#I got my first roll of black and white film back!! it was fun but I’m not used to thinking in black and white. if that makes sense.

[gaytobymeres]

York train station, a cold November Sunday 2023

Taken on Rollei 35S on Ilford HP5 film

[da-birb-writes-sometimes]

OMG I’m so excited for this!!! Can I request Vil with the prompt rainy nights?? Can it be fluffy and romantic? Anyway I hope you have a wonderful day!! :)

Rainy Nights; Vil Schoenheit

Content; Fluff, gender-neutral reader, established romantic relationship

Content Warning; Reader cries because of a movie, death (movie)

Word Count; 700+

Author's Note; I had a vision; watching old movies with Vil as the rain came down. I had a lot of fun writing this, and this is also my first solo Vil piece, so I hope I did him justice here.

As a reminder, do not put my work — or others for that matter — into AI as it steals. Link to Masterlist

You were rummaging around the TV console, going through the numerous DVDs and VHS tapes that were just sitting around and collecting dust. Tonight was your night for movie night, as yesterday was Vil’s, so you were weighing your options. Sure, there were streaming services, but there’s just something that hits differently with a physical copy, flaws and all. Plus it’s not like you could go out since it was raining like no tomorrow outside. So, movie night.

“Having any luck,” Vil gently called from the washroom, still doing his nightly routine.

Your eyes still scoured the various cases, trying to find the perfect one. “Not yet. Just give me a minute, m’kay?”

Vil gave you a hum as an answer, leaving you be.

Horror movie? No, he wouldn’t like that. Mystery? Too predictable… And then you found what looked like the most faded cases, colour worn away from age and a hand going back time and time again. That one.

Pulling it out, you dusted off the case, inspecting the title. Of the smudged-out words, you could make out The, some kind of smudged-out word, Blossom. It looked like a black-and-white movie, and on the front were the protagonists with their backs together, flower petals surrounding them, and a dagger above them. This, this is perfect.

Vil came out of the washroom, wearing his matching royal purple pyjamas and house robe, and glowing from the various skin products that he used. He looked curiously over your shoulder. “Hmm, The Bitter Blossom,” he mused, turning his gaze to you. “Is that your pick, Schatz?” His tone was light, a sign that he approved, and was mildly surprised at your pick.

“Mhm,” you hummed, placing the VHS tape into the VCR player. Whoever had played it last had saved you the trouble of rewinding it. “Have you watched it before?”

“Surprisingly, no. Copies of it are extremely hard to come by.” He got the sofa ready, adjusting the pillows, grabbing one of the many quilts, and a box of tissues, just in case. He noticed the look you were giving him, “I haven’t watched it, but I have heard about how it ends.”

You raised a brow, but shrugged. You pressed play and scrambled over to your spot next to Vil, getting comfy and pulling that handy quilt over the both of you — the rain had made it a little bit chilly.

The Bitter Blossom started playing. Not only was it in black-and-white, but it was also a silent film. The protagonists were two lovers who met by chance, their relationship going from cold strangers to a budding romance. 

But why had Vil grabbed the tissues? The movie was almost over, it couldn’t possibly—

But then the antagonist, a jealous ex of one of the main protagonists, stabbed the love interest in the back with a dagger. The movie ended with the protagonist hugging their love interest, flower blossoms falling down around them.

“Do not let the bitter blossom of hatred and vengeance bloom in your heart or mind, my love. Do not let it ruin the happiness which we fleetingly had.” The words flashed on the screen before the movie ended with the screen fading into black.

That, that was why Vil had grabbed the tissues. Wait, were you crying? That would explain why Vil was gently dabbing away the stray tears as they rolled down your face.

“A lovely film, love,” he whispered, “I should have warned you about the ending—”

You stopped him by grabbing softly at his hand, bringing it up to cup your face. “No, it’s alright. It was a beautiful movie,” you hiccuped, leaning into his touch. 

Vil caressed calming strokes on your cheek, the slow movements helping you focus on him. He placed a kiss on your forehead, a gentle hum escaping as the kiss lingered. “Oh potato,” your old nickname from when the two of you were still just only acquaintances, “what am I going to do with you?”

You grabbed a tissue and loudly blew your nose, “Cuddles?”

Vil sighed softly, but put his arm around you, resting his head against yours and placing a kiss to your temple. “Alright,” he hummed and continued humming a gentle tune until you were falling asleep. While he would prefer sleeping in bed, he supposed he could stand to cuddle with you on the sofa as the rain eased up outside.

~~~~~~~

Schatz; German for treasure, a common term of endearment

Tags; @azulashengrottospiano [I've seen the Vil brain rot and gushing], @eynnwwyjth, @xxoomiii

[strniohoeee]

Envious

Pairing: Chris Sturniolo X Female Reader (chubby reader)

Synopsis: Y/N just hates her body, and although the triplets try to make her feel better some hate comments get to her. But Chris is there to make her feel better🫂

Warnings⚠️: None she cute asf or whatever 🤭

Song for the imagine: Jealousy, Jealousy-Olivia Rodrigo

I’m so sick of myself

I’d rather be, rather

Anyone, anyone else

I hated how scrolling through instagram made me feel. Perfect bodies, white teeth, long healthy hair, perfect boyfriends…..just everything I’ve ever wanted. I tried not to fall down this rabbit hole, but it never worked out.

I would scroll and scroll until I felt physically sick. I would then exit out of instagram and stare at myself in the mirror pointing out everything I hated about myself. My skin oily and acne prone, my hair boring, my eyebrows too thin and light, my lips not big enough, my nose huge, my body disgusting. I hated my body with a burning passion.

Curves are good but not my curves. My curves are considered fat and unattractive.My breasts too big, my stomach not flat…bending over and seeing “rolls” God I fucking hated it. My thighs too big, my ass not fat enough….it's brutal. I'm not sure why it mattered what my body looked like. I also wasn’t sure why I cared so much about what people thought of me. I hated it, and I tried to hide myself away and shelter myself from any mean comments.

I tried not to be in the triplets videos because I saw the way some of these “fans” treated Madi, and that girl is perfect….I could only imagine what they would say about me. They even body shamed Chris and it was insane to me. They talked about it in a video saying that body shaming was disgusting and it doesn’t matter what people look like, we're all humans and all our bodies are different. I agreed, but I couldn’t believe these things about myself.

Chris so badly wanted to film a TikTok with me because we both were wearing the same FreshLove shirt, and black pants, and at first I rejected it, but after some convincing I decided to film it with him. I sucked it up and decided to have fun with my friend.

“Okay let’s do the “she wish there were two of me” trend, and like I’ll say it, and then stick my hand out and you’ll slide into frame and high five me” he said

“I love that trend, let’s do it” I said laughing

He set up his phone and started recording, lip syncing

“Walk in that Bih with with that Loui V” he said, and then looked over at me backing away from the camera

“She say she wish there were two of me” he said backing up and high fiving me as I came into frame

We started dancing, and he slung his arm over my shoulder “she fuckin, she know what she doing, B” We sang laughing and dancing

We finished filming and he posted the TikTok. For once I actually wasn’t scared of him posting me because I genuinely felt cute in my outfit today. My FreshLove shirt was cropped and I had my favorite pair of flare leggings on.

“I finally got you to film with me” he said jumping around

“Yeah that's a one time occurrence” I said laughing

“Oh come onnnn so many people want you in more of our videos” he said looking at me

“Yeahhhh, but I don’t know sometimes your guys fans are a little mean” I said looking down

“Yeah well fuck those haters those aren’t fans” he said scoffing

Later on that night Chris, Matt, Nick and I were in their living room playing board games while some random movie played in the background. We were all having a great time until I got a text message, I looked at my phone to see my best friend texting me

My baby🥹

-Hey babes….Im not sure that you’ve seen the comments under Chris video with you, but they’re disgusting and don’t let that shit get to your head

My heart sank immediately, my breathing getting shallow, my throat constricting and my palms getting sweaty. What the fuck is she talking about….

I opened up TikTok and went to Chris' video opening up the comments….my mouth instantly going dry

-“I know she didn’t crop a FreshLove shirt when she’s fat🤣”

-“I hope Chris isn’t dating her, that's actually sad….he must be desperate😗”

-“Why does she think she’s so hot??? Like what am I missing LMFAOOO”

-“oh that’s not- LMFAOO WHAT IS THIS GIRL DOING”

-“makes sense why she isn’t in the video anymore….she really let herself go”

-“Is that Y/N??? When did she gain so much weight??”

These comments made my stomach churn, and my face burn with embarrassment. The one day I feel cute I’m completely torn apart by these so called “fans”

“Chris you have to take that video down of us” I said looking at him

“What?? Why I love it” he said

“Just take it down” I said

“I love that video too don’t delete it” Nick said

“I don’t want it up” I said avoiding eye contact

Matt pulled out his phone to open the video, he opened the comments and immediately his eyes were saddened

“What the fuck” he said scrolling through the comments

Chris snatched the phone from him reading the comments

“This is fucking disgusting….Y/N don’t believe this shit okay” he said looking at me

“How can I not? These are things I see too, and to have your followers point them out is making me feel disgusting” I said

“None of this shit is true okay” Nick said looking at me

“I just want to be left alone right now” I said standing up

I went down to Chris’ room where I would stay when I spent the night. I laid on his bed. Letting the comments replay in my head. My heart racing and my breathing getting deep……I was starting to have anxiety about the comments and slowly I allowed myself to cry

The tears just flowed like a stream. I tried not to let these comments get to me, but it’s hard when people are judging you on the internet and they don’t even know you. I was letting out choked sobs, trying to cover my mouth to control my sobs. This was so unfair.

I heard the door open, so I figured it was Chris. He shut the door behind him, and sat at the end of the bed as I cried

“I know you don’t want to talk and that’s okay, but I want you to listen to me” he said

“I know it’s hard to not believe what people are saying on the internet, trust me I do, but I want you to know that those comments are from a bunch of children being haters okay. None of that shit is true at all. You’re a beautiful, funny and kind souled person” Chris said

I started to calm down, allowing my tears to stop, and trying to control my breathing.

“You don’t have to change for anyone okay. Stay true to yourself. You are amazing and don’t let these haters behind a screen get to you” he said rubbing my leg

“Thank you Chris” I said in a whisper

“Of course Y/N. I’m always here for you” he said smiling at me

I wiped my eyes and began to sit up

“Follow me” he said getting up, I got up and followed him to his bathroom

“What are you doing?” I asked

He walked into the bathroom and turned the lights on

“You’re going to stand in the mirror and look at yourself, you’re going to point out what you find unattractive about yourself, and I’m going to tell you why they’re beautiful” he said standing behind me, and placing me in front of him

“Chris no…” I said looking at him through the mirror

“I’m not letting you leave till you do it” he said shrugging his shoulders

“Ugh fine” I said looking in the mirror, at my swollen eyes, the tears down my face and my lips swollen

“Let’s start with your hair” he said

“I hate it…..it’s boring it’s flat it’s ugly” I said

“Wrong! It’s beautiful. It’s long and shiny and you take the best care of it. It always smells so good” he said looking at me

I just looked at him blushing slightly

“Go on” he said nodding his head

“My eyebrows…they’re so thin and light….and my eyes the color is ugly” I said

“Wrong again! Your eyebrows shape your face beautifully, and your eyes are gorgeous. The way the sun hits them and they sparkle, and the way your lashes are so long and showcase your eyes beauty” he responded

“Do we have to keep going?” I said blushing

“Yes you must” he said

“I hate my lips they aren’t big enough, and I hate my teeth and my smile” I said

“Your lips are pretty. Always glossed, always plump and full. And your teeth….your smile is my favorite thing” he said

“Are you flirting with me?” I said

“I may be” he said giving me a sly smirk

I started to smile and roll my eyes

“Look at that beautiful smile” he said pointing at me

“Chris shut up” I said giggling

“Keep going” he said nodding

“Uhh I hate my boobs they’re too big” I said avoiding eye contact

“Umm I’m going to be careful with my words here, but uhh a real man will never complain about big tits, and I happen to be a real man” he said looking at me making a funny face

“I like how you say you’re going to be careful with your words, and then say some crazy ass shit” I said laughing

“I meannnn I could say something way worse, but I’ll keep that for another time” he said winking

I rolled my eyes at him

“I hate my stomach” I said fidgeting with my hands

“Remember when we went to that museum, and we saw all those sculptures of Aphrodite and those renaissance women and they all had bigger stomachs. Well there was a reason, bigger women were the beauty standard at one point, and the most powerful beautiful women were on the thicker side. I think a woman with meat on her bones is hot. I mean I love all women, but the thicker the better” he said

I just stared at him in awe as I blushed

“Keep going” he said

“I hate my thighs, and the fact that my ass isn’t as fat as it should be” I said

“Let me tell you something, thick thighs save lives, and I live by that okay. The bigger the thighs the better, and so what if you don’t have this crazy huge ass. Your ass is great. I’ll be vulnerable here…I sneak a look any chance I get” he said throwing his hands up in defense

“You creeper” I said laughing

“I can’t help it. When there’s all this woman in my face I just go dumb” he said looking over my body

“You have a way with words” I said sucking my teeth

“It’s all honesty though. Like I said you’re beautiful inside and out, you’re a kind soul, you’re nice, you’re funny, you’re hot….I mean you’re everything a man could want” he said

He came up behind me wrapping his hands around my waist and squeezing me tight, laying his head on shoulder

“Never let anyone tell you otherwise” he said looking at me through the mirror

“Okay” I said in a whisper

“Now give me that beautiful smile” he said pouting

“Shut up Chris” I said laughing

“There it goes!! My favorite” he said smiling with me

He turned me around and pulled me in tighter

“You’re amazing I can’t stress that enough” he said

“Thank you Chris” I responded pulling away from the hug

“Let me take you on a date” he said looking at me

“Okay, yeah I’d like that” I said getting shy

“Don’t get shy on me now Y/N” he said lifting my head up with his chin

“Lets go out tomorrow” he said looking at me

“Sure Chris” I said smiling

He smiled at me before wrapping his arm over my shoulder pulling me in and kissing my cheek

“Now let’s get back to having some fun” he said as we walked out his bathroom and he shut the light off.

We went back up to the living room where we continued to play games and watch movies. These guys were amazing…especially Chris

The End

Alright guys I hope you liked this one 😚 and I honestly think I’m going to open up my requests because I’m all out of ideas as of rn😭 LOVE YALLLL🖤🖤

-J💅🏽

[mlmxreader]

Cinema Dates | Eddie Brock/Venom x gn!reader

anonymous asked: Eddie Brock: Hiya!! I hope this ask finds you well! May I please ask for a work using the following prompts for 🥹 my favorite loser Eddie Brock X non-binary, male, or gn!Reader: "Look, you're gonna be alright"+"Did you ever think we would end up here?" Thank you 🖤🖤! 🐍anon

summary: it's not often that you and Eddie get to spend time together, but when an opportunity to have a long date night comes up, you both jump at the chance.

tws: swearing

support your fanfic writers by reblogging what you read & enjoy

Eddie didn't go to the cinema often anymore, not since he had bonded to Venom, as the loud noises drove the Symbiote up the wall and the flashing lights made him even worse, but you wanted to go so badly, and Eddie had been wanting to see the film as well; Venom agrees with you both on a safeword, a word he could tell Eddie or you if things got to be too much.

He settled on "Mulder", the main character of the most recent television show you and Eddie had been watching; it worked, and more importantly, Venom felt safe enough to be able to get you or Eddie if it all got too much.

But Eddie was excited for the double feature, if he was honest, and it was cheaper to see both than to see just one thanks to the cinema having an offer on - buy a ticket for one, get the other film ticket for free.

You both agreed to dress up as well, with you dressing up for one film, and Eddie dressing up for the other; you wore a nice black suit with a olive green shirt and a tie that Eddie had bought you a long time ago that had little flying saucers on it. Eddie, on the other hand, wore a dull pastel pink blazer with matching trousers, a pair of white shoes, and a light pink shirt; he even bought a necklace with your first initial on it that was pink and in the font of the film.

But while your shirt was buttoned all the way up, Eddie's was undone halfway down, exposing his chest and giving a small peak at his tattoos. Eddie booked the tickets so that there was time to get something to eat before you went into the first film; he let you pick where to go, wanting to give you a bit of a treat before the five hour long date.

Sat in the less than fancy restaurant, you were happy as you sat across from him, Venom resting his head on your shoulder and occasionally stealing a few of your chips; it wasn't often that the three of you got to spend so much time together, you wished it wasn't just a meal and then a couple of films, but it was the best that you could do.

Venom seemed quite keen, too, perking up and grinning when he heard a song related to one of the films.

"Am I a Barbie girl?" He asked you.

You laughed, looking at Eddie as he pulled a face, trying not to laugh. "Venom, everyone can be a Barbie girl."

"But that would make you both Ken," Venom pointed out. "Wouldn't it?"

You shrugged, gently kicking Eddie under the table so he would stop getting you to laugh. "I guess so, yeah."

"It's a shame you didn't paint yourself pink," Eddie joked, biting back a hard laugh.

"But the other film," Venom huffed. "We're seeing both."

"He's got a point," you hummed, nodding. "But, if we'd have painted you with pink stripes, you'd be right down the middle."

"I blame Eddie," Venom said matter of factly. "He's such a Ken."

You couldn't help it, covering your mouth with your hand as you closed your eyes and giggled; Eddie rolled his eyes, but couldn't bite back his own giggles as he shook his head. You both had a good feeling about the date night, it was going to be a lot of fun, and you were glad that Venom was getting into it as well; you liked being around them both, and when one of them made you laugh, you never felt better.

But after eating, you headed over the cinema, and Venom stayed inside Eddie, not wanting to freak people out; you pulled him aside before going to the screen, clearing your throat and letting Venom seep out of Eddie's shoulder from under his shirt and blazer, sneaking through Eddie's open shirt and looking at you with a grin.

"We have ten minutes," you started, "are you sure you're comfortable with it, Venom?"

"Yes," he nodded. "If it gets too much, I will say."

"Good," you nodded, gently kissing his slick black forehead. "Look, you're gonna be alright - you've got me and Eddie, and we're gonna look after you."

"Yeah," Eddie agreed, reaching for your hand and holding it tightly. "We're gonna look after you, V."

The Symbiote seeped back into Eddie's skin, leaving you and him to have five minutes together; he smiled as he gently kissed you, over the moon to finally have a few hours with his two favourite things in the world - his partner, and his alien partner. He felt a little giddy as he gave your hand a gentle squeeze.

"Did you ever think we would end up here?" He asked softly. "Y'know, after Carnage and all the other shit we've had to go through."

You shrugged, thinking about it for a moment. "I don't think I did. I hoped we would, but I couldn't be sure… did you?"

"I hoped so," Eddie breathed out with a nod. "But I also hoped that we would have more time."

"Eddie, we have plenty," you told him softly. "We might not go on dates all the time, but I'm okay with that - every fucking bit of time we share… it's something I adore."

He smiled, softly kissing you again and letting go of your hand so he could put his arm around your shoulders. "Should we go in?"

"I think we should," you hummed, leaning into him.

Eddie walked you to your seats, and let you sit down first so that he could get next to you, his arm going around your shoulders as he hummed and let out a gentle sigh; he was content, and Venom could feel it.

Venom only ever felt Eddie being content when he was around you. When he had time with you. Venom often felt the same, and when Eddie relaxed, Venom did, too. Their favourite person in the world.

[denimbex1986]

'Every single time Andrew Scott has a big event coming up, he does one thing without fail. “I just whack on a load of moisturiser, because you don't want to come off as exhausted when you have to go to these things,” he says over Zoom. “No matter what type of moisturiser it is, just put as much of it on as you can. It'll keep your skin alive.” And if there's one event to do that for, it's the Emmys, where he was just nominated for 'Outstanding Lead Actor' for his role in Ripley.

But before the event itself, Scott sounds a little... tired? “I just got here last night,” he says from his hotel room in Los Angeles. “I'm literally only here for 24 hours, and then I have to do a film, a World War II film.” But even though the Irish actor's on two different timezones, there's still energy to be enjoyed. This is the Emmys, after all. And he's wearing something truly sick.

“It's Vivienne Westwood, which I'm very excited about. I absolutely adore Vivienne Westwood, and I think it's kind of rare that you get to wear Westwood menswear," he says. “And I just had a really good time collaborating with the team. They're really fun, great people to work with.” The chocolate brown suit is amped up by fanged-out lapels that extend way past his shoulders. His shirt, in black, is fitted with a flurry of dramatic ruffles across the front. “It's a bit rock and roll, it's a bit punk, but it's still very, very beautiful.” Which is what Vivienne Westwood is all about.

And it's his first time on the red carpet in this hallowed label. “I actually wore Westwood in Sherlock,” says Scott. “Moriarty had a Westwood suit, and back then, I remember it was one of the first costumes that I was genuinely excited about. So even though this is my first time wearing them [to an event], I feel like I have a sort of strange history with them already.”

It wasn't always like this, though. When asked if he remembered his first big fit that he wore to his first big event, he let out a nervous laugh. “Wow, God,” he says. “Back in the day I rented something from a dodgy tux place in Dublin, and I'll always remember how bad the trousers fitted. But that taught me how important fit actually is. Sure, your suit can be very expensive, but if it's a little too big or the sleeves are a little too short, it won't look good.”

His first outfit also reminded the 47-year-old actor of how much menswear has evolved over the past few years. “Back then, I think the thing I didn't always love was how every guy looked more or less exactly the same. You had to wear a black tie, and that was kind of really your only option. I think you can be so much more creative now, and you can find stuff that really suits you, because not everybody is going to suit wearing a, you know, black tie the whole time. Not everybody is going to suit black and white.”

And that's one of the main reasons why Andrew Scott was so gassed about wearing Vivienne Westwood to the Emmys. “Events like these, for the most part, are celebrations. They're celebrations of your work. They're a party. So not only should you feel comfortable with what you have on, you need to make sure that you have fun, too.”'

[lesbianlotties]

Ronancetober Day 16: Trick or Treat! 🎃🍂🦇🕵️‍♀️👻

Happy Halloween!!! 🎃👻

personally i'm celebrating that i somehow managed to fill all 16 prompts of Ronancetober!! shocking!!

thank you sooo much @lionydoorin for coming up with this wonderful event!!!

we got soo much incredible content, so thank you to everyone that created something for ronancetober, i love you!

and it was so so much fun to participate, so thank you everyone that liked, reblogged, or commented on any of my fics, you're my best friends forever <333

for the finale... i bring a short little story of Ronance on Halloween ft. Max, El, and Erica 🔪👻🧟‍♀️ enjoy!

After opening the door for three groups of children asking for candy, Nancy finally was rewarded with her girlfriend standing in the doorway with an adorable grin on her face.

“Trick or treat?” Robin said, grimacing a little.

“You’re late,” Nancy replied and sent a pointed look at Robin, who squirmed and scratched the back of her head.

“Sorry. But look! I brought you kids!” Robin added, waving her arm beside her, and adding in an exaggerated whisper, “It was their fault.”

Erica, under all the zombie makeup, scoffed, “We would’ve been on time if you learned how to drive, Buckley.” She was immediately supported by Max, who poked Robin’s ribs with her fake knife. Her laughter was only mildly muffled by the Michael Myers mask.

While those three started bickering, Nancy worked on closing the door behind her and then turned her attention to the third girl in their little group. “I love your costume, El. It’s a classic,” she said.

“Thank you, Nancy,” El nodded, making the entire white sheet covering her body rustle with the movement.

“I killed her,” Max announced proudly, holding up her knife. “And Erica too.”

“But I came back because you can’t stop me with a plastic knife,” Erica said, playfully shoving Max’s shoulder with her own. Just like that, their Halloween night properly started.

The five of them started walking down the street together, but El looked behind her for a moment to ask Nancy, “What is your costume?”

“Me? Uh, I’m an old-school private detective,” Nancy answered, and tipped the hat on her head. She was wearing a long beige coat, a dress shirt, and pants. “And I’m dead.” She shrugged and opened the coat to reveal the red stain she painted over her heart.

“And I’m the handsome criminal that made her go mad following my intricate clues and mind-bending puzzles. I stole all her money and her heart,” Robin added, throwing Nancy a charming smirk and wrapping an arm over her shoulders, pulling her close. She was wearing a hat similar to Nancy’s but black, and a suit that fit her a little too well, judging by the way Nancy was staring at her. “She did shoot me after I stabbed her though,” she added, showing the matching blood-red stain on her own shirt.”

The three girls walking ahead of them had stopped for a second to stare at them with different kinds of confusion on their faces.

“I don’t think you guys understand Halloween,” Max said.

Robin rolled her and said, “Shut up, you don’t understand film noir.”

“It’s okay,” Nancy said. She couldn’t help but feel her heart swell in her chest thinking about how much thought Robin put into the whole thing and how much she cared about it. “You did great,” she whispered and pressed a kiss on Robin’s cheek, unbothered about leaving a red lipstick stain. It added a little bit to the overall effect of their costumes. She decided at some point of the night she would have to add another lipstick stain to the collar of Robin’s white shirt, and hopefully more underneath the shirt too. Of course, her thoughts were interrupted by noises of disgust coming from the younger members of the group.

“You guys are gross,” Erica groaned.

“Cute,” El added softly.

“Can we just go?” Max said impatiently, waving her plastic knife around her.

Nancy laughed and nodded her head, telling them to go along and go to the first house. She stayed back with Robin and the two of them enjoyed a bit of a moment alone, standing by a pile of decorations and pumpkins that strangely reassembled a little kid. Robin’s arm fell from her shoulders to wrap around her waist, and something made Robin gasp.

“Nance, did you bring one of your guns?!”

“It’s not loaded, I swear!” Nancy laughed. “It felt important to complete the costume,” she said, shrugging.

Robin’s lips parted in surprise and she stared at Nancy for a long moment before saying, “Fuck, I love you so much.”

Nancy chuckled and lowered her head for a moment, thinking. It was a wild day, nobody on the street was paying attention to them, and they were wearing costumes… In a swift movement, she took off her hat, used it to shield their faces from the street in front of them, and leaned in to steal a kiss from Robin.

“I love you too,” Nancy said. She put her hat back and smiled brightly at the sweet and happily stunned look on her girlfriend’s face.

[secretlywritingstories]

In another life you still would’ve turned my head | phan one shot

Summary: Dan comes across old black and white photos of two queer men messing around, one playing with the other's hair, just like he did in a recent video with Phil. He gets caught up in the emotions that he would have fallen in love with Phil in any universe. He crawls into Phil's lap and tells him exactly that.

Word count: 2.7k

Tags: 2023!phan, established relationship, queer love, couch cuddles

Inspired by Timeless by Taylor Swift and Phil’s video on Twitter

Read on AO3 or below

‘Cause I believe we were supposed to find this

So even in a different life

You would still have been mine

We would’ve been timeless

Dan didn’t really scroll tumblr that often anymore, but he opened the tab sometimes when the mood stuck him. The current mood was laptop time after dinner, sitting in their pyjamas in the living room, just existing next to each other, doing their own little thing.

He’s barely scrolled for more than a minute or two when he’d scrolled carelessly past a post but something made him scroll back up and take a second look. He scrolled up and then let his fingers just hover over the mousepad to look at it. It felt like something snagged in his chest, and knocked the air out of his lungs.

It was four photos of four old photos. Four old black and white photos featuring featuring two young men laid out nicely on a table and captured with a phone camera. Not exactly unusual but there was something about the vibes of the photos, how the two men leaned into each other, one holding the other by his hair, and it was so strikingly familiar that it makes something in Dan’s chest ache.

He scrolled down a little more to see the caption and his eyes felt as they tremble as he read.

found these in the attic, it said 1944 on the back. mum said that one of the men was my grandfather’s older brother James. she didn’t know the other man. i don’t know much about James, but i do know that he never married or had children. but it looks like he still had love. seeing these warmed my queer little heart.

Dan clicked to enlarge the photos, and he felt like he wasn’t really breathing as the took the first one in. It looked like the two had been set up for a proper photoshoot but they got distracted. Both were wearing big smiles, grinning at each other like there was no one else in the world.

In the next one, one of them was rolling their eyes in fondness while the other had his head thrown back laughing. Dan felt like he could almost hear it, loud laughter ringing in his own ears.

He clicked onwards, and now one of the guys had stood up and his hands in the other’s hair, it looked like he was gently carding his fingers through the strands. The man still sitting down was looking up at the other man, all of his focus on him, while the other seemed to be talking, not caring that the camera was pointed at them and they probably should have been trying to sit still.

And then the last one. It was arguably the worst of the photos, one of the men mostly blurry because he was actively being shoved off to the side, but it was without a doubt Dan’s favourite of the four. The man might mostly be blurry, but you could still make out a small smile on his lips. The man who’d shoved at him looked so satisfied with himself.

It was radiating love, practically palpable in the air, and Dan felt like he couldn’t breathe without inhaling it. Without it settling in his lungs, heavy and important.

It was not entirely without reason that these photos hit so hard today of all days. He saw something else in photos, something reflected back at him. Just yesterday him and Phil had filmed a video asking for suggestions of what hairstyle Phil should try next.

It had been utterly impulsive and so fun. Phil had just casually mentioned that he wanted to try a new hairstyle, and Dan hadn’t hesitated to involve himself. He cared a whole lot about Phil’s hair after all.

He’d seen it in all of its stages and he would love it in all of its stages, even the crappy square hair from when they were young. Still, he was excited to see Phil switch it up, and try something new. It was hard for Phil to pluck up the courage for it, and therefore Dan knew he needed a gentle shove to actually do something about it.

The video had been just that. Something to hold him accountable, so he would do what he wanted to do.

Phil had grown tired of the quiff, of having to style it and he wanted to try something new. Dan could have helped with research, or they could have talked to their hairdresser, but why not turn to their community when they’d eat up something like this? And the fact that Dan had been in the video, shoving Phil around and messing with his hair had just been a bonus.

It didn’t feel quite as daunting to post something like that anymore. For a while the two of them had distanced themselves from sharing stuff like that, in the years following their coming out. Things were different than before when they were in a glass closet. Before they had said that their relationship was real, even if both of them had been adamant about wanting to keep it private.

This was a tiny peek into their life, a moment captured and shared just because they could.

Just like these two men back in 1944. They’d clearly deemed the photographs important enough to print and keep, even if they seemed to have been left behind in an attic in the end. It was so silly and fun and Dan couldn’t help but agree with the person who’d posted them. It made his heart warm too.

He stayed on the last photo, the blurry shove, and he opened another tab for Twitter to search up Phil and find the video from yesterday. He moved the cursor near the end where he knew he’d given Phil a playful shove.

He pressed play, hearing Phil lift his head from the other end of the sofa at the sound, and Dan watched how in the video a small smile played on Phil’s lips just as he was shoved to the side. Dan clicked back to the other tab and watched the photo again. The identical expressions felt like it hollowed out something inside of him, and then filled him with warmth.

It could have been them. In another life, in another time, that could have been him and Phil. The photos were taken during World War II and two young men found the time to laugh, and play around. If they two of them had met then, Dan was sure that Phil still would have captured his attention.

He’d have dreamed of having a moment like that with him. Just like he loved that they could have moments like this now. After everything they’d been through. After all the talk about soulmates and finding each other in every universe… it had always been kind of a joke with a grain of truth. A part of Dan deep down that wanted to believe Phil in his adamant conviction that they were meant to find each other. Always.

“Dan?” Phil asked, voice softly curious.

Dan knew his face was probably trying to process his complicated feelings. He wasn’t quite sure how to sort them out, how to put all of this into words that made sense. He couldn’t really.

Seeing photos of queer people existing throughout history always got him, but this felt even more poignant when he could see the two of them reflected in the touches and the smiles. The photos could literally have been stills from the video Phil had posted. 79 years apart and yet it felt like the same story.

Dan was projecting, heavily, but he didn’t care. He pushed his laptop away from him, setting it on the table and turned towards Phil, who’d been watching him. There was something curious in Phil’s eyes, and he quirked an eyebrow up in a silent question.

They were so used to communicating with each other, and Phil would probably understand what Dan meant even if he only got a few words out. But right now, it felt like all of the words were stuck in his throat. It wasn’t often that he didn’t have anything to say.

He could run his mouth on practically any topic. He was a chronic rambler but right now, it felt like it had all dried up. How was he meant to explain that he loved Phil so much that he saw the two of them in other people’s past too? In another time, he could imagine that it would have been the them sharing laughter and messing around.

How could he explain that he would have fallen in love with Phil no matter where or when they would have met? And how loving him felt endless and timeless?

Phil put his laptop on the coffee table right next to Dan’s, and Dan hadn’t even realised that he wanted crawl over but he could feel it now, the innate pull to be in Phil’s arms. His body was moving before he’d really decided to do it. It had always been pretty good at navigating itself when it came to Phil.

Phil was like a magnetic field, and it was so very easy to let himself get pulled into it.

The two of them were cuddly and touchy. They’d always been so, even if they had periods where they were more careful because of cameras being around. Still, it wasn’t quite usual for Dan to climb into Phil’s lap and just latch onto him unprompted.

His knees dug into the sofa cushions on either side of Phil, and he buried his face in Phil’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent of his skin and thinking whether those two lovers had ever pressed close to each other like this.

Maybe they weren’t queer. Maybe Dan was just reading into it, just like the person who’d posted the photos, but something in his heart sung that love recognised love. There was a reason he saw himself and Phil in those photos.

When he’d been younger, he’d sometimes been mad that he couldn’t quite keep the love out of his eyes when he was around Phil. How it radiated out of the both of them and made them vulnerable to speculation that they hadn’t been ready to face.

That he hadn’t been ready to face.

Everything had been subtext, hidden glances, and then so much love away from prying eyes.

Perhaps the two guys in the photos had never been allowed to be seen for what they were, but it didn’t diminish what Dan could see between them. He was happy that things were different for him and Phil. That they got to exist as themselves. Dan was still working on feeling pride in his identity, but he had no doubt in his love for Phil.

It was the easiest thing in his life.

A given.

Dan Howell breathes, and loves Phil Lester.

Phil’s hands came to rub up and down Dan’s back, and he didn’t complain that he suddenly had most of Dan’s weight just dumped into his lap. He welcomed it, even if Dan was just being emo about a couple of photos.

While he didn’t ask verbally, Dan could hear the questions that Phil didn’t asked. He wondered what had set Dan off like this, even if he would be able to pick up on the fact that it wasn’t really a bad thing. Just emotional.

“Saw some photos,” Dan mumbled against Phil’s neck. “Queers from the 40’s. Goofing around, one playing with the other’s hair.”

The sentences came out fragmented, kind of sharp existing his mouth.

Phil hummed in understanding. “I see.”

Dan knew he did, but now that he was talking, he couldn’t quite stop himself from continuing. It was suddenly very important to him that Phil knew where his head had been at. Dan knew Phil only would be delighted that Dan was seeing them in reflected in other queers through history. He’d have called it fate.

“It could have been us,” Dan said, voice almost a whisper, but he didn’t need to speak very loudly when Phil was this close. When they were touching, embracing and breathing the same air. “I would have loved you even then.”

He meant every word. Even with war and homophobia worse than now, he’d have chosen to fall for Phil. He would have chosen to risk everything and pursue him, just like he’d done in this life when he’d started to reach out as just a fan on Twitter.

More than a decade has passed and yet he could still remember every beat his heart had skipped when he realised that they were becoming something more. When they’d become actual friends, rapidly evolving to best friends, falling in love and deciding that they wanted to share their lives forever.

He thought of all of their different boxes of memories, of how they clung onto all of their history. The story of them.

“Even in another life, you would still have been mine,” Phil agreed, squeezing Dan tighter to his chest. “Can you show me?”

Dan flung his hand in direction of his laptop and felt how Phil shifted both of them forward so that he could pull the laptop closer to take a look. He put it down on the sofa next to them, and Dan heard him click through the photos.

He closed his eyes and relaxed in Phil’s embrace, quite content not to move right now, even if he did want to see Phil’s reaction. He could feel part of it, with their chests pushed together like this, Dan swore he could feel Phil’s heart kick up and go a little faster.

“They’re beautiful,” Phil whispered, earnestly and then because he couldn’t help himself, he added: “Hot too.”

Dan had been so lost in big emotions that he hadn’t expected Phil to say something like that. It startled a laugh out of him, and he almost managed to knock both himself and Phil off the sofa.

“Oi! You’ve got your own hot guy right here!” Dan protested, voice light and airy as he continued to laugh between his words. He put more of his weight onto Phil like he could crush him. Remind himself that he got to be with Phil like this. All tangled up in each other.

He didn’t actually care that Phil found other men attractive. Phil seemed to have a pendant for running into hot men everywhere, and Dan mostly found it ridiculously funny how Phil malfunctioned around them. For fun, he would play up his jealousy or poke fun at Phil with it.

He knew that the love they shared, and how their attraction to each other was much deeper than just physical hotness. Dan knew that Phil would always come back home to him, no matter how many super attractive dudes he might encounter. 

“I do,” Phil said, moving to squeeze Dan’s ass unabashedly.

Dan opened his mouth to chastise Phil for fun, but he couldn’t get a word out before his lips were captured in a kiss. He could have pulled away to continue the banter, but he found that he’d much rather melt into the kiss.

Get lost in his timeless love with the one man that he’d search low and high for in any world and in any time. He knew that love would always mean leaning into Phil’s side and getting lost in his eyes.

It was joking around after Dan got emotional about old queers that could have been them. It was knowing exactly how to kiss each other after all of these years. It was how they would always choose each other.

Before meeting Phil, Dan had dared to dream of love and romance, but he could never have imagined what they’d find together. They always had a whole hoard of cardboard boxes with memories, and the collection would only grow and grow. 

Dan couldn’t imagine a life where he wouldn’t find Phil. They were going to be timeless. He was sure of it.

[stormblessed95]

Memories 2021 Discs 6 -7

So I asked again when I said I was going to watch memories in full if you would be interested in commentary from me as I did so. There were a lot of people who said yes, so here we are! I have officially watched BTS Memories of 2021. Here are my thoughts as I went. There were 7 DVDs in this one. Reminder that these aren't going to be smoothly written out thoughts. You get these like I'm live reacting, texting my bestie or live tweeting. Lol it'll be in like bullet point format sort of, just... a commentary post as I go. Lol Parts 1 -3 covers Discs 1 - 5 and the first half of Disc 6. You can read part 1 here, part 2 here and part 3 here. Part 4 here will cover the second half of Disc 6 and Disc 7. Hope you enjoy anyway! Let's go!

Disc 6

2021 Festa Family Photos Making Film:

This could honestly just be a post on its own 😭😍 with all the gorgeous photos!! Everyone starting off in their stunning white outfits from past shoots/performances too. Jikook both in black swan outfits too! Hopekook almost bonking foreheads and smiling so cutely at each other in their unit shoot with Yoongi 🥺 Everyone standing serious for their group photo, and then there is Tae secretly tapping consistently on Hobi's thigh and bring silly while he pretends to be serious with the rest of them. Lol and then dancing through their next shot too 😂 having a hard time sitting still! Jimin reigning Tae back in for the shot and JK smacking him for being silly 🤣 everyone doing solo shots in their brown suits and JK takes over a camera as per usual. Starting with a test shot of Hobi, turns out great! Tae shows up and JK takes a super close up angle and hopekook both exclaiming in surprise at how he can look good even from that angle. Turning to take a close up of Jimin too and giggling saying he looks like a rookie actor (again!) Everyone laughing so much thanks to Jungkook! Jimin fixing Sope's ties for them during the group shoot because they were a little crooked was so fucking cute and domestic honestly. Tae grabbing Hobis hand to hold during the shoot and trying to kiss his hand. So much love and laughter 😍

Jungkook spinning namjin super fast with him on the merry go round thingy and them NOT ENJOYING IT and JK just laughing at them 😅🤣 Yoonmin being the cutest and pretend fighting lol the editors "battle of the bts kitties" "we don't know who won but they are good friends!" 🤣🤣 Vhope being so cute and Hobi was also NOT A FAN of the merry go round. Lol I'm glad taekook got to have fun on it together after shooting since their photo partners were not into all the spinning they clearly wanted to do lmfao! Even when Tae tapped out, JK just kept staying to play! Vhope might be my favorite duo of the Festa photos! Lol the way they jumped to each other for photos and then Tae just snuggled into Hobi, who wrapped him up in a big hug like a koala and Tae then just lifting him up in response and Hobis surprised laugher. My heart is MELTING. 1st Gif above.

Rolling Stone Magazine Making Film:

The way the concept was carefree and you can tell they all enjoyed just getting to do whatever they want during their solo shoots for sure. Lol Jimin coming to check out Hobis 4 frame shots and going "ah Hobi is playing celebrity again" and Tae trying to photobomb Suga 🤣🤣 the staff going "must be nice to be that handsome" watching V do his photoshoot and Tae getting instantly shy 🥺🥺 so cute! For the group shots the director wanted it to look like a more causal green room conversation/setting. Lol all crammed on one couch? Well okay, that's probably fair for the Tannies. But JK hearing that then immediately putting an arm on Jimin and leaning back against Hobi was cute 🥺 my 3J. His comfort people. He readjusted but it was still cute. Director telling them to open their mouth like they are yawning and the Tannies all just start vocalizing like opera stars instead! Lol Jimin looking at the photos and saying Yoongi looks like a goldfish 🤣 non stop teasing from Jimin today! 😂 Hobi shattering the illusion of them all on top of each other on one couch immediately after going "this isn't what we are really like on green rooms." Hobi sir, we have some footage that begs to differ. Maybe not all the time but cmon 🤣🤣 Jimin pretending to hop onto the motorcycle at the next set and Jhope going "cmon Jimin, let's go!" And hopping on behind him like they are going to take off! 🥰 Reviewing their photos and making adjustments and JK telling Jimin he should lean in more while dropping ALL honorifics, as per usual 😂 these were actually super well done photoshoots AND well done interviews. If you haven't seen or read them yet, I encourage you to do so! More Jikookey Here.

Billboard Magazine Making Film:

The video starting out with Namjoon expressing immediately sympathy for JK in his heavy sweater about how hot he is going to be. Lol and when JK is outside he has Staff around him right away giving water bottles and holding fans. Poor baby, it must be really heavy! RM being the best leader and organizing where everyone needs to go and sit for the cover shoot so well! Really great examples of his encouraging type of leadership though. Everyone struggling with how bright the sun is shining in their eyes and Joon going "just 10 photos, okay?" Giving encouraging pats and counting everyone off for when they need to quickly open their eyes for the shot too.

Second outfits and set seemed more comfy. Lol jikook saying they loved their outfits and felt it fit them. Give them the outfits billboard!! Namjoon cutting his end mentions interview short after his shoot going "wow, so sexy! Rolled up sleeves" because he got distracted by how good Yoongi looked! Lmao I mean, I get it namjoon. I get it 😍😂 and then Yoongi getting all shy about it too and downplayed the compliment. Accept it Yoongi! JK and Hobi also praising Yoongi during their group photoshoot at the end. Saying he "looks like a boss." And Jimin saying Yoongi looked great in short sleeves during their ending mentions. Caught ALL THEIR EYES!

They did a 7 things you don't know about bts interview and Jimin being unsure because he picked something the members all already know about him and JK saying it's okay if the members know but others don't and reassuring him so sweetly. Their little fist bump after the interview started too! During the group shoot Yoongi going "ow wait, let me spread my legs a little" as everyone crowded into the same small couch and letting Jin lean back between his legs instead of on them. Whew. Great photoshoot honestly! Shitty ass article, dont give them any clicks, and they are so undeserving of BTS honestly. But pretty photos for sure.

2021 Show in Seoul with House Ambassadors BTS | Louis Vuitton Making Film:

LV Show in Seoul with BTS here:

The Making Film opens up by blessing me with minimoni praise! Jimin just being like this is my first time seeing actual models and it's crazy because Namjoon fits right in! He can go toe to toe with all these models. Wow! And when Staff tell Joon what Jimin said he was so shy and humble. Lol "that's just Jimins affection for me clouding his vision." 😭😭😭 Vhope smiling and waving to each other from across the set where they were each filming their seperate parts of the video and giving each other that encouragement! Followed by the same thing with cute glances and encouragement exchanged between taekook across their sets too! I love it. Jikook being silly and comparing heights in their new outfits and shoes, just for JK to step back, check Jimin out from top to bottom, a full body check out, and go "you look like a real model!" And Jimin just blushes. Cuteee. Namjoon saying he likes Yoongis outfit best, and he wants to wear it! Hobi being nervous going up the elevator but Tae easily distracting him by asking about his bag. 🥺 I love they chose their own outfits for this too. It's amazing and the fact that they chose their own outfits and Jimin picked to wear a skirt!! Love it!

Vogue Korea & GQ Korea | LV Making Film:

I love that they once again got to pick their own outfits for the shoot here too! Showcases their uniqueness so well! JK saying he thinks he has worn an outfit similar to Namjoons before. And Namjoon just looking at JK and saying everyone looks like they are going to a party, why do you look like you are going to the gym? 😭😂🤣 let him BREATHE Namjoon. Athletic clothes everywhere is an AESTHETIC! The never ending teasing. Lol "your outfit is so blue too." JKs defense of "jimins outfit is all redish!" It's not just you, Jungkook, it's not! 🤣 Jikook really are though two bright ass spots of color in everyone else's more monochrome color scheme in these group shots 😂 Jikooks play boxing and 95z dancing and silliness during the break. So much energy! Not Tae feeling up Jimins biceps and going "it'll rip" in reference to Jimins muscles busting out of his tight fit?! 😭🤣 please! JK giving a little interview after his first solo shoot and getting distracted and turned around/lost backstage/on set! Lol

Everyone gathering for a group photo and JK just plopping down on Hobis lap instead of getting his own chair. FAIR. Jin being a little nervous up high in the set and JK just linking their elbows and sticking by him so sweetly. He is the sweetest man! For the third of their looks, Hobi picked out to wear one of the same outfits that Tae once wore on his own time at the airport. Lol and he goes "yes. I've become Tae's clone" 🤣 cuteeee. For the 4th look/set, Tae is outside and keeps talking about how nice it would be to do a shoot outside with his dog, Tan 🥺 Gathered for the last group shot has everyone asking Hobi about his outfit and if he is wearing a bulletproof vest. Lol which he confirms by singing a line from We Are Bulletproof Pt. 1 and spends the rest of the time before the shoot starts in earnest with the other members punching his vest and asking if it hurts. 🤣🤣 and no one being able to leave the balloons alone on the set. They are so playful. These were again really great photos and interviews if you want to go check them out if you haven't read them yet!

Disc 7

My Universe MV Making Film:

Giving me a minimoni unit at the start of a making film makes me so happy! They are so cute together! The members fawning over Yoongis pink hair 😍 me too! JK can't go one making film without boxing someone and I love that for him. This time it's Tae shoulder/back that is his boxing opponent! Lmao at Jimin just standing there in between takes and JK just randomly comes by to touch and hold his chin for a minute. Why are they so cute?? They spend so much of this making film just quietly talking in the background too. It's adorable. Tae telling everyone to channel N.O. to give resistance vibes for the MV 😂 Not Jimin pulling his phone out to check it after a shot and JK coming to peer over his shoulder at it too! Lol the constant "who's texting *us*" vibes are spectacular. Vminhopes loud laughter during footage review when JK goes "Chris is taller than us, why are we looking down?" 😂😂🤣🤣 Jikook acting out a skit to make their hyungs laugh 🥺 and swinging Hobi around like crazy between them lmfaoo "maknae line and maknae lines boss" Editors know them well lmfao. Jikook getting in line for their filming snd jikook at the end of the line just play fighting and Jimin getting right up in JKs face like that 😳🤣 Just for JK to jostle him back and make funny poses himself. They really have so much fun together. The way they were all leaning shoulders against each other to "relax" and when they finally break apart you see the poor stylist noona on the floor under them Still just trying to fix and resituate their clothes 😅🤣 Vhopeminkook working out using each other as weights lol and then the maknae line making up choreo for MU while hyung watch endeared. Their energy is unbounded. Jhope being asked to freestyle right before the cameras rolled again for the ending scene and all the members praising him for how cool he is immediately after. Seeing them all have fun dancing at the end is my favorite part. They are so cute. Jikook teasing Tae for how he started dancing too was so funny. Ending mentions has Tae trying to wrap an arm around Jimin and almost knocking him over by accident instead. He was not prepared! Lol but JK looking over and checking on him with his eyes and Jimin making that eye contact as he caught his stumble was so cute. Just the quiet making sure he was all good 🥺 so domestic of them! Tae was so cute too making sure he didn't actually fall over 🤣 Jikookery Clips here.

Special Presidental Appointment Ceramony & Permission to Dance | UNGA SDG Moment 2021 Making Film:

Performance here!

The first 2 minutes were just BTS being so proud and excited about the honor bestowed upon them by their country and honestly, same. Im SO PROUD of them too. They deserve ALL THE RECOGNITION possible. And then some. They deserve it all. And seeing them prep for their 3RD VISIT to UNGA is amazing. Everyone arriving at the airport to go to NY is so tense but also so excited. Joon being nervous about memorizing his speech during the plane ride. Jikook arriving to the airport together and both so bouncy and giddy!

Namjoon forgetting her PTD Verse and asking JK for help. And Jungkook being SO PROUD TO HELP and claiming himself the BTS Lyric bot and that he knows most of all the lyrics and the rap verses too. Just main vocalist things! Jin making good minor suggestions to both cameramen and members as they film their PTD performance so that everyone stays the most safe while walking/dancing backwards. Always looking out for everyone. 🥺 Not the cute copy/paste move that ran through Namjikook as all 3 wanted to copy and try Taes jumping dance move! Lol cuties. Namkook being adorable with a happy to be in the sun again dance break as they move locations! The members all laughing over how the doors they have to exit from were so much heavier than they thought it would've been 🤣 The way they all cheer and clap for the backup dancers through their rehearsals at the final location they shoot at 🥺 the way all those dancers had nothing but wonderful things to say about their experience working with BTS too!

Special Presidental Envoy Speech | UNGA SDG Moment 2021 & The Metropolitan Museum of Art Making Film:

Their speech with eng subs here (I love that they gave it in Korean!)

The members all politely listening and nodding along while going through the museum and Namjoon is just super into it. Adorable. JK misreading "hall" as "hell" and Jin being unable to stop his giggles over the mistake 😂 Namjoon giving a speech too! And JK being so proud of him when he gets back to their seats afterwards. Endearing! They were SO NERVOUS for their speeches. 😭 Practicing while getting ready, practicing while getting styled, practicing in the car ride over. Teasing each other a bit about their nerves. Oof. You did great loves! Jimin being so shy about apologizing for taking a breather during his speech and his members all lightheartedly teasing him about it. Lmfao the way he laughed and RAN from them all out of the building. 😭😂 Poor baby. Even though they were all teasing him they were all reassuring him too. With sweet notes of "no, you did really well though." And sharing their pride of him too. Namjoon saying he felt more comfortable this time giving these speeches because his members were there and joining in on it too this time. Their love for each other is admirable.

Meeting with Megan Thee Stallion & Coldplay:

Nah because BTS with Meg is one of the cutest things ever. Such a sweet friendship. I love seeing her sitting between the 95z as a 95 liner herself too! The way they all fawned over her and 4oe! Their selfies together. Talking about things they wish they could've done together for Butter promo! And the way they wanted to teach her the Butter choreo but didn't want her to hurt her ankles in her shoes so they did the hand choreo part! They were so cute all huddled up together in a little circle practicing and then filming their hands all together too. Lol Jikook with their hand tattoos in the middle too! Ugh, love it. Jimin thanking Megan for the alcohol in their gift bags by holding it up and doing her signature tongue move while shouting thank you 😂🤣 And JK picking up and carrying Jimins gift bag out for him. 🥰 They are so cute.

Their friendship with Chris and Coldplay is SPECTACULAR! One of my favorites. It's so cute seeing them all together and enjoying their time together. I love that Chris asked them to sing MU with him right there and then. Just to enjoy their song all together. It's so special. Their smiles were all so big. During they "heys!" Jikook were so cute laughing together and Jimin booty bumping up onto JK and JK unable to stop smiling over at him too! Lol their smiles and laughter all together through their whole visit! The way they were so excited to be gifted modern hanboks from the guys and Chris gifted Jin his guitar. The way Chris wanted to teach Jin how to play the guitar and Jin went along with it like he had never played a guitar before WAS ADORABLE. Lmao. Jin saying it was going to become a family heirloom 🥺 BTS being the fanboys for once was so cute. Especially because the energy and respect was absolutely matched. The hugs at the end too 🥺

2021 American Music Awards Making Film:

Vmin right off the bat! During practice Tae talking about how when he wears a hat all his hair just sticks out the side of it at the length it was at. Jimin just watching him so endeared and "so cute." And then Jimin grabbing him by the neck as they spin in a circle for their "practice" of their duo dance for Butter. Lol cutiesss. Jimins hair is so long and beautiful during this time too! JK covering Jins face with his own hood and Jikook jokingly singing happy birthday to him since his Birthday is coming up soon. Practicing on stage and wanting things to be perfect for their first stage back with ARMYs there. 🥺 Jimin being goofy with the camera and pretending to shoot us and look through his hair. Lol and JK just standing right out of camera view where we barely see him for a moment just Watching Jimin be silly all endeared over it 🥺🥺 Practicing where they need to go for the MU performance too and Jimin just going "I should stick close to namjoon. Namjoon! We can't be seperated!" And looping his arm in Joons, while Joonie just goes "good good" and walks off with Jimin in tow 🥰 I'm so in love with minimoni!

Finally on their way to the show too! Red carpet time, seeing army time, performance time! We had vhope in one car, minimoni in the other and then our ultra introvert line yoonjinkook in the last car! Lol I love all these dynamics. JK being nervous during their speech and nailing it but his cute "we wanna focus on...." lmfao everyone laughing and JK in the dressing room for Butter only being able to fret about armys now making fun of him when he just wanted to look cool. Lmfao the non stop laughter he couldn't control! Cutie. And he wasn't wrong. "We wanna focus on" was all army could talk about and how cute JK was and how cute Jinkook are when Jin pulled him away 🤣🤣🤣 Jikook walking backstage together so excited after their performance and winning the grand prize! JK was PUMPED. LOL JK saying the whole world looks yellow now and Jimin just laughing and saying it's because of his yellow glasses and pulling them up onto his head for him to see without them 🤣 Everyone's smiles and energy and excitement at just being there with ARMY and performing with a crowd again! Im so unbelievably proud of them all the time!

The Late Late Show with James Cordan Making Film:

This was filmed 211123, we know because they filmed it in the middle of traffic and hundreds of people saw them do it 😂 Am I a big James Cordan fan? No. Lol but I do love seeing the guys all having fun and smiling. The absolute CHAOS of rehearsals where BTS are RUNNING but don't know what they are supposed to be doing AT ALL 🤣🤣🤣 Jihope having their impromptu photoshoot for future photos for Jimins Instagram. ITS BEEN A YEAR AND WE STILL HAVENT GOTTEN THEM?! LOL Their laughter and smiles are so cute. They had so much fun together. JK mispronounced Chipotle as Chicolte and the company rolling with it is my favorite thing. Lol 3J all sharing parts of their meals together is so cute. Jimin walking up and JK just taking a big bite of Jimins food with no asking and with zero reaction. You just know he does it often. 🤣 Ending mentions after filming the talk show portion has everyone talking so nicely about how great it was to see fans again and about how they had fun.... and JK is just sitting in the back unable to stop feeling Namjoons hair lol. Up and down he brushed the short hairs at the back 😂 and Joon didn't even react. You just know he is used to the members clinginess and JKs random "must feel the texture" touches he does so often to all of them 😂 I love it.

2021 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Making Film:

I love seeing them have so much fun during rehearsals together, even as they practice seriously. And I also love when they prove over and over again that their mics are always on! Lol burgers for lunch after practice and before they perform. Everyone taking off their jackets while they eat, tell me WHY DID JIMIN TAKE OFF HIS WHOLE SHIRT?! Just leaving his little sweater on but button so low?! Lol Jimin what was the reason?! Jhope and his Polaroids! The way they all blinked like crazy when asked to blink to give spoilers on if they were working on an album or a tour in 2022 🤣 vmin laughing together over it all on the rep carpet interview too 🥰 Yoonmin walking to the second interview with Jimins arms around his shoulders 🥺 Jhope mentioning feeling tipsy after his few sips of champagne at the second interview 🤣 Jin being so cute with his reindeer headband and Tae looking so endeared!! Jikook kicking off their ending mentions by singing Jingle Bells together! Jin saying that working on his birthday was worth it because seeing army is the best present. 😭 They all wished Jin a happy birthday again! Jimin pulling him in for a hug and Tae pinching his butt 🤣 And ending the DVD with promises to look forward to their concerts in March in 2022 and Tae making everyone laugh and be endeared over his ending fairy comments 🥺🥺

An AMAZING experience, as watching memories always is. And this fully wraps up my posts over these DVDs. I love them all so much. We are so blessed to be fans of the most humble people in the world. I'm so proud of them all the time and wish them nothing but the best, safety and happiness through these next few years, knowing that we aren't going anywhere!!

[ideahat-universe]

This is an amusing follow up to several different posts I've made in the past. First is ValiDate. I thought ValiDate was going to be the next YiiK. Turns out that was Goodbye Volcano High. I mean part of the failure and success of Goodbye Volcano High was that it was furry related. ValiDate really should have had furries in it.

Speaking of which, Snootgame's sequel I Wani Hug That Gator has come out and people like it. Also, it has a mod in Pizza Tower.

So if you're keeping score. The creator of Goodbye Volcano High had funding from the Canadian government (and I guess Sweet Baby helped with the writing?) and they had a featured slot in a Sony game reveal trailer, and the end result was the game crashing and burning and then someone from 4chan creates a fanfix that was popular enough to warrant a sequel that at the time of writing this, has a 99% positive rating on Steam and is 15.00 USD.

So someone turned a very unsuccessful DEI project into a highly successful game that had basically no backing.

What do you say about that? That's so humiliating.

But it could be worse. You could be the creator of ValiDate who only got made fun of on Kiwifarms and that was it.

And apparently this was developed by an Ex Sweet Baby dev who went on record saying she wanted to create a safe space for people who weren't white. She's not saying that she hates white people. She's saying she's afraid of them. Maybe.

I guess we can talk about this. Me and her are of the same race and I can't imagine she consumed different media than I did.

I'm presuming but I can't imagine with her world view that she didn't watch stuff like the Proud Family, Smart Guy, The Parkers, the PJs, the Bernie Mac show, The Boondocks, and even really ancient black focused entertainment like The Cosby Show or Diff'rent Strokes.

Don't forget the movies. Who can forget The Color Purple? I'd know I'd like to.

One of my most formative memories was reading a book about slavery and how bad white people were treating slaves and I thought to myself. "This stuff wants me to hate white people, but I have white friends. They all treat me very well. What's in this book isn't relevant to me." and I didn't know it. But the incorporeal Game Master that runs all our lives checked my alignment and read it as "Neutral Good" so I could not be swayed to hate an entire race of people for emotional or seemingly logical reasons.

That made history class worse because every slavery related story or film we'd watch or read just felt like brainwashing attempts I would think "no, I don't have any interest in hating white people, please stop."

What I think happened to the lady that made ValiDate, and honestly millions of black people in the country is that they fail their Wisdom rolls and go with "White people are all evil in these stories, and these stories are based on real life. Therefore. Real white people are evil."

I don't think it's a strength to actively carry generations of racial trauma wherever you go and pour it into a project to such a systematic degree that you employ racial discrimination in the hiring process.

I think it's a weakness. It's a weakness that made your game bad. It's a perspective of reality that is harmful for your mental health.

Seek enlightenment. Become a furry and completely detach yourself from the race conversation.

Please. I need someone to play Armello with.

[medium-sized-snack-portion]

A friend's trust

Hey, so I guess it was about time I finally wrote down my pretty much first actual vorish story. It's my first piece of writing I've done, so I'm excited to see if y'all like it.

This is just a little side story (which would relate to the big one I might actually get to write someday, haven't decided yet), featuring my main OC Hyacinth the Fairy, his roommate Galen the Minotaur, 4 of my other OC-s sprinkled in, and of course, noms.

Containing: Soft and safe vore, some language (nothing too bad), ✨️emotions✨️, probably an acceptable amount of grammatical errors (yes english isn't my first language how did u know) and around 3500 words.

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A red Maserati was parking in front of an apartment building. A Siren, wearing a sleeveless turtleneck was sitting behind the wheel, his phone in his hand.

"Matty, if you don't get your ass into the car within the next 5 minutes, you can walk all the way to the cinema."

Half of a "Just a minute!" could be heard from the other side of the phone, before the Siren hung up the call. "He'll be here in a sec."

"You sure you don't wanna come with us, Hyacinth?" asked the girl sitting in the passenger seat, from the pointy eared guy standing next to the car. She was wearing a yellow top and denim shorts, and Hyacinth was wearing a purple shirt with black jeans, a crystal necklace hanging from his neck.

"Nah, I got some homework to do, and I know if I put it on for longer than needed, I'll just end up not doing it." Hyacinth said. "But you guys have fun!"

Faint music could be heard from the back of the car. A Telkhine was playing on his Switch on the backseat, his hood pulled over his head, music leaking from his earbuds.

"Just make sure he won't be doing that during the movie." Hyacinth said. He knew how hard it was to snap Idios out of  gaming trance once he got into it.

"Don't worry about it, he's been wanting to watch this movie ever since people started talking about how surprisingly good it was." the girl said. "I hope they're right, the animation looks promising, that's for sure."

The front door of the apartment slammed open with a gust of wind, and a chubby, white-haired guy in a jacket came running through. "I'M HERE!" he said, out of breath. "I just - *huff* - had to grab some stuff."

"Why the hell are you wearing that? It's like 20°C." the Siren in the driver's seat asked.

"Because of this, Kal." Matthias (Matty) said, unzipping his jacket, revealing the snacks that were taped to the inside. "Do you know how overpriced the stuff they sell at the cinema is?"

Hyacinth couldn't help but chuckle at this, Kalais (Kal) just rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever you say."

"Hey, the passenger is my seat!" Matt said, as he noticed his cousin sitting next to Kalais. "Reka, lemme in!"

"Not a chance." Reka said. "Maybe next time don't take that long."

Matty begrudgingly sat next to Idios in the backseat, whose eyes were still glued to his console.

"Is everyone here? Cool." Kal said, and he turned to Hyacinth. "Okay, I plan on getting something to eat after the film, so we'll be back in around 3 hours. Want us to grab something for you?"

3 hours. That was more than enough time for Hyacinth to do what he was planning. "Nothing, thanks. You guys should get going tho, the movie is starting soon."

Kal looked at the time on his phone. "You're right. Well, let's go!" he said to Hyacinth, and winked at him.

"See ya later!" Reka and Matt, in sync. Idios just gave a nod, as he was semi-listening to what was going on while gaming.

"Bye guys!" Hyacinth said, and watched the Maserati drive away, until it disappeared behind a corner.

4 of his roommates left for 3 hours, leaving only him and his 5th roommate alone at home. It couldn't have gotten more perfect for Hyacinth. He quickly turned around and went back to the building, and back to his apartment to put his plan into motion.

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The apartment was unusually quiet, with 4 out of it's 6 inhabitants gone. The apartment was small, but cozy: it had a kitchen/dining area, a living room, a bathroom and a 6-in-1 bedroom. Next to the bedroom door was a dial, with the names of Hyacinth and his roommates' names on it, currently set to the name "Matthias". It served as a kind of portal, each name belonging to a room with a different interior. It was a quite popular little thing invented by some welsh wizard, it made the housing situation much more manageable. 

The place was owned by Hyacinth's 5th roommate, Galen. The Highland Minotaur was in the living room area, reading a book while laying on the couch. He was wearing his signature green sweater with a daisy crocheted on the part around his heart. Hyacinth was in the dining area, writing an essay on his laptop.

"Nice change of pace." Hyacinth broke the silence between the 2 of them. "Some peace and quiet."

"Agreed." Galen didn't even look up from his book. "I love them, but Gods, they can drain a person quickly." Hyacinth gave an agreeing hum, and went back to typing.

...Well, at least tried to, because his mind was wandering off to someplace else. It was just him and Galen, alone, with no one to disturb them. 3 hours wasn't that long, and he didn't want to waste any of that time. So, after a few minutes of typing, he spoke again.

"Hey, Galen?"

"Hm?"

"Can I… ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"We've been... friends for a while, right?" he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

There was a moment of silence.

"Yeeeah, why?" Galen was rather confused by the question. He has known the Fairy for almost 10 years at that point, him and Kal were the closest people to him outside of his family.

Hyacinth walked to the couch, his hands fidgeting. He thought he was better prepared for this, but he clearly wasn't. His legs felt like jelly, and his face was as red as a tomato.

A little tuft of fur around Galen' eye moved. That was the equivalent of an eyebrow raise, since his eyes weren't visible from the fur on his head. "Dude, are you... okay?" Galen asked in a concerned voice. Hyacinth looked like he was about to pass out, and the Minotaur sprung up from the couch, ready to support him. "Here, just sit do-"

"WILLYOUEATME?" Hyacinth asked without a break between words, immediately covering his face with his hands after it.

Galen was flabbergasted by the question. For a few seconds, none of them said a word: Galen from the shock, Hyacinth from the embarrassment. They were just standing in front of the couch in silence.

"I, uhh, what?" Galen was the first one to speak up.

"I- I just-" Hyacinth was trying really hard not to break down crying.

"Hey, hey, it's okay!" the Minotaur was trying to reassure his friend. "Just sit down, here!" he said, as he helped Hyacinth onto the couch. He sat down next to him, his hand on the Fairy's shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry." Hyacinth began, fighting with tears. "It's- It's just that I always wanted to know how it'd feel like to be inside someone- Oh, Oberon, this must sound so fucking weird." he said, and let out a weak chuckle.

"No, no. It's okay." Galen said. He knew about people who enjoyed being eaten. It wasn't a common thing by any means, but it wasn't as weird as it sounded. "Just continue."

Hyacinth took a deep breath. "I wanted to try it out for the longest time, but I couldn't. I spent most of my life between the walls of my family's chateau, and my mother always made sure I wasn't gone longer than a few hours each day, so I didn't get to talk to anyone about this. If she knew about this... Oh, Oberon, I don't even know how she'd react. Perhaps she'd just see me as even more of a disappointment, if that's even possible at this point..." the Fairy went quiet for a minute.

Galen didn't really know what to say, so he just kept gently rubbing his friend's back. He didn't know Hyacinth's mother personally, but from what he heard about her, he was certain she wouldn't have been okay with the situation. He couldn’t imagine what she would’ve done if she found out, but it wouldn’t have been a pretty sight.

"Now that I'm away from home I feel so free, I finally have the chance to figure out things about myself!" Hyacinth continued. "I probably could've asked someone on the Internet to help me with this, but I wanted it to be someone I knew I can trust." he turned to Galen, his yellow eyes glittering with tears. "You're the person I trust the most in the world, Galen, I mean it. I figured there wasn't a better guy to ask than you, but if you don't want to, I understand. It's still a really weird thing to ask from someone. I'm sorry."

Galen was greatly touched by what Hyacinth said. He figured the Fairy's at home situation wasn't the best, but hearing how much trust the Fairy has in him really moved him. Tho he didn't really know what to say, because Hyacinth was right, it was still a rather... unusual request. But he wasn't going to let this stop him from supporting his friend.

"For a second, I thought you were asking me out on a date or something." he said, smiling.

"What? No! I would never!" Hyacinth said. "No wait, not in that way!" he quickly added after realizing how bad his first sentence sounded. "You're the greatest person I know, and you look hella fine too, but I know you're just not into the whole romance thing."

Galen couldn't help but laugh a little. "It's okay! I got it the first time, don't worry. And thanks for keeping that in mind, I appreciate it."

Hyacinth rubbed the tears from his eyes. "I'll just go back to finishing that essay." he stood up, but Galen stopped him.

"No. Let’s do it."

The Fairy quickly turned to the Minotaur, his eyes wide from surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'll help however I can dude, you can trust me. Just... are you sure you'll be okay?" the Minotaur asked. "I don't want to accidentally hurt you or something. I mean, being inside someone sounds kinda... dangerous?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'm already prepared!" Hyacinth said enthusiastically. "I'm very good with healing magic, so even if I get hurt, I can just fix myself. I've also been practicing teleportation, so I could get out whenever I wanted, but we might not even be needing that, since you're a Minotaur. You guys ruminate like cows do, so coughing me up wouldn't be difficult, well, at least while I'm in the first 2 parts of your stomach. That's partially why I asked you in the first place!"

Galen had no words. "Well damn, you really do know your stuff." The Fairy's thirst for knowledge never stopped amazing him.

Hyacinth blushed. "You know me, learning about the world is like breathing to me. Now, let's get to it, because If Kal bought both 4 movie tickets and food for everybody for nothing, he's gonna kill me."

"Hold up, what?"

"Yeeeah, he's the only other person who knows. I told him what I was planning and how I needed time to be alone with you, and he was like "Don't worry dude, I got you.", and the rest is history."

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Hyacinth was standing on the kitchen table, missing his necklace and approximately 155 cm-s from his height, leaving him at 5. Galen was kneeling next to the table, his head around the same level as Hyacinth.

"Last chance to turn back, you still wanna do it?" Galen asked from Hyacinth.

"Ready as I’ll ever be!" the Fairy replied excitedly.

"Alright, but if there's anything wrong, or you feel uncomfortable, you get out of me immediately. I don't know if we'll be able to hear each other once you're, well, inside of me."

"Got it! And if you want me out of you, you can just cough me up."

Galen couldn't help but laugh. "We are talking about this wayyy too casually."

"Yeah, yeah. Now, open up, big guy!"

"You're way too excited about this." Galen said, and lowered his chin onto the table. He slowly opened his mouth, granting full access to Hyacinth.

"O-oh, wow." Hyacinth said, as he slowly approached the gaping maw of the Minotaur. He slowly reached out his hand and touched the giant tongue in front of him. It was warm, wet, and spongy. He didn't want to waste any more time, so he climbed into his friend's mouth.

If the Minotaur's breath was humid, then the inside of his mouth was like a rainforest. The dripping saliva and the heat was overwhelming, but the smell was relatively nice, since Galen always paid close attention to personal hygiene.

Galen lifted his head off the table, which made Hyacinth stumble and fall flat onto the tongue he was standing on. He quickly collected himself, but also realized that he should've picked some more expendable clothes than the ones he was wearing.

"Alright, I'm ready! I'll be seeing you in a while. Well, technically, I'll be only seeing you for a while, am I right?"

Galen couldn't help but sigh at this, which made a blast of warm air hit Hyacinth in the face, making him fall over again. A "SOHHY" could be heard all around Hyacinth, accompanied with the rumble of the entire mouth.

"It's OK!" said the Fairy, making a thumbs-up that no one else but him could see.

Galen's mouth started to close, trapping the tiny Hyacinth in complete darkness. He made a few movements with his hands, which made a ball of light appear, illuminating the cavernous mouth of the Minotaur. The light reflected from the large, saliva covered molars of Galen, giving the mouth a sort of cozy vibe. This feeling didn't last long however, as the tongue moved under Hyacinth, pressing him into the side of Galen' mouth, which was noticeably softer and wetter than the tongue. Galen moved Hyacinth around in his mouth like a hard candy, and Hyacinth found the experience quite enjoyable, if a bit rough.

Then, for a moment, everything stopped. Galen tilted his head back, creating a slope with his tongue. He pushed up the muscle, sending Hyacinth tumbling towards the gaping abyss of his throat. One loud *GLLK* , and the little Fairy was on his way down to the first of the bovine's 4 stomach compartments.

The esophagus was less tight around Hyacinth than he was expecting. Instead of the stop-and-go feeling he was expecting, the journey down was more like the world's slowest water slide. On the outside, there was a barely visible lump on Galen’s throat. Hyacinth didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually, he reached the sphincter, and after he got pushed through it, he plopped into the first stomach part of his friend, the rumen. It was large, relatively dry, and filled with the remains of Galen's lunch.

"Okay, I'm down! Say something if you can hear me!" Hyacinth shouted, but he didn't get any response. "Aight, can't be heard from the stomach, noted."

Not much was happening in there, since the rumen was mostly for microbes to start breaking down plant based materials, which, luckily, wasn't what Hyacinth was made of. The main thing happening in there that affected Hyacinth were the movements of the walls, which helped breaking down the food into smaller bits - and in Hyacinth's case, thrashing him around. After a while, Hyacinth and the food mush was transferred to the 2nd stomach area, the reticulum, which was pretty much the same as the rumen, maybe a bit smaller and more active.

After a little more of getting thrown around, Hyacinth found himself back in the esophagus - except this time, he was moving upwards. The way up was just as slow - maybe even slower - as the way down, and Hyacinth was soon back in Galen's mouth, with the food pieces that didn't turn into complete mush. Galen started chewing, making sure his friend did not end up between his molars. While chewing, a gurgling sound could be heard from the Minotaur's stomach, and a burp left his mouth, making Hyacinth tear up a little from the smell.

"ESCHYOOS ME!" the Minotaur tried to say

"I'm fine!" the Fairy said, wiping the tears from his eyes. He knew what he was getting himself into, he wasn't going to quit because of a little smell.

"WAHHA GEH OUH?"

"Nah, I'll be okay, the fun part is about to begin!" Hyacinth said, and Galen sent his friend back down, into the 3rd part of his stomach. The omasum was noticeably less spacious than the previous 2 areas, the walls were nearly hugging Hyacinth. The food mush around him lost a lot from it's moisture in the omasum, making it the consistency of dough. Hyacinth and the breakfast bits were soon escorted into the final stomach part, the abomasum.

If you had to name a main stomach amongst the 4 parts, that was definitely the winner. The usually dry plop was replaced with a wet one, soaking Hyacinth with enzymes and acids. This was the part that was the closest to Galen embracing Hyacinth in the inside. It was wet, gurgly, and tight - and Hyacinth loved every second of it. He felt like he could simply just fall asleep in there. However, after a while, he started feeling a tingly sensation on his skin, and, considering this was the one stomach that was suitable to digest non-plant based material, Hyacinth figured this was the curtain call of his little adventure inside his friend. Hyacinth drew some runes into the air with his fingers, and suddenly, he found himself in the blinding light of the living room.

He was laying on his back on the coffee table in front of the couch. Galen was sitting on said couch, and when he saw Hyacinth, a weight lifted from his chest.

"Thank the GODS it's over! Holy fuck, I was getting so worried, the last hour after I swallowed you back down felt like an eternity. Never ask me to do this again, I need like a drink after this or something."

Hyacinth slowly got himself together, and looked down at his clothes, drenched in saliva, acids and food particles. "Aww man, and I liked this shirt too..."

Galen just rolled his eyes. "Well, did you have fun? Or was me worrying myself into an early grave in the last hour in vain?"

"Dude, it was incredible!" said Hyacinth, with a smile on his face. "It was wild and overwhelming, but also comfy at the same time. The second half of the trip much better honestly, more exciting stuff happened, felt like I was getting a full body massage and-"

"Alright, alright, I don't need to hear any of this.” Galen stopped his friend before he could go into any more details. He was happy for him, but he chose blissful ignorance about knowing how he looked on the inside. “I'm just glad you had fun. Now, go and take a shower while I go and, I don’t know, burn your clothes or something. Here, put this thing back on." Galen gave Hyacinth his necklace back, which was comically large on the Fairy in his current size. This quickly changed, since the moment the jewelry was in the Fairy’s neck, he quickly grew back to his "human" size.

"Sweet, back to size XXL. Well, I’ll just be in the shower for the next 30 minutes or so." he hopped off the table, and made his way into the bathroom, but not before turning back to his roommate. "Hey, Galen?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. This meant... a lot to me, believe it or not."

The bull smiled. "I know."

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"Man, you two missed out, this was the best movie I've seen in a while!" Idios said to Hyacinth and Galen, sitting next to them on the couch. "I mean, the first one wasn't bad either, but this? This was cinema."

"Gotta agree with Idios on this one, it was pretty good." Matty was putting leftovers into the microwave from the dinner they had. "Just absolutely hilarious."

"I love how it handled the darker themes without dumbing them down, that's rare nowadays." Idios replied.

"Also: the wolf was hot as fuck." Kal said, before putting a spoonful of fried rice into his face.

"Was everything okay while we were gone?" Reka asked while she put her leftovers in the fridge.

Hyacinth and Galen looked at each other.

"It was okay, nothing special happened." Galen said. Hyacinth looked at Kal and gave him a wink, which made the Siren smirk.

Hyacinth yawned. "Well, I think I'll go and hit the hay. See you guys tomorrow." he said, and made his way towards the bedroom dial. He turned it, so his name would be next to the doorknob, and opened the door.

"Wait, I almost forgot! I wanted to ask you about something." Kal said, and quickly followed Hyacinth into his room. He locked the door behind them, and sat down on the bed, next to Hyacinth.

"Well? How did it go?" he whispered, as his face was glowing with curiosity.

"It was great!" Hyacinth said, scratching the back of his head.

"Sweeet! High-five!" the Siren raised his hand, and Hyacinth slammed his palm into it. "Oh, that reminds me, go and check your messages!"

"Oookay?" Hyacinth pulled out his phone and looked at the messages sent by Kal: it was pictures of different guys - some of which he recognised - with their names next to them. He looked at Kal, confused. "...What's this?"

"You said you were looking for a relationship, sooo, I did a little digging and found these guys: they're all single, go to the same Uni as we do, and would be open to the occasional "snack". Maybe you'll find one who could be the one."

Hyacinth just stared at his phone for a few seconds, his eyes getting wet. "Kal, you really shouldn't ha-"

"Nonsense!" Kalais shut him down before he could finish the sentence, and put his hand on Hyacinth's shoulder. "You're my friend, and you deserve someone you can feel comfortable next to, inside of, or best case scenario, both. Now go and rest, I feel like you had quite the adventure." and with that, the Siren hopped off the bed, and left the room.

Hyacinth looked through the pictures Kal sent him one last time, before putting down his phone and turning down the lights in his room. He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about the thing the Siren said.

"Comfortable next to, inside of them, or both, huh?"

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Here's some little side notes/explanation/random stuff

"Oh, Oberon" is the Fae equivalent of "Oh God". Oberon is the immortal king of the Fae (Fairies, Gnomes, Elves, Changelings, etc.) in my OC world.

Similarly, Galen saying "Oh Gods" refers to the Greek pantheon.

The gust of wind that opened the apartment door was made by Matthias, who's a Garaboncias. They're human like creature from Hungarian folklore who can control the weather.

Telkhines are semi-aquatic dog like creatures from Greek mythology, usually related to blacksmithing, magic and poisons.

Kalais is a Siren in the mythological sense, so more of a bird person rather than a mermaid like creature (there's some fish traits tho).

Hyacinth's necklace serves roughly as a size/form stabiliser. Every creature who is either too small, too big, or not humanoid enough gets one, so they can "blend in" better amongst humans.

For the folks who use the imperial system: 20°C is roughly around 70° Fahrenheit, 5cm is around 2 inches, putting Hyacinth's "big height" around 160 cm/5'2.

Hyacinth has family issues that will be brought up in future writing stuff (my boy needs help)

Anyways, thanks for reading! If y'all got any questions, my inbox is always open. Well, see y'all later!

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 1/3/2023

VERY pleasing to me that the year starts and ends on a Sunday

mack doesn't know what a calendar is

listening

first song of the year: doja cat's say so (snakehips remix). just a pretty little soap bubble of a song. this is not to say it's insubstantial, bc i do think that doja cat is one of the harder hitters when it comes to production values, just that it's about a soft, ephemeral moment. in an interview i cannot locate she once said "if my songs make you get up and dance i've done my job" and this is very much a staple on my dishwashing playlist

i've stolen lyrics for a fic (no punches left to roll with) and plan to continue mining this song for fic and chapter titles. stay tuned

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reading

hat tip to @blysse-and-blunder for reblogging a post about a buckwild academic plagiarism case. here's a short version, here's the long play by play with a bonkers twist in i think part 4.

unrelated: if RetractionWatch ever got real funding and wasn't constantly creaking along on a literal shoestring budget, they're in the top five of orgs i would like to work for. this would require me to be actually connected and qualified tho

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watching

kicked off the sixth year of starting a new-to-me black and white movie at about ten forty/eleven PM on new year's eve, so i come into the new year watching something good. very important: it has to be a movie i have not seen but i already know i will love. previous years have been: sunset boulevard, yojimbo, the thin man, it happened one night, and bringing up baby. i am predisposed to noir and screwball comedies, but it is very funny that yojimbo kicked off the Cowboy Year and i simply have never looked back. i am reluctant to watch a cowboy movie as the first movie of the year bc they are so wildly varying in quality and i find most black-and-white american westerns afflicted with the hays code. do pre-code westerns exist? yeah. do i want to watch them? no.

this year was The Big Sleep (1946, Hawks), one of The film noirs. films noir?

can we bring back inexplicable nightclub scene where the female lead is singing something or performing a dance routine for funsies

more importantly, must a murder mystery be "good" or "comprehensible" or "a successful adaptation of the original novel's core plot"? is it not enough to see two tops, bogart and bacall, flirt at each other for the entire runtime?

pbatengf gb gur guerr (3) crbcyr jub jvyy fyvat guvf vagb ebg13 h trg fbzr Yber: qrfcvgr jevgvat frireny svpgvbany guerrfbzrf v qb abg yvxr gurz vey. v jbhyq znxr na rkprcgvba urer

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playing

pokémon. we'll see if my opinion changes, bc i have some scheduled medical funtimes over the weekend where i will be lying around and waiting a lot, but i currently don't feel like grinding enough to beat the final boss. got all the way down into the crater! met the final boss! can't be bothered otherwise and i have the bad habit of stopping a game the instant it stops being fun, which is why i have never seen the fallout endgame bc after i unlock all the settlements and decorate them i'm like well! job's done, game's over.

i further can't be bothered to get screenshots off my switch at this moment so look at dragalge who i am really vibing with lately. very shaped. poison/dragon/water moves all in one creature is very helpful

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making

password manager: i am changing every fucking password i have bc of the lastpass breach :) bitwarden has slightly fewer quality of life features but the free tier more than supports my needs. neither of my siblings uses a password manager aside from the built in chrome and apple ones (upside down smiley face emoji) so we'll save that battle and that family plan purchase for another day.

planner talk: i am outsourcing a greater portion of my brain to the planner as the post-covid fog continues and at this point i honestly think i would rather someone have unfettered access to my journal than unfettered access to my planner. the planner is where most of the living happens. (pro tip: preload birthdays into that thing and then write a reminder a month out to actually find and send off a birthday gift/card/what have you. this makes me feel extremely put together, but there not very many people i actually buy gifts for)

thoughtful gift talk: a related pro tip, if you find whimsical but slightly generic objets d’art at thrift stores and cannot quite justify them for yourself, try throwing them in a big box for those gifts you have previously written yourself reminders about. love a trinket box or a container of some sort to put a slightly more personalized gift in. eg these rabbit glass...lidded trinket dishes? idk they have a proper name but they're rabbit versions of the milk glass hen-on-nest dishes that used to be really popular during the depression. pen and cat for scale

these will probably go off to my sister for her birthday, holding some monogrammed earrings and a cat toy for her cat fern.

i suppose the "generic box of cool stuff but not so cool that you will mourn its loss" could also work for hostess or housewarming gifts if that is a situation that frequently happens to you. i feel a little bit like im showing my hand by sharing these aging tumblr population tips bc i had to derive them all from first principles but there is no need for YOU, gentle reader, to reinvent the wheel along with me.

[ltinuviel]

I decided to take part for the first time in the Frugal Film Project

I heard about it on twitter, Thanks @davewhenham

I was so excited about this new project that I prepared a post about it:

"You know what? I'm joining Frugal Photo Project 😊

I've always wanted a project like this, but.. it was the wrong time or I haven't been part of a group and all alone is not so fun.

The rules are 1 year - 1 camera - 1 film . The camera should not be more expensive than $75.

I always wanted to try to be more consistent in my shooting, but instead I'm always trying new stuff. Every time I settle on a camera, which I feel is the One, it breaks on the next roll. And I 'm not superstitious, just all my cameras are old and faulty 😐🤭

These days I have a ney toy - a Soviet Zorki, however I suppress the urge to use it in the FPP, as it's not tested yet.

Therefore I decided to enter the project with one of my favorite cameras - Kodak Retinette ib. It's a favorite toy, however I don't shoot often with it. It's so smooth. I like to watch it and hold it, I like to shoot with it, I like the photos it does, I like how flawless it is. It's mystery why I don't use it more often. This project seems like the perfect way to connect more with the Retinette.

For film I decided on Kentmere 400 - very versatile and cheap enough. I just ordered 4 rolls.Yay!"

(even made a complimentary photo for this post 😄 here it is)

And then I found the wrong way that there is a film already loaded in it 🙈 - Ilford hp5+ to be exact 😄 and it was on the 6th frame. I even can't remember when I've loaded it, but maybe sometime in 2021. 2022 was some dark space for me and I almost haven't done any photography.

I just couldn't waste the roll with some meaningless shots around the house. I also realized that I don't have the time to shoot both films till the end of the month - I know myself, I am a slow shooter.

(Also, I realized such a long project will teach me a lot and I was tempted to choose a "harder" camera)

So another camera it will be. Enters Smena Symbol , cheapish Soviet toy camera, my first camera as a child. My father bring it to me (and one for my little sister) when I was a kid, after he got back from a business Trip to the Soviet Union back in the day.

At first my parents didn't allow me to use it. Then I was old enough, however it were poor times and the film was not cheap. I remember shooting with it once or twice.

Then there were digital cameras all over, and I remembered about it in 2014 when I rediscovered film again. I've run just few rolls through it. I wanted to try other cameras, bigger, fancier, the GAS level increased.

Now at first I had mixed feelings: it's definitely a challenge. I like to own it, but the shots are not brilliant. I don't like how it does color negatives. Black and white is better though. I always felt that the stops and the speeds are not enough: the biggest aperture is 4 and the fastest speed is 1/250.

I'm adding Lomo Blik accessory external rangefinder, bought some years ago for the equivalent of $7

I'm very excited. I already joined the dedicated facebook group and I'm pleasantly surprised how friendly and knowledgeable are the lovely people there.

Thank you for reading this long post to the end.

[spnae]

Chapter 10 Electric

***** ****** ******

Moments later the doorbell rang. Faith ran downstairs to get it but Spike was already there. “Evening, Cal, Faith’ll be along in a minute.”

“Callum,” he corrected gruffly, “and thanks.”

“I’m here, I’m here!” Faith declared, rushing to the door, “Hey!”

Callum looked her up and down taking in her black lacy top, sexy blue skirt and borrowed boots, “Wow… you look…”

“Too much? I knew the skirt was too—“

“You look amazing… gorgeous in fact…”

“Oh… humm, thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said, gesturing to his blue dress shirt.

Callum handed her a small bouquet of tulips in red, white and yellow, “I hope it’s not too girly.”

“Nah, you’re cool on this one. I actually do like tulips, thank you.

He shot her a thousand watt smile that nearly made her melt. Faith stood there dumbstruck for a few seconds before she snapped out of it.

“Here, I’ll take care of these and put them in your room,” Buffy said, making Faith jump in surprise with her sudden appearance.

Faith quickly schooled her features as Buffy took the flowers from her, “Oh, sure. Cool.”

“Now that’s taken care of, ready to go?” Callum asked.

She cleared her throat, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Have fun kids,” Spike sing-songed behind them.

“Shut up, Spike!” Faith threw back over her shoulder as they headed out the door.

Once they were gone Buffy turned to Spike, “So what about us?”

“I assumed the bubble bath was your way of saying you weren’t ready to go out yet,” he smirked.

“You really do get me don’t you?”

“I’ve always liked to think so, but then I’ve been wrong before haven’t I?” Spike asked, shifting himself to lean against the wall.

Buffy gave him a wistful smile, “Not recently. I have been looking forward to trying out the bathtub… and the bubble bath.”

He bit his bottom lip, “Then that’s what we’ll do, Love.”

“Well since nap time is out, I’m going to grab something to eat, you want anything?”

“I’m fine. You take your time, I’ll see you upstairs, Pet,” he said, pushing himself off the wall.

“Ahh huh, ok,” she shrugged, “I know you, you’re scheming…”

Spike grinned wickedly, “I prefer ‘planning’.”

“Have it your way.”

“Oh I plan to, Goldilocks.”

***** ****** ******

Back in town, Faith and Callum arrived at the pub. It was a cozy place with booths set all along the walls and a small stage opposite the bar with wooden tables in between. They had barely set foot inside the pub when a strongly built older man jovially shouted, “Cally my boy!”, from behind the bar.

“Bloody hell…” Callum mumbled, “Faith, I’m really sorry about this.”

“About what?” Faith started to say when the older gentleman had come up to Callum giving him such a strong bear hug that he actually picked him up off the floor a few inches before releasing him, “How are you, Lad? I’ve barely seen you all week. Who’s the pretty Lass?”

Callum rolled his eyes but smiled goodnaturedly, “Didn’t know you were going to be here tonight. Mum said you had off now you cut back your hours.”

“Oh aye, I did. Hadn’t actually planned on it, but when you’re needed… had to take care of a few things.”

“How come I can’t call you ‘Cal’ but this guy can call you ‘Cally’?” Faith interjected.

“Now you see what you’ve done? Got me in the doghouse before it’s even built,” Callum teased the man. “Excuse my manners, Faith. Unfortunately, this one here gets to call me whatever he fancies and I can’t do a damn thing about it… this here is my father. Dad, this is Faith. It’s largely thanks to her and her uncle that Angus and I are finally getting things off the ground,” he cleared his throat, “This is meant to be our first date.”

Mr. Ross raised his eyebrows, “That right now?”

“Yeah, well unless you count last night with my cousin,” Faith countered.

“What’s this?” Mr. Ross asked.

Callum shook his head with a chuckle, “It’s nothing, Dad. Faith asked me over to look at a new job. Professional visit. After that, her cousin and her bloke sort of roped us into watching a film with them.”

Mr. Ross crossed his arms over his expansive chest. “Must be someplace if you’ve hired my boy for multiple jobs.”

“Yeah, big old place. Needs a lot of work done,” Faith answered.

“They’re in the old castle just outside of town,” Callum interjected.

Mr. Ross gave a hum of interest, “And what’s some princess in a castle doing out with a working-class lad like my boy?”

Callum clapped a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Now Dad, Faith isn’t some—“

Faith cut him off, “Naw Callum, it’s cool. Been called a lot of things, but ‘princess’? Damn, that’s a new one on me,” her voice had a slight edge to it.

Callum’s dad smiled and suddenly the resemblance to his son was uncanny, “Oh aye. See why this one caught your attention, Cally.”

“Huh, yeah. Well, I’m no princess, my uncle sort of inherited the place. Started a private school for girls. I teach there,” Faith said.

“What is it you teach, Lass?”

“Advanced Martial Arts and Hand-to-Hand. That enough backstory for you?” She countered.

“Oh aye, that’ll do,” his eyes twinkled as he glanced at his son, “Might have met your match with this one, Cally-boy. Good to meet a woman who can handle herself.”

Callum grinned warmly at Faith for half a second before turning to his father, “Yeah well, I thought you had things to do, Dad.”

“Done, just heading home to your mum now. She’s making mussels tonight and you know what happens if I’m late for dinner,” he widened his eyes comically, “Ross men love a feisty woman.”

Callum rubbed the back of his neck, “Right then before mum’s mussels go wonky. Give her my love, will you?”

“Course I will, Lad.”

“I’ll see you soon, Dad,” Callum gave him a pat on the back and made a move towards the bar guiding Faith with a gentle hand on the small of her back. Faith realized with a jolt in her stomach that she didn’t mind the gesture coming from him.

Callum’s father followed them over, he had a quick word with the bartender and a very pregnant-looking waitress. Then he grabbed his hat from a hook behind the bar, “Alright Cally, I’m heading out, mind your manners. You’ll get in trouble if you don’t mind your manners. Just ask your mother.”

“I’m sure we’ll do just fine,” Callum replied.

“See that you do,” he gave his son a pat on the back and headed out.

It wasn’t until Callum turned to the bartender that Faith realized she recognized him. “Oi, Angus, a couple of beers for me and the lady. Faith, chicken and chips alright with you?”

“Yeah, I could eat.”

“Coming right up,” his cousin answered. The two men looked a lot alike except that Angus had bright red hair instead of Callum’s black hair. The difference was staggering. Angus set two beers down on the counter, “Your dad wants us to take a look at the storage room door. Damn thing keeps getting jammed.”

“Yeah alright,” Callum answered, slightly annoyed.

“How’d it go with that other job you were looking into last night?” His cousin continued.

Callum hitched a thumb at Faith, “Got the client here with me.”

“Blimey, thought you looked familiar,” Angus said as he offered his hand, then turned to his cousin with a knowing look, “you’re taking the job aren’t you?”

“I think we can do it.”

“Yeah, alright, we’ll talk later,” he said with a nod before turning toward another customer.

The two of them grabbed their beers and headed over to a secluded booth. “Must be rough, you guys both working two jobs,” Faith said as she sat down.

“Nah, it’s alright. My family is full of the entrepreneur types, and we all sort of help out at each other’s businesses,” Callum grinned.

“You are all really close then huh?”

“Now. Not always the case, I’d become a bit of a black sheep for a while but I’m over it. Moving on. What about you?”

“Pretty much the same,” Faith shrugged uncomfortably.

He eyed her for a moment before speaking, “Faith, I’m really sorry about my dad. I never imagined you’d meet both my parents before we’d actually been out on a proper date… really bungled things up coming here didn’t I?”

“Naw, it’s fine. Your dad actually seems alright. But what did you mean about meeting both your parents?”

Callum gestured to Faith’s necklace, “I stopped by my mum’s shop earlier. Told her about our date, and she remembered a couple of American girls coming in. Heard you talking, not hard to put it together.”

Faith had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Callum took a long pull of his beer and gave her an appraising look, “You're the Slayer aren’t you?”

Faith sat up looking around then noticing his gaze she relaxed a little, “Why would you say that? What do you know about Slayers?”

“So it’s true?”

Her stomach clenched and she leaned forward pinning him with a hard glare, “Look I don’t know what you think you know but if you don’t start talking I’m out.”

He stretched out a hand to cover hers, “It’s alright, Faith. Really, it’s okay.” There was something about his tone that almost reminded her of Angel and had a disarming effect on her. She looked down at his hand covering hers and fought down the impulse to pull away.

“How do you know about Slayers?” She said calmly.

“Didn’t until today, thought my mum was off her nut, until just now. Apparently, my aunt was one. I knew my mum had a sister and that she had died very young but I swear I never knew anything else about her until today.”

“Your mom’s sister? When?”

He thought for a moment, “Think she died in 1970, or thereabouts. Why?”

Same year Robin’s mom was called… the Slayer before her? Damn, I am not history girl.

Faith swallowed dryly, “Say your story tracks, how’d your mom even know?”

“Yeah, well I guess she wasn’t supposed to but they were really close, sort of like you and Buffy I gather… All I know is what she told me.”

“Which is?” Faith prompted, slowly pulling her hand out of his grasp to pick up her beer.

Callum shifted back in his seat, concern on his face. “According to her, there’s only one Slayer in all the world. Now that’s the part I’m really having a hard time swallowing; she says you have these powers to kill vampires and demons and the like— Which seems stupid, how is one person, even one with supernatural abilities, supposed to fight all the vampires in the world?”

“And demons, and save the world at a seriously alarming rate. Does that freak you out?” She asked, taking a drink.

He took a sip of beer and eyed her critically, “You’re serious, it’s true then?” When she didn’t answer, he took a deep breath and bobbed his head, “I guess I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. I was really hoping Mum was just losing it,” he huffed, resting his forearms on the table and rocking his head back, accepting defeat.

“She’s not… but how did she-“ Faith started to ask but stopped herself, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer.

He dropped his gaze, shifting uncomfortably before answering calmly, “I guess from a few things you must have said in the shop, my mum was able to put together enough to realize you were like her sister. And you were having doubts about coming tonight because you’re afraid.”

His answer caught her off guard. “She ah, caught all that did she?”

He turned his beer in his hand, running the pad of his thumb over the glass, clearly holding back a torrent of questions. He

. “How long have you been the Slayer? Does your uncle know? How—“

“Ok so, wait a minute with the twenty questions… are you sure you really want to know all this? I mean really?” Faith asked seriously.

“I know I really want to get to know you. The way mum describes it, it sounds like this is a pretty big part of who you are.”

“This is why you asked to come by early.”

“I was supposed to check out another job, but after talking to mum I rescheduled that appointment. I figured you were more important than some built-in shelves.”

Faith was a little shaken, she wasn’t used to being put first like that. Like she was important. “You know I could bench you easy, and my job involves sticking stakes into vampires, and fighting demons, right? Just last night we evicted a vengeful spirit from Buffy and Spike’s bedroom. This isn’t an every-so-often kind of thing, it's every day. Do you really want to hear about that?”

He took a long drink and waited for the pregnant waitress to set down the chicken and chips they had ordered, “Maybe this is me being bloody stupid. I don’t know, but I do know that I have never met anyone like you in my life and I’d really like to know you better.”

“You’re sure none of this is sending you running for the hills?”

“Not yet anyway. I’ve been waiting to ask you out since we met but I didn’t think I was ready for another go at a relationship yet. When I thought you had a boyfriend, I… Well, I was really glad when you asked me. All this comes as a bit of a shock, sure, but it definitely makes you interesting.” He took a long pull of beer while Faith watched him, “Something I don’t get though, if you’re the Slayer then why does Spike call Buffy ‘Slayer’?”

“You caught that huh?”

“I just thought it was some kind of kinky nickname he had for her until now.”

Faith cleared her throat. Then chugged her beer, set the empty bottle down in front of her, and signaled the waitress for another. “Alright, so, first thing first; the way Spike says it, yeah, there’s definitely some serious kink he has going on there. You have no idea... Second, few things have changed since your aunt was the Slayer. Buffy is ‘The Slayer’ as in the original ‘to every generation’, blah blah…”

“But my mum said, you—“

“Oh I am. Long story short; Buffy died. For about a minute but it was long enough to activate another Slayer. When she was killed, I got called up.”

“Holy… so there’s two of you… and she isn’t really your cousin is she?”

Faith tapped her nose, “More like ‘chosen’ family. Same with Giles.”

“Wow… so… Wow, this is what you have to do… you have to lie to everyone?” He sounded more concerned than angry.

“About certain things, yeah… but it’s just—“ Faith stammered.

“To protect people. It sounds like a really complicated way to live. You’re sort of like a superhero.”

“Just no weird outfits or capes,” she laughed, “Yeah it is I guess, but it’s cool, not like I ever had anything else.”

“But Buffy and Spike; obviously he knows.”

Faith laughed again, “Oh yeah, he knows almost as much about Slayers as Giles does, only from a different angle.

“Should I assume he’s not exactly your typical guy?”

“You catch on fast. Yeah you could say he’s part of a eh- unique set, just like Me and Buffy,” she cocked her head, “Sort of.”

“What’s his story anyway?”

“Oh no, I’m not going there. Let’s just say he can keep up with us in a fight pretty damn well. He’s a good guy to have on our side.”

“Sounds complicated...”

“I haven’t even started on my backstory. It’s almost as complicated as his. You sure you want to get into all this?”

“I am if you are.”

Faith took a deep breath, unsure about what she wanted to tell him, “How do I know you’re not going to—“

“Blab it about town? My own father thinks my aunt died in a horrible rock climbing accident in the highlands. My mum only told me today because she thought, given your concerns, I should know what I was getting into,” he smirked, “Trust me Faith, I won’t say anything you don't want me to.”

Faith took a breath and cleared her throat, ”Good, because we tend to be a little iffy about straights finding out.”

He raised his eyebrows, “You’re not like the mob, I’m not going to find a bomb in my bed or something…”

“You know you’re leaving the door wide open for a great sex joke right?”

Callum flashed a sexy smile, “Not my intention, but ah, if that’s where your mind went with that I take it I’m safe.”

“Yeah, our business is protecting people from the baddies. We’re the good guys.” Faith replied.

“Okay, so what are the good guys doing running a girls school?”

She watched him drink his beer and took a sip of her own, “Alright…” she said as she proceeded to tell him a little more about the school and her role in it.

Callum sat back against the corner of the booth stunned, “So basically, it is what you say it is. You're just very selective on who you take on. So all those girls you teach… they’re—“

“Yup… freaked out yet?”

He let out a low whistle and shook his head, “That’s a lot to take in,” he took a sip of beer and nodded, “Alright I’m good, I’m hanging in. Wow, I bet Spike was really having a laugh about that whole superhero training camp thing.”

“Yeah well wouldn’t you?”

“Suppose so,” he tilted his head slightly and grinned.

“What’s that look for?” Faith asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Most of my adult life, I’ve been dealing with Superman jokes. Comic geeks wanting to call me ‘Kal-El’ or ‘Clark Kent’. Especially now there’s that Tom Welling bloke everyone says I look like. Not sure I see it myself, but that’s not the point. The point is that all this time I’ve tried to distance myself from that and then here I am. Falling hard and fast for a girl who is an actual real-life superhero. Who, by the way, looks like I should be able to pick up with one hand.”

“Did you say you were falling for me?”

He suddenly looked slightly bashful, “Afraid I think I am. That— is that alright?”

Faith covered her sudden desperate need to run by digging into the basket of chicken and chips in front of her. “As long as you’re okay with the fact I could toss you across the room without really trying, and I’ll never need your help opening a freaking jar.”

“Remind me not to piss you off.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t usually go well for the other guy,” Faith grinned and let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding as she relaxed against the booth. She suddenly stiffened slightly again, “Are we talking about incarcerations tonight or are we saving that conversation for another time?”

Callum shifted in his seat, “If you want to…but ah, given everything else, I’m voting another night.”

Faith nodded, “Sorry, didn’t mean to bring down the mood.”

“Impossible.”

“Ah huhh, say that again after you get to know me better,” she chuckled darkly, “So anyway, is that why you don’t like being called ‘Cal’, something to do with comics?”

“Kal-El, with a ‘K’, is Superman's Kryptonian name, it’s just a little too close to ‘Cal’ when you look like the Man of Steel as much as I do.”

“You won’t hear me complain. Never got into comics myself but damn, maybe I’m missing out,” she grinned.

“I’m starting to think this slow and steady thing might be harder than I thought.”

“Kinda getting that vibe too,” Faith took a sip of her beer as she eyed him, his muscles straining under his shirt. The urge to rip it off of him like tissue paper was strong.

She set her beer down, “As much as I’d really, really like to find a nice quiet spot somewhere and make it a whole lot less quiet... Like a week ago. I really want this time to be different. What your mom overheard was all true. I do like you, a lot which is big for me and I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“So the bit about the bathtub?”

Faith nearly choked on her beer, “Your mom heard that too?”

“In her defense, the acoustics in that place are wicked. I used to think my mum was magic or something. I learned fairly early on you can hear everything from behind the counter even when you’re not trying to,” he laughed, “So, I take it this isn’t the tub on the fourth floor then.”

“No, we have a massive jacuzzi type tub in our bathroom. It takes forever to fill so we don’t use it much, but it’s seriously amazing after a long day.”

“Don’t really do baths myself.”

“Not manly enough?”

“Piss on that, I’m just too damn tall for most tubs.”

Faith laughed, “I think this one would work for you.”

Callum raised an eyebrow, “Maybe I’ll have to check it out,” he smirked.

“Maybe the third date,” she said, taking a drink.

Callum gave her a slow smile, “Now, ya know something. That raises an interesting point, is this date number one or number two?”

She watched him as he casually leaned towards her a little and her heart suddenly sped up, “Sort of depends on how the next one goes, I’ll let you know.”

“Already planning another date?”

“Kinda thought this one was going pretty well so far. You already know one biggy. So I’m game if you are.”

Callum grinned, “Oh I’m game.”

***** ****** *****

Back at the castle, Spike rummaged around in the wardrobe in their room looking for candles. It took a minute but he struck pay dirt, a whole box of white candles. They were really there for power outages and spells but they would do just fine to set the mood. He knew he didn’t have much time. He had managed to grab some blood just as the girls came into the kitchen with pizza they’d brought back with them from town for dinner. Buffy had stayed down stairs to eat but he knew she wouldn’t be long.

He had started lighting the last of the candles in the spacious bathroom when he heard Buffy calling for him from their bedroom, “In here, Love. Bring your special bubble bath would you?”

Buffy chuckled to herself. She grabbed the bubble bath and padded her way barefoot into the bathroom carrying it and a bottle of wine and two glasses. It was dark except for the dozen or so candles he had lit. The tub was still filling as Spike stood there shirtless waiting for her. She smiled when she saw him. “I was hoping for candles,” she said, setting down the bubble bath on the side of the tub.

“I’ll take those,” he added, taking the wine and a glass. He poured some into each glass. They touched glass before each taking a sip, “Thought we were out of wine.”

“Got some more today, what do you think?” Buffy set her glass down and started shrugging off her top revealing the lace camisole she had on underneath.

“Little sweet for my taste but it’s not bad,” Spike said as he continued to watch her with hungry eyes as she leaned over to pour bubble bath into the tub.

The scent of blackcurrant and honey filled the air, “That’s better huhh?”

He looped a finger into Buffy’s waistband, pulling her towards him roughly. Buffy gave a playful little squeal as he did so. He tugged at the bottom of her camisole, “I think we can do better,” he smirked.

****** ****** *******

Faith let out a crow of triumph as she sunk another billiard ball, winning her second round against Callum. A local band had begun playing about an hour into their date and the place had filled up.

“You warned me you were good. Best three out of five.”

“You’re just looking to have your ass handed to you.”

“Rather have yours, but I’ll take what I can get,” he grinned.

Faith returned it with her own, “Obviously. Alright, rack’em up, pretty boy.”

“Pretty boy?” He repeated, getting closer to her. Faith allowed him to pin her against the table. “Where do you come down on kissing on a first date?” He asked.

“Sort of feeling like a second date, don’t you think?”

Callum’s grin widened as he leaned in to kiss her. Faith snaked an arm behind his neck to deepen the kiss. It was electric. Faith had never been kissed like that in her life and that was saying something considering the amount of practice she’d had. They broke apart breathing a little heavily, “Holy shit,” she gasped.

Callum steadied himself, he was also feeling the effects of the kiss, “So, ah that wasn’t a one-sided Slayer thing I take it, you felt that too?” he gasped.

Faith nodded, still catching her breath.

“Definitely feels like a second date,” Callum breathed in her ear.

“I’ll say,” she pulled him back down for another kiss as he picked her up onto the billiard table. She felt him pressing hard against her through his jeans and felt her own body responding to him. Gears clicked inside her head, she wanted him now. It was more than clear that he wanted her too. But no. It couldn’t happen, not here, not now. Not yet.

Faith placed a firm hand on his chest just as he started to pull away, “If we don’t stop, Lass, these folks are going to get a very different show than they came in here for.”

They both looked at one another, eyes blazing and breathing heavily. Callum took a step back, allowing Faith to slip down off of the table. She pressed her lips together relishing the after effects of the kiss, “If that’s any indication, I’m thinking you might be right about a bomb going off in your bed.”

Callum’s eyes flashed and he grinned a little, “You’re ruddy dangerous you are. Like you’re trying to take a sledgehammer to my resolve.”

“I could say the same thing to you,” she said, pushing him back just a little, a sly smirk playing on her lips. “Rack'm up, mister, we're not done here.”

*****

A few hours later Callum and Faith were standing at the castle’s door once again. “You want to come in for a drink?” She asked.

”Not so sure that’s the best way to go about this going slow bit, beautiful. Especially after our little display at the pub,” he grinned.

“Who’s stupid idea was this taking it slow thing anyway?”

“Pretty sure it was a mutual consensus,” he chuckled.

“So next time?”

“Next time? How soon can we do next time?”

Faith smiled, “How’s next Friday?”

He pulled her to him, “That’s too far away.”

Faith let out a shuddering breath, “I’m on duty tomorrow night. You’re off from the hardware store on Tuesdays right?”

“Probably coming here to start on the elevator if I can get the parts. How do you feel about mixing business and pleasure?”

She shrugged one shoulder, “Doesn’t bother me.”

“So, Tuesday?”

“Unless I can talk you into coming upstairs now.”

Callum hesitated as Faith pulled him down for another electrifying kiss. “Didn’t we just go over this?” He asked breathlessly.

“Just making sure. Gotta say, your restraint is pretty damn hot.”

“I don’t go into the hardware store until afternoon on Wednesday.”

“Tuesday it is.”

“Tuesday. I’ll take you back to my place, we’ll have a night in. I’ll cook.”

“You cook?”

“Man’s gotta eat. The crockpot is my best friend. Does all the work for me.”

“Fair enough,” she smiled.

They shared one last long kiss before Callum finally left for the evening. Faith’s heart pounded in her chest as she closed the door. She couldn’t help the broad smile on her face as she made her way upstairs. Tuesday. She’d never allowed a guy to get to her like this before. Not even Robin. Sure she had thought they had something going. Neither one of them had ever used the dreaded “L-word”.

This connection she was feeling with Callum, just felt different. Hadn’t Callum even said he was falling for her? Was that what this was? Love… the real deal? The thought put her stomach in knots but then she thought of his smile and couldn’t help but smile again. She was still smiling when she reached her floor. The door to Buffy and Spike’s room was shut but she could still hear muffled sounds from within. Clearly their night hadn’t ended yet.

[afterglow-tommylee]

Chapter 25. Show The World A Brand New Face

San Fernando Valley California, July 20 2002

After the interview was finished and the photo shoot underway, I stand off to the side using my Blackberry to send some emails as usual and glance up every once and a while to see Tommy posing as the camera flashes. 

I remember when I used to go on photo shoots with Soundgarden and just how hilarious it was to see them just play around acting silly while the photographer would capture photos. Then usually what would happen is that they would want to take some photos of Chris just by himself which at first he didn't mind, but once the photographer suggested he take off his shirt, he would get uncomfortable with it. He'd do it anyways but then he would complain to me the entire time about how 'It should be about the music and not what I look like. Who cares if I have a chest?' 

Tommy on the other hand is just having fun with it. He totally plays it up and of course always first and foremost it is about the music, but you can tell he just has so much fun with it.

"Mrs Lee?" one of David's assistants walks over to me

"Um... oh no please call me Andi," I say sweetly with a chuckle.

"Andi, sorry, um... would you want to have some photos taken? I mean you're in the article too, so David was mentioning to me that he would like to take some photos of you, either by yourself or with your husband, or both," She says.

"Me? Uh..." I hesitate and look over at the photo shoot that was still taking place. "Ok sure, maybe... but I didn't exactly wear anything that would be photo shoot material," I add glancing down at myself.

"Oh don't worry, we got you covered, come with me," She smiles and gestures for me to follow her. I glance back at Tommy and I see him subtly wink at me and I shrug, and follow her to the back of the studio, behind a curtain where all of the clothing was stored. 

"So... we have everything you need here. You can choose anything you want. You can even have a few different looks if you want to. Then uh, once you've picked out whatever, you can head over to Molly and she'll do up your makeup and hair," She says.

"Ok, um... thank you," I say nervously. As she walks away, I flip through some of the designer clothes trying to find something that would at least go with what Tommy was wearing. Like not matching him of course, but the same vibe with his jeans and white fitted tank and leather jacket if you know what I mean.  

I decided to stick with my own ripped low rise bootleg cut jeans over my Doc Marten boots with my silver studded belt, and pick out a plain black form fitted tank top, much like I would have at home and change into it. As I pulled it down over me, I half tucked it into the front of my jeans as it was a bit longer than I expected but hugged me perfectly everywhere else and also showed off my cleavage perfectly if I do say so myself. Once I check myself in the floor length mirror that they have set up, I make my way over to get my hair and makeup done.

***

"Ok, hi Andi, I'm glad you decided to take some photos with me" David smiles as he holds the camera in his hand. He just emitted this coolness about him and even though I was so fucking nervous, he did actually make me feel comfortable.

"Uh, sure... but I should say I've never, ever done this before," I tell him shyly, flipping my now dark smoothed waves out of my face. The way Molly did my hair was amazing, I never knew it could look so - well photo shoot worthy.

"No way, come on really?" He smiles at me again.

"Yea really," I giggle.

"Well don't worry, just relax and just have fun alright?  um ok we'll get Tommy to come back over here..." He gestures for Tommy to come over as he empties his camera, hands the roll to one of his assistants, then she hands him a new film roll and he pops it back into the camera. Tommy then appears beside me, leaning into me and placing his lips to my temple whispering "You look so fuckin' hot baby,"

"... and we'll get you two to um.. stand, or really... ok we'll have Tommy sit here and then you can either sit with him or whatever you feel like and we'll take a few shots ok?" David says as he leads us over to an area of the studio beside a large bay window letting as much natural lighting inside with an old vintage type chair. Tommy eagerly sits down and looks up at me, his leather jacket he has long ditched away while David walks back to his position to take our photos.

"C'mon babe, plant that cute ass right here," He smiles that charming smile at me patting his lap and I shake my head at him with a giggle. 

He is such a dork sometimes. 

"Whenever you two are ready, y'know..." David says from behind the camera and I could really feel my anxiousness rising. I timidly sit down on Tommy's lap, feeling completely nervous as he wraps his arms around me.

"You ok baby?" He asks.

"Uh, I don't know," I say nervously as I hear the camera click. I had no idea what to do, I didn't know how to sit, which way to turn or anything. I was so completely out of my element and it was pretty scary.

"Andi, just relax... just be like you two are normally. Pretend I'm not here," David says as he continues to snap pictures.

"How we are normally? Um I don't know, do you want me to piss her off?" Tommy jokes.

"Hey!" I laugh and smack him playfully on his chest and he laughs. 

"That's awesome... ok, Andi maybe if you uh, straddle him like... here," David stops for a moment and comes over to suggest a different way to sit on Tommy's lap and I couldn't help but giggle in nervousness as Tommy looks up at me raising his eyebrow while I change my position and I know exactly what he is thinking. I make myself comfortable trying to hold in my laughter and just as David walks away again Tommy jerks his hips which makes me bounce, then he laughs.

"You are such a 12 year old," I laugh.

"12? This morning I was 2," He smiles and I laugh. 

"Ok, you need to stop making me laugh," I giggle as Tommy laughs again.

As I try to make myself calm, struggling so hard not to laugh, David gives me more direction as to how we should be. Trying to be myself is the hardest thing when someone is watching me. I feel so on the spot. I wish I had a couple of shots of Jack or something so I could relax a little more.

After a few moments, my laughter subsides and Tommy places his hands on my hips. I couldn't help but smirk at him shyly, still completely feeling out of my element.

"It's just me and you baby. Don't even think about the camera. It's just me and you," He says so sweetly looking into my eyes, reaching up and brushing a few waves from my face. I have no idea if it was the words he said or how he looked at me, but I suddenly didn't even hear the camera anymore. 

He glances down over my body as my eyes remain focused on him, then I slowly close my eyes and feel him lean into me, his forehead touching mine and it was like everyone in the room had left and it was only me and him together. I then ever so slightly feel his lips brush mine and it was all I could do to contain myself. I bite my bottom lip to try and stifle the fact that I wanted him so bad as his hands move from my hips, up my sides and around to my back. I place my hands on his chest and I could feel his heart beating and as I move to rest my forearms on his shoulders he pulls me closer, his hands stroking my back feeling so amazing as his forehead still touches mine. 

Then just as I thread my fingers through his locks and brush my lips across his I hear David say "Ok you two, I uh... think we got it," and I flick my eyes open as we pull away from each other and I drop my hands from his hair.

"Holy shit," Tommy breathes.

"Uh yea," I say, still feeling dazed and still in the moment, like he somehow cast a spell over me.

"That was amazing guys, like wow... ok uh Andi, if you still want to do some solo shots which I highly recommend you do, we can do that now," David says.

"Uh ok," I say, still dazed somehow as Tommy and I look at each other, us both wondering what the hell just happened. Tommy and I have like, made out countless times like teenagers before, but somehow that was on a whole other level. 

"Um, are the solo shots going to be part of the um... article?" I ask David as I am still sitting on Tommy's lap feeling him take my left hand and placing sweet kisses to my palm.

"Some of them will be submitted but it's really just for you, just for fun. So... if you want to come over here, we'll uh take some more shots," he says and gestures to an area with a blueish grey backdrop and tons of studio lights. As I am about to lift myself off Tommy's lap, his expression shows that he doesn't want me to go yet and he holds me to him for a few minutes.

"Are you ok?" I ask with a giggle.

"I will be," He says, clearing his throat and continuing to place kisses to the palm of my hand. I then realize what he meant and I smirk.

"Do you have a - ?"

"Shhhh," He hushes me and I giggle.

***

"Do you want me to be over here? Or...?" I ask, feeling my nerves creeping up again as I stand in front of the blue-grey backdrop, with the brightest studio lights pointed at me.

"Whatever you like, you just do whatever and I'll capture it," David smiles at me and for some reason I felt like I couldn't move. It was one thing when Tommy was right here with me but this is really not me at all. 

I've never had the desire to be a model or have my picture taken. Most of the photos that are taken of me were always by friends without me knowing. I never even thought that anyone would want to take photos of me.

"Ok... um... I have no idea what to do," I laugh as I stand gently swaying back and forth with nervousness, and I glance at Tommy who was standing off to the side puffing away on a cigarette.

"Like I said, just do whatever, just be you," David says.

"Just be me... ok. Just be me..." I say quietly as I look down at myself, not knowing where to put my hands. I then hook my thumbs into the loops of my jeans trying to think of how I could 'pose' and I hear the camera begin to take shots of me.

It was like something changed, I was still so nervous but I suddenly started to become comfortable with it. As the camera flashed more shots, I was just me, I didn't try to pose or anything I just let myself feel confident and secure. David would come up really close which would make me laugh and I would glance at Tommy and he just had this incredible smile spread across his face and he would mouth to me 'I fuckin' love you' which would make me laugh and feel so beautiful inside. To think of all I've been through, I finally feel like I am beautiful and strong and right where I'm supposed to be.

***

A few weeks later when I had finally got the proofed photos in the mail, along with the envelope with the magazine inside, I opened it up and pulled out a folder and set it down on my desk, then I pull out the magazine with Tommy on the cover. He looked so freaking cool. 

I quickly flip to the article and see the photos that were taken that day. He looked so handsome and so damn sexy in each of them. It was amazing. There were also 2 photos that were taken of me and him alongside the part of the article with me, us both laughing together on that chair which was so freaking cute. I then set the magazine down and I open up the folder and inside was a note from David Studarus. 

To Mrs Lee,

Here are the photos that I hope find you well, and believe me when I say, you are a definite natural. I hope I have the honor to photograph you again. 

Anytime, Anywhere

-David

I set the note aside and pull out the photos from the folder. It was every single take from that day. The fun ones, the silly ones, the ones of me and Tommy on that chair by the window that captured the pure intense passion and love between us and of course, the ones of just me, the wind blowing through my waves, the light hitting just perfectly, barely recognizing myself. I never knew anyone could see me this way. That I could see myself this way. 

"Babe?" I call out but Tommy of course can't hear me since he is in his studio. "Baby, you gotta see these!" I yell excitedly as I run out of my office to show him.

[rwhiteside123]

Ruslana Whiteside

Date: May 14 2024

ART: 130

Final: Black-and-White Photograph

Experience:

What I have learned in the black and white photography class is to be really patient with the process and the chemicals. The timing is very important to the prints that are made in the lab. We had to read a safety manual and guidance to use safe equipment. One thing that I have struggled with during the process, I had a little trouble with the film rolling process. First, you take your roll of film on the film camera, put the film into the camera, take pictures. take out the flim and start the process. I will go more into detail in just a moment. I took this class before and Once I learned to manage to roll on my own, I thought I knew how to do it, but it was a while and I had my teacher help me with the first roll of film. After the first one it got easier because of the muscle memory and feeling the roll of the metal against your thumb and your fingers. Did I get super frustrated, of course I did. It wasn’t fun at first but once I got the hang of it, it was a lot easier and calmer. If I didn’t know how to roll, I would probably go nuts on my flim and I would destroy it or really damage it by forcing it into a metal roll tool. Wish using the chemicals and developing my film was very easy and really understanding the instructions for the filmmaking process. But at the same time, your flim can get overexposed or overexposed depending on your time frame for those time measures. Really understanding the way of thinking of the process while developing is crazy. I ever thought this was a thing in the first place. I thought it was something just in the books of old times. Anyways, back to the experience. Using the black room / what they call it dark room. We used that to roll out film and print our images. There is an orange light to use while in the dark room to protect the print and the paper from exposing it in the harsh light, why do they have it dark? It's because of its light sensitivity on the paper. There is a door that closes the room to make sure all the lights are off and everything. The sliding door with a round noble keeps the light coming into the room. This experience was definitely one of my favorites and knowing how to use the developer, the stopper, and the fixer. It was my favorite to see the end result of the film itself.

Process of the prints/ Images:

The process was very interesting and magical when putting the prints into their own chemicals and seeing the reaction of the prints to give it the power of magic of the dark room. Giving the opportunity to get this experience and get it really well known is a very old-fashioned way of printing. First of all the process was very interesting and I learned new skills by understanding different different types of photography that we use today. While doing the images, I frist out with having two films and started to shoot my final. I wanted it to be portraits of people that are my friends. I didn’t have any time for the theme or anything for this final project, and I wish I did. But at the same time, I wanted to go through and see if I can achieve different types of images I don't normally do. Black and white film is much harder when digital because of how it is built and manually. With the film camera, you would have to get to know how it works before you go and take pictures. While I got the hang of it, I started to do my first film and thought those pictures came out great, but after math and developing. It really got my attention on how I should be taking those pictures. Poses, light, and composition of the subject. By using different types of clothing or who’s I’m taking the picture of. The teacher mentioned, maybe look at the lighting on the meter of the film camera, and start from there. After that, it clicked for me. I know what to expect next for my next film. Remind you I did over 10 films and it was very expensive plus the paper alone. It was about $200 worth of equipment not including the tools of the project. This class was more expensive then my other classes I have ever had. Just keep trying and trying my best to get the best prints and it wasn’t happening for me. I have messed up so many prints and films. That part wasn’t as fun or just wasting a lot of money and being broke. That’s fun. For my last film, I decided to go again and print my last prints and see where this will take me. I definitely had to reshoot because for my final it wasn’t the best prints that I had. So I went reshoot with my best friend Jackie! and we definitely knocked out out of the park. It was super fun, super experienced and something different. I definitely think these prints has improved my photography and different types of skills using through black-and-white photography. I definitely love this type of work and the more you do the more it gets better and understandable. I at least got some good prints at the end of the semester and learned a lot through this class alone. I’m very proud of Accomplishments for this class and I wish I can continue doing black-and-white photography because it is super fun. Thank you professor Neil for all of your help and achievements.

[vitaminwaterreviews]

IU - Modern Times

Let’s start off with the average because I want to see how this compares to Pink Tape. Average of 8.4 both with and without Voicemail. Pink Tape was 8.3, but it’s actually 10. But yeah, by the average quality of the songs, this was definitely the best kpop album I’ve ever listened to, there is no doubt about that.

First, I’m amazed by the quality of the production. Everything was so clean - the vocals, the instrumentals, just absolutely gorgeous production. SM in 2013 was still faffing around with whatever their old sound used to be, meanwhile Loen was not fucking around with IU’s music. And speaking of instrumentals, the genre choice was brilliant. Who would’ve thought that this 20 year old girl would be able to pull off jazz so well? Maybe I need to do an IU deep dive to see what her earlier stuff was like.

The features were fantastic, too. I was super impressed by the talent of Choi Baek-ho and Yang Hee-eun, neither of whom I’d heard of before, both of whom are absolutely incredible singers. But more importantly, they fit their respective songs so well! Hearing IU harmonize with such great vocalists was definitely one of the highlights of the album. The Jonghyun feature wasn’t as vocally demanding, but it was still such a pretty song. I didn’t even realize that Gain was a separate vocalist until I checked the credits; maybe that’s a good thing, because it means their vocals blended well? Either way, it happened to be on my least favorite song on the album, so she was kind of screwed over there.

This album wasn’t an experience in the same way that Pink Tape was, but it was full of some ridiculously high-quality songs. It certainly made me appreciate IU as a vocalist even more than I already did. I’m so glad I finally got around to this album.

Love IU’s music so much, but I only know a few songs! So let’s give this one a listen, I hear it’s pretty good.

Love of B

Haha what

Okay, I think I’m on board with this sound

It sounds very … tavern

I can’t tell if she actually sounds younger or if I’m just imagining it

This song is super stripped back. Her vocals are super super clean, no doubling or harmonies or effects. Kind of a bold choice

Love the scatting

Haha that outro

9/10

Everybody has secrets

Oh okay, now we’re all quiet and sultry

It’s a lot faster, more upbeat

Super latin

This style of percussion and the violins, honestly not a sound I’ve always enjoyed

7/10, it’s a Good song, not totally my type

Between the lips (50cm)

Now we’re like, classy restaurant jazz

Haha this is super sensual, I think I like it

Wow that was Such a cool moment

Super intense and now we’re quiet again

8/10

The Red Shoes

MV time

EIGHT MINUTES?? Welp, here we go, impress me

Moody piano, moody scenes

Who’s this filmmaking gentleman, I wonder?

Is that IU? Jesus she looks like a kid

Nah, just younger than I’m used to seeing her

Haha okay, proper big band vibes here

oMG she outs on the red shoes and now its all Colorful

It is genuinely disconcerting how young she looks though. Kinda like … Jessica? Nayeon? I dunno

Why does this kind of remind me of the Lilac MV?

Yo the shoes themselves are dancing that’s wild dude

I dunno if i buy the song itself tbh, it feels kind of-

She looked EXAcTLY like Jessica right there for a second lol

Haha the shoes are making her dance, that’s such a cool effect actually

Great acting on her part

Yo are they gonna make her jump?

Oh no they’re just gonna make her disappear into the black and white world of film again

Lol a credits roll? I mean fair enough, this was a Proper MV with a plot and actors and shit

They credited MR SHOES haha

9/10, the song was alright but the MV was SO excellent, what a fun experience. One of my all time favorite MV’s, no doubt

Modern Times

This is the literal title track, but it is not the title track

Oh my god the clarinet

The background harmonies

This album is actually SO good, like the default sound of this album is so good

It sounds like a person from the 1940s’ conception of Modern Times haha

Or maybe just someone from Paris

Haha the background vocals are so cute

Why do I feel like this part should be in cut time?

8/10, solid song, the background vocals are so good

Bad Day

Ballad time?

Lyrics and music by IU, that’s neat

Super super simple so far, just piano and vocals

Here’s a violin

Here’s something lower than a violin

Is there a woodwind back there? Hard to hear

And now the beat comes in

Wow this is actually Super good

Her voice is so pretty

Wow, this song is all over the place and I really appreciate that

9/10, really really good song. I won’t listen to it much but What a good song

Obliviate

Like the Harry Potter spell?

Electric piano

Super Latin

Actually this whole album feels like music we’d play in Jazz band haha

Dude this horn riff is popping off

Does it sound like she’s saying “Maria” to anyone else here?

9/10 wtf dude

Walk with Me, Girl

Oh he’s a SINGER alright then

This is so good, I’m laughing. Kinda like Toy in Pink Tape haha

Not crying yet though

I know I’m not typing much, it’s because I’m vibing too hard

9/10, what a talented vocalist

Havana

Strings, are we classical now?

Nope, no we aren’t

Her voice is so good

Kinda getting Disney vibes from this for some reason?

What are they singing here? Spotify just has an eighth note

8/10

A Gloomy Clock

Jonghyun, you’re our inspiration~

This doesn’t feel nearly as jazzy, that synth is kinda messing with the vibe for me

Mmm but now that it’s a duet and the synth is gone it’s way prettier

Oh my god Jonghyun’s background vocals are everything

8/10

Daydream

Oh my god her voice, who IS this

Why did kpop just stop being interesting?

The duet here is SO pretty wow

8/10

Wait

And now we’re fast again

I vibe with this, this is an interlude? An outro? Not sure which one it is, because there’s also a bonus track

Oh she does sing, that’s neat

9/10

Voice Mail (Korean Ver.)

I certainly don’t know the Japanese version so I guess I’ll listen to this too

The vibe of this song is Totally different to the rest of the album haha

That guitar is so electric

This feels more like a ballad and less like a jazz ballad

Mmm nice and warm tones now

Well, nobody can ever say IU is a bad vocalist, her “ah”s are so good

8/10 I guess, not my favorite but she’s just So good