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the-cookie-of-doom · 8 months

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Here is my role reversal AU where the Kittisawats are the powerful mafia family, and the Theerapanyakuls are the poor brothers cousins trying to survive. Also they’re all sex workers.

Tankhun is the overworked and overstressed eldest trying to take care of his family. Korn is a sick old man, likely to die any day now, and Gun is their shady, unreliable uncle who takes advantage of his brother’s failing health and the boys for his own gain. He’s part of a low-level gang; robberies, muggings, minor car theft. Nothing that would get the attention of actual organized criminals. A scumbag.

Kinn and Vegas are the primary supports. Tankhun does his best, but he’s got his own trauma to work through. Kinn is the bartender fucking patrons for extra tips; Vegas is just a prostitute, and he doesn’t try to hide it. He also deals drugs on the side, and sometimes is forced into helping with Gun’s crimes. First as a lookout when he was young, then as an active participant. Kinn and Khun both fight with him about his methods. Kinn, because he thinks Vegas is reckless, getting involved with his father like that. He won’t be able to avoid the police forever if he keeps engaging in violent crime. Vegas thinks none of them can afford to be scrupulous with their morals, and none of them can deny that he delivers.

Tankhun, a former prostitute himself, until he was kidnapped and… had a bad time… scolds Vegas for being so reckless with his own sex work. He’s terrified of anyone in his family going through the same things he did. Now he’s agoraphobic as hell, terrified of strangers, and only manages to pull himself together for the sake of his family. He still does sexwork, but now he’s just a camboy; there isn’t much else he can do that doesn’t require him to leave the house, when he’s a college drop-out with no qualifications or marketable skills.

Kim’s bright plan was to become a YouTube sensation, get famous, and make it so none of his family ever has to work again. It doesn’t pan out quite that way. He does have and maintain a channel for his music, sharing recording equipment with Tankhun, but it’s small time. He does have a significant amount of subscribers; between that and his patreon, it’s not enough to live off of, but it’s enough for him to put himself through school. Anything extra he gets goes towards his family; Tankhun always tries to protest, but Kim can see the way some of the tension leaves his eyes when he doesn't have to worry about the month’s bills. Unlike the elder cousins, the closest Kim ever comes to sex work is playing his guitar shirtless on his patreon. Maybe a couple times people have offered to pay him for ~extra services~, but he just can’t bring himself to do it.

Macau is still in high school. He tutors people for extra cash (read: does their assignments for a hefty fee) and helps Kim edit his music/videos. Wants to be a DJ someday. The two of them are close, as the babies of the family. Closer than Kim is to his own brothers, but the same can’t be said for Vegas; he and Macau are thick as thieves.

One day Kinn gets a job as a personal bartender. He doesn’t bother trying to hide that he’s working for Porsche Kittisawat, and Kim isn’t shy about calling him a kept boy. He doesn’t begrudge his brother the choices he makes, he just wishes Kinn didn’t have to make them. Kinn puts up a good front, but Kim knows the craves the intimacy of a lasting relationship. He’s desperate for something real. To love and be loved. Kim is too jaded to stake any belief in finding something like that.

Then he meets Chay.

Chay is actually a fan of his. A very generous fan who regularly makes sizeable donations. Kim owes his upgraded recording equipment to Chay’s generosity, though he has no idea who his online benefactor is.

Kim is local talent. Sometimes he gets called to play small shows every once in a blue moon. Kinn is pretty good at pulling the strings to get Kim booked at his club, courtesy of Porsche, who’s really making the offer on Chay’s behalf. It’s how Kim ends up meeting Chay. Not that he makes the connection.

Chay is in the crowd, watching him with more interest than he thinks he’s earned. Kim thinks it’s regular attraction, the kind he’s used to. Used to it dropping off when people get to see the real him too; his pretty face isn’t enough to make up for his ugly life, especially when his personality isn’t enough to act as a buffer. Kim buys him a drink after the show anyway. They talk, they flirt, Chay admits to being a fan, which is nice. Kim’s never been recognized before.

They start seeing each other. Kim still doesn’t connect Chay ro Kinn or to his favorite subscriber. Thanks to Kinn (and Chay’s) efforts, he keeps doing shows. Gets booked for better clubs as he proves himself able to handle it. He doesn't want to know what it cost his brother; he hopes it’s not too much, and Kinn always assures him he’s fine. He seems to mean it, and Kim is just selfish enough not to question it if it means his dream coming true. He starts promoting his shows online, and Chay is there at every one. Pretty soon that leads to seeing each other outside of shows, too, then going on dates.

It’s building towards something. But before they can fall over that edge, Kim finds out about everything. The mafia, Chay’s subscription, Chay getting him these shows. All but paying for him. Kim is devastated. He knew better than to trust Chay from the start, it was too good to be true, and now look at what’s happened.

He goes to his family.

Tankhun, shrewd as ever, tells him it doesn’t change anything just because he knows now. Vegas, ruthless, tells him to use Chay for everything he’s worth until the money dries up. Macau thinks it’s romantic; that Chay admired him from afar, only for them to meet by chance and fall in love. Except they didn’t meet by chance, and Kim isn’t in love.

Kinn understands, though. Kim didn’t expect him to. He didn’t give his brother enough credit. He thought Kinn would be like Vegas and Khun. Instead he tells Kim to follow his heart. He knows Kim isn’t like them, isn’t built for the kind of life where he can set aside his feelings and use someone else for his own gain. He’s too much of an artist for that.

Kim tells all of this to Chay, who says that he doesn’t want to buy Kim, either. If Kim doesn’t return his feelings, that’s okay. They can go back to the way they were. They can be friends, or Chay can just be an anonymous name on a screen. He wants to be with Kim, but he doesn’t want to pay Kim to pretend with him.

It’s exactly what Kim needed to hear.

#cookie writes #kimchay #kinnporsche #Kim thinks he's not a sex worker #surprise he becomes Chay's secret sugar baby and has no idea #(jk it actually causes A Lot Of Problems in their relationship)#(but that's a post for a later date)#Khun and Macau are also going to be adorable #love-hate relationship peak right thre #they fight all day long but then Macau is alone and afraid #Kim and vegas gone for the night #he curls up with Khun for comfort #i have So Many Feelings about this au #i've been percolating on it for week s #spinning it around in my brian #crunching on it #it's that good shit

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jasfhercallejo · 5 days

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Located not far from the Coco Grove resort where we stayed, Runik Siquijor - Adults Only has made a name for itself over the past few seasons and the quality of the services meets the expectations of the most demanding.

This captivating resort welcomed us with Asian-Mediterranean architecture that for sure took our breath away. They had big tents and beds near the cliffside, offering both the cosy comfort of the interior and the raw beauty of the exterior.

There is an in-house restaurant, plus free private parking and free WiFi are available. The infinity pool features a pool bar and a DJ on lucky nights (we went on a weekend so we witnessed how the DJ made the scene alive). Guests can take in the views of the garden from the patio, which also has outdoor furniture where you can enjoy your food and drinks.

Three day pass options are as follows: (1) PhP 500, which limits you to the restaurant only; (2) PhP 800 lets you into the bar, use the pool, and roam around, but you can't use the beach beds and cabanas. If you want to use those, you'll have to shell out PhP 2000. Since this was our last night, we took one beach bed and everything was history.

From its delicious food to its great drinks and lively music ambiance, Runik is a must-visit destination for anyone looking to immerse themselves in the flavors and rhythms of the Mediterranean.

The standout feature of Runik is its Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. With a focus on simple, high-quality ingredients, the menu features a range of dishes from different countries. There are also plenty of vegetarian and seafood options available. The drinks menu at Runik is equally impressive, with a variety of cocktails, wines, and spirits on offer. The bartenders are skilled at crafting delicious and creative drinks, and there’s always something new and exciting to try.

In addition to its great food and drinks, Runik is also known for its lively music ambiance. The bar hosts live music performances several nights a week, with a mix of local and international acts. The music here is a blend of Mediterranean and world music, with plenty of upbeat rhythms and melodies. The atmosphere is lively and energetic, but not too loud, making it easy to chat with friends or simply enjoy the music.

#travel #photographers on tumblr #original photographers #landscape #food #original photography #iphonography #siquijor

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cintasfics · 3 months

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Hear Santa Barbara, I swear it's calling me

pairing: carlton lassiter x oc

summary: a private case leads the three members of psych detective agency to a nightclub, where marley goes undercover as a dancer to find out more information. the head detective at sbpd enters the same club one night following a tip called into the station and is taken aback by what he sees.

wc: 3.6k

warnings: mentions of drugs and gun violence

a/n: bruh. this is the longest thing i've ever written and i smashed it out in a couple of days. this show has sunk it's claws into me big time. also please forgive the details of the case if it makes no sense, it was the thing i struggled with the most lol

Things had been slow going at the Psych detective agency lately. The residents of Santa Barbara seemingly on their best behaviour for the past two weeks, and while one would normally appreciate a low crime rate, fake psychics with unmedicated ADHD and nothing else to keep them occupied did not share the sentiment. The lack of crime meant a lack of cases, with Chief Vick responding to all his inquiries for work with a blanket ‘if we need you, we’ll call you. Goodbye Mr. Spencer.’

But things started looking up when a young woman came by the office seeking his services, explaining that she worked at a local nightclub as a dancer but was recently blacklisted after overhearing a tense conversation between the club manager and one of the bartenders. Not only that, but she had the feeling some of her fellow dancers were involved in something sketchy. She was sure it was something illegal, but she didn’t want to go to the police out of fear of facing repercussions and getting her friends in trouble.

During a busier week, Shawn would’ve dismissed the case outright as it initially appeared to be nothing more than an employment dispute, but she was insistent that there was more to it and it piqued his interest. The allure of the club and its dancers certainly helped sway him too, and so he called a staff meeting to discuss the plan.

‘If we’re going to find out more about what’s going on in this place, we need a man on the inside.’

Though she was suspicious of where this was going, Marley conceded to his point, ‘makes sense.’

‘And because we here at Psych detective agency believe in equal opportunity employment, I’ve decided that the best man for the job, as is in many such cases, is a woman,’ this attempt at ass-kissing was accompanied by a serene smile and clasped hands, an admittedly good impression of a CEO giving a press release.

And while this would’ve been received well by investors, Marley wasn’t buying it, ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Aww come on, Marls! It’ll be fun! And I’ve seen that stripper pole in your apartment, I know you’ll do great!’

‘My unquestionable talent isn’t the issue here, there’s a reason I only dance in the privacy of my own home. No way in hell I’m getting up on a stage in front of a club full of people!’

‘Don’t be like that, I’ve seen you let loose during nights out before!’

‘When I’m more than a few drinks deep sure! But I don’t think management would appreciate me showing up to work drunk, nor would it help me effectively gather information.’

‘I don’t know,’ Gus piped up from his desk, ‘you’re a lot more charismatic and chatty when you drink, so it could work in our favour.'

‘This is true, good point, Gus! Plus I'm sure the dancers indulge at least a little, employee discounts and all that.'

Still not convinced and feeling like she was being ganged up on, she went on the offensive, ‘why do I have to do this anyway? Why can’t you guys pretend to be a bartender or a DJ or something?’

Shawn seemed to mull this idea over for a second before his eyes lit up, ‘hey that’s not a bad idea, gives us something fun- I mean, productive to do while we check the place out.’

A fanciful expression slowly came over Gus’ face, followed by a smug smirk, ‘yeah. Yeah! That could work, I was known in high school for my killer playlists so I bet I could rock a DJ gig.’

‘Dude what? No,’ came Shawn's indignant reply, like the mere idea had insulted him, ‘people loved my playlists in high school, if anyone’s going to be the DJ it’s going to be me!’

‘You’re dreaming, Shawn! It’s not just high school either, my Spotify playlists get a ton of views and likes! Not to mention all the followers I have because they just can’t get enough of me!’

‘That’s only because I use your account so all my playlists are under your name, they’re all there for me not you!’

‘What do you mean you use my account? I’m the only one paying for it!’

Realising that this was going nowhere and they could be here all day if she didn’t intervene, Marley begrudgingly conceded to the plan.

‘Ugh! Fine! But if I’m doing this, I get a bigger commission because I’m doing a lot of legwork here!’

Pleased to hear this, not only because she agreed to his plan but also because her loud concession distracted Gus from his treachery, Shawn immediately turned his attention back to her.

‘Not to mention armwork, you know, because of the pole-‘

‘Shut up, Shawn.’

~}i{~

In order to prepare for going undercover, Marley met up with the client to get some advice and background information on the club and its staff. She wasn’t a real nightclub person so it took a bit of coaching to be able to act the part and maintain it for the duration of her shift, but the clients help was invaluable and with the added bonus of a fake resume, she quickly got the job.

The mid-morning peace of the Psych office the morning after her club debut was disturbed by the sound of the front door opening. The two men sitting inside raised their heads from their phones to see Marley enter the room nursing a cup of coffee with her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses.

‘Well, if it isn’t our own little Dita Von Tease! We were wondering when you’d roll in!’

Shawn’s boisterous greeting was met with a wince and a hiss that made Gus think of a vampire braving the light of day after a deep sleep, though he knew better than to voice that comparison. Marley could be downright scary when irritated.

‘Please lower your voice, I’m still waking up,’ Marley hissed, hoping for some grace.

‘Sorry,’ Shawn, having the same fear instilled in him, lowered his voice, ‘I’m just excited to hear how your first night went.’

She took a moment to situate herself on the couch by the window before responding.

'It went alright, the other girls were welcoming enough but I didn't get a chance to really talk to any of them,’ she paused to take a sip of her coffee, ‘but I did overhear one of the girls, Amber, having a pretty intense phone call. I asked another girl if she knew anything about it out of ‘concern’ and she said that Amber had a knack for getting herself in to trouble, always managing to find the wrong crowd, but that this was the worse she’d seen her.’

Gus, feeling it was safe to speak up now she had comfortably situated herself, asked the next question, ‘What was the phone call about?’

‘From what I could gather it sounded like she had some bad debts but that she had a plan to pay them back.’

Shawn and Gus shared a knowing nod and a pensive look, ‘they always do, but it rarely works out well.’

‘Kasey, one of the bottle girls, also let it slip that the relationship between Amber and Cole, one of the bartenders, is less than strictly professional.'

‘Oooh, scandalous~’ chimed in Shawn with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

‘But it’s still sounding like a case of a toxic work environment and personal dramas, which isn’t great but it’s not a crime,’ came Gus’ assessment.

‘Hmm, I don’t know,’ part of her agreed with Gus, but she just had a funny feeling about it all, ‘I mean that’s probably the case, but I think I’m gonna stick around for a bit longer, something doesn’t feel right. Maybe having you guys there as an extra set of eyes would help too.’

‘Hey, Marley, it’s okay,’ she turned to Shawn, drawn in by his serious tone, ‘if you’re really liking this job there’s no shame in admitting it. I’m sure you could cut back on your hours at the hospital, or split your night shifts between there and the club if you really wanted to.’

Tired from the late night and lacking the energy to berate him, Marley simply grabbed one of the throw pillows off the couch and spiked it at his head.

~}i{~

‘God I hate places like this.’

‘Are there any places you do like? And remember to keep a low profile, the chief isn’t sure if there’s anything to this tip suggesting suspicious activity but we’re better off just hanging back and seeing what we can find.'

‘I don’t need you telling me how to do my job, O’Hara.’

‘I’m not telling you how to do your job I’m just- Listen. Why don’t we just go over to the bar and see what we can get off the bartender?’

‘Fine by me.’

Juliet led the way to the bar, with Lassiter following close behind her trying to avoid the sea of dancers around them.

‘You’d think a place like this would be a fire hazard with the amount of people-‘ Lassiter’s tirade was cut short when Juliet came to a sudden stop in front of him, causing him to crash into her.

His demand to know what the hold-up was died in his throat at Juliet's bewildered words.

‘Is that Marley?’

‘Huh? Where?’

Lassiter quickly looked around, trying to spot the woman who had recently taken up a sizeable piece of real estate in his brain, though it would take an immense amount of torture to get him to admit it.

‘Over there, on the raised platform!’ she shouted over her shoulder, raising her voice both to be heard over the music and in disbelief.

Lassiter followed her direction and his mouth went dry.

There, on the raised platform just as his partner had said, was Marley. Though it took a second for his brain to process it was really her as she had just dipped into an inverted position on the chrome pole in the centre of the platform.

As she spun around and returned to an upright position, he was able to appreciate the sparkly little number she had on, the black fringe mesmerising and the glossy platform heels making her legs appear to go on forever, maybe even making them an equal height for once. Not that he minds her short stature, if he gave it more than a moments thought he might even realise that he found it cute. And though it would be nice to be a bit closer to her lips (just the thought of leaning down to reach is enough to make his back ache), the smile that graces them as she looks up at him from beneath her eyelashes makes the phantom pain truly non-existent. Plus, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t have thoughts of sweeping her up off her feet, a small thing like her would probably fit in his pocket, his to protect, to cherish and keep to himself-

‘Carlton!’

He was pulled from his train of thought by his first name, which is used sparingly enough to succeed in getting his attention when Juliet's repeated calls of ‘Lassiter’ failed.

He blinked a few times in quick succession to clear his mind and pursed his lips to try and regain some composure before responding, unsure if his mouth had been hanging open like some simpleton.

‘Yes?’

He was so focused on appearing composed that he didn’t notice the knowing smile on his partners lips.

‘I was just saying that knowing our track record, if one of the three musketeers is here then the other two can’t be far behind. I’m sure it’s no coincidence we’re both at a place of interest, and I doubt Marley would work at a place like this otherwise,’ her words were tinged with amusement, both at Lassiter’s reaction to seeing their friend/colleague dancing on the small stage, and at the feeling that once they ran into her accomplices the night would become a lot more interesting.

Her words made perfect sense to Lassiter, but he couldn’t help but think she belonged up there. Maybe in another life, if nursing didn't work out. Or is this how she paid off her student debt? He knew she worked while she attended university but he would've remembered if she ever mentioned that this was what she did. This plus the fact that if he’d never seen her here, the thought never would have crossed his mind because it seemed so out of character for the usually reserved woman.

Feeling he was beginning to get lost in his thoughts again, he shook his head and turned his back to the stage (as much as it pained him) to gather them.

‘You’re right, the tweedles have to be here somewhere sticking their noses where they don’t belong.'

Keeping an eye out for the troublesome duo (and as much as one on Marley as he could afford to without failing back into his previous train of thought), the detectives continued on their way to the bar. Though their search for the psychic and his assistant didn’t take long when they finally flagged down the bartender and were met with Gus’ friendly face.

‘Evening, what can I get y’all?’

His smile was so disarming and he played the part of a stranger so well that it took them both a second to react.

‘Gus?’

‘Guster?!’

The joint exclamations of his name seemed to snap Gus out of character and he immediately started fidgeting with a glass, knowing the jig was up, ‘uhh, h-hey guys! Fancy seeing you here, small world huh?’

Feeling a headache coming on the closer he got to Spencer, Lassiter rubbed his eyes and ground out ‘yeah, tiny.’

Torn between exasperation and amusement, not expecting to run into one of the guys so quickly, Juliet took the lead, ‘what are you doing here, Gus?’

‘Well, I figured with the rising cost of living it wouldn’t hurt to get a second job- third job, really- hard to believe the state of the economy nowadays, huh? Anyway, you two have fun and I’ll see you at the station the next time we get called in,’ trying his best not to act suspicious or give up the real reason he was here, Gus turned away intending to serve a club-goer on the other side of the bar where the duties of his job would keep him safe from the detectives’ questions.

‘Hold it!’

If only he could be so lucky.

The emotional rollercoaster this night was turning out to be relieved Lassiter of the last thread of his patience, ‘you expect us to believe that? That you and Marley just happen to both suddenly be working at a nightclub with reports of suspicious activity? Fat chance! Now where the hell is Spencer, I know he’s here somewhere!’

Gus tried one last Hail Mary, the ever-reliable act of playing dumb.

‘Wait, Marley’s here too?’

The glare he received from Lassiter was enough to change his tune.

‘Right, sorry. Last I saw Shawn he was leaving the DJ booth, in the middle of his set I might add, which if I got to be the DJ like I wanted to I would never do,’ the last part was laced with bitterness and the smug assurance that he would’ve remained professional where Shawn did not, but Juliet chose to ignore it, focusing on the matter at hand.

‘Which way did he go?’

‘Off to the left, through the employee only door, he might’ve been following someone but I’m not sure.’

‘Right, thanks Gus.’

Leaving the pseudo-bartender to his devices, Lassiter led the way to the door off to the side of the large room marked ‘employees only’, determined to figure out just what the hell was going on here.

~}i{~

The club was evacuated following some gunshots coming from the backrooms, with police cars arriving quickly outside. Having been a few days since the trio were first given the case, tensions within the club had finally risen enough to come to a head.

Not long after the two detectives made their way into the employee only section, they came across Shawn in the middle of a confrontation involving Amber, Cole, the manager, and a local drug supplier.

In his usual dramatic fashion, Shawn explained the situation to the detectives, telling them how Amber had fallen into some bad debts and went to her manager, a close friend of hers, for help. Having romantic feelings for the girl, the manager was quick to do whatever she asked, and with his connections from his time at the club, he worked out a deal to move some product through the place in order to ease her debts.

Cole, the bartender and Amber’s boyfriend, started catching on to the fact that something was up between the two, and feeling scorned, he called in a tip to the police station, hoping the cops would take care of the situation for him by punishing the both of them. The couples bad luck continued though, with the supplier becoming unhappy with the small amount of drugs being sold and coming down himself to see what the issue was. He, like the detectives, entered upon a tense situation, with the three employees having a shouting match.

The gunshots came when Cole lost his temper, blaming their manager for the trouble Amber was in, as well as the jealousy he felt, and attacked him. Not being in his right mind, the bullets missed their target and he was quickly subdued and all four of them taken into custody.

~}i{~

Having been corralled outside with the crowd, Marley missed the excitement and the big resolution of the case. She was standing on the sidewalk hugging her arms to her chest, trying to fight off the chill in the air while waiting to hear from the others, when she suddenly felt a piece of fabric fall over her shoulders. She clutched at the warm material to find a large suit jacket, a familiar scent filling her nose and its owner moving to stand beside her.

'Here. Don't want you to catch a cold,' he tried to play it cool, but there was an undeniable softness in the detective’s voice.

Though she shouldn’t be considering the situation, she was surprised by Lassiter’s sudden presence.

'Thanks, Lassie,' the small act of kindness as well as his close proximity warmed her better than the jacket ever could, 'my clothes are in the dressing room but I wasn't sure if I was good to go back inside yet.’

‘Well, we’ve apprehended the shooter and the three other people involved, but the rest of the staff will need to be questioned.’

‘Me included?’

‘The more information the better, but I can take your statement while you get your stuff.’

‘Thanks, Lassie,’ she thanked him again, knowing that the sooner she got her stuff the sooner she could leave and head home, ‘I appreciate it.’

He held out his arm for her to take, and seeing her raised eyebrow and silent question, explained the gesture, ‘the last thing we need is you tripping over in those heels and eating pavement on the way to the dressing room. I don’t really want to have to call for a medic on top of everything else,’ he gave the heeled boots in question a pointed look, appreciating her bare legs as his gaze travelled downwards.

He was right, by the way. The heels did bring them closer together in height. But what he didn’t anticipate with the change in height was the new details of her face it revealed to him. Her eyes weren’t just a deep brown, but contained different shades, like the bark of a strong tree that was hidden deep inside a forest, with sunlight shifting through the trees to highlight the different grooves and hidden shades. He also noticed for the first time the faint freckles smattered across her nose and cheeks.

Her airy laughter and warm grip on his forearm brought him back from another rogue train of thought, managing to catch it before it went completely off the rails.

‘God what is going on with me tonight?’

He cleared his throat and started to lead her back inside the club, hoping that his sanity would return once she was out of his coat, into her own clothes, and on her way home.

‘I don’t even know how you manage to dance in those things.’

His comment brought a blush to her cheeks, turning her gaze to the ground under the guise of watching where she was stepping, her words coming out with a shy laugh, ‘you saw that did you?’

‘Only a bit of it,’ he tried to hide how taken he was by the display by faking a tone of nonchalance, ‘my attention quickly turned to Guster behind the bar.’

‘Oh God, don’t even start on that,’ her embarrassment was quickly forgotten as she rolled her eyes at the mention of her friend and his assigned role, ‘who got to do what was a big fight between the two, I gave up trying to mediate as soon as it started getting physical. Honestly, it was like watching two children have a slap fight.’

The charged air between them cleared as Marley recounted the childish squabble between Gus and Shawn over who got to play the coveted role of DJ, her fondness for the two idiots evident in her voice.

A smile made it’s way onto the detectives face as he listened to her talk, and he spent the rest of the night basking in the faint scent she had left on his jacket.

#i hope people enjoy this i'm so proud of it #carlton lassiter x oc #carlton lassiter fic #psych #psych x oc #psych fic #marley williams #mine

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mariacallous · 4 months

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When poet John Keats wrote in “Ode on a Grecian Urn” that “beauty is truth, truth beauty,” he probably didn’t have AI influencers in mind.

Perhaps he should have. Back in April, Fanvue, an AI-infused creator platform that falls somewhere between OnlyFans and Cameo in terms of services, launched what it’s calling the “world’s first beauty pageant for AI creators.” On Monday, the World AI Creator Awards announced the contest’s 10 semifinalists. Drawn from a pool of more than 1,500 applicants, they are vying for the chance to make a liar out of Keats—and a prize package valued at about $20,000.

Amongst those 10 finalists, you’ll find Seren Ay, a stunning Turkish redhead who is sometimes pictured doing jobs traditionally held by men in her country, like electrical lineman or firefighter. (She’s also a time traveler, posting “photos” with velociraptors and the first Turkish president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.)

Then there’s Aiyana Rainbow, a Romanian biker babe/DJ whose creators have decided is queer—something they advertise through both her name and her shock of perfectly ruffled rainbow hair—and Kenza Layli, a hijab-wearing influencer from Morocco who already hawks everything from personal hygiene products to local tourism. (This makes sense considering that a recent study found that almost half of Gen Z respondents in the US and UK were “more likely” to be interested in a brand if they knew it had an AI spokesperson.)

While Fanvue’s finalists run the global gamut in terms of origins, they’re also all capital-B beautiful, each possessing a supernatural combination of a buff (but not too buff) body, a stunning face, and the kind of effervescent personality that only really exists in influencer culture. Their hobbies and pet causes (Fashion! Inclusion! Travel! Hormonal imbalances!) are blandly interesting enough to make them palatable to followers and brands alike. Their image captions—some of which are written by actual humans and some of which are written by AI—are generally full of platitudes about how cool life is.

While all that might seem surface-level at best, these totally fake beauties aren’t all that different from real-life pageant participants, especially in 2024. Hilary Levey Friedman, a sociologist who studies beauty pageants and whose mom was a former Miss America, says that she doesn’t think the idea of an AI beauty pageant is a big deal considering “the long-standing practice in pageants of enhancing what you have,” whether that means surgery, hair extensions, fake tans, petroleum jelly teeth, body contour, or “chicken cutlets.”

In social media posts and headshots in particular, Friedman says, pageant contestants often use airbrushing and camera tricks to make their images pop, something that’s never been seen as a negative in the industry. When push comes to shove, though, there’s still a physical human behind that account and on that stage, living and breathing under all those lights and filters.

What makes an AI pageant different, Friedman asserts, is that Fanvue’s contestants are products of their creators. “They’re drawing on all these stereotypes that we have about what a ‘beautiful woman’ is,” she says, “and people who tend to use AI might have a different idea of what an attractive woman might be. She might have pink hair, but she’ll still be within the realm of traditional beauty, with a thin body or not a lot of moles on her face.”

For the record, Fanvue’s contest, like human beauty pageants, will anoint a winner based on more than appearances. Unlike some of those contests, though, the World AI Creator Awards are looking for things like “social media clout” and how well their creators used prompts to create their contestants. Winners are set to be announced later this month.

Berat Gungor, one of Seren Ay’s creators, says that “in AI, you actually can’t create an ugly face,” though he’s careful to note that no human faces are ever truly ugly. While it’s easy enough for image-generating newbies to end up with blurred features and weird hands, Gungor says his experienced team was able to create an initial pool of 300 beautiful women in Stable Diffusion, ultimately picking Seren Ay’s face from the crowd because “she looked like a real person.”

Fanvue’s pool of thin, beautiful, mostly light-skinned finalists reflects what The Washington Post found when it tasked Dall-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion with creating beautiful women. Stating that the programs tended to “steer users toward a startlingly narrow vision of attractiveness,” the Post reported last week that in the thousands of images it generated, almost all were thin, light- to medium-skinned, and young. (Just 2 percent of the “beautiful woman” images showed visible signs of aging.)

In some ways, those images are reflective of the pool they pull from. “How people are represented in the media, in art, in the entertainment industry—the dynamics there kind of bleed into AI,” OpenAI’s head of trustworthy AI, Sandhini Agarwal, told the Post.

But if mass-market images of thin, beautiful women yield AI-generated images of thin, beautiful women, who then turn into thin, beautiful AI-generated influencers, creating pictures that just feed back into the collective media stream, isn’t the snake just going to end up eating its own tail? And what does that mean for those of us who aren’t traditionally beautiful, whose bust-waist-hip proportions can’t live up to Barbie-like online standards or who just can’t afford the upkeep on a head of perfectly coiffed hair?

More than anything, it means the rift between human influencer and AI influencer gets deeper. Aiyana Rainbow’s multicolor 'do, for example, exists to attract attention. (Also, generative AI seems to love giving queer people colorful hair.) Creating someone with mousy brown hair or a 50-year-old gardening mom, for instance, wouldn’t have provided the visual hook needed, no matter how unrealistic or stereotypical that hook might be.

Aiyana Rainbow isn’t 100 percent perfect—her face, her creators note, isn’t entirely symmetrical—but any quick-scrolling fan would be hard-pressed to notice any sort of flaw.

Brands, certainly, aren’t interested in rolling the financial dice on creators whose images aren’t as perfect as possible. And while in recent years there has seemed to be a general love of celebrities who are “authentic” online (see: the relative success of “give no shits” actors like Renee Rapp, Nicola Coughlin, and Dakota Johnson on press tours, for instance), that doesn’t mean that carefully curated influencer lives—real or AI-generated—aren’t being rewarded all the same.

Fanvue cofounder Will Monange says his service currently has “thousands of monthly earning AI creators” on its platform, a number that’s seemed to grow exponentially over the past year. AI influencers like Aitana Lopez, whose creators are judging Fanvue’s contest, are doing similarly well, with hundreds of thousands of followers interested in Lopez’s virtual likes, interests, and lingerie pics. (She even plays Fortnite online.)

Seren Ay’s creators say their online doll gets queries looking for relationship advice, which she’s more than happy to provide, and Kenza Layli, the Moroccan contest finalist, gets about a 5 percent engagement rate on her posts, a number most marketing professionals would froth at the mouth for.

It doesn’t hurt that they’re beautiful on top of all of this. Or it does, but in the same way it hurts that society values one specific standard of beauty, whether on a human being or on some AI creation. In a world where millions upon millions of people follow hot influencers that they know, consciously or not, they’ll never meet or form a meaningful connection with, an AI pageant like Fanvue’s is a symptom of a larger issue, not a harbinger of impending doom.

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woolandcoffee · 10 months

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One of my goals this next year is to try to meet more people in the local pagan community here. I used to be pretty active in local communities when I lived on the West Coast and really enjoyed getting to interact and worship with others. I haven't really had a chance to "get out there" since moving, partially because of covid, and partially because Northwest Arkansas just isn't as hopping pagan-wise as, say, San Francisco.

We have a local pagan shop here which is overall pretty good and they do have events, but other than the one meet-and-greet they had that I was unable to go to, I haven't been really interested in anything they've put on. I'm pretty well beyond going to monthly "meet x y or z goddess" nights. I've also been pretty unimpressed with the knowledge of the staff ever since I asked about an ogham deck and a manager put a set of I-Ching staves in my hand despite the fact that I later found two different ogham decks on their shelves (they are fairly well-stocked, I will give them that).

However, I did recently discover that the local Unitarian church has a pagan group that holds monthly meetings as well as Sabbat services. Their Yule service is later this month, and I think I'm going to go. It will hopefully at least give me a sense for what the group is like, and what sort of folks are involved. I've never attended a Unitarian pagan service before, and I'm definitely a bit apprehensive. From what I can tell through their Facebook page and group chat, it seems like a primarily non-denominational neopagan group, a little fluffy (someone mentioned being excited to grab some DJ Conway books), but that's not really all that surprising. Honestly, if the vibes are at least half-way to serious, I'll consider it a win. And if I'm really lucky, I might meet some people who are worth meeting again.

Fingers crossed for a good experience.

#woolly rambles

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shotofchinaco · 6 months

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If you’ve ever wondered why it seems like every other station on your dial is Christian rock, EMF [the Educational Media Foundation] is a big part of your answer. From its headquarters in a Nashville suburb (the organization is slowly relocating from its longtime home of California), EMF plays the generic sounds of contemporary Christian music, or “CCM.” It is a genre that everyone from artists and critics to church leaders have decried as being somewhere between “the absolute worst” and “doctrinally unsound.” But the Educational Media Foundation has quietly become the country’s fastest-growing radio chain and second-largest station owner in the country, bested only by iHeartRadio. With hundreds of cookie-cutter stations branded as “K-LOVE,” as well as its smaller chain of “Air1” stations, EMF broadcasts on more than 1,000 signals across all 50 states and some U.S. territories, reaching an estimated 18 million listeners a week. On the surface, EMF’s broadcasts are glaringly apolitical. They opt instead for their trite brand of Christian rock, all teed off by the same, small cast of nationally syndicated, Anywhere-USA DJs who smile through everything from squeaky-clean jokes about the drink sizes at Starbucks to prayers asking God to watch over those who have donated to the organization. But behind its politically neutral facade, the organization — and the CCM industry more broadly — appears to be an inherently conservative project. Many right-wing Christian culture bearers have long believed in the “Breitbart Doctrine” — the idea that, to change politics, you must first change culture — and have fought for decades to build a parallel popular culture free of sharp edges, hard questions, or representations of lives that veer from the straight and narrow.

[...] But EMF’s story isn’t just about bad music taking over the airwaves in service of a cultural vision that is overwhelmingly white, straight, and artistically regressive. It’s also the story of the near-demise of local radio — a longtime haven for new music, artistic outcasts, and political dialogue — at the hands of a tax-avoiding not-for-profit organization that appears to operate like a very-much-for-profit media mega-corporation. For decades, EMF has hidden behind a veneer of uncoolness while honing a signature technique: At big commercial stations and small, beloved community-radio stations alike, they’ve offered the owners an undeniable sum of money, wiped out the local presence, and replaced it with unmanned transmitters.

#worth reading #ccm #educational media foundation #radio #radio industry

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justforbooks · 9 months

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In 1967 when Radio 1 was founded as a successor to the BBC Light Programme, one of its aims was to reach housewives – and to attract them, the station employed only male DJs (or “husband substitutes”, as they were known behind the scenes) for the first three years. It was only in 1970, bending with the times, that it took on its first female presenter, Anne (later Annie) Nightingale, a former journalist and television presenter with almost no radio experience.

The original male presenters have long since left the station, but Nightingale was still working for Radio 1 at the time of her death, aged 83, and had become its longest-serving broadcaster, most recently on air in December 2023. Known to fans as the Queen of Breaks – breakbeat was her specialist genre – she defied the station’s usual career trajectory (five years as a top-tier presenter, then off to weekends or Radio 2) by staying relevant. She introduced listeners to prog rock, punk, indie and dance music, and was unfeignedly passionate about them all. At 75, she told a dance magazine: “I listen to what 13-year-olds listen to because that’s the future. [I’ve] got to be ahead of the game all the time.”

As a dance music specialist from the late 1980s onward – playing “the biggest bass bangers”, as Radio 1’s website put it – Nightingale spent the second half of her career broadcasting to people too young to have known that she had been friends with the Beatles and Marc Bolan. But her age was immaterial because of her stature in the dance world. In 2001, she received Muzik magazine’s Caner of the Year prize in recognition of her late-night lifestyle – her favourite of all her awards, which also included an MBE in 2002 for services to broadcasting (advanced to CBE in 2020), and an honorary doctorate in journalism.

She was a highly knowledgable musical curator, and an expert at exploiting the intimacy of radio. Though Nightingale prioritised music over DJ patter, she recognised that a human voice was still an essential part of the mix; husky-toned and self-deprecating, she belied the station’s early fear that a female DJ would lack authority. According to the writer Irvine Welsh, who listened to her while growing up, her “cool, funky tones” stood out against “the flatulent sounds of loud, boring, thick and egotistical men strafing the airwaves”.

An only child, Nightingale was born in Osterley, west London, to Basil, who ran a wallpaper company, and Celia (nee Winter), a chiropodist. Educated at the independent Lady Eleanor Holles school in Hampton, she left before her A-levels. Overriding her parents’ request that she have “something to fall back on”, she enrolled on a journalism course at the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster). Moving to Brighton after graduation, she married a Fleet Street journalist, Gordon Thomas, and had two children. After a short stint at the Brighton and Hove Gazette, she became the only woman in the newsroom at the Brighton Argus.

Along with reporting local news at the parish-council level, she was given a music column called Spin With Me, which gave her access to the biggest pop stars of the 60s. Her friendship with the Beatles later helped open doors at Radio 1 – the band’s publicist, Derek Taylor, persuaded the station controller to let her audition after her own requests were repeatedly refused.

At a Dusty Springfield gig in 1964, she met Vicki Wickham, producer of Ready Steady Go!, who hired her as co-presenter of a new pop show called That’s For Me. It lasted only a few months, but the exposure led to writing work at the Daily Express and Cosmopolitan, and radio appearances on Today and Woman’s Hour. It was the era of pirate stations such as Radio Caroline; she considered applying to Caroline but was put off by the idea of “living out at sea with a bunch of blokes”.

Finally installed at Radio 1 in 1970, she was hampered at first by a lack of technical knowhow – her first day was marked by eight seconds of dead airtime when she accidentally pressed the “off” switch in the middle of a record. Yet she quickly established herself, choosing her own playlist almost from the start. Her skill at persuading listeners that what she wanted to hear was what they wanted to hear led in 1978 to the job of presenting BBC Two’s “serious” rock programme, The Old Grey Whistle Test. It had failed to keep up with musical fashion, a problem she tackled by booking the most challenging artists she could get away with and braving the consequences. She was delighted to bag Public Image Ltd for a live appearance, though frontman John Lydon repaid her enthusiasm by admonishing her for being “so fucking patronising”.

Four years at Whistle Test were followed by a return to Radio 1’s highly popular Sunday afternoon request show for 12 years. When acid house gained traction in the late 80s, she credited it with changing her life; from that point, she played solely dance music on Radio 1, first in the influential Chill Out Zone slot, then on a longstanding programme that went out at 1am on Wednesdays. Her free time, she said, was consumed by listening to the thousands of demo tapes she received every week.

Despite her achievements, Nightingale claimed she lacked confidence until she was robbed in Havana, Cuba in 1996. The attack left her unable to walk for months, but made her “a stronger person”, she said.

Though she hated nostalgia, she did reflect that ageing had been isolating. The death of John Peel, her friend from the early days of Radio 1, provoked the unusually downbeat comment: “Now John’s gone there’s nobody I know in my age group who remotely likes this kind of thing. I don’t understand why. I’m driven by it.”

She published two volumes of autobiography, Chase the Fade (1982) and Wicked Speed (2000), and a 50th-anniversary volume, Hey Hi Hello: Five Decades of Pop Culture from Britain’s First Female DJ, in 2020.

She is survived by her children, Alex and Lucy, from her first marriage, which ended in divorce. Her second marriage, to the actor Binky Baker in 1978, also ended in divorce.

🔔 Anne Avril Nightingale, broadcaster, born 1 April 1940; died 11 January 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #annie nightingale #in memoriam

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maggie-004 · 1 year

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(Un-) Lucky coincidence – 14

Jenna Ortega x Fem reader

Summary: Jenna and Y/N had an eventful flight to Madeira and joined Toni's stream with lots of fun and laughter. Later, they enjoyed a heartwarming moment on the beach before a DJ session to end the legendary stream.

Everything in Cursive is German

Warnings: Fluff

Words: 3800

Jenna and I settled into the backseat of the car as her driver navigated the streets, taking us to the airport for our long-awaited vacation to Madeira. The soft glow of the city lights enveloped us, creating a cozy atmosphere inside the car. "I can't believe we're finally going on this trip together," I said, my voice filled with excitement. "It's going to be amazing." Jenna smiled, her eyes reflecting the same enthusiasm. "I'm thrilled too," she replied, her hand finding mine. "And I can't wait to meet Toni and you to be a part of her stream tomorrow. How long will you be in it?" I thought for a moment before answering. "Well, she's doing a 7-day stream, and tomorrow is her last day," I explained. "I'll probably join for a few hours, at least to show some support and hang out with her and her viewers. She's got such an incredible community, and it'll be fun to be a part of it." "Absolutely," Jenna agreed. "I've heard so much about Toni and her Twitch channel especially from you. And after our call a few days ago I am so happy to finally meet her in real life. It's wonderful to see you support each other's passions like that." As we continued chatting about Toni and our plans for the trip, I couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment wash over me. Being with Jenna felt like coming home, and every moment we shared, whether big or small, was filled with love and joy. I knew that this vacation would be no different, and I was eager to create new memories together. At the airport, we made our way through security and settled into a cozy corner of the departure lounge. With a little time before our flight, Jenna pulled out her phone, and we scrolled through the pictures we had taken together over the past few days.

Our flight got called out, and Jenna and I went to get boarded, there weren’t much people at this time to take a flight to madeira, we got boarded first because we got first class tickets. As we stepped onto the plane, a wave of excitement washed over us. The friendly smiles of the flight attendants greeted us, and we were shown to our seats in the first-class cabin. The spacious and luxurious seats made us feel like we were embarking on a true VIP experience. Settling into our seats, Jenna and I exchanged happy glances. "First class is the way to go," I said, my eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "I can already tell this is going to be an incredible trip." Jenna nodded in agreement, while I appreciating the extra legroom and the comfort that awaited us during the flight. much-needed escape for both of us. We had been working tirelessly on our respective projects, and this trip to Madeira was a well-deserved break. During takeoff, Jenna reached for my hand, and I gladly interlocked my fingers with hers. The sensation of her touch was calming, grounding me even as the plane soared into the sky. We exchanged excited glances, knowing that the adventures that lay ahead would only strengthen our bond. Once the seatbelt sign was turned off, the flight attendants began their service, offering us drinks and a menu for dinner. Jenna and I browsed through the options, excited to indulge in some delicious cuisine during the flight. As the hours passed, Jenna and I spent the time chatting and making plans for our time in Madeira. We looked up places to visit, activities to try, and restaurants to savor the local delicacies. It felt like we were two eager explorers planning our own little paradise. Throughout the flight, the flight attendants catered to our every need, ensuring that we were comfortable and content. It was clear that they took great pride in delivering exceptional service, and we felt truly pampered. As the plane approached its destination, the anticipation grew even stronger. We eagerly looked out of the window, catching glimpses of the picturesque island of Madeira below. The lush green landscapes and stunning coastal views promised an unforgettable experience.

As soon as the plane touched down, we eagerly made our way to collect our suitcases. Jenna and I walked hand in hand, our fingers interlocked, navigating through the airport with a mix of excitement and shyness. You see, our relationship wasn't official at that moment, so we tried to be discreet about our feelings, even though our connection was undeniable. As we made our way through the airport, my phone buzzed with a message from Toni, our dear friend and streamer extraordinaire. She was waiting outside with her stream, ready to pick us up, and she wanted to know if Jenna was comfortable being live on camera. "Hey Jen," I said, turning to Jenna with a soft smile, "Toni just texted me. She's here to pick us up, and she's with her stream. Is it okay for you to be live on camera?" "Oh, how cute of her," Jenna replied, playfully pouting. "Of course, I'm okay with that, but I guess we'll have to let go of each other's hands for now," she added, pretending to be disappointed, though her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Yeah, you're right," I said, mirroring her pout and reluctantly releasing her hand. We tried to keep our relationship under wraps for now, but it was challenging when every fiber of our beings wanted to be close to each other." I do wonder why Toni is up so early," I laughed. "It's literally 6 a.m. Maybe she's just as excited as we are for this long-awaited reunion." "Or maybe she's just an early bird," Jenna teased, her playful spirit shining through. With our suitcases in tow, we finally made our way outside, where Toni stood with her camera, eagerly awaiting our arrival. The early morning sun bathed the scene in a soft glow, and the excitement in the air was palpable. Toni greeted us with a warm hug, capturing the moment for her stream viewers. "Good morning, everyone!" she exclaimed, her energy infectious. "Look who's here!" Jenna and I greeted Toni's stream viewers with friendly waves and smiles, doing our best to keep our affection under wraps.

The three of us climbed into Toni's car, and the adventure truly began, Jenna was a little tense at the beginning. The thought of being live on camera with an audience watching was a new experience for her, but after a few minutes, she visibly relaxed, getting more comfortable with the idea. Toni's warmth and the friendly interactions from her viewers soon put Jenna at ease. In the car, we had an absolute blast. Toni playfully put on some Deutschrap, a genre of music that Jenna wasn't very familiar with. The lyrics were rather raw and not exactly flattering in the German language. Jenna's face twisted in surprise and confusion as the intense beats filled the car. "It's, uh, quite energetic," Jenna commented, trying to find the right words as she navigated through the foreign lyrics. Both Toni and I couldn't help but laugh, fully aware of how different it was from what Jenna was used to. "You'll get the hang of it," I assured her, giving her a reassuring smile. But after a while, even Toni and I started to lose motivation for this kind of music. It was intense, to say the least. We all agreed it was time for a change and switched to some Techno/EDM, a genre we all enjoyed. The pulsating beats and catchy melodies instantly lifted our spirits, and soon, we were all nodding our heads to the rhythm. Driving around, we explored the beautiful surroundings and took in the stunning scenery. We laughed a lot, shared stories, and let the music be the soundtrack to our adventure. There was something magical about being together in that moment, embracing the freedom of the open road. As the sun began to rise, casting a warm glow over the horizon, Toni made a spontaneous suggestion. "Hey, do you want to go to the beach with Chat and me to watch the sunrise?" she asked, a hint of excitement in her voice. "Oh my god, yeah, I'd love to," Jenna exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. We eagerly made our way to the beach, our excitement growing with every step. As we reached the shoreline, we found a perfect spot to sit, our toes in the sand. The sky painted a breathtaking canvas of colors as the sun slowly peeked above the horizon. In those moments, time seemed to stand still as we watched the sunrise together. The world was quiet, and it felt like we were the only ones there, witnessing the beauty of a new day. Jenna snuggled close to me, her head resting on my shoulder, while Toni set up her camera to capture the magical moment for her stream. We soaked in the serenity of the sunrise, feeling grateful for the bond that had brought us together. "I can't believe how lucky we are," Jenna whispered, her voice filled with awe. "I feel the same way," I replied whispering, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "This moment, right here, is perfect."

As the sunrise painted the sky in hues of gold and pink, the chat in Toni's stream began to express their affection, spamming hearts and showering us with questions. Toni, being the lively and charismatic streamer she was, took the opportunity to address their curiosity. "Guys, women can be good friends as well," Toni exclaimed, playfully teasing the chat. She then grabbed each of our hands, intertwining them with hers, and raised them up for the camera. "Look, everyone can hold hands, so what?" she said, with a wink towards us where chat couldn’t see. Jenna and I couldn't help but chuckle at Toni's humorous response, feeling fortunate to have such an understanding and supportive friend. The chat reacted with excitement, filled with love and acceptance for our friendship, even if there was more to it than met the eye. As we continued to enjoy the serene beauty of the sunrise, the exhaustion from the previous night's journey started to catch up with Jenna and me. The warmth of the rising sun provided a comforting ambiance, and I could feel Jenna's head slowly drooping against my shoulder. Toni noticed our tiredness and gently squeezed our hands. "You guys must be exhausted," she said with concern. "Did you even get any sleep at all?" Jenna let out a small yawn, and I couldn't help but smile. "Nope," I admitted, "we stayed up all night, too excited about the first-class flight experience. No flex, by the way, it got sponsored." Toni laughed heartily, understanding our excitement. "Well, that's awesome," she said, addressing the chat again. "But now, let's head home. I'll show you both to your room, and you can catch up on some well-deserved rest." As we made our way back to the car, the fatigue was apparent, but the joy of being together and experiencing this adventure was undeniable. In the car, Jenna and I leaned against each other, finding comfort in each other's presence as Toni drove us back to her place. Once we arrived, Toni gave us a warm tour of her home. "Make yourselves at home," she said, gesturing towards the guest room. "Take a nap, freshen up, and when you're ready, we'll continue our stream together”. Once again the chat spammed emotes and comments about staying in the same room but they were ignored With that, Jenna and I gratefully thanked Toni, and each of us retreated to our room. As I lay down on the soft bed, my eyes quickly grew heavy, and the tranquility of the surroundings lulled us into a peaceful slumber.

After getting only five hours of sleep, I woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed. Glancing to my side, I noticed Jenna was still sound asleep, so I decided to let her rest a bit longer. I quietly got out of bed, determined not to disturb her peaceful slumber, and made my way upstairs to Toni's streaming room. Knocking gently on the door, I peeked my head inside, seeing Toni in the midst of her streaming setup. "Hey Toni, good morning," I greeted her with a smile. "Heeyy, already awake, huh?" she replied cheerfully. "Yeah, just me. Jenna's still fast asleep. I was wondering if it's alright for me to take a shower, and maybe get myself a coffee," I asked, feeling a bit hesitant about joining her stream so early. "Of course, go ahead! You can use the bathroom in my room; the other one is filled with microphones and cameras for my daily makeup session with chat," Toni explained with a chuckle. "You'll find towels in the closet. You remember where my room is, right?" I nodded in agreement, grateful for her hospitality. "Yeah, I remember. And about the coffee?" Toni smiled, pointing downstairs. "You can head down to see Maria. She's like my personal assistant, or you could say maid, but she's wonderful. Just remember to talk to her in English as she's Portuguese." "Thanks, Toni. I'll be back in a bit then. Oh, wait, can you mute yourself real quick?" I asked, remembering a need of mine. "Sure, wait… Okay, I'm muted. What's up?" Toni asked, her curiosity piqued. "Well, you know I smoke, and I really want to have a cigarette. Can I go out to your garden, or should I head out to the street?" I inquired, not wanting to break any house rules or the chat knowing I smoke because we are role models. Toni shook her head with a warm smile. "Oh, no worries at all. Please go ahead into the garden; there's an ashtray out there." "Thank you so much," I said, feeling relieved and grateful for her understanding. I waved goodbye to the chat, momentarily interrupting Toni's streaming, and closed the door. "So, chat, sorry für die Unterbrechung," I heard her say as I made my way to her room. After a refreshing shower, I headed downstairs to meet Maria, Toni's helpful assistant. She greeted me with a friendly smile, and even though there was a bit of a language barrier, we managed to communicate smoothly in English. With a steaming cup of coffee and an Avocado toast in my hand, I made my way to the beautiful garden. The sun was shining, casting a warm glow on the lush greenery around me. It was the perfect spot to relax and enjoy a quiet moment. As I sat there, savoring my coffee and taking in the tranquility of the surroundings, I couldn't help but feel grateful.

As I enjoyed the tranquility of Toni's garden, I ended up smoking two cigarettes, finding solace in the peaceful surroundings. After finishing, I decided to let Jenna continue resting and messaged her that I would be joining Toni for her stream, giving her directions to find us once she woke up. With that settled, I made my way back inside and headed to the kitchen to return my empty mug to Maria. Maria greeted me with a warm smile, noticing my now-empty coffee mug. "Would you like a refill, dear?" she kindly offered. I gratefully accepted her offer, holding out my mug for a second serving. "Thank you so much; your coffee is fantastic." With my fresh coffee in hand, I felt energized and ready to join Toni in her streaming room. Heading back upstairs, I could hear the cheerful chatter of the chat and Toni's lively responses.

As I entered the streaming room, Toni's face lit up, and she greeted me with enthusiasm. "Good morning, chat! Look who's joining us now!" she exclaimed, turning the camera towards me. "It's Y/N!" I waved at the camera, trying my best to match Toni's contagious energy. "Good morning, chat! How are you all doing?" I asked, feeling a rush of excitement as the chat flooded with emotes, including a sea of "Gumo" (Guten Morgen) and waving emotes. oni, with her infectious energy, turned to me during a break and said, "Y/N, can you believe how awesome this community is? They bring so much joy to my life every day!" "I know, right? They're absolutely amazing," I replied with a grin. "It's heartwarming to see how they come together to support you and share in the fun." Chat was buzzing with excitement, flooding the screen with messages and emotes. One chat member asked, "Toni and Y/N, have you two ever pulled any pranks on each other?" I chuckled, sharing a conspiratorial look with Toni. "Oh, we've had our fair share of pranks," I said mischievously. "But Toni is the master prankster. One time she convinced me that she had seen a ghost in her house, and I fell for it completely!" Toni burst into laughter, playfully defending herself. "Hey, you have to admit, I did a pretty convincing job! But don't worry, I always make up for it by being an amazing friend." "That's true," I admitted, teasingly adding, "Though you do have a way of turning even the most ordinary situations into hilarious adventures!" The chat was filled with laughter, and many shared their own funny prank stories and favorite moments from Toni's streams. The stream carried on, and Chat remained actively engaged, making jokes, sharing stories, after a while of just chatting, we hopped into a TikTok try not to laugh challenge. We couldn't contain our giggles, and even the chat joined in on the fun, sending us playful messages. One chat member wrote, "Toni and Y/N, your laughter is contagious! I can't stop laughing with you two!" Toni grinned at the comment and replied, "We're glad to be spreading the joy! And hey, we never said we were experts at the try not to laugh challenge!"

Toni and I struggled to contain our laughter. The hilarious videos proved to be too much for us, and we failed the "try not to laugh" challenge within minutes. Chat was having a blast, sharing in our amusement and sending an avalanche of laughing emotes our way. Just as we were wiping away tears of laughter, there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in!" Toni called out, still giggling. The door opened, and there stood Jenna, looking fresh and ready to join the stream. "Hey, sorry for the delay. I finally caught up on some sleep," she said with a smile. Toni and I both grinned, inviting Jenna to join us. "No worries at all! We're just having a hilarious time here," I said, motioning for her to take a seat next to us. Jenna settled in, and the chat exploded with excitement at her appearance. "Jenna is here! The dream team is complete!" one viewer exclaimed. With Jenna now a part of the challenge, we resumed watching the funny TikTok videos. She proved to be just as prone to laughter as Toni and I, and it didn't take long before all three of us were in fits of giggles. The chat was loving every moment, sharing in the joy of our laughter. As the challenge came to an end, we collectively admitted our defeat. "Well, that was a disaster," Toni said with a grin, and we all burst into laughter once again. "It's all about having fun, right?" Jenna said, wiping away tears of laughter. "Absolutely!" I replied, feeling grateful for these wonderful moments with my best friend and my girlfriend. After a while, we decided to take a short break and head downstairs to grab some snacks and refreshments. Maria, Toni's helpful assistant, had prepared a delicious spread of treats for us. Chat was still buzzing with excitement, sharing their favorite moments from the stream and suggesting ideas for future content. We engaged with them, taking the time to respond to as many messages as we could. Back in Toni's streaming room, we decided to play some fun party games suggested by the chat. Laughter and camaraderie filled the air. We stayed in Toni’s stream until 8:00 p.m. then Jenna said her goodbyes,

I went out with her and muted my microphone pulling Jenna close, I whispered, "I love you so much, and I can't wait for tomorrow, just the two of us, exploring this paradise together." Our foreheads and noses touched, and in that moment, time seemed to stand still. Jenna's warm breath on my lips heightened the anticipation, and without further hesitation, we leaned in and kissed passionately. Our make-out session was interrupted by Toni, who emerged from her streaming room and quickly realized what was happening. "Oh," she exclaimed with a playful smile before retreating back into her room. A few seconds later, she returned without her microphone, having discreetly left to give us some privacy. "Sorry, you guys," she chuckled, holding two energy drinks. "I just wanted to grab these for our DJing session." Jenna and I exchanged loving pecks and whispers before she decided to read a bit, and I returned to the streaming room. "Alright, chat, we're back, ready for some music?" I asked, trying to hype them up. Their excitement was palpable, and I couldn't wait to share this DJing session with them. However, I had an idea that could make this moment even more memorable. "Or," I suggested, "should we watch an episode of TMO first, so we can end this legendary stream with a DJ session, just like on the first 7/14 days stream +?" Toni loved the idea, and the chat was on board as well. We settled down at Toni's computer and enjoyed an episode of TMO together, sharing laughs and commentary with the chat. As the episode came to an end, we prepared for the 2 and a half hour DJing session. The clock struck midnight, and Toni hugged me, her eyes gleaming with gratitude. "Thank you chat so much for being here with me for these 7 incredible days, and our subaton on the 10 days. I love you guys so much," she addressed the chat, her voice filled with sincerity. "I'll be back live in a week, but until then, take care and goodbye, my lovely chat."

A/N: I hope you guys like this one, it’s a little bit more dipping into Y/N and Toni friendship.

#jenna marie ortega #actors #jenna ortega #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega x you #the fallout #wednesday #wednsday addams

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taperwolf · 2 years

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It's suddenly striking me again just how much electronic music of all sorts is based on side effects.

One of the very first things that made electricity do things over long distances was the voltage amplifier. The fact that it has to exist at all is from a side effect: if you pass electricity down a wire, some of it gets lost on the way. A long enough wire, and it's all gone by the time it has to do anything on the other end. So there's the amplifier. The ideal case is that it takes a small voltage signal and spits out an exact copy, just louder (using a local power source to make up the difference). But once we had vacuum tube amplifiers, we discovered that they tend to oscillate — to start to produce their own alternating voltage signal — under different conditions of feedback. Folks like Theremin found this and harnessed it to create pitched tones that we wanted — but nobody had sat down and scratch-designed an oscillating tube.

All of electric guitar tone is the same. Players had to go electric to be heard over the rest of the band, and then noticed that turning up their amplifiers too far made the amplifiers top out and the sound become harsher in a pleasing way, and started chasing that "overdriven" tone. Later, folks noticed the neat "fuzzy" sound of playing through amplifiers or speakers damaged in certain ways, and created ways to replicate those sounds on purpose. People will pay thousands of dollars to make their guitar signal distorted in just the right ways — ways that no engineer trying to make an ideal amplifier would countenance.

The list is endless, and at multiple levels. On the electronics level, the volt-per-octave standard that analog synths use for pitch is made possible because a BJT transistor just happens to have a logarithmic response curve that can be tweaked into service. The volume envelopes that let a sound start softly and ramp up, or start loud and trail off, and make it so every electronic sound isn't just on or off at full blast, come out of slowing an amplifier down so it can't respond instantly.

On the instrument level, Roland created the TB-303 to be a play-along box; they wanted guitar players to buy it and pretend it was an electric bass. It was terrible at that. But once it was cheap, DJs discovered you could abuse it in ways Roland hadn't thought of, and invented Acid House.

After the fact, after these things were discovered, people have created ways to do them repeatably and reliably. My Eurorack VCO doesn't have a separate transistor that handles the volt-per-octave transformation, that's built into the chip; overdrive and distortion and fuzz pedals are widely available; there are people making acid-style basslines entirely in software who've never touched a TB-303. But while music electronics is now a big business, it's dwarfed by the greater electronics and computer industry, which is probably best illustrated by the fact that there are audio processing programs that take advantage of the math power of a 3d graphics card's GPU, and no 3d software packages that offload processing onto the sound card.

#electronic music #electronics #essay #side effects

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jmdbjk · 2 years

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Don't get me wrong but I'm genuinely confused why Jimin is mot doing any activities like other members. All the members are preparing for solo album and doing other works. But Jimin is only working on his album and nothing else. If we look their solo activities since announcement.

JK - he doesn't do many activities but things he does is pretty large scale. L&R MV + making + recording. Most charted somg by k soloist on BB. Performed on fifa stage - first Korean to perform on a WC, #2 debut and many locals fell for him lol.

RM - attended a museum activity, sexy nukim, WKorea with hobi, performed with balking tiger, podcast + interview, Pharrell interview + photoshoot, now host for a show.

Hobi - listening party something no members did ever lol, Lola + BTB + interviews, radio talk shows, crush collab, IU's pallet, crush interview, Zico interview.

Jin - Multiple movie premiers, Chef baek episodes, yesterday's liquor show, running man, CP concert performance, Youngji interview, interview with an old man idk his name, GQ top 10 things

Tae - ITS with wooga squad, movie premieres, Celine event, Vogue shoot, Paris schedule 2, dj radio show.

Suga - That That+ performance with Psy+ BTB, NCB event, dropping dropdead pics of insta which is definitely some photoshoots for a collab going behind scenes lol.

* Didn't included ost of vocal line because it was while they were performing and active as a group and didn't had any behind scenes.

Jimin - literally nothing and I wonder why. Is he not intereste in other activities apart from performing ? And not comfortable on appearing for those event. He's working for his album with various producers but that's it and rest members are doing the same, we saw how many collabs RM has on Indigo. Apart from all of these he's not active on sm too. Not even posting a single pic or message. I just miss him so much and not even getting to see him even as part of work.

Hello Confused Anon...

I can see why you are “genuinely” confused Anon. You seem to have Jimin mixed up with some other person you think is Jimin...

Especially since you proceeded to compare him to every other member in the group as if lauding their accomplishments like it’s some sort of competition between the members... what’s the point of that? why does your mind even go there?

You sort of answered yourself right away in your third sentence:

"But Jimin is only working on his album and nothing else."

But in case you really are “genuinely” confused... I wonder how you got so mixed up about who Jimin is? Maybe you do not pay enough attention to Jimin... here let me help you figure it out:

Jimin has said repeatedly that he is working hard on his album. Over the last five or six months we’ve seen the pictures from so many award-winning producers and musicians who are excited to share that they are working with Jimin.

I am assuming Jimin’s involvement is very time consuming and leaves very little time to travel across the globe to see fashion shows and such. He is probably feeling a little time crunch with that thing called military service looming and we know Jimin is a perfectionist... well, the rest of us do but you probably are not aware Anon because you were confusing Jimin with someone else.... anyway... Jimin being the perfectionist is cooking up some great music for us and is laser focused and has chosen not to do any one-off collabs. Any collaborations he’s done he is keeping under wraps until he is ready to release his album. Why hold that against him?

I understand you "miss" him but he’s not been totally absent... he’s had some time to get out and about...

During June/July/August 2022:

Jimin went to watch a few soccer matches with Hobi and with Sung Woon. He also went to see his friend Sung Woon’s performance in a stage musical one evening.

One thing Jimin is not: an attention seeker. Crowds are not his thing. He tried to keep it lowkey but alas, people can’t help themselves and take pics and post them on social media. People have no chill when it comes to that. Red carpets are work for him. He obviously chooses not to do them. No red carpets mean no premiers.

Jimin made a side-trip to Chicago for Lollapalooza to support his Hobi-hyung. While there he also took in other Lolla acts including TXT. Maybe you missed that too. He's living the life, Anon.

On to Los Angeles for his work and while there he hung out with Benny Blanco amongst others. Perhaps they even worked together again? We’ll find out eventually!

He also went to the beach at sunset again while in L.A. Jimin loves him some U.S. west coast beach at sunset (I wonder why).

On September 1 Jimin was with Jungkook on JK’s birthday. Remember JK's little smirk and giggle on HIS WeLive when Jin asked him if Jimin visited him that day and JK said yes, he did. They probably reminisced about that west coast beach sunset...I KNOW you couldn’t have missed the pic Jimin posted... but maybe you did.

Then Jimin did a few WeLives for us, I think three of them, spread out between then and his birthday on Oct. 13. So he's made himself visible when he's in the right frame of mind.

One thing that has become obvious... Jimin requires structure in his life. He flat out said going to work every day was something he needs to do... “it feels like clocking out, not clocking in” when he gets to work. It lines up with his near obsession about his workout regimen. During the pandemic he tearfully told us he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be doing all that time. The man needs a schedule to function.

Another thing that’s quite obvious. Jimin is not gonna share anything he doesn’t want to. Except that he loves to eat but is constantly trying to maintain his weight/physique. And also he just lays around the house. Oh and also there are five moon tattoos running down his back now... see’em when you can he says... that boy...

Yes, he’s an idol and he’s stated he is not a solo artist, he is part of a group. So this period is a real growing time for Jimin. Out of all the members, I believe Jimin will show us some things that even HE had no idea he could do. I am waiting patiently for him to be ready to show us.

So I hope that made things less confusing for you, Anon. Any “outside” work that has nothing to do with is album is probably non-existent because that is what Jimin has chosen for himself. If you are still “genuinely” confused about that then I will just chalk it up to you choosing to be a “genuine” douchebag of a person and I hope you eventually grow out of that mindset.

But hopefully you meant to be nice.

#park jimin #jimin #pjm1 is coming #jimins music is going to be out of this world

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eversleyestateevents · 24 days

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the event has officially started, here a few things to note:

dash interactions for the event can take place between sep 2nd - sep 6th.

there will be a plot drop coming soon.

you have until sep 6th to get your event tasks done and tag them with eversleyevent.

new starters for the event can be posted, even if you already have an active starter.

itinerary

16:30 – Guest Arrival

Welcome Drinks: Champagne and signature vineyard cocktails will be served as guests enter the grand entrance.

Live String Quartet: A live string quartet will play classical and contemporary pieces in the garden, setting the mood.

17:00 – Wine Tasting

Wine Tasting: Guests will sample a selection of the vineyard’s finest wines, accompanied by gourmet hors d'oeuvres during the tour.

18:00 – Sunset Viewing

Sunset Terrace: Guests will gather on the estate’s sunset terrace, which offers panoramic views of the vineyard and surrounding countryside.

Sunset Toast: Charles Eversley will lead a toast as the sun begins to set, offering a moment of reflection and gratitude for the evening.

18:30 – Charles Eversley’s Address

Important Matters: Charles Eversley will address the estate, sharing significant news and updates concerning the future of the Eversley family and the estate.

Announcements: This segment will include key announcements that will impact both the family and the staff.

19:00 – Dinner Service

Al Fresco Dining: A lavish dinner will be served in the vineyard’s main courtyard, with long, candlelit tables set under the stars.

Menu: The multi-course meal will feature local and seasonal produce, expertly prepared by the estate’s head chef, with wine pairings for each course.

Live Jazz Band: A live jazz band will perform throughout dinner, creating a sophisticated and relaxed atmosphere.

20:30 – Dancing & Entertainment

Dance Floor: The evening will transition into a dance party on the estate’s grand lawn, with a DJ spinning an eclectic mix of modern and classic hits.

Special Performance: A surprise performance by a well-known artist or entertainer, arranged by Charles Eversley, will take place as the evening progresses.

22:00 – Dessert & Nightcap

Dessert Bar: Guests will be invited to indulge in a selection of decadent desserts, including a custom cake created for the soirée.

Cigar & Whiskey Lounge: A dedicated lounge area will offer premium cigars and a variety of top-shelf whiskeys for those wishing to relax and unwind.

23:00 – Fireworks Finale

Fireworks Display: The soirée will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display over the vineyard, illuminating the night sky in a breathtaking finale.

23:30 – Event Concludes

Farewell: As guests prepare to leave, they will be gifted with a curated selection of wines from the vineyard as a memento of the evening.

Shuttle Service: For guests who have arranged transportation, shuttles will be available to escort them safely back to their accommodations.

#eversleyevent

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meownotgood · 1 year

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music producer! aki would be such a vibe. I’ve been thinking about this for like a week and I resigned myself to accepting that Aki would probably never be an artist but I love music sm so I will force it by any means! Anyways….

Aki is an extremely loving, devoted and kind soul but he expresses his affection through his actions/acts of service. I don’t think verbally expressing his feelings is his strength. I imagine music being the perfect medium for him to express everything that he feels within without words, utilizing the universal language to reveal the profound emotions that lay dormant within his soul.

I don’t think Aki seeks fame or notoriety so he’d be that one producer behind all your favorite songs but nobody really knows who he is… It’s the allure for me. I can so see him with an underground fanbase that zooms in on celebrity studio pics and you just see Aki’s topknot sticking out and we’re like “THAT’S OUR MAN!” and the girlies make edits of that. There’d be such a sexy mystery surrounding him and who he is. He’d serve us once in a blue moon with the hair down look. Badboy Aki knows what he’s doing FR

I envision him being really active in the underground rock, metal and rap scene. But he’d always give smaller artists a chance. He’d definitely be versatile too like don’t act like he ain’t produce ur favorite pop song. He’s just skilled like that 💋

Winter instrumental album in Hokkaido that gets sampled in every song like???? Hair down, graphic t, (key word) BOYFRIEND jeans, black converse, silver earrings and rings but without the t shirt, jeans and converse is such a lewk

Concert date, studio date, him making you songs, singing to you at night, playing guitar to you and other devious business *wink*

I rest my case.

I GET IT I SEE IIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT

I always think about what kind of music aki would listen to, I think he likes softer stuff but he's into some rock as well. he really likes anything as long as it has a good sound to it. gaaaah and aki making music to express how he feels is such a perfect idea I love it so much, I think it really does fit!!!

as a music producer, he's pretty talented and his work is really recognizable. he's been making music ever since he was younger; he got super into it because it was somewhat of a coping mechanism after he lost his family. he gets hired often and he has a hard time turning down any job because he wants to experience as much as he can. he'll make beats for any genre of music, in any sort of style, but he really likes when he gets to make something sweeter, something that's more true to himself.

when he makes the rare original song, it's instantly a hit — not in the way that it's super popular but more like it resonates with a lot of people immediately. he rarely sings or adds vocals to his music (he prefers to use other people's vocals) but when he does... whew.....

he's kind of elusive cause he doesn't go to a lot of parties or meetups and tends to keep to himself. he's well respected by everyone but no-one in the industry really knows the real him or anything about his personal life. they know some tidbits, but not enough to really call aki a friend. I'm thinking of aki who has his hair half-up and wears casual band tees and has his ears all pierced... maybe some other piercings too... perhaps lip piercing or eyebrow piercing... GAH

you see him play in person at a set once and you're just like... wow. sometimes he djs or plays guitar for local events and he rarely talks to anyone there but he's super good at what he does and always seems so focused. you're pretty intimidated by him, in all honesty, but he's actually really kind once you get the chance to talk to him. you catch him while he's having a smoke outside the building, you compliment his playing and he says thank you, he's glad you enjoyed it.

omg thinking about his social media... he definitely has a faceless pfp and literally never posts pictures of himself so the rare pictures of him are just ones that other artists have uploaded when they took selfies with him. he never posts anything personal either, his posts are just so business-y and serious lolol

boyfriend music artist aki who will turn and smile at you when you're watching him from backstage... who not-so-subtly writes songs about you... who's a little shy when it comes to his singing voice but he'll sing you to sleep any time you ask him... who will have you feature as background vocals in his latest song and make everyone wonder who's voice it was..... he's intimidating to everyone else but to you he's the absolute sweetest

#SORRY I SAID A LOT BUT I TOTALLY AGREE WITH ALL THIS #HE WOULD BE SO COOL LIKE THAT SO COOLLLL #my brain is stuck on aki in an oversized band tee with multiple piercings I'm #ask mags #aki <3

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