#we owe most of the show recordings/photos/videos to the fact that someone looked around and went

[whositmcwhatsit]

There's a story about the top one. Ed Bonja was holding his camera when Elvis came out of the toilet. Ed started taking pictures and Elvis noticed and sort of paused. Ed reassured Elvis that he didn't have to pose, and Elvis said, "Oh, I'm not going to pose. What do you want me to do, hold my dick in my hand?"

And that's what my helpful brain thinks of whenever I see that photo.

Elvis and his (many) same-model-suits in different colors always makes me think about the words (I think it was Joe Esposito) said about him, something like: "When Elvis liked something, he went all the way".

This is only one of his same model suits in different colors.

[jeongyunhoed]

Past-Present-Future Black Dahlia

Two major tragedies bring Lee Mirae closer to the edge as she goes through the stages of grief in a more violent manner that would affect not only her relationships with her boyfriend Jeong Yunho and her half-brother Choi San, but also has her becoming closer with the immortal mutant Kang Yeosang. Fueled by rage, grief, and pain, along with a very rude awakening that has Mirae spiraling out of control and questioning everything she holds dear.

Group: ATEEZ Member: Yunho Pairing: Jeong Yunho / OC Genre: Action, adventure, angst, fantasy

Watch Out! : Violence, blood, death, grief and loss, major character deaths, use of weapons

Anything else? : Mentions of other idols of course as well as other characters. SuperM, Dean, Chanyeol, Zelo, soloist Park Jihoon to name a few.

Author’s Note: So, here is the end of the series! Sorry if the ending was a little blah -- I really couldn’t wait to finish this whole story already. Thank you for reading it if you have. 

Listen to: All About You - ATEEZ, Halcyon + On and On - Orbital

Masterlist

Chapter 10

“Where did he go?” San looked around. The being transformed back into Mirae, whose hair, except for the streak, had also turned partially white at the ends. 

“Not to be that kind of person, but as long as he’s away from here, I don’t care where else he goes,” Jongho said. 

“What now?” Hongjoong turned to her, noticing the change in her appearance and the vacant expression on her face. “...Mirae, are you okay?” 

She glanced at them, all of whom were looking at her with hopeful eyes. Mirae was trying to process everything that just happened. Did she really just do what she did? From the looks on Junhong and San’s faces it seemed to be the case. She didn’t feel any better, but she realized that she had come a long way from where she was. If Hyuk and Chanyeol and even Jihoon could see her now. 

“I’m fine,” Mirae said. “I-I never thought I’d get to what you told me before,” She glanced at Junhong. 

“Grief tends to do that to people,” Junhong replied, a small assuring smile on his face. “On the bright side, everything is fixed, save for this window,” He looked at the broken glass behind her. “And the fact that we’re in someone else’s building.” 

“By now, people know who we are too,” Seonghwa spoke. “Our pictures, videos of what we did, would be going viral by now.” 

“I don’t think there’s a way to stop it either,” Yunho shook his head. He held out the gem in his hand. “But we need to do something about this.” 

“There’s no doubt they’ll come for that when they get around to showing themselves again,” Wooyoung said, looking at all of them and then at the gem in Yunho’s hand. “We need to put that away, that’s too powerful for any one of us to handle.” 

“Where do you suggest we put this away?” Yeosang questioned. “It’s too much of a risk to keep it around here.” 

Just then, the jewel glowed and after a moment, it disappeared. They stared at Yunho’s empty hand, amazed. “Well that answers your question,” Mirae pointed out. “The jewel is sentient. It knew that we didn’t want it, so it disappeared.” 

“If there was a way to understand how that diamond moves, I would’ve found a way,” Junhong said quietly. “If it left us, let’s hope that it doesn’t come back, or at least is in the right hands.” 

“That’s all we can do?” San spoke, a slight frown on his face. 

“That’s all we can do, Sannie,” Mirae replied. “Those people outside that we tried to protect will be coming back in here now that it’s over. I hate to imagine what they’d say when they see us going home.” 

“Me too. If it was anything like what happened to me in Morocco,” Yunho shook his head upon remembering. “It wouldn’t be pretty.” 

Mirae sighed and looked back out the window. “It’s getting dark, there’s nowhere else to go but home, now that it’s all over, and we all need to shower.” 

The rest of them laughed. “Can we get something to eat first? I know a good barbecue place,” Wooyoung suggested. 

“By all means,” Yeosang waved his hand at the broken window, the shards of glass putting itself back together. “No doubt people will recognize me now, I might as well do what I want. I will need to keep myself from doing any more magic if I don’t want to feed on people as constantly as I might do so now.” 

“Where do you think those guys went?” Hongjoong mused as they walked out of the office, seeing the shocked expressions of the employees who seemed to be aware of the ruckus that occurred moments ago. “Do you think they tried to make their own little world again?” 

“It is possible,” Yeosang replied. “However, I must reveal that I can’t guarantee Mark won’t come back if I’ve killed him not too long ago.” 

The mention of the immortal made Yunho glance at him. “We can’t really kill him for good?” 

“We are immortals, Yunho. If we kill each other, we get reincarnated. It’s something I forgot to tell you,” He said. “You will never really be away from Mirae if Mark tries to go after you, same as me.” 

“You mean we can’t get rid of you at all even if we tried?” San chimed in. 

“I’m afraid not, I’ll always be here to torment you and ruin your day,” Yeosang replied with a sly smile on his face. “Admit it, I must have proved myself to be a valuable member of… this cabal of people.” 

“And I never thought we’d have executive Kang on our side,” Hongjoong said. 

Yeosang glanced at Mirae then cleared his throat when he noticed Yunho caught him. “Well, since I helped my dear Mirae the first two times, three times the charm, isn’t it?” 

Mirae sighed. “Service elevator might be good for all of us to go down at the same time. We just have to figure out where it is.” 

“We don’t need to,” Yunho shook his head, gesturing to a dimly-lit hallway that likely led to the store rooms and the janitor’s closet. “I don’t know where we’ll be, but at least we’re out of here,” He said, as the rest of them grabbed onto him and they vanished. 

~ 

It was the ten of them in the almost empty barbecue restaurant Wooyoung suggested, with Yeosang paying the owners to allow them to stay late while they ate. The owners turned on the television, paying attention to the news that was on. 

“In what was one of the most disastrous attacks since the goblin invasion five years ago, robotic machines caused chaos. While there were no casualties, there was some property damage. However, shortly after the attacks, the damages caused from the chaos were easily repaired, all thanks to ten unidentified people who risked their lives to protect the citizens that were caught in the crossfire,” the news anchor said, and photos and video footage of the attacks. The restaurant owners gaped upon seeing their faces on the television. It then switched to the news correspondent, who was talking with some of the people who witnessed the incident.

“On behalf of the citizens, we would like to thank them for keeping us safe,” One person said to the camera. “They just left like that without telling us, and they repaired everything too.” 

“Superheroes! Those were superheroes!” One kid said, almost excitedly. “They saved us!” 

“Just another day,” San muttered in between bites of rice. He could sense that the restaurant owners were staring at them after realizing who they were. 

Yunho glanced at Mirae, hearing what she was thinking while they ate. “Do you really want to leave this place?” He asked quietly, making the rest of them look. 

“I’m thinking about it,” Mirae said. “We’ve been exposed somehow, and even with those people saying thank you, I feel like I’m too dangerous to be around here.” 

“They could say that about each and every one of us, even Junhong hyung,” Hongjoong said. “Was this what it was like from the train station incident? I remember Chanyeol hyung talking about it.” 

“Yeah. People didn’t take too kindly to what happened even after the whole thing,” Mirae nodded. “We’ve had coffee thrown at us. They don’t like this kind of thing, that’s why I live quietly. That’s why we’ve been living quietly.” 

Junhong put his chopsticks down. “You know, maybe times have changed. Maybe people who didn’t like things back then would’ve changed their minds now.” 

Yeosang sighed. “I believe he is right. Times have certainly changed, there is a chance that people of our kind would be received well, but that doesn’t mean we should go around showing off.” 

“Then they’ll really hate us,” Wooyoung ate a big piece of meat. “So, after this, what’s next? We go back to our homes and move on, isn’t it?” 

“That is the plan, there’s nothing much else we can do, is there?” Mirae replied. 

Seonghwa waved his hand and the bottles of water and soju poured themselves into their respective glasses. He raised his own glass, making them do the same. “Can I say something?” He asked, the rest of them nodding. “I haven’t been a mutant for very long. Actually, I haven’t been the type to do what we just did for good for very long, and I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I do want to say that we did well out there.” 

They clinked their glasses and took sips. They suddenly heard the sounds of something cooking from the back and after a moment, the restaurant owner came back out, bringing over a large pot of ramen to their table. “This is to thank you, for keeping everyone safe out there,” They said.

They stared at the pot, then glanced at her. “You really didn’t have to-” Mirae said. 

“But it is the least that could be done. All of you are owed a great debt that seems impossible to pay off by the rest of us. Please, have some of the noodles, it’ll go well with the meat you’re eating too,” They said. 

“We will eat this well. But for the record, we didn’t do what we did to get something in return,” Mirae said quietly. 

“That’s even more noble,” The restaurant owner said. “All of you are heroes in a world of flying men and monsters. The goblin invasion seemed to reveal to everyone that humans and animals aren’t the only living things walking the planet, this one seemed to be another reminder that we’re not alone. Please eat and enjoy. You are all welcome to return here as much as you want,” They bowed before walking back into the kitchens. 

Mirae turned back to her food, as did the rest of them. Yunho kept glancing at her and he put his spoon down to hold her hand. “We’ll be okay. You’ll be okay,” He whispered. 

She laced their fingers together. “I know I will be, as long as you’re around, as long as San is around. I took you and San for granted all this time.” 

Yunho shook his head. “You’ve been learning, and I won’t stop reminding you that you aren’t alone. You don’t have to bear the weight by yourself.” 

“Jihoon, Hyuk, and Chanyeol would’ve been proud of you, Mirae,” Junhong said. “I know they would be. Just like how the rest of us are proud of you.” 

“And you even got a dye job from your powers too, with your hair now being the way it is,” Mingi pointed out, making them laugh. 

“It’s the mark your powers are leaving on you, through your hair,” Junhong explained to her, seeing her confused expression. “When you tapped into your ability to trap souls, that white streak on your hair appeared. When you turned into an energy spirit, even more white appeared. Who knows what else you can do.” 

“Hang on, does that mean my hair’s going to do the same?” San stared at the elder. 

“Well, you are Mirae’s brother, it’s likely you will go through the same changes in your appearance, mainly your hair, if you push your abilities to the fullest extent,” Junhong shrugged. 

“Then there’s hope for the rest of us,” Hongjoong grinned. “We’d look cool with those kinds of changes.” 

~ 

The rest of them, including Yeosang, stayed inside the apartment bases later that night. “Now that everything’s done and over with, I guess it’s back to training for the rest of you, isn’t it?” Junhong said to them. 

“This place is quite plain,” Yeosang seemed to examine the interiors. “I know someone who can do wonders with redecorating.” 

“Speaking of redecorating,” Jongho poured himself a cup of coffee from the kitchen. “Are we still considering the old base that we went to with those goblin corpses?” 

They all looked at each other. “If I may be permitted, we can develop the place, make it nicer, I can have a clean up crew get rid of the blood and corpses but I am afraid I’m not sure where we can dispose of those goblin bodies,” Yeosang suggested. 

“That place does seem like a good choice,” Junhong shrugged. “There’s room in that tunnel for some of you to train using your powers, but no more simulations, just practical training courses.” 

“Good, I think we’ve learned from what happened that set everything off in the first place,” San nodded, glancing at his sister, who raised a brow at him. 

“What do you think, Mirae?” Hongjoong turned to her. 

Mirae looked back at all of them. They still had the same hopeful expressions. “...Me? I mean, there are all these passageways in there that are waiting to be used over and over, and since we took care of the goblins years ago, it would make sense that we’d have that place as a kind of headquarters.” 

“Can we get rid of the rats too? I don’t want to have to run away in the middle of a training session because Remy and his clan are busy going back and forth,” Wooyoung spoke. “Then again, he might be on his way to some kitchen, cooking soup…” 

“Someone’s watched Ratatouille for the recipe of that soup,” Jongho teased. 

“So then it’s settled, we can use that place, we’ll just get rid of the bodies and the blood,” Mirae nodded. 

“Now that I’ve eaten my fill and we’ve come to an agreement, my dear Mirae, it has been a pleasure working with you,” Yeosang turned to her, then paused to see the rest of them watching him. “And...I must admit, even the rest of you. With Ino gone, this whole… operation of ours will need funds, and I am happy to back this up, within reason. As always, my dear Mirae, if there is anything you need, if another investigation comes up again, don’t hesitate to come to Kang Tower. Gentlemen, it’s been nice, but not too nice,” Yeosang gave the rest of them a nod before seeing himself out. 

“Well, I think it’s time for me to shower and turn in, I’m starting to feel the exhaustion sink in,” Mingi got up from the chair, making Hongjoong and Jongho do the same. 

“We better get some rest now too, and I also need a shower. I’ve been in these clothes for a while, I didn’t realize how fast the days came,” Mirae looked down at her now dust and soot-covered clothes. “These also happen to be very expensive.” 

“Looks like it too. Yeosang got you that?” San noticed the details on her sleeve. 

“Yeah,” Mirae shrugged. She followed the rest of them to the door, seeing Junhong clear out the cups of coffee and put back the couch cushions in between waving at them. There was something she still wanted to do now that it was all over. She turned to Yunho. “Don’t wait up for me, there’s still something I need to do,” she muttered. 

Yunho got the idea and nodded. “Alright,” He kissed her cheek and watched her go down the stairs. 

~ 

With a small bouquet of flowers in hand, Mirae arrived at the graves of Chanyeol and Hyuk and put half of the bouquet on each of their grave stones. “I miss both of you so much,” She whispered, reading the epitaphs. “We could’ve been on this adventure together, the three of us. Then again, I realize that both of you were with me this whole time.” 

Mirae’s eyes were welling with tears as she looked at the two gravestones. She heard a whoosh from the nearby tree and out stepped Yunho. “Junhong is right, you know. Hyuk and Chanyeol would’ve been proud of you, even if you destroyed some things along the way,” He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. 

Mirae leaned on him as she looked at the gravestones again, and at the flowers she put down. “I hope they are.” 

Yunho kissed the side of her head. “I love you, you know that, right?” He whispered, and she nodded. “I love you and I’m not going anywhere.” 

“I love you too,” She said quietly, wrapping her arms around him.

Yunho kissed her. “It’s always us,” He murmured. 

“Always.” 

“Come on, let’s go home, hmm? We’ve had a rough few days,” Yunho held her hand, lacing their fingers together as he led her towards the tree. Mirae smiled to herself as she followed him, the two of them disappearing. 

A moment later, a glittering object appeared in the space between Chanyeol and Hyuk’s gravestones.

[silverwhiteraven]

Wings of Broken White - Ch. 4

Tag List: @marichatmay

[ Posted on Ao3 ] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 3 ] [ Chapter 5 ]

[ Summary: Alya takes Marinette somewhere, and it turns cute. ]

Alya decided that Marinette wasn’t getting out enough despite the fact that they shouldn't be going anywhere when it was still late winter.

“Girl, you hardly go anywhere anyways unless it’s for someone else!” Alya argues as she dragged a snugly bundled Marinette down snow and salt dusted sidewalks.

“Hey, I went to the school’s Valentine’s party last month, that should count for something!”

Allya scoffed at the weak defense. “You were, like, a ninth-wheel, Marinette. Rose and Juleka, Nathaniel and Marc, Mylène and Ivan, Nino and I, we were the wheels on that bus. You on the other hand…” She trailed off to emphasize her point.

Marinette scoffed. “I think you missed a set of wheels, Als. Max and Kim were there. Chloé and Adrien showed up, too.” 

“Max was there sporting an Aro-pride flag pin and keeping Kim company,” Alya shot back. “They were just being single-wheels, together. And Adrien, with Chloé? More like she had kidnapped him to a secondary location! Adrien clearly wasn't the one to decide to show up. And remember the color coded cups? He was using the one for the ‘Single, just here to support my friends’ category. Just like Max, just like you. So my point still stands: You need to get out more often, just for yourself.”

Marinette sighed, relenting. “Fine, but next time, I get to decide where I go, so no more surprise trips.”

“Yesss,” Alya pumped her fist in the air victoriously, her wings spreading out, too. Marinette laughed and pushed her hand back down to her side while she dodged out of the way of one fairly the overexcited wing.

“Anyways, where are we going? You said something about, ‘You’re going to love it, my treat!’” Marinette quoted in an exaggerated mimic of Alya’s voice, causing both girls to burst into giggles.

“Just a café,” Alya says coyly, almost teasingly. It made Marinette squint in suspicion.

“It wouldn’t happen to be the same café you mentioned two weeks ago on the Ladyblog, right? The one they planned to theme after Paris’s new heroes?” Marinette asked, teasing her friend right back with her confident guess.

“You remembered! Yep, that’s the place! And it’s not just any regular themed café, either. It’s a cat café,”Alya revealed dramatically, while spreading her wings again to wrap them both in a mock cocoon of unnecessary but playful secrecy. Marinette balked.

“Wait, so you’re basically taking me to a ‘Chat Blanc emphasis-on-the-Chat’ Café?”

Alya snorted, pulling her wings back. “Yes, but it’s actually called ‘Hero Rescue Café’. They work together with the animal shelters around Paris, most of the cats they have are available for adoption. The profits are even donated back to those shelters to help keep the animals cared for. Isn’t that cool?”

“Mhm,” Marinette nodded along as Alya continued to rave excitedly and lead the way to their destination. I wonder if they’ll have any cats that look like Blanc? Probably not. Blue-eyed white cats were already popular, and no doubt are even more so now. Not that I could adopt a cat anyways, but it’s a niche thought. Wait, why is it a nice thought? It’s not like I like Chat Blanc or anything, no way! I don’t do crushes! Oh, who am I kidding? Marinette groaned in defeat to her own thoughts, making Alya stop talking and look at her.

“Something wrong, Marinette?”

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you, I was just thinking about how sad I’m going to be if I see a cat I really want to keep but can’t?”

Alya nodded in acceptance of the awkward excuse, and Marinette sighed in relief. I can never tell her about my crush- I’m scared to find out what kind of match-maker she would try to be. Or even worse, tell me I have no chance! I mean, I know I have no chance, but still, ow. Would Ladybug have a chance? Wait, she and I are the same person! If I don’t have a chance, neither does Ladybug! Hold on, why am I even thinking about this!?

“We’re here~!” Alya announced, breaking Marinette free once more from her internal chaos.

“Is that a cat in the window? There’s a cat in the window!” Marinette let herself get distracted by the café and Alya laughed.

“Duh there's a cat in the window, it’s a cat café, what else would be in the window?” She teased, but Marinette only laughed.

“Well I know that, but I can still be excited over a cat, can’t I?”

“Save it for when we go inside,” Alya winked, opening the door for them both. There was a second set of doors past the first, and Marinette realized that they did the smart thing and made an enclosed entryway.

“Oh, this is to keep the cats from dashing outside, like at a dog park,” she mused, making Alya chuckle.

“Yeah, and gives people a fur-free place to hang up their coats. Oh, look!” She added excitedly, pointing to the opposite wall from the hanger rod. There was something that almost looked like a long shawl or a barber cape. Marinette recognized it easily. “They have wing-covers for patrons to borrow, in case we don’t want the cat’s playing with our feathers. That’s so thoughtful. They really went all-out on this place.”

Marinette smiled and nodded in agreement as she slid off her jacket and hung it up. “It really is sweet of them. Are you going to use one?” Alya shook her head.

“Nope. My wing’s are tough, I can handle a few clingy kitties,” she declared with a proud smile, and Marinette only chuckled as she opened the next set of doors for them both.

Unsurprisingly, Marinette enjoyed the café. She spent a lot of time admiring their logo that was embedded in the resin coating of their tables. The stylized lettering was inspired by some of the animal-themed Akumas. Then the entire name was encircled by the white belt of Chat Blanc and the red and black yo-yo of Ladybug. Symbolic of two heroes saving those in need. They really thought this out. Maybe Ladybug should show her respect here some time.

Surprisingly, the café’s cats also enjoyed Marinette. Alya was convinced they had met every single cat in the building before they even got their drinks. Marinette was just embarrassed and spent a lot of time spreading her attention between each feline before shooing them all off towards other guests. One of the cats, sleek black with yellow-flecked green eyes, was too stubborn to leave, so she let him claim her lap indefinitely. 

But, completely unbelievably, the café got a surprise guest. Chat Blanc himself showed up out of the blue. Alya had spotted him running across a rooftop across the street, and proceeded to book it out the door, fly after him, and then shamelessly ask to take a photo of him with the cats that were inside the café inspired by him and his partner. He was stunned at first, but agreed, soon enough beaming happily as he surrounded himself with cats.

“Is he crying?” Marinette whispered to Alya as she recorded the feline hero sitting on the floor with at least five different cats climbing his back, shoulders, and into his lap.

“The happiest tears I’ve ever seen,” Alya confirmed.

Once Alya was satisfied she had taken enough pictures and video footage for the blog, she turned her focus to getting a few personal memorabilias.

“Mari! Come here! Take a pic of me with Chat, please? I want something for my desktop background, this would be perfect!”

Marinette agreed, to the annoyance of the cat in her lap. She managed to get the photo, a cute scene of Alya, her nerdy school friend, and Chat Blanc, her dorky friend-but-only-because-she’s-secretly-Ladybug, doing a silly pose with their arms linked, wings flared out, and several cats surrounding them.

She gave a thumbs up, and Alya whooped, standing to take back the phone. Marinette stepped forward, only for the clingy black cat from earlier to entangle himself with her ankles.

With a squawk, she went tumbling, but was deftly caught in the arms of Chat before she could meet an untimely end via a floor of cats.

Marinette flushed scarlet. Chat Blanc smiled shyly. The black cat jumped up on them, getting his lap-seat back. Alya, of course, got another photo.

All three of them managed to laugh it off, but not without Alya demanding another picture of the two and the cats before she would let them stand up.

“Marinette, I’m texting you copies to keep for yourself. Sorry, Chat, I’d send you some but-”

“No worries,” he chuckled and rubbed his neck, waving her concern away with his other hand. “Secret identity means secret number. You’ll be using your own pictures on your computer, though, right? Consider me honored by that,” he bowed dramatically and the two laughed as he straightened. “And Marinette, I’d be more than happy to let you do the same if you wanted, too,” he played the comment off with a wink.

“Time for me to go,” Chat Blanc continued before either girl could respond. “Chat out!”

They watched him dash out the doors and off over the rooftops.

“Girl...Did he just flirt with you?” Alya looked at Marinette, awestruck.

“What? No! There’s no way! Nope!” Marinette flustered and started walking out in a feeble attempt to escape the accusation.

“Uh-huh, because feeling ‘honored’ to be a screensaver for one girl and being ‘happy’ in case it were to happen by a second girl, is totally the same thing,” Alya followed after, determined to tease the life out of Marinette.

“Yes, exactly! Completely the same! It would have just been awkward to say the same line twice, so he just reworded himself, that's all! He was just giving permission to use his picture for personal use, nothing more, nope!”

Alya laughed before winking playfully. “Yeah, girl, sure. That was all, nothing more, nothing less. Whatever you say.”

“Thank you,” Marinette nodded in finality, ignoring the teasing sarcasm from her friend.

Later that day, Marinette saved one of the café photos as her phone’s background, making sure to put a completely different photo as her lockscreen to avoid any further notice or teasing about her and Chat Blanc.

[justheretobreakthings]

If You Can’t Say Anything Nice

A Voltron: Legendary Defender fic Central Characters: Lance, James, Keith Word Count: 4,322 Read on AO3

Summary: When Lance needs to blow off some steam after a frustrating morning with Keith, he finds himself with an unexpected and very indulging confidant.

“Oh, good, you guys are here,” Lance said as he entered the Garrison rec room and plopped down onto the couch. Hunk, in the corner of the couch opposite him, looked up from the book he was reading, while Pidge, sitting crossed-legged on the floor next to him with earbuds plugged into the laptop balanced on her knees, tilted her head back to look at him upside-down. “You would not believe the morning I’ve had,” Lance sighed.

“What happened?” Hunk asked.

“Okay, so, you know how Keith and I agreed to do that school visit with Red and Black today?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, leave it to Mullet to go and decide to make a mess of the thing. How hard can it possibly be to - ?”

“Here we go,” Pidge muttered, rolling her eyes and removing her earbuds.

Lance raised a brow and turned to her. “I’m sorry? What do you mean ‘here we go’?”

“I mean, here we go, it’s time for our daily helping of Lance-whining-about-Keith.”

Lance bristled. “I do not whine!”

“Call it what you like,” Pidge said with a shrug. “But let’s face the facts - you do complain about him a lot.”

“I don’t complain about him that much! Hunk, back me up here.”

Hunk offered him a sheepish shrug. “Well, she’s got a point…”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine, I complain about him. But only because he gives me so much to complain about!”

“Uh-huh,” Pidge said. “So what pissed you off today? What’d Keith do? Was it something about his hair? His attitude? Way he dresses? Did he not laugh at one of your jokes, Lance? Do you need a hug, would that make it all better?”

Lance scowled and crossed his arms. “You know what? Friends listen to friends who need to vent.”

“Oh, I’m listening,” Pidge said. She put her headphones back in and turned the volume of her music up so loudly that Lance could hear it where he was standing. “Go on, I’m all ears.”

His scowl deepening, Lance flipped her off and turned to Hunk. Just as he was opening up his mouth to speak, Hunk cut him off by saying, “Actually, Lance, I’m at a really good part in this book, so, um, I don’t think I can spare the time to listen to a Keith Rant right now…”

“First of all, let’s not start calling them ‘Keith Rants’ like they’re an official thing, I’m just letting off steam. Second of all, fine, if my friends don’t want to hear about my day, I’ll just head to lunch and vent to my mashed potatoes. Thanks for nothing.”

“You’re welcome,” Hunk said, lifting his book and returning his attention to it. Pidge didn’t so much as glance in his direction. With a sigh, Lance left the room and made his way to the cafeteria, grumbling under his breath as he went.

He left off his grumbling as he made it to the Garrison cafeteria, and kept quiet long enough to get a tray filled and find a seat at an empty table before he resumed, muttering to himself as he stabbed at his pineapple chunks.

“Um,” a voice interrupted him a minute in, and he looked up to see James Griffin standing across from him is his orange uniform, raising a brow at him. “Do you mind if I sit here, or are you already chatting with someone?”

“Go ahead,” Lance said, gesturing with his fork to the seat across from him, which James sank into. “Sorry ‘bout that, just been a long morning.”

“How so?” James asked.

“Had that school visit with Keith today. Don’t know whose idea it was to schedule just us for it, but I swear, I’m never doing a presentation with Keith again.”

“What happened?”

“Well,” Lance said, “We both had to memorize parts for the first half of the presentation, and that went fine. But then we had this Q-and-A portion, and it was like Keith just completely forgot how to do public speaking. The man cannot string two words together if he doesn’t rehearse them beforehand, so I wound up pretty much having to do that whole portion on my own. Then we’re introducing the kids to the lions, showing them around, and I’m starting to think Keith has never even interacted with a child before, because he is absolute shit at it. Plus he flat out scared one kid; little guy jumps up for a surprise piggyback ride on him and Keith knocks him off and snarls at him like he’s gonna eat him.”

He paused to take a bite of his lunch before continuing. “Whole thing was just… gah. He saddles me with most of the work, and then proceeds to make both of us look bad in front of the kids. I swear, Keith should not be allowed to do any press events ever.”

“Hey, I hear you,” James said through a bite of his own sandwich. “We’ve all seen the press photos. I’ve yet to see one where Kogane doesn’t look like he wants to beat up whoever’s manning the camera.”

Lance let out a laugh. “I know, right? Like, seriously, would it kill him to learn to take a decent photo? Designated leader of Voltron, and yet he’s the paladin who’s worst at making a first impression.”

“So, he’s like, the official ‘leader’ of the group, right?” James asked. “Thought I’d seen a press release say that but…”

“Technically, yeah,” Lance sighed. “Basically, the person who pilots the Black Lion gets to call the shots in battle. Although, full disclosure, for most things Shiro and Allura’s words are above Keith’s. And Keith’s never really been the kind of person you think of when the phrase ‘born leader’ comes to mind or anything. He’s as likely to go running off on his own as he is to actually do his ‘leader’ job.”

“Honestly, doesn’t sound like he’s changed all that much since the Garrison,” James said. “Remember the sorts of things he would do during sims?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Lance groaned. “Pretty sure we all did three times as many drills as any other class in the history of the Garrison on account of Keith’s dumb stunts.”

“He didn’t get better in fighter class, you know,” James said. “‘Star student’ or not, no one wanted to work with him. I was friends with the guy they had assigned to be Kogane’s comm spec the first year of fighter training, and apparently he and the group’s engineer wound up begging to get assigned a different pilot, he was so annoying. Wouldn’t talk with them, wouldn’t listen to them. I don’t know how you managed to spend all that time stuck out in space with him.”

“Believe me, it wasn’t easy,” Lance said with a little grin. “The guy’s no fun at all. Whenever the whole group’s together, he spends the whole time just sulking in a corner, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard him laugh. Even when he gets the joke; sometimes he will actually just straight-up turn to Pidge or Shiro and have them explain punchlines to him. You can’t hold a conversation with him.”

“Well, hey, don’t be so quick to knock that,” James said. “There’s advantages to him not getting jokes. Some of us in fighter class would have this sort of game where we’d talk to him in euphemisms and references and keep score of how often Kogane would catch on when we insulted him, and how often it just went over his head. Dude was batting, like, a fifty. It was honestly kinda sad.”

Lance laughed. This was… nice. It was nice to get some Keith-related gripes out of his system. Hunk didn’t let him vent about Keith the way he used to - and Lance had never figured out the reason for the change - Pidge never paid any attention to him when he did, and God forbid he ever try to air any of it to Shiro. The former Black Paladin seemed reluctant to believe that Keith was anything short of perfect in spite of any evidence to the contrary. “I gotta tell you, it’s a breath of fresh air,” he said. “Didn’t know he got under everyone else’s skin too. I had started thinking I was the only one at the Garrison who didn’t worship the ground Keith walked on.”

“Oh, there were people like that,” James said with a shrug. “But that’s only because they only knew Kogane as the master pilot, not the warts-and-all version we got. The people who thought he was role model material didn’t see the way he’d lose his mind if someone in the room would click their pen too much, or the fact that he won’t use a urinal if anyone else is in the restroom, or, God, the fact that he would fucking sing to himself in the cockpit if he didn’t think anyone was listening.”

“He still does that!” Lance cried in delight. “The singing thing! We’ve caught him at it a couple of times. Pidge managed to get a recording of him once, singing this, like, theme song he made up for the lions or something. I don’t think he knows the recording even exists.”

“Lance,” James said. “Lance, you have got to send that to me. I haven’t had a decent ringtone in so long. God, I had a couple videos saved of him back during the Garrison days that I’d totally trade you for, but that was, like, two phones ago.”

“Well, hey, there’s no shortage where that came from,” Lance said. “Keep an eye on him long enough, he’s bound to do something worth recording. I’m gonna have to see what’s on his vlog at some point.”

“His vlog?”

“Coran had all of us film these little vlog things for ‘historical’ reasons, and Keith straight-up refuses to let anyone watch his. Must have wound up recording something pretty damn embarrassing, but who knows what it was.”

“If you ever get hold of that footage, send it my way. You gonna eat that coleslaw?” James asked, pointing to Lance’s tray.

“Have at it,” Lance said, sliding the cup over. “You realize, of course, that now you’re really starting to rack up a bill for how much you owe me.”

“Oh, I’ll figure out a way to pay it,” James said as he began digging into the coleslaw. “You want me to mess with Keith for you? There’s always a stock of old standbys from the Garrison, but I can come up with more sophisticated stuff.”

“Old standbys?” Lance asked, raising a brow. “What do you mean?”

“You know, just little pranks the other people in fighter class would pull on him sometimes. Old school teenager things. Grease on his gearshift, put old food in his bag, piss in his shampoo. Stupid stuff like that.”

Lance wrinkled his nose. “People did that?”

“Shampoo was his roommate’s doing,” James answered, “But I don’t think he ever even noticed that one.”

“Not surprising. You’ve seen his hair, I don’t think he gives two shits what he puts in it.”

“Fair point,” James said with a nod. “Give him a horseshoe mustache to complete the look and he could be living in a garage in the nineteen-eighties.”

“You know he doesn’t shave?” Lance said.

“Hm?”

“Yeah, he’s the only one of the paladins who didn’t keep a razor in our communal bathroom, and I figured maybe he kept it in his room and just carried it back and forth for some reason and shaved in private. But then he winds up on this, like, two-year-long camping trip with his mom, and comes back without so much as a single hair of stubble. He just flat out can’t grow facial hair.”

James let out a bark of laughter. “Oh my god. You think that’s why he grows that mullet thing of his out so long? ‘Cause he’s overcompensating?”

“Ha, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Lance said.

“Wow. And, shit, you’d think with his mom being what she is, he’d have wound up covered in the stuff. Guess it’s not genetic. He oughta be relieved; his dad goes and fucks a goddamn Hibagon, what came out could have been a total furry mess.”

Lance’s smirk faltered a little on that remark. “Okay, let’s, ah – let’s not bring Krolia into anything, she’s – ”

“Oh, Keith still hung up on his mommy issues?” James asked. He set aside his coleslaw and leaned his chair back onto two legs, crossing his arms behind his head and kicking his feet up to table’s surface. “God, he was always so nuts about anything to do with his parents back at the Garrison. Anyone just mentioning them would set him off. I mean, I guess I can understand why, now. I’d probably have mommy issues too if mine was a fucking alien, but it got annoying as hell back at school. Not like he was the only kid in the school who had issues with their parents, he’s just the only one who had such thin skin about it.”

“James,” Lance said, frowning at him. “Seriously, could we talk about something else?”

James turned to him with a raised brow, then brought his feet back down to the floor to sit upright. “Shit, dude, relax. I don’t have anything against Krolia. Just, you know, what came out of her.”

“It’s just, you know. That’s… I think that’s still kind of a sore spot.”

“And? What, is Keith in the room. Is your lunch bugged? We’re just chatting, Lance.”

“Yeah, but - ”

“Okay, okay,” James said, lifting his hands in mock surrender. “Dropping the subject. You know the new-and-improved half-Galra Keith better than I do anyhow, I guess. Still got no shortage of him back when he was still all human, though. I could fill a book.”

“... I’ll admit, I’d probably read it.”

“It’d be a page-turner, let me tell you. I mean, sure, a couple of the Garrison stories I’ve got for him were more other people setting things off, but mostly he’d just do his own stupid stuff, we just all got to bear witness. And it sure as hell isn’t like I’m the only one who was sick of him back then, there were plenty of other people whose skin he got under. Pretty much everyone he was partnered with in classes, his crew, whoever made that poster when flight classes were assigned - ”

The corners of Lance’s mouth quirked upward; he was pretty sure he knew what this story was going to be. “The poster,” he repeated.

“Yeah, in the hall for the fighter pilots’ hangar entrances, you know how they had that poster with, ah, whatshisname, the one Garrison alum, that had that, like, ‘Ten Tips for Fighter Pilots’ with those little inspirational quotes? Well, someone went and replaced it with a poster of Kogane, had it saying ‘Ten Tips for Getting into Fighter Class’ and it was, um, hang on… ‘Number one: develop a superiority complex. Number two: punch out the competition. Number three:’, uh…”

“‘Number three: you’re too special to play by the rules’,” Lance finished for him. “‘Number four: prepare to suck massive quantities of commanding officer dicks.’”

“So you remember it!” James cried. “I thought you might, that photo of the poster was going around for weeks after.”

“‘Course I remember it, I helped co-write it.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nah, me and a couple of the others who wound up in cargo class. We were pissed, thought we would have a laugh. One of the others printed it up and hung it, I just helped with the concept. And the guy who printed it was the only one who got a suspension for it, so as far as anyone else knows, I’m one hundred percent innocent. So you didn’t hear this from me.”

“You have my word,” James said with a grin, putting his hand over his heart. “That was a classic, man. Guy who was rooming with Kogane that semester told us he straight up cried himself to sleep the night after that thing went up.”

Lance felt his own smile begin to falter. “He - ”

“He also straight up vanished for the weekend after. Turned out he just run off and hid at Shirogane’s place for a couple days, but a bunch of us thought he had straight up dropped out of the Garrison on account of that whole deal. Imagine everyone’s disappointment when he showed up again.”

“... Oh.” Lance stared down at his tray. He hadn’t known that. He had never meant to make Keith cry, even back then. None of them had. They’d only been trying to embarrass him a little, blow off some steam.

“Hey, it’s nothing to feel bad about,” James said, and Lance looked back up to see the other looking at him in concern. The twinge of guilt must have made its way into his expression. “Not the first time Kogane ran off crying just ‘cause someone was having a little fun with him. Wouldn’t stop him from completely blowing a fuse if someone spotted him melting down. He plays the victim card, but gets mad when people see him playing it. Try and figure that one out.”

“I mean, um, it’s - it’s possible he wasn’t ‘playing the victim card’, he was just… being upset…”

“We talking about the same Kogane? I’m pretty sure the only two emotions he’s capable of are boredom and rage.”

Lance swallowed as he looked down at his tray. The only food still on it was a brownie that he had saved for last, but suddenly it was looking rather unappetizing. In fact, everything he had eaten was suddenly not sitting well in his stomach. No, Keith was capable of more emotions than that, as much as Lance sometimes managed to convince himself otherwise; he’d seen them in action. And, apparently, been the cause of them before.

And God, this was just supposed to be him letting off some steam, but maybe…

He’d gone a bit too far, hadn’t he.

“Let’s… let’s drop this, okay?” he mumbled.

“All right, fine. Hey, another fun fact: are you aware that Keith used to - ”

“No, James, I meant - let’s drop this. This - this is mean.”

James frowned at him, quirking a brow. “What?”

“I, uh, I was mad at him today, sure, but - but I shouldn’t have said - ”

“Okay, whoa, what is with you all of a sudden? We were having fun a few minutes ago, then you start getting quiet on me, and now out of the blue it’s all, ‘thou shalt never speak ill of thy neighbor’?”

“It - I wasn’t thinking, I hadn’t thought - this was mean. We’re being mean.”

“Oh, so now I’m ‘mean’? Where is this coming from?”

“James - ”

“Maybe it’s nice to take the little freak down a peg, you know?” James snapped. “Seriously, it’s not like I’m bursting into his room and attacking him or anything, we’re just chatting. Considering how he went out of his way to make life so difficult for me back at the Garrison, I don’t think think there’s anything wrong with ragging on him a bit.”

Lance tilted his head. “Wait, what do you mean? Are you talking about that time he punched you?”

“That too, but also the fact that he would just be an ass to me at every opportunity,” James answered with a shrug. “You know the way he was, always acting like everyone else in the school was unworthy to speak to him and crap? Always gotta be better than everyone else? And he seemed to have it out for me in particular. Spent all his time glaring at me and trying to find excuses to get into fights. And he just could not stomach the thought of me being better than him in anything, so in every single class, no matter what I did, he always just had to one-up me, you know? Like, God forbid I ever surpass him in anything, in any way. Then the profs would started praising him because apparently they just love show-offs, and he’d get all smug and just refuse to acknowledge anyone else’s existence for the rest of class.”

He yawned and stretched his arms up behind his head before he added, “See, you weren’t in the fighter class yet, so you probably didn’t know what the dynamics were among the pilots or anything, so you may not be aware of this, but all through school, Keith Kogane was, like, my rival.”

Lance stared at him. “Your… what?”

“My rival,” James repeated. “You know, Kogane and Griffin, always neck-in-neck, fighting for top of the class. And he’d get pissed every time I’d beat him, get smug and look down his nose at me every time he’d beat me. He was a nightmare.”

“He was… your rival.”

“Yeah. You may have been stuck with him out in space, but you never had to deal with quite the same side of him I did. Count yourself lucky.”

For a long and quiet moment, Lance stared down at his empty tray, feeling like he had just swallowed, concrete. Then, without warning, he stood up, sending his chair back with a screech.

“Where you going?” James asked.

“I need to talk to Keith,” Lance said.

“What? Oh my God, are you serious?”

“Yeah, I’m serious. I - I have to apologize.”

“Dude, that shit was years ago. It’s all water under the bridge now.”

Lance shook his head. “No, no, it’s - I hadn’t realized I was so - I’ve gotta make this right. We ought to make this right, really.”

James rolled his eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve both fought beside him in battle. We’ve both worked on a team and saved his skin. I’m pretty sure that counts as ‘making things right’.”

“Whatever. I’m gonna talk to him.”

James shrugged. “Fine, on your own head be it, then. Are you gonna eat your brownie, by the way?” he asked, reaching for it.

Lance snatched up the tray with a grunt of, “Yes,” before James could grab the brownie, and he moved to dump all the remaining contents of the tray into the nearby garbage can before setting his tray on top and marching out of the cafeteria.

His thoughts were too muddied to allow him to pay much attention to his route as he walked to Keith’s room, and before he knew it, he found himself knocking on the door. A bark answered his knock, and when the door opened, Kosmo’s snout made its way out of the room first, eagerly sniffing the air before Keith pushed it back and took his place in the doorway.

“Lance?” Keith asked. “What is it?”

“Um… hey,” Lance answered, only just now realizing that in his haste to get here, he hadn’t actually planned on anything today.

Keith sighed. “If you’re here about the school thing this morning, you already made your thoughts perfectly clear on the ride back, so could you - ”

“No, that’s not - I wanted to - I just - I wanted to say sorry.”

Keith raised a brow. “For this morning?”

“Yeah,” Lance said. “I mean, I shouldn’t have gotten frustrated with you, and I’m sorry. Yeah, you kinda screwed some stuff up, but I made it worse than it needed to be, so… sorry.”

“Um, thanks?”

“And, I mean, I hadn’t realized that I was, like, being mean about it, I thought I just - well, you seemed like you were being a bit of a dick too, so I was just kind of trying to be a dick back, but maybe you weren’t actually being a dick, you were just being you, and - not saying that ‘just you’ is a dick, just that that was the impression, see - and I shouldn’t have - I mean, I’ve said some really dickish stuff to you, and apparently so have other people, and you - I shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have had to deal with all that. I hadn’t realized… I over-dicked, I guess, is what I’m saying, and I’m sorry about that, and that was mean, and I - and I’m gonna be less of a dick, going forward, I swear I am.”

Keith stared at him, eyes blown wide. “Uh…” he said. “That’s… uh…”

“Right, sorry, that was, that was a lot, just now, kinda - kinda piled on there.” Lance cleared his throat. “But, um… sorry. For this morning. And for - for other stuff.”

“Oh.”

“I, uh, I just want to…” He took a breath. “Hey, um, if you want, I could give you a hand with this press stuff. Like, what to do in Q-and-A sessions, stuff like that. I figure, you know, ‘stead of just complaining about how you do it, I could… help?”

Keith frowned. “I dunno, Lance…”

“I mean, you don’t have to, I get it, I haven’t exactly been - been such a good - just, you know, the offer’s there, if you want it. And, um, sorry.”

“Right, you said that. Well… thanks. For the offer.”

“Yeah. You’re welcome.”

The two boys stood in uncertain silence before Keith slid back into his room, shutting the door behind him, and Lance let out a breath of tension. That hadn’t really been a moment of closure or revelation or anything.

Still… they had years’ worth of fences to mend. And Lance had apologized, and had left an open door, and next time he’d just have to try harder. Be patient with Keith. Put the shit behind him. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

Baby steps, Lance told himself as he walked away from Keith’s room. Baby steps.

[rugeon]

The level design of V&A Design/Play/Disrupt

Recently went to the V&A expo on videogames and thought it might be fun to try and think about it’s ‘level design’. I realise its silly to call it that and is more informed by planning an exhibition/ event planning and architecture, but w/e.

[pictured:  how do you Do it?, 2014 - Nina Freeman, Emmett Butler, Decky Coss, and Joni Kittaka]

This is mostly gonna be some simple thoughts on the experience of traversing the space of this exhibition, and how that space is used effectively to create different effects/ experiences, as well as notes on the smarter considerations on how the experience is paced/sequenced.

This warped/truncated/inaccurate/drawn from flawed memory map roughly shows the layout of the V&A expo:

The whole exhibition can be roughly broken up into four fairly distinct parts:

Exhibits of the design of different video games from differently sized studios ~2009 onwards. [blue]

Articles, talking points, video discussions and exhibits of games as part of our broader social context, concerned with violence, gender, sex, sexuality, race, language, protest etc. [orange]

A large video theatre showing some of the communities that form around games. [red]

An arcade showcasing several more experimental games and projects, that is open to free play. [yellow]

DESIGN

When you walk in you are greeted by a huge projector flashing between collages of the various exhibitions and the alternating titles DESIGN, PLAY, DISRUPT.

[pictured slides from Jenny Jiao Hsia’s talk on prototyping to make her game: ‘Consume Me’, 2016]

Seeing this is unavoidable when entering, and it serves as something of a banner to signal the transition into the formal exhibition space. YOU HAVE ENTERED THE WORLD OF THE VIDEO GAMES.

Mapping this first area of the 1. Design section of the exhibit we get something like this:

Note that these numbers are in an arbitrary order of roughly when I encountered them, and are not indicative of density, just general location of possibly several bits of each exhibit. Also this list is not exhaustive, nor is the map strictly accurate, I do not have an eidetic memory, but I do have a notebook and a smartphone.

Design/Play/DIsrupt screen

Large Print Text Binders

‘Journey’ gameplay montage projection

Notebooks, sketches, a headphone + video prototype demo, inspo photos/footage, graph and board of intended player journeys/narrative threads

‘Last of Us’ Dual screen demo showing gameplay and some of the work relevant to make that part of the game happen

Sketches, notebooks, board plotting out story events/setpieces in seasons, film made for atmosphere reference, blue sky concept art, colour scripts

Mocap footage +suit

Matt Lees @jam _sponge describing the anxious, excitable play of ‘Bloodborne’ between 3 screens.

Notebooks, sketches+concept art, level design docs, and SketchUp pics of early levels, headphones to listen to a recording of the soundtrack

Bunch of top designs for ‘Splatoon’

Early Prototype, creature sketches, fashion asset design

Playable prototypes from the making of Consume Me

Notebooks, corkboards, workplace ephemera, unity project demo, headphone + video 40 minute talk on prototypes

Music from ‘Kentucky Route Zero’ / KR0, visual representation of branching dialogue in twine, Margritte’s ‘Spring in the Forest’

Inspirations, typeface considerations, group wiki, twine showcase

Realtime Art Manifesto, Even more notebooks, with sketches and details of designing Tale of Tale’s ‘The Graveyard’

Playable demo of The Graveyard

Bench

Multi-screen montage of generated worlds in ‘No Man’s Sky’

Blueprint tool for spaceships, terrain debug tool, sci-fi inspirations

Visual inspirations

So what are some of the ways we can think about how this expo was laid out? 

For a start it’s fairly linear, there are no branching paths at Design/Play/Disrupt, it’d be a layout ill-suited to somewhere like this where there’s a strong desire for the audience to see all the content and assets (the exhibits) and not miss any pieces that time was spent curating. Thankfully unlike some videogames, this linearity is not gated. There are no attendants fiendishly running up behind you and closing doors as you move from one game to another, people might have missed something, or want to visit an earlier piece while friends are preoccupied with something for a little longer.

Exhibits are visited for the most part in a defined order, with some freedom in the Kentucky Route Zero/Graveyard room as well as the Splatoon/Consume Me room. You are encouraged to experience what is on display for each work and are being guided in a deliberate order, as opposed to set loose in an open hall with no boundaries where some attendees might skip or miss a part of the exhibition.

One thing tying sections you can explore or skip is their loose thematic / tonal linking:

To put it another way, there is a good reason that Bloodborne is next to The Last of Us. Both are triple-A big budget, rated 16+, 18+ action games for blood guts and all the cheery stuff. Consume Me and Splatoon work well next to eachother as the cute aesthetic and playable prototypes hanging from the ceiling work well across from Nintendo’s colourful and playful Splatoon. It would be a bit less natural to have the grotesque and rapacious sounds of Bloodborne echoing within the exact same room as Splatoon. I’m not saying any of these works don’t have some commonality beyond the arbitrary border I’ve drawn, but they fit better together. 

- Plus this open space invites an atmosphere of play after having just been cramped into two games rooms that feature horror elements

[Pictured: Splatoon’s section, as well as Consume Me minigame prototypes open to play, suspended from the ceiling]

This also showcases another thing about this event applicable to level design: the same space can be made appealing to different types of audiences. This is an exhibit about video games. I’ll admit this is just my gut but I’d be willing to bet that this exhibit is more likely to be attended by parents and their children than it would most other exhibits. I don’t know exactly what the V&A’s idea of the ideal attendant is, and that’s probably owed to the fact that this event catered to lots of different levels of assumed knowledge and engagement with videogames. 

Parent’s who might be a little out of touch with mainstream games, are quite likely to have been put off by bringing their kid to something that was entirely wall to wall Bloodborne, Dark Souls and other things as frightening (as much as I personally would have enjoyed that). Standing watching a parent pull their rapt child away from dulcet descriptions of how deadly mistakes are, in the big monster game, the success of the exhibition is apparent; the next room is a bit more targeted towards that kid’s age range (even though they did seem pretty into Bloodborne). 

[The concept art from Bloodborne is such a treat]

It’s no surprise as well that the first game is not The Last of Us, but Journey. More people are playing games now than ever but there remains a fair few people who still don’t really know what’s going on in games. As an exhibition that in part is attempting to show the breadth and depth of games being designed, it makes sense that the first introduction to what games are being made is a game without much in the way of traditional combative interaction. 

To wafflingly reiterate: the sequence of how things were placed matters: The accessibility options: 2. [Large Print Binders] are available at the start. Benches and places to sit are placed later throughout the exhibit (including rather wittily across from The Graveyard; a game where the entire goal is to make an old woman sit on a bench).

Reinforcing this point of how the same space can be made to cater to different people this event was extremely Multimedia. Explanations of parts each games design process written up, sketchbooks, and lots of different drawings, scrawled graphs, charts and plans. Concept art, drawings. Video of prototypes and animation, Sounds of ‘Long Journey Home’ echoing up the hall, and the omnipresent dread of Matt Lees echoing down, as well as headphones to listen to specific parts of the exhibition that might be less suited to how crowded the soundscape is or be for a more narrow audience (I wonder how many of the attendants listened to all ~40 Minutes of Jenny Jiao Hsia’s talk on prototyping. I did. It was good). Just in this section of the exhibit, there were so many different means of engagement, and they all felt very well matched to the story of each games development that they wanted to tell, while still offering different types of engagement. People can be looking at a video display showing how the layers of environmental concept art become important and manifest in The Last of Us, while someone else is poring over sketches of Ellie’s design. 

[Corkboard plotting out events + setpieces across the timeline of The Last of Us]

As an exhibition space, it is made with the fact that multiple people are occupying it at the same time in mind. If something is not available you can engage with something else. And if one type of engagement is not to your tastes there’s a good chance something else will be- not bothered about the wiki used to help the team of KR0 to communicate? Maybe you’ll be more interested in some of Ben Babbit’s sonic improvisations, or the visual inspirations involved in the creation of the game.

There’s more I could talk about wrt this first sections layout of how it winds you around instead of giving you a straightline to the exit, the choice of games playable being fundamentlly simple, an anecdotally sweet image of a child holding the obscenely big original xbox ‘duke controller’  on a pedestal and their dad cradling their hands. But I’ll just leave off this post here for now and maybe continue looking at V&A things and posting about it later.

To be continued..?

[taronfanfic]

ABER

Masterlist

Chapter 17

Surfing, cocktails and jet lag were a lethal combination. Taron had stuck to his word and ordered you both Sex on the Beach cocktails that night, doing his best to kick off the evening on the right foot. You’d had dinner in the hotel restaurant and then moved out to the bar which overlooked the pool and hotel grounds. It felt like your first holiday together, and even though you’d spent so much time with Taron recently there was a different feeling that came with him being away from work. You could tell that he was more relaxed. He was never as conscious about how tactile he was with you and as you sat with him now he without a doubt felt like your boyfriend. You’d not put a label on what you were, in fact the last time you’d needed one you were still known as his oldest and closest friend. The wait for him to make the next move was wearing thin and despite your initial fears about what your relationship with him would become, you were now past the point of caring and felt more than ready to take matters into your own hands.

“I’ve really enjoyed today.” You sipped your cocktail and relaxed back in your chair as you drew Taron’s gaze away from the sea.

“Me too. Surfing was a good choice.” He crossed his leg over his knee as he also sat back and relaxed with his drink.

“It was, but we’d have made anything fun. I’m loving getting to spend so much time with you.”

“I’m loving seeing you so happy.” Taron smiled back to you and you could see the happiness in his eyes. “Genuinely, to look back at how you were when you were sat on the end of my bed in Aber… and then see the smile you had on your face all day today. It’s still right there.” He reached out and softly touched your cheek. “You’re like a different person.”

“It’s all down to you.” You felt yourself blushing under his touch.

“It’s not.” He shook his head. “It’s as much you as it is me. Just because I opened the door, didn’t mean you had to walk through it. You chose to do it, Y/N and I’m so pleased you did.”

“You made it easy… you’ve got a hard face to say no to.” Taron laughed gently and then covered his yawn with his hand. “Someone’s looking sleepy.” You reached out and caressed the skin of his lower thigh.

“Sorry, I’m knackered. Do you mind if we head back?”

“Not at all.” You finished the rest of your drink and stood up from the table, deciding that you’d ask the question when you got back to the villa instead. “You’ve still got a winning bet to claim.” Taron took hold of your outstretched hand and let you guide him down the path.

“Can I save my winnings for tomorrow? I think I’m going to be out as soon as my head hits the pillow tonight.” Taron let go of your hand to shield another yawn before his arm moved back to rest around your shoulders and pull you in closer to his side.

“Cash it in whenever you like, it’s not like I’m going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Good. I can’t believe I did so many months of this on my own… the thought of going back to that, it would be so shit.” Taron paused in the doorway to the villa with the key in his hand. “Hugh always said it was way easier when his family could travel with him or even just his wife, and I really get it now. It shifts your focus. Makes it easier to switch off from the job.”

“Hopefully there’s more to it than me just being a distraction from your job though…” You followed Taron into the villa and switched on the lights as he made a beeline straight for the bed, stripping to his boxers and collapsing down on his back with a sigh.

“What do you mean?” He mumbled in confusion as he let his eyes close.

“I mean… hopefully there’s more to us than just being friends… or friends with benefits.” All the confidence you had earlier started to drain from your body as the fear of saying anything more out loud hit your stomach. You crouched down and started to rummage through a suitcase in search of your phone charger, acting busy as Taron’s silence lingered on. “Have you seen my charger in here anywhere?” You asked through your nerves as you desperately tried to fill the awkward silence that encompassed the room. There was a faint murmur of noise from Taron and the sound of him moving about on the bed had you looking back over your shoulder at him. His eyes were still closed, a hand rested peacefully below his cheek and he’d drawn his knees higher up the bed as he’d fallen asleep. “What I really wanted to say was I love you, you idiot.” You said quietly to yourself, once again accepting that tonight wasn’t going to be the night either.

***

Taron’s hands gripped your bare waist and lifted you up to sit on the bonnet of the white open topped Jeep that he’d hired for your day of exploring. He stepped back and took a photo of you as you posed in your high waisted denim shorts, cropped t-shirt and cat eye sunglasses.

“Now if that doesn’t end up on your blog I’ll be disappointed! Got to show off my photography skills to the world.”

“I’ll need to steal your phone charger before that can happen. I swear Jane never packed mine and it’s still plugged in at the hotel in Beverly Hills!” You replied as you jumped down from the front of the car and climbed into the passenger seat instead.

“When she’s organised she’s great, but she’s useless in a crisis. So how is the blogging going? I meant to ask before but there’s been a lot going on.” Taron set off on the open road, heading south down the coast towards Byron Bay.

“Yeah, good I think. It’s not really headed down the path I expected it to but plenty of people seem to like it.”

“Where did you expect it to go?”

“I guess I thought it would be more like a travel blog. Reviewing hotels, restaurants, nice tourist spots… but it’s sort of turned into more of a personal journey.” You cringed back at your use of the word journey.

“Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing! It means your blog isn’t generic. People get sick of reading the same old stuff and with your personality behind it, it always was going to be popular. I knew that from the first post you let me read.”

“Never doubted me, did you?”

“Not even a little bit.” Taron took his eyes off the road and looked across at you through his sunglasses with a smile.

“Smug.” You laughed. “I’ve not posted anything up there for a while, they probably all think it’s me who’s dead, not my phone battery!”

“Just borrow my phone. Post the photo I took and let them know you’ve changed continents but you’re still very much alive and well.” Taron unlocked his phone and passed it over to you before turning the volume up on the radio as one of his favourite songs started. You reached his phone out the side of the car and recorded a short video of the two of you singing along and laughing away together, capturing another fun moment of your little adventure before you got down to writing the next blog post.

***

Fear not. I am alive and well. Sans phone for now due to my charger being 7,000 miles away in LA (I’ve borrowed David’s phone to post this.), so don’t expect any regular updates. I’ve just caught sight of my last post and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that night was not the night. So anyone who thought my sudden silence was down to a life of romantic bliss, put your party hats away. We are literally no further forward despite the literal time difference between LA and Australia. That’s right, I’m down under. Literally and metaphorically. David ventured down under on The Night That Never Was and ohmydays. That man. I do owe him now though, thanks to a lost bet…

We spent the day surfing yesterday which was amazing. I should have known better than to accept his challenge though. Whoever managed to successfully stand up on the board first has the other one go down on them. I thought I had a chance. I’d already had a taste of the reward (or more like David had had a taste!) so I knew it was worth fighting for. But that man’s skills know no bounds and I didn’t even get a look in. The bastard!

Competitiveness aside we’ve been having a lot of fun. Australia is beautiful and so peaceful compared to LA. We have a gorgeous beach front villa where we can watch the sun rise each morning and right now we’re driving down the coast towards Byron Bay in an open top White Jeep. David has insisted I post this photo to show off his photography skills – humour him.

I keep trying to find or make the right kind of moment to talk to David about what all of this means, what we are, what we have, how we feel. But it seems like the harder I try the more things get in the way. Maybe it’s the world’s way of telling me to stop pushing. Maybe someone, somewhere, knows that my earlier fears were to be believed and that making this official, labelling it, and telling David how I feel is a really bad move.

Maybe. Maybe not.

I’m not going to push it today though. I’m just going to enjoy having the man I love by my side and make the most of the Australian sunshine.

BADQ x

Tag list: @egerton-sweetie @amanda-tallmadge @lizziespidiepridie​ @leanimal90 @anantheminmyheart22 @aynsleywalker @bohemianrhapsody86 @butterfliesslugswormsandothershi @manners-maketh-taron @livingincompletesilence @marvelmakeuplover @ohsosmutty 

[candidlytaron]

Chapter One: ένα

Πρώρο Μέρος (Part I) 

PRELUDE:

SO CLOSE, YET, SO FAR

Her emotions are mostly kept at bay The songs she writes in secret She wishes that one day she will say The things she had been keeping

His emotions concealed and he tries to shut down All the things he had been feeling But if it wasn't for that chance encounter He might have never gotten the true meaning

Guilt hits her, and regret hits him All the things that could have happened So she finally expressed her heart And the willingness that she's been trapping

• • •

Remember the words you told me, "love me 'til the day I die?" Surrender my everything 'cause you made me believe you’re mine Yeah, you used to call me baby, now you calling me by name Takes one to know one, yeah You beat me at my own damn game

— 5 Seconds of Summer • Youngblood

• • •

THE DRUNK MEETING

ISLA

    With her signature side-swept hairdo and long, black gown that has a slit on her left leg up to her thigh, she is like a masterpiece framed and caged in a glass the moment she sets foot in the red carpet. Blinding lights flashes at her with incoherent babbling from the paparazzi trying to beckon her to look straight at their cameras. Isla tries to look at every camera present, but there's just too many. After all, the flashes from their individual DSLRs makes it hard to determine where the cameras really are. It's about an hour and a half before showtime, and she needs to address interviewers and fans that are waiting for her behind the barricade, screaming her name.

    She is beckoned by an interviewer from a famous gossip site, and she comes forward to entertain her. After she's asked a few typical questions (for example, how she reacted and felt the first time she found out that she was nominated. Winning, or just simply being nominated in this award show is already such an achievement, let alone be nominated at about four categories, which, she is) the auburn-haired girl shifts the topic into something that's quite stressful to answer.

    "I heard Taron Egerton is going to be here. Do you have plans on meeting him?" She asks.

    Right. That very name that just makes her heart skip a beat. Taron Egerton is her celebrity crush, and had been an avid fan of him since she began her career, and this may be the day where she finally gets noticed. Her faint obsession with the young lad has been revealed on few of her interviews, but enough to get the word across. Taron Egerton is Isla Constantine's celebrity crush.

    Isla stammers, and her breathing begins to grow heavy. But she is an actress—of course she should be pretty good at hiding her anxiety as it occurs. All because she wasn't informed that he is going to be in the same place, breathing the same atmosphere as she is. All she knew was he's nominated for an award or two, but she wasn't that quite updated on news about him because of her busy schedule.

    But all she can do now is pretend that she knew he was coming. This is where her acting skills becomes extra convenient. "Yeah, although I'm a bit shy. I have no clue how he'll react if we meet," which is true. It's either he recognises her and think that 'oh, this is that famous actress who has been obsessing with me' or he doesn't at all. Isla can't tell what is the far more embarrassing scenario.

    She's nervous now, especially on the fact that has crawled on her spine the moment she found out about Taron's unexpected presence.

    Delilah Heely. International supermodel.

    Delilah and Taron had been going out for quite a while now—almost a year and a half—and although Taron has been a very secretive person since the start, the word still managed to get around because of paparazzi works and Delilah with her social media posts that slightly angers Isla. Because, god, let's face it—jealousy is an understatement to express how she usually feels whenever Delilah uploads a lovey-dovey photo of her and Taron. How gross, she would often mutter to herself. As if she stands a chance with the Welsh actor.

    "If he was present here at this very carpet near us, and I'd bring him in, would that be okay?"

    Isla feels her heart drop to her stomach. Here she establishes that she is beyond unready to meet her favourite actor as much as she would love to. She takes a quick glance behind her to check if the lad really is around, taking the interviewer's words as kind of a hint, but he's nowhere to be seen.

    She faces back to the camera and the interviewer and confesses: "no. I'm really nervous."

    After a few more typical questions, the interviewer bids Isla her goodbyes to move on to another celebrity present in the red carpet. So Isla moves on to her fans and approach the barricade. The high-pitched screaming grows even louder as she walks towards the metal bars, and the girls at the front row are nearly shoving the upper part of their body inside the red carpet, phones in their hands and waving for Isla.

    "Isla, over here!" One fan screams, and it reminds her of the paparazzi that tried to make her look at his camera from a while ago. Except now the fan is actually pronouncing her name right, and it doesn't sound harsh. And the paparazzi was calling her Iz-la the whole time. "Isla! Can we take a picture?" The fan says, nearly shoving her phone on Isla's face. A bit annoyed, but she takes the black iPhone from her hand and smile for the picture. She then gives back her phone and do the same for the others, even conversing with them for a bit with simple 'how do you do's, a very typical Isla greeting to her fans, it has nearly became her signature and a source of teasing done by her fan girls and fan boys.

    Now, Isla's fuse is short and she can get a bit annoyed because of the fans' aggressiveness, but she's still grateful for her fans and, according to most, one of the few that actually treats them right. She knows how it is to be a fangirl, so she treats her fans the way they deserved to be treated, one critic said. At times she would really have to object to some fans' requests but she knows how to explain herself and fortunately, the fans are understanding, but some just can't bring themselves to comprehend and, in modern slang, tend to unstan.

    After she takes pictures, chat a little and even do video greetings for fans, she leaves the barricade and head inside the theater where the award show is going to be held. She isn't at ease as she makes her way to the theater, anxiously keeping an eye on every four corners of the lobby in case the Kingsman actor shows up as unexpected as him actually coming in the show.

    The coast is clear for Isla. She searches for the seat with the signboard of her photo and name on it. She places her clutch down on the seat but she continues to walk in search for Taron's, and she discovers that he's about a row and four seats away from him; she's practically invisible. Thank god, she thinks as she heaves a sigh and head straight back to her assigned seat.

    The show begins, and one out of four categories that Isla is nominated for is announced, and it's one out of four awards for her as she climbs up the stage when her name is read on the envelope and announced that she has won.

    Shakily, she delivers her acceptance speech. Not because her favourite actor is around, but because she's still not used to speaking in front of people as herself. There's still stage fright lingering on her stomach despite all her theater experience, because there's a huge difference between acting and dialogues that are memorized from a script and impromptu speaking in front of about twenty-thousand strangers when you least expect it.

    "...thank you so much. And to my fans, this is for you!" She says, concluding her speech and raising the trophy up as she walks down the stage and everyone applauds her.

    She heads back to her seat from backstage and see Taron looking at her. He smiles as if he is congratulating her. Her heart beats out of her chest at the sight of him and his grin, but can't bring herself to believe that that actually happened. Maybe I wasn't the one he was smiling at, a cynical part of her mind whispers, but deep within she knows that the smile is for her. She hopes that it was for her. She blushes, satisfied about the very first interaction she's ever had with him, even if it's just as simple as a simper and a nod.

    But her eyes shifts to the brunette girl with a knowing face beside him, perhaps, also clapping a bit for her, and her heart taps against her ribs rapidly.

    "Good girl, Isla," her manager, a middle-aged man named Christopher Carolos says, clapping cheerfully. Isla has no plus ones to invite because her parents are across the country, nor does she have a significant other, so she picked her manager to be her date instead since she feels like she owes him a lot for her success. Frankly, she wishes that she would have someone to flaunt in award shows and premiers the way other artists do.

    "I feel like you are going to wipe out those awards," he continues.

    She laughs. "You are just saying that because you're my manager. Of course you would think that I'm amazing. You love your own, right?"

    The tall man leans over to say something, because the crowd is getting louder with their cheers because of another celebrity being announced as a winner. "It's true, Isle. Stop doubting your potentials," he tells her. And he's been telling her that over and over again like a broken record because as much as winning a Tony, and now this award, she still feels like she isn't good enough, and even she doesn't know why. Perhaps it has something to do with her experience in theater workshops, where she was repeatedly undermined by her peers until she believed it herself that she sucked. The confidence is still a work-in-progress up until now. It's strange how it takes years and years to build confidence up just to have one harsh criticism knock it down in a matter of seconds.

    You don't belong here, they told her, and it echoes in her head almost everyday. Now, she has proven them wrong by winning awards and praises from critics, but for her, it still isn't enough. She's also unsure how she's going to build herself back up again but she keeps telling herself that she's making progress, but even she knows that that's a lie, because you can't fix something without knowing what the problem is first. It's like apologizing to someone without knowing what you did. There's little to no sincerity. Most of the time it's done just to get it over with.

• • •

    Christopher was correct with his prediction, and Isla brings home all the four awards that she has won, however the show hasn't ended yet. There are three more categories to announce. Similarly, Taron has already won two out of two. And now they await until the end of the show for the after party. They were told that it's going to be amazing.

    Isla excuses herself to go to the washroom. She, then, gets out of the theater, into the lobby and make her way into halls where the lavatory is located, where she hears a couple arguing and the man's voice sounds ever so familiar for Isla.

    As she walks toward the halls, the fighting gets louder. And when she realises who it is, she presses her back on the wall to avoid being seen, then carries on to the sink located outside of the loo. She can still hear them, and she tries her very best for this supposed-to-be private conversation slur in her hearing, but she fails to do so—everything, every word is still crystal clear.

    "We are through, Taron," Delilah says and she sounded as if she's choking back tears. "We're done."

    "Okay," Taron replies, calmly. As if he's been expecting for her to say it. "Okay. If that's what you want."

    Then Isla hears footsteps so she runs inside the women's room. She takes a peek outside, the door blocking most of her sight. And when she sees that there are no people outside, she runs back out to the washroom, looking at herself in the mirror in pure disbelief. Her jaw nearly dropped to the sink.

    She had just witnessed a break up. And not just any break up. It's Taron and Delilah's. It makes her wonder if this will be up in gossip sites first thing tomorrow, but nevertheless, she is apparently the first one outside the relationship to know. And it's none of my business, she thinks, and she is correct. For some reasons, she thought she was going to celebrate on the inside when this happens just like any insensitive fan would, but now she just feels so bad for Taron. He didn't deserve to be treated like that, she thinks. He deserves way, way better. As if her input would make any difference. Someone better like me, her delusional mind continues but she shakes her head, trying to convince herself not to think something so insensitive at a time like this. Plus, she doesn't even know whose fault is it in reality. She can't give any judgments.

    When she gets back, she turns to Taron's seat and see him appearing like he's breathing heavily. The seat next to him is now vacant. She badly wants to approach him and comfort him, but he doesn't know her, and he has no clue that she heard them fight. They don't actually know each other for Isla to suddenly become best of friends with Taron just because of his break up. And besides, if she does and Taron lets her in, everyone is going to think that she's insensitive—taking this opportunity to attract her celebrity crush to date her, now that he's in a vulnerable state, even letting herself be a rebound after a one and a half year of relationship. Oh god, I'd rather not, she thinks at the thought of that possibility. She might not be living to please anyone (her words, on one interview she did with Ellen) but she doesn't want to come out as a bad person either.

    She lets herself drop to her chair and Christopher leans to whisper. "What's going on? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

    She didn't realise that she mimicks Taron's expression mixed with her own emotions towards what she just eavesdropped on.

    "I think I might have just witnessed a break up," she says, a little shaken up. She hugs herself, gaping at the cold air and shivering.

    "Whose break up?"

    She heaves a sigh. "Taron and Delilah's."

    Christopher's mouth is now in an 'o' shape, and he laughs. "Does that make you happy?"

    Isla sighs loudly. "I'm not." She answers honestly. "Even I didn't expect that I would feel this way. I'm not going to be insensitive knowing that he's hurting. Although he does a pretty job to conceal that."

• • •

    The afterparty looks like a rave after a marathon that throws colored powder on you and it stains your clothing forever. Isla thinks she isn't dressed appropriately to head to the moshpit, though, but who isn't? Everyone is in formal clothing but that doesn't stop them. She's just making an alibi to stay because she just doesn't feel like pushing her claustophobic self in the sea of people and jumping on her heels. Her feet is already killing her because there are no chairs in the venue. So she stays on the cocktail table, leaning her elbow on it with a drink in her hand, occasionally rubbing her lower legs and wincing in pain.

    Suddenly, a brunet guy with the same drink approaches her, and he looks extremely fucked. "Hey," he greets. "What is up?"

     Isla recognises that familiar accent anywhere, and turning to face the guy sends shock in every part of her body like she's been electrocuted. She's not ready for this, and she doesn't know when she ever will be. But apparently, the time needs to be now.

    "Taron," she gasps, but not enough for the boy to hear her. "Are you all right?" She still asks, even though she damn well knows that he isn't. Physically and emotionally.

    "Yeah. I drank about six strong shots today. My girlfriend broke up with me, for fuck's sake," he replies, slurring in every word that he says. "I don't know anymore, but this drink is amazing," he continues, raising the cocktail glass as if Isla can't already see it.

    Isla realises that Taron is extremely drunk, therefore his congeniality is up high, so is his honesty. And he probably won't remember any of this interaction when he wakes up with a strong hangover tomorrow. Isla is surprisingly fine with that because she isn't at ease either. She just wonders how many people he's told about his fight with his girlfriend accidentally, and her concerns are raised. At least she can keep her mouth shut, but what about the others?

    Isla takes the cocktail from Taron's hand and down it in one go. He looks at her as if he can't believe what she just did. "What the fuck?"

    "You already had too much to drink," she says. Taron tries to grab her glass but she draws it away. "Ah. No."

    She is unsure either why she appears a little too confident talking to him. Probably because he'll have no memory of her bossing him around like this at their first official meeting. She just wants the best for him but he would never understand that now that he's heartbroken—that is, if he's conscious about what's going on, which he isn't, she hopes. Otherwise, this will be such an odd memory for Taron.

    "My girlfriend broke up with me," he repeats. "Let me have this!"

    "No, Taron," she says, sounding like a best friend—scratch that, sounding like a mother. "I will not let you have this. Plus, it's my drink."

    Surprisingly, he nods. "Yeah, you're right." Then he pats her arm. "You...you're right. I'm going home. I'll see you whenever, Constantine." It brings Isla to shock that he somehow remembers her. But she doesn't blame him for calling her by her surname. There will always be hesitations before trying to say her name out loud. "Is it Iz-la or Isla, like Island without n and d?" asked one of the interviewers when she was still at her starting point.

    Isla gets goosebumps tickling her spine as she feels Taron's hand squeeze hers as his goodbye. Then, he leaves the place. And Isla in complete shock.

• • •

    Isla scrolls on her Twitter feed that rages with fan accounts dedicated for her. She has this habit of following back and replying to their messages as she believes that one of the greatest gifts an artist could ever give to their adoring fans is recognition. Although there are conditions: They better not be rude to other fans nor any other artists. Otherwise she, with no hesitation, will unfollow.

    She sees someone retweet a TMZ article about Taron Egerton getting drunk with a video attached. And her she feels like someone has pinched her heart at the sight of the gossip article, to which her fan quoted with "What the hell happened?"

    With a heavy heart, she looks up if the word already spread like a wildfire, googling Taron Egerton and Delilah Heely. And true enough, it already did.

CHAPTER TWO

[theydontknowaboutusimagines]

Behind The Album - Harry Styles Mini Series (Part 4)

Part 3 

“Oh my god, will you stop,” you laughed smacking your boyfriend’s hand away. 

“Ow, what?” He groaned. “I’m just taking a small bite,” he smirked sticking a quite large bite of your pancakes in his mouth. 

“If you wanted pancakes you should have orderd them yourself,” you said moving your plate away from his grasp. 

“Well, I didn’t want them until I saw them on your plate,” he said. 

You rolled your eyes. “Anyway, so not that I’ve been purposely looking, I’ve noticed there hasn’t been much talk about us and the possiblitiy of being in a relationship since being on tour.” 

“I’ve noticed that too,” he laughed. “I’d love to say it was because we’re just super private, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact you’re techincally my videographer, so there’s really not much chance of a “relationship” there.” 

“Oh, if only they knew,” you smirked. 

“Yep, Videographer by day, girlfriend and lover at night,” he smirked at you with a wink. 

You giggled leaning over to kiss him quickly. “But really, eventually, people are gonna figure out there’s more going on between us,” you said. 

He sighed. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “And to be honest, I don’t care if they do, I just hate what happens when they do, you know? Whenever I’m with someone or even just rumored to be with someone, everyone wants to know every single detail about the relationship and they’ll find a way to write an article about it, that’s the reason I want to keep my relationships private.” 

“I agree,” you nodded. “I don’t care if people know, I just want it to cause this huge thing and see our relationship scattered over a shit ton of articles.” 

“Which is why for now, I’m okay with no one outside our circles knowing about us,” he said. 

“Speaking of that, sort of,” you laughed. “My parents want to come out to show one night and meet you and of course see what I do for a job...”

“Oh, uh... yeah um, is there a specfic show you’re thinking about?” He asked taking a sip of his drink before putting it back down on the table. 

“Well, I was maybe thinking your hometown show? I thought it might be a good place to get to know you and your family, especially since we’ll be on tour for most of the rest of the year,” you said. 

“That’d be a great time,” he said. “Yeah, I’ll make arrangements and get their flights scheduled and paid for and I’ll talk to Mum about expecting them.” 

“You don’t have to pay for them,” you said. “I can do that.” 

“I know, but I want to,” he smiled taking your hand. 

“Ugh, fine,” you groaned dramatically. 

He laughed kissing your head before you both finished eating your breakfast. 

**

Later that day, you, Harry, the band, and a few of the crew, all headed out to explore the city. You and Harry were in the middle of the group and he sneakily grabbed your hand and laced his fingers with yours. You smiled over at him and gave his hand a squeeze. 

After doing some sight seeing and shopping, you all head to a nearby restauarnt for some dinner. You and the girls all head to the restroom, while the boys sit down at the table. Harry was chatting with Adam and Jeff, when he heard your phone getting an alert. He looked down at it and saw Max’s name come across. 

He furrowed his eyebrows and unlocked your phone, reading the message, when he noticed that you and Max had been messaging off and on over the past few weeks. Sure, they weren’t anything more than just how  are you? What are you doing? etc, but the fact you were talking to him at all, worried him. Especially after what happened in Jamaica. 

He saw you and girls walking back towards the table, so he quickly locked your phone and put it back on the table. You climbed up into the seat next to him and quickly kissed his cheek. 

“Miss me?” You smirked. 

“Always,” he joked. 

“Okay, we’re not going to have any of that at the table,” Adam laughed. 

“Hey, don’t look at us, look at them,” Harry smirked pointing over to Sarah and Mitch, who gave Harry the finger. 

You laughed and looked down at the menu before you all ordered your food. Throughout the rest of the night, you noticed something was up with Harry, you grabbed his hand and he looked over at you with a bit of a force smiled. 

“You okay?” You mouthed. 

He nodded and kissed your head as you all finished up your meals before heading back to the hotel. When you got up to the room, you took off your shoes and put your things down, while Harry dropped his wallet and keys on the table before sitting on the bed and taking off his boots. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” You asked. 

He sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me you were talking to Max again? I saw he texted you when you were using the loo at dinner. I was shocked to see his name, so I went looked at the message and saw there quite a few of you two texting each other.” 

You sighed. “I didn’t tell you because it’s really not a big deal. I saw him at your first show and we talked briefly. So, we started talking a little bit here and there after that, but it’s not like we’re on the level we were before.” 

“Y/N, this is a huge deal. This guy was obessed with you and things he said... were extreme,” he said. 

“I know, but he has a girlfriend now. He’s over me. Besides, I’m not jumping back into a friendship with him. I’m being cordial with him,” you said. 

“Did he tell you he had a girlfriend or did you actually meet her?” He asked 

“Well, he told me, but then I saw her later on in the show standing with him...” you said. 

“So, you don’t actually know if she was his girlfriend or just some random girl who happened to be sitting next to him?” He asked. 

“Why are you acting like this?” You asked. 

“Because I don’t like him or how he acted towards you Y/N,” he said. “I don’t trust him.” 

“You don’t know him,” you said. “You know him from our little issue back in Jamaica.” 

“Which is enough for me to know that I don’t want you talking to him,” he said. 

“Harry he’s one of my oldest friends,” you said. “We’re just texting... I’m not hanging out with him.” 

“I’m just worried about you,” he sighed. “The way he was acting towards you, towards us, scared me.” 

“I know,” you sighed wrapping your arms around him. “But like I said, I’m keeping him at arm’s length. I’ve known him for years and I owe our friendship to at least give him a chance. The second he says or does something that makes me uncomfortable or makes me think we’re going back towards where we were a few months ago, then I’ll end it there.”

“And you’ll tell me if he does?” He asked. 

“Yes, I promise,” you smiled. 

“You know I just don’t want anything to happen to you right?” He whispered. 

“I know,” you nodded. 

He smiled. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” you giggled. 

**

The next morning you woke up to Harry’s phone going crazy with notifications. 

“What the fuck is going on with your phone?” You groaned reaching over him to pick it up. 

“Just turn it off,” he mumbled. 

“I would, but you’ve got texts and calls from like four different people and your twitter notifications are insane,” you said leaning back on your side of the bed. 

You pulled the sheet over you as you unlocked his phone and clicked on the notification from Twitter, which sent you to a video. A Video you instantly recognized. 

“Don’t you even fucking think about it,” you said pointing to your boyfriend.

“What?” He asked innocently.

“You know exactly what. Just because this camera is waterproof doesn’t fucking mean you can just push me off this board and into the ocean,” you said. “Besides I’m working remember? We’re supposed to be professional.”

“You say that yet it’s hard to be professional when you’re wearing that,” he said.

“Cause I’m gonna wear actual clothes while I’m in the ocean, yeah that sounds like a good idea,” you said. “Maybe you should learn how to control yourself.”

“You’re just so… fucking hot,” he smirked.

“You do realize I’m recording, right?” You said. “I’m going to have a lot of editing to do.”

He laughed pushing himself back up on the board. “We’ll just keep it for  ourselves.”

You rolled your eyes. “Anyway, go back to acting like I’m not here, so I can actually use this footage.”

“You’re so bossy,” he smirked. “It’s actually a bit of a turn on.”

“Again? Really, if you keep talking, I’m adding this in and everyone will see,” you smirked.

“You wouldn’t,” he said looking over at you.

“Oh, I would,” you smirked kicking the board and causing him to fall off.

“Oh My God,” you said. 

“Was that-” Harry said. 

“Yes!” You said. “That was video from Jamaica. How is this on the internet right now?” 

“Let me see,” Harry said grabbing his phone. 

He started scrolling through and not only saw videos of you that you had flimed in Jamaica, ones that were clearly edited out for good reason, along with intimate photos of the two of you as well, from both in Jamaica and after. 

“Fucking...” Harry sighed running his hands through his hair. 

“How did this happen? All of these were saved on my computer-” You sighed. 

“Were they saved on your iCloud?” He asked. 

“Some yes, but not all of them,” you said. 

He sighed. “Someone hacked into your account.” 

“What? How? Why?” You said. 

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find the fuck out,” he said. 

You sighed sadly looking down. “I’m sorry...” 

“Baby this isn’t your fault,” he said. 

“I should have been more careful... “ you sighed. 

“It doesn’t matter. Whoever hacked your account shouldn’t have, this is all on them,” he said. 

Your phone started getting alerts then and you grabbed it. As soon as you opened it up, you were seeing your mentions on all of your social media being filled up with fans and others sending you things. Some of it was nice, but some of it.... 

Most of it was bad. 

**

Thank you anon for this awesome idea for the storyline! :) 

[lordsicheng]

Into You

Younger Idol!Kim Donghan x Idol!OC

g: fluff

summary: after finally being able to debut with other girls you have trained with for the past few years, you felt like you’re finally able to grab on to your dreams, only to find out one of your closest friends from back home also had the same aspirations as you

requested? yes!♥

Wiping your sweat off your forehead, you focused hard on the choreography your teammate worked on for your upcoming debut. You looked at her getting all frustrated by not to you or the others, but by the fact that she was getting all worked up because your CEO was giving her a hard time. Sure, your company was small, but all of you wanted to debut together and live your dreams as entertainers

“Y/n, move to the right.” Serin, one of your groupmates, told you as she looked at you from the other side of the room, and you just nodded

“Hyomin, don’t you think we should rest for maybe just ten minutes? Our muscles are gonna be too sore if we overwork.” Yein, one of the other members, said as she sat on the wooden floor of the studio

“Fine. Girls, let’s take a break.” Hyomin sighed and fixed her ponytail as she walked over to the speakers, and you followed her from behind

“Hey, Hyo, we don’t have to get too stressed over this.” you said as you touched her shoulder from behind, and she turned and gave you a small smile

“Oh, maknae, please do think of my age too. I’m turning 26 and I’ve trained for over six years, I want to give up but my dreams are too high up to be given up of.”  she said as she leaned her back on the wall and looked at her phone to find more music to practice to

“Hey, y/n, we’re gonna get some snacks at the convenience store. Wanna go?” Soyoung, one of the other members, asked as she approached you and Hyomin

“No, I’m good. Just give me a small pack of that potato chip I liked. Barbecue flavored.” you grinned and she just nodded as she walked out along with Yein to get some snacks

“Serin unnie, where’s Hara?” you looked around to find the other maknae who was your age but only a few months older

“Hara was called by the manager earlier, I don’t know why.” Serin scratched her head, and Hara coincidently arrived the studio, not able to hide her huge smile

“Hara!” you ran over to her side and hugged her

“Y/n, everyone, I have some news.” Hara grinned, making everyone else walk up to her

“Wait, where’s Soyoung unnie and Yein?” Hara looked around to find the other missing members

“They’re buying snacks. But tell us what’s up, now.” Hyomin chuckled

“Okay, so you know how the manager asked me to go with her earlier to the office of the other representatives and the CEO, right? So we kind of made an agreement of some sort, but I told them the agreement should benefit all of us in return. So…” Hara paused before continuing with her words

“We’re debuting in a month!” she exclaimed in joy, raising her arms to show her glee

“WHAT?!” everyone, including you, gasped in unison

“Yeap, you heard me. We’re gonna start recording next week, jacket photos will be around the same time or in two weeks, and same goes for the music video. So, yes, we’re set!” Hara giggled and gathered everyone for a group hug, Yein and Soyoung arriving confused as to why everyone was in such a great mood

“What’s going on?” Yein asked as she sipped on her carton of banana milk

“We’re debuting!” you grinned

“WHAT?!” Soyoung and Yein this time gasped in unison as they ran over to all of you hugging tightly, spinning around in excitement as you all were just a few steps of getting to all of your dreams

-

You were shaking in nervousness as you grabbed Hyomin’s hand and held it while backstage for your showcase, looking at her in a bit of panic as she tried to calm you down by rubbing your fingers with her thumb

“We’ll be alright. You’re the visual and maknae, so most likely the reporters would focus on you. It’s normal to become this nervous.” Hyomin smiled

“You’re best fit as the leader. You assure everyone.” you smiled back

“We’re up in 10 minutes!” Yein called from the back, making your heart beat a little bit faster than usual

“You got this. Remember, find the red light between the cameras, your focus should be there.” Hyomin pat your back

“Okay. Got it.” you nodded

“Girls, they’re calling us to get ready by the stage, let’s go.” Soyoung called, and you and the others followed as you fixed your microphone

As the special MC called you out, you shook your head to get the nervousness off, and Hyomin looked at you again

“Ready?” she asked

“Ready.” you smiled

“Ladies and Gents, give it up for Heartbeat!”

-

It has already been a week since you have debuted, and your group was already bombarded with tons of CF offers and guestings, whether it be individual or group. You calmly drank your iced Americano while in the waiting room, looking around as you noticed your groupmates were getting excited on your first live broadcast. You stood up and walked over to the other girl groups’ places, taking peeks as you admired their teamwork and beauty from afar

“Y/n noona?” someone called from behind and you turned to look who it was, only to enlarge your eyes in surprise

“D-Donghan?” you said in surprise as you slowly walked over to him

“Noona! I knew it was you when I saw the press photos!” Donghan exclaimed as he looked at you

“Wait, Donghan, you debuted too?” you chuckled as you crossed your arms

“Yeah, but our group’s temporary…” Donghan gave a small smile

“Oh, from Produce 101? I haven’t talked to you ever since you got in!” you lightly slapped his shoulder

“Ah, yeah. I mean, if it weren’t for the fans we wouldn’t be able to be here.” Donghan laughed

“You should be thankful.” you nodded

“Hey, Donghan, we’re up next!” one of Donghan’s groupmates called from afar

“Who’s that?” you looked at the guy who called him

“Sanggyun hyung.” Donghan smiled

“Can I get his number?” you joked

“Noona, it’s obvious he isn’t your type.” Donghan rolled his eyes and laughed

“Mean.” you slapped his shoulder again, this time, a bit stronger

“Ow!” he crinkled his nose

“That’s what you get for being a meanie.” you put out your tongue in mockery

“See you later, terminator.” he laughed as he ruffled your hair and ran off to his groupmates

“Terminator… Wait,y-you remembered… ? hey, that was one time!” you pouted and crossed your arms, him just laughing as he walked off and you ending up laughing as well as you walked to your groupmates, who kind of noticed you talking to Donghan after stealing a few glances

“My, my. Who was that cutie?” Hyomin chuckled as you arrived

“Donghan. A really close friend of mine back at my hometown. I didn’t even know he was debuting.” you shook your head as you sat down on one of the chairs

“You look cute together.” Soyoung giggled as he looked at Donghan and his group walk out the room and then to you

“Excuse me? Noooo.” you waved your hand

“Hey, hey. We just debuted. No boys. We have a one year dating ban.” Hara rolled her eyes

“Who said anything about dating? We’re really just friends. Besides, I’m like, three years older.” you crossed your arms

“Wait, they’re JBJ right?” Yein asked

“Oh, yeah! The fanmade group that got to debut.” Hyomin nodded

“So that means Donghan is the maknae, and y/n….” Soyoung turned to look at you

“Is also the maknae.” Serin smirked and nodded as she looked at you

“Guys, please…” you snickered

“Come on, we’re up after two groups.” Hyomin pat your shoulder and everyone else stood up, walking to the nearest place to stay backstage to get ready for your first live broadcast

Donghan’s group, JBJ, passed by your group with a bow as you all did as well, telling each other good luck as you prepared to go on stage. Donghan gave a sneer smile as he walked pass you and poked you on the side, making you jump a bit and glare at him in response, but he just put out his tongue in reply as he ran to his groupmates back to the waiting room. Soyoung, who was standing behind you, couldn’t hold in her laughter as he ran off and you looked at her with an annoyed expression

“What? You both really look cute.” Soyoung burst out a small laugh

“Don’t even think about it.” you rolled your eyes and chuckled as you turned to look in front

-

After a few weeks, you finally got used to being an idol. Fansign events, radio guestings, television appearances, live performances, and even CF shoots. Your schedule was hectic, but whenever you got the chance, you always met Donghan at music broadcast stations since you both were promoting at the same time, and he even mentioned being a friend of yours at a radio show. He’d often smile and wave at you whenever you pass each other, but he also did become mischievous a few times by adding salt in your water, giving you sour candy instead of sweet ones, and even ruffling your hair randomly whenever he ran pass you.

But you didn’t back down, either. You added soy sauce secretly one time to his cup of coffee, added sugar on one of his rice meals as you passed by their waiting room, and even asked one of his groupmates to untie his shoelaces while in the waiting room, making him trip a couple of times. But despite being incredibly mean to each other, you and him were always close and always had a relationship like this. You both loved being witty, playing pranks, and overall just being carefree over everything.

One time, as you realized his group was to finish promotions, you suddenly became sad. Your promotions were to end in two weeks, making them end it a week earlier than yours. You were not sure if you were gonna be able to meet him again after a while, and you felt like you were really gonna miss him. Donghan, on the other hand, was also becoming a bit cheerless as he realized he won’t be able to prank you as often too. Maybe, in his admittance, he’d even miss you as he thought you were one of his closest friends in the industry, relieved to know that you both have achieved a dream you both always had: to stand on stage.

Donghan saw you stand from afar as they finished one of their last live performances and slowly walked over to you while you were drinking water. You suddenly got startled as you turned because you didn’t notice anyone walk up to you either, and you put your hand on your chest as you got back to your breath and just gave a chuckle

“Hey.” you smiled

“Noona, our promotions are ending…” he pouted as he looked down

“Okay, but isn’t that a good thing?” you crossed your arms

“I won’t be able to see you after a long time again.” he shifted his eyes to look at you

“Donghan, we’re both just starting out so of course we would get busy.” you pat his shoulder as you put the plastic cup of water to the side

“I’ll… miss you…” Donghan looked away, and you just smiled in return

“I’ll miss you too little chicken.” you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms

“Wait, give me five minutes.” Donghan ran off to their waiting room and you just looked at him perplexed, figuring out why he made you wait for a few minutes. He came back with one hand on his back and the other scratching the side of his head, confused on how he was to explain to you on what he was bringing

“So? Why’d you make me wait?” you raised a brow and chuckled

“Have this.” Donghan looked down and slowly pulled out a necklace with half a heart on it, with an engraved lettering that spelt out “Friends.”

“T..thanks…” you bit your bottom lip as you grabbed the necklace and looked at it, and then back to Donghan

“I’m wearing the other half, if you’re wondering.” he shyly smiled as he lowered the neck of his shirt a bit to show the other half of the heart, engraved with “Best” in the center

“This is really sweet, Donghan…” you giggled

“I know we’re always doing pranks and making fun of each other, but at the end of the day, you will always be my best friend. You always were. Even before we both came here.” Donghan admitted, his cheeks starting to become pink from shyness

“First neighbors, then childhood friends. And now, best friends?” you beamed as you put on the necklace and showed the pendant to him

“I’ll contact you immediately right when we get free time.” Donghan smiled

“Alright, deal.” you nodded

“Donghan, Taehyun hyung is looking for you.” Sanggyun, one of his groupmates, walked over to his side and looked at Donghan, and then to you

“Alright. Oh, and hyung, this is y/n noona, the girl I talked to you about.” Donghan grinned as he introduced you to Sanggyun

“Talked about what?” you raised a brow and crossed your arms as you looked at Donghan

“Remember when you said you wanted his number?” Donghan chuckled, and you widened your eyes in shock, making Sanggyun burst out laughing at the side

“You little…” you slapped Donghan’s shoulder a few times, making him chuckle and put out his tongue in reply

“Ya, y/n, Hyomin unnie is calling for you. We need to get ready!” Yein yelled from the door nearby, and you turned and nodded to her before looking back at the two young men

“I’ll see you guys later.” you waved as you ran off to the other waiting room and closing the door behind you, Donghan and Sanggyun waving back before you went inside and ended up looking at each other and laughing

“She’s actually very pretty. She’s the maknae? And she’s the same age as me?” Sanggyun tilted his head in curiosity

“Hyung, take it easy.” Donghan pat Sanggyun’s shoulder

“Oh, right, I forgot she’s yours.” Sanggyun chuckled as he looked away

“Hyung!” Donghan whined as he shook Sanggyun by his shoulders

“Ya! Both of you! Get in here!” Taehyun, their leader, yelled from the other room nearby

“Coming!” Sanggyun and Donghan yelled back as they both laughed and ran back to the other waiting room, preparing to change clothes and go out of the building for their next schedule

[jesus-otaku]

Title: 1000 Kisses (Part 6)

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Pairing: Ladynoir (aged up about 5 years or so)

Word count: 1978

Prompt used: 45 (to keep a cover [couple unestablished] kiss), requested by @thesoulsdepths and an anon

Prompts already used: 1, 11, 24, 28, 29

You can request a prompt for the next part here. (JUST send the number! If you send a ship I will assume you want a separate fic!)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

I forgot when I last asked for prompts to specify that 45 was kind of hard to apply to this fic, but I tried my best. Since Ladynoir has already been established in this fic, I decided a flashback was the best way to go. So enjoy some Ladynoir during two separate time frames.

“I hope she deleted that video.”

________________________

“Oh my God, that akuma was the worst.”

Chat laughed uproariously. “You're just saying that because he threw you in the Seine.”

“I smelled like river water for a week! A whole week! Do you have any idea how many excuses I had to come up with to explain why I smelled so bad?”

“You're exaggerating. We had patrol the night after and you smelled fine.”

Ladybug shoved him playfully. “You always think I smell fine.”

“I don't know, you did smell kind of funky after getting tossed in the Seine.” He laughed again as she swatted at him. “You're the one who said you smelled like river water after. Don't come after me for agreeing with you.”

She rolled her eyes at him and swung her feet back and forth over the edge of the roof. It was “date” number two, and they had been swapping memories of akumas and battles past for the last ten minutes or so. She hadn't realized until now just how many akumas they had faced. Five years of this superhero thing had racked up quite the villain count. Just in the last ten minutes, they had recalled at least twenty. “Do you remember Copycat?”

He groaned. “Do I remember being a wanted criminal for a day? Unfortunately, yes. That akuma was really the worst.”

She giggled at the put-out expression on his face, and nudged him with her shoulder. “Hey, at least I knew it wasn't you who did it, right?”

“You sure had a lot of trouble telling me apart from that lousy fake, though,” he teased, rubbing his nose against hers.

She gave him a quick kiss. “It's like I told you back then, isn't it? Once I figured out which one was really in love with me, it was easy to tell you two apart.”

“You know, it crushed me when you said that the first time,” he remarked.

Ladybug blinked in confusion, pulling back a little so she could meet his gaze. “Why?”

He looked equally confused, as if the answer should have been obvious. “Because you didn't think I was really in love with you.”

She stifled a laugh, hiding her face in her hand. “Silly kitty. That wasn't what I meant when I said that at all.”

“Wait, so you—”

“I meant you were the one who was really in love with me,” she confirmed with a grin. “Copycat, he was…obsessed, kind of. I mean, his statue is nice, don't get me wrong, but his whole thing about being the one who deserved me? Creepy.”

Chat flopped back to lie down on the roof, his arms spread-eagled. “I wish I'd known that's what you meant. I was convinced you thought I didn't love you.”

She tucked her knees up to her chest. “I think I always kind of knew you did,” she confessed. “I…never really wanted to admit that I knew, or even really think about it, because, I mean…we were just partners then, and I thought I liked someone else.”

“Oh?” He sat up, just a little. “Who?”

Even though she was very sure that her crush on Adrien was a thing of the past, she felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “A classmate.” She plowed on before Chat could ask for a name. She didn't want to confess to having had a crush on a model whose face was still to this day plastered on magazines across France. “Anyway, so I didn't really let myself think about the fact that you were in love with me for a long time. And then I graduated, and my old crush and I sort of fell out of touch, and…I realized that maybe it had just been a crush, and not real love like I'd thought it was. So I really thought about what I wanted in a guy, and…” She shrugged helplessly. “What can I say? You ruined my standards for men, kitten. And I kind of let myself notice then that you were in love with me, and, well, the rest, as they say, is history.”

He smiled. “So that's when you started flirting back.”

She nodded, her lips tugging up into their own smile. “That's when I started flirting back.”

Chat shifted to wrap his arms around her waist. “Lucky me,” he said. He paused, then added, “But I still didn't like Copycat.”

Ladybug laughed. “I'm sure you didn't.”

He slid closer, propping his chin on her shoulder. “This isn't an akuma, but do you remember that time the Ladyblog girl's younger sister was convinced we were dating and she begged us to get a kiss on tape to humor her?”

“Oh, God, I remember that. I hope she deleted that video.”

“Aw, come on, it's a classic now. I hope she saved it just so that if we ever have kids I could show it to them.”

“I whacked your teeth!”

“Well, you were kind of in a rush to get it over with,” he remarked teasingly. “Since you hated the idea of kissing me so very much back then.”

She covered her face with her hands slowly. “Alya still owes me for agreeing to do that.” The memory was excruciatingly painful to look back on, in the way that most people would have been embarrassed to be reminded of what they had said right after getting their wisdom teeth removed. It was much better off being remembered only in her head, and not preserved on camera for all posterity.

~

2 years ago…

“Pleeeeaaaaase?” Alya clasped her hands together and made the biggest puppy eyes she could possibly manage. “I swear it won't go on the Ladyblog. But my sister's being impossible and she knows I know you and she really wants this video. Oh—I can make it a photo instead! If that would be better. Then you only have to kiss for a second. Please please please please please!” She was practically kowtowing at this point.

“You don't have to convince me,” Chat Noir said. “Anything for a fan. But…” He glanced Ladybug's way, and she saw the silent uncertainty in his eyes. He had to be remembering all of his failed advances over the past three years.

She took the lead. “That's a lot to ask of us, Alya.” Chat looked glad for the interception. “I understand your sister must…really want us to get together, but we can't go along with this and deceive her. It wouldn't be right.”

“I've tried convincing her you're not an item,” Alya said apologetically. “I've done everything I can. She just won't listen. I give you my word this will never, ever go on the Ladyblog. Please, just this once? She's a kid and you two are like…you're like royalty or something to her. Can't you please give her the fairy tale kiss she wants to see?”

Ladybug sighed. Alya was lucky that they were friends, and that Marinette could never say no to a friend. “Okay, fine, but I think you owe us a favor for this.”

Alya whipped her phone out in the time it would have taken most people to blink. “Anything for my favorite superheroes! You two ready?”

Ladybug and Chat glanced at each other, the atmosphere between them shifting from its usual comfort into unbearably heavy awkwardness. “Not quite,” Ladybug admitted. She had to struggle to meet Chat's eyes. “So, um, how do we do this? Should I be closer, or should we be standing, or…”

“It's just a video for her little sister,” Chat pointed out, shrugging it off. “I think we can get away with sitting. Here, um…scoot closer, and I'll…put my arms around your…your waist…”

She scooted closer as instructed, suddenly feeling very aware of their proximity and every little move either of them made. “Like this?”

“Y-yeah.” Chat's hands came up to wrap around her waist, barely a ghost of a touch. He was turning pale, like he was too nervous even to blush. “Like that.”

Alya was on the edge of her seat, her knees bouncing up and down with anticipation. Ladybug got the feeling that Alya was as invested in this video as her little sister was. “That's perfect! Oh, and Ladybug, maybe put your hands on his shoulders, like they do in the movies.”

Feeling like she'd been turned into some kind of pose mannequin, Ladybug did as she was told. Her and Chat's faces were only inches apart now. She probably could have counted the strands of hair falling across his forehead if she had wanted to, but she reminded herself firmly that that was definitely something she didn't want to do. “Can we get this over with now?” she asked Alya, not taking her eyes off poor Chat, who was still incredibly pale.

“Okay! Three, two, one, and…action!”

She must have been more nervous about kissing Chat on camera than she'd realized. She leaned in at the same time that Chat did, far too quickly, resulting in a painful clash of lips and teeth and almost foreheads and noses too. They both pulled back a little with quiet “ow”s, reeling, but Alya was still filming and so Chat leaned back in, slower this time, to try again.

God, kissing someone you weren't interested in was a chore. She tried to pretend, in her mind, that it was Adrien kissing her, Adrien holding her waist, Adrien's lips on hers, but it didn't help much. Her brain still knew that it was Chat, not Adrien, that she was kissing, and the “fairy tale” magic that was supposed to happen during a kiss was definitely absent. It wasn't that he was a bad kisser. On the contrary, he was really a very good kisser. But he wasn't Adrien, and that was making all the difference. She forced herself to pretend she was enjoying this, for the sake of Alya's sister, but she was counting down the seconds until this was all over the whole time.

“And cut!” Ladybug and Chat pulled apart immediately as Alya hit the button on her phone to stop recording. “Thanks so much guys, I really owe you one. It was a little awkward, but that's my fault for making you do it even though you're not together. You guys are the best. Let me know if there's ever anything, and I mean anything, I can do for you.”

As Marinette went home that night after the interview, she decided to wipe the kiss from her memory as much as possible. It had been forced, and awkward, and nothing she would have wanted a real kiss to be. And she promised herself she would never, ever kiss Chat Noir again.

She had no idea how much her opinion of Chat Noir would change in the near future.

~

The present day…

“Y' know, we could always redo that kiss for the Ladyblog,” Chat pointed out, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Now that we would actually mean it. The public's been dying to see us become a couple for ages.”

“I am not kissing you on camera. Me and publicity don't go well together at all.” She flicked his bell. “And if we did that, we'd never get any peace. The press would be even worse than it is now.”

He sighed, not unaffectionately. “You're right. As always. And I like our time together like this too much to sacrifice it for the press.”

Ladybug smiled up at him. “What happened to 'anything for our fans'?”

He shrugged, and shot her an impish grin in reply. “I swapped that out for 'anything for my lady' once we started going out.”

“A reasonable change.” She set her hands on his shoulders. “We could recreate that kiss right now, if you wanted.”

Chat wrapped his arms tight around her waist. “That sounds like a purr-fect idea to me.”

[wallshipjournal]

BSC Company 2017: Aaron Tveit Media Links & Review Excerpts

Last update: 25/8/2017 (Video+Review) - Will be updated if/when new links/reviews appear. Reviews excerpted under cut.

VIDEO Barrington Stage Company - Rehearsal Footage Broadway.com - Opening Night Backstage Interview Barrington Stage Company - Performance Footage Promo Video

AUDIO WAMC "The Roundtable" - Preview w/ some Full Songs & Interviews sarcasticstagemanager - “Being Alive” (full audio bootleg for trade/gift)

PHOTOS Barrington Stage Company - Official Production Photos on Flickr BroadwayWorld - Opening Night Bows & Afterparty Broadway.com - Backstage on Opening Night Playbill.com - Behind-the-Scenes Photos by Mara Davis (+ Snapchat video)

REVIEWS

News Sources & Magazine Blogs

Broadway World Boston: “Barrington Stage Company (recently voted Best of The Berkshires) set a new record at the opening night of Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY last night. There appeared to be more selfie photos attempted of Aaron Tveit the show's star and the cast leaving the stage door of the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage than are taken by the ever present throngs in Broadway's Shubert Alley after a show. Aaron, who was Bobby in the extraordinary production directed by BSC's founder and artistic director JuliAnne Boyd, was mobbed by what seemed like the entire audience as Tveit and the cast tried to exit the stage door and continue on to the after party at the home of BSC Chair, Minky and Bruno Quinson. [...] You can't talk about Aaron Tveit, you have to hear and see him on the stage. One minute he's brilliantly acting and all of a sudden you realize you're hearing his glorious voice singing. One minute he's walking and all of a sudden you're watching a handsome guy moving like Fred Astaire. It's a Tony Award Winning performance, although in this case it will probably garner a Berky Award given by the Berkshire Critics Association.” (x)

Broadway.com: “Broadway.com was in on the action to capture Tveit taking his bow as "Bobby, baby...Bobby, bubi" after an incredible performance. [...] We'll be here, dreaming about Tveit's fantastic take on 'Being Alive.’” (x)

Albany Times Union: “Aaron Tveit brings a riveting magnetism to the leading role of Bobby in “Company,” the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical that is receiving a masterful revival at Barrington Stage Company. Tveit, returning to BSC after a decade during which he achieved significant success on Broadway, television and film, has the presence but not the remoteness of a star — he’s a standout, yet also fully part of a remarkable ensemble. It would be easy to overplay Bobby, a single man in 1970s New York City surrounded by five married couples all eager for him to join their wedded ranks. Tveit, as directed by Julianne Boyd, instead makes Bobby both the focus of the couples’ attention and a mirror reflecting their varied relationships. Bobby has to just be, neither too anguished about being single nor too carefree, and Tveit achieves this to perfection. [...] By the end, there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s Bobby singing “Being Alive.” It’s a song, Sondheim has said, that moves from complaint to prayer...As sung by Tveit, it’s neither cynical nor sappy. It’s bitter and angry, plaintive and hopeful, pleading and optimistic. It’s being alive.” (x)

The Daily Gazette: “The show’s glue is Aaron Tveit. Boyd rightly sets him down stage center on “Someone is Waiting,” “Marry Me a Little,” and “Being Alive” because he’s such a great communicator. Listen to the phrasing. Read his body language. In these songs and elsewhere, Tveit convincingly reveals why people like Bobby and why what they like may not be what he wants.” (x)

The Westfield News: “Aaron Tveit is a superb Robert, a difficult character to portray, since he’s primarily an observer with little outward emotion, until he breaks his barriers with the emotional Sondheim song “Being Alive”, which is the heart and soul of Company. Tveit is a fine singer, dancer, and actor, and he makes Robert an appealing leading man.” (x)

Boston Globe: “Bobby is a tricky character to play, largely because he’s a protagonist who is more reactive than active (perhaps only Hamlet is more paralyzed by indecision than this guy). Though he is the obsessive center of attention for his friends and his lovers, virtually the apple of their collective eye, Bobby’s posture is largely that of a detached observer...If anything, the Barrington Stage production further emphasizes Bobby’s apartness; while the rest of the cast are attired in garish ’70s clothes...Tveit wears a tastefully understated blue jacket that would not look out of place in 2017.That apartness means that an actor playing Bobby can seem remote or passive, and Tveit does not entirely avoid that trap. His Bobby is urbane, enigmatic, bemused, sometimes amused, sometimes amusing, but he does not come across as terribly conflicted. Except, crucially, in song. There, Tveit shines. He powerfully nails the yearning in Bobby’s solo “Someone is Waiting,’’ and he captures his character’s confusion and ambivalence in “Marry Me a Little,’’ in which Bobby insists he’s ready for marriage while stipulating rigid conditions that suggest he’s not at all ready.In the climactic “Being Alive,’’ Tveit passionately conveys the liberation achieved, paradoxically, when a gregarious loner like Bobby finally surrenders, unconditionally, to his need for another person. (x)

Berkshire Fine Arts: “This season Boyd has taken another crack at Company and critics appear to be unanimous that a sensational production is on the short list of her best work. Boyd is noted for loving musicals and this one is a corker.Much of that is owed to the serendipity of casting Aaron Tveit as a truly charismatic, charming, sexy and all around fabulous Bobby. He is the now 35-year-old swinging bachelor who just can’t take the plunge into marriage. The character charmngly (sic) hovers on the cusp of maturity...There were chills and goose bumps all over me when Bobby belted out that final solo ‘Being Alive.’” (x)

iBerkshires: “Hugh Jackman has it. The young Robert Redford had it – that preternatural ability to exude charisma and magnetic sexiness even when standing stone still. Aaron Tveit has it, too, in addition to his impressive singing, dancing and acting skills. Tveit is the star of Barrington Stage's "Company," one of Stephen Sondheim's biggest hits, and he is just the tip of the talent iceberg in this simply fantastic production. [...] Those of us in the audience who knew the show eagerly awaited "Being Alive," Bobby's final song that sets his inner realization to music. As we all suspected he would, Tveit knocked this iconic musical song out of the ballpark.” (x)

ZEALnyc: “Tveit, in particular, turns out to be an inspired choice for Bobby. Tveit has a chiseled everyman look, pretty but not ethically specific, which actually works well for Bobby, who’s meant to be a sort of cipher. Tveit has a powerful voice, great scene presence, and a terrific, focused way with interpreting a song.Tveit appears to have come a long way since his homogeneously bland take on Frank Abagnale, Jr. in Broadway’s Catch Me If You Can. Plus, he’s so damned good-looking, he can even make a ‘70s leisure suit look hot. Tveit wisely sings most of the songs pretty straight, although he couldn’t seem to help himself during “Being Alive,” during which he threw in a few vocal flourishes and Elphaba riffs.” (x)

Arts Fuse: “If you are a Sondheim enthusiast and can’t get enough of his music, lyrics, and sensibility, you will be pleased to know that Julianne Boyd has cast a strong production of Company, with an excellent Bobby (Aaron Tveit) and vibrant band and ensemble. [...] Slender and likeable Aaron Tveit delivers Bobby’s songs in a lyric tenor; the performer does his best to put some flesh on this stick figure as he ponders the passage of time and lack of human connection on his 35th birthday. Like [the rest of the cast], Tveit is a consummate performer, speaking, singing, and dancing with equal élan.” (x)

The Berkshire Eagle: “There is a stunning ah-ha moment late, very late, in Julianne Boyd's hugely accomplished production of Stephen Sondheim's "Company" at Barrington Stage Company. It occurs in Bobby's — and the musical's — final number, "Being Alive." Bobby (a smart, masterly performance by Aaron Tveit) spends the first half of the song cataloging the downside of relationships, marriage in particular — the entanglements, the choking obligations, the surrenders. The tone is unforgiving. There is not an upside anywhere until Bobby comes, for the first time, to the words "being alive," which he then, as interpreted by Tveit, repeats three more times, slowing down each time as he hears and begins to consider what he is saying. You can see a hint of something registering in Tveit's eyes. Music director Dan Pardo holds the orchestra in a vamp while Tveit's Bobby takes in what he is hearing; begins, finally, to put everything together and then goes back through the catalog he's just completed, this time with surging hope and welcome. It's a defining moment for Bobby. At 35, he has come of age, at last. The number would be triumphant enough on its own. The fact that it comes virtually on the heels of the memorable Ellen Harvey's perfectly calibrated delivery of "Ladies Who Lunch"...makes "Being Alive" an absolute coup de theatre. [...] Tveit wasn't even born when "Company" premiered on Broadway in 1970, but watching him go to work on Barrington Stage Company's Boyd-Quinson Mainstage feels as though he and Bobby were destined for one another. I say go to work, but in fact, Tveit's meticulously crafted performance looks so effortless. His singing voice is a marvel of control, breadth and expression and he dances with graceful assurance. His timing, his sense of Bobby's sense of purpose is clear and resonant, especially in his scenes with the girlfriends... [...] It's been 17 years since Boyd first tackled "Company." Barrington Stage was in Sheffield then. Tveit was 17. Just look how far they all have come.” (x)

WAMC Midday Magazine: "Company is one of those shows, however, that cannot succeed without the lead role of Robert being sensitively interpreted – including his two musical show-stoppers: “Someone is Waiting,” and “Being Alive.”  The leading man must be charming, dashing, vulnerable, disarming, wistful.  This production has such a star in Aaron Tveit, who proves up to the task from opening to closing curtain." (x)

Wall Street Journal: “Directed by Julianne Boyd, it stars Aaron Tveit as Robert, the commitment-phobic New York bachelor whose role was created by Dean Jones in the original 1970 production. I doubt there’s been a better Robert since Mr. Jones left the show. A true tenor with brilliantly gleaming high notes, Mr. Tveit is also a superior actor whose interpretation of the part is a volatile mix of charm, reserve and well-concealed fear. Not since Ben Platt opened in “Dear Evan Hansen” have I seen a musical performance as exciting as this one. In a way, though, what’s most surprising about Barrington Stage’s production is that Mr. Tveit doesn’t stand out nearly as much as you’d expect given the remarkable quality of his performance. Role for role, this is the best-sung “Company” I’ve ever heard—not just in regional theater, but anywhere.” (x)

Review Blogs

Boston Bright Focus: “Tveit is young, handsome, slender and charming, a decent dancer and a good singer, a comedic actor who keeps us serious in this funny show about funny people. There is a strange quality to his work at time when Bobby is hurt or mentally injured we see and feel his pain rather than just witness the incident or hear the remark. He reacts to everything in this role better than anyone else I've seen play Bobby. In its short, two year run on Broadway I saw the show four times with both its male stars, Dean Jones and then Larry Kert. I saw the revival with Raul Esparza. I saw the revival with Boyd Gaines. I saw George Chakiris in Los Angeles. None of them ever brought this quiet understanding, or struggle for understanding that Tveit conveys in the role.” (x)

CurtainUp: “All fourteen actors are multi-talented and each makes his/her role an integral part of the cast dynamics. However, it is Aaron Tveit's Bobby as he quietly glides about and absorbs the energy of those around him who drives the show to its rich and satisfying conclusion. His facial reactions are empathic and he truly becomes the human each of the others believes him to be. Yet he knows that this is not satisfying and is destructive to his own development. Tveit's "Being Alive summarizes the dichotomy of the human longing to connect while remaining free of responsibilities. When he sings In the final line "Someone to force you to care/ Someone to make you come through/Who'll always be there frightened as you /Of being alive," the electricity is palpable and breathtaking as he realizes '...The unlived life is not worth examining.'” (x)

Berkshire on Stage: “The acting, led by Tveit’s sensitive portrayal of Bobby’s confusion and understanding, is marvelous.” (x)

Critics At Large: "...it’s in the show’s revered pair of final numbers, “Ladies Who Lunch” and “Being Alive,” that the production shifts into a different gear. What I find so impressive about Harvey and Tveit in their respective deliveries of these two songs is the sense that they aren’t just basking in their star moments in the spotlight. Instead, they’re using the numbers to take their characters somewhere. [...] As for Tveit, he doesn’t possess superhuman powers, so he can’t make “Being Alive” work in terms of Bobby's overall narrative, but he does convey a remarkable sense of progression throughout the number. It’s a moment of genuine revelation for Bobby. It also stands in stark contrast to the rest of Tveit’s performance, not because he’s bad in the role, but, paradoxically, because he’s perhaps cast almost too well. Since I’m hammering on about the weaknesses in Furth’s script, it’s always bothered me that he intentionally and explicitly makes Bobby such a cipher. The idea that he’s the likable, inoffensive guy whose refusal to wade too deeply into a relationship allows his friends to project their desires onto him, thereby making him their common best friend, makes sense, but it’s also hard to figure out how an actor ought to approach such a role, or how to get the audience to invest in him emotionally. Tveit manages to convey Bobby’s breezy but noncommittal charm, making it clear why his disparate groups of friends enjoy being around him – although, at 33 years old and with a record of playing younger than his age in his major roles, it’s hard to fully buy into this actor as someone who is hitting an age-related crisis. However, he’s smart enough to play up the contrast between that version of Bobby and the newly uncertain but more complex character who emerges at the very end of the play. There’s an open-endedness to such an interpretation, a suggestion that this is merely a beginning, rather than a cathartic ending, for this man." (x)

Rural Intelligence: Tveit faces the challenge of any actor who plays Bobby. While his friends continually profess their love for him, it’s not actually clear what’s so endearing about Bobby besides his being a reliable third wheel who helps keep his friends’ marriages intact; in return, these married couples keep Bobby company so he doesn’t have to settle down. In the finale, Tveit reveals that Bobby’s been paying attention to his friends, and he delivers “Being Alive” with the gusto of a pilgrim who has finally glimpsed the promised land. (x)

From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2: "As played by the enigmatic Aaron Tveit, Bobby's complicated plight and final resolution, is real, raw, honest, soulful, cheerful, passionate and very moving. There's also a vibrant charm, passion and natural dreaminess to the character that makes Tveit's interpretation of Bobby much more believable and grounded than that of his Broadway predecessors Dean Jones, Larry Kert, Boyd Gaines and Raul Esparza. Back then, all four were simply acting out a part and nothing more. Here, Tveit plays Bobby. But he also owns the part. Big difference. From the moment he appears on the Barrington stage, he is Bobby, front and center, backwards and forwards, etc. Moreover, there's real talent behind that boyish allure mixed with just the right amount of poise, presence, flair and personality. Sure, it's all rehearsed, but Tveit makes us believe we're seeing his Bobby for the very first time. There is nothing remotely calculated about his facial expressions, line delivery, body language or interaction with the other onstage actors. Though he wasn't born when "Company" was first conceived, you'd swear Sondheim and playwright George Furth wrote Bobby with Tveit in mind. It's the musical performance of 2017. And one, you'll want to see again and again. Vocally, Tveit's voice is beautiful, polished, strong, commanding and natural. He pays close attention to the beats, lyrics and different rhythms of every Sondheim song he sings. And when he takes center stage and joins the entire cast for a song or two, he avoids that annoying grandstanding you find in other Sondheim shows where the lead actor looks you right in the face with private thoughts that cry out, "Hey, look at me. I'm in a Sondheim show." With the emotional "Being Alive," Tveit passionately reveals the quiet longing and intimacy Bobby desires with another person. The stirring "Marry Me A Little" conveys his confusion and doubt over a real relationship while "Someone Is Waiting" poignantly portrays the character's quiet yearning for that special something collectively shared by his married friends." (x)

Mixed or Negative Reviews (Negativity Warning!)

The Saratogian: "We see all of them through the eyes of Bobby, a handsome, 35-year-old bachelor, portrayed by Aaron Tveit as an unobtrusive observer. George Furth’s book tells us little about Bobby, and Tviet [sic] is faithful to that failing. His main function in this interpretation is to provide an outsider’s view into the private lives of the couples. A problem with the Barrington Stage production results from Tveit playing Bobby as a passive character. We are uncertain as to why the others want him as a close friend and confidant. Tveit presents a handsome figure who is a genuinely nice guy, but for most of the play, he is rather anonymous. It’s not wrong to make Bobby a cipher, but it doesn’t add depth to the friendships. This same passivity extends to his relationships with the three girlfriends we meet. We might understand why they are attracted to Bobby, but his disinterest with the women makes his expressed interest to be married seem insincere. The only times Bobby reveals anything of himself is through the songs “Someone is Waiting,” “Marry Me a Little” and the iconic anthem, “Being Alive.” In these moments, Tveit is marvelous. The doubt he expresses in these songs is revealing, touching and real. If we could see more of this personality throughout the show, the production would have been much more genuine and sincere." (x)

The New York Times: “Company’...is in some ways the least ambitious of the three, and also the most successful. By least ambitious, I don’t mean the material itself...the original production in 1970 was a musical theater game-changer that remains, with its impenetrable main character and abstract action, a difficult piece to pull off. I mean that despite a skilled New York cast led by the glossy Aaron Tveit, Barrington’s “Company,” directed by Julianne Boyd, is neither a Broadway tryout nor an attempt to reinvent the wheel. From the ’70s satire inherent in its pungent costumes to the gorgeous singing of the entire cast, it has evidently been packaged as pure entertainment. How well that approach represents the ambivalence at the show’s core is another matter. Bobby (Mr. Tveit) is a 35-year-old singleton at the height of the sexual revolution; he insists he is enjoying his freedom but his “good and crazy” friends — five married couples — think he is just afraid of commitment. The action consists mostly of Bobby’s watching those couples bicker, and drawing what conclusions he can from the way they make up. Time has not made the plot less problematic. A 35-year-old in 1970 apparently was more middle-aged than he is today; as played by Mr. Tveit, who is 33, there is no sense that Bobby is late to the marriage gate. And later revisions made by Mr. Furth to foreclose on the possibility that Bobby is gay now seem counterproductive. His denial comes across as more of a devious dodge than his silence ever did. Could it be that, absent disruptive directorial interventions like those made by John Doyle in the 2006 Broadway revival, the book is becoming untenable? Instead of psychology, it gives most of the wives gimmicks: One’s a first-time marijuana smoker, another a karate enthusiast. The interchangeable husbands barely get that much. And even Mr. Tveit, though ideally cast, can’t find much to do besides taking his safari-style suit jacket on and off. His Bobby is not merely passive but disaffected to the point of depression. It’s a reasonable reaction to a plot that incessantly nudges him from point A to point A. The good news is that Mr. Sondheim’s score remains thrillingly incisive, dramatizing every issue in its path. Problems of interpretation tend to dissolve when the songs are sung and played as well as they are here, not only by Mr. Tveit but also by Nora Schell as an earthy Marta (“Another Hundred People”) and by Ellen Harvey as a furious Joanne (“The Ladies Who Lunch”). If the result feels like a highlights reel, there are far worse things a musical can be.” (x)

Post-Chronicle: “In the key role of Bobby, Mr. Tveit cuts a handsome figure but rarely projects a distinct personality here. This may be again due to the writing, but in recent revivals both Neil Patrick Harris and Raul Esparza did create a Bobby of both magnetism and depth. Tveit’s bland acting is gratefully overshadowed, though, by his magnificent tenor voice and he successfully rocks the theatre with such Sondheim standards as “Marry Me A little” and “Being Alive”. In a company of superior singers, he is an able leader and often capable of being a thrilling performer.” (x)

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Super 8 Hotel Attorneys

With many hotels and over thousands of rooms nationally, Super 8 is one of the largest hotel chains. While these hotels are known for their convenient services and facilities, guests could still sustain bed bug bites in these hotels because of poor hygiene and resulting infestations. If you believe that bed bug infestations have resulted from negligence, there are certain steps to take. You can also follow steps to avoid infestations entirely during your next stay at an Super 8 hotel location.

Independent of the hotel chain, you should always check the room prior to unpacking and settling in for your stay. You can visually spot bed bugs in most cases, from eggs to adults. You may also be able to spot their waste in the form of black or red spots on bedding. You can check Super 8 rooms by pulling back bedsheets and looking closely for evidence of a bed bug presence along mattress seams, underneath the mattress, behind headboards, and along the baseboards. You may also be able to see them in other furniture throughout the hotel room. If you discover any evidence of an infestation at any point, it’s important to notify the hotel staff or management as soon as possible. If you are unable to switch to another hotel, ask about getting another room in another area of the hotel away from where you found the infestation.

If you ever want to file a claim against an Super 8 hotel after sustaining bed bug bites at any of the chain’s facilities, you will need to be able to prove that the infestation and subsequent bites resulted from hotel staff or management negligence. This will involve showing that your injuries resulted from their negligence, which could include cases in which the owner is aware of an infestation but took improper steps to eliminate the infestation or even discover it. Make sure you capture as much evidence of bed bug bites as possible, either by recording video footage or taking photographs of both your bites sustained and the hotel room where you were bitten. Also, document all medical care received, along with time off from work required for treatment and anything else regarding the infestation. While proving that you have a bed bug bite case resulting from negligence at an Super 8 hotel may not be the easiest process, having a qualified bed bug attorney can help you get the representation you need. Experienced and knowledgeable attorneys will help determine if you have a good case and advise if they can represent you. If you have been affected by a bed bug infestation in a Super 8 hotel room, you could sue Super 8 for bed bug injuries. A bed bug law firm for bed bug injuries at Super 8 can help. The responsibility of the property owner or manager lies with keeping all customers safe, and if you are attacked by bed bugs and suffer damages, the hotel should be held liable for the ensuing costs and expenses. Bed bugs can wreak havoc on you during a vacation, but worse, they can latch onto your luggage or clothing and go home with you, resulting in a widespread infestation that may take days or weeks to fully eradicate. In that time, you could rack up various costs and suffer bites. Thus, it is a wise choice to file a Super 8 bed bug lawsuit.

It can be troublesome to find bed bugs in a hotel room if you do not know what you’re looking for. Some people only search the bed, and if they don’t see anything, assume the room is clean. This is not recommended. Bed bugs seldom make their nests in the beds themselves; they are more often found near the beds and couches on which people rest and sleep. Often, bed bugs are found in the creases of the mattress, underneath the sheets, below couch cushions, behind baseboards, between the carpeting and the wall, behind electrical outlets, around and behind picture frames, in nightstand drawers, inside torn fabric of upholstery, and more. You should always make sure to properly investigate a hotel room before you turn in for the night. The signs of bed bugs include small, oval-shaped, cream colored eggs; dark red spots on the sheets from dried blood from bites; brown mounds, which are droppings; and shed skins of juvenile bed bugs. You should examine damp, dark places to see if there are any creatures. If you wake up and discover that there was, in fact, an infestation in the room, you should contact a bed bug attorney for bed bug bites at Super 8.

Bed bugs are nocturnal and tend to come out at night to feast on their victims. They can only crawl and not jump, so they make their way over to where you are laying and proceed to bite. You don’t feel the bite happen or suffer any pain because bed bugs have an anesthetic in their mouths that keeps victims unaware. The insects can feast for up to 10 minutes at a time; they also have an anti-coagulant present in their saliva that prevents blood from clotting, allowing for constant, uninterrupted drinking. This bites generally don’t show up for a few hours or days after the incident,but when they do, they are generally present in a zigzag pattern and do not itch as much as other insect bites do. They can, however, fester and pop if they are scratched too much, which can lead to infections. The bites are most often present on the hands and arms, lower legs, and stomach and back, or anywhere that is easily accessed by crawling bed bugs. Although bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases, you can never be too careful; you should immediately go to the doctor to get checked out. Then, you should contact a lawyer to sue Super 8 for bed bug bites.

One of the most common mistakes that people make after suffering bed bug injuries in a hotel room is immediately alerting the staff to the problem. The manager will usually usher you out of the room and give you somewhere else to stay while the orders the cleaning crew to clean up. By the time they’re finished, there may not be any evidence left, and you won’t have sufficient proof that you were attacked by bed bugs. The hotel could easily say that you must have been bitten elsewhere. Instead, you should prioritize finding the nests and taking pictures of the creatures wherever you can. If you can show that the bugs were present in the room, you have ample proof for your claim. You should also take photos of your bites as soon as they appear. In checking the room for the bed bugs, you must try your best to move your luggage to a clean area to try and prevent the bugs from latching on; it is very easy to mistakenly transfer them to your home and cause another infestation to pop up. After you have gathered all of your evidence, then you should contact the staff to file an incident report. Do not accept any compensation from the hotel at this point; you may be offered free rooms and vouchers, but anything you accept can harm your chances of winning a lawsuit. Finally, you should reach out to one of our attorneys to sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room.

If you intend to file a bed bug lawsuit against Super 8, you should be aware of the laws and conditions required to take action. Importantly, Super 8, like any hotel, must provide safe, healthy, sanitary rooms to its customers, and if it breaches that duty, it can be considered negligent. If that breach of duty results in an incident that caused you, the invitee, physical harm, then you have all four points of negligence and can file a claim. There have been numerous Super 8 bed bug reports and questions about the Super 8 bed bugs policy. Essentially, Utah law dictates how clean rooms must be, and a violation can lead to a lawsuit and a fine, or worse if the hotel is a repeat offender.

As a victim who suffered physical harm while on someone else’s property, you could take legal action against the responsible party and pursue a Super 8 bed bugs refund.

Yes, you can sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room which injured you. You are owed a high duty of care as a temporary occupant and if your health and safety are affected, you have grounds for a lawsuit. We can help you pursue fair Super 8 bed bugs compensation. If you have additional questions, such as how to report bed bugs at a hotel or what is the best method for claiming compensation for bed bug bites, get in touch with an attorney at our law firm today. All Super 8 hotels and motels are legally required to provide patrons with safe accommodations that comply with health and building code. When a hotel rents a room with a history of bed bug infestations, and the guest is bitten and/or suffers property damage as a result, the hotel can potentially be held liable for violating its legal “duty of care” to the customer. This means the hotel can potentially be held responsible for compensating property replacement, medical treatment, lost earnings, and pain and suffering stemming from your personal injury. If you were bitten by bed bugs while staying at a Super 8 hotel anywhere in the United States, or if you had to replace personal property after the hotel bed bug infestation spread to your home or apartment, the hotel bed bug lawyers of Whitney, LLP may be able to help. Our aggressive attorneys have years of experience litigating a wide variety of bed bug claims stemming from hotel negligence, and will guide you through each and every stage of your case while fighting tirelessly on your behalf.

Once known as Super 8 Motels, this popular brand been renamed to Super 8 Worldwide. Super 8 Worldwide is a budget brand in the Wyndham Hotel Group family, which is owned by the Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. Wyndham maintains and operates more than 2,000 Super 8 hotels around the globe, with locations in hundreds of U.S. towns and cities including Pittsburgh, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Seattle, and New Orleans. While Super 8 has a widespread presence throughout the United States, its parent brand, Wyndham Hotel Group, maintains corporate headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey. This means that New Jersey may have jurisdiction over any legal actions against Super 8. Therefore, plaintiffs may be able to bring claims in New Jersey no matter where the Super 8 visit occurred.

Bed bug bites bear a similar appearance to mosquito bites, spider bites, and flea bites. So how can you tell them apart? Consider the following characteristics: • Bites tend to appear in concentrated clusters or rows in the area where the specimen latched onto the victim. If bites are few and far between, the culprit may be a different type of bug or insect. • Bites appear pink in color with a small darker spot toward the center. • Bites are medium-sized, generally about 3/8” to half an inch across, and may be slightly raised or swollen like a welt. • Bed bugs are primarily nocturnal, and do most of their feeding at night. Therefore, most bites appear on areas which are exposed while the victim sleeps, such as the face, hands, and neck. However, it is important to bear in mind that, while uncommon, daytime bites are still a possibility. Bite victims should not rule out bedbugs simply because they were bitten during daylight hours or while they were awake. The desk clerk should inform you about the room’s insect history upon request. However, other warning signs that bed bugs may be present include: • A strong, musty odor. Some sources describe this odor as being sweet, while others say it is similar to the cooking spice coriander. • Tiny brown or black spots on your bedding indicate an infested mattress. These spots are fecal stains left behind by digested blood meals. • Blood stains on the mattress or bedding materials, which are caused by bugs being squashed. While learning how to identify the source of your bites can be a helpful first step toward receiving treatment, you should consult with a licensed healthcare professional as soon as possible. Even a small number of bites can expose victims to serious health risks, and delaying seeking expert medical advice can increase your risk of suffering from major health complications.

Bed bug bites can cause a wide range of significant medical issues, some of which can even be fatal if left untreated. Some health risks associated with bed bug bites include, but are not limited to, the following conditions:  Anaphylactic Shock: Most commonly associated with bee stings, anaphylactic shock or anaphylaxis is an extremely serious allergic reaction which can be fatal without rapid intervention. Warning signs of anaphylaxis include dizziness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and a faint or weak pulse.  Chagas Disease: Chagas Disease is increasingly prevalent in the United States, with about 300,000 U.S. infections currently known to the CDC. The effects of Chagas Disease may lie dormant for years or even entire decades, until the victim begins to experience serious health problems caused by enlargement of the heart, colon, or esophagus. Chagas Disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, which can spread from bed bug carriers to human beings.  Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver, which is responsible for managing metabolism, digestion, and detoxification. Even in “mild” cases, hepatitis B victims can still take up to a year to fully recover. In more severe cases, victims may suffer permanent liver damage necessitating eventual organ transplant.  Impetigo: Impetigo is an extremely contagious skin infection which results in painful facial sores. These sores eventually burst and crust over, turning brown and yellow in color. Because impetigo is so contagious (even earning the nickname “school sores” for its ability to spread rapidly among schoolchildren), infected employees may have to miss work and lose income. Impetigo can also lead to secondary infections of the skin and/or hair, known as: • Cellulitis • Eczematoid Dermatitis • Folliculitis

Super 8 Motel Attorney Consultation

If you own a Super 8 hotel or motel and need a lawyer, please call Ascent Law LLC for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

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Ascent Law St. George Utah Office

Ascent Law Ogden Utah Office

Source: https://www.ascentlawfirm.com/super-8-hotel-attorneys/

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Super 8 Hotel Attorneys

With many hotels and over thousands of rooms nationally, Super 8 is one of the largest hotel chains. While these hotels are known for their convenient services and facilities, guests could still sustain bed bug bites in these hotels because of poor hygiene and resulting infestations. If you believe that bed bug infestations have resulted from negligence, there are certain steps to take. You can also follow steps to avoid infestations entirely during your next stay at an Super 8 hotel location.

Independent of the hotel chain, you should always check the room prior to unpacking and settling in for your stay. You can visually spot bed bugs in most cases, from eggs to adults. You may also be able to spot their waste in the form of black or red spots on bedding. You can check Super 8 rooms by pulling back bedsheets and looking closely for evidence of a bed bug presence along mattress seams, underneath the mattress, behind headboards, and along the baseboards. You may also be able to see them in other furniture throughout the hotel room. If you discover any evidence of an infestation at any point, it’s important to notify the hotel staff or management as soon as possible. If you are unable to switch to another hotel, ask about getting another room in another area of the hotel away from where you found the infestation.

If you ever want to file a claim against an Super 8 hotel after sustaining bed bug bites at any of the chain’s facilities, you will need to be able to prove that the infestation and subsequent bites resulted from hotel staff or management negligence. This will involve showing that your injuries resulted from their negligence, which could include cases in which the owner is aware of an infestation but took improper steps to eliminate the infestation or even discover it. Make sure you capture as much evidence of bed bug bites as possible, either by recording video footage or taking photographs of both your bites sustained and the hotel room where you were bitten. Also, document all medical care received, along with time off from work required for treatment and anything else regarding the infestation. While proving that you have a bed bug bite case resulting from negligence at an Super 8 hotel may not be the easiest process, having a qualified bed bug attorney can help you get the representation you need. Experienced and knowledgeable attorneys will help determine if you have a good case and advise if they can represent you. If you have been affected by a bed bug infestation in a Super 8 hotel room, you could sue Super 8 for bed bug injuries. A bed bug law firm for bed bug injuries at Super 8 can help. The responsibility of the property owner or manager lies with keeping all customers safe, and if you are attacked by bed bugs and suffer damages, the hotel should be held liable for the ensuing costs and expenses. Bed bugs can wreak havoc on you during a vacation, but worse, they can latch onto your luggage or clothing and go home with you, resulting in a widespread infestation that may take days or weeks to fully eradicate. In that time, you could rack up various costs and suffer bites. Thus, it is a wise choice to file a Super 8 bed bug lawsuit.

It can be troublesome to find bed bugs in a hotel room if you do not know what you’re looking for. Some people only search the bed, and if they don’t see anything, assume the room is clean. This is not recommended. Bed bugs seldom make their nests in the beds themselves; they are more often found near the beds and couches on which people rest and sleep. Often, bed bugs are found in the creases of the mattress, underneath the sheets, below couch cushions, behind baseboards, between the carpeting and the wall, behind electrical outlets, around and behind picture frames, in nightstand drawers, inside torn fabric of upholstery, and more. You should always make sure to properly investigate a hotel room before you turn in for the night. The signs of bed bugs include small, oval-shaped, cream colored eggs; dark red spots on the sheets from dried blood from bites; brown mounds, which are droppings; and shed skins of juvenile bed bugs. You should examine damp, dark places to see if there are any creatures. If you wake up and discover that there was, in fact, an infestation in the room, you should contact a bed bug attorney for bed bug bites at Super 8.

Bed bugs are nocturnal and tend to come out at night to feast on their victims. They can only crawl and not jump, so they make their way over to where you are laying and proceed to bite. You don’t feel the bite happen or suffer any pain because bed bugs have an anesthetic in their mouths that keeps victims unaware. The insects can feast for up to 10 minutes at a time; they also have an anti-coagulant present in their saliva that prevents blood from clotting, allowing for constant, uninterrupted drinking. This bites generally don’t show up for a few hours or days after the incident,but when they do, they are generally present in a zigzag pattern and do not itch as much as other insect bites do. They can, however, fester and pop if they are scratched too much, which can lead to infections. The bites are most often present on the hands and arms, lower legs, and stomach and back, or anywhere that is easily accessed by crawling bed bugs. Although bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases, you can never be too careful; you should immediately go to the doctor to get checked out. Then, you should contact a lawyer to sue Super 8 for bed bug bites.

One of the most common mistakes that people make after suffering bed bug injuries in a hotel room is immediately alerting the staff to the problem. The manager will usually usher you out of the room and give you somewhere else to stay while the orders the cleaning crew to clean up. By the time they’re finished, there may not be any evidence left, and you won’t have sufficient proof that you were attacked by bed bugs. The hotel could easily say that you must have been bitten elsewhere. Instead, you should prioritize finding the nests and taking pictures of the creatures wherever you can. If you can show that the bugs were present in the room, you have ample proof for your claim. You should also take photos of your bites as soon as they appear. In checking the room for the bed bugs, you must try your best to move your luggage to a clean area to try and prevent the bugs from latching on; it is very easy to mistakenly transfer them to your home and cause another infestation to pop up. After you have gathered all of your evidence, then you should contact the staff to file an incident report. Do not accept any compensation from the hotel at this point; you may be offered free rooms and vouchers, but anything you accept can harm your chances of winning a lawsuit. Finally, you should reach out to one of our attorneys to sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room.

If you intend to file a bed bug lawsuit against Super 8, you should be aware of the laws and conditions required to take action. Importantly, Super 8, like any hotel, must provide safe, healthy, sanitary rooms to its customers, and if it breaches that duty, it can be considered negligent. If that breach of duty results in an incident that caused you, the invitee, physical harm, then you have all four points of negligence and can file a claim. There have been numerous Super 8 bed bug reports and questions about the Super 8 bed bugs policy. Essentially, Utah law dictates how clean rooms must be, and a violation can lead to a lawsuit and a fine, or worse if the hotel is a repeat offender.

As a victim who suffered physical harm while on someone else’s property, you could take legal action against the responsible party and pursue a Super 8 bed bugs refund.

Yes, you can sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room which injured you. You are owed a high duty of care as a temporary occupant and if your health and safety are affected, you have grounds for a lawsuit. We can help you pursue fair Super 8 bed bugs compensation. If you have additional questions, such as how to report bed bugs at a hotel or what is the best method for claiming compensation for bed bug bites, get in touch with an attorney at our law firm today. All Super 8 hotels and motels are legally required to provide patrons with safe accommodations that comply with health and building code. When a hotel rents a room with a history of bed bug infestations, and the guest is bitten and/or suffers property damage as a result, the hotel can potentially be held liable for violating its legal “duty of care” to the customer. This means the hotel can potentially be held responsible for compensating property replacement, medical treatment, lost earnings, and pain and suffering stemming from your personal injury. If you were bitten by bed bugs while staying at a Super 8 hotel anywhere in the United States, or if you had to replace personal property after the hotel bed bug infestation spread to your home or apartment, the hotel bed bug lawyers of Whitney, LLP may be able to help. Our aggressive attorneys have years of experience litigating a wide variety of bed bug claims stemming from hotel negligence, and will guide you through each and every stage of your case while fighting tirelessly on your behalf.

Once known as Super 8 Motels, this popular brand been renamed to Super 8 Worldwide. Super 8 Worldwide is a budget brand in the Wyndham Hotel Group family, which is owned by the Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. Wyndham maintains and operates more than 2,000 Super 8 hotels around the globe, with locations in hundreds of U.S. towns and cities including Pittsburgh, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Seattle, and New Orleans. While Super 8 has a widespread presence throughout the United States, its parent brand, Wyndham Hotel Group, maintains corporate headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey. This means that New Jersey may have jurisdiction over any legal actions against Super 8. Therefore, plaintiffs may be able to bring claims in New Jersey no matter where the Super 8 visit occurred.

Bed bug bites bear a similar appearance to mosquito bites, spider bites, and flea bites. So how can you tell them apart? Consider the following characteristics: • Bites tend to appear in concentrated clusters or rows in the area where the specimen latched onto the victim. If bites are few and far between, the culprit may be a different type of bug or insect. • Bites appear pink in color with a small darker spot toward the center. • Bites are medium-sized, generally about 3/8” to half an inch across, and may be slightly raised or swollen like a welt. • Bed bugs are primarily nocturnal, and do most of their feeding at night. Therefore, most bites appear on areas which are exposed while the victim sleeps, such as the face, hands, and neck. However, it is important to bear in mind that, while uncommon, daytime bites are still a possibility. Bite victims should not rule out bedbugs simply because they were bitten during daylight hours or while they were awake. The desk clerk should inform you about the room’s insect history upon request. However, other warning signs that bed bugs may be present include: • A strong, musty odor. Some sources describe this odor as being sweet, while others say it is similar to the cooking spice coriander. • Tiny brown or black spots on your bedding indicate an infested mattress. These spots are fecal stains left behind by digested blood meals. • Blood stains on the mattress or bedding materials, which are caused by bugs being squashed. While learning how to identify the source of your bites can be a helpful first step toward receiving treatment, you should consult with a licensed healthcare professional as soon as possible. Even a small number of bites can expose victims to serious health risks, and delaying seeking expert medical advice can increase your risk of suffering from major health complications.

Bed bug bites can cause a wide range of significant medical issues, some of which can even be fatal if left untreated. Some health risks associated with bed bug bites include, but are not limited to, the following conditions:  Anaphylactic Shock: Most commonly associated with bee stings, anaphylactic shock or anaphylaxis is an extremely serious allergic reaction which can be fatal without rapid intervention. Warning signs of anaphylaxis include dizziness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and a faint or weak pulse.  Chagas Disease: Chagas Disease is increasingly prevalent in the United States, with about 300,000 U.S. infections currently known to the CDC. The effects of Chagas Disease may lie dormant for years or even entire decades, until the victim begins to experience serious health problems caused by enlargement of the heart, colon, or esophagus. Chagas Disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, which can spread from bed bug carriers to human beings.  Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver, which is responsible for managing metabolism, digestion, and detoxification. Even in “mild” cases, hepatitis B victims can still take up to a year to fully recover. In more severe cases, victims may suffer permanent liver damage necessitating eventual organ transplant.  Impetigo: Impetigo is an extremely contagious skin infection which results in painful facial sores. These sores eventually burst and crust over, turning brown and yellow in color. Because impetigo is so contagious (even earning the nickname “school sores” for its ability to spread rapidly among schoolchildren), infected employees may have to miss work and lose income. Impetigo can also lead to secondary infections of the skin and/or hair, known as: • Cellulitis • Eczematoid Dermatitis • Folliculitis

Super 8 Motel Attorney Consultation

If you own a Super 8 hotel or motel and need a lawyer, please call Ascent Law LLC for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

Recent Posts

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84097 Attorneys

Affair Divorce

Ascent Law St. George Utah Office

Ascent Law Ogden Utah Office

from https://www.ascentlawfirm.com/super-8-hotel-attorneys/

from Criminal Defense Lawyer West Jordan Utah - Blog http://criminaldefenselawyerwestjordanutah.weebly.com/blog/super-8-hotel-attorneys

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Super 8 Hotel Attorneys

With many hotels and over thousands of rooms nationally, Super 8 is one of the largest hotel chains. While these hotels are known for their convenient services and facilities, guests could still sustain bed bug bites in these hotels because of poor hygiene and resulting infestations. If you believe that bed bug infestations have resulted from negligence, there are certain steps to take. You can also follow steps to avoid infestations entirely during your next stay at an Super 8 hotel location.

Independent of the hotel chain, you should always check the room prior to unpacking and settling in for your stay. You can visually spot bed bugs in most cases, from eggs to adults. You may also be able to spot their waste in the form of black or red spots on bedding. You can check Super 8 rooms by pulling back bedsheets and looking closely for evidence of a bed bug presence along mattress seams, underneath the mattress, behind headboards, and along the baseboards. You may also be able to see them in other furniture throughout the hotel room. If you discover any evidence of an infestation at any point, it’s important to notify the hotel staff or management as soon as possible. If you are unable to switch to another hotel, ask about getting another room in another area of the hotel away from where you found the infestation.

If you ever want to file a claim against an Super 8 hotel after sustaining bed bug bites at any of the chain’s facilities, you will need to be able to prove that the infestation and subsequent bites resulted from hotel staff or management negligence. This will involve showing that your injuries resulted from their negligence, which could include cases in which the owner is aware of an infestation but took improper steps to eliminate the infestation or even discover it. Make sure you capture as much evidence of bed bug bites as possible, either by recording video footage or taking photographs of both your bites sustained and the hotel room where you were bitten. Also, document all medical care received, along with time off from work required for treatment and anything else regarding the infestation. While proving that you have a bed bug bite case resulting from negligence at an Super 8 hotel may not be the easiest process, having a qualified bed bug attorney can help you get the representation you need. Experienced and knowledgeable attorneys will help determine if you have a good case and advise if they can represent you. If you have been affected by a bed bug infestation in a Super 8 hotel room, you could sue Super 8 for bed bug injuries. A bed bug law firm for bed bug injuries at Super 8 can help. The responsibility of the property owner or manager lies with keeping all customers safe, and if you are attacked by bed bugs and suffer damages, the hotel should be held liable for the ensuing costs and expenses. Bed bugs can wreak havoc on you during a vacation, but worse, they can latch onto your luggage or clothing and go home with you, resulting in a widespread infestation that may take days or weeks to fully eradicate. In that time, you could rack up various costs and suffer bites. Thus, it is a wise choice to file a Super 8 bed bug lawsuit.

It can be troublesome to find bed bugs in a hotel room if you do not know what you’re looking for. Some people only search the bed, and if they don’t see anything, assume the room is clean. This is not recommended. Bed bugs seldom make their nests in the beds themselves; they are more often found near the beds and couches on which people rest and sleep. Often, bed bugs are found in the creases of the mattress, underneath the sheets, below couch cushions, behind baseboards, between the carpeting and the wall, behind electrical outlets, around and behind picture frames, in nightstand drawers, inside torn fabric of upholstery, and more. You should always make sure to properly investigate a hotel room before you turn in for the night. The signs of bed bugs include small, oval-shaped, cream colored eggs; dark red spots on the sheets from dried blood from bites; brown mounds, which are droppings; and shed skins of juvenile bed bugs. You should examine damp, dark places to see if there are any creatures. If you wake up and discover that there was, in fact, an infestation in the room, you should contact a bed bug attorney for bed bug bites at Super 8.

Bed bugs are nocturnal and tend to come out at night to feast on their victims. They can only crawl and not jump, so they make their way over to where you are laying and proceed to bite. You don’t feel the bite happen or suffer any pain because bed bugs have an anesthetic in their mouths that keeps victims unaware. The insects can feast for up to 10 minutes at a time; they also have an anti-coagulant present in their saliva that prevents blood from clotting, allowing for constant, uninterrupted drinking. This bites generally don’t show up for a few hours or days after the incident,but when they do, they are generally present in a zigzag pattern and do not itch as much as other insect bites do. They can, however, fester and pop if they are scratched too much, which can lead to infections. The bites are most often present on the hands and arms, lower legs, and stomach and back, or anywhere that is easily accessed by crawling bed bugs. Although bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases, you can never be too careful; you should immediately go to the doctor to get checked out. Then, you should contact a lawyer to sue Super 8 for bed bug bites.

One of the most common mistakes that people make after suffering bed bug injuries in a hotel room is immediately alerting the staff to the problem. The manager will usually usher you out of the room and give you somewhere else to stay while the orders the cleaning crew to clean up. By the time they’re finished, there may not be any evidence left, and you won’t have sufficient proof that you were attacked by bed bugs. The hotel could easily say that you must have been bitten elsewhere. Instead, you should prioritize finding the nests and taking pictures of the creatures wherever you can. If you can show that the bugs were present in the room, you have ample proof for your claim. You should also take photos of your bites as soon as they appear. In checking the room for the bed bugs, you must try your best to move your luggage to a clean area to try and prevent the bugs from latching on; it is very easy to mistakenly transfer them to your home and cause another infestation to pop up. After you have gathered all of your evidence, then you should contact the staff to file an incident report. Do not accept any compensation from the hotel at this point; you may be offered free rooms and vouchers, but anything you accept can harm your chances of winning a lawsuit. Finally, you should reach out to one of our attorneys to sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room.

If you intend to file a bed bug lawsuit against Super 8, you should be aware of the laws and conditions required to take action. Importantly, Super 8, like any hotel, must provide safe, healthy, sanitary rooms to its customers, and if it breaches that duty, it can be considered negligent. If that breach of duty results in an incident that caused you, the invitee, physical harm, then you have all four points of negligence and can file a claim. There have been numerous Super 8 bed bug reports and questions about the Super 8 bed bugs policy. Essentially, Utah law dictates how clean rooms must be, and a violation can lead to a lawsuit and a fine, or worse if the hotel is a repeat offender.

As a victim who suffered physical harm while on someone else’s property, you could take legal action against the responsible party and pursue a Super 8 bed bugs refund.

Yes, you can sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room which injured you. You are owed a high duty of care as a temporary occupant and if your health and safety are affected, you have grounds for a lawsuit. We can help you pursue fair Super 8 bed bugs compensation. If you have additional questions, such as how to report bed bugs at a hotel or what is the best method for claiming compensation for bed bug bites, get in touch with an attorney at our law firm today. All Super 8 hotels and motels are legally required to provide patrons with safe accommodations that comply with health and building code. When a hotel rents a room with a history of bed bug infestations, and the guest is bitten and/or suffers property damage as a result, the hotel can potentially be held liable for violating its legal “duty of care” to the customer. This means the hotel can potentially be held responsible for compensating property replacement, medical treatment, lost earnings, and pain and suffering stemming from your personal injury. If you were bitten by bed bugs while staying at a Super 8 hotel anywhere in the United States, or if you had to replace personal property after the hotel bed bug infestation spread to your home or apartment, the hotel bed bug lawyers of Whitney, LLP may be able to help. Our aggressive attorneys have years of experience litigating a wide variety of bed bug claims stemming from hotel negligence, and will guide you through each and every stage of your case while fighting tirelessly on your behalf.

Once known as Super 8 Motels, this popular brand been renamed to Super 8 Worldwide. Super 8 Worldwide is a budget brand in the Wyndham Hotel Group family, which is owned by the Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. Wyndham maintains and operates more than 2,000 Super 8 hotels around the globe, with locations in hundreds of U.S. towns and cities including Pittsburgh, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Seattle, and New Orleans. While Super 8 has a widespread presence throughout the United States, its parent brand, Wyndham Hotel Group, maintains corporate headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey. This means that New Jersey may have jurisdiction over any legal actions against Super 8. Therefore, plaintiffs may be able to bring claims in New Jersey no matter where the Super 8 visit occurred.

Bed bug bites bear a similar appearance to mosquito bites, spider bites, and flea bites. So how can you tell them apart? Consider the following characteristics: • Bites tend to appear in concentrated clusters or rows in the area where the specimen latched onto the victim. If bites are few and far between, the culprit may be a different type of bug or insect. • Bites appear pink in color with a small darker spot toward the center. • Bites are medium-sized, generally about 3/8” to half an inch across, and may be slightly raised or swollen like a welt. • Bed bugs are primarily nocturnal, and do most of their feeding at night. Therefore, most bites appear on areas which are exposed while the victim sleeps, such as the face, hands, and neck. However, it is important to bear in mind that, while uncommon, daytime bites are still a possibility. Bite victims should not rule out bedbugs simply because they were bitten during daylight hours or while they were awake. The desk clerk should inform you about the room’s insect history upon request. However, other warning signs that bed bugs may be present include: • A strong, musty odor. Some sources describe this odor as being sweet, while others say it is similar to the cooking spice coriander. • Tiny brown or black spots on your bedding indicate an infested mattress. These spots are fecal stains left behind by digested blood meals. • Blood stains on the mattress or bedding materials, which are caused by bugs being squashed. While learning how to identify the source of your bites can be a helpful first step toward receiving treatment, you should consult with a licensed healthcare professional as soon as possible. Even a small number of bites can expose victims to serious health risks, and delaying seeking expert medical advice can increase your risk of suffering from major health complications.

Bed bug bites can cause a wide range of significant medical issues, some of which can even be fatal if left untreated. Some health risks associated with bed bug bites include, but are not limited to, the following conditions:  Anaphylactic Shock: Most commonly associated with bee stings, anaphylactic shock or anaphylaxis is an extremely serious allergic reaction which can be fatal without rapid intervention. Warning signs of anaphylaxis include dizziness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and a faint or weak pulse.  Chagas Disease: Chagas Disease is increasingly prevalent in the United States, with about 300,000 U.S. infections currently known to the CDC. The effects of Chagas Disease may lie dormant for years or even entire decades, until the victim begins to experience serious health problems caused by enlargement of the heart, colon, or esophagus. Chagas Disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, which can spread from bed bug carriers to human beings.  Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver, which is responsible for managing metabolism, digestion, and detoxification. Even in “mild” cases, hepatitis B victims can still take up to a year to fully recover. In more severe cases, victims may suffer permanent liver damage necessitating eventual organ transplant.  Impetigo: Impetigo is an extremely contagious skin infection which results in painful facial sores. These sores eventually burst and crust over, turning brown and yellow in color. Because impetigo is so contagious (even earning the nickname “school sores” for its ability to spread rapidly among schoolchildren), infected employees may have to miss work and lose income. Impetigo can also lead to secondary infections of the skin and/or hair, known as: • Cellulitis • Eczematoid Dermatitis • Folliculitis

Super 8 Motel Attorney Consultation

If you own a Super 8 hotel or motel and need a lawyer, please call Ascent Law LLC for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

Recent Posts

Utah Divorce Code 30-3-5.4

Separate Property In A Divorce

Is It Legal To Copy Content From A Website?

Violations Of Child Custody And Visitation

84097 Attorneys

Affair Divorce

{ “@context”: “http://schema.org/”, “@type”: “Product”, “name”: “ascentlawfirm”, “description”: “Ascent Law helps you in divorce, bankruptcy, probate, business or criminal cases in Utah, call 801-676-5506 for a free consultation today. We want to help you. “, “brand”: { “@type”: “Thing”, “name”: “ascentlawfirm” }, “aggregateRating”: { “@type”: “AggregateRating”, “ratingValue”: “4.9”, “ratingCount”: “118” }, “offers”: { “@type”: “Offer”, “priceCurrency”: “USD” } }

Ascent Law St. George Utah Office

Ascent Law Ogden Utah Office

Source: https://www.ascentlawfirm.com/super-8-hotel-attorneys/

[melissawalker01]

Super 8 Hotel Attorneys

With many hotels and over thousands of rooms nationally, Super 8 is one of the largest hotel chains. While these hotels are known for their convenient services and facilities, guests could still sustain bed bug bites in these hotels because of poor hygiene and resulting infestations. If you believe that bed bug infestations have resulted from negligence, there are certain steps to take. You can also follow steps to avoid infestations entirely during your next stay at an Super 8 hotel location.

Independent of the hotel chain, you should always check the room prior to unpacking and settling in for your stay. You can visually spot bed bugs in most cases, from eggs to adults. You may also be able to spot their waste in the form of black or red spots on bedding. You can check Super 8 rooms by pulling back bedsheets and looking closely for evidence of a bed bug presence along mattress seams, underneath the mattress, behind headboards, and along the baseboards. You may also be able to see them in other furniture throughout the hotel room. If you discover any evidence of an infestation at any point, it’s important to notify the hotel staff or management as soon as possible. If you are unable to switch to another hotel, ask about getting another room in another area of the hotel away from where you found the infestation.

If you ever want to file a claim against an Super 8 hotel after sustaining bed bug bites at any of the chain’s facilities, you will need to be able to prove that the infestation and subsequent bites resulted from hotel staff or management negligence. This will involve showing that your injuries resulted from their negligence, which could include cases in which the owner is aware of an infestation but took improper steps to eliminate the infestation or even discover it. Make sure you capture as much evidence of bed bug bites as possible, either by recording video footage or taking photographs of both your bites sustained and the hotel room where you were bitten. Also, document all medical care received, along with time off from work required for treatment and anything else regarding the infestation. While proving that you have a bed bug bite case resulting from negligence at an Super 8 hotel may not be the easiest process, having a qualified bed bug attorney can help you get the representation you need. Experienced and knowledgeable attorneys will help determine if you have a good case and advise if they can represent you. If you have been affected by a bed bug infestation in a Super 8 hotel room, you could sue Super 8 for bed bug injuries. A bed bug law firm for bed bug injuries at Super 8 can help. The responsibility of the property owner or manager lies with keeping all customers safe, and if you are attacked by bed bugs and suffer damages, the hotel should be held liable for the ensuing costs and expenses. Bed bugs can wreak havoc on you during a vacation, but worse, they can latch onto your luggage or clothing and go home with you, resulting in a widespread infestation that may take days or weeks to fully eradicate. In that time, you could rack up various costs and suffer bites. Thus, it is a wise choice to file a Super 8 bed bug lawsuit.

It can be troublesome to find bed bugs in a hotel room if you do not know what you’re looking for. Some people only search the bed, and if they don’t see anything, assume the room is clean. This is not recommended. Bed bugs seldom make their nests in the beds themselves; they are more often found near the beds and couches on which people rest and sleep. Often, bed bugs are found in the creases of the mattress, underneath the sheets, below couch cushions, behind baseboards, between the carpeting and the wall, behind electrical outlets, around and behind picture frames, in nightstand drawers, inside torn fabric of upholstery, and more. You should always make sure to properly investigate a hotel room before you turn in for the night. The signs of bed bugs include small, oval-shaped, cream colored eggs; dark red spots on the sheets from dried blood from bites; brown mounds, which are droppings; and shed skins of juvenile bed bugs. You should examine damp, dark places to see if there are any creatures. If you wake up and discover that there was, in fact, an infestation in the room, you should contact a bed bug attorney for bed bug bites at Super 8.

Bed bugs are nocturnal and tend to come out at night to feast on their victims. They can only crawl and not jump, so they make their way over to where you are laying and proceed to bite. You don’t feel the bite happen or suffer any pain because bed bugs have an anesthetic in their mouths that keeps victims unaware. The insects can feast for up to 10 minutes at a time; they also have an anti-coagulant present in their saliva that prevents blood from clotting, allowing for constant, uninterrupted drinking. This bites generally don’t show up for a few hours or days after the incident,but when they do, they are generally present in a zigzag pattern and do not itch as much as other insect bites do. They can, however, fester and pop if they are scratched too much, which can lead to infections. The bites are most often present on the hands and arms, lower legs, and stomach and back, or anywhere that is easily accessed by crawling bed bugs. Although bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases, you can never be too careful; you should immediately go to the doctor to get checked out. Then, you should contact a lawyer to sue Super 8 for bed bug bites.

One of the most common mistakes that people make after suffering bed bug injuries in a hotel room is immediately alerting the staff to the problem. The manager will usually usher you out of the room and give you somewhere else to stay while the orders the cleaning crew to clean up. By the time they’re finished, there may not be any evidence left, and you won’t have sufficient proof that you were attacked by bed bugs. The hotel could easily say that you must have been bitten elsewhere. Instead, you should prioritize finding the nests and taking pictures of the creatures wherever you can. If you can show that the bugs were present in the room, you have ample proof for your claim. You should also take photos of your bites as soon as they appear. In checking the room for the bed bugs, you must try your best to move your luggage to a clean area to try and prevent the bugs from latching on; it is very easy to mistakenly transfer them to your home and cause another infestation to pop up. After you have gathered all of your evidence, then you should contact the staff to file an incident report. Do not accept any compensation from the hotel at this point; you may be offered free rooms and vouchers, but anything you accept can harm your chances of winning a lawsuit. Finally, you should reach out to one of our attorneys to sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room.

If you intend to file a bed bug lawsuit against Super 8, you should be aware of the laws and conditions required to take action. Importantly, Super 8, like any hotel, must provide safe, healthy, sanitary rooms to its customers, and if it breaches that duty, it can be considered negligent. If that breach of duty results in an incident that caused you, the invitee, physical harm, then you have all four points of negligence and can file a claim. There have been numerous Super 8 bed bug reports and questions about the Super 8 bed bugs policy. Essentially, Utah law dictates how clean rooms must be, and a violation can lead to a lawsuit and a fine, or worse if the hotel is a repeat offender.

As a victim who suffered physical harm while on someone else’s property, you could take legal action against the responsible party and pursue a Super 8 bed bugs refund.

Yes, you can sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room which injured you. You are owed a high duty of care as a temporary occupant and if your health and safety are affected, you have grounds for a lawsuit. We can help you pursue fair Super 8 bed bugs compensation. If you have additional questions, such as how to report bed bugs at a hotel or what is the best method for claiming compensation for bed bug bites, get in touch with an attorney at our law firm today. All Super 8 hotels and motels are legally required to provide patrons with safe accommodations that comply with health and building code. When a hotel rents a room with a history of bed bug infestations, and the guest is bitten and/or suffers property damage as a result, the hotel can potentially be held liable for violating its legal “duty of care” to the customer. This means the hotel can potentially be held responsible for compensating property replacement, medical treatment, lost earnings, and pain and suffering stemming from your personal injury. If you were bitten by bed bugs while staying at a Super 8 hotel anywhere in the United States, or if you had to replace personal property after the hotel bed bug infestation spread to your home or apartment, the hotel bed bug lawyers of Whitney, LLP may be able to help. Our aggressive attorneys have years of experience litigating a wide variety of bed bug claims stemming from hotel negligence, and will guide you through each and every stage of your case while fighting tirelessly on your behalf.

Once known as Super 8 Motels, this popular brand been renamed to Super 8 Worldwide. Super 8 Worldwide is a budget brand in the Wyndham Hotel Group family, which is owned by the Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. Wyndham maintains and operates more than 2,000 Super 8 hotels around the globe, with locations in hundreds of U.S. towns and cities including Pittsburgh, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Seattle, and New Orleans. While Super 8 has a widespread presence throughout the United States, its parent brand, Wyndham Hotel Group, maintains corporate headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey. This means that New Jersey may have jurisdiction over any legal actions against Super 8. Therefore, plaintiffs may be able to bring claims in New Jersey no matter where the Super 8 visit occurred.

Bed bug bites bear a similar appearance to mosquito bites, spider bites, and flea bites. So how can you tell them apart? Consider the following characteristics: • Bites tend to appear in concentrated clusters or rows in the area where the specimen latched onto the victim. If bites are few and far between, the culprit may be a different type of bug or insect. • Bites appear pink in color with a small darker spot toward the center. • Bites are medium-sized, generally about 3/8” to half an inch across, and may be slightly raised or swollen like a welt. • Bed bugs are primarily nocturnal, and do most of their feeding at night. Therefore, most bites appear on areas which are exposed while the victim sleeps, such as the face, hands, and neck. However, it is important to bear in mind that, while uncommon, daytime bites are still a possibility. Bite victims should not rule out bedbugs simply because they were bitten during daylight hours or while they were awake. The desk clerk should inform you about the room’s insect history upon request. However, other warning signs that bed bugs may be present include: • A strong, musty odor. Some sources describe this odor as being sweet, while others say it is similar to the cooking spice coriander. • Tiny brown or black spots on your bedding indicate an infested mattress. These spots are fecal stains left behind by digested blood meals. • Blood stains on the mattress or bedding materials, which are caused by bugs being squashed. While learning how to identify the source of your bites can be a helpful first step toward receiving treatment, you should consult with a licensed healthcare professional as soon as possible. Even a small number of bites can expose victims to serious health risks, and delaying seeking expert medical advice can increase your risk of suffering from major health complications.

Bed bug bites can cause a wide range of significant medical issues, some of which can even be fatal if left untreated. Some health risks associated with bed bug bites include, but are not limited to, the following conditions:  Anaphylactic Shock: Most commonly associated with bee stings, anaphylactic shock or anaphylaxis is an extremely serious allergic reaction which can be fatal without rapid intervention. Warning signs of anaphylaxis include dizziness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and a faint or weak pulse.  Chagas Disease: Chagas Disease is increasingly prevalent in the United States, with about 300,000 U.S. infections currently known to the CDC. The effects of Chagas Disease may lie dormant for years or even entire decades, until the victim begins to experience serious health problems caused by enlargement of the heart, colon, or esophagus. Chagas Disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, which can spread from bed bug carriers to human beings.  Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver, which is responsible for managing metabolism, digestion, and detoxification. Even in “mild” cases, hepatitis B victims can still take up to a year to fully recover. In more severe cases, victims may suffer permanent liver damage necessitating eventual organ transplant.  Impetigo: Impetigo is an extremely contagious skin infection which results in painful facial sores. These sores eventually burst and crust over, turning brown and yellow in color. Because impetigo is so contagious (even earning the nickname “school sores” for its ability to spread rapidly among schoolchildren), infected employees may have to miss work and lose income. Impetigo can also lead to secondary infections of the skin and/or hair, known as: • Cellulitis • Eczematoid Dermatitis • Folliculitis

Super 8 Motel Attorney Consultation

If you own a Super 8 hotel or motel and need a lawyer, please call Ascent Law LLC for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

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from Michael Anderson https://www.ascentlawfirm.com/super-8-hotel-attorneys/ from Divorce Lawyer Nelson Farms Utah https://divorcelawyernelsonfarmsutah.tumblr.com/post/626300852952612864

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Super 8 Hotel Attorneys

With many hotels and over thousands of rooms nationally, Super 8 is one of the largest hotel chains. While these hotels are known for their convenient services and facilities, guests could still sustain bed bug bites in these hotels because of poor hygiene and resulting infestations. If you believe that bed bug infestations have resulted from negligence, there are certain steps to take. You can also follow steps to avoid infestations entirely during your next stay at an Super 8 hotel location.

Independent of the hotel chain, you should always check the room prior to unpacking and settling in for your stay. You can visually spot bed bugs in most cases, from eggs to adults. You may also be able to spot their waste in the form of black or red spots on bedding. You can check Super 8 rooms by pulling back bedsheets and looking closely for evidence of a bed bug presence along mattress seams, underneath the mattress, behind headboards, and along the baseboards. You may also be able to see them in other furniture throughout the hotel room. If you discover any evidence of an infestation at any point, it’s important to notify the hotel staff or management as soon as possible. If you are unable to switch to another hotel, ask about getting another room in another area of the hotel away from where you found the infestation.

If you ever want to file a claim against an Super 8 hotel after sustaining bed bug bites at any of the chain’s facilities, you will need to be able to prove that the infestation and subsequent bites resulted from hotel staff or management negligence. This will involve showing that your injuries resulted from their negligence, which could include cases in which the owner is aware of an infestation but took improper steps to eliminate the infestation or even discover it. Make sure you capture as much evidence of bed bug bites as possible, either by recording video footage or taking photographs of both your bites sustained and the hotel room where you were bitten. Also, document all medical care received, along with time off from work required for treatment and anything else regarding the infestation. While proving that you have a bed bug bite case resulting from negligence at an Super 8 hotel may not be the easiest process, having a qualified bed bug attorney can help you get the representation you need. Experienced and knowledgeable attorneys will help determine if you have a good case and advise if they can represent you. If you have been affected by a bed bug infestation in a Super 8 hotel room, you could sue Super 8 for bed bug injuries. A bed bug law firm for bed bug injuries at Super 8 can help. The responsibility of the property owner or manager lies with keeping all customers safe, and if you are attacked by bed bugs and suffer damages, the hotel should be held liable for the ensuing costs and expenses. Bed bugs can wreak havoc on you during a vacation, but worse, they can latch onto your luggage or clothing and go home with you, resulting in a widespread infestation that may take days or weeks to fully eradicate. In that time, you could rack up various costs and suffer bites. Thus, it is a wise choice to file a Super 8 bed bug lawsuit.

It can be troublesome to find bed bugs in a hotel room if you do not know what you’re looking for. Some people only search the bed, and if they don’t see anything, assume the room is clean. This is not recommended. Bed bugs seldom make their nests in the beds themselves; they are more often found near the beds and couches on which people rest and sleep. Often, bed bugs are found in the creases of the mattress, underneath the sheets, below couch cushions, behind baseboards, between the carpeting and the wall, behind electrical outlets, around and behind picture frames, in nightstand drawers, inside torn fabric of upholstery, and more. You should always make sure to properly investigate a hotel room before you turn in for the night. The signs of bed bugs include small, oval-shaped, cream colored eggs; dark red spots on the sheets from dried blood from bites; brown mounds, which are droppings; and shed skins of juvenile bed bugs. You should examine damp, dark places to see if there are any creatures. If you wake up and discover that there was, in fact, an infestation in the room, you should contact a bed bug attorney for bed bug bites at Super 8.

Bed bugs are nocturnal and tend to come out at night to feast on their victims. They can only crawl and not jump, so they make their way over to where you are laying and proceed to bite. You don’t feel the bite happen or suffer any pain because bed bugs have an anesthetic in their mouths that keeps victims unaware. The insects can feast for up to 10 minutes at a time; they also have an anti-coagulant present in their saliva that prevents blood from clotting, allowing for constant, uninterrupted drinking. This bites generally don’t show up for a few hours or days after the incident,but when they do, they are generally present in a zigzag pattern and do not itch as much as other insect bites do. They can, however, fester and pop if they are scratched too much, which can lead to infections. The bites are most often present on the hands and arms, lower legs, and stomach and back, or anywhere that is easily accessed by crawling bed bugs. Although bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases, you can never be too careful; you should immediately go to the doctor to get checked out. Then, you should contact a lawyer to sue Super 8 for bed bug bites.

One of the most common mistakes that people make after suffering bed bug injuries in a hotel room is immediately alerting the staff to the problem. The manager will usually usher you out of the room and give you somewhere else to stay while the orders the cleaning crew to clean up. By the time they’re finished, there may not be any evidence left, and you won’t have sufficient proof that you were attacked by bed bugs. The hotel could easily say that you must have been bitten elsewhere. Instead, you should prioritize finding the nests and taking pictures of the creatures wherever you can. If you can show that the bugs were present in the room, you have ample proof for your claim. You should also take photos of your bites as soon as they appear. In checking the room for the bed bugs, you must try your best to move your luggage to a clean area to try and prevent the bugs from latching on; it is very easy to mistakenly transfer them to your home and cause another infestation to pop up. After you have gathered all of your evidence, then you should contact the staff to file an incident report. Do not accept any compensation from the hotel at this point; you may be offered free rooms and vouchers, but anything you accept can harm your chances of winning a lawsuit. Finally, you should reach out to one of our attorneys to sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room.

If you intend to file a bed bug lawsuit against Super 8, you should be aware of the laws and conditions required to take action. Importantly, Super 8, like any hotel, must provide safe, healthy, sanitary rooms to its customers, and if it breaches that duty, it can be considered negligent. If that breach of duty results in an incident that caused you, the invitee, physical harm, then you have all four points of negligence and can file a claim. There have been numerous Super 8 bed bug reports and questions about the Super 8 bed bugs policy. Essentially, Utah law dictates how clean rooms must be, and a violation can lead to a lawsuit and a fine, or worse if the hotel is a repeat offender.

As a victim who suffered physical harm while on someone else’s property, you could take legal action against the responsible party and pursue a Super 8 bed bugs refund.

Yes, you can sue Super 8 for bed bugs in your room which injured you. You are owed a high duty of care as a temporary occupant and if your health and safety are affected, you have grounds for a lawsuit. We can help you pursue fair Super 8 bed bugs compensation. If you have additional questions, such as how to report bed bugs at a hotel or what is the best method for claiming compensation for bed bug bites, get in touch with an attorney at our law firm today. All Super 8 hotels and motels are legally required to provide patrons with safe accommodations that comply with health and building code. When a hotel rents a room with a history of bed bug infestations, and the guest is bitten and/or suffers property damage as a result, the hotel can potentially be held liable for violating its legal “duty of care” to the customer. This means the hotel can potentially be held responsible for compensating property replacement, medical treatment, lost earnings, and pain and suffering stemming from your personal injury. If you were bitten by bed bugs while staying at a Super 8 hotel anywhere in the United States, or if you had to replace personal property after the hotel bed bug infestation spread to your home or apartment, the hotel bed bug lawyers of Whitney, LLP may be able to help. Our aggressive attorneys have years of experience litigating a wide variety of bed bug claims stemming from hotel negligence, and will guide you through each and every stage of your case while fighting tirelessly on your behalf.

Once known as Super 8 Motels, this popular brand been renamed to Super 8 Worldwide. Super 8 Worldwide is a budget brand in the Wyndham Hotel Group family, which is owned by the Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. Wyndham maintains and operates more than 2,000 Super 8 hotels around the globe, with locations in hundreds of U.S. towns and cities including Pittsburgh, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Seattle, and New Orleans. While Super 8 has a widespread presence throughout the United States, its parent brand, Wyndham Hotel Group, maintains corporate headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey. This means that New Jersey may have jurisdiction over any legal actions against Super 8. Therefore, plaintiffs may be able to bring claims in New Jersey no matter where the Super 8 visit occurred.

Bed bug bites bear a similar appearance to mosquito bites, spider bites, and flea bites. So how can you tell them apart? Consider the following characteristics: • Bites tend to appear in concentrated clusters or rows in the area where the specimen latched onto the victim. If bites are few and far between, the culprit may be a different type of bug or insect. • Bites appear pink in color with a small darker spot toward the center. • Bites are medium-sized, generally about 3/8” to half an inch across, and may be slightly raised or swollen like a welt. • Bed bugs are primarily nocturnal, and do most of their feeding at night. Therefore, most bites appear on areas which are exposed while the victim sleeps, such as the face, hands, and neck. However, it is important to bear in mind that, while uncommon, daytime bites are still a possibility. Bite victims should not rule out bedbugs simply because they were bitten during daylight hours or while they were awake. The desk clerk should inform you about the room’s insect history upon request. However, other warning signs that bed bugs may be present include: • A strong, musty odor. Some sources describe this odor as being sweet, while others say it is similar to the cooking spice coriander. • Tiny brown or black spots on your bedding indicate an infested mattress. These spots are fecal stains left behind by digested blood meals. • Blood stains on the mattress or bedding materials, which are caused by bugs being squashed. While learning how to identify the source of your bites can be a helpful first step toward receiving treatment, you should consult with a licensed healthcare professional as soon as possible. Even a small number of bites can expose victims to serious health risks, and delaying seeking expert medical advice can increase your risk of suffering from major health complications.

Bed bug bites can cause a wide range of significant medical issues, some of which can even be fatal if left untreated. Some health risks associated with bed bug bites include, but are not limited to, the following conditions:  Anaphylactic Shock: Most commonly associated with bee stings, anaphylactic shock or anaphylaxis is an extremely serious allergic reaction which can be fatal without rapid intervention. Warning signs of anaphylaxis include dizziness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and a faint or weak pulse.  Chagas Disease: Chagas Disease is increasingly prevalent in the United States, with about 300,000 U.S. infections currently known to the CDC. The effects of Chagas Disease may lie dormant for years or even entire decades, until the victim begins to experience serious health problems caused by enlargement of the heart, colon, or esophagus. Chagas Disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, which can spread from bed bug carriers to human beings.  Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver, which is responsible for managing metabolism, digestion, and detoxification. Even in “mild” cases, hepatitis B victims can still take up to a year to fully recover. In more severe cases, victims may suffer permanent liver damage necessitating eventual organ transplant.  Impetigo: Impetigo is an extremely contagious skin infection which results in painful facial sores. These sores eventually burst and crust over, turning brown and yellow in color. Because impetigo is so contagious (even earning the nickname “school sores” for its ability to spread rapidly among schoolchildren), infected employees may have to miss work and lose income. Impetigo can also lead to secondary infections of the skin and/or hair, known as: • Cellulitis • Eczematoid Dermatitis • Folliculitis

Super 8 Motel Attorney Consultation

If you own a Super 8 hotel or motel and need a lawyer, please call Ascent Law LLC for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

Recent Posts

Utah Divorce Code 30-3-5.4

Separate Property In A Divorce

Is It Legal To Copy Content From A Website?

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84097 Attorneys

Affair Divorce

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Source: https://www.ascentlawfirm.com/super-8-hotel-attorneys/