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bananaofswifts · 3 years

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When award-winning cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto started working on the video for “Willow” with Taylor Swift in November, he didn’t know that it was a part of her new surprise album, Evermore.

“I thought maybe it was a video for the previous album,” he tells Rolling Stone. “I didn’t even know what the song was at our first meeting.”

Prieto wasn’t the only one in the dark about the new record; Swift dropped Evermore last week with a very similar rollout to her previous LP Folklore, complete with a self-directed music video released at midnight along with the album: “Willow.” The video serves as a narrative continuation of the story in the “Cardigan” music video — which Prieto also worked on — featuring a ton of visual references to tracks from Folklore.

“Willow” starts off in the same cabin where the “Cardigan” video left off, and Swift is once again beckoned to go inside her magical, time-and-space-traveling piano. She follows a golden string (referencing the Folklore song “Invisible String”) and arrives at an autumnal forest clearing under a willow tree, where she sees the reflection of a man (played by her tour dancer Taeok Lee) and a woman in a moonlit pool. The string later leads her to a scene from her childhood, a carnival tent party where she performs inside a glass box, and a wintery seance in the middle of the forest. Eventually, the string leads her back to the cabin where she reunites with Lee.

As with the “Cardigan” video, Swift, Prieto and the production team not only had to keep the shoot under wraps, but also find innovative ways to film the project under Covid-19 safety protocols without endangering the lives of the crew. Prieto spoke to Rolling Stone about the production this time around, and how the team brought Swift’s witchy vision for “Willow” to life.

How did the “Willow” shoot differ from “Cardigan”? It looks like you guys were able to have other actors on set this time around, but how did that change the safety measures you had to follow?

It was still very, very strict. A big part of it was the whole testing protocols, which we also did last time. But when we were doing this video, we knew more [about the virus], and the safety guidelines were more specific. We followed the same ones the DGA has done, that my union Local 600 has done, SAG — they’ve all put in place these protocols that we did follow, and were very careful about it.

For instance, in the scene with the choreography around the tree and the clearing, you know, with a sort of dance around these magical orbs, there was a limit on how many actors and dancers we could have there. That was created by visual effects, actually — they added in more dancers. I think the actual number was 10 dancers when we were filming, and they all have masks on, actually. We can’t see their faces, and that’s partly because they have masks.

There’s only really one moment, in the cabin, where she’s in close contact with [another actor], with the man that she’s been missing at all these different moments. But, of course, both were tested, and they’d only take off their masks in the moment where we’re actually shooting. Everyone else would always wear masks on. And similar to last time, anybody who was in the immediate vicinity of the scene had to have a red wristband — it was all color-coded, in terms of who could be close to the scene and the actors. And certainly, it was very important to have not only a mask, but a face shield whenever we were anywhere close to Taylor or any of the other actors or dancers.

I still used the remote camera on a crane, so there wasn’t even a camera operator close to anybody. We were still following all the guidelines very closely, but now, it felt more relaxed in the sense that we have more information. We could just follow all these protocols. And we knew that we’d be safe because it was all pretty strict.

You mentioned last time that communication could sometimes be difficult on the “Cardigan” set because everyone had to kind of yell at each other or point to things since they couldn’t get in close proximity. Was Taylor able to be more hands-on in her directing this time around, like she was while you were shooting the music video for “The Man?”

That was still was the case — especially when you have a mask and a face shield, and you’re six feet away, you have to be a little louder to be heard. So we did maintain that protocol. But she was still very involved. I would stay at my monitor at the DIT [digital imaging technician] station, because it was the best image, but everyone would all be kind of looking at it from a distance, from six feet away.

But there was one moment that was unforgettable. And she actually has mentioned it, which was, just as we were starting to film on November 7th, we got the news of the election result. We were both looking at the monitor at the DIT station, and she got a text alert or something like that. Obviously, at that moment, we were all working on the video, but in the back of our minds we’re all like, OK, what’s gonna happen? And she was the only one who could actually look at her phone, because in fact, everybody had to relinquish their phones in the beginning so that nobody would take photos of anything, except for a few people like myself, who could sometimes use our phone to take a photograph as reference. And I was only using it very, very sporadically for that sort of thing.

So Taylor ended up being the messenger for the election results on set.

Exactly. So, she’s next to me — six feet away, but she was next to me. And she got this text, and she showed it to me. So I learned of the result from her at that moment, and what I told her was, “I will never forget this moment,” both because it’s such a historically important moment and because she was the one who showed me this information, you know. That was pretty special. Yeah. I felt like celebrating and doing a little dance, but I didn’t — we’re professionals and we’re working and also, I wanted to be respectful of anybody who had voted differently. But it was a very incredible moment, and just the beginning of a three-day shoot that turned out to be an adventure.

This video makes so many references to songs on Folklore and older songs from Taylor’s discography, both obvious and hidden. How did she lay out her vision to you?

The first meeting was talking about the story and the ideas. I still didn’t know the song, but the first thing was figuring out that it’s a continuation of the previous one we did together. At that moment, she was still kind of developing her ideas and trying to figure out exactly what was going to happen — for example, the ending wasn’t quite clear yet. She knew that she wanted to finish again in the cabin and that [the man] would be there, right. But during that meeting, we decided to have them both leave the cabin. That was an idea that came to us as we were talking as a team.

And then we went back and forth — at first she thought it should be night outside because it’s always been night, and then she changed her mind and said it should be daytime, so we were like, OK, what does it look like out there? Is it just the limbo? And then Ethan Tobman, our production designer, said it should be this sort of autumn forest. She was very much appreciative of that and really listened to everybody’s ideas.

There was also discussion about that moment in the clearing, about whether it should be a bonfire or not. First of all, with production, we would have had to shoot it outside and that would have been very complicated. But also she felt that, even with special effects, it was not a good thing to show with all the wildfires going on in California. So she came up with the concept of some type of orbs, something more magical, and Ethan Tobman came up with a bunch of different reference photos for that. That was the way we developed these concepts — even with the willow tree, Ethan sent some images and ideas, and one of them had these magenta leaves on the ground, which was weird and magical. Taylor and I loved that. It was that kind of back-and-forth in the pre-production phase, before we even heard the music.

It’s amazing how you were able to pull this off under such complicated circumstances — communicating back-and-forth over Zoom, and then with the actual video shoot itself.

It’s pretty tricky to get such a complicated and really technically challenging shoot off the ground, but we planned it all beforehand. Ethan Tobman was working with his art director Simon Morgan on designing the sets over Zoom. So, it was all overhead plans, and then you have to go to the set and map it out. For that clearing scene, for instance, Simon Morgan and myself, and my gaffer Manny Tapia and my key grip Donald Reynolds, we went to the soundstage first and taped the space in the center where the magic orbs would be. And then we measured the distance to the background with the blue screen, and taped where all the trees would be, and then figured out where all the lighting would be for there and the carnival set — everything had to be very, very precise, and the distance had to all be worked out. It really helped when we were actually shooting, because it went very smoothly. So, that’s how we made it.

#taylor swift #Rodrigo Pietro

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altajackuniverse · 4 years

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Use These Customer Service Tales to Make Your UX Better

7 Unforgettable Customer Service Stories

Inspirational Customer Experience Stories Why do consumers enjoy reading stories of great customer experiences? It might be that these stories personalize your business and provide a constant reminder that there are amazing professionals and companies who create a customer experience with their unforgetable customer service. Every company says that they put their customers #1 on their priority list. However stories like these show us that some businesses actually go the extra mile for each and every one of their customers. As Benjamin Franklin would put it: “Well done is better than well said.” We wholeheartedly agree, and throughout this post, we’ll take a close look at some memorable stories in an effort to highlight those businesses who “walk the walk” when it comes to delivering the kind of service that wins a customer over for life. Along the way, you’ll find insights for your own business to consider and some exceptional inspiration to pass on to your support team. Enjoy! Trader Joe’s Actually Delivered A woman was worried that her 89 year old father was snowed in at his Pennsylvania home and wasn't going to have enough food for the holidays because of the bad weather in the area. She frantically called multiple stores in a desperate attempt to find anyone who would deliver to her father’s home. She finally reached someone at Trader Joe’s. The Trader Joe's associate politely told her that they do not deliver ... normally. Given the extreme circumstance, they told her that they would gladly deliver directly to his home, and even suggested additional delivery items that would fit perfectly with his special low-sodium diet. After the daughter placed the order for the food, the employee on the phone told her that she didn’t need to worry about the price; the food would be delivered free of charge. The employee then wished her a Merry Christmas. Less than 30 minutes later the food was at the man’s doorstep — for free! In refusing to let red tape get in the way of a customer in need, Trader Joe’s shows that customer service doesn’t need to be about the fanfare. By empowering their employees to act outside of company guidelines, Trader Joe's shows that their company philosophy is customer focused rather than operations focused. Their employees embrace making the customer the heart of their customer experience. Your companies core values are integral to making your customer experience simply about doing whats right. Dying Mother Changes United Airlines Flight Schedule It’s always heart-wrenching when a close family member passes. Sharing the final moments with a person we love can be a small respite in a truly difficult situation. When Kerry Drake got on his United Airlines flight, the mother he was en route to see was facing her final hours. To add an extra layer of distress, Drake knew that if he missed his connecting flight he would likely not see her before she passed. After his first flight got delayed, Drake broke down into tears on the plane. The flight attendants soon noticed his state and quickly found out what was wrong. Within minutes, Drake’s dilemma was re- layed to the captain, who radioed ahead to Drake’s next flight. The flight’s crew responded by delaying the flight’s departure to make sure he got on board. “I was still like maybe 20 yards away when I heard the gate agent say, ‘Mr. Drake, we’ve been expecting you,’” he said. When Drake finally sat on the second flight, he realized how much went into getting him onto the plane. He realized how the United Airlines flight crews had put his needs above their flight schedule. They were able to do this because they felt that the customer's needs were greater than any company mandates. Kerry said, “I was overcome with emotion!” The result of many staff members working together to go above-and-beyond the call of duty. They helped this customer, Kerry Drake make it to the hospital in time to see his mother. “At one point she opened her eyes, and I think she recognized me,” said Drake, who spent the night at the hospital. “Around 4 a.m. she had a real moment of coherence, a last rally, although we didn’t know it at the time. It was the last time.” She died that very morning. Drake wrote the staff a heartfelt thank you letter expressing his immense gratitude for a team who was willing to pull together and pull out all the stops to assist in any way they could. In the coverage of this story on CNN, consumer advocate Christopher Elliot said: “Airline employees are evaluated based on their ability to keep a schedule. Airlines compete with each other on who has the best on-time departure record. When the crew on this flight heard about this distraught passenger trying to make his connection, they must have said, ‘To hell with it’ ... and they made the right call.” We think so, too. Joshie the Giraffes’ Extended Vacation at Ritz-Carlton Ritz-Carlton is one of those few large companies that is held to high standards from their consumers. With an almost legendary reputation for service, one has to wonder: Do they really live up to the hype? The story of Joshie the giraffe certainly presents a compelling case for “yes!” In case you’ve never come across this fantastic tale, the story begins when customer Chris Hurn’s son left his favorite stuffed giraffe, “Joshie,” in their hotel room after a recent stay. Mr. Hurn assured his distraught son that Joshie was just staying a few extra days on vacation. He then called the staff at the Ritz and relayed the story he had told his son. In an all-star effort to make everything right for their customer, the staff at the Ritz created a series of photographs that included all of the activities Joshie had been involved in during his “extended vacation.” First things first. They knew Joshie couldn’t just be aimlessly wandering around the Ritz without a staff card ... so they made him one! After that, Joshie headed over to the pool area to relax. Not one to sit around and do nothing, Joshie helped out in the loss prevention department. Joshie then decided to melt away some stress with a spa day. To top it all off, the Ritz sent Hurn and his son a booklet filled with information about Joshie’s stay as well as a host of pictures showing what a good time he’d had. What a story! Bungie Studios Created a Holiday Smile The belief that you should do your best to “make things right” with customers in tough situations is a recurring theme among those companies with legendary customer service. That said, even the greats of the customer service world will have a hard time topping this next story. In another outstanding example of taking care of customers, Bungie Studios, one of the most beloved game developers in the industry, raised the bar for their willingness to take care of their fans. The story begins with a distraught father whose son had to receive liver transplant surgery around the holidays. Since being in the hospital left his son unable to play the newest release of his favorite video game franchise, Halo, his dad reached out to Bungie. The response he received from the company went far beyond what anyone expected! First, the entire Bungie team signed and sent a card with get-well wishes. To make up for missing out on playing Halo, the team built him a custom helmet based off of the main character and sent it along with shirts, toys and custom art from the game’s designers. His father later posted a thank you thread and a collection of images on Christmas day, which was when Bungie visited his son in the hospital and brought the gifts. “He was absolutely shocked when he saw the custom helmet from Halo Reach! Bungie, you have played a huge part in making this smile! My family can’t thank you enough!” A Loyal Customer is 'WOWed' by Gaylord Opryland It doesn’t take a lot of consumer data to support the argument that your regular customers are the rock you build your business on. Taking care of them is not just the right thing to do. It’s also good for business. Let's look at the case of regular Gaylord Opryland hotel customer Christina McMenemy. She stayed at the resort three years in a row for the annual BlissDom conference. During each stay McMenemy found herself entranced by one of the features in her hotel room. She loved the alarm clock that played light music, much like the kind of music that you’d experience in a highend spa. McMenemy loved the clock radio. She felt that she had never slept better than she did while using it. For three years McMenemy tried to find the exact model clock from her hotel room, but to no avail. McMenemy had nearly given up hope when she messaged the company’s Twitter page during her most recent trip to Opryland.

Christina from OH@mommystory @GaylordOpryland Where can I buy this Sharper Image clock radio in my room? None in stores have the "spa" sounds & I've never slept better! 4 8:17 PM - Feb 25, 2012 Twitter Ads info and privacy See Christina from OH's other Tweets

Gaylord Opryland Resort@GaylordOpryland Replying to @mommystory @mommystory Unfortunately, our version isn't available to the public, but here is a Shaper Image alarm clock like it: http://amzn.to/ADMXzL . 10:20 PM - Feb 25, 2012 Twitter Ads info and privacy See Gaylord Opryland Resort's other Tweets

Christina from OH@mommystory Replying to @GaylordOpryland @GaylordOpryland Yeah, that one doesn't have the spa sound. Been looking for one after loving the 1 in my room for 3yr now at Blissdom. :( 10:23 PM - Feb 25, 2012 Twitter Ads info and privacy See Christina from OH's other Tweets Resigned to her fate, she attended the conference and let the alarm clock hunt go. But upon returning to her room she was surprised to find not one but two spa clocks and a letter with her name on it. Opryland recognized an opportunity to make sure a long-time customer had one of the best experiences ever. And they didn’t just win a customer for life, they also bought plenty of goodwill with folks at the conference and beyond who subsequently heard about the story. “You reaffirmed that there are still companies out there focused on great service, and you’ve made a lifelong fan out of me.”–Christina McMenemy Luka's Day is Saved by a Lego Service Rep Losing a favorite toy feels devastating to a young child. Longtime Lego fan Luka Apps spent all of his Christmas money on a Ninjago (Lego ninja) named Jay XZ. Against his dad’s advisement, he brought his Ninjago on a shopping trip ... and lost it. Luka wrote a letter to Lego explaining his loss and assuring the Lego staff that he would take extra-special care of his action figure if they sent him another one. Hello. My name is Luka Apps and I am seven years old. With all my money I got for Christmas I bought the Ninjago kit of the Ultrasonic Raider. The number is 9449. It is really good. My Daddy just took me to Sainsbury’s and told me to leave the people at home but I took them and I lost Jay ZX at the shop as it fell out of my coat. I am really upset I have lost him. Daddy said to send you a email to see if you will send me another one. I promise I won’t take him to the shop again if you can. – Luka The response he received from Lego customer representative Richard was nothing short of amazing. Richard told Luke that he had talked to Sensei Wu a Ninjago character, and wrote: Sensei Wu told me to tell you, “Luka, your father seems like a very wise man. You must always protect your Ninjago minifigures like the dragons protect the Weapons of Spinjitzu!” Sensei Wu also told me it was okay if I sent you a new Jay and told me it would be okay if I included something extra for you because anyone that saves their Christmas money to buy the Ultrasonic Raider must be a really big Ninjago fan. So, I hope you enjoy your Jay minifigure with all his weapons. You will actually have the only Jay minifigure that combines 3 different Jays into one! I am also going to send you a bad guy for him to fight! Just remember, what Sensei Wu said: keep your minifigures protected like the Weapons of Spinjitzu! And of course, always listen to your dad. It’s so rare to see such a thoughtful, creative response to a distraught customer that this story went viral. Visit Our Web Accessibility Blog Visit Our Business Sustainability Blog Jim Shukys’ Auto Service Sweats the Small Stuff Many of the memorable stories that we’ve covered so far focus on a company’s stellar response to an usual situation ... but what about those day-to-day service stories?Superb service is not limited to out of the ordinary circumstances. It can be incorporated into the very fabric of your business, showing up in even the most common of instances.That’s why we love this next story shared by a customer in Streetsboro, Ohio. The story was posted on Reddit under the appropriately titled topic of “I have never in my life seen this level of customer service” and included this genuine, thoughtful thank-you note. The best part of this tale is that despite the fact that this image was shared on the internet, random commenters started pointing out that they knew who this was:“I used to live in Streetsboro and I know exactly who that is. He’s a good man, stay with him!” Now that’s the definition of memorable service! The praise continued with noncustomers, too, with one commenter saying,“It’s little things like this that earn business. If I got this card I would never use another mechanic in my life.”Do you have a great customer service story you can share with us? Tell us how someone went 'above and beyond' to give you a truly memorable, remarkable and relatable customer service experience.... Read the full article

#BetterBusinessAlliance #brand #credibility #customerengagement #customerexperience #digitalmarketing #Digitalmarketingstrategy #keyword #keywordintent #keywordstemming #keywords #reputation #searchengineoptimization #SEO #socialmediamarketing #userexperience #Wordofmouth #WordofMouthMarketing

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mobprincessdani · 4 years

Conversation

text || Dani & Rachel

Rachel: [https://mobprincessdani.tumblr.com/post/190563355061/sms-rachel-dani]

Dani: Hey there cutie

Rachel: Do you work tomorrow night?

Dani: Depends, does it benefit me if I am?

Rachel: I would say so. You’d get to see me 🙂

Dani: Yeah, I am. I work most nights. Unless my uncle starts thinking I'm working too much, then he forbids me from it.

Rachel: I’m glad you have him to make you step back once and a while.

Rachel: Friday’s my usual pizza day.

Dani: It's annoying, mostly. He just gets worried if he thinks I'm ignoring my school work for actual work.

Dani: I'll keep that in mind.

Rachel: Never be annoyed by people caring for you.

Dani: They're overprotective. Which, while appreciated, is also very annoying.

Rachel: They have reason to be, Dani.

Dani: I take care of myself just fine.

Rachel: I wasn’t trying to question that.

Dani: They act like they haven't taught me to fight or shoot a gun or manage my time and energy.

Rachel: They love you.

Dani: I know they do.

Rachel: Are you into weird sex things?

Dani: Define weird

Rachel: I guess anything that isn’t vanilla.

Dani: There are different levels of kink but, overall, I'm pretty open

Rachel: Cool. A lot of people online had been into pretty kinky things.

Dani: I have had some very interesting things offered to me, for sure. And have agreed to some of them, though didn't necessarily enjoy them.

Rachel: Do I get to hear the ones you did enjoy?

Dani: Maybe one day.

Dani: What about you? What are you into?

Rachel: I have an idea but I haven’t exactly explored.

Dani: Tell me?

Rachel: Well, biting. Blind folds maybe. Choking.

Rachel: I’m telling you that as a friend.

Dani: Biting is fun. Never been on the receiving end of the other two, but they're fun to do to other people.

Rachel: It seems so sensual to have to rely on your senses.

Dani: It's quite the exercise in trust, as well.

Rachel: Trust is hard for me to give, I think.

Dani: It's certainly not something to take lightly.

Rachel: You’re right.

Dani: I've only done them once or twice. But that's what happens when someone just wants you for you money

Rachel: Do you want to have a girlfriend one day?

Dani: I had one, when I was younger. We were in high school, her family moved out of state and I took the breakup hard. Not a lot of people knew her family moved, so it was rumored that my father had her and/or her family killed for breaking up with me.

Dani: I haven't had one since and I do want one but the rumors scare people off.

Rachel: How ignorant.

Rachel: I’m sorry it can’t be so simple.

Dani: It sucks, honestly.

Dani: My little sister has it worse, though. She has to deal with the general family rumors and then the ones about me.

Rachel: There are that many?

Dani: The mob ties are well known but not provable. So, yes.

Rachel: I’m not scared off easy.

Dani: I hope so.

Rachel: I’m also not a liar.

Rachel: I don’t say things I don’t mean.

Dani: I don't doubt you are, but sometimes circumstances change.

Rachel: They’re about to change, aren’t they?

Dani: They could. The closer we get, no matter the context, the rumors will come back to you.

Rachel: I crave attention. You may not know that about me.

Dani: Yeah, but attention from people because you might have ties to the mob, is not good.

Rachel: Any attention is better than none.

Dani: Not when it can get you hurt.

Rachel: Can’t I flip that around on you?

Dani: I was born into this life. I was taught how to deal with the rumors and I was taught how to defend myself. If rumors and lies exist like webs, my family are spiders. Unfortunately, that turns a lot of innocent people into prey, even if we're not the ones doing the preying.

Dani: Guess we'll just have to see which you are, spider, prey, or something bigger.

Rachel: What could possibly be bigger than a spider?

Rachel: Will I be seeing you this evening?

Dani: Literally most things, to be fair.

Dani: You should be, yeah.

Rachel: I fear finding out could mean we aren’t meant to be friends.

Rachel: I’ve scheduled some open houses.

Dani: Being big enough to break through the excess webbing isn't always a bad thing. As long as you leave the spider unharmed.

Dani: Oh? That's good.

Rachel: I’d never harm a spider.

Rachel: I feel like you should come with me.

Dani: Can't tell if that's foolish of you or not.

Dani: I certainly can, provided I don't have class.

Rachel: I get to decide that.

Rachel: Next weekend.

Dani: Is that so?

Dani: I can be there, just not like hella early. One of my cousins is coming in and my uncle wants me to entertain him, so I agreed to that, which means a likely hangover.

Rachel: Of course it’s so.

Rachel: That sounds like fun.

Dani: Dude isn't bad and he pays for my drinks, but he mixes them strong while we watch movies and somehow always end up watching porn. Which is weird, because we both end up awkwardly heading to bed to get ourselves off. Just to come back and watch more movies with more alcohol until we somehow hit porn again.

Dani: We have a weird relationship.

Rachel: That’s a lot of information.

Dani: Consider it a heads up, cos I have a very fun habit of drunk texting.

Rachel: You’d think about me completely obliterated?

Dani: I kinda just default to whoever I've been texting most at the time.

Rachel: That could change.

Dani: I doubt it

Rachel: I like that reassurance.

Rachel: You’re the only person I’m texting. Mostly.

Dani: Outside of family and like classmates, you're basically it for me.

Rachel: I think some may consider that lame.

Dani: I don't have friends, remember?

Rachel: You have me.

Dani: I meant besides you

Rachel: Right. I’m glad you didn’t forget.

Dani: Kinda hard to

Rachel: Because I’m unforgettable? 😛

Dani: Because we're texting, dork

Rachel: I’m no such thing, Dani.

Dani: Mmhmm, sure

Rachel: 😮

Dani: What?

Rachel: Well, it’s not the meanest thing I’ve been called

Dani: I meant no offense, darling

Rachel: I’m glad.

Dani: So, what're you up to?

Rachel: Research mostly. Preparing for some auditions I have going on tomorrow.

Dani: What kind of research?

Rachel: Research about sex and things.

Dani: Oh? Cool. Learn anything fun?

Rachel: No, not fun.

Dani: No?

Rachel: I just seem to find it more daunting the more I read.

Dani: Sex or kink?

Rachel: Sex.

Dani: Oh.

Rachel: Weren’t expecting that?

Dani: Not really, no.

Rachel: I’m full of surprises.

Dani: I guess you are.

Rachel: I’m quite thankful you messaged me when you did.

Rachel: I was ready to just give myself away.

Dani: I was honestly a little surprised, when I saw your profile.

Dani: There are some NASTY fuckers on that site, too.

Rachel: I figured I’d be able to handle the nasty.

Rachel: I’m a little desperate. I have nothing else to offer.

Dani: Like, I'm into some shit but some of the stuff I've been told about people asking for... not the kind of thing you want your first time to include. Not even the kind of stuff you'd want your... 50th time. Like, no fault to those who like it, but... yikes.

Rachel: I was hoping I could find someone reasonable.

Rachel: But I can handle anything.

Rachel: I know that I want things that are more than vanilla. I can’t know what if I haven’t tried.

Dani: Yeah, but getting into it with someone who wants a very specific kind of kink and finding out it's not the thing you're into can get weird. Or so I've heard.

Rachel: If the money was good enough.

Rachel: But it doesn’t matter.

Dani: I'm definitely glad I was the one to find you, now more so than before.

Rachel: I hope that I will be worth it.

Dani: You already are, dork.

Rachel: You say that.

Dani: And it won't change.

Rachel: I have no reason to think you’re lying to me.

Dani: And you shouldn't, because I'm not.

Rachel: I quite fancy the place with the window seat.

Dani: Window seats are the bomb.

Rachel: Ha!

Rachel: I’d have to agree.

Dani: There's really nice bay window with one at my parent's house and I used to sit there and play guitar for hours on rainy days.

Rachel: That sounds really wonderful. I bet they loved it.

Dani: I'm sure I annoyed them when I hit my teen angst phase and was only playing like really depressing rock songs, but other than that, probably

Rachel: The fact you’d still share yourself like that is incredible.

Dani: It's my favorite spot in the house

Rachel: I hope to see it one day.

Rachel: In pictures of course

Dani: I mean, I doubt mother would mind if I came for a visit and brought a friend. IF you ever wanted to see it in more than pictures.

Rachel: Is that what friends do?

Dani: Does it stop being things friends do when you graduate high school or something?

Rachel: I didn’t have many friends in high school lol

Dani: Really? You certainly are full of surprises

Rachel: I was part of many groups and clubs and there were some people who had a certain fondness for me but it was never really...more than surface level.

Dani: Huh, interesting

Rachel: Sure.

Dani: What?

Rachel: I don’t think it should come off as surprising. I’m a lot. I’m different. It’s what makes me special and what is going to help me on my way to stardom.

Dani: But you're not? A lot, I mean. I've got cousins fifty times more dramatic and a hundred times harder to handle and they're fucking popular as hell.

Dani: It just doesn't make sense to me.

Rachel: I grew up in Ohio.

Rachel: I’m also competitive to a fault.

Dani: Ohio kinda explains it, I guess

Rachel: It’s never felt important to have friends before

Dani: I guess that makes sense

Rachel: I’ll keep you

Dani: I'm glad

Rachel: I should be asleep

Dani: So should I, but I haven't even left the shop. Something went down and father didn't want me heading home alone but still hasn't managed to find someone to escort me there.

Dani: Like, I have a gun, I know how to use it, I'll be fine in an uber.

Rachel: Like a big strong tough guy?

Dani: Usually, yeah.

Rachel: I don’t know any of those lol

Dani: I'm related to entirely too many of them

Rachel: You’ll have to introduce me

Dani: No

Rachel: Okay.

Dani: I just don't want you getting more mixed up in my family business than you need to

Rachel: Understood

Dani: I'm literally about to say fuck it and call an uber anyway

Rachel: I trust you’d only do that if you were completely certain you are safe. So do it!

Dani: Honestly, I just want to go home. Like, they won't even tell me what fucking happened. So it's like, I'm supposed to be scared or worried but mostly I'm just fucking annoyed

Rachel: Go home!

Dani: I'll text you when I get there. I have to go fight with a man about letting me go home.

Rachel: Promise?

[5 am]

Dani: remind me to NEVER try and argue with my father.

Dani: I'm home, by the way.

Rachel: Thank goodness! I was worried.

Dani: Please tell me one of us got sleep

Rachel: I slept!

Dani: I didn't wake you

Rachel: No. you had impeccable timing.

Dani: That's good

Rachel: I wake up at 5 most days.

Rachel: Have you slept yet?

Dani: Fair enough

Dani: No. But I'm gonna try soon. Had some business to attend to after last night.

Rachel: Business? Are you going to keep it so vague?

[later]

Dani: Yep.

Dani: Ugh, did not get enough sleep. But there are things I must do.

Rachel: What things?

Dani: Things with my father.

Rachel: My auditions went well today.

Dani: That's good, I'm glad to hear it.

#i: rachel berry #t: rachel berry #t: all

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