Roll Call: A Blogsary Graphic (2/2)

Roll Call: A Blogsary Graphic (1/2)

Russ' Updates #099: Four Years

Good evening, everyone! Happy belated blogsary -- I know that I didn't really post anything mushy last Thursday, but don't fret: I'll be doing the mushy stuff in tonight's Russ Date. :'D

All that can come to mind is just -- thank you. Thank you very, very much for still sticking with me whether you're someone who just dropped by today or if you've been here since 2012. It really means a lot to me that people continue to stick around despite the lapses in activity or despite the days wherein I just don't really feel like it at all. 

I'll admit that sometimes, I wonder if this entire blogging thing is worth it. But then I remember why I started to do so in the first place: I wanted to do this simply because I wanted to share my ideas and my stories with the world. :) 

I hold you guys very close to my heart and am always, always thankful for the support. Breaking 25,000 views last month or so was a hella big shock, but it was a happy kind of shock either way. ^_^ I know that I haven't exactly been as active this year compared to the rest, and I'm working on that, I promise. I've still got a few tricks up my sleeves and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you all! 

On that note, expect a final blogsary graphic tomorrow and the closing post on the 31st. :D 

Again, thank you very much for everything! Have a fantastic night. <3 

"All of you are blessings."

Team Roles: Dream Team

Checking Up: A Blogsary Short

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

July 2017

Lysette reads Aaron’s group messages. Italy’s great, he shared a couple of hours back. There’s a lot to see and a lot to take in. It’s great for Instagram, he told them alongside a grinning emoticon. The messages following that were of Eugene complaining that Aaron was just ‘using the trip as an excuse to be a millennial’. Aaron neither complained nor denied it, but they all knew that it was true.

After sending a teasing message herself, she told them about how she was doing in Atlanta. Nothing much happened here yet. And no, I’m not going to pull off an Aaron and take pictures of the sky at midnight. I’m planning to go to HQ tomorrow; my initial interview will be in the afternoon.

Eugene shoots a message of luck but doesn’t reply after; Lysette assumes that he had managed to fall asleep, exhaustion quick to catch up to the male. She next assumes that all the way in Italy, Aaron was busy sleeping as well. She thinks of shooting Aether an email, but restrains herself. It was a surprise, after all, and she didn’t want to ruin the surprise—

Shifting in bed, Lysette couldn’t help but wonder how the entire trip in Atlanta would be. She didn’t know what she was expecting; despite having read up on Headquarters and Atlanta, it all still seemed like a mysterious blur to her. She had spotted police cars on the way to the hotel while inside the cab, but they were probably just normal police and not the kind of Headquarters’ own.

Exhaling, she shut her eyes.

It suddenly felt like she wasn’t ready. Lysette hated uncertainty; it was what made her suddenly stock up on research hours before leaving London. She wasn’t like Aaron and Eugene, who preferred going into things with a fresh mind—she simply just had to know.

Team Profile: Dream Team

Sources: A Blogsary Short

i. 

Lysette turns to Aether when she needs inspiration. 

It’s something she’s always done since they were children; when she was bored out of her mind without much to do, she would roll over and stare at the other girl, who would be reading or studying sheet music. “Prompt me.” 

Aether wouldn’t look over at her, barely breaking contact with her sheet music. “That one boy in class you’d always stare at.” 

“No!” Aether barely stifled a smile. She didn’t have to look over at Lysette to know that the other was turning a light red. “Something else.” At that, Aether hummed and tapped her chin lightly for a few moments, suggested a couple of more prompts until Lysette took the one she found she could work with. 

“How about this,” Aether finally said. “Draw me.” 

“I—what?” 

She shrugged and tore her eyes away from the papers to look at her. Lysette sat up, peering at her curiously. “If you’re okay with it, I mean. Do any medium you want. Just draw me and do whatever else you want.” 

Happy Blogsary!

happy fourth blogsary, everybody!

2 5 9 9 0  e s t  2 0 1 2

Aesthetics: Dream Team

With Passion: A Blogsary Short

i.

Lysette’s always known that she had a certain knack for art. 

She couldn’t explain it, nor could she explain how the love for it started—it’s just always been there. From a young age, she had artworks taped to the walls, markers and pencils and whatnot strewn all over her study table. There was always a fresh batch of sketchbooks at her disposal; paints of different kinds ready to be opened and played with. 

As she got older, she started dabbling more in other mediums. When the redhead discovered digital art in her late teens, she was captured. Digital layout was introduced to her in her early college years, and as quickly she had embraced traditional art did she embrace digital. 

It came to a point wherein she took additional classes. Free electives were filled with classes where she could enhance her skill as much as she could, and in her spare time, worked for the university publication as part of the graphic design and layout staff. 

It was something she found herself enjoying; it was like Aether with her books and her piano back when they were still at the orphanage. It was a delicious passion, something she didn’t find herself growing tired of. 

Lysette enjoyed art of all types and kinds, never restricting herself to just one type. She persisted, learned. Eventually her portfolio was stuffed, filled to the brim with impressive works of different platforms. There would be intricate watercolour on one page, and on the next, minimalist layout with the fonts fitting in just right. 

And she was proud of it. 

Russ' Updates #098: Springboard

Good evening, everyone! 

It’s the fourth week of the blogsary, which means that this week is the last to feature a team. I hope you’ve liked the entire process so far, and that you guys still have some energy left for this new team! They’re relatively new; I haven’t fully fleshed them out (as far as I can remember) but I’d like to think of this week as a springboard for them. :D So please do welcome them with open arms!

"We're getting screen time!" 

Expect roughly the same posts for them! Meanwhile, I’m giving you a heads up that I’ll be posting twice on the 25th—blogsary, yay!—and that August 29 and August 30 will be used to formally ~close~ the celebration. Expect a graphic on the 29th and the official closer on the 30th! *heart emoji*

"I think I'll enjoy my time here."

Team Roles: #KorTeam

Presence: A Blogsary Short

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

February 2017

“You have to admit that it was a pretty bold choice,” Eun-seok commented. Jin-kyong could only smile. “And I’m surprised that the higher ups were okay with you choosing to, you know. Doing that.” 

“They’re not that cold-hearted.” she rolled her eyes and nudged him to a nearby coffee shop, “Now let’s eat. Please? I’m feeling a little hungry from that.” 

“Got’cha.” the two entered, Jin-kyong sighing happily and immediately going towards the front to order. He watched her with a tiny smile before following, seeing the barista go a little starstruck at the sight of the two of them. 

Eventually they were seated at one of the booths, Jin-kyong sipping at her drink. Eun-seok glanced at his phone. “The twins want to hang out here for lunch. You game for staying a little bit more?” she nodded and he sent an affirmative text back at Hae-won, then turned his attention back to Jin-kyong. 

It almost felt normal, he decided. His eyes fell on her, the latter absentmindedly reading something on her phone. It almost felt like a normal day; they were busy chilling during one of their freer weekends, acting as if they were happy for once. 

(It nearly felt like Soo-yeon was still there.) 

Team Profile: #KorTeam

In Grief: A Blogsary Short

i.

The twins deal with their grief in different, varying ways.

Hae-jin expresses her remorse online, through Twitter and Instagram. What follows is a sequence of memories; different unseen, filtered images as well as short videos lasting five seconds but meaning the world. After the memories and the tweets, she tells that she would stay off social media for as long as she needed.

            @HJinnies: need a break from social media for a bit. i promise that i’ll come back soon. it’s what’s needed at the moment. hope you all understand. <3

Thankfully, the fans gave the space she needed. Hae-jin was seen much less after that; there wasn’t much media on her nor was there any reports on her brother. Most of the time, the two stayed either indoors or hanging around Eun-seok. They continued going to work, but the atmosphere and their mood was obviously subdued. She wore darker clothing, laughed less, and her smile was a bit dimmer, lacking its usual shine.

She stayed with Hae-won more, and they relied on each other until they were sure they were ready to start moving in the right direction.

Aesthetics: #KorTeam

#SquadGoals: A Blogsary Short

i.

Jin-kyong’s Instagram follower count is already at its thousands when she decides to pursue modeling as an actual career.

She can’t remember the fine details of her first venture onto the photography-based social media platform, but she knows that it had something to do with wanting to show how she styled her outfits. Lee Jin-kyong always had a certain eye for clothing and how to match; before she knew it, her follower count burst and she found herself posting other pieces of photography as well.

Eventually she found herself gearing towards aesthetic-related posts. 2015 was the year when flatlaying exploded, and she found herself bewildered at how everyone liked this clean style. So she tried it, found herself hooked, and incorporated it into her blogging.

She found fame on Instagram but it wasn’t enough to pay the bills; Jin-kyong, like any other millennial who was in need of cash, found herself flying from one job to another. Retail was a bitch (and so were the other customers), she was too nervous for something fast-paced like being a barista, and more than anything, she found herself too proud to go to her family and ask for a little more cash while she tried to make it out there in the world.

As nice as being Instafamous was, it didn’t really pay the bills. Sponsorships weren’t flying her way and neither were people who wanted to collaborate. Other bloggers got their deals with various makeup brands—makeup brands!—but she found herself stuck and unsure of what to do next.

That was until Kim Soo-yeon, a close friend she had maintained throughout her younger years, stuck her in one of her YouTube vlogs one morning.

Russ' Updates #097: Fifty Percent

Hey there, everybody!

We're officially halfway through August, which means we're halfway done with the blogsary! This week, we'll be focusing our attention on a certain group of models. :'D

"I am so ready for this."

Still the same posts for this week, don't fret! I think you guys know what to expect already, so I won't be adding the Posts to Expect section as I did last week. Hope you're still pumped for it! ^_^

On another note, I'm doing okay! College is kicking my ass, as expected, but I think I'll be able to manage this time around. I just hope that the rain lets up eventually because if it doesn't, then...there's going to be a lot of delays and that isn't good at all. 

"Try not to die, Russ."

Enjoy the week! 

Team Roles: Kang Ent.

Damage Control: A Blogsary Short

Kang Enterprises

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

May 2017

Tony was sure that Jin-ho’s choice to let go of the darker and sketchier path was the best damn choice he’d made in ages. “It’s about fucking time,” he muttered. “Maybe I can regain my peace of mind this time around and stop thinking of whether your father will rise to murder me or not.”

“He won’t do that, he’s cremated.” Jin-ho waved off the other’s worry, though Tony could very much see the traces of relief crawling back into the other’s expression. Tony liked that more, if he had to be honest—there were times wherein Jin-ho could be a little shit, but he’d much rather have that side of Jin-ho that the side who was jumpy, wrecked, and had his hands stained far more than any other person in the company.

He was about to comment on that small slice of dark humor, but a knock came on the door with Mathieu stepping in quickly. He stopped, looking at the two others with an apprehensive look. “…bad time?”

“Not at all. We’re more relaxed than ever, to be honest,” Tony admitted. That wasn’t much to fully ease down Mathieu’s nervous pangs, but he saw the redhead’s shoulders relax slightly. “Any updates on what happened to Lee?”

“Nothing. It’s like he just disappeared.” Mathieu came forward and sunk into one of the two chairs in front of Jin-ho’s desk, groaning. “I’ve been talking to everyone I could—police connections, employees at the bar—Jian hasn’t shown up anywhere ever since that incident.”

Team Profile: Kang Ent.

Wreck/Ruin: A Blogsary Short

Kang Residences

Atalnta, GA

United States of America

  

Mathieu knew that he owed Kang Enterprises so, so much.

Stumbling across Jin-ho back in San Francisco, if anything, a fortunate accident. After trying to pick up the pieces and live for his own in the United States after the clusterfuck that was his (shitty) father, he didn’t really expect much for himself. Most of it died away after his ma died and his father was (forced) to pick him up because of custody or some shit. He wasn’t sure—he always thought that he and his ma were going to make it in France somehow.

But she died and his father picked him up and basically raised him as a son, except: there was hardly any love, any effort put into it. Sure, there was the cash—the Silvestres were privileged enough to have a financially stable life—but that was it. His father was out all the time, there was business to deal with, he probably had another family at that point.

He hated it.

Moving away, finally leaving didn’t feel so much better. He bounced around the States, picking up whatever he could do and living to sustain himself until that one night wherein he was walking back from wherever the hell he came from and turned a corner to his apartment when—

Long story short, Mathieu managed to beat away these assholes who managed to shove this Asian-looking fellow onto the ground. Jin-ho was groaning when Mathieu managed to support him into his apartment, and when he turned the lights on, the redhead swore fuck because the other fellow looked bad.

Aesthetics: Kang Ent.