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taehyung-rambles · 3 years

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Who Was the Center in Each BTS Era? (Up to Permission to Dance)

As an opening statement, I’m gonna advise anyone reading this to look at my blog to see if I’ve done this with the B-sides yet because I plan to in the future, which should be a pretty interesting post.

So, this post is exactly what it sounds like. As if I haven’t gone through the BTS eras enough on this blog (and I will continue to do so), we’re going through them again because sometimes I just wanna binge all the BTS music videos. What we’re gonna do is look at a few different options for who ended up being the center--if their was one--for all the BTS eras.

Those options will be: no center, center, co-centers, secondary center(s), and MV center(s).

Before anyone else says it: I know Jungkook is the center of BTS, but BTS have always been really flexible with their positions, and believe it or not, Jungkook isn’t the sole center most of the time. So, that’s why this post can even be a thing.

A couple things to bear in mind here: this is not based on line distribution. This will apply to the B-sides more than the singles, but there are times--even with BTS singles--where one member may not be the most represented within the song, but they were clearly chosen to center or co-center the song. Of course, more times than not, the center or centers are the most represented, but not always. There’s one high-profile one toward the end in which that is the case. Obviously, when I say “secondary centers,” that means that the member isn’t as prominent in the era as they would be if they were a co-center, as this would mean they and one or more of the other members are equally sharing the load.

This list also has zero to do with biases. I bias Taehyung like nobody’s business, but--and I’ll say it upfront now--he’s not been the center in very many instances (at least, not in the BTS singles; if you’d like to know about his time being the center in the B-sides, check that post out). Also, I’m considering almost all aspects of BTS’s eras when making these decisions. I’m thinking about the MV, I’m thinking about the choreo, I’m thinking about the vocal; the only thing I’d say I’m only considering sometimes is the marketing. I’m not going out to do a bunch of research on how BigHit advertised these songs to people for this post, so there won’t be a lot of talk about photoshoots or interviews or anything like that. That being said, I’ll probably talk about it when we get to Dynamite because the marketing for that was everywhere, and it’d be difficult not to know which member(s) they were pushing the most to sell that song.

Finally, as you can see by the above list, I’m going to be mentioning a MV center or centers--if it applies--for each MV. This is, obviously, something that can’t be done in the B-sides version of this post. The reason I’m adding it here is because there are quite a few examples of BTS MVs that really heavily feature a certain member when they aren’t that prominent in the vocal or the choreo. However, as the MV is also a part of marketing for the song, whichever member(s) were chosen to be the face of the MV have an important, central role to play. In fact, in many ways, the members that end up being MV centers without being a center in any other way often become one of, if not the, face of the era for a lot of fans. So, clearly, the MVs hold a lot of weight, and can sometimes overshadow the actual track for many people.

DISCLAIMER: Most of this is based on how I perceive the face(s) of these eras. Some of my conclusions are weird, and I can’t explain them, but it’s what I feel is true about these songs. Ergo, yes, there’s gonna be songs where two members have the same part, but only one feels like a center. Sue me. All the members have their different ways to shine, and that’s what makes BTS the best.

Center: Namjoon

Namjoon just feels like the center of No More Dream. If you’re listen closely to the vocal, he’s obviously a big foundation for the song to stand on since he’s got all these supporting parts. Those parts add up to make him the member--no questions asked--with the most airtime in No More Dream. That’s not really why I chose Namjoon for this position, though. No More Dream really felt like an introduction to BTS with Namjoon as the MC. I guess a better way of saying that is that Namjoon really came off as the leader of BTS in this era. So, I didn’t really have to think much about who I was giving this position to because it seems obvious.

Secondary Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

So, I feel like some people would say Jungkook’s the center of this era, and that’s fair. The reason he’s listed as a secondary center here is because he didn’t feel like he had much in-your-face presence; it was more like, if you were looking for Jungkook, you could find him within the song and the choreo easily. I don’t know if that makes sense. It’s not like the chorus is a background piece or Jungkook’s rap verse isn’t fire, but he just isn’t as prominent as Namjoon is.

Jimin is much less of a secondary center than Jungkook in the No More Dream era, but if you consider the choreo, Jimin is extremely prominent. It’s one of those situations--which happen more often than you might think--where a member doesn’t actually feel that present in the track itself, but if you are visually consuming it in any way at all, that same member sticks out the most. That’s how Jimin is here.

No MV Center

I thought hard about whether Jimin and Namjoon should be in this category because of the insert shots, voiceovers, and the choreo, but I think that has more to do with the entire package of the era than it does with the MV alone. The conclusion I came to was the MV doesn’t have a center. This section probably seems redundant, but it’ll make more sense once we get to an era that actually has an MV center or two.

Center: Jimin

This one’s probably pretty obvious to most people. I mean, this is a Jimin era. Usually, eras that are so heavily weighted to one member are Jungkook eras, so it’s interesting that the We Are Bulletproof Pt.2 era was such a Jimin era. I don’t know how to go into this further, but Jimin’s got the most parts--parts in the chorus, namely--so Jimin’s also the center in the choreo the most. I mean, I know this isn’t about taking the person who has the most airtime and giving them this position, but sometimes the eras do translate literally like that, and thus is this one.

Secondary Center: Namjoon

I was surprised, going through the MV, how much Namjoon appeared like a secondary center. I’m realizing that, for most of BTS’s early career, Namjoon was an important anchor for BTS’s music. That’s how it was in We Are Bulletproof Pt.2. It’s because all these parts that seem more like part of the beat than actual, singable parts go to Namjoon, so his presence runs underneath the entirety of the mix.

No MV Center

I know it seems dumb to talk about this when I say there isn’t a center in the MV, but this is kind of where I get to talk about the other members and how they fit into the era like, for instance, if any of them were close to being considered a center. Surprisingly, We Are Bulletproof Pt.2 is kind of the exact opposite; it didn’t seem like the MV really tried to enunciate any member specifically. Like, even in No More Dream, you could tell Namjoon was featured a lot, but this era didn’t do that. I found that interesting. I guess it’s probably because they were all just dancing on a chess board, but ya know.

Center: Jungkook

I couldn’t tell you why I don’t co-center Jimin with Jungkook, but Jungkook really feels like the face of this era. I don’t know if it’s the fact that he starts off the song--after Namjoon’s intro--or because he starts the choruses or what. I guess it might be because it’s a chorus that repeats during its two halves, so Jungkook’s voice is the one you’re going to pay attention to, since it comes first. Plus, this song was obviously produced to compliment his vocal tone because his voice is, not only layered under the other members’, but has more punch to it than the other vocalists’, as well. By that logic, clearly Jungkook was supposed to be the center for this era.

Secondary Centers: Namjoon & Jimin

So, as far as Namjoon goes, it’s the same thing I’ve said already: he’s working as the foundation for this song by filling in all the extra bits that support the track. Jimin, though, I wasn’t planning on adding--and I’m not really adding him because of the choruses. By the end of the N.O choreo, you’ve got Jimin in a central spot to finish off the performance as the instrumental closes out. As that part is so long and so clearly focused on Jimin, I couldn’t not put him down as a secondary center.

MV Center: Jungkook

Here we have our first MV center. Now, I will say there are stronger examples of an MV center, but Jungkook was obviously the main character in the school scenes of this MV. Of course, the school setting didn’t last the whole MV--and it’s not like the MV stopped and turned into a short film for a quick second like we’ll see later--but Jungkook still stuck out.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

So, I really struggled trying to pick out which members were the most prominent in this song, but we’ll talk about why with the next member. Jungkook and Jimin are the centers of this era for basically the same reasons. Both of them are on the chorus, and--more importantly--both of them stick out in the chorus. Both of them have these opportunities to be charismatic that they use really well, and both of them are out front during the choreo most of the time. It all adds up to them giving off “center energy.”

Secondary Center: Taehyung

I really thought Taehyung would be a co-center, as well, but he disappears halfway through the song. To be clear here: if we’re talking about the parts that Taehyung had in this song, and if those parts had ranged the entire song, Taehyung would be the sole center of this era. Like, watch any performance of this song, let alone the MV and dance practices, and tell me he doesn’t give off center energy. Anyway, after his parts are over, Taehyung falls to back of the dance formation and effectively vanishes--which is a real shame because he makes this era for me. Enough of my biased rambling--long story short, the first half of Boy in Luv has Taehyung as a center, and the last half doesn’t. A secondary center is the option that meets in the middle.

MV Centers: Jin & Yoongi

Straight off the bat, because of the scene during the bridge, Jimin and Jungkook are also kind of MV centers, but I’m not looking for “kind of’s” here. Jin and Yoongi were the ones who had the flirty scenes with the actress in the MV, so they stuck out a whole lot. It created a bit of a story around each of them and their characters in the MV, and the other members didn’t really have that.

Center: Jungkook

Who was jumping out their skin being surprised by this one, am I right? I mean, if we even talk about the choreography alone, this would be super obvious. When I first started learning about idol groups, this song is what I thought a “center” meant. This is obviously no shade to Jungkook himself because the members probably didn’t really have a hand in who was getting the most airtime or how much airtime that would be in comparison to everyone else, but BigHit really wanted to push Jungkook for this song.

I guess it was probably because he’s the youngest, he has a clear and soothing voice, and he’s the exact type of boyfriend material that’s easy to sell to young fans. I know this song has deep meaning that came from Yoongi, but the way this song was presented was so fluffy and soft, and my guess is that Jungkook fit the bill to be the face of it.

No MV Center

I mean, yeah, Jungkook stuck out the most, but that was because of the choreo, which is already covered by the center position. As far as the MV itself, no member stuck out more than another beyond the choreography. Jin, of course, does have his moment with the rose, but a.) that’s a part of the choreo, b.) it wasn’t long enough for him to be considered an MV center anyway, and c.) that piece of choreo can’t even make him a secondary center because the vocal line distribution was so heavily tipped in Jungkook’s favor--again, not throwing shade at Jungkook; just stating how the song is divided up. The long and short of it is that, while the choreo had central-ish parts for Jin and definite central parts for Jungkook, the MV didn’t do anything more with them than with the other members. No MV center this time.

Co-Centers: Jimin, Taehyung, & Jungkook

Just to give myself a backdoor here in case I change my mind on this later, I’m gonna say that I was sure the 95s would be secondary centers here, but after watching the MV and really paying attention to the choreo and line distributions, I think all three members of the maknae line stood out equally during their parts. Actually, the 95s do have a stronger vocal presence than Jungkook does, but Jungkook owns the choreography, so it more or less balances out.

I will say that Taehyung doesn’t feel as prominent as Jungkook does on the chorus, so that’s what made me want to put him down as a secondary center. However, the post-chorus is absolutely enough to make Taehyung stick out like Jimin and Jungkook. Jimin--dare I say--is the most center-like out of all three of them as far as general feeling goes. Again, considering everything, they’re all equal, but Jimin really reads like a center in Danger.

MV Center: Taehyung

All the members have got their individual scenes in the MV that are used for the inserts, but Taehyung’s scenes were clearly supposed to be the central ones since they, you know, ended the MV with him cutting his hair off. Even besides that, though, Taehyung’s parts in Danger came along with the best camera work and set design. I mean, there’s a better way of saying that, but I don’t know what it is. Like, go the MV and look at the first post-chorus so you can see how they framed Taehyung during that part. That really made him feel like the central member in the MV.

Center: Taehyung

This is one of two (or few, depending on when you’re reading this because new music is always coming out) eras in which I can 100% say for certain that Taehyung is the sole center. If we’re talking B-sides, that number might increase a bit, but as far as singles go, Taehyung really does not get the opportunity to be the sole center that often. Anyway, explaining this would be like explaining the obvious. The brief for this era was “impish bad boys that look like they’re thirsty as fuck.” And Taehyung fit the brief.

No, but seriously, BigHit clearly wanted to sell War of Hormone as a song by a bunch of punk kids that have just a little bit too much fun, and if 2014 Kim Taehyung wasn’t a little punk, I don’t know who would be. Not because Taehyung’s actually a womanizing asshole--Taehyung’s clearly the softest and kindest person ever to exist--but because he can tap into that sensual and mischievous type of character really easily. He’s an actor after all. Plus, there’s the whole “sexy growling thing�� they obviously wanted in the vocal, and Taehyung’s the go-to member for that.

Secondary Center: Jungkook

Here’s why Jungkook is the War of Hormone era’s secondary center: they needed a cute member to calm the whole thing down. I’m now going to put myself in the mind of BigHit as they were producing this track.

“We can’t have Taehyung out here killing everyone with his growls and his expressions and that tongue thing he does. We’ve clearly gotta put a soft bad boy character in there so this song doesn’t entirely decimate our fanbase. Put Jungkook in.”

In the same way Taehyung fit the super-duper bad boy brief, Jungkook fit the cutie pie bad boy brief, and that was needed to balance out Taehyung’s parts in this era. All vague descriptions aside, Jungkook was used as a support for Taehyung in the War of Hormone era, or that’s what it felt like, at least--despite Jungkook having more airtime. If, in any universe, Taehyung ever went easy on us, this era could’ve been a co-center era for the two babies of BTS. However, Taehyung chose violence, so Jungkook didn’t get a chance to pop out as much. Considering their overall discography, though, I’d say that’s fair enough.

MV Center: Taehyung

I’m mostly saying this because of the end of the MV where the actress--or her character--picks him, but also, Taehyung’s stage presence in this song kind of makes him the MV center anyway. Not the choreo--even though he’s the center of that for a lot of the time, too. I’m talking about his attitude, his expressions, his gestures, and on and on. That kind of made him the central figure, for me. Plus, you know, Taehyung got the girl or whatever.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

This song is so freakin’ weird because Jungkook has exorbitantly more airtime in the studio version of I Need U, but Jimin features really heavily in the choreo because they give him most of Jungkook’s final chorus when they do it live--which obviously means that Jimin centers in the choreo the most. So, it’s like: listen to the song, and Jungkook’s the center, but watch it live or in the dance practice video, and it’s Jimin. Either way, both of them read like centers to me. Even though Jungkook is in the song a lot, and therefore, has a big presence, Jimin’s vocal is the one I associate with this song because it fits so well while sticking out just a skosh.

MV Center: Taehyung

Most of me was thinking that there wouldn’t be an MV center for this era because every member had a story that ends up getting carried into the Wings album era, but then I remembered that the original MV for I Need U literally stopped everything dead so Taehyung could hit his in-verse father in the head with a bottle. And then, after that and a couple seconds of showing a few of the other members, the MV cuts back and forth between hardcore violence and Taehyung laughing with the other members.

The MV goes, “Wow, look at this. Taehyung’s so happy. Oop, now he’s stabbing his father with a broken bottle--oh, he’s happy again, that’s nic--oh. Oh, no he’s back to stabbing his father--no, look, he’s happy, so... Damn, that’s a lot of blood.” I mean. I don’t know if they knew already that Taehyung was good actor or what, but BigHit nearly gave him a short film all to himself. So, yeah, I’d say Taehyung takes the center position for the I Need U MV.

Center: Jungkook

I’m kind of naming Jungkook here because I feel like I have to, but I want you to know that the For You era is really close to not having a center, in my opinion. It’s more so the parts they gave Jungkook that made me put him down as a center. He starts the song, he ends the song, he’s got the first chorus, and there are parts where you go, “Oh, they’ll probably let that member sing here,” and then you get to the next line, and you’re like, “Ah, no; they went with Jungkook.” That’s not a bad thing, mind you, because Jungkook’s vocal is perfect for this song; it’s just that Jungkook had more airtime than the other members by a good bit. Again, I’m not making this list according to that, but it’s gonna be a factor in a song where every member sings on the choruses.

MV Center: Jungkook

Do I need to go into this a whole lot? Jungkook’s trying to get money to see this girl he likes, so the whole MV is about how the other BTS members are struggling alongside Jungkook but put together the means for him to go see the mystery girl. That’s the K-drama, and Jungkook is the lead. I mean, fair enough; Jungkook could definitely be the lead in a K-drama.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

I know this is a hardcore Jungkook era, but Jimin sticks out, like, a lot. At the very least, you’ve got to credit the choreo to Jimin in the same way you would for Jungkook. I mean, yeah, Jungkook’s vocal pierces the entire song, so he’s obviously going to center for this era. He’s a forefront figure in the choreography, as well, and putting him in that costume for the MV is essentially assault. However, I think Jimin managed to make his presence just as big through the choreo and his unique vocal tone. So, I’ve got to give the Dope era’s center position to both of them.

No MV Center

Since this MV is basically just the choreography, I can’t say Jimin and Jungkook were centers just because they were the choreography leaders for Dope. Actually, I thought the overall MV was almost equally representative of each member since they all had a different concept with their wardrobes.

Center: Jungkook

I mean, Jungkook just permeates every single cell of RUN. The choreo, the vocal, and nearly everything else are extremely centered around him. There’s not really a whole lot else to say. When there’s such a large difference between line distribution for the members, it makes it obvious that that member will be in the center of the choreo most of the time, as well. That’s the case for Jungkook in the RUN era.

Secondary Center: Jimin

This era is a little bit like the I Need U era, but Jimin doesn’t stick out quite as much. He does stick out enough to be considered a secondary center, though, because he’s also highly represented in the vocal, so he’s got mirroring parts in the choreo. Jimin doesn’t have as much of a focus in this era as Jungkook does, but it’s close.

No MV Center

I thought this would be like the I Need U MV, but it really wasn’t. You’d think Jungkook’s the center because of the bit where the camera zooms in on him while everyone is partying, and then the rest of them are gone, but there’s also several bits where Jin has close-ups while he spaces out. Or maybe Jungkook could’ve been the center because, after the music stopped, he looked back at the camera. But that can’t be it either because Taehyung had bits like that of him falling into and coming out of the water at the beginning and end of the video. Maybe it was Jimin because he got pulled into the room toward the end of the MV, but it was Namjoon who was pulled in at the beginning. Basically, they were all well represented, so there’s no center to speak of.

No Center

This song isn’t really supposed to have a center, is it? I mean, we can talk about who had the most airtime, but that’s not what this is about. I think this song was supposed to be a message from all the members, so one member wasn’t going to stick out more than others. That’s just how it goes sometimes.

MV Center: Taehyung

Taehyung being the MV center is stretch, and I know that, but he does have bit of a role that makes him stick out at the end. It’s kind of like Jungkook being the center in the For You era--it doesn’t feel totally accurate to give it to him, but it also feels inaccurate to not give it to him. There’s that little bit at the end of the MV where Taehyung steps out of the maze at last and the other guys are waiting for him on the other side. Taehyung’s also the one to look back at the plane or camera or whatever at the very end; basically, Taehyung gets more solo shots in this MV than any other member, as far as I can tell without actually counting, so he takes the center position.

Center: Taehyung

I wasn’t actually planning for Taehyung being the sole center for this era, but I feel like I can’t really justify anyone else co-centering with him. Taehyung does feature fairly heavily in the choreography, but a lot of the reason he ended up the solo center for the FIRE era is because of the part he was given. As someone who had heard “bow wow wow” everywhere before even knowing what K-pop was, I’d say it’s safe to call Taehyung’s part the most globally iconic--though Yoongi’s part is obviously the most iconic within ARMY. Plus, the end of FIRE is almost a full minute of just Taehyung’s solo with group vocals around it, so. I mean, he’s got hella presence in this era, no doubt.

Secondary Centers: Yoongi & Jungkook

Initially, I thought Jungkook was going to co-center with Taehyung because Jungkook is extremely centered within the choreography, but the “eh eh oh eh oh” part feels more like a supporting piece--which is absolutely fine, by the way. However, Jungkook is pretty damn close to being a center for the FIRE era because his vocal is absolutely everywhere, and he’s the center for most of the choreo. As an aside, I kinda wanted to add Jimin in this category because of the 333, but ultimately, that wasn’t enough to support him being a secondary center, for me.

Yoongi, I’ll be honest, I’m kind of putting in here because he feels like a center for the era after all the attention his opening line got. If I’m looking at the choreo or even the vocal, Yoongi doesn’t stand out as much as it seems (though his verse in FIRE is one of the best rap verses in BTS’s discography; fight me about it), but the fact that he opens and closes the song has a large overall impact on my perception of the FIRE era. Yoongi is definitely one of the faces of FIRE, at the very least.

MV Centers: Jin & Yoongi

So, though Yoongi wasn’t the main center for this era, in my opinion, the MV does make it seem like he is. Which, I guess, is mostly because of the opening scene before the music actually starts. But whatever; Yoongi still sticks out regardless. For Jin, I don’t know if it was because he doesn’t have that much airtime or what, but the scenes in the MV that focused on Jin were really focused on Jin. No other member got that kind of solo within the MV, so Jin’s parts seemed like they were meant to be special.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

I don’t know how to explain why this is how it is, but this is how it is. It’s one of those eras where the amount of airtime does predict the centers because of how much more airtime Jimin and Jungkook have compared to the other members. I mean, that’s what a main and lead vocalist are for, I suppose, but it ends up with these two being pushed so far forward in the Save ME era that you can’t really make room for another co-center. They’re also the two with the most central pieces in the choreography, but that’s obvious with how much airtime they have. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, either, because BTS’s discography celebrates all the members at one point or another. It’s just that Save ME was a song that suited Jikook the best, so they’re the obvious centers.

No MV Center

Since this is an MV that’s literally just choreography, there’s obviously not going to be an MV center. I mean, if you wanna say that Jimin and Jungkook’s parts meant they had more close-ups, and so they’re the MV centers, then fine, but that’s a bit of a cop out.

Center: Jimin

This is one of the few--maybe even less than that--clear Jimin eras where Jimin is the only center. It’s not really that he has so much more airtime than the other members, but Blood Sweat & Tears is a song that just fits Jimin. He actually doesn’t have much central time in the choreo until the end and at the beginning, but it’s another one of those feelings I’ve got. I’m not saying this to alienate the other members because I actually do have my own opinions on who owned this era (check that post out on my blog, by the way), but this song makes Jimin shine the brightest. Every member has a song that does that for them, and this is Jimin’s.

Secondary Centers: Hoseok & Jungkook

Are you screaming at me for not considering Hobi a co-center? In the studio version of Blood Sweat & Tears, I’d probably put Hobi in as a co-center, but considering everything from the track to the choreo to the live performance, Hobi’s presence is just a touch smaller than Jimin’s. Just a touch. Like, they split his post-chorus with Jungkook live, and Hobi isn’t really a center in the choreo after a certain point, so it’s a bit like Taehyung in Boy in Luv.

As far as Jungkook goes, he’s not really a strong secondary center for this era, but he’s enough of one that he has to make this list. Part of it is because of his additional parts in the live performance and the choreo, but it also feels like Jungkook was meant to act as a visual and performative support for Jimin. I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else, but it does it me.

MV Centers: Jin & Taehyung

I was gonna put Jimin here, too, but he only got that one shot at the beginning where Yoongi covered up his eyes that felt like it was really Jimin-focused. Taejin, though, had their own little mythology film going on. The Blood Sweat & Tears MV is the prime example of “this member doesn’t actually have much going on in the song, but the MV is all them, baby.” That’s how it is for Jin in this era. A lot of people say Jin is one of the ones who owned this era, and a lot of that has to do with the MV, what with the statue-kissing and all.

Tell me why I don’t feel like Taehyung was as big of an MV center as Jin even though Taehyung had a shirtless scene with slits on his back where his wings apparently used to be. I don’t understand, either. But I’d say a shirtless scene with wing slits is a pretty good reason to be included as an MV center.

Co-Centers: Jin, Taehyung, & Jungkook

After consulting the choreo because, you know, the MV doesn’t have it, I came to the conclusion that, both vocally and choreographically, these three are the centers for this era. Spring Day was initially an era that I thought didn’t have a center, and I don’t think it does have a super defined center, but I do see Jin, Taehyung, and Jungkook as the more prominent members. For one, the choreo really clearly centers around Taekook more than the other members, but there’s also the fact that all three of these members really stick out in the vocal itself. I landed on these three for my co-centers, but Spring Day is really close to not having a center at all.

No MV Center

I thought this was going to go to Jin because I thought I remembered him featuring in the MV a lot more, but he didn’t really. Actually, I’d say Taehyung and Jungkook are closer to being MV centers since the beginning has a little scene with Taehyung before the music starts, and there’s a bit around the bridge in which Jungkook has some solo-ish focus, but those things still aren’t quite enough for this position. All the members had their own inserts and settings, so it felt fairly equal all around.

Center: Jungkook

This was another era I was sure didn’t have a center, but Jungkook’s extremely prominent. Actually, I thought, if anything, the rap line would center in this era, but even they don’t seem nearly as prominent as Jungkook. It’s just that the lyrics are really repetitive for the vocalists, and Jungkook bleeds through all the vocal line parts. At least, it really feels like he does. As far as the vocalists go for this era, Taehyung’s vocal is the only one that sticks out, aside from Jungkook’s. But Jungkook’s vocal sticks out above all the other members--in terms of prevalence, mind you; the best parts of this song are obviously the rap verses. As such, he’s really active in the choreography, as well. It felt like I, more or less, had to give Jungkook this era.

Secondary Center: Taehyung

I can’t tell you why I’m putting Taehyung down. I was about to move on from this section, and my brain said, “Think about the chorus,” and so, I ended up here. This is all about that feeling I’ve talked about already. I think it’s because Taehyung’s the one that starts the chorus, and he’s got really powerful choreography to go along with his already powerful vocal. It makes his presence in the track and the live performance feel a lot bigger.

No MV Center

I mean, yeah. It’s a choreography-driven MV. When you’ve got the bits with them running or whatever, Jungkook centers a bit, and Namjoon kind of feels like an MV center, too, but a lot of that has to do with the choreography being shot the way it was. It’s the same with Taehyung since he got some great framing during his choreo parts. But prominent choreo parts do not an MV center make.

Center: Jungkook

I mean, there’s not really any way to get away from this one. I don’t blame BigHit, though, because Jungkook’s clean vocal is literally made for bright pop songs like this one. It makes sense that they’d want to use a vocal that blends in with the instrumental so well. As we know, the vocal affects the choreo, so Jungkook felt like a strong foundation to this song that the other members built upon. I don’t think many would argue that Jungkook is the sole center for the DNA era.

No MV Center

Can you believe I’m not putting down Taehyung, Hobi, and Jimin as a type of center, even though most people think this was Taehyung’s era, Hobi’s best work, and even though Jimin is the only other member on the chorus? Somehow, even though they all feel prominent in my memory of this era, diving back into it revealed that Taehyung is only prominent in the intro, Hobi is only prominent at the end, and Jimin is only prominent on the first chorus. How weird, right? They’re all almost secondary centers, though.

Anyway, that had nothing to do with the MV center, did it? There isn’t a true MV center because this MV is mostly the choreo. However, Jungkook is the closest one to being the center, simply because he’s got that little whistle bit at the beginning. Obviously, one scene isn’t enough to list him here, though.

Co-Centers: Yoongi & Hoseok

Don’t ask me why I didn’t put down Namjoon, too. I wish I could say something other than “because this is what felt right,” but that’s the situation. I’m sure most people would say Hobi is the sole center of this era, and that’s entirely fair, but I felt like Yoongi brought his presence to MIC Drop just as much as Hobi did. The two of them, more or less, have the same amount of time in the center for the choreography, as well. Again, I wish we could be talking about Namjoon, too, but despite him having the most airtime in this era, he didn’t feel quite as front-and-center as Hobi and Yoongi. His verse is still fire, though.

Secondary Centers: Taehyung & Jungkook

Should I be doing this because I feel like it’s true? I guess we’ll find out. I don’t know; it seems pretty clear to me that JK and Taehyung were meant to be secondary centers for this era since they got the most central parts in the vocal line the most often. I feel like this is partially influenced by the fact that both of them murder the choreo when they’re in the center for MIC Drop, but I really do feel like these two stuck out.

No MV Center

Let me tell you, though, if we were bringing choreography into this discussion, Taehyung in the MV would make this list easily. He’s so aggressive in the MV, you know? No, but, this is another choreo-based MV. You know the drill by now.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

This one’s another obvious one for most people, I would imagine. Actually, at first glance, this looks like it’d be Jungkook’s era as a center, but Jimin has a lot of prominence, as well. The best way to describe it is that Jimin was the strong support he’s meant to be for Jungkook considering their positions as main and lead vocalists, as well as lead dancers. However, because of the refrain, Jimin then ends up also feeling like less of a support and more of a center in his own right. Basically, there was a lot of good give and take between Jimin and Jungkook for the FAKE LOVE era, which is why I ended up seeing both of them as co-centers.

Secondary Center: Jin

I’ll be honest--I don’t really get the feel of a secondary center from Jin in this era, but I can tell that that’s what he was meant to be. He’s very present in the vocal, and that translates to him being present in the choreography, as well--which ends with him in the center, if you recall. I don’t think this era is quite the era for Jin as a center, but he does still feature really prominently, regardless of how my perceptions may be situated.

MV Centers: Jin, Jimin, & Jungkook

This is another instance where I thought Jin was going to seem like a stronger MV center than he was, but it’s really the visuals of him toward the beginning-what with the windows shattering and all--that stick with you. I still think the theater of Jin’s scenes are enough to consider him an MV center. For Jimin, his piece wasn’t as stand out, but you can tell Jimin had extra focus on him when compared with Taehyung or the rap line. In the scenes between the last pre-chorus and the last chorus, Jimin did have a scene where most others didn’t, so he felt like enough of an MV center to include here.

Jungkook is probably obvious. He had a fairly long scene in between the last pre-chorus and chorus, so there’s that, but the overall MV seems to have more images of him than the other members. I imagine Jungkook was probably the main character for this story, though all the members had really cool set pieces and insert shots.

No Center

I really was gonna sit here and be like, “Oh, yeah! Namjoon’s obviously the center!” But, listen, everyone’s parts in IDOL stick out so much that I don’t think it’s fair to say that Namjoon was the sole center. In fact, I’d say Jimin is actually the closest thing to being a sole center in this era, but it’s really only vocally because, as far as the choreography goes, he feels just as well represented as the other members. Ergo, this era is too chaotic for any one member to take the spotlight. Namjoon is the face of IDOL, though. And, vocally, Jimin’s pretty damn close.

No MV Center

I mean, the chaos was too much. Yes, Jimin has special focus on the bridge and during the final dance break on the chorus, but again, that’s just one piece of the whole. At the beginning, you’ve got a lot of shots of Taehyung, and then you’ve got the rap line having multiple focuses since they have two verses each. Jin and Jungkook got some cool focus during their parts, too, so an MV center isn’t really possible to find.

No Center

Jimin sticks out the most in this song, don’t get me wrong, but that’s mostly because his vocal on the chorus sounds so special. It doesn’t exactly work out to be even in a literal sense, but the vocal line at least seem like they have equal airtime in this era since they all get to sing on the chorus. That meant that a true center wasn’t going to be a thing, especially since it’s almost one of those songs where every member has their piece and then they disappear for the rest of the song.

No MV Center

I mean, should I call Taehyung the MV center because of the beginning and end? I don’t think so, since it was only a few seconds each time, and the rest of the MV was choreography. I mean, Taehyung did kind of feel like the face of the MV because of that, but I don’t know that it’s enough of a reason to put him down here. He’s the only option for an MV center, anyway. Maybe I’ll feel the need to change this later. We’ll see.

Center: Jimin

I’m still convinced that this was supposed to be an era dominated by Jimin. We’ll talk about Taehyung in a second, but when I first watched the Boy With Luv MV, I thought that Jimin was the clear center. I still do, even though my opinions on who owned the era are a bit different. Jimin is pronounced in the choreography, but his vocal is exactly the right color for a song that’s this bubbly. The choreo obvious matters a lot, but I think Jimin’s voice, more than anything else, is the face of this era. I know that sounds weird because of what I just said about Airplane pt.2, but that era was more like, “Wow, Jimin sounds so unique,” and the Boy With Luv era is like, “Jimin is the song.” So.

Secondary Centers: Taehyung & Jungkook

Jungkook does not feel like a secondary center to me because I find that he gets lost a bit in the Boy With Luv era, but like in the FAKE LOVE era with Jin, I know that Jungkook was meant to be Jimin’s support for this song. Jungkook feels nearly as pronounced in the choreography as Jimin does, and his clear vocal serves to fill in when necessary for this pop track, which is one thing Jungkook’s vocal color does best.

Taehyung, though, for all intents and purposes, shouldn’t really be a secondary center since his standout parts are the opening to the choreo and the parts on the chorus he shares with Jin. However, I don’t think you can find me any ARMY that genuinely deny that Taehyung isn’t, at least, one face of this era. Most people I’ve seen discuss the Boy With Luv era ardently agree that Taehyung owns the era, no questions asked. Whether it makes sense within the standards we’ve laid out for centers so far or not, Taehyung, his vocal, and his visual absolutely dominate this era. In terms of being the face of an era, Taehyung may come out on top as the sole center, but for the purposes of keeping this list objective, a secondary center he shall be.

No MV Center

Again, like, this is another situation in which Taehyung would be brought up if we were talking about the choreography; so would Jimin. Their visuals are so heavily tied to this MV, but it’s all attached to the choreography. Outside of that, no member had more solo focus than another.

Co-Centers: Jimin, Taehyung & Jungkook

I know some of you will be upset that Jin isn’t in this list, and I understand. Initially, Jimin wasn’t going to be in this list, either, but his vocal felt like it fit the tone of this song the best. Actually, here’s how I came to this conclusion: Lights was made for Jimin’s vocal tone, but Jungkook and Taehyung clearly stick out the most. As such, Jimin doesn’t necessarily have less prominence than the babies of BTS, but the babies of BTS were strong in this era. Jimin still deserves to be a co-center because of how well his vocal fits this song, but Taehyung and Jungkook were fucking power vocalists in the Lights era, so they’ve got to be centers, as well.

MV Center: Jungkook

This MV feels a bit like the Magic Shop VCR; it’s a lot like Jungkook is frozen or lost, and the other members find him. It’s not so pronounced like it has been for other MV centers, but it was still clear to me that Jungkook was the main character for this MV.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Taehyung

I mean, this would be an obvious choice if you really listened to Make It Right. When we don’t have choreo for a song, we’ve got to look at the vocal, right? The 95s are all over this track. Admittedly, the live does take just a touch of that away from them during certain performances, but the studio version of Make It Right is littered with Vmin. First of all, their solos are pretty pronounced anyway, but even if you listen to the crowd vocal on the “Oh, I can make it right” lyric, you usually only hear Taehyung plus the rest of the members singing in a clump underneath him. And if it isn’t Taehyung you’re hearing on the main vocal, it’s Jimin. Or Jimin and Taehyung. Like, I don’t know if it’s because these two have the most unique vocal tones in BTS or what, but their individuality really shone in the Make It Right era.

No MV Center

Unless the MV center is ARMY? I don’t know; Make It Right is one of those stage mix MVs, so it wasn’t gonna have a real MV center anyway. Unless the MV center is that animated couple that’s in the original version of the music video? Nah, I like the the idea of ARMY being the center more.

Center: Jungkook

I don’t need to go to the MV for this because Jungkook’s got hella pipes that’s he’s using for a hella long time during the bridge of this song, and that’s so much center energy. It’s been a long time since we’ve had an era that feels like all the other members are about equal, and then there’s Jungkook. It is what it is, though; I mean, the man is the center of BTS, after all. If I’m being really honest, though, the bridge is the only thing that makes Jungkook the sole center of this era. If Jungkook’s solo on the bridge wasn’t a part that caused the rest of the song and choreo to stop dead, the ON era probably wouldn’t have had a center at all because I don’t feel like Jungkook was all the pronounced anywhere else in ON. I guess me putting him down as the sole center tells you how impactful the bridge was, though.

Secondary Center: Jimin

It’s the “hey na na na” line, you know? No, but really, both in the choreo and the vocal, Jimin is a big foundation for ON. I mean, obviously Jimin has parts besides that line, but even as a whole, Jimin feels like a part of the basic structure for, both the track, and the choreography. I’ve felt this way about other members in previous eras, and I don’t know how to explain it well; think of it as though Jimin is a part of the beat. It’s essential to ON’s sound, even though it may not always stick out as an individual piece.

MV Center: Jungkook

Jin did have a bit of focus at the beginning, and I almost put Taehyung down as an MV center because there was a good bit in the middle where it was literally just Taehyung, but the entire story of the MV revolved around Jungkook, like, escaping slavery or whatever. I mean, the man blew into a conch shell and ran up to the top of BTS’s Pride Rock; if that’s not MV center energy, I don’t know what is.

No Center

I’m gonna keep it a buck with y’all: the vocalists nearly all sound the same on the chorus of this song because of the effects on their vocals. It’s kind of cool, though, considering the message of the song. Like, the lack of individuality is almost an extra piece to the lyrics, but I swear to you, Taehyung is the only one who sounds distinct on the chorus of Black Swan. As such, no one could’ve really been the center for this song. As you can probably tell, the vocalists are usually the centers--if there is one--and that’s because they get the choruses, which repeat the most; they have more opportunities to be the centers. In an era where their uniqueness is stripped away, there’s not going to be a center.

Also, if you’re asking, “Well, if Taehyung is so distinct, why isn’t he the center?” the answer is: because all the vocalists have basically the same parts. Yoongi, actually, would be the closest, in my opinion, to being a type of center for this song, but the chorus is the base of Black Swan, and so Yoongi doesn’t quite fit, either. Nothing wrong with an era without a center, my friends. Just means more central time for every single one of our boys.

MV Center: Jimin

Clearly, this was going to be the case. I don’t actually find Jimin to be that prominent in Black Swan, but the MV is what makes everyone say Jimin is the face of this era. And there’s a good reason for that. The Black Swan MV is such a wonderful platform for Jimin’s gorgeous, gorgeous artwork. It was like a portfolio of his talent, and it’s absolutely captivating watching him dance. Of course, Jimin does have a small bit of centralization that the other members don’t have in the stage choreo, but the MV is where Jimin got to really shine. Black Swan is really the only era where, rather than a song fitting a members vocal, we got to partake in a song that complimented a member’s dance style. I hope BTS do more with this kind of combination later for other members because Jimin getting to shine like this was really lovely.

Center: Jungkook

There’s really no other reason for this other than Jungkook’s vocal is very nearly the entire song as far as vocals go. Again, sometimes airtime predicts the center, and in this case, Jungkook has, like, double the amount of airtime when compared to the other members. So, obviously, Jungkook representing this era was the overall goal. Stay Gold is another one of those songs that benefits from a vocal tone like Jungkook’s, so that’s probably why Jungkook got such a large focus for this era.

No MV Center

Taehyung’s the closest thing to an MV center since he’s got that bit at the end where the camera focuses on him while he releases magic from the tree or whatever. So pretty he looks in the Stay Gold MV, by the way. If you’re watching all the way to the end, it does feel like, “Wow, Taehyung’s a bit of a main character,” but it’s really only at the end. So, no MV center this time as everyone had really beautiful set pieces that got shown fairly equally.

Center: Taehyung

Call me biased; call me whatever you want, but Taehyung’s presence is so fucking strong in Dynamite. Yes, Jungkook has a lot, a lot of vocal focus; yes, he centers in the choreography the most, but have y’all seen Taehyung’s attitude? Dynamite is the second era on this list that I’m sure Taehyung is the sole center for. Here’s where we’re gonna talk about marketing a bit. Taehyung’s visual was used to absolute death for the Dynamite promotions. I’m assuming it was because the retro look was especially fitted to Taehyung’s style, but Taehyung was everywhere. Not to mention the parts in Dynamite Taehyung got were really important pieces of the song--such as: ending the song. The choreography, as well, though not centered around Taehyung, was absolutely dominated by him regardless because of the way he decided to carry himself in this era. I don’t know; maybe I’m seeing things other people aren’t, but to me, Taehyung was obviously supposed to be the face of Dynamite.

Secondary Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

I don’t think Jimin is as strong of a secondary center as Jungkook, but I do still think Jimin’s role in Dynamite was really important. It’s sort of because he was a foundational piece, but it’s also because Jimin came off as bubbly and fun during the Dynamite era, and I think that helped to sell the overall visual of the song.

Jungkook, I’m sure a lot of people will say, should be the center for this era. I feel like I can kind of tell that an attempt was made to have Jungkook be the center, but then Taehyung and his charisma kind of ended up blowing up once Dynamite was released. Jungkook, to me, has the true foundational pieces of Dynamite. The beginning of the choruses, for example, are the catchy parts of the chorus, but not the punchy parts of the chorus. You see what I mean? Jungkook did have the first verse, too, of course. I’ll say this: vocally, Jungkook is absolutely the center of this era. It’s just that, as a total package, he didn’t stick out quite as much as Taehyung.

No MV Center

I mean, the beginning makes it feel like Jungkook is the MV center, but every member has their own set and solo shots. Plus, you’ve got the improvised choreography and the insert shots where every member appears to be equally represented. I don’t really see Dynamite as an MV with a definite member at the forefront.

No Center

So, there is a definite excess of Vmin in Life Goes On, which I think is beautiful because their vocal tones are full of emotion, but I don’t think that necessarily means they’re the centers of this era. If we were going based on airtime, Taehyung would be the sole center because of the amount of airtime he’s got, but again, I don’t know that it’s fair to call him a center for just that reason--even though Taehyung is very prominent in the vocal. Mostly, Life Goes On is a song BTS is giving to ARMY, so it feels like they’re all singing it to us, and no single member sticks out more than another.

MV Center: Taehyung

Jin does have a bit in the MV, just before the final chorus, where the camera stops on him for a moment, but it’s only that one part, so I couldn’t really call him an MV center. Taehyung--in the original version of this MV, at least--was definitely the one leading the narrative. Most of the MV was the boys having fun or singing to the camera, but there were also the clips of Taehyung driving BTS around, looking at an arena, longing to perform; it seemed like Taehyung was chosen to convey BTS and ARMY’s feelings about the pandemic and how much we all miss each other.

Co-Centers: Jin & Jimin

I gotta be honest: getting a handle on the Film out era is kind of difficult because it feels like such a fragmented song--and that makes it beautiful, but it’s hard to pin down a representative for this era, even though it definitely feels like there is one.

Obviously, I’ve decided that there are two. Again, without choreo, we’re looking at the vocal. To me, Jin and Jimin’s vocal tones stood out the most in Film out. I found both of their contributions to this song to be absolutely stunning, but even being objective, Jin and Jimin seemed like they were supposed to be the ones sticking out this much. I assume that’s because this is a very ethereal song, and I think I can confidently say that no other member has the monopoly on songs that sound like Film out than Jinmin do. Jimin’s angelic adlibs and falsetto was the thing I noticed right away when listening to this for the first time, but the more I listened to it, the more Jin came to the forefront, as well. We may only have vocals to go on for deciding a center--especially since Film out wasn’t marketed much--but Jinmin’s vocals really took center stage for this era.

Secondary Center: Taehyung

I really don’t know what it is that makes me see Taehyung as secondary center for the Film out era and not Jungkook, but Jungkook didn’t feel that prominent at all, despite having written the song. Taehyung felt like the anchor for Film out, which is something I noticed within my first few listens. Jin and Jimin were definitely the shining stars, in my opinion, but Film out still needed Taehyung for balance. The last half of the song is where all three of these members shine the most, and I think it’s really clear that Taehyung’s vocal was able to add a depth of emotion to Jimin and Jin’s. I think secondary centers, to me, are the members I can tell are being used as supports for the center or co-centers, and that’s what Taehyung was for Film out.

MV Center: Jin

This is the exact opposite of Life Goes On, actually, because Taehyung was the one who was last seen in the MV, which makes it tempting to see him as an MV center, but Jin was the one present in the narrative for the whole MV. I don’t know what that narrative was for certain, but I think it was something like looking in from the outside and getting lost in some kind of metaphorical storm. Jin was the one doing all that. So, he’s the MV center, for sure.

Co-Centers: Taehyung & Jungkook

Jungkook is a co-center, in my opinion, because it feels like he was supposed to be. I can’t really pinpoint what it is about Butter that makes Jungkook a co-center, but he’s got airtime on every chorus, which means he’s gonna be prominent in the choreo, as well. That’s probably what it is, now that I think about it. The chorus is the money piece of almost every song, so Jungkook being chosen to be in each of the choruses is a big thing.

Taehyung--look, I don’t know what it is about Taehyung, but the fact that he went from a single line in No More Dream to being this central in one of BTS’s biggest eras is insane to me. Like, listen. Taehyung got to start and end two seperate choruses--which means he’s pretty prominent in the choreo, but he’s also prominent anyway because he’s nearly always in the front--and he got to sing half of each verse. That never happens with Taehyung. Vocally, Taehyung has the most “I’m the motherfucking center” energy than he’s ever had. Something about this era has Taehyung way out in front, and I think that’s so fun since he doesn’t always get that opportunity.

Secondary Center: Jin

I wanted to put Jin down as a co-center; I really did, but the slight difference in vocal prominence between him and Taekook is what made me give him the secondary center position. Jin is still really prominent in the Butter era, though. I thought Jin really outdid himself with his vocal tone in Butter, and he’s been killing the choreo every single time they perform. Jin really does feel like one of the faces of Butter.

MV Centers: Jin & Taehyung

I wasn’t gonna put down an MV center, but didn’t Jin and Taehyung’s MV scenes stick, like, way the fuck out? Jin in that lineup scene did me in, for real. I wasn’t thinking straight for days afterwards. Plus, he’s got that scene during the second verse where he’s in that chair, looking like he owns three islands, and that feels like super big MV center energy. Then, you’ve got Taehyung in the elevator, which is one of his sexiest MV scenes, period. The attitude on him, I swear. The orange suit was the end for me, honestly. I know I just talked about how hot Taejin are, but the way they carry themselves is why it felt like they stuck out in the MV more than the other members. I feel like I can’t deny them the MV center title.

No Center

This is another song that isn’t really supposed to have a center, you know? Permission to Dance is meant to send this hopeful message to ARMY and people around the world, and I just don’t think a center was necessary because the center is BTS as a whole. At the very least, no one really stuck out to me as a sole, or even, co-center. It felt like all the boys shared the load of sending us this message, so I can’t put a center down for this era. I think, for a song like this, though, that’s a pretty damn good thing.

No MV Center

Again, this was really an equal opportunity kind of era. Other MVs have really focused on each of the boys having their own set, and one member often sticks out because of that; the Permission to Dance MV, though it had solo shots of each member, was mostly just the boys, all together and having fun. I mean, Jungkook had that solo dance bit, but that wasn’t enough to sway me.

Okay, that’s it, for now. Let me know what you guys think in the replies. I tried to keep my opinions out of this because I was just looking for which member(s) BigHit was trying to use to sell each era. I’m excited to do this with the B-sides since there’s only vocals to go on, but doing this for the singles was super interesting. Thanks for reading!

#bts #bangtan sonyeondan #kim taehyung #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #jeon jungkook

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tybaku · 3 years

Text

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30691259/chapters/77712440

Midoriya Izuku finds the incarnation of beauty and divinity sitting at a window of a hole-in-the-wall café just a few blocks away from home.

Or: An artist in search of inspiration unexpectedly finds a new muse.

Chapter 2: Him

Bakugou Katsuki finds himself standing at the foot of an altar fit for something more than a god at a quarter to 1.

The day is bright and clear, and the sun is hot on his head and shoulders. It’s too early to be out here, and yet too late, and there was already a thin crowd formed, curled around the centerpiece like a halo, or a crown. Katsuki shifts where he stands, dark eyes never leaving the piece of art on the bricked alleyway wall. He barely breathes.

He had been dragged here not out of his own accord, directly after a nearly two hour long elective class that was nothing but a bore, despite it sounding vaguely interesting down on paper.

“Analysis of Modern Art and Media 101” taught by Aizawa Shouta had been a bust of a class to choose, and each time Katsuki attends he wonders why the hell there is more of the same damn class, judging by the fact there was a 101 tacked on at the end of the name, and also it was probably the most soul-sucking class he was taking this school year. Katsuki doesn’t even care about art!

And yet, he’s still standing here. He’s standing here in a dingy, dirty back alley and gawking up at this piece of artwork like some kind of fool, his hands curling up inside his pockets. There’s a red warmth to his face that isn’t from the afternoon sun, and vaguely he thinks, maybe he could learn to care about art. Maybe he could learn to care because of this and this only.

“It’s me,” Katsuki says, not fully aware of his surroundings, or the murmurs that trickle about the little sea of people in the alleyway that are witnessing the same thing he is.

Because it is him, it’s the best version of him he’s ever laid eyes on. It’s a perception of him so pure and human, and flawless to the point where it’s perfection is debatable, and he has to take another look at it to really see what’s there. He’s wrong, the painting isn’t perfect, but it’s authentic. It isn't flawless, but it’s him, really and truly him; near flesh as it can get with its graffiti lines and colors and shapes.

Katsuki doesn’t want to look away.

Kirishima, the very guy who had brought him out here to view the godly offering on the wall, then pats his shoulder and grips onto him. “It’s you, man. Your mentions are sky high,” he says, eyebrows raised and obviously impressed. He shakes Katsuki a little when he becomes the victim of a dirty looking side-eye, wearing a little frown. “What?”

Katsuki shrugs his shoulder harshly, effectively shooing his friend off. “The hell you on about, shithair,” he says more than he asks. Kaminari’s head then pops up from beside them unexpectedly, with Ashido right on his toes, smiling from ear to ear. There’s a mischievous little glint in their eyes that they share unabashedly, and Katsuki sneers at it.

“Oh, you haven’t heard? You’re trending!” the other, less important blond exclaims, fishing out his phone to wave it around in Katsuki’s face. “Well, more like the art itself trending, but people are recognizing you! Tagging you in the pics on Insta, at’ing you on Twitter, linking you to this one art blog and shit like—” Kaminari only stops when Katsuki starts to bat his hands at him angrily, irritated at the fact he didn’t understand a word he was saying.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

Kaminari makes an ugly looking face like he took a whiff of something foul, but Katsuki smells sweet as hell, thank you very much; his shampoo and conditioner have black and white charcoal in them. “Dude do you even check your phone like, ever? This”—Kaminari waves giant circles in front of Katsuki’s portrait as Katsuki himself mumbles a quiet I mute that shit during class—“is trending. Trending.”

Before Katsuki could tear one into him, Ashido pats at her friend’s shoulder, squeezing herself into the terrible excuse of a conversation. “I think he gets it, babe. What Denki’s trying to say is that this”—she gestures to the painting—“is gaining a whole lot of traction right now, not only because it’s stunning, but because the artist is literally one of the biggest deals in Japan right now. Deku’s like, hot-hot. He’s practically famous in the modern art scene, and he just painted your portrait without you even knowing about it. Do you really have no idea how huge this is?”

And, no, Katsuki doesn’t know, since there wasn’t even a reason why he would know in the first place (again, that modern art class sucks, and even though Aizawa-sensei was good enough of a teacher, Katsuki sometimes thinks even he didn’t want to be teaching it from the way he talks and lectures so tonelessly, a whole new level of bored flat) so the only thing he can do is blink, and blink, and glare as he tries to take in this new information.

It’s weird, isn’t it? Katsuki has never heard of this “Deku” guy, despite his supposed status, and suddenly he’s got a whole mural dedicated to him by the guy? He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do with any of this, and he can’t even bring himself to be angry about it. He’s just confused, out of place, and so damn flattered that it’s absolutely ridiculous. Someone painted his portrait and painted it well. It should feel freaky, because it is; it’s an unfathomable situation, but it doesn’t really feel anything less than nice. Really damn nice.

“Oh my god,” Kaminari gasps suddenly, the back of his hand hitting the top of Ashido’s chest in exaggerated shock and disbelief, “do you guys know what this means?”

Katsuki’s eyes find their way back to himself. His profile is sharp and frustrated. Kirishima gasps, eyes blown wide in anticipation. “What?” he asks Kaminari quickly, ever the little worrywart of their group. Katsuki raised an eyebrow.

Kaminari goes smug, a little warp appearing in his dumb smile. “Kats-kun here’s got a not-so-secret admirer,” he sings in a tease, wiggling a little in place.

Despite the weird feeling curling in his chest, Katsuki scoffs at the claim, rolling his eyes. “More like a stalker,” he says, but his so-called friends outright ignore him, and turn their attention to, well, him.

Ashido giggles in delight, clapping her hands. “Oh that’s so true, there’s no way this isn’t a romantic thing! I mean, he even got Kats’ little pouty glare right!” she exclaims loud enough for everyone in the alley to overhear, like an idiot.

Katsuki narrows his eyes, and he swears one of them twitches. “My what,” he says more than asks.

Kaminari decides to take the mic, like a dumbass. “You know that thing you do when you get all frustrated about something and you try to pout, but it looks more like you wanna commit first degree murder or something?”

Katsuki doesn’t have any chance to maim him for the explanation he has unfortunately asked for, because Ashido is shrieking again, grabbing Kaminari and holding him close to her in excitement. “Oh my gosh, you’re so right! This is so romantic!” she draws it out annoyingly, before it becomes a straight up whine. “That’s so unfair! Why are you getting romanced and not me?”

And it’s not his place to say, so “Because Spikey has no balls,” stays trapped in between Katsuki’s grit teeth.

Sero then miraculously appears from somewhere behind Kaminari, a muffin and even Shinsou in tow, and Katsuki groans up to the sky when instead of saying something useful he decides to say, “They got that little beauty mark on his cheekbone too,” with a stupid smirk.

Blinking tiredly, Shinsou adds on “That’s some attention to detail,” like it means anything. “Though they missed most of the other ones.” He starts to unwrap his own muffin, peeling back the thin paper with his teeth. Katsuki wants nothing more than for him to choke on it.

“Hanta! Hitoshi!” Kaminari yells, as if the pair of them weren’t standing barely three feet from him. He reaches over and happily pulls Shinsou under his arm as Sero stalks over to Ashido. “Where you’ve been! You missed the big reaction!”

Sero lifts his hand. “Getting a muffin,” he says flatly.

Shinsou nods in agreement, humming in amusement. “Bet he blushed like a flower.” He takes a bite out of his muffin as Kaminari laughs and jokingly goes to bite at the bread.

And if Katsuki goes a little warm in the face at the dumb claim, it’s no one’s damn business. “What the hell does that even mean,” he snarls unkindly, crossing his arms.

Shinsou unwraps the other side of his muffin with his hands this time, and actually allows Kaminari to take a small bite. “I said what I said,” he shrugs, unapologetic.

“Oo, new slur dropped.” Ashido wiggles her pink eyebrows. Sero snorts, and Kirishima laughs amiably at her.

Katsuki has terrible friends, he decides, and they all can go burn in the under. He shoots them all a heavy glare they all ignore in favor of oohing and ahhing at his portrait. Shinsou looks over at him after a quick inspection of the piece. “So,” he starts, giving up the rest of his muffin to Kaminari’s grubby little hands, “what’re you gonna do?”

Katsuki raises an eyebrow, expression and stance slanted slightly to the right as he crosses his arms over his chest and cocked out his hip, leaning most of his weight onto one foot. “Hah? The hell you talking about?”

Shinsou blinks plainly at him. “The graffiti, genius. You think it’s weird, right? Figured you want to beat the guy’s face in for painting you without permission, or something.”

Katsuki frowns. Shinsou isn’t wrong really, or at least he shouldn’t be, but Katsuki doesn’t feel like violence was the answer here. (A shocker, he knows, but can you blame him? It’s like wanting to punish the Earth for rotating, or the sun for setting at the end of the day. Punishing the moon for moving the tides, and many other metaphors Katsuki can’t think of at the moment.)

He doesn’t want to go about this the wrong way. Beating his admirer’s (damn it, he means artist, thanks a lot Pinky ‘n Sparky) face into a pulp is definitely the worst approach he could possibly take. There ought to be a better, and much more appropriate option, shouldn’t there? What exactly should be done in this instance? What could he do?

There’s only one thing, really.

“I’m gonna find him.”

—

It’s easier said than done in a weird way, tracking down Deku. He really is a popular and well-known young artist, and his art is plastered practically all over every social media you can think of. He’s got his fair share of admirers and haters, and critiques of his more professional work (he’s not just a street artist like Katsuki had first assumed a few days ago, he’s actually got even better pieces than Katsuki’s portrait, if you can believe it) range from big art magazines to small internet influencers. There’s all kinds of stuff about his artwork, including videos and articles.

Deku’s work speaks to all kinds of people, he finds out.

Though unfortunately, there isn’t any public information about the artist himself. In fact, Deku is a pseudonym, and there is virtually no personal information pertaining to him anywhere. His identity is kept closely underwraps, and any interviews with him are all written word (Katsuki knows this because he has scoured all of Youtube trying to find a video with Deku, and has come up empty handed). Katsuki has absolutely no method of contacting him about the alleyway art, and no way of finding him about town.

Pushing his laptop away an inch, Katsuki sighs and takes a sip of his coffee. He’s hit yet another dead end on this art blog in his search for Deku’s damn contact information. It’s terribly frustrating at this point, because he’s so close it’s ridiculous. He’s pretty sure he’s figured out who Deku actually is: Midoriya Izuku, a journalist who looks to be based here in Musutafu, and the guy whose blog Katsuki’s been snooping through for the past three days.

The guy’s got a plethora of articles and photography on a number of different artists, but according to the internet, he’s more known to be a Deku enthusiast, and most of his material stems from Deku’s artwork. In fact, he’s already got an article up about Katsuki’s portrait, dated three days ago. That was the first giveaway.

If you look through Deku’s official Instagram, Katsuki’s portrait (titled Musutafu Delight, after the side of the café it was painted on, but Katsuki ain’t gonna call it anything else but his portrait) was posted bright and early at 7 in the morning three days ago, and Midoriya’s article on The Canvas about said portrait was posted not ten minutes later. Awfully speedy for someone who is allegedly not even the artist of the piece, no?

And if you read through Midoriya’s blog and Deku’s written interviews, the connection between them becomes even more glaringly obvious due to the fact Midoriya writes his articles similarly to the way Deku does in his interviews, so much so that it couldn’t possibly be counted as a mere coincidence. Their wording and phrasing of things is near exact, and their pools of vocabulary are closely shared.

Plus, you’d have to be an idiot to not see where the artist’s pseudonym comes from.

“Deku can be derived from the same kanji as Izuku. It’s literally the same,” Katsuki had explained to his stupidly incredulous group of friends, who dismissed his “theory” on Deku’s true identity like the bunch of morons they were. The only one who seemed even halfway convinced was Sleepy, and even then he just looked amused at Katsuki’s frustration trying to map out what he was talking about to the rest of the group in his overly simple terms.

Anyway, Katsuki had little to no doubt about Deku’s real identity, but that didn’t exactly mean it made finding the guy any easier. Seriously, what kind of a dimwit doesn’t even put down their email on their own goddamn blog?

Deku, apparently.

Katsuki sighs once more before sipping what was left of his coffee and exiting out of Midoriya’s blog with a dull click. Without any other clear leads, there wasn’t much he could do in regards to finding the guy, and he rather not run himself ragged trying to do so all at once. He could always chase his tail looking for Deku later, since he wasn’t really getting anywhere anyway. Such a damn shame.

Unexpectedly a throat clears, and Katsuki looks up halfway prepared to throw a scowl at Kirishima’s stupid little smile (Katsuki told him specifically not to bother him today since he had so much shit to get done, which may or may not have been an excuse to keep on internet “stalking” Deku, as Sparky and Sleepy so eloquently put it), but finds a completely different stupid little smile he doesn’t recognize by a long shot.

It’s a guy with a scatter of freckles all over his face and green highlights in his curly black hair. He has big round eyes and a healthy pink glow to his cheeks. In short, he’s cute, but he carries himself like a wounded animal, a shy and skittish little thing. He looks like a big dork in his glasses and sweater splattered with paint at the hem.

“Hi,” the dork says in a sort of sigh filled to the brim with nerves as his fingertips flinch around the little ringed book he carries in his hands.

Katsuki quickly fits a frown onto his face, intentionally standoffish to lure this four-eyed man away. Somehow, it doesn’t work, and instead of being deterred by the attitude he was putting on, the man sits himself down in the empty seat in front of him, a wobbled smile on his lips. Katsuki narrows his eyes slightly, annoyed but impressed by the gall of the nerdy looking guy.

“Uh, my name is M-Midoriya Izuku, I’m a full time artist and journalist and”—the guy shifts in his seat and lets out a huge huff—“wow, you are super pretty up close.”

Katsuki blinks, and promptly blushes like a flower. (Thanks for that, Sleepy.) He didn’t take Deku for the bold type.

“I, um. That’s not what I—Well, yeah I did mean that, you are very pretty—uh, handsome, but that’s not what I—”

Scratch that, Deku definitely wasn’t the bold type, just the “doesn’t think before speaking” type. Fortunately, Katsuki was well acquainted with those types (i.e. his friends), so he doesn’t find it as annoying as he would've. Plus, Deku wasn’t saying anything bad, he was complimenting him.

“You’re fine,” Katsuki has to cut him off from his quick paced rambling. Every word had sounded like it was stuffed into the last, jumbled and nearly indecipherable.

“You’re Deku, right? I got your message,” he smirks in a tease as he leans back casually. Spikey and Pinky were going to freak when Katsuki told them he found Deku, and Sparky was going to eat his words. (Midoriya isn’t Deku, his ass. All the clues were right there. In plain sight.)

Deku stops, and then color bursts into his face. “How did you…” he drifts off, speechless for the first time since he sat down. Katsuki raises his brows and then holds up a finger in a hold on gesture, clicking his laptop awake and opening up his history tab. He turns the screen so Deku can see all the websites he’s visited in the past three days.

At a glance, it’s obvious everything is related to Deku and his artwork, but Deku’s lips downturn in confusion and Katsuki has to explain. “It’s research. Was trying to find the dork who painted my face on the side of the café,” he says as Deku gives a little squeak. Katsuki clicks the most recent tab and opens up The Canvas, aka Deku’s blog.

“You said your name was Midoriya Izuku? Full time artist and journalist? Izuku can be read as Deku, meaning either you are Deku, you work with Deku, or you’re some freak obsessed with Deku. Your pick,” Katsuki finishes before turning his laptop back toward him and clicking it to sleep.

Deku only gapes at him, eyes wide and shining in something Katsuki could only describe as awe. “You’re amazing,” he says in a certain way that entails he was talking before thinking again, and weirdly enough, Katsuki feels an unexpected warmth in his chest because of it.

“Bakugou Katsuki, by the way. And I ain’t a snitch. It’s obvious you wanna keep your identity a secret. Just knowing I’m right is enough. Did’ya want something from me, Freckles?” Katsuki lolls his head to the side, staring Deku down and ignoring the tingling in his hands.

Deku startles slightly, one step behind and still mouthing Bakugou under his breath like he was trying to familiarize himself with it. Weird, but cute in a way. Deku shifts around in his seat, fiddling around with his fingers in his lap. “Oh well, um. It’s nice to meet you, Bakugou-san, and I, uh…actually had a proposition for you?”

Katsuki wrinkles his nose, but nods at him to continue.

Deku gives him a shy little smile, one that crinkles the tiny freckle above his top lip. “Would you like to model for me?”

#bnha #bkdk #ty.types

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wayward-mikaelson · 4 years

Text

Centuries Twelve

Word Count: 1363

Pairing: Reader x Dean

Characters: Reader, Dean, Sam, Rowena, Cas, Jack, Michael, and Hezekiah

About: A new lead is found on Hezekiah. Michael has a new vessel.

Warnings/Trigger Warnings: Language, Angst, Michael’s new vessel (I pictured this vessel super fucking hot so yeah it’s a warning. sue me)

A/N: With this gif, let’s pretend that the boys are at the other end of the table so when the Michale in his new vessel comes in that’s the greeting he gets.

*18+ Content. If you are younger than 18 please scroll/move along. I do NOT want to risk my account being thanosed.

**Please DO NOT copy and paste my work anywhere else WITHOUT my permission and WITHOUT giving me the proper credit. I work too hard on my stories and would hate for them to be stolen.

***This work is also posted on my Instagram, WattPad, and Archive Of Our Own. Links are in the pinned post on my profile. Please go show it some love over there.

****Go follow my other accounts: Instagram, Twitter, WattPad, and Archive Of Our Own

*****Requests are CLOSED

Forever Tag List: @hobby27 @donnaintx @myinconnelly1 @elansaidaris @magssteenkamp @440mxs-wife

Dean/Jensen Tag List: @akshi8278 @sandlee44 @squirrelnotsam

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Chapter Eleven

My Favorite Fics

It's been two days and there is still no sign of Michael.

Dean tells me the bind removal was successful and that Michael hightailed it out of here with only the words "I'll be back." But I didn't really care, I mean, I did care in someway. He was a ticking time bomb without that bind to me. He could literally kill thousands upon thousands of people. I pray that he found his way to the bottom of the ocean and if that were the case, then so be it then. A door on my life will finally be closed for good.

After Rowena undid the bind and after Michael ran off, Dean told me that it too another twelve hours for me to wake up. And when I did wake up apparently I was still under the influence of that powder that smacked me in the face back at the house. I don't remember much of what happened but I guess that Rowena had been prepared for it cause according to her, I drank a sleeping potion and was out again for the night.

When I woke up again, I was feeling normal.

Now, I sit in the bunker kitchen twirling the spoon in my soup round in circles. Chicken noodle soup. From a can. Once things are back in order and Hezekiah is gone for good and maybe Michael too, I will have to get this kitchen back in order. Making homemade soups and dinner again like the good old days.

"Oh, you got that look on your face," Dean steps into the kitchen. He stops when he see me. The outfit he's wearing, although super normal, is super hot right now. "Whats on your mind?"

Sitting back from the bowl of soup, "Just the possibility that we might hear of a nuclear bomb going off and killing thousands. Plus, I'm not eating this." I push the bowl away from me.

Dean looks a little heart broken when I say that. "I made that and it was all we had. Sort of been busy to go out on a supply run. But no worries, I'll eat and I'll take you to get a greasy burger while we go for that supply run."

I smile and reach across the table and move the soup. Dean looks at the empty space and then at me. "You want to know what I really want?"

Dean swallows whats in his mouth. "And what's that?" He raises an eyebrow knowing what's about to happen and go down.

I get and walk around the table. As I do, Dean pushes the chair he's sitting in away from the table and leans back with his one eyebrow still raised. "Hmmm," I straddle his lap and slowly run my hands up his chest to the top button of his shirt. "I was thinking, something quick. Something pleasurable. And just maybe, something a little naughty."

I feel Dean's member get hard under me. A low growl is heard deep within his chest and came out as a small groan. Dean wraps his arms around me and in the next minute he's pushing me up on a wall next to the coffee bar and knocking a few things off it. My legs are tightly wrapped around him while he pins my arms above my head while his lips attack mine. Nipping and bitting at whatever bare skin he can.

Dean releases my arms and pushes my legs off him. He takes both his hands and grips the neckline of my shirt and rips the fabric in half all the way down to the bottom. Dean looks me over and smirks. "No bra?"

"Nope, I hate those things with a passion today."

Dean licks his lips and attacks mine again before kissing, nipping and bitting his way down to my neck. Down between my breasts as he takes hold of both and gives them a gently but firm squeeze. Down to the button of my jeans. I look down and see his raised eyes looking into mine. Waiting for permission to go on.

"Well," I say softly. "What are you waiting for?"

Dean smiles big and as soon as he gets the button undone, Sam comes walking into the kitchen.

"I heard something fall in here, are you guys-" Sam's voice is cut off by what he sees. I quickly cover myself in my ripped shirt as Dean stands up and positions his body in front of mine. "You know there is something called a room, right? I'm going to just pretend I didn't see what was going to happen."

"Yeah well, you should have just done that in the beginning instead of interrupting." Dean takes his button up off and hands it back to me. I grab it and quickly put it on.

"Well sorry for being concerned for your well being," Sam snaps back. "No worries though, I'll let you get back to it."

I peek around Dean, "Sam, you kind of killed the mood."

Just then, we hear the bunker door open. The three of us walk towards the war room of the bunker where we can hear whoever came in walking down. When we get there, we see a talk blonde hair man in a grey suit walking down the stairs. As he's fixing the cuff links on his sleeves, Dean steps in front of me and pulls out his gun. Sam does the same. I look down to make sure the button down shirt I now wore was actually fixed.

"Who are you?" Dean asked firmly. "How did you get in here?"

"How did you find the place?" Sam adds.

I peek around Deans side and see the man look up and make eye contact with me. His eyes are a piercing blue. The way he looks me over, feels oddly familiar. But I've never seen this man before in my life. "YN," His voice is smooth and not deep. He straightens his body and holds himself high just like...

"Michael?" I whisper walking around Dean. Dean tries to pull me back but I push his hands away. "Is that..you?" I ask tilting my head to the side.

"Yes," he replies taking a step towards me. I feel my back tense up. "I'm sorry, I should have found a way to contact you but I didn't have your numbers or stuff for a simple spell."

"What poor bastard said yes to let you in?" Dean steps beside me and I can feel the the tension in his body.

Michael looks down and smiles. "Ah yes, Gillian Branson. He was an accountant until he was hit by a truck. I found him dying in the the ambulance and told him he will no longer be in pain if he let me in. And with the promise that he will see his lost wife in Heaven."

"Is he, still in there?" Sam asks lowering his gun and putting it away. I look next to me to see Dean still has his gun in his hands. I touch his hand to assure him it's okay. He gently pushes my hand away.

"Sadly, he passed on after he said yes and after I entered him. So it's just me in here." Michale pulls a chair out and sits down.

"Oh, who is this handsome fella?" Rowena walks into the war room and her eyes get wide as she looks over Michael.

"Michael and his new meat suit," Dean finally puts his gun away.

"Oh, such a lovely pick," Rowena walks around Michael. Feeling his shoulders and muscles. "Firm, this lad used to work out. You can hold down a woman with those." Michaels eyes snap over to me. My stomach starts to feel tight. I don't know if it's Michaels vessel stirring something up because his new vessel is pretty attractive, or the way Michaels dig deep into mine trying to find something buried.

"Rowena, you're drooling too much," I say startling the witch out of her day dream.

"Alright," Rowena gives Michael one more rub down before walking away. "I'll get the things for the spell to make his vessel stronger and last longer."

Michaels eyes never leave mine. "Perfect, because I know where Hezekiah is. We can end this tomorrow night."

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shhhlikeme · 4 years

Text

Nin’s Matchup!

(SFW + NSFW)

Matchup Profile: Sfw+nsfw matchup pretty pls! (1/5) Name: Nin>Female>5’4>Film & sfx/theatrical makeup freelancer>V athletic in MS-HS: ballet, was in volley ball, soccer &Basketball teams>Miss my prime days>Scared to start workout again b/c I’ll get lightheaded>If sum1 helps push me through initial fear, I’ll keep growing from there> Likes chilling in ballet stretch poses>paints, photographs&draws as hobby>draws a pic a day (mostly portraits)>writing a comic atm >Always plan contingencies.🦄

(2/5) >embarrassed of my loud laugh(it’s like Kuroo’s)>introvert>not afraid to lead a team tho> V shy & quiet most times>8/10 times, feels awk in public,like idk what i’m saying, but others told me I seem social>Once I’m comfy w/ u, i joke a lot(occasional mum jokes 2 annoy+Sassy dirty ones w/ S/O)>hides behind ppl who likes 2 talk, but not when they’re 2 loud>laughs @ mistakes/when embarrassed>Will stop mistreatment, even if I get in trouble>values communication&genuine discussions🦄

(3/5) Sings when home alone>competes @ Street Fighter tournaments, trains everyday 4 it>Sings “Hit Me W/ Your Best Shot” when fighting bosses in game&swears melodically when i lose>eats chips w/ chopsticks >make hats out of my cat fur when bored>Workahokic night🦉>likes 2 teach >full convos w/ my 🐱>LIVES in oversized hoodies & flip flops, regardless of weather>no pants@home!>Feels incompetent sometimes, but keep practicing 2 improve>Analytical fast learner>idk why ppl think i look innocent🦄

(4/5)>Forgets 2 speak eng when tired (Thai 1st lang.)>Headrubs 4 s/o every night b4 bed>will miss u but is bad@texting>yelps like puppy when I’m surprised>Unconventionally resourceful: Wire hangers’s fixes everything! >stress bakes & will gets pouty if it didn’t turn out well.>overwhelmed to water my 50+ 🌱 >Doodles on smt (always have a pen on me)when i feel socially anxious> 2 dance sober @ clubs> Wants a stable relationship where we work tgt like a team to bring out the best in one another🦄

(5/5) I like a s/o who is lovable, kind, genuine, mature, independent and caring, but can also joke & be silly with like best friends. NSFW: open 2 try new things>❤️restraints, blindfolds & sensual tickle sex (as lee+ler) but had always been too shy to share it with any1>occasionally self conscious of food baby+stretchmarks>🥰edging/teasing >has a thing 4 height differences (likes to feel smol lol!) & primal play.>Is a switch. I’m so sorry if it’s too much info! Thank you for doing this!🦄

————————————

A/N: HI LOVE @crushzone !!!! I SMILE WHEN I SEE YOU IN MY NOTIFS GIRL I WORKED HARD ON YOURS OF COURSE💖 But no matter whaaaat I’m going to be very authentic in my matchups bc they’re based on compatibility and therefore, without further ado, lemme introduce you to your NEW BAE:

————————————

KŌTARŌ BOKUTO 🦉

SFW:

so you’re a theatrical makeup artist.

Aight.

Mind if I offer you a word of advice? :

RUN

“DUDE THAT’S AMAZING IT LOOKS SO SICK!”

Startled by someone’s loud booming voice, you smudged the eyeliner you were applying to your actor’s face all over their forehead. Whipping around to see who had disrupted your work you were faced with a beautiful black and grey haired owl. A rather tall... and very attractive ‘beautiful black and grey haired owl.’

He started walking around the dressing room like he owned the place, touching everything.

“Excuse me, you don’t have a badge. You can’t be backstage—!”

“Pretty obvious don’t you think, Miss ________?”

You didn’t take his bait, refusing to give this stranger your name. Bokuto shrugged.

“Well since I don’t know your name I shall label thee—Miss HOT GIRL of the 9 Kingdoms!” He nudged the knight actor who was sitting in your makeup chair with his elbow. “Did I sound 15th century ish or what??” The owl turned to you expecting to be praised. “I had to meet the person who made the medieval vampire look so scary in the last act. But that guy with the lights didn’t tell me anything about you being so hot.”

You were speechless because he was hot too

But he shouldn’t be back here so you tried to shoo him out anyway

He allowed you to try to shove him out but he was way bigger than you so nice try sis

When he yawned while you panted because you weren’t able to budge him an inch....

Bokuto wagered that he would leave if you agreed to make him look like the Hulk with your makeup skills for a Halloween party he had to go to

You didn’t really want to because you were a professional and you had no idea who this owl was but because you had 15 minutes until the second act and you needed peace and quiet if you were going to finish your job!!! ....

( This boy was not peace NOR quiet )

You agreed.... but because you answered so fast Bokuto kicked it up one notch

Prince of pushing his luck (king is reserved for Shōyo‘s extra ass)

He pretended to allow you to push him out of the makeup room a few steps but before you closed the door he stuck his foot between the door so it couldn’t close.

Smiling, he peered back in, looking down at you:

“AND...... you have to agree to go on a date with me. Tomorrow night?”

“Ugh FINE!”

Bo removed his foot and let himself out with a bounce in his step.

SERIOUSLY WHO LET THIS MAN BACKSTAGE......

Needless to say, after a few dates, mans won you over like he wins EVERYONE over

It surprised you how comfortable you became with him but he just has that affect on people

***

In terms of your athletic relationship Bokuto does many things:

He pushes you to go to the gym with him for one

He signs the two of you up for impromptu Beginner 30-day challenges that you both must stick to

So every morning for 30-days straight he jumps on you in bed to wake you up:

“NIN BABY TIME TO HIT THE GYM. BABY NIN TIME TO GET IN SOME SEXY GYM SHORTS. MON BÉBÉ NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN—“

“Kōtarō, please shut up.”

he doesn’t

He drags you there and eventually you get back into the swing of things.. killing it in the weight room with your supportive man cheering on your every rep!

You don’t even need him to wake you up during the second challenge!

Your volleyball player boyfriend also signs you up (without permission) for the neighborhood soccer team that Akaashi’s girlfriend is already on

You hated it at first because it was uncomfortable going back after not playing for so long but you soon realized that all the girls there were ex-athletes too and not stars

You formed amazing new girl friendships (especially with Akaashi’s gf) and double dates with them were one of your favourite nights of the week!

You owed that happiness in your life all to your Owl 🦉🥰

He and Akaashi came to every soccer game y’all had and you and the three of you went to all of Bokuto’s games, obviously

Btw you all were FITTTTTT OML

***

In addition...

You already know that your man finds your artistic talents insanely fascinating

On your first anniversary together Bokuto gifted you with a new paint set and new French stand:

Because he admires you Bokuto also tries to draw and paint seriously just like you

You stand over his shoulder and give him corrections and baby owl learns so fast it’s amazing

You two make ‘paint night’ a thing when you move in together and it’s always the most fun event!!!!

Bokuto CONSTANTLY and I mean CONSTANTLY asks for you to add him to the comic you’re writing but you say no because he wouldn’t fit in

He sulks but one day you surprise him by showing him that you drew a cute soaring black and gray owl in the background of almost every outdoor scene in your comic,

you pointed out that it was him

BOKUTOOOO WAS SOOOOO HAPPY

HE WAS SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS

He called Akaashi right away and almost cried tears of joy hahahahaha

***

Your contingent based lifestyle has saved your reckless boyfriend’s life and career many-a-times

It’s one of the things he loves most about you.

Also, it is important to mention that he is in LOVE with your laugh

Bby owl does anything to hear it and showers your face with kisses when you laugh to draw it out

He loves you so freaking much

When you don’t make sense and speak gibberish in public because your awkward side randomly comes out......your boyfriend loves to make fun of you:

“Huh? Nin, that wasn’t Japanese, that wasn’t Thai and that definitely wasn’t English. What planet is my adorable baby girl from, again? And how do I return her in exchange for a floating space car instead?!”

suh cute

All of Bokuto’s teammates really like you because you work in conjunction with Akaashi which means you actually have the magic ability to get Bokuto out of emo mode even faster than his best friend 🤯🤯🤯

When he’s at an away game in emo mode his teammates will literally FaceTime you and point their phone in his general direction

“Hey, Kōtarō!!!! Look, Nin’s on the phoneeee!”

Bby owl turns around slowly when he was sulking in the corner and when he sees you on the screen he’s running and jumping on whoever is holding your phone.”

“Kōtarō baby. You’re going to stop this emo mode right now. If not I won’t let you paint me nude like we discussed.”

mans was like: 😨😨😨😨🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

YEP the next second you see him hitting his best practice spikes and his teammate thanks you profusely

You do this several times until Kōtarō just knows to not go into emo mode anymore because you won’t be happy

A year into his professional volleyball career The Black Jackal’s coach sent a surprise fruit bouquet to your work one time:

With a note that read:

To Nin,

Thanks.

Thanks a lot.

Love,

The Team

***

I know you don’t really like people who are considered “too loud” and Bokuto is like...... “MEGA LOUD 🎙 “ but you and Akaashi work together to quiet your boy down as he gets older

He’s perfect

And you love him

***

OKAY THIS IS THE FUNNIEST day THING:

You know how you like standing up for people (even strangers) and stuff?

Well one day, you and Bokuto get caught on a show called WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Where the two of you cussed out this cat-abusing actor on the show in a convincing scenario!

It was PRICELESS

Bokuto literally tells everyone that y’all are movie stars because of it 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

***

More in the relationship:

Bo is always singing with you 💞 when y’all make breakfast it becomes a national sport to sing at the top of your lungs!!

And when he sees you eat chips with chopsticks he’s pulling a Hinata “🤩🤩🤩” face .

He begs you to teach him how

So you try

......and try

..................and try

He can’t do it bruv 😞

You see bby Owl’s emo mode return for the first time in like a year when the chip shatters between his sticks again

This time, you have to enlist Akaashi as the FaceTime saviour and Keiji just tells him:

“Bokuto. You should prefer eating chips with your hands anyway. It gets to your mouth faster.”

cue Bo’s 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 face

........And all is well again

There’s more:

So you’re a workaholic?

Bokuto is fine with that. He just makes you promise that he gets to take you out on your lunch breaks a few times a week or whenever he can

He’s so sweet and your coworkers are BIG jealous of your relationship

Your man BEGSSSSS you to teach him Thai but you find it too hard so when he’s travelling on a long flight he spends the time learning the language on YouTube (and actually get decent at it) so that he can understand you when you’re sleepy😴🥺💕

When Bokuto surprises you by wishing you goodnight in Thai before he falls asleep (while you’re giving him head rubs), your heart explodes BECAUSE why is he the cutest thing in the world ?!?!?!

RELATIONSHIP COMMUNICATION:

You don’t text/you’re bad at texting? That’s fine, mainly because bby owl is so busy with volleyball anyway, but if you don’t text him back when he is feeling needy the boy will call you 20 times in a row

When you finally pick up, your heart is beating like thinking it’s an emergency

But he will answer saying:

“Oh, no emergency. I just want booty pics. Please, Nin babyyyyy?”

you’re like: 😑

ANOTHER CUTE THING YOUR MAN DOES?????

AIGHT:

It’s cringey but.......

When you’re at work all day doing makeup and he’s home he will send you pics throughout the day of him taking care of your plants like they are y’alls newborn children:

His text:

Baby look!!! Ollie the Orchid grew to 7 inches today!!! Yesterday he was 6.8 inches!!!!! They grow up so fast 😭😭😭”

Your reply:

Not quite as long as your dick, Bo

His reply:

I hate when you get me horny when I’m trying to take care of the kiiiids 😭😭😭😭

Dkm

Of all the factors you look for in a man, Bokuto has all of them

Like I said he becomes much more mature when you and Akaashi are his closest compadres

What people don’t know is that Kōtarō is actually very mature he is just a hardcore optomist (besides emo mode lmao) so people often mistake him as immature or dumb

But He’s far from it and you see that everyday

It’s why you fell for him

When dealing with serious issues that life has to handle, you see a different side of Bokuto, a real side, the side he shows in every tough volleyball game when he makes you metaphorically step behind him so he can deal with any problem that comes your way

He would literally withstand all your battles if that meant you’d remain happy forever

We stan a relationship like yours💞

NSFW:

okay so you know how you chill in ballet 🩰 stretches sometimes?

THAT DRIVES KŌTARŌ WILD.

It turns him on so much and he is constantly testing how flexible you are in the bedroom

When you keep meeting his expectations he is POUNDING you cause he is so turned on

He fucking loves it

It also turns him on when you’ll be acting shy and stuff but then randomly you’ll lead your neighbourhood soccer team like a BAD BITCH

When he sees that he’s already asking Akaashi how long until the game ends because he’s horny:

Akaashi deadpans. “Too much information. And the game just started 3 minutes ago. Get a water and calm yourself.”

Bo is sad but it makes for one hell of a I’m-proud-of-you sexscape when you get home from your game!!

Your dirty jokes also turn Bokuto on.

A lot.

A lot a lot:

“Bo.....I was joking.”

“I know but if I hear the word ‘dick’ coming out of your mouth I automatically think of you blowing me so now I want us to go home.” He whines.

You sigh. He’s lucky he’s so fucking hot.

When you’re playing street fighter every night this boy will not leave you alone until you cockwarm him

“Nin can you pleaseeeeee warm my cock while you train? I miss you.”

Your concentration turns him on so he has to ask nicely 😊

You love his dick so of course you oblige

Bby owl is so happy just sitting there being in your company and in your warmth but sometimes or every time he ends up thrusting into you

Sometimes while he’s giving you deep slow thrusts he orders you to keep playing or he won’t get you off

Damn 🤤

Let’s not forget also that you drive your man wild by walking around the house in hoodies all the time and nothing else

Every day, another hoodie will be found in various RANDOM places in the house because Bo flings it off you before he makes love to you wherever, and they go missing

Finally, when you get all sad and pouty because one of your baker trials goes to shit (ruined chocolate brownies this time, boo 💔), your boyfriend is taking your hand gently in an instant, leading you to the bedroom:

“Don’t be sad my beautiful girl, you know how much I hate seeing you sad. It makes me sad.! Here, come in the room and sit on my face—I promise I’ll make you feel better.”

WELL DAMN—😳💦

Maybe you should screw up brownie recipes more often.

————————————

A/N: do you know the show what would you do??? Watch it on YouTube if you haven’t haha I couldn’t stop thinking about you and Bokuto being on it after reading your matchup profile!!!! I hope you liked it bb! Give me all your reactions, I want all the smoke 💞💞💞

#matchups #nin and bby owl #bokuto kotaro

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oscopelabs · 6 years

Text

Elvis, Truelove and the Stolen Boy: The Tragic Machismo of Nick Cassavetes’ ‘Alpha Dog’ by Amy Nicholson

[Last year, Musings paid homage to Produced and Abandoned: The Best Films You’ve Never Seen, a review anthology from the National Society of Film Critics that championed studio orphans from the ‘70s and ‘80s. In the days before the Internet, young cinephiles like myself relied on reference books and anthologies to lead us to films we might not have discovered otherwise. Released in 1990, Produced and Abandoned was a foundational piece of work, introducing me to such wonders as Cutter’s Way, Lost in America, High Tide, Choose Me, Housekeeping, and Fat City. (You can find the full list of entries here.) Our first round of Produced and Abandoned essays included Angelica Jade Bastién on By the Sea, Mike D’Angelo on The Counselor, Judy Berman on Velvet Goldmine, and Keith Phipps on O.C. and Stiggs. Today, Musings concludes our month-long round of essays about tarnished gems, in the hope they’ll get a second look. Or, more likely, a first. —Scott Tobias, editor.]

A decade before the presidency that elevated insults like “betacuck” and “soyboy” into political discourse, Nick Cassavetes made Alpha Dog, a cautionary tragedy about masculinity that audiences ignored. Time for a reappraisal. Alpha Dog is about a real murder. Over a three-day weekend in August of 2000, 15-year-old Zach Mazursky—in reality, named Nicholas Markowitz—is kidnapped and killed by the posse of 20-year-old San Fernando Valley drug dealer Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) with a grudge against Zach’s older brother. No one thought the boy would die, not his main babysitter Frankie (Justin Timberlake), not the girls invited to party with “Stolen Boy,” and not even the boy himself, played with naive perfection by Anton Yelchin, who played video games and pounded beers assuming that his new captor-friends would eventually take him home.

Cassavetes’ daughter went to the same high school as Nicholas Markowitz. The murderers were neighborhood kids and he wanted to understand how fortunate sons with their whole lives ahead of them wound up in prison. The trigger man, Ryan Hoyt—“Elvis” in the film—had never even gotten a speeding ticket. Prosecutor Ron Zonen hoped the publicity around Alpha Dog would help the public spot the real-life Johnny, named Jesse James Hollywood, who was still on the lam despite being one of America’s Most Wanted. So the lawyers gave Cassavetes access to everything: crime scene photos, trial transcripts, psychological profiles, police reports, and their permission to contact the criminals and their parents. Cassavetes even took his actors to meet their counterparts, driving Justin Timberlake to a maximum security prison to get the vibe of the actual Frankie, and introducing Sharon Stone to Nicholas Markowitz’s mother, a broken woman who attempted suicide a dozen times in the years after her son's death.

Alpha Dog, pronounced Cassavetes, was “95 percent accurate.” Which was part of why it got buried, thanks to Jesse James Hollywood’s arrest just weeks after the film wrapped. Cassavetes hastily wrote a new ending to the movie, but his problems were just beginning. Hollywood’s lawyers insisted Alpha Dog would prevent their client from getting a fair trial, and used the threat of a mistrial to force Zonen off the case. “I don't know what Zonen was thinking, handing over the files,” gloated Hollywood’s defense team. “It was stupid.”

The publicity, and the delays, dragged out the pain for Markowitz’s family, especially when they heard Cassavetes had paid Hollywood’s father an, er, consulting fee. “Where is the justice in that?” asked the victim's brother. “This just goes on and on, and I’m spending my whole life in a courtroom.”

The film, too, was pushed back a year from its Sundance premiere. Despite casting a visionary young ensemble—Alpha Dog was my own introduction to Yelchin, Ben Foster, Olivia Wilde, Amanda Seyfried, Amber Heard, and the realization that Timberlake, that kid from N*SYNC, could actually act—no one noticed when it slid into theaters in January of 2007. It wasn’t just the bad press. It was that audiences couldn’t get past that Cassavetes’ last film was The Notebook. No way could the guy behind the biggest romantic weepy of a generation make something raw and cool.

But he had. Alpha Dog is a stunning movie about machismo and fate, two tag-team traits that destroy lives. Think Oedipus convincing himself he can outwit the oracle of Delphi. But Sophocles’ Oedipus telegraphs its intentions, elbowing the audience to see the end at the beginning. Greeks sitting down in 405 BC knew they were watching a tale that came full circle. Every step Oedipus takes away from his patricidal destiny just moves him closer to it.

If you map Alpha Dog’s script, instead of a loop, it looks like a horizontal line that plummets off a cliff. For most of its running time, Alpha Dog could pass for a coming-of-age flick where a sheltered kid with an over-protective mom (Sharon Stone) taps into his own self-confidence, right up until the scene where he tumbles into his own grave. Audiences who’d missed the news articles about the case weren’t clued into the climax. Cassavetes doesn’t offer any hints or flash-forwards, not even an ominous “based-on-a-true-story.” (The film might have been more successful if he had.) Instead, he lulls you into joining the kegger, watching Zach crack open beer after beer as though he expects to live forever. “There’s a movie sensibility that the film doesn’t conform to,” said Cassavetes. “You don’t watch this film. You endure it.”

As Zach, his eyes red-rimmed from bong rips, not tears, is shuttled between party dens and wealthy homes, he’s given several chances to escape. He’s even revealed to be a Tae Kwan Do blackbelt who can jokingly flip his captor-buddy Frankie (Justin Timberlake) into a bathtub. But Zach stays put—he doesn’t want to get his big brother Jake (Ben Foster) in more trouble, not realizing that Johnny is too busy making nervous phone calls to his lawyer and his aggro father Sonny (Bruce Willis) to get around to asking Jake for the $1200 in ransom money.

Zach’s death is disorienting, almost as if Psycho's Marion Crane got murdered in the second-to-last reel. In a minivan en route to his execution, he innocently tells Frankie he wants learn to play guitar. “It bugs me that I don’t know how to do anything,” he sighs. Meanwhile Johnny assures his dad that there’s no need to call off the killing. “These guys are such fuck-ups, nothing's gonna happen,” he shrugs, a rare example of cross-cutting that defuses tension in order to make the shock of the gunfire even worse. Up until the last second—even after Frankie binds him with duct tape—a sobbing Zach still can’t believe Frankie would hurt him, and honestly, Frankie can’t believe it himself. And Yelchin’s own early death makes you ache for him to get a happy ending, which Cassavetes dangles just out of reach.

This is how evil happens, says Cassavetes. Masterminds are rare. Instead, people like Frankie can be basically good, but can also be panicky and passive and selfish. Shoving Zach in Johnny’s van was an idiotic impulse by upper middle-class kids, who flipped out when they realized the snatching could get them a lifetime sentence. There’s no honor or glory in the violence. Johnny, the cowardly ringleader, talks tough, but orders his most craven friend, Elvis (Shawn Hatosy), to pull the trigger while he and his girlfriend Angela (Olivia Wilde) get drunk on margaritas. And after the murder, one side effect is that Johnny can’t get an erection. When Angela tries to get Johnny in the mood in their hideout motel, the walls close in on him, suffocating the mood.

Away from his boys, Johnny is weak. Surrounded by them, he's the king. Alpha Dog sets up a culture of animalistic dominance. Johnny’s rental house is basically a primate cage at the zoo, only decorated with weight benches and Scarface posters. All of Johnny’s boys jockey to be his favorite and tear each other down in order to bump up their own rank. Kindness is weakness. When a fellow dealer with the ridiculous nickname Bobby 911 cruises by to negotiate a sale, he snarls at a guy who vouches for him: “You don’t need to tell him I’m good for it, man!”

Elvis, the future shooter, is the lowest member of the pack. He can’t ease into the group without Johnny ordering him to go pick up his pit-bull's poop in the backyard. Why do they pick on Elvis? He owes Johnny a bit of money, but the source of the scorn is simply group think. No one wants to be nice to the outcast, and Elvis is just too sincere to be taken seriously. When Elvis offers to get Johnny a beer, the guys tease him for being in love with Johnny. When he says sure, he does care about Johnny, they twist words into a gay panic joke. Elvis can’t win—they won’t let him—so he literally kills to prove his worth, and winds up sentenced to death row, where the real boy, just 21 at the time of the shooting, remains today. Another life wasted.

Cassavetes humanizes the killers because he wants us to understand how their micro decisions add up to murder. Not just the gunmen. Everyone’s a little to blame. The kids who got drunk with “Stolen Boy” and didn’t call the police. The girls who told Zach that being kidnapped made him sexy. Even Zach’s older step-brother Jake, an addict with a twitchy temper who escalates his war with Johnny to a fatal breaking point. Neither boy will back down over a $1200 debt, and there’s an awful split screen call when Johnny dials Jake intending to bring Zach home, but Jake is so boiling over with anger, his Bugs Bunny voice shrieking with outrage, that Johnny just hangs up the phone.

The opening credits, a montage of the cast’s own old home videos, underline that these were young and happy children—the kind of kids people point to as examples of the suburban American ideal. Over a treacly cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” we watch these real life boys being cultured to be brave: riding bikes, falling off dive-boards, running around with toy guns, going through the rituals of young manhood, from bar mitzvahs to karate lessons. Yelchin—recognizably dark-eyed and solemn even as a toddler—grins wearing plastic vampire teeth.

It takes another ten minutes for Yelchin’s character to sneak into the film sideways in a profile shot eating dinner with his parents, played by Sharon Stone and David Thornton. His Zach is barely even visible as brash Jake barges into the scene to beg for money. They say no, Jake stomps out, and Zach finally makes himself seen when he runs after his brother, begging to go anywhere less suffocating. Zach’s mom loves him so much that she watches him sleep. “I’m not fucking eight!” he yelps. He’s 15—practically a man, in his own imagination—and desperate to get away, even if it means mimicking Jake, a Jewish kid who’s so scrambled that he has a Hebrew tattoo on his clavicle and a swastika inked on his back. Jake starts to say that he wishes his own mom cared about him that much, but as soon as he gets vulnerable, he spins the moment into a joke. “Boo for me,” Jake grins, and takes another swig of beer.

“You could say it’s about drugs or guns or disaffected youth, but this whole thing is about parenting,” grunts Bruce Willis’ Sonny Truelove. “It’s about taking care of your children. You take care of yours, I take care of mine.” He’s half-right—his parenting is half to blame. Sonny and his best friend Cosmo (Harry Dean Stanton) taught Johnny to bully his friends. Cosmo, looking haggard and hollow, mocks Johnny for having one girlfriend. “You gotta plow some fucking fields,” he bellows. “Men are not supposed to be monopolous!” Not that “monopolous” is a real word, and not that Cosmo fends off women himself, except in his own big talk.

Cosmo and Sonny’s own posturing gradually emerges as being more dangerous than Johnny’s because it's more integrated into society. They’re the type of creeps who rewrite the rulebook to suit them, and attack journalists who try to tell the truth. When a fictitious documentarian asks Sonny about his son's drug connections, the father shrugs, “Did he sell a little weed? Sure.” But when the interviewer presses him further, Sonny snaps, “I’m a taxpayer and I’m a citizen and you are a jerk-off.”

Cassavetes, of course, understands growing up with a father who left a giant footprint to fill. His father, John Cassavetes, the writer-director of Shadows and Faces and A Woman Under the Influence, was one of the major pioneers of independent cinema. He died when Nick was 30, before his son attempted to take up his legacy. “We never really talked film theory,” said Cassavetes. “My experience with my dad was more along the lines of how to be a man, how to be yourself, how to free yourself from what society tells you to do, how to release yourself as an artist.”

It makes sense that Cassavetes would make his own ambitious, and maddeningly singular film. And perhaps it even makes sense to him that fate has yet to give him the reward he’s earned. Alpha Dog deserves to be acknowledged as one of the most incisive examinations of machismo and the banality of evil. But like his fumbling criminals, he knows he’s not really in charge of his life. Admitted Cassavetes, “I'm not smart enough to really have a master plan for my career.”

#alpha dog #alpha dog movie #nick cassavetes #john cassavetes #justin timberlake #emile hirsch #ben foster #amanda seyfried #olivia wilde #Nicholas Markowitz #Bruce Willis #Harry Dean Stanton #Oscilloscope Laboratories #O-Scope #musings #film writing

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bts-svt-mx · 6 years

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Maid For You (Part 2) Taehyung x Reader

Author: bts-svt-mx

Taehyung x Reader

Jungkook x Reader

Rating: Fluff, M, eventual smut if i get to it lol

Tags: Slow burn, Enemies to Lovers AU, Idol! Taehyung, Taehyung x Reader, Jungkook x Reader, Hoseok, mentions of other members

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (M), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Word Count: 2,000

Description: Wanting to get out of your parents house and experience what the world had to offer is way more expensive than people tell you it will be. So when your glamorous “manager to the stars” cousin Hoseok hooks you up with a job as the live-in maid for a hillside, massive mansion, you feel as though life might actually be looking up. That is until the mansion’s absentee high profile celebrity owner surprises you by moving back in leaving you to wonder if this mansion is big enough for you and his huge ego.

“Not that I’m not enjoying the show… but may I ask,” Kim Taehyung, Grammy winning world famous pop star, looks you up and down as his features twist into something more stern, angry even. “Who are you and what are you doing in my house?”

You were going to kill Hoseok.

Chapter 2:

They say to never meet your idols, and after today, you think you know why.

There you are, in front of one of your favorite singers in the whole world and all you can do is stand there looking like a cat caught with his hand in the fishbowl.

The utter look of displeasure plastered on his face made you feel uneasy. You can’t help but stare blankly at him taking in his rude tone of voice.

Is this real? Have the chemicals just gotten to your head? You thought you had read the labels and made sure they were safe but you probably should have opened up a window or- “Hello?” Snap, snap, snap. Kim Taehyung’s hand is now directly in front of your face snapping repeatedly. “What, are you suddenly mute now?” He scoffs moving out of your immediate personal space once again.

Curse your awkward staring. You always knew you had a bad habit of staring off into space. And today that space just happened to be occupied by your favorite idol in the world. “Y-you hired me.” It comes out kind of like a squeak but you speak up again, voice a little shaky from the surprise he just gave you. “I’m Y/N…” His face is still blank. Zero recognition going through his brain. “The live in maid...” You continue. Shouldn’t he know who he hired to take care of his home? Or at least know your name if he didn’t know your face? This whole situation is so awkward. You were in your pajamas still for goodness sake!

You blame stupid Hoseok.

Taehyung’s stare that once made your knees weak a year ago makes your stomach settle weirdly now that it’s actually directed towards you. He’s like a photograph come to life. A beautiful, rude picture. God, why did he have to open up his mouth and ruin it?

“I didn’t hire you.” Taehyung spits. “My manager did.” He leisurely walks around the room picking up random things and analyzing them. It’s odd. He looks as though he’s never seen this place before. He looks... out of place.

“Just like he does everything without my permission,” he mumbles, almost as an afterthought. Looking over to you, a slight smirk creeps over his once unreadable expression. “And where did he find you? Craigslist?”

Your jaw literally drops. How dare he ask you a question like that? You would think he’d be a little bit more considerate since you’re pretty much strangers. Obviously he doesn’t know his basic manners or how to be a decent person for that matter.

If there’s one thing you hate, it’s blatant rudeness. It’s like a light switch. 0 to 100. Your blood begins to boil.

It’s official, you’re pissed.

Well this is definitely not what you always imagined meeting him would be like. More like you imagined you’d run into him on the side of the street, him knocking you over. And he’d catch you before falling to the ground, look into your eyes and- well.. that fantasy popped like a pink bubblegum bubble stretched too far. The initial shock and excitement of coming face to face with your favorite idol had subsided and now you were just angry at his disrespect and quite frankly, kind of offended for Hoseok’s sake too.

He’s back on the other side of the kitchen, analyzing a red and olive colored ceramic rooster and for a moment, you think you see a look of relief and soft eyes before he picks up a similar ceramic frog next to it and cringes at it’s ugly yellow/green color. There he is, looking so nonchalant, not even caring how blunt he is being in the moment. Not even caring how his words might hurt you.

Standing up straighter you find your voice again. You don’t care who he is. You weren’t going to take this disrespect from him. “Your house would have looked like the Haunted Mansion by now if it wasn’t for me cleaning this massive place while you were out for months wasting money and partying it up in a different country every day.”

His gaze quickly snaps back to you, surprise reflecting in his face from your more than un-lady like tone of voice. What? So he can talk to you like you’re nothing but you can’t do the same back to him?

“And Hoseok’s a good man,” you continue. “He works his ass off to make sure you’re happy every day which I’m sure can’t be an easy job.”

It’s true. Hoseok can’t really talk about his clients but he does tell you about how exhausted they make him. Hoseok never really lets it get to him though and you know he bounces back quickly, but still. No one disrespects your family like that.

“So who are you to blame him for hiring a damn housekeeper for you while you’re away?” you sputter out quickly. Woah Y/N. Where did all of this aggression come from? He had only really said 3 or 4 things to you. Granted, every one of those things was something insulting. Your confidence began to falter again. His hard gaze on you was making you self conscious. Tearing your eyes away from his for the first time, you look down and toy with the hem of your Mickey Mouse pajama shirt.

Wait, no. Look up again Y/N, you can’t give him the feeling he’s winning here.

“And who are you to make me feel like I’m the one intruding here?” You add, trying to fake more confidence. Voice raising to a yell. “You know nothing about me or this house. You look like you’ve never even seen this place before!”

Your own words hit your ears with a boom as they bounce off of the marble walls. Shit.. that was probably too far. Ugh. Why can’t you ever keep your mouth shut? You were so going to be fired after this. Goodbye to the freedom of the city, hello Mom and Dad’s house. Again.

Using both of his hands to push himself off of the edge of the countertop he’s leaning on, he scoffs. Expression once again unreadable. A closed book with no title.

“Of course I know you,” He speaks, eyes narrowing.

Slowly, he makes his way over to the refrigerator where you stand. You don’t know how, but he’s clearly taken back the control in this conversation.

Suddenly you feel small again. Obviously he isn’t used to being questioned and you just had to go ahead and run your mouth.

“You’re just another fangirl desperately pulling any strings she can to get close to me.” He explains laughing slightly, but devoid of any real humor. It’s at this point you realize how tall and broad he is. Towering over you in the physical sense and also in the metaphorical sense. Closer and closer he walks. Suffocating you like a snake coiling around its prey.

His lips curl into a condescending smirk as he places his hand flat against the freezer door effectively trapping you in. “What? Do you actually believe in your insane, obsessed mind that you would have a chance with me if you got close to me?” His eyes scan your face, assessing just how much his words are affecting you. There’s hatred in his voice. Though for you or for himself, you’re not quite sure.

His face is so close. You could feel his breath on your cheek. Surprisingly very minty with a hint of jasmine, you think. And his cologne… Not too overwhelming but definitely distinct enough where you were certain you’d be able to pick it out anywhere from now on. It melted through the air, wrapping around you slowly until it was all that you could focus on.

Woah... it was really messing with your brain.

His other hand reaches out to move a strand of your hair that had fallen out of your bun while dancing just a few moments ago. Effectively ripping you out of your former lifestyle being the pseudo owner of this huge mansion and thrusting you into your reality of being a full time maid.

Because really, that was all you were.

Sure, you had your fun living in this house by yourself with all the freedom in the world at your fingertips. But did you expect it to last forever?

You don’t want it to, but your heart chooses this moment to start beating like it’s about to pop out of your chest. The look he’s giving you right now.. you know it well. And you’re sure it’s the one he uses to get any girl he wants, whenever he wants.

The only thing connecting the two of you physically is his fingers threaded around the strand of your hair. You might as well have been fully pressed against each other with the amount of heat you feel creeping up inside of you. And though you don’t really want to admit it, you have to physically restrain yourself from pushing yourself into him by gripping firmly onto the refrigerator door handle behind you.

“Well, you are quite pretty,” You didn’t know it was possible but his voice drops to an even lower octave. Vibrating through your chest as he speaks.

He’s considering his next words carefully. Gaze following the lines of your face. Eyes meeting eyes, moving across the map of your face to your nose, your reddened cheeks, then finally landing on your lips.

“Maybe if you don’t turn out to be a complete psycho I might actually fuck you.” His eyes dark, smirk still plastered on his face. “You know, to get you out of my way and save us both some time.”

What you thought was your heart about to burst out of your chest turned out to be a fit of laughter causing Taehyung to recoil quickly, pulling his hands from the side of your head and away from your hair out of surprise. His face contorting into something of a mix between confusion and disgust as you cackled in his face. You almost couldn’t get your next sentence out as you doubled over laughing.

“See...” More laughing. Any feelings of lust caused by his entrancing scent now replaced with amusement in an instant. “That’s where you’re wrong,” Even more laughing. Wow, it’s been a while since you laughed this much.

“I could give less of a fuck about who you are.” You say mocking his vulgar word choice. A few more giggles leaving your lips. Okay, it was a lie. You’ll admit that. The you of last year would have been freaking out about who was in front of the present day you right now. But the situation you were in is just so ironic! You had dreamed about meeting Taehyung for a couple of years now and now that it has actually happened, it’s so completely the opposite of what you had always played out in your head that it was almost… well, yeah actually it was just hilarious.

Who would've thought the world’s sweetheart would be such a complete and total douchebag?

“Hoseok didn’t even tell me who owned this place.” You tried to catch your breath as the giggles finally subsided. “I just needed easy money and a place to sleep. Hell, I don’t even know what you do for a living!” Okay, that’s another lie but honestly, who really cares at this point. Clearly the respect and love for him you had before was just of the image he portrayed to the media.

That was not the man standing in front of you right now. And it made you more than a little angry. What’s a little white lie at this point when he’s been lying to the whole world for who knows how long?

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” You push yourself away from in front of the refrigerator putting the mop in the small cleaning supply closet a few steps away. Taehyung hasn’t moved an inch. Now it’s his turn to be speechless. “I have a job to continue doing seeing as I’m the main person making sure your house doesn’t end up looking like an abandoned dump with all the dust the piling up from no one EVER USING ANYTHING HERE,” You practically scream the last part in his direction, words reverberating off the walls once again as you turn swiftly on your heel to head rather quickly to your room on the West side of the mansion.

You had a phone call to make.

<-- Previous Chapter | Next Chapter -->

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straykatfish · 5 years

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Where can you see Banksy, Damien Hurst, Grayson Perry, Sir Peter Blake, Bob Dylan, Ronnie Wood, and Billy Connolly originals within a few yards of each other in right-on-the-street galleries? Yesterday*, a friend and I went to Brighton.

*Yesterday is now several weeks ago, life having got between me and this write-up.

Castle Fine Art Gallery

Castle Fine Art is right slap bang in the middle of Brighton near The Lanes, and my goodness I had not expected to see so many originals by ‘names’ from both art and show business. First though were these metal sculptures, each of them different and but one based on the Michelangelo painting ‘Creation of Adam’ c. 1511. By Dan Lane, this one – Modern Relic Arms | Creation of Man – is intricately embellished and looks like the metal or burnished leather of protective armoury. They seem almost wearable.

I found these less attractive, rather saccharine in fact.

I am not really a fan of celebrity-based art, so much of it seems essentially derivative and harking back to those Marilyn Monroe prints by Andy Warhol. Those were nearly sixty years ago, these feel like 21st century children dressed in the same clothes as their great grandparents. There were plenty of them so presumably they sell.

I have no idea what this represents – the ascent of man atop a corkscrew? The title is Devolution and so I am assuming a reference to the impact of alcohol. Perhaps the final figure, swigging from the bottle, is about to fall off the edge.

These are also by Nic Joly who seems to be a statements man. I was interested at first in the ‘shop window’ presentation – the piece of art sitting on a platform behind glass as though it would be taken out and wrapped separately for sale. It’s usually the little item in the window you buy, not the shop or its window.

Astonishingly, these are by Bob Dylan who took to illustrating his own songs. Seeing these first, I rather wished he hadn’t. The paintings, on an adjacent wall, I thought were redemptive.

I am a sucker for some drama in colour, and I’m coming to realise that I also favour broad horizons and associated horizontals in landscapes. I believe this comes from watching The Bridge where the production values ran to extraordinarily cinematographic visuals.

This painting is full of difficult perspectives and planes – the foreground is more or less straight on, the bridge runs from a high close left to a low distant right, and the clouds head very slightly along the other diagonal. So much trouble to get into, making those convincing.

And here’s another with all kinds of tilts and diagonals, all of them ending in a focal point behind the white building which is the only element (almost) straight on vertical and horizontal.

I hadn’t noticed at the time but Dylan must really have a thing about bridges. This one links two tall and intimidating buildings made less so by being quite jauntily coloured.

Sometimes when I look at something, my first thought is that it’s a cheap shot – fur coat and no knickers, as the phrase went in my northern upbringing. It meant all show with nothing substantial underneath although it sometimes seemed to have a more literal application. This is one of those; an original-ish idea with an original-ish execution, and a wholly unoriginal message. Even the artist’s name is a cover – Alex Echo? Really?

These, on the left, are by Paul Kenton who uses an aluminium base for his work – something that was a bit of a theme in a number of other galleries. Aluminium is this season’s go-to support which suggests that using it next year may not be a good move. As for these, again the magpie in me was attracted to the colours while my inner beginner artist fretted over the perspectives I struggle with.

The gallery was very accomodating with regard to photographing their exhibition. The only exclusion was Ronnie Wood’s work, Wood having placed that constraint in the contract. When I asked out of curiosity why that was, the reason seemed to be related to the layers in the works that would not photograph well by visitors, especially through glass, and looking carefully at these elements, I could see his point. There are patches and squares in the mix, textures and scrubbings of colour that would not resolve easily under the casual lens. I don’t know how he made the images and neither did the person I asked. I also don’t know how to judge them. I liked them but are they ‘good’? And by what standard? Would they have achieved prominence if Ronnie Wood had never been a Rolling Stone? Big questions.

Kellie Miller Gallery

No photography was allowed in this gallery, other than of the 3D (ceramic) pieces which I didn’t find very interesting.

There were some intriguing pieces which appeared to be digital/photographic although the artist had said they were neither. There were no clues as to what the artist’s method might be but if I were to set an anchor point, it would be the colours, size, and orientation of the Kenton pieces above. These are far less direct though; with elements emerging from shadows and shapes resolving only on close inspection. There is a hint of collage but no real indication of that additional slight depth or texture. Perhaps he made these items physically and then printed them so that all the tiny bumps were ironed out. I realise now, too late, that being unable to take a photo means I should take a note, at least of the artist’s name, and I didn’t. When I go back to a new exhibition, I will remind myself that notes were what we made before we made Facebook posts.

The exhibits in a nearby gallery were very varied with some, I thought, verging on the amateur. I’m aware of taking a judgmental stance here that has an unedifying strand of superior attitude beneath it. It requires some thought to recognise that, like fiction, it’s possible to recognise something of quality (although how I judge that is a mystery to me) that I may not like, and to like something that I regard as being targeted at ‘the popular market’. Snobbery? Maybe, but creative products are all judged and the measures we use differ according to our understanding, experience, and motivations. As with Ronnie Wood’s work, I wonder if some accrue value because they have a name while other – better? – works are passed over due to their lack of profile.

These pieces seemed to me to be appealing to a less savvy – some might argue, a less easily fooled – audience. Wall pictures in nice colours that could seem sophisticated. That said, I would be delighted to have something hanging in there because I can be as hypocritical as anyone else with a product to shift.

Art Republic

Art Republic is a different matter altogether and without knowing whose work was on show, I immediately felt that here, quality took precedence. The Brighton branch is in Bond Street which is again in the Lanes, and just inside the doors were original pieces by Banksy, Peter Blake, Damien Hirst, and Grayson Perry. This is a street. In a town centre. You just walk in. To say I was taken aback is putting it mildly.

Peter Blake, I think, and while it’s easy to dismiss as ‘just’ alphabet bricks in primary colours, these are designed bricks carefully assembled and mounted in an impactful array. I gather they could be purchased separately.

I have no idea who made these but the first struck me for its Hockney-ish colours and subject matter, it’s 1960s Hollywood gloss, and the feel it has of an advert for the aspirational lifestyle. Americans had walk-in fridges before we had fridges at all, we saw them in TV shows while we kept our milk, butter, and cheese in a larder under cloth covers. These were different worlds.

The one beneath is striking for very different reasons – the metallic appearance of the dogs, the stark singular images on the dark ground, the lead of one being held by the other. But look, the one whose lead is being held als has hold of it, and her ears are up, she looks assertive and in control. The other, still holding the far end of the lead, has her ears down and seems to be considering whether or not she has the power over the other dog that she’d imagined. But their coat patterns are flowers; are the dogs are decorative? Statement dogs left to look after each other?

These were being unwrapped when we visited and even though I was given permission to take a photograph them, I decided on an angular shot to defeat plagiarists. This artist – and here we are again, anonymous due to my note-taking deficiencies – places modernistic features in classical style so here are people who seem to come from a film poster but with Brighton pier in the background and cherubic forms in the sky. He also adds dabs of gold colour onto the prints as a final touch. Here, it’s highlighting chips being stolen by Brighton’s ubiquitous and opinionated sea gulls.

Top: Grayson Perry’s detailed, line-based, ambiguous naked figure in a domestic setting full of clutter. It’s like a cartoon; one of those where you have to find the five baskets or ten pieces of fruit. I’m not certain, but it may have become one of the tapestries he produced for a TV documentary a while ago.

By Ian Davenport, this attracted me because it seemed to be taking the mick out of Hirst spots. I have no idea if that’s true, but I like to think there was a subversive plot afoot here. I also like the randomness of the drips and dribbles, to me far preferable to Hirst’s dotted regularity.

Joe Webb’s Transmission shows two lads, looking like young Bowies, using the tin-can-and-string method of communication so many of us thought we’d invented as 1950s kids. Who knew that within our lifetimes we would be watching men walk on the moon and, right now, the Mars 2020 rover being built and live-streamed from NASA’s clean room. This image makes that point, I think.

I asked the gallery staff about this and the use by the artist of Banksy’s images in this piece which is actually an expanded folding card. It seems he, Patrick Hughes, knew or worked with a mentor to the group known now as the Young British Artists (YBAs) at Goldsmiths college, who then approached Banksy for permission. I should have asked then if anyone could confirm Banksy is male. There can be no better disguise than everyday sexism – who pays any attention to a woman scoping out suitable walls to paint on?

Damien Hirst: in contrast to his spots and dots but clearly along similar lines, this depiction of drugs – pills and capsules – all in black and sitting on glass shelves as if they were shoes on display in a shop seems to point to a commodifying of illness. As a piece of imagery, I think the perspectives and tilted lines, the effect making the mirrored images more prominent lower in the picture and doubling the quantity of pills, has a dramatic effect. I was drawn to it without knowing whose it was, which tells me something about judgment and the internal wrestling that goes on for me about quality versus market price. I saw quality here before I saw market value in a name.

What to say about Soozy Lipsey’s Dead Mice Bunch! For me it was an antidote to some of the more saccharine floral images I had seen in galleries elsewhere, and as a bonus has a skillful combination of line, texture, and a simple limited palette. I might have been tempted to buy that.

Yep, that’s our man – or woman!

By Euan Roberts, I’m really not sure what this is about but it seems to be saying something about being simultaneously trapped and not in need of assistance – the moon waving not drowning? Who knows, but it has the clean look of a postcard you might write a cryptic message on the back of and send to a knowing friend.

Peter Blake reprising his Sgt Pepper format. At the top is BBC1, and the bottom BBC2. They look like a point in time of popular programming.

Unfortunately, even with zoom I can’t make out the name of the artist but in fact what had intrigued me was the application of colour: the scratches and runs held together by one or two precise marks that contain them. When I can’t get these colours myself, it’s helpful to know that some, like Klimt, use gold leaf.

Magnus Gjoen: The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape. These look like a form of applique but the artist doesn’t give his technique away. There’s the Victoriana/modern warfare juxtaposition and also, as the title suggests, the knowledge we all have that big money often drives wars. If you are a maker of arms, they will please you when another power likes the look and buys them from you.

I think the card on these top pieces reads Dan Hillier. Photographic, Pythonesque, surreal, with striking diagonals of negative space. I don’t know if they’re drawn, or if they are whether they’re physical or digital but there is an intricacy of pattern and the two together make a separate composition. You would have to have both.

There were other galleries but none that offered the qualities of the ones I have described here. There are many more; Brighton has modern and traditional within walking distance of each other and interspersed with as many coffee shops and restaurants as you can manage. My plan is to visit Kellie Miller and Art Republic again soon, plus some of the ones we didn’t have time for, including the Pavilion which I last visited ‘back when god were a lad’.

Brighton of course, is a gallery in itself.

Footnote: at every gallery I asked about their photography policy before looking at any of the exhibits. Without exception, they were accommodating and clear. Only one had an exclusion and that was on the artist’s instruction.

Brighton galleries Where can you see Banksy, Damien Hurst, Grayson Perry, Sir Peter Blake, Bob Dylan, Ronnie Wood, and Billy Connolly originals within a few yards of each other in right-on-the-street galleries?

#Art Republic #brighton

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loveaningenue · 7 years

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Hiddleswift Timeline 2016

The biggest fauxmance of 2016? As bad as Tayvin was, this was worse in terms of fakeness (IMO, but both were really fake). It’s fun to see how people actually believed in their relationship, but here we are, on Tumblr, where people believed not too long ago that they were still together. Enjoy this short timeline (and analysis)!

(More pictures are visible on the links that are on the dates. + I’ll add extra pictures later).

May 3, 2016: Taylor and Tom dance together at the 2016 Met Gala.

May 16, 2016: Tom answers question about her in an MTV interview. (”How was dancing with Tay Swift? I sat next time to her at dinner that night, and she was very charming. I mean, I've seen a couple of her videos, and I think, I remember 'Shake It Off' was released around the time we made I Saw the Light. She's very cool, yeah.” “Would you be up for a duet? I don't know that I could stand up to her vocal talents, to be honest. That's what she does. She's a professional musician and I'm an actor. We'll see. You never know. But I'm pretty sure we won't do it.")

(June 1, 2016: Taylor and Calvin Harris break up)

June 15, 2016: Taylor and Tom are photographed together in Rhode Island which is quite funny because there aren’t paparazzi’s in RI, except if you call them...

June 16, 2016: Taylor and Tom are seen boarding her private jet in RI. Might I remind you of the airport they were seen in was the Groton airport in Connecticut.

June 21, 2016: Taylor brings Tom with her at Selena’s concert in Nashville. Tom is mocked for dancing like a dad by the media. There aren’t any paps in Nashville usually, so seeing these made a lot of people raise their eyesbrows again.

June 23, 2016: Taylor and Tom go on a date in Nashville with Holly Williams and her husband.

June 25, 2016: Taylor visits Tom’s family in Suffolk, England. The paps suddenly appear in an English county that is quite unknown to the general public.

June 26, 2016: Taylor continues her visit in England. She meets Tom’s mom just 10 days after their relationship began.

June 27, 2016: Taylor and Tom visit Rome, Italy. It was a super low-key trip because they went to the Colosseum, a very unpopular touristic place in Italy.

June 28, 2016: Taylor and Tom have breakfast together at a cafe in Rome. Tom was acting really well here.

June 29, 2016: Taylor and Tom visit yet another unknown place in Rome, this time, they go to the Vatican. They also eat at Piazza Navona and go on a helicopter ride.

July 3-4, 2016: Taylor has her annual Fourth of July party and Tom gets the honour to wear an I ♥ TS shirt, later to be ridiculed by it.

July 7, 2016: Taylor and Tom fly to Australia where Thor: Ragnarok is being filmed.

July 10, 2016: Tom refuses to answer question about Taylor in Autralia (How is Taylor enjoying the beautiful Gold Coast? I'm not going to answer that, if it's all right.).

July 11, 2016: Taylor, Tom and eight bodyguards dine at Gemelli's Italian in Queensland, Australia.

July 14, 2016: Taylor, Tom, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and others watch Ghostbusters at the movie theater.

An interview with Tom by Hollywood Reporter is later released (You're in the middle of a cultural frenzy right now because you're dating Taylor Swift. How would you respond to people who claim that you're involved in some sort of publicity stunt? (Laughs.) Well, um. How best to put this? That notion is — look, the truth is that Taylor Swift and I are together, and we're very happy. Thanks for asking. That's the truth. It's not a publicity stunt. ) He mentions Taylor as Taylor Swift, as her boyfriend of one month, you expect them to say Taylor, but Tom just couldn’t say it. The fact that he had to state that it wasn’t a publicity stunt is 👌.

July 22, 2016: Taylor and Tom are papped in LA.

July 25, 2016: Tom gets questioned about Taylor at Comic Con and answers.

July 27, 2016: Taylor and Tom eat at Hillstone restaurant in Santa Monica.

August 12, 2016: Tom follows Taylor on Instagram and an interview by the Hollywood Reporter and answers a question about Taylor.

August 13, 2016: He’s later papped boarding Taylor’s private jet in Burbank airport (where the paps were called to take pictures of him at a very secured airport).

September 6, 2016: Taylor and Tom break up.

After the Break-Up

February 8, 2016: Tom talks about Taylor in his GQ interview.

[...] “Taylor is an amazing woman,” reads the prepared statement Tom Hiddleston has memorized and is now giving me at The Bull & Last, where his voice has gone low. “She’s generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time.” But I didn’t ask that, I say. I asked something else. So I wait, and he says, “Of course it was real.”

I ask if he wants to say anything about Australia, about the Fourth of July party at which he donned that fateful tank top, about the rumors that she thought he was too eager. Does he want to say anything about any of it? And here he puts down his fork, a bite of my steak still on it. He looks off into the middle distance, and here is what he says:

“The truth is, it was the Fourth of July and a public holiday and we were playing a game and I slipped and hurt my back. And I wanted to protect the graze from the sun and said, ’Does anyone have a T-shirt?’ And one of her friends said, ’I’ve got this.’ The friend pulled out the “I ♥ T.S.” tank top that Taylor’s friends are contractually obligated to own. “And we all laughed about it. It was a joke.”

So that’s his statement on the entire relationship: an explanation of the tank top. “It was a joke,” he repeats. “Among friends.”

I can vouch for this depiction of Tom Hiddleston. He is definitely, without a doubt, someone who would put on an “I ♥ T.S.” tank top, both to protect a scratch from sun damage and to make his new friends laugh while th—wait, sorry, he’s still talking:

“I have to be so psychologically strong about not letting other people’s interpretations about my life affect my life. A relationship exists between two people. We will always know what it was. The narratives that are out there altogether have been extrapolated from pictures that were taken without consent or permission, with no context. Nobody had the context for that story. And I’m still trying to work out a way of having a personal life and protecting it, but also without hiding. So the hardest thing is that that was a joke among friends on the Fourth of July.”

He still isn’t looking at me. The last piece of my steak is now poised on his fork in mid-air. He is so sad, and I can’t take it anymore, so I put my hand on his and I say, “Tom, Tom, it’s okay. You don’t have to talk about the tank top anymore. I got it. I understand. I’ll tell the world.” But he can’t stop talking about it. He literally cannot stop talking about it.

“I don’t know,” he says. “I just, I was surprised. I was just surprised that it got so much attention. The tank top became an emblem of this thing.” It’s hard to tell me this, he says. He wants to trust me. He wants to trust that the world won’t use this to embarrass him again, but he doesn’t know. He just knows it will follow him until he talks about it. [...]

General Conclusion A failed PR stunt that only Taylor benefited little from. At least, compared to Calvin, Tom was nice and a decent human being. Probably sounded great at first, as if nothing could go wrong (Taylor Swift dating and British actor), but the acting was over the top and too many paps were called. The media didn’t believe much in it, having various articles about it being PR, but they were still a lot of positive stories about them. The general public could easily tell it was PR, so only the Swifties really believed in it.

Swiftie Side Tom was the nice Englishman that danced with Taylor at the Met Gala in May 2016. Right after her terrible breakup with Calvin Harris, she was spotted kissing Tom in RI and the rest of the summer was a wonderful world tour, from Nashville to England to Italy and to Australia. Taylor, not ready for another serious relationship, decided to break things off with him just a month after their trip to Australia.

Another theory about them was that they either never broke up and were dating secretly (or that they did break up, but got back together quickly after). Some fans believed it when Tom was working in LA while Taylor was there as well. Though it was said by Tom that he was single and the theories were proved to be wrong.

PR Side Taylor had no new music to promote, but she had Kimye to deal with. The perfect way to hide the bad press was by stunting with Tom. Tom wasn’t known in North America and a relationship with Taylor surely upped his profile.

N.B. Taylor was still allegedly with Karlie at this point, so it was PR and bearding. Tom is rumoured to be gay, but since I don’t follow Tom, I can’t confirm this.

How It Went Down (Overview of the Timeline) Taylor and Calvin broke up June 1, 2016.

June 15, Taylor and Tom were spotted in RI together and the media was all over it, overlooking Kim’s negative comments on Taylor.

Taylor brought Tom to Nashville where they went to Selena’s concert and danced together. Tom was completely ridiculed for his dancing and looking like he could be Taylor’s father.

They continued their romance to Suffolk where Taylor met Tom’s family. Talk about moving too fast.

Then they went on what the media called a private vacation in Rome, Italy. Spotted kissing, taking pictures, and eating together, everything felt forced.

Tom even brought Taylor to Australia, where he was filming the new Thor movie, but not too long after, Kim released a series of snapchats of Taylor and Kanye’s phone conversation about Famous, Kanye’s controversial song.

Nothing going well for Taylor, her and Tom were reducing their pap pictures and ceased them in August, though Tom was seen boarding one of her private jets. In early September, it was publicly announced in the media that they broke up.

My Thoughts Hiddleswift is what I like to call a failed fauxmance and possibly one of Taylor’s worse one. In my first post, I said that it was the first time I looked at the pictures could say it was fake.

I barely knew Tom before and I feel bad for the embarrassment he got from the stunt. For now, he’ll be known as Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend. I hope he can get out of that title. This is a situation in which saying “was it worth it?” just fits perfectly (“if the high was worth the pain”??) (for Tom: “Grab your passport and my hand”). At least he got what he wanted, exposure in the US.

I could only hope that this is the last PR stunt that Taylor does, but I highly doubt it will (a girl can dream).

The Aftermath (will be updated) Tom tried to find an excuse for his I ❤️ TS shirt which caused him a lot of humiliation on the Internet, but it failed because no one cared. He said many positive things about her in his GQ interview (see quotes👆) but now refuses to answer questions about her.

Pretty sure there are other timelines about them, but I think this is the most completed one (Larrienation stopped when they arrived in Australia, but she has a pretty good post about them that is linked in my 2016: The Bearding Timeline).

#Hiddleswift #Last post before my break #PR Stunt #Bearding #Timeline

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fanficsofmine · 7 years

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New Girl - Suho Fluff One Shot

A/N: I’m so close to finishing Fight Club Chapter 4. I promise it’s coming. I wanted to put out something though, so here’s a blurb. (Feel free to check the Masterlist to read Chapters 1, 2, and 3, while you wait though!)

I always figured Junmyeon would be the most open to dating a girl with a kid, so here’s my take on that!

Also, holy crap! Thank you for the jump in followers lately! You all are the best.

“Paxton! C'mon buddy! We’re going to be late!”

I yelled up the stairs to my son, who came barreling down, making much more of a ruckus than any four year old should be able to make. It sounded like multiple bowling balls bouncing boisterously and heading straight for me. He hopped off of the last step, posing proudly for dressing himself.

"How do I look, mommy?“ He was grinning widely as he stood with his hands on his hips. He had put on a pair of jeans and his favorite red t-shirt that had a robot on it. He had put red socks on to match.

"You look awesome, bud, except… your shoes are on the wrong feet.” I chuckled as I knelt down to help him fix his error.

He sat on the steps and huffed, “I was so close!"

I tussled his hair after re-tying his shoes and told him, "you did great. Now let’s go or you’re going to be late for your first day of your new school!"

After I met his teacher and giving him a good-bye kiss on his cheek, much to his dismay, I headed to work.

We had relocated to the Los Angeles area for my new job. I was going to be working for SM Entertainment at their new offices. I would be working with others to find new trainees and handle contracts and files. I was extremely excited to get hands on with some groups who’s music I was into, and to also possibly assist in creating the next sensation.

When I arrived at the office, I was impressed. It was very modern. All of the furniture was crisp and white. The walls were adorned with modern art that contrasted the blinding white of everything else in the room with huge splashes of color and texture. I approached the front desk and gave my name.

I was paged up to my supervisor’s office, who wasted no time on introductions. Instead, she handed me a stack of files with profiles on new talent in them. After guiding me verbally through the halls to where my office would be, she waved me off without a "welcome to the company,” or even a “goodbye,” as I walked out.

The files were much heavier than I anticipated they would be. I used both hands to hold them and leaned back slightly so that they were able to rest against my chest a bit as I walked for better stability. I did my best to dodge rogue objects and other passers by as I repeated the directions to my office to myself with each turn down the hallways that I took. It was a large building, and I was thankful that my office was at least on the same floor as the one that I had retrieved the files from my boss.

Unfortunately, as I turned a corner slowly, someone else on the other side was in much more of a hurry and did not anticipate my being there. I ran directly into another human being, the files falling out of my arms and across the floor.

“Damn,” I quickly knelt down to sweep the files back in my arms. Luckily, there were only a few loose leaf sheets, so the damage was minimal. I did, however, have a large number of folders to scoop up.

"Yogseol!“ I heard the voice speak Korean at the same time. I was too busy picking up my files to look up, but noticed they also began to help pick up my fallen stack.

"Oh, gomabseubnida,” I started, thankful I had taken the time to learn the basics of the language in case a situation like this had ever arisen. I looked up finally once all of the folders had been retrieved and caught my breath when I realized who I was with.

Kim Junmyeon, Suho of EXO, was standing in front of me. He flashed a smile at me and offered me his hand to help me stand. I felt my face flash red as I accepted his offer.

"I am so sorry,“ he apologized in English, "can I help you carry these?"

"Oh,” I was slightly taken aback at the change of language.

He chuckled and said, “I’ve been learning English for my travels."

"You speak it well. And I would love some help, thank you.” He smiled and followed me back to my office where he laid the files on my desk.

"It’s empty in here,“ he noted. "Ah, today is my first day!"

I must have looked too excited because he chuckled and said,

"I hope you do well,” he then looked at the clock on his phone and continued, “aish, I have a meeting. It was nice to meet you."

He bowed slightly, and turned and walked out of the room. I ran my hands through my hair, flustered and giddy from the interaction.

I let out a loud exhale as I looked around my office. It was small and stark white, like the rest of the building, only minus the art to add some color. I pulled a framed picture of Paxton out of my purse and propped it next to my computer the company provided me. I smiled at my sweet son’s photo and then sat behind the stacks of papers I had.

I opened each one and organized them in categories I thought they all may fit in. I had a pile for solo artists, a separate stack for potential groups I thought may work well together, and, unfortunately, a group of a few that I felt did not show the full potential to be idols.

As I was wrapping up my organization and preparing to type up my proposals for the groups and artists, I heard a knock on my door. A woman with a kind face stood at my entry, holding a large bouquet of flowers.

"Hi! Are you (Y/N)?” She looked at me, eyes wide, an overly excited look on her face.

"Oh! Um, yes, I am!“ I stood up and reached out to shake her hand, but instead, she shoved the flowers in my arms.

"How is it your first day, and you’re already receiving gifts from a member of, arguably, the worlds biggest K-Pop group? You are so lucky! How did you even meet him? We aren’t even supposed to interact with the stars that come in!"

She spoke so fast, I was hardly able to fit a single word in. "What?!” was the only word that I was able to get out due to the sheer shock. I glanced at the card and saw it was signed, “For your first day, (Y/N). Dinner tonight?” followed by a phone number and the name “Junmyeon."

My mouth dropped slightly and I was left speechless.

"I’m Katie, by the way,” the girl at the door then reached out to shake my hand. She told me that she was my office neighbor and that she would be working with me on the new groupings as well. It was relieving to know that this project wouldn’t fall solely on my shoulders on my first day. She went to her office and came back with copies of the same profiles on the potential talent that I had. Like me, she had also already grouped them together.

We had spread everything out on my floor and began comparing our notes when she turned to me and asked, “okay! It’s driving me crazy! How in the hell did you manage to get asked out by Junmyeon?! He’s so dreamy. I’ve heard he’s SO nice! How did he even know your name?! How did he know it was your first day!?"

"I can answer one of those questions,” a voice from behind us said, unexpectedly. We both jumped and turned to see our boss standing there, arms crossed.

"I told him your name when he asked who the ‘pretty new girl,“ was before he would even speak to me about negotiating his contract. I would like to know, however, how he knew that it was your first day, or why you even spoke to him at all.” I could tell that she was painfully unhappy and that I was not making a great first impression on my first day.

I explained the situation of how we ran into one another in the hallway, literally, and how he had helped me back to the office. I made sure to reiterate that he did not linger and we did not have extensive conversation. She sighed, satisfied by my story.

"From now on, please attempt to avoid running into the artists. The last thing that I need is one of them hurt and out of a tour because you were clumsy.“

I nodded and said, "yes ma'am. I’ll be more aware from now on. I’m very sorry."

She accepted my apology and turned to leave. Before she walked out of the door, she added, "you are allowed to accept his invitation, by the way. We prefer to keep our idols happy, even if I am less than thrilled by the circumstances.” And with that she was gone.

Katie faced me, mouth agape, “I can NOT believe that she is giving you permission to go out with him! I thought you were a goner."

"Gee, thanks,” I mumbled, “not that it matters. I can’t go out with him tonight…"

I trailed off, disappointed. "ARE YOU INSANE?” She looked at me as though I had just informed her that I had run over her lifelong pet.

"Katie,“ I walked over to my desk and picked up the frame, "this is my son, Paxton. I’m a single mom! Who just moved to LA and has no babysitter. Do you think Junmyeon is going to consider me his 'type’ when he realizes I have a kid?"

She looked taken aback, but grabbed the picture from me and smiled. "He’s precious! Just tell him! I’m sure he has resources and can find you a good nanny. You can’t miss this! Please! So many of us have only dreamt of this! Let us live vicariously through you!!"

She placed the photo under her arm and then folded her hands together.

"Fine. Watch. I bet he backs out the second I mention it."

Send: Hi! It’s (Y/N). Send: Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful. Receive: I was afraid you hadn’t gotten them or that you weren’t going to text me. Send: Um, listen, I need to tell you something… Send: I really would love to go tonight… but… see, I’m a single mom. I have a 4 year old boy. And I just moved here, so I don’t have a babysitter… Receive: Is that the only reason? Send: Yes. I promise. I would go immediately otherwise. Receive: Then leave that to me. All you have to do is say, "yes” to dinner. Send: Okay! Yes. :) Receive: Send me your address and I will be by to pick you up around 7:30.

I sent him my address and then was startled when I remembered I was not alone in the room.

“Oh. My. God,” Katie enunciated each, individual word, making me aware that she had been peering over my shoulder, followed by, “you’re going out with Suho. Holy shit!"

I blushed and quickly tossed my phone on my desk. I felt nerves quickly building up and I attempted to ignore Katie’s giddy giggles.

I spent the remainder of the day focusing specifically on work. I typed my reports on the new potential groups and submitted them toward the end of the day.

As I was packing up to go home, my supervisor knocked on my door.

"I’ve only skimmed your reports, but thus far, I’m impressed. Welcome to the team.” She nodded and turned out of the room.

I picked Paxton up from school and got home to get ready for the night. He sat on my bed telling me about the friends that he had made and how much he enjoyed learning from his new teacher. He said she was very encouraging in helping him become a better reader, and that he felt better about moving to a brand new town.

About half and hour before my scheduled date with Junmyeon, my cell phone buzzed. It was a text from him.

Receive: I hope that you don’t mind. I showed up a bit early.

Immediately after, there was a knock on my door. Paxton jumped off of the bed and followed behind me, hugging my legs as I turned the knob and revealed Junmyeon, a large smile spread across his face. In one hand, he held a single red rose and, in the other, an action figure of The Flash.

He handed me the rose and greeted me with a quick hug before kneeling to Paxton’s eye level.

“The Flash! Cool! He’s my favorite!” Paxton thanked him and shook his hand like a miniature adult.

“My name is Paxton Dean (Y/L/N)."

"And I’m Junmyeon! But you can call me Suho if you’d like,” he smiled and then followed up with, “Paxton. I was hoping to ask your permission on something. See, I think your mom is really pretty. I was wondering if I could take her out for a date.” Paxton looked up at me and smiled, “sure! That’s cool!"

Junmyeon smiled and thanked him. He then caught me off guard when he followed with, "but! For tonight, I was hoping to get to know both of you. If it’s okay with your mom, is it alright with you if I stay and help cook dinner?”

Paxton nodded his head fervently, “YEAH! Then I can show you my other superhero stuff!"

Junmyeon laughed and stood again. I was left completely speechless as I held eye contact with him.

Since Paxton’s father had left the picture, no man had been interested in spending time with both Paxton and myself. They usually parted ways with me after the first date to avoid further commitment to my son. It was understandable, but also stung.

"I brought some groceries, if that’s another selling point,” he pointed to a plastic bag on the ground.

I was unable to hold back a grin from stretching across my face as I welcomed him into our home.

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tang-wei · 8 years

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On reposting, editing and personal use

This is made in response to the insane amount of reposting that has been going on with the covers that I have cleaned. It may be canon material, but that does not give you the right to take the cover I spent hours cleaning and redrawing and positing it in a place I may or may not want it to be in. (worse still if you crop my signature out) (damn you to hell if you claim that you redrew it yourself- I know my own shitty cleaning style)

Note that all these rules apply to ANY piece of work I clean, draw/ redraw or scanlate, past present and future.

So what can I do with it?

I only allow my work to be used for personal use.

Cool, what’s “personal use”?

I define personal use as literally that, personal use. You can make it into your display pic/ profile pic on any social media, phone screen background, lock screen background, whatsapp background, send it to your friends, send it to family, whatever. No need to ask for permissions for these- I’m glad you like it!

But I want to share it with the rest of the world!!

Well, you can link back to my work, WITHOUT posting the original image. For this, you don’t need my permission. Go wild with it.

HOWEVER, if you want to post the image, you need to ASK ME FOR MY PERMISSION AND PERMISSION IS GRANTED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS. I usually say yes, but don’t take that for granted and go ahead without permission. Ask first. I want to know where my work is going to end up.

Can I make edits out of it?

If it is heavy editing (such adding filters, text, AMVs, tribute videos, collages, RP use etc) with the intention to post it on some social media site, ASK FOR PERMISSION FIRST

If it is light editing (resizing to fit your screen, cropping to fit the required size), AND you are NOT going to share the edited image publicly (like positing it on a page etc) then this falls under ‘personal use’. No need to ask me, go right ahead~

What about...

If you’re unsure, just message me. It’s always good to be more careful.

WHERE TO ASK FOR PERMISSION

My tumblr ask box or through messaging

My twitter (saltedfishbuns)

My instagram (tang_wei_)

My email (tang-wei [at] outlook.sg)

My Weibo (tang_wei_)

There are 5 ways to contact me. I have covered most bases. Just message me, I check my messages when I’m not asleep. I read most messages as they come in.

How to ask for permission

A template for you

“Hi! I would like to (insert what you want to do with my thing) and I was wondering if I could have your permission to use (insert description of the thing you want to use). I’ll be posting it on my (insert website/page name/ wherever). Thank you!!”

Things you absolutely cannot do

1. Remove my watermarks. Don’t. I usually watermark it more than once, and I require that even with editing, you leave at least one water mark on the image.

2. Claim it as your own. No “but I was the one who cleaned this so I can post it”. I know my own cleaning style, I know exactly how I drew that part. Don’t try and pull a fast one on me.

3. Post it without permission, because you saw someone else do it. no. ask me.

In the event you see someone reposting my things without credit, or you’re not sure if they even had permission in the first place, please also let me know!!

I’m sorry if this comes off harsh, but I put in time and effort into cleaning those raws, and no one is thankful to reposters. Trust me on this. If I find anyone knowingly breaking my rules, I will first warn you and tell you to either add my credit and not to do it again. Repeat offenders will be blocked. If you catch me on a bad day, I might be extra salty and just report you.

#this isn't targeted at the amazing people that have asked me for permission even without me requiring it of them #it's for those shitty reposters and anyone who claims ignorance #mushroom translates #guren ln #in less than 10 minutes I can find reposters #I am good at finding you #and make no mistake I will find you one day #<3

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brittanyyoungblog · 6 years

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10 Online Dating Tips for Men

I’ve been online dating for a while now, and I’ve seen guys make all kinds of rookie mistakes in the process of asking me out. Like the time one guy asked for my phone number after we’d been chatting, and I gave it to him thinking we could continue our conversation over text. Nope. He called me, and I dropped my phone like it was a spider crawling up my arm. If you’re new to online dating, you might not know that there aren’t many universal rules about online dating, but one is never calling someone without asking permission first is definitely one of them.

But it’s easy to make these kinds of rookie mistakes while online dating. Especially if you’re new to it or if you’re used to more traditional forms of dating.

Here are 10 smart online dating tips for men:

1. Choose the right site(s). Singles today have so many options to help them meet people online. There are literally thousands of dating websites and apps available for every type of person. All you have to do is figure out which one is right for you. You can read articles, forums, and reviews or ask your single friends about their favorite dating websites to help you choose the best dating app or site. Most platforms offer a free signup, download, or trial period so you can get the lay of the land pretty quickly and affordably.

2. Add personality. Creating a dating profile is an important part of online dating because it’s how you introduce yourself to potential love interests. It’s your résumé. This isn’t something you should breeze through without thinking about. Your dating profile should offer a good representation of who you are, what you like, and what you’re looking for. Not sure how it’s done? You can look up online dating profile examples to give you an idea of what to say to stand out.

3. Be specific. Sure, it’s easy to copy/paste the same, “you have a lovely smile” message to every woman you match with, but that’s not going to yield many responses. Because online daters, especially women, see that sort of thing all the time, and it’s not very flattering to receive a generic flirty message.

If you can’t take two seconds to read the person’s profile, then why should he or she take the time to answer you? What reason have you given them to believe you’re worth it? You don’t have to spend forever memorizing the profile and crafting a perfect message—something simple like, “I love horror movies too, what’s your favorite?” or “Hey, cute dog, is it yours?” will do just fine.

4. Respect boundaries. Everyone sets different boundaries to keep themselves safe and sane as they meet people online. Some people are more lenient, and others are more strict. It depends on what they’re comfortable with, and that’s naturally going to differ. One person may be happy to chat for a couple minutes and then get drinks that night, but another may need some more time before agreeing to go out.

There’s no set rule for when it’s OK to ask for a phone number or a date, so just tread carefully and don’t take your crush’s consent for granted. She doesn’t know you yet and vise versa.

5. Ask questions. If you’ve explored online dating at all, then you know that people sometimes disappear on you. You think everything is going splendidly, and then the conversation just stops without warning or apology. Ghosting has become so commonplace that Merriam Webster added it to its dictionary. If you want to keep someone from losing interest in your conversation, then you’d better make sure you’re giving the other person plenty of things to say.

This is pretty basic, but it needs to be said. You have to ask questions to keep a conversation going. After you’ve talked about your job, your hobbies, your goals, and all that good stuff, you should throw the ball back in your crush’s court by saying, “How about you?” or asking a good personal question. If they still disappear on you, at least you’ll know you did everything you could to keep them engaged.

6. Focus on the positive. When you’re just getting to know someone, you should keep the conversation light, if you can. Stick to feel-good topics and give a wide berth to anything that could be considered a downer. That means no disparaging an ex, talking down about yourself, or ranting about politics. Saying pessimistic or mean-spirited things isn’t going to endear you to very many people. Singles want to be around people who make them feel good (don’t you?) so try to accentuate the positive, at least for the first few days, as you establish a rapport with your crush.

7. Make a move. No, men don’t have to make the first move. But, if you’re ready to take things up a notch, then you should go for it rather than wait around. It’s going to save time in the long run.

Once you’ve flirted enough to establish that there’s something there, you should come right out and see if that person is interested in going on a date. It’s always great if you can give a reason why you’re attracted to that person in particular, so they know they’re not just another date in your calendar. And make sure you give a timeframe, as in, “Would you like to go on a date this weekend?”

8. Have a plan. I’ve seen a lot of guys mess up in the planning stages of a first date. We’ve both agreed to meet up, and maybe we’ve even picked out a day, but then it can all fall apart with a single phrase: What should we do?

If you’ve asked someone out, the burden is on you to plan the date. Suggest coffee, drinks, or dinner. Ask what your date’s favorite food is and then recommend a restaurant. It isn’t hard to come up with first date ideas, and it’s going to make you look prepared, thoughtful, and competent, which is pretty attractive.

9. Exchange numbers. Make sure you’ve exchanged numbers with your love interest before going on your first date together. This is mainly for logistical reasons. That way, you can text when you arrive at the date spot and have a way to get in touch quickly if you need to cancel or you can’t find each other Exchanging numbers beforehand also takes the some of the pressure off you at the end of the date, so the only thing you have to ask is, “Would you like to do this again sometime?”

10. Get offline. Finally, the best advice I can give online daters is to remember to get offline as soon as you’ve established a connection with someone. Getting to know someone in person is the only way to know for sure if you have chemistry and can make a relationship work.

Spending months talking to someone online may feel comfortable and safe, but you can’t be pen pals forever. The point of online dating is to date in real life. Otherwise you’re just playing pretend. So get out there and make something happen!

The post 10 Online Dating Tips for Men appeared first on The Date Mix.

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wrikng-blog · 6 years

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Wrik Naija Facebook data misuse scandal affects "substantially" more than 50M, claims Wylie News, Video, Gossips Chris Wylie, the former Cambridge Analytica employee turned whistleblower. More... Chris Wylie, the former Cambridge Analyticaemployee turned whistleblower whose revelations about Facebook data being misused for political campaigning has wiped billions off the share price of the company in recent days and led to the FTC opening a fresh investigation, has suggested the scale of the data leak is substantially larger than has been reported so far. Giving evidence today, to a UK parliamentary select committee that's investigating the use of disinformation in political campaigning, Wylie said: "The 50 million number is what the media has felt safest to report -- because of the documentation that they can rely on -- but my recollection is that it was substantially higher than that. So my own view is it was much more than 50M." We've reached out to Facebook about Wylie's claim -- but at the time of writing the company had not provided a response. "There were several iterations of the Facebook harvesting project," Wylie also told the committee, fleshing out the process through which he says users' data was obtained by CA. "It first started as a very small pilot -- firstly to see, most simply, is this data matchable to an electoral register... We then scaled out slightly to make sure that [Cambridge University professor Alexsandr Kogan] could acquire data in the speed that he said he could [via a personality test app called thisisyourdigitallife deployed via Facebook's platform]. So the first real pilot of it was a sample of 10,000 people who joined the app -- that was in late May 2014. "That project went really well and that's when we signed a much larger contract with GSR [Kogan's company] in the first week of June... 2014. Where the app went out and collected surveys and people joined the app throughout the summer of 2014." The personal information the app was able to obtain via Facebook formed the "foundational dataset" underpinning both CA and its targeting models, according to Wylie. "This is what built the company," he claimed. "This was the foundational dataset that then was modeled to create the algorithms." Related: FTC Confirms It's Investigating Facebook's Data Practices For more news videos visit Yahoo View. Facebook has previously confirmed 270,000 people downloaded Kogan's app -- a data harvesting route which, thanks to the lax structure of Facebook's APIs at the time, enabled the foreign political consultancy firm to acquire information on more than 50 million Facebook users, according to the Observer, the vast majority of whom would have had no idea their data had been passed to CA because they were never personally asked to consent to it. Instead, their friends were 'consenting' on their behalf -- likely also without realizing. Earlier this month, after the latest CA revelations broke, the DCMS committee asked Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to answer their questions in person but he has so far declined their summons. Though it has just been reported that he may finally appear before Congress to face questions about how users' data has been so widely misused via his platform. In a letter to the DCMS committee, dated yesterday, Facebook said it is working with regulators in different countries to confirm exactly how many local users have been affected by data leak. It adds that around 1 per cent of the users whose data was illicitly obtained by CA were European Union users. This small proportion seems unsurprising, given CA was working for the Trump campaign -- and therefore aiming to gather data on Americans for 2016 presidential campaign targeting purposes. EU citizens' data wouldn't have had any relevance to that. "There will be two sets of data," Facebook writes in its letter to the committee discussing the data passed to CA. "The first is people who downloaded the app, and the second is the number of friends of those people who have their privacy settings set in such a way that the app could see some of their data. This second figure will be much higher than the first and we will look to provide both broken down by country as soon as we can." Facebook's privacy settings have caused major regulatory and legal headaches for the company over the years. In 2012, for example, Facebook settled with the FTC over charges it had deceived users by “telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public”. And in 2011 and 2012, following a legal complaint by European privacy campaigner and lawyer Max Schrems, Facebook was urged by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner to tighten app permissions to avoid exactly the kind of friends data leakage that has now scaled into this major privacy scandal. Instead, Facebook put off tightening up API permissions until as late as mid 2015 -- thereby giving CA a window of opportunity to pull massive amounts of Facebook user data ahead of the 2016 US presidential election. When CA's (currently suspended) CEO, Alexander Nix, appeared before the DCMS committee in February he was asked whether it worked with GSR and what use it made of GSR data. At that time Nix claimed CA had not used any GSR data. The company is continuing to push this line, claiming in a series of tweets today that while it paid $500k for GSR data it subsequently "deleted the data" -- and further claims it used alternative data sources and data sets to build its models. "Our algorithms and models bear no trace of it," it says re: GSR data. Asked by the committee about Nix's early, contradicting testimony, Wylie wondered out loud why CA spent "the better part of $1M on GSR" -- pointing also to "copious amounts of email" and other documents he says he has provided to the committee as additional evidence, including invoicing and "match rates on the data". "That's just not true," he asserted of CA's claim not to have used GSR (and therefore Facebook) data. Kogan himself has previously claimed he was unaware exactly what CA wanted to use the data for. "I knew it was for political consulting but beyond that no idea," he told Anderson Cooper in a TV interview broadcast on March 21, claiming also that he did not know that CA was working for Trump or whether they even used the data his app had gathered. He also suggested the data he had been able to gather was not very accurate at an individual level -- claiming it would only be useful in aggregate to, for example, "understand the personality of New Yorkers". Wylie was asked by the committee how the data was used by CA. Giving an example he says the company's approach was to target different people for advertising based on their "dispositional attributes and personality traits" -- traits it tried to identify via patterns it could identify in big data. He said: For example, if you are able to create profiling algorithms that can predict certain traits -- so let's say a high degree of openness and a high degree of neuroticism -- and when you look at that profiles that's the profile of a person who's more prone towards conspiratorial thinking, for example, they're open enough to kind of connect to things that may not really seem reasonable to your average person. And they're anxious enough and impulse enough to start clicking and reading and looking at things -- and so if you can create a psychological profile of a type of person who is more prone to adopting certain forms of ideas, conspiracies for example, you can identify what that person looks like in data terms. You can then go out and predict how likely somebody is going to be to adopt more conspiratorial messaging. And then advertise or target them with blogs or websites or various -- what everyone now calls fake news -- so that they start seeing all of these ideas, or all of these stories around them in their digital environment. They don't see it when they watch CNN or NBC or BBC. And they start to go well why is that everyone's talking about this online? Why is it that I'm seeing everything here but the mainstream media isn't talking about [it]... Not everyone's going to adopt that -- so that advantage of using profiling is you can find the specific group of people who are more prone to adopting that idea as your early adopters... So if you can find those people in your datasets because you know what they look like in terms of data you can catalyze a trend over time. But you first need to find what those people look like. "That was the basis of a lot of our research [at CA and sister company SCL]," he added. "How far can we go with certain types of people. And who is it that we would need to target with what types of messaging." Wylie told the committee that Kogan's company was set up exclusively for the purposes of obtaining data for CA, and said the firm chose to work with Kogan because another company had approached first had asked for a substantial payment up front and a 50% equity share -- whereas he had agreed to work on the project to obtain the data first, and consider commercial terms later. "The deal was that [Kogan] could keep all the data and do research or whatever he wanted to do with is and so for him it was appealing because you had a company that was the equivalent of no academic grant could compete with the amount of money that we could spend on it, and also we didn't have to go through all the compliance stuff," added Wylie. "So we could literally just start next week and pay for whatever you want. So my impression at the time was that for an academic that would be quite appealing." "All kinds of people [had] access to the data" Another claim made by Wylie during the session was that the secretive US big data firm Palantir helped CA build models off of the Facebook data -- although he also said there was no formal contract in place between the two firms. Wylie said Palantir was introduced to CA's Nix by Sophie Schmidt, Google chairman Eric Schmidt's daughter, during an internship at CA. "We actually had several meetings with Palantir whilst I was there," claimed Wylie. "And some of the documentation that I've also provided to the committee... [shows] there were senior Palantir employees that were also working on the Facebook data." The VC-backed firm is known for providing government, finance, healthcare and other organizations with analytics, security and other data management solutions. "That was not an official contract between Palantir and Cambridge Analytica but there were Palantir staff who would come into the office and work on the data," he added. "And we would go and meet with Palantir staff at Palantir. So, just to clarify, Palantir didn't officially contract with Cambridge Analytica. But there were Palantir staff who helped build the models that we were working on." Contacted for comment on this allegation a Palantir spokesperson refuted it entirely -- providing emailed statement: "Palantir has never had a relationship with Cambridge Analytica nor have we ever worked on any Cambridge Analytica data." The committee went on to ask Wylie why he was coming forward to tell this story now, given his involvement in building the targeting technologies -- and therefore also his interests in the related political campaigns. Wylie responded by saying that he had grown increasingly uncomfortable with CA during his time working there and with the methods being used. "Nothing good has come from Cambridge Analytica," he added. "It's not a legitimate business." In a statement put out on its Twitter yesterday, CA's acting CEO Alex Tayler sought to distance the firm from Wylie and play down his role there, claiming: “The source of allegations is not a whistleblower or a founder of the company. He was at the company for less than a year, after which he was made the subject of restraining undertakings to prevent his misuse of the company’s intellectual property." Asked whether he's received any legal threats since making his allegations public, Wylie said the most legal pushback he's received so far has come from Facebook, rather than CA. "It's Facebook who's most upset about this story," he told the committee. "They've sent some fairly intimidating legal correspondence. They haven't actually taken action on that... They've gone silent, they won't talk to me anymore. "But I do anticipate some robust pushback from Cambridge Analytica because this is sort of an existential crisis for them," he added. "But I think that I have a fairly robust public interest defense to breaking that NDA and that undertaking of confidentiality [that he previously signed with CA]." The committee also pressed Wylie on whether he himself had had access to the Facebook data he claims CA used to build its targeting models. Wylie said that he had, though he claims he deleted his copy of the data "some time in 2015". During the testimony Wylie also suggested Facebook might have found out about the GSL data harvesting project as early as July 2014 -- because he says Kogan told him, around that time, that he had spoken to Facebook engineers after his app's data collection rate had been throttled by the platform for some reason. "He told me that he had a conversation with some engineers at Facebook," said Wylie. "So Facebook would have known from that moment about the project because he had a conversation with Facebook's engineers -- or at least that's what he told me... Facebook's account of it is that they had no idea until the Guardian first reported it at the end of 2015 -- and then they decided to send out letters. They sent letters to me in August 2016 asking do you know where this data might be, or was it deleted? "It's interesting that... the date of the letter is the same month that Cambridge Analytica officially joined the Trump campaign. So I'm not sure if Facebook was genuinely concerned about the data or just the optics of y'know now this firm is not just some random firm in Britain, it's now working for a presidential campaign." We also asked Facebook if it had any general response to Wylie's testimony but at the time of writing the company had not responded to this request for comment either. Did Facebook make any efforts to retrieve or delete data, the committee also asked Wylie. "No they didn't," he replied. "Not to my knowledge. They certainly didn't with me -- until after I went public and then they made me suspect number one despite the fact the ICO [UK's Information Commissioner's Office] wrote to me and to Facebook saying that no I've actually given over everything to the authorities." "I suspect that when Facebook looked at what happened in 2016... they went if we make a big deal of this this might be optically not the best thing to make a big fuss about," he added. "So I don't think they pushed it in part because if you want to really investigate a large data breach that's going to get out and that might cause problems. So my impression was they wanted to push it under the rug." "All kinds of people [had] access to the data," he added. "It was everywhere." http://feeds.feedburner.com/Wriknaija/CswL

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technicalsolutions88 · 7 years

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Chris Wylie, the former Cambridge Analytica employee turned whistleblower whose revelations about Facebook data being misused for political campaigning has wiped billions off the share price of the company in recent days and led to the FTC opening a fresh investigation, has suggested the scale of the data leak is substantially larger than has been reported so far.

Giving evidence today, to a UK parliamentary select committee that’s investigating the use of disinformation in political campaigning, Wylie said: “The 50 million number is what the media has felt safest to report — because of the documentation that they can rely on — but my recollection is that it was substantially higher than that. So my own view is it was much more than 50M.”

We’ve reached out to Facebook about Wylie’s claim — but at the time of writing the company had not provided a response.

“There were several iterations of the Facebook harvesting project,” Wylie also told the committee, fleshing out the process through which he says users’ data was obtained by CA. “It first started as a very small pilot — firstly to see, most simply, is this data matchable to an electoral register… We then scaled out slightly to make sure that [Cambridge University professor Alexsandr Kogan] could acquire data in the speed that he said he could [via a personality test app called thisisyourdigitallife deployed via Facebook’s platform]. So the first real pilot of it was a sample of 10,000 people who joined the app — that was in late May 2014.

“That project went really well and that’s when we signed a much larger contract with GSR [Kogan’s company] in the first week of June… 2014. Where the app went out and collected surveys and people joined the app throughout the summer of 2014.”

The personal information the app was able to obtain via Facebook formed the “foundational dataset” underpinning both CA and its targeting models, according to Wylie.

“This is what built the company,” he claimed. “This was the foundational dataset that then was modeled to create the algorithms.”

Facebook has previously confirmed 270,000 people downloaded Kogan’s app — a data harvesting route which, thanks to the lax structure of Facebook’s APIs at the time, enabled the foreign political consultancy firm to acquire information on more than 50 million Facebook users, according to the Observer, the vast majority of whom would have had no idea their data had been passed to CA because they were never personally asked to consent to it.

Instead, their friends were ‘consenting’ on their behalf — likely also without realizing.

Earlier this month, after the latest CA revelations broke, the DCMS committee asked Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to answer their questions in person but he has so far declined their summons. Though it has just been reported that he may finally appear before Congress to face questions about how users’ data has been so widely misused via his platform.

In a letter to the DCMS committee, dated yesterday, Facebook said it is working with regulators in different countries to confirm exactly how many local users have been affected by data leak.

It adds that around 1 per cent of the users whose data was illicitly obtained by CA were European Union users. This small proportion seems unsurprising, given CA was working for the Trump campaign — and therefore aiming to gather data on Americans for 2016 presidential campaign targeting purposes. EU citizens’ data wouldn’t have had any relevance to that.

“There will be two sets of data,” Facebook writes in its letter to the committee discussing the data passed to CA. “The first is people who downloaded the app, and the second is the number of friends of those people who have their privacy settings set in such a way that the app could see some of their data. This second figure will be much higher than the first and we will look to provide both broken down by country as soon as we can.”

Facebook’s privacy settings have caused major regulatory and legal headaches for the company over the years. In 2012, for example, Facebook settled with the FTC over charges it had deceived users by “telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public”.

And in 2011 and 2012, following a legal complaint by European privacy campaigner and lawyer Max Schrems, Facebook was urged by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner to tighten app permissions to avoid exactly the kind of friends data leakage that has now scaled into this major privacy scandal.

Instead, Facebook put off tightening up API permissions until as late as mid 2015 — thereby giving CA a window of opportunity to pull massive amounts of Facebook user data ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.

When CA’s (currently suspended) CEO, Alexander Nix, appeared before the DCMS committee in February he was asked whether it worked with GSR and what use it made of GSR data. At that time Nix claimed CA had not used any GSR data.

The company is continuing to push this line, claiming in a series of tweets today that while it paid $500k for GSR data it subsequently “deleted the data” — and further claims it used alternative data sources and data sets to build its models. “Our algorithms and models bear no trace of it,” it says re: GSR data.

Asked by the committee about Nix’s early, contradicting testimony, Wylie wondered out loud why CA spent “the better part of $1M on GSR” — pointing also to “copious amounts of email” and other documents he says he has provided to the committee as additional evidence, including invoicing and “match rates on the data”.

“That’s just not true,” he asserted of CA’s claim not to have used GSR (and therefore Facebook) data.

Kogan himself has previously claimed he was unaware exactly what CA wanted to use the data for. “I knew it was for political consulting but beyond that no idea,” he told Anderson Cooper in a TV interview broadcast on March 21, claiming also that he did not know that CA was working for Trump or whether they even used the data his app had gathered.

He also suggested the data he had been able to gather was not very accurate at an individual level — claiming it would only be useful in aggregate to, for example, “understand the personality of New Yorkers”.

Wylie was asked by the committee how the data was used by CA. Giving an example he says the company’s approach was to target different people for advertising based on their “dispositional attributes and personality traits” — traits it tried to identify via patterns it could identify in big data.

He said:

For example, if you are able to create profiling algorithms that can predict certain traits — so let’s say a high degree of openness and a high degree of neuroticism — and when you look at that profiles that’s the profile of a person who’s more prone towards conspiratorial thinking, for example, they’re open enough to kind of connect to things that may not really seem reasonable to your average person. And they’re anxious enough and impulse enough to start clicking and reading and looking at things — and so if you can create a psychological profile of a type of person who is more prone to adopting certain forms of ideas, conspiracies for example, you can identify what that person looks like in data terms. You can then go out and predict how likely somebody is going to be to adopt more conspiratorial messaging. And then advertise or target them with blogs or websites or various — what everyone now calls fake news — so that they start seeing all of these ideas, or all of these stories around them in their digital environment. They don’t see it when they watch CNN or NBC or BBC. And they start to go well why is that everyone’s talking about this online? Why is it that I’m seeing everything here but the mainstream media isn’t talking about [it]… Not everyone’s going to adopt that — so that advantage of using profiling is you can find the specific group of people who are more prone to adopting that idea as your early adopters… So if you can find those people in your datasets because you know what they look like in terms of data you can catalyze a trend over time. But you first need to find what those people look like.

“That was the basis of a lot of our research [at CA and sister company SCL],” he added. “How far can we go with certain types of people. And who is it that we would need to target with what types of messaging.”

Wylie told the committee that Kogan’s company was set up exclusively for the purposes of obtaining data for CA, and said the firm chose to work with Kogan because another professor it had approached first had asked for a substantial payment up front and a 50% equity share — whereas he had agreed to work on the project to obtain the data first, and consider commercial terms later.

“The deal was that [Kogan] could keep all the data and do research or whatever he wanted to do with is and so for him it was appealing because you had a company that was the equivalent of no academic grant could compete with the amount of money that we could spend on it, and also we didn’t have to go through all the compliance stuff,” added Wylie. “So we could literally just start next week and pay for whatever you want. So my impression at the time was that for an academic that would be quite appealing.”

“All kinds of people [had] access to the data”

Another claim made by Wylie during the session was that the secretive US big data firm Palantir helped CA build models off of the Facebook data — although he also said there was no formal contract in place between the two firms.

Wylie said Palantir was introduced to CA’s Nix by Sophie Schmidt, Google chairman Eric Schmidt’s daughter, during an internship at CA.

“We actually had several meetings with Palantir whilst I was there,” claimed Wylie. “And some of the documentation that I’ve also provided to the committee… [shows] there were senior Palantir employees that were also working on the Facebook data.”

The VC-backed firm is known for providing government, finance, healthcare and other organizations with analytics, security and other data management solutions.

“That was not an official contract between Palantir and Cambridge Analytica but there were Palantir staff who would come into the office and work on the data,” he added. “And we would go and meet with Palantir staff at Palantir. So, just to clarify, Palantir didn’t officially contract with Cambridge Analytica. But there were Palantir staff who helped build the models that we were working on.”

Contacted for comment on this allegation a Palantir spokesperson refuted it entirely — providing TechCrunch with this emailed statement: “Palantir has never had a relationship with Cambridge Analytica nor have we ever worked on any Cambridge Analytica data.”

The committee went on to ask Wylie why he was coming forward to tell this story now, given his involvement in building the targeting technologies — and therefore also his interests in the related political campaigns.

Wylie responded by saying that he had grown increasingly uncomfortable with CA during his time working there and with the methods being used.

“Nothing good has come from Cambridge Analytica,” he added. “It’s not a legitimate business.”

In a statement put out on its Twitter yesterday, CA’s acting CEO Alex Tayler sought to distance the firm from Wylie and play down his role there, claiming: “The source of allegations is not a whistleblower or a founder of the company. He was at the company for less than a year, after which he was made the subject of restraining undertakings to prevent his misuse of the company’s intellectual property.”

Asked whether he’s received any legal threats since making his allegations public, Wylie said the most legal pushback he’s received so far has come from Facebook, rather than CA.

“It’s Facebook who’s most upset about this story,” he told the committee. “They’ve sent some fairly intimidating legal correspondence. They haven’t actually taken action on that… They’ve gone silent, they won’t talk to me anymore.

“But I do anticipate some robust pushback from Cambridge Analytica because this is sort of an existential crisis for them,” he added. “But I think that I have a fairly robust public interest defense to breaking that NDA and that undertaking of confidentiality [that he previously signed with CA].”

The committee also pressed Wylie on whether he himself had had access to the Facebook data he claims CA used to build its targeting models. Wylie said that he had, though he claims he deleted his copy of the data “some time in 2015”.

During the testimony Wylie also suggested Facebook might have found out about the GSL data harvesting project as early as July 2014 — because he says Kogan told him, around that time, that he had spoken to Facebook engineers after his app’s data collection rate had been throttled by the platform for some reason.

“He told me that he had a conversation with some engineers at Facebook,” said Wylie. “So Facebook would have known from that moment about the project because he had a conversation with Facebook’s engineers — or at least that’s what he told me… Facebook’s account of it is that they had no idea until the Guardian first reported it at the end of 2015 — and then they decided to send out letters. They sent letters to me in August 2016 asking do you know where this data might be, or was it deleted?

“It’s interesting that… the date of the letter is the same month that Cambridge Analytica officially joined the Trump campaign. So I’m not sure if Facebook was genuinely concerned about the data or just the optics of y’know now this firm is not just some random firm in Britain, it’s now working for a presidential campaign.”

We also asked Facebook if it had any general response to Wylie’s testimony but at the time of writing the company had not responded to this request for comment either.

Did Facebook make any efforts to retrieve or delete data, the committee also asked Wylie. “No they didn’t,” he replied. “Not to my knowledge. They certainly didn’t with me — until after I went public and then they made me suspect number one despite the fact the ICO [UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office] wrote to me and to Facebook saying that no I’ve actually given over everything to the authorities.”

“I suspect that when Facebook looked at what happened in 2016… they went if we make a big deal of this this might be optically not the best thing to make a big fuss about,” he added. “So I don’t think they pushed it in part because if you want to really investigate a large data breach that’s going to get out and that might cause problems. So my impression was they wanted to push it under the rug.”

“All kinds of people [had] access to the data,” he added. “It was everywhere.”

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