#the cameraman saw the potential i just know

[headshrnker]

Oh the cameraman knew what he was doing

[madmachaca]

More PKNA fanfiction!

Of the same series focused on Lyla and Camera 9 and their potential friendship

This is chronologically placed after the firsr one I worte which you can find here.

And here are parts one and two.

Hope you have a good time reading!

1.

"I need someone to knock some sense back to me," said Lyla as soon as she sat down. "I almost told someone at work who...what I am..."

Her therapist raised his eyes from the notebook and saw the girl looking guilty, like a child who had just broken her mother's most expansive vase

"Well, I guess a situation such as this would have presented at some point." He said trying to make her feel better "the important part is that you didn't"

"Yeah..."

"Now let's see why you wanted to do it on the firsr place?"

Lyla thought for a minute. She knew her reasons but in all honesty, she wasn't sure they were strong enough. It had been completely different with Donald, since he is PK, they were able to include include eachother on their dangerous missions.

But Stefan...

"I guess I felt guilty," she began to explain "because I been digging into his past and have learn somethings without letting him know... I... part of me felt like the correct thing to do was to give away one of my secrets..."

"To balace things up?"

It was likely the reason. She felt that way. She thought she owed it to him. After all, she had been gathering information about him without his knowledge. Yeah! That was it. She felt guilty...

But, it wasn't all. She couldn't help but wonder how it would be like if he discovered who she was on his own, and what's worse, if he learns she has been studying him.

"He is not a mission. He is a friend"

She told her therapist, and he wrote it down on his pad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.

"Congratulations, crew!" Exclaimed Dan as he entered the writers area."Not only did 00 News get invited to an international press conference, we are the only channel in Duckburg that got an invitation"

The air of celebration and happiness was generally shared among the staff. It was a big deal, their news channel was respectable and trustworthy enough to assist to an event abroad.

The only question remaining was "who would go?"

"Lyla" called Dan "I suggest you go as our correspondent..."

"Wait, why does she have to go?" Complained Angus as soon as he heard the pick, for he thought he was most suited for the job

"Because this is a big event, and we want the person who represents us to be charismatic and likeble"

Silence. Despite still having complains. Angus didn't think he was the ideal candidate anymore. Dan's attention went back to her

"You need to leave tomorrow morning. We'll take care of the plane tickets... and take Camera 9 with you" and so he prepared to leave the room

"Sorry," said the quiet camera man out of the sudden. " I can't go"

Dan turned around

"What do you mean you can't go?"

"Precisely that: I can't go"

The room was mostly quiet, expecting to see what would happen next. They wanted to hear why anyone would turn down an opportunity like that, but as usual, Camera 9 wasn't saying much

"Camera 9, unless you got a good excuse..."

"I don't have a passport"

"What? Why"

"I lost it ...Long ago..."

"Did you report it?" Silence ... then a defeated sigh."Well, I guess there is nothing you can do about it in a day... Try to get that fixed, ok?"

"I'll try my best"

And so everyone got back to work. Angus made a snarky comment about the cameraman's lack of responsibility, Camera 9 could hear his judgemental remarks, but he didn't care. He needed to get back to work.

"Nine," Lyla called him. "Is everything ok?

"Yeah, don't worry. Congratulations on the excusive by the way"

She smiled softly. She liked the more mundane days of work. For others, a trip abroad may not be exactly mundane, but for her, it was an opportunity to be just Lyla Lay, Channel 00's reporter. It was a pretended life, but she liked it.

"Next time you would come with me! Just promise me you'll get a new passport, alright?"

"I am afraid I can't keep that promise, Miss Lay." They walked in silence, for a while, she observed him as if waiting for an explanation, but he clearly wouldn't give it on his own

"Sorry, waht do you mean by that?"

"Remember I told you I can't drive?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I know how to. I just can't legally"

Lyla understood

"You don't have a license"

"I can't get a license...or a passport... "

In swift movement, he soflty pushed him to the side, into a narrow space between a janitor's closet and the dark room, away from other coworkers. She towered over him, forcing him to stay put as a precaution. She knew he wouldn't try to run away. He was never nervous around her

"Stefan," she said in a whisper, careful that no one could hear them. "Are you a wanted criminal?"

He emphasized her words to let him know she was serious this time, as she was all the others. On her mental pin board of conspiracy theories, this was a very popular one.

The cameraman crossed his arms and gave her an amused smile

"Why you always go there?" Her serious face didn't change, but she did give him some space."Let's say things got complicated back at home years ago, but don't worry. I doubt anyone is looking for me"

And he walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Stefan"

"Hmm?"

"Where are you from?"

The sound of rewinding tape was the only thing breaking the silence. It was,despite the question, a peaceful and comfortable moment, the rising sun shone warmly through the car windows as they drove back from an early morning scoop

"Bulgaria" he answered after making sure the tape was alright

"Is that true?"

"It is..." and he kept the now to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What is that?" The object caught her eye in such a sudden way, she didn't let her friend finish his sentence.

So far, visiting him at his house had been fun, looking at the pictures, talking about his craft, but as soon as she saw the car shaped device, she couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, that?" Said Stefan once he knew what she was talking about. "It's a tape rewinder. You put the vhs tape there and, well, it rewinds the film"

"So it is!" She smiled like a child would as she looked at it closely. She didn't touch it. It was almost as if she was looking at a piece in a museum

"I have never seen one in real life! I have read these things existed, but they are so old..."

Stefan was confused

"I won't take it personally, but those were very popular when I was little"

Lyla froze. She realized she forgot that long-ago for her wasn't the same as long-ago for people born in the 20th century

"Honesty, I thought we were contemporaries"

"WE ARE!" she replied, trying to fix the little mess. If it were anyone else from work. She would have no problem, but this was Stefan, and as much as she liked him, she didn't know how much he knew. "We are! We must be around the same age, right?"

"That's what I thought, but you said those things were so old, I was confused"

"I meant, "old for a person born today " you see?"

Poor attempt, but he humored her.

"It is true I never had one growing up. They were not easy to find back at home"

"I see," he said as he looked through his old VHS collection so she could see it working. Too bad he didn't have a working player to watch anything. "You said back home"

"I did, didn't I?"

"Where are you from, Lyla?"

Her silence was two seconds too long

"Duckburg"

"And it's that true?"

"It is..." and she kept the now to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\\

End of part 3

Credit were credit is due, part of thr plot of the last section was inspired by @frustratedpker ask.

I do have more ideas, but they are a little scrambled in my head

[roskirambles]

Horror Movie of the Day: Marebito (2004)

"They didn't see something that terrified them. They saw something because they were terrified. I want to feel that fear, to see what they did."

Takuyoshi Masuoka is a freelance cameraman who never goes out without a camera. He records everything, and has become obsessed with fear after witnessing ||the suicide of an old man|| in the train station. Descending into the labrynth of tunnels beneath the city, he finds what look to be people, maybe ghosts, who are deeply afraid and walk like animals. And after being warned about the Deros(named after the writings of Richard Sharpe Shaver) by one homeless man, he sees what looks to definitely be a ghost guide him to a cave, where a naked woman lies. One who eats blood, and after being rescued the girl(now referred as "F") needs food which Masuoka will provide.

Directed by Takashi Shimizu and co-written by Chiaki Konaka, if you’re familiar with the later’s work (Serial Experiments Lain, Digimon Tamers, Texhnolyze) you know you’re in for a trip. And you’re still not prepared: the movie is a relentless bombardment of mind-screwing elements involving conspiracy theories, violent murders and mentally disturbed people, all packaged in the obsession of one man who is glued to a camera yet mostly shot with verisimilitude until you don’t know if the man is just crazy or he’s really digging himself deep both literally and metaphorically into a metaphysical rabbithole.

Whatever the case may be, you're just stuck with either someone who is potentially abusive in his madness or that has somehow uncovered a dark reality of how the world actually works which unsurprisingly is not a placid feeling at all. It's obsession with cameras and surveillelance, with trying to make sense out of things through a lens that isn't our own eyes is still resounding, but it's such a deliberately confusing and revolting watch you're decidedly going out with more questions than answers.

[springgirlwaiting4fall]

Hook, William Regal, and The Escort

I know this title sounds like some weird perverted threesome smut fest (which I normally love) but this is not it. It’s a comedy, with potential to grow into a love story. (And no Hook doesn’t fall in love with William regal or a prostitute).

Here is the most random GIF of William Regal I could find.

Hook grabbed his backpack before leaving his hotel room. He walked down the hallway and saw William Regal stepped onto the elevator a couple feet in front of him. A women walked into the elevator after him. Hook was sure that Regal saw him but instead of holding the door for him, he watched the doors close when he was just a few steps away.

‘Whatever,’ Hook thought to himself he didn’t mind the stairway it was faster anyway. He made it to the lobby and saw William walking out the front door with the woman from the elevator. He followed them out and was surprised to see that Regal and the women were together. And that the women wasn’t as old as he thought she was. She was young no way could she be older than 21. And she was hot too.

He watched as William asked the doorman to call a cab for them, even though it was May there was still a chill on the harbor at night in Baltimore. He couldn’t hear what the women was saying but the women shook her hand and extended her arm to Regal and he accepted it and walked.

Hook was purposely following them, he was just following google maps to meet his boys at a bar. He couldn’t help that they were walking in front of him.

The more he watched the more Hooks mind couldn’t stop racing. He was used to see William Regal in a suit at any wrestling event, but whenever he bumped into him at an airport or in a hotel he was always dressed in casual clothes.

Tonight however he was in one of his nicer suits. The girl was dressed up too in leggings and a long sweater. He couldn’t stop himself from starting at her ass and wanting to touch her long straight red hair to see if it was as soft and silky as it looked.

They turned into a movie theater and Hook watched as the girl laughed at something Regal said and she put her head on his shoulder and looked up at him. There was a since of familiarity and comfort.

‘Dumbass’ he called himself. William Regal was married and had kids. Hook made it to the bar and found Anthony Bowen and Darius Martin.

Hook crawled into his hotel bed for some reason had the thought that William Regal was married and had 3 boys. 3 boys that he would he wrestle when they were all together at WWF. Hook would definitely remember if they had a sister.

Holy shit…Holy Shit…Holy Shit. Hook walked past various producers, cameraman, photographers and wrestlers. He found the group of guys he was looking for. The guys he was closest in AEW: Anthony, Darius, Dante, and Lee Johnson.

He made sure to make sure no one else was around before practically yelling “William Regal hired a prostitute last night.” His friends gave him strange looks, he told them all about what he last night. “Than this morning when I was leaving the hotel, I saw him leaving his room. She was in a robe and he was giving her stack of bills. You guys can’t say shit to anyone about this.“ Everyone nodded in agreement

By the time Dark had finished recoding, everyone backstage was talking about William Regal and his prostitution problem.

Hook was in catering, he was throwing handful of single serve chips bags into his book bag when he looked up and saw the escort. Only this time she was sitting at a table with Good Old Jr. He couldn’t blame JR he was a grieving widow not a married man like Regal. He did have to admit that the whore did have the dignity to dress like an average girl in her twenties and not in a cheetah print mini dress and thigh high boots.

He found a table by himself and played on his phone. Every now and than he would look up and think that for a escort she was really pretty, how much she was charging these old timers, and if William regal and Jr knew they were spit brothers.

Taz walked in and walked right to the table where the woman and JR was sitting. She stood up and gave his father a hug like they were old friends. “What the fuck!” Hook stood up and walked up to the table about to ask his dad what mom and his wife would say about this.”

He made it to the table in two steps. When William Regal stepped in front of him. “Oh hello there young man.” Regal sat next to his prostitute. “You are the one telling everyone that this young lady right here is my tart?” Hook was surprised to be called out when he was planing on doing the call out. “I hate to kill your fun. But she is actually my god daughter. And I think you owe her an apology. Hooks mouth dropped open.

[thetaekookcloset]

So what about Jikook?

Maybe this isn't wise, but the Jikook questions are inevitable and so I kind of just wanted to rip the Band-Aid off and address it right off the bat.  So, what about Jikook?  Well, I adore Jikook.  I think their relationship is delightful, that it resonates with mutual affection and admiration, and that they clearly love and trust each other a lot.  I just don't think there's anything romantic to it.  Could I be wrong?  Yeah, totally.  As I said in my Taekook posts, I don't know these people, all I'm doing is applying critical thinking to my observations of limited public content, so I could totally be reading things wrong.  I feel pretty confident in my own understanding, obviously, but fully recognize that I could be incorrect.

So I figured I may as well just address my reasons for feeling the way I do, so that it's done and doesn't need to be dragged up all the time (though I am personally open to discussing Jikook because, as I said, I really like their dynamic).

The thing is, just like for Taekook, a lot of it comes down to the Vibe I get overall.  I've watched a lot of BTS content at this point, and I've also sought out a lot of Jikook content, especially early on, as I was finding myself getting more invested in Taekook.  It was really important to me that if I was going to feel any degree of emotional investment in the potential dating lives of strangers on the other side of the world, I didn't want to be deluding myself about it.  If there was something to see between Jikook, I wanted to make sure I saw it.  I didn't want to just be seeing what I wanted to see, basically.  I wanted to make sure that my conclusions were based on reality as much as possible.  So yeah, I've watched a lot of specifically Jikook content at this point.  And the more I watch, the more confident I am in my belief that the two of them have a really close friendship, even one with some familial aspects (especially when it comes to taking care of one another).  It's the vibe they give off to me, and in some ways it's as simple as that.

However, I would like to address why some of the most popular Jikook proofs don't hold up for me, in terms of being evidence of a romantic relationship, since people ask about these things a lot and, frankly, because I think it's an interesting topic.  I'm not trying to "debunk" these moments -- as I've already said, I could be totally wrong about any and all of them -- but these are the reasons some of the most popular Jikook moments don't make me think they're in a romantic relationship.

Rosebowl

We'll just come right out the gate with this one, I guess.  For me -- and this is going to be a repeated pattern, I think -- we simply don't have enough information about this one for it to tell me much.  I realize that a lot of people will think that's ridiculous, because a lot of people think it's beyond clear that Jungkook puts Jimin's ear in his mouth in this moment.  I'm just not convinced that it's true.  I've seen angles where it looks like that could be what's happening, and I've seen angles where it seems pretty clear that it isn't what's happening.  If he did do it, it's definitely an indication of a more intimate relationship than the one I'm inclined to think they have, but there's a much clearer clip of Taehyung kissing Jungkook's ear already, so if we're going to consider mouth-to-ear contact as telling, then we've already got another one to take into account.

Hickeygate

Again, we simply don't have very much actual information here.  What we know for sure is that Jungkook showed up to work with a small bruise on his neck, Jimin pointed it out to everyone and claimed to have put it there himself in a moment of drunken shenanigans, and then a cameraman asked Jungkook later how he got it and JK repeated the story.

The way I see it, there are a few possibilities here: 1) Jimin's story is the full and accurate truth; 2) the bruise is actually a hickey, which Jimin gave him, and Jimin's making up a story about how it got there; 3) the bruise is actually a hickey, that someone other than Jimin gave him, and Jimin is making up a story about how it got there, maybe to tease JK or maybe to "help" by giving him an excuse for having it.

If it's the first option, it's certainly a bit of a wild thing to do to your friend, but it's not like Jungkook and Jimin have much in the way of physical boundaries, and if they were drunk, then those boundaries were likely even looser.  If the second, why draw attention to it at all?  Most likely no one would have noticed or asked if Jimin hadn't pointed it out, which seems like a strange thing to do.  If this is your read of the situation, fair enough.  However, if we're already accepting that they might have been lying about how the bruise got there in the first place, then is it really such a stretch to think they also might be covering up who put it there?

Honestly this one frustrates me a little.  People in this fandom like to talk about taking the guys' words and content at face value and trusting everything they say, otherwise you're calling them liars.  Then as soon as this moment comes up, a lot of the times it seems that people take it for granted that the bruise is definitely a hickey (which means they lied about how it got there) but also that Jimin is definitely the one who put it there (why would you take this for granted if you already accept that they're fibbing about how the bruise got there in the first place?).

The fact of the matter is, none of them owe us the full, accurate, and unfettered truth about their personal lives.  No matter how you slice this moment, Big Hit clearly thought it was safe enough to share it with the entire fandom, which implies to me that they didn't see any reason that they might need to "protect the artists," as they're fond of doing for so much as a flash of belly button.  So.  We can all draw our own conclusions from there.

Also just an observation that I think is interesting in this moment, which is that to me, it doesn't look like Jungkook is very happy that Jimin points out this bruise.  He kind of laughs it off after a second, but he avoids making eye contact with anyone, and when someone (Jin, I think) reaches for his neck, he moves away.  It just reads as displeased and uncomfortable to me, which has always stood out.

Jimin's Birthday V Live

Again, not enough information to tell me much.  It's definitely a weird moment, fully not denying that -- specifically the moment when Hobi teases Jimin for being in Jungkook's studio, I mean -- but I feel that the reason for Hobi's teasing is too up in the air to draw much of a conclusion from it.  Could it have something to do with Jungkook and Jimin being together, or having feelings for each other, or something related to that?  Yeah, it could, but we know so little about it that it could be literally anything else too.  Maybe Jimin's studio is notoriously a mess, maybe he had a guest in there, maybe he doesn't have a studio at all.  My point is just that we know so little about why Hobi was teasing Jimin that it could have been for nearly any reason.  JK attempting to distract from it might just have been in solidarity with Jimin, but honestly it seemed to me like he was just bored and messing around.  No matter what the reason, Big Hit staff had clearly decorated that studio and brought the cake to that studio, so it seems pretty innocent to me.

As for the way Jikook acted on the phone in that Live, I have mixed feelings.  I've read that K-ARMY say JK's tone on the phone was particularly fondly indulgent in a way that's reminiscent of couples.  It is pretty clear, though, that the guys are very familiar with each other, more so than they sometimes act, so I could easily see this being an extension of that.  This is particularly true throughout the maknae line, so this makes sense to me.  Jimin's reaction to JK saying he's coming has always seemed off to me -- even before I was invested in literally any of this.  It just doesn't seem like a natural way to react to someone you've known that closely for that long, all the blushing and fawning and whatnot.  It makes me think he was either playing it up for the camera or he was feeling even more awkward than he'd already let on, either of which seem normal enough to me.

Again, definitely not trying to claim that there was no weirdness in this Live, and I'm sure I would see it differently if I already felt that I had other reasons to think there was something going on between Jimin and Jungkook, but I just don't, so there's nothing about the weirdness in this Live that makes me think otherwise.

GCF Tokyo

All right, the Big One.  I'll be straightforward: I just don't see GCF Tokyo as being inherently romantic.  I certainly do understand why other people see it as romantic, and like the birthday Live, I would be more inclined to see it that way too if, for example, the other GCFs leant themselves to romantic readings, but they don't, in my opinion.

I get that they went on a trip, just the two of them.  I get that the video itself reads as romantic to a lot of people.  I get that it's a romantic song.  Like I said, I do understand this one, I understand why so many people see it the way they do.

But for me, I mean, I've been on trips alone with my best friends before, even when I had a romantic partner.  In the last few years, before COVID, I went on two big trips with two of my best friends, a different friend on each trip.  I'm not really a video person, but we did take a lot of photos together, and I'm sure that some of them would read as romantic to people who didn't know us.  Both friends feature alone in a lot of those pictures too.  And if I were the type to make videos instead of taking photos, I know exactly which songs I would have used for each trip, because those were the songs we listened to the most, they were the songs that exemplified the vibe of the trips for me.  Both are romantic songs, because most songs are.  But I didn't have a crush on the friend I went to Disney World with, and the friend I went to Ireland with was not my dying lover of many years, despite what my song choices might have implied.

GCF Tokyo is, to me, something that definitely could be romantic, but isn't inherently so.  If I had other reasons to think Jikook might be involved, if I got that vibe from them, if their suspicious moments were clearer to me, I could very well see GCFT as romantic.  As it is, I don't have those other reasons, and so I'm inclined to think this video was just Jungkook on a trip with his friend, experimenting with making videos and choosing a song he liked to use for it.

Jimin Flying to JK for His Birthday

I'll keep this one brief.  Undeniably, it was sweet of Jimin to make time to see JK on his birthday, and maybe he even planned his vacation partially around doing so, we don't know.  But people talk about this like he flew halfway across the world just for JK's birthday.  I would agree, if he had then flown back in the direction of Europe.  But the next day, he was going to Hawaii.  Korea is pretty much right in between France and Hawaii.  He could have gone the other way around the planet, I guess?  But if he went to Hawaii with different people than he went to France with (I don't know if he did or not), then it would make sense to fly out of Korea.  In fact, it would make sense to fly out of Korea anyway, because it would give him a chance to go back home first.

I know people are fond of this one, but it just doesn't hold much weight for me.  Again, a totally sweet gesture, but not nearly as huge of one as people make it out to be.  Presumably he'd already planned his flights.  Going from France to Hawaii, stopping in Korea makes complete sense, especially if he was meeting a new set of friends for Hawaii and/or wanted or needed to stop at his place first for new things.

Conclusion

I just want to reiterate that I'm not trying to debunk these things, and I get why people who see something romantic between Jikook see more meaning in these events than I do.  I simply don't have that reading of their relationship, and none of these popular moments change my mind on that.

I do, however, think that Jimin and Jungkook have a really special and precious bond.  Just because I don't see it as romantic doesn't mean that I don't appreciate it for what I do see in it.  It seems clear to me that they have an extremely deep and loving friendship.  I hate the narrative that there's anything wrong with the relationship that they have, and one thing I'd like to do with this blog, if and when it comes up, is defend their bond.

Finally, I just want to say that I love Jimin, I have a lot of respect and appreciation for him, and I won't appreciate anything hateful or disrespectful about him being sent to me.  Just because I think it's more likely that Taehyung and Jungkook are together than Jimin and Jungkook, that doesn't mean I hate Jimin or hate his relationship with Jungkook.

[rinisbowen]

Both You and your anons have such good analysis!

Re: Showing and not telling, you’re so right! I think the short run time of episodes contributes, but so does the mockumentry style story telling. I think one of the most telling talking heads of the whole series is Ricky’s in the S1 finale once he talks to Gina for the first time that night (“maybe I changed… or maybe I’m back to who I always was”) because it’s so telling of where Ricky is at in that moment.

I think for a lot of people it’s hard to let Rina go because as of this point we have no idea how Ricky feels about anything after Gina’s confession in the flashback. In a show that doesn’t shy away from just ~telling instead of showing ~ I think that means it’ll come back up in someway? Or at the very least intentional.

It also makes me wonder how making the cameraman an actually character in S3 will change or use this!

ah why thank you! tbh i'm genuinely enjoying all this conversation from the past day or so so much right now. i've got three VERY long anons in my ask box still that i need to answer, but i want to be able to give solid answers to them, so i'm glad for these less lengthy ones to be sure.

i kind of love that i'm sorta getting both sides right now in my inbox to some extent, because i really do think there's a good dialogue to be had. i'm just acting as the messenger i suppose haha.

--

i would honestly agree about the mockumentary storytelling adding to the diegesis for the show for sure. it's more that i consider it a tool so it didn't come to mind immediately. they don't always use the talking heads to accomplish this, but they do a good bit.

--

i 100% get what you mean about finding it hard to let go when ricky's side of things just wasn't explored. and honestly, the fact they left it open-ended means that particularly with rini now entirely off the table as his endgame pretty much, they can easily decide to use it and pick it right back up again. we don’t know what it was planned to be when season 1 was taping, but on some levels, original intent doesn't even matter, because they can have it mean whatever they want it to mean, so long as it doesn't contradict anything we've seen, and it doesn't have to in this case, because nothing was said.

i know i've seen at least one person mention the idea that seeing so much of gina's side of rina in season 2 was perhaps in part to give sofia wylie more to do, because tim saw how talented she was, but again, it doesn't matter so much what they meant, so much as what they have it mean.

we don't know what ricky understood, or what he felt, because he never said anything to indicate that. so yeah- i definitely see how it's easy to take that as an open invitation to have him feel something still that can be picked back up again later. ricky had a lot on his plate last season, so i think it makes sense that gina wasn't his priority in a certain sense, but that doesn't mean she never can be necessarily.

if things go the way i've previously considered, lily's going to prime him to potentially finally be able to move on from nini in a way that matters. gina might be the person who reaps the benefits of that, even if she decidedly couldn't in season 1.

--

i think the camera man character is going to be a lot of fun tbh because of what he can add to the mockumentary aspect of this show. the actor who plays channing posted a thing on his instagram story today saying he'd just wrapped one job and now was in costume fittings for another. so my best guess, personally, is that he's going to come around for the latter portion of the show, when the camp gets closer to putting up frozen.

the potential for other people to see the content of what would normally be a talking head, or honestly more just background stuff that other characters may not otherwise catch is super cool. i'm very excited to see his inclusion and what it means!

[krreader]

enthralling.

pairing: jung hoseok x reader fandom: bts warnings: / genre: fluff  word count: 550+

summary: ‘boring’ most definitely wouldn’t be a word that hoseok would use to describe you.

a/n: just a fluffy short piece that I was able to write to get my mind off studying, thank you for requesting it, I loved writing it and I hope you like it too!!!

Hoseok couldn't remember the last time that he's been on a date like this... or had he ever been on a date like this? Probably not.

But as he was walking alongside you with the sun shining brightly over your heads and Starbucks cups in both of your hands as Hoseok was able to walk freely, without having to fear a cameraman jumping out ahead of him, he realized that this already was the best date he's ever been on.

“I hope this isn't too boring for you,” you said, both of your hands holding the cup filled with your beverage and a lot of ice, rolling it around as your nerves got the better of you.

He noticed that and he thought it was really cute, immediately letting out a chuckle, “Boring is a luxury for me nowadays that I rarely get. This is perfect.”

“Well, it's just... I would have liked to do something more fun, you know? But my town isn't Seoul.”

“You have no idea how glad I am that it's not,” and when he saw you smile, but try to hide it, he once again saw it and loved it.

“Well then... I hope I’m not too boring for you.”

“You’re the furthest thing from boring, (Y/N).”

Hoseok watched you for a moment, wondering whether you really considered yourself as boring as you considered your town, but he really hoped you didn't. There was nothing boring about you, there was so much potential in you that he could see that he hoped you saw as well. There were so many little details about you that fascinated him and made him want to learn more, everything there was to know about you.

“Hold up,” he did what you asked, watched you run towards the nearest trash can and then realize that it was three separate cans. You were trying to figure out which one you needed to throw your Starbucks cup into and Hoseok couldn't help but chuckle once more at the way your brows furrowed and you started talking to yourself. And once you got finally it and ran back towards him with a smile, Hoseok realized again that you were far from boring, “Okay. Now. There isn't much that we can do, but we have this really nice restaurant just around the corner if you're hungry, or if you feel more adventurous, we could rent a car over there and drive up on that hill over there! The view is really nice and I could take pictures of you! You said you liked taking pictures, right?”

You stumbled over your words, but noticed it right away, your shoulders slumping.

“I'm talking too much, I'm sorry.”

“No!” Hoseok instantly shook his head and grabbed your hand, a move that made your eyelashes flutter, “I like the ideas! I like your ideas. But I'm still kind of full from lunch, so how about option number two, only that I want to take pictures of you. Your outfit is amazing.”

And the way you bounced up and down like a little girl on Christmas, and the way you started talking to him about the view from up there, a place that clearly meant a lot to you... in ten minutes, you had shown him more than ten little things about you that he already could never forget.

So he started wondering what spending his forever with you could looked like... and he liked the thought of that.

[cupidcreates]

Love You Equally

Chapter Thirty-Six: Put In Motion

Part 2: Final Meeting

Hitoshi pushed through crowds of shoppers and bystanders as he made his way to the cafe he’d told Monoma to meet him at. Steeling his nerves as he walked he adjusted the small recording device attached to his chest, being sure to not jostle it too much. It would record his entire conversation with Monoma and relay it back to administration. Once Hitohsi had found a way to make Monoma confess they would send security in to apprehend him, then without their leader, Dabi and Y/n’s ex would be left to either abandon their revenge or attempt to go it alone.

Hitoshi had no doubt in his mind that Dabi and Y/n’s exes would flounder their chance at revenge if Monoma was removed from the picture. Monoma was the brains behind the movement, and he’d already lost two important pieces in his game, the school's cameraman and security officer. Without them he had no way to get back onto campus to torture Hitoshi or any of his soulmates, but undoubtedly he was waiting for a chance to strike once school was out. 

Hitoshi couldn’t let that happen, he couldn’t let his soulmates get hurt because of his inability to deal with his ex. No, this was it, putting an end to their torment relied on him alone now. He needed a way to get Monoma to inadvertently confess to what he’d done, and he thought he just might have a way to weasel it out of him; it wouldn’t be easy, but as Hitoshi rounded the corner and saw Monoma waiting for him at a table for two away from everyone else, he knew it could be done.

Hitoshi slid into the chair opposite Monoma, meeting his gaze for the first time in months and once again beginning to feel the inferiority Monoma always instilled in him. He mentally shook himself, not allowing the feeling to consume him as it always had, and instead focused on keeping his face and voice steady as he greeted the man who’d been tormenting him and his loved ones for months now.

“Monoma,” He greeted, “How very nice to see you again. Thank you for agreeing to meet me here, I know I was rather unkind to you the last time we met.”

“Oh the pleasure is all mine love,” Monoma purred back, resting his chin on his propped up hands and narrowing his eyes at Hitoshi, “I believe you needed the comfort, what with all that’s been happening to you and your....unfortunate life partners.”

“Indeed,” Hitoshi replied, “As you know someone has snuck into our dorms and completely trashed them. We’re all out on a shopping trip now to replace what we lost.”

“I do know,” Monoma said, tilting his head slightly to the side and pouting, “I also know you wanted to blame me for that, which was very rude and hurt my feelings Toshi. I’d never do anything like that to you.”

“I apologize for jumping to conclusions Monoma,” Hitoshi said, interlocking his fingers and setting his hands on the table, “It was unkind of me. I was stressed is all, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Monoma hummed and gazed off down the street, “Yes well, I am very used to you treating me like trash Hitoshi, I do not mind and I forgive you. Which is more than your soulmates could probably say,” He added, gazing out of the corner of his eye at Hitoshi with a foul grin, “I’m sure they’ll tire of your outbursts eventually, and once they do I’ll be all you have left. It’s only a matter of time, I’m sure you realize.”

Hitoshi gazed down at his hands and ground his teeth to keep the nasty remark he had on the tip of his tongue in check. This was, after all, where he needed the conversation to go.

“Regardless,” Hitoshi replied, lifting his head up and fighting to keep his face impassible and voice cool, “We think we might have evidence for who was in our dorms, the same people who’d been working with the security guard and cameraman at UA.”

“Oh?” said Monoma in a bored voice, “And who might that be?”

“Well Dabi and Y/n both have exes, rather clever the pair of them,” Hitoshi replied, hoping his casual voice didn’t sound too forced, “We think they’d been paying off the two UA employees, and we think they’ve got a plan for us today.”

“Clever huh?” Monoma said in a dry voice, “I doubt that but sure. Are you worried for the safety of your little friends? Is that it?”

“Yes,” Hitoshi replied honestly, “I love them more than I’ve ever loved anyone before. I’d hate for something to happen to them because a past lover couldn’t let them go.”

That’d done it, Hitoshi thought with relish, for that sentence struck a nerve with Monoma and his mask of cool indifference broke into a nasty scowl. He lay his hands down flat on the table and glared at Hitoshi.

“So that’s it, is it?” He snapped, “You think those two idiots are trying to scare your partners away? Make them so terrified to be near you that they break it off and abandon you?”

Hitoshi did his best to look genuinely shocked at Monoma’s words, “I didn’t think that at all, actually,” He replied in a startled tone laced with underlying worry, “I thought maybe they just wanted to hurt us. Do you really think they’re targeting me? I’ve no evidence for that.”

“Yes you do,” Monoma snapped, “Back when your stuff was being moved around, did it not end up in your room? They were clearly trying to alert your soulmates to the danger being attached to you would put them in.”

“But why would they want my soulmates to be afraid of me?” Hitoshi countered quickly, “It’s Dabi’s ex. It’s Y/n’s ex. Wouldn’t they want us to be afraid of them? Why pin it on me? I don’t think you’re right about that Monoma, it doesn’t make any sense for them to have a grudge like that against me.”

“Why else would they place things in your room then?” Monoma shot back through clenched teeth, his hands now fists as he glared daggers into Hitoshi, “Why else would they move your soulmates stuff all around campus but leave yours alone? Why would they follow your partners around and not you? It’s clear they’re out for you Hitoshi, I don’t think you’re taking this very seriously.”

Hitoshi heaved a deep sigh of relief and smiled at Monoma. “I think that’s enough,” he said, “I think you knowing the stalking habits of these two as well as where the stolen items had ended up without me ever having mentioned that to you is incriminating enough. In fact, if I’m not mistaken that’s the footsteps of several security guards headed this way I hear now.”

And indeed the sound of many thunderous footfalls were approaching them, causing many people in the outdoor cafe seating area to look around toward the source of the sound. Hitoshi pushed his chair back and rose from it, looking down at Monoma and saying, “It might not be enough to get you indicted on anything, especially if you refuse to confess, but I definitely think we can get a restraining order put in place and maybe a potential house arrest. In any case, you’ll definitely be banned not only from campus but the entirety of the city surrounding UA with this.”

To Hitoshi’s utter shock, Monoma didn’t seem to be upset at all. Instead a horrible foreboding smile was spreading across his face as he stood up and raised his hands above his head.

“Oh I’ll confess alright,” Monoma said, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes at Hitoshi, “I knew this little game was going to come to an end soon. And after I lost my eyes within the school I knew it would end this way. Your biggest mistake was assuming I’d come alone and without any contingency plans. I wonder how your precious soulmates are doing now, Toshi?”

Security guards finally rounded the corner, descending upon Monoma instantly and pulling him away from the table. Hitoshi felt himself being shoved backwards through the crowds as people gathered around the commotion. He paused only to send a message before sprinting flat out in the direction of the park, praying that he was able to get to his soulmates before the other two exes found them.

Masterlist

Previous | Next

[serological]

Serological - ‘The Final Word’

It ends, how it began.

--------

Izuku Midoriya, Quirkless, is watching a television. On the screen is a Hero, defying the odds as a wicked and deranged Villain spouts some nonsense speech.

However, things have changed. 

Midoriya has tasted the power that Quirks can bring- he’s stepped into the Pro-Hero world, and hopefully changed it for the better. He had finally, permanently defeated the villain that almost killed his idol All-Might. All-For-One was beaten and powerless, and so was Midoriya. Even as he sits in his hospital bed, covered in bandages and stitches, Izuku isn’t sad that One-For-All is destroyed. It gave him the chance that he never would have ‘had- for a brief, glorious moment, Izuku was the Number-One Hero. It makes sense- the metaphorical scales have been balanced, and Quirks of that potential are far too dangerous and chaotic for society to have access to.

The villain on the screen, however, is Tomura Shigaraki. His League of Villains has dissolved. The PLF was utterly routed and ‘crushed between the defenders of U.A, and the Pro-Heroes led by Endeavour. Tomura’s own mentor is now as Quirkless as Midoriya himself now-is, and all of his dreams of overthrowing modern society lies in tatters. He might have lost the All-For-One Quirk (as a consequence of his mentor’s defeat), but Shigaraki incredible control over his innate Decay still made him a terrifying threat.

On the television, broadcasting all across Japan, Shigaraki is making one final gamble. In his arms, so close to disintegration, he holds the trembling form of Eri. Scared, helpless, and vulnerable. No Mirio to save her, no Aizawa to protect her. She’s back to the way she was, with Overhaul, and something resembling unbridled rage ‘stirs in Izuku’s battered body. 

“If Izuku Midoriya does not present himself to my agents, I’ll-” “-You’ll what?”

The cameraman ‘swung-around to the sudden sound of the intruder’s voice, and to the horror of the onlookers from Class 1-A, stands Hanta Sero, helmet-less. His gaze is firmly set upon Tomura, and it doesn’t shift; like a Wild-West gunslinger spying his rival, it’s like seeing Hanta’s entire world become focussed to the ‘eye of a needle. Midoriya knows that look well- he felt the same ‘way, when he faced All-For-One.

Tomura narrows his eyes, and tosses Eri away. The villain looks the hero up-and-down, and chews at the cracked skin of his lip.

“...You aren’t Izuku Midoriya. How did you find this location?” “You spot an unmarked van without a license plate ‘snatch a little girl away from her guardian? You give-chase.” Shigaraki steps down from his makeshift stage, and moves in-front of Sero, about a few ‘feet away from . “You’re that tape guy, right? I expected Bakugo, or All-Might, or Eraserhead might try and stop me. I don’t even know who you are.” Sero smirks, and spreads his hands wide. He’s feigning cockiness, trying to get under the villain’s skin. “Disappointed?” Shigaraki’s eyes ‘flash with irritation. “...You bringing any other Pro-Hero’s, tape guy? You wouldn’t be stupid enough to face me alone, surely. You know what I’m capable of.”

Sero knows, Midoriya thinks. They all did. They knew all about his hate, his malice, his cunning, his power. Shigaraki might not have All-For-One’s experience, but he had the fury and destructive potential to back it ‘up.

Shigaraki’s face twists into a psychotic grin, as he tear’s away the hand covering his face. “I mean, seriously?! Of all the Heroes that this wasted, crumbling, toothless society has-left, they send a mere NOBODY to deal with the greatest Villain to-?!”

Suddenly, a laugh interrupts Tomura’s speech. The camera moves back, and sure enough, Hanta Sero is laughing like a child on live national television. This moment of horror, of tension, and of fear, is totally overshadowed by this sudden outburst of hilarity from the ‘Hero’ of this strange broadcast.

“Are you kidding me?! Pfffft, hahaha! Oh, you must be some kind of comedian, man-!” Tomura blinks, and stops smiling. “...W-What are you talking about? Stop that. Stop laughing- what-?” Hanta’s familiar, broad-tooth grin returns, at-last, and points at Shigaraki as he continues to laugh like a ‘fool.

“Ha-Ha! Do you really think, that YOU are the greatest Villain of all-time?!”

Shigaraki’s confusion is replaced by rage, and the villain grits his teeth as Sero continues to laugh his ‘ass off, before turning his joy to the camera.

“Hey, guys at home- can you believe this guy? He should try standup or something-!” “Stop it... what are you-” “Nah, I think that Stain guy was the scariest, don’t you? Man, that guy was crazy, but he sure-was a great villain, huh? Ha, hey, do you all at home remember that ‘Dabi’ character? Y’know, I think he had the makings of a REAL villain...!”

Something instantly clicks in Izuku’s mind, even as his confused classmates look with concern at the televison.  Sero knows he can’t beat Shigaraki in a one-on-one fight. If they fought on equal footing, he’d lose to the villain. No... this whole ‘mocking’ gambit is an act. The one ‘thing that nobody ever did to Shigaraki’s face, is the one thing that’s working on both confusing and dislodging him. After all, Tomura thinks that he’s the one on the top. The destined villain, bred to destroy the society raised by All-Might’s earliest work.

A smile breaks-out across Izuku’s bruised face, remembered how entranced he was as a kid whenever he saw All-Might smiling on the television. A Hero’s smile can go a long-way for the scared masses watching at home... and if there’s one thing that Sero has over everyone else in 1-A, it’s that he’s always smiling about something.

Shigaraki finally sees that he’s being upstaged on his own twisted television show, and lunges towards Sero, but the student just ‘dances out of the way. The cameraman struggles to follow this strange dance around the room: Tomura lunges, Hanta dodges. Tomura dives forward, and Hanta flips backwards. 

Eventually, Sero spies a pattern through these wild and aimless lunges, and begins to put on a show for the struggling cameraman: a ballerina’s prancing-pirouette ‘here, or a series of backflips ‘there. In one instance, he manages to slap some ultra-smooth tape on the soles of his feet, and proceeds to skate around the room like a figure-skater.

“Man, come on, Shiggie, I thought you were meant to be good at chasing Heroes!”  “COME BACK HERE AND LET ME KILL YOU!” “Oh, that’s not very sporting! The audience at home would be heartbroken if I made things easier for you~” “GAHHH, BE QUIET YOU WORTHLESS INSECT-!” “Man, for someone who’s appearing on national TV, your scriptwriter is so generic. I’ve heard better ‘lines from Dynamight! Here, let me help you out-!”

Suddenly, a line of tape launches up towards the ceiling, and Sero begins to swing around the large warehouse, with the same level of ‘showmanship he had shown beforehand. He then ‘arcs in middair, increases his speed, and slams both of his feet ‘downwards into Shigaraki’s face. Tomura lets out a gasp of pain, and tries to grab for Sero’s ankles, but the hero is too-fast, already swinging back into the air!

“Anyway, Shigaraki, I have to be honest with you...”

Hanta swings down towards the ground, and onto the raised dais that previously served as the villain’s makeshift ‘stage’ for his televised address. A  broad arm wraps around Eri’s midsection, scooping the girl up before he soars back-up into the ‘rafters. Shigaraki grits his teeth, glaring-up at Sero’s still-smiling face as the hero holds Eri against his chest.  With his spare hand, Sero reaches into his back-pocket, and pulls out his mobile phone.

“...You aren’t the ‘Number One Villain’, anymore. Heh, if anything, I think this little fight of ours have proven one-thing: that the fear you once projected, is now only an act. You’re no more terrifying than a mugger, or a common crook. After all, if a ‘nobody’ like me can mock you, outmanoeuvre you, save your hostage and ruin your broadcast-”

One of the warehouse walls explodes, and Izuku smiles as he sees the battle-worn but imposing figures of Eraserhead, Endeavour, Snipe and Thirteen standing in the smouldering hole.

“-Imagine what they can do to you?” Hanta finishes. He fires a line of tape at the camera, dragging it’s focus away from the enraged Shigaraki and the advancing Pro-Heroes. Sero then stares into the camera-lense for a moment, and his gaze shifts over the floor for a moment, as Eri shivers against his shoulder.

Izuku holds his breath, and the pause is unbearable.

Then, the young man on the screen gives another toothy grin to the watching audience, and a sly, oh-so-familiar ‘wink.

“Have No Fear.”

The feed then cuts-out, and is reduced to static. Normal programming resumes, as the newscaster scrambles to retain some facet of professionalism on-air.

But Izuku had seen enough. He leans back into his hospital bed, closes his eyes, and finally allows himself to take a breath.

Eri is safe, Shigaraki will be placed into Tartarus, and Sero saved the day. Down the hall, the cheers of the doctors and nurses could be heard, but Izuku only sighed with relief, and rolls his head back against the cushion.

His mind wanders-back, to when he was never ‘Deku’, but the Quirkless and shunned Izuku Midoriya. He remembers one of the first questions he ever asked All-Might. At the time, he couldn’t even imagine how much it would change his fate.

‘Can someone without a Quirk, become a Hero?’

--------

It ends, how it began.

[artificialqueens]

Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, 3 (Branjie) (and background everyone else) - Ortega

a/n: hey fam!! we are over halfway through the rewrite so hopefully soon i can get a brand brand new chapter out to u soon, in the meantime enjoy chapter 3 all over again and see if u can spot the differences lmao?? idk but i hope u enjoy anyway!!

fic summary: Strictly Come Dancing enters its 18th series and its producers, after being goaded by a rival dance show on its inclusivity, commission it to be an all-female cast. Unlike Akeria who’s just here to bone her potential dance partner, dancer Vanessa is ready to act like a professional.

And then TV presenter Brooke Lynn walks into the rehearsal room.

***

28th September 2020

Vanessa has never been more excited in her life as she paces the rehearsal room, checks herself out for what is surely the millionth time in the mirrors and pulls a few strands of her dark hair out of her ponytail to frame her face. There’s a cameraman and a lighting person and a random producer set up in one corner too but Vanessa hardly acknowledges them, because it’s her first rehearsal with Brooke and in a moment she’s going to walk through those doors and they’ll get to start their journey together.

Saturday night had been a blur. They’d been rushed off to film their post-show reaction interview and Vanessa hardly remembers what she’d said. She supposes it couldn’t have been more incoherent than her immediate reaction. Or perhaps it had been. They’d swapped numbers excitedly, Vanessa’s heart dipping a little as Brooke insisted she couldn’t join for post-show drinks as she had to film early the next morning. With a pang of embarrassment, Vanessa remembers the text she’d sent to Brooke in the early hours of the morning as a result of Monique and Akeria’s shocking influence and way too much tequila:

V: iknow its 1am but im still so excited to be partnered wirg u and i cant wait for first rehearsal!!!!!!! x

It’s a miracle Brooke had still been up so her reply could come instantly and Vanessa didn’t have to wake up smelling of alcohol, kebab and regret the next day.

B: I’m excited too!! Have a good night, can’t wait for Monday x

It’s not like Vanessa has a crush- she’s just excited, as she keeps reminding herself, and Brooke is her first partner. It’s natural to look forward to seeing her as much as she is.

Vanessa inspects her reflection again, frowning and pulling out two more strands of hair from her ponytail to hang loose. She gives a cry of frustration as she realises she’s ruined it by pulling out way too much, so she bends over and hangs her head down between her knees to gather her hair up again.

She’s in this position when the door opens and she hears Brooke’s voice ringing into the echoey room.

“Good morning! Oh shit, am I interrupting something?“

Embarrassed, Vanessa flips her hair back and stands up straight, walking quickly over to Brooke as she dumps her gym bag at the door. “No, fuck, sorry, I was just fixing my hair! Hey!”

Brooke has her arms out ready to hug Vanessa and she accepts gladly. She smells all clean and of fabric softener. She probably uses in-wash scent boosters like an adult who has complete control of her life and more money than sense. They pull out of the hug and Vanessa fixes Brooke with a smile.

“So!” Vanessa starts, but there’s a noise from the other side of the room. One of the producers has stepped forward.

“Uh yeah, ladies, we can’t use that intro. We’re gonna have to film again.”

“How come?” Vanessa asked, realising too late that it’s because she was bent over with her hair hanging to the ground and that Brooke swore. The girls share a guilty laugh and Brooke retreats to the door. The good news is that they get to hug for a second time when they reshoot, and Vanessa gets another scent of Brooke’s detergent and the protected feeling of having the other girl’s strong arms around her.

“So, first rehearsal!” Vanessa chats cheerfully, leaning on the barre and tilting her head as she talks to Brooke. “How we feelin’?”

“Good! Excited. Ready. Positive adjectives,” Brooke says all at once, smiling at her. “How about you?”

“I’m happy. Kinda nervous, ‘cuz now I have to live up to your expectations.”

“And they are great expectations.”

Vanessa nods. “George Orwell style.”

Brooke pauses, fixing Vanessa with a funny look, then bursts out laughing. “Even Charles Dickens?”

Vanessa laughs, shrugging. “They both wrote books, I stay winning.”

She watches as Brooke doubles over clutching her stomach in hysteria, and feels a sense of pride at having made the girl laugh so much. Remembering the film crew in the corner, she smacks her hands together. “Right! For our first dance as a Strictly partnership, we are doin’ a…quickstep!”

Brooke raises her eyebrows and nods slowly. “Ballroom first, okay! I can do that. I guess I’m surprised we’re not doing Latin.”

Vanessa shrugs. “Ballroom ain’t my strong suit so I figured it’s better to get it out the way early while we got other, shittier girls we can hide behind.”

There’s a beat of silence as the two girls look at each other. They both speak at the same time. “…Farrah.”

“Reshoot!” the producer shouts over, Vanessa feeling herself roll her eyes like a teenager. Brooke snorts a laugh and Vanessa feels that little match spark up in her gut again. They reshoot, having the same conversation as before in so many words. It’s tricky remembering not to swear- Vanessa peppers fuck and shit into her daily language like she’s seasoning it, so it’s odd attempting to remove that from her vocabulary. She should probably be trying to give Brooke the impression of a mysterious and graceful woman who says gosh and darn but if she’s going to be working with her she’s going to be working with her, not a cookie-cutter picture perfect imitation.

“You wanna warm up?” Vanessa asks her, feeling a little bashful as Brooke rolls her neck slowly. She gives a small shake of her head as a long strip of her bare neck is exposed, her blonde ponytail falling over her shoulder. Vanessa feels like shaking her head herself, shaking all the thoughts that just entered her head out of it. Get a grip.

“Nah, I already did a bit before I came. We’ve got a gym at the flat, so it’s good for that kind of thing.”

Vanessa feels her eyebrows fly up her face. What kind of fancy-ass flat does she live in? “You wanna just do a bit of conditioning then? I saw you were good at it on the induction day, so you prolly don’t need to do much-”

“You had your eyes on me on induction day then?” Brooke interrupts, gives Vanessa a cheeky wink that makes her face hot. She thinks about making a jibe related to Brooke eyeing her up during squats, but she thinks it’s maybe a bit much. This is only the third time they’ve seen each other, after all. She doesn’t know why she’s acting like such a teenager.

“You wish, princess,” she sticks her tongue out. Brooke laughs and Vanessa joins her, trying not to think too much about where that princess appeared from out of nowhere.

Brooke shrugs in agreement and they do a bit of conditioning on the mats that are kept at the studio. They don’t really need to be doing too much- it’s a quickstep, it’s not exactly Cirque du Soleil- but Vanessa enjoys giving her muscles a proper stretch anyway. She doesn’t need to be the bendiest dancer in the world but she likes to feel as if her flexibility and strength are constantly improving. The film crew stay to catch some rehearsal shots but Vanessa feels as if it’s only her and Brooke in the room, their easy small-talk coming naturally as they stretch and chat over the chill R&B Vanessa’s stuck on in the background. Brooke’s been working that morning already, shooting for The Voice. They’ve moved filming to the morning so she can participate in the show. Vanessa says she hopes it’s not inconvenienced her too much and Brooke laughs and waves her apology away, saying it’s been her dream to get asked on the show ever since she rose to TV-presenter status.

Vanessa agrees, tells her about growing up watching the show with her Mom, how it inspired her when she began to compete all those years ago. She could get into other stuff, like the Summer when they couldn’t fly back to Puerto Rico because Vanessa had begged and pleaded with her Mom to spend the flight money on another term at dance school instead and it had caused a rift so huge it almost tore a hole in her family. But she doesn’t. As Vanessa reminds herself, it’s only their third meeting.

So why does she have to fight the compulsion to tell Brooke her damn life story?

Before Vanessa can blurt out any emotional moments from her upbringing (and she doesn’t exactly have a shortage of them), she slaps her thighs, stands up and rolls the mat away.

“Okay, let’s get started. Now obviously you’re good-”

“Oh, of course,” Brooke jokes. Vanessa’s heart gives a dip.

“- so I think we can maybe just start learning the full thing? If it’s too hard then we can just do some of the basics and go over lil’ techniques an’…stuff,” Vanessa clocks the cameras, changes the “shit” she was about to let out. “But the good news is we got two weeks to learn this one instead of one.”

“So there’s no excuse for it not to be perfect,” Brooke nods immediately. Vanessa freezes, taken aback. Brooke in turn looks almost as if she’s been caught out, and her face turns a little red. “Sorry. That probably seems way too keen, it’s just a fun dancing show-”

“Nah, keep that spirit. I’m a fan of that,” Vanessa smiles at her and Brooke, reassured, smiles back. The girl’s clearly a perfectionist. Vanessa adds that to her growing list of things she’s learning about her new partner. “Aight, I’m gonna show you how it’s gonna look. Lemme get my phone.”

Vanessa dashes over to her gym bag, scrambles about in it for a moment. She spent all of Sunday and stayed up all night finishing off the choreography with Crystal, who she’d also helped choreograph her first dance too, not that Crystal needed any help choreographing Latin. Or indeed ballroom. Or indeed any dance full stop. They’d brainstormed and drank gallons of water and chatted together excitedly the whole time. Being on the show with Crystal is nice because they practise their Spanish together so Vanessa doesn’t lose too much of it, and she understands what it’s like to be away from her huge extended family on days like Cinco di Mayo when the only real celebration of that in the UK is a display of Mexican party food in Tesco, and they moan together about the fact that neither of them have seen a single plantain on sale since arriving in the country. Finally finding her phone in her gym bag, Vanessa searches for the video she and Crystal took of the quickstep once it was all finished. Finding it, she plops down next to Brooke who’s sitting on the dusty floor and leaning against the mirrored wall. She hits play, holds her breath nervously and hopes Brooke will like what she’s come up with. Vanessa is relieved when a small smile grows on Brooke’s face.

“Are we actually doing it to Pon De Replay?”

“Damn right we are!” Vanessa replies proudly. She got her song request in early and the producers approved it on Sunday morning. She knows that she’s not as good at ballroom but she likes the fact that she can use songs she likes and twist the style to fit, making it more comfortable for her. The dance she’s created is clever, even if she does think so herself. First week is all about showcasing your celebrity and what they do, what kind of person they are, so Vanessa wants to give Brooke a challenge. The first half is a straightforward quickstep and the second is the same but everything mirrored and in reverse. There’s a silly bit at the start where Brooke’s going to pretend to be interviewing Vanessa to reflect her everyday career. It’s cheesy, but that’s Strictly.

The video comes to an end and Brooke is smiling from ear to ear. “Oh my God. I love it.”

“Ah! Amazing. I’m so glad,” Vanessa beams, happy and relieved all at once.

“I mean, it looks hard. But I didn’t think any of this would be easy.”

“It’ll get easier, though! Just needs practise. And remember, we’ve got two weeks!” Vanessa reminds her, standing up and shaking herself out. “So we’ve got ages. I mean. In between all the press and social media madness, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Brooke laughs, pushing herself up from the floor. “Right, come on then, teacher. What do we start with?”

Vanessa begins showing Brooke the routine, the complex and intricate little steps and hops of the quickstep taking Brooke a little bit of getting used to. But by lunchtime, they’ve gone through a little chunk of the dance already and they’ve run it without and with the music. Vanessa’s pleased with their progress and when they stop for their lunch break they’re both exhausted, sweaty, and smiling.

“You good?” Vanessa asks Brooke, who’s taking a long swig of her drink. Her eyes widen as she nods quickly.

“Yeah! Christ, it’s so tough. You’re a good teacher, though,” Brooke says, finally finishing her water. The praise makes Vanessa blush; she’s glad she’s already red from all the dancing so it doesn’t show as much.

“You’re doin’ great. Makin’ my job easy,” Vanessa smiles at her. She bites her lip before speaking again. “Hey, you wanna come have lunch with me?”

Brooke pulls a face and pouts. “Aw, that sounds amazing but I’ve got a meeting with my agent at quarter past. To make sure you’re not committing human rights violations against me or whatever.”

Vanessa snorts a laugh, tries not to look disappointed. They promise to meet back at the studio in half an hour, and Vanessa heads to the canteen where she knows some of the other girls will be having lunch too. The studios that a bunch of them have had the foresight to block-book are great and modern, and Vanessa feels bad for girls like Jan who’s having to rehearse in a draughty church hall near Jackie’s sleepy Hounslow suburb. Pushing open the double doors, she finds Phi Phi, Jaida, Monique, Crystal and Plastique already sitting at a table and eating lunch. Vanessa dashes over.

“Beep beep, hoes! Winner coming through,” she shouts over to them cheerfully, Monique laughing and rolling her eyes long-sufferingly as Jaida shakes her head at her.

“Take several seats, bitch.”

“One’s fine, thanks,” Vanessa flutters her lashes at her, causing the other girl to laugh.

“How did you even get in through the door with your head this big?” Monique scoffs, as Vanessa chucks her bag down and rakes through it for her lunch.

“Hey, you’d be crowin’ as well if you saw what my girl can do,” she points out, ignoring the way Monique’s eyebrows fly up her face at the my girl.

“It’s not about who’s got the best dancer from the start, it’s all about the potential,” Plastique shrugs at her. Vanessa gives a laugh.

“Aw, Scarlet’s got loads of that, right?” she jibes, the other girls laughing. Plastique rolls her eyes.

“We spent half an hour on a step-ball-change. Every object in the room slowly started to merge into implements with which I could kill both her and myself,” Plastique put her head in her hands. She’d ended up being partnered with the soap star and Monique, to her badly-suppressed delight, had been given singer Monet.

“At least she’s trying to work hard,” Phi Phi sighed, her face taking on a sour expression. “Willam is killing me. She keeps doing shit wrong and if I point it out she just makes a joke about it. And she keeps dashing next door to show shit to Courtney! What the hell is up with that? Courtney’s got Blair to worry about, she doesn’t need a damn goofball interrupting her rehearsal every two minutes to add to that.”

“Where is Courtney, anyway?” Vanessa asked, taking a big bite out of her chicken and rice. She knows Courtney shares their studios too and she’s notable by her absence.

Phi Phi pulls a face in response. “Let’s just say her and Blair have a lot of work to do.”

“Well, I can’t relate,” Monique smiles smugly. “Me an’ Monet have been doing amazing.”

“So’ve me and Gigi! She’s awesome,” Crystal pipes up excitedly. Vanessa swears she can see her pupils turn into little hearts as she speaks. “She’s so hardworking. We’ve done, like, half our dance already.”

“No you haven’t, stop lying,” Phi Phi nudges her under the table with her foot. Crystal rolls her eyes, resigned.

“Okay, not half, but maybe like a quarter. An eighth? A twelfth.”

The girls explode laughing and Vanessa actually has to wipe tears from her eyes. When she calms down, she asks Jaida how her rehearsals with Yvie are going so far.

“Alright, I guess. The girl’s really great, she’s got so much talent. But the bitch won’t stop filmin’ shit for her fuckin’ vlogs! I’d leap out the damn window but our room’s on the ground floor.”

Another roar flies up from the girls. It’s always funny to see how they all gel with their dance partners, and Vanessa has never got to experience it for herself until this year. She’s so happy she’s been paired with Brooke.

After the girls finish their lunch, Vanessa and Brooke continue to rehearse. The days pass like that easily with hours spent in hold, out of hold, stepping, hopping, watching Brooke tear her hands through her messy ponytail in frustration when she can’t immediately nail a particular move. Vanessa learns that Brooke’s hard on herself and, though she never snaps or yells, Vanessa knows it annoys her having to really properly work at the tricky bits. Truth be told, Vanessa gets annoyed at herself too. She curses herself whenever Brooke struggles with something, becomes convinced she should have made the dance a little easier for her. If Brooke doesn’t pick something up quickly Vanessa is irritated at her own teaching methods. She knows Brooke wants to be the best no matter how much she plays the competition off as simply a bit of fun, and she gets annoyed when it seems like she’s not doing enough to help her achieve that.

On the whole, though, Vanessa tries not to beat herself up too much. They do seem to be making really good progress in comparison to some of the other girls, and they’ve more or less learned the whole dance by the end of the first week. It bodes well for their next few weeks together, as they both know the two-week rehearsal process is a luxury that’s not going to be afforded to them for the rest of the series. Besides, next week is full of social media madness and promo filmings and they’ve got their It Takes Two interview with Cheryl on Friday. It’s going to be exhausting.

“It’s going to be exhausting,” Brooke smiles gently, contemplating the week ahead and rubbing her eyes at the end of their Saturday night rehearsal. It’s 10pm and probably far too late and Vanessa should’ve let Brooke get an early night but she got carried away polishing up little sections with her.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept you so late tonight,” Vanessa laments, frowning. Brooke frowns back, her face full of concern.

“Don’t apologise! I’m willing to stay as long as it takes. However long you think I need,” Brooke gives a small laugh, and Vanessa concedes and joins her laughter. The thought hits her that they’ve not shared too much on social media yet. Some of the pairs are giving round-the-clock updates as if they’re News 24 (she doesn’t think Aja and Farrah have stopped going live on Instagram since they began rehearsing but that’s what you get with a reality TV star as a partner), and Vanessa feels a bit guilty. She knows she’s got fans- it never gets any less crazy to say but it’s true- and she knows they’re as excited about her Strictly journey as she is. So she takes her phone out of her bag and waves it a little at Brooke.

“Hey. I know it’s late, but we’ve been workin’ so hard we kinda forgot about all the fun shit. Wanna take a few post-rehearsal selfies for Insta?”

She pauses as Brooke lets out a small laugh, suddenly feels embarrassed. “You know. If that’s your sorta thing.”

“I’m a TV presenter, Vanessa, I’m not the Prime Minister. I’m allowed to have fun,” Brooke laughs, struts up to stand beside her and faces the mirrored wall. “Go on then, Naomi Campbell, start the damn photoshoot.”

Vanessa laughs and her heart gives a little flutter as Brooke locks her fingers and rests them on her shoulder, leaning down and resting her head on them. She pouts and in turn Vanessa throws up a peace sign and sticks her tongue out. She takes a burst of five photos that will all look identical but she knows she’ll be able to find a tiny, minute difference in them all. Brooke leans over her phone as she scrolls through the photos, and suddenly jabs a finger against her screen.

“That one. It’s cute.”

Vanessa obeys orders and puts it on her Instagram story along with a timestamp and a little gif of a teddy bear falling asleep.

“Now do a video!” Brooke bounces on her toes all excited, and Vanessa has to laugh at how much she’s getting into the swing of things. Vanessa points the camera at them both, begins recording.

“Hey guys, Vanjie here with my girl Brooke Lynn, so it is…” she forgets the time, appeals to Brooke. “10.05? 10.06?”

“Way-too-late-o’clock,” Brooke chimes in, pokes Vanessa’s face teasingly. Vanessa rolls her eyes.

“We’ll go with that. An’ we have just finished a run of our full dance, you’re gonna love it, I can’t wait to show off this girl, y’all are not ready.”

Vanessa feels her face grow ever-so-slightly flushed as Brooke turns to her and smiles. “Aww. That’s cute, thanks! Oh, can we tell them what the song is?”

Vanessa faces her and laughs. “No way! We gotta wait til Monday, that’s when they all get released.”

“Please?” Brooke actually pouts. It’s too adorable and her face is so close to Vanessa’s in her attempt to fit into frame that Vanessa could totally lean forward and give her the tiniest little kiss if she wanted.

She doesn’t want to. Why the fuck did that thought just appear in her head?

“No! They’ll find out on Monday. And the dance too! No special treatment.”

“Ugh. I’m so telling my agent, this is definitely illegal. Should’ve stayed on the damn One Show.”

Vanessa bursts out laughing at Brooke’s joke, shakes her head at the camera. “I have to work with this diva. Jeez. Well, see you guys later!”

“Yeah, see you all later! If she hasn’t murdered me by then.”

“If I haven’t murdered her by then. Bye, love ya!” Vanessa signs off and stops recording, posts the video to her story as Brooke laughs. “You’re a natural at all this social media shit. Right, go get some rest. See you Monday, girl.”

“See you Monday,” Brooke smiles. Vanessa doesn’t miss the way she sort of hovers, lingering with the smile still on her face before looking to the floor and then leaving the room. Vanessa wonders what she was thinking. It couldn’t have been that important.

Before Vanessa begins to pack up she checks Instagram to see the reaction to the stuff she’s just dropped. There’s a few replies- she always gets them on her stories from fans and she tries to reply to most of them. One in particular catches her eye- a reply to the video which is peppered with heart-eye emojis and simply reads:

OHMYGOSH!!!!! You guys are SO cute together!!!

Vanessa doesn’t realise how long she’s been smiling until she’s left the studio and walking to the tube.

They both have a day off on Sunday- they all do. It’s been a long first week and they’ve all earned it. Vanessa has an ice bath because she’s forgotten how intense it is to be rehearsing all day every day with just one other person. It reminds her of the show she did that Summer with-

Well. It doesn’t matter now.

What matters now is Brooke, and Vanessa spends most of the daytime on Sunday sitting on the small sofa that’s squashed under the ceiling beam in her tiny narrow flat, curled up under a blanket and trying to figure out how to text her. She wants to make that connection with her partner, she wants her and Brooke to be close friends and to be able to go for lunch and talk about anything together and have their own little jokes and stuff like that. Lots of the dancers have that kind of connection with their girls already- Crystal and Gigi are averaging around two silly selfies a day on social media, Vanessa can hear Monique and Monet’s laughter ricocheting off the walls and down the stairs from their rehearsal room, and there is already some are-they-aren’t-they media speculation in the form of Jan and Jackie, who were papped going to get bagels in a break between rehearsals with their pinkies interlocked and small smiles on their faces. Vanessa’s not jealous of them, whatever it is they have. She’d asked Crystal about them, because she’s closer with Jan, and Crystal had laughed it off and said they’re just friends and they’re getting on very well. Vanessa has reason to doubt her, mind you. She knows chemistry when she sees it.

Vanessa finally decides to shoot Brooke a message at around six at night. She’s making a cheat meal of mac and cheese with a bunch of chorizo through it, because she damn well deserves a carb and some dairy and some oily meat. It’s when she realises that she’s made enough for a small village that she takes her phone out, messages Brooke before she can overthink it.

V: i’ve just made way too much mac and cheese, u wanna have a rehearsal room floor picnic tomorrow? x

The moment it’s sent she regrets how outrageously fucking pathetic she sounds. That is until she gets a reply around two minutes later, one that makes her face hurt with a smile.

B: No chance you’re offloading your failed masterchef attempts onto me. How do I know it’s edible? x

Her reply is flirtatious. Vanessa tries to explain it away but she can’t, so she positions her phone in front of the huge earthenware tray she’s just taken out of the oven, the breadcrumbs giving a satisfying crackle as she sticks a serving spoon into it and takes a boomerang of the strings of cheese and billows of steam that emerge as she pulls the spoon out and a golden slice of the baked pasta with it. She sends it off to Brooke without any written reply and for a moment she forgets about any potential response as hunger overtakes her. She grabs a white bowl with a small crack down its side and piles the pasta high into it, sitting back on the couch and pulling the purple blanket over her knees as she scans the channels for something to keep her company as she eats. She settles on a rerun of some 90s gameshow and as it eventually finishes, so does her dinner. It’s only then that Vanessa remembers her phone, and as she dashes back across to the kitchen counter her heart gives a giant thump of joy as she sees four messages from Brooke.

B: Omg I take it all back, I will never doubt your cooking skills again x

B: Is that chorizo???????? I’m so hungry x

B: Are you mad at me because I said it wouldn’t be edible?? I’m sorry!!!!!! x

B: Please bring some for lunch tomorrow! I’ll get us a dessert, call it an apology x

Vanessa looks at the little “x” after each one. She’s blushing before she even knows it and it’s almost like Brooke has planted real little kisses on both her cheeks.

V: i’d say it’s a date but i’m not gonna give u the satisfaction x

A reply from Brooke doesn’t come but somehow it doesn’t bother her.

They have their picnic on the floor of the rehearsal room the next day, just as had been promised. Brooke makes ridiculous noises as she takes her first bite of the mac and cheese and Vanessa pokes fun at her for buying the cakes and not baking them (but Galaxy cake bars are delicious, so she doesn’t complain too much). They make a silly video for Instagram- “Hey guys! We’ve stopped for lunch and I brought a picnic!” “Hey, I made cakes!” “Bought cakes. Bought.” - and they’re almost too full to practise afterwards but they do, until late into the night, and the day after that and the day after that. They squeeze in their photoshoot for the title sequence and an interview for the Radio Times and the days pass in a busy blur. Vanessa’s smile grows wider with each rehearsal as they become better and better at the dance and on Thursday night they run it through with no mistakes at all, Vanessa so happy that she jumps into Brooke’ arms and squeals with delight and Brooke squeezes her tight and does the same. Before they know it it’s Friday, they’re the last It Takes Two interview of the week, and the first show is a little over twenty-four hours away.

“You nervous?” Vanessa whispers to Brooke as they watch Cheryl interviewing one of the past contestants they’ve invited on to give their insight. The sister show of Strictly isn’t watched by a huge number of people but it is watched by the hardcore fans, and Vanessa is anxious to make a good impression.

“A little. I’m used to conducting the interviews, not giving them,” Brooke frowns a bit, sweeps her blonde hair over her shoulder. She turned up to the studios in a smart blue suit and orange heels and Vanessa is amazed that she hasn’t dissolved into liquid form under Brooke’s gaze.

Brooke is so beautiful, and Vanessa wonders if she’ll ever stop thinking that to herself.

Vanessa drops a shy hand to her side and takes Brooke’s, lacing their fingers together and giving them a squeeze. They hold hands and press their bodies together and look into each other’s eyes all the time as part of the dance so it’s not weird, it’s almost routine. When Brooke smiles at her, reassured and at ease, Vanessa relaxes by at least ninety percent.

They’re soon called out while a pre-recorded VT of their rehearsal footage plays and they whisper an excited hey to Cheryl in all her fake-tanned, white-toothed glory, the very vision of an Essex girl-turned-professional. Vanessa’s been interviewed by Cheryl before, last year when she was on the bench and all she had to do were some silly challenges and goof around with the other pros. This is different.

Vanessa takes a quick breath in and holds it while she smiles maniacally at the camera and Cheryl does their introduction. “Alright, now, joining us for the last interview of the week- it’s Brooke and Vanessa!”

A cheer goes up from the production crew as they both wave to the camera, and it makes Vanessa’s smile turn more goofy than she’d intended it to be. She leans into Brooke’s side as she laughs and she notices that Brooke’s got an arm resting on the headboard on the sofa behind her.

“Now, Brooke, you’ve had a fortnight of rehearsals and had to work around your busy taping schedule- what’s that been like?” Cheryl asks, leaning forward with interest. Vanessa has always liked Cheryl, mainly because an interview with her feels like a chat with an old friend and she always genuinely seems interested in what someone has to say.

“Ugh, you know what? It’s been amazing,” Brooke smiles, and Vanessa’s heart lights up in affirmation. She turns to look at Brooke and she’s already smiling at her. “Obviously it’s been tiring at times, I think I’ve had a combined total of about 10 hours of sleep this week-”

Vanessa snorts, laughs at how dramatic Brooke’s being.

“-but I wouldn’t change it. I’ve learned so much, and V’s such a good teacher. I really struck it lucky with her.”

The production team let out an “aww”, and Vanessa tries to bite back a grin and fails. Brooke’s arm goes from the headboard to rest around her shoulders and Vanessa is scared to move in case she scares her away like a butterfly.

“Now speaking of- Vanessa,” Cheryl’s face breaks into a smile as she turns to her, and Vanessa’s stomach flutters a little with nerves. “You obviously felt you struck it lucky with Brooke too, let’s remind everyone of your reaction to getting paired with her.”

Vanessa lets out a wail of protest and buries her face in her hands as the clip of their pairing is played, and she can hear Brooke creasing with laughter beside her. Her embarrassment is rewarded with Brooke squeezing her shoulder in reassurance, and Vanessa supposes it’s sort of worth it. The clip comes to an end and, as Vanessa takes her hands away from her face, she knows she’s blushing hard.

“Now, you were…I think you were a bit happy?” Cheryl teases sarcastically. Vanessa playfully glares at her, and Brooke squeezes her shoulder again. “Are you still as overjoyed with having Brooke as a partner now you’ve started to rehearse with her?”

“Aw, I’m still as happy as I was on launch night. Honestly,” Vanessa smiles at Cheryl, turns and smiles at Brooke too because she can’t help it. “She just makes it so easy because- she doesn’t stop smiling, so rehearsals are fun, and she is just the hardest-working girl…that even a word? Hardest-working…most hardworking..I don’t know, but she’s it, you know?”

Her praise is rewarded by Brooke dropping her hand down to her waist, and Vanessa’s heart gives a judder. It’s not like she’s not used to Brooke’s hands on her, but the context is different, and it throws her off ever so slightly in the best possible way.

“I think what’s nice is- I’ve wanted to be on this show for so long and it’s V’s first year with a partner, so we’re kind of doing this whole journey together, and it’s special,” Brooke smiles, and Vanessa nods in agreement, as if the movement of her head will stop the blood rushing to her cheeks in a blush.

“It is nice! Because I suppose, Brooke, you ain’t gotta compare yourself to anyone because there’s not been any partners before you,” Cheryl adds with a shrug. Vanessa smiles at her words and nods, turns to Brooke as she speaks.

“Yeah. You’re my favourite.”

Brooke’s eyes have a twinkle in them as she smiles back at her. “Aw, thanks.”

The interaction is so quick that Cheryl’s already on to her next question before she can pick up on it. “Now, Vanessa, you chose a quickstep for week one, why was that?”

Vanessa sighs a little as she thinks about it. She doesn’t want to come across too cocky, come out with because my girl’s the best and I knew she could do it in her sleep with her eyes shut, so she instead tries to come across as humble as she can. “I think because- it’s a fast dance, and it’s good to go right in at the deep end on your first week. I can see Brooke Lynn’s potential, and I know what she’s capable of, so we just sort of went for it and she’s coped so well. She’s thrived.”

“Not survived, but thrived! I love it!,” Cheryl laughs along with her. “Now, this pairing, I have heard…through the grapevine…this is a bit of a linguistically challenged pairing, am I right?”

Vanessa blinks at her. “What’s that even mean?”

Brooke howls with laughter beside her and Cheryl does the same opposite, and Vanessa pouts. She doesn’t like to look dumb, and the wounded part of her wants to remind them both that she’s the only one out of the three of them that speaks more than one language, but she lets it drop when Brooke explains it to her softly. “Like…words and stuff.”

“Oh right! Yeah, so Brooke’s got lil words for all the steps we’re doin’.”

“It just helps me remember the timing!” Brooke laughs, her turn to feel embarrassed as she covers her face with her hands.

“Yeah, so we go, like…step, hop, beans-on-toast!” Vanessa explains. Cheryl’s looking at Brooke as if she has two heads.

“What is beans on toast?!” she exclaims. Brooke shakes her head, gives Vanessa a look of admonishment.

“It’s just a little phrase, and it goes with the timing of the steps of the dance, and it helps me remember them…I won’t do it on the night, you won’t hear me say it!” Brooke laughs. She’s got the slightest hint of a blush hitting her cheeks, and part of Vanessa feels warm with the fact that the stage lights are too bright to pick up on it and it’s like a secret only she knows.

“Well, Vanessa, there’s also a revelation I’ve heard today that I’m a little bit shocked by…” Cheryl begins, and Vanessa feels nervous, as if Cheryl’s about to rip the butterflies out of her stomach and show them to Brooke as some sort of proof of any embarrassing little feelings she’s got for her. “…you’re a Strictly pro that can’t actually say the name of one of the dance moves?”

“Oh my God,” Vanessa lets out a groan. She knows instantly what Cheryl is referring to, and Brooke’s hand is wrenched from its position on her waist as she claps her hands with mirth.

“Can you say it now?” Brooke teases, and Vanessa rolls her eyes at her.

“Girl, you know I can’t!” she whines, prepares herself to try and say the offending word. “Sash-ay?”

“No!” Brooke laughs, the twinkle in her eye almost blinding.

“Sash-ay?” Vanessa hears herself, and shakes her head. “No, wait, I already said it like that.”

“It’s not like a sachet of sauce,” Cheryl supplies unhelpfully. Vanessa raises her eyebrows at her. She tries again.

“Chassé,” she finally comes out with, and a roar of satisfaction erupts from the crew behind the cameras. She laughs as she protests her lack of pronunciation. “Leave me alone, I got two languages to try an’ speak in!”

“And you can’t say chassé in either of them,” Brooke teases, sticking her tongue out at her. Vanessa finds it hard to rip her eyes away from her partner as Cheryl speaks again.

“Well, you two, you’ve been a joy to have with us today, good luck for Saturday night-”

“Thank you!”

“- Brooke and Vanessa, everybody!”

A cheer goes up from the crew, and Vanessa can’t help but giggle at the silliness that was the end of their interview. As Cheryl introduces another section of the show, Vanessa feels Brooke slip her hand into her own, squeezing it once. Vanessa squeezes back, and Brooke meets her eyes in a calm smile. It’s Friday evening, they’re off to rehearse as soon as this is over, and then it will be Saturday and their first live show as a couple. Vanessa is the best kind of nervous, and she finds herself shutting her eyes for a second as if to check she’s not dreaming.

Another squeeze of her hand from Brooke Lynn brings her back to earth with a bump, but she doesn’t mind.

[rainandhotchocolate]

Movie Star - Part 2

A/N AND WE”VE REACHED THE END OF MY ADVENT CALENDAR a day late I know oops. Here’s part 2 to Movie star lovelies, hope you enjoy xx

Part 2

The next week felt like a blur to Y/N. And possibly the weirdest week she had ever experienced in her entire life. She was on set almost every day, with incredibly long hours given that they needed to do just as many night shoots as day ones, and it needed to be perfectly dark for the cinematographers to actually get the right shot.

Y/N had never felt so exhilarated and exhausted at the same time. She’d been on sets before, obviously, having tried to get as many internships and free work whilst she wasn’t getting any paid roles, and having done almost every small time shitty job that you could do behind the camera, but it was nothing like getting to be an entirely different person for 12 hours a day.

She’d met most of the crew, though she struggled to remember names given that there was over 200 of them wandering around at different times of the day. There seemed to be a rotating cast list, with only a few core people on set every single day with Y/N and Sirius. The person that seemed to be around the most was James Potter, who was playing Sirius’ brother Rowan, and had clicked almost immediately with Sirius. During night sets they could regularly be found playing small pranks on the crew to keep their spirits up when they needed to reset a scene for the 50th time.

Y/N hadn’t seen Mary since she’d dropped the very disconcerting news the week previous, but she had received hundreds of emails regarding their ‘relationship’ since then, with a very long list of potential Instagram posts and stories, events they will go together to, and potential dates to flaunt. Y/N had been trying to push down the vague nausea that seemed to wash over her every time she thought about it, but this morning she’d received a text that meant she might puke at any moment.

“Morning, Y/L/N,” Sirius grinned at her as Y/N walked onto set, yawning loudly at him, and holding a large cappuccino.

“Morning, Black. How’ve you been during the past eight hours you’ve not seen me?”

“Not bad, not bad, ate a packet of mike and ike’s instead of dinner but otherwise nothing wild.” He ran a hand through his hair as they walked through the sunny parking lot at the studio. It was incredibly hot, the sun shining directly on Y/N’s back and no cool breeze to stop the sweat from beginning to drip down her back.

“So…” Y/N could sense the slight change in his tone, and her stomach curdled. “Did you get that text this morning?”

“Yep, 6am on the dot. Do you reckon she actually sleeps?”

“I sincerely doubt it,” Sirius barked out a laugh as he pushed open the door to lot 34 and let Y/N pass in front of him. Y/N felt a little relief as Sirius’ face returned to his more natural ‘at-ease-with-anything’ expression.

“But yeah, looks like we’re getting brunch this weekend.” Y/N continued, wanting more than anything to get this conversation out of the way so she could go back to attempting to become best friends with a very influential actor.

“I’ve got to tell you a secret before we do,” Sirius lowered his voice, leaning against Alice’s caravan, his face significantly closer than Y/N was used to. “I don’t like brunch.”

Y/N burst out into laughter, nervous energy bursting out of her. He smelled like the ocean. Shut up, Y/N.

“How do you not like it! It’s the best possible meal.” Y/N protested, Sirius still leaning over her but pulled his head back to smile.

“Honestly, I ust feel like it’s so overpriced and I could probably just cook something better at hom… and I’m sounding like a total prat right now, aren’t I.”

“A little bit… Mr Millionaire.” Y/N teased, shoving his shoulder playfully.

“Oh shut up. Well I guess we must flaunt our incredible, blooming relationship.” He said dramatically, bowing at Y/N. “I’ll see you on set M’lady.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and pushed the door open to meet Alice who was standing very close to the door and giggling.

“You heard all of that didn’t you,” Y/N grumbled.

“Every last romantic word.” Alice bustled her into her chair and stood in front of her, getting started on her face. Y/N had stopped bothering to do herself up before coming into work, given that Alice was likely going to either destroy it or make her look ten times better than Y/N could ever have attempted.

Given that they were still early on in the script, Y/N was normally covered in dirt, but she was soon to be ‘cleaned up’ and accepted into the royal court where Sirius of course would be waiting.

“Have you seen Frank lately?” Alice asked calmly, only a slight edge of curiosity in her voice. Y/N snorted, blowing a puff of foundation powder onto Alice.

“Sorry, you’re just stupidly in love with that boy.”

“I am not!” Alice’s voice went up about two octaves and Y/N grinned wider. “Stop smiling I’m trying to make you look like a sad peasant.”

“I have seen him, given that he is the head cameraman and is constantly in my face.

“Mmm,” Alice replied nonchalantly.

“He mentioned you the other day.”

“Really.”

“Yeah but since you don’t care…”

“I will make you look like a pig,” Alice growled at her, puffing a brush onto her nose, making Y/N smile.

“That’s your head on a platter to Marlene, not mine,” Y/N could hear Alice grumbling under her breath for a few moments before she replied.

“Fine, I admit my stupid crush, what did he say about me.”

“Just that the make up looked very good on set, and he was very impressed.”

Y/N was sure that if she could have opened her eyes that Alice would have been dancing. But instead, all she heard was.

“That’s nice of him.”

Alice ushered her out of the van, wishing Y/N luck for the rest of the day. Y/N waved her off and made her way to costuming before heading back to set. Today Sirius was revealed to be the prince of Altervail, and Y/N had to stop herself from staring at him looking incredibly dapper in a deep navy uniform. It was form fitting and perfectly complimented his dark grey-blue eyes.

“Looking good, peasant,” Sirius grinned when he saw her, turning away from James who was wearing the same uniform.

“Thank you, your highness.” Y/N curtseyed very low in her pants.

“Ready to be accepted into our humble kingdom?” James side-stepped Sirius so he was beside him. It was a little uncanny looking at the two of them next to each other, dark skin and jet black hair. Sirius’ however fell with a kind of curling ease that James’ messy hair could never have achieved.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

In the evening, the crew had set up dinner and someone had brought in a crate of beers since they had managed to finish up early. Y/N had been talking to a small, very peppy brown haired girl when Sirius tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hey, I’m heading off – just wanted to say goodnight,” He was smiling softly down at her. He looked tired, his make up was off and he was wearing an oversized black hoodie. He somehow looked more like himself than Y/N had ever seen him, even though they had spent the last 100 hours together.

“Oh ok, goodnight then.”

“I guess I’ll see you on Sunday.”

“Yes, I nearly forgot,” Liar. He said nothing, but just continued to smile. “But yes, see you then.”

“Ok, well bye then,” And he turned and disappeared into the night.

“Please get out of the bathroom, Lils!” Y/N banged on the door loudly. “I have to go!”

“It’s a fake date, that’s hardly wild plans.” Lily replied, her voice strained. Y/N groaned, she was probably putting on her eyeliner which could take up to an hour.

It was 9:45, and Mary had left specific instructions that she needed to be at the restaurant at 10am sharp and Sirius was going to pick her up. She was to look good, but non-descript, like they were on a date but not trying to show off. It was a lot of instructions that Y/N really couldn’t figure out. Lily and herself had spent two hours going through each of their wardrobes trying to pick out an outfit that fit Mary’s words and they had finally settled on a simple yellow summer dress and sandals.

The doorbell rang and Y/N jumped.

“Fucking hell Lily, he’s here! Get out and stall him so I can look like an awake human being!”

The door swung open, Lily’s long red hair swishing along her shoulder, one terribly lined eye done and the other black line smudged all over her eye.

“You look great.”

“Shut up and put on your face.”

She swung passed her and towards the front door as Y/N moved quickly towards the bathroom mirror, pulling open all the drawers manically.

“Hey, come on in, she’s just getting ready.” Y/N could hear the door open and Lily inviting him inside, panic was building in her chest. How do you get ready for a date with Sirius Black? What were they going to say about her? What if every magazine just posts about how pathetic she looked beside him?

Lily popped her head around the doorway.

“He’s cute, also brown eyeshadow, keep it easy.”

“Thanks,” Y/N grabbed the palate beside her and attempted her eyes as Lily disappeared back down into their tiny kitchen/living room. Y/N could hear light chatter but couldn’t make out the words, which somehow made her even more nervous. Finally, she looked at herself in the mirror and grimaced. Good enough.

She made her way into the main room to greet him, plastering a look of calm and confidence onto her face.

“Hey! You found the place ok?” She smiled at Sirius and pulled him into a hug. Nice one, never done that before.

“Yeah, I actually used to live around here. Ready to go?” He was wearing a linen white shirt, rolled up at the sleeves and dark blue jeans that were tight but not too tight. He looked perfectly casual but nice. Fuck.

“Yep, ready as ever.” Y/N grabbed her denim jacket and kissed Lily on the cheek goodbye, following Sirius out the door.

Taglist:  @averytruerayofsunshine @siriuslyjanhvi @blushingskywalker @blackpinkdolan @thebabblingbookworm @cherrie511 @imlukesnirvana​ @avengersassemblee​ @maraudersandco​ @sly-vixen-up2nogood​ @katbernoulli @sirius-lysad​ @evyiione​ @minerva26love​ @aikeia​ @gollyderek​ @greatwombatblaze​  @songforhema​  @your-typical-giggle @myownviperroom @hermionie-is-my-queen @demiwitch527

Movie star taglist:    WANGMANGAGAVROCHE    @RIDDIKULUSLYPOTTER

[adamwatchesmovies]

Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)

Maybe it’s a good thing my first DVD of Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth was too badly damaged to play. If it had functioned properly, I don’t think I would've continued with the series. This film is badly acted, poorly written, plagued with bad special effects and filled with questionable creature designs. It also makes the enormous mistake of giving us a complete origin for Pinhead. Worst of all, it's boring.

Rich and spoiled club owner J.P. Monroe (Kevin Bernhardt) stumbles upon a curious artifact - an intricately carved stone pillar covered with tormented faces. When blood is spilled onto its surface (in a head-scratching scene that involves a hand-sized hole trap you'd expect to find in an Indiana Jones movie and a phony-looking rat) Pinhead (Doug Bradley) will emerge once again. With the Cenobite aiming to bring Hell to Earth, an ambitious young television reporter named Joey Summerskill (Terry Farrell) is humanity’s only hope.

I’m seriously considering giving this movie a big fat zero. It's hard to name anything good, or even creative about Hellraiser 3. Right away, it sets itself up for failure by having some bad actors front and center. The worst offender has to be Joey’s cameraman Doc (Ken Carpenter). From there, it just keeps getting worse. I understand that if you’re making a sequel to a film franchise that didn’t lend itself to multiple chapters, you’ve got to dig for ideas, but giving an origin story to your movie monster does not help make them more frightening or interesting. When Cenobites turn out to be a bunch of humans who got warped by mysterious powers, the spook scale goes down a notch, but they can still be compelling. When you give Pinhead a name and you spend the time to know everything about him, he becomes a tragic figure (at best), not one that fills you with dread.

If you could somehow muster enough enthusiasm to care about the characters in this film (a legendary feat) you'll still struggle to stay awake. This plot is as generic as it gets. What does Pinhead want? To bring Hell to Earth. How? By destroying the Lament Configuration and escaping his prison. Once he gets out, what is his plan? Kill a bunch of people and assemble an army of the worst-looking Cenobites ever conceived. Meanwhile, Joey talks to the ghost of Pinhead’s former self to figure out a way to keep the box out of the demon's hands. I'll come up with a better story outline right now. How about the story of a devout Christian who loses hope in humanity when he realizes the best way to convince the world that God is real... is to give them a glimpse of Hell? Hearing stories and testimonies of people from the mental ward in which he volunteers in, the man has to commit a series of ever-escalating crimes to obtain the object and equipment necessary to accomplish what he perceives as a noble goal. He tells himself that all of these actions are justified and will be forgiven once he goes to confession. As his heart gets blacker and blacker, he begins losing track of why he was doing this in the first place and Pinhead’s evil starts leaking into his life while he begins slowly figuring out how to open up the puzzle. There!

I have to dedicate a segment of this review to the new Cenobites introduced. The worst monsters ever brought to the screen. The biggest eye-sore has to be one that butchers human with killer CDs. An anthropomorphic CD player with a leather fetish. Easily the worst of the bunch, but a special mention goes to killer camera lens guy, who looks like he was designed by a 12-year old who once saw a still from Hellraiser. “Breathing stoma” Cenobite and “Piston Head” Cenobite are nearly as awful. The special effects that bring these creatures to life are reasonable, but there is no shortage of bad special effects. Pinhead in that pillar is no Han Solo in Carbonite.

Despite my best efforts, I failed to watch all of the Hellraiser franchise in chronological order, but I saw a fair amount. I say this saga is on the same level as the Leprechaun series. At least the Irish menace's misdeeds never put me to sleep and remained consistent. Hellraiser and its sequels wasted their potential through cheap cash grabs to keep the characters in the public eye. I despised Hell on Earth. I urge you to stay away from the series overall. Check out the first film, there’s some good stuff there. Horror classics, these are not. I hope someday we get a remake, with great special effects and a tight story. Until then, I’d like to send the series back to where it came from. (On DVD, July 12, 2015)

[firelord-frowny]

I saw a Post about like ~symbolism~ in literature and how a lot of folks kinda instinctively balk at the idea of it in a “cigar is just a cigar” kind of way and it got me thinking some thinkey thoughts that i’ve thought for a long time and like 

For the most part I think people who dismiss that kind of stuff so quickly are just, plain and simple, people who don’t care much about writing as an art form anyway. Sometimes literature just isn’t someone’s favorite way to experience art, and so they don’t feel invested in devoting any amount of brain power to interpreting things beyond what they see on the page. And that’s fine! That’s how I am with most visual art. I just say “ooh, pretty” and leave it at that. I don’t really know or care much about the meaning or intent or what certain colors represent or why the subject has a certain expression on their face. I’m sure an actual artist or someone who’s just passionate about art would be all over that shit! Analyzing and appreciating and theorizing. But for me, it really isn’t that deep. Either I like it or I don’t like it, and I carry on with my day. And if someone insisted that it’s imperative that I learn how to ~interpret~ art, I’d probably be hella frickin annoyed. I mean, would it be a good skill to have? Sure! Any skill, no matter how obscure, has the potential to come in handy in life. But like. We don’t all have the time, energy, or ability to become adept in Every Skill Ever. We pick and choose what matters to us most, and we don’t worry so much about the other stuff. So, that’s how I think a lot of folks feel about literature, and I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing that that’s the case. Some people just! Aren’t interested! 

And for me, as a writer, I can honestly attest with 1000% certainty that I never once have intentionally included symbolism of any kind at all whatsoever.... and yet it’s still there. It happens ALL. THE. TIME. where I read over something I wrote years ago and discover large and small ways that I, without even realizing it, used various kinds of symbolism in lots of places. Some examples:

As a character’s mental/emotional state deteriorates over the course of the story, their living space gets more and more cluttered

As a character becomes more detached from their friends and family, their living space becomes more and more barren

A fire (candle, fireplace, campfire, etc) gradually burns itself out as a heated conflict is resolved between two or more characters 

A character’s profession as a photographer highlights his feeling of detachment from the world - the world “happens” around him, but he can’t engage with it. He’s the cameraman - not the subject. 

Golden Gate Bridge representing two opposite things - gates of heaven, and bridge/road to hell 

A character gets abducted by aliens - the character is named after a biblical figure who ~went to heaven while alive~ (I’m honestly BAFFLED at how I managed to coincidentally give the character the name that I did, because I legitimately know jack shit about the bible lmfao. It’s never been important to me to research names before I name a character, because actual parents don’t name their children with foreknowledge of what their future will entail. So I just name them Whatever.)

A character hates thunderstorms. Thunderstorms = unresolved fears and traumas. Thunder/lightning/wind/heavy rain are emphasized in moments where the character must confront their traumas.

A wise, calm character frequently drinks tea. Other characters, when experiencing moments of clarity, are drinking tea, too 

Threadbare bedsheets symbolizing how time wears things down 

Two characters on opposite sides of a doorway - one side, outdoors, is dark and cold and dreary. The other side, indoors, is light and warm and homey. Symbolizes each character’s current place in life. 

An untrustworthy character always approaches people from behind 

A character happens to be standing near a window every time they mention wanting to be free or every time they feel cornered and want to escape

A character who’s turning their back on their friends and family throws away their welcome mat 

A character whose friends and family are never there for them has a welcome mat that still looks brand new after years of no one coming to visit 

Character A allows character B to wear her deceased husband’s coat - character B can still smell the husband’s sweat in the coat. The husband’s presence still lingers in character A’s life.

The steps of the Lincoln Memorial represent neutral ground. I don’t even know why, but all my scenes that take place at the Lincoln Memorial deal with characters meeting there to bury a hatchet between them.

A character, Steven, symbolizes reality. Madison is an untrustworthy narrator bc he’s just fuckin insane, and Nixon is untrustworthy because he’s biased by his feelings for Madison, but Steven’s perspective is always fact-based, and he has very few personal opinions. Steven sets the record straight. 

Nixon = inner peace and unconditional love 

Franky = confidence and authenticity 

Andromeda galaxy = hope for a better future 

Noise = Madison’s current state of mind. Scenes in which he’s overwhelmed and stressed include vivid descriptions of all the sounds around him. Scenes where he’s calm and collected have little to no emphasis on sound.

Madison’s friend gives him a tattoo of a solar eclipse - Madison wonders if he’s meant to be the sun, or the moon in front of it.

Tactile sensation = scenes where Madison feels safe and comfortable emphasize physical sensations like softness and warmth and smoothness. 

Light = Moments of clarity tend to take place in sunlight, especially surrounded by shadow 

Dark = Moments of fear or uncertainty take place in darkened areas 

Characters that bring negative energy tend to stand in a location that blocks light and casts significant shadow 

Characters that bring positive energy bring light into a room, perhaps by opening a door, pulling back the curtains, or literally just turning the lights on

There’s just??? A lot. And none if it is something I do ~on purpose~ in the sense that I didn’t just sit there and go “Ah, yes, this character feels like an outsider who can’t interact with the world, so I’ll make him a photographer.” It just... happens that way. It’s not something I ever consciously practiced or studied or strove for. It’s just what comes out of my brain when I sit and let a scene play out in my head. I emphasize noise when Madison is overwhelmed because that’s just what I experience when I watch the scene in my head. The welcome mat is unused just because when I watch my character coming home and the “camera” pans downward, an unused welcome mat is what I see there. When character B put on character A’s dead husband’s coat and he smelled the sweat, that’s just... what happened! That’s just how it played out in my head! 

It’s not intentional, but it’s there, and it’s there just because it felt like it should be there. And I’m acutely aware that some people aren’t going to catch those things, or they’ll interpret it differently, or they’ll hone in on completely different details that I would have never noticed, but are in fact right there on the page. 

And I think that’s the fun thing about writing and about storytelling and about art in general. We can convey our vision as vividly as possible, we can go so far out of our way to take the reader/observer exactly where we want them to go, but we don’t really have any control over what they ultimately see or think or feel. It could be meaningless to them, or they can draw conclusions you never meant for them to draw. They can uncover your biases and weaknesses and insecurities, your prejudices, your fears. They can completely miss the point, or they can discover things you tried to keep hidden. It’s all fair game. And that’s! What I love about it! What I intend my work to be is obviously important to me, but someone else is only really going to care about what my work meant to them, and it’s almost definitely not going to be exactly what had in mind. I think that’s fuckin great. I think that’s the only way I know how to connect with other humans. 

[phroyd]

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Hundreds of U.S. soldiers deployed Saturday from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Kuwait to serve as reinforcements in the Middle East amid rising tensions following the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general.

Lt. Col. Mike Burns, a spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division, told The Associated Press 3,500 members of the division’s quick-deployment brigade, known officially as its Immediate Response Force, will have deployed within a few days. The most recent group of service members to deploy will join about 700 who left earlier in the week, Burns said.

A loading ramp at Fort Bragg was filled Saturday morning with combat gear and restless soldiers. Some tried to grab a last-minute nap on wooden benches. Reporters saw others filing onto buses.

The additional troop deployments reflect concerns about potential Iranian retaliatory action in the volatile aftermath of Friday's drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force who has been blamed for attacks on U.S. troops and American allies going back decades.

President Donald Trump ordered the airstrike near Baghdad’s international airport. Iran has vowed retribution, raising fears of an all-out war, but it's unclear how or when a response might come.

Reporters weren’t able to interview the soldiers leaving Fort Bragg on Saturday, but an airman loading one of the cargo planes told an Army cameraman he was making New Year’s plans when he got a call to help load up the soldiers, according to video footage released by the military.

“We’re responsible for loading the cargo. Almost our whole squadron got alerted. Like a bunch of planes are coming over here,” the unnamed airman said. “I was getting ready to go out for New Year’s when they called me.”

In the gray early morning light Saturday, Army video showed soldiers dressed in camouflage fatigues filing into planes, carrying rucksacks and rifles. Humvees were rolled onto another cargo plane and chained in place for the flight to the Middle East.

Burns said the soldiers within the Immediate Response Force train constantly to be ready to respond quickly to crises abroad. When called by their superiors, they have two hours to get to base with their gear and must maintain a state of readiness so that they can be in the air headed to their next location within 18 hours.

“So whether they were on leave, whether they were home drinking a beer, whether they were, you know, hanging out, throwing the kids up in the yard, you get the call and it’s time to go,” he said.

He said that soldiers typically keep individual “go-bags” of their personal gear with them at their living quarters.

The wife of a member of the 82nd Airborne who deployed earlier this week said his departure was so abrupt she didn’t have the chance to say goodbye in person or by phone.

April Shumard said she was at work on New Year’s Eve and he was watching their five children when he texted her that he had to rush to base. He wasn’t sure if it was a drill or a deployment. She said her husband has been in the military since 2010 and has already deployed twice to Afghanistan. But with those prior deployments, the family had much more time to prepare and say goodbye. This time, she got a second message confirming he was leaving, and he departed in a plane on the afternoon of New Year’s Day.

“The kids kept going, ‘When’s Dad going to be home?’” said Shumard, 42. “It’s literally thrown me for a loop. And him as well. He’s still in disbelief of where he’s gone. Our heads are spun.”

She said that Fayetteville is a tight-knit community, and she expects people to work together to support families who are suddenly missing a parent.

“This was so last-minute,” she said, urging people to reach out to 82nd Airborne families. “Just try to help out whoever you know who might need some babysitting or help or just get some groceries and bring it to their house.”

Similarly, Bri'anna Ferry's husband got the call on New Year's Eve, and she said he was on a plane to the Middle East within hours. She fears he could miss milestones with their young daughter but also wants him to focus on his mission.

“I told him, don't worry about us. We'll be fine," she said. "Focus on your mission.”

Phroyd

[iambountyfan]

iambountyfan; echoes - Ruzina Frankulin, Darko Škrobonja, Ane Paška our tribute project ECHOES FROM OUR PAST features a variety of musicians, artists and creatives from all over the world; today we proudly present one of the finest works within the tribute, and are joined by Croatian composer, musician and sound designer Ruzina Frankulin (Tonči Bakotin), filmmaker and DOP Darko Škrobonja and finally actress, singer and musician Ane Paška (Ana-Marija Fabijanić) ahead of the debut of their music video "Aroma Ecito", an original track created exclusively for iambountyfan. Q. hello everyone! please, feel free to introduce yourselves and tell us a bit about your work. Darko Škrobonja: 
I'm a multimedia artist and a filmmaker. I also work on various projects as a photographer, director, and DOP/cameraman. In my personal work, I mostly deal with subjects like the passing of time and the absurdity of human existence. Ruzina Frankulin: 
Just a boy who as a 4 yr. old started jumping around a portable radio cassettophone. Since then, nothing really changed regarding the sensation I feel when the right sounds and images hit me. One of the best things in my life was the privilege of being a part of the music collective Zidar Betonsky, with which I enjoyed some fantastic intimate success thanks to my partners, both as artists and as extraordinary mates.
Apart from music, I do bits of audio technology lecturing, sound design, postproduction and video filming. Ane Paška: I am somebody who likes to explore different ways how to translate ideas and inner space of imagination in the language of music, words, performance, video, film. I finished dramaturgy in the Academy of dramatic arts in Zagreb and Master Film and Video in Art Academy in Split. During these years I took part in many workshops of contemporary theatre, physical theatre, performance and many different vocal and voice education. I also play a few musical instruments, and since 2014 I've been performing exclusively author works composed of my texts, poems and music. I have created several short music films that have been screened at various festivals around the world. Q. you are all well versed in different art fields. could you tell us a bit about how the three of you met? is "Aroma Ecito" your first collaboration? D.Š.: In 2013 I was filming a short experimental film for a theatre company with whom Ruzina collaborated. Over the next few years, we got to know each other much better when he helped me with sound editing and sound design on 3 of the films I made at the Arts Academy University of Split. In 2019. he introduced me to Ane and our first collaboration "Aroma Ecito" began. R.F.: I met Darko through some short film projects and we continue to collaborate whenever there's an opportunity out of mutual interests. Darko was a logical choice for this project, because I knew we could fulfill each other in the most fruitful way; the same goes for Ane. I met her about two years ago when a friend suggested that I go see one of her live performances. I don’t go out often as I've lost interest in the local scene, but it turned out it was well worth leaving the studio. I consider her as probably the most exciting upcoming music artist in Croatia at the moment. We are preparing some things together, cooking well behind the scenes. A.P.: When I decided to record my music album, a friend of mine recommended Ruzina and his music studio. 
We met after one of my performances and both of us had a great wish to create something together. Right now, we are in the process of recording music and this collaboration is really fantastic to me. Ruzina also introduced me to Darko when we were planning to make “Aroma Ecito”.

Ane Paška, photo by Kaja Zulin Q. what are the biggest inspirations behind your creative drive? D.Š.:  The process of creating art is my only drive and inspiration to do more. Time stops, life has meaning. R.F.: There are likely tons of sound and visual imprints that I’ve absorbed during the years. It is important for me to try to keep them on an unconscious level, and use musical instruments and technology to sculpt something that has emotion. My destinations are always emotions. A.P.: Life itself! There are so many beauties in the world, evil, sorrow, happiness, misunderstandings, kindness, suffering, poetry, secrets, that art can help us embrace with all the nuances of such a complex and incredible world. Q. how long has it been since you first got in touch with the art of iamamiwhoami? which audiovisual era has been the most influential to you?  D.Š.: Ruzina introduced me to the project in 2018. and I've been a fan ever since. The present [era] is the most interesting. R.F.: I was an immediate fan since early December 2009. I do not remember how I encountered it, but I followed all first six uploads in real time and was amazed by that work. I still think that those first videos are absolutely Jonna and Claes' strongest work; I see it as reminiscent of all greatest pop electronica substruction, wicked and twisted with a fresh dose of originality. I was hoping to see a full length album released out of those. A.P.: Ruzina introduced me to the project as well and I also liked their first videos. Q. please tell us a bit about the creation of "Aroma Ecito" and the creative process behind the track. R.F.: When I was asked to create an original track for this release, I started to mess with some beats I had sitting on my hard drive for years. They didn't have a structure that could make the pop form I had in mind when thinking of a homage to iamamiwhoami, but it had a certain atmosphere that drove me to something. The rest was done by layering beat and synthesizers. And I have no idea how I am doing it. It is a child’s play where I try not to screw the purpose of the track. A.P.: Ruzina made the music and had a concrete idea of the way I should sing. On the other hand, I have seen great potential in the song for it to have lyrics that are sung in a fictional language. In such a way the song could get an even more mystical character. In the end, we made a compromise and only one verse remained fictional, but very well correlated with the rest of the song. Q. what about the video? I can tell that some of the scenes within it are reminiscent of the "bounty" series. D.Š.: Yes, at our meetings we talked a lot about the "bounty" series which became our initial inspiration for the visual style and the mood of the video. Later on, our artistic characters began to take over and we started to play. R.F.: Sure, it came from the influence of iamamiwhoami, but soon enough Ane took over with her performance and ideas which she developed with Darko, who was also responsible for completing the technical side of filming. All I remember is that somebody said the word “oranges” and there it was. Oranges hanging from strings - and we made it seem pretty effortless, although people who saw the video before release commented that it surely was very well planned. And it was indeed planned, but I wouldn't say “very well” because we worked by using instinct mostly. That’s I guess why we chose to work with each other. We just allowed dancing ideas to stick. A.P.: Two weeks before we started shooting the video, I was on a remote island with a beautiful sandy beach. I was playing with kids, and at some point, they buried me in the sand. Then I stayed lying buried in the sand for a few hours; by that moment some scenes for the video came to my head and I decided to share them with Darko and Ruzina, and suggest that this could be the material on which we could continue to build the video. The idea of oranges crooned within me for several years since pregnancy, when the oranges in my imagination grew to the proportions of an entire continent and an incredible landscape. I'm glad that Darko and Ruzina have accepted these ideas and that the filming of the video was conducted in a beautiful and relaxed atmosphere in which we gave ourselves a chance to improvise. Q. we really enjoyed Ane's performance in the music video. can you tell us a bit about the lyrics and the general meaning behind them?  R.F.: Lyrics are basically about the process of creating music or art in general. The ideas that jump and dance around you, completely free, like muses. It’s up to you to allow them to take you on- they are not always happy encounters, they can burn you as well. Important parts were added by Ane, like voice emotion and the line «smoo la te lo mande lai», which we still do not know how to explain to anyone, but we know the feeling behind it or how it looks on one's face. I think it fits perfectly for this. A.P.: Thank you very much! As I said, I had an idea to invent a language for this song, but finally we made a compromise and found a way to balance the English and fictional language into a meaningful whole that sounds good. Q. as you might know, To whom it may concern. is an independent reality that creates and releases film and music without creative boundaries. would you say that the Sensoria collective shares a similar premise?  R.F.: Well, Sensoria is basically an artistic association and as such it is a non-profit organization. We mostly deal with non-commercial content - be it sound or video. Some releases I am particularly proud of are an experimental documentary about the ocean surface (“m.ocean”) and audiovisual 7-channel installation called “Festival”, where we showed what is possible when you take seven so-called notable Croatian singers and take millisecond audio and video sample snippets to transform them to completely new electronic music with accompanying videos. These will both be released next year in physical form. This year, we are releasing music from five theatre plays for the Fractal Falus Theatre, for which Zidar Betonsky have been creating music since 1997. We recently released "Aroma Ecito" and are continuing to make music with Ane. Our website is a mess at the moment, but it will soon be renewed.

Ruzina Frankulin, press photo Q. what do you think about the current state of the music industry? do you think independent musicians carry an important role altogether and how can they work around it?  D.Š.:  Yes, their role is very important. But there's a big problem with music videos in general. They by themselves vary in quality, but the general trend is alarming. People are starting to watch music a lot more than listen to it. This is where filmmakers' responsibility toward the musicians and their work is crucial. A true collaboration between the mediums is rare. R.F.: It seems to me that the music industry is more or less on the same page all the time. The industry wants to be industry – so they see artists as its workers, to put it lightly. It is just that mediums are changing: nowadays we have web and mobile platforms, so music is much more accessible than ever before. And the industry wants to charge every click, every move of finger, be it yours as a consumer or the artists'. Schemes like “pay what you want” or nesting music as payable torrents that were introduced by Radiohead are refreshing ideas, but unfortunately they aren't working for unknown acts or bands without exposure. I am even not sure how iamamiwhoami managed to catch such big attention at first with unknown video uploads, but I am sure glad they did. Also, as I understand they had tours partially financed by their fans around the world, which is a great thing. I think we all need to adopt and try to use all we can while caring not to hurt anyone in one way or another. A.P.: I'm going to be honest, I don't think much about the music industry at all. I am committed to creating, and so far I have witnessed that creation always finds its way to people. There are things that money can never and will not be a threat to. Q. thank you for your hard work and for joining us today! we wish you the best of luck for your future endeavours. all: Thank you very much! follow Sensoria.hr and Ruzina Frankulin on YouTube | Vimeo or check out their official website: Sensoria.hr follow Darko Škrobonja on Vimeo and Ane Paška on YouTube interview by Marco Napolitano