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bethansfandoms · 4 years ago

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i keep seeing these and i just need more of it so Sirius is a youtuber au?

i literally read one of these the other day! how did you know?

sirius, or as he was known to the world,‘padfoot, was huge. he had a crazy amount of subscribers and his videos ranged from general chit chat to baking to gaming and, most famously, pranking fellow youtuber ‘prongs.’

people loved him. they loved his personality and his content and his appearance and his voice. everything. because he was so popular, sirius never could read every single comment, but he tried his best, and there was one that did catch his eye.

it was simply “day one of telling sirius that whoever edits his videos is awesome.” it had 50K likes.

part of the reason sirius’ posting schedule was so regular was because he didn’t edit his own stuff, he’d hired someoneto do it for him. his name was remus lupin, and this random commenter was correct, he was awesome.

the comments continued. sirius would look for it on every daily upload and there it was, always near the top. somebody commenting appreciation for sirius’ editor.

sirius and remus were friends. they weren’t super close, but they spent a lot of time together as sirius had an office for his ‘padfoot’ brand and he always filmed there, for privacy reasons more than anything. the computers in the office had all the equipment remus needed to edit and so they saw each other almost every day.

“have you seen this?” sirius asked casually, showing remus his phone. “day forty-two of telling sirius that who ever edits his videos is awesome.” 45K likes.

remus smiled, “ah, well, i do my best.”

“they’re right,” sirius responded, “i can’t really thank you enough for it. my videos would suck without you.”

remus rolled his eyes, “i am sure youtube’s heart-throb would do just fine in his own.”

sirius felt himself blush slightly. “yeah, well, glad the youtube comment section is appreciating what you’re doing as much as i am.”

it was next mentioned in a live stream. sirius read the comment and contemplated ignoring it but decided to read it out loud anyway. “sirius, expose your editing team.” he grinned. “not a team! just this one poor guy i’m afraid, i feel sorry for him.”

for some reason, it sent the comments off on a tangent. there were now numerous questions coming in and all of them about this editor. “can i get them on the live? ha, hold up.” remus was only in the room next door.

“remus!” he realised he’d just outed his name which the comments started freaking out about. “would you like to be on my live?”

remus walked away from his desk, laughing, and stayed just out of shot. “sorry, what?”

“the viewers want to meet my editor!”

remus sighed and awkwardly walked into frame. “how many people are watching?”

“only two million.”

“wish i’d known that or i probably wouldn’t have let two million people see me in this jumper my mum made me.”

sirius laughed, “it’s adorable.”

this is how a sub fandom was created. various twitter accounts dedicated to remus. people commenting on how cute he was or theorising the nature of sirius and remus’ relationship.

that embarrassed sirius slightly. he’d always had a mild crush on his editor and the fact that people were uploading the thirty seconds remus had ben on camera for and titling it “sirius having heart eyes for remus,” always made him slightly flustered.

remus’ appearing in sirius’ live shows started to become more frequent as people kept anting more remus content. this is how sirius came up with a new video idea. “Q and A with my editor.”

“i am just going to edit this and make sure nothing embarrassing i do is left in,” was the first thing remus said when he hit record.

“will you keep that in?” sirius asked, smiling.

“haven’t decided, depends how my hair looks.”

“it looks good.” that got edited out. “okay,” sirius said, “question one: what’s it like having to look at my face all day for a living.”

remus flushed. that got edited out. “it’s a weird way of describing my job, but i guess it’s not the worst thing in the world.”

sirius chuckled, “you flatter me.” sirius scrolled through his phone for more questions, “when will you start dating? let’s not include that one.”

remus scoffed, “when you ask me out i guess. yeah, that’s getting edited out.”

“christ, there’s a theme here,” sirius muttered, “remus are you single, remus rate sirius on appearance out of ten, remus would you rather kiss sirius or die.”

remus burst out laughing, “i’m starting to get a bit concerned about your viewers.”

“yeah, well, ever since my coming out video they’ve been desperate to know if i’m seeing anyone. there were all these proof videos about how me and james were dating before he married lily. oh here’s another one, remus what’s your sexuality?”

“bisexual,” he grinned, “should i leave that in or would that just drive people insane.”

“well, it depends. apparently there is already fanfiction about us.”

“how! i’ve been in like, four of your live shows.”

sirius shrugged, “people work fast.”

remus edited all of it out.

they spent hours laughing together on camera before finally wrapping the video up. it got 15 million views in a week.

“people like you, remus!”

“people just want somebody to ship you with.”

“no, for real, i keep seeing fan pages for you.”

remus laughed, “that’s insane! they know literally nothing about me.”

“they don’t have to. apparently being funny and good looking is enough for them to go on.” sirius regretted it almost instantly. luckily, remus didn’t seem to mind.

“you think i’m funny?”

sirius was so glad that he’d asked that instead of ‘you think i’m good looking’. “yeah, of course. i think you’re... yeah. we should hang out more. if you want of course.”

“ah, the amount of people on the who’d kill to hang out with the padfoot. yeah. that’d be nice. don’t tell the internet or they’ll think it’s a date.”

sirius shrugged, “is it?”

“oh, uh,” remus’ cheeks went bright pink. “i don’t know, is it?”

“if it doesn’t work, i still want to be friends. but we could always... try?”

a year later, sirius published his second most viewed video, after his coming out. it was titled “meet my boyfriend,” with the man in the thumbnail blurred out.

it was remus, of course. and the news actually broke twitter.

yo what the hell should i write an ao3 fic on this? i love this trope so much!!!

#wolfstar #wolfstar fanfic #wolfstar fan fiction #wolfstar prompt #wolfstar au #wolfstar text post #wolfstar textpost #wolfstar fanfiction #sirius black #remus lupin #sirius black x remus lupin #marauders

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literateleah · 4 years ago

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the paradox of emily prentiss’ audience perception and character design

some of y’all about to be real mad at me, but it must be said:

emily prentiss’ character design makes no sense: my personal opinion + an objective analysis

i think it can be challenging to separate the versions of characters we have in our little brains from actual canon content, but doing so is important for understanding what those characters are truly like, especially within the context of their environment and in contrast to others around them. plus developing a deeper understanding of the media we consume is super fun and interesting! with that being said: emily prentiss should not work for the fbi and here’s why (in three parts regarding who’s responsible: cbs, paget, and fans) (sit down and grab a snack i promise this is over 3k words)

quick disclaimer: i don’t dislike emily at all! that’s my girl, i just looked closer and realized some funky things the writers did and felt the need to analyze her of course: so let’s get into it

part one: what cbs did

cbs set the stage for emily’s introduction on the heels of the departure of lola glaudini as elle greenaway! lola has clarified that she decided to leave the show because filming in los angeles was not the best environment for her personally, and after one successful season on a major network (but not much established long term plot or drama beyond elle’s departure as a character) a consistent ensemble cast was required- particularly because the bau had been criticized for being predominantly male in the first few episodes of the show and not much development was given to penelope or jj yet. enter emily prentiss.

for the duration of seasons 2-3ish, emily was framed as a chip off the block that was elle greenaway, just slightly…richer? in her first few episodes emily was hesitantly polite but ambitious, clean cut, intellectually concise and held her own within the team. she seemed equal parts intimidated and frustrated by her male superiors (gideon, hotch) but certainly proves herself among other profilers. her childhood was explored only within reference to her strained relationship with her mother (which was only ever referenced once more after the fact) and we received a short overview of her educational and career history in her first few episodes. emily fit right into the hole elle had left, and didn’t have many major storylines yet.

seasons 4-6 brought a bit more development and depth to emily’s character! she begins dropping more snarky remarks, one liners, and socially deepening her relationships with the other team members. this seems more within the lines of elle’s design, but emily arguably took more time to grow into her place within the team. during the foyet arc she was vulnerable and supportive, and the doyle arc gave her some independence and agency she didn’t have previously. this era also solidified her appearance and persona as more edgy, which falls in line with general fanon perception of her character (especially when compared to jj or penelope). i can’t address this era or season 7 without mentioning that cbs was actively trying to remove paget from the cast, similar to how they did to aj cook as well. paget has spoken about this instance before, and i believe it slightly affected her portrayal of her character, and “lauren” was somewhat of a goodbye for both paget and emily (thus why she wished for mgg to direct since they were best friends).

season 7: in my opinion, one of the best seasons for emily. she was wisened and deeply wounded by her experiences with doyle, which was understandable of course. she returned to the team she loved and learned to appreciate life in a different way, remaining mature during this time period as well! though her departure was a bit less than graceful and sudden at the end of this season, it made sense compared to some other exits the team had seen.

now *sigh* all the rest.

paget as emily appears in two separate guest appearances (once in s9 and once in s11, and she is referenced offscreen as well) before permanently reprising her role as unit chief of the bau. these appearances were most likely to boost ratings and get the team back together (i.e. 200) or just to pepper in international cases (tribute). emily’s personality remains pretty consistent here, just more mature and comfortable in leadership positions (seeing as she is running an entire branch of an international law enforcement organization). then season 12 hit.

upon the departure of thomas gibson as hotch, cbs reached out to paget to see if she would be interested in fulfilling her role as emily within a longer term unit chief position. i’ll get into why this is wack in a few paragraphs, but the remainder of her time on the show is spent on a mature portrayal that seems very distant from her previous versions. emily is more authoritative, gives orders with ease, and has no qualms about leading a team of agents or even receiving promotion offers as director of the entire bureau.

thus concludes a general summary of the canon content cbs gave us as viewers. now let's talk about what they didn’t give us, regrettably

the primary aspect of emily’s design that comes to mind for many is her queer coding. though not much was to be expected from cbs, a prime time cable tv network, each of her relationships on the show (all with men) seemed oddly forced, and without much chemistry as compared to the SOs of other main characters. rumors of scrapped plotlines have floated around about what may have been, but the ultimate lack of acknowledgement of any queer characters in the main ensemble still leaves a feeling of disappointment to audiences, and leaves more to be desired as for how emily navigates social bonds.

part two (sidebar): what paget did

i think it could be agreed within audiences that paget brewster’s portrayal of emily made the role what it was! her dry witty delivery and emotional prowess combined with sitcom acting experience made her performance a mainstay for years. i think she did the best she could with a confusing and at times flat characterization, and brought the role to life.

paget also heavily contributes to fanon indirectly with her comments outside of the show (press, cameos, twitter etc). her general continued interest and fondness for the role post production affects fan perception, particularly in what she chooses to elevate and comment on. she and aj have both spoken about viewing jemily content, and paget and thomas have both also commented on hotchniss. most cast members feel free to comment on their characters in the appropriate timing, and seem open to discussing fanon ships and theories outside of canon!

part three: what fanon did

as we can tell from this fan space as well as the presence on insta, tik tok and twitter, fans LATCHED onto emily super quickly. she’s remained a favorite over the years, and this fan persistence is what brought her back so many times after leaving (so many times). in my opinion, queer coding and a bolder female trope (in contrast to her female counterparts) are the main pulls because they resonated with so many fans- new and old. with that being said, newer fans of the show in the past year in particular have been heavily influential in fanon, solely because of the large influx of fan content and popularity of it.

fan content began to take coding and bite size moments and snippets from the show as canon, and cemented it into much of the content and discourse they created. these small pieces of emily’s character are significant, but have become magnified by how easily they are to share and edit. for example, a collection of catchy one liners from emily over the seasons makes for a great video edit intro, or gifset! there’s absolutely no problem with this content, it just all combines to create a certain fanon perception no character escapes (this isn’t a phenomenon limited to emily or the cm fandom!)

these droves of content also solidified emily’s personality as much more defined, but at the same time, simplified it in a way that’s slightly harder to explain.

fanon: more emo/goth than canon basis

fanon: more introverted/anti social than canon basis

fanon: more violent/chaotic when canon emily is relatively well mannered and doesn’t start many conflicts (particularly in the workspace)

fanon: much less maternal when canon emily displays desire on multiple occasions (even crossing professional borders) for children, particularly teenage girls (possibly projection)

(again, nothing wrong with this interpretation at all and it still varies! This is just a generalization based on most of the popular content i have seen)

part 4: why it doesn’t work

let me start with this: emily prentiss does not like her job.

we don’t receive much in depth information about emily’s internal feelings and thoughts towards her mother beyond resentment. this stems from wanting to make it on her own, as a professional and as an individual (cough cough college deposits). this makes emily’s insistence on proving herself to authority figures in her earlier seasons is interesting to watch in different circumstances. she cites her experience and denies help from her mother when justifying her placement in the bau to hotch, she is extra vigilant about being helpful on her first case with gideon, etc. nevertheless, emily forges her own path outside of diplomacy and becomes a successful profiler and agent, with the help of her privilege, wealth and name whether she likes it or not. but if we read between the lines and fill in the blanks cbs neglected, these ambitions may subconsciously be oriented towards pleasing her mother.

example one: emily’s authority issues go further than just “rebellion” or “anarchy”, she frequently questions the ethics and sustainability of the work that the bau does. every team member does this, but emily much more so than anybody else.

in “amplification”, emily almost breaks federal protocol to inform civilians of anthrax threats. she butts heads with both hotch and rossi on this front, and ends the episode with having a conversation with rossi about the ethics of lying in their line of work. emily resigns to a solemn “it be like that” and moves along, accepting this reality.

on multiple different occasions emily laments to derek about the darkness she sees on the job, and it’s shown that this gets to her quickly on particularly bad cases. this is another contradiction of the design that she can supposedly “compartmentalize” better than others on the team, when she cannot unless the lives of others are at risk (doyle arc, s7 finale).

emily also responds in this way to many cases involving children, a similarity to jj many don’t notice upon first watching the series. “seven seconds” and “children of the dark” come to mind, during the latter in which emily is prepared to cross multiple professional lines to adopt a teenage girl left orphaned by the case, until hotch stops her and establishes that her emotions can’t rule her judgement on the job. regardless of hotch’s thoughts about her attempted caretaking abilities, these actions and impulses deeply contradict the typical bureaucratic pathways of the work the bau does.

the looming reputation of her mother’s diplomatic history hangs over emily, and after going to law school and working for the cia, she most likely did want to forge her own path as far away from being a socialite: being a spy. her inner nature doesn’t always reflect this profession, and leads me to believe that with her knowledge of psychology, law procedure and care for children: emily prentiss might be more inclined to working in social work, placing suffering children and teenagers in homes they deserve.

and finally, the hill i will die on: emily prentiss was an bad unit chief

this wonderful post touches on my general sentiment, but there were many reasons as to why emily prentiss’ career arc makes little to no sense (plot holes included).

first: her background. emily attended chesapeake bay university as well as yale and achieved a ba in criminal justice. keep in mind that though timelines evidently don’t exist in the cm universe, emily prentiss is ONE YEAR older than aaron hotchner (for context). in her first episode, she professes that she has worked for the bureau for a little under ten years in midwestern offices- something the audience laters knows to not be true. emily worked with the cia and interpol as a part of a profiling team and undercover agent up until roughly TWO YEARS before her canon introduction. plot holes and time gaps aside, this makes me wonder, why didn’t she just say the cia was a backstop without revealing the highly confidential nature of her work with doyle (similar to jj’s state department backstop and cover story)? penelope or hotch could have easily accessed her file and seen that she did not in fact have experience with the bureau in midwestern offices recently, and given the fact that erin strauss set up her bau placement, i’m presuming these formalities or references were overlooked.

second: her experience within the team. emily worked as a part of the bau with the bureau for roughly 6 or 7 years. after this, she is invited to run the entire london branch of interpol, one of the most renowned international law enforcement organizations. i’m surely not the most knowledgeable on requirements or standard timelines for such matters, but with the fact that emily had never led a team in her life (not in the bau or interpol previously) and had roughly 10 years of field experience, i don’t believe she would have ever realistically been considered eligible to run the whole london department.

third: her return to the bureau. fanon depiction of their relationship aside, if you believe aaron hotchner’s last wish before going into witsec was to entrust his team to emily prentiss, you’re dead mistaken. bringing emily back was clearly a pull for ratings after the loss of two main characters (hotch and derek), but logistically a bad decision. let’s suppose emily has had 4 or 5 years of experience in london now, this established authority position would be unlikely to change at the drop of a hat, even for old teammates or friends. also considering how close they were after a decade of working closely in bureaucratic and field contexts, i firmly believe hotch would have referred jj for the job of unit chief but that’s another discussion for another time.

emily’s reign as unit chief is odd, because of the many chaotic storylines crammed into it. but amidst bad writing and viewings plummeting, emily’s character is completely flattened. completely. emily is unrecognizable, both in appearance (that god awful wig) and personality. at times she acts as a complete wise authority, giving orders and delegating local authorities as hotch did. but at other times she makes multiple illegal, emotional, and incorrect judgement calls based on personal circumstances that lead to further chaos (deleting the recording of her and reid’s mexico conversation and reprimanding luke in “luke” for the exact same thing she did in season 6 even though she enabled her to do so come to mind).

i’m not sure if this is due to paget trying to find her footing in the role again, or the writer’s bad decisions towards the end of the show wrecking any previous design for their ensemble. then, there’s the infamous “wheels up” scene in s13e1. notoriously cringey, this seems like a vague caricature of something rossi would say many years in the past (the same goes for her pep talk in “red light” in the hunt for diana reid). these moments are meant to mature emily in the audience’s eye, but instead completely removed her from who we understood her to be, and made her an unreliable leader.

part five: and why it does

in theory, emily was a bolder foil to jj, similar to elle who she arguably replaced at first. she came into her own, and stands as a more uniquely developed character than almost any other in the main ensemble. she isn’t as maternal or domestically inspiring as canon jj, less bright and sunny than penelope, not quite as stoic or intimidating as derek or hotch. And yet at the same time, she’s a fairly blank slate. stripping fanon content away entirely, canon emily has few defining traits (all of which are constantly changing), and that may be the key to why we love her so much.

#long post #emily prentiss #ITS HERE #and its a doozy #read if you'd like #leah writes #if there's typos i apologize #this was a fever dream

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p---ink · 4 years ago

Text

White.

Author’s Note: First Chris Oneshot. It was supposed to be a blurb/drabble, but I think its a bit too long for that now. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this filth. Also you ever get that feeling, where you feel like you've came up with an idea in your head originally, but also feel like you may have seen it somewhere else? Yea that's how I feel about this piece. So if you've read something similar to this, please link it and let me know so I can edit or delete this post altogether.

Summary: Chris greets you after a long day at work, with some TLC.

Word Count: 2.9k.

Warning: Fluff and Smut. Oral (female receiving), fingering, Semi-mean Daddy Chris, over-stimulation, multiple orgasms, and I think...maybe that’s it? Please let me know if I forgot something.

Disclaimer: Gif is not mine.

“The kids are asleep?” You whispered, when he held his finger to his lips upon your arrival.

“Yea, I just laid Ezra down. That is one rowdy little person.” He said chuckling, leaning down to plant a kiss on your mouth. He held you by your waist to pepper more along your face.

“Chris baby, you are a God-send.” You sighed, leaning in to his touch. “You will not believe the shitty day I had.”

“Hold that thought and take a seat, doll” he ordered, urging you towards the living room by your shoulders. “I’ll be right back.” He promised.

You sighed as you threw your work bag down on the love chair beside you, kicking your shoes off in the process. When you crossed the room to drop down on the sofa, the weight of today’s events crushed you instantaneously, as you waited for your husband to return.

You’ve been married for six years, and he’s been good to you for all of them. Great even. He always listened, and almost never complained. How could he when he was usually away, due to his job?

He was forever busy with filming, press tours and whatnot. It made him feel guilty to leave you and your sons so often. So any time he was at home for a break, he took full advantage. He spent time with his boys, and then the rest with you, spoiling you all with his love.

Preoccupied with your stress, you almost failed to notice Chris taking a seat in front of you. He took hold of one of your legs, and that’s when you noticed your spa-kit placed next to him.

“Baby, you don’t have to do this.” You cried, scrunching your face in relief when he rubbed your calf in just the right spot.

Chris flashed those pretty baby blues at you, along with that signature smug smirk. “You know I do. And you know I want to.” He said, before dousing his hands with oil.

As he firmly massaged the coconut into your skin, you couldn’t help but marvel at him. Taking a pillow into your arms to hug, and hide your giddy smile, you reply with, “What I did I do to deserve you?”

“Well I would tell you, but I don’t have enough time, because you’ve got to tell me about what’s got my girl so upset.” He informed you with a stern look that read who do I have to kill? “Before you do that,” he started, placing your newly moisturized leg down before grabbing the other, “Choose a color.”

You tucked your bottom lip between your teeth, peering over to take a look into the open basket. It had an assorted amount of different nail polishes and products for nail care. Your favorite color currently decorated the bottom of the basket, and it made you recall the time your oldest son Jeremy spilled its contents over while playing a game of “paint” about a week ago. That boy. You thought, shaking your head playfully. Well I guess I won’t be choosing that one.

After a moment of close examination, and scrutiny, you chose “White”, which made Chris immediately stop his measures against your legs, to peer up at you through hooded lids.

“So its one of those days, huh.” He smirked. “I was hoping you’d pick that one.”

“What do you mean by that?” You questioned. You hadn’t known he preferred certain colors on you.

“I’ll tell you later, but first tell me about your day baby.”

He didn’t need to tell you twice. You were dying to get it all off your chest. You spilled out your hearts content, as your husband massaged your legs, then your feet, and in between your toes. As he delicately removed the old paint from your last session, and proceeded to paint your feet, you were almost finished relaying the message.

“…and its just like they treat me like I’m insane! But you know what? The way i’m always overlooked, and ignored, makes me feel like I am going insane. Every time I suggest an idea, its stupid. But let some asshat say the exact same thing, and they praise him like a god.” You complain, rolling your eyes, at your memories from your work day.

Chris offered you the occasional nod or two, humming softly at your cries of frustration when needed. And as much as he wanted to offer his two cents on the matter, he knew that what you wanted most was to be heard. You just wanted to be listened to. And while you wouldn’t of minded him beating their asses, he knew you needed his tenderness. His love. His care. And so that’s what he gave you.

“And you know why they do it right? It’s because I’m a woman! A black one at that. Lord Jesus, it pisses me off so much.” You sigh, finally bringing your eyes down to him, after they had been trained on the air and nothingness around you; you had a habit of re-living stories as you told them. “But honey, this has really helped out a lot.” You say, cupping his chin lovingly.

“You know I’ll do anything for you doll. And fuck those sons of bitches. They’re idiots if they can’t see how amazing you are. If you quit, like I suggested a while ago, that’ll really show ‘em.” Chris exclaimed, applying a second coat of white.

“Now you know I love what I do. I just wish I was more appreciated is all!”

He gave you a sympathetic look before saying, “well you know me and the boys appreciate you.”, running his fingers along the ridges of your toes to remove the misapplied dye on your skin.

“I know you do baby. I mean look at what you’re doing for me now.” You said, gesturing towards the care he took with your feet.

Chris just smiled in response. He only felt slightly defeated when you rejected his idea to stay at home. You told him many stories about the jerks you worked with. You were among one of the only women at your company, and you paid for that fact daily. You told him, how they would talk to you, and treat you, even though you had the same amount, if not more experience as they did. He didn’t want you to have to put up with that. He wanted you to kick your feet up and enjoy the life he would provide for you and the kids you both created. But, like the supportive husband he was, he honored your wishes to pursue your passions. He knew that was what made you happier at the moment. The time would come, where he could spoil you completely, though.

“Speaking of this,” You started, motioning towards your feet once more. “What’d you mean when you said “So it’s one of those days, huh”” You asked, putting on your best impression of him.

Chris put on a smile that could light up a room, as a deep throaty chuckle erupted from his chest, and vibrated through your body via your feet. “Is that what you think I sound like? No matter, I’ll tell you what I meant. I can predict exactly what it is you need, and how you feel, based on the nail polish color you choose.” He said confidently, picking up a clear polish to apply the final coat.

“Is that right?” You ask, failing to take him seriously, even when he flashed that cocky grin and brow twitch that he often used to back his claims. “You’re so full of shit.”

“Seriously. I can. Listen.” He informed you, opening the clear polish, and brushing the access paint along the insides of the bottle. “I can prove it.”

“Fine! Go ahead.” You state, becoming intrigued.

Delicately holding your left foot against his knee, he starts explaining his theory while applying polish. “You see, when you choose a pale blue or orange, I know you just wanna forget about things with a movie or a cuddle session. Forest green or black, when you feel like throwing a couple of shots back with your girls at a bar. Mauve and a nude of any kind are your favorites, and you request them when you need to feel in control, classy, or sophisticated. And you always choose a soft pink, or yellow, when you need a happy reminder, or a burst of energy and inspiration. Lavender, is a color I wish you’d choose more, since it represents your happiness. Gray, is a color I wish you’d choose less, since it means you’re sad. And then there’s plum purple and candy apple red, two colors I can’t get enough of. You want those, when you’re feeling sexy. See, baby I can read you like an open book.” He declared, moving on to your second foot. Feeling quite sure of himself.

You just stared at him in awe. Then you realized he didn’t mention, the one he just spent ten minutes applying. “You forgot about white.”

“Oh I didn’t forget angel.” He corrected, smirking as he finally finished painting both feet. “I’m just waiting on your toes to dry.” After he says this, he begins to sensually blow cool air on your toes.

“Chris! Tell me what it means!” You pout playfully, growing fed up with his secrecy. Also tickled from the air he blew.

“Fine. But be quiet, you don’t wanna wake those little demons.” He warned, fixing you with a stern look that made you erupt into quiet giggles. He always made you laugh with his juxtaposed funny-seriousness. He was seriously funny. “White is my absolute favorite. You wanna know why? Its simple, and doesn’t drown out your pretty personality. It goes with every outfit, purse, and hairstyle. You wear this color, when you’re frustrated. Exasperated. Annoyed. You choose white, when you need me to wrap those pretty little legs around my neck, so I can make you cum till kingdom come. Or until you see, ‘white’. Whichever comes first”. He finished, staring at you seriously all of the sudden. A thick silence had befallen the two of you, and you almost didn’t know how to escape it.

After a moment, you break out into a smile, despite Chris’ unmoving features. “Are you sure that’s what I want? Or is it something you want?”

“It’s what you need.” He affirmed, finally matching your expression, only his smile held a lot more lust than yours. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“I’ll tell you something alright, Chris. I think you paint my nails entirely too much.”

He lets out a breathy chuckle, moving to pack up the spa kit, before saying “So in other words I’m right.” He rises to his feet, peering down through his long lashes with a knowing grin, before turning to leave the room. But not without saying, “Don’t worry baby, I’ll give you what you need.” Leaving you an anxious mess.

You start squirming in your seat, waiting with anticipation for him to return. You try to sit in your sexiest pose, but it makes you feel awkward. Then you start to wonder if you should remove your underwear. But you know he likes doing that. You even wonder if you smell okay, after such a long day at work. A million thoughts race through your mind, and you barely register his presence when reenters the room. You slightly jump, when you feel his warm hands brush against the nape of your neck.

“Shit baby.” Chris laughs, as he rounds the couch. “I knew it was bad, but I didn’t realize how bad. Let daddy, handle this for you.” He says kneeling back in front of you, knees tucked firmly under his person. He smoothes his hands over the expanse of your soft supple skin, leaving a burning trail of desire in his wake. When he hooks his fingers underneath the waistband of your panties, your breath hitches as the cool air hits your moistened sex.

You lift your thighs and legs, so he can carefully remove the lace without ruining his handwork on your feet. When Chris surveys your dampened panties and inhales their scent, his grin grows wider. “You’re already this wet for me?”

He gives you no time to answer as he’s pulling you closer to his face, by your thighs. The sudden movement caused a whimper to escape your throat, soft sound making his cock harden. He’s working his kisses up against your thighs with a quickness, ready to produce more sounds like the last.

Your head’s position on the couch has you feeling a bit awkward, and you go to say “This is uncom—” but cut yourself off with a moan, as he dives his thick tongue between your petals, writing love notes against the skin.

“What’s that, doll?” Chris asks, hot breath dangerously close to your bud.

You just mewl in response, wetting his beard with your juices, as he eats you like you’re his last meal. “Right there baby.” You groan, grinding yourself against his mouth when his tongue darts against your nub.

“Right here?” He questions softly, repeating the same gestures, sending a jolt through your body that makes you buck against his face.

Your words leave your throat, as he sucks harshly against the problem areas, shocks of pleasure emitting through your person. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, he adds his fingers. First two, but then three as he starts fucking your pussy.

“D-daddy!” You cry, voice coming out shaky as you writhe against his lips and fingers. His actions have you climbing up the couch.

Then he removes his lips, warning you to keep quiet. “My babies are upstairs, I’m gonna need you to keep your pretty mouth shut.” He commands, placing your soaked panties between your lips.

As he quickens the pace of his fingers, and makes his tongue dart from left to right relentlessly against your clit, you approach your first orgasm of the night, and he knows it too, when your hole clenches around his fingers.

He smiles, and tells you how proud of you he is, but he isn’t done with you yet.

♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

Your muffled moans ring through your ears, as you clamp your teeth down around your underwear. Your jaw was becoming slack from keeping it open so long, and you were feeling sore.

Chris was still continuing his assault against your sex. He had long moved from his position on the floor, and now sat beside you on the couch.

He had your legs sprawled open, keeping them from closing with one hand gripped on your thigh, and the other rubbed fast and hard circles against your clit, while he whispered sweet nothings into your ear.

“What number was that one, baby? Five, six? I lost count after the third time, when you squirted on daddy’s chest.” He growled, biting his lip, as he quickened his pace against your nub. “Do you think you can do that again?”

You moaned in protest, shaking your head from left to right, as you approached another orgasm. You couldn’t take anymore pleasure, your sensitive bud was going through too much.

“What’s that baby? I can’t hear you.” He teased, face as serious as it could be. He was testing you. You knew not to remove the underwear, or you’d be there all night. When you made no moves to pull them out, he did it for you, a string of spit connecting your lips to the fabric.

You immediately pleaded with him to ease up. “Daddy I don’t think I-I can take an-nymore.” You cried, now a blubbering mess.

“You don’t think you can take anymore?” Chris repeated, mocking you. “Well that’s too bad. Daddy thinks his princess looks too pretty when she’s cumming. So suck it up, because I’m not stopping until we have to replace this couch.”

You felt that familiar coil in your stomach again, threatening to snap, as you threw your head back. You were a sweating mess now. You had hair glued to your face, and neck, and your shirt was drenched, as it clung to your stomach. But still, it wasn’t quite as drenched as your pussy, thighs, and couch cushions were.

Chris was as hard as a rock, but you knew if you touched him, he’d get angry. He wanted to play with you, until you were begging him to stop.

“What happened today at work again baby? What was it Chad said to you? I bet if I have you fucked out like this every night, I’d be the only man on your mind.” He whispered against your ear.

Your stomach began spasming, as you clenched painfully around nothing. This would be your last one too, before your body gave up.

Tears streamed down your cheek, as you contorted your face into the sexiest expression Chris had ever seen. And then, just before your screams of pleasure could rip through your chest, he covered his mouth over yours, as you squirted all over his hands, your thighs, and stomach. When you finally opened your eyes, you could only see white, before your vision came back into focus.

Massaging the wet, between your folds, Chris bought his fingers up to your lips and said “open.” And you did, sucking all your juices from his digits without breaking eye contact. “Attagirl.” He praised, wiping your tears away. Feel better now?” He asked, small smirk playing on his lips.

You nod tiredly, throat dry from your previous activities.

He brushes your sweaty hair behind your ears before saying, “Good. Now, let’s paint those pretty pink walls white, too.”

#Chris Evans smut #Chris Evans fluff #chris evans x reader #black reader #Chris evans #marvel smut #marvel fluff #captain america #Steve rogers #ransom drysdale

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yehet-about-it · 4 years ago

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I Like Me Better | 10 - An Evening Interrupted

~ A Wayv Social Media AU Series ~

< Prev || Series Masterlist || Next >

Synopsis: You’ve just moved into a new apartment with your best friend Yangyang, but you’re immediately faced with a problem: your incredibly noisy upstairs neighbour Xiao Dejun, or to friends, Xiaojun. You spend the first few weeks of your acquaintance hating his guts, but after a sincere apology and a fascinating revelation about his passions and motivations you slowly begin to see past his cold exterior to discover the real him. What will happen as you get closer to this troubled boy and how will those closest to you react?

Pairing: Reader x Xiao Jun

Themes and Warnings: Explicit language, mild sexual content, mild violence and references to drinking/alcohol. Deals with themes of toxic masculinity, insecurity, gaslighting (sort of), and jealousy…

A/N: Sorry it's late today! I forgot to schedule the post for today and it took a while to edit!!

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Word Count: 1.9k Summary: This is literally just Kun being a badass dad friend... Not my best writing, but enjoy! ;)

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You sighed contentedly as you washed up the last of the dishes, draining the sink as Kun folded the dish towel, neatly hanging it on the towel rail. You’d had a pleasant evening cooking with him, making a number of Chinese dishes you’d wanted to try, like hot and sour stir-fried napa cabbage and beef noodle soup. You’d originally wanted to do all the cooking yourself and surprise the boys, but seeing as though now it was just the two of you, you’d thought it probably best to make use of Kun’s culinary skills. Having thoroughly tidied the kitchen and boxed up all the leftovers for Winwin and Yangyang, the pair of you made your way to the living room, dropping down onto the sofa which had become your pride and joy of your apartment. “Ahh I’m so full,” you said, exhaling heavily. “That was so good!” Kun chuckled. “Yeah, it turned out quite well,” he said, shifting the cushions behind him. You internally fist-pumped, secretly a little bit pleased that Kun enjoyed your meal. To be complimented on your cooking skills by chef Kun himself was the highest honour, although you couldn’t take all the credit since he’d actually done half the work. “Mainly thanks to you,” you said, smiling at him appreciatively, to which Kun chuckled dismissively. “Ah, you did most of the work, I was just your assistant,” he said. “A very helpful assistant,” you replied pointedly. “Wanna watch a movie then?” you asked as you reached for the remote control off the coffee table. “Sure, what were you thinking?” “Hmm, I’m not sure,” you said, wearily switching on the TV and xbox. You spent the next few minutes browsing Netflix to find something to watch and once you’d settled on a film you shifted closer to Kun, reaching for the blanket which had been lying haphazardly at the end of the sofa to keep you both cosy.

A few minutes into the movie, you felt the ceiling begin to vibrate and the heavy echo of pounding bass surge into the room. Kun turned to you to give you a look that seemed to say ‘what on earth?’ and you leaned your head back, letting out a frustrated groan realising that yet again it was your neighbour’s ridiculously loud music interrupting what was supposed to be a relaxing evening. “Is it always like this?” Kun asked, frowning. You shrugged. “I mean, it’s not everyday, but it’s pretty much always this loud…” You pouted sinking lower under the blanket. “I didn’t realise it was this bad. I’m surprised you get any sleep at all. I mean how can people be so inconsiderate?” You could hear the irritation in Kun’s voice. You were pretty angry about the constant noise emanating from upstairs, but you were generally quite passive whereas you could clearly tell Kun was starting to get pissed. “Yeah, I don’t know. It sucks, but I guess we’ve kind of gotten used to it now,” you replied. “How are you supposed to get used to it when you can barely even hear your own TV over it? You shouldn’t have to put up with it.” Kun said matter-of-factly. You groaned in response, burying your face in the blanket. “Aghhh I know, but it’s not like I can do much about it, I already tried asking him…” you whined, looking up at Kun in exasperation, but he met you with what can only be described as an unsympathetic look. “Of course you can do something about it! Why don’t you just talk to him again? And actually assert yourself this time? Or if that doesn’t work just talk to the building manager or put in a complaint or something. Honestly, you and Yangyang are hopeless…” He did have a point. There was plenty you could do but you just didn’t have the guts to do it. You were rather non-confrontational and didn’t want to end up in a nasty row with your neighbour after only one month of living there, but it seemed Kun had other ideas. “Ughh Kun, you know I don’t like confrontation. I don’t want to end up with a neighbour that hates me,” you said. Kun sighed. “So you’d rather have to put up with this everyday for the foreseeable future than have some asshole who’s not worth your time potentially dislike you?” You looked back at Kun sheepishly, almost as though you were a student who’d just been caught acting up by their teacher. You knew he was right, and you were being irrational, since Dejun’s music caused you problems daily, not to mention reducing your nightly sleep to an average of 4 hours, but you just didn’t have it in you to confront the issue. There was a pause before Kun pushed the blanket off his knees and stood up. “Well, if you’re not going to do anything then I will,” he said, before taking off toward the entrance hall of your apartment. “Wait what?!” you shreiked, panic bubbling up inside you at the thought of what he was going to do, and leaping to your feet you scurried down the hall after him. Kun swung your front door open as you caught up to him, and marched out of your apartment, turning to go up the stairs to the next floor. Now realising his intentions, you halted at the door, too embarrassed to also make an appearance at your neighbours door. Instead you stayed in the doorway peering round to the stairs and watching as Kun ascended. “Kun!” You squeaked. “What are you doing?!” Kun barely paused to look back at you before continuing on upwards.

As much as you wanted to chase after him and drag him back down the stairs, by the determined expression on his face you knew there was no point, so you stayed put, but after wedging your door open with one of Yangyang’s shoes that was cluttering up the entrance, you moved a little closer to the bottom of the stairs so as to try and hear what was going on. Soon you heard the clunk of a door opening, but clearly the walls were too thick, or something like that, as all you could hear was a faint mumbling, and you could only pick out one or two words. Nonetheless, you decided to stay there and listen, waiting in anticipation for the outcome of Kun’s abrupt disturbance of your neighbour’s evening.

~ Upstairs – Kun’s POV ~

“Yeah?” Xiaojun answered the door wearing a black long-sleeved t-shirt and sweatpants, his dark brown hair flopping softly down over his equally dark eyes. His expression was one of disinterest, Kun thought, which only served to fuel his irritation. “Hi, I’m Kun. I’m a friend of y/n downstairs?” Kun faltered a little in his conviction. Confrontation wasn’t really in his nature, however his years battling to make it in such a competitive industry as his had taught him to take control and make a stand when he needed, so after taking a split-second to recompose himself, he spoke again, this time his voice much firmer. “We were wondering if you could possibly turn your music down. It’s incredibly loud and right now we’re trying to watch TV and it’s quite distracting. And actually y/n said it’s been a problem before.” “Huh. Why doesn’t y/n come ask me herself then since she’s the one who actually lives here?” Xiaojun challenged. Kun growled internally. The cheek of this guy. “I believe she already did, but apparently you didn’t listen, so I thought you might need a reminder,” Kun jabbed, becoming a little passive-aggressive. Xiaojun raised his eyebrows, sensing the frustration in Kun’s voice and scoffed. “What, you her boyfriend or something?” With every passing second Kun grew to dislike Xiaojun more and more, and that remark certainly didn’t help one bit, thus, deciding that he’d had enough of the shorter man’s attitude he decided to throw all pleasantries aside. He was done being nice. “So what if I am?” He said, standing taller, but to Kun’s displeasure, Xiaojun just chuckled darkly looking at the ground before lifting his eyes and smirking at the older man in front of him. “Heh, pretty bad boyfriend if she’s still using Tinder…” Kun clenched his jaw. Clearly that Lucas guy had been talking, making his tactic completely useless, but who the hell did this guy think he was? This level of antagonism was completely unreasonable, and over what? Turning some goddamn music down. “Look,” Kun said. “I don’t want any trouble, but could you please just turn the music down? Y/n’s tired all the time these days because your music keeps her up all hours and she has to get up to go to work early in the morning. Just because you’re a failed musician or something doesn’t mean no one else has jobs to go to.”Kun hadn’t intended on saying the last part of his speech, since he knew himself how hard an industry it was to break into, and it wasn’t really his style to shame someone like that, but something about Xiaojun’s attitude just made him annoyed beyond reasonable reaction and boy did his outburst hit a nerve. “Excuse me?” Xiaojun replied, his voice much louder than before and his posture much more aggressive compared to the casual position he had been in just seconds ago. But Kun wouldn’t be intimidated, and glared at Xiaojun, looking him directly in the eyes to make one final comment. “Just keep it down, or we’ll be putting in a formal complaint”. “Yeah, whatever,” was the only reply Xiaojun gave, before stepping back and shutting the door in Kun’s face. Could’ve gone better, but it certainly got the message across.

~ Downstairs – Your PoV ~

You stood in the stairwell fidgeting your hands and straining to listen to the exchange between the two men upstairs. It had only been a couple of minutes but it was making you tense nonetheless. You were silently willing Kun to waltz down the stairs saying everything was fine but suddenly you heard a voice from upstairs much more clearly. Your eyes widened and you cringed as you heard Xiaojun’s raised voice rhetorically asking “excuse me?!”, realising the conversation wasn’t going as pleasantly as you had hoped. You weren’t sure you wanted to hear the rest of it, but you kept on listening. Luckily for you however, the voices returned to the same muffled humming as before, until you heard a door slam, Kun emerging on the stairs a moment later. “Kun! What happened?!” you whisper-shouted, as though you were afraid Xiaojun might hear you, moving out of the way as Kun strode past you before following him back into your apartment. Kun stopped in the hallway briefly to look at you. “Lets just say I don’t think he’ll be bothering you anymore.” You wanted to ask what on earth had gone on, but clearly that was all Kun was willing to say on the matter, so you simply followed him back to the living room where he flopped down onto his place on the couch. “Come on then, now we can actually watch the movie,” Kun said, stretching his arm out to you as you wandered towards the couch. Obediently, you took his hand and he pulled you down next to him so you leant against his shoulder, throwing the blanket that had earlier fallen to the floor over you both, and with that you spent the rest of the evening watching the film in peace, but with the niggling thought in the back of your mind that your neighbour Xiaojun may very well have just put you on a vendetta list.

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yumeka36 · 4 years ago

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Thoughts on “Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2″

I binged all six episodes of the Frozen 2 making-of documentary series on Disney+ and wanted to share my thoughts:

- Probably my favorite scene is when the cast got to hear the orchestration of “Into the Unknown” for the first time. I loved how we got to hear the emphasizing of each instrument. Also sweet seeing how emotional Jen and Idina got when they heard it.

- I adored every scene that showed the voice actors recording their lines and singing. It’s nice to hear slightly different versions of all the songs. I especially loved the wholesomeness of the cast recording their respective lines for “Some Things Never Change,” and Kristen Bell’s touching recording of “The Next Right Thing.”

- Very interesting to know how much struggle they had with the concept of “Show Yourself.” I liked hearing the variations of the lyrics that Kristen came up with before settling on the song we have today. The fact that they spent so much time trying to get this song number right despite pressing deadlines shows how important they knew it would be for Elsa’s character.

- It was so, so interesting to see all the different facets of the animation process: the rigging, the effects, the sound directing, the lighting, the story boarding, the daily meetings, etc., Even if you’re not a Frozen fan, if you have any interest in the animation process, this documentary is a great watch.

- “See the Sky” was a nice song that gave a bit more character to the otherwise forgettable new characters like Matthias and the Northuldra, but it didn’t click at the test screenings unfortunately. Would have been nice to have had it as a deleted scene or on the deluxe soundtrack.

- Some people were disappointed that the deleted scenes like The Secret Room and Get This Right weren’t discussed at all in the documentary, but the reason for that is because it only covers the last year of the movie’s production. The deleted scenes included on the blu-ray release were probably scrapped earlier in production.

- I’ve always had trouble believing the leaks from a year ago that a supposed “original” ending for Frozen 2 was to have Elsa never get revived. As I discussed in a previous post, it just doesn’t add up. Now that I’ve seen the documentary, I'm even less convinced that this so-called original ending was even a thing because, in episode 4 when they’re about to show the test screening to the family audience, we see them working on footage of the actual ending we got of Elsa riding Nokk back to Arendelle and the Frohana hug. So if this “darker” ending did exist, it must have been even before this test screening when they barely had the story together, so I’d hardly call it a confirmed ending that was ever taken seriously. Of course, they could have purposely rearranged the footage to make it look that way, but I don’t think so. Everything else seemed pretty linear as they followed the crew in the final months of production, so no evidence that these scenes were out of place. At the most, whoever leaked that supposed ending probably saw an incomplete version of the movie before the ending was settled on (the documentary shows that they have screenings throughout production) and it got passed around through the grape vine and got interpreted as a spoiler of an actual original ending.

- I was really hoping I’d appear in episode 5 when they covered D23 Expo. They were filming people getting Jen, Chris, and Peter’s autographs, which was an event I participated in. When I met them, I showed them my backpack full of Frozen pins and Chris even took a picture of it! I thought that would be something interesting they’d want to include in the documentary. They showed some cosplayers, some people attending the expo from other countries, and a few other lucky random fans getting the autographs, but not me. Oh well.

- I was in the audience for the exclusive premiere of Frozen 2 clips at D23 Expo, so it was really cool seeing what the cast was doing behind the curtains at that time. Watching the voice actors perform “Some Things Never Change” live at that event was one of my expo highlights so it was so nice to see parts of it again.

- Loved the scenes showing how Elsa’s new dress came about. And of course, leading up to the orchestration of “Show Yourself.” Gave me the chills!

- So many emotions at the wrap party when they were about to show the complete movie to the full filmmaking team and their families (Peter’s reaction especially).

- I’ve read some complaints about the fact that they had to make changes to the film based on the children’s feedback from the family test screening - that this somehow made the movie worse off. But it makes sense that they’d have to balance it between appealing to kids and adults. That’s what makes Disney movies so successful. Getting feedback that kids got confused or bored and then changing things up is necessary for a family movie, it’s nothing to fault them for. They had to make it so that both kids and adults could follow the story - they had to find a compromise between what they want (as adults) and what a large portion of their audience (kids) will enjoy. Some things were a bit confusing for the little ones, so they had to simplify. Nothing wrong with that since the success of every great Disney animated film rides on their appeal to the widest variety of audiences.

- Of course, it would have been awesome to see even more behind-the-scenes stuff. Like, from even earlier in the movie’s development, or know what was going on the few meetings they didn’t allow the documentary filming to take place. But honestly, I’m just grateful we got this. This is very unprecedented behind-the-scenes content from Disney that we didn’t have to get, but we did, and I’m happy about that!

- And wow, I have even more respect for Jen Lee and the team now that I’ve seen in detail the amount of work and stress they went through to deliver this movie. Sure, it’s not perfect, but making a perfect, or even just a great movie, when you have to coordinate so many different facets and get hundreds of people on the same page under such immense pressure is nearly impossible. With all those hurdles they had, I think they ended up doing a dang good job.

- Now I’m also a bit more sympathetic when they shy away from talking about Frozen 3, lol. But what’s interesting is that I attended a live Q&A session the other day with some of the Frozen filmmakers/animators, and they once again had to answer a question about Frozen 3. Rather than say, “ask me in a year” like Chris and Jen have been saying, Chris said “ask me in six months” (since it’s been six months since Frozen 2′s release). The fact that he’s keeping true to his original time of “a year” is interesting, lol. Time to count down the months!

Also, for those of you following my Frozen 2 writing project, I’m almost done. Just a little more edits, proofreading, and cleanup and it’ll be good to go! Look for the complete version within the next few days!

#frozen #frozen 2 #frozen2 #disney frozen #into the unknown #disney plus #disney+

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dukeofonions · 5 years ago

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Puppet vs Video Games (The Gimmicks of Sanders Sides)

If you’ve followed me for awhile (meaning the short amount of time I’ve been running this blog) then you’ll probably be aware of what my opinions are of the “gimmicks” that have been making themselves prevalent in recent Sanders Sides episodes. Now just to make things clear, almost every episode of Sanders Sides uses some kind of gimmick.

Well, besides the first one, which consists entirely of talking with no added effects.

And I, being the faceless entity that sits behind a computer screen judging an online web series, am going to rant about that because this is my blog and I do what I want. So let’s begin…

The Prologue

As season one progresses we see things like location changes, a song, Thomas’ friends making several appearances, simple editing tricks (like putting text or pictures on a screen) minor costume changes (Logan and Patton dressing as Sherlock and Watson) split screen effects, and even an episode featuring an animated segment.

At the end of Season One we were introduced to the concept of “Rooms” which added a whole new layer to the story and got people excited to see what the other rooms would entail. Still, up to this point, the gimmicks remained mostly in the background as small ways to sprinkle in some extra storytelling while the dialogue continued to be the main thing carrying the series.

Then Season Two began with Fitting In, which featured a few more props that served to signify each of the Hogwarts houses. This made sense seeing as that was the focus of the video, and for fans of Harry Potter, it would be fun to see the characters wearing things from the different houses.

After Fitting In, we got Moving On which featured the introduction of Patton’s room. Like with Virgil’s, a lot went into designing his room. There is a lot to look at, who knows how long it took to find all the stuff they showcased in the background? On top of that they also had the filter they used to give the room a dreamlike quality, and my favorite detail, the pictures that continue to change throughout the episode depending on what the characters are talking about.

It remains one of my favorite set pieces from the series just from the amount of detail they put into it, and it felt like a step up from Virgil’s room (which I also love) and it makes me excited for the rest of the rooms that have yet to be revealed.

However! I am not here to discuss the rooms. Even though I already did…

After Moving On, however, is when things start to change with the series.

During the 12 Days of Christmas, the Sides are each given their own custom Christmas sweaters, but that’s only part of the gimmick. The centerpiece for this episode is, of course, the song sung by all four Sides. This moment is pretty significant as it marks the first time all four of them appeared on screen together at the same time.

This was just the tip of the iceberg for what was to come…

Immediately following 12 Days we get Can Lying Be Good? Which featured a new location where the video spent the majority in, using quick cuts with the cameras to give off the illusion of Roman pretending to be Joan (including clever uses of audio) and of course, Deceit himself. The makeup and costume was unlike anything we’d seen in the series yet. Throw in some more split screen to show two Sides on screen together, as well as some clever costume choices for character Thomas, makes this episode (in my opinion) the best at utilizing its effects and filming techniques to tell its story.

And then, things start to shift again….

The next episode we get is Why Do We Get Out Of Bed In The Morning? Which took some time to produce, coming out in April after CLBG? Was released in February. Still, good time considering what was to come.

This episode had some mixed reviews once it finally came out, but I plan on tackling that later. The reason this episode (which was really just a longer, drawn out version of Losing My Motivation but starring Logan and Roman) was the use of animations.

For Logan, his arguments were displayed via “Stop Motion” writings of graphs and charts which he used to explain his points. And from a short behind the scenes video, each of these were drawn by hand and took hours to make. From what I understand, all of Roman’s bits were animated on a computer, though I don’t have much info on how they were made.

Within the episode, these different types of animations were used to help Roman and Logan illustrate their points. And while on their own they’re quite adorable, they aren’t necessary for the telling of this story. One thing this episode was criticised for was how the writing felt off. Everything seemed rushed and none of the characters felt in character, and while I don’t recall anyone outright saying it, it’s likely that perhaps the team felt pressured to get this video out on time, and thus might have skipped out on other elements in order to make up for the time spent working on the animations.

Whether that was writing the script, filming, or editing, we don’t know. All I know is that the general consensus for this episode was that it was just okay. As a Logan and Roman fan though, it was kinda disappointing for their first episode with them taking the spotlight together to just be viewed as “okay” and isn’t a favorite of mine.

Things picked up a little after Crofters: The Musical was released only a few days after WDWGOOBITM (that title is a monster to type no matter how ya do it) and it featured a song as its gimmick. The mood was a bit lighter, we got to see Logan having fun, and hey we even got our first main Roman angst foreshadowing! Good thing that wouldn’t be dragged out for several episodes, right?

All in all, things were definitely looking up for Sanders Sides. From the looks of it, we were going to start getting more frequent updates!

Then the Drought happened and we had to wait almost six months for a new episode.

At least that would be the longest we ever had to wait for something.

Before I get into the beef of this post I wanna bring up three more episodes, Embarrassing Phases, Selfishness vs Selflessness, and Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts.

Like the other episodes throughout Season Two, each of these episodes have different gimmicks. In Embarrassing Phases, it’s the Halloween costumes. In SVS, it’s a location change plus costume change, and in DWIT we get the introduction of Remus along with a musical number and a few props.

I’d say each of these episodes does a good job at incorporating their gimmicks into the story. Embarrassing Phases involves them talking about Halloween and using costumes as metaphors or something like that (This may be one of the few times I say something positive about this episode don’t get used to it)

With SVS, thanks to some clever acting, we can see Janus get the idea of using the courtroom scenario to try and get his point across. He first does this by suggesting that Thomas may not be as innocent as he seems, and after Patton defends him, that’s when Janus switches to the courtroom in order to put Patton to the test and literally defend Thomas as a lawyer.

Then in DWIT, given that Remus is a very outgoing character, it makes sense that he’d use a song to explain who he is and make a dramatic entrance. Plus, the series has used songs before so it’s not surprising to see this here. And seeing as Remus is creativity, it’s only fitting that he’s able to conjure random things throughout the episode. Okay, that was a long prologue, onto the actual reason most of you probably clicked on this post. Part One: The Puppets

Learning New Things About Ourselves also does a good job of handling its gimmick and incorporating it into the story. Like the three I just mentioned, there’s a set up and a pay off. We get an idea of what’s to come with this moment:

“I don’t feel content,”

“With my content.”

Which is obviously a reference to some random children’s educational program (most likely Sesame Street) by showcasing how two words that are spelled the same can have different meanings. Great now I sound like some educational children’s program.

Then later on, we get the actual set up that comes from Thomas becoming frustrated that he can’t figure out what the problem is that’s causing this whole dilemma. He says, “We’ve got an issue. Something that I’m not aware of yet, something that may be unlocked with the right question. This is like... fundamental learning!”

After he says that, he gets an idea and asks the others how he used to learn things and each one responds accordingly:

Logan: Textbooks!

Roman and Virgil: Mistakes.

Patton: Puppets!

And of course, initially, Thomas questions this and no one really understands what Patton means by this. But he explains and makes a case for it, “Thomas used to learn all kinds of new and helpful things from puppets when he was younger! Like how to count and his ABCs. Maybe it’ll be easier to work through issues when puppets are involved.”

We see Thomas consider the idea, and then Logan sets up a joke with him saying Thomas has outgrown that kind of stuff only to have him express his love for the idea.

After that, the Sides (excluding Logan) change into their respective puppets and continue on the episode.

One important thing to note (which I will bring up later) is that this scene takes place around the 15 minute mark. At least by that point, everyone except Logan has changed into a puppet. With the video being 38 minutes long, this is about halfway through the episode, and by the 31 minute mark the Sides begin turning back to normal.

Which means the puppets roughly take up only about 15 minutes of the video, slightly longer if you count Logan’s puppet, but you get the idea.

Also I’m bad at math so if I got this wrong sue me. There’s a reason I’m sitting here writing this instead of doing something with my life.

From then on, the conversation continues with everyone still trying to figure out what the question they need to be asking is. Of course, plenty of references to other educational kid shows are thrown around, but that now makes sense seeing as they’re fully embracing the puppet idea. Patton furthers the conversation along by finally getting Thomas to start asking “Why” and uses another reference to do so, which starts the next part of the conversation and brings us the next major conflict in this episode, Logan.

He gives his opinion, stating that no one takes Thomas seriously and that he should switch careers in order to obtain that status instead of devoting his time to making silly videos.

This of course, causes dissension within the group, and leads to Roman once again insulting Logan before realizing that he’s been going too far. After being prompted to apologize, Roman attempts to express his feelings to Logan and say sorry, but it doesn’t exactly help him feel any better which is when Patton suggests he try a different way.

And, Roman being Roman, decides the best way to do this is through song. A song that’s reminiscent of those one might hear on Sesame Street (there’s probably others but I’m rolling with this one) so it fits with the puppet thing. Again, it’s justified.

The episode ends with Logan finally understanding where the others are coming from and Thomas finding the right question to ask, which he is able to answer and it solves the dilemma.

Logan turns into a puppet, there’s another Sesame Street reference, and Roman is finally gonna start addressing his issues!

Good thing that won’t be brushed under a rug by the other characters for three more episodes right?

All in all, in case you couldn’t tell, I adore this episode and it still remains one of my favorites to this day. It doesn’t beat you over the head with the references, which are used cleverly and in a fun way that also keeps the story moving along. The designs for the puppets are cute and match each of the characters, and the puppetry is amazing!

Plus the song is an absolute bop and it still makes me emotional sometimes.

Which begs the question, was the sixth month wait worth it? Well, after hearing all that went into making this episode and seeing the final result, I’d say it was worth it.

It’s also nice that we got a behind the scenes video where we got to see the full story on how this episode was made and all the difficulties Thomas, Joan, and Talyn faced when trying to make it a reality. Did they need to use puppets? No, but what matters is that they were able to take the idea and incorporate it into a story in a way that was fun and felt justified for existing.

Not saying this episode is perfect, there are a few problems here and there, but overall this remains one of my top Sanders Sides episodes and one I’ve watched repeatedly since it came out.

Now that all that positive stuff is out of the way, let’s get to the fun part….

Part Two: The Video Games

I’m gonna be blunt, Putting Others First does not do as good of a job with incorporating video games into its story like LNTAO does.

However, I can’t exactly talk about this episode without talking about the extremely long wait we had in between episodes. The last official episode (that follows the main storyline, so not Asides) came out on June 25, 2019. POF came out May 1st, 2020.

Almost 10 months, the longest we’ve ever had to wait for an episode. And if you wanna go further, remember that POF was meant to be the follow up to SVS, a part two if you will, SVS came out March 31st 2019, so by the time POF came out, it had already been a year since this set up the conflict for wedding vs callback.

By that point, some people were no longer interested or as excited about the new episode, but that changed briefly when a trailer for the episode dropped after a new Bloopers video was released a few months before POF was finally released.

Keep in mind that up until this point, we weren’t entirely sure what the hold up was for this episode. We’d only gotten the vague answer of “There’s a special sequence for this episode and we’re working with another artist in order to make it, which is why it’s taking so long.”

Okay, fair enough, and the trailer revealed what exactly that sequence was, animation!

Now I’ve already explained in another post why I have problems with how vague Thomas and co. are when it comes to giving information about upcoming videos, so I won’t get into that here.

What I am going to bring up since it relates to some of my points is this, remember when they said it was a “special sequence” they were working on? Well, after the video is released we find that it isn’t one, but 10.

I’m not counting each time a sequence was used (For example, the opening segment which is later followed by Roman imagining a different outcome in the same style or every single one of Logan’s low-down’s, and the two trolley problems are counted as one sequence for this post specifically) because I really don’t wanna go through and count every single time Logan popped up on screen, but tell me, why in the heckity heck did they feel it was necessary to include 10 of these animated segments?

And okay, there’s actually 12 (maybe 13? The Pokemon reference uses two different styles) but why are there so many? How are they necessary and what is their reason for being in this episode?

Remember earlier when I mentioned that the puppet stuff didn’t start until the 15 minute mark? Well, POF literally begins with a video game sequence, and then the game references just keep coming. The intro gets a retro remix along with the rest of the music, and once Thomas enters the picture his curse words are covered by a gold coin and the “mario coin” sound effect.

And then, not even three minutes in, we get yet another video game sequence recapping the last episode, after we already had a recap of the last episode less than a minute ago!

To be fair though Rhythm Redux is a bop and I’m not sure why they felt the need to include a “flashback” after the intro when they were going to include this song anyway since it does a better job at explaining things than the random shots and dialogue from SVS.

With LNTAO, none of the “puppet bits” began until after the Sides changed into puppets, besides that one bit of foreshadowing with the “Content with my content” line. There was no change to the intro’s music, nothing besides that one bit to foreshadow the puppets coming into play.

Another thing LNTAO does that POF doesn’t is establish a set up, and pay off for the video games. Right off the bat, we get the video games, then later we get Patton’s line about how “Life isn’t like one of your video games” just a few minutes before the next video game sequence takes place, which just felt out of place to me the first time I watched it and I felt like that line was put in there just to remind the audience “Oh yeah, this is a video game themed episode!”

Which, okay, there actually was some bit of set up before this back in SVS. Thomas mentions that he planned to spend his time at the wedding playing “Word Crush” on his phone, then as POF begins, that’s exactly what he’s doing.

And there are certain instances where the sequences work.

The beginning sequence ties back into Thomas’ comment from SVS and, in a way, sets up the video game thing (even if it does make me somewhat cringe but that’s mostly Lee and Mary Lee’s characters) and I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with how “Rhythm Redux” was incorporated if they hadn’t included the flash back after the intro. Again, why did they need two different recaps? They only needed one and it did a good job of explaining everything on its own.

I will also say the Trolley Segments work due to the discussions being held, they’re talking about “Morality” so why wouldn’t you bring up one of the oldest moral dilemmas out there? It also ties in with my favorite part of the video, the “Final Boss” fight with Lilypadton vs Janus. I was not expecting it, and adding Janus’ reveal on top of that just made everything even better. It was dramatic, and I loved how the health bars that were used for Patton and Janus changed to represent Thomas’ deteriorating mental health.

All in all, there was potential here with the video game theme, and there were scenes where it was used well. But all the others that I didn’t mention? They just felt forced and out of place to me and honestly, took me out of the moment.

Another episode I want to compare POF to is Logic vs Passion (I am not typing either the title or the acronym out again) where they both incorporate their gimmicks in a similar way.

Logan and Roman both use their respective animations to illustrate their points of view, and throughout POF all the characters use different video games to illustrate their own points.

The issues I have with these episodes is that these conversations could have been had without the use of any of these things. The Sides have had discussions and used examples to elaborate their points in the past without the use of visuals.

Now, can visuals help with storytelling? Yes, and I mentioned several instances where POF does this. But honestly, the whole video game theme seemed out of place for this particular video. Compare it to SVS which only had a location change, the episode focused almost entirely on its dialogue and still manages to be dramatic and engaging. You can easily follow along with the discussion without the need for fancy visuals.

With POF, it seems like they just try to rush from one video game reference to the next, leaving little room to breathe in between before another video game is thrown into your face. What could have been a simple discussion like in SVS (which still managed to balance humor with its more serious themes) we got a rather bloated middle section which, honestly, I don’t remember much about.

I’ve watched the video several times and without fail, I always find myself spacing out throughout a good chunk of the middle until the whole Lilypadton scene takes place. That’s when I became interested, especially when Janus entered the picture to bring in his points and act as a bit of an “anti-hero” in the whole thing.

I simply believe this video could have been a lot simpler, and probably more cohesive if they’d left a lot of the video game stuff out. The last thing I want to be when consuming any type of media is bored, and honestly if it wasn’t for me making all these analysis posts on the episode, I probably wouldn’t have watched it again save for my favorite parts.

Not only that, but we waited 10 months for this episode because of the video game sequences, and again you have to ask yourself, was the wait worth it?

I have to say, unlike with LNTAO, it wasn’t worth it to me. They could take the video game sequences out altogether (even my favorite ones) and I wouldn’t really care. This episode just doesn’t need them, they don’t justify their use in this episode. Whereas in LNTAO, I love the use of puppets and if they were to be taken out, I would miss them.

Now is this to say I hate the episode? No, there’s actually a lot I like about it. Patton’s development, Janus, and the ending with Roman are all amazing on their own. But really, who’s to say Janus couldn’t have confronted Patton in person instead of a video game world?

Logan didn’t need to appear via little “Pop ups” and could have been called upon by Patton for help only to be brushed aside when what he says doesn’t help his case at all. Then when things start getting out of hand, “Logan” comes back to try to fix things but it doesn’t work, which is when he reveals himself only this time everyone, including the audience, fell for it because Janus has stepped up his game when it comes to disguising himself.

Of course, the same could be said about LNTAO, they didn’t need to be puppets, right? Well, considering that the message of the episode was that you can use unconventional methods to express different ideas using different mediums, and Logan spent the whole time seeing the puppets at nothing but silly and childish only to come to this realization himself, it makes sense why puppets were used.

However, you can actually apply that same message to POF, where they used an unconventional method to get their points across.

The only problem, like with Logic vs Passion, was that the gimmicks alone couldn’t carry the episode.

Logic vs Passion wasn’t as good as other episodes (and I may do a full review of this in the future) and in POF, it just felt like there was too much being crammed into this one episode. We went from discussing different types of morality and why people do good things to Janus suddenly beginning his “acceptance arc” with Roman having a breakdown at the end. Honestly, the point where Janus enters the conversation feels like a completely separate episode from what we’ve had thus far. Not only that, I have my own issues with how Janus’ character seemed to suddenly do a 180 (which I already talked about in another post) so while I love the ending scenes on their own, I admit that maybe they should have been handled differently.

Of course, at the end of the day, all of this is just a matter of opinion. Lots of people loved the video game segments, and others didn’t like the puppets. Some people love all the gimmicks used in the videos, others wish for things to go back to the simpler formats of the older episodes and honestly, I agree.

It seems like with every new episode the team is trying to outdo themselves and take things up another level each time, which is something I can admire, but it is something that can be overdone. Just look at Sanders Asides, it was supposed to be this simple little thing, but it might as well just be another episode. There’s nothing to distinguish it from any of the other main episodes, and if the rest of Asides is going to be the same way, then what’s the point of making it a separate series at all?

Now, Thomas and Joan have said that after this episode, they’re going to start using more practical effects and make things simpler, which I take as a sign of them learning to step back from all the gimmicks they use and just let the characters shine on their own for a while. Which, if that is the case, good on them.

We don’t come to this series for the effects and flashy scenes, we come for the characters. They’re what we love and want to see more of. If you want more proof, just look at what people mostly took from POF, they took the character moments. It wasn’t the video game references that resonated the most with people, heck, people outright seemed to ignore the fact that Leslie Odom Jr. made a cameo.

What do you think that says?

Not saying people didn’t love the video game references, because a lot of people did, but it wasn’t the main thing people responded to.

It’s okay to explore different mediums for storytelling. But sometimes, as a creator, you have to stop and ask yourself, “Is this really necessary for the story?” And believe me the hardest thing to do is cut out something that I spent hours working on because, when I viewed the story as a whole, that particular thing just wasn’t necessary for the story. Maybe I enjoyed it, and perhaps others would too, but at the end of the day, I’d be glad that I made the decision for the betterment of the story.

Okay, now this got way longer than I meant for it to be (how ironic) but you’ve all been waiting for this post for awhile and I didn’t want to postpone it further.

I do hope you enjoyed reading this jumbled mess and, as always, feel free to let me know what your opinions were! Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, and I’ll see y’all next time!

#sanders sides #dukeofonions #episode criticism #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders

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lust-bts · 4 years ago

Note

Hey love can you do bts reaction of their s.o wearing their clothes but has no bra on and they can see their nipple through??

ofc!! ngl I love this trope in fics idk why but just yesssss

inc. sexual themes

k s j

you were just stepping out of the bathroom, thanking jin for the t-shirt and cotton men’s shorts which he had lent to you

you weren’t supposed to be staying over but you were feeling pretty sleepy from the few drinks you’d had at the bar nearby with the rest of your friends

and being the loving boyfriend that he was jin had insisted you stay over since it was closer

“it’s okay, petal,” he looked up distractedly from his phone and the first thing he noticed were your pert nipples standing through the shirt after you pushed your hair over your shoulder

he cleared his throat, trying his hardest to stay polite but you noticed anyway and decided to play coy

“what’s up?” you asked with a smile and instantly his blush deepened

“you look really good in my clothes,” he whispered and you cracked a smile

“maybe I should wear your clothes more often,” you suggested, sauntering over so you could crawl up your boyfriend’s body and sit in his lap

m y g

it was a chilly spring evening when you decided to bring yoongi his dinner, he’d been working so hard at the studio that you just knew he hadn’t even thought about feeding himself

when you knocked at the frosted glass door it took a moment before a blacked out figure approached it from the other side of the room and unlocked it

“yn, I didn’t expect you tonight,” he commented, opening the door fully when he saw it was you

“i made too much food for dinner, have you eaten?” you turned to look at him while he closed the door behind you, lifting the bag in your hands to show it off

“that’s sweet and no, I haven’t eaten yet,” he admitted and you grinned but your boyfriends eyes showed something darker going through his mind. “cold outside?” he guessed and you glanced down at your outfit, a pair or black biker shorts underneath yoongi’s t-shirt which you wore like a dress

you hadn’t thought to even put a bra on before you left your apartment because you were so excited at the prospect of surprising your boyfriend

“i- yeah,” you agreed sheepishly before yoongi pulled you closer by your hips

“maybe i should warm you up before we eat, huh?” he smirked, sliding a hand through your hair so he could bring you in for a kiss

j h s

it was the height of summer and you were on vacation with your boyfriend in a villa by the sea

you’d spent the day on the beach before having a bbq and while Hoseok insisted on cleaning the grill you took the chance to go and change, switching your bikini and coverup for one of hoseok’s t-shirts and a pair of boxer shorts

when you stepped outside your boyfriend was nowhere in sight but what had appeared was a water gun

you instantly smiled and picked up the gun before a spray of water hit your legs and you shrieked

“game on!” hoseok called from behind a pillar supporting the upstairs balcony

“it’s so on!” you shot back before running to take cover behind an oversized vase

over the next few minutes you and your boyfriend shot at each other with sprays of water though your boyfriends aim happened to be much better than yours

it wasn’t until there was a long moment of silence, while you were behind the corner of the house catching your breath, that you grew a foreboding feeling

with little water left in the oversized gun you turned the corner only to be ambushed by your boyfriend

“truce! truce!” you called between your laughter and Hoseok finally stopped spraying your body with the cold water from his weapon

“damn, that’s a nice view,” he commented cockily, eyeing your chest while laying his gun to rest against the wall before he pulled you in close. “have you ever had sex in a pool?” he smirked and your heart seized momentarily

“no...”

“let’s go change that,” he insisted, pulling you along with him with a grin

k n j

“here’s those textbooks you asked for,” you looked up when namjoon quietly set the books next to you

you’d been studying all evening in the school library and had left some textbooks at your boyfriends apartment the night before but he was nice enough to walk them down for you

“thank you so much,” you told him quietly before he pulled up a chair beside yours

“how is it going?” he asked politely and you flicked through a bunch of sheets in your notebook

“two classes down, one to go,” you updated him and he nodded

“you want to take a break? i know you’ve been working really hard, i brought snacks,” he rustled though his bag in search of a pack of double stuffed Oreo’s; your favourite

“god yes,” you relented, gladly taking him up on his offer when he opened the pack for you, you took two biscuits out and laid them on top of your notebooks before unzipping your boyfriends hoodie and stripping down to his t-shirt underneath

you hadn’t even noticed how chilly it was in the empty library until a few minutes quietly enjoying your snack had passed and during your conversation your boyfriends eyes strayed further and further down

“see something you like?” you teased, it was no secret that namjoon loved your breasts, so you always liked to call him out on his staring

“yeah,” he smirked, biting his plump lips before standing up, “come on,” he raised his brows suggestively while guiding you out of your chair and taking you into one of the far corners of the room

p j m

“show me one more time,” jimin insisted and you nodded, moving back into your starting position while he played with your phone to restart the song

you’d been in the dance studio all day, practicing your routine for your dance class with your boyfriend’s help but now you were dripping with sweat, your biker shorts were stuck to you like a second skin and jimin’s button up shirt which you’d tied up was clung to you in various places

but you ignored it while you danced, putting your all into the performance

“how was that?” you finished, panting as you walked closer

“perfect, come here,” he pulled you in when you gave him your hand and all of a sudden you were chest to chest, “just one thing”

“what?” you ventured cautiously, worried he was about to critique your performance; not that you had a problem with his feedback

“you should really wear a bra when you show it to your students,” he teased before leaning in for a kiss

k t h

“come on, i need to go shower before we go out,” you tapped your boyfriend’s shoulder and he groaned, rolling into his back to free you

pushing yourself up you reached for taehyung’s black and white silk pattern shirt at the foot of the bed, you loved the luxury of strutting around in one of his many silk tops while you got yourself ready

leaving your boyfriend to relax in the post-sex bliss you busied yourself having a shower

when you were done and dry you replaced your towel with the same silk shirt and buttoned it half way up to cover yourself

the first thing you heard when you got back into the room was your boyfriend wolf whistling and it instantly made you grin and roll your eyes

“you haven’t moved yet?” you sassed and he eyed you with a wicked smirk

“i was waiting for this view exactly,” he taunted, licking his lips before letting a hand fall to his lap over the covers “i already text jimin that we’d be late, so come back to bed for a while”

admittedly, you were absolutely weak to taehyung’s deep drawl and your legs were moving before he was even finished speaking

“that’s it,” he helped you onto the bed, getting comfortable in the mountain of pillows while you sat on his lap “look at you,” he shook his head in disbelief before switching his eyes to you “you’re my dream girl”

“mmh, you know i love it when you praise me like that,” you looped your arms around his neck sweetly while he moved to cup your breasts through his shirt, playing with your peaked nipples

“i can do much better than that, just wait till your taking me again,” he promised and you practically melted into him as he lead you into round two

j j k

without a doubt tiktok had stolen many hours from you; whether it be watching videos from other creators or you creating them yourself it was always an app you had loved and in turn the app loved you, gifting you a decent following of people who loved you’d your content and funnily enough, your boyfriend

so when you had been requested by hundreds of people to try the new ‘wet t-shirt challenge’ you were eager to try it out on jungkook, the challenge was similar to another from a few months ago where women would drop their towels and film their partners reaction

this one was not that different. simply put on a t-shirt and get in the shower before capturing your boyfriends reaction to your appearance

“hey jungkook, i wanna show you something,” you told him, pressing record on the little button at the bottom of the screen as you stepped through the threshold

you had to admit, jungkook’s wet shirt that cling to you now like a bodycon dress wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world but jungkook’s reaction made it all worth it

“holy shit,” he gaped at your barely clothed figure, his eyes scanning from your hips where he could see you lacked panties all the way up to your chest where your lack of undergarments there too have him an almost perfectly clear view of your perky nipples

you giggled behind the camera and he instantly pushed himself away from his desk

“editing can wait,” he mumbled as he scrambled to make his way to you and you stopped recording before things became a little too heated for the app

#ksmutclub #ksj #myg #jhs #knj #pjm #kth #jjk #ot7

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amphtaminedreams · 4 years ago

Text

The Eras of Lana Del Rey: Lookbook no.9

Hi to anyone reading,

Hope you’re okay! AND that you didn’t end up here because you searched the Lana Del Rey tag so you could see people ranting about her-you’re about to be very disappointed. Sorry. This is not about to be some Question for the Culture discourse because the world is bleak enough right now and the last thing we all need is to be reminded of that saga.

Being a Lana Del Rey fan is easy, they said. She’s not a controversial artist, they said. And yet 2020 had to do what it does best and fuck everything up.

Whether people like her or not, it’s made me so angry reading all the abuse she’s been getting about her appearance for the last couple of weeks, because I really thought that if we could agree on anything it was that attacking individuals for the way they look because you dislike something they’ve done (with the exception of shit like racist tattoos and blackfishing) is, you know, awful and judgemental as fuck? Like you do realise when you treat the word fat as a pejorative that the fat people you don’t have a problem with understood that you meant it as an insult too? I think what all those people tweeting about Lana’s weight, and that includes some of her fans, are forgetting is that she was in her early 20s when she was thrust into the limelight. As much as there’s this conspiracy that her dad bought her a career in the music industry, she’d made the decision to go it alone and had lived in a trailer park as a struggling musician for years. On top of that, we have the unreleased tracks with lyrics seemingly referencing an eating disorder in her younger years. OF COURSE her body is going to look different. Why is it that we treat weight gain as an inherently bad thing without any insight into the other factors that constitute a person’s “health”? It’s fucking insane that so many feel they have the right to comment on other’s bodies in the first place and it breaks my heart that she might be reading these comments. This wasn’t intended to necessarily be a rant about how much I love this woman but all the shit I’ve read about her on the internet these past few months have pushed me to it. You'll respect your queen of alternative music or I shall stan twice as hard on your behalf. You can thank me later when you come to your senses xoxo

I’d love to say it was intentional that I finally finished this post the week Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass was released but that would imply I have my shit way more together than I actually do. If I’m being completely honest, I’ve only heard L.A Who am I to Love You so far 1). because I want to wait for the hard copy for the rest and that doesn’t turn up til September and 2). because I do not have my shit together, lol. That being said, there is no doubt in my mind that I am going to love it-one thing I have always loved about Lana’s lyrics is how well they paint a picture and this is something that poetry only more freely allows for the exploration of. That ability to create such a strong narrative voice and atmosphere is a talent that extends to her visuals and the production of her records too, and is something I really missed when it comes to the Norman Fucking Rockwell era. I’m just going to say it: a strong aesthetic is to NFR as memorable songs are to Lust for Life. Lacking. Am I allowed to say that as a fan? The collaborations don’t do it for me, okay, and as as NFR is concerned, aside from The Greatest/Fuck It I Love You video which went down the whole neon surfer girl route, it’s hard to identify a cohesive theme. It’s understandable that at this point, she would want to just focus purely on the music, and it goes without saying that NFR will stand the test of time in that regard but I don’t think we can deny that when people think of Lana in the future, it’s not gonna be a green windbreaker that comes into their heads.

^Illustration credit to Filip Kozak (https://filipkozaksart.tumblr.com/?fbclid=IwAR3vwLX2pNxoFNhTPD1ky14LllPqlLtL1GxGlD79xuHxdtzcHLw-6aNBZWo)

And here’s where this Filip Kozak illustration comes into it; after years of it sitting in my camera roll for years, it finally has a use. There’s really nothing better to illustrate how mundane life has become this year than the disproportionate level of excitement my photo-hoarding-self experienced realising it would fit perfectly into this post and is thus eligible for deletion. Up there with being able to fit a whole box of biscuits onto the shelf at work rather than having to individually take out as many as I can and then shove them on top of the existing box of biscuits one by one. Truly riveting content on this Tumblr page. Back to the point-by using this as my stimulus for the post rather than the Lana Del Rey albums as outfits tag that went round on Twitter, I can conveniently exclude NFR as an outfit inspiration category, and that saves me from having to buy a charity shop windbreaker with its price bumped up 150% by some upper middle class Depop e-girl or boy who uses the word peng as a descriptor like it’s a nervous tic. To make up for leaving out NFR, I’ve tried to branch out a bit and do the outfits not just based on the music videos or album covers but also from street style and stage looks and photoshoots from around the same period too. It was hard not to be influenced by the general “vibe” and sound of the albums either when I was planning outfits, whether it’s the grand, orchestral instrumentals of Born to Die or the 70s psychedelic rock inspired riffs of Ultraviolence and hopefully that’ll show as well! Enjoy:D

Born to Die (Release Date: 27th January 2012)

It’s been 8 years, and when you ask most people what they think of when they hear the name Lana Del Rey, they’ll probably dismiss her as the one who sings about being sad and doing coke and sleeping with older men. That’s the Born to Die impact. Say what you want but it’s one of only a handful of albums released by a female artist to have spent more than 300 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and it really established the mythos of “Lana Del Rey” because before all this, before all the think pieces from other women claiming she’d set feminism back hundreds of years with her music, before she ousted grayscale Effy Stonem as the queen of angsty teen Tumblr (which as you can probably guess was a subsection of the internet I was very much engulfed by, lmao), she was just Lizzie Grant, a relatively normal aspiring singer songwriter in her early twenties. But as Lana Del Rey, she was someone else-some beautiful, mystical being that personified the sentiment of being born in the wrong era. Whilst every other singer’s record labels seemed to be trying desperately to thrust them into the future and keep them on top of all the musical and stylistic trends, it was refreshing to hear someone whose music and visuals captured all the most glamorous elements of the past. Part Priscilla Presley/Jackie O reincarnation (the National Anthem video really illustrated how Lana is just as much a storyteller as she is a musician), part high level mobster’s wayward wife à la Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface, she was the good girl by day and the bad girl by night, and I think that’s a duality we can all relate to or would like to think we’re interesting enough to relate to deep down.

Her style from around this period was EVERYTHING. She had those grungy Tumblr girl elements, the camo jacket and the oversized pieces and the leather jackets, but she also heavily drew on the styles and silhouettes of the 50s and 60s with the beehives and the new look Dior inspired cinched waist dresses. Even now in 2020, I think this period is what most people would think if they were asked to describe Lana’s style. I made sure I got the grungy pieces in there with the chunky boots and the vinyl and the oversized leather but the foundation of her looks back then were usually these daintier throwback pieces like the white silk dress and the corset and the mint fur trimmed coat (House of Sunny’s Penny Pistachio coat).

Favourite lyrics from the album? “Now my life is sweet like cinnamon, like a fucking dream I'm living in” from Radio. Nobody asked but I’m gonna give it to you anyway.

Born to Die: The Paradise Edition (Release Date: 9th November 2012)

Lana’s Paradise EP contains probably my absolute favourite song of her’s, Ride, and with that, the beautiful opening monologue that will stay in my mind forever. This era was of course ushered in by Tropico, the short film that included the premiere of the songs Bel Air, Body Electric and Gods and Monsters, which established the ethereal tone of this period-it’s in the name, after all. Both the album and the videos were other-worldly and leaned heavily on religious symbolism which I’m sure pissed off many a middle-aged bible basher at the time. Most prominent in her lyrics were reflections on the freedom of the open road which corresponded with visuals of biker gangs and desert dwellers and modern interpretations of the Wild West, as was an attempt to capture the nature of the so-called “American spirit” which as Lana portrayed it shared more qualities with a kind of celestial, transient being than any kind of solid concept or identity. She played an emotionally detached stripper and a haunted saloon-style-bar singer (almost looking like a runaway bride) and Eve the “first woman” all in the same album and honestly, if that’s not iconic, I don’t know what is. We saw SO many incredible red carpet looks in this period too which built upon this idea of her as the fallen angel tempted by original sin that Tropico established; I feel like this era was all about laying bare the soul of the character she played, this broken, delicate but ultimately liberated being that was so dangerous to the idea of the strong, stable modern feminist ideal. She went about it in COMPLETELY the wrong way in a post that betrayed the ignorance of the privilege she has as a white female performer, but I think this is what she was getting at in it and Ultraviolence only went on to bolster her critics.

In response to the criticism she still receives about the choice to wear a Native American war bonnet in her Ride music video, I’d like to say that it really seems like she’s learnt from that-actions speak louder than words and so though it’s not my place to say whether this makes up for that error, the work she’s done with Native American reparations-focussed foundations since and the money she’s donated to the cause says a lot about her intentions. Again, I want to stress that it’s not my place to say! But it’s a detail that is often overlooked so I thought I’d mention it here.

“I was a singer, not a very popular one. I once had dreams of becoming a beautiful poet. But upon an unfortunate series of events saw those dreams dashed and divided like a million stars in the night sky, that I wished on over and over again, sparkling and broken. But I didn’t really mind because I knew that it takes getting everything you ever wanted and then losing it to know what true freedom is.”

Ultraviolence (Release Date: 13th June 2014)

AH, Ultraviolence. My favourite of Lana’s albums and imo, a masterpiece. ONE skip. ONE. Sorry Guns and Roses. I got stoned in my back garden and listened to this (for research purposes ofc, heh) and ended up deciding that this is what I want to listen to when I die (also whilst stoned). It sounds dramatic but listening to this album in that state of mind is such a heavenly experience that I’d be too zen to notice myself slipping away into nothingness on the basis that if I didn’t as long as I could stay in that bubble of awe, nothingness forever wouldn’t be so scary after all. I know, I know, that sentence has big Jaden Smith’s old tweets energy. But if an album is what helps me get over an existential crisis, I beg you allow me the nonsensical ramblings about how I felt like I was ascending into the stars.

Though in terms of the lyrical content the public perception is probably correct, I think the reputation Ultraviolence has as Lana’s darkest, most gothic album (which is something I’ve in incorporated into the outfits I put together) is mistaken; instrumentally and visually it drew more on 70s psychedelic rock and the bohemian counter culture of the period than anything, and her stage looks are a clear reflection of that, and also the outfits I was most excited to channel. It seems counter-intuitive to the moody atmosphere I associate the tracklist with but it’s my go-to summer album; it’s raw (probably her most stripped back work along with NFR, lots of the songs are barely edited) and it’s gloomy but let’s be real, hot as fuck-don’t bother making a sex playlist, just put Ultraviolence on shuffle, and you’re good to go. This was the album where Lana debuted some of her most criticised lyrics and where the notion that she glamourises abuse comes from, one of the points she also seemed to be getting at in the Instagram post, but imo it’s fair to say that she sang truthfully about the initial allure of a dangerous relationship and the nature of the mindset that facilitates staying with somebody poisonous where you do feel like you’re nothing without them. Turning horrific experiences into romantic tragedies is how Lana has always made her music and yeah, out of context there are some fucked up lyrics on the album, but policing how a woman expresses her trauma and complaining that she glorifies weakness because she wrote honestly about the reality of a complicated partnership is hardly any more “feminist” than the lyrics themselves. I can only guess that the reason Lana felt the need to bring up this criticism in 2020 is because these darker themes are going to be revisited in her upcoming album and that in spite of the issues with the way she expressed herself, this time critics will be more accepting of how she chooses to address these themes.

On a lighter note “yeah my boyfriend's pretty cool, but he's not as cool as me” will always be a great line. Simple but effective. If my boyfriend ever is cooler than me it’ll be doing Lana a disservice.

Honeymoon (Release Date: 18th September 2015)

Considering that a lot of other Lana fans are of the opinion that this is her best album, I find it weird that I really don’t remember all that much about this period, other than High by the Beach being released and then hearing Salvatore and Freak for the first time. I guess because she didn’t do a Honeymoon specific tour and didn’t make that many public appearances in this period? It was definitely harder for me to find visual reference points beyond the HbtB music video and the cover art, so I mostly drew on the general vibe of the album, a cinematic accompaniment to a summer in Italy or the South of France, filled with exotic instrumentals and the sense of impending romantic doom that Lana does so well. I suppose if I associate the visuals of this era with anything it’s idyllic florals and warm tones, bygone country club pool days, a rich American’s vacation in Southern Europe, long walks on the beach (and as our Lord and Saviour Jujubee once said, big dicks and fried chicken). Apparently inspired by Lana’s relationship with Francesco Carrozini, it’s a hazy story of some ultra-feminine, submissive archetype becoming unhealthily enchanted by a mysterious “foreign man” who’s ultimately not all that good for her, which as the story goes turned out to be quite prophetic. Going against the grain, it’s my least favourite of her albums after Lust for Life, but in spite of that, I will always remember how obsessed I was with the sax riffs (I think? I don’t know my instruments all that well so forgive me, lol) on Freak and I definitely understand why it’s a firm favourite for so many.

“You could be a bad motherfucker, but that don’t make you a man.” was truly a cultural reset of a line.

-on an unrelated note, OMG, I never realised how I have my mouth open in literally every fucking photo I take, somebody tell me how to pose, please and thank you-

Lust for Life (Release Date: 21 July 2017)

Lust for Life is a controversial one. On the one hand, I appreciate that this album was the victory cry of a happier, more independent, politically-aware Lana in spite of it apparently being a far more optimistic sounding album than the one she wanted to release, but on the other there were way too many collaborations for me and this meant that the album lacked a sense of cohesion and the characteristic narrative thread that usually runs throughout her tracklist. Aside from Love, Cherry, Get Free and Tomorrow Never Came, most of the songs on the album aren’t hugely memorable and it’s a crying shame that a collaboration with STEVIE FUCKING NICKS of all people left so much to be desired. Coming from two witchy icons, I expected something absolutely magical so maybe I was setting myself up for failure, but come on. We could’ve had a real anthem there.

Aesthetically speaking however, this is one of my favourite eras for Lana, which is unsurprising when you consider the tracklist contains references to both Woodstock and Coachella. I’m not gonna lie, I think seeing Coachella fashion in my early teens was my style awakening-I remember seeing Vanessa Hudgens’ outfits and being like, wow, I want to be her (oh, what a fall from grace)-so the late 60s/early 70s flower power groupie style Lana adopted in this period really spoke to me. It was all long hair and dreamy pastels, and this era included some of the most head-to-toe coordinated looks we’ve ever seen from her. Of course I couldn’t completely abandon the grungy touches that I love, that I tend to associate with the early Lana street style days and the Paradise and Ultraviolence music videos rather than with this album, but I’m never gonna pass up an opportunity to whack out a good floral two piece and putting together Lust for Life inspired looks is the perfect excuse to do that.

So, that marks the end of this post! If you made it to the end, thank you so much for reading! I have a Yesstyle lookbook and review to edit but now that I’ve finished that, I’m trying to go down more of a style inspiration focussed route with my lookbooks rather than just putting together outfits from clothes I’ve just bought (though I might still do one every so often to bring in a new season-let’s just ignore the fact that they’re all blending into one bc climate change for now, one catastrophe at a time please universe). I find that if you have a specific idea in mind of what you want, it’s super easy to find something similar on Depop and Ebay and that way you avoid buying new things and also take old things off a person’s hands that might otherwise end up being thrown out by a charity shop and then dumped into a landfill from there. Something I’d LOVE to do before this year is out is put together a lookbook based on the most stylish TV shows of the last decade, but that probably won’t be for a while-even so, if you have any recommendations of series to watch which could fit into this category, let me know!

To finish, I need to go a little bit off-topic so forgive me, but I truly don’t know why this even needs to be said: WEAR A FUCKING MASK. IT IS NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE. IT IS A BASIC HYGIENIC PRACTICE THAT HELPS SPREAD THE STOP OF A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS DISEASE! RUDIMENTAL SCIENCE! NOT A CHANCE TO PROVE HOW “EDGY” YOU ARE! SERIOUSLY, STOP MAKING A FUCKING PANDEMIC ABOUT YOURSELF! NOBODY ENJOYS WEARING THEM BUT THEY HELP PROTECT OTHERS! SO UNLESS YOU HAVE A VALID MEDICAL REASON NOT TO BE WEARING ONE, DON’T BE A SELFISH PRICK!

Sorry to sign off on a rant-y note with something that has nothing to do with Lana, lol, but all the stupidity has been grinding me gears lately and I had to let it out on behalf of all retail workers: if we can wear a mask for 9 hours at a time, YOU can tolerate the mild discomfort of wearing one for 10 minutes. I know this doesn’t apply to the majority of people but there’s always a couple of arseholes, isn’t there!?

Stay safe,

Lauren x

#ldr #lana #lana del rey #fashion #fashion blogger #style blogger #outfit inspo

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thelioncourts · 5 years ago

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title: the mannequin gallery fandom: captive prince pairing: damen/laurent rating: (eventually) explicit words: 4695 for chapter one (1/?)

story summary: If things would have gone the way they were supposed to, Damen and Laurent would have never met. But things didn't go the way they were supposed to, not at all, and their meeting ended up being the equivalent of skydiving with a malfunctioning parachute. Damen tried not to complain. After all, he was now living his dream; he was travelling with his best friend without having to make sure their "I"s were dotted and their "T"s crossed. And, sure, Laurent was difficult to work with, to work for, but he was also great to look at and they made it work well as long as they were anywhere but in Paris. But when Laurent's past begins to cause present-day problems, Damen finds out those difficulties Laurent constantly displays were a bit more warranted than he could have ever imagined. And Laurent? Laurent finds out the truth -- and finds out how to smile.

chapter one note: hi, guys! so -- this fic is my baby. i've been fiddling with the idea a bit over a year now and i'm finally debuting it in all its mistakes and all my love for it. before i ramble too long about anything else i feel like i should put a disclaimer here in saying that: this is by no means near finished. i have a plot and major plot points written out in detail and i have the first three chapters completed (prologue doesn't count as a chapter), but that is it. i know how a lot of people feel about WIPs (i feel that way in many cases with WIPs too) and i just want to get that out there for anyone who does want to wait until it's a finished product.now! i fear the summary makes this sound really lighthearted and, while it is and will be (i hope!) it is also going to delve into some darkness, namely in canonical captive prince fashion of pedophilia and rape and molestation. i'm not sure it that will be mentioned or if it will be described or anything, but i feel like that needs to be said for anyone looking for a fluff-fest.

Damen knew what people thought about him. Damen knew that people thought he wasn’t living up to his full potential. Damen knew that people thought he was relying too much on his ‘fifteen minutes of fame.’ Damen knew that people thought he’d be left with nothing in five years. Hell, he had heard it enough from his own father, from his brother, from his ex-girlfriend who was now his brother’s fiancé. Nik had heard it all too.

But Damen knew a lot of other things too. Damen knew that ‘lucky’ didn’t even begin to describe his current life and Damen knew that one wasn’t meant to look a gift horse, or lucky horse, in the mouth. Damen knew, after all his experience, how to cultivate fleeting moments into events to be remembered. Damen knew, after all his experience, that networking was by far the most useful career tool. Most importantly, Damen knew he’d never be happy sitting at the head of a boardroom table or behind a desk in an office eight hours a day. And since the opportunity to do what he did had landed in his lap, he knew he would have been a fool to not take it and run with it. Even knowing what people thought, Damen didn’t regret it, not once.

Still, despite what Damen knew, it didn’t make his brain stop replaying every argument he’d had with his family in the past or, in this instance, about an hour ago via phone call. It didn’t matter how many times Nik told him every harsh word out of their mouths was all out of worry on his father’s part, all out of jealousy on his brother Kastor’s part, all out of regret and envy on Kastor’s fiancé’s part. Each argument always left Damen’s head spinning.

It took the chill of the mountain air rushing against his face to pull him back to reality. He and Nik had been in Cortina d’Ampezzo, a ski town in northern Italy, for just over a week. Today was their last day and they were using it to actually enjoy themselves as opposed to creating content. It’s why they were hitting their favorite ski slopes one last time and why there was cold wind ruddying Damen’s cheeks and why specks of snow were hitting his goggles, leaving them streaked with condensation.

Finally where the ground began to level out, Damen turned his legs, shifting them to just the right angle, before he allowed himself to slide and slow down to a gentle stop. Everything felt wobbly under his feet.

“Quit thinking about it.”

Damen looked up to see Nik who had been right behind him on the course. Nik was already pulling at his goggles, at his hat, and he shook his hair free of both bindings. His nose was red. Giving Damen a pointed look to back up his words, he waited a beat before moving to unbuckle his feet from the skis.

“I’m not thinking about it,” Damen said, copying Nik’s movements.

“Yes, you are. You almost veered off course back there.”

“But I didn’t.”

[Continue on AO3]

“You should really let me photograph you when you’re like this,” Nik said. “We can do a whole thing, call it ‘The Real Damen.’ Let everyone know you’re not always big smiles and no shirts, that sometimes you’re a pouty loser.”

“I’m not a pouty loser,” Damen argued, face screwing up with the insult.

“See,” Nik started quickly, snapping and pointing. “That face. Let me take a picture of that face and we’ll show off the human side of you.”

“You’re a dick,” Damen said. “And what do you mean ‘human side’ of me?”

Their feet crunched across the snow as they made their way back to the ski lodge they’d grown fond of in their week here. They’d grown so fond of it that they made sure to take plenty of pictures outside and inside of the place, of the food and drink offered, of the cute-as-a-button ski instructor who had freaked out upon seeing Damen the first time and who had shown them all the tricks to having a successful ski-filled week.

Just before walking in, Nik clapped Damen on the shoulder and said, “You know what I was thinking about while we were skiing? I was thinking about how you’re going to be lucky to even get a pity invite to your own brother’s wedding.”

“You’re a dick,” Damen repeated, but he was laughing. That was something they were both glad about.

Beyond their dinner reservations that night, Damen and Nik had no other plans for their last day in Cortina and so they spent it wandering aimlessly as opposed to how they wandered about the other seven days, like men on a mission. There wasn’t an urgent need to get content out given how their system worked. They were almost always two weeks ahead, minus the times that they needed to post in real time, though whether that came from posting on Damen’s Instagram story or from carefully, but quickly, edited shots Nik completed in double-time depended entirely on the ‘what’ and the ‘who.’

For the next few hours, they meandered around the streets doing the fun things that inspired them to do just this all those years ago. They ran inside local shops, seeing things that weren’t found in every store across the globe, they took in the talented musicians all along the streets – even in the snow – singing heart-pulling melodies, plucking at echoing strings, pounding on drums that were felt in one’s soul, and they ate so much finger food, making themselves nearly sick. Around them were the Dolomites, larger than life and covered in snow, and sometimes Damen looked up at them and remembered how cold it had been up there, how thin the air was. He also looked up and thought about how awesome those pictures were going to look once Nik got around to editing this stop.

By seven o’clock they were back at their hotel, the Hotel Miramonti, which was made famous for being in a James Bond film (For Your Eyes Only (1981) starring Roger Moore). For their final night, final photos, and for that once-in-a-lifetime thing that had been the inspiration for two teenagers’ bucket list, they decided to dress up for dinner in the best suits they could find in such a town and live it like they were James Bond...because you could do that when you were them.

“Do I look like I’m ready to fight international crime?” Damen asked, stepping out while artfully checking his cufflinks.

“You look like a tool,” Nik deadpanned.

“That’s at least the fifth time you’ve been mean to me today” Damen said. He swiped their room card, tucking it into his black leather wallet, and elbowed Nik as they exited the room. It was cold outside in the mountains in January and Damen was grateful for the coat he’d gotten here as well. He shoved his hands into his pockets, watching as air left from his mouth and rose to form clouds in front of his face.

“Only the fifth time? I’m slacking then,” Nik said. They walked in silence, letting the feeling of being in this place wash over them. Cortina was lively at night. Its restaurants and shops were full of laughter and song, people warming their hands near fires and their blood with alcohol, and Damen wondered how many of these people came here every year and how many were first time visitors, equally as awed by the beauty as he was.

Nik was a step behind him, had been a step behind him all day really, and Damen tried not to dwell on it; but, given how his own conversation with his family had gone, he couldn’t help but think about Nik’s own. He was definitely acting like something was wrong, but he hadn’t said a word about any of it.

“Did your dad give you a hard time again?” Damen finally asked.

Nik huffed out a laugh, that familiar one that said everything he didn’t have to. Still, he said “Not as hard a time as your own gave you.”

A car full of young women drove by them and three of the girls had gloved hands extended out the windows, braving the cold for a ‘hello’ at two well-dressed strangers on the street and Damen, ever the charmer, yelled his own ‘hello’ back at them. They laughed as though he said something awfully funny.

There was a small bar just up the road that was clearly the place to be in Cortina on a Thursday evening. The line, careening out the door, was bubbling with impatience, excitement, and the desire for a packed room of body heat to fight the cold. Damen and Nik both watched as a couple talked animatedly to one another before she moved in, pressing what was clearly an ice-cold hand on her boyfriend’s forearm, making him jump. She laughed and he laughed and the guy behind them mocked them both.

“If this place we’re going to ends up being like that one restaurant back home, we should stop by here afterward and get something good,” Damen said.

“I still maintain that one place is lying about their Michelin star,” Nik said as agreement.

“When you’re a Michelin star restaurant with a three-star Yelp rating, something’s up,” Damen said. “Maybe we should change up everything and talk about food instead. We get real heated about food, I think it’d be great.”

Nik hummed and Damen turned, just so, to look at him. He had his phone in hand, eyes scanning the screen like a teenager waiting for someone to text them back. Damen hit him with an elbow, watching as Nik fumbled once to keep his phone from landing on the snow-wet ground.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing,” Nik said, pocketing his phone.

Damen shushed him. “You’ve been weird all day.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Yeah, you have.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Nik,” Damen huffed.

Nik sighed deeply, his chest rising high underneath the fitted suit jacket, and he looked up to the sky, watching the cold air moved by the disturbance of warmth.

“Look,” he said after a moment’s pause. “I have something I want to talk to you about. It’s something I should have talked to you about weeks ago, but no time seemed right.”

Damen stopped right in the middle of the walkway they were on, but the few people anywhere behind them just walked on by as though not bothered by the brief interruption in their own journeys. “Spill.”

“No, it can wait until we’re on our way to –” Nik trailed.

“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about at dinner. But let’s talk about this first,” Damen said.

“We need to get on the same page for where we’re going next,” Nik argued. “You know we’re a mess if we don’t have at least ideas in place before we get somewhere.”

“I know, but if whatever this is has you stressed, we should talk about it now.”

“Damen, come on, this is the first dinner we’ve had in seven days that’s not going to be cold by the time we eat it. Let’s just enjoy this, figure out our plans for –”

“I’ve got a few ideas.”

“Right. And then we’ll talk.”

The doors were opened for them because it was that kind of place and they were greeted by a too-gorgeous hostess and an equally stunning coat check attendant who both smiled at them in the dim lighting of the restaurant. They were led to their seats, the way between tables spacious, and just as they were about to sit, Damen put a hand on Nik’s forearm.

“Hang on,” he started. “You’re not bailing on me anytime soon, are you?”

Nik, with his lifetime of patience, didn’t roll his eyes, but the desire to do so was there.

“I knew it,” Damen said with the confidence of someone acting like they had it all figured out.

They ordered wine because they were in Italy and how could they not, and every item on the menu was so tempting Damen spent a good twenty minutes struggling to decide on just one. He decided to voice that fact out loud.

“I know that, at this rate, we’re going to be until the sun rises, but I could genuinely eat everything.”

“Well, choose one of the everything you could eat and get on with telling me about our next destination,” Nik said, having long decided on a nice risotto.

Taking Nik’s words to heart, Damen spent another minute or so finalizing a decision before landing on a bollito misto to pair well with the Barbera wine they had already drained a bottle of.

“Alright. I know we’ve been talking about exploring the more eastern parts of Europe, but given that I’d actually like to have the time to research it and to also not go there in the endings of winter, I’ve decided on a new place in a familiar country,” Damen explained. “Berlin.”

“Berlin?”

“Yes. We’ve spent time in Frankfurt and did that tour of Rothenburg a few years back, but it’s been some time since we’ve been to Germany and Berlin is full of things to do. I could also really do with some of that schnitzel we had that one time.”

“You don’t even remember the schnitzel,” Nik reminded him. “You were so drunk because we were there during Oktoberfest and you were competing against veteran Germans at their own holiday. I told you the schnitzel was good.”

“Well,” Damen started with a laugh, “then I’d like to try the schnitzel and remember it this time!”

They were about to start a meaningless bit of banter, something they always did, like brothers who couldn’t keep their mouths closed and their thoughts to themselves, when Nik’s phone rang, causing a few glances from other patrons in the restaurant. It wasn’t uncommon for them both to get a slew of phone calls throughout the day. They had plenty of family, friends, and acquaintances all around the world to keep them busy, and none of those categories included the times they got called for interviews or received offers from brands to advertise in their posts. When they were out like this though, they were both pretty good at giving their eyes and brains a rest from social media so Damen was surprised to see Nik’s hand jump to his phone as though it was a lifeline, or a ransom.

“I’ve got to take this,” he said after remembering to breathe, and he didn’t wait to get a ‘No problem!’ or ‘What’s going on?’ from Damen. Instead he quickly and politely stood from the table and excused himself out the door that led to the currently empty outdoor sitting area.

Damen couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward in his seat like a nosy ya-ya watching the neighbors from her open kitchen window. It was dark out and the lighting of the outdoor seating area was minimal given nobody was going to brave the cold just for dinner and a view; it made it hard to see Nik who was swathed in an already-dark suit. Still, Damen watched, hoping to see something akin to relief or peace or excitement or something good take over his best friend’s face and replace the anxiety that had been there as they had talked on their walk to the restaurant.

For the first few minutes, Damen, continuously sipping on his wine and munching on the bread sitting on the table, could just see him through the throng of people between their table and the door, through the smaller windows of the door itself, through the decorative greenery falling into perfect place just beyond the entrance. Nik was standing there, back to the window, with one arm up and holding the phone to his ear and the other crossed over his chest, hand clenching at the fabric of his newly rented suit. In the time it took Damen to order another drink and wait for its arrival, Nik moved, his walk and talk taking him out of Damen’s eyesight. So, Damen continued to sip on his drink, waiting.

And waiting. And waiting. And ordering another drink. And waiting. And waiting.

It was safe to say Damen’s head was appropriately fuzzy when Nik came back, goosebumps on the exposed skin of his wrists. Damen watched him carefully, looking for familiar signs of something good, but the only thing Damen could recognize was a thrumming anxiety he hadn’t seen since Nik hit the decline button on his acceptance to university all those years ago.

“What was that about?” Damen asked. The words felt heavy – no, furry – on his tongue.

When Nik finally looked up at him and took in the almost-emptied wine glass, he physically shook his head no, as though telling himself instead of Damen. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Are you sure?” Damen asked. The tablecloth was moving with the shaking of Nik’s leg.

“Yeah, it can wait.”

Even though Nik said it could wait, it clearly couldn’t. The remainder of dinner was tense. It felt weighed down by the phone call that had Nik all discombobulated. Damen had tried for conversation, had tried explaining plans for a stopover in Germany, but he was drunk, and things were coming out jumbled and Nik was only responding with disinterested sounding hums, so Damen stopped trying. He opted for more wine instead.

The walk back to the hotel was even worse than the remainder of dinner. Nik seemed to do everything he could to keep with the day’s pattern of staying one step behind Damen at all times and Damen was so focused on walking in a straight line that he couldn’t keep the energy about him to care, not until they were back at the hotel and attempting a climb up the staircase to their room. 407.

Damen tried swiping the room card once, twice, and he was too uncoordinated having exhausted all the energy on walking. Nik gently pried the card from Damen’s hands and, once inside, beelined straight for the bathroom, hands pulling at the suit that felt sweltering in northern Italy’s chilly January weather, and Damen sat down on one of the beds, fingers fumbling with the fine laces of his shoes. It seemed like an eternity until Nik came back out, the whole scene nearly identical to the one at dinner, but Damen had had time to come up with something to say this time, even if his brain was still fuzzy – furry? – with Barbera wine.

“Are you breaking up with me?” he asked, the laugh in his voice unavoidable with the wording, but the honest fear behind the words tangible.

“What?” Nik asked, incredulously. He looked a lot more comfortable, dressed as they usually did in shorts and a thin t-shirt. It was his old football tee from school, the number on the back almost completely faded and the lion of their team name not near as ferocious as it had once been.

“Did your family finally get to you? Did you finally get a real job? Are you going to be a salary man now? Are you going to wear a suit like the one tonight all the time?”

There was a beat, then two, and then Nik was laughing, the sound so wonderful after hours of strained silence. And it was such an infectious laugh – though whether that was because the situation was actually funny, because it was late in the evening, or because Damen was still drunk, he wasn’t sure – that Damen started to laugh too. They laughed so loud and so long that someone in a room next to them banged twice on the wall, shouting something indiscernibly Italian through their laughter.

“You really think I could give up all of this for a desk job back home?” Nik asked, though they both knew the question was rhetorical. They had talked about it enough in their travels for it to be too familiar a topic. “I’m not going anywhere. But you might after I tell you about that phone call.”

“Try me.”

Nik sat down across from him on the other bed, leg shaking like it had been at the restaurant. He looked like a man standing at the gallows, allowing himself to be subjected to his fate. And Damen was quite confused and continued to be confused even as Nik started to speak.

“Do you remember three months ago when we were in Morocco and I woke you up at three in the morning and dragged you out to take pictures until after the sun had risen?”

“I definitely remember that because I was not happy. You didn’t even let me get coffee.”

“Do you remember how you told me that that whole thing was really weird and the day after you said it was even weirder that I spent over twelve hours going through all the photos and getting them edited the way they needed to be?”

Damen hummed. “Yeah, you’re not usually that anal about it all.” Nik sighed heavily at him.

“I was finishing my portfolio to send to,” Nik sighted again, “well, a lot of places. Places in Paris. For Paris Fashion Week.”

The raising of Damen’s eyebrow said everything he didn’t have to and Nik put his hands out in an almost defensive manner, face mimicking Damen’s own of surprise, as though he was surprised by himself for saying it, for doing it.

“I know I’ve never shown interest in photographing the fashion world, but the opportunity can’t be overlooked. Especially if I want to stand out from the thousands, or millions, of social media photographers out there. I saw Lazar, that French photographer we ran into last year, talking about it and the impulsivity hit me.”

“You’re never impulsive,” Damen said.

“But I was.” Nik stood and moved to the window, eyes searching the barely illuminated night of Cortina. “I spent a day thinking about how I was submitting my type of work to a bunch of snobs in the fashion industry who don’t care about anything we do. Then I forgot about it. We were busy enough and it wasn’t the most important thing to be focused on, so it fell to the back of my mind. It wasn’t until I saw Lazar say Dior had called him that I started to try and brush it off as a lost opportunity, but two days later I got an email from a man named Estienne asking if I would be available for a phone call. A phone call from Etoile whose owner called at dinner and offered me an opportunity to come shoot for them.”

“Wait, which brand is Etoile?” Damen asked.

“You’ve seen them before. They were big in the news about two years ago for a floral design they did for their fall collection. They’re also the only all-male modeling and clothing agency in Paris,” Nik said.

“And they called you? They want you to come to Paris and photograph their models and their clothes during the,” Damen struggled for a moment to find a good comparison, “fashion Olympics?”

“Calm down,” Nik said, but he was smiling; he couldn’t help smiling. “Because this time is such a big deal for all the brands and because they get so many applications, they’ve called ten photographers back. They want us all to come to Paris early and attend a few photoshoots with their runway models. They want us to get to know them, to familiarize ourselves with the models and the fabrics. The owner says he believes photography is best when the subjects are familiar. After that, they’re going to choose four photographers to stay for fashion week.”

“Nik,” Damen said once. “Nik! This is amazing, this is –” he got up, coming up next to Nik at the window, and smacked him hard in the arm. “Why they hell didn’t you tell me sooner? Why didn’t you want to tell me tonight?”

“I didn’t want to tell you when I was putting it together because I didn’t want it to be a thing. You get intense about anything that could remotely be viewed as a competition and I didn’t want you getting caught up in something that, honestly, I thought had little opportunity to be a success. And then tonight I was just nervous for the call and then it happened, and I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“You didn’t know how to tell me you got offered the opportunity of a lifetime?” Damen asked incredulously.

“No, I didn’t know how to tell you that I’m going to be in Paris for at least a whole month,” Nik said. “I know you can do some of your own stuff, but also most of your ‘stuff’ is you doing shirtless workouts on your story. And while that keeps your followers, you’re a shit photographer and a whole month without new content might be too long. I was going to wait until I could contact a few people who could maybe meet up with you in a few places and be temporary fill-ins for me.”

“Dude,” Damen said, starting to laugh again. He smacked Nik’s shoulder even harder this time. “I don’t know what you’re talking about because I’m not going anywhere without you anytime soon.”

Nik’s eyebrows furrowed close together, wrinkling his forehead and squinting his eyes, and he looked ridiculous. “But it’s going to be an entire month, Damen. I don’t think you’ve stayed in the same place longer than a week since you came down with the flu while we were in Wales.”

“I’ve never had a reason to stay in one place longer than a week. But to miss out on seeing you around a bunch of highbrow models and their high maintenance lives? I’d regret that the rest of my life.”

It was Nik’s turn to smack Damen in the shoulder. His hit was harder than any of Damen’s had been, but Damen didn’t even flinch. He smiled, the smile of a proud brother that just watched his own kin graduate or a father having taught his child to ride a bicycle, and it made Nik turn away from him to hide his own smile.

“Besides, I think Paris has plenty to offer us for a month. I’m all about once in a lifetime opportunities and front row seats at Paris Fashion Week seems like one of those, even if I don’t quite get it. And who knows, Nik,” Damen said, getting Nik’s attention back on him. “It’s the city of lights, the city of love.” He waggled his brows. “Maybe we’ll finally get you a girlfriend and you can stop saying photography is your only love.”

Nik smacked him again.

Surprisingly, Nik fell asleep first just an hour later. It gave Damen time to come down from the wine, to let the chill from the room sober him up, and he laid there, letting his mind wander freely and his eyes get heavy when two far too sobering thoughts hit him at the same time.

Reaching under his own head, Damen pulled at the pillow and flung it with perfect precision so it hit Nik in the face with a resounding thwack, making Nik yelp and snuffle with a startle.

“Wha—?”

“Are we going to Berlin tomorrow or not?” Damen asked. “We never decided.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Nik said, definitely half-asleep and thinking of nothing but falling back to complete-sleep.

“Hey.” Damen threw another pillow with the exact same perfect precision.

“Damen, I swear to god,” Nik grumbled into the pillow that was now on top of his face.

“I’m mad at you.”

“About?”

“You’re doing something our families would consider worthwhile now,” Damen said. “This goes way beyond social media. Now my dad’s going to call me going ‘Why can’t you be more like Nik? Why don’t you have any skills beyond standing for pictures? Why do you insist on shaming the family name?’”

Nik was laughing. “Go to sleep, Damen.”

Damen was laughing too.

#captive prince #damen of akielos #laurent of vere #captive prince fanfiction #capri fic #my writing #mannequin gallery 'verse #the mannequin gallery

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dirtydobrik · 5 years ago

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second priority - d.d.

plot: david goes on a weekend trip to vegas with the guys and doesn’t answer any of your calls or texts, and when talking to natalie about it, she tells you not to worry about it because his priority this trip getting footage. this leads to you going to new york to clear your head and a couple of fights between you and david

requested: yes, by anon! I needd angsttttttt what about david leaves for vegas with the guys and during the whole trip he doesn’t answer your texts/calls and you’re pissed bc he’s been posting stories. When he comes back you’re not at the house you decided to go visit your friend in new york to change your mind or something like that :(

author’s note: hi! this was requested anonymously. hopefully it was similar to what you had in mind. if you want to send in a request for an imagine, send me a message!!

word count: 2164

masterlist

David hasn't been answering your calls or texts for the last two days, which was unlike him. And it was driving you crazy. He had gone to Vegas for a weekend trip with the guys, but he was posting on his Instagram story, so he was purposefully dodging your calls. You two weren't even on bad terms when he left, so there was no reason for him to be ignoring you.

"Have you talked to Dave since he left for Vegas?" you asked Natalie, popping a pineapple chuck into your mouth. You were sitting at the island in David's kitchen as Natalie was cutting up pineapple.

"Yeah, he called me last night and he texted me this morning," she replied. "Why? Have you not talked to him?" Her voice was filled with concern as she set the knife down on the cutting board.

"He's not answering any of my calls or texts. I thought maybe he wasn't talking to anyone, but clearly, I was wrong," you pouted. You didn’t want to be upset, but you knew David was using his phone so you didn't understand why he wasn't answering you.

Natalie's smile turned into a frown for a brief moment as she thought. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. You guys will be fine. He's just out with the guys. You know his priority is getting content." You rolled your eyes as she talked.

Of course David's priority was getting content. That was always his priority. It was a slap in the face to know that you weren't as important to David as his vlog was, and you hated it. For the most part, David was good at balancing you and his vlog. He knew when to put the camera down when you were around. But that boundary didn’t exist when he was with the guys. David didn't know when to stop when he was out with the guys, which sucked because that meant he would be M.I.A. for hours on end when he was filming.

Natalie noticed your eye roll and gave you a sympathetic smile. She knew how committed to his work David was and that it would be his only focus, especially when he didn't have enough footage and needed to edit and upload the next day.

You were about to answer Natalie when you heard her phone chime.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered as she turned the screen towards you and you saw David's name. "He needs me to buy a plane ticket for Ilya and Dima to go to Vegas right now, and he wants me to change his flight home to tomorrow."

"I bet he won't even tell me that he's extending his trip," you sighed loudly, getting another sympathetic smile from Natalie. "God, Nat, I just don't know what to do? Like, I know that this is his job, but he's never ignored me for this long. And it's not even like he has a reason to be doing so. He didn't leave when we were on bad terms or anything." you rambled, just needing to vent about your feelings.

"Do you want me to ask him what's going on?" Natalie asked, and you immediately shook your head.

"No. That makes me seem desperate."

"You're his girlfriend. You're allowed to seem 'desperate' when your boyfriend completely ignores you for two days."

"No, Nat. It's fine," you tried to reassure her. "I'll talk to him eventually."

Natalie pouted, not thrilled with that idea. "Are you sure?" she asked, and you nodded, pretending everything was fine. But Natalie saw right through it, and she held her arms out for a hug.

A couple hours later and after another ignored facetime from David, you were sitting in the airport, waiting to board a flight to New York City. You were pissed off at the fact that David was still ignoring, and you didn't want to be around when he came home. You needed a distraction and one of your close friends had just recently moved to New York so you were going to meet up with her.

It was an easy flight, and your friend was waiting at the airport to pick you up when you landed. You explained the whole situation with David on the way home. She jokingly told you to dump him and you said you probably would if he would call you back. When you got to your friend's apartment, her roommate was waiting up with a bottle of wine and a pint of ice cream. You dropped your bag on the floor and the three of you squeezed on to the couch to watch a rom-com, spending the entire night successfully avoiding the topic of David.

The following morning you turned your phone on, having a few texts from Natalie asking if you were okay, but nothing from David. You sent Natalie a text that you were in New York and that you were fine. She, of course, freaked out at first, but completely understood your need to get away. She promised not to tell David where you were, even if he offered her a raise, and said she would pick you up from the airport to give you an update on David if he was still ignoring you.

David landed in LA around 9am. He had called Natalie earlier and asked if you were coming with her to pick everyone up. Natalie covered for you, saying that you were still asleep and that there wouldn’t be room in the car for everyone anyways. David and the guys piled into David's Tesla and after Natalie dropped everyone off, there was an awkward silence between her and Dave. He knew she was hiding something from him, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. She pulled the Tesla into the driveway, tossing you the keys and getting into her car.

"Nat, wait," David stopped her. "What's wrong? Why are you acting so weird?"

"The fact that you even have to ask that. God, David, what's wrong with you?" she spat, turning her car on and driving off, leaving David alone and confused. He didn’t know what Natalie meant.

He brought his suitcase inside, hoping you would be sitting on the couch waiting for him, but all he found was an empty house. He tried calling you and when he got no answer, he decided to head over to your place. Your roommate answered the door when he knocked, confused as to why you didn’t tell him you were in New York.

Your phone buzzed with a text from Natalie saying David was back in LA and that he didn’t know why you were mad. You told her that he was calling you nonstop and that you were now ignoring him since you weren't in the mood to deal with him. She encouraged you to talk to him, and you were dreading the conversation. You spent twenty minutes debating with yourself whether you should call him back or not, and you finally decided to give it a shot.

The line rang and your breathing was getting heavy. You tried to take deep breaths to calm yourself down, but you could sense the rage building up inside you.

"Hi, babe," David said when he answered the facetime. His brown hair was floppy and covered his forehead and his eyes lit up when he saw you. For a moment, you almost forgot that you were mad at him.

"Hi, Dave," you said, your voice cold as ice.

"What's wrong?" he questioned, genuinely confused as to why both you and Natalie were being so cold to him.

"Oh, I don't know, David, " you answered sarcastically. "Maybe the fact that you went to Vegas for three days and I didn't hear from you once."

"I needed to film. I was barely on my phone," he said defensively.

"Bullshit. You called Nat at least twice a day, not to mention the countless Instagram stories you posted," you shouted.

"I'm sorry, okay? It was a trip with the guys and I didn’t want to have any distractions," he yelled. He instantly realized what he said, and his face and eyes softened. "That came out wrong," he said, his voice quiet.

"You're an asshole," you whispered, feeling your legs weaken. You slid on to the floor of your friend's apartment, your back against the kitchen cabinets. You were trying not to cry, but it had come full circle. Vlogging will always be David's top priority and he had just made that perfectly clear to you. He saw you as a distraction, and even though he retracted the statement, he still said it.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just didn’t want to miss out on good vlog footage if I was on my phone," he argued, although all he was doing was burying himself deeper. You felt a sharp pain in the heart and you could barely breathe. David had now admitted that you were a distraction twice. Your emotions ranged from upset to angry to horrified. You couldn't believe the words that had just came out of your boyfriend's mouth. Did you even want him to be your boyfriend anymore?

"Fuck you," you spat, ending the call and throwing your phone across the kitchen. You pulled your knees to your chest and let a single tear rolled down your cheek. You tried to stop the rest of your tears, but you couldn't. You couldn’t stand either, feeling weak and lightheaded.

Your friend came home from work an hour later and you were still sitting on the floor, although your tears had stopped. She dropped her purse on to the counter and sat on the floor next to you, not bothering to ask what was wrong, because she knew you would tell her when you were ready. And when you eventually did talk about it, it was nice to have someone else in your corner. She had taken your side long before you said anything and the support was exactly what you needed.

She got up to get your phone after it had rang for the tenth time since she had been home. A few calls were from Natalie, since she knew the situation, but a majority of your missed calls were from David. You sent Natalie a text explaining that David said you were a distraction from his ability to get vlog footage and that's why he hadn’t talked to you when he was in Vegas.

"What a dick," your friend muttered as she read over your text to Natalie for you hit send. You nodded in agreement and let out a slight laugh when Natalie's response was also "What a dick."

You had Natalie pick you up from the airport the next morning, begging her not to tell David you were back. She agreed, but a few hours later you heard a knock on the door to your apartment. You let out a loud groan as you got out of bed, assuming your roommate had ordered food and accidentally sent to home instead of work. You weren’t expecting to see David standing in the hallway with bloodshot eyes and a bouquet fresh flowers.

“What do you want?” you sighed, not in the mood for a romantic gesture that proves he does actually love you. It wouldn’t change the fact that getting content for the vlog will always come before you.

“I need to apologize.”

“It’s a little late for that, David.”

“Can we please just talk?” he begged, and you opened the door to let him in. You stood in the entry way of your apartment and shut the door behind him. “I’m sorry.”

“You should’ve thought about that before you said I was a distraction.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. I just, I haven’t had anything serious with someone since Liza and my only focus for months has been my vlog,” he paused to catch him breath since he was rambling on. “I forget sometimes that I need to make time for you and that my life doesn’t revolve around the vlog anymore.”

“David,” you started, but he cut you off. “It’s not fair for you to have to put up with it. I just, I get into work mode and nothing matters more than getting content. And I wish I didn’t.”

“You were in Vegas for three days, Dave. I don’t think you have 72 hours of footage. You could’ve at least sent me a text.”

“I know. I know I should’ve,” he said, raising his voice, although he was mad at himself and not at you. “I’m a fucking idiot. I shouldn’t have ignored you, but I didn’t mean to.”

“I can’t be your second priority,” you said in a low whisper, watching as David’s eyes softened. His heart sank at your words, feeling horrible that he made you feel like you were. “I’m sorry.”

#david dobrik #david dobrik fanfiction #david dobrik imagine #david dobrik one shot #david dobrik x reader #david dobrik fluff #david dobrik smut #sad david dobrik #david dobrik angst #david dobrik x you #natalie mariduena #natalie noel #david dobrik blurb #david dobrik fic

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lokiondisneyplus · 4 years ago

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After more than 40 years as an actor, Sheri Mann Stewart had finally taken the plunge to launch her own production company. A week after she wrapped shooting her first film for Mann Woman Productions, Atlanta went on pandemic lockdown.

Mann Stewart was suddenly left with a film on hold, an audition on hold, and the careers of her husband and two sons — all performers — on hold. Instead of ushering her first film — prophetically inspired by John Paul Sartre’s “No Exit” — through editing and post-production, she spends several hours each day on the phone trying to iron out issues with unemployment benefits that she has yet to receive.

“Nothing like this has ever happened,” said Mann Stewart an Atlanta native who most recently appeared in Tyler Perry’s Netflix feature film “A Fall from Grace.” “I think, one way or another, our industry will be changed.”

COVID-19 left actress Sheri Mann Stewart with the first film from her production company on hold, an audition on hold, and the careers of her husband and two sons – all performers – also in flux. She has spent time working on other projects including a new YouTube series to support LGBTQIA youth who may not be in supportive environments.

Like many other industries, the film and TV business has been shut down since mid-March, with only a few exceptions such as late-night talk shows and virtual versions of “American Idol” and “The Voice.” With plenty of content currently in the pipeline, streaming services and television networks have managed so far, but if production doesn’t restart soon, viewers will face a major drought of new shows to watch this fall.

Pressure is building to get production started as soon as possible, but the natural intimacy of a typical set with makeup artists, camera operators, producers, actors and production assistants constantly crossing paths, makes creating proper protocols a serious challenge.

“People are anxious to get back to work,” said Mark Wofford, general manager at Atlanta-based Production Consultants & Equipment, which provides motion-picture rental equipment. “But this has to be weighed against the need to make sure everyone is safe. It’s going to be a real balancing act.”

Georgia has become a major player in Hollywood production, courtesy of generous tax credits to film and TV production companies passed in 2008. It’s now the third-largest state for such content after California and New York. As the only state with no cap on its credits, Georgia has drawn big-budget films such as “Black Panther” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”

Despite Hollywood’s liberal leanings — some in the industry called for boycotts after Georgia’s 2016 religious liberty bill and 2019 heartbeat abortion bill — the Republican-led state legislature and three Republican governors have consistently embraced the tax credit system. At the recent Georgia Film Day on March 11, Gov. Brian Kemp spoke before 200 industry supporters in the state Capitol atrium, extolling the $2.9 billion in direct investment and 50,000-plus jobs the business brought into the state last fiscal year. Weeks later, Kemp would issue a statewide shelter-in-place order.

In May, the Georgia Film Office released a set of nonbinding best practices for film and television productions to consider during the pandemic. The guidelines included holding remote auditions and virtual location scouting as well as reducing the number of extras used on set and placing clear barriers between actors to be removed just before the director yells “Action!”

Local studios are preparing to reopen this summer as they await multiple unions to accept unified protocols. Earlier this month, a task force composed of the various unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, sent approved health and safety guidelines to governors in California and New York with plans for final protocols to follow soon. “This document is an initial set of principles and guidelines that we all agree form a relevant and realistic first step to protecting cast and crew in the reopening of the entertainment and media industry in its two largest markets,” said a joint statement from unions, including the Teamsters, the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. Face masks for live audiences, staggered mealtimes with no buffet-style setups, and daily screenings for COVID-19 along with a designated COVID-19 compliance officer, were among the recommended guidelines.

Studios have already begun to make big investments in COVID-19 friendly infrastructure. Since March, two of the largest studios in the metro area — Pinewood Studios in Fayetteville and Blackhall Studios in Atlanta — have each invested more than $1 million to retrofit their studios. One of the biggest costs: improving the HVAC systems on their sound stages and offices so they are comparable to that of hospitals in order to reduce the chances of airborne transmission of viruses. Major film and television productions can easily have hundreds of staff members working in tight indoor quarters, creating the kind of environment that public health officials have noted can increase the spread of COVID-19.

“I’ve had to become an expert in viral containment,” said Ryan Millsap, owner of Blackhall Studios. “Until March, I hadn’t given it a second thought. This is a big moment in our generation where disease has come to the forefront.”

Atlanta-based makeup artist Tracy Ewell has seen a virus or cold spread like fire on almost every production on which she has worked. She started toting a personal air filter to set up in the trailers and tents where she and her team spend hours getting actors camera ready. ”I am paid to be hygienic,” Ewell said. “I take full responsibility for my actor’s condition, but masks don’t work in my world.”

Ewell, who has worked as a department head on productions for Marvel and the Netflix drama “Ozark,” is not afraid of returning to set, but she knows that is a decision everyone will have to make for themselves. The initial industry guidelines for makeup artists included providing more time to allow for safety measures to be followed, but additional protocols need to be established before that kind of work can continue. “I would be comfortable having fewer people on set in my department if I knew they were going to have the time,” Ewell said. But more time means more money, and studios now have to make big investments at a time when they’ve posted big losses.

Just before the pandemic shut down productions nationwide, HBO finished its upcoming J.J. Abrams drama, “Lovecraft Country,” and Paramount wrapped Chris Pratt military science fiction movie “The Tomorrow War” at Blackhall. Millsap was about to sign with two other major studios for new productions when COVID-19 put the kibosh on that.

Since then, Millsap has generated zero revenue, shedding more than $1 million a month while keeping his 12 full-time employees on payroll. He said he has had enough money in the bank to keep his studio afloat but would be challenged if shows didn’t begin shooting by the fourth quarter. If all goes well, two major studios will begin pre-production at Blackhall in July with potential full-blown production by August or September, he said.

Frank Patterson, the head of Pinewood Atlanta Studios, said they have had to study every aspect of their business, from more limited security access to more sequestered work pods, dividing the studio into zones. They also hired a medical testing company, BioIQ, to handle the anticipated flood of COVID-19 tests they plan to use on a daily basis. “Some days, we’ll have 6,000 people on the lot,” he said.

The past couple of months have been “overwhelmingly stressful because I’m working with people I’ve known for decades,” Patterson added. “These are people I grew up within the industry. We have to make certain nobody gets sick. At the same time, these are friends who haven’t worked for months and have families to feed. We need to get this done now.”

Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios was the first in the country to announce detailed plans to shoot two of his BET television series in July. Perry has some advantages most other studios do not. He owns 330 acres of a former Army base and has at least 80 residences on the property which will enable him to more easily isolate crew and actors. He writes and directs his own TV series in a way that will enable him to finish shooting an entire season in less than three weeks. He has developed protocols to test everybody multiple times with contingencies in case anybody gets COVID-19. He has scaled back on-site crew and extras and is using his largest sound stage as a cafeteria with proper social distancing.

“It’s an enormous undertaking and an enormous cost to the budget,” Perry told Variety last month.

Mann Stewart had just been called for an audition for a Perry television production before the studio closed. She is unsure if that opportunity still stands but has continued with other auditions, including a recent commercial audition that came through in late May. Still, it is never far from her mind how so many aspects of the industry must change.

While writing a script for a play, she found herself debating if she really needed the characters to have a physical interaction.

“I try not to let it impact me and say I can fix it later but…,” said Mann Stewart, her thought left trailing.

Some studios are already pondering creative solutions to those kinds of concerns. As soon as the pandemic hit, executives at Atlanta-based Crazy Legs Productions created an advisory council of five medical experts to help them draw up 25 pages of safety guidelines. Last month, they began compiling a database of local actors who are in relationships with other actors. “We can cast a husband and wife as a husband and wife,” said Scott Thigpen, chief operating officer. “It’s a way to mitigate risk.” They are also considering using family members as extras.

The company, which launched in 2006 and now has 34 salaried employees, produces docuseries for TLC such as “Family by the Ton” and crime shows for ID, like “Dead Silent. ” They also began shooting films for the first time this year.

Industry insiders are confident productions in Georgia will bounce back quickly and fill sound stages as a backlog of content gets filled.

After months spent keeping their skills sharp and in some cases, auditioning via Zoom, actors across metro Atlanta are ready to get back to work, said Clayton Landey, president of SAG-AFTRA Atlanta local. He hopes summer marks that return but said the proper precautions are needed. Landey, a 48-year industry veteran, recalled a scene years ago when his character was being hit with a bullet. Everyone else on the set was standing behind safety glass. “I feel a little like that now,” Landey said. “I am interested to see what is going to be the new normal in terms of safety on set.”

The pandemic ended a theater run for Landey and stalled a film, which no longer has a date to begin production, but he has spent the past three months staying connected to other actors through virtual chats and meetups. Landey worries about the actors who may be suffering mentally while isolated from the career that allows them to channel their emotions into their work. Though acting is a field that prepares you for career ups and downs, this is unlike anything they have seen before, he said.

“Nothing in our industry touches what we are going through now. Typically when there are times of stress or hard times in the general population, we are working like crazy because entertainment is what gets you through the day,” Landey said. “This time, it is slapping us all.”

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noona-clock · 5 years ago

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Expectations - Part 3

Genre: College/Roommates!AU – Pure Fluff

Pairing: Hanbin x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: None

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | Words: 1,957

With Phase One of Operation Best Friend Roomie complete (and Phase Two now scrapped, obviously), you were working on Phase Three: Getting closer.

You knew the basics about Hanbin, and he knew the basics about you, but now it was time to spend as much time together as you could and really get to know each other.

The two of you had spent the rest of that evening playing some rounds of Uno -- because what brings two people together better than a competitive card game, right?

And, boy, was Hanbin competitive.

He didn’t even seem like he was that competitive at first; he was a bit more on the serious side, but you figured he just took the game seriously and wanted to play to the best of his ability.

But when you won the first round? He was quick to suggest another one, that’s for sure.

“Best two out of three,” he said immediately, picking up the deck of cards and shuffling them intently. The look in his eyes was... just a little bit scary.

So, you accepted his offer without hesitation.

You didn’t let him win, per se, but... you definitely didn’t try your hardest to beat him. And when you lost not just the second but the third round, you sure as heck didn’t complain too loudly.

“How about a movie?” you asked as Hanbin reshuffled the Uno cards before sliding them back into the box. “Unless you have stuff to do. I don’t want to --”

“Yeah, a movie sounds great,” he murmured, one corner of his lips lifting into a very cute smile.

“Oh, yay!” you exclaimed. You put a hand on the coffee table and pushed yourself up from your seated position on the floor, letting out a soft groan of effort. “Do you want popcorn?”

“What’s a movie without popcorn?” Hanbin replied with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Exactly.”

Within ten minutes, the two of you were lazing on the couch with a huge bowl of popcorn in-between you. The opening to a popular romantic comedy was playing, and quite to your surprise, the title had been Hanbin’s choice.

“You want to watch this?” you had asked just to be sure, holding up the DVD case.

“Yeah,” Hanbin had replied with pinkened cheeks and a bashful smile. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m a sucker for love stories.”

Of course, you had been secretly thrilled that he’d told you something he didn’t want anyone else to know. It obviously meant you guys were well on your way to becoming best friend roommates!

Within the first five minutes of the movie, Hanbin was reciting some of the lines along with the characters. You almost choked on a popcorn kernel, and you whipped your head around to stare at him in amused disbelief.

“What?” he chuckled, and you could see his cheeks getting pinker by the second. “I told you, I like this movie!”

It turned out to be quite the experience, watching this romantic comedy with Hanbin. You realized you had never actually watched a movie like this with a guy friend before, and... it was really nice. There was no tension or pressure to cuddle or makeout or anything like that. You could simply enjoy your popcorn and enjoy the cheesy fluff in the film. And enjoy spending time with your roommate.

As the movie was ending, as the two main characters were finally getting together once and for all -- it dawned on you.

Before you’d known Hanbin was your roommate, back when you’d expected he would be a she, you’d imagined the both of you eating dinner together and watching romantic comedies together and sharing secrets together.

When Hanbin had walked through your door, those expectations had immediately laughed in your face and then peaced out.

But... all of your imaginings had just come true. All of that had just happened.

You and Hanbin had eaten dinner together. You were watching a romantic comedy together. Hanbin had even shared a secret (even if it wasn’t anything truly exciting).

“Why are you smiling?” Hanbin asked with a soft chuckle as he pushed himself off the couch to go and eject the DVD.

“Hmm?” you hummed, snapping out of your little trance. “Oh, I -- nothing, I just love the ending of that movie.”

Fortunately, he didn’t catch the pretty obvious tone of falsehood in your voice, and he simply crouched down to press the button to open the DVD player.

You grabbed the case, holding out your hand and gingerly taking the disc when Hanbin handed it to you.

“Thank you,” you murmured.

“No, thank you,” Hanbin replied, making you pause for a brief moment.

“Thank me?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Thank you for dinner and for letting me know you wanted to be friends. Honestly, I was thinking you weren’t that happy about having a guy for a roommate. My mind wasn’t even on the friendship wavelength. But I’m glad yours was. I really do want to be friends, too.”

Your heart had, apparently, grown wings and was now fluttering around inside your chest. You’d never been so happy to hear a guy tell you he really wanted to be friends with you.

For once, you were well and truly content -- excited, even -- to be friend-zoned.

You spent the next day, Sunday, preparing for the first week of classes. You drew out a map of all the buildings you’d be in and which routes you needed to take to get from one class to another. You visited your professors’ webpages to see if they’d posted a syllabus yet, and when you found one, you got straight to work reading the first chapter of your textbook.

You made lists upon lists, wanting to make sure you had all of your books, school supplies, food, and outfits prepared for the first week.

...And this was why you’d been the editor-in-chief of your high school newspaper and class president. You knew how to organize.

By the time Hanbin woke up, you hadn’t even realized it was that late in the day.

“Morning!” you called out to him from in your bedroom, your eyes still focused on your ‘First Week of School Outfits’ list.

“Hey, morn --” Hanbin began, but he froze when he passed by your door. You heard him shuffle towards you, and he poked his head in your doorway. “What happened in here?”

“Hmm?” You lifted your head to look at him and saw he was staring, wide-eyed, at the papers and books strewn about your room. “Oh! Preparing for this week.”

“...Preparing? What?” he chuckled.

“Preparing... for class,” you replied with a little smirk.

“...You don’t just, like, show up?”

“No!” you laughed. “I prepare within an inch of my life. It makes me feel better if I’m going into a situation I’ve never experienced before.”

Hanbin nodded slowly, looking increasingly bemused. “Got it.”

You shot him a beaming smile before he turned and headed back to the kitchen to make his usual sandwich.

“How did you sleep?” you called out as you heard him open the fridge.

“Fine, I guess,” he answered. “You?”

“Not bad! What did you do after I went to bed?”

“Just worked on a song,” he told you.

“You wouldn’t classify that as preparing for your classes?” you asked with a cheeky grin. Hanbin was a music major, so you were fairly certain he would have to write and compose some songs for school.

“No,” he chuckled.

“All right, if you say so,” you smirked to yourself before focusing your attention back on your list.

Hanbin took his time eating his sandwich, and you took your time going through your closet and seeing which shirts, skirts, and pants needed to be ironed. You’d figured out it was more time-efficient to pick out your outfits for the whole week so you wouldn’t waste time standing in front of your closet every morning.

You’d gotten a lot of ironing done this past week, but there was still one plaid button-up you thought looked a bit rumpled. You wanted to wear it on Wednesday, so you grabbed your mini-ironing board, your iron, and the shirt before heading out into the kitchen to iron on the table.

Just as you finished pressing the collar of your shirt, Hanbin re-emerged from his room. You glanced up, noticing he was carrying his laptop.

“Come over here when you’re done with that,” he said as he perched on the couch and slid his computer onto the coffee table.

“Yeah, sure,” you murmured. You deftly ironed the cuffs and edges of your shirt before unplugging the iron and carrying everything back into your room.

A soft groan escaped your lips when you plopped down next to Hanbin. You raised your eyebrows expectantly and said, “What’s up?”

Within seconds, Hanbin’s cheeks turned pink.

“I, uh...” he murmured, barely looking at you. “I wanted to play you my song. The one I’ve been working on.”

Your eyes widened, and you had to bite your lip to suppress a giddy smile. “Really?” you asked somewhat breathlessly.

Hanbin nodded. “If you want to.”

“Of course!”

You watched eagerly as he leaned over and opened up a music editing software. A file was already up, and Hanbin hesitated just slightly before clicking the Play button.

When music started playing through the speaker, you instantly noticed it was very upbeat. The melody was quick and light, and you couldn’t stop yourself from tapping your foot and nodding your head along to it.

But when the lyrics started, when Hanbin’s voice began to sing...

Your eyes widened.

Holy moly. These lyrics were... intense.

You listened intently, your brow furrowing as Hanbin sang about a relationship which had ended -- a ‘love scenario’ as he called it.

To be honest, the lyrics were so sad that you almost wanted to cry. And you wanted to hug Hanbin so tightly that any negative emotions would just squeeze right out of him.

When the final notes echoed through your living room, you let out a soft exhale before turning to your roommate.

“Wow,” you breathed. “That was really good.”

“Yeah?” Hanbin blushed, barely meeting your eye.

“Yeah! Is that the kind of song you typically make?” you asked curiously.

Hanbin lifted one shoulder into a bashful shrug and closed the lid of his laptop. “It depends, I guess. I feel like I’ve written all types of songs. This is just what I was feeling lately.”

“I loved it,” you assured him with a wide grin. “You’re really talented.”

“Thank you,” he murmured shyly, and you honestly wanted to reach over and pinch his cheeks because he just looked so adorable right now. “So, we’re officially friends now.”

“I think so,” you chuckled.

“You’ve cooked me dinner, and I’ve played you one of my songs.”

“Perfect,” you nodded. “And now we just have to get through the first week of classes alive.”

Hanbin let out a sigh and leaned back against the couch, lifting his legs and crossing his ankles over each other on top of the coffee table. “How about another movie night? Celebrate the end of summer?”

“Ooh, yeah,” you enthused, clapping your hands together softly.

“How about that movie you’ve been watching? The one my sister likes?”

You paused, furrowing your brow and looking at him with slight suspicion. “...Really? You want to watch it?”

“Yeah, sure, why not?”

...I mean. You weren’t going to ask twice.

You hopped off the couch, retrieved the DVD, put it in the player, and practically leaped back over to the couch to get comfortable.

So. Phase Three: Getting Closer seemed to be officially completed. And, you were willing to say, quite successful.

Part 4

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