#Photo Studio in North York | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

startrekfangirl2233-writes · 4 months

Text

Lens Flare

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Reader

Description: Over the past three months, your career has grown by leaps and bounds. Yet at the same time, you can't help feeling dissatisfied. A lot of your feelings stem from what you did the last time you saw him. Jake Seresin. Lieutenant Jake Seresin. It had been fun, in the hangar, under the dead of night - passionate and hot. So too had been the video you filmed and the pictures you'd snapped. But hindsight, well, maybe there is a reason why they say "Hindsight is Twenty-Twenty". Because Jake hasn't called, despite how badly you want him to. A new assignment in North Island might have the potential to change everything for Jake and our Shutterbug, including how they approach everything they hold dear.

Warnings: Once again, this is just some porn with plot. The feral plot bunnies ran away with me, I fear.

Word Count: 8502

A/N: Hiya everyone! I'm baaack! Enjoy this sequel to my fic Photo Finish. It's just as smutty and gorgeous as the last one!

This fic is brought to you all by the constant support of @horseshoegirl, @sarahsmi13s and @desert-fern. You're all my heroes and I love you to bits for keeping me from ditching this story before it even started! I couldn't have written it without you!

AO3: Cross-posted Here!

Wattpad: Cross-posted Here!

An old photography teacher of yours once told you never to submit photos with lens flares to any publication, magazine or contest. He considered lens flares the biggest mistake for a rookie photographer. He’d declared, quite adamantly in front of your entire class, using your pictures as examples, how lens flares made photos look cheap and low quality. Given his dislike of the trick of light, he’s also taught you a plethora of tricks to prevent them. Over the many, many years since you left his class, you’ve started to relax and deviate from the rigid rules of photography he once taught you. For a large portion of your career, you've been photographing subjects which cannot be posed in a studio, which helps. Every snick and whir of your camera feels like you are letting go of rules and embracing your art.

You’ve always heard wildlife photography has a tendency to relax photographers' attitudes. It’s a truth you’re very thankful you had the chance to experience. After all, there are no rules when it’s just you, your camera and what feels like the entire world a hair's-breadth away from your camera lens. It’s hard to be frustrated with the sun glancing across your camera lens when it highlights fox kits gamboling in dewy spring grass. Or elk on a frost-bitten winter morning with clouds of their breath dissipating into the clear air. Those pictures were once-in-a-lifetime shots, perfect in their imperfection and richer with the sparkling halos of light.

Being back in New York after years of traveling has made you appreciate the photographs you took even more. Now you feel like you can fully appreciate the wilderness in them. New York is wild in an entirely different way. It’s louder, greyer, more populous, yet just as vibrant. In New York, you’ve been able to capture human nature, snapping minuscule interactions between people who are always in a hurry and always moving. But you also have to work to make enough money to fund your passions. Not having to travel helped bring some stability to your passions. But of all of the things you thought you'd be photographing, fashion models and clothes were never an option. In a way, photographing fashion and fashion models is capturing another kind of wild animal in your lens sights. Models and designers are wholly proprietary and protective over what they consider theirs, whether their clothing or their aesthetic appearance. You’ve had to shoot and reshoot, as well as touch up your photos more than you've ever had to before. Of course, in this case, your primary objective is to make the models and the clothes they are wearing look otherworldly and incredible.

At first, the thrill of doing something new was alluring and exciting. But after a year, trapped in New York City, doing the same thing and working with the same people day in and day out, you can’t help but miss wildlife photography. It's like a persistent ache below your breast bone, something calling you back to the life you lived before. You're missing traveling in arid deserts and verdant forests even more now. And then the US Navy came calling. Now, while you miss the wilderness, you think you might just miss something else, more.

It’s late, half-past three in the early hours of the morning, and you’re sitting out on the balcony attached to your overpriced shoebox of an apartment. You’ve found yourself sitting out here more and more as the summer heat turns into the cool of fall. Your balcony is so small there’s only room for a single chair, and your feet are propped up on the wrought iron railing. New York’s the city which never sleeps and the crackle and groan of the city resonates around you. Your oldest camera, a Canon you bought in college with the pennies and dollars you’d saved from tips earned from waitressing, sits on your lap. All night, you’ve been trying and failing to chase away how unsettled you’ve been feeling by peering through the viewfinder and trying to see things from a different perspective.

But it hasn’t worked. You've been feeling discomfited of late, unsettled and restless. Maybe your listlessness has something to do with your next assignment. You can’t lie, not even to yourself no matter how hard you try. It has everything to do with your next assignment. You should be excited. You should be asleep, because at least if you were asleep, the time would pass sooner. For once, you will not be photographing a new designer collection. In the morning, you're flying to San Diego to take pictures at North Island Naval Base for a follow-up piece sanctioned by the US Navy. Your team is joining you, which should be a comfort, albeit slight and slim. There will be more planes to photograph and possibly shots you can take from within the cockpit or from up in the air.

It took three months to publish the article on the US Navy’s newest hotshot aviation squadron. There had been countless revisions and rounds of approval with the US Navy's Office of Public Relations to greenlight the endeavor. It's been exactly the same amount of time since you met the Dagger Squadron, too - only three months after you edited the photographs, focusing maybe a little too much on one face in particular. Three months after you took the biggest risk of your life, professionally and personally. Three months after you made a sex tape with a client. It doesn’t help that he was a memorable client, too - and how you haven’t been able to forget him.

It's only been two weeks since the magazine hit newsstands with your picture of the Daggers in all their finery near one of the jets on the front cover. Everywhere you go, it seems you see their faces - his face. Your phone has been ringing off the hook ever since. Everyone wants you to take professional portraits of their clients. But your phone has never had the voice you so desperately want to hear on the other end of the line. It's a nationally distributed magazine, after all, and like everything nowadays, published both physically and digitally. The magazine had also mailed special copies to each member of the squadron which was your subject. So he has to have seen it. So why hasn't he called? It's the one question on your mind. It may be the only question on your mind, but it's far from the only thought in your mind.

Chances are, he doesn’t want to talk to you at all. After all, why would he want to?

You couldn't silence the thoughts if you tried - and you have tried, repeatedly. Getting drunk made you maudlin, going out had you seeing his face in every stranger’s and getting laid had made you wish you were with him rather than anyone else. Over and over again you’ve found yourself thinking about those last few moments with him, agonizing over every detail, from the kisses and touches to the last time you saw him. Maybe you hadn’t been entirely clear in your note to him. You can recall the note as if you wrote it yesterday, the note you'd affixed to the flash drive you handed him.

Sure, you told him to call you when he was in New York next. But really, you wanted him to call you, period. Or text you. Something, anything to show you’re lingering in his memory in the same way he lingers in yours. You thought your dalliance had been memorable enough. You hoped you were memorable enough. After all, it's not every day you let a man fuck you up against his jet and record it, forget a man you’ve known only for a few days. Maybe it’s a little silly how attached you’ve gotten to him, given the short time frame, after what should have been completely meaningless sex.

But it’s not meaningless anymore, at least not to you, after how many times you've seen the video since you last saw him. Your camera hadn’t hidden a single thing when you made your little home movie all those nights ago. You’ve seen how his hands had been gentle, his eyes soft. Your entire countenance had been beckoning, beguiling in the throes of passion, needy in a way you’ve never let yourself be before with anyone else. He’s also spoiled you for any other man on the planet - or at least in New York. You haven’t hit the same heights since him, and a part of you is sure you never will again. And now you have to enter the lion’s den, venture right into enemy territory with your head held high and only a camera to shield your too-hungry gaze.

A thump on the railing drags you out of your reverie. Your neighbor’s escape-artist black cat makes himself at home on the railing, paws flexing as his tail lashes through the humid night air. Like you’re in a dream, you lift up the camera and peer through the viewfinder. Tonight, everything seems to be coming back to lens flares. The neon lights fracture in your camera lens, softening the visage of the cat on the railing, green eyes luminescent. With reflexes born of years of wildlife photography, partially stunted after nearly a year of fashion photography, you depress the shutter with a soft snick and a near-silent whir. What you’re left with is a long exposed image - neon lights blurring in the background as one shines behind the cat’s head. Even his fur is blurred, only green eyes in focus, piercing into your soul. It’s perfect, as expected, and you hope it’s an omen for the days to come while you’re in San Diego.

Green eyes, different from those of your neighbor’s cat, haunt you, even more, the following day as you pile out of one of the minivans the studio rented for you and your team, as well as all of your equipment, on the tarmac at North Island. The humid, sticky air stinks of jet fuel and salt water. The wind brushes past you, snatching at your hair and ripping your sun hat right off your head. It's hot as it brushes by, providing no relief to the insistent heat.

Your team just laughs as you chase, bedraggled and exhausted, after your hat. The wind pushes you towards the hangars at the end of the tarmac, colossal doors thrown open while rows of jets stand gleaming. For the first time, you think you understand why Jake is so in love with being up in the air in his jet, how close to the elements he must be with adrenaline coursing through his system. You raise the camera resting against your chest, leaving your hat to fly where it wants, because you have to capture this.

When your camera focuses, you start snapping with abandon, capturing the sun-drenched metal and heat waves rising off of the pavement. You’re not sure what pictures the editors will select to go with the article the journalist is going to write. Regardless, you’re stealing the time to take some filler shots now, when it’s bright out still, and blindingly golden outside. Your team is far behind you, still clustered by the cars, as you trail between the shining metal hawks, cockpits closed and emblazoned with names and callsigns. Your heart stutters in your chest when you see his jet, the text dark and fresh, announcing he’s been promoted. So, he's still operating out of Naval Air Station North Island.

Faintly, you can hear voices emanating from one of the open hangars, so you creep closer, your old Canon camera clutched to your chest like it can protect you. Twenty-four of the US Navy's best aviators are saturated in gold, settled in creaking plastic chairs. Jake’s at the podium, laser pointer in hand, completely relaxed as he talks about things you couldn’t understand if you tried. The light glints across his face, catching angelically on the burnished strands of his hair. A singular fluffy lock has broken free of his hair gel’s hold, trailing softly across his forehead. It makes your fingers ache to push it back into place. But you can’t, because you won’t interrupt or embarrass him. So you take pictures instead, breathlessly, silently, framing the aviators limned in gold like they’re deities waiting to go to war.

You’re not sure when it happens, but he sees you - bright green eyes colliding with yours, a nearly imperceptible frown creasing his brow before the skin smooths. He doesn’t look happy to see you. In a way, it makes sense. You were just a one-night stand, something sexy to indulge in - not someone he'd want to keep forever. The look lances through you, skewering you in place as the wind and sun stick your blouse to your back. He doesn’t acknowledge you but for one curiously blank look, and you’re mortified as you walk silently back to your crew, who are now grouped around the jets in awe.

As expected, Adam and Lea, your stylists extraordinaire, are already scribbling away. Lea's flicking through the tablet in her hands. If you were a betting woman, you'd bet good money they are already planning outfits to take advantage of the blue, gold and white theme of North Island.

“Hey, Boss!” Amy, your assistant, is nearly bouncing in place with her excitement. You're not sure how she's so energetic despite the heat and the hours of travel. “Our liaison should be joining us soon. They'll give us a tour of the base and then show us where we'll be setting up shop this week.”

She doesn’t notice how frozen your smile feels and how mechanic your nods are. All you can think about is Jake. He must have known, right? What are the chances he didn’t know you were coming to North Island to take more pictures? There must have been some briefing or notice informing the aviators why you're here. After all, you’re here to photograph the Dagger Squadron. Then why was his face so blank when he saw you earlier? Thinking about him is driving you crazy, but you're not sure you can stop. All you want is to know whether he could ever feel as strongly for you as you do for him.

When your liaison walks up ten minutes later, you’re pleasantly surprised to see you have not one liaison, but two. Neither of your Navy appointed liaisons is Jake, something which you should have expected, but you were still hoping for regardless. Lieutenant Commanders Trace and Floyd are smiling from ear-to-ear as they greet your team by name. Lea and Katie seem especially enthused at seeing the soft-spoken bespectacled WSO again. Lieutenant Commander Trace is her same unflappable, cool, collected self. Her presence and dry sense of humor has you in stitches as you and your team follow behind her like a herd of ducklings. There are familiar faces around what seems like every corner of the base. But none of the faces are the face you still want to see so desperately.

Jake Seresin shows up again as you’re oooh-ing and ahh-ing over the big hanger, burnished yellow, orange, red and pink in the light of the sun. You’ve got your camera up to your face, lips pursed in concentration, eyes squinting as you peer myopically through the viewfinder. It's his voice you hear first. Just hearing it, with the same rough timber, makes you remember what he told you, before you fell into his arms and headfirst into this situation with Jake Seresin.

God, baby. You killed me this morning. Wearing that pretty little skirt and those high heels. I wanted to bend you over and fuck you until you were leaking my cum.

It’s not a good sign, is it? How you’re unable to even look at his face without giving yourself away. The evidence of your feelings must be on your face, which feels uncomfortably hot. The heat is completely unrelated to San Diego's sky-high temperature and you shy away from eye-contact when you pivot and face the rest of your team, and the trio of Lieutenant Commanders. The sight of him hits you in your solar plexus, robbing your breath and leaving your palms uncomfortably clammy.

“Hi.”

It’s a quiet greeting, your voice swallowed by the sight of him. It feels like your tongue is two times bigger than it should be in your mouth, unwieldy as you force it to move like you want it to. He doesn’t hear you, or even acknowledge you standing there waiting for him to notice you. Standing there, you finally realize how big a gulf there is between you and Lieutenant Commander Jake Seresin.

It's a sharp contrast. He's standing there in his khaki uniform crisp and new, blond hair dark at his temples from the shower he must have taken. In contrast, your shirt is covered in wrinkles, your hair is frizzy with flyaways escaping your braid and your worn jeans are butter soft but have definitely seen better days. He ignores you for the rest of the afternoon. It hurts, of course it does, when he doesn’t notice you in the same way you notice him. But you have a job to do. You can’t - you won’t - jeopardize your career for a man, not even a man as beautiful as he is.

The now-trio of Lieutenant Commanders shows you the Officer’s ready room, where you'll be setting up for the interviews. Each member of your team is also given a badge on a lanyard allowing you limited access to certain areas of base. Soon enough, you're left to survey the ready room and prepare your team for the days ahead.

“I know it's been a long day already for you all.” Your smile is a little wry as you continue, “It's been a long day for me too. All I want is to unwind and get out of these heels!”

You let the scattered chuckles from your team peter out before continuing.

“Before I can do so, we need to sync up on what we're going to be focusing on over the next few days.”

“First and foremost on our list? Getting pictures of the Daggers while they are being interviewed. The interviewer is an old friend of Admiral Kazansky's and will be spotlighting each of the Daggers. As a part of the interview, we will be expected to get photos of each member of the squadron in their flight suits, their khaki uniforms and their dress uniforms.”

You raise your hands up to stall any questions. “I'm aware this isn't exactly the type of photo shoot we're used to. Katie, you’ll be on hand to help with their make-up during the interview. We're keeping it light and subtle. For the interview photos, we want the aviator's uniforms and medals to shine.”

“Seb and Kris - the two of you will be measuring the light levels in this room during various times of day and setting up artificial studio lights as necessary. I'll also need you both to check on the lighting situation in the big hangar we were in with the desks and the United States flag on the wall.”

“Adam and Lea, it may not sound like it yet, but I will need you both on your A-games. By special request of Admiral Mitchell, we've been asked to stage a beach bonfire. He wants this interview to echo the beginnings of this squadron. They became a team on the beach and now they are a family. I'm thinking we need cozy textiles and bright winter-toned colors. I'll leave the color palette to you both. All I ask is we have a cohesive palette for the squadron as a whole. As always, measurements for the aviators are included in this dossier. One of the minivans is yours. Our office in San Diego knows to expect you both.”

It doesn’t surprise you at all when Adam and Lea make a beeline for the doors as soon as you’re done with them. You’ve worked with them both long enough to know how they operate. They’ll be downtown and looking through the clothing on display before you can blink.

“Ames, while I run point with the admirals, you'll be sourcing the beachfront we can use for the bonfire. I'm not sure who you'll need permission from, but there might be a bar owner who can give us permission.”

Before long, it feels like you're the only island of calm in the entirety of base. Seb and Kris wander in and out of the room, measuring the light and carting in and out lighting equipment. Even the teleconference you have with the Admirals, both of whom are in Hawaii, due to fly back in a couple of days, goes smoothly.

Over the next few days, you find yourself building on the rapport you created with 6 of the aviators in the Dagger squad in the following days. You also meet the other half of the Dagger Squad. But at the same time you are building a relationship with the other Daggers, it feels like you're losing the relationship you once had with Jake.

The only time you see him during the four days of interviews and pictures is when he is being interviewed. Even then, he spends more time chatting with Amy and Katie than you. Even when you address him directly, he's silent, content to play puppet to your puppet master and then disappearing to an area off base you don't have access to. It hurts, and you’re starting to get weird looks from the other Daggers. They’re all too polite, or too cognizant of their positions in the Navy to ask you any prying questions. At least, until the bonfire.

It hadn’t been difficult to organize at all, in the end. All Amy needed to do was speak to the proprietress of The Hard Deck, a little bar a few miles off base. Penny had been more than happy to hand over the usage of the beach outside her bar for the night. The combination of good food, even better alcohol, and of course, no interviews relaxed the Daggers enough for you to get the candid shots the magazine was looking for. Halos of light spark across your screen with each snap you take - lens flares sparking to life, again and again.

“Why aren’t you hanging out with Jake?”

The question makes you jump and nearly chuck your lens cap into the bonfire. You fumble awkwardly as you try to collect your composure.

“Lieutenant Commander Trace. What can I do for you?”

Your voice is a little shaky as you wheel around and face her.

“You don’t have to do anything for me!” She’s smiling at your discomfort, something wicked curling her lips. “And anyways, didn’t I tell you to call me Natasha three months ago?”

You’re smiling despite yourself at her antics.

“It’s good to see you again, Natasha.”

“Forget about me. Why aren’t you talking to Jake?”

You should have known she wouldn’t be able to let it go.

“Three months ago, you could barely keep your eyes off of him and the same was true of him. He went out of his way to chat you up every chance he got. And now? Something happened between the two of you after we all left the hangar, and now neither of you is talking. You were fine when you showed us the pictures the next day. But now?”

You shrug, lifting your camera up to snap another couple of pictures of the squadron having fun.

“Oh my god. I can’t with the two of you. Either you walk over there and talk to him, or I’m going to get him to talk to you!”

You grab her arm before she can march away.

“I can’t, Natasha.”

You try grabbing for her, but before you can, she’s already gone. His eyes cut over to yours the more she speaks, and you’re not sure you like the way he’s glancing over at you. Your heart is in your throat as he skirts around the bonfire and sidles up to you.

“What are you doing here? Natasha has this crazy idea you’re heads over heels for me, but the way you’ve been acting says differently. So what are you doing here?”

His voice is so quiet you can barely hear it over the crackling bonfire. His face doesn’t change its expression once the entire time he’s speaking to you, barring one tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it smirk. Once again, you have to thank Adam and Lea for their work because the Lieutenant Commander looks good enough to eat in his sweater and butter-soft jeans. But you know he's not happy to see you. The disappearing act he's been pulling ever since he saw you outside the hangar four days ago is proof.

“You know what I’m doing here, Jake.”

“You're taking photos for another article. I know, I know.”

His smirk deepens, eyes twinkling maddeningly as he prowls closer to you.

“But between you and me, it’s just the official excuse, isn't it?” He tugs at a strand of your hair, reeling you closer to him. “But unofficially, I bet you want more of me. Maybe you want to make yourself another home movie? See my handprint on your ass cheeks again?”

His words have heat rising to your face, never mind how your skin already feels too toasty from how you've been huddling near the bonfire all night to keep yourself warm. Form-fitting dresses are not beachwear, especially not in late November. But you’re dressing to impress, wearing sharp blazers and business frocks. Add to the dress the camera and purse you’ve got over your shoulder, and you’re definitely not equipped for the beach.

“How do you know what I want?”

Your voice is thready and light, and your head spins the closer he gets to you. It's weird. You've been aching to have him this close to you all week, but now, when he is actually close to you again, you feel like it's too much, like he's too much. Every night in your hotel room, you've been coaching yourself to ignore him. You’ve had to in order to compartmentalize and be professional while on base. Yet, after only a few minutes in his presence, all your defenses are shredded like tissue paper.

“Because you're looking at me like this.”

Wafts of fragrant wood smoke drift by you and him as you stand mere inches away from each other. You can’t refute his statement. Not even a little bit, not even at all. You've never been able to mask your emotions, wearing your heart on your sleeve and your feelings in the pursed set of your mouth and the raise of your eyebrows. But you’re still not sure what you can say. If he’d propositioned you with the same vulnerable look in his eyes the first day you were in North Island, when he first saw you again, you would have folded like a cheap lawn chair. Then, you probably would have been more than content to pass on your expensive hotel room and make his lonely base apartment a little warmer. But he didn’t, and you’re not sure you can take the risk anymore.

Jake’s shoulders hunch, sinking into the impossibly soft cashmere of the sweater at your lack of response.

“I…” His smirk flattens, something like his Hangman mask taking its place. His shoulders never drop past his ears the longer you stand there with him at arm’s reach and pretend like you’re having a blast at this beach photoshoot turned bonfire party.

“I’ve read this all wrong, haven’t I?”

His sigh is gusty and almost too loud. “I was waiting for you to say something, because I’ve been dying to see you again. But then you ran away when you were taking pictures of the Top Gun class. Afterward, I - I didn’t know how to say I missed you, which is weird, I know. We only knew each other for a singular night.”

If your jaw isn’t on the floor already, you know it will be soon. Already, you’ve been getting too many questioning glances from your team and the Dagger Squadron. Then there is Natasha’s well-meaning meddling from a few minutes ago. Even the admirals have glanced over every once in a while at you and the normally cocky Lieutenant Commander standing in near silence. It’s not a conscious thought which has you whirling around in the silky sand and snagging a hand into his sleeve. You’re not sure why you’re doing it. All you know is if you’re having this out now, you need to have it out in private where it will not be injurious to your career or his.

Thankfully, Jake doesn't fight you as you pull him towards a corner of the parking lot. Your face feels flushed, and your chest heaves with panic at the thought someone could know what you and Jake did.

“I…”

You cover his mouth with your hand, pretending the feeling of his skin on your hands doesn't burn, like you’re not completely aware of the masculine heat emanating from his skin. For several long moments, you stand in the shadows between two pick-up trucks in the parking lot. Each of your muscles is tense, waiting for someone to realize you've disappeared with Jake Seresin, of all people. You don’t want to think about the possibilities they were assuming. The prickling, uneasy sensation doesn't pass with the moments but does fade a little.

“What was that about, huh?”

You just glare in response.

“I thought it was better to have this conversation where we were less likely to be overheard, is all.”

Your voice is prim, and your nose is tipped upward. It's obvious Jake doesn't feel the same way you do about this conversation, if he’s asking you questions like this.

“C'mon, sugar. If you wanted to let me down, you could have just said it by the bonfire. I promise I won't harass you.” His brow is furrowed as he thinks through all the implications of your statement. “Then or now.”

“I…” You fling your hands upwards, feeling this sudden urge to rage at the stars above you. How have things gotten so twisted? In your head and between you and Jake?

“I don't want to let you down, Jake.”

You growl, then, because you know what you feel, but the words aren't coming out of your mouth the right way. He's patiently waiting for you to figure it out, lips pressed into a thin line, and green eyes scorching through you.

“I’m not rejecting you, Jake. When I came to North Island Naval Base and saw you standing in front of the lectern, I wanted you to smile when you saw me. I wanted some indication you felt the same way I did. I also wanted to kiss you, but it wouldn’t have helped then.”

You're smiling again, just a slight curve to your lips, a smile Jake is mirroring.

“Then you pretended I didn't exist. You pretended I was just someone you worked with before. Not someone who you were intimate with. Not someone whose life you changed with your stupid smile and your piercing eyes and your big, gentle hands. I…”

To your embarrassment, you're sniffling and fighting back tears. “I didn't know why, or how to deal with it, so I just pushed back all my feelings. I pretended the same thing you did, and tried to ignore how much it hurt.”

“Fuck.” The quiet expletive echoes around you. “I messed this up, didn't I?”

He's pacing now, back and forth in front of you, shoes sliding through the gravel as he marches. He's ruffling his hair, face scrunched up in anguish at your words.

“I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I've watched our video so many times, I know my favorite parts. Fuck, sweetheart, I even took the picture of your ass with my handprints on it with me when we were deployed a month ago. I was nearly given so many demerits because of how hot that picture is.”

Your heart seems like it’s going to burst out of your chest, beating as hard as it is.

“So why didn’t you call?” The same plaintive, sad tone is in your voice again.

“What could I have said?” He’s finally stopped pacing back and forth at least. He flings his hands out from his hips “Sweetheart, I want you, I need you. I wish I could fly to New York right now to taste you again?”

You have to snicker at the sarcastic, sardonic note in his voice.

“It’s a little melodramatic, but I would have taken it.”

Just as quickly as you snicker, the laugh peters away into a gentle sigh. “All you had to do was tell me you missed me, Jake. All I wanted was for you to tell me you wanted to see me again.”

“Would it have mattered if I did?”

He’s stepped closer again, close enough you can feel the heat of his skin against yours. One of his big hands cradles your jaw as he looms over you.

“I asked you a question, pretty girl.” There’s a smirk on his face as he ghosts his lips over yours.

“Why would my answer matter then?” You’re not sure where the sass is coming from, but it’s making Jake smirk even more. “Knowing the decision you made?”

Thankfully, you don’t have to think of a response with a brain wholly occupied by the man drawing you into his arms. You melt into the kiss like it's something visceral you've been missing. His hair still feels the same against the pads of your fingers, golden silk, as you wrap your arms around his neck. He still tastes like you remember, too, cinnamon and smoky spice intermingling on your tongue as he licks into your mouth. Your heart sings when he gently positions your camera so it isn’t crushed between the two of you.

You whimper when he pulls away, chasing after his mouth like you're addicted to it. He still kisses like he flies, you note dimly, thoughts far away. The car at your back is cool, the metal searing into your skin as the sun has long since set. But the cold temperature of the car has nothing on the man crowding you up against it. His eyes are lidded, gaze hot as he takes in the sight of you. The dual temperatures are enough to make you shudder.

“Look at you, darling.” His hands are just as hot as his gaze as he trails his hands down your sides. “A single kiss, and you’re aching for me.”

You can’t deny the effects this man has on you. In truth, the time for denial would have been some time before you made the movie at the hangar. You’re so far down this path there isn’t a way to turn back.

“You want me just as much.”

Your voice is quieter than the rush of the waves, yet loud enough you can see the impact as they hit his ears. He’s still just as fit as he was three months ago, all hard, hot muscle as he presses up against you, cedar and plum wafting through the air off his skin. You can feel the jut of him against your hip as he muscles you even further against the car, spreading you out like a meal he wants to eat. He transfixes you with a glare when he pulls away, even as he smirks at your breathy moan. You watch, eyes lidded, as he opens the truck door and sets your things on the broad seat. You’re panting with need when he comes back to you, body shivering as he leans into you again. His hands find their home against the curve of your waist, fingers still nimble as they focus on tracing your curves in a way which might be driving you just a little mad. You almost wish you were wearing a blouse and skirt again like last time, because at least then you could feel his hands spread across your ribcage, searing their heat into your bones.

You’re lost in him, utterly captivated by the way his tongue tangles with yours, the way he makes you moan. Unlike the rough, claiming kisses of your first sexual encounter with Jake Seresin, these kisses are tender and sweet. They’re searching and tasting, like he’s trying to learn what makes you tick and what makes you moan. In truth, it feels like he’s trying to take you apart only to put you together again. This time, you’re not sure you’ll ever be the same, forever changed by the man in your arms.

“Fuck…” The word is an exhale pressed to your pulse-point, sticky, sweet, and blindingly hot. “Baby, let me take you somewhere other than this dusty, dirty parking lot. I think I really need to see you spread out on my bed this time.”

“Yes, please.” The words leave you in a strung out moan as you tug him closer, fisting your hands in his hair and sweater as you see fit. You’re past caring so long as he’s pressed so perfectly against you.

When he finally steps back from you, you’re gratified to see he looks just as rumpled and debauched as you feel. For a few moments, you stand there, drinking him in, hands aching to draw him close again, to touch him again. He takes your hand, entwining his fingers and yours. His hand dwarfs yours, skin slightly rough as his hand cradles yours. You let him lead you to the truck and help you in, because a part of you isn’t sure you’re going to be able to let him go even when you have to.

It’s silent, but for the sounds of the road as he starts his pickup, one hand never leaving its spot on your thigh. Your hands find the camera again, snapping with abandon the vista blurring past the windows and the man driving you. The streetlights halo through the lens view, speckling the pictures with circles of golden-butter light. It seems like time slips past in a slow trickle. You’re still looking through the camera when the engine cuts off, the sounds of the night trickling slowly back into your ears.

Jake’s eyes sear through you when you carefully gather your camera and bag up, legs shaky from that look alone as you step onto the pavement. His hand finds yours again, as you follow his broad back up a flight of stairs and through an unassuming white paneled front door. You’re surrounded by the cedar and plum of his cologne as you step in, the scent lightly drifting through the air. Jake crowds you against the door as soon as it closes, hands divesting you of your things even as his mouth slants over yours again. The heat sparking between you ignites again, a flame bursting to life in your chest, fed by the soft moans leaving his lips as you kiss him with wild abandon.

For much of the way to his bed, your eyes are closed. You trust Jake to lead you the right way, not to hurt you as you stumble and shudder your way through the apartment in his arms. His lips don’t leave yours once, moans ripping out of your mouth as he leaves you breathless. He’s far from quiet too, softly grunting when you tug on the hair at the nape of his neck, gasping open mouthed into yours as you rub at his bulge. Arousal bubbles in your veins, crashing over and through you. You squeal when he pushes you onto his bed, the mattress so firm it's almost hard as you bounce against it. Your hands shake as you fight with your clothes. Adrenalin makes you clumsy as you nudge your shoes off and fight futilely with the zipper at your back. Eventually you give up, choosing to lean back on your palms. When you look up, Jake’s staring down at you, eyes trailing from the curve of your mostly exposed legs up to your chest and back down again. He’s got his lower lips between his teeth, brow furrowed as he shrugs the sweater off.

Once again, you remind yourself to thank Lea for her work, because if you thought the shirt looked good buttoned up, it looks even better as it slips off his arms. He’s still wearing his dog tags, the silver chain glinting in the moonlight through the windows as he prowls over you.

“You’re still prettier than the pictures you take, baby.”

You feel like you are barely breathing as Jake licks into your mouth. The heat of his body grounds you, the points of contact just enough to tell you this is real.

“Breathe, beautiful.” His hands draw you up until you’re kneeling on the bed, your hands on his shoulders as you peer up into his eyes. Your resulting exhale is shaky as you drag in breaths with just enough oxygen to keep your head from spinning.

“Let’s get you out of this pretty dress, huh?”

“Jake.” His name falls out of your mouth like a prayer. His hands are practiced, sure as they drag the zipper down from the nape of your neck to the base of your spine. The fabric of your dress gapes forward until it’s around your waist.

Jake's eyes seem to glow in the moonlight as he takes in the simple black bra you're wearing, hands tender and hot as they drag over your bare skin, mouth wet and sharp as he drags his teeth across your collar bones.

“Mmm, baby.” His moan has you gasping, your body listing into his as he purrs the words into your skin. “I'm going to make you feel so good.”

When he lets go of you, your nipples are firm peaks in the cool air. When he removed your bra, you're not sure. All you know is you want him, desperately, urgently. Your panties feel like too much material as they cling to you, the gusset damp. Your hands are clumsy as you wrench the dress off, shaking as you peel your panties away from your skin, you flush as Jake's chuckles echo in your ears.

Divested of your clothes, you're faced with one of the prettiest sights of your life. Because, Jake’s standing there, with his belt unbuckled, and the jeans unbuttoned. His cock bulges out through the v-shaped opening, and your mouth waters as you look him over.

“God, Jake, please.” Your voice is a whine as you reach for him, fingers resting against his taut abdomen, back arched as you wait on all fours.

“I’ve got you baby.”

His promises drip over your bare skin like hot and gentle summer rain. Your eyes close as he cups your jaw, the rustle of fabric foretelling his bare skin joining yours on the bed. You let him position you where he wants, drugged by the sensations of his big hands. You steal the opportunity to kiss him again, palms splayed over his pecs, and the cool chain of his dog tags brushing against your fingers. Falling into him is too easy. It’s just a series of kisses, a sweet tangle of tongues as you let him cradle you in his arms. Sparks of need, of want traverse your moon-stained skin, hips canting against his thigh in need.

“How long has it been since you’ve cum, sweetheart?”

There’s amusement in his tone as you wrap your arms around his neck, breasts pillowed against his chest as you nudge his nose with your own.

“Just a couple of days ago.”

His chuckle makes you pout.

“And how did you cum?”

He rolls you over, ghosting a kiss over your lips as he peers down at you. “Was it some guy you brought home? Who didn’t know how to make these pretty moans spill out of your mouth? Did he make you think of me the whole time?”

When you moan, it’s because he’s pressing into you, the stretch of him making your toes curl.

“N-no.” You screw your eyes up, trying to string the words together. “It was just me. With a vibrator, watching our video.”

“Fuck, there’s my good girl. Waiting for your Lieutenant Commander to make you scream, right?”

You’re so far beyond words all you can do is tug him down, fisting your hand in his hair until you can kiss him again. He’s just as eager to pull you in, hitching your legs up until they’re propped over his arms, keeping you spread open as he pistons his hips until you see stars.

“Please, please, please.”

You’re babbling, your orgasm crashing over you with each sharp thrust. Your moans intertwine with Jake’s guttural grunts as his hips stutter at their steady pace. It feels like you’ve been set on fire when you cum, pulsing waves of heat washing over your body. Jake’s shivering as he slumps over you, blanketing your body with his. His hair is sweat-damp as you card your fingers through the fluffy strands.

“Missed you, Jay.”

“Missed you too, sweetheart.” The words are languid and soft, syrupy and sweet.

It feels like you could fall in love with Lieutenant Commander Jake Seresin as he gathers you in his arms for what must be the hundredth time tonight to clean you up. Every glimpse of the man you see when he's not putting on his Hangman mask intrigues you more. There's a gentleness to him when he's like this, a secret softness shining past his imposing exterior. You want to know more. You have to know more.

The realization of how little time you have left with Jake eviscerates you. Only two days left. Two days to love this man as much as you can. You can’t tell him how close you are to falling for him. Looking at his apartment, you have a feeling it would just scare him away. His apartment is almost austere, the off-white walls blending into the pale cream carpet on the floor. Everything is bare, with no pictures on the walls and no personality. It’s a trend throughout the entire space, everywhere but the bedroom. There's a cheery quilt at the foot of the bed. It's the only vibrant color in the apartment, the one thing which screams home.

“It's pathetic, isn't it?” You jump at his words, gripping at the footboard of the bed in an effort to keep from falling.

“It's not pathetic, Jay. Just…” You turn, clad in the soft tee he'd pulled over you after the shower. “Just different than I expected.”

“I know what it looks like, sweetheart.” The same sad soft tone is in his voice again. “It looks like I don’t have any roots. Like I’m scared to let people in.”

He slides his arms around your waist, pressing a kiss on your shoulder, his golden hair dripping as he nuzzles into the crook of your neck. “Maybe that is the truth.”

Your heart breaks a little at the soft surety in his voice, even as he does his best impression of a koala around you.

“Because like it or not, I’m going to leave one day. I’ll have to leave one day. Another deployment. Another mission. And chances are, I may not be coming home.”

You clutch at him tighter, because right now, you’re not sure you can think about him not being in San Diego the next time you’re here.

“I was okay with my reality.”

When you wrestle your way out of his grip, you’re maybe a little too rough, evidenced by the grimace on his face as you walk away. You’re not sure where you’re going but away has to be enough. You’re not sure you can face him after he’s said something like this. After all, here you are, ready to risk it all in a sultry cross-country romance, ready to give your heart to him, possibly years of your life to him. Then there he is, admitting so callously he might not be coming home one day.

You’re staring unseeingly at the stars when he slides his arms around you again.

“Are you okay, Shutterbug?”

You lean back into him, because he feels perfect against you still.

“Shutterbug is new.” You’re trying to change the subject, because if he’s insistent about it, you’re going to explode.

“Nuh-uh.” His hands turn you around until you’re looking at him again. “Tell me what’s bothering you, pretty girl.”

“You’re so callous about how you’re ready to never come home again! Why would you say that to me, Jake? I’m ready to risk everything for you. A cross-country relationship, half here, half in New York or really, wherever it’s convenient for us to meet. If you’re not willing to do the same, then what is the point of what we just did?”

You’re choking back a sob as you stand in front of him. Your eyes are screwed closed, hands wringing the hem of the t-shirt clothing you.

“Why does it matter that you missed me, and that I missed you?”

“It matters, because, sweetheart, you didn’t let me finish what I was going to say.”

Your arms wrap around his waist easily as he tugs you closer.

“I was going to say, I was okay never coming home before you. You’ve been running around in my head, the center of every thought, the subject of my every dream for three months. You kept me going when we were deployed, too. All I wanted was to come home safe so I could fly out to New York and see you again.”

“Now, at least I know I’ll be welcome when I come by.”

You’re smiling from ear to ear as you kiss the underside of his jaw.

“Yeah, you will be.”

You're still smiling as you walk into the Officer's Ready Room at North Island the next morning. You've got the same swagger you had in your step the first time you and Jake crashed together. Only this time, you have his phone number on your phone and the promise of a romantic dinner for two tonight. You'd be lying if you said you weren't still worried about the long distance relationship, spending half your life in New York and half here. But more than anything, you're ready for the challenge and excited to. At least you know who you're going home to - and, he knows who he is coming home to, as well.

Taglist:

@desert-fern @horseshoegirl @sarahsmi13s @teacupsandtopgun @dakotakazansky @roosterforme @beyondthesefourwalls @cherrycola27 @thedroneranger @a-reader-and-a-writer @hookslove1592 @mshistorylover @hangmanssunnies @kmc1989 @chaoticassidy

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN ON AO3, ON WATTPAD, OR ON TUMBLR BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN AO3, ON WATTPAD, OR TUMBLR, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

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taylorswiftstyle · 9 months

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Favourite Outfits of 2023: Taylor Swift Style

Swifties have lived many lives in 2023.

The Eras Tour saw Taylor visit 24 cities across 4 countries over 66 dates. The record-breaking tour spurred an official theatrical release of its setlist that comfortably sits north of three hours in addition to the many hours we’ve collectively spent livestreaming at home - both the canonical Eras Tour set and its more humorous clip montage of the lesser known Errors Tour with all the delightful bloopers and chaos it’s brought us since kicking off in March.

Taylor released two re-recorded versions of her albums (Speak Now and 1989) and appeared to be hard at work at Electric Lady Studios in New York City over the summer - giving us a 2023 refresh on the New York City Fashion Takeover of 2014 as she appeared to be feverishly working on something that will have us all in a chokehold sometime in the next two years, I’m sure.

Throughout the year, the one thing I kept coming back to was familiarity. There's been something to Taylor's style this year that has felt comforting and recognizable but still somehow new and exciting - and perhaps even slightly elevated. Turning it up to 13, some might say. The meta looks of her tour costuming self-referencing all the versions of herself that she has been over the course of her career packaged into one convenient show the most obvious signifier. But the schoolgirl plaids, the sequins, the iconic fall outfits all feel like iterations of who Taylor has always been. But there's something to it that feels a little more powerful, a little more knowing.

From Joever, to #TIAYYKWYAILY, to killasquirles - we’ve had so much to laugh and cry and laugh instead of cry over.

The following is a breakdown of my favourite looks over the last 12 months (not all of which could even be crammed into this intro graphic) as well as my top level thoughts on Taylor’s fashion themes this year.

For more, head to 🔗 patreon.com/taylorswiftstyle

Photos via Getty Images

#tss 2023 outfits

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bremser · 1 month

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Berenice Abbott at 18 rue Servandoni

The portrait on the cover of Julia Van Haaften's 2018 biography "Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography" and at the top of Abbott's wiki page is by an unknown photographer. It was taken for the small newspaper Paris-Midi, published June 14, 1928. Keystone France agency, and now Getty owns the rights and incorrectly dates it as 1927, while Wikipedia dates it as "1930s."

At the time, her studio was at 18 rue Servandoni in Paris, we see the fireplace and door in the background in other portraits, such as the portrait of James Joyce's daughter, Lucia. There's a classic Atget at 15 rue Servandoni, but it's from 1903-4. Atget died in 1927 and Abbott, along with Julien Levy, saved his archive. By 1930 she was in New York City, where Walker Evans made his great portrait of her.

Van Haaften writes that in search of lower rent, Abbott moved to the rue Servandoni studio in early 1928. Abbott kept a clipping of the newspaper, but there's no further detail about the portrait session in the biography.

I was curious about the photographer of the portrait and found Getty has a handful of other frames from the same session that I'd never seen.

Most interesting of those frames is this contemplative shot showing the windows of her studio, maybe some photo chemicals on the table. A puff of smoke emanates from Abbott's cigarette in the same place where someone has left their fingerprint on the negative or print. There's a strong reflection or light leak in the top left corner of the frame. Van Haaften describes the rue Servandoni studio offering "beautiful north light."

Looking at the building on Google Earth, there is one north-facing spot that has the large windows similar to the 1928 portrait, seen in the center of the screen grab below.

Another detail Van Haaften mentions is that it took Abbott months to install electricity. An electric spotlight is on a tripod behind Abbott in the standing portrait. In the alternate angle you can see a not-to-code wire dangling.

So, who made these portraits? The Keystone France agency was an off-shoot of a popular stereoview company based in Meadville, Pennsylvania, hence "keystone." If you've ever flipped through old stereoviews at a vintage shop, you recognize this brand. The French agency was founded by Alexandre Garai in 1927 (whose brother Bertram started a related Keystone in London in 1914). The Met has one photograph by Alexandre Garai, taken in 1927. The jpeg is tiny, but indicates a modern perspective. While it's possible Garai is the photographer, his brother's ethos seems to have been to be the boss ... and never touch a camera.

The identity could be buried deep in Getty's London warehouse, which stores 80 million photographs and negatives. When these frames were scanned and metadata added to Getty in 2010-2016, if there was a name on the back of the prints, it probably would have been added then.

From the photos themselves, it's difficult to say if Abbott had a rapport or was familiar with the photographer: her default intensity is remarkably consistent her entire life, up until the last portrait of her in 1991.

(left, rue Servandoni 1929, right: Hank O'Neal, Berenice Abbott, Last Portrait, Monson, Maine July 17, 1991)

From the resolution, the depth of field on the lens, these are probably shot with a 4x5 or larger camera. It looks like the photographer shot the lens wide open, the camera in the standing portraits looks very much in focus, while Abbott's face looks slightly out of focus.

Two of the four frames have similar damage, could be a development problem, but could be mold later while in storage. Abbott's Paris portraits of the period were shot on glass (as much of Atget's body of work was), though by the late 1920s glass plates had mostly been replaced by film. Annoyingly, Getty is one of the best places online to see her Paris portraits, but the Steidl book is highly recommended. Seen together, you realize why Man Ray felt threatened, or at least annoyed, by his former assistant.

The photographer was either challenged or in a challenging environment. Abbott was often a withering critic, one can imagine a green photographer shows up to make portraits and encounters a prickly subject. With the seated portrait above, at first glance, I thought maybe the print has a piece torn out of the left side? Or is it a modern lamp intruding on the composition?

It's difficult to tell with the window portrait how much of it is a metering mistake or the potential development issue, but it looks several stops overexposed to be of use in publication of that time. Today, with our phone cameras taking three frames and digitally merging exposure, we can romanticize the top half of her body dissolving into the light is as the "magic of film."

I'm calling this the "last" frame of the session, based only on the fact that her pose and facial expression has shifted from intensity to a mix of boredom and exasperation. The photographer told her to sit on the day bed with tea and a book, "look relaxed," but she wants nothing to do with it.

#berenice abbott #notes

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victusinveritas · 16 days

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Hey that Seinfeld meme you posted where the text over the photo of George has a 9/11 joke? That wasn’t from the show. I’m all for make whatever jokes you want or cover over the text from the actual show but your photo doesn’t show that the original text is covered. It looks like it’s from the show. Seinfeld ended in 1998. 9/11 happened in 2001. Maybe consider deleting or clarifying so people don’t think a show that aired before it happened had a 9/11 joke?

Just to clarify in case folks think Kramer did 9/11 and it's referenced in the show... Kramer did not do 9/11, he's a character on a TV show that was cancelled in 1998--even by 90s meta-sitcom logic, that'd be a bit of a stretch. The images above reference an episode (season 5, episode 14) where Kramer is practicing his golf swing on the beach and happens to hit a ball right into the blowhole of a whale. Later in the episode, George, pretending to be a marine biologist because of a scheme by Jerry to impress a crush (Diane, played by Rosalind Allen, who played Dr. Wendy Smith on seaQuest DSV) has to help save the whale. Michael Richards (the actor who played Kramer) was conveniently across the country shooting the Michael Richards show when 9/11 occurred. Golf balls can't melt steel beams.

However...Michael Richards (the sculptor) was killed in the World Trade Center attacks (his studio was on the 92nd floor of the North Tower. Here's a retrospective of his work and a piece on it from the New York Times.

#michael richards #no not that one #cosmo kramer #seinfeld #9/11 joke #seinfeld meme #bass slap

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blogger360ncislarules · 4 months

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It started and ended with a Big Bang.

Thursday’s Young Sheldon series finale marked the returns of Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik as Drs. Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler. A future-set storyline confirmed that Sheldon has been writing his memoir all of this time — hence Parsons’ role as narrator and Bialik’s periodic interjections throughout the prequel’s 141-episode run.

Sheldon was determined to stay home and keep writing — more on all those office Easter eggs in a moment! — but Amy insisted that he get up and attend their son Leonard’s hockey game. (Leonard plays for the Pasadena Penguins, which tells us that Sheldon and Amy haven’t moved very far from 2311 North Los Robles Ave. in the years since they won their Nobel Prize.)

Big Bang Theory viewers likely clocked about a dozen Easter eggs in Sheldon’s office — including, but not limited to: Sheldon’s Nobel Prize, a framed photo of #Shamy in Stockholm, the DNA model, a Flash mug, a Rubik’s Cube coaster… and the couch from Apt. 4A!

“We should have kept count of how many Easter eggs are actually there and see who could catch them all because there’s a bunch,” executive producer Steve Holland tells TVLine. “There’s the robots boxing painting that hung in the living room… Sheldon’s Gollum statue is on his desk… there’s a little MythBusters bobblehead of Adam Savage that was on his bookshelf on Big Bang Theory….

The biggest Easter egg of all is saved for the series’ very last scene. Upon arriving at the California Institute of Technology, Sheldon is approached by a professor who asks if he’s lost. He’s played by none other than UCLA professor David Saltzberg, an experimental particle physicist who has served as a scientific consultant on both Big Bang and Young Sheldon for a combined 18 years, after he was first hired as a consultant on Big Bang’s unaired 2006 pilot.

In the video, series star Iain Armitage (aka Young Sheldon) talks with TVLine about Parsons and Bialik’s returns and sharing his final scene with Professor Saltzberg. Below, Holland dives even deeper into Sheldon and Amy’s returns and offers an update on the rest of the Big Bang Theory gang.

youtube

TVLINE | What was it like having Jim and Mayim back and getting to write for these characters again? I mean, it was so great to have them back just as people. We spent so many years with Jim and Mayim, and we still see them from time to time and keep in touch. Jim, obviously, works on the show, but we mostly see him on Zoom from New York. On a personal level, just to get to hang out with them in person again was great, and then to watch them step back into these characters was really emotional. I think Jim and Mayim both have said that they were very nervous and that they weren’t sure they could just step right back into [these roles], but it didn’t feel like that from watching them. It was also a difference of going from a multi-cam show [shot in front of a live studio audience] to a single-cam show, and watching them make those adjustments to play it differently. You play everything a little bit smaller, and they just did it so effortlessly. From the outside, just watching them slip back into these characters, felt really great.

TVLINE | I think many fans, myself included, were expecting a fleeting glimpse of Sheldon and Amy — perhaps they’d be saved for the tag scene. I was not expecting to see Jim and Mayim in what felt like a third of the episode! Like you said, people know that they’re going to be in the finale, but is there still a way to surprise people? Maybe most people think that this is going to be a coda at the end, so hopefully cutting to them right off the bat will come as a bit of a surprise. We were also trying to be really careful not to let them overwhelm the finale because, at the end of the day, this was still a Young Sheldon finale and this still had to be about the Cooper family. I feel pretty good about how we struck that balance. It was more than just a cameo, but that the whole episode didn’t revolve around them was important to us.

TVLINE | You revealed in Young Sheldon‘s Season 4 premiere that Sheldon and Amy’s son is named Leonard, after Johnny Galecki’s Leonard Hofstadter. Why didn’t you reveal their daughter’s name in the series finale? You know, we talked about it, but there’s a point of where it starts to feel like a barrage of Easter eggs. We had said the name Leonard before, and it felt like if you were going to say the daughter’s name, it would be weird if it was just Sally, you know? It had to be something, and then it felt like, “Are we learning into Easter egg territory?” We like the fact that like there are a bunch of these Easter eggs on the set that aren’t focused on [in the episode] and hopefully people won’t be so distracted by them that they they don’t pay attention to the scene; you can go back and rewatch it, freeze frame later and see what you can catch.

TVLINE | Sheldon has the couch from Apt. 4A in his office. That feels like a pretty big, potentially distracting Easter egg! The couch we rarely focus on. We thought if it’s too featured, people are gonna be, like, “It’s the couch!” and no one is going to pay attention to what’s going on. We were trying to be very careful about where we put things and keep them in the background.

TVLINE | We establish that Sheldon and Amy have moved out of Apt. 4B and have a house, but they’re still living in Pasadena. But having the couch from Apt. 4A, which stayed with Leonard and Penny once Sheldon moved across the hall with Amy, would seem to indicate that maybe, just maybe, Leonard and Penny have also moved now that they have a kid of their own. In your mind, are the characters from Big Bang — Leonard, Penny, Sheldon, Amy, Howard, Bernadette and Raj — all still close by and in each other’s orbit? I think so. I think they’re still close, and still friends. It was important for us at some point to put in an establishing shot of the house they were in because we wanted to make sure people didn’t think they were still in the apartment. It doesn’t look exactly the same, but it doesn’t look so different that you could not look at it [closely enough] and think that it was just the Big Bang Theory set. It was important for us to let people know that they have a house. They’ve grown up, they’ve moved out of the apartment, and in our minds, a lot of that stuff in Sheldon’s office is stuff that Amy was, like, “Well, you can put that in your office. That’s not going in the rest of the house, but that can go in your office.”

TVLINE | We end with Sheldon’s arrival at Caltech. It’s the first time you have shot on location, outside on campus. How did it feel to be able to shoot there after this combined, 19-season run? It felt amazing. I think the only other time on Big Bang that we went there was once when Stephen Hawking was on the show; we went and shot him in his office at Caltech, but you wouldn’t have known that because it was just inside. This is our first time going on the, on the outside of and we and the Sheldon had gone to visit [in Season 3], and we had seen the cafeteria [set from Big Bang], but to actually go to the campus was great. We talked a lot about who the professor should be that stopped Sheldon and has that last exchange with him, and we realized that other than [series co-creator] Chuck [Lorre] and Jim, [Professor Saltzberg] has been with the character the longest because he worked on the first Big Bang pilot. It felt like a really nice way to recognize David and all that he contributed to both of these shows that he has the last moment there.

TVLINE | Young Sheldon‘s series finale airs Thursday, May 16, 2024, exactly five years to the day that Big Bang ended on Thursday, May 16, 2019. Does it feel like kismet that these two shows get to share a date in TV history? I don’t think I actually realized that it was the same exact date — that it happens to be a Thursday and falls on the same date again. Yeah, that feels… that feels right!

#young sheldon #the big bang theory #Youtube

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creepedverse · 4 months

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whats everyone's living situation?

Tobin and Tali currently live together in a cheap, sketchy apartment in Farnbury. Tali covers rent while Tobin pays the other expenses

scout lives with her mother, across from the high school

Shannon lives in the same apartment complex as Tobin and Tali. She affords everything by her part time job at a Boba store and by working as a seamstress on demand. Fixing clothes, curtains etc.

Bonnie lives with her grandparents at the Honey-Crisp Apple Orchard! It’s probably about 10-20 miles north of Farnbury and 5-10 miles from the forest… her ACTUAL home is back in California though

Dia lives in a small 1 bed and bath house w a fairly nice kitchen and living room on 139 Groveham Ave. Dia also kind of took over an abandoned warehouse and turned it into an art studio that’s also on Groveham but further down the the street. She stocks it w all her art supplies and even has a thrifted couch and mini fridge in there for long nights. But Dia is originally from Michigan, specifically the Detroit area.

Tommie lives in any place he can worm his way into. In a different life, he could have lived very happily in his apartment in Corvallis, Oregon, but in Farnbury, he takes what he can get. Sometimes this means sneaking into the backroom of the diner he works at to get some rest, other times he's broken into Dia's art studio for shelter, and other times he sneaks into the local junkyard, where an old, abandoned camper van puts a roof over his head. Sometimes, when he sleeps there, he has funny dreams about things that have happened in the camper, but he doesn't think much of it.

Arthur camps out! He doesn’t have a permanent residence in Farnbury since he didn’t plan on actually living there long term, so he has set up a little camp in the wilderness. He actually ran into Tommie this way! And ever since then he’s found himself kinda trailing behind wherever he goes. He finagles his way into the camper, and when he can’t get into the camper, he stays in his tent. He also finds himself staying with friends here and there, only if they insist. He feels really bad invading their space so he tries not to! His proper home is back in New York, where he lived with his mother!

Joy owns a simple RV from her parents back in Iowa, although she didn’t exactly take it “legally”. The RV itself now resides in the local junkyard in return, preventing people from stealing vehicles at night. The inside itself has been decorated by her as well with blankets covering the couches and photos hung up, but she still keeps shotgun by her door to chase away people who trespass. One of the windows has been missing since childhood but was converted into a pet door for her raccoon, Gigi. Other than her photos she also has plenty of plants around her RV and inside given her green thumb.

Nico lives in a two bedroom house with her adopted little sister Nero. She bought it off the previous owner, fixed it up all on her own. It's a nice place, Nico's raison detre is beauty and it bleeds into everything she touches, she's decorated all the rooms to her and her sisters' liking. Before she found her sister, though, she was a wanderess. Stayed in motels, rented lodgings, or with her lovers.

#creepedverse #crv #creepypasta au #crv tobin #crv bonnie #crv shannon #answered asks #crv asks #CRV Dia #crv tommie #crv scout #crv joy #crv tali #crv nico #crv arthur #crv map #crv town map #creepypasta oc #cc dia art

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scotianostra · 1 year

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On 17th October 1821 Alexander Gardner, renowned photographer of the American Civil War was born in Paisley.

Gardner became an apprentice jeweller at the age of 14, lasting seven years. He had a Church of Scotland upbringing and was influenced by the work of Robert Owen, Welsh socialist and father of the cooperative movement. By the time he reached adulthood he and his brother James had the idea to create a cooperative in the United States that would incorporate socialist values, they travelled to Iowa with this in mind in 1850, Alexander returned to Scotland to raise money for the project and purchased the Glasgow Sentinel, quickly turning it into the second largest newspaper in the city.

On his return to the United States in 1851, Gardner paid a visit to the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, New York, where he saw the photographs of Mathew Brady for the first time. Shortly afterward, Gardner began reviewing exhibitions of photographs in the Glasgow Sentinel, as well as experimenting with photography on his own.

In 1856, Gardner decided to over permanently to America, eventually settling in New York. He soon found employment with Mathew Brady as a photographer. At first, Gardner specialized in making large photographic prints, called Imperial photographs, but as Brady’s eyesight began to fail, Gardner took on more and more responsibilities. In 1858, Brady put him in charge of the entire gallery.

Two years later, Gardner opened a portrait studio for Brady in Washington, D.C. It was so successful that it helped to support Brady’s more extravagant New York studio.

When the American Civil War erupted in 1861, Gardner assisted Brady in his effort to make a complete photographic record of the conflict. Brady, however, refused to give Gardner public credit for his work. Gardner therefore left Brady in 1863, opened a portrait gallery in Washington, and continued to photograph the hostilities on his own. His photographs President Lincoln on the Battlefield of Antietam as seen in the photos and other portraits of Lincoln are among the best-known photographs of the war period.

Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War, a two-volume collection of 100 original prints, was published in 1866. When Brady petitioned Congress to buy his photographs of the war, Gardner presented a rival petition, claiming that it was he, not Brady, who had originated the idea of providing the nation with a photographic history of the conflict. Congress eventually bought both collections.

In 1867 Gardner became the official photographer for the Union Pacific Railroad. Primarily active in Kansas, he photographed the building of the railroad and the new settlements that grew up near it. He also compiled valuable photographic documentation of the Plains Indians of North America.

Returning to Washington, he gradually lost interest in photography and devoted the rest of his life to philanthropy.

In 1871, Gardner gave up photography entirely to start an insurance company. He lived in Washington until his death in 1882. Regarding his work he said, “It is designed to speak for itself. As mementos of the fearful struggle through which the country has just passed, it is confidently hoped that it will possess an enduring interest.”

The first pic is of Alexander Gardner, next is Ta-Tan-Kah-Sa-Pah (Black Bull) of the Brule-Sioux tribe, North Dakota, President Lincoln on Battle-Field of Antietam and Abraham Lincoln and his son Thomas, then Lewis Payne, one of the men involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and finally the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Bridge across the Kaw River at Lawrence, Kansas, in 1867

#scotland #scottish #USA #photographer #Paisley

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watchmenanon · 2 years

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THE ‘STRANGER THINGS’ BOYS ARE OUR ‘NYLON GUYS’ SEPTEMBER 2017 COVER STARS

If anyone understands the sudden shift from “not fitting in” to “one-million-plus followers,” it’s these guys.

The following feature appears in the September 2017 issue of NYLON Guys.

Finn Wolfhard just couldn’t resist. Despite needing to be camera-ready for his NYLON photo shoot, the 14-year-old star of Stranger Things decided to suck on a blue Warhead anyway, and now he’s paying the price. “All these sets have candy on them, and I can’t help myself. It was a mistake,” he admits, sheepishly trying to scrub the cerulean stain from his tongue with a miniature toothbrush. To his right, Gaten Matarazzo wears a gray T-shirt that reads, uh oh! did my sarcasm hurt your feelings?, a slogan worthy of Dustin Henderson, the lovable wisecracker he plays opposite Wolfhard on the hit Netflix show. Matarazzo, also 14, is getting his trademark tangle of curls straightened, much to the delight of Noah Schnapp, who, at 12, is the youngest in this group of breakout stars that has helped make Stranger Things the most obsessed-over show in Netflix’s boundless roster of original series. Missing is Caleb McLaughlin, the energetic 15-year-old who plays Lucas Sinclair, but he’s on his way over in a black car, having just arrived from Los Angeles, fresh off an appearance at the BET Awards.

It’s the first time the boys have been together in several weeks, and none of them can pinpoint exactly when they were last in the same room. Ever since Stranger Things became a cultural phenomenon last summer, they’ve been swept up in a whirlwind of red carpets, talk shows, and fan conventions. And as the premiere of the sci-fi and horror fantasia’s top-secret second season nears, this summer has been overtaken by a flurry of promotional duties. Next week, while most kids their age are cooling off in pools or testing out the latest in roller coaster technology, Matarazzo and McLaughlin will be at Denver Comic Con, signing autographs and posing for selfies with wide-eyed fans. A few weeks after that, all four will find themselves inside the hallowed Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, where they’ll premiere the thrilling trailer for Season 2 to rapturous applause.

But on this day, even though they’re technically at work, the boys still find time to goof off. They are, after all, best friends—like brothers, even, they say—and there’s a lot of catching up to do, memes to be shared, and jokes to be cracked. “We used to call Noah ‘Señor Biebs,’” Matarazzo offers at one point, due to Schnapp’s Season 1 bowl cut and its resemblance to the former haircut of a certain Canadian pop star. “He hates it!” he says, just before he sticks his finger into Schnapp’s ear (playfully, of course).

Inside the bright and breezy photo studio on Manhattan’s West Side, publicists abound, but because these budding stars are still minors, there are also parents. It’s an unusual sight, and a reminder that despite having very grown-up jobs, they’re still not old enough to drive. Wolfhard, the Vancouver native who plays Mike Wheeler, is here with his father, as is Matarazzo, who hails from Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. Schnapp and his parents came in from Westchester County, north of the city. When McLaughlin, who grew up in Carmel, New York, finally arrives lugging a suitcase that’s almost as big as he is, he’s accompanied by his father, a burly man in an Atlanta Braves cap who goes around the room with his son hugging the other parents, a reminder of how tight the makeshift family has become since this odyssey began more than two years ago.

Stranger Things premiered as an underdog. Its creators, the twin brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, were unproven talents who had previously written for the Fox sci-fi series Wayward Pines. Except for Winona Ryder’s comeback as a grieving mother searching for her missing son, the cast was composed largely of unknowns and newcomers. But thanks to its double dose of supernatural intrigue and a nostalgic ’80s-tinged glow, along with a miraculous performance by a young British actress with a shaved head, Stranger Things quickly commandeered the pop-culture conversation in a way that few shows have done. In July, the show received a staggering 18 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series.

Created by the Duffers in the spirit of the Amblin-era entertainments they were raised on, the eight-episode first season is set in 1983 in Hawkins, Indiana, and unravels the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Will Byers, played by Schnapp, who vanishes in the first episode after an encounter with the show’s resident boogeyman, the otherworldly creature known as the Demogorgon. As Will’s three misfit best friends—Mike, Lucas, and Dustin—embark on a quest to find him, they uncover an alternate dimension they dub The Upside Down, and a sinister government conspiracy that may be responsible for opening it. They also befriend Eleven, the feral girl with telekinetic powers embodied iconically by 13-year-old Millie Bobby Brown.

Stranger Things began filming its second season under very different circumstances than the first. What once felt like a scrappy production free of scrutiny from outside sources suddenly had the mood and atmosphere of a major Hollywood blockbuster. “Netflix knew it would be a good show,” McLaughlin says, “but they didn’t realize how big it would be and that the whole world was going to freak out about it.” Because of that intense interest from both the network and the public, the set suddenly had a noticeable security presence shielding it from nosy onlookers and paparazzi, while network executives showed up to make sure their prized racehorse was galloping along. Suddenly, there were expectations. “We raised the bar pretty high with the first season,” says Matarazzo. “There was a lot more tension on set, in that we really needed to make sure it was good.”

When Season 2 premieres on October 27, a year will have passed since Eleven sacrificed herself to defeat the faceless Demogorgon and save the boys, in the Season 1 finale. Trying to squeeze spoilers out of Wolfhard, McLaughlin, Schnapp, and Matarazzo is useless. Extensive media training, including detailed notes on what they can and can’t discuss, have transformed them into a rare breed: teenagers who can keep a secret. What they can say: Season 2 is bigger, darker, and scarier. There’s also a new character in town, played by Sadie Sink. (According to the Duffers, Millie Bobby Brown was “relieved” to have another girl on set.) “She’s a skater, sort of a punk girl, and she slowly becomes part of the group,” says Wolfhard, who also says his character will be depressed and “a loner” in the wake of Eleven’s disappearance. What they can’t say: pretty much everything else. But it’s not just scoop-hungry journalists who harass them for info. “Whenever you get recognized by fans, most of the time they ask you if you’ve got any spoilers for Season 2, and I’m like, ‘No, none, not at all,’” says Matarazzo. “It’s definitely kind of stressful.”

One of the biggest changes for the new season is the expansion of Schnapp’s screen time. Because his character spends much of the first season trapped in an alternate dimension, Schnapp spent a good deal of time at home in New York while everyone else filmed in Atlanta. “Last year I would drive up to the studio and everyone would be like, ‘Hey, Noah, we’ve missed you! How’ve you been?’” says Schnapp. “This year was a lot easier because last year, I’d have to go in and out of school, and that was hard. This year I could focus.”

Although he’s rescued from The Upside Down, we last saw Schnapp removing a slithery creature from his mouth, a telltale sign that not all is well with Will Byers. For Schnapp, whose character mostly communicated through Christmas lights in Season 1, the new episodes meant new challenges as an actor. “Shawn Levy, one of our directors, was telling me, ‘Noah, you have something really big this season. We have a lot in store for you, and you should get really excited,’” he says. Schnapp felt the added pressure, and would sometimes text his TV mom, Ryder, for extra help with particularly emotional scenes. “We knew we needed a strong actor in case the series moved forward into a second season, because we knew he was going to be a centerpiece,” says Matt Duffer. “We needed not just a good actor, but a really, really good actor.” Schnapp rose to the occasion, according to the Duffers. “Shawn [Levy] was like, ‘We’ve had a Ferrari sitting in the garage all of Season 1, and now the fucking garage doors are open.’”

The Duffers knew that casting child actors, who have a tendency to favor exaggerated performances over naturalistic ones, would make or break their show. “There’s really nothing worse than a bad child performance,” Ross Duffer says. “You couldn’t have any weaknesses, or the eight hours would be excruciating.” Along with their casting director, the Duffers saw what they estimate to be 900 kids, an undertaking they say was easier than it sounds because they could tell within the first few minutes if the actor had what they needed. “You’re looking for something authentic, and most kids don’t have it,” says Ross. “There are the ones that are obviously well-trained, but they feel too Disney, like they’re winking at the camera.” What the Duffers found with their four young male stars were kids who seemed like actual kids.

Matarazzo was the first one cast, his audition so impressive that he found out he got the part on the way back from the airport. “We didn’t really even know who the Dustin character was until we found Gaten,” says Matt Duffer. “He was sort of a generic nerd with glasses. He was a stereotype.” Matarazzo, whose sense of humor inspired the Duffers to transform Dustin into the show’s primary source of comic relief, has grown up with a condition known as cleidocranial dysplasia, which stunts the development of bones and teeth. “We wanted to make a show about outsiders, about kids who didn’t fit in and who were bullied and made fun of,” says Matt. “Gaten was really able to tap into all of that.”

McLaughlin and Matarazzo had known each other from their days as stars in two of Broadway’s biggest shows. Matarazzo portrayed Gavroche in Les Misérables, and McLaughlin played Simba in The Lion King. They’d often see each other in a park frequented by “Broadway kids,” as Matarazzo calls them. “When I found out Caleb had gotten Lucas I was like, ‘Caleb? Where do I know that name from?’” he recalls. Wolfhard and Schnapp established an early connection, too—sort of. “He doesn’t remember me, but I remember him,” Wolfhard says. “Because I asked him what other projects he had done, and he said, ‘I was the voice of Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie.’ I was like, ‘What?! You’re Charlie Brown?’ I was so pysched about that.”

Although they had all crossed paths during the audition process, usually around the hotel pool or at chemistry reads, it wasn’t until they arrived in Atlanta to begin production that all four boys, along with Millie Bobby Brown, found themselves together in the same room for the first time. If there was a first-day-of-school feel, it made sense: They met in a classroom, which is where the young cast of Stranger Things still spend most of their time when they’re not filming. That grueling schedule means the only opportunities they get to really mess around are between takes, and sometimes during them. “We have laughing problems,” says McLaughlin. Matt Duffer elaborates: “We definitely have an issue, where we can’t get through a take without someone busting up. They’re always making each other crack up—the number of takes ruined by laughter is in the hundreds.”

Schnapp was at summer camp when Stranger Things dropped on Netflix. He wasn’t allowed to have his phone, but shortly after the series premiered, one of his counselors happened to check his Instagram account—80,000 followers. The next day it was 85,000. “I was like, ‘Wait, what’s going on?’ I think I was at one follower before that,” Schnapp says. Wolfhard also remembers that odd rush of watching his followers skyrocket and realizing his life was changing right in front of his eyes. McLaughlin felt his anonymity evaporate the first time he was recognized. “In L.A., this kid came up to me and was like, ‘Hey, are you Caleb Reginald McLaughlin?’” he says. “And I’m like, ‘What? You know my middle name? That’s nuts.’”

The connection between the boys is strengthened by the surreal turn their lives have taken, circumstances that most kids their age can’t relate to. When Matarazzo, McLaughlin, and Wolfhard met Barack Obama last October, as guests of the White House’s South by South Lawn festival, the former president, who’s a fan of the show, told them he especially enjoyed their on-screen camaraderie. That bond exists offscreen, too, and has only gotten stronger with every award show and panel. “They really are my best friends,” Matarazzo says. “We can relate to each other a lot more than other people can. People try to understand everything that goes on, but they can’t unless they’ve been there.”

“I don’t think any of the kids would say that our friendship is similar to the friendships they have back home, because it’s not,” says Wolfhard. “No kid has ever really had an experience that I’m experiencing right now—it’s a unique sort of friendship.”

Wolfhard is careful not to bring his work home with him. “If you go home and all you talk about is acting, then you’re a douchebag,” he says. “Your friends don’t want to hear about your professional life, they just want to mess around.” Plus, when you’re 14 years old, talking about work is never cool, even if it involves facing off against a faceless interdimensional demon. The boys are also learning that with a great number of Instagram followers comes great responsibility. “We have to be more cautious with what we say on social media and in public,” says McLaughlin, who was shocked to lose followers after he openly rooted for the Golden State Warriors during the NBA playoffs.

While Netflix has yet to make an official announcement, a third season of Stranger Things is a given, meaning the boys are all but guaranteed to live out their teenage years on one of the most popular shows on television. The Duffers, then, will have to follow in the footsteps of long-running properties like Game of Thrones and the Harry Potter franchise in making sure their child actors don’t grow up faster than their characters. “It’s terrifying,” Matt Duffer says. “I shouldn’t even be highlighting this, but if you watch Season 2, they’ve grown from Episode 1 to Episode 9. I’m terrified one of them is going to have a major growth spurt basically in the middle of shooting. But as long as they’re growing outside of the course of our shooting, I’m not too worried about it, because we just have to build it into our story. As much as you would like to keep some of it more continuous, every time we take a break between seasons, we have to make a year time jump at least.”

All four actors say that they want to remain in show business into adulthood. Wolfhard, who obsessively studies the filmmaking process while on set—he’ll star in the remake of Stephen King’s It, in theaters this month—is eyeing a multihyphenate career as a director, actor, and musician. Back at the photo shoot, Matarazzo and Schnapp gather around his iPhone to watch a video Wolfhard co-directed for a friend’s band, Spendtime Palace. Earlier this year, McLaughlin, who is a trained dancer, played a young Ricky Bell on the BET miniseries The New Edition Story, an experience he describes as “historic.” Matarazzo wants to continue acting, but not forever, and is keeping an open mind about other aspects of the industry. Schnapp, who took his first acting class at the age of six, describes winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series as one of the greatest moments of his life, and is doing exactly what he wants. (The boys, who describe the awards as “very heavy,” keep them in their bedrooms, except for Matarazzo, who has been meaning to retrieve his from his grandparents’ house. )

“They all love what they’re doing,” says Matt Duffer. “They love coming to set, they love working, they love acting. In terms of the fame thing, it’s a side effect that I think some of them are more into than others. You’re worried about, ‘What if they realize this isn’t their true passion?’ They’re so young. But this year those fears went away. They’re all very committed to this. That’s the important thing, that they enjoy what they’re doing. And that they’re passionate about it.”

#noah schnapp #will byers #finn wolfhard #mike wheeler #caleb mclaughlin #lucas sinclair #gaten matarazzo #dustin henderson #st articles #byler #<target audience

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thebowerypresents · 7 months

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Mitski – Kings Theatre – February 26, 2024

Mitski remains as candid and terrific as ever on her seventh studio album, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We. The LP dropped last fall to universal praise and having launched a North American tour in support of it a month ago, the talented singer-songwriter rolled into New York City for a weeklong residency last Wednesday. And after four shows at the Beacon Theatre, on Monday, Mitski kicked off a three-night run at Kings Theatre.

(Mitski plays Kings Theatre again tonight and tomorrow.)

Photos courtesy of DeShaun Craddock | dac.photography

@deshaunicus

#Bowery Presents #Brooklyn #DeShaun Craddock #Flatbush #Kings Theatre #Live Music #Mitski #Music #New York City #Photos #The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

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tctteredwings · 1 year

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if you’re hearing VOGUE by MADONNA playing, you have to know NATHAN YOUNG (HE/HIM; CIS MAN) is near by! the FORTY-ONE year old PHOTOGRAPHER has been in denver for, like, NINE YEARS. they’re known to be quite COCKY, but being FREETHINKING seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that they resemble RYAN GOSLING. personally, i’d love to know more about them seeing as how they’ve got those DESK FULL OF EMPTY COFFEE CUPS, A CONSTANTLY BUZZING CELLPHONE, A PLAYFUL SMILE AND A WINK vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around the RIVER NORTH ART DISTRICT long enough!

tw: adultery

ABOUT.

Name: Nathan Young Nicknames: Nate Age: Forty-one Date of Birth: 5th November 1981 Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, USA Current Location: Denver, Colorado, USA Occupation: Photographer Romantic/sexual orientation: Biromantic/bisexual

Nathan was born in Greenwich Village to Enid and Marc . They were big in the community, always doing charity work and volunteering. His father even ran for major at one point. He was expected to get involved, too, but he really wasn’t interested.

All he wanted was to take photos, so at 16 he got a part time job at Starbucks and bought all the equipment his parents refused to. The rest was history as they say.

Eventually drifted away from his parents, the relationship with his younger sisters also suffering as a result.

In his senior year he came out as bisexual and dated a guy from the hockey team for a little over six months, up until college pulled them apart anyway.

The New York Film Academy was his chosen college. He briefly dabbled in movies, but in the end decided to stick with photography, landing an internship at a major fashion magazine shadowing one of the photographers as soon as he graduated.

He worked his way up the ladder, starting with fetching coffee, basically doing everybody else's shit. It took a couple of years, but in the end he got where he wanted, finding himself being headhunted for Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair.

At 24 he met his soon to be wife on a shoot, she was pretty new, majorly awkward and he fell for her in a big way.

It was proper whirlwind romance, in the space of a year and a half they were married and had a child. Within a couple more years their family of three became four... and then there was the dogs, too. Three of them in total. Fluffy Pomeranian's his wife was obsessed with. They set up home in the Upper East Side and could haven’t have been happier.

Up until Nathan cheated on her anyway.

Flirty in nature he was always chatting people up, just a way to get people to ‘fall in love with him’ for the benefit of the camera, but six years after he first got married, things went a little too far.

He confessed straight away and within a year they were divorced, his wife granted full custody of the children.

Deciding on a fresh start, he up and moved to Denver, setting up his own studio in the city a year later.

His daughters are Lyndsey ( 16 ) and Jessica ( 14 ), who he sees during the holidays for the most part now, the pair coming to stay in Denver with him ever since.

He’s still a flirt, something that will never change, but he’s failing pretty dramatically at getting back on the dating scene. His job is his life now, though, and a lot of his time is dedicated to that and spending time in his studio.

TIMELINE.

1984: Manhattan, New York 2005: Manhattan/Los Angeles 2014: Denver, CO

HEADCANONS.

Despite his protests in the debate over whether to get a dog or not with his ex-wife, he’s found he’s actually quite fond of them now. After spending six years having miniature breeds yapping at his heels, he chose to adopt a Doberman within a couple of months of moving to Denver.

Nathan is a keen reader and considers himself a bookworm. It’s a little known fact about him, but he adores the classics, and his favourite book is War and Peace. One day he hopes to write something himself, although knows it will probably only end up being a photography book or a pictorial of his years taking photos.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

- two younger sisters; their relationship was strained when they were younger, but I imagine it’s something that’s improved over the years. - ex-wife; they were together around 7 & a half years. a proper whirlwind romance that ended in disaster. - ‘the fling’; the person he cheated on his wife with. it would have been in la in 2013 with someone who works/worked in the arts industry. ( I’ve always head-canoned that they were male, but it’s not set in stone. ) - exes pre-2008; anyone he dated in nyc (possibly la for v.short term things too) before meeting his wife at 24. - failed dates since arriving in denver; he’s been on numerous & they’ve mostly been a disaster. - one night stands; before & after the wife. - people he’s photographed; either for a magazine in the past or since setting up his studio in the city. - jogging buddies; he jogs every day, so I imagine there’s a couple of people he chooses to go with. - good friends; those he’s close to and spends most of his time with. - confidant/closest friend; someone he can talk to about anything and always come to when there’s a problem. - fellow book nerds; he’s big on reading, so just people he can enthuse about literature with. - bar buddies; those he frequents the bars with.

#chq;intro #✧ nathan ( about )

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thebirdandthebee · 2 years

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Easy As

A Carmen Berzatto Universe

Vanessa Monaghan is the breath of fresh air that Carmen had been gasping for.

Page 3: Irish Spring

Carmen looked around, feeling a bit hopeless as he scanned his small, River North apartment. When he moved home, a studio alcove seemed perfect, but now, with Vanessa visiting his place for the first time, he really wished he had sprung for a proper one bedroom.

It wasn’t completely terrible, but it didn’t quite look like someone lived there – rather, someone who visited from time to time. The only thing he had hung up on the walls were a few photos from his film camera in the kitchen and a Chicago skyline print his mom gave him when he moved to New York.

Now, it just seemed silly in his Chicago apartment.

The apartment wasn’t messy, but it was kind of sad. Two stacked boxes as a nightstand with a bottle of Pepto and a bottle of Advil on top. He quickly grabbed both, tossing them into the bathroom medicine cabinet. His bed was neatly made and his clothes were clean and hung up in the appropriate places. Carmen even lint-rolled the rug beneath his bed (seeing as he didn’t own a vacuum).

The couch was ugly but comfortable and if nothing else, he had a TV. He placed two coasters on the wooden coffee table and lit the one candle he’d ever owned to sit in the middle. It was a gift from Sugar three years ago. At least he was really getting her money’s worth.

The intercom buzzed in the entryway, nearly sending him through the roof.

“Who is it?” He asked, holding the reply back.

“Hi, I’m here for the bachelor party?” She teased. He punched the unlock button, letting her into the building. Thankfully the elevator was working that day and she won’t need to climb the four floors of stairs that usually smelled like mildew.

Carm had been to Vanessa’s apartment several times. On their fourth date she invited him over under the guise of helping her hang some frames but also ordered in his favorite Thai takeout and they watched a few episodes of The Great British Bake Off.

While Carmen was mostly a frugal man and he had nothing be ashamed about financially, he knew Vanessa had money. Her high-rise apartment with a doorman and cararra marble bathrooms said a lot. But she wasn’t stuffy, she didn’t flash money and frankly, she didn’t care whether or not Carmen did.

“It’s my Dad’s money,” she insisted one morning as they woke up together at her place. “Sure, it makes me feel safe, but it’s not mine.”

So even though she insisted it was not important to her, he really wished he had spent a little more time making his place a home.

Carmen collected himself as he heard her knuckles rap on his front door. Swinging it open, her presence calmed him as she smiled widely.

“I hope it’s okay I took some liberties with the pizza selection,” she said, holding up two boxes in her hand with a familiar tote draped over her other shoulder. She stepped inside and he was happy to relieve her of her cargo, holding the boxes in front of him as he leaned forward to kiss her over top. “You like pineapple, right?” She asked, laughing earnestly as she watched his expression drop.

“Very funny, very funny,” he shook his head. She followed him into the kitchenette after dropping her back in an unoccupied corner. As Carmen grabbed napkins, she hopped up on the formica countertop.

“I don’t have a table to sit at,” He murmured, coming to stand between her legs as he flipped open the boxes atop the gas range beside her.

“Good, I’ve been sitting at a desk all day,” she said, tipping her face down to kiss him again. “You smell amazing,” she sighed, slanting her mouth over his more deeply. His hands came up to rest on her thighs, sliding around to squeeze the small of her back.

“Are you sure it’s not the pizza?” He mumbled.

“It might be the pizza,” she agreed, laughing as he landed a loud smack against her ass. “Gimme,” she mumbled, reaching down to grab a big piece of thin-crust margherita. “How was your day?” She asked, tipping her head back and taking as much of the piece into her mouth as possible, groaning at the taste.

“Good,” Carm said, pressing his hips against the counter and grabbing his own slice. “New HVAC is all installed, next week we’ve got the window guy coming in and new furniture should be arriving by Tuesday.”

“That’s exciting!” She grinned, “is the team ready?” She asked.

“The team is excited for the two weeks off ahead of opening,” he laughed. “T’s gonna take her kid down to Florida, Richie’s taking his daughter on a weekend trip,” he rattled off.

“That makes her, what? Your second cousin? First cousin once removed?” She asked, tilting her head.

Carm looked up at Vanessa, unable to stop himself from swiping a small bit of sauce from the corner of her mouth.

“You know Richie and I aren’t actually cousins, right?” He asked, smirking softly.

“What! How would I know that?!” She laughed, “I’ve exclusively heard you two call each other ‘cousin’ for the past five months!”

“I know, I know,” he ducked his head, laughing. “I never explained,” he grinned, rocking to the side as she punched him in the shoulder. “We aren’t related, but he’s family,” was the best explanation he could give. “Shit this is good pizza,” he commented, flipping the lid of the box back down, but only seeing a generic checker print. “Where’s it from?” He asked.

“Secret,” she grinned. “Can’t give all my spots up yet.” Carmen rolled his eyes, taking another big bite.

“So you got a margherita and an all-meat?” He asked, barely swallowing, “covering your bases?”

“I like marg,” she said, taking another bite and pulling a long string of mozzarella away from her face, “and meat for you.”

“What made you pick that?” He asked, very pleased with her selection.

“You’re a meaty boy,” she shrugged, picking up the open glass bottle of Coke next to her.

“I’m a meaty boy?” He asked with a smirk. Vanessa wiped her hands on a paper towel before sliding her hands from the top of his shoulders, squeezing down his biceps and up his chest again.

“Meaty,” she sighed, laughing as he rolled his eyes. “I know you’re watching that protein intake.” She added, making him shake his head. They finished up their slices, and as they agreed to move to the couch, she grabbed her tote again, ready to get out of her work clothes. Carm spread out on the couch after lighting his singular candle, watching her shuffle through her stuff.

“Can I borrow some sweats?” She asked, padding over to his second-hand Ikea dresser.

“What’s mine is yours,” he insisted, watching as she pulled open a drawer, immediately finding a pair of grey Hanes. He watched as she shimmied out of her tailored suit pants, revealing a black thong that instantly made his skin simmer. Tossing the pants on his bed, she double-backed to the dresser, pulling open the top drawer to grab a pair of his tube socks.

“Jackpot,” she grinned, balancing on one foot to pull one sock on after the other. Carmen tracked her movements carefully, eyes trailing up her tan legs to the curve of her ass. Pulling on the sweatpants, she rolled over the waistband a few times and pulled the cord to try and get them to keep from slinking down her frame.

Next, she reached into her bag, pulling out a long-sleeve navy Henley. With her back turned to Carmen, she peeled her work blouse over her head, tossing it on the bed before unhooking her bra and throwing it down as well.

“I think the whole building across the street can see your tits,” Carmen commented.

“Well, lucky them,” she looked at him over her shoulder with a wicked little grin. “They’re nice tits.”

Pulling on her top, she turned back to the living space and dropped her bag down in yet another unoccupied space.

“This too casual?” She asked, shrugging up her shoulders with her hands out by her sides.

“You’re fucking perfect,” Carmen replied earnestly, “get over here.” Vanessa happily sprung over, crawling on top of Carmen and wiggling her body between his legs to rest on his chest. He yelped as she sunk her teeth into his chest.

“Meaty,” she commented. Carmen slid his hand down her back, beneath the waistband of his sweatpants and rest his cold fingers on her warm cheek. “What are you going to do with your two weeks off, huh?” she asked.

“I won’t get as much time as everyone else,” he added, “I’ll take five days.”

“I have a proposition for you,” she smiled.

“Please, proposition me,” he replied.

“I just signed a new client at work - the Four Seasons downtown,” she said, resting her chin on his chest. “And they gifted me two free nights of my choice – full access to the spa, gym, restaurants – everything for free.” She explained. “Any chance you wanna spend 48 hours in a plush bathrobe with me?” She asked.

“That sounds a lot better than what I was planning,” he said, impressed.

“Mm, two days with you all to myself,” she grinned. “Just think of the trouble we could get up to.” She nuzzled her face into his neck and he gave her a tender squeeze, reaching up to toss a throw blanket over them. “God you smell so good, I’m not kidding.” She sighed, “what soap do you use?” She asked, holding back on her deep desire to sink her teeth right into his neck.

“Really expensive, really exclusive,” he tilted his head back, not minding her assault in the least. “It’s called Irish Spring – it’s not sold everywhere.”

“You’re such a little shit,” she laughed, shaking her head, but pressing herself as close to him as she physically could. “Next time I’m putting pineapple on your pizza.”

“Joke’s on you,” he murmured. “I’ll eat anything.”

#carmen berzatto smut #carmen berzatto #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x you #carmen berzatto x ofc #carmy smut #carmy fluff #carmy the bear #carmy berzatto #carmy x oc #carmy #carmy x reader #the bear hulu #the bear

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phanfictioncatalogue · 2 years

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Super Long Fics (5) Masterlist

part one, part two, part three, part four

A Rose of Winter (ao3) - Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)

Summary: All Daniel wanted to do was escape the stifling life as a Stark of Winterfell and travel the world. Between the looming threat North of The Wall and the den of lions in the capital, he unexpectedly finds love in the midst of a war set to tear Westeros apart. Caught between loyalty to his family and duty, he is torn in a thousand directions that all point to one man: Philip Flowers.

A Stolen Ring (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan’s not normal. Why?

He's not human, he has a mysterious ring, and he hates Phil Lester. They have a strange past, one filled with bullying and avoidance, but when Dan turns into an incubus, everything changes. He struggles with his identity and cries himself to sleep most nights, yearning to be normal. And somehow the universe makes it worse by bringing him and Phil together - in the most literal sense.

Advent Calendar 2020 (ao3) - Phantje

Summary: Dan is a single father to his son Mes. When Mes does not go to Dan's best friend Meggie's nursery, he tags along to Dan's photography studio. With Mes, the studio, and his film-review-blog, Dan is certainly busy, and yet finds time to be a little lonely - he is skilled like that. Dan's life seems to suddenly start spinning when he rescues a client from a malicious photo booth.

Phil is the co-founder of the IRL store, but wants to start working to meet new people and to fill his days. That has nothing to do whatsoever with him pining after the mysterious blogger, and he isn't even really all that lonely, actually.

Phil starts working at a nursery, makes a new friend, and gets more than he bargained for in falling in love with the photographer.

Advent Calendar 2021 (ao3) - Phantje

Summary: Phil lives and works in a town in the North called Lylchester. Well, 'works'. He does charitable things in the name of being nice and his (adoptive) parents. Things are fine. Yeah. Fine. Meeting Dan who has strong opinions about peculiar things shakes up Phil's life and he is falling before he can help it.

Dan lives and works somewhere, or anywhere really. By fate, or call it the British Railway train running times, he ends up in Lylchester. Before he can help himself, he has made the first real best friend he has ever had - Beatrix. And suddenly, life does not seem so difficult anymore. Dan appreciates the work he can do, even if it has him interact with the rich idiot Phil more often that he would personally choose.

An Angel in a Leather Jacket (ao3) - bakingphaninmymind

Summary: An argument starts it all. Hell comes after for Dan Howell, the school pastel boy. He only wanted to help, but got backstabbed in the end. From a safe position in the school hierarchy, Dan is up to neck in an affair he never had and starts finding threats in his locker. He needs someone on his side if he wants to make it to the end of high school. A mysterious punk boy promises him protection. The condition Dan needs to meet, though, is far from normal.

Aria in the Snow (ao3) - Eavans

Summary: If you asked most people of Daniel J. Howell’s lot in life, they’d tell you it was pretty good. A small career writing for a fashionable magazine, the heir to one of New York’s most prestigious hotels, the convenience of youth and an ailing millionaire father… what more could an 18-year-old ask for?

So when a night at the symphony turns into the start of a whole new double life in the city’s queer underworld, the heir to New York’s most fashionable hotel will have to learn what is what when you're dating a cabaret singer, and who is who when that singer becomes a troubled star.

So it’s nothing but fate to blame when things start to fall apart. The catch? It’s the last half of the 1920s—

And this romance is illegal.

Better Than Me (ao3) - floofdjh

Summary: Dan Howell is a camboy. At only eighteen, he’s already become popular on many websites and has been involved with a magazine. Desiring for someone to trust to create his darkest fantasies with, he downloads Tinder, where he meets the sweetest man alive. But surely this man could find someone better than Dan, couldn’t he?

Broke, Gay and New in Town (ao3) - natigail

Summary: Dan Howell was in dire need for a change - he hated his job and his life and he just felt stuck. His grandfather's letter was a blessing that came with an incredible gift: A farm. Dan had no idea how to run a farm but he was willing to give it a try.

He arrived in Stardew Valley with few expectations but even so, he could never have imagined he would encounter magic, otherworldly creatures, corporate conspiracies, so many queer villagers, a secret destiny and right at the centre of it all the love of his life.

Butterfly (ao3) - A_Million_Regrets

Summary: Phil Lester, a lonely writer, finds a dying boy with beautiful black wings on a cold, rainy night in a dingy alleyway. He recognizes the boy as one of the winged men hated by human society. They are considered to be wild, ferocious beasts, but Phil's sympathy forces him to help the boy.

What happens when the boy, considered to be a wild beast, gets too attached and follows him home with an innocent, dimpled smile?

dancing on the blades (you set my heart on fire) (ao3) - kishere

Summary: Dan Howell is an ice skater in England, a non power player in the world of competitive ice skating. Phil Lester is the greatest ice skater to come out of England in the past decade, part of a family legacy. When Dan is offered a spot at Phil's family gym, he learns what he was missing the most to be the best ice skater he could be.

Or: the yuri on ice inspired au

Desires (ao3) - A_Million_Regrets

Summary: What would you do if you were suddenly hauled from your inauspicious life and dumped into an unforeseen catastrophe with your worst enemy?

Dan Howell and Phil Lester completely and utterly hate each other. They fight every time they meet, and all of their friends are tired of it. But one day, these two hot-headed, reckless men stumble through a secret passage in a mysterious old house and wake up on a strange island uninhabited by other intelligent life forms. They only have each other and no way to escape. Will they fight to death, or will they learn to trust each other in a world where no one else exists? Can they put aside their mutual hatred for each other to survive this misfortune?

finding light in the dark places. (ao3) - commonemergency

Summary: They’re all connected in some way. All have their own stories to tell. If Dan were a better person he’d get to know them more but he always feels like something is holding him back. So they just continue to work in each others spaces, creating things out of dough and making better things with icing. Donna’s slogan is that everything was made with love but he thinks that’s just because she made this thing—they’re just the hands that give it out to other people. One day, Dan thinks, he’ll hope to feel that passionate about something again. Or a story about grief and loss, found family, donuts, and first love.

Hate Me Closer (Phan) (ao3) - MySecretsX

Summary: Two boys, Dan and Phil, are both from reasonably different backgrounds. Dan's an English scholar from a lower-class family, whereas Phil's parents paid his way into the school with no trouble. But, they'd probably find they weren't so different if they gave each other a chance.

Auburn Independent School for Boys has eight houses, totalling 128 students per year. It's not an easy life for Dan or Phil, but sometimes there's fortune even in the worst of events. It just takes some wits to see it, and maybe a love interest or two.

home is where the heart is (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: 16 year old Daniel Howell had always felt out of place in his dad's fancy apartment or under the Singaporean sun. Life was not bad, but being the son of a British expatriate banker divorcee with commitment issues meant that there was never a home.

Inspired by the only constant in his life, a similar aged British youtuber by the name of Phil Lester, Dan decides to move to his supposed homeland Britain on a whim, in the hopes of escaping his bubble of isolation, and maybe find the place where he truly belonged.

Somehow Dan lands himself in one of the few notorious all boys boarding schools in Britain, one that has bizarre traditions, vicious inter-house competition and way too many attractive boys; and a roommate who had been Dan's best friend all along, even if Phil Lester hadn't known it.

Dan finally found home.

If You Don't Love Me, Pretend (ao3) - phantasticworks

Summary: All his life, Dan has wanted to have the chance to be a parent someday. He would be the best parent that ever existed, he was sure of it. Fostering might not be the most traditional way on the road to parenting, but Dan's dead set on doing it anyway. But, well, it would be easier with a co-parent, right?

the bed-sharing, fake relationship, friends-to-lovers, parent fic i was desperate to read; when i shouted into the void and was met with silence, i decided i'd do it myself

linger on (ao3) - dizzy, waveydnp

Summary: A recent loss has ground Phil's life to a halt. At 33, he's static in his grief and living in the house he grew up in - until his mother kicks him out.

In a fit of indignation and with nothing to lose, he answers the first listing he finds for a room to rent in London... a listing posted by a guy named Dan.

Love Me Further (Phan) (ao3) - MySecretsX

Summary: Sequel to Hate Me Closer.

With achieving dreams comes sacrifice; and working out if those debts were ever worth it. While in Auburn Independent School for Boys, Dan and Phil signed their decision away and believed that was the last. However, sometimes paths cross again and you have to remember to notice them when they do.

meet me at red dragon (ao3) - watergator

Summary: phil lester is a single 31 year old with a wild eight year old, ethan. dan howell is single 27 year old with a quiet five year old, noah.

when they meet at their son's swim lessons, for some reason phil can't get the pretty brown eyed stranger out of his head.

Monochrome (ao3) - intoapuddle

Summary: When you build your life out of fear that your mental illness could worsen, it leaves little room for excitement. Luckily, Dan has found a space online where he feels comfortable.

on the run (ao3) - possessivepml

Summary: 'Innocence swam in those eyes of dark brown-rather ironic, to some people. But to me, it made perfect sense.'

Play Upon Me Like This Piano (ao3) - Elleberquist6

Summary: In many ways, Phil's life is perfect: he loves his life in London, he has a wonderful brother and parents, and he has a great job as a radio DJ for BBC Radio One. There's only one thing missing in his life... A rumor reaches an executive at the BBC about a talented local piano player named Daniel. The executive decides that Daniel would be the perfect guest on Phil's radio show, so she sends Phil to speak with the evasive and mysterious piano player. When they finally meet, Phil starts to think that he has found the person who will make his life complete. Unfortunately, Dan has a secret that will make getting close to him difficult.

Strictly Come Dancing but make it GAY (ao3) - natigail

Summary: @danielhowell: maybe i’d actually consider doing @bbcstrictly if they allowed same-sex couples. who wouldn’t want a sexy man spinning you around? it’s not just a girl’s dream. c'mon people let's see some pretty and fierce girls pair up and handsome and strong boys get it on. i dare you.

Dan Howell calls Strictly out on Twitter for not allowing any same-sex couples and accidentally volunteers himself to be one of the contestants if they were to change that. It was a joke. It had so clearly been a joke. Why did they take him up on it?! He’s sure he’ll trip over his own feet and hate every second, but then he meets his partner, the endearingly clumsy dancer Phil Lester.

strangers (ao3) - waveydnp

Summary: dan is new to london and living in a mostly empty flat, desperate to forget the mistakes of his past. he's all alone -- until one day he gets a piece of mail addressed to someone in the neighbouring flat, one mr. philip lester. he can't exactly not return it, can he?

strike a deal, kiss my lips (ao3) - natigail

Summary: Witches were the only magical beings capable of binding and controlling demons. It required a complicated ritual and crazy amounts of magic.

It happening on accident was practically unheard of until Phil came along and got tangled up with a snarky and dangerous demon named Dan. Suddenly bound together, Phil must grapple with control over a chaotic demon that wants to strip the skin from his bones.

And maybe strip the clothes off of his body as well.

Sugar Daddy, Sugar Baby (ao3) - Spring_Haze

Summary: Dan Howell is a nineteen-year-old student who is going though the motions. He seeks guidance and companionship, finding it unexpectedly in Phil Lester, a millionaire filmmaker who happens to be seeking companionship and partnership. The two men enter into a consentual sugar relationship agreement that, over time, becomes much, much, more than paper.

The Era of the Wingless Angel (ao3) - americanphancakes

Summary: The man, the myth, the legend! Singer-Songwriter Dan Howell is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his debut with a tell-all interview. How did his father’s departure from his life affect his songwriting? Why did his marriage to his background dancer fail? And are he and producer Phil Lester romantically involved? Tune in to find out.

too far to walk alone (ao3) - chickenfree

Summary: “The hazelnut stracciatella,” he says, as always. They might or might not have a bet in the shop about whether he’ll ever vary.

too high (can't come down) (ao3) - danfanciesphil (thejigsawtimess)

Summary: Suspending himself 7,000 feet above the rest of the world seems likely to be a sure-fire way for Dan to escape normality, and isolate himself for the foreseeable future. The Secret of the Alps, a small hotel tucked into the side of the Swiss mountains is too niche for most avid adventurers to have heard of, making it the perfect place for Dan to work as he sorts through his problems. Unfortunately, privacy is a coveted thing, and as Dan soon finds out, the hotel harbours one guest who values it more than most.

(when you gonna realise) it was just that the time was wrong (ao3) - The_Blonde

Summary: "His notebook is divided into five columns, as much as he can remember. I’m with Dan. I’m not with Dan. Dan is far away from me. I love him, but I shouldn’t. I love him, but I can’t. Dan Howell; an impossible boy turning up in all variations of impossible dreams. The whole reason. The loss of something that you never quite found in the first place."

Or: Phil works in a coffee shop. Or at an animal sanctuary. Or at a university. Maybe he's a Youtuber. Maybe he runs an editing firm. Sometimes he's in the 1920s. In all of these places he has dreams. In all of these places he is in love with Dan. It's just trying to work out which time is the right one.

#phanfictioncatalogue #phan #phanfic #dan and phil #phanfiction #masterlists #super long fics #super long #super long masterlist #super long fics masterlist

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qnewsau · 15 days

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Deadloch season two is filming in the NT and Brisbane

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/deadloch-season-two-is-filming-in-the-nt-and-brisbane/

Deadloch season two is filming in the NT and Brisbane

Aussie crime comedy series Deadloch has headed north for season two, filming in the Northern Territory and Brisbane.

Amazon Prime Video has confirmed that filming is now underway on the new season around the Northern Territory, before the production relocates to Brisbane in a few weeks.

The crime comedy series was created and written by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan and was initially set in Tasmania.

Prime Video shared a cast photo taken in the NT, out the front of the show’s fictional Barra Creek Tavern.

Soon, Deadloch will continue production at the Screen Queensland studios in Hemmant and on the Brisbane River.

Season two has out actors Kate Box and Madeleine Sami reprising their roles as detectives Dulcie Collins and Eddie Redcliffe.

This time, Dulcie and Eddie head to Darwin to investigate the death of Eddie’s former policing partner, Bushy.

“When the body of a Top End icon is discovered in a remote town, they are flung into a new sweatier, stickier investigation,” a synopsis teases.

‘Exceptional cast of actors, dogs and crocodiles’

Also returning are Deadloch actors Nina Oyama, who plays police officer Abby Matsuda, and Alicia Gardiner, Dulcie’s sweet-natured wife, Cath York.

Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan said, “We are so excited to be bringing the second season of Deadloch to life in beautiful Garramilla/Darwin.

“We’re beyond thrilled to be working with this exceptional crew and cast of actors, dogs and crocodiles.”

The first series of Deadloch expertly blended comedy and crime drama. The show reached Prime Video’s Top 10 in more than 165 countries, including the US, UK, and Canada.

Deadloch won five AACTA awards earlier this year, and got three Logie nominations.

For the latest LGBTIQA+��Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

#Queer TV

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spacenutspod · 1 month

Link

Earth Observer Earth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam More Archives 9 min read Looking Back on Looking Up: The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Credit: NASA’s Glenn Research Center (GRC) Introduction First as a bite, then a half Moon, until crescent-shaped shadows dance through the leaves and the temperature begins to drop – a total solar eclipse can be felt growing in the atmosphere. As the sky darkens in the few minutes before totality, the sounds of animals begin to dissipate along with the vibrancy of red and orange hues, and we enter the mesopic zone, or twilight vision. All is quiet in these cold, silvery-blue moments, until the Moon lines up perfectly with the Sun from our viewpoint on Earth – an odd quirk of the Moon–Earth system, and an occurrence that does not exist elsewhere in the solar system. Millions of people gazed up at the sky on April 8, 2024, as a total solar eclipse darkened the skies across a thin ribbon of North America – spanning Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada – see Figure 1. Figure 1. A total solar eclipse was visible along a narrow track stretching from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024. A partial eclipse was visible throughout all 48 contiguous U.S. states. Figure credit: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio A pearly, iridescent halo lined the perimeter of the Moon as it crossed in front of the Sun, revealing the Sun’s corona – see Photo 1. Solar prominences – bright features made of plasma flowing outwards through tangled structures of magnetic fields along the Sun’s surface – were observable as reddish-pink dots rising from the edges of the eclipsed Sun – see Photo 2. Photo 1. The moment of totality in Cleveland, OH. Photo credit: NASA’s Glenn Research Center (GRC) Photo 2. Solar prominence [lower right of the solar disc] seen during totality in Cleveland, OH. Photo credit: GRC Snapshots of NASA Science Outreach Along the Path of Totality Over 400 NASA staff took up positions along the path of totality, hosting various events to engage the public in outreach activities spanning the scope of NASA Science. NASA staff hosted 14 “SunSpot” locations across 7 states (Texas, Arkansas, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maine), including 224 NASA engagement and Science Activation events. As an example, Zoe Jenkins [NASA Headquarters/Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Federal—Graphic Designer] was stationed in Maine to view the eclipse –see Photos 3–4. More information about events at these SunSpots is available at the eclipse website. The Science Activation Program furthered NASA’s message, reaching all 50 states through public events by sharing information and providing professional development programming for educators. (To learn more about NASA’s Science Activation Program, see NASA Earth Science and Education Update: Introducing the Science Activation Program, The Earth Observer, 35:6, 6–12.) Photo 3. NASA Eclipse celebration at the SunSpot in Houlton, ME. Photo credit: Zoe Jenkins/NASA Headquarters (HQ)/Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Federal Photo 4. View of the black hole of the Moon’s shadow over the Sun during totality in Houlton, ME. Photo credit: Zoe Jenkins Among the SunSpot locations across the path of totality, NASA’s Science Support Office (SSO) staffed events at two of them: in Cleveland, OH and Kerrville, TX. The Great Lakes Science Center and its two partners – NASA’s Glenn Research Center (GRC) and the Cleveland Orchestra – presented “Total Eclipse Fest 2024,” a three-day celestial celebration at North Coast Harbor in downtown Cleveland beginning April 6 and culminating on the day of the eclipse. The event included free concerts, performances, speakers, and hands-on science activities. At the heart of the festival was the “NASA Village,” an immersive experience featuring the agency’s major missions and projects aimed at advancing space exploration and revolutionizing air travel. Figure 2 shows the location of each outreach tent in the village, while Figure 3 provides descriptions of each activity. More than 36,000 attendees visited the NASA village over the three-day event. Exhibits focused on innovations in aeronautics, space, solar, and lunar science, and best practices for ensuring a safe solar eclipse viewing experience. Through virtual and augmented simulations, attendees had the opportunity to take a supersonic flight, walk on Mars, and visit the International Space Station. Attendees of all ages participated in hands-on activities and talked to NASA scientists and engineers about their work and how to join the NASA team. Attendees could also walk through Journey to Tomorrow, a traveling exhibit complete with interactive English and Spanish-language content, and see an Apollo-era Moon rock. Visitors also explored large-scale, inflatable displays of the X-59 plane designed to quiet supersonic air travel, the Space Launch System rocket slated to take the first woman and person of color to the Moon, and a Mars habitat concept. Throughout the NASA Village, attendees could take advantage of several photo opportunities, including iconic NASA cutouts and displays. NASA also hosted astronaut autograph signing sessions, as well as special guest “meet and greets.” Figure 2. Map of the “NASA Village” at the Eclipse festival in Cleveland, OH, hosted by GRC. See Figure 3 for activity descriptions. Figure credit: GRC Figure 3. Descriptions of each outreach activity stationed at individual tents within the NASA Village over the three-day festival. See Figure 2 for map. Figure credit: GRC A View of the Eclipse from Cleveland In Cleveland, the eclipse began at 1:59 PM EDT, with totality spanning 3:13–3:17 PM. The eclipse concluded at 4:28 PM. SSO staff supported total eclipse outreach from April 5–9, specifically engaging attendees at the Solar Science tent within the NASA Village and providing information about eclipse safety and heliophysics, and handing out items such as the NASA Science calendar, NASA tote bags, and other outreach materials. SSO also supported a NASA photo booth with eclipse-themed props and took hundreds of souvenir photos for visitors to remember their time at the festival – see Photos 5–9. Photo 5. SSO staff member Dalia Kirshenblat [NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)/Global Science and Technology Inc.(GST)] handed out NASA Science calendars, eclipse glasses, posters, and other NASA outreach materials. The materials informed attendees about eclipse viewing safety and shared NASA science, engaging in topics that explained how eclipses occur. Photo credit: GRC Photo 6. Jack Kaye [NASA HQ—Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division (ESD)] hands out eclipse posters and other outreach materials to attendees at Eclipse Fest 2024. Photo credit: GRC Photo 7. Steve Graham [GSFC/GST], Dalia Kirshenblat, and Danielle Kirshenblat [Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)] pose with NASA SSO photo booth props at Eclipse Fest 2024. SSO staff took hundreds of pictures of visitors with the photo booth props as keepsakes. Photo credit: NASA Photo 8. Dalia Kirshenblat and Danielle Kirshenblat watching the eclipse begin in Cleveland, OH, at approximately 2:00 PM EDT. Photo credit: NASA Photo 9. Steve Graham, Dalia Kirshenblat, Danielle Kirshenblat, and other Eclipse Fest attendees gaze at the celestial show unfolding above them as totality begins in Cleveland, OH, at approximately 3:13 PM EDT. Photo credit: Danielle Kirshenblat Eclipse Engagement in Texas In addition to the Cleveland eclipse festival, SSO staff members supported total eclipse engagement in Kerrville, TX, from April 5–9, including several small events at Cailloux Theatre, Doyle Community Center, Trailhead Garden, and Kerrville-Schreiner Park leading up to the eclipse. (While a bit more remote than Cleveland, Kerville was chosen as a SunSpot location during the total eclipse because it was also in the path of the October 2023 annular eclipse, NASA had outreach activities in Kerville for that eclipse as well). The events culminated on April 8 at Louise Hays Park. NASA’s impact on the community was wide-reaching, engaging approximately 4000 individual interactions with community members and visitors. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and appreciative. On April 8, SSO provided astronaut handler support for NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman – who will command the Artemis II Moon mission – during a “photos with an astronaut” session. SSO staff also escorted Wiseman to and from a main stage speaking engagement and the NASA broadcast engagement – see Photos 10–13. Photo 10. Ellen Gray [GSFC/KBR—Senior Outreach Specialist] engaging attendees in Kerrville, TX with various NASA Science outreach materials. Photo credit: NASA Photo 11. NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman poses with a potential future astronaut and attendee at the Eclipse event in Kerrville, TX. Photo credit: NASA Photo 12. Astronaut Reid Wiseman speaks at a NASA broadcast in Kerrville, TX. Photo credit: NASA Photo 13. [left to right] Nicola Fox [NASA HQ—Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD)], Alex Lockwood [NASA HQ—Strategic Engagement Lead], and Astronaut Reid Wiseman. Photo credit: NASA NASA Science Engagement Across the Agency As millions gazed at totality from the ground, NASA was conducting science from the skies. Atmospheric Perturbations around the Eclipse Path (APEP), a NASA sounding rocket mission, launched three rockets from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to study how the sudden dip in sunlight that occurs during an eclipse affects the upper atmosphere. Each rocket deployed four scientific instruments that measured changes in electric and magnetic fields, density, and temperature – see Photo 14. Photo 14. The Atmospheric Perturbations launched around the Eclipse Period (APEP) sounding rocket during the total eclipse on April. This photo shows the third APEP sounding rocket – launched during the October 2023 annular eclipse – leaving the launchpad. Photo credit: WSMR Army Photo As part of the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, student teams constructed hundreds of balloons and launched them during the eclipse, encouraging students to consider careers in the STEM workforce. Also, two WB-57 aircraft carried instruments to further extend scientific observations made during the eclipse. By taking images above Earth’s atmosphere, scientists were able to see new details of structures in the middle and lower corona. The observations – taken with a camera that images in infrared and visible light at high resolution and high speed – could improve our understanding of the dust ring around the Sun and help search for asteroids that may orbit near the Sun. The WB-57 flights also carried instruments to learn more about the temperature and chemical composition of the corona and coronal mass ejections – or large bursts of solar material. By flying these instruments on a WB-57, the scientists extended their time in the Moon’s shadow by over two minutes from what could be achieved using ground-based observations. A third experiment used an ionosonde to study the ionosphere – the charged layer of Earth’s upper atmosphere. The device functions like a simple radar, sending out high frequency radio signals and listening for their echo rebounding off the ionosphere. The echoes allow researchers to measure how the ionosphere’s charge changed during the eclipse – see Photo 15. Photo 15. Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the NASA WB-57 aircraft on April 8, 2024 at Ellington Field in Houston, TX. Photo credit: NASA/James Blair The eclipse also provided an opportunity for the public to contribute to the NASA Citizen Science program – a project called Eclipse Soundscapes reached over 900 people during their training programs to prepare for the eclipse. Over 36,000 individual citizen scientists contributed more than 60,000 data submissions across the eclipse path, recording the reactions of wildlife before, during, and after this celestial event. As part of NASA’s Heliophysics Big Year to celebrate the Sun, NASA played a key role in enabling safe participation as well as working with new-to-NASA audiences. NASA’s Science Mission Directorate ordered and distributed 2.05 million eclipse glasses across the country, with distribution locations including K–12 schools, libraries, minority-serving institutions, community events, museums, partner organizations, underserved communities, science centers, and NASA personnel. As of April 8, Science Activation reached over 2000 educators across the country through programming designed to prepare educators for the eclipse and provide them with educational resources to train students in STEM. NASA broadcasted a livestream of engagement events on NASA+, the NASA App, NASA.gov, and NASA social media channels. By 4:30 PM EDT, NASA’s websites spiked (e.g., nasa.gov, science.nasa.gov, plus.nasa.gov, and ciencia.nasa.gov) with nearly 28.9 million views and 15.6 million unique visitors. At its peak, 1,458,212 people watched the eclipse broadcast live, experiencing the eclipse together through the eyes of NASA. Total viewership as of 4:30 PM EDT was 13,511,924. NASA’s Office of Communications Engagement Division organized at least 17 in-person and digital partner interactions, including several Major League Baseball games, Google eclipse safety Doodle and search effect, coverage of NASA on NASDAQ’s screen in Times Square, a solar songs request weekend on Third Rock Radio, and a Snoopy visit to the Cleveland sunspot. Several partners also interacted on social media, including Barbie, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Snoopy, LEGO, and other partner accounts. Conclusion The 2024 total eclipse brought joy and awe to millions, inspiring so many to look up, be curious about the natural world around them, and explore the sky. The next total solar eclipse will occur in 2026 and will be visible in Spain, a small area of Portugal, as well as Iceland, Greenland, and Russia. We won’t see another total eclipse in the U.S. until 2044. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Movie. Timelapse of the eclipse’s totality in Cleveland, OH. Video credit: Danielle Kirshenblat Dalia Kirshenblat NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Global Science and Technology, [email protected] Share Details Last Updated Aug 22, 2024 Related Terms Earth Science

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alltheflair · 3 months

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Behind The Lens: Ferns Francois

Imagery: Matteo Valente

Ferns Francois, who has lived in Lynn for 33 years, is a local business owner and community leader who was recognized as Local Black Excellence by the North Shore Juneteenth Association in February.

“I pride myself on speaking on behalf of the people who most need it. The children of immigrants, immigrants that need asylum, immigrants that need jobs, need a safe place to raise their family, the homeless, that’s what I’m proud of,” Francois told The Item at the association’s Local Black Excellence event in February. “Black people always need a platform… Sometimes we have to make platforms, we have to create space because we have to represent ourselves.”

Francois came to Lynn in 1990 at the age of 4 with his parents. More than 30 years later, he is raising a family of his own in the city with his wife, Danielle Francois, as they welcomed a baby boy in 2023. Not only do the couple make time to take care of their growing infant — they also make time to take care of their growing photography business.

For the past five years, Ferns and Danielle have worked together in the fields of photography and filmmaking, which eventually led them to open up their own business, Francois Studios, just two years ago. From that point on, the couple has produced work displaying the beauty and art of people and life. The studio offers a range of services that can cater to a variety of different events, branding, headshots, engagement, boudoir, and even filmmaking services including music videos, Instagram reels, and more.

Ferns is also no stranger to the other side of the camera. Since 2013, the photographer has modeled for an agency, Maggie Inc. Through the agency, he had booked gigs for brands such as Puma, Converse, Reebok, and New Balance. Advertisements featuring him have been on buildings and companies’ social-media platforms. As of late, he has put his modeling on hold to raise his son and focus on the business full time.

GETTING STARTED

Francois came to Lynn in 1990 at the age of 4 with his parents. One thing Ferns loves to do is travel. His adventures are documented on Travel Bugsss, an Instagram account he shares with his wife. The account features them traveling to places such as Italy, Thailand, London, and New York and capturing their time spent at these locations. That’s where the journey to Francois Studios took off.

“My wife and I wanted to travel, and for us it was a new adventure that we were going into together. I had done some traveling with family, but this was an us thing, so immediately I wanted to document it,” Ferns said. “iPhones and Instagram were already a thing at the time, so I decided to buy a camera. I invested in my first camera, which was a Canon Rebel 26, and that started our joint journey into photography. We really couldn’t put it down.”

More than 30 years later, he is raising a family of his own in the city with his wife, Danielle Francois, as they welcomed a baby boy in 2023. Not only do the couple make time to take care of their growing infant — they also make time to take care of their growing photography business.

HONING HIS CRAFT

Ferns said that he has always had an interest in photography, adding that his mom was one of the reasons he got interested in the first place. His dad had recording equipment such as camcorders, and his mom adopted that interest. A Sony Minicam was one of the cameras that she owned and he would take that when he went on vacation. With these things around him, he found a way to utilize them and eventually started to refine his craft.

“You probably don’t remember the square or rectangular Sony cameras. They were always available at Best Buy for $400 or something like that. They were about 10 megapixels, and this was before the smartphone and so it could fit in your pocket,” Ferns recalled. “So I would take them to clubs, to friends’ events, and I had a friend who had a wedding when I was about 20 and I took photos not thinking I was gonna be a photographer, but something I picked up just because it was there. Eventually people start asking you, ‘Hey, can you do this for me?’”

HIS INFLUENCES

When asked about photographers that he admires, there were two who came to Ferns’ mind.

“My Tom Bradys or Michael Jordans are James Felix and Prince Meyson. If my work were at that level, I’d be good,” Ferns said. “(Felix’s) work now is more risque, it’s in the boudoir realm. It’s not even so much the content for me, it’s the lighting and the finishing. It’s got this warmth, and it’s very consistent. He uses sunlight a lot. I think he’s somewhere… like Arizona, so he gets tons of sun. It’s that golden hour kind of sun and he uses it to his advantage. The photos are just dreamy and warm. I don’t mind modifiers, you can do so many creative things with them, but shooting in natural light and having a beautiful product in my mind is every photographer’s dream. Prince Meyson is one I watch on YouTube. His work is so great, and he also gives great tutorials. I’ve learned a lot from his work, and his tutorials.”

Local artists inspire him as well. He mentioned that he sees a lot of them on his timeline and respects the work they put out.

“We’re all doing something similar, but also taking very different approaches to it,” Ferns said.

FAVORITE SUBJECT MATTER

“If I boil it down to where I’m having the most fun, it’s probably fun events,” Ferns said, describing his favorite subject to photograph.

“Capturing beautiful candid moments for me is the most satisfying.”

His appreciation for fashion shoots doesn’t go unnoticed either.

“Sure, when I’m doing fashion and I get a great edit that I’m really proud of, if the client is also very proud of it, I get a kick out of that. But that’s a longer payoff. That payoff comes way at the end, when you deliver the final image,” Ferns said.

Capturing candid moments that will live on forever in people’s lives is also something Ferns is keen on.

With a laugh, Ferns went on to share some moments that made him jubilant.

“I’ve caught some crazy stuff on camera. You know how some friends will have some unique daps, I’ve seen people with unique dances. I’m like, ‘You greet each other that way? That’s so dope!’” he said.

THE MAN ON THE WALL

If you’re not familiar with Ferns , or Francois Studios’ work, perhaps you’ve seen him in Downtown Lynn. If you’ve driven, or walked by, 23 Central Ave. in the last four years, you’ve most likely seen a larger-than-life mural of a man painted on the side of the building. Who is that man? Ferns himself. It is one of many murals around the city that were created through a collaboration between Beyond Walls and a group of artists found locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Although humbled and honored, he said he finds it to be a difficult thing to embrace all the time.

“I’ve seen Lynn go from a bit of a slum. It really earned its reputation ‘Lynn, Lynn, city of sin.’ Drug busts every month on the street over from me starting from 1997 to 2003. On our street police routinely, every two hours, would patrol that zone, they had to. I’ve seen it go from that to what it is today, which is a thriving community, both in its people and its economy. Education is still faltering, but everywhere else I’ve seen vast improvements, and I’m very proud of that,” Ferns said. “Lynn is somewhere to be proud of. The strides they’ve made, the people that live here, this is where I’m from.”

Feeling inspired and invigorated, Ferns wanted to get more involved in the community. Using their travel vlog brand, Ferns and Danielle talked about Beyond Walls and what they’ve been doing for the community. They then created a video displaying where the new murals would be for a festival. Beyond Walls caught wind of the video and loved it, establishing a friendly business relationship with Francois Studios. Beyond Walls played a big role in Francois Studios becoming a profitable business. It was the studio’s first big client, even though it is a nonprofit.

“He is committed to painting someone local to the community that brought him in,” Ferns said about Smug. “He brings in his immense talent and he honors someone within that community.”

When it came down to choosing who to paint for his mural in Lynn, Ferns was one of the names that came to mind.

“Fate had it, when he was doing research about Lynn after they made contact with him, he came upon one of the videos I made on behalf of Beyond Walls. Before he even got on a plane to come over here, he was already acquainted with me, with my work. Then he asked Beyond Walls, ‘Who should I consider?’ and I’m one of the names they put forth. I guess it was so serendipitous to him that he was like, ‘This has got to be the guy, right?’” Ferns said.

He went on to say that he knows there are people who do not agree with the decision.

“I don’t want to make that mural just about me. I don’t post about it all the time, sometimes I will repost it when people post it because I am grateful and I want to share his work and I want to honor his work and the work Beyond Walls has done, but it’s definitely a point of contention for me because I don’t wanna come across as arrogant because I’m on a mural. I’m not that person. I’m just someone who’s extremely proud of Lynn, Massachusetts who hadn’t been in the past, and wants to be a part of its resurrection, or its revolution,” he said.

KIDS WITH A VISION

Through LEAP for Education, which Ferns was referred to by John Andrews at Creative Collective, Ferns was brought in to speak and present to Marshall Middle School’s photography class. The goals of his visit were to inspire the kids, to educate them on the potential pitfalls of owning a photography business, and to show them pathways for success.

“Kids really are the future. I wish I could give back more, so why not give back to kids who are interested in a field that I’m pretty good at,” Ferns said.

He spent the class providing his expertise, answering questions, giving some guidance, and taking interest in the students’ work.

“Some of their work was pretty awesome, and I’m glad they were proud to share it with me,” he said.

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