#desperately going through my camera roll and unfortunately i am only cute in pictures with or taken by my ex:/

[getoutofmytardis]

HATE that my brains response to being asked if i wanna be an official resident at this studio i ADORE is just. fucks sake i have to take a picture of myself

[harrysgloves]

Let Your Hair Down (chapter xx)

Get caught up with the Let Your Hair Down Masterlist!

word count: 1,800

story summary: Harry gets more than he bargains for when he falls not only for you but your little girl as well.

chapter summary: You meet Harry’s friends

warnings: Language

a/n: I really debated getting rid of this chapter for like 3 days... Still not 100% sure I like it but decided to keep it in the end anyways. xx

>>><<<

It was your last full night in California and you weren't sure how Harry managed to sweet talk you into going to some party with him but as you stood smoothing out your skin tight black dress you wondered if it was too late to bail on him. Unfortunately, you were staying in the same room together so you couldn't play sick and you couldn't use the fact Thea was sick or didn't want you to go because she was already with Mitch and Sarah.

You sighed running your hands through your hair. Fiddling with your outfit again. Debating if you looked too dressed up or too dressed down. He didn't really tell you what this party thing was for and didn't tell you how to dress besides nice which you could have slapped him for. Nice could literally mean anything from dress pants to a pair of denim jeans depending on the situation.

"Y'look great." He said from behind you. You didn't even notice him walking into the room you were so lost in your own thoughts.

"I don't know. I think I'm going to change." You sighed, heading back towards the closet. His arms wrapping around you, head resting on your shoulder.

"Don't, y'look beautiful." He said, turning his head slightly, placing a kiss on your neck.

"Mhm." You hummed out not believing him but settling on not changing since it would make you more late than you already were.

"Ya do! I'd fuck ya." That irritatingly cheeky smile on his when you turned around to glare at him. His arms still wrapped around you, smiling brightly down to you, making you roll your eyes and trying to walk away from him.

His hand in yours as you walked out the hotel building. Your nerves were already frazzled. Not knowing exactly what you were getting into. You stayed quiet beside him as you walked out, your mind running through all your anxieties.

"'S jus' a few people. Stop worryin' so much. I want everyone to meet ya." He opened the car door for you, letting you climb in first. You had to admit, him having a driver was actually kind of nice. You almost wished he had one in New York that you could use at home.

"Thea's birthday's in a few weeks. We're going to have a party at home for her friends then one at my parents house for family. Are you coming to them?" You asked, your mind trying to go to safe places like talking about Thea to try and stop all the anxiety currently coursing through it.

"Course I am." He took your hand in his. Holding it tightly in his lap. His thumb rubbing gently on the back of your hand making you smile slightly. You were still so nervous your leg starting to bounce uncontrollably the longer you spent in the car.

When you guys finally pulled up to the house you assumed everyone was at, you swear you couldn't breath. The house not only was the most gorgeous thing you'd ever seen in your whole life but it was huge. Not just normal mansion big, this thing looked like it cost more than you could even fathom. You definitely weren't in the same safe bubble that you were used to in New York.

The California Harry was just like New York Harry. Sweet, caring, loving. But it still had only been you two and Thea together all week long. You didn't know if his whole personality would change the second he got around other people. Or if you'd be good enough for him out here.

He basically had to pull you out of the car. You really just wanted to go home. This seemed like such a bad idea. Every doubt you'd ever had about yourself coming to the surface. Your self-esteem tanking by the second.

You didn't fit in here and you weren't even in the door yet.

"Come on, if y'still don't want to be 'ere in 10 minutes we'll leave. I promise." That big pout on his lips as he held your hands. You sighed, knowing you couldn't say no to him especially when he looked at you like that.

You nodded your agreement. He instantly smiled, pulling you along into the house. You stayed so close to his side hugging onto his arm. Feeling like a damn fish out of water. So ungodly uncomfortable.

He laughed wrapping his arm around your shoulder, pulling you in close to him as he walked towards where everyone was. A smile on his face as you bit your lip nervously.

"They don't bite, love." He said down to you, you just hummed your understanding. Words not being able to be formed in your brain.

The second you two walked up to the group of people surrounding the drink area. They all stopped to look at you two. People you didn't even know saying hello to you like you were best friends. Making you feel terrible for not knowing half the people here and only knowing the other half because they were famous.

You had no idea how Mitch managed to do this the first time he came out to California and you hated the fact he and Sarah weren't here to save you from awkward conversations.

"Harry told us so much about you!"

"It's nice to see you're actually real. We thought he was making you up for a bit."

"Where's your daughter? We were hoping to meet her too."

All the welcomings shot at you at once making you turn wide eyed to Harry. He told people about you?

"Yeh, yeh, save yer shit. She's real. I told ya." He rolled his eyes pulling you into the crowd of people. You instantly reached for the glass of whatever the hell alcohol was sitting on the table. Starting to drink it down quickly as you could. Even though everyone was being nice to you, you still felt out of place.

"We really did think he was making you up for a bit." The person beside you said slowly to you, making you turn around to see who it was.

Your eyes widening as Niall Horan decided to talk to you like it was the most casual thing in the whole world. You cleared your throat desperately looking over at Harry to save you from your lack of social skills when it came to meeting people.

When it came to your job you could do it no problem. In your social life? Not so much.

"Uhm, well, yeah, I'm real." You smiled slightly, taking another long drink from your glass. Finishing off the bubbly liquid and holding your now empty glass tightly to you.

"Got any pictures of the little one?" He asked, grabbing you another drink from the table and handing it to you.

"What's her name again?" He asked, switching you cups as you pulled out your phone. Showing him your lock screen of her and Harry smiling.

"Thea. Right?" Someone else piped up from across you. How much did Harry talk about you guys for people to know your names?

"Yeh, it's Thea. She's cute ain't she?" Harry handed his phone around that had a picture of you and her posing in front of her school. You crouched down beside her as she hugged you tightly, smiling up to the camera.

"Man you're in for a lot of shit when she gets older. She's gonna have boys chasing her like crazy." James fucking Corden said as he handed back Harry's phone.

"She's already tryin' to date someone 'cause he shared her crayons with her." He rolled his eyes, locking his phone and putting it back in his pocket. You laughed beside him shaking your head. He really needed to get over that.

"They say you get it back twice as bad with kids. Better hope she doesn't meet someone like you were when you were 19." Niall laughed beside you, your lips rolling in. Did he even plan on staying long enough for that?

"Shut up. I don't wanna think 'bout it." He sighed, arm reaching back around your waist pulling you in and kissing the top of your head.

The conversation between everyone started to flow easier once you had a few drinks in you. Your anxiety easing up once you started to realize maybe you did fit into this part of his life too.

After two hours of sitting around trying to be social you more than ready to get the hell back to the hotel. The heels you decided to wear where about to murder your feet and the last glass of alcohol you had definitely was getting to you.

"Ready?" Harry asked, when he noticed you stopped talking to everyone as much as you were. You nodded, so ready to get him home and take him out of his clothes.

"Bye everyone." You said as politely as possible. Waving to everyone as they all said goodbye to you and telling you to come back the next time you guys came in.

You two made your way toward the door, your arm around his waist, hugging onto him. You were glad he made you come to this, showing you he was just as serious about you in California as he was in New York.

You two were about to walk out the door when it opened in front of you. You stopped in your place, stumbling a bit because of your damn shoes.

Harry smiling at the couple walking in, his arm resting around your shoulder as you fixed your dress from your unfortunate stumbling.

"Hey Luke." Harry said to the guy walking in. Your head snapping up so fast it made Harry bite his lip to contain his laughter. "This my girlfriend, Y/N."

"Oh, hi." Luke Hemmings said to you and you had to try your best to not start fangirling. Your eyes so wide Harry started to laugh but quickly stopped once your elbow hit him in the ribs.

"Ow. Alright. We're leaving." He started walking you out of the house, walking around Luke and whoever was with him. Once the door shut behind you two you turned around and slapped the laughing Harry on his shoulder.

"Wat was that fo'? I did ya a favor introducing y'to one of your top 5!" His deep laugh coming from him as you booked it to the car. Cursing yourself for your choice in shoes.

"Glad I wasn't in yer 5 top that was tragic." He tried his best to contain his laughter, lips rolling into his mouth when you shot him a look.

"Fine. I'll stop teasin'" He smiled, leaning down to kiss your forehead.

Sometimes you really hated that you loved him.

[ill-go-with-that-then]

ERASERMIC MODEL AU I SORT OF WROTE

On the erasermic server I'm a part of, we have a thing called Story Time, where people can tell a story to whoever’s around, mostly in real time. This is one I did for @sraye96, who was having a bad day and wanted a model au. 

Shouta hates models. 

Unfortunately, as one of the principle photographers for the country’s fastest-growing fashion magazine, Plus Ultra, dealing with models is one of life’s regular little annoyances, like the subway being too crowded, or his favorite coffee shop running out of cinnamon rolls before he arrives. His agent, Nemuri Kayama, has assured him that this is temporary, a necessary stepping-stone for his career before he can move on to more interesting work, for news and travel magazines. Something real.

But in the meantime, models. They’re not all bad, Shouta supposes. Some are there to do a job, same as him, in and out of his studio with a minimum of fuss. But those are few and far between. For the most part, the models are whiny, demanding, critical, and rude. And the more famous they are, the worse it gets. 

So when Kayama calls him, ecstatic because Hizashi Yamada is on his way to the studio, Shouta genuinely grimaces. Yamada is a rising star, having him on the cover of their magazine will benefit everyone involved, especially Shouta. But he can’t work up any enthusiasm for what’s surely going to be a long, difficult day. 

“What are his demands,” he sighs into the phone. 

“Demands?” Kayama echoes, like she has no idea what he could be talking about. Shouta pinches the bridge of his nose, willing himself not to snap at her. 

“You know what I mean. What brand of water do I have to keep perfectly chilled? What zero-calorie snacks should I buy? Am I allowed to talk to him directly? Do I have to look at him through a mirror?”

He can practically hear Kayama roll her eyes. “As a matter of fact, he didn’t say anything about any of that. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll be easy to work with? And even if he isn’t, this will be such a boost to our careers that I’ll drive him over some fancy bottled water myself, okay?”

Shouta slumps forward. Kayama isn’t usually the type to embrace a fool’s hope, but he knows that when something seems too good to be true, that’s because it is. And if Yamada hasn’t been unreasonable yet, that just means whatever’s to come is going to be all the more unpleasant for it. 

Shouta sets up the studio himself. He could probably have an assistant, if he pushed, but he doesn’t have time to train anyone and after dealing with models all day, his tolerance for bullshit is at a personal low. He’s setting up a light and cursing all of his life-choices, when he hears a soft voice from behind him. “Hey.”

It shouldn’t startle him as much as it does. But he hadn’t heard anyone enter the studio, let alone the irritating entourage that usually accompanies a popular model, so finding himself suddenly not alone shocks him enough that he wobbles on the ladder. His panicked attempt to self-correct just makes things worse, and time slows as he plummets backwards. He only hopes he’ll kill whoever caused this, as well as himself.

But he never hits the ground. A strong pair of arms grabs him beneath the shoulders, holding him steady in the air, his feet still balanced precariously on the ladder’s step. “Whoa! That was a close one!” A voice says, near his ear. Shouta’s heart is pounding too hard for him to reply, so he just blinks helplessly as he feels himself lifted upwards, back into a position that lets him grab hold of the ladder and pull himself the rest of the way standing. 

“Sorry about that!” says the voice, as Shouta quickly climbs back to the safety of the ground. He turns around, not sure whether he’s about to thank whoever it is for saving him, or scream at them for startling him in the first place. 

He ends up doing neither. “Who the hell are you?” he snaps, not sure why this person is in his studio fifteen minutes before anyone is scheduled to arrive. Shouta’s never had a model show up less than thirty minutes late, and someone as famous as Yamada probably won’t be here for hours. So whoever this guy is, he has some explaining to do. 

The guy blinks at him, surprised. “Uh… Hizashi Yamada?”

Shouta looks the guy up and down. His clothes are nice, well put-together, but casual. His hair is tied up in a messy bun, and his glasses are thick and nerdy. He looks more like an IT guy than the type that usually hangs around models, but Shouta supposes he can’t judge. “What, did he send you or something?” 

The guy smiles nervously. He looks awkward. It’s cute. Shouta would think about asking him for coffee, if he weren’t some sort of model groupie. “Uh, no? I mean, I guess? He’s me?”

Shouta stares. The guy smiles a little wider, still looking nervous, and suddenly it’s obvious. Of course this is Hizashi Yamada - the trademark green eyes that Shouta would have bet his camera were photoshopped are blinking at him owlishly from behind the ugly glasses. 

Oh well. It had been a good dream. Shouta hopes that when all this is over he’ll be able to get a job as a department store baby photographer, but he isn’t counting on it. 

“Am I too early?” Yamada says, breaking the silence. 

“Yes.” Shouta speaks by reflex, and it’s all he can do to stop himself from slapping a hand over his mouth. Why, why does he always make things worse. “I mean, I’m still setting up. Don’t you need to do… makeup, or whatever?”

Yamada relaxes slightly. “Yeah, I brought some stuff with me. It’s supposed to be a natural look, right? I can do that myself.”

Shouta raises an eyebrow, too surprised to say anything. If this guy ruins the shoot because he thinks he’s a makeup artist, it’s Shouta who’s going to get the blame. But it’s not like he can argue - he’s in deep enough already. “Whatever. I’ll be ready to go in ten minutes.”

Yamada shoots him a thumbs up, hitching the black duffle bag over his shoulder a bit higher and heading towards the dressing area at the back of the studio. Shouta finishes setting up the lights while he’s gone, then eyes the set critically. He’d staged it with a particular look in mind, flashy and modern, not really suitable for the man who’d shown up. Still, with Yamada already here it’s too late to change much. There’s just enough time to switch the backdrop to a warmer color and swap out a few props to make things a little softer. That’s barely done before he hears Yamada walk up behind him. “Good to go? I brought a book if you need more time.”

Shouta searches Yamada’s open expression for any signs of a taunt, and finds none. “We’re good. Make yourself comfortable.”

Yamada does as he’s told, dropping himself down on the set and looking utterly relaxed. “How do you want me?” There’s no hint of flirtation in his tone, but Shouta nearly blushes anyway. 

“These photos are for an interview, right? About you?” Yamada nods. “Okay, then stay casual.” Yamada nods again, leaning back against one of the props and looking thoughtfully at the camera. This is the tricky part. Shouta knows the kind of shots he wants, he just has to figure out how to get them. “Tell me about yourself.”

Yamada smiles a little. The shutter clicks. “That’s a very broad question.” 

“Something dumb,” Shouta clarifies. “Ugliest thing you used to wear in high school.” 

“Okay, wow!” Yamada throws his head back in a laugh. The shutter clicks again. “You’re coming right for me, huh? How do you know I can answer that?”

Shouta hums. “Everyone hates how they dressed in high school. Give it up.”

“You got me,” Yamada grins. “I had a crop top that said Work It in pink sparkles, and I wore it everywhere. Now you answer.”

“My school had uniforms,” Shouta says blandly, snapping a photo of Yamada’s annoyed face. “But outside of school I only wore black.”

Yamada’s face lights up, delighted. “That’s amazing. Did you have an eyeliner phase?”

“I don’t know you well enough to answer that,” Shouta says, taking a few more pictures. 

“Something to look forward to,” Yamada says brightly, and Shouta grins. His shoots are rarely this productive. Usually by now the model would have demanded a cigarette break, or a fizzy water, or some member of their entourage would have broken something. But Yamada is professional, moving here and there whenever Shouta asks him to without a word of complaint, answering all of Shouta’s questions in a way that makes it seem like a conversation, rather than like Shouta is some kind of photograph-producing robot. 

He can see why Yamada’s star is rising so fast. He’s a pleasure to work with, on top of having a face the camera loves. 

After a while, Shouta calls for a break. He flips through what he’s got so far as Yamada walks over, out from under the heat of the lights. 

“Are the photos not good?” Yamada asks, taking in the way Shouta is frowning at his camera. 

“They’re good,” Shouta admits. “But they’re missing something.” Yamada just looks at him, like he’s waiting for Shouta to say more. “This shoot is supposed to show the real you,” Shouta says, not used to someone actually listening to his explanations. “It should be personal. The shots are good, but they’re not deep. It would be better if we could show people who you really are.”

Yamada pauses, considering. “Can I go get something from my car?”

“Sure,” Shouta nods, hoping desperately it’s not going to be drugs. But when Yamada comes back, he’s carrying a guitar case. 

“I love music,” he admits as he opens the case and takes out an acoustic guitar. It’s old and cheap, clearly well-used, and Yamada starts tuning it as he continues. “I never intended to be a model. I wanted to be a musician, or a DJ, something like that.” 

Shouta can’t resist quietly taking a few pictures, not wanting to interrupt. Yamada looks so different like this, softer, happier. More like himself. The crumbling brick wall of the studio is a better backdrop for this than Shouta’s flashy set. “There’s still time,” Shouta says, hoping the lighting by the window is good enough that he can capture the wryness of Yamada’s smile. 

“Sure,” Yamada shrugs, fingers brushing over the guitar strings. “Should I get back on the set?”

Shouta shakes his head, not wanting to ruin the moment. “Play something. Whatever you like best.”

Yamada smiles, leaning back against the wall and strumming a chord. Then he starts playing in earnest, fingers flying over the strings, some complicated piece of music filling the air. He’s good, far better than Shouta expected, and for a moment he’s so distracted by the music that he forgets what he’s there to do. But only for a moment. As good as the music sounds, Shouta is a visual person, and the peaceful, pleased expression on Yamada’s face is the stuff photographer dreams are made of. Shouta does his best to capture it, swapping out filters as subtly as he can, not wanting to be a distraction. 

Eventually, the song ends, and Yamada looks up, surprised. Like he’d forgotten where he was, who he was playing for. Shouta captures that, too. “Was that okay?” Yamada asks, tentative for the first time since he’d arrived. 

“Let’s see,” Shouta says, walking over to his laptop. He plugs the camera in, downloading the photos quickly. He can hear Yamada walk up behind him, and though his personal policy is to never let the models see any photos before he’s retouched them, Shouta will make an exception this time. 

Yamada breathes out, like a sigh of relief. “These are really good.”

He’s right. As rough as they are, Shouta can already tell they’ll be excellent, probably the best photos of his career so far. The light from the window is perfect, illuminating Yamada from the side, making him look ethereal, but the rough bricks behind him keep him approachable. The only way to describe his expression is content, and there’s absolutely nothing fake about it. It’s real. 

“Yeah,” Shouta nods. “I think we got it.” Surprisingly, he feels a flutter of disappointment. For once, he wishes the shoot had dragged on a bit longer. He probably won’t get the chance to work with Yamada again. 

“You’re really talented,” Yamada says, still looking at the screen. “I usually can’t stand pictures of myself, but these are… I like these.” He looks up at Shouta, smiling. “Can I steal you? Make you my personal photographer? I’m told everyone has a price.”

Shouta hesitates. It wasn’t a flirtation, necessarily. And getting involved with models is a bad idea, the worst thing you can do in this business, but-

But if he lets Yamada walk out that door, he’s going to regret it forever. “I like coffee.”

Yamada’s smile widens, blooms over his features, pretty enough that Shouta wishes he was still holding his camera. “Don’t sell yourself short, hold out for dinner at least.” 

“Dinner then.” Shouta can’t stop the corners of his lips from quirking up, ruining the his casual tone. “With further negotiations to follow.”

“I like the sound of that,” Yamada grins. 

[iwillgiveyoumyhappiness]

손동주, Son Dongju

aesthetic-06-24  asked:

Hiya! So I couldn’t find any rules or something like that to your request so I hope this is alright. If not please let me know when I can read the directions and try again. I was hoping I could request a Dongju imagine with you being an idol and your groups go on a show together. If you don’t want to or I did it wrong I’m sorry and I hope you can forget it. Sorry again. -💕

Group: ONEUS (원어스)

Member: Xion

@aesthetic-06-24

.

.

.

“You were adorable!” Dongju gushed to her. “Literally the cutest I can’t wait to watch the episode!” 

She smacked his shoulder. “Shut up!” she groaned, cheeks a light pink. 

“No way,” he chuckled. “You’re such a good leader for your group.” 

She rolled her eyes playfully. “And you’re such a bad boyfriend for my career. You weren’t subtle at all!” she complained. “People are gonna suspect us now.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I want people to suspect us,” he said. She gave him a look. “I want to show you off,” he said, a frown etching itself onto his chiseled features, “like a real boyfriend does.” 

Her eyebrows raised. “Dongju, you are a real boyfriend.”

He looked at the ground as they walked. “No, I’m not.” 

“Why’re you saying that?” she asked.   

He kicked a pebble away, bouncing its way across the pavement for a few feet. “Because it’s true,” he said. “A real boyfriend could take you out on fun, normal dates. Not walks to the park at obscure hours of the night.” He gestured to the starlit night sky. “He’d take you to fancy restaurants, not fast-food joints.”

“A real boyfriend would be able to brag about you and tell the world how beautiful you are,” he continued. “A real boyfriend would be able to be there for you when he’s needed and he’d ditch work for you. A real boyfriend would hold hands with you in public and he would post cute pictures of you on Instagram.”

They made it to the rusty old playground they always stopped at. Like a habit, they went and sat down next the each other on the creaky swings, swaying back and forth gently, pinkies eventually becoming intertwined. 

+

There were four main steps that lead to this situation. 

+

Step 1: 

Be invited to Idol Room for a special double super-rookie episode

That’d been thoroughly shocking for both of them, especially when they called each other at 1 AM, both freaking out over the same thing. When they found out they’d be on the show together, she was filled with anxiety and worries. 

Him, on the other hand? He was excited. 

“I bet you’re gonna be a blushing mess,” he snickered from his end of the phone. “Barely able to function, I bet. You’ll be so focused on avoiding eye contact, you’ll forget to look at the camera.”

She scoffed, happy that he couldn’t see her smile growing from his teasing. Despite how frustrating it was going to be to act like strangers, she was excited to work with him for once. “Why’re you so cocky all of a sudden? You’re never like this.” 

He shrugged, even though she couldn’t see it. “Maybe I’m going through a surge of confidence.” 

“Or puberty,” she suggested. 

He laughed sarcastically. “Nice one. Very clever.” 

She laughed. “You know you love me!”

“Unfortunately, yes.” 

Step 2: 

Recreate a scene from a popular drama together

She was left in a state of stunned disbelief when she was suddenly paired with Dongju to act out a scene from ‘Romance is a Bonus Book’, but that’s really what she got for being an acting trainee first.  

That sat across from each other on the peach colored floor, trying desperately not to laugh. They took a deep breath. 

“Professional, right?” she said.

He nodded. “Yup. Professional.” He adjusted himself, as if he was shedding the skin of Xion from ONEUS and stepping into the shoes of Son Dongju, the actor. “Noona?” he said, putting on a slightly different speaking tone. 

“Yes?” she replied, flipping through an imaginary book.

He got into the role well, nervously pulling on the lobe of his ear and fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Of course, no one would guess that he was actually nervous. “Can I... sleep here tonight?” he asked.

She forced herself not to smile. ‘Stay in character,’ she reminded herself. She stayed quiet for a moment, shutting her imaginary book, still not meeting his gaze. “What?” she hummed.

Doni and Coni muttered to each other, “You know, they’re actually pretty good.” 

She raised herself up a bit, as if to face him better.

He reached out his arm, stopping her. “No, no, no! Don’t get up,” he stuttered. “You’re fine. It’s fine.” He started standing up and shuffling away. “I’ll go to my room,” he sighed. “Goodnight.” 

“Get changed, then,” she said before he got too far. 

Now, unavoidably, he smiled at that, but he played it off as breaking character for second and giggling. He quickly recovered, whipping around with shock on his face. 

“Change into your pajamas,” she muttered shyly, though he could see the secret glint in her eyes that meant she was just enjoying watching him have to contain himself. 

He stood still for a moment before awkwardly blurting out, “Oh. Oh! Yeah!” He turned, pretended to walk out of the room before he tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. He lifted a hand up to the top button of his shirt. “Do I really need clothes?” 

“Okay, cut, cut, cut!” Doni shouted. 

Coni stared in awe. “This is too fatal for fans!” 

Dongju looked at her. She looked at Dongju. All they could do was exchange knowing glances, knowing that was one of the funniest things they’d ever done before. 

Step 3:

Song lyrics

“Xion,” Doni said, “you looked genuinely flustered during that scene.”

Coni nodded animatedly. “He did! His ears turned red!”

“Do you have problems with girls?” 

Dongju could feel her giving him a warning glace, so he played it safe. He shook his head with a chuckle. “Nothing like that, really,” he said. “I’m just a fan!” 

“Really?” Coni asked. “What’s your favorite song by them?” 

He pretended to think very deeply. “Probably Starlight, a b-side track from their latest album,” he said. “I feel like it has very personal lyrics.” 

“What’s your favorite lyric?”

He smiled dreamily, not even caring if the cameras saw it. At the most, they would think he was a starstruck fanboy. “I like the first pre-chorus. It’s very... longing, I guess you could say.

난 이미 달려 to you

I’m already running to you

너의 차가운 눈

Your cold eyes

너의 따뜻한 미소

Your warm smile

이게 대체 뭐야?

What on earth is this?

사랑이야

It’s love

나의 하나만 별빛 

My one and only starlight.”

His smile grew a little wider. “I just really like the meaning behind those lyrics. Feels like they were written for someone.”

Step 4:

Lie detector game

“Do you think Keonhee is handsome?” Defconn asked as he warm-up question. 

Everyone watched as Hyunjae, the main vocalist, shrugged. “Nope,” she said simply. 

The detector dinged positively. 

Keonhee’s jaw dropped as everyone else erupted into laughter. “It’s true?” he gaped. 

Hyunjae laughed. “No, no, no,” she tried to defend herself, “it’s not that you’re not handsome—you’re just not my type.” The vocalist ignored the barrage of teasing and chortling with a small eye-roll. “Okay, okay, okay!” she said. “Our leader’s turn!”  

She looked around. “Me?” she asked, pointing to herself. 

Hyunjae pushed her forward. “Yes, you!”

She chuckled, laying her palm against the metal and buckling her hand under the strap. “Ask away,” she said. 

“Oh, you’re pretty confident?” Hyeong-don asked. 

She nodded. “I am,” she said firmly. “I like to think I’m an honest person.” 

“All right, then. Yes or no: I think the members don’t appreciate me as the leader sometimes.” 

She thought for a moment. “Yes,” she said, giving her members an apologetic look. The machine dinged. Her members began a chorus of groans and protest. “I’m sorry!” she laughed. “But it’s true!” She reached to unstrap her hand, but someone interrupted. 

“I have a question, actually.”

She sighed internally. Of course, it had to be Son Dongju. “Yes?” she said politely. “What is it?” 

“Yes or no,” he started, “I’ve spent time on the phone with someone really special to me recently.” 

She almost narrowed her eyes at him, seeing that challenging glimmer in his, like he knew she was thinking about their phone call from the other night. 

“Yes,” she said. “My mom. I called her before we got on set.” The detector dinged once again.  

For Dongju, it was quite the struggle to keep from pouting.

+

Those were the steps it took for them to sit next to each other on the swings at close to midnight, pinkies intertwined.

+

“Hey, you handsome dumb-ass,” she finally said. “I love our late-night walks. They’re fun for me, and I thought you liked them, too.” He looked at her, his mouth falling open to say something. She cut him off. 

“I’m not a big fan of fancy restaurants,” she said, “so fast-food suits me just fine. You already let me know between the two of us how beautiful you find me, and it gets me flustered every single time.”

She chuckled. “You are there when I need you, and if I made you leave work every time I missed you, you’d never be there. I don’t need you to brag about me on the internet and I don’t need us to be more than friends in the public eye. This is fine for me, because at least we know.”  

She stood up and cupped his cheeks, pressing their foreheads against each other. “But if you want us to be more public, I’m all in.”

His eye widened. “You mean it?” he breathed out. 

“Of course I do!” she laughed. “I’m in this for you, not for convenience.” 

He crinkled his nose playfully. “I think you’re only in it ‘cause I’m handsome.”

She groaned and snapped her fingers. “You’ve got me all figured out,” she teased. “You’re money, too. And if it turns out you were lying to me about that countryside mansion, I’m outta here.”

He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “You know what,” he said after a deep breath. “I was wrong. This is enough.” He pulled her forward by her waist, nuzzling his nose against her stomach and wrapping his arms around her. “I think this is all I’ll ever really need, to be honest.” 

She smiled softly, running her fingers through his hair. “That’s a relief... ‘Cause same here, secret boyfriend.” 

.

.

.

Well, okay... He’s just out here being ethereal and totally attacking me, but I guess I shouldn’t complain, right??

Thanks so much for this request! It was really fun to write and I got to mention one of my favorite k-dramas, so that was a plus~. It was different writing in a reality show and idol setting, but I didn’t mind it. As I said, it was enjoyable! 

Feel free to stop by anytime!

[ecotone99]

[SP] I discovered a box of incident reports compiled by the New Zealand government. Something is coming.

I won’t tell you my name, though anyone truly wanting to figure out who I am will not have a hard time doing so. I’ve been doing archival research for a doco I’m working on, based in the capital here in NZ. It’s a lot of listening through old VCRs, note-taking and timekeeping, that sorta thing. I had been digging all afternoon in the back of the dingy room they’ve got me working in for some December 1990 tapes when I found the box. It looked like it had been shoved there in a rush and haphazardly covered with other boxes and files to hide it. I had no idea what I was getting into when I opened it. I think I was just hoping that I’d finally get a break and get to sit down for an hour or two. But no, instead, I stumbled onto something that I really shouldn’t have.

I don’t even know why these are here in physical hard-copies, or how they even got here in the first place. There’s nothing that suggests who put them here or even if they’re real, but the number of redactions and official stamps and seals leads me to think that they are legit.

I have met Parker Evans once or twice, through various film and news events. She’s pretty cool, if a little standoffish, understandably so. Sat in on a few of her lectures up at the uni too, they were pretty fun. And of course, once word got out that she was tight with our resident superhero, well, they were always packed to capacity.

Ok, I know how weird this all sounds but I have no reason to lie to you. Most people here know about Darcy Daniels a.k.a. Astro, NZ’s version of a superhero and our second-best kept secret. And you’d also be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t know about Mercury, Astro’s ‘arch-nemesis’ and full-time petty criminal (in the way that all her schemes are extremely petty-minded on a grand, often destructive scale). So, although most people know that something went down that night at the observatory there’s been no clear account of what truly happened.

Except for this, and the handful of other files in the box that suggest that what happened at the Carter Observatory was only the beginning. Of what, I don’t exactly know. But I’m gonna try and figure it out.

I’ve tried to get the report down exactly how it is in the file. No chance for straight up copying unfortunately, it’s just me and a rickety old tv setup in this room, and I had to hand my phone in to reception.

“It’s just protocol,” they said. Sure.

So, I have to do this the old school way. I’m copying everything out by hand and typing it at home.

Hopefully this works. Here goes.

​

INCIDENT REPORT #2193

​

Subject: EVANS, PARKER

Occupation: BLOGGER/VLOGGER OF ‘ASTROlogy’, LECTURER AT VICTORIA UNIVERSITY

Category: 5 - INITIAL CONTACT

Details: “WHAT REALLY HAPPENED THE NIGHT COSMICA ARRIVED” DATED MAY 04 2019, LENGTH 00:24:12:04

Type: VIDEO - VLOG

Status: PUBLIC – NOW REDACTED

​

TRANSCRIPT:

[VIDEO OPENS TO PARKER EVANS IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA. SHE IS SITTING AT AN EMPTY TABLE, THE LIGHTS FOCUSSED SOLEY ON HER. THE REST OF THE KITCHEN IS DARK AROUND HER - (RESIDENCE IN QUESTION IS LOCATED AT ██████████████████, █████████, WELLINGTON.)

HER BLONDE HAIR IS PULLED BACK IN A PONYTAIL, HER BLUE EYES ARE FIERCE. SHE IS LOOKING DEAD AT THE CAMERA, FACE NO NONSENSE AND DETERMINED.]

Hi everyone. If you're new to this channel, welcome. If you’re not, welcome back.

Ok, I’m gonna cut right to the chase.

There have been many accounts of what happened that night. But none of them are entirely the truth.

Because I was there. I know what happened. And I’m here to set the record straight.

[VIDEO CUTS TO A MONTAGE OF LOCAL HEADLINES, VIDEOS, TWITTER POSTS AND PICTURES OF THE EVENT. PARKER’S VOICE IS HEARD OVER THE TOP.]

April 20th, 2019. The night of the ‘Stargazing for the Children’ event at the observatory. Looking back, I suppose they were tempting fate by having it during the meteor shower. But hindsight is a funny thing, and there was no way to predict the craziness that was to come.

The planetarium was full of children, kids from the hospital and their friends and families, gathered together for a fun night of space stuff.

It was a full house, and things were happening everywhere. From the volunteers guiding the kids through a virtual reality space station to the man twisting balloons into different weird shaped aliens, it was all a go. There were nurses on standby, lurking in the background in case of any real emergencies, and people handing out cake-pops and cupcakes decorated as planets. For the most part, everything was going well.

[VIDEO CUTS BACK TO PARKER.]

I was there to document things, for my blog. Because of course a space-themed event could not have been complete without our national space-themed hero.

And boy, was Astro was the lady of the hour. The ever-gracious woman of wonder couldn’t take two steps without someone holding out a phone for a selfie or pushing a pen into her hand to sign something. And the gaggle of little girls and boys shadowing her every move, god were they cute.

[VIDEO CUTS TO SHOW VARIOUS PICTURES AND CLIPS OF A WOMAN POSING FOR PICTURES WITH A NUMBER OF YOUNG CHILDREN. SHE’S WEARING A DEEP BLUE SUIT, DARK HAIR TIED BACK IN A LONG BRAID DOWN HER BACK. PARKER CAN BE SEEN HOVERING NEARBY, OCCASIONALLY PAUSING TO SPEAK INTO HER PHONE.]

It was about halfway through the night when things went sideways. I was at the buffet table, midway through a Jupiter cupcake, when I heard a commotion from outside.

[VIDEO CUTS BACK TO PARKER.]

I knew something was up the moment I saw a security guard stride up to Astro and whisper in her ear. Astro stilled, and I began to make my way over to her. I edged my way around the crowd, watching Astro as she tried to extricate herself from the kids surrounding her.

I managed to meet up with her halfway across the room. I shot her a questioning look but was interrupted by the doors crashing open with a loud bang! There were a couple screams of fright and a few tears from some of the children. Those soon stopped however as a tense silence moved across the crowd at the sight of the unwelcome intruder.

It was Mercury.

[SHE POINTS A FINGER DIRECTLY AT THE SCREEN]

But not the Mercury we were all familiar with.

[PARKER PAUSES, LOOKING OFF CAMERA, GATHERING HER THOUGHTS.]

I remember distinctly the look in her eyes that night. Her patented smirk was gone, her lips now a grim line. As she scanned the room, she was tense, decked out in the infamous silver and red outfit. The thing that got me though was that there was no malice or anger there, no mischief.

The frenzied look on her face was fear.

When she spied Astro, she immediately strode forward.

[PARKER PAUSES, CARDS A HAND THROUGH HER HAIR. SHE LETS OUT A HUFF.]

Now I know how incredibly cheesy it sounds but if you’d been there you’d agree. The crowds literally parted before her. Nobody wanted to mess with Mercury on the best of days, let alone when she’s marching on like a woman possessed

[PARKER LETS OUT A LAUGH, SHAKING HER HEAD.]

Honestly, the whole moment was one big cliché really. The crowds parting, silence all around. But then the girl, oh my god that little girl.

[A NEW VIDEO BEGINS TO PLAY. THE SHAKY PHONE RECORDING IS FOCUSED ON A YOUNG GIRL, NO OLDER THAN SIX. SHE IS WEARING A SPARKLY SILVER DRESS, WITH SHINY RED SHOES AND A DARK RED ‘CANTEEN’ BANDANNA OVER HER BALD HEAD. SHE RUNS UP TO MERCURY, SHOUTING WITH GLEE. MERCURY PAUSES HALFWAY ACROSS THE ROOM, LOOKING TAKEN ABACK. THE GIRL WRAPS HER SKINNY ARMS AROUND MERCURY’S MIDDLE. (SEE INCIDENT REPORT #626 FOR FULL VIDEO).]

[THE VIDEO CUTS BACK TO PARKER.]

At that point I had to almost hold Astro back. I could feel the tension growing as Mercury sent a bemused grin down at the child. Quite frankly I think we were all at a bit of a loss for words. But we all had to try very hard to suppress the collective ‘awwww” when, clear as day, we heard the girl say, “You’re my favourite!” It was said with such sincerity and honesty that you couldn’t help but grin, even despite the weird circumstances.

[PARKER SHOOTS A WRY GRIN AT THE CAMERA.]

I felt some of the tenseness slip out of Astro slightly at that. We all watched in a kind of trance as Mercury bent down and whispered something in the little girl’s ear. We were all shocked out of it when the girl let out a huge screech. Not of terror, but delight, as she began gleefully cackling at whatever Mercury had said to her. I turned when I heard Astro chuckling a little beside me.

[PARKER SHAKES HER HEAD, IN SLIGHT DISBELIEF.]

“She’s always had a soft spot for kids.” That’s what Astro said to me as Mercury stood, bopping the girl on the nose before turning back towards us. After that, some of the tension leaked out of the room. Chatter started to pick up slightly, though every bit of it was undoubtedly centred around Mercury’s sudden arrival.

[THE VIDEO CUTS TO SHAKY CELLPHONE FOOTAGE OF MERCURY WALKING UP TO ASTRO AND HAVING A QUIET, TENSE CONVERSATION. ASTRO'S FACE QUICKLY TURNS FROM ANGRY TO TENSE. PARKER STANDS UNCOMFORTABLY BESIDE THEM.]

That conversation wasn't nearly as cool, calm and collected as the video makes it seem. She barely gave me a glance, that's how focused Mercury was on Astro. You could see the determination on her face, but there was also something else there. As she got closer I felt Astro shift beside me, as though she was readying herself for a fight. Standing between the two of them was intense, I could almost feel the power rolling off them both. It was downright electric.

And then Mercury said something that threw us all off, and took everything up a notch. And I think what got me was the desperation and the worry that leaked through in those two words, an urgency that sent a chill down my spine.

[PARKER LOOKS THE CAMERA DEAD ON.]

"Something's coming."

​

I had to stop here. My boss turned up wanting to see where we were at, and I had to do some of my actual job before I got my ass handed to me.

I did ask though, but it was as I thought. I wasn’t allowed to take anything out of the building, they were weirdly strict about things. Who knows why. But at any rate, I was able to get this down, and I’ll be back at the archive tomorrow, so fingers crossed I can get more of the report down.

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