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#very organic and industrial sounds at the same time
old-stoneface · 2 months
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mitski covered this song for a live spotify thing and its so unreal how beautiful it is 😭😭😭😭 i love her voice here and how gentle she sounds
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Say what you will about Van Helsing 2004; hate it, love it, be indifferent, But the All-Hallow's masquerade ball went sooooo hard and it had zero right to do so! It's a fun, campy, monster mash movie with wonderfully dated ( and expensive) cgi and non-stop action meant to be a popcorn flick one takes out to watch around spooky season. And it has this* chef's kiss* GORGEOUS 6 minute sequence plopped arbitrarily in the second act, which unexpectedly surpasses nearly every other ball in the last 30+ years of film( notable exception being the Cinderella 2015 ball) for literally no reason other than to be dramatic af.
Like feast your eyes on this Gothic masterpiece!!! Who doesn't want to immediately live in this picture?!??
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They used those candles with oil in them so that they would have real candles, real string orchestra( I believe), probably around 100 real life extras( something which is tragically absent in modern film), said extras are all in beautiful fully decked-out costumes( which are in luxuriously dark colours, but nearly no fully black, another thing you cannot say for much modern cinema), REAL CIRQUE DU SOLEIL PERFORMERS for all the acrobatics!!!! Hell, instead of filming in a sound stage, where they could control the reverb and the acoustics and the size of the set and the bloody lighting ( they apparently had a heck of a time emulating the firelight for this sequence) and the temperature( it's very cold in stone churches!) better, they filmed in a Baroque church in Prague! As I said, peak dramatic splendour, jfc...
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Think about that a second...They filmed a vampire masquerade in a Baroque Catholic Church( St. Nicholas' in Lesser Town, if you were curious) with amazing over-the-top acoustics and marble statues and real, tiled floors and marble pillars and a choir loft which they very much utilized, covered the pipe organ and the altar with a grand brocade curtain so it wouldn't be so obviously a, you know, a church! And there's a gold gilt elevated and canopied pulpit into which they put two vampire kiddies for, again, the sake of being dramatic.
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And the costumes! They remind me of the 25th anniversary Phantom of the Opera Masquerade costumes. Same quality, like they're old, well-cared-for costumes pulled out of a warehouse, instead of fast industry churn-outs. With lots of trim and colour and masks and lace and feathers and..just...ugh.. they are all perfect! Just look at all the head pieces on the ladies and the hats on all the gentleman ( save Dracula of course) and the powdered wigs on the musicians. ANNNNDD! The dresses are historically correct!!!!!! It's the 80's bustle era! Nobody does the 80's bustle era in film anymore and it's a bummer. Oh and one other thing! Anna's ( and other women's) hair, at least here in the ball, is also historically accurate because it's all pinned up! None of those fucken modern beachwaves at a ball! Everybody's got updo's!
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Gah, I swear, Dracula in his gold cloak really does things to me in this scene!
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By the way, the acrobatics are bonkers in here for just background stuff!! Especially the random guys on unicycles and the dude playing the violin whilst standing on a ball...Like....WHAT?
Anyways, all this to say, that this masquerade ball feels sooo real and tangible and because of that it blows every other film out of the water, and no, I will not change my mind!!!!!
Here's a few more gifs, bcuz, why the hell not, this scene is sexy as fuu*ck?
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Alright I need to go to bed now.
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“don’t fill your void with me”
“Свою пустоту мною не заполняй”
Pairings: Villain!The Winter Solider!Bucky Barnes x reader
Summary: this takes place in an alternative universe where Hydra took over the world and the winter soldier killed all Avengers and he became the leader of Hydra and he’s controlling the whole world. He saw you one day and he determined you were his and he made sure of that. making you live very comfortably as his “favorite” mistress and he turns very very soft with you.
Warnings: heavy smut, some fluff (if u squint), villain bucky turns sweet, oral (f receiving), jealousy, dark themes, dark!bucky to soft!bucky, dom bucky, lots of praise + lots of praise in Russian.
This was inspired by Яд by Erika Lundmoen
please read my author note it’s very important!
AU/N: this is only part one and still working on part two. thought I’d make this only one part but it was too long I had to cut it into two parts. I need to remind you that English is not my first language so excuse any misspelling or mispronunciation of any words or any grammatical mistakes lol. Hope you enjoy this dark fantasy I had of Bucky as I was wondering how he would be still a villain. Also, this was heavily inspired by ‘Yad’ (Яд) by Erika Lundmoen, I love this song so much and it always reminds me of Bucky in his Winter solider era. Enjoy loves xx
PART 1.
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You sighed before swallowing that last sip of the red wine glass that the air hostess brought you. This was already your 3rd glass. You looked through the window to the dark clouds and the night sky as you kept thinking and wondering how you get here in the first place. It was somewhat a normal Friday late afternoon, you were getting ready for the evening, and your –rich new– friends have prepared for you. They were setting you up with a blind date, they said it’s a very handsome guy who's an heir to a big industrial company. You weren’t amused that much as none of them know your secret or your secret lover.
Then you remembered him, your secret mysterious lover, who’s the reason you’re living this lavish rich lifestyle. You remembered six years ago, on the news, you were watching Captain America getting brutally killed by none other than The Winter Soldier himself. You watched the fall of this new organization of superheroes and agents called “The Avengers” and the new world order seeing light under the hands of The Winter Soldier. Hydra ruled and controlled every country in the world, including the USA. It was three years ago when you saw on the news that every leader and all the rulers of Hydra were killed and it was an inside job. The Winter Solider rebelled and killed every single one of them and he, alone, became the new Hydra leader, recruiting super soldiers and making the biggest army of super soldiers known to man.
A year ago, you were just a normal waitress girl, in a hotel restaurant, minding your own business and working just to make ends meet. You weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth and your upbringing was very normal and somewhat poor. Until one day your boss came and told you there will be a very important diplomatic meeting that’s happening in the hotel and he assigned you and two of your coworkers to wait on the leaders and diplomats. On this same very evening, you saw him for the first time. The Winter Solider. Bucky Barnes. Captain America’s best friend who was brainwashed by Hydra and was under control for decades. He was so charismatic, terrifying, very handsome, and absolutely dangerous. Just like a fallen angel, just like Lucifer himself. You were drawn to him at first glance until he noticed you and made eye contact with you. Your heart skipped a beat then, there was a connection between you both, you were certain of this as at first glance, you saw his face change emotion and he was staring at you.
-
“барышня, only 5 minutes till landing” You were brought back to reality from that memory train you were on by the sound of the bodyguard on your left. you nodded to him with a smile and fastened your seat belt around your hips.
Looking back at your past now made you wonder if you actually deserve to live this life or not, to go everywhere with a private plane like the one you’re in now. To live in the finest, most luxurious apartment in Brooklyn, to have rich friends and live a rich lifestyle, to attend galas and be the face of many luxury brands, all because of him, all because he liked you the first time he saw you, all because he promised you to make all your wishes and dreams come true only if you became his, all because he wanted his “favorite one” to be separate from the other women and to live like a princess whose all her dreams are granted.
In fact, you didn’t ask for any of this at all, but you loved the idea that he made all of this for you just because he thinks you’re worthy of it. In the end, you were “his favorite”.
The plane landed in the small very private airport near his mansion in Russia. you had your fur coat covering you. At least, you were dressed very fancy for the ball you were going to with your friends to meet your blind date. As you were about to leave your apartment, you were met by Bucky’s super soldiers' bodyguards at the front door of your apartment, telling you that The King wants you now. So you didn’t argue, you nodded and just took your bag and phone and left with them. This was your deal with him, him giving you whatever you want and desire in life, and you being available and there whenever he calls for you or want you. He has the plane ready for you and super soldiers protecting you and going everywhere with you, in case something goes wrong.
The guards guided you into the mansion and into Bucky’s suite which took up the whole second floor of the mansion. You walked with them till you arrived in front of the door of his office then they left you there alone. You knocked slightly.
“входить” his voice was deep and calm, you just felt butterflies in your stomach as you were very anxious and excited to see him, it’s been nearly a month since your last meeting with him and you missed him dearly. You opened the door and entered and as soon as you closed it behind you, he looked up from the pile of papers in front of him, his hair was perfectly combed, and he grew his beard, which was a very new look on him but also a very sexy one. He grinned widely as soon as his eyes met yours. “ahhh моя кукла”. he stood up from behind his desk and you walked closer to him and he moved closer to you too.
He kissed you very deeply and passionately before hugging you tightly, you hugged him back and buried your face in his neck. “Missed you so much, кукла” he whispered in your ear and kissed your neck softly.
“Missed you too, James” you smiled softly and he started to rub your back slightly.
You didn’t actually know how to address him, didn’t know if you should call him sir, king, soldier, Bucky, or James. You never actually asked, but you found James to be just perfect as you felt weirded out to call him sir or king. ‘James’ was good enough based on the relationship you both had, you were not actually lovers or boyfriend and girlfriend to be intimate and call him Bucky and yet you both weren’t platonic or had a strict respectful relationship to call him sir. so ‘James’ did the job perfectly.
At least, he didn’t complain about whatever you call him.
He removed your fur coat slowly and looked at your body and your fancy dress. “You look so beautiful,” he held your hand and spun you around to take a good look at the dress. It was a tall tight dress that hugs your curves perfectly with a very long slit on the left that shows your whole left leg from your upper thigh to your left foot. It was burgundy colored with a black sheer silk attached to it that gives the dress a matte look under lights. “did you get all dolled up for me?” he smirked at you when his eyes left your body and met your eyes.
“Well, umm-,” he leaned back on his office desk and sat on its edge and pulled you to him slowly “you didn’t give me any heads up that we were supposed to meet so I was actually going to a ball party with a bunch of friends” you looked down to your hands playing with his black suit’s blazer, trying to hide the truth that you were going on a blind date.
The thing you didn’t know about Bucky is that he is very good at reading body language and the second you broke eye contact and said that, he knew you were hiding something and that’s not the truth. But he didn’t want to confront you yet about it so he took it slowly. “Oh really?” he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him as your chests now touching and he has a perfect view of your boobs as it’s pushed up from the tight dress. “what kind of a ball party?” he moved his head and start kissing your neck.
“A normal one.” you bit your lower lip as his kisses now moved down to your shoulders and collarbone.
“normal one? what kind of a ball is that exactly?” he chuckled while his right hand moved down slightly and he started rubbing your left butt cheek as his kisses never stopped and his lips moved down to your chest, leaving more kisses.
“Just a normal ball party, James” you sighed, feeling more frustrated as you are getting more turned on by his touching and kisses and you feel yourself getting wetter, you can’t stand wearing your panties anymore, it’s getting more uncomfortable as you are soaked down there.
“A normal ball party where rich people gather around for whatever reason, stuffing their faces with crab cakes and drinking champagne until they’re passed out,” you said with an annoyed tone as you can’t just stand the teasing anymore.
The relationship you had with Bucky was just casual sex every now and then unless that was what you thought it was until 8 months ago, he started to show more feelings, starting saying “I miss you”, “I want you”, “you are beautiful”, “my girl”, “my favorite girl”, “my doll”, “baby girl”, but never the word “love”. He started being more romantic. Taking you on dates, of course, they were secret private dates as he was a known criminal and he shouldn’t be seen in public at all but with his power and money, he can rent or buy any restaurant or place in the world just so you both could enjoy your time and dates together.
He was very gentle with you, protecting you, getting you a big apartment in Brooklyn which was like 3 blocks away from his childhood home, he didn’t mention that at all but you knew it when you went to the Captain America museum and explored the whole room dedicated to Sargent James Buchanan Barnes, Captain America’s best friend.
You learned a lot about him, actually about the old him. Now, he’s just the winter solider, the cold blooded murderer who killed all his superiors and killed the avengers and is now running the Hydra organization and having the biggest super soldiers army in the universe.
But at least, he had a soft spot for you.
He moved his hands to the back of your thighs and lift you up, your legs wrapped quickly around his waist, which was sort of a habit as he loved picking you up like this, like his small girl. he kept looking at you and murmuring I miss yous and you look so beautiful, against your lips while kissing you and walking towards his bedroom, there was only a wall between his office and his bedroom. he opened the door, and his room wasn’t unfamiliar to you but you were just amazed every time by how big and wide it is. The ceiling is so high up and the walls are filled with paintings and mirrors.
He put you on his king-sized bed and you just laid on your back, looking at him. He smirked at you and moved his hands down your dress and took off your panties, freeing your soaked cunt from the now-uncomfortable material. “So, it was just a normal ball party with normal rich friends, huh?” he held your left ankle and pulled it up, and rested it on his shoulder. you nodded and saw him undoing the straps of your heels and taking them off. “Are you sure about that, кукла?” he gave you a very intense look and at that moment you knew that he knows you were hiding something so keeping it hidden won’t do you any good. “You know I hate it when you lie to me.” he rubbed your ankle and calf slowly, giving it a simple soft massage.
“I am not lying to you” Your tone was serious. “My friend, Emma, she set me up on a blind date with this guy,” you saw his facial expression get more tense and his hand tightened on your ankle a bit harder. “I mean, no one knows that I’m- umm, that we-… you know, together” Your tone was shaky as you started to get more anxious as his grip hardened on your ankle. “they just thought I’m single and wanted me to have a date so-..”
“So you decided to dress and doll up for a strange man, didn’t you?” he cut you off suddenly as you can see he started to get angry.
“No, they don’t know about us. No one knows. So I’m just playing the part. acting it. That’s it.” you said with a sad tone, breaking eye contact with him and looking up at the ceiling and huffing. this is truly what you felt like. Playing a part in Bucky’s world. Being nothing more than his sex doll and his mistress. You hate the fact that you wanted him and wanted to be with him forever and you just can’t handle living this lifestyle anymore. Yes, it’s a blessing but you didn’t want all of that, you didn’t ask for any of that. You just wanted him.
“Well, this dress is no good anymore. Can I tear it apart?” he put your left leg back again on the bed and pulled your other leg by the ankle and on his shoulder and removed your heels from this one too.
“Why isn’t it good anymore? I think it’s pretty.” you looked at him confused, not knowing what the dress has to do with anything.
“It is pretty but now, for me, it’s what you wore for another man’s eyes and not mine. I hate it now.” he pulled it up to your upper thighs and your legs are now bared to him.
“But what am I going to wear when I leave? Can’t just be wearing my fur coat. It’s freezing outside.” he chuckled darkly at your words and looked at you with a dark smirk on his face.
“As much as it would be so fucking hot of you to not wear anything except for a fur coat, I can get you any other dress that you want,” he grabbed the dress from its slit on your left thigh with his metal hand and ripped it open until the dress was fully ripped from the left side. “anyways, you’re staying for the whole weekend with me, I don’t want you wearing any clothes at all.” he moved up to meet your eyes and he pepper kissed your jawline. “and if you got cold, you can wear my clothes, my wardrobe is all yours, милая” he ripped and removed the dress from your body, leaving you fully naked underneath him.
you moaned slightly as his hands roamed your body, massaging and rubbing your boobs while his tongue is attacking your lips and mouth, kissing your hungrily. You opened your legs more for him, signaling to him where you wanted him the most. he removed himself from on top of you to get undressed. He removed all of his clothes and got on top of you again, kissing you passionately then starting to kiss you all over. Leaving marks and love bites all over your body, showing you who you truly belong.
“ты моя навсегда, куколка” his voice is raspy and deep, he moved his head down and kissed and sucked on your nipples, of course leaving marks and love bites on your boobs too. You were so needy for him and a part of you was glad that he was as much as needy for you as you are of him.
“James, please. I need you so bad. Please fuck me” you whined and opened your legs more for him. he pulled his head up and looked at you with nothing but pure lust in his now dark blue eyes.
“No, baby doll. No fucking. I missed you too much to just fuck you. I’m going to make love to you ‘cause you deserve this, honey. you’ve earned this.” he kissed your lips passionately but you were just startled, confused, and slightly shocked. You kept wondering why he would say such things and do such things. It’s the first time you ever see him being like this to you or talking like this to you. You were sick of these feelings you have for him and he was just toying around with them.
“You make love to someone you love, James. What we have isn’t love” You looked directly into his eyes with a concerned look on your face.
“Maybe you are right,” these words went straight to your heart and smashed it. You had a little hope he would correct you and tell you he loves you. “But tonight, just pretend that we’re in love. act it like you just said you’re acting it and playing a part.” you wondered if toying with your feelings like this was his way to punish you for what you just said about playing a part in your new life. “make me make love to you. make me show you how you’re supposed to be loved. Or at least humor me, принцесса” his mouth never left your face or your body. He couldn’t stop kissing you and leaving marks everywhere on your neck and body. You weren’t sure what his intentions were by what he just said. A little part of you hoped he meant what he was saying.
You felt his cock twitch against your thigh and felt him leaking. You couldn’t hold it any longer and you lift your hips up to meet his. Signaling to him that you need him. “I’ll give you whatever you want, just let me take my time with you first. I missed you too much” He said between breaths and kisses as he’s now moving down, kissing and leaving love bites all over your belly. “missed this belly,” he kissed your belly button. “missed my little ladies,” he grabbed your boobs with his hands as his mouth kept going down to your lower belly.
“but I missed this pretty girl the most.” you could feel his hot breath against your soaked cunt now, gushing more at the new nickname he gave to your pussy. he groaned when he saw you gushing and your slick is wetting the bed underneath you, making a mess everywhere. he looked up at you and you locked eyes with him while he slowly licked a long stripe between your folds, never breaking eye contact. This sight alone had you crying out and shutting your eyes while throwing your head back on the pillows.
Bucky kept flicking his tongue over your sensitive bud and sucking on it. He was really taking his time, he wasn’t fast or hard. He was simply just eating you out, slowly, gently, like he actually wants to taste you. You were so needy that you wanted more than that. You started pushing your hips more into his face and grinding slowly. “Greedy aren’t we, my little girl?” He got up and wiped his chain from your glistening slick with the back of his hand.
He got on top of you again and pressed his lips against yours, and you can taste yourself on his lips. he licked your bottom lip, asking for entrance and you opened your mouth happily for him, licking his tongue and tasting more of yourself. “Do you know what do you taste like?” he broke the kiss but his lips were right above yours. you shook your head slightly and bit your lips. “Like fucking peaches.” he pushed his tongue into your mouth again, kissing and licking it all over. “You taste like fucking peaches, especially your pussy.” you moaned into his mouth “You’re driving me insane, принцесса. Guess peaches are my new favorite fruit”.
He buried his face in your neck, attacking the sensitive skin again with kisses, especially that sweet spot that gets you all turned on and horny. As if you’re not going to lose your mind already from how horny you are. You could feel his tip pushing slightly on your clit and you were just a moaning mess at this point. “Ready for me, love?” he lifted his head and rested his head on your forehead, locking eyes with you.
“Always, Bucky” you whispered, his whole expression changed. his eyes widened a bit at the sound of his name slipping out of your mouth like honey. He hadn’t heard this name in so long, and you say it like this had his heart beating faster, if he wasn’t in love with you before, he believes now he is.
………………………………………………………………..
PART TWO
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absolutebl · 5 months
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This Week in BL - Top 3 Are HEATING UP
Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.
Dec 2023 Wk 2
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Ongoing Series - Thai
Honestly, 3 are neck & necking for top position! They are all so good in different ways. But The Sign had me hooting with laughter this week, so it scooped #1.
The Sign (Sat YT) ep 4 of 10 - This show is literally everything (except straight) all at once. It's BL, queer, band of brothers, romcom, erotica, paranormal, fated mates, mystery, suspense, slasher, and horror. It’s the king of genre mash-up chaos. I have no idea what I’m watching but I’m ON this ride. Is it a roller coaster? Is it a haunted house? Is it a twirl & hurl? Is there candy floss? Am I even tall enough? Who tf cares. All through the second scene, I was laughing. It was legit funny. Billy has great comedic timing. Guess he’s not just a pretty face.
Everyone should be watching this. Sure, it's madness but there is genius in it.
Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 6 of 12 -  Yech. August may be one of GMMTV’s least likable characters ever (and that is saying something). Meanwhile, MOAR language play! They spoiling me!
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Mhok letting Day go then walking away at the party hurt so bad.
Argh this show is great!
Ep 6 so that kiss was right on schedule. I’m looking forward to the boyfriend eps before doom & pain in the new year. Carry on GMMTV. 
Speaking of...
Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 2 of 12 - Oh they’re great. It’s great. It’s paced oddly, moving quickly through most of the key scenes of the original JBL in these first 2 eps. I think it’s intending to encompass more of the manga series than that one did. Which is good, cause that will get us all the way to The Library Kiss (TM). It's the best kiss in the manga. I also like the sides in this show (better than the JBL version). 
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My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 8fin - What a lovely slightly unhinged little show. Tew, can we talk? Un-ironic suspenders, that takes courage. Also, the revolver was a crazy gun choice. 
Final thoughts:
This show is just as ridiculous as its title. About a gaymer who falls in love with one of his in-game teammates, who just happens to be a IRL gangster. A real gangster, the kind that actually kills people regularly. The lead pair is doing their best with a ridiculous story and shoddy script, but I enjoyed it. Although I was grateful it wasn’t very long, what we got was oddly satisfying if, frankly, a little bit silly. Recommended. 8/10 
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That said, what's important about this BL is not the show, but the production and style. Let me explain... no, too much, let me sum up.
This is a chimera BL. Regarding characters: it has Japan's style otaku + Korea's style gangster + Thailand's style friendship group. It used Thai talent + Korean money (Kakao) & IP (adapted from a manwha) but aired on a Chinese channel globally (iQIYI). I'm delighted by the eclectic insanity of this production and truly doubt that any other genre but BL could ever produce like this. It's like diplomat's BL and it's the great wonder of our age that it happened at all. This BL deserves its place in the history books on production alone, even if that place is only in the footnotes. A remarkable little monster.
For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 3 of 10 - The sides are… messy. Using the same actor for the old bf is… odd. But in the end, this show leaves me smiling. Which means, I like it despite myself. 
Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 4 of 6 - It's decent. It’s basically what I wanted Antique Bakery to be when I first watched that way back when (not to mention Bite Me). But there’s been so much BL since then that, for some reason, this is falling flat. I think it’s moving too fast for a Thai series. Although, say what you like, Ohm has to be one of the best soft kissers in the industry. He's just good at mouth tenderness.
Ugh, that doesn't sound right. But you know what I mean.
Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 7 of 10 - I love how First is so upset when Sprite starts chatting and being nice to Koh. Sprite is just a sweet easy-going likable boy. I enjoy Sprite as a main character, he’s a bubbly little communicator. And they had a cute kiss.  
Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 5 of 14 - Because there was more Alan and Jeff and they were more key to the plot I was more into this ep. I do compare it to green smoothie down the pants in the Trash Watch.
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Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 3 of 12 - Look OffGun are truly great. But I’m just not sure we need them in BL anymore. That said, it’s nice to see Off as "the one with the crush" for a change. Also, this show is only good when OffGun are on screen together, otherwise it kinda, well, sucks.
Night Dream (Sat YT) ep 1 of 6 - Cafe setting featuring a cook and a writer. *Seems awfully familiar.* Except these two are exes and this is a reunion romance. It’s stiff and very pulp but not bad (no crap sound effects) and I am a sucker for a reunion romance. That said, Rookie Thailand is not to be trusted, proceed with caution.
Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 12fin - I'm grateful this is over. It was tense but for the wrong reasons - sadness and confusion. This final episode was fine, but that’s because it was mostly them being together + flashbacks. Plus all the familiar actor faces of the grown-up friends (hi, Karn my lovely, still stunning I see). But 2 of 12 episodes is not enough for the 10 of suffering and confusion that came before.
In conclusion:
A man is killed on his 10th anniversary resulting in a time paradox, for which the only solution is him never meeting his childhood sweetheart until later in life. Both lovers cycle back to the past at different ages, so that they each become their own 1st & 2nd great loves, but every time it ends in pain, until each also endures 10 years of separation. Finally it gets fixed, but leaves them with multiple memories of time's failures like temporal PTSD, and everyone around them has chronic deja vu. Me? I got both. This is one of those BLs that is high-quality with great acting but poor story. If you like your BL dwelling, maudlin, and tense due to angst and suffering, then you might enjoy this. But I just regret it, 6/10. Recommended only if you like confusing time travel emo pain.
In which case, just watch Tokyo in April is... instead. Give over Thailand, Japan does it better.
Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 6 of 8 - While our main couple isn’t working for me... the side couple isn’t working for me either. I really wanted to give LeoTai a chance, this is the 3rd show I’ve seen them in, and still nope. I like Jade a lot more when he’s sad. He’s a much more pleasant screen experience depressed. I would like him to stay hurt for a couple of eps, just so I can enjoy this show a tiny bit more. But then he just goes unhinged again. Argh. I just don’t like it. 
My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Pisces of Me ep 17 of 24 - Codependent boyfriends in middle school planning for high school dealing with stuff. Including other boys being into them. 
Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 5 of 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. DNF 
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Ongoing Series - Not Thai
VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - It’s cute but I don’t think BL in this short format is Taiwan’s strength these days. And this is quite slow and dull. Perhaps they should have whacked it down to 6 eps, not 10.
Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 3 of 8 - This is one of those JBLs that I should like on paper but is failing me. The drag bit was ridiculous but handled gently. The kiss was… well… something wasn’t it? It’s all very odd. I like the photographer cutie character. 
It's Airing But...
The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.
7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if it's safe.
Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Been told I shouldn't bother.
What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until after it completes its run next week.
Dear Kitakyushu (Thai/Japan movie) in theaters in country only, I know nothing about distribution.
Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) this is a historical I was interested in, but I've been told they kill the gay so I'm OUT.
Next Week Looks Like This
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Still coming:
12/23 Dead Friend Forever (Thai horror) iQIYI
Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.
THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS
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He so pretty.
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I forgot how likable TayNew are, and frankly I think New is a better version of this role for me, personally. I like him a lot. He's a conscientious sweetheart. And a good egg. (Cherry Magic)
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Ah the rooftop my old friend. (Last Twilight)
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I would like to point out that it's no accident the naga's sex dream happened in the shower, he's a water creature after all. (The Sign)
(Last week)
199 notes · View notes
ohtobeleah · 1 year
Text
Kink.com // Jake Seresin & Bradley Bradshaw
Part One Summary: You’re offered an opportunity you just can’t refuse ~ To shoot a kink .com video with Jake Seresin and Bradley Bradshaw, two of the worlds most renowned BDSM dominants.
Warnings: Jake Seresin x F!reader. Bradley Bradshaw x F!reader. SMUT!! BDSM type scenes. Unrealistic representation of the porn industry but it’s what you’re getting. Overstimulation, orgasm denial, anal, and double penetration.
Word Count: 6.6k
Author Note: This is strictly porn with a plot. There is no critically acclaimed literature here. But vibrators are encouraged!
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The warmth of burnt oranges, bright yellows and deep amber reds cast a comforting ambience through your apartment. Cascading windows brought the natural beauty of central park into your living room. You held your phone held close to your ear as you sat wrapped in your bathrobe, hair masked up, drinking in the luxurious moisture of the organic hair mask your best friend had brought you for your birthday. A warm cup of tea cooling peacefully by your side, nestled on the coffee table as you tried not to bite your nails. Coming back into your own head as if you'd been off somewhere else at the sound of your manager's voice.
“kink’s offering $90,000, they really want you to sign on as the submissive in this video Y/n.” It was almost as if your manager knew by your deafening silence that you had your reservations. “At least think about it. Three of the top five porn stars in the world, working together? That’s a lot of revenue for the company and not to mention that 90k? besides! I wouldn’t throw shit your way.”
“I've just never worked with either of them before, I’ll definitely have to do some research, ask around, find out what the go is.” It was something your manager, Alex, agreed with, opting to let you do your research before accepting the deal you’d been offered by Kink and ask around the industry. Weigh up the pros and cons before making a commitment or passing up the opportunity to work with Jake Seresin and Bradley Bradshaw .
“At this stage.” Looking out across the park as trees blew leaves haphazardly across the pavement, you sighed. “I really need to do my research but I wanna say yes just because I know I won’t get this offer again anytime soon.” Alex agreed on his end. “Just keep that between us! It’s not in writing, but yeah, I guess it’s worth it.”
Jake Seresin and Bradley Bradshaw, two of the world's most renowned Dominants in the porn industry. A chance to work with them was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and surely one that doesn’t come around twice. You see, Jake and Bradley had a very unusual request, only one, and that request was–
They only ever work with a submissive once and once only.
So when Kink offered you the chance to work with two of the most well respected, very talented and downright jaw-dropping best friends how could you say no? Their careers as dominants had taken off around the same time you had started gaining recognition as one of the top female submissives in the BDSM community.
Although you were a switch at heart and could dish it out to both men and women just as much as you could take it – you could never resist the chance to be tied up and ‘tortured’ whenever the opportunity was handed your way. And what’s better than being denied an orgasm by a dominant? Being denied an orgasm by two incredibly handsome dominants. 
It took you, if you had to time it, a rough four hours to decide to take up the offer and work with Jake and Bradley. You rang around, asked the questions that needed to be asked. It really did settle your nerves asking those who had worked with Jake and Bradley in the past what they were like. It only took you so long to decide because the layout you received of the scenes looked pretty intense – maybe even the most intense video you’d ever shoot. Kink was trying to get you to branch out and they knew to offer you the gig with the duo would entice you even more, because, at the end of the day you were still human and there was not a doubt in your mind that you would let Jake Seresin and Bradley Bradshaw take you – with or without the money. 
***~***~***~***~***~***~**
As a professional, you did your research – well, by research I mean you sat at your desktop and binge watched any and all videos the dynamic duo had ever done. Especially for Kink, because they were brutal and you needed to know how they operated.
So you sat for hours, drinking your tea and teasing your sensitive bundle of nerves every now and again as you watched Jake fuck Rachel (Phoenix Trance, another very popular pornstar) with a dick stick as Bradley whipped her clamped tits. Oh, boy, did she look helpless tied up like that – hands tied with rope above her head as her toes just barely touched the ground. She was almost suspended. To the untrained eye, it really did look as if she was in pain, desperately trying to force her leg from Jake's shoulder as he thrust the dildo repeatedly into her soaking cunt.
But for you? a pro? You knew all the signs to look for and without a doubt in your mind – Phoenix was loving every second of the painful pleasure that was being inflicted on her body by Jake and Bradley.
At the same time as you were researching them, Jake was happily stroking his throbbing cock to videos of you being a submissive. 
“Ah fuck!” He sat on his bed, laptop just to the side of him, legs spread wide as he slowly pumped his throbbing length watching on as you took a paddling like a true champ. Your ass so raw as you bent over the bench, hands tied in true bondage style as you gaged around the cock that was face fucking you at the same time. “Such a good girl—“ Jake was thinking the same, you looked defenceless against the two burly men whose faces he couldn’t recognise. Unlike him and Bradley, most male dominants are off-screen as much as possible, whereas they like to show the whole world how they fuck their submissives. 
“You can’t take a lot can't you?” Jake was looking for signs of distress, looking for your tell-tale signs to ‘stop’ or ‘slow down’ and he only saw one. You would gag three consecutive times if you truly needed to breathe, not wanting to break character, the dominant would back away, slap your face with his cock a few times before going straight back to work.
Bradley was busy doing his own research, but unlike Jake? he was watching you be a dominant.
See when it came to being a dominant or dominatrix to be politically correct, you much preferred to work with women. Why? Because you knew how to work your way around a woman's body. And views were always ten times higher so with good revenue coming in for the company, meant a bigger paycheck for you. You enjoyed your job, truly you did but sometimes it was more about taking the biggest check so you could provide for yourself financially.
“Ohh fuck—“ Bradley watched as you held your submissive’s cheeks, her lips pressed out and puckered as you held what seemed to be a very high-speed vibrator to her sensitive bundle of nerves. With a hand wrapped around his length Bradley jutted his hips forward as he twitched in pure pleasure. “Such a tease.” 
You had her arms and legs tied together. Feet to wrist in some of the most professionally tied bondage Bradley had seen in a while. Almost as good as his own knotwork. Leaning over your submissive Bradley couldn’t help but noticed how much joy you took in pleasuring your submissive– Bradley was sure he’d fucked her once before but he couldn’t put a name to the fucked out face he was listening to scream for you to let her cum. It was safe to say Bradley was very much impressed with your abilities none the less but watching how you ‘torture’ your submissives just made him want to give you something to cry about. “Let’s see how you like your own medicine.”
***~***~***~***~***~***~
Nervous. That’s what you were when you entered the lobby of Kink’s headquarters in New York. Like a 5-star hotel lobby, it blew you away with its magnificent ability to be seemingly innocent in its disguise. Walking up to the ‘reception?’ you stuttered a bit before the lady typing away on the computer noticed who you were.
“Hi, um–I’m h-here to shoot a video for–”
“Y/n darling, we’ve been expecting you!” The lady confessed with a wide smile that was warm and welcoming. “I’ll show you to the room shall I?” Before you could even nod she was on her feet. Her pencil skirt was so unbelievably tight around her thighs and ass that you could clearly make out the thong underneath the thin fabric. Her red bottoms clicked against the marble flooring until you both reached the elevator. Stepping in, it felt awkward – so you prepared for the awkward silence. But to your surprise, she kept talking.
“This your first time working with us?”
“Hmm? Oh-oh yeah” You mumbled, pushing your hair behind your ear as you cleared your throat. “I’ve never shot in this building before, but I’m not a virgin to Kink – done maybe three or four soft bondage videos for you guys.” She smiled, generally intrigued by your conversation.
“I think I’ve watched a few of your videos actually, either that or I’ve mailed the check.” This time you both laughed, it made you feel really comfortable walking into such a compromising situation–but you figured that was a part of her job description. When the elevator dinged, signalling you had reached your final destination, she bid you a professional farewell.
“Well Y/n I hope you enjoy your day. Two doors down the hall to your right.” You nodded in response, still nervous but much more confident than you were just moments ago. As you walked down the hall, remembering the directions given, you stopped at the door that read “Seresin/Bradshaw x Lavender” on the front. It was common knowledge your last name wasn’t lavender, it was somewhat of a stage name, something to give you an extra boost of confidence. Your last name wasn’t public knowledge. 
Knocking three gentle times it wasn’t long before someone opened the door, and boy were you instantly smiling when you noticed it was Jake Seresin himself.
“Hi” Was all you said as he stepped to the side to welcome you inside.
“Hi? That’s all the guy who’s about to fuck your brains out gets?” You immediately knew Jake was joking by his tone of voice. You let out a sheepish laugh, biting your bottom lip as you tried to hide the smile growing on your somewhat nervous face. Jake turned, leaning against the door he’d just locked behind himself, arms folded over his chest as the black T he wore looked as if it was about to burst from his chest.
“Rumour has it you only want me for my body Seresin? Where’s your other half anyway?” Jake chuckled before running a hand through his hair, only to gesture over to Bradley who was helping the camera crew set up their stations and double checking they had all the toys the scenes required.
“He’s being pedantic, has to make sure everything’s perfect for every shoot we do.” Jake placed a hand on the small of your back as he walked you deeper into the dimly lit room. Blinds drawn and studio lights already shining. “Especially for such a highly anticipated collaboration - Who knows? Maybe if you’re as good as what I’ve seen we might have to see each other again?” You stood still, frozen in your tracks at the words that just escaped Jake Seresin’s mouth.
“You don’t work with people more than one time around? I know your rule, don’t be a tease.” You scoffed, somewhat flirting to ease your anxieties.
“Aren’t rules meant to be broken? M’not teasing Y/n, just letting you know that if you’re a good girl we might be able to come to a standing agreement.” Jake was smug in the way he spoke to you, clearly already very deep into his dominant character–a method actor for the camera. So you humoured him, trying hard to fight off the natural dominant within yourself as you would have to submit in less than half an hour.
“Well as long as you don’t break my rules Jake, I don’t think we’ll have a problem.” Confidence seeped from your pores, or maybe it was just the sweat beginning to build up from the heat being produced from the studio lights.
“And what would those rules be Y/n, hmm? does it have anything to do with the fact you gag three times in a very not so natural way if you can't take a dick down your throat?” Remember that confidence you thought you had? Yeah no, it was definitely just sweat.
“How did you kno—” Before you could finish your sentence, Jake spun you around so your back was against his chest, his hands pulling your arms behind your back, coming between the two of you as he leaned over to whisper in your ear.
“I do my research sweetheart, oh am I going to have fun with you today.” His hot breath fanned against your cool skin, causing goosebumps to rise wherever it fanned against. The heat between your legs already began to rise but maybe that was Jake’s objective to begin with, get you as naturally wet as he possibly could before filming commenced.
“Trust me I did my own, that stick thrust? weak at best.” You fired back, looking over your shoulder as Jake's grip around your wrist became tighter at the sound of your fiery voice.
“Oh yeah? We’ll have to see about that, won't we? God wait until Bradshaw gets a hold of those perky tits – you’ll be begging for a fucking orgasm.” Jake let you go as he stepped away. His pants had become increasingly tighter at the thought of what he was about to do to your perfect body. Your attitude just made it even better. He always loved a fight, loved some foreplay before really getting into it.
“Shall we?” Jake questioned, gesturing to the stool you would be sitting on momentarily, going through your safe words and restrictions.
“Only if you have something other than that belt hugging your waist to choke me with?” You teased, walking past him to the chair, smiling at Bradley who was waiting–arms crossed and smirking wildly as he watched you saunter over. You could hear Jake mumble under his breath but chose to ignore it so you could get the nitty gritty part out of the way so the three of you could truly have some fun.
“Trust me, the thing I'll be choking you with isn’t on my pants, it’s in them.” 
***~***~***~***~***~***~***
“Okay Y/n, are you over the age of eighteen?” Bradley asked as the camera’s focused themselves on you as you sat perfectly poised on the stool. Both Jake and Bradley sat just off camera for this section of the filming, just asking the necessary questions the audience would love to know when the video is finished and posted.
“I am.” You politely responded, crossing your legs as you held your hand over your knees. You were far too excited, probably more excited than you’d ever been to go to work. 
“Okay good.” Bradley was reading from a list of mandatory questions that needed to be asked, stuff Jake and himself had to know before they could even lay a finger on you – something Jake didn’t really consider before when he was making you cream your panties in the name of foreplay.
“what’s your safe word when not gaged?”
“Red.” You smiled, biting your bottom lip.
“And how about when you’re gagged?”
“Three consecutive uh uh uh’s, really quick, you’ll know it if you hear them.” Bradley nodded as Jake smiled, he already knew that.
“What do you say in response to a question asked if you are completely comfortable and enjoying yourself?”
“Yes sir.” You were getting squirmy, moving around the stool as your panties dampened, every question Bradley asked meant you were closer to getting fucked –and truthfully? You had never been so excited.
“How about if you need one or both of us to pull back but not break character or stop the scene?”
“Yes master.”
“Good, okay.” Bradley was checking off questions left and right, flying through the paperwork he had to fill out as he smirked at you, his eyes dark and full of lust.
“What are your restrictions?” Jake took over, eggar to know with a curious tone to his husky, deep voice. Giggling innocently, you looked at the two of them, the camera crew practically none existent in your mind at this point – you had done this too many times before to worry about a few extra men and women seeing you get fucked.
“I don’t like foot play and I really don’t care for electro stim –so don’t come at me with anything that shocks or zaps.”
“So overstimulation, orgasm denial, anal, and double penetration are okay? Just no prods or feet. Am I correct in my assumptions?” Jake was being more than professional for the camera, he knew exactly what to say and when to say it.
“More than okay.” It was the way Bradley coughed slightly to clear his throat, interrupting Jake before he could literally walk towards you right that second and start taking you as if you were all his to play with.
“Okay well, I think we have everything we need, I’ll have Jake quickly log this and I’ll help you get set up shall I?” Bradley stated as he smiled wildly, excited to finally get you out of your pretty sundress and into some restraints. He definitely hadn’t forgotten about the video he had watched of you ‘torturing’ you submissive – so he was very keen to have you screaming, begging to cum.
***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~
Bradley was gentle with his hands as he hogtied you with the thick natural rope – talking to you naturally while off camera.
“This okay?” He asked as he tightened the rope, pulling your arms back the slightest bit more to meet your feet. Your stomach flat against the bench, exactly hip height to where Bradley stood beside you.
“Could be tighter if you want it for aesthetic but it’s okay Bradley.”
“I saw what Jake was doing before? Did it work?” He chuckled as he walked around the bench, making sure you were properly restrained on all angles.
“I don’t know, you tell me?” You teased, your legs spread and already bent – it would be so easy for Bradley to slide his hand down your ass cheek to see if his best friend really did get you nice and slick–which Jake had, but Bradley just groaned softly. He could wait, but the question on the tip of his tongue was could you?
“I would, but I’ve got something else planned for you first.” Placing a blindfold over your pretty eyes before giving you a quick and sharp slap to your ass before he left you hogtied and alone on the bench, retreating to get the camera crew and track down where Jake had wandered off to.
***~***~***~***~***~***~***~
It wasn’t long after Bradley left that you once again heard heavy footsteps in the room and you knew it was go time by the slow and steady way they walked. Your breathing became increasingly heavy with anticipation. Everything was quiet for a moment, the only thing that could be heard was your heavy breathing–until you felt a slight sting against your pussy.
“Ah!” You whimpered softly before you felt the sting again, it wasn’t a hand so it could only be what you assumed to be a soft whip one of the duo was working to flick against your slick, dripping pussy. You could feel a hand being twisted and interlaced in your hair, making a makeshift ponytail, pulling your head up from the bench.
“Open your mouth.” You heard the familiar voice of Bradley say – or maybe it was Jake? Without your visual to back you up, you weren’t entirely sure, but regardless of who it was you did as you were told when you felt the head of their cock glide against your soft bottom lip. Plump and ready.
“Good girl.” You heard him say before he slowly got himself familiar with the feeling out your mouth and throat. ‘Good girl’ You thought as you gaged around his shaft–definitely Jake. He didn’t give you much time at all to adjust to his size, beginning to face fuck you hard enough for your mouth to salivate like crazy, spit trailing from your lips to his tip whenever he would pull back to give the camera something nasty to film. 
“Do you like the way my cock feels in that dirty mouth or yours, slut?” Jake worked to slap your face softly with his wet, heavy cock as he asked you the first question of the day— testing to see if you remembered the responses. Starting with something mild.
“Yes s-sir.” You responded before his cock was being shoved firmly down your throat once again–thrust picking up speed and depth as Bradley continued his soft assault of whips against your pussy, tenderising the area so overstimulation would be quick and easy to obtain.
“Uh--!” You gagged around Jakes length, not only from him face fucking your mouth but from Bradley’s own whipping progressively getting harder–faster, not so soft against your sensitive clit that was beginning to throb from the sharp slaps it was receiving. Long strains of perfectly woven strings all working harmoniously to bring you pleasure in the hands of a master.
“Look at you.” You heard Bradley say from behind you as Jake never slowed his assault on your face. “Do you want me to make you cum?” You gagged, Jake only pulled out of your warm mouth to marvel at the sight of your swollen lips and chin glistening from your own saliva and his cock just covered– jerking himself off as he waited for you to answer.
“Y-yes sir!” You cried through gritted teeth, your breathing heavier than before as you tried catching your breath quickly before Jake shoved his cock straight back down your tight, contracting throat. With one last whip you whimpered around the length stilled in your throat before feeling a set of fingers spreading your lips apart.
“Look at how wet you are? I bet if I just blew on your throbbing clit right now you would cum instantly?” Bradley teased, a hand came down heavily on your left ass cheek – making you jump slightly before you felt something enter you. God, you wished you could see what they were doing to you.
It was the stick dildo, entering your tight fuck hole as Jake pulled away, finally letting your hair go as your head fell heavily to the bench.
“Oh fuck!” You moaned as Bradley pushed the dildo deep inside your pussy, so deep you swore it was in your gut.
“You want to cum?” Bradley asked as he began thrusting the dildo in and out of your slick cunt. Already making you a moaning mess. “Answer me, whore–” 
“Please! Please yes, make me cum sir!” You cried, begged as he fucked you so good with the dick stick, you couldn’t see but you had a feeling his face was right in front of your pussy, getting a front row seat as he kneeled behind you.
From the whipping stimulating your clit and the thrust filling you so good you were so close, so close to hitting your first high of the shoot.
“Please can I cum sir!” You cried, whimpering as you trembled, Bradley never slowed his pumps as he watched you take the dildo nearly as big as his own deep inside you.
“Hold it.” He ordered, a scream of pain leaving your lips as you tried so hard to stop yourself from releasing. “Beg for it you little whore.”
“Ah--! Sir p-please let me cum!” You begged, you were so close to not being able to hold back any longer, until you heard it, the words that made tears soak the blindfold wrapped tightly around your eyes.
“Not. A. Chance.” You felt the dildo leave your body, now empty you sobbed from the denial. Both Jake and Bradley left the room as you cooled down a bit– ready for the next intense scene to begin.
***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~
It was pure torture—being denied of an orgasm. But you loved it, the feeling of being powerless yet having all the power at the same time. Because you see, it’s never really the dominant who’s in control. It’s always the submissive - especially during a bondage scene because, with one word, you have the power to completely shut it down. Being powerless in a controlled and safe environment is exactly what you were right now, having been tortured within an inch of an orgasm you didn’t think it could get worse. Oh, how mistaken you were.
Hands tied above your head with one leg planted firmly on the ground and another tied to a plank of wood. This time you could see and oh how thankful you were for such a blessing. You couldn’t just feel the clamps pinching at your sensitive nipples, but you could see the way your buds plumped under the pressure of the harsh clamps that brought you so much pleasure— slightly irritated from the pressure they found themselves under. Just enough but somewhat painful. If left to be still it felt as if nothing was there, move slightly and oh shit.
You heard the familiar sound of the duo’s footsteps creaking against the wooden floorboards—you could see them this time, both of them in all their glory. Right now you could only describe them as sex on legs, but you were sure you’d have to wait to feel them inside you another time, maybe being a good girl as Jake said could be your only chance at feeling his cock inside your cunt instead of just your mouth - but at a later date that would have to be discussed because right now they were both walking towards you dangerously slow. Jake holding a vibrator in his large hand and Bradley with his signature whip.
You tried to move, whimpering slightly as Bradley got close enough to pull on the nipple clamps that made themselves at home on your perky tits. The chain dropping between them.
“Miss us?” He asked with a cocky smirk, pulling your head to the side as you answered a simple “Yes sir” While he trailed harsh kisses down your neck.
“Maybe you’ll get lucky and Jake will let you cum? Do you want Jake to make you cum?” Bradley’s eyes never left your beautiful face as he moved to the side of you– allowing a smirking Jake to drop to his knees before you, placing the currently off vibrator against your very stimulated, very sensitive clit.
“Yes sir.” You whimpered only for Jake to slowly but surely turn on the vibrator one setting at a time. 
“Ooh—! aauurrggg—--Yes!” You cried aloud. Your leg instantly shaking from the feeling. Bradley pulled and teased at the nipple clamps, his hands gentle in compassion to when he started to whip the soft whip against your exposed chest.
You tried running, but you had absolutely nowhere to go. The coil in your stomach tightening quicker than ever before as Jake effortlessly brought you closer to your orgasm - hopefully Bradley was right, hopefully Jake would let you cum.
“Aah-! Please, sir can I cum!” You groaned through gritted teeth as Bradley continued his assault on your now very raw exposed chest. Jake shook his head no, looking up at the desperation in your eyes he felt his cock throbbing.
“Why should I let you cum? What do I, well we, get out of it?” You really couldn’t think, barely able to speak as you held onto your orgasm for as long as possible.
“Anything, please sir just let me c-cum! M’begging” you cried out, at this point it was just pathetic how much you were crying out, begging to feel any sort of release. Wet tears streamed down your cheeks but everything just felt so damn good, like you were floating. 
“Ahhhhhhh please, please I need to–I’m gonna– !” You cried again as Bradley tugged hard on the nipple clamps that were oh so tight on your nipples.
“You can cum but say what you are?” Jake turned the intensity up to the highest setting as he worked his fingers into your pussy, curling his fingers into your velvet walls as he manoeuvred the vibrator just right.
“Ahah- uhhh, I’m a fucking whore!” You whimpered. Your body trembling as your eyes rolled to the back of your head - squirting all over Jake’s hands as he finger fucked and teased your overstimulated clit through your orgasm–Bradley still working his magic on your exposed raw tits.
“Yes! Oh my fucking god yes! Mmmmm f-fuck!” You were sure your moans could be heard from outside the room but you didn’t care–you finally came, granted permission. Still coming down from you high as Bradley grabbed your face and pulled you towards him.
“We aren’t finished just yet, just one more thing before you're free to go.”
Jake slapped your clit three times after pulling the vibrator away–you were exhausted. Once again both men leaving you alone to recover for the next and final shoot of the day.
***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***
There was nothing normal about your line of work, however – what’s better than making money off the feeling of euphoria. That’s how you felt when you were about to start the next and final scene of the shoot today. Jake and Bradley going out of their way to make sure you had a good experience with them and considering they were already considering working with you again? You were more than happy to play along with whatever they had installed for you – already knowing it wouldn’t be anything to do with your only two restrictions.
This scene was different all together, you were kneeling on a double bed made to perfection. your hands tied behind your back while a ball gag was sitting comfortably between your lips. Silvia already making its way down your chin as you salivated at the thought of what was to come. 
When you caught the eyes of the two men, you were stunned to see them fully exposed and both rock hard. Their cocks bouncing freely as they sauntered over to you on the bed. Making sure to keep your cool so to not break character you eyed them both off as they sat softly on either side of you. Bradley must have had a fetish for your tits, because not only could he still see the lines his whip had left behind from the last scene, but he just wanted to feel his lips around your sensitive bud. So he did just that, diving head first into your chest to suck harshly on your nipple.
“Mmm–” You moaned as he sucked deep purple and red marks on sensitive buds – breaking some of your capillaries from the pressure. A pain you enjoyed and would marvel at the sight left behind in days to come.
Jake's hand diving straight for your entrance, making sure you were still slick as ever for him – and he wasn’t left disappointed. A smirk coming across his face when he saw you flinch from the overstimulation – so sensitive after being denied and tortured before. Jake grabbed at your face, his hand squashing your lips together as he came face to face with you.
“Are you going to take us both like the good girl you are?” Bradley finished his assault on your tits to come up and look at your face practically drained of all colour at the thought of having both their cocks buried deep inside you.
“Uhh huh” You moaned around the gag nodding your head with innocent eyes, Jake chuckled almost devilishly as Bradley rolled onto his back – bring you with him. pulling your chest down flat against his.
Bradley was quick to manoeuvre his cock to your entrance, unable to do so yourself considering your arms were bound behind your back in the same neutral rope used in both scenes before.
“Uhh-!” You cried out so beautifully in his ear, eyes rolling as he pushed himself further and further into your incredibly tight fuck hole. Bradley was biting his bottom lip as he lifted his hips just the slightest of bits to bottom out inside you, so snug and tight around his shaft–he could feel every pulse and shutter you made at the feeling of being so full, but not full enough.
As Bradley started a slow thrust into your pussy, Jake kneeled behind the two of you, stroking his own length with one of his hands and rubbing as much lube as he possibly could around your puckering tight ass hole. The feeling of Jake pressing his fingers around your ass made you want to cum then and there on the spot – but you knew what he was working up to, and you were so ready to feel so full. 
As soon as you felt Jake's hand come to rest on your bound arms and Bradley’s hands squeeze against your ass cheeks – you knew it was about to happen. Soon enough the feeling of Jake pressing his tip inside your ass flooded every part of your body and you let out the most pornographic moan you had ever done, even some of the crew who were filing were stunned to hear you moan so beautifully as Jake pressed his cock further inside your incredibly tight ass.
“UUHH--!” Tears of pleasure were now starting to roll down your cheeks and Bradley realised that he had achieved his goal in giving you something to cry about. Both Jake and Bradley now balls deep inside you, one cock inside your ass, another pressing against your cervix – it was a feeling like no other and you couldn’t control your moans and whimpers of pleasure.
Not being able to tell them how you felt due to the ball gag hindering you from speaking, you could only tell them through your cries of pleasure. And they could only say so much to you during the process as well, not able to take things to a personal level like calling your name. all Bradley wanted to do at the very moment he saw your eyes roll was tell you how pretty you looked and all Jake wanted to do when he felt himself bottom out was let you know how fucking amazing you are at taking two large cocks inside you at the same time – but they couldn’t, contractually. Because it's porn and there are no relations in BDSM.
“Do you like the way we feel?” Jake asked at the very moment Bradley spanked your ass.
“UHH!” You replied, spit dripping from your chin onto Bradley’s chest as they fucked you at different speeds. Jake slow and steady in your tight ass while Bradley went all in, thrusting mercilessly into your dripping cunt.
“Do you want that gag out of your mouth? Bradley asked as he looked over your shoulder at Jake who was literal milliseconds away from blowing his load in your ass. You could only nod furiously – no noise escaping past your lips as you felt the familiar coil within you tighten as you enjoyed being used by two of the most renowned Dominants in the porn community.
Jake unclipped the gag, throwing it away and you couldn’t hold back any longer, screaming out how much you wanted to cum, how good it felt to be so full and stretched and how much you wanted them to flood you with everything they had.
“Please let me cum!” You cried looking down at Bradley as you felt Jake's hand come down on your right ass cheek.
“No” Bradley hissed as he slammed into you, his hand coming to wrap around your throat as Jake continuously spanked your ass–causing you to let out tiny “Ah’s” every time his slightly calloused hand made contact with your raw sensitive skin.
“Please, sir! C-can I cum!” You begged again, begging to feel the release, the pleasure, the euphoria.
Jake looked down at Bradley with a nod of approval and Bradley did the same, both about to shoot their thick hot spurts of cum deep inside you.
“You can cum but tell us what you are.” Bradley ordered and without a second to think you were creaming around his cock, pulsing like crazy around his shaft as you fell even more lifeless into his chest.
“I’m a f-fucking cum whore!”
As you came Jake felt your ass tighten around his shaft and that was enough to throw him overboard, spilling his hot creamy mess inside your deep stretched out ass hole. Bradley doing the same, only into your tight cunt, his load mixing around with yours as you trembled between the two of them – completely fucked out and exhausted.
***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~
As you got ready, covered your body in the coconut scented moisturiser you liked so much, fixed your hair and makeup after an extensive shower, you exited the studio bathroom only to be greeted by Jake and Bradley who were once again – fully clothed and staring intensely at you. You could only raise an eyebrow in confusion at their weird behaviour.
“Do we need to redo a shot?” You couldn't for the life of you fathom doing a reshoot after how taxing today had been on your body, not that you hadnt enjoyed it. “I swear if that’s what you're asking me we’ll have to do it another time because–” 
“Take this” Jake Interrupted you, handing you a piece of paper that had both Bradley and Jake's personal numbers written down. “I’m a man of my word and you were a very good girl Y/n.” You couldn’t stop the smile from plastering itself across your face or the feeling of heat rising in the apples of your cheeks.
“I already have the company’s number? Why would you give me your personal numbers?” you asked, still confused – most likely from being exhausted and ever so sore.
“I never once said we wanted to work with you again – you made that assumption on your own, I just went along with it.” Jake explained, but you still didn’t get it and that’s where Bradley stepped in to clear things up.
“What Jake's trying to say is we’d love to see you again, maybe on a personal call next time – just us three and no sets?” You looked at Bradley, your jaw almost hitting the ground.
“Mouth closed Y/n, you’ll catch flies.” Jake chuckled at your reaction. You instantly turned to face him more as you answered.
“Oh bite me Seresin.” You hissed jokingly as you giggled.
“That a yes though?” Bradley asked inquisitively – waiting for your response as your mind pondered the potential ramifications of a personal relationship or whatever this could be outside of the professional environment.
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***
Part Two Coming Tomorrow
Tags: @phoenix1388 @avaleineandafryingpan @bradshawseresinbabe @cherrycola27 @bradshawbabes @desert-fern @jstarr86 @a-serene-place-to-be @sweetlittlegingy @teacupsandtopgun @marvelshauntedhouse @weirdothatwritess @darkheartcherry @elijahmikaelsonbitch @je-suis-prest-rachel @untoldshortsofthefandoms @chunkiwhunki @whatislovevavy @roosters-girl @endofdays56 @ccristata @emorychase @averyhotchner @xoxabs88xox @krismdavis @creativitybeware @afterglowsb-tch13 @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @ladscarlett @onlyheretowastetime @sometimesanalice
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unicorncornflakes · 8 months
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Summer Isles - Modern!Aemond x Reader | Chapter 1
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Paring: Aemond Targaryen x Reader
Summary: After two years in the Summer Isles, Aemond returns from his international stay during his doctorate ready to be with the girl he left Westeros for.
Tags:  Alternate Universe – Modern/ Setting Emotional Hurt/ Comfort/ Drama & Romance/ Eventual Smut.
Warnings: Not at this moment, maybe later :P This is the best I can write these days, sorry :(
General Tag-List (If you wanna be tagged in thi series or all of my work, let me know):  @thedamewithabook @bluevxnus @hiddencurator
Author´s note:  Pls, enjoy! Feedback, shares and comments are always welcome!
Word Count: 3.5K
The sunlight had disappeared two hours ago. From the large window of the office, you could see how the yellow lights of the streetlights illuminated the deserted streets of that old industrial estate. Normally, at that time, there would be a multitude of operators and porters working in the warehouses that surrounded the modern, newly built building in which you worked. But, that autumn afternoon there was not a single soul. From the second floor of that building that broke the skyline of the place, you could see a paper bag rolling alone along the sidewalk.
You sighed, trying to gather strength for the next email you had to answer. You always sat next to the window, as if that could cheer you up during the at least eight hours you spent at work. The head of the service, in a show of trust and invented friendship with you, always placed you in the last shift of that customer service of the large multinational for which you worked. Although it may sound strange, it was the simplest and most complicated shift at the same time. Few clients with very big problems. Brilliant.
A new email popped up on the screen and you sighed right after replying to the last one. You grabbed the back of your head and closed your eyes, tired. Well, it could be worse, you thought, you might have to take a call. That thought crossed your mind when you saw your colleague Cristof closing his eyes tiredly while he explained for the last half hour to a client that the delay of her wedding dress was a problem of the transport company, that a claim had been opened and that we would try to give her a solution first thing tomorrow morning, not then, in the last shift.
“This is an idiot,” Cristof turned on mute just to talk to you and make you smile. You frowned and shook your head at him as he laughed again. "Yeah. Of course, I'm still here and I understand your situation perfectly, right now there is a team of five people working to get your dress to you first thing tomorrow morning, Mrs. Thyrosh” he completely changed the tone he had used with you, showing the best side of the service. That's what your job was about, showing your best possible face, or rather, your best possible voice.
“Is Aegon finally coming to look for you today?” Irmis, sitting right next to you, was also typing quickly to answer a customer who had decided at the last minute to change his expensive order for shoes from a famous brand. When they had offered you that job at a prestigious clothing brand, you never thought it would be like this. Five years in design school practically thrown away.
You shook your head as you looked ahead, ready to respond to that email. “No, he can't. You can see the fireworks from his house and he has organized a party with his friends to watch them from there” you responded completely naturally, although it had really hurt you that he didn't come for you on the same day that the local festivals were inaugurated. That was the same reason why not a single soul could be seen in that place. All private businesses closed earlier so that people could attend with their friends and family at the beginning of something that marked the beginning of autumn in a city as small as the one you lived in, but you work for a multinational. That small group of five people must have closed the shift. You were all unmarried or single. People who, according to the head of service, nothing happened if they did not attend the event. After all, what did it matter if you were missing? You sighed as you read what the last client who had written to you wanted. “I'll take the bus and I'll be there in an hour,” you explained to Irmis while she kept her eyes on the screen.
“If you want, I can take you” Roy stuck his head out of the cubicle that was right in front of you. With his headphones on and the smile he always had when he saw you, he continually offered to take you home or to Aegon's house.
"No. Don't worry, I'll go on the bus” you smiled at him with your best smile and as always Roy returned to his seat calling himself stupid. The truth was that you didn't like him taking you home. You knew he had a slight crush on you. Whenever you argued with Aegon, he was always there to listen to you and bring up all the many bad things Aegon had as a partner. You didn't want to raise his hopes. Aegon wasn't perfect, but he was the one you had chosen to be with, right?
“Well, it's cold today to be waiting for the bus.” Marga turned around in her chair right behind you. She was much older, a woman who had dedicated her entire life to customer service. She never said anything, but you knew she didn't like Aegon for you.
No one seemed to like Aegon as your partner. The five of you always closed the service, so you had ended up being a family, in which everyone knew everything about the other. You were grateful to have companions like that, but you didn't like that they interfered so much in your life.
Your cell phone vibrated. At that time, none of the bosses were still in the office, so you looked at him without any qualms. You couldn't help but smile while the others commented on whether or not it was advisable to wait in the autumn cold for the bus.
You saw Aegon at the party, being silly as always. He had sent you a photo in which he said that they were waiting for you. You continued typing and answering emails until the departure time was given. You grabbed your shoulder bag ready to leave that place for a whole weekend. You always loved Fridays. They meant not having to put up with one more customer.
“Let's go have something to drink tomorrow?” Cristof asked as you passed the security cards to exit the building. All dressed in your jackets to avoid the cold, you waited for him to close the door. It was your obligation to close the building as you were the last to leave it.
"Impossible. I have to take socks to the vet,” Marga answered.
“It's not going to take you all day.” Cristof narrowed his eyes in amusement while Roy laughed right behind him.
“Y/N?” He asked you, almost hoping that you would say yes. You were a motley group that would never have gotten together if it hadn't been for that job.
“I can’t,” you laughed, not wanting to explain much more. Really, you couldn't and you didn't want to. You were especially excited about what was going to happen the next day. Seeing the look on Roy's face, you repeated again, “Not really. “Aegon’s brother is returning from a stay in the Summer Islands and we are all meeting up for lunch” you responded happily.
Aemond had always been your best friend. You hadn't seen him for two years, almost a little after you started dating Aegon. He had gotten a scholarship to do an international stay during his doctorate and he had accepted it without a second thought, without looking back. You couldn't help but miss him, but you were happy for him. That's what was going through your head, it wasn't as if... you had always been friends, since high school. He had never hinted at anything and neither have you.
“Is that the one who is missing one eye, has long hair and is always smoking?” Marga asked, shrugging her shoulders.
“Marga, don't be rude,” Irmi reprimanded him when she saw the same sad and confused face that you had made, as if it had been a low blow to define him as the guy who was missing an eye.
“If there is one like him there,” the woman said while pointing with her head, right behind you. You turned around while your heart was going a mile an hour, while you didn't think that her words could be true, but you felt like your world stopped, right at the sight of him.
He was there.
Aemond Targaryen.
After two fucking years, he was just there. Leaning against his car, the same one you had seen during those two years parked at the family residence. He was just blowing out the smoke from the last puff he had just taken. Always dressed in black, from head to toe. His black leather jacket, his turtleneck sweater of the same color. Aemond had never been one to change his style, but you could see how in those two years he had stopped wearing his tall military boots and was now wearing black shoes that cost the same as your entire month's salary. A very expensive and new rolex on his wrist… otherwise it was him. It was just him.
Your companions stayed behind you as you ran to hug him. You couldn't see it, but the corners of Aemond's lips curled into a smile. The smile that his always stoic face had wanted to give you but had never dared. “See you on Monday,” you heard one of your workmates say while the others said goodbye to each other, but you didn't care. He was there. He was there.
“But, what are you doing here?” You smiled at him sincerely, because in those two years not a single day had passed in which you hadn't missed him. He was your best friend. It always had been. “You were arriving tomorrow. You were arriving tomorrow” that stupid smile did not leave your lips. Your hands patted his chest affectionately and he smiled. His single purple eye fixed on yours.
“The flight was early,” he lied. Aemond had never heard of a flight coming forward. Just that they were late, but he had taken the first one that was available. A feeling of indescribable warmth filled his heart, as nothing had filled it for two years. You punched him in the chest again as you hugged him again. Aemond could feel you close your eyes snuggled into his chest and he wrapped his arms around you. His aroma of coffee and cigarettes mixed with that perfume he always wore filled your nostrils, bringing back memories of a time that had undoubtedly been better than the one you were living in then.
“Yes, but what are you doing here?” You laughed again.
“Waiting for you to come out,” he shrugged with a smile you had rarely seen on his face. A truly genuine smile. “I arrived at Aegon's house and you weren't there. Helaena told me you were still at work” he sighed “So, do you work here?” He asked with a shrug, looking at the spot where you had ended up. He would never be the one to say it out loud, but you didn't deserve more. You had studied for much, much more. However, it was the job you had decided to have. Aegon had gotten you the job. All his influences had reached that place and you had accepted it gratefully because you needed the money, not for anything else.
“Have you come to look for me?” you asked in disbelief, ignoring his question. In two and a half years of their relationship, Aegon had not gone a single day. In truth, you had always fantasized about him coming for you. Up in his car, sunglasses on and ready to take you anywhere you want. However, it had never happened and you had told yourself that it was simply because he was tired from work, or that it didn't matter... or that you didn't deserve it... But, Aemond had gone. He was there, like you had always dreamed that your boyfriend would do.
“You wouldn't make it in time to see the fireworks if I wasn't here,” he said, trying to make light of the matter. He opened the passenger seat door in an almost theatrical manner and you got in. Just as he closed the door he told himself that this was going to be the big night. He needed to do it. He had been needing it for two and a half years. Since the same day he had taken that flight to a foreign university that had little or nothing to do with his field of study.
“It's not something that fascinates me either,” you sighed, exhausted and tired after such a long day. You fastened the seat belt and Aemond opened the driver's door, just after he had nervously stubbed his cigarette against the sidewalk. Frankly, fireworks didn't fascinate you. They had never done it. As a child you had been terrified by the roar that stirred in your chest every time one exploded. As an adult you had been bored by the always repeated pattern of the same in that small town near the landing that had so little to offer.
“I brought you something,” Aemond smiled. You weren't used to seeing him smile so much. Those two years away from home, away from everything he knew, must have been good for him. He took out two small packages that he placed on your lap. “Open it, please,” he finished as he watched your eyes light up. In the middle of that industrial estate, was that the best place he had found to give you his gifts? He martyred himself. Nothing was going as he had planned, but he had also imagined you in a completely different scenario.
“You shouldn't have bothered,” you replied. You chose the smallest of the packages first and opened it delicately. Aemond heard you laugh as he started the car engine. His face showed a grimace of relief. At least He was still thanking you for those nonsense. “How did you remember?” you laughed as you held up the fridge magnet he had brought you.
“I remembered the refrigerator at your parents' house,” he lied. He just remembered how you were always amazed at the refrigerator in his family's house. Full of the magnets of the places they had traveled to. Aemond knew you never spoke it but you had always been envious of those who could really travel. As far as your best friend knew, you had never left the small town where you lived, except on the occasional occasion to see or visit King's Landing. “I guess you can put it in your new refrigerator” he tried to smile, but it didn't come naturally. He didn't dare look at you. He had seen Aegon's new apartment before he came to find you. He had imagined which side of the huge bed in the bedroom you would lie on, how you would cook dinner with his brother while you smiled at him and he did something stupid... he had imagined how you would make love anywhere in it... without any ties... and then he had died of jealousy.
“What refrigerator?” You asked, completely confused, and he simply looked away from the road for a moment, as if hope was returning to his gaze again.
“The one in the kitchen of your new house?” Aemond wanted to affirm, but it all came out simply as a question.
“Oh, that.” You said pursing your lips in an embarrassed manner. “Aegon is going to become independent, but he hasn't told me anything about living together so…” you looked ahead. You didn't want anyone to see the pain that situation caused you. Your boyfriend had bought the apartment of his dreams, but you had not entered into the equation for a single moment. You had thought that the topic of living together would come up during the renovation, then you had imagined it would happen while you were helping him choose the furniture and then you had expected it during the first night that you had dined there alone, the two of you. He hadn't shown up and you had simply closed the topic with a sheepish smile every time someone asked you about it. Because you, like the others, knew that the normal thing would have been for you to go live with him. You could have told her, but saying things was never in the plans of a girl who was too shy and complacent.
Aemond ignored the comment. He thought it was best not to pick at the wound, but he couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. So you and Aegon were not as well off as he had assumed. At that moment, a small part of himself hated himself strongly. What kind of friend was happy because things weren't right between you and his brother? Well, he was the kind of friend who had had a crush on you since high school, the kind of friend who had taken the scholarship that took him as far away as possible from the girl he liked and who had decided to date his lazy older brother, the kind of friend who hadn't texted you in two years under the guise of being busy but had sought you out in every woman he'd ever been with. He was that kind of friend.
“I'll put it on the blackboard at the job” you smiled, trying to recover from that blow. “I have a whiteboard full of notes in the cubby and I always have problems with magnets,” you smiled. Always grateful. How could someone like Aegon take down a girl like that? You opened the shoulder bag and put the magnet inside, but not before wrapping it so it wouldn't break.
“There is another one,” Aemond told you without giving it importance. However, he was dying of shame. That gift did make him feel indescribable. He didn't know what he had been thinking while choosing such a gift. It had been a simple impulse at a summer night market. While he was drunk, more than he had ever been in his entire life. He was lying. In those moments he was lying. Of course he knew why he had taken it. It was for you. At that time he had only thought about spending a couple of months clarifying his ideas on the island. He had only dragged it out because he didn't dare come back and see you and Aegon. It was beyond his strength.
He heard a small gasp just as he finished listening to you open the other small package. He smiled while not taking his eyes off the road. “Aemond, it's beautiful,” you replied in a sigh. A blue beaded necklace rested on your lap. All blue. Sapphire blues, just the way he liked them, but there was something about the patterns on the necklace that made your heart sing. That was what you always liked about traveling, bringing things from the place. Not just a souvenir, this was much more, much more than Aemond would ever confess to you. It was everything that the woman who had sold it to him had explained to him.
“I'm glad you like it” he finally stopped the car. He had found parking in front of Aegon's house. He had already reached his final goal. Now he would start pretending that he was happy for you, for his brother, for your relationship...
“How does it look on me?” You woke him up from his thoughts, you had just put on the necklace with a smile and your eyes looked at him lit up while you smiled, a wide, perfect smile.
Aemond could not speak. He was only able to swallow saliva. His single eye scrutinized you silently. You were beautiful. You had worn his necklace. His necklace. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, almost as if he were going to destroy it. His knuckles white. His fists tense. He looked at your lips. He was going to kiss them. He had had that one thought every night for two years. He was thinking of bowing. Close his eye and savor you...
Someone banged on the window of his car, breaking him out of his own fantasy. His sister Helaena and his boyfriend, Cregan Stark, were both out. “Heyyy” Helaena greeted, completely happy and excited to see her brother. Aemond watched you unbuckle your seatbelt excitedly and you got out of the car. He did it too, although in a much worse way. He closed the door rudely and Cregan looked at him, raising an eyebrow questioningly while you greeted Helaena. Aemond knew what his sister's boyfriend thought. There the boy with anger problems from high school came to light. Aemond already controlled any attack like that, but the memory of everyone who had experienced it was still very present among them.
“Aem,” his sister greeted him again, as if she had not seen him in those two years when she had been the only one along with her mother who had visited him on the summer islands. Furthermore, he had already seen him when he got off the plane and he was the one who had taken him to the family home after the trip. A small part of Aemond hated his sister's meddling.
“It looks like she hasn’t seen you in decades,” Cregan laughed and Aemond released his sister from his neck. Cregan shook his girlfriend's hand and you remained in the discreet background. At that moment, Aemond also wanted to hold your hand, intertwine his fingers with yours as you headed to watch the fireworks. But, you weren't his girl, you were Aegon's girl.
The four of you walked to the portal of that luxury building in the middle of the city. Helaena kept asking Aemond about his trip, but he couldn't help but glance at how now all your attention had returned to your mobile phone. You half-heartedly checked your social networks. You didn't seem very excited about the prospect of seeing the fireworks. In reality, you were too tired during the day and having to share the end of it with Aegon's friends you couldn't stand didn't help the outlook.
“My God, that's me” you laughed half-heartedly when you saw yourself in the elevator mirror as you went up to the 20th floor of that luxury building. The last one, from where you could see the entire city and where Aegon now had his new dream apartment, in which you were not going to live.
“It's normal that you are tired. I don't know how you put up with that job” Helaena commented while Cregan nodded his head. “I don't know what Aegon thinks letting you stay in a place like this,” your boyfriend's sister shrugged her shoulders. “He has enough money to support you both and a good job…” he began without any malice, but then Cregan whispered in his ear.
“Hel, we've already talked about this a thousand times,” her boyfriend commented, a whisper that you barely heard, but that set off all of Aemond's alarms. He also wouldn't have let you be in a job that was obviously destroying you, not with all the money they enjoyed. He would take care of you. That's what was said...
“I just prefer to be financially independent,” you smiled again, in a polite manner. You didn't want Aegon to pay for any of your whims. Absolutely none, but it was true that the Targaryens had always seen it differently. Helaena had stopped working the same day she had gone to live with Cregan and their mother, Alicent, you doubted that she had ever worked in something other than taking care of her children. They were traditional. Everyone had very marked gender roles and… that's why everyone had expected that you and Aegon would have lived together, but that wasn't the case. Sometimes you thought about whether you and Aegon had some kind of...future.
“You're beautiful,” Aemond whispered in your ear and you smiled at him again. Helaena looked at you out of the corner of her eye. It was obvious that you were dating the wrong Targaryen. But, Aemond had never been brave enough to confess in all those years during high school, not even during university... the elevator finally stopped, but Aemond continued with his only eye fixed on you. You laughed as the door opened and you walked away from him, but that grimace with his lips half open and a mischievous smile showed Helaena that Aemond had not returned with the intention of just being your friend.
You were the one who pressed the bell, waiting for Aegon to open the door, and Helaena watched as Aemond stood right behind you, placing his hand on your lower back, in a protective movement. You didn't say anything. You were always too polite, but you weren't single. When you and Aemond had been in high school you hadn't minded gestures like that, in college neither, you had even appreciated them, but... now you were with Aegon.
Aegon opened the door, as always with a drink in his hand, inside you could already see a large crowd of people that Aegon called friends and the noise of the music was already strident. “My dragon girl” he smiled seductively at you, ignoring the others. Aemond entered the house rolling his one eye in annoyance and Helaena and Cregan followed him while you continued with a silly smile looking at him. The truth was that whenever he looked at you like that and used that tone of voice you fell apart just for him. Attraction. That was the only thing that had kept that relationship afloat. It was what you feared. “Are you staying over tonight? “To ride your dragon?” Aegon whispered to you. His breath already smelled of alcohol and Aemond pursed his lips as he left his coat on the coat rack in the hall. Was that his brother's best way to seduce you?
"Do not be silly. Of course I'm going to stay the night” you smiled at him, hitting him lightly on the chest, with an embarrassed smile. Aegon smelled of sweat and alcohol, but that didn't seem to matter to you. You had gotten used to it and took the lazy mood of the eldest Targaryen as normal.
“How pretty.” Aegon ran his fingers over the necklace Aemond had brought you. Just getting on his younger brother's nerves. His fingers handling each of the beads, without any shame. “Have you been to the stands at the fair?” He smiled at you. He was so drunk that Aemond doubted he could stand much longer, but of course he could when it came to partying, Aegon could always stand.
“Aemond brought it to me from the Summer Islands” you smiled and saw how Aegon smiled a superb smile. Of course he brought it to you. He turned to look at his brother, who at that moment took his one eye away from the two of you.
“Thank you, little brother. It's very nice what you brought for my girlfriend” he laughed cheekily, marking his territory. It seemed that the only one who didn't realize that Aemond was crazy about you was you.
“Hmm” was all you heard Aemond say as he turned and disappeared into the party. Aegon left too and you closed the door to Aegon's new house. They had both left you alone. Alone but surrounded by people. Helaena looked into the distance. Aegon was stupid to leave you alone, but Aemond was even more stupid. His pride got the best of him and he just missed a brilliant opportunity to be alone with you.
That night, Aemond Targaryen planned to confess, because the only thing that was clear to him in his life was that he could no longer hide what he felt for you.
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lopposting · 2 months
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Some more Lies of P translation notes!
Some cool translation details that I thought were fun that didn't fit anywhere else.
[long!]
[Spoilers]
In the Korean version, Geppetto is speaking an "old-fashioned"/archaic form of Korean to reflect the time period that the game is set in
Set around the turn of the century (late 1800s), mimicking the Belle Époque of France's industrial revolution, we can guess that the game's events take place during the late 1800s. Given Geppetto's status as "old geezer", we can guess that he's closer to 100 than not, so he would have been born around the early 1800s. I might not be completely accurate - basically, he's speaking as an elderly person might speak in current time to culturally reflect his age; other times I notice he's using some words that are now out of use.
From the game's initial trailer:
깨어나거라, 아들아. 이제 이 아비를 기쁘게 해다오. Wake up, son. Make this father happy/proud.
The word he uses for "father" is "Abi" (아비), which is an archaic word for "father". In current day, korean speakers would generally use "Abeoji" (아버지).
The -gura(거라)/-DaOh(다오) conjugation is also an additional syllable that has since fallen out of use, or is considered archaic, in current korean:
아들아, 네 심장을 다오. Son, give me your heart.
하지만 알아 다오, 나는 너도 사랑했단다. But know this, I loved you too. English VA version: In my own way, I grew to love you.
This is also apparent in Geppetto's final letter at the end:
우릴 방해할 자는 이제 없을 거란다. 너를 위한 크라트를 다시 만들어주마. (-juma, Supposedly, only a "superior" speaker can use -juma) 그때까지 호텔에 조심해서 머물러 다오. 너를 누구보다도 아끼는 아버지가.
He also uses the -Oh ending again. (although he does call himself "Abeoji" 아버지 here and not "abi" like the trailer. He uses "Abi" again in another instance when responding to a guesture)
It's a very cool detail to me. I think it's a bit missed opportunity that, as far as I know, the english version doesn't seem to reflect this! Although to be fair, I'm struggling to imagine how they would. 19th century english/french maybe isn't as different or isn't different in the same ways from "modern" english that 19th century Korean would be from "modern" Korean. [Well, my only education on this stuff is from watching episodes of Dae Jang Geum]. I haven't checked to see if any other character (like Antonia) speaks this way. [Pls message me if Geppetto also speaks like this in your or any other language version!!]
Lies of P, Blood, puns, and the P-Organ
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The P-Organ, in Korean, is referred to as the P기관. 기관 (gi-gwan), however, doesn't necessarily correlate directly to the word "Organ": It's quite an interesting word to choose because it can refer to any system of moving parts, both organic or mechanical; and it can mean an organ, a machine, or even a governmental body or institute.
As you may have heard by now, the game's titular pun revolves around the fact that the english character for P sounds the word for "blood" in korean (피), making the title (P의 거짓 P-ie Geojit?) read like Lies of Blood, in a nutshell. The title Lies of Blood then fits into the becoming-real flesh-and-blood themes of the game, perhaps also suggests that the deception in Krat has cost the lives of many - and, of course, references the lying of the titular character, who is inferred to be none other than (P)inocchio! So, in Korean, the P-Organ (P기관) becomes something like the Blood Engine. Which rather sounds like a euphemism for a heart!
[Perhaps: It's also a bit of narrative that Geppetto refuses to refer to it as our heart, unless he refers to it as belonging to Carlo.]
In English, this wordplay no longer exists, and so it's rather awkwardly literally translated (as the P-Organ).
How do you say, "NEOWIZ"?
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I've seen a few people ask about the pronunciation of NEOWIZ (Lies' publishing company). Hangul is phonetic, so you could (technically) say the official pronunciation of NEOWIZ (네오위즈) is Nae-Oh Wiz and not Neo (like the Matrix character) -wiz.
However [in my opinion], I don't think this matters, because when something is translated to another language, it often takes the pronunciation of the language it is read in. Kind of like how in english you would read the capital of France correctly as Paris (with an S sound at the end), and not "Pari" (french pronunciation).
Also, Krat is consistently pronounced by in-game characters as "Krot" (Long O, rhymes with "Cot" or "Not") in the english version. In the game korean releases, "Krat" is written as 크라트, which would be pronounced and read as "Krat" (short A, rhymes with "Rat" or "Cat").
[I think the devs also say "Krat" too. The rounder "O" pronunciation of "A" in words seem like more of a European pronunciation in general]
The "Youngest of the Black Rabbit Brotherhood" and Gender
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In Korean culture, Age is particularly significant in both Korean social hierarchy and language, and the role/position of being the youngest in a group is a particular role known as being the "maknae" (I mean, I definitely think this also exists in the western world, people definitely would understand being the "youngest" one in your family, but it's slightly different from that).
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Despite being a member of the brotherhood, she refers to her brothers as "Oppa", which is when the word "brother" is used by female speakers to an older male subject (Remember Gangnam style?) [A male speaker would use "Hyung". I debated putting this one in, because to me, it seemed kind of obvious, but I did see others asking about this.]
[Given that the developers are from a korean studio, I am choosing to believe that the subtitles provided by the game's "korean" version are the text/script as originally written intended by the developers!]
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dailyniallnews · 8 months
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Interview with Niall Horan, ex frontman of One Direction
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If the global success with One Direction is now far behind, the fortune that Niall Horan is enjoying as a solo artists is very current. His third album was just released. Emblematic title: The Show, and the show could not get better than this. Article by Leonardo Clausi
Precisely because this is the new age of anxiety (from the title of the poem by W. H. Auden The Age of Anxiety, 1947, and from Symphony n. 2 by Leonard Bernstein inspired by it, 1949), Public Health around the world should prescribe listening to Niall Horan. As anti-anxiety medicine, tonic for the psyche, emotionally restorative medicine. Really, who else in the modern soft rock world is as capable of tuning in for ten tracks on an equally balmy wavelength, without ever straying into drama or comedy, as Horan does on The Show, third album since he went solo after the dissolution of One Direction, the (boy)band who competed with the Beatles in music sales? Not even the much more wanted colleague Harry Styles, with his unapologetic Bowie-ism that annoyed Tony Visconti so much.
30-year-old Horan doesn't have the same ambitions. We could easily ask him to go and pick out our daughter from school because he is so.. fragrant? Since 2016 - without stopping except from when forced by the pandemic - he's been writing music and bringing it on tour. A constant motion of three albums, the feverish craftsmanship of a diligent entertainer devoted to the career that he was raised in thanks to the shortcut, sometimes a brutal one, with which talent shows have short-circuited the discography and industry of A&R (Artists and Repertoire). We intercept him as he drives, always busy as a bee. "I just came back from America yesterday. Today I am in Liverpool. It's constant travelling, I spend most of my time jetlagged". He is understandably satisfied with his latest discographic effort, which will become the center of the homonymous The Show Live on Tour, with the Italian stop on 21st March 2024 at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan: "I spent a lot of time writing and producing it during the pandemic and the year after. I’m happy, the response has been very, very interesting around the world". Not surprising, considering the melodic quality of the tracks, touched by the Californian light of the Laurel Canyon, with vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys, and references to the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. "I trusted that I could write a song. I knew I had the ability to do it. I just needed to trust that I could get a guitar, or sit at a piano, and something good would come out of it. It's out, but you never know. I need to keep my head down, work hard and see".
The 70s were his first introduction to music through records (or vinyls, as hipsters say), which were floating around the house; the real love however started "when I realised how lucky I was to have grown up with music that stayed with me to this day. My parents had a large album collection. I still listen to a lot of them now. When I’m in the studio I often use analogue mixing desks, it’s an important part of the sound I’m looking for". Speaking of the search for the 'organic' sound that digital audio is not able to embody all the way, what does he think of artificial intelligence, now that creators in the entertainment industry are taking the streets as well to protest against forcibly becoming obsolete? "Artificial intelligence can really do a lot, but it can’t give you that feeling that I call the human touch. It couldn’t write 'Hey Jude' or any other masterpiece. Humans will always have the upper hand".
Horan's Irishness is a prominent element of his personality, that proud affability that made his country a cultural superpower despite its size. And that was worth the warm reception of none other than the POTUS, who is also a descendent of the Celtic diaspora. "For how small the nation is, the relevance we have worldwide is amazing. Only five million inhabitants, and yet our culture of drinking, night life, musical or literary traditions are known everywhere. It's something I always keep in mind and want to show off as much as possible. And yes, I was invited at Washington to meet Joe Biden". Understandably, the fact excites him: "It was crazy that someone from a small town like mine (Mullingar, northwest of Ireland, ed.) ended up playing for the President of the United States at the White House. I still can't believe it". Not to mention the fact that, from a particularly bigot and conservative society that it once was, Ireland is now one of the most advanced and liberal ones of the West. "I'm not sure how it happened, but I am very proud of it. It was great to see it become one of the first countries to have gay marriage, for example. And I’m proud that it’s acting as a catalyst for change in other countries".
And does he know U2, this compatriot up and coming group? Would he collaborate with them? "Some of my all time favourite songs are by U2, their shows are some of the best I’ve ever been to. It would be great to do something with them if they ever ask". Coming from one of the best selling bands meant that there was a challenging precedent to compete with. But Niall Horan is doing great. It's impossible to refrain from asking about a 1D reunion. "It’s a busy time for everyone, so no, not that I know of. We keep in touch but everyone’s doing their own thing. Louis is touring in America, Liam is working on his music, Harry’s busy on the biggest world tour... In fact, if you hear about a reunion, please let me know".
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darlingkirstein · 2 months
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im just curious about your headcanon for their job (for eremika and jeanpiku if that's alright)
this question has truly thrown me for such a giant loop because im super indecisive! so i thought instead of choosing one option, i could list a few plausible options for the characters! these are just the jobs that came to mind for some reason. im sure i could come up with others but this are the first that i decided on, and i tried to choose jobs that are a little more unorthodox to be unique 🩷
also sorry for how long this has taken ! i know you've been waiting for this for a while 🫶
Eremika
— Eren Jaeger!
Physical/recreational therapist: I can imagine him wanting to help people but not wanting to be a hospital doctor or anything like that. He seems like he'd be a pretty active guy so I think a job where he gets to help people and also move around and help clients move around and recover from injury would be both fulfilling and fun for him at the same time! Or even recreational therapy, getting to help people through different activities!
Small business owner: I can see him taking the charge and owning his own business, maybe with the help of his parents with a small investment to get it started. Mikasa might also help with this when she has spare time because she wants to support him! I'm thinking something that incorporates his love of cooking, like a bakery or food shop?
Stuntman/stunt coordinator: This one is more for fun but I love picturing him as a stunt man for movies. He would get a kick out of the thrill it gives him if he's actively participating or he'd find it satisfying to coordinate really interesting stunt work. Mikasa would always be fearful that he's gonna injure himself.
— Mikasa Ackerman!
Bookstore employee: I don't know why, but I think Mikasa would love working around a quiet environment with books. Getting to provide recommendations and organize the shelves makes her feel accomplished without over-stressing her. She loves reading so the employee discount is definitely a big benefit.
Speech-language pathologist: I'm biased here because this is what I'm studying! But I think Mikasa could thrive in this job! Getting to help people struggling with communication is really fulfilling and she gets to challenge herself to find creative solutions. I think she would love working with children, helping them fix their speech sounds, or even with adults, helping with different disorders.
Daycare owner/lead employee: I think a lot of us agree that even in our modern AUs, Mikasa didn't have the happiest childhood. So, I think she tries to make sure that other children have the best possible childhood around. She would be very attentive to all their needs because she's naturally great with kids. Eren would find this so endearing and it would really give me lots of baby fever when she comes home and talks about the kiddos.
Jeanpiku
— Jean Kirstein!
Gonna start off by saying that I feel like Jean initially settles for an office job because he feels like he has to be a big breadwinner and have a stable, high-paying job but it ends up making him rather miserable so he quits to pursue other jobs.
Art restoration: I know the idea of Jean being an artist is kinda overplayed since he only draws once but I am so attached to it. But here I'm specifically thinking of him restoring old/damaged paintings for museums or for people's personal collections. He probably finds comfort in seeing the pretty paintings come back to life after being so dull. He takes it super seriously since it's so technical so he's very proud of his work and the results!
Something in the restaurant/food industry: Jean loves cooking so much! He would want to share his cooking with others. He might work at a restaurant making good or maybe even as a cooking instructor? I think that even if his job isn't in the food industry that he still volunteers his time to cook for people in need because it's something he's passionate about.
Art therapist: In a similar vein to art restoration, I am imagining him as an art therapist, trying to help people with their struggles through various forms of art. It's probably therapeutic to him, so sharing that therapy with others is so sweet to me. I think would love to work with children especially, just getting to see them smile after they've gone through some rough things :)
— Pieck Finger!
Something in journalism: Pieck would get a kick out of writing small articles for different papers or magazines, or even in the newspaper (even if it's a dying medium). She gets to show a more creative side while making a living and she also gets to work from home which is great because she's kind of a homebody! She gets to be comfortable while writing her fun articles :)
Accent/dialect coach: This is also kind of a half-serious one like the stunt coordinator one for Eren. I feel like Pieck would be weirdly good at accents, like stupidly good. So she might have fun working with actors either in bigger shows/movies or in local theatre productions to change accents.
Editor: Another job that could be done from home, I think she would like editing people's books or articles or anything to make them better. She finds it fun and satisfying to correct mistakes and make suggestions, and it's so fun because she can work on stuff from her bedroom if she so desired. Maybe she both writes and edits and just switches off depending on the day/helping out her writer friends by editing their work for them.
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gsirvitor · 4 months
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You’re welcome, sorry this about the Dahomey.
I know you’re Canadian, but why wasn’t my people, the black community taught about the Dahomey?
People done DNA research and discovered what groups most Africans in north America came from and figured out which routes we came from. And when I got into tumblr I learn that most Africans were second handed sold off by other Africans
(Which is damn near impossible to find in American education courses including college stuff. Jeez I wonder why?)
Then the women king trailer came out, it was people like you not people in positions, tell me in the black American version of “Jews lionizing the Nazis”
I’m sorry if I sound like mess, but the truth about women king shown the core of my existence? We weren’t my people taught about our first oppressors? To keep this pan African bullshit alive? To keep African Americans and native Africans relationships toxic as fuck as my community have a fetishized view in Africa even as fully grown adults? To make sure my people never heals?
Sorry, perhaps we can talk about it in the DMs, but it just…how could Hollywood make this movie? How could popular black actors agree to do this film? Do they have such hatred towards white people in their souls?
I think I will never recover from such revelations. Perhaps I can teach the next generation of black Americans on why we can never truly call Africa home
Also, my people situation is why I can’t buy decolonize USA, where the fuck I’m supposed to go? The Dahomey purposely made sure I can never call Africa home so 🤷
Well it depends, the Dahomey are taught about, the issue is with American education, the Trans Atlantic slave trade isn't taught about in great detail.
The education system simply states Europeans enslaved Africans, it doesn't state how slaves were procured, who procured them, or why Africans were chosen over other people.
It glosses over the fact the Trans Atlantic slave trade brought most of the slaves to South and Central America, how American slavery was mainly indentured servitude until Anthony Johnson, a freed slave, changed that, etc etc.
People are taught slavery is a uniquely European advent, that Africans only went into the Trans Atlantic slave trade, ignoring the Barbary pirates and the Islamic slave trade, I can go on, the point is, they aren't taught the facts because the education system is not designed to educate, it is designed to create factory workers, it's an antiquated system, a product of the Industrial Revolution.
Today we are in an information revolution, we have more access to information today than anyone in history, education needs to be tailored to this, to critical thinking and understanding information, and it isn't, but that's enough of my rambling about the education system.
Well, yes, we know that a majority of African diaspora who came here from the Slave trade came from West Central Africa, they came from the Slave Coast, as it was called then;
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This region is where the Slaver Empires rose and fell, and it wasn't Europeans who established them, it was however Europeans who took advantage of them, enriching them.
The core of your existence isn't slavery, that is a mindset you must abandon for it will destroy you, everyone has dark times in their family history, it's what we choose to keep with us that defines us, the Holocaust doesn't define me, nor does the Potato famine, Irish slavery, or Fascist Italy, I choose who I am, and what I keep within me.
Yes, Pan-Africanist ideas first began to circulate in the mid-19th century in the United States, led by Africans from the Western Hemisphere.
It was an attempt to create a sense of belonging, or brotherhood and collaboration among all people of African descent whether they lived inside or outside of Africa.
It isn't very successful, as it ignores the different, often opposed cultures of Africa, and holds to a very American idea that they are the same because of their skin, it's the same notion behind other organizations like the European Union, the CCP, and of course Nazi Germany, not saying Pan Africanism is Nazi-esque, just that the idea of a Pan racial state is a very common theme.
Where was I going with this? Oh yes, it lead African Americans to view Africa in a very fetishistic and idealized way, the same way European Americans had at one point viewed Europe.
It isn't some malicious push by someone or something to keep African Americans down, or ignorant, it's simply a combination of a poor education system, and common tribalism, nothing other groups haven't suffered from, or continue to suffer from.
Hollywood made it because slavery movies sell, their ESG goals were also met by making the Africans the heroes, and having a female lead, that's it.
Oh yeah, teach your children proper history, don't rely on the education system.
Oh don't worry, the decolonize crowd excludes non white people from those they wish to eject from the US, though they seem to call Asians white.
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roo-bastmoon · 10 months
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After having a long think...
Even though I keep saying I'm going to go rest and stop obsessing about this, I guess I can't. I just suck at sitting still and being chill. My thoughts are under the cut out of respect for folks in the tags who don't want to engage in any drama around Seven.
Here is a list of all the push for Seven that has been noticed in the first two days (the thread is currently 30-posts deep but please do take a look):
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Note: I haven't vetted any of those comments. I just scrolled through them and felt so overwhelmed. It just doesn't look good, but I bow to any industry experts who have real data and experience.
Update: Artie has a good post here about Jimin's debut numbers and playlists. Also here about how Seven being promoted to radio isn't necessarily proof that it was payola and they have the numbers from credible sources to back that possibility up:
I'm just going to come right out and say it: I find payola dishonorable. It's not just advertising; it's basically bribes. And ads should never replace real people's streams.
I deeply respected that BTS and ARMY found such success without that stuff. It used to be about passionate artists, making their own music, which resonated with real people, who worked hard to promote it. It was about mutual respect.
JK's numbers don't look completely organic to me, but I don't think he had a hand in that.
I have such serious misgivings if this the direction Hybe is going in for JJK1, and have no clue how the group survives if the company picks and chooses their favorites for that kind of push. If this is the strategy for all BTS projects now, I have no idea how they can afford it. I'd really appreciate if they could come to us and try to explain how it could ever be on the up-and-up because I don't think it can.
I confess I will not be working hard at all for anything that seems inorganic. This project just looks like Scooter weaponizing Jungkook to win a dick-measuring contest with Taylor and others. I hate it.
That said, I've always been very clear that Jimin is my guide.
Jimin adores Jungkook. Jimin is working with and hanging out with Jungkook even as I type this. Jimin is choosing for now to stay with Hybe. Jimin is flying all over the world on Hybe's time and dime to work on even more projects. Jimin has more music to share with us, that Hybe is investing in. Jimin seems happy for the most part.
I will support Jimin and never move against the people Jimin loves.
I trust Jimin and give the benefit of the doubt to the people Jimin trusts.
When planning his first album, I do not believe that Jimin was told about decisions to split tracks, or skip play-listings, or what would get restocked, or if they'd buy ads for smoother streams on YouTube and Spotify or not, or what kind of articles would be written about him.
I believe Jimin had plenty of input on the design, look, feel, sound, tracks, cast, choreo, performances--all the creative aspects of his album. I think he was able to say what he needed to say and get Letter hidden on his album for Jungkook. But I don't think he was roped into strategic plans and profit and loss statements and marketing roll-outs in any great detail. I arrive at this idea based on my own experience in the entertainment industry--I could be wrong.
And so I think the same for Jungkook. I think Jungkook had input on some of the creative aspects of this single (and likely had suspicions of what working under Hybe America and Scooter might entail). I have no idea the conversations and pressures he faced around this topic, or if he simply trusted Bang PD to handle it. I don't know what all he talked about with Jimin and the hyungs.
I do know there was a time this year when he came to us on lives deeply depressed and almost lost, despondent. I know there was a group dinner where many things were discussed. And then there were many times he came to us on lives, inspired by and enamored with Jimin, memorizing and hyping up his work with such pure adoration, even as their own company refused to even mention Jimin's successes.
So I ask myself: does Jeon Jungkook really have it in him to steal Jimin's ideas or push himself out ahead of his hyungs, embracing unequal treatment and unfair advantages, just so he can be the one to make it big in the West?
And in looking for that answer, I'm reminded of this clip:
No. I don't think that's who Jeon Jungkook is. At least, it isn't the Jeon Jungkook I knew.
I am sad to say I think that is exactly who Scooter Braun is and who Bang PD has become. That is what the company would do. But not our Jungkook. Not unless everyone in the group was on board with it, somehow.
Jimin is standing by Jungkook. So I am standing by Jungkook--as a person.
But I've bought Seven once and I've added it to my night playlist and that's all the moves I'm making on that project. I will not be setting alarms to vote or using extra accounts to buy or hash-tagging anything, nor getting any merch, nor requesting local spins, none of that. It's a catchy song but as the thread I linked to above shows, it is a guaranteed "success" even without me. So I'm using my energy to support Jimin and other BTS projects that resonate with me and need me.
My stance on this might offend you, and I respect your feelings. I do not identify as a solo or anti. I still think of myself as aJimin-biased Jikooker who loves the members. I am probably toeing the line of being a manti, as I feel this company has broken faith with me. Not the creative or administrative staff, but the executives. I feel like they've ended our ten-year legacy in shame.
If it gets much worse, I may just dip out of the fandom after Jimin goes into service. I don't know. Probably I will have to see how things work out for the other solo works and plans for the group for 2025. At the moment, I have far bigger things to worry about, like colitis.
I can't lie, what I've seen so far with this rollout really shocked me, gave me a bit of an identity crisis, as ARMY. I don't want to assume the worst; neither do I want to bury my head in the sand for the sake of my ship or my favorite songs.
I will always act in accordance with my own conscience, based on the limited information I have. If I get better information, I will of course update my viewpoints. If at any point that causes anyone who is friended with me distress, I will understand completely if we need to part ways. I never, EVER wish to cause anyone harm.
But I'm too sick to argue and debate too much, too long. Boraland was supposed to be a place to unwind and feel inspired, not get more stressed. These past few 1.5 years months as ARMY has been exhausting in every sense of the word. So I'm choosing to put my energy into the things that bring some joy in my life.
I'm choosing to trust and follow Jimin's lead, for now.
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sgiandubh · 9 months
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I interpreted SAG not forcing members to break contracts they had already signed for fan cons to mean they didn’t have to withdraw their participation but members were still bound by strike rules that they can’t talk about struck work. My understanding is if members break this rule even at a fan con where they had already signed a agreement that would be a violation of the strike?
Dear Contract Anon,
It's fairly correct.
Let's unpack:
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This is the general rule set by SAG-AFTRA: S must not participate in conventions, fan meet and greets, etc., that promote OL. Exception: conventions and meet and greets that have been contracted prior to the beginning of the strike and under the (suspensive) condition that no reference to the project is being made.
Same goes for fandom events, if these events are independent:
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What are independent events, you might ask:
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The Sasnak City event in Missouri is such an event: it is a grassroots initiative, managed by fans, for which he gets a fee or percentage. Also, here is your answer on the New York Comic Con, @mariaae: if the strike continues, doubtful you'll see him there. Sorry - guidelines are drastic.
And this is how we can already speculate on what happened in Missouri:
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First of all, it's all scripted (hello?). More than ever, prior consultation on which questions are to be addressed is mandatory: the "should speak with the event organizer" must not be construed as a recommendation, but as an enforced obligation. So you can already comfortably assume they kept it fairly close to the guidelines and probably talked about 'your process, why you wanted to be an actor, what you like/dislike about working in the industry", etc. I bet for S it was not very difficult: Waypoints and such. Probably it's exactly why the mommies attending got all the feels.
Last, but not least, a very good point for self-avowed people pleaser S:
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Read this carefully, Anon: "it is up to your discretion and what you are comfortable answering". That means: deflect, deflect, deflect. And smile, smile, smile!
So, unless S is a simpleton (he is not) or suicidal (come on!), chances he did not respect these simple rules are, in my educated opinion, a fat 0.
I would also call your kind attention on the event's poster:
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No OL reference. No JAMMF. No STARZ. All of these were verboten.
Also, on sanctions. Given the almost complete lack of strike-related recent history, I am unable to tell you, at this point in time: a) what kind of sanctions would SAG-AFTRA think of, in the event of a breach of these rules, and b) what procedure would they follow in order to determine if rules have indeed been broken.
My money is on a membership withdrawal.
The way you formulated your question places you in Mordor. You sound almost sorry no rules were broken and it is my strong belief, unless proven otherwise, they weren't.
You disparage us every single day, but still come here for our expertise?
Sweet Lord. You are an impressive bunch of twats. I have no problem writing it openly.
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ryuichirou · 7 months
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VERY weird ask likeeeee.... which twst boys do you think would be male strippers, I know Vil would probably be one for sure
(Also really love ur art by the way so keep doing what ur doing)
HONESTLY I WOULD MAKE ALL OF THEM STRIPPERS-
Vil would be an amazing stripper: he has all the talents and skills necessary for that, but I really doubt he would do it: he is very careful when it comes to his image and things that he does… but at the same time, out of the entire cast, I feel like Vil is the one who got asked if he would be willing to do something like this lol You know, by some powerful guys from the industry.
But if this is an AU situation, he could- you know what, I think Vil would prefer burlesque instead of a regular club strip-tease. Yeah, burlesque sounds right.
Riddle absolutely wouldn’t do it, but I want someone to take him to the strip-club once. I just want to see him in absolute shock lol
Trey sounds like someone who wouldn’t be one, but if he would, he would be the “sexy fireman” type of guy. Or a “sexy baker” instead…
Cater would. His life is way too crazy, and who knows how far his sisters could take their attitude towards him lol
Ace would, if he is in his 20s and has no job. But he wouldn’t be a very good one. He would start fights at the bachelorettes’ parties with the bachelorettes themselves. Deuce (who is also a stripper and tries to earn some money) would stop him… wow, are these two a duet? This is nice.
Ruggie would, 100%, but he probably wouldn’t be very popular: the target audience of this type of dance usually prefer meatier guys, right? But he absolutely wouldn’t mind doing it, and he is good at everything that gives him money, so who knows, maybe he has an entire career in front of him.
Leona and Jack – eh, I doubt it, but they would fit very nicely. If only Leona wasn’t this lazy and Jack wasn’t this much of a good boy lol
Azul absolutely wouldn’t, he hates moving his body more than necessary, he is a pimp- I mean, an organizer in this scenario. Jade and Floyd both would be absolutely amazing at stripping, Floyd especially, but both of them would get bored rather quickly. Although they would be so popular with both men and women!
Kalim and Jamil would be great at it too, and I think that out of the entire cast Jamil would be the most popular one. He is just way too good at moving his body in a sexy fluid snake-like way, way too good at winking and way too good at showing his tongue seductively. But I don’t know what needs to happen for Jamil to do this… hey, maybe he’s doing it for Kalim’s very important business partners.
Epel won’t escape this, he’s learning how to burlesque with Vil lol but he’s horrible at it. And Rook has a very nice body apparently, he could probably perform a role of a “sexy hunter” nicely but amazingly, I think he wouldn’t want to perform solo.
Let’s leave poor Idia out of it, he would have the most horrible time, but honestly I would love to see him struggling and trying to pull his pants down while trembling in panic. But it’s okay because Ortho is here to support him! And to tell him what to do next!
Silver would be an amazing stripper, but sometimes he looks like he’s falling asleep on a pole. He’s just slowly sliding down, and you have to guess if he’s being very sensual or getting sleepy. But his body is nice, he apparently had some training, and he wouldn’t question it if he was asked to dance. Especially if it’s his father who asked for it.
Lilia is someone who watches strip tease, not someone who performs it, but if he wanted to, he could! His body isn’t very impressive though lol he’s a little stick.
Malleus would also absolutely slay if he wanted to. He isn’t used to this type of stuff, but he loves performing and teasing a lot, so I can picture him going “like this?” and doing something sexy effortlessly while smiling very smugly.
And Sebek… wouldn’t be very good at it and wouldn’t do it unless it’s absolutely necessary lol which is a shame, because he also has quite a nice body. A sexy…security guard, yes, that would be his role lol
(Also thank you so much!! <3 I’ll try to do my best!)
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sottwntr · 4 months
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The games caterers.
Jay Park (enhypen) x fem reader.
gender: fluff.
warnings: i don't speak english well, i use a translator.
author's note: this chapter may contain some inconsistencies, since I am not fluent in english, I am not a native speaker, I may or may not have a next part, it depends on the support I have the chapter receives and my encouragement to do second part.
introduction: (y/n) is a member of Le Sserafim and meets Jay Park from enhypen and from there something else comes.
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(y/n), a member of the rookie group Le Sserafim, was excited as she and her group walked through the grounds where THE GAME CATERERS, a special event organized by HYBE LABELS, would take place. The atmosphere vibrated with energy and anticipation, and
(y/n) couldn't wait to immerse herself in the experience, which was a unique opportunity to demonstrate her skills beyond the stage and, at the same time, meet other artists in the industry.
Once all the groups were present, the games would begin. But before that, the presentation of each group took place. Fromis_9 and TXT had already passed; It was ENHYPEN's turn to make their entrance. Although it may sound a bit out of place, (y/n) had never taken the time to find out who the members of the boy group were. I knew about ENHYPEN and even listened to some of their songs, but the life of a trainee was too busy to take the time to look up the profile of each of the boys. Did he regret it? Of course. If I had done my research, I would know his name now. Definitely, that boy was too beautiful, she didn't know how to explain it, but throughout her presentation she couldn't take her eyes off that black-haired man and she was even unconsciously very stunned when the boy scolded TXT for his entrance.
A small throat clearing was heard, which made her look away from the boy. He looked to his right side and met the amused gazes of ChaeWon and YuJin.
“So, the little girl (y/n) is ogling Jay sunbaenim?” YuJin said while pulling (y/n)'s cheek and making a high-pitched voice.
The girl was scared when she heard that, since the cameras and microphones could be recording that and apparently the leader realized what was scaring the minor because she immediately denied and added: “The microphones are off and the cameras are preparing. to record Seventeen's performance, now don't ignore what YuJin said, did you fall in love at first sight with Jay sunbaenim?”
The girl immediately denied “I just thought it was cute. Until now I didn't know what the members of ENHYPEN looked like physically.”
While the members were going to continue bothering the girl, they named them and informed that they had to introduce themselves. Nervous about doing something embarrassing in front of all those people, (y/n) stood up and walked forward with the other members.
She was so nervous that she never realized that a black-haired man was staring at her, watching every movement the girl made. Maybe she didn't realize it, but the members of the boy's group did.
“Jay, close your mouth, you already have a trickle of drool” SungHoon murmured in the boy's ear.
“ I do not know what are you talking about.”
“Whatever you say, Jay. Now you will approach her and you will be friends, then you will conquer her.”
“That? SungHoon, are you crazy? I barely know her, not to mention that we are idols and she just debuted. Most importantly, I don't know how old he is and I don't want a romantic relationship now.”
“Are you sure about that? Because it seems quite the opposite to me.”
They were going to continue talking, but the girls from Le Sserafim approached where the two boys were talking, they bowed and you could see how (y/n) was all blushing and YuJin was pushing her a little closer to Jay, something that did not go unnoticed by SungHoon, but yes for Jay.
. 💘 .
All the games were developing and in each one of them until reaching the last game. In all that time, both Jay and (y/n) gave each other many “discreet” glances, but the truth was that both the girls from Le Sserafim and the boys from ENHYPEN had noticed the pair's glances and insisted that they come closer even if it was to talk for a moment, introduce themselves and so on, but no one accepted.
They were already in the last round of the game where the winner would be decided. Le Sserafim had both EunChae and (y/n) fighting for the prize, but both SooBin and SeoYeon were putting up a good fight. In the end, the winner was SeoYeon and the members of Le Sserafim came to console the two members who failed to win.
Ending the recording, (y/n) was intercepted by a YuJin smiling the same or worse than the cat from Alice in Wonderland. Honestly, she had never seen her smile like that and it was something that made her nervous. When he least expected it, he saw the leader of ENHYPEN make a greeting sign to YuJin and this made him walk faster until he reached the dimples side.
Immediately, the two bowed, which was reciprocated, while the social butterfly named YuJin chatted with the leader of ENHYPEN, a figure came up to touch her shoulder. When she turned around, she didn't see anyone other than the boy with whom she has exchanged glances more than she should. He made a bow which was reciprocated and spoke: “Hello, (y/n) from Le Sserafim! I'm Jay Park from ENHYPEN” Jay exclaimed with a friendly smile. “I have heard a lot about the group. How was the debut?”
(y/n), excited and a little nervous, responded: “Hello, Jay sunbaenim! It's an honor to know you. Le Sserafim has been working hard, and we are excited for what's to come. Sorry for the question, but what made you approach me?”
He didn't expect that question at all, but he still shouldn't miss that opportunity and in the process damage the plan. So she cleverly came up with the idea of ​​telling him that she loved whenever she had the opportunity to talk to other people to connect with other talented artists and that she was one of those artists. That made (y/n) blush, something that touched the boy. Still, the girl thanked him and they continued talking a little, first about their respective groups. They discovered that they shared the same musical tastes and that they knew how to play the guitar; and it was one of his hobbies. Their conversation had a little bit of everything without much depth, a few jokes here and there. They felt comfortable with each other. Jay liked it when in the middle of the conversation he told the girl “Wow, you're great” because she immediately became shy and (y/n) liked Jay's smile. She felt stupid staring at that smile every time he gave her one.
The two were in a world where only they existed, without noticing that YuJin scared away anyone who wanted to get close to the duo. First he went with SooBin, who wanted to talk about something with Jay, but not to mention that there was a tigress attacking him who “bumped into” him and made the older man look for ice to put on his “next bruise”. The second victim of the tigress was Sakura, she had the intention of asking her youngest to accompany her to the parking lot to look for her manager and YuJin almost jumped on her and forced her to go to EunChan, who was complaining and complaining about I don't want to go, but a YuJin threatened her. There were a total of 7 victims that the girl prevented from damaging the moon in the growth of HYBE's next love (according to her).
In the end, the tigress had to damage the duo's bubble because both ENHYPEN's manager and Le Sserafim's manager were calling them to leave.
“Well, the conversation has been very entertaining and I would like to continue, but they are calling us” The girl said.
“If it has been very interesting talking to you, (y/n), we should talk more often. What's more, would you give me Kakaotalk?” Jay asked with false confidence, because inside he was afraid of the girl's rejection, he felt in his pocket, completely forgetting that his manager had his phone. “You're an idiot, Park, you shouldn't be carrying your phone around today,” he thought.
The girl nodded excitedly. I thought I'd never ask that. She clearly wouldn't have the courage to ask him. “Sure, would you give me your phone number to write it down?”
“I don't have it at the moment” He was thoughtful for a moment until the great idea occurred to him. “I like challenges, so I will achieve it on my own.”
The surprised girl laughed a little. “Sure?”
“Yes, just wait for my message at the latest at night. If I send it today, you will owe me something, but if I send it tomorrow, I will owe you something, okay?” Jay didn't know where he had gotten the confidence to talk to the girl like that, but as YuJin told him a moment ago "He who doesn't risk doesn't win and you must win (y/n) before they take her away from you, whoever takes you away. He can take her away, it's closer than you think” and although he didn't know the girl for a long time, he definitely wasn't going to take the risk of losing.
“It's okay, I'm sure he won't get my number that easily.”
“Because you said so?”
The girl just smiled and bowed goodbye to the boy and ran to YuJin's side, who was waiting for her. Without (y/n) seeing, YuJin winked at Jay. He quickly realized that the girl was happy that her plan worked. Now he just hoped that he would also want to give him (y/n)'s number. He wasn't bothered by the fact that he didn't win the “challenge” he did. He might be upset about not getting the girl's Kakaotalk. He hoped that YuJin would take pity on his soul.
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taminoarticles · 1 year
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— Tamino for Fucking Young!, #21 EVOLUTION / December 2022 (x)
The evolution of the music industry is always in perpetual motion and social platforms are having more impact in addition to streaming. In 2021, one of the world's bestselling singers, Adele revealed the real reason for refusing to make music for TikTok. She explained that if labels are pushing artists to make music for 14-year-olds, who will do the music for her peers? The way we consume music now is based on algorithms and trends but yes, what about being more organic and independent from social applications and platforms? This is a topic we shared and discussed with Belgian-Egyptian musician Tamino in this piece.
THE NEXT DIMENSION OF TAMINO
BY IVICA MAMEDY
Production   Fashion and Art Moroccan Association (F.A.M.A.) Photographer   Moz ERO
TAMINO-AMIR MOHARAM FOUAD known mononymously as TAMINO is the grandson of Egyptian singer and movie star MUHARRAM FOUAD and rose to fame in 2018 with his debut album “AMIR”. If at the beginning the press and fans were comparing him to JEFF BUCKLEY, quickly he pulled away these comparisons as the way he defended his music was unique. On stage, Tamino is hypnotizing and has the power to transport you to another dimension.
After a two-year social media hiatus, TAMINO came back in April 2022 with some new music and released his second record "SAHAR" this September. Once again, this album is a masterpiece and hauntingly beautiful. Before defending it on stage, we met him in Paris where we talked about how his process of making music changed during the worldwide lockdown in 2020 and his approach to using social platforms with parsimony.
THIS ISSUE IS ABOUT EVOLUTION AND HOW DID YOUR FIRST RECORD "AMIR" CHANGE YOU HUMANLY AND AS AN ARTIST DURING THIS WORLDWIDE LOCKDOWN IN 2020?
I feel like my life changed drastically in a short amount of time. I've been on tour for a very long time and I was just focused on that. Seems I gain maturity quickly. When I got back home during the pandemic, I realized how I neglected many things in my daily life and how I was more isolated on tour than during the lockdown. I took the time to see my friends and meet new people. I was evolving as a human being, not as an artist. This made me feel more comfortable writing new songs and creating was an easy and quick process.
IF THE PROCESS WAS QUICK WITH THIS SECOND ALBUM, HAS THE WAY YOU MAKE MUSIC CHANGED?
The process was still pretty similar but being alone with an instrument to find out how to create new sounds was important to me. It's about taking the proper time to create the most authentic and melodic sound.
DID THIS LOCKDOWN HELP YOU TO BE MORE OPEN AND EXPLORE MUSIC WITH NEW PEOPLE AND COLLABORATORS?
I worked with the same bunch of producers, and I also created myself as a producer on this album because I learned a lot about recording and the process to develop demos for example. I was actively part of the production which created some big inspirations in the studio. I have known the double bass player for a long time as he was living behind my counter. We were hanging out together but it was the first time we teamed up to make music. We developed the concept of a dark room for music. We were going into a room and trying to figure out which instruments we'll use to create something organic. It was a great time for exploration.
THE MAIN CONVERSION SINCE YOUR FIRST RECORD IN 2018 IS THAT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY DEPENDS A LOT MORE ON SOCIAL PLATFORMS TO BE SUCCESSFUL. I KNOW YOU ARE VERY DISCREET ON THESE PLATFORMS BUT DID YOUR LABEL RECOMMEND YOU TO BE MORE PRESENT ON TIKTOK FOR EXAMPLE?
For sure they suggested that to me as they do with other artists. I have a TikTok account but my fans know that the only account I'm taking care of is Instagram. My management helps me to update all the other social platforms so it gives me more time to enjoy Instagram in a good way. Two years ago, I deleted Instagram from my phone to avoid being distracted because enjoying pure moments is important to me. Take time to be bored and sometimes it's when you're bored that creativity comes. Now I'm back on Instagram to promote my new project and at the same time, I'm happy to discover beautiful inspirations and imagery on this app.
IT IS PART OF THE JOB OF A MUSICIAN I GUESS NOW?
Yes, but it has to be genuine….if I can give advice to younger artists who struggle on social platforms is the genuine way you communicate with your community.
THIS TWO-YEAR SOCIAL MEDIA HIATUS HELPS YOU TO CREATE THIS BEAUTIFUL NEW ALBUM. IT'S YOUR WAY TO UNVEIL YOUR INTIMATE SIDE?
It was a beautiful moment making this album. It's about maturity and those moments in the studio making these songs was a hundred percent pure. It can't explain how it was such a meaningful moment when we gave birth to "Sahar".
ANY SONG ON THIS ALBUM THAT YOU CHERISH THE MOST?
Oh man, it is so complicated to choose as they are all my babies. It depends, as my favorite song now will not be the same tomorrow. I need to start playing them to compare. The main difference with the first album was that I was already playing them live before they got released.
HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOUR ALBUM IS NOT EVEN OUT AND YOUR SHOWS ARE ALREADY SOLD OUT? ARE YOU MORE CONFIDENT KNOWING YOUR FANS ARE STILL HERE FOR YOU?
It’s amazing and I’m so grateful for this to happen. I mean, there are no words to express how it is a pure recognition for an artist. We have to look at laying bigger venues so people have more change to come. I like playing in small theaters as well as in a stadium. Both can feel intimate as well as people sharing the same energy.
YOUR MUSIC VIDEOS LOOK VERY CINEMATOGRAPHIC. THERE’S ANY MOVIE WHOSE AESTHETIC REPRESENTS YOU THE MOST?
I’m a movie freak and my brother is very into aesthetic images. If I need to name a movie, I will say one of my favorite movies, The Lord of the Rings.
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voxmyriad · 7 days
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Cal Kestis Week 2024 Day Two: Greez Dritus's Guide to Foraging
Prompt: Food | “That doesn’t look good.” | A Rigged Game | Bogling
I got three out of four, proud of myself!
Rating: General Audiences
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: Gen
Characters: Cal Kestis, Merrin, Greez Dritus, Cere Junda, BD-1
Additional Tags: Family Dinners, Good old home cooking, With unconventional ingredients, Look maybe they'd be delicious, you never know, Descriptions of Unappetizing Food, Could be a merrical if you squint and would like it to be
"That doesn't look good."
It doesn't exactly smell good either. It doesn't even sound good as Greez pours the...the stuff into bowls, but Cal still knocks Merrin's knee under the table. It's nice that Greez wants to cook for them at all, and sweet that he's comfortable enough to share Latero recipes that obviously mean a lot to him. They're going to be nice back.
The determination to be nice wavers a little when Greez sets out bowls of...well...sludge. It just looks like brown sludge. But hey, maybe it tastes amazing. Appearances aren't everything. Cal flashes Greez a smile and tries a spoonful, and his smile freezes. Beside him, Merrin swirls her spoon through the shades of brown, turning up something that might be a seed pod, a mysterious seasoning, or just some sort of tube.
"Interesting combination of flavors," Cere says, sounding thoughtful, possibly trying to figure out how exactly it's cloyingly sweet and weirdly bitter at the same time.
It buys Cal time to swallow, at least, and the second spoonful is better. He's never exactly been picky, though. Even in the Temple, he'd eaten pretty much anything, and on Bracca he hadn't had much choice. Prauf had always been careful to get foods safe for humans to eat, but they hadn't always been winners in the flavor department. "Yeah, I definitely haven't had anything like this before."
"What...is it?" Merrin asks, nudging the tube to one side and trying a spoonful of the broth.
"That's not always a question you want the answer to, when you've been in space a while," Cere murmurs to her, but too late.
"Bogling stew," Greez says with satisfaction. Merrin's spoon clatters into the bowl, and Cal's fourth spoonful hovers in the air as all three of them stare at him in horror. "What?" he asks, and a few silent seconds pass before he finally starts chuckling and then bursts out laughing. "Oh, your faces. You shoulda seen 'em. I shoulda taken a holo—hey, droid, did you get that?" he asks BD, who beeps an affirmative. "Oh, nice, good, that's great. Good job."
He hops down, still chuckling, to remove something baked from the little oven. "Hah! Bogling stew! Who would do that?" He sets a tray of little savory pastries stuffed with green leaves on the counter to cool. "I can't catch those guys anyway. Nah, it's bog rat." His back is to the table, so he continues, blissfully unaware of the shared looks of horror, largely unchanged from the moment when they'd thought they were eating bogling. "Yeah, they're a lot like something we got on Lateron. Had a recipe for that, and since we've been here there are plenty of 'em lying around, so I figured, why not give it a shot?"
"Very...industrious of you," Cere ventures, poking at a chunk of meat with her spoon, newly suspicious. "Are you sure we should be eating those?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, I thought of that. I got a great parasites-and-pathogens scanner." Greez waves one of his hands dismissively. "All the bits that ended up in the stew came up clean. I'm not trying to get anyone sick, after all."
Forced to be satisfied with that, Cere nods serenely and asks with interest, "How does it measure up to the original?"
"Eh, it's not as good, but it cooked down nice once I got it all out of the skin. Not to mention there's plenty more where that came from!" Greez nudges his way between Merrin and Cal to set the spinach puffs on the table, and doesn't really notice everyone immediately reaching for them as he returns to his seat.
"They taste better than I thought they would," Cal says, with complete honesty. The meat has a spongey texture—he's not actually sure it is meat—and the thick sauce, while delicious, can't really disguise the oddly fishy flavor. Still, Cal hadn't imagined they'd be edible at all. "And they're not splox."
"Splox, oh, I got plans for those splox. They look like crustaceans to me, so we steam 'em, crack 'em open, get at the meat inside. They'll be good, I know how to handle stuff like that." Greez takes a bite of his own bowl with clear enjoyment.
So they have steamed splox to look forward to? Better and better. Next, Greez is going to send Cal out to kill an oggdo and bring it back to the Mantis so they can have the biggest frog legs ever. Why not jotaz roast while they're at it, or sauteed slyyyg, or crispy-fried wyyyschokk—
"That reminds me of something Trilla and I had once," Cere says, and Cal glances across at her, distracted from the buffet of aggressive creatures parading through his imagination. She doesn't mention Trilla often, but she's examining a spoonful with a nostalgic smile. "We were exploring some ruins near the ocean. We'd seen birds lining the edge of the beach at sunset, and we went down at the same time to see what they were hunting. We ended up catching a whole bucketful of tiny shell-less crabs for ourselves. Boiled or steamed, they were delicious, but we didn't cook all of the crabs we'd caught. We left some in a bucket of salt water for the next day, and when they came looking, we discovered the parents were quite a lot bigger." She laughs wryly as she encircles her fingers, half a meter between them. "We tried cooking them too, just like you're talking about, Greez, but apparently the process of maturing makes them really dreadful."
"Think that's what happens to splox?" Cal asks, accidentally sounding a little hopeful.
"It's possible. The young of many species are often more flavorful than the adults."
"Eh...maybe I'll just try it on one, see what happens," Greez muses, tucking into his stew once more. "I guess there's no point in making a bunch of 'em if they're not gonna be any good."
Too bad he didn't think about that before cooking up bog rats, Cal thinks, catching Merrin's eye and seeing the same thought there. He grins at her and knocks her knee again, and she knocks his back, and the stew isn't so bad after all.
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