#Though I wish he had more green accents in his overall outfit

[galaxy-beast]

I was looking at this with a friend and I had this massive sense of familiarity but I couldn't quite place it until I mentioned how uncomfortably long his forehead is and— Well—

It's him

oh sweetheart. oh you look so ridiculous. oh you're such a little man why does your hair look like an overgrown bush. ooooh i love you so much youre giving so much clown energy and thats completely fine go girl give us nothing ill support you through cringe and fail all the same baby baby

[aliceyabusamesoneball]

ashe fashion fun dress pretty wonderful amazing perfect gorgeous beautiful?

wow!!!!!!!!! i never expected this from you guy0509 you never talk about ashe (also contains some spoilers probably)

ashe's style is a little confusing to me but i will try my best to pinpoint it 🤔

his regular outfit being a changshan makes me think he'd wear chinese clothing (or clothing with chinese elements like the mandarin collar)

here is his regular outfit

the colors stand out to me a lot because that sort of blue/green/tealish color thats like muted and darker is a color he wears a lot and i actually have seen some chinese clothing that's specifically this color, it's probably because it matches his hair though

this image is super low quality BUT the colors are a little similar to ashe's outfit so i think that's cool!! but yeah the color's not super common (most chinese clothing i see is either red or a deep blue) but it's not super rare either i think (take my opinion with a grain of salt because i'm not super connected with chinese culture but yeah i am half chinese)

also his bow color matches the accent color on the changshan so to me that makes his color palette very consistent!! however regarding other elements i'm not super sure BUT the mandarin collar on the changshan along with other art makes me think he likes to keep his neck covered a little?

for example in this picture the collar of the shirt is really high but also this picture confuses me a little because the colors don't go with what ashe normally wears since it's a really light shade of blue.. but this is probably more of a casual outfit

but i wanna circle back to the chinese fashion thing a part of me wonders why ashe likes chinese fashion specifically so much considering he's supposed to be a traveler?? like there are a lot of other cultures he could pull from

it might be the neck thing or something like that because mandarin collars do typically cover up your neck and he's also wearing a black turtleneck under his regular outfit (which also covers his neck) or it could be another thing that hasn't been revealed about his character yet like maybe he's been to china a lot or something.. i'm not sure

another idea why he might be so drawn to chinese culture is because it's more community-oriented than culture in the west?? it's difficult to explain but like in the us people consider themselves more independent from their family while in china (and in a lot of the east overall i'm pretty sure) it's more like you're just a member of the unit of your family and ashe is pretty big on family so it would make sense to me but this is a style analysis not a character analysis so

also i believe this is a cheongsam (i'm like 90% sure) and it looks very nice on him and even though the picture is sort of black and white you can tell the color of it is sort of faded and dark so i'm just going to assume it's similar to the color of his changshan that he wears for his regular outfit

anyways here is his outfit in the past and he seems to like popped collars (another ashe and noel parallel??? /j) so along with the mandarin collar he might like to wear a lot of interesting collar shapes

also he seems to like deeper shades of colors rather than lighter ones because he's still wearing a deep color here it's just regular blue instead of teal but also it might just be his school uniform i don't remember much about his backstory

AND ALSO i wanna bring attention to the bows they are so cute!! but in his past he seems to only wear black bows while in the present he normally wears a bright lime greenish bow which i think is interesting and it's probably because of the way his personality shifted due to his backstory and all i think he changed his bow color to be a brighter color to seem more like a cheerful and friendly person maybe? like to give off the type of energy he wished he had in order to prevent what happened

speaking of the bows i have to talk about this because even though this is in the present his bow is black!! and hes a doctor!! this just makes me a little sad because when he was younger he wanted to be a doctor and this outfit is obviously like... i dont know how to describe it maybe like a "what if" scenario for him if that never happened to his family?? but the thing is HE DIDNT EVEN PICK THIS OUT THE PHOTOBOOTH DEMON GUY DID SO HE DIDNT EVEN DO THIS ON PURPOSE this mustve made him feel sad inside

and also the popped collar returns along with colors that are not bright at all so ❗ consistency

theres also the school au (?) outfit which is similar to what he wore in the past but it's more consistent with his current color tastes (the faded blue/green/teal thing) and he's wearing his bright colored bow

this is also very similar to noel's regular outfit with the popped collar and button up jacket which is interesting

i'm pretty sure this is his bonus stage outfit you can't really see much of the details 😢 but again the colors are consistent!! its just more greenish but that makes sense since that's his theme color and iz probably wanted to emphasize that

i'm pretty sure this is his halloween outfit (?) so again the colors and the popped collar!! his bow is interesting to me because it's more of a darker color and not the one he usually wears but it does match with his outfit so that's probably why

speaking of his outfit i think the accent is pretty much the same color as the accent on his changshan so he definitely likes that color a lot too but more as a secondary color rather than the color of one of his garments

i think it's interesting that he's wearing a big bow with a blue rose it makes me think of noel and claire 🧐 it's probably just a coincidence because the blue does go with his outfit but still green and blue are definitely his colors

the gems on his accessories makes me think that maybe he'd like to attach jewels onto like his hair bow or something like that??

this isn't one of his like main outfits but i think he looks a little cute.. also it's interesting that he still chose to wear that jacket when it's clearly hot outside at this time (and i think they're going swimming??) so going along with the neck thing too he probably prefers to bring something so he can cover up where he can maybe??

also i forgot to mention this earlier but i think he likes sleeves that are a little bigger and longer than his arm (it's very prominent in his regular outfit but in other outfits too) and also he likes little cuffs at the ends of his sleeves

a little muddled but overall here is how i would style ashe:

definitely a lot of that blue/green/teal color, it matches his hair and also he wears it all the time

that gold/lime-ish color as an accent color

clothes with cool collars like the popped collars and also like mandarin collars + big, long sleeves with cool cuffs at the ends

some chinese clothes like the cheongsam.. and maybe a little paper umbrella to go with it

turtleneck sweaters and button up cardigans/jackets when it's cold

LOTS AND LOTS of bows!! especially bright colored ones and maybe throw a few black ones in there just in case

perhaps some cute little gems to attach to his bows or something like that?

[ashdownbloodline]

We Need You For Something...

Part 1: The Knock Of Change

This is my first fanfic, I hope you all like it. I need to thank @dammn-dean for all her help! She has really helped me through all this. If you haven’t, go check her out. Let me know what you guys think of it.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Original Character (Yauna), other OC’s and Avengers pairings later.  

Words: It's high

Warnings: Adult Themes, Language, Eventual Smut, PTSD, motions of Torture, Fluff, Death

Summary: Yauna just wants to be normal and Tony recruits her as his head engineer. Her past catches up and shit goes crazy.

(Again gif isn’t mine)

(Age 27) so eight years after prologue

The sun peered through the high windows of the England town house, warming the hard wood floors and helping to reveal the sketches underneath of Yauna’s latest project. 

She walked from the floor to the ceiling to the walls, trying to change her angle of thinking. Every time she found a new position, gravity would betray her, pushing her curly, carrot red hair into her face and hiking up her blue, green, and black long tartan skirt.

Finally, she landed on upside down as being the most productive. Moving her hair into a loose bun and threading her feet through the rafters on the ceiling, she let her weight hang from her legs. 

The tattoo on her back moved under her skin, making it itch. “Stop it! I need to finish this.” Artemis wanted to keep moving, she had been cooped up for too long. 

Her skirt took to gravity and fell into her face, letting out a huff of frustration. She flicked her hand and pinned her skirt to stay at her knees with her magic.

She was working on a project for a client in Brighton, where she lived luckily. Working as a private engineer for tech companies and other facilities was nice, her own hours and she could show up the men of the field that downgraded women. 

That particular benefit made Yauna so happy and gave her the satisfaction she needed to continue. This project was being particularly stubborn though, the power supply requirement was giving her problems.

What felt like moments were actually hours passing, as she tried to figure out a solution. About three hours later, she groaned in frustration and was about ready to give up, just then there was a knock on her door.

After a moment stunned she started to dismount, hoping it wasn’t her neighbor about the late night music. Not going fast enough apparently, there was another aggressive, impatient knock. 

“Hold on, a girl needs a wee feckin’ moment!” Her accent rang out, as she righted herself and walked to the door. Opening it she found three men standing in front of her; Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers.

She smoothed her skirt and untied her hair letting it fall to just brush her shoulders, then invited them inside. “Hello, you bies need a bevy?” She asked standing in her entry way, taking in their appearances. 

Tony in formal suit as always, Bruce was in dress pants and a cardigan, and Steve was in jeans, a t-shirt, and a jumper. 

They looked at her in confusion, she mentally kicked herself and a soft pink of embarrassment dusted her cheeks.

“Sorry, a drink. Do you want a drink?” Bruce let out a small chuckle and Steve gave her a reassuring smile. 

“No, we need you for something in New York.” Tony said in a businessy tone. “Hello, I’m Steve Rogers. These are my coworkers-” 

Yauna cut him off, “I know who you are dearie.” She smiled before continuing pointing at them in order, “You are Tony Stark. You are Bruce Banner, love your work by the way. And you are the product of the miracle serum, Steve Rogers. I’d love to pick your brain sometime.” 

They stood for a moment in silence. “So, what are you bies needn’?” Yauna looked at the men standing in front of her, praying they weren’t here on business with her past.

“Um, we are here to ask you to come work in New York with us.” Tony stattered, shifting foot to foot. He hadn’t been nervous very many times, let alone intimidated, yet right now he was both. 

Yauna’s face turned slightly grimmer, causing the entire group to hold their breaths waiting for her response. “What are you needn’ me for?” She said apprehensively, hoping they just meant her brain. 

Bruce perked up, “We need you for-” Tony cut him off, “Can you show me what you’re working on over here?” Talking about anything else right now was preferred by Tony, he could talk tech and science. He needed to let his brain cool off a little bit.

Plus Tony wanted to test her a bit, wanting to see what skills she really had. Tony and Yauna talked about her projects for about an hour and a half, drawing Bruce’s and Steve’s attention every now and then. Solving some of her problems and arising others, Tony was impressed. She knew a lot and was creative, more creative than him. 

Her frustration limits were far better than his and she was fun to be around. She was kind, taking time to explain to everyone everything that she was talking about and listening to what idea each person was offering. She was perfect for the position he wanted to fill.

“I want to offer you my position, per say. I want you to be the head of engineering for the team. If you accept, you’ll have your own lab and you can enlist the help of anyone you wish and who accepts, as long as they are approved security wise of course.” Tony watched her expression, unreadable and under debate. 

“Pepper says I need to stop stressing so much. So, I found you. You’re brilliant and I’d trust you with the position.”

Finally she nodded, “I have some conditions.” She stated, at which Tony nodded for her to go on. 

“I will take the job as a trial period, the environment is important to me. I need to make sure that everyone is comfortable before agreeing long term. Also, I want to keep my flat here until I decide that this position is perfect. Lastly, I request that my hours be flexible. My inspiration varies and a tight schedule isn’t a friend of mine.” 

Tony took in the information and gave a small smirk, “Of course, I’m not asking you to sign your life away in one second. A trial period is perfect and you’ll be living at The Compound, so your hours are yours to make. Except meetings, I will work with you and the others to find good times, but you will need to attend those.”

Yauna smiled brightly and laughed, “Well, I’d be happy to work fer ya!” She pushed her hand out waiting for Tony’s. 

In that moment, Tony noticed the thick light pinky-white scar on her neck.  Starting on one side of her neck, disappearing behind her neck and reappearing on the other side, then trailed down her chest disappearing into her sweater. Absentmindedly, he took her hand and shook it lightly. 

Yauna noticed his gaze and knew immediately that he noticed, thinking to herself. Eventually I’m going to make to tell him, he will find out. I want it to be from my gob, not someone else's. For now, she pushed it to the back of her mind, focusing on the deal at hand.

Talking over some other detail with each person, they left with a box of pastries she told them to take or else. Each of them seemed to like her, she was really nice and personable. 

But, they all noticed the subjects that made her eyes grim and they all noticed the scars. That would have to be addressed sometime later, eventually. 

Tony told her to be ready by Thursday, that someone will be here to pick her up and she could pack up her stuff that she needed to ship. The door closed and Yauna took a deep breath and thought, Well, this is going to be an adventure…

On the way back to the Compound, Tony had to ask them to get their opinion. “What did ya think?” He said from the pilots seat, his question pulled Steve and Bruce out of their conversation. 

“She was nice, I really like her.” Bruce said first with a shrug. “Yea, she seems knowledgeable.” Steve said with a nod to agree with Bruce. 

“I’m curious where she got all…” Bruce gestured to his neck, not wanting to say the word, it made him hurt to think about all those he could see. 

Tony ignored his comment, he didn’t know what to think of all those scars. But, for some reason he still trusted her. 

“Okay, then I’m sending you to pick her up Steve.” He declared instead. The rest of the flight was silent, not uncomfortable just silent.

Thursday came sooner than Yauna had expected, she had all her essentials packed in her green suitcase. The file she had made for Tony was in her haversack, all her secrets (well factual secrets) we tucked so close to her. 

Taking one last look in the mirror at her mustard yellow sweater with bows at the wrists and her light blue jean overalls, she paired with a blue and green based rainbow beanie and brown slip ons. Maybe she should have rethought her outfit, she fidgeted with her curly hair, but just made it poofier. Ugh, why did my mother give me this stupid type of hair!

There was a strategic knock on her door, moments later drawing her out of her anxious thoughts. Walking up to the entrance she had to shush Artemis, who was clawing under her skin with anticipation and worry. Then, she flung the door open to the sight of Steve Rogers. 

He was dressed in a baseball cap, gray jumper and gray sweatpants almost matching. She smiled, Steve looked slightly rough today and in need of a smile. “Ready?” He asked returning the smile. 

“Yea, you okay?” Yauna pushed the straps of her haversack over her shoulders and took up her suitcase, proceeding to follow him to the car waiting at the curb.

He waved his hand dismissing your concern, “I’m just tired...Had to deal with a lot of stuff last night.” Yauna gave him a sympathetic smile as she moved to the back of the car to stuff her suitcase in. 

“Here let me get that...Is this all you’re bringing?” Steve pushed the suitcase in and looked at her expecting more. 

“Yea, ‘m mailing the rest. Is all I need for a quick bit.” She didn’t mean for her accent to slip through so much, not that she was ashamed, but most people didn’t ever know what she was talking about. 

Steve chuckled a bit surprised for a moment. “Okay, well shall we?” He motioned for Yauna to get in, then they were off.

The ride to the airport gave time for Steve and Yauna to get to know each other better, and the plane ride to New York allowed even more. Before they landed, Steve started feeling protective over her anticipating what the others would do. Weirdly, he felt like she was like a little sister to him, she had something about her that reminded Steve of home. 

The plane landed and Steve showed Yauna to her quarters, “Well, here we are. Do you need anything?” He sat her suitcase down, that he had insisted on carrying, giving her time to think. 

“No, I don’t think so. Thank you Steve.” She smiled and it was infectious, giving him a twinge of happiness. They waved goodbye and Steve set off down the hallway. 

Yauna pulled out the keycard he had given her, then she remembered something. Whirling around jolting a bit, “Wait, Steve?” He jerked around nodding to her to continue. 

“If you see Mr. Stark, can you tell him to come see me when he gets a moment?” Steve laughed at how formal she was, but nodded, “He actually was going to come see you anyway.” Yauna gave him another infectious smile and yelled thank you, he turned back around and continued down the hallway.

She swiped her card and the door slid open to reveal a living space, including; a couch, end tables, a dining table, a coffee table, and an entertainment center. 

On the other side of the television stand stood a tall bookcase with a note, “I hope this is enough space for all your books and more. You can thank Bruce and Pepper later. -Tony” She laughed and noted to thank them later . 

Next to the living room was the kitchen, fully equipped with appliances, cabinets and a breakfast bar. On the back wall was a glass door leading to a balcony with chairs. 

There were two doors on the left wall, the one closest to the door was the bathroom, the second door was the bedroom; a bed, a walk in closet, an entertainment stand, end tables and a desk. 

Next to the entertainment stand was a door to connect the bathroom to the bedroom. Yauna started to unpack what she had brought with her, not starting putting anything too far away just in case what she talked to Tony about didn’t go over well.

A few hours later, about 8:30 pm, a musical knock came on her door. She steadied her nerves again, opening the door with a smile. “Hey, came by to see how you were doing. And I wanted to show you your lab.” His face looked lighter than it did when he came to see her over a week ago. 

Yauna didn’t move from her place in the door though, her face serious. “I need to talk to you about something first.” She moved beckoning him in before he could say another word. “Yer gonna find out sooner or later. I’d rather it’d a’bea from me.” She turned pulling out the file she made for him about her life, her real life. “This is everyt’ing, well almost everyt’ing.”

She handed it to him, preparing herself for rejection like always. Tony flipped the folder open, he saw a picture of two children and their mother and father. “That’s my mother, father, brother, and I. We are part of a hidden society that protects everyone from the horrors and evil's lurking in the background.”

“My parents died when I was 11, murdered actually. I was kidnapped by a family friend before they died. He killed them while he had me, my brother had to kill his goons.” She explained, then went silent for Tony to read the rest. That file had everything; her parents death, her whole ordeal, the aftermath, and her powers. 

After Tony finished and set the file down, Yauna waited long for his words. Finally they came, “Why did you show me this?” He questioned without any emotion, Yauna took that as a sign for the worst. 

“You needed to know. Work only happens with trust and you can’t trust me with this big of a secret. I wanted to be hired for my brain not my powers, I just wanted to be normal. If you can’t trust me, I understand.” Yauna hung her head slightly, some hope still left.

She figured if she was going to go out better go out with a bang. “I’m a half-breed, that’s what they call me where I come from. I have demon, human, and angelic blood coursing through my veins. The mix allows me to have powers.” She went silent after her admission, hoping that her honesty would help her in some way. It seemed to stay silent for years.

Then his voice broke the silence again, “Of course I trust you, I did even before this.” He gestured to the folder with a laugh, “Yauna, I understand and thank you for telling me. This won’t be a problem with anyone, we all have our pasts.” 

Yauna’s eyes jolted up to his, “No! No, I don’t want anyone else to know yet. I don’t want to be judged because of what happened.” Tony nodded, “Okay, you can tell them in your own time.” 

He laid his hand on her shoulder giving her a soft smile, “Come on, I’m really excited to show you your lab. No one is as passionate about this as I am.” Yauna smiled, following him out the door.

That went better than I expected. Now, hopefully I can keep it together. She thought as Tony showed her around the rest of The Compound, telling her he made a mandatory breakfast for ‘everyone’ tomorrow to meet her. He agreed to make Friday keep her secret as well, she could use her magic when needed and Friday would be her watchman.

She made her way back to her room, after the two said their goodbyes and goodnights. After sliding the door open, she looked around and felt excitement well up inside of her.  Now it’s time for decorating! She thought as she looked around the apartment, nearly jumping up and down. 

Alright! There’s part one of this series. I’m so sorry this is really late. I’m going to try and post the next one in about 5 days. Let me know what you think! I’m always open for questions or suggestions! Till next time. 

[eorzeasntm]

ENTM Tumblr Cycle 11  Round One Winner

Hi everyone!  For our first week’s challenge, I asked the models to go out and play in the snow and show us a scenic Winter Wonderland.�� Our chilly models took us to all sorts of frosty places, but the model with the coolest shot this week was:

Adam Evershot

Congratulations!  The picture frame around this shot made it feel like a post card, and the judges and I all loved that your character was looking at the small light.  Eureka may hurt, but it sure can be pretty. 

Our guest judge this week was Cullen Dionysion of Mateus, the winner of ENTM Forum Cycle 2.  For all the models, the judges have prepared critiques below the fold.  

Host’s Notes on Judging:  The judges were asked to critique a minimum of three or four models this week.  However, they were allowed to critique as many as they wished, so some judges have provided extra critiques.  Our guest judge Cullen was asked to critique all nine models, since he will rotate out with a different judge next week.

Judge Cullen

Yomu: I love the colors in this shot! The background is well-chosen to the theme but bright enough to appreciate the details. The lines created by the sparkling crystals that direct attention to you is well done too! I think your pose is cute as well though I think directing your body just slightly away from the camera would have felt more like a truly candid shot - regardless it was one of my favorites this week. 

 Yojimbo: This is a really interesting monochromatic shot, it’s very striking to the eye. I think of the sky just had a bit more blue to help contrast the background and foreground it would have been a much stronger shot. I love your choice of glamour in this shot as it’s very theme appropriate and strong, and I can still see you apart from the background but your pose is a tad confusing. Is it mid-walk? Mid-frolic? I would recommend really thinking about the frame of the emote you capture a bit more, but you’ve got a lot of great elements! 

 Luma: The background here is gorgeous. Excellent amount of light and really does match the theme. I can see your story both in your caption, glamour, and pose-so excellent consistency! My only tip would be to consider additional lighting for your face so that your expression comes across more clearly, but I can appreciate the natural light you’ve chosen as well. Ni’ko: This shot has a lot of wonderful elements. I love the choice of weapon to try to act a focal point, so even with the bright sky the viewer is drawn to you as well. The glamour certainly conjurers a God of ice/snow vibe and the aurora is a really creative element with the sky to think of! I was slightly torn with part of the background fading slightly and not as much visible snow but I think this shot is an excellent take on the theme!

Adam: This shot was my favorite for the week. The composition with the diagonal line separating the snow and sky and running to your character draws so much focus especially with your more subtle pose and slight turn from the camera. But it feels like a natural, candid expression of winter wonderland, and the framing is a cute accent to what really could be a poster/framed shot. Well done! 

 Haila: The glamour choice is very cute, very ‘Alice in Winterwonderland’ which I’m sure is no coincidence. I love the colors in the background and the illumination of the crystal, and your pose with the slight camera certainly sells me on the unease of your surroundings. I like the bit of contrast with the green on the foreground though I the lighting is a tad on the too/bright/unnatural side, I think tweaking it slightly would have made it a stronger shot. Still overall great job! 

Peaceful Ursa: I love the glamour choice for this shot! Not obvious snow-related but a creative take with the same tones and colors. I love a good action pose with the snowball throw, but I do think this would have been slightly stronger with just a change of angle to not directly face toward the camera. Also consider the rule of thirds to help draw focus without having to be directly in the middle. Some really great elements though! 

 Kota: I really love the perspective in this shot-facing down a path with the angle really helps unite the foreground and background. I love the snow and the moon as an additional focal point too! It’s a nice adventurous take on a winter-wonderland shot. The pose is a nice mid-motion one but I do think the shot would have been stronger with a specific expression/emotion you wanted to convey on your face, as yours does appear a little static.

Bria: I do appreciate that you made a shot with as the model as the strong focal point. Your glamour looks lovely and I can see some snow on the tree in the background, however, there isn’t much to the story here and I think the shot would have been a lot stronger if you hadn’t cropped out so much with the black circling effect. Think about scene setting more then think about what you as the model can add to stand out without physically cutting it out.

Judge Kusuh

ADAM EVERSHOT I was super excited to hear that this was the first round, because I honestly love every single area that is snowy and cold. With that in mind, I really enjoy how your picture captures a beautiful cold landscape and really fits the definition of “scenic” in my mind. My major critique for this picture is that there is a bit of a lighting imbalance in this picture, with the sparkly star off in the distance (I’m not sure what it is but boy is it bright!) pulling my attention a lot more than your character is. You’re looking at the bright spot, so I’m assuming that this is intentional, but the contrast between yourself and the bright spot means that I look at the shiny thing first, not your character and the line-of-sight to the shiny. I’m a major fan of the lighting/mood overall, because the cold weather along with the twilight lighting make for a really atmospheric scene! For the future, I’d either look into balancing your lighting overall, or making sure the contrast draws my attention to you, not away.  Looking forward to your next shot!  

HAILA WETYIOS: For a scenic shot, going with a vertical camera shot is a risky move that isn’t usually considered, but in this case, I think it works. Your outfit and pose give me some very Alice in (Winter?) Wonderland vibes. I get the feeling that you are lost out here, and the dark and spooky background really reflect that! The one possible issue I see is that the dark background combined with your face so close to the bright snow crystal really starts to wash out your face. Your face doesn’t look to ghostly this time around, but I’d be careful in the future. Other than that I think is is a very strong start to this cycle, and I’m excited to see what you come up with this time!

NI’KO SHAE: I’m getting some major Sailor Moon crossed with Ice Queen vibes from this image! You did an excellent job catching the night sky and all the beautiful lights! Your placement in the image is also excellent; standing over a cliff gives a wonderful scenic view alongside the WHM cane leading my eye up to the night sky above. My one thing to lookout for in regards to this image is that you are a pale character with an equally pastel hairstyle and outfit. In a snowy environment such as this you’ve got to look out for being washed out with the white and cool blue lights you used. You’re starting to fade away into the snow! My main suggestion for this would be to try messing with some warmer lights, you can still get the cold effect without washing out your complexion! Overall this is a great start to this cycle, and I can’t wait to see where you go! 

 YOJIMBO KASAI: Where is this? I ask because you’ve done a great jobs finding a spot that really activates some memories for me; this area actually looks a lot like the winters of where I grew up! The trees are my favorite part of this image because of the way the branches split and break up the background of the image. Here’s the main thing I notice, though: your image is bright. The background is very overexposed, which makes the light become almost blinding. This can have a great effect if used right! With your mostly-totally white outfit though, you very much run into the problem of fading into the bright background. This can be easily fixed by either wearing a color that contrasts better against the very bright background, or but finding a way to have your background be less bright. I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

Judge Ona

Bria – Although I think your background has “snow”, it is difficult to see the scenic snow that is a requirement of the round. I love the use of particle to highlight the idea of sparkling snow, however this would have had a stronger effect with more to see. The vignette is very large and chokes out the background. Although this helps to focus on you, the scenic element is missing. Remember that all aspects of the round description matter. If the round calls for scenic, find a gorgeous background and have yourself go and enjoy it. If it calls for Battle, make sure you are fighting some monster for your life.

I have always liked this outfit and I definitely love that shade of blue, however I am unsure of the outfit’s connection to the story of this image. It is lacking a theme due to the loss of other elements in the image to influence the viewer to feel a connection to the image. If we were able to see what else was going on, we could connect to the emotions of the image.

I like how at this angle, your hair falling across your face does not fully obscure your face and we can see emotion; however, your face does not show emotion and since you are not focused on the camera, or on an element that the viewer can see, we lose another level of connection.

I would work next week on making sure your images follow the theme and have an element that connects the viewer to the feelings of the image.

Luma Lee - I would have loved to see more of this village! Look at those lights, they are so cozy and inviting! I would try to pan out a little more and add some more of the background to the image. Let me see the darkened night sky!

You are certainly dressed for this cold weather; however, the drab color of the coat tends to blend with the overall earth-tone of the village. My eye tends to be drawn to the gold on your plume because it is different from the rest of the color palate. If possible, try to add a varying color to your image so that one area pops. If this image had been taken at night, and most of the image was a darker blue, then the glow from the windows would have drawn my eye towards the scenery, instead of your plume.

I can definitely feel your theme from this image. Adventurer in Pyros seeing snow instead of what they heard! I am wondering, however, why you are allowing your book to get ruined by all of that falling snow! I would have liked to see you under the porch of a building, writing in your book looking out over the village, almost reflecting on the day. Work on adding some subtle lighting onto your face for next week, as your features are hidden by your hair and glasses, and a little light may have helped to sharpen them up!

Ni’ko - The silhouette of the mountain range in the background is a wonderful way to show scenery especially with the stars tucking in behind it. I love how there is some definition with the trees and the building directly behind you almost insinuating that you walked directly out of that building to cast the borealis into the night’s sky.

Speaking of which, the green of the borealis seamlessly blends into your staff, definitely creating the feeling that you, Ni’ko, are the summoner of the northern lights. Although I would have loved to see more of your signature pink, I love how you intentionally chose to mute the colors in an effort to make the green of the lights pop and bring the viewer’s eyes from you, directly to the scenery and the gorgeous view.

The lighting from the staff, and direction of your gaze, allows for a clear view of your face, allowing the viewer to identify the focus you are taking on your staff and the spell you are casting. Although I am generally concerned for you freezing to death in that outfit, I do love this image overall.

Yumo - You look like you are enjoying that snowfall for sure! Almost breathing in the crisp winter air! I love the intricacies of the scene. Snow covered spires litter the background and are clearly a different approach to “wonderland” than trees and mountains. It is an interesting choice to add ice sprites to the image as well. I am just not sure that they are assisting with the feel or the story. Also, their color is the same as the background causing them to blend a little too much.

You look very warm in your outfit.  I do love that hat too! I am concerned, however, that you are so sharpened and the rest of the image is very soft, and due to the darker shades in your clothes being a strong contrast to the background, that you seem almost photoshopped into the image. If the sharpness was a little softer on you, these harder lines would not make it seem as though you are not part of the image. However, I do LOVE your expression, and the fact that I can clearly see your facial features! Your light source is spot on! I look forward to seeing more images from you!

Kota - I love the angle of this image, the upward shot from your feet while you walk away from the castle, tells a story and asks questions to the viewer. It is the middle of the night, where are you going Kota? The composition is great! The angle of the trees and castle form a valley to the road, and your position takes up the space where the sky would have been empty. I also love that low hanging branch on the left side, obscuring the castle just a bit, it adds another dimension to the image.

I like how your outfit contrasts to the background. The white top against the blue/grey sky, and the boots against the brown road, however, I would have liked to see another color added to this image to help you pop. Maybe playing off the reds/pinks in the items on your belt, however the contrast to the background works here.

One thing I would definitely have liked to see more, however, was your face. Although a spotlight directly on your face would have ruined the feel of the image, a subtle light source above your face to the front (think sun/moon minion) would have cast enough glow that your features would not have been drowned out in shadow.

I would love to know what the story is for your image. I look forward to seeing more images from you!

Judge Terrini

Adam: This is such a peaceful landscape, very tranquil and I love the composition of the icy slopes on the diagonal between sky and forest. It really feels like a postcard, particularly with the white frame. And that Sprite manages to look like the star atop a Christmas tree. The choice of cool blue and purple for your glamor has you match your setting nicely, but I might suggest that you add some more lighting on you to make you pop a bit more because the bright sprite is more striking than you are.. 

 Bria: The bright white sparks with the blue star shimmer makes this shot really look magical and the limb darkening to make you in a little Christmas Ornament or Snow Globe is a nice touch! However, your treescape in the background is rather unfocused and your pose isn't particularly strong. It's like a faint memory of a pretty lady looking back at me at a party, but I can't remember what happened before or after and the glimpse in my head isn't telling me anything. .

Haila: It looks like Alice got a little lost in this Wonderland. It's a really pretty shot and your image composition is great! But that ice sprite seems to be shining so brightly as to be blinding and you're looking right at it! It leaves me a bit unnerved. Your lightling also highlights the green ground you're standing on more than the winter wonderland behind you so I am a bit underwhelmed. It's kinda like you were in Arendelle and suddenly Elsa made the summer into snow. Very interesting concept, but I feel it's a bit weak for the theme. . 

Kota: Such a nice peaceful stroll at night down a well worn path. It has a lovely sense of purpose and it showcases this area beautifully! Your outfit is very practical and brings to mind a certain hero in a certain land known as "Hoth". The angle unnerves me a little... probably because I'm a Lalafell and you're looking up into the sky and not where you're going. Careful not to run me down! .

Luma: You could have framed this shot a bit better. I like your position in the frame, but you have a very plain field of snow stretching out next to you and it would have been stronger to have one of the cabins closer to fill more of the frame. Also, while I love the Scholar poses, they do suffer from the question of what are you documenting? Up close like this, we don't get to see and it can weaken any story that you're trying to tell without you being engaged within the tableau of your image. . 

Ni'ko: Now let me present the new embodiment of Shiva calling up the Aurora Borealis on a crystal clear night. The concept of this shot is great, the setting and timing spot on. I do think that the choice of light on yourself is a bit too washed out and cool. Maybe if you had offered more contrast with a more red tinted purple or even a green like the lights in the sky. . 

Peaceful: I love the individual elements I see in this shot, but your composition leaves me wondering where to focus. You have all these interesting elements to the right half but with you right in the middle of the shot, it just becomes too much. And I like the icicles to the left but the imbalance makes me wonder why you have them there at all? If you had been positioned to the far left I would have been able to naturally take in the picture from you, to the icicles, the trees and then the ice crystal in the foreground to the right for a much stronger image. 

Yojimbo: I actually love how you've managed to get these starkly contreasted pine needles in this picture. It is beautiful and striking. The color of your glamor, however, is not, particularly with the fact that you are particularly dark featured. You get lost in the greater picture and it would have been a lot nicer to have seen you in red to really pop and also de-emphasize that bush behind you that is  the only color and ends up drawing more attention than you. 

Yomu: I somehow feel like you just jumped across all those floating ice crystals and are going "See? I told you, I could do it!" I think that this is a great composition and I love your background. I kinda wish it was more in focus, but I think what you've pulled off is lovely and with you and your shadow being the only things with crisp detail, you stand out wonderfully in your ice blue outfit, that otherwise would blend in quite a bit.

Judge Nadede 

Bria Rirsa:  While these appears to be a nice image of your character, however, I honestly do not know what is going on here at all. It appears that the trees in the background have snow on them but it is so hard to tell with how dark the background appears. I also feel that whatever is causing the blue “burst” (?) off the left shoulder is distracting. My eyes keep drawing towards it than your character just because of how it radiates out from that one point. If you are going to use an effect of sorts, pose the question to yourself “Will this help draw attention to my character or detract from it?” Also keep in mind of body parts that are cut off, like how your left hand is here in your image. It can detract from what could potentially be a nice image. Your image is really a good start, just keep some of the things I’ve mentioned in mind and you’ll do just fine.

Luma Lee:  Not too bad of a start, but I feel that the caption you used for your image does not really suit what is going on in the background. Feels that if going to go with the caption you used, a more scenic shot of Pyros would have been ideal. If you feel like a caption for an image is needed, try to keep in mind that it should make sense with the overall image. The same goes when using the facial expressions when using an emote. It should make sense with the overall image. What I see for an expression is not one of confusion but one of you’re trying to concentrate on something. Before going into gpose, you can do an emote that you are wanting and then you can select an expression to use. After that, go into gpose and see if it is something you are trying to go for or not. It is all trial and error. Another thing that will help you out with your image is how your character is lit up. Right now, you are off to the side and in a shadow while the background is a bit brighter. I suggest playing around with the lighting to help make you stand out from the rest of your image a little bit more, while again, having it make sense with the overall image. I do look forward to what you do with your image next week with the suggestions given. Good luck!

Peaceful Ursa:  Yay it is nice to see a male Roe for a change participating this cycle! That said, I’m trying to figure out what is going on in your image. In your image, your toon feels like it is almost too centered for my liking. Try to play around with what is called “the rule of thirds” a bit more to make your composition even more interesting. I am also a bit distracted with how your feet are clipping into the snow. If where you took your image is where I think it is, it is one of my favorite spots to go to when I play with gpose but same time have a field day where my feet will not be clipped from the snow. Lighting will also be your friend as well. As of right now you almost blend in with the background with just the color of your skin and hair alone. I tend to have that same problem as well when taking gpose shots. Play around with the lighting and also look into using complimentary colors to help make you pop out more. I can’t wait to see what you will come up with next week.

Yojimbo Kasai:  Hold on for just one second. Where are they? Oh good, here they are *puts on her shades* There much better. Your image is very, umm, bright and the lighting of it needs to be toned down quite a bit. I do wish that you could have added a bit more color in the image just so that everything wasn’t just white or shades of white. That might have helped tone down how bright your image is as well. With how bright everything else is, I do wish that you could have played around with the lights to light up your face some so you could pop out some from the background. Your character also appears to be a bit too centered. Just like I suggested to another model, try playing around with what is called “the rule of thirds” to make your composition more interesting. Also keep in mind if body parts are cut off or not that they do not detract from your image. Here, your feet are cut off, taking away from the image. Try to pull back just a little bit with the camera to where perhaps your feet are just close to touching the edge of the shot. I do not think you’re off to a bad start, just try to work with lighting to where it isn’t so bright, which is the challenge within itself with the given theme. Hopefully you will have better luck with the lighting in your next challenge. Good luck!

Yomu Kazul:  This is one of the images that I actually do like this week. Do wish that your face was a bit more lit up though so I can see it more. I also do wish that there was a way your were facing the ice sprites instead of away from them. Would make it look like you are conversing with them (perhaps) instead of leaving me wondering what you are looking at. They are also, in a sense, being used to help draw my eye towards you and your pose continues that line off the page (if that makes any sense lol). I like it when I see an image that has elements within that can have me move my eyes around it and then go back to the main subject matter. It really is a good start and I can’t wait to see what you come up again for next week.

Ni’ko Shae : Welcome back Ni’ko! Your image is another one that I actually liked for this week. Is that within Eureka??? If so, just the aurora borealis alone makes me want to actually go in and try Eureka just to see that. The only thing that I can point out is make sure your feet is not cut off. It does detract from the image big time. Just pull back with the camera just a lil bit to where your feet are just about to touch the edge of the image. I would also work with how the back half of your character is lit. Try to look up what is called “three point lighting” and especially of examples using what is called rim lighting in photography. It will help make you pop out just a bit more playing with the lighting. Looking forward to see what you come up with next week. Good job.

Adam Evershot:  Welcome back to you as well. You were another whose shot, at least compositionally, I liked for this week. How you are sitting looking at the background  and the way the tree leads you to the other side of the image helps me out with looking at the overall image. Only thing that I suggest is working on your lighting. The main lighting source is from the ice sprite and has me wanting to look at it a bit more than at your character. Just as I had suggest with Ni’ko, look into “three point lighting” and play around with the lighting in gpose. Overall not too bad of a job, just work on lighting some more. Good luck for next week.

Haila Wetyios:  Another former ENTM model to welcome back, so welcome back! While I like your image with the lighting and composition, I felt as if you really missed the mark with this week’s theme. It just did not make any sense to me whatsoever. I’m sure your outfit would work for a cosplay round but it did not help resonate a “winter wonderland” like vibe with me. Have a feeling you focused too much on the “wonderland” aspect and not really on the “winter” part of it. I am all for pushing boundaries but same time make it to where it makes sense with the given theme. While this week might be a nope for me I do look forward to seeing how you interpret the given theme for next week. Good luck.

Kota Tumet:  Your image is a good start for the cycle. While I like it, how your right (forward) foot is cut off in the image detracts from the image for me. Zoom out with the camera just some so that you can actually see it, even if it is just barely touching the edge of the image. I like the fact that you have given me something to help guide my eye around the image with the road and moon behind you. I do wish that you can work on your lighting some so that you can pop out some more like the moon in the background. I also wish that there was a tilt in the head or some other expression on your face than just the basic straight faced look. Personally, I would be looking around taking everything in when walking about, whether with just my eyes or wanting to touch something I see. Keep lighting in mind and good luck with your next image.

[lostinyourears]

Super Friday '40 Años of Blue Panther' Report! 10/19/2018

Pegasso & Stigma vs. Cancerbero & El Coyote

Who’s who?

Pegasso in Blue, Stigma in black/red.

Cancerbero in red/blue and Coyote in blue/gold.

How’s the match?

Good, I could just give this a ‘fine’ to be honest, but it was brief enough that it’s not really annoying that not much happened. This was an unremarkable opening match, like most opening matches on CMLL shows and shows regardless. I wish Stigma would get more chances and I think Coyote could be a great talent in the coming years. Cancerbero/Pegasso though are sorta midcarders(or even lowcarders) for life and don’t think CMLL is going to change that unless either guy really push for something more to do. 

Mistico, Valiente & Diamante Azul vs. Negro Casas, Dark Magic & Felino

Who’s who?

Mistico is in white/gold, Valiente in metallic blue & Azul in white. 

Negro Casas in plain black gear, Dark Magic in purple/black and Felino in black/orange pants he is known for. 

How’s the match?

Very good, it’s fun to see Negro Casas feud with Mistico. Makes me think that Casas might be getting his head shaved in the coming months. Hopefully Dragon Lee comes back soon, as he seemed to want to be a part of that as well. Dragon Lee/Mistico shaving Felino/Negro Casas seems like a good idea on paper. Though some might wonder if the older duo of brothers could keep up, I’m not worried about that as both guys bring it when needed. The other 4 people in this match seemed to be in the background. This was all about Mistico/Negro Casas.

Angel de Oro, Niebla Rojo, Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr. & Stuka Jr. vs. Dragon Rojo Jr., Luciferno, Misterioso Jr., Espanto Jr. & Templario, La Copa Halcón Suriano 5 vs. 5 Elimination

Who’s who?

Angel de Oro/Niebla Roja in gold/red, Black Panther/Blue Panther Jr. in black/blue respectively & Stuka Jr. in blue/black/white.

Dragon Rojo Jr. in red, Luciferno in blue/black, Misterioso in green, Espanto in black and Templario in silver. 

How’s the match?

Fantastic! We have had 3 torneos in 3 weeks time. One of which was Gran Prix which initially was hidden behind a paywall. Of the 3, this is the best and will be highest of my list of the best matches of CMLL this year, if it doesn’t top that list. The one big-ish botch in the match wasn’t enough to ruin it. Lots of great action and lots of guys performing above and beyond the level you expect from them. This is the fast paced action you expect from a torneo. Just go watch this, obvious match of the week. I don’t know how much more I can sell you on it. 

Blue Panther, Panterita del Ring, Black Warrior & Euforia vs. Mascara Ano 200, Sanson, Cuatrero & Forastero

Who’s who?

Blue Panther in blue, Panterita in yellow, Euforia the biggest man in blue and Black Warrior being the only person to not wear his mask throughout the match.

Mascara ano the older of his team, Sanson with mostly white pants, Cuatrero wearing gear with horseshoes on them & Forastero having a bandolier printed on his gear with some gold accents.

How’s the match?

Great, but is this a nostalgia trip? Certainly, that’s what it was supposed to be! In that regard, I think these guys did a great job. I sorta wish Blue Panther would have had more action. It’s sorta the case though that the rudos also squashed his attempts at getting offense in to build towards his eventual and obvious win. It was nice to see Black Warrior in a CMLL ring again. I’m not going to lie and say that I have any nostalgia for Panterita del Ring, but I’m sure those who do got a kick out of see him here in that old gear. A match well worth checking out, but obviously relies heavily on nostalgia as any anniversary match will. 

Pentagon, Caristico, & David Finlay vs. Rush, Terrible & Barbaro Cavernario

Who’s who?

Pentagon in black, Caristico in white and David Finlay the unmasked long haired white fella. 

Rush/Terrible in similar outfits with Terrible having a goatee and Barbaro is the caveman looking guy with writing on his body. 

How’s the match?

Very good, I’m sure more than a few people will lament the fact Pentagon lost clean here. I’m not one of those people because of the circumstances. Rush is teaming with Terrible(a fellow ingobernable) and Barbaro(the man he won CMLL Anniversary with), while Pentagon is teaming with Caristico(a man he attacked to make his debut) and David Finlay(basically a young lion from NJPW) it would have made no sense for Pentagon to go over imo. He can come back the next time he has open dates with his brother and likely get a win. This wasn’t much to write home about, but tonight was about Blue Panther, not the Rush/Pentagon rivalry or ingobernables domination. 

Overall a great friday mostly thanks to the torneo. I think all the show was notable though outside the opening act. 

Highlights :

CMLL Super Friday '40 Años of Blue Panther' 10/19/2018

[moonstarphoenix]

Okay, so I wanted some time to sort through my thoughts over yesterday (and go through my photos!). So here’s my recap on my first ‘con’ experience. I put it like that since it really was just a meet and greet with Sebastian.

First, EEEEEEEEE, I met Sebastian Stan!

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, if you’ve followed my posts from earlier, you’ll know this is the first comic-con I’ve ever been there. Just my luck, it ended up being all about Sebastian. So I didn’t get there early since he had a VIP meet and greet and I would be just sitting around. I only purchased an autograph because photo ops are a little weird and awkward to me. Know that I am an extremely shy and quiet person unless I know you. Talking to people tends to cause anxiety, not while I’m doing it, but afterwards when I over-analyze every little thing. The autograph alone was causing me some anxiety!

Before we begin, I want to mention that Sebastian brought his own music and speaker! He really does listen to a eclectic mix. I heard Maroon 5 at one point.

So I get there and they are doing VIP autographs, so I’m told to just hold tight. I ended up finding a spot where I could see him inadvertently (didn’t realize this until I was messing with my camera). Then, he took a short break for I’m assuming lunch before coming back for us, the GA autographs. We line up and I get to talking to the two women behind me, Anya and her friend who was there for moral support. Anya is just as nervous as I am, but these ladies were incredibly sweet and we passed the time in the line chatting. When he came out, I snapped some pictures from the line and he caught me! Like twice! I didn’t have a flash but my camera has an annoyingly bright green light that does absolutely nothing useful and I forgot to cover it. (At least I remembered it mostly of the time during the panel. I hope it didn’t annoy him.) Finally, we get up to the table and the fandemic tour guy takes my book to give to Sebastian as he introduces the two little girls in front of me. He tells Sebastian their names but I don’t really recall him (Sebastian) chatting with them. The fandemic guy did chat with them while Sebastian signed, so I missed it if he told Sebastian my name. Weird thing to notice, I know. (Made me feel kind of invisible and rushed through like the guy was supposed to be helping Sebastian greet everybody and I got skipped over.)

Anyway, he takes my book, sees its a black page and then gets confused because he had crumbled the girls’ sticky note in front of him, even though mine is clearly in the book. So, it takes him a minute to focus on what name is right and the whole time I just go silent. Couldn’t say a damn word. He never really looked up until he handed me back my book, but he did make eye contact and smiled and thanked me. I finally managed a thank you. It happened so fast, I really didn’t have time to think.

Thinking about it now, I kind of wish I had asked Anya or her friend to take photos of the experience to snap a selfie for us. Juggling my phone myself would have been a disaster. I would have dropped it.

After the signing, he did a few more photo ops, before the panel. I was the most excited for this since I knew I could take pictures and just enjoy it. Thankfully, most of the questions were really, really good questions. A couple with acting advice which I like the way he kind of turned the answers to be able to apply to any profession. He got asked about the cowboy outfit, of course, accents, and we sung him happy birthday. A good question about which leading lady he liked working with the best and another about his proudest moment. A lot of what was asked you probably know, so I won’t go into too much detail. I did audio record it (shhh!) but I need to go back and listen to it and tinker with it. The room needed to be sectioned off a little better because the sound bounced everywhere! But he was in a good mood and seemed like he was having more fun than the last couple of panels.

After the panel, most of us left as he had a few more photo ops and the afternoon meet and greet.

Please go to fandemic tours. They’re really nice and helpful and the pace was very calm and well managed. Of course, that could be just because it was a Sebcon instead of a full one, but it seemed well-organized for a last minute thing.

My only real complaint is I sort of wish Sebastian tried to engage shy fans a little more, maybe look up when he’s signing and sees their name and asks how they are doing. I know he’s shy as well, but for someone like me, it would have opened me up a little and maybe made the experience a little more memorable.

Still, I had a lot of fun for my first con experience. There are some things I wished I had done, wish I could change, but overall it was a great first experience. Now I know I said that photo ops were a little weird but I think next time, I want to do the full VIP package and the meet and greet. I feel like he connects a little more with those he’s seen at other points of the day and I feel like I missed some of the better Seb moments throughout the day since I wasn’t there at the start. I know this is a rare him-only event, so I’m interested to see what it’s like during a normal con weekend.

Phew, sorry this got long! I was going to include some of my photos but this is way too long. Here’s the 2 posts with my pictures and my instagram where I posted a few different ones and a letter to Sebastian. I hope he sees it. It’s everything I wanted to tell him at the con and couldn’t.

[Pictures 1]  [Pictures 2]   [Instagram]

[staytheb]

Red Day Festival

Genre: college!au, slice of life, slight fluff Word Count: 2,879 Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and two pair of sisters are roped in to help with one of the events for the special day thanks to their friend who happens to be the president of the student council.

Day Festival masterlist.

Warning: semi-proofread

hello, hello! this story is part of a series, but i’ve been stumped for awhile on how to continue it. so it left me with just writing it as one-shots and hopefully completing it that way with certain events and what not. not sure if y’all like that, but it’s what is going to work for me to write in general. anyways, this Red Day Festival itself has been in many drafts with different male leads, but i’m only sharing this one since it gives me room to write the other boys of NCT and what not. lol but yeah, i think that’s about it, so happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

"Hello everyone!" Jasmine greeted the audience as the de facto leader of the group of four.

She, her twin Katherine, and the other pair of sisters, Serena and Melanie, were dressed from head to toe in a red. Each wore headbands with two spinning hearts attached, glittering eye masks, long-sleeved mid-thigh dresses, and red knee-high socks. The only difference was that each one had an assigned color accented to the outfits to celebrate their school's Red Day Festival for the lovely day of Valentine's Day. Thanks to their friend, Gina, who happened to be the president of the the student council had roped the quartet into helping them out last minute for the Red Love Stage event at Seoul University.

"One, two..." Jasmine started off.

"We're Cupid's Angels!" The quartet sang in unison as they introduced themselves with their stage names thanks to Serena.

"Almond Kitty."

Katherine stated first with purple accents on her outfit. She was followed by Melanie with blue accents, Serena with green accents, and ending with Jasmine in yellow accents.

"Papaya Puppy."

"Rose Bunny."

"And I'm Melon Monkey." Jasmine concluded the introductions before starting the actual ment.

"So this was honestly and seriously unexpected as we didn't think we would be standing here to perform for all of you so early in the morning. Still we hope that you enjoy our covers to celebrate our school's Red Day Festival with our participation in the Red Love Stage event. Also we wish all of y'all the best of luck of your feelings reaching the person or persons that you want to convey them to! Anyways, please watch over us kindly."

The crowd of Seoul University cheered for the quartet as Jasmine introduced the first song.

"The first song are for those in love or want to be in love and just can't help, but think of that special someone. It's UU, please enjoy!"

The quartet got into formation as they stood in pairs with Jasmine cutely playing with Melanie before Melanie joined Jasmine while Katherine and Serena played some sort of clapping game with one another just before Katherine started off the song. After that Melanie introduced the next song once they took a mini breather.

"Okay, the next song is dedicated to those that are close, but still far away with their special one. It's WoW!."

Cupid's Angels got into formation again and danced to the rearranged choreography to fit their group of four compare to the original. They sang altogether before Serena started out the actual first verse. When the song came to an end Serena spoke next to announce the next song.

"Oh, this is fun, isn't it?" Serena said in a rhetorical way than as an actual question with a laugh. "Anyways, we're hoping you're having a lot of fun so far. Because honestly, I'm actually am having fun."

Serena laughed again before speaking again.

"Yeah, so, the third song is MY OH MY. This goes out to those who can actually claim or soon claim someone as theirs. Enjoy!"

Getting into the groove of things and feeling more awake the group performed the song with as much energy as the song itself sounded. They once again sang together before Katherine started out the song. When MY OH MY ended did they take another quick breather while drinking some water that the student council committee that was supervising the invent provided for them earlier. This time Katherine spoke.

"Whew, it's a good thing that I don't do this for a living." Katherine joked before continuing. "So, hopefully y'all are liking Cupid's Angels so far as we continued with this. The next song goes out to those that will muster up the courage and be brave to confess and say what they want to say to their special someone. Please enjoy our cover of Hi~."

The quartet once again got into formation and performed the song to fit them as compare to it's original. Melanie started out the song followed by Jasmine. After the song ended Jasmine spoke to give the final ment.

"Thank you all so much for your time and patience in watching us sing and dance for you."

Jasmine looked at the other three as they nodded to signal for her to do their final greeting.

"One, two..." Jasmine as the quartet sang the last part together, "This was Cupid's Angels!"

The quartet slightly bowed in thanks.

"Thank you all so much." Jasmine thanked the crowd before announcing that it would be their last stage.

"So unfortunately this will be our last song cover."

The crowd booed as the quartet chuckled. Jasmine continued talking while thanking the rest of the student council.

"Cupid's Angels would like to give a big thank you to Milo and Jiwon for supervising the overall Red Day Festival. Also major thanks to Haru for making sure we look presentable and Kyle cuing us in before each song. Thank you four as well as all the others that assisted in making this a big success. Thank you all so much."

The quartet clapped in appreciation. Now Jasmine got around to introducing the final song they would be covering.

"Okay, so yeah, without further ado, the song fitting to our group name and the holiday itself, CUPID. Thank you once again and enjoy the rest of the activities provided by the student council!"

Once again Cupid's Angels got into formation and danced to the new arrangement of the choreography that fitted them better. Serena sang first with Melanie ending the song. Once that was done did the quartet bowed once more before being dismissed by both Jiwon and Milo, but not before being intercepted by Gina. The quartet were confused until they saw their friend holding several red bags filled with chocolate goodies and groaned already knowing that their part wasn't over yet.

"So all we gotta do is give these to people and take a picture proof and we're good." Serena reminded the other three as they were still in their get-up, but were now walking around campus with goodie bags in hand.

"That's easier said than done." Katherine remarked with a sigh. "There's like twenty or something of these goodie bags."

"For real though." Melanie agreed as she stared at the bags. "Actually, I'll just eat them myself. It's not like she can do anything about that."

"Very true since this all voluntarily work in a sense as we don't have to attend classes for today, but we can still get credit for helping out the Student Council." Serena agreed, but Jasmine disagreed.

"Wait, no, guys. C'mon. It's not that hard. It's like mingling without actually being in the event itself."

"Of course you would say that." Katherine remarked with a pointed look. "You're just looking for a chance to give one of these to Johnny."

"Ooh la la." The other pair teased as Jasmine nodded without hesitation.

"Of course. Why not? He won't know it's me though dressed like this. Besides, Gina wants proof of us giving this out to people on campus."

"Gina would ream us for that, but anyways, why not just confessed? It'll make things a lot better for you in the long run." Melanie suggested.

"It's hard. He's constantly surrounded. Like all the time. Whether it's his friends or members of Nu Chi Theta or the rest of the school in general. Like, for reals, he's always surrounded." Jasmine emphasized on the 'always surrounded' part. "It's hella crazy."

"Oh, look." Serena said as the rest turned their attention to where she was looking.

Several feet away was Johnny and his entourage of friends from NCT and it was no joke. Jasmine wasn't kidding about him being surrounded by a crowd of people as there was just something about the guy that drew your attention to him besides his staggering height. The corners of Serena's lips moved up mischievously as she could finally get payback the last time Jasmine had meddled in her love life.

"Johnny! Over here!" She yelled to the male as Jasmine glared at her.

"What are you doing?"

Katherine answered instead with a chuckle.

"I'm pretty sure it's payback for what you did to her with WinWin."

"What? I thought they would make a good couple."

"I'm pretty sure it was just a way for you to get one step closer to Johnny by using WinWin as he's also a part of NCT." Melanie countered with a laugh as Jasmine sighed with a nod.

"Yeah, but I didn't know they already tried that and stayed as low-key friends afterwards."

Serena scoffed.

"Says you. You made it kinda awkward that day, but luckily WinWin and I worked it out."

Serena then dismissed the topic.

"Anyways, there must be like twenty or something of them and we can give these out easily and just be on our way."

Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Okay, true, but fine. I won't meddle in y'all's love life again."

"For real." The other three agreed as Jasmine cast them a look.

"But we're still gonna do group dates."

The others groaned before they heard Johnny's voice grab their attention.

"Um, hi. I heard my name being called from this direction."

"Yeah, Melon Monkey has something she wants to give you."

Serena pushed Jasmine towards Johnny with the other two giggling.

"Oh? Really?"

Johnny's sweet demeanor focused onto Jasmine as Jasmine mustered up the courage to deal with the situation that her friends had put her in.

"Uh, yeah. Here you go. Happy Valentine's Day."

She presented the male with one of the red goodie bags. Jasmine then slightly retracted having a second thought about it all.

"Uh, well, actually, you don't have to accept it."

"Oh, no. I'll definitely accept a gift from a pretty girl. Thank you."

Johnny took the offered treat with a bright smile.

"I really appreciate the thought, Melon Monkey."

"Ah, you're welcome, Johnny."

"Okay! Picture time!" Melanie announced with a grin as she brought out her phone with Katherine explaining.

"Yeah, we have to take proofs that we handed out these treats for the Student Council."

"Wait. What about us?" One of the them asked as the others started speaking up about not receiving a goodie bag.

"Ah, don't worry. Rose Bunny will be handing them out to you." Melanie informed them as she cast her sister a grin. "Right, Rose Bunny?"

Serena shot her an indignant look, but nevertheless passed out the treats to the others.

"And twenty-three."

Serena handed the last person a goodie bag with a polite smile.

"Thank you." The male thanked her with a bright smile.

"You're welcome."

"Hey, Jaehyun's birthday is actually on Valentine's Day."

Johnny pointed to the said person as Jaehyun's ears turned slightly red.

"Do you think he could get extra goodie bags?"

Serena's lips quirked in a mischievous smile while gazing over at her sister.

"Oh, well, that was my last one. I'm sure that Papaya Puppy has extras."

The other two snickered as Melanie tried not to glare at Serena knowing fully well what she was doing.

"Yeah, Papaya Puppy still has a lot left." Katherine added with a laugh before pushing Melanie towards Jaehyun.

"Hi. Here you go."

Melanie smiled at Jaehyun while handing him one more goodie bag.

"Thank you, Papaya Puppy."

Jaehyun cast her his signature smile and Melanie tried not to swoon over it and kept her cool.

"You're welcome, Jaehyun, and Happy Birthday."

"Thank you."

Melanie smiled at him once more before dumping the rest onto Serena.

"You can deal with the rest."

"What? Why?"

Serena made a face as Melanie smirked.

"So you can socialize more."

"Gee, thanks."

"Always.

"Alright. That's the last of it. Thanks."

Serena got an idea and thrust the container towards Jaehyun while taking out several bags.

"Here you go. Consider it a generous birthday gift from the Student Council."

"Are you sure?"

Jaehyun cast her a skeptical look as the others looked on interested. The female trio knew what Serena was doing, but they didn't stop her as they, too, wanted to get this whole event done and over with since Jasmine already did what she wanted to do.

"Positive."

"Ah, cool. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

Serena cast him a smile as Jaehyun shyly held the red box in his arms.

"Okay. That's all settled. We can take the group picture now." Katherine announced.

"But who's gonna take it?" Jasmine asked as Serena chimed in.

"I will."

"No." The pair declined. "You have to be in it."

"Boo."

Melanie was able to wave down another classmate as the group of twenty-seven posed for the picture. As a thanks she gave him a goodie bag, much to the dismay of Serena losing a free stash, and took a picture with him as well.

"Hey, Rena, let's take one just the two of us, too."

Serena heard a familiar voice ask while using her nickname as she felt an arm was placed around her shoulders.

"No." She automatically answered without thinking before glancing at the person.

"Ignore that, Ten."

Ten chuckled mischievously.

"I don't think I want to though now that I know you like to do this for fun, Rose Bunny."

"Ignore it or you'll be bedridden for a month."

"I think I have something else in mind."

Before Serena could ask him what he meant by that she heard him call out a familiar name.

"Hey, Taeyong, Rose Bunny wants to take a picture with just the two of you."

"Hmm?" Taeyong hummed not really catching the full extent of Ten's words.

"Nothing. He was joking. Don't mind him." Serena quickly responded while pushing Ten away from her.

"You're so annoying."

Another member came to bother Serena with a mischievous grin.

"Reika-chan. Let's take a photo!"

Serena sighed while eyeing the male as she allowed him to wrap an arm around her.

"I told you that name was for like online purposes, Yuta."

"You say that about all of your names." Ten remarked as Serena ignored him.

"You're fun to mess with. That's why. Now say cheese!"

The trio posed for the camera as she manuevered away. Before she could dismiss herself she felt herself being pulled towards somewhere by Yuta.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just thought we can take more photos with the others."

"You're just as annoying as Ten."

"You know you like it."

"Ugh. You're just as bad as Lucas."

"But you still like it."

Eventually Serena broke her grasp from Yuta while Ten caught a hold of her.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you."

"That's mean. I was just gonna help you escape, but I guess I'll help Yuta out instead."

"No."

Serena broke free and took off running as everyone looked after her.

"You really just had to tease her, don't you?" Melanie remarked with a laugh to a chuckling Ten.

Ten glanced at her like he didn't do anything.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Lani."

"Right. Sure you don't."

Ten walked closer to Melanie with a smirk and whispered for only her to hear.

"Hey, better leave me alone, Melanie, or I'll do the same to you that I did to Serena."

"Try me."

Ten didn't hesitate with a mischievous grin.

"Jaehyun! Papaya Puppy wants to take a picture with just the two of you, too!"

"You're such a brat." Melanie stated with a roll of her eyes.

"Why do you always gotta react different than Serena?"

"Because unlike her I don't run away from my feelings."

"Ah, that's true."

"I heard my name," Jaehyun interjected, "But I didn't catch the rest. What's up?"

"It's nothing. Ten's just being a jokester. Sorry." Melanie answered with a polite smile as Ten eyed her.

"Oh, okay."

Jaehyun nonchalantly returned to conversing with the other males.

"Don't run away, huh?" Ten remarked as Melanie shrugged.

"I didn't run away. I deterred away."

"Whatever. I need to get the others in on messing with y'all. Yuta's great with teasing Serena."

"Obviously since y'all get under her skin."

"True."

"Anyways," Katherine interjected to focus the attention onto her, "We should be going now. Thanks so much for helping us out."

She smiled at the twenty-three males before hooking her arms with Jasmine and Melanie.

"We'll be on our way now."

"Wait, what about the pictures?" Another one of them asked.

"It'll be posted on the school's website under the Student Council's event section by the end of the day or something like that." Jasmine replied.

"Okay, bye!" Melanie bid them farewell.

She and Katherine practically had to pulled Jasmine along with them as she was making progress with Johnny and didn't want to leave. Luckily the trio met up with Serena back at the Student Council's room since Serena didn't have any photo proofs to get her goodies from Gina. Gina ended up teasing the groups about the photos they took since it was a majority of the NCT members. Jasmine asked if Gina could make copies for safekeeping and informing the president that she's down for something like this in the future involving handing out presents and taking the pictures. Gina happily agreed while Katherine and Melanie already knew and Serena groaned at the prospect of it all.

[sunflowersnows-blog]

I love my wife.

We got married about - oh, I don’t know exactly - three? Three years ago it was I believe. We had met at High Valley Farm, one of those overly large farming plots that was turned into a business for families to bring their kids to when they had nothing better else to do. You know, the ones that originally had a farm and barn on it and then the owner decided to add kiddy stuff, like corn mazes, a playground, a petting zoo, shit like that. 

I worked there as a supervisor for the petting zoo. Easy job, making sure the kids didn’t treat the animals too roughly or fall into the pins while leaning over to pet the sheep, showing them how to feed the miniature horses properly, just making sure all the kiddies were safe and everything ran smoothly. 

That’s where I met her specifically. When she first walked in through the tent flap, I had to do a double take. She wore a casual outfit of leggings and a (very cute) oversized sweater with short auburn hair. I thought she was a little young to be a mother but expected young kids to follow her in all the same. Yet, it turned out I was correct in my assumption when nothing came in behind her. It was a little odd to see adults interested in attractions meant to hold the attention of kids, but I, in my oversized, mud stained overalls and hair resembling that of a rats nest, was in no place to judge her. If a grown-ass, women wanted to pay a twenty dollar admission fee to pamper the pigs, then that was up to her. 

Teaching her the proper etiquette for handling the piglets was easy enough, (“Scoop them from underneath the bum - yes, like that - and press them against your chest so they don’t fall.”) the hard part was actually talking to her. As fun as it was to watch her swoon over pigs, I would have preferred if she didn’t remember as the socially awkward farm lady. 

It took a few moments of self assurance and deep breaths before I even attempted to start a conversation. I approached her, all intentions of being as suave as possible.

“So, you like… The pigs.” In that moment, I wished I could sink into my overalls and become one with the dirt, real smooth indeed, dumbass. Green eyes looked into mine, piglet still held to her chest. 

“Yes! I do love them so, they’re my favourite animal in fact! Oh, but I love all animals, I'm vegan for that very reason! Can’t stand the meat industry.” She responded with a shake of her head, clearly on the verge of vomiting a 12 page essay about the ethics of capitalism on me. I was more than happy to hear every word of it. 

From there on, we hit it off. I got her number (her number! A pretty girls number!) and we hung out every chance we could. I gave her discounts on her admission tickets and let her stay long after the farm closed for the day. You see, I was a family friend of the owner, Paul, a nice older gentlemen. He was rather lenient and always let me bring friends on to the lot, as long as we didn’t break anything and cleaned up after ourselves. He was a good guy. 

Often, after all the animals had been packed up and put away for the night, I would take her to the old barn. Not the new one where the animals slept, the one that was on the plot before all the attractions were built. Whether it be because Paul was creeped out by the thing or was getting too old to walk the solid kilometre from the farm house to the barn, he wouldn’t go near it. In other words, I basically had the whole thing to myself. It was in a state of disrepair from disuse, cobwebs hung in every corner of the high ceiling, light peeking through from holes in the wood and it was relatively empty save the mounds of hay. 

A little musty, sure, but I had never been happier to spend long evenings after my shift with her by my side. Having her weave field flowers into the abyss of my hair all while she talked about her day. About the lecture from her professor, about the nice cashier she encountered, about anything and everything. 

In that little run down barn is where I had my first kiss, barely getting my (heavily practiced) confession out before being smothered with kisses and giggles.

We got married shortly after and life was perfect. I didn’t think there was anything that could be called perfect in this world, but when she slotted her soft hand into mine and brushed the silver band on her finger against my palm, I knew I was wrong. Perfection existed and it was holding my hand and giggling into my shoulder.

She finished teachers college and was overjoyed about getting a position at a local highschool near her parents' house while I still worked full time at the farm. Being a teacher had been her dream for a while now and she was so excited to interact with the students and nurture them to grow into the best versions of themselves they could be.

Unfortunately, the highschool became a bit less local after we bought a complex a forty minute drive away. I worried about her transportation, but she met my concerns with confidence and pride. Soft fingers smoothed the crease inbetween my brows and reassured me through whispered words that a short drive could never dampen the joy that came with spending the rest of her life with the one she loved. If I cried a little into the nook of her shoulder while we hugged, then that was between me and God.

______________________________________________________________________

At six pm, when the last of the kids had been corralled from the farm and the stalls had all been shut down, I decided to take my little hike to the barn. I clocked out of work, making sure to give my goodbyes to my co-workers, thank them for their work and the likes. I'd hate to be rude, especially since a few had been acting dodgy, more distant than normal. Maybe a misunderstanding? I’d have to ask sometime.

Before I could head out, I was stopped by a firm hand on my shoulder. Startled, I turned back only to come face to face with my boss. I know I said he was kind, but in that moment his face looked so stricken. Somehow, the wrinkles in his face seemed deeper than normal, heavy with an unforeseen weight.

“Hun,” He started off in his heavy southern accent, slow and soft, as if trying to appease a wild animal, “Are ya… feeling well? Y’aint done nothin’ wrong, just a few people are concerned about ya’, that’s all. Say ya go to the barn an awful lot. I just don’t want ya’ to be… alone is all. Bit worried ‘bout ya’, y’know? Been acting off since…. Ya know, the accident. Irresponsible people… Ought to get off the road.” Paul finished with a light sheen of sweat on his face and a hand rubbing at the back of his neck. 

I honestly had no idea what he was talking about. Accident? Accident? Like… A work accident? Someone screw up and violate a work safety rule? I paused, running through the events of the past week, but nothing came to mind.

Before I could gather myself properly, I heard Paul rather loudly clear his throat, clearly expecting some kind of answer. His face was pinched and tight, foot tapping rapidly against the soil.

“I’m sorry.” I responded with a heavy sigh, “I didn’t mean to startle you or the other workers, I'm sorry. It’s just that, well, the barns our spot y’know? Me and hers…” I trail off and I hear Paul give a hum of acknowledgment, but instead of relaxing, he grows even more tense.

“Well, as long as ya…. As long as you’re good, coping well and what have you. See you tomorrow, don’t stay out too late.” He gave a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and lightly patted my shoulder before walking back towards the farm house. I appreciated his concern, but I honestly can’t see what I did to warrant it. I was just visiting my wife, was that so off putting? She was waiting for me in the barn, as she often did, so what was the issue?

Oh well, I refuse to let this incident bother me. You can’t control the thoughts of others, afterall. With that mostly out of mind, I start off towards the barn. As always, she’s waiting for me when I get there. It’s hard to see in the dim light of the evening, so I take to lighting the candles I set up. 

“Love, take a look at this!” I start, opening the small bag I brought and pull out a pink candle. “It’s scented! I picked it up just before work this morning. It's sweet, like candy, so I know you’ll like it. Here, smell it!” I offer up the candle and hold it just below her nose for a moment before pulling it away to light it and set it down close by. 

She’s lying down, surrounded by straw and dirt, cushioned by a rather large blanket I brought. It was pretty chilly out at this time, after all. She’s looking a bit worse than yesterday but thats okay. She’s still gorgeous, always gorgeous. 

But these fucking flies. 

With an annoyed hiss, I try to bat them away, taking care not to outright smack my wife in the process. No matter how much I shoo and complain, they always buzz right back to crawl along her skin. At least the raccoons haven’t gotten in. 

Ignoring the annoyance, I lay down beside her. Running a hand over her hair, gently combing out tangles and dirt. When I pull my hand away, strands of hair cling to my fingers, but that’s alright. She never had very healthy hair to begin with. I hum with dissatisfaction (I ought to buy her one of those repairing shampoos) before pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. 

She’s still ice cold. Even with the blanket, she’s still cold. I run my thumb over her lips in a last ditch attempt to get her to warm up, but to no avail. At least she isn’t uncomfortable though, right? She would’ve said something if she were distraught, but she’s silent now so it must be fine. 

I sit back up with some effort and drag my backpack closer to me. 

“I brought something else too.” I hum, rummaging through my bag, “it’s the same thing as last time, of course. Oh, but it wasn’t so bad last time, was it? You handled it like a champ! So brave!” I chuckled, thinking of her strength, her resilience. 

“We’ll start in a sec I just need… I know I put them in here, I double checked and everything… Ah! There we are! I knew I wasn’t losing it, they were just hiding.” I grin, satisfied with myself before placing the scissors down beside the jar I grabbed earlier.

With that all set up, I grab my wife and gently pull up her head to rest on my lap. Brushing her bangs off her forehead, I look her in the eye. Tenderly, I brush my thumb just under her eye and grab my scissors. 

“Ah… I'm really sorry about all this, but you understand, yeah? I’m just trying to help, honey. They’ll get all damaged if I keep them here, and then I won’t get to see your pretty eyes again… I mean! I already did the other one, so might as well finish right? It'll be better this way, I can carry a piece of you everywhere it go! Don't worry, I'll be quick, okay?"

Sheepishly, I look away and then back at her. One gorgeously green eye and an empty socket stare back. If she has any objections, she isn’t voicing them, so it must be fine. It's fine. She understands, surely. 

With her silent permission, I press my thumb a little harder over the edge of her socket, just under her eye, feeling where bone ends and squishy flesh begins. I wedge my thumb in the space between the two and press upwards. It takes a bit of effort, but with gentle coaxing I push her eye up and out. I hold it gently with one hand as to not have it roll around and fall, while the other hand opens the scissors.

With a steady hand, I line up the scissors to the string of nerves connecting her eye to her skull. With a quick ‘snip’ the line is cut. Opening the jar beside my thigh, I slip her eye in the opening, watching it softly splash into the liquid inside and float about. She isn’t bleeding, but I still wipe at the socket with my sleeve anyhow, just to make sure she’s nice and clean. 

“There we are. See, that took no time at all! Now, I have them both. I won’t let them get damaged or dirty, promise!” I tuck the scissors back into the bag and the jar alongside it after securing the cap. Even though it's still mid-evening, I find myself to be rather exhausted. I gently lie my wife back down in the soil and adjust the blanket around her body, nice and cozy.

Too tired to keep myself upright, I lie beside her and nestle my face into her neck, wrapping my arms around her torso to pull her body flush against mine. She isn’t warm and she doesn’t smell like the perfume I bought her for her birthday anymore, but it's fine. It’s fine. 

After all, I love my wife.

“Goodnight, dear.” I mumble before letting the buzz of flies lull me to sleep in place of a steady heartbeat.

[storiesbyjes2g]

Time in Willow Creek: 1 year, 2 months, 5 days

Just as Kevin promised, he called Juliana three days after their talk. He said he had something to show her, and they ended up in his old neighborhood in Oasis Springs. But, before he got around to his show and tell, they needed to catch up and get reacquainted. It was the middle of the afternoon when they arrived, and Kevin parked his car on the side of the dusty road. Bedrock Strait wasn’t green and manicured like the other neighborhoods of Oasis Springs. That’s what made the property values so low thus making it a prime location for low income families. The main road that served the neighborhood was long and desolate before crossing into the residential area. Kevin parked so far away because he wanted them to go for a nice, slow walk along the river. There was a small hill they could walk down to get to the river. As they were walking, Juliana asked how his project at work was going. He didn’t want to bore her with the details. It was a beautiful, warm day. The contrast of the water’s blue hue against the golden earth was gorgeous. None of it needed to be ruined by numbers, forecasts, and market trends. He gave her a brief answer and moved on. Juliana walked to the bank stopped and short of getting her shoes wet to take in the scene for a bit.

“It’s so beautiful here.”

He walked up behind her with a nostalgic look. “Yeah. I used to come down here a lot when I was a kid. Me and my dad fished all up and down this river.”

Juliana wanted to comment on his lament, but hearing about his father made her remember that she had something she had been dying to show him too. She gasped and pulled an envelope from her back pocket. “Look at my family!”

Kevin’s jaw dropped and his eyes were the brightest she had ever seen them. “Ohhh YES! You have pictures? I’d love to see them.”

He slid closer to her for the best viewing angle. A spark ignited inside her when she felt his hip next to hers. She glanced at him briefly but went back to her pictures. She had to stay focused. It wasn’t time for more yet.

“This is papá!”

“Wow… You have his eyes!” He gazed upon the deceased man with a look of admiration. “What was his name?”

“Vincenzo.”

“Hmmm… He looks like such an honorable man.” He shook his head. “It’s so terrible what happened!”

She nodded and took a quick deep breath. She stroked the picture one last time and put it at the end of the stack. “Mamá.” She loved her mother of course, but there was a hint of playful bitterness in her voice.

“She’s gorgeous! You look just like her! Wow!”

His reactions to meeting her family for the first time was exactly the way she imagined it when she first received the envelope of pictures. It was so good to finally share them with him.

“She is Cecilia.”

“Seh-SEE-le-ah,” he repeated in her accent.

She laughed and went to the next picture. “My sister, Adrianna. She’s 14. She like to dance and make friends. She begged mamá for that lipstick when she turned 13.” she chuckled.

“I guess that’s a no no, huh?”

“She didn’t think it was proper.”

“She’s beautiful too. Is your family just full of beautiful women?”

She giggled.

“She looks like both of them,” he said as he inspected the picture some more.

“She does.” She put the picture in the back of the stack. “My brother, Andres. He’s 12, but he is so big already!”

Kevin snorted. “That is one good looking kid. He’s gonna break some hearts for sure!”

“He is a good boy. He wants to make a lot of money to get a good house. And he hates snakes.”

They both laughed.

“I think he looks just like your mom.”

“Mmm hmm. This is Vittoria.”

“Awwww, she is adorable.”

“She loves red. It’s all she wears.”

“Very cute. How old?”

“Eight. Mamá’s helper. And, this is Mara.”

Kevin gasped like a teenage girl with juicy gossip. “She looks just like you! But with green eyes and brown hair!”

She laughed at his excitement and scrutiny of her family. “Yes, we look the same. She is 7 and love to play. Mamá doesn’t like, ehhh, how do you say…what do you call this?” She was pointing at Mara’s outfit.

“Oh, uhh…overalls!”

“Over alls?”

He shrugged. “Don’t ask. We have all kind of funny names that don’t make sense.”

She chuckled. “Mamá thinks girls should not wear them, but Mara like to play so much she ruined all the dresses.”

“So she had to get her some overalls then, huh.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“It’s amazing…all of your siblings have your dad’s green eyes.”

She poked her lips and sighed. “Yeah. Mine are brown and boring.”

“Don’t say that! They’re brown and beautiful.”

That was unexpected. It was nothing she never heard before, but it was still out of the blue and she was unprepared. She thought for sure she had a dopey grin on her face. Luckily for her, Kevin looked away and began something else unexpected.

“Marrra. Marrrrra. I wish I could roll my R’s like you.”

She laughed at his poor impression. “You can get better with practice.”

“Vittoooorrria. ANdrrres.” He laughed at his own poor pronunciation. “I took French in school. I sucked at that too!”

She put her hand on her hip and spoke with with her chest out. “If I can learn to say ‘y’all,’ you can learn to roll your R’s.”

He began laughing again even harder. “You still don’t say it right!”

“No? Y-yoll.”

“Yawl.”

“Yal?”

“Yawl. You have to open your mouth and get the aw in there.”

“Yah–yal–yah-awl. I can’t do that!”

They were both howling.

“Well, by the time you learn how to say it properly, I will have learned to roll my R’s.”

“Deal.”

He high fived her. “Come on. I want to show you something before we go downtown.”

They trotted back up the small hill they came down near where the car was parked and continued walking up the street.

“What were your other brothers and sisters names?” he asked.

“Oh.” She took a moment to think about it and started from the bottom. “Roberto. He was one year older than me. I knew him. He died when I was 6.”

“Oh, wow. I didn’t know you knew any of them.”

He looked at her like he just discovered yet another reason to care. She loved how compassionate he was.

“I knew him and Lucia. She died when I was 2. She was…3 years older? Yes, 3 years.” She paused for a moment to think of the others. There were so many of them, and she had only ever heard of them. “The eldest was a son, Franco. He would be 30 now I think. There was…Isabella, Sophia… Nicola, and Patrizia.”

“Wow! So your family is filled with beautiful women!”

She nodded. “Only two sons.”

They finally reached the neighborhood. It was the first time Kevin had been back there since he left, and he stopped for a moment to look around and take it all in.

“What is this place?” Juliana asked.

“This…” He looked around some more. “This is where I grew up. This is my neighborhood.”

She too looked around. Bedrock Strait was foreign to her as were all the neighborhoods. Compared to her village, it was nice enough.

Kevin stopped in front of a particular house and pointed at it. “This is it. This used to be my house.”

She had never seen his current house but figured it must have been a huge place. Looking around at the tiny houses, she was beginning to see pieces of a puzzle he would solve for her in just a few minutes.

“I wanted to bring you here because… Well, I know we already talked about it, and I know you’re not struggling with it anymore, but I just wanted to show you. I’m successful now, but it hasn’t always been that way. I came from here.” He motioned around the neighborhood. “It was hard, and we didn’t have anything. I know what it’s like to be in need and not have much hope.”

“Yeah, people say things about me, but I haven’t forgotten where I came from, and remembering the struggles makes me appreciate what I have more and not be selfish with it. I’m not trying to buy you or manipulate you or anything like that. I’m just a guy who is your friend who understands where you came from, has the means to help, and wants to help. Ok?”

She wasn’t quite sure why he had gone through such great lengths to belabor the point, but she appreciated the meaning behind it. He was sincere about everything he said about not wanting to hurt her. It solidified the trust she told him she had even though it was pretty solid before. It also gave her another perspective that was both encouraging to her and something to put in her arsenal when she wrote back to her mother. She saw that someone could start in the gutter and end up at the top. They never had that opportunity back home. There wasn’t a system of castes officially, but the poor were constantly oppressed because of ignorance and assumptions. It was near impossible for anyone to rise up and become something great. That is what made Cecilia’s decision to save Juliana so courageous. Juliana could be just like Kevin one day. It was a nice thought, and she tucked it away for another time.

After the long walk down the street, they piled into the car and headed for downtown. Kevin didn’t have much of an agenda, but he knew she loved it there and wanted to take her somewhere she hadn’t been. They ended up in what was nicknamed “the fashion district.” It was a trendy, modern area that took a lot of cues from other trendy, modern places like Tokyo. There weren’t any famous clothing stores or anything related to fashion in the neighborhood, but the style of the area attracted people who were into modern, trendy things like high fashion. It was a great location for people watching.

Kevin parked in a lot near the center of the neighborhood. Much like the spice district, it had a large, common area that hosted a few annual festivals. Juliana wandered around with Kevin in tow. He missed watching her discover new things and being in awe of everything around her. They had never been downtown together, and he was experiencing first hand the joy she expressed after all her trips to the city.

The fashion district was built on a hill and stood a bit higher than the other areas, but not nearly as high as uptown. Juliana went to the railing and leaned over to admire the city below.

“Be careful,” Kevin said.

He gently grabbed her arm to keep her from falling over the edge as if a touch so gentle could prevent it. She enjoyed the touch and never turned down free samples of more.

“It’s so nice here! I want to live here one day.”

He smiled. “You will. Maybe sooner than you think.”

She returned from leaning over the rail and smiled back at him.

“Come on. Let’s have a drink.”

There was a karaoke bar just around the corner from where they were. Word on the street was if someone wanted to be a singer, Planet Honey Pop was the place to be. It was rumored that executives from record labels occasionally hung out there, and some people were signed as a result of being discovered. No one ever had any concrete evidence of that, but most people accepted it as fact.

Juliana was excited but a bit nervous about hanging out with Kevin at a bar. They hadn’t done that before. Furthermore, she hadn’t had a drink since the first time she and Hillary hung out a year ago. She didn’t have qualms about drinking, but this was another one of those situations where she felt like she didn’t meet people’s expectations. She had no idea what to order and didn’t like the look people gave her when they discovered she didn’t drink. She knew Kevin would be more gracious, but the newness of the situation made her nervous anyway.

When they sat at the bar, he looked like he remembered something. “Oh… I should have asked… Do you drink? I sometimes forget how young you are.” There was a look on his face she couldn’t detect. Whatever it was, he hid it with a sarcastic snort. “You’re not even old enough to buy your own drink.”

“What is the age?”

“21.”

That was almost a whole two years away. She didn’t think about their age difference much. Honestly, she wasn’t sure exactly how old he was; she never asked. But, she had an idea that it was probably significant. It didn’t bother her, though. Age was simply a number.

“I’m sorry,” he continued. “I should have asked you. I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable bringing you here.”

She was a wee bit uncomfortable but didn’t want him to know that. “It’s ok. I want to try something.”

“Sure? I’m not trying to pressure you. I feel like Harriett would murder me if she found out I took you to a bar.”

They both laughed. Especially Juliana when she recalled how Harriett reacted when Hillary took her to that bar.

“I will leave that part out,” she said.

“Heh, sure.” Suddenly, something behind them stole his attention and he spun around on his stool and faced the stage. “Listen to her! We can drink later. We gotta check her out!”

The heavily pregnant woman on stage was singing like she didn’t have eight pounds of pressure sitting on her abdomen. She had a great, silky alto tone and ran through the notes like it was nothing.

When she was done crooning, an announcement was made that a karaoke contest would be starting in five minutes. Juliana thought Kevin’s excitement about the family pictures was high, but she unprepared for his reaction to the announcement.

“WE’RE TOTALLY DOING THIS!”

He grabbed her arm and attempted to drag her on the stage, but she was solid like as rock.

“No! I-I can’t sing!”

“Neither can I, but it’s gonna be so fun!”

There was so much light in his eyes. She had never seen him so fun and loose before; it was refreshing. She wanted to oblige him, but singing in front of people was something she just did not do.

“I’m scared.”

“Hmmm, maybe we should have those drinks. Some of the best karaoke singers survive on liquid courage,” he said jokingly. “It’s ok, Juliana! Everyone knows karaoke is an excuse for people to make fools of themselves. You’re expected to be bad…except…when you’re not, hee hee.”

He didn’t make any sense but wasn’t giving up. And, she so loved how excited he was about doing this.

“I don’t know many songs.”

“Well, that’s kind of the point. The words are on the screen so you can follow along, but we can sing any song you want! Hey! What was that one song you knew at that party in Windenburg? Let’s do that!”

“You know it?”

“I am embarrassed to say I do know that song. So… whaddaya say?”

She sighed. “Ok.”

“Yes!”

“Your mic, m’lady.”

Kevin found the song in the system and queued it up for them. The music began to play, and they had a four measure wait before the first words came on. Juliana was incredibly nervous and would have rather been doing anything else. But looking over at Kevin with his goofy grin made her laugh. It loosened her up just a little. But, when the words began to scroll, she clammed up. Her voice was so low she could barely be heard.

I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan…

“These words are so tiny! Uhh–LAX…with dreams and cards again…”

She thought it was hilarious that she, the foreigner, knew the words while he was flubbing it. The laughter helped a lot.

…Jumped in the cab, here I am for the first time Look to my right, and I see the Hollywood sign…

She looked out at the audience and noticed two groups of people: people who weren’t paying attention and people who thought they rocked. That’s when she knew none of it mattered to anyone. Sure, it was natural to feel nervous, but she was up there singing her favorite song with her favorite friend who seemed to be having the time of his life. She was gonna have fun too. Putting the fear aside, she thought about the hundreds of times she and her girlfriends back home shouted the lyrics and danced to this song in her bedroom. She channeled those memories and turned up her performance.

…and I’m feelin’ kinda home sick Too much pressure and I’m nervous That’s when the taxi man turned on the radio And a Jay-Z song was on And the Jay-Z song was on…

…So I put my hands up They’re playing my song, the butterflies fly away I’m noddin’ my head like, yeah I’m movin’ my hips like, yeah…

…Yeeeeeeeeeeah, it’s a party in the U.S.A.

Yeeeeeeeeeeah, it’s a party in the U.S.A.

When the song was over, Juliana couldn’t stop laughing. Kevin was hilarious. His tone was so much worse than hers, and he flubbed most of the words. Singing that song with him was a thousand times more fun than with her friends. Never in her life did she once imagine she would be in the U.S.A. singing that song. She felt amazing.

Kevin high fived her again. “WOO! We were HOT! Don’t tell me that wasn’t FUN!

“We deserve really awesome drinks right now!” He practically ran to the bar.

Juliana was smiling and shaking her head him. This was a completely new Kevin she never knew before, and she was glad to meet him. She never thought he was a stick in the mud, but he more reserved–like her–and a bit serious. Occasionally a humorous side would come out, but nothing like this.

He ordered two Sea of Fires. It was his favorite drink and he hoped she would like it as much as he did. She sat next to him and waited for the drinks to be made. Neither of them could say much as they were processing what they had just done and how much fun it was. When they got the drinks, Kevin waited for Juliana to try it first.

“What do you think?”

She coughed and held her throat. “It’s spicy!”

“Ha! Yeah, sea of fire.”

It wasn’t a bad just unexpected. She took another sip. “It’s sweet too.”

“So…do you like it?”

“It’s good, yeah.”

He was glad. He really did feel bad about not asking her about her preferences before they got there. It was difficult because Juliana was so mature and didn’t act her age, but remembering her age was always alarming like a swift kick to the groin.

Out of nowhere, another man was trying to get Juliana’s attention. He was sitting at the other end of the bar calling her name. Kevin looked askance and wondered where this guy thought he knew her from. He was so much older than Kevin. Step off, old man, he thought.

There was another singer on stage trying to outdo them, and it was hard to hear. Juliana finally heard the voice and looked in his direction. “Oh! Hi Jack,” she said. “How are you? Is Rebecca here too?”

“No, I’m just grabbing a drink before I head home. Had a late meeting.”

“Oh, Jack. Rebecca’s husband,” Kevin said under his breath. “Heh, I know how that goes. Can I get you something? We’re celebrating our epic karaoke performance!”

“Karaoke? You two must be brave souls!”

It was obvious Kevin was still pumped. His excitement was contagious, and Juliana couldn’t stop smiling.

“Bravery? Nah, you don’t need that. You just have to care about not looking like an idiot,” Kevin said matter-of-factly.

The trio laughed.

“Come on, Jack. Let me buy you a drink.”

“Oh, thank you kindly, but no. I don’t want to interrupt your date.”

The smile Kevin had was wiped from his face. Juliana was afraid to look at him and took another sip.

“Date?”

“Y-yeah…are you two together?”

Juliana wanted to laugh for she understood much better than Kevin why people kept thinking they were an item.

“Oh, no, we’re not–w-we’re just–she’s my friend. W-we’re just hanging out.”

“Oh.” Jack sounded very surprised. “My mistake.”

Juliana - Chapter 72 Reunited - Juliana and Kevin get reunited and it feels really really good. Time in Willow Creek: 1 year, 2 months, 5 days Just as Kevin promised, he called Juliana three days after their talk.