#the shaky camera. the way you can see the entire stage and the audience members standing up for the cast.

[ikusayu-no-hana]

kahakugeki: touken ranbu/tomoshibi: kiden ikusayu no adabana kaihen: ikusayu no adabana no kioku ended its run on 8/9 (9th of august, 2020) coinciding with kasen kanesada's touken book number.

[minachuuu]

The Voice That Keeps Following Me

❣The Voice That Keeps Following Me❣

The sequel for Voices I Can’t Run Away From is finally here. I chose to make it a sequel and not a 2-part story, because I wrote the first one thinking of it as a stand-alone story, but I was requested a second part and I really like how it turned out! Hope you enjoy it too!

❤ AU: DreamCatcher (Fem!) 8th Member

❤ Genre: Angst

❤ Word Count: 6.8k

❤ Song Suggestions: Scream by DreamCatcher and Fight Inside by Red

⚠ TW : Harassment, blood and guns.

Day 134

Look at my family. 

My mind sometimes likes to play and pretends to be a camera, it goes through life slowing moments down around me, allowing me to bask in the emotions that they gift me. And then it stores them, there in my fondest memories. I have a lot of them to choose from when my thoughts get dark, the light they emanate is enough to shut the whispers in my mind. 

The warm embrace of my members is one that comes very often, but it was that night around four months ago that I first felt like someone really loved me. But do they really? And I try not to look back from that. Or do I?

The sun was high in the sky, a warm and welcoming spotlight that followed us through your late winter promotions, the chilly winds still rattled the thin hair in your forearms, but there was no more snow falling from the sky. The windows in the van didn’t fog like before and you could watch little flowers sprout all over the city as spring felt closer and closer.

Your favorite song was blasting through your right earpod, while the other ear enjoyed the background noise of Yoohyeon and Bora bickering in the seats in front of you. Yubin sat by your side, ignoring all reality happening before her while playing a game on her phone.

A light chuckle escaped your lips when you caught a glimpse of SuA tossing what could have been a sock to Yoohyeon, hitting her straight in the face. The latter just turned around, dumbfounded as Bora’s sudden laugh even managed to make Yubin raise her view to her. She then turned her head towards you, her eyes asking for an explanation. You didn’t play attention to the reason why, so you could only offer her back an affiliative smile and a shrug. It seemed to be enough for her, since these two always going at each other every single day was a good source of entertainment.

Your eyes travelled outside, discovering that you were already at your destiny. The fansign venue was already surrounded by a long line of eager fans waiting for you, and as soon one spotted the van, they all turned around to wave at you. Except for one guy that stood out for you from the others for not matching the excitement around him. All dressed in black, the hoodie covering up half of his face.

They’re still here, and they won’t go until you go down with them.

A sudden chill went down your spine, just as every time that you had to encounter an audience face to face, but shaking your head, you were quick to shut it down as the rest of the fans excited smiles and screams muffled behind the window drew a smile on your face, one that you didn’t get that often.

The car stopped it’s movement just behind the venue and the door opened, letting all unfiltered light into your eyes. Yoohyeon and Bora got out of the van and then the manager helped you and Yubin out too. As soon as your feet touched the ground, you felt an arm intertwined with yours, pulling you closer.

“Y/n!” Bora’s voice boomed as you identified her by your side. “If… Let’s say, you hypothetically had a favorite Unnie, who would that be?”

You stared at her trying to analyse what the best answer to that question could be, you loved all your members equally, but something in her voice told you that the question had a tricky part that she wasn’t telling you about. 

Your suspicions were confirmed when you raised your view, Yoohyeon shaking her head at the scene before her.

“It’s probably Handong-unnie.” You answered nonchalantly. 

“Y/n-yah!” Bora let go and slapped your arm playfully, pouting her lips. “You were supposed to say me! Alright then. Yubin!-”

“Mine’s Minji.” She answered without letting the older even breathe. 

“Ah!” Bora whined, cutely hoping in her place. “Why am I no one’s favorite?! That’s not fair!”

“Maybe because you jump in my bed when I’m trying to sleep?” Yoohyeon added.

“Or because you belt in my ear to scare me when I try to read?” Yubin scoffed.

“Or…” You thought of something to add, but Bora hadn’t been anything but loving to you most of the time. Yes, her way of showing love was sometimes super clingy and loud but, you loved her that way, so you couldn’t really come with a better excuse. “Or maybe because you’re just not Dongie-Unnie.”

She deadpanned towards you, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“At this rate I’ll never win the bet against Minji,” She sighed. She turned around, just when the other van was pulling up behind yours. Her eyes lit up, as she ran towards it. “Gahyeon-ah!!”

The three of you laughed out loud, shaking your heads at the occurrences of your older member. You walked towards the entrance of the building together, your laugh still dying down when you heard Gahyeon mumble in the distance followed by Bora’s loud whine.

“I hope Minji gives us our part of whatever she bet against her,” Yoohyeon chuckled, holding the door open as you entered the building.

We walked towards a large room with some couches and chairs, a table full of snacks and a wall entirely made of mirrors. Even decorated with some of your comeback posters on the other walls.

You walked towards the table, scanning carefully the snack offerings over it. Amongst some chocolate bars, caramels and beverages, you grabbed a bag of chips to snack as you waited to go outside.

“Good news everyone!” Minji entered the room with her arms wide open, a huge grin on her face. “Today’s dinner is on Bora!”

The seven of you cheered loudly as the latter just pouted, her arms still crossed and her eyebrows furrowed and plunged into a couch near you. You decided to come approach her, taking the seat besides her. You snacked on your bag of chips silently when you decided to turn to Bora and offer her some, she accepted them as she grumbled under her breath. The sight made you chuckle, seeing the most enthusiast member of your group all moody over a bet, but as the seconds passed, you started missing her energetic spirit.

“Unnie…” You leaned over to her, sweetening your voice. “If you buy tteokbokki, I promise you’ll become my favorite.”

She snapped her head towards you,her eyes squinting with suspicion and temptation to your offer. You smiled at her in the most innocent way that you could, bringing out your puppy eyes which you knew she couldn’t resist.

“Ah fine,” She cupped your cheeks with her hands, pinching your cheeks. The sudden gesture that prompted you to drop your mask, trying hard to get off her grip. “Just because you are my favorite maknae, even if you broke my heart in a million pieces. Just don’t tell the others.”

“I won’t, I promise.” Your voice muffled by the pressure that her hands were applying to your cheeks. You raised your hand, painting at her hands over your face “Can you… let go?”

“Never.” She released your face, but you didn’t get to savor freedom for long since she wrapped her body around yours, cuddling into you.

A sudden blush invaded your cheeks, softening your pride. You let yourself cuddle into Bora, while a smile kept growing in your face. 

And then, time slowed down as you let your eyes wander through the space. Minji and Siyeon are laughing in the corner, the white walls reflecting in the sparks in their eyes. Gahyeon and Yoohyeon bickering around Handong, but the oldest of them just smirked at the probably childish discussion they had going on. Yubin was silently existing by my side on the couch, reading what seemed like her hundredth book in the month. You still didn’t know how she managed to do it with all the activities of the comeback. And then there was Bora, cuddled in her arms, making you feel like you were protected from everything in the world.

You sighed, savoring the emotions in the moment, your heart warming up at the sight of the best family that the world was able to give you ever.

But, are you really sure that you deserve all of this? After all you made them go through?

Thankfully, the voice in your mind was broken when a manager opened the door, calling everyone out to the stage to start the fansign.

You stood up from the couch, as you felt your body shaking nervously. This being your first fansign since the last comeback, and the “incident”. That’s how you and the members preferred calling it without inviting back unwanted feelings and memories.

They were quick to notice your nerves and approach to surround you in that familiar and safety blanket that they were all so used to being part of. Shanking your head, you released a shaky breath out of your lips and nodded, the girls taking the sign to move forward.

You could hear the deafening cheers of Insomnias from the other side of the hallway, as your heart ramped up it’s speed. Unsure if that was nerves or excitement, you wrapped the first hand that you could, that being Siyeon’s. 

“Hey,” She turned around, offering you a conforming smile. “We’ve got your back, you’ll be okay Y/n.”

You nodded, leaning into her shoulder as you kept walking towards the main stage where your fans were already waiting for you. The door to the stage opened, making the shouts from Insomnia even louder. Your table with eight chairs and a bottle of water was already waiting for you too. The staff handed you each one microphone as you crossed the door.

The bright lights of the auditorium blinded you as you made your way into the stage, cheers cramming your ears. It took a few seconds for your senses to get used to all the sudden stimulation, but once they did, you were greeted with your fans waving and smiling at you.

You smiled back at them, offering them finger hearts and flying kisses. The clics from the fansites cameras refuse to cease, as you greeted your few acquaintances that sat between the audience. But as your eyes scanned around, you landed on that same man that you spot outside. With his hoodie still over his face, he wasn’t jumping up and down or smiling like the rest of the people around him. All you could see was a faint smirk in the shadow, as he slowly clapped to match the rest of the people. 

“Let’s introduce ourselves!” You heard Minji clap to get the attention of the group, and you quickly stood in a straight line facing your audience. “One, two-”

“Dream of me! Hello, we are Dreamcatcher!” All of you chorused together, pumping up your fans even more. Each one of them introduced themselves, one after the other. Gahyeon was last, and everyone remained silent.

“Hello! It’s Y/n!” You cheered through your microphone. The audience exploded louder than before. Even hearing some ‘We’ve missed you!’ and other ‘Insomnia loves you!’. You turned to your members, to find them all grinning widely at you, which made you blush intensely. 

But then again, your eyes had to land on that one unenergetic guy in the audience, still with the same grin and slowly clapping in his seat. 

Maybe they didn’t really miss you, maybe the group was better when you were gone.

You shook your head, trying to get the thought out of your head. But it kept nagging in there. Trying to talk, your lips parted as words got up your throat but never past your lips. You didn’t realize how shaky your hand was until you felt Yoohyeon’s trying to get a grip of it.

Closing your eyes and letting her hand embrace yours, you took a deep breath, and finally the last thought got foggy enough to let you talk.

“It’s good to see you all again!” You stammered through the microphone, earning the cheers of the room, even your members.

After some light chat between everyone sat at their places as the staff helped Insomias line up, they eagerly smiled, excited as they waited for their turn to go up and talk to all of you. Minji, who sat by your side, placed her hand over yours and only her glance and smile was enough to make you feel safe. 

Each one of the fans that talked to you beamed with light and joy, filling your table with so many gifts and letters that you wished you could give them back something more than just your signature. 

A cute, young little girl came hopping to your place holding her album in hand, carrying a very particular gift with her. A bag of chips that you hadn’t eaten since… since the day you returned home after the incident. After saying hello and quickly signing the album, she rushed into conversation with you, something you didn’t mind cause you were extremely curious about her gift.

“My grandpa remembered that you liked this type of chips,” The girl extended the gift to you, taking them with delivered surprise as your eyes scanned them. “He wanted me to tell you that he hopes you’re doing good and that he’s proud of you!”

“Wait, how did he know it was me?” You chuckled, apparently being grubby, behind a bucket hat, a baggy sweatshirt and lowering your voice was not enough to hide yourself.

“He says it was intuition. Or maybe just your voice.” The girl giggled nervously. “But when he came home that night, he told me that everything was going to be okay, that you were alright. I trust him.”

“He did help me a lot that day, your grandpa is a great man.” Your talking minute was running out, so you reached across the table and put your hands on her, offering her a warm smile. “Always be kind to everyone, who knows where I would be right now if it wasn’t for the kindness of your grandpa.”

“I will always be Unnie!” The girl squealed in happiness as she moved to the next seat to talk with Minji.

“Say hi to him!” You added last minute and she nodded before turning to take care of the fan now in front of you.

More and more gifts started milling up around you, even flower bouquets adorned your surroundings and the rest of DreamCatcher, the managers walking around and taking some of them away from you to store backstage so the entire table wouldn’t end up engulfed in gifts.

You were so into the fansign, talking to all your lovely Insomnias, that you didn’t notice beforehand about the one thing that unnerved you. Turning around to face the fan in front of you, there he stood, the ominous hooded guy. 

You tried greeting him with the same enthusiasm as the rest of your fans, but you were taken aback when instead of the usual cheery and giggle response, he just muttered a nonchalant ‘hi’ back at you.

You took his album, searching for the note with your name on it to know exactly where to sign. Finding it, you flicked to that page, but a cold chill traveled down your spine when you opened it.

Your pictures were scratched, painted and splattered over in a dark, thick, red tint. And over it, scribed in big black letters over everything, it read: 

‘DreamCatcher will always be 7’

Told you

“Wha-?”

You heard a clock that snapped your head up. Facing a gun pointed straight at you.

They’re going down and taking you down with them. One last time.

And then time stopped. A cold drop of sweat travelled down your spine, as a knot tightened in your throat. Your eyes wandered around, a hundred smiles completely oblivious to the sight right in front of you. All that was left was to close your eyes, hoping everything to be quick and painless.

“Y/N!” 

You heard your name be screamed just before a loud bang, returning you to this existential plane. But when your eyes shot open, you found yourself hitting the floor with your shoulder. 

A cacophony of screams and people in plain panic ensued, the hooded man was tackled into the ground, and people ran left and right unsure on where to run away.

You tried getting up to get a better view of everything happening on the other side of the table, but a sharp burning bolt of pain travelling your body all the way from your shoulder pinned you down in your place. You turned to it, your entire sleeve covered in a red, thick and warm liquid. Your arm limped, only hanging from your increased numbing shoulder. The tingle in the tip of your fingers increased and travelled through your palm as you stared in horror, as the puddle of blood extended through all your outfit.

“We need an ambulance!” You heard one of your managers shout from one side of the venue, as the noise in the auditorium got more and more muffled to your ears.

“Y/N!” Minji’s shadow covered the light above you as she approached, her heavy breathing and shaky voice calling your name over and over under her breath as she kneeled by your side. “Gosh, no, no”

“What’s going on?” You cried, barely any noise coming out of your mouth. Using your remaining strength, you reached with your hand towards your members, who urgently surrounded you. Along with other managers who moved fast around you, discussing stuff that you weren't able to hear anymore.

“We need to stop the bleeding, NOW!” Yubin commanded, looking around the place for something to surround your injury tightly around, Siyeon and Handong following closely behind her.

“Please don’t leave me,” As your eyes flooded with tears, you somehow managed to crawl into Minji’s lap, “Please.”

“Never, Y/n-” Her eyes full of tears as well, hold you close, not minding getting stained by the red liquid that surrounded you by now.

Painfully, you turned your head to watch around. Gahyeon and Bora were bawling their eyes out between each other's eyes, Yoohyeon kneeling beside Minji in an effort of calming down both of them.

“Here!” Handong came back with a large piece of cloth, quickly kneeling besides you and fasting it up tightly around your arm and shoulder with the help of Siyeon and Yubin. Minji was refusing to drop her hold on you.

“Unnie, I’m so sorry” Your throat stinged at the words, dried up of the tears that came non stop through your eyes. “I’m so sorry about everything.”

Your vision started fogging up, as you barely heard a siren outside, followed by the main door being pushed open, and voices of various people approaching. Fighting to keep your eyes, you wrapped one of your member's clothes with the remaining strength left in your body.

“Stay with us, please.” Siyeon’s voice was distant, but your eyes caught her lips moving as the words entered your brain. “Stay.”

But you couldn’t stop fighting against the weight of your eyelids. The noise surrounding you shut up completely, and the shadows that surrounded you were swallowed by complete darkness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Day 135

I know they’re here. I can hear them sometimes, but they can’t hear me. How much time do you think they’ll keep up with you? Please don’t leave me. Please. 

Bora’s fingers traveled up and down your static hand with a gentleness that could put anyone to sleep. But this time it was the other way around. Surrounded by tubes full of unknown liquid flowing into your body, metal structures that seemed to keep the room’s gray walls from falling apart and the rattling but thankfully constant beeping of your heart monitor, everything she wished was for you to wake up.

Handong lay asleep across the couch on the other side of the bed, with only a weighted blanket covering her body from the chilly air circling the room, her head resting on the also asleep Yoohyeon who covered herself with around three thick jackets. The three of them volunteered to take the night watch in the hospital, replacing Minji and Yubin who refused to leave the hospital as you were received in the emergency room and stood by your side for the entirety of the first day. The managers insisted all of them to stay back at their dorm, but were quickly cut off by every girl, standing their ground on never letting you go again.

The first rays of sun peeked through the shades over the window, bringing a dim but warm light into the room with them. Bora’s tired eyes raised to watch the faint silhouette of the sunset through them. A knock on the door made her snap her head towards it, waking up the other two girls in the process.

“Come in?” Handong groggily whispered while standing up straight on the couch, rubbing her eyes.

The heavy door opened, revealing the other four members' tired faces behind it.

“How was your night?” Minji entered the room, hands deep in her pockets as she approached the feet of the bed, staring up and down at your weakened body laying before her. “Did you get some rest?”

The three girls already in the room shook their heads in unison, with Yoohyeon even burying her face between her hands.

“I never thought that a place so silent could be so…” She whispered, her eyes wandering all over the room, unfocused. “Restless.”

“There wasn’t much sleep at the dorm either.” Gahyeon added, sitting besides Bora as she carefully took a strand of hair away from your seemingly sleeping face. 

“We brought you some coffee…” Siyeon handed their drinks to Yoohyeon, Handong and Bora before sitting in a chair on the other corner of the room. “I hope it at least helps you stay awake”

“Any news?” Yubin closed the door behind her, laying against the wall. Crossing her arms as she scanned the room with her eyes.

“Well,” Bora stretched her arms, standing up from her chair as she kept stretching her entire body in the process. “The doctor said that everything is stable, all vital organs are okay and that Y/n will only need some rehabilitation in her arm and shoulder. So, she’ll be fine.”

Everyone let out a deep sigh of relief, as Gahyeon leaned down to leave a kiss on your temple, a fair smile crossing her lips.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you enough.” Gahyeon whispered to you as she rested her head over her hands on the edge of the bed.

“But it shouldn’t be our responsibility to have to go around being careful and trying not to get killed,” Yubin scoffed as she paraded around the room. “That’s just sick.”

“I’m glad they caught that bastard.” Siyeon snapped. “And I hope he rots in the deepest rings of hell that disgusting son of a-”

“Siyeon, the kids!” Minji covered Gahyeon’s ears as she covered yours. Her expression softened for a second, twisting her lips in agreement. “But you do raise a very valid point.”

Minji let Gahyeon’s ears go slowly and cautiously, in case any of the older girls decided lo let their dirty tongue roam free again.

���But what I still don’t understand,” Yoohyeon rested her head over her knuckles, as she leaned forward over the edge of the couch. “How can there be people who still don’t want her in the group?”

“We will never make everyone happy,” Handong responded. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was someone out there who still thinks you should have stayed with the Minx concept.”

The audible groans of Yoohyeon, Minji, Bora, Siyeon and Yubin filled the entire room, facepalms, shrinked shoulders, rolled eyes, their mouths hissing and lips twisting in a physically painful display of a cringy memory flooding their minds. The image encouraged a chuckle out of Gahyeon and Handong, who enjoyed teasing the others with their past.

“While I understood your point perfectly,” Yubin's unimpressed muffled voice stuttered. “there was absolutely no need to take it that far, thank you.”

“But she’s right,” Siyeon pointed out. “There’s people who don’t agree with us, but we now know there’s more people that actually like Y/n a lot! And, if she still wants to be in the group with us after all this, whoever doesn’t agree can walk through the door and never come back.”

“If she wants to be in the group?” Gahyeon glanced back at Siyeon, perplexed.

“Y/n’s been through a lot already,” Bora added. “Even though we love her, we wouldn’t force her to stay if she doesn’t want to.”

“And if she wants to go back home,” Siyeon continued. “We’ll respect her decision too.”

The atmosphere around the room got tense. Everyone understood and agreed perfectly, but it didn’t mean that they wouldn’t miss you if you decided to leave the group.

“Do you know when her family will come? The manager told us they were trying to contact them.” Yoohyeon asked the other girls, trying to break the awkward silence. “Maybe we’ll finally get to meet them”

“They won’t be coming.” Minji shook her head, resting her hands on the footboard of the bed.

“Are they foreigners or something?” Handong leaned her head, curious at the leader’s response. “We could help them fly here if they want to-”

“No, yesterday the managers finally told me the reason Y/n never really talks about her family, and I think it’s time all of you know.” She sighed, raising her head and placing herself somewhere where everyone could see and hear her clearly. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes to focus. “Y/n doesn’t really know her family.”

“What do you mean she doesn’t know her family?” Siyeon eyebrows furrowed, trying to understand the oldest’s words. 

“According to what I was told yesterday, she knows she had a family. But ever since she was a little child she had been jumping from foster home to foster home, until she became a trainee later.” Minji nodded, her lips forming a straight line as she got immersed in her own thoughts. Shaking them aside when she felt the pressure of the silence and the looks of the girls over her, she continued talking. “The staff was the one taking care of her after that and up until she debuted with us.”

“So, it’s almost as she doesn’t have a family.” Gahyeon trembled.

The stillness in the air became even more heavy over everyone’s shoulders now that it dawned on them the reality of the situation. 

The sun now fully out of the horizon peaked through the window, illuminating the room with its warmth and hopeful brightness. Almost like a sign from the universe, a ray of light rested amicable over your peaceful, sleeping face.

Bora placed her hand over yours, caressing it gently with her thumb. After a few minutes of slumberous and wary silence, like a spotlight calling to her to raise her eyes, she scanned around the room, a delicate smile making its way to her lips as she came to a realization. 

“Y/n does have a family.” Bora whispered, making all the girls raise their faces in confusion. One by one, as they locked their eyes with the other girls understood exactly what Bora was talking about, bringing kind grins into their faces.

As some happy tears started escaping some of the girls eyes, it dawned on them all your adventures together. All the hard and the pretty times, how everyone loved each other and accepted their highs and their lows. How every single one of them understood perfectly that blood is not what makes a family, but the unconditional love and support that all parts have for each other. Whatever you had going on in between, that was a family.

“She has us.” Yoohyeon nodded, posing her sight on your resting body. 

Swallowed sobs reigned the air until a soft hum stood out. Like a ritual that you all had together now, Yubin’s gentle singing filled the air, the other girls recognizing the song immediately. Your song. One by one the other girls joined her, harmoniously swelling their surroundings with a much needed drop of hope for their soul. As the song continued, each one of them cuddled towards each other, seeking the warmth and comfort of their arms. A silent promise to deliver this and so much more to you for the rest of your lives.

The song was arriving to their end, as silence once again reigned the room when a sigh from the leader broke through. 

“We’ll be here for Y/n, all the time she wants us to be by her side.” Minji flicked away a tear from her eye, nodding at her beautiful family around her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Day 136

I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere. As long as you live I’ll always be right behind you. I have so much left to give, just let me prove it.

A black canvas, covered in bright, sparkling freckles swallowed the sky, the horizon and the floor beneath you. The plain sound of your shaky breath echoed into eternity in every direction as you watched your feet walking on air. One step, two steps. Covered in a fair white robe, you felt the breeze dancing around you, but your skin didn’t perceive any cold from it, instead being embraced in a warm coating, from head to toe. Three steps, four steps. The stars around you didn’t seem to come closer or any farther as you kept advancing, but they all seemed to beat together at a constant beeping rhythm. Five steps. 

A pair of bare feet met yours in a perfect reflection, and as you slowly raised your eyes. Whoever was standing right in front of you was wearing the exact same white robe as you, moved their hands the same way, breathed the same way… looked the same. 

Standing right in front of a perfect reflection of yourself, you raised your hand towards your shoulder, pulling down the gown from it. Your reflection followed precisely, revealing your clean and well skin under. A relieved breath escaped your lips a little too soon, as quickly, a dark spot surged under your reflection's hand, spreading all over it’s arm, hand and chest. 

You leaped behind startled but your reflection didn’t follow through, instead, it started stomping towards you, as the darkness climbed all the way to it’s face. Your hand frantically searched for your shoulder, but there was nothing over yours.

“Who are you!?” You pleaded, running backwards to keep your distance with the impostor.

“Don’t you recognize me Y/n?” Your reflection's voice gritted through the air as a crooked smile was painted in it’s lips. “It’s me, the real you.”

“No, no you are not.” You gasped back, with a hit of doubt that didn’t go unnoticed by the entity in front of you.

“You see? Not even you know who you are.” The reflection reached it’s completely darkened hand towards you, inviting you closer. “Then what makes you think I can’t be you?”

“I-” You stuttered, the never ending starry void where you kept running away also allowed this creature to stay mere inches away from you, no matter how much you seemed to pull yourself far away from it. “Please go away.”

“You know I never will,” It tilted it’s head, sneering back. “Everyone around you has never loved you enough to stay, but I’ll be the only one faithfull by your side forever.”

It didn’t have to hit so low, but there was this little spark burning inside you that kept you up on your feet to keep running, to keep fighting. Through the sting in your eyes, you watched the stars start beeping at a faster rate, ready to try one more time.

“They haven’t left me yet,” You fired back. Your reflection glitched it’s presence before letting out an evil chuckle that echoed through the void.

“But you already know they will!” It scoffed, halting its steps. “Then why wait for it to hurt even more?”

“Because they waited for me.”

All signs of fun were erased from your reflection's face, letting you breath out for a second. But a disgusted smirk plastered across its face as it turned itself into someone else. The wide and gentle smile, her arms that always welcomed you in and her brown eyes that always made you feel safe.

“Minji Unnie?...” You gasped.

“And once again, you come in and ruin absolutely everything for us.” The voice was on point, making you trip over your feet and fall down in surprise. “It would have been best if you d-”

“I heard her! She said my name!” Minji’s voice bounced around, but not coming from the bizarre Minji standing in front of you. “Shhh, it’s okay, you’re okay.”

The creature before you took your form again, it’s breath angrily rising. It quickly shapeshifted to another form. 

“We don’t want you back!” It panted now as Bora, shouting to make its voice be heard over the accelerating heartbeat. “We don’t-”

“It’s okay, it’s all a dream!” Now it was Bora’s voice responding from beyond what your eyes could see. You saw your hand light up, warming up as if another hand graced on top of yours. “Everything’s gonna be okay. We’re here.”

The stars around you finally started getting closer, to both of you. The light engulfing both you and your reflection. It felt warm and gentle on your skin, but you couldn’t say the same thing for the other you in that place. 

Loud screeches of pain as it battled against the bright light touching it’s skin, shrinking against itself in its own place. You felt your feet floating, like a certain force pulling you up from the starry sky. You felt a cold hand grab you from the hem of your gown, as it’s colorless eyes searched painfully for yours.

“YOU’LL NEVER GET RID OF ME!” Your bizarre reflection snapped back at you in desperation, almost like a cry for help.

“Maybe,” You looked back at it, and just for a second, it’s eyes mirrored your human color instead of being a black, empty void. “But I’ll never stop trying.”

The bright light of the room filled your view, as your eyes snapped open. Trying urgently to adjust to the new light, your eyes blinked and scanned from side to side, as the blurriness slowly dissipated. A flash of pain escurried from your shoulder all the way up your chest, arm and head, as you looked down to a freshly closed wound, a gauze tenderly placed above your stitches. 

You looked at the shadows hovering above you, dazzled by the ceiling’s light once again when you turned your eyes up to one side. Two unknown faces, dressed up with scrubs were hurriedly taking your vitals, alternating the view between the monitors and you. Moving your eyes upward and to the other side, there they were. 

Bora rested her head on the edge, caressing your hand with her thumb, looking it you with the brightest eyes you had ever seen, and hovering just above her, Minji, flicking off a stray tear away from her face and Dami, a glowing smile adorning her face, one that cutely wrinkled her eyes as her eyes refused to leave you.

“You’re finally back.” Minji whispered as her tender grin grew up across her face. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Bora tenderly caressed your cheek as her own eyes filled with tears unwilling to drop. With the strength available in your body, you offered back a smile that immediately broke her. 

“We couldn’t bear the idea of losing you again,” She cried, clinging to your hand. “We missed you so much.”

“I’m not going anywhere Unnie, that’s a promise.” You mumbled back. 

“Precisely young lady, you are not allowed to go anywhere yet. At least until tomorrow” One of the nurses added, making all of us chuckle and lightening up the aura in the room. “Your vitals are running as they should and your recovery seems to be advancing correctly, you’ll be staying just one more day here.”

All the room cheered at the good news, relieved. You raised the bed to sit up and chat with the girls about everything that had been happening throughout the days, how the bastard that shot you was convicted and dealt with, with no mercy. They told you about how all the industry took steps to ensure the safety of the idols thanks to this incident, fundraisers in your name against gun violence and regulations, and they way the world looked at this with their own eyes.

“Here, take a look at this,” Dami handed you her phone, a playful smile as she did. “Would be better to focus on the good.”

“Wow…” You scrolled down an infinite stream of positive and supportive messages from Somnias all over the world. Outpouring love and comfort on every social media, erasing any doubt in your mind on how the people received you. “I didn’t think they would like me that much.”

“We had the same feeling when we debuted as DreamCatcher too.” Minji added, recalling her memory. “But at the end, the ones that really love you are the ones who stick around.”

“And the ones who don’t can shove their opinions up their-”

“Bora!” Minji covered your ears quickly, as she snapped her eyes towards the other girl.

You chuckled at the image, with Dami a few steps behind trying to keep her laugh too. But the moment was interrupted quickly by a knock on the door, followed by a nurse peeking her head inside.

“Sorry for interrupting,” She excused herself, “Your family came to see you!” 

“But I don’t have a fam-” 

“I’m not shutting you up the way I would like just because you’re still healing,” Siyeon’s voice accompanied her silhouette as she entered the room, a bouquet of flowers in hand. Followed by Handong, Yoohyeon and Gahyeon, each one carrying a present in their hands. “But as your official big sister, I’ll patiently wait until that arm works again to do it so.”

The remark made you giggle as you glanced at the girls and the radiant auras they carried with them. Now surrounded by an endless supply of snacks, courtesy of Yoohyeon and Handong, the sweet smell of fresh flowers by Siyeon and a new fluffy friend to hug by Gahyeon and a lot of laughs, you couldn’t help but let some tears drop from your eyes.

“Why are you crying?” Yoohyeon approached the bed, handing you a tissue.

“This must be how it feels like…” You stuttered. “Having a family.”

“But you have one!” Gahyeon, who was sitting in the bed with you chimed in. 

“I never told you before…” You swallowed, avoiding all their glances as you searched for the courage to come clean about your past. “But I have never met my family, so as far as I know, I don’t really have one.”

You looked up, only to be received by their tender smiles. Almost as if they already knew.

“What are we? Painted?” Handong sneered, making everyone laugh instantly. You giggled too, but your wondering eyes gave up that you were still a little confused.

“Family is so much more than blood lineage Y/n,” Minji added, trying to clear your mind. “And I really like the one that we have right here.”

Something clicked in your mind, calling even more tears to your eyes but a huge smile to your face. The girls all surrounded you in a careful but very welcome and warm hug. Submerged in the comfortable silence surrounding all of you, you could listen to some of the girls crying too. 

But it didn’t matter anyway, you had everything that you ever wanted now. 

“We’ll always be here for you Y/n.” Gahyeon whispered as she took your hand in hers. “We ain’t going nowhere.”

You nodded chuckling, cleaning some of your tears away from your cheeks, but they didn’t stop coming out of your eyes.

“Well, since you're being dismissed tomorrow,” Bora tried to light up the atmosphere a little. “What should we do to celebrate?”

“I suggest an arm wrestling tournament!” Siyeon barged in with a loud chuckle, making everyone turn around to face in disapproval. “It- It was just a joke.”

“But yeah! Putting all dangerous stuff outside,” Handong giggled looking back at you. “What do you want to do tomorrow when we’re finally back home?”

You scanned around at the bright faces surrounding you, each one bringing up that warm sensation on your chest. You had no idea what you did to deserve this much love in your life, but whatever it was, there was no way you would let it slip through your fingers again.

“Wherever you are,” You answered. “I’m already home.”

[there-must-be-a-lock]

Happily Ever After

Dean x Cas

Word Count: ~1090

Warnings: Fluffy as heeeeeelll. 

A/N: This is part of the Rockstar AU, but the only piece of that that’s really relevant to this “plot” is A New Song. It’s straight up rom-com fluff y’all. Plus cameos from the BAU and Harry Styles. 

This scene was 100% @stunudo​‘s idea, I just typed it out real quick. @fookinghelljensensthighs​ is also partly to blame, as usual, because... idk, handcuffs and fruit. 

More fun shenanigans in this ‘verse coming soon! 

-

(New header in the works, don’t mind me.)

-

“I dunno, Sammy, I think this was a fuckin’ awful idea,” Dean mutters under his breath, barely audible under the cheers of the audience as they start chanting for an encore. “Jesus fuck, what if -” 

“Dean,” Sam says firmly. “We’ve gone over this a million times.” 

“What if they…” He gestures around at some of the members of Business As Usual, who have been watching the whole show from sidestage. 

“If Bobby trusts their manager, so do I. This way at least we know before we invite them on a real tour,” Sam points out.  

“Sammy, I don’t think I can do this.” Dean looks shaky and anxious, now, and his eyes keep darting over to where Cas is checking on the guitar he usually uses for their encore. Charlie is next to him, looking furtively back at Dean every few seconds.

“Bobby pulled every string he’s got to make this show happen on short notice. If you don’t follow through, he’s gonna be pissed.”

“Yeah, but -” 

“What did I say?” 

Dean takes a deep breath. “Cas is worth being brave for.” 

“Yes.” Sam gestures to Charlie, who starts to tug a confused Cas in their direction. “Go on. I gotta get Harry on Facetime.” 

“Right,” Dean says, with one last deep breath, and then he turns and marches back out onto the stage, alone. Sam pulls out his phone and FaceTimes Harry, who picks up right away, even though it’s some ungodly hour of the morning where he is. His hair is a wild snarl of bedhead and he’s trying to peel an orange while also holding his phone steady. 

“What is Dean doing?” Cas hisses, alarmed, and Charlie has to keep a tight grip on his arm to stop him from following Dean onto the stage. “I’m not ready, I need -” 

“Just listen,” Sam tells him. Cas looks dubious. 

He gives Harry a quick smile and then turns the camera around, pointing it so that he can see Dean, who has gotten himself set up with a stool and an acoustic. Sam keeps the phone close to his chest, making sure that nobody will catch a glimpse of Harry’s (regrettably recognizable) face. 

“So,” Dean says into the mic, and the crowd quiets. “Um… I’m doing something a little special tonight. I want to play you a new song I’ve been workin’ on.” He clears his throat anxiously. “It’s for someone… someone I’m crazy about. These are some things I should’ve said a long time ago, but I’m not great at talking about my feelings, so I wrote about ‘em instead. Here goes.” 

Dean sneaks a quick glance over to where Cas, Sam, and Charlie are watching from the side of the stage, and Sam can see him take another deep breath before he starts to play the soft, wistful melody. 

Cas’s profile is illuminated by the harsh blue stage lights, and Sam can see the moment it all clicks; Cas’s mouth drops open, and he sways slightly on the spot. As Dean starts to sing about waiting and missed opportunities, a smile spreads over Cas’s face, bright and dazed, until he’s completely lit up with it. He looks happier than Sam has ever seen him before. 

The crowd is so silent you could hear a pin drop. Everybody’s completely transfixed by Dean’s voice, his usual growl gone shaky and raw with emotion. 

Charlie moves in closer, wrapping an arm around Cas’s waist, so that she and Sam are flanking Cas: her on his left, Sam on the right. Sam drapes his free arm over Cas’s shoulders and squeezes him tight. 

He glances back to where Spencer, Penelope, and JJ are watching, a little bit behind him, and wonders how they’ll react. Penelope’s dabbing away tears and Spencer’s watching with rapt attention, but JJ is looking right back at him, or rather, at Cas… so one of them, at least, has already figured out who Dean is singing about. There’s this sharp, knowing expression on her face that makes Sam nervous, for a second, until she flashes him a warm smile and a discreet thumbs up. He feels a little bubble of relief swell and pop in his chest. 

He’s feeling a little misty-eyed, but he doesn’t want to let go of Cas to wipe his eyes; Cas doesn’t seem totally steady on his feet, and Sam thinks he might need the support. 

On stage, Dean is strumming the bridge, and just before he launches into the last verse his gaze darts back to Cas, taking in the way he’s beaming. Dean grins helplessly too, when he sees it, and the last of the anxious shake disappears from his voice as he belts out the final chorus. 

Sam’s so fucking proud of his brother it feels like his ribcage might burst. 

When Dean finishes, the applause is deafening. 

“Thanks,” he says gruffly, with a little wave, as he gets to his feet unsteadily. “We’ll see you again real soon.” He looks wide-eyed and scared as he starts to walk offstage, eyes locked with Cas’s the entire way. 

Sam takes a couple steps back, giving them space, and Charlie does the same, after checking to make sure that Cas is still well out of sight of the audience. 

Dean stops, face to face with Cas. They both look stunned. Dean’s hands twitch up like he wants to grab Cas’s, but he can’t quite make himself reach out, and for a moment neither of them move. Sam’s holding his breath. It feels like everybody backstage is holding their breath, even the near-strangers in B.A.U.; they’re all watching, hope and anticipation written all over their faces.  

“Please just kiss him already,” Penelope blurts out, and that finally breaks the spell. 

Dean doesn’t hesitate any more. He steps in, pulling Cas close, and smiles into the kiss with his hands fisted tight in the back of Cas’s t-shirt like he never wants to let go. 

“Fucking finally,” Sam says, exhaling, and Charlie’s practically bouncing next to him, letting out a little cheer. 

“It’s like a fucking rom-com. Who does that shit in real life?” Emily is saying, but she’s grinning. Everyone is. 

On Sam’s phone screen, Harry is drying his eyes with the edge of a massive white hotel comforter, and Sam misses him fiercely for a moment. He turns the camera back around to mouth a silent “talk tomorrow.” Harry says something that Sam can’t quite make out. 

“What?” Sam asks, and holds the phone close. 

Harry repeats, “And then they lived happily ever after.” 

.

.

.

[dinoyoongi]

Confirm or Deny (6) - Final

SYNOPSIS: You’re a member of the rising group FRNZEE. You’ve been dating Namjoon for years when Dispatch releases an article exposing your relationship. Your company confirms the relationship. Big Hit denies it.

PARTS: ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX - FINAL

PAIRING: Namjoon x Reader

GENRE: Romance, Angst

WARNINGS: Language, brief mentions of sexual situations

WORD COUNT: 5.1k

AUTHORS NOTE: The ending is here! Thank you so much to everyone who has loved and supported this story! I’m sorry that it took so long to get the ending written but I hope it’s as satisfying for you to read as it was to write! I know a few might be disappointed with it - that’s understandable - I did rewrite this chapter several times and cut out a lot that I had originally planned but ultimately I think I wrote an ending fit for me, Joonie and Sweets. <3

__________________________________

“Y/N?”  Your chin snaps up at the sound of your name, eyes wide at the polite, smiling face of the young receptionist at the desk in front of the room.  “The director will be ready shortly. He apologizes for the delay and appreciates your patience.”

Exhaling in relief, you bow in understanding, returning her courteous grin quickly before turning your eyes down to the screen in your lap. On your phone, Tom Hanks strides to the stage to the applause of the audience, the camera panning to different nominees in this final, ultimate category. The quick shot of BTS – of Namjoon's nervous but elated grin – makes your heart knock against your chest hard. Tom Hanks prattles for a few seconds about the achievements of the nominees before he's handed a golden envelope.

“And the Grammy for record of the year goes to … BTS!”

You don't realize you're holding your breath until you're on your feet and screaming, lightheaded and breathless from the lack of oxygen. Hand slapping over your mouth to silence your hysteria, you ignore the concerned calls from the receptionist and shakily lower yourself back onto your seat. Though seconds have passed, the group hasn't found their way onto the stage. Instead, they remain in the audience, huddled in the tightest of hug. Not a single one of them has a dry face.

You included.

They did it. Holy shit. They won a Grammy – the biggest Grammy of the night. This would make it their second after picking up the award for best group earlier in the morning. But record of the year … it's the award.  And they did it. Namjoon did it.

There's a gentle tapping on your shoulder. When you glance up, you can barely make out the blurred silhouette of the receptionist through the haze of your tears.

“Are you okay? Do I need to call anyone for you?”

“N-no, I'm fine, I-I just-” you stop yourself, eyes falling down to the phone screen. She follows your gaze, mouth opening in understanding when she sees the seven of them on the stage. Her shock is quickly replaced with a warm smile. “I'll be quieter. Sorry.”

She giggles. “Don't worry about it. If you need tissues or anything, come see me at my desk, okay?”

Unable to suppress the elation, you grin as you nod, pushing the pods further into your ear and jamming the volume up button on your phone as loud as it would allow. Namjoon is already speaking and the sound of his voice immediately conjures the waterworks again. He stutters over a few pronunciations and has to pause every so often to wipe his tears, but his speech is beautiful and poignant. The words are straight from his heart, straying from any kind of notes or script that the group might have drafted on the chance that they'd actually win.  

“Of course, we love and appreciate our fans – our ARMY – dearly. But we also want to thank everyone behind the scenes – our loved ones who we might have neglected and hurt in our path to get where we are. We hope that you're proud of us and that you'll stay … sweetly … by our side.”

The sobs come easily. Instantly.

Sweetly. He's talking directly to you – his Sweets.

You watch with loud sniffles until their speech is done, until they're carrying themselves off of the stage, until the last musical guest that you honestly couldn't name begins to perform. Your finger pushes at the power button on the side of your phone and when the screen fades to black, the reflection that stares back at you is a haggard mess. Grabbing a few tissues from the nice receptionist and cleaning yourself up before the most important meeting of your life is probably the best idea. But you can't seem to move.

Walking into this building a few minutes ago, you were sure of what you wanted – a fresh start, a new path, all slates wiped clean. Joining P NATION would do that for you. And this was everything that you wanted. It's everything that you've worked for.

But maybe … maybe you want Namjoon just a little bit more. You don't even know if a future with him is something that's feasible, or if it's something that he still wants. What if Big Hit refuses to let the two of you be together? What if P NATION refuses to let you date at all?

Once again you're faced with the possibility that you might have to choose the two things you want most in your entire life – your idol career or Namjoon.

You finally pry your hard stare from the phone. Looking up, there are two doors on either side of the room. One door – the door that you entered in – leads to the lobby, to the exit. The other door leads to the conference room where you'll be meeting with the directors of P NATION.

Your stomach twists, your throat suddenly tightening with the urge to vomit.

“Here,” the receptionist's voice cuts through your anxiety. She pushes a wad of tissues in your direction. When you don't move to accept them, she clicks her tongue in amusement and plops down into the chair next to yours. You're startled when she reaches out with the tissue to dab at your face gently, using the slightest pressure as to not totally destroy your makeup. “You look conflicted. It's not usually something I see from potential trainees … or in your case, idol, I guess? Most if not all of them are excited and confident and anxious to sign a contract. You … you look like you're going to toss your cookies all over the carpet. No offense.”

Despite your inner turmoil, you feel yourself cracking a smile. “None taken.”

“What your company did to you was disgusting,” she says casually, leaning over your lap to toss the tissue in a garbage bin. You blink at her in surprise. Not many people are bold enough to bring the incident – or incidents, because there were quite a few – with Hot Star to your face. “I grew up in the states so the extreme response to a dating report here just baffles me. Seriously. In the west, we want our favorite celebrities to date and be happy and healthy. We actually ship celebrities together. I remember growing up being totally in love with Freddie Prinze Jr – you don't know who that is, do you? She's All That? Scooby-Doo? None of this rings a bell? Okay, it doesn't matter, anyway – he started dating a co-star from one of his movies and I was their biggest cheerleader because I could see how happy he was. And you know what? Those two actors are still married to this day and I'm still rooting for them.”

Her rant is punctuated with a triumphant crossing of her arms as she leans back into her seat. You're confused as you gape at her. What is it that she's trying to tell you? If Hot Star and Big Hit hadn't intervened and the fans hadn't been so crazy, you and Namjoon would have a successful marriage?

She chuckles when she sees your confused expression. “Sorry, I know I'm a bit extra sometimes. My point that I have failed to get to is that … Hot Star has serious karma coming their way. I think you have the potential to do amazing things with your career. And I know from the look on your face that you're two seconds away from bolting but why don't you stick around and at least hear what they have to say?”

Her palm rises to your line of vision, a compact mirror and lip tint sat on top in a peace offering. It only takes you a few long seconds to reach out, hesitantly accepting the items with a gracious bow of your head. You're given one last encouraging grin before she stands up, bows and retreats back to the desk at the front of the room. Lowering the cosmetics into your lap, you exhale a shaky breath and pick up your phone. Though you had deleted his contact from your phone, there was no way that you didn't remember the number by heart.

You let the words flow into your fingertips, jerking your thumb to the send button before you can talk yourself out of it.

“Y/N,” the receptionist calls for you. Her eyes meet yours. “They're ready for you.”

__________________________________

“Holy shit, holy shit,” Jungkook is chanting breathlessly to himself as he grasps Namjoon's arm for support, the group shuffling quickly into the backstage area. The leader wobbles, his legs feeling as if they're made of jelly; all of his limbs feel as if they're suddenly jelly. The only part of him with substantial weight is the shiny, gold gramophone statue clutched tightly in his right hand. There's chaos as they step into the dressing room – managers, stylists and various staff shouting victoriously, some of their faces drenched with happy tears.

After all this time … they did it. The Grammys were something that all k-pop stars only fantasized about and BTS  - Namjoon and his brothers – now hold two of them.

It's a feeling that Namjoon can't comprehend. It's a feeling that's too overwhelming for his body. He wants to do everything; wants to cry, he wants to scream, he wants to hug every single person in the room, he wants to tell everybody he knows. He wants …

Oh. His chest dives when your face appears in the back of his mind. This is usually when you're calling him to congratulate him, to tell him how proud you are, to remind him how hard he worked for it, to promise him a more intimate celebration when you get to spend more time together.

From the wild thumping of his heart, it's easy to decide what he wants to do the most.

Ignoring the craziness of the room, Namjoon drops onto the couch. The award is yanked out of his grasp but he lets it go, reaching instead into the pile of cellular devices left on the coffee table to collect his own phone. Booting it up, he's not surprised to see his inbox already flooded with congratulatory messages and voicemails.

However, it's your message that sits right at the very top – two minutes ago – that surprises him the most.

Congratulations, Joonie. I am so proud of you. And when you want me, I'll always be by your side.

He reads the words again. And again. And again. Over and over until the dark font transforms into a blurred silhouette from his tears. One of the members – he can't distinguish who at this point – yanks his limp body into a hug, assuming that their leader is emotional from the fact that they just made history.

That's what he should be emotional about.

But all he can think about is you.

You, who had been with him since he joined Big Hit, who trained with him and grew with him. You, who supported him more than any person on this planet. You, who swore with your entire life that BTS would win Grammys. You knew it was going to happen and he wanted to prove you right.

How can he feel victorious when you're not with him?

Rising to his feet abruptly, Namjoon seeks out his manager. Upon seeing the fierce determination in his gaze, the main wrangler of the seven idols feels his cheerful grin drop. Jerking his head into the direction of the hallway, Namjoon has made up his mind.

The company will be furious; they'll fight it as much as they can. The fans will be devastated and betrayed, some might even boycott. The boys – though they'll support him no matter what – will be understandably concerned. This is a decision that effects everybody and the only person Namjoon cares about, the only person who can make the decision … is you.

__________________________________

“How does everything look?” Mr. Park, also known as freaking Psy, asks politely, leaning in your direction from across the table. Your eyes quickly skim the first few pages of the document again. You're not familiar with a lot of the legal terms and you'd be lying if you didn't admit that there were parts of the contract that sounded slightly confusing. But for the most part – from your experience with your past contracts and your knowledge of the industry – the agreement is great. Way better than anything you ever imagined prior to walking into the building today. “Is there anything you'd like to edit? Any clauses you'd like to negotiate?”

You clear your throat, wishing your nerves would give you a break. “It all looks great, honestly. I'm really thankful for this opportunity.”

Psy frowns. “I sense a but coming.”

“No, no” you assure him with a shaky chuckle. “I'm definitely signing. I'd be crazy not to. This is such a great contract, more than someone like me could have ever hoped for after … you know, all things considered. I just … I do want to request one clause be added.”

Every pair of shoulders at the table straightens up, pens being pressed to paper and fingers set atop of their laptop keyboards at the ready.

“This might sound silly coming from me and it might be a rookie mistake to request this at the contract signing but … I want to be able to date. I want to be given the chance to have a normal, healthy relationship whether it be private or public – and I want to be the one that chooses which. When there's news about me dating, I want you to ask me first and I want you to have my back, to publish what I say and not what you think will get more attention with the media. And you can refuse, you can even add a clause that says I'm not allowed to date but to be honest, even if you tell me no, I'm still going to do it. You can rip up the papers right now if that's what you want to do. I just want to be transparent with you. I've given up so much and I don't want to give up anything more. That's the decision I made for myself before I came through these doors.”

The speech is long and you're winded when you finish, leaning back against the chair with what you hope is a quiet exhale. At the end of the table, there's a light giggling. Before you sat down, you were fully under the impression that you'd be meeting with Hyuna because it was her name on the business card that was handed to you. You knew there would be other people involved but you didn't expect it to be Psy and his entire legal team. For the majority of the meeting, Hyuna stayed silent at her end of the table, only nodding or laughing or frowning when appropriate. She offered you nothing except for polite smiles when your gazes accidentally crossed paths. Admittedly, you were confused about her role in your signing but just having her there – someone who was in your exact shoes but had the guts to actually stand up for her relationship – made a world of difference in how comfortable and confident you were speaking right now.

“I told you,” Hyuna chuckles, pursing her lips cockily and throwing a sly head tilt to Psy. Your nerves intensify as you snap your neck to the man who nods in agreement. “I told you that you should have just added that clause to save some time.”

And just like that, your mic drop moment is gone. You feel yourself trembling as you lower your eyes to the table. They knew you were going to ask for it. They were going to add a clause so that you wouldn't ask for it.

“When you say that you want to be in a relationship, do you mean that you want to be in a relationship with Kim Namjoon of BTS?” Hyuna asks curiously, fingers twirling a pen as if this this meeting wasn't about to be the cause of your impending heart-attack. Namjoon's name being spoken only adds to your panic.

“Does it make a difference if I say yes?” you stutter, your voice small.

“You said you want to be transparent with us. Don't back down now,” she warns. The sound of her pen dropping to the table is like an foghorn directly into your ear canal.

“Okay, yes. I want to be in a relationship with Namjoon,” you admit. Maybe you're just searching for any sign of discomfort in the room but you swear that you hear the hiss of someone taking in a breath. You continue anyway. “I'm not saying concretely that I will be. It's … complicated between us. But I love him more than anything else and if the chance to be with him again presents itself then … yes, I'm going to take it.”

“Okay then,” Psy says, his eyes flitting to a few of the men sat next to him at the table. “Get to work. She can date whoever she wants, whenever she wants and we must consult with her about her personal matters before submitting any statements to the press. Y/N, anything else to add?”

Wait, what?

“Y-you're still signing me? You're … adding the clause?” you ask in disbelief.

Psy's grin is wide as he smiles. “Of course we are. We're signing you because we want your talent, not your freedom.”

“I didn't even have to convince him,” Hyuna chirps. Your eyes are wide and watery as you gape at her with awe. “He was on board the second that I mentioned your name. What has happened to you in your career is … disgraceful. Being kicked out of Big Hit simply for being a woman, being kicked out of Hot Star because your company choose to capitalize on your relationship instead of supporting you. I know you probably think that he's just scooping up jaded k-pop stars but we're not interested in you because we pity your unfortunate background. We're interested because we're in awe of how you keep going. You were at the top of the food chain of trainees at Big Hit and when you were transferred, you had to start all over again and you did it. You debuted. And when this industry kicked you back down to square one, instead of giving up on being an idol like most others would, you took my card and called us to willingly – once again – be the lowest totem on the pole. You've got the whole package – talent, looks and perseverance. You're going places farther than any of those girls in FRNZEE could even fathom and we want to be the ones that help you get there.”

You don't realize that you're out of your seat, that you're stumbling your way in Hyuna's direction until she's in front of you and you're swinging your arms around her neck. She's startled, emitting a soft oomph as she fumbles backward but instead of pushing you away, she pats your shoulder comfortingly.

“Thank you,” you sob into chest. “Thank you so much. You have no idea. I-I just … I don't-”

Gently, she pushes you away, her hand firm on your shoulders as she bends down to meet your eyes directly. With her other hand, she uses her thumb to wipe away what you know are disgustingly hideous mascara tracks. Her smile is blinding as she grins at you encouragingly.

“Welcome to the family, Y/N,” she says warmly. Those words send a trill of warmth down your spine. “Even though it was my suggestion, who you really need to be thanking is our CEO. I have a big mouth and I use it often but he's the one who ultimately makes the decisions.”

You nod, turning to approach Psy. Unlike with Hyuna, you reign in your raging emotions, opting to bow respectfully instead of launching yourself at him. “Thank you, sir. I promise that I'm not going to let you down.”

Rounding back to your side of the table, there's no hesitance when you pick up the pen to sign your name and stamp your seal. The group waits until your pen has been placed back onto the table before they're on their feet and cheering. Their applause for simply signing with you is more encouraging than all of your positive interactions you've ever had with the Hot Star CEO combined. Psy has the super sweet receptionist – who winks in congratulations before she leaves the room – bring in a bottle of champagne and Hyuna insists on snapping a photograph of you with your contract for your future trophy case in their talent room.

You've been in this room for an hour. One hour and it feels as if you've been handed this entire new world wrapped with a shiny promise of a great future.

There's only one thing missing.

__________________________________

ONE MONTH LATER

BREAKING: Y/N officially signs with P NATION!

Months after leaving FRNZEE and Hot Star Entertainment following the dating scandal that led to her being verbally and physically attacked by BTS fans, P NATION – the entertainment company that was founded by former YG artist Psy in 2019 – has announced on social media today that they've officially signed with Y/N! Y/N was ostracized in the k-pop industry after rumors of her dating BTS leader RM were confirmed by Hot Star but denied by Big Hit. Due to backlash, Y/N was ultimately pulled from the group's comeback. The controversy also saw BTS fans attacking the then-FRNZEE vocalist in the KBS parking lot during a Music Bank recording.

We can't wait to see what kind of music Y/N will be releasing under this new label. Stay tuned for more updates!

You roll your eyes, clicking off of the article and back to the influx of incoming messages. It was too much to hope for a quick “congratulations!” article, wasn't it? Scrolling through the messages, you feel slightly overwhelmed but in a good way.

Ji-na: I feel cool because I already knew but still CONGRATS AGAIN BABE! Happy for you!!

You're giggling as you type back a response to her and a few other people before clicking the phone off and setting it down to charge. Your eyes take a long moment to adjust to the dimness of the room compared to the bright lights of your phone screen. Today has been a whirlwind of messages and phone calls and more messages and more phone calls. You just need a break from all devices.

“Y/N?” a voice from the kitchen calls. You heave yourself onto your feet, padding a few steps over to the counter that separates the kitchen from the living room. Per your contract with P NATION, instead of sticking you in a dorm, you're now living in an apartment building owned by somebody who works for the company. Your building neighbors include Hyuna and Hyojong who actually live on your floor and Jessi who lives a few up. It wasn't super spacious but it was cozy and private and yours. You sigh in exhaustion as you slump onto one of the stools. “Do you want mozzarella on your pasta?”

Elbows resting on the table, your chin propped onto your palms, you nod sleepily, letting your eyes flutter closed. “A lot of it, please.”

You giggle when you feel something press against your lips. Opening your eyes, you're not surprised to see Namjoon mirroring your posture, his lips on yours. He kisses you sweetly for another few seconds before pulling away. “You've had a long day. How are you feeling?”

“Tired. Happy. Content. Hungry,” you say pointedly, grinning when his dimples dip from his laughter. “I'm so glad that you're here with me right now.”

“Me too, Sweets,” he says softly, sliding his hand across the table. You remove one from under your chin and meet him halfway, interlocking your fingers immediately. Like always, your heart pummels against your ribcage. It appears that Namjoon is always going to fluster you and you wouldn't have it any other way.

Considering the scale of dramatic that was yours and Namjoon's breakup, you would've thought there would have been some epic reunion consisting of hours of conversation and arguments and agreements that would lead to the reigniting of your relationship but … there wasn't. When he got off of the plane after returning from America, the first place that he went to was yours. In Daejeon. You had been in Seoul for meetings the entire day and because of what happened, your mother wouldn't let him in the house. He waited hours on the porch for you to return – after he had just gotten off a thirteen hour flight – and when you finally walked up that sidewalk to see him dozing on the uncomfortable, rickety wicker chair …. you just knew.

There didn't have to be a spectacular speech or declaration of love – you already knew you loved him and that you wanted to be with him again.

So here you were. Together.

Together – the word makes your chest clench in relief.

You eat your pasta takeout at the kitchen counter, taking turns feeding the different noodles to each other between catch-up conversation. You tell Namjoon about the concept meeting that you had earlier in the day, the meeting that would decide in what direction you want your sound to go. He tells you about the amount of celebrities – specifically ones that have stuck their noses up at the boys in the past – that are flooding Big Hit with collaboration requests following the Grammys. And when you finish up with dinner, you both retire onto the sofa. Namjoon loads Netflix and turns on a random documentary although you both know damn well that you'll only watch it for maybe twenty minutes before your restless hands and yearning lips find another way to keep each other occupied.

Tonight, though, you're surprised when he whips his phone out in front of your face. “We don't have any recent pictures together. Let's take a selfie.”

Your hair is in a messy bun and your face is bare but who are you to deny him anything?

Leaning in, Namjoon presses his lips against your cheek. You smile bashfully, assuming the picture will turn out incredibly sweet, until he uses his free hand to squeeze your cheeks together. Before you can protest, the blinding flash of the camera captures the moment. You massage the skin that was pinched when he releases you, muttering grumpily as he coos over how adorable he thinks the picture is.

“This one will be perfect,” he mumbles to himself before his fingers start moving across the screen keyboard.

You squint in confusion. “Perfect for what?”

He pretends to not hear you but you get your answer only two minutes later. The pings and beeps and notifications on your phone begin to chime rampantly again.

Ji-na: OMG NAMJOON IS TOO CUTE. YOU GUYS ARE TOO CUTE.

Your eyes narrow suspiciously at your boyfriend who lounges next to you, phone in one hand while the other kneads a spot on your ankle where it rests on his lap. “Why does Ji-na think you're too cute? What did you do?”

Namjoon chuckles incredulously. “Wow, that didn't take long at all.”

“What are you talking about?”

Instead of answering, he presents you with his phone that's loaded to his Weverse account. There's one post from Namjoon, added two minutes ago. The goofy selfie of the two of you with the caption: I've been an idiot – she has always been my Sweets. Congrats, babe.

“Namjoon!” you shriek in alarm, shooting up into a sitting position. “Have you completely lost your mind?”

You gawk at the man as he chuckles calmly, pulling himself off of the sofa as well. Why would he do that? And how can he be so calm? Doesn't he realize that he posted it? Doesn't he realize what he just did?

“I … Joonie, I don't understand. Help me understand. Why did you do that?”

He takes your hand in his, pushing the pad of his fingers into your skin soothingly. “I told myself that if I was lucky enough to be with you again, things would be different. I wasn't going to make the same mistakes I did last time. I don't want us to hide. I don't want us to be a secret. I know that there's going to be backlash from this – especially because of my reaction last time – but I just want to be with you, okay? Is that okay?”

Is it hot in here? You feel like you're melting.

“Joonie, of course it's okay. There aren't going to be any label issues on my end and of course I want nothing more than to be public with you – it's what I've always wanted – but … have you cleared this with Big Hit? With the boys? What's going to happen now?”

He gives you his wide, closed-mouth smile, the one that makes his dimples deep. “What's going to happen is that we're going to be happy. Together. I'm going to own up to my mistakes and take responsibility for not fighting for us the first time around. I'm going to endure the backlash with the boys at my side and … we're going to be Joonie and Sweets no matter what anyone has to say about it. Okay?”

You nod, biting your lip to stop the sudden onslaught of tears. Joonie and Sweets. It's all you've ever wanted.

He sighs. “I know this is going to get us both in a bit of hot water but I'm done hiding.”

Crawling closer to him, you snuggle into his side, sighing in contentedness when his arm wraps around your shoulder and pulls you closer.

“I'm okay, Joonie. I can take whatever is thrown at us but I just have to confirm one thing for whenever my manager eventually calls,” you tell him. His eyebrow lifts questioningly. “We're both in the relationship this time, right?”

He rolls his eyes once before lunging at you, fingers digging into your sides in merciless tickles.

 - T H E   E N D - 

[idreamtofthereaper]

Treasure

Requested! idol!hongjoong x idol!reader (F)

genre: mushy smushy fluff (Or I tried to make it one)

an: hey bub, I hope you would enjoy this one! I took a quite different route from the usual settings like this but it did follow your plot 🥰

--

“Thank you so much for trusting us with this award. We promise to be the idols you guys will be proud of. Again, thank you so so much!” A loud yell from the audience then erupted as you finally finished your speech, taking the hands of the members beside you as you raised your hands and took a deep bow, holding the position for a few seconds before waving and smiling at the audience.

Unlike your members who are now exiting the stage, you sprinted towards the back to continue preparing for your performance. On the way back, you were already unbuttoning some of the buttons on your shirt.

And when you finally reached the back, you remove the flowy and baggy dress shirt and hand it to your stylist to reveal a lacy tank top, much more revealing than the one you were wearing earlier.

The stylists then put the mic pack on your bottoms as you fixed your in-ear. 

2 months after the group was invited to the show and your group deciding to attend, they also said that there would be a special collaborative stage for the leaders of new groups. 

So with you, you’re going to share the stage with Chan from SKZ, Yeji from Itzy, Soobin from TXT, EU from Everglow, and Hongjoong from Ateez. But because their group is preparing for their comeback, he wasn’t able to attend practices and only had to watch clips of the choreographer. 

While you were fixing your top, a soft tap on the shoulder made you look over your shoulder. 

Behind you was Hongjoong, looking all cute and innocent. He has his mic clutched on his hand as he smiled warmly at you. “Annyeong.”

“Oh, sunbaenim.” You greeted with a little shock, you turn around fully to face him and bowed, Hongjoong returning the gesture. After standing back up, you pushed back the hair that got on your face. “I’m glad we could finally see each other.” 

“Me too! Are you going to do anything? I want to practice for the performance at least with someone on the stage with me. And I know there would be some partnering?” 

“Oh yeah, I don’t know a place where we could practice though.” You answered, thanking the staff as she finished fixing your equipment and attire. After a short bow, you turn back to Hongjoong.

“That’s fine, the hallway right now is deserted since the artists are out and the staff is busy at the stage.”

“Oh great.” You said enthusiastically, he then nodded and handed the staff the mic he was holding previously and turn himself back to you.

He then stretched out his arms and motioned out towards the hallway. You nodded, understanding what he was referring to and walked out, Hongjoong walking beside you but not exactly beside you, he was a few steps back.

While walking, you did noticed how the hallway was nearly deserted. There were only a few staff on the hall and maybe even some artist but for the majority of it, there were nothing. 

“Yn-ssi, congratulations with the win by the way.” You turn around with a sincere smile and bowed slightly.

“Thank you, sunbaenim. I’m sure you will get one too, and one on your newest comeback as well. I’m sure you guys prepared a lot.”

“Ahh drop the honorifics, we’re basically the same age, right?” You gave it a thought, then nodded after realizing it was true. 

“It’s going to be a while before I get used to it, how’s the preparations going?” You then asked, trying to keep the conversation going so that everything later on won’t be awkward and the both of you could be more comfortable with each other.

“It’s going great, it’s good that we could take a little break from the preparations, the members is enjoying the timeout.”

“Oh yeah, while we were doing our preparations the members consider radio guesting as a chill day.” You replied, feeling the sentiments as an idol and leader of the groups.

The both of you continued talking about it, even busting out some laughs now and then. Hongjoong stopped walking which made you stop walking too, but the both of you continued talking. “Also, the song you produced was amazing! It was on repeat for a week at our dorms.”

“Thank you! I’ll now be keeping in mind that every song should be extra special since it will playing at Ateez’s dorm for a week.” You joked, the tension and seriousness of earlier now gone.

“We should start practicing now, I think we only have a few minutes before we need to start our preparations.” You snapped out from what he said and remembered the reason why the both of you are even here.

You nodded and hastily took your phone out your pocket and searched for the song. After locating the song, you pressed it but immediately paused it then pushed it to the beginning.

You look back at Hongjoong “Let’s go?”

“Yeah.” You nodded then played the song, walking backwards to him as the song started.

Unlike earlier, the both of you danced to the song seriously. But not too much as you don’t want to tire yourselves out. After the practice, you told him to do some countings next. 

After a few minutes, Hongjoong managed to be more synced to the song, his movements more connecting and matched with yours. 

After polishing his moves, you then told him that the partnering setup will be up next.

This is his first collaborative stage, the same as yours. And the fact that the both of you will be doing it to the opposite sex is kinda weird, to say the least.

It’s not the most provocative or even a super sexy move. But it does involve skinship. There were a lot of parts where his hands will be on your semi-exposed hips and a particular move where he will put an arm around you. 

“Am I doing it right?” Hongjoong asked timidly as he put a kinda shaky hand on your waist, his body pressed yours on the left while his hands was wrapped on your back and hand rested on your waist.

You nodded then gulped. “Yeah, so the next one will be-” you turn around but Hongjoong was frozen in place, resulting to the both of you hitting your foreheads together.

The both of you stumbled back, especially you. But then, you felt a pair of hands holding you steady, paired with a laugh. “Are you okay?” You nodded while laughing yourself, letting Hongjoong hold you.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you were going to do an entire 180.” You were just laughing as you calmed yourself down, assuring Hongjoong as well that you were okay.

You continued the practice with a lighter mood, matching each other’s movements and being more fluid. You just finished the practice when one of the staffs alerted you that your performance will be next.

The both of you went backstage and greeted the other artist who will be joining you. A few preparations later, you were sharing the stage with him and other fellow leaders of amazing and talented groups.

As the both of you finally did your partnering, the camera briefly panned to Ateez and your group to see their reactions, who had a similar one by covering their eyes, acting shocked and one of your members even going far as to fake faint.

After the performance, each one of you congratulated each other and took a photo, different one for instagram and a few wacky ones for safe keeping. 

You were about to leave and go change in your previous outfit when Hongjoong caught up to you, sweat still dripping on his forehead. “Hey, I had fun on stage and during practice, maybe we could hang out more?”

“Uh yeah sure.” You replied, a little shocked but feeling a little excited as well. The both of you exchanged numbers and bid goodbye, you going back to the table with your members as they teased you, glancing behind you to see Ateez was doing the same to Hongjoong.

After the award show, both of you were the talk of the town. Almost everyone was excited with the performance the both of you did, though some was obviously not on board with the entire thing.

The both of you even got some headlines, talking about the ‘barely innocent’ performance you shared. During all those times, Hongjoong and you were talking with each other. 

Hj (10:23 am): okay hello good morning, I think some of your braincells went to mine when we knocked heads 😵 and now I have this song stuck in my head and I need you to come by the studio, can you do it?

yn (10:24 am): I never should have given you my number

yn (10: 25 am): but okay, I’ll talk to the company and tell you what they said. I’ll try to make it happen

Soon after, you made another headline by collaborating to the song both of you made. 

And let’s just say a little while later, the both of you made headlines again.

[honeymoonjin]

bts reaction - a video of the two of you goes viral

A/N: requested by a lovely anon :) 

JIN

the two of you were always cooking together at the boys’ dorm so you didn’t think any different when some of the others asked you to make them some dinner

little did the two of you know that jungkook and hobi were conspiring against you by placing a little camera they had borrowed off staff and filming the whole thing

as normal, the two of you found your rhythm in preparing and cooking several meats and vegetables, completely unaware that your every movement was being live-streamed on v-live

as you waited for the hot water on the stove to boil, you snuck over and slid yourself under Jin’s arm so that he was trapping you against the bench 

“i can’t see the carrots anymore, honey”

“oh, jinnie, who cares about carrots when your beautiful girlfriend is in front of you” 

weirdly enough, just like jin loves complimenting himself, he also loves it when you’re confident about your own looks, and you know how to use that to your advantage

jin smiles sweetly down at you and leans in for a kiss, murmuring against your lips “mmm, you’re right, those boys can make themselves dinner for once, i’m in the mood for a little private eatjin”

just as he begins to start grinding his hips against you, jungkook scrambles into the kitchen, just about slipping in his socks

“hyung stop! stop!”

you watch in bewilderment as he opens a slightly ajar cupboard and pulls out a camera, which was pointing straight at you

“what’s going on?” 

jungkook waves at the camera with a little laugh and then looks back up at you “we just wanted to prank you guys, but then you had to go and do...that. eugh, it’s burned onto my retinas now”

you blink in shock but your boyfriend doesn’t seem nearly as surprised. “jin..?”

“i saw the red light beeping when i went to get the chopping board”

“you knEW? and you still were going to-”

jin grins cheekily “i wanted to show off my beautiful girlfriend, is that so wrong?”

you keep a neutral face, but you can’t help but blush. “...fine, but let’s continue this show in private, okay?”

YOONGI

when it came to righting serenades to lovers, rap wasn’t generally the best medium

yoongi knew that, so for a while he had been asking jin in secret to help him improve his singing

he knew his hyung had been through trying to learn everything, and he was a great teacher

now, yoongi sat you down on his lap as he sat at the piano, delicate hands wiping down the keys nervously

he’s set up a little camera in the corner because he wanted to record the audio as a demo to send to namjoon, but he couldn’t track down the voice recorder, so a decent camera was just easier

he can just convert it to an audio file later anyway

you lean back and crane your neck around to watch him, but he pushes you back softly so that you’re eyes aren’t on him

he’s nervous as fuck, okay? he’s way out of his comfort zone here

his voice is quiet and a little wobbly but there’s a genuinity there, and it sounds so beautiful with the piano to accompany it

the lyrics are beautiful, and as you feel yourself fall in love with him more and more, you wish you could see his face right now, but you obediently watch him manipulate the white ivory instead

luckily, or perhaps unluckily, a couple of weeks later namjoon accidentally uploads the video version instead of the mp3 version on the official twitter, and it immediately goes viral

you watch it yourself, melting at the way yoongi’s eyes barely glance at the keys as he sings, fixated on you

the song is messed with a little before the release of the next album, but when he performs it in concert, the whole audience sings with him

after hearing the lyrics and seeing the real love that it stemmed from, army have taken it on board as the official song of their love towards BTS

yoongi is over the moon that people have really connected with his song, but still, the best performance of it he ever gave was that first time, when it was just him, you, and the piano

HOSEOK

you can’t dance

you know this. hobi knows this. the rest of bangtan won’t let you forget it.

but unlike the other members who just laugh at your awkward attempts to mimic their choreo during sound check, hobi wants you to be able to enjoy the thing that he loves so much, so he takes it upon himself to teach you

unfortunately, bighit smell profit like blood in the water, and they decide hobi should start doing it as a hope on the street series

so every second tuesday, like clockwork, army get to enjoy a video of (in your c o r r e c t opinion) the hottest guy on the planet deal with the dancing equivalent of a trainwreck

“honestly, seokie, just give up now. it’s been three months and my dancing still looks like i’m fighting a ghost and losing”

“i told you if you stopped flailing so much and just slowed down your arm movements you’d be much better!”

“didn’t you say i should find something that made me unique?!”

and so the sixth episode of this special edition of hope on the street becomes you and hobi pettily arguing and making zero progress

fans in particular tweet a million times about the moment that hoseok gives up, chases you around the studio and then tackles you and straddles you, forcing your surrender

it’s a very suggestive position, so you kinda can’t blame them, but now the problem is that army won’t shut up about getting more of it

they want you to suffer so that they can see how sexy hoseok looks when he gets angry

because holy fuck is he sexy when he gets angry

episode nine has him slapping you in the ass every time you miss your cue

episode eleven features him manhandling you into position when you insist you’re too tired to dance

maybe one day you’ll improve but for now you’re destined to showcase your lack of ability on an international scale with your unbelievably talented boyfriend

NAMJOON

unfortunately as namjoon’s girlfriend, your viral video moment isn’t as pg

namjoon is a real horndog, so it’s become pretty run of the mill for you two to send pictures back and forth

normally it’s on snapchat so that there’s no trace

but namjoon tells you he wants a video he can keep before he goes on tour, so he asks you to send one on your basic messaging service, that way he can save it to his camera roll

namjoon is doing a fanmeet, and they’re playing a game where one of the members streams their phone to the screen behind them and the fans have to guess who it is

most of the other members use mirroring, where the whole screen shows up exactly as it is on the phone, so namjoon assumes its all or nothing

he does his, and once he’s done instead of turning it off like he thinks he has (because his screen is no longer showing up) he’s just turned it to the setting where only videos stream

the fanmeeting is boring af (no offense army) but maybe it’s just because namjoon is missing you rn

he pulls out his phone to take a sneak peek at the video, making sure volume is down, but then your moans blast through the speakers

yup. namjoon is streaming a video of you getting off to the entire hall

fuck fuckfuckfuckfuckfcufkcufckuckfuk

his heart is beating so hard in his chest and his fingers shake as he desperately tries to mess with the settings and stop the video playing, but by the time he does, the whole room is chaos

fans are screaming and squealing and the members are either crying with laughter or look like they just want the ground to swallow them whole

namjoon is certainly the latter

but he laughs awkwardly, apologizes and tries to change the subject

army feel kinda bad for him and the way his cheeks are bright bright red so they let him move on, but you best believe shaky hand-cam videos of namjoon freaking out while his girlfriend’s sex tape plays on the big screen are going viral for MONTHS

JIMIN

in this case, it’s not a single video, but rather a compilation, that goes viral

we been knew that jimin is a slut for attention but one dedicated army scrounged up clips from all over the internet to put together a twelve minute-long video of all the moments of jimin being a needy boyfriend

there’s an entire three-minute section dedicated to his heart-eyes stare when you’re not watching

there’s a low quality video of you which all fans of bts have seen a million times where jimin straight-up grabs your hand and puts it over his dick behind stage after their comeback show

about a million different instances of him feeling you up as a way for you to stop what you were doing and look at him

and then of course there was a supercut of moments from the various Bangtan Bombs you had featured in where he whines and pouts and wiggles his shoulders when you’re chatting with namjoon and not him

the two of you see the video when you keep getting tagged, and while it just makes jimin even more whiny, you have a good laugh over it

in fact, you take it upon yourself to start tweeting some screenshots of jimin being needy, exposing him yourself

“it’s tiring being the girlfriend of an idol, but it’s even more tiring when it’s jiimin!” you tweet

of course, jimin’s feelings are a liiiittle hurt and you have to make it up to him for weeks

(and don’t think the fans don’t notice how jimin suddenly starts acting like he has the biggest dick in town)

(they’re well aware some shit has gone down every time he comes out from backstage only to have red cheeks and a dopey grin)

TAEHYUNG

this is 100% percent tae’s fault

he thought it would be fucking hilarious to post the drunken voicemail you had left him one night when you were out partying with your girls

to be fair, if it was anyone else but you, you would’ve laughed too

but that’s your voice in bubbling sobs confessing your undying love to him so it is most certainly Not Funny, thank you very much

“...and i hope you get a good sleep because you deserve it and i hope that you know how much i love you because when i look at you it’s like all the stars left the sky and they’re in your eyes and you’re so beautiful and i love you so much and sometimes it hurts me inside because you’re so wonderful and magical and. oh also, did we get milk the other day? we’re almost out of milk i think. anyway i just called to let you know i’m staying over at unnie’s place so don’t wait up. okay i love you. no, you hang up first! oh, you don’t wanna hang up on me because you looooooove me too much! goodniiight baby”

and then a solid 43 seconds of you breathing because you forgot to actually hang up, and eventually the recording stops

army think it’s the cutest thing in the world, and tae does too, but of all the beautiful things you’ve done for him in private he chooses to share the drunk one? just rude

#[your ship name]needmilk is the new trending hashtag, and army literally start bringing milk cartons to fanmeetings, telling tae to give it to you

you have too much milk, and not enough dignity

you tell fans this on twitter and then #toomuchmilk replaces it

next time you get drunk, you are determined not to call tae

JUNGKOOK

of all the things you could do with your time, become anonymous amateur porn-stars probably wasn’t the most productive or advisable

but being an idol had given jungkook both a desire to do something without being recognized as the maknae from BTS, and simultaneously a huge fetish for exhibitionism

he’s a performer, it’s in his blood, so why fuck when you can fuck and have people get off to you? that’s what he figures, so the two of you create an account

you’re obviously extremely careful about not showing your faces, and the current system you have set up is putting down a strip of tape on the bed (or wherever you’re fucking as it most certainly varies) where the edge of camera shot reaches

you keep your heads above that line, and no one can see a thing

you also try to keep out any identifying materials in the shot like clothes you’ve worn in public before, or the many figurines jungkook has lying around

maybe what makes the eventual discovery even worse is how long it takes

nobody finds out for well over a year, so there’s a preeetty hefty backlog of videos

in the end, it’s your own stupid mistake that gives it away

jungkook shoots a v-live shortly after the two of you film a video of you two doing it in his studio

you had cleared out the wall so it was just plain black, and even brought in a chair from a different room so that no one for whatever reason would recognise jungkook’s gaming chair

but he’s so blissed out from you riding him and giving him one of the best orgasms of his life that he makes a rookie mistake

he forgets to take off the blue masking tape that lies in a rough square on the wall

when he returns his studio back to the way it was and goes live, one army who clearly was also a fan of your porn videos notices the tape and mentions it in the comments

soon enough the numbers of the chat peak and fall crazily as fans leave the live to go check the pornsite and your most recent vid, and come back to compare it to his studio

jungkook tries to pretend like he’s not noticing the stream of comments talking about how hot he looks and how good his moans sound, but he realises he never wanted it to be this way

he wanted to keep this and his videos separate, and now he’s made an irreversible mistake

he shuts off the v-live without warning and runs down to namjoon’s room in tears, asking what to do

in the end the issue is resolved by deleting the channel immediately, and very few people actually thought to take anything more than a screenshot, but jungkook knows he won’t be seen as a baby boy maknae ever again

(namjoon also realizes that for the past five months he’s been unwittingly jacking it religiously to jungkook fucking his girlfriend)

(he doesn’t tell jungkook this)

[nikib3577]

I’ll Remember You

Most people may not think of a concert as a rhetorical situation. But in order to have so many people feel the same way, and react in the same way exercises massive amounts of persuasion. Take, for example, Elvis Presley’s 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert. This incredible event was broadcast live to the whole world, and more than 1 billion people watched. Unfortunately, we can’t experience the original concert, but recordings can still give us a sense of rhetorical strategies an event such as this brings.  

The concert was a reminder, both then and now, that Elvis Presley was an incredible entertainer. Aloha from Hawaii is designed to highlight Elvis’s showmanship: from his American Eagle jumpsuit, to his ability to sing a myriad of genres, to his rapport with his audience and the appreciation he has for his band, the concert presents Elvis’ style of entertainment through the years. All of this loaded into an hour long concert that took place in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1973.

The concert begins in total darkness. The TCB band crescendos into Also Sprach Zarathustra. The crowd cheers in anticipation. Some of these people have waited years to see Elvis in concert, and they’re made to wait just a bit longer. Tension builds, the song crescendos to the climax, then we’re launched into the fast paced intro of C.C. Rider. And there he is. Elvis appears from backstage illuminated by a spotlight. He makes his way up and down the length of the stage, greeting his loyal fans. He successfully asserts himself as someone worth waiting for. Long-time friend Charlie Hodge hands Elvis his guitar, and Elvis springs into C.C. Rider. The entire concert goes from high energy, to slow and sweet, then back - keeping the audience entertained without tiring them out. We are bathed in the beauty of the gospel song You Gave Me a Mountain early on, Elvis giving us a glimpse of his roots as a southern Christian boy who sang at church every Sunday. This smooths out his “rough edge”, and helps him connect with more reserved audience members. Classics such as Blue Suede Shoes and Hound Dog throw us back to the early days of rock and roll, whose beats - along with Elvis’ “lewd” movements - were the stuff of controversy. It’s almost laughable when you compare it to the “things kids are doing these days”. Elvis’ incredible vocal range gives him access to a spectrum of genres, and he performs them all with charisma and passion.

The intense connection between Elvis and the TCB band also plays a role. There are several moments throughout this concert where Elvis “becomes a part of the audience”, and is lost in the magic that is the TCB band. They take up the entire length of the stage, the Joe Guercio Orchestra sits in the back, Glen Hardin is at the piano on the left, Charlie Hodge plays rhythm guitar, Ronnie Tutt on drums, James Burton on lead guitar, and Jerry Schiff on bass guitar. A massive band, with no director. We also have J.D. Sumner and the Stamps quartet, the Sweet Inspirations, and Kathy Westmoreland to sing backup. The quality of the music is awesome, to have this many parts moving in unison with no direction is hard to believe. So when Elvis turns his back to the audience, and just watches in awe, we know exactly how to feel.

In the 1970s, several performers wore jumpsuits on stage. But the only one people seem to remember, is Elvis Presley. And which jumpsuit is the one people wear for Halloween? The American Eagle. For good reason. It cost $65,000 to make in 1973, and to make the same suit today it would be 4 times that amount. Weighing about 75 pounds, it’s a wonder Elvis was able to move so well. The various eagles were created with semi-precious stones. The red and blue eagles on a white suit show how proud Elvis is to be American, and he’s not afraid for the rest of the world to know. A massive belt and matching cape completed the suit, but the cape was too heavy, and therefore only worn for the ending song Can’t Help Falling in Love, before it was tossed into the audience. The belt was also given to another lucky member of the audience a little earlier, just after An American Trilogy. These items were worth much, and Elvis gave them without hesitation. Presley was well known for his charity, and knew he could make a difference in people’s lives. The Aloha Concert raised $75,000, and all of this was given to the Kiu Lee Cancer Fund. Elvis blessed lives not only with his music, but with the riches that music brought.

Elvis was also known for wearing silk scarves during his performances, it was no different in Aloha from Hawaii. Charlie Hodge was the dedicated scarf-adorner, putting one around Elvis’ neck to keep the flow of the concert going. Sometimes scarves were worn for several songs, then flung into the crowd. Other times Elvis would get one after another, wiping the sweat from his brow with one, from his chest with another, always making it great fun for the screaming fans. Many times Elvis would bend down and grant kisses to the ladies who swarmed the sides of the stage. Elvis received many Hawaiian leis in return, and ended up having to take some off in order to accept more. Not only does Elvis give gifts to his audience, they return the favor. During Fever, the audience is teased by Elvis’ movements, which are timed exactly to accents in the song. Suspicious Minds gives us some low lunges, and humor with the line, “ I hope this suit don’t tear up, baby!” instead of the original lyrics. The screams from the audience show they are enjoying themselves. A great performer knows how to read an audience, and Elvis is a master.

The camera shots used to record this performance make us feel we are truly a part of the original audience, and sometimes even closer. A great example of this is during An American Trilogy. We start off with Elvis facing James Burton, the lead guitarist, and away from the audience. The camera hugs in close, only Elvis and Burton are seen. As Burton begins the opening line, the camera moves to focus on him, Presley’s back is to us. When Elvis begins singing, he moves back to the center of the stage. He passes off the second part to JD and the Stamps, and watches them intently, the microphone at his hip. He gives these incredible performers their moment in the spotlight, acknowledging he wouldn’t be able to do this without them. As the Stamps sing the second verse, the camera is once again behind Elvis, giving us his perception. The Sweet Inspirations, who sit in front of the Stamps, sway slowly to the music. When it’s Elvis’ turn to sing again, he finally turns to the audience, yet his eyes are closed. This moment feels personal, and Elvis is sharing his soul with us. The shot fades to a farther away position, we are now able to see the whole band with Elvis illuminated by spotlights. Though his eyes are still closed, there is power in his body language, and his iconic shaky leg matches the slow acceleration of the snare drum. Closing in on Presley again, he accentuates parts of the song with arm movement. It feels as though the music controls him, instead of the other way around. As the intensity builds in the song, Elvis finally opens his eyes, and looks directly into the camera, and we feel as if he were staring at us. He closes his eyes again as he begins the “All My Trials” section, his voice lulling the baby he sings about. During the line “You know you’re daddy’s bound to die.” his shoulder drops, it seems as if it’s a foreshadow to his death, only 4 years in the future. This entire section feels as if he’s praying, the close camera shots make us reverent, make us feel every word. As we move to the instrumental section, the intensity builds, and Elvis once again turns away from the audience, who is silent, giving us an even more intimate feeling. Singing the climax, Elvis faces the audience, the camera is behind the drummer, and we see that there is in fact an audience present, even though we felt it was just us privy to this passionate performance. Throughout the entire song, shots will fade to different instruments, but there is always a faded image of Elvis over top. Even when he’s not singing, you can’t take your eyes off him.

Aloha from Hawaii makes the argument that Elvis Presley was a great entertainer. He knew how to interact with his audience, even if they weren’t physically in the same room. The passion and charisma he holds makes every performance unique, and he shows us his soft side, along with the hunk side. Elvis’ entire story tells us how a great performer is made, and Aloha from Hawaii wraps up the decades long script, and shows us the whole package in an hour long concert. This makes Aloha from Hawaii an incredible thing to experience, even 40 years after Elvis’ death.

[quell-tea-salon]

THE IDOLM@STER SideM 3rdLIVE TOUR report - Makuhari Day 2

The group lineup for Day 2: Dramatic Stars, S.E.M, Cafe Parade, Altessimo, and Legenders. (See set list here.)

Suffice to say, this DraSta/SEM/LegeP died and went to heaven. I had an AltessimoP sitting to my left and a SEM-P on the other side; we pretty much took turns dying throughout the 3.5-hour concert LOL. Also today I had a much better seat compared to yesterday’s live-viewing, which allowed me to appreciate the show even more!! For starters, I could actually see the whole screen this time....

Karino Sho was the MC for today; he gave his signature “SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO desu” greeting, and told us that the concept for today’s performances was “Show!” ....Then proceeded to make a pun of it with his name wwww

With all the groups present on stage, the first song was Reason!!, followed by Cafe’s Reversed Masquerade. Lege took the stage for Symphonic Brave, then it was Alte’s turn for Tone’s Destiny. So far all songs that were in yesterday’s set list.

AND THEN

MY DREAMS CAME TRUE

I GOT TO HEAR SEM SING SAYONARA SUMMER HOLIDAY!!!!! SEM! SUMMER! HOLIDAY!!!! HOLY SHIT DEM HIP THRUSTS UGH SENSEI NOT IN FRONT OF YOUR STUDENTS!!! Yoshiki was downright OBSCENE enokiya's singing was shaky as usual and Totto’s dancing is still stiff (so endearing ;w;) but honestly it didn't matter bc IT'S SEMMMMM

And without giving us time to recover DRASTA BURST ONTO THE STAGE FOR MOON NIGHT NO SEI NI SHITE AND I SCREAMED SO LOUD SKSHAKSHSJDBNAJDHSKDJDN THEY GAVE US THE SLY LOOKS AND BEDROOM EYES AND NAUGHTY WINKS AND LIP-LICKING AND "OIDE ♥" IT WAS HORRIBLE I DIED ABOUT 50000 TIMES you could tell they were having the time of their lives performing it too T_T My throat pretty much died since I was making dying whale sounds the entire time lol i tried not to use my voice after that but the set list continued to be amazing so I couldn’t stop myself from screaming cheering and joining in the song calls.....

After allowing us a short break by way of talk time, part 2 kicked off with Kamiya’s solo A Cup of Happiness! His dance routine included the use of a sparkly pink cane >< So cute and stylish....... Halfway through the song Legenders’ Amehiko and Chris joined him on stage with their own white canes and i freaked out omggggggggg this three make such a handsome picture T_T God, Chris’ long legs and fashion model proportions.,.....

The rest of Cafe Parade joined Kamiya on stage for Cafe Parade! (my fav song of theirs!), and after that was Rei-chan’s solo Echoes My Note, and Alte’s first single The 1st Movement. The AlteP next to me was whimpering the entire time ;w;

I lost my shit again when Lege hopped on stage for String of Fate....... I’ve wanted to watch this R18 performance since forever........ Amehiko’s voice is so smooth and gorgeous and deadly, it’s almost hilarious that his seiyuu Kasama-san is a total gentleman who loves cats and has the temperament of a marshmallow T_T However the strongest singer was probably Fuumin, he hit all the notes consistently (and looked beautiful from every angle gdi).

After another talk break, part 3 began with SEM's Infinite Possibilities!!!! Another classic hit from SideM...... Every time Totto unleashed his magnificent vibrato at "koeTEEEEEEE" we'd burst into cheers!!! They used the pink laser guns in the choreography too, so cute ><

Next was Alte’s Never End Opus....... The famed performance that reduces everyone to tears......... My AlteP buddy was sobbing and even I felt my eyes prickle........ Such a beautiful, heart-wrenching song T_____T

Dramatic Nonfiction!!!! This is my 2nd fav song from DraSta after Moon Night and i know i keep repeating myself, but i’m SO happy that i got to hear them perform this live T_______T It’s uncharacteristically moody for DraSta, the dance choreograph is sexy af and IN THE SECOND VERSE THEY HAD A CAMERAMAN WITH THEM ON STAGE AND THEY UNLEASHED /MAXIMUM/ FANSERVICE AT THE CAMERA DURING THEIR SOLO LINES UGHHHHHHHHHHH I HATE DRASTA, JUST KILL ME (THEY KILLED ME) At that moment I was actually grateful to be at a live-viewing instead of the venue 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Then Cafe Parade hopped on board the the rail trolleys for A La Carte Freedom, throwing rubber balls at the audience like HiJo yesterday. Later they apologised for throwing too hard and hoped that they didn’t hurt anyone wwwwwwwwwww

Another talk break, then Legenders kicked off part 4 with Legacy of Spirit. LegeP represent!!!

Next was Maitaru’s solo This Is It. Singing’s definitely not one of Enokiya’s strong points, but he’s cute and rly fun to watch, even more so when you know what he’s like irl and thus how seriously he takes his work wwwwwww Teru and Saki-chan jumped in as backup dancers, they were both so sexy and cute (srsly Saki-chan was KILLING IT) and i hate Teru for winking at the camera ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; I love watching Shugon dance, he has so much energy in his movements!!!! Truly a Physical idol <333

The next song began with a minute of taiko drums and we were like “Oh???? Who’s this????? Could it be....???” Then SEM appeared on stage in ouendan outfits and we SCREAMED!!!!!! They recited the senseis’ lines cheering on the students from that scene in ep5 and even did the VICTORY! group pose IT WAS SO GOOD T_____T They shed the ouendan gakuran coats for the song (From Teacher to Future!) though haha. During yesterday’s performance Jirou just kinda collapsed onto the stairs in a fit of exhaustion... Today Hazama-sensei sat on the stairs with his face in his hands ;w; Sensei ganbareeeee

DraSta returned to the stage for Arrive To Star. Tbh it’s probably my least fav out of their songs, along the lines of Starlight Celebrate, which i also wasn’t too fond of until recently (it grew on me). But i do know how important this song is for them as a team, and i’m always grateful for DraSta live performances... IMO they truly are one of the strongest teams in SideM vocally, even if Taku doesn’t always do well live.

DraSta remained on stage and SEM joined them to perform a DraSEM version of Ryuusei Parade!!!!! Nothing beats the original DraSEMJupi version (which we got to hear yesterday!) but i love this song to bits and i love DraSEM, plus it’s highly unlikely that we’ll get to hear this rendition anywhere else, so this was truly a performance to remember *____*

Eternal Phantasia!!!!!! I was hoping that they’d perform this today as it wasn’t in yesterday’s set list T______T This majestic, uplifting song was the perfect lead in to the ending sequence - BeyoDori, followed by encore (they changed into 3rdLive coloured T-shirts for this) songs Glorious Ro@d and the SideM staple Drive A Live :D

As the cast made their final exit from the stage, almost everyone made cute poses at the camera.... DraSta were the last group to leave and those ASSHOLES did a SYNCHRONISED BLOW-KISS at us sahjgfdlDGHLsdfghlfSD I WRECKED MY THROAT FROM SCREAMING AND ALMOST CRIED FROM SHOCK, THANKS A LOT!!!!!!!!!

Other stuff:

Totto is an amazing singer and is always in stoic Hazama-sensei mode during performances, but when he talks his endearing awkward side comes out ;w; Usually Enokiya teases him about it and Yoshiki runs damage control, but today Yoshiki just stood back and Totto complained that recently Yoshiki's been giving him the cold shoulder wwww

Speaking of Enokiya, every time it was his turn to talk he’d break character and yell “LET’S PAAAAAAARTTTTYYYYYYYYYYY” (or smth like that) wwwwwwww The first time he did it Yoshiki’s like “who ARE you???” and Enokiya goes “Well it’s hard on me when i have to follow Totto’s awkward talk time” and Yoshiki retorts with “You just made it hard for me too” LOL

When Cafe Parade said that they’d like to see SEM have their turn on the trolleys, SEM asked if they could throw balls as well, and someone suggested that they throw chalk instead since they’re teachers wwwwww Yoshiki tried to shut down the conversation, saying that he has never met a teacher that actually throws chalk at students, but both Totto and Enokiya raised their hands wwwwwwwwwwww

Since yesterday each and every one of Kasama-san’s messages were heart-meltingly lovely and sincere, and today was no different..... In his farewell message he borrowed lines from Amehiko’s marriage proposal from the mobage event, making everyone squeal/sigh... Kasama-san.....

Ama-chan gave us a very sweet message which almost sounded like a marriage proposal “Please stay by my (our) side forever” so Makonyan imitated Ume’s wedding-proposal-on-one-knee pose from yesterday, and Maria mimed biting his glove wwwww

Fu-kun (Shirou) tweeted: “Yesterday Beit proposed to me, but today I was swept away by DraSta” L O L add SEM’s SSH to that and you have: marriage proposal from Beit -> breakup with SEM -> elope with DraSta

Taso shared that due to individual busy schedules DraSta actually couldn’t meet up for rehearsals, so the first time they managed to rehearse as a group was on the day itself of Makuhari Day 1 (yesterday). Taku joked that he was relieved to see Taso still alive www

It’s no surprise that all three members of DraSta are pretty handsy people (they touch each other a lot so you can tell that they’re really close friends ;w;) but today i noticed that Taso always had a hand on Shugon’s shoulder or back whenever Shugon was speaking ;___; cuteee

During his farewell message Taso said that DraSta’s bond as a team had become even stronger while performing together in the concert, and he believes that Kaoru feels the same about Teru and Tsubasa. Shugon, with the biggest grin on his face, put his arm around Taso’s shoulder and pulled him close, going “Aw, you!”, and Taku chipped in with his Tsubasa voice “Kaoru-san, are you feeling shy ^^?” Taso immediately switched into Kaoru mode and retorted “Shut up, it’s your turn to speak! ///” *UGLY CRYING*

Taku seemed to be in good spirits and didn’t appear to have any injuries, but while the camera was zoomed in on him for his farewell speech i noticed that his thumb was bandaged and his microphone had a handle attached to it. I didn’t notice this yesterday, but then again I could only see half the screen from my first-row seat. If my guess is correct, he probably injured his thumb in yesterday’s accident, and the handle was added to the mic to help with his grip. I’m relieved that he wasn’t seriously hurt T_T Rest well, Taku-chan ><

The next concert will be held two weeks later in Miyagi! I’m attending the LV for day 2. In the meantime, I’ll focus on letting my dead throat recover, so I can kill it all over again in two weeks ^^

[rkroyalsurvival-blog]

Episode start.

The previous weeks of emotional oscillation only continue in the last episode’s elimination round. It’s clear by the surprise present on more than one contestant’s face that an elimination wasn’t expected; awed gasps and aching expressions manifest when one name is called among the others. “Yubin, I’m sorry, but this will be your last day.” A microphone is passed to the female rapper by the staff and Yubin speaks her final farewell to all:

“I don’t really know what to say, my reaction time is slow… But I’m happy that I could come this far and I’m happy that my performance was enjoyed, it might not have been rapping but I’m extremely proud of it. I can’t wait to see the girls who make it on stage….so fighting and thank you for making me desperate again.”

So Jisub nods in acknowledgment to her words, sincerely wishing her the best as Yubin makes a graceful exit. With the show already more than halfway through, the CEO finds that the pressure to select the perfect girls for the final group is only getting more challenging. The previous challenges have done well to test their stage abilities to his discernment, however, there’s one more quality So Jisub prizes in the trainees in his company. 

A personal interview with the CEO reveals the truth of it. Seated comfortably behind his desk, So Jisub leans forward to regard the camera with a thoughtful expression. “Most talents can be learned with practice,” he admits in his trademark calm tone. “However, a harder thing is to find members who have an excellent morality and a superior character as well. This isn’t optional-- far more than singing or dancing, I desire these qualities in my performers above all else. A good heart is irreplaceable.” Jisub flashes the audience a small, mysterious smile. “Everything else can be taught.”

“How are you going to test them?” The viewers are then taken inside a conference room, where the CEO sits at a long table surrounded by two producers and his communications director, Seo Kyulhyun. Jisub’s quiet laugh is full of mischief as he taps one finger against his temple. “Instinct,” he explains simply. To the producers’ raised eyebrows, he only laughs again in reaction. “If anyone knows ahead of time that something is happening, they’ll plan their reactions in a way that’s insincere and looks good-- a habit which is not what I want to see.” He proceeds to explain the plan to the three, and even gets up once to walk to the door. With the right timing, Jisub opens the wooden panel to admit two more who will be privy to the prank: the Dispatch reporter who will pose questions to the girls and the costumer designer whose dress is intended to be rigged for reactions.

On the day of the prank, the designer, the camera operator, and the producer are shown meeting together ahead of time to slip microphones sneakily into their garments. While the girls wait outside the costume studio to come in individually, the costume designer carefully adjusts the mannequin inside the studio for maximum effectiveness. The audience is aware of the false situation from the start. They can see the carefully-masked expression of the producer as the first girl is called in. They can see the way the camera operator and the reporter exchange knowing glances when she sits down. And finally, they are witnesses to So Jisub entering into a separate room with a large monitor in place for him to watch the interviews through the ‘eyes’ of the costume studio’s hidden camera. He is joined by the costume designer and he is the one who signals each time the designer will leave to go cause trouble.

For his, and the audience’s amusement, they watch the prank unfold for the eleven girls who are left in the show.

After Yang Jiwon answers her final question, she’s seen agape once the mannequin falls apart. So Jisub watches with a critical eye, and a sympathetic smile, as the designer hones in toughly on the TRC trainee. For a girl who was all spirit in her song performance in the last challenge, Jisub is surprised to see the way Jiwon doesn’t argue back in the way he’d suspected she would. Is he disappointed? Not entirely, for the appropriate words, “I’ll pay for it, it was my fault, I should’ve been paying more attention,” are uttered by Jiwon in the end. The CEO wouldn’t usually let a trainee under his employ pay out of pocket for such a thing, as Jegal Seoyoung reveals with her honest reply of the company covering costs, but, being as this is a genuine prank, he is visibly pleased by Jiwon’s personal reply.

The same goes for Ahn Hyojin, whose insistence that she pay herself, is met with Jisub’s approving laugh, and Manoban Lalisa, whose apologetic face and similar words tugs at one’s heartstrings. “It’s almost too cruel, isn’t it?” Jisub jokes with the designer who rejoins him after the third girl has gone. The costume designer shrugs and answers him with a sly smile. “They’ll probably hate you when they find out.”

The other girls are then shown with their own varying reactions: Nam Dawon, who attempts to soften the blow by complementing the dress’s original beauty (which causes the CEO to laugh outright); Park Chaeyoung, whose shaky voice betrays her feelings as she tries to offer reparation; and Jung Soojung, the latter girl who offers to remake the dress herself when it breaks. To Jisub, the costumer designer confesses her surprise at this last response: “I almost believed she’d actually sew with me right then and there!”

“Do you think she’d actually do it?” he asks curiously. Kim Seolhyun also offers to help repair it, as does Lee Soohyun, whose tearful eyes and continual bowing causes the CEO to sigh softly in compassion for his young trainee. Finally, there’s Lee Jihyun, whose memorable blood-curdling scream and softer, more apologetic offer to help as well as pay, causes the CEO to lean back in his seat with a pensive look. “It’s amazing the difference between those who think of money first rather than offering their own labor,” he muses aloud.

The designer looks to him questioningly. “It’s not really a problem to me,” Jisub confesses to her thoughtfully. “It’s probably just as good to recognize one’s own limitations.” As the last one to go, he watches Jo Eunae’s repeated apologies before he crosses his arms over his chest. “Actually, that might be the wisest choice to make… most of the time.”

October 27, 2017.

The day after the ‘pranking’ incident, So Jisub visits the girls’ dormitory in person. Aware that emotions may be running high in fear of the designer’s reprisal, the CEO requests that she accompany him as well on this visit. He and the designer wait for the girls to gather in the foyer of the dormitory before he speaks to all of them as a group.

“Congratulations on your successful practice interviews,” he begins, smiling. Although the edited versions previously seen during the episode only reveal their interview’s final question before the prank, So Jisub explains to them that he has personally watched all interviews in their full entirety. He praises the girls for their honesty, and scolds good-naturedly for those who were a little too honest about their dating opinions. However, he conveys that he isn’t disappointed in the least. He then goes on to explain the premise behind the prank-- “the importance of having a good heart and selflessness”-- before  waving towards the designer to speak. On Jisub’s cue, she offers the girls her own apologetic smile and deep bow for her part as an accomplice for the test.

“You all behaved admirably,” she says, echoing So Jisub’s words. “We at Royal value those who take responsibility and offer to help even if they’re not at fault. It’s a sure sign of maturity that we can’t be more grateful for. And don’t worry, we won’t make you pay for the costume!” she adds on, laughing. The CEO is seen with his own sheepish look as he turns once more towards the girls gathered in front of him.

“I’ve seen the good in you and I know the viewers at home will be glad to see it, too.” The CEO casts a proud look over the remaining eleven girls. “There’s not going to be any elimination or group swapping based on this,” he reveals to them, and chuckles warmly at the relieved lack of tension that fills the room. “No need, I think, since really, it’s all my fault for tricking you so terribly.”

“Instead, I’m going to give you some time to relax.” So Jisub goes on to explain that, thanks to their hard work in the past few weeks, a time for respite has been well-earned by the eleven who have made it through this far in the competition. “I know it gets harder the longer a survival show goes on,” he commiserates with them aloud, “So, it’s equally important that you re-energize now in order to perform at your best again later on.”

The girls are then told that their next filming destination is to Seorak Waterpia, a water park located in Seoul where they will spend several days filming at the various locations offered at the tourist spot. From the offered hot springs, to the water rides, to eating foods at the park’s featured food court-- the girls are told to revitalize their spirits on camera in preparation for the next, much tougher challenge. For there will be one.

“Until next time, ladies.”

End of episode.

EPISODE 5, Writing Prompt:

As So Jisub explained at the end of the episode, this next episode is intended to shift gears a little bit in order to show off more of the girls’ individual personalities as they enjoy themselves at Seorak Waterpia. A water park famous for its various touristy attractions and entertainments even during the autumn months, the filming at Seorak Waterpia will take place over three days: November 2nd-3rd, and on November 6th.

During this time, the girls will group up and/or pair up (of their own choosing) to explore the attractions while cameras will follow them around through the entirety of the filming day. The girls are encouraged to have fun, however, this is a public outing and, as such, all are expected to behave appropriately as members of the show. Security will be present to prevent fans and other tourists from getting too close to the girls, though the cameras’ presence will undoubtedly attract attention from the public who are also visiting the theme park. Be on your best behavior!

The filming schedule is as follows:

November 2nd Filming location: Rainbow Stream and Spa Valley (10:30 AM to 5 PM)

November 3rd Filming Location: Shark Wave, Aqua Zone (10:30 AM to 5 PM)

November 6th Filming Location: Fun Zone (11 AM to 3 PM)

For this episode’s writing opportunities:

Required: write a 300+ word performance solo about enjoying at least one of the filming days with a group/paired partner. You can pick any of the filming days and any of the zones on that day to write about.

Optional: write a 300+ word reaction solo to hearing about the revealed prank.

Optional: write a 250+ word interview answering these specific questions:

“Do you believe you have what it takes to survive through to the end of this competition?”

“What kind of concept would you ideally like to debut with?”

The reward for writing the required solo is +5 SKILL POINTS TO BE DISTRIBUTED AS YOU WISH, +10 CHARISMA POINTS, and +5 DEBUT points, as well earning +1 week of a CHARISMA-BASED achievement of your choice. Additionally, all girls will automatically receive +1 week VARIETY achievement for being present during Episode 5. Point forms will always be due the Wednesday after a deadline passes; this means for Episode 5, verification forms should be submitted after the Activity Check post on Wednesday, November 15th. These form dates have been added to the writing schedule, so refer to it periodically to make sure everything is being submitted on time!

ROYAL SURVIVAL EPISODE 5 (for the Nov 15th form)

[ x ]  *one 300+ word performance solo

+5 ____ POINTS

+10 CHARISMA POINTS

+ 5 DEBUT POINTS

+1 WK CHARISMA-BASED ACHIEVEMENT (CURRENT LEVEL + NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN)

+1 WK VARIETY ACHIEVEMENT (CURRENT LEVEL + NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN)

+ NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:

The deadline for all solos is 3AM EST at the start of November 13th, and please tag each solo (including the interview) with #royalsurvival5. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to the Royal Survival inbox!

[flop-culture]

(Not-So) Secret Theatre, Hong Kong

Sight, specified. An ambitious touring production which struggles to lead its audience anywhere besides the bar. 

Pass the fava beans and a nice chianti. I have a lot of thoughts.

Heralded by the media as “Silence of The Lambs meets Black Mirror”, Secret Theatre Project’s latest offering of interactive site-specific performance is a well-meaning, well acted, yet somewhat sporadic marriage of horror, history, and courtroom shenanigans.

It is apparent that this show is not site specific- it is site dependent. It depends upon its setting to inform our belief of the story and its characters, and unfortunately STP’s choice was not the best fit.

Tai Kwun, the refurbished former Victoria Prison, may seem like a thematically apt location for the “Trial of the Century”. Certainly, an ex-courtroom housed STP’s London iteration of the production back in early 2019, which was met with due praise.

However, the repeated mention of Tai Kwun on the event’s ticketing page begs the question: why is it called a “secret location” when they tell you not only the exact location, but the exact restaurant at which the pre-theatre dinner will be hosted?

The fact that little is done in the way of transformation of the space itself provides further disappointment. Anyone who knows this city knows that Tai Kwun now functions as a popular museum, and the placards signposting the walls detract from the authenticity of the performance. 

Despite the strengths of the actors, a further unfortunate consequence of this performance site was the physical distance between the prison blocks and barracks themselves. The meandering walks to and from each of them, during which people either straggled behind or simply wandered too far ahead, effectively spliced the experience up into somewhat hackneyed, disparate chunks. A lot of of participants missed important bits out of the prelude, which was recounted to us as we crossed a busy courtyard, and it was difficult to squeeze everyone into the cramped scenes to “inspect” evidence or even listen to the Detective explain the scene at all. Perhaps this could have been remedied if audience members- or Jury Members, as it were- had been given a case file to pore over and discuss during dinner?

As much as I enjoyed the gorgeous Thai meal, this element felt, again, at odds to the show itself. Housed in a different building to the rest of the action, the only factor which reminds the participant of their theatrical duties is a single appearance by director Richard Crawford as the charismatic television host, Rip Love, whose true crime channel Trial TV shall be televising the the murder trial live on air. 

This is an attempt to incorporate an existential moral panic edge circa-Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, presenting humanity’s intrinsic obsession with entertainment technology as its ultimate downfall. It falls flat, however, as there is only one member of “crew” visible, and they seem to be holding one very fake camera. 

More could have been done to smooth over this incongruity, working to properly align the dinner and theatre elements- maybe by bringing more actors into the dining space (perhaps to dine with or talk to the audience), or by presenting a short a scene in the restaurant to cement the tone of the show and introduce characters early on. 

Speaking of characters, the direct invocation of Hannibal Lecter needs to be flagged. Has anyone sought copyright over this yet? From the emblematic mask on Lassiter’s face when you meet him in his cell to his dead ringer imitation of Anthony Hopkins’ version of the role, are these direct references to Dr Lecter harmless or do they piggyback off of the most well-known cannibal in literature as a sensationalist act of character theft? If the latter is so, surely this piece can be deemed simply Red Dragon fan fiction.

The high point of the evening comes at the crux of it all, when, after another lengthy break, the Jury is led into the “TV Studio” for the court proceedings and subsequent sentencing. Traverse staging works beautifully here, heightening the duality of surveillance whilst being surveyed by an audience- the one both in front of you as well as the at-home audience of Trial TV. Suitably confrontational and allowing for stellar acting across the board, a part of me wishes the whole show had taken place in this room and had just done away with the promenade element entirely.

To summarise, this year’s Secret Theatre Project is full of promise. From the talented actors to the meta-theatrics of Trial TV, it’s not to be said that there were no success stories of the night.

However, the many spatial risks taken by the director paired with an overly-wrought plot combine on shaky grounds which left many audience members scratching their heads, getting sidetracked, and mooching off to the free bar for another pint of wine. Three and a half hours is too long for any audience to stay engaged, especially when they are repeatedly brought back to reality by so many unavoidable consequences of being in a public, open space.

All walk and no stay makes Richard a predictable boy. It would be nice to see STP branch out further with more realistic expectations, both of itself and the locations they work with.

- Jasmine

[ritingsandwramblings]

Sunshine Part 1 (Ben Platt x Reader)

Prompt: requested by @just-another-imagine-writer : “Ben Platt/Reader in which reader is super anxious (generalized anxiety) and he tries to help as best as he can and tells her about how brave they are/how Evan would have handled his anxiety (since the reader heavily depends on Evan Hansen’s character as well as Ben himself) *screaming internally bc I don’t like asking off anon but I’m pretty sure you could write this way better than I coULD!!!*”

IM SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG FUCK

Gender neutral Reader btw!!

Warnings: anxiety, anxiousness, spoiler to the first lines of the show ig,

This is two parts bc I felt like this was too long to add a part about Ben helping the reader by saying what Evan would do. 💕💕

I said I while ago I wasn’t gonna write anymore cast member fics bc I didn’t feel like I could know them well enough to get their personality perfectly accurate but here you go it’s an exception bc this prompt is so cute and I feel like I can get Ben pretty accurate after being a ben platt stan™ for like 5 years now lmao. Also I’m so flattered that you think I could write this so good tysm!!!!

Honestly I did so much research for this I didn’t wanna fuck up the GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) parts and not describe them well because I didn’t want to not make it serious enough or just get it wrong bc GAD exposure (or any mental illness exposure) is so important to some people and if I’m gonna contribute to that exposure I’m not gonna get the info wrong!!! Source credits is Wikipedia tho tbh I read the entire wiki article on GAD. Also I tried to include Reader helping Ben too since Ben has anxiety as well so!!! Cute fluff of such a healthy helpful relationship!!!

Nickname (and title) credit to @chelykat451-blog Tysm!!!!

•••••

You had cried the first time you went to see Bens show. It was a clear memory for you, going to the Music Box Theatre much earlier than when the show was set to start. It was the opening night for their move to Broadway, so the street leading up to the theatre was crowded with cameras, fans, and interviewers all dying to get a glimpse of the cast. Ben brought you with him early, hoping that the rest of the cast and crew wouldn’t be mad about him bringing you backstage. You could hear the crowds from down the street, and your increasingly clammy hand began to unconsciously tighten around Bens. He looked at you, knowing your feelings of anxiety reciprocated his own and feeling sympathy. Pulling the hood of your jacket tight, you and Ben walked fast towards the stage door, you on the inside closest to the building, him on the outside waving to fans and smiling to a few before he got to the door, letting you two in.

Once inside the door you let out a shaky breath you didn’t know you were holding, closing your eyes and leaning against a wall, letting your head fall back against it. Ben hesitantly grabbed your shoulders, almost pulling away when you jumped at the contact. You leaned into his chest though, not letting him pull away just yet. He wrapped his arms around you and kissed the top of your head.

“Hey, you were so brave, okay, Sunshine?” He said, using his nickname for you, a reference to your large love for the Beatles song Here Comes The Sun, “I’m so proud of you, you did it! Go Y/N!” Ben whispered into your hair, kissing your head again as you giggled into his chest. Pulling away slowly, he looked into your eyes and gave you a reassuring smile, before taking your hand in his and leading you up the stairs to his dressing room, where you stayed while he got ready for the show. You sat on the couch in his room after stripping off your coat and watched while he prepared. It was mesmerizing watching him put on his costume and get his hair and makeup done. He was so dedicated and focused and you couldn’t be more proud of him. When it reached seven they opened the doors for the nights audience to enter, the rush of the pushing crowd getting louder as more people filed into the theatre. You rubbed your right thumb against the palm of your left hand nervously, bouncing your leg as you knew eventually you’d have to go to your seat and you were sure something would go wrong somehow. Ben noticed your anxiety and walked over, kneeling in front of you on the floor, resting his chin on your knee that wasn’t bouncing, his hands resting on your waist.

“It won’t be long, Sunshine, okay? You’ll only be out there for forty-five minutes and then I’ll be onstage, okay? Just forget everyone around you and focus on me.” Ben said, looking up into your nervous eyes. You looked up from your hands and met his eyes, giving him a reassuring close mouthed grin, silently telling him you would be okay and could do this. You stood up, him following, and wrapped your arms around him in a big hug.

“I love you, and I’m so unbelievably proud of you, Benny,” you told him, feeling slightly emotional as you thought of this journey and all that Ben had done, “Now, break an arm!” You said, joking about the cheesy ‘break a leg’ saying and his characters broken arm. He snorted, his nose crinkling as he laughs.

“Thank you. I love you too, you nerd,” He kissed your forehead before you left his warm embrace, leaving his dressing room and going through a series of doors and down many sets of stairs until you got to your seat. It was in the front toe, with the rest of the friends and family of the cast, next to Ben’s parents and siblings. You smiled at his mom as you sat next to her, your seat being on the outside of the row so nobody was on your left side. She talked excitedly to Bens father for the next forty minutes while you continuously rubbed your thumb on your hand.

~~~~~

After the never ending forty minutes wait, the show started. You watched, tearing up at the sight of your boyfriend on stage, on Broadway, the lead in a show. You knew he was fulfilling his dream, and you couldn’t describe the pride you had for him.

“Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day, because, because all you have to do is just… just be yourself… and also confidence…” Ben began to ramble as his character, the audience and you included giggling at his nervous rambling. Soon enough, Rachel entered the stage as his mom, but your eyes were still glued on Ben. You noticed his anxious behavior and how he began chewing his nails and messing with the hem of his shirt and you geared up once again. You didn’t stop crying even after the show ended, many hours later.

~~~~~

“Oh my god, Benny, that was beautiful!” you say excitedly as you walk down the hallway backstage to meet up with Ben. He was sweaty and has tears staining and snot covering his face, but you didn’t care. You ran up to him and pulled him into a tight hug, still crying hard from the show.

“Thanks, Sunshine! You liked it? Oh I’m so glad you liked it!” Ben said with just as excitement, his nose crinkling in happiness again.

“Liked it? I loved it!” You pulled away and wiped your tears, even though t was pointless as more continued to fall. Even if Ben wasn’t the lead, the show was still amazing and meant a lot to you. It was very emotional for you being able to see representation of a teen with anxiety, since you were diagnosed when you were fifteen and had dealt with generalized anxiety ever since. Ben knew this, and had told you about the show and character when he first landed the part, telling you that he wanted to use some of your ticks and traits to help make Evan more realistic. You agreed, of course, wanting to see a realistic anxiety representative in media.

“You did great, Benny, that was perfect.” You cried, grabbing each side of his face and giving him a kiss. He rested his hands on your tear-stained cheeks as well, kissing back just as passionately as you did to him.

[oops-my-fingers-slipped]

By Chance, By Dance

Author: Admin Lex

Pairing: JungKook x You

Genres: Fluff, Romance, Street Dancer AU

Warnings: Only a few swear words

Your dance sneakers stride through Seoul's busiest streets, Spring breezes licking your ankles and anticipation tightening your grip on the speaker clutched in your hand. You scan the street horizon in search of a suitable dance floor for your little spectacle. Pace quickening, your eyes pin-point a wide clearing up ahead next to an intersection, unoccupied and spacious.

/Perfect./

Within minutes you've reached your destination, set down the speaker, plugged your phone, and tapped on the playlist labeled "N/Y's Jams." You peer up from the device and smile at the bustling pedestrians, too hurried to notice your preparations. Women click past in heels as high as their income, tourists drag aching feet and filled cameras, stylish persons sip macchiatos with shades stained caramel by the late afternoon sun. Everything all too familiar. Today, however, they would be in for quite a treat. Continuing with your task, you hit "play" and take a few good steps back, centering yourself in the middle of the concrete square.

/Alright, let's do this.../

You take multiple deep breaths before the music kicks in, mentally preparing yourself for what's to come. First up on your playlist was "Really Really" by WINNER so it didn't surprise you when the opening bass sends your body spiraling into its rhythm. Each step fitting its corresponding count like pieces of a puzzle finally aligning. Every movement flawlessly practiced, interlocking step with melody. Your worn dance shoes are enough proof of hours dedicated to hard work. Time to put it to the test... It starts with one person. Then a few more trickle in. Then clusters of pedestrians form a circle surrounding the main attraction they all came for: You. The music omitting from the speakers echo through the streets of Seoul, bouncing off skyscrapers and across local vendors, entrancing all who hears it like a spell. It tugs at their curiosity and guides their feet towards the beckoning sound.

JungKook POV:

JungKook's afternoon didn't quite go as planned, for he didn't expect to hear his group's song "Blood, Sweat, and Tears" while strolling along the city sidewalk. Curiosity surged through his veins as he turned toward the sound, trying to locate the music. His eyes quickly stopped at the nearby intersection where a crowd surged forward, gathering around something clearly very enduring.

/Hmm must be a street performer.../ /I wonder if they're using the original choreography./ /They must be good if a crowd this large managed to form this quickly.../

Deciding he could afford a little detour, JungKook tugged his face-mask over the bridge of his nose and approached the crowd. The river of pedestrians were hard to push through but JungKook managed to reach the front of the audience, finally seeing what all the fuss was about. In the center of the circle danced a girl, all eyes glued to her sharp steps, every movement laced with precision. She obviously had practiced and perfected the choreography almost too much. Having memorized every subtle step, she gave herself freedom to stylize the choreography a bit, adding her own twist to the rhythm. JungKook could hardly recognize it as his own dance and, needless to say, he was impressed. Suddenly, the girl spun around, catching JungKook's eye in the process, a smile instantly spreading across her cheeks. She refused to let go of his gaze, at least not until she stopped dancing and began walking in his direction.

/Oh shit, does she recognize me?/

JungKook barely had time to collect his bearings before she spoke. "Hey, you know the choreography, don't you?"

Clearly not ready for the unexpected interaction, JungKook's palms began to sweat. "Oh, uh, yeah I do but how did you know?"

JungKook didn't think it seemed possible, but her smile grew even wider as she explained, "You've been marking it since you showed up. Do you want to try it for real this time?"

"Well, actually-"

She made a gesture beckoning him to the dance floor. "It will be fun! I promise it isn't as scary as it looks."

Little did she know, stage-fright was the least of his worries. A smirk crawled up his face as JungKook stepped out from the audience and joined the dancer in the center of the circle. The audience, finally realizing what was happening, burst into wild cheering for the brave new-comer. The girl still held a smile to her face as she high-fived her new partner.

Reader POV:

You quickly knelt down to your speaker, rewinding "Blood, Sweat, and Tears" to the beginning and gave the boy a thumbs up. He returned the gesture and you supposed he was smiling under his mask from the way his eyes crinkled in excitement. You returned to your spot on the floor next to the newbie and knelt down. Following your action, the boy hovered his hands over your eyes, mimicking the exact pose in the ever-famous music video.

/5, 6, 7, 8, and-/

Nae ppi tal munul~

Both of you shot up off the ground, ready for the dramatic entrance and slowly nodded your heads in union to the music, before sliding yourselves into the next count of eight. From the corner of your eye, you spot him hitting every step, not daring to miss even a single beat.

/WOAH, okay so maybe he's not so much of a newbie.../ /But where on Earth did he learn to dance like that?/

You were right, he knew the choreography and he knew it like the back of his hand. His precision was breathtaking but you refused to be left in the dust. You began hitting your steps harder, cleaner foot-work, determination coursing through your blood. Peering over at him, it appeared your dancing had the same effect on him as well. His breath more labored, cheeks flushed the color of a beet. Both of you were pushing yourselves to your full potential. And absolutely loving every second of it. And apparently you weren't the only ones because the crowd cheered and screamed like never before, only giving you both more energy. Through the entire track, they ceased to decrease their volume. The song finally concluded, leaving you and the boy gasping for air, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. Even so, the sweat that flooded your clothes and the burning sensation searing your lungs didn't stop you from letting a joyful chuckle escape your lips. Releasing a laugh of his own, your temporary dance partner beamed up at you from where he sat on the concrete, still trying to regain his breath. Sweat coated the tips of his coconut hair and heat stained his ears red. You assumed you appeared similar but didn't bother to care. You managed to find the breath to ask, "Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"I think I'll keep that a secret." He said with a smirk before continuing to pant.

"With that kind of skill, I would too. Oh, by the way, I'm Y/N."

"Nice to meet you, but I refuse to believe I'm the only one with skill here," he replied.

You walked over to where he lounged on the floor and offered a hand up. He gladly accepted and you took the opportunity to ask, "I don't believe I've been told your name yet?"

"I think I'll keep that a secret too."

You smirk, he had just confirmed your assumptions. "Okay, so that means you're either a fugitive or an idol judging from the mask...and I'm pretty sure fugitives can't dance..."

His casual laughs are muffled by his face-mask. "Are you sure? I hear some can break dance almost as good as they break out of prison."

You immediately face-palm, sending the boy into bubbles of laughter. "I hope you realize how terrible that pun was."

"I should really stop learning how to flirt from my hyungs." He realized too late the weight his words held and regretted speaking instantly, nose flushing bright pink. You giggled and the boy-still flustered- checked his watch, eyes widening when he read the time. "Oh! I'm gonna be late! The members are waiting for me."

"So you /are/ an idol."

"Possibly." He flashed another shy smile.

And with that, he began fast-walking out of the clearing and crossed the street at the intersection. When reaching the other side of the road, he remembered something. Turning back around, he shouted in your direction, "Thank you, it was a pleasure dancing with you!" A few people passing by gave him confused looks but he paid no attention. You yelled back, "The pleasure was mine!" You waved him off and the nameless idol continued down the avenue without looking back.

•The next day...•

"... and as our top news story: BTS's JungKook was spotted yesterday in Seoul participating in a street dancer's performance as well as having further conversation with the stranger after-hand. Let's take a look at what footage was released..."

You have never moved so fast before in your life, shooting up from your desk with your mouth wide open, hardly believing what you were hearing. You stepped closer to the T.V. where the newscaster played footage taken of you and the idol dancing to "Blood, Sweat, and Tears." Your mouth dropped to the floor.

/NO WAY. NO FREAKING WAY./

The footage was shaky, taken in a hurry but there was no mistaking it. You and JungKook danced in the center, sweat dripping from your foreheads, faces as red as a tomato, but the wide smiles you two wore were the most prominent feature present. Both of you lost in the bliss of music, but knowing exactly what steps to take. Both of you so happily at peace. The video cuts away, leaving the news anchor alone at a desk and she proceeds reading off mundane news for the day. But you couldn't seem to hear her through your inner screams.

/I can't believe it.../

[workreveal-blog]

Edit videos Like a Pro : Camera Tips

New Post has been published on https://workreveal.biz/edit-videos-like-a-pro-camera-tips/

Edit videos Like a Pro : Camera Tips

The top aspect you need to reflect consideration on is the target market – something you significantly should consider at the start of the whole method as it will decide how the video is made, the level of trouble in the language you operate, in truth the whole tone.

Once you have edited your video and perfected the soundtrack, the question is a way to present your work. So how to edit your camera videos like a pro. The common possibilities are:

· Ship, the edited DV, returned to the virtual video digital camera’s tape

· Copy it to VHS or Betamax tape: to technique it so that it can grow to be a web video

· Replica it to a CD or DVD

· Save it at the PC tough disk

· Create a streaming video (Movie in a format you can email).

If you want a day video, you will need reminiscence space. The social preference is to put the edited video directly to disk. You could output your video as a video CD or a DVD directly for your disk-burning force for playback in a well-matched tool. Short movies are first-class on CD. DVDs are steeply-priced but have more reminiscence area. If you want a new power especially for virtual video-making, make certain the one you purchase can write DVD-R discs readable in DVD players and drives.

You can additionally make a streaming video (RealVideo, Quicktime or Windows Media documents) to electronic mail to your buddies or to put on a web page. These take appreciably less space, although the photographs are of lower first-class. In all likelihood, the high-quality manner to present material is on an interactive whiteboard. It gives a cinematic feel and ensures the target audience stands a great danger of being immersed in the work.

John Davitt adds: Apple’s QuickTime is a mainly useful software device for publishing finished video clips around faculty networks. Just pop the completed record within the shared place at the college intranet and each different station on the network can view it. As a layout for digital video, it works similarly correctly on Computer and Macintosh computer systems, and even big video files will begin gambling before they are completely downloaded.

If you purchase a licence, you may turn your free QuickTime player into QuickTime Seasoned (£25 from apple.Com). It permits you to edit QuickTime clips entirely using highlighting and slicing and pasting – just as you would textual content in a phrase record. Youngsters love this because they can deconstruct the films – recording a bit of themselves – saving it as a QuickTime clip, after which passing themselves into a movie trailer of their desire.

  The editing software program works with a storyboard and a timeline and, like the other programs, It will realise scene breaks and separate them into clips.

The SmartCapture part of this system is precise. Instead of bringing in the video at excessive great, it records at a decrease resolution to store in the storage area. A 30-minute DV tape takes up 6.5Gb of disk space; SmartCapture takes 75Mb, lowering it to around 90%. You edit your video at the decrease resolution and, when you’ve finished the program, routinely recreates the video at its authentic quality stage. This makes the whole thing a great deal faster and simpler to deal with.

editor

other Computer editing packages:

Dazzle MovieStar five track Maker 7 Ulead Video Studio MGI Videowave Electricity Director Seasoned

  Windows Movie Maker (free)

Edit videos free! This confined software program comes with Microsoft XP and ME working structures. It’s going to seize, organise and edit video clips, then export them for Laptop or Internet playback. It supports each timeline and storyboard views, and robotically segments enter the video into clips by detecting scene adjustments. This is Edit software free.

It’s miles designed for Developing Windows Media streaming video and does not support importing and exporting video in different non-Microsoft codecs. There are no video outcomes or transition outcomes however you could trade the audio stage. Its original use is providing you with the danger to find out if video modifying is for you. Maximum of what you study will observe to different packages.

Pinnacle Studio DV8 (£80)

It can be set up on RM and Viglen virtual enhancing computer systems (consists of firewire card and cable) and comes pre-hooked up in both businesses’ new dev machines. Canon is bundling the software with its new camcorders.

You could use it to edit older VHS videos, and edit sound with greater precision than other rival merchandise. Except for software, A few Top products come with a firewire card and lead, allowing you to conform a Laptop and link to the digital camera.

  camera

  Lawyers for the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have accused a newspaper editor of espionage and want him jailed for life, the paper said, the latest salvo in a bitter dispute that has alarmed defenders of media freedom in Turkey.

In the countdown to a parliamentary election on 7 June, the Cumhuriyet newspaper infuriated Erdoğan by publishing video footage it said showed the MIT state intelligence agency helping to send weapons to Syria.

In an article posted on its website, Cumhuriyet – long critical of Erdoğan and Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) – said its editor, Can Dündar, was now facing charges that included “crimes against the government” and “providing information concerning national security” over the video footage.

Cumhuriyet said Erdoğan’s lawyers had lodged a criminal complaint with the Istanbul prosecutor’s office. No one from Erdoğan’s office was immediately available to comment.

Speaking to the state broadcaster TRT on Saturday, Erdoğan said the journalist behind the publication of the video would “pay a high price” for his actions and vowed to take legal action.

Reuters reported on 21 May, citing a prosecutor and court testimony, that MIT helped deliver arms to parts of Syria under Islamist rebel control in late 2013 and early 2014.

The witness testimony contradicts Turkey’s denials that it sent weapons to Syrian rebels and, by extension, contributed to the rise of Islamic State, now a major concern for the Nato member.

Syria and some of Turkey’s Western allies say Turkey, in its haste to see President Bashar al-Assad toppled, let fighters and arms over the border, some of whom went on to join Isis which now controls swaths of Syria and Iraq.

You can use any of a vast range of devices to make YouTube videos. A laptop with a built-in webcam is probably the easiest option, but the obvious alternative is a smartphone. Most digital cameras can now shoot video as well.

The fact that so many people have the equipment must be partly responsible for the huge number of videos uploaded to YouTube – 300 hours-worth per minute.

Watch a few, and you’ll notice that the quality ranges from execrable to professional. However, sick videos can’t always be blamed on inadequate equipment. In fact, professional video makers can produce excellent videos with the indifferent kit, while beginners can produce mediocre results even with the best equipment.

  video

Doing it right

Good YouTubers pay attention to things like image stability, lighting, picture composition and sound quality. They start by mounting the smartphone or camera on a tripod because a stable image looks better than one created with a shaky handheld camera.

They also make sure that their subject – especially if it’s just one person speaking to camera – is well lit. Digital cameras produce excellent results when there’s plenty of light: your brilliant holiday snaps probably look great. They struggle in low light conditions, often producing images that look grainy due to digital “noise”. They also struggle with high-contrast lighting, though experts can use manual controls to exploit that.

If you’re a beginner, the best free option is a well-lit, white-walled room, but try to declutter the background. Putting a desk lamp above and behind the camera is better than nothing. If the result looks harsh, put some greaseproof paper or tissue paper in front to soften the light. (Keep writing well away from incandescent bulbs: they get hot.)

  Neewer makes a range of dimmable, battery-powered LED light arrays that you can fit into a camera hot-shoe or mount on a tripod. They’re cheap – they start at around £20 to £30 – and work well, but there are several alternatives. (Batteries are usually not included: buy rechargeables.)

Serious YouTubers often work hard to capture good quality sound, and high-end microphones like the Rode NT1-Aand Heil PR40 are often conspicuous. However, even a cheap lapel mic like the Boya BY-M1 (£14.99) will produce better results than a built-in mic, partly because it’s much closer to your mouth. Alternatives include gaming headsets and some earbuds if you don’t mind wearing them.

You can also use a camera, make a separate digital recording, and combine the sound and visuals later. Most video editing programs, including Windows Movie Maker, can do this.

Use what you have

Rather than buying a new camera, get your son to experiment with devices that you already own. Any laptop with a built-in HD webcam – one that shoots 720p video – should be good enough to start with. If it doesn’t produce good results even in decent lighting (some of them don’t), you can buy an external USB webcam. If it’s the sound that’s the problem, try an external microphone such as the BM-800 (£17.99) or Blue Microphones’ Snowball iCE (£48.98).

When buying a webcam, look for Full HD resolution – one that shoots 1080p video. The Logitech C920 HD Pro is familiar with YouTubers and reasonably priced at £57.98. There are cheaper alternatives, such as the Papa look PA452(£19.99). The Logitech C525 (£30.79 or £44.99) would also work well, though it only does 720p video.

Most smartphones can do the job, too, especially if you can add an external microphone. The smartphone should be mounted on a small tripod, such as the Everest Flexible Octopus (£11.99), for stability. Amazon has lots of alternatives. Either way, it must be horizontal. On YouTube, vertical videos are an abomination.