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bisluthq · 4 years

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Kaylor Reunited?

Possibly due to all of the mess, as well as the existing issues we’ve discussed, Joshlie take a break again and Kaylor appears to reunite. We know this because Josh’s presence suddenly halts on Karlie’s socials, they don’t get seen together, and a fan account later mentions a Joshlie “reunion” which suggests this was discussed at the time. Kaylor cement their reunion with a trip to Nashville, which seems loud and out of character given the back and forth. This is also when Tay decides to pick up a beard, because she probably thinks they’re on for good and plans to write love songs for her luvah.

1 February 2015 - Karlie posts a pic of Taylor’s cat from Nashville - they seem to have travelled there together. This is the first time they’ve travelled together without Josh since the Big Sur trip in March 2014 - so it does seem fairly important.

2 February 2015 - Kaylor and Lily A watch the Superbowl in Nashville. Karlie posts a pic of the three of them together.

13 February 2015 - Kaylor Kover Vogue. Karlie also posts about it on her Instagram, as does Ivanka. We could use Ivanka’s pic as evidence for Joshlie but I tend to think she’s a bit clueless when it comes to the complex dynamics involved and - importantly - she was also featured so it may have been her mostly punting herself.

How do fashion fans and insiders respond? They’re pleased to see a model on the cover. They debate the legitimacy of the friendship. And some point out the uncanny similarities to a shoot with Poppy Delevingne and Alexa Chung. You’ve probably never heard of that other photo shoot but it did, indeed, come out months before and feature two real life besties on a “road trip”. Miranda Priestley is outchea calling the Kaylor spread:

Let’s take a moment to consider two things about the setting of the Kaylor spread. Firstly, as previously discussed, this shoot was a recycled idea already seen in a previous spread with Poppy Delevingne and Alexa Chung. It’s sort of sad but in a way very telling that Kaylor didn’t have an original and romantic idea for their spread. But secondly, the Kaylor shoot is just a rehash of the 2014 Big Sur trip (one of the few times it seems that Kaylor is exclusive and together and Josh isn’t in the picture.) It’s possible they chose to recycle this setting precisely because it’s one of the few times that Kaylor was in a (more) simple romantic relationship and not in the throes of Joshlie and/or their complicated PR friendship/romantic entanglement/real friendship.

On that same day, Enty alleges that someone asked Karlie about Taylor at a party and Karlie supposedly had a very angry reaction to being questioned about Taylor. If Enty is right, that would support the idea that they really do seem to be together at this point in time - as in Karlie is protective over her private relationship with Taylor at this point in time (but of course always take Enty with a grain of salt)... And Karlie might not want to get outed. Because yeah, while most of the response is covered (kovered?) above, some fashion people are also saying they seem gay. They’re supportive (the fashion industry usually is) but given Karlie is - as we’ll show - still not over Josh this is kind of the last thing she’d need.

14 February 2015 - Karlie posts a picture from the Vogue Kover and wishes Taylor a ‘happy Galentines day’.

15 February 2015 - Karlie does a super weird throwback to that Insta post Kevin posted way back when. This is an objectively weird way to wish someone Happy Valentine’s Day, a whole day after Valentine’s Day,and seems like she’s trying to quell the gay rumors that emerged from the kover. And let me tell you these rumors got loud. After the cover dropped, it’s all gossip and fashion blogs discussed. Well, that and if they were fake friends or not (as I’ve said above). Spoiler, I personally think both sides were right because I think they were initially a PR-geared friendship that not only turned real and genuine but also became romantic.

16 February 2015 - Taylor cameos on SNL’s 40th anniversary. Karlie does a shout out for it. Karlie also promotes Vogue on GMA. Meanwhile, Dianna watches a ‘smug’ Karlie walk in NYFW.

17 February 2015 - Kaylor attend an Oscar De La Renta show and Tay makes a weird comment saying “my publicist would get mad at me” if she explained why she was there. This is the clearest sign that Kaylor was back on. Also, this, along with the Riptide/Love Story compilation I discussed earlier suggests Taylor was more invested and reckless in this relationship, contrary to fandom lore. Given Karlie had pretty intense feelings for Josh, this is no surprise. It’s also supported by this recent deuxmoi blind - where supposedly the rumors bothered Taylor much less than they bothered Karlie. Again, we can’t go off of blinds alone, but given all we have seen from the timeline, that comment fits into a broader pattern.

18 February 2015 - Karlie posts a pic with Derek and Taylor from the front row at the Oscar De La Renta show. Karlie also posts a pic of Taylor on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon talking about the Vogue cover (this is joint promo, so is hardly a surprise). Karlie also does her own promotion, talking to CBS about Taylor and Koding with Klossy.

20 February 2015 - Karlie promotes Vogue again and again. They’re pushing this out hard and absolutely NOT putting distance between each other as traditionally claimed in fandom during the post Kissgate period. There was no distance. They were loud.

24 February 2015 - Taylor attends Karlie’s Fund Fair and Karlie cops a feel. The Fund Fair - which Karlie is a co-host of - is circus themed (irrelevant but an interesting Dianna parallel for those of you invested in Swiftgron). This is the event that hardcore Kaylors say is where they apparently responded to seeing one another as though they had not seen each other in months, however they’d seen each other, publicly, the previous week so that idea is entirely inaccurate (as is the idea that Kaylor went underground due to Kissgate). There’s also an image of Kaylor potentially arguing from that night so it’s not that they were necessarily in a great place. This is supposedly where Taylor meets Calvin for the first time. Note the public meeting parallel… This often happens when Taylor is about to get loud and noisy with someone. This tells me she’s feeling serious about Karlie, if she’s looking to onboard a beard.

25 February 2015 - Kaylor attend the Brit Awards and the afterparty together. Gossip magazines claim she was seen flirting with Calvin here. This is the last time Kaylor is seen together publicly until June. NOW is when they go underground, because now they have something to hide. This is almost three months after Kissgate.

26 February 2015 - Karlie posts about the Brits. She also posts a pic with Derek, Tay and Kim Kardashian which she captions “Two KKs a Tay and Bae”. It’s notable that she distinguished Tay from Bae even in a silly joking caption.

CONCLUSION: Kaylor is on in a real and romantic way. Karlie is supposedly snapping at someone at a party who asked her about Taylor. Taylor is saying weird stuff about her publicist when discussing why she’s at the same events as Karlie and Taylor is looking for a beard. Kaylor going underground here suggests that things are getting real, and, as Taylor had done with her previous relationship with Dianna, Taylor is going to try to hide it to keep it real.

#Kaylor #tily #Swiftgron #gaylor swift

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purple-cat-demon · 4 years

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Her Big Bad Wolf

Pairing Gavin x Hazel (pre-marriage but in an established relationship)

Genre: 18+ smut

Word count: 3,007

Warnings: unprotected sex

This is actually the second fic I wrote right after His Tiny Dancer.

*I suck at titling*

This post is very long and I apologize...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hazel was diligently typing away at her computer. The latest proposal was coming together quite nicely so she decided to take a quick break and rest her eyes. As she stretched her arms, Kiki ran over to her desk excitedly.

“Boss! You got an invite to a photo shoot!”

Hazel turned to her subordinate while sporting a confused look.

“Huh?”

“Yeah! This company saw our Group Fairytale Wedding shoot and they want you and Gavin to participate in their upcoming magazine spread.”

Hazel pondered over the invite for a bit. Tossing the idea back and forth; she finally responded.

"Well, what’s the theme?”

“It didn’t really mention the theme but it did have an email and phone number to contact them. Let me pull up the email.”

Kiki commandeered Hazel’s computer and pulled up the invite in question. Hazel looked it over herself but still remained skeptical.

“I don’t know… and I don’t even know if Gavin would be up for it.”

Just then, Minor piped up.

“Boss, you know he would if you just ask.”

Hazel jumped at Minor’s sudden appearance.

“Minor! Don’t scare me like that!”

Minor just grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry, Boss”

Hazel let out an exasperated sigh at her subordinate.

“I’ll just give this company a call later.”

Later that day, back at her place, Hazel stared at the phone number she typed in. She hesitated a bit before pressing the dial option. After a couple of rings, a male voice answered.

“This is Twisted Dreams Photography, how may I help you?”

“Hello, is this Jacob Cordova?”

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“This is Hazel May from Anaheim Electronics Company. I’m calling in regards to the photoshoot invite.”

“Ah yes! Thank you so much for calling back. I saw your promo shoot and was floored at your chemistry with the groom you were with. Compared to everyone else, you two stood out the most to me. Do you think you can both participate?”

“Well, I’m not sure. I would like to know more about this photoshoot, if you don’t mind sparing some details.”

“Of course. I apologize for not including that in the email. Okay, the theme for the shoot is Twisted Romantic Fairytale. I was hoping that would be our Red Riding Hood and your friend would be the Big Bad Wolf. Nothing explicit or too risqué and you’ll be able to take the outfits home after the shoot. The article itself will be featured in the popular magazine CosPLA and of course, you two will get copies of it before it even hits the shelves. So what do you think? Will you accept?”

“That sounds delightful, but let me talk it over with my friend and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. How soon do you need to know?”

“Can you respond in the next few days?”

“Yes”

“Awesome. Oh, and I’ll need measurements from both of you as well. Your outfits will be tailored to you both. I look forward to hearing from you, Miss May. Have a nice day.”

“Thank you and you too.”

Hazel ended the phone call while sinking back into her couch.

‘Will Gavin even be available? Crap, I didn’t get the date for the shoot’

She proceeded to text Director Cordova.

-I forgot to ask when the photoshoot takes place-

Five minutes passed and Director Cordova responded.

-July 29th-

Hazel paled at the date, Gavin’s birthday. She really hesitated before responding.

-Okay, thank you-

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

‘That’s Gavin’s birthday. Is he really gonna want to do something like this on his birthday???’

She let out a frustrated huff as she scrolled through her phone contacts, finally landing on Gavin’s name. Hazel paused for a bit, then pressed ‘dial.’ Gavin didn’t pick up and it went to voicemail. Though not even two minutes later her phone rang, Gavin’s name was on the screen; she quickly answered.

“Hey Hazel, are you okay?” His question laced with concern.

“Yes, yes. I just had a proposition but I don’t know if you’re up for it.”

“What is it?”

“Well, remember that shoot we did a while back?”

“Yeah”

“Well, another agency saw it, particularly us, and wanted to know if we were interested in being a part of their photoshoot.”

There was silence on the other end, then he responded.

“Hmm.”

Hazel went on.

“The theme is Twisted Romantic Fairytale and you and I would be dressed as the Big Bad Wolf and Red Riding Hood.”

Again, silence, and little longer than the first pause.

“Uh, Gavin? Did I lose you?”

“No, no. I’m still here”

“What do you think? Would you be interested?”

“Hmm, when is it?”

Hazel gave a small squeak.

“Yeah, that’s the issue I have… It’s on your birthday.”

“Oh?”

Hazel got nervous over his answer so she tried to back pedal out of the awkward conversation.

“If you’re not interested, that’s totally fine. I can call up the director and —-“

“I’ll do it”

Hazel blinked and questioned if she heard right.

“Huh?”

“I said, ‘I’ll do it’”

“A-are you sure?”

“Yeah. I had fun at the wedding shoot, this might be fun too.”

“But… your birthday…”

“Look, as long as I’m with you, it doesn’t really matter what we do for my birthday.”

Hazel gave in to her boyfriend.

“If you’re sure then.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Then I’ll confirm it with the director. I’ll also need your measurements too, when you get a chance. Talk to you later”

“Sure thing, bye”

After she got off the phone with Gavin, Hazel then texted Director Cordova with the official confirmation.

July 29th: Day of the photoshoot.

Gavin was leaning up against Sparky while he waited for Hazel to come out of her apartment building. A few minutes later, she came bounding out, excited to see her boyfriend.

“Hey Birthday Boy!”

She handed him a small gift box.

“What’s this?”

“Open it and find out, silly”

Gavin went ahead and opened the small box and held up the necklace that was inside. It was a simple black leather cord, done up cinch style. The crescent shaped pendant was made of obsidian with a silver outline. Hazel beamed at the birthday boy.

“I saw it and thought that you would like it”

At this point, Gavin hadn’t said anything yet, which made Hazel anxious.

“I-I figured it wasn’t too flashy, a-and it can long or a choker and—-“

A chuckle interrupted her rambling,

“I love it”

She put the necklace on him and admired how it looked against his white shirt.

“You want it to hang down or be a choker?”

“Hang down, please”

Gavin caught her hand and kissed it, causing her to blush a tomato red.

“Thank you, my love”

Hazel flustered but manage to croak out,

“A-anyway, we should get going or we’ll be late!”

Hazel guided Gavin to the facility with some time to spare. As they headed in, they heard commands being barked out. A tall, lanky man clad in blue jeans and a black t-shirt, Jacob Cordova was busy setting up.

“Hey! I need some lighting over here, please!”

A studio helper came by with some fake foliage.

“Sir, where do you want this?”

The director looked up from his tablet and then looked around.

“Uh… Oh! Over here would be good, thank you”

He eventually spied Hazel and Gavin walking on to the set, he lit up immediately.

“Welcome! I’m glad you two were able to make it. I really appreciate it!”

“Pleasure to be here,” Hazel said while extending out her hand. They shook hands, and then the Director instructed them to go to the makeup area and get ready.

Gavin was greeted by a young makeup artist. She was dressed in blue denim capris with a black Muse tank top. Her hair was short, spiked and streaked purple, which brought out her blueish grey color eyes.

“Hello, I’m Trish. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Gavin said as they shook hands. Trish went behind the changing curtain and got his outfit for him: black, ripped jeans, dark blue, ripped t-shirt and black combat boots. She then got a good look at his eyes.

“Oh! Your eye color is perfect! You won’t even need the contacts,” she said, marveling at Gavin’s unique eyes. However, Gavin felt a bit awkward at the friendly scrutiny.

“That’s great…?”

“Oh Yes! The contacts are a real pain to wear. Okay, go get changed. Oh and we’ll keep your jacket as part of the ensemble. I’ll be back to do your makeup”

Meanwhile, in the room next door, Hazel was greeted by a makeup artist from Australia. She was clad in black denim shorts with a blue, baby doll, Vocaloid shirt. Her jet black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, her green eyes glimmering as she adjusted her glasses when Hazel stepped in.

“G’Day. My name is Nancy. How are you today?”

“I’m good, maybe a little nervous,” Hazel answered as they shook hands.

“All right then, let’s get your outfit,” Nancy said with a nod. She ducked behind the curtain and came back with the Red Riding Hood costume. It was a different twist on the whole look: red and black plaid dress that stopped just above the knees, a black corset with red lacing, black fishnets, and black wedge heels. The red hood part was about four inches longer than the actual dress and it tied in the front, the sleeves flared out and stopped at the wrists. Hazel was a little apprehensive about the length of the dress but went along with it anyway.

Gavin waited outside in the hall for Hazel. A few minutes passed and she emerged from the changing room. He uttered a barely audible “wow” as she smoothed out her dress. He could feel a slight blush creep up his face as he looked at her. Hazel finally looked up at Gavin and it was then her turn to blush.

“You look amazing!”

She spied the necklace she gave him earlier around his neck. Gavin blushed even more; he then cleared his throat.

*ahem* “Shall we go,” he asked, holding his arm out to her. Hazel giggled a bit and then grabbed his arm. She noticed all the makeup details on him as they walked over to the set. The first thing she pointed out was that his actual ears were expertly hidden.

“How did they cover your ears?”

“Uh, with some extensions, they’re annoying though.”

She then saw the fangs the more he spoke.

“Oh! You have fangs too!”

Her gaze dropped down to his hands, then marveling at the claws on them. Gavin felt his face get warmer as she examined his hands more closely.

“They did a wonderful job on you,” she said as she reached out to touch the wolf ears on his head.

Director Cordova hailed them down when he saw them reach the set.

“You two look wonderful! Okay, come with me and we’ll get started.”

The director led them to a small forest scene where they did various generic poses. He seemed pretty satisfied with the shots but he wanted to ramp things up a bit.

“Okay, for this next shot, could either of you do something unexpected or surprising?”

The two photo subjects looked at each other, unsure on how to respond to this request. Hazel then had an idea. In a bold fit of spontaneity, she grabbed Gavin’s shirt and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. Wide eyed with shock but not making any kind of move to stop, Gavin just stood there as the clicking of the camera shutter rapidly went off. Hazel broke the kiss off to breathe and immediately flushed a bright red over the realization of her action. Gavin’s blush nearly matched hers as he looked away. They both turned toward the excited clapping coming from the director.

“That was perfectly executed! Hey, listen, you two take a break and be back here in about an hour and a half and we’ll finish the last few shots. How’s that sound?”

Somewhat bewildered, the photo subjects both responded with an “okay.” There was an awkward silence between the two as the director and crew walked away. Hazel decided to break the silence.

“I’m really sorry if that was way too bold of me,” she apologized while fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

“It was definitely unexpected,” Gavin’s voice lowered, “though not unwanted.”

Hazel blushed a beet red once again, and then noticed the somewhat weird placement of his jacket. She went to take the jacket off his hands but he denied her that action.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to hold that?”

It was now Gavin’s turn to blush the beet red.

“Uh no, no. That’s gonna stay right where it’s at.”

Hazel gave her man a curious look and then caught on to the meaning behind his refusal. Her eyes went wide with shock.

“Y-you’re…?”

“Yeah, that bold little kiss caused it, thank you very much…” he responded, feigning indignance.

She blinked and looked around, then gestured to lower his head.

“Should we, you know, take care of that?”

He scoffed at the idea.

“Where exactly?”

He gave her a skeptical look but soon saw the gears turning in her eyes; she most definitely had a plan.

“I’ve been to this facility quite a few times so I know there’s a couple of storage rooms down that way,” she pointed towards a hallway.

“And they’re usually unlocked, follow me.”

They made their way down the corridor, thankfully no one was around. Hazel tried the first door; much to her dismay, it was locked. They moved on to the next door which wasn’t locked. After successfully ducking into the room, Hazel promptly locked the door behind them.

Hazel turned and pounced on Gavin, causing him to stumble backwards into a wall. A flurry of fervent kisses ensued as Gavin turned to pin Hazel against the wall. Since time was dwindling fast, they hastily disrobed their lower halves. He then hoisted her to wrap her legs around him. Hazel snaked her arms around his neck to further close the gap between them. Warm breaths intermingled in the anticipation for what was about to transpire. His hard length slipped in smoothly causing Hazel to bite her lip, stifling a moan that threatened to escape. The fear of potentially getting caught made Gavin’s thrusts quick and intense; he had to bite his own lip to keep quiet as well. The clenching of her walls around his length was a sure sign that she was close. As both of their coils snapped, they locked lips to swallow each other’s moans. Heavy panting still prevailed as they came down from their sexual high. Gavin buried his face into the crook of her neck, trying to steady himself as he pulled out of her. Her legs were like jelly as she tried standing on her own. She looked around the room for something to clean themselves with and found some brand new packages of paper towels. She handed a paper towel to Gavin who was gathering up his pants and shoes.

“Well, that happened,” she said, giggling.

His hands came up to cup her face and kiss her.

“Happy Birthday to me,” he said into the kiss. They both gazed at each other lovingly, the afterglow still present in their faces.

“There are bathrooms down the hall, let’s get cleaned up better there,” she instructed.

“Right.”

They cleaned up and headed back to the makeup rooms to refresh their looks. Not much had to be done with Gavin’s look but Hazel had some issues. Nancy took one look and was a little worried for Miss Riding Hood.

“Whoa, is it blazing hot outside,” she inquired, noting Hazel’s messed up eye makeup.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Hazel responded sheepishly.

Ten minutes later, both Gavin and Hazel headed back to the set where Director Cordova was waiting for them.

“All right, let’s get this last shot and then do some reviewing of the photos.”

The final shutter click signified the end of the photoshoot. The three of them sat in front of the director’s computer and started to pick and choose the best shots for the article.

“Awesome picks! Here, give me a minute,” the director reached for a thumb drive and transferred all the photos taken that day.

“Here, for you two, and I’ll be sending a copy to each of you before it officially releases.”

Hazel’s eyes lit up with delight.

“That’s great! Thank you so much!”

“Thanks to you two, this’ll be an awesome spread.”

As Hazel and Gavin walked out to where Sparky was parked, Hazel nudged his arm to get his attention. He turned to her and leaned in to hear her whisper.

“I think we need a repeat performance but this time, “ she paused, “we can be as loud as we want.”

The tips of his ears flushed a bright red but the smile never left his face.

Two weeks later, they each received a copy of the magazine. Hazel headed over to Gavin’s place to look the article over together. They marveled at how well the article was written and put together. They were also surprised that some candid, ‘behind-the-scene’ photos were included as well.

“This came out really well, huh?”

“Yeah, I like this shot especially,” he said while pointing to one of the candid shots where she was smiling brightly at him. Hazel blushed a bit before responding.

“That’s a good one, but I like this shot a lot,” she was pointing to the ‘unexpected shot’ with Gavin’s shocked expression. He cleared his throat.

“You would like that one,” he chuckled as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I love you, my Little Red Riding Hood.”

Hazel leaned in close, nabbing his chin in the process.

“And I love you, my Big *kiss* Bad *kiss* Wolf.”

#mlqc #mlqc gavin #mr love queen's choice #love and producer #mr love #mr love gavin #gavin #mr love game #恋与制作人 #bai qi #mlqc gavin smut #mlqc smut #pcd writes

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zot3-flopped · 3 years

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I really hope we get a few magazine covers and photoshoots for DWD with the cast. Specially some H & O shoots together + with Florence obviously. Imagine the drama we'll see from Holivia haters? Specially the ones who still stan Harry, but hates him dating Olivia. They'll buy the magazine cuz Harry is on it and then seethe seeing him with his gf. Olivia did solo photoshoots for Booksmart too. So I can see her doing shoots with her two leads. 🤞🏼🤞🏼 2022 is not going to be a good year for any Holivia hater including larries. DWD promo, red carpets, interviews, magazine shoots etc.... We'll have so much fun watching them drowning in their own tears.

Can't wait!

#dwd #harry styles hate accounts

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tabloidtoc · 4 years

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OK, August 31

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Bindi Irwin’s baby surprise -- twins

Page 2: Contents

Page 3: Contents

Page 4: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s make-or-break vacation with their kids to the Dominican Republic -- Kim and Kanye may have saved their crumbling relationship

Page 6: Amber Heard and ex-husband Johnny Depp’s nasty courtroom bombshells made headlines across the globe but now that the case has wrapped up the actress is ready to move forward

Page 7: After temporarily living in a few of their friends’ properties Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have finally purchased a home of their own which is a jaw-dropping $14.7 million estate in the ritzy Santa Barbara enclave of Montecito and they intend to make this their forever home, Cameron Diaz confessed she felt at peace with her decision to ditch the Hollywood scene in favor of motherhood but that lifestyle change came a shake-up in her social circle because Cameron can’t be bothered with people she sees as superficial, Paris Jackson’s inner circle is concerned about her mental health in the wake of her sudden split from beau of two years Gabriel Glenn because she’s already such a fragile character so a ton of people worry she won’t be able to cope without Gabriel by her side

Page 8: After a few tough years Lisa Marie Presley is ready to leave L.A. and head to Graceland because she’s convinced that being close to her dad Elvis Presley’s spirit is the best shot she has at getting her life back on track, January Jones is known for keeping her personal life private she’s recently turned over a new leaf and is ready to spill her best-kept secrets in a juicy memoir but the name of the father of her son Xander probably won’t make it into the book, though Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have been best buds for decades Ben’s girlfriend Ana de Armas has no interest in getting to know Matt’s wife Luciana Barroso -- the guys hoped they’d hit it off but Luciana thinks Ana is an opportunist and Ana snipes that Luciana is stuck up

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars reign supreme in purple -- Keke Palmer, Karlie Kloss

Page 11: Tracee Ellis Ross, Carrie Underwood

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Diane Kruger vs. Cindy Bruna, Padma Lakshmi vs. Katharine McPhee Foster

Page 14: News in Photos -- Kylie Jenner in L.A. on her birthday

Page 15: Pierce Brosnan and son Paris on the golf course, Joy Bauer after taking a yoga class, Kate Hudson showed off her green juice, Serena Williams while dressing up in princess costumes with daughter Alexis

Page 16: Drab to Fab -- dropping the extra weight gave these celebs a boost of confidence -- Adele, Ben Affleck, Kelly Osbourne

Page 18: Sarah Hyland and Wells Adams on the day they were supposed to get married, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade and daughter Kaavia, Reese Witherspoon and her affectionate dog Lou, Britney Spears and Sam Asghari riding bikes with masks on

Page 20: Alessandra Ambrosio played volleyball on the beach, Rita Ora lounging during a vacation in Ibiza

Page 21: Gordon Ramsay gave son Oscar a lift while exploring the coastline near their new home in Cornwall, David Beckham at the beach in Greece, RHONJ star Melissa Gorga tried on a swimsuit while taping promos for the Bravo reality show

Page 22: Mayim Bialik and her cat Addie promoting Royal Canin’s Take Your Cat to the Vet campaign, pro wrestler Ariane Andrew out and about in L.A., Mark Wahlberg and wife Rhea Durham during a family day at the lake

Page 24: Lynette Barbieri and Raffaela Pontecorvo and Vanessa Coppes and Jennifer DeCillis and Amanda Ringel at Bella Magazine’s eighth annual Hamptons Cover Lunch, Shia LaBeouf played it up for the cameras while on a jog, pregnant Katy Perry took a quick snooze while shopping for baby supplies

Page 25: Kevin Hart running errands in L.A., Kristen Taekman modeled a pair of overalls for her blog, Bachelor in Paradise alums Hannah Godwin and Dylan Barbour showed off their silly sides while shooting a video for Dr. Scholl’s

Page 26: Inside My Home -- Selena Gomez’s expansive estate -- check out the star’s plush new pad

Page 28: Chip and Joanna Gaines are no longer seeing eye to eye when it comes to their future -- Joanna isn’t thrilled about the revival of Fixer Upper and they’ve been bickering since Chip signed the deal

Page 29: Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn will star alongside brunette beauty Emma Mackey in a biopic centered on Wuthering Heights author Emily Bronte and although filming won’t commence until next year Taylor is already sweating bullets -- she trusts Joe but this will be the first time in literally years they’ll have to be apart for a while and the idea of him spending all that time with someone as beautiful and charming as Emma has her anxious

Page 30: After nearly four years together Mariah Carey and Bryan Tanaka are ready to become husband and wife, Sacha Baron Cohen has been working nonstop since the lockdown started to lift leaving wife Isla Fisher to do all the heavy lifting at home with their three kids all under the age of 13, Love Bites -- Jennifer Garner and John Miller split, Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger welcomed a baby girl, Duff Goldman and wife Johnna Colbry are expecting their first child

Page 32: Cover Story -- Bindi Irwin’s big surprise -- mom-to-be Bindi is pregnant with twins

Page 36: Close Calls -- these stars cheated death -- Jennifer Aniston, Antonio Banderas

Page 37: Rachel Bilson, Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio

Page 38: The Next Generation -- get to know the talented up-and-coming stars who are taking Hollywood by storm -- Joey King, Chase Stokes, Halle Bailey, Charles Melton

Page 39: Hayley Kiyoko, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Zendaya, Lucas Hedges

Page 40: Interview -- Keanu Reeves -- the veteran actor opens up about his reputation for being one of the sweetest stars around

Page 42: Beach Body Winners -- how these stunning stars stay in swimsuit shape -- Brooke Shields, Julianne Hough, Olivia Culpo

Page 43: Nina Agdal, Carrie Underwood, Jessie James Decker

Page 46: Style Week -- Swimsuits for All and Ashley Graham have collaborated once again on a supersexy collection of size-inclusive swimwear

Page 48: What’s Hot Right Now -- elevate your look with products from these empowering female-owned beauty brands -- Tracee Ellis Ross, Amy Schumer is bringing a little humor to a serious topic in hopes of making period conversation as normal as periods

Page 49: Foot Notes -- fashionable footwear

Page 50: Say Anything -- make a bold statement in a cheeky graphic tee -- Yara Shahidi

Page 52: Beauty -- Chill Out -- beat the heat and humidity with these cooling beauty products -- Sofia Richie

Page 54: Entertainment

Page 55: Q&A -- Elizabeth Pipko

Page 58: Buzz -- just got paid -- Forbes reveals which actors earned the most money from June 2019 to June 2020 -- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Jason Sudeikis on being a father, Kelly Clarkson on daughter River, Ariana Grande on Lady Gaga accidentally scratching her face while rehearsing their Rain on Me music video, Ben Schwartz, Kate Hudson on what she tells herself when she’s stressed

Page 61: Tamera Mowry asked if she wanted a quarantine baby, Gwen Stefani correcting Dua Lipa who thought she was married to Blake Shelton, Simon Cowell after breaking his back in a cycling accident, Kate Bosworth on whether she’s willing to do a Blue Crush sequel, Bruno Mars on songwriting

Page 62: Horoscope -- Virgo LeAnn Rimes turned 38 on August 28

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Linda Cardellini

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canonicallysoulmates · 4 years

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Those don't look like photoshoot pics based on the wet hair and their outfits. Think Jensen is lying through his teeth because of the whole separate narrative that they can't be seen hanging out together outside work? Just why haven't we seen these photoshoot pics yet?

I don’t think Jensen is lying about it, there are several possible reasons as to why we haven’t seen the photoshoot pics and as to why their hair seems to be wet and their outfits.

Professional photoshoots, the kinds that are done for events, promotions, magazines, tend to be done in advance cause it’s not just taking the photos and done, the photographer and their team (sometimes along with the client) have to go through the photos to select the ones that will be used for xy thing, then those photos need to be edited, if they’re for a magazine then they need to decide the placement, and even if these things got done quickly if it’s for a specific magazine issue or promo campaign or an event that’s not ready to be announced you’re not going to see it until that time so depending on several different factors it can take weeks even months to see the results of a photo shoot.

According to Jensen the pic was taken when they were doing one of their very last photoshoots for the show so it’s not that surprising we haven’t seen the pics yet we’ll probably be seeing them sometime between later on this month and May. Maybe not even till later if it’s something for the DVD.

As for their clothes and hair it might not have been an in-character shoot meaning they were being photographed as themselves not Sam and Dean, and no just because it’s a photoshoot relating to spn doesn’t mean they have to be in-character for example in the newest tvguide there’s an article promoting the 2nd half of the season and they even appear on the cover (looking very handsome like always btw) but they appear as themselves same in the EW photo shoot that promoted the 300th epi, so if the outfits look casual and not Sam and Dean-ish it might be because it wasn’t an in-character shoot; it could also be that the picture was taken either at the beginning of the shoot or after so perhaps they either hadn’t gotten changed for the pics or they had gotten changed back into their clothes. And their hair could be wet for several reasons from it being a look for the shoot to them pouring some water over themselves if it was a hot day.

So, like I said I don’t think Jensen is about it, I think he’s telling the truth it was an emotional moment taken at an emotional time cause it was one of their last shoots.

#j2 tinhat #anon #ask #Anonymous

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sweetesthaaze · 2 years

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do you think Simone and johnny will do a magazine cover shoot? All the match covers for magazines have already been shot or released so idk what else they can cover and British vogue seems like such a big shout tbh

I really really hope so. I just need them in a photoshoot together ASAP.

Honestly I'm not super knowledgable in the whole magazine industry and so I don't know which covers would be available for them to shoot for (these covers are essentially shot every month right? so it's possible we'll get something with them in March, since that's when the season is coming out. Again though, I know nothing about magazine cover shoots).

Aside from the whole EW photoshoot, I'm positive we're going to get something with them. It would be bad marketing to not do any promos with the leads of the second season.

#anon #bridgerton #sweetestviscount

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defdaily · 4 years

Text

[TRANSLATION] Singles Magazine January 2016 issue x GOT7

[INTERVIEW] GOT7 for Singles January ‘16

Going to the airport at least once a week, Going up on stage a few times in a day. A day without schedules is very rare. Idols GOT7 who have debuted for 2 years spend each of their day busily like that But not even once did they frown.

When you don’t see idols on TV, they’re even busier. GOT7 who has debuted for 2 years has had a hectic 2015. Junior who was the hero for <My love Eundong> has taken steps as an actor. Through his unique variety skills, Jackson is active as various program MCs and guest. Leader JB personally composed a song for GOT7’s album. All 7 of them have a lot of work to do with regards to their stage. From summer to winter, they have released two mini albums, and a repackaged album. From lively and cute charms (Just Right) shown, shortly they transformed to be powerful and gruff (If You Do). For the year end, they allowed us to listen to their sweet voices through gentle and warm ‘Confession Song’. 2015 was a year GOT7 used fully to show their charms. Is it due to them working without stopping? For the first time after debut, they won their first #1 on a music show and they’ve become singers that you absolutely can’t miss out on at year-end award ceremonies. Even when GOT7 are not on TV, on portal sites they update on their overseas performances and sides of them participating in events.

The day we did the photoshoot, GOT7 had just returned from Singapore. The first person who turned up at the studio was leader JB. During the group shoot, when the members’ focus are scattered or disorderly, he says one phrase. ‘Let’s focus!’. The sound of the members’ laughter die down and the camera that stopped for a while continued with the shutter sounds. Junior, who was given the fishbowl with goldfishes inside was asked if he could catch the fishes with his bare hands and he replied ‘I can do anything’ with his eyes twinkling. Youngjae will always be at the place where sounds of laughter that are running out of air are heard. Youngjae was also the first to be curious about the goldish placed at one side of the studio. He knocked on the fishbowl and went ‘Fool! Look over here!” teasing the fishes. Looking at BamBam who definitely grew taller since the previous time, I was shocked. “Look at this” he said while pointing to shoes that had heels more than 7cm. Smartly dressed BamBam in black jeans and black boots will probably not even look awkward if he was to stood as he is in front of the camera. The word ‘college entrance exam’ looks like a taboo word to maknae Yugyeom who is a senior in high school. “The exams? I probably sat for it ‘well’” smiling shyly while answering and then moving with buzz feigning ignorance. Mark, the man of a few words, when he’s talking with his members or standing in front of the camera, he’s quiet. With his gentle eyes, he picks out his pose and does his part. Glancing at the monitor, Jackson looked at all the members’ photos, he mumbled to himself ‘Apart from me, all the members look cool/good’. When said Jackson is handsome too, with a playful expression he smiles. With that, the 7 people filled up the frame fully and completed one cut by one cut.

Is it because they have yet to get rid of their fatigue.. Even when seven men are gathered, from time to time, it becomes quiet. Starting at 6o’clock, it only ended after 12o’clock. After 3 days, we met up with the members again for the interview. The members were continuously laughing. For the first time I realised, this is the real GOT7.

While waiting at the filming venue, I see JB is reading. Isn’t the bookworm in GOT7 Junior?

Junior: Jaebeom hyung too likes reading a lot but it’s just that people don’t know about it.

JB: When I was bboy-ing, the hyung I danced with read a lot so I was influenced by that. Just like Jinyoung, whenever I get time, I’m the type to read.

What kind of books do you like?

JB: I used to read fictions or self-help books in the past but now I read books like essays or poems – things that can be read when I’m on the move to nearby places.

Junior: I tend to generally read classics but lately I want to see a dramatic love story so I’m reading a fiction, ‘This Very Instant’, written by Guillaume Musso.

As we filmed for the photoshoot, we realised this. Seems like there are many members who have “crying mole”.

Yugyeom: When we do make up, we purposely put it on. Previously, during ‘A’ promos, the person who did the makeup said to try having a mole once and the fans’ response to that were good.

Youngjae: My mole is real but we’re always covering it with makeup. My mom doesn’t like seeing it and she said to have it removed.

Mark: What is a “crying mole”?

BamBam: If you have a mole under your eye, it’s said that you’ll have many tears. I don’t have much tears though. Even at concerts, I haven’t cried even once.

Jackson: (referring to his cheeks) I have a mole too. If the mole is here, what kind of mole is it?

BamBam: There’s not much meaning to that one (laughs)

Yugyeom is a senior in high school. When you were sitting for your college entrance examinations, did the members cheer you on?

Youngjae: We had a different schedule on that day. Of course we told him to do well but we weren’t able to do anything special.

Yugyeom: I just wanted to and do it quietly without causing a hindrance to the other students taking the exam. I’ve not checked my results too. I hope I’m able to attend college often.

Two members (BamBam, Yugyeom) are turning 20 next year.

BamBam: When I become an adult, I want to drink with the hyungs but on 31st December, we have a year-end show and when that ends it’ll probably be around 1AM. As soon as the recording ends, I want all the members to get together, have a meal and drink together.

In one of the broadcasts you did, it seems like if it’s just Mark and Youngjae together, it’s awkward. How is it now?

Mark: We’re not awkward now.

Jackson: That line in itself means they’re awkward (laughs)

Youngjae: In that case, we’re awkward. Hahaha.

Jackson: To be honest, if it’s with Mark hyung, I get awkward too.

Youngjae: Previously, we recorded some show in which 2 members talk with one another. Being with Mark hyung, people would call it ‘completely no fun’. Mark hyung doesn’t talk at all so it wasn’t interesting (laughs).

Jackson: Mark hyung doesn’t talk but even just looking at him, it’s good so they called it ‘enjoyably no fun’. When I’m talking to hyung, at some point, I tend to forget there’s even someone next to me. It feels like I’m talking alone.

Mark: Jackson has always talked a lot so it seems like he could feel that way (laughs).

For people like Jackson who are bright/cheerful on the outside, they’re unable to show when they feel upset on the inside.

Jackson: The dorm is the place I’m most comfortable in. At that place, since I’m with people I’m comfortable with, if there are any difficult things I tell it all to the members. That way I release all my stress.

Youngjae: When hyung talks lesser, the members will all ask (each other) “Did something happen to Jackson hyung today?” and find out.

Yugyeom: When we ask “Hyung, is there something going on?”, at first he’ll say “Nah, nothing much” but if we keep asking, he will open up like he was waiting for it. Hyung is feeling upset but if we don’t initiate conversation, he gets a little angry.

Jackson: The members are all kind and great but at times it’s troublesome. One person will come and ask if I’m alright and I have to say the same thing six times over. Yugyeomie will come and ask “Is there anything going on?” and I’ll tell him and a little later Youngjae will come and ask the same thing..

Yugyeom: When Jackson hyung tells me something, there could be moments when he wouldn’t like it if I conveyed it to the others so everyone will go and ask on his own.

Mark: If Jackson doesn’t say it and all of the members know, he will ask “Who said it?” (laughs)

It seemed like BamBam suddenly grew so tall so I was surprised but it seems like it is the power of the boot’s heels!

BamBam: I usually wear shoes with 8cm heels. Although I did want to look tall but if I wore shoes with shorter heels, I’m always overlapping with shoes that someone else is wearing. Up till now, I’ve not seen anyone wear men’s shoes that has 8cm heels. Therefore, I’ve been wearing it since. I like shoes that are from collections but what’s important is that I have to wear boots with heels when I’m standing on a large stage.

Jackson: Even when BamBam doesn’t wear shoes, he already has a great proportion but now it’s pretty much ‘God-sent proportions’.

Yugyeom: He already has long legs but now (wearing shoes with heels) his legs look s~~~~~~o long. At first it was awkward but now it’s fine. On the contrary, if he uses sneakers, it looks weird now. Lately Jackson hyung uses (that kind of) shoes too.

BamBam: There was once when I lent hyung shoes with heels and after that, he stopped wearing sneakers. Jackson: I really liked the basketball Jordan shoes but now they’re collecting dust.

Even amongst the idols, Yugyeom is known as “hot body”.

BamBam: Yugyeom is the shoulder and chest gangster (wide shoulder and chest)

Yugyeom: My body isn’t that great. I don’t have abs, only my build is huge. Actually Jackson hyung and JB hyung bodies are great.

Jackson: Eyy, nah.

BamBam: Each member has a different portion of his body that is good Jackson: (Towards BamBam) I’m being humble now, aren’t I? Just stay quiet (laughs)

Yugyeom: Mark hyung and Jinyoung hyung are the type to have small muscles. Even if the sizes don’t match well, the body looks pretty so even the dressing style turns out great.

Jackson: But I have short thick legs and even my face compared to these people..

Yugyeom: No! We’re all similar

Jackson: Yah, let’s be honest. Are you comparing yourself to someone who is 173cm? Anyway, that’s why when we’re taking airport photos, I don’t stick with the other members.

The members tell Junior that he looks like Kim Soohyun and Yoo Seungho?

Yugyeom: Don’t they really look alike? Those men are cool too but just looking at hyung’s face, he has the face of an actor

Junior: Ohew. Just being mentioned together with them is an honour.

Lately, there are a lot of idols who are acting. Junior and JB started the acting activities first. Do the other members have greed for acting?

Youngjae: If anyone asked for me, I would gratefully do it but I won’t go out looking for it on my own. Since I debuted as a singer, I want to focus on music.

Yugyeom: The members all have experience acting in web-drama “Dream Knight”. Even so, I like being on stage more.

On the internet, pictures or gifs of your past come up. Are there any photos you’d like to erase?

BamBam: I want to erase all the photos before the ‘SSI’ era. The hair and the outfit, really..

Jackson: Don’t be like this in front of me! In the past, I even pushed all my hair (laughs)

Mark: I want to erase the photos I took when I was in the States. Compared to now, I was definitely more tanned and there are even photos of me in swimsuit. It’s such a different look from me now.

Yugyeom: I want to delete the videos of me acting.

Youngjae: Me too. I know the fans like it but I cringe at it.

Junior: I want to delete all the selcas I took when I first debuted.

JB: I don’t really have a dark past or memory I want to erase. The past are also sides of me.

You’re the only member who doesn’t have an IG account. Is there a special reason for that?

JB: I saw a side of me that was only obsessed with IG. In that time, I could be watching another artist’s stage or watch dance practice or listen to music. Spending that time going on IG feels a little of a waste.

You’re raising a puppy ‘Toto’ in the dorm?

Jackson: (Referencing to the name the Editor used) Isn’t ‘Toto’ a brand name you’ll see in the washroom? (laughs) It’s Coco.

Youngjae: A coconut is white in colour so we call her ‘Coco’. Together with Mark hyung, we wanted to raise a puppy so we adopted one that doesn’t shed much fur.

Mark: At first, we called her ‘ssalddeok’ but the pronunciation was too hard so we changed it (laughs)

Yugyeom: At first Jaebeom hyung raised a cat in the dorm but since Youngjae hyung has a fur allergy, he was not able to raise the cat. At the hospital, we asked if raising a puppy was fine and after getting the other members’ approval, we’re all raising it together.

Youngjae: When we have overseas schedule, we leave it under the care of some place, but when we have local schedules, it doesn’t feel great leaving her alone at home.

BamBam: Because there’s a puppy at home, the atmosphere is much better.

Fans sometimes have requests that are unreasonable. You love the fans but if you had to choose (a request) that you cannot fulfil, what would it be?

Jackson: I know it’s a joke but when they ask to marry them? If they ask to date them, I could think about it but marrying.. (laughs)

JB: Isn’t marriage something you have to be extremely careful about? I’m really thankful that fans like me but something important in life like marriage isn’t something you talk about lightly and there are times I get worried.

Youngjae: I try to grant most things but at fansigns, fans will ask for me to write my first impression of them. When that happens, I don’t know what I should write so I just end up writing their names.

BamBam: When fans ask for those requests, you can just write what you see. Like if he/she comes with a red scarf, just write ‘red scarf’. Jackson: Even so, we know fully that they love us.

Yugyeom: That’s right. In the event I went to today, the fans practiced and memorized our choreography for ‘Just Right’ and ‘If You Do’ – I’m touched seeing that. If the fans had no pride in being a GOT7 fan, dancing like that in front of so many people would be a difficult task.

At the end of this interview, you’re heading to China. Airport, stage, lodging. It’s quite a waste going to just these 3 places.

Jackson: That’s right. Apart from the difference in the person doing the room service, and the language we use with that person, our pattern is exactly the same every time.

BamBam: That’s why in the hotel room, doing whatever we can do (within that space), we try to enjoy it as much as we can. I mostly use the room with Jackson hyung so we put on good music, look at the view, eat delicious food and pass time like that.

Youngjae: For me, I just rest in the hotel.

Junior: I read books, soak in the tub, listen to music. I pretty much do the things that I’m not able to do leisurely in Korea. Ah, when we go overseas, I’ll definitely head to their convenience store to get a local cracker and drink each to try.

Yugyeom: Even though we live busily due to our schedules, I really like this life. Although sometimes we tend to fight even without remembering the reason, if I’m with the members, it is always fun.♥

Scans: @jr_ram_n94922 Translated by: @haetbitmark

#got7 #GOT7 JB #GOT7 JAEBEOM #GOT7 INTERVIEW #GOT7 TRANS #JB INTERVIEW #JB TRANS #JAEBEOM INTERVIEW TRANS #DEFDAILYinterview

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fayevalcntine · 2 years

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The interviews were awkward (but funny, they were like 2 children and one adult lol) and it was also the interviewers’s fault cause obv the questions were focused on Kate and Anthony so Charithra a lot of the times was like a fish out of the water. I also think that wasn’t the initial plan cause she was with Nicola a lot at the beginning, but then she god covid so they had to shuffle things. I’ll repeat myself pr and promo have big responsibility in this mess cause without thinking they pitted a Kate vs Edwina narrative when the series imo never had (and honestly a lot of the interviews the cast did and the bts video aren’t helping). I don’t think there is any conspiracy or other crazy things but some things were honestly worded or done badly

Yeah I agree. I love the interviews with all 3 regardless mainly because Simone and Jonathan are hilarious together but then you also have Charithra giving such thoughtful and well-placed answers while they look at each other like little kids trying not to laugh at their previous jokes. But generally the marketing has felt really disorganized for season 2 and I truly don't know if they really couldn't get Jonathan and Simone in to do the EW cover properly or not and they had to do something for season 2 before it came out but even so, it feels like in poor taste when you consider that their story is one of the most significant ones, and the resulting popularity of the show is mainly because of that. I feel like they could've at least done more to get a cover for them or at least include Simone in the EW shoot. The bts videos from what I remember were also pretty random back when season 1 came out. I think one of the main ones was when the duel between Anthony and Simon was being shot and there were just several small moments of all the actors shot in between which is like, fine but it's not the most significant scene from that season. It does feel like there's a lack of proper planning when they're made because with season 2, it almost feels like they're either neglecting Simone or don't even consider to put footage of the main actors in them when that would very much help continuing to market the season and help it have a more lasting popularity.

Also, another thing that I wish they would do for Bridgerton is just make romantic promotion photos while filming those short cute videos with the actors in costume again. @geraltcirilla reminded me of it but TV magazines used to use those kinds of photos for promotion all the time back in the 80s/90s/00s and you'd get actors posing in photos like this:

I would've loved getting at least several photos of Kate and Anthony like this but in high-res and imagine how many more cute/romantic poses they would've done while Kate wears this dress:

#bridgerton #whoever's in charge of promo and photography for this show really needs to go back to #romantic drama's roots for promotion #and start taking more beautiful photos of the actors on set or in costume like this #asks #answered #anonymous #ask

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ashleyjouharphotowords · 4 years

Photo

In a revealing interview for the Image Source Picture Library, I talked to Miles Aldridge about his early influences, 90’s fashion photography and how at the moment of news-stand success he headed off in a radically different creative direction.

Miles Aldridge shoots sexy, glamorous women in opulent settings. But all is not what it seems in his pictures. Scratch the surface and a common thread runs through the imagery – the strange ominous unease of the dreamworld. Film-maker David Lynch wrote, “Miles sees a colour coordinated, graphically pure, hard-edged reality”. Artist Glenn O’Brien says Aldridge, “uses impeccable instinct in crafting something like ‘stills’ from the fractured narratives that we normally experience nocturnally and unconsciously.”

Aldridge talked to me about his influences and traced the rich visual journey he took from being a graphic design and illustration student, through music promos, to being a photographer who has shaped and stretched the idea of the fashion photograph.

Ashley Jouhar: What was your background to taking the kinds of photographs you take now and what was it that kick started your career in photography?

Miles Aldridge: Well, my father [Alan Aldridge] was a famous illustrator and art director so I grew up around quite surreal, psychedelic and sometimes shocking imagery – and it seemed clear to me I would go into the arts and follow my father. So I went to art school to study illustration, which was incredibly liberating – because I had been at Grammar School and none of my fellow students were interested in art. Being at Central St Martin’s around 1983 – surrounded by a lot of like-minded and talented people – the teachers, the studies and the classes were very good and I immersed myself in everything for the first year and then specialised in Graphic Design with an illustration bias.

Ashley Jouhar: So at that point you were exposing yourself to all the disciplines – life drawing, filmmaking, illustration, graphic design – the whole lot?

Miles Aldridge: I was also getting exposed to cinema, taking girlfriends on dates to see art movies, not blockbusters. I was seeing David Lynch films and it broadened my horizons immensely.

I did become an illustrator when I graduated from art school but I found it quite boring and I wasn’t anything like my father who was a sort of psychedelic whizz kid right in the middle of swinging London, working with everyone from David Bailey to The Stones and The Beatles. So he was really tapping into the zeitgeist. But I didn’t find the work very challenging and I was still very young so I started making enquiries about pop videos. It seemed to me that the film directors I liked were artists, packaging their thoughts and point of view of the world into hour and a half statements.

Ashley Jouhar: A little like you are now doing with your current imagery, except in a photograph?

Miles Aldridge: Yeah, but at that time I had no film training, apart from a couple of days at art so it was all quite new to me. But I bought a Super 8 camera and started shooting films. Then I bumped into Derek Jarman in Soho, who was often drinking tea in the same café I used to hang out in called Maison Bertaux. He was interested in me because I was a good-looking young man and I was interested in him because he was a famous film maker and so we had a few conversations. He was very enthusiastic and encouraging and through this naïve enthusiasm I started to make films. Another person who came into my life then was Sophie Muller, a well known video director who pretty well invented the form, shooting videos for The Eurythmics and many others.

Ashley Jouhar: MTV was exploding at this time so it was perfect timing for you, in the right place at the right time?

Miles Aldridge: Yeah, yeah, exactly and actually because of people like Derek Jarman and other like-minded artists were doing Super 8 presentations to music because of its relatively low cost it was very much the film medium for the 80s. You don’t need masses of finance to make a film on Super 8 – the idea is translated quickly to images. So I started making pop videos for a while.

Ashley Jouhar: Were you coming up with the concepts for these videos – were they very much ideas-driven shoots?

Miles Aldridge: Yes, very much so and I was good at coming up with the ideas but I wasn’t very good with the music! I would come up with an idea that might be loosely based on something from the universe of Hitchcock, Lynch or Godard and I was aware of cinematic tricks and conceits and would play with those. Like for instance, The Shining – I would do a pop video based on a long corridor with different weird things happening in different rooms but I didn’t really know how to put it all together with the edit. During this time I suppose I would have been known as a middling pop video director and therefore lived in a council flat, didn’t have any overheads as such so was very happy doing the odd pop video and hanging out with my girlfriend, who it transpired wanted to be a model. That’s when I took these photographs of her because she looked very much like the kind of girl of the moment – that sort of grungy, heroin chic sort of look of the time.

Ashley Jouhar: I remember it well – the bed-sits and anti-fashion poses.

Miles Aldridge: Yes, and the pictures of her were very well received at Vogue and they asked who had taken them and it was explained that it was this girl’s boyfriend. I was then called in to Vogue to meet them and I had this amazing realisation that instead of all this hard work involved in making videos – starting at five in the morning and ending at five in the morning, horrible food and no money to do anything, I could possibly become a fashion photographer.

Ashley Jouhar: So those original pictures, did you imbue them with something that we would recognise now in your work?

Miles Aldridge: No, I shot them all in black and white on Hampstead Heath on a Nikon and the film was dropped into Snappy Snaps… and picked up two hours later and pasted into her portfolio! They were really, to all intents and purposes, a boyfriend photographing his girlfriend. I mean she wasn’t styled and there was no hair and make up and she wasn’t trying to sell any fashion. Because that was what was happening with London photography then, when fashion photography almost slipped into Reportage.

Ashley Jouhar: Yes, it was very pared down compared to what had gone before.

Miles Aldridge: Yes, very much so and the heroes of that period were people like Robert Frank and Bruce Davidson and also Richard Avedon’s book ‘In the American West’ was kind of like a bible for that kind of styling.

There was this idea of real people rather than glamorous people being pushed to the forefront and being shown as something heroic and wonderful. So I moved from illustration to video to photography in the space of about six years, I think. I really enjoyed the photography and the early work was really about being locked in studios with very beautiful creatures and trying to think how to photograph them. I didn’t come with any technical knowledge – all I had was an eye that still serves me very well today and those pictures were almost a repetition of the boyfriend/girlfriend pictures earlier where in my imagination, these models who were now wearing fashion clothes and hair and make up were, for that six or seven hours in my studio, my girlfriend. Interestingly, when the hair and make-up and styling was being done and I wasn’t paying any attention at all, I left that up to them. In a way, I liked to rendezvous with the model on the white background and see her there for the first time with my camera.

Ashley Jouhar: So at this point your shoots were very spontaneous with what was happening, there were no storyboards planned out or themes?

Miles Aldridge: Yes, it was very spontaneous, it was about having a good time, listening to loud music and being swept up in the energy of a pre-9/11 fashion shoot and I mention 9/11 because after that, the whole world and especially fashion became much more gloomy and serious. Up until that point it was a big party. There was so much energy and money sloshing around and I enjoyed the decadence of it.

Ashley Jouhar: When did you start shooting in a more ‘David Lynch-ian’ way with these very considered, choreographed images and sets?

Miles Aldridge: Well, literally all I was shooting was white background pictures for magazines like W and British Vogue. Those pictures were about energy and shapes and in a way my talent was in trying to find graphic shapes on the flat two-dimensional page. I was successful with that kind of work straight away and sort of fell into it but at a certain point I looked at all this work and I remember I was at a magazine store in New York and saw a cover for W magazine, a cover for British Vogue and a cover for a magazine called Vibe – three white background covers, all by me. One could feel really good about oneself with that but for some reason, seeing them all there together I kind of loathed it and wondered where I’d got lost. Because back when I was an art student and even doing pop videos I was much more interested in darker and stranger things and the books I grew up with were books on Hieronymus Bosch and Breugel. The complete opposite of what I was producing, which I thought was trash. I felt really uncomfortable about that, even though my pockets were full of dollars.

Ashley Jouhar: So this was the turning point?

Miles Aldridge: I realised that when you get into a photo studio as a photographer, even if you said nothing and were dumb, the picture would still get taken because there is the momentum the stylist, the hair and make up artist and the model bring to the shoot that creates the energy for these pictures to occur. Instead of giving myself up to the madness and the freedom of the shoot, I wanted to put the brakes on it – to divert that energy and create a picture you really want to do in advance.

In part 2 Miles tells us how he creates the ‘fantastic’ images that have become his signature pieces…

#fashion photography #miles aldridge #vogue italia #british vogue #art photography #art #ashleyjouhar #pop art #david lynch

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thecourtneychronicles · 5 years

Link

“Courtney Act has some advice for Strictly Come Dancing.

Everyone’s favourite Aussie drag queen-turned-reality TV darling made history when she became the first person to dance with a same-sex partner on Dancing With The Stars, and now she thinks it’s time the UK caught up.

“Any excuse about the traditions of ballroom dancing and all that sort of jazz, it kind of starts to sound a little bit awkward now that we’ve done it in Australia,” she tells GAY TIMES. “I think it’s definitely time.”

As she prepares to grace London’s Underbelly Festival with her show Under The Covers, we spoke to the Aussie queen about her time on Dancing With The Stars, who she wants to see on Drag Race UK, and what makes our drag unique.

Congratulations on making the finals of Dancing With The Stars – how are you feeling about that whole journey?

Thank you! Oh my god, it was just so magical and so much fun, but it was also so much hard work, it was four months of dancing and we were rehearsing for at least six hours a day, and I think I had about three days off in the whole four months. I got to tell so many stories on mainstream television, it was just amazing. Somebody’s made a supercut of all of the dances on YouTube, and my dance partner Josh sent it to me and we both sat there watching it and reminiscing over the phone.

Based on your track record, you really were destined to win. Are you a bit gutted about that?

You know what, this sounds really trite, but I feel like we did win. From the judges points we did actually win every episode except for episode four, but then we were pipped at the post by Samuel Johnson, who is actually so lovely. I remember him in the first promo shoot and I was like, ‘Oh, she’ll be out first’, but he actually was just amazing and he got better and better every week, and also he’s an amazing fundraiser in Australia, his sister unfortunately died of cancer a few years ago and he vowed to raise $10 million for cancer research, and so he’s on this big journey of his own and people really love that cause, and it is a very worthy cause. So I in no way felt gutted, I felt really, really happy for him. And we got to do so many cool things! We were the first same-sex dance partnership [on the show], which was amazing, and so many of the performances were kind of risque, like going from Courtney to Shane in the space of one minute and 20 seconds. That was dangerous, but it worked.

Did you face any resistance from the show when you decided to dance as Shane?

No, they were totally supportive! I think I used the Courtney Act patented lubing technique to get them used to the idea, so I thought, ‘I’ll just get in there, I’ll be fabulous and have fun, and show them there’s nothing to be afraid of’, then in episode three I did the Courtney-to-Shane Tango which they loved, and then the Samba in episode four was our first sexy dance, and I kind of loved that people were seeing this was a guy dressed as a girl dancing sexy with another man. And I was planning to do something as Shane but I couldn’t quite find the right time, and then the Tango-Foxtrot came up and I was like, ‘Oh good, this is like a sexy, intimate, romantic dance so it’s not like we’re just doing the Jive next to each other’. I wanted people to see two male-presenting people in each other’s arms. I remember the first time I saw two men dancing the Tango together I was shocked, and I remember how confronting it was for my brain, even though I’m a queer person just to see two men dancing romantically was like, ‘Wow!’ and I figured there’s probably a lot of people around Australia who still haven’t seen that, so to get to do that on Dancing With The Stars and hopefully help to normalise it and create a positive example is a really amazing opportunity.

There’s a debate in the UK about having same-sex partners on Strictly Come Dancing, but the show still won’t let it happen. Do you think it’s time for that?

Absolutely, and I think there’s got to be a same-sex couple on Strictly this year. There just has to be. It’s not even a question in my mind. It would just seem really weird not to. And I mean, Craig Revel Horwood was a judge on our version as well, and he’s a judge on Strictly, so I think it’s definitely time. Because like, any excuse about the traditions of ballroom dancing and all that sort of jazz, it kind of starts to sound a little bit awkward now that we’ve done it in Australia.

You’re bringing Under The Covers to London’s Underbelly Festival this month, what we expect?

Well I did the show around the UK last year, and I did it in London at the Palladium which is this ginormous venue which where the front row was like 20 metres away, so it wasn’t very intimate, but this is a gorgeous intimate venue and I’m doing it with a live band this time. Last time I just did it with a piano, so I’m excited for that. After doing – and then losing – Eurovision: Australia Decides, and then performing with Jake Shears when he opened for Kylie on her Australian tour, I was just like, ‘Oh my god, I love live music so much’, so I knew I had to do my Under The Covers show with a live band. There’s loads of great songs and costumes, we’ve updated all that, there’s lots of stories about Dancing With The Stars, and maybe a little ballroom dancing in there too.

Well, you spent all that time learning, you may as well show it off.

Yeah, exactly! Also, like, the fitness level I achieved from dancing that much, I’m now working hard to not just go back to my regular sloth-like self. So I might try to keep it up in my show.

How do you decide what songs you want to perform for Under The Covers?

Well they’re all famous covers of covers, so I have a giant spreadsheet, and I spent weeks Googling and I put every cover song that I could find on there, and then I picked out ones that I’d like to do, that I could sing well, and that the audience would enjoy, and then I’ve tried to put it together following the loose theme of my show. So for example, Bjork’s It’s Oh So Quiet is such a great song, and that’s a cover from a Betty Hutton song in 1951, and that was a cover of a 1948 song that was originally in German, Und jetzt ist es still, which is German for It’s Oh So Quiet. Lot’s of people don’t know that.

We also have Drag Race UK coming up this year. Having lived in London for a while now, what do you think international audiences will find unique about British drag?

I can’t wait, because I love watching Drag Race but I feel like the drag has been coming through the same filter for a few seasons now. I mean, coming from Australia to the US, I love the pageant drag, I love all the different styles of drag, but I feel like the UK is just going to inject a breath of fresh air into the show. Have you seen any of Drag Race Thailand?

I saw a clip where one of the contestants [Kandy Zyanide] set her dress on fire, which was incredible.

Yes! I saw that one too. Unfortunately she did suffer burns after that, so don’t try that at home. But it’s just amazing how there’s a whole culture and sensibility in the UK, and the history of drag and camp that is part of pop culture there is going to be wonderful. I’m really excited to see the injection of fresh talent, and that fresh approach to drag and how it will shake up and influence the US version.

Are there any UK queens that you would like to see on the show?

I’d love to see Cheddar Gorgeous and the House of Gorgeous, they’re amazing. The UK has so many legendary queens, who I don’t think would necessarily be right for Drag Race, like all the East London queens that I love. People like Jonny Woo and his clan are all epic, although I don’t really picture them competing on Drag Race. So I’m gonna go with Cheddar and her clique, I think they’re pretty epic.

Courtney’s interview with Gay Times Magazine - May 3, 2019

#ca interview #03.05.19 #courtney act #dancing with the stars #rupaul's drag race #rpdr

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trifrost17 · 5 years

Text

YGO Advent: Kaleidoscope

Summary: KaibaCorp takes a stand against bullying and in true KaibaCorp fashion, they go over the top to promote their new campaign.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16811635/chapters/40724954

23: Kaleidoscope

When Ryou came to him with the idea, Mokuba was honestly extremely surprised. He hadn’t thought these sort of issues mattered to the man, but Mokuba was quickly proven wrong when Ryou laid out the entire situation.

“And I’m tired of no one making a statement! This is unacceptable and I want to throw our support behind him. I want KaibaCorp to make a statement. To do something… big.” Mokuba tilted his head, thinking it over. It was rare when Ryou actually asked them of something, especially something like this. Seto would have likely rejected the idea outright but Mokuba kind of liked it. He definitely appreciated Ryou’s enthusiasm and intention.

But this was still a corporation and Mokuba had to weigh the pros and cons of doing something that was so controversial. “I want to do this, Ryou. But let me think about how before I go to Seto with this. Give me a little bit of time to figure this out.” Ryou had smiled and thanked him.

It really hadn’t taken him much time at all, though. As soon as Mokuba told Yugi and Atem about Ryou’s idea, they were on board. And with Yugi at his side, Mokuba was reasonably sure they could convince Seto to do anything.

With his usual ferocity to do the right thing, Yugi tackled the project with Mokuba like the champ he was. He pulled Ryou back into the mix, dragged in Joey, Atem, and Duke—all of whom were also fired up for the entire idea—to decide on a plan of action before marching into Seto Kaiba’s office with their proposal.

“I hate bullies, Kaiba. You know that. And we have a chance to make a difference here. I’ve talked to the boy and his mother directly and they are so honored we would do this. And I’m tired of these stories, Kaiba. I want to change people's attitudes. We’re KaibaCorp, damn it! Let’s use our influence for good,” Yugi finished, leaning forward on Seto's desk to see the taller man eye-to-eye. Yugi was probably the only employee who could get away with touching his desk like that; but then again, Yugi's pose wasn't really coming across as challenging Seto's authority as much as it was showing that he was eager for Seto to do the right thing.

His big brother had hesitated, but only briefly. Mokuba had realized that in their older age, Seto was far more willing to take a stand and even potentially risk his company if it meant doing what Seto considered to be the right thing. Granted, Seto's morals were still often skewed and rather gray of most things, but this situation wasn't one of them. He nodded.

“But we’re going to make this big. KaibaCorp doesn’t just donate to charity. And we don’t just make statements. If we’re doing this, we’re doing this KaibaCorp style. Yugi, you will program new DLC packs for every game offering alternate clothes for every character model. Those will be free additions. Then create special DLC—promo ones—where we can use the funds to donate. I want them for every major game: Capsule Monsters VR, Dungeon Dice Monsters VR, Spherium II, Monster World VR, and Millennium World.” Yugi grinned and nodded. But Seto wasn’t done.

“Wheeler, I want this livestreamed on your channel. Make announcements about it. As soon as Mokuba has a time hammered down, we’re getting this to the Kaiba Dome and you’re going to start promoting this thing asap on your channel.”

“Righto, boss man!”

“Devlin, I’m putting you in charge of hard copy versions. While Yugi works on the DLC packages, I want you to get arranged special editions for the game board versions. As well as for Duel Monsters. Get new character figurines out for Capsule Monsters, Spherium, Dungeon Dice Monsters, and Monster World. I’ll work with Industrial Illusions about creating special cards for the promotion but I want you overseeing special edition card sleeves, booster packs, game mats, and anything else you can think of. I’ll get special edition Duel Disks started and released asap, too.”

Seto’s head swiveled to Ryou. “You came up with this idea. You’re in charge of character designs. I want those done asap so you can get those to Devlin and Yugi. Meanwhile, you’ll be working with our fashion division to create costumes for all of us to wear at the showcase to show our support. Then I want an entirely new fashion line to come out of this, too. This will be the only thing we’ll take part profit from—but some of the proceeds will go to charity. Pharaoh, you’re the fashionable one, if all your magazine shoots are to go by. Work with Ryou and help him design the clothes.”

“And me, Big Bro?” Mokuba asked, raising an eyebrow. “Am I arranging all the promotions?”

“Yes. Once you have dates from Yugi, Ryou, and Devlin about how long production will take, get this settled. I am also making you the spokesperson here, Mokuba. And I want the family that sparked this there, too. If you find anymore relevant stories, get those, too. If KaibaCorp is getting involved with a political issue like this, then we’re going to make it huge. So big, no one can ignore it.”

Mokuba grinned, nodding. There was a lot of daunting work ahead, but all of them there were enthused about the idea. “And the title? What should we call this project?”

Seto thought for a few seconds before finally saying, “Kaleidoscope.”

“Ah,” Yugi nodded, impressed. “To represent all the colors in a spectrum that reflect a person’s identity?” Seto smirked.

“Exactly.”

“Okay team!” Joey began, clapping his hands together. “Project Kaleidoscope is a go! Let’s go make a difference!”

To get everything done and arranged in only two months was a record. It was a massive undertaking—new DLC, new figurines, new clothing line, and even special edition Duel Disks and Duel Disk skins. But it was done and ready to go for launch.

And all the while, Joey had been drumming up support, while also gathering new stories to discuss at the launch event. Even Seto was impressed with Joey’s initiative to bring in their customer’s stories into his livestream. For a few weeks, he had been asking his fans for their stories about bullying and then discussing them with the crowd, making statements about how wrong it is. He would play games online with the victims, telling them how life would get better and how the bullies were so wrong. Mokuba had arranged for several of those fans to come to the launch event.

It was definitely shaping up to be huge. They had been promoting for all two months and all the seats for the Dome had sold out. Not only that, they had sold out of all tickets for Kaiba Land general passes for the park, too. On the day of the event, everything around Kaiba Land was packed; even news media crews were there to see what this Project Kaleidoscope was all about. Many outlets had gotten the rumor that it was an anti-bullying project of somesort but no one knew the full details.

The seven of them going on stage arrived at the Dome early in the morning to prepare, going through sound checks and testing all the technical aspects of the presentation. They explained what they were going to talk about with their guests and prepped them for their parts in the show. And then they spent hours getting dressed and made up in their costumes. At 3:00 prompt, Mokuba signaled for his other coworkers to head on out. It was time for Project Kaleidoscope to be revealed to the world.

The crowd response was deafening; as soon as they caught sight of Yugi, Seto, Atem, and Joey, they went absolutely wild. But then, as the crowd took in their appearances and what they were wearing, their screams turned somehow louder? Mokuba wasn’t sure how to describe it. It was a different feeling, though. Almost like they were being laughed at.

Perfect. That attitude was exactly what they were trying to combat.

Mokuba came to the center of the stage, Yugi and Ryou both standing beside him. The rest of their group stood behind them in a semi circle. Mokuba tapped the KaibaCorp mic on his earpiece on, greeting everyone with a loud, “Hello, Domino City! Welcome to the Kaleidoscope Project!”

He was greeted with more excited shouts before the audience calmed down. “We’re here today to announce a special project that is very close to all of our hearts here at KaibaCorp.” Mokuba paused, looking down at his outfit. “As you can see, we all dressed up for the occasion. But,” he began his tone turning soft and stern, “we aren’t doing this for humor. We aren’t doing this so that everyone can go, ‘Oh look! The King of Games and CEO of KaibaCorp are in skirts!’ No. We’re wearing these Magician Girl costumes proudly and to show support.”

The crowd fell silent as Mokuba gestured behind him. None of the men behind him showed any awkwardness, not even his older brother, in their costumes. Yugi wore the long dress of the Silent Magician replicating the design exactly, including the cut outs on his hips that exposed large parts of his thighs. Atem happily wore the costume of his favorite female magician: the Dark Magician Girl. He didn’t look the slightest bit uncomfortable with the short skirt, which was amazing, because truly, the skirt was so short, it was borderline indecent. If Atem bent over, his entire ass would be exposed.

Briefly, Mokuba thanked every god available that Yugi had made sure everyone wore the tight booty shorts underneath their skirts so that nothing would be exposed to the public.

Seto and Joey wore the Lemon and Apple Magician Girl costumes, while Duke had on the Kiwi Magician Girl outfit, and Ryou wore the Chocolate Magician Girl outfit. The only costume really modified was Mokuba’s, as he wasn’t too keen on wearing some semblance of a diaper for the Berry Magician Girl. Instead, he wore high-waisted shorts with legs that that barely covered his hips. The rest of his outfit was made up of thigh-high boots and shoulder-length gloves.

“You see, the point of this project is to show our solidarity with kids and youth who are being bullied and mistreated for simply being who they are. One of our designers was made aware of the story of a nine-year-old boy who was harassed and bullied from classmates, even being sent home from school, after he decided to wear a Silent Magician’s outfit during their school’s costume party for Halloween. Silent Magician was this boy’s favorite card and he wanted to show how much he loved the card by dressing up like her; but because he was a boy, he was treated cruelly by his classmates.” Mokuba scoffed, shaking his head in disgust.

“We’re tired of it. We’re tired of these stories—we’re so tired of hearing of boys being bullied because they wear skirts or dresses or nail polish or makeup or anything that seems vaguely feminine. We’re tired of girls being told that it’s ‘just a phase’ or ‘they just haven’t met the right man yet’ when they come out as anything but straight. We’re tired of parents mistreating their children because they are trans or gay or some other sexuality that isn’t straight. We’re tired of asexuality being ignored. We’re tired of boys and girls being picked on and bullied for being different—for simply being themselves. So KaibaCorp is taking a stand. We’re telling these kids, hey, it’s okay to be yourself; there is nothing wrong with you. And when your environment makes it not okay to be yourself, we want to help. We want to do whatever we can to help.”

Mokuba shook his head, glancing back at Yugi and Atem, then looking over at his brother and Joey. “On this stage behind me, we have so many men of different sexualities and with a vast array of life experiences. And as we took on this project and learned about our fans and their life experiences, we realized that people could benefit from hearing that there are more people out there like them. So KaibaCorp is coming out. We’re here in front of you showing who we are. We're showing you that there are more colors out there besides blue and pink; that there is a rainbow—a kaleidoscope, if you will—of gender identities and sexual orientations and those are normal, too. This is Project Kaleidoscope—we want to give you a lens to look into and see those colors and know that there are others out there like you.”

He took a deep breath. Mokuba had made sure beforehand that everyone on stage was comfortable with him talking about them. All the men had agreed. But still, revealing things so personal about themselves was not easy.

“I understand it first-hand how necessary it was to find someone like me. When I was a teenager, I struggled with my sexuality because I wasn’t… normal. I wasn’t like other boys; I didn't date, I didn't want to have sex, I didn't find girls or guys or anyone sexually attractive. It wasn’t until I talked to Yugi that I found a word to identify myself and realized that I wasn’t alone. That there were others like me. That, out of everyone, Atem was like me.”

Mokuba had been seventeen when he had confided into Yugi about how he thought he was different from other boys his age. He hadn’t felt comfortable going to Seto about it, since Seto never seemed to express interest in relationships at all, and Mokuba did want a relationship at some point. He was scared to bring it up with Seto; but with Yugi, it was so much easier to confide into him. He wasn’t judgmental and he was so approachable.

He had expressed how he had noticed he had never found anyone really attractive. Other boys his age were always talking about how this girl was so hot or that girl was gorgeous, but Mokuba couldn’t wrap his head around it. Mokuba didn’t want to have sex with anyone; the idea of just seeing someone and going, “Yeah, I want to bang them,” well, it was beyond him. It was almost repulsive to him. Still, at the same time, he wasn’t against sex as a whole. With the right person, he could see himself being sexually active, but it had to be someone special and someone he was close to.

Yugi had smiled after Mokuba was finished and said the words that he needed to hear the most: “There is nothing wrong with you, Mokuba.” Mokuba had felt like a ball of anxiety had broken when Yugi said those words. “If anything, you sound like Atem. I think you may be demisexual, like he is. It just means you need an emotional connection before you experience any sexual attraction to someone. And that’s totally fine. You should talk to him if you have questions—he can definitely answer better than I can. But I can tell you as someone dating a demisexual, there is nothing wrong with it. We have a wonderful relationship.”

Now, it was time for Mokuba to say those same words to some other youth that may need to hear it. “Atem and I are known as demisexuals. We only experience sexual attraction to someone we form an emotional bond with. But you know what? Our orientation—there is nothing wrong with it. There is nothing wrong with us. We both have wonderful partners and are in fantastic relationships. Atem and Yugi have been married for almost ten years now. And I’ve been dating my amazing girlfriend, Serenity, for almost three years now.”

He gestured towards Yugi. “Yugi is bisexual and my girlfriend is straight, but they're still in relationships with demisexuals.” Mokuba pointed to Ryou next. “Ryou is gay.” He spun towards Duke. “Duke identifies as pansexual, but just like Yugi, he likes all genders. Joey is bisexual, too. And my big brother? He’s asexual. But even with this array of sexualities, we all have different relationships and some of us have no partners. And that’s totally normal, too.” Mokuba smiled, extending his arms out as if to encompass everyone behind him. “We’re all on various points of the sexuality spectrum. And we’re here to show you that you can be happy no matter who you are.”

Mokuba nodded back towards his brother. “My big brother doesn’t experience any sexual attraction. But you know what? He’s still in a relationship with Joey; they’ve been dating for years and it works. Ryou prefers not to be in a relationship; same with Duke. They are both perfectly happy being single. And you know what? That’s totally normal and fine, too. No one needs to have a significant other to be normal.” Mokuba rolled his eyes. “You see, what is normal for one person isn’t normal for another. It’s fine to be different. But we know that sometimes, your environment makes it dangerous for you to come out or be yourself. Sometimes it’s your parents. Sometimes it’s your school. Sometimes it’s your friends or peers. And while oftentimes, those hostile environments are out of your control, KaibaCorp has decided that it can try to lend a helping hand to lessen that type of hostility. We can’t fix everyone. But we can sure as hell try to make life just a little better for others.”

He took another deep breath, gesturing back at their outfits. “You don’t have to be gay or straight or even trans to want to wear different clothes. You guys want to know something? Atem wears skirts and dresses all the time. He’s a cisgendered man, totally secure in his masculinity, and he enjoys wearing makeup and things noted as feminine.” Atem nodded in confirmation. “But have you ever seen Atem? He’s fucking amazing. He’s an amazing duelist. He’s a fantastic person. He’s a totally devout father and such a loving husband, it’s almost sickeningly sweet to watch. His choice of clothing preferences doesn’t make him any different—doesn't make him somehow less than someone else.”

Yugi stepped forward at Mokuba’s nod, tapping his own microphone to speak. “This is what we’re trying to push for. We want to break these boundaries that limit people; we want to redefine what normal is and show that there are people like us, people like you, all around. And we want to lead by example. We want to show not just children and teens and young adults that their sexuality or gender identity or even what type of clothes they prefer to wear doesn’t invalidate who they are, but we also want to show that same message to parents. Because, you know what? It’s fucking hard to come out to your parents.” He took a deep breath and Mokuba watched his eyes flicker to his children sitting in the front row.

Téa had flown in from America to see this; she was holding Yugi’s daughter, while his mother was bouncing his son on her leg. Both of them were nodding encouragingly at Yugi. Atem seemed to sense his husband’s pain and came forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. Téa noticed Yugi staring at them and whispered something in their children's ears; both kids lifted their hands and waved happily, yelling for their dads. Yugi smiled, waving back, while Atem blew both kids kisses. The tension in Yugi's body loosened.

“I get it,” Yugi finally said. “I get not having a parent accept you. My father works overseas. I haven’t seen him since I was fourteen, but as a child, I was always so desperate to please him. I wanted so badly to make him proud. Even when I became an adult, that desire to hear him say, ‘You’ve done good, Son,’ was always there. I couldn’t shake it, even with my amazing mom and Grandpa and friends and boyfriend all accepting me for who I was. I just always craved that affirmation from him.” He gave a broken smile.

“I never got it. I spoke to my father about a month after I announced my engagement to Atem. It was the first time he had spoken to me almost a year—which was a miracle itself, because he hadn’t spoken to me for four years before that. On that phone call, he told me he was… he was ashamed to call me his son. He said that I had dishonored his name by trying to marry another male and that he would disown me if I went through with my marriage. It was… one of the worst moments of my life. Every nightmare I ever had about coming out was coming true.” Yugi blinked away his tears, while Atem wrapped him in a backhug, resting his chin on Yugi’s shoulder.

“I was lucky, though, because my mother and grandfather still love me and accept me, and my husband, and our children. I was able to stand strong and tell my father I didn’t care about his opinion and that he was no longer welcome into my life. But I’m fortunate to have that ability—I was an adult and still had a support system. There are so many youth out there trapped in bad situations, hiding who they are. We can’t save everyone. We all know that. But KaibaCorp can at least put our money where our mouth is and work to help support the agencies and the people that do help those kids in trapped situations.”

He nodded back towards Mokuba, who stepped forward again. Behind them, the screens lit up with their new products. “That’s why, starting today, we’re releasing special edition DLC packs, special figurines, limited edition Duel Disks, and a brand new KaibaCorp clothing line! We want to make it normal in games for boys to wear skirts or dresses, or girls to wear pants and armor, or for there to be a gender neutral option so no one has to conform to the gender binary! We want to give everyone the chance to express themselves freely in our games and this was how we decided to do it.”

The screen flashed first with the DLC packs, showing a variety of new costumes for the Magicians of the various games. “As you can see, we’ve created the option of swapping female and male clothing, as well as creating a more neutral option. This extends to every class in the games, not just the Magician line. These are all free options, too. The purchasable DLC, though, will be color swaps, more elaborate costumes that Ryou and Yugi personally designed, and a few costume swaps from various games. So, if for example, you’ve always want to dress the Pharaoh from Millennium World as the Dark Magician Girl costume from Spherium II, you can now do that with these new DLC packs.”

Mokuba clicked his arm piece, switching the screen to the next images of figurines. It had recognizable characters, like the Dark Magician, as well as models that looked strikingly familiar to Atem’s Pharaoh character or Yugi’s Heba character. “New figurines available for the board game versions of Monster World, Spherium, Dungeon Dice Monsters, and Capsule Monsters! The Dark Magician is dressed like his pupil and the Dark Magician Girl is dressed as her teacher. We also have a special Millennium World figurine set that does come with alternate outfits. The monster creatures have alternate colors and rainbow versions of themselves, too, to match our Kaleidoscope project theme.”

He paused, letting Joey step forward to brandish one of Kaiba’s new Duel Disks. It was silver but the lights were all multicolored, while the large powersource light nearest to the elbow was designed to glow like a kaleidoscope. Seto also stepped forward, showing off his Deluxe Duel Disk. The lights on his elbow and shoulder piece were colored purple, while wires that connected the lights glowed silver. The Duel Disk was black with white highlights. It was the colors of the asexuality flag.

“We have several new Duel Disks styles available. You can find them in our Kaleidoscope style, or in various colors representing the different LGBTQIA+ flags. My big bro is wearing the asexuality colored Deluxe Duel Disk, while Joey has our Kaleidoscope version in the basic model.”

Mokuba grinned enthusiastically as Kaiba and Joey showed off the Duel Disks. “The best part of all of this? All proceeds will go straight to charitable organizations that aid LGBTQIA+ youth. We’re serious when we said we want to help. We’re not here to make a profit on these items. 100% goes to charity. We’ll use the profit we make on our normal items to fund the production of these special edition goods.”

It was hard to read the crowd. They all seemed in shock, though there were definitely some diehard fans of the new products; Mokuba was still getting some pretty vocal response from the stadium after each announcement. Good. There had been a fear of alienating some of their fanbase but all of them had decided to take that risk and push forward with the project anyways.

“Finally, our last line of items—introducing our Kaleidoscope fashion line! You’ve seen our KaibaCorp exclusive clothing before; the sleek coats, elaborate shirts with too many buckles, tight leather pants, collars and chains, and a multitude of Blue Eyes White Dragon inspired clothes. This is something completely different. Atem, I’ll turn it over to you.”

Atem tapped on his mic, grinning at the crowd who cheered for him. Even though he wasn’t nearly as active in the dueling circuits anymore, he was still a crowd favorite. “The Kaleidoscope line is for all people. We have clothes for whatever you’re feeling: gender neutral, feminine, or masculine. Mix and match the clothes to your delight! We have seventeen various colors and patterns, all of which are available in every style of clothes we could offer: dresses, skirts, pants, tank tops, shorts, one-piece bodices, sweaters, suits, jackets, hoodies, sweatpants—we have as many varieties as possible to fit whatever your needs might be. After all, I know first hand that sometimes you want to wear short, flowy skirts and lacy tops, an other days, you want to wear comfortable sweats and a relaxing T-shirt. With this line, you can do both.”

“This is the only line that won’t have all 100% going to charity,” Mokuba admitted. “We want to be totally transparent about this, though. Because it is an entire line of brand new clothing, we have to be able to cover costs of production. Still, 40% of all proceeds from every Kaleidoscope branded article sold will go to charity.”

“We hope,” Yugi cut in, smiling gently, “that you will support us in the endeavor. We want to help others and we’re hoping you will, too, as well as show other companies it’s okay to stand for what is right. And representing every different identity and showing kids that they are normal—that normal is really just a kaleidoscope of different things—is what is right.”

The applause was immediate. Mokuba felt his chest loosen with relief.

“Now, it wouldn’t be a KaibaCorp promotion without a duel of somesort!” Joey screeched, grinning wildly. “We don’t aim to disappoint! It’s been a few years since they competed officially, but for the first time in three years, all four of us will duel again! Kaiba, Atem, Yugi; are you ready?!”

This time, the roar from the crowd nearly bowled them over. Ever since releasing Millennium World when Yugi was 30, right before he got his daughter, he had stepped back from the dueling circuit. When he was 31, after 15 years of reigning undefeated as the King of Games, Yugi had officially stepped down as the world Duelist champion, allowing someone else to take his place.

Everyone still called him the King of Games, though. The title had never been given out since, even though it had been almost three years since he had retired. Since then, Yugi had focused only on designing games and his role at KaibaCorp. He hadn’t participated in a public duel since his official resignation.

With him, though, Seto and Atem had also pulled out of the dueling circuit. Seto was a shoo-in for world champion, but he refused the title, as he had never been able to beat Yugi (he had beaten Atem on a few very rare occasions) and Yugi, being his greatest rival and goal, was the only reason he had really continued to push as long as he did. Seto still dueled in public battles occasionally but normally only to defeat the current world champion in special battles. Unsurprisingly, he kicked their asses.

Atem, the Pharaoh, had retired as soon as they had their first child. He had explained that he may return to the dueling circuit once their children were old enough to travel with him, but for the time being, it was more important to him to be a father. Much like Seto, his only recorded losses were against Yugi, Seto, and Joey. He, too, had only made a rare battle appearance over the past four years since retiring at 30. Normally, it was only for special promotions for new items or for Joey’s show.

Joey was the only one who semi-actively participated in the dueling circuit anymore, but even then, it was clear he just didn’t have as much fun doing it without his friends and rivals. He was also such a legendary figure that most of his competitors psyched themselves out fighting him. Still, Joey enjoyed joining small tournaments and appearing in random events just for fun, normally allowing whoever he beat to move forward in tournaments. He had done that twice with the world championship, technically winning it but refusing the title and giving it to his opponent.

“We also all argued about who to team up with who, so since none of of us can agree, you’re going to get three two-on-two duels and one final free-for-all duel with all four of us! Can you handle that, Domino City?!” Mokuba was reasonably sure at least two people passed out from screaming so loudly. He also thought his eardrums had busted.

The first match was Joey and Yugi versus Atem and Seto. It was hilarious to watch, as his big brother and Atem snarked back and forth with each other, while Joey and Yugi pulled the most bizarre combos out of their ass that made it seem like they were playing it by the seats of their pants.

They weren’t, of course. Joey’s gambling style of playing worked to Yugi’s advantage, as he knew how to plan around Joey’s off-the-wall strategies. He crafted genius plans to work with Joey, and though it seemed that Atem and Seto were clearly going to be the winners since most of Joey and Yugi’s dangerous strategies ended with them losing copious amounts of life points, right at the end, Yugi pulled out a carefully planned trap (clearly turns in the making) that decimated Seto and Atem with Joey’s cards.

The first win went to Yugi and Joey.

The next battle had Yugi and Seto teaming up against Joey and Atem. Seto’s pure power deck was reinforced by Yugi’s clever strategies, while Atem and Joey did their damndest to pull the rug out from Seto and Yugi. Atem tended to rely on tricks and illusions, pretending to be backed into a corner, only to have lulled his opponent into a trap; however, he was still an ardent gambler, just like Joey. Yugi and Seto were both strategists through and through, and Yugi could easily predict Atem’s tricks. Joey was a little harder for Yugi to predict (since Joey really didn’t plan ahead, exactly) but Seto’s overwhelming power was a perfect foil to Joey. With Yugi reinforcing Seto and out-trapping Atem’s traps, Seto was able to destroy Joey’s tactics.

Once more, the battle ended in Yugi’s favor, as he and Seto defeated Atem and Joey.

Then it was couple versus couple. Unfortunately, unlike the other two battles that didn’t have clear winners, it was extremely obvious who would win this fight. Yugi and Atem didn’t even need to communicate verbally; their moves were so seamless in strengthening each other and playing off of each others traps, that it almost looked like they were one person with two decks. Joey and Seto didn’t stand a fucking chance. Atem and Yugi simply slaughtered them.

They paused the duels to give the four men a break, using the time to bring out the children and teens to tell their stories. Ryou, Duke, and Mokuba sat down with them, talking through the bullying stories. After talking through everything and asking what else could be done to help others like them, they gave the kids some of their new products, before wrapping up.

Finally, the most anticipated duel of the day to close out the event. It was a free for all and honestly, for most of the duel, Mokuba was sure Yugi was going to lose. All three of his opponents clearly targeted him, trying to get him out first.

But Yugi was as slippery as water. He deflected attacks onto the other players, playing extremely defensive for the majority of the battle. Joey was the first to go out, as one of his gambles he tried against Yugi backfired horribly and cut his lifepoints over halfway. Seto saw the opportunity and took it, knocking him out.

After that, Mokuba had expected it to come down to Yugi and Atem, but surprisingly enough, his brother managed to pull off a trap that shattered Atem’s defenses. Yugi had the option of knocking Atem from the game or targeting Seto and he actually picked his husband. He had smiled and apologized, cheekily asking his husband not to be mad at him, before sending his Silent Magician to finish off Atem’s lifepoints.

Then it was Seto and Yugi battling it out, at least until Yugi summoned Gandora-X and wiped out Seto's monsters. They swapped card effects and trap and spell cards back and forth on the turn, reminding Mokuba of their duel way back before Yugi had graduated high school, during that whole Diva fiasco thing. Much like that duel, Yugi ended the duel with summoning his Dark Magician back from the Graveyard and attacking Seto. This time, though, the duel didn't get interrupted right before Seto's lifepoints hit 0; his health dropped to nothing and Yugi was declared the winner.

Even though he was longer reigning as the King of Games, Yugi was still undefeated, defending a title he didn’t even technically have.

After the duel, Mokuba gave a few more announcements to wrap up the event, finally reminding everyone to buy their new products, before dismissing them.

He sighed sighed in relief as he turned off his mic, watching the stands begin to clear. Mokuba was honestly really ready to go home. The event had been an emotional one and he felt so drained.

Before he could go much further, though, he was nearly run over by two very excited children running onto the stage, yelling, “Papa! Daddy! You were on the big screens! You won!!” The smiles Yugi and Atem gave as they saw their children made something warm blossom through Mokuba’s body.

Atem swung his son up into his arms, while Yugi hefted their daughter up, raining hugs and kisses on the excited children. The two children laughed in sheer delight before hugging their fathers tightly.

It was for people like Yugi and Atem and their children that they were throwing events like this. That they were coming out in support of LGBTQIA+ rights. Atem and Yugi were wonderful fathers, loving and so caring to their children. Mokuba and Seto had a shitty father—he knew what a terrible parent looked like and Yugi and Atem weren’t that.

Because children deserved to grow up happy and loved, and people like Yugi and Atem deserved the chance to give children that type of love. That was why they were doing things like this.

Mokuba could only hope it made the change they wanted. Even if it was only a small one, only one step at a time, even if it only helped one kid, well, then they had succeeded.

But looking at the dynamite force that was behind Project Kaleidoscope, Mokuba had a feeling it was going to be a much bigger success than just helping one kid. No, KaibaCorp was going to change the world. And this was just the beginning.

#yugioh advent #puzzleshipping #yugioh #one more left to go omg finally

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