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d-noona · 3 years ago

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The Playboy Assignment

Summary:

Persuading a millionaire to part with a fortune seemed like mission impossible. Especially as the man in question turned out to be Min Yoongi - April's first love.

Eight years ago, Yoongi had stormed out of her life, believing she was having another man's baby. Convincing him otherwise, whilst sweet-talking him into helping a worthy cause, would be tricky. Even more so when he insisted negotiations take place in the bedroom! Suddenly, April was struggling to remember that the playboy assignment was business not pleasure!

Min Yoongi x Original Character

MASTERLIST

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

The sent of freshly made coffee filled the small café, and April paused in the doorway for a second to breathe her fill of the rich aroma. But one of her partners was already waiting in the back booth reserved for their staff meeting every Monday morning, so April strolled down the length of the long, narrow room and sat across from Seokjin. She winced at the hardness of the green vinyl bench. "I'm either going to have to start carrying along a cushion or convince the management to redecorate."

Seokjin folded his newspaper and laid it aside. "The cushion would be easier. This place has looked the same as long as I can remember. So unless you're looking for a challenge-"

"Any reason I shouldn't be?" April poured herself a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table.

"Only that redecorating isn't really a matter of public relations." Seokjin replied.

April squirmed on the bench. "I don't know about that. My particular segment of the public would have a lot better relations with the management if-"

"And we've already got plenty of regular business to tend to. Which forces me to point out that you're late." Seokjin's tone was matter-of-fact, without a hint of reproach or irritation.

April reached automatically for the pendant watch which dangled from a very heavy chain around her neck, "Five minutes," she said. "And I'd have been smack on time if there hadn't been a bake sale going on outside the high school I walked past."

Seokjin showed a faint interest. "At this hour on Monday morning?"

"Incredible isn't it? I thought any teenager who was enterprising enough to be selling brownies this early deserved my support." She pulled a paper bag from her briefcase and waved it under Seokjin's nose. "So I bought both fudge and chocolate chip cookies - But you can't have any until breakfast."

The waitress set an omelette in front of Seokjin and grinned at April. "What will it be this morning April?"

"Just a raspberry Danish, No hurry."

Seokjin picked up his fork. "Better make it bacon and eggs instead of more sugar, or you'll be bouncing off the walls by noon. Not that you don't most of the time, anyway."

"I didn't buy THAT much fudge." there was no defensiveness in April's tone; Seokjin's comment was too near truth to allow room for resentment. Of the three partners in BigHit Public Relations, Seokjin was the practical manager, Danie was the get-it-done-whatever-it-takes-sort, and April was the visionary, never short of idea. The fact that nine out of ten of those ideas went nowhere had ceased to bother her - because the tenth was always her winner.

Of course, that had been true all her life. For every good plan she'd come up with April Park had managed to find nine bad ones. Or sometimes, she though dryly, an idea so far beyond bad that it was worth nine all by itself. That whole thing with Yoongi. And that, April told herself, was enough of that.

Yoongi and the last of her disasters were eight years long in the past, and there was no point in rehashing the circumstances. The important thing was with two down-to-earth partners to keep her anchored to reality, her wilder ideas were squashed before they could get into trouble. Thinking of the partnership reminder her of the empty place where the third member of the triangle usually sat. "Tell me again when Danie's going back?"

"She said she was only taking two weeks off." Seokjin responds while stuffing a spoonful of egg in his mouth.

April raised her eyebrows. "You sound a little doubtful. Have you ever known Danie not to keep her word?"

"She's never been on a honeymoon before." Seokjin smirks.

"That's true." April admired the smooth glaze surface of her raspberry Danish. She was just about to take her first bite when a photograph in the newspaper Seokjin tossed aside caught her eye and made her forget about everything else. "What's Bang Si-Hyuk doing in the press?" She put the Danish down and reached for the paper. "Namjoon will be furious if he called in the media himself instead of letting the museum squeeze all the mileage we can out of the announcement..." her voice trailed off as she saw the headline.

Bang Si-Hyuk, industrialist, dies suddenly. The announcement was cool and dispassionate. Even the headline was discreet black type, not the sort which blared from the page. If it hadn't been for the photograph - outdated by at least twenty years but still unmistakably Si-Hyuk, with the enormous nose which hadn't changed an iota with age - she'd missed the story altogether.

"He can't die." April said flatly.

Seokjin glanced at the page. "Well I doubt the tribune published his obituary as a practical joke, why can't he die anyway? At seventy-eight, I'd say the man has a right."

"Because he hasn't rewritten his damned will yet? That's why! At least, he hadn't the last time I talked to Joon."

Seokjin nodded wisely. "I'd already gathered this is the millionaire art collector you've been dangling after for months."

"I wouldn't call it dangling, exactly," April objected.

Seokjin raised an eyebrow at April "The one who was so sensitive about causing speculations that you couldn't even tell Danie and me exactly who he was."

"It's not that I didn't trust you," April pointed out. "Joon was afraid if there was talk -"

"-That the mysterious collector wouldn't donate his pretty picture to Namjoon's museum after all." Seokjin flat out cuts off April.

"They're not pretty pictures." April saw the gleam of humor spring to life in Seokjin's dark handsome eyes, and she wanted to bite off her tongue. "Wait a second. Let me rephrase that."

Seokjin was hooting with delight. "Oh, All right," April admitted. "Some of them - most of the modern art pieces, in fact, are about as far from pretty as it's possible to get. What I meant was they're more than just random painting. It's a major collection, and it would mean the earth to the Moonchild Museum."

"Plus putting a finger in the eye of all the other places who'd like to have it?" says Seokjin.

"Seoul is a big city," April said stubbornly "Why shouldn't it have another big art museum?" Her Danish had cooled, and the raspberry filling had congealed. She pushed the plate aside. "Of course, it has a moot point now, unless Si-Hyuk signed a new will since I talked to Namjoon. He might have had time, I suppose, but -"

Seokjin sighed. "All right, I know better than to think your mind will settle in the week's work schedule until after you've found out what's going on at your precious museum." April jumped up and gathered her purse and briefcase. "Seokjin, thanks a million! You really are the anchor that keeps Bighit from drifting off, you know."

"Cut out the poetic language and just go," Seokjin said tartly. "Before I change my mind."

April grinned and flung an arm around Seokjin's broad shoulder for a quick hug. Seokjin shrugged her off, but he was smiling. "Keep me posted, okay?"

April feigned a look of shock at her co-worker slash best friend. "But of course. After all the Moonchild is Bighit's client - not just mine." she hurried out to the street before Seokjin could return an acid answer.

Morning rush in Seoul was no time to be hailing a cab, but today she was lucky. The taxi was going the wrong direction, but that was a minor problem; the cabbie screeched tp a halt in the traffic lane and April darted across the street and flung herself into the back seat. "The Moonchild Museum," she gasped, "and hurry."

Horns honked behind them, and the cab screeched off, flinging April against the seat.

"You want me to make an illegal U-Turn, of can I take a minute to go around the block?" asked the cabbie dryly. "What's the rush anyway? That place don't open till 10."

"I know." April sighs.

The cab driver muttered, "People watch way too much movies these days. that's the trouble. Somebody's always shouting "Follow that car" - and thinking he's a comedian."

April smothered a smile and refused to let herself be drawn into a discussion. Instead she stared out the window at the streets of Seoul as the cab sped down Han River. Despite the hour several people were already at the area, their bright smiles in the early morning breeze. The cab turned toward downtown, and soon they were in the worst of the morning rush, fighting their way block b block between the skyscrapers, through the dark cold caverns where sunshine fell. It was several weeks yet till summer officially arrived, but some of these streets would still feel chilly.

Finally the cab swerved almost onto the sidewalk in front of the converted warehouse where the Moonchild Museum had found a home. At street level were retails shops; on the upper floors were small apartments, and the Moonchild was sandwiched in between. This years goal would raise enough funds to improve access for the handicapped; April's proposal for organizing the appeal was lying on her desk. The Moonchild Museum, named for the frontier fort which occupied what later became the city of Seoul had been one of BigHit's first clients. In fact, the tiny public relations firm and the struggling museum had come to life at about the same time, both bravely taking on the challenge of competing with far larger and more established organizations.

Perhaps the similarity was the reason April had so quickly taken the Moonchild to her heart. At any rate, Danie and Seokjin had been delighted to leave the museum to her as April was to take it on.

For three years now, she'd work with the staff which actually meant, of course that she worked with Kim Namjoon, the young director. And she'd been as thrilled as anyone when Namjoon had first made contact with Si-Hyuk and learned that the old man was considering the future of the collection he'd so painstakingly built. April paid the cab driver and walked around the warehouse to the unmarked back entrance. She pressed the intercom button and gave her name, and a moment later a buzzer sounder and the lock was released. She frowned a little as she climbed the narrow steps to the museum floor, wondering if Namjoon had considered adding security. Though the Moonchild present collection wasn't shabby, it also wasn't the sort to draw the attention of thieves. But the Bang Si-Hyuk pieces would be different...if, of course, the Moonchild ever got them.

Namjoon was in his office, a small shabby, industrial green room to one side of the stairwell, and the moment April saw him she knew she didn't have to be the one to break the news. His brown hair, normally so neat, was wildly disarranged. Even more than unusual, his tie was at an angle, and the collar of his shirt curled up at the back.

"You look almost like one of your artist friends." she dropped into the rickety chair beside his desk. "The Bohemian kind who think that even owning a mirror is narcissistic."

Namjoon's hand went automatically to his hair, even as he said "That's not funny April."

"I know, I saw the newspaper." she hesitated. "It was a shock to you, too, obviously."

"Shock is hardly the word. Nuclear attack is more like it." Namjoon sank into his chair and rubbed his temples. April's heart dropped to her toes. "He hadn't finished the will?"

Namjoon shook his head. "If I only pushed a little harder! He was talking about the details last week when I saw him, and if I'd urged him to stop talking and get on with it-"

"If you pressed he might've backed out all together Joon."

"I suppose so. But if I could have just made him see that the fine points could be adjusted anytime-"

April had stopped listening. The fact that they had lost the collection was settling cold and hard in the pit of her stomach. Only now that the prize had been snatched away did she realize how much she had come to count on it. For months she'd been tentatively making her plans around the Bang collection. The announcement would be the boost to public recognition of the museum. The visitor list would increase dramatically, and fund-raising would be a snap. Of course, she admitted, not all of her motives were so entirely selfless as those. The renown would be her job instantly easier. And part of the glory of the museum's success would reflect on BigHit, and therefore on April...

She sighed. "Back to the drawing board," she thought.

"It was odd," Namjoon said. "The way Si-Hyuk was behaving last week, I mean. I didn't realize it at the time, but-"

"Maybe he was already feeling ill?" April asks.

"No, that's not it at all. It was like he was teasing me, holding something back."

Possible, April thought. It was equally possible that Namjoon's perceptions were colored by twenty-twenty hindsight. "Si-Hyuk was a world class wheeler and dealer. Perhaps he wanted you to offer him something else? Something extra, in return for the collection?"

"Then why didn't he just ask? Anyway, what else could he have wanted?"

April shrugged. "More power to influence the museum's future, perhaps."

"We'd already offered him a seat on the board."

"I know. Or maybe he was just playing out the game, for the fun of it and the attention it got him. He certainly liked having everybody dancing attendance on him." as April pulls out her fudge brownies and chews on them while she hands some over to Namjoon. Namjoon rejects then sighs. "And he waited just a little too long to get down to business?"

Suddenly Namjoon's face brightened. "You don't suppose Si-Hyuk made that will anyway, do you? Maybe he didn't tell me because he didn't want the attention to stop."

April had her doubts, but this was the first positive note Namjoon had expressed and she thought it was hardly the time to discourage him. At any rate, before she'd gathered her thoughts , he'd picked up the phone and was fumbling through his desk. "Si-Hyuk's attorney - what was his name? I've got his card in here somewhere..."

The business card he eventually produced had once been crisp and elegant, April was certain. Now it was dog-eared, the edges frayed and the type rubbed and blurred but not so damaged that Namjoon couldn't read the phone number. "I don't think he can tell you anything," she said as he dialed. "What a client puts in his will is a confidential matter."

"I'm not going to ask whether what's in his will, just whether Si-Hyuk made any changes recently.: He spoke into the phone "Kim Namjoon calling for Mr. Jung Hoseok, please."

The way Namjoon's voice deepened whenever he wanted to impress someone had never failed to amuse April. She wondered if Namjoon knew what he was doing. Probably not, she decided; the habit could well be so ingrained he was no longer aware of it. As Namjoon asked his question, he began to tap his pencil on his desk blotter at even intervals, and by the time he put the phone down the steady rhythm had almost driven April mad. She took one look at his his glum face and forgot the tapping. "I told you he wouldn't answer the question."

"Oh, he answered." Namjoon tossed the pen aside. "Si-Hyuk hasn't changed his will in years."

April sighed. "I guess that's that."

"Unless he went to some other attorney, of course."

"Come on, Joon - how likely is that? Maybe we should look on the positive side of this whole thing." April tried to laugh, with little success. "With all those valuable paintings, and the publicity we expected to get, security would have become a massive problem. We'd have been begging for handouts in the streets just to pay the guards."

Namjoon didn't hesitate. "We wouldn't have any trouble fund-raising for security."

Didn't the man have any sense of humor? April thought to herself. "Okay, so it was a bad joke. But you may as well accept the facts."

"And if things had gone right we wouldn't have had to worry securing this place at all."

April frowned. "What does that mean?"

"I shouldn't have said anything." Namjoon looked a bit shamefaced, "But oh- what difference does it make now? I'd hope that Si-Hyuk would give his house to the museum too."

April had never seen Si-Hyuk's home, but Namjoon had told her about the huge old mansion Si-Hyuk has. "And move the present collection there?" she shook her head. "It certainly makes our current troubles with access for the handicapped look like peanuts."

Namjoon dismissed the problem with a wave of the hand. "Si-Hyuk installed an elevator just last year."

April rolled her eyes. At least, she thought, that harebrained scheme would never have gone along with it. On second thought, however, she realized that there was a method in Namjoon's madness. In fact, the idea made a sort of sense. In its downtown location, the Moonchild would always be just one among Seoul's prominent art museums. But in the suburbs, it would stand alone, surrounded not by competition but by middle - higher class families with time and money for cultural activities - not only visits but art classes, lectures, tours...Possibilities poured through her mind.

"Well why not?" Namjoon said defensively. "It's not as if Si-Hyuk had a family to leave it to? Besides, his pictures were the most important thing in his life. Why not leave them in the setting he created for them?"

Reluctantly, she pushed the stream of ideas aside. It was too late for them. And too late, April thought, for sympathy to do Namjoon any good either. She said, finally, "What about the funeral? Shall we go together?" For a moment she wasn't certain whether Namjoon hadn't heard her of if he intended to refuse. Then he gave a harsh bark of laughter. "Oh, why not?" he said. "Doesn't every fisherman like to get a last glimpse of the one that got away?"

April was on her mobile when Seokjin tapped at her office door and put his head in. April beckoned him in and said, "Yes, Mrs. Kang, I know exactly how disappointed you are. I've found, however -"

Seokjin sat on the edge of a chintz-covered chair, looking half afraid that the deep, soft cushions would drag him down like an undertow. Funny, April thought, with half her mind still on Mrs. Kang, how different the partners were. Seokjin could sit like that, hands folded like the CEO of a big corporation, for hours. Danie, if forced to wait, would probably have reorganized the bookshelves. April would have flung herself on the overstuffed plaid couch and at least pretended to take a nap.

Finally she soothed he client into hanging up, and rubbed her ear as she put her phone down. "Some day," she said, "I'm going to try to hang up the phone and discover that I can't because it's melted into my ear and become a part of me." She looked longingly at the couch, but she knew better than to chance wrinkling her skirt. Linen -even black linen - showed every crease.

Seokjin smiled in sympathy. "Janna told she'd put through calls from every single member of the Moonchild's board of directors today."

"Oh she has. I can't decide whether to thank her for being such an efficient secretary, or yell at her for exactly the same reason." April's voice was dry. "Thank God that was the last of them, at least for this round."

"What's on their minds? Or did they all know about Si-Hyuk" Jin asks.

"No. Not by name, at least. But the news seems to have leaked just this morning that all hope of getting the collection has gone up to smoke, and every person who isn't running for cover is making threats instead."

Seokjin's eyebrow rose a fraction. "What kind of threats?"

"Oh, the usual noises about hiring a new director." April waved a hand. "I think I got most of the feathers soothed. Eventually they'll realize it wasn't Namjoon's fault - and also they can't hire anyone else for what they're paying him - and everybody will be back on good terms. What's up, Jin?"

"Namjoon, actually. Janna sent me up to tell you that he's waiting downstairs."

April stood up, smoothed her skirt, and slipped her black jacker on over her white snowy blouse. "Good. I mean, I'm not looking forward to Si-Hyuk's funeral, but it's better than dealing with the phone." She picked up her wide-brimmed black hat and glanced in the mirror mounted on the back of her office door.

"I know, that's why Janna asked me to come up and tell you - because she didn't want to break into your call." Seokjin paused in the doorway. "You and Namjoon look like a matched set, by the way, except you don't have a black tie and he wouldn't look nearly as good as you do in that hat."

April paused as she adjusted her hat. "You're sure it isn't a little over the top? I don't want to look like a professional mourner. But I did like the old man, and as a mark of respect..."

"You look great," Seokjin said. "If I weren't swamped with work I would have accompanied you, but work beckons and if I could wear a hat with that kind of dash, I'd never take it off."

April smiled in spite of herself. "They really get in the way when it comes to being kissed you know."

"Just as I said - I'd never take if off." Seokjin grinned and started up the stairs toward the top floor production room.

"If you stopped being picky, Jin, you'd have lines of women wanting to kiss you!"

Seokjin didn't even pause. "Really? Well, since I don't have the time for that sort of nonsense, and I'm perfectly handsome and happy by myself, I'll DEFINITELY have to look for a hat."

April made a face on her partner's back and turned toward the staircase to the main floor. Namjoon was standing in the receptionist's office, hands clasped behind his back, shifting his weight from toes to heels and back again. He was staring at the framed posted which hung near Janna's desk, but April doubted he'd even seen it, or hear her come in. She was wrong on both counts.

Namjoon stepped back from the poster and said, "I could get you something really nice to hang there."

"On BigHit's decorating budget? I doubt it." She let her gaze run over him. In his dark suit he looked really nice. He was six feet taller or so at least, even when April was wearing her heels she seemed small. She noticed his tie wasn't black it was charcoal. Seokjin had been wrong. But he'd been correct about the rest. They couldn't have matched more perfectly if they'd been dressed by a single designer. Janna, she noticed, she looked impressed.

Namjoon had a tiny sports car in front of BigHit's converted brownstone. He helped April into the passenger seat, and she tried to keep her skirt from sliding impossibly high.

"At least it's a pretty day," she said as he got behind the wheel. "I wondered why the services where delayed so long, but it worked out beautifully, didn't it? After the rain yesterday and the day before-"

Why was she babbling? The urge to talk simply to fill the silence was a sensation she'd never felt with Namjoon before, and it took April by surprise. Theirs had always been an easy and professional relationship.

"The funeral was put off for the heir's convenience." Namjoon replied.

April frowned. "What heir?"

"Didn't I tell you what I found out? The will currently in force was made more than ten years ago and -"

April interrupted with a long, low whistle. "You've put the delay to good use haven't you?"

Namjoon shrugged. "I don't know what use it is to know that Si-Hyuk left everything he possessed to a son of an old flame."

"Well well," April drawled. "Who'd have thought of it Si-Hyuk?"

"I know," Namjoon said bitterly. "It's hard to believe that somebody as savvy as Si-Hyuk didn't bother to update his will now and then, even if his financial circumstances hadn't changed. A ten year old will is ridiculous...to say nothing of his leaving everything to somebody who wouldn't even bother to cut his Hawaiian vacation short so the funeral could be held on time."

"That wasn't quite what I meant." April said. "It just occurred to me that perhaps the son of the old flame might be Si-Hyuk's son, as well."

Namjoon looked startled. "Oh, I don't think-"

"Even Si-Hyuk was young once. And now that I think about it, there was a certain twinkle in his eyes sometimes."

Namjoon snorted.

There were to be no church services, only a gathering in the cemetery. A surprising number of cars were already parked along the narrow, winding roads which cut the grand old cemetery into segments, and Namjoon had to park at a distance. April glanced from the gravel lane to her shoes and sighed. But before they'd gone far, the inconvenience of walking across grass and gravel in heels had given way to April's love of old cemeteries. She'd almost forgotten how much she loved old graveyards, full of elaborate monuments and family histories carved in stone in a kind of shorthand only the initiated could read. She'd been good at that, once, deducing from names and dates what had happened to the people who lay below the quiet soil. But she hadn't gone exploring for years now.

Eight years to be exact...

"But how do you know?"

The question echoed in her head, in an almost plaintive baritone that she hadn't heard in the better part of a decade. Funny, she thought, that she could still hear it so clearly...

"How can you tell from a tombstone that life was rough for women?" Yoongi had asked on a crisp November day, as he stood beside her in an old cemetery back in Daegu. "It's a man tombstone, at that?"

"That's right," April had said. "The monument is for the patriarch, but look on the back at the list of names. His three wives didn't even get a stone to themselves. He married them one at a time, or course, but now they're all lying here beside him, together for eternity."

"But how?" Yoongi had asked, very practically. "He's only got two sides."

April had found the comment hysterically funny, and she'd finally wobbled over to a low flat stone nearby ad sat down to recover from her fit of laughter. But in fact she'd never managed to get her breath back, for Yoongi had joined her there and kissed her...

And she hadn't walked in a cemetery since.

"What a nuisance this is," Namjoon said. "Trust Si-Hyuk to make things inconvenient."

"Shush." They were getting close to the small tent where the crowd had gathered. A soft breeze tugged at April's hat and ruffled the corned of the South Korean flag covering the casket. She hadn't known that Si-Hyuk had been in the armed services. But then April thought, there seemed to be lots of things that they hadn't known about Si-Hyuk. They were almost last to arrive, and only a few moments later a man in flowing robes began the service. April tipped her head a little, allowing her hat to shield her eyes as she glanced around the crowd.

She saw vaguely familiar faces, but no one she knew well. And try as she might, she couldn't locate any likely candidate to be- what was it that Namjoon had called him? The son of the old flame, that was it. No one stood out from the crowd. There was no row of chairs, no one obviously fighting strong emotion...

Perhaps, she thought, Namjoon was wrong and the heir hadn't showed up after all?

The service was brief. From a distant hillside, a rifle salute cracked the air, taps sounded, and an honor guard briskly and efficiently folded the flag which had covered Si-Hyuk's mahogany casket.

April watched with interest as they presented it to a man standing nearby. But all she could see was the back of a well-groomed head and a brilliant white shirt collar showing between sleek black hair and a gray pin striped suit. Not black she thought, with interest.

"That must be the old flame's son," Namjoon muttered into her ear. "Wish I could get a better look."

The pastor said a final prayer, then looked out over the crowd, drawing them all together with his gaze, and said. "Si-Hyuk's request that everyone who attended this service be invited back to his home immediately afterward, for a party."

April smothered a gasp. "That's insane!" she whispered.

"I know!" Namjoon muttered, "is a waste of money the museum could have put to far better use. A party?! What nonsense."

But instead of turning back towards the Moonchild and BigHit, Namjoon followed the trail of cars toward Si-Hyuk's home.

"Wait a minute," April said. "Sure you don't intend to go to the party, Joon? Both of us thinks it's bad taste -"

"That's beside the point," Namjoon said grimly. "Odds are the old flame's son has equally bad taste, or he wouldn't have gone along with the idea."

April thought about that sleek dark head, and frowned. "I don't quite see -"

"He probably doesn't have a clue about what to do with Si-Hyuk's old pictures. Maybe he doesn't even realize that they're important. So maybe I can introduce myself and make another stab at the collection."

"Joon isn't it time to give up?" April hesitates.

"What kind of PR person are you, anyway? We can't lose by just asking. You'd feel like an idiot if he gave it to somebody else - or threw it away because we didn't tell him we're interested."

He was right, in any case, she was going to end up at the party, since throwing herself out of a moving car was out the question for April as much of an option. So she might as well give the idea a stab.

Bang Si-Hyuk's mansion was the most elaborate that April had seen. Towers, porches and balconies sprouted from everywhere she looked. The details of ginger bread and moldings and finials had been picked out in a palette of soft greens and browns, with an occasional startling touch of red.

"It would make a great haunted house," she said. "All it needs is a full moon and a few spider webs. But I don't see it as a full pledged art museum - there can't be enough big walls."

Namjoon shrugged. " We could have build a new wing. But that's out of the question now. This house is worth a fortune, the heir wouldn't even consider donating it."

April paused. "The paintings are worth a fortune too."

"But everybody has an idea what a house like this will sell for. On the other hand, to an inexperienced eye, the paintings might not look much at all."

"Namjoon, you can't misrepresent -"

They reached the front door, standing open to the summer breeze, and the murmur of the crowed reached back inside, so she bit her tongue and resolved to have it out with Namjoon later. They stepped across the threshold into the enormous dark paneled front hall. Despite April's hat the change from sunlight to dimness blinded her for an instant. Before she saw the heir, who stood in his black almost squarely to the door, Namjoon had already moved toward him, pulling her along. His right hand went out, demanding the heir's attention, and the deepest voice she'd ever hear Namjoon use, he said, "I'm sorry we meet on such a sad day. I was a friend of your...I mean, of Si-Hyuk's. I have a bit of an interest in art too, you see."

April stared at him in shock. A bit of an interest? She thought.

"Indeed," the heir said, and his voice echoed through April's brain like the boom of a cannon.

Like a wooden marionette who could move only one joint at a time, she turned away from Namjoon toward the heir. Under the wide brim of her hat, she spotted the monogram on his shirt cuff as he reached out to shake Namjoon's hand. M.Y, it said, in delicate embroidery.

M.Y...Min Yoongi.

Yoongi, who had been the single biggest mistake April Park had ever made. Yoongi, who had prompted the most disastrous idea of a long and varied series.

Yoongi.

Slowly, afraid of what she would see, she lifter her eyes to his.

#Min Yoongi #Min Yoongi x OC #Min Meow Meow #Suga #BTS #Bangtan Sonyeondan #Kim Namjoon #Kim Seokjin #Jung Hoseok #Park Jimin #Kim Taehyung #Jeon Jungkook #Army #bts army #International Playboys #Playboy Assignment

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littlespoonevan · 8 years ago

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Hey :) I love your hc, you are really talented 😊. Ok so the other day i was rewatching Skam (again) and I was thinking about what would've happened if Isak and Even did have that pre-game for the Halloween party alone so I was wondering what are your thoughts about that? I don't know if there is something about this out there somewhere already but anyway. Thanks

asjdfhdjsafhas anon, i honestly can’t believe i never considered this before omg my thoughts went to some wILD places when i was planning this.there’s so many poSSIBILITIES!!!! i hope u like it

Isak feels uncomfortable.

And awkward.

Even’s been here for ten minutes and the conversationhas been about as stilted as it had that day on the tram.

Fuck, Isak never realised before how the majority oftheir previous conversations had had the crutch of a joint to loosen him up. Hestares down at his beer can and takes another swig, hoping it’ll start kickingin soon.

He draws his gaze up after a moment and it flits toEven sitting on the opposite couch. He looks ridiculous, dressed up as God in awhite tunic with a white, bushy wig and beard to complete the look.

(It might actually be more ridiculous that Isak stillwants to kiss him even dressed like that.)

(And he probably shouldn’t think about kissing Evenconsidering all that does is remind him of the kitchen and what almost happenedlast week before Noora showed up.)

“So, where’s Emma tonight?” Even asks, breaking Isak outof his reverie.

He opens his mouth and closes it again, nosewrinkling as he thinks back to his awkward rejection when she’d cornered him inschool to ask if he wanted to do something tonight. “Uh, I think she might begoing to that party?”

Even’s eyebrows quirk and there’s the hint of a smilebehind his eyes. “Thinking you might get lucky?”

Isak’s laugh lasts about three seconds and falls flateven to his own ears. “I’m not- I mean, I don’t really think it’s gonna workbetween us.”

He half expects Even to voice the same complaints hisfriends have been throwing at him for weeks.

“What’swrong with you, Isak? She’s hot.”

“Somegirl a million miles out of your league likes you and you’re- what? Trying toplay hard to get?”

“Whatthe fuck, are you gay?”

Isak grimaces and shakes his head but when he finallylooks over to gauge Even’s reaction there’s something like hope hidden in his expression.

“How come?” he asks quietly, unassumingly.

Isak shrugs, dropping his gaze to his lap again. “Idon’t know, I’m just- I guess I’m not really that into her.”

The longer Even stays silent, the more Isak can feelhimself start to panic. He keeps his eyes steadfastly downcast because he’sconvinced if he looks at Even now he’ll completely give himself away. He hearsrustling that tells him Even’s after standing up and it’s only the irrationalfear that he might leave that causes Isak’s head to snap up at the sound.

He watches, dumbfounded, as Even shuffles around thecoffee table and plops down on the couch beside him. Suddenly close enough forIsak to smell his aftershave, close enough Isak can feel the heat coming off himas he angles his body to face Isak.

“What are you doing?” he asks blankly.

“I was sitting too far away for such a seriousconversation,” Even responds blithely, mouth turned up at the corners when hemeets Isak’s gaze. “So,” he starts, resting his elbow against the back of thecouch and leaning his head on his hand. “Why isn’t Emma your type?”

“I can’t take you seriously when you’ve got thatwhite monstrosity on your head,” Isak says to deflect.

It works. Even makes an offended noise, reeling backwith his hand over his heart. “Excuse me, I put an effort into this costume,” he protests indignantly. “Which is morethan I can say for you. Is your toga made out of a hoodie?”

“Wh- I- Shut up,”Isak sputters, feeling his lips curve up involuntarily when Even’s laugh ringsout in the quiet of the room.

Even pulls the wig off his head, running a handthrough his flattened hair to muss it up. There’s something terribly endearingabout seeing it unstyled. “There. Happy?” Even asks with a pointed raise of hiseyebrows as if he still doesn’t have the beard covering half his face.

Isak bites his lip to hold back a laugh and shakeshis head. He doesn’t know what possesses him to do it – either the alcohol hasfinally kicked in or he’s just feeling brave – but he reaches over and carefullyunhooks the elastic band that’s still holding the beard in place from behindEven’s ears. Even stays completely motionless as Isak lifts the beard up overhis head but he can feel Even’s gaze heavy on him. He carefully avoids it ashis fingers brush over the sides of Even’s cheeks, dropping the beard on thefloor beside the couch.

There’s a moment where they sit too close, a teasingglint still dancing behind Even’s eyes and a faint blush still heating Isak’scheeks, and Isak thinks if he had the guts to do it he might close the distancebetween them. Instead he looks away and lets his eyes land on Eskild’s speakerssitting on the cabinet behind the couch.

“I’m gonna put on some music,” he mumbles, pushing himselfup off the couch and officially breaking the moment.

He plugs his phone in and picks the first playlist hesees when he opens Spotify. He doesn’t even really care what they listen to; he’djust needed a second to breathe. Nas filters out through the speakers and Isakfreezes on his way back to the couch when he hears Even’s delighted laugh.

“Ah so you’ve heard of him now?” Even teases.

“I’d heard of him before,” Isak huffs as he sits backdown, shoving Even’s shoulder for good measure.

“Uh huh,” Even smirks. The I don’t believe you implicit in his grin.

Isak rolls his eyes and reaches for his beer again.Even’s teasing always feels different to his friends teasing him. Even’steasing feels a lot like flirting.

“Anyway back to Emma.”

Fuck.

“Why isn’t she your type?”

Isak considers his options, considers a singleconceivable reason why a straight seventeen-year-old boy wouldn’t like a girllike Emma. He can’t fucking think of a reason and it makes him panic but he’salso just- tired. So fucking tired of having to constantly lie about why hefeels the way he does. So he settles on as close to the truth as he can get. “Shejust- I guess it’s never felt right.”

Even nods, silently gesturing for him to continue.

Isak swallows hard and looks away from Even’ssearching gaze. “Like when we first hooked up, she tried to, y’know- go down onme and it just wasn’t-“

“You didn’t feel comfortable,” Even fills in for himand Isak finally looks at him.

Silently, he nods. “Yeah,” he mutters after a moment.

“That’s okay, you know,” Even continues, voice andexpression completely devoid of judgement. “You don’t have to be ready for thatyet if you’re not.”

Isak shakes his head. “That’s not really it…”

Even nods and Isak can see dawning realisation in hisexpression. Or confirmation, maybe. He’s not sure.

“Honestly, I don’t even really want to go this stupidparty,” Isak admits with a half-hearted laugh closing his eyes and rubbing hishands over his face. He needs to get a grip.

“We don’t have to,” Even says immediately and Isak’s gazesnaps to him again.

“We don’t,” Even repeats. “If you don’t want to seeher. We can just hang out here.”

Isak furrows his brow. “Don’t you wanna go outthough?”

“Not if you’re not,” Even replies simply.

Isak’s mouth tugs up in a grin, some of the lightnessfrom before seeping back into the moment. “Would you miss me that much?”

“Something like that,” Even answers softly. And there’sa flicker of something in his eyes that Isak can’t decipher. Something he’s notsure he’s ready to confront yet.

So he looks away again and starts fiddling with thelid of his beer can. “Why can’t you really dump Sonja?”

The question surprises even him. He hadn’t planned onasking it but he can’t deny he’s curious. Because last week Isak had learnedthree things:

1. Evensaid he and Sonja have been growing apart.

2. Evensaid he can’t break up with her.

3. Eventried to kiss him.

And he thinks, in order for number 3 to make sense,he needs to figure out number 2 first.

Even’s prolonged silence makes Isak look up. He’s gota distant expression on his face as he rolls his beer can from one hand to theother. “It’s complicated,” he sighs finally.

Isak frowns, thinking that’s all he’s going to getbut then Even continues.

“We’ve been together for so long- Sonja’s been therefor me through some shitty things. She’s…familiar. The thought of being on myown after so long is kind of scary.” He finishes it off with an uncertain shrugand Isak doesn’t think he’s ever seen Even look so…vulnerable.

He feels like he’s peeking behind a mask. Even hasalways seemed so put together, so cool and in control. The Even sitting infront of him seems…nervous.

“So it’s like a safety thing?” Isak asks.

“I guess so.” Even sets his can on the table but Isakthinks it might be more so he has something to do than because he actuallywants to put it down. “I’m not sure I’m brave enough to be on my own.”

Isak nods because he doesn’t know what else he cansay. He’s never been in a real relationship before and his desire to tell Evento break up with Sonja is purely selfish. He’s not exactly an objectiveadvisor.

“I’m starting to think I might want to risk itthough,” Even says quietly.

Isak meets his gaze and the intensity with which Evenis looking at him is almost stifling. The air is so heavy around them, Isakfeels dizzy. Feels like, if he’s not careful, he might fall into Even.

(He’s probably in danger of that anyway, though.)

“Why?” he whispers and he doesn’t even know how hemanages to force the word out but it leaves his mouth and then Even’s knee issuddenly touching his.

“I’ve just got a feeling it might be worth it,” Evenwhispers back. He’s got the same look on his face he’d had in the kitchen. Thelook Isak had seen right before he’d ducked his head and lowered his gaze, tooafraid of what that look might mean.

He doesn’t duck his head now though. Instead, he shiftshis body a little where he’s sitting so he’s turned more toward Even. He letshis body sway closer when the arm Even had been resting on the back of thecouch slowly reaches up to slide around his neck. Even’s fingers twist in thehair at the nape of his neck and Isak shivers, eyes drifting closed at thesensation.

“Isak,” Even murmurs and Isak opens his eyes again.Even’s closer, so much closer than he’d been a second ago, and there’s aquestion in his gaze.

Isak puts his hand on Even’s thigh and hopes that’sanswer enough.

Even’s throat bobs and Isak tracks the movement withhis eyes until the tip of Even’s nose is brushing his and Isak’s breath ishitching at the proximity. Their foreheads rolls together and the breathbetween their mouths is shaky and, with his eyes falling shut, Isak feels thefirst tentative brush of Even’s lips against his.

It’s barely a touch but Isak feels it like anelectric shock to the heart.

They don’t really pull away far enough to separate.Instead Even uses the hand on the back of Isak’s neck to guide him in again andslot their mouths together properly.

Within seconds it becomes frantic.

Isak’s fingers dig into Even’s thigh while his other handclutches at Even’s shirt and he can’t tell which one of them is pulling theother closer or if it’s a joint effort. Isak’s used to being the initiator withkisses because he has to be. Because he needs it on his terms. Because it’snormally all for show.

But right now- he’s the one being kissed.

And it’s fucking exhilarating.

Even’s lips are insistent against his own as theywork to pry his mouth open while his hands focus on tugging Isak closer andcloser until he’s practically in Even’s lap. And then Even’s nipping at his lipand slipping his tongue into his mouth and Isak is gone.

Metaphorically. Mentally. Physically.

He feels himself go pliant, feels himself melt alittle against Even and it just feels so right.The way he can feel Even’s mouth curve up at the sides every few seconds likehe’s trying not to smile. The way his lips are already starting to feel tinglyfrom the bruising weight of their kisses. The way his breath keeps exhaling asuneven puffs of air during the milliseconds where their lips are detached.

Even’s body is solid and real underneath his handsand it’s scary but it also makes him want to dig his fingers in harder, makeshim want to leave bruises to say he was here and they did this, makes him wantEven to leave bruises on him to provehe’s not imagining this.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to dothat,” Even mumbles at some point, the words half lost to Isak’s mouth.

Isak turns his head to the side to release a breath,forehead leaning heavily against Even’s as he flicks his gaze up so their eyesmeet. “I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

Even smiles that brilliant, beaming smile at him andIsak is helpless, tipping his head forward to connect their lips again.

Even’s hands move when they kiss this time,gravitating to Isak’s shoulders to gently push him back toward the armrest.Isak takes the hint and lies back even though he can hear his pulse thunderingin his ears. Because suddenly Even is leaning over him – on top of him – and his brain short-circuits.

He’s got a boy lying on top of him. He’s making out with a boy. And it’s not just any boy; it’s Even. He’s finally, finally kissing Evenand just the thought is enough to make him light-headed.

Even’s lips are just as soft as he imagined they’dbe, his hands just as strong where they squeeze his waist. They’re both toolong for the couch and that fact alone – that slight imperfection – is enoughto put Isak’s mind at ease and take some of the pressure off. Because kissingEven is intense but it’s also fun and maybe he’s still a little awkward andunsure but that’s okay because that’s what makes it actually feel real.

“So we’re not going to that Halloween party, right?”Isak asks breathlessly as Even’s mouth gravitates towards his jaw.

Even pauses and Isak can feel his laugh reverberateagainst his skin. Even pushes himself up on his elbows, reaching out with onehand to pull the gold wreath – that Isak had definitely forgotten about and that’sdefinitely askew on top of his head right now – out of his hair to toss on thefloor beside the couch.

“I think I’d rather stay here,” Even whispers as hesmiles down at Isak and there’s a playfulness in his gaze that makes Isak’sstomach erupt with butterflies.

Isak licks his lips, bravely threads his fingersthrough Even’s hair like he’s been wanting to do since the day he met him andsays, “We can do that.”

#evak #even bech næsheim #isak valtersen #evenbechnet #skam #asks #Anon #my fics #i may continue this if ppl are interested!!!#i had some more ideas but that felt like a natural cut off point #but yeah if u want more i may be inclined to write more js ;)

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captainignatiuspigheart · 5 years ago

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Another week, another near-sun tan. This week I’ve seen a friend in person (what the actual fuck?) and found a new direction for exercise. That sounds pretty good, right? It was extremely disconcerting to meet up with a person in real life – I’ve begun to feel a little like all my friends who have long assured me that they’ve met their best friends purely online – but three hours sitting in the local park in a government-approved triangle was lovely. I’ve been seeing others largely as things to be avoided as they blunder towards me, breathing heavily with no sense of physical distance. Apart from the postman and chin tilts to neighbours it’s the most human experience I’ve had of late. I also attended a properly fun Zoom birthday party too (thanks Mr Ben!), so clearly we’re getting used to these things.

Heading out in the direction of Dovecote Lane park eventually sent me that way on my bike too. I’ve found exercise really hard for the last couple of months. I’ve always relied on cycling to work (and the swim at the halfway point) for a few miles in each direction to keep me fit without feeling like I was doing exercise, and it’s been pretty good for keeping me fit and able to eat and drink what I like. Well fuck you very much lockdown, that’s been properly trashed. Cycling in an aimless circle round university park or Beeston has been quite cack, and while jogging on the spot clearly burns calories it’s too tedious. So I’ve started cycling out to Attenborough Nature Reserve. It’s not especially far, but I’ve rarely explored round there, so I’m enjoying heading off down a road with no clue where it goes. It’s not made me late for work… yet. Even when I didn’t sleep at all on Thursday night I got up and went for an explore before work. Must be good!

In between late night walks around Beeston, drinking too much and watching TV, we’ve continued our slow build of the LEGO Brick Bank. It’s quite lovely.

I’ve also finally returned to LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga on our Wii. I’m up to 30-something per cent and enjoying it enormously. I have discovered though that our TV really can’t handle proper dark contrast on a sunny day, so I’m dying a lot by falling off edges I can’t see. There have been a few levels where I’ve had to stand right in front of the TV (in sport mode), and just hoped I’d find the exit to a room. Still, I’ve got Indy and General Grievous to hop around and smash stuff, so I’m happy.

Oh yeah, and another bootleg Mando arrived this week – with shiny beskar armour! Baby Yoda will have his Mister Shiny Helmet. Nicely, he comes with a screwdriver accessory which I assume is supposed to be the tracking fob. There is something in me compelling me to acquire more of these guys… I’ve also just got the Armourer, but pics of her will have to wait till I’ve crafted a custom cloak. What is wrong with me…?

Watching: Hollywood

OK, so this should have been in last week’s post, but I’d forgotten that we’d watched it. That’s no indication of how good it is, everything belongs to the neverwhen at the moment. Plus we caned through it in three nights. This is a very strange show, offering us an alternate Hollywood of the 1950s in which the reviled minorities of the day can actually get a foothold in the industry. The show nails the golden era vibe, from movie producer boardrooms to the grim/delightful gas station gigolos. Over the first couple of episodes the show draws together the flailing careers of half a dozen interesting and purposely diverse young Hollywood hopefuls and then sets them together in a movie, despite, or perhaps because of, their race, gender and sexuality – all things that would have killed their careers in real Hollywood. It’s a very pleasing show; the acting is great, from the keen Jack Castello moonlighting as an escort from the aforementioned gas station (it and its owner, Ernie West, are an absolute highlight), aspiring black actor Camille, Archie the black and gay screenwriter who finds himself in a relationship with Rock Hudson (also a delight, and terrible actor in a fantastic screentest montage), and the awesome double act of Hollywood execs Dick Samuels and Ellen Kincaid, plus the quite distressing sleazy and manipulative agent Henry, played with soiled glee by Jim Parsons.

It’s really good fun, and a moving story – each success feels wonderful, and Hollywood getting behind this gang is immensely satisfying, as is the acceptance and coming out of various characters at all levels of the business. For me, it remained jarring however, for just how unreal the situation is compared to Hollywood of the ’50s – it never escaped its own unlikeliness. Most certainly worth a watch.

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Doing: We Are What We Overcome – Live Specials

We’re continuing to livestream every other Monday on Facebook, this time on trying to be aware of our mental health states, as well as that of others. I feel like we’re getting better at this live babbling thing. It feels less awkward now. We’ll be streaming to Facebook next on Monday 1 June, and you can watch em all right here.

Reading: The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

I’ve been through another couple of weeks of struggling to read properly, or at least as quickly as I enjoy. After discarding half a dozen books less than one chapter in, I finally prised open my book cupboard and pulled out the first pretty thing I could find. It was this! A pleasing and sharply written story of a boy traumatised into silence by an event in his childhood (which is only fully revealed toward the end, and works very nicely), a lad who discovers he has two talents, drawing and lock picking… We’re given two main story threads to skip between: his life as the lock artist led by a series of pagers offering jobs that he responds to, and how he got into all this trouble in the first place. They’re both peculiarly endearing, and that’s partly down to the charming internal monologue which carries through all of his interactions, since he does indeed remain mute throughout. He’s funny, and sweet, enough of an outsider through his selective mutism to have a cynical eye, and yet through his silence other people just trust him. Including proper big bad criminal types. It all ends rather badly, but we’re told that from the beginning. His lengthy infatuation and distance romance via comic book pages that he and his sort-of girlfriend exchange is genuinely delightful. This is fast-paced and fun, with a harsh shade of real darkness in both his past and future.

Reading: Transformers vol. 1: The World in Your Eyes

This was a hard read for me. I’m a huge fan of IDW’s previous Transformers continuity, which ran for an extraordinary thirteen years (a feat that I don’t think any other Western comic series, still less one based on a toy line, has achieved), taking us from the brutal finale of the Autobot-Decepticon war through to peace time, with wonderful characters, alternating humour with dark political wranglings. This new reboot has quite a lot to live up to…

We’re taken millions of years back to Cybertron pre-war, introducing us to the sights through the eyes of newly forged Rubble, who’s being shown round by Bumblebee. Of course, it’s the worst possible time to show a new kid round, as the tensions between the establishment and Megatron’s “Ascenticons” are just now bleeding over into violence. It’s a lovely Cybertron, one we’ve only glimpsed before in flashbacks (or, memorably, time travel), and it’s a thriving world with vast architecture, travel and commerce. A successful world, which for what feels like the first time, has organic alien races living alongside the Transformers. It’s sad to think it’ll all be ripped apart soon…

It’s a very pretty comic, but is incredibly slow moving, even for the first chapter introducing a rebooted world. I suspect I’m finding it hard going from the well-established characters of the last continuity to seeing them all reshuffled and now filling different roles. It’s a cool era to set the story in though, and I think it’s got promise.

Building: LEGO Ninjago 70736 Attack of the Morro Dragon

I love Ninjago’s dragons and the insane aesthics the range has pursued down the years, giving us both traditionalish ninjas and dragons, but also Mad Max dieselpunk, enormous mechs, and more recently Tron-style arcade stuff. Bonkers. Oh, and also the stunning Ninjago City builds and the even wilder designs from The LEGO Ninjago Movie.

This set’s a little older, and like most of the Ninjago line I only pick them up when they’re quite severely discounted. Obviously it was the glow in the dark colours that appealed to me most of all, and those lovely wings. It’s a satisfying assembly, with a mini temple build, sky bikes (or something, I don’t really follow the stories), a couple of ninjas and three more of these evil ninjas with transparent legs and heads. Oh, and two ghosts. I’ve already put them somewhere but it’s the dragon I was interested in.

This is actually a smaller set than I thought it was, and comes together very quickly indeed. Despite being larger, and having more pieces than Master Wu’s dragon (a fantastic LEGO set), it’s a shorter build all round. The construction is like many of the others, a combination of big crunchy joints and the little Mixels ones for legs, wings and tail. I always enjoy the design of the dragon head itself, which gives the beastie a lot of character. The chin horn is oddly satisfying! All the glow in the dark pieces give the dragon its lovely roiling curves, but leave it sadly inflexible. It’s a dragon I’d love to coil around a building, but that’s gonna take a severe re-engineering of its body. It’s rather striking, and I imagine this one will remain constructed for quite a while, at least until I want to plunder its glowing parts.

And just because I liked it…

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Watching: Never Have I Ever

We watched this in a single night… I’m always thrilled to stumble across shows with under half-hour episode lengths at present. This is a pretty straightforward US highschool outsider tale, from the somewhat unusual perspective of an Indian-American family. That’s a pretty familiar trope in UK TV, and was very welcome in the even-more-familiar US high school setting. I’m not sure that there’s anything exceptional here, but it’s warmly told, with a number of fun and occasionally over the top performances, all solidly conforming to our expectations of a high school drama. I had some trouble figuring out how old the characters were supposed to be as it’s the usual casting combo of girls who must be in their twenties, but look about 14, and guys who are plainly in their mid-thirties. No wonder kids are so confused these days etc. As usual it’s the vibe between the BFFs that makes this fun to watch, particularly drama-queen Ramona Wong (wonderfully and worryingly odd in the lamentably cancelled Santa Clarita Diet). As filled with diversity and coming out stories as you could hope for, this is plenty of fun, if not especially memorable. Oh yeah, and it’s narrated by John McEnroe. Yes, the tennis player.

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Doing: MissImp’s Virtual Improv Drop-In – “Specific and True” with Terje Brevick

Continuing our mission to bring you improv from everywhere, this week’s episode features Norwegian improviser, Terje Brevick, with fun games and a good reminder of the value of details and honesty in improv.

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Last Week – a really busy week! Featuring another mental health livestream, books: The Lock Artist & Transformers vol 1, TV: Hollywood & Never Have I Ever, LEGO: Morro dragon and MORE. Sleep now please. #books #tv #lego #stuff https://wp.me/pbprdx-8EZ Another week, another near-sun tan. This week I’ve seen a friend in person (what the actual fuck?) and found a new direction for exercise.

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wayneooverton · 6 years ago

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South Georgia is the most beautiful place on earth

I know, I know, I know. Bold statement or what.

Once I had a boyfriend who used to make fun of me when were traveling because everywhere we went, apparently I always exclaimed “wow, this is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been!”

In my defense, I meant it every single time.

Surely this was, in fact, the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen with my two eyes, that is, until, I went somewhere else equally or more beautiful. But I digress.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

Now seriously, you’ve got to trust me when I now say, I have truly found the most beautiful place on planet earth. Or at least the most beautiful place I’ve ever laid eyes on.

No, no. Don’t argue.

And it’s not Antarctica. It’s South Georgia.

*throws down the gauntlet*

No, not the south of the American state of Georgia, that would just be silly. No offense to southern Georgians, of course, which I’m sure is a delightful and beautiful too.

This time I am referring to the very cold and remote subantarctic island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean. A British overseas territory. Human population: 20. Penguin population: several million.

Also known as the most beautiful place on the entire planet Earth.

If you still find yourself skeptical after the whole “millions of penguins” comment, read on, dear ones.

Now I know what you’re thinking, how can South Georgia be the most beautiful place on earth if it isn’t plastered all over Instagram or I can’t even find it on a map?

Solid question. Respect.

There are still many stunning pockets of this world that few make the journey to or venture out in search of, and South Georgia is definitely one of them.

As an avid fan and collector of unusual and remote destinations, South Georgia has been at the top of my list for a very long time; it’s one of those rare places that when you meet someone who has been there, they can’t stop talking about it.

I’ve joined the club.

Perhaps one of the most remote islands on earth, South Georgia is approximately 2,100 kilometers off the coast of South America. Pretty much the only way to access South Georgia is by expedition ship from Argentina going down to Antarctica.

You have to want to go badly.

Quark Expeditions voyages to South Georgia every year and I was lucky enough to join them last summer on an adventure that also included visiting the Falkland Islands.

The curious story of the Falkland Islands

For many Antarctica is the bucketlist spot, and I can see why since it was also mind for a long time. But reflecting back on a month down under, I can safely say that I would do anything to go back to South Georgia instead.

So, what makes South Georgia the most beautiful place on earth?

Five simple reasons.

It has the best landscapes, the best wildlife, the most crazy weather, the most fascinating history and of course, by default, it’s sheer inaccessibility.

Now come with me on a visual story, a photographic journey with words (is that a thing?) as I try to convince you that South Georgia is, in fact, the most beautiful place on earth. Enjoy!

Falklands (Malvinas) and South Georgia: Islands of the Southern Ocean

1. South Georgia has the most incredible, wild landscapes

One of my first impression of South Georgia was how awestruck I was by the jagged mountains that seemingly jut out straight from the sea, towering above you. Stark and wild, seemingly barren except for birds and glaciers galore, the views are imposing and magnificent.

As a serious lover of mountains, South Georgia was next level beautiful. Everything about the views around South Georgia screamed power and wilderness. A long and narrow island almost 200 kilometers long, the mountain run like a spine the length of South Georgia with many dropping down into the sea with many fjords and bays along the coastline.

South Georgia really felt like polar tundra meets the Alps. With penguins.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

But perhaps what surprised me the most was how lush parts of it can be. While it doesn’t have trees, it’s still quite green, tussock covered mountains and beaches everywhere, not the white void that is Antarctica.

The landscapes are some of the best I’ve ever seen in the world, no exaggeration. It’s like New Zealand or Iceland times a million. And it’s everywhere. There are no bad views. Oh hey, another incredible glacier. Oh, another one. And another one, and wow, look at those mountains.

Honestly my face hurt from smiling so much. And from the wind too. But I’ll get to that in a minute.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

2. The sheer abundance of wildlife

If you love animals and wildlife, well South Georgia is the place for you! I have never been anywhere with such a stunning array of wild animals packed in close proximity with each other and in such huge quantities.

Most of our birdlife here in New Zealand is threatened and endangered from introduced predators and if you see a few penguins, wow, that’s pretty special and you’re quite lucky.

On South Georgia you have to be careful where you walk to make sure you don’t step one; penguins, seals, and all manner of birds are everywhere. With its rich beaches for wildlife breeding grounds, on an expedition to South Georgia with a level of wildlife encounters not possible anywhere else, especially now since rats were eradicated this year.

Seabirds galore, albatross rub shoulders with skua and other rare seabirds while the beaches are covered with fur seals, noisy elephant and several types of penguins numbering in the thousands.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

The wildlife in South Georgia is out of this world, and much more dynamic and bigger than in Antarctica. It’s noisy, loud and colorful, not exactly what you might imagine when you picture a remote and rugged island in the middle of the South Atlantic. It’s here on South Georgia where you have the possibility of intimate encounters with wildlife.

The Quark expedition team who guides you there give incredible talks about the animals and you’re briefed about keeping your distance and how to behave with them.

Falklands (Malvinas) and South Georgia: Islands of the Southern Ocean

But the penguins and seals don’t follow the rules. I found if I say down for a while and just observed them, someone would come up to me to have a look at this strange creature in a yellow jacket.

And let me just say, being surrounded by curious king penguins on a beach with glaciers behind you and seals in front of you is not something you will ever forget.

3. Crazy weather unlike anything you’ve seen before

We arrived near Prion Island before sunrise on South Georgia; frothing with excitement,I was up while it was still dark and before the expedition team made any announcements on board. Curious, I opened the door to the outer deck.

Well, better said I TRIED to open the door to the outer deck, but got it open about a foot before it slammed back and I was nearly blown over with a wild howling wind unlike I’ve heard before.

Welcome to South Georgia!

Photo by Jarrad Seng

If it were sunny and tropical, everyone would be there, right?

Hmm now I know what you’re thinking, how does crazy weather make a place beautiful? Hear me out.

For me, there is real beauty in wild and unpredictable weather. From stunning rays of sunlight beaming between rain clouds to katabatic winds whipping up the seas across the bay and unusual cloud formations, to even warm still sunny days that make you want to take your coat off, the polar climate of South Georgia really reminds you of where you are, humbles and intrigues.

4. Wow, what a history!

It’s generally assumed that South Georgia was discovered around 1675 during a sailing exploration and was named by Captain Cook (oh hey) a century later, whose descriptions of the enormous fur seal colonies brought sealers over in droves who almost decimated the seal population within a century.

A completely inhospitable land, few have every tried to settle on South Georgia, except for the hardy sealers and whalers of yesteryear.

Request a quote to adventure to the Falklands and South Georgia with Quark Expeditions today!

At the turn of the century, South Georgia sadly became the whaling hub of the Antarctic by Norwegians, decimating the world’s whale population. Six stations were built along the coast and almost 200,000 whales were estimated to be killed here in about 60 years before they were protected.

The scars of the whaling industry still remain on South Georgia, with bones still bleached white on the beaches and the rusted abandoned stations sitting dull red on the horizon.

South Georgia is also the place where Ernest Shackleton ended up after the most incredible open sea rescue journey in history, and you can visit his grave at Grytviken, the only old whaling station that’s been cleaned up and is visitable, complete with a post office and very cool museum.

South Georgia’s history is brutal and fascinating, and easily visible today.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

5. Its utter remoteness

The real beauty of South Georgia for me lies in its sheer remoteness.

Thousands of miles away for any real civilization, every moment here you’re reminded that you have made the journey to the ends of the earth. Unlike Antarctica, very few expedition ships sail this way, leaving its wildlife and landscapes relatively unknown.

In South Georgia you’re guaranteed experiences that will shake you to your very core, that will inspire you and bring you to tears with its beauty. It’s by far the most incredible place I’ve ever been and I’m itching to go back already.

Is it time yet?

Book the Falklands and South Georgia today and use promo code LIZ150 for $150 onboard credit that can be used for purchases on board at the polar gift shop, or, cough cough, the bar

Have you heard of South Georgia? Do you dream of seeing the penguin colonies there too? Are you a fan of voyaging to remote places? Share!

Photo by Jarrad Seng

Many thanks to Quark Expeditions for helping get me to South Georgia. Like always, I’m keeping it real, all opinions are my own, like you could expect less from me!

The post South Georgia is the most beautiful place on earth appeared first on Young Adventuress.

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theworstbob · 8 years ago

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yellin’ at songs: 4.8.2017, 4.7.2007

the songs that debuted on the billboard chart this week and ten years ago this week.

4.7.2007

46) "Everything," Michael Buble

So, I'm not a smoker, right? Never have been, never will be. But there are times, y'know, when I'll just be sitting at home, and I'll think, "Man. I could really go for a cigarette!" I have neighbors who smoke pretty intensely, and sometimes I'll catch a whiff of that cigarette smell, and by golly, that's a sense memory trigger for me, brings me right on back to childhood, those summer nights driving home from bell choir practice, playing the alphabet game with my sisters while Mom took in a Marlboro Light. The scent and the memory hits, and gosh-darn, a cigarette sounds really good! And... then I'll catch that second whiff? And I'll be reminded, oh yeah, fuck that. I don't need something that gross in my life. This is what Michael Buble is to me, is a cigarette. I think about crooners, and I think, yeah, soothing voice, classy love songs, probably wearing a suit. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, yeah. Yeah a crooner in 2017 sounds nice. But then I hear a Michael Buble song, and I'm reminded, oh dear. Oh, no, I never wanted this, I just liked the idea of this, all those old dudes beat their wives I’m pretty sure, the reality is awful!

67) "Wait for You," Elliott Yamin

This is significantly less funky than "Movin' On." This was the first real single, right? That's kind of dumb. We could have been doing so much more with Elliott Yamin than giving him this ballad and saying "make this more than it is!" And he does, the only reason this song hits is dude's voice, but what a disappointing use of this voice! "Movin' On" was such a tasty jam, but you're telling me the vision of Elliott Yamin you wanted to share with the world was "more talented Clay Aiken?" FOH. There's a version of Elliott Yamin's career where he gets to jam out for a few years, THEN he takes a residency in Vegas and only releases songs like this. Instead, we get the darkest timeline, Yamin releasing one ballad and then releasing several albums in Japan only. "Katy" is a dope track only Japan gets to buy! How? How did this get screwed up so bad!

72) "Lost in This Moment," Big & Rich

here's a fun and easy way to improve this song: make it about literally any other fucking moment in the relationship than the one where you are codifying your love in the eyes of the law and your god. literally, any other one. like that's what makes "cupid's chokehold" so great, is the little moments that the dude recounts. it's not just the sunrise in her eyes, y'know? she's making pancakes. she calls you and the ringtone you have for her plays. you're talking on the phone, and you look at the clock and realize it's been three hours. he draws a unique relationship with these mundane moments that make him step back and say "wow," and it reinforces how excited he is to be in that relationship. this is stating the obvious. "ah geez, person i'm literally getting married to right now, i sure love you." great. thanks. thanks for sharing. it would've sure sucked if you didn't.

83) "Tell Me 'Bout It," Joss Stone

So right from the go, I'ma show you this Stone, and I'ma make sure you really want me to try to squeeze blood from it. You sure? It's a reasonably funky Stone, perfectly acceptable, and I don't mind its presence in my life, but I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna be able to squeeze any blood from it. I can give it my best if you desire! I'ma tell you right now, I'm doubtful I can do much with it.

95) "Who Knew," Pink

Another song that is more or less fine! Pink's great. This is probably the 14th-best Pink song. She gives it her all, and by gum is Pink's B-game better than almost anyone else's A-game, but you see I have, like, this point to prove with Jordan Pruitt? I'm not sure what that point is, but I'd very much like to make it. Ah, but then, there are optics to consider. Because if "Who Knew" isn't the one who ends the out-of-nowhere miracle run of Jordan Pruitt, it would almost certainly be Breaking Benjamin. "Breath" is a song which drops next week, it's a song I've been loving for ten years, and it would be impossible for me to justify keeping a song I've been loving for so long out of the Top 20. But "Breath" is also kinda self-serious and unfun, it's not a "cool" song to like, and it would be cruel to bounce Jordan Pruitt because this white boy can't help but love some melodic hard rock. It’s also gonna be shitty to bump Pink, but at least Pink has, like, another song in the Top 20, and also a full-ass career of hits. /sighs/ The dream is over. Again: I’m not sure what dream, but it’s over.

97) "Moments," Emerson Drive

yeah okay great. great. way to be humans of new york in song form. "homeless people have stories!" well fuck me then, i thought that homeless dude just went outside one day and didn't stop. i've been so naive.

The top 20, now with no teens trying to survive life as an outcast: 20) "Who Knew," by Pink (4.7.2007) 19) "Like a Boy," by Ciara (3.17.2007) 18) "Grace Kelly," by MIKA (2.17.2007) 17) "Get it Shawty," by Lloyd (3.31.2007) 16) "Break 'Em Off," by Paul Wall ft./Lil' KeKe (3.10.2007) 15) "My Oh My," by The Wreckers (1.27.2007) 14) "Mr. Jones," by Mike Jones (1.27.2007) 13) "Settlin'," by Sugarland (2.17.2007) 12) "Movin' On," by Elliott Yamin (3.17.2007) 11) "U + Ur Hand," by P!nk (1.13.2007) 10) "Doe Boy Fresh," by Three 6 Mafia ft./Chamillionaire (1.20.2007) 9) "Beautiful Liar," by Beyonce & Shakira (3.31.2007) 8) "Cupid's Chokehold," by Gym Class Heroes ft./Patrick Stump (1.13.2007) 7) "The River," by Good Charlotte ft./M. Shadows & Synyster Gates (2.10.2007) 6) "Say OK," by Vanessa Hudgens (2.17.2007) 5) "Alyssa Lies," by Jason Michael Carroll (1.13.2007) 4) "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," by Jennifer Hudson (1.13.2007) 3) "Candyman," by Christina Aguilera (1.13.2007) 2) "Because of You," by Ne-Yo (3.17.2007) 1) "Dashboard," by Modest Mouse (2.17.2007)

4.8.2017

8) "Passionfruit," by Drake 9) "Portland," by Drake ft./Quavo & Travis Scott 18) "Free Smoke," by Drake 29) "Gyalchester," by Drake 35) "Teenage Fever," by Drake 36) "Sacrifices," by Drake ft./2 Chainz & Young Thug 38) "Blem," by Drake 40) "No Long Talk," by Drake ft./Giggs 45) "Get it Together," by Drake ft./Jorja Smith & Black Coffee 48) "KMT," by Drake ft./Giggs 49) "Jorja Interlude," by Drake 50) "4422," by Drake ft./Sampha 51) "Madiba Riddim," by Drake 54) "Glow," by Drake ft./Kanye West 60) "Do Not Disturb," by Drake 61) "Nothings Into Somethings," by Drake 62) "Ice Melts," by Drake ft./Young Thug 64) "Lose You," by Drake 70) "Since Way Back," by Drake ft./PARTYNEXTDOOR 76) "Skepta Interlude," by Drake 82) "Can't Have Everything," by Drake

...the whole thing. i'm go -- okay, see, and i can't ignore this, because three other dudes had songs make their debut, also i have NOT listened to 1997 yet like that seems too big, but i thought, the whole thing? no way! it's 21 whole songs, minus the one that already debuted! i underestimated how much love people have for drake, and god bless 'em, i'm glad they found something in this cruel and random world they can rely on. this isn't good? this isn't good. drake is still very famous and very sad about everything. it's the dullest fucking topic in the world. like i guess i liked "get it together" alright enough, and of course i thought "ice melts" was dope (young thug elevates things a billion fold with his array of delightful mouth noises), but like i don't care? about any of these songs? and like i don't like that i'm complaining about drake a week after saying i didn't have any complaints about ed sheeran, but if i'm assigning every ed sheeran song a grade and every drake song a grade, they get a C- and a D+, respectively, but 70% is a C- and 69% is a D+. it's pretty much the same, one just looks okayer than the other. i just, i don't care. i can just not care, right? like, i don't hate this, i don't like this, this is something i've listened to for this project which assigns homework. 21 fucking drake songs. this is the last time, right? like, the last time i have to listen to a whole album i don't want to listen to for the sake of listening to every song which debuted on the hot 100 in 2017? fuck, man.

i'm sorry. like i mean i didn't go in expecting to be this bored, i want to like everything, this is the YAS project after all, and i know people had positive things to say about this, like everything i heard about this album said, "Yeah, Drake's fine! This is his best in years!" i thought it could be cool! i wasn't dreading the 80 minutes of drake i'd required myself to take in, but christ, that's a lot of drake. that is entirely too much drake for one sitting, and i, i can't, y'know? i tried, but, it's this.

88) "At My Best," by Machine Gun Kelly ft./Hailee Steinfeld

Well alright, this was surprisingly okay! Not Top 20 material this late in the game, certainly not if "Ice Melts" isn't, I'm not gonna ride too hard for a song about how hard Machine Gun Kelly worked to be the fourth-best white rapper in the game, but if you're the fourth-best white rapper, that usually means you're at least listenable. The hook is structured around the biggest cliche possible in 2017, Hailee Steinfeld sells it well enough. It's a bit over-produced, but it never feels too stuffed to soar. Not bad! Legitimately, just good enough to not be bad! I can see the headlines now: Pop Song Performed Capably, Not Hated by Millions.

97) "Trap Trap Trap," by Rick Ross ft./Young Thug & Wale

Is this the most conventional verse Young Thug has ever had? Like I've never heard Young Thug just rapping for this long a period of time, but I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I've consumed every single Young Thug tape. There's nary a mouth noise to be heard! It is oddly fitting, though, that Young Thug would be at his most traditional on a Rick Ross track, Rick Ross being maybe the most average rapper still going. Like of course Rick Ross would just drop a song called "Trap Trap Trap," we're not expecting serious artistic breakthroughs from Rick Ross, who would expect that, why do you expect dumb things, nah this is kind of a perfect Rick Ross song. It's enjoyable and disposable.

98) "Swalla," by Jason Derulo ft./Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign

BLESS JASON DERULO AND HIS COMMITMENT TO MAKING ABSOLUTELY THE DUMBEST SHIT ON EARTH. No joke, I'm into this. Let's recap what we've been given these last three weeks: 3.25: 10 Ed Sheeran songs 4.1: 3 Nicki Minaj songs (and “Chanel!”) 4.8: 21 Drake songs THIS IS SUCH A TREAT AFTER WHAT WE’VE BEEN THROUGH (”CHANEL” EXCLUDED)! I mean, listen, is Jason Derulo a complete skeezeball? Yes. Could any Jason Derulo song be one tenth as horny and still be several orders of magnitude hornier than any other song on the chart? Absolutely. But this is upbeat and hella stupid and I am mostly into this trash. I mean I'm not 100% down with Jason Derulo offering his cum as refreshment, like hey guy maybe just get her some water, but this song is upbeat and I remember it five minutes after hearing it and it has an outlook on life that isn't, "this is the worst." Jason Derulo is just a ridiculous man who is too into blow-jobs, and goddamnit, I appreciate him.

The current Top 20: 20) "Way Down We Go," by Kaleo (1.14) 19) "Swalla," by Jason Derulo ft./Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign (4.8) 18) "Everyday," by Ariana Grande ft./Future (3.4) 17) "Light," by Big Sean ft./Jeremih (2.25) 16) "Draco," by Future (3.11) 15) "Guys My Age," by Hey Violet (2.11) 14) "Good Drank," by 2 Chainz ft./Gucci Mane & Quavo (2.11) 13) "Yeah Boy," Kelsea Ballerini (3.4) 12) "Selfish," by Future ft./Rihanna (3.18) 11) "Slide," by Calvin Harris ft./Frank Ocean & Migos (3.18) 10) "It Ain't Me," by Kygo x Selena Gomez (3.4) 9) "Now & Later," by Sage the Gemini (2.25) 8) "Shape of You," by Ed Sheeran (1.28) 7) "That's What I Like," by Bruno Mars (3.4) 6) "Chanel," by Frank Ocean ft./A$AP Rocky (4.1) 5) "Green Light," by Lorde (3.18) 4) "Run Up," by Major Lazer ft./PARTYNEXTDOOR & Nicki Minaj (2.18) 3) "Despacito," by Luis Fonsi ft./Daddy Yankee (2.4) 2) "Issues," by Julia Michaels (2.11) 1) "iSpy," by KYLE ft./Lil Yachty (1.14) I hate that only 9 of these 11 tracks feature women in some form while there’s even one Jason Derulo song in the Top 20, like why couldn’t i like that marian hill thing more. how did mariah carey release a song this year but i got a fucking big sean track in the top 20. what am i doing here.

Who won?

I mean no one won. I think 2017 somehow ended up with the better offerings. That’s the thing about boring; it’s never great, but it’s never outright terrible, either, and three of 2007′s entrants are complete failures. All the Drake songs were the same boring-ass Drake song that’s ever been, but none of them were “Moments.” It’s not an inspiring win for 2017, but evidently there’s new Iggy Azalea, so it’ll take what it can get as long as it can get it.

Current standings: 2017: 1 2007: 1

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