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argumentl · 3 years

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The Freedom of Expression - Episode 46 The filming for the Dir en grey Real Avatar music video.

K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru with this episode, uh, this week's episode of the Freedom of Expression. Joe san, Tasai san...it feels like a while since we were last here.

J, T: Yeah.

K: We've been on location, plus last time we filmed 4 episodes at once. Quite a while has passed since then.

T: It has.

J: Nothing new with you?

K: No, nothing.

T: Hahaha

J: Tokyo Sports seems pretty busy..

T: Yeah, I watched you two recently...on Niconama.

J: Ah, yeh. You wrote an article, thanks for that.

T: I was a bit envious while working on it.

J: Yeh, but what about that Tokyo Sports hoodie? How is it doing?

T: Yeah, it looks like its selling.

J: Right.

T: Thanks to you two.

J: No, no, its thanks to Kaoru, but..

K: No, no, its nothing.

J: You gotta make something else for round two.

T: Yeah, there might be a T-shirt collaboration in the works.

K: Ehh? Im looking forward to that.

J: Eventually we'll have like a The Freedom of Expression x Tokyo Sports collaboration set?

T: Yeh, and we could sell that, then go to Okinawa.

J: Go to Okinawa? Haha.

K: Hahaha.

J: Our plan is steadily progressing that far..

T: Together with you Joe.

J: Yes, please, haha.

K: Ok, so Joe, can I ask you to get us started today?

J: Got it! This is happy news, the news that Dir en grey will screen an avatar music video. Dir en grey will reveal a new music video on New Years Eve from 11:00pm, which includes avatar characters created using 3D scans of the members. The Explosion screenings of 'The World You Live In', have been sold out. So an encore entitled 'The World You Live In - additional' will be held on New Years Eve as an online broadcast. As well as a special talk event with the members, a music video with real avatar characters, made by 3D scanning each member, will be screened. Kaoru?

K: Thank you

J: This is good news, isn't it?

K: So as a rule, we always broadcast this show on Friday, but we've made it a bit irregular this time in order to talk about this. Well, of course, I've seen it already.

J: Have you? What was it like?

K: Well, first of all, as for the filming, we did our make up and costume etc, and had cameras surrounding us 360°. We filmed it there first, and then in a different studio, we put on clothes that had pointers all over them, and I played air guitar...

J: Ah, you performed.

K: And then we took photos seperately.

J: It sounds like hard work, was it?

K: Not really, it was over quite quickly.

J: Really?

K: For the photo shoot in full dress it was like, 'flash..flash..Ok, finished'. It felt like a waste of all the make up I was wearing. Like, 'Isn't there anything else?' haha.

J: Ah, if only you could've have done more...But when you were finished with all that, they made it into a moving person?

K: Well, yeh, it has the kind of atmosphere as if its in a game.

J, T: Ehh?

T: What are the facial expressions like?

K: It wasn't possible to go as far as making different facial expressions. Well, i mean, you could do that if you had the time, but we didn't...

J: This time you didn't go that far? But its the first time for Dir to try this kind of thing, right?

K: Yeah.

J: Was there any kind of catalyst that made you think, 'Lets do this'?

K: Well, there was a kind offer saying like, 'We can do this kind of thing'..

J: A suggestion came, and you decided to give it a go?

K: Yeah, thats it, kinda like that.

J, T: Ahhh.

J: You know, this is...

T: It looks interesting.

J: Its exciting, right?

K: When I was playing, there was a pointer right in the position that I usually hold my guitar, so they asked me if I could change the position.

J: Ah, the the postion you play the guitar?

K: Yeah. They tried to help me change the position, but it was still interfering, so I ended up playing up here at chest level, which would nomally be impossible, haha.

T: Hahaha

J: Pretty high up, its not very Kaoru style, is it?

K: I think it'll be a sight to see.

T, J: Hahaha.

K: Its soo high up! Haha

T, J: Hahaha.

J: By the way, are you influenced by anyone in particular as to the position in which you hold your guitar?

K: No, its just the best position I can play in, based on the size of my guitar.

J: Ah, I see. But somehow you ended up playing up here while filming this mv?

K: Yeah, well..I had to raise the position a bit.

J: Ahh, did the other members have to change anything?

K: No

J: Just you? Because it got in the way of the pointers?

K: Yeah.

J: Ahh, really? Die always plays quite low down doesn't he?

K: Yeah, he does. When we first put on all those pointers and mimicked playing the instruments, it came up on screen as just like moving lines. Even just looking at that, I could tell it was Die straight away.

J, T: Ehhh.

K: The shape on screen looked just like Die.

T: Thats pretty interesting.

J: He's very characteristic, isn't he? How do you film the drums? With pointers on them?

K: Haha, pretty tough, right? We had to use a photo of the drums and stick them on.

J: It seems like drums would be the most difficult to play by air. Or was it not that bad?

K: Well, if the positions of the pointers were set then...

K: Ahh, and it was over very quickly?

K: Yes　

J: And you were holding your guitar up here? I say that, but I don't know how good it looks *1, haha. Well, if i had to choose, playing it lower down probably seems cooler. There was a lot of people in the 90s playing guitar like that, right? Punks and stuff. They played it quite low down. There isn't anyone who plays it up high, is there?

K: No, not really.

J: How about actually holding it like that, Kaoru?

K: It would be pretty difficult to play.

J: It could be the 'Kaoru position'.

T: Haha.

J: The cool position!

T: Haha

K: Yeah.

J: Im looking forward to this.

T: The song is the new single 'Ochita koto no aru sora'?

K: Yeah.

J: Are you gonna test this out once and see the reaction, then maybe do more?

K: I think it would be interesting if we could spend a bit more time on it, and brush up the backgrounds and stuff.

J: You might be able to make new creations using only this. I am looking forward to this.

T: The broadcast will start at 23:00, ohh so its gonna be on as the year changes.

J: Yes.

K: First we'll show the same footage that was in the explosion screening, and then after the year changes we'll appear, and then play this mv.

J: Ah, I see.

K: During the live broadcast with the members, we'll play this. And then we'll kinda talk a bit.

J: I see.

T: This is a great way to bring in the new year for the people watching.

J: Right? There wasn't much good news in.2020, so they will really appreciate this piece of hope appearing at the end of the year. They'll be looking out for the postion of the guitars!

T: The same position as ???*2

J: Thats it.

K: It seems like Kami had no interest in this topic.

J: Isn't he here today? Are you there, Kami?

Kami: Yes, I'm here. I've seen it too.

J: You've seen it?!

T: Have you?!

Kami: Yes, I have.

J: Cause he's a god, right? He's different from humans.

K: He sees what we see.

Kami: Because gods have power.

J: Power? Even low grade ones?

Kami: But, no, it was very interesting.

J: You enjoyed it?

Kami: I did enjoy it, it was cool.

J: Did you notice anything about the postion Kaoru was holding his guitar?

Kami: Ah, no, not really.

J: Haha, didn't you? As a god, is there any scenes you would recommend to watch out for? Or any points to pay attention to?

Kami: Well, of course the images were good, but I really thought the song was good. Dir en grey are good at writing songs.

J, T: Hahaha.

K: Thanks, haha.

Kami: I think you have talent.

K: We're good, right?

J: Yeah! He's acting like a judge.

Kami: Thats because Im a god.

J: Well, yeah. Haha, saying, 'You're good at writing songs' to a pro. Thats a first. But thats just like Kami. So, you liked the visuals, but you heard the song again in a new light?

Kami: It was fun.

J: Ah, it was fun? Thank you.

T: How about making a Kami avatar?

K: Ah, yeh.

J: We've never seen what Kami looks like..

Kami: I can't show you that yet.

K: We could make an avatar, and then have it come on screen, when he's here.

T: Yeah, like in this area of the screen.

J: Yeah! If its technically possible.

K: Tasai could create the character.

T: Hahaha.

J: Like his legendary..Oh, lets do that.

T: But I can't draw him, I need to see him. Otherwise I'd have to imagine what he looks like.

K: Yeah, just draw it from imagination.

T: Like my own image of Kami?

J: Yeah, something like that. Well, in that case we could each try drawing him..

K: Even if it isn't a moving character, we could put it up on that line that appears when Kami talks..

J: Yeah, I see.

Kami: Im just a regular old guy.

K, T, J: Hahaha

K: Well, we know that...

J: Yeah, from what we've heard from him so far, we can gather that.

T: Thats it. I could kinda get an image of him by listening to all of his stories.

K: A combined picture of him.

J: Or a loud talk session with him. Thats not nice to think about, is it? haha

K: Yeah, with that voice, it might be a bit tough.

J: Haha, yeh, it would be exhausting.

K: Yeah.

J: Yeh..

K: Ok...well, also, this is a bit of promotion for me, but from February we will start our Explosion Screening tour of our Meguro RokumaykanGig live. We'll go all over Japan with it, and the member will also..

J: Join in, do a talk session?

K: Yeah, we'll do talk sessions.

J: You'll be there? Well, it has been announced already, so people can already check out all the info in realation to that.

K: Is that all?

J: Yeah, I think so.

K: Well, I'd love it if everyone was able to watch the live broadcast tomorrow.

J: Yep, don't miss it.

K: Ok, lets finish here for today. Please subscribe. Thank you very much.

*1 Not sure if this bit is entirely right.

*2 Couldn't figure out.

#dir en grey #the freedom of expression #tfoe #kaoru #薫

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youarejesting · 4 years

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Steal my Sunshine

Beta: @dead-starlight Network: @btscreatorscorner [Summer Project] Pairing: Non-idol!BTS x Friend!Reader Genre: Action, comedy, Drama, Romance, Angst, Adventure Summary: You meet the Bangtan boys whilst partying, you bond over a once in a life time backpacking experience. But when morning comes Hoseok is missing, you all do you best to track him down. What started as a fun backpacking holiday becomes the most daring adventure of your life. Words: 5.8k

It all started in Mykonos.

The group had just arrived in Greece. They were amazed by the picturesque island, with such clear and bright beaches. They were walking along the beach, looking up at all the white buildings whilst heading up the hill and trying to find their hostel quickly so they could drop their bags and see the highlights Mykonos had to offer before the sun went down and the bustling nightlife arose; jumpstarting the hearts of the young and old residents within the city.

They arrived at the Hostel, smiling politely at the receptionist. Each gave their names and were given a key before being led by a young man upstairs. The room was kind of small but there were four bunk beds, so they were lucky enough to share a room together without any strangers. Discarding their bags onto whichever bed they desired while discussing their plans, Hoseok and Jungkook wanted to freshen up, not liking the idea of feeling sweaty.

Yoongi wanted a nap and promptly face planted his bed. Jimin and Seokjin agreed they wanted food to be a priority, which soon became the general consensus even from the young man half-asleep. The group, now ready to face the island, locked their bags in the hostel and headed out onto the streets.

It was easy to lose track of time, it was like they were in a whole new world. They planned to be traveling all over Greece’s best islands for one whole week and they were going to explore everything the land, air and sea had to offer. “I want to go swimming!” Taehyung grinned, pointing to the beach.

“We can go snorkeling as well.” Seokjin patted his back and the two bumping heads affectionately.

Each person got to do everything they wanted over the next two days whether it was snorkeling, fishing or heading to the markets. Each one of them had a wonderful first few days in Mykonos and the group could feel they were about to have the most amazing night that would definitely change their lives forever.

The sun began to sink behind the water and the city twinkled, lighting ablaze one glowing light at a time. They got dressed, making sure they were looking good, they were hoping to impress. It didn’t take long following the thumping club music to find the heart of the party.

It was a beach festival, a stage was made on the sand and there were lasers, confetti, and t-shirt canons. That’s where you met them, the eccentric group of boys who made you laugh, each dancing in their own way. You had forgotten their names on multiple occasions and they looked like they were getting a little annoyed, but were too happy to care.

The night was filled with dancing and drinks, the boys partied without care. Some men handed Hoseok a fidget cube with a strange logo on it, but he was too drunk to care and gave it quickly to the Maknae to play with, wanting to dance some more. They made friends and you even scored the whole group free drinks. Seokjin won a set of light sticks from a wet t-shirt competition that flashed a multitude of colors while he headbanged to the music.

“This is the best night of my life~” Hoseok’s voice rang out over the music as you all jumped along with the bass.

One groan set off another and one shuffle caused another and soon the room was awoken from the haze which blanketed them from their consciousness.

Namjoon sighed “Can we lay in bed today?”

“Shh!” Taehyung whined.

“Someone, get coffee!” Jimin pressed his face into his pillow, “Just not me...”

A chorus of not me’s rang through the room.

“Hoseok, that means it’s you” Jungkook sighed, there was no reply so he sat up holding his stomach, fighting nausea. Slapping you on the ass making you jump. “Hoseok?”

“Nope, I am y/n” You mumbled “Where am I? How did I get here.”

“Is Hoseok up there with you?”

“No, just me” You yawned, stretching. “Hosocks isn’t here.”

“Wait what?” Namjoon groaned, pulling himself up into a sitting position as if he had just got out of a car wreck. He called Hoseok and waited, but there was no answer. He frowned “Where the hell did he go?”

“He isn’t one to stray, when he drinks he gets quiet and wants to come home.” Taehyung called, sitting up as well. Jungkook felt something poking him and, reaching for that ‘something’ in his pocket, he found the fidget cube. Unable to stop himself, the boy began aimlessly clicking the buttons. Some made sounds, others didn’t.

Jungkook messed around so much with the buttons that one of them stopped working. Frowning, he rolled the cube to the switch and, as he flicked it, he heard the audible click from the button side. Curiously going back to the buttons, they were all working again, he kept pressing them and it wasn’t long until it got stuck once more.

It took an hour before everyone was up and ready, searching for Hoseok at the hostel and the surrounding neighborhood. You had decided to help as you, like them, were a backpacker without a plan. As they continued to come up empty, they resorted to going to the police.

The police assured them that they will file the missing person case as soon as Hoseok has been missing for forty-eight hours, as it was most likely he had gone home with a young woman or even fell asleep somewhere. “Your friend will turn up around lunchtime, when he gets hungry nursing a hangover, or something, do not worry.”

The group left more than displeased by the response they were given. “I want to deck him.” Yoongi hissed, swinging his fists in the air, pissed off. They were all disappointed, really worried about their friend, they knew Hoseok was not the type to disappear and the idea of letting more time pass by just increased their anxieties. It was clear in their faces that they had a lot of emotions going on, like anger, concern and even guilt.

You had stepped out after your statement to the policeman, whose name you only remembered started with a M, to get them all something to fight the heat. Surprised they had finished giving their statements. With your arms full of small cups of frozen yoghurt. They all seemed relieved to have something refreshing, while they walked back to the hostel, exchanging ideas.

At the hostel, the boys waited. You decided to take a shower, sensing the day would continue to be stressful, it didn’t mean you had to remain sweaty or smelly. Asking politely if you could use their bathroom. You hadn’t booked a room yet in a Hostel of your own, and though it wasn’t exactly the best situation you didn’t want to use your money when this room was paid for. Plus you were not interested in leaving until the mystery of their disappearing friend was solved.

They agreed, waving you off dismissively while trying not to bite their nails in anticipation of their friends' return. While lathering yourself with body wash, you noticed there was a tiny shampoo bottle, a courtesy of the hostel. You usually liked to take these bottles, because who knew if you would need it some time on your non planned trip? So, when you finished, you slipped it into your handbag. With a towel draped over your head in a lazy effort to dry your hair you stepped out of the bathroom, the boys hadn’t moved an inch.

Lunch time passed seeing no return of their friend. Yoongi hissed, “Where is he? Those assholes said he would be back by now.”

“We could check back at the beach to see if anyone remembers him or, perhaps, he forgot where the hostel was and is waiting there for us to find him.” Namjoon said, going to grab his hat and some sunscreen. The fear in correlation to their missing friend increased every hour that he didn’t return and you could practically see the hope in their eyes, each wish he would walk through the door unharmed.

“Guys, I think you need to see this?” Seokjin called, the young man had been trying to distract his worried hands, by fiddling with his phone, but, as a result he uncovered something interesting. Five of them piled onto the bed, peeking around the eldest at the phone which was narrow in ways Seokjin was not. “This is my Snapchat, there is Hoseok, but who is that guy?”

“He gave Hoseok this fidget cube which he then gave to me.” Jungkook said, blinking at the photo, trying to regain some clarity of the previous night. The pictures showed the group but in some there were some hooded figures looking at them occasionally and even pointing at Hoseok.

The boy was walking to the bar, the figures following him with their shadowed faces. He lent over the counter and was ordering drinks when a hooded figure said he would pay for them. The next part was Seokjin, talking to the camera about how handsome he is and apologizing to the world. Suddenly Hoseok, who had been smiling by the bar in the video turned to face the group, his bright smile falling. That was it, the video blurred and cut out. Leaving the group none the wiser but with a nagging suspicion that these men had some part in this.

They all looked at their Snapchat stories, each coming up with a few different angles throughout the night. “I got something!” Taehyung announced, screenshotting the image and zooming in. “A tattoo.”

“What does it look like?” Yoongi asked. Taehyung began drawing in his sketchbook which was filled with pages of the city he had worked on the days before. He scribbled what he saw.

“What can we do with this?” Jimin sighed. “It’s a squiggle at best”

“It could help identify the men.” Namjoon nodded, slumping back onto the bed. They all watched Taehyung sketch the tattoo slowly, “It looks like some sort of wonky A”

Those words made Jungkook’s ears prick up and he took a pen quickly. He got to work sketching the symbol onto the paper.

“Like this?” Jungkook asked.

“How did you know?” Taehyung nodded, looking amazed at the symbol and Jungkook turned the fidget spinner to the side with the symbol painted on near the switch.

“Someone gave Hoseok this, maybe this is what they are after?” Jungkook asked, confused.

“A fidget cube? Really?” Yoongi scoffed.

“Who would steal someone over a fidget cube?” Jimin wondered aloud, taking the cube and shaking it about, the group froze hearing a small rattle inside. Jimin shook it again near his ear.

“There is something inside!” Jimin looked up with wide eyes.

“Break it open!” Yoongi said, getting really curious.

“No, it might break whatever it is and if it really is what they are after, that might be the only way we can get Hoseok back!” Namjoon shouted, he was a voice of reason and logical thinking. He was processing these things meticulously and trying to piece together the entire situation. “There has to be a way to open it with a series of buttons or something?”

“Wait, if I press these buttons they click in and then when I flick the switch I can use them again.” Jungkook demonstrated how he got the buttons stuck.

“It will be a sequence, you might have to do it in a specific order and that will unlock it, the switch will be the reset to start again.” Jungkook nodded, sitting on the bed and began working on the buttons, trying a few different things and occupying his time with the device.

“We can’t sit here trying to open it while Hoseok is in danger.” Yoongi said. He was clearly more of a “doing” person, really impatient.

“In movies, they will interrogate him and then, when they get what they want, they will kill him.” You muttered, while picking up your phone that had been charging while you showered. Trying to get rid of the evidence that you had been using their room and all its amenities for yourself.

“Why are you still here?” Yoongi hissed, his sharp eyes turning on you. The underlying bitterness was towards his inability to act. This wasn’t something he could control and it made him angry.

“Hey I want to help you find your friend Hospice too!” It was true you were sincere in your desire to find their friend. You had very little memories from the previous night but you remember they were such a fun group.

There was a part of you who felt responsible for finding him as you had been present that evening, the other part of you felt a morbid curiosity that needed to know what happened. It was like when someone is falling and you are frozen in place and you can’t look away even though you know it is going to be bad.

“Hoseok” Another one hissed.

“Look, I am not good with names, but I want to help.” You opened your snapchat and watched through a few videos, hoping to come up with some sort of lead towards finding their friend. A video of Hoseok being escorted out by the men caught your attention, you bit your lip looking closer and seeing a gun pressed to his back.

In the video you had registered Hoseok leaving, but hadn’t noticed the weapon, you went to claim the free drinks he had left behind planning to carry them to the rest of the group and your camera caught him being led up the beach to the car parks where he was ushered into a vehicle. Thankfully there was a street lamp two cars down that illuminated the square and you were able to catch the registration on the number plate.

“I have evidence we can show the police!” You shouted, sitting up, “I got a number plate and a video of them taking José!”

“Hoseok” Jungkook huffed.

“Yes, him too. They had a gun.” You mumbled, picking up your handbag and joining the group heading back to the police station. The boys seemed a little more antsy since now they had evidence of trouble and would, perhaps, be able to trace the number plate and find their friend.

“Hello again, Mark. How have you been?” Making a beeline to his desk you sat down causing the officer to look up from his sandwich surprised.

“I have taken your statements but I can’t do anything else until he has been missing for 48 hours.” He added with a small sigh “My name is Michael, we met this morning.”

You turned the phone to him and showed the video, “Alright, I can look into it, there was some sort of fowl play. We will look up the number plate and see who it is registered to.”

“Okay, I hear that, Miles. Let’s look up that number plate!” You recited the number plate for him watching him type away on his computer eyeing his sandwich longingly. “29THD03”

He printed the information out and slipped it into a manilla folder that had placed all the statements from earlier that morning inside. “So, when will you head out to search for him?” You pressed

“Look we have policies and procedures and we have to get a warrant before we can barge into someone's house” The officer tried to placate everyone.

“That makes a lot of sense...” You said with a flat tone, you wanted that paper, time was of the essence in these situations. “Officer Macklemore, Jeremy was wondering while you were here if you could show him the cells, he always dreamed of being a police officer... Just while you're on your way filing the info”

You had grabbed Jimin’s shoulder and gave him a look before shoving him at the officer, the two walked away Jimin pretending to listen to the officer's ramblings. You followed the menu on the printer and reprinted the previous document, folding it and slipping it into your bra. Looking up to check if anyone had seen this action you caught sight of a tiny camera on the roof and flashed a peace sign.

The guys looked at you, realizing what you had done. Jungkook went to collect Jimin, and you called across the room. “Hey, Johnathon, we got to go back to the Hostel, we decided we will wait while Officer Mckenzy gets to work.”

“Again, it’s Michael.” The man mumbled sitting back at his desk and reaching for his sandwich with an almost relieved sigh.

“Right, sorry.” You ducked your head in an effort to apologize for things you did to and behind his back and practically ran from the police station.

“What is going on?” Jimin asked with a confused face. “I have never wanted to be a police officer”

“Y/n stole the plate details.” Namjoon explained as you all got back to the hostel.

“But the officer had them with me.” Jimin raised an eyebrow. Turning to look at you with a confused expression, he didn’t see you pickpocket and the man had promptly left with the folder so it was never out of his sight.

“Keep up Jin-” You scoffed, grabbing the document from your brassier and waved the square of paper around, before stashing it away again. “I printed it of course”

“Ya! That’s my name!” Seokjin accused.

“Oh, hell yeah! I am remembering slowly.” You grinned, taking the fidget cube from Jungkook who stopped in the middle of the road. Perhaps you could have a go at the cube, everyone had been trying all day to remember the sequence. Taking your time to each discuss the combinations and which ones went in when you did what.

“We have to go to the address, we can’t wait around. Hoseok could be hurt.” Jungkook muttered. “Or he could be about to get hurt and we can’t stand around and let that happen.

“We can’t rush in or more of us will get hurt.” Namjoon sighed, understanding the youngest passion and drive when it came to protecting his friends. But there was just so much risk that needed to be assessed and properly controlled before they could even think about moving. “We have to make some sort of plan first”

“Just me, I won’t go in, I will just look around carefully,” Jungkook said firmly.

“Look I will go with him, we will just take a look and call you if it's anything urgent, ok?” Yoongi said, holding out his hand. “Look I agree, there could be a chance that something is going to happen while we are planning and we could have prevented it, they could have a gun to Hobi’s head right now”

“Hoseok” You corrected and they all turned to you shocked “I know, I know, I got it wrong again”

“No, you got it right.” Jungkook gave you a reassuring smile.

“The point is the guns that they have and we don't, do you want to get shot?”

“I know the situation and I accept the consequences” Yoongi said looking you in the eye seriously and you let out an exasperated sigh.

Reaching down your shirt handing over the paper to Yoongi matching his serious expression with a fierce gaze “Fine, Juno you better listen to Yohan.” At that point, they just gave up on correcting you.

You had made sure to take a picture of the address, grabbing Yoongi’s hand before he could pull away. “Don’t do anything stupid.” Your eyes flickered to Jungkook. “Wait for the opportune moment.”

“How will we know it’s the right moment?” Jungkook asked.

“When your only thought is what is happening in that moment and you can’t sit still because your blood is pumping so fiercely.” You spoke, “That’s the moment.”

Parting ways, the now group of four continued onto the hostel, ready to sit down and make a plan. Upon entering the hostel, you waved at the receptionist “Hello, Opal.”

“Ah, no. Wrong again.” she grinned “It is Ruby.”

“Dang, wrong again. I thought I would remember this time. Sorry, darling.” your reply sounding sheepish.

“Oh, miss y/n, that man you were all asking about this morning returned, about twenty minutes ago, Hoseok” She smiled “He just went upstairs looking for you all”

“Really?” They cheered, briskly off to their room. You guess they let him go or didn’t need him anymore perhaps it was a misunderstanding and then needed someone else.

“The fidget cube in your hand seemed unimportant and more like a piece of junk now. Either way it was time for you to collect your things, you headed after them when Ruby continued.

“Yeah, he has a tattoo on his arm, right?” She asked and you froze mid step, turning fully to question her further “A sort of Squiggly A”

All the colour drained from your face, as you proceeded to run up the stairs and down the hall, trying to cut them off before they reached the room. You emerged from the stairwell and down the corridor you saw them passing through the intersecting halls “Shit, what was your name?”

“Jin!” You shouted desperate. He stopped as did Taehyung, the two looked at you, raising their eyebrows in confusion.

You grabbed them pulling them out of the hall, “Don’t go in there, it’s not Hoseok, it’s the tattoo guy.”

“We have to tell them!” Taehyung squirmed trying to break free of your grip.

“Don’t, you will get caught as well. Just wait, okay?” You growled, holding up the fidget device “We have the cube, they won’t hurt us, because they need us alive to tell them where it is.”

“This stupid thing” Jin snatches it and began pushing buttons and turning dials maniacally before throwing it to the ground and stomping it.

The thing broke and you all shrunk down, in shock. Had he ruined the only chance of saving the boys in a fit of rage. In the small chunks of rubber and plastic you found a small electronic key with an address. You looked at each other, surprised, until and you heard talking.

“We need to go” you whispered and two figures appeared around the corner with a restrained Jimin and Namjoon. The large figures looked down at the three of you and saw the broken cube with the exposed key you were currently frozen midst reaching towards.

Snatching the key off the floor, but it was too late, they had already seen it. Your eyes emanated fear as they were reaching for their weapons, Jimin threw his head back into the man's face and kicked the other man in the balls effectively rendering them imobile for a short enough time for you and the two boys to escape.

“Run!” He shouted, The three of you regretfully left Namjoon and Jimin behind and took off running down the hall and into the stairwell.

Heading out the reception, you stopped. “Ruby, go to the police station, ask for officer Mitchel, Murphy, Maxwell, whatever his name is and say y/n sent you. He has my number.”

“Ok!” she promptly said, looking kind of confused, but too scared by the words “police station” to even question it.

You and the boys ran out across the parking lot, stopping at the valet station and, although it was a hostel, it shared a parking block with the neighbouring hotel, so you looked at the list of guests, trying to find the same number plate as the one from your phone. It took a while, being in a rush didn’t really help, but when you found it, you snatched the keys from the key hook that was labeled with the same information and Hoseok’s name.

Pressing the alarm button on the electronic car key, a sleek black car across the parking lot sounded. Racing over to the vehicle you took no time at all jumping inside.

Driving recklessly away with panic printed on your faces. Jin searched the address printed on the key and began giving you directions. After several wrong turns, the three of you successfully crossed the town and arrived at the beach. More specifically the public change rooms, there were lockers lining the walls that could only be opened by a key, luckily they were labeled making it easy to find the right one.

Before you even got a chance to open it, a man called out to you three. They were here, your wrong turns had given them time to catch up. Slipping into the women’s toilets as fast as you could and began thinking about what to do. Looking at the key, you thought of swallowing it and paled. That was definitely not a good idea, but your next thoughts were also less ideal. There had to be something you could do. Desperately searching the contents of your small handbag you found the tiny shampoo bottle. Twisting off the lid you shoved the key inside and closed it back up. Here goes my free shampoo, you thought.

You stepped out hoping you could make it without getting caught but were unsuccessful. They stepped either side of you, a gun pressed to your lower back concealed. You freezed, feeling a cold shiver run down your spine. It was pure adrenaline and fear, the top emotion of the day, you could say.

“Come with us.” The man said with a thick accent and you noticed he wasn’t Greek. They led you to a black van and pushed you inside. Jin and Taehyung were already in there, tied up and gagged.

“Where is the key?” They asked, grabbing you by your hair. It took everything not to scream from the shock of the situation and the aggressive confrontation from the men.

“I swallowed it.” You lied hoping you could throw them off for a while, the worst they could do is kill you and still come up empty for a key. Tears began running down your face from the searing pain on your scalp.

“Well, bring it back up or we will cut it out!” One of them said his breath was stronger than his heavy accent and you told them you couldn’t.

“We can wait darling, as long as we need. It will have to come out eventually.” One of them said with an evil sided grin which made him look like one of those film villains. You swallowed hard. The kidnappers started the van leaving you in the back, with two young men who looked at you apologetically.

Taken to a parking garage above a factory, you three offered little resistance, when they had tried you gave a small shake of your head in response to calm the boys. Even though you were tied up, you helped the kidnappers respectfully, knowing that the more cooperative you seemed, the more likely they were to relax their security.

Their leader was informed of your arrival as you were grouped together with Hoseok, Namjoon and Jimin. The leader was a scary man, you watched him turn to you with a cold glare. “You are a strange young lady, swallowing a key. Do you know how much it is worth?” You shrugged, not exactly knowing how to respond to that statement. “That key leads to 8 million American dollars.”

“If you let them go, I will happily give you the key.” You tried to negotiate, it was a good bargain. They got what they wanted and you got to leave.

“We cannot. Your friends would inform the police.”

“No, they wouldn’t, they don’t even know me and they don’t care. I can’t even remember their names” you said “I just needed a free place to stay and ended up drunk in their hostel.” You explained yourself, trying to be convincing. “That’s why my handbag is full of their stuff. I stole shampoo, a lanyard, I even stole narlo’s wallet. Take a look, if you want proof.”

They upturned the handbag and Namjoon gasped “You stole my wallet.”

You hadn’t the heart to tell him you actually had been picking up after the clumsy young man. He had dropped it as you were heading back to the hostel. Everyone was eating frozen yoghurt so you placed it in your bag to free your hands for eating.

“So, I will give you this key if you knock them out and dump them back at their hostel, I don’t want them finding or reporting me.” You grinned and tried to put up your best confident face.

“Or I could shoot you?” You rolled your eyes at that, but regretted that action as soon as you saw his angry eyes looking right at you, making yours widen. He was angry and you knew that he was contemplating ripping your stomach open for a key that wasn’t even in your stomach.

“Fine, I will regurgitate the key, but you have to untie me first. You over there, get me a litre of water; you, sir, find me a bucket and, hum, some tissues or a towel.” you bluffed, trying to send some of the guards away.

“I will need some sort of, uh, music playing so I can relax my throat.” You said proud of your ability to improvise in this situation. Even more surprisingly, they were all cooperative, moving to find the items. While the leader came over to untie you, Yoongi and Jungkook appeared out of nowhere hitting his head with a baseball bat, which you have no idea where they got it from, what knocked the man out, so they took his gun. You told them to hide his body and, while they did it, you finished uniting yourself.

“I didn’t steal your wallet, Namjoon. You dropped it.” You breathed, taking your phone and quickly sending officer Michael a location drop, accompanied by the words ‘hostage’ and ‘guns’. You turned the phone off and sighed, taking out the fake torch from your bag, which was actually a taser. A woman gotta be prepared, right? Especially when they are backpacking on their lonesome, you had heard about many backpacker murders and you weren’t going to be one.

When a man came back with a bucket, you acted quickly using the taser while Yoongi and Jungkook took the man away, almost getting caught when two other men came back, one with water and the other with a towel.

Yoongi had blended in, sitting with the guys and pretending to be tied up while secretly cutting their ropes. Taking your bag and shoving everything back inside, you shoved the mini shampoo bottle in your pocket.

“Can I have a cup as well? It will be easier to drink it from a cup.” One of the men had left and, at this point, you had three unconscious men and three guns. How could they be criminals if they were that imbecile? Armed, you all began your escape when two of the guards came back; you were faster to draw your -albeit stolen- weapons, but they caused quite the commotion. You guys were really lucky not to get one scratch.

There were more men coming, your hands were shaking, but you were able to take their guns quickly and run. You were running around cars and pedestrians while being chased. Screams were heard as people started to notice the guns and some bullets flying. They started to run and it helped you guys to kind of blend in. Once on the ground floor, you ran through a factory of some type of food. Dodging men and bullets, the place was manic.

Running towards shelves upon shelves of stock, you each stopped grabbing a few boxes from the stack. The stock would have been five boxes wide and four boxes high but when you quietly moved some of the stock you made a small place to stand using the boxes as a little box fort.

Soon hidden from view, alone and quiet, you hoped all the boys were safe as well. Hoseok was behind a stack of boxes across the aisle and Jin two stacks down. Other than that you knew Yoongi and Taehyung had run off together and Namjoon Jin and Jimin went of aswell.

You turned your phone on, thankful for silent mode and for having charged it before leaving the hostel. Taking no time at all to call the police officer with your trembling hands. He was probably waiting for news, as he answered quickly. He said he was on his way and it would have made you feel better and calm down, but you heard the bad men getting closer.

You cowered, not a very heroic ending you had to admit but it was safe. The police had to be here soon-

SNEEZE.

The burn in your nose from the cardboard dust caused you to sneeze quiet loudly, the footsteps grew closer and just as you thought you were toast. The police arrived, restraining and arresting all the men involved. Each emerging from their hiding spot, you ran to the group of boys. Tears running down your face because honestly you were under so much stress that you needed to release it someway.

In the midst of all the relief and left over adrenaline, you grabbed a frightened and lethargic Hoseok gently by his slightly bruised face and kissed him. He was shocked at first, definitely not expecting that. He had almost no recollection of meeting you and so to have some stranger plant a firm kiss on his lips as if to balm his wounds especially after such a traumatic event was mind boggling.

The poor guy had been through a lot. Actually not only him, but all of you. Without hesitation you turned to each of them, planting a firm kiss on their lips, shocked when some kissed back, held your waist or even when Jungkook surprised you by cupping the back of your head and kissing you before you could kiss him.

“Sorry to break up the, uh, lovely moment, but where exactly is this key?” The officer asked, scratching his head.

“She swallowed it” Jungkook gestured to you and the officer raised his eyebrows concerned but you couldn’t help but laugh.

“It is in the shampoo bottle” You emptied out the shampoo bottle and threw the valuable item to the police officer.

After everything that you guys had been through that day, it was common sense that you would be skipping the festivities on the beach that night. Instead staying inside the hostel and talking was the best option to end the day. You treated Hoseok's wounds and laid on the spare bunk. Namjoon was in a debate with Taehyung about whether a person should eat their favourite food for every meal.

You had decided to join holidays and backpack together for yours and their safety, it was all a wholesome way to spend a rather scary day. The group were planning where they would travel next when Jin stepped out of the shower and frowned “I think we are out of shampoo.”

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tavi-hayes · 4 years

Text

side fic one ~ a series of very unfortunate events

((hiii! here’s a little side fic with some lovely rps with chris @leanarg and anna @arin-schreave thank you both! ignore all the spelling and grammar mistakes, as you always have to do with my writing woops...))

“Lady Octavia, what have you done?” one of my maids, Carla, almost screams at me. I can’t tell if she is angry, upset or disappointed. Or a mixture of all those things.

I’m looking at the mess I created, “it was an accident, I just wanted…”

Carla sighs, “accident or not, now I’ll be the one to clean it again.”

“I - I can do it myself,” it’s not like changing bed sheets is something new to me. At home I had to do it all the time, especially when little Arlan had been going through the peeing-in-bed phase.

Carla gives me a pointed look, “no, you’ve done enough. Please go!”

All the other girls seemed to have gotten friendly maids, but I was stuck with the one with a sour personality. I collect my iPod and my headphones, where do I even go to?

As I am about to leave, my other maid Willa enters the room. She gasps, “what on earth is that?”

Sour Carla shoots me an enraged look, narrowing her eyes at me. “Someone thought it was clever to eat ice cream in bed.”

There was in fact a gigantic brown stain on my bedding. The cause: chocolate ice cream. I hadn’t been paying attention as I wanted to grab one of the law books from my bedside table. I had reached over, pulling the blankets with me and then the bowl tipped over, creating a mess.

I don’t feel like being in this room anymore. Before I close the door behind me, I hear Carla say, “she’s supposed to be a lady, not one of those savages.”

To let them know, I actually heard that I close the door. With a bang.

Now that I’m in the hallway all by myself, I feel like I can breathe again. My head is pounding, why is that I always end up in situations where people just bring me down?

Still unsure of where to go, I take the stairs down to the main floor. The door to the women’s room catches my eye. Please let it be empty. Please!

I open the door and peak inside: empty, thank god! But as I open the door further my eye lands on someone else. She hasn’t noticed me yet, so I decide to clear my throat softly, “uh, hi?”

The girl doesn’t even look up from her work, “hey…”

Wow, okay. “Do you mind me being here? Or would you rather be on your own?” I keep my hand on the doorknob, ready to leave again.

It seems like I got her attention now, “oh, hello!” she says as she turns her face towards me, “You are fine, I can continue this later,” pointing towards her work.

Nodding I say, “okay cool,” I walk over to one of the sofas in front of the window and sit down. I pull my legs up in an attempt to make myself comfortable. Then I focus on the other girl again. I’m not sure if I have been seen her face before during the meals. My guess is that she is another selected, but given the fact that I also didn’t know the ex-fiancée from our wonderful prince I decide to ask for a confirmation anyway, “you're also a selected right?”

That makes her laugh a little bit, “yes, I am,” she says as she puts her stuff on her lap, turning towards me. “I’m Leana Grant and you are ...?”

Phew, I feel relieved that she not actually an old flame from the prince. Her name, Grant, does ring a bell but I’m unsure where I’ve heard it before.

“Octavia but please call me Tavi,” I can feel a yawn coming up, so I bring up a hand to cover my mouth, “nice to meet you.”

“Seems like you need some good rest, Tavi,” Leana says with a raised eyebrow. Please, tell me something I don’t know.

“Yeah I still need to get used to the time zone difference and it’s only a 2-hour difference,” I flip my hair over my other shoulder, “so what were you doing in here?”

For some reason unknown to me, she moves a bit uncomfortably in her chair, “just distracting myself a bit, the change of habits it’s hard as well...” she pauses before changing the subject, “what would you been doing right now back at your province?”

“Uhm I don’t really know what the time is right now, but I would probably be at work,” that seems like the safest answer. I yawn again. Maybe I should go to bed early tonight, then I remember the situation in my bedroom and I immediately don’t feel like going back there anymore. “Do you miss your life back home? What did you do to fill your day?”

“Not exactly miss, no, college and I work for a newspaper, The Globe, but maybe you haven’t read it...” Leana waves it off, but the mention of a newspaper my attention rises. I feel fully awake all of a sudden.

“Wait,” I narrow my eyes, “you work for a newspaper? So you're a journalist?”

My pulse quickens, please don’t be a journalist, be a photographer, an editor, anything else.

“Yes I am.”

A memory resurfaces: my mom sitting on a chair in the kitchen, crying. Myself trying to comfort her. A doorbell ringing. ‘I’ll go get it,’ I tell her. But as I open the door to see who it was, a billion camera flashes blind me.

“What do you write about?” I ask Leana. The Globe. One of the newspapers to write about my dad’s arrest. And instead of writing the freaking truth, they turned my dad into the most dangerous criminal Illéa had ever seen.

“Um, does it matter?”

People with recording devices and cameras push forward. I can barely keep them from entering our house.

“How does it feel having a criminal in the family?”

“How many skeletons are there in your father’s closet?”

“Are you his accomplice?”

“Care to comment?”

“Ever felt the urge to kill?”

“Did you know…”

“Our sources claim…”

All the voices blur together, I quickly close the door and lock it. I do the same with the back door. Telling Aria and Arlan to go join mom in the kitchen, I close the curtains and barricade the front door with the sofa.

I narrow my eyes at the girl, I see her in a completely different lighting now. “From my own experience, lots of people working in the news sector only focus on making headlines not even caring if the news they’re selling is even true.”

The next day, the headlines in every newspaper had been about my dad. Writing their own version of the story. Making it thrilling, exciting, scary just to get people to read their dumb paper.

Leana starts laughing at me, “you mean making statements without further information...?”

I can’t even hear her properly anymore. I’m seeing red. All the anger and hurt that I’ve kept hidden for so many years, takes control of me. I can’t push those emotions down anymore.

Collecting my stuff from the sofa, I stand, “you are all the same,” I roll my eyes, “only caring about landing the big story.”

“Such an accusation would require proofs and I doubt you have any.” Her voice is way to calm for my liking.

Pfft, she is just like the other press. “just open your eyes, maybe read some articles your beloved newspaper has published.” I can’t stand to be in the same room as this girl anymore, I need to calm myself down. Walking over towards the door, I say, “you news people are just using everyone as pieces in your chess game, and that's wrong!”

Leana keeps her perfect composure, “alright this sounds like a personal problem.” Her eyes narrow at me, just when I open the door, “do you care to share?”

Why would I want to share anything with her? “I'd rather not,” in the most sarcastic way possible I add, “I wouldn't want to read about it in the newspaper tomorrow.”

She walks past me out of the room, before I even have the chance. “Well, I will tell you then that the press wasn’t really the problem.”

I scoff, “and what was the problem then?”

She frowns, but I can tell she is faking her confusion, “thought you didn’t trust the press.”

I want to get away from her as quickly as possible, “wow what a joy you are.” I start walking away, not hearing anything else she says, and not looking back once.

In my head I’m trying to push my feelings back behind that the solid wall inside of me again. They shouldn’t have broken free, but that girl was just saying all the wrong things. All I can see is an image of my dad’s unconscious body being dragged out of the court room.

That was the last time I saw him. I feel my eyes becoming watery. Actively trying to think about nicer things, like music and my band, make me forget my surroundings completely. I don’t see the other person walking directly in my path. Until I run it them, literally.

An oof escapes from the other person.

“Just look where you’re…” I don’t finish my sentence when I see who it is, I’ve run into, “oh, I’m sorry!”

The prince ignores me completely, already crouching down on the floor to pick up his papers which have scattered everywhere. “I should have been paying attention”

“Yeah you should have,” that sounded way harsher than I intended, plus I need to remember that this is the person who could send me home any minute. I crouch down as well and try help him picking up his papers. “I'm sorry though, it is also my fault.”

He looks at me, “My apologies, Lady.......”

Well, how great is this? He doesn’t even remember me. I guess I didn’t make a good impression on him during the interview after all. I just blink at him, confused myself. I’m pretty sure I’m the only one with curly hair, but okay… “It’s Octavia. We’ve met before you know.” I collect some more of the fallen papers.

“Yes,” he nods, “I remember.” He reaches for the papers in my hands, instead of being the annoying little child everyone claims me to be, I hand them over immediately. “You're the one who likes Dutch love songs?”

Another blow to my ego, “I'm just gonna ignore the fact that you don't remember me, but who on earth likes Dutch love songs?” Flipping my hair over my other shoulder I say, “I know quite a bit about music, so I can say the Dutch and music do not go together at all.” I realize I’m being a little bit aggressive right now, sighing I add, “but okay everyone can like whatever they want to like, I suppose.”

“I imagine the Dutch would disagree…” he neatly piles the rest of the papers, then looks at me again. “Are you the one that churns butter?”

“What?” I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that he doesn’t even remember a little bit about me, or the fact that he thinks I look like a butter churner. I can only stare at him. “Someone can churn butter?”

At that the prince nods a little, “I think so...?” He shifts uncomfortably, “oh, sorry... I forgot to ask if you're okay.”

“Oh yeah I'm fine, nothing I can't handle.” I clear my throat softly, realizing I probably should have asked the same thing, “what about yourself? You look a bit dishevelled.”

“Yes, well... Being run into will do that to a person.” The prince takes a deep breath, then says, “why were you going so fast anyway?”

That makes me remember the encounter with Leana. My feelings have been locked away behind that wall again. But it doesn’t sound like a great idea to tell him about my little rampage. Tavi think. “Oh uhm, maybe I just like speed walking,” I say, looking down at my dress and realizing I look dishevelled as well. I try straightening it.

“Inside?” he glances around.

I nod my head, “hmm, gotta keep myself in shape.” Very believable…

That earns me a frown, “alright then... If you say so. Maybe just consider going outside next time.”

“Thanks for the tip, I will keep that in mind.” I nod again. Let’s change the topic. “What were you doing? Are you always walking around with your nose in whatever that is?” I motion towards the stack of papers he has been clutching close to him.

“Oh, they're just meeting notes. But no this isn't normal. Why...? Are you planning on running into me again?”

What does that mean? Unlike other girls here I don’t necessarily feel the need to know his whereabouts. Let me just do my own thing, searching for law books in the library that is.

“If that's what it takes for you to actually remember me, then yes I will make it my daily goal to find you. It's not like I have anything better to do,” I say jokingly.

He just blinks at me, no laugh, no smile, nothing, just those eyes blinking. And he actually takes a few steps backwards, “I have to warn you... Kevin won't like that.”

I genuinely can’t tell if he’s being serious… “I don't know who this Kevin person is,” I sigh, coming to the conclusion that maybe I should clear the air a bit, “but don't worry I won't seek you out if I don't have to.”

“He's my bodyguard...” the prince says before frowning at me, “I'm sorry that I ran into you and if it upset you.”

“What?” Why can he read me like that? I’m over here trying to hide everything I feel, and then this prince comes along and just sees it anyway. Well he doesn’t know the cause of these emotions but still I feel very vulnerable all of a sudden. I furrow my eyebrows, “that's not what upset me. Why do you think that?”

“Because we just ran into each other and you seem unhappy…”

Maybe I’m just not as good at hiding my feelings as I thought I was. “Oh uhm that is not because of you,” I pause for a bit, desperately trying to think of something to say. I start looking around, hoping to find inspiration elsewhere. But luck is not on my side, “just, you know.”

“I don’t,” he says, shaking his head. “But alright…”

“I'm sure you have enough problems of your own, I won't trouble you with mine,” I say flipping my hair again. Why do I keep talking?

The prince frowns at me again, which seems to be his go-to facial expression. “Why do you all think I'm so troubled?”

I didn’t say he was troubled, did I? But if others are saying it as well…? “Maybe it's just the vibe you sent off. But like aren't you going to run this country? I'm sure that isn't an easy task.”

“Well, I don’t think I’m troubled,” the prince states, very convincingly if you ask me. Not. “And I’m sure I’ll do just fine. I have years to get ready.”

I strongly suppress my eyeroll reflex, “okay if you say so.”

His gaze is fully on me again, before he frowns again. “Unless you know something I don’t.”

“It’s just,” I sigh, “no one is perfect. Everyone is fighting their own battles you know.”

“I guess yeah,” the prince says as he glances down at the papers in his hands. “Though I’m not sure a hallway fight was necessary.”

“You…” I’m shocked beyond words, “you consider this a fight?” Had I been too aggressive, too hostile? I genuinely feel bad for making him feel like this was a fight. It was all my fault anyway. Well technically it was all Leana’s fault, but still the poor prince in front of me didn’t deserve to be dragged into this. By me. “I'm sorry I didn't mean to... I will just go,” I say, desperately to end this … whatever this is.

But the prince shakes his head, “no, it was a joke. Uh, I’m sorry. It wasn’t a good one.”

I turn to face him again. Did he just… make a joke? “You almost made me feel bad,” but his words actually made me relax a little, “you have an interesting sense of humour.”

“I’d argue it’s a bad one if I upset you that much.” The prince swallows and shifts a bit awkwardly. Can he please stop reading me?

“That didn’t really have anything to do with you,” I sigh, being very aware I should probably give him some more information. “I was…” I pause again, not really sure how to put it all in a sentence without dumping all my crap on him. “I was upset because of some bad memories,” I look at the stairs again, my only escape, “I can go if you want.”

“You don't have to go if you don't want to. It's just the hallway and you're mostly free to be where you like.”

Free to be where I like, okay noted. “Yeah but I don't wanna keep you from whatever it is you have to do,” I flip my hair again, maybe I should try not to do that so often, “or make you feel awkward in your own home.”

The prince glances around again, “I promise you that you weren’t the person to make it awkward.”

I remember him doing the exact same thing during the interview, “who was it then?” I look around as well, “is it that bodyguard of yours? Is he sneaking around?”

He looks very uncomfortable. Did he not realize it was a joke? “Oh um, no. Kevin isn’t awkward.”

Perhaps someone should teach him how to take a joke, not take life so seriously. I don’t think I’m the right person for that. “Oh well okay,” I shift my weight from one foot to the other, “I won't take up more of your time.” I offer him a small smile. Why? I don’t know. “Sorry for running into you, literally.”

The prince nods his head, “well, I'm sorry I also ran into you. I'll uh... see you around then I guess?”

“I guess you will,” if he doesn’t send me home before that. It takes me a few steps towards the stairs for me to remember the company I’m in. I quickly turn around and drop into a curtsy, “goodbye your highness.”

He raises his eyebrows at that, but then nods, “I'll see you around. Try not to hurt anyone else.”

That makes me chuckle softly, “I can’t promise that.” And with that we part ways.

Before I know it, I’m back in my bedroom again. That weird run-in with the prince had put my mind at rest, I feel much more at rest right now.

I notice the new bedding, making a mental note to thank my maids the next time I see them.

But then I notice my hands being empty. No no no. I must have dropped my iPod in the hallway, the same time the prince dropped his notes. Except I forgot to pick up my own stuff.

I hurry back towards the hall. it must be here somewhere. After at least 20 minutes of me crawling over the floor, looking under sofas, behind flowerpots, everywhere, I realize it’s gone. And my world collapses.

#side fic #fic #selectionoc

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sasuhinasno1fan · 4 years

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Saving Adrien- Lukadrien June

I meant to do yesterday but spent tayed up the whole night the day before when I knew I had a 11 am meeting, that I almost passed out during. I got nothing done and passed out at like 5 pm and slept the rest of the night. I will e only doing certain days like I did for MariChat may only because I’m stil getting into the grove of writing for this fandom. I hope this one is good, more pre-lukadrien. Maybe if I had more time I would of expanded. I also hope I didn’t salt Lila to much to not get reblogged. I don’t really like her like most people so I hope I was tame. Enjoy. My Hero

“I got blankets,” Adrien began, stress evident in the quick snap of his tone, “and coffee, and tea in case you don’t like coffee, and a hot water bottle, and several takeaway menus, and Nathalie is on call in case I think of anything else, and-”

Swaddled six blankets deep on the couch, Luka couldn’t even raise a hand. He raised an eyebrow instead. “Just to clarify, is this a kidnapping?” he teased sarcastically.

Adrien paused. “…yes. Yes it is. And because you are my kidnapee, you have to be well cared for. Can’t have a dingy dungeon besmirching my image. Now, do you prefer duck or goose feather pillows?”

Luka let out a laugh. At least he had a comeback. He’d come over to Adrien’s house to get help in physics when his sister mentioned he was. he doing university level physics homework of his own free will. He asked and Adrien offered to tutor him. When he arrive with his latest test, with a high score, Luka suggested they take the day off, which judging from how Adrien was acting, was something he needed.

He was getting to know Adrien better, even though he couldn’t join his friends and classmates at their boat house as often. From what his sister and Marinette told him, it was usually because of his insane schedule and his insanely overprotective father – though he felt like father’s assistant could be added to that list based on how she grilled him the first time he came over for tutoring.

Usually being in his room, it was like seeing him on the boat house, he looked free and his heart sounded happy. When he arrived today however, stress was radiating for him and the sounds from his heart sounded like an untuned violin. The insane way he was trying to make him feel comfortable added to that fact.

“Adrien, are you alright? You seem a little, stressed. Did something happen?”

“Oh, if you can count having to take Lila as my date to a premier. I don’t go out of my way to hate people, I gave Marinette the worse advice possible but I do think that sometimes people just need time. She got so many people wrapped around her finger, I don’t know what to do. I feel I’m being smothered by her cause I know she’ll try and mess with Marinette again if she doesn’t get her way. She said it would be good for the brand if we kissed and I’d rather kiss an Akuma who’s dangling me off the Eiffel Tower than kiss her.”

“Well, thankfully never had that happen to me but once she gets put in her place, she’ll learn. The lies will catch up eventually and it’s not like you have to actually kiss her.”

“I do since my dad said yes. I’ve begged, I’ve pleaded, nothing. I can’t even suggest Kagami because she’s in Japan to visit family.”

Luka could see this was truly bothering him. From what he heard, Lila wasn’t the nicest person to be around. He knew Chloe was also a lot but from what Juleka explained, she was Adrien’s best friend and would usually try and be a decent person to make him happy. Another tune he could hear from Adrien was hopefulness. Being homeschooled most of his life, the insane scheduled life, it didn’t take a genius to guess that when he was with his friends and his happiest that he hoped it would stay that way. If he felt smothered, there was a chance he would feel like he could lose that. Which was why he said what he did next.

“Would you like it if I went with you? I’m guessing from what Marinette told me about her, she’s the type to arrive by herself and dazzle everyone before pulling out the magic card, aka you. If you come in with me instead, saying that was planned, you’d catch her out on lying.”

Adrien, finally, stopped looking stressed and looked surprised. “What? Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Well I’m passing physics thanks to you and your my friend Adrien. You’re obviously upset and I want to make you feel better.”

a smile, small but smile none the less, grew on his face. “Thank you. This means so much.”

“No problem. I don’t have to wear a tux though, do I? Like my mom doesn’t care about rules, I’m not really a suit guy and I don’t know how quick Marinette could make one for me.”

“In a night probably but you don’t. It’s a fashion line permie for Comme de Garcon. If you know what that is, you in a leather jacket and nice jeans will be fine. Plus Jagged Stone is on the invite list and I hear he’s bringing Fang, so you’ll be fine.”

“Then pick me up on the way and we’ll make the front page together.”

the big smile on Adrien’s face was almost blinding. “We’ll be show stopping. Oh, let me get you out of this cocoon.

_________________

“I know he said you could make a suit in like a day, but I didn’t realise you’re this good.” Luka said as Marinette threw option of what to wear on the bed.

“I did make the award winning feather bowler in a few hours and two CD covers for Jagged Stone in a day, even with getting involved with the whole Akuma incident that day.” Marinette bragged.

“So, you swear you’re not mad at me for doing this for Adrien instead of, suggesting you.”

“I’ve gotten over him Luka. Hard yes, but I had been treating him as an object for most of the time I liked him. He didn’t deserve that and once I took a step back and started treating him as a human, I realised that he’s human. And we’re actually better friends. I’m just glad your doing this for him. He must be so happy to not have to spend a whole night with Lila.” Marinette said as she started to hang up outfit options.

“Yeah. When I offered, he got this huge grin on his face. It was like looking at the sun.”

Marinette giggled. “Alya calls him sunshine boy on her phone.”

“Sounds about accurate. I like him with that smile on his face. The song his heart plays sounds, really happy.” he had this thoughtful look on his face.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you like that smile of his.” Marinette said airily.

Luka grew up with a sister, who while shy, could still be the stereotypical little sister. He knew that voice.

“It isn’t like that.”

“But you admit he’s cute right?”

“That’s not what this is about.”

Marinette shrugged. “Just pointing it out. I’m just saying that when you talked about his smile, Alya said I had the same look on my face. Alright, pick one.”

“That one, less layers.”

Loose shirt, usual skinny jeans, a favourite leather jacket and black scarf that easily hide itself under his jacket and just made it look like he had a bandana tied to his jeans if people didn’t pay close attention. Marinette had outdone herself again.

“I kinda wish you had one of those large rim hats.” She said stopping him from pulling off his usually accessories.

“Not really a hat person.”

“Can you tie your hair into a ponytail?”

once he did, she pushed him in front of his mirror. “Outdone yourself again Marinette.”

“Yes I have.”

“Luka!” Juleka called from above deck, “There’s someone here for you!”

“Don’t think I’ve heard her scream that loud.”

“You should see her during a horror movie. Thanks again. Get home safe ok?”

“Have fun.”

Another familiar voice he’d hear from his sister. He glared over his shoulder and she gave him an innocent look. She spent too much time around Alya if she was becoming this teasy.

Instead of the usual silver car, there was a limo waiting opposite the gangplank. He ignored the giggling from his sister and her girlfriend as he crossed it and Adrien’s bodyguard opened the door for him. Adrien was dressed to the nines in a classic suit with a smile to match. He could hear a bit of nerves but overall, Adrien’s heart of singing happiness.

“Hey, you look amazing.” Adrien greeted as he climbed in and the door shut behind him.

“Thank you. I asked Juleka for help and she called Marinette. Probably a good idea. She’s got some success under her belt I hear.”

“That she does. The scratch and sniff sticker on the Jagged Stone CD still surprisingly has it’s scent. Thank you again so much for doing this for me. You’re my hero, you have no idea. Also, you were right. My father said that Lila will meet us there. Nathalie is with her to make sure she doesn’t say anything so she has no clue either.”

“it’ll be perfect. I’m glad I could help. You seem happy with this and I’m glad. Seeing you happy is good.”

Adrien got slightly red. “Thanks. I know we don’t know each other that well, but I’m still really happy you did this for me.”

“I’m happy to.”

“So what should our story be? Alec is apparently supposed to be there and he’s about as instant for an interview as Nadja.” Adrien said.

Luka shrugged, “Whatever you want. I’m here to help you.”

“Ok. I’m nervous what Lila might say, but if I can get her to get Marinette back in school, I can do anything. I’m used to outdoing foxes.”

Luka let out a laugh. Soon they arrived, the flashes from the cameras just breaking through the windows. Adrien was on the side closest to them, so with a smile and an out stretched hand, he pulled Luka out of the limo. Like it was natural, Luka rested his hand on Adrien’s waist. The lights from the flash were blinding but he was able to make it over to where Lila stood with Alec without tripping. Even half blinded and stars in his eyes, he could tell Lila was not happy.

“Adrien. There you are. I was just telling Alec who my date was.”

“Oh. Who is it? I’m glad you were able to find someone.”

“She was just telling us it was you.” Alec said, face screaming about getting a scoop.

“Well she must be talking about another Adrien. My amazing tutor here asked me once he was told about the event.” Luka said, putting his hands on Adrien’s shoulders.

“you’re Luka Couffaine, guitar player of Kitty Section. You preformed on TVi on Bob Roth’s insistence. Alec pointed out. “How do you know Adrien?”

“He jams with us when he can and he’s my tutor for physics. The brain on this man is astounding.” he said, letting his head rest on his hand, being as close to Adrien as possible.

“Luka, stop. I’m getting embarrassed.” Adrien said, Luka noticing his ears getting red.

“But you’re so cute when you get red.” he teased.

“Love must be in the air with you two. Lila was telling us you’d begged her to go with you.”

“No, not really. I don’t know what she told you, but I barely talk to her in school. We don’t spend that much time together except for photo shoots but that’s barley. I’m sorry if you somehow misunderstood Lila. Did my dad say something? I could of sworn I told him I was bringing Luka.”

Lila seemed to be grasping for words. Luka could tell this wasn’t a usual thing for her. For some almost evil reason, Luka wanted to make her even more lost for words as he wrapped his arms around Adrien’s waist, his head still resting on his shoulder.

“I’m glad you did. I feel like I barely get to hang out with you. I plan on keeping you close to myself during the show.”

Alec was buzzing and Lila looked pissed. Nathalie thankfully appeared out of thin air before anything could happen.

“Adrien, we have to get inside.”

“Of course. Nice seeing you again Alec. See you at school Lila.” Adrien said, pulling Luka's arms off but still holding on to him as he followed Nathalie inside. She turned with a disapproving look on her face.

“Adrien.” one word seemed to say it all but all Adrien did was shrug.

“I told him I didn’t want to go with her. He should of listened.” wrapping an arm around Luka’s, he pulled them inside to find their seats.

“She didn’t look happy.” Luka said, easily sliding his hands into his jean pockets and still letting Adrien hold onto him. “I hope I didn’t go to far.”

“Rarely see her smile and you’re fine. She was mad and who knows what the rest of the night means but it was worth it.”

They heard screaming and Luka was tugged out of the way and against a wall as a glass door went sailing down the hall were they’d been standing. Adrien was close to him, hands firmly grasping Luka’s arms, breathing almost as heavily as Luka.

“My hero. Are you ok?” Luka asked. He felt his phone buzz as the usual Akuma Alert was sent.

“I’m ok. Come on, we need to get you somewhere safe.”

“Adrien!” he heard from outside. It sounded angry.

“Maybe let’s switch that.” Luka pulled Adrien into what looked like the entrance to the backstage area and led him to the sound equipment. “We can wait here and if they gets close, we’ll hide in the boxes.”

they ducked behind the boxes and Adrien started texting Nathalie.

“She said she’s stuck. I should go find her.”

Luka wasn’t an idiot. After meeting Marinette and Adrien for the first time and meeting Ladybug and Chat Noir after his mom was akumatized, he recognised the songs of their hearts. He knew Adrien was the famous cat in leather. Whether Nathalie needed help or not, Adrien needed to get out there and help.

“Adrien, I’ll go. Just promise me, you’ll be careful ok?” he meant more than just hiding.

“I will be. Go please, she’s near the entrance.”

he nodded and got up, knowing that Adrien would be ok and save everyone, but for a heart wrenching second, hoped he wouldn’t be truly hurt. Or that the Akuma was Lila with a grudge. He wouldn’t forgive himself if anything happened to him before he could transform.

#lukadrien june 2020 #per lukadrien #fake maybe boyfriend

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mysterylover123 · 5 years

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Datte Atashi No Hero, aka the BKDK Theme Song: meta

“ ▪ While writing the song, LiSA imagined what it would be like if Izuku Midoriya were to sing his honest feelings to Katsuki. In a way, this is a song dedicated to Katsuki from Izuku.”

-BNHA Wiki entry on Datte attashi No Hero (Link: https://bokunoheroacademia.fandom.com/wiki/Datte_Atashi_no_Hero )

For those not in the know, Datte Atashi No Hero is the 3rd ED of BNHA. The one with the Fantasy AU theme. The lyrics by Lisa are explicitly stated on the wiki to have been written about Izuku’s perspective of Katsuki. I’m not used to hearing that an OP/ED in anime was specifically written to be about the story at hand - they usually seem to be songs off the singer’s album that happen to fit with the theme of the story (see: Again by Yui, FMAB OP1). So if we’re reading the translations of the lyrics, offered on the DVD release of BNHA S2, with this in mind, I can only come to the conclusion that studio Bones and Lisa must ship BKDK at least a little, because damn, these are awfully suggestive for platonic rivals. Let’s get into it:

The Lyric: “I can’t imagine you ever giving up”

Opening line of the song. Now, I can imagine this line being from many different perspectives: Izuku on Bakugo or All Might, Uraraka on Izuku, any of Baku’s friends on Baku. But it is still a bit of a stretch to apply this line to anyone but Izuku watching Katsuki, and since we know it was written that way…The line fits really well too with the Final Exam arc bit where Deku socks Kacchan in the face and chastises him for accepting loss.

The Image: This is paired with Fantasy AU Izuku leaving home and waving goodbye to Inko. This situates us in Deku’s POV, which is reinforced by the rest of the ED. This song is definitely Izuku’s point of view. Pairing this lyric with this image, I think, means Izuku is inspired not to give up by Bakugo’s determination - inspired to leave home and pursue his dreams.

The Lyric: “But I’m sure you’ve had days that were empty and miserable”

This line establishes that Deku has empathy for Bakugo, and sees him as human and fallible - connecting with him over their shared feelings of misery. Again, I can think of a few BKDK scenes this pairs well with, especially DVK2 (“Why was I the reason for All Might’s end”).

The image: Deku trips over himself. I guess this is relating to that empathy idea I had earlier. Both Deku and Baku have times where they’re empty and miserable. Deku is greeted then by Uraraka and Iida, symbolizing the moment in the series where he meets them (At the entrance exam), and they pull him up and support him. (not BKDK related but it is cute, and helps establish the ED as a metaphor for the story so far - and in the future).

The Lyric “If you think you’ll have many once in a lifetime endeavors/Then I want to see those moments”

This one also translates into something like “I want to be with you/around you” in different versions. Basically, Izuku wants to be around Katsuki, to see what he becomes and what he’ll achieve. He wants, in short, to be with him.

The image: Shoto on horseback, greeted by Iida Uraraka and Deku. Deku looks super urgent and Shoto, after looking a little bewildered, smiles and joins them. They cheer. Obviously, this symbolizes the Sports Fest w/ Todoroki; Deku (and later Iida in the Stain arc) bringing Shoto along on the mission to become great heroes. It’s paired up with the lyric about ‘endeavors’, also, which might be a coincidence but probably isn’t. For BKDK, there’s a difference in the way Deku interacts with Shoto here (urgent face, all business) to the way he does with Kacchan in the next scene.

The Lyric: “Even if there’s only one lifetime there are many chances to BE TOGETHER.”

I capitalized the last lyric; it follows on the last line about being together. This one is very shippy sounding, like something straight out of a wedding vow or marriage proposal. Again, this was written to be Izuku expressing his genuine feelings about Katsuki.

The image: Fantasy AU Bakugo pops up looking dramatic. This image is paired with this lyric, making sure you know he means Kacchan. Big close-up on Kacchan’s eyes, zooming out to reveal his badass, shirtless, dragon riding glory as the camera pulls back to make this look extra awesome. This is Deku’s POV on Kacchan, as something mythical and larger than life, that starts out close to him and pulls away.

The Lyric: “You’re the strongest, giving me, with absolutely nothing, meaning in life.”

Yep. This could only apply to All Might or Kacchan in Deku’s life. To quote from DVK2 again “It’s precisely because I had nothing that I kept chasing after you…your sheer amazingness at everything you do was so brilliant to me it was blinding.” I’d imagine that Lisa had this line in mind, because DVK2 was published long before Season 2 of the anime. Kacchan was the one who inspired Midoriya and gave his life new meaning.

The image: The quartet stare at Kacchan (cept Todoroki, who’s worried about his horse). Iida, with glasses blocked out, looks offended; Uraraka looks flabbergasted, Deku looks…in love. He even has his hand over his heart (holding his pack). We get Deku, in profile, presumably asking for Kacchan’s help, and Kacchan, also in profile, acting annoyed - but when the monsters pop up, they both turn to notice. This seems to be Deku reaching out to Bakugo to fight villains together and Bakugo rejecting him, which happens a lot, but the villains showing up will force the two to cooperate (USJ, Camino Ward).

The lyric: “Hooray, hooray, what’s this ability you have to make me say this over and over? “

So Kacchan has the ability to make Deku believe. He gives Deku faith and power, makes him say hooray. This is Deku’s feelings of inspiration when he looks at him, the Symbol of Victory idea. ‘Hooray’ is what you say when you win. Deku tries to speak like Kacchan when he wants to win. And being around him makes him happy.

The image: Basically just Class A fighting, particularly Deku with a sword and some quick flashes of the others. I guess this is Bakugo and Deku’s ability to inspire each other seeping out to the rest of the class, like Aizawa highlights in the Twin Stars speech.

The lyric: “Keep standing your ground and giving me courage”

Pretty simple I guess. Bakugo must keep fighting, and this helps Deku believe.

The image: Nice panning shots of Class A. I think this is the symbolism I mentioned before, Aizawa’s Twin Stars speech, all of Class A taking inspiration from their passion. Deku glances back at Class A and smiles, showing how he takes inspiration from others.

The Lyric: “Hooray, hooray, even all the insignificant things are calling out” I’m not as sure what this means - what are the ‘insignificant’ things? I guess that around Bakugo, to Deku everything, even the things he didn’t notice before, becomes better.

The Image: Shoto sword-fighting followed by Bakugo sword fighting. Again, this part is a little vague, but we do have a compare/contrast invitation for Shoto and Kacchan - one then the other, both riding something. Horseback and Dragonback. Paired with this lyric it has…kind of an anti TDDK slant, (“insignificant things”) but I don’t like anti-shipping so I won’t go there.

The Lyric: “When I look at your eyes, I can run too”

(all my instincts, they return/and the grand facade so soon will burn…in your eyes) Sorry, I had to. Anyway, the top lyric (which could also relate to a certain famous song that goes with everything) from the ED says explicitly that looking into Kacchan’s eyes gives Deku the strength to run, to move forward. This is easily the most romantic sounding line in the whole thing; it’s really hard to interpret ‘Looking into your eyes’ platonically. And if you have any doubt that he means Kacchan…

The Image: Deku and Kacchan, panting and out of breath. Deku looks at Kacchan, who looks back. He means Kacchan. He means looking into his eyes. This moment, and the following, probably symbolizes both DVK2 and the pair’s future as the ultimate Wonder Duo, who inspire each other to become the greatest heroes.

The Lyric “I want to try carving out the best finale”

I hope the finale of BNHA is good too! OK, more emotionally, Deku wants to do his best because of Kacchan. He wants to fight by his side to the end. He wants to end up with him. Paired together with…

The image: Facing the fight, Deku and Kacchan stand side by side, with big smiles, fighting together. They’re meant to be together, as a team, to face down the villains side by side and make each other stronger. Some day they’ll be unstoppable.

The Lyric: “Cause you’re my hero”/Datte attashi no hero”

Now of course this applies to everyone. But again, this song is about Kacchan. And Kacchan is Deku’s hero. This line right here says it, loud and plain. And DVK2: “All Might was my hero but you were the one actually in my life/To me you were an amazing person, much closer to me than All Might”. To sum it up, obviously All Might is Deku’s favorite pro-hero, but Kacchan is a different kind of hero. Plus another lyric that we tend to associate with romance (“did you ever know that you’re my hero/and everything I would like to be…oh dear god wind beneath my wings is way too fitting for this, go look up the lyrics it sounds like BKDK).

The image: Everyone watches on as Deku uses All Might’s sword to fight villains. Now we do see Bakugo on the sidelines, despite them working together before - but paired with the lyric, I think this is just reinforcing that Kacchan motivates Deku to be his best.

#my hero academia #katsudeku #bakudeku #bkdk #datte atashi no hero #izuku x katsuki #midoriya x bakugou #deku x kacchan #meta

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amplesalty · 4 years

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Christmas 2019: Day 9 - The Christmas Hope (2009)

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Nine months of gestation!

On reflection, I can see that the past two entries on this years list have been a bit of a downer. Far too centered in talk of mental illness, depression and the like. Let’s perk things up a bit with...*checks notes*...shit.

Right now millions of people across the planet (or galaxy as it were) are enjoying/not enjoying the end to a very different cinematic trilogy. Me? I have a long overdue wrap up to attend to that started many moons ago thanks to a certain little film about a certain pair of shoes based on a certain song. Quite why I’m doing this know I don’t know. I can only suspect that I’ve seen one too many reflective social media posts now that we’re reaching both the end of a year and decade, perhaps I’m subconsciously wanted to sort out unfinished business, hence looking at stuff like this, Christmas Story Live and the Christmas Carol Musical.

The movie starts with Traci here recording herself singing a song before commenting ‘American Idol here I come!’. The camera pans all through her house looking at pictures of her daughter, soppy picture frames with ‘I LOVE YOU MOMMY’ written on them and no sign of a boyfriend/husband so she has the basis for a feel good story if she does make it on. Might need to jazz it up somewhere along the line if we’re to really tug at the audiences heartstrings but it’s a start. This actress would go on to play Vicky in the live action Fairly Odd Parents movies so that’s another tie in to a previous entry. Apparently there’s a third one of those and I’m not sure if I’ve seen it.

She literally runs into a couple on her way to work, knocking their teddy bear to the floor which they graciously give to her when she mentions that her daughter would love it. This is Nathan and Megan from The Christmas Blessing, sadly both recast. Actually, maybe that’s a good thing. Not sure I’d be able to take NPH seriously after all those H&K movies recently. Nathan is a bit more of a ginger this time around, rather than the dirty blonde thing NPH has going on. Megan is expecting and they have about a bajillion teddies so they don’t mind passing one along. Hey, someone probably got you that as a gift. Be grateful!

Meanwhile, the police arrest a drug dealer and find she has a malnourished baby in her apartment so in swoop child services to save the day.

Mr. T feels your pain.

I hope you weren’t getting too attached to Traci by the way because about fifteen minutes into the film, shortly after making a heartfelt promise to her daughter that they were going to decorate the Christmas tree once she got home from work and that she had a very special present for her this year, she promptly gets run over.

Have you ever crossed the road, and looked the wrong way? A car's nearly on you? So what do you do? Something very silly; you freeze. Your life doesn't flash before you, cause you're too fucking scared to think, you just freeze and pull a stupid face.

I know I shouldn’t be surprised given this is one of those melodramatic, Hallmark movies and this whole series has been overly morbid up to this point but it still kinda threw me. Here we are all nice and happy, Traci’s going about her day and there’s a nice Christian, soft rock Christmas ballad playing in the background and then BOOM, SUV to the face.

Then it cuts to her daughter, Emily, going through the Christmas decorations before settling on a angel which she ponders on for a moment before looking to the heavens as she’s having this moment of intuition.

But when child services pop their head in again to take her away, they find that all their usual helpers are fully booked for the holidays so what else can they do? One of the workers, Patricia, has no choice but to take her home. It’s not by the book but, damnit, it’s Christmas and we’re going to give this kid some degree of stability. By sheer coincidence, Patricia happens to be the mother of one Sean Addision who was the kid that died following a car accident the start of Christmas Blessing which caused Nathan to have his Dr Cox crisis of confidence moment. These movies are just ridiculous to how everyone's lives are so intertwined.

Like, up to this point, we met Traci who then bumped into Nathan and Megan, before going to work and having a young, troubled teen skip out on his bill but Patricia was in at the same time and tipped really generously to make up for it. That same kid then pretty much steals her bag following accident and also knew Sean who was mentoring him in one of those Big Brother mentoring programs.

Patricia’s husband, Mark, is played by James Remar, he of The Warriors fame and, more pertinent to this blog, he was in the Miracle on 34th Street remake and one of the segments in the Tales from the Darkside movie. Theirs is a very frosty relationship currently owing to the death of Sean, there’s no sense of chemistry between these two and I’m surprised they’re actually as close in age as they are, Remar only 4 years older. Feels like there’s more of like a 10-20 year gap. He gets on very well with Emily though, they have this instant rapport whilst Patricia is more distant which is understandable. She obviously has to keep things professional as she can’t get too attached to these kids and doesn’t want them getting attached to her, plus there’s probably ongoing issues from Sean’s death, maybe she’s not prepared to slip back into that motherly role again. Which you can tell by that dinner she serves; rolls of wafer thin ham, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks and celery? That’s just what all the kids want.

At least she’ll read Emily a bedtime story, ‘I’ll Love You Forever’ which documents a mother who sings to her song that she’ll love him forever, even when he becomes a rebellious teenager who thinks it’s lame for her to do that. This leads to the very strange visual of him cradiling her in his arms on a rocking chair and singing it to her when she’s old and frail, a mirror image of how she first sang to him when he was a baby. This really hits Patricia in the feels as she felt distant from Sean as he seemed closer to his father, wanting to impress him by picking the sports and classes he thought his father wanted him to take. She even seems to partly blame her husband for their sons death as he switched around his work schedule to come home early for Christmas, which in turn led to Sean coming home early too. If he’d just come home on the day he intended this never would have happened! That seems grossly unfair. Even when she passed along a family heirloom in the form of her fathers watch, he was unimpressed and even managed to break it whilst horsing around with a friend in his room.

The massively tangled web of these characters comes into play again when Megan is going through some things and finds an old Christmas gift which sends Nathan into some sort of Nam flashback. Turns out Sean was holding it as he was wheeled into the hospital and Nathan had taken it upon himself to make sure it found its way to its intended destination but he just forgot about it over the years. I actually went back to check this and ,yeah, that is in the previous movie. I had this whole thing pegged as just a series of independent stories with loose connections throughout but no, apparently they had whole plot points planned out in advance.

Nathan and Patricia do interact several times as she takes the crack baby to the hospital to be checked up. There’s this strange level of frustration akin to An American Tail where Nathan keeps getting little flashbacks in his head but he’s never quite able to connect the dots.

But of course he eventually does and the present turns out to be, say it with me now, the broken watch! Perhaps more meaningful though is the accompanying note which reveals Sean intended to study social work at college because he wanted to help kids just like his mom. This seems to serve as a form of closure for her but I feel like you could already start drawing that sort of conclusion. I mean, the guy was already in that Big Brother program so you were clearly already having some sort of influence on him.

Strike two of the big overly emotional finale comes when it’s suggested Emily puts the angel atop the tree which promptly makes her bolt out of the room. Everyone is left thinking they’ve upset her but she comes back clutching a picture which she wedges onto the tree, a picture not of her mother as I had suspected but of Sean. She says he is her angel and she feels like whenever she’s felt all alone, he’s been there to help here. Awww.

The big showstopper though is the troubled kid finally coming good and, after realising who everyone is in this story, returns Traci’s bag to the Addison home. Inside was her camera and on that camera was the video from the very start of the movie. Turns out she wrote that song as a Christmas gift for Emily.

Though, I feel the writers fell short of a grand slam here. Near the end, Nathan shares the story with Megan about giving the gift to Sean’s parents and how it gave him his own little bit of closure after how much Sean’s death affected him back then. Megan goes into labour shortly afterwards and I was fully expecting them to decide to call the baby Sean but no such luck.

Christmas Blessing was lacking a little bit in the big emotional ending so it feels like this one is making up for that and then some. It’s not as cheesy as that song from Christmas Shoes but still delivers that overly sentimental feeling. Again, it’s something I am loathed to admit but it got to me a little bit. This whole movie has that same morbid energy as the other two but in a slightly different way, the first two felt like you spent the entire movie watching people who were on deaths door before something happened at the end to soften the blow. Here they just give you the death right up front and everyone is left to cope with the aftermath and reflect on how deal with it. It’s like an encapsulation of everything that Nathan has gone through over these movies, facing death in his personal and professional life but coming to terms with it.

You know what’s bullshit though? No sign of the eponymous Christmas Shoes anywhere. They’re even in the box of stuff that Megan finds the old Christmas present in. How can you make this your big conclusion and not bring them back? You brought them back the last one, you couldn’t have Megan tag along and give them to Emily at the end as some sort of passing of the torch? It was her destiny, Nathan got them for his dead mother, Charlie got them for his dead mother, those shoes have been robbed of their purpose in life.

#Christmas 2019 #The Christmas Hope

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scriptaed · 6 years

Text

Ink Nemesis | 02

Genre: Angst/Fluff || paparazzi!au; fake dating!au;

Pairing: Reader x Yoongi

Length: 6.9k

Synopsis: As an aspiring writer drowning under the public’s radar, a click of the pen is all you need to accept your supervisor’s offer to co-write an article for the SS - Secrets Spilled, a regular section of your company’s weekly tabloid; but fabricated stories and invasive details aren’t all that you write when you discover Min Yoongi’s dirty little secret.

“You want me, a temporary paparazzi, to pretend I’m dating him, the sensational pop star?”

The blinding flash of the cameras and hands and shrills transcend time and place all in a persistence to invade privacy; because here you are, somehow standing in front of BigHit Entertainment’s CEO, with lights hitting you at every angle as if still running on that fifteen minutes of fame you have only dreamed of receiving for your penmanship—not your facade of a relationship with the heart of all screaming teen’s, Min Yoongi.

The two pairs of eyes follow your every movement throughout the deafening silence, for the spotlight is still on you; but with each tick of their watch comes with a hasty pump of your heart and the fracture of your usual sense of rationality under said pressure.

“Well, I didn’t know you were a tabloid writer until now—and that indeed is a problem—but what’s been said has already been reported more than a hundred times by now, I'm sure,” the man seated before you explains in his rather mundane clothing resembling commoners like you; yet other than his structured wide nose, circular and silver glasses, and imperfect spots of his red, tan complexion, the ease of his shoulders as he reclines into his black leather chair and the confidence that exudes as he conveys his every thought to you, a stranger, tells you his mind is bustling with all sorts of creativity embodying anything but ordinary. “I understand this is a rash decision on my part, but I’m more than willing to pay to accommodate for any repercussions.”

In contradiction to his wise mien worthy of his middle age, the assumptions he creates of you and your supposed indecency renders you offended.

“Are you kidding me?” you gawk, appalled by his lack of judgement. “Do you know how much money you would have to pay me? I’m probably going to be fired or forced to quit the second I step foot into that damn building—” you inhale a sharp breath “—and even if it’s a living hell-hole for me, at least it kept me just barely alive!”

“Again, I’m really sorry,” the man calmly apologizes, the drop of an octave supposedly conveying claimed sympathy. “It was irresponsible of me to drag you into this, but all I can do now is retribute to the best of my abilities. I’m willing to pay 20,000 dollars flat for defamation alone.”

Twenty thousands of dollars? For something that most wouldn't even consider defamation? Suddenly, living without that treached work of yours doesn’t sound too bad at all; plus, that mass of money is enough for you to live the next decade on cup noodles and doing what you really love most: writing.

Maybe you can finally become a serious writer.

Nonetheless, accepting such money without merit strikes against your morals, both as a writer and a human, so further inquiry comes hesitantly, “...alone? Does that mean there’s more—”

“—wait, hold on for just a minute,” the remaining bystander breaks his silence, crossing his arms and shifting his weight to the opposing leg. “Do I, the main victim of this absurd plan, not get a say in this?”

“Alright, fair enough,” the elder sighs and removes his glasses to the table crowded with all sorts of sounding equipment. “Do you have anything more to add, Yoongi?”

“Do I get paid, too?” he deadpans; a moving huff leaves your lips and the both of them turn to glare in the slightest at your direction.

“I’m your boss, Bang Si-hyuk,” the man, identifying as what you recall Solji to commonly refer to as Bang PD, establishes full authority as Yoongi reclines into defense. He further crosses his arms, “I’m only doing this because it’ll help your career.”

“But how is this going to help me?” Yoongi asks.

You’re surprised to see the usual hushed, tranquil presentation of Yoongi’s cutting straight to the chase; and as much as you hate to admit, everything about him is a divergence from you as a person and worker. On what seems to be one pole of the world, Yoongi remains at the top of his industry, powerful, influential, and inspiring, while you remain on the other side, residing in the pithole of your own world as a writer.

No one looks up to you because you have nothing to admire in the first place. As Solji has once proclaimed in her weekly articles, Yoongi is the figure, the epitome of the 21st century’s very dreams. It’s no wonder that naive albeit ambitious children look up to him. Five years have passed since you could legally label yourself as a child, but even you have at some point fallen for the blinding, inevitable pull of his only to gaze longingly—as if someday, when the sun sets east and the moon sets ablaze, a failure like you could stand a minute in his shoes; because while he actively protests against the man controlling his very dreams, you can’t even imagine interacting with your own.

And that’s just one of the million reasons why boys like him would never work out with girls like you.

“Your cold, silent, ‘bad boy’ image used to attract the public’s favor in the past, Yoongi, but consistency is the key to demise in this type of industry.” Bang PD picks up a blue pen and begins tapping on his all knowing temple. “Plus, you’re a bit too alluring to the teens these days. The security downstairs have already caught at least seven fans trying to sneak into your studio just this past week.”

Your ears perk at the intriguing new information, trying to figure in your head whether you agree with said bad boy’s reputation; maybe it’s just that night or your immunity from detached men, but Yoongi doesn’t quite fulfill the rave of the public nor does he fit the bill of a bad boy. Eyes trailing to peak at Yoongi from the corner of your eyes, the boy begins to shift uncomfortably in place with his hands still buried in the pockets of his gray slacks.

“I don’t see how it’s a big enough deal to drag someone completely innocent into this,” he mutters, words slurred and shrouded from under his breath.

So he hasn’t completely forgotten you nor the concept of courtesy.

His boss frowns, furrowing his brows and glancing at you only to avert his eyes back onto Yoongi. Leaning in, his hand raises halfway to its target beside his lips before ultimately collapsing back into the cushions of his seat.

“Don’t you want to get rid of that?” he emphasizes but keeps it vague, because after all, you are a tabloid writer; but despite your lack of an intent to do such immoral things as extracting details from a private conversation, you can’t deny the pique of your curiosity following his ambiguous words.

Yoongi persists to keep his eyes glued to the ground, shifting his weight from one leg to another, as his hands fiddle with the insides of his pocket and his mind struggles to accept the advice of his boss. It’s sweet that he’s looking out for a stranger like you, but the reluctance of furthering his own career and obliging to his boss’s request rubs you the wrong way. Just how much privilege does he have against a person just barely getting by like you?

“I won’t be accepting your money.”

The statement captures the attention of the room as the two men gradually turn their eyes to the woman finally affirming her own authority.

“I apologize, Ms. Y/L/N, but I really would like to repay you—

“—then maybe you shouldn’t have dragged me into this in the first place,” you refute, crossing your arms and huffing. “I want to make a life of myself as a writer; and not just one that goes around stalking celebrities. I want to be a real one, and even if I’m sure thousands of girls would love to be in my position right now, it would be shameful of me to accept such luck, good or bad, and disrespect my dreams like that.”

“Yes, and I respect your wishes,” Bang PD firmly interjects, “but as you’ve stated, you’ll most likely be forced to take a momentary leave from work. How are you going to get by? Because this ‘project’ won’t be ending for another six months or so.”

Six months?

The man is really going out on a limb right now; and is Yoongi really fine with this? With dating someone as ordinary and low-life like you? Especially when he already has a girlfriend?

“I have money saved up. It’ll be enough to last me for six months,” you say after a few seconds of pondering. “And plus, I can still make some money by finally publishing a few more works here and there; I am a writer after all—”

“—but how?” you turn to raise a brow at Yoongi’s knitted ones. “Won’t you receive backlash or irrelevant feedback if you publish under your name?”

The assertiveness in his voice makes you wonder whether his question is one elicited by genuine concern for your well being or for his own career, despite how many times he has proven himself to be a man of silent heed to you in the past; maybe the industry has finally broken your ability to trust.

“I can write under a pseudonym,” you give him an assured smile and he only frowns, staring at you in concern amidst the deafening silence.

Two pseudonyms, actually, if you're being truthful to yourself and him.

“Well, I beg of you to take your time to rethink this and perhaps reconsider in a week or so,” the boss clears his throat, finally sitting up in his seat and swirling around to grab a simple key chain which dangles of a mini plastic quill and a silver key both before tossing it to Yoongi. “In the meantime, Yoongi, go show this miss your studio.”

“My studio?” Yoongi repeats almost indignantly. His boss only nods, but the boy persists to defend his sanctuary. “How does this have anything to do with my studio?”

“If you're going to fake a relationship to the rest of the world, you're going to have to get to know each other,” Bang PD strains.

After watching Yoongi bite his bottom lip with his eyes glued to the floor in stubborn defeat, you're not sure if you find his reluctance endearing or not. For one, your acceptance of carrying out this ridiculous plan is already of utmost generosity, so is showing something is trivial as his workplace that bad of a retribution?

The ungrateful attitude of the room and the uncomfortable tense silence pushes you to your breaking point, when finally, you swing your camera’s strap over your shoulders and breathe out, “it's fine. He doesn't have to show me anything private or anything he's uncomfortable with.”

Your reassurance captures Yoongi’s attention, for he glances up from the hardwood floor to gaze at you with this dark, indecipherable eyes of his.

The following silence tells you that's exactly what he wanted to hear.

“It's not that I'm uncomfortable…” he begins to mutter before trailing off into silence.

“Yoongi…” Bang PD grumbles, rubbing the spot between his creased brows as he sighs laboriously. “Ah, whatever, you guys can decide for yourselves what you want to do. Please just make it believable.”

“Don't worry. Kissing up to my boss’s ass has given me plenty of experience in acting,” you say in spite, giving them one last smile before turning towards the door and gripping the cold silver handle. “Alright, well, I have matters to attend to now.”

More like you have a job to lose now; but a part of you begrudgingly knows that a part of this is your fault for denying their method of compensation.

Before you can turn the handle and remove yourself from the tension, a warm hand rests on your cold ones to prevent you from doing so. Slowly, your eyes trail along his gray sleeves and up until you finally meet his firm gaze—too confident, too comfortable, and oddly too mesmerizing for a locked moment in time between two strangers of two drifting universes.

The steady waves of his eyes beholding the darkest shade of chocolate knock the air out of your lungs. Wicked magic and trifling enticement are the essence of this pivotal moment. Your eyes are begging for you to evade his impending attack, but desire for authority compels you to challenge him head on. Your lips, on the other hand, fail to formulate coherent words as it freezes in a half gaping phase.

“Your number,” he utters.

“What?”

“Your number,” he repeats in the same hushed tone. “So I can keep in contact with you.”

Embarrassment. Vulnerability. Defeat.

Cheeks burning red, you clear your throat and dig into the pockets of your jacket in search for your phone. Yoongi follows suit as he retracts his phone from the pockets of his lavish silver slacks. Quickly, you grasp for his phone—slipping it swiftly away from his unsuspecting grip—and dial in your number.

“There,” you snap, holding his phone up in the air before grabbing his hand and planting it firmly into his pale palms. “Just call when you need me.”

Without another second to waste in the unfamiliar world, you march your way out of the door to return to your own, all amidst the mysterious silence of the divine-like man.

Morning arrives dreadfully late after the entire ordeal last night, for you headed him earlier than most just an hour into their documentary. Once you had left the room and proceeded your way to the main venue, the boys carried on the concert as if nothing had just happened behind the scenes; fortunately for them, the company was able to get ahold of several reporters and temporarily halt them from releasing the astounding news of your relationship with Yoongi, preventing fans from causing distraught throughout the entirety of the premiere.

This morning, however, proves to be a complete opposite, as you toss and turn throughout midnight, just wondering if you had awoken from a dream, a nightmare, or a slap of reality; because for some reason, you can’t help rid yourself of the condescending image of your own figure standing and peering above at Yoongi’s silhouette which can barely be seen high up on a pedestal.

Only a series of violent vibrations of texts are enough to startle you out of your daze.

Xiao Lin [1:35 A.M.] Girl! I didn't know you were dating Min Yoongi of all people! I mean, no one did, who am I kidding? Why didn't you tell me?

Who is Xiao Lin again?

Xiao Lin [1:35 A.M] I thought we were friends ;_;

Oh right, the other “reporter” you had met last night.

Xiao Lin [1:36 A.M.] But then again, I guess you wouldn't tell a reporter like me. Haha!

It’s as if she can read your mind.

Xiao Lin [1:38 A.M.] Want to meet up for some coffee tomorrow morning and chat? I promise I won't exploit any of our conversations. I'll pay for your coffee too!

Revealing yourself out in bright sunlight isn’t exactly the wisest decision considering the frenzy you’re causing throughout all headlines of the internet—and maybe that’s exactly what Xiao Lin wants, because cunning schemes are all you can read despite her facade of a friendly vibe, but you figure there’s still one question you need to have answered before you can finally have a good night’s rest.

Who exactly is that girl you had spotted Yoongi with? And why would Yoongi be fine with conducting such an experiment? Especially with an unqualified girl like you?

The couch bounces you up and onto your two feet as your fingers occupy themselves with a quick text to Xiao Lin; grabbing a coat, some black shades, scarf, and beanie, you’re beginning to feel a lot like celebrity, and you can’t help but wonder if this dress up is something of the regular to someone as popular as Yoongi.

Finally, as you’re pacing to the cafe below your apartment where you had agreed to meet the awaiting reporter, you’re also simultaneously taking a step into the shoes of Yoongi’s influence, fame, and wealth—and the power of it all sends thrill surging through your veins.

“Over here!” you spot a girl familiar to the one you recall from the haze of your memories waving her arms at you as she whispers. “Xiao Lin, remember?”

In an attempt to avoid as much attention as possible, you quickly and silently shuffle your way to the corner table before settling into the cold metal chair across from her. Yet again, today she sports a clean cut fringe and a simple albeit bright red sweater and lipstick.

“Yeah, of course I remember,” you try to grin, “I don’t have a memory of a goldfish.”

The girl laughs louder than you expected—and you can’t decide for yourself whether it’s one of genuity or one of flattery. Hastily, she brings her voice down to a hush, nervously glancing around at the cafe which had taken no notice of you nor her. “Sorry,” she lets out a soft giggle, “I was just trying to call you over without using your name. I didn’t want people bombarding you with questions, cameras, and mics again.”

Again? Oh, is she referring to last night when the paparazzi had spotted you with Yoongi?

Her unexpected consideration catches you off guard, and as much as you hate to admit, it warms your heart that finally someone sympathizes with you; sure, you can’t let your guard down when you consider the field of work she’s from, but it’s ironically nice to have her by your side—even if you’re just a temporary colleague until Solji returns.

And yet, truly, you realize only those crafted from similar statuses can relate to one another.

“Thanks,” is all you can say before breaking out into a sheepish grin, and Lin smiles even wider at the sight of your growing comfort around her.

“Of course,” she coos before sliding a cup of coffee across the table towards you. “Here, as promised, one cup of warm coffee.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to,” you instinctively say, but the nagging feeling of nonexistent glaring eyes from every angle pushes you out of your usual business-like formality. “But then, again, considering the risk I’m taking to meet you, someone I barely know, I guess you do owe me one.”

Lin snorts, nearly cascading into a fit of cackles before she holds herself back and takes a sip of her coffee. “I like you… and your way with words, especially since you’re just a rookie journalist,” she laughs when a scoff leaves your lips for reasons she might never know.

“So why are you so eager to spend time with a low-life rookie like me?”

“Oh, you know I don’t mean it like that,” she grins, turning her cup in circles on the table her eyes are glued to. “I’m just so happy to finally have someone my age to talk and relate to. Let’s stop being strangers and try to be friends. What do you say?”

The giddy non-stop grin of hers is nearly impossible to deny, and considering all the inside scoops and tips you might be benefiting from such friendship, there really is no reason to stop yourself; so as a sign of a concurrence, you nod your head and reciprocate a smile.

Throughout the morning, you and Lin chat about all sorts of things,and to your surprise, none of them consists of work-related topics. It’s hard for you to admit, but a real friendship could possibly spark from this symbiotic one. From her cunning, flattering ways of conversing to your snarky sense of humor to sync with your recent mood, you begin to wonder how closed off from the world you had become.

What if this is the exact type of friendship Lin was striving for and you're the only one being overly wary of her true intentions?

The guilt gnaws at you from inside out until the topic takes a drastic turn for the worse.

“Speaking of clothes,” Lin can barely manage to say after a fit of laughs, “I see you have a really… conservative style.”

“Me? Conservative?” you repeat, brows raising as your eyes behind a pair of dark shades follow her line of sight to stare at the scarf hovering over half of your face. “Oh… this…”

Did she purposely allude to this in an attempt to gather writing material? But considering the odd getup of yours, it's only natural for a friend to ask something as simple as that. Odd.

Since when did you get so self-absorbed?

“Oh, I'm sorry… I'm sure you don't want to talk about that—”

“—no, it's fine. I figure I should get it off my chest anyways,” you sigh and Lin quirks a brow before scooting closer.

“Are you sure?”

“Might as well; and plus, if I ever see an article about our conversation, I'll know exactly who to blame,” you quip and she snorts.

“Deal,” she grins before hastily lowering her voice into an eager whisper. “So you’re dating him?”

Here you go; it’s now or never.

Pausing for a few seconds to register the question she had just asked, you hesitantly nod in choppy motions.

“Oh my god. For how long now?”

“Um…” you mumble. Neither Yoongi nor his boss had prepared you for this, but an odd part of you tells you to keep your word and loyalty; you have to make this believable. “Several months now…”

“Wow, that’s pretty long for a relationship between a celebrity and a non-celebrity,” she gasps. “Because I would’ve never guessed who you were in relations to the boys when I first met you—not that you’re not pretty, because you are, but it’s just that you seemed so out of place—”

“—oh, it was my first time attending my… boyfriend’s event,” you give her a pressed smile.

“So were you working as a reporter prior to dating him?” she furrows her brows in wonder, tilting her head to the side. “Or is this all just an act to keep people from suspecting the truth?”

“The latter,” you simply answer, because the more she asks, the more you grow to suspect her of her own intentions. “Well, not exactly. It’s complicated.”

“Ah, well something doesn’t totally line up to me, but I won’t press my new friend any further. Don’t want to scare her away just yet,” she winks and the tension in your shoulders and legs release in relief. Your heart has finally been granted mercy when, suddenly, she jumps in her seat and chimes, “and if you’re already scared by me, I’ll trade you some information in return, so if the day ever comes, we can always blackmail each other!”

You scoff, “the sign of a true friendship, indeed.”

“Of course. You can tell I have experience with friends, right?” she jokes, grabbing her phone and swiping a few pictures through what you suppose to be her album. Turning the phone, she holds the screen just a foot from your eyes which widen at the familiar looking figure of the girl displayed. “Remember that girl on your camera who I said looks awfully like my boss’s daughter? Well, I figured out that it’s because she is my boss’s daughter.”

Really?

The thought of Yoongi actually dating someone of immense power and influence infuriates you for some reason—probably because you’re admittedly jealous of her position and income—but all you can do is grit your teeth and feign a smile to conceal the authenticity of your relationship with Yoongi; you had promised him, after all, and it’s not like it would benefit you at this point to spill his love life.

“And what’s so blackmail material about that?” you purse your lips.

“No wonder you’re a rookie,” she sighs and you can’t help but take her words to offense. “Sure, it may seem completely normal for someone like her to attend potential business partner’s grand events. It’s all a part of business. But, you see, our company has been asking to partner with BigHit Entertainment for months now, and we’ve only been denied countless times.”

“What if this is their last resort? To use their daughter, a beautiful one at that, and entice one of the boys into agreement?” you theorize, genuinely curious.

“Hm, that sounds awfully dark to use her like that,” Xiao Lin frowns before nodding, “maybe; I see your point, but I’m not sure about that. I checked her working schedule that’s been leaked online and BigHit’s premiere wasn’t anywhere on that list.”

“So…”

“I’m thinking she’s a superfan of BTS,” Lin confidently states, nodding her head as if to confirm her own theory.

“Well, whatever it is, I don’t care,” you refute a bit more harshly than you intend; the fury in your stomach grows by the second. Should you show the remaining photo you had captured that night to Lin? Should you ask her for advice? Or insight? Doing so would be leaking crucial information to your enemy, both as Yoongi’s supposed partner and as the temporary writer of Secrets Spilled. Luckily, your usual sense of rationality makes a timely return as you spout, “as long as she’s not a delusion fan of Yoongi’s.”

“Ooh,” Lin sing-songs with a cheeky grin, “sassy, and rightfully so; I like it.”

A scoff escapes your lips as you shrug, but the casual facade front of yours is broken when a series of vibrations sends you jumping in your seat.

Him [1:41 P.M.] Y/N, this is Yoongi. Where are you right now? I thought it over last night, and I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I’ll be waiting for you in my studio.

Him [1:42 P.M.] I’ll be there for the rest of the evening.

Him [1:42 P.M.] You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.

Him [1:42 P.M.] It’s just an award for getting through this all.

Him [1:42 P.M.] Here’s the address. Again, you don’t have to come if you’re busy or upset.

An award? What exactly does he really think of this whole ordeal? Do you seem like an obedient puppy that needs to be rewarded by his owner? And why does he keep insisting that you don’t have to come? It’s as if in reality he actually doesn’t want you to come in the first place and is only asking out of common courtesy… or maybe his boss forced him to after a night of persistent arguments behind your back.

Whatever the reason is, your anger and confusion urge you towards vengeance as you slip your phone into your pockets and scoot your chair back loudly without a care.

“What is it? Do you have to go now?” Lin looks up at you in dejection.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, Lin,” you apologize, but the guilt vanishes the second a smile replaces the frown on her face at the call of her nickname. “I’ll meet with you again someday.”

“Soon?”

“Sure,” you laugh, gathering your purse and preparing yourself for a long day ahead of you. “See you later.”

“Mhm,” your friend nods eagerly before calling out, “have fun, you love birds!”

As you storm off with your resolve for answers set, love is the last thing you want to hear in relations to Yoongi.

The drive to Yoongi’s studio situated in BigHit’s headquarters doesn’t take you more than a couple of minutes, but the time to prepare yourself and your planned dialogue delays you into the last minutes of sunset.

“Oh? Is that you, Y/N?” a man with tan skin and warm blond locks greets you right as you pull out your phone to notify Yoongi of your arrival. The quizzical look on your scarf-covered face elicits a chuckle from said man. “I’m Namjoon. I’ve heard the entire story from our boss… not so much from Yoongi, haha.”

“I’m not surprised,” you retort. “Who would be proud of dating someone like me? And don’t worry, I don’t go around boasting of my ‘relationship’ with him either.”

“Oof, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” Namjoon laughs, taken aback by your aggressive demeanor. “I can see the support behind your claim though! I’m liking the scarf.”

What are you doing? You should be blowing off steam at Yoongi, not Namjoon, an innocent bystander.

“...sorry,” you mumble, eyes shifting to the dim shadows casted upon the concrete sidewalk. “I’m a bit tired, not really in a good mood.”

“I understand,” he assures, shaking his head along with his hands before burying them back into his pockets. “It’s our fault for dragging you into this mess anyway.”

“It’s fine…”

“What’re you here for?”

“Um…” you mutter, pulling out your phone in an urge to prove yourself. “Yoongi invited me to his studio.”

“I trust you. You don’t have to pull out your phone,” Namjoon chortles, eyes widening shortly after. “But really? Yoongi? His studio?”

“Yeah…?”

“You’re either incredibly lucky or incredibly charming,” he muses and continues when he notices the quirk in your brow. “Barely anyone gets to step foot into Yoongi’s studio, especially by his invitation.”

You’re neither lucky nor charming. You’re just so terribly unlucky to be caught up in a situation like this that anyone, including Yoongi, would begin to empathize for you. By rebelling against Yoongi’s will and entering his studio, you’ll be getting back at him for dragging you into this in the first place.

“And why’s that? Have you ever entered before?”

“Well, of course. I’m his band mate. But he seldom asks me for advice,” he laughs, patting a hand behind your shoulder and pushing you forward to his side. “Come on, I’ll show you the way.”

The lavish, skyscraper of a building fares far superior to the company you expect to be fired from very soon, but the friendly mien and intriguing conversations of Namjoon’s keeps you from being overwhelmed… but that only adds to your intimidation the second he leaves your side and you find yourself standing right before the door to Yoongi’s studio.

Black paint and handles locked, everything is practically screaming at you to leave.

This is a bad idea.

There’s really no going back the second you enter.

Turning on the balls of your heels, you make a last minute decision to bolt when the door behind you creaks open.

“Y/N?”

Speak of the devil.

“Yeah, that’s me,” you sigh, whirling back around with a pressed smile.

Yoongi stands there in what surprises you to be the most casual clothing you’ve ever seen. A black beanie, gray sweater, and black basketball shorts are a drastic change from the full on tuxedo he had been sporting last night.

If you’re being honest with yourself, the cost of his outfit probably sums up to be half of the price of what you’re wearing right now.

This can’t be Yoongi. No, not the one you so despise. Not the one that has you fuming under your breath throughout the night, right?

“I didn’t know you were coming,” he simply states, gazing at you without a hint of expression to give him away.

“Oh, sorry,” you fold your hands behind your back. “I thought you were going to be here either way.”

“Yeah. Fair enough,” he agrees and holds the door open. Glancing up from the hardwood floor leading to the dark grey carpeting of his studio, you stare at him with wide eyes. Yoongi’s eyes shift from you, the side, and back to you as he shifts his weight and quirks a brow, “didn’t you come here to see my studio?”

“Oh, right,” you quickly blurt, shuffling your way into the room, “well, don’t mind if I do, then.”

The hefty door slams closed behind him, and if it weren’t for your eyes, you wouldn’t have noticed Yoongi standing there before you. Other than the humming buzz of his three wide monitors and computer, paired with black headphones and all sorts of unfamiliar devices, the sound proof walls along with Yoongi’s silence send chills down your back. Suddenly, you feel the need to fill the space with what you came here to do.

With his hands in his pockets and his front turned towards you, you figure he’s keeping a watch on you in case you touch any of his elaborate equipment. Turning around and away from his wooden desk, you’re just about to speak when he begins first.

“I saw the news this morning,” he utters. “Are you alright?”

So he has? No, of course he has; he’s the main subject of the rumors after all.

“Yeah,” you gulp. “I haven’t read the comments yet.”

“Oh, well, you shouldn’t,” he pauses, “I don’t usually read the news.”

“That’s because they aren’t news.”

Yoongi glances at you in surprise at your quick remark before nodding with pressed lips, “agreed.” At least there’s one thing you two can agree on. “But I had to read them this morning to make sure they weren’t slandering you.”

“Oh…” you mumble, dejected by guilt. “Thanks.”

“No need,” he shakes his head, “it’s our fault you’re in this mess, anyways.”

“...yeah,” a deep breath in and out helps calm your racing pulse. “So are you sure you’re fine with all of this? What if someone misunderstands?”

“What do you mean?” he quirks a brow. “My whole life is a misunderstanding anyways, so this isn’t new.”

“No, but, for example,” you pause before blurting, “what if your girlfriend sees the news?”

“My girlfriend?” he wrinkles his nose. “No, don’t worry, that won’t happen.”

Lies. You saw him with his girlfriend just last night.

“Are you sure?”

His lips turn upside down and he frowns at you as if something had gone haywire in your head. Reclining from your persistence, your eyes avert to the side as Yoongi remains in silence.

“I’m sorry, by the way.”

His words catch you by surprise.

Peering up from the ground, you find Yoongi’s eyes settled on yours; he isn’t laughing, he isn’t smiling, he isn’t even frowning that judgemental frown he had on before, he’s being sincere about his apology.

“I wanted to apologize to you in person and not on text for upsetting you last night,” he continues, voice low and unwavering. “I was already dragging you through so much trouble, but I acted as if you were a hindrance. So while this isn’t the best offer to make it up to you, I hope my studio is cool enough to keep you from hating me.”

Either his years of acting under the power of his authorities helped him or his sense of morality isn’t too far from yours,

“I mean, it’s alright,” you muse, “the studio, that is.”

“And it’s also alright if you keep hating me,” he shrugs and you gape at his remark.

“Touche,” you scoff. “But more importantly, there’s something that’s been on my mind for a while now.”

Yoongi nods, silently conveying for you to proceed.

“I’m just… I’m confused as to why you guys picked me. You could’ve picked anyone else—” you could’ve picked the girl you were making out with “—I mean, anyone has more influence and relevance than me.”

Yoongi blinks blankly at you before answering, “my boss saw us talking after I brought you backstage. He never really sees me interacting with people, not to mention a girl, outside of work, so he thought that our chemistry would make for a more believable story.”

“Ah... you don’t talk with people other than your band mates?”

He shrugs as if to answer yes.

“Then will I also be the first to hear a snippet of your works in progress?”

“I don’t know about that…” he mumbles, scratching the back of his head.”

“But don’t you post previews for your fans, anyways?”

“Are you my fan?”

“Well,” you scoff, “I have to pretend to be.”

“Well, you’re doing a good job considering how needy you’re being,” he remarks; you’re finally getting a hang of his type of humor. “First, you intrude into my studio, and now you’re asking me about previews.”

“Okay, fine. How do I get into the all-knowing Min Yoongi fanclub, then?”

“You can’t. It’s overfilled,” Yoongi shrugs with a smirk. “But you said you’re a writer, correct? I’ll trade you a ten second snippet of my tracks for a page of your works.”

“No!” you immediately answer.

“See?”

“But you’re an immensely popular artist. Everyone recognizes your works. You should have confidence in yourself,” you spew. “I, on the other hand, only get—what—a few hundred views? Maybe two or so comments?”

“I don’t get your point. Creators are all the same regardless of how big or small we are,” he equivocates. “The quality of your works are independent of numbers.”

Of course. His ignorance is starting to show through again.

You scoff, “easy for you to say.”

“Look, I didn’t make it big right off the bat, either, Y/N,” he shuffles in place as you begin pacing around the room.

“Yeah, but all I’m saying is you should have more confidence in yourself since you’ve already been recognized!”

“Alright, then according to you, how are you going to be recognized if you aren’t even willing to share your own pieces?” he quips and you’re stumped on how to answer.

“...I am sharing them—online,” you stammer. “Just not with you.”

“Oh?” he raises a brow. “And what do you post about?”

Why is he asking you so many questions? Rather than genuine curiosity, all you’re receiving are harsh judgements being made on you.

Clearing your throat, you gulp. “...romance. Young adult novels.”

Your answer renders him even more baffled than before; his brows raise and his eyes narrow, “forgive me, I actually meant to ask what do you write about. It’s not bad that you write those, but… you don’t strike me as a teen romantic?”

“I do,” you affirm. “Sometimes I write personal anecdotes. I just don’t post them. Those don’t appeal to the general public.”

“And why does that matter?”

His constant stream of questions are beginning to irritate you.

Why is he trying to test you?

Who is he to judge you?

“First, Mr. Know It All, I’ll appeal to the public, make it big, then and only then will I truly be able to write what I want,” you spit.

“Those are some big dreams,” he only states. “Familiar ones, too.”

“Familiar ones?” you repeat, scoffing. “Sorry, but in my kind of world, dreaming is all you can do.”

“Do you have a backup plan?”

“A what?”

“A backup plan; in case it doesn’t work out, you have something to fall back on.”

“Are you serious right now?” you gape. “I don’t have time to do anything but chase my dreams right now! I know it’s hard for someone like you to believe, but it’s true.”

“I’m just trying to help you,” he argues, brows furrowing as he takes a defensive stance. “Because you know what happens to all dreams? They end.”

“Well, I’m a dreamer. Dreamers are reckless and courageous; we do all sorts of things without realizing nor caring for repercussions.”

Yoongi takes a deep breath and loudly sighs, groaning and ruffling his hair underneath his beanie. “I don’t think you’re getting what I’m trying to say here. I want you to succeed, Y/N, but what are you going to do when it doesn’t work out?”

Laughing in disbelief at his ego, you shake your head and sigh, “I can live as your housewife since I am your girlfriend after all.”

Your joke only incites silence from Yoongi; that damn, stupid and judgemental silence of his. He stares at you, frowning and wrinkling his nose at your remark. You haven’t felt more vulnerable than you do now in years.

“It was just a joke, okay,” making your way past him and to the door, you sigh. “You know what? I’m tired. I’m leaving. Text me whenever you need me to kiss up to the public. I might need some of the fame myself.”

With that, you make your departure.

And Yoongi doesn’t even care enough to hold you back.

Solji [11:11 P.M.] Y/N! I’m busy with my honeymoon and all, but I wanted to check in on you! You’re still going to write the article for SS, right?

At first you were hesitant, confused, and even guilty of going behind Yoongi’s back—even if he’s just your pretend boyfriend—and writing articles on him just to make money; but after seeing how stuck up he must be tonight, you figure this is your only way to get back at him and show him your way of life is more practical, more realistic than his life of a celebrity.

Because even a low-life like you can rise to power.

As promised, here’s a behind the scenes picture of the boys at the grand premiere, making their way to the top of the stage where the rest of the world awaits them.

[Picture uploading: 10%]

I’ll be a temporary replacement for the SS in the next few weeks.

Hope I’ll get to know you all!

- xoxo Ink Nemesis.

966 notes · View notes

aircoil50 · 3 years

Text

Guidelines on How to Take the Perfect Photographs with the Android Smart phone

If perhaps you are working with any of the top of the line Android mobile phones, like the Galaxy S9 or Google Pixel 3, well then one of the recommended photo cameras available is currently inside your pocket or purse. You are prepared to start capturing all those friends and family images at special events that will go on endlessly. But whatever the expertise of the sophisticated smartphone, merely pointing and taking shots at the backdrop is not the best way to capture long lasting experiences. The same concepts apply to cell phones digital photography as they do studio photography: a little staging will go quite a distance. Have a beat before hitting the shutter key and employ one or more of the following tips to help to make your phone-snapped pics look their best. You’ve been told this before, however it requires repeating because it makes an mind-blowing impact: make sure the camera continues to be when you’re shooting a photograph. I can’t let you know how many times I have snapped and strolled to stay with an organization or something of the type, only to be dismayed down the road by fuzzy final results. Your Android cellphone may be fast at setting up the camera app (double-press the energy button of all to instantly fire it up), but it can’t constitute the photo if you aren’t quiet while taking it. It’s typically smart to get into the tradition of looking into what you just snapped before moving forward. You would not really need a tripod in this day and age to take a still photo, though it really allows elicit the most desirable outcomes. There are also smart phone surveillance camera mounts for common-sized tripods if you’re currently tricked out in camcorder gear. Alternately, unique items are impressive for capturing group photographs. Angling the phone against a wall or an object can be another technique of the trade in cases where you’re in a hole. Android Cellphone's Recommended Photography Programs Android application programs are in fact impressive enough to take care of processing raw photography files generated by DSLRs, so most of them may surely deal with editing a picture taken by a smart phone. Free software like Snapseed, Polarr Photo Editing, and Lightroom will charm to tinkerers and those who are the “friends and family photographer.” For individuals who like the appearance of filtered pictures, applications like VSCO offer over 100 kinds of millennial-colored flair, as well as a Color Story, which has some of the best filters for delivering to an Instagram market. Both apps are absolve to use, though they offer in-app buys to unlock a few of the popular aesthetics. If you’d rather not pay very much to create your photos looked aged, KujiCam is shamelessly fun to make use of, as well as your digital photographs will look like these were used another decade. In the event that you do screw up a snapshot and the moment in time has elapsed, use an application like TouchRetouch to move in and remove an out-of-place fingertip in the top side. Don’t ignore the touch-ups specs your phone does natively. Google Photos comes pre-installed on almost every recent Android unit and will be offering quick editing tools, including a handful of colored picture filters, a crop choice, and the ability to alter common components just like the color hue and exposure. (Google Photos offers automatic backup for your photos and movies, so make sure to take benefit of that, however you lose all of your cherished stories next time your cell phone drowns in a children's pool.) Samsung and LG’s particular gallery applications likewise have light editing and enhancing choices along the same lines. In the event you are being cheeky, you might even like some of the digital “stickers” bundled on Samsung’s Galaxy and Note cellphones. I prefer just a little sexy light. A dozen candle lights and some dimmed light bulbs will be the perfect way to signal to your friends that the house is certainly a warm one. This sort of lighting is usually undesirable for photographs, nevertheless, and even though your mobile phone’s manufacturer assured you among the best low-light photos, wonderful parties are not the place to test out this statement. Don’t be scared to incorporate a small amount of lighting in cases where the mood demands it. You don’t have to get anything extra; simply remove the top on a nearby lamp fixture or other equivalent and place it in front of your subjects, beside you if you’re the shooter. Additionally, avoid overhead lamps and lights. Just as much as recessed light looks great in person, it’s not good on photo camera. (There is a justification why actresses wear sunglasses each time they are inside, where there is often above the head light.) This same lightning tip helps diffuse these sorts of lighting situations and will make everybody in the picture look warm and alive. Your mobile phone’s flash can perform the very same thing in a pinch, though stay away from it as most of your light source, as it could make your get-together appear washed out. Alternately, you can use a friend’s mobile phone flashlight as a directional light beam of kind by pointing it at the position you want people’s faces to end up being lit. It can donate to some actually professional lighting effects. Do you believe you're among the lucky ones to have the Pixel 3’s Night time Sight enhancement? Be sure you’re applying it when the conditions needs it, like inside museums or poorly-lit historic buildings. This capability is coming soon to outdated Pixel cellphones and is available in the standard Android camera application, from the same display screen where you can transition between panorama setting and the like. On Samsung and LG smart phones, a similar functionality is hidden in the Professional or Manual settings. In this case, you’ll want to do a little of tweaking to the camera configurations to get the kind of picture you want. You don’t have to be a camera professional to access this, as most companies give live previews so that you can observe what the result can look like after a bit of adjusting. For ideal outcomes, leave everything on Auto except for the shutter speed, that is where you will see the actual difference in how much light camera can take in. And of course, don’t forget to lean it up against something while the shutter is open or you will finish up with a fuzzy photo. Face setting is among those defacto standard capabilities that now comes offered with every flagship mobile phone. It is like panoramic mode, except that you are required to use it often since it gives photos a little of a high-tech appearance. You don’t need to utilize it to take photos of people, either. This works just as well for pets, plants, or any other curious object. My favorite thing to accomplish with Portrait mode, whether I’m having a selfie or snapping a photo with friends I have not seen in more than 10 years, is to use it next to a simplified backdrop. A bare wall is wonderful for headshots, while a patterned wall structure adds a bit of flair. I really like the imitation “studio appearance” of the sorts of images, and you could get creative utilizing the lamp-light technique in a room. If carried out right, the result of your Portrait mode could appear as preened and polished as if taken on college picture day, plus they can also be photographs deserving enough to put onto a pack of holiday greeting cards in the next year. simplemente haga clic en el sitio web hasta que viene Finally and in fact the most plain and simple bit of advice on the list here, don’t forget to clean your camera lens prior to capturing a shot. The android is totally able at this time in the process to capture a high-resolution picture of the persons you care for, but it will not mean much if the lens is smudged up with finger grease and several other assorted dust. Even if you possess a case on with a camera covering, wipe that section clean on the inside and out to make sure that your photographs stay fantastic. If your smart phone is your only camera, you should always keep either a microfiber towel or a pack of camera lens-cleaning wipes. Buy them in large amounts and place them everywhere: in every single container you use and every single car you ride in. Photos are only just worth a million words if they are crystal-clear, and assuming you paid out in excess of this good deal on a brand new phone, then it needs to develop photo frame-worthy portraits.

#smart phones

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pailnose6 · 4 years

Text

Learn Picture Capturing Most Useful Techniques utilizing your Android Cell phone

Finally, that point of the season yet again when you are operating your mobile phone overtime wanting to keep up with all the memories of holiday celebrations, family get-togethers, and domestic pets you have wrangled into joyful costumes. If you are dealing with any of the latest Android phones, including the Galaxy S9 or Pixel 3, then one of the best photo cameras available has already been in your possession. However regardless of the expertise of the sophisticated cell phone, only just pointing and snapping shots at the moment is not the right way to catch enduring memories. The exact rules affect smartphones picture taking as they do studio pictures: just a little setting up goes a long way. Have a beat before punching the shutter button and start using one or more of the subsequent strategies to help to make your phone-snapped photos seem their very best. You have known this before, however it requires repeating since it makes an unbelievable difference: make sure the photo camera continues to be when you’re taking a photograph. I can’t tell you how many occasions I have snapped and strolled to keep up with a crowd or something of the sort, only to be disappointed down the road by blurry outcomes. The Android cell phone could be instant at starting up the camera application (double-press the power button of all to immediately fire it up), but it can’t constitute the photo if you aren’t quiet while acquiring it. It is always a good idea to get into the behavior of checking on what you currently snapped before going on. You might not certainly require a tripod in this day and age to have a still photography, though it really allows elicit the top rated results. Additionally, there are smartphone camera brackets for common-sized tripods if you’re already tricked out in video camera items. Alternately, specific items are fantastic for catching group photographs. Leaning the mobile phone against a wall structure or an object can be another trick of the trade each time you’re in a hole.

Searching for the Ideal Photography Program Android application programs are in fact robust enough to take care of digesting RAW photo types of file made by DSLRs, so most of them may unquestionably handle editing and enhancing a photo shot by a smartphone. Free application programs like Snapseed, Polarr Photo Editing, and Adobe Lightroom will charm to tinkerers and those who consider themselves the “friends and family photographer.” For those who prefer the look of filtered pictures, software like VSCO present over 100 kinds of colored flair, as well as a Color Story, which has the best filters for showing to an Instagram market. Each of those apps are free to use, though they provide in-app purchases to unlock a few of the popular aesthetics. If you’d rather not pay much to make your photos looked aged, KujiCam is normally unrepentantly fun to use, and your digital pictures can look like they were taken in another era. If you do mess up a snapshot and the point in time has went by, try using an application like TouchRetouch to proceed in and clear away an out-of-place fingertip in the uppermost spot. Do not disregard the editing and enhancing functionalities your android smart phone does originally. Google Photos comes pre-loaded on nearly every recent Android unit and will be offering quick editing tools, including a small number of colored picture filters, a crop choice, and the ability to alter common components like the color hue and publicity. (Google Photos also offers automatic back-up for your photos and video clips, so make certain to take advantage of that, lest you remove all your cherished stories the next time your cell phone drowns in a pool.) LG And Samsung’s particular photo gallery programs also provide you with light editing and enhancing choices along the same lines. If you are feeling cheeky, you may even like some of the digital “stickers” included on Samsung’s Galaxy and Note smartphones. I love just a little sexy light. A dozen candles and some dimmed lamps are the perfect method to signal to your guests that the house is usually a cozy one. This type of lighting is certainly awful for images, nevertheless, and even though your smart phone’s manufacturer assured you the best low-light photos, superb parties aren't the place to try this claim. Do not be worried to incorporate a small amount of light when the mood demands it. You do not need to spend money on anything extra; quickly take off the very best on a nearby lamp fixture or other equivalent and place it in front of your subjects, beside you if you’re the shooter. Additionally, avoid overhead lamps and lights. As much as recessed lighting looks great personally, it’s not good on photo camera. (There’s a justification why actors put on sunglasses every time they are indoors, where there’s often above your head light.) The same grab-a-lamp cheat helps diffuse these sorts of lighting situations and will make everybody in the photography seem warm and alive. Your smartphone’s flash can do the similar thing in a bit, yet stay away from it as your primary light resource, as it can make your party look washed out. On the other hand, you might use a good friend’s smartphone flashlight as a directional light of kind by pointing it at the angle you want people’s faces to be lit up. It can contribute to some actually trendy lighting special effects. Do you believe you are among the many lucky ones to find the Pixel 3’s Night Sight upgrade? Be sure you are using it when the condition calls for it, for example inside restaurants or poorly-lit historic structures. The feature is just around the corner to earlier Pixel smartphones and comes in the default Android camera software, from the same screen in which you can change between panoramic mode and the like. On Samsung and LG cellphones, a comparable option is hidden in the Expert or Manual modes. In this case, you will have to do a little of tweaking to the photo camera configurations to get the kind of picture you want. You do not have to be a camera professional to gain access to this, as most manufacturers offer live previews so that you can find what the result will look like after a little of adjusting. For best outcomes, keep as much as possible on Automatic aside from the shutter speed, that’s where you will see the actual difference in how much light camera can take in. Not to mention, don’t neglect to lean it against something while the shutter is open up or you’ll finish up with a blurry image. Face mode is among those defacto regular features that today shows up included with every flagship smartphone. It’s like panorama setting, only that you’re likely to make use of it more often since it gets photos a lttle bit of a high-tech look and feel. You do not need to use it to take photos of people, either. It performs equally well for pets, house plants, or any various other interesting object. My most loved activity to carry out with Portrait setting, maybe I’m having a selfie or snapping a photo with friends I have not seen in over a decade, is to use it against a common background. A blank wall is great for headshots, even though a flowery wall adds a small amount of style. I love the imitation “studio appearance” of the sorts of photographs, and you can get artistic utilizing the lamp-light trick in a room. If handled correctly, the result of your Portrait setting could look as sophisticated and refined as if taken on college picture day, plus they could even be photos worthy enough to slap onto a bunch of xmas cards in the the coming year. Lastly and indeed the most noticeable piece of advice on any list in this article, don’t forget to wipe your camera lens before shooting a picture. Your smart phone is totally able at this stage in the game to shoot a high-resolution picture of the persons you cherish, but it will not matter if the lens is messy with face dirt and various different dust. Even if you possess a case on with a camera cover, clean that section clean on the inside and out to make sure that your pictures remain fantastic. In the event the cell phone is your only camera, you should always carry either a microfiber cloth or a bunch of lens-cleaning wipes. Buy them in bulk and store them all over the place: in pretty much every container you use and every different vehicle you ride in. Photos are only just worth a million words if they’re wonderful, and in the event you paid out upwards of this much on a brand new cellphone, then it should probably create picture frame-worthy pictures.

#cellphones

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rebeccaueditor · 4 years

Photo

Flanelle Magazine - Unity Issue #22 Interview: Rebecca U Photos: Eva Al Desnudo Eva Losada a.k.a. @Eva.Al.Desnudo, Highsnobiety and SHOWstudio contributor, the British Fashion Awards’, ‘New Wave: creatives’ nominee, and global fashion week voyager, who has worked with Loewe, Yohji Yamamoto and Adidas Y-3, discusses quitting your day job, and the creativity displayed in backstage coverage. Before Eva Al Desnudo, your professional work history started with another profession, poles apart from what you do today. Detail the transition from working as a food safety auditor up until this point. I have always loved fashion and photography, I used to draw up designs when I was a teen and have always been taking photos for fun, but during that time in Spain, it was difficult to make a living with my interests, so I decided to study ‘Food Science and Technology’ and ‘Engineering’. The stories of my aunty living in London in the 80’s inspired me to move here. In London, I took up some courses in styling and started to go to London’s Fashion Weeks’ to feel the atmosphere. I brought my camera along to take some photos for fun, I was super shy in the beginning. Soon after starting, a magazine from London contacted me through Instagram, asking if they could publish my images. I was surprised, this was when I realised I wanted to do this more, as many people were telling me my photos were good. The season after, I was covering London Fashion Week street style for Bullett magazine (NYC) and L’Officiel Manila. Using the holidays from my day job, I decided to go to Paris Fashion Week. Quite soon after that, a season later, I found myself working for Highsnobiety magazine, who I am still a regular contributor to. They believed in me since the very beginning, I will always be thankful for their support. It was becoming more challenging to use my holidays from my day job as a food auditor to travel to NYC, London and Paris. Quite soon into my career, I was confirmed to work with Highsnobiety on a regular basis to cover all the fashion weeks for them, this opportunity did not make me think twice about quitting my day job. How do you define backstage photography?

Backstage, you are shooting models, the incredible styling and makeup is already there for you to capture, sometimes, especially smaller brands, photographers can have more freedom to move around and you can create amazing editorial like images. I love to play with the resources available, be the most creative as possible and challenge myself. I usually shoot backstage without a flash as I like to play with shadows and the existing light on location, which sometimes can be a bit difficult, but always fun. Backstage, many people are working at the same time, with just a few minutes to have everything perfect, makeup, hair, styling, photographers, all this is happening, usually in a tiny space, which can also be challenging. When I’m selecting a photographer for backstage, I consider their skill, style and demeanour. How much importance is placed on these points of consideration?

I think it is very important, if you compare the same backstage coverage from various photographers, you can see the difference. In a small environment, with the same models, you cannot imagine the numerous styles of backstage coverage which could result from the shared situation, this is also the beautiful part of it. Some people shoot with flash, others use natural light, I like to shoot moody images, with strong shadows. Some photographers request the models to act natural, others want them to pose in a more traditional way, some others may ask them to smile, to be serious or moody. I love seeing the different perspectives and styles from photographers who are shooting the same subject and environment.

What personal rules do you follow when you're shooting in an environment where a million-and-one things are going on behind-the-scenes?

I do not follow rules; I just follow my eye, as you said, a million things are happening so you need to be ‘awake’ to capture the right moment, you have to be fast and alert. I love to shoot the models getting their last details done in the line-up, as this is more natural, I also play around with the varied backgrounds available to capture different angles and scenes, on the other hand, it��s great when the brands set up an area for first looks with a clear background and good lighting, the result looks like an editorial shot in a studio. You travel six months a year to shoot globally, besides London and Spain, where else in the world would you call home?

Definitely Tokyo, I can say this is the only city I feel very sad when leaving. I love the city, the best part is the people there, I am lucky to have a group of friends who take me out every day to the most amazing performances, parties and dinners, so the city definitely feels like home. I think the meaning of friendship is very similar to the Mediterranean one, so many times I feel more at home in Japan than in London. NYC is a bit the same, people are very friendly and they are open to meeting new people.

The experiences of shooting an editorial in Tokyo must be quite different to shooting in the United Kingdom or Europe. How does production and team coordination differ between countries or continents?

It is different, although recently with the spike in globalisation, access to social media and people often moving from place to place, the teams are made up of people from all over the world. I love shooting editorials in Tokyo, especially on location, Tokyo has so much to offer. I think production and coordination is similar to other countries due to the reason I stated before, the differences you can find are in the things which are external, for example, requesting permission to shoot, dealing with model agencies, lighting and rental places. The first barrier is the language, it is always helpful to work with a local to set up the shoot, also, the process in Tokyo can take a bit longer compared to London or NYC. What is the future of Fashion Week? Do you foresee any changes in the way it runs?

This is a very common conversation nowadays, everybody, brands, press, buyers are talking about it, trying new ways of showing collections, some doing ‘co-ed’ shows, as nowadays, it does not make much sense to do separate shows, also, some people are using technology to show their collections. Every season, more and more brands are moving to Paris, it feels condensed in the city. I still think the shows are the most beautiful experiences, the music, the lights, to view the clothes in full motion, digital does not feel the same to me, plus, we have to admit, we all love going to fashion week, the travel, dinners, and parties, are things which are hard not to love. If we think about the impact of fashion week, which occurs four times a year, in many cities, questions about whether it is sustainable do arise. I personally think this ultra fast fashion we have nowadays is going to have to slow down, we are constantly overexposed to new content every day. We are not able to fully appreciate it. There are some designers who have six collections a year, the question is, do we really need that many? The last few years you see people in the industry working towards sustainable production, the topic of ‘upcycling’ has become a common subject during fashion week.

The reality of a photographer trying to make their bread and butter from this kind of work, any insight you would like to share?

The last few years have seen a huge rise in people taking up photography, it has gotten to a point where people are working for free or for very little money, the pay doesn't even cover travel expenses, the acceptance of this is causing the business to go down. Season after season, I always have a bunch of publications asking me to ‘work’ for them, they want you to shoot five to six shows a day, by the end of our conversation, I discover there is no budget or they offer something so little which does not allow you to earn any money after expenses. The problem is that there are so many people out there available to shoot for free who are just looking for an Instagram tag from a big publication, hoping this would eventually make a living for them sometime in the future, usually, this is not the case, if you do not give yourself value, nobody else will. A couple of years ago, we created the “No Free Photos” movement, to try to fight this situation, if people continue to accept work free of charge or for a low rate, it is going to be impossible to better the situation for photographers.

Street style is no longer your focus, what encouraged the transition? Street style has changed a lot, before we used to have the ‘unwritten rules for street style’, we used to respect each other by allowing space for others to shoot, not jumping on somebody else’s photo. Respect is now lost, the number of photographers outside the shows had increased by 80%, it was becoming too difficult to capture clean and candid images. In the past, everything was more natural, with the rise of influencers, this natural element has been lost, the people who are paid to dress head to toe in one brand lowered my interest in street style. I also started gaining more jobs in editorial, campaign and backstage shoots, which is what I am currently focused on.

My first exposure to street style snaps was through The Face, i-D's 1980's 'Straight Up' and FRUiTS magazine. Who are your favourite photographers and/or coverage?

I think street style coverage like FRUiTS is very interesting, street style in Japan is still one of my favourites as people really dress like this on a day-to-day basis, they are very creative, they use a lot of vintage garments, transform them, customise them to create very individual, unique looks. It is probably one of the very few places that do not follow the masses in regards to fashion. I admire Nick Knight, Araki, Irving Penn, Diane Arbush and Tim Walker, they are all very different, these artists are a continuous source of inspiration for me, as well as movies.

Who is Eva.Al.Desnudo today? What are you focused on in the year 2020 and onwards?

I am now a more mature me at work, I know what I want, and what I do not want, I am working hard to achieve the direction I am currently aiming for, I plan for big changes this year. I am very focused on editorial and campaign work with brands and magazines, as well as workshops, like the one I had recently done for Apple, I will also continue doing backstage during all the global Fashion Weeks I attend.

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bagelpyjama19 · 4 years

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How to Grab the Very Best Portraits with the Android Cellphone

Any time you’re working with the most current Android phones, just like the Google Pixel 3 or Galaxy S9, in that case one of the better cameras available is right now inside your pocket. You are ready to start taking the wife and kids photos at special celebrations which will go on endlessly. Then again no matter the expertise of the advanced cell phone, just pointing and snapping shots at the backdrop is not the solution to grab lasting experiences. The same concepts affect cell phone digital photography because they do studio photography: just a little setting up will go far away. Take a beat just before punching the shutter key and use one or more of the following hints to help make your android-snapped snapshots seem their best. You have observed this before, but it bears repeating because it makes an significant difference: make sure the camera is still when you’re capturing a picture. I can’t let you know total number of times I’ve snapped and walked to stay with an organization or something of the sort, and then be annoyed later on by blurry results. Your Android mobile phone could be really fast at setting up the camera program (double-press the energy button of all to immediately fire it up), nonetheless it can’t make up the photo if you aren’t still while taking it. It is truly a good idea to enter the tradition of looking into what you currently snapped just before moving on. You would not necessarily need a tripod in this point in time to have a still image, though it really helps elicit the preferred outcomes. There are also cell phone camera brackets for standard-sized tripods if you’re currently tricked out in camera items. At the same time, professional equipment are notable for getting group snapshots. Leaning the smart phone against a wall structure or an object is also another trick of the trade every time you’re in a bind. How to Find the Ultimate Photography Editing Software Android apps are genuinely powerful enough to take care of processing raw picture formats generated by digital SLRs, so most of them can certainly deal with croping and editing a photo shot by a cell phone. Free apps like Snapseed for Android, Polarr 2, and Lightroom will charm to tinkerers and those who are the “family photographer.” For individuals who prefer the appearance of filtered photos, software like VSCO offer over 100 kinds of shaded flair, as well as a Color Story, which includes among the best filters for delivering to an Instagram viewers. Both apps are absolve to use, though they offer in-app buys to unlock some of the more popular aesthetics. If you’d rather not pay very much to make your photos looked aged, KujiCam is unrepentantly fun to make use of, as well as your digital photographs can look like they were used another decade. If you do mess up a snapshot and the occasion has went by, try using an app like TouchRetouch to go in and strip away an errant fingertip in the top spot. Do not ignore the editing and enhancing highlights your mobile phone does originally. Google Photos comes loaded on almost every flagship Android unit and will be offering quick editing equipment, including a handful of colored picture filters, a crop choice, and the capability to edit common elements like the color hue and publicity. (Google Photos offers automatic back-up for your photos and video clips, so make certain to take benefit of that, lest you lose all of your valuable experiences next time your mobile phone drowns in a pool.) LG And Samsung’s individual gallery apps equally include light editing and enhancing choices along similar lines. If you’re being bold, you may even like some of the digital “stickers” included on Samsung’s Galaxy and Note cellphones. I adore just a little sultry light. A few candles and a few dimmed lamps are the perfect method to transmission to your guests that your abode can be a relaxed one. This kind of lighting can be awful for pictures, nevertheless, and even though your phone’s manufacturer guaranteed you among the best low-light photos, attractive events are not the place to check out this pitch.

Do not be reluctant to incorporate a little bit of lighting in the event the scenario calls for it. You do not need to get anything extra; simply remove the very best on a close by lamp or other equivalent and place it in front of your topics, next to you if you are the shooter. Also, avoid overhead lighting. As much as recessed light looks great personally, it’s unflattering on camera. internet (There’s a justification why personalities wear sun shades each time they are indoors, where there’s frequently overhead light.) This same lightning technique helps diffuse these kinds of lighting situations and will make everybody in the photography look warm and alive. Your cell phone’s flash can do the very same thing in a bit, yet avoid using it as most of your light source, as it could make your get-together look washed out. Instead, you should utilize a close friend’s cell phone flashlight as a directional light of kind by flashing it at the angle you need people’s faces to end up being lit up. It can donate to some actually cool lighting special effects. Think you are one of the many blessed ones to obtain the Pixel 3’s Night Sight update? Be certain you are employing it when the situation requires it, for example inside museums or faintly-lit traditional buildings in the area. The functionality is coming soon to outdated Pixel cell phones and comes in the default Android video camera application, from the same display where you can swap between panorama setting and so on. On Samsung and LG phones, a comparable ability is buried in the Pro or Manual settings. In cases like this, you will have to do a bit of tweaking to the photo camera configurations to get the type of picture you want. You do not have to be a camera expert to gain access to this, because so many brands present live previews so that you can observe what the result can look like after a bit of finagling. For perfect outcomes, leave pretty much everything on Auto aside from the shutter speed, that’s where you will start to see the genuine difference in how much light camera can take in. Not to mention, don’t neglect to lean it against something while the shutter is open up or you will finish up with a fuzzy picture. Face setting is one of those defacto common features that now shows up incorporated with every modern smartphone. It’s like panoramic mode, except that you are required to make use of it more often because it gives photos a little of a high-tech look. You do not have to utilize it to shot photos of people, either. This performs just as well for family pets, flowers, or any other curious target. My favorite thing to accomplish with Portrait setting, maybe I am taking a selfie or taking a photo with cousins I haven’t visited in over a decade, is to use it next to a simplified background. A blank wall is best for headshots, even though a flowery wall adds a small amount of pizzazz. I really like the faux “studio appearance” of the sorts of photos, and you can get inspired utilizing the lamp-light technique in a tv room. If handled appropriately, the consequence of your Portrait setting could look as elegant and refined as though taken on school photo day, plus they can also be photographs deserving enough to put onto a bunch of christmas cards in the next year. Finally and certainly the most apparent piece of advice on any list right here, you should not forget to wipe your camera lens prior to taking a picture. Your android is entirely able at this stage in the game to take a high-resolution picture of the persons you like, nonetheless it won’t mean much if the camera glass is soiled with face grease and several other assorted debris. Even though you possess a case on with a photo camera covering, clean that section clean on the inside and out to make sure that your pictures continue to be untainted. Just in case your only camera is your Android cell phone, it is best to keep the microfiber towel or a pack of screen-cleaning wipes. Purchase them in bulk and store them almost everywhere: in virtually every backpack you utilize and every car you ride in. Photos are typically worth a 1000 words if they are crystal clear, and as long as you spent upwards of this much on a brand new phone, therefore it should probably produce photo frame-worthy photos.

#news

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shippingtheswann · 7 years

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MODEL BEHAVIOR A Captain Swan modern AU by @shippingtheswann for the @captainswanbigbang 2017 year!

SUMMARY: Emma is an up and coming model living in LA with her best friend Ruby. Killian is a star baseball player for the LA Dodgers. Their families are close - and they grew up together. However, what happens after not seeing each other for 6 years - when they are forced back into a situation that requires them to reconnect and explore what was once there.

RATING: Explicit

WARNING: There will be smut later in the story, some mention of violence, hard language, mention of pregnancy loss

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

First, I want to say sorry for some confusion. I have horrible pregnancy brain as I near the 36th week of my pregnancy. I thought Wednesday was Friday this week, so I accidentally posted the story early. My little one must have been just too excited and couldn’t wait for the story to go live. My normal posting will be on Fridays from here on out, except a few weeks right after my girl gets here. I can’t wait for everyone to read this.

I started this story right after I found out I was pregnant, so hopefully everything makes sense, as parts of the story were written during heavy morning sickness and very little sleep. I am due at the end of September, so be prepared for a few weeks of no updates while I tend to my new little one! I am so thankful to CSBB during this experience - as my third FF, it was amazing to get feedback and have so much support.

Special shout out to Monica @acaptainswaneternity - the artist with this story. I have loved everything she has done for me - so make sure to check her out! She made an amazing cover and the best image sets for each chapter. I will add in links when I get them to her own posts. Make sure to go and show her love.

Another huge shout out to Nicola @alocin209 who beta read everything and tried to keep me on target (she had to deal with a lot of random sentences as my pregnancy brain really went into effect). Without her, the story wouldn’t be the same!As always, reviews are wonderful and really help!

Can also be found on FF - Chapter One

For someone who seemed to have her whole life together, everything seemed to be falling to shit. She had been getting enough steady gigs lately that she was able to quit her job as a waitress and focus fully on her modeling. Being a model in LA wasn’t the easiest job in the world, mostly because you never actually had a steady paycheck. She loved modeling though. She loved the friends she made and she actually really enjoyed being in front of the camera. Yet even though she had a job she loved that was now bringing in a steady paycheck, her life was falling apart.

Just last night, she walked into her apartment, the one she shared with her boyfriend Neal, the one that she actually paid for, to find him in their bed with Tamara, another model they knew. The scene she had walked into made her physically ill. Never in her life did she ever expect to be betrayed in the way she was. She spent that night at Ruby and Lacey’s apartment, drinking multiple bottles of wine and deciding that in the morning, while Neal was at a shoot, she was going to get his shit out of her apartment and wash her hands clean of him.

However, now that she was packing up the apartment - well, throwing his crap in garbage bags and ignoring the hundreds of texts she was getting from him - she knew for a fact that if she didn’t get out of LA for a while, she was just going to forgive him and things would stay the same as they are now. She always had a feeling that Neal was cheating; they had been together for two years and throughout the whole relationship she never felt like he was being truthful with her. She never thought that she would physically catch him in the act. But even knowing what happened, she still knew that she would eventually go back to him. He was all she knew. She had to clear her head in order to get over him and over his shit.

“I can’t believe you are really going to go back home,” her best friend Ruby said from her closet. It was seriously the best part of her apartment. She would sleep in there if her bed wasn’t so comfortable.

“I have to get away from all this bullshit Rubes. If I don’t, then it will happen all over again.” Emma never thought she would be the one to stay with a cheater, but something inside of her told her she would forgive Neal if she didn’t give herself room to heal.

“Emma, you know you could just go to Palm Springs or San Diego. You don’t have to schlep all the way to Virginia to get away,” her friend pleaded.

“Mom’s been bugging me to come home. Plus Henry’s graduating from high school in a few days and I haven’t seen him since I moved out here. I wasn’t going to go - you know I hate home - but it really is the best place for me to be,” she replied.

She knew Ruby wouldn’t really understand it. Lacey would never cheat on her, not in a million years. Ruby would never know why Emma needed the distance she needed. Plus, maybe it was finally time to go home, to truly face what happened six years ago.

“Alright babe, but I’m gonna miss you!” Ruby smiled as she placed a few more outfits in Emma��s suitcase.

“What are you going to do while I’m gone?” Emma asked, trying to change the subject. She was done talking about Neal and her trip. She was done - period.

“Lacey and I have two gigs, but other than that I’ve picked up some shifts at the diner,” Ruby said, a secret look flashing across her face.

“Why? Does Granny need help?” Emma asked. Ruby’s grandma runs the diner they all used to work at. Emma didn’t really want to quit the diner, but at the same time, she didn’t want to be a waitress for the rest of her life; she wanted to focus on her career. Ruby had quit a few months before her. They had a few other friends who worked there, but none of them were as successful in their careers as Emma had become. She didn’t quite understand why Ruby would be needing to work again at the diner.

“No, I’m actually trying to save some extra money,” she said shyly. Ruby was never shy.

“Why? Ruby, what’s going on?” she asked. Ruby was never this coy about something.

“I am going to ask Lacey to marry me!” With Ruby’s confession, Emma’s jaw dropped. She had known Ruby and Lacey each for almost six years, since she moved out to LA. They had been a couple for four of those years, but Emma never thought she would see them get engaged and married. Their relationship was new for the both of them; they had only had boyfriends before. Emma could see the love they shared for each other though. It was just Ruby and Lacey had both said marriage wasn’t something they wanted in their lives.

“Oh my God?! Really?” Emma couldn’t hide the shock from her voice.

“Yes! I never thought I would feel this way. We’ve actually been talking about it for a while now. I just feel it’s time. There is no one else in the world for me.” Ruby’s voice cracked at her admission, the love pouring from her mouth.

Emma couldn’t help but start to cry at her friend’s love. She thought that one day that would be her and Neal. She thought that she had the same thing in her life. She was excited for her friend - 100% - but she was still really upset over what had happened. She knew it was petty, but she also knew Ruby would understand.

“Oh Emma, I’m sorry!” she apologized, even though no apology was needed.

“No, I’m sorry Ruby. I am so excited for you! You guys are the perfect couple! I’m just still angry over Neal. I mean, we were all just talking about when Neal and I would get engaged,” Emma cried - for the last time she swore to herself.

“Hey, if I ever see Neal again, I will crucify him. I literally want to take every knife and fork and just graze them over his body until he slowly bleeds to death. I hate him for what he has done to you!” her response got a well deserved laugh from Emma - finally brightening the mood she had been stuck in.

“God Ruby, you are way too descriptive!” Emma laughed.

“Granny always said I should have been a writer,” Ruby added cheerfully. “Come on, let’s get your perky ass packed so you don’t miss this flight. The sooner I drop your ass off, the sooner you’ll be back here.”

———-

Emma’s flight was leaving at eleven, which meant she needed to be there before nine. It didn’t leave her a lot of time to pack up Neal’s shit, pack her bag and drive to LAX from West Hollywood. All of this on a Thursday morning as well! It definitely wasn’t going to be easy but Emma felt good now that they were traveling in Ruby’s bright red mustang, top down and her hair floating in the wind.

Fate must be paying her back for the shitty night she had, because traffic was light and they made it to LAX with almost 30 minutes to spare.

“Alright so Lacey is meeting with the locksmith now. Neal’s shit is on the front porch so when you get back, all of this will be history,” Ruby reminded her as they unloaded Emma’s suitcase onto the curb of the terminal. Emma took her friend into a tight embrace.

“Thanks for everything Ruby,” Emma sighed. She wished that even though she was running from her problems again, she could bring her best friend along.

“Of course Em. Besides, this getaway will be good for you. Now, get your ass on that plane and have a good time. We both know you’re going to be back in three weeks, you have no choice!” her friend winked.

Ruby had spilled her plan for the proposal as they were speeding down the 405. She was going to propose to Lacey at Ruby’s grandmother’s house, a month from now. She already had the ring picked out - she just needed the down payment, which was why she was working those extra shifts. She told Lacey she was just helping Granny out since a girl quit. Ruby wanted everyone they were close with to be there and of course a huge party would follow.

Ruby and Lacey were so similar. Both girls were the quintessential party girls; they knew how to hold their liquor, knew how to dance til the early morning hours and knew how to have a good time. When they first got together, Emma remembered the whirlwind year that followed the start of their relationship. They were all out till the wee hours of the morning almost every weekend. However, in the last few years, things have calmed down. They were still both hilarious and filled with life though.

But there was something else that Emma had to come back to LA for. Emma was taking a huge loss in pay thanks to this extended trip home (she made a mental note to try and get some rent money out of Neal for this shit). She had a lot riding on her upcoming go-see two days after she gets back. It would be her biggest one yet. Ruby and Lacey were also going on the go-see. Emma couldn’t help but be nervous - this would make or break their careers - or at least it felt like that.

Emma had been a model for a few major companies over the past two years, but it was her newest contract with Michael Khors and Monique Lhuillier that had allowed her to take a break from waitressing. Now, she would have the opportunity to actually walk a runway. It was something that had alluded her in the past. Sure, it wasn’t during fashion week, and yes, it was for the Victoria’s Secret fashion show but, she still saw it as a step ahead for her career. She was pretty sure they would give Ruby the job over her, but she was still excited for the opportunity.

“I’ll see you in three weeks. You know I’ll be texting you every day, keeping you updated on my crazy family,” Emma replied, with nothing but the truth. Ruby lived for Emma’s crazy stories about her family, especially Emma’s eccentric (the only word Emma could nicely use) step-grandmother. If you could even call her that.

“Oh thank God you are seeing the Evil Queen! That woman is off the charts!” Ruby yelled, pulling Emma back in for another hug.

“Alright, alright. Let me go. Besides, I think you are about to be ticketed,” Emma said, looking at the cop who was walking towards the women. Ruby just flashed her a smile.

“Please, you know I could get out of that ticket easily!” she said in a suggestive tone, but returned to her car.

As she pulled away, Emma waved goodbye to her friend. At least one person in her life was happy.

———-

She always loved traveling, which was a major perk of modeling. Emma couldn’t explain the thrill she got when flying, but she loved being up in the air. The whole experience was amazing, from the check in, to the boarding, to the actual flying, Emma just loved traveling.

When she checked in, she did get a bit of a laugh from the face of the ticket agent. Yes, Emma was a model, and yes, she was good looking, but Emma prided herself on being a strong and independent woman. So when she lifted her giant suitcases onto the scale, the ticket agent was so surprised that Emma lifted the 70 pound bags with ease, especially when he had issues moving the baggage to the conveyor belt. The surprise on the attendant’s face was just what Emma needed to lift her spirits back up after Ruby drove off.

It took her about an hour to get through the TSA line, even with her pre-screen pass. She didn’t mind the wait. Instead of being angry at the lines and inconsistency of the TSA, she took the time to people watch. She spent a few minutes watching a family on their way back home from Disneyland. Emma really loved when parents allowed their children to continue to dress up as their favorite characters, even in public. There was a little girl with her hair in a long, thick braid, wearing her Rapunzel dress proudly while she walked around with her parents. It had been a long time since Emma had seen a set of parents as happy as the parents who were with the girl. They were beaming at their daughter who was singing “I see the light”.

She also watched a couple in a fight. It hurt at first to watch them, reminding her of what she had dealt with for years. She hadn’t wanted to think of Neal during this trip, yet watching the couple bitch over their friends involvement in their personal lives made Emma’s mind wander to her own relationship.

How could she have allowed herself to be in a situation like that for so long? She started out happy, enjoying getting to know Neal and just having fun. She wasn’t sure when things started to get bad, but all she remembered was one day she woke up and she wasn’t quite happy anymore. They had started fighting a lot, over stupid shit too. She remembered one distinctive fight, where Emma was pissed he wanted to wear sweatpants out to dinner with their friends. They spent the night apart, with a drink being thrown on her head and Neal calling her a bitch. Why they even stayed together after that was a mystery, but for another year she put up with his shit, until she had had enough. As she looked back to the couple while she moved through the line, she hoped they wouldn’t see the same fate her relationship had.

By the time she made it to her gate, she had an hour before boarding, so she got a bagel (a bit of a splurge on her end, since she mostly kept a strict diet) and decided to catch up on her newest book. She loved reading, but she especially loved reading those poorly written smut books. It was like putting her brain in a coma. She got peace from reading the plotless and poorly written words. To her, it was like watching horrible TV shows; she was able to just read it and forget everything that was going on in her world.

It worked, and before she knew it, they were calling first class boarding.

Normally, she wasn’t one to travel first class. When she traveled for work, they always put her in coach with the other lower models. There were only a few times that the companies would splurge for first class seats, but Emma didn’t care either way. She still got frequent flier miles, which she was using today to get home. Seeing as how she was traveling home, not exactly her first choice of destination, she might as well splurge and be nice and relaxed on the flight.

As she boarded, she noticed she was the only one seated in the area, which was an additional bonus. She could drown out everything around her, get lost in her book, and try not to have an anxiety attack about why she was going home.

“Ms. Nolan, would you like some champagne? Maybe a Mimosa before we take off?” the leggy stewardess asked as Emma took off her jacket and handed it to the woman. It was the one thing Emma constantly wished she had. She was tall, but not as tall as some other models, which made entering the runway world difficult. She would kill for long gorgeous legs like her stewardess had.

“Yes, please,” Emma replied, as she slid into her seat to watch the baggage carriers load up the luggage into the plane.

It had been six long years since Emma moved out to LA and left her life in DC behind. Six years since her heart had broken. Six years since she ran from her troubles.

———–

Six years ago

Graduation day was supposed to be one of the best days of her life. She thought it would be a day she would look back on years from now and remember all of the good times she had in high school. She wasn’t the most popular, but she had friends who meant the world to her and who supported her.

Her mother was excited to throw this party for her. Any chance for her mother to throw a party, she took. She swore that her mother was a queen stuck in a different time. The woman lived for parties and events like this. Their backyard had been transformed into a summer soiree. The ladies were required to wear giant hats and dresses and the men were to wear seersucker suits. Yes, this was supposed to be a party for Emma, but her mother had once again gone way over what Emma wanted.

Emma wasn’t so excited for the party, but she was excited for who was going to be attending the party. She looked over at a couple who were standing next to her mom and dad. Both of them tall with dark brown hair. Adelaide and Brennan Jones had moved into the house next to the Nolans when Emma was eight. They had two sons and one daughter. Their eldest son Liam was over near the swingset that the Nolans had put up for Emma’s younger brother. Their daughter, Aibhilin, was sitting down at a table eating the chicken her mother had catered for the event. However, Emma wasn’t excited to see them. She was excited to see their middle child.

Killian was 4 years older than Emma and had been away at college during Emma’s run at high school. She would be lying if she said she didn’t have a bit of a crush on the guy. He was gorgeous, but his heart and soul were what attracted Emma to him for the past few years.

Normally every Christmas Killian and Liam came home for, the two families would get together for a Christmas Eve meal and White Elephant game night. For the past three years, Emma had always sat next to Killian and he was always so interested in what she was doing and how her life was going. Conversation between them always flowed easily. Emma loved hearing his stories of college in the crazy city of Vegas. She was enthralled with his tales of college ball and his team’s road to victory at the previous year’s college World Series. Emma remembered the year before when her dad gave Killian the cold shoulder a bit because his team had beaten her dad’s team in the finals by one run in overtime.

This year though, Killian was unable to come home for Christmas. It gutted her to see the seat normally reserved for him empty next to her. Yet, she was relieved when she got a message from him on AIM a few days later apologizing for missing what he called “one of the best things about coming home”. He didn’t explain why he wasn’t able to come home, just that he missed her and he hoped her year was going well. He asked about her plans for after graduation and asked how Henry was doing. They spent about 3 hours that night just talking about things they would have talked about at dinner and it was amazing.

They had spent the past five months having conversations every other day; just talking about anything and everything. He helped her with college applications and she helped him write his final for his Shakespeare class. She knew he was surprised when she gave him insight into A Midsummer Night’s Dream; she could tell even though they were miles apart. Their conversations started innocent at first, but about a month in, they turned a bit flirty.

Killian would ask her about her love life and when she said she didn’t have anyone special, he said something that had Emma thinking. A friend wouldn’t just tell another friend (one who grew up next door to you) that you deserved someone who would devote their life to you, someone that knew how amazing you were. It was during that conversation that things began to change, at least on her end. However, she didn’t think it was one sided. Whenever she flirted, he flirted back.

About two weeks ago, he dropped the bomb. He was actually going to be coming home for her graduation. He almost didn’t get the weekend off, since his team was in the World Series again and it was during the semifinals, but the schedule worked out so that he was able to take a two day trip home to see everyone. He had some big news he had to tell her and she had been on pins and needles ever since.

Her nerves didn’t really get the best of her until that day and her friends took notice. Of course they already knew a bit of what was happening, but they didn’t really understand how Emma had fallen in love with a guy who lived thousands of miles away, while only talking over the internet.

“Emma, come on, we are going to sneak over to the Jones’ yard and do some shots,” her friend Lily whispered to her.

“You know I can’t leave,” Emma retorted. Yes, she wanted to have a good time with her friends, but she didn’t want to miss Killian’s arrival. He had told her two days ago he would arrive around noon, but it was now 12:30 and Emma was getting worried.

“Come on Swan, he isn’t showing up,” she heard Lily’s boyfriend Victor say. She hated it when he used her nickname her friends gave her when she was young. She had always thought that name was reserved for her closest friends and Victor was not one of them. He was just some fuck boy that Lily was screwing around with until she left for college.

“Shut up Victor,” she said under her breath.

“Emma, he isn’t going to show up in the two minutes we take to sneak over and do a few shots,” Lily pleaded.

Emma looked at her friend, who had been with her since they were young. Lily knew Killian, knew of Emma’s crush on him, but she didn’t know that Emma was head over heels for Killian, didn’t know that Killian had something to tell her. And even though Emma wanted to stay in her yard, with her eyes trained on the backdoor, she decided that maybe if she didn’t focus on Killian, he would show up.

It’s like when you are at a restaurant. If someone gets up to go to the bathroom, your food will come quicker. However, if everyone waits at the table and stares at the waitress, the food seems to take forever to come.

So off they snuck into the Jones’ backyard to have some shots. Emma wasn’t really a drinker, but she found herself drinking more when Lily was around. It started out small enough, a drink before the homecoming dance the previous year, a few drinks at a party after junior prom, but this year the drinking with her friends had been taken to a whole new level. Normally, Emma didn’t really participate, willing to be the DD while everyone else got shitfaced, but today was different. Today, maybe she needed the liquid luck.

Lily was right - they were only gone a few minutes and Emma was hopeful that Killian would be waiting in the yard when they got back. She was heartbroken to find out he still wasn’t there.

The rest of the party went in similar fashion. Emma waited and waited for Killian to show up. About once an hour Lily begged Emma to come and have another drink. She again said she didn’t want to miss him, but by 4, she realized something. He wasn’t coming. It was in that moment that she said fuck it and decided to get drunk. It was the first time Emma actually got drunk and it was in the tree house Killian used to play in as a child.

If her parents knew she was drunk, they didn’t say anything. But that didn’t stop her mother from patronizing Emma every chance she got. “Emma you really should mingle with your guests”, “Emma, stop sitting around and smile”, “Oh Emma is moving to Los Angeles at the end of the week, she is going to study at UCLA.” She loved how her mother completely ignored her real reason for moving; to pursue her dream of a modeling career. But to her mother, modeling was a silly hobby. The only way her parents would help her move was if Emma also enrolled in college. At least her father kept trying to get her mother off her back.

If anyone knew anything, they didn’t say it. Instead, most of the party guests just ignored Emma and her friends. She knew Lily was trying to lighten her mood, but Victor was just being an ass. By 6 Emma was done, done with the life she was living, done with her mother’s condescending tone, done with her friends, and done with Killian Jones.

As she entered her packed room though, she knew she wasn’t really done with Killian. He had hurt her by not showing up. He didn’t call her to tell her he would be absent from the party. However, maybe he did try to message her. Her computer was thankfully still unpacked, so she turned her away message off and took a look at their running messages.

Her heart dropped when she saw that there was nothing. He hadn’t cared at all. Sure, the thought passed through her mind that something had happened to him, but his parents didn’t seem concerned. Truthfully, it didn’t matter to her in that drunken filled moment. All that mattered was he had promised her that he would be there and he had broken that promise.

She started typing out the message. The final message she would ever send to him.

“Jones, why aren’t you here? Why didn’t you show up? What the fuck is going on? You promised me you would be here, promised that I would have some support today, yet you couldn’t bother to show up. How dare you play with me like this. Screw you asshat, don’t bother talking to me ever again.”

She hit send before she could talk herself out of it. She ended their friendship in that moment, unwilling to hear any apology he had to offer. She promised herself in that moment that never again in her life would she allow herself to feel this heartbroken again.

———-

She hadn’t thought about that moment in a long time, but the mimosa she had just chugged forced her to relive that horrible day six years ago. She had allowed herself to feel something for someone and that person broke her heart. It took her four years to rebuild herself after that devastating day. Sure, she hadn’t been in a real relationship and sure, Killian wasn’t her boyfriend, but she felt so betrayed that day. She had allowed herself to depend on him, allowed herself to believe in him and all it brought her was disappointment.

And now, here she was again, running away when something bad happened. Neal had played with her heart and emotions just as Killian had. Neal had definitely done worse by sleeping with a whore, but it still reminded her of the pain she felt with Killian.

She also knew it was stupid for her to even compare the two. Killian had never really played her, at least not truly. But he never did reach out to her again, never tried to apologize. She had always felt really stupid for even hating Killian the way she did, but he had become her best friend in a matter of months, then suddenly dropped off the face of the Earth. Didn’t she have the right to be pissed, to be heartbroken, to hate the jackass that made her question the other relationships she had in her life?

Thankfully, the stewardess brought her another mimosa. At least she was pretty sure Killian wouldn’t be home for the summer. Her mother did let it slip once last year during their mandatory monthly phone call that Killian hadn’t been home since that last Christmas meal they all shared together.

Normally, Emma steered the conversation with her mother away from the going ons at home to what Emma was doing, even if it meant that Emma had to hear the disappointment in her mother’s voice about Emma’s job choices. As long as she didn’t have to hear about the Jones family, she didn’t care.

The boarding procedure had passed and the stewardesses were beginning to close the cabin door when she heard someone yell out “Wait!”

For the first time since getting on the plane, Emma actually watched what unfolded in front of her. A man rushed aboard the plane, sunglasses and a baseball cap covering his face. He was dressed in dark washed jeans and a leather jacket, which seemed stupid considering the LA heat. The hat was of course the local team’s hat, almost everyone wore one once in their life if they lived there. He handed his ticket to the attendant who motioned him to to sit down across the aisle from Emma.

Shit, she thought to herself, she was hoping to be alone up here and now someone else was joining. He was across the other side of the plane but still, she didn’t want to have a discussion with some stranger on a plane.

The man shrugged out of his jacket, showing off an amazing set of arms in a dark t-shirt and sat down next to the window. His hat and glasses were firmly attached to his face.

Looking at his profile, Emma suddenly felt different. It was like she knew him from somewhere. Maybe she modeled with him once, maybe he had been a customer at the diner. She couldn’t really tell or place him. But something in Emma’s gut was telling her that she knew the man in the glasses.

The stewardess made one more round as the plane backed away from the gate. It was as the woman was passing by her fellow first class flyer that she was finally allowed to determine where she knew him.

“Mr. Jones, is there anything I could get you?” the stewardess asked, prompting the man to remove his glasses and hat, revealing the man she hadn’t laid eyes on in over 7 years.

#CSBB #Captain Swan Big Bang #Captain Swan #captain swan fan fiction #Captain Swan FF #CS FF

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nikodemar11 · 5 years

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iPhone Xr Review:

Design: It follows the polarising notched design of the iPhone X which some people love and some people hate. Personally, i am indifferent to the notch as the overall screen real estate is an improvement over the Note 8 I am upgrading from.

Materials: The screen made of the most shatter-resistant glass on a smartphone according to Apple. One thing to keep in mind is that altering the constitution of glass to make it more shatter-resistant will inherently make it less scratch resistant due to the natural property of glass. I was at the apple stores checking out the iPhones the other day and noticed that they had very apparent micro scratches that we very noticable when the screen was turned off. Seeing how easily the screen is scratched even as a display model that just sits in the store, this is definitely something to keep in mind. I would recommend putting on a screen protector first thing when you get the phone. What i personally use is the spigen glas.tr slim hd which provides an oleophobic coating and good clarity, and most of all protects your phone from scratches.

The glass back of the iPhone Xr is another story. It is not made of the same glass as the screen as you would expect. Rather, it is made of another type of glass which is slightly less shatter-resistant but very good quality nonetheless.

The body is made of industrial grade aluminium 9000 series; the same used on airplanes. This makes it lighter than the stainless steel on the iPhone Xs. On the aesthetic level, this means that the matte finish looks more similar to past iPhones, giving the customers a sense of familiarity. Making the body out of aluminium enabled Apple to more closely colour match it with the back colour. I have to say, they did a really good job. It's not something you see on other top android phones that have colourful options but their stainless stell sides remain silver

Colour Options: This year, the iPhone Xr was announced in 6 colours with 4 of these colours coming in playful shades of coral, blue, yellow and product(red). Unarguably a welcome switch up from the previous timeless but mundane and muted colour choices.

Display: Overall a very good IPS LCD. It is commendable that apple was able to shape the display in such a way only previously possible with OLED.

When comparing next to a OLED, the Xr's display looks less saturated and more washed out, with blacks not being as deep and colour seeming to bleed out when on a predominantly white page. Although it has the smallest colour gamut compared to its competitors and its family line, is is a more accurate at displaying colours. This is what smartphone companies should be focusing on. Producing more colour accurate displays. Not increasing the colour gamut which boosts saturation to unnatural levels and goes aginst what the app creator intended the colours to look like.

The screen has a brightness of 598 nits and sits way above that of the Pixel 3 XL at 362 nits, falling short by a couple of nits from the iPhone Xs at 606 nits and Note 9 at 604nits. I had no trouble reading it under direct sunlight and it was always bright enough

The display is very responsive thanks to its 120hz touch sample rate although its screen is still has a 60hz refresh rate. This makes tapping an app instantaneous as it is able to process the input faster.

The colour shifting and brightness of the off-axis display are expected as it is still an LCD display.

My only real gripe about the display is its resolution. More specifically, its ppi which stands at 326. Although not a dealbreaker, while individual pixels are not visible on day-to-day use, the ppi cause smaller fonts to appear slightly blurrier. It would be appreciated if the ppii was at least 400 which is what the iPhone 8 plus has.

Battery: Have not gotten the chance to test it out yet. But generally, apple makes the first few percentage of battery drop very slowly to create the illusion of a longer battery life initially which is something that can be criticized about apple.

Processor: The iPhone Xr is equipped with the industry leading and revolutionary A13 Bionic chip. It blazes through everyday tasks like opening apps and scrolling through browsers. Although it may be on par with the top android phones in terms of opening up daily apps like social media, where the CPU and GPU prowess really shines in is the game department. It opens up graphic intensive games way ahead of other top android phones like the Samsung Note 9 and Google Pixel 3. Using PUBG as an exmple to demonstrate the chips speed and power, the game is able to load of almost 10 seconds faster on the iPhone than its competitors. Additionally, the highest in-game settings are available with extreme frame rate being enabled while HDR is on, which is definitely no mere feat; something its android counterparts fall short at. To say the least, there is no worry about doing anything on this phone including buttery smooth and fluid scrolling of the OS as its abilities are unrivalled.

Camera: Hands down one of the most important features in any smartphone is the camera. The iPhone Xr is equipped with a single rear shooting camera identical to that on the iPhone Xs, not a dual camera lens set up; and it is no slouch. Being up there as one of the best smartphone cameras, i have no qualms about the image quality produced from this smartphone. Daytime pictures turn out bright, clear and sharp and are usually well-exposed thanks to smart-HDR. Nightime is a where the camera falls short. It has an f/1.8 aperture so images don't turn out that bright. On top of that, night mode is lacking which does not help at all. Overall an excellent camera that produces excellent images.

Edit: The plastic camera flash is actually under the back glass and not exposed to the outside like on the new iPhone 11 and 11 pro line up. A thumbs up from me as it protects the camera flash lens which is much softer than glass and more prone to flash. This is despite

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alivingfire · 7 years

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Can you make a fic rec where Harry is the one who fuck up? Please? I haven't read many fics (I joined the fandom in September) but the ones I did its mostly Louis doing something wrong, and that doesn't sit well with me, I feel like that's why I haven't read many fics here yet. Do you know some good ones? One fic I liked a lot was Into The Blue so something like that should be fine.

how about we try something else, is that okay? because it’s totally understandable to get tired of fics where louis fucks up, just like it’s totally understandable to get tired of fics where harry fucks up. some of my favorite fics are the ones where the drama isn’t in the relationship, it’s the situation or other characters or something where it can be harry and louis vs. the world, so i’ll give you some of those and we’ll see if you prefer that!

non-relationship drama fics:

→ Here in the Afterglow“If you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have many friends,” Louis whispers, the blossom of insecurity in his stomach unfurling and clawing its way into his throat.

Harry is silent for a long time, and then he speaks; a soft, slow uncurl that makes Louis’ stomach shake. “I’ll be your friend.”

1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

→ Cameras FlashingWith his breakout single platinum three times over and his second album still selling out in stores around the world, Louis Tomlinson has made it to the top. However, his position as Pop Heartthrob of the Decade is threatened by the edgier, more artistic Zayn, who happens to be releasing an album a week after Louis’ upcoming third. Louis needs something groundbreaking- scandalous, even- to push past him in the charts. Much to Louis’ dismay, his PR team calls in The Sexpert.

Consulting with PR firm Shady, Lane and Associates pays the bills so that Harry Styles can spend his down time doing what he really loves: poring over data. On weekends and late into the evenings, he researches gender, presentation, and sexual orientation, analysing the longitudinal study that is his father’s life’s work. That is, until his newest client, the popstar with the fascinating secret, drags him off his couch and frighteningly close to the spotlight.

As the album’s release date approaches, will Tomlinson and Styles be able to pull off the most risky PR scheme of the millennium and beat Zayn in sales or will the heat of their feelings for each other compromise everything?

→ the impossible nowA wish on Christmas Eve sends Louis to an alternate dimension where Harry is a member of One Direction.

→ They Never Quite LeaveWhen Liam Payne inherited his great aunt's mansion, he never expected it to be haunted. With the help of famous ghost hunters Harry and Niall, Liam is hoping to evict the ghost and sell the house once and for all.

There's just one problem: Louis has been in that house for a hundred years, and he doesn't much feel like leaving.

→ I No Longer Feel I Have to be James DeanThe tale of how Harry married Louis, the bartender that's nursing his sorrows, three days after getting dumped by his fiance.

→ Run Like the DevilHarry stops pouting, but his frown is still fixed in place. “Are you sure?” he asks. “You know it’s your soul you’re signing away.” He sounds…sad? No, that’s not right, but there’s something.

Christ. This is the most incompetent demon Louis’ ever met. If he hadn’t seen the red of his eyes he wouldn’t believe he was a demon at all. How’d he get this job if he isn’t trying to convince Louis to deal? Or is it just another trick? A ploy for sympathy?

“I’m sure,” Louis says. “Come over here and kiss me.”

*Supernatural AU. Louis hunts demons; Harry's the strangest demon he's ever met, and he keeps fucking meeting him.

→ break open the skyBeing a werewolf isn't always easy. Especially if you have no idea what you're doing.

→ Long Before We Both Thought the Same Thing“So are you admitting you love Harry yet?”

Louis pauses in the middle of his story about the movie he and Harry went to see last night to raise an incredulous eyebrow. “What are you on about? Of course I love Harry.”

Has Zayn lost his mind? He’s been friends with Louis for nearly seven years and Harry for six, under what circumstances did it appear like they didn’t love each other?

“Okay, let me rephrase,” Zayn says, an amused little quirk to his mouth like he knows something Louis doesn’t. “Are you admitting you’re in love with Harry yet?”

Louis stares at him in bewilderment, mouth working as he tries to form a response. “I…what?”

Or, Louis maybe, sort of realises he's in love with his best friend of almost twenty years and he maybe, sort of thinks that said best friend could love him back? A prequel to If You Asked Me If You Love Him (I'd Lie).

→ Coax the ColdEngland, 1897.

English Professor Louis Tomlinson’s passion for the occult has been a source of mockery and derision for most of his life. When he hears whispers of a travelling freak show newly established in London claiming the existence of a monstrous sea hybrid, half-man, half-fish, Louis sees it as his ticket to credibility amongst his peers. The summer he spends undercover working on the show, however, gives him much more than that.

→ wings to break your fall“I’m glad you like my clothes,” Harry whispers, sliding his arms further along the couch until he’s speaking directly into Louis’ ear. “Would you like me to take them off?”

or: strip club AU. Harry’s work and family are keeping him busy. He really isn’t looking for a relationship, doesn’t want one. He just wants Louis. Problem is, Louis has other plans.

→ domestic monsters seriesHarry is a witch from a long line of power, an ancient line that’s one of the strongest left alive in their hemisphere. He can cast spells without a word if need be, fly on a broomstick, and has a black cat (a kitten, really) named Felix that is his animal familiar. He can shape galaxies in his cupped hands and can destroy them just as easily. He can choose exactly how to use his power, for encouragement and support, or for more nefarious causes if he wishes to.

And as fate would have it, he’s scared of haunted houses.

(Harry is a witch who carries around a stuffed pumpkin, Louis is a vampire with too much time on his hands, and their best mates Zayn & Niall aren't exactly what they seem...)

→ I would name the stars for you (I would take you there)"Harry Styles is a poem waiting to happen, Louis thinks, eyes tracing peach flesh and the undercurrent of blue veins. He wants to write him all down, to capture the image of green eyes and red lips and skinny wrists... dark ink spilled across the page."

Or a vaguely Notting Hill-like AU (or that made for TV Disney movie Starstruck if you’ve seen it… no? Just me?) starring popstar!Harry and bookkeeper/soulful poet!Louis; and including guest appearances by Fate, a wise elderly aristocrat, and lots and lots of pining.

→ Two Hearts Drawn TogetherLouis Tomlinson is 1/3 of a world-famous boy band. Harry Styles is a deaf university student. When they meet each other at a book signing, they experience an instant connection. They soon discover, however, that bridging the divide of their differences is easier said than done.

→ We Made These Memories For OurselvesBreath held, Harry squints his eyes open and focuses on the first stick. A blue line. Harry breathes out an unsteady breath. He’s pretty sure he read that one blue line is a negative, but he fishes the box from the bottom of the pile just to make sure.

“Negative,” he confirms, voice echoing around the small room. “Next.”

Now that he’s feeling a little less shaky, he scans the rest of the tests at once, is met with a headache-inducing mixture of pink plus signs and blue double lines. His heart rate picks up until it’s pounding triple-time in the base of his throat and the pit of his stomach, thundering in his ears and throbbing in his temples. He flips over the rest of the boxes slowly, but he knows what they’re going to say before he even looks.

[or, Louis is a footballer, Harry owns a bakery, and they're having a baby.]

→ FugueHarry falls asleep a 17 year-old who lives in Cheshire and is probably rockstar Louis Tomlinson's biggest fan. He wakes up 24 with a wedding ring on his finger, two kids, and Louis Tomlinson attempting to wake him up with a blow job. The doctor calls it organic retrograde amnesia, says he might never get back the last seven years of his life. The only thing that feels the same is how he feels when Louis touches him, and maybe that's enough to make him fall in love all over again.

→ The Dead of JulyBeing an Avenger means continuing to be Captain America and smiling and being honorable for the public and Harry does his best. But it doesn’t give him time to figure out who he is supposed to be once he takes off his uniform and puts the shield to the side. Just being Harry had always involved Louis, and Harry fears he doesn’t know how to exist without him.

or: Harry is Captain America, and Louis’ been dead for 70 years.

→ Hold Me CloserLouis Tomlinson is one of the most promising dancers of the English National Ballet, on track to become the youngest principal dancer in the company's history. That is, until forces conspire to significantly complicate his life, including: a surprise ballet, an unfairly attractive guest choreographer, and being pushed into a rivalry with his best mate. Featuring lots of wine, dancing, pining, and a happy ending.

→ Celebrity DiscountLouis fell for Prince Harry when he was ten and Harry was eight and peeked behind the Queen’s elegant gown for his first public appearance—a shy smile and a mess of curls. He fell for him when he caught Lottie putting up a magazine cover of Harry on her wall and all she had to say for herself was, “He’s such a good person, yeah?” and, yeah. He fell for him when Harry gracefully accepted his demotion. He fell for him when Harry came out and stayed out.

#I'VE NEVER READ THE PARENTHESES ON THE BOOKSHOP AU #IT'S BASED ON DANIELLE'S MOVIE hjakfshasdkflsah kfdhskfl hadsfkhasdlf IRONY IS FUN #anyway let me know if you like these!#relationship drama is fun sometimes but other times it's so nice to see HL vs. the world #fic rec #anonymous #rachel talks

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technologyreviewsgadgets · 6 years

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New Post Why Vivo Nex is the Best & Most Futuristic Smartphone of 2018! has been published on http://www.reviewcenter.in/7909/why-vivo-nex-is-the-best-futuristic-smartphone-of-2018/

Why Vivo Nex is the Best & Most Futuristic Smartphone of 2018!

Vivo is considered a brand by most people as a company that makes smartphones focused on selfies only. In India, one after another, there have been launches of new smartphones from Vivo and all of them had this claim of ‘selfies’. While many people happily pay for the devices, some object because the phones have relatively less powerful hardware and are priced higher than many other phones with similar or better hardware. But, in the last few years, Vivo was developing a lot of this and finally, the hard work paid off in the form of Vivo NEX. Vivo NEX is a complete trendsetter and a pioneer device which will set the bars higher for even brands like Apple or Samsung. I was lucky enough to use the phone for quite some time and today I will tell you about it and for me, it is the most futuristic smartphone right now in the middle of 2018.

This time, Vivo has not done a lot of cost-cutting either have bottlenecked the Vivo NEX, keeping in mind that this is the time they have to bring a change. Powered by the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor, coupled with 8GB of RAM, with dual rear camera setup and the beautiful design, the Vivo NEX is close the being one of the most beautiful phones out there that you would want to buy.

The display is something which is the reason why Vivo has made so many changes in design, moving away from general smartphone design and philosophies. The Vivo Nex sports a massive 6.59-inch Full HD+ AMOLED panel which is packed in a body that hardly larger than that of a Pixel 2 XL. The bezels are as thin a 1.71 mm on the sides and good news for notch haters – There is no notch; instead there is a very thin 2mm bezel on top. So, how does the front camera work? We will talk about it a bit later. But overall, the display is beautiful to look at as there are deep blacks, well-saturated colors and good viewing angles. Pixel density isn’t at the higher point on Vivo NEX at 338ppi, but most people might not even realize this!

The display is the main reason, why the Vivo NEX has a different design. As mentioned, there are very small bezels and the front of the phone looks all-display with no sign of front-facing camera, speaker or fingerprint scanner. On the back also, you can’t find the fingerprint scanner. So, here’s where Vivo has truly proved their innovation.

Catching the sunset with the #Vivo #Nex #vivonex #camera #photooftheday #smartphone #phonephotography #sunset #GuidingTech #Monday #cooltech #cool😎

A post shared by Guiding Tech (@guidingtech) on Jul 29, 2018 at 10:13pm PDT

Vivo has put the front-facing camera inside the phone that is placed in a chassis, that is movable using a small motor and whenever I switched to the front facing camera, that particular block will pop up from the top edge of the device and well it’s definitely faster than the front-facing camera of Mi Mix.

The only thing I am going to do today with @vivo_india Nex 🤣🤣 Camera popup ON and OFF! #NexOrNever

A post shared by Ankit Chugh (@luckyankit) on Jul 12, 2018 at 4:10am PDT

I say this based on my experiences with both the devices as with Mi Mix, I would always have to flip the phone upside down to take a selfie which definitely takes longer than this front camera, popping out of Vivo NEX. The back of the phone has just the dual camera setup and the flash, and so the fingerprint scanner is actually placed under the display. This is a revolutionary technology that only Vivo has showcased in a consumer product till now.

I never use to upload any of my unboxing on the instagram post (except stories) But this futuristic technology made me do it. The true bezel less phone with a popping up camera and in-display fingerprint. Say hello to the future. Go check this out Link : https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07F6CQRKG?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf #vivo #nex #vivonex

A post shared by ShahRukh ♠️ (@shah_rukh_5) on Jul 29, 2018 at 6:51am PDT

The fingerprint scanner area lights up to read the fingerprint and well, though it’s not the fastest one when compared to other phones, I wouldn’t complain or whine about it on social media, because this is the first of its kind and it has definitely got the SWAG you want, when you want to go in fight with a Samsung or Apple fan and show some of the futuristic features it packs!

Also Read: Vivo Reveals AI-Powered Super HDR

In the audio department also, there are changes made solely for that giant display. Instead of a typical smartphone speaker there is a vibration motor that can transmit sound through the entire display and well it was fun to use the device during calls, just accept the call and place your ear anywhere on the display to hear the person’s voice from the other side. This trick works perfectly. For music and entertainment needs, there is a bottom-firing speaker that is loud enough with a lot of bass (I mean it). On Vivo NEX, there is a headphone jack (Feeling sorry for iPhone fans) and the combination of the V1 chip and built-in DAC ensured great audio experience whenever I plugged in a good pair of headphones.

Performance

I sometimes complain about performance issues while gaming on some of the phones made by the same company but that’s not the case with this one. Throw anything at it and it will handle everything without lags or hiccups! Snapdragon 845 with Adreno 630 GPU and 8GB RAM work together to provide a great experience. There is almost nothing to talk about or I couldn’t just find a flaw in the performance, plus there are no heating issues.

Camera

Vivo NEX has a dual camera setup on the back and though it is not able to beat the Pixel 2 XL yet, I was a bit surprised. Vivo has sprinkled some AI features in the camera app. There are a few modes that depend on the AI to tweak the photos – AI beauty mode, AI scene detection, AI HDR and AI Filters.

The main highlights are definitely the AI scene detection and AI HDR. The main camera on Vivo NEX is a 12MP f/1.8 sensor with 1.4-micron pixels and there is a 5MP f/2.4 lens with both OIS and EIS, which is damn good in my opinion because hardware dependant stabilization (OIS) mixed with EIS always makes sure that the videos recorded with the phone are jitter and shake free. The camera is capable of recording 4K videos at 30fps, 240fps slow-mo at 1080p. The AI Scene Detection is great for people like who like well-saturated shots as I have seen that Vivo NEX automatically bumps up the saturation levels in landscape and macro shots, however, sometimes it bumps up the bright colors a little more than the desired level.

Outdoor

Inside a mall

Just random image to check details in the image

Low light image, clicked around at 11 pm

Another Outdoor

The daylight shots are really good – The photos have a lot of detail and sharpness, highlights and shadows. Even in low light, the Vivo NEX takes some nice shots, eliminating noise but maintaining sharpness. The AI HDR on Vivo NEX is helpful in most situations but where there is a very sharp boundary between the light and the dark, the photos seemed to be a bit overexposed.

Blur Portrait

Selfie

The front-facing camera is also a nice treat for selfie lovers offering portrait mode with a single lens. The selfies taken with the front-facing camera are good and due to HDR, the photos look perfectly balanced but not as sharp as the photos taken using the rear camera. Probably this is due to the softening done by the AI Beauty. However, given that it’s Vivo’s first attempt in many experimental features, there are very few things to complain about.

Battery

Also, with a 4000mAh battery and a Super AMOLED screen, it has an outstanding battery life. The fast charger supplied with the device is quick enough to top up the phone within half an hour and get going.

What do I think about it?

I wouldn’t like to talk much about price and money factors here. There are phones like OnePlus 6 or Zenfone 5Z which also have top-notch hardware and features, but are priced way lower. But I’m talking just about innovation and futuristic features, which Vivo NEX truly packs inside it and offers a completely different experience to anyone who uses the phone for the first time. The camera on the phone is great, the performance is buttery smooth and for that pop-up selfie camera and in-display fingerprint scanner, it is worth the extra money a user looking for innovation and a stunning design pays to the brand.

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