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hanniiesuckle17 · 4 years

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Watching the Bay

A/n: lowkey a baywatch au........really just wanted to write 3RACHA as Baywatch.......guys there is so much jisung on my m.list........oh well I'm whipped. enjoy lots of shirtless jisung. (not thoroughly edited. I will come back and edit it) ALSO THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR 2K FOLLOWERS WTFFF!!!!!

Tag List: @distrikt9 @mini-meanhoe @poeticallyspaghetti @hanstagrams @desertofdessert @yangomangos @jisungsjheekies @straycozy @hoes4hoseok @jeonqqin @geminirules @crscendoforsung @mrsunshine999 @multi-net (Tag List is Open!) (Some are specifically for this fic tho lol)

Warnings: cussing, shirtless 3RACHA, 18+ themes/suggestive, drugs, violence

Word Count: 14.1K

Summary: Based on the hit Tv show and movie Baywatch. Y/n and her friends Jeongin and Hyunjin have been coming to Cheonsa Beach every summer since they met. This summer the steamy lifeguard Y/n has had a crush on convinces them to join the watch. As the new guards of the Baywatch join the force their lives are skyrocketed into a world of chaos, crime, sex, and lots of good ol’ beach vibes.

Genre: romance, minor crack, comedy, lil bit of angst, Baywatch!au, lifeguard!au, college!au?

❖

Three years. Every summer I would come back to this same beach and spend the long hot days on the sand with my two best friends. This summer would be no different. Hyunjin, Jeongin, and I were about to be college sophomores and we were on top of the world. Well, two of us were anyway.

“Yoo-hoo. Head out of the clouds, Y/n.” Hyunjin said, waving his hand in front of my face. Shaking my head I brought myself out of the dreamy summer trance I was in. Hyunjin took the basket from hands and set down all our beach stuff.

“Sorry, just dazed off for a second.”

“Well, Ms. Space Cadet, you wanna help us set up, or are you just gonna stand there?” Hyunjin elbowed me, with a smirk. Scoffing, I picked up the beach chair and unfolded it before laying out the towels on the sand.

“Uhhh...guys! A little help here!”

Turning around we saw Jeongin struggling to carry a huge pile of stuff from my beat-up old blue jeep. Scurrying over, I lightened my other best friend’s load. “Come on, guys! We have tanning to do!” Hyunjin called already stripping himself of his shirt.

“More like burns to be received,” Jeongin said to me with a smile. Laughing the two of us joined Hyunjin after finishing out beach set up. Soft tunes played from the speaker Hyunjin brought as the three of us lounged on beach towels in the sun. Jeongin lay on his back, white sunglasses shielding him from the sun. Hyunjin and I lay on our stomachs, feeling the rays on our backs.

“Guard alert,” Hyunjin said, causing all three of our heads to pop up. “Damn...” He whispered under his breath. Like he said, coming our direction down the waterline were three of Cheonsa Beach’s finest lifeguards. And quite frankly...all three were hotter than the sun itself.

I pushed my shades down my nose and watched as the three boys- no...three men ran down the beach. Hyunjin did the same.

First on the closest side, Seo Changbin. The shortest of the group, but he was not lacking in form. The boy was built like He-Man on steroids, with a smile that could melt any strong resolved woman- or man. There were rumors he played for both teams.

Falling center was Bang Chan, the oldest of the trio. His light blonde hair bounced with each step. He was not only the kindest man you would ever meet, but he could send the most innocent girl begging for him to show him his dark side. He was the perfect piece of eye candy for any girl to dream about on the beach.

The third ran on the farthest side, water splashing under his feet sending droplets onto his tan and muscular stomach. The ocean drops slid over the scripted tattoo on his right ribcage and splashed against the black dragon like ink across his opposite thigh. Han Jisung, my personal summer daydream. He was almost perfect. His only flaw was that he tended to get cocky at the worst times. It didn’t stop him from physically driving me crazy, his shaggy brown hair blowing in the wind.

My eyes trailed over every line on his body, studying it like a work of art. The red life guard’s swim trunks hung low on his hips, making my mouth water.

The three of them seemed to move as if time stopped. “How do they do that?” I said, still ogling Jisung. “It’s like they move in slow motion,” I said licking my lips.

“Oh, you see it too?” Hyunjin said watching Changbin with the same look in his eyes as mine.

Jeongin sat up and took off his sunglasses. His eyes went from Hyunjin to where Hyunjin’s stare was locked on; Changbin’s ass. “Dude...you have a girlfriend....” Hyunjin shrugged and continued to watch his part of the trio as I did mine.

The whistle around Jisung’s neck swung in rhythm with his steps, bouncing against his chest. He turned our way and I could have sworn he smiled at me, his bright teeth reflecting the sun's rays. Before I could smile back, he disappeared from sight.

“Did Jisung just-” I said hearing a splash. Jeongin laughed, seeing Jisung fall face first into the water. The other two kept running leaving Jisung behind.

“There’s no way he can recover from that!” Jeongin said rolling around in a fit of laughter.

“Um...think again Innie,” I whispered, watching the scene before me.

Again, it seemed as if he moved in slow motion. Jisung emerged from the water shaking out his wet strands of hair. I took off my glasses fully, the tip of the frames catching between my teeth. I watched the droplets of water catch on the grooves of his stomach sliding over the tattoo on his side. His hand raked through his hair pushing it back away from his face. The water threatened to tug his trunks down even further, making a small line of slightly paler skin show on his hips. He truly was an Adonis. An Adonis that was coming...right...this...way...

Fuck.

Jeongin jabbed my stomach breaking my trance. “Your boyfriend is coming over.”

“Thank you, Innie I can see that,” I said through gritted teeth. I put on a smile seeing Jisung only a few feet away. He smirked, eyes raking over my body.

“Welcome back, L/n,” Jisung said, pushing his fingers through his wet brown hair. His eyebrow quirked up, noticing the trail of my eyes, up his torso to his face. “You back for another summer?”

“What’s it to you, Han?” I asked looking up at him. He shrugged, a droplet of water falling from his jaw onto the sand.

“Figured you might have the balls to try out for the watch this year.” I laughed, pushing myself off the towel. Han smirked, now getting a full view of me in my new swimsuit, which I had specifically bought with him in mind. Not that I would ever tell him that. “There’s uh...two spots-...sorry...three spots open this summer,” I smirked knowing exactly the two spots which tripped him up, his eyes still lingering on my chest.

“I don’t know. Hyunjin, Innie? Does that sound fun? I mean, it would take away our time from enjoying the gorgeous beach scenery.” I said motioning to the waves that were rolling in. But, that wasn’t what I was referring to.

“I’m always down for extra cash,” Hyunjin said, bringing his attention to the conversation and away from Changbin who was now just a hot muscular spec in the distance.

“I’m sure Aiya, would love a gift every now and again from her boyfriend,” Jeongin said with a smirk.

“Aiya....OH! Yeah! She would.”

Jisung was not paying attention to the exchange. Instead, he and I were having a slightly heated staring contest. “So, Jisung,” Hyunjin started, pushing himself into a seated position, long blonde hair, falling into his eyes. “When are tryouts?”

His eyes widened hearing his name and he turned to my friend. “Sorry- what?” Jeongin rolled his eyes and put his sunglasses back on before reaching into our cooler and pulling out a soda. “Uh..tryouts? Tomorrow at noon. The rest of the guys and I will be running them.”

“Well maybe you’ll see us there and maybe you won’t.”

“Here’s hoping,” Jisung said, with a smirk. He shot me a sultry wink before turning on his heel and running off down the beach. Jeongin scoffed watching me shamelessly check out the muscles in his back.

“So, you guys busy tomorrow?” I asked with a smirk.

❖

My fingers pulled on the straps of the bathing suit top I had chosen to wear. My only one piece I had brought with me. I would not have my tits bouncing all over the place running the stupid obstacle course the boys had set up. It felt weird wearing shorts on the beach for so long. Usually, by this time I would be in the water.

A whistle blew, calling my attention as well as the attention of the two nitwits beside me to the start of the course. Jisung stood, whistle in his mouth, hands on his hips. The signature red trunks hanging dangerously low in the best way. Chan and Changbin stood next time waiting to address the crowd of about twenty participants.

Changbin stood on top of one of the obstacles, red swim trunks highlighting his tan skin in the sunlight. I turned to find Hyunjin staring lustfully at Changbin’s washboard abs. My elbow jabbed into his stomach earning an annoyed look from my best friend. “What?”

“Aiya?”

“Aiya.....OH! She’s fine. Ai won’t care.”

Another shrill sound came from Jisung’s whistle and he let the metal instrument drop from his lips and let it fall against his bare chest. “Alright!” Chan said into a megaphone, addressing the crowd. “We set up a course this morning to test your abilities. Complete the course in under four minutes if you can, which is the standing record set by our current top guard, Jisung, and you move onto new recruit training.”

Changbin motioned for the speaker. My eyes fell back onto Jisung who seemed to have spotted me in the crowd. He crossed his arms, obviously flexing his muscles and shooting a wink my way. Convinced not to give him any sort of satisfaction, I turned back to Changbin. Jisung was obviously frustrated at my lack of reaction.

“We only have three spots so give it your all! You’ll go do the course in groups of three so get in groups. Try to find some people you don’t know.”

Hyunjin and Jeongin both groaned at the last part of Changbin’s statement. “But what if I don’t like people?” Hyunjin whined. Jeongin let his head hang down, chin touching his tank top clad chest.

“Hyunjin, I don’t like people either. Suck it up. Extra money. Happy girlfriend?” I said looking around the crowd of participants. Two girls wearing very small swimsuits waved me over. I let out a sigh and began walking over. “Good luck boys!” I called over my shoulder.

I scoffed watching some of the other groups go through the course. The ‘Inies’, as I called them, did fine. Hyunjin and Jeongin completed the course only thirty seconds shy of beating Jisung’s record. My group was the last to go. The three of us lined up at the start of the course and waited for Chan to give us the start.

Jisung leaned against one of the setup poles, clearly watching me with a heated stare. “GO!” Chan yelled. Setting my nerves aside I raced onto the course. First I vaulted onto the metal pole and pulled myself over. My feet flew across the sand as soon as they touched the ground. The crowd cheered and I sensed the other two girls hot on my heels. With a burst of energy I sped through the next two obstacles and then ran into the water.

All that was left to do was swim to the buoy and the crawl under the barbed wire. The sand was sticking to every inch of my wet body, the grains scratching against my skin. Ignoring how uncomfortable it felt I pushed myself out from under the barbed wire and sprinted to the bell the boys told us to ring once we finished the course.

Clang!

“That’s time!” Chan called pressing the stopwatch in his hand. I doubled over to catch my breath and Hyunjin and Jeongin came over and clapped their hands on my back. Jisung came to look over Chan’s shoulder and the two exchanged hushed words.

“Listen up folks! Someone has beaten Han’s record. With a time of three minutes and forty-two seconds, and the first member of the new Baywatch recruits: Y/n L/n!” The crowd clapped and Jisung rolled his eyes before sending me a cheeky smirk.

He grabbed the clipboard from Chan’s hands and flipped up a piece of paper. After scanning through the names he tucked the clipboard under his arm, bicep contracting, making my mouth water. “The remaining two spots will be filled by the next highest times; Hwang Hyunjin and Yang Jeongin.”

My boys high fived each other before running over and wrapping me up in a big group hug. “Congrats you guys!” Chan said coming over and joining our hug. It was a little awkward, but we got over it. “Here are your whistles and if you follow us to the Hut we can get you some uniforms!” Chan cheerfully said.

We followed his bobbing head of blonde hair to a raised lifeguard station that was four times as large as the others. “Welcome to the Hut,” Jisung said from behind me. His hand ghosted over my waist as he moved past me and to a row of lockers in the makeshift office. He opened the farthest locker, filled with lots of red garments. He tossed the Inies two pairs each of red swim trunks much like the ones he was wearing.

Jisung then handed me three pieces of red and white fabric. One was a standard one piece and the other was a red bikini I had seen some of the other female lifeguards wearing. “Either are acceptable in the workplace,” He said with a wink.

“The three lockers empty lockers on the end are yours. Go get changed and we’ll start training.” Changbin said. I caught him eyeing Hyunjin as my friend turned around to go change in the small backroom. “Jisung, you and I will take the Inies and Chan can train Y/n.”

��What if I wanna train Y/n?” I heard Jisung whine as I made my way to the backroom.

“Oh please. Like anything would get done then.”

Chuckling I pushed the door open and began changing in the dark supply closet. My elbows knocked against a broom leaning up against the wall as I tied the strap of the red bikini top. “Oh shit-” With fumbling hands, I grabbed at the broom and tried to stand it back in its place.

“Y/n, you okay?” A smooth voice asked from outside the closet door. Jisung wrapped his knuckles against the door. He probably heard me falling over the cleaning supplies.

“Yeah! I’m fine, Han.” I could hear him chuckle from the outside the closet. “You try standing still and putting on this tiny swimsuit!” My ears picked up on Jisung’s quiet laugh. I could see his bright blinding smile in my mind.

“Trust me, I know.”

“What?”

“What-” He cleared his throat and I heard his feet shuffle on the wood floor of the hut. “Uh....listen. Chan is out on the deck waiting when you finish. I’m taking Jeongin out for training.” After a few seconds of awkward silence, I watched the shadow of his feet retreat from the door.

Peeking my head out from the closet I looked to find the office empty. The huge windows let in warm light basking over the white floorboards. My bare feet padded across the floor and I stuffed my clothes in my new locker and grabbed my whistle tossing it around my neck.

Through the big window, I saw Chan leaning on the rail surveying the beach through a pair of binoculars. As I walked outside, I realized he wasn’t watching the waves but rather a certain umbrella down the beach. “Whatcha looking at?”

“AHHH!” Chan jumped almost four feet in the air, screaming his head off. He pressed a hand to his chest and closed his eyes. “Y/n, you gave me a fucking heart attack!” Chan grasped at his chest and gave me a pointed look.

“Sorry!” I patted him on the back and took the binoculars from his hands. My eyes turned to where Chan was previously looking. Under a pink beach umbrella sat a girl with wavy hair wearing a baggy shirt over a swimsuit. She was contently reading a very thick book and sipping on a purple smoothie. “Oh....Now I see what you were looking at.”

Chan blushed next to me and took his binoculars back. Crossing my arms I looked him up and down. “Who would have thought the Bang Chan, Dreamboat of the Beach, would have a crush on a beach bunny?” Chan’s ears turned a dark shade of red. “So, what’s her name?” I said nudging him, giving him a gentle smile.

“Cecilia,” He said shyly rubbing the back of his neck.

“What’s she like?”

He shrugged and looked to where she was lying under the beach umbrella. “We’ve only talked a few times, but-... she’s the sweetest. She’s very wholesome, and a little shy, but... I don’t know. She just makes me crazy in the best way possible.” Chan played with the bracelet on his wrist and timidly looked over at the girl, Cecilia. “She gets a little uncomfortable because I’m always with the guys.”

“Why don’t you go talk to her right now?”

His eyes widened and Chan practically turned into a little blonde puppy. “I get really nervous around her. Do you think she’d like me?” I turned back to the girl to find her already looking this way. When she saw me watching she quickly turned back to her book, shielding her face.

“Trust me. Go talk to her.” After a light shove down the wooden stairs, Chan started venturing towards Cecilia only to double back a second later.

“Oh! All the guards are throwing a bonfire party tonight. Even the ones from the north side of the beach. You and the boys should come!” I smiled from above on the deck.

“Then the Inies and I will be there. No doubt about it.” Chan grinned and gave me a thumbs up before jogging over to the pink umbrella. I turned back into the office and sat at the big desk. A huge binder lay on top of it. “Guess I better educate myself then,” I mumbled, taking the heavy folder and laying it in my lap.

❖

The door of my jeep slammed shut as Hyunjin jumped out of the backseat. The three of us had gone back to our beach rental to shower and change before returning to the bash. Also, Changbin asked us to stop by the store and pick up a keg. Jeongin helped me lift the metal cask down from my car and carry it down the huge bonfire that was lit down on the sand. Music could be heard even from the parking lot.

Hyunjin carried the two lightweight beach bags we brought with us while once again, Innie and I were left with the heavy stuff. “ALCOHOL!” Someone screamed pointing in our direction. Two shirtless boys came running up to us pushing passed Hyunjin.

As they got closer I saw it was Changbin and Jisung. The two skidded to a stop in front of us, their toes burying in the sand. “Wow. This really is the whole package. Hot girl. Beer. What more could a man ask for?” Jisung said throwing an arm around my shoulder.

Jeongin huffed beside me adjusting his hold on the metal container. “What am I? Chopped liver?” I laughed and nudged Jisung’s side.

“Give me hand with this?”

“Sure.” Instead of taking my side of the keg, Jisung walked over to Innie and patted him on the shoulder. “I’ve got it from here, bro.” Jeongin looked from me to the brunette beside him. Before I could say anything, he shrugged and handed the keg to Jisung. I blew a piece of hair out of my face and continued to walk down the beach with Jisung.

The two of us set the keg down near the bonfire. There was a small crowd nearby dancing to the music. By dancing...I meant severely, ferociously grinding. It was an almost laughable sight. “Y/n! You made it!” A voice called. Turning I saw Chan walking towards us, his arm wrapped around the girl from earlier today.

“I did! I see you grew a pair.” He blushed as I motioned to the pretty girl next to him. She was wearing shorts and a baggy t-shirt unlike the rest of us. It seemed everyone else was bikini clad or in swim trunks.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, pointedly at Chan. He nervously laughed and gave me the cut it out signal.

“Nothing, baby girl. Guys this is Cecilia.” Everyone shook her hand and welcomed Chan’s apparent new girlfriend. Boy, the rest of the daydreaming beach bunnies were going to be sad to hear about this. I saw Cecilia get noticeably uncomfortable when she shook hands with Jisung and Changbin. Oddly Chan was also wearing a hoodie.

Never a day in my life had I seen the man not shirtless. “Are you okay, love?” I asked trying to reassure her. She timidly nodded, playing with the ends of her loose braid.

“Yeah...I’m just a little uncomfortable with the whole....man chests out and about. I’m barely comfortable with myself in a swimsuit.” I smiled and playfully covered up Jisung’s chest with my hands since he was standing next to me.

“Better?”

“Yes. Very.” Jisung said with a smirk.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “I wasn’t talking to you, Han.” He scoffed looking towards Cahn who had his head in his hands. Most likely in shame. Or embarrassment. Before my hands could leave even an inch from his chest, he grabbed my wrists and put my hands back. Cecilia chuckled and held Chan’s hand in hers.

“So, are you two like a thing? Chan said you’re both on the watch as well?” She asked pointing between the two of us.

“No.”

“Yes.”

I looked to Jisung with wide eyes. He let out a flustered laugh, looking between me and Cecilia. “What she means, is that we aren’t a thing...yet.” His hand wrapped around my waist pulling me into his side. This was shocking news to me. I was under the impression Jisung was a player who flirted with everyone.

When no one responded to his awkward answer, Jisung ran an apprehensive hand through his hair. “Umm...well....Y/n how about we save me from this awkward conversation and go for a swim down the beach?” Cecilia and I laughed.

“Sure, why not.”He smiled at my answer. Cecilia turned back to Chan and the two started to wander off on their own. Jisung let me shed my shorts and shoes before dragging me by the hand down the beach a little ways away from the party. Once we were waist deep into the water Jisung let go of my hand only to reach for my waist. Before I knew it I was over his shoulder, his laugh ringing out into the clear night. “Jisung, don’t you fucking dar-”

He didn’t let me finish. Without a second thought, he tossed me into the waves. Instead of popping up right away, I chose to stay under the water. Though it was dark, I could still make out the shape of Jisung’s legs. His muffled voice was calling out my name, concern lacing in his voice. Being careful to avoid touching him, I swam behind him and resurfaced. I pushed my hair out of my face and launched myself onto his back making him scream like a little girl.

“WHAT THE FUCK????!?!?!”

“Gotcha!”

He grinned, twisting his arms behind him and reaching for me. His smile was lighting up the dark. I had never seen him this happy. “Why have we never hung out like this before?” He asked looking over his shoulder at me. His skin radiated warmth in the cool ocean water. “Like, you’ve been coming here every summer. Why haven’t we spent time together?”

I shrugged, casually resting my arms around him. “I don’t know. You’re usually on duty or surrounded by hot girls. Or both.” He scoffed and turned around facing me. “I figured you didn’t even have time to look at someone like me.”

“You cannot be serious.” He laughed when I nodded. “Do you know how many times I was scolded for watching you from the tower? Or going outside my zone just to run past you and the Inies a couple times hoping you would come up and talk to me?”

A heat flooded my cheeks and I was suddenly very aware of how close Jisung was to me. I could practically see the stars reflecting in his big doe eyes. A wind blew across the water hitting my bare shoulders. The waves pushed us closer to shore, but I was captivated by the way Jisung was looking at me. His long fingers brushed away a strand of wet hair that was stuck to my cheek.

His eyes skimmed over my lips, thumb brushing over my cheek. He leaned in only the slightest bit. The air shared between us was warm and electric. I could feel Jisung’s heart hammering in his chest.

Just when I was sure he was about to kiss me, a wave crashed into the back of his head pulling us both underwater. Jisung held tightly onto my waist swimming us both back up to the surface. Our laughs lifted into the night. “Well...I wasn’t expecting that.” Jisung said wading back to shore. He helped me up and took my hand as we trudged onto the beach, sand catching between our toes in a familiar way. “We drifted pretty far from the party. We should head back.”

He kept his hand wrapped around mine as I watched him guide me back to the party, water lapping at our feet. Little pieces of sand were stuck to his tan skin. Instinctively I brushed them away from his back. He turned at the unexpected touch. “Sorry,”

“No...It’s fine.”

Jisung looked down at his feet as we continued walking. My mind started to run wild. What if that wave hadn’t knocked us over? Would he have kissed me? My body knocked into Jisung’s shoulder as he stopped suddenly. “What is it?” Jisung stared down at the sand, his brows furrowed. He bent down and brushed some sand off a bag about the size of my palm. White powder filled half of it. “Ji?”

He had a serious expression I had never seen before. Jisung scanned the horizon and the way we had just come down the beach. “Ji, talk to me. What is it?” He looked back down the bag in his hands.

“We’ve got a problem.” His fingers brushed over mine as he handed me the bag. “It’s C17H21NO4.” I looked up at him brows drawn together.

“Can’t you be a normal person and say cocaine?”

❖

A few days had passed and working on the watch was turning out to make the best summer ever. You got to hang out more with the boys. You discovered that Changbin, Jisung, and Chan were all music majors at the college about an hour away from yours. They were even in a group together called 3RACHA. Chan tended to play their music in the Hut. Hyunjin and I particularly loved a song on Chan’s laptop we found called ‘Wow’.

Jeongin, Hyunjin, and I were all jamming to the song as we waited for the boys to finally come into the hut. We had all woken up early and gotten there early to our shift. “WOW! SHE’S HOT!” We all screamed as the door to the hut opened and the three boys walked into the room. They all grimaced hearing the song.

“IRON MAN IN THE STREETS, BUT I’M BETTER THAN TONY!” We sang just as Chan lunged for the speaker turning it off. “Awwwww! We were having fun!” Changbin grimaced at us and yanked open his locker. Changbin ripped off the tank top he wore and shoved it on the top shelf. Jisung moved to his and did the same. Hyunjin elbowed me in the stomach when he saw me drooling over Jisung’s toned back, eyes wandering once again to the words inked on his side.

“You’re leaking from the mouth.” He said with a smirk.

“Am not.” Just in case, I swiped my hand across my lips. He laughed and grabbed a white cap from his bag covering his blonde hair. “So, Chan, what are we doing today?” Chan shredded his lifeguard hoodie before grabbing a clipboard on the desk.

Jisung and Changbin’s whispering was silenced by Chan throwing a shoe at them. “Ay! Bro! Don’t throw the Nikes!” Changbin said walking over rubbing his head. With an aggravated grumble, Changbin grabbed the clipboard out of Chan’s hands.

Before Changbin could even read the first station, the door to the hut opened and a familiar head of wavy blonde hair walked through the door. “CELI!” Chan screamed. He scrambled to the window and pulled the curtain over his chest. She blushed walking into the room. “Y/n...could you do me a favor...” Chan asked shyly pointing to his discarded hoodie on the floor.

Rolling my eyes with a smile, I picked up his red hoodie and handed it to him. Chan covered himself before emerging from the billowing curtain. Cecilia came to stand next to Jisung. Her eyes glanced over and her ears turned as red as a tomato. Chan immediately took notice and his hands flew to Jisung’s chest.

“Dude. What the fuck are you doing?”

“Censoring your nipples. Duh.”

“......” Jisung looked down at Chan’s hands, to me, then back up to his friend. “This has never been an issue before-”

“WELL, IT IS NOW!”

Hyunjin and I were doing our best not to laugh at Chan’s freakout. “Chan, it’s fine. I can handle it. Yeah...sure.” Cecilia gave a sweet smile and inched farther away from the still shirtless Jisung, who rolled his eyes.

Changbin cleared his throat and tapped the clipboard, annoyance in his eyes. “Can we get back to our jobs people?” After a series of grumbles, Changbin looked down and begin reading off our assignments for the day. “Jeongin, you are working the west tower solo today. Chan, you have the east tower.” He rolled his eyes as Chan whispered something to Celi with a big grin.

“Moving on,” He said pointedly. “Hyunjin you’re with me on Southeast ground patrol. Y/n, you’re with Han covering the southwest near the docks.” He tossed the clipboard on the desk and grabbed his whistle.

“YES!” Jisung cheered, punching the air in joy.

Everyone gave him weird looks. Chan shook his head. “Jisung, you’re the one who made the schedule.”

Jisung’s eyes flicked from me to Chan before he rubbed the back of his neck. His confident smile was now fueled by awkwardness and embarrassment. “Yeah...I remembered that...Come on, Y/n. Let’s go!” As we left Changbin turned the beach speakers on to the playlist for the day. A happy song blasted through the speakers all across the beach as people started to arrive. I think it was by a singer named Jessi. It made me feel confident about the day ahead of us.

Jisung and I ran down the beach to the sector we were covering for the day, waving at pedestrians who called out to us. “We haven’t really gotten a chance to talk since the bonfire,” Jisung said whistle bouncing against his chest as we ran.

The bonfire. Where he almost kissed me. Where he maybe...could have...kissed me. My chest swelled and I decided playing it cool was the best option. “Yeah, what about?” We were nearing the docks so we slowed down to a walk. Jisung seemed more focused on me than on observing and watching the safety of the beachgoers.

“Umm...Why don’t we take our break?”

“Jisung our shift started twenty minutes ago.”

“Let’s just talk under the docks okay?” He said a wild smile lighting up his face. Taking my hand he led me under the sturdy wooded structure. Once again water lapped at my toes, a cooling sensation flowing over the skin on my feet.

My back pressed against one of the wide wooden poles holding up the wharf above. Jisung stood in front of me, hands behind his back, and stare aimed firmly on the watery bay. “Is this about the bag we found on the beach that night?”

“The C17H21NO4?”

“For fuck’s sake just say cocaine, Ji.”

“How do you even know that means cocaine?”

“Ji, I took chemistry. I’m not stupid.”I said with a laugh. He smiled feeling my hand brushed over his arm. Jisung let his gaze wander over me. He smiled taking a step closer. Soon his chest was brushing up against mine.

“No more Han? I’m Ji now?” He smirked. Jisung’s brown shaggy hair fell in front of his eyes. I watched his teeth drag tantalizingly across his bottom lip. His tan skin felt warm under the palm of my hand. Just like the night of the bonfire, there was an electric air between us. It was amazing to feel him so close to me.

Far away music drifted under the dock, but all my focus stayed on the man in front of me. His left hand rested just below my hip. “There are many names I could start calling you.” He rose his brow in interest.

“Like what?”

He leaned down and placed a kiss just above my jaw. He smirked against my skin hearing me let out a small sigh. “I don’t know,” All the nerves in my body were firing off like rockets. “Idiot, knucklehead...my personal favorite is dumbass.” Jisung laughed, his teeth nibbling gently on my ear lobe.

“I can’t take this anymore,” He whispered, in a labored breath. I stared into his brown eyes. The way he was looking at me made my knees go weak.

“What?”

“I’ve got to kiss you or I’m going to go crazy.” He didn’t wait for my answer. Jisung’s lips smashed against mine. He kissed me like he had eaten in days and I was his first taste of succulent delicious food. I let my fingers tangle in his dark brown hair pulling him closer to me. I would have fallen had the pole and Jisung not been holding me up.

Kissing Jisung felt like music. Not one moment was the same but it all flowed as if it was made for one purpose. I felt his hand start to move below my waist, pulling me closer against him, as if there was any space left to begin with.

“Hey, guys.” The walkie-talkie crackled to life. Changbin’s voice had me pulling away from Jisung. He sighed ignoring the call, moving to continue our little makeout session.

“You should pick up; what if it’s important.”

Jisung shook his head kissing me again. “I trust them. Plus they’ve got the Inies.” I smiled, reaching behind Jisung. He smirked feeling my hand on the back of his swim trunks. “Oh really?” He asked, our noses brushing together. He let out a breathy laugh as I bit my lip. His smile fell when I pulled the walkie talkie from its place and pressed it against his chest.

“Pick up the call.”

He sighed, pressing his forehead against mine. “This is SW Patrol; Jisung. What the fuck do you want Changbin?” Jisung backed away only far enough that he could talk on the radio. I smiled watching him all pent up.

“We got a complaint about some serious PDA on the beach. Could you check it out?” Changbin’s voice crackled through the channel. Jisung sighed, but he had a knowing smirk on the corner of his lips.

Another channel crackled to life before he could respond. “Actually that might have been us,” Chan said over the channel. Jisung and I both laughed.

His long slender fingers pressed down opening up the channel for him to speak. “Yeah. It was Chan and Celi. Totally no one in our sector.” Changbin sighed over the radio.

“Both of you quit making out and do your jobs.”

The radio went silent and Jisung returned to his previous position. “Now where were we?” He asked, his hands wondering lower than publicly appropriate. You laughed and kissed him again. “Please just be my girlfriend already?” The boy whispered against my lips.

I opened my eyes to look at him, but something in the distance caught my attention. Out on the water, there was a billowing trail of black smoke. My eyes widened realizing what it was. “Fire.”

“I believe the correct answer is ‘yes’.”

“No, Jisung. Fire. Out on the water.” I exclaimed harshly turning his head out to the bay.

“Oh fuck!” He hastily grabbed the walkie-talkie and tuned into an open channel. “All guards! We have a 10-73! There’s a boat on fire to the southwest. Prepare to go for first response.”

The two of us sprinted out from under the docks. I looked frantically around before my eyes landed on a jetski by the pier. “Ji, let’s go!” I said making a run for it.

I reached the vehicle first and strapped on the emergency belt. “Move. I’ll drive!” Jisung said motioning for me to scoot back.

“Jisung just get on! We have no time for this.”

“But the guy always drives-”

“GET THE FUCK ON YOU LITTLE BITCH WE HAVE PEOPLE TO SAVE!”

Without another word, Jisung threw his leg over the back and we took off out on the waves. The wind blew through our hair as we raced to the sight of the fire. In the corner of my eye, I saw the rescue boat coming from the south with the rest of the boys on it. With one arm, he held onto my waist as I drove the water vehicle and with the other, he reached down and readied some rope and a buoy for survivors in the water. “So,” He said over the roar of the waves. “You didn’t answer my question!”

Unbelievable. “Ji, there’s a fire! Are you sure this is the time?”

“There couldn’t be a better one in my opinion.” I heard him laugh behind me and I couldn’t help but smile. The fire was getting closer now. There were flames burning on top of the water and I could now see that the burning vessel was a yacht.

“Yes. I will be your girlfriend! Let’s do our job now!”

The rescue boat pulled up alongside us, Chan at the helm. “We need to send a team aboard to get survivors!” He called down as I shut off the engine a couple yards away from the flames.

“Don’t worry! I’ve got it!” Before we could say anything Jisung dove into the water and under the flames.

“JISUNG!” I screamed. Without hesitation, I dove in after him.

❖

The heat of the flames brushed above my back through the ocean water. I swam to avoid pieces of falling firey debris. Just as my chest started to burn I resurfaced on the other side of the flames. Frantically I looked around for any sign of Jisung.

The first twenty minutes of us dating and he decides to literally jump into a wall of fire. “Jisung I’m going to fucking kill you when I find you!” A head popped out of the water, shaking out his dark hair. “HAN JISUNG!” I screeched watching him tread water.

He turned, a cheeky smile on his face. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?” I swam over just to whack him upside the head. He rubbed the back of his head before swimming towards the yacht. “You can hit me later. Let’s save some people.”

Together we swam to the side of the ship. The muscles in Jisung’s back flexed as he pulled himself over the side. His hand reached for mine, lifting me over the side of the white boat. Black smoke filled the air and Jisung and I looked for a way into the cabin of the burning vessel.

“Help me!” A girl screamed. I turned seeing a hand reaching out from around the corner.

“There!”

Jisung and I rushed to the woman. She was stuck under a piece of fallen equipment. “Ah! You, sexy water man! You are here to save me, yes?” Somehow despite her dire situation the young woman still managed to push her large breasts forward like a peacock showing off its plumage.

“Y/n, can you get that side and I’ll pull her out?” Nodding I positioned my hands under the heavy equipment and lifted on Jisung’s count. With a grunt I let the heavy object fall back down once the girl was clear. “Signal Chan to come around port side.”

While Jisung busied himself with grabbing an intact life vest for the woman, I ran to the helm sending Chan the signal to come around to the right. When I turned the woman was trying to throw herself all over my new boyfriend. He carried her in his arms, life jacket around her neck. They stood on the port side waiting for Chan.

“Okay, handsome! If you want me you can have me, But, quickly cause the boat is on fire.” She exclaimed, wrapping her long painted fingers around his neck.

She leaned in to kiss him, but before she got close I grabbed her from Jisung’s arms and tossed her into the water where Chan was swimming to the boat to help.

“He’s got a girlfriend too! So don’t try anything!”

Jisung laughed before tapping my shoulder. “That was hot.” Rolling my eyes, I moved back to the cabin which was still very much on fire.

“IN HERE!” Another voice called. Jisung looked for a break in the fire near the door. I watched him ram his shoulder against the wood several times before it broke. The two of us searched the rooms looking for the voice.

I burst through the bedroom door, pain shooting through my shoulder. How the hell did Jisung do it so effortlessly? Probably his Herculean broad shoulders, I thought scowling. The frown fell when my eyes fell to the center of the room. A man maybe in his late forties lay dead on the floor. A bullet hole centered perfectly in his forehead.

All the drawers and closets were spilled open and a trail over white powder stained the carpet. “Shit.” I looked around for any other survivors. “Jisung! Dead body.”

“What do you mean dead bod-” He said walking into the room with a girl, soot covering her face. “Oh...that dead body.” He started stuttering, brown hair falling in front of his round eyes. “Uh....take her. She’s the last one. I checked.” Nodding, I took the girl by the hand and pulled her through the burning boat.

“You’re leaving that lifeguard? What about Councilman Kang?” The skinny woman whined in my arms.

“Don’t worry about Jisung. He’ll take care of it.” The girl screamed as I tossed her overboard to where Chan was waiting below. Not looking back, I dove into the water and swam with Chan and the girl back to the boat.

“Where’s Han?” Chan said as we pulled ourselves aboard the lifeguard's vessel.

The speedboat started moving around the yacht. “He’s towards the front. There was a body.” Chan nodded and looked back at the burning boat. Through the thick black smoke, I saw Jisung at the bow of the yacht carrying the dead man. The flames surrounded the boat giving him no clear place to escape.

Changbin steered the boat as close as he could, but couldn’t get to him. “He can’t go under the flames. Not even Jisung could swim that far carrying that much weight.” The boy said.

“JISUNG!” Chan called, hands cupping around his mouth. The man turned at his hyung’s voice and strained to hear what he had to say. “Move to the back! We’ll come get you!”

“There’s no time!”

“JISUNG DON’T-”

Again, Jisung ignored Chan, diving under the water with the dead Councilman. “JISUNG!” I screamed. We raced into action. Jeongin and Chan jumped on the jet skis attached to our boat and I grabbed a preserver before diving in after him. I was seriously going to kill him if he didn’t die first.

The fire cast a bright orange glow under the water. Spotting Jisung, his body limp and still holding onto the dead man, I started swimming deeper. He must have hit his head on some hidden debris.

Working with fast fingers, I pried his strong grip from the Councilman and pushed the body away from us to the service. Chan would pick it up. I panicked seeing Jisung’s unconscious face. Wrapping an arm securely around his chest I began swimming upwards, the task eight times harder while carrying Jisung’s weight against gravity.

I gasped breaking through the ocean surface. My legs pumped through the water trying to keep both of us afloat as I waved down Jeongin. “Innie! Over here!” My friend steered the jet ski over to us, his black hair flying in the wind.

“He’s unconscious. Help me lift him up.”

Jeongin groaned, trying to lift Jisung onto the ski. I did my best to push him from the other side. “How can he be this heavy? His waist is fucking tiny!” I said pushing my most likely concussed boyfriend across the ski. Changbin was already steering the boat away from the burning yacht as the Coastguard approached. “Let’s go. Jisung needs attention.”

“What else is new?” Innie mumbled before driving the ski towards the boat. I held onto Jisung making sure he didn’t fall off. My hand wrapped securely on his shoulder and thigh, rubbing over the intricate design of the dragon on his skin.

Changbin stopped the boat letting us pull up alongside. Chan and Jeongin carried Jisung laying him on the floor. I crawled over him, checking his mouth to make sure his airway was clear. My hands pressed to his chest starting compressions. After a minute he coughed spewing water up at my face.

Jisung gasped, rolling over but not going far with my ontop of him. The first thing he looked at was me. “You fucking idiot!” I yelled, slapping him across the cheek.

“OW!”

“You could have died, Ji!”

“Dude, she’s right. That was really stupid.” Changbin said starting the boat again. With tired arms, Jisung pushed himself up to a sitting position and wrapped me up in a hug. I heard the girl from before huff and saw her cross her arms watching Jisung hold me so tightly.

I stuck my tongue out at her which earned me a slap on the head from Hyunjin. “Let’s just get back to shore so we can give the police our report,” Chan said handing the girls some towels.

“Anybody have some aspirin?” Jisung asked, rubbing the top of his head.

❖

“Is this what dating you is going to be like?” I asked. Jisung sat on his kitchen counter holding an ice pack to his head. He shrugged and watched me open the first aid kit. Chan sent him home since he had used all his stupid passes for the day.

I drove Jisung to the beach house he rented and was now searching through his inadequately stocked medical supplies.

“Yeah, but I was quite the hero today wasn’t I?”

“You would have been a dead hero had I not gone in after you.” The shirt Jisung lent me brushed over my thighs as I walked back over to him. Delicately, I cleaned the cut on his forehead, ignoring the whines from Jisung. “You saw the drugs in the cabin, right?” I asked hesitantly.

Jisung nodded, looking into my eyes. “Just like we found on the beach the other night.” He looked out the window staring at the sea. Working for the Baywatch must have given him a huge discount because the house was right on the waterfront. “Chan and I have been trying to get the police involved, but they won’t take us seriously.” He laughed and took the supplies from my hands. “They said we were just a bunch of goofy lifeguards probably getting high on the stash we found anyway.”

His hands wrapped mine, playing with my fingers. “Speaking of high,” I said, playing with the bottom of Jisung’s tank top. “Changbin texted me. He said the girls we rescued were high as kites. They were partying below deck so they have no clue how the Councilman ended up with a bullet in his head.”

“They probably got it from the stash on the yacht.” Jisung hopped down from the counter and stood in front of me, his chest brushing against mine. “Also, that was badass what you did to that girl.” With an embarrassed laugh, I buried my face in his chest. “If you want me you can have me, but quickly because the boat is on fire!” Jisung mocked in a high voice.

“Don’t tease her!” My hand softly smacked against his chest. “She was high and you were hot.”

“Were? Past tense?”

“Well, you do have on more clothes now.”

“So, you’re saying I have circumstantial hotness. I see. So, you are only with me because of my abs and tattoos and general lifeguard sexiness?” Jisung smiled, watching me laugh.

“Tell me I’m wrong. If we weren’t dating you would have taken that girl home with you.” Jisung sighed, pulling me closer to him. “That isn’t a no,” I said with a small laugh.

“But, I brought you home.” Jisung’s hands fell below my waist, a smirk playing at the corning of his mouth. He walked me backwards until I was pressed against the kitchen wall, a position he seemed to like me in.

The air had changed between us, now charged with sexual tension. “I would have you right here until you begged for mercy twice,” Jisung whispered, staring into my eyes. My brow quirked up, watching him hungrily gaze down at my lips.

“I’ve never begged in my life.”

“Twice.”

My stomach began to twist itself in knots, making me squeeze my legs together. Never before had I imagined Jisung would be like this. Never in my wildest dreams, which were getting wilder by the second. He exuded dominance pressing his hands firmly into my hips. “Twice?” He nodded leaning closer than I thought possible. His warm breath fanned over my lips.

Just the way he was looking at me was almost enough to push me over the edge and take him right on his kitchen counter. “Bedroom. Now.” My voice was muffled and came out more like a whine feeling his thigh push between my legs. His head dipped letting his lips drag just below my ear.

“Are you sure? Once we start, I might not be able to stop.” All it took was for him to feel me nod before he pulled away and kissed my lips deeply. “Bedroom is that way.” Jisung jerked his head towards the hall pulling his hips against mine.

“Well, you’ll just have to catch me then,” I said cheekily slipping from his grasp and slapping his ass as I ran down the hall. He laughed, the sound of his steps thundering down the hall after me.

I screamed feeling his arms wrap around me and lift me into the air. Setting me down, Jisung enveloped me into a kiss letting his fingers tug my shirt over my head. He tossed me onto his bed, leaving me to watch as he ripped off his shirt. My eyes hungrily dragged over his torso eyeing the tattoo on his side and the way his muscles flexed and contracted as he let out shaky happy breaths.

“You keep staring at me like that and I’ll have to ruin you.” Jisung’s shoulders dropped watching my tongue whip over my bottom lip. “You naughty, naughty girl.” Grabbing my ankles, he tugged me across the bed before sliding my shorts down and flinging them across the bedroom.

Jisung hovered over me, hands traveling anywhere he could reach. I was growing impatient not being able to touch him the way I wanted. My hands pushed against his strong shoulders, flipping him back onto the bed. His arms wrapped around my waist, letting my legs fall on either side of his hips.

I sighed against his lips, feeling his hips press up against mine. Letting my lips guide my actions I moved down his neck and chest. I looked up to see Jisung’s hands covering his face, attempting to silence how I was making him feel. Seeing his reaction, I let my tongue slide over his toned stomach and graze across the inked skin on his right side. A heavenly moan left his lips. My hand fell down further and ghosted over the growling bulge beneath his shorts.

“Ah...fuck-” He moaned as my tongue licked down his torso, inching dangerously close to the low hanging waistband. His head lifted up when I pulled away. “Shit- why’d you stop?”

Smirking, I started playing with the band of his shorts. “Oh, don’t mind me. Just enjoying the view.” As my fingers hooked around the fabric he pulled me back up to his lips and helped me pull them down. “Do you have...you know?” I asked between heated kisses.

Jisung nodded, hands groping my ass and grinding up against my core. “In the drawer.” With quick impatient hands, I reached over to the nightstand yanked open the drawer. “You’re on the pill right? Just in case.”

“Yeah, of course.” Finding a strip of condoms I tore one off, and returned to Jisung’s lips. My eyes closed, letting myself fall into the blissful daze Jisung was sending me into. Letting him wreck and ravish my body was the only thing on my mind.

❖

Almost a month later I found myself in the same place. Jisung’s bed. A light sheen of sweat lay on my skin and his. His sheets did a lousy job of covering anything but my hips resting over his. My head rested on his chest, letting his fingers play with my hair.

His legs were tangled with mine around and under the covers. The art on his side drew my attention. Jisung watched my fingers trace over the words on his ribcage. I had watched him for so long and been with him more than a few times and I had yet to ask him about his tattoos.

Delicately, I traced each line of the words on his ribs; ‘I See’. “What does it mean?” Jisung looked down at me, watching my hand move over the ink.

“It’s the first song I ever seriously wrote.”

“Can I hear it?”

A cool breeze floated through the open windows in his bedroom. The stars reflected on the rolling waves. Jisung shook his head. “It’s nothing much.” He nuzzled into my hair, letting me draw over the natural and drawn lines on his body.

“I doubt that if it is physically inked on your skin.” A laugh rumbled through his chest. My touch wandered down to the dark ink on his thigh. “What about these?”

He looked down and laughed. “Oh- I just like dragons.” Among the black lines and shading of the large dragon wrapped around his thigh were other gorgeous drawings like out of an ancient Japanese text. A symbol caught my eye.

“Is that the Chinese character for soup?”

“No. It means perseverance.”

“No. It means soup.”

Jisung laid his head back on the pillow, eyes wide. “That would explain why the guy was laughing so much when he did the tattoo.” He rolled over on top of me, adjusting the sheets to shield us more from the night wind. His head nuzzled into my neck. “Where do the Inies think you are?” Jisung questioned.

I shrugged. “Hyunjin could care less. He spends most of his nights facetiming his girlfriend, Aiya.”

“Can’t relate. Mine has been in my bed every night.”

Scoffing, my fingers began threading through his dark hair. “Innie is a little suspicious. But, usually, I just buy him boba the next day and he doesn’t care.” Jisung nodded and held onto me like a teddy bear. His warm skin acted like my own personal sun.

“Noted. Jeongin can be bribed with boba.”Jisung’s head lifted hearing a yawn slip past my lips. “You tired, baby? I nodded, cuddling further into him. “Get some sleep. We both have shifts tomorrow.” Jisung leaned over pressing his lips gently against mine. I fell asleep with my arms wrapped around him and his lips sleepily trailing down my neck and shoulder.

❖

“Every night?” My dark haired friend asked in disbelief. Jeongin walked beside me as we made our way back to the Hut. The sunset cast a gold and red glow over the beach. Our shift would be over soon and I could not wait. This had been a long day and I wanted nothing more than to go home and collapse in bed. “You guys are procreating like rabbits.” I laughed at his word choice. “I’m sorry, but I do not need mini Y/ns and Jisungs running around.”

Jeongin climbed the creaky wooden steps up to the Hut. Rough outlines of his feet in sand followed his steps to the door. Through the windows, I could see Hyunjin, Changbin, and my boyfriend inside. “Where’s Chan?” I asked seeing him missing as we entered the base.

Changbin sighed, flipping through the day’s log. “He took Celi down to the dock to watch the sunset.” I caught Jisung eyeing me from across the room. He stuck out his tongue and shook his head at me, eliciting a laugh.

“So, Inies,” Changbin started. The blonde and brunette raised their heads waiting for what Changbin had to say. “Looks like it’s your turn to do the night walk.” They groaned and whined. The night walk was done by two lifeguards after the beach closed. It was typically a long cold walk with flashlights making sure no one was on the beach. It usually took an extra two hours that you did not get paid for.

“But, Aiya is waiting for me to call!”

“I just want to go home!”

Jisung shot me a look standing near his open locker. He crossed his arms, tan shoulders leaning against the cool metal. Despite my tired feet and my urge to sleep for a week I smiled, knowing what he was thinking.

“Y/n and I can do it.” The Inies quickly stopped their pleading turning to my boyfriend.

“No argument from me. They can do it.” Hyunjin said grabbing his stuff and racing out the door. Jeongin quickly followed. Changbin shrugged, tossing the clipboard on the desk.

“Y/n, you might want a jacket. It’s going to get cold.” Changbin said, patting my shoulder. He turned to the boy with tousled brown hair and threw him the ring of metal keys. “Jisung, don’t forget to lock up when you’re done.”

With a final wave, Changbin grabbed his bag and shut the door behind him, descending the stairs. “You’re buying me dinner,” I said wrapping my arms around his waist. “Pizza sounds good.”

“That’s fair. I’ll get you pizza.” Jisung cupped my cheeks before pecking my lips. He turned back to his open locker, pulling out a grey unzipped hoodie. “Here.” The fabric swallowed me as he sweetly helped me slip my arms into the jacket. Listing his head, he smiled, cheeks filling and eyes turning into crescent moons. “You look too cute.”

I smiled watching him lean down and capture my lips in a kiss. My stomach twisted in knots only he could tie. “We should get going. I want my pizza sooner than later.” He nodded and grabbed two flashlights. Slipping my phone into the jacket pocket I followed Jisung down onto the beach.

Time always seemed to pass quickly with him. It felt like this summer had only started yesterday, so by the time we reached the end of the beach hand in hand my tiredness was long forgotten.

“Yeah, so then Changbin-” Jisung interrupted his own story. His eyes strained against the dark. “Do you see that?” Further down the shore, my eyes pushed past the darkness to see the outline of a speedboat beached on the sand. Several men were loading packages onto the vessel.

“Yeah,” I latched onto Jisung’s arm looking up at him. “You want me to call it in?”

He shook his head continuing to watch from afar. “No, Changbin already left. Stay here. I’ll go check it out.” Turning on his flashlight, he kissed my cheek before walking down the beach.

A chilling breeze blew over the sand. Shoving my hands in my pockets I watched Jisung approach the four men. The beam from his light fanned over the wrapped cargo. My skin crawled. Something felt off. I couldn’t hear anything from where I stood, but I could tell the men were getting more than angry at Jisung for walking into whatever they were doing.

The muscles in Jisung’s back rippled as he pointed up the beach, most likely telling them to leave. My body froze. Under the moonlight, I thought I saw the glint of a gun being pulled from a jacket. All I could do was try not to scream hearing the sound of a round being fired and watching Jisung fall to the ground.

“Jisung!”

Ignoring the man they just shot, the men pushed the boat out into the water. The sand beneath my feet made it hard to run. I slipped and fell but scrambled to my feet racing over to Jisung. He clutched his stomach, labored breaths struggling to escape.

“Jisung!” He looked up at me as I kneeled next to him. Moving his hands I saw blood seeping out of the bullet wound. Jisung struggled to keep his eyes open. “Ji, baby, stay with me.” He cried out in pain feeling me put pressure on the wound. Hands shaking, I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

Dialing emergency services, I waited for someone to answer as Jisung still bled out beside me. “Yes? Hello! I’m at Cheonsa Beach! It’s an emergency. We need an ambulance.”

“Okay, calm down Miss.”

“Calm down? My boyfriend was just shot!”

The sound of her typing carried through the phone. “The ambulance is three minutes out.” Nodding, I looked back at Jisung. “Just keep pressure on the bullet wound and make sure your boyfriend stays awake.” In the distance, I heard the sound of sirens.

“Over here!” Several EMTs ran towards us with a gurney. “We’re over here!” More sirens approached, flashing red and blue.

“What happened?”

“We were making sure everyone had left the beach. We saw some guys loading packages into a boat and he told me to wait while he went to check it out. The next thing I know they shot him and sailed off.” They nodded and lifted Jisung onto the gurney. Running alongside them, they asked me questions about Jisung, most of which I couldn’t answer. “Sorry, I don’t know.”

“Okay. You can ride with us to the hospital. You’ll have to give a statement to the police and you’re boyfriend will most likely need surgery.”

Hoisting myself up into the ambulance I sat next to the gurney, holding onto Jisung’s hand. The EMT with us tried to keep him awake by asking him questions. “Is he going to be okay?”

“He just in shock right now. We’ll have to do more tests when we get to the hospital.” She gave me a less than an optimistic smile. “Just in case- we tell most everyone this. You should call someone to be with you.” Not letting go of Jisung’s hand I reached once more for my phone. My heart stopped seeing the dark red stains on my hand. Shakily I called the first person I thought of who I wanted with me. They picked up on the second ring.

“Y/n, what’s up. I’m not-”

“Jeongin...something happened.”

❖

The bright lights of the hospital hallways were still hurting my eyes despite the many hours I had spent here. Jisung’s blood stained hoodie still hung on my shoulders. Jeongin had grabbed some board shorts from his bag so I was a little more covered standing in a passageway teaming with medical professionals.

Apparently, he and Hyunjin had just gotten back to our rental house so they raced back over still in their beachwear. Jeongin called the other boys and Chan left Celi to meet us at the hospital. It was almost eighteen hours since Jisung had been admitted and I had been talking to the police for the last three. Changbin stepped out of the room an hour ago letting me know that he Jisung had woken up.

My mind was elsewhere, thinking about nothing but seeing my boyfriend. “Thank you so much for your statement. We will be in contact later about the investigation.” Nodding I bowed to the officer, desperately wanting to go back into the hospital room. “An officer will be back in a few days to take your boyfriend’s statement as well. I hope he makes a quick recovery.”

The officer shook my hand and then bid me farewell. The click of the door was an announcement of my entrance. All five pairs of eyes stared at me as I closed it behind me. I was first drawn to the dark round set sitting in the bed. Wasting no time I rushed to Jisung. It took all of my strength not to cry feeling him hold onto me so tightly.

“You’re okay,” I whispered into his neck.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby. You’re stuck with me.” Jisung pulled me to sit on the bed so he could hug me even tighter. The second I felt him pull away I was prepared to let him go, instead, he pulled me down kissing me deeply.

“Guys- get a room.”

Jisung pulled away, eyes wide and a shy smile on his face. “Hey! This is technically my room! I’ll kiss my girlfriend if I want to.”

Jeongin rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his bare chest. “That’s my best friend your kissing. Watch your hands, assface.” Jisung removed his hands from well below my waist seeing the death inducing glare the youngest Inie was sending his way.

“How are you guys not cold?” I asked noticing all of them had come still in their beachwear. None of them seemed to find the time to put on a shirt. Changbin shrugged and flexed next to Chan. “No shirt, no shoes, no problem.” He said slapping his bicep.

“I don’t think that applies to a hospital,” I whispered, lacing my fingers with Jisung’s. He chuckled, but winced clutching his side.

Chan sighed and motioned me over. Reluctantly I left Jisung to talk to him. “The doctor said he’ll have to stay here for at least a week. Maybe a couple days more.” My fingers raked through my hair as I watched Jisung swat away Hyunjin’s hands from a box of chocolates someone had left for him. “We’re going to have to keep a close eye on him when he gets discharged.”

I nodded. “Look I’ll stay here tonight with him. When he gets discharged, I’ll stay at his place and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Y/n,” Chan started, gently holding onto my arm. The action felt brotherly, like he was taking care of me. “You’ve been awake for over thirty-six hours. I can stay here tonight. Celi said she would drop by later anyway.”

“Chan, I’m not leaving him.”

He opened his mouth about to say something but was interrupted by the door swinging open and a cheery brunette waltzing in. She carried a plate covered in a clear wrap. “Knock, knock! I- oh....this is uh...” Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned red seeing all but Jisung standing around shirtless. Eyes bulging, Chan lept for the curtains covering himself. Jeongin grabbed an extra blanket form Jisung’s bed and Changbin hid behind me. Hyunjin grabbed the nearest object to him which happened to be a bedpan.

“EEEEKK!” He screeched realizing what it was, the metal object crashing onto the floor.

“Celi! Uhh... I thought you were coming later?” Chan stuttered from behind the somewhat sheer curtain over him. He seemed drawn to curtains in these situations.

Doing her best to suppress the blush on her cheeks she set the plate down on a table and pulled a hoodie out of the bag she had with her, tossing it to her boyfriend. “Well, I made cookies and thought it would make Jisung feel better.” She motioned to the platter filled with homemade baked goods.

Jisung’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “I got shot. How are cookies supposed to help?”

A fire lit in Chan’s eyes and I sent an equally chilling glare his way. “Jisung!” I scolded through my teeth.

“THANK YOU FOR THE COOKIES! I LOVE THEM VERY MUCH!” He screeched in higher register than I thought possible as he slid down the headboard, hiding from the combined power of Chan and my glares.

Thanking Cecilia again on my boyfriend’s behalf I took the cookies and brought them over to his bedside table. Like second nature, Jisung pulled me next to him on the bed and watched me unwrap the plate. He opened his mouth, expecting me to feed him a still warm and gooey cookie.

Jisung whined when I bit into it instead. “Y/n, baby, I got shot. Please!” Rolling my eyes I placed a cookie in his mouth and watched his cheeks fill up with the sweet goodness Celi had made. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “Thank you, gorgeous.” He said kissing my cheek. I shrugged and fought the smile edging its way onto my face.

“You get shot again, and I’ll have to kill you, Han.”

Jisung smiled, eyes crinkling up before he nodded. “I promise I won’t get shot by drug traffickers.” I leaned down kissing him again. His familiar long fingers brushed over my cheek.

“Y/N L/N!”

My name was screamed from the doorway. Jumping away from Jisung I saw my parents standing there, fury the only expression on their faces. “Mom?” Jisung looked from me to my mother, eyes wide and most likely more afraid of her than he was of me earlier.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” My father yelled. Even Changbin flinched at his tone. Hyunjin and Jeongin were used to situations like these and slowly decided to hide behind the closet. The tension in the room couldn’t be cut with a knife it was so thick.

“Who the hell is he? Is he the one who almost got you shot?” My mother screeched, pointing at Jisung. I stood at a loss for words. The man in the bed looked up at me with soft doe eyes, clearly confused.

“Mom, you don’t understand. It wasn’t Jisung’s fault. He did nothing wrong-”

“You could have died because of him!”

“Mom!”

My father sighed stepping in. The rest of the room watched the exchange quietly. “Your mother is right. You are coming home with us. We let you come to the beach one last time to spend the summer with your friends. Instead, we get a call in the middle of the night saying your little boy toy has you involved in a drug investigation.” Jisung threw his legs out of the bed but I stopped him from getting up.

“Dad, Jisung is-”

“I don’t care if Jisung is Gandhi. You are coming home with us and you are never coming back to Cheonsa.” Not letting me say another word, my father grabbed my wrist and began dragging me out the door. I heard Jisung clamber out of the hospital bed and the others attempt to stop him. Looking back I saw him tearing out IVs and pushing past the boys as my parents dragged me away.

“Dad, please!”

“Sir! Mr. L/n! Please!” Jisung ran after us down the hall nurses staring as he clutched his side. “Please! Mr. L/n! I love your daughter. Please, let me explain!” I turned back with wide eyes, but all I could see was Jisung and the heartbroken look on his face as my parents pulled me into a closing elevator.

He loved me.

❖

Jisung’s POV

I sat staring at my phone. Nothing. I had heard nothing from Y/n in the past twelve days. The Inies reassured me that she was fine, but her parents had confiscated her phone and basically put her under house arrest.

This was all my fault.

It felt like a part of me was missing. My thumb hovered over my gallery wanting to look at her pictures again. Unable to resist the urge I opened the app and smiled seeing her face. In only two months my camera roll had become full of her.

Just as I was about to click on a photo my phone was snatched out of my hand. “You packed, bro?” Hyunjin asked tossing my phone onto the bed. I nodded towards the bag in the chair. I was being discharged in an hour. Yesterday I passed the physical saying I was good to go home. But, home wasn’t home without Y/n. Jeongin entered the room and gave me a pity smile. With one last check-in from the doctor, I was released.

“Is this really necessary?” I questioned the nurse as Jeongin pushed me through the lobby in a wheelchair. Hyunjin was taking photos of me a giant grin on his face.

“Yeah, is this necessary?” Jeongin groaned from behind me. The nurse nodded and opened the door for us. Jeongin noticed my, for lack of a better descriptor, depressed as fuck face. “Dude, if you miss her this much go get her.”

Jeongin stopped just outside the hospital doors, making me turn my head. “I can’t even protect myself from thugs on the beach. How am I supposed to take care of her? How am I supposed to prove myself to them? I’m a music production major. Her parents aren’t going to take me seriously.”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes coming to stand in front of me. “Okay, first of all, you were attacked with a gun. You aren’t fucking Superman. No matter how much you work out your abs will not stop a bullet.” I looked down at my hands, taking in everything the blonde said. “You’ve just got to seize the day. If you want her, go and get her.”

“Seize the day? Really?” Jeongin asked, brows raised.

“I watched Dead Poets Society last night. Sue Me. Robin Williams is a fucking genius.”

As the two of them argued about Robin Williams, I thought more about what Hyunjin said. I was never going to get her back if I didn’t try. If I didn’t believe I could convince her parents, then I wouldn’t be able to. I would do anything to be with Y/n. “You’re right,” I said standing up from the wheelchair, stopping the Inies’ argument. “I am gonna seize the day!”

It was Jeongin’s turn to roll his eyes and he pushed me back down into the chair. “Seize the day when there is less of a hole in your stomach.” With a huff, I sat back down as Innie pushed the chair forward towards the car. “Also,” The young black haired boy started. “Seize your wallet. There’s a taco truck down the street and I’m hungry.”

Reluctantly, I pulled my wallet from my bag to pay for Jeongin and his tacos. I wasn’t about to wait on Y/n though. The second I was able, I was going to get her back.

❖

Y/n’s POV

“Y/n, are you sure you don’t want to eat?” My mom called from downstairs. I laid on my bed staring up at the ceiling. Subconsciously I lifted the black shirt I was wearing up to my nose and breathed in the scent. My parents were kind enough to let me go back to the beach house the Inies and I shared and let me pack.

Wearing Jisung’s shirt gave me a little bit of comfort. That was until I thought about the fact my parents never wanted me to see him again. The shirt smelled like rain on the beach. A very certain scent. A scent that seemed to follow Jisung no matter where he went.

“No. I’m not eating,” I shouted back.

Rolling over my bed, I turned to see a stuffed octopus staring back at me. “What are you looking at?” It did nothing but keep its sewn smile on its purple face. Downstairs I heard the doorbell ring. Not taking the plush octopus’s shit, I threw it across the room in anger. Faintly I heard the sound of the door opening and a familiar voice floated through the house. Great, now I was imagining his voice.

Wait. No. That was him. That was Jisung’s voice. Falling off the bed, I scrambled to my feet swinging my bedroom door open. Hiding behind the stair banister, I watched my mother reluctantly let Jisung into the house. His dark hair was neatly styled and pushed away from his forehead. Simple silver earrings dangled and bounced against his skin. He wore a navy suit jacket and a simple white shirt, tucked into the matching dress pants. The pants were cropped making him look a little taller and revealing the tan skin of his ankles.

Jisung respectfully bowed as my father entered the room and looked around, eyes turning to the staircase. I ducked down, hitting my head on the railing in the process. “Ow-shit,” I whispered rubbing the top of my head.

Peaking around the corner I saw my parents lead Jisung into the living room. He sat down on the couch, still in my view. My parents sat across from him, their backs to me. Just seeing his face made my heartrate shift to lightspeed.

“I would like to reintroduce myself,” He started, deep voice bouncing off the walls and carrying to my hiding place. “My name is Han Jisung. I’m twenty years old. I’m a music production major at Seoul University....and your daughter is the love of my life.”

I could already see my mother shaking her head. She wouldn’t except less than a rich doctor with a terrible personality for me. Let me tell you, most of the medical students don't have time to date. I could tell Jisung was starting to get nervous by the way his leg shook and he began anxiously turning the ring on his left hand round his finger.

“Let’s just push away the fact that you nearly got my daughter shot.” Jisung winced and looked away, before meeting my father’s eyes once more. “What are your intentions with my daughter, Y/n?”

Jisung sighed, wringing his hands together. What were his intentions with me? I knew that he was serious about our relationship, but past that I was clueless. With an unwavering gaze, he looked back to my father. “I intend to marry her, sir. Not any time soon, but I do want to marry her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I love Y/n.”

It was impossible to keep the smile from spreading over my face. My parents shared a look, but from their body language, I already knew what their answer was. “Mr. Han,”

“Please, Jisung is just fine.”

“Jisung,” My mother continued in a cold tone. “We want you nowhere near our daughter. She has a bright future in front of her and you will only hinder it. You are just a constant reminder of her days prancing around on the beach. We cannot allow this relationship to continue, especially with her safety involved.”

His eyes visibly saddened and his shoulders sunk. “But-”

“If you know what’s best for you...what’s best for Y/n...you will let her go. You will walk out that door and never see her again.”

“What if I say no?”

My mother straightened her posture and smoothed out her dress. “If we find out you are seeing Y/n...we’ll withdraw her tuition payment and disown her. She’ll be kicked out onto the street. Can you live with that?”

I watched the gears turn in Jisung’s head. I wanted him to stand up and say that he didn’t care. To say that he just wanted to be with me. I would choose him in a heartbeat.

Instead, his head hung low and he ran his long fingers through his dark locks. “No, I couldn’t.”

My mother, obviously pleased, stood up a clear smile was heard in her voice. “Then your business here is done.” Jisung watched my mother move towards the entryway, clearly wearing his heart on his sleeve. He made no attempt at hiding how heartbroken he was.

“Will you at least let me say goodbye to her?” He pleaded, round doe eyes turned down and expecting a bad answer. My father sighed, before looking upstairs.

“Make it quick.”

Jisung’s head shot up, eyes filling with hope. He looked to the stairs before hesitantly walking towards them. I sprinted to my room leaving the door open just a crack. As I turned, I face-planted onto my carpet. Looking back I glared once again at the purple octopus that had caused my fall. Angrily chucking it somewhere else in the room I stood up and waited for Jisung to come in.

A hesitant knock filled my bedroom. He did not wait to enter. Jisung looked around before his eyes finally settled on me. I wasted no time in rushing to him. Wrapping my arms around his neck I crashed my lips onto his. My heart broke feeling him hold onto me so tightly. Jisung pulled away with sorrow filled eyes.

“I came to say goodbye.”

“I know. I heard everything.” Jisung rested his forehead against mine, eyes closing. “Jisung this isn’t your choice.” He shook his head still not looking at me. His lips pressed against mine softly once more.

“I’m not letting you throw away your life for me.”

“What if I want to?” Jisung looked me in the eyes. I could tell he was searching for any hesitance. “You love me.” It wasn’t a question and he knew it. Silently, he nodded still searching my face.

“Let’s run away. Screw my parents. I have enough in my savings to finish my degree.”

“Baby, I can’t do that to you. There’s no guarantee in my future. I might not be able to provide for you. I love you enough to understand that letting you go while it kills me...is what is best for you.” Our voices had moved to hushed whispers.

The back of my hand brushed over his cheek. “That’s not your decision to make.” He chuckled, still wincing a little from his healing wound. “I love you, Jisung. I’m asking you to run away with me.”

Once again I saw the gears begin to turn in his brain. He took more time thinking this through than he did downstairs. My heart hammered in my chest waiting for his answer. It stopped when his lips pressed against mine in a slow sensual kiss.

“Pack your bags,” Jisung whispered against my lips.

❖

A year had passed. My legs rested on either side of the surfboard floating on the water. The waves swayed them beneath the surface and I watched the slim form of Jisung ride a wave closer to where my board floated. I smiled watching him wipe out, disappearing beneath the blue water. Turning back, I saw the beach house on the shore, lights on, and waiting for us to return home from our sunset surf.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Jisung said popping up beside my board. His long fingers were wrapped around the tip of his own surfboard keeping it from floating away. His other arm rested on top of mine and lacing our fingers together. He smiled watching the glint on my left hand shine in the setting sun.

My eyes fell to his chest, most of it submerged. Through the water, I saw his newest tattoo and smiled. My name right over his heart. “Nice wipeout.” Jisung rolled his eyes before letting go of my hands and swimming over to his board and pushing himself up. We let the slowly decreasing waves push them next to each other, our legs brushing through the cold clear water.

“You don’t regret leaving with me do you?” Jisung asked, looking at the sunset.

I shook my head, staring at the red and orange glow of the disappearing sun. “Not one bit.” Jisung turned, grabbing my hand. With a smile, our lips connected just as the sun sunk beneath the waves. This was only the beginning of my life with Jisung.

❖

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curestardust · 3 years

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if you want: “group of young girls with special powers have to save the world” trope / very pleasing art style and animation / story and set-up had potential (but were wasted by inconsistent writing and pacing)

"Assault Lily: Bouquet” was a disappointing watch to me due to just how much potential this anime held that got wasted by bad writing, pacing and inconsistent tone shifts.

I’ve started dubbing certain anime “PMMM-likes” (you know like Roguelikes in video games) because these anime have quite a few things in common: a main cast of girl characters, who fight with magic or some sort of enchancement, usually in order to save the world from some enemy. And the “depressed, lone wolf” dark haired and “ditzy, naive, self-sacrificing” pink haired protagonist duo seems to also be a must. An anime I *really* liked that I’d put in this sub-genre is “Granbelm” (x) (which I’d urge everyone to watch tbh).

“Assault Lily” is somehow based on some kind of toyline and by that I don’t mean figures but literal barbie like dolls that you can customize and such. Although, I didn’t look much into it cause I’m not interested in that stuff. This whole anime feels more like a showcase than an actual story, almost like a build-up for a mobile game. We meet a shitton of characters, get exposition dumped on every little thing and see the workings and aesthetics of the fights on a few occasions.

Again, I’m quite sad at the potential this anime could’ve had. I think the story, if well written, could’ve even lasted 3 seasons.

In short for the story, there are some sort of weird lifeform called the “Huge” that’s attacking humanity. These creatures use a power called “Magie” to function and certain humans (yes, young girls as usual) were found to also be able to use Magie. These girls are called “Lilies” and they use special weapons called “CHARMs” to channel their Magie into and fight the Huge. The protagonist of “Assault Lily” is Riri (the ditzy pink haired girl) who wanted to become a Lily due to being saved by one when her hometown was attacked by a Huge. She meets this girl, Yuyu, but she has changed. She’s cold, uncaring and a loner.

Instead of explaining the story in more detail as I usually do, I’d like to write things out as what each season could’ve focused on if this were a multi-season anime. The 1st season’s content takes place in like the first 3 episodes but spoiler warning from then on.

- Season 1

In this academy, 2nd years can become “Schutzengels” (Guardian Angels) who can take on a younger student to become their “Schild” (Shield) and help them improve. [Sidenote: the younger student herself is referred to as “Schild” even though that doesn’t make much sense to me. I feel like they wanted to go with “Kind” (Child) but that might’ve been confusing to English speakers?].

Yuyu has become a loner because she lost her Shutzengel in a fight and as her memories are fuzzy, she thinks she might’ve had something to do with it. Lilies have “Rare Skills” and Yuyu’s is called “Lunatic Trancer” where she becomes insanely powerful but also can’t differentiate between friend or foe and is thus seen as dangerous to be around on the battlefield.

This issue comes up twice in the anime for some reason, with the exact same conclusion as well. I think an entire season could’ve focused on Riri improving as a Lily, Yuyu getting herself in more and more risky situations as she uses her Lunatic Transfer during fights and then concluding with what the anime did; that Riri for some reason can “cancel out” Yuyu’s Lunatic Trancer state and then the 2 of them work together to take down a huge enemy. The season could’ve concluded with them making the Shutzengel/Schild pledge.

- Season 2

Lilies also create Legions which need to have at least 9 members. This anime also has an insane amount of supporting characters besides the Legion members so some of the characters we barely get to know. In season 1, while the main plot is going on we could’ve gotten close to certain side characters. As this is an in-between season, it could’ve been more low-stakes and relationship focused. Riri and Yuyu decide to create a Legion, we have the side characters from S01 join and meet more characters to create the 9 member Legion. These characters could’ve also been lacking in some areas so, training segments. Character improvement! Always better than being perfect from the start. Toward the end of the season could’ve been the introduction of what was supposed to be a huge character development arc for Riri: the meeting of a girl with amnesia who Riri takes care of and kind of becomes her “Shutzengel”, although unofficially.

<SPOILERS> - Season 3

The most depressing shit left for last. The afformentioned girl with amnesia comes to be called “Yuri” and turns out to be an experiment in creating artificial Lilies. The government thus wants her back and Riri runs off with Yuri. This whole debacle is simply solved through a 5 minute long scene where the character responsible for exposition dumps reveals that Yuri doesn’t have any Huge DNA and thus that makes her human aka under the protection of the academy. This is great but like 2 seconds later, Yuri runs up to a Huge that appeared out of nowhere and gets herself killed. This doesn’t have the effect the anime wanted. We’ve only known Yuri in the original anime for like 3 episodes. Her loss doesn’t feel as depressing as it should and thus sympathising with Riri’s sudden depression is harder as well.

So, the way I’d fix this, is to have the first half of the season more normal, with Yuri getting to be a part of the group. The second half of the seaosn would be the “depression/drama/conclusion” starting with Riri and Yuri running away. As Lilies fighting humans is a big ethical question in the anime, I’d want a stand-off that lasts longer with a Huge appearing in the middle of the whole thing. Lilies fighting humans on one side and the Huge on the other, leading to a struggle, where eventually Yuri decides that the only way to resolve this is for her to sacrifice herself. Cue Riri’s depressive phase and Yuyu’s hallucinations of her Shutzengel coming back. Their Legion’s atmosphere is also soured due to the loss of Yuri, the chance that they might need to find humans in the future because they disobeyed orders and their 2 leaders’s moods being in the dumps.

Cue big threat, Riri and Yuyu coming to an understanding and accepting what happened, ready to take on the “Final Boss” where they might even die in the process, their Legion and other classmates showing up in that dramatic “Hey, you guys weren’t planning on getting all the glory for yourselves right?” and pulling of an incredibly powerful move that wipes the Huge nest out. (If you watched the anime, you know this is kind of sort of what happens, I just cut out some stuff I felt was unnecessary.)

Well, anyway, now that I’ve finished daydreaming about what could’ve been, I’m still left with a badly written anime in the end. I mean, the art was there, the music was there, the set-up was there, the characters were there but the writing felt half-hearted, like whoever wrote it didn’t believe in the potential of “Assault Lily”. Oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

EDIT: I just found out a mobile game called “Assault Lily: Last Bullet” was actually released so I was right about that.

[6/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | There was actual money spent on this

#dusty reviews #Assault Lily: Bouquet #Assault Lily #Assault Lily Bouquet #why this so long

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romancandlemagazine · 3 years

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An Interview with Alexander Wolfe, the man behind Pedestrian Magazine

Pedestrian is a magazine about the humble art of walking. In this interview, I talked with the man with the plan, Alexander Wolfe, about his love for this much maligned form of transport, his recent expedition from New York to Philadelphia, and the art of conversation.

First off, you recently walked from New York City to Philadelphia over nine days. What made you want to do that?

The initial desire to walk to Philadelphia came out living in New York City during the pandemic. I was bound to my apartment for a few months with little to do but walk around my neighborhood. I've always had a habit of walking around the city, but the pandemic only made these walks longer and longer, which eventually led to a 23 mile journey from my apartment in Brooklyn, to the Bronx, and back.

Around that time I was reading The Roads to Sata by Alan Booth and started contemplating longer, multi-day walks. I needed a change of scenery and found the idea of traveling by foot and living out of a bag very appealing. I felt like I'd developed a process here in the city (go on a walk, take photos, write a newsletter about the walk, repeat) and needed to give myself a challenge. I wanted to lean further into this practice that I've been developing for the last three years.

I'd never considered my walks to be hikes, so it made sense that I'd keep it in an urban setting. Walking to Philadelphia seemed like a no-brainer. What most people don't initially realize is that most of my time was spent walking through New Jersey. I liked the idea of walking in a place that is commonly misrepresented as the "armpit of America" and typically deemed unwalkable. New Jersey is actually a very underrated state. It might be the densest state population-wise, but it's called the Garden State for a reason. Oh yeah, I'd never been to Philadelphia and just really wanted to visit.

How did the walk go? Quite often trips or excursions can be a fair bit different to how you first imagine them… how did the reality of the walk differ from how you thought it was going to be?

I was presented with a new challenge every day. Don't get me wrong, the walk turned out better than I could have ever imagined, but you can never anticipate everything in advance. This was the first time I'd ever walked with a 25 pound bag on my back, let alone the first time I'd walked 9 days in a row. Originally I set out to average 17.75 miles per day, but thanks to my own curiosity, ended up waking 20 miles a day on average. I mapped the entire route a month or two before leaving, but would always deviate from the path in favor of exploring some neighborhood, road, or park that looked appealing. The first day alone ballooned into 27 miles because I got cocky and thought I didn't need to use my map while walking in Manhattan. I learned my lesson and kept my eyes on the map for the rest of the trip.

Another thing I didn't expect was the sensitivity one develops after walking 6-8 hours for days in a row. The smell of exhaust and gasoline becomes more potent. You realize how violently we've shaped the land to build huge highways and abysmal business parks. So much of our infrastructure is built in favor of the car, which makes being a pedestrian incredibly difficult at times. If the built environment didn't present a challenge, it was always the weather, the gnarly blisters on my feet, or my gear malfunctioning. I quickly learned to accept these challenges. It was just another component of the walk.

A lot of times people go for ‘a walk’, they’re seeking out beauty spots or nice scenery—maybe in nature reserves or the countryside, but your walk was cutting through some fairly overlooked places… industrial estates and small towns. Do people miss out by not seeing the whole picture of somewhere? Is just driving through these places to get to the destination sort of cheating?

I wouldn't consider driving to be cheating – it's just another way we alienate ourselves from the world around us. When we drive, we experience the world at a speed that makes it nearly impossible to pay attention to the fine details. Our relationship to place is abstracted, especially thanks to the rise of GPS. We no longer have to have a physical relationship to these towns. We don't even have to remember how to get to them. Driving around in a car reduces these places to nothing more than a label on a map or a convenient place to stop for gas.

It's important to have relationships with the places surrounding you. The walk has given me an intimate experience with the space between New York City and Philadelphia. I know what it looks like, I know how it feels to be there. I can tell you where residents stop hanging New York Yankees flags in favor of Philadelphia Phillies flags. If I'm watching the Soprano's and Tony references Metuchen, NJ then I know exactly what he's talking about. I think to understand a place, such as New York City, it's just as important to understand the places around it. There are generations of people who once called the Big Apple home, but decided to plant their roots in Jersey for one reason or another.

I suppose you could have read about some of these places on Wikipedia, but being there is a completely different thing. Is experiencing stuff first hand important?

It's very important if you actually want to understand a place. It's too easy to create our own narratives without ever visiting a place. I still tried to do my share of research before heading out. I have friends from North Jersey or the Philadelphia Metro and tried to take their opinions with a grain of salt. I spent some time reading about certain towns along the way on Wikipedia or scanned Reddit to get a vibe. I even previewed chunks of the walk on Google Street View to mentally prepare and know if it was actually safe to walk near some of these roads. I could have spent months preparing, but it never would actually replace walking in these small towns and cities. It's so much different when you're on the ground.

I suppose the main reason we’re talking is that you make a magazine based around the idea of walking. How long have you been making Pedestrian? What started it off?

I released the first issue of Pedestrian back in March of 2018. I was living in Ridgewood, Queens at the time and made friends with a guy named Curtis Merkel (I actually met him while out on a walk). He ran a moving business for a few decades and retired. At 84 years old he opened up a tiny little bookshop to keep himself busy. I'd visit him every weekend to check out his books and eventually we'd just get to talking. He'd lived in Ridgewood his entire life and loved to talk about the neighborhood's history. Moving to NYC also introduced me to a thriving community of zine makers. I wanted to share these conversations I'd had with Curtis in print form, so I decided to start a magazine. I invited a few friends to contribute and the rest was history.

Since then, the identity of Pedestrian has become quite fluid. While it started as a magazine, I would now describe Pedestrian as my own practice. It's a platform that allows me to collaborate with others, produce magazines, write newsletters, go on these long multi-day walks, and produce t-shirts. I have found this configuration gives me the most creative freedom.

A lot of your magazine is about meeting people and striking up conversations. Is this a lost art these days?

I don't know if it's a lost art per se, but there's less incentive to reach out and talk with strangers these days. Thanks to the rise of social media it's just getting easier and easier to stay within our own "bubbles." Starting Pedestrian, in a way, was an excuse for me to speak with those I typically wouldn't reach. It's amazing how having a publication kind of takes the fear out of speaking with strangers. You can do anything when you have intention.

Although walking is something most people do, is it overlooked as an activity? It seems it’s mostly seen as an inconvenience, rather than a hobby in itself.

It depends where you live. In New York City, for example, walking is a part of the culture. The city is built in such a way that makes walking a viable means of transportation. And if you can't walk to your destination, you're likely walking to a subway or a bus. Where I'm from in Iowa, walking is very inconvenient. Everything is spaced out, which makes walking anywhere very difficult. It’s not that people don’t want to walk, it’s just the way we’ve built certain communities has made it very hard to enjoy. It makes people think walking is very inconvenient.

I’m here in Iowa until August and it’s been interesting to walk a place that is so reliant on cars. The other day I did a 13.5 walk around the city. There’s nothing here stopping you from walking (unless the heat gets you. Technically we’re in the middle of a drought. It’s been incredibly hot as of late), and there’s plenty of sidewalk. I think it’s mostly just a mindset people have to develop. It doesn’t matter how many miles you walk, it’s just about getting out there. Your mental health will thank you and you might even learn something new about your surroundings along the way.

Walking is maybe the antithesis to the internet, but Pedestrian also has a decent presence on the World Wide Web, and you regularly send newsletters and... er... partake in the digital world. How do you balance the real world with the matrix?

It’s a relationship I’m constantly reevaluating. I’m not a master of balancing the two yet, but I’m slowly building habits that will protect my time. I often daydream of abandoning social media altogether and picking up a flip phone. I obviously haven’t done that yet, so in the meantime, I’m investing a lot of time in my newsletter. Sending out a newsletter is a much more thoughtful, intimate, and slow experience...kind of like the way I approach my walks out in the world. I understand that the web is a tool and I’m not sure the Philly walk would have gotten the same amount of attention had I not had an Instagram account. It’s cliche, but everything in moderation, right? I try not to take it so seriously.

What next for Pedestrian?

The Philly walk was such a great success and I’d like to keep that momentum going. Later in September I have another big, big walk planned, but I have yet to announce the route. Look for an announcement sometime next month. This one will be a bit longer and involve 3 different cities. I can’t wait.

Once winter hits I’m going to buckle down and produce a proper book for the Philly walk that will include all my writing and photos I took along the journey. I’m already excited to share the finished product with the world. Stay tuned.

Final question, what are your walking shoes of choice? And what's your soundtrack? Are earphones advised for long walks, or do you prefer the ambient sounds of the streets?

I’m a big fan of Hoka Clifton’s. I wore them throughout the entire Philly walk and have two pairs in my closet. At this point, Hoka should probably pay me for how much business I send their way. I’m always recommending them.

I prefer not to wear headphones and just listen to the ambient sounds of the street. More often than not, I find wearing headphones to be a bit distracting and it takes me out of the present moment. Although, I’ll admit I have been trying to introduce music into my walking once again, but few tracks make the cut. Lately Andrew Wasylyk’s Last Sunbeams of Childhood has been on repeat. There’s something about that track...

Find out more about Pedestrian here. Pedestrian is available in the UK courtesy of Central Library.

#Interviews

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vdmeganlawsontei · 6 years

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Top 5 ICOs That Might Make You a Millionaire

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you had all the money in the world? Everyone has. But we take it to be just daydreaming.

According to researchers, at least in the US, while entering the top 20% income distribution can be achieved through education and hard work, entering the top 1% is almost impossible if you don’t have a wealthy background.

It’s also well known that nobody becomes rich by saving up under the mattress. You could take 20% of your income each month and save it, but if you’re making $50 or $60 k a year (rough averages for the US and EU), it’ll take you around 65 years to get to your first million. That’s a bad deal.

Check any publication on the matter, you’ll see one thing: millionaires and billionaires get to be so by investing. You don’t break into the top 1% by working and drawing a salary, but by making your money work for you.

Nowadays, thanks to digital currencies and ICOs, investing is easier than ever. You can find investing opportunities everywhere. Some are quite risky (a few are scams). But big risk means big rewards.

In this list, we’ll showcase some of the most profitable ICOs to take off in 2018. Some might make you a millionaire if you’re ready to take some risk.

But first, let’s see previous ICOs so you can see what we mean by big rewards.

The Top 10 Most profitable ICOs ever

It’s no news that some ICOs have yielded amazing returns. But if you do the math, it becomes almost unbelievable just how amazing these returns have been.

Check Ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies right now (and the basic code for most ICOs). Since its ICO, Ethereum has seen a pant-dropping 229615% increase.

That’s almost 2300 thousand dollars for each dollar invested. Picture you had bought some at its ICO. For $100, you could now afford a sports car. For $1000, you’d be a multi-millionaire.

And that doesn’t even compare to what you could have got for a $1000 investment in NXT. If you had purchased $1000 worth of it, it would now be worth a mind-shattering eight million dollars.

Bet you’re feeling like you missed those. Well, don’t feel bad. Let’s break down our picks for the next big thing in the ICO world.

Our Top 5 ICOs that might make you a millionaire

We’ve selected our top 5 pick for ICOs running this year that may make you millions. The selection is based on the potential growth, all around hype and the strengths that come with each product and the team behind it. We’ve also pointed out some of the risk factors, so you can see both sides of the coin.

#1 Telegram ICO

The product

TON (short for Telegram Open Network) emerged as a solution to problems common to all cryptocurrencies. The idea is simple: give blockchains a common foundation so they’re more easily accessible. The TON architecture is designed to allow for three things:

Speed and scalability

Easy-to-use interface

Wide user-base

Its flexibility would also make it the perfect base for uses other than exchange, such as storage or automated transactions.

It would be integrated to the Telegram app, with which most crypto-enthusiasts are already familiar. This implies a direct access to their almost 200 million monthly users, and is a very valuable asset on itself. The idea is quite good, and somewhat resembles Kik’s KIN token. We’ll have to wait and see whether it takes off.

Why it might make you a millionaire

First off: user base. One of crypto’s main hurdles is that its there’s not enough users yet to make it universal. If the Telegram team manage to integrate TON into their apps, and make every instance of the app a secure personal wallet, it’d be major hit.

TON would instantly become the world’s most widely used cryptocurrency. And if they can build, on top of that, all the functionality they propose, it could reshape the internet.

Also, Telegram is an already well-known brand and a strong player in the digital arena, so they have a name to backup their claims. And besides, TON has accumulated hype in the past weeks. If it’s sustained, even quick selling investors may find a good reason to get in on it early.

The risk

There’s three things to keep in mind. First off, the good old ‘don’t believe the hype’. The idea is sound, but the team has yet to make it a reality. And that’s a steep hill to climb.

It’s one thing to build a message app and another to revolutionize the internet with blockchain in every phone.

Second: the task is either huge or not worth it. KIN is a suitable comparison: big message app developer wants to introduce blockchain en masse. But you either change internet forever or end up with Paypal for hipsters. And that depends on functionality. Which brings us to the third.

Without use, the instantly generated user base may evaporate. Easy come, easy go. To keep them, Telegram has to build its platform, made it user-ready in a small window of time and add functionality, without disrupting its user base in the transition.

Bonus Tip

Feasibility aside, the idea behind KIN showcases one of the most radical uses of blockchain: hardware interconnection. Like a neural network, blockchain allows for processing power to be shared through a common, digital architecture. We may not be at that point yet, but a time may come when the internet is just one big supercomputer, with each of our devices acting as operating nodes.

#2 Kodak ICO

The product

Who hasn’t heard of Kodak?

Most of us over 20 have owned and used a traditional Kodak camera, and recall a time in which the brand laid dominance on all things photography. And now, Kodak’s withering road on the digital world has taken them to launch KODAKCoin in 2018.

The token is designed to protect photographers’ digital rights using blockchain. The core concept is simple: digital photographs will carry their creator’s info, becoming fully traceable. This is attractive to every photographer out there, and it’s surely a nice use of blockchain’s capabilities.

Why it might make you a millionaire

Let’s ask again. Who hasn’t heard of Kodak? A brand with such a long history has a name and legacy to back-up their endeavors. Besides, if anyone knows anything about photography it’s Kodak, right?

Also, although there are other ways to track digital rights, blockchain may indeed be the best to track intellectual property rights’ holders. And that’s thanks to integration. In an ideal setting, the hashing (or branding, if you like) of the photographs could be almost instantaneous (a word with a history of its own in photography). Combine that with the most futuristic, internet connected digital cameras, and it could prove an invaluable tool to professionals and amateurs alike.

The risk

We’re gonna ask one last time. Who hasn’t heard of Kodak? Although legacy counts for a lot in the business world, when it comes to tech, you have to be famous for doing the right thing. Kodak has failed in the past, especially when it came to adapting to the digital sphere. If they can’t change this history, the photography platform may just be poorly managed and all around clumsy (assuming they get the tech running in the first place).

Besides, even though it sounds like a nice way to track digital rights, it’s not necessarily an appropriate tool to enforce them. Thus, incentives, especially for professional photographers, would be slim. If the blockchain is integrated into more expensive devices, this hurdle could prove to be twice as hard to overcome. Kodak’s negatives may indeed overcome their golden age successes.

Bonus Tip

Every once in a while, intellectual property rights become an issue. Those of us with more internet hours on our backs are aware of the amount of piracy going on, and how little social pressure there is on maintaining some intellectual property rights. Independent artists and studios still have people’s hearts with them, but Disney-sized giants don’t. So, maybe intellectual property rights will get disrupted through social and political shakes. This would leave Kodak’s token as a solution to a no longer existing problem.

#3 Cointed ICO

The product

Cointed is a company with a mission. They’ve set out to change money using crypto. They’ve already set up a network of Crypto ATM machines in Austria and several other European countries. Their token is called CTD and it facilitates acquisition of the ATMs.

The devices by themselves are highly functional, coming in one-way and two-way varieties, allowing users to exchange crypto to fiat and back again. Also, their low transaction fees make the platform easy to use and accessible.

This also counts for making crypto more widely available and attractive to not just investors, but ordinary users. Imagine if using crypto could be as simple as a credit card (which Cointed is also developing).

Why it might make you a millionaire

Cointed is a functioning company, and their ATMs are already operating, so it’s safe to say that their tech and management are sound. They have also been successful so far, so it’s not a question of whether they can be, but if they can improve their returns by upping their game. Cointed is even working on a banking license, so they’re willing to go the extra mile to secure their success.

Also, if they succeed, the whole crypto world succeeds.

Crypto ATMs are quite recent, but their tariffs and costs are unbearable right now. If Cointed can change that, crypto will break into the “real” world like a rockstar coming onstage. And we can’t wait to see that happen.

The risk

The hardest part of being ahead your time is everyone that isn’t. Especially big governments and banking institutions. Not only will banks (both private and central) will probably frown on the notion of decentralized money ATMs being as common as gas stations, but more than likely governments will want to set up some restrictions on it.

Cointed are getting a banking license in Austria, but they plan to take their business international. If governments want to crack down on them, maybe they won’t fly as far and high as they’re shooting for.

Bonus Tip

It’s refreshing to see someone break the mold every once in a while. Some companies and teams take lightly the notion of a community when they launch their ICOs. A few engage and communicate with their investors. But after getting some bad mouth about their inner practices, with an ex-partner claiming Cointed had taken credit for their products, the team took the time and effort to launch a full transparency report. A rare but fine treat, it goes to show their team is serious and willing to keep their base. They might have just turned a bad thing into an opportunity to shine. This also sets them further apart from traditional financial institutions, which are not the most popular right now.

#4 AgroTechFarm ICO

The product

AgroTech Farming is an already established Russian company specializing in indoor hydroponic farming equipment. They have developed and constructed, a futuristic looking appliance to grow vegetables indoors without effort or previous knowledge. The ATF homegrower is app-controlled and comes in two models: Strawberry, made for growing three different small crops and cannabis, suitable to grow cannabis plants or any other tall crop.

The ICO aims to fund ATF’s hard footing in Canada and the US, where the market for medicinal and recreational cannabis, combined with the ever growing need for organic produce shape the ideal demand in those big markets. The token is called the ATF, and it has two main uses: discounts for buying and shipping the appliances and the possibility of conversion to shares, so it’s also aimed at investors (professional and amateur alike).

Why it might make you a millionaire

This ICO has many signs of a killer deal. The company and product are already set up, so it’s not a gamble to see whether they can build what they promise, they’re past that point. These are not dreamers but serious businessmen.

Also, the demand for their grower rests on an already well-established demand: the US and Canada cannot produce enough organic veggies and Cannabis for its growing consumers. That’s why you can see big bumps on prices for organic products.

Also, it’s a cool idea to fall behind: easy to make, affordable, safe organic food for everyone? Count us in. Medicinal Cannabis Oil free of pesticides and additives? Double that.

The risk

Check out their appliance. It looks like it has been taken straight out of an Asimov novel. Maybe we are not ready for a world in which we all grow our food inside our own hose in a sort of magic shelf. Besides, the device is a bit pricey, and it can be tricky to sell at first. Finally, if you happen to be against cannabis for some reason, you may not want to take part in this.

Bonus Tip

ATF’s research on cannabis demand in the US and Canada looks quite promising. Obviously, they’re riding the green rush in North America to full extent. Besides, using an ICO to take control of a market is a creative spin on ICOs in general. We’ve also checked their notion of organic cannabis. The argument is sound: if you want to avoid pesticides in your foods, you definitely want to avoid them in your meds. All cannabis enthusiasts have a good reason to check this up.

#5 Envion ICO

The product

Envion’s device is a pretty neat idea that combines solar-power, high-tech mining and a global community.

It’s all based on electricity prices. Solar power plants generate an overcapacity. This means that sometimes, they make much more energy than is demanded. So, price plummets, but only at the source.

Envion has set out to distribute mobile mining devices that can make use of this cheap energy, generating usable heat and mining crypto. All supervised using their custom made platform. Hardware is neat and well engineered and designed, but Envion has also set up a blockchain network to connect their soon to be raised army of miners.

Why it might make you a millionaire

The idea tackles big issues in the crypto world: energy prices and environmental impact. We already know bitcoin mining is seriously hurting the planet, using jaw-dropping amounts of energy. This, by the way, does not come cheap. By using overabundant solar energy, both hurdles are avoided.

One major hit is also the mining use for the technology. Blockchain that helps mine crypto is a good recipe for high returns.

The global community of Envion miners, interconnected through dedicated house-made software is also a solid base to run on. Finally, their tech is not just sound, but patent-protected, so the risk of copycats is limited.

The risk

EVN is hard to get. Unlike most tokens, you have to provide personal data and some documentation. Of course, these are justified, because miners become sort of ambassadors of this brand. Still, a harder process means less people will take the time and effort to join this futuristic army.

Shipping and manufacturing costs are also problematic, so while promised returns are big, bigger starting investments may be required.

This means Envion will rely more on professional users, ready to dedicate resources and time, so the crowd is not as big as could be, and will demand a lot from them. Envion will have to show nerve and organizing power to set up and manage their community.

Bonus Tip

Envion has focused on a big issue the crypto world faces today. We crypto enthusiasts can’t just turn our backs on keeping the environment undamaged.

While the biggest argument against crypto mining is false (namely, that it has no inherent use-value) it is true that the usefulness of crypto and blockchain are on their initial steps.

Picture this. If car manufacturers had known of climate change and what the product was slowly causing, wouldn’t you judge them as irresponsible and short sighted if they did nothing? We would.

That’s why we must meet the challenge of green mining. It’s quite possible, and a lot of companies have already fallen in line.

Ride the ICO Wave

As we said right at the start, becoming rich is about investing. Smart investing in turn is not about avoiding risks, but taking them intelligently.

Instead of just saving up under your mattress, try a different approach in 2018. Here’s our pick on some cool, calculated risks one can take this year in hopes of making your first million.

Remember one not only invests in tech. When it comes to ICO’s and blockchain, the product is important, but so is the team behind it and the community it springs.

ICO’s and blockchain tech are hooking, because of the vast array of possibilities. We no longer think of crypto as just a means to exchange value, but a platform on which to create more, divergent value. Blockchain is here to stay and sweep feet in a lot of industries.

Ours is a good list to start off 2018 the right way, but keep your eyes peeled. Who knows. Maybe you’ll spot the right risk at the right time.

And it might just make you a millionaire. Always make sure to read the latest Bitcoin News, so you don’t miss good..

http://ift.tt/2GxfB3Z

0 notes

lewisgabriel84z31 · 6 years

Text

Top 5 ICOs That Might Make You a Millionaire

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you had all the money in the world? Everyone has. But we take it to be just daydreaming.

In this list, we’ll showcase some of the most profitable ICOs to take off in 2018. Some might make you a millionaire if you’re ready to take some risk.

But first, let’s see previous ICOs so you can see what we mean by big rewards.

The Top 10 Most profitable ICOs ever

It’s no news that some ICOs have yielded amazing returns. But if you do the math, it becomes almost unbelievable just how amazing these returns have been.

Check Ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies right now (and the basic code for most ICOs). Since its ICO, Ethereum has seen a pant-dropping 229615% increase.

That’s almost 2300 thousand dollars for each dollar invested. Picture you had bought some at its ICO. For $100, you could now afford a sports car. For $1000, you’d be a multi-millionaire.

And that doesn’t even compare to what you could have got for a $1000 investment in NXT. If you had purchased $1000 worth of it, it would now be worth a mind-shattering eight million dollars.

Bet you’re feeling like you missed those. Well, don’t feel bad. Let’s break down our picks for the next big thing in the ICO world.

Our Top 5 ICOs that might make you a millionaire

#1 Telegram ICO

The product

Speed and scalability

Easy-to-use interface

Wide user-base

Its flexibility would also make it the perfect base for uses other than exchange, such as storage or automated transactions.

Why it might make you a millionaire

TON would instantly become the world’s most widely used cryptocurrency. And if they can build, on top of that, all the functionality they propose, it could reshape the internet.

The risk

There’s three things to keep in mind. First off, the good old ‘don’t believe the hype’. The idea is sound, but the team has yet to make it a reality. And that’s a steep hill to climb.

It’s one thing to build a message app and another to revolutionize the internet with blockchain in every phone.

Bonus Tip

#2 Kodak ICO

The product

Who hasn’t heard of Kodak?

Why it might make you a millionaire

The risk

Bonus Tip

#3 Cointed ICO

The product

Why it might make you a millionaire

Also, if they succeed, the whole crypto world succeeds.

The risk

Bonus Tip

#4 AgroTechFarm ICO

The product

Why it might make you a millionaire

Also, it’s a cool idea to fall behind: easy to make, affordable, safe organic food for everyone? Count us in. Medicinal Cannabis Oil free of pesticides and additives? Double that.

The risk

Bonus Tip

#5 Envion ICO

The product

Envion’s device is a pretty neat idea that combines solar-power, high-tech mining and a global community.

Why it might make you a millionaire

One major hit is also the mining use for the technology. Blockchain that helps mine crypto is a good recipe for high returns.

The risk

Shipping and manufacturing costs are also problematic, so while promised returns are big, bigger starting investments may be required.

Bonus Tip

Envion has focused on a big issue the crypto world faces today. We crypto enthusiasts can’t just turn our backs on keeping the environment undamaged.

While the biggest argument against crypto mining is false (namely, that it has no inherent use-value) it is true that the usefulness of crypto and blockchain are on their initial steps.

Picture this. If car manufacturers had known of climate change and what the product was slowly causing, wouldn’t you judge them as irresponsible and short sighted if they did nothing? We would.

That’s why we must meet the challenge of green mining. It’s quite possible, and a lot of companies have already fallen in line.

Ride the ICO Wave

As we said right at the start, becoming rich is about investing. Smart investing in turn is not about avoiding risks, but taking them intelligently.

Instead of just saving up under your mattress, try a different approach in 2018. Here’s our pick on some cool, calculated risks one can take this year in hopes of making your first million.

Remember one not only invests in tech. When it comes to ICO’s and blockchain, the product is important, but so is the team behind it and the community it springs.

Ours is a good list to start off 2018 the right way, but keep your eyes peeled. Who knows. Maybe you’ll spot the right risk at the right time.

And it might just make you a millionaire. Always make sure to read the latest Bitcoin News, so you don’t miss good..

http://ift.tt/2GxfB3Z

0 notes

beingsarahmorales-blog · 7 years

Text

Participatory Culture: What Does It Mean? - New Work

As humans, most of us have something that we “geek out” about. This could be celebrities, sports, movies, interior decorating and anything else that someone has a passion for. In today’s day people have more opportunities to get involved in these passions from the comfort of their own home thanks to the internet. The world shrinks in time and space when they can log on and share their thoughts on whatever they want with anyone around the world. This is a way of participating in their passion, something that is a part of the greater idea of participatory culture.

So, what exactly does it mean to take part in participatory culture? Well, depending on who you ask it could mean a plethora of things. Jay Rosen explains what participatory culture is in his article “The People Formerly Known as the Audience”. He states; “The people formerly known as the audience are those who were on the receiving end of a media system that ran one way, in a broadcasting pattern, with high entry fees and a few firms competing to speak very loudly while the rest of the population listened in isolation from one another—and who today are not in a situation like that at all.” Essentially, this means that no longer do people have to be spoon fed the media. They can choose which of it they want to take in and which they want to contribute to. For myself, participatory culture is something I take part in nearly every single day. I’m someone who likes to truly engage with the media that I am viewing. As a child, it manifested in playing pretend with my siblings based on the books that were read to us. My father would read The Chronicles of Narnia series of books to my brothers and I and then we would pretend to be the characters going on adventures of our own creation. It was like our own childhood form of fanfiction.

The Henry Jenkins article “Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars?: Digital Cinema, Media Convergence, and Participatory Culture” related to me as my brothers and I used to film each other having lightsaber battles with plastic lightsabers our mother had bought for us at Toys R Us. I have specific memories of my brothers jumping around their room, climbing over furniture, pretending that they were Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting each other, while I filmed it on my mom’s digital camera. On page 15, the article by Jenkins states: “As one fan critic explained, “Odds are if you were a kid in the seventies, you probably fought in schoolyards over who would play Han, lost a Wookie action figure in your backyard and dreamed of firing that last shot on the Death Star. And probably your daydreams and conversations weren’t about William Wallace, Robin Hood or Odysseus, but, instead, lightsaber battles, frozen men and forgotten fathers.” As for my brothers and I, we were kids when the prequels were coming out in theaters. While playing pretend we could be the characters and give their story whatever ending we so chose, including changing the villains into good guys.

However, with the help of social media and the internet, participatory culture has taken on a whole new meaning since when I was a child. Now that I’m older, I watch fan videos of my favorite shows made by fans who are just invested in the storylines and characters as I am, I’ve made it a habit to listen to podcasts that discuss shows after they air, and I comment on fan pages and start discussions with others fans on whatever the topic may be. This allows me to dive deeper into the media to search for a meaning more complex than what can be seen on the surface, as well as get perspectives from others that I might not have thought of on my own. I’m not just simply viewing, I’m an active audience member.

Participatory culture, however, branches out much farther than interacting with traditional media. A large part of it in our culture today surrounds new media that is created without the backing of large networks. For an example of this I go to Youtube. Youtube is a video sharing platform on the internet that first went online in 2005. Since then people began creating their own content and have been posting it on the site for friends and strangers alike to see. Over time, it became a space for communities to form around certain content creators who had the special charisma to garner them a large following. These people, or “Youtubers” as they have come to be called, interact with their followers on a daily basis, getting feedback and ideas and making friends they otherwise wouldn’t be able to in their immediate vicinity.

One such Youtuber who has found great success on the platform is Grace Helbig. Helbig began uploading videos in 2007 to her channel called GracieHinABox, but really got consistent with content creating in 2008 when she was asked to create a video blog web series on a website called “My Damn Channel”. This web series became know as “DailyGrace” and was later switched over to being exclusively on Youtube in 2010 on a channel of it’s own name. On December 27, 2013, Helbig brought “DailyGrace” to an end with the decision to not renew her multi-year contract with “My Damn Channel”. Thus, she couldn’t use any of her formatting that she had used for “DailyGrace” and she had to find a way to start completely fresh.

Throughout her six years on Youtube at the time, Helbig had amassed over 2.4 million subscribers. She had created a community of people who thoroughly enjoyed her zany form of comedy in which she would make funny observations about daily life or poke fun at things she found weird. Although her style of humor may not be for everyone, it certainly worked for all of those who clicked on her videos every single day. Along with the subscribers, Helbig was adored by many other of Youtube’s top content creators. When it came down to deciding what to do after her departure from “My Damn Channel”, Helbig found herself completely supported by fans and fellow Youtubers alike. That is what allowed her to have such an easy adjustment when creating her own channel separate from a network entitled “it’sGrace” (a rebranded version of GracieHinABox). As of February 2017, the “it'sGrace” YouTube channel has over 3 million subscribers and over 250 million video views. Not bad for a girl who just started out by making funny videos in her apartment.

The key to Helbig’s success is her use of the platform, as well as other forms of social media, to connect with her fans. She’ll use various platforms to ask her followers what videos they would like to see her make and she makes them. She features their comments in videos and genuinely seems to care about what they have to say. She has tapped into something that traditional media doesn’t allow. While watching tv or going to a movie you can’t say something to the screen and garner a response from those acting, but with Youtube you can comment on one of Grace Helbig’s videos and see her feature it or respond to it in the next video she uploads. On Youtube, the “celebrity” doesn’t seem so far away. She’s relatable, she’ll respond to you, and she’s someone who seems like she could be your friend.

Participatory culture allows for a special spark to be brought to whatever media that is being interacted with, but having a lack of it can be quite obvious, and in some cases detrimental. This was evident in Helbig’s late-night talk show “The Grace Helbig Show” in that it lacked that immediate form of participation. The show ran for eight twenty two minute episodes on the E! cable tv network from April 3, 2015 to June 7, 2015 and wasn’t renewed for a second season. IMDB user Lilah Osbaldeston wrote a review of “The Grace Helbig Show” on imdb.com stating the following: “Grace Helbig is very funny; as demonstrated by her Youtube videos. She has a sense of humor based on awkwardness, timing, and unexpected puns. The problem with this first episode was having a dedicated flow the producers wanted to achieve. Grace is the least funny when given heavy direction as it takes away from the rawness of her humor style. A lot of the show seemed forced. Her awkwardness didn't lend itself to the beginning segments of the show and the whole thing seemed pretty unnatural. I hope they can get the flow of the show more streamlined and in line with Grace's humor. I really want to enjoy it, but when the show seems like a long Youtube video, I can't really see it lasting too long. Grace could be a great show host, but this doesn't really seem like a fitting style.” This sentiment was repeated by many of Helbig’s fans who, while being huge fans of her Youtube channel, didn’t believe that her comedy translated well to mainstream television.

So what was the problem here? For one, the episodes were shot in a way that immediate reaction from fans wouldn’t be able to be implemented in the next episodes. The fans weren’t able to shape the content, but all control rested in the hands of the network. Also, with it being on a mainstream channel, the network had to make sure the show could appeal to a casual fan, not just a diehard fan of Grace Helbig. Thus, the show was created with much broader strokes than Helbig’s videos which cater to someone who enjoys a specific type of humor. From watching it myself, I felt as if they were trying to take Grace’s humor but showcase it in a way that people are used to seeing on television and in my opinion it just didn’t work. Her videos are typically riddled with jump cuts that allow for a rush to the punchline, and with a talk show the stereotypical editing process doesn’t allow for that. It is plain to see that Helbig did not edit the show herself as it’s not done at all in her typical style. Thus, the viewer is seeing Helbig through the eyes of someone else, and not herself. Another factor in why the show seemed so unnatural is that unlike many other talk shows there was no in-studio live audience. So even in that aspect she was robbed of participatory culture. She didn’t have an audience to bounce off of nor her fan base to interact with so directly and thus it left out some of the magic that her Youtube channel is known for.

Luckily, Helbig decided to take a second chance at the interview/talk show type show, but in her own way, with the creation of her podcast “Not Too Deep With Grace Helbig” which was first released on September 1, 2014. She runs the podcast very similar to her Youtube videos in which a large portion of it includes questions sent in via various social media platforms from her followers. She then asks these questions to whatever guest is on the show that day, most of which are online content creators like herself. So not only is Helbig interacting with her fans, but she’s also connecting them to some of their other favorite creators and getting their questions answered. Through this, her zany silly comedy, as well as that of her followers, is able to shine through and that is what really makes the show so interesting to listen to. The conversations seem completely organic because you can’t script the questions that her fan base sends in. She has tapped into something truly unique as she comes alongside the Youtube community, who has essentially allowed her to have such a strong footing in the content creating realm, and together they make what the podcast is.

The concept of interacting on a personal level and embracing participatory culture with fans is something that mainstream celebrities could learn from online influencers. Online content creators know how to create relationships with their fans and take the time to show that they care. There is the annual convention “VidCon” that many of the top Youtube content creators attend in order to meet their fans in person, to get to talk to them, and thank them for watching their videos and being a part of the community. Not only are they taking advantage of all that the internet allows, but they are taking it a step further and branching out into face-to-face interaction as well.

Online content creators have become the new celebrity. In fact, an article published by Variety conducted a survey in 2014 where they “asked 1,500 respondents a battery of questions assessing how 20 well-known personalities stacked up in terms of approachability, authenticity and other criteria considered aspects of their overall influence. Half the 20 were drawn from the English-language personalities with the most subscribers and video views on YouTube, the other half were represented by the celebrities with the highest Q scores among U.S. teens aged 13-17”. The results of the survey showed that out of the 40 online personalities and traditional celebrities combined, the top five were all Youtubers. The article also states, “Looking at survey comments and feedback, teens enjoy an intimate and authentic experience with YouTube celebrities, who aren’t subject to image strategies carefully orchestrated by PR pros. Teens also say they appreciate YouTube stars’ more candid sense of humor, lack of filter and risk-taking spirit, behaviors often curbed by Hollywood handlers”. Jennifer Lawrence, a mainstream celebrity who was at the height of her Hunger Games fame at the time the survey was conducted only came in at number seven. You would think a star that appeared in one of the most popular movies of the year that made $121,897,634 at the box office opening weekend would be higher on the list, but no, the creators who are more accessible to their audience were those who came out on top.

Henry Jenkins explains the complexities of teenagers being involved in participatory culture similar to the involvement that Grace Helbig has with her fans. His article entitled “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century states, “According to a recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life project (Lenhardt & Madden, 2005), more than one-half of all teens have created media content, and roughly one third of teens who use the Internet have shared content they produced. In many cases, these teens are actively involved in what we are calling participatory cultures. A participatory culture is a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices. A participatory culture is also one in which members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another (at the least they care what other people think about what they have created).” To these people, it’s all about the community they create. When they log on, they know they can find people with common interests who they can bounce ideas back and forth from. This is something that is particularly comforting to those who may find it hard to find people in the “real world” who share what they are passionate about. In the world of the internet it’s almost impossible not to find someone who shares the same passion.

Danah Boyd’s article, "Participating in the Always-On Lifestyle” comments on judgement that outsiders, or those who aren’t so intune with social media, might pass on those who can’t seem to get enough. The article states, “Social media skeptics often look at the output of those who are engaging with the newfangled services and shake their heads. “How can they be so public?” some ask. Others reject digital performances by asking, “Who wants to read what they want anyhow?” Publicness is one of the strange and yet powerful aspects of this new world. Many who blog and tweet are not writing for the world at large; they are writing for the small group who might find it relevant and meaningful. And, realistically, the world at large is not reading the details of their lives. Instead, they are taking advantage of the affordances of these technologies to connect with others in a way that they feel is appropriate.” For many, this is how they find “their people”. Yes, many have the fear of it being dangerous to put so much of oneself online, but in today’s day so much of professionalism comes along with having an online presence. It’s how people who don’t know someone get to know them and garner a first impression before ever meeting face to face. The article by Boyd continues with, “To an outsider, wanting to be always-on may seem pathological. All too often, it’s labeled an addiction. The assumption is that we’re addicted to the technology. The technology doesn’t matter. It’s all about the people and information. Humans are both curious and social critters. We want to understand and interact. Technology introduces new possibilities for doing so, and that’s where the passion comes in. We’re passionate about technology because we’re passionate about people and information, and they go hand in hand.” For digital natives this is something that is embraced a little more easily than others as they were raised with the tools to work with the technology efficiently rather than having to transition from a different way of doing things. The technology isn’t the truly fascinating thing, it’s merely the vessel that connects people to others and to information so that they can participate in the world around them on a greater scale than they could by simply interacting with those in their geographic vicinity. Participatory culture allows for the spread of ideas that may not reach certain areas of the world otherwise and personally, I think that’s a wonderful thing.

“The People Formerly Known as the Audience” by Rosen concludes with what I think is a very poignant thought. “The people formerly known as the audience are simply the public made realer, less fictional, more able, less predictable. You should welcome that, media people. But whether you do or not, we want you to know we’re here.” Furthermore, I think it should be stated that “we’re” not going away either. Now that people can interact with media in whichever creative way they please there is no going back. Participatory culture is only going to grow and evolve and the technology will do the same to accommodate for it.

Bibliography:

1.) Graciehinabox. "Grace Helbig." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

2.) ""The Grace Helbig Show" Reviews & Ratings." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

3.) Hamedy, Saba. "E!'s Grace Helbig Experiment: Does YouTube Stardom Equal Ratings?" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

4.) Dunn, Gaby. "After 5 Years, Grace Helbig Is Leaving My Damn Channel." The Daily Dot. N.p., 11 Dec. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

5.) "Grace Helbig YouTube Channel Stats." YouTube Stats by VidStatsX.com (YouTube Statistics Website). N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

6.)https://class.sjcny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1091863-dt-content-rid-2303748_1/courses/2017SP-LEC-JNM-370-SAS01/Rosen%20The%20People%20Formerly%20Known%20as%20the%20Audience.pdf

7.)https://class.sjcny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1091865-dt-content-rid-2303752_1/courses/2017SP-LEC-JNM-370-SAS01/JENKINS_WHITE_PAPER.PDF

8.)https://class.sjcny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1094127-dt-content-rid-2333234_1/courses/2017SP-LEC-JNM-370-SAS01/boyd%20Participating%20Always%20On.pdf

9.)https://class.sjcny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1091864-dt-content-rid-2303751_1/courses/2017SP-LEC-JNM-370-SAS01/Jenkins%2C%20Quentin%20Tarantino%27s%20Star%20Wars.pdf

10.) "Home." VidCon US. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

11.) Ault, Susanne. "Survey: YouTube Stars More Popular Than Mainstream Celebs Among U.S. Teens." Variety. N.p., 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

12.) "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

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