#I want there to be a matching Convict outfit too so I can recreate the whole story through Elf on the Shelf

[stars278]

So I saw this in a store today and I immediately thought of Stewart Clarke Javert 😭 I laughed out loud in the middle of the aisle and couldn’t explain what was so funny but like. It’s Him. The Elf Cop…

@bunvert @keenenthusiastinfluencer I hope you know how much your influence is spreading, he’s got merchandise now 😂

[sleepykalena]

Rebelcaptain & teamwork, for the ficlet prompt!!

Yes, i’m still doing these prompts LOL

So this actually was meant to bea Zootopia AU, but it got much longer than ficlet length, so I switched it to aSelfie AU instead. (it’s been how many years now and I still have not seen anyred-headed Korean babies, why must you do this ABC…)

I’ve been writing way too muchangst thanks to Parka, so I’m opting for modern, bittersweet fluff instead. Hopeit’s still satisfactory though!

Rating: T // [ao3] // [more ficlet prompts]

Tags: POV Jyn, Modern AU, Selfie AU, Unresolved romantic tension, pre-relationship, friends to lovers

“Jyn Erso, is that really you?Here? In the office? After hours?”

Jyn rolled her eyes at the loftysound of Cassian’s voice but couldn’t suppress the small, proud smile creepingup. For the first time ever, Jyn Erso was staying late at work, after hours,well after the sun had set and everyone else had gone home.

Everyone else, of course, exceptCassian, who habitually stayed after hours anyway.

“Yeah, yeah, come off it,” shewaved him aside, nose still buried on her computer screen as she clicked fromone social media site to the next, checking up on her newly establishednetwork.

“So it’s done? We’re trending?”he asked with rising optimism.

“Yeap,” she said between clicks,her eyes still scanning one tab after another. “We’re trending on Twitter, andour diaper cream is featuring on the Instagram stories of major influencers. Weeven caught the attention of the bored, rich housewives with a high followercount.” She could feel a fizzing of excitement as she said the words, and theybubbled into the air to infect her work companion, whose eyes sparkled withenthusiasm.

“And you thought you couldn’t doit,” he teased.

It was true- there was no way she’ddo it on her own. It was diaper cream,for fuck’s sake.

“Because that whole hashtag-DiaperEyething was a joke,” she retorted. Itwas just an aside during idle chatter, a cynical comment about the power ofsocial media and the gullibility of the masses, a sarcastic product pitchmatched with an eyeroll strong enough for her eyeballs to pop out of her skulland roll away. But-

“You know…we could do that toboost sales,” Leia said with an uplifting tone at the end that caused a sinkingfeeling in Jyn’s gut.

Jyn couldn’t even backtrack on her own words- she was completely frozenwith shock that anyone could even take her so seriously, and all she could dowas blink.

She remembered Leia turning to Cassian in that moment. “See to it thatyou two work together to find a way to encourage our diaper cream to double asan eye cream. Unofficially and off the books, of course- don’t want a lawsuiton our hands. Let’s use the power of social media to save this product! I’mcounting on you two,” she said with a pat to Cassian’s stiff shoulder and awink to Jyn before walking away.

Cassian slowly turned to look at Jyn, and to her surprise, Cassian wasactually siding with her over it.

“No,” she told him flatly.

“Jyn, the company’s own CEO wouldn’t flat-out endorse anything she didn’tlike,” he soothed. “And I agree with her on this one- we really could have somethinghere, and you can give yourself thecredit for it.”

“You want me to actually make good on my sarcasm and make anunofficial, off-the-books campaign about this. Using social media. Which I don’teven have.” She turned her attention away from him and back to her computer screen,contemplating how to best fake a pleasant email for a client.

Cassian leaned over just enough that his stiffly-pressed tie got in theway of her view. “Who was the one who came knocking on my office door threemonths ago asking for help, again?”

“I asked you to help ‘rebrand’ me so that I wouldn’t lose my job; Ididn’t ask for you to help me become the top sales rep or anything.”

“Yes, but part of that ‘rebrand’ was a request to help you appear lessanti-social. Which means following through on tasks that require more socializing,”he said with a sweet smile.

Jyn hated that sweet smile, knowing full-well that his ability to pullthat off was a distraction tactic, meant to divert from his own brand of anti-socialtendencies. Then again, it was his mastery of that tightrope balance between saccharineand sour that helped him secure a position that was nothing short of being theright-hand man for the CEO, who just trusted them both with a project to helpsave a product for their pharmaceutical company.

Surprisingly, Leia was right toput her faith in them- Cassian took great pains to listen to her snark againsthumanity and put the right optimistic spin on them, and soon enough Jyn wasactually talking to her neighbors for once, many of whom she discovered weretired mothers eager to save money by using something they already had in theirhomes rather than heading to their nearest cosmetics shop to diminish the bagsunder their eyes.

And, as it turned out, they werepleasant people once they had the right amount of coffee in their systems.

There was no way she’d ever findthat out about them if it weren’t for this sharp-dressed man, who, at 7 pm, finallylet his “after 5” colors show by leaning casually against her desk with aslight slouch.  

“Still, you actually followedthrough. And you used to not bother with things like this,” Cassian pointedout. “You took a risk-“

“We took a risk,” she corrected him.

“No, no, you took a risk, you leftyour comfort zone, you kept an open-enoughmind to work with me to shape this concept, and we can expect to reap the rewardswhen we take a look at our sales next month. I just helped add the bells andwhistles. All that effort, all that footwork, all that investigation…that wasstill you at the end of the day,” hesaid with conviction, and Jyn’s heart thudded against her chest at theseriousness of his compliments.

Was he always this intense whenhe felt this firey about something? Is this how he managed to build such great rapportwith people?

But then her heart sank a little-was this just an act to get her hopes up with his sense of optimism? Or did heactually believe the words coming out of his mouth? It was hard to tell whatwas a teaching moment and what was a display of genuine pride for a friend.

Does it matter, though? She asked herself. It’s not like you’re seeking his approval.

“Leia said we were a winningcombination at the meeting,” she countered as she finally closed down her tabsand got ready to shut down her workstation. “But you had a large hand in that-people don’t buy products that don’t look attractive. And we both know I’m nogood at that.”

Cassian shrugged. “Alright, so we’rea team. A little bit of you, a little bit of me. But that’s what made us that ‘winningcombination’, so it doesn’t mean your efforts should be overlooked.”

For once, she turned away fromCassian not out of a desire to be left alone by avoiding anyone’s gaze, but outof fear that Cassian would catch the rising blush on her face.

Maybe, just maybe, in the farthest corner of her personal vulnerabilities,a small part of her hoped that he approved of her in a more specific way.

“Yeah…a little bit of you, alittle bit of me,” she muttered.

She checked the time again as shestood up from her chair- 7:20 pm.

“Crap, I’m late for a date,” she groaned.“I can’t believe I got so caught up in this project that I stayed after hours…Ididn’t even buy an outfit for it. I might have to cancel-“

“And miss out on anothersocializing opportunity? Don’t do it, Jyn,” Cassian chided. “You have to followthrough, even on the recreational stuff.”

“Yeah, but I was supposed toleave work right at 5 to buy an outfit, and I really don’t want to wear my workoutfit to a date- it’s already bad enough that people call me ‘Serious BusinessErso’ as it is.”

Cassian took a step back and eyedher. He seemed to really take his time assessing her appearance, and with eachpassing second, she felt more and more self-conscious, like she was anotherpharmaceutical product in need of a rebrand.

Suddenly, without a word, he grabbedhis heavy coat and handed it to her. “Take off your office bottoms and put thison.”

“You want me to use your jacketas a dress?” Jyn asked egregiously.

“Don’t knock it til you try it,Jyn,” he sighed.

Still skeptical, she grabbed itfrom him and made a twirling gesture with her finger. Cassian obediently turnedaround, patiently waiting as she hurried to remove her trousers, throw the coaton, and tighten the waist belt to give it form.

“This feels incomplete,” sheresponded hesitantly, which prompted him to turn back around and take a goodlook at her. There was an immediate frown on his face, and she knew it was amistake to even try it.

But then she looked at her seat,and-

“My scarf,” she said suddenly,and she grabbed it off her seat and wrapped it once, twice around her neck,letting it drape off her chest. She turned around to look at herself in thereflection of the nearby vending machine. It wasn’t particularly glamorous, butthe scarf’s gentle sparkle created an almost jewelry-like effect and, thanks totheir height difference, Cassian’s coat wore like a classy dress, bundling atthe waist and creating a puffy skirt as it followed the form of her hips. Her hairwas already formal, tied up to a neat and prim bun at the base of her neck whilethe loose fringes of her hair framed her face.

Jyn always hated adhering tofashion because it was anything but comfortable. But Cassian’s coat- still warmfrom his body heat and faintly smelling of his delicately pleasant, yet neutralbody soap- defied expectations. It was fashionable without being flashy, and wearingit felt like a hug, the kind of comfort she’d always loved in her own clothes.

In its own way, Cassian’s coatwas encouraging her to relax and have a good time in what could very well be anawkward and unsuccessful date.

But there was no way she’d admitthat to him.

“What do you think?” she asked,spreading her arms out to present herself. “A little bit of you, a little bitof me, right?”

He let out a huff as his smiledwidened. “Yeah. A winning combination.”

“Yeah, let’s hope this winningcombination doesn’t turn out to disappoint this date-“

Cassian took a step closer intoher space to stop her, and Jyn’s gasp caught in her throat. He stared at herwith an intense gaze; there seemed to be so many things he wanted to say, andthe longer she looked past his long lashes and into his eyes, the more confusedshe became. She could feel the words making their way out to match the fire inhis eyes, and her chest tightened with anticipation and a worry that he was aboutto say something that could knock her off her feet and send her into a tizzy.The smell of that body soap intensified as his warmth radiated to her, and thattiny little vulnerable part of her ran in circles, still optimistic, still hopingthat maybe-

“He could disappoint you just asmuch as you could disappoint him. That’s the risk you take when you go on thesedates but make no mistake- a date isn’t a failure if it means you’re able tonarrow down what doesn’t work for you. Then you can keep working to find whatactually does work.”

Jyn rolled her eyes. “What isthis, R&D?”

“For the self? Definitely,” hesaid, but despite expecting a smile, his face remained serious, and the convictionin his tone remained. Slowly, hesitantly, he rested his hands on her shouldersand squeezed them reassuringly. “You got this, Jyn. I believe in you.”

I believe in you.

It was surprising how hard fourlittle words could knock her off her feet and send her into a tizzy. She hadn’theard that from anyone since…

Actually, when was the last time someone said theybelieved in her?

She nodded. “Thanks,” shebreathed, her heart now pounding so rapidly that she swore Cassian himselfcould hear it. She hurriedly grabbed her bag and phone and tucked her chairback under her desk, making sure to turn away from him again to hide her blush.“I’ll see you tomorrow!” she called out as she headed towards the elevator.

The elevator doors closed asCassian waved cheerfully at her, but as uplifted as she felt from his pep talk,that small part of her- the one tucked away in that farthest corner of hervulnerabilities- sank with the elevators as it lamented the ever-increasingdistance between her and her coworker, the first one she ever considered to bean actual friend and someone she could depend on.

Jyn stepped out into the night andthe chilly air brushed her cheeks as she rushed to the train station, but, forthe first time ever, she missed the warmth Cassian stirred in her.

[hauteculturefashion]

Call me biased, but I say with conviction that Vietnam is the most unique and authentic country in South-East Asia. It has 54 distinct ethnic groups, many with their own language, lifestyle and long traditions that have been passed down through the generations. Between the tribal traditions, natural beauty of the landscape, incredible food and hospitable hosts, Vietnam is a must visit country worthy of anyones travel list. 

However. Vietnam is rapidly changing, and the changes affect all of it’s diverse people.

Increased access to technology, media and mass produced goods are making the world a smaller, more generic place. In Vietnam, this is as evident amongst the younger generations of indigenous ethnic groups whom are now being exposed to a new way of life and opportunities previously unknown to their elders.

Naturally, these young people are affected by what they see happening across the country, and they strive to fit in to a culture that was never their own in order to earn their place in the new world encroaching on them. As a result, traditional visual identities through dress are rapidly beginning to evolve, or worse, becoming extinct.

This makes Vietnam one of the best destinations for anyone passionate about textiles and ethnology, as it might not be too long before these unique people start to dress like everyone else.

14 Reasons Why Vietnam is a Top Destination for Textile Lovers

14. Eco fashion pioneers

For a women of the Vietnamese hill tribes, a new outfit takes a LOT of work. The vast majority of women make just one ensemble per year. No wonder, as many they grow their own hemp or cotton for weaving and produce their own natural dyes before they can even begin sewing. Truly inspirational for today’s ‘slow fashion’ innovators.

Rubbing the Annato seeds together releases the natural pigment used for dyeing silk threads.

13. Killer sense of style

These women are bold and brave when it comes to expressing their style, knowing exactly how to mix and match colours, textures and garments just as well as any hipster posing on the streets of London or New York. Many swell with proud excitement when I ask to photograph their outfits, giving them a chance to show off their much loved, hard laboured and uniquely personal style. 

Hmong girl at Sin Ho market by John Molds at Faceofvietnam.com

12. They care about what they wear

Donning one’s finest outfit is seen as a weekly (if not daily) celebration of cultural identity and pride. Clothes are worn for different occasions with the best being kept in immaculate condition. Although each item of clothing carries generations’ worth of tradition, they are still deeply personal to the wearer, a true expression of individuality and style. I love hearing the stories behind the garments, as they hold both the richness of everyday life, and lifelong skills and personal characteristics of their makers.  

JOIN US IN 2018 FOR HAUTE CULTURE’S ANNUAL HILL TRIBE TEXTILE TOUR OF VIETNAM

11. Handmade heroins

When you live on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, handmade isn’t a trendy hobby but an essential way of life. What’s incredible is that most rural women have taught themselves the vast variety of hand made textile techniques they use daily. And they don’t just make their own clothes; they make their whole family’s traditional dress. Some hill tribes have now started to integrate modern fabrics and basic foot pedal sewing machines but nearly everything is still made at home.

Mien lady sewing embroidery by the roadside in Tin Tuc, North Vietnam.

10. Accomplished Colourists

You will have to travel far and wide to see a more diverse and daring bunch of women. The Vietnamese ethnic groups readily use combinations of contrasting and clashing colours in order to attract attention, and easily identify one clan from another. 

9. Age less style

Heading up to the hill tribes homes sometimes feels a bit like being on a film set. It’s completely otherworldly, and there’s often very little reference to contemporary style or fashion. Each generation has their own look, but they are all tied together through the age less tradition of style passed down from mother to daughter, and elderly women can often still be seen wearing the same style garments today as they did when they were young girls. 

Colourful Hmong elder at Sin Ho market

8. Beading

Heavily beaded accessories are pretty essential in Vietnamese hill tribe garb. Beads are used to adorn headpieces, aprons, belts and leg wraps. They are laid on top of one another to make stripes, zig zags and other geometric motifs. You’ll also find them strung into the shapes of flowers and love hearts – which I adore!

Hmong women by John Molds at Faceofvietnam.com

Hmong girl at Bac Ha market

7. Embroidery

Embroidery and cross-stitch is probably the most popular technique due to its inexpensive yet intricate detail. Women from the Dao hill tribes are highly revered for their embroidery, which is sewn from the reverse side of the fabric and takes years of practice. Their designs depict everyday life alongside animist mysticism; beautiful to behold.  

Red Dao women at market by John Molds at Faces of Vietnam

Red Dao embroidery at Ta Phin Village in Sa Pa

ARE YOU PLANNING TO TRAVEL TO VIETNAM SOON ? WHY NOT BOOK A RED RED EMBROIDERY LESSON WITH TAMAY? 

6. Weaving

Looms can been found in many households across rural Vietnam. The Pathen, Thai, Lao and Lu are the most skillful, weaving everything from simple cloth, to pretty ribbons and complex cultural designs which are amazingly recreated and adapted from memory.  

Lu lady in Tam Duong

Lu reverse weaving from memory

5. Batik

Batik is a wax resist dyeing technique largely used by the Hmong people. Highly intricate designs are marked on the fabrics first using the sharp edge of their finger nails, followed by the application of molten bee’s wax using a Tjanting tool. Once cooled, the fabric is dyed and dried before the wax is removed with boiling water to reveal the pattern on the cloth underneath.

Our Hmong ladies from Mu Chang Cai will teach you traditional batik.

Hmong batik motifs

4. Embellishments

Bring on the bling. Studs, sequins, coins, chains and bells are added in ample quantities to add shimmer and shine to their sartorial accomplishments. 

Doa lady by John Molds at Faceofvietnam.com

Ha Nhi woman by John Molds at Faceofvietnam.com

  3. Fluffy things

Poms poms and tassels are extremely popular additions for the traditional dress of the Ha Nhi, Lu and certain sub groups of the Hmong and Dao. Possibly the most fun accompaniment to any outfit, and something I have adopted into my own style on  than one occasion.

Ha Nhi baby wearing hat decorated in protective amulets

Hand made pom pom jewelry by the Lao Lu

2. Organic Dyeing

Natural dying has been all the rage amongst Vietnamese hill tribes for generations, using leaves, roots, fruits and berries to dye their clothes all manner of colours. Truly organic.

Black Hmong lady kneading hemp outside her village in Sa Pa

Indigo plants used for dying fabric blue – black

1. Applique

Applique as seen in Vietnam is possibly the most labor intensive and time-consuming textile technique out there. But this is no good reason at all for it not being the principle design feature of the Flower Lolo, Lolo Den and Lolo Red Hill tribes. Hmong groups towards the Lao border are also very fond of this technique. When you behold the garments, the effort is unquestionably worth it.

Flower Lolo girls from Meo Vac

My Flower Lolo applique sample

I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve been able to spend so much time with the women of the hill tribes of Vietnam, learning about their different traditions and getting to opportunity to learn their multiple skills in textile design. And I want to share the love! You can come and experience all the above, and more, first hand on my Hill Tribe Textile Tour of Vietnam. Please come and see the incredible creativity and craftsmanship that exists in these remote villages before its too late. CLICK HERE FOR INFO

Do you love ethnic and tribal textiles and costume? Did you meet any of the tribes on your visit to Vietnam? Please share your experiences, ideas and suggestions in the comments box below.

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe here and never miss a post from my fashionable adventures around the world. Sign me up! and get your free Fashion Lovers Guide to the 10 Textile Tribes of Vietnam.

14 Reasons Vietnam is the best destination for textiles right now Call me biased, but I say with conviction that Vietnam is the most unique and authentic country in South-East Asia.