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#props to stylist you're doing great
sebscore · 1 year
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LUCKY MAN | LEWIS H.
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pairing: lewis hamilton x fem!reader
warnings: mention of the 2021 season.
author's note: a small drabble for all my lewis girlies 💜 am i being delusional and pretending he's talking about me? lol absolutely :)
masterlist
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''You don't have to answer this- I know you keep this part of your life private for a reason- but how has your relationship with your partner helped you throughout these years in F1? It must not be easy most of the time.'' Mark cautiously asked Lewis, not wanting to overstep his boundaries as the interview had been going very well.
The journalist's worries washed away when a bright smile made its way on the athlete's face, lightning up the entire room. ''Tremendously, she's helped me tremendously throughout the years,'' he laughed, ''especially after the 2021 season, she helped me get back into having a good and confident mindset; she reminded me of all the people that were rooting for me and all the little kids that looked up to me, and she got me through that difficult period.''
''I'm a better person because of her, really. I don't think I would have gotten this far if it wasn't for her and all the support she's given me.'' He concluded his answer, his infamous giggle almost escaping his lips.
Mark chuckled, in awe of the world champion's admiration for his partner. ''That's a great answer! Do you have an influence on her as well? Like maybe fashion, for example? Whenever she's on the paddock, she always looks great!'' He continued, delighted he got the very private Lewis Hamilton to give an inside in his relationship.
The Brit burst out in laughter at the mention of fashion. ''No, no! That's all hers, she actually helps me sometimes with my outfits!''
''Oh, really?''
''Yes, the fits that fans like the most are often things she picked out for me- she loves reminding me of that, actually.'' He sighed, playfully rolling his eyes.
The Australian interviewer snickered at his response. ''What does she do? Show you articles or?''
''Yeah, or she shows me comments that fans make under my posts that are like 'your best outfit yet’ or 'props to your stylist, Lewis','' his voice went higher as he impersonated the comments, ''she has this proud look on her face as well, she knows it drives me crazy.''
''It sounds like you're a very lucky man, Sir Hamilton.''
''I am, I really am.''
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based on this interview he did!
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crescentfool · 4 months
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5, 9 and 16 for that artist ask meme!
5. favorite little detail in a drawing you did
this one was kind of hard to answer because i lean so much more to simplification over 1:1 detail... that said, i really loved these ones!
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the bag from the top photo is from here, minato nui on left is from some con-related draws, the ballpoint splatling on right is from a vintage draws compilation!
i just really enjoy drawing little objects and props, and as much as i'm allergic to backgrounds, i hope to overcome that next year because my friends know i love getting obsessed over random objects for a few days...
9. any new art mediums youve tried (or overall styles if you havent tried new mediums)
i haven't gotten to do much mediums outside of digital art unfortunately.... but i would say this year was the year of chibification! i turned so many characters into little guys this year (shoutout to the nui tree!). which is really ironic because i also realized this year i find full illustrations more satisfying to work on throughout the process, despite the "simplicity" of chibis.
i did some limited color styles too! (blue, purple, and red + b/w). hopefully i can do more deliberate color palette stuffs though. i think it'd be a great exercise.
stylistically wise i think i could've tried more, but. its ok! thats what 2024 is for. yipee!
16. favorite piece of art from someone else (if you have one)
it feels like a cop out answer to say this but any gift art i got of my splatoon character... LOL... i didn't expect to get so attached to him (i changed my name in game to minatoast a JOKE!!!!). um. drops this gallery link here and scuttles away. im so very grateful. you're telling me people actually took time out of their day to draw my little guy? incredible!
ocs aside, i'd like to take the time to highlight some art from people on twitter (kitaro havers rise up!), since i do consider the things i reblog to be art i'm very fond of...
this art from tin of ryomina with flowers is so. oh my god. i was SO BEWILDERED AND HAPPY!!! i was minding my own business and then saw this rt'd on one of my friend's pages... i forget who lol but i was like "WAIT TIN Kick_TheeCan DREW RYOMINA??? I LOVE THEIR ART OF THE P3 PROTAG WHAT." i feel like i got pushed down a staircase in tartarus (positive)
and this art from chris (str3wberryy), my god, the composition fucks severely. i want to eat it. he also has an alt account on twitter (@/makotoyukilover) if you want to see more of their p3 protag arts :D
i also enjoyed seeing p3 arts from yamad_125, BSZZOWL, and elulit2. im so serious if you like ryominaigis you'll probably like taking a gander at these artist's media tabs! i find my way to see the twitter arts one way or another, nothing can stop me 👁👄👁
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444lpblue · 3 months
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The Witch and the Beast #3 - The Witch's Pastime: Final Act
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Screenplay: Yuuichirou Momose Storyboard: Motohiro Abe Episode Direction: Hae-Jeong Gim, Shinya Kawabe Chief Episode Direction: Makoto Tamagawa Chief Animation Direction: Hiroya Iijima Animation Direction: Chang-Hee Won, Hui-Yeong Yun, Ju-Hyeong Eom, O-Sik Kwon Key Animation: Sun-Yeong Seong, Su-Jin Oh, Seo-Gi Kang, Hae-Jeong Gim, Young-Chan Kim The conclusion to The Witch's Pastime arc comes with its own visual ups and downs. The episode, for the most part, was a lot more on model than the previous one, but the storyboarding is arguably quite a bit worse. There were several sequences in this episode that I felt were severely hindered by the boarding, not just the animation. For example, check out the clip below.
I wanted to post more than just this one, but Tumblr limits me to just one video per post. This is a short one, so it's easy to explain. This is more minor than the fight scene later on in this episode, but it's the same concept in terms of the issue I have with it. Abe's boards don't really even allow for animation; the way he sets up his shots to hide animation doesn't flow well together, and it feels abrupt and just kind of weird. There are much better ways to board this with about the same amount of animation planned, and it would have been a lot smoother. A simple angle change to the back of Guideau, for example, would hide the lack of any movement in general a lot better. Even if you get the best key animator for this scene, with this style of boarding, there's just not much to do with it in the first place. However, that is not to say Abe's boards were all bad. There were still some good shots in this episode. I do like that every storyboarder in this show so far seems to understand the strengths in the art direction of the show and really leans into it. Abe also interestingly changes a lot of shots which obscure the face from the manga, such as Ashaf's face being visible when the dummy is revealed or one of the brothers no longer being obscured by shadows unlike the manga, when he's sneak attacking Guideau. Abe's boards were fine, but I do think out of all the storyboarders, he definitely seems to be the most subtle with his own stylistic choices. I still enjoyed the episode. This arc has never been one of my favorites, even in the manga, and the anime adaptation of it has some hiccups here and there. However, I would still say it has been a pretty decent adaptation so far.
Also, if you're interested, the prop designer for The Witch and the Beast, Miki Matsuda, posted the gun designs used in this episode on his Twitter. Please take a look and consider following him!
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His work on this show has been consistently great so far. This sentiment extends to my overall opinion on the visual aspects of the series. From the character designer to the art director and prop designer, everyone is excelling. The Witch and the Beast is a series that heavily relies on its style, and I believe they've truly understood the assignment when working on it. While there might be some production shortcomings in this particular arc, who knows how future ones will unfold. Plus, any off-model issues can likely be addressed through Blu-ray corrections. I don't find the action sequences too bad, and the anime maintains a strong sense of style that I still enjoy.
Spoiler alert, since I'm a bit late in writing this: Episode 4 has been out for a week now, and episode 5 is on the horizon. The production quality in episode 4 stands out as one of the best in the series, giving me hope that this second arc was just a resting point, and that they have bigger plans for future arcs. I'll save my discussion on episode 4 more for when I write about it.
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charliethemanticore · 6 months
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I've decided I don't want live action adaptions of things anymore. I want animated adaptions always and forever with professional voice actors* and teams who are being treated with the decency they deserve (fiscally and emotionally).
Personally I'd prefer 2D animation or with a canny combination of it and 3D. I don't think a live action has to be the ultimate end goal of a piece of media and also if I see one more "!!! This [animated thing] is FINALLY getting a live action adaption!" As if that somehow validates it's value. It was valuable before and honestly I don't think live action is good at adapting animated things because you can do a lot of stuff in animation that just isn't possible in real life (see: animals, architecture, magic, some aspects of human anatomy etc) so it gets added in later to the point where it's just a different animated adaption this time with strange stylistic limitations.
Like. Idk man. I'm gonna use critical role as an example because I've been thinking about it. Can you imagine how crunchy that would have looked if they'd done live action? It has the possibility to have been great but like. With the amount of stuff that would have had to have been done in special effects or post (don't get me wrong I have massive respect for both those skills) there's so many points where it could have fallen flat. Fantasy is a genre that sort of lends itself to animation by the variety of weirdness going on. The Legends of Vox Machina works because they knew the medium they should reach for. They're voice actors, they know the value of animation and they reached for it because a live action adaption isn't the be all end all of media success.
Edgerunners is another one that would have been worse off if CDPR had reached for live action vs anime. With the current state of Hollywood it all would have been green screened in. It would have been CGI props and prosthetics and scenery. And while, again, that's not a BAD thing (until you look at what that looks like from an employee experience which is generally considered to not be great) if you're going to have to animate 90% of shit ANYWAY you should probably just fucking start there yknow?
I don't have an issue with live action. I love live action movies. I just don't think it should be treated as the Pinnacle of media. Live action shouldn't be the goal for every story. Like. I liked netflixs witcher (more or less). But I think Nightmare of the Wolf was gorgeous and I would have loved a Witcher series like that. (I also would have liked execs who cared about the source material and for Tim Aslam to have stayed on beyond season 1)
If we lived in a world where movies took years and costume designers and set dressers and prop builders and post teams were given the time and resources they need to make something glorious, I might be a little more sympathetic towards people reaching for live action first. But we don't and I'm not. Percy Jackson would work better animated. Witcher would work better animated. Avatar: The Last Airbender already worked better as animation.
Animation is a valuable and worthwhile medium in its own right. Not
Final note: this isn't about "they changed this characters hair/skin/eye colour in the live action!" I literally don't care about that. If I must have a live action adaption I would MUCH rather an actor who is good at their job vs someone who fits the description. This is about reducing animation to "being for kids" and live action "being mature and grown up" like. Come on now.
*(not big name screen actors who will draw a crowd. Its a different skill set and it's important to remember that but that's a soap box for another time)
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wrong-way-sir · 3 years
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Your boyfriend Shuuji Hanma isn't a man of comforting words and tends to come off as cold or uncaring but when it matters most you can always count on him to calm your worries no matter how trivial the subject might seem.
Requested by: @dabisfireflower
CW: GN Y/N, Aged!Up Hanma, Possible Tokyo Revenger spoilers, Light Angst, Curse Words, a little bit of an argument, Hanma isn't good with words, Mentions of Smoking, Fluff, and little to no proofreading! ♡
1.9k Words
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1:50 P.M.
Your eyes stared at the analog clock that hung over the TV in your apartment living room. The feeling hadn't come back to your fingers, you felt like you had pin-needles digging into your thighs, and the only feeling present was the tingling of your face. Your fingers twisted the end of your hair as anxiety ran through you while you waited for the handles of the clock to reach 2:30 P.M.
You had to leave at 2:30 P.M. to arrive at the salon at 3 o'clock. Your body refused to remove itself from the couch until then. To be honest you don't know if you would even be able to walk with how your anxiety was treating you. Why did you even make the damn appointment? You thought to yourself as you pulled on the end of your hair hard enough to ache slightly and pull you out of the spiral of thoughts.
As trivial as it sounded the thought of chopping off your hair at the salon filled you with dread. You had spent so many years growing it out but to your dismay it hadn't had been for the better. You had realized only a few days ago while trying to dye it with box dye how bad your hair's state was, all the dye, the heat, the different products had left you hair beyond repair.
Scheduling a haircut hadn't been your original idea. It had been your boyfriend's. He had thrown it out nonchalantly and the moment it left his lips your heart picked up its pace. Shuuji didn't know about this anxiety, nor would he care about it if you told him so you had done as he suggested and scheduled a haircut.
"I'm coming in, it's Shuuji."
Your head shot to the door of your apartment where Shuuji was kicking off his shoes as he fumbled with his jacket. A half smoked cigarette hung from his lips, unlit. A deep breath escaped you and your hand that had been twisting the dead ends of your hair dropped to your thighs.
"Hey Princess," Shuuji smiled as he made his way towards you on the couch. You watched as he removed unlit stick from his mouth and he leaned down to place a kiss to your forehead before he fell onto the couch next to you, "You miss me? Of course you did." He giggled as he kicked his feet up onto the coffee table.
A smiled placed itself on your features at the soft kiss coming from your boyfriend. It had relieved a small tension you had in your shoulders as Shuuji sat next to you. You were more than happy to see him. He would help you get your mind off your hair for the next 30 minutes.
"Shuuji get your feet off the table!" You protested as you smacked his thigh. He rolled his eyes as he removed his feet and placed them back on the carpet, "Why are you here? I thought you were busy today with Kisaki and the rest?" You asked as you sunk back into your old couch as Shuuji shrugged.
"Like I give a shit about those guys," Shuuji said and you sighed, "Only guy I even remotely care for is Kisaki and even then he's a bit much. Plus he said he had someone else to fuck Toman's plans up, gave me the day off, so I thought I would come see my baby."
You shook your head in disbelief, you knew your boyfriend was involved with the gang life but you hadn't minded it all that much as long as he didn't show up with a bullet wound on your door step or in a body bag. Although you had to admit, him working for that weirdo Kisaki made you uncomfortable but for Shuuji you shook it off.
"Well, thank Kisaki for me next time. Now you can get my mind off things until I leave." You smiled and he hummed in agreement before his features turned into confusion with a head tilt.
"Eh? Where are you going, work?" He asked and you rolled your eyes, of course your boyfriend hadn't remembered about your hair appointment even when you had to repeat yourself for a week straight. Sometimes you wondered if Shuuji ever thought of anything besides his own plans.
"Shuuji, I told you so many times, I'm getting my hair cut today."
"Oh yeah, I forgot... Why do you need to get your mind off of that it's just a stupid haircut." Shuuji said as he stretched out more on your couch, his head falling back onto the back of it.
You pursed your lips into a tight line as you looked over at your boyfriend relaxing. Your eyes fell to your fingers as they picked at your cuticles from the anxiety growing again at the way Shuuji had blown off your feelings.
"It's not just a stupid haircut, Shuuji..." You mumbled and you felt his gaze turn to you, "I've grown it out for so long... I'm chopping of so much of it, I'm scared."
Your eyes looked back over to Shuuji who looked back with a unfazed expression. His eyes traveled to your hair and he gave a hum as his head fell back once again and you gave a defeated sigh.
"You need it though, you hair's all frizzy and dead.... Looks like shit anyways who cares if you chop it off?" He chuckled and you whipped your head towards him with a look of disbelief and annoyance on your face.
"I do, Shuuji!" You said almost a little too loudly. It caused him to flinch as his head shot up to connect eyes with you, a mumbled apology left your lips as you turned to the coffee table in front of you that your boyfriend had previously put his feet on. "What if short hair looks ugly on me or what if it takes too long to grow back? I'll be stuck looking like an idiot. Not to mention I've never been to the hairdresser I scheduled with and I'm also terrified you're not gonna like it so yeah, I care, okay?"
Silence fell and your eyes didn't leave your clenched fists. Worry started to set in again as you two sat next to each other. You already felt idiotic for being so nervous and the fact you had gotten so defensive with your boyfriend of your dried and damaged hair only added to the internal humiliation.
You could feel your boyfriend's gaze on the side of your face as you stared at your hands. Another apology was bubbling up in your throat but as you went to turn to him you saw his tattooed hand take yours. Shuuji rested his chin on your shoulder as he grasped your hand. His shallow breath tickled your face.
"Shuuji-"
"It's just a haircut, babe." Shuuji said softly and you sighed for the umpteenth time while letting out a panicked chuff, "You'll figure a way to look good with it no matter how short. Hey, and if it really does look that bad then I'll just shave my head that way we can both be ugly. We'll be that hot ugly couple."
A laugh replaced the bubble in your throat as you imagined your boyfriend bald. Shuuji chuckled with you as his chin continued to rest on your shoulder. The laughter grew with each image that popped into your mind and you boyfriend laughed with you because he had made you. Soon enough you were both giggling like children on your couch with the anxiety you once had gone.
A few more chuckles escaped you and you let your free hand swipe under your eye as you felt them watering. You cleared your throat and shook your head, your tangled hair falling in your face. You paused as you felt Shuuji's fingers take the hair and put it behind you ear. You turned to him to see a wide smile on his face and leaned into his hand as it cupped your face. His eyes scanned your features and he let out a sigh as he dropped his hand.
"Nah, I couldn't do that. Then I really would be the ugly one in the relationship." He laughed as he fell back to the couch and let out at grunt when your free hand collided with his side.
"Shut up, you're not ugly, you always look good." You mumbled and dropped your chin into your propped up hand.
"So do you! I don't know why you're so nervous, it's just hair it grows back but if you're really that nervous about it... I can go with you, keep your stylist in line make sure they know if they fuck up I'll be waiting for them outside."
A laugh left you once again as you shook your head fondly at your boyfriend's threat. You smiled at his offer and your felt yourself relax at the thought of Shuuji be near you during the haircut. You honestly didn't think you would be able to do it alone.
"Really, you'll go with me?" You asked as you hoped he hadn't been joking like he always did.
Shuuji gave a nod and let his eyes glance at the clock that hung over the TV. He gave a sigh and pushed himself up, yanking his hand from your in the process. You frowned at the loss of warmth and looked up just as he bent down to place a kiss to your lips.
"Alright baby, let's go, I brought my bike." Shuuji said as walked away from your sitting form and to the door to slip his jacket and boots back on.
Your eyes glanced at the clock once again to see how much time had passed. You bit the inside of your cheek as you stared at the clock that was telling you it was time to leave and get this whole ordeal over with. You pushed your hair back as if you were also pushing you anxiousness to the back of your head before you turned to your boyfriend who was slipping on his gang jacket.
A smile returned to your face as you watched him. You were thankful to have him in your life for little things like this. Despite his personality and the way he spoke you knew your boyfriend cared just as much as you did. You also knew he would try to fix anything for you and make you laugh even if the threat of violence was followed. You loved him for that, you loved that he cared for you the way you did for him.
"Shuuji," You called to him and he looked over you as he finished putting on his jacket with a soft hum. "Thank you, I love you."
"Who wouldn't love me, I'm great." He gave you a devious smirk along with an arch of his eyebrow as he puffed out his jacket collar and you rolled your eyes as you reached back to grab a pillow from the couch to through it at him. To your dismay he caught it and chuckled, "Kidding, you know I love you baby. Now come on, I like it when you hold on to me while we ride."
You watched as your boyfriend jangled his motorcycle key and you shook your head with a laugh as you pushed yourself from the couch to follow him out the door.
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dilucids · 3 years
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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤLove in cameras ━━ Genshin idol! au
newbie! idol!reader collaborating on a photoshoot together with idol! genshin characters
includes beidou, rosaria, childe, zhongli, diluc and xiao
( back on that idol au grind. also, the sheer amount of 'male reader' shit on this app that involves incest makes me genuinely tear up and take a shot everytime i say 'shot', you'd be drunk enough to hook up with zhongli dragon form. )
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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 BEIDOU ━━ UNCROWNED QUEEN OF THE OCEAN 〕
━━ one of the most nerve-wrecking things ever because she's simply so intimidating and good at what she does.
━━ you're literally shaking in your seat as she takes her solo shots, watching her lean on one leg, placing the other by her side, stretching her arms all the whilst making eye contact with the camera.
━━ she just looks so professional and you're afraid you won't be able to live up to her and ruin the entire shoot since even though you're both idols, she's been in more magazines as a senior group compared to you.
━━ when you switch for your solo shots, she seems to sense how nervous you were ( although you weren't really hiding it much with your shaky knees and annoying tapping your foot. )
━━ she places a hand on your shoulder and gives you a smile and a thumbs up, telling you you'll be okay.
━━ you realise she wasn't as menacing and stoic as she was in magazines and slightly relax.
━━ helps you relax by offering support behind the camera!!!
You lean sideways a little, allowing the thin material to fall off your shoulder a little as you glance back at the camera, lips slightly apart. Your stoic facade is broken almost immediately when you hear Beidou hollering and clapping in the background. You begin to laugh in suprised shock as the staff around the set follow her example, the shuttering of cameras now longer heard as it is replaced with clapping and whooping.
You grow a little embarrassed, glancing over at Beidou for help but she seems proud, stood there with hands on her hips and a satisfied grin. You realise she isn't going to help you out so you attempt to calm the set down with thanks and bows until you're continuing with the shoot.
━━ beidou has a very large presence, so it's very hard to have magnetism next to her but you somehow make it work.
━━ compared to your solo shots, your duo shots have a pirate/knight theme.
━━ with beidou in a pirate getup and you in a knight getup, it was obvious to see that this was some type of old ancient rivalry between the two groups and you two were meant to potray that anger and tension.
━━ due to you being new to this type of scene, she'll take the lead, making sure that her pose allowed you to fit in perfectly, whether it be far away, close, a sword to her throat, you splayed on the floor and her leaning in with her sword next to your head. ( thank god that shot was meant to focus on beidou cause with her that close to you, you couldn't keep a straight face. )
━━ of course even with such a theme, fan service is everything! so some of the poses are a little more touchy touchy and if she can tell you're nervous, will immediately lighten the mood and assure you you're doing well.
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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 ROSARIA ━━ THORNING BENEVOLENCE 〕
━━ like beidou, will naturally exude professionalism and skill.
━━ unlike beidou though, she'll probably ignore your nervousness or bluntly tell you to toughen up if you want to make it, it sounds harsh but you know it's her own way of advice giving.
━━ her poses are less showy than beidou, more elegant and graceful as she rests her hands on her waist or cross her legs over each other over the arm of the chair and look back at the camera.
━━ will watch you, probably assessing your style, as you take your solo shots and if she notices your embarrassment ( she definitely does ), well she doesn't stop.
━━ will somehow converse with the photographer about poses she thinks will bring out your potential and it works, she has an eye for these things apparently and a lot of photographers like her style of modelling.
As you step back, allowing the staff to move props around, you glance back at the director of the shoot and Rosaria stood before the screen, showing off the photos. They seem to be deep in conversation, the only giveaway about the tense conversation however was the director's furrowed eyebrows and lips pressed into a tight line, Rosaria had no expression on her face.
The director seems to give up after Rosaria says something, pointing at the screen with her arms crossed, walking away with a shake of his head albeit the smile of being challenged. You immediately look away when she peers up at you, catching your eyes for a split second; you knew she had been shamelessly staring at you but it was quite embarrassing to be caught yourself.
"Here we go," snaps you out of your embarrassment and you're back to sitting on a black throne lined with gold, posing for the shoot.
━━ it's awkward before the camera is on you two as you stand on the set but once the camera is on? you two flow so perfectly together.
━━ rosaria would allow you to take the reins, allowing you to do what you felt was natural and would simply follow. ( another one of her ways of easing newbies into the modelling scene. )
━━ if your pose is a little awkward though, she'd quietly tell you to move certain ways and try not to overpower you ( but if you were overpowered, that'd be your own fault and you should try harder. that's her motto. )
━━ it actually surprises you how good she looked with a spear in hand and how well it suited her.
━━ it was kinda nerve-wracking to be working with rosaria but you absolutely loved it and would kill to work with her and have her guidance again ( deffo should ask for her number for future guidance!! )
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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 CHILDE ━━ 11TH FATUI HARBINGER 〕
━━ looks professional on camera but is surprisingly childlike off camera.
━━ why is his little brother on the set wearing a pj mask costume again? right, he had to pick him up from school earlier than usual cause teucer said he was sick and wanted childe to come so he got use his older brother's reputation to get closer to that female teacher he liked. as for the pj mask costume, he wanted to fit in with the shoot theme so the poor stylists had to pull out some slightly too large, dusty halloween costume they found somewhere for him. great.
━━ other than that, childe is great at what he does, amazing at facial expressions like *whistles*, terrifyingly good at making the expressions asked of him. ( can cry on command actually (( learnt to entertain his younger siblings. )) ).
━━ you're intimidated by him at first but when you guys are taking a small break between his shoot and yours, you get to see him play around with his teucer and oh my god.
━━ he's literally carrying teucer above his head, teucer posed as superman with one arm sticking out and the other on his hip as he carefully runs throughout the set.
━━ when it's actually your turn, he will secretly hype you up with teucer.
"Pretty," Teucer mutters under his breath as prop flower petals are being thrown up as you pose under them. Childe smiles a little as he ruffles his younger brother's hair, "isn't my partner the prettiest?"
You're oblivious to these comments, focusing on the camera that was following your every move but your eyes glance over to the two brothers ever so often, finding their closeness rather endearing.
"They're prettier and nicer than your last partner," Teucer huffs, thinking of the previous collaboration he had attended with another celebrity, although she was a little too flirty with Childe for Teucer's liking. "Momma said you have to find a good person, big bro" Teucer reminds aa Childe smiles amused. "Are they a good person?" Childe thrusts his thumb over in your direction.
Teucer hums, thinking carefully with his chin in hand before nodding, beaming at Childe. "I'm sure they'll fit in nicely with everyone!" Your future had just been planned and you had no say in it at all.
━━ as for duo shots, it's another enemies theme but it's more of an assassination theme with childe holding a bow, perched on a higher stage than you.
━━ took ten minutes for childe to figure out how to look good with a bow in hand, with an eye scrunched up like he was actually aiming at you. ( of course he wouldn't have succeeded if not for teucer shouting advice at him off set with his hands on his hips. )
━━ he swears he almost feels the adrenaline of the scene as if his life was actually on the line when you shoot him a glare like directed.
━━ you two get on pretty well off set as well! you joke around as props are being moved around or make up is being fixed for either of you.
━━ you feel bad when you actually stab him with the fake sword, but he plays through with it, acting like he was dying.
━━ play fighting with teucer as an evil overlord ( still wearing his pj mask costume ) mind controlling childe's lover ( you ) into thinking he was the enemy ( teucer came up with the plot ).
━━ slipped his number into your pocket as you two were posing.
━━ teucer also got to keep his pj mask costume!!
━━ posts a picture of you messing around with teucer on his instagram.
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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 ZHONGLI ━━ VAGO MUNDO 〕
━━ probably the most professional out of them all.
━━ his poses are quite simplistic as he models the suit, hand in his pocket, fixing a cuff link, checking the time, simply casting his gaze to the side but he still holds a very large presence on set.
━━ would calmly converse with you as if you two had been friends for a long time, with a small smile on his face.
━━ if he can tell you're nervous, he'll tell you small anecdotes about anything and everything. when it's your turn, he give your shoulder a small squeeze and nod at you.
━━ talks to the director about poses as well, has a keen eye about what prop should be used and the positioning of them; you're suprised he isn't the director of the shoot.
━━ when you thank him for his help on the sidelines, he'll shake his head and tell you it was due to your talent and that he was only creating opportunities for them to naturally shine.
━━ was literally made for the camera, just the way he poses, the way he holds himself; god, it would've been a crime if this man had never been placed front page of a magazine.
You're entraced by the way he moves━━ subtle ways, like placing one foot ahead of the other, a hand in his pocket, looking down at the watch on his wrist. He's amazing. You could watch him for ages; he was like a sculpture made by the Gods, their most prized possession. What else could explain his sharp jawline, the bangs framing his face, his long hair pulled back into a low ponytail?
"You're staring," a staff member nudges you with a small smile, you snap out of it right away, slightly embarrassed at being caught. She laughs however, waving you off, "it's okay, we were all like that at first." You nod awkwardly, her words not helping at easing the embarrassment filling you.
You're talking with a staff member when he comes striding towards you, appearing behind you and scaring off the makeup artist with a mere smile and gracing you with a hand on your shoulder. "You're up next, good luck."
━━ mentally prepare yourself to be within a five metre radius of this man for the next hour or so.
━━ whether you're weak to pretty faces or not, i assure you, this man will honestly be the death of you if your guard is down even the littlest bit.
━━ the theme of this shoot? ceo/secretary and it does make sense━━ no it would make sense, if you were the secretary, not the ceo. but apparently fans like this type of power dynamic ( assuming you're shorter than him ) and so for the future of your careers you persevere.
━━ zhongli stood clad in a suit, next to you with his hands behind his back and you sat down at a desk, eyebrows furrowed like you're examining paper work or zhongli pouring you a cup of tea. you're pretty sure this is some odd dream at this point.
━━ you only persevere until zhongli has to pose as if he was fixing your tie.
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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 DILUC RAGNVINDR ━━ DARKNIGHT HERO 〕
━━ intimidating. intimidating. intimidating.
━━ did you wrong god in some type of way in your past life because being watched so openly as you pose for the camera for such a man, naturally exerting power, with eyebrows furrowed was one of the most terrifying things ever.
━━ his poses are similar to zhongli's but he puts a little more back into it, dignified aura as he crosses his leg, or one hand holding his hair up into a high pony as the other is near his mouth, using his teeth to pull the bobble off his wrist.
━━ also more open to differing hairstyles! unlike zhongli who only keeps his hair in a low ponytail, diluc can comprise with a low pony, high pony or even a messy bun.
━━ good balance of praise and constructive criticism; will tell you if you're doing good but will also tell you if you could improve in certain areas or even help with poses.
━━ diluc has amazing chemistry with everyone, he fits naturally into other people's style of modelling and can alter himself or his partner to fit if necessary, he also has a large presence on camera and sometimes accidentally overtakes when he gets too into the shoot.
"Calm down," you step back in reflex when you hear Diluc's voice just behind you, "your nervousness is plastered all over your face." You make a sound of acknowledgement and bow your head, "just take a few breaths and imagine you're at home in your mirror bathroom." It scared you that he knew infront of your mirror bathroom, you were the most confident but thanks to his help, you were able to ease yourself into modelling.
"You did well," he smiles at you when you come off the set, patting you on the shoulder. You smile back, "thanks to your advice," you redirect the compliment back at him. The short interaction ends when you two have to change into your couple costume.
━━ unintended sexual tension 👫
━━ was supposed to be casual poses, really easy ones with you two sat on steps with a respective cigarette in hand as friends but somehow,,,,, you two looked like y'all had fucked a second before hopping onto the set.
━━ so, the director took the inherent sexual tension and put it into use; changing just seeming like you were smoke buddies into poses where you two leaning into the same flame to light up your cigarettes. ( close ups of you two staring into each other's eyes over the flame! )
━━ kept lesser tension packed photos though and the one above^^ just as a small treat for the fans.
━━ he definitely posted a picture of you ( tagged ) behind the scenes on his instagram with no caption though.
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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 XIAO ━━ CONQUEROR OF DEMONS 〕
━━ more reserved, if he has a problem with the way you do things, doesn't say anything and just makes a certain expression with his face.
━━ his poses vary, he's able to adapt to each and every theme that's given to him and usually plays it safe with poses. he's usually modelling for makeup brands so he's very good with close ups, or hand and face poses; also is very used to working with many people but often never attempts to befriend.
━━ if you initiate conversation, he'll use dry replies or even attempt to leg it out of the conversation, only because he's a little shy or doesn't really understand social rules after a while, he'll given into your conversations and try to reply normally.
━━ i feel like he has mints with him no matter where he goes so expect a "do you want a mint?" halfway into your conversation.
━━ definitely is trusted with the music that plays in the background as you guys work. xiao is literally globally known for having one of the best music tastes and often makes songs hit the 'top 100' even if it's been out for years.
━━ it takes him a little while to get used to a new partner so give him a few test shots to get your vibe checked and he'll adapt!
You try hard to ignore the song in the background, but it's stuck in your head. Watching Xiao placing his fingers gingerly on his face as he peers to the side, the camera zooming into his face, you tap your foot along to the beat━━ you've never heard this song before but it really suited your tastes.
"Excuse me," you call out to a staff member who was walking past, he stops and nods at you, pulling down his headphones, "do you know what song this is?" He shakes his head however, leaving you with disappointment but not before he tells you that this was Xiao's Spotify playlist. You nod and thank you, immediately finding Xiao on Spotify to see all his different playlists for different moods.
You never understood why fans chose to listen to their idol's playlist because some of their music tastes was just trash but Xiao had genuinely good taste and it kinda suprised you.
━━ close proximity poses since you two are modelling for a makeup brand; some shots are just headshots with you two practically sat ontop of each other.
━━ some poses are torso shots, where you're both holding the product. there was a pose where you got to act as if you were applying eyeliner onto xiao's eyes and there was definitely a period of time when xiao couldn't stop blushing.
━━ he absentmindedly hums the song in the background as you two wait on set for the director to finish their conversation with the photographer.
━━ posts a picture of himself that you took whilst he was asleep and tagged you before the photoshoot was released so fans started speculating the weirdest shit and he never bothered to clear it up, just waited until the photos were released and hoped someone in his fandom was smart enough to connect dots.
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kyunisixx · 3 years
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chiaroscuro
artist!Robert Plant AU one shot.
a/n: this really started out as a song I wanted to write. But I knew I had to turn it into a longer writing!!
themes: fluff, mild implications of nsfw and tw: childhood trauma.
summary: in which Y/N becomes a muse for Robert, a landscape artist in more ways than one. (Man, that summary is so shit but let's roll with it)
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pairing: artist!Robert Plant x fem!reader
chi·a·ro·scu·ro
the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting.
an effect of contrasted light and shadow created by light falling unevenly or from a particular direction on something.
"Lean back for me a bit more, darling. That's right, relax."
As she moves, the old sofa creaks beneath her. Chilled air gusts through a partially opened window, making her shiver and sending miniscule bumps all over her bare skin. Her eyes drift over the fixtures inside the cozy cabin, illuminated by an outmoded oil lamp situated on the man's table. Several tiny moths were floating around it as the flame wavered ever so slightly from the breeze.
Scattered were all paintbrushes and smudges of paint were messily smeared all over the table. A round board was placed so close at the edge (one she heard him call before —a palette). In the middle is a rustic cup with half-empty, now cold tea. But a paint-smudged hand grasped on its handle and swiftly brought it over to a mouth. 
Then her eyes met his.
His frizzled, curly blond locks are pulled into a disheveled bun. One he pinned up so carelessly with a thin, unused paintbrush as to prevent it from obstructing his view but a few ringlets managed to escape and are now framing his face.
Ivory-colored shirt, a few buttons undone to reveal smooth skin of his collarbones which were also marked with a few shades of paint. Some scattered across his jawline to his cheek. 
Lips are pursed and eyes are pulled into deep concentration, they are set into a particular part of her. As if to capture the exact curvature of the crease on her waist.
Salient was the cleft on his chin and the sharp edge of his cheekbones by the incandescent light lent by the lamp, making him look like a contrast between sinister and elegance.
He dipped a brush and carefully made short strokes on the canvas, pausing every now and then to look at her.
The sun was setting and the sky was shaded a dull gray, providing so little of brightness which seemed to have darkened even more being situated in a lush forest.
Many months ago at this time of the day, she would have just been getting up from her sleep. Wake up and get ready for a long shift. It was a routine she had gotten so used to every day.
Take a bath. Eat. Pick out an outfit. Put on makeup. Be into the persona.
She would become a completely different person as soon as she stepped into the establishment she knew for as long as she moved into the town a few months ago.
From having to move into different cities and using different names to hide her identity. All of it to escape the filthy and haunted ghost of her past. 
Screaming. Glass breaking. Bruises. Slamming doors.  All of the things a child shouldn't have to go through. She took a risk and ran away from it.
And here is where she ended up thirteen years later.
Lacklustre eyes unmoving as they steadily stared back at her in a blurry mirror inside the changing room. All the girls' chattering seemed to have been muted and faded in the background as she gazed at her reflection. She picked up the small item in her hand, before taking the cap off and swiped the crimson lipstick across her chapped lips, creating a thick shade.
"Y/N, you ready to go?"
She turned her head back to Don, the club manager. She smiled and moved her head in a single nod.
“Sure, Don. Just give me a short moment”. She adjusted the strap of her black velvet dress and walked on the familiar, dimly lit hallway. Her stilettos clapped quietly on the floor as she padded and stopped in front of a red curtain covering the doorway from the side to the stage. 
"How's it going, folks? Alright, alright. I'd get right into it. This is the moment you've all been waiting for. The crowd favourite, slithers like a python, mistress of the night; Marilyn"
Then, she waited as the main lights switched off and took her cue to enter as smoke filled the platform. Coloured lights gleamed right through. She situated herself right in the middle then circled her hand on the pole as the first note of the song started to hum quietly. Like a distant patter of rain—calm before the storm. Her hips moved into the rhythm and fluidly sneaked around the pole as the cloud of smoke started to clear out. Gazing into the crowd of men, her blood-red lips quirk into a smirk.
It was the only time she knew she had complete power and control. And she relished it, savoring the potency. 
Her hands smoothed all over her now slightly perspired skin as men clamored and hooted for her. Bills were haphazardly thrown into the dancefloor. Something that she wasn't used to when she first started, it made her feel cheap. Dirty. But her routine carried on almost every night, she eventually got used to it and had even grown to like it.
Then she spotted him. 
Big ball of golden hair illuminated by stage lights. He was situated amongst the sea of predators, his eyes followed the fluidity of her movements. But what struck her the most was the way he was watching her. It wasn't shadowed by lust, but more of an intense wonder and curiosity. It was as if he was memorizing each part of her curves, but for another purpose.
Her gaze somewhat mirrored his. He definitely wasn't strange-looking. Hell, he might have been the most beautiful man she has ever seen. He didn't belong to a place where no good men wander around. Both his beguiling beauty and aura was completely out of place for such a place like this.
The song then came to a stop. Her number was over but her eyes remained locked with his. It was only then she came back to consciousness as Don's voice boomed into the large speakers, signalling the end of her performance. She collected the bills scattered on the floor and walked off the stage, throwing a last glance into the crowd as she took her exit.
He was gone.
He wouldn't show up for a couple of days. She was sure, of course. The moment she steps out, her eyes would already be skimming through the lounge, and would sigh in disappointment if she didn't spot any sign of him.
"Have you seen your mysterious man yet?"
One of the girls she was closest to, Hershey, asked as she counted the thick block of bills on her hand.
"He wasn't out there tonight"
"You could have been hallucinating. Anyway, you told me he was 'like an angel'"
Hershey laughed, mimicking the way she had said the last part with a breathy tone and added, "Or could have been disappointed in your dance number, ran away and swore to not step a foot into this place again"
She stopped momentarily, chuckled lightly and sighed, "You may not be far from the truth but we'll see."
Then he would be there the next night, positioned right at a table at the back. His curly locks gave his identity right away, with his elbows propped up and fingers poised against his chin, bearing the same gaze. 
Later that night, he'd be waiting right outside of the club.
"The show was spectacular."
She tilted her head to him, nodded and smiled.
"Thank you."
She wasn't sure how it ended up with her sitting on a stool inside a cozy 24-hour operating diner so late at night, chatting with her "mysterious man" late at night, who introduced himself as Robert. He was apparently a landscape artist and has traveled the world where he finds inspirations for his works.
"The best place I have ever been to? Hm. I'd say Machu Picchu, set in the high mountains of Andes in Peru, above a river called Urubamba. I had to hike all the way up, and you could see the breathtaking view when you reach the top."
"That does sound very lovely." She sighed wistfully.
"Have you ever traveled anywhere outside the country?"
"Oh no, I have not. I move to different places a lot but I've never gone out, never had the chance to."
"Ah, you should! It's wonderful."
She nodded, "Do you only do landscaping?"
"Well, no. I do a little bit of abstract art but I focus mainly on landscaping. I was thinking of expanding more, though. Maybe portrait, or nude art."
"That's a good idea. An artist has to come out of his comfort zone and be able to become great."
"Yeah…", he trailed off, as if lost in thought. "I hope this doesn't come off as strange or I as a creep. But may I ask you to be my muse? Don't worry! We'll only do portrait." He added the last sentence quickly.
She tilted her head to the side and looked at him, her brows furrowed deep in thought.
"You don't have to s—"
"I'll do it."
A few days later, she was again popped up on a stool inside his flat just a few blocks away from the club. His place was spacious, but had a very rustic feel to the interior design. A few souvenirs from different countries were neatly placed on a shelf and most of his paintings were hung stylistically on the walls (in which she stared at in complete awe for what she could tell an hour each painting until he had to drag her away to his studio)
Her fingers fiddled as she tried to stay still under his calculating gaze. She never had much problem with how she looked and never had insecurities. Perhaps she just didn't care enough to be insecure. But at that moment, she thought of how she must've appeared to him and if she was good-looking enough to be an inspiration for his art.
"Are you alright there?"
"Yes! Yes, I… Yeah I'm alright."
His hand stopped and placed the paintbrush on the table. "Are you sure? If you're not comfortable or if you need a break, we could stop for a bit."
She shook her head vigorously, "No, it's okay. Don't worry."
"If you say so."
She let her eyes travel from his bare foot, to his khaki trousers, to his satin shirt with top three buttons undone, to his face. Oh, his gorgeous face. It was pulled into a deep concentration as he stared at his work, giving her some time to study his majestic features.
His eyes flickered to hers as if sensing her stare and playfully frowned, a small smile curled on the side of his lips.
"What?"
"What?"
He laughed, "You were staring."
"I was. Is it a crime?"
"No, I wouldn't say it is." He said with a teasing edge to his voice. 
It was their arrangement which they stick to a few times a week. On her day off, after work if she wasn't feeling too exhausted. There was an obvious attraction lingering inside the room of his small studio but none of them acted upon it other than just casual flirtations thrown around. He was a perfect gentleman and had always been accommodating. A couple of times he would insist on paying her in which she would always refuse to accept. 
"The tea you make for me is enough for a payment." She had jokingly said. "Do not worry about it, Robert. Really, it's okay. I'm making enough from my job."
One night, after their sessions, they had too many drinks and bottles were littered over the table along with his paint brushes which had long dried of paint. 
"Tell me about you, Marilyn. Mistress of the night, who apparently, slithers like a python." He mused, mentioning her alias. His glossy eyes filled with mirth.
She snorted, took a long swig of beer and swiped the back of her hand across her mouth. 
"Marilyn is… Nobody. I'm nobody. I came from somewhere that in my mind, ceased to exist." She stared ahead. "I ran away from home. Who calls it a home anyway?" She laughed humorlessly.
"My parents fought a lot. They spent so much time fighting, they didn't even have time for me. Looking back at it now, I could have just preferred that. But then, they turned their anger towards me." She sniffed and quickly wiped the salty tears before they even slid down to her flushed cheeks.
"I went to my grandparents. They loved me so much and I loved them so dearly. But they were not my parents. Eventually, both of them passed away and I was left on my own. But I was eighteen. I didn't have to go back to my parents. So I went to different cities, finding places where I could feel like I could fit in. Looked for jobs, and then I ended up here. I made friends and I have my own place, but it still never felt like home."
He was quietly staring at her, and the silence was deafening. Then he lifted his free hand to her face and ran the back of his index finger to dry her cheeks. Her hand caught his and brought it to her lips and placed a soft kiss. 
"But with you, it feels… different. I like hanging out with you. I like being with you. You feel like home to me, Robert."
Her voice echoed softly as he took his time to reply. But he didn't, instead, he leaned down and sealed his lips against hers. 
He layed limply on top of her body as he shuddered from his release. Both tried to desperately catch for their breath as her hand smoothed down his back and the other combed through his damp locks. He slid out of her and dropped beside her, not too long before he enclosed his arms over her and pulled closer. He catches her lips on his in a lazy kiss and smiled.
"You feel like home to me too, Y/N."
Her heart soared and nuzzled her nose against his.
"I want to paint you like this. May I? You are so beautiful. In light and in shadow."
She blushed, "Yes, but right now? I'm tired."
"No, no. We'll do it tomorrow. I'll take you somewhere." His warm breath hit her skin as he whispered.
"Where?" She whispered back.
"Well, I'm not telling you that. But it was what I helped my Father build when I was younger. It's somewhat like a special place for me, and I want you to see it."
He gazed at her as he waited for her to respond.
"Okay."
Under the light of the lamp, she peers at him under her lashes.
"Don't look at me like that."
"Mm? I have no idea what you are talking about."
"You know what it is. Cut it out or I'll never get to finish this."
She huffs. "You're no fun"
"I can prove you otherwise in a few minutes."
He continued to do his finishing touches and leaned back to admire his work.
"That isn't too bad. But nothing compares to the real art."
"And what might that be?"
"You, my love." He stood up, walked over to where she was, placed his hand at the back of her neck and pulled her to him.
"I've been waiting for this for hours."
"I've been giving you hints and you insist on finishing your art."
He chuckled. "Of course I had to."
His fingers danced their way from her sides to her hips, rubbing along the marks littered across her skin.
"Are you ready to see it?" He murmured against her neck. She shudders as she nodded, giving their playful banter a break. 
He bit her earlobe softly, "Okay."
He walked over to his canvas and carefully turned it around to face her.
She gasps.
.
⭐ writings list ⭐
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taglist: @jonesyjonesyjonesy , @princesspagey , @ritacaroline , @jimmys-zeppelin , @rebel-without-a-zeppelin , @reincarnated70sbaby (if you wanted to be added in, let me know 🤘🏻🤗)
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getitinbusan · 4 years
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Jungkooks full sleeve photo is the most coveted and valuable picture in the industry. Every photograper is waiting for him to slip up and show some skin. Hired by Dispatch to catch him when he's most vulnerable, will you be able get the money shot? 18+ Smut
Exposed
Scheduled to go last, Jungkook nervously stood watching Taehyung finish his session. Not only was the concept of the shoot strange for him, the photographer was also really sexy,  the guys had spent the day texting back and forth about her. Of course Tae had nailed it, they were looking for raw sex appeal and vulnerability but Jungkook was afraid all he could pull off was cute baby bunny. 
The next comeback was supposed to be about ego and personal identity, basically them stepping out of their fan assumed contrived personas. A more grown up take on their image was in order, and Jungkook just hadn't been able to figure out who he really was yet, let alone how much of himself he was ready to reveal.  
"Thanks Tae, you're a superstar" you high fived him as he gathered his stuff to leave. Jungkook apprehensively approached introducing himself.  His hair was long and wavy and his stylists chose a wardrobe of a loose fitting button down with ripped jeans and black combat boots. He looked delicious but it was a look you'd seen a million times on him in every other magazine spread.
"You look nervous Jungkook, what can we do to fix that?" His shy smile made him look so young. "I'm just not used to this type of shoot, I don't know if I can do sexy," he giggled at his own words.
Perhaps pulling him out of his shell would be harder than you thought, "I think we're going to be ok." You pushed his hair back a little and stared at him, "It's not the sexy that's lacking here, it's your confidence Guk. Sorry, is it ok if I call you that?" He nodded, "So where do you want me? You knew exactly where you wanted him but didn't want to make it look calculated.
Looking around the set you mused out loud, "I shot Tae on the couch and Jimin felt comfortable doing his in the shower so why don't we get you to take the bed" his eyebrow raised and his lips pursed together. "I heard you may be a bit shy so I ordered a closed set. It's just us okay? Why don't you go and just hang out on it and I'll get the lights set up." 
You looked over and he was laying on the bed texting, taking your time you wanted him to relax.  
Group Chat 
J.K: She is HOT. Her skirt is so short, holy shit. I have to shoot on the bed, should I make a move? Did anyone? 
Jimin: I made sure to "accidentally" splash water on her white shirt while I did my shower shots. She seemed immune to my charms 😞
Jin: We had to do ours outside too many people watching to openly flirt. 
Yoongi:JK, I'll give you a million won if you can get through your shoot without cumming in your pants. 
RM: So disrespectful, she's a professional. Those tits though 👌
"Are you ready to start?" You asked trying to pull his attention away from his phone. "Yeah,  I think I'm ready now." Moving around the room with the camera you tested several angels as he posed, laying back, leaning over, grabbing the pillow.
Shaking your head you weren't satisfied, "Jungkook, when you're at home relaxing do you wear combat boots?"
He laughed, "No, especially not while I'm laying on the bed." Walking over to him you bent down and started undoing his boots, "What about that shirt? Does it need to be buttoned right up? Maybe we could lose a few?" You threw his boot across the room, "May I?"
You asked tugging at the toe of his sock. "Ahhhh you're one of those foot people" he chuckled. "Well I'm not, but if I was, your feet are actually pretty nice." He blushed turning his attention to his shirt, "is this better?"
Leaning over you crumpled the sheets around him, it was 100% intentional that your breasts just happened to be in his face while you propped the pillow under his head. His hand moved swiftly to pull his shirt over his growing hard on, he was fucked and he knew it. 
"Looking better," you coached his posing as you snapped off a few more shots. "Just better?" he sounded disappointed that he couldn't pull sexy off for you.
"Will you trust me Guk?" You asked him as you stood up on the bed over him. Gulping hard he nodded, he wasn't sure what you had planned but being as he could see your panties he was sure he wouldn't mind. 
You set the camera down beside him and leaned down to unbutton his shirt the rest of the way. Exposing his chest and abs you let out a subtle hiss, "well, that's something. Close your eyes okay… trust me, this is going to make the shot incredible."
Closing his eyes his brain went into overdrive trying to figure out what you were up to. Goosebumps took over his body when he felt you straddle his lap, your hands moved through his hair disrupting the perfection and your chest pressed softly against him as your mouth connected with his. His lips were soft and his tongue worked quickly to gain entry into yours. He was about to wrap his arms around you, when you stood up and grabbed the camera.
Snapping just as he opened his eyes in wonder, "What the fuck was that?" holding up the digital screen you smiled proudly. "This Jungkook, is sexy.  Look at your face, you look totally needy and unravelled. "Taking the camera out of your hands he inspected the photo and smiled. It certainly wasn't a side of himself he'd ever seen before. "Shall we continue then?" you asked. "I'm yours, use me however you see fit," he conceded.
"I was really hoping you'd say that," resuming you stance over him you took control. "Let's show them you're a man now, it's time for everyone to accept that you have desires, I'm going to put my leg in the frame and I want you to run your hands over it like you want me." Closer than before, he could now see your panties had little pink polka dots adorning them, "shouldn't be a problem" he muttered under his breath.
You egged him on, the camera clicking frame after frame, he was getting totally lost in the moment. Sitting up he wrapped his arm around your thigh and brought his face as close as he could to nestle beside your mound.  "Fuck Kookie, stay just like that but move your other hand so it's resting on the bulge in your jeans."
His mind was swimming with dirty thoughts as you spoke so frankly. You'd gotten him into a zone, was he just posing or was he just as turned on as you?
The answer came soon enough as you felt his hand move under your skirt. His fingertips ran over your wet panties and you could feel his breath on your thighs, "Is this sexy?" He asked while brushing his nose into your clit, "It's amazing Guk," Hooking his finger into the elastic he pulled your thong to the side and his warm tongue lapped against your folds. "That feels really good baby but we still have to get a few more shots. Let me take care of you okay?"
You tried to back away from his mouth but he got in a few last greddy sucks before detaching his lips and wiping off his chin. "You should have left that there, it would have made a great addition to the pictures."
He grabbed you around the waist pulling you on top of him  "Let's put it back then." You had to stay focused, "Can we take some with your shirt off?" You began running your hands over his chest, kissing his abs. He was hesitant, 
"I'm not supposed to show my tattoos, management won't let me." Moaning you sat up and took your shirt off, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."
He couldn't help but stare at the metal piercings that ran through each of your nipples. "I don't care what anyone thinks about my piercings, I did it for me and for my pleasure, who gives a shit about anyone else's opinion. These tattoos represent you, you should be proud to show people who you really are."
He sat up with you still straddling his lap and let you push his shirt off down his arms. Your fingers traced over the details as you admired the artwork over his bicep.
"This is sexy, you having the confidence to do what you want with your body." Kissing your breasts he was lost in the empowerment you were giving him, "Do you know what I really want to do with my body?" You couldn't help but smirk, "I want to fuck you and I want you to take pictures while I do it." 
"That's one way to get the shot, fuck Jungkook I didnt think you would be so into this." Grabbing him away from your chest you pushed him flat on his back. You let your hands and fingertips admire his body before they made their way to his zipper.  Pulling it down slowly his cock strained against the elastic of his black boxers. Palming him gently you grabbed the camera with your free hand and took some pictures of him, "These are phenomenal Kookie, why don't you take the camera while I put your cock in my mouth." 
Pulling his boxers down just enough to free him, you smiled, "how the hell do you manage to look so innocent when you're walking around with this in your pants?"
His dick was a smooth honey brown that curved upwards, thicker than you thought he'd be with a beautiful cut tip. You saw the flash and looked up at him, "This ones for me." You weren't often the subject of photos but Jungkook was a photographer too and he'd decided two could play the game of directing the shot.
"Wrap those lips around me and fucking suck it," God you loved dirty talk. He wrapped your hair around his hand pulling it off your face, "that's beautiful, eyes up here,  look at me while you're choking on it."
Abandoning the camera to get lost in the pleasure, he fell back on the bed. Popping him out of your mouth he whined at the loss of sensation, "You want more Kookie?" he nodded. Laying on top of him you sucked marks onto his neck, "You want me to ride your beautiful cock?"
He still had his pants on, laying vulnerable, bare chested with his dick out begging for attention. Pulling your panties to the side you lined him up with your entrance and sank him deep inside you. The gutteral moan he let out was animalistic, he was so far gone in pleasure that you'd never seen a more beautiful surrender. He was calling out your name as you snapped pictures of his ecstasy,  sweat making his skin glisten under the set lighting.
You abruptly got off him, "why do you keep stopping?" You laughed at his desperate voice, "I want you completely naked Jungkook, I'm not done with you yet." He eagerly moved to get the rest of his clothes off and grabbed you so your bodies were pressed together.
He stared at you for a minute, tucking some hair behind your ear, "Why are you staring at me?" He smiled, "I want to capture this picture with my memory," he kissed you softly on the lips. Just as you started to blush at his tender response he smacked your ass and said "flip it over, I'm using the camera for this one."
Grabbing your waist firmly you laughed and squirmed as he wrestled you onto your stomach. "All fours babe," he commanded as you complied wiggling your ass at him, "I'm really into the bold side of you Guk." Positioning himself behind you he gave you a hard squeeze as he stuffed his dick back inside you.  He was rough with his thrusts and little cries left you every time he bottomed out. The curve of his dick had his head rubbing into your g spot perfectly, the pleasure and pain brought you to orgasam quickly as you clenched around him milking his cock as he came hard inside you.
"Hold still," he demanded, grabbing your camera you could hear the clicks, "so fucking beautiful." Laying down together spent he pulled up his final shot, his cum was dripping out of your pink abused pussy. "I think this one's my favourite."
As much as you wanted to lay here in post coital bliss, you still had a job to finish. "This is it, the final shot, Jungkook all fucked out." You arranged the top sheet to just cover his tired cock, pubic hair peeking out, muscular tattooed arms on display, sheets disheveled, hair wild and a grin that could only be caused by one thing.
"That's a wrap" 
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KTMF Recap!!
Just completed a great weekend in Los Angeles, where I attended both the Epik High show and the Korea Times Music Festival! Below is a summary of the two events and some thoughts.
First, Epik High are such legends and I really had been eyeing their tour dates for awhile now trying to decide if/when to see them. Luckily, in the end, I decided to go. It was really great and they played so many great older songs of theirs. I highly recommend seeing them if you get the chance. They were so fun to watch!
Next, for KTMF, I was there to see SuJu, of course, and also, Taemin. I was also very much looking forward to seeing Kim Yongchul, who was one of the emcees. He was hysterical, definitely a good choice to emcee the event!
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I saw a few people on Twitter either lamenting that seeing Super Junior only as part of a larger festival where they'd only do a few songs didn't seem worth it, or feeling really unsure about whether it would be worth it or not. It's true, it's not a Super Show, but SJ never phones in a performance, either. Even during KCON NY last year, everyone was talking about how they tore it up. Additionally, as veterans of kpop, they usually get more songs than some if the more junior groups. My recommendation is, if you can logistically and financially manage to go, and there is at least one other act you're really interested in seeing, it is worth it to see SJ in a festival setting. Of course, it depends on your individual situation.
Another thing I wanted to bring up is the camaraderie. All fandoms have their toxic moments, kpop for SURE does, but for the most part, festivals like these put people in a really jovial mood, and people tend to hype each other up. Case in point, Shawol saw my SJ shirt and were like, "Do you want a Taemin banner? Also, all the other ELF are over there!" I even met one of my lovely readers there! What's up, Rachel! 💙
But back to the show. I was seated in the Pool Circle section, which is the very front section. My seat was 5 rows from the stage. A Lovelyz fan boy came over to talk to me and advised me that people in the Pool always moved closer to the stage when their favorite act was performing, and it was a pretty casual setup where you didn't have to stay in your seat. In addition, he pointed to this ledge a couple of rows behind me and said that the performers would walk on this ledge and that it was a part of the extended stage! This was exciting news, but I tried to manage my expectations and not get my hopes up.
This is another thing to put on the Pros list if you're trying to decide whether you should attend KTMF next year. As I found out, since it wasn't a Super Show and you weren't competing with an entire stadium full of ELF, people from other fandoms respectfully hang back so the true fans can get as close to the stage as possible.
Someone had spotted the lineup and set list prominently displayed on one of the official video cameras and people were sharing pics of it so that we knew in which order the performers were going on stage. Everyone shared this information with each other, so all of us in the pool knew SJ was going to close the second half, and we knew their setlist.
I befriended two awesome ELF, one who was Hyukjae biased and one who was Wookie biased. We strategized before the show started and decided that we'd be up by the stage for the first couple of songs and then run to the back extended stage/ledge for the last couple of songs.
Halfway through the set of the group who performed before SJ, my two new ELF friends and I stood up, light sticks in hand, in preparation. A few other ELF leapt up and joined us. Then, I spotted Shindong waiting in the wings. There's Shindong! I said, and everyone standing turned to look, then we all booked it to the barrier between us and the stage to wait.
The view from that close was phenomenal!! I was soooo happy to finally see Ryeowook up close (Wookie, anneyong!)! He's gorgeous, they all are. Donghae was killing me softly with his outfit, props to the stylist who put him in that. I feel #blessed to have seen Hyukjae in a sheer shirt and therefore his nipples in person (sorry not sorry). 🙏 These are my co-biases, folks!
During the ments, I put my camera down and noticed that they were trying to make eye contact with each of us ELF in front. I felt self-conscious but also so grateful. I already have done Hi-Touch with them, but it was not any easier being in their presence and in their gazes again.
When I heard the beginning of Miracle, I knew they were going to start running around, so I started running too! My ELF friends from before were tearing up and down with me, apologies to anyone we scrambled past trying to get to them! 😂🤦🏾‍♀️ At one point, Donghae was on the ledge with his back to me and his butt was right in my face, basically (this is not a complaint). I noticed him running towards a group of people on one end of the front stage (he is so fast, y'all!), and he was starting to bend down to high five them and shake hands. I went running to him, and got there just as it looked like he was about to straighten back up and go back to the middle of the stage. But I called out, Donghae! And he looked at me, smiled in recognition (from like 3 minutes ago when he was trying to make eye contact with us) and gripped my hand soooo firmly! It was so warm and smooth in his leather glove!
You guys. DONGHAE GRABBED MY HAND! AGAIN!!
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I know from prior experience that they all have super soft hands!
After they went off stage, it was a 30 min break before the second half. I looked over at my ELF friends, and we all grabbed each other and started jumping up and down screaming, omg! omg! The Hyukjae biased one had had her hand grabbed by Hyukjae. The Ryeowook biased one had had her hand grabbed by Ryeowook, and she was crying. Honestly, it was just so much! I can't express it.
💙💙💙💙💙💙
"Oh my God, we still have TAEMIN to see after this?!?!" said the Hyuk biased ELF. We weren't sure how we were going to make it through that performance on top of everything else, we were going to need SEVERAL moments.
This post is already too long, so I will just say, I was still very close to Taemin, but stuck near one side of the stage so that other Shawol could be front and center. I finally got to use my Shinee lightstick!! Taemin's dancing is UNBELIEVABLE. Like. Damn. That little Squishface can move! My fan cams for him are a total mess because I just kept watching him with my actual eyes, instead of through my camera, so there are key moments where you can't even see him because I didn't aim the camera properly. 😂
Thanks for reading if you made it this far, let's all see them at SS8!!
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Gif from one of my fan cams!
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Talented squishface!
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incarnateirony · 5 years
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Hi. So, since you seem to know what you're talking about, I wanted to ask if you could give like ... a short list tips ... of things to always be aware of/think about/question when analyzing something or getting into writing? Have a nice day.
well I had typed something but X’ed out like a dumbass without sending it because my RP group is crack and consumes my focus so lemme try this again.
A few things to track, but I’ll expand on:
Author intent
Cinematographer intent
Production intent
These are in no way mutually exclusive and are very collaborative. However, recognizing that they are not all the same can help you figure out who’s putting in what level.
Realistically, anyone involved in the visual part of the art – directing, camera operation, set design, lighting – could be considered about on par with authors in regards to the validity of their storytelling, as they generate elements to the screen that if this were a book, the author would be etching out themselves. On the other hand, it’s important to recognize the limitations of screenplay format. Pull up some screenplays – SPN, or anything – and recognize it’s almost comedically barren on details. And that’s not to undermine the amount of thought that goes into screenwriting, either.
Screenwriting is an art of packing as much of your intent as you can into as few words as possible, leaving it to the director that takes on your work. Certain directors have made statements (it’s escaping me who it was–Sgriccia?) about understanding how the writing room works and what they’re aspiring after. And that’s good. 
But even after you get a collaborative writers room working with a collaborative cinematography team, you also get editors that run full circle back to the showrunners and other office end team that polish, rearrange, pin together, and trim.
So we have multiple phases of a process that’s really difficult for most people to casually eye, and I get that.
Generally speaking, if you’re looking at seeing primary plot arc direction as the authors at the start of this process intend, you need to look at what’s in the script. And we don’t get access to all scripts, but on reviewing a plethora of scripts both SPN and non-SPN, you can at least have a fairly clean shot at what kinds of things likely are or aren’t.
The directors collaborate off of work started by the writers, so the writers are the cornerstone in direction, characterization, etc; these are the primary things that propel our story, the rest just fulfills it. Knowing where to divorce these things from each other can be a huge step.
That’s not to say you completely ignore visuals either. There’s a vast wash of art in the crafting of set, the framing of shots, the choices in lighting and so on.
One of the problems I find, however, is that people will just get hell bent on an idea that X color will always mean X thing in X situation. Taking a few days to research color theory in film is something I very loudly suggest as a start. There is, most definitely, color theory but it’s not so clear cut as like “the drapes were blue here and the chair three episodes again was blue and Dean sat in it while talking about Cas so clearly the drapes are his window to thinking about Cas” because that’s… That’s not… I promise you that’s not how creators think. I literally just promise you that.
Hue, Saturation, Brightness, scale of color, there’s all kinds of psychology attached to the use of these in film, or different color coding. It’s the same logic on why most trashy high volume fast food places make their logos red and yellow or red and orange, because that evokes a feral side that induces hunger (or, depending on HUE, SATURATION, BRIGHTNESS AND TONE, anything from fear to rage to passion). Basically, lighting and elements like this are your Big Mood. Big Mood matters. But a random prop happening to be a random color is very unlikely to have major significance unless it is a focal point object. Objects that are chosen as focal points often have meticulous consideration put into them.
Ambient set design is huge. It can be everything from light to shape of a room, to a consistent theme in the background. For example, if Sam and Dean are reading a lot about exorcisms, the books we see littered around and most disturbed are all about exorcisms or demons. Sometimes it’s less front-facing than that, like perpetually taunting the background with themes related even if they aren’t textually searching for this. Modernly, that’s hermetic books and emblems, for example. These are all very relevant to the overall story arch. But if you’re looking to find that one Red or Blue or Green book binder to compare to a lamp shade from several episodes ago, you’re probably gonna have a bad time and sort of wander off into an area that ends up completely unfulfilled later.
Just like the writers all have their own style – and they do, and recognizing these styles can help with a lot – the directors do too, and how they choose to work and frame sets with the lighting team are not identical. You wouldn’t try to directly conflate the art of Munch with Gauguin, I hope, and that’s something we have to recognize here. The writing is the subject and they are the painters. And there is a strong stylistic theme, wherein the later production ends like editors mostly tie it into a product that doesn’t look like a wild disaster, but each of their styles bleed through. 
Sgriccia’s directing is not Wright’s directing and never will be. They’re both great. They both visualize the elements and empower things being lifted from the script masterminded from the authors to render it to us, but where they choose to put That Orangish Lamp is going to be in the microcosm of their episode/painting/works, not the macrocosm of the season, as given by the writers, who still will drive our direction.
The directors know and deeply understand what the writers are after, but there’s a bit of a hazard in conflating everybody like they’re one singular artist, rather than dozens of collaborative artists manifesting this on different tiers. 
Directors can, to some extent, know the story arena in the future too and choose to frame shots in it with strong visual storytelling. Knowing keys to visual storytelling is also really important, rather than getting lost chasing the story behind a black pipe that set designers just put in there because the building needed a damn pipe. Because part of building a set is also making it coherent and a lot of elements simply exist. Understanding if the director is dynamically framing it to call attention to it, however, is something else. 
One of the boldest examples I can think in recent history was when I had random directing drabbles about 14.7 (x) I simply observed very pointed plot (re)construction that changed depending on angle in a conscious decision. Dean being “boxed in” was a statement I wouldn’t even understand the full ironic dickslap of for a while, but it was right there, in visual storytelling, in something I couldn’t ignore. Or another one about the difference of focal point objects, such as the keys to the comic legacy (x) which finalized my faith that John was, in fact, returning.
Or in text, the literal dialogue of Michael (and, before that, Lucifer), over daddy issues, that had me swearing Chuck literally was going to come back this season, non-negotiable, in echo to resolving John-Sam-Dean issues as well. 
The thing is, many of these do boil down to the script - focal point items (mix tapes, literal keys by the ghost, dialogue). And the directing drabbles picked out a specific set of frames that literally required purposeful (re)construction which caused a visual storytelling element.
Personally, I am very, very picky about what I meta over or point out. And that’s not popular around here. Somebody’s always gonna crow “how do you know better”, and any time they get that answer they get offended like “well now you’re just rubbing it in my face!” – in the end, anyone CAN analyze anything, the point is whether people are wrapping their brains up in an idea that’s sort of sending them off to never-neverland and won’t pay out.
Key focal point objects versus ambiance; text versus cinematography; they’re all important, but all don’t drive our forward motion with the same thrumming baseline as the writers churning out content beneath it all. The others bring it to life and yes, collaborate with them, but there needs to be a certain level of judgment applied before diving off chasing dogs in picture frames if you actually expect it to lead anywhere.
And again, I point out to scene ambiance, which can be great to discuss! But those need to be held as microcosms unto themselves or at least that director’s hand. It can be interesting to study little things painted in the layers. My Red, Yellow, and Blue studies for Optimism are an example of that. I do enjoy color theory, but I often restrain myself from engaging in it because people tend to get ahead of themselves and not apply the other… stuff. *gestures vaguely above*.
Honestly, read about things like color theory, dynamic cinematography methods and more for that front, and read through some scripts to recognize the levels before trying to study and pitch into them entirely. 
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thenoirblogger · 3 years
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FILM INFO:
Detective Roland Drake falls for two sisters from the Montemar family. One woman is dead and the other wants to kill him.
WRITTEN BY: Brittney Powell, Tom Konkle
DIRECTED BY: Tom Konkle
GENRE: Crime, Mystery
TIME: 113 minutes.
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Trouble Is My Business
( 2018 )
Feature Film Review
4.5/5
This is one of those rare indie, lower budget films that I really and truly loved. Not just as a good independent film, but as a great film in general. Half expecting some dreary black and white picture, pitched as a noir title "because" it's black and white, I knew this wasn't going to be the case within the first minute or so. What I ended up getting with "Trouble Is My Business" was a stylized, well thought out production, that captured the feel it was going for perfectly. This doesn't just look like it was based on the stylized concepts of the genre, it plays like the real thing. From the excellent use of cliche shadows, from blinds and fans - and whatever else could possibly make a great looking shadow, straight through to comedic yet believable dialog... believable for a film of this nature that is. Sayings like "being a flat tire" and dead-pan one liners, fill the sound space and brought a grin to my face. Generally speaking, Tom Konkle and Brittney Powell have penned an excellent script and Konkle himself, has done some excellent work directing it. It's all here for lovers of this type of movie and more to the point, it's all here even if you're not a genre fan.
Set within Konkle and Powell's version of a decade long gone, the props, costuming, and general back drops all scream to be noticed - yet are not the main, onscreen attraction here. The main attraction as it were, is the inevitable story we all know and love... done well and acted brilliantly. Sure. We may not know all the details of the story - and I'm certainly not going to share them, but the staples are in place and guaranteed. The down on his luck private dick. The mysterious dame... and in this case, her sister as well. The rivalry of a competing detective and of course, a slew of villainous characters that are either quirky enough to be sinister, or just down right bad. We all know the players and general greedy concepts, and I feel it's that familiar setting that makes this film work. As for the players on the stage ladies and germs? How did they do? Bluntly... the cast are no slouches. Hell, you may even recognize a few yourself... meaning that we do have some experience on-set. That's not really the point however, not the one I want to make. All the characters within "Trouble Is My Business" feel right at home onscreen, meaning that the actors must have felt at home as well. Lines were corny sounding when they needed to be. Witty when it worked for the scene, and everything you expect from a film of this nature.
Since this is a stylistic genre, I have no other way to describe the acting except to say it's exactly what you think it's going to be. Like the other production elements within the film, everything just seems to fit together nicely, creating a film that plays smooth as silk. Even the incredibly lengthy run-time of almost two hours - crazy for an indie low budget film - seems not all that long while you are watching. It's just one of those rare indie productions where everything managed to fall in place. I write that rather loosely, since the reality of things "falling into place" no doubt required a "lot" of hard work. To me, the viewer however, that magical feeling of everything just fitting together nicely, is a movie watchers blissful ignorance. I know, it's a lot of hard work that creates that feeling. A lot of hard work my eyes... and ears... are thankful for.
I don't know what's being put into the water lately, but I've had the pleasure of watching a "lot" of independent, lower budget productions, that have been simply splendid. What a great year it has been - and maybe a little scary of a year for the traditional studio model of movie making. "Trouble Is My Business" ranks quite high on my best of the best scale. Did I mention the names on this scale are pleasantly longer than the last few years, yet not quite considered numerous? Quickly changing is the stigma independent, micro films have always been associated with. Crappy. Horrible acting and production. Campy, corny and laughable. Konkle and Powell's title helps raise that bar a little higher, and reduce the stigma in the process. This was a film I am glad I got to see. If this write-up helps gets even one more set of eyes viewing, it was all worth it. Bottom line? This is a fun, visually interesting movie. Congrats to the cast and crew for a job well... well done.
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nikkifilm · 5 years
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Batch '81 (1982) & Kakabakaba Ka Ba? (1980), dir. Mike de Leon
In just the first part of the film of Batch '81, it's no doubt that it is best categorized under the cheated expectation, but certainly not in a bad way. From the title itself, the scoring, down to its first sequence, it suggests to be more light and a bit dramatic, probably revolving around a story of a student who flunks in his class, thus being the black sheep, yet somehow makes a stand that school isn't about getting high grades in every class but learning outside the campus — that's how I thought it would go. Apparently, it turned out to be about joining a fraternity. Little did anyone, or at least I, know that the alternative title “AKO” didn't mean oneself, but rather an acronym for a fraternity called Alpha Kappa Omega. That's how all my expectations for this film drastically changed. Although the main character, Sid Lucero, had a very masculine build and a “bad boy” impression, it never occurred to me that he was going to join a fraternity. At first, I denied that it was going to be the main plot of the movie. I couldn't accept the fact that my expectations weren't met and that it was all heading towards a different direction, but as I kept watching, I forgot about everything I was trying to expect out of the plot and just continued watching. I happen to grow more genuinely hooked and intrigued of the movie by the conventions showed in it.
In Kakabakaba Ka Ba, it tackles more on the dark side of Japan (and China), how they use the Philippines to import and sell off drugs. It's something that is sensitive nowadays, but it discusses more of that in this film. The characters are normal people in the Philippines, typical of those group of friends that hang out and have fun in life, but little did they know, they got themselves involved into something big, which is about the cassette tape containing drugs. It's where the story pretty much start and begin to gradually unfold as they move.
In terms of technicality or the stylistic form of Batch '81, there's honestly not much to commend since cinema have improved and expanded now compared to the generation it's from, but objectively speaking, the way the entire film was shot and edited gives you that dark and hopeless feeling about it, especially since for the most part, especially during the initiation scenes, it really comes off as terrifying and at the same time, realistic. You'd feel as if you're part of the film, that you feel every situation the characters are in, and how the scenes that show violence really do seem realistic and somehow, you feel that too. Whenever a scene is painful, you have tendencies to flinch as well. That's how realistic it is. Narrative wise, Batch '81 definitely excels as the message behind the film really speaks to the people, and it sparks discussions about how other people interpret what the film wants to address. These small qualities and impact from the film says a lot about how it was narratively commendable.
As for Kakabakaba Ka Ba, it's more of a stylistic than narrative film as it had more effects and different color grading. Of all the classical films I have watched, this one is by far the most visually appealing film that is not only limited to editing, but also with their settings and props. It was such a creative and genuinely beautiful masterpiece and you've got to love the film for it. I really love the editing as well, especially on the part where they portrayed them being high on drugs. It was really surreal and dream-like, and I was pretty impressed by that and actually got me wondering how they were able to achieve that. The musical scenes are what gets me, it's my first time to be able to watch a musical-comedy, not to mention a local one, and I've got to admit that I had low expectations from it but this one really exceeded that much more. I was shocked but at the same time impressed and fascinated that they were able to achieve such a great performance. It was full-on, from the scoring, props, performance, and transitions. Everything was great and all so entertaining to watch. I genuinely liked it and would really watch it again. Narratively, it's great but more on cliche as it revolved around a chase type of story and it all clashes down in the end. It's quite common, which is why I find it a bit dull, but the thrill is still there and makes you root for what will happen next.
Considering the conventions showed in Batch '81, it really does make you feel something. There's that roller coaster ride of emotions that fluctuates throughout the entirety of the film which what at least I commend as yet another great film. It's hard to make people laugh when you're doing a comedy film, like how hard it is making people cry when doing a drama. But this film doesn't merely sticks to its genre or lets it determine how it should make you feel. It does not only achieve its goal by trying to evoke the wanted emotion from its audience but also exceeds it by making you feel all sorts of emotions — from horrified, disgusted, and angry, it just hits you a wave of sadness, despair, and even playful to some extent. Although these aren't as drastically changing emotions as they are mostly similar, they are different from each other that it varies from scene to scene. Usually, films that have students as main characters would focus more on the traditional way of showing a typical college student's life and all that. However, this film took a different turn by focusing on fraternities within universities. Although it does also tell that fraternities may have been popular during the 80's, it's still non-conventional in a way that they showed the reality behind the initiations held between fraternities. This came off as a message to the viewers, than just portraying what the general audience think of when we talk about fraternities. It makes you really feel for the characters in the film regardless if the viewer had actually experienced being initiated or part of a fraternity or if they just had a similar experience with abuse and humiliation. It gives the viewers a fresher perspective than what is always conceived traditionally. Typically, anyone who weren't able to relate to the characters or the film in general wouldn't spend time or even bother watching the whole film, but this was an exception to that barrier. It speaks to the audience, as humans, that it does affect us emotionally and mentally in a way that makes you think: it's possible that this might have or will have happened in real life. Which what always triggers that fear, intrigue, and contemplating among viewers.
For Kakabakaba Ka Ba, I didn't know what to expect as it seemed odd to me. How it's a comedy-musical film that has that title but having drugs as the main context of the film. It all doesn't add up to me at first that's why I didn't know what to expect. I was weirded out at first, but as I kept watching, it gradually faded away and became more hooked and pretty much had a good laugh and enjoyed the entire movie.
In the Auteur theory context, we see how both films had a certain impact to the viewers that would make us both feel for it in its respective genres. Like with Batch '81, you know how it's a violent and drama film, and yes it did feel that way. The violence seemed real and is affecting the viewers, same goes with the drama. When you see a person being hurt or tortured, you somewhat sympathize for that person and also feel for them. Same could be said of the other Mike de Leon film, Kakabakaba Ka Ba. You can see how it applies the same thing, how you are able to empathize with the characters and how it's as if you are part of the movie too. When the part where they're trying to hide from the Japanese and Chinese dealers makes you all thrilled and it's as if you're in it too. That's one common ground that both films have, and it goes to show how Mike de Leon wants to make his audience feel when they watch his films. It evokes the emotional aspect within people through his films to be able to spark that connection. I'd say it's pretty efficient as it does make you hooked and want to keep watching because you kind of root what happens next to the characters. For Batch '81, you root for their progress in the initiation like what will they do next, who gets eliminated, and what turn of events will happen in the end — if the main character get what he wants or if he had a change of heart. For Kakabakaba Ka Ba however, it makes you root for what mystery lies beneath this certain Japanese group of drug dealers and what's inside the cassette tape that they put in Johnny's coat that caused all that chaos. It's actually pretty comical if you come to think of it. It's something that you'd see in most animations too. It's a good way to have a story run along, it's pretty fun to watch, especially if you like watching for the purpose of having fun or just a good time. Perhaps that's what makes it a Mike de Leon film. It makes you think that maybe that is his goal, to make the audience not only watch a film, but also to be able to feel which is good. Because a good film not only relies on its technical or narrative surface, but also how emotionally attaching it is to the people and how it is relatable and understands. Some would probably say that it's shallow and doesn't really have a deeper meaning to it, but that's another thing that makes it a Mike de Leon film. You'd think that it has nothing to do with reality or anything that is happening in real life, but it does. It's not directly put, but it's there. It speaks about the recent social issues the country is facing that time, and what has been prominent back then in the early 80's was the Martial Law and Marcos. There are a few scenes that had portrayed it, how people were killed when they try to speak about Martial Law, and how people are put to jail without even further reasoning or explanation. It's all but subtle, but when you know it, it really makes you think and then it dwells on you. It's there until you finish the film. That's what makes yet another reason as to why it's a Mike de Leon film. It makes you feel and at the same time, think.
Two particular and prominent social issues that can be seen in Batch '81 is the violence and abuse surrounding fraternities and the concept of toxic masculinity. It's a norm within universities in this certain period of time to have fraternities. What made it become a social issue is the violence that's supposed to make you disciplined that turn into abuse and questioning of morality. Another is that the concept of joining one means to get social gain and "protection" yet didn't turn out to be exactly like it. To me, it seemed obscure and pretty much shallow, but I suppose it does speak about how it used to be back then. Today, fraternities have become something that is not morally accepted and the society have prioritized the well-being and rights of a human being which contradicts what is being shown on the film. Although despite the differences in morals from said generations, the portrayal of this social issue is relevant, especially on the part where one of the members die during a conflict within the different fraternity. It's something that speaks even to up to this current generation. With regards to the concept of toxic masculinity, it is seen through the character of Sid Lucero, who wants to be tough and all to join a fraternity. He wants this social gain, because it's how men are supposed to be. The way they also have to endure everything they go through during the initiation rights is also what builds that toxicity, because it's implied that when you can't take it, you're not brave enough to be part of the fraternity. The concept of this brotherhood is what in general makes it toxic. For Kakabakaba Ka Ba, it's more of the drugs and how our country had become the market of drugs especially from other countries like Japan and China. There's nothing much deeper to tell about this than that. It all pretty much revolved on that which alone is alarming.
What I like about Batch '81 is how the characters care for each other genuinely, but except for Sid. How they step forward whenever someone is getting hurt overboard or when they are being too abused. They still have that sense of humanity and genuine care for the fellow members. For some reason it just speaks to me personally, maybe because it's something that I was rooting for with all the violence and verbal abuse that have been happening within the film. It gives off that sense of comfort that makes you think that human nature is still seen in that context. It gave a different perspective of how the fraternity works, and you'd see here how even though it is merely an initiation and you'd expect them to be selfish or mind their own goals so long as they get through what is required, you still see that side of them, that they still care for each other even if it means being against their masters. What I didn't like is how the main character didn't have a character development. What he is in the beginning is just the same him in the end. The only difference is that yes, he got what he wanted and he eventually became a master. Which is fulfilling because that is what he wanted after all, but I didn't see any changes within his character as compared to the supporting characters in the film. If I'm being honest, I liked the other characters more than the main because they had much more development in them than the main character did. All in all, there's really not much to point out anymore, but that's only a few of what I have noticed or spoke to me in this film.
On the other hand, Kakabakaba Ka Ba was a great film, considering it being a comedy-musical that tackles about a serious issue. I loved the film in general, and there wasn't much as to what I disliked about it. Besides the comedy factor in this film which I also genuinely love, II especially liked the musical part of the film. It was nothing but an excellent performance and a masterpiece if I may say. I never thought I'd like it based on my initial expectations before, but it all jot down to me liking it and there's certainly no regret on that. I wish to be able to have more productions like this in the Philippine cinema.
There aren't much to me that I wished the director did, I understand how the films are dated around years ago and there have been changes that happened in the society since then. Especially since these films are a product of the repression back then, particularly about martial law. I just wished, however, that they had given a more solid or deeper plot for both films. For Batch '81, although it is more serious and sensitive as compared to Kakabakaba Ka Ba, it lacked the bigger picture. Comedies and musicals like Kakabakaba Ka Ba however, obviously have little to none storyline but I do see how it had a progress in contrast with Batch '81. Besides the plots, I wished the characters, particular the main characters have more development within them or actually have a significance throughout the film. Nothing really against the director, but most of the time, the only memorable characters in the films are mostly the ones who aren't the main character. You'd only recognize them from their faces or physical attributes, but nothing much about their character or personality. I hope that it would've had more of that, because it kind of puts the film off.
For Batch '81, I'd have to say that I was satisfied with the ending, although I wasn't really surprised. I hoped there have been more to it, because I knew there's really something more that can be put. It did have a great closure, yes. But it really felt lacking. Maybe because it was way too direct and way much more of a gratified ending, since Sid was able to be finally a member and eventually a master. Like I said, it didn't really have much of a solid plot to it. Despite the parts where it had made me feel terrified and disturbed, it subsided with the fulfilling ending which balances it and what makes me find it somewhat enjoyable to some extent. As for Kakabakaba Ka Ba, the ending was just as enjoyable as the first few scenes, and it's also quite fascinating how they broke the fourth wall. It's as if they really just want to have fun and it's effective. You wouldn't even feel like you're watching because you're just having fun. It's more on you're there with them than just watching them.
Overall, I'd say both Mike de Leon films have won the hearts of the viewers, particularly the Filipino. It's really commendable in a way that not only will you find yourself empathizing with the characters and be able to feel as if you're part of the film, you really genuinely enjoy it because you relate to it and understand it no matter what. You don't just relate to them literally, but more of you are able to see yourself or at least one particular moment of your life that had a similarity to what is shown in the film. You both get to enjoy and feel for it, and most importantly, it leaves you a food for thought that would make you realize things too.
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