#figure out how a suit and sunglasses would work <3 lol

[whatareyoudoingwithamaserati]

hello lifesteal tumblr. look at my Little Guys. rambles underneath the cut for those interested

pattern created from scratch in an improv session <3 alas I don’t have any pipe cleaners to make their heads not floppy but I think it adds to the charm. I have no clue why spoke ended up taller than the others, but I think it was yarn weight related. there is also a bandana for mapicc but it is not visible because I stitched over the front part to very skin-accurate (it makes him look like he has a bowl cut but it was funny enough to me that I kept it). he also has a hood hidden behind his head because he had the drawstrings on his skin and I wanted to work that in. no space buns, alas. spoke’s took the longest due to colourwork issues, and I accidentally twisted his bandana when stitching it together so its very poorly seamed on the side where I had to cut it apart. zam was the one I made the pattern for, and when I say made the pattern that translates into I completely made it up as I went. his crown is somewhat skin accurate but due to the number of stitches it is not perfect, and also I had only learned to picot like three days before I decided to attempt it on his crown spikes. the fact it worked out was a miracle. one last fun fact: spoke was the only one I wrote a proper plan for, and it took up an entire page of my notebook because I was not going into all that colourwork unprepared.

if you made it this far, have some extra pictures!

^^ his usual resting place is by my laptop for maximum autism

^^ feeling severe despair

^^ both of these pictures were sent to my partner with nothing but the caption Scuffed

^^ this has been unanimously titled spoke experiences a forcible exorcism while zam and mapicc watch

^^ and for the love of god, learn from me and do NOT do your colourwork like this. it helps absolutely nobody, unless you enjoy playing yarn untangling simulator

[thediktatortot]

Steddilly / Harringroveson Deep Dive About Accessories & Interpersonal Relationships.

with @asininepigeon & me :)

Billy is selective about his accessories. He probably has a small bowl of carefully curated pieces.

Some from his mom's things she hadn't had time to take with her, something he's snatched while in the rich stores of Hawkins while hanging out with Tommy and Carol, a piece he was given by a really cool queer dude in San Diego and maybe something Max made him when they were really little.

It never gets worn but it has a safe home in the bowl in his bedroom.

Eddie definitely has a bunch of rings and necklaces that he's like stolen, thrift-ed, and were gifted by like Wayne, Hellfire, and the small group of rockers in Hawkins.

They all kind of lay in a jumble and he takes like 20 minutes figuring out which ones he wants to wear. And while I feel like Billy's a bit more minimalist with his jewelry, Eddie loves statement pieces.

Things that scream hey, I'm that dude u call a freak and I fucked your dude for payment of weed 😜

Billy sometimes find's it chaotic, Steve finds it amusing. Steve will occasionally steal some of Eddie's jewelry if their going out somewhere that fits more of Eddie & Billy's vibes. He doesn't touch Billy's jewelry though b/c the two of them know how particular Billy is with what he wears on his body & the last thing they want is to loose something of his lol

Billy does not wear Eddie's jewelry. It's 'clunky & gaudy'

I think Steve doesn't do accessories b/c of the kind of home he grew up in. Accessories for Men™️ are Cuff-Links, Ties, Leather dress shoes, Pocket watches & briefcases.

Steve hates all of that. With a passion.

He got his first pair of sunglasses from his dad at like 13-14 and he felt like they made him feel so cool and mysterious. He doesn't need people to see him and see his flashy things. He just wants them to see that cool, outer layer he's put over himself.

Steve hating dressing up for formal events, b/c he despises wearing suits.

He prefers his soft sweaters, jeans, and sneakers.

Eddie also hating it but for the reason of it represents The Man and fuck The Man. Like he can dress up nice, but he'd never wear a full suit.

I think Billy would dislike certain kind of suits b/c of (ew) Neil but he loves attention and showing off and looking handsome (pretty) so he'd put so much time and effort into wearing formal clothes.

Agreed. Billy would probably like the energy a suit commands if it's the right one and fits him nicely. But it'd have to be perfect.

Exactly, for billy a suit would have to be the right shade of a certain color and the right texture

Like when Steve shops for clothes, it's quality but it's soft things, it's informal wear.

Billy takes like 3 hrs shopping b/c every outfit has to mean something. There's care and precision in what he chooses to wear for a certain day. And then Eddie occasionally saves up and buy things that he really wants, like his jacket, that are really good quality, but everything else is thrifted.

Steve only wearing informal wear is part rebellion, part 'safety' because he's found happiness in the less formal, in the comfortable.

He's used to cold and formal and fake everything and he hates it.

Eddie picks his most prized pieces because he wants what he wears to say something about himself. Everything he wears tells people "THIS IS ME" and so he works hard to express himself through his clothes. And Billy wants the same thing, but in such a different way that it feels more like drawing eyes quietly where Eddie wants to draw eyes loudly.

Billy has to do it quietly too, b/c his clothes are already a rebellion and him expressing himself as much as he can against Neil.

Especially considering that one of Neil's things is presenting their family as typical middle class white suburbia, even if they aren't that. Eddie, while not in the best socio-economic status, still has the safety and freedom to be loudly himself.

Billy does his rebellion quietly, expresses himself quietly because everything else in his life is loud and aggressive & if he rebels too Loudly™️ Neil will put a stop too it.

Even when Neil is gone eventually, Billy still expresses himself quietly. I think at that point it would be him asking "Are you interested in me enough to see what I'm whispering about me" sort of thing.

He wants people to come to him, get his attention, not the other way around.If they want him enough, or want to be his friends enough, they'll read between his lines.

He's very much used to people not caring or ignoring what's blatantly there so I think he'd care so much for anyone looking below the surface. He's such a sensitive lad at the end of the day. And I think Steve and Eddie would probably notice at completely separate occasions.

They would. By different things.

Steve would notice it by watching him from afar, seeing the little expressions he makes when someone says something to him, or he's interacting with the kids or the other teens, by how he closes up around the adults for a long time.

He sees the longing stares of want when Will hugs Joyce, or Hopper reassures El that she's not in trouble or doing well. He sees the light in his eyes when someone brings up a topic he's passionate about or how he laughs quietly when he's actually amused.

I think Eddie would see it in the way Billy opens up more, how he talks more, or offers more physical touch. How he sticks around in a room for longer periods of times and can withstand people's presence more and more.

Billy craves Togetherness and he's slowly allowing himself to get it.

Eddie notices that and adjusts his own touch accordingly to how open Billy is as time goes on.

Eddie is more aware of himself and how he effects others, so he would be good at keeping psychical boundaries with Billy. I think it would be harder for Steve to do the same, as he always wants to fix things. Steve and Billy can but heads more often for it.

Yeah, I can see that. Eddie is a performer and extra as fuck and can also lead.

I think Eddie knows what to look for on someone to tell whether they're uncomfortable or not, b/c then he uses that to his advantage in making people he dislikes uncomfortable.

Like he knows how to play an audience and I think he'd be able to recognize the performance in a lot of the posturing that Billy does. Like in my mind, Billy when he's not being unhinged b/c he's like elated or enraged, is so fucking mellow.

Half-lidded eyes, soft laughs, small smiles, just generally a lot more quieter, but softer in how he treats everything and everyone.

Steve wants to fix everything b/c he can't seem to fix things at home b/c no one is ever there.

There's no communication and I think Steve probably tries to correct that himself, but stating how he feels and what he wants (unless it's something deeply deeply worrying and then he keeps it to himself. More to protect others than help himself). He also wants to help to feel useful and that can cloud his judgment, in him thinking he's making the right decision for someone when that's not necessarily the case.

And something like that would really get on Billy's nerves I feel

Steve has boundary issues because it was never an issue before with people outside of his home.

He had social boundaries, status boundaries, but he was someone who could do what he wanted in the world of his Peers because he was King Steve. Popular rich boy of the school.It's old remnants of his times before everything went down, the remnants of superiority he feels without realizing it.

It's not necessarily superiority now, but it's effected his ability to recognize when he's pushing a boundary at the detriment of everyone.

Like yes a lot has happened and yes, Steve has had a perspective shift, but he was still king Steve and his parents are still notoriously absent from his life.

He definitely does it without realizing it and I feel like Eddie but definitely Dustin and Robin (and Erica b/c she's not afraid to call someone out on their shit) would tell him whereas Billy would just bite back and tell him to fuck off, why does he even care.

Which is why I feel like Eddie and Billy would be close friends first before Steve and Billy got there.

Agreed. Steve has a little more working on himself to go through before he and Billy can truly connect. Their traumas make them a little bad for each other at first, but once they've both had time to work on their shortcomings and reactions to things, learning how they act affects others and how to better read people, they start to connect.

Like I think Eddie has his own stuff to work through, but he's much farther along I think than they are. (Not taking in crazy Upside Down shenanigans b/c that's a whole other story).

So he can recognize a lot of things b/c unlike them he has a good adult figure that's supportive and caring and works alongside with him. It takes them a little bit longer b/c they kind of have to start on their own which is sad.

It does help that Eddie had Wayne.

I feel like Wayne would be a good influence on Billy especially once Billy gets closer to Eddie. He'd get to have, in a round about way, a healthy male figure in his life. I'm sure it confuses him sometimes, gets worried about saying the wrong things to Wayne, but after a while of seeing how Wayne treats Eddie, he'd open up quickly to the older man.

God, Wayne looking at Billy and being like "thats my kid now." makes my heart ache.

Steve doesn't know how to open up to parental figures because his parent's never opened up to him to begin with. Billy had his mom before all this, Eddie has Wayne.

Steve's unsure around adults, doesn't understand the point in getting close to them because 'he can take care of himself'.

Oh, Steve. He makes me so sad sometimes.

Steve being hyper independent, but especially after the whole breakup thing with Nancy, makes me hurt for him. And yeah, he doesn't have any adults and I don't know what the fuck the teachers and guidance people in Hawkins High are doing, but like clearly not caring a bout their students b/c wtf.

So Steve would definitely pull into the fold much later, his need for Independence slows him down. He doesn't want to be alone, but he feels he needs to prove to everyone he can take care of himself.

He doesn't want to hide away things until he's in his shower, still trying to do better but he's only fixing the things that effect other people and not fixing the things that effect him.

He would have one last final 'big bad emotion' out of all of them. breaking down over something small because he feels like he's punishing himself for something and he knows it's stupid and he knows he should reach out and he just can't so he has this big meltdown before the acceptance comes.

I think a reoccurring argument between Steve and the other two would be them telling Steve to 'say what he means' and not try to dance around what he wants.

[pabro-picasso]

i finally finished this, after a good 3 weeks to a month of working on it

of course when the AC update hit i went stupid hard on it and bulldozed the island and tried to complete every little thing so i neglected everything else, especially drawing

but i was so hooked to the point where i made sticky note doodles of arthur and alfred as villagers at work and then i thought about how the other main 8 plus matthew would look and thats where we are now

theyre grouped by relative geography, and i made the heights of the different villagers consistent across all three drawings B) every piece of clothing is something you can also find in game

ok some explanations under the cut cuz im assuming not everyone wants to read this

ok lets start with the top:

yao is based off of a red-crowned crane, a crane found all over east asia, and i believe the national bird of china? idk, if i got that wrong my bad cuz i was all over the place in researching stuff. i had the hardest time trying to figure out what he should be, and i chose his villager model last. he was gonna be a regular tweety bird villager, but someone mentioned using feathers as a pony tail and the ostrich villager model was the only bird type that does that

ivan of course is a big old bear. i took some creative liberties with the scarf, but i figured that theyll give extra bits to villagers on occasion (like raymonds glasses or audies sunglasses) i struggled a bit w the shirt, but i ended up w a yodel sweater because at the time it looked the best out of all the sweater options. i think if i were to do this again id give him a different one but drawing the knit pattern took too damn long to start over w something else

kiku was also a bit of a challenge. not because picking a villager species was hard, but because of the color scheme. idk, when i think of japanese color schemes my mind automatically went to red black and white and i already had made yao, and it just was feeling too stereotypical at this point. i went with the earthen greens and browns as a reflection of a lot of the vintage japanese furniture in the game. he’s a deer because i instantly thought of the nara deer park and i thought that’d be cute. his antlers and fawn dots also reflect that.

next pic:

francis!!! i originally was going back and forth between a skunk (because of pepe le pew lol) and then a rooster, because roosters are like the animal of france right? but i couldnt get a decent design with either of them. i was scratching and racking my brains when i realized that the literal in canon joke is him being a frog 🤦‍♀️ then the design was almost too easy. i went with pastel colors because i thought of the french courts in the 1700s. while he’s the only one i went anachronistic with, i feel like it still suits him with how cute it is.

ludwig’s a german shepard. p straight forward w this one. i struggled with finding an outfit for him because while there is the bavarian lil leiderhosen suit, it just didnt seem to fit. i went with the collarless coat because it seemed very modern german fashion.

feliciano’s villager species was picked second to last, just before yao. idk, i really struggled with him too because while the entire show’s about him, not much really sticks out to me when it comes to picking stuff for him. there’s not really any classic “italian” animals other than like.... a greyhound? idk im kind of an ignorant boob about the mediterranean countries 😬but, i ended up with a duck because i pictured a matching, angry romano and it seemed hilarious. it didn’t show well, but i based his color schemes off olives. his belly is red like an olive pit. the sweater shirt also seemed very italian to me.

bottom crew (pun intended):

alfred!!!!! we had to go with the obvious classics. not much else to explain about this one. he’s a bald eagle with his flight jacket. i tried to make his design different enough from apollo’s to where it wasnt a one-for-one copy but 🤷‍♀️ not much you can do with a bald eagle

arthur’s a little english rabbit. i thought it would be cute to see him be very little and very angry. i’m not a huge fan of the color scheme i ended up with but tbh i really didnt know what to do with him that would still look good. i tried navy, but it looked awful. i feel like he needed dark, moody colors and the other two boys already had browns and i didnt want to make them all look the same.

and finally, matthew 🥰 while i did say that feli and romano would be matching ducks earlier, you know i had to make this fool a moose. he’s technically a bull character model, but hey this shit aint real i can bend the rules. i tried giving him a maple syrupy color palette, while not being as all out food based like feliciano was, but this might be a bit too subtle. either way tho, coloring him made me hungry. he has a flannel shirt because of course he does hahaha

i had a sticky note with style preferences, personality types and all that but i dont feel like digging for it, this post is long enough anyways, and also its late and i just want to get this shit out already. i’ve been stressing about finishing it for too damn long

[meltwonu]

| 𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔩 𝔦 𝔪𝔢𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 |     [CHAPTER 4]

pairing; fratboy!wonwoo x reader

this chapter’s notes; fratboy!wonwoo, fingering, littlest bit of dirty talk, praise!kink, soft soft soft FLUFF hours, a bit of a filler chapter before the last chapter!! 😭 I can’t believe it’s almost ‘over’... This chapter has the least amount of smut yall will ever see with fratboy!wonwoo so don’t get used to it ☠️ LMAO 🤣🤣 also... it’s been a garbage week(boring work drama) for me so I’ll answer inbox msgs and stuff on sunday, I need to get away from the internet(and people) for a day dkfjhskh 😭💕 Ya’ll thank you for so much love and support with Caffeine and Until I Met You! It means so much to me and I appreciate every like, reblog and comment I get on it 🥺💕 No I will never be ending my fratboy!wonwoo au so don’t worry about that hehe 💕 For now, enjoy this soft ch 4 and I will see yall on Sunday! I love you, have a great weekend! 💕

[mood for this chapter: more than enough - alina baraz]

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - x

“So…”

Wonwoo sighs - re-shelving another Edgar Allen Poe book. “So, what?”

Mingyu tilts his sunglasses down, eyebrows raised at the older male that continues to do his job instead of give him the time of day. “What’s going on with you, hyung? You’ve been… weird.”

“Okay, define weird.”

The younger male pouts as he takes his sunglasses off, pocketing them as he leans up against the bookshelf that Wonwoo is currently still shelving.

It only takes one utterance of your name for Wonwoo to stop in his tracks - fingertips on the spine of another book as he turns to Mingyu. “What about her? Did she say something to you?”

“No, but do you like her? I mean, ‘like’ like her.”

“Is it not… obvious? That I do? Did we not all collectively have that conversation about me giving her a set of keys to our house?”

Mingyu grimaces slightly as he mentally goes through all the times he’d even seen the two of you together and he’s only able to conjure up a few select memories - none of which were anything necessarily romantic. “Well… I wouldn’t say ‘obvious’, I guess. The two of you aren’t exactly the ‘kiss and hold hands in public’ kind of... people. More like the, ‘sneak off to fuck in a public restroom’ kind... Which, uh, isn’t really... romantic.”

This time, Wonwoo crosses his arms and leans up against the opposite bookshelf as he sighs.

It’d been a few days since he’d seen you and you’d been swamped in so much class work that you didn’t even have the time to come by the library or the frat house. And even while Wonwoo stood in between the bookshelves having a conversation with Mingyu, you were finishing an art project with Minghao that was due by the end of the day.

“I know. I told her it’d be kind of a slow crawl for me.” He plucks another book from the cart, staring at the glossy text as he simmers in his thoughts. “Mingyu, am I awkward?”

“Erm, well, I wouldn’t say that necessarily.”

Mingyu steps forward, patting Wonwoo on the shoulder as he smiles.

“You like her and you’re trying even if you’re not used to it. You gotta start somewhere, hyung. Even if you’re a fish out of water. But that’s okay, you can ask me for help if you want!”

“When are you gonna put a ring on Wonwoo-hyung?”

You snort at Minghao’s question - reaching for a clean paintbrush as he stands across from you in the large, empty studio. “First of all, can you not say it like that? I’m not gonna marry him, okay.”

The male rolls his eyes as he steps closer to you; his own hands and clothes covered in a colorful array of paints. “So you’re saying you never imagined hyung in a suit, hair slicked back and his buff arms carrying you off into your honeymoon?”

“W--wh--n--no! No, I haven’t!” You avoid his piercing stare as you focus on your end of the large canvas instead.

No, but I dreamt about it once.

“‘Hao, would you hurry! We’re supposed to be collaborating on this and it looks… like it’s 5 different art styles.”

“Don’t change the subject on me. And anyway, I like what you’re doing to hyung. Breaking him out of his shell, y’know? He’s just shy, that’s all. Needs a little work in the bold department.”

You bite down the urge to laugh because to you, Wonwoo was everything but shy when it came to the bedroom. Although, Minghao was right with everything else. “Yeah, I know. We went for breakfast together after I, um, stayed over a few nights ago and he kinda just sat there zoned out, picking at his waffles. He’s really cute when he wakes up in the morning though. Pouty and whiny.”

Grinning at Minghao, he pretends to gag in response before taking a seat next to you.

“Disgusting. Tell me more.”

Wonwoo makes an effort to check in with you throughout the day before he heads back to his room - asking you if you’d had your meals and if you’d finished your project on time.

You’d answered sporadically as you and Minghao raced to finish.

‘I’ll eat late probably… rly gotta finish or else my ass is failing lol’

‘Just don’t forget, okay? It’s not good for you to skip.’

Wonwoo lays down in his bed; yawning as he sets his phone onto the nightstand next to himself.

His eyelids feel heavy and he’s quick to give in to the tiredness that takes over him once he gets comfortable.

When Wonwoo finally decides to shift during his nap, he finds it difficult and extra warm.

“Mmh…”

His bleary eyes adjust to the, now,  slightly darkened room as he makes out your figure tucked underneath his arm. He calls your name softly - waking you up from the nap that you’d apparently joined him in.

“Mmh… Wonwoo…” You snuggle in deeper, voice still laced with sleep. “You didn’t even budge when I came in…”

He chuckles softly as he readjusts to spoon you from behind instead; his strong arm wrapped around your waist to keep your body flush against his own.

“I’m surprised you came by, sweetheart. I would’ve just stayed awake had I known you were coming over.” His voice is groggy and laced with sleep as you sigh softly in return as you blink away the sleepiness.

“How was your day at the library? Miss me yet?” Wonwoo smiles into your shoulder before he tilts his head up to kiss the shell of your ear.

“Always, sweetheart. Although, Mingyu decided to keep me busy today.”

“Oh? Anything fun?”

He plays with the hem of your shirt, “Well… Fun isn’t the word I’d use to describe what that was. Nosy was more like it.”

This time you can’t help but snort in response. “You too? I think some people were being ‘lil moles today.”

“Wouldn’t doubt it. Did you end up just coming back here with Minghao from the studio?”

“Wasn’t planning on it, to be honest but… S’been a rough day.” Placing your hand over his arm, you squeeze slightly as you pull his arm around you tighter. “Our professor came by while we were working in the studio and said our project wasn’t up to par with what Minghao and I usually submit for projects. She didn’t fail us on the spot but she said we need to redo it for less credit or take the failing grade.”

Wonwoo nuzzles your neck; peppering small kisses on your clothed shoulder. “I take it the two of you are going to redo it?”

“Mm… We spent so long coming up with a concept and now we’re both stressed about coming up with something new. I walked over here with ‘Hao and he locked himself up in his room as soon as we got here. Figured I’d come hang out with you and found you napping… With your glasses on, no less.”

The two of you share a laugh; Wonwoo’s embrace making you feel more at ease.

“Can I help you de-stress a little, sweetheart?”

You stare at the opposite wall, nodding gently as Wonwoo’s hand leaves the hem of your shirt in favour of the waistband of your shorts.

“Just want you to feel good,” he whispers. “You deserve it. You’ve been working so hard, baby.”

He teases you softly; fingertips ghosting across your skin as you shiver. “Ah, Wonwoo…”

“You worked extra hard today too, didn’t you? I’m so proud of you for what you accomplished today.”

Your body heats up at his praise and you can’t deny that his deep, soft voice sends thrums of arousal pouring over your body just as he dips his hand into your lounge shorts. He touches you over your panties - fingertips ghosting against your mound as you moan his name shakily in return.

“I know your new idea is going to be great, baby. I believe in you.”

Soft whines threaten to spill as Wonwoo strokes you over your panties - slowly working you up as you find yourself trying to grind against his hand. “Y-yeah… ‘m p-pretty sure ‘Hao’s already working on it…”

Your voice is barely above a whisper as Wonwoo continues to stroke you gently; making no efforts to rush or add pressure to his feather-light touches.

A disappointed noise falls from your lips when he starts to pull his hand out of your shorts but it quickly turns into a content sigh when he starts teasing your chest instead.

“Mm, so soft…” Muttering against your shoulder, his eyes stare off into the dark room as he massages your body. “And all mine~”

You hum in response, “We should go on a date sometime…”

“You want to? We can go this weekend. After you’ve redone some of your project. I’ll take you somewhere nice for a job well done.”

You giggle softly; images of a wedding day’s Wonwoo dancing in your mind after the conversation you’d had with Minghao earlier. “I’d like that. We should do something for the whole day.”

“Whatever you’d like, baby.”

Wonwoo’s hand flits down your body again - snaking into your shorts and, this time, into your panties as you whine. “Do you wanna cum or go back to sleep, hmm?” 

You ponder it for a second as the drowsiness equates the urge to cum on his fingers. 

“Both? I wanna cum and then sleep a little more... If that’s okay?” 

Wonwoo hums in agreement as his fingertips drag through your folds - collecting the wetness on them before he teases your soaked hole. “Only a little teasing gets you this wet, hmm? So cute.” 

“Ah, f-feels good when you go slow t-too...” 

He stores that away in his head for later; chuckling against your shoulder as he slowly starts to dip his middle finger into your cunt. 

You feel warm and content when he starts a slow pace - thumb on your clit rubbing soft, slow circles while he pumps his finger into you. 

“O-oh, Wonwoo...” 

“You’re always good for me, baby. Always such a good girl.” 

“Ah, Wonwoo...”

“You can cum whenever you want. You deserve it.” 

He adds his index finger - thrusting both fingers into you as you mewl and arch away from his warm chest. Your toes curl and your thighs clamp and trap his hand between your legs as you start to grind down onto his nimble fingers.

“...W--Wonwoo...” 

“That’s right, baby. Call my name, let me hear your pretty voice when your cumming for me.” 

You turn your head - cries muffled into his pillow because despite his slower than usual pace, you find yourself already on the brink of cumming with his fingers knuckle deep inside of you and his thumb on your clit. 

“Mmh... Ah... Feels s-so warm... and g-good...” You mutter, eyes blinking drowsily. “Gonna c-cum...” 

He doesn’t say anything in return as he focuses on you and your pleasure; fingers scissoring and curling right into your g-spot as you clamp down onto them in a vice grip. 

Wonwoo knows when you’re about to cum when he feels your hand coming down on his forearm, holding onto him for dear life when your orgasm still hits you just as hard. 

“Ngh, Wo---Wonwoo!” 

Your walls flutter around his fingers and make it harder for him to thrust them in and out with how tight you get. 

“That’s my good girl. Cum for me, baby~” 

His deep voice makes you whine - nails digging into his arm and body trembling as the pleasure steadily washes over you. 

“Ah, bet your face is so pretty right now too~” 

“Mmh, s-stop...” Your cheeks burn in slight embarrassment from his constant praise but you can’t deny the way it goes straight to your core and only prolongs your orgasm. 

“Don’t be so shy, baby. It’s only you and me here.” 

Wonwoo leans away slightly to kiss the crown of your head - still working you through your orgasm as you sigh contentedly in his arms. 

Various thoughts run through his head in the moment, but the one that sits at the forefront of his mind is definitely how to make sure he kept treating you right. 

Starting with your date that he would spend time meticulously planning.

‘Ah, I should ask Mingyu for some advice.’ 

[ericbrandonrp]

Past: 1. 4. 6. 7. 8. 10. 11.

Present: 4. 5. 7. 8. 10. 11. 12. 14.

Future: 2. 3. 8. 9. 10

( im so sorry that this is a lot, but im super interested to hear what you have to say about Eric for these. Pls feel free to skip/ignore questions if there are too many for you tho <3 )

Past/Present/Future Meme

@youngprofessorx

1 - Briefly describe the way their parents grew up, and how it affected the way they raised them.

// His mother Melinda grew up in Germany in a loving family, without siblings, his (step)father Thomas grew up in Ireland. Though his family wasn’t as loving as his wife’s. Thomas’ mother died when he was a teenager; his father has always been harsh and rather distant (still is) but wanted the best for his son. There is also a brother, “Uncle Paddy”, who was seen as the black sheep of the Brandon family because he never did what he was told and rather caused mischief. It was only to get the attention his father rather gave to his older brother, Thomas. I guess because Thomas’ father was so harsh, he somewhat adopted that behaviour.

4 - What was the most common argument between them and whoever raised them?

// Eric’s (step)father beat him up almost on a daily basis, but there was no visible reason for it at that time – at least for Eric. Thomas often argued with him about school, however, because Eric was known to just not attend classes when he wasn’t in the mood, or talk against his teachers, play pranks… Somewhere deep inside Thomas wanted him to have a good education, despite being furious at Eric for not being his biological son. However, whatever Thomas wanted him to do or not do – Eric did the opposite.

6 - Did the location they grew up in affect them significantly? Do they still go there?

// I guess it has somewhat. Though he isn’t living in the town he’s grown up in, he did move back to Munich eventually now. Germany, to him, represents happiness because life seemed perfect and carefree for him back then.

7 - Who were their friends during childhood? Are they still in touch with them?

// He didn’t actually have any friends for a long time because he was the ‘new kid’ and also from Germany. The other kids made fun of him and bullied him. When he was around sixteen, though, a new boy moved to New Inn with his family - Marty Lennox - and they immediately clicked. Together they caused a lot of mischief and spent a lot of time with each other; the two even moved in together when they were eighteen. However, Eric started dating Marty’s little sister which had him freak out. The boys fought and Marty even threatened him with a metal pipe. They saw each other maybe another two times or so, the last time at Marty’s sister’s funeral. No contact since. They also slept together but that’s another story.

8 - What was their childhood/teenage bedroom like?

// Not very crowded, actually. It was of average size (at least the one in Ireland); the bed on the side, a desk on the other. A bookshelf without books (he’s never been much of a reader) but vinyls on it, a basketball, some goods he stole. A guitar in the corner. The money he pulled out of people’s pockets was hidden under his mattress. Some posters on the walls; random bands and cars. Outside his window was a downspout that he used to climb up and down without having to face his (step)father. 

10 - What did they dream of doing when they grew up? How and why did it change, if it did?

// Actually, Eric wanted to become a lawyer. He thought it’s a cool job and earns him a lot of money - and would make his (step)father proud. He even passed a test and would have been accepted to law school, proudly showing Thomas that achievement, but he only made fun of him, told him he would never make it, anyway. Eric tossed the paper away and never talked about it again.

11 - Were there any events in their childhood that led to phobias or other fears?

// So many...where do we start?? The first one was probably the other boys in his class faking friendship (partly why he hardly trusts people); they lured him with them although he should have known better, and tied him to a tree outside of school, blindfolded, and pulled down his pants. Since that day he can’t stand blindfolds and being tied up. Secondly, he flinches whenever someone makes fast movements around him. That is due to his (step)father beating him up out of nowhere. Then, finally, he panics when someone touches his neck with their hands/arms. At the peak of his rage, Thomas once wrapped his fingers around Eric’s throat (he was barely 14) and squeezed. Despite Eric begging for him to let go, his (step)father was so enraged that he didn’t even realise what he was doing. When he did, Eric had nearly passed out. Touch to his throat/neck brings back those memories.

4 - Do they have any enemy factions or groups? Why and how are they opposed, and how do they feel about it?

// Police. For obvious reasons lol He wouldn’t even go to them if someone had done him wrong; Eric will always solve those things himself, his own way.

5 - What kind of people do they usually interact with? Who are their friends, the people they look up to/trust, and who are their “associates”?

// Mostly criminals, seeing that he is a thief. He met many thieves and hitmen in his youth already due to his mentor/dad introducing them to him, setting up a connection and circle.  Eric doesn’t actually have friends, he really just calls them ‘associates’. He does look up to his dad, Ian, though. Always has.

7 - Do they have a partner? How did they meet, and what’s their relationship like now?

// No, he doesn’t have a partner. Just a dog named Murphy.

8 - What hobby or pastime of theirs do they consider most important to them and why?

// Eric has a lot of pastime due to his job. What he loves doing is to just chill in front of the tv, watching classic movies, Bond movies, spy movies... That doesn’t mean he’s lazy, however, as he also loves going for a run, going swimming, doing parkour, or just riding his motorcycle. When there’s an interesting car race going on, he can be found there, too. Actually, though, Eric doesn’t really consider any of his hobbies a ‘most important one’. They are all just...hobbies. He doesn’t need a work/life balance because he’s basically a freelancer and doesn’t put any stress and pressure on himself for it.

10 - What do they always carry with them and why?

// Phone, keys, a pack of gum (most often something lemon-y), some spare money. He doesn’t actually always take his wallet with him. Sunglasses are usually somewhere on his clothes, too.

11 - What’s a typical night’s sleep like for them?

// It’s usually riddled with nightmares and he doesn’t really wake up from them and is stuck in them for most of the night, having him thrash and turn. That doesn’t happen every night, however, and he also often wakes up rather refreshed because he’s actually (and that should concern him) used to those nightmares.

12 - If someone mentioned their name to someone else, what would they immediately think of (i.e. defining characteristic, appearance- or personality-wise)?

// Probably something like, “that idiot” haha No but seriously, he is quite well-known in the criminal circles. People know who he is thanks to his discipline and good work he’s been doing so far. The female ones...they will probably be like, “oh right, the one with the gorgeous eyes and--skills” lol

14 - What matters most to them right now?

// To find someone who loves and accepts him the way he is. He knows he isn’t getting younger, so he’s trying to focus on finding someone to spend the rest of his life with now.

2 - Are they content with their future situation? Is there anything they would change?

// He wants a family, and that he doesn’t have that and it doesn’t look like he’s going to have one in the near future, it actually depresses him.

3 - How would their beliefs or morals change in the future, if at all?

// I think they wouldn’t actually change. He has always been a thief, and always will be one. It isn’t like he’s stealing from helpless old ladies or snatching purses from women. He steals mostly from the rich, depending on what job he got. He will, despite everything, still be proud of what he did.

8 - Would they become a mentor figure for anyone?

// No. He doesn’t want to be anyone’s idol or mentor because he doesn’t think he is suited for such a position. Of course he is proud of being a thief, but he would never seriously recommend it to anyone. Eric is well aware of how fucked up his own life is and doesn’t want anyone to take it as any kind of example and follow in his footsteps – not even his own children.

9 - How do they feel about getting older and eventually dying?

// Actually he doesn’t mind getting older, he knows it’s part of life and he accepts it - however, he is also afraid of it because what he wants most in his life is to have a family, a wife who loves and accepts him, children he can see grow up. The older he gets, the less the chances become that he will ever have that.

10 - How do they want to be remembered after they die?

// As a loving family man who had flaws, but wasn’t as bad as his parents wanted to make him out to be.

[thegempage]

i!! was tagged by @adventuresloane​ thank you very much my friend!!

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 8 (ish)* favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome work!

so. hmm. this’ll be interesting ljfkdsa

i don’t. what did i even do in 2020

* i did nine things bcus two are words and one i just couldn’t help myself but link

(i’m gonna put this below a cut bcus it’s long and idk how to resize images)

(also if this has taught me one thing it’s that if you want to see my art you might do better following my twitter and deviant art as well as this blog bcus i post art sporadically everywhere lmao)

1. the first answer is BEHOLD, MY MAIN PROJECT (at least as of writing this post):

beyond the divide and into adventure is an original fantasy universe homestuck au centered around the beta kids + a few others that’s kind of just about having adventures but also about how the relationships we forge are important parts of understanding ourselves but also about saving the world (eventually) (it’s mostly the first two right now, we’ll get to the saving the world later)

i do art for it, i’m trying to update it more often, and hey there’s a discord!

2. i also!!! have almost completed a series on youtube for the first time and i’m counting it as art bcus i put a lot of work into it lmao

Let’s Play Hiveswap Friendsim (For The Third Time) is a let’s play designed not to show new people the game but to replicate playing a game with a friend(s)!! it’s got jokes, it’s got fun voice acting, it’s got reflection on the game itself and the writing, and sometimes i go on long tangents about lore bcus i got excited lol. the final episode comes out in a few weeks and i’m planning to do a few more let’s plays in this style!!

(i also sometimes bring in a guest and then the conversations just get even more fun)

3.

[image description: a drawing of an Imposter-sona from Among Us, who has taken the form of a chubby white person in the pink astronaut suit an a doctor’s outfit. The Imposter is wearing dark sunglasses and is arguing with a small, pink-suited robot who resembles a human girl with short hair. end description]

(see the full version here!! you can zoom in and see the details and stuff)

this is a doodle of my imposter sona jfkdaslf basically in this idea the Imposter is an alien who takes over the body of a person it’s killed (aka my crewmate-sona) and runs around in that body to complete its plans! it’s arguing with the robot bcus the robot is a helper specifically programmed to the original crewmate and has trouble understanding the Imposter!

4.

[image description: a sketch in pink pen of a crewmate-sona from Among Us, depicted as a chubby person with long hair and glasses wearing a docotor’s uniform over a pink suit. They’re standing one one leg and looking at a wire in confusion. A small, humanoid robot with short hair stands next to them and gives them directions. end description]

for comparison, here’s the crewmate!! i can’t link it bcus i never posted it anywhere but this is what they usually look like and an example of how the bot might help!!

and fuck it, here’s more homestuck art

5.

[image description: a drawing of two characters side by side, talking together and laughing, set against a background colored like the lesbian flag. The left figure is a chubby tiefling with gray skin and red horns; they have long red hair, a long tail with black puff at the end, and are wearing a blue robe over pajamas in various shades of red. The right figure is a Homestuck troll with a long, black to gold dyed mullet with shaved sides, curved horns, and a prosthetic arm; they’re wearing a blue outfit and have big, orange wings. They are both discussing axes and their respective romantic partners.  end description]

twitter / deviant art links!! this is The Heir/Guts (left), a future d&d character/fankid, and Clairre (right), my current and beloved d&d character and fan troll!! the Heir is actually a human but took on a tiefling form for d&d reasons and is the heir of blood, and Clairre is a knight of breath!! they’re both nb lesbians and i love them

6.

[image description: a drawing of Kanaya and Karkat from Homestuck, grown up and sitting on a bench together, labeled “wait for spouses to finish a meeting.” Kanaya is tall, with gray skin, tall orange horns, and short hair. She’s wearing a yellow dress and shoes and is sewing something. Karkat is shorter than Kanaya and is chubby, with short hair and short horns that have grown down across the sides of his face. He’s wearing a sweater that says “imagine there’s a crab here” and is looking at his phone with a bag in his lap. end description]

twitter link; this one is dumb and i literally just made it to make myself laugh and show off a dumb hc idea i had (link to image of the hc, but the basic idea is that mutants have fucked up horns). most people who see it think it’s gross lmao

7.

[image description: an image of Snowman from Homestuck imposed over a photo of a hallway that has been layered with a sepia effect. Snowman is a tall, thin black carapace woman wearing a long suit coat and a wide-brimmed hat with the image of an 8 ball on the front. She’s smoking from a long pipe and saying, “Do you know what makes the perfect disease, Karkat? I’ll tell you.” On the floor is a word in an alien language with a long pink tail, which translates to “rat.” end description.]

twitter / deviantart link

so this!!! this is fanart for someone else’s fic for once jklfadskl this is a scene from Alternate Universe, a homestuck college/fantasy au that you should definitely check out bcus it’s 11/10 and i adore it and trying to summarize it would probably spoil more than i want to. the journey it takes you on is so fun and this scene just! stuck out to me

8.

[image description: a digital drawing of June, a light brown skinned woman with long dark hair wearing a rose-patterned cropped hoodie, jeans, yellow shoes, and glasses, curled up into a ball. Wind, show in various shades of blue, is whipping around her and pulling her hair and hoodie up. She seems to be bracing against the wind. end description.]

this is just!! a little preview of something lol

i’m making a thing for beyond the divide and this little piece of a panel was cute so i clipped it on its own!!

9.

[image description: a digital painting of Barry Bluejeans, a white man with red hair and glasses, leaning on the ground as if he was struck, clutching his chest. He’s wearing a red robe over jeans and a white shirt. The world appears to be ending behind him, and he’s saying “Why do you tramble on our love?” end description.]

twitter link!! okay. so this was technically done in dec 2019 but i was reminded of its existence while looking for twitter links and it’s still one of my favorite fucking pieces of art

this is a reference to a video that no longer exists but in the hearts of the few who knew it while it was still live and i put way more work into it than i needed. if the line sounds weird it’s bcus it was originally in poorly translated japanese lmao

iiiii don’t know who to tag jkfldaslk if you get this far and you want to do this go ahead!! i’m just too nervous to tag anyone rip

[tipsytaee]

NCT 127 – “Neo City: The Origin” in San Jose (Fan Account - 190509)

Left work at 5:40pm, arrived in San Jose at 7:10, bought chicken nuggets from McDonald’s, and entered the concert hall at 7:50.

Hall feels kind of like a high school auditorium. Was expecting something a little more memorable.

I was kind of nervous and wondering if the $160 would be worth it, but I was excited about it too. Texted BFR and MKT a quick photo and both replied with excitement for me.

Concert begins.

(Cherry Bomb) Took me a little bit to get energized, but the smooth glide, backward fall, and leg split were everything.

NCT lightsticks are bright af. Every time the girl next to me waved hers to my side, I think I went just a little bit more blind lol.

(Chain) Taeyong’s absss. I was trying to fix something on my phone and, BAM! Front and center on the big screen. That shit came out of nowhere >.<

Didn’t have a lightstick this time, so I was just kinda awkwardly standing there. People around me must’ve thought I was the quietest kpop fan ever. But in my head I was hyped xD

(Ment #1) Taeyong really knows how to pump up a crowd—from his stretched out “Ohhh yeahhhh” that reclined into a sexy, throat-deep groan to his vocalized sports tournament siren after introducing his name. And his little fumble when trying to say “lifetime memories” was cute.

(Fly Away with Me) Ugh, this song put me in a mood. And Taeyong’s bouncing dance moves. He does them really nice.

(Back 2 U) Yuta’s vocals o.o And Taeyong’s soft swag throughout.

Not as many Taeyong stans as I thought, but definitely one behind me. I relate to her every time she screams for him when he does something remotely sexy and the crowd is quiet in obliviousness xD

(City 127) Slower song and Taeyong’s still not able to sit still. He was the only one who stood up and danced around for his part, and he continued to wiggle around in his chair after that xD :3

(Angel) So. Much. Skinship. Taeyong scooting his chair over to Jaehyun and being all squishy, touchy, and adorable with him. More with Yuta & Doyoung, and Jungwoo & Haechan. The line, “I’ll be your morning star” gave me all the feels. I eventually found myself swaying along.

(Jet Lag + more) Yuta’s slow, emotional hair flip and his unrelenting cuteness. If Taeyong doesn’t do it first, this kid might just kill me >.<

(Ment #2) Yuta being cute af and possibly throwing some random Japanese in there? xD

(No Longer) Definitely falling for Taeil’s voice.

So many Taeil, Haechan and Jaehyun stans.

(Regular) Taeyong’s sex faces live are killing me.

(Wake Up) The bars have come out. Hyped by Taeyong’s “Are you ready San Jose!” and subsequent ‘yeah’s and ‘whoo’s and arm pumping dance.

(Baby Don’t Like It) Taeyong literally coming in like a pimp on top of the bars. Sunglasses, posture, attitude, and all lmao.

(Mad City) The vibrations man, the fucking building was shaking.

(Good Thing) Taeyong’s outlandishly flamboyant paint-splatter suit, wtf xD Also his moonwalk is so fucking smooth. Yuta is adorably bouncy in his cute yellow sweater.

Seeing Taeyong’s sex faces in person is ridiculous (part 2).

…is Yuta my bias wrecker?

Chipmunk voices on the mic… (Started with Mark’s mic during Mad City and continued randomly throughout)

Changing lightstick colors with the music. Didn’t expect that to happen here. For some reason I thought it was only a Korea/Japan thing lol.

(Superhuman) The superior song. Always fall for that head snap in the beginning.

I was watching Taeyong for most of the concert, but I swear I saw Taemin’s face flash by for like half a second. I think the desperation to see Taemin live is getting too strong xD

(Ment #4) I fucking looked up and Taeyong had taken half of his sparkly jacket off during the ment. Guns fully loaded. Biceps at the ready. But my poor heart wasn’t >.< Haechan speaking Korean for the first time during the concert kind of made it more real that I was watching Korean idols who had traveled halfway across the world to perform in front of me. Taeyong and his backwards visor and casual black clothes is fucking hot. Taeil getting embarrassed when Johnny told him to growl and flex his muscles one more time, adorable :3 Taeyong did clapping push-ups, aegyo-ed, and fucking dabbed in the span of 20 seconds >.< Jaehyun asking if we’re ready to “get hot.” Boy, I’ve been steaming for an hour now (both literally and figuratively lol. Couldn’t find the time to take off my coat xD)

(Summer 127) The resonance and vibrations from the bass line had me shaking (in a good way). Taeyong’s front group seemed a little lost in the music when they finally went back into choreography—they kept looking at each other like “uh…” and wiggled their arms around aimlessly until it matched everyone else lol. Taeyong went HARD during this song. His panting had me thrown, and he rapped so hard his fucking vein popped out.

(Ment #5) Doyoung’s adorably cheesy fortune cookie story. Fortune cookie read, “You will touch the hearts of many.” Generic but absolutely true ^^ Taeyong’s pouty face before his ending speech. And he put his hands together, almost in prayer, when thanking his fans. It was so heartfelt and sweet.

(Pre-0 Mile) Taeyong’s switch from his soft voice when correcting the crowd’s move for “mine mine” to his deep, loud, crowd-pumping voice at the final “girl you’re just mine mine!” I love his duality. And the way he turned around to walk to the back of the stage for 0 Mile. Hot.

(0 Mile) Taeyong being a mom and picking up Doyoung after he fell to the ground trying to protect his abs xD He’s such a sweetheart <3

For the last three-ish songs, Taeyong was super energetic and hyped for the performances. It got me hyped too.

Their “San Jose is a real vibe-killer~~” xD

Someone threw a rose at Taeyong when they were walking from the left side audience to thank the right side, and he got adorably flustered. He fumbled with the rose a little bit, but he did manage to catch it.

Taeyong picked up the rose he had put down earlier to hold his members’ hands and bow. He was being such a tease with it, putting it sexily in his mouth, tango style, and turning around and pausing every two steps to pose with it. He also put on an adorable “San Jose” beauty pageant sash before posing with the rose and heading off stage. He was the last member to leave and he kept dorking around and teasing his fans, it was so freakin cute >.< (Side note: Found out later he was recently crowned “in charge” of their San Jose stop, which is why he had the sash.)

That ending^ was all I needed to make that whole concert worthwhile. I love you Taeyong <3

Concert ended at 10:40pm. Walked back to my car and drove home listening to nothing but NCT songs.

Post-concert thoughts: In the beginning, it felt like I was just watching another random concert. I was also hesitant about going even before that because I only really listened to about half the songs on the setlist. But I realized there’s something about concert settings that just makes everything sound amazing. The concert eventually evolved into something more meaningful and that I was super spazzy about and into (probably triggered by something Taeyong did lol), but it got so much more exciting after that and I loved it.

P.S. Taeyong’s shirt was sheer????

[anonymouscrocodilefan]

Addendum: Ex-Slave Croco Theory

LONG TIME NO POST, and not quite a shower thought, but it occurred to me at one point that I never actually debunked the other common theory about Croco’s secret (the one Ivankov has on him).

The major theories I’m aware of (all of which I find flawed):

1. FTM Croco (Croco was a woman & other gender/sexuality-related variations). This is the immediate conclusion most people jump to, and I’m pretty sure it’s a red herring. Although, as I’ve mentioned, I wouldn’t mind if it were true. I pretty thoroughly debunked this in one of my first posts: http://anonymouscrocodilefan.tumblr.com/post/132946232157/2-crocodiles-past

2. Croco was on Whitebeard’s crew (in some variations the chopped off hand was to remove WB’s tattoo). And is for some reason ashamed of that and/or left for reasons related to his weakness. This has been completely debunked by Word of God. See my very first post: http://anonymouscrocodilefan.tumblr.com/post/132880323933/1-crocodile-the-warlord

3. Croco’s missing hand originally had a different power from the “drying” ability of his right; the secret behind this removed power is related to his other weakness. I don’t think this theory is as widespread as the others, nor am I particularly against it. But I don’t really buy it either. Plus I think with the advent of “awakened” powers as a concept, this idea is getting less and less likely. I’ve only ever tangentially discussed this though (never directly addressed the specifics of this theory): http://anonymouscrocodilefan.tumblr.com/post/135195626561/shower-thought-handedness

4. An actual physical/power-related weakness (aside from the water weakness and the obvious existence of haki). Discussed this in the same post as FTM Croc. This one seems to make sense in context, but is narratively unsatisfying to me. I can kinda imagine it though – if water is a weakness, I wonder about wind (water clumps sand, but wind does the opposite)? Still, Oda could’ve easily done the same scene with something along the lines of “no worries, I know how to defeat him” – so the specific and somewhat ambiguous use of the word “weakness” and Iva promising not to give him away if he behaves is... interesting.

5. Croco is a former slave (like Hancock and Fisher Tiger). I can’t believe I never discussed or even brought up this theory... because it’s actually one of the earliest ideas I personally considered (along with “Croco has revolutionary connections [beyond the acquaintance with Iva]”, which I’ve long since discarded).

Like the “revolutionary” theory, I discarded it very early on (and didn’t see it discussed nearly as often), which is probably why it slipped my mind.

Also, my arguments against this particular theory are mostly circumstantial, like my arguments against the missing hand/physical weakness theories (but unlike the FTM/WB theories, which have fairly solid textual evidence working against them and in the latter case has been explicitly contradicted by Oda’s statements).

Still, it’s probably worth discussing. So here are my thoughts.

First of all, it’s a tempting theory on the surface. Unlike the FTM and WB theories, it also gives him a valid motivation for his dislike of the government (and apparent desire to create a Utopia [we are soooo short on details there, including how seriously he meant it]). It would also fairly neatly explain his trust issues, although maybe not why he’s so adamant at first about human connections being worthless (the WB theory probably does the best on that one, but like I said, it’s total bunk).

Nonetheless, it doesn’t really “feel” right, either.

As I’ve previously noted (see the post with FTM Croco), Crocodile’s reaction to Iva’s threat is actually relatively subdued despite the way the whole thing’s been blown up in the collective fandom consciousness. Sure, it pisses him off, but he’s not upset or anything either. We have several known ex-slave characters whose behavior can be easily contrasted with his, in fact. Fisher Tiger’s undying hatred. Hancock’s deep shame. Koala is the most well-adjusted one we’ve seen so far, but I think that’s probably down to the fact that she was still very young at the time (much younger than Hancock!) and has since grown up in a very supportive environment. For all three though, there is that underlying sense of having been betrayed by the government and its support of an inherently unjust system, and moreover by humanity itself. On the other hand, Croco’s scorn for the Marines and the government overall seems more akin to Law’s feelings on the subject, i.e. they’re useless assholes. In other words, yes he has trust issues, but he never comes across as traumatized. (Law maybe isn’t the BEST comparison there.)

The timing is tricky. Surprisingly, we know a handful of solid dates for Croco, despite the fact that he’s never gotten a backstory flashback. All of which I’ve discussed before, but again – he was at age 22 present for Roger’s execution. He became a Warlord shortly thereafter, with his defeat by Whitebeard presumably marking his first real setback as a pirate. Around age 30 he was featuring in newspapers for his “heroic” acts. By the time the series starts, he’s been a public figure for 20 years or so. Basically, he could’ve only been a slave during his child/teen years... and couldn’t have been part of the big breakout all the other known ex-slaves escaped during. That is, he would’ve had to escape on his own, or I suppose potentially with Revolutionary aid (which maybe accounts for the eventual Iva meeting when he’s a rookie). The former seems unlikely, no matter how clever the dude is. But the latter would have more naturally led to him being involved in the Revolutionary faction sooner or later rather than setting sail to compete with Roger and Whitebeard and coming up with his own grandiose schemes.

I talk about this all the time, but if we can trust his SBS child illustration – and I think we can, based on past experience – he was already toting around a real gun as a kid. And in fact it seems like he was probably already fairly skilled in its usage (mentioned this in the handedness post, but I have a feeling that his gun is holstered in a cavalry draw position rather than the more typical cross draw). His expression and stance also already lack that veneer of innocence that many (not all) of the child illustrations tend to have. From that (among other things), I’ve always gotten the sense that he was a street kid who pretty much raised himself/grew up in the underworld... and would have been far too careful and shrewd to have been captured by anyone.

If his missing hand was the one with the tattoo (kinda has to be, since he had to get undressed for the Impel Down “baptism”)... well, Croco’s much too pragmatic to have chopped it off just because of a tattoo. Especially when there are more obvious ways of subverting or hiding the symbol (see also: Sun Pirates). No matter how well he’s adapted to the lack of it, he is NOT the kind of man who would have willingly given up the practical benefits of having two working hands, imo. Even to escape (he’s no Zoro lol).

I dunno, even if all the above points can technically be written around, it feels kind of redundant to have another ex-slave Warlord in the mix. Sometimes redundancy is good, and adds thematic texture due to the different nuances. But I think we’re already pretty well covered.

(The remaining variations on this theory that I actually think are kind of viable but require way too much guesswork: he betrayed his allies into slavery [after being betrayed by them first, I’m thinking], OR he attempted to pull a rescue but failed [again, perhaps due to treachery] and chose to abandon them/save his own skin. These not only fit what we know about his personality, but also provide a decent explanation for why Iva specifically would be involved/aware, and suit the context of the exchange during Impel Down. Like I said though, way too much guesswork, especially re: what exactly in this scenario would serve as a hold over him.)

As for what I personally think the actual secret is, if not those two above options – my thoughts haven’t really changed that much since I originally wrote the FTM debunk post. In my view the three main options are 1) the backstory behind him obtaining his fruit; 2) whatever backstory there might be regarding his hook/scar (assuming they’re not just design elements like Doffy’s sunglasses LOL); and 3) the backstory behind his knowledge of Pluton and the poneglyphs (plus I assume he’s one of the few who knows the truth behind Ohara). Possibly those options might even be related to each other.

The only somewhat new addition to my thoughts: since Oda’s made the parallels between Croco and Luffy* even more explicit than before, I suspect Croco had a similar experience as Luffy/Sabo/Ace did in the Gray Terminal. (Remember that I think Croco was a street kid.) Only his reaction was something more along the lines of Sabo’s, if Sabo hadn’t gotten proper guidance in form of Dragon and had turned pirate instead.

(… I can’t be the only one who can imagine alternate universe Sabo going the evil mastermind route, can I?)

* The Croco/Luffy parallels are key to the Alabasta arc, and Oda then brought them up again with the SBS about Croco’s pirating history. And as I’ve argued in my MBTI posts before, their personalities are mirrors of each other (rather than “in opposition”).

But I’ve also seen people point out that there’s an interesting parallel to be found between Croco and Ace as well. (Both talented and ambitious young Logias who challenged WB early on in their pirating careers; one submitted, one picked himself back up to attempt his own path.)

Which I think makes it not unreasonable to eventually see an echo of Sabo in Croco as well. (Although I have previously thought the more explicit Sabo foil was Doflamingo, hence him turning up specifically during Dressrosa.)

I mean no matter what, the weirdly romantic vibe of Baroque Works and the idealism implied in “Operation Utopia” have been cracking me up for ages. And that’s gotta have its roots in something, right? Odd to think about, but we actually know way more of what makes Doflamingo “tick,” what his driving motivations are. We never got a true explanation for Croco. Just like Big Mom’s yearning for family and belonging is a corrupted version of Whitebeard’s family ethos (and note apparently SHE wants to construct a “utopia” of sorts as well), Croco’s stubborn opposition to the government strikes me as a corrupted version of the Revolutionary stance. That’s like the one thing we’ve known about him all along, the one reason we know he was after Pluton – and Marineford only further supported this. I mean yeah, no pirate actually LIKES the government for obvious reasons, but Croco’s disdain has been consistently highlighted in particular.

I’m convinced it means something.

[heidijeann]

Koh Samui

Photos here :) 

The flight was short - only an hour and 20 minutes maybe, but it still included an in-flight meal of sweet and sour chicken (or a fish dish which neither of us got, but I LOLed at the lack of a vegetarian option). Everything was smooth sailing until we got off the plane and had to wait in a long line outside in the heat to get through customs. There was a couple behind us invading Brett’s personal space, running into him and stepping on his foot, which made the line tense and feel even longer. Reflecting on it, we agreed that Brett needs to figure a way to make a game out of this kind of situation, because getting so stressed out over something so small is unhealthy. (I need to take a page out of his book - such a great realization!)

Once we finally made it through customs, we took a 460 baht shared taxi van to our hotel. Luck was on our side, as our hotel was the first stop in our 12 person shared taxi van. We got out, and stepped into true luxury - the hotel staff were expecting us and greeted us with freezing cold towels and water while they started to check us in. Then they came back with ice cream and explained hotel activities etc. before taking us to our room. It was a deluxe villa with a huge bed and beautiful walk in shower that had doors opening from both the bed and shower to a beautiful balcony with a tub and lounge chairs overlooking an jungle-esque lap pool.

While the room was beautiful, we didn’t stay long. We dropped off our bags, got into our bathing suits, and immediately hit the beach/pool. We were excited to see there were free kayaks, paddle boards, and water shoes for our use, and immediately took the kayak out for a swim. We got in and started paddling, all going well, until Brett called us professionals and about two seconds later we totally flipped the boat into the water. We came up shrieking with laughter, and were happy to see a couple close by caught the entire thing and were laughing with us. We spent maybe 30 minutes perfecting our strides and checking out the surrounding rocks and area, and then decided to return the kayak and find something to eat.

There were many places on the beach to grab a bite or a massage, so we walked and surveyed the menu and price selections. At the far end of the beach, right where the sea met some rocks making it difficult to go further, we saw a cute little oasis with hammocks and chairs and swings that drew our attention. To be totally honest, I don’t really know if at this point we noticed any of that - there was some kind of pretty flower stand thing (it reminded me of a plumeria chuppah)  that I wanted to check out, so we walked to it. That’s where we could really start to see the magic oasis, with tropical/reggae music setting a super chill vibe and the waves lightly crashing onto the shore next to us. We fell in love and ordered a pad thai at a super reasonable 100 baht price, and enjoyed the view. Turns out this little spot would be our go-to getaway from the hotel, with extremely reasonable prices and the best music and vibes a girl could ask for. We made two friends: George, a yoga instructor who offered us a free class, and Tom, a tour guide who told us all about different excursions and cool things to do on the island. After an hour or so we headed back to the resort and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging and swimming between the beach and the pool, sipping on cocktails and soaking in the sun and the view.

When the sun started to set,  headed back to our room to change and venture off to get our first massage in Thailand. The spot we found was a 12 minute walk from our hotel, and we were in for a treat: we would be getting our first Four Hands massage. Oh my god, life changing. The women were warm and effective, with strong hands and big smiles. For an hour of absolute bliss, it only cost us a total of $1200 baht or 38.30 United States Dollars. Like come on. I wonder if after our travels if we will look at the price and think it was expensive for Thailand? Only time will tell… my goal is to get 30 hours of massage before we stop celebrating my birthday, but I will count the four hand massage as 2 hours since there were two people rubbing us. The massage also converted B - on our walk home he raved “I can never go back to a 2 hand massage, it is 4 hands or bust for me. What was a massage prior to the 4 hands? I don’t remember. THIS IS HOW MASSAGING NEEDS TO BE. You get a symmetrical experience as they rub the neck/shoulder and lower back at the same time.” This is seriously not an experience to miss. On our walk home we found a Mexican/Thai spot and popped in. The price was right - B enjoyed a burrito and I larb with rice. Then, we walked back to the hotel and tried the outdoor tub out. Overall, I would have to admit my last day as a 29 year old was pretty incredible!!!

We woke up early on my birthday - around 6 am after a very comfortable sleep in a huge king bed that reminded us of home (s/o to Jackie and Roger who are keeping our bed safe and loved while we travel!). We decided to head down to the beach and finish watching the sunrise. It was beautiful. We climbed some rocks and enjoyed the view, and then did some yoga on a shaded deck just off the sand overlooking the water. It was a wonderful start to 30. By now some of the hotel staff was out setting up the pool area, and we started walking along the beach only to notice a bunch of plastic and trash washing up in the current. We decided to pick it up, and the hotel staff were very pleased to see us helping. They showed us where we could throw it away (there were literally no trash cans anywhere on the property outside of the room!) and we made a pile of stuff. We’ve heard about the trash in SEA, and want to make sure we do our part to clean it up as much as possible. It’s really so beautiful here - we feel responsible as tourists to not be a stereotype and help keep our earth as healthy as possible. The lack of trash cans is concerning, and we found out later that the rumors about people burning trash here are 100% true.

Anyway, we worked up a bit of a sweat so decided to cool off in the water - the tide was low making it an easy walk to a rock formation in the ocean. We tried to climb the rocks, but one of them bit me and so I decided we weren’t friends, and we left the rocks to go take out the splintery black crap from my calf. I cried like a baby when Brett pulled out a little razor looking device called “splinter out” and had to bravely bite a towel between my teeth as he dug and pressed out whatever was caught in there. After about 10 minutes and a shower, I was all better - sterilized and clean with a bandaid covering my boo-boo. #thisisthirty.

By now it was about 11 am, so we headed back to our rock bar and got a coconut and chilled out in the hammocks. We decided we would go into town and check out Chaweng Beach, and reserved seats on the shuttle leaving at 1. The ride was about 20 minutes, and we were both excited to see the food court when we got there. We got some chicken and beef on sticks and some chicken teriyaki with rice and miso, and a fruit shake that was delicious. We were on a mission to find me sunglasses and Brett sandals - and only had two hours. We did it all and headed back to the hotel in time for happy hour. We got some drinks at the pool and swam around, then headed back to the rock bar for dinner and drinks. We ended up meeting an interesting couple - a man from Utah and a woman from the Philippines - and spent the night swapping stories and drinking beer. (I know, who am I? Drinking beer! LOL.) Unfortunately, we forgot to finish ordering the dinner part, so when we left around 10, we were hungry and tired.

We got back to the room to see a very exciting note telling us to pack our bags as we were being upgraded and relocated to a private villa the following day.  We celebrated by ordering room service, and went to bed tired, excited, and full. We woke up early again on the 23rd, or, my birthday part two (since it was technically my birthday at home still). Brett showed me a video he put together of all my friends and family sending me sweet thoughts and birthday wishes, and we then headed to the beach to catch it empty and serene. We did another little meditation, this one shorter, and then headed off property to grab breakfast near the main road. It was about an 8 minute walk to an authentic thai restaurant where we got breakfast, then headed to hour 3 of 30 hours of massage - where we got an authentic thai massage. By the time we got back to the hotel, our bags had been relocated and the staff were showing us to our private villa.

If you have never had a private pool villa before, it is absolutely the way to travel. We stripped off our clothes and jumped in the pool. Frolicking and dancing around the entire indoor and outdoor area in our birthday suits (fitting huh? Pun intended - birthday suit for the birthday girl!). After an hour or two we decided to head down to the beach and were stopped by the hotel staff who had complimentary drinks for us. So, we started to drink. We ordered some food pool side and made ourselves cozy with our food and our drinks in a cabana. We had the bottle of Veuve over ice in the villa, and planned on popping that before dinner. After our drinks and bite, we went back to our villa and popped the Veuve. If I am being totally honest, my absolute favorite part of the whole day (both birthdays) was dancing around naked while sipping rosè champagne and singing along to the lyrics. About half way through this experience, Brett realized that people could probably see in to part of our villa, so we pulled the robes out of the closet, put them on, and continued dancing.

For dinner we checked out the hotel’s seafood restaurant TawaNN, and decided on the tapas bar instead after reviewing the menu. We got gambas and a pizza, both were delicious, and then took our headlamps down to the ocean to explore the rocks during the super low tide. The rocks that were eaten by the sea earlier in the day were now totally accessible by foot, and it was so neat to explore the beach in this new fashion. A bit tipsy and quite tired, we (read: I) didn’t last too long and soon after headed back to our villa for a much needed sleep.

Our last day in the Renaissance we woke up at 7:45 am - admittedly earlier than we wanted to after a night of drinking (miraculously I felt amazing, although Brett somehow was a bit hungover) but determined to make it to sunrise yoga on the beach. We took a class from 8-9 am, and while it was “Yoga for All” it felt pretty advanced to us. The instructor wasn’t the most patient man in the world, and even laughed at Brett at one point which I thought was quite rude. Overall though, it was a good workout and we left feeling energized. We headed back to our villa and decided to make the most of it until check out. Brett pretended to be a pool boy and fish all the flowers and fallen leaves out of the pool while I sat on the lounger looking for a hotel for that night. We swam and dried off and swam some more. Once 1 pm rolled around, we checked out, leaving our bags with the front desk and our suits on our bodies, and headed down the beach for a bite to eat.

For our last meal we decided to try Uncle Rang’s Restaurant, and were seated immediately. Once we placed our orders, they told us it would take about 30 minutes, so we walked to our Rock Bar for a final coconut and to bid adieu to the family who ran it (all super sweet and welcoming people). Then, we returned to the restaurant and ate slowly, enjoying the view. On our walk back to the hotel, we passed the massage studio on the beach that we had walked past many times every day, and decided to add another hour to the ticker. The ladies asked us to come back in 30 minutes, so we decided to take a dip in the hotel pool. We met a new friend there - a man from Michigan who didn’t like Trump but voted for him! - and got lost in conversation. By the time we made it back to the massage hut, they had two free beds but needed to call two masseuses over from a nearby parlor. (For the record, while peaceful, beach massages are sandy and get interrupted by coconuts falling on the roof, which sure scared the crap out of me!)

By the time we were ready to leave the hotel (and Lamai beach) it was almost 5 pm. We were now heading to the north most tip of the island - Mae Nam - to be closer to the pier. Brett found a deal for a hotel named Amarin Victoria that was a short walk to the beach. By the time we actually got there though, the sun was already setting and we didn’t make it in past our knees. Instead, we found a decent looking place to eat, shared a satay and pizza, and then headed back to the hotel. We took a quick dip in the rooftop pool and then retired to our rooms where we put on Kate and Leopold and looked for a place to stay in Koh Tao.

Before we knew it we were waking up, heading down to breakfast, then back up to pack. We had about two hours left until we had to start heading to the pier, a 26 minute walk in the heat - so I spent the morning preparing by singing along to Mulan and blogging, among other various things. Any excuse to stay in the air-conditioned bed was one I was willing to take. Honestly, my least favorite part of traveling is anything that has to do with touching the luggage. I don’t like it. It’s dirty, heavy, annoying...anyway, at the end of the day it is worth it, and I love my stuff, so I have to suck it up. I pump myself up with the following mantras: A 26 minute walk is a good exercise, and saves us 400 baht. That’s almost two massages! There is no chance we are going to do the 28 minute walk to our next hotel when we get to Koh Tao. Almost done… get it girl! Anyway, the time passes and with every step we are one step closer, so we got there pretty painlessly. And we felt very accomplished when we did. Brett cracked open a celebratory beer and we both enjoyed it, and then a couple more. (Well, enjoy is a strong word. I am still not a huge fan, but they are cheap and cold, so I am trying to convert myself…)

We waited about 40 minutes until we started to board, and found semi-shaded seats with a great sea view. The ferry would make two stops: Koh Pha-ngan (AKA the full moon party island) and Koh Tao. On our way to Koh Pha-ngan we met two friendly Germans who spent a lot of time in Thailand. The rest of the ferry ride we were by ourselves, but Brett met a famous Thai singer named Job2Do while going to the bathroom - he and his band are playing a concert on Koh Tao. Even the captain of the ship came out to take a pic with him! About two hours after we set off, we were docking on Koh Tao, getting our bags, and getting off the ship.

Total spend USD for these 5 days in Koh Samui and Mae Nam, including the ferry to Koh Tao (our accommodations at the Renaissance I booked using points, which saved us a ton of money!): $354.27

[allyinthekeyofx]

Genesis - Chapters 17 & 18

I am so sorry for the delay between chapters. Work has been crazy and coupled with season 11 news my brain farted and I forgot all about this.  If it weren’t for @scully-loves-ruthie giving me a nudge today I probably would have kept forgetting lol

Previous Chapters

1 & 2  //  3 & 4  //  5 & 6 //  7 & 8  //  9 & 10  //  11 & 12  //  13 & 14  //  15 & 16  //

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

San Diego, CA. 3:05 p.m.

Mulder had no clear idea as to what he was going to do from here. He had slipped out of the hospital unnoticed after discovering an escape route in the form of the wrought iron fire ladder attached to his bathroom window. He had removed his clothes in a crumpled tangle from the locker beside his bed. They smelled pretty bad but, Mulder reasoned, it was preferable to making the climb down the fire escape in a hospital gown with his bare ass hanging out for the world to see.

He had expected the descent to be pretty easy and so he was shocked to find it a rather unpleasant experience. Hindered as he was by his still weakened state, he had almost fallen several times. He felt light headed and disorientated, nausea and vertigo competing each other as the ground seemed to undulate beneath him in sickening waves. He was aware that what he was doing was bordering on insanity. He could see Scully with that expression she tended to get when she caught him doing something crazy. It was an expression she wore a lot – a kind of half frown. One perfect eyebrow arched, questioning, despairing of him and his latest crazy escapade. He could almost hear her voice inside his head.

You’re going to kill yourself one of these days Mulder.

And the echo of her concern spurred him on.

Besides, Mulder considered ruefully, if he didn’t kill himself there was a good chance Skinner might when he eventually caught up with him. Skinner had no time for renegades. Especially renegades who put their lives at risk. And deep down he knew that his superior had been right. He was in no shape to be doing this.

The ladder ended around 10 feet from the ground and Mulder had no other option but to suspend himself from the bottom rung, trying to elongate his body to lessen the impact when he let go and fell to the ground.

But he had lost his hold prematurely and didn’t have chance to prepare himself for the fall. A few feet that normally wouldn’t have fazed him, now seemed to take forever until suddenly the ground rushed up to meet him. Despite trying to stay on his feet, he felt his knees give way as he pitched forwards on to the asphalt below.

He remained where he was for a couple of minutes, desperately trying to regain his equilibrium as his vision suddenly blurred sickeningly. He knew that if he got up too quickly he would no doubt black out. But if he stayed too long, there was a good chance that a concerned passerby would see him and raise the alarm.

Slowly, shakily Mulder got to his feet, swallowing heavily to prevent himself throwing up. He took a couple of steps forward, relieved to find his legs seemed to be cooperating at least for the moment. His gait was unsteady though and he was all too aware that he must look every bit as dishevelled as he felt.

Gotta stop with the daytime drinking G-Man

The corners of his mouth twitched in a rueful smirk and he realised with gratitude that at least his sense of humour remained intact. Scully would probably disagree.

Scully.

Mulder began to walk. He didn’t take much notice of the direction. He just needed to put space between himself and the hospital. He’d figure the rest out later.

XXXX

Mulder squinted against the bright sunshine that reflected back at him from the pavement and he wished fervently he had a pair of sunglasses with him. His head was splitting again. Each step he took sending bolts of pure agony through his battered body. He found he was dripping with sweat, his breathing laboured. His suit jacket seemed to suddenly feel like it weighed a hundred pounds, adding to his exhaustion but he didn’t dare take it off even for a few minutes.

He had been more than a little surprised earlier to discover that his gun was still in its leather holster, tangled up with his clothes in the hospital locker.

He could only wonder at how such an immense breach in hospital policy had occurred because under normal circumstances, any weapon would be immediately tagged, logged and safely removed to be stored in a secure area until such time as it could be returned to its rightful owner. He had never known this procedure to not be followed. Hospitals tended to take a dim view of their patients running around the corridors waving guns about and so they ensured that, regardless of rank or file, any such weapon was swiftly removed from harms way.

But right now, he wasn’t much bothered about the how and why. Someone, it didn’t matter who, had made a monumental cock-up, but cock-up or not, Mulder would willingly take it because the presence of the weapon afforded him at least one advantage in an otherwise impossible situation and he felt somewhat reassured by its presence, however incongruous it might be.

The fact that the clip was less than half full was less reassuring and the spare clips he had brought to San Diego with him were still safely ensconced within the walls of the E-Z 8 motel where he had left them before making the trip to Wickham's apartment.

He had considered going back there to retrieve them, but had shelved the notion almost immediately as he realised that, if what Skinner said was true, then a full blown murder inquiry would be in place there and he couldn't risk the possibility of being seen by the hoards of cops who would no doubt be trawling through the grounds in their pursuit of evidence.

To be seen there would be calamitous, and he had enough sense to realise that until he figured this thing out his best course of action was to remain invisible; to disappear in to the woodwork so to speak.

His memories of events preceding his collapse at Wickham’s apartment were sketchy at best, the details hazy and incomplete. But his instincts screamed to him that his recent illness and Scullys disappearance were connected somehow. He just had to figure out what that connection might be, knowing that once the connection was made, everything else would fall in to place.

He walked aimlessly, not having any clear idea as to where he was heading, turning what scant recollections he did have over and over in his mind, trying to find some kind of correlation between them.

But there was nothing.

He came up with nothing that would shed any light on why Scully had been taken.

Or by whom.

What had happened at the motel that night to make her leave the room, unprotected and vulnerable in her position?

Scully wasn’t stupid. She was one of the most capable, by-the-book Agents he had ever worked with. Unlike him, Scully always considered unnecessary risk taking to be, well, unnecessary. And if there was one thing Mulder was certain of, it was that she must have, initially at least, gone willingly. But after that?

Mulder shook his head.

Where are you Scully? Speak to me.

He rounded a corner and found himself standing across from a small patch of park land, a welcome oasis in the middle of the concrete jungle. The wooden benches that surrounded it suddenly looked more than a little inviting to him.

He needed to sit for a while, if only to appraise in more detail his current situation and his aching body silently thanked him as he lowered himself on to one of the seats.

Five minutes later he began to wish that he hadn't bothered, because in doing so he just confirmed to himself what he already knew. Rummaging through his pockets he had realised how high the odds against him were stacked, because aside from his weapon, his FBI credentials and his cell phone he was pretty much running on empty. His wallet contained a couple of crumpled fives. Change from the twenty he had used to buy breakfast for him and Scully just the morning before.

Jesus, has it really been only a day?

He had his Bureau issue credit card but using that would be like holding up a large sign with the words 'Here I am' painted on it in red block lettering. The rest of the cards in his wallet were maxed out and he’d left his ATM card in the back pocket of his jeans.

He had no transport, no protection, no support and no where to begin. Add to that the B ball game being played out inside his skull, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d done the right thing. Dropping his aching head in his hands, Mulder suddenly wished, more than anything else in the world, that Scully was with him.

But then again, if she were here, he wouldn’t be.

He would be warmly tucked up in a comfortable bed having his every medical whim tended to by professionals. And more than that, his partner would be with him. Keeping a cool eye on him and those caring for him. She would be horrified if she could see him now.

I need help . I can’t do this alone.

He shook his head and mentally considered who he could call upon. The two most obvious choices on his ‘go-to’ list were no longer an option.

I’m sorry, the allies you are trying to reach are unavailable right now....

Wickham? Maybe.....

No

Mulder discounted him immediately. He couldn’t really say why. Just a vague feeling of unease that prickled down his spine every time he thought about his old Academy buddy.

And that, pretty much exhausted his list.

Unless.......

Mulder blinked. He was so stupid.

Mulder you dumb fuck.

He slowly withdrew his cel from his inside pocket, frowning when he saw the single illuminated bar on the tiny battery symbol. Great. Even his phone was giving up on him. He tapped his finger against the side of the phone absent-mindedly, weighing up the pros and cons of involving them in a situation that he suspected might very quickly start to spiral out of control.

He knew that they would drop everything to help him. They had done it plenty of times before. But just because he could, didn’t mean he should.

Scully. I have to do it for Scully.

Mulder hit the speed dial.

XXXX

11:01 p.m.

"What took you so long?"

Mulder was quite unable to prevent the snippy tone in his voice. He had been waiting in the lobby of the Airport for hours. He was exhausted, he felt like shit and even worse, was painfully, conscious of the hours ticking by whilst all the time he did nothing to try to find his missing partner.

He also knew he was directing his frustration at the wrong person. He shrugged in apology.

“Sorry Fro. I’m not feeling my best right now.”

Frohike though waved the apology away, shocked by just how bad Mulder looked.

Put aside the obvious fever he was running, the sweat beading his pallid skin and collecting at the collar of the crumpled shirt – although that was bad enough. But what really struck Frohike was the look in Mulder’s eyes. They looked dead. Devoid of emotion. And he realised that his old friend was just about hanging on by a fingertip.

He also realised that the best thing he could do for Mulder right now, was to get things moving again. He held up a small leather sports bag.

"One change of clothes, wash bag, phone charger, keys to a Ford Taurus rental parked outside and . . ."

He reached inside his jacket, withdrawing a manila envelope.

"Five hundred in cash."

Mulder took the envelope from him gratefully and stuffed it in to his own jacket.

"Thanks, Frohike. I owe you."

Frohike coughed uncomfortably.

"Um, actually you don't. I took a little side trip to your ATM back in D.C. and withdrew the money from your account. Langly hacked in to your bank's mainframe and made some adjustments."

Mulder frowned

"What kind of adjustments?"

Frohike held up a library membership card and handed it to Mulder who turned it over in his hand.

"What's this?"

"Um, it's your new ATM card. Keep it somewhere safe."

Despite himself, Mulder couldn't help but grin. It felt good.

Frohike shrugged apologetically.

"Desperate measures and cash flow problems, y'know?"

Mulder slotted the card in to his wallet and glanced around the lobby. Frohike answered the question before he had a chance to ask it.

"Byers had to make a stop. He'll meet us at the motel."

Mulder nodded.

"And Langly?"

"Still safely located back at home base in case we need to call on his talents."

He looked past Mulder, eyes narrowing as they locked on to a group of men dressed in near identical attire.

Mulder tagged them immediately as middle income business men, probably on their way to some kind of convention. But it was clear from the way Frohike suddenly brought his hand up to shield his face that he didn’t share Mulders view.

To Frohike, a suit meant only one thing - Government - and Mulder smiled slightly as he recalled Scully's accurate conjecture that Frohike and Co. were the most paranoid men she had ever met, even more so than Mulder, which was certainly going some.

He cuffed the smaller man lightly on the arm.

"C'mon Frohike. We've got work to do. Save the paranoia for later. Believe me you're going to need it."

XXXXXXX

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

At around the time that Mulder was smiling at Frohike’s evident paranoia, someone much closer to him was battling some serious emotional misgivings of her own.

Ensconced safety within the boundaries of her hospital room, Dana Scully lay staring up at the ceiling above her, battling to hold on to some semblance of sanity as she replayed the events of the last few hours over and over in her mind.

Since awakening, it had seemed as though a constant stream of doctors and FBI agents had surrounded her, asking her questions she didn't know how to answer. She had not seen Wickham all afternoon, despite her frequent requests, and it seemed that no one had any wish to tell her any of the details she desperately needed to hear without him being present.

She had spent the afternoon battling to remember in more detail just how she had got here and the events leading up to it, and although the memories were there, the structure of them just didn't track somehow. She could remember clearly confronting Mulder as she held the child in her arms and his face as he insisted she hand her over to him. It had also become clear to her that the child had not in fact been Emily, but the terrified form of Charlotte Stevens who they had tracked down to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of San Diego. She could remember clearly her conversation with Mulder as they drove to the location. In fact she could remember every word of it, as though it were a stage play she had seen as an observer rather than a performer.

She could remember feeling mild pangs of unease at Mulder's insistence that they did not need to enlist the support of other agents before entering the building. But she could not remember actually entering or how exactly they had known that this was the place or that the child would be there.

She recalled talking to Christine Stevens at the motel and of removing her from the care of the sanatorium, of her partner's mild illness, and of his conversation with Wickham regarding those same actions.

What she couldn't reconcile in her mind were the gaps in those memories when some segments were so clear to her. For example, she had no recollection of the interval between Mulder's conversation back at the motel and of getting in to the car to go find the warehouse. It was all a complete blank, and the more she tried to remember, the more she ended up at a brick wall, frustrated to the point of tears.

She had not wanted to believe that it was Mulder who had put her here, but Wickham's words, her injury, the notes on her chart that she had requested to view and not least her own memories had made the fact just about irrefutable. The real question, she admitted, was not that he had done this to her, but why?

It was something she suspected only Wickham could answer, but his long absence was not helping the situation. Nor was the fact that no one seemed to be able to give her any kind of assurance as to his return, only that he had intended coming back to see her later.

Scully sighed and shifted her head slightly on the pillow, attempting to get comfortable and to ease the pain in her neck that her doctor's training told her was a direct result of laying in the same position for so long. She wished she could turn over, but the nature of her injury dictated that to do so would be both foolhardy and dangerous. The powerful pain relief that was being fed in to her via a canular in her arm had dulled the pain somewhat and Scully had no wish to allow it to flare up again.

The substance was probably a morphine based drug, and although she had attempted to read the typed wording that adorned the clear bag above her, she had been unable to, arriving at her conclusion based mostly on how drowsy she felt. She had drifted off for periods of sleep throughout the day, welcoming the oblivion, however brief, from her current situation, only to awaken with ever sharper memories of what Mulder had done to her, becoming wide awake once more as the sense of betrayal sharpened.

Why?

Such a tiny word. How could such a tiny word cause so much pain?

Scully sighed heavily as her eyes began to close against the tears that threatened to return.

Why did you do this to me Mulder?

And despite herself, she slept.

X

If Scully had been aware of the presence of the two men viewing her on the TV monitors from a room just a few feet away, sleep might not have arrived quite so easily.

They had remained in their positions throughout the day, although Wickham had left for brief periods of time to check in with the office so as not to give rise to any suspicions regarding his absence.

He had also been mildly alarmed to hear from Skinner that Mulder was missing from the hospital; although he had been slightly mollified to be told by his companion that Mulder's leaving the hospital was not only expected, but integral to the continued success of their scheme

He turned to face the Smoking Man who was regarding the sleeping form of Dana Scully closely.

"So what now?"

The Smoking man merely smiled softly.

"We wait Agent Wickham."

"Wait? For what exactly?"

Wickham was aware that his voice was shaking slightly, but all this waiting around was playing on his already shattered nerves, and he had no wish to draw out the process for longer than was absolutely necessary.

For a few seconds though, his question remained unanswered and the silence stretched uncomfortably between them. Finally though, The Smoking Man inclined his head toward the screen.

"Agent Scully has spent the afternoon playing events over in her mind. Events that have been suggested to her without her knowledge and which she now believes to be absolutely accurate. But the process cannot be rushed. Information must be suggested to her over time, information which she will come to regard as her own memories of what happened to her and why she was betrayed so utterly by the one man in this life she truly believes in........perhaps even loves. To expedite the process would be disastrous for all concerned, inasmuch as Agent Scully must believe without question. Too much information would effectively induce her to not be able to differentiate between the truth and the lies. She would begin to question her own memory and with it her recollections of true events,"

He smirked,

"and we wouldn't want that to happen would we, Agent Wickham?"

The unspoken threat was unmistakable and Wickham felt himself pale slightly, as the implications of the words became clear.

The Smoking Man, however, didn't seem to notice.

"So," he continued, "I believe we should let Agent Scully enjoy the quietude she so desperately needs to help her recover from her recent ordeal. And then, when she awakens once more, you will be there to answer some of her questions. You will be her friend. Her only friend, now that Mulder is gone."

CONTINUED CHAPTER NINETEEN

[xwing-baby]

Mission Winchester (Crowley x Reader)

Characters/Pairings: Crowley x Hunter!Reader, Dean, Sam

Word Count: 3857

Warnings: Violence, Lying/Manipulation, Angst

Summary: Working with the king of hell isn’t easy so a holiday is well deserved! Yeah, maybe not. However when Crowley interupts your vaction with a new mission and agrees to your freedom afterwards how could you refuse? How hard could it be to lie to two Winchesters anyway?

A/N: I wrote this aaggeess ago, back before I’d properly started this blog! I don’t know why I haven’t put this up soon ‘cus I really like this one lol. I have to go back to college tomorrow, which I’m not looking forward to but at least I’ll get to see my friends. As always, I hope you enjoy this, let me know in the comments and like and reblog, I love you all! 

-Molly xo

MASTERLIST

Finally. A week to myself. A thousand miles from home and not a supernatural creature in sight. This my friend is what heaven feels like.

For the last ten years, I've been running around the country killing the things that go bump in the night, the monsters under the bed and every son of a bitch in between. It was hectic, to say the least. At twenty-nine I have two members of my once large family actually alive, three ex-partners being treated in mental hospitals and only one person I could vaguely trust. Oh, the life of a hunter.

Hunting was not something that ran in the family. Quite the contrary actually. My family were so against the idea of demons and angels and all the other weird and wonderful things out there that growing up I was not read a single fairy tale, ghost story or allowed to watch any horror movies of any kind. Yeah, my family's weird. However, being the rebellious teenager I was I decided to look into what I had been missing, and boy did I get hooked. It started out as just a little fun, then I made friends with a girl a few years older than me who was in the life already. I ran away from home and joined her and her brother on the road. It was great fun, ish.

The problem came when four years after I joined Helena and her brother Luke. It was one tricky hunt.

-- 10 years ago --

A couple of vampires turned out to be a huge nest, biggest any of us had ever seen. There had to be at least 25. We were over run. They seemed to be coming out the cracks in the walls. We all fought our best, killing the majority of them but soon it got too much.

First Luke. Then Helena.

I thought I was done for too. I'd lost my machete, the only other sharp objects I had were in the car. Great. Of course, I tried to keep up but I got trapped in a corner. Just as I thought I was done for a loud clattering erupted from behind me and the advancing vamp. The vampire turned around for one second and I couldn't see what was going on. Just as I was about to sneak away the vampire exploded, flying guts and blood all over the walls and covering me head to toe.

I stood stunned for a moment, wiped the blood from my face and took a deep breath to calm myself.

"That'll be thank you?" The figure in the doorway suddenly spoke.

"Thanks." I looked over to the figure in almost confusion. It was a man, pale skin, dark eyes and hair and a freshly pressed suit. He looked extremely out of place in the desecrated hotel surrounding us both. He took a sip from the crystal liquor glass that appeared in his hand and looked me up and down for a moment.

"You're Y/n, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"I'm Crowley," He said proudly, "King of Hell."

"What would the king of hell want from me?"

"A job. A sparky young hunter like you could really be useful."

"I don't work with demons."

"Well, you do now!"

-- Present Day--

Sun, Sea and Sangria.

Finally after years of hard work I finally managed to get away for the week. Down to a little beach town down the road a few miles from Miami Beach. It was fairly quiet, only the odd old man walking his equally old dog. There were no monsters in sight.

"I didn't take you for the cocktail type." A familiar voice suddenly broke the peace. I looked up to see Crowley stood next to my sun lounger, still in his full dark suit despite the heat.

"It's hot. Scotch isn't a hot weather drink." I said simply.

"True." He shrugged.

"How did you find me?"

"Demon? Remember?" Crowley smirk as he sat down on the sun lounger next to me. "It's a lot easier though when you don't turn off your GPS on your phone, though."

"Oh. Well, what do you want then? I'm guessing you haven't popped in to say hi."

"Correct." Crowley nodded as a smug smirk stretched over his lips. "I need you to do a little job for me."

"Crowley I-"

"It's only little. It shouldn't even take a few days to do."

"I'm on vacation," I said simply as I lay back down on the sun lounger, pulling my sunglasses back over my eyes again. "Plus I don't work for you anymore, I thought you knew that."

"And you should know by now that I won't listen so we're back to the beginning. I have a job for you."

I sighed and sat up again. There was no way I was going to win with Crowley, he was as stubborn as a horse. I'd like to say that I didn't enjoy working for the king of hell, seeing as he is a demon and all but to be perfectly frank the last few years working for/with him have been the most exciting ones. He's taught me a lot and obviously he saved my life so I felt like I owed him at least that.

However, in the last year, I've been going solo. Crowley didn't seem to mind and I found it was a lot easier working with my own rules and regulations rather than having to answer to what someone else said. Freedom. That was the only thing I truly missed in the nine years working for the demon, now I had it I wasn't going to give it up that easily.

"I'll do it," I said after a moment, Crowley smiled, "But only if I get a few things out of it."

"Name your price." Crowley shrugged.

"Three things," I said. Crowley nodded. "One: I get my old car back."

"Fair enough."

"Two: This is mine to complete, I'm not just going to be some bus boy for your demons."

"When are you ever?"

"And three: Afterwards you will never ask anything of me again. Not even a glass of whisky."

"Oh, you do drive a hard bargain, love," Crowley smirked. "But I think I can deal with that."

"Good." I nodded, "What is this job anyway?"

"It's easy, nothing a good hunter like you can't handle. All you have to do is find and destroy something for me."

"What kind of something?"

"A book, it should be fairly easy to find and burn. Like I said, nothing too strenuous."

"And why can't you do this yourself? Any idiot can burn a book, even you."

"Well, it's nice to know what you think of me Y/n." The demon scoffed. "But you have a valid point. The problem is the location. See, there are these two hunters who happen to live in an old Men of Letters bunker-"

"I'm going to pretend I know what that is..."

"Some stupid secret organisation no one cares about." Crowley rolled his eyes at the idea. "Anyway I can't go in there without being dragged in and the Winchesters hate my guts so..."

"You want me to go in and do it? What makes you think that they will even let me in?"

"This..." Crowley opened his coat and pulled two pieces of paper out. One was a photo of a rugged looking man standing next to a four-year-old me and the other was a letter, addressed to me. "Poor little saps let anyone in claiming to be family."

"Don't you think that's a little manipulative?"

"Hello, Demon. It's kind of what I do."

---

So the plan was settled. I would go early the next morning and drive to Kansas. From what Crowley had said these hunters were brothers, a few years older than me and had had their fair share of saving the world. According to Crowley they would be doing major research on some new worldly threat and would barely notice me while I was there. It was easy enough. Lie to two guys, burn a book and get the hell out of there.

2 days later I arrived at 'the bunker' ready to start Mission Winchester as I now called it. It didn't look like much. Truth be told if it wasn't for the lights on inside and the shiny black Chevrolet Impala parked haphazardly outside I would never have known that anyone lived there. I parked my car, a red 1970′s dodge challenger, carefully in easy access in case I needed a quick getaway. I grabbed the papers from my back seat along with a bag filled with a change of clothes, a lighter and lighter fluid. Before I stepped out I went over everything Crowley had told me in my head.

1. The guy in the photo is John Winchester, he wasn't around more than a few days at a time when I was young. Crowley also said to add that he always sent stuff for my birthday to piss off Dean but I felt that was a bit far.

2. Sam and Dean are suckers for a pretty girl in distress. Cry a little and look little and they will let me in no problem.

3. The book had a gold sleeve so should be fairly easy to find, once I found it I had to burn it immediately. If I didn't then there would be 'serious consequences' which just meant that Crowley would send some of his cronies after me. No biggie.

4. If their angel friend, Castiel showed up I had to go ASAP, he would see straight through the lie and most definitely notice the mark on my hip, showing demons that I work for the king, and he would tell the brothers who would most likely kill me before I burned the book.

5. Afterwards, I had to get out of there sharpish because the brothers would no doubt flip their shit and apparently that was not something I wanted to get into.

I smudged my mascara a little so it looked like I'd been crying then took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.

The cool night air whipped at my bare legs as I quickly ran across the driveway to the first door I saw. It seemed fairly well used so I guessed this was the way in. I knocked loudly and stepped back, waiting. There was nothing for a few moments but suddenly a loud scraping metal noise erupted from behind the door and the door swung open. Light flooded my eyes and I blinked quickly to readjust.

In front of me stood a very tall man, with matching shoulder length hair. He had a chiselled face and was extremely face, shame he was meant to be my brother.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a gravelly deep voice.

"Um, are you Sam or Dean?" I asked in the meekest voice I could muster.

"I'm Sam." Sam said a lot softer, "Who are you?"

"I'm y/n, my dad said I should come find you if I was ever in trouble."

"Oh um well come in..." Sam opened the door a little more letting me step inside. Well, that was easy.

Inside the bunker was amazing, it was all very 1950′s but in a good way. If it wasn't for the strong scent of bacon and gas I would have said it was like an old hospital. There were corridors leading off in various directions on the ground floor and various rooms accessible from another set of stairs on the opposite side of the main entrance. Sam led me down one set of twisted stairs and down through one corridor to a kitchen. It was pretty clean and seeing as two men lived here. Sam offered me a seat at the table in the middle of the room and then offered me a drink to 'calm me down'

"Dean!" Sam shouted through the bunker.

"What do you-"  Dean grumbled as he stumbled into the room rubbin the sleep from his eyes. He stopped as soon as he noticed me, stood a little taller and ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh hi there."

"Dean stop it." Sam rolled his eyes. "This is y/n."

"Nice to meet you y/n." Dean winked and sat down opposite me at the table. I smiled and blushed. Damn these brothers were hot!

"You said you had a picture of your dad?" Sam continued our previous conversation. I nodded and grabbed the photo from my pocket. I unfolded it carefully and placed it on the table. Immediately both brothers' jaws dropped.

"What?" I asked innocently. It took all the control in me not to smirk or laugh at how well this was going.

"Your dad? What was his name?" Dean asked suddenly becoming suspicious.

"John. John Winchester. Hey, that's funny your Winchesters too!" I laughed pretending I had absolutely no idea about the shit storm that was their lives.

"He's our Dad that's why!" Dean snapped. "Look y/n I don't know what you're trying to pull here but this isn't going to work."

"Pardon?" I asked, honestly startled by his sharpness.

"What are you? A demon? Shifter? Vamp?"

"No!" I exclaimed in almost disgust. "Of course I'm not!"

The brothers gave each other a quick glance then looked back at me. Sam got up and grabbed a glass full of clear liquid, holy water most likely, and a silver knife.

"Drink that and hold your arm out." He ordered. I gave him a confused look but did as I was told. I drank the liquid, it was salty and warm making me grimace. Then while I wasn't paying attention Dean slashed my arm making me jump back and yell.

"Fuck!" I yelled grabbing my bleeding arm. "What the hell was that for?"

"Just checking." Dean shrugged still not entirely convinced.

"I'm not a freaking monster okay! I'm human for god's sake."

"What do you know about us?"

"Nothing! Please, I got given this letter when my mum told me he'd dead. It explained everything and said if I ever needed help that I should find you and I need help now so I found you." I started to cry now. "Please. I'm not some monster. I just need your help."

Dean's face softened slightly and Sam looked guilty.

"I'm sorry Y/N. It's just we've been through this before and well-"

"It's fine." I sighed. "I mean I wouldn't trust some random kid that came to my door claiming to be my sibling. It's pretty crazy."

"Pretty much." Sam laughed. "So what's happened why do you need our help?"

Ah. This is where I was stumped. I hadn't thought this bit through. Quick! I needed to think of something.

"I um..." I stuttered, I really have should have thought about this before I knocked on the door. "My mum has gone missing, like not she went out for the day missing she's been gone a week and a half." I nodded to myself. "Yeah she went missing then I remembered the letter."

"Well usually we would help but-"

"No no it’s fine really. I go find some motel somewhere." I said sadly, putting on my best puppy dog face. Please work... Please work.

"No!" Sam exclaimed. "No. Stay we have loads of room. Once we've finished what we can we'll help. Promise." He smiled kindly.

Yes!

"Really?" I grinned. "Oh my god you guys are the best thanks!" I leapt up and hugged them both tight. The brothers laughed awkwardly and hugged me back. I let them go and stood back, the grin not fading once. This was going to be as easy as pie.

--

The brothers showed my around the bunker and I have to say I was impressed. The place was huge but it didn't feel empty at all. There was stuff everywhere. They showed me all where the bathrooms were, where their rooms were, the garage, the war room, the dungeon and most importantly the library. It was huge, immediately I began to feel like this wasn't going to be as easy as I first thought. There shelves upon shelves of books going from the ceiling to the floor. A table in the middle was covered in them as well as a stack next to the door. After the tour Sam and Dean left me to find myself a room and settle in. Luckily for me, there were in the war room on the opposite side of the bunker so I could easily sneak across to the library and get what I needed to be done, done. Maybe afterwards I could stick around for a bit, these guys were good company as well as being something out of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue.

I chucked my bag into the nearest bedroom I could find and grabbed my lighter and lighter fluid out the stuffed both into the pockets of my jeans. I left the light on in the room and shut the door nearly all the way leaving a little bit so light could come through just in case anyone came to check on me. I could hear both boys arguing over something up in the war room so I knew I would most likely be left alone all night. Once I got to the library I quickly began my work.

An hour later I hadn't found it. I was growing more and more frustrated. How hard can it be to find a bloody- Oh found it! The last book in a massive box under the table. It was quite a nice looking book to be fair, it was a shame I had to destroy it.  It had a gold sleeve just like Crowley said and was covered in mini devils traps, I guess that was why he couldn't do it himself. I flicked through it quickly, curiosity getting the better of me.

"What are you doing?" Sam's voice suddenly broke my train of thought. Quickly I whipped round to face him, hiding the book behind my back.

"What? No-nothing." I stuttered. "I was just looking for something to read."

"Yeah? What's behind your back?" Sam smirked. "And is that a lighter?" He grabbed the lighter from on top of my jacket.

"Hey!" I exclaimed I forgot about the book in my hands letting that drop to the ground with a loud bang as I leapt out to grab the lighter from Sam. Sam saw the book and instantly glared hard at me.

"Is that-" Sam said quietly, almost hissing at me.

"Probably," I said just as quietly. I pulled out the lighter fluid from my pocket and quickly poured it over it. "Give me the lighter and I'll leave."

"Come and get it."

Without hesitation, I lunged at Sam throwing a punch straight into his jaw. Sam punched me in the stomach making me shout then before I could retaliate he grabbed my wrist throwing me over the other side of the room. Quickly, Sam ran and grabbed for the lighter fluid covered book in front of me but I kicked it out the way then caught his leg taking it out from underneath him. I jumped up quickly, grabbed the book and my lighter from the ground as Sam was recovering for a second. I flicked the lighter open and the flame up.

"Don't you dare?" Sam growled.

"One step and it's gone." I flicked the flame near the book in my other hand. Suddenly something hard hit my on the back of my head, I fell, dropping everything with me and everything went back. Fuck.

~~

When I came round again I was somewhere different. It was cold and dark. My vision was blurry for a moment but it soon settled, not that there was much to see anyway.

Only two lights flickering lights on the ceiling and the slit of light from around the door made any leeway into the pitch black abyss surrounding me. I was slumped on a chair, hands tied tight behind my back as well as my ankles tied to each leg. I struggled against them but quickly gave up when I heard the latch open on the door.

Sam and Dean walked in silently, stoic faces making it even harder to tell what they were thinking. Sam had an ice pack pushed against his jaw which made me smile, serves him right.

"You're awake," Dean stated as he paced around me, checking my restraints. I didn't say a word. Just glared up at him, keeping absolute eye contact at all times. "So you're working for Crowley?" Dean raised an eyebrow. Still, I said nothing. "That tattoo of yours is pretty rare you know? Used to be for knights of hell but I suppose they just give 'em out to any old whore willing to do the dicks bidding."

"All you have to do is tell us why Crowley wanted you to burn the book and you can leave," Sam said angrily.

"You realise I'm dead whether I tell you or not, right?" I spoke up finally.

"You shouldn't have sold your soul than should you?"

"Sold my soul?" I scoffed. "I've never. Seriously you think I'm that stupid?"

"You are working for a demon so..."

"Yeah because of something called a little common courtesy," I glared at Dean hard as he continued to circle me. "The guy saved my life on more than one occasion don't you think I owe him a little something," I exclaimed, pulling at the restraints of my arms again trying to release myself. "If this was some deal don't you think I would be getting something I want out of this?"

"Well, I don't know some girls are a bit kinky," Dean smirked.

"Disgusting." I spat. "What do you take me for? I'm not some common slut."

"Why were you trying to burn that book?" Sam asked, moving closer to me now.

"Because I got told too." I scowled at him. "Obviously."

"You just do whatever he says huh?" Dean laughed.

"Yes actually, it's how I get what I want."

"And what do you want?"

"Freedom mainly." I shrugged. "And for the son of a bitch to stop drinking all my liquor." I laughed. "You wouldn't understand, as evil and twisted as Crowley is, he saved my life.  He took me in, trained me properly and let me hunt for him. But that was a whole ten years ago, I'm a big girl now and I want my own freedom."

"Do you even know what was in that book?"

"No, don't matter either."

"So you’re just his hit man then?"

"In simpler terms, yes."

The two men glared at me

"You can't leave me here!" I exclaimed as they turned their backs to me. "I have rights!"

"Sorry sweetheart but you're in time out," Dean said smirking, "Don't try and escape now. We won't hesitate to kill you next time."

"Hey!" I shouted as they shut the door. "Let me out! Crowley will hear of this!"

"Don't worry, we plan on it."

--

TAGGED: @bethanystan @mybittersweetbullshituniverse @lindsaylove1226

[rose-photoblog]

Copy of How to prepare for the best wedding photos: True confessions of a portrait perfectionist!

Dear Diary,

Hi I’m Rose and I’m a Portrait Perfectionist! As I begin to share more about the process that drives me and my team of real life, professional wedding and portrait photographers, I am really excited to dig into offering up many ‘best practices’ in a variety of areas to help ensure you receive the best wedding day photos, ever! And now that Rose Photo is also offering video, what better way to share the methods we use in creating perfect media than to give a few #bestpractices so you can ensure your wedding day photos and video are stunning and totally true to your love story!

TIP 1 : TIMELINE

As type A as you may ( or may not be), I have found over the past 12 years in the wedding world that an extra curated timeline that helps to prioritize your priorities, can be super helpful; after all, it is your wedding!

Planning for enough time to gracefully and gently move through the wedding day as you wake up and begin to get ready is key to arriving at your ceremony calmly and excited for the party ahead.

If you can guide the start time of your ceremony later than earlier, this frees up so much more time for time with your people as the day starts, beautiful getting ready photos, and maybe even a first look!

TIP 2. HIRE PROFESSIONALS

This may seem like an absolute no brainer but we can’t say it enough! From your trial updo for your wedding day hair through your wedding planner, your ‘I do Crew’ should be made up of serious pros!! One of our extremely helpful dream team favorites is a bridal dresser.

A bridal dresser can assist you with the transport, storing, displaying, dressing, buttoning, zippering, bustling, unbustling, bustling again and keeping that train on full display, amongst many other Wedding Industry tricks!

He or she is undoubtedly also very attentive to detail and will rest your qualms about dress dealings, back boob, bustle blunders and a million and one other things we’ve seen and things they’ve fixed! Pair their fashion eye with our camera eye and you won’t even know they were there.

TIP 3. TO FIRST LOOK OR NOT TO FIRST LOOK

Ok let’s break down the first look, shall we?? There are generally two camps for the First Look.

Camp A: ‘Heck yes let’s do first look and ugly cry in that cute way together, privately and have Rose + Co perched in the stairwell, treetop, rafters, or atop a nearby cab car! That would be so sweet and then we can take fun photos with our crew around the area before the ceremony even starts and maybe even knock out family formals, too’!!

Camp B: ‘Hmmm, well both of our families are SUPER traditional and we aren’t sure if we really want to see each other beforehand. Maybe it’s bad luck? Maybe I’m just really old fashioned? Either way we really just want to keep it real and walking down the aisle will be the magic!!’

Whichever camp you are in is totally cool. Again, it is your day! From my experience over the past dozen years, I will say this: If you are on the fence, planning for more time for just the two of you is never, ever a bad idea. The wedding will zoom by in a snap and whilst it is so key to celebrate with all your amazing pals you’ve brought together for the occasion, a few minutes here and there with just the two of you, #priceless!

My crew and I are actually photo ninjas so you won’t even know we are there. And, if you choose to stick to the isle for the eye contact experience of a lifetime, we will be sure to follow all the rules of the altar and swing from only the strongest chandeliers to get that first emotional look!!

Think about it and in the meantime, enjoy Nina + Jim’s picture-perfect first look brought to by two photo ninjas and one video sansei.

TIP 4. LOCATION!! LOCATION!! LOCATION!!

Much like a prime timeline, locations for the best wedding photos ever are very important. Quite literally they are the backdrop to create next-level portraits of you, your boo and your entire wedding crew.

Now let’s say your wedding party is just the two of you and you are super low key, private and maybe don’t even want that many photos. PERF!! We will dial up the best, most intimate little spots, en route and dodging traffic to get you to your party on time, even if you make a later appearance ;)

Now let’s say your wedding party is 12 people on either side, 4 flower girls, two ring bearers man, a mini labradoodle and a cockatoo!? OK we can work with that, too!! Buttttt, we would highly suggest a separate set of transportation of the children and animals. Just saying!!

Either way, we need wide-open spaces where everyone fits, can form a ‘Flying V’ ( I still dream in Mighty Ducks speak and Ducks fly together, ok!?) and also have the opportunity to set up the penultimate cover shot I know you are dreaming of with your entire possé!

TIP 5. DON’T FORGET THE DETAILS

Shiny is the new…everything! I’ve confessed this in other RP Diary Entry and I promise to be buried in a pile of sparkle or at least be shot from a canon in the midst of a glitter bomb! But that’s just me ;)

The point I’d like to share here is the details of your day, whether they are shiny, matte, lacey, velvet or whatever your hearts desire, the little details deserve as much limelight as they can get. If you have all your goodies together in one beautiful, big day box, we can be sure to give each item it’s own mini fashion shoot, promise!

You can start from the ground up and build your detail box from your shoes, onto your **unmentionables**, to your jewelry, hair accessories, and even your fab sunnies! Of course, it goes without saying any family heirloom or VIP piece of shiny gets bumped up the shot list. Keeping that previously suggested timeline in mind, we love to have about 30 minutes or so with all the good props of your fabulous wedding style to get those detail shots. Carve out a few more minutes for us and we get to comb the venue for amazing decor and architectural shots, too!

TIP 6. POSED BUT NOT TOO POSEY

I honestly catch myself saying this line almost every, single day! ‘We direct you naturally!’ Meaning, I will ask you and your bridal party to line up with a general directive, ‘Dresses over here! Suits over there!’ and then give people a minute to find their way to a spot.

Here’s where it gets fun- I sorta glaze over in a stare and figure out how everyone would stand if I didn’t tell them how to stand a certain way and just adjust their attire, flowers, chin, sunglasses, red solo cup…you get the idea! Once we have a comfortable but distinguished looking crew in front of the RP lens, we get snapping. As mentioned, I’m always on the lookout for that Vanity Fair cover shot!

I also like to make sure there is an equal amount of candid photos or, candies as we love to call them! My very favorite yet ultimate cheesy directive to give is literally ‘LOL!’ I sometimes even scream it!! And people, naturally, LOL bc WTF is our wedding photographer doing right now?! Getting your best side, that’s what she’s doing, baby!!

TIP 7. SEEING EYE TO EYE ON VISION

When you are looking to hire your wedding photography and video team that will seamlessly produce the best documentation of your love story, be sure to track them on all the outlets where you can find their work.

Ask to see their vision through and through if it does not stand out initially to you. Requesting website links to weddings shot in your wedding venue, work showing your preferred florist or hairstylists’ creations, or even having worked in very specific lighting conditions is a great way to see that the crew you hire shares your aesthetic and vision for the exact end result you would will love to review for years to come.

Websites are great places to dig into once you’ve found your way out of the Instagram rabbit hole. Almost true story: we actually live in IG land and only venture out of our phones for weddings !! Really though, we do spend a lot of time curating our Rose Photo feed to reflect our most recent projects including our couples’ anniversary shout outs, new members of families and of course, we get super excited for our wedding to be featured publications both online and in print!

Our Rose Photo + Video web experience contains even more photo gems and video tear-jerkers to show our vision through and through. We often get asked to send specific links we can reference back to our URL and even other vendors that share our same vision of wedding day perfection.

TIP 8. MAKE SURE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER GETS YOUR STORY {MY FAVE POINT}

How did you two meet? When did you get engaged? Do you live together? Where’s your favorite spot on a sunny afternoon to hang out? Are you so excited for all the fan fair or would you rather not be the center of everyone’s attention for the day? These are key points for your photo and video team to know about you so they can see you best.

I’ll just say it: I’m downright nosy! love to get into your business about your love story. The more details I know and can share with my team on your coming together, the better the output of good, juicy moments. I mean it. It’s real.

It’s our job to tell your love story with multimedia tools, pro tricks, and secrets of the trade. I endlessly fall in love with my job over and over again; I tend to cry at almost all my weddings and I promise it is not out of sheer exhaustion. Weddings inspire and energize me because it’s a love story and I’m a big old, hopeful romantic.

Even as our RP team of storytellers grows to include more trained photojournalists and videographers, portrait perfectionists, and image creators, I get to keep dreaming up big shots for the best wedding day experience for our couples so we can tell that love story seamlessly.

I hope this entry was helpful and if you’d like to hear tips from other areas of wedding daydreams, drop me a note! I would love to hear from you.

I’ve got to get back to my tripod as I set up the next perfect portrait!

love,

Rose

[silver-palette]

NCT 127 – “Neo City: The Origin” in San Jose

5/9/19

Left work at 5:40pm, arrived in San Jose at 7:10, bought chicken nuggets from McDonald’s, and entered the concert hall at 7:50.

Hall feels kind of like a high school auditorium. Was expecting something a little more memorable.

I was kind of nervous and wondering if the $160 would be worth it, but I was excited about it too. Texted BFR and MKT a quick photo and both replied with excitement for me.

Concert begins.

(Cherry Bomb) Took me a little bit to get energized, but the smooth glide, backward fall, and leg split were everything.

NCT lightsticks are bright af. Every time the girl next to me waved hers to my side, I think I went just a little bit more blind lol.

(Chain) Taeyong’s absss. I was trying to fix something on my phone and, BAM! Front and center on the big screen. That shit came out of nowhere >.<

Didn’t have a lightstick this time, so I was just kinda awkwardly standing there. People around me must’ve thought I was the quietest kpop fan ever. But in my head I was hyped xD

(Ment #1) Taeyong really knows how to pump up a crowd—from his stretched out “Ohhh yeahhhh” that reclined into a sexy, throat-deep groan to his vocalized sports tournament siren after introducing his name. And his little fumble when trying to say “lifetime memories” was cute.

(Fly Away with Me) Ugh, this song put me in a mood. And Taeyong’s bouncing dance moves. He does them really nice.

(Back 2 U) Yuta’s vocals o.o And Taeyong’s soft swag throughout.

Not as many Taeyong stans as I thought, but definitely one behind me. I relate to her every time she screams for him when he does something remotely sexy and the crowd is quiet in obliviousness xD

(City 127) Slower song and Taeyong’s still not able to sit still. He was the only one who stood up and danced around for his part, and he continued to wiggle around in his chair after that xD :3

(Angel) So. Much. Skinship. Taeyong scooting his chair over to Jaehyun and being all squishy, touchy, and adorable with him. More with Yuta & Doyoung, and Jungwoo & Haechan. The line, “I’ll be your morning star” gave me all the feels. I eventually found myself swaying along.

(Jet Lag + more) Yuta’s slow, emotional hair flip and his unrelenting cuteness. If Taeyong doesn’t do it first, this kid might just kill me >.<

(Ment #2) Yuta being cute af and possibly throwing some random Japanese in there? xD

(No Longer) Definitely falling for Taeil’s voice.

So many Taeil, Haechan and Jaehyun stans.

(Regular) Taeyong’s sex faces live are killing me.

(Wake Up) The bars have come out. Hyped by Taeyong’s “Are you ready San Jose!” and subsequent ‘yeah’s and ‘whoo’s and arm pumping dance.

(Baby Don’t Like It) Taeyong literally coming in like a pimp on top of the bars. Sunglasses, posture, attitude, and all lmao.

(Mad City) The vibrations man, the fucking building was shaking.

(Good Thing) Taeyong’s outlandishly flamboyant paint-splatter suit, wtf xD Also his moonwalk is so fucking smooth. Yuta is adorably bouncy in his cute yellow sweater.

Seeing Taeyong’s sex faces in person is ridiculous (part 2).

…is Yuta my bias wrecker?

Chipmunk voices on the mic… (Started with Mark’s mic during Mad City and continued randomly throughout)

Changing lightstick colors with the music. Didn’t expect that to happen here. For some reason I thought it was only a Korea/Japan thing lol.

(Superhuman) The superior song. Always fall for that head snap in the beginning.

I was watching Taeyong for most of the concert, but I swear I saw Taemin’s face flash by for like half a second. I think the desperation to see Taemin live is getting too strong xD

(Ment #4) I fucking looked up and Taeyong had taken half of his sparkly jacket off during the ment. Guns fully loaded. Biceps at the ready. But my poor heart wasn’t >.< Haechan speaking Korean for the first time during the concert kind of made it more real that I was watching Korean idols who had traveled halfway across the world to perform in front of me. Taeyong and his backwards visor and casual black clothes is fucking hot. Taeil getting embarrassed when Johnny told him to growl and flex his muscles one more time, adorable :3 Taeyong did clapping push-ups, aegyo-ed, and fucking dabbed in the span of 20 seconds >.< Jaehyun asking if we’re ready to “get hot.” Boy, I’ve been steaming for an hour now (both literally and figuratively lol. Couldn’t find the time to take off my coat xD)

(Summer 127) The resonance and vibrations from the bass line had me shaking (in a good way). Taeyong’s front group seemed a little lost in the music when they finally went back into choreography—they kept looking at each other like “uh…” and wiggled their arms around aimlessly until it matched everyone else lol. Taeyong went HARD during this song. His panting had me thrown, and he rapped so hard his fucking vein popped out.

(Ment #5) Doyoung’s adorably cheesy fortune cookie story. Fortune cookie read, “You will touch the hearts of many.” Generic but absolutely true ^^ Taeyong’s pouty face before his ending speech. And he put his hands together, almost in prayer, when thanking his fans. It was so heartfelt and sweet.

(Pre-0 Mile) Taeyong’s switch from his soft voice when correcting the crowd’s move for “mine mine” to his deep, loud, crowd-pumping voice at the final “girl you’re just mine mine!” I love his duality. And the way he turned around to walk to the back of the stage for 0 Mile. Hot.

(0 Mile) Taeyong being a mom and picking up Doyoung after he fell to the ground trying to protect his abs xD He’s such a sweetheart <3

For the last three-ish songs, Taeyong was super energetic and hyped for the performances. It got me hyped too.

Their “San Jose is a real vibe-killer~~” xD

Someone threw a rose at Taeyong when they were walking from the left side audience to thank the right side, and he got adorably flustered. He fumbled with the rose a little bit, but he did manage to catch it.

Taeyong picked up the rose he had put down earlier to hold his members’ hands and bow. He was being such a tease with it, putting it sexily in his mouth, tango style, and turning around and pausing every two steps to pose with it. He also put on an adorable “San Jose” beauty pageant sash before posing with the rose and heading off stage. He was the last member to leave and he kept dorking around and teasing his fans, it was so freakin cute >.< (Side note: Found out later he was recently crowned “in charge” of their San Jose stop, which is why he had the sash.)

That ending^ was all I needed to make that whole concert worthwhile. I love you Taeyong <3

Concert ended at 10:40pm. Walked back to my car and drove home listening to nothing but NCT songs.

Post-concert thoughts: In the beginning, it felt like I was just watching another random concert. I was also hesitant about going even before that because I only really listened to about half the songs on the setlist. But I realized there’s something about concert settings that just makes everything sound amazing. The concert eventually evolved into something more meaningful and that I was super spazzy about and into (probably triggered by something Taeyong did lol), but it got so much more exciting after that and I loved it.

P.S. Taeyong’s shirt was sheer????

[thedramafilesblog-blog]

Appearing before The Dramacourt: Suits (Korea) Episodes 3 and 4

***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

***Disclaimer***: This analysis based on Canadian law. This is also NOT LEGAL ADVICE for anyone and this drama is FICTIONAL.

Issues:

Whether Kang Seok’s tough love attitude actually helps.

Whether using the law to escape gangsters is believable.

Whether witness tampering is a thing.

Whether the meeting before the trial is legit.

Whether you can represent someone if a) they were your previous client and b) opposing counsel is your ex-girlfriend.

Whether the “trial scene” was accurate.

The Rule(s):

Yes.

Sure. If it’s an ideal world.

Yes. But it shouldn’t be.

Yes.

Not really.

Hells No!

Analysis:

RedRosette J: I really really really want to love this drama because a) Hyungsik and b) it’s Suits but it’s getting really really really hard to ignore all the inconsistencies and extra kdrama-ness.

Starting with that whole rooftop thing which was totally ridiculous and unbelievable because most rooftops in really tall buildings are not accessible to like 99.9% of the people in that building due to, well, obvious reasons. Then there was that whole Kang Seok’s ex-girlfriend story line which was totally ridiculous because a) what kind of lawyer has that much free time (she was rock climbing in the middle of a workday), b) she was late to a meeting (oh hells no) and c) she was just annoying. I didn’t really understand the point of her character. Was she the Scotty character who was meant to humanize Kang Seok? Because if that was the case, I didn’t really get that. Sorry.

Seriously you can’t just walk up to rooftops

I like the contrast of her red outfit to the blue buildings

How do you have so much free time?

No seriously. How?

Are you Scotty?

Another one of my complaints is the SERIOUS lack of Da Ham-Kang Seok interaction unlike its US counterpart. I just wish we got a little more banter and flirting between the two. It’s just so much more fun if there was that whole “will they-wont they” thing going on like Harvey and Donna. I know, I know, this is a remake and its adapted from the original so that doesn’t mean that it has to be exactly like the original but come on it is super cute so why not? Speaking of Da Ham, one thing I don’t like is how Geon Woo interacts with her. Unlike with Mike Ross who acknowledges that Donna is way above his level even though she’s an assistant and he’s a “lawyer”, you sort of get a vibe that Da Ham doesn’t have the same sort of power that Donna does and as a result Geon Woo seems to be on a level higher than her (if that even makes sense).

I wish she got more screen time

Its cute but give us more!

We did see more of Ha Yeon (Jessica Pearson) in these episodes and while the actress is doing a great job, I just feel like the character is written with a lot less punch than Jessica Pearson. She doesn’t really stand out on her own as a character to me. Whereas when Jessica Pearson enters a scene, it’s like the other characters automatically diminish because of her presence and charisma. Ha Yeon seems to be lacking that “wow” factor for me.

Her presence is just missing a little something…

The funniest stuff in this episode was the trying to get BeWhy as a client plot. While I appreciate the humour, I just wish that the show had tried with someone a little more realistic. We also got to see more of Geun-Sik being weird and trying to be cool which was funny but overall tbh it fell a bit flat to me.

OMG those hats I can’t even

OMG such a cutie

BeWhy

OMG the cringe is real

More BeWhy

When you successfully poach BeWhy

I realize I’m being overly critical because I’ve seen the original and because the law things bother me but the show is actually pretty good on its own if you haven’t seen the original.

Pretty

Awwwww

When all your coworkers hate you but you still gotta go to work

At least the going into the male/female bathrooms is a running gag in this remake too LOL

Awkward client meetings like

Sorry not feeling the chemistry 

Ugh. Can we not make Jenny a thing in the remake too?

Issue 1: Whether Kang Seok’s tough love attitude actually helps.

RedRosette J: Geon Woo definitely needs someone like Kang Seok in his life for many reasons but mainly because he’s never had a real father figure in his life (that Cheol Soon guy was a terrible older male role model) and he definitely needs someone like Kang Seok to give it to him straight so that he hears the hard things he needs to hear. So while I do think that the tough love stuff helps for someone like Geon Woo who’s always been making the wrong decisions and who is always looking for a way out, I think it has to be done super carefully. If you push someone like Geon Woo too far, the result could turn out badly for him. I think that Kang Seok should be tough on him but not too much. As an aside, because we’ve been seeing so much tough love stuff, there’s been less of the bromancing going on (although I guess some would argue that that is partly bromance). Honestly for me, the bromance just isn’t there.

Maybe tone down the yelling at the poor boy

The fist bump is never gonna happen fam

Issue 2: Whether using the law to escape gangsters is believable.

RedRosette J: I’m sorry but this was completely ridiculous. It was wrong on so many levels. Firstly, there is no way that GANGSTERS with WEAPONS would stand there and let you blackmail them into signing a retainer agreement. Nor would they just stand there and let you destroy their marijuana and walk away unharmed. This was totally unrealistic. I see what the writers were trying to do: use the law to the advantage of rescuing Cheol Soon and getting the gangsters behind bars by blackmailing them into signing a retainer agreement to have the lawyer represent them, but this was perhaps not the best way to go. I mean yea sure if this was an ideal world and if gangsters could be stunned into compliance with your awesome wit and rhetoric rather than by weapons, I see this strategy working but in the real world they would 100% shoot you dead the minute you opened your mouth. Fam. They are GANGSTERS. NOT TODDLERS. It was a tad too cringey and unrealistic even for a kdrama.

What kind of idiotic gangsters are you guys?

When your boss catches you doing dodgy shit on your day off

Issue 3:  Whether witness tampering is a thing.

RedRosette J:  This is totally a thing and people for real do this in real life and its actually an offence punishable by law. So yea, don’t tamper with witnesses. Unless you want to go to jail.

Issue 4: Whether the meeting before the trial is legit.

RedRosette J: Yes this meeting was quite legit. Usually before going to trial, the parties meet to negotiate whatever issues they have. If they can’t decide on a settlement then the issue goes to trial. In some situations there are even mandatory mediation sessions that parties have to attend prior to trial. I’m not exactly sure whether this applies to this particular meeting but in Canada there are pre-trial conferences where parties meet (usually with a Judge presiding) to go over the final issues before the trial and to decide exactly what is getting litigated at trial. This meeting looks more like a negotiation at the initial stages, so yes its legit to that extent.

RedRosette J Aside: One thing that I really liked about these particular divorcing characters was that the viewers weren’t told that the wife was blind until after the end of the proceedings. I really liked this because it didn’t create any prejudice in the minds of the viewer against the wife during the proceedings. She did wear sunglasses throughout except during her meeting with Ha Yeon but nothing was overt about her blindness. I really liked that it was simply an accepted fact that all the characters treated as a status quo.  

Issue 5: Whether you can represent someone if a) they were your previous client and b) opposing counsel is your ex-girlfriend.

RedRosette J: So I’m going to answer this in sections because this pissed me off so much because as I was watching these episodes I was reading the rules of professional conduct for lawyers for the bar exam.

A) In a situation where the opposing party is a former client of yours you cannot represent this particular client because it breaches your duty of confidentiality to your former client (according to our rules at least). There is something about how if that former client provides something in writing that you can represent the new client but I doubt that that would work in this situation. Honestly, this was a bit ridiculous because I’m pretty sure they have the same rules about confidentiality in Korea.

B) It is also not the best situation to have two lawyers who are ex-lovers to be on opposing sides of a proceeding because well, for obvious reasons. I don’t think that it’s a good business decision either because look how Kang Seok was affected by the woman. He was running around like a headless chicken trying to figure out what her end game was and honestly I don’t think he was making rational decisions. If I was Ha Yeon, I would have assigned someone else to that case.

This is a strict No.

Sorry not feeling it.

Questionable morals guys

RedRosette J: Also what was with that awkward kiss? I’m sorry but those two had no chemistry. It was just awkward to watch. Also, I feel bad for this girl’s fiance because she legit slept with Kang Seok while she had a fiance. *shakes head*

Issue 6: Whether the “trial scene” was accurate.

RedRosette J: This was by far the worst scene of these two episodes. Yes it was a dream sequence but still OMG Hells NO! First, when the ex-girlfriend starts making her opening statement to the court, Kang Seok interrupts her and starts asking her questions. *Deep Breaths* OMG. No. You cannot interrupt opposing counsel during opening statements. Wait for your turn. If you did, in reality, the Judge would reprimand you (for being an ass). Second, he doesn’t let her finish and starts talking over her and launches into his own opening statement during which he makes no legal arguments whatsoever, which you cannot do because the whole point of a trial is to make legal arguments and to not talk about your feelings and sing Kumbaya. And thirdly, he starts walking around the court and TURNS HIS BACK TO THE JUDGES during his statement. OMFG DUDE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?! YOU CANNOT TURN YOUR BACK ON THE JUDGES!!! In real life, even when you leave the courtroom you have to slightly bow your head first and walk away slowly without making a big show of turning your back to the judges. OMG this shit would not fly in real life . Its totally ridiculous and it wasn’t accurate at all!

Don’t interrupt her dude

Oh Hell No. 

Conclusion: Appeal Allowed.

Rating: 3 = MM. Okay. Fine. (Mostly because of how adorbs Hyungsik is)

  File No: Suits (Korea)-EPS-03-and-04 Appearing before The Dramacourt: Suits (Korea) Episodes 3 and 4 ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read 

[rose-photoblog]

How to prepare for the best wedding photos: True confessions of a portrait perfectionist!

Dear Diary,

Hi I’m Rose and I’m a Portrait Perfectionist! As I begin to share more about the process that drives me and my team of real life, professional wedding and portrait photographers, I am really excited to dig into offering up many ‘best practices’ in a variety of areas to help ensure you receive the best wedding day photos, ever! And now that Rose Photo is also offering video, what better way to share the methods we use in creating perfect media than to give a few #bestpractices so you can ensure your wedding day photos and video are stunning and totally true to your love story!

TIP 1 : TIMELINE

As type A as you may ( or may not be), I have found over the past 12 years in the wedding world that an extra curated timeline that helps to prioritize your priorities, can be super helpful; after all, it is your wedding!

Planning for enough time to gracefully and gently move through the wedding day as you wake up and begin to get ready is key to arriving at your ceremony calmly and excited for the party ahead.

If you can guide the start time of your ceremony later than earlier, this frees up so much more time for time with your people as the day starts, beautiful getting ready photos, and maybe even a first look!

TIP 2. HIRE PROFESSIONALS

This may seem like an absolute no brainer but we can’t say it enough! From your trial updo for your wedding day hair through your wedding planner, your ‘I do Crew’ should be made up of serious pros!! One of our extremely helpful dream team favorites is a bridal dresser.

A bridal dresser can assist you with the transport, storing, displaying, dressing, buttoning, zippering, bustling, unbustling, bustling again and keeping that train on full display, amongst many other Wedding Industry tricks!

He or she is undoubtedly also very attentive to detail and will rest your qualms about dress dealings, back boob, bustle blunders and a million and one other things we’ve seen and things they’ve fixed! Pair their fashion eye with our camera eye and you won’t even know they were there.

TIP 3. TO FIRST LOOK OR NOT TO FIRST LOOK

Ok let’s break down the first look, shall we?? There are generally two camps for the First Look.

Camp A: ‘Heck yes let’s do first look and ugly cry in that cute way together, privately and have Rose + Co perched in the stairwell, treetop, rafters, or atop a nearby cab car! That would be so sweet and then we can take fun photos with our crew around the area before the ceremony even starts and maybe even knock out family formals, too’!!

Camp B: ‘Hmmm, well both of our families are SUPER traditional and we aren’t sure if we really want to see each other beforehand. Maybe it’s bad luck? Maybe I’m just really old fashioned? Either way we really just want to keep it real and walking down the aisle will be the magic!!’

Whichever camp you are in is totally cool. Again, it is your day! From my experience over the past dozen years, I will say this: If you are on the fence, planning for more time for just the two of you is never, ever a bad idea. The wedding will zoom by in a snap and whilst it is so key to celebrate with all your amazing pals you’ve brought together for the occasion, a few minutes here and there with just the two of you, #priceless!

My crew and I are actually photo ninjas so you won’t even know we are there. And, if you choose to stick to the isle for the eye contact experience of a lifetime, we will be sure to follow all the rules of the altar and swing from only the strongest chandeliers to get that first emotional look!!

Think about it and in the meantime, enjoy Nina + Jim’s picture-perfect first look brought to by two photo ninjas and one video sansei.

TIP 4. LOCATION!! LOCATION!! LOCATION!!

Much like a prime timeline, locations for the best wedding photos ever are very important. Quite literally they are the backdrop to create next-level portraits of you, your boo and your entire wedding crew.

Now let’s say your wedding party is just the two of you and you are super low key, private and maybe don’t even want that many photos. PERF!! We will dial up the best, most intimate little spots, en route and dodging traffic to get you to your party on time, even if you make a later appearance ;)

Now let’s say your wedding party is 12 people on either side, 4 flower girls, two ring bearers man, a mini labradoodle and a cockatoo!? OK we can work with that, too!! Buttttt, we would highly suggest a separate set of transportation of the children and animals. Just saying!!

Either way, we need wide-open spaces where everyone fits, can form a ‘Flying V’ ( I still dream in Mighty Ducks speak and Ducks fly together, ok!?) and also have the opportunity to set up the penultimate cover shot I know you are dreaming of with your entire possé!

TIP 5. DON’T FORGET THE DETAILS

Shiny is the new…everything! I’ve confessed this in other RP Diary Entry and I promise to be buried in a pile of sparkle or at least be shot from a canon in the midst of a glitter bomb! But that’s just me ;)

The point I’d like to share here is the details of your day, whether they are shiny, matte, lacey, velvet or whatever your hearts desire, the little details deserve as much limelight as they can get. If you have all your goodies together in one beautiful, big day box, we can be sure to give each item it’s own mini fashion shoot, promise!

You can start from the ground up and build your detail box from your shoes, onto your **unmentionables**, to your jewelry, hair accessories, and even your fab sunnies! Of course, it goes without saying any family heirloom or VIP piece of shiny gets bumped up the shot list. Keeping that previously suggested timeline in mind, we love to have about 30 minutes or so with all the good props of your fabulous wedding style to get those detail shots. Carve out a few more minutes for us and we get to comb the venue for amazing decor and architectural shots, too!

TIP 6. POSED BUT NOT TOO POSEY

I honestly catch myself saying this line almost every, single day! ‘We direct you naturally!’ Meaning, I will ask you and your bridal party to line up with a general directive, ‘Dresses over here! Suits over there!’ and then give people a minute to find their way to a spot.

Here’s where it gets fun- I sorta glaze over in a stare and figure out how everyone would stand if I didn’t tell them how to stand a certain way and just adjust their attire, flowers, chin, sunglasses, red solo cup…you get the idea! Once we have a comfortable but distinguished looking crew in front of the RP lens, we get snapping. As mentioned, I’m always on the lookout for that Vanity Fair cover shot!

I also like to make sure there is an equal amount of candid photos or, candies as we love to call them! My very favorite yet ultimate cheesy directive to give is literally ‘LOL!’ I sometimes even scream it!! And people, naturally, LOL bc WTF is our wedding photographer doing right now?! Getting your best side, that’s what she’s doing, baby!!

TIP 7. SEEING EYE TO EYE ON VISION

When you are looking to hire your wedding photography and video team that will seamlessly produce the best documentation of your love story, be sure to track them on all the outlets where you can find their work.

Ask to see their vision through and through if it does not stand out initially to you. Requesting website links to weddings shot in your wedding venue, work showing your preferred florist or hairstylists’ creations, or even having worked in very specific lighting conditions is a great way to see that the crew you hire shares your aesthetic and vision for the exact end result you would will love to review for years to come.

Websites are great places to dig into once you’ve found your way out of the Instagram rabbit hole. Almost true story: we actually live in IG land and only venture out of our phones for weddings !! Really though, we do spend a lot of time curating our Rose Photo feed to reflect our most recent projects including our couples’ anniversary shout outs, new members of families and of course, we get super excited for our wedding to be featured publications both online and in print!

Our Rose Photo + Video web experience contains even more photo gems and video tear-jerkers to show our vision through and through. We often get asked to send specific links we can reference back to our URL and even other vendors that share our same vision of wedding day perfection.

TIP 8. MAKE SURE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER GETS YOUR STORY {MY FAVE POINT}

How did you two meet? When did you get engaged? Do you live together? Where’s your favorite spot on a sunny afternoon to hang out? Are you so excited for all the fan fair or would you rather not be the center of everyone’s attention for the day? These are key points for your photo and video team to know about you so they can see you best.

I’ll just say it: I’m downright nosy! love to get into your business about your love story. The more details I know and can share with my team on your coming together, the better the output of good, juicy moments. I mean it. It’s real.

It’s our job to tell your love story with multimedia tools, pro tricks, and secrets of the trade. I endlessly fall in love with my job over and over again; I tend to cry at almost all my weddings and I promise it is not out of sheer exhaustion. Weddings inspire and energize me because it’s a love story and I’m a big old, hopeful romantic.

Even as our RP team of storytellers grows to include more trained photojournalists and videographers, portrait perfectionists, and image creators, I get to keep dreaming up big shots for the best wedding day experience for our couples so we can tell that love story seamlessly.

I hope this entry was helpful and if you’d like to hear tips from other areas of wedding daydreams, drop me a note! I would love to hear from you.

I’ve got to get back to my tripod as I set up the next perfect portrait!

love,

Rose