#I did a little photoshoot with them last year some of those pictures are still up here I believe :)
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nostalgicfun · 1 month ago
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$5 ornament lot! 🎄
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paracosmic-sims · 2 days ago
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My top 24(?) screenies from 2024!
Tagged by the lovely @changingplumbob, thank you Kirsty <3
I literally don't know if I even have taken 24 screenshots this year. Let's see...
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1, 2 and 3: Some screencaps from a photoshoot I did with my revamped simself. I have MANY variations - check it out, none of those are the one on my current profile picture, or with...
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4: Oh Kinha, that's cheating! That is an edit, not a sceenshot! Shhh! I literally don't think I have enough screenies to make this post. Anyways, once I can figure out how to do my tags and navigation posts, expect to see this one in my pinned <3
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5: An outfit I made for Sienna that I needed to save for other kiddos too! It's so cute!
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6: Vlad. What are you DOING walking around Evergreen Harbor? Not even on my lot, since Journey Delight - the founder of my personal Whimsy Legacy challenge - doesn't even have a house at this point. Just... passing by. It was like... the second night? Anyways, appreciate how marvelous this woman is (and how wacky the sims can be sometimes)
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7: Speaking of personal legacy challenges, here's Hendrix Baccinus, the Mint of my NSB save. (The light makes him look blue-ish, but I swear it's mint.)
Look at him. Hot. Handsome. The male quota of this post. He is a baby and a pathetic wet cat of a man. This mfer tried to kill himself! (No joke, he autonomouslt went swimming when his energy was low on Sulani, because he was burnt out. Dude, sims used to be able to juggle a job and an Uni degree!)
I still love him <3
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8, 9 and 10: Obligatory Arielly Vespertinai appreciation. Look at her. Gorgeous. My baby. Watcher's favorite (little chew toy nomnomnomnom) <3
Have you seen her? yes? Well, go look again. Until you're mesmerized enough to forfeit your entire mortal posessions to this siren of a woman. Nobody understands the amount of adoration I hold specifically for this little bean. She could kill me and I would still thank her. She consumes my thoughts almost daily even though I have an entire cast to think about so I can support your story babygirl unleash my brain!!!
Also, obligatory gloating that this woman was elected Bronze Medal in @simblorbo-bracket's 2024 SIMBLR SEXYMAN TOURNAMENT. Yes, you heard it right. She's a Sexyman. And is the Sexiest™ of the human competitors.
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11: Speaking of Vespertinai's, a draft of Arielly's mom, Elysiann! Still unsure if I want them biologically related or adoptive (makes some sense with part of the lore, screws some other part. UGH.)
don't be fooled, this woman has SUCH a resting bitch face outside of CAS.
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12: And on that resting bitch face note, Scione Vespertinai! Ari's younger sister, of whom I have shared custody with @momoception <3 (because someone in her game needed to simp over Lucius Holt, and given I'm his #1 fan in the real world...)
Could you tell my game's eyelashes were still broken on those last 2 pics?
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13, 14 and 15: Enough of sim pics for a while, appreciate Elio Alvoretter's (aka, Ari's bestfriend, partner, and overall soulmate) (no, literally.) room. I'm insanely proud of it even if it drove me majorly crazy at some points.
(We do NOT talk about the small desk under the desk. It was fixed after.)
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16: On the topic of building, a little bar decoration I made using TOOL. It took me longer than you'd expect.
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17: Okay, back to sims because it's all I have at this point. I forgot this cutie's name, but she never really left CAS despite this picture. She was for a BC that never really happened, so I'm saving her for another opportunity. Maybe a spouse for one of my families. Maybe a founder for another legacy? She's kinda packed with CC, so I don't think I'll ever set her for dl.
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18 and 19: Some of my girlies for other simmers! Moxie and Apolline were some of the ones I had the most fun doing, and I think that the unused photos deserve a place to shine too.
===================
Unfortunately, the most I could is still short by 5. But then again, 2024 was THE year for me, in terms of personal growth, so TS4 kinda fell behind (a LOT. Some of those pics have literal months of gaps between them)
I am not sure who has been tagged already or not, but if you're seeing this and you want to participate (even again), you're tagged!
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edmturnmeon · 1 year ago
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Botanical Bliss: Pre-Wedding Photoshoot in KL with Edwin
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IvanYolo I had the pleasure of conducting an absolutely mind-blowing pre-wedding photoshoot with Edwin, hailing from the lovely city of Singapore. And where did we decide to shoot this masterpiece, you ask? At none other than the magnificent Perdana Botanical Garden located in Kuala Lumpur, of course! As a travel photographer, I personally relish the opportunity to take photos in nature, as it allows me to enjoy some relaxation and inner calmness.And the outcomes you ask? Well, I have to admit, I am quite pleased with what I managed to achieve. My aim was to make the photos appear as dreamlike as possible. After all, it was Edwin's pre-wedding shoot, and we all know how important capturing those perfect shots can be.The shoot lasted a full 3 hours, which gave me ample time to capture every single moment of joy, love, and excitement for Edwin and his lovely wife-to-be. As is my usual style, I alternated between my Fujifilm X-T4 and my beloved Contax G1 film camera. Given that it was a rather overcast day after a heavy downpour, I managed to get some stunning still footage by using a diffusion lens filter, overexposing the shots, and using the Downtown Bloom & Ethereal Street recipe (which works great in an urban city, IMHO) but due to nature greenery, I've decided to convert it to Fujicolor Pro 400H recipe instead.
Pre-Wedding Photoshoot with Fujifilm X-T4
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Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL I absolutely love the stunning result of the pre-wedding outdoor shoot, particularly how the color scheme blends together effortlessly to create a truly ethereal and dreamy atmosphere. From the gentle play of light and shadows to the soft textures and greenery environment, every element perfectly complements the happy couple, adding a lovely and enchanting touch to their pre-wedding celebration.Edwin had a picnic before his pre-wedding photo shoot. He wanted to take some pictures for the picnic theme he had planned. It was a little tricky with the lighting conditions as it was gloomy, but I was really grateful when the sunlight came out after the rain.During the photo shoot, which lasted for three hours, I made sure to capture as many shots as possible. I also drew inspiration from the ideas I had saved on my Pinterest board and incorporated them into the session. Prior to the shoot, I made sure to do my homework and prepare a list of posing ideas for couples so that I would have them at my fingertips during the shoot.This meticulous planning ensured that the photo session was a success, allowing me to capture unique and memorable shots that truly showcased the subjects in the best light. By always being prepared and thinking ahead, I was able to achieve stunning results and provide my clients with photos that will be cherished for years to come.
Shooting Pre-Wedding with Film Camera
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Contax G1, Carl Zeiss Planar T* 45mm F2 - Botanical Garden KL My recent experience with a pre-wedding photoshoot using a Contax G1 and Kodak Gold 200 film is truly enchanting. Film photography is an art form that requires precision, skill, and patience - qualities that you definitely possess. The Kodak Gold 200 is also one of my first film roll ever used since I started with film photography projects.The Kodak Gold 200 has long been a favorite among photographers for its unique look and versatility in different lighting situations. And the Contax G1 is a remarkable camera that is loved among the film photography community for its exceptional portrait and commercial capabilities. I find the film camera is really suitable for this type of shoot, especially for creative portraits that every film photographer is trying to achieve, which is the dreamy cinematic scenes in Wong Kar Wai's Hong Kong movies.As usual, I'm unable to finish the roll and left it for the color double exposure project. I chose to use Kodak Gold 200 - a film that I have long admired for its ability to capture the warmth and vibrancy of sunny outdoor scenes. Despite its versatility, I find that this film lends itself especially well to outdoor shoots and produces a beautiful, warm film tone characteristic that truly enhances the visual effect of my work.
Final Thoughts
As a skilled and experienced personal travel photographer in Kuala Lumpur, I truly believe that being able to master different shooting styles is an essential quality that allows me to capture the essence and beauty of every moment in a unique and captivating manner. Through the use of different techniques and creative approaches, I am confident in my ability to create stunning and memorable images that will not only exceed your expectations but also leave you in awe.I have developed a deep passion for photography and a keen eye for detail, which allows me to adapt to every shooting environment and situation and it's all about trial and error. It is best to be a versatile photographer that able to do casual shoots, pre-wedding photoshoots, fashion shoots, or cinematic styles, and explore my creativity to ensure that the moments are captured flawlessly and professionally.
Gallery
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR - Botanical Garden KL Contax G1, Carl Zeiss Planar T* 45mm F2 - Botanical Garden KL Contax G1, Carl Zeiss Planar T* 45mm F2 - Botanical Garden KL Contax G1, Carl Zeiss Planar T* 45mm F2 - Botanical Garden KL Share This:
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mikumanogi-blog · 2 years ago
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2023-02-11 “I need you? Ai nii Jyuu!!!” Tereblog 9 [ENG]
Yesterday was February 10th, in other words Ni (2) and Jyuu (10)
Bleh
Hello I’m Teresa
Thank you for meeting me on this blog today, I’m glad that we were able to meet (●︎´▽︎`●︎)
If you like feel free to read to the end!
 The other day I went to see the stage play of “Kingdom”
One of the third generation members, Umezawa Minami, was in this play and was playing the roll of Yotanwa. She was soooooo beautiful…😭
(I’m going to give away some spoilers so if you don’t want any please don’t read ahead ⚠️)
I was originally a fan of the manga and I really like it, and so when I saw Yontanwa appear on the stage I couldn’t feel anything other than overbearing fear…I was in awe of the way they were able to hide her beauty during the stage play so ingeniously.
Of course the acting of the entire cast, the lighting, the sound effect the outfits, there was so much power there and I learned that day that people can really become something other than themselves 😳 It was really amazing…no matter what scene it was, even though I was sitting in the audience, it felt so real. I really feel like I was in the forest, the city and on the battlefield.
 But out of all the things that they did so well I never thought the thing that would charm me the most would be the beauty of Yotanwa… I was especially overwhelmed the sword fighting scene! It was rought and wild, but for some reason it felt like I was watching a beautiful dance.
 She was so beautiful and cool.
 I’m so glad that I was able to see such a beautiful work and to have it be linked to Nogizaka46 makes it even more amazing.
 To be honest, before I joined Nogizaka46 (when I was a snotty little kid) the first time I saw Umezawa’s name was when she played the roll of Elizabeth during the “Seven Deadly Sins’ stage play. So this time, to be able to see her perform live makes me so happy.
 I’m still a rookie but I want to be like Umezawa-san, beautiful, capable and a beautiful idol. I’m going to do my best to get close, by even just a bit, to that goal!!!
I’ll be continuing to support this performance ☺︎
My favorite character in Kingdom is Ouki Shogun, the Ouki in the stage play was amazing 🫶🏻
 ( 'ω'o[ Announcements]o
“Nogizaka 46 picture book Nogisatsu VOL. 03” on sale now!
Ikeda as well as pictures that she took are many and scattered throughout the photobook 🥹︎💕︎︎
“General cover” and “Seven Net limited edition cover” has an random picture of Ikeda on it and so if you like please check it out.
In the Nogisatsu survey, there is a question that asks “a member you want to be reborn as” and so people that answer my name I’ll be watching for you.
 I wanted to talk about New Nogizaka Star Tanjou! but then I remembered that we’re heading into the final episode.
I knew the new series will be starting in April and I’ll be able to see the staff again but even saying goodbye temporarily is a little bit sad.
“Nogizaka Under Construction” and “New Nogizaka Star Tanjou!” there have been a lot of Nogizaka programs that we’ve been in over the last year. It’s not a matter of fact thing that we were given these shows and I’m very happy that we were able to participate in them.
 I was also able to do many photoshoots and for those I’m also very grateful!
Here is a behind the scenes shot from 20±SWEET 2023 JANUARY📷‪🫶🏻🤍 ̖́-
Ha shi re Bicycle !!!
Starting today for the next 10 days there will be a live stream for “10th birthday live Blu-ray DVD sale & pre 11th birthday live special #Nogizaka46 fun TV” - ̗̀👏🏻 ̖́-
The first episode will have Manatsu-san, Kaki-san and me!
From now until the birthday live, make sure to check Nogizaka Streaming Now at 22:02o(>∀< )o
I wrote this blog while listening to a SPYAIR playlist on repeat. At this very momeny Sakuramitsutsuki is plaing.
Well then! Let’s meet again 🚴💨
#Tereblog #9 (Da-re ga koroshitakuu kuro-bin♪)
https://www.nogizaka46.com/s/n46/diary/detail/101156?ima=4755&cd=MEMBER
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look-at-the-soul · 3 years ago
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The Photoshoot (Part 4)
Cillian Murphy x OC
Thank you for reading! I’d really love to know what you think :) Yes, I did my homework looking for old pictures haha
Edit: Credits for the Dean inspiration goes to @lyarr24
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Taglist in comments.
More here
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Some of the photographers that attended the workshop invited Yael to a pub nearby for a drink, of course she refused the invitation, but as she was about to get a cab, Dean, one of the guys in the group asked her out, he had brown hair, 6'1" tall, green eyes with a three-day beard and was wearing a dark t-shirt under an unbuttoned shirt and tight jeans, he looked like an American sexy farmer, strong muscles against the fabric, he was handsome but he wasn’t Cillian.
The other reason, was because she was honestly hoping to have something serious with Cillian. Yael didn’t like it to be fooling around, especially when it came to people’s feelings. She wouldn’t have Cillian by her side and then turn around and have someone else, she just wasn’t like that. She didn’t feel like having a backup guy just in case was right.
She hadn’t been asked out in a very long time, and now out of nowhere this guy did, she thanked him but made it clear she had to get home. He looked like a nice guy, but he seemed more like her friend Lee-Anne’s type, maybe she would make them match, set them up for a date. She would show her later the picture the group took to see if she was interested.
Plus Dean was a photographer, her first boyfriend was also a photographer and it didn’t end well, he made sure everything was a competition instead of taking it as a reason to grow together, he always got jealous of the projects she got and even made her quit some of them so he could take them. It was Vassilis the one who made her open her eyes after the scarecrow photoshoot, he noticed all the red flags and made sure she started noticing at her own pace, until eventually, they broke up.
With Cillian, things were flowing so naturally, without any pressure, he made her feel heard, showed interest in her work and was kind enough to even share things of his life on set, he was funny and humble, wasn’t trying to impress her. It felt as if they were longtime friends catching up. But with all the flirting going on between them, it felt more like a friendship set on fire.
Cillian was one of those people who wore their hearts in their sleeves, guarded of course, but once he felt comfortable with you, he was a totally open. And she wanted to know more about him.
In fact, she still could feel his lips against her, his hands around her waist and the way he caressed her cheeks while they were kissing. She had been daydreaming with his lips, she loved the way he smelled and the taste of coffee on his mouth.
She had shared texts with Cillian over the day, and it was everything, a little joke, a food recommendation, anything, every little detail that seemed to be small. But to her, it wasn’t. He had impressed her over the photos she took of him, so different from the scarecrow session they did together years ago. The last one showed him in a very natural way, no extreme posing, not pretending to be something he wasn’t, all the opposite, he had opened his heart and soul to her, he didn’t even need to speak, all it took was just one look from him.
Workshop done, can’t wait to have some rest. What about you? She pressed send.
Just finished a radio interview for promo, I’m on my way to a small birthday celebration with the cast. He replied right after.
Unsure about what to answer, she typed a reply, but seconds later, deleted the words. What should she write back?
Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. I’m up for the pawty. His second answer came in shortly.
Maybe you will learn a few new tricks on how to pose from the puppies. Have fun.
Looking forward, text me 30 min before you arrive to pick you up x
Thank you, will do… I’m off for now x
Boring, maybe I will show you how to have fun xx
Yael smiled at the flirty text she got, she was blushing. And they were now sending kisses over the messages.
Her cousin Violet asked why was she smiling like that a couple of times, and each time, Yael tried to lie about the real reason behind her smile, it was really early to share any news, and besides, she wasn’t a big fan of sharing personal matters like it meant nothing.
They were really close, only eleven months of difference between the two of them and they were both the only girls of each family, so they grew up more like sisters.
“No but, really… is he a good man?” worry visible on her face.
Yael wrapped her arms around her cousin. “He is.”
“Good. He better.”
“Where’s Jan?” Violet and Jan were high school sweethearts and had been living together for five years now.
“Off to the lake with his mates fishing.”
“Oh, so you will be alone this weekend?” Yael took the plates to the table and sliced the pizza they had ordered.
“Thanks god for that, I needed a break.”
“You’ve been fighting again about the wedding?”
Her cousin explained to her the reason why they had to postpone and how they lost all the money they had already paid since all the suppliers decided not to make valid the deposit. They had a medical emergency, but the wedding suppliers said it wasn’t a valid excuse.
“At this point of my life, I would be happy to just sign the fucking papers.”
“Don’t say that, you will have the perfect day you deserve.”
“We already live together, fight like a married couple, I framed the pre-wedding pictures you took of us. What’s the difference anyway?” Perks of having a photographer in the family. “Don’t answer that, I need you to bring your plus one to my wedding.”
“Take it easy bug, we’ve just met. I don’t want my brothers to scare him.”
“Well this new discovery is making wonders in you, I can tell.”
“It was his smile you know? As soon as I saw him smile… I thought that was the most genuine and beautiful smile I have ever seen, it even reached his eyes.”
“Holly fuck, you are falling deeply for this man.”
***
Later that night, her cellphone rang, without taking a look at the screen, she answered.
“Hello?”
“Been thinking of you all fucking day.”
She froze, must have the wrong number as she didn’t know that voice.
“I kissed you yesterday and you forgot me already?” Cillian’s voice calmed her.
“Of course not… What’s with your voice? You sound different.” She got comfortable in bed, the phone between her shoulder and her face.
“Ah, that… I was reading some lines for tomorrow’s scenes, the accent got stuck.” He laughed now in his normal voice.
“Brummie?”
“Yeah, I’m glad you recognize it, it means it’s not that bad.”
“It sounds so… deep, impressive.”
“So, you’re impressed huh?” He did the Tommy’s voice again.
“Ugh don’t do that to me.” She closed her eyes, imagining his face. The effect the sound of his deep voice in her hear was something she wasn’t ready for.
His laugh in his regular voice had the same effect in her.
“What are you doing this late still reading the script anyway?” She tried to change the subject.
“Well there’s one line I need to figure out how to get the perfect tone, the pauses… I just needed to take a break from it and wanted to hear your voice.”
The way he was so dedicated to his job, how his attention went to every little detail on the script in order to step over the line, the compromise he poured into this project made her admiration for him grow.
It was late and he was still working, so focused on perfecting the body language, the movements of his head, the glances and stares he needed to bring the gangster alive.
She could tell that by the things he was telling her. And it was easy to picture him like that.
“You are going to smash it, I’m just sure.”
The myth of this Thomas Shelby was slowly growing in the back of her mind.
***
Since Yael told her she would see the mysterious man who was making her happy today, Violet convinced her to wear a one shoulder floral top she owned, very ad-hoc with the spring season.
“Now I will straighten your hair.”
“No, why?” Yael complained.
“Because… I want him to see you prettier than you are and not with that messy hair.” Violet teased.
“But…”
Violet placed her palm over her cousin’s mouth. “Shut up, you will thank me later.”
“I don’t like it straight straight.” Violet rolled her eyes and assured Yael she would make some beachy waves, messy like she liked.
****
“I will go to visit you unannounced one day to see the man who is making you smile like that. Sex must be good.”
“Shut up. Love you.” She hugged and waved good bye after that.
As she waited, Yael decided to text Cillian.
Just got on the tube, will arrive around 10:30, photoshoot with the puppies is at 3:00 pm. X
She checked her phone, but still no reply, until around twenty minutes later.
I’m caught up filming, my driver will pick you up. x
Don’t worry, just wanted to let you know, I will get a cab to go home.x
Absolutely not. I will be calmer if he drives you. Have to go.xx
She decided she would sleep for a while, since she stayed up late catching up with Violet. Haven’t seen each other since Christmas when the whole family got together.
“Mr. Murphy asked me to take you home.”
“Thank you so much James, I didn’t want to bother him or you.”
The man opened the back door for her. “It’s my pleasure ma’am.”
On the way home, James told her he had been driving Cillian since 2013, when they filmed the first season and he required James services again since January.
“He is very humble.” James admitted. “I did notice he was different this morning but couldn’t quite figure why… now I know why.” He drove Cillian to the photoshoot the day they met, but then told him he could leave, that’s why Cillian drove to her apartment as they finished their photo session.
A shy smile appeared in her lips she didn’t know how to handle the situation, on one side James was really polite, and she wouldn’t treat him different because he was a driver, she treated the janitor with the same respect she showed to the CEO, but she didn’t know if she could be sharing information she shouldn’t.
“Absolutely, he’s really kind.”
“He gave me tickets for the premier last season.”
“And did you have a good time there? I have never been to a premier.”
“Oh, yes, yes… he even came to say hello to my family.”
Yael smiled at that, she remembered how he shook everybody’s hands at the photo session.
“Now that the filming is about to finish, if you need anyone to drive you, let me know.” He handed her a card with his number.
Once they arrived to her apartment she thanked him again and texted Cillian to tell him she was home. Cillian called her right away.
“Hey, why don’t you get your things ready and ask James to drive you here, we could go to your work once I’m done.”
“Let me see if he is still here.” Yael went back to the street, fortunately, he was about to drive away when he noticed her.
“Do you need something ma’am?”
“Cillian says if you could drive me to the location where he is?”
“Yes, of course.”
Yael smiled at him. “Thank you, I will just get my things really quick.”
“Great. See you in a bit then.” He told her after hearing James.
Hanging up, she hurried to get her camera, and mobil lamp, she wouldn’t use the flash with the dogs because sometimes, they get scared.
She was nervous to see him again. Another hour later, they were arriving at the entrance of the West Gorton’s Space Studios, a guard gave Yael a pass and asked for her information, then James drove to the back of the building.
“Mr. Murphy suggested you could wait in his trailer, follow me please.”
As she was following James by foot to another area, she could see people walking around, carrying carts with clothes hanging, moving furniture…
“His wha-”
“Thank you, James, I’ll take it from here.” A deep voice said behind them. She recognized immediately, but when she turned around, she found a different man in front of her. Cillian was dressed in a three-piece suit, long coat covering him, a flat cap in his hand. The hair seemed shorter on the sides of his head. She was surprised. “Do I look as bad as your face is telling me?” he joked. A smirk on his lips. “Yeah I missed you so fucking much too.” His voice sounded different too like the night before, even his walk seemed different.
Yael closed her mouth while Cillian placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her around.
“No, not bad sorry I just… you look so different from when we had breakfast. But I do love the gangster look.”
“Thank you, I was starting to feel self-conscious.”Cillian smiled. “You look beautiful, stunning actually.” Every time she moved her head, he would sense a soft smell of roses coming from her hair.
Surprised, she couldn’t find her voice, but when she looked at him, he was already looking at her.
Violet 1- 0 Yael. She would have to thank her later.
“I showed the writer and director of the show the pictures you took and they want to know if you would be interested to make some shoots.”
Yael stopped walking, shock showing in her face.
“Looks like you saw a ghost.” He smiled, his hand rubbing her arm up and down.
“Oh my, what happened to your cheek? Does it hurt?” Yael asked shocked.
Cillian laughed so hard, easing the tension and breaking away from Tommy finally.
“Come here, I will show you.” Guiding her inside of a room full of wires, pilled chairs and other artifacts, he closed the door and turning her around, pinned against the door to kiss her lightly on the lips. “Been waiting all day to do that.”
He tasted like herbs and mint.
“You look so attractive with this suit.”
Pulling him by the neck, she kissed him one more time.
“But I wouldn’t change that white t-shirt and jacket look.” She rubbed her hands over the fabric of his suit.
“It’s a makeup cut for the show.” He explained with a wide smile, taking a look outside again to make sure no one was passing by. “So, you want to take the pictures?”
“I do! But I didn’t bring my flash.”
“Come this way.”
He introduced Yael to Steve Knight, told her he was the writer of the show, and then Colm McCarthy, who was the director, they both complimented the shoots she did.
“I think my wife still hates me for losing a bid on one of your photographs, a ballerina if I remember correctly, it was an auction to raise money for the people affected by a hurricane, right?” Steve knew her work.
“You have to be joking, I will get you a copy, the complete series if you want.”
Cillian kept sneakly touching her every time he found a chance and when she looked at him, he was looking to the opposite side, as if he did nothing. But eventually they managed to get a few shots of Cillian on set, explaining her part of the idea and how important this place was in the series. James Wright had been talking on the phone with Steve and Colm about using the photos for promo in the magazine.
“Let me change and get rid of this, please make yourself at home, there’s water and snacks in the fridge.” Cillian said as he made his way in the back of his trailer.
Taking one of the spots on the leather lounge, she looked around, it was neat and organized, a pile of books in the corner, a bag of chips on the counter, a notebook and a pen over there, a laptop charging in the corner. She felt out of place, like intruding into his personal life.
He appeared back wearing a black and white striped shirt, black jeans and boots, and the Sox baseball cap on his head. Unplugging the laptop, he kept it in a backpack.
“Are you done filming?”
Cillian turned around to see her, the cut on his cheek was gone and his face clean from the makeup, freckles showing.
“Yeah done for today and I have free tomorrow. Let’s go.”
“This is impressive, you do all the filming here?”
“No, some parts are in real locations, my favorite are the ones when we film on an open field, those places are breathtaking, you would love that, the mountains it’s all green, fresh air, very natural.”
She helped him hang his clothes and when she found the pocket watch she stared at it intensely.
“This is… I don’t even know what word to use. Incredible, perhaps?”
“Yeah, the production team goes beyond the expectations, everything looks so real.” He looked at her, eyes still on the watch. “You really liked it huh?”
“I just remember some pictures I took a long time ago of some war letters and different artifacts found of soldiers. This really looks like that.”
“How did you get your hands on that?” They shared a glance and a smile.
“Well they were digitalizing the letters and I was in charge to take the pictures of the lost items the museum had, there was a heavy energy over that. Can you imagine all of the stories of those soldiers?”
“Not really, but I do want to see those pictures later.”
He just needed to return the wardrobe to the team and he would be free to go.
But before they left the trailer, he asked her: “Will you be editing the photographs again?”
“No, I have more time to edit for this shoot.”
Cillian touched her lips with his thumb, outlining them. “You will then have the best dinner tonight, I’m cooking.” He held her by the chin and pulled her gently for another kiss.
“That sounds promising.”
“You think you know, but you have no idea.”
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nxrthmizu · 4 years ago
Text
Crash and Burn
fandom | miraculous ladybug
genre | salt, lila salt
pairing | n/a
w.c | 3.2k
author's note | hey remember that lila salt fic i promised? this isn't it but this is something i made today so yep. please accept this as an apology for yknow. me promising to write and. not doing it.
Enough was enough.
“Marinette, stop accusing Lila! She just wants to make friends!”
“Take the high road.”
“Be a good model student, Marinette.”
Enough. Was. Enough.
Marinette had the connections, the power, the choice to make Lila’s entire world crumble apart. The only thing that stood between the liar’s demise was the tiniest pinch of morality and self-restraint— And no, that self-restraint did not come in the form of Tikki. Even the kwami, who had to be an aggregation of all the good and nice things in the world, was fed up and ready to retaliate.
“What a joke.” Lila cackled, tossing a chunk of her sausage hair over her shoulder flamboyantly. The two girls were in the bathroom, with Lila smirking in front of the sink and Marinette a little distance away from her. “You can make my world crumble? What is this, a threat?”
“A promise.” Marinette corrected. “Stop telling lies. Come clean to every one. No more lying about knowing celebrities left and right, no more making excuses about not being able to take your own notes, no more making up ‘diseases’ just so your life gets a little more convenient. To be frank, I really don’t care what happens to you— But by making these empty promises to introduce my classmates to great ‘celebrities’, you’re ruining their futures. Stop.”
“And what are you going to do if I don’t?” Lila sneered, face twisted into an ugly grin. “You going to cry in front of the class? Try and convince them that I, the one they adore— That I am lying?”
“No.” Marinette’s eyes were clear when she met Lila’s. The clouds of self-doubt that used to hover over the bright, shining star inside her soul had now dissipated, letting the bluenette emit a confident, glowing appearance as she met the liar head on. “I’m just going to keep my promise.”
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
Lila headed off to a modelling shoot after school, pleased at the prospect of spending more time with Adrien. There were a couple tendrils of Marinette’s words hanging behind in her mind— Did the girl mean what she said? Did she actually… Was she actually capable of causing Lila’s downfall? … Surely not. Marinette may have once been the ‘Everyday Ladybug’, but there was no way she was that competent, there was no way the girl was capable of plotting.
The Italian hummed, brushing away thoughts of the annoying bluenette from her mind. She was going on a photoshoot— One that was going cause the rise and burst of her career, the one that was going to make her name a globally-known one. Unfortunately for Lila, her plans were going to be derailed quite soon— In fact, as soon as Gabriel Agreste’s car rolled into the parking lot of the shoot location.
“Explain this, Mlle. Rossi.” Gabriel’s nostrils flared as he pointed to the tabloid article on his tablet. The Italian girl froze, the headlines seared into her eyes, big and black and bold, shooting poison right into the core of her body, paralysing her cell by cell starting from her heart. “What is the meaning of this?”
‘Adrien Agreste Reported To Be Harassed by Fellow Model’— The image under the caption was one that was clearly taken by a hidden photographer. The picture was framed with leafy foliage, which suggested that the camera was tucked up in a tree. Despite the distance, it was quite obvious in the image that Adrien was reeling away, disgusted and uncomfortable as a faceless woman in an orange blazer, back turned to the camera— Invaded his personal space.
The subtitle was the cream on the cupcake.
‘Witnesses State Gabriel Agreste Ignorant of Workplace Harassment’.
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
As if things couldn’t quite go down a worser path, Lila returned home to a fuming mother and an unexpected visitor.
“Lila! You come here right this instant!” The diplomat demanded as soon as the front door opened, her daughter shrinking slightly at the tone and pitch that her mother was using. The last time her mother had been this angry— Well, it was when she got expelled from her last school. “I can’t believe what you’ve done! If it weren’t for your kind classmate, lord knows how long you would’ve continued with this!”
The Italian meekly followed her mother into the living room, eyes widening until they were as large as saucers, mouth agape at the last person she expected to see sitting on the couch.
Marinette smiled kindly, waving at the girl, looking every bit the part of the innocent, pure, kind child that every parent wanted to have. Before Lila could release a torrent of questions about what the hell Marinette Dupain-Cheng was doing in her living room, her mother charged on, beginning to take out her anger on her daughter while a literal angel sat on the sofa, cradling a box of pastries from her family’s bakery.
“Your friend here tells me that you’ve been taking absences from school to go on trips to help humanity!” Mme. Rossi exploded, waving her arms around madly. “She says she’s here to share her notes from the classes you’ve missed! You’ve never left Paris this year! What’s this I hear about flying off to the kingdom of— What was it called again, Marinette dear?”
“Achu.” Provided the bluenette helpfully, the diplomat’s expression instantly softening when she talked to the other teen in the living room.
“Ah, yes. Thank you, dear.” The woman turned back to her daughter, instantly snapping on a mask of anger in a matter of a fraction of a second. “What’s this about flying off to this kingdom of Achu to help homeless orphans with some random prince?”
“Um…” Lila piped up, wriggling as her brain churned at 200 lies per hour, trying to whip up a cover of some sort.
“I’m not done! Your friend here is such a helpful child that she even went as far as to ask her family doctor is there’s a cure for your… Lying disease!” Mme. Rossi practically roared, breathing flames as if she were an intimidating dragon, her daughter flinching away from the heat. “I’ve never heard of anything more ridiculous! And then there’s the fact that you lied to your classmates about having tinnitus?!”
“I actually do have tinnitus!” Lila cut in forcibly, widening her eyes to make herself look more pitiful. “I was just afraid to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry!”
“Bullshit!”
“Um… Sorry to interrupt, Mme. Rossi,” Marinette piped up, the diplomat instantly cooling down as she faced the bluenette, a soft smile tracing the Italian woman’s lips. “But it’s getting rather late and my parents would love me home soon. I also have some tests to revise for tonight, so I think I should get going.”
“Oh, of course, dear.” Mme. Rossi hastily got up to help the bluenette to the door, shooting a warning glare at her daughter— ‘Sit still and don’t you dare go anywhere’, the glare read. “Feel free to come over again anytime you want, dear. I’m not home often, but you are such a sweet child. I’m sure Lila could learn a lot from you.”
“Thanks for having me as well, Mme. Rossi. I really like your home. I left the pastries on the counter— Make sure to warm the curry puffs before you eat them.” Marinette returned the smile, bowing slightly to the older woman as a sign of respect.
“Thank you for the pastries as well, Marinette. I ought to visit your parents’ bakery sometime when I’m free.” Mme. Rossi opened the door kindly for the bluenette, waving the girl off with an affectionate smile. Her parents must be so lucky to have such a sweet little thing like her, Mme. Rossi sighed internally, turning the key so she locked the door. And she seems to be a high-scoring student as well.
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
Lila seethed, having been grounded by her mother. As far as Mme. Rossi was concerned, there was a boarding school not too far away from their current residence, and by the next week, the Italian girl would be transferred over. Lila had never hated Dupain-Cheng as much as she did in that moment.
Still furious, the Italian snapped her laptop open, too angry to bother with the fact she might’ve scratched the surface. Clicking into the web browser, she started to type in the words ‘Ladyblog’— That was, before a news article caught her eye.
‘Jagged Stone Interview Reveals Underage, Obsessed Fan’.
What on Earth…
As soon as Lila clicked into the link, the news footage from the interview immediately begin to play. The date stamp on it showed that it had aired last night— Which meant that she would’ve missed it, since her mother was too busy yelling at her to turn on the television to watch Nadja Chamack’s daily news.
“As soon as I heard this rumour about some underage teenage girl claiming that she had saved my cat on an airport runway, I called Penny and asked her to book a slot for me to clarify this,” Jagged Stone said grimly, dressed in more formal attire as he sat in the comfortable, cushioned chair of the news station, with Nadja nodding equally seriously beside him. “Let me clarify— I’ve never owned a cat. I’m allergic to fur. The only pet I’ve had was Fang, and he’s an al-li-ga-tor. Not a cat. Whatever the girl is claiming, she’s obsessed and making up stories.”
“It’s also kind of bewildering that she saved it on an airport runway,” Nadja continued, shaking her head in disappointment. “That kind of thing only happens in dramas— It’s too dangerous for anyone besides authorised workers to be on airport runways.”
“Right, right!” Jagged agreed instantly. “The whole rumour is just really baffling.”
“M. Jagged, may I ask what kind of effect these rumours have on a celebrities’ career?” Nadja continued, leading the conversation on like a professional.
“Well, rumours that circulate around tend to have really bad effects, and the worse ones can hang around for a long, long time. Tabloids are often spun off from rumours, baseless and with no evidence. Those tabloids will never truly disappear, so they can leave a mark on a celebrity’s reputation as some people will believe anything— Even things they read from un-cited tabloids.”
“That is simply terrible. Have you ever had any cases of rumours created by underaged teens before this?”
“I’ve had quite a number, but none of them really got as big as this one. From what Penny has found from digging around, the teen girl managed to spread the rumour through her school and onto a once-popular blog.” Jagged explained. “Penny has also found out that the same girl has claimed that I’ve written songs for her to thank her for saving my cat! I would never write songs and dedicate them to an underaged girl— Trust me. If I could do such a thing, I’d already have written a dozen in honour of my niece— She’s my favourite designer.”
Nadja smiled at that sentence. “Then—“
The news footage cut off abruptly as Lila slammed her laptop shut, too upset to continue watching.
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
On the other side of Paris, Alya was pacing around her room frantically, wondering why on earth Lila wasn’t picking up on her calls. She’d left at least four dozen messages to the Italian, who was absent from school that day. There had been a couple whispers here and there about why she was missing— Rose had suggested another impromptu trip to Achu.
Lila’s absence wasn’t the weirdest part of the day, however.
That award would go to Marinette, who walked into class with a smile, the slightest sprinkles of delight colouring her bluebell eyes when she spotted Lila’s empty seat.
Growing in frustration, Alya threw herself onto her bed, phone clattering onto the mattress with her. Within the next few minutes, however, her phone suddenly started exploding with notifications. Excited at the prospect of Lila finally texting back, Alya turned on her phone, only to be disappointed by the notifications all clamouring from the class group chat.
Kim had sent a link to the chat— Without hesitation, Alya clicked into it, frowning when she saw Nadja and Jagged appear on the screen. Throughout the interview, the colour on the Ladyblogger’s face only paled by the second until she was as white as a sheet, and if it were halloween at that time, she would’ve won the best costume award for being a ghost.
There must… There must’ve been a mistake.
A notification from Lila’s number made the blogger perk up, instantly clicking into the conversation— But her newfound hope didn’t last very long.
[Lila]
Hi, Alya. This is Lila’s mom. She’s currently grounded right now. Is there anything important you need to tell her?
[Alya]
Oh, nothing much… I just wanted to ask where she was.
[Lila]
She’s at home.
[Alya]
Okay, thanks.
Flopping onto her bed, Alya begin thinking, revising over the past few months like it was an old clip. Lila’s exciting adventures and interactions with celebrities of every kind— Lila going overseas and face timing the entire class— Lila letting her in on the secrets of being Ladybug’s friend…
… Marinette trying to tell them that Lila was lying…
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
The class was awfully silent the next day. Adrien was absent as well— A social worker was looking into his home life as a result of the tabloid that arose. Things for the blonde could either get better or worse from then on, as the matters were still foggy and things hadn’t cleared up yet. The blonde maintained contact with his friends, however, calling and texting them whenever he could.
“Class, settle down.” Mlle. Bustier stepped into the class, looking very tense and uncomfortable. “Today, we will have a guest, so please be on your best behaviours, alright?”
Just as the teacher finished speaking, a tall, regal-looking Italian woman entered the classroom, a cowering principal and a meek-looking Lila in tow. The class brightened slightly at the sight of their friend— But by the way she wasn’t looking into their eyes… Things weren’t going to be good.
“Good morning. I am Mme. Rossi, Lila’s mother.” The woman begin speaking, her firm and no-nonsense tone instantly making every student sit straight, their eyes too afraid to look anywhere else but the Italian diplomat. “It has come to my attention that my daughter has been taking absences from school to do charity work— And I have to clarify that this is a lie. Lila has been doing nothing but holing herself up in her room, lying to me and saying that there are no classes due to akumas.” The Italian diplomat glowered at Damocles. “What’s even more baffling is the fact that neither her homeroom nor the principal bothered to check up with me despite a student having extended periods of absence with no note or email written whatsoever.”
The class was so quiet that they could hear the quiver of Mlle. Bustier’s trembling lip.
“In addition, I’ve been kindly told that Lila has claimed to have a lying disease, which is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard this week.” It was impossible to miss the way the Italian diplomat was glaring daggers at both Mlle. Bustier and Damocles. “No one bothered to look it up online to see if it’s actual disorder, nor did anyone call me to confirm and ask for a doctor’s note, which is standard procedure.” Chills burst over the room, making every one shiver as the woman hissed out her words.
“Mme. Rossi, we didn’t want to disturb your busy schedule—” Damocles begin, only to be blown backwards from the sheer intensity of Mme. Rossi’s glower.
“M. Damocles, standard procedures exist for a reason. Unless you’d like to tell me about any other things you’ve been letting my daughter get away with?”
“N— No, Mme.”
The Italian diplomat continued on her war path. “My daughter also claimed to have tinnitus, am I correct?”
“Y— Yes, Mme.” Mlle. Bustier answered when it seemed like no one was going to.
“And I heard that the class seating arrangement was shifted to accommodate for that?” The homeroom teacher didn’t dare answer this time, for it seemed like whatever she said would be the incorrect answer. “And apparently, my daughter has also been faking broken wrists and requesting for her classmates to complete her work for her.” Mme. Rossi was practically breathing flames at that point, “And I am incredibly upset at the lack of action from the homeroom teacher.”
No one could breath.
“I have many concerns about the running of this schooling facility, and I expect to discuss this with M. Damocles privately after this. However, there is still something to be done.” Mme. Rossi swept her gaze towards her daughter, who found the floor incredibly interesting at that point of time. “Lila? Something you’d like to say to your classmates?”
“… I’m sorry for lying to you.” Lila mumbled resentfully.
“Louder, Lila. No one can hear you.”
“I’m sorry for lying to you!” Lila swallowed, bursting like an explosion that had finally been triggered, tears in her eyes and fists hatefully curled. “I’m sorry for lying about my diseases and injuries. I’m sorry for making you do my work,” She spat. “Sorry for causing any inconveniences.”
Mme. Rossi raised an eyebrow at her daughter. “Is that all?”
Lila glared at her mother, who was completely unfazed. “Oh, so you want an apology from me? Fine!” She turned to the class, a maniacal glint in her eyes as she sneered at the class, a few gasps puffing from around the room as they caught their first glimpse of the liar that resided in the ‘harmless’ shell of Lila Rossi. “I’m sorry that you are all such idiots that you all fell for everything. I’m sorry that Marinette has such terrible, untrusting classmates that turned their backs on her even though she was still a goody-two shoes till the end, even though she still wanted to help you sorry peasants. I’m sorry that you were all so goddamn gullible! There! Good enough for you?”
Shock was etched into the faces of every human in the classroom— Including Mlle. Bustier, M. Damocles, and Mme. Rossi themselves. Clearly, that part of the apology had not been part of the plan.
“Did I miss something?” Said a sweet voice, followed by the presence of a bluenette, her hair tied in a half-up. A royal blue blazer decorated her lithe form, accompanied by a smart-looking white blouse and a black plaited skirt. Formal had never looked so good on anyone— And if someone didn't know better, they'd think that the bluenette was a young lawyer, emerging victorious from her first successful case.
“Marinette!” Alya exclaimed.
“I’m sorry that you’re such an annoying, little, pest.” Lila bit in the girl’s face, disdain colouring her features as she ignored her mother’s enraged gasp behind her.
The bluenette simply smiled, unaffected by the liar who had crashed and burned like the liar once wished upon her. Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood at her full height, the perfect image of grace and poise as she maintained her composure, quite unlike her nemesis, who thrashed under her mother’s restraining hands.
“And I’m sorry that you didn’t take my promise to heart.”
this can count as adrien redemption depending on you cause ehhh i dont like how passive he is but i havent caught up with the recent episodes, he might have become better. idk.
also where the hell is my miraculous taglist i cant find it so eep. no tagging ppl ig oops
858 notes · View notes
pjisskullourful · 3 years ago
Text
︵‿the   gift ‿︵
🎁Thomas x reader
🚨 definitely not safe for work 🔥 slutty smutty filth
° Thomas Raggi & nonbinary reader insert
° Thomas' partner has been missing him terribly during his time in Austria- how will they welcome him home?
° the lyrics included werent written by me
wordcount: 5,799
° 2nd commission but finally my 1st thomas story! @wow-ihateithere thankyou for the coffees- 1st thing you said was that i should have fun & well&truly i did. thankyou for your patience & for letting me explore a different part of the beautiful gay rainbow. thankyou for the pics of your dog. thankyou for coming up with some of the dirrrrrty talk & for helping me pick the title ❣️
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I was thinking, got the feeling- the gift you gave is gonna last Forever
“I got something for you - a gift, I got you a gift.”
You didn’t need to see your boyfriend’s face to know that he was eager, probably smiling with his teeth, as he spoke into his phone. After more than a year together, you could read Thomas’ tone, effortlessly reading between the lines.
Hell, you were eager as well. You should be used to him going away at this point - his work schedule had drastically changed since the beginning of your relationship, but his job had not. He was a rock star and as time passed he would only belong to the road more-and-more.
But you still got the same rush of anticipation when you knew he was due home. When he was back where you could touch, taste and hold him again, it was a high greater than anything you had ever known.
The passionate delight would take over when you first got to see his face, it was a fire that started deep in your stomach, immediately noticeable as your breath quickened. You wanted to rediscover every part of him, to make up for all of the time you had wasted being apart from him. You wanted to know the ways in which he was still the same, you wanted to know the ways he was different. You were so keen to tell him all of your thoughts, excited to see his reactions as you recounted dreams.
You were ready to have him back in your arms - but you had to wait for him to return from Austria. The flight would hardly take any time at all, but you were tired of this yearning - at this point it was a slow torture.
“Is it Gucci? ‘Cause I would expect to be kept in designer stuff, seeing how my boyfriend is a high-fashion model now.”
He laughed and you liked to imagine a pretty blush rising in his cheeks. “You know that we weren’t allowed to keep any of the things from the set. And I didn’t have time to see if Vienna had a Gucci store.”
You sighed dramatically. “Whatever, I’ll just have to be satisfied with finally having the photos.”
His voice got slightly quieter. “You sounded pretty satisfied the other night when you saw them for the first time.” Now you were certain that he was blushing, you could practically feel it.
And he was correct. Even though you had been on set for the photoshoot (unlike most of the things Måneskin were doing these days, the photo session for Gucci hadn’t conflicted with your university schedule), you hadn’t been prepared for the final result. The pictures you had taken on your phone, nor your memory from the long night, could do the campaign images justice. He had timed his call to coincide with the release of the photos, allowing him to hear you gasp upon seeing him in that harness.
You had been breathless, your praise of him, and how delicious he looked in that luxurious setting, had almost been completely buried under all of the profanities you couldn’t help but say.
“Well caro, I have a little something that I got for you.” You said.
“You got me a gift?”
You were smirking, thinking about the purchase - which was still on the dining table. You had carried it in from the car, going into the kitchen to check that you had the right size batteries in your arsenal. It would be far more at home in the bedroom, where you were currently sitting.
“Do you wanna guess what it is?”
“Umm… uh… is it… umm… Those new Doc Martens I was showing you, the ones with the glossy, metallic, kinda-green finish?”
You had gotten up from the bed, walking into the hallway. “No.”
“Oh, the Basquiat ones.” He had been coveting those boots for awhile - the work of his favourite artist on his favourite brand of shoe, they had basically been manufactured for him.
But you had been keeping that idea on your Christmas list.
“Honey, it’s not shoes.”
“Okay, uh… a PS5?”
You scoffed sarcastically. “Oh yeah, ‘cause you have so much freetime for gaming.”
“Hmm, right…”
You had reached the dining table, now looking upon the silicone device. “Would you like a hint?”
“Yeah, alright.”
You weren’t entirely familiar with the set-up of the toy, so you couldn’t turn it on as soon as you picked it up. You found the button and pushed it to bring the vibrations to life. Of course, all vibrators bragged of their super discreet, super quiet vibrations - so it was impossible to know if holding it up to the phone would help him to hear what was going on.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear?” He repeated and you mentally cursed. “Babe, is that-”
“Hang on, hang on. I’m gonna put it down on the table.” You switched it up to the next level of intensity before placing it upon the tabletop. “Maybe the acoustics are better down there…”
The vibrator had a mind of its own, buzzing its way across the table. The table rattled, filling the otherwise silent room with a gloriously erotic rhythm. You felt your heart pounding harder as you watched it, awaiting his reaction.
“Do you need another hint, cucciolo?” You asked.
“Is that…” He made a strangled, tense attempt at clearing his throat. “Is that a gift for me or for you?”
You laughed breathlessly. “Well, I guess you’ll be there too… But let’s just say that I’ll be taken care of very nicely. It can’t be all about my greedy little bottom every single time.” You turned the toy off, holding it in your hand.
His voice had gotten quieter and you imagined him holding the phone closer to his mouth, paranoid of being overheard as he sat in Vienna International Airport. “Are you sure? I thought we were retiring… that kind of thing for a while, ‘cause we’ve never really had a perfect experience with those two in one… set-ups.”
You could clearly picture how he must look in his current state - his eyes darting all over the room, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists. Maybe he was getting that pink hue on his neck as he nervously picked his words, doing his best to not attract any attention. He was so sexy when he got nervous and flustered, you loved the power that came from pushing him to that state.
“I know, but I’m no quitter.” You said, hoping some of your confidence would rub off on him.
You couldn’t blame him for this trepidation, it was true that you hadn’t yet found an apparatus that could provide both of you with stimulation at the same time. The only times you had gotten to come together had been during standard penetrative sex. There was nothing wrong with him fucking you with his cock.
But he had his most intense orgasms when it was you doing the fucking with an add-on appendage - these were the climaxes that would ruin him for a couple of hours afterward. These were the climaxes that you committed to memory, re-examining them on the lonely nights alone. These were the climaxes that demanded an instant change of bedsheets.
You were determined to get it right because you loved it too.
But you knew it could be better, you knew that you could gain your own release, not just a contact high from watching him come. You were willing to keep trying, to not give up after all of the shitty harnesses that really couldn’t hold up and would loosen in one way or another. You just had to find the right toys, and your internet research (along with some first-hand experience insights from Victoria) led you to believe this vibrator was what you had been waiting for.
“I found something new and I’m very excited about it. Do you want me to send you a photo, caro?” You offered.
He sounded thoroughly rattled now. “Umm no, the wifi isn’t that strong here and we’ll probably have to board soon.”
“Okay babe, best to leave it up to your imagination anyway.”
“Yeah. Do you want a hint about your gift?”
You strolled into the kitchen, feeling the need for a glass of cold water. “No, let’s keep it mysterious, then we can both have surprises when you get home. It’ll be like Christmas has come early.”
“Christmas will be the only thing coming early.” He said.
“It better be.”
………
Thomas hadn’t had any time to unburden himself from the weight of his bags before you pounced on him. You had been waiting, watching the street outside your house since receiving his text that they were leaving the airport. You had shelved the paper you should be writing - concentrating on something like sociology right now felt like a complete waste of time.
You covered his face in enthusiastic kisses, you had never before felt so ready to devour him. He wrapped his arms tightly around you and you took your feet off the ground, placing your legs around his waist.
“Welcome home.” You said, your skin tickled by the beginnings of stubble growing around his mouth.
“I missed you so much amore.”
“I missed you too. It’s not the same when you’re gone, it’s like I can’t breathe properly until you’re back.”
His eyes were darting all over your face, refamiliarising himself with your features. “God, I know. I felt like I was going through withdrawals or something.”
“What if you just never left again?” You suggested, returning your feet to the ground. “And I quit uni, so then we would never have to leave this house again.” It was a joke storyline that the two of you had indulged in many times - when the lust seemed neverending and when fucking felt more essential than oxygen.
But each time you said it, it felt less like a joke because the time apart never got any easier. The way he was looking so deeply into your eyes made you want to seriously consider it. You pushed the straps of his backpack off of his shoulders and grabbed the front of his shirt.
It was just like a script and he knew his lines perfectly. “And we could fuck forever.”
“Yes.” You said in a breathless whisper.
“Let’s do that.”
“Yes.”
He brought you in for another kiss and you felt your knees growing weaker as his hand caressed your cheek. Your mouth sighed open to allow the invasion of his tongue and you curled your hands into fists around his shirt. He swiped his tongue along the back of your teeth and you pressed your body harder against his.
You moaned when he moved one hand down to cup your ass, feeling it through the fabric of your shorts. You were ready to unleash all of the desires pent up inside of you. You were tired of dreaming, you needed your fantasies to be real and complete.
Denim was thick, but his jeans weren’t able to fully contain his erection. You moaned again, heavier this time - you were so ecstatic to feel how ready he was. You reached down to grab him over the sturdy fabric with him drawing in a sharp inhale as he broke away from the kiss.
“Aw, cucciolo.” You cooed. “You really missed me, huh?”
“So bad.”
You were grinning as you hooked both of your index fingers through his belt-loops. “I understand. C’mon and I’ll take care of my little slut.”
His bags and guitar case were left by the locked front door as he allowed you to lead him toward the bedroom. You stole more kisses from him, not needing to see to navigate your way around the home. He kept grabbing at your face, trying to pull you in for a longer kiss. But you were too preoccupied by the task of undoing his jeans.
You backed up into the bedroom and he drew you in for a kiss that stole all of your breath. You pulled away, yanking your shirt up then over your head, with him quickly doing the same.
You stepped onto the bed, watching his hazel eyes grow incredibly focused as you pulled at the restrictive fabric of your sports bra, removing it from your chest. He still hadn’t gotten tired of looking at you naked, always getting a grateful look on his face as he stared. And it still gave you butterflies, it made you want to love him forever. He admired your body like it was the rarest masterpiece the world had ever known.
You loved the way he appreciated every part of your body with his hands. He could make you feel at peace in your body, after so much time searching for the right terms and the right ways to be yourself. He validated every side of you and accepted you wholly.
It sets you free, allowing you to run wild and indulge in desires you had never dared to dream of before. He didn’t need you to be the girl that the rest of the world saw you as. The only labels he cared about were that he was the puppy and you were the master - the rest of it was fluid.
What you had together was truly limitless and it made your blood run hotter than lava. Your lust was a powder keg, constantly ready for him to give off any kind of spark.
You dropped your shorts and beckoned him, curling a single finger. He lost his jeans before joining you on the bed. But he didn’t stand to mirror your current position, instead he brought his knees to the mattress directly in front of your feet.
You smiled, playing with his hair as you revelled in the desperation in his eyes. “Mio caro, ilo mio cucciolo…”
He was caressing your legs, running his hands up-and-down your exposed thighs. He began to press kisses across the skin above what your underwear covered. You continued to run your fingers over his scalp - the thought of pulling on his hair was so very alluring, but you resisted while he was being so good.
“Do you know how utterly fuckable you look in those Gucci photos? And it’s not the brand name or the status or the paycheck. It’s you and nothing else, caro.”
He smiled, kissing you a couple more times before responding. “You were there when we shot it, you saw every look…”
“I know but it’s different now. It’s larger than life. And now the whole world knows what a greedy little bottoming bitch you are.”
His fingers had started to play with the waistband of your underwear, hinting at his desire to have you naked, without making any real threats to your authority. The way his lips were moving across your skin made you want to give it up, made you want to pin him down and use him.
“I knew you’d like them.” He said, his dreamy eyes making your heart flutter. “When I told Vic that I was gonna call you in time with the photos going up - she said that I should put the do not disturb sign on the door…”
You smiled at the mention - of course Victoria had been privy to your phone sex, as your closest confidante, she knew details that others would label as too much information.
“‘Cause she said, they will need some time to properly consume the photos. And that, they shouldn’t be rushed. And that you deserve someone with the patience to respect their need for alone time.”
Now was when you decided to exert some of your power, tugging his hair to force him to meet your eye. “Damn right I needed alone time, your ass looks so great in those photos.” He smiled and you applied your fingernails to his scalp. “It’s a real shame I didn’t get to take a taste.”
He licked his lips. “I know.”
You grabbed his chin, fire in your eyes as you looked down at him. “I don’t think that you do know, I don’t think that you properly understand the punishment of looking at something I can’t touch. I don’t think you know how it feels to be so fucking wet that you can’t think of anything else, the punishment of wanting to hear your slutty sounds while you’re behaving like a tease in another country.”
He waited for you to be undoubtedly finished speaking before opening his mouth. “Punish me.”
“Is that what you deserve?”
“It’s more than I deserve.”
He was so obedient, the thrill of power went straight to your head - your thoughts lighting up like a Christmas tree. You could see that he truly meant it, a genuine statement delivered with the correct language of a submissive. You saw in his eyes a reflection of the adoration you felt for him and you wanted to fulfil his fantasies.
“That’s right. But I’m gonna punish you anyways.” You said. “Lay your pretty face down on the pillow.”
Without any hesitation, he let go of you and shuffled further up the bed. You inelegantly got down from your feet as he laid his stomach upon the mattress. You looked at his pert ass, still covered by his black briefs. You were allowed so many possibilities, all you had to do was pick your favourite to start with.
You didn’t let yourself get carried away and just do whatever would provide you with pleasure the quickest. You knew what your boyfriend liked, what got him to the point of begging. You also knew what you liked the best, what you could do to him to get your cunt dripping.
So you took your time to compile a flexible method in your head, thinking about which moves you wanted to use. He didn’t peek during this process (he knew better than that), not even when you rolled open the bedside draw. You picked out the new vibrator without switching it on, you placed the toy on the mattress next to you - closeby for when you would need it later. Along with this, you grabbed a bottle of flavoured lube. You slid the drawer full of naughty secrets shut again, wanting to mostly concentrate on what you could do with your hands.
His underwear dulled the sound of the first spank, but you could still hear his breathing hitch. You drew your hand far back, a confident swipe through the air to deliver a spank to his other buttcheek. You could see his hands had balled into fists around the pillow as you slapped him again-and-again - wanting to turn his perfect ass to a lovely shade of red.
You could hear that he had begun to moan and you could feel the muscles in this area growing tenser. Instead of pulling the underwear off, you pushed them up until most of the fabric was wedged between his cheeks - something like a g-string, allowing you to look at his ass as you played with it.
You put a hand to each of his cheeks, applying a pinch while you used your other hand to spank him some more. He squirmed, his noises getting louder and you could feel more heat spreading through your cunt.
You could feel your hand starting to sting and your breathing had become ragged. You leant down and used your teeth on him, earning you a throaty cry from him. You sucked on his skin, hard enough to cause a hickey as you reached your hand blindly out for the vibrator. You pawed across the bedspread until you felt the sturdy toy hitting against your fingers and you snatched it up at once.
You sat up, giving his ass a few pats. “Are you done being a bad little slut?” You switched the dildo on, but kept it away from him. “Have you learnt your lesson?”
He shuddered, raising his head from the pillow. “Yes, thank you amore, ah.”
He whipped his head around when you touched the toy to the small of his back. You grinned and held the toy up for him to see. His mouth fell open as he rolled over, a more comfortable position for him to view you.
“Surprise.” You said.
He sat up and tentatively reached a hand out. “Is this…?”
“Is this your gift? Yes.” You transferred it to his hands. “More accurately - me using it to fuck you, that’s the gift.”
He was turning it over in his hands, trying to gain all the necessary information from just looking at it, it seemed it was similarly brand new to him. “Which belt were you gonna use? It doesn’t really look like it’d work with any of our o-rings. It’s lacking the wide base, but I guess it-”
“Do you wanna know what else it’s lacking? The need for any belts, rings, straps or anything.” You said and he tilted his head to the side, his confusion clear. “It’s totally strapless, this part goes up inside of me.” You pointed to the tight curve at one end of the dildo. “And I hold it up there while you’re getting fucked by all of this.” You ran your forefinger down the dildos silicone shaft.
“What are these bits?” He asked of the two prongs that protruded from what was to be your end. “They kinda look like bunny ears.”
You giggled, playing with his dirty blonde hair. “That’s what they’re called on the side of the box. But they sit around my clit, and then vrrrr….” You poked your finger into the space between the ‘ears’, shaking it to mimic the vibrations you would be receiving. 
“Wow.” He was smiling and it excited you to see that he had lost his earlier worries over being subjected to another less than spectacular strap-on experience. You had him ready to be fucked by this new cock.
“Wow is right.” You put your hand to his shoulder and gave it a gentle push. “Underwear off, cucciolo. I’ve got to fuck you right now, I’ve missed watching you come.”
You removed your underwear and took the toy back from him. You turned it around, the contoured pony facing you. You saw that he was watching you, looking from your face to the girthy curve that you were considering. You felt emboldened by his gaze, his dick impossibly hard but his patience prevailed. You leant back and spread your legs, allowing him to see even more.
You brought the head of the stilled nub to your wet heat, it was an easy insertion into your slick cunt, the ridges sliding between your awaiting walls. It fit so perfectly, instantly close to your g-spot, making you moan.
With some adjustments, you had the rabbit ears on either side of your clitoris. But you hesitated from turning the vibrations on.
Breathing in deeper, you returned your focus to the task at hand, looking over to where he was still watching you patiently. You plucked up the bottle of lubricant, uncapping it and being instantly greeted by the sweet, artificial scent of strawberry, making you feel ready to indulge. You pumped some of the thick liquid into your hand, putting time into especially coating your index and middle fingers. He was mesmerized by this movement and you could tell he was anticipating how your next move would affect him.
“Show me that slutty hole.” You said, your voice quieter but not softer. You added another generous dollop of lube to your hand, this time running it up the length of the silicone shaft.
He laid back, legs splayed, his naked body ready to be used by you. He tilted his ass up from the mattress, he was so practised at this point. For the moment, the vibrator was forgotten as you used one hand to massage his ass cheek. Your other hand became occupied with locating his hole, finding the tight ring and starting to ease it open. You used one coated finger to copy the gentle rhythm you were massaging him with and he shut his eyes, moaning. You moved slowly, loving this process of preparation to show him the care that he deserved.
He took in one of your fingers and soon allowed a second. You let go of his ass, keeping him distracted with your fingers' affectionate explorations. You returned your hand to the slippery dildo and edged yourself closer to his body.
You continued to work your fingers inside of him, making him gasp when you teased the tip to his hole. Gradually he accepted the tapered end into him with you taking the necessary time, not rushing to fill him up at once, even though you could feel your cunts eager clenching.
“Is that good for you, caro?” You asked.
He didn’t form any words to agree, instead just humming as he nodded his head. With very little resistance, you were able to have all of your cock inside of him.
A slight shift from your body brought a shudder from him and you took this moment to switch the vibrations back on. It was a blissful harmony of stimulation for you at once. You pulled your hips back a bit, then rolled forward. Not too hard, but enough to make your heart leap into your throat when the tip hit against your g-spot.
You tested at finding a rhythm, receiving the response from him of moaning as he tilted his hips further. Your nerves jittered to an exciting height as you slowly stroked your length up-and-down his tender flesh. You felt like your clit was swelling, the vibrations working in a pattern that wanted to send you straight to Heaven.
You moved quicker and the way he slumped back, his stomach contracting, made you think you had potentially found his prostate, where he would feel the stimulation most. You were inspired to put more power into your rocking, rewarded with his increasing panting as he continued to fail at catching his breath.
“God, such a good puppy.” You said through gritted teeth. “You don’t just play at being a bottom bitch for the cameras - no, you fuck like it too, ‘cause it’s what you are.” His thighs clenched together around you, keeping you where he needed. “You’re my bottom bitch.”
He had fallen back onto the bed, groaning as he writhed through the mounting pleasure. “Yours.”
“Mine.”
You pushed through the wild convulsions that threatened to destroy your rhythm. You had to keep fucking him, had to keep drawing these unashamedly erotic sounds out of him.
It was like coming up from the deep end of the pool, that uneasy but fleeting feeling before your head breached the water’s surface - because you had all of your senses disconnected from reality and you had no knowledge of what had unfolded in your absence.
But those fears had no place in reality.
It didn’t matter that he was having the most successful year of his life. His fame hadn’t shaken how much he loved to be your submissive. There was no hint of an ego - it didn’t matter that he could hold the attention of a stadium full of people in the palm of his hand, a neverending fountain of praise. He left all of that behind him as soon as he left the stage.
When he got home to you, you delivered a swift kick to knock away the pedestal that the rest of the world placed him on. You dragged him down to where he was nothing but a series of animal instincts.
The fame enchanted you more than it did him. You could hardly believe the escalation of your power trip these past few months. It had been thrilling to find a man who was willing to let you play out your deepest fantasy of stepping outside of the gender listed on your ID and becoming the one who wielded the cock. You had his crown, even at his high status - it was you who was on top.
And it obsessed you.
“Now I get to have you how everyone who saw those photos wants to.” You said. “But you look even better now, riding my fuckin’ cock.” You put a hand to his stomach in an attempt to steady yourself. “You’re so proud of that ass, being such a show off. Maybe one of these days we could really show you off, I could film you taking this cock like a pro.”
He shook his head, while his hips still rolled, still chasing his orgasm. “Don’t.”
“No?” You asked, reaching down to pinch one of his nipples. “You don’t wanna show this off? But I thought you were proud of being my bottom bitch.”
You saw his Adam’s apple move slowly as he made an audible gulp. “Only for you.”
You grinned, dragging your nails down his chest. “Il mio cucciolo.”
“Yes, yours.” He whimpered.
“Come for me caro.” The vibrating pad was pushed against your g-spot and you felt your resolve failing you, you were ready to be overwhelmed. “Come on my cock.”
“Ung.” He made a strangled cry, twitching up into a thrust.
This sent the dildo’s rounded tip harder into you and you felt your eyes roll back for one incredible moment. Your pitch was suddenly much higher when you next cried out. “Yes, oh fuck. You’re gonna make me come, you filthy… ah, oh God.”
Your entire body was consumed by the pulses that the toy was providing to you, these relentless patterns only strengthened each time he rutted into you. You became crazed, desperate for your orgasm and you hit into him with this new determination, focused solely on your pleasure.
The only sounds in the room were his desperate pleas and the slapping every time your body collided with his. You were locked in this moment with him, needing him to complete you as you aimed to completely ruin him.
“Take it, take it, yes baby, take it.” You grunted over the sound of his delicious moaning.
“Yes, yes, ah, yes.” He kept pushing into you harder, getting all that he could from the vibrator.
At this point the ecstasy had consumed you and you felt ready to leave consciousness behind entirely. The vibrations were rattling you so deep down, practically preparing your soul to climax as well.
You screamed, your hips snapping and jerking as the wave took you over, instantly flooring you. “Tom, baby…” The strength had fled your body and all you wanted to do was collapse onto him.
You opened your eyes at the feeling of your centre of gravity shifting and you found he was sitting up. He got as close to your eye level as he could and you put your hand to the back of his head, wanting him close, but you didn’t have the energy for any kisses.
He was still working at his rhythm and you watched the delight play out on his face as his orgasm was pushed to an even greater intensity. It made you ache, it made you feel like you could come again - if you allowed it.
“Come for this cock.” You instructed.
He was soon spilling himself, making a series of strangled noises as his mouth gaped open. You felt him become heavier in your hold and so you let him go, letting him float back down to the bed. He crumpled, a panting mess.
You didn’t think you had ever been so sweaty in your whole life as you dismounted from his twitching body. You extracted the dildo, tossing it to the ground for you to find and clean later. The strawberry scent had left the room, evaporated out and all that was left for you to smell was sweat.
You laid down and immediately rolled over to cuddle into him. He held you, keeping you with him as both of you came down from those awe-inspiring heights. There was nothing to be said in this moment, on a different level of awareness, you knew he felt the same.
After a while you felt his fingers comb through your hair and you decided it was worth staying awake. You opened your eyes to find him staring at you, his gaze filled with that intensity that made you feel so appreciated and so unashamed of who you were.
“I love you.” He said, making you smile - being adored by him never got old.
“I love you too, caro.”
“That was an amazing surprise.”
Pride swelled in your heart, pushing out any lingering insecurities as you traced your fingers across his collarbone. “Yeah? I think so too.”
“It makes the gift that I got for you look like a tacky joke.”
You grabbed his hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. “No, I’m sure that I’ll love it. I’ll love whatever it is ‘cause it’s come from you.”
“Should I go get it?”
“Yes please.”
The plain paper bag that he returned with was only small, but you were excited nevertheless. You sat up and eagerly reached for it. He returned to the bed and handed the object to you, but you made sure to give him a kiss before opening the bag.
You saw one item inside and you tipped the bag upside down where the gift fit neatly in the palm of your hand. You were looking at a black and white photo of Sigmund Freud, attached to a keychain. You turned the plastic square over, looking at the words printed there.
You felt yourself laughing as you read it aloud. “Freud envies my penis.”
He was smiling, but in that uncertain way, as if he didn’t fully believe your laughter. “It’s dumb, I know. But there was this whole museum for him there. And there was so much shit in the gift shop and I didn’t wanna get something you wouldn’t like - like a basic ass shirt.”
“No, it’s so perfect. I am gonna put it on my keys right now. I think I’m gonna laugh every time I see it.” You held it up by the ring, you were already thinking of the friends you wanted to show it to, people who would appreciate your boyfriend’s sense of humour.
“Yeah, and I figured that if you ever lose them we can say that they Freudian slipped out of your hands.”
You bowed your head, briefly joining him as he chuckled. “You are lucky that butt of yours doesn’t quit, ‘cause that joke is weak.”
He pushed his head into your shoulder and you wrapped your arms around him to pull him down to the bed with you. Embracing, you laughed together, falling back into sync on another level.
╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╮
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itgirlification · 4 years ago
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supermodel | jjk
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the last three months have been hell for you, but Jungkook seemed to be living his best life.
pairing: ex-bf!jk x thick!reader
warnings: explicit mentions of body image and insecurities, infidelity, anal sex, oral (male receive), foul language (kinda), etc.
now playing: supermodel by sza
part two part three
Exactly three months ago, your and Jungkook’s 2 years relationship officially ended. Unofficially, it ended about 5 months ago. And for about one month now, Jungkook’s been seeing someone else.
Your heart and mind told you not to do it but you couldn’t help calculating. Three months ago, you were still dating, two months later, he started dating someone else. That must mean he’s known her for a while. Did he cheat on you with her? Well, it’s not like it matters now anyway, does it?
Her name was Yuki, an undeniable Japanese beauty. You were still in college, studying music and she was a famous model who appeared in internationally known magazines. You assumed she met Jungkook during a photoshoot since he was a professional photographer who often worked for companies like Vogue and Playboy. You couldn’t help but compare yourself to her.
It wasn’t the fact that he moved on so quickly that hurt you the most. It was the fact that he knew all about your low self-esteem and how you lack confidence. Especially about your body. And he still went and dated a model, of all professions in the world. He was definitely over you.
If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he did it on purpose. But thankfully, you knew better, he looked too happy for that to be even considered. He forgot about you.
You’re making yourself sadder by remembering all the times he assured you you were beautiful and your body was nothing to be ashamed of. The times he let his fingertips run over the lines of your stretch marks, whispering in your ear how much he loved them and how they reminded him of Tiger stripes. The times he caressed your jiggly thighs and told you how sexy he thought they were.
Then your mind would drift back to the phone in your hand, the Instagram page of Yuki Sakurai opened, careful not to accidentally like anything and expose yourself. Not that she’d notice anyway, she had 3.7 million followers, while you had a private one with 500 followers and no posts, and she gets around 300 to 700 thousand likes on each post, depending on whether she posts random photos or pretty pictures of herself. Or newly, your ex-boyfriend, Jungkook. Oh, how crazy everybody goes whenever she posts him. People love them together. You couldn’t blame them. Two attractive people? Of course, they’re gonna look great together.
Fucking great.
That the end of your relationship with Jungkook would look like this was semi-predictable from the beginning. He did admit to you that he never thought he’d date someone that looked like you when you first dated. And your heart broke a little. But he also made up for it in those two years, it was a beautiful relationship nonetheless.
While you weren’t exactly his ‘ideal’ type, he was definitely yours. You always heard from other women ‘when in a relationship, the man always has to love the woman more than she loves him. Otherwise, it won’t work.’ You never really got the saying until your breakup with Jungkook happened. It was the fact that you clearly loved Jungkook more than he loved you that lead to this.
“Oh my goodness!”, your roommate, Jane, dramatically exclaimed. “Will you stop feeling bad for yourself and do something? That’s not what hot girls do, sis.”
Jane was a lovely girl with a not so lovely temper. She always means well and you got along perfectly as soon as you met. Which was around 3 and a half years ago.
She looked over your shoulder to see what you were looking at. You obviously didn’t want her to see you snooping around your ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend’s Instagram but it was too late.
“Seriously, yn?”, she took your phone in her hand and threw it on the bed. “Let’s go somewhere, you can’t do this to yourself anymore. I’m not letting you.”
Jane was clearly worried about you at this point. The only thing you did these last few weeks was eating, shower, cry, sleep and miss a whole bunch of classes. This wasn’t good at all.
“Where?”, your question was short.
“To the mall? Or the nail studio? Anything that’ll get you out of this fucking dormitory.”, Jane sighed, pulling the blanket off of you, making you whine a little. “C’mon, go put on some cute outfit and we’ll go.”
You felt bad since she was trying hard to make you feel better. But it didn’t really work.
You nodded, standing up from the bed, nonetheless. You picked out a cute two-piece dress, that brought back blurred memories of the time you went on a date with Jungkook, wearing the same two-piece. Bet Yuki would look cuter in this...
‘Shut your petty ass up, yn. It’s embarrassing, the way you’re stuck on a taken guy who wants nothing to do with you’
You wish you could change the way you think, even if it’s just for an hour or two. You wish you would stop imagining Jungkook judging you when he saw you naked or when you told him that you wished you could cut off some of your fat with a pair of scissors.
You were beyond ashamed of yourself. Why wasn’t it easy for you to just stay by yourself? why were you so desperately in need of Jungkook by your side to the point where you’d lock yourself in your room for a month just because he isn’t there?
You needed Jungkook. You became so attached to him in those two years, because you always saw him as a permanent, a forever. Not just a temporary, not just a distant memory. You already saw him as the father of your children, as the man you’re gonna marry.
You were so blinded by the fact that you had him, that you forgot you could lose him anytime.
“I’m done, let’s go.”, unenthusiastically, you announced to Jane, who was already waiting for you.
“Let’s get the fuck outta here!”, In contrast to your spirit, hers seemed to be all roses and daisies. “Lord knows you need it...”
__________
“Look at this cute ass skirt, girl”, Jane pointed at a chic, wine mini skirt she was holding. “You know, when I saw it back there I wanted to have it, but it’d look so much better on you”
You took a few seconds to admire Jane’s beauty. She was about 3 cm taller than you, had a great posture, and almond, dark brown eyes that suited her dark skin tone perfectly. Her body leaned more towards the slimmer side.
“Shut up! No, it would not”, you let out a small giggle. “It would look gorgeous on you, buy it.”
She smiled a little at your laughs. She was happy to see you at least a little cheerful again. “Yeah, but I think it’d look better on you. I’m entitled to my own opinion, am I not?”
You knew this debate was gonna go back and forth, because of her stubbornness. “Let’s both buy the skirt.”
You ended up doing so, added by a bunch of bags full of clothing. This may’ve turned into your new coping mechanism. Who needed therapy when you can go on a shopping spree?
Two hours were spent in boutiques and clothing stores and Jane decided she was tired, wanting to visit the local spa.
“No, seriously, these Riverdale seasons just keep on getting worse and worse. Netflix needs to step up their game ASAP”, Jane ranted, making you laugh at how serious she takes it. “It’s getting embarrassing. I’m being for real.”
The two of you were sitting in the whirlpool at the spa, relaxing your whole bodies a little.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, I don’t watch these new Netflix shows anyways. Been stuck on the vampire diaries for the last 7 years”, you chuckled, knowing you hated trying new things. “Can you pass me one of those magazines?”
Jane nodded, grabbing a random one from the table next to her and handed it to you, without looking at it.
The cover of it caught your eyes immediately. How could it not, when your ex’s new girl looks absolutely dazzling on the front page of it.
‘Supermodel Yuki Sakurai talks summer fashion tips, struggle with self-love and most importantly, her hot, new boyfriend the media is going crazy over’ was the headline of the Harper’s Bazaar Magazine cover.
You felt your stomach getting sick and your breath getting heavier, but you still flipped the pages until you found the one with her interview. You began reading it, skipping the boring parts.
‘Int: so, we see you have a new boyfriend. Tell us, how did you guys meet?
Yuki: Yeah, he’s an amazing guy. We actually met about six or five months ago at one of my photoshoots, since he’s a photographer and we exchanged numbers and stuff, and then we made it official mid last month.’
About six or five months ago? You were with him back then, but her answer was too unclear to find out if he cheated or not.
“Woah, yn, you okay?”
You entirely forgot about the fact that you were with Jane, let alone somewhere other than your bed.
Before you could react, Jane snatched the magazine out of your hand.
“You really can’t escape them, huh?”, She sighs, taking you in her arm. “It’s gonna be okay, baby. In a few months, you’re gonna look back to this and think wow I really was stuck on a guy who’s scared of microwaves and cried like a bitch when Iron Man died.”
You laughed, punching her arm playfully. “You know, I actually love these things about him. Shows his sensitivity and the way he perceives things.”
Jane looked at you as if she didn’t believe you were actually saying that stuff. “Girl, you’re overanalyzing this. Let’s just throw this shit in the trash, okay?”
She put the magazine aside.
“I just don't know what I did wrong.”, You murmured. “I know we weren't the best, but we didn't even fight that much. We could’ve talked it through.”
Jane pursed her lips and cooed. “You know, relationships are complicated sometimes. The reason why he broke up, to begin with, is probably not your fault.”
“Well, what if it is? I mean what if I was too fat or too ugly for him?”, you asked. “If he wanted a skinny girl so bad, I could’ve lost weight for him, I don’t get it.”
Jane looked at you like you lost your mind entirely. “I can’t believe you just said that! Even if that was the reason, which it wasn’t, you shouldn’t make yourself suffer because of it. That’s his loss. You’re beyond gorgeous and you have an amazing body.”
“You’re just saying that.”, tears slowly started coming up in your eyes. “But the thing is Jungkook knows all about my insecurities. Why would he do that to me? I know he knows that I’m still not over him.”
You usually didn’t like crying in front of other people, but you didn’t really care at the moment, besides that was Jane. You trusted her with your life.
“Girl, men are trash, I can’t believe you’re crying over one right now, seriously.”, she wiped your tears and held your face between her hands. “You know, honestly, I’ve read so many articles about how models actually hate themselves and have like the lowest self-esteem so in conclusion, no matter how miserable you are, his new girl is even more miserable.”
You knew Jane didn’t mean it in a harmful way, but it sounded harsher than needed. “I don’t hate her, she probably doesn’t even know about me. I’m just really insecure. He upgraded from me. He’s dating a whole model now.”
The situation just felt like a deja vu of these last few weeks laying in your bed, even though you were at the spa with your friend. You were supposed to have fun, yet you didn’t feel like having any.
“Why would you feel insecure when all you’ve seen of her are Instagram posts and red carpet pictures? She’s supposed to look beautiful, it’s her job.”
To a certain extent, Jane was right, but that didn’t really help your situation, you still felt bad about yourself. You stayed silent.
“C’mon, this isn’t fun anymore. Let’s leave.”, Jane mumbled.
_______
it’s been two days since the incident at the spa and you felt a little bit better now.
Those days were spent reading the same three book series you’ve read your entire life, overthinking, hot Cheetos, Indian takeout, and Netflix. It really wasn’t as miserable as it sounded.
You were just taking a little rest before term break ends and you have to go back to the shithole college again.
Jane was using the time until college starts again, but in different ways than you were. She was planning on going to some frat party in an hour and forget about the world’ for a minute. Or till 4 in the morning, where she will most likely drunk call you and ask you for a ride back to the dorms, because the friends she went to the party with were shit-faced as well and were in no way capable of driving anywhere without the cops stopping them.
Going out partying on a Friday night was a Jane tradition. In the past, you’d sometimes go with her, but you mostly spent your time out with Jungkook doing something more fun than partying could ever be. Now you can’t do that anymore, but laying in bed is more ideal than a party for you at the moment.
“How do I look?”, Jane twirled around to show off her black cocktail dress. She looked beautiful.
“You look beautiful.”, you responded to her question. “Are you leaving now?”
“Hm”, she said, to which you nodded. “You sure you don’t wanna come with me? It’s gonna be really fun.”
You shook your head no.
“Alright”, she shrugged, making her way out of your bedroom. “But I told you, it’s gonna be fun.”
You chuckled, rolling your eyes. “I’ll stay here, I have shit to do.”
“Yeah, right, like binge-watching the vampire diaries and taking 5-hour naps”, she said in a sarcastic tone. “Anyway, bye-bye, Vic’s already waiting for me in the car.”
Victoria was perhaps one of the most obnoxious people you know, yet she was too much of a nice person for you to talk shit about her. The voice of your intrusive thoughts couldn’t help but to, though.
“Alright, bye, take care and say hi to Vic from me.”
After Jane left, an hour went by like it was just a couple of minutes. You were starting to get real bored and decided to watch some regular tv in hopes to find something you enjoy. You ended up not finding anything fun, but you still watched it, because you didn’t have anything else to do.
A few moments later, the doorbell rang and you were suddenly worried. Either this is a serial killer or Jane forgot something.
But to your surprise, it was neither, but it was none other than
“Jungkook?”, truly, those were the only words you were able to mutter out at your shocked state. “What are you do-“
At the speed of light, you were interrupted by your ex-boyfriend pressing his lips to yours. He didn’t say a word.
You weren’t expecting him. Not knowing how you were supposed to feel at the moment, you just let it happen. You were sure your mental state couldn’t get any worse than that, no matter how this will affect you in the end.
“Is Jane home?”, for the first time in 3 months, you’re hearing his silky voice again.
Jungkook knew Jane always had some type of special hatred for him with her killing stares and her bitter comments. You didn’t notice either though.
He also knew she must hate him even more after your breakup. Or maybe she liked him more now since she was able to get rid of him without killing anyone.
“No”, your answer was short and it made a weight fall from Jungkook’s shoulders before he continued kissing you.
It wasn’t anything you haven’t done before, yet it felt like it’s been ages since it last happened. Your mind drifted to the thought of Jungkook and his model girlfriend. You were asking yourself what their sex life was like, if she was tighter than you or if she had stretch marks and scars.
Jungkook’s lips were moving south, giving your neck wet kisses, while you were wondering why he broke up with his model girlfriend. Or if he even did. You felt selfish for not caring.
Removing your clothes one by one, you were left in your underwear, while Jungkook only had his boxers on.
This body was yours. You knew it inside out. Where he liked to get touched and where he preferred not to. You knew him better than anyone else. You were sure.
You already moved to your bedroom, since Jungkook effortlessly carried you there. You were sat on his lap, facing him and your hands were in his messy hair. His hands were around your waist, he was slightly smiling into the kiss, as you started grinding on him. He loved how easy it was for him to turn you on. You were still his.
Cutting off the kiss, he looked you in the eyes, while his hand was on your cheek. “Say aah.”, he said.
You widened your mouth obediently, which was followed by him collecting as much saliva as he could in his mouth and spitting it into your mouth.
“Swallow.”, demanding, he spit on your face, his eyes become darker with every passing moment. You did as he said.
You looked at him with big eyes. He knew you loved it. You’ve always had a thing for him degrading and humiliating you during sex.
He started grinding on you almost desperately. You knew exactly what he wanted.
Getting out of his grip, you dropped to your knees and freed his hard dick from his drawers. You reached for it and started pumping it, and licking it. Your spit was leaking down his dick as you used it for lubrication. Then you started sucking on it, just the way you used to.
Jungkook’s groans and satisfied sighs were enough to make you even wetter than before. You enjoyed giving more than receiving.
Your mouth was wet and warm around him, giving him a feeling of familiarity. You lick over the tip a few times, then proceed to fully take him into your mouth.
The bulge in your throat could be seen and the way your eyes were tearing up a little wasn’t bothering you at all. You loved giving.
Jungkook started thrusting in and out of your warm, welcoming mouth, his tip hitting the back of your throat multiple times.
“Fuck”, a throaty moan left Jungkook’s mouth, giving you hints that he was about to cum. And he did, releasing in your mouth before you swallowed it. “Shit, baby, that was so good.”
You felt your face heat up and a sheepish smile made its way to your face. Your throat was sore.
The two of you were on the bed again. To you, it felt like it was the times before your breakup again, when you’d purposely start an argument just for the makeup sex because Jungkook wasn’t giving you any anymore. It was like sex was the only thing to look forward to.
You felt attached to Jungkook to a point where it was dangerous. You weren’t okay when he wasn’t around. He affected every part of your life and God knew it wasn’t always a positive thing. Maybe it was the fact that he took your virginity. Maybe because he was your first boyfriend, the first guy that made you believe you were worthy of love and that someone was actually capable of loving you. One thing you knew was Jungkook had an expansive influence on your life.
While you were practically drowning in your own thoughts, Jungkook was busy taking off your underwear.
“You okay?”, Jungkook calmly asked you, looking at your riddled face.
“Huh? Yeah, I’m okay.”, you sounded distracted, Jungkook wasn’t sure about asking you what it is though. He didn’t feel like getting personal.
So he shrugged it off and started kissing you again, his dick was unsurprisingly hard again as he played with your tits. He drew lines over the stretch marks of your thighs and kissed them.
“Can I fuck your ass?”, Jungkook’s raspy, tired-sounding voice casually asked, to which you quickly nodded, knowing that Jungkook’s favorite position had always been anal. He was massaging and gripping your ass firmly.
“This is gonna hurt at first, but I promise it gets better.”, He warned calmly into your ear, while putting some lube on his dick and just went right into your ass, slowly thrusting so you don’t feel as much pain.
He was right, it did hurt a lot when he first put it in, but the pain just changed into pleasure in a matter of time and his slow-paced thrusts helped with the adjustment.
“Fuck, I missed this ass”, he practically growled into your ear, as he kept on thrusting in and out, steadily gripping your wide hips with his big, veiny hands. “It just doesn’t feel right when I’m inside her ass.”
You knew your confidence shouldn’t rely on Jungkook bringing his girlfriend down, but you couldn’t help but feel good about your body when he said that. It’s been a while since you felt even a tiny spark of confidence. You weren’t so fond of him mentioning her while he was inside of you.
Your soft moans rang through the whole room like sirens, while he watched your ass jiggle against his pelvis, thrusting in and out faster every second. He missed this.
You had always thought you were indecisive, but you knew exactly what you wanted. You just couldn’t have that, so you’d eventually have to settle for less.
Jungkook wasn’t to blame for it, you just couldn’t concede your shortcomings. The movie’s villain wasn’t always the real villain.
Your hands traveled to your pussy to make sure you’d orgasm as well, when you heard Jungkook’s breathing getting heavier and his thrusts getting gentler than before, indicating that he was gonna cum soon. You were certain he could make you cum with just anal, but you wanted to cum with him.
With furrowed eyebrows and drops of sweat dripping down his body, Jungkook looked down at your arched back. The whole scene was sticky, especially when Jungkook presses his upper body to your back, whispering sweet nothings into your ear and kissing the spot.
It was kinda odd, having sex with your ex-boyfriend you were crying over just a day ago. There was a certain intensity to it though. Like your long-lasting nostalgia was finally fulfilled.
You’ve realized you couldn’t imagine yourself being intimate with anybody else. Jungkook already knew your body, how it looked without the material protecting it, the strawberry skin, the slightly sagging breasts you swore you’d surgically remove once you had the chance to but didn’t. He knew where you liked being touched, he was the first one to even touch you in those places.
You were unsure what you’d do with yourself when he leaves.
Jungkook’s thrusts slowly started stopping and you too felt the familiar sensation in your stomach.
Suddenly, you two were nothing but desire, fear, and pleasure. And faster than you could process, you came together.
For minutes after your orgasm, you were just laying on the bed, thoughtless. Maybe a little regretful. Not you, but him.
You weren’t facing each other, but you could hear each other’s breathing. Your stomach was filled with something you’d describe as post-sex melancholia.
All of a sudden, Jungkook stood up from the bed, startling your resting self a little, but you decided to keep quiet, wanting to see what he was going to do.
He made his way to the door to leave what he thought was your sleeping body laying there. You couldn’t keep quiet anymore.
“Where are you going?”, your soft voice suddenly rang in his ears. “Don’t you wanna stay?”
He didn’t know how exactly to tell you. You’ve always been a gullible little girl, you were the type of girl to think fucking equals love. Little did you know that wasn’t the case at all.
“Yn.... you know I can’t”, Jungkook responded, you knew it wasn’t gonna be good when he said your name like that. “I got a girl at home and I don’t wanna mess shit up with her.”
There it was. Your suspicion was corroborated. He was still going out with the model and you were a certified home wrecker. Great.
You physically felt your heart breaking. “Bu- but why are you here then?”
You were incapable of being mad at him at the moment. It was your fault for letting him in, again. After breaking your trust and your heart.
“This was a mistake”, he declared, not looking into your eyes. “I’m sorry, yn...”
He’s moved past your room now, already at the exit of your dormitory. He was about to leave.
“You already ruined shit with her when you came here and fucked me.”, your voice was small, but your words were heard.
Without looking back, he left.
And you went back to your room, standing in the middle of it for a minute in silence before your brain fully processed what had happened and your tears started pouring.
744 notes · View notes
astranva · 4 years ago
Text
Falling Duet
Word Count: 2.4k
Category: Fluff but it’s so 🥺
Warning: Nothing
Request: harry dating singer!reader: he has to perform at some awards and he invites her to sing with him but no one else knows? love your writing🤧❤
Summary: You and Harry sing an unreleased version of Falling at an award show.
The lyrics used are of “Falling (other POV)” by THE cutie, Ally Naso 🤍
// masterlist //
**reposted bc tumblr is messing up the tags & nobody can view it. sigh.
..
It all started when a friend of yours had recorded you singing in your school’s bathroom during senior year.
7 years ago, you wouldn’t have believed it if somebody told you that you would be a 13-time Grammy nominated artist, as well as having 6 of that very award sitting on your shelf at your childhood home – one for Best Artist, and one for Album of the year.
You would have laughed even.
But it wasn’t a joke nor was it a dream you wished to never wake up from; it was as real as life could be.
You were successful in the industry and if any of your fans were asked, they would say that it was because of your immense talent and unproblematic, empathetic, kind character.
It was one of the many reasons why so many people on the internet had shipped you with a certain English man, him having been only 20 when you went viral and got signed.
A year into the industry, it was one day when you remember your Twitter notifications going crazy;
“HARRY STYLES JUST SAID HE LOVES YOUR MUSIC AND THINKS YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL”
“omg pls tell us you watched 1d’s interview with jimmy kimmel”
“IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING! CAN YOU PLEASE BE TOGETHER ALREADY???”
Looking back at that memory, you remember how you were a shaking and overwhelmed mess as you had clicked on the link everybody was sending you.
The video had begun with the audience cheering as the camera was on Jimmy and the 5 men near him.
And there he sat; in a black suit with a white shirt underneath, medium-length hair looking like he had run his fingers through many times, his hands clasped as he looked at Jimmy.
“Who’s most likely to let a woman split the band?” Jimmy had asked.
They had looked at each other, not answering for a moment before Niall chimed in with a laugh as he pointed at Harry, “Harry would let his celebrity crush do that.”
Harry rolled his eyes jokingly as his bandmates agreed and laughed, slapping his hands against his thighs in feigned annoyance.
“Who is that? Who’s your celebrity crush?”
“Just this talented person.” He had tried to smile his way through the question, but no one was having it.
“You know Y/N Y/L/N? She’s an amazing singer,” Louis told Jimmy.
“Y/N!” Jimmy beamed, “We had her on the show two weeks ago.”
“Yeah, he watched that.” Liam had gestured towards Harry.
Hiding his face in his hands for a moment, the audience cheered as his friends continued to laugh.
“She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Jimmy asked Harry in a teasing manner.
Having had decided to get it over with, Harry nodded as he clasped his hands together again, “She’s very talented and beautiful.”
“Lovie, can you help me with the necklace? My nails are still drying.”
You looked up from your place on the couch, sitting in your long dress looking so beautiful that Harry had lost track of time of getting into his own suit because he was too busy giving you a photoshoot on his phone.
Standing up, you reached and clasped his necklace for him, dusting his shoulders to signal that you were done.
Turning, you were met with your boyfriend of 4 years beaming at you before he leaned to press his lips against yours.
“You look so good.” You smiled up at him, “So beautiful.”
“Have to try to catch up with how you look tonight,” he replied with a wide smile, “Nervous?”
“Not really.” You admitted.
Amusingly and completely and utterly in love, Harry tilted his head slightly, “Any reason why you’re not? You usually hate those.”
It was true. You didn’t really like award shows because of how tiresome all the process was; hair, makeup, dressing up, walking only to pause every second, the repeated questions you have been answering for years, how more judgmental the world was on nights like these.
But it was always when Harry was able to be by your side that you liked the night, and the tall man knew it, but he had always loved hearing you say it.
To feed his ego, you wrapped your arms around his neck, “Because you’ll be there.”
“Music to my ears.” He joked, shaking his head slightly.
“Just feeding that already overfed ego of yours, baby.”
“Excuse you.” He pecked your lips, “Let me add food for Evie then we can leave.”
“I’ll do it, don’t mess up your nails.” You patted his chest before moving away to attend to your cat.
The fans and reporters all had anticipated the moment of yours and boyfriend’s arrival, and the both of you knew it.
You were fairly private with your relationship. While everyone knew you were together, the both of you didn’t always post about one another but when you did, it went viral – something you and Harry, shamelessly, enjoyed.
It was why during moments like this, everyone was eager. Reporters were hungry for content, all having different intentions, but you spend enough time in the industry and you sort of begin knowing what to say and how to say it.
Harry was scheduled to perform, something everyone knew of, but it was the fact that you were joining him not on the red carpet, but on stage that they didn’t.
Getting out of the car together, the screams and flashing lights were then doubled.
Harry closed the door behind you with a polite smile to the security standing. Bending a little, he adjusted your dress’s short train for you as you looked back at it before you looked up at him.
As if they weren’t snapping pictures like crazy yet, you reached and fixed Harry’s hair at the front, his eyes looking up with a smile as you did so.
“Thanks, love.”
With that, Harry placed his arm around your waist as you walked to the first spot on the red carpet.
“When was the last time we appeared together? They’re going mad.” You whispered, looking at Harry as he smiled to the cameras.
He chuckled, looking at you, “I think we deprive them too much.”
“Let’s give them enough content to last a year.”
Nobody but the both of you knew what you meant, and it was why the flashing lights and camera shutter sounds were then tripled the moment Harry’s lips were on yours in a soft kiss.
“Can we sign stuff?” You asked a woman standing on the sides, “Can we see the fans?”
When she nodded at you, you and Harry ignored posing for a few minutes to converse and meet fans.
“I love you and Harry so much!” One fan said shakily as you signed a paper for him.
“Thank yo- Hey! I saw you in Amsterdam last year, right?” You grinned.
And that was another thing not only your fans loved about you, but Harry, too.
You were no stranger to connections. You were no stranger to making people feel seen and treating them in a way that no fan expected to be treated – a friend, and you remember friends.
“Harry, do you think Y/N will win Songwriter of the Year?” A fan asked.
Harry shrugged with a smile, “I hope so but we all know she is anyway.” He waved his hand with a joking manner, making the closest fans laugh.
“What about you? Do you think you’ll win Artist of the Year?”
“I don’t know,” he smiled, “There are so many amazing artists. I wish them all the best.”
“He’s a humble man,” you teased, patting his shoulder, “We all know he is anyway.”
You were confused as they, Harry included, laughed in shock. “What?”
“He literally has just said the same thing about you.”
You laughed, looking at Harry, “Shut up, no way!”
“The both of you have been doing that for years.” One fan commented with a grin, “It’s adorable. It’s like telepathy or something.”
“Oh yeah, we are telepathic,” Harry nodded, “It gets a little scary sometimes.”
“Heeey!” You laughed, “It’s actually helpful. One of us would be just walking at home and we’d look at each other and know that the other just means something like “feed Evie” or “take out the trash””
“This is so cute!”
“Harry, what are you performing tonight?”
“You’ll find out in a bit.” He pointed.
Shortly, you and Harry had to take more pictures and do interviews before you were escorted inside.
It was the little moments that fans also lived for; how Harry held your hand as you sat so discreetly, how the both of you chatted and giggled among one another and those around you, how Harry fist-bumped the air the moment your name was called to receive your award of Songwriter of the Year before kissing you. It was how they knew this was real – how love wasn’t something you only listen people sing about or write novels for.
It was in how Harry’s eyes didn’t move from you as you gave your speech, a wide smile on his face and eyes resembling twinkling stars for crying out loud.
It was in how you ended your speech with: “This is to the man who has inspired and pushed me forward to write every single day. I love you.”
It was in how you looked more nervous than Harry himself when his category was called before you were the first to get out of your seat with a happy “yes!” once they announced that he won.
It was in how Harry cupped your face that moment to kiss you before walking to receive his award.
It was in how you remained standing, those behind you only smiling instead of being annoyed, with your hands clutched together against your heart, tearful eyes, and the brightest smile in the room.
“You’re going to tell me this is cheesy,” Harry chuckled slightly, giving a shrug as he looked at you, “But I wouldn’t be standing here, holding this, if it weren’t for you. I love you, too.”
But then Harry was about to perform and you weren’t in your seat.
The award show had decided to make a skit of it, the host being Miley had held her microphone as she stood in the empty isle beside yours and Harry’s empty seats.
“We know Harry Styles is performing in minutes,” she said, looking at the camera with a playful smile, “But where is Y/N Y/L/N? We know, we know,” she nodded, “Probably backstage for some extra good luck but-” people laughed, causing Miley to pause and chuckle, “But seriously, guys. There’s a show and it must go on.”
“It’s going on.” Harry said from backstage into his mic before the stage went dark.
It wasn’t until piano tunes sounded that the arena grew dim, a spotlight on the piano at the center of the stage where you sat, your fingers gentle against the keys as you played the beginning notes of Falling.
“I'm in my bed,
And you're not here
And there's no one to blame
But the drink in my wandering hands.” Harry sang as he came on stage, holding the mic in his hand before taking a seat beside you.
Everyone had expected him to sing the next verse, but it wasn’t his voice that they then heard.
“I'm in my bed
Instead of yours
Cried to sleep turned off all of lights and locked all of the doors.” You sang, eyes on the piano keys.
“Forget what I said
It's not what I meant
And I can't take it back
I can't unpack the baggage you left.” His eyes were on you, body turned slightly towards you as he felt like the both of you were in your living room in front of your white piano.
“I replay what you said
Don’t know if it’s true
Left with two broken hearts and there’s nothing that we could undo.” You sang, closing your eyes as you got ready for the chorus.
“What am I now? What am I now?
What if I'm someone I don't want around?
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling.”
“What am I now? What am I now?
Don’t want to cry ‘cause I can’t stand the sound
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling.”
The both of you sang together, your voice being softer and quieter than Harry’s.
“What if I'm down?
What if I'm out?
What if I'm someone you won't talk about?
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling.”
“What if I'm down? What if I'm out?
What if you’re someone I can’t live without?
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling.”
It was a version nobody had heard before, and it was why everyone was quiet, the only sound coming from you, Harry, and your lone instrument.
It was something you had written together following a rough patch of your relationship, and everyone knew that it was more personal with the way the both of you sang.
When his eyes weren’t closed, Harry sang as he looked at you, and he knew that performing this song meant more to the both of you than anyone could imagine. One look at your face and Harry knew you were reliving the night of when the both of you had written this; eyes a little red from crying, bodies hot, Harry wearing a hoodie of yours while you sat in your underwear with his purple fluffy robe on.
“Can I do this alone without ever needing you again?”
“And I get the feeling that you'll never need me again.”
You both sang the bridge together, yours being shorter than Harry’s note as you carried a softer tone, closing your eyes as you played the piano, feeling your throat close up before gulping.
He knew.
It was why the final chorus was sung softer and quieter, Harry’s forehead resting against your temple for a moment as the both of you sang.
“I’m falling again, I’m falling again, I’m falling.” Harry finished, putting his mic down as he stared at you with a small smile, watching you in your element as you played.
Managing to look at him as you played single soft notes, you sang, “I’m falling again, I’m falling again, I’m falling.”
You played the end single notes, looking at Harry with tearful eyes and a bashful smile.
It was like you were unaware to the erupted cheer and round of applause, you threw your arms around Harry, feeling his arms wrap around you instantly.
Crying from the overwhelming emotions, you were thankful your mascara was waterproof. You called it.
“I love you,” Harry whispered in your ear, “I love you so much.”
1K notes · View notes
dat-town · 4 years ago
Text
not gonna miss this chance
Characters: Han Seojun & soloist!female reader
Genre: fluff
Setting: true beauty au, set a year after the tv show’s ending timeline
Summary: Your career is on the verge of ending, hence your management puts you up to do a duet with the infamous Han Seojun. You have heard too many rumours about him to keep track of and yet, none of them could have prepared you for the feelings that came with meeting him.
Words: 4.1k
Self indulgent little snippet because he deserves happiness too.
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You had heard of Han Seojun before meeting him, of course you had. Everybody who was in the industry had heard of the hot trend of a Newstagram star-turned idol and his band's shining debut from a year ago. They were told to have snatched teenage girls hearts all over Korea with their good looks and soulful music. You had heard their title track and you had to admit it was nice but nice wasn't enough in a cut-throat industry like entertainment.
Look at you, starting training at twelve, debuting at fifteen and now barely twenty-one you were on the verge of becoming a thrown away doll. Once you had been called cute and the it girl of your generation and now? People were saying you got boring just because your music had matured. Gosh, you couldn't keep singing about first love like your hit song had been for the rest of your life for god's sake. Your last album had been a flop, your company had been losing money and you were still afraid that even with a year left of your contract, they would cut you. But your manager had begged them for a chance and here it was: a collaboration with the newest love of Korea.
But the thing was, Han Seojun had quite a reputation and you didn't know who to believe. Some said he was well-mannered and hard-working. Others gossiped that he was always flirting with his makeup artists and Chen claimed he had been rude to her even when he had just been a ‘nobody’. Not that you were particularly fond of Chen either but as a fellow solo female singer you were a tad bit worried how the infamous singer would treat you.
Well, standing in front of Move Entertainment, you were just about to find out. Taking a shallow breath you followed your manager's lead, bowing to the receptionist and getting into the elevator after taking your visitor's badge. You had heard the company has gone through many changes after the executives were replaced due to the revealed Seyeon scandal but everything looked expensive, shiny and new, unlike in your small agency.
“Hey, I’m Lim Heekyung, nice to meet you. Seojun will be in a minute, too,” a woman in a pantsuit walked up to you on the right floor with a confident smile as she introduced herself. She led you to a meeting room which was apparently customized for a few people only and started preparing papers. She looked excited which was a relief and nice to see, at least someone from Move Entertainment was happy for this project apparently. You were a bit afraid they would see you like a leech, trying to cling onto their new star’s popularity.
“Shall we start? Seojun is a fan of dramatic entrances anyways,” Miss Lim laughed joyfully as if it wasn’t new to her that the idol didn’t make it on time. Ah yeah, you had heard rumours saying that he had something on the company and that was why they were so lenient with him.
You sat in silence, let your manager do the talk about the collaboration project. Seojun could play the guitar, you could play the piano, apparently it was perfect for a ballad duet, though if you used instruments yourself it added to the preparations time. But luckily, there was a songwriter named Leo at the company who had already sent in a few samples specifically for Seojun, so you didn’t have to start from zero.
“Ah, I see you started without me. What did I miss?” A tall boy opened the door wide and flipped down onto the chair across you casually. He had grown into his lanky limbs and with those wide shoulders hugged by the leather jacket, helix earrings in one ear and soft brown hair brushed to one side, it wasn’t a surprise how many female fans swooned over him. But there were a lot of handsome boys in the business, just his looks – no matter how confident he was in them based on the way he carried himself – wouldn’t make a difference.
Miss Lim patiently let Seojun know about the advances and only when she mentioned your name, did the boy glance at you. His dark brown eyes had a sharp form, just as piercing as his gaze, but the cunning smile spreading over his lips softened it a bit. He looked at you as if he wanted to see through you, to figure out how he should have approached you. You expected a snarky or arrogant comment, but in the end, he just flashed a blinding smile at you, one you could see on his posters, before turning back to Miss Lim.
“What’s the schedule?” he asked simply and you both were notified about the deadline of deciding and finalizing the song, the dates of planned recording sessions and the photoshoot. Since there would be no promotion period, it all would be done within a month and half from start to finish. You were a bit relieved hearing that and leave Move Entertainment without any confrontation.
You thought you were good at masking your wary feelings since the further meetings went well and the first recording session went okay-ish. Although both of you had been a bit scolded by the producer for not putting enough feelings into your singing. He claimed that the demo sent by Leo was much more emotional which made Seojun scoff and mumble under his nose. The PD called it for a day, making you promise to practice for next time and one by one they all left. Your manager told you that he would bring the car while you refresh yourself in the bathroom, so you really didn’t expect anyone to wait for you when you stepped out of the restroom, much less Han Seojun.
"Spit it out," he bit out barely glancing your way as he leaned against the corridor’s wall.
"What?" you spluttered as you were really taken aback by his out of blue appearance and question. The guy let out a tired sigh at your obliviousness and pushed himself away from the wall just to walk up to you, towering over your height with his.
"You look at me as if I killed your hamster or something. Which rumour about me bothers you? I fucking can't keep walking on eggshells around you, especially when it's just the two of us," he tsked and you gulped at the sudden called out. You didn’t think it bothered him, or that he was considerate enough to ‘walk on eggshells around you’, you merely thought he was so distant from everybody. It was still better than what Chen had told you.
"Oh, I… nothing. It's stupid. Sorry," you mumbled, feeling embarrassed for your your actions but Seojun apparently wasn’t satisfied without a real answer as he carried on:
"I didn't bully kids in high school but I threatened ones that deserved it, I didn't only get a pity chance from the entertainment, one of our makeup artists is actually one of my best friends, I'm not…"
"Chen told me you are rude and arrogant and have no respect for girls," you blurted out to stop him from speaking because you felt like you didn’t deserve to hear all that. He didn’t owe you any explanation for the way he was. You were just co-workers for a project after all, you had no place in his life, nor he had in yours, so he shouldn’t have been that bothered by your opinion but you understood that he felt uncomfortable due to your silent accusations.
Hearing your hasty interruption, the singer scoffed, a laugh-like sound leaving his mouth.
"Well, I have no respect for girls like Chen who harass my friends and turn their lives into hell just to go on a date with me," he said and it made you blink slowly.
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh. Check your facts before you go around believing such crap," Seojun stepped back with a roll of his eyes.
The whole situation made you feel made about how you acted, so you wished to apologise but it fell from your lips all too carelessly: "Sorry, I was just worried. This is my last chance, so–"
"Last chance?" the guy quirked a brow at you, curious but you quickly waved his question away.
"Nevermind, I just need this song to do well."
"Of course, it will. I'm Han Seojun, it will turn to gold under my hands," he grinned and made eccentric gestures as if he was about to do magic. You couldn't help a smile. “Or well, vocal chords.”
And turn it to gold, he did.
The rest of your recording sessions went smoother, even the previously grumpy PD complimented your for the development in your chemistry. Funny, you wouldn’t have thought that the wall pulled up between the two of you mattered that much, but at least you didn’t have a knot in your stomach, nor did you worry about every small thing you did around Han Seojun. He also acted more casual, more playful, joking around when both of you had a bit of time to take a breather. He snapped silly pictures, showed off with his height, smirked when he got too close but despite all his bravado and lowkey flirting, you believed even he wouldn’t have jeopardised his career over something like this.
Maybe that's why wrapping up the recording felt a tad bit weird: you got used to his presence, his jokes, his beautiful, deep voice that you could have fallen asleep to. Sure, sometimes he was cocky, a bit rough around the edges but he was a great singer and a fun guy. The project seemed to work out well and you loved it a lot, so you hoped the listeners would appreciate it as well.
But before all that you had one photo shoot together for the promotional pictures and the single's cover. You were grateful for the simple pastel colour background and elegant setting. The warm light latte colour and the clock in the background really fit the song's vibe. Luckily, your dress was decent and pretty as well, you didn't have to feel uncomfortable in it at least.  However, you didn’t expect that happy yelp coming from one of the makeup artists stepping into the dressing room. You turned to face the girl, wondering whether she was your fan judged by her excitement.
"Oh my! I'm so happy to finally meet you! Seojun told us about you so much!" she beamed at you which obviously took you back. Well, that you didn’t expect at all. He spoke of you to others? Ah. Apparently to the makeup artist who was most probably that certain one of his best friends he had told you about?
"Don't exaggerate, Imju, I mentioned her like what… once?" Seojun walked in on cue. He rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, trying to avert the topic. "How's Suho?"
You had know idea who that said guy was but after a moment or two you could breathe properly once again while listening to their chatting.
“Just the usual. He’s excited about your duet.”
“Of course, he is,” Seojun grinned, a bit snarky but you could hear the proud undertones of it. When he looked at you, you were surprised by him leaning close though as he quieted down until only you could hear it. “Don’t worry, Jugyeong is really good and just stop her if she gets too gossip-y.”
“Are you talking about me behind my back, hah, Han Seojun?” The pretty girl called Jugyeong raised her fist as if she was about to hit the idol but he just laughed it off and left you two alone when he was hurried onto the set to start with his individual shoots.
“Have you known each other for a long time?” you couldn’t help but wonder as you were seated to get your makeup from her.
“Ah, almost 4 years, I think. We went to high school together. Plus, he’s best friends with my boyfriend. Though, they are always bickering like a married couple,” Jugyeong chuckled joyfully as she started with the cushion. You closed your eyes, listening as she kept going on about the time when Seojun had been obsessed with his motorbike, getting into trouble with his mother. It was strange hearing about a whole other side of him, mama's boy but the image tugged on your mouth, making you smile even though you weren't sure you had the right to know all that. You also learned that Seojun's sister was dating Jugyeong's brother and you felt so involved with the girl's trust albeit it was your last meeting, you were sure Seojun must have only told good things about you.
Hence, you felt shy under his knowing gaze when you walked out of the dressing room. He must have known that Jugyeong couldn't shut up for the life of her, so he looked a bit uncertain, too, stretching the back of his neck, forcing a cunning smile onto his smile when you took your place next to him.
To fit the ballad's theme, the setting was a piano decorated with flowers and you were instructed to sit beside him as if you were about to play a four hands piece. As you did what you had been told, you were very much aware of the way your arms brushed, his long fingers over the keys close to yours, his smile small but genuine.
"Great, great, guys! Someone help her onto the piano and Seojun, stand in front of her," the photographer directed the next scene but before any staff members would have rushed up to you, the singer next to you shushed them.
"I can do it," he insisted as he stood up and looked you in the eyes, silently asking for permission. You nodded while holding your breath back before Seojun put his hands on your waist above the fluffy tulle skirt part and counting on three, he lifted you onto the lid of the beautiful instrument.
You crossed your legs, watching in awe as your pink skirt fell down on waves  but your breath hitched for an entirely different reason when you looked up, gaze meeting Seojun's feline eyes trained on you. You had never seen him look at you like that, lacking playfulness or suspicion or curiosity. He looked open, vulnerable, outright starstruck. Your lips parted meaning to ask something but your brain shut off when you heard the shutter of the camera go down and the director yelling compliments at you. It made you snap out of it and later, you blamed the evident blush on your cheeks on the makeup. Seojun blinked too, his guarded expression back in no time, finishing the photo shoot professionally, always lingering close to you, but never touching you. Even though you wouldn’t have minded.
"Hey," Seojun peeked into your dressing room just as you were about to leave, packing up, with a smile on his mouth and sparkles in his deep brown eyes. But unlike half an hour ago when he wore a fancy suit and looked at you like a prince would have looked at his princess, he acted just as casual as he looked in his denim jacket over dark tee. "Wanna grab something with me if you finished for today?"
His question took you back but first thing first you glanced towards your manager, eyes begging for permission which you had gotten with a sigh.
"Just be discreet and call me if you need me to pick you up," your manager shrugged, leaving you two alone with a knowing look that told you to be careful. You didn't need to be told though, you knew how much depended on the current public response to your image.
"Seems like a green light. Have you thought of anything specific?" you turned back to the boy with a subtle smile.
"Not really but I know a few less frequent, secluded places to avoid much talk about us," he said and you nodded, following his lead. Masks, caps and hoodies on, you barely talk on your way to the tent with the lovely ahjumma who welcomed Seojun (two heads taller than her) with a pinch of his cheeks and told you to get seated.
"Are you a regular here?" you inquire, carefully pulling down your mask since not many people are around.
"You could say that," the boy hummed letting you adjust to the place at your own pace, not pressuring you with extra reassessments about how safe it is there. Yet, he is so casual as if he wasn't afraid of a getting mobbed by Dispatch out of the blue. Not that it happened to you a lot of times but you heard stories and at such a crucial time in your career, you feared something like that more than anything.
"Do you want to come up to mine instead?" Seojun blurted out suddenly which made you wide eyed in a span of a moment as you splattered out a surprised yelp. "Come on, I don't mean anything by it. You just look really nervous being in the public," the singer said, his deep voice softening, soothing by the end and you needed to take a breather before answering. You didn't think it was so obvious but apparently you had never been a good liar with him.
In the end, you decided on going over to Seojun's place, so he asked the ahjumma to pack your food to go and you headed towards his flat a few blocks from the company. It was a small but cozy place, much softer and brighter than you expected, lots of pastels and photos of friends and family. While the boy busied himself in the kitchen, getting you plates, chopsticks and beer, you were encouraged to look around and you couldn't help but smile at his photos with not only his band members but high school friends, too. You had seen photos of his graduation with Jugyeong, then another one of his debut with her and another guy.  He was a recurring person on a lot of pictures, so you assumed that he was the so-called Suho.
"He's Jugyeong's boyfriend," Seojun affirmed as he walked up to you which you acknowledged with a hum and smiled at his photos with his sister and mother. The makeup artist was right when she said he was only tough on the outside.
"You knew Seyeon?" you whispered as your gaze shifted of a picture of three boys smiling widely into the camera. The middle one was the talented boy you had known  from the news of his committed suicide. Such a tragedy.
"Uhum. We were best friends. Him, Suho and me," Seojun nodded and without having to ask, he told you how they had gotten to know each other, what were their favourite past time activities and how they fell apart when he died. You could see he was hurting even now as he was talking about it, so you grazed your fingers against his knuckles as though to say you were there for him to listen, or whatever he needed.
Talking about his best friends and how a group of guys including someone named Chorong stuck by his side over the years warmed your heart. It was nice to know that not everyone had it as lonely as you who basically missed out on high school and memories from that time to be able to turn your dreams into reality. Your only friends were also in the industry but it made things both easier and harder.
"What about you? What did you mean by this being your last chance?" Seojun asked like a loaded gun but after everything he had just told you, you knew you could trust him with this and being in the industry for a while now, he must have understood, too.
You told him about the rising expectations, about your image and your company's ultimatum. It actually felt nice to talk about with someone other than your manager. Especially since Seojun seemed to understand exactly why you felt conflicted over the matter. You have given your youth to this dream of yours, so giving up on it would have felt like betraying yourself and everyone who believed in you but you weren't sure you could give it another 10 years of your life no matter how much you liked music. You had decent CSATs result, maybe you could have applied for a university program. Seojun even offered to arrange a meeting between you and Suho who was studying to become a proper songwriter.
You talked for hours and ate the tteokbokki even though it had gotten cold long ago and you couldn't remember when was the last time you had felt so light. You felt giddy even with just the tiny bit of alcohol in your system by the time you knew it was time for you to go.
Once you had felt relieved knowing that promoting your duet would be only one performance but recently, you started dreading the moment because that meant that you wouldn't have any more excuse to see Seojun. In the backstage, this time around you greeted Jugyeong like an old friend and teased to give Seojun a funny makeup before walking up to your  own assigned staff members. Your look was full of sparkles and glow fitting the silver colour of your dress, completing the ethereal vibe off the stage you were going to do and the beautiful song you had grown to love so much you held it close to your heart. The last rehearsals went smoothly and if you noticed Seojun's gaze lingering a bit too long, you didn't comment on it.
"Are you nervous?" he asked before the final recording and you knew it would have been unreasonable to deny it, so you replied with a small smile.
"A bit."
"Don't be. You're pretty and you'll do amazing," he reassured you and the way he said those words oh so easy. As if they were natural. As if he believed in you and maybe this was all the reassurance you needed because when you walked up onto the stage, not taking your eyes off his, it felt like it was just the two of you there. All the stress about not being good enough, about being judged for who you were and what you wanted to do with your life was subsided as you focused on the moment, just to sing this one song with one while trying to fight your heart's crazy beating.
You didn't really have the luxury to have crushes. You had always been concentrated on your work, you couldn't let yourself have distractions, especially since love scandals always affected girl worse than guy. At least that was what you told yourself for always putting up a wall around you and guarding your heart all too well. But during the past few weeks, between playful or flirty remarks, between smiles and ruffling hair, Seojun took apart your wall brick by brick even if he wasn't aware.
So it might have been only a few days since you had last seen him but in that rare moment of boredom, alone in your room, you realized that you missed him. Hell, you liked him and the feeling made me want to scream into your pillow as if you were a silly teenager. As if on cue, your phone buzzed with a new message and seeing the KakaoTalk ID made you shy.
duet partner, han seo jun
so...
i've been thinking
you
sounds dangerous but ok
duet partner, han seo jun
don't get sassy with me, miss
you
what have you been thinking about?
duet partner, han seo jun
that i don't want to miss my chance
there's this girl i like
i thought of asking her out
do you think she would say yes?
you
oh. well... why wouldn't she?
i mean, you are talented, handsome, funny and reliable
duet partner, han seo jun
and what about my job? it's busy and a bit crazy
don't you think it would be unfair of me to ask?
you
I think you should let her decide that
duet partner, han seo jun
okay
are you free on friday?
you
um, sure?
duet partner, han seo jun
cool, then go on a date with me?
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jamespotterthefirst · 4 years ago
Text
Cariño (Ethan x f!MC)
Book: Open Heart, Book 3 Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Lilac Allende) Word count: 2K Premise: After their confessing their feelings to one another, everyone can see something has changed. Set in book3, Chapter 11.
Author’s Note: More outsider POVs. This girl loved them and will probably never stop writing them. 
* “cariño” just means “dear” or “love” in Spanish
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Grace
The placid, teal waters of the lagoon glimmer like a cluster of diamonds, blending into a breath-taking gradient with the pink swirls of sunrise. Grace attempts to take a picture, but a measly phone camera will never be enough to capture the splendor.
Instead, she takes in a deep breath, convinced such a view is worth getting up early for after a late night of drinking and dancing.
“Nothing… is… worth this, Ethan,” a breathless voice says from nearby, interrupting the silence on the otherwise deserted beach.
“Doctor Allende, I am shocked at you,” a male voice responds. “You know the benefits of regular exercise as well as any other physician.”
It's a young and rather attractive couple jogging down the shore. At least, the taller of the two figures seems to be jogging. The shorter, curvier one is slouching over, dragging their feet against the sand.
“Try to keep up, Lilac.”
As they approach, Grace immediately recognizes them from the previous night at Ines and Angie's reception. Their attractive features would have been enough to make them memorable, but what Grace remembers the most is the long, lingering looks they would cast one another from across the venue.
Now, they move side by side, the tall, handsome man clad in only swimming trunks, his broad shoulders and toned muscles glistening in the first glimmers of sunlight. The pretty brunette at his side wears a bright one-piece that has no right looking so flattering, her dark hair swaying in a high ponytail.
“Jogging isn't exercise. It's a form of medieval torture,” the young woman returns, panting after every other word.
“And you say I'm the dramatic one,” he returns with a chuckle.
Lilac, not listening, slows her steps until she stops entirely, hands on her knees as she tries to catch her breath. Ethan rolls his eyes but laughs nonetheless, retracting his steps to return to her side.
“Fine,” he concedes. “You win. No more jogging for today.”
At the words, the brunette recovers miraculously, straightening and shooting him a flirtatious smile. Her companion watches her, as though her unbridled delight is the most precious rarity in the world. When he seems unable to fight the urge any longer, he pulls her to him with a roguish half smile that has even Grace's knees trembling.
Without much preamble or regard for who might be watching, he kisses her, his hands moving to cradle her face.
Grace tries to glance away, giving them as much privacy as possible, but the stark difference from last night captures her attention entirely. At the wedding, there was something quiet and restrained about the way they longed for each other. Today, there is freedom and unabashed happiness in every movement, in every smile, in every small gesture of affection.
“Now will you take pictures?” Lilac asks him, adding a flutter of her lashes to plead her case.
“Was that your only motive for accepting my invitation to exercise? Pictagram worthy shots?”
“You're a Pictagram worthy shot,” she returns without missing a beat, pulling their bodies close again and sealing the coy statement with a kiss.
Ethan does not need much more persuading after that. Despite the groan he lets out, he agrees far too quickly for a man who spends the following two minutes criticizing social media.
At last, he willingly becomes the subject of many of his girlfriend's photographs, even following her directions of different poses. He visibly enjoys the role of photographer when it's finally his turn to take pictures of her. Grace doesn't blame him in the least since Lilac works that camera with captivating poses.
“Now us together,” Lilac says after a while. The words are rushed, as though knowing what the answer will be.
“Absolutely not. No more selfies.”
He takes many selfies with her.
“Excuse me,” Grace says after watching her struggle to capture the beautiful lagoon behind them. “Sorry to interrupt but would you like me to take your picture?”
Lilac appears delighted by the offer, accepting and smiling at Grace so brightly that she too would agree to arduous photoshoots if she asked.
“Alright, say 'cheese.'” Grace lifts the phone Lilac gives her, careful to include the beautiful scenery in the shot.
Ethan looks as though he'd rather be dragged off by a shark than to say the word.
A millisecond before Grace takes the picture, however, Lilac cranes her neck to kiss his cheek, murmuring something in his ear. Whatever it is makes Ethan's smile rival the rising sun on the horizon.
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Tobias
Ethan peers down at the coral drink in his companion’s hand, his brow furrowed as though the mere existence of so much color in an alcoholic drink offends him. Tobias watches from the end of the poolside bar with interest, keeping his urge to laugh at bay. Such a visceral reaction to a fun drink is so characteristic of his ex friend that Tobias can hardly help his amusement.
“What the hell is that?” Ethan is asking her.
Lilac Allende is not as successful in biting back her own amusement. She laughs at once, as though she expected such a reaction from him.
“Sex on the beach,” she answers, her voice a husky little pronouncement that is meant to weaken the will of even the strongest of beings. Paired with a lazy, deliberate nail up his arm and the world renowned Ethan Ramsey doesn't stand a chance.
Tobias, still unnoticed by the couple, gives an impressed nod, respecting her game.
“I—” Ethan stammers.
He puts on a brave attempt at impassiveness after this but even Tobias can see the doctor’s ears brighten with color.
“You want to—” His voice drops an octave. “Again?”
“It's the name of the drink, Ramsey,” she informs him in a would-be innocent voice. It's promptly spoiled by her laughter at Ethan's utterly stunned expression.
“You're an unabashed tease, Allende.”
“Yeah, but you love me for it.”
Tobias pauses at the word, uttered so confidently. He almost expects a grimace from his old friend, maybe a hasty change in the conversation. But Ethan surprises him thoroughly by smirking down at the brunette, an expression of pure adoration on his face.
“You're right,” Ethan whispers close to her ear. His voice drops so low that Tobias doesn't catch what he tells her next.
Much to Tobias's continued surprise, the usually confident and vivacious young doctor blushes.
The couple spends the following moments murmuring words that are too low for anyone nearby to hear. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the content of their quiet conversation ranges from nauseatingly romantic to explicit.
They are interrupted by the arrival of one of Dr. Allende's friends, a short and exuberant resident whose name Tobias hadn't learned yet. After Ethan's reassurances that he will catch up in a few, they depart toward the beach where a group of grinning young doctors awaits.
“Never thought I'd see the serious and private Ethan Ramsey engage in PDA.”
If Ethan is surprised to see Tobias occupying a seat nearby, he does a masterful job at masking it. Unfazed, he simply stares at Tobias, willing him to get to the point.
“I knew you two were together thanks to the rumor mill, but I didn't realize it was this serious.”
Ethan narrows his eyes, the only hint of a reaction from him. For all of Tobias's suave swagger, the mistrust he sees in the other doctor's expression stings more than he'd ever admit out loud. He shouldn't have expected any less after all the years laden with dishonesty between both men.
Still, Tobias raises his hands in defeat, letting out a laugh that is not entirely genuine.
“Just trying to make some friendly conversation,” he tells him.
Ethan turns away to face the glass of scotch before him, as though it serves as a more superior conversation partner than Tobias. Knowing when to throw in the towel, Tobias takes his drink and prepares to move away.
“Things are… different,” Ethan finally says before Tobias can move.
It's not much but for Ethan Ramsey, that is as good an olive branch as he'll ever get.
“Lilac is…”
“Different?” Tobias finishes for him.
Even as friends, they were never poetic or sentimental. But Tobias understands the depth behind the single word without further explanation.
“I can see that,” Tobias continues with a small chuckle. “It's obvious to anyone that knows you that she's special.”
Ethan looks at him then, a flicker of surprise on his otherwise impenetrable expression.
“It's nice to see you happy.”
The words leave Tobias before he has any consciousness of forming them. He is shocked—far more than Ethan in that moment—to find he means them.
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Naveen
The spell cast by a vacation in a beautiful, faraway place comes to a close as their departure time trickles near. Lamenting this fact, Naveen rounds the corner of the unfamiliar hotel hallway.
He knows better than anyone of the challenges that lay ahead for them as they return to Bloom Edenbrook. He also knows that most of those challenges will be endured by his protégé. What worries him the most is how Ethan will face the strife that is still to come.
Naveen’s steps soon come to a halt a few rooms down when the door to Ethan's room opens.
“...that we got everything, babe.”
Lilac Allende emerges, unaware of Naveen and speaking over her shoulder as she hauls her luggage into the hall. She pauses in the hallway, rummaging through her purse.
“So you decided on 'babe' then?” Ethan asks dryly, appearing at her side with his own suitcase in tow.
“You decided,” Lilac returns cheerfully turning to face him.
“How do you figure I did that exactly?”
“Last night, before we fell asleep. I informed you we had a very important decision to make,” Lilac recounts quite seriously. “I asked you what you wanted me to call you.”
Ethan nods, playfully feigning interest as though they're discussing the specifics of a particularly difficult case.
“I laid out all the possible pet names and you chose 'babe'.”
“I have no recollection of doing that.”
“I told you it was down to 'bear', 'lamb chop', or 'babe'.”
Much to Naveen's amusement, Ethan grimaces at the list of pet names, his expression growing more horrified with each one.
“Just call me your usual ones in Spanish.”
“Oh, I will, cariño. I have a whole list of those ready. Lucky for you, I’m bilingual so you’re getting both. Babe was the one that got the quietest grunt from you, so I assumed that's the one you decided on. But if you'd rather I call you 'bear', then I have no—”
Ethan, who had been watching her with such a lovestruck expression since the word “cariño”,  calls her bluff in the form of a kiss. All pretense vanishes as Lilac melts into the kiss, smiling blissfully against his lips.
“We should leave now if we want to make our flight,” Ethan says, breaking apart with a sigh. “Here. I'll take these.”
He grips the handle of her suitcase, ready to pull it along with his own.
“Thanks, babe,” she says with a wink, emphasizing the last word.
Ethan rolls his eyes but smiles—a rare, genuine smile Naveen only sees when he's around Lilac.
“It's growing on you, isn't it?”
“Perhaps,” Ethan concedes. “Or maybe I'd let you call me whatever you want.”
Lilac laughs, delighted.
“I'd be careful in awarding Dr. Allende that much power,” Naveen says to make his presence known.
The couple turns to look at him, Lilac with an amicable smile and Ethan with a resigned sigh.
“Too late for that,” Lilac responds brightly.
At that, Naveen laughs in agreement much to Ethan's chagrin.
“Is there something you needed or were you just prying?” Ethan asks though not unkindly.
It is a rare sight, though a pleasant one, to see them simply be with one another, all guards down. By Naveen's observations, they are always the picture of professionalism at Edenbrook—at least to the public eye. But now, as they stand side by side, fearless and unapologetic in their affection, Naveen realizes his concern for Ethan was in vain.
“The reason for my visit seems pointless now,” he admits with a small chuckle.
Ethan raises his brows, unconvinced.
“Forgive the interruption,” Naveen goes on. Before he turns to leave, he offers them a barely restrained grin. “And for the record, Ethan, I would have chosen 'lamb chop.'”
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Author’s Note: I finally wrote in my hc that MC calls Ethan babe ironically (and to annoy him) at first but they end up liking it as time goes on lol. 
Thank you so much for reading this! 
Thank you @aestheticartsx​​ for pre-reading!
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1ddiscourseoftheday · 4 years ago
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Tues 8 June ‘21
Harry recorded a message that was played at the Stoneman Douglas High School graduation; SD is the school in Parkland Florida that in 2018 became the site of the deadliest school shooting in US history. Harry has consistently been a vocal supporter of the student activism to curb gun violence that followed the shooting (it was when he added the Stop Gun Violence stickers to his guitar and he spoke about it before when playing near there on HSLOT, for example, as well as signing on to things and donating money and talking about the bravery of the young women leading the effort in particular). “You are an incredibly strong group of people and I have no doubt that you’ll all do incredible things whatever you chose to do in the future, so good luck, love each other and be nice to each other and I hope at some point I’ll get to see you guys,” he said in the video.
A blurry blob in a blue hoodie in London last night was said to be him, out for a stroll, Don’t Worry Darling was announced to be set for release next year, and some fans literally chased Harry and Olivia down the street while filming them against their wishes (recently, not today, seems like she might be back in the US with Jason now that his filming is wrapped) and then people tried to blame their behavior on... larries?? UM did larries possess them and force them to literally chase a person asking to be left alone I DON’T BELIEVE SO, I am BEGGING you guys to quit listening to anything anyone on twitter says. My Policeman is filming in Hitchin, at a location reported by local media to be “shrouded in mystery”, but I’m pretty sure the hordes gathered to peep at filming have killed any aura of mystery at this point. They are working on location at a pool in Butts Close (YEAH I KNOW) and are apparently besieged with fans, some of whom managed to get more pictures of a blurry blob said to be Harry- this time in tiny yellow short shorts (2021/1950 version)!
Niall and Anne Marie’s Tonight Show performance aired! Anne Marie’s black and white cheetah print lined three piece outfit is amazing, like Niall is pushing the envelope a little with shapes and fits but her look takes center stage I’m afraid; anyway also they sound great and are cute, yes yes.
Liam has been in his discord lots, commenting on things and polling people. Current polls, yes no or wtf about NFTs, which landslide result (wtf) got him to say yeah okay I’ll make an explainer, and should we rename my fandom which resulted in a chat for people to make suggestions. About front runner Paynedora’s Box (Liam’s own amazing suggestion) he said “it came to me as I thought it meant every type of fan is a possibility, never know what you’re going to encounter.” Yes plus Pandora’s Box was full of demons! Apt indeed though Liam’s fans are sweeter than some, it’s true. He gives a little love to Champaynes too, which is good though given our boy’s struggle with alcohol addiction I’ll stick with my vote for the first one. He posted from an “impromptu night photoshoot” (about which his hair guy said “bringing the grit back, prepping for a very exciting launch…”), followed NFT co-creator Gabe Damast who later posted some behind the scenes talk about the making of Lonely Bug (with glimpses!) and the page for animated film Ron’s Gone Wrong, which he commented about (“this looks amazing!”), liked a Lonely Bug fanart of the bug with his face on it, and signed on to a UNICEF letter, along with 28 other celebs, asking the G7 (rich countries) to donate vaccines for distribution where most needed. And he was seen today at a Top Golf! An employee posted a distanced pic with him. Also btw those necklaces he’s been wearing all the time lately are apparently diamonds and are £50k each, but he wasn’t wearing them for golf time at least.
And additional bits from Liam’s interview from yesterday because it’s REALLY LONG, one recap wasn’t enough-- Liam said he definitely has not yet figured out what makes him happy (which makes me sad although also, normalize not having it all figured out in your 20s I don’t think that’s unusual) and talked about the difficulty of figuring out what to do when you’ve already accomplished your life goal so young, he mentioned the people speaking out against the X Factor and that he thinks there needs to be a care system for people in those shows, and said “find you a man who looks at you like Russell Brand looks at you when he’s listening to your stories, he looks into your soul,” and when host Steve talks about meditating naked says “now that’s what I want to think about!” (they’d been talking about what to focus your thoughts on for meditation). He said he wants to experiment with the way he does promo, specifically to wait to see if a song is doing well before doing press tours that might not have any point and that he thinks the industry is in a place where they need to throw out the old molds, and he talked about the industry wasting money on things they don’t need to do for promo. “You have your fanbase, grow it organically, properly,” he said, which is so much more true for any one of the 1D boys than anyone else, for sure, and it makes sense he’d say this stuff not just for the obvious reasons- we’ve all seen how badly labels have fallen short with post 1D solo stuff- but also because the 1D fandom always has been in a position out at the forefront of new ways that fan engagement work (as Liam points out, he talked about the perfect storm of the rise of twitter trends and of 1D) and modeling what will be next for other artists, so trying to fit it into old boxes doesn’t make sense, and it’s still true. Other solo artists simply DON’T HAVE the same kind of fandom these five do, and trying to market them the same way you would any random artist is just throwing away money and engagement! So it is exciting to see these guys take the lead on their own stuff and experiment with new ways of doing things, and Liam is smashing it at that.
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stereostevie · 4 years ago
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When you think of grunge, do you picture a bunch of long-haired White guys in plaid shirts, singing about teenage angst and self-loathing? Time to expand that viewpoint. Standing above them all should be Tina Bell, a tiny Black woman with an outsized stage presence, and her band, Bam Bam. It’s only recently that the 1980s phenom has begun to be recognized as a godmother of grunge.
This modern genre’s sound was, in many ways, molded by a Black woman. The reason she is mostly unknown has everything to do with racism and misogyny. Looking back at the beginnings of grunge, with the preconception that “everybody involved” was White and/or male, means ignoring the Black woman who was standing at the front of the line.
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Bam Bam was formed as a punk band in 1983 in Seattle. Bell, a petite brown-skinned spitfire with more hairstyle changes than David Bowie, sang lead vocals and wrote most of the lyrics. Her then-husband Tommy Martin was on guitars (the band’s name is an acronym of their last names: Bell And Martin), Scotty “Buttocks” Ledgerwood played bass, and Matt Cameron was on drums. Cameron would leave the band in its first year and go on to fame as the drummer for Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. But he paid homage to his beginnings by wearing a Tina Bell T-shirt in a photoshoot for Pearl Jam’s 2017 Anthology: the Complete Scores book.
“For some reason a couple of skinheads are up front, calling her [the N-word] And all of the sudden, Bell grabs a microphone stand and she starts swirling it around her head like a lasso… She swung that fuckin’ thing around her head and about the fourth time, she smashed that son of a bitch.”
Bam Bam’s sound straddled the line between punk and something so new that it didn’t have a name yet. Their music combined a driving, thrumming bass line; downtuned, sludgy guitars; thrashy, pulsing drums; melodic vocals that range from sultry to haunting to screamy; and lyrics about the existential tension of trying to exist in a world not designed for you. The band’s 1984 music video for their single “Ground Zero” is low-budget, but Bell’s charisma seeps through.
“She was fucking badass. That’s all there is to it. She was amazing as a performer. I’ve only seen one White male lead singer command the stage in a similar way that Tina Bell did, and that was Bon Scott of AC/DC,” says Om Johari, who attended Bam Bam shows as a Black teenager in the ’80s and who would go on to lead all-female AC/DC cover band Hell’s Belles.
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Christina King, a Seattle scenester who was close friends with Bell from 1984 until the early ’90s, says the singer’s talent was obvious. But she believes a lot of people dismissed Bell as a gimmick.
Among those attending their shows: Future members of grunge bands like Nirvana (Kurt Cobain did a stint as a Bam Bam roadie), Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam.
“I remember one person saying to me that they didn’t get ‘the whole Black girl singer thing,’ it just didn’t fit whatever they were into,” says King. “They were too ahead of their time.”
Bam Bam came into being in an era when hundreds of underground clubs, taverns, bars, and social halls — anywhere that you could cram in a band — were within the Seattle city limits. Bam Bam played almost all of them, and often to big crowds: The Colourbox, Crocodile Lounge, Gorilla Gardens, Squid Row — just to name a few.
Among those attending their shows: Future members of history-making grunge bands like Nirvana (Kurt Cobain did a stint as a Bam Bam roadie), Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam. Not to mention all the other people, mostly White and male, who would become prime targets for music labels trying to market this new sound.
Bell “already possessed everything they were trying to attain. She had a truer rock and roll spirit than almost any of those guys in that town. Everything they tried to do, she naturally was,” says Ledgerwood, still a loyal bandmate.
One Seattle club, The Metropolis, became “like our fucking living room,” says Ledgerwood. It was also the site of an overtly racist verbal assault against Tina Bell.
“For some reason a couple of skinheads are up front, calling her [the N-word],” Ledgerwood recalls. “And all of the sudden, Bell grabs a microphone stand and she starts swirling it around her head like a lasso… She swung that fuckin’ thing around her head and about the fourth time, she smashed that son of a bitch… She nailed that fucker right in the temple of his head. Split like a melon. And the other guy next to him caught it too, they go down, and we’re like, ‘What the fuck?’”
Ledgerwood says that after going backstage for a while to regroup, Bell came back “and put out the most blistering set of our fucking career.”
This could easily be an anecdote about Bell’s power, her resilience, and willingness to fight back against oppressive forces. But it’s also a story about the cost of being a Black woman who does something that some people don’t expect or approve of.
“She’s being pulled out of her zone because somebody is acknowledging how the rest of the world can see her,” says Johari, empathizing with the star rocker. “And even to react to it by picking up a microphone and smashing someone in the face, that means that that incident cost her not only that moment it takes to get back into the song, but the whole [effects of her] action will last for weeks.
“She’ll replay that over and over and over and over again. And then the people she sees that were there when it happened, they’re gonna come up to her and they’re gonna forget everything that she’s saying, all the stuff that she had did, and they’re only going to focus on, ‘I was at that show where you knocked a dude in the head for calling you an N-word,’” Johari says. “It has nothing to do with her artistry. But it reminds her of the way in which she has to be prepared, just in case it happens again.”
King remembers Bell also felt that some of the other men in the band’s changing lineup failed to treat her as an equal partner: “She’s getting that from her own band members — what do you think audience people are like?”
A European tour in the late ’80s gained Bam Bam international fans, but ended after Bell and Martin split up, and Bell was caught in an immigration enforcement dragnet in the Netherlands.
When they returned to the Pacific Northwest, Bam Bam continued playing shows until 1990, when Bell abruptly quit as they were packing up to head to the studio in Portland, Ore.
“She had just had enough,” Ledgerwood says. “For almost eight years she had almost literally eviscerated herself for the audience.”
But that work never resulted in the national recognition they deserved.
“Grunge, whatever that means, is being identified as from your community, your colleagues, your sound that you were a participant in help shaping, and you’re not even mentioned in any of it.”
“Sometimes you need to be a little bit of an asshole to protect yourself. And Bell wasn’t much of an asshole,” Ledgerwood adds. “She was a pure-hearted person and had a really hard time believing that people couldn’t accept her over something as stupid as race.”
Bell didn’t just quit the band, she withdrew from music completely, says her son, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker TJ Martin. Not out of resentment, he adds, but perhaps to escape the painful reminders that the music she helped pioneer was now earning other bands multimillion-dollar record contracts.
“Grunge, whatever that means, is being identified as from your community, your colleagues, your sound that you were a participant in help shaping, and you’re not even mentioned in any of it,” Martin says. “I can’t even fathom what that would feel like for it to be sort of spit back in your face with such frequency.”
Ledgerwood believes Bell died of a broken heart. But when Bell died alone in her Las Vegas apartment in 2012, the official cause of death listed was cirrhosis of the liver. She had struggled with alcohol and depression. Her son says the coroner estimated her time of death as a couple weeks before her body was discovered. She was 55 years old.
The things that could have told Tina Bell’s story in her own voice are lost. Martin arrived in Las Vegas to find that the contents of his mother’s apartment — except for a DVD player, a poster, and a chair — had been thrown away. All of her writings — lyrics, poems, diaries — along with Bam Bam music, videos, and other memorabilia — went in the trash without her family even being notified.
If you think you were in Seattle in the ’80s, in the grunge scene, and you don’t remember Tina Bell and Bam Bam, you probably weren’t really fucking there.
“I couldn’t help draw a parallel between her not being respected and seen in the first chapter of her life, as the front person of a punk band, and then even in death being disrespected and not being seen for the merits of the life she lived,” says Martin.
Bell’s death is also an indictment of the way she was written out of her own story. The way grunge’s almighty gatekeepers chose to look through her instead of at her. Grunge became the domain of alienated young White men in flannel shirts, and Tina Bell didn’t fit the narrative they were trying to sell.
“Black herstory can suffer immense amounts of erasure if somebody is not brave enough to ensure that women get counted,” Johari says.
To many of those who were part of the scene at the time, the amnesia seems intentional. Ledgerwood brings up the seminal history of Seattle’s grunge era, Everybody Loves Our Town. In it, the author refers to Bam Bam as a three-piece instrumental band mainly notable because Matt Cameron was the drummer. Tina Bell isn’t even mentioned.
“How in the hell would he have a recollection of how great Bam Bam and its drummer was, and not this unbelievably beautiful woman, this firecracker, this explosive rock and roll goddess?” Ledgerwood asks. “Even if he thought she sucked, to not remember the only Black woman on the whole fuckin’ scene is — well, it’s like that old joke about the ’60s: If you think you were in Seattle in the ’80s, in the grunge scene, and you don’t remember Tina Bell and Bam Bam, you probably weren’t really fucking there.”
You can listen to more of Bam Bam’s music on this Spotify playlist. A vinyl album with the band’s songs is coming out this year on Bric-a-Brac Records.
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hansolmates · 4 years ago
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jjk; off-league
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summary; you decide to do a little boudoir photoshoot for yourself—a little sexy lingerie, some bunny ears, maybe even a little nudity to make you feel more body positive about yourself. that little photoshoot doesn’t end up being for yourself anymore when you accidentally send those sexy pictures to your stupidly hot, stupidly talented childhood friend who you haven’t spoken to since middle school graduation.  pairing; photographer!jk x fem!reader genre/warnings; childhood friends to lovers!au, flangst, mutual pining, feelings of insecurity and body image, suggestive language, nudity  w.c; 6.2k a/n: i was feeling a lil meh about this fic after finishing it but a month later it finally makes its debut! for @btsghostiewritersnet​ BGW Bingo Bash! today’s trope is��“childhood friends to lovers” which surprisingly isn’t a favorite of mine so it was definitely a challenge to write! 
“C’mon, I need your opinion. Deadass. Don’t just say shit to make me feel better.” 
“Gimmie those nudes, baby girl,” Johnny makes an impeccable fuckboy impersonation, making you feel a little squirmy to your stomach. 
It’s an hour away from being the ass-crack’o-dawn and your impromptu pin-up photoshoot just needs the sexy-star-of-approval from your best friend. Johnny Suh is also up for reasons unmentioned, but you had a feeling his pretty boyfriend is fifty percent of the reason. 
You look at yourself in the mirror, smoothing your frame against the black bodice of the sheer teddy. The only parts that are fully concealed are the parts that don’t matter. The sheer bodice reveals your pert nipples concealed by a thin black mesh, coupled with the deep V in the sweetheart neckline, accented by a little black bow in the dive of your highlighted cleavage. The silky a-line raceways to a set of black garters hugging your thighs, barely hanging onto a pair of lace thigh-highs. 
It doesn’t leave you butt naked, but enough to make you feel confident about yourself. These pictures are for you, and Johnny. And Johnny’s boyfriend if he’s being nosy. 
You tug off the silk bunny ears from your head, flinging it somewhere in your room. The wire started to dig in your brain, giving you a major headache. 
“Sending them now,” you hang up and start compiling the pictures in a folder on Google Drive. Once that’s done you copy the shareable link, sending it to Johnny’s number. It happens all so fast, and you feel kind of giddy. As you were posing for the camera, taking your time to find all the right angles, you felt good, you felt sexy in your little get up. Channeling your inner Ariana Grande was one of your childhood dreams, your fifteen year old self would be proud. 
Five minutes pass, fifteen, and by the twenty-five minute mark you’re pissed. What’s taking Johnny so long? 
Makeup scrubbed clean and face bare, you shuffle in your duvet, far too tired to be waiting up this long. Punching in his number once more, you cry, “Hey! Why haven’t you looked at them yet?” 
“What?” your friend’s voice sounds pebbly through the line. Was Johnny sleeping? “You never sent them!” he whines tiredly. 
“No, I definitely sent them!” you pull the phone away and keep Johnny on call, ready to prove him wrong. 
But to your surprise, the last message you sent to Johnny was this afternoon. 
The most recent message is to a person named John Kook. 
You scream. 
Johnny screams back at you with an equal amount of force, “What the fuck? Did someone break in? Are you being mobbed? See, this is why I wanted to put the baby monitor in your room—” 
“Worse!” you’re well prepared for any break in, but not for this. “I sent my pics to the wrong John!” 
“Well… is he at least cute?” 
“I mean, in the fourth grade he looked pretty cute with that front tooth missing,” you find your output of frustration, your bunny plush, pulling it by the ear and hitting it against the bed. “His name isn’t even John! It was just his English name for a silly project we did in middle school. This is so embarrassing, all I can picture is a twelve-year-old Jungkook mortified from sexual harassment. I basically sent him nudes!” 
“Tasteful nudes.” 
“I’m gonna die.” 
“He’s gonna die, of happiness.” 
Jeon Jungkook was a classmate from elementary through middle school. Time and time again was he the object of your affections, from the first grade at the roller rink to the speech he made at graduation. But really, who cares? You’re old and have a job, and it’s not like you’ve communicated with any of your former classmates. 
Your horror amplifies when the Delivered receipt is changed to Read 3:41AM. 
“Fuck! Fuck me with a fuckin’ fuck nugget he saw it!” you cry, “does he still have my number? What if he deleted my contact, would that be even weirder?” 
“Girl, stop.” Johnny sighs, and you can already picture him running his thumb between his brows. “This doesn’t change anything, alright? You two don’t know each other anymore. Block his number and go to sleep.” 
Johnny leaves you alone after that, and you’re left alone to mull over the implications of sending Jeon Jungkook your nude photoshoot. 
You do block his number, knowing that waiting for a reply would drive you nuts. The one thing that you do which is possibly worse, is look him up on Instagram. 
Of course, he’s stupid hot. 
He doesn’t seem to like being on the receiving end of the camera however, in favor of his timeline being filled with romantic shots of the beach and city. In between the picturesque views and watercolor sunsets do you see glimpses of him and his current life. You can’t help but smile when you see him with his brother and parents during his college graduation, easily towering over all of them. He looks tall with fluffy cocoa hair, big pearly whites gleaming proudly at the camera. He grew up well. 
To torture yourself even more, you even look through his story. Twelve hours ago, he was at the gym lifting weights. Normally, you’d be disgusted by people trying to show off their grunt faces drenched in sweat, but of course Jungkook has to have on a silly smile and pump his fist up after he deadlifts. The sweat clinging to his shirt is also a high plus. His gorgeous display of abs has your hands fluttering over your own belly. Maybe you need to exercise more. 
Four hours ago, you see him and a pretty woman with their cheeks squished together, using the puppy filter. Of course he has a girlfriend. 
Reluctant, you open up your Google Drive and scroll through your photoshoot. Deflated, you frown at the pictures that once made you beam with pride, picking at every little detail that bothered you. You really can’t believe you sent these to Jeon Jungkook, no longer a fourth grader with one front tooth, but a man way out of your league. 
By the time you will yourself to sleep, the sun peeks from the horizon, telling you to move on. 
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“Hey Gyu,” you tiptoe over to the table much too small for Mingyu’s frame. The string bean is slumped over his iPad pro, drawing intently at some chibi OCs. “Got a plot for that one?” you ask, pointing at the little pink and blue creature decorating the screen. 
Mingyu grunts in reply, obviously engrossed. It isn’t until you slide him a matcha frappe from Starbucks that he becomes intelligible, muttering a “thank you” as he blends with his pen. 
Sensing that it’s going to be awhile before you get through to him, you take your usual rounds around the front desk and lobby of the cosy photo studio. There’s pretty pictures of Mingyu’s work, along with the other employees Minghao and Hoseok. Each section of the wall features a different taste of each person’s interest. Mingyu is a divine lover of soft bed sheets and hot tea, many of his photographs and paintings featuring cafes or perfectly messy beds you’ve seen on hotel advertisements. Minghao is a tasteful artisan, splotches of color retaliating against neutral backgrounds. Finally, Hoseok manages to find balance in the people, large cityscapes telling both large and small stories.
“Alright,” Mingyu’s deep voice forces you to curl your head, where he’s sipping at his drink with haste. “What’cha here for?” 
You frown, “Don’t you remember? I told you last week I’d be stopping by to get my photos developed,” you gesture to the Pentax in your hands, an heirloom from your great-aunt. While you did take digital photos for sending them to Johnny, the ones you wanted developed were taken side-by-side with the film camera. You figured that film would give a little more authenticity to your photoshoot. 
“Shit, that’s today?” the camera falls like deadweight, slapping against your sweater as you watch Mingyu frantically look through his digital calendar. He looks at you, dejected. “How many prints?” 
“I don’t know, maybe like six. Or eight?” 
“That’s gonna take too long, I’m heading down to Hidden Grounds for a vision meeting at two.” 
“Alright, I’m free all day. What about after?”
“Nah, you came all this way. I can just let the new guy help you.” and Mingyu makes a show of cupping his hands in the direction of the open hallway, “Yah, Jeon Jungkook! Get your cute ass out here!” 
The Pentax around your neck suddenly feels like weight akin to a two-ton boulder, and you surge forward, not caring that the corner of the table is digging into your belly. “Mingyu,” you garble, and Mingyu is shell-shocked by the desperation in your eyes. “Isn’t Minghao around or something? Or I can come back another time? These photos are really personal and I don’t feel comfortable having a stranger see them.”
“What? We’re professionals, don’t belittle us.” 
“No, seriously,” you whine, you tug at the collar of his denim jacket, noses practically touching. “These pictures are different. My tits are out and my legs are spread—”
“—interrupting something?” 
You hear some shuffling, and you turn around to see Jeon Jungkook’s back, comically turned to face the entrance. 
And damn, he did have a cute ass. Nothing is going to hide the glory in those jeans, absolutely nothing. 
“Hilarious,” Mingyu drawls, and you push him away. “Forget it, Kook. She doesn’t feel comfortable letting a stranger develop her photos.” 
Sensing that it’s safe to turn around, you watch as his black bangs flutter as he faces you. You hope your body language doesn’t betray how you’re really feeling, because you are a mere mortal and you’re weak in the presence of god-like figures. 
“Oh, what a relief then,” he smiles at you, and his voice sounds like honey. If there was malice or surprise in his tone, his good-natured expression betrays it. “Because I’ve known this friend since elementary school. We go way back.” 
You ignore the burn in the back of your head, as you are positive Mingyu knows you’re hiding something. 
“Really, what a coincidence.” Mingyu replies carefully, and you feel utterly stuck between these men and their banter, locked up like cream in an Oreo cookie. 
Nothing argues against Jungkook as he easily weaves through the thick wave of awkwardness, hands reaching out to touch your camera. “Wow,” he marvels, holding the object in his hands, “my dad has one of these.” 
“A-ha,” you take a step back, only to bump into the corner of the table, again. Ouch. “It’s okay, Jungkook. I’m actually busy today so I can come when Mingyu’s free–”
“Oh, I thought you were free all day,” Mingyu drawls, looking up through his lashes as he sips languidly at his drink. 
“Don’t worry about it,” Jungkook says good-naturedly, as if Mingyu just didn’t out you. “We got a lot of catching up to do anyway, c’mon.” 
Jungkook moves to place a hand in the small of your back and that’s enough to get you to rev up. Refusing to let any contact get between the two of you, you zip ahead down the familiar hallway, turning your head to catch Mingyu grinning with all canines, shooing you with his fingers like a puppy. 
You send Mingyu a stream of “fuck yous” into his inbox for later, unwilling to settle with this curse. Busying yourself with your phone, you avoid eye contact with Jungkook until you reach the dark room. The red light turned off at the top of the doorhenge signals that the room is not in use. Jungkook makes a move to open the door and that’s when you pounce, blocking the doorway with your small body. It’s comical, really. 
Jungkook raises a brow at you, but says nothing. 
“I really can wait, Jungkook,” you steel yourself, forcing a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t like you developing my pictures—”
It’s then that his pretty cupid’s bow unfurls into a full-fledged grin. “Girlfriend... you’ve been keeping tabs on me?” 
“Fuck, well I had to!” your face is as red as the dark room’s alert light, now on because Jungkook flicked the switch and he’s between your arm to unlock the door. Your hand brushes his as you both reach the knob. “I’m really really sorry I sent those pictures. They were for Johnny—you remember Johnny Suh from English class? And I saved you in my contacts as “John Kook” so it was an honest mess up.” 
Jungkook hums, so light that the breathiness in his chords flutters your grip on the knob. He forces the door ajar, and you’re left to follow him in the dark room, cluttered with solutions and fancy equipment. 
“Thought so,” Jungkook shrugged, giving a one-over at the materials in the room, mulling over his next steps in developing your film. 
You’re still petrified at the doorway, holding your Pentax between both hands like a lifeline. Jungkook’s head lols to you, and you get a pretty view of the way his bangs brush over his forehead, Adam’s Apple bobbing. His expression is a little tired, but overall unreadable. He sighs your name, lethargic. 
“We’re already here, so might as well get this done,” he gestures to the camera in your vice grip. “Do you wanna pick the shots or do you want me to?” 
He’s already seen the digitals, what’s so different about getting a couple prints? With a slight pout you drag your feet over to him, relinquishing your camera. “I’m thinking you have a better eye for this than I do.” 
“You think right.” 
You fight the urge to roll your eyes. Cocky, but what you’ve seen on Instagram definitely justifies his sentiment. Jungkook pays no mind to you, busying his hands with the various containers in front of him, measuring the solutions for the developer, stopper, and fixer. You were always entranced by the process of developing film, especially in highschool where their photography club holed themselves in the darkroom like a secret lair. 
“Alright,” he pops open the canister, carefully laying out sections of the film in groups of four. “Want me to pick a random one for a tester?” 
You frown, “At least put some thought into it.” 
“Always,” it looks like he already decided way before he popped the question, immediately taking a negative and placing it in the carrier. 
His fingers are nimble as he takes the time to clean off the dust and any debris that could potentially ruin the image. Then he turns off the lights and begins the process. You dive around him, trying to keep your distance but still too curious to leave his side. If he’s annoyed he fails to show it, in favor of humming whatever song comes from his Echo Dot. 
You always got the solos in choir. You wanted to reminisce, but you’re too nervous to say it out loud. 
Even though it’s his job and he’s being a professional, you romanticize the experience, watching as he carefully puts the print in each liquid process. Your image blooms to life, and you feel your stomach churn as the photo develops before your eyes. 
After a final dip in the solution stopper, he places the first product in a bath of water. Even though you are mere centimeters away, you can clearly see the image of you swimming around the container. 
“Alright!” Jungkook hangs the finished picture on a pastel pink clothespin, tacking it in place. “Whaddya think?” 
Your breath catches in your throat, feeling heavy as you look at the image of you reflected in the glossy paper. You’re perched on your bed, a hand splaying between your legs as the other hand toys with the silk bunny ears. You’re leaned slightly, giving an ample view of your cleavage. However, the image of you is definitely different from being blown up in comparison to the negatives, and you squirm uncomfortably at your full display. 
“I look,” you bite your tongue, internally debating whether you like it or not. Not to spare Jungkook the theatrics you shrug, “It’s good.”  
The lack of enthusiasm seems to dissatisfy Jungkook however, as he has to take a double take and look back and forth between the image and the real thing. “What’s wrong with it, do you think Johnny’ll not like it?” 
“What?” you furrow your brows, breaking into a nervous laugh. “Johnny has a boyfriend. I just wanted his opinion. This photoshoot is for me, y’know? Just something to make me feel good about myself.” 
Jungkook’s lips morph into a little ‘o’, and you see a little bit of the child you once knew in the way he’s mulling over the situation. 
“Then can I give you my honest opinion?” Jungkook clips off the half-dried photo, holding it between you two. “Stop thinking so hard about every little thing you don’t like about yourself. If I was your boyfriend and you gifted this to me, I’d be creaming my pants. You look fucking sexy, all grown up since you cried in the fourth grade.” 
You’ve just been flung a litany of words you have no brain capacity to digest. Along with that, the immense heat you didn’t know you’ve been suppressing surges to your belly, low and simmering. Jungkook stares at you in earnest, despite his sudden gush of honesty, you don’t know what to say. There’s a dash of pink staining his cheeks, betraying the confidence he previously displayed. He stiffens when you don’t reply immediately and moves to clean his materials, his sudden bout of bold honesty quickly shrinking. 
“Y-you know,” you look down at your feet, “the only reason why I cried in the fourth grade was because you told me Santa wasn’t real.” 
Jungkook softens, tilting his head. “Sorry about that.” 
“Thanks though,” you gently reach for the photo in Jungkook’s grasp, looking at it without contempt. “But won’t your girlfriend be upset if she knew you were saying things like this about someone else?” 
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Well, if you looked through the rest of my Instagram story,” Jungkooks cards a hand through his already mussed hair, splitting the ends. “You would see that she’s not my girlfriend, but my tattoo artist.” 
For added measure, he wiggles his fingers in front of you, revealing pretty ink and silver bands across his knuckles.
“Oh,” your voice is feather light, and you’re sure you’re drooling as you stare far too long at the letters that mark his hands, curious as to what they symbolize. 
“So, as a singleton telling another singleton,” he continues, “I know it’s meaningless if you don’t believe it yourself, but I’m telling you, you’re attractive.” 
“Thanks,” you hold the picture tightly in your grasp, eyes flickering to the negatives in the room ready to be galvanized into a full-fledged picture. “Why don’t we wrap this up, huh? We can continue another time.” 
If he notices how much the paper wilts in your grasp, he doesn’t comment on it. “Are you sure? I know it takes a lot of time, but I don’t mind.” 
“I’m sure,” you force a smile, one hand on the lightswitch. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready, okay?” 
Jungkook swallows, nodding mechanically. “Okay.” 
“It was really nice seeing you, Kook.” you blurt before you could chicken out, letting the room bask in darkness a little longer so he can’t see your flustered state. “I’m not even going to downplay it, you look great.” 
You half-expect a cocky remark, or a little chest pumping from the compliment. At the sound of his nickname however, 4th grade Jeon Jungkook resurfaces and he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Like I said, so do you,” he replies easily, sending you a soft smile and opening the door for you. 
The door closes shut behind you and you exhale, patting your cheeks and willing for the chilly air to calm you down. 
When you get home that day, you shuck off all your clothes and crawl into bed. You cry out when the metal framing of your bunny ears stabs you in the back, and you fling it to some unmentionable part of the room. You reach for a bag of half-opened sour gummy worms, flipping open your MacBook to continue streaming the soft magical girl anime you’ve been hooked on these past few weeks. 
Not even Sailor Uranus can distract you; however, by the time it’s dark and you’ve run out of distractions, you finally pull the plug and unblock Jungkook from your list of contacts. 
Your phone buzzes, the incessant vibration relaying all the messages you’ve missed. 
[March 12th, 3:53AM]
You: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0343…
John Kook: ??? 
John Kook: you probably sent this to me by accident… sorry i clicked on it
John Kook: is it weird if i said you’ve done a massive glow up since the middle school dance?
[March 12th, 12:02 PM]
John Kook: are u mad
John Kook: you’re mad
John Kook: am i makin this weird by continuing to text you
John Kook: im making it weird. 
[March 31st, 6:24 PM]
John Kook: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/049…
You tilt your head at the folder link, it was sent only a few hours ago. With a click, you’re enlightened to a set of digital photos. Your photos from your photoshoot, but not quite. They’ve been expertly edited, not too much to distort your looks, but only to enhance your features. A small, barely there smile creeps from your subconscious, ultimately touched by the gesture. 
John Kook: sorry if i pushed too hard today. 
Guilt overrides your nerves, prompting you to immediately press the call button on his contact. Not to your surprise, Jungkook’s light voice calls your name through the line after the second ring. 
“Don’t be sorry,” you blurt, forgoing the hellos. “It was the right amount of push, I feel better, really. If anything, I’m sorry. I blocked your number because I was scared to read your reaction.” 
You hear him sigh along the line, and you feel that breath ripple through your nerves, as if he’s right next to you. “It’s fine, I would’ve done the same thing.” 
“The pictures you just sent, they’re really beautiful. You did a good job.” 
“Thanks, I had a bit of help. I didn’t have to do much.” 
“Oh, did Mingyu come back from his meeting?” 
"No, I uh," Jungkook chuckles, and while you don't really know why, the sound is nonetheless pleasant. “It was mostly the lighting and coloring I fixed up. Didn’t need to do much since you already looked so pretty as it is.” 
You choke on your saliva. 
“You okay?”
“Y-yeah,” you cough, “just choked on a snack I was eating.” he hums in reply, and you pray he doesn’t hear your stomach fervently retort that you haven’t eaten since lunch. “So, I think I’m up for developing more of the film. When can I drop by?” 
“I’m free Saturday,” Jungkook chirps, “I have a shoot until noon but you can come anytime after that.” 
“Sounds good, I’ll be there,” you clutch the phone with both hands. “I can bring lunch. What do you like to eat?” 
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“I’m already buying for Minghao,” you lie, “do you like burgers?” 
“I can’t say no to a good burger,” Jungkook’s smile feels almost palpable against the line, “do you remember our field trip to the national museum of history? We had burgers on the street!” 
“Oh, those were so good,” you moan, fuzzy memories of a middle grade field trip resurfacing to clarity, “but you ate like, ten of them!”
“I still get nightmares,” he warns, “don’t let me go to bed like this.” 
You giggle, letting your body meld further into your warm mattress. “Maybe I’ll just show up with ten burgers for you tomorrow.” 
“I’ll throw up on you, try me.” 
Tumblr media
Minghao’s adjusting the frames on their display wall by the centimeter, and it’s pissing him off. 
“Ah, it’s off,” he mutters to himself when you walk in, indicated by the electronic bell. He turns to you briefly, pulling a leveler out of his overall pocket. “Doesn’t this look off?” 
“Uh,” you look towards Mingyu at the front desk, who is paying no mind as he continues scribbling on his iPad. You tilt your head towards your former college classmate. “It doesn’t look off from over here?” 
Tacking the leveler on one of the frames, he whines, “It’s five degrees off.” 
Mingyu puts his pen down to reach over the counter and grab the paper from your hands, steaming with the scent of fast food, “He’s been like this for hours, don’t mind him.” 
He doesn’t even ask whether the food is his, Mingyu sees grease and he claims. Reaching for an oil-wrapped parchment, he unfolds the paper to reveal a handsome burger with all the fix-ens. 
Barely satisfied, Minghao steps away from the art display. There is a sizable gap in the display, now divided between four artists instead of three. You wonder how Jungkook’s work will look amongst the other artists. 
“Cute ‘fit.” Minghao mumbles, nodding approvingly at your clothes as he digs into the bag for his own burger. 
You send a half-smile his way. If an outfit is Minghao-approved, that means you’ve gone above and beyond. At least, you tried to play it off like you didn’t try to look cute. It’s not like you’re intimidated by Jungkook, living with a major fifteen-year glow up. After all, he’s already seen more than you can imagine. 
Mingyu takes notice, eyes going south to where your white blouse meets your cleavage. You hurl a fry at his face, “Eyes up here, perv.” 
He scrunches his nose, lifting a greasy thumb to slide a manila envelope over to you. “Here’s the developed pictures. Intercepted Kook and I finished them this morning.” 
You frown, “Jungkook’s not done with his photoshoot yet?” 
“Oh, he’s been done.” Mingyu’s eyes roll back to one of the studios. “But I’m saying is, you got what you needed. So you can leave if you want,” but he grins at you, canines so sharp you feel his stare jabbing you in the proverbial neck. “Unlesssss you want to go in and say hi.” 
If he has any inkling of what’s going on in your head, it’s definitely confirmed when your face turns hot. Damn body, you’re betraying me! With a flourish you grab the fries from under Mingyu’s nose, along with whatever’s left in the fast food bag. 
Minghao’s smiling through his burger, knowing if he pulls any type of savagery his lunch would certainly be pulled from under his chin. 
“Whatever you’re thinking, drop it or the burger will be going in your ass instead of out.” You mean to sound menacing, but the Min-squared and their boisterous laughter follow you down the hallway and into the occupied studio. 
“Hey Jungkoo—wow.”
You’re sure you look like Alice, enthralled by the little wonderland she just stepped into. The set is beautiful, right out of a fairytale. It has a very old-romance vibe, like Morticia and Gomez Addams. There lay a couch made of the darkest, richest wood, with velvet red cushions covering the body. Across the floor laid hundreds of black rose petals, blanketing the floor in a sea of ebony. 
“It’s for a wedding, gothic themed.” Jungkook supplies helpfully, still fiddling with whatever he was looking on his digital camera. He’s looking utterly soft in a matching grey sweat combination, something that would easily disgust you during high school, but unfairly works with him. 
“The shoot must’ve been beautiful.” 
“It was.” 
“I uh, got this for you.” Your fingers start to sweat from clutching the bag so hard, and you place it on his work table. 
He finally looks up from his camera, giving you a wan smile. “I thought you got those for Minghao.” 
You mentally slap your cheeks, trying to ignore the way his smile made your stomach do somersaults. “He got his own. Your portion has a cookie in it, so.” 
His cute teeth unveil themselves at the mention of sweets, and you can’t help but smile back at the familiarity. 
The two of you take your time in enjoying your lunch, not meaning to stay but the very back of your mind hoping he’d like to share a meal with you. After all, Mingyu and Minghao are probably at the front relishing in your very obvious attraction. What can you say, first crushes never die. 
Between sips of your milkshake, you’ve taken to flipping through Jungkook’s portfolio. There’s a myriad of different subjects: beaches, people, the occasional squirrel. Each section of the portfolio feels like you’re being transported to a new side of Jungkook and his artistry, and you ached to know more. 
“Wow,” you point at an action shot of two girls in a dance studio, “this duo looks like Chungha and Hyoyeon.” 
He swallows his (second) burger, having the audacity to sink sheepishly in his sweater. “It is Chungha and Hyoyeon.” 
You nearly choke on your cookie. “That’s amazing.” you say breathlessly, looking closer at the image. In fact, the beautiful women photographed are famed hip-hop choreographers Chungha and Hyoyeon. You can’t imagine how good Jungkook must be to manage a photoshoot with them. 
As proud as you are of Jungkook, it reminds you that since middle school you two have lived completely different lives. You wonder if Jungkook gets these kinds of gigs all the time, hanging around with gorgeous, talented people like himself.
Jungkook says your name once, twice. He looks at you concerned, and you’re melting in his large carmine eyes. If he notices your usual overthinking, he doesn’t say anything, and gestures to the section at the end of his portfolio. “This isn’t my best work, but it’s one of my favorites.” 
There’s something familiar about this set. A playground with a busted swing set. Children riding on bikes and colorful class shirts. Ice cream melting on fists. 
Thirteen-year-old you hanging on top of your middle school’s leafless tree, clutching your baseball cap as you shade yourself from the sunset. 
“Was this the first time you took pictures?” you ask, thumbing the picture of yourself. 
“Yeah. It’s when I decided it’s what I wanted to do the rest of my life.” 
“I know we didn’t know each other that well and we’ve only recently connected but,” you give him a shy smile, “I’m really proud of what you’ve grown up to be, Jungkook.” 
He looks like you’ve hung him the moon and stars, his half-eaten burger loosening in his grasp. His lips are parted cutely, like a kitten who’s just been offered a fresh glass of milk. You cough at the sudden pause in conversation, feeling self-conscious of your impulse confession. You don’t even have it in you to be disgusted when Jungkook hastily shoves the second half of his burger down his throat, tips of his ears pink. 
Leaving him be, you press a palm to your cheek, looking at the wedding set. 
Jungkook downs half a water bottle before he speaks again. “Y’know, it would be a shame to clean up this set already. It was kind of expensive.” 
“Yeah,” you echo, standing up and kicking off your slippers. You kick your feet in the air, watching the black petals kiss across your ankles.
“I have an idea,” he wipes his hands on his sweats, “why don’t you go back home and get an outfit you really like. Lingerie, a cute outfit, whatever. Let me give you a photoshoot you’d love.” 
You look up from your petal dance, balking. “Jungkook! That’s not necessary, I told you the photos I took were okay.” 
“Yeah but, you didn’t seem entirely happy. C’mon, I got a camera and a beautiful set. Why waste it?” his hands naturally gravitate towards his charging camera, already turning it on. “I can do lighting, I know all your good angles. What’s stopping us?” 
Really, what’s stopping you? Your hands fiddle with your open flannel, the soft material comforting you as you look across the set. You try to imagine yourself, your body draped across the velvet pillows and black petals. Would it look good? Would you feel good? You think back to how you felt the first time, how scared you were when someone other than Johnny would be looking at your photos. You remember how something weird and sour contorted in your stomach when you scrolled through Jeon Jungkook’s Instagram, no longer the little boy you knew but a man who could have everything he wanted—
“Stop thinking about it.” Jungkook suddenly snaps, and you break from your reverie to catch him looking upset. It’s been awhile since you’ve seen him like that. 
“Thinking about what?”
“Thinking that you’re out of my league.”
“Excuse me?” 
“You were like this the other day too,” and he looks sad, and puts his camera down to come closer to you. “Why are you feeling this way. Is it me?” 
“Not necessarily,” you huff, hugging yourself.
“Do you not feel beautiful? Do you not like your body?” 
“No, I do.” you say to yourself, and you mean it. Even though there will inevitably be days where you may not feel one-hundred percent positive about yourself, you know at the end of the day, you love you and all its parts. “I don’t know, Jungkook. I had no problem letting Mingyu develop the photos originally, because he knew me in college and I was already sure of myself back then. But I guess when I sent them to you, I felt like I did when I was a little girl, y’know? Going through puberty, and worrying about what other people think.” 
And it’s not like Jungkook teased you or made you feel lesser of yourself. In fact, Jungkook was the student you wanted to be when you were younger. Someone sweet and caring, and unabashedly confident about himself. 
“I guess seeing you so successful and the fact that my stupid childhood crush came back from a time where I always felt low, made me feel a little insecure again.” 
Something sinks in and you feel hyper aware of how crushed Jungkook looks at your declaration. “There’s no leagues, you got that?” he says quietly, walking so close that he’s hovering over you, sneakers brushing. “I get it. I get unsure and insecure just like you. Hell, I was nervous this morning, wondering if you’d really come. We may not feel insecure over the same things, but middle school wasn’t that great for me either.” He makes a funny face, and you feel a smile twitch across your lips. “But it’s okay. Because we’re human and we grow. But now, you are successful. You’ve grown from your time growing up and you’re a wonderful, powerful person. I’m proud of you too.” 
“I know,” you mumble, leaning your forehead against his chest. His arms wrap around you in response, holding you snug.
“And for the record, I thought you were the most beautiful person in the world in fourth grade. Even though my world was pretty small back then, I can say now that what I thought back then still stands true.” 
You look up from his embrace, where he’s leaning down to press a slow, cotton soft kiss to your forehead. He backs up a little to read your face, and you give a tiny nod in response to signal it’s okay. Jungkook exhales in contentment, relaxing against your frame. 
“Thanks, Kook,” you crack a smile, feeling your insecurities slowly evaporate. You feel better, light, knowing that these negative feelings are only temporary, and you’re not alone. Being in Jungkook’s arms, an honest boy turned man you’ve known all your life, it feels almost like home. 
You two stay like this for a while. Exchanging feather-like kisses, feeling irrevocably young and hopeful. Suddenly feeling emboldened, you tug him by the strings of his hoodie to press a long, hot kiss to his lips. There’s a stutter, and you’re pretty sure Jungkook choked on his saliva at the sudden change of pace but you continue, letting Jungkook catch up and follow your lead. 
“Wow,” Jungkook pulls away and his lips are shiny and flushed. Adorable. You think 7th grade Jungkook would be rolling in his Naruto sheets if he knew you two would inevitably end up together. Conversely, 7th grade you would be squealing in your kitten plushie, proud that you managed to nab your childhood crush to live out all the fantasies you’ve imagined since the 4th grade. 
“Jungkook,” you let your flannel fall to the floor in a heap, only leaving your baby blue top in a thin ruched camisole. “I think I want to do the photoshoot. Can’t pass up these pretty petals, y’know?” 
He runs a hand through his hair, gaping. “Really?” 
“Yeah,” you press a wet kiss to his neck, “anyway you want me, baby. Full creative control. I want you to like this as much as I do, okay?” 
With the permission to hold the wheel, Jungkook’s lightheaded and spinning. His eyes rake up and down your gorgeous form, wondering how many good deeds he’s done in his past life to earn a right just as this. 
“In that case,” he presses a palm to your shoulder, pushing you to sit along the velvet cushion, “strip for me.” 
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thenovelartist · 4 years ago
Text
Burned Beginnings, chapter 1
Novel decided to do Adrienette April on a whim. Each post until the end of April (or such is the plan) will have 3 prompts in it.
She also discovered she’s very rusty. Bear with me here. XD
Next>>
1. AU
Marinette had thought she’d grown used to Chloe’s bullying, having to had endure it since they were little. However, with high school came a new name that became a regular part of Chloe’s vocabulary, alongside “hot” and “sexy” and “dreamboat”.
“And Marinette would never catch the eye of someone so perfect.”
Honestly, Marinette had thought she was over it, but on a particularly bad day, she’d snapped back at Chloe.
“Well, clearly he isn’t that perfect if he fawns over someone whose only redeeming quality is pretending to be pretty.”
That had led to a fire alarm getting pulled and Marinette left to blame for it. Anyone who tried to come to her defense was shut down, and Marinette had been suspended.
Which had started an all-out war.
After being stuck at home, wrongfully, for three solid days, Marinette had snapped. She’d decided that if Chloe was going to build a bonfire and poor on the gasoline that she would be there with a match. By senior year, Marinette’s record had taken a hit for it but Chloe’s reputation was in the toilet.
Marinette would take what she could get.
However, she supposed she hadn’t fully thought out the consequences. As much as she played with fire, she should have realized she’d get burned sooner or later.
And she did. Third degree.
We regret to inform you your application has been denied.
Those were words she grew tired of seeing yet came back from every school she applied to. With that in mind, she’d called up her girl friends to tell them what had happened.
“Hey, Marinette,” Alya had said upon seeing the letters. “Don’t get me wrong, I feel really bad for you. But… I did warn you—”
“I get it,” Marinette had surrendered, knowing that Alya was completely right. “You tried to warm me of the consequences, and now I’m paying for them.”
The girls had slipped into a moment of silence before Alix spoke up. “Hey, I can ask Max if he can do a little digging so you at least know why, yeah?”
Marinette had raised a brow but agreed. “Only if he’s not busy with his own college stuff.”
“Oh please, he’s too smart for college. He started up some robotics company in his free time and is already making bank on it.”
It took a week for Max to come back with a full report. Marinette had to give him props for working fast as he did.
“Hacking into the system was the first thing I could think of,” he’d explained. “In the side notes, there was mention of your attendance record and suspensions.”
“They were all wrongful suspensions,” Alix had countered.
“Doesn’t matter to the school,” Max had said with a shrug. “But even then, I thought there had to be more to this than just attendance. There were other students who had the same notes yet were accepted. So I shifted focus to digging up background on all the directors of the school. After hacking a few emails, I discovered Audrey Bourgeois happens to know a lot of directors or administration members in all the fashion schools of France. Considering the contents of most of those emails, it has become clear that Marinette was wrongfully barred from every school she’d applied to. And that there’s nothing that can be done about it because we only discovered such scandal through highly illegal means.”
“So…” Alya had begun, turning her attention to Marinette. “Where does that leave you, M?”
Marinette’s lips had pursed in thought. It was funny how things turned out, because despite her anger, she somehow had been peace with what she was faced with. “I think that the last place I want to be is in an industry full of liars and people who use their words to manipulate anyone they damn well please.”
That was how she ended up working full-time in her parents’ bakery. They never said a word about it, but she knew they were disappointed. Of course they weren’t mad about her still being here and working in the bakery with them, and she knew her parents still loved her more than anything.
But she knew that with as many dreams as she had and had shared with them, they were disappointed on her surrendering it all.
“Sorry, Maman, Papa,” she whispered into the empty kitchen as she plopped the baguettes she formed onto a baking tray. “Just give me a little time to figure things out. Seems like lofty dreams are a lot easier to crush than I realized.”
 2. Rebellion
A son can only bear the world of their parent’s expectations for so long. He wasn’t Atlas, but after a few years of acting like him, Adrien decided to dump the globe. To hell if it broke. He’d smirk in satisfaction at his father’s disappointment.
At the very least, the fact he no longer had the weight of the world of his shoulders made the far-too-common disappointment lecture easier to bear.
His strategic rebellion had started harmless enough. At sixteen with a rapidly growing forced modeling career, he’d given his father an ultimatum: he gets to grow out his hair, or it all goes. It had been shocking the amount of power the razor in his hand had given him. It was the perfect harmless threat. His father had been furious, throwing a fit about Adrien acting like a child, but after being gaslit for so long, Adrien had finally come to realize the abusive techniques for what they were. And he wasn’t going to roll over and take it any longer.
That day had ended with Adrien being grounded but ultimately the victor of their stand-off.
After that, he’d begun ditching certain events. He’d always liked fencing, so he never ditched those lessons, but attendance for his home-school lessons, mandarin lessons, and piano lessons had all been decided on a whim. His father had hardly been pleased by this, but to Adrien, that was the point. The lectures soon washed into one another so much that Adrien could practically recite the words that roll off his father’s tongue verbatim. He’d come to realize they were strategically meant to hurt. To humiliate. And as such, he’d stopped taking them personally.
Then came the fun part.
He got earrings. Honestly, Adrien hadn’t really cared for the piercings one way or another. In one way, there were a hassle, and caring for new piercings was a pain in the butt. However, they had been worth it to see his dad so royally pissed off.
Then came the ditching of certain photoshoots. There was a reason Adrien had held off on this one for so long: he cared about the people running the shoot. There was no reason they needed to be collateral in this battle between him and his father. After all, they were just employees doing their job; Adrien didn’t want them to suffer for his rebellion. With that in mind, Adrien had planned out his absences of these photoshoots. Again, he didn’t want to drag anyone else into his mess, so he had always organized a replacement model. Shoot would always go on, just not as planned.
And that was enough to drive his father mad.
It always put a smile on Adrien’s face.
The last touch was an unexpected one. He hadn’t even thought about going this far. Yet, a friend of his not only put the idea in his head, but gave him the art to go with it.
“Is that a tattoo?”
Oh, how he wished he would have taken a picture of his father’s face. The large black cat surrounded in a green, wispy smoke that wrapped around his forearm was truly a work of art. He’d had to think carefully about this decision, but in the end, he quite liked it.
“Yeah. I’m eighteen; I can ink myself if I want to. Why? Is that a problem?”
Adrien might be wearing a cat on his arm, but the grin on his lips was downright wolfish.
Eventually, it all had come to a head and blew up in his face. Adrien couldn’t say he’d been surprised. In fact, he had been fully expecting it. He’d already found an apartment to rent and had begun sneaking most of his important things over there before his father could kick him out. So when Adrien found himself kicked to the curb as soon as he was handed his general education certificate, Adrien had been prepared.
But mostly, he was free.
What a joyous day it was.
However, now that he was free, he knew he needed a job. Not because he needed the money, per se, but because it was time he started acting like the average adult. He never got to go to school, so now, it was time to pick up a mundane, first job that everyone hated but would “serve him well later in life”. Mostly, it would just be something normal.
The easy places to apply were food shops and retail stores. He’d work one for a while before deciding what his next life step would be. Chloe had been quick to offer him a job at her father’s hotel, but Adrien was vehemently against the idea. Over the span of his rebellion, Chloe’s behavior and attitude towards him had grown notably worse, and he had a feeling cutting ties with her would be his next step in life.
In the end, he’d scored a job he definitely was underqualified for. He’d applied partly out of spite and partly because ‘why not?’ He’d heard about this bakery enough times from Chloe to know the “cruel bitch who did nothing but mercilessly harass her” lived here, and that was enough to pique Adrien’s curiosity. At a bakery as popular as that, though, he hadn’t been sure he’d get a call. And when he did, he knew he would do everything he could to present himself as a reliable and respectable man eager to work, but he never thought he’d end up hitting it off with the owner.
Which somehow ended up with him agreeing to work at Tom and Sabine’s Patisserie.
Going into that job, he swore to himself he would do what he could to prove himself worthy. He knew there had to have been better applicants, so Adrien didn’t want to disappoint the very kind owners who dared give him a chance. Soon, his days were spent working hard while covered in flour and surrounded by bread all day. Well, bread and all the sharp and hot objects in your average kitchen.
He just didn’t think that would include a wicked sharp and smoking hot young lady that happened to be his bosses’ daughter.
 3. Game Night
“Mama, Papa, please go. You two hardly ever get out of the house.”
Marinette watched her maman put a hand over the mouthpiece of her phone while her papa turned to her. “But I’ll be busy that night. We have a massive order scheduled for the next day.”
“I can handle that,” Marinette quickly countered with a grin. “You know I’m a night owl, anyway. I’ll get it done, and you two can go enjoy game night with your friends.”
Her parents spared each other a glance. “Are you sure about that, Marinette?” Maman asked.
“Positive. Papa already talks to the bread too much, so he really should talk to people for a change. And while you have to deal with people all day, I know you want more than to just have short conversations filled with small talk. So please, go out and have a social life for once.”
With one last look, her parents relented. With a smile, her mother took her hand off the phone. “We’ll be there.”
Papa turned to her with a grin. “I was going to spend that time teaching Adrien how to handle those orders. I can leave teaching him in your hands, right?”
Her grin fell. Adrien Agreste. What the hell a washed-out model was doing working at her parents’ bakery was beyond her. Admittedly, over the last month she’d been working with him, the most she’d say is that maybe he wasn’t too bad a guy. Papa certainly sung his praises. But that still didn’t answer the question of why he was working here of all places. After all, he was Chloe’s friend and suspected lover.
“Don’t think I don’t see that look on your face, Marinette,” her maman chastised. She’d hung up and set her phone down already, fully giving her attention to her daughter. “No matter your personal feelings, you really should give him a chance.”
“He’s a good kid,” Papa said. “Maybe a little rough around the edges, but I can tell he really does want to learn and do his best.”
Marinette sighed. This wasn’t the first time this talk had happened. She remembered having a talk with her parents after his first interview. There were a few other people who were far more qualified for the job, but Papa said he liked Adrien’s personality and spirit the best. So in the end, all Marinette’s objections had fallen upon deaf ears.
She sighed. “Fine. I’ll give him a chance.”
With a smile that made Marinette loath to disappoint him, her papa patted her head affectionately. “Thank you, Marinette. I think you’d like him if you got to know him.”
Not likely. “I’ll do my best, Papa.”
“Really, Marinette,” her maman warned. “Unless you have a valid reason, you need to put aside your feelings for the sake of the bakery running smoothly. Can you manage that?”
Appropriately chastised, Marinette bowed her head in embarrassment. Maman brought up a good point: Marinette shouldn’t let her anger towards Adrien affect the bakery. Her parents didn’t deserve that. “Yes, Maman. I’m sorry.”
With a smile, her maman came up and wrapped her in a hug. “Thank you, Marinette.”
Marinette hugged her back. “No, thank you, Maman and Papa, for everything. I won’t let you down.”
Papa wrapped his arms around both her and Maman. “Thank you, sweetheart. We love you.”
“I love you, too.”
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thoughts-on-bangtan · 3 years ago
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JK Day 2021
...and what a day it was. I know we’re a bit late with this when looking at KST but in our time zone it’s still September 1st so it counts, right? Besides I wanted to wait until the day was over for them so I could have everything the members would post for JK so I could put it in this post as memory for us to look back on in the future.
Furthermore, as extension for the celebrations, I want to finally sit down, write and post our post about JK and his bonds with the hyung line since it’s been so long since two anons asked us about that so what better time than the weekend after JK day, right?
Anyway, let’s get into it, shall we?
The day before JKs birthday he came onto Weverse and posted three different things, including a cute selca:
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Everyone of course turned up their creativity to post something for JK and also wondered among themselves what he planned on using those lyric comments for, and if he would use them for anything at all.
Sometime later before the new RUN episode aired, Seokjin appeared on Weverse and, for whatever reason, commented birthday wishes for JK under the Weverse post about the upcoming RUN episode. Because of course he did.
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More than an hour before midnight KST everyone got a notification from vlive that JK had gone live:
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And truly, considering it was about to be his birthday, I love how it felt more like it was ours with the gift that kept on giving that this vlive turned out to be. 
Lots more below the cut:
Remember those posts that JK made in the morning on Weverse? As many, including myself, had guessed, JK gathered some of the lyric comments he liked most, or thought would work best, and proceeded to turn them into an actual song right before our eyes. The instrumental was gorgeous with a acoustic guitar and ballad like melody and it was truly fascinating watching him figuring out how to sing the lines, record them, redo them whenever he felt he could do it better, add adlibs in some places, and slowly but surely a song was created with lyrics in both English and Korean.
This really was the content I’ve always craved and I’m so, so happy we got to watch JK do this instead of him just showing us the final thing. You could see him having fun, even when he got a little frustrated at times or he wasn’t quite sure how he wanted to continue or how he wanted the words to sound like, and that he really knows what he’s doing. So many claim that Bangtan have no idea about producing and recording songs, which truly is such a stupid argument to make considering Yoongi is literally Producer SUGA and we know that, if the members want to make mixtapes they have to do them themselves, which we know Namjoon, Yoongi and Hobi have done. So JK doing all of that in the vlive? Checkmate against those idiots. Especially since it also isn’t the first time we’ve seen members work on tracks, like the behind the scenes of rap line working on DDAENG or Hobi working on songs, or even JK with Stay, even if we didn’t know it’s Stay at the time.
Once the song was finished JK went on to show us several more instrumentals he could’ve worked with, each one with a different vibe, before switching to singing a song by Justin Bieber saying he really loves his songs a lot. And then it was nearing midnight so he unpacked the cake he got, white icing/fondant with purple lettering spelling out STILL WITH YOU JK, very cute.
Right as midnight hit someone started to bang on the door so JK got up to see who’d come and, surprise, it was a very excited Hobi wishing him a happy birthday including singing the birthday song for him upon JKs request while JK lit up his golden heart shaped candle.
Hobi again returned two minutes after he’d left (between when at 1:18h JK mentioned that, for the first time that night, he’d do one more song to finish off the vlive, ha) to give him an ice cream cake he’d prepared, but also to get his phone which he’d accidentally forgotten in the room JK was in.
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Once Hobi really left and JK got a taste of his ice cream cake, as well as the white cake which turned out to be chocolate flavored, the vlive concert began and, at the time, none of us knew what we were in for since we all thought he’d really do one or two more songs and that would be it. And yet that very much is not what happened, at all, and I’m so grateful for it.
This might just be the funniest screenshot in existence (please take note of the time stamps):
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No wonder that, eventually, Seokjin decided to come onto Weverse to post wishes for JK a second time while also saying this (the picture is from their unit photoshoot for Winter Package):
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The imagine of Seokjin just sitting in bed or whatever watching JKs vlive and hearing him say last song every like ten minutes and every time he just kept going...and going...and going while Seokjin is just waiting...and waiting...and waiting? Hilarious. But it’s also really cute how he’d wanted to wait until JK was done to not interrupt him or pull ARMYs attention away from the vlive. Truly I adore their bond, it’s adorable and chaotic and so wonderfully them.
Yoongi also posted his wishes for JK while the vlive was still going.
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The one who waited until it was over was actually Namjoon who, with what he said in his tweet, actually revealed that he’d watched JKs vlive as well. In his vlive JK said that at the end of their concerts Namjoon used to always give his speech like a (school) principal, as in his long ending ment speeches, and that’s why Namjoon ‘signed’ his tweet with principal as well.
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Truly I love how JK was just having fun singing their songs, taking requests from ARMY, rediscovering songs, like him wondering if they really have a song called Paradise (since the Korean title is different) and finally fulfilling ARMYs wish of hearing BTS sing it live, as well as being surprised and confused by requests for Heartbeat asking himself if them really have a song like that. But since ARMY kept asking for it, he finally looked it up and his reaction to realizing that, yes, it is a real song of theirs and also that that’s the song we were talking about which he’d completely forgotten about? Hilarious but also kind of heartbreaking for all the Heartbeat enthusiasts.
Here is the full list of all the songs he sang, some for longer, some shorter:
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One thing that this vlive showed really well was just how amazing of a singer JK really is. It’s easy for people to dismiss his talent during concerts or performances, since they could always argue that him and the others get help due to the backing track etc., but here we had his raw voice singing along to their songs much the way any of us do. And he sounded stunning beginning to end. He’s such a talented singer and he’s worked so hard on his technique and voice and it’s really showing. Thinking back to what he said in his BE comeback Weverse interview about how he’d like to one day he brave enough to do a three hour concert on his own, I’d say this vlive shows that really shouldn’t be any kind of problem at all. If ARMY can listen to him essentially do karaoke for one and a half hours, then attending and enjoying a full on JK concert would be no issue whatsoever. It’d actually be amazing, I’m certain, and I’d totally be down to seeing that potentially become a reality one day in the future.
After two and a half hours, the vlive ultimately came to a close and JK said his goodbyes.
Hours later Hobi appeared on Weverse wondering what pictures of JK he could/should post for his traditional picture “spam” and everyone was immediately super excited. Hobi’s gallery holds some wonderful treasures so we all looked forward to what he would end up posting, though it would take a few hours until it would happen.
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The funny thing is that he posted the first twt twice since the picture with Namjoon in it had Hobi’s iPhone in it which, as good Samsung representative, was a no, no, so he deleted the twt and posted it again with some stickers covering the phone. So cute. And his picture choices are wonderful. I particularly love that picture of JK in the white room dressed in black from back in 2019 when they performed Boy with Luv. And also their picture from a dinner the two of them went on together back in 2018.
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In the meantime before Hobi posted his pictures, as requested in the picture that BH had posted for JKs birthday on the staff BTS account at midnight, one of the members posted his meal though it’s unclear which one of them it might’ve been. Looks super yummy though, wow.
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And eventually the final member to come and wish JK a happy birthday was Jimin (and yes, I know Jimin’s twt came before Hobi’s but considering Hobi already wished him a happy birthday at midnight, that makes Jimin the last one):
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Trans (cr. haruharu_w_bts):
our maknae happy birthday  i wish <you a happy birthday> a lot and a lot #KkookieHappyBirthday #JIMIN #HAPPYJKDAY
Taehyung didn’t post anything but considering his track record of doing something for the members off social media for their birthday, like giving Namjoon a forehead kiss, sending birthday wish videos to Seokjin (including roping others into doing it as well), or wishing Jimin a happy birthday as part of the MOTS ON:E exhibition, I wasn’t all that surprised by this.
And with that JK day 2021 came to a close. It started with a surprise (as in both the song based on ARMY comments and also the concert afterward) and ended with one as well, as in the In The SOOP Season Two announcement.
I hope JK had a wonderful day, celebrated happily with his members, friends and family however much that’s possible in these times, as well as with their busy schedule, and that this new year will be a happy one for him full of success, personal but also career wise. I’m curious and excited to see what will happen.
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