break out in my belly. 'Normally I was the shyness and silence in person and with you... with her, I feel for the first timesomething like peace and security. Especially when I consider how shy I usually am around women.', I ask myself and I don't really know the answer to that. But what can I do against my feelings? I don't really know, on the one hand they scare me, on the other hand they feel so exciting and new that I don't want to eliminate them at all.

I don't even know exactly when the whole thing started. In which moment my feelings for you grew, when I felt more than just fascination and admiration for you and your artwork. Six months ago, a small studio had opened in my district, your own studio. On the day of the opening I simply went to it of pure curiosity, I had always had such a weakness for art and photography.

I can still remember exactly how I stood in front of one of your works and was literally speechless and overwhelmed by this picture and all his small details. This painting represents a classic image of the countryside, which was often to be found everywhere. But this work was different. So full of small details and ornaments. It was so much more... As a viewer you can see a beautiful clearing, which is surrounded by trees and protected from too many curious eyes. The ground of this clearing is overgrown with dense and lush green grass, which from the incoming sunlight almost invites you to let yourself fall into the grass. It reminds me instantly of my carefree childhood, when I rolled in it without overthinking my actions too much and those times when I playfully wrestled with my best friends around until our clothes had grass stains all everywhere. I could almost smell the scent of wild, untamed nature. The longer I look at the picture, the greater the longing became. Maybe I could visit this beautiful place one day, together with my partner, my significant other. Playing around with each other, chasing your beloved one until you fall into the grass breathless laughing and cuddling. Maybe we could have a picnic there and feed each other with homemade sweets? 

I didn’t know that such a "simple" landscape painting could touch and awaken so much more in me, in my soul. Suddenly, such a wanderlust came over me that I gasped for air and a heavy lump formed in my throat. My whole body was tingling and my heart was literally screaming to get away from this dreadfully grey and monotonous daily routine of my boring single life, for at least some weeks. I want to go to this place, where I could draw the warm and fresh, natural air could deep into my lungs and pamper myself with homemade delicacies. Just to let the soul dangle and don’t stuck with my closely clocked work life. Maybe sleep until 10 o'clock in the morning and then maybe have a nice nap later. Enjoy the warm nights and hear the crickets chirping. This longing was... irrepressible. This particular wanderlust for nature, just to be out of the city, this longing for exactly this abandoned and untouched forest clearing literally overwhelmed me. What was it for an artist who could trigger such feelings and emotions in me?

I had been so absorbed in the artwork that I had not even noticed that a person step next to me. "Do you like the work?", asked a soft melodic voice, which spoke perfect Korean, but was pervaded by a light accent, which I could not quite assign. I flinched a little, but this bright, happy laugh gave me a tingling goosebumps all over my body. What a beautiful laugh... I turned to the person who was the owner of this beautiful voice. I was startled when I realized that the artist and owner of this studio was standing in front of me personally. I recognized her again, as I had seen a small photo of her in the newspaper article that drew my attention to this beautiful studio in the first place. Already in this picture she had radiated something so strong, colorful, cheerful and lively, which caused an excited flutter in my stomach. 

I admit, I already laid an eye on her just by her appearance. Unfortunately I always had a hard time getting to know people ever since, let alone to talk to women. And now having you, Y/N, personally standing right in front of me, made me feel fluffy and excited in my stomach. Nothing is left of this otherwise so sassy and self-confident  man that I used to be. Only a nervous and stodgy twenty-three-year-old idiot, who did not know what to say or wanted to say, now stands in front of this stunningly pretty and intelligent woman.

Her eyes sparkles like jewels, full of joy, struck me with interest and a playful smile lays on her lips. "Did you not understand my question?", she asked kindly, but nobly reserved. Immediately a rosy puff settled on my cheeks and I stuttered nervously: "Y-Yes, excuse me! I... I was just somewhere else with my thoughts and was completely surprised that they were addressing me personally.... Your works are truly unique! They still show such ‘usual’ motifs and yet they are so special because of these finely elaborated details and this passion with which this work of art was painted. They really are... Unique artworks that you do not forget so quickly. Even for untrained eyes as my owns, I can see that a talented artist has worked on it. I am very impressed by your work, especially this work here!" You could hear the honest admiration from my voice and my heart leapt as she reacted bashful to all of my compliments.

"Thank you, really, thank you so much! I really appreciate to hear such nice words like yours, even if it is rare. I am often criticized for my ‘lack of creativity’, caused by my chosen motives. I just love the rough, almost untouched landscapes of my hometown, I try to depict the ‘normal’ as something beautiful, unique. I would like to ‘really see’ what we already take for granted again. As a wonderful creation, a work of art. Nature is a wonderful example of this, or the architecture of buildings as well. Architects are also artists, although unfortunately they are not seen as such. I just want to offer the obvious things a more meaningful space again.... People like you have become rare. I have observed how you have recognized the true meaning, this beauty and aesthetics in such a ‘usual-looking’ motif. And this pleases me so much that you can read 'between the brushstrokes'. Oh... Excuse me, I always talk way too much when someone shows an interest in art or music, my personal passions. Besides that, I have not introduced myself to you yet, I am Y/N! I was obviously so pleased to see your understanding, empathetic look at this work, if you understand what I mean... Anyway... I can guess that you knew my name already, don't you? What about you? May I know your name?", asked you, beautiful artist, with her really stunning smile.

I swallowed nervously, never before had a young lady mixed my emotions so much in me. Even the picture of her in the newspaper article, which I had read out of boredom in one of my lectures, got me so emotionallyconfused. I didn't want to say it in front of my teasing friends, but I had been really excited when I set off this Friday night. And now the creator of these works of art stood before me and seemed to want to have a longer conversation with me. My heart beats to my throat and I got sweaty hands from this nervousness in my poor body. Honestly, as soon as I wasn't surrounded by my clique of friends, I automatically turned into a nervous, slightly abashed blushing and stuttering guy who behave like an inexperienced teenager. 

In private life, without my best mates by the side, I am not so confident and daredevil. After all, I always had someone who could cover my back when things get tough, while I am on my own without anyone I know. You could usually only believe and trust, not control. That's probably why I struggled with interpersonal relationships. I always overthink too much and have some struggles with my self-confidence.

And now this attractive young woman looked at me with such interest and joy, just me. I was actually the reason for her interest. A joyful and blissful tingling seized every pore, every fiber of my body. Yes, in fact it was just me! Not my best buddy Seokjin, whom I have known since childhood and always sought the attention of everyone. It was no exaggeration to say that he was perhaps a little narcissistic, but only to cover up his own insecurities. Never would I have thought that someone would manage to get this personification of self-love under control. I admired his wife for standing up to Seokjin and keeping him and his dad Jokes at bay. Believe it or not, she of all people had the pants on in the house and knew how to deal with my best friend.

My gaze glided over the figure of the person in front of me and once again I took a sharp breath. I was so nervous to face her personally, a person I already deeply admired and had quite a respect for. I simply did not want to do anything wrong, even if this charm of hers was almost tangible and paralyzed my entire brain with its function. I can already picture how my mind waved wildly goodbye to myself and went to the summer holiday in the Caribbean.

This carefree smile and these beautiful eyes harmonized wonderfully with your complexion. Your features were awake and alive, seemingly always a slight smile surrounded the corners of your mouth, which provoked almost paradoxical reactions in my body. Your smile awake countless butterflies to flutter around in my stomach, which made me quite nervous and at the same time you radiated such a sense of security and calm, as if there was no reason not to get a word out of shyness. My gaze, which I hope examined you unobtrusively enough, wandered to your hands. You had long fingers, I could really imagine how they elegantly held the handle of the paint brushes and worked on these small details extensively in such a calm behavior. Which satisfied and concentrated calmness you possibly radiated while doing that...

A small, noble clearing of your throat again tore me out of my fantasies and speculations. God, what was I today but inattentive! How rude I must have seemed to you...

"Oh, sorry... I... I have not been able to keep my thoughts together all day..." I lied to seem at least a little more credible. Nervously, I pulled on the knot of my tie to loosen it up a little before I have a circulatory collapse. Before I went here, I thought for a long time about what I should wear for this occasion. Jeans and T-shirt were out of the question, too casual and almost an insult for your atelier. A complete suit, however, seemed too overdressed to me and so I decided for a black dress pants and a dark blue dress shirt.Understanding, Y/N nodded and gave me a cheering smile, which made my body tingle again. This woman drove me half crazy alone with his friendly gestures. How could it be that this polite lady got me confused right away?!

And somehow, it gave me a frenzy to leave my secure, anonymous side as a visitor to her exhibition and irrevocably reveal my true identity to you.

"My name is Jeon Jungkook."I answered in a slightly trembling voice, hardly daring to look into her eyes and rubbing my neck unobtrusively.

* Jungkook’s POV *

If only I had guessed what would change in me, how you changed me. That so much more would develop from a pure interest and a simple formal business contact... that you want to make me one of your artworks.

I take another deep breath before I dare to step out from behind the dark red paravent. It is pleasantly warm in this room, I should not freeze, if I am already so freely clothed. My gaze wanders through the small room with the huge, floor-to-ceiling window, which floods the entire room with light. The walls of the room have been painted in a dark orange and red colors and dark wooden planks lay out on the floor. It looks so comfortable due to the warm, dark tones. The orange-yellow evening sun dipped everything into something so cozy... sensual. Somehow into even a little erotic?

Y/N wants to work a lot with the light of the evening sun in this painting, which could be a little complicated if it is not suitable or if it is cloud-covered. But if you have put something into your head, especially in relation to your art, then you do everything you can do to go through it! Also the changing forces of nature cannot stop you from trying to realize your idea. Sometimes, you’re  someone who is quickly frustrated and dissatisfied with yourself as well, especially when something doesn't work as  you wants it to. Nevertheless when it comes to your passion, drawing and painting, you don’t let your idea go away, if you want something, you’ll find a way to make it happen. These are qualities that I know all too well of myself and thus my fascination about you only grows even more. The more time we spent together and I get to know more and more sides of you, the more attracted I became to you.

Your art means a lot to you and you’re quite tough in this respect, can not be overcome by the reproaches and the crushing criticism. That’s exactly what I admire so much about you, having the courage to stand up for personal passion. When I get criticized, all too often I think about really giving up on it, so that I don't have to endure all this criticism anymore. And then I look at you. How focused you are in this moment and carefully prepare for your next project. How you adjusts you easel to the right height, let your self-stretched canvas snap into place, spreads brushes of all sizes and shapes on the small side table next to you and prepares youracrylic colours. I swallow again, as I watched this happen. I am about to become one of your next artworks.

A little uncertainly I walk towards Y/N, the thin dressing gown tightly drawn around my body... never before have I felt so naked and vulnerable. This here is something else. I feel something about it... I feel something for you. For this pretty lady, who sprays her cheerfulness around her and could conjure a smile on the lips of even the most grumpy person. This joy almost kills you, completely engrossed this person and gives you the feeling of floating. You will get the feeling of being welcome at Y/N. To be accepted, with all the flaws and weaknesses that one has. She just smiles at you so gently and lovingly and just says, it's okay. It's okay to be the way you are. Imperfect.

"It is precisely this imperfect, this contradictory and also unpredictable thing that makes us human. That makes us an individual and also interesting. If we were really all as we are expected to be, it would be boring and monotonous. The surprise is only a real gift. Each of us is a very individual gift to a very specific addressee, who is the only one who can truly appreciate this gift. Only then did the recipient find the right person as his gift... Well, if the recipient knows about his gift...", Y/N once said with such a certain look at me, when we went out to dinner together in a restaurant in the evening to clarify some details. I wanted to help her find good contacts in Seoul and help her sell her works.

I can still remember it exactly... it was a quite... extraordinary evening. I was of course once again incredibly nervous and excited. At that time, I did not want to fully realize how much I already like you. Secretly, I had observed my opposite. Your positive and friendly disposition had turned my head all around... and in addition, this beautiful body and her elegant fingers, which already haunt me in the most erotic way unintentionally in my dreams. 

I could not prevent my dream pictures from shooting through my head, which is why my cheeks turned dark red in embarrassment. These fucking fantasies in my head! My eyes stare at the cutlery as if it were incredibly interesting because I didn't dare look up. There were scenes in my mind that made my ears turn red and I would’ve loved to hide behind the menu card. Your body, which made her look like a Greek goddess.

Naked, body covered in sweat, your body shook in lust, you sit up with a wonderful moan... You are on top of me, I could admire your beautiful, almost divine body as you sat on top of me... and rode me. This breathtakingly beautiful distorted face of yours, as if all this pleasure you feel is carved in marble... lids closed, your lips, swollen from all the kissing, are slightly opened which let    your lustful whimpering escape. This grace and elegance, as you rose from me and  then lowered yourself again... as your hands glide erratically over my stomach, searching for support... you suddenly threw your head back and clenched even more tightly around my length. The addicting sounds you’ve made... it’s like the most beautiful melody in my ears... squelching noises and even more of yourjuices gushing out of your sweet, so sweet pussy when you came...

An all-too-familiar laugh tore me out of my extremely indecent thoughts, which quite relieved me at first. Until I raised my head and not too far away I recognized no one but my best friend Kim Seokjin, who made very questionable hand signals in my direction. Oh my God, no! I knew that he had recently changed his job and got accepted for a position as a chef in a new restaurant... but not in this Restaurant! He will never let me life after he found out I was on a “Date” with a woman...

Even though Seokjin was on the other side of the restaurant, I could almost feel his smirk on my own skin. Fuck it, just pretend as if you do not know each other and hit him really hard tomorrow morning in the gym where we meet up for our work out. I quickly turned all my attention back to the person sitting opposite me and tried to ignore Seokjin as best I could.

It was only at the end of the evening, when I had said goodbye to Y/N, that I realized that this meeting had much more of a date than a "business dinner". How familiar we had talked with each other... how much I had thought about licking Y/N the drop from the chocolate sauce of her lava cake from her lips... how it would be... to kiss and touch you...

A noticeable blush has settled on my cheeks as I attended our first meeting together... or even Date in this Restaurant thought back. Four months had passed since then and I suffered from longing for you. You would never see me like I saw you. The reason you wanted to draw me was simply that she needed someone as a model. In addition to landscapes and cities, you want to devote herself gradually to more other motifs. And since I have been the first inquired. Your pleading eyes made me say yes. But I know that for me you have  no more than the feelings for a casual friendship. It hurts to see how you flirt  around so casually with all those other people. I would never be the gift for you as you are for me. If only the recipient would notice that there is a given heart laying in your hands...

"Ah, Jungkook! I’m glad that you're ready!", your cheerful and melodic voice cuts through the silence of the room and you’re walking towards me with excited shining eyes. "Come~," you say and lead me to the chaiselongue, which is placed in front of the large window. The soft, orange light of the evening sun falls on the wine-red fabric of the restored chaiselounge in baroque style. The upholstery has frames covered in gold and also the lion feet on which this historic furniture stands are gilded. Everything was decorated with so many Details, it looks so incredibly elegant and luxurious. On the left side there are some cushions in the same color and an elegant design is carved on the backrest, literally inviting to get used.

"Surely you know the movie 'Titanic', right? Do you remember the scene where Jack used charcoal pencils to draw an nude coal picture of Rose as she laid on the sofa? I would like to draw you in a similar position. I hope it's okay for you if I look at you more closely without a dressing gown... i want to get an overview of your body proportions.", you say, looking me straight in the eye. I notice that you’re very concerned about my privacy and does not want to overstep any of my personal boundaries without my consent. I nod slightly at first until I get a clear yes over my lips. She looks at me silently for a few seconds before reassuring me once again that we can always stop at any time if I feel uncomfortable. Especially your patience and mindfulness of my boundaries shows me how important it is for you as well and how I actually relax noticeably. Y/N smiles cheerfully at me and I slowly loosen the belt of the dressing gown and let the last garment slide to the ground. I feel her in-depth look at me... he is not uncomfortable... only... exciting... in a few different ways.

I swallow again and lie down on the chaiselongue as instructed. You correct my arm and leg position, also rearrange all of the cushions correctly. To my own relief, you put a red cloth over my crotch area. Not that I am ashamed of anything, I am more than comfortable with you already... I just have some worries that I will get a visible problem if I constantly feel your look on my bare skin.

 "It should be able to guess something, but not be allowed to see everything right away...", she whispered with a smile, before her fingertips unintentionally glide tenderly through my happy trail. One of your last smiles are... not really to interpret. Then you return to your easel.

* The Reader’s POV *

Carefully you sit down on your old painting stool, already quite worn out on the edges and stained with the most different types and tones of colors. It had originally been dark brown. You smile dreamily when you think back that you’re used to dangle your legs around when you were a little kid because it was way too big for you back then. For eighteen years now you have exactly this stool and this easel. They had been a gift from your grandfather for your fifth birthday. He had awakened the passion of painting and drawing in you and passed his talent on to you. A certain melancholy seized you when I thought back to how you used to paint your first real picture on canvas with your new easel in the old music room in your grandfather's country house. 

It had been the old, dusty grand piano, which must have been more than a hundred years old at that time. How the country house survived all these wars unscathed, you ask yourself to this day. Perhaps there had already been something magical about it at that time, which should remain untouched. Perhaps the small estate should remain an inconspicuous symbol of hope, the hope that at some point the sun and peace will return when the unbearable suffering and sorrow of this cruel time is over. When the wars were over and all those seeking protection who had fled to this country house were able to return to their own homes again. This house, this estate you can explain your childhood with a single word. Home.

You lift your thought-lost look from your empty, folded hands and look to Jungkook. He takes your breath away every time you see him. He is so special, such a wonderful and yet you firmly believe that he has not been chosen for you, such an ordinary woman as you are. He would belong to someone else with whom he would be happy, although he is the only one who was able to understand and read your works, the language in them. It... it had been such a beautiful moment when, six months ago, he stood in your newly opened studio, so absorbed by the painting of the forest of your childhood. All the other visitors had only looked at it briefly and smiled wearily at the fact that it was again only a landscape painting, but did not grasp what the story behind this work was. Why the artist chosed this very motif, to see, to feel what the creator wanted to communicate through the work. 

But Jungkook had been different. He had given the work, your personal heart, a chance to unravel the true meaning behind it. He did it slowly, bit by bit with his eyes... grasped with his whole mind and heart and finally let himself be influenced as a whole. You could tell from his body reactions that he felt exactly what you had felt when you painted it last summer. Longing. Infinite Longing. Mixed together with melancholy, a little homesickness and sorrow to a unique emotional color. The day you painted it was the last time you saw the house in your official possession. Your grandfather had left it to you. But unfortunately you lacked money, you had to pay some debts and with the best will you could not earn the money in other ways. So you had to sell it with a heavy heart. Your beloved birth and childhood home and the associated lands, you had to sell your true home away. The picture is the only thing left of it. And Jungkook was the only person who understood what you wanted to express with the painting. Longing. My Homesickness.

When all these sensations came upon him, he involuntarily clenched his hands tightly, his chest lifted and lowered quickly, his Adam's apple hopped repeatedly. His eyes were glassy. He experienced your longing as directly as you did. He... is so special. So infinitely amiable. He... he is the only person who’s able to read your true feelings in your works. He is able to read between your brush strokes.

So today you will try him... to paint a confession of love with this act. Maybe he could read... what you feel for him. Even if you know that you will probably never see him again. Because you would not be the recipient of his love and affection. He's just too... too... gifted for a simple artist like you. He would never be your gifted person.

Your gaze glides tenderly and caressingly over his body. Trying to absorb every little detail of his body, his charisma and his character into you and let it flow into the painting. Every birthmark you want to put on the canvas and hold on. You want to show Jungkook how beautiful he is. How godlike he lies before you on this majestic chaiselongue, how masculine and muscular he is, as if he wanted to embody an Adonis. You want to paint every muscle, even the smallest visible muscle, on the canvas in a realistic manner, you want to capture the strength and security that he conveys to you over and over again and make it visible to him. And yet... his gaze often corresponds to that of an intimidated, insecure fawn, which does not dare to want to get up on his legs on his own. The fear of falling again is too big. Through this painting you want to show Jungkook what he really is, what he represents for you and what you feel for him. He is... so contradictory. He is strong, godlike, powerful... and at the same time, so infinitely uncertain, vulnerable... almost pure.

Silence enters your little studio, only the regular breathing of the other and the muffled noise of the busy world outside the door could be heard. Here... here, it feels like time is standing still for a moment for the two of you. Your shared eternity had begun.

To your happiness that it is summer right now and it stays bright for a long time. Today you take more time than usual to mix colors. You want to mix a shade that perfectly matches his skin tone. You want to get the exact color of his black hair down onto the canvas, and the perfect brown for his beautiful eyes. The evening sun and the leaves of the huge treetops in front of the large window conjure up the most beautiful patterns on his immaculate body. A game of light and shadow. It seems to you that Jungkook's body, every single pore of his body has a tiny diamond, so that he begins to sparkle in the sunlight like an infinitely precious jewel. The evening sun warms him, lays a thin layer of sweat over his body. Every detail you try to bring to the canvas, every feeling, every movement of my heart, everything you feel for him, you want to bring to this canvas. You want to make him a masterpiece. Because for you, he is the most beautiful specimen, the only true crown of the human creation.

Some black strands have come loose from his manbun and have fallen on his forehead. It looks stunning, to see him like that. I had never seen him with a messy or even completely open hair... but even now these strands loosened from the braid make his facial features look so much softer and more relaxed. In it, the adult and strong man united with a young, vulnerable, shy boy. The result is... infinitely beautiful. He possesses both sides, so he makes the seemingly inexhaustible divine human being.

His eyes, drawing his eyes with that expression in them, cost you a lot of nerves. Too often you misunderstood this infinite longing that you find in his dark, brown eyes. Again and again you have to restrain yourself, not just to get up, to go over to him... and to kiss him.

This longing look you misinterpret is as longing as you own... according to your closeness, your touch, your affection... according to your love. Because you love him. You love everything about him, his sheepish laugh, the way of rubbing his neck shyly, the way he speaks and explains his point of views about things, how he smells... just everything... every blemish he blames on himself, you think it’s like an artwork on him. He is so perfectly imperfect that you just fell in love with him.

The sun has already set and only the last pink and purple streaks could be seen in the sky, with which the past day says goodbye to the world. One last time you can hear the velvety stroke of the brush over the canvas before you finally put the brush aside. It is finished. You have given everything that is in your power, used all of your artistic abilities and knowledge to the utmost and you have incorporated everything that you feel and think about into this artwork. And what you see put a smile on your lips, but also makes your pulse rise. What will Jungkook say when he looks at it? He will see it... can he read what you feel for him in it?

With a trembling voice, you call Jungkook and look at him one last time. The last time the sight of this male beauty was granted to you. One last time.

After Jungkook has wrapped himself in the dressing gown again, he slowly comes towards you and your easel. Your heart is throbbing as if it really wants to fearfully flight and jump out of your chest. Your body gets hot and cold at the same time and suddenly your hands get sweaty, the dried color on your skin mixes with the sweat to a uncomfortable mess in your palms, which somehow makes you even more nervous. Then he stands next to you. Looking at the canvas for the first time himself. The last brushstroke is still drying.

Once again there is silence, which makes you incredibly nervous and with every second that passes, you want to follow your instinct to escape. Jungkook's pupils are dilated and blown out, whether with bewilderment or horror, you can not recognize. One of his hands shoots up his mouth, he trembles all over his body. Suddenly you hear a suppressed, throaty sobbing. Surprised and a little appalled, you look at Jungkook, who has shut his eyes tightly and presses the palm of his hand even harder on his mouth, as if he wants to muffle every sound. Tears escape the corners of his eyes. This is a reaction... which you would not have expected...

Gently, mindful of any kind of resistance, you wrap your arms around his neck and hold him. He doesn't say anything, he doesn't sob, he doesn't whimper. He just cries. Tenderly, consolingly you hold him, without wanting to distress him. He literally presses his face into the crook of your neck. Salty tears drench your blouse, but it doesn't bother you. The reason why he had such an emotional outburst, you just don't understand. But still... it's okay. It is valid.

As he slowly calms down and his breathes becomes regularly again, he carefully lifts his head out of the crook of your neck and wipes the last tears out of his eyes dry in slight embarrassment. He slowly releases himself from your embrace until you finally stand silently in front of each other.

"What title you’ll give this artwork?", he asks softly, in a rough, throaty voice. You swallow . "It shall be called 'Der Geliebte'. ...it is german and translated it means... ‘The beloved’ ", you say barely audibly and lower your head. After this confession, you can no longer look him in the eyes.

Jungkook takes a sharp breath in and you're actually just waiting for a devastating response from him that would be like a death threat. But nothing of this happened. Instead, your chin is suddenly raised by his fingertips and you look into Jungkook's beautiful eyes. He bites his lower lip a little uncertainly,his own gaze falls on your pretty shaped lips. 

"Do you... do you allow me to kiss you?", he asks quietly... barely audible for you even though you’re standing so close to each other. He doesn't dare to look you into the eyes after such a question, he is too afraid that you deny his request. But you can hardly believe your luck, a high pitched ‘yes!’ flew over your lips and before you can control yourself, you press your own lips right onto his. They are incredibly soft and kiss you back in such a delightfully and endearing insecure and shy manner as no other could ever have done it.

Your heart beats full of joy and bliss and in your belly, the butterflies fly somersaults of all different kinds that your whole body began to tingle. Your mind cannot get a grasp of all this yet, but this... you don't need any more of it at this moment anyway.

The kiss is tender, shy and somewhat uncertain from both sides. Jungkook is very insecure and shy, but before he can escape like a frightened deer again, you put your arms around his neck and let your hands rest in the nape of his scalp. Again and again you detach yourselves from each other only for the fraction of a second to get a breath of air into your lungs in order to find each other lips again... until you stopped for a few seconds.

"I like you... I like you really, really much, Jungkook... I even dare to say that I fell on love with you.", you mutter softly against his lips. His shy, happy smile was too much for you, so you immediately kiss him again. Perhaps because of the sheer joy and maybe of the certainty that he feels the same for you, the next kiss turns into something more passionate than before...

[the-empress-7]

Not seen this mentioned so far on any of the forums I've read (since Jason's statement was made public) .. Re the equation shared between MM and Jason.

Telegraph article says Jason and Harry were close. Which shows. But it's interesting that MM seems to be very close to Jason as well. The messages are very long, they are texts as opposed to just emails. She shared her feelings - that bit 'relief, cathartic post writing the article' ... Explaining how she planned the letter, ending each page with half sentence, calling "daddy" etc etc).. that's too much explanation. Like she is looking to be praised for putting in the effort, and at the same time it's a damsel in distress act. Jason also asks, twice, if she's ok.

Normally, one would expect a celebration to be that comfortable with their PA or secretary (Sam Cohen, Amy). But Jason is joint comms head. Now, my theory (I know he is gay and married, but I still believe this) :

- She is trying to love bomb him. Appoint him as the knight in shining armour to her damsel in distress. The " no one else understands me like you do, because you are also an American and an outsider".

- She honed in on him because he is a man and her tricks only ever on work on men (even if he is gay).

- she seems to be implying that they are more than just employee/employer. They are friends. So, he is expected to go above and beyond his job description (even that what he seems to be is part of his job). She makes him feel like what he is doing for her is Noble, out of the goodness of his heart. Thus implying that SHE is special and needs to be rescued.

- she shares her frustration at H's family with him. Why?? That's so unprofessional! And implies that THAT is the reason she wrote the letter. As opposed to the fact that it was her father, and her decision to ghost him that was causing this problem. She just ignores that fact she is the only one who is in the position to solve this (her) personal issue. While dismissing all the other, rather logical, advice that his family and her team is giving her. What a witch!

- I feel like it is ingrained in her, this damsel in distress, poor little rich girl act. She projects a chill, easy go lucky image and them ensnares you into her act. That 'behind the scenes, I'm actually so helpless and all these things just happen around me and I don't know what to do' guilible engenue. There are a lot of women like this (it's a fact, not a misogynistic comment).

- lastly, I think the realization that she may have actually taken advantage of him and pulled this manipulation on him may have also played a role in his decision. Even if he says his statement is from a strictly neutral perspective. I mean, can you imagine Catherine having this same conversation with Jason - "I'll call him daddy so I can pull at his heartstrings". That would be unprofessional.

- I think at that time, Jason may have sensed that she was being over friendly with him, but because of her too sweet act he couldn't reduse some of the more unusual asks. At the same time she was being a complete wench and a nightmare with her female staff. Namely, her personal assistant, her secretary. But maintaining a closer relationship with a communication advisor. Hmm... Shady!

You have made some really thought provoking points. I have managed teams for many years now, and I have never communicated with any of my direct reports with such intimacy.

[mafianoir]

have you seen rebel without a cause bc people equate james dean with his character in that movie or rather pop culture's ridiculous misconception of said character and the entire movie and i could go on about this but if i think about it too hard i might combust

HAVE I SEEN WHWHWHWHHW-- YES OF COURSE I'VE SEEN REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE DO I LOOK LIKE--

i could never put into words how i feel ab james dean's stardom better than the post i just reblogged but also,, i feel similarly about audrey hepburn (kinda, not to the same extent bc of different circumstances) bc i absolutely adore her to pieces but i feel like when people conjure an image of her or her persona/character in their head, it's either a) holly golightly or b) angelic manic pixie dream girl who was innocent and never did wrong

i'm ranting ab audrey in particular bc i love her ik this has barely anything to do w the ask

and i felt like this was too much to put into the tags but it almost pains me bc yes audrey was this wonderful, sweet, beautiful and kind larger than life woman who always strove to help others and was selfless- but she was also so agonisingly and wonderfully human, and she suffered so much and also harbors some of her own (very human) flaws, that i feel are glossed over in order to put her on this impossible pedestal. of all old hollywood icons, audrey is one of my very favourites (if not for lauren bacall, she'd be #1) and part of why i adore audrey is BECAUSE of her flaws, sometimes she was selfish, sometimes she simply yearned for things beyond her reach. i don't have an opinion on bill holden but her whole affair with him fascinates me to no end, and it is all so very.... human of her. she simply wanted, just like the rest of us. and often she might have behaved 'immorally' because of it. we all do.

same thing with marilyn monroe- to people today she is only ever Marilyn Monroe™️, never norma jeane, never the bright, well spoken and emotional woman, only the dumb, sexy curvy blonde, only an archetype. (there's also discussion of her being lgbt, but i feel with a lack of her own actual input, it's impolite to assume. correct me if otherwise ofc) same with frank sinatra and those who aren't aware of his alleged (real) mafia ties. so many old hollywood icons that are misunderstood and misrepresented as the image they portrayed on the silver screen, their real selves kinda just... lost to time. it's not even bittersweet. just bitter.

this is not to say james dean was flawed in a problematic way or anything- i kinda went off topic and went on my own rant. it's just that these real, very human individuals are constantly shadowed by what people want them to be. james dean is a particularly special case bc of clear lgbt erasure. like 90% of old hollywood were fruity as hell and of course there's no wondering why we don't hear about that facet of them now. as an lgbt individual myself, it's so lovely to know that these icons (that i cherish far more than our modern celebrities) were just like me. but the fact i have to dig through articles and cross reference books merely hinting about their queerness- it aches to know that history would rather replace you with a character you played, than celebrate you for who you really were. like dying isn't enough, they kill you again. ugh

anyway sorry for the long essay reply hhhh cringe i didnt even say anything substantial im just here to be annoying

and lbr if half of what these old hollywood starlets got up to were posted to twitter they'd all be cancelled sksjsjsksjdj cancel culture is so stupid

also speaking of misinterpreting a movie. breakfast at tiffany's is a whole other thing hhhhrhhrhgrfhfnfnhrhr

tldr; celebrities are human and over half a century later we still haven't learned

[mosalahd]

Who are your favourite drivers and why?

oh. oh wow. ok,, this is gonna be LONG my absolute favourite favourite drivers, apples of my eye, loml, are valtteri and lewis, and i've written a 1000 word explanation as to why bc i'm mentally ill (: <3

with valtteri, it was love at first sight pretty much. when i watched my first race, he was the first driver to really stand out to me and i can't really explain why? maybe it's bc before i knew anything about f1 i knew who lewis hamilton was, and finding out that lewis had this almost "forgotten" teammate intrigued me and i became invested in finding out more about him? anyways since that one race i just fell down a rabbit hole and now i have so many reasons i love him like: - he is the most generic scandinavian man but also the most specialest little man and i can't really explain it but he just,, he has the standard scandinavian awkward but sweet underneath and idk he feels like home?? like he feels...familiar? - he is so considerate and always looking out for the people around him even at the expense of his own wants/needs, whether it be in obvious or more subtle ways. he's honestly the definiton of a perfect teammate both for lewis and for guanyu - how he's so open to talk about his mental health and his own bad times which is so important!! mental health is often ignored or stigmatised, esp when it comes to men's mental health, so seeing him be open about it and encouraging others to do the same and to take care of themselves makes me so <3333 - resilience!! now that he's in alfa romeo people love to act like he was always loved and appreciated, but i remember during his merc days how common it was for the entire fandom to just shit talk him for no reason at all? like people would call him lewis' dog, joke about him getting team ordered, never properly acknowledging any of the things he's accomplished (LIKE HELLO HE HAS A Q3 STREAK THAT'S ONLY BESTED BY PROST AND SENNA???). as if being the teammate of one of the greatest drivers of all time wasn't difficult enough, the fandom sure as hell did not make it easier for him and it made me so sad to see because he was always doing his best? like yeah, he's no lewis hamilton, but also, nobody but lewis is like lewis. valtteri was never really given a chance to be his own person w/o being compared to others (lewis/nico) but he still pushed through. it would have been so easy for him to let the negativity and hate get to him, succumb to resentment and turn against the lewis + merc, but he didn't, and that speaks volumes. obv he had his dark times and he had his doubts but in the end he always rose above it and i respect that so much - also he's an unbothered king who just wants to have his ass out in the breeze

now with lewis! i knew about him before i got into the sport bc i read an article about him, his success and his activism. but the thing that really got me was when i found out that he, like me, is mixed caribbean/european. he embodies the kind of representation i've been seeking and craving since i was a little kid, and i resonate so much with him. to be more specific about what i love ab him: - the fact that he doesn't shy away from where he's from, and continues being proud of his heritage means the world to me. a lot of mixed people feel the need to hide parts of themselves (usually the non-white parts) and seeing how sure he is of himself actually helps me deal with my own constant mixed kid identity crises - his passion and curiosity for all things creative. he wants to try everything and he will try everything and i love that bc i'm the saaame - how willing he is to learn from/listen to others and just, his general open mindedness and how considerate he is of others. that he always highlights the major issues going on in the world, whether it's in the country they're racing or somewhere else, just the fact that he actually takes the time to learn about others and their struggles and always makes sure that they feel seen and heard - (again) sheer resilience!! the fact that he's one of the most succesful drivers OF ALL TIME but has had his entire career continuously undermined bc of the color of his skin but he still has the power to brush it off and keep STUNTING ON THESE HOES. like just the fact that he went through the shitshow that was abu dhabi, went quiet for two months, and then came back all "i'm fine guys :)" is so fucking admirable. if it was me i'd be out for BLOOD. and that's just ONE incident amongst too many to count - his aforementioned activism work is so important and so impressive. i often think about that time he said that he's had all this success and accomplished all these things but that that won't matter unless he can manage to enforce actual change within the sport and make sure more people are given the opportunity to achieve their dreams. he is so much bigger than the sport and does his best make a positive impact and i WISH more people could see how important he and his work is. ALSO the way these two interact/treat each other is an additional reason i love them, they have so much unabashed adoration and appreciation for each other and i LOVE to see it. nothing, and i mean NOTHING, gets me going more than the beautiful marriage friendship these two have. k i'm done now. thanks for coming to my ted talk, etc. also sorry anon you probably didn't want a 1000 word essay but here we are