#Also the better your lighting is the more effective smaller changes to hair or costumes (or the actors faces lol) are likely to be.

[amplexadversary]

Ahh, tv shows where I can't tell apart the male leads, my beloathed.

Seriously either we need to go back to lighting our sets more, or long hair on men needs to come back into vogue, because I can't keep living like this.

I can't keep taking two seconds to try to determine who is who every shot because I miss what's going on in the scene!

Controversial opinion, but you need to follow the silhouette rule in live-action projects too, at least in regard to characters in the same show or movie! If you absolutely *can't* hire actors with different heights, hair, or builds, you need to work something out with the costuming department to get a distinct shape!

[friggsdc]

Title: little delinquent pt i

part i | part ii 

Warnings: Female!reader (bat!sis), mostly family fluff, AU, hurt/comfort

word count: 3000~

It had Bruce and Dick sharing a look for a moment before the latter spoke up, “It’s not like I’m against continuing to expand the family, but…” he eyed the child you held nervously, “please don’t start bringing home every child you find…” he tilted his head, “he’s bad enough.” Bruce settled a light glare at his first son (that definitely wasn’t what Bruce was thinking), though Dick was stilled by the way your eyes narrowed at him instead.

“His name is Terrence,” that was all you said, brushing past as they were suddenly on guard at the inherited Wayne-scowl on your face.

a/n: Terry as a baby tho with an overly protective big sis/mom reader… I can’t get this out of my head lol. Also batfam are very close with bat!sis reader in this, so lotsa fluffy sibling intimacy. Because I want the fluff haha.

(it actually turned into more plot than fluff sighs)

 idk pairings/haven’t thought of that, I just didn’t know how to tag it so i used pairing tags??? lol despite that, I don’t feel comfortable putting Damian, Bruce, nor Terry in the tags ee;;;; Jason’s not in this chapter but he’s in the tags anyway sighs, he comes in around ch3.

-

A light lit up on one of the many monitors in the cave, a box popping up not a moment later with the alert, attracting the costumed people in the room. Bruce was second to the computers, Tim immediately making certain that the alert said what he thought it said, “Good. She’s back.” He sighed heavily, relieved before trudging towards the car port. Sure he was upset, they all were, but at the moment they were just glad their sister was back and alive. She’d get quite the talking to about scaring them all like this, especially from Tim and Bruce, later.

It almost felt like an eternity as her bike came into view, skidding to a comfortable stop with minimal sound. She took a moment to adjust herself, and they didn’t miss the small form clinging to her frontside. It was aggravating how slow and careful she was being, how slowly she got up from her bike as if the young child she had with her was the most fragile treasure. She shifted so that the bundle was curled up in her arms, messy black hair hiding most features as their face buried in her shoulder, frightened. The kid had to be about a year old or so, they assumed, quiet and trembling in her hold.

Damian stood next to their father, annoyance on his face as he bit back harsh words. Of all the people in the world, like Alfred, his sister was someone he never wanted to hurt. He couldn’t even imagine such a thing. “You turned off your comms,” Bruce stated, she only nodded, not usually one for hiding what she was up to. He went to open his mouth again, but Damian’s cold tone beat him to it, “you were missing all night.” She nodded at him again, lips pursed to keep herself from saying anything.

She was struggling with her feelings right now, incredibly upset at the way her family was staring at her, as if she herself were a child. It was really hard for her right now to be the loving big sister she’s always been since coming to live at the manor. All she wanted to do was forgive them for their mistrust, or to tell them everything to take that distrust away. She hated feeling like a bad guy, and she did her best to stand firm on how she felt, but her resolve was crumbling fast in their presence.

You couldn’t help it, your family had that kind of effect on you, always weak to them and their needs.

You would always forgive them. Always.

Tim was first to rush over, quickly pulling you into a hug (careful of the boy), and a slight tremble in his tensed hands kept you from pulling back. He rested his head on the shoulder opposite the kid’s head, arms refusing to move as the other three strode over. “Stupid, where were you?” Tim mumbled into your shoulder, your response was to bury your cheek in his hair, “I was… we were so worried. You don’t just go dark on us like that, especially not on me, you know that.”

He shifted his head to look you in the face, foreheads pressing together. Reaching up, he gently took off your domino mask so your eyes could meet, him doing his best to stare you down. A silent conversation began, your somewhat desperate look of, ‘I’m sorry, I have my reasons,’ and his shoulders sagging a little, ‘I’m still not happy about this.’

It had Bruce and Dick sharing a look for a moment, the latter speaking up, “It’s not like I’m against continuing to expand the family, but…” he eyed the child you held nervously, “please don’t start bringing home every child you find…” Dick tilted his head, “he’s bad enough.” Bruce settled a light glare at his first son (that definitely wasn’t what Bruce was thinking), though Dick was stilled by the way your eyes narrowed at him instead.

“His name is Terrence,” that was all you said, brushing past as they were suddenly on guard at the inherited Wayne-scowl on your face.

“Hey, uhm…” Dick coughed nervously now, stomach flipping and looked between Tim and Bruce, “has she… ever made a face like that before?” Tim frowned, shaking his head, “you actually upset her. That’s an accomplishment, Richard.” Tim went to change so he could follow you, wanting to know everything about what you had been doing and where you had been. “I… meant it to be humorous…” Damian just scowled at him, “it was in poor taste, Grayson,” he turned, wanting to change before following you and Tim, curious. Dick just sighed into his hand, knowing he’d have to make it up to you later, or the others would hold it against him.

“Babybat, too? Ugh.”

Usually you handled his joking around without much issue, what the heck?

“Good job. Whelmed yet?,” Bruce turned back towards the bat computer, intent on discovering things himself (and to alert the others, still out looking, that you were safe). After all, there was only going to be so much you’d say (call it a father’s intuition). Dick frowned at his father making fun of him, unamused, “...haha” He grumbled and went to change, following after his siblings with a yawn finding it’s escape (they’d been frantic all night, looking everywhere).

-

“You understand we’re not letting you out of our sight after this, right?” his ears perked up at Damian’s tone, uncertain if he was joking or not. Rounding the corner into a smaller sitting room, he stopped before leaning broad shoulders against the doorframe. “That’s terrifying, Dami.” Dick grinned at the glare his youngest brother sent him, eyes turning to you and the child on your lap apologetically, “Sorry, about before.”

You only waved your hand as if to dismiss the earlier conversation, a sign that Dick took to push off the wall and walk over for a better view, “So, Terrence, huh?” You only nodded, stuck in your thoughts, thinking things over. All your attention was kept on the child snuggled up against you, staring at the other’s in the room with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

Dick’s brow raised now that he got a good look.

“Okay, I know I said I was sorry, but…” Damian’s fingers strained to not curl into a fist as he gave Dick a hard, pointed stare, but he didn’t go farther as your hand patted his arm. “Black hair and blue eyes,” Tim sighed at Dick, “I’m just saying.” He shrugged, stopping himself from wondering aloud if the family was cursed.

You could only huff in exasperation as you buried your face in Terrence’s hair, the child wiggling to look up with huge blues. You smiled down at him and leaned back into the cushions, letting him rest against you at an incline, bouncing your leg lightly. His small hands readjusted to grasp onto your shirt, head using your chest as a pillow while he kept watching the men and scrunched his nose.

“So, where’d he come from?” Dick sat across form you, seeing as Damian was sitting next to you on the small couch, Tim in the chair to your other side (all your recon gear was in a pile on the floor next to you). A frown settled on your face, staring at the floor as you kept your face buried in the child’s hair, then shook your head. Stubborn. Tim frowned at you and the child, arms crossed in contemplation, and Damian was staring at the child wide-eyed in amazement (he was so inexperienced). Dick crossed his arms and leaned back, biting the inside of his cheek, “…hey,” your attitude was worrying him, you’d never been this closed off before.

Your eyes shifted from the floor to look at Dick, cycling to Damian and then to Tim, straight faced with having made your decision (even though you had already made it hours earlier). Looking to your family, you took a deep breath to brace yourself, “he’s mine.” All three of the men stiffened, Damian shaking his head, “you weren’t pregnant. Impossible.” 

When your eyes met his, he squinted slightly, your head tilting forwards, his turning away, “tt.” Dick was a bit jealous at how you had such a strong connection with Tim and Damian, wishing he could join in on the exchange of expressions (unfortunately, his innate big brother intuition with his siblings only took him so far. Living in Blüdhaven meant he wasn’t as involved in family as he wanted).

Tim was being incredibly careful as he sized you up, taking in the kid’s appearance and the way you were keeping your eyes on the men like a hawk. Damian had relaxed next to you, shifting his weight to lean against your side as he began poking and prodding at the child. In turn, Terrence just tried to grab at Damian’s fingers with his small hands, at times trying to bite him when his finger booped him on the nose (Damian noticed and started turning it into a game, as if he were playing chicken with a cat and it’s claws).

Terrence became a bit more comfortable, too focused on Damian’s antics, and he let out a small laugh, causing Damian to freeze in place. He hadn’t expected it, too absorbed in the game he had made up and instantly his ears turned red, suddenly self-conscious. The finger that had been frozen in place was hovering dangerously close to Terrence’s face and, taking the invitation, the child bit down. He would have yelped if he hadn’t been so well trained, barely able to contain himself, Damian jerked his finger out of the child’s biting range.

Dick cracked a smile and you did your best to not laugh, Tim however was studying his youngest brother, it was cute when he acted his age.

“So, he’ll be staying here then?” You nodded at Dick, “think B’s gonna be okay with this?” you shrugged, it wouldn’t matter, you’d refuse to give the kid up, “So…” Dick shifted, failing to keep his face straight, “Damian’s not the baby anymore.” As wary of the kid as he was, he couldn’t pass up the moment to tease his favorite brother.

“…Grayson,” Damian glared at Dick before reluctantly looking at the kid, silently agreeing. He wasn’t the baby anymore, “we… will need to outfit a nursery room, then.” Dick couldn’t hide his smile, letting it spread on his face at his younger brother’s quick acceptance, “guess I’m gonna hafta visit more often then if I want to be the best uncle.” Both Tim and Damian’s heads turned in unison at Dick, eyes narrowing in a way that made Dick want to step back, nervous.

“No way, I’ll be--” Tim was cut off,

“As if you could be better than me, Grayson,” he sent a pointed look at Tim, “I will be the best uncle.”

You were just glad your brothers were taking this so well.

“Sure.” Tim deflated a bit as Bruce walked into the room, looking at his boys before turning to you and the child, “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to speak with—” Just like Tim, he was cut off, “I won’t tell you anything about him.” Bruce frowned at your stubbornness, not liking that this was how you chose to respond to the situation. “You’re not getting out of this, we’re going to have a talk,” he stopped himself, correcting his remark after a moment’s thought, “…a few talks, actually.”

“No.” you frowned and he crossed his arms with a more serious ‘I’m your father, do as I say,” look about him. “It’s not up for debate.”

The brothers just looked back and forth, opting to stay quiet instead of getting involved. It did no good when the two of you got stubborn with one another.

“You can’t take him from me.” Your father’s stare softened slightly, shaking his head, “we need to discuss that, too.” Honestly, he wasn’t as interested in whether or not you kept the child, the problem was how quiet you were being about him. Something wasn’t right about the situation, and his preliminary searches came up with nothing. 

He only had a first name, it wasn’t much to go on.

Terrence was staring at Bruce, one of his chubby little hands left your top to shove his thumb in his mouth. The unwavering stare the kid was giving him… if he didn’t know any better, Bruce would think he was being challenged. It took all of Bruce’s will power not to look down at Terrence, he wasn’t great with children, let alone an infant. He was broken from his thoughts of whether or not the kid actually was challenging him, or if he just had no clue about what to do in this situation (he didn’t want to admit it though) when you finally replied.

“You won’t find out where I was.” It was a statement.

He studied and trained hard to make hiding from anyone and anything look natural, you seemed to have been born with the (suddenly annoying) skill.

“Your thoroughness is worrisome.” He sighed, feeling this was going to be a bit… difficult.

The siblings all shared an amused laugh before Dick got back to his feet, another yawn escaping, “I’ll be in my old room, need some post-mission Z’s.” He felt like a zombie walking out of the room, hoping he’d beat the sun before it got too high. “See you and the kid in the… morning…?” He had almost no interest in trying to make his brain work, already resigned to bed. 

“Then, you as well.” Bruce nodded to Damian and with a sigh, he stood up, “alright, father. Good night,” before Damian could leave the room, you were suddenly standing by his side. “Rest sounds good right now,” you avoided Bruce’s disappointed look, watching as Tim rocked forward from the chair to his feet before stretching.

Giving out a small hum, you quickly retreated into the hall with Damian, waiting for neither Tim or Bruce (mainly Bruce). As you left, Bruce turned to Tim, questioning what was going on, “Sorry, but…” he started, “I have no clue about this one…” Tim scratched the back of his head, staring at the floor sheepishly. He felt at a loss, not having been given the silent treatment by you since you were kids.

You were literally in each other’s business all the damned time.

-

Damian walked comfortably next to you, eyes drooping (even though he’d never admit it), and you dropped him off at his bedroom door.

“Night, Dami.”

“Good night,” you gave him a small hug, ruffling his hair as his ears flushed for the second time that night. “You’re lucky I’m going to sleep…” he huffed, hair now a complete mess. He entered his room, leaving you alone to the halls, “I think a quick shower would be nice…” you were walking towards your room now, intent on getting comfortable and relaxing before getting some shut eye. Dick was right, it was an exhausting night.

Hand on the door of your room, staring at the child struggling to stay awake in your arms, you shook your head.

It was worth it.

And you’d do it again. Every time.

-

Tim entered the room hesitantly, no knocking, he was certain you wouldn’t answer, anyway, but he checked to see if it was okay before closing the door behind him. Looking around to gather his bearings, as you had the light off, curtains drawn, and it was nominally darker than the halls, he spotted the top of your head over the edge of the bed. Quickly, quietly, he crept over to stand a few feet from you, but your eyes stayed on the sleeping child in your lap, refusing to look up.

He settled himself closely next to you, sliding down to sit on the floor and leaning against the side of the bed, shoulder rubbing your own. He looked to the child in your lap as well, then gave a small hum before lightly nudging you.  

He wasn’t able to see well, but after adjusting to the lack of light, it became easier to understand his surroundings. It became easier to see your features, to see the kid in your arms, and it was easier to grasp the way you frowned in anticipation when turning to look him in the face.

He wasn’t certain why, but he braced for something, suddenly uneasy.

Your lips moved to form the word, no sound coming out, too terrified the walls would listen in, ‘Cadmus.’

Tim’s eyes widened in panic, the child’s big blues flashing in his mind, and it suddenly felt like everything was coming together. It was the one piece of useful information he was missing, the one piece that you made certain they wouldn’t be able to follow when you disappeared for the night. He looked to the sleeping child in your arms, then back up at you, brain going into overload. How...?

He understood now.

His hand found yours, squeezing tightly, reassuringly.

You slumped against his side, relieved.

He understood.

[sanstropfremir]

episode 9 baby!!! dear lord that was a lot!!

frankly, i'm still in shock that i full on manifested an opera stage, AND it was a rock opera stage at that! plus i got a jazz stage AND a taemin stage??? if they’re pulling out all my favourites now then what on earth are they gonna do in the finale??? this was a very overwhelming crop of stages, i thought i was going to be prepared, but oh no i was not prepared. i'm just going to get right into it because this one is gonna be long and i have many words. i'll discuss in airing order first, and then put my personal rankings for this round at the end.

btob

costume

changsub, you absolute king. spectacular. stunning. incredible. zoot suit riot playing in my brain on repeat. will i finally get the zoot suit revival of my fucking dreams instead of this current drab ill-fitting suit trend? for those who are wondering why in the fuck changsub is dressed like that and what on earth i’m talking about, the specific cut of suit that he’s wearing is called a zoot suit, which were popular in mexican, black and italian american communities in the 30s and 40s, until they were outlawed by the united states war production board as a fabric rationing method as part of the war effort in 1942. there was a huge amount of mob violence surrrounding the wearing of them (there were actual zoot suit riots) as they were direct counter culture fashion to the predominant drab trends of white americans at the time. i'm actually very impressed they got a proper (modernized) cut of zoot suit instead of just putting him in an oversized one; there are actually specific structural differences. the pegged trouser legs, large should pads, and knee length single breasted jacket are key features, and they were often in much more flashy fabrics than a pinstripe, but they get points for effort. i wish they had put all of them in zoot suits but he’s playing the ‘lead’ actor so i will begrudgingly forgive them.

eunkwang those are the stupidest sleeve garters ive ever seen i love them never take them off. they’re like someone decided to repurpose a suspender in the worst way. excellent. i do love that they’ve got three of them in oxford saddle shoes, another great touch.

love the three piece and the fedora* on peniel. it's also in a relatively close period cut; waistcoasts (vests) were generally cut much higher in the neck pre-war, we only start seeing the neckline slide down in the 60s (i think? i don’t remember when exactly). also love to see a proper sleeve and jacket length, it's good practice to have at least a finger’s width of sleeve cuff visible ahead of the jacket sleeve when hanging at rest. also looks like there’s french cuffs on everyone, which is also great.

minhyuk in his slutty lowneck shirt....thank you. in addition to the zoot suit revival i would also like a revival of those ultra low necklines on mens’ shirts from like 2010-2011. i don’t think those are the same boots from the backdoor stage but those are some beautifully cut boots. i also loved the little details of his crewmember look, especially the chunky watch and the string bracelets; those are super realistic, i know so many crew with them and i had several for many years. and who doesn’t love a visible button fly?

none of any of the other costumes are period in any way shape or form but i’m forgiving it because there’s several layers of meta in this stage, and they explicitly based it on la la land, even though we don’t respect la la land in this house. do i wish they had gone more strictly period with at least the jazz club ‘actors’ a little more? absolutely, but i'm not mad about it.

set

again we’ve got a good delineation of the two different ‘stages,’ there’s the club itself in the smaller stage and the soundstage set in the larger space. you can pretty clearly see all the ‘pieces’ of the set on the soundstage, especially the obvious set painting techniques on false prosc frame and the window facade from that first little scene. also the you can see the castors (wheels) on all the setpieces too, which is another nice little versimilitudinous** (triple word score!) touch, as old hollywood movies were made still using theatre stagecraft techniques.

i love how the visual shorthand for ‘this is a set wink wonk’ is just...leaving a ladder on stage. i see it all the time and it's so funny. it doesn’t always make sense because as soon as there’s actors on set the ladders are the first thing cleared because actors cannot be trusted, but yes there are always ladders, so. also psa ladder safety is no joke, please be careful on ladders.

nice streamline of the mnet deco into the club. i’m consistently surprised at how well the designers have been able to mask it or use it to their advantage, because in the normal kingdom stage lighting it is SO obvious and stylistic that it always sticks out.

i'm going to ignore the fact that they implied changsub and miyeon were drinking wine out of martini glasses.

lighting

no complaints, it does its job. everything is visible and super clear. love that the ‘scene’ changes are made through the lighting, it's a really simple and effective device to change atmosphere. purple/blue/amber are the most flattering colours on human skin and that’s why you see it so commonly in stage lighting. also blue/lavendar is the best way to show nighttime/moonlight.

really nice and subtle projection work, especially with the billboard bit and the blue moon sign in the club. despite being obviously meta/’world breaking’ it’s actually very seamless and fits well into the flow of the stage.

sound

i love love love the big band feel in the intro, combined with the piano lead. very duke ellington, as all things should be.

no complaints. i love big band. i love eunkwang’s voice. i have nothing else to say.

staging

i LOVE this movie within a movie within a performance meta nonsense! it's such a fun concept and it is exactly what i wanted ikon’s first round stage to be! i also love to see btob consistently coming up with concepts that are inventive and fun and allow them to showcase their technical performance skills without the aerobics the younger groups are putting themselves through. it provides a really lovely variety and it just goes to show that you can make impressive, dramatic stages without having to be serious or ‘dark.’

i do wish they had leaned into the band director/lead singer with eunkwang a bit more; this could have been a really excellent place for a tap number a la the nicholas brothers or an homage to cab calloway. i know i know this was meant to be la la land themed but la la land is a cheap and whitewashed version of jazz and look me right in the eyes and tell me this isn’t the greatest tap routine of all time. i know i’ve typed this out somewhere before but la la land is just a conglomeration of old hollywood tropes and so stylistically cheap that this would have such a better visual core if they had actually looked back at the real old hollywood musicals like stormy weather. even singing in the rain and an american in paris have such phenomenal visuals and are really beautiful examples of the scope you can pull off with a limited technical capacity and sticking to these old techniques.

now that i'm thinking about it, oh my GOD i would DIE for a lindy hop routine in kpop PLEASE. i know it would never happen because kpop doesn’t like partner dancing and not a single kpop boy has the chops but oh you think fourth gen has too many acrobatics?

this got off track but i think you see my point.

---

ateez

costume

these are really sharply cut suits. and the detail work on the beading??? so beautiful. i'm disappointed that they gave me a rock opera stage without the true ridiculousness of rock opera costuming, because they could have pushed this a lot farther if they really wanted. a tragic lack of gay little outfits, seonghwa’s lace choker is just not enough! two favourite suits: hongjoong’s and yunho’s.

that being said i do actually really like these. this stage is actually very modern opera with a kpop twist and i'm a little surprised by that? i continue to be impressed by the ateez team who are clearly doing their research.

i'm absolutely not going back through their stages to check all the choreography but i wonder if you can track all the ‘wound’ placements to places they’ve been ‘hit.’ i wouldn’t put it past them to have put that thought in but also i’m not expecting that much either.

who is this white grim reaper bdsm executioner chain arm man. where did he come from. i have no idea and i love it.

why is honjoong blindfolded. it was such a fast beat, if youre gonna blindfold someone give it a little longer and some more obvious narrative weight!

seonghwa does that quickchange, runs across that massive stage to the smaller set, and gets into places in like 45 seconds. it's not the hardest quickchange in the world but still, under a minute is fast for any quickchange, especially when there’s travel time involved. i think the fastest, most complex quickchange i ever did was in university which was a 50s cocktail dress into a flannel and culottes with a shoe, hair, and jewelry change in 35 seconds. and that took three dressers. quickchanges are always impressive. the added bonus of this review being later is that i can specifically reference that you can see him book it the fuck off stage in the full cam!

cute moment with the backup dancers dressed in costumes from the previous stages. i'm assuming this is a time travel reference? i'll get more into my thoughts on this in the staging section. regardless, love to see that iconic seonghwa moment again.

set

this is such a restricted space! they really pared down their dancing space with those staircases and ....arms? honestly i have NO clue what these are supposed to be. the only thing i can maybe think of is flying buttresses??? but why?? i mean, i'm 90% sure theyre just there for drama and i agree but i do still have questions.

there’s a lot of moving parts in this set? the buttresses, and the upstage centre staircase. i don’t think the staircase is totally automated because i spotted some dancers securing it in place, but it’s still a moving part. i do really like that we get that expanding upwards energy, because it's really tough to get functional level movement in this kind of a performance, mostly because of its length and because it moves so quickly. so seeing the downward vertical movement and then the upward movement was actually a really nice visual contrast that made use of how tall those fucking ceilings are, and the fact that they had less horizontal space. in sort of similar way to sf9’s jealousy stage, using long, narrow vertical lines really makes it feel like a castle space. the interiors of castles, especially the really old ones, are a lot smaller than you think they would be.

i’ve actually seen that type of small house/tent/thing several times in various types of performances before, but i think this is the first time i’ve seen it used as a time travel device (other than in the say my name mv). aesthetically it's a bit incongruent but i dont really mind because i'm used to watching rock operas that look a lot weirder than this.

lighting

there is so much happening. i have NO clue what the projections are doing. i dont hate it though, so that’s a plus? there’s a clear-ish colour arc even if it does get a bit funky in the middle, which is why the projections dont feel as insanely distracting as some of the other stages we’ve seen.

the climax is a perfect example of how to light a busy stage with primarily red but still maintain clarity on the performers. a little bit of red goes a long way; the spark stage from last week would have looked so much better if they had done what the ateez designers did here.

sound

i know it's only ode to joy, but answer already gets my motor running and then i get so gassed by the guitars and then by the time those vocals come in i'm inconsolable. i don’t know why i wasn’t expecting a rock opera stage but i'm so glad i got that surprise because i genuinely love rock operas so much. it's two of the most dramatic genres in music, what more could you possibly want?

staging

the choreo for answer is so goofy that I'm kinda glad this was mostly terrible mnet boom shots. i love it, but you can't deny that it's goofy. i spotted a couple of moves from their other choreos as well?

choreographing dance fights is just as difficult as choreographing real fights and i think they did a fairly good job here. i think it was a solid mix of dance and conflict that erred on the side of dramatic rather than accurate and i prefer that over trying to be ‘realistic.’ i’ve only ever seen one truly realistic fight scene on stage and that was for a deeply naturalist play (boring and a waste of the medium), but the best fight scene i’ve ever seen was in the prague national ballet’s adaptation of kafka’s the trial where three ballet dancers beat the absolute snot out of the main character with the most beautiful leg extensions. that whole show was probably one of the best pieces of dance i’ve ever seen, holy fuck it was so good.

despite how insane the music and the visuals were going, i actually really liked how sedate this was, on the part of ateez’s performance. there was a really sophisticated and resigned energy from them that is very different from what we’ve previously seen and i think that was a pretty admirable risk to take. reaching the top and then throwing away the crown? especially in a competition where every other stage has involved stealing crowns or royalty and there’s a group competing that got here through that very concept? that shows a real maturity, peace of mind, and foresight that i did not at all expect from a bunch of 22 year olds.

here we come to a very interesting comparison. both ateez and tbz are very heavily leaning on previously established group lore. we all know my thoughts on why it isn’t working for tbz, but here’s why i think it is working for ateez: it's because it doesn’t matter to the audience’s understanding of the stage. i had absolutely no fucking clue what was going on the first time i watched this, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the music and all the weird shit they were doing. i totally believed that they understood what was going on. there’s a loose enough established conflict right at the beginning that draws us in, and really it doesn’t matter who they're fighting because they win in the end. the key here is that they’re so earnest. they believe 100% in every move they make on that stage. there’s no winks to camera, there’s not a drop of irony. they really deeply care about the ridiculousness of it all and that’s what makes it work. i sure as fuck dont know what’s going on, but i can see that they do, and i trust that. this is what i meant when i talked about convincing the audience you belong on stage in my stage presence post. i’ve never once believed that juyeon was anything other than an idol. he’s talented and very beautiful and he may occasionally stand on that stage like he owns it but it's always as juyeon. as an idol. but when hongjoong flaps around in that gigantic fur coat i 100% believe he’s a pirate captain. I believe he’s a punk rebel leader. i believe him a resigned king. there’s always a level of irony you have to fight as a performer because we all start from a place of disbelief. acting is not just lying to the audience, it's lying to yourself too. and if you succeed in convincing yourself? well, you’re already halfway to convincing us.

i checked it out because i wanted to see if they did the blindfold how i expected them to and was genuinely surprised by hongjoong’s fancam. the boy is EMOTING even when he knew the camera wasn’t on him; that’s a real dedication to craft.

ok i'm finished talking about this stage, this is over two pages in my document, there’s so many things i have not covered here but that’s fine, i'm quite sure any further thoughts will end up out there at some point.

---

sf9

costume

let’s get it out of the way......crop top. crop top? crop top. crop top.

ok, besides the crop top, i think i might actually like the backup dancer outfits more...? i find mannequin adjacent looks really fascinating and i thought there was a lot more they could have done here in connecting the two thematically. i actually think a change of costume on the boys would have been very interesting, especially because there was a lot of inference and direct reference to changes of colour.

ALL the backup dancers are wearing the same wig and i LOVE that.

special mention zuho’s.....jacket? the right idea but it absolutely should have been one of those extreme french cut bodysuits, you COWARDS. don’t come at me with this ‘male version of venus’ if you don’t have your whole torso out! come on!

set

not sure if this is meant to be a department store, a factory, or a white cube gallery. honestly you could make the case that they’re all the same place anyways. more on this later.

i loved the movator and wish they had used it more! that sequence was so good and they could have done some more interesting repetition sequences to further highlight the ‘sameness’/the breaking of that sameness.

i feel like the set could have been used more as a whole? i would have loved to see some mannequin interactions with those boxes, because all they did was dump colour everywhere.

....why did they feel the need to include the rain bit? i know it's likely because it's in the mv and at the 2018 dream concert taemin does perform move in the rain, but with the standing still and the box walls with the words it just looks like a department store ad. which i...dont think is what they were intending?

lighting

nothing really to say here. it has a similar feel to the mayfly rap stage, which is fine because the lighting for that was good. i could tell what was going on all the time and that’s the most important part. notable standouts are the lips sequence, that's fun use of pop iconography and very effective, and the scanning lasers at the beginning.

the repeating sequence in the edm dance break is actually done pretty simply, it's just what happens when you point a camera that’s livestreaming to a monitor directly at that monitor. it's a very cool effect and it was neat to see it used intentionally, especially with the handheld leds.

actually i also really liked the lightbox tables, those were cool.

sound

the remix was fine for the most part, it was about what i expected it to sound like. i did however greatly dislike that unnecessary edm break in the middle. what was the point of that? it didn’t add anything to the overall sound or arc of the stage because it was SO out of place. there was no connective tissue around it.

oh i was also not a fan of the effect on zuho’s mic. no one else had a discernible vocal effect so it felt a little out of place. also for some reason his cadence and tone right at the end made me think of some of the voices that bo burnam uses for his vocal masque sketches/songs, especially repeat stuff, weirdly? took me right the fuck out of it. i listened to it again after i slept and i’m still getting it, so maybe i’m just going insane so best ignore this part.

staging

loved the mannequin tree, not a clue why it was there.

do actually think this is a successful cover because it does what i was hoping it would, which is take move completely out of the taemin context and put it into an entirely new one. however, i’m really struggling to figure out what exactly that new context is? and what theyre trying to say with it?

obviously they went for a ‘show your own colours/individuality’ vibe, like i said in the set section, where exactly is this supposed to be? from the start i get factory/mechanized environment, which is fine and grand because mannequins and making repetitive motions and products and all that, makes sense. but then there’s stacked shelving type units happening and curtains and that combined with the mannequins give me pretty big department store vibes, which is also fine, because that’s still a comment on commercialization and the mass production of product. but then we get to the movator and the repetitive movements of the dancers say pretty clearly factory, but the lighting and projections are very pop art referential, plus combining that with the white set, just makes me think of an art gallery. so now is this a comment on the commercialization and commidification of contemporary art? are they making a statement about being ‘real’ artists among the others who have lost the critical understanding of why pop art was even a thing in the first place? and then the rain bit at the end literally looks like a department store ad, so are they then making another statement that they still are that packaged product? maybe the episode has more clarity in it but i’m genuinely a bit baffled by what the underlying statement is here.

i suspect it is not as deep as i'm making it, but i did say that i was likely to be hyper critical of this stage AND i am a grad student, so here we are.

---

tbz

costume

ok of all the ‘fourth gen’ style costumes we’ve seen, i actually like these ones more than most. i'm not entirely clear on the theme but i'm assuming it's meant to be post apocalyptic, and i'll take that.

backup dancers in black!!! we’re beyond this!!!

this will be a running theme with this stage, but i’m disappointed these don’t have more depth.

set

compared to every other stage, the set here seems especially plain. there’s so little set dec that it's disappointing. i do like the movement of the pieces themselves combined with the blocking; that first slide underneath the arches was slick and i would have liked to have seen more of that.

yea ok the big snake was cool and also a fairly complex build, but the transitions around it were a bit awkward for my tastes. especially the turn around, why did they even show that at all? you have control over what the audience sees, you can totally not show scenic transitions. skz were super smart about hiding theirs in last week’s episode.

also if you have a bigass puppet like that, i wanna see some more movement from it! it doesn’t have to be complex, we literally just saw a kraken balloon arm wave around aimlessly, but at least there was movement! that snake had a long ass body, why didn’t they at least take a pseudo dragon dance movement with it, that would have been such fun to watch with the iridescent scales. there was a lot of opportunity here!

lighting

i don’t hate it but also.... not a lot to say about it on the whole.

there were two really smart ideas here, the first being the front projection section, which i was SO glad to see! i explained in a previous review, but the projections in kingdom are not actually projections per se, because they’re actually massive led screens. there are two common types of projections in performance, rear projection and front projection. rear projection is when the projector is behind the screen, and front projection is ‘normal’ projection. rear projection can produce a crisper image because you have full control of the light values, because the projector is in a separate room from the performance space. but the downsides are that the projector has to be in a separate room from the performance space. so if you’re short on real estate, it's not ideal. front projection is much more common, because the tech is a lot cheaper and easier to access, especially now, and it requires less real estate because you can ceiling mount about the audience (you can move a projector wherever, this is just the most common spot in commercial theatres). but! in order to get an actually crisp image, you have to be really careful with your light bounce. it’s exactly the same principle as how you kinda can't see a projected screen when you have all the lights turned on, but when you turn them off it's a lot clearer. front projection works best in pitch dark, so when you use it in a theatre you gotta be smart about it. i use front projection a lot in my personal art practice as a singular light source, and that’s what tbz did here in that traveling/snake intro sequence. it’s a really fun technique that they used as a good gimmick because it’s not something we’ve seen before, and you get some great shadow effects because the projector is throwing light directionally at the performers (they have it set up close to the floor, it’s probably on a wheeled cart of some kind). however i did not like the snake intro. a bit too cheesy and out of place, especially because the asset quality didn’t match the rest of landscapes that we have been seeing.

the second smart idea, which is partially also a set and blocking thing but whatever, was that final image of the eclipse within the circle architecture with all the members standing in front of it. it was a great shot and a great ending pose, but it felt like a concept photo. like someone had that image as the idea that they then built the stage around, instead of a narrative first and then imagery after.

sound

this remix had SO much promise! those first two minutes were SO GOOD. i love that dirty discordant strings bit, it's gross and right up my alley. but it really fell off in the back half and i'm sad about that.

staging

i'm sorry tbz but.....what did you actually do differently than exo here? with the exception of the continual game of thrones references? nothing here felt transcendentally different from the original monster. and especially coming RIGHT after sf9’s move, which did go beyond its original context. this feels more like an awards show stage cover than a stage at the level of the others we’ve seen just this episode.

again like with the skz stage, there’s no conflict here. no tension. yes they do a great job covering the dance but it just isn’t enough! this is obviously personal preference and i'm sure lots of people liked the fact that it was uncomplicated, but even just a hint of narrative tension could have pushed this into more engaging territory. and if they didn’t want to do that, i would have loved to see them make up for that with extra visual spectacle. this is the no limits round! ikon is putting a full jungle on stage and these are grey cubes!

i think this is a perfect example of what i talked about at the end of my tbz section in my episode four review; this is a good performance, there are good elements at play and good ideas at their genesis, but the core of the issue is that nothing about this is transformative. all of the ideas here are just exaggerations of the original song. fuck, the snake was even IN the mv! and they didn’t even include the best part which is the lip chains! ive said before and i'll say it again; being a good artist has two steps, the first is understanding the material and its context, and the second is elevating the material from that context and synthesizing something new. tbz are really good at the first step, but terrible at the second.

---

ranking

btob - the cleanest and the most fun of the round. everything i wanted.

sf9 - fun and a good cover, despite being conceptually baffling.

ateez - very extra dramatic nonsense with an unexpected dose of sincerity. and it’s rock opera, of course i love it.

skz - fun, with some good thematic devices but generally lacking in arc. also australian accents, that’s an automatic ding.

tbz - honestly the first two minutes of the remix and the costume are holding this above 6th. it just wasn’t fully formed.

ikon - aesthetically this is a great set design and although i do love the opening and closing moments, everything else scrapes me the wrong way. super personal preference here, i’m not expecting anyone else to agree with me.

i feel like my rankings were probably pretty easy to guess if you’ve been around reading the reviews for long enough. i do have very specific tastes after all. i know sf9 ranked first in the episode but i have no idea what the other slots are. i’ll find out when i watch the episode in a couple of days, but i think yea a first for sf9 is fair. i do think its mostly because it’s a taemin song and you have to do something horrendous in order to fuck up a taemin song, but there is a lot of thought and work that went into that stage.

ok i'm done now, sorry this was later than usual, but i was busier and there were four stages that i had to review. also technical difficulties because tumblr is a garbage platform and nothing works properly. comments/questions/opinions always welcome, i know i didn't expand on a couple of points that i could have so hopefully y'all have some thoughts too!

* the type of hat that ~society~ has told you is a fedora is actually a trilby. what peniel is wearing is a real fedora, i felt the need to correct this unjust hat malignment.

** meaning ‘the appearance of being true or real.’ you do sometimes hear it used by normal people, but it’s more commonly used as a descriptor in film and theatre. it’s also one of the five rules of neoclassical theatre, which are: versimilitude, purity of form, five act structure, decorum, and purpose. the most prominent playwrights from that era are moliere and racine if youre interested in what those look like in an actual text.

[illfoandillfie]

5 Simple Rules For A Successful Fake Relationship: Just Go With It

5 SIMPLE RULES MASTERLIST

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader

Summery: Ben's confession left you stunned but how will it effect your overseas trip to promote the movie? Especially when you have to share hotel rooms with him. And will you let him talk you into meeting the one other person who knows the whole truth of your situation?

Warnings: Same old same old, bit of angst, sexual references but nothing explicit (yet), mentions of smoking

Words: 8908

A/N: This chapter was originally going to have another bit at the end but, once again, I prove how bad I am at estimating word count lmao. Anyway, that just means an extra chapter.

Taglist:  @laedymoon  @dtfrogertaylor  @vee-ndetta @atomic-watermelon @kellypenac @labessieisallama @deakyclicks @jennyggggrrr @drowseoftaylor  @hannafuckingsucks  @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming @queenmylovely @supersonicfreddie @tenement-funstah @taron-egrotten​ @johndeaconshands @borhapbois 

@coni-martina​ @hardforbenhardy​ @cubedtriangle​ @vicouscirce​ @arianabrashierstuff​ @pattieboydwannabe​ @maggieroseevans​ @theprettyandthereckless​ 

It felt like hours before you could move though the clock on your phone insisted it was only minutes. Ben was right, you couldn’t leave. But you also weren’t sure you should stay. So you dithered on the spot. The notion of sneaking out the back, though people’s yards until you were clear of the paparazzi’s notice popped into your head, but it wasn’t really an option. For one thing your dress was not made for sneaking, not that you could have pulled it off even in a full cat-burglar costume. You took a step towards the doorway but there was nowhere for you to go so you moved back to the couch and sat, perched on the edge. Right where Ben had been moments before. The seat was still warm. You stood up again. Doing nothing was worse than trying to decide what to do, so you began pacing. One end of the room to the other, trying to clear your mind enough to come up with a plan but not enough to think about what Ben had said. You lost yourself in the rhythm of your movement, the soft pad of your bare feet on the wooden floor, the slide as you turned on the ball of your foot and then the steps again. “Y/N,” Ben’s voice startled you to a standstill, the sudden lack of footsteps louder than the pacing had been itself. You turned to face him slowly. He looked smaller than normal. There was a spot on his lip that had clearly been bleeding, torn as he worried it with his teeth. His brow was creased, his mouth turned down. Still in the same clothes, though they were ruffled, probably partly your fault. “Hi,” it was all you could think to say. “I heard you pacing.” “Sorry, I’ll keep the noise down.” “No, that’s not- it’s okay. I just thought, since we’re both clearly awake and since they,” he gestured vaguely towards the front door, “haven’t left yet, I thought you might like a cuppa.” “I didn’t think you drank tea,” “I don’t really, but you do.” You nodded and follow him toward the kitchen, though there was still the urge to run. Ben busied himself pulling out mugs and sugar and milk, boiling the kettle, as you took a seat at the counter. He didn’t say anything more until he was standing on the opposite side of the bench, your mugs between you. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.” “I get why you wouldn’t have wanted to. I wouldn’t have wanted to either.” “Yeah but still,” he took a breath and stared into his mug like there was some sort of answer hidden in it, “I know you’re thinking of leaving as soon as that lot have cleared out but please don’t. I promise I understand where you’re at and I’m not going to try and convince you or to chase you or anything like that. I really am trying not to feel this way.” He looked so worried and sad that before you could second guess yourself you reached across the bench and lay your hand over his, “It’s okay Ben, I know you wouldn’t. I just wasn’t expecting you to drop the L bomb.” “Please don’t hate me,” his voice was heartbreakingly soft and his eyes were pleading, shimmering with near tears, and if you hated anything it was that he could think such a thing. “I could never.” You knew exactly what you’d do, how you’d comfort him, if this was about anyone but you. But it was about you and you weren’t sure if it would be overstepping or making things worse to do it, “Can I hug you?” As soon as you saw him nod you were off your chair, around to his side of the bench, wrapping him up in your arms. His shoulders shook and you felt the damp of tears against your neck, but you didn’t mind, you just hugged him tighter.

You had to tell him to shut up after he’d let you go and immediately begun apologising for it. He smiled a small half-smile and nodded, letting out a slightly shaky breath. “We should get some sleep.” “Probably,” he sighed, “Does that mean you’re staying?” “If you don’t mind.” “Of course not,” Truthfully you felt too exhausted to think about going anywhere. You wished Ben goodnight and headed towards his spare room, that had really become your room, as he was filling a glass with water. With a start you remembered the flowers he’d given you and backtracked towards the front door to get them. They weren’t in great shape, slightly wilted, some stems bent more than they had been when they’d been given to you. All the same you picked them up, carried them back to the kitchen. Ben had gone but there was a tall glass jar on the drying rack that he must have been intending to recycle which made a fine enough vase. You carried them carefully back to your room and placed them on the bedside table before you changed and turned out the light.

The next morning neither of you brought up what happened. He was already awake and cleaning up after his breakfast when you got up and stumbled into the kitchen. You paused in the doorway, but he turned and gave you a single nod and asked if you wanted a coffee. There was an unspoken agreement to pretend that everything after you got out of the car at his place hadn’t happened. You were both tired and drained, but it was easier to write it off as a small hangover than admit to what had actually kept you up late. And, though there were a few slightly awkward moments, slip of the tongue phrases and hesitant touches that might have led somewhere if you let them, it wasn’t hard to fall back into your regular routines as if nothing had changed. The next month passed more or less incident free. You saw Ben as much as you ever had but it was never under the instruction of your agents, just spur of the moment trips to cafes or casual visits to each other’s places while neither of you was working. The tabloids were all over you anyway, there was no need to organise special dates or anything like that. You just made sure to let them see small intimacies that they could read as romantic – fond looks across tables, hands resting close enough to touch. Generally, away from the cameras, you maintained a respectful distance, the only acknowledgement of what had happened that night. Occasionally you allowed yourselves to get closer, a warm hug when Ben found out he’d got the part in the action movie he’d auditioned for, him brushing hair off your face as you sat in the sun reading. Whenever it happened you were left with a tightness in your chest and the overwhelming urge to kiss him again. It confused you, the way just thinking about him made your heart beat faster, how you couldn’t stop thinking about what it had been like straddling his lap with his hands squeezing you under your skirt. If you’d put your symptoms into google it would have turned up pages of information about crushes and compatibility, but that couldn’t be right. You couldn’t actually fancy Ben. Yes, okay, maybe there was some attraction there, but he was an attractive guy and you weren’t blind. You’d known he was handsome since you first saw him at the audition for Edith but that didn’t mean you wanted to jump his bones. It didn’t mean there was any substance to the thoughts. It had to be the job playing tricks on you. Afterall, it had been months since you started pretending to date him, months without so much as considering another person. Your brain was suggestable at the best of times – the nights you’d spent thinking about sleeping with Ben were testament enough – but now, with the knowledge that he was in love with you and having gone so long without anyone else’s affections, it was no surprise you were getting confused. And then there were the rules. Behaviours you’d ruled out. You’d broken about half of them just in the one night. You really only had Rules 5 and 1 still intact. No families, no sex. And humans were infamous for wanting what they couldn’t have. You couldn’t have sex so that’s why you kept thinking about fucking Ben. It wasn’t that you actually wanted to fuck him. It was just the situation, a combination of weird circumstances making you, for want of a better word, yearn for him. If only you could talk about it with someone. You were sure if you just talked though it with someone other than your own idiot brain you’d be able to prove it was situational, for sure. But Ben was the only one you wanted to talk to about it and he was absolutely off limits. It would just get his hopes up, make it harder for him to move on and eventually crush him when you turned out to be right. So you kept a polite distance. 

The most interesting thing to happen all month was an in-person meeting with Ben, Peter and Mary to discuss the plans for the promotional tour. If either of them sensed anything was amiss between you, they didn’t mention it. Instead they spent the meeting raving about the success of the story and outlining what was to happen next. “Obviously, you’ll need to share hotel rooms.” “Is that really necessary?” Ben asked, glancing over at you. “Well you have to admit it would look odd if you didn’t, but I understand the concerns.” Peter said, though he’d have no way of knowing the full reason for Ben’s reluctance “You don’t have to worry though. The suites you’ll be in will have a secondary roll out bed that stores under the main one or, if that isn’t comfortable enough, there’ll be a couch as well.” “You’ll also be doing all your interviews together, aside from a couple of phone interviews that will be one on one and a few larger ones with the rest of the cast. The others will be either paired off or in a group for their part of the promotions. Except Claudia, who has a conflict in her schedule that means she won’t be able to join you in the US.” “So, it’ll start here with appearances on a few breakfast TV shows and then a day spent meeting journalists from magazines, newspapers and some entertainment blogs. Then you’ll head out to New York. We’ll email your flight details through to you, but it’ll be an early flight, first class naturally. You’ll have the day you land to yourselves to get settled but it also gives us extra time in case of delays with the flight. After that it’s back to business. Day one is another junket with various American publications and websites. You’ll have to take a few photos but mostly it’ll just be the interviews. The next couple of days are the same but it’ll all be recorded to post online. There’ll be more specific interviews that are a bit spaced out but I’ll get to them in a minute. After you’re done in New York then you have another flight to LA where the process will be pretty much the same. So, specifics. You’re booked to do a few radio interviews in both cities, as well as some more online content.” Peter checked his notes, “The puppy and thirst tweet interviews with Buzzfeed, the autocorrect interview with Wired and also something with Vanity Fair,” “Career timelines. One from each of you, filmed on the same day.” “Thank you, Mary, anything else?” “Vanity Fair also want a sit down interview with the both of you for their website. Plus we’ve got you onto James Cordon and Jimmy Fallon so you’ll have to record those episodes. And then, once you’re back home there’ll be a few more interviews for youtube channels and the like, and GQ are lined up to talk with Ben. It could be a cover; we’re waiting on confirmation. And I think…that covers it,” she snapped her notebook shut. “What sort of questions are going to come up?” you were curious how much of your romance was going to be off limits to the interviewers. “We don’t know specifics but you’re likely to be asked things like how this role was different to others you’ve done, um, what the director was like,” “No, I get that. I more meant questions about us.” Mary thought for a moment before she spoke, “There will of course be some questions relating to your relationship but nothing that any other couple wouldn’t want asked. It’ll be kept to respectful, non-intrusive questions about how you met and working with each other. If any questions are raised that you don’t want to or can’t answer you can always say you’d rather not talk about it.” “You’ve got nothing to worry about. The thing is, if we let anyone ask anything that would be considered too personal, everyone is going to work out that this isn’t real. So it’s in our interests and the studio’s interests, as much as yours, to keep everything above board. Sound good?” “Brilliant, thanks.” “Any other questions?” “Will we have much time off?” Ben asked, “I’ve got a couple of people I wouldn’t mind stopping in to see, if I get the chance.” “Of course. There’ll be some off time between interviews later on in the week and you’ll have most nights free. We’d like for you to go on at least one sit down dinner date, just the usual sort of thing, you know the drill. But other than that you’re free to spend the time that you’re not doing publicity however you want.”

The breakfast shows suited Ben more than they did you. He’d always been an early riser. Though even he admitted having to be up by five in the morning more than once in the week was not what he’d have chosen. But they were a good way to ease into the press tour. They never lasted long, and the questions were always easy and always the same. It was an early indication of which questions you’d receive again and again, the ones you were bound to grow board of. “So, can you give us a quick rundown of what this movie’s about?” “Well we play Andy and Edith who have just gotten engaged and, at the party, decide that, since they’re so good at the whole relationship thing, they should play matchmaker with their friends.” “The only problem is the friends don’t necessarily want to play along and it causes some problems for us.” The plot rundown was always followed by a short introduction to your characters. Then there was always a question aimed at Ben about how different Andy was to previous rolls he’d played. And then a question for you about what attracted you to the role. If you were lucky you’d get a few about the process of filming but more often than not they seemed to be running out of time and skipped straight to the last questions which always revolved around what it had been like to work with each other and how your relationship transfer to real life. The first time you had to answer it was a little awkward. You stuttered over your words and Ben wasn’t much better, but you got through it and by the time you were asked again you had your answers sorted. As predicted, you were able to pull those same answers out during the first junket day. Occasionally you’d get something different. One of the entertainment magazines did a quickfire quiz with all their interviewees which made a nice change, though you were sure your slow answers were because your brain had turned to mush during all the other repetitive moments. By halfway through the day you and Ben had begun playing games to keep yourselves entertained. You’d make bets for small change over dumb things like what the next interviewer would be wearing or how many times you could use the word romantic in a single interview. A few photos were taken, some just you and Ben, leaning against each other or gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes, some with the other cast members which were fun. They broke up an otherwise fairly monotonous day. But it was only the beginning of what would turn out to be a rather long few weeks.

Felicity dropped you to the airport the morning of your flight, fussing over you as if you were moving to the other side of the world rather than visiting. She gave you a tight squeeze in the drop off zone wishing you luck and promising to collect your mail and water your few houseplants in your absence. “Tell that boyfriend of yours to look after you. If anything happens to you it’s his dick on the chopping block.” “You’ve not even met the poor bloke,” you laughed, “he wont have any idea why a mad woman is coming after him.” “Well that’s on you for not introducing me.” “Good thing you’ve got nothing to worry about then.” “I know. He loves you too much to let anything happen to you,” You had to force yourself to keep smiling at the reminder, still dealing with your mixed-up brain and confused desires. Eventually you managed to extract yourself from Felicity, promising you’d text her as soon as you landed. With a final hug you turned and headed inside. Ben was waiting for you a little inside the door, where you’d agreed to meet, both of you falling into your roles easily for the sake of whoever was watching and taking photos. It wasn’t until you were at security that you could drop hands and breathe freely again. Together you headed to your gate, stopping for coffee along the way, and met up with the rest of the cast, as well as the publicists who were organising the trip, which let you subtly put some space between you and Ben. It was fun, or at least as fun as sitting around an airport could be, and when your flight was called you all got up in an excited babble, making sure everyone had the correct bag and ticket. “Now, no funny business you two,” Alfie said pointing a warning finger at you and Ben, “save it for the hotel room.” You rolled your eyes and Ben laughed, both of you assuring him there’d be nothing of the sort. “Maybe just don’t use the bathroom after them,” Amber suggested with a wink. “I think the bigger worry,” you said, “is that Ben’ll try and squeeze in a sneaky smoke. I’ve never seen him go a full twelve hours without one.” “Bullshit! She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

Your seat was beside Ben’s in the middle of the cabin and gave you plenty of space to spread out and get comfortable. A wall wrapped almost completely around the two seats to give you some privacy which was nice though you were sure you’d have to endure a few more jokes about what mischief you might be getting up to. But that was a train of thought you definitely did not need to be on. Especially when you literally couldn’t get away from Ben. You shook your head and looked around, waving at a couple of the others as they were led to their own closed off seats, but the image of what might happen were you actually dating Ben stuck. A flight attendant came around offering glasses of champagne as well as pyjamas, slippers and an amenity bag. You gladly accepted the drink, hoping it would help you relax more. “You’re not a nervous flyer, are you?” Ben asked quietly. “What? Oh, no, definitely not. Just…excited to get going.” “Good. I’m not either but I do get a little tense with the landings. So if I like, seem off towards the end of the flight that’s probably why.” “Thanks for the heads up,” you laughed, “if it helps I’ll let you squeeze my hand.” You instantly regretted the offer, inwardly cringing, but Ben was gracious enough to pretend he hadn’t heard it. Instead he opened his amenity bag and began examining the contents, pulling out a tube of shaving gel and giving it a sniff. Thankfully, the rest of the flight went smoothly. Ben was the perfect buddy for such a long flight. Calm and prepared, a host of potential time killers packed into his carry-on luggage. Shortly after take-off, he offered you a controller from his Nintendo Switch so you could play a few rounds of Super Smash Bros. It caught the attention of the others and you ended up sharing the controllers round in a tournament style battle for victory. A little later he pulled out a magazine of puzzles, inviting you to help him solve crossword clues and crack codes, your heads together as you leaned over each page and bickered about how to spell the answers. But he was also equally happy not talking, letting you do your own thing while he did his. It made you glad he was okay with just being friends. You did love him, just not in the way he meant, no matter what Felicity and your stupid subconscious said, and if you’d had to miss out on everything that came with being his friend because of this one thing, it would have made the whole situation ten times more distressing. It was rough enough as it was. When it came time to sleep Ben raised the privacy screen between your beds. You knew it was for the best and you wouldn’t have argued about it, but you couldn’t help the pang you felt, like you were being shut out. There had been a time when he would have offered to cuddle, even if it was said jokingly. But of course he wouldn’t now. You wished he would though. The discomfort of an unfamiliar bed with all the odd sounds and smells of an airplane made it hard to settle completely, but you wondered whether being able to cuddle Ben as you drifted off wouldn’t have helped. He was warm and familiar, and you associated him with your home as much as his. Perhaps that’s the sort of comfort you needed.

You landed around eight in the morning and were greeted by a couple of drivers which took you straight to the hotel. The excitement came back as you all compared suites, trying to work out who’d got the best one. Yours and Ben’s was the biggest, but only because there were two of you, and it ended up being designated the official party room. Not that you had the opportunity to party much. The first day was mostly spent unpacking and fighting the urge to go to sleep way too early. You and Ben took a walk, hand in hand just in case, to explore the area, making note of nearby bars and restaurants. You’d half been expecting to be swamped since the US was notorious for having particularly intrusive paparazzi but there ended up only being a couple following you, no more than you’d been dealing with back home. Ben made a joke about EastEnders not cracking the American market, but whatever the reason it wasn’t unwelcome. The others joined you, all yawning, for a dinner provided by room service and a quiet drink to toast the trip and the movie that had brought you all together. When they’d all cleared out, headed gratefully to their own beds, you and Ben flipped a coin for who’d get the bed on the first night with Ben winning out. It wasn’t too bad, the roll out bed. Not as soft as the main bed but with how exhausted you felt you didn’t really notice. After that it was down to business. The first few days were all pretty much the same. Wake up, earlier than you’d have liked, always beaten by Ben. Shower, get dressed, head downstairs to grab a coffee and watch Ben eat breakfast, listen to him offer you a bite of his toast and remind you of the importance of the meal, and then back up to your rooms were a black screen and a large print out of the movie poster had been set up behind some chairs. The games you’d began playing with Ben during the first lot of interviews in London continued because it was a quick and easy way to not lose your minds when you had to answer what drew you to the romantic comedy genre? for the hundredth time. A lot of the interviews blurred together but there were a few more memorable moments. One overenthusiastic woman entered the room and immediately began flirting with Ben. He smiled politely and shook her hand but you could see how uncomfortable he was and swung in to rescue him, introducing yourself to her. He whispered a quick thank you as you took your seats but she wasn’t completely distracted. “This movie. I’ve gotta say it has everything – I laughed, I teared up, the shirtless scenes,” she fanned her face and laughed, “Y/N, what’s it like working with this man. I mean, he’s gorgeous for a start.” You felt Ben tense up a little beside you but lay your hand on his reassuringly as you leaned forward and let out a giggle, “Obviously I agree. I wouldn’t have let him take me out on our first date if I didn’t. Plus he’s a total sweetheart, always knew how to keep moral up when we were shooting late and, professionally speaking, he’s one of the best people I’ve ever worked with. He always had really interesting ways to explore the characters and just made sure we had fun on set. Honestly, I can’t imagine having done this movie with anyone else.” “And I think you’re forgetting how gorgeous Y/N is,” Ben said, catching on, “I tell you, this woman looks stunning the second she gets out of bed. And she kept me on my toes for the whole shoot. She gives everything she does 110% and I think you’d have to agree that it shows in the final product.” “Aww, thanks babe,” “You’re welcome, cuddle bunny.” After the woman had left you bust out laughing about how uninformed she’d been about your relationship considering the look on her face. It helped you ignore how warm you suddenly felt. But she was the only uninformed one. Everyone else who came in had at least one question about what it was like to date the person you acted with. Did it make acting as a couple easier? (“A lot of the time, yeah. Although those scenes where we were fighting were a bit tough. I hate seeing her upset.”) Not to spoil anything but there’s one seen where Ben’s character Andy hooks up with someone else, was that hard to watch? (“I mean, we’re actors. We’ve both been doing this for a while and y’know sometimes you have to kiss someone at work. It’s kinda odd but it’s also pretty normal for us and we both understand how it works.”) Normally we end our interviews with a silly question about who your celebrity crushes are… (“I think you could probably work our answers out,”). Thankfully because there were so many to get through they moved quite quickly. You’d be out for lunch before you knew it and then it’d be time for a few more, often with the larger group or sometimes on your own. After the last journalist had left you’d go out for dinner with everyone else and maybe follow it with a drink at a nearby bar if you weren’t too worn out, and then I was back to your rooms to relax and sleep until your alarm woke you the next day to repeat it all over again.

It was a relief when the junkets ended, and you got to break the monotony of it all to record some slightly more interesting interviews. Ben was very little help during the Buzzfeed puppy interview – way too distracted by the balls of fluff climbing over his lap and attempting to lick his face to form a coherent answer to any of the questions. It was a cute sight though, the way his eyes lit up as soon as he met the dogs and how much he was laughing as he rolled on the ground with them. You were on the verge of suggesting you should get a dog when you remembered you weren’t actually living together, trying to clear the image of you and Ben snuggled up on a couch with a napping puppy across his lap. It was a little disconcerting how easily the fantasy had appeared, and it left you feeling out of sorts. If you’d hoped the next segment they had you record would distract you, you were quickly proven wrong. The thirst tweets were fun to read, mostly because you enjoyed making Ben blush so fiercely in payback for not answering anything during the puppy interview, but they could hardly be called a distraction. If anything, they just made you think about what else you could get up to, without the puppy. “Ben’s lips look like they were made to kiss…and not just on the mouth. Oh, um, well he is a very good kisser. Very very good. And, that’s all I’m gonna say.” You gave the camera a sly wink, already able to imagine how happy your agents would be and hoping Ben wouldn’t hold it against you. You glanced at him to check and found him covering the flush on his cheeks with his palms. He dropped his hands and looked straight at the camera, “God I hope my mum’s not watching. Sorry mum.” When you go back to the hotel you wished you had a separate room. The Buzzfeed videos, though short, took most of the day. You had to wait while the puppies were wrangled together and taken away, and then there were all the pauses to set up cameras and check mics were working. Plus you ended up filming a Q&A video about the movie as well. But not once did you stop thinking about Ben and what it might be like to actually date him. By the time you got back to the hotel all you wanted was to be alone for a little to try and sort out what you were feeling and maybe get yourself off. But it wasn’t to be. The others returned shortly after you did and bounced into your room to hang out. You had a few minutes after they went off to freshen up before dinner and Ben jumped in the shower but it wasn’t enough time and it took all of your energy to not think about joining him.

The next day was quieter with just two interviews booked, both with radio stations. You got to sleep a little longer and had a long break between commitments. Ben suggested you use the time to go on the “date” your agents wanted. You posted to your Instagram stories to make it look more legitimate, a selfie of you both on the street and then a shot of your drinks with Ben visible in the background “So I’m going to visit Joe tonight,” Ben said, glancing at you over his plate. “That’ll be good. How long since you last saw him?” “In person? Uhh, seven months I think, maybe a bit longer. But, um, you’re invited if you want.” “Me? Why?” Ben shrugged, “He wants to meet you.” “This is the same Joe that’s been leaving comments on your photos of us as if he’s jealous?” “That’s the one,” Ben chuckled. “The same Joe I heard you talking to?” “Mmhmm,” “And he was the one who suggested I come?” “Yeah.” The idea made you feel a little apprehensive, “Should I be worried?” Ben smiled to himself, “Do you want to come or not?” “Well I don’t want to intrude.” “You wouldn’t be, I swear. We’d just be having a quiet night at his anyway. He’s gonna make dinner or we’ll order something in and we’ll probably have a drink or two but like nothing outrageous. And it’s not a catch up visit because we talk all the time and he already knows everything I’m up to. It’s just a hang out, and probably the first of a few while I’m over here.” “You’re sure I wouldn’t be stepping on any toes?” “Positive. It was his idea so it’s not like you’ll be crashing.” That wasn’t hugely reassuring, but you said yes anyway, kind of curious yourself as to what he might have to say to you. Maybe he’d have something comforting to say about the whole situation with Ben.

That evening’s plans were on your mind for the rest of the day, though you shoved it aside to get through the final radio interview. Thankfully, the two hosts were funny and asked some questions that you hadn’t answered a thousand times already. “So, we’ve heard actors like to keep props from movies they work on as, like, souvenirs. Did either of you get to keep anything from The Perfect Match?” “I did,” you said, “Um, I kept Edith’s engagement ring.” “Really? You never told me that,” Ben said, clearly surprised. “Well I…shit I might be dropping myself in it here. I kinda didn’t tell anyone I took it,” Ben let out a bark of laughter. “It wasn’t a real engagement ring,” you hastened to add for the benefit of the audience, “just plastic but I got so used to wearing it and I wore it home on the last day of filming without thinking and I just…never took it back. If any of the crew are listening and have been wondering where it went, I’m sorry.” Ben was still laughing, “I can’t believe you stole the ring.” “What did you take then?” “Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head, “I’m not a thief like you apparently. And I didn’t think to ask for anything.” “Well, what would you have taken if you could?” one of the hosts asked. Ben thought for a moment, “Is it inappropriate for me to say the body pillow?” It was your turn to burst into laughter, “depends which version.” “Sorry, body pillow?” Both of the hosts looked at each other excitedly and then back to Ben. “Uhh, okay, so, no spoilers but there’s this one scene,” Ben started, “Andy’s a bit down because Edith isn’t there so his friends try to cheer him up by ordering a body pillow with Edith’s image on it.” “Yeah, but there were two versions made. The one that’s in the movie and one that was deemed, umm, a little too racy for the rating we wanted.” You could feel your face getting hot but it was partly the struggle not to laugh too much as you turned back to Ben, “So, which would you have asked for?” Ben shrugged, “Doesn’t really matter since I got the real thing.” The interviewers laughed at that, “Very smooth Mr Hardy,” “Clever answer.” You laughed and let them move you onto other questions but the thought stuck with you. Had he meant it? Or was it all for show?

Afterwards you returned to the hotel to kill time before you had to be at Joe’s place. Your mind was still racing with thoughts of what had happened during the radio interview and what might happen that night. Thoughts that were not helped by how worked up you were after days of pent up frustration.   “Did you really take the engagement ring?” Ben asked, knocking you out of your reverie as he sat beside you on the couch. “Yeah, it’s sitting in my jewellery box at home. “Huh,” “What?” “Nothing, just uh, kind of funny that I drew it on your mug and you stole the real thing.” “Yeah, I hadn’t thought of that but yeah, it is a bit funny.” “That thing about the body pillow was a joke, by the way. I wouldn’t have actually asked for it,” “I figured. But um,” He was sitting so close his thigh was pressed up against you, “Yeah?” You shouldn’t say it. It was just because you were horny and he was available and into you and you really shouldn’t say it, “Well, maybe I wouldn’t mind so much if you’d kept it.” You licked your lips, noticing the way his eyes focused on the movement and didn’t shift away. “You wouldn’t?” “Maybe.” “Maybe it wasn’t so much a joke,” He was so close you could feel his breath on your face, and you had the desire to lean in and close the distance. You were half a second away from doing just that when Ben shook his head. “Fuck.” He leaned back, paused for a second, and then stood up, “We’ve gotta get ready to go to Joe’s.”

When you arrived at Joe’s place he greeted you wearing an old, navy blue apron over a t-shirt and jeans. “Benny boy!” he half yelled, throwing himself at the laughing blonde. “Hey Joe, this is, alright get off me, Jesus. This is Y/N,” “Hi, Y/N,” he said, still grinning as he held out his hand, “Lovely to finally meet you.” “Likewise,” you said with a smile, noting the way he glanced at Ben. He led you into the house saying something about checking the dinner and told you to make yourselves comfortable. Ben had no problem with that, heading straight for the fridge and grabbing out three bottles of beer. “Y’know you’re mean to eat this pasta with red wine, you uncultured swine,” but Joe accepted his bottle anyway. You took the one Ben offered you, mostly just to give you something to keep your hands busy as you took in the pale walls and clutter covering the benchtop – a mix of vegetable scraps and used dishes. Joe was instantly likeable, putting to rest any worries you’d had about meeting the one person in the world who knew the whole truth of your situation. You’d assumed Ben would have called him after you’d made out, and by the way he kept a close eye on your interactions with Ben you guessed you were right. But that wasn’t too hard to block out and you supposed he had good reason. He asked you questions over dinner, about yourself and your family and your work. And he made plenty of jokes, most of them at his or Ben’s expense. It was clear they’d known each other for a while, just based on how they acted when they were together and you could see why Ben would have confided in him. All around it was a very nice evening. Or it was for the most part.

After dinner, while you were working on a bottle of wine Joe had insisted on opening, Ben excused himself to have a smoke, leaving just you and Joe at the table. As soon as Joe heard the door shut behind Ben he leaned in, more serious than you’d seen him all night. “Don’t hurt him.” “I’m sorry, what?” you asked, not sure you’d heard right. “Ben’s told me everything. I know how he feels about you, I know you overheard him when he was talking to me, I know about the fight and what happened after the makeup date. I know everything. And I am begging you not to hurt him.” “I’m not going to.” He sighed, tilting his wineglass slightly, playing with the stem, “I’ve known Ben for a few years now. I’ve seen him crushing on someone, I’ve seen him drunkenly flirt with people, I’ve watched him ask someone out and then move on when they said no. I have never seen him this hung up on someone.” You went to speak but before you could Joe held up a hand and continued. “He’s not going to let on but he is white knuckling it at the moment. He’s been attracted to you since you first met, I have the texts to prove it. The day your situation was proposed he called me, as soon as he’d got home from work. He told me all about it, asked if I’d ever been offered something similar or if I knew someone who had. I didn’t believe him at first but he insisted it was real and asked what I thought. Of course, I told him it was a bad idea if he had any sort of a crush on you. The next day he sent me a message that just said I fucked up. I think he’d originally planned to ask you out at the end of the shoot but then he volunteered to torture himself instead.” “That’s not my fault,” “I’m not saying it is. I’m just trying to help you understand where he’s at because I know he won’t have told you. He’s pretending he’s getting over you, that he’s moved on from whatever weird little hiccup he had. But it’s not true.” Joe paused, turned towards the door, but when he heard nothing he kept talking, “I’ve been watching him all night. The way he talks to you, the way he looks at you. He’s still in love you and this press trip is killing him. Do you like him?” “If you’ve heard everything then you already know,” you said, ignoring the way your insides squirmed. “I’d like to hear it from you,” “No. I don’t like him. Not in that way.” Joe watched you intently, frowning, “Are you sure?” “Yes,” you said, hoping it sounded more certain than you felt. Joe sighed again, “If that’s true then you’ll understand why I wanted to have this conversation. Please don’t toy with him.” Your mind jumped straight to that afternoon when you’d nearly kissed him again and you felt guilty, “It might come as a surprise to you but I do actually care about Ben and I really am trying not to overstep or make this harder for him. And it’s not so easy on my side of it either” “I know, I can see that. All I’m saying is to be careful. For his sake.”

You were still thinking about the conversation as you lay in bed that night. What exactly had Joe seen in the way you and Ben interacted that made him determined to say something? Why, when you said you weren’t into Ben, had he said if that’s true, like you were intentionally lying about your own feelings? And god the butterflies you’d felt at the suggestion he might have asked you out. What the fuck was that about? Was it because you liked the idea or hated it? Or was it some in between thing where you really hated it but practically living with Ben had clouded your judgement until you thought maybe it’d be okay? You suddenly felt desperate for the trip to be over. At least that way you’d be able to get some personal space back, be able to think without Ben there on the other side of the room all the time. With a sigh you rolled over to face the wall and tried to sleep so you’d be ready for another day of press. The next week and a half was full of interviews with online content creators and radio stations you’d never heard of before. But at least they weren’t as monotonous as the earlier interviews had been. Ben visited Joe again a few times which you were grateful for since it meant he was out of your hair for a while, but you rarely got the time to yourself, the others usually setting up camp in front of the TV in your suite. Then it was time to pack up and fly to LA to start the whole process again. Another two days of junkets and then more spaced out press. You did the autocorrect interview together, took a quiz about romcom quotes on James Cordon’s show and ranked your favourite romcoms on the radio. And then it was back to London to finish the publicity. Straight from the airport to a hotel, already set up and waiting so you could meet with some entertainment vloggers who had missed out at the beginning of the tour. You sighed when you realised it was going to be another day of the same old questions and bet Ben that you’d have to repeat the story about almost breaking your leg during the engagement party ten times. He took you up on it but only because he thought it’d be closer to twenty. Ben called in a room service order for coffee and you both crossed your fingers and hoped you’d make it through before the jetlag really kicked in. “God you’re lucky you’re done,” Ben said once the last interviewer had left, “I’ve still got fucking GQ tomorrow.” His voice turned into a whine, “All I wanna do is sleep,” You had to laugh as he pouted, “Poor Benny,” “Yes, poor Benny. I’m so ready to just sleep in my own bed and have a long, hot shower in my own bathroom.” “And a wank without being interrupted,” if you’d been less worn out you would have stopped yourself from saying it. “All this time I’ve known you and I’ve still not managed to pull your mind from the gutter,” Ben tutted, clearly equally as exhausted since he didn’t even flinch at the suggestion. “If anything I’ve pulled you down with me.” “You’re a horrible influence,” You both fell into laughter, further proof you needed some rest, but it felt good too. You only stopped when one of the publicists came over to let you know you were free to go. “Alright, cuddle bunny, I’ll see you later, yeah?” Ben pulled you into a hug. “Let me know how GQ goes. I’m gonna get Thai for dinner tomorrow night so if you wanna come chill at mine, that’s totally cool.” “Thai sounds really nice,” “You don’t have to,” you suddenly realised what you’d offered, “we were just talking about wanting time alone so whatever,” “Hanging out with you wasn’t the problem, it was how busy we were. But if we’re just eating takeout and watching Netflix then I’m there.” “I’ll make sure to get the large pad Thai then,” “I’ll bring the diet coke.”

The trip had given the tabloids a lot to work with. You hadn’t kept up to date with it all while you’d been away because you’d been promoting the movie but, once you got back home, you found yourself checking on them more regularly, filling in the spare time by scrolling through twitter or Instagram. There were photos of you at the airport, photos from the streets of LA, gifs and screencaps from interviews you’d done, posted by fans yelling about how cute you were together. The way Ben had described you to the flirty reporter was reposted over and over with pleading face and heart eyes emojis and comments about finding a man like that. Miniscule looks you’d shared without noticing were slowed down in gif form and posted as proof of how in love you were, how wrong anyone who suggested you might be fake were. By far the most commonly occurring one was the thirst tweet video. You saw it shared over and over and over. You were tagged in fanfics inspired by it, in which Ben ate you out until you were an overstimulated mess. It was odd and you’d never have admitted to reading them but it was definitely entertaining and not too far from some of the things you’d imagined yourself. But going back to living on your own didn’t help your confusion the way you thought it might. You missed seeing Ben every night and every morning, couldn’t stop thinking about what might have happened if you’d kissed him. And you were fast running out of excuses for why. It was one thing to blame the situation when you were sharing a hotel room, practically forced to spend most of your time together, and playing up the relationship for the cameras. But now, in the comfort of your own home, when you and Ben could freely choose when and how often you saw each other, it was much harder to justify how often you thought about him, how badly you wanted to return to that night on his couch and just let it happen. And the more you spent time with Ben, the harder it was to keep from admitting you might actually have been wrong before. Maybe there was something there, though Joe’s words stuck in the back of your mind making it hard to admit it to yourself. You got quite good at telling yourself it was just physical. You loved Ben as a friend and a small part of you wanted to spend the night with him. That wasn’t so unusual. Friends slept together all the time. Maybe if you could sleep with him you could stop thinking about him. Maybe he’d stop thinking he was in love with you too. You laughed at yourself the first time it occurred to you. It was ridiculous and stupid and so unlikely to help…but maybe. Maybe you could make a deal with the universe. Just this one thing and then you could be done with it all.

You came to regret that little notion, came to curse the universe for listening to you. Ben and you had decided to go out for coffee when his phone rang. He excused himself to answer it, leaving you to your slice of brownie as you waited for him to come back. When he did he was frowning. “What happened?” “Uhh, okay. You remember that,” he glanced around and lowered his voice, “that rule we have about not meeting each other’s families? Yeah, I don’t think we can hold them off any longer. That was my mum. See, there’s this big family reunion next week – and I mean big, like all the cousins and great aunts and uncles and grandparents and fucking everyone. We have one every few years, book out this restaurant slash beer garden for a whole day and basically just have this big family piss up. And, um, when my parents heard I was dating you, they extended the invite to you as well but it was like a few months ago and I said I didn’t think you’d be able to make it but now they’re insisting and I tried to say we weren’t ready to meet each other’s families yet but they’re calling bullshit on that because as far as they know that was part of why we had the fight but then we fixed it and also I might have said I was meeting your parents to get out of a lunch I didn’t want to go to.” He said everything so fast you could barely keep up. “Wait, you told them you were meeting my family to get out of a lunch?” “Maybe. But that’s in the past Y/N. Our problem is happening next week.” “Shit,” “Yeah. It’s…I can try and tell them you’re busy that day but I’m pretty sure they’ll just ask again and then we’d be stuck having dinner with just mum and dad and maybe my brother. This way we get it over and done with and if there’s more people we should be able to sneak out earlier.” “Yeah, no, that makes sense.” “There’s just one other little thing.” “What?” “Well, my family live a couple of hours away from here and I’d kind of originally planned to stay overnight in my old room because otherwise I’d have to worry about how much I’d had to drink and if I was able to drive back late at night and it’s just easier to stay there and head back the next day.” “Oh, well, I mean I don’t mind staying over. Um, would we have to share the bed or…?” “Maybe. It’s not like the hotel where we had a whole second bed but I’d be fine sleeping on the floor for a night or we can divide the bed with pillows if that’s easier. I could try looking into other accommodation but Mum’d probably kick up a stink about us paying for it when she’s got a perfectly fine room on offer.” “If you’ve already said you’d stay then we might as well stay. Wouldn’t want her thinking I’m so high maintenance I can’t stay one night under her roof now would we?” Ben laughed, “I don’t know, it’d stop her from inviting you over again. You swear you’re okay with this?” “Yeah. We knew something like this might come up.” “Alright, I’ll let her know you’ll be there. And I’ll buy you dinner tonight to make up for it.” You smiled and said that was a fair exchange but you’d suddenly lost your appetite.

[rapeculturerealities]

Dee Rees was waiting outside a discreet home on a quiet street in Los Angeles on a warm day in June, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Arrest the President.” She led the way past her fragrant jasmine bushes, past a kidney-shaped pool, past a Great Dane the size of a tween into an intimate guesthouse that had been converted into a music studio. The walls were painted dark blue and nearly every spare inch of wall and floor held equipment: Fender guitars, synths, amps, speakers and keyboards. The floor was covered by so many power cords that they resembled an area rug. A recording of an off-key voice earnestly singing was playing loudly on a loop. Rees shot me a pained look. “I’m not a singer,” she said.

Nearby, standing at a microphone, the singer Santigold was humming along to Ree’s voice and mimicking the undulations until she knew them by heart. The musician Ray Brady, sitting at a computer nearby, cycled through a series of drum-machine sounds until they heard one they all liked, and Santigold started singing over it. The air-conditioner was off — it interfered with the quality of the recordings — and the air was dense with humidity that no one seemed bothered by.

Rees and Santigold were recording a series of demos for a big-screen futuristic opera titled “The Kyd’s Exquisite Follies.” The screenplay, which Rees had been working on for about a year, describes the journey of a young, black androgynous musician living in a small town who sets off for “It City” in search of stardom. “An outsized, sequin-spangled, sunglassed Cosmic Being leans into frame,” reads the description for the first scene. “It is Bootsy Collins if Bootsy was simultaneously tripping on acid, André 3000 and CBD Frosted Flakes with extra sugar.” Her mood board for the project features images from the cultural festival Afropunk and a dream cast of Erykah Badu, Beyoncé, Janelle Monáe and the R&B singer Syd. The whole thing almost sounded like a fantasy incubated deep in a Twitter thread, but Rees later told me that she was inspired to combine the cultural legacy of “The Wiz” with the grandeur of the “Star Wars” franchise to create a kid-friendly movie as canonical as her reference points. “I was like, ‘Where’s “The Wiz” for us, for our kids, for queer kids?’ ” she said.

Rees has been working toward this moment for nearly 10 years, assuredly moving from indie films into blockbuster cinema with the hope of establishing a creative freedom few directors attain. She is placing a thick spread of bets, in the hope that she will soon be able to play as boldly as she wants. Legacy, she told me, is her ultimate goal: “I want to create work that matters and lasts.”

At 43, Rees has already had the type of success that will outlast her. In 2011, she released her first feature film, “Pariah,” a lush coming-of-age drama about a young black woman named Alike grappling with both her sexuality and the world’s response to it. The movie won more than a dozen awards, including, most notably, the N.A.A.C.P. Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture. Last year, the movie was included on IndieWire’s list of best films of the past decade, along with “Moonlight,” “Carol,” and “Call Me by Your Name” — movies that also feature queer narratives, though it’s worth noting that “Pariah” came out years before them. In 2017, she released her next feature film, “Mudbound,” a drama about the lives of a black family and a white family working the same plot of land in Mississippi in the 1940s. It garnered four Oscar nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay, making her the first black woman to be nominated in the category. Her latest project, opening on Feb. 14 before streaming on Netflix, is her most Hollywood yet: Starring Anne Hathaway, Willem Dafoe and Ben Affleck, “The Last Thing He Wanted” is an adaptation of the 1996 Joan Didion novel about an American journalist investigating illicit arms sales to Central America during the Reagan administration. It is Rees’s attempt to demonstrate her range across scale, genre and star power.

But here in Los Angeles, her deepest professional desire was underway. Rees had already secured a producer for “Follies” in her longtime collaborator, Cassian Elwes, as well as a costume designer. Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light and Magic had signed on to create the visual effects. The next stage of the process was to produce a music sample that could be played for potential financiers, studio partners and distributors, to generate excitement for the project.

The main song she and Santigold were working on that afternoon was a duet between the hero, the Kyd, and an unseen entity offering support from afar. “The intention here is that the Universe is accompanying her, and she doesn’t realize it,” Rees informed the room, using her hands to show two entities orbiting around each other, the smaller one oblivious to the larger one. She described the song as a ballet, with choreography. The Universe is not a metaphor, she explained; it’s an actual character, a guiding light and love interest, which she imagined being played by Erykah Badu. The song lyrics included melancholic lines like “It was easier when no one was looking” and “People see you as they need you to be.”

Santi, as everyone in the room called her, finished singing one part and began recording another, in a lower intonation to indicate a different voice. She and Rees were building out the bones of a pivotal point in the narrative: The Kyd is reflecting on the isolation, loneliness and self-doubt that accompany a rise to stardom — feelings that Rees teased out from her own life experiences as a young director. They worked intently for nearly an hour this way, playing keyboard, looping drums, recording Santigold as she sang both parts, then pausing to get feedback. When Rees wasn’t feeling something, it was obvious: She remained silent but shook her head “no.” When she liked something, she bounced in her seat and offered affirmations like “that’s hot.”

Watching the two women work, I realized that Rees didn’t just have an idea for music, she had created an entire universe, writing all the songs, arranging the melodies and constructing a 3-D model in her head of the sets and landscape. To her, composing compelling songs and comedy numbers while grabbing milk at the bodega comes as effortlessly as directing some of the biggest actors working in Hollywood. Despite that, the biggest question about her career now is whether Hollywood will allow her the longevity she craves.

“I know this character,” Rees said at one point about the Kyd, though she might have been talking about her own journey as an artist so far. “That feeling of being trapped, wanting to be an artist, knowing the odds are against you and doing it anyway.”

A few weeks later, Rees was sitting in a small coffee shop in Harlem, not far from where she lives with her wife, the author Sarah M. Broom, who recently won a National Book Award for her memoir, “The Yellow House.” Rees had been stationed there for a while, talking to other regulars, reading the short-story collection “Heads of the Colored People,” by Nafissa Thompson-Spires, and working on her laptop. Rees is a minimalist: Everything about her has an understated elegance, from the twists in her hair to the black and camo Jordans that she likes to wear. That day, she was dressed in a tailored white-and-pink-dotted button-down shirt and carrying a backpack.

Rees told me that people often describe her success in the film industry as overnight, which feels dismissive of the years she spent hustling for “Pariah” and glosses over the years that she struggled to sell pilots and feature films since then. “I’ve spent 12 years slugging away,” she said. She’s quick to point out that most of her work has not made it to market.

Rees said her strategy is to work on “five things at once and see which one sticks.” Each time we talked, she was working on a new project. Once it was a television show about a black police officer in the South, set in the 1970s. Another time it was a potential collaboration with a black playwright. This is both a survival tactic designed to navigate the ever-changing tides of a mercurial entertainment industry and perhaps also a defense mechanism: better not to get too attached to a project that doesn’t get picked up. The gap years after “Pariah” taught her to be strategic.

“For me, everything still comes with a grain of salt,” she said. “I never trust if it’s going to happen until you see a grip truck pulling up.” Many black women who make a compelling, noteworthy debut never manage to make a second feature — think of Julie Dash or Leslie Harris, whose names you might not know but who are responsible for, respectively, the indie films “Daughters of the Dust” and “Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.” “It seemed like people wondered if that was a fluke,” she said about “Pariah.” After “Mudbound,” she felt that question of her directorial ability has been answered. “Now it’s just about, How much do I get to do?”

From Rees’s vantage, this is the time to be working as quickly and furiously as she possibly can to get all of her dream projects off the ground — not just “Follies” but also a lesbian horror film she plans to write with her wife and a sci-fi graphic novel that she can eventually adapt for the screen. “It’s a creator’s market,” she told me. “There are more canvases, and not just feature films. You can work online, you can make different kinds of TV. You can make your thing, and they’ll come to you.”

Rees was referring, in part, to streaming services, specifically Netflix, which financed and is distributing “The Last Thing He Wanted.” Over the past five years, Netflix has done the same for hundreds of original shows and movies, many of which are critically acclaimed and attract as much attention and accolades than the offerings from traditional movie studios. In 2019, Netflix released 60 films, and analysts estimate the company spends more than $8 billion on original content a year. “We’re not a 100-year-old studio or own intellectual property like Disney does,” Scott Stuber, the head of films at Netflix, told me. “We don’t have an archive or a library, so it’s very important strategically to get in business with filmmakers like Dee, Alfonso Cuarón, Martin Scorsese, and that is our differentiator.” Netflix’s elbowing into Hollywood has propelled other companies to follow suit, including Disney, Hulu, Apple and Amazon, all of which now produce exclusive streaming content. Netflix’s dominance is likely to be challenged in the coming years, but the company has already reshaped consumer standards, including the expectation that people can watch high-quality, Oscar-worthy first-run entertainment from the comfort of their couch.

To stay competitive, traditional studios now have to pay attention to what those services are doing and try to beat them at their own game. Many of the directors making the best material are coming from the indie world, Rees reminded me: Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins. “And it’s not because of altruistic reasons but because of moneymaking reasons,” she said. “Studios are realizing it’s profitable to keep their eyes open. Netflix forced the rest of the industry to take more risks. The advantage for filmmakers is that they’re making it impossible for the rest of the industry to be dismissive or willfully ignorant, and they make the industry consider films and filmmakers that they might not have considered.”

Rees also pointed out the desire for content aimed specifically at black consumers, noting that studio heads and industry leaders were finally paying attention to the black appetite: “We’re the consumers and we’re the producers. And we’re saying: No more ‘Green Book.’ We’re not interested in that.” Though Rees tends to avoid social media and the internet, she sees them as levers for this radical change. “The gatekeepers can still modulate production, but they can’t modulate awareness in the same way,” she told me. “With that awareness comes a hunger, and it sustains a stable of artists.”

In the 1970s, Rees’s parents bought a home in a largely white neighborhood in Nashville. Her father was a police officer; her mother, a scientist at Vanderbilt University. When I first asked Rees to describe her childhood, she told me it was a “typical, boring suburban experience.” She was an only child who liked to lose herself in video games, “Garfield” comics and Choose Your Own Adventure books. The family was solidly middle class. “At the grocery store, it was my job to hold the calculator and calculate the grocery bill as we went along,” Rees recalled fondly.

But Rees’s “typical” childhood also included anecdotes about growing up adjacent to white people who questioned her family’s presence in their midst. Neighbors hung Confederate flags as curtains. Kids toilet papered their trees, prank rang the doorbell, ripped up the roses that her mother planted in a wagon wheel. People regularly tossed garbage in their yard as they drove or walked by. “It was my job to pick up that trash,” Rees said. “They always seemed to be looking at us like, ‘How can you be here, how can you have more than us?’ ” Rees’s father often parked his police car outside their home to “let people know not to [expletive] with us,” Rees said. “You were constantly bracing for it, preparing for it and trying not to let it provoke you, as it was meant to do.” These incidents, and the questions about belonging they raised, can be felt in all her films.

Rees graduated in 2000 from Florida A&M University with a master’s degree in business administration and worked in marketing for a series of health and beauty companies. Rees envisioned herself as Marcus Graham, one of the young black advertising professionals in the movie “Boomerang.” “I really thought I’d be working with people like Strangé,” she said, referring to the eccentric Grace Jones character who gives birth to a perfume bottle in a cosmetics commercial. None of the jobs lasted more than a year, but the detour was productive: She went on a commercial shoot for a client, Dr. Scholl’s, and followed the production assistant around out of curiosity. She was energized watching the work, prompting her to reconsider her career trajectory. She was accepted to New York University’s graduate film program in 2003.

Rees had never been to art school or even touched a camera. “I had no idea what I was doing,” she said. She struggled with the assignments, which often consisted of making short film experiments. “I failed and I failed hard,” she recalled. Her professors seemed to pay more attention to the better students. “It felt like an instant divestment of interest.” By the second semester, she was considering dropping out. “On the first day, they told us that ‘only two of you will make it,’ ” she said. “And I was not the one who seemed like they were going to make it. I was like, ‘This is a waste, it’s so expensive, I shouldn’t do this.’ ” At 27, she worried that she was too old to start a new career.

Rees confessed all her fears and insecurities to her girlfriend at the time, who told her: “O.K., so there’s only going to be two of you. That means you and who else?” The pep talk helped, as did the support from a few professors, including Spike Lee, who has served as the film program’s artistic director for nearly two decades. Lee was impressed by Rees’s storytelling abilities and her eye, which already felt uniquely her own — rare for anyone, but especially students. “In my experience, very few people have a style right off the jump,” he told me recently. “It’s something that you develop over time, and she had it. I never had any doubts about her being successful. I could see that she was going to do what she had to do to get where she wanted to get.”

She felt her work began to click when the assignments moved into documentary. “That is when I found myself and found my voice,” she told me. She took a trip to Liberia with her grandmother and the budding cinematographer Bradford Young. “It just felt like no one was looking, and I felt confident and was able to make the doc.” That film, “Eventual Salvation,” tells the story of her 80-year-old grandmother, Earnestine Smith, as she travels to Monrovia, where she lived for decades, and confronts the aftermath of a devastating civil war.

She loved imagining herself into the shoes of her subjects. “It helped me be a better director, because I could see that ‘Oh, if I’d gotten this shot, it would be a better dynamic, better storytelling through body language.’ ” Rees’s graduate thesis was a short film called “Pariah,” and the strength of the script landed her at Sundance Labs to incubate the short into a feature. Lee offered guidance, and Young, still unknown, drenched the film in the shimmering, richly colored patinas that he would later use in movies like “Arrival” and “Selma.”

While at N.Y.U., Rees shortened her name from Diandréa to Dee. She was establishing a boundary between herself and the world that to this day feels as if it safeguards her personal life. She was coming out as a lesbian, which at first, her parents chalked up to an “art-school thing,” Rees said. But once they realized she was truly in love with a woman, they imploded. Her mother came to New York to try to stage an intervention. Her father was embarrassed. “Nashville is superconservative and small, and I guess word was getting around,” Rees said. Neither parent spoke to her for some time, but both came to see a screening of “Pariah” in New York in 2011. The support in the room eased their worries, as did the affiliation with Sundance. “My life wasn’t a wreck, which somehow made it more acceptable for them,” Rees said.

A common theme threading through Rees’s projects is the way the world places limits on people and whether that destroys or liberates them. The moments in her movies at which her characters confront that existential dilemma are often extremely subtle, but powerful nonetheless. In “Bessie,” the 2015 HBO movie Rees made about the blues singer Bessie Smith, we see how Smith rebels against societal expectations in her sexual fluidity, hard drinking and even in her confrontation with the Ku Klux Klan at one of her shows. But the moment that is most revealing is Smith, played by Queen Latifah, sitting fully nude at a vanity, her body shining with oil, seeing herself surrounded by the trappings of fame but ultimately alone and aging. She’s facing the choices she has made and seemingly deciding whether she’ll make different ones tomorrow. In “Pariah,” it’s the spark of possibilities reflected in young Alike’s eyes as she watches a dancer slide down a pole to Khia’s pleasure anthem “My Neck, My Back” in a gay nightclub.

What is striking about Rees’s work is that even though none of her movies are explicitly autobiographical, she still finds ways to channel her life experiences into them. Embedded in “Mudbound,” for example, is the experience of her great-grandparents, who picked cotton, but it also reflects the amorality of racial violence and how a country can fight against it in a war, while still perpetuating it at home. At the center of “The Last Thing He Wanted” is a father-daughter relationship complicated by guilt and obligation, but it’s also a thriller whose main character is determined to expose government corruption.

Rees realized early in her career that as a female director working in Hollywood, she wouldn’t have the same liberty as, say, Richard Linklater or Noah Baumbach to explore the details of her life onscreen. Rees made compromises so that she could still work on the themes that interested her most. “When I first started out, I was like, ‘I’m not going to do adaptations,’ ” she told me. “I only want to do my own stuff, but I quickly realized that I couldn’t survive because of the time it takes to get people to want to do your original thing.”

In 2014, Cassian Elwes, a longtime Hollywood veteran who has produced such films as “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and “Dallas Buyers Club,” found himself horrified after reading about the extreme gender imbalance prevalent in Hollywood movie making. Dr. Stacy L. Smith, a communications professor at the University of Southern California at Annenberg, has found that less than 5 percent of major Hollywood movies were directed by women. People of color were also dramatically underrepresented. (Those numbers have not fluctuated significantly in the years since.) Elwes was similarly shocked to read that most young white male directors make their sophomore projects not long after their first; most women of color take years. Many of them, unable to support themselves during that gap, give up.

Around this time, two young producers brought Elwes the script for “Mudbound.” He fell in love with it, and his mind drifted to “Pariah,” which he’d seen at Sundance. Elwes sent Rees the script. A few years earlier, Rees had wanted to adapt the novel “Home,” by Toni Morrison, to explore the paradox of freedom for black Americans returning home from overseas; now she realized she could inject that desire into “Mudbound.”

“He was the first producer who was just like, ‘It’s yours,’ ” Rees recalled. “It wasn’t exploitative or like you should be grateful. He was like, ‘Whatever you want to do, let’s work it out.’ He’s believed more in me than some producers of color.”

A movie like “Mudbound” could easily be saturated with simplistic Hollywood narratives about the resilience of black people and the restorative power of interracial friendships. But Rees was not afraid to show a world where some white people are evil and none will save the black characters. Rees first impression of the script was that it was “a little too sweet.” It featured music as the balm easing tension between the two families. Rees wrote more scenes explicitly featuring the Jackson family, including one around a dinner table where they discuss their dreams of purchasing their own parcel of land, only to be interrupted by the white landowner, who demands they come unload his truck. The film finds its own emphatic language for the spectral horror of white violence in America through quiet vignettes: The tight face of a well-dressed black man, riding in the back of a white man’s dusty pickup truck. The wet and swollen face of a white woman sobbing into the arms of a black matriarch, whose resignation and fatigue can be read in the set of her mouth.

Rachel Morrison, the film’s cinematographer, who received an Oscar nomination for the film, said she was drawn to Rees’s ability to “put the audience squarely in the main character,” she told me. For example, when filming Laura, a woman at a loss for who she is in the world, the shots feature her petite, wiry body dwarfed by the soggy terrain and gaping blue sky. Rees was “uncompromising in only the best ways,” Morrison said, in a tone rich with admiration. She recalled an instance where Rees wanted a shot looking through a screen door, from the outside world into a dark home. “It was a ton of work, balancing the bright sun and dark shadows, but I was like, ‘If it’s worth it to you, I’ll do it.’ ” It was worth it to Rees. Morrison spent close to an hour manipulating the set to capture what would amount to seconds of screen time. When Morrison saw the final cut, she realized the elegance of the shot and how beautifully it articulated the difference between the two families and the worlds they inhabit. “It’s one of my favorite shots in the film,” she said.

After they finished “Mudbound,” Rees told Elwes that she wanted to adapt the Joan Didion novel. He knew Didion’s agent and was able to option “The Last Thing He Wanted.” “We took it around to all the studios, and no one would deal with it,” she said. “Netflix jumped in and saved it. But it was hard in that way. You think because it’s Joan Didion, like, of course — but nope.”

Rees struggles not to take the studios’ lack of interest in her work personally. When I asked her how she rationalized their indifference, she took her time answering, clearly weighing how much of her inner thoughts about Hollywood she wanted to air in public, staring into her coffee all the while. “When stuff doesn’t make logical sense, to me, I go to a place where there’s only one thing that can explain this. You know what I mean?” She paused again, fiddling with her latte. “It feels like a double standard, and the double standard to me is race.”

I asked her how she coped with being so demonstrably talented as a filmmaker and yet feeling thwarted in her efforts at the same time. “The only refuge I have is to do more work, to be relentless and keep making and making, and hopefully, eventually I won’t have to continue to prove that I have the capabilities.” She felt this deeply when “Mudbound” was passed over by major studios, even though it resembled a Birney Imes photograph come to life and featured mesmerizing performances by Carey Mulligan and Rob Morgan. It eventually sold to Netflix, reportedly for $12.5 million, the largest deal to come out of Sundance in 2017. “I’ve learned to go where the love is and work with who wants to work with you,” she told me. “The thing you’re up against is not new. Since first grade, the moment you enter school, you’re up against racism. But it’s still stunning sometimes.”

What remains striking about Rees is that these challenges haven’t muted her ambition. Elwes repeatedly highlighted it. “It’s gigantic,” he said, marveling. “She could be knocking out independent movies all day long if she wanted to.” But instead, with something like “Follies,” she is trying to create a pop-cultural empire. “She’s building a world, and right now in Hollywood, most people are just making another version of a comic book or a sequel or a remake,” Elwes said. Her fearlessness and talent are why he immediately agreed to help her produce and finance her sci-fi opera after she floated the idea by him in a text message. He has been hustling to raise the $80 million or so that she needs to pull it off. “It’s not a slam dunk,” he said, “but whoever takes the risk will get the reward.”

Toward the end of our meeting at the coffee shop, Rees told me shyly — a rare mode for her — that her biggest dream is to work on a major feature-film trilogy, something even more audacious than “Follies.” “I want to have a world with a black woman at the center of it, who ends up leading a rebellion,” she said. “I want to create a whole new world rather than color in somebody else’s.” The trilogy Rees wants to build takes place in a dystopic time, a hellscape devastated by climate change and out-of-control social media where people have to meet a minimum “credit” rating in order to have a decent quality of life.

Rees hopes that “The Last Thing” will be a bridge between her past work and her larger ambitions. Unlike her previous films, “The Last Thing” is a fast-paced political thriller with car chases, shootouts and body counts that includes tight close-ups and impressionistic landscape shots. The effect is claustrophobic and dizzying — a departure from Rees’s previous, more linear work — and yet the audience remains, as Morrison reflected, squarely in the perspective of Elena McMahon, the journalist at the center of it, played by Anne Hathaway. As McMahon loses her moral compass, the viewer becomes disoriented, too, and unable to keep up with the revelations, which, at Sundance, caused many critics to pan the movie.

When I spoke with Rees by phone from Sundance, right after the first reviews came in, she sounded sanguine. Her film had been “trashed,” she said, “but I still believe in it.” Then her voice perked up as she proceeded to tell me the details of a few still unannounced deals she had inked since we last saw each other. From her perspective, it seemed, the critical response was a blip in what she plans to be a long career.

Rosie Perez, who portrays a photojournalist in “The Last Thing,” told me that the day she arrived on location in Puerto Rico to shoot the film, she immediately noticed Rees’s sharp intelligence but found her aloof. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to connect with her,” she said. When it came time to work, Rees was meticulous but hands off. She set up the scene, positioning the camera with her own hands at times, and then stepped away. “It freed us up to just act,” Perez said. “She lets you do your thing. But you have to trust that she’s doing hers, too.”

Once, after a scene, Rees called cut, and Perez asked Rees if she was sure they got the shot. “She looked at me and said, deadpan: ‘I wouldn’t have moved on if we didn’t.’ ” Perez, deep in recollection, let loose that famous laugh from deep in her nasal cavity. “I was like: ‘Got it. Let me shut the [expletive] up.’ ” Her admiration for Rees was cemented in that moment.

But that wasn’t all she got from Rees, Perez told me, recalling a scene in which she and her co-star, Anne Hathaway, are running to catch a plane, dodging gunfire. “Anne is running like Catwoman, sprinting toward the plane,” Perez said. “I felt like the older lady trying to keep up.” She mentioned this to Rees, who replied, “Well, that’s your character, isn’t it?” At first, Perez’s ego was bruised. But later, Rees told her, “I hired you because you’re a kick-ass actress and also because you have the courage to look like a grown-ass woman.” At the time, Perez was splitting her time on the set of the second season of Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It,” where she was guest-­starring as Mars Blackmon’s mother. Lee didn’t want Perez to wear a lot of makeup, and Perez initially balked. But her time with Rees adjusted her priorities: “I walked onto his set, and I was like ‘O.K.’ ” Working with Rees, she said, “gave me the confidence to do that.” That, she said, was Rees’s gift. “You have to let her be who she is, in order to see what she is trying to give you.”

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 4X02 - White Out

White Out? More like Girl’s FrostBITE Out!

...They don’t get better from here.

This is one episode that prior to this rewatch, I constantly found myself coming back to. A lot of that comes down to the dynamics, and I’ll get into that soon enough, but I think there’s more to the story here than is often given credit for. It’s definitely not the “best” episode, per se (Though for me, that just comes down to some episodes simply being better rather than failings on the part of this one), but if I had to take ten episodes to a deserted island, this would be one of them without question. I’ve watched it by now at least five times and in lieu of an actual Christmas episode of the show, I’d this episode gives off constant Christmas-y vibes for me with the use of snow and the theme of hope and right now, that’s exactly what I need and want! I’ve been looking forward to doing it for a long time and now’s the perfect moment to gush about why I love this episode!

So, if you want to read my review, please head below the cut because this could very well be one of my most personal reviews in a way!

Main Takeaways

Past

So look, I love the past segment for it’s themes and David’s backstory and Anna’s support and all that, but I LOVE it for one thing and one thing only: BO PEEP! THIS WOMAN ROCKS! She’s hammy as FUCK and everything from her costume to her over the top accent to her NAME spells that out. She Cruella before Cruella was Cruella! Robin Weigert did an AMAZING job capturing that funny yet intimidating presence. That hamminess is exactly the kind of thing that a show like Once Upon a Time was made for. We’re supposed to encounter ridiculous shit all the time and Bo Peep is such a beautifully blunt part of it! She’s probably my favorite one off character for that reason. AND at the same time, her character is a a perfect challenge for David. Her character’s abilities juxtapose David’s original flighty instincts and put him in a position where if he wants to look after those he loves, he has to step up and fight. She presents a strong ultimatum. YET, she’s kind of like Biff from “Back to the Future:” symbolically the representation of all of David’s fears but at the same time, someone who he can beat. She’s such a balanced antagonist and is so underrated by the fandom at large! I would’ve KILLED for her to come back in a later episode, even just to spew some snark!

Okay, now that I’m done gushing about Bo Peep, let’s get into the meat of the episode.

Anna and David just have a great rapport. They were so close to making my favorite dynamic and that’s because Anna is a great support for David’s journey here. Her optimism is presented in a light that gives way to both cheeriness and a bit of annoyance which is just the kind of character that Anna is.in addition, David’s story about his father (Which is SO much harder to hear in hindsight, btw) makes his stubbornness toward fighting Bo Peep make sense while still being framed correctly as something he needs to step up and overcome. Overall, the storytelling is very effective here in terms of buildup and most of the payoff.

I will say though, I wish that David’s turning point -- or rather, what he says to be the payoff -- was a little bit more strongly written. When Anna asks what changed his mind, it feels like Jane Espenson improvised it because the connection to Elsa’s story wasn’t all that strong. In truth, he changed his mind because Anna was taken, as shown by the fact that prior to that, he was going to give up, and I feel like if the change of heart connected more to his father than to Elsa’s story, than the resolution would’ve connected better for me.

Present

For as much as I love the main interactions between Emma and Elsa (And we will GET to that shortly), I want to gush for a moment about the fantastic supporting cast here, and by that, I mean David and Killian. Killian basically just exists to be himself in this episode and serve as support for David and Emma, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him just doing that. But David’s support is what really steals the show here. This is clearly a man who internalized Anna’s lesson about not giving up and passes it on well. He is everyone’s rock throughout this panicked situation and because of that, everyone’s able to get through.

By contrast to what I said about David’s resolution in the past, Elsa’s resolution in the present is far stronger. Elsa’s friendship with Emma and David’s connection to Anna and her lessons makes Elsa’s show of abilities feel earned this time around. Just listen to the music when Elsa makes the hole in the ice! It’s one of my favorite pieces of the score in the entire series. It’s so triumphant and hopeful. It has the tempo of a heartbeat and really feels like Anna’s spirit is part of it as the hole proceeds to form! The storytelling melds together to make this scene into something truly special.

So for as much as I do love the episode, I will admit to take issue with a two things here and both of which have to do with Snow’s plot (Though neither involve Snow herself). First, fuck C*leman. That’s all I have to say on that matter because he doesn’t deserve any more attention. Second, yeah, the dwarves and Granny are excessively harsh towards Snow here. Like, they are going after a new mother who they know knows fuck all about power systems  while knowing full well that Emma and David are investigating what happened.

Do these aspects ruin the storyline for me? The first one makes it really hard to watch the segment, but as for the second one, somewhat. It’s out of character, I admit, and the subplot itself feels more like an excuse to establish Snow as the new mayor than anything else, but it’s harmless in the grand scheme of things and gives way to cute lines.For me, Granny’s character ultimately doesn’t suffer too much from it for me and just acts as an example of how some aspects of their new lives have affected their personalities.

I saw a thread last week about the plot holes in this episode (Why didn’t they go to Regina to get Emma out of the ice wall, why not just make a smaller hole with a fireball, why not take Emma to a hospital afterwards?) that just got on my nerves a bit. Maybe it’s because this episode just means so much to me, and honestly, no offence to anyone involved in the thread (I’m pretty sure one of them reads these reviews and if that’s true, I hope you know that I mean that in earnest), but I feel like (1) the plot holes in this are so small that it’s honestly needless nitpicking, something that just gets on my nerves and (2) misses the forest for the trees. It’s missing the story, character payoff, and dynamics in order to complain about matters that just don’t matter, and I feel like that happens a lot in this series. I mean, I can be pedantic about filling the plot holes up myself (They didn’t go to Regina because Rumple shop was closer to the ice wall and by the time they could’ve, they had a solid lead on Anna’s location and that was their bargaining chip with Elsa, fire blasts in this series tend to just be giant in general, and the loft is closer than the hospital and the priority was getting Emma warm), but even as I was writing that, talking about the story elements felt like the more fulfilling thing to write. And I get that plot holes have their times and places to be picked on and picked apart, but I’m also of the mind that some episodes just don’t need it.

All Encompassing

The theme of this episode is not giving up and that’s a theme that really sinks in throughout this episode. While more of a direct story point as it pertains to Anna, David, and Elsa, it’s more indirect in the ways that it applies to Emma and Henry. At the beginning of the episode, after receiving Regina’s note, Henry gets depressed at the prospect of Regina not wanting to see him for the time being and Emma, unable to get through to him, laments her failure. But both of these characters learn through David that to stop trying is a mistake. Thus, Emma gives getting through to Henry another go, one much more successful and Henry gets through to Regina. And both of these developments have a very organic feel towards how they come about and are fantastic with how they resolve.

When people say that the Frozen characters got too much screen time, I often go back to this episode. While Anna and Elsa are big presences in this episode, no one is sidelined as an expense. David, Killian, Emma, Snow, and Henr all play integral roles in the story and blend well with the Frozen characters.

This is one of David’s best episodes. His character gets to be both a powerful lead and support across the two segments and shows a well rounded versatility to him that often isn’t explored all that much and so well.

Stream of Consciousness

-I love the angles of the cars in the opening scene with Elsa. Not only are they all great shots with fitting sound effects, but narratively, they serve two story points. First, they play to Elsa’s fears. She’s alone in a town that has technology she knows nothing about. Second, the cars themselves show their speed, and that helps make Elsa’s choice to create the ice wall make so much sense to me.

-Will my heart ever not break at the sight of the “Leaving Storybrooke” sign? No, it will ALWAYS break!

-The more I see the Josh Dallas Fabio hair, the more I like the Josh Dallas Fabio hair, and I already loved it!

-”I’ll find out your name at the wedding.” I’m really sad that David never got to go to the wedding now. :(

-I LOVE the Baby Neal scene in the loft! It’s nice and goofy and gives off a small domestic moment without overstaying its welcome.

-”3? I see the optimism returning.”I never noticed this joke before! This episode never runs out of funny things! XD

-Dude! Full props for Emma for going to bat for Regina! She really does get it and gets that Regina’s doing what she can to spare Henry from experiencing any of the pain she’s feeling right now. And while it hurts, sometimes people have their own ways of coping with things, for better or for worse. Like, that was just a fantastic moment!

-Also, props to David for helping alleviate Emma’s guilt! Great parenting and it shows how much he understands both Emma and Regina, so it’s also a good Regina and David moment!

-...There is a lot of Captain Charming squeeing going on right now in the ship section.

-”I found it in the store filled with things.” Elsa, that was the least helpful explanation I have ever heard! XD

-I LOVE that deafening sound effect right after Elsa puts up the ice wall. It’s so terrifying and allows for the fear of the situation to really hit the audience.

-Elsa’s “evil lady” act is so fucking adorable! Yes, you’re very scary, baby! XD

-”I’m starting to get why Regina was evil. It wasn’t her, it was you.” I know a lot of antis take issue with this line, but sometimes a line is just meant to be a joke and given how the preamble to Snow’s rant was about how tired she was, I’m gonna pretty sure this was a freakin’ joke, and a great one too! XD

-”It [the cold] never bothered me.” Oh my God, ALL of the Frozen references! While there were probably one too many of them, they never fail to crack me up.

-Minor gripe, but I do wish that we saw some of Emma’s magic fluctuating a bit more prior to her scene with Elsa where they discuss a lack of magical control. Apart from the time portal shenanigans and the crane game encounter (Which she forgot and came after this episode), Emma’s had pretty good control over her magic as of this moment in the present.

-”You only want to know more because if I sleep, I’ll die.” ...Yes! That’s why you should talk! About your son! The main reason you want to stay alive! ...Like, that was a legit terrible line! Just have her fall asleep because that was dangerously close to anti Swan Believer material and in a bad way!

-Not gonna lie, Butcher Bo Peep is reallllllllllllyyy pretty. I am legit attracted to her.

-David giving Anna the horse is the equivalent of Emma repurposing her red leather jacket, granted in a smaller way.

-”I hope I’ll see both of you at the wedding.” Oh man! Ruth couldn’t come either! Rip my heart out, why don’t you?!

-David, I get the symbolic gesture, but that is a HORSE! A horse is a useful animal for a farmer and that horse might love you and its home! XD

-Not gonna lie, I’m pretty sure “I missed my room” was the line that snapped Regina out of her full-on funk. It also cracks me up! XD

-”This is kind of cool. Pun intended.” And THIS is why I love you, Emma! <3

-Ingrid, I’m no germaphobe, but EW! XD

Favorite Dynamic

Frozen Swan. Emma and Elsa’s first episode together is the dynamic equivalent of a Lindt truffle. It’s well rounded, satisfying, and exquisite with a delicate contrast. I think an episode like this is so important for Emma because it shows that while she has walls, they’re not as paralyzing as people think they are. In a lot of respects, this is a Season 4 Emma looking back on some of her more Season 1-esque qualities. But Elsa’s no slouch either! This dynamic does so much to show how Elsa’s more than just a two-trick pony of ice magic and sister longing. She cares about helping innocents, is competent, and her excitement towards finding another magic user is adorable. My favorite part of their dynamic is how they compare their worries about handling magic and leadership. Those are two very big connecting points for these characters and I’m glad they were touched upon.

Writer

Jane Espenson starts off our season here and she did a bang up job with the writing here. The past lends itself to generally great storytelling and the present has this great feeling of tension throughout it as everyone’s either trying to save Emma or reason with Elsa. The only moment to breath is the Snow plot which I feel was just straight-up made for purposes of levity and to make the plot point that Snow’s the mayor. Besides that, I do think the writing is strong here. The theme of not giving up is so solidly present throughout the episode and lends itself well to everyone’s journeys. Apart from one or two weird lines and character moments, the dialogue itself was well developed and the pacing was en pointe!

Rating

10/10. I really wanted to give this episode a Golden Apple, but as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t justify it. It doesn’t mean my love for this episode is any less valid (I’m saying this more to myself than to anyone in particular), but yeah, I can’t give it that score if I want to be honest with myself. The chinks in the armor of the episode are small bit by bit, but they do add up. That said, I love this episode so much! We get so many amazing character moments, a good (if not somewhat loose) story, and a strong message about the benefits of perseverance. The ending is so optimistic and feel good that my earlier claims of it being one of the closest things OUAT has to a Christmas episode aren’t too far off.

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

Captain Swan - As you might have guessed, Captain Swan goodness makes up a GREAT deal of why I love this episode. I read this once before and please let me know the source of it if you know it, but “it’s says something about your ship when one of your favorite episodes of theirs doesn’t even have them kiss.” Well, this is easily in my top 5 favorite CS episodes of all time. They get so much development, both while together and as they communicate with other characters. First, I love the “ice bucket” banter. Emma just can’t take that hotness between them! Second, that Captain Charming scene just fucking says it all! “I wouldn’t risk my life for someone I see as loot. Whatever we become, it’s up to her as much as me.” I CAN DIE A HAPPY WOMAN NOW! Put those words on my fucking tombstone, ok?! If we JUST had these two lines, this would still be one of my favorite CS episodes, but oh my golly, we have MORE! “Emma, say again.” The fucking worry in Colin’s voice. Just...I cannnnnnn’t. *wails* Just...Killian is in such distress throughout this entire episode. He’s so worried he’s about to lose another person he loves and it kills him and it kills me. And once she’s safe, ICE WALL CUDDLES!!! That hug is so fucking romantic. I don’t know what’s better! The Captain Charming conversation from earlier or the Ice Wall Cuddles, but I love both of them sooooooo fucking much! The way she cradles his head and the way he carries her!!! It’s perfect!!! And then the hand hold. Just..I’m so happy!!!

Hopeful Hero - ...I love Snowing, but I’mma ship this ‘till the cows come home! David and Anna just have a fabulous rapport and had there been a kiss akin to Snow and Hercules’ from “Labor of Love,” I wouldn’t have complained!

-----

And there you have it, one of my all time favorite episodes! It’s a bit flawed, but I just adore it with every beat of my heart. Did I change your mind on it or even make you love it more if you were already a fan? Let me know!

As always, thanks to the fabulous folks at @watchingfairytales for making this awesome project and shoutout to my awesome and supportive friend and regular, @daensarah! (If you want notifications for when I post these, hit me up!)

Next time, we go further down the road of the Frozen Arc and just a warning: Things are about to get rocky. XD

Season 3 Total (19/230)

Writer Scores:

Adam and Eddy: (9/60) Jane Espenson : (10/40)

*Links to the rest of my rewatch will no longer be provided. They take posts with links outside of searches and I spend way too much time on these reviews to not give them that kind of exposure. Sorry for the inconvenience, but they still can be found on my page under Operation Rewatch.

[67-chevy-baby]

Obedience

Ship - Single!Jared x Single!Misha x Actor!OFC

Rating - 18+ Only!!!! 

Tags - Language, unprotected sex!, SMUT, light BDSM, bondage, rough sex, voyeurism, threesome (no Mishalecki), Misha is a total Dom in this btw…, oral (male and female receiving), spanking (with hands and a whip), hair pulling, fingering (female receiving), squirting, oh and also fluff! :)

Word Count - 3811 (Not even remotely sorry)

Beta - The amazing @kittenofdoomage :)

Written for - @holyfuckloueh

Being a guest star on a TV show was stressful. Kary had only been acting for two and a half years, so it still amazed her that she landed a spot on such a long-running series. Supernatural had a huge fan-base, and she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t heard of it. Watching the actual show was another story. She had meant to sit down and crank out the available seasons on Netflix, she really did, but her schedule was just too booked.

If she had known how drop-dead gorgeous the cast members were she probably would have canceled some plans and watched it sooner. She swore they were all hand carved by Michelangelo himself. Kary followed one of the PAs, Stephanie she thought her name was, into the Bunker’s kitchen. Even though her part wasn’t meant to be re-occurring, she still loved getting the tour of the place.

Just as she was about to get the rundown of what a day was like on set, Jared walked into the room sporting gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Kary couldn’t help but stare as he stood talking to one of the producers. Her mouth watered at the way his pants hung low on his hips, and how his arm muscles seemed to almost burst through the sleeves of his shirt. Her mind drifted off to thought after dirty thought of him fucking her repeatedly against the nearest hard surface. Stephanie followed her gaze and chuckled.

“So, you like Jared hm?”

Kary blushed furiously and prayed to whoever was listening that Jared nor the producer had heard the comment.

“Yeah … I mean he’s umm … really tall.”

Steph giggled and took her arm, pulling her towards the two men.

“C’mon, let me introduce you. Jared always likes to meet the guest stars. Well, all the boys do, but Jared especially does.”

Karyne could feel her heart thudding hard against her chest as Stephanie approached them. It looked like they were reading over part of the script, but she couldn’t be sure since they were whispering. Jared turned and smiled at both of them once they got in their line of sight. He looked down at her warmly and extended his hand toward her.

“Well hi there! You must be the new guest star. Karyne is it?”

Kary took his hand in hers and admired how his fingers almost completely covered her smaller ones. His skin was warm and calloused, and she couldn’t stop the image of him pressing three of his thick digits into her aching pussy flashing through her mind. She bit her lip to stop a moan and didn’t miss how his eyes traveled down to her mouth.

“Yes I’m Karyne, but uhh everyone just calls me Kary. It’s umm … very nice to meet you, Jared.”

She took her hand back and nervously played with the hem of her shirt feeling his eyes on her. Even though she didn’t think he was meaning to, he really emanated dominance. Jared looked her up and down quickly before turning his attention to another crew member whom she hadn’t noticed until now.

“Hey Jare, they need you in hair and makeup. We start shooting in forty-five minutes.”

Kary watched as he gave her a little smirk and a wave before heading off down the hallway. Stephanie led her to the costume trailer so she could get fitted for her proper demon attire. She would be playing one of Crowley’s minions who had information on his whereabouts. Her character would get kidnapped by the Winchesters and get tortured for said info. If she was being honest, it’s the torture she was most excited for. She’d heard stories from her friends of how sexy Sam and Dean were when they were the least bit authoritative.

Soon she was sporting her character’s edgy outfit and was being led to the threshold of the Bunker’s cellar. Kary was fitted into some black skinny jeans that hugged her waist perfectly. The red tank top showed a smidgen of her midriff and accentuated her cleavage nicely. A pair of black stilettos and her hair falling in loose curls down her shoulders completed her look.  Neither of the boys were there yet, but they couldn’t be far behind. The anticipation of acting out this scene with them, especially Jared, was making her heart race.

A few moments later another crew member, who she could only assume worked somewhere in the prop department, strode in the small area carrying a thick coil of rope. The woman laid it on the lone desk and motioned for Kary to sit. Once she was seated, a couple other people came in to remove the everything but her and the wooden chair.

“Hello Kary, my name is Tori, have you ever been tied to a chair before?”

If she wasn’t so nervous, she would have laughed because damn what an introduction that was. Instead, she shook her head and held her arms out in front of her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Tori. No, I haven’t been, but I’m assuming you want me like this?”

Tori giggle and walked behind her and uncoiled the rope.

“Actually sweetie, I need you to put both wrists thru the openings in the back of the chair. I’m gonna tie your wrists back here instead. The rope will be kinda snug, but I don’t want you to be nervous. All you gotta do is say something and we will cut you free alright? Oh, and another thing, the boys can kinda be … what’s the word I’m looking for? … Intimidating, yes intimidating when it comes to torture scenes. If you need a break, don’t be afraid to let them know okay? They are hypersensitive to guest stars’ needs, and no one will blame you if you need to take a breather.”

Kary was glad everyone was so kind and approachable. This was probably one of the best sets she’s ever worked on. Just as Tori was securing the final knot on her restraints, Jensen, Jared, and Misha all walked in sporting their usual attire. They were all laughing about something but stopped when they noticed Kary sitting in the center of the Devil’s Trap.

She felt so exposed as they all stared at her. Jensen and Misha walked towards her, while Jared stayed rooted to the spot. Both men approached her and squatted down to her level, their smiles calming her overactive nerves.

“Hi, there sweetheart! It’s very nice to meet you. I’m Jensen, and this is Misha. You’re Kary, right? Jared told us he already got the pleasure of meeting you.”

She fixed her gaze on Jared who was blushing slightly. Turning her attention back to the two other leads in front of her, she gave them each a kind smile.

“It’s very nice to meet you both. I’d uh … I’d shake your hand, but I’m kinda tied up.”

Misha chuckled and patted her lightly on the thigh.

“With that sense of humor, you’ll fit right in!”

Just as she was about to come up with a witty reply, the director walked into the room with a clipboard.

“Okay, everyone, let’s get started shall we? We’ve only got Kary for a day, so let’s be on our best behavior today boys.”

Jensen and Jared both snickered while Misha rolled his eyes. They all took their places and took a minute to get into character. Kary closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them again. She tested her bonds to set the scene and felt how they dug into the sensitive skin of her wrists.

Once action was called, Kary could definitely see a change in the boys’ demeanor. It was as if they were completely different people. Jensen approached her, his eyes dark with menace, and pulled a knife from one of his pockets. He circled the chair, the thud of his boots hitting the concrete like a slow metronome. Finally, he stopped and knelt down so his face was mere inches from her own. The knife rested against her chest, the hard plastic pressing into her sternum forcefully. Even though the knife looked very real, it was most certainly nothing of the sort. It even retracted into the hilt when it stabbed someone so it looked all the more real on screen.

“Now, listen here you bitch, my patience is running thin. Just tell me where Crowley is, and I won’t drag it out.”

Kary smiled maliciously and let out a guttural laugh.

“You Winchesters always think you can just bully the information out of us. Well, I’ve got news for you pathetic lumberjacks, you might as well kill me now because none of you are worth my time.”

Jensen took the knife and sliced open a particular spot in Kary’s outfit. It didn’t look like much now, but on screen, it would glow and sizzle for added effect. She squirmed and screamed, letting her breath become heavy before replaying through gritted teeth.

“Is that all you got? Guess I better go tell the other demons that Sam, Dean, and their pet angel are going soft.”

Jared’s upper lip curled into a snarl, and Kary felt herself become wet at the sight. She was sure her panties were ruined, but she didn’t break character. The taller of the three walked around to her backside, while Misha came up to Jensen’s flank. Kary focused on his chrome angel blade that suddenly appeared from his trench coat sleeve and tried to break her restraints again to make it look like she was now nervous.

She felt someone grab her hair and yank her head back to expose the delicate skin of her neck to Castiel’s blade. Jared leaned down until his mouth was right next to her ear, and it took all of her self control to stay in her demonic character.

“You gonna talk now or are we gonna have to force you? ‘Cause, believe me, my brother, Cas, and I aren’t the least bit scared of a lowlife demon like you.”

Kary bit her lip right as the director shouted cut. Tori came in to cut her free while the boys commended her on the scene. Apparently, that take was enough, because she was told she could go get changed out of her character’s clothes.

Once she was back in the guest trailer, she stripped off her clothes and folded them neatly on the dresser. She didn’t need to shower since she took one just that morning, but she did need to cool off after shooting. Jared’s power over her was almost too much. Plus, it had been a long time since she was touched by another person sexually.

Kary grabbed a hair tie from her wrist and twisted her hair up in it before stepping into the shower. The cool liquid soothed the aching need she felt, but it didn’t cure it. Jared did more things to her with just a look than any other man had ever done.

Once she was cooled off she wrapped a white fluffy towel around herself and stepped out into the bedroom. This is when she started to notice things that confused her. Little things like a pair of men’s shoes, a t-shirt, and then suddenly it hit her. She wasn’t in the guest trailer at all.

Fear coursed through her when she heard the trailer door open. She had nowhere to go, so she just stood there holding the towel closer to her naked body. She wasn’t prepared for the shocked look Jared gave her when he rounded the corner to his bedroom. He stared at her momentarily before taking a step closer to her shaking form.

“Kary? What … what are you doing?”

Karyne felt her lower lip begin to quiver, her eyes filling with tears of shame as he slowly got closer and closer to her. Once he was in front of her, she let a single tear fall. He watched as it cascaded down her cheek, wanting desperately to wipe it away but decided against it so he didn’t spook her.

“I … I’m sorry I didn’t … I thought …”

She felt strong arms envelop her in a hug, his fingertips sliding over her exposed shoulder blades lightly. Kary looked up at him and sighed when the pad of his thumb wiped her tear away. Jared never thought she looked more beautiful than in this moment. Her raw vulnerability struck a chord in him, and he slowly leaned in toward her lips.

The moment he kissed her, Kary felt like a grand finale of fireworks exploded inside her. She wrapped her arms around Jared’s neck and allowed him to carry her towards his queen size bed. He broke the kiss long enough to drop her down onto the mattress. Tearing his shirt quickly over his head and fumbling with his belt shouldn’t be sexy, but Kary was literally panting at the sight. Finally, Jared was standing bare before her, his hardness jutting out in front of him proudly.

He climbed on the bed supporting himself on his knees taking a moment to allow his eyes to travel over her body.

“You’re so fucking beautiful Kary. Wanted this since the moment I met you.”

Jared pulled her up so her nipples were pressed firmly against his chest, bringing them to hardened peaks. He began to roughly kiss her, pulling her hair like he did during the scene they shot earlier so he could kiss and suck at her pulse point. Kary cried out when he bit lightly at her neck and ground her pussy against the thickness of his cock.

He growled seductively and flipped them so she was on top of him. Jared motioned for her to turn around, and she looked at him confused.

“Wanna taste you, Kary. Wanna feel you cum on my face baby.”

She almost came by his words alone. No one had ever done this with her before. She’d barely done anything with a man before and had only slept with another person once. It wasn’t very enjoyable for her, so she never really tried to find anyone else. It hadn’t occurred to her that maybe the person she’d had relations with before had been doing it wrong. Kary got into position, placing each one of her knees parallel to Jared’s pectoral muscles. He greedily pulled her down and started relentlessly lapping at her soaked cunt. His strong arms held her in place as she writhed above him, crying out his name.

“Jar-Jared! Ahh! Fuck I-I’m close!!”

Kary was so caught up in the moment that she didn’t notice Misha standing in the bedroom’s threshold. For a moment, his jaw dropped at the sight before him, but he quickly felt himself hardening in his jeans. He began teasing his thickening cock through the denim, admiring how erotic the scene was before him. Misha continued to watch as Kary came undone on Jared’s mouth alone, her orgasm ripped through her like a current causing her to thrash and shake seductively.

“Fu-fuck!! JARED!!! Oh, shi-ahhh!!”

Kary climbed off Jared’s face and squealed when she was met with Misha’s lust blown eyes. Jared just smirked, clearly proud of himself for making the other man so worked up. He didn’t seem to be embarrassed at all, almost like he liked the thrill of getting caught.  

M-Misha?! What are you doing??”

His blue eyes darkened with want as he looked her up and down like she was prey.

“I could ask you the same thing Karyne, but right now I have something else in mind. Why don’t you be a good girl for Jared and I and kneel on the bed.”

Kary felt the familiar heat reignite in her abdomen as she climbed on the soft comforter, her knees spread slightly. Misha discarded his clothes slowly and pumped his cock a few times before standing in front of her. A bead of precum leaked out of the head, and she instinctively licked her lips.

“Be a good girl for us, and you’ll get rewarded sweetheart. Gotta do what we say though. Think you can do that?”

Kary nodded and looked up at Misha through her long lashes. Immediately she felt the sting of Jared’s hand land across her ass. She yelped, letting the lingering burn arouse her even more.

“I think Misha was waiting on an appropriate answer darlin’. How about you acknowledge him properly?”

Kary bit her lip and stuttered out what she hoped was the right answer.

“Y-Yes, sir.”

Misha groaned deeply and closed his eyes.

“Mmm good girl. Now open that pretty mouth of yours for me. I’ve wanted those perfect lips wrapped around me all afternoon.”

Soon they built up a rhythm. Misha fucked her mouth, while Jared teased her aching cunt with his tongue and fingers. He’d work her up to the point where she was about to tip over the edge but stopped right before she could. Kary pulled off Misha’s dick with an obscene pop to catch her breath. Before she could she felt two of his nimble fingers lift her chin up and saw his disapproving eyes.

“Oh sweetie, I didn’t tell you to stop did I? I think Jared’s gonna have to show you what happens when you disobey us.”

She whimpered when the tendrils of what had to be a whip slid over the curve of her ass. A second later, a loud crack filled the room as it blistered her skin. The impact of it sent a shockwave of heat straight to her core, her folds becoming slicker with need by the second.

“Pl-please … I’ll be a good girl sir. Please f-fuck me…”

Misha smirked and looked at Jared as he absentmindedly stroked his thick length.

“What do you think Jare? Should we give her what she needs? She has been pretty good.”

Jared ran his fingers over the pink welt that was now becoming visible on the flesh of her ass and licked his lips.

“I thought you’d never ask. Didn’t know how much longer I could wait.”

Misha chuckled and pushed Kary down onto the bed, admiring how her breasts bounced invitingly. He crawled over her and placed a loving kiss to her lips.

“I think you can wait a little longer, Jared. Seeing as you’ve already made her cum once, I think it’s my turn. Why don’t you go sit in that chair over there, and let me show you how it’s done.”

Kary thought for sure that he would argue with the other man, but surprisingly he didn’t protest at all. She watched as he took a seat and almost immediately begin running his hand over his sizable member. Her attention quickly reverted back to Misha as she felt his lips start to leave a trail of open-mouthed kisses down her body. He looked up into her eyes, marveling at her little whimpers and pleas from just his lips.

“Oh god… please …need to feel you…”

Misha settled himself between her legs and lined himself up before pushing into her tight heat. Kary’s back arched off the bed as he thrust into her relentlessly, not giving her time to adjust to his size. Her screams reverberated off the trailer’s walls, her hands gripping the sheets to stay grounded, as she felt herself close to the edge.

“Mish-ahhhh! Oh right there… I’m gonna… gon-ah!!”

Misha snarled, positioning himself so he was hitting her sweet spot over and over.

“C’mon sweetheart, cum for me. Fuck! Cum all over my cock baby!”

His words were like a switch, sending her into pure bliss. Her walls contracted around his cock almost making Misha lose his load, but he had other plans. He didn’t want to cum just yet. As soon as he pulled out of her Jared was on the bed. Kary squealed as he picked her up effortlessly and placed her on all fours. He leaned down over her shoulder and spoke praises in her ear.

“You did so good darlin’. Took Misha’s cock like a champ, but now you’re gonna take both of us. Gonna take both of our loads like a good girl.”

Misha kneeled in front of her while Jared lined up behind her. He slid inside her eager cunt ever so slowly making Kary feel every inch of him. Her breath was ragged, her eyes shut tight at the sensation. Once he was fully seated, she felt the tip of Misha’s dick press against her mouth. She opened on command and took as much of him as she could. Both men groaned at began a steady rhythm.

Kary felt so full, her eyes watering as Misha assaulted her mouth over and over again. The burn in her throat making her all the more stimulated. Jared’s hips began to stutter, and sweat dripped onto her body.

“Kary.. oh fuck… not gonna last… c’mon baby cum with me.”

Misha gripped her hair to hold her still as he guided his cock into her hot mouth, his own orgasm just around the corner. Jared pistoned into her bundle of nerves at a brutal pace, and suddenly felt Kary start to shake. Her cries became louder as he felt her walls contract around him. Just as he felt the first ropes of cum shoot into her, he felt another sensation. Kary’s own juices spilled out coating his cock and legs just as Misha spilled himself down her awaiting throat.

She was too tired to move, the feeling of euphoria still resonating at what just happened. Misha scooped her up as Jared pulled back the covers. Kary was laid down gently, the soft material soothing against her skin. Both men laid down on either side of her, relishing in the skin-on-skin warmth.

Even though her role on the show wasn’t meant to be long-lasting, Kary knew that being between these two men wasn’t just a one-time thing. The past few years had their ups and downs, but now she felt like she had something to live for. Jared and Misha were her missing link, and she drifted off to sleep knowing that she’d never be alone again.

[dodolostinhell]

Harry Potter and the cursed child - the play, my opinion (+Scorbus)

(This is super long (3.5k words), but I marked the different topics in case you want to read about something specifically!)

I went to London two weeks ago and guess what: I was lucky enough to get tickets for the play!

I just wanted to share my thoughts on the play. Please note that this are my very subjective thoughts on the play and someone else who was in the same room as me could have thought something completely else about it. Also note that I am one of the very few people out there on the HP fandom who liked reading the Skript. So my opinion on the play may differ (although I highly doubt that anyone would dislike the actual play)

I LOVED IT. I loved it so much. I was shaking after part one and crying after part two. It was all too much to handle for my little heart. I hope I can somehow share my experience through sharing it here.

I want to start with some general thoughts and opinions and get more detailed later, where I want to talk more about the actors/characters and some of the relationships, ending with Scorpius and Albus‘s relationship in the play (spoiler: it was so gay). I won’t talk about the plot. Because that is obviously the same.

The theater was beautiful. The set and everything around it was so lovely. I actually had pretty good seets in the middle, looking down on the stage (I was in like the first balcony/dress circle). I could see the whole stage perfectly. I loved how they expended the set for some scenes, so it actually felt like you were in the middle of the action. You could feel the energy of the play way better that way. For example when the dementors flew through the air or at the end, when Voldemort steps from stage into the crowd and the other actors are looking at us, while reacting to Harry’s parents death.

The special effects were amazing! They were made so well and it really gave the play the magic it needed. Of course it’s different than a movie (or a book, where you see it perfectly in your head), but it didn’t matter. It worked brilliantly and made my mouth drop several times. Stuff like Draco and Harry‘s Duell looked very impressive and filled the whole room with energy and tension. I won’t be spoil how they did it, but I‘ll just say that they used light a lot and fire. Just one thing that I absolutely adored, that I need to talk about, is the effect while time-turning: when time settles lights were moved that way, that it seemed like the wall was moving like water or a wave. Like getting bigger and smaller in smooth movements. It looked so good.

The other normal props were okay. Sometimes I had hoped for more. For example the train scenes, where they just build seats with suitcases. But things like the moving stairs on the other hand looked really cool. But in general nothing special about it.

The costumes looked very good for the most part. (Exception is Ginny, more in her segment.). I don’t know why they changed the school uniform, but it looked really nice. Although you sometimes couldn’t see the house colors very well. I loved the school uniform in the Voldemort AU. It looked very elegant and reminded me of Draco in his sixth year. It also suited Scorpius so well. They also changed the wands of the people we already know. I don’t know the reason for that but it isn’t like you could see them very well anyway. I really like the wands of the next gen, whose we didn’t know. They look so pretty.

The actor‘s performances were brilliant! They gave those lines so much life and made the story appear very different a lot of times. They were the people who made it a whole different experience to reading the Skript. I think this would make it way more appealing to the people who didn’t like the Skript, because I think some lines work very differently played out by actors in comparison to reading them.

Now I will go into more detail about actors, relationships etc. (Things that always matter the most to me).

Let‘s just start with Harry Potter played by Jamie Ballard. I liked it. He is an amazing actor and portrayed Harry‘s feelings very well. Especially the scene where he watched his parents die was very impressive. The way he broke down really hit me. That scream at the end was nerve wracking and you could feel all the hurt inside him coming out.

Also the very controversial line „i wish you weren’t my son“ was delivered so well. It really came out of a place of frustration. You noticed throughout the whole scene how much he is struggling with being a good father for Albus and the hurt he is feeling when Albus rejects him: it all build up to that moment, where it all was too much.

I love how Jamie brought Harry‘s trauma to life. You could really see how Harry wasn’t able to get closure with his past.

Next is Hermione, played by Nicola Alexis. She was brilliant! It was 100% Hermione and she did a perfect job. All her mannerisms were on point and it really felt like Hermione. I loved how she interacted with Harry, in a kind of motherly way, but still as a friend. Especially when they were joking around. She had a really nice energy about her and can’t say enough how great she was (and I really don’t get how people were mad that she’s black. It didn’t matter at all and didn’t make her any less of a perfect Hermione.)

And the last one of the golden trio: Ron, played by Thomas Aldridge. He was a comedy figure throughout the whole play to lighten it up a bit. Thomas did a good job though. He was very funny and portrayed Ron’s strange humor and mannerisms really well. It still didn’t feel like Ron to me. I can’t really explain why, but I couldn’t quite see him as Ron. But his performance was still great.

My queen Ginny, played by Susie Traylling. She was a really cool mum. She was cool and badass just like she’s supposed to be. The only issue I had was her outfit: it was so ugly. She wore a horrendous long skirt and a weird wooly sweater. It just wasn’t Ginny at all.

Also sometimes she was softer, especially to Harry, and that never really felt right. Somehow there missed that sarcastic tone or something that alsways comes with her, but she was just this super caring and kind person in those scenes. She should have needed a bit more self esteem in those. But in general Susie did a good job (and it way better than movie Ginny, although that isn’t very hard).

And Harry and Ginny’s relationship kind of works. I liked there chemistry and how Ginny is kind of the boss of the family (because of course she is).

Rose, played by Helen Aluko. She gave Rose a very different touch to what I expected her to be. She’s energetic, has a shit load of self esteem and has quite some attitude but that becomes quite nice to the end of the play. At the start she’s just as irritating as I imagined her to be but by the end in her fourth year, she becomes kind of sarcastic and likes to joke around in here very own way, playing a lot with her attitude. I really liked her by the end, which I couldn’t in the Skript. Helen makes Rose appear so different to what I imagined her to be like are at the end, but I love it.

Young Harry by Tommy Bard was adorable. A brilliant performance for such an young actor. He really felt like Harry to me and he did an excellent job.

My boy Draco, played by James Howard. He was so sassy and I loved it. I was sceptical at first, because he seemed kind of arrogant, but you soon notice that it is a mask to protect himself and his son. After a while you could see the fear and emotions inside him. I liked how he gave Draco that three dimensional touch that he really needs. The only thing that irritated me a bit was his deep voice, I felt like didn’t suit Draco, but James’s performance absolutely made up for that.

Delphi played by Eve Ponsonby. She looked so good (I was kind of irritated at the beginning and than I realized how good Tom Riddle looked and it made sense). I loved her clothing style with ripped pants and a black jeans jacket. Also her colored light blonde hair with blue tips looked so cool. It just was very weird when she suddenly wore that jacket out of black feathers after her reveal. It made her flying around a bit too dramatic.

It came to a surprise to me that I really liked Delphi. She was someone I would like to spend time with myself (without the whole daughter of Voldemort thingy). She really felt like a energetic, self-confident young women, who’s very passionate. Also her revealed selve was very cool! Eve’s performance was brilliant. She was very evil but you could still sympathize with her at the same time. You saw how much she loved her father and how badly she wanted to see her dad. Not just as a partner in crime, but also as an orphan, who misses her father.

She’s also kind of the biggest Scorbus shipper (she absolutely knew that at least Scorpius has a huge crush on Albus) and the biggest cock block of all time (more about that later in the Scorbus segment).

I also loved how they hinted on Delphi being bad. In the way she talkes sometimes I could sense there was something shady going on. Or another example would be at the beginning in Harry’s house with Amos Diggory. You can see her carefully grabbing her wand when she sees Harry, but than deciding against it and leaving her wand in her pocket.

Hagrid was the only Performance I didn’t like at all. His costume was great, but everything else wasn’t Hagrid. He was too naive and wasn’t kind or empathetic (at least it didn’t feel like it).

Snape wasn’t very good either. He looked like Snape and killed Alan Rickman’s way of talking but his personality wasn’t right. He was purely a fanfic Snape and that isn’t how Snape really is: He’s an asshole and that doesn’t change in an AU. But instead he wasn’t mean at all. Instead more reserved.

Professor McGonagall played by Sandy McDade was brilliant. It was perfect. 100% McGonagall. She was sarcastic, sassy and so done throughout the play. She didn’t want anything to do with Harry’s shit. I loved how different her dynamic was towards her former students and her students now. And it was hilarious how she still had authority over the golden trio (+Draco) although two of them have super high positions in the Ministry (Hermione his the fucking minister of magic and still she’s intimidated by McGonagall. Genius)

Moaning Myrtle played by April Hughes. She was brilliant. My absolute favorite performance. It was absolutely perfect. Nicely uncomfortable but still funny. And the way she moved: so perfect! Aaand she changed her lines: Harry is canonly bi!

Let me explain: Myrtle is talking to Albus and Scorpius. While she talks it is obvious she sees their dads in them. She says so explicitly. They start talking about Cedric. She says it was such a shame that the pretty one had to die. She listened to so many people crushing on him. So many Girls and some boys. While she says that she looks more into Scorpius’s direction, but when she says “and boys” she turns to Albus, definitely thinking about Harry, and telling Albus (and us) that way, that Harry used to have a crush on Cedric. I was so happy about it.

Now finally the protagonists!

Albus Potter was played by Joe Idris-Roberts. I liked it a lot. Joe gave Albus so much personality I had a hard time finding in the Skript. He made him three dimensional and he really felt like a teen who is going through a lot.

My cinnamon roll Scorpius Malfoy played by Jonathan Case. Damn he looked good (the blonde hair suits him so well. He looked so handsome and adorable). It was perfect. Quirky, nerdy, socially awkward, enthusiastic, insecure, funny. Absolutely brilliant. I didn’t think I could love Scorpius more, but Jonathan did it. His mannerisms were brilliant and really portrayed his quirkiness. The way he presented the lines were creative, fitted perfectly and made them even greater as they were. Also so many layers to his presentation. There was never a scene were he was one dimensional and there always was something more going on with Scorpius. I loved just watching him and interpreting his performance and what Jonathan tried to show subtextually.

Now relationships! I touched some already but I wanted to talk about them a bit more.

I’ll start with Harry and Albus’s relationship. I touched this a bit in Harry’s segment already. They truely felt like father and son who have a very troubled relationship. You can see how they love eachother but they struggle to understand eachother. Especially with Albus being in the middle of puberty where you already have enough trouble understanding yourself. Until Godrics Hollow there is so much tension. When Harry decides that he must just be an authority to Albus and separates him from Scorpius really broke my heart and you could see how Harry didn’t know better and was frustrated. There was so much to it and so many unspoken words were between them. It worked brilliantly and they portrayed their relationship great.

I adored the shift in Scorpius and Draco’s relationship. You always saw how much they cared for eachother. But they didn’t know how to approach eachother. In Godrics Hollow everything turns and they have a adorable father-son relationship. You could see them in the background talking, both smiling at eachother. It warmed my heart.

Delphi’s relationship with Albus and Scorpius before here reveal was also very interesting. She actually was very nice to them, although she could get a bit too enthusiastic. Delphi saw that Albus and Scorpius need eachother to be stronger and therefore actually is a good friend to them and brings them back together. It’s also really clever how she separates them at the same time. While Scorpius and Albus are still together, she slowly loosens their relationship by making Scorpius very jealous. You could see how Scorpius dislikes her more and more the more the relationship between her and Albus grows. She’s excellent with people and therefore exactly knows how to play with those two so they do what she wants. Yes she looses at the end, but that’s because she didn’t manage to loosen Scorpius and Albus’s relationship after all.

So before I can get more into detail on what she did with the two I need to get started mit Scorbus!

Scorpius and Albus need and adore eachother. Their friendship helps them to get through some tough emotional stuff. But throughout the play I got the feeling that there was more. They both feel more than friendship for eachother and they truely love eachother. They don’t know that from the other and they try to hide it, but I saw something there.

It starts with the touchiness. There are loads of casual touches. More than I ever see with any of my friends. They need to be close to eachother.

And then there are Scorpius’s looks. Gosh that boy can look at Albus, it’s incredible. Almost all the time, when Albus isn’t looking at him, Scorpius looks at him with love and desire. The scene where it is the most obvious was when Delphi was Training Albus and Scorpius was getting closer to them to watched what going on. There was so much jealousy and hurt in his eyes. He was not only afraid he would loose his friend and be replaced, but also that Albus would have a crush on Delphi. Delphi sensed that of course and used this.

Another example is right before Delphi’s reveal. Scorpius and Albus sit very close next to eachother on the stairs at the owlery, talking what to do with the time-turner. Not only they sit very close and there’s lot’s of casual touching, they both make eyes at eachother. It seems like Scorpius isn’t even trying to hide what he is feeling, smiling so openly, warmly and loving at Albus. Albus is doing a better job at hiding it, but there also is some pain in his eyes, as if he is looking at Scorpius as if he will never be able to have him that way.

Then comes Delphi into the same scene. She goes and sit right between the two and separates them that way. You can see how Albus is looking apologetic into Scorpius’s direction, who is looking hurt and jealous. That look really made me sad. Delphi than changes from being the biggest cock block ever to being a shipper and ties Scorpius and Albus together on their hands, so they basically sit on top of eachother.

And finally the last scene Albus and Scorpius have together. In the Skript this scene made me very angry, because suddenly Scorpius needed to be straight again and have a crush on Rose, but the live performance changes it completely and is almost proof that there is more going on. The actors definitely didn’t care about Scorose and went full on Scorbus.

The scene takes place an a staircase. They stand in front of eachother, while Scorpius stands two stairs further down. Because of the hight difference it first seems like they don’t stand that close, but actually they stand pretty close to eachother. They talk about how they can’t believe Scorpius has asked Rose out. Scorpius genuinely didn’t look like he could believe it. As if he didn’t want to but now he was crazy enough to actually do it. Albus looks kind of sad when he says it. A little disappointed.

Scorpius starts rambling on how Rose and him will have a beautiful future together, but although his words should be hopeful, they came across as an act. As if his heart wasn’t at it. They both try not to look at eachother, because they have a sad look in their eyes. As if they were both hiding their true feelings.

Than Rose shows up. She greets Scorpius with Scorpius King with a sarcastic tone to it. She runs away laughing after that. In the Skript it sounded she actually liked Scorpius, but in the play she was just making fun of him. When Rose is pretending like she likes Scorpius for this few seconds, Scorpius looks shocked. I could practically see “oh no what have I done” going through his head. Albus also looked shocked. He never wished that Scorpius’s crush would be returned.

When they realize it was just a joke, they loosen up. And Scorpius hugs Albus. By far the most passionate hug of all. Especially because Scorpius is standing a little lower makes the hug even more adorable. Than Albus says he thought they agreed they didn’t hug. That made me thinking, why they would discuss that in the first hand. My idea is, that they are both scared that their crush would come out and they can hide it better, when they aren’t intimate that way. And then Scorpius says, that he thought they would do this in this new version he had in mind. This confuses me until the day of today, because this is an actual line in the Skript were Scorbus apparently isn’t a thing. But the only thing “a new version of us” could mean is in a romantic way. Everyone I spoke with agreed with me and were just as confused as me. I just believe that Scorbus is canon and that these two oblivious boys have huge crushes on eachother. That’s at least what the play told me.

I hope I could kind of share my experience and this didn’t end up being way too long for anyone to read. I can just say that I loved the play and I can absolutely recommend it to everyone. It was worth every pound.

[famedexclusivearchive]

Here are the third filming tasks for our Idolized event! For this task block, there are two tasks for points below the cut. They are both specific tasks for the show this time. You are not required to complete all tasks (or any), so I encourage everyone to do only what they have muse for instead of draining themselves!

Reminder that task completions should be tagged only in the individual tag for this task block. Additional reminder that any tasks directly related to the show (so far, anything other than the flashback audition prompt from task block one) completed after the deadline will not count for points.

Note: Completing these tasks is worth up to 4 points total on your points page. If you plan to complete the tasks, please post them by Sunday, May 13, at noon EDT (current time EDT can be found here) in the tag #fmdidolized3. Points may only be collected once the post is liked by the main to verify proper completion. If it doesn’t fulfill the requirements or is not posted in the task tag, it will not be verified. Any threads or self-paras that take place on camera should be tagged #fmdidolizedoncam. This includes the starter and subsequent replies for as long as they are on camera. Any interactions not appropriately tagged as such will not be considered as submitted for potential airing.

Task One. Filming Thread (2 points)

Prompt: The next two weeks will involve the most rehearsal for the upcoming concert within the individual companies. There will be an all-day, all-companies full rehearsal that will be the major filming event of this filming block on May 10. The schedule for the day is as follows:

4:00AM: Rehearsal venue opens for artist arrival.

5:00AM: All artists must be checked in as present by their managers (meaning everyone will be required to arrive with their managers between 4AM and 5AM).

6:00AM: First setlist run-through begins without full costume changes.

12:00PM: Break for lunch. Artists are not permitted to leave the rehearsal venue, but may intermingle socially. 

1:30PM: Select rehearsals for portions of the setlist needing the most work begin and artists monitor recordings of morning rehearsal.

4:30PM: Break for dinner. Artists are not permitted to leave the rehearsal venue, but may intermingle socially.

5:30PM: Each group or soloist reviews their costume/hair/makeup change schedule for throughout the setlist with their respective staff and get into their starting costumes.

6:30PM: Full show run-through begins with full costume changes and all lights/sound/etc. effects.

11:30PM: Full show run-through ends and artists return all costumes and see managers for performance notes.

12:30AM: Rehearsal ends, artists may go home.

Rehearsals will take place at a venue in Seoul with a similar size and layout to the venue that will be used in Jeju (Jeju Stadium). All artists must be backstage while rehearsal is running if they are not on stage. Each group will get their own dressing/waiting room and each soloist will get their own, smaller room.

diet mention tw // Cameras will be around backstage and there will also be cameras filming the stage for rehearsal footage. Lunch and dinner will be provided in a backstage catering room, and the food selection will be healthy and diet-friendly.

Idols are not allowed to post on social media about the rehearsals or upload pictures of rehearsal.

The concert’s setlist can be found here.

Requirements:

You may do as many threads (and self-paras) as you wish taking place during your the rehearsal, but only one will count for points. The thread completed for points should be the one tagged under #fmdidolized3 and should fulfill the following:

The majority of the thread should take place on camera and be tagged accordingly.

The thread should consist of at least a starter and a reply from the original poster and two replies from the thread partner (a total of 4 posts, assuming two writers) by the deadline. You are highly encouraged to continue the thread past the deadline if you wish to!

Threads not for points may be off-camera and with whomever you wish.

Task Two. Interview (2 points)

Prompt: Your muse has been pulled aside sometime during concert rehearsal to film a reflective interview for this filming period of Idolized. They will be pulled aside into a room which has been specially designated in the rehearsal venue and set up just like the normal rooms for talking head segments utilized during the show. Your muse will be asked the following questions by a producer (who is off-screen) and their answers will be filmed. They should answer in typical reality show format, including the question in their answer and answering as though no direct question was asked. The longer the answers and the more topics covered the better, since it allows more options for editors. All footage will be kept and will possibly be aired throughout the season. Idols are instructed to maintain a personal, but not overly negative attitude in their answers. Even if written in self-para format, this does not count toward any of your monthly limits for the month.

Questions

How is rehearsal going?

What have you been doing when you’re not on stage?

If you’re participating in a special stage, how do you feel about that special stage? (If not applicable, please skip this question)

Are you excited for the songs you’re performing?

Have you found such a large, intensive rehearsal more constructive or frustrating?

This concert is much longer than most concerts you may have participated in. How do you plan to keep up energy for multiple performances and/or for performing at your point in the concert?

There will be many fans present at the concert who may be attending to see another artist. If you had to introduce your music to another artist’s fan, how would you describe it?

Additional Filming:

Below you can find additional filming occurring during this time period. Everyone is free to write threads or self-paras if they are included, but threads on these topics will not be worth points. Please remember, anything that takes place on camera should be tagged #fmdidolizedoncam.

There will be no additional filming of promoting/preparing artists this time around, but there will be additional rehearsals for the special live stream Portal concert held while all artists are in Jeju for the concert. It will include all songs released through Portal by the end of May and artists participating will be filmed practicing individually for solo songs or together for collab songs in their company practice rooms whenever it fits in their schedule. The setlist can be found here. Exact details of location/date/time of the live stream concert will be given during the next task block!

Participating artists: @fmdxhansol, @fmdtaeyong, @fmdjulien, @fmdsooyeon, @fmdxjerome, @fmdmina, @miaxfmd, @daxfmd, @fmdsilver, @fmdxnabi, @fmdhaejun, @sooahfmd, @fmdjinwoo, @fmdsunny, @fmddohee, @fmdwooseung, @durifmd, @fmdtaesung

For songs that have lost an artist due to revamp or someone leaving, the remaining artist(s) may choose another muse(s) to perform the song during the live stream concert as a special guest as long as they can realistically do so (ex. a male rapper must be chosen for a male rap part, a female vocal must be chosen for a female vocal part). Please message the Exclusive blog through IM before the end of this task block with your chosen special guest if applicable for approval and confirmation. If you don’t choose anyone to fill any empty space, it will be assumed the spot is filled by an unnamed NPC.

[lonelypond]

Casual Lunacy, Chapter 16

Love Live, NicoMaki 4K, 16/?

Friend Or Foe

Nico glanced at her phone and grimaced, “ARRGHHHH. Kashima!”

Maki’s head snapped toward Nico, who smiled and shrugged before frantically scrolling through her contacts. And then Maki was behind Nico, leaning over her shoulder, arms wrapped around Nico’s waist, voice a low, sexy growl that made Nico shiver, “What did Kashima do?”

Nico shook her head, getting more frantic as she got closer to the end of her contacts list, “Not Kashima. Kashima’s singing voice.” Nico put her phone away and turned around, exasperated, eyes dull, “My rehearsal pianist quit.”

Maki frowned. Nico sad was unacceptable. No sparkle in the ruby eyes was a crime against cuteness. And this, Maki could fix, “I can play the piano. I’ll do it.” Maki kissed Nico and grinned proudly, having easily solved this first problem for her GIRLFRIEND.

Nico stared. Surely not...then she remembered the karaoke, “Can you sight read?”

Maki shrugged, “Sure.”

“I have a piano reserved for this afternoon…” Nico sounded tentative, like she was having trouble believing Maki was telling the truth.

“More time with Nico for me.” Maki twirled Nico. Umi sat up behind them, stared at the two of them for a minute and then moved to the kitchen, pulling a plate out of the oven and pouring coffee.

“Kashima will be there too.” Nico broke away from Maki, hands on hips, brow darkened, “And Nico needs Kashima. You can’t scare her.”

Maki moved closer, sliding her arms through Nico’s, enjoying the feel of her hands on the curves of Nico’s hips, “I will only be paying attention to you.”

Nico still looked suspicious, “And the music.”

Maki nodded her head as she angled for a nip at Nico’s neck, “And the music.”

“Explain.” Umi’s coffee mug hit the table and Umi’s voice echoed. Nico pulled her neck away from Maki, who blew air along its length, making Nico shiver.

“Nico.” Umi’s voice was threatening. Nico pushed Maki toward the kitchen.

“Grab the plates for us, pretty girl. Nico’s starving.” Nico sat down across from Umi, “I only found out right before your party. I didn’t know the night Maki slept over.” Nico shook her head at the smug redhead, “Nico’s still a little annoyed about that too, by the way.”

“You.” Umi turned to Maki. “Explain.”

Anxiety and confusion from Umi, worry from Nico, worry and that new mix of scents that made Maki want to get as close to Nico as possible. She slid her seat Nico-ward and took the suspiciously still dynamo’s hand under the table, swallowing a whine.

“I transform into a wolf, voluntarily, sometimes involuntarily if I’m stressed enough and the moon’s full. It’s from my father’s side, as long as anyone remembers, long before we immigrated from Japan. Papa doesn’t transform…” Nico was paying close attention to Maki’s expression, her hand a squeeze of encouragement. Umi continued stoic, but her vibe was a friendly one, so Maki powered through her hesitation to share, “M..my first transformation happened at 8.” She turned to Nico, lavender eyes troubled, “Some things are more…” Maki sighed, trying to think of the right word as Nico rested her head on the werewolf’s shoulder “urgent when I’m in wolf form.”

“Can it be transmitted to others?” Umi folded her hands together.

Maki shook her head. “There’s no science I know of, but Mama, my grandfather and other relatives have always been fine.”

“Genetic anomaly then.” Umi stated. Maki nodded. “Interesting.”

Nico hummed, relaxed on Maki’s shoulder, and the warmth spread. Maki felt her tension ease, slightly, “Papa’s done some research, but he can’t publish it anywhere.”

“Is there a network?” Umi wondered.

Maki shook her head, careful not to disturb Nico, who had closed her eyes. Their food was getting cold but neither of them paid any attention to  it. “I know a few who aren’t family.” Maki swallowed nervously, “I..it’s fairly easy to...sniff them out. We smell and hear things better than other people.”

Umi glanced down at her still folded hands, considering, for a long, nervous moment. Maki heard Nico’s sotte voce thought, “That’s how you knew Nico was scared.” Maki snuffled her nose through Nico’s hair, finding the hints of lavender, as Umi looked up with a serious expression. Maki froze.

“Maki, No cute, na...k...no clothes wolfdog in front of Honoka and Kotori. Ever.” Umi tapped her finger on the table, “And Nico.”

“Yes?” “You do all the vacuuming from now on.” Umi pointed at Maki, “Her shedding is your problem.”

Nico grinned and bounced over to kiss Umi on the cheek, causing a surprised whimper from both Umi and Maki, “You’re a real tyrant, Umi Sonoda.”

Umi coughed, “And Maki...”

Startled, Maki focused on Umi instead of how much farther Nico was getting away from her, “Yes?”

“Nico will explain the house rules we have both agreed to at her earliest convenience. Kotori and Honoka follow them precisely.”

Nico muttered “Honoka” with a snort, putting the coffeepot, two mugs and muffins on a tray, and Maki leaned forward, paying close attention as Umi continued speaking, her tone uncompromising.

“And while I am not Nico’s immediate family, should you cause her any distress or trouble, I WILL be your immediate concern.” Nico almost dropped the tray at the chill in Umi’s voice as Maki’s eyes went wide.

Maki wondered if meeting Nico’s actual family would be this nerve wracking. Nico put a muffin and a mug in front of Maki without even looking. Barista reflexes, Maki realized.

“Don’t scare her, Umi. She’s skittish enough. I don’t want her jumping every time you open a door.”

“Hey!” Maki barked, indignant. Nico patted her on the head.

Umi glared at Maki, her syllables precise. “Roommate talk. Interruptions by romantic partners are discouraged.”

Nico poured coffee, “I use that clause on Honoka all the time, don’t blow it for me, pretty girl. More, Umi?”

Umi nodded. Nico poured, then sat and bit into a muffin. Maki picked one up, sniffing cautiously, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and cardamon exploded inside her mouth and she salivated, suddenly starving.

“Never play poker, coffee, black, ears, cute, dating Nico for her cooking,” Nico’s knee bumped Maki’s playfully under the table; Umi laughed as Maki swallowed the muffin nearly whole. Nico was definitely liking this Sunday mood.

Eli was impressed by so many things about Nozomi, but her grit in the face of what seemed to be overwhelming pain was pretty high on the list. Nozomi had a meeting with Erena Toudou, the lighting designer’s assistant and she refused to miss, reschedule or relocate it. Nozomi had scrubbed her face, left off her makeup, tied a bandana around her head, pulled a pretty purple and white sweater dress over black leggings and headed to the theatre. Eli came along, even though she didn’t have a dance rehearsal scheduled. She was both worried about Nozomi and curious about what the artist was doing. Nozomi had shown her some sketches last night. Eli wanted to see the full effect, how light and color added to depth of the mood Nozomi had managed to capture in a few lively pastel strokes.

Nozomi had been mostly quiet over breakfast. Eli figured she was saving her energy for the explosion of pain being in the theatre seemed to cause. Eli was wearing her jacket open, not that bothered by the chill and thrilled to see the sun, when Nozomi stopped in front of her, gloved hands reaching for the parka’s zipper, “You should really zip up, Eli-chi. I don’t want you to catch cold.”

“Russian blood,” Eli stamped her foot and grinned, “This is summer.”

Nozomi stepped closer and closed the zipper, her lips also closing the gap to Eli’s, her hands on settling below Eli’s shoulders. “Your lips are cold.”

“Liar.” Eli smirked, as she drew Nozomi closer.

“Convince me.” Nozomi  winked.

“Anything the lady wishes.” Eli leaned in, Nozomi’s lips tingling at the connection.

Erena was perched on the edge of the stage, typing urgently into her laptop. Nozomi stopped once she got inside the door, her hand reaching for Eli’s.

“Nozomi?” Eli whispered, concerned.  Nozomi squeezed Eli’s hand once and smiled brightly as she let go and headed toward the stage.

“Erena!” Nozomi chirped.

Erena looked up, her brows frowning, “Nozomi. You sound in a better mood than the last time we talked.”

Nozomi giggled, “It’s a beautiful day, I’ve been kissed by a beautiful girl. And now I get to work with a handsome one.”

Erena nodded, “Glad to see you’re in a good mood. I had an idea for the lighting during the “Ringed By Wolves” song.”

“Ooh, let me see it.” Nozomi jumped up on the stage, and leaned into Erena. Eli smiled over her Econ textbook, glad to see some liveliness back in Nozomi’s eyes.

Maki had waited at the table, drinking coffee under the watchful eye of Umi,who was cleaning up the counter, while Nico changed,

“You live in the area?” Umi asked.

“A little bit north of campus.” Maki sipped as Umi joined her at the table.

“Honoka, Kotori and I are from Minneapolis. Kotori wanted to study costuming and fashion here; Honoka and I decided on Marketing.”

“Did Kotori do the party decorations?” Maki asked.

Umi nodded.

“Pretty. I loved the lanterns. My mother can never find a decorator to do the Lunar New Year theme with the right flair.” Maki found herself wondering how long Nico was going to take. She couldn’t hear much going on in the bedroom, Nico was surprisingly quiet when doing anything other than talking.

“Kotori will be pleased to hear that.” Umi expression was a subtle take on pleased and proud without going so far as to smile.

And Nico was about to walk back into the room. Maki turned, eager, and Umi chuckled, making Maki whirl with a barked, “What?”

“Your body language is very similar in whatever form you’ve taken.”

Maki rolled her eyes, hopped out of her chair and grabbed Nico for a hug. Nico batted at her arms, but Maki just laughed and whirled Nico. When she put Nico down, the smaller woman readjusted her cherry red dress over her snowflake leggings, grumbling, “Nico will just wear blacks if you’re going to mess everything up the second I walk into a room.”

Maki knew Nico wasn’t really upset so a question was safe. “Blacks?”

“Stagehands wear black backstage. Less distracting. Every theatre major has some.” Nico explained. “If you’re ready, let’s head out. I want to get there before Kashima so you can run through the song with Nico.” Nico grabbed a small backpack covered with cute pins and kitschy patches. Maki shrugged back into her track jacket, following Nico. “I have work later, Umi so I won’t be home ‘til late.”

“Honoka’s coming over to study; Kotori’s going to be working at the costume shop all night.”

“I know. Nico can’t wait to try out Mina Murray’s vampire hunting outfit.”

Any clothes Maki was wearing were vampire hunting clothes, if Kashima was the vampire, Maki thought with a scowl as the taller woman preened and Nico frowned in Maki’s direction. But Maki had promised Nico she would not scare Kashima so Maki bit back both a growl and a whine and sat up a little straighter at the piano, waiting for Nico to cue her. If only she could avoid gagging on the all too pervasive stink of Kashima’s cologne. Maybe she could beg Nico to have a word with Kashima now that she didn’t have to hide the truth about how sensitive her werewolf nose could be.

Along with Kashima had come a crowd of three tittering girls neither Maki or Nico knew. They were who Kashima was preening for. One of them detached from the vampire in training and leaned on the piano. It was only a console piano, but Maki didn’t care as Nico was what she was there for. The girl, short, blonde, lilac, murmured at Maki, “Are you a music major?”

Maki shook her head, not really paying attention as Kashima leaned in the doorway and winked at Nico, who then suddenly noticed one of Kashima’s hangers on was missing and whirled, moving quickly to the piano and pushing the straying girl Kashima-ward, “Kashima, if you can’t control your groupies, they have to leave. Nico can’t work with so many distractions.”

“Sorry, Nico.” Kashima shrugged, not looking sorry at all as she whispered something in the ear of the one who smelled mostly of chocolate. More tittering. Maki flexed her fingers and started improvising, to distract herself from Nico’s increasing flutterings of anger and impatience. Maki was going to snarl at Kashima if this kept up and she was pretty sure Nico would not be willing to take provocation into account.

“OUT!” There was a shout and Nico somehow managed to wrestle the three girls, all taller or broader than her, out of the room, barely breaking a sweat, “Nico needs to work.” On her way back into the room, Nico dragged Kashima to the piano by the collar. Maki was impressed by Nico’s ability to physically exert her personality. Kashima, bereft of her following and faced with the prospect of an angry Nico and actually singing, seemed subdued. Maki smiled, close lipped, no fangs, thinking encouraging thoughts on Nico’s behalf. Surely Kashima couldn’t be as bad as Nico claimed.

Nico leaned toward Kashima and Maki narrowed her eyes, her fingers off the keys. Nico waited until Kashima met her glance, then smiled brightly, “Thanks for coming today, Kashima. I’ve been looking forward to working with you.” Maki couldn’t help it, she snorted. Nico kicked straight back, her heel colliding with Maki’s ankle, causing a yelp. “Let’s start with warm ups.”

Kashima opened her mouth and Maki realized that Nico had not been exaggerating. Maki glanced at the sheet music again and groaned. No one had rewritten the music to reflect Kashima’s higher range than the baritone who should have been cast. This was a disaster from the start, Kashima’s natural lack of ability aside.

“Nico?” Maki hesitated. Nico was right there, arms around Maki’s shoulders, her head resting right next to Maki’s ear as she whispered, “Is there a problem, pretty, pouty, piano playing girl?”

“Kashima’s part is written for a baritone. I’ll have to take it up an octave for an alto…but someone should rearrange this.”

Nico sighed and hugged Maki, “Director has no musical skills, musical director is terrified. It’s a bad combination.”

“I can rearrange it. Maybe have Kashima Rex Harrison her way through it, but the composer might object.”

Nico kissed Maki on the cheek, then stood, “Maybe not more than hearing Kashima stumble in a range not natural to her.”

Kashima had taken a seat and was staring, worried, “Nico?”

“Don’t worry, Kashima, Maki’s going to help us. Nico’s going to make sure no one actually dies on stage.”

Nico started leading Kashima through warm ups again while Maki grabbed Nico’s backpack to search for a pencil or pen. This was going to be a long afternoon. But music was a challenge she had missed.

Rin was relaxed in Hanayo’s lap as they listened to K-Pop stream over Hanayo’s laptop speakers, Hanayo singing along softly, her hand brushing through Rin’s hair. Then an alert went off and Hanayo tensed.

“Kayochin?” Rin was puzzled, they spent a couple of hours every Sunday afternoon like this, when Rin didn’t have practice or rehearsal.

“Sorry. I have a message. From work.” Hanayo grabbed the laptop and put it to the side, so she could read without disturbing Rin.

“What kind of work?”

“Computer coding.” Hanayo’s answer was automatic (she’d rehearsed) as she read the urgent message from Erena. “Rin, remember you promised you wouldn’t change when I’m not here, right.”

“Sure, Kayochin.” Rin was picking up an unusual mix of worry and fear from her fiancée

“Good.” Hanayo pulled Rin up into a serious hug, ruffling the ginger’s hair, enjoying the softness, “I have to go out for a little while. Why don’t you study for that quiz you’ve got? And when I get back we’ll play video games.”

Rin raised a suspicious eyebrow, but Hanayo was too busy getting ready to go outside to notice. Unaware of Rin’s scrutiny, Hanayo paused in front of the mirror, checking her hair, straightening her hat and muttering, pausing for a minute to look herself in the eye, then nod. “I won’t be long, Rin. Please don’t follow me.” Hanayo turned around, kissing Rin before Rin could get out any questions, “And remember your promise.”

Rin stood still for a second, arms slack at her side. Then, she grabbed her phone and sent a panicky text to Maki.

R: MAKI MAKI MAKI ( ⁰д⁰) Kayochin’s breaking up with me (≖͞_≖̥) HELP (/∇≦*)

Nozomi hadn’t flinched even once, which was great, but Eli found herself putting her textbook aside to watch Erena, who seemed to be paying as much attention to Nozomi as Eli had initially.  Eli’s arms had crossed over her chest and her blue eyes gone ice, which attracted a puzzled look from Nozomi before the artist got involved in shuffling between projections.

“E...excuse me?” A soft, shy voice sounded from the back of the theater.

“Koizumi!” Erena boomed and hurried to the center aisle.

“I...I think I found w...what you wanted.” The mousy brunette nervously fidgeted with a messenger bag.

“Great!” Erena grabbed the bag, “I’ll show you what to do in case this happens again.”

Koizumi nodded, glancing nervously around the room. As Erena led her backstage, Eli decided to interrupt Nozomi. “I can’t wait to see your art with the finished set.” Eli slid next to Nozomi on the bench that had been moved to the front of the house with a temp table for the light board.

“I know. The colors are so evocative of the tension inherent in every interaction Dracula has. Who knew you could do so much with gray?” Nozomi leaned into Eli, “I love when the set is half built and the theater is empty. There’s a lurking mood. It’s exciting.”

Eli hugged Nozomi, glad to hear excitement in her voice. But then Nozomi tensed with a hiss.

“Nozomi?” Eli glanced at Nozomi, who had raised a hand to her head.

“I’ll be all right, Eli-chi. Don’t worry.” Nozomi muttered.

Eli frowned, “I came over here to tell you I’m going for a quick walk, but I’ll stay if you need me…”

“No,” Nozomi raised her head and smiled at Eli, who noticed her eyes watering, “If you sprint over to Norris, I could use some food.”

“On it!” Eli stood, kissed Nozomi gently and strode out of the theater, stopping as soon as she hit the corridor to lurk. It was a only a few minutes before Erena’s delivery girl left and Eli followed her outside, waiting until they were clear of the entrance to grab her arm and pull her to the side.

“What did you and Erena do to Nozomi?” Eli’s voice was a furious whip. Purple eyes widened, then there was a squeak.

“Nozomi?” Hanayo tried to pull away.

“Nozomi Tojo, the artist doing the projections.” Eli knew she was looming over the smaller girl but she didn’t really give a damn.

“Is she a w...werewolf?” Another squeak as Hanayo struggled.

Eli stepped back, staring, “What?”

Koizumi shook her head, “Never mind.”

“No. Not never mind.” Eli was getting louder. “What are you doing to Nozomi?”

Hanayo flinched, but her eyes were sympathetic,  “Don’t shout. Please.”

Eli snorted, taking a step in, “Why should I listen to you? You listen to me…” “STOP!” The loud cry surprised Eli, who let go. The smaller woman panted from the exertion, but continued, her tone urgent, “I’m p…p...protecting someone too.”

Eli froze, shocked silent. What was going on?

Nico had sent Kashima on her way and crashed next to Maki on the piano bench, exhausted after the nearly ninety minute session. Maki had been impressed by how much seriousness Nico brought to her practice. No flirting, no joking, no breaks for more than a swig of water. Relentlessly leading Kashima by example and encouraging Maki to demonstrate how to work through the song. Maki had, after picking up a few hints from Nico’s ever agile expression, managed to find a way to help Kashima without completely overshadowing her vocally.

“We should sing a duet.” Nico murmured, “Maki has a nice voice.”

“Next party.” Maki offered, enjoying Nico’s proximity, deciding not to tease Nico about liking her duet with Honoka. Maki swung a leg over the bench so she could wrap her arms around Nico and pull the smaller girl into her torso. Snuffling her nose through Nico’s hair, inhaling the even muskier, sweaty Nico magic helped cut out the lingering Kashima funk.

“Nico needs a shower.” Nico sighed, her weight against Maki.

“Nico is fine,” Maki murmured, eyes closed, lips working their way down to Nico’s neck, tongue flicking out for a quick lick. “Tasty.”

Nico laughed, “Nico is not a donut. Does Maki need a snack?”

“I prefer Nico.” Maki nipped at Nico’s ear, her hands tightening around Nico’s waist.

With a groan, Nico forced herself away, leaving Maki staring after her with a pout. “Nico has to work, pouty puppy eyes. And then Nico has classes and rehearsals and studying and more work.”

And Maki had a week of going home right after her classes unless her mother softened. Maki stood, reaching over to pick up Nico’s backpack and sling it over her shoulder, “I can walk you wherever you’re going.”

Nico’s pursed her lips, hand resting on Maki’s forearm, “When do you have to be home this week?”

“By 5:30 most days.” Maki looked down at Nico, letting her eyes glow with the surge of desire that Nico’s touch triggered.

“You look too tempting.” Nico slid her hands until her arms were around Maki’s neck, making sure her hands were in contact with Maki for the entire motion. The luminous green deep in the pools of lavender pulsed as Maki’s breaths raced. Nico was fascinated. And the fangs were back, with that endearing, impish grin as Maki tilted her head, her hands pressing Nico closer, fingers learning Nico’s every twitch and tell.

“Maki.” Nico let her voice wrap the syllables, warm and teasing and certain and affectionate and bold. Maki’s eyes went wide, Nico’s voice a cunning, provocative charm, and then she pounced, kissing Nico with a breathtaking fierceness that drove Nico forward, every change in pressure as Maki's lips explored, scattering more and more of Nico's practiced discipline.

“YOU NEVER ANSWERED YOUR PHONE!” Rin complained as she slammed the door open.

Nico jumped; Maki growled, her heart going so fast blood thudded in her ears, her fists clenched “Are you kidding me? What the hell, Rin?”

Rin yanked Maki away from Nico, frantic, “This is serious, Maki. SERIOUS. An emergency. Kayochin’s dumping me. I can smell other women.”

Nico took a good look at the shorter ginger haired girl. Smell? Did Maki have a werewolf friend? And who was Kayochin?

“Didn’t Hanayo get a job?” Maki asked, calm more quickly than Rin deserved. That was a name Nico recognized. The nice friend with glasses. “That’s probably why she smells different.”

“She’s acting sneaky, Maki. Something’s wrong.” Rin was sullen, suspicious, pacing the room. “She told me not to follow her. Or...”

“You know she worries about you. Because she…” Maki glanced quickly at Nico, blushing, ‘l...loves you. Didn’t she propose?”

“But that was before…” Rin’s eyes had no gleam left.

“Before what, Rin?” Maki had never seen Rin this low.

“College.” Rin collapsed into the corner, arms over her head.

Nico immediately pulled Rin to her feet. “No sulking.” Nico announced, “It never helps. You two are walking Nico home, then going off for a run or something.” Nico winked at Maki, “Nico is sure Maki has some energy to burn off. And Nico is sure Maki’s cute friend will feel better soon, right?”

Rin just shruffled as Nico pushed her out of the room. This was ridiculous. Maki knew there was no way Hanayo was doing anything with anyone who wasn’t Rin. And If Maki had to shake Rin out of her gloom to convince her, she would.

A/N: Thanks for your patience and sorry about the delay. And I appreciate those of you who Tumblr and expressed your willingness to wait for a complete chapter while some professional upheaval settled. Ta da! Complete chapter. Hope you enjoy. Things are getting serious. Now, if only I can stop interrupting Nico and Maki alone time, right (=｀ェ´=)

Also, Adam Ant songs are fun to be reminded of (⌒.−)＝★

[lizziebeadleportfolio]

Representation of my own perfume print ad"So Serene"

This task included making my own print ad for a perfume bottle i created. To do this i used my own photography, graphics and photoshop.

The denotation of this print ad media campaign is displaying a girl at a dreamy beach with a light background sunset. She is standing on a pier to the far right with good posture looking down at the perfume bottle in her hand. There are cute fairy lightings hanging in the top corner. She is dressed up all fancy for a night ahead of her with her costume being a lacy burgundy red evening dress. It addresses both, the fragrance name “so serene” in a black feminine font along with the slogan “calm, in the crowd” in a smaller font beneath it. This handwriting is swirly and very attractive to the target audience as its very eye caching as I complements well with the image. This makes it easier for the public to discover the perfume as it stand outs amongst the light colourful background. The gold logo “LB” makes the fragrance more classy and appealing. Furthermore, there is a bunch of social media apps and links to where the audience can discover more. The perfume bottle is a glowing light pink clear bottle with a fascinating gold and white swirly bottle top and it’s in a triangular prism form. The name of the perfume bottle is also stated clearly in dark pink on the bottle itself to make the advertisement top priority. The sweet floral scent is for those who like light fragrances.

However, the image has a further meaning so therefore the connotation is that the girl came to this beautiful place to put her mind at rest and ease her conscious with the therapeutic sounds of the waves. This ad is portraying a confident sophisticated calm girl. The top swirly bottle cap implies an image of waves shifting around to create a peaceful edge. The sunset is effective as it signifies another ending to a day meaning putting all the dire things behind us and let your thoughts relax. Furthermore the sunset is a beautiful aspect generally making people calm indicating a happy ending. It suggests that if you use this wonderful perfume you will magically feel hundred times better as it immediately will release any kind of stress. The audience will get the impression that you will turn into someone like the elegant model in the ad.

Although direct address is not used its very effective how she’s looking at the perfume as its the main topic for the ad meaning all her attention is purely focused on the product implying she has a lot of confidence in the perfume.

The lighting of this image is mostly pure natural lighting of the evening sky. Although the scenery is quite light it is dim and shady compared to the rest of the image so the fragrance bottle will stand out more. However the perfume has a glowing edge to it to make it stand out a lot against the background. Also the fairy lights are bright to suggest an evening party atmosphere.

The main image is a girl in the foreground holding her perfume fragrance in a beautiful island. The girl is a typical modern stereotype who looks very unique with her gingery brownish hair. Her pail skin with freckles complements the vulnerable touch. She follows the criteria of having good posture, skinny, tall and beautiful look to entice the audience so they aspire to be just like her. Also her gorgeous look contrast with the delicate touch of the perfume fragrance.

The medium shot shows from the waist above, screening the sea, sunset and pier in the background. This is an effective shot as it shows the model and the perfume which are the two most important aspects. Moreover, this shot show detail meaning there’s more intimacy with the audience. The camera shot is slightly below eye level which suggests a more friendly tone and she has more power over the audience which is true as the audience is looking up at her to have faith in this product.

The mise en scene is based around a girl who easily gets stress in different atmospheres she’s not comfortable with. As soon as she finds the perfume bottle she suddenly feels perfect and confident and struts back to the party pier with a massive grin on her face.

I believe the social grade classification for this perfume is for people under the category B and C1. I believe this as people under these categories are willing to pay for luxury items. The lifestyle grouping is based for mainstreamers as it helps their security knowing that it has a fan base, it’s very popular and well trusted from the amazing advertisements. They also may be succeeders as the perfume story is that the character suffers from stress and the spray releases her stress. Stress mostly comes under this category as they work hard to get their money and they are able to afford a luxury item like this and they deserve a reward.

The uses and gratification is for the adverts to inform the audience about the new upcoming perfume which may influence discussions of social interaction of this new product with family and friends. Customers may use this perfume to boost their self-esteem as there feel more confident if they smell nice as they will probably get a lot more attention. The language used for the adverts will make the target audience want to go out and buy the perfume as they have been influenced and persuaded. Also the ad will be entertaining attracting more future buyers for the institution.

The institution has recently been introduced and is called “LB” and it’s a luxury brand. The institution use no celebrity endorsement but use ordinary people instead as this story is just about ordinary people who deal with stress. Both the print ad and the storyboard act together in synergy as the sequence finishes on the pier in the storyboard which is where the print ad is shot. The target audience is for teenagers and early 20s who are mostly students as firstly the model in the image is a teen therefore the audience has to also be around that level. Secondly, people who are typically stuck in these stressful situations are teen’s as they are still experimenting. The sunset suggests it’s an evening perfume however it also can be implied that you can spray it whenever you’re feeling down. The slogan is “calm in the crowd” which a lot of ordinary students will love as there is a lot of worrying stressful situations like overcrowded parties, anxiety and exams. Also the audience is in education so they are unlikely to have a highly paid job yet so it’s important the bottle is priced at a standard price.

The primary audience are for those who are interested in the perfume and want to buy it therefore meaning they are the target audience. However, the secondary audience are for the people not buying the perfume for themselves but they are buying it for the primary audience person. The ad will engage all type of audiences as someone could be buying it as gift as it good to make advertisements look good in any possible way.

The Storyboard starts in an overcrowded dark party room, however, the shot starts to get blurry and one girl stands out as she looks terrified and anxious so she exits the building. The character is wearing the average jeans and a basic top like any ordinary person. The next scene is her running on the streets toward the pier where she realises in the distance a glowing perfume floating into the sea shore. She dashes towards it out of curiosity and she slowly picks it up and sprays it and instantly she has a party gear out fit on and her spirit has changed. She is wearing a burgundy lace elegant dress to show off her posture. Out of the corner of her eye she spots a party on the pier and is instantly intrigued so she confidently struts in and has a blast of a time. The final sequence is her happily dancing and then suddenly shifting her position of her head to directly say to the audience “be your calm in the crowd”. She turns back and continues dancing with everyone. Then suddenly the image fades out into a white screen and the perfume bottle is enlarged with the advertisements to the side like the tittle, the slogan and the social media. The slogan represents that in any stressful situations you can be calm with the perfume. A feminine voice reads out “so serene” instantly when the writing is type onto the white screen.

Both my print ad and storyboard show many similarities being that the same fragrance bottle, model and location are used. This shows that there is synergy between the two different media convention to create a better advertisement and it also makes the product stronger in popularity as there is a strong connection. Both contain the same name “so serene” and same slogan “calm in the crowd” to create a better message. My storyboard has a scene showing the print ad which is relevant for the audience to see so there can be a contrast and link between the two. The adverts portray a feeling of pretty scenery and therapeutic sunset. Although, in the storyboard it does show a very violent scene at the party to show what it’s like without the perfume in your life.

[magicgeekponsol-blog]

||Event Drabble||

Title: “An Heir’s Complaints” Synopsis: Ponsol’s POV about what he thinks about the upcoming party that he’s been preparing for.  Word count: 1,864

I absolutely dread this upcoming party that was going to be held on Halloween. Dreading it. Honestly, if the world could implode that day, I would be pretty happy if not for the fact that I’d then get upset a mere seconds later because then all my hard work would be for naught.

Do you know how hard it was to convince all those old cronies that the help of the nearby shops would be beneficial for them? Not only would good relations be created between the shops and the corporation, but there was certainly going to be more revenue if popular shops were to be joining in on the festivities.

With shops aiming to be festive but also wanting to promote themselves by showing off their own work at the party, it gave them, the corporation, less to worry about. Some space at the ‘Milky Way’ was given to them as they rented out the entire place for the night. Various stores were then given their own spots to set up booths or whatever else they wished to erect at their spot to attract customers.

There was no limit on what it was they wished to do at their own store run areas. Now there was also a bar that was going to be supplying alcohol for those who wished to have some more fun during the party, but the bar tenders were going to be given strict instructions to be very careful about how much alcohol to give to the customers, and of course, bouncers were going to be present for obvious of reasons. Drunk people reasons.

A suggestion of making the costume runway into a costume contest was made, but I quickly shot down the offer as judges would have to be made present and if it were a contest, then that would require even more effort on all of the staff. People would have to adhere to a strict code of conduct, an age limitation may be placed, and of course, a prize would have to be given. Not only that, but judges would be needed, and not only that but a certain minimum of entrants would be required to make the contest worthwhile.

Most contests required an entrance fee and he did not think that for a joint party such as this, should such a contest be necessary. This party was for fun, and a contest would take the fun out of things. People would stop at nothing to win, and dealing with cheating was not on my to do list, thank you.

It then dawned on me to just simply have it be a runway. The staff can at least make sure that the costumes were appropriate before letting people show off their costumes on the stage before they walk off of it.

Haah… truly this was very troublesome but I had to be in charge of most of it, and of course as the main planner of the event—I would have to be there. It’s in the during the week, so that I just going to tire me out, especially since I’ll have to be there for them tearing down the party too. Do you know how long that could take? DO YOU?

Most likely by the time everything was said and done—it’ll be at or past the time I normally sleep at. Don’t even get me STARTED on how much sleep I’ll lose just trying to set everything up. I have to get the catering preparations prepared, approve of all of the costing and funding for the party, and look into the working personnel.

All the shops in attendance had to fill out forms and get their plans approved, and that of course means, that I have the second to final say on what is accepted and not at the party. Even if one of those old cronies have a problem with my ruling, it’s simple enough to just state my case and get them to agree with me. Most of the time they’re only disagreeing to just get under my skin.

Sometimes I just want to kick them down a flight of stairs, quite honestly.

Well, a small infrastructure inside of the ‘Milky Way’ was being designed to be used as a mini-house of horrors for people and kids alike to enjoy. A lot of it was going to be jump scares and some people dressed up in scary costumes. Sound effects, lighting, and of course even a fog machine would be utilized. Not too much smoke will be used of course, for health and safety regulations.

All costume designs will be approved by me prior to allowing the purchasing department and the financial department to do their jobs. That old man was making this a project to force me to do more work that he doesn’t want to do—and to just I don’t know, ‘prove’ that I’m fit for the job. Fuck that, I’ve BEEN fit for the job, are you shitting me right now?

Just because some of you are BUTT HURT over the fact that the ‘better’ of the brothers didn’t get the position, it doesn’t mean you can write my achievements as infinitesimal. I can be just as good as my brother, but when it comes to social events, I’ll show you that I can be the only one who I fit for the job. Do you want to know what Shugarl would do in a situation like this? Nothing. He’d simply state that a party for Halloween was stupid.

‘Trick or Treating exists, so shouldn’t that be enough?’ I could see him saying something like that, or ‘Halloween is for children and college kids. They will have their own parties. Why should we make our own?’

The guy was a stick in a mud, that’s what he is. Well, he does have a point, but this is a good way to get their name out there. Not only that, but they can help other smaller stores and establishments. It creates good networking, and also helps them with their own revenue. The flow of money through the community was a great way to keep the community healthy and strong.

Promoting growth was something they should do as a big power in Akounri. That’s why this party is being held. This started with someone (that someone being me) hearing from the grapevine that some of the stores were thinking about holding an event themselves, and then ‘suggesting’ something to the big man anonymously. He loved the idea and he called to order a meeting.

It was brilliant planning, really. I was pleased by my results, but I wasn’t too pleased to know that all of the responsibilities were dumped onto me. Just my fucking luck.

You know what? The catering for the party is going to be an issue, now that I think about it. People now a day are just so unprofessional sometimes. Does it matter what my age is? Does a ‘proxy’ mean nothing to do? If I’m coming on the behalf of someone else, and I’ve got my own card and attendant to match, then just do your job.

Okay, I do know that things are more complex than that, but do let me complain, won’t you? It’s not often that I get to complain to anyone, even in my mind. I’m too busy for that now a day. That old man needs to lay off my back or I’m just going to end up passing out—again.

Well, whatever. I’ll just stop there for now and focus on the real important topic at hand. You see this here? Look, if I move my arm like this--- that’s right. Did you see that movement there? Did you see how if I turned my arm like that, the feathers expand out. Certain parts of the wings are connected to a brace, so certain movements of my body will cause the wings to move. It will either span out or in. I was creating black wings. There are many tutorials out there that detail out how to make rather realistic wings, wouldn’t you know?

One that I’ve found on one of those artsy-sites is very good. She detailed everything and started out with a biological explanation—and this pleases me. She knows the anatomy of birds and how the wings move. The way the wings are created used this principle and that’s what results in a realistic looking wing.

I made mine black in color rather than white because I thought it would be a nice contrast between my hair color. Obviously, there was going to be a limitation on the kinds of props you are allowed to bring, but making your own fake weapons are not against the rules as long as you used lightweight materials. I planned on making a sword that I will attach to some chains.

I enjoy the image of chains so I wish to add those to the look. I’m not too sure on what I plan on doing with the outfit just yet, but I do know that I want to make use of a temporary face tattoo. Making some snap on fangs would be nice. Horns? A tail? No, no tail.

Horns though, that was something to look into. I think colored contacts would be cool. One that made your eyes look like slits? Should I change the color or keep them gold? Red would be nice.

Fake long nails to work as claws would be nice. If you couldn’t guess already, I was thinking about being some kind of monster. Probably a demon of some kind. A humanoid one, don’t worry. I won’t be giving anyone heart attacks at the party. What kind of host would I be if I let that happen, right?

Just in case anyone else brings a scary costume in, paramedics are on standby.

Let’s see, how long have I been working on this—Oh shit. I have to be down at HQ in an hour to meet with those old bats. Shit shit shit! I didn’t get nearly as far as I wanted to on these wings. These are taking longer than I thought they would! I started I started working on all of this last month and I’m still only this far.

Hm? Of course, I’m going all out. I’ll definitely be on that runway at that party. I’m great at sewing and creating things so I’ll definitely be making my own costume this year as well. Halloween was a great time as any to show off my skills. Don’t chastise me.

What was I last year you ask? A gruesome zombie. It truly put my good looks to shame, but I’ve made multiple people trip over themselves in fright. One poor girl passed out, even. Good times.

Before that, I was—you didn’t ask? Does it look like I care? I’ll tell you anyways that the year before that I went as a humanoid dragon. If I am going to use horns for this look, I’ll probably remodel the dragon horns for this year’s costume.

Shit, 58 minutes. Alright, time to go. I’ll continue this mental complaint session another time. 

[rachelvalente]

Sephora Spring Savings Event

Over the weekend, I had lots of requests come in asking for me to share my picks from the Sephora sale. For those who don’t know, they just launched their Spring Savings Event – they only do this type of sale twice a year so it’s a great time to pick up those items you use regularly for less.

Here’s all the details: Rogue members get 20% off thru 5/1, VIB members get 15% off thru 4/29 and Insiders get 10% off 4/23-4/27.  Just use code SPRINGSAVE at checkout to redeem (if you’re not already an Insider, you can sign up for free here & take advantage of these savings).  They’re also offering free shipping on all orders thru 5/1 with code FREESHIP!

There are so many products on their site that it can feel a little overwhelming, especially if you’re wanting to try something new.  I always recommend reading through the reviews before purchasing – and even if you buy something that you test out & don’t love, they have a generous return policy even for used products.  I’m sharing my tried-and-true favorites with you below – these are all things I use on a regular basis and love so I feel confident recommending them.  I’ll be repurchasing lots of these as back-ups for when I run out of what I’m using now.

Farmacy Brightening Eye Cream I’m quickly becoming a big fan of this brand – I have yet to try a product of theirs that I don’t absolutely love, so you’ll see quite a few of them here!  This was my most recent purchase from them & I’ve been using it since mid-February (first mentioned here).  I love that this is a heavier eye cream so it’s really hydrating, which helps with that crepey-looking texture around the eyes (note: I wait a good 10 minutes after applying before putting on my makeup).  And I do think that I’ve seen a slight improvement in my dark circles – a lot of my issue is hereditary, so I’ll never be rid of them completely, but this has definitely helped!

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer I’ve been using Tarte Shape Tape as my go-to undereye concealer for over a year, but I just started having issues recently with it creasing on me (I blame it on my aging skin).  So, when I received a sample of this with my last Sephora order, I gave it a try and now I’ll never go back.  Concealers are so tricky because everyone’s skin tone and texture is different, but I really like the texture and staying power of this one.  I recommend getting the mini size to start – a little goes a long way with this product, so even the smaller version will last you a while (I use the shade Vanilla).

Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask This is the most expensive item in my collage, but it’s worth including because the results are that good.  This is the best mask I’ve ever tried for minimizing pores & softening skin.  The smell isn’t my favorite, but I think that’s due to the fact that it’s 100% natural, which I really appreciate.  I’ve only been using it once a week to make it last longer – but, if it wasn’t so pricey, I would definitely use it more often!  Another option would be to purchase this skincare set, which comes with a cleanser & a smaller jar of this mask (about $20 cheaper than the full-size jar on its own).

Kiehl’s Overnight Lip Repair Treatment This has truly saved my lips this winter – anytime my jar gets low, I immediately order more.  It has a thick & creamy consistency with the most heavenly smell.  I apply it every night before bed and wake up with soft smooth lips each morning.

Nails Inc. Polish Duo This base coat + polish combo is a great buy – sometimes I just wear the base coat on its own for an American manicure look.  One of my biggest pet peeves with a lot of red nail polishes is that they aren’t opaque enough, but this one gives such good coverage that you can get away with just applying one coat.  This formula has great staying power & dries quickly (note: this shade is more of a warmer brick red vs. a bright cherry red).

Olly Lustrous Hair Gummies Anytime I can take my supplements in gummy form, I’m all for it because I hate swallowing pills.  I haven’t been taking these long enough to report my results yet, but I love the flavor of them + they get amazing reviews.  We are big fans of this brand in our house – we all take their multivitamins and my daughter swears that these stress gummies help with her anxiety levels throughout the day.  I plan to keep taking these & report back in a few more months – fingers crossed!

Urban Decay Setting Spray I blame my daughter for getting me hooked on this because I never even thought to use a setting spray before.  Someone brought this in for the cast of her musical to use on their stage makeup & I was blown away by how well it worked – her makeup was still flawless after multiple performances, costume changes & sweating under the stage lights.  I only used it for photo shoots or date nights in the winter, but will be using daily once summer rolls around – highly recommend trying out the mini size if you live somewhere that is hot and/or humid.

Farmacy AHA Resurfacing Night Serum If you have aging skin (in your 30’s or older), this serum is amazing for treating dark spots, evening out skin tone and getting rid of dullness.  There is a little tingling when you first apply it, but it’s nothing too severe – it also has a nice scent to it that I love.  Nothing beats the glow I wake up with in the morning when I use this the night before!

Farmacy Hydrating Sheet Mask I’ve tried a lot of sheet masks over the years and this one remains my favorite.  The first time I used it, I couldn’t get over how glowy & soft my skin was.  The ingredients are clean, it fits well (doesn’t slide off your face like some masks) & is the perfect extra moisturizing step for skin that’s become dry through the winter.

It Cosmetics Primer When I first put this on, the formula felt so light, I thought I was going to hate it – but I was amazed by how much better my makeup wore throughout the day than the primer I was previously using.  That being said, if you have dry skin, I would recommend this Smashbox primer instead because it’s more hydrating.

Tan Luxe The Face Drops These were a quarantine purchase for me just a few weeks ago and, so far, I’m loving the results.  I had to experiment a little with the amount – I started with 3 drops and it was a little darker than I wanted so I’m now using 2 drops per application, which gives me a natural looking tan.  I use the Light/Medium shade & just mix it in with my evening moisturizer).  Note: be sure to wash your hands immediately after applying!

Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector This is basically an at-home mask treatment – you put it on damp hair, leave on for 10 minutes before rinsing out & then shampoo & condition as usual.  My stylist recommended using the Olaplex shampoo & conditioner once a week to help repair my strands and this treatment takes it even one step further.  My hair has never looked shinier or healthier – will definitely be repurchasing!

Hourglass Translucent Setting Powder This is my favorite powder for setting my makeup – it has a silky finish & doesn’t settle into fine lines.  This does give a more matte finish to the skin, so I use it sparingly.  This also comes in a mini size if you want to try it out before buying the full size version.

Becca Hydra-Mist Setting Powder I wanted to include this powder in my round-up too because it’s cheaper than the Hourglass powder and it might be better for those looking for something with lighter coverage and/or a more dewy finish.  I took the mini size of this powder with me on my India trip & loved applying it because it has a cooling effect on the skin that feels amazing when it’s hot outside.

Living Proof Dry Shampoo I buy this stuff in bulk and have been using it even more now that we’re in quarantine.  I buy a mix of the full-size bottles and the mini size (great for travel) – if you’ve never tried this or if you’re looking for a good dry shampoo, I can’t say enough good things about this!

Charlotte Tilbury Blush My favorite blush was discontinued this year so I began the search for a replacement & this one has become my new favorite.  I know it’s expensive for blush, but I don’t use a lot of it so I know it will last me for a while + I haven’t found anything else that blends or stays put as well as this does.  I use the Pillow Talk Intense shade (a mauvey rose hue)  but I’m thinking about ordering in Ecstasy (a peachy pink) for the summer months.

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter This is one of my top 5 holy grail beauty products – it works like magic to blur imperfections and give you a luminous glow without the need for makeup.  I apply this after my primer & before my CC cream to create a lit-from-within effect (I use the Light shade).  But, on days when I’m not wearing foundation, I’ll put my sunscreen on with this on top & it’s the perfect amount of light coverage.  You can also use it over your foundation just on cheekbones & down the bridge of your nose as a highlighter.

It Cosmetics CC+ Cream This is the best full-coverage foundation, in my opinion.  It blends well, doesn’t look heavy & has a natural-looking finish.  I have recommended this to so many of you since I started using it and you’ve all told me how much you love it!  They’ve come out with so many different versions (see them all here), but I still prefer the original formula.  I use the Light shade in the winter/spring and switch to Light Medium in the summer/fall.  It has SPF50 built-in, along with hyaluronic acid, peptides & collagen for anti-aging benefits.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Hands down, the best brow pencil on the market.  Anytime this goes on sale, I order extra because I’m so scared of running out!  I was using Soft Brown before, but once I started adding more highlights to my hair, I switched & now use Taupe, which looks softer & more natural with my lighter strands.

Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides I’ve been using this powdered collagen for years and swear by it for a healthy gut – I also attribute it to making my nails so strong.  I stir one scoop into my coffee each morning – it’s flavorless & dissolves completely so you don’t even know you’re drinking it (you can also add it to smoothies, oatmeal, etc.).  I usually buy the largest size tub, but the individual serving packets are great for travel or on the go.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer I bought the mini size of this bronzer to try out and I’ve been amazed by how long it’s lasted me.  I use the Radiant Finish and it gives my skin the perfect sunkissed glow.  So many bronzers I’ve tried look too orange or ruddy, but this one has a realistic warmth that’s really flattering.

Supergoop Glowscreen Sunscreen I mentioned this last month after I used it for the first time & I can’t recommend it enough!  It provides you with SPF40 & has the most lightweight feel of any sunscreen I’ve used.  Plus, it has a slight tint to it & it gives you the prettiest glow – perfect for no makeup days!

Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Volumizing Mousse I still try other volumizing products from time to time, but I always seem to come back to this mousse.  It actually makes my hair look thicker and doesn’t have a sticky residue + I love how lightweight it feels.

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[sanstropfremir]

it's kingdom time for real!!! the first episode is here and mnet finally uploaded the stages from like a month ago so i can actually watch them more than once to review.

happy to see them all actually performing. not the most interesting stages overall, but it was the 100sec one-take so i wasn’t expecting anything crazy. like the performance stages, this is about what i expected at this point in the show.

ranking under the cut, i have Opinions(tm) and they are not all pretty.

(anyone that’s seeing this for the first time, i’m a trained performance designer with over 30 credits and a decade of experience, yes i can talk about this with authority)

a few general notes:

this type of stage that mnet has built is called a traverse, or alley, stage. named exactly for the reason you think. it’s characterized by a narrow playing space with audience on opposite sides, and two entrances on either end. so mnet had a pretty typical setup. there are some advantages to this type of stage:

because of the narrow stage space and usually smaller audience capacity, the performer and audience are in much closer proximity

because of the shape of the space, blocking (choreography but for not-dance) can travel well and be very dynamic

it’s uncommon outside of midsize/small productions so there’s some novelty for the casual theatre goer

however! there are some pitfalls with this type of stage. the hardest type of stage to work with is (theatre) in the round. theatre in the round is characterized by being....in the round. that means the audience is placed 360 degrees around the playing space. which means that they can see everything; every entrance, every exit, every performer’s back, 360 degree sightlines means there is nowhere to hide. and in a medium that relies on concealment to create magic, it’s a tough stage to work with. not saying it doesn’t work. some of the most incredible shows i’ve been to have been theatre in the round, but when you go to those type of shows, as an audience member you understand that there will be some scenes where you only see the actors’ backs. there is no perfect seat in the round. the reverse is true as well, the actors can only act to those in front of them. and like i stated previously, on the production end it becomes difficult to hide things like props/set/costume changes that you might have been able to in another type of theatre. why am i talking about theatre in the round? because traverse works on exactly the same principle. even though the audience is only on two sides, the same issues still arise. directionality is key: a director has to be careful of how exactly the stage gets blocked.

why am i talking about stage formats? because the space always informs the performance, that’s why. i think mnet made a sort of smart choice to build a traverse stage. since the ‘audience’ is a video camera, that eliminates the need to play to the opposing seating banks, and opens up more staging opportunities. it’s a fancy looking stage that does what they need it to. 

now here’s my gripes. if you’re going to specifically orient a stage so that it is by nature directional, why are you broadcasting in a format where direction doesn’t matter? if the camera has no fixed position, then you’ve just skipped directly into in the round staging without taking into account the function of the space. it's a round peg in a square hole; yes it fits, but you can see the spaces where it doesn’t quite match up. for a very obvious example, any shot that is not staring directly down the barrel of the stage from left or right has audience in it. and not enough to be worthy of a reaction shots (because those are just cut in in post), but enough to just be there. why would you do that when you could just.....not? just go properly in the round and then you wouldn’t have that distraction. especially when the audience is wearing white. also, there are only so many ways you can stage on a traverse, you’re pretty much limited to directional points on a compass, because there are literal risers in the way. because of the way most groups are choreographed, the member layouts lean more towards having the members in a line than they do layering the members deep. this configuration is fine on a proscenium stage (which is what most stages are), and would even be fine on a traverse stage if you were playing to the risers. you could even do some interesting choreo alterations. but! because mnet has decided that the camera is perpendicular to the risers, that means that most of the formations are not optimized for the stage dimensions and are in fact the opposite dimensions. most of these groups are doing their longest blocking across the shortest area of stage, which is dumb. although it isn't much of a problem because the stage is still very large, but it's still a bizarre choice on behalf of mnet. why would you not arrange the stage so you have more clearance for the camera, the audience, and also the performers? i would have to check back over the rtk performances, but im pretty sure at one point they switch to an in the round stage. why are you not doing that from the start? this would also allow for more built setpieces. although it does remain to be seen if they do switch after this episode, since this particular challenge was a one-take with minimal props/set pieces. which segues to my next point: these groups barely took up the parameters of the challenge, or utilized them effectively! this is also mnet’s fault, mnet if you say that you’re gonna do a one-take, don't cut between seven other cameras!! show us the power of that single point of view! let the groups actually do some interesting blocking with the path of the camera! there’s so many interesting things they could have done, but no!! had to be boring!! i know this is technically an introductory stage, but i also don't care. these groups have (relatively) competent ADs and stylists, they can think outside the box.

ok now here’s my actual rankings:

1. btob

sorry babies, none of you can match them vocally. love you ateez but you sure fucked up picking them to go after you because they blew you out of the fucking water. and everyone else, but ateez cumulatively is the weakest vocally. more on that later. like the performance stage they showcased their strengths and the experience (and training) shows. good use of the directional stage having three vs one that came together in the middle. loved the white suit variations, im especially a sucker for a belted suit jacket. loved peniel's gigantic trench and massive earrings, very mid 90s, his stylist definitely took a lesson in how to accessorize very short hair. always love good use of fog. uniform colour theme, all elements were there to support the vocals. no complaints, chef’s kiss.

2. ikon

hey baby groups? see bobby having fun? do that more. i know you think performance face is sexy and serious but none of you know how to act and you all look dead inside on stage. the lights may be on but nobody’s home. anyways. excellent beginning formation, excellent ending formation, no complicated position changes that make the camera give you motion sickness. fun choreo that they are obviously having fun performing, which goes sooooo far in the success of a performance. only group so far to use silence as an effective device, and the arrangement was interesting and suited to the song+performance. i think it was smart of them not to deploy bobby right away, although it would have been funny to watch after whatever it was that stray kids was trying to do. again, like btob and also sf9, sticking to their strengths. costumes fun and fitting, indicative of both the colour of the group and of the song. nice detail in the monochrome and the black accent details.

3. sf9

taeyang is that bitch and they only way this would have been better is if he had actually grabbed the ties of those two other members (if you think i am going to remember anyone's names other than the people i already know you are wrong). love the confidence to waste a good chunk of your 90 seconds for walking and standing in formation. actual good use of one-take directional camera, even though they ruined it once they started dancing. choreo perfectly fine, lighting good complementary colour scheme, costumes nothing to write home about, surprisingly good projection design? wasn’t expecting that. im not the biggest fan white suit jackets over black shirts but ill give it a pass for the proper suit accessorizing.

4. ateez

i applaud your dedication to the pirate gimmick but boys you don't need that anymore, i promise. hongjoong's lil bloody cough was a fun gag that didn't draw too much attention but fit with the theme. came out of the gate strong with an actual clear narrative, which can be a challenge to do in 100 seconds, and the only group to have a narrative. also actual camera choreo! that was interesting! mnet stop fucking cutting to overhead shots! apparently im destined to always be beefing with the ateez stylists because what was the point of all that? very little variation in texture or pattern on matte all black just made any relevant details disappear. torch gimmick and end formation fun, and the arrangement had an obvious climax. weird and kinda fun projection design, but not helped by concert-style stage lighting. pick one or the other lighting designer, don't make them fight like that! props to them for actually having their mics on the whole time, even though they are probably the weakest group vocally. im also going to be beefing with the choreographer because they are always making seonghwa sing while doing ridiculous moves that make him go offkey. ateez has some of the stronger 4th gen vocals, but they're at a disadvantage because a) none of them have proper vocal training, and b) their main vocal is not actually a skilled singer and is destroying his voice.not a lot of vocals for them to showcase this stage and that was probably for the best. hanya (@changdyke) is in charge of vocals critique and will have more to say about this than me, even though i am also trained. im just here to talk about the production.

5. the boyz

im neutral to positive on tbz because i did really like their danger stage from rtk. this performance is just....fine. I don’t like the arrangement, but that's mostly personal opinion. but it doesn't have a conclusive end and the whole dissonance thing isn't really working for me in this instance. the choreo is quite flippy and tricking is not necessary for an interesting choreo. i did like the throwback/use of modern choreo, i think that's a strong choice for them and it's not something that many other groups are doing, so they should stick more to that than to tricking. the camera choreo is also not good. here’s where the clearance issues and fighting against the stage layout happen! stop making a handheld do a 180! are you trying to make us motion sick? to be fair, this is not the most egregious one, but at least ateez got it right by having a person lead the camera in a particular pattern. also, what even is the theme here? leatherclad boys in the forest? nobody give me any shit saying it's based off one of their music videos or whatever, that shouldn't matter. there should be a clear theme that can be easily identified without prior knowledge of the group, especially when this is an introductory stage and they are a relatively young group. none of the other groups have this issue. that being said, at least the costumes were interesting to look at, although thematically confusing. good use of accessories, texture, and bedazzling to make the black stand out against the stage. the hands in front of the camera were kind of fun but didnt really mean anything? again, back to the lack of clear concept. i did like them reaching out to pull that member forward, it would have been better if they had just left it at that.

6. stray kids

the more i watch this the more i hate it. im not even sorry about it anymore. starters, and i will admit this upfront: i do not like most 4th gen music, so the spiderman meme groups are already operating on a deficit in my point of view. and i particularly did not like this arrangement. same as with tbz, why did it not have a conclusive end? also overuse of sound effects. and stop saying your fucking band name! the only musician that’s allowed to do that is jason derulo and thats because hes a meme now. but twice in 100 seconds? no. and what was the point of that logo/crown reveal? im tired of crown reveals we have seen them so many times by now, we don't need to see it again. was it meant to be that they were carving it into the ground?? very unclear. there was an attempt with camera choreo, and i will admit that the pan up and then back down to the ‘wolf pack’ was probably the strongest moment in the whole performance. the lights were in their mouths, by the way. however, the rest of the choreo is all over the map, quite literally. as with tbz there’s a lot of members in the group and so in order for everyone to get their screen time they break down into smaller groups, which i don't disagree with on principle, but here.........the breakdowns are just tricking, which although eyecatching, does not a very compelling or cohesive choreo make. even the unison choreo is weird, obviously its stylized horror but it just looks awkward and strange. you can make awkward/unattractive choreo work (see taemin’s want, or even move, to some extent)***, but skz doesn't have an ounce of the charisma that taemin has so it just looks awkward. also, that rapid switch between opposite sides of the stage? nausea inducing. ateez was the one with the pirate concept but skz apparently trying to make us seasick. im not gonna say anything about that rap other than it was bad, why was that allowed on stage. the sparkthrower was fun but that's like the 14th gimmick in this 100 second stage and that’s too many gimmicks. costumes are truly nothing to write home about, extremely unclear relation to the theme. if you're gonna be wolves then at least have some fur accents or something. the makeup effects were a bit over the top and not necessary in the actual performance. a hairdresser needs to thin out felix’s hair because he looks like he's wearing one of those lego hair helmets. oh, i did like that one guy’s shirt with the collarbone cutout, but again: how is that relevant to the theme? cmon people!!!! design the whole experience!! im sure there’s more i could write but holy shit this is long and im tired and also i don't want to watch this stage anymore.

ok im done. jesus this is long. again, this is just the intro stage so i suspect that some of my complaints will become null next week, but we’ll have to see! well, what i actually want to see is changmin insulting children but i’m not holding out hope for that to happen. hopefully we see some more spectacle-y stages and i can really go in.

***this is not me saying that taemin has a bad choreo that he’s making the best of. want is purposefully choreographed that way in order to showcase taemin’s ability. same with move. the point of want is that it IS awkward and should not be seductive or appealing and yet it still is. almost like....it’s in the name of the song or something.....

[dorothydelgadillo]

7 Brutally Honest Marketing Conference Survival Tips

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we can all agree that IMPACT Live 2018 was absolutely fantastic.

With more than 500 of our closest marketing and sales friends, we all experienced two very full and memorable days of learning, meeting new people, and having a total blast while doing it. (You can check out the recaps here and here.)

Heck, I even got to speak this year!

Here's the thing, though.

Marketing conferences -- especially the good ones -- are exhausting marathons that leave me at once elated and energized to take action, and completely and utterly ready to embrace a new life as a human contact-avoiding hermit.

In fact, this was me last Thursday, the day following IMPACT Live 2018:

  Current status.🐻 (📸: @chrisduprey82)

A post shared by Liz Murphy (@naptownpint) on Aug 9, 2018 at 1:20pm PDT

I spent the entire day on the couch in our office, hiding behind Bear, our team's cuddle consultant, while I did work. 

This emotional and physical deflation isn't a new experience for me. This was my second IMPACT Live, and I've been to INBOUND three times. 

I also know that both INBOUND and Content Marketing World are just around the corner. So, I want to take a few minutes this morning to share with you my favorite tips for surviving conferences -- and not the usual, "Oh, yeah, don't forget to network," kind of tips.

I'm talking about my favorite ways to get the most out of these epic, inspiring events without losing your sanity.

#1: Dress with Some Sort of Layering Strategy

Conference venues are fickle, independent ecosystems that have little to no regard for seasons, weather patterns, or expectations of attendees who wish it to be not too hot or too cold.

And often, rooms within the same venue will vary drastically from one to the other in temperature.

So, plan accordingly.

Bring a blazer or wear a light sweater with you each day, even it's the middle of summer. It doesn't matter if it's basically Death Valley or the dead of winter outside. You may freeze or, alternatively, remain a hot, sweaty mess indoors, depending on how effective (or functional) the venue's air conditioning or heating system is. 

If you're a female, don't forget to carry a hair clip or band with you in your bag, so you can quickly toss your hair up, as needed.

Which leads me to my next clothing-related piece of advice...

#2: Pack More Than You Think You'll Need

Like most normal people, I try to pack "lean" when I'm traveling for work. Even though I rarely take a plane -- I'm an Amtrak kind of gal, and I'll explain why later -- I just don't want to deal with the hassle of having a ton of luggage. 

But here's a fun fact: 

It was so ungodly hot in Hartford last week (and a touch on the warm side in our venue), that a few folks from the IMPACT team actually made a quick run to Target to buy some new clothes to wear while at the conference.

For the same reason, it was also not uncommon for IMPACTers and IMPACT Live attendees to perform a quick costume change during the day (or before evening festivities), because staying in the same outfit all day in 95+ degree weather would have been gross.

Here's another related truth:

I can't go a week away from home for work without at least three coffee-related shirt fatalities -- particularly if we're talking about conferences, where I'm spending at least 50% of my time rushing around. (I'm not really strong in the coffee-while-walking department.)

The moral of both stories is simple -- while you might need to put a little extra effort into closing your carry-on or suitcase, it's worth it to toss in a few extra shirts and underthings. 

Whether you're networking, sitting in an audience, or speaking in front of one, being around people comes with the territory of marketing conferences. You want to feel comfortable and at your best as much as possible.

A fresh shirt can do just the trick, so pack one -- there may not be a Target near where you are.

#3: Mind What You Carry  

Last year, when I got home from INBOUND, I had trouble bending over, or turning left or right at the waist for about a week.

Of course, I had no one to blame but myself. 

I had spent the week prior carrying a 2010 MacBook (which must have weighed 1,000 pounds), three notebooks, books I had purchased from the gift shop, pens, business cards, a hairbrush, my wallet, and much more in a tote slung over my left shoulder. 

Conferences involve a lot of walking. But because you usually don't get to go back to your hotel room until late in the evening, after the day is done, there's this compulsion to carry everything you could possibly need with you.

Learn from me. Resist this urge to be a pack mule as much as possible. If you don't, you will be miserable, and there's a good chance you could hurt yourself.

Here is what I carry now, after learning this lesson the hard way:

iPhone (and earbuds)

iPhone charging cable (and wall plug)

Small travel wallet (not my usual big wallet, and it only contains my ID, credit cards, a little cash and credit cards)

MacBook (now much smaller and only 3 pounds!)

Hairbrush (and clip)

Travel-size deodorant

Small body spray or perfume

Chapstick

That's it.

No books. No planners. No extra notebooks or water bottles. No extra weight. 

I may end up coming back each evening with additions to my daily haul -- like swag or books I've purchased, etc. -- but I spend most of my days only carrying around exactly what I need, and nothing more. And my shoulders and back are forever grateful.

What ends up going into your daily bag will likely be totally different from what goes into mine, and that's okay. My only request is that, before you walk out each morning, you take a long, hard look at what's in your bag and ask yourself, "Do I really need all of this?"

#4: Don't Skip Meals

Even though I'm a huge fan of food and an avid snacker, I'm awful at breakfast. I don't know what it is, but if you want me to put anything in my face besides black coffee before 11 a.m., you'll have to force me to do so.

The exception is when I'm at a conference. For example, every morning at each INBOUND I've attended, I've stopped by the New England mecca, Dunkin' Donuts, for coffee and a breakfast sandwich. I do so under duress, but I know I'm saving myself a potential disaster later on.

In a surprise to no one, I've also learned this lesson the hard way. I won't go into details, but I was hangry and exhausted, and everyone around me suffered.

Even if meals are provided by the conference organizer, the line may be insanely long -- or you may miss a meal entirely due to conversations with your team or new contacts. 

If you hate breakfast like I do, suck it up, and eat a banana or something. If you miss lunch for some reason, don't skip it -- make it a point to take a quick break and grab a protein box from Starbucks. Finally, I don't care how tired you are at the end of the day, eat something before you go to bed. 

Conferences are an endurance test, so don't run on empty.

#5: Don't Forget Your Business Cards

I don't need a lot of explanation for this one, so I'll cut to the chase. Not so long ago, there was a  9-out-of-10 chance I would forget my business cards when packing for a work conference. And, being me, I would only discover my oversight in the middle of a conversation, when someone asked me for mine.

Don't be like me. Pack your business cards in your suitcase first. Every. Single. Time.

#6: Don't Stay Out Late Every Night

At most of these conferences, there are nightly networking events and sponsor parties. Also, if you're like us at IMPACT, you'll have client dinners, team bonding meals, and many hotel happy hour opportunities all over your calendar.

Besides eating, not running yourself into the ground (or, let's be honest, not partying too hard in the cocktails department) is the most important thing you can do to keep yourself in tip-top shape at a conference. 

While I know how awful it feels to miss out on a good time just as much as the next person, you don't have to go to every single party or event. Or, if you do, you don't need to stay until last call. 

Not only will you have a better chance of getting a good night's sleep, you'll keep your reputation in tact by not accidentally going overboard in front of coworkers or valuable new connections. Given how tiring these events can be, you have to recognize your tolerance may be lower if you're sleep-deprived, dehydrated, and/0r running on an empty-ish stomach.

(My usual rule of thumb is that I'll give myself one moderately "fun" night. Otherwise, no matter what post-session events I attend, I'm in my hotel bed watching Murder, She Wrote by 10 p.m.)

#7: Finally, Try Taking the Train

While trains are not always the most efficient way to get around, they are my favorite. 

For example, it's about five hours to travel via Amtrak from my home in Annapolis, Maryland, to Connecticut, where IMPACT Live takes place every year. And it's about eight hours to Boston, the home of INBOUND.

Traveling the same distance by plane would obviously be much faster, but the benefits of train travel far outweigh any efficiencies I would gain by flying.

Instead of rushing through airports, dealing with security, and generally hating life, my travel is stress-free. There's no security. I can carry full-size toiletries. I can bring a bag larger than a carry-on with no added cost. I can bring my own meals, snacks, and full-sized beverages.

But that's nothing compared to the peace and serenity of the Amtrak quiet car. I can work. I can nap in relative comfort. I can stare out the window as we go over rivers and lakes, and through large cities. 

Most of all, I have plenty of time to mentally prepare myself for the whirlwind of activity and having to be "on" for people 24/7. And, on the way back, I have those hours to myself to decompress in a totally calm environment, before I have to deal with puppies and all of the, "So, how was it?!" conversations.

In short, thanks to the train, I am able to bookend most conference experiences (at least those on the East Coast, heh) with some much-needed me time, with no one bothering me.

I know, the train isn't for everyone. But if what I described sounds like heaven to you, I urge you to give it a shot. It may take me longer to get from point A to point B -- so, my travel mornings tend to start pretty early -- but it's 100% worth it to me. 

What are your favorite tips for surviving conferences?

from Web Developers World https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/marketing-conference-survival-tips

[blujaydoodles]

songbased

replied to your post

“Character Survey 3: Mundane Details”

I mean. Biased so. Kiele and Idri ❤️

*chinhands* thank you bless you :3 I’mma do them in separate posts, Idri’s first because I’m more familiar with her so it’ll be a little easier :D

What is your character’s favorite type of food, or specific dishes that they love? Is there a reason behind their fondness?

Definitely traditional gnomish recipes that remind her of home (although she’d never admit that). Her mother is an apothecary with an extensive herb garden and her father’s a good cook, so any like... slow roasted meats or stews with a lot of herbs are A++

Does your character favor a certain color? Are many of their clothes this color?

Gooooooold. Pretty much all of her clothes have to complement her gold accessories. As far as actual chromatic colors go, she’s very big on purple.

What is your character’s favorite instrument? Can they play it, or do they just enjoy listening?

Anything that’s bold and carries the melody. She’s into trumpets because they’re loud and brassy (surprise surprise), but she also likes slightly more chill wind instruments as long as they’re played upbeat.

She can’t play anything, my dude. Well, maybe tambourine? But she’s never cared enough to put in the patience and effort to learn an instrument

What is your character’s favored weapon? 

Daggers! Hoo boy does she love her daggers, even though swords are better in melee and a bow is usually better at long range. Neither has quite the same panache.

How does your character deal with having something on their mind? Do they show it, or get quiet? Do they talk about it? Are there any coping mechanisms they have that others may notice?

Sheee doesn’t. She’s really bad about this. If something’s bothering her, she’ll just repress and ignore the bad feelings until they hopefully go away. Coping methods include deflecting with humor and changing the subject

If your character is angry or aggravated with another character / party member, how do they deal with it?

That depends a lot on why. In general, she’s more prone to passive aggression and snark than confrontation. She’ll avoid the person, or outright cold shoulder them if she can’t stay away from them. As mentioned above she’d rather avoid problems than deal with them, so she’s never going to instigate a grown up conversation (or even a direct fight) about the problem. If it’s a minor grievance she’ll just complain at them right away, though.

What are your character’s pet peeves?

Being perched on by fat squirrels >(

How long does it take for your character to confront or deal with something that is on their mind / a problem? If contingent on the type of problem, what are they more capable of handling?

Never, if she can help it? She bottles things up until either they go away or she just blows up. 

Is your character affectionate? Whom does your character choose to share affection with?

Very! She’s very friendly and likes most of the people she meets. She’s not suuuper physically affectionate, but mostly because she’s so much smaller than most of the people around her. She’s very open with compliments and encouragements and so forth and has a lot more trouble withholding affection than sharing it

If a fellow party member has a problem or concern, how (if at all) does your character deal with it? Do they try to help? Would it depend on the party member?

I feel like she’s the ‘here’s my advice’ type, if not the ‘I’ll fix that for you!’ She’s a good noodle and wants to help her friends, but if you just need someone to listen she’s not your guy, lol. (also yes this depends on the party member but only because Alegria is an exception, sorry Marietta lol)

What are some habits that your character has? Do they have a morning or night time ritual?

She practices coin tricks when she’s bored or restless, she sits on tables even when there is seating sized for her. Nothing special in the morning or evening I don’t think? Brush hair/ teeth, bathe as much as circumstances allow, pretty basic stuff

Does your character have any unusual sleeping habits? How much do they sleep, where are they most comfortable? Do they snore? When given the option, are they an early or late riser?

Idri is a sleep disaster. She shifts around constantly and ends up sprawled in really weird positions, she snores, she talks in her sleep a lot, and she’s prone to vivid dreams, nightmares, and sleepwalking. She tends to be an early riser unless she’s slept really poorly (by her standards)

How does your character behave when they are tired or exhausted?

Even less focused than usual, grumpy and snappish

Does your character have any quirks that others might notice? Speech patterns, or things that they tend to do? 

She has expressive ears (I imagine all gnomes do?). When she talks, she gestures with her whole body, sometimes illustrating a point with a small illusion or prestidigitated effect. Now that she has springy boots she pretty much bounds everywhere she goes.

How does your character’s constitution translate to their every day life? Do they tend to be prone to sniffles or are they generally sturdy? How quickly do they come back from major injury?

She’s... as sturdy as you’d expect a gnome rogue to be, I guess? She doesn’t get sick too often, but when she gets injured she goes down fast. So a bit of a mixed bag there, I guess.

How does your character deal with being less than 100%?

Complain. A lot.

How does your character deal with temperature? Do they run hot or cold?

She’s pretty balanced, but she definitely prefers warmer temps over cold. Snow is also a problem when you’re 3 feet tall.

Does your character have a preference between indoors or outdoors? Where do they seem more or less comfortable?

She likes the outdoors, but not in a naturey way-- she’d rather be exploring an entire city than sitting inside in one place

Does your character have various outfits for different situations, or do they tend to wear just one? Do they have any interchangeable pieces, or any odd clothing habits/quirks?

Well, she does have her costume for her stage persona, which is pretty outlandish. Since she travels so much and depends on her high mobility, she likes to keep it simple with a handful of comfy but stylish shirts that go well with her armor and pants, but if she was less ~action inclined~ she’d tend towards extravagance bordering on outlandish.

How does your character feel about their belongings? What condition are their belongings in? Do they have more belongings, or the bare minimum? Are they possessive or protective of their things?

She doesn’t have a whole lot of Stuff, but she’s quite protective of the handful of things that are really important to her-- her daggers and swords, her darts, her lockpicks, her necklace. 

What are your character’s hobbies? What do they do during their off-time? Do they have anything that aids them in these hobbies or skills?

It almost feels like a cop out to say that sleight of hand magic is her hobby considering it was also her job for the last however many years, but she really digs it, hahaha. Basically, anything that can garner her attention. What aids her is her naturally charming persona and absolute refusal to go unnoticed at any given moment

What does your character bring to the party? Are they a skilled fighter? Are they good with intelligent pursuits or charismatic encounters?

She’s sort of become the party face, which was??? not my intention?? (She loves it though). She’s friendly and charming and she wants to help people. She brings a lot of motivation and drive in a party where a lot of the people are either along for the ride or just trying to figure out how to be a person

How do they help set up camp?

Mage hand to assist in small tasks that people could have just as easily done themselves, light the campfire with prestidigitation, dramatically bemoan her tiny stature if asked to lift anything despite the fact that she can carry up to 150 lbs

What are some other ways your party is obviously benefited by your character’s presence?

Hmm... well, in a party with a lot of reserved or stoic people, she asks a lot of questions. She has a familiar, who’s been a huge help for scouting reasons and also for providing advantage in battles with the Help action. Also, she’s just a delight and her presence is its own benefit, of course 

What is your character’s relationship with money? What are their spending habits? How would your party perceive their relationship with money / accepting pay from others?

In this party she’s 10/10 the most likely to spend all her money on goofy frivolous shit, which is why all of her current money and also a pretty significant amount of Future Money is spoken for already. She’s a sucker for a magic item or anything sparkly.

What is your character’s overall disposition when surrounded only by the party? Are they different around just one or two party members? If so, are these specific members, or rather that your character is more comfortable opening up around fewer people?

She’s pretty much the same with the party as she is in the world at large, at this point. It’s still early enough in our adventures that she’s not going to be ~opening up~ on a deeper level any time soon, but she’s jovial and sociable and wears her heart on her sleeve. The big exception is Alegria, who she’s snarky and frosty towards and won’t be alone with if she can help it

Does your character walk at a faster or slower pace? Does it depend on the setting or situation?

She hustles. Who’s got time to mosey and meander?? We’ve got places to GO CHOP CHOP

How does your character pass travel time? 

Talking everyone’s ears off

Is there anything else that your party members might notice about your character?

Her fox skull pendant is the only piece of silver jewelry among a very solid gold theme. She calls everyone ‘buddy’ and she always means it. She’s smarter than she seems at first, but only if she’s paying attention, which she usually isn’t. She talks about how much she hates books but references things she’s read about on the regular. Her attention span is even shorter than she is.