#teen top comeback

[crazyhappygirl]

I'm sorry but WHY IS NOBODY FREAKING OUT OVER HOW TEEN TOP LITERALLY JUST PUT SOME OF THEIR SIGNATURE DANCE MOVES INTO THE CHOREOGRAPHY OF THEIR NEW COMEBACK SONG??!!!LIKE HELLO, I CANNOT FUCKING SHUT UP ABOUT IT!!!!

[teen-top-sarang]

I can’t believe it! 😭💜

[ateeyz]

infinite and teen top really coming back to save us all, teenfinite stans rise 👏 👏 👏

[herbertlangethings]

TEEN TOP (틴탑) '휙 (HWEEK)' MV

omg, what a comeback here, our great and handsome guys all, style and dance, voices and performance, all fits perfect as always, so have a look on and dance with..................

[kpopsquirtle]

Are you kidding me? 😭

[the-k-meme-dream-team]

I just heard about the Teen Top comeback I'm so excited!!!!,

[winxlover666]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[imbored1201]

hi! would you be able to do a teen reader x barca/arsenal (or like an individual) where they spend christmas alone without anyone knowing until they comeback, and when people realise they make it up to reader?

thanks! (and happy christmas and new years)

Mapi’s Huge Surprise

Warnings: Neglectful parents

Barcelona Femeni x Teen Reader

Word Count: 1,383

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone!

 

You looked at the time, 11:55 pm. About to be Christmas Day. You sighed, getting up from where you laid, to eat the rest of that gingerbread house that you built. 

You hated and loved Christmas. You loved the lights and how joyful the people got, but you hated how alone you felt every year. Your parents had never acknowledged it, but they let you walk around the neighborhood to see the lights while they partied at some coworkers place. 

Now that you were far from them, you wanted to do something big, but then you realized you didn't have any friends outside of the team, and the whole team were busy with their families. 

You were completely alone again. When midnight hit, you decided to watch some classic Christmas movies. 

—————

New Years was the same; you had also drank some wine, hoping Alexia wouldn't notice, but overall, you just enjoyed watching all your teammates stories to see what they were up to. 

Your parents had called you, wishing you a great holiday and hoping it went well for you. You just asked them what they did, and as usual, they went to a party, not bothering to ask what you did for Christmas or New Years or if you would even visit them.

—————

When Alexia came back home, you were excited and clingy. You wanted to watch a bunch of Christmas movies with her. She found it cute and agreed; even though Christmas was a week ago, she even brought up the idea to make Christmas cookies. 

It was probably the happiest Alexia had ever seen you. Apart from the mess, it was a fun day. A day you hated to see end, but at least you finally got to experience a Christmas tradition with someone that you knew cared about you. 

—————

"So, what you do for Christmas?" Lucy asked as she bumped your shoulder. "Nothing," you shrugged, drinking some of your water. Lucy frowned at that. 

"What do you mean nothing?" She asked, grabbing the water bottle from you. "I didn't do anything Lucy. I just stayed home and watched movies."

"You didn’t see your parents?" She pushed more. "Come on ladies!" Jona yelled at you guys. You quickly jogged to where the other girls were for sprints.

————

When training was over, as usual, you were the last one out the locker room, taking your sweet time. Alexia waited for you patiently, knowing if she rushed you, it wouldn't be a fun car ride for either of you. 

You had lied to Alexia about your parents coming to Barcelona, telling her that they were getting a rental where you guys would stay and that they would leave after New Year's Eve. Alexia was going to her mama's house, so you weren’t worried about getting caught lying. You felt bad for lying, but you didn't want her worrying about you. 

You noticed her expression, like she was thinking hard about something. "You okay?" You asked her, packing your bag. She nodded. 

"We have to talk." "Did I do something? I swear, I've been on top of my work, so if my teachers told you something again, they're lying," she shook her head. 

"I know you're doing good in school; your teachers have been praising you a lot lately." You smiled and followed her out to the car. She wanted to press you, but she also didn't want any awkwardness during the car ride, so she waited until you guys got home.

—————

Right when you got into the door, you tried to hurry to your room, knowing an awkward conversation was about to happen. Of course, it didn't work out.

"How was Christmas with your parents?" You froze. "Good." She looked at you, and you knew from that look that she knew you were lying. 

"Don't lie to me," you winced at her tone. "Were you here alone?" You knew you couldn't lie yourself out of this one; you nodded at her question. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, "I didn't want to be a bother." "You're never a bother Bebe. My mama loves you, you're practically another daughter to her." Alexia pulled you into a hug. 

"It's okay Alexia, I'm used to being alone on holidays, we never do anything anyway," she shook her head. "Next time you're coming with me, okay?" You nodded, and she kissed your forehead and let you go to your room.

—————

All you wanted to do was sleep; you were a teenager, so of course it was your top priority. You groaned and shoved whoever was on top of you. You heard them laugh and smack your cheeks a bit. 

You finally opened your eyes and saw Patri and Claudia with mischievous smiles. "What are you doing here?" You mumbled sleepily, closing your eyes once again. "Alexia sent us here to wake you; we have a surprise," Pina said excitedly.

"I'm too tired to get up," you told them, shoving Patri again. You felt her get off you; you got happy, thinking they would leave you alone, but of course, with this team, you would never get your way. 

"Hey!" You yelled as Pina grabbed your legs and dragged you off your bed. A huge thud sounded through the apartment as you fell. Patri quickly grabbed your arms, and they lifted you up. You tried wiggling away, but it was no use. You gave up and let them carry you. 

They set you on the floor in the middle of the living room, and there you saw all of your teammates crowded around the front door and the couch. 

"Alexia they hurt me," you whined to her. "I told you guys to get her out of bed nicely for once," Alexia scolded them. "She wouldn't get up," Patri defended, and Pina nodded along. 

"You didn't tell me we were going to have a team bonding night," you looked at Alexia offended that she didn't warn you. "It wasn't planned,” Mapi told you. 

"We got these for you" Frido told you, and you looked around and realized they all had gifts. "For what?" "What do you mean for what? For Christmas kid" Lucy told you as she threw her gift at you. 

You looked at her suspiciously, "go on, open it" She was way more excited than you. "New headphones!" You said excitedly, "Because you broke your other ones and cried about it the whole bus ride," she said. 

Aitana was about to give you hers but got shoved out of the way by Mapi. "Trust me, when you see mine, you won't want the other ones." Everyone rolled their eyes at Mapi. 

She grabbed you, and put her hands over your eyes, and led you outside. "Alexia!" You shouted, scared Mapi would pull some dumb prank on you. "I'm right here bebe" she reassured you, giving Mapi a look of confusion. 

"What did you do Mapi?" Alexia told her, seeing what she got you, but Mapi just smirked. She finally let you see, and your jaw dropped. "Holy shit" you cursed. Alexia was also too shocked to even tell you off for your language. 

A dirt bike. 

"No" Alexia told Mapi sternly. "Yes" Mapi said back. "I love you!" you shouted and tackled Mapi into a hug. 

"We can go to a trail this weekend; I have a buddy that will teach you; we just have to get you gear" she smirked and turned to Ingrid, who handed you a box. 

Your smile got bigger when you saw there was all the gear you needed. Ingrid noticed Alexia's glare. "I tried to talk her out of it, but you know how she is when she's set on something."

"Come on Alexia. Look at that smile." Mapi points to you, all happy on your dirt bike, showing it off to Patri and Pina. 

"If she gets hurt-" "she won't; trust me, in a week she'll be wanting to be competing" Alexia sighed, but let it be; there was no changing Mapi's mind, and you already seemed attached to the bike. 

—————

Mapi was right though; you were only paying attention to the bike all day. Completely forgetting you had everyone else lined up to give you their gifts. It was truly a Christmas you would never forget. 

[baekhyunnybyun]

Bex's Top 20(+1) Songs of 2023

Spotify Playlists: Top 20(+1) ♡ Top 100 ♡ 2023 On Repeat (<- the unabridged favorites list [19+ hours])

tagged by @xiaojuun @dongkwan @hohowonho & @yangsminho thank you beloveds 💜

So I have learned that I am incapable of picking a reasonable number of favorites throughout this whole process and I even kept an extra song bc I wanted to make the gfx for it. Also the layout. But here are some of my favorites from 2023!

Some thoughts: I still don't know the purki members even tho I was OBSESSED with cabin fever. Busted top song of 2023? Multiple hags had comebacks this year & teen top's tt stood out to me when I was looking back (I don't count exo as hags even tho they are...)! Infinite's & tvxq's cbs were also really good! I still think knock knock by reve should've been the tt of chill kill. Loved my soloists in 2023 (jo yuri, kim sejeong, woodz, b.i, tabber, onew, d.o, kai). Several of whom were new to me. WayV may not be kpop, but their album was too important to me not to list. I joked that my top 10 was just the omy album, but it really was very good. EXO returned!! And we probably won't see them again until 2026 😭 Perfume best debut of 2023 /hj. I still don't technically stan the boyz somehow even tho I tuned in to all of their cbs this year and now know all the members. Also 🕯 pls let a.c.e drop a full album (as a full group 😒) in 2024 🕯and ilu everything I didn't mention but made the top 20. ok enough outta me 🤐

tagging (if you've already done this pls tag me!! I'd love the see it 🫶🏻 & if you're not a cc, I'd still love to see a list if you want to do one! 💜): @jwooyoung @lee-minhoe @bethereforme @possession1981 @honeydewtual @28reas0ns @sunminshine @sunghanbin @awek-s @jeonwon-wonwoo @zuhoz @kimsmingyu @jaebeomtual @okaysign @onmywayv @goblinvern @baekhyunonlyfans @wifehwa @flaredpantsagenda @haechannabelle @kihyunsgf @sunmisbf @neonsbian @wayvmp3 @duovxq @tipannies @pinktaeyeon @jftk @ninqz @nfly5 @talksaxy @baekslight @byunbaekhyunie I'm going off memory and definitely forgot people (I'm sorry🫣) but I think most people who are gonna do this have done this already anyway 😅🤷‍♀️

[cookstorys]

𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜

_____________

Character- Miguel Diaz

Show/Movie- Cobra Kai

Warning- Cussing, cute, Demetri and Hawk are dating bc y not, Miguel bein bbg 🤭

Note- Wish I thought of this on valentines 🧍🏾, and yes I did indeed look into information about bracelets

Females dni

_____________

“This place looks pretty expensive.” Miguel was awed as he walked into the perfectly decorated jewelry store. “Which means chicks will dig anything from here,” Hawk smirked. “Once again [name] isn’t a chick.” Miguel didn't know why he trusted Hawk and Demetri to help him with this. They were both losers when it came to relationships. It took them 4years to finally confess to liking each other. He was starting to wish he had waited for his mom or Sam to be free.

“Look given your past experiences, it’s best if you buy something more expensive. You know, to seal the deal.” Demetri perked as the teens walked up to the display of heavily shiny jewelry. “Get this one, no this one, or this one. There’s so many to choose from.” Demetri looked as if he was spazzing out. “Dude your freaking out again,” Hawk mentioned then turned to focus back on Miguel. “So what are we thinking? Earrings? Necklace?” The clerk asked. “I don’t know yet, it’s our 1st anniversary and I just wanted to give him something special.” Miguel grinned at the clerk. She couldn’t help but give the same grin back. “I think I have something you may like, give me one moment.” She smiled and left towards the back room.

“Why don’t you give me anniversary gifts?” Demetri asked crossing his arms together and giving his boyfriend an eye roll. “Probably because you force me to celebrate all our first. First kiss, first time holding hands in public, hell you even celebrate our first time seeing each other as a couple.” Hawk shot back. Before Demetri could shoot back a comeback, the young clerk came back with a box of nicely arranged bracelets. She pointed to one specifically. “This one has top of the line 18k white gold bracelet, surrounded by 60 Pavé Diamonds, for a extra fee we’re willing to give you a chance to engrave anything you want into it. It’s can be your anniversary date, a quote, a name, anything of the natural.” Holy shit. Miguel only understands a quarter of what she said but the bracelet itself was definitely worth the listen.

“What’s the price?” He asked still memorized by the gorgeousness of the bracelet itself. “Well, right now this one-of-a-kind bracelet is sitting at about 899$ but with the engraving, it could bounce up to about 950$. However plus tax and if you want our insurance plan that’ll all equal up to roughly 1,238$.” She finished. Miguel let out a modified laugh. That’s more than his paycheck in two months. “Can we look for a cheaper option?” Miguel smiled. “And by cheaper he means a LOT more.” Hawk chipped in which sent a smack on the back of his head by Demetri.

That’s when he saw it. A necklace with a cute bear charm attached to it. The exact stuffed animal he won you on your first date. “How about that.” He pointed. “That is indeed on our cheaper side. 210$ with engravings it’ll be 260$.” Miguel gave the clerk a huge smile. That was perfect and in his price range. “I’ll take it, with engravings also.”

___________________

“Gift time!” You enthused as Miguel sat on your bed. You stood from your position and went over to the hiding spot of Miguel’s gift and returned to your spot in front of him on the bed. “I wanna go first.” You smiled and handed him the gift. He nervously unwrapped it but smiled when he got to the gift itself. He lifted a big book from the box and opened it and saw all the memories you’ve made together, even before becoming a couple. “I love it, baby.” He smiled and leaned over to set a sweet, simple kiss on your cheek.

“My turn now.” He handed you a much smaller box and a lighter box. You lifted the top to reveal the gift inside, and to your surprise it was empty. “ um I think yo-.” You cut off your sentence when you saw Miguel holding a shiny necklace with a cute bear hanging in the middle. “No way.” You laughed not even trying to contain your excitement. You turned around allowing Miguel to place the necklace around your neck. It surprisingly felt a tad bit heavy but it was so worth it. “You have no idea how much this means to me.” You smiled planting a long passionate kiss on his lips.

[teen-top-sarang]

NIEL(니엘) - In your space(궤도) @인기가요 inkigayo 20221204

[안방1열 풀캠4K] 니엘 '궤도' (NIEL 'In your space' FullCam)│@SBS Inkigayo 221204

[look-at-the-soul]

Look at the soul- Part 10 There you’ll be

Cillian Murphy x OC

Series master list

⚠️ Grief (but the comfort afterwards compensates)

🎭 Special thanks to @heidimoreton for creating the most perfect and beautiful moodboard for this part! 🥰✨ I’ve been saving this for so long, this chapter holds a very special place in my heart since it was one of the very firsts scenes I had in mind, I didn’t know how I’d get there, only this had to be part of the story… as Cillian realizes that in order to be able to enjoy something new, he needs to let go first of what’s keeping him locked.

Word count: 3,840 (without the song)

Song: There you’ll be by Faith Hill

“Adria!” Enda shouted from behind, people walking on the street turned to look at him but he simply didn’t care. Cillian followed him in silence.

Marianne blushed as she heard him calling her by her character’s name several times until he reached her.

“On a trip to fulfill your coffee addiction?”

“Better than yours.” She pointed at the cigarette between his fingers.

“Touché.” Edna chuckled looking at Cillian, she had been getting better at keeping up with his sense of humor and sometimes she got a better comeback.

“Turn it off man, it’s bad for her lungs.” Cillian asked him politely.

“I’m curious what do you have in there?”

Marianne looked at the tote bag Enda just pointed.

“Got a few books at the café, I’m planning to start it this Friday.”

Enda looked at her with a shocked expression. “How old are you? Eighty two? Marianne this is Ireland, you’re by yourself and no one knows you here, should be going out until four in the morning, pass out… have a great time.”

“Reading a book with a glass of wine it’s more like my kind of night.” She replied shyly. “And it’s a great plan by the way.”

“Live, woman… go out and live life! That’s why you’re single.” Enda joked. “Both of you.”

“Don’t be rude mate.” Cillian tried to defend.

“Just telling the truth.” He shuddered. “Hopefully you’ll get someone thanks to the play.”

“Enda!” Marianne opened her eyes wide.

“What? Could be a good opportunity to make a casting or something for you.”

Reaching the steps of the Olympia theater, she shook her head slightly.

“Don’t listen to him, it’s a consequence of his age, he’s losing the filter.”

“Aye, you’re not getting any younger.” Enda patted Cillian on the back.

“Doesn’t matter you’ll always be older than us.” He gave Marianne a small wink.

“Go on stage now, before I start the audition right away.”

As everyone took their place, the lights tech started to make some adjustment, the cast began the rehearsal.

“Stop, stop.” Enda asked interrupting the scene going on stage. “We need the lights off just as Adria reaches the top step, all theater lights off, this light on her.” He explained and then took off his glasses, the big opening was around the corner and this was the most important part.

“Every body keep your counts right.” Heidi called over the microphone.

Marianne positioned herself close to the bar again, her eyes and ears on Enda to follow his instructions.

“Cillian on your count.”

As the cast started moving around and a bright light was focused on Adria, the screenplay writer walked towards his friend.

“Holy fuck.” Enda exhaled loudly as they both watched the scene unfold on stage.

“I know man.” Cillian crossed his arms against his chest without moving his eyes from Marianne.

Even after weeks of rehearsals, it kept taking them by surprise once she got into character, dress and characterization included. They were both holding their breaths as she looked back, over her shoulder towards them. Her emerald eyes boring into their souls.

“Is this one of those stories they love to portray in movies right?”

Cillian looked at him confused.

“I’ve known you since you were a noisy teen, don’t try to fool me.” Enda adjusted the glasses on his nose. “You have fallen deep for her and I don’t blame you to be honest… I mean, who wouldn’t?”

Cillian’s eyes moved around the theater without locking eye contact with Enda. He remained quiet, letting the words sink in.

“It’s alright to move on, it’s been a while. You just have to make peace with you-know-who first, close the cycle they call it.” Enda squeezed his shoulder. “Go home man, think about it.”

Cillian looked back on stage, finding Marianne there turning her face around, over her shoulder. The realization feeling heavier on his shoulders.

There was no use to try to deny it now, Enda only gave his own thoughts a loud voice.

Was it a proper time to move on?

How are you supposed to do that?

Would Marianne feel the same about him?

Slowly, day by day she found a way to make him smile, she gave him back the strength and need to be on stage. To do what he loved the most and without even noticing, made herself earn a spot inside his heart.

Grieving doesn’t come with a manual, there are no instructions to know if you’re taking the long way or the short route. Words of support come and go, but the only thing that sets the pace it’s your own heart.

As a few rain drops started to wet his face, Cillian shuddered, not because it was cold, but because this would represent a major change in his life, he couldn’t even come close to measure the impact this would bring into him.

Could he take this chance after losing his wife?

Could it be Marianne the one helping him heal his heart? Did he really stand a chance with her? Even after being in his forties?

For the first time he felt self conscious about his age, he wasn’t the young lad he was once…

And besides that, moving on after a breakup or a divorce is completely different than starting all over again after being a widower. He had now developed several mannerisms over time, he had an already built in life, an ongoing list of things he could no longer tolerate, in-laws that were looking at the time were he would make the slightest mistake and last but not least, his sons… but above all of that he was just a lonely man and without an ounce of being pretentious, he thought he deserved to give love a second chance.

He wanted to be happy, to feel alive again…

Was he ready to let go of the memory of his late wife to take a chance to be happy again? Fall back in love?

He had to give Marianne credit because she lifted him up when he needed it the most, she had been there as a lifeline for him the moment he met her on that bus and ever since she had been holding a candle to light his path back to theater among other projects.

That wasn’t entirely a surprise, because deep down she had this internal light that could bright even the darkest room.

It had been a while since the last time he went there, the atmosphere suddenly felt dense, he wanted to apologize for not coming sooner, he didn’t even paid attention of anything around him on his way there.

The day he met Marianne on the bus exactly, that was the last time he had been there visiting his late wife’s urn, after that he stopped completely, something had been keeping him away.

Someone more likely.

“Hey,” his voice cracked a bit, “I’m sorry I haven’t been here lately, loads of things going on, the kids are alright growing up so fast. Andrew is even taller than me already,” he chuckled looking at his late wife’s name engraved. “Truth is I don’t have a valid excuse… I’ve been working on a play, yeah it’s a great script and it’s been a massive therapy for me, the only thing that keeps my mind off but you already know that right? There are days where I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, losing you forced me to be around the boys completely and we didn’t had the phone line for like a week because I forgot to pay the bill once, you took care of everything… but I’m trying, for the boys, for me… for you.”

Cillian let out a heavy sigh, feeling embarrassed suddenly.

“But that’s not what I came for…” he cleared his throat.

His hand trembled when he touched the cold stone.

“One of those nights after you left, I was lying in bed unable to sleep and reality hit me hard, my mind started bombarding me with these thoughts ’is this how it’s going to be from now on?’… I know you’re not coming back, and you’ll always be the mother of my kids… but I met someone a-and I don’t know how she feels, but I wanted to let you know that I decided to give it a try… is that alright? To rebuild my personal life and have someone by my side?”

In my dreams, I'll always see you soar above the sky

In my heart, there'll always be a place for you for all my life

He could feel the wedding band around his finger burning, of course it wasn’t real, it was just a thing made by his mind, but he needed to do it. The lump in his throat growing.

I'll keep a part of you with me

And everywhere I am, there you'll be

“I promise you I’ll help the boys keep your memory alive in some way… I better go, have to make dinner for those beasts.” He added with a small chuckle.

Everyone carries grieving in different ways and to him everything is valid, or at least that’s what he wanted to think because as he stepped outside one of the classic Irish rain started to pour down as if somehow the rain came to wash over his pain, his grief and also the guilt of thinking about a brand new start with someone else.

Cillian couldn’t find a single word to describe how he felt, but the weight on his shoulders was definitely lighter this time around.

The shadow of mourning finally stopped wrapping its coat around him.

Arriving home later, he left his shoes by the steps. Walking across the corridor he was met by the familiar sounds of his sons and dog, but he stopped on his tracks as a photo of his late wife dressed in her wedding dress all those years ago stared at him from the shelves.

This was his way of saying goodbye, of letting go finally of the woman who had been his partner for the last eighteen years.

Rolling the gold wedding band between his thumb and forefinger he took a moment to rub the edge, the symbol of their marriage, their vows, the dreams they once shared.

And I always will remember all the strength you gave to me

Placing his wedding band next to the photo, he gave her one last look. “Thank you for giving me my boys.”

He was ready to open up his heart again.

“Hey Da.” Andrew, his eldest son greeted him as he walked into the kitchen.

“You’re studying, guess that’s why it’s raining.” He joked.

“Yeah, I don’t understand anything.”

Part of his abilities as an actor was learning things for the role he was portraying, but school assignments were a pain in the arse for him.

“Sorry buddy, you know I suck at this but if you need some help…”

“Are you gonna call aunt Orla? No thanks, last time she confused me more.”

Cillian couldn’t help but chuckle at his son’s statement. But he had someone else in mind.

“Do you want help or not?”

“Ya.”

Cillian saw Andrew groan defeated, resting his head on the book. So he quickly took his phone and opened a new text message.

Heyya’ are you busy?

Hello! No, why?

I know you love numbers, interested in doing some tutoring? SOS it’s for my son. He wrote back.

Of course, come over.

And just like that she was able to brighten his day in mere minutes. Even if it was the darkest night.

“Pick up your stuff, we’re going. Benjamin! We’re going out, are you coming?” He shouted from the first floor.

“Can I drive?” Asked Andrew.

“Do you’ve a license?” As his eldest shook his head, Cillian tilted his head. “Then the answer is no.”

“No, can I go to TJ’s house? He invited me to play video games.”

Cillian nodded and passed Ben’s jumper, after waving Scout goodbye, he left his youngest at his friend’s house and drove away with Andrew to Marianne’s place.

“Who did you get?”

“Marianne, she’s part of the cast of the play but she’s really, really good with numbers.” Cillian explained.

“Cool.” Was all his son had to say.

It was a short and quick drive, Cillian pulled in front of the townhouse, the property seemed to be remodeled and held several apartments independently.

After pressing the buzz, Marianne opened the door for them.

“Hello again, this is my kid Andrew… thanks for doing this by the way.”

“Dad I’m not a kid anymore. Hi.” Andrew looked at Marianne, making her swallow a gasp by the similarities with his father.

“Hey, please come in.” She welcomed them with a smile.

Cillian mimicked Andrew. “He can’t stand when I call him that.”

Suppressing a giggle, Marianne guided them towards the small kitchen. She decided to avoid commenting the obvious that they looked so alike. “So, your Dad says you’re studying applied mathematics?”

“Yeah but so don’t understand my teacher.”

“Oh before that, we brought hamburgers for dinn-” Cillian started to explain, but quickly found himself staring at the stove. “What’s this? Smells fantastic.”

“My special chicken.” Marianne explained, she had prepared it for the traditional tacos night with the girls the following day, but judging by Cillian’s glances, she thought of changing it. “You can have some if you want.”

He wanted to say no, it would be a terrible thing to take away her food, but the smell was incredible and by now it was evident, it was mouth-watering.

“It’s fine really, there’s enough.”

“I swear they’re good, but this looks and smells delicious.” Cillian praised again. “How about we exchange?”

“It’s fine really, there’s enough.”

“You sure?” Cillian asked again, to which Marianne replied with a nod.

“Would you like some too Andrew?” She asked looking at the boy.

“Nah, the burger is fine. Thanks.”

“Your loss ‘cos this is awesome.” Cillian shuddered taking another bite.

It felt somehow strange to have Cillian and his son in her kitchen.

“Did you know Marianne's studying her master in Finance?” He raised his eyebrows, making evident his admiration. “Trinity College.”

“Oh yeah? The campus is grand.” Andrew stated.

“It is, loads of buildings, but now I’m taking a hybrid method so I’m not always there.” Marianne explained before thanking Cillian for her dinner.

“Hmmm.” Cillian was lost for words, he never imagined the explosion of flavors in his mouth. “This is perfect.”

As Andrew excused himself to use the bathroom, Cillian continue praising her cooking skills.

“How have you been feeling?” He asked studying Marianne’s face, his gaze was penetrating.

“Everything’s fine, the new inhaler works like a charm.” She replied, getting busy with the dirty dishes.

“You could try going outside for a walk put all these trees to good use.” Cillian added taking the plates from her.

“Heidi told me I’ve to go to the Blarney Stone, I’m planning to visit on Sunday.” Cillian’s fingers brushed against hers accidentally, but it was enough to make her heart skip a beat.

He noticed a small blush in her skin, or it was the kitchen light perhaps? Why was this suddenly feeling like a perfect domestic scene?

“Just avoid kissing it please.” He made a disgusted face.

“Why? I’ll loose my good luck shot.”

“Just… don’t kiss it, trust me.”

“What? The Blarney rock?” Andrew laughed. “It’s full of piss… gross.”

“Andrew.” Cillian warned with his eyes and voice tone.

“Wha? ‘S true.”

“Are you guys serious?” Marianne asked in disbelief.

But after watching them nod profusely, Andrew told her locals usually pee on the stone among other disgusting things so she decided to trust in their words. And avoid kissing the stone at all costs.

While Cillian finished with the dishes, Andrew got his book and notebook.

“Oh I remember these.” Marianne took a moment to read through the notes and exercises. “Just let me grab my glasses. At this hour I can’t see without them.”

“No offense, but you sound just like my Da.”

Marianne laughed, but Cillian moved so quickly to slap his son in the back of his head.

As Andrew hissed and rubbed the spot with his hand, Marianne waved at Cillian.

“It’s fine, after you cross your thirties you’ll start making Dad jokes without even having kids and wear glasses too.”

Cillian smirked, pleased. “That was a nice comeback, smooth.”

Andrew groaned and shook his head.

“Okay let’s start with this example, you need to find the ‘x’ value. And differentiate 3x-7.” She read the first part of the instructions.

“But I only have ‘y’.” Andrew frowned confused.

“Yeah you’ll have to find that first and then use that value to find the ‘x’.” Marianne started working on her own sheet to show him, in a few short steps she solved the problem.

“Woah!”

Cillian chuckled from the living room where he had picked a book from Marianne’s shelves that caught his attention. Lying on the couch he watched the scene before his eyes, the domesticity at its finest and he felt so comfortable that the mere sensation from it forced to question himself if he was allowed to feel this good.

And his son was even smiling from solving the problems correctly. To him that mean everything.

Since he left the theater he hadn’t been able to stop the thoughts about Marianne and the positive impact she had brought along the way. He was constantly relying on her not only about his professional projects like the play or his production company, but on a personal level as well, she had seen him at his worst, on a negative attitude and managed to help him ground again. She had a very particular sense of humor and her face was so transparent that he could see every emotion there even when she wasn’t speaking. He also enjoyed way too much teasing her when she couldn’t get a word right.

If he could use one word about her, it was admiration, there was no other way to describe his feelings. Because seeing her on stage, transformed into this fearless character, dominating the entire theater with her presence in a foreign language when she didn’t have an acting background but she worked so hard so you wouldn’t notice that. It was something that slowly made him fall in love not only with theater again, but with her as well.

He had to admit her physical beauty attracted loads of attention, he had seen first hand the way people stared at her when they were out for a coffee or walking towards the theater, there was something about her that made you turn around or steal a glance and she didn’t seem to notice, she never seemed to be pretentious or rude to anyone. No, all the opposite she was always kind to everyone.

But could all of that transform or evolve from the daily interactions to something else? How would she feel if she knew that he was falling for her?

Endless questions had been on his mind lately, it was frustrating to not have the answers.

How could he be so sure that this was something genuine and not because they worked together?

How could he even start all over again in his personal life?

“There you go, be careful with the-,” she stopped talking as she saw Andrew answer by himself, “yes that’s correct.”

Leaning back on the chair, she looked in Cillian’s direction finding him laying on his back, on her couch as if he always belonged there. Dragging her eyes quickly from him before he could notice.

Lee’s words resonating in her mind over and over.

But looking at Andrew wasn’t much help because he looked just like his father in every possible way, the only difference was that he had short hair and less freckles and the other one was the colour of his eyes, as Andrew’s looked more like blue-grayish, but she could easily imagine this is what Cillian looked like when he was younger.

She needed to stop these feelings to grow further because they still had to hit the road with the play and by the end of the dates she would end up with a broken heart.

“How did I do?” Andrew asked pulling her away from her thoughts.

“Let’s see,” tilting her head she check over at the numbers, a soft smile appearing on her lips, “you did it!”

Offering Andrew a high five, she encouraged him to continue, helping the boy every now and then when he had questions but he did it mostly by himself.

“How’s it going?” Cillian asked joining them in the kitchen.

“I finished the work.” Andrew stood with pride oozing from him. “Thanks.”

“Thank you.” Cillian added looking into her eyes. “Really appreciate this.”

“Happy to help.” Marianne gave them a quick glance.

“I won’t see you tomorrow, will be around scouting for locations to film the video and arranging stuff.” Cillian took the keys of his car and handed them to his son.

“Oh… okay.” Marianne stammered adding a nod. Unsure of what to say.

“Can I drive?” Andrew looked at his Dad who was standing behind him, with his hands on his shoulders.

“Ya.”

“Grand!”

As Andrew stormed out from the flat with his belongings and the keys, Cillian hid his hands inside the pockets of his jeans.

“You saved me from a headache and him for his test.” Cillian picked on his lip nervously and forced Marianne to look in a different direction.

“You just want an excuse to keep me working.” She joked with a smile that reached her eyes.

“Of course, you don’t deserve a day off that’s why I asked for the tutoring tonight and then you appearing in the music video.” He replied in the same light tone as her.

“I was just kidding,” she assured him feeling like a fool, he probably just wanted to go home and she was trying to make small talk.

“Thanks for the budget by the way, it helped me a lot.”

She had already finished the budget for the rest of the year and managed to give him all the quotes to film the music video, she even added a small percentage for what she called the just-in-case. And the numbers looked good, the group’s manager approved it already.

Marianne nodded and added in a playful tone: “Someone has to keep your spending on track.”

“I’ll have to start thinking of the next project.” Cillian ran one of his hands through his curls.

“Enda mentioned you left the rehearsal early because you felt rubbish.” She loved using that term now. “How are you feeling?”

She asked a simple question oblivious to the real reason behind Cillian’s absence from the rehearsal. In her eyes, he found she was genuinely worried about him.

Leaning in with a smile, he kissed her cheek as goodbye. “Never been better.”

Cillian stared into her eyes for a few seconds, taking in the feeling he had been experiencing since they arrived there; for the first time he was able to see her properly without the veil of grief blurring his vision.

***

Part 11

🍀🇮🇪Visit Ireland: Blarney Stone, I recently read about it in a book and man, 😂 the stories I’ve heard ever since…

A/N: If you like this, remember your feedback is the best tip you can leave 🫙✨♥️🎭

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[shutupineedtothink]

Ok really seriously were comebacks from Shinee, EXO, Teen Top, Infinite (like srsly I still cannot believe), VIXX (also cannot believe), TVXQ, U-Kiss, FT Island, and BtoB on anyone’s 2023 bingo card because holy shit what a year for the 2nd gen boys

[itbe-jess]

Rating my Raymen from favorite to least favorite!

Sparks Of Hope- 100/10!

When Nintendo gave Rayman his comeback, they did everything perfectly! *Mwah* 👌 His design is so fresh and expressive. His face looks very kissable. And his hair... so floofy! 💗 Personality wise, he is possibly the most relatable Rayman of all. I mean, have you looked at him? He gives off so many depressed, tired millennial vibes. Despite that, he still has his enthusiasm for adventure. He also kept his kind heart, with a little adorable shyness to boot. Man, his voice is so comforting, I could listen to it all day. Thank you, Mr. Gasman.

Props to Nintendo for the recurring gag of Rayman's appendages coming apart. I love it when his limblessness is rooted in humor. What amazes me more is how this is the first Rabbids game that allows Rayman to perform his iconic feats, since he never did any of those in the previous Rabbid titles. There is nothing I don't like about this Rayman! It's so warm. He is the living definition of quality art! No, he is art!

Rayman 3- 10/10

This is the game that gave Rayman his stunning new design that became the preferable fan favorite. (By the way, Rayman 3 is the best Rayman game. I said so, and I don't give a fuck on what others say.) He's funky, silly, and laid-back, yet still takes his job seriously, while being a loving friend we all wished we had. The over the top cartoony physics in his character certainly brings out a laughable charm, too. I'd say this Rayman is SEGA's answer to Sonic The Hedgehog.

The steady blend in his personality, paired with a badass looking design, truly makes Rayman stand out as a memorable video game character for all ages. Just looking at him, you know he's very welcoming. David Gasman did an excellent job providing his voice. He was even good enough to revise his role as the limbless wonder in SOH, cuz no other voice actor can do it better. Dare I say it: R3 Ray is pretty handsome, too. HUGE FEATURES.

Rayman 2- 9/10

Sweet precious boy with a squishy baby face, I just wanna squeeze, and doesn't hold one bad bone in his body. (Does Rayman even have bones?) For some reason, he looks more cute in low poly than any of the high rendered art. I think it's because the outdated graphics make him look like a cuddly teddy bear. He's just a little guy. But under all that cuteness, he's a determined hero who never goes back on his word, and will go through hell just for you. Purest man alive.

However, he's a little too nice for his own good. That's his entire character in the game, which is the only thing I could nitpick. I would like to see him show some anger, or deliver sarcastic one-liners, but only centered on his earnest side. To be fair, the game does exploit on his playful side a little. He dances with Teensies, plays basketball with his torso, and performs somersaults on Clark the Giant. Rayman M/Arena even highlighted his playfulness more.

The Animated Series- 8.5/10

R2 Rayman's cartoon counterpart, but with a more fleshed out personality. In my opinion, Rayman himself is one of the only watchable moments in this series. He's your stereotypical rebellious teen with a no-bullshit attitude, and will slap you with a good dose of sass. But at the same time, he still cares for others around him, and has shown to be quite considerate, as well as a wise leader. Billy West did a decent job voicing Rayman. I'm gonna be honest: The broken Boston accent is very amusing to listen to. lol Reminds me of myself, since I too speak with a broken Boston accent. And since Billy West is autistic, I officially claim AS Rayman to be autistic as well! 🙌

Sadly, as much as it pains me, I had to put him behind R2 Rayman. Despite being the titular character, the series doesn't offer much of him. It rarely focuses on Rayman at all. If you removed him entirely from the show, nothing will change. The only time Rayman ever used his powers is in the second episode, and a little bit in the first. He's got so much potential, only to have it wasted. They did my boy dirty like that.

Rayman 1- 8/10

This little lad was Cuphead before Cuphead. (Their games have similar aspects, if you think about it) What can I say about him? Well, he's such a pure child, so small and cozy, who is willing to leap into danger with a smile on his face. I wanna hold him and spoil him. Give him dessert before dinner. The most interesting factor to admire about him is how he's meant to represent an old Golden Age cartoon, courtesy of Tex Avery's inspiration. Aside from being cute and wacky, he's a good fella who will make friends with some of his enemies. He also tends to have hidden depths, like painting and singing show tunes.

I'm sorry for ranking him very low on the list, but there aren't that many insights to his character. He doesn't talk (much), we don't see him properly interact with other characters, and the game isn't heavily emphasized on storytelling. The plot is just free Electoons, and kick baddie ass. I will give credit to the edutainment games, for expanding more on R1 Rayman's character.

Raving Rabbids- 6.3/10

Here, we are given a more softer approach of Rayman. The RR trilogy portrays our limbless wonder as an awkward cutie who just wants to indulge a peaceful relaxing break, while still having his determination and heroic spirit. He will wear a dress to a death defying arena course, and he's a damn good dancer. He also tries to be a good uncle to Globox's kids. It's very satisfying to watch Rayman do mundae stuff, although in RRR 2, it only depends on who you're playing as.

Unfortunately, it's safe to admit that this Rayman is a mere joke. Most of the time, he's portrayed as a coward, lets the rabbids walk all over him, and doesn't think before his actions. He spent 15 days being the bunnies' bitch before he eventually escaped, when he could've just flown out of his cell, or fought the bunnies off! (That was the original premise of the game, after all!) He forgets to save Globox's kids in the end, which made his escape plan turn out to be a complete waste, then ends up getting stuck in a burrow before being eaten by sheep. We don't know if he stopped the bunnies in RRR 2, although TV Party implied that he failed. Needless to say, it's not his fault. He was intentionally made to look bad just so the rabbids could shine. Fuck you, Ubisoft.

UbiArts- 4/10

Although the games did really poorly in sales and soon reduced to dumb mobile games later on, there's no denying that this Rayman would eventually spring back into stardom. Inspired by his original 2D counterpart, we're introduced to an adorkable, careless adventurer, with an attitude that will light up your worst moods. He's aesthetically wacky, and knows how to have a good time.

As fun of a character he may be, he's a little weak in depth. So far, all he can be is wacky and happy. He's happy all the time. Not to mention he's too immature. I know some of you will fight back against this argument with "But Rayman acts exactly how he did in his first game!" Well, yes, and no. R1 Rayman is pretty wacky and childish, but he had variety; Showing anger, fear, friendliness, classiness, and his wackiness is up to old-school Looney Tunes level. Whereas UbiArts' Rayman is one dimensional. It's even worse that the playable characters have the same personality and fighting strategy as him.

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix- 2/10

I was worried that Rayman turned out to be a greedy propagandist who has no shame in working under a corrupted system. As I found out, much to my relief, he's not a villain. Just an ordinary nice guy who wants to stand in the spotlight. All he wanted was to do some good in his life. He really means no harm in his actions. Because Eden handed him his stardom on a silver platter, the best he could do was be loyal towards them, making it easy for Eden to manipulate him. Once he discovered the dark truth Eden was burying, he then decided to fix what his influence had done. I really sympathize with him. I feel his pain. I admire that his heart is in the right place. He has every right to let out all his bottled up feelings.

He's a good character. But the problem is he's not a good character as Rayman. He doesn't even feel like Rayman at all. He's only Rayman in name and appearance. The rest of his character is BoJack Horseman clashed with Shadow The Hedgehog. The idea of Rayman swearing, drinking, and trying drugs is fun, but he's so oversaturated with edge, I can hardly recognize him, especially when he wears sleeves. I'm also not a big fan of his design. If "Ramon" wants to kill a group of fascists for using him, he could at least do it the more traditional Rayman way! Fuck the guns! Just beat them to death! Whip out the ol' lockjaw! Slice and dice 'em with helicopter hair! If you like this version of Rayman, I gradually respect that, and will support you. This Rayman just isn't for me.

Rayman And Les Moldies- 0/10.

Kill it. I don't care if this is the only piece of artwork we have so far on the show. Kill it.

[freifraufischer]

The New Zealand Problem

Sometimes you can see the issue that will light the gymternet on fire a mile away before anyone has even seen the smoke. And sometimes that fire had always existed.

In gymnastics one of the paths to qualification at the Olympics goes to the single highest all around placement at each continental championship from a country that did not qualify a team already. This is fairly straight forward in most places but gets dicey in one corner of the world. The Oceania Gymnastics Union is essentially a continental federation of 2 countries. Yes there are other members (Guam, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands, and America Samoa), but there are no elite gymnasts from those countries. Australia qualified a women's team to the Olympics, so by default that means a Kiwi WAG gets an Olympic spot. At least according to FIG. But they aren't the only ones who get to decide who is an Olympian.

I've talked about "No Olympic Tourist" Policies before, and people may have run into them in regard to Sweden and ice skating, but many small to medium sized countries have policies to limit the size of their own Olympic teams for budget reasons. These national Olympic committees (NOC) set criteria that are higher than the general qualification rules for a given sport. Sweden's is often considered the most extreme (you have to show you are in the top eight in the world, meaning you can make an Olympic final and contend for a medal. The reason they're called No Olympic Tourist Policies is because you wont be sent to the Olympics just to be there.

New Zealand has had a No Olympic Tourist Policy for decades, and while their criteria is less extreme then Sweden's it works similarly. You have to convince the NZOC that you are within the top 16 in the world (the ability to make a semifinal in athletics or swimming where races are 8 lanes wide). In 2012 Jordan Rae was one of the last gymnasts to qualify at the London Test Event, but NZOC turned down her spot and it passed on to Đỗ Thị Ngân Thương of Vietnam who finished behind her and who went on to compete in London.

In this interview from 2016, Rhythmic gymnast Tanya Moss-Barry who represented New Zealand in Los Angeles describes how initially they believed that New Zealand would send no gymnasts to the Olympics that year. Only a top 8 finish at an event in Tokyo convinced the NZOC to send her, and she believes it was at the expense of equally deserving WAG and MAG gymnasts. They would send only one of them.

It appears that Courtney McGregor was sent to Rio on the basis of her vaulting competitiveness. Which itself suggests that the people making the decisions at the NZOC don't really know much about gymnastics. McGregor came in 4th on vault at the Rio test event and 17th at 2015 Worlds. But as anyone who knows gymnastics knows... vault fields are much smaller than other apparatus and a finish in the teens doesn't mean you are as competitive as one on the other apparatus. But more power to them if they were able to get the Olympic committee to send her on that basis.

So the problem for 2024.

The WAG Olympic Qualification road has handed an Olympic spot to New Zealand by default. There are no other elite gymnasts in the region it can go to and no mechanism for that spot to be reallocated to anyone outside of Oceania. And based on the results from Worlds it is highly doubtful that the NZOC will consider either Madeleine Marshall (93rd in the AA and 110th on beam) or Reece Cobb (102nd in the AA and 56th on beam) to be competitive. Courtney McGregor is making a comeback but without competing elite in years I'm not sure how she makes that case either.

Georgia-Rose Brown recently changed countries from Australia to New Zealand but she almost certainly is banking on making an argument for her competitiveness based on her bars results (she came in 4th and 5th on bars at two World Cups in 2023). Maybe the people making a choice at NZOC wont know that 2023 World Cups aren't evidence of competitiveness. Her best bars result of the entire quad would have put her in 22nd on bars at 2023 Worlds. If she qualifies here is to hoping she can make a case. But it does raise the question of if she knew about the NZOC policy before changing countries or if she saw the automatic NZ WAG qualification spot as an opportunity and didn't realize there was an extra step. I have to believe she went into it knowing though. The NZOC is pretty well known in Kiwi circles.

So what happens to this spot if it goes to a Kiwi and the NZOC turns it down? Well... that's not clear. It could go unfilled. Or FIG could ask the IOC permission to let them revert it to the Worlds AA results as Australia's team means that Oceania already had representation.

Or some smart cookie NCAA gymnast with ties to Guam or Fiji could make a country change REAL soon and find themselves at the Olympics with a relatively easy path.