Behind the camera

Deniz Demir. 26. photographer 

[denizdemir]

where: London

status: for @asherhq​

“There’s something we need to talk about. Don’t worry it’s nothing bad.” Deniz sighed, playing with the hem of her scarf as the wind started to pick up. Well at least she hoped he wouldn’t be upset by the news. Their relationship was still fresh, even though they had dated in the past. Back in their teen years they managed to do long distance, but this was different. They were adults now. With real jobs and real responsibilities. “I need to go to Peru for work after Christmas. For three to five weeks. Depending on how fast we progress and how authorities there accept and allow us to do our work.” All the recent job offers she had gotten meant some time away from home, away from him. He would be gone longer when he was on tour, so she hoped he would be understanding and support her in this. 

[denizdemir]

asherhq​:

Asher spotted her from a mile away, he couldn’t miss her, she stuck out in the crowd for him, when she was around he didn’t even care about other woman, which was unlike all his other relationships. Without her talking to him, he felt her absence, even if they hadn’t spent much time together in person recently, he had missed being around her, seeing her face. He couldn’t believe he’d let jealousy get in the way of actually making amends with her and he wanted to change that now. 

“Ah thanks,” he replied with a small smile. “I wore it especially for you.” Not the time to joke Asher, he took the hat off his head, it felt weird now that she was standing with him. “Sorry…” he sighed, beginning to walk towards away from the streets and into the park, hoping to find a quiet spot. “How have you been?” he questioned, adjusting the guitar strap so that the guitar was pulled up higher against his back.

Deniz forced a quick smile onto her lips at his joke, not really in the mood to laugh at his jokes right now. He fucked up big time and how quickly he apologised for it seemed to show that he realised that. She had hoped that in the years they hadn’t seen each other he grew up and became more mature, but she wondered if he somehow became less mature? He stole her coworkers cat after all. Adults just didn’t do things like that. He’d tried explaining his reasoning to her but that hadn’t gone over well over text.  

“I’ve been okay. Busy editing and finalising the project but it’s all done now.” She wanted to tell him about the pulitzer nomination, but she couldn’t, not yet at least. Deniz needed to hear him out first before she could make a decision on how they would or if they would progress further. Part of her would always love him, she knew that, but she did the best to use the logical thinking part of her brain. 

[denizdemir]

asherhq​:

Asher hadn’t known what to do with himself since he’d given Deniz some space, he knew that he’d gone for much longer without seeing her, but he’d found it difficult recently, since they’d just reconnected and everything had been going so well. He hated the fact that it felt like nothing had changed now, that it felt like he was still back in school, up to his old tricks.The whole point of speaking to her again was that he’d grown up, that he’d realised she was what he wanted and that he was committed to that, but stealing George had shown the exact opposite. 

The man had slung his guitar onto his back, walking through London, a hat on his head and sunglasses on his face, he’d prefer not to be noticed so that was he could speak to Deniz without any interruptions. He finally reached the edge of the park and stood waiting for her to arrive, hoping that she wouldn’t stand him up, hoping that he’d feel better once he’d seen her. 

@denizdemir​

Deniz wasn’t sure if she should go to Hyde Park despite telling Asher that she would be there she was hesitating in if she should go or not. Her mind was running a mental pro and con list since they had texted each other. Seeing him in person could weaken her resolve in staying mad at him. Still, she had never been the type of person to stand someone up purposefully. It wouldn’t be right not to give him a chance to explain himself face to face.

Besides, she missed him more than she was willing to admit out loud. All her time in Beirut they talked on the phone or facetimed and she felt like she got to know him again. Then he did what he did. It wasn’t even that he stole Kit’s cat, it was the fact that he didn’t trust her and went behind her back. Relationships only worked if there was mutual trust. Walking into the park it took her some time to spot him, noticing that he had on a disguise of sorts. She wasn’t sure how long that would work for, but she wasn’t ready to be swarmed by his fans. “Hey. Nice hat.”

[denizdemir]

Deniz & Asher playlist

[denizdemir]

pigmenting​:

something i wish i had realized earlier: you can write poems on the same subject more than once. you can write, paint, draw the same thing over and over if you want to. you can spend your whole life making art about oranges. i think i always felt this pressure to get it right the first time like i couldn’t go back and use that inspiration again. but you can. you can go back and revisit it. you can pick up the conversation again and again if you have more to say.

[denizdemir]

asherhq​:

“A nice surprise?” he smirked over at her. He doubted that it was the nicest of surprises, in fact, he was certain that he was probably one of the last people she was expecting to turn up tonight. He had never treated her as good as he should have, he had never deserved her, but now that he was stood here he knew that he would do anything to get her back. He’d written song after song about her, people had always speculated about the roots of the lyrics but the majority of them pointed back to her. She had been his muse. 

The atmosphere changed as the brought up a subject she was comfortable with, he knew that it was probably best that they’d met again in this situation, it gave them something to talk about, even just for a moment. “Perfect, the wall is white. It’s as if it was meant to be,” he replied. “That’s great, I’m glad to be able to help.” Even if his intentions were mainly for her, he was genuinely glad his money was going to good use. 

“Well, it was great seeing you. I’m sure you’ll make loads more sales tonight, but I don’t want to get in your way,” he told her with a small smile. “Hopefully we’ll bump into each other again soon.” Maybe nerves had got the better of him? Maybe he knew that he wasn’t good for her. Maybe there was someone in the room that was. He began to walk away, one hand clenched around his jacket, he was trying to focus on reaching the door when he realised that he couldn’t leave without asking her. 

“Deniz,” he quickly turned, hoping that she hadn’t moved from the spot she’d previously been in. “What are you doing after this?” 

“Well I mean I didn’t expect to see you here, you know? We haven’t really spoken in a while.” She shrugged softly. Of course she missed him over the years and she had known that her feelings for the boyfriends she had after him weren’t as strong but she always attributed it to him being her first love and that was why it felt different to all the others. Deniz kept up with his songs, recognising lyrics and references a times but not wanting to presume they were about her. When she missed him she found herself listening to songs. He’d done big things in his career since their break up. Just like he intended. Maybe she had been holding him back all this time. 

“As if it’s meant to be.” She echoed with a small smile on her lips, feeling more at ease now that they were back in her comfort zone. Deniz could talk about each moment the pictures were taken for hours. The money would be used for a good cause and she couldn’t be prouder of doing her part in making the world just a little bit better. 

“It was great seeing you too. So far it’s been going well so i hope things will continue in this fashion.” While her earlier words were a tad forced, him stopping by had been nice. She had actually been happy to see him after so long. “Perhaps we’ll be in the same place at the same time again in the future.” He travelled a lot with his band and her job also involved a lot of travelling, who knows when they’d see each other again?

Deniz wanted to say something, to get him to stay just a little bit longer, but she didn’t know what. Seems like he had had a similar idea. “I was just going back to my hotel or go back to my friend’s place and hang out with her but I can do that tomorrow as well.”

[denizdemir]

kitdonovan​:

location: coffee shop, dc closed: @denizdemir​

flashback

It had been an incredibly long week and Kent was thrilled to have a weekend with little to no plans. He had thought about making the trip back to New York, but pushed it back to the next weekend which was something he did too much. When he received a text from Evie about going to a coffee shop later, he barely questioned it. After a run and a shower, he headed to the location listed. He was barely a coffee person, only favoring a black coffee and actual coffee shops that catered to the basics. When he pushed the door open, he glanced around and didn’t see his sister but still stood in the queue to give his order. Glancing at his phone, he noticed one of his colleagues at a table sitting by herself. As soon as he got the cup of coffee, he placed the change in the tip jar and made for Deniz’s table. 

“Funny seeing you here,” he greeted with a warm smile, thinking that the chances of running into Deniz here was slim. “By chance, have you seen Evie? She said she would be here…ten minutes ago.” He pocketed his phone, sending one more text to his sister before slipping into the chair across from Deniz. “You working on anything exciting this month?”

It was her job that brought her to DC this weekend, having to tie up some loose ends and attend some appointments to make sure her freelance journalist licence that allowed her to attend press briefings in Middle Eastern countries would be valid for her next trip. Deniz didn’t want to get caught by surprise by anything while she was over there so she thought it best to handle everything beforehand and to double check it again, just to make sure. After finding out her friend Evie was in DC right now as well the two of them agreed to meet up for coffee in a coffee shop near her hotel. Getting her iced coffee she sat down on a table in view of the counter so she could see when came in. 

She was going through some of her notes when she heard Kit’s voice, polite smile on her face as she greeted him. “I am actually supposed to meet her here right now. She’s probably running late. You can sit down and we can wait for her together if you want?” They had worked together before albeit not directly, but he seemed nice, they got along as well as she did with most colleagues. “I’m planning a trip to Yemen. Should be leaving next week. You?”

[denizdemir]

asher, etienne and bocephus !

Asher O’Connor: What is the last concert/live event your muse went to? 

The last concert she went to was a Jorja Smith concert in London with a friend from University. 

Étienne De Polignac: What are some examples of your muse’s personal style?

The best description of it would be business casual, but check her board for this! 

Bocephus Morgan: What would your muse say is their worst habit?

Her idealism 

[denizdemir]

seren + deniz

who steals french fries off the other’s plate: both 

who jokingly moves in for the kiss when someone asks if they’re a couple: neither #nocousincest 

who has to bust or bail the other out of jail: Seren when Deniz gets too invested in a story she might cross some boundaries 

who gives the other advice/comfort about dating issues: both i think

who shamelessly cheats at games by reaching over to cover the other’s eyes: both

who immediately calls dibs on the top bunk: deniz

who starts and who wins the pillow fights: seren starts them and they call it even in the end 

who says “your pants would look better on their floor” to the other’s potential crush: Seren

[denizdemir]

(kit & deniz)

who steals french fries off the other’s plate: Deniz 

who jokingly moves in for the kiss when someone asks if they’re a couple: neither? i feel like they would both be quick to say they’re just colleagues 

who has to bust or bail the other out of jail: both if they accidentally get into trouble in beirut 

who gives the other advice/comfort about dating issues: both maybe? 

who shamelessly cheats at games by reaching over to cover the other’s eyes: Deniz

who immediately calls dibs on the top bunk: deniz bc shes smaller and its less inconvenient for her to sleep there

who starts and who wins the pillow fights: i dont think either of them would start one? 

who says “your pants would look better on their floor” to the other’s potential crush: Kit 

[denizdemir]

evie/deniz!

who steals french fries off the other’s plate: Evie

who jokingly moves in for the kiss when someone asks if they’re a couple: Evie

who has to bust or bail the other out of jail: Deniz

who gives the other advice/comfort about dating issues: both? depending on the situation 

who shamelessly cheats at games by reaching over to cover the other’s eyes: Evie

who immediately calls dibs on the top bunk: Evie? Deniz would let her have it 

who starts and who wins the pillow fights: both, i think evie would win more bc deniz would give up to go back to working 

who says “your pants would look better on their floor” to the other’s potential crush: Evie

[denizdemir]

asherhq​:

“Yes, very nice,” he replied, although he had a feeling that she knew there was more to the story there. He wasn’t going to tell her, of course, that would be creepy, she probably hadn’t thought of him for years. When he’d heard she was in the society he’d been shocked, and kind of excited, it meant that he’d have an excuse to talk to her, he just hadn’t had the opportunity to yet. 

“Good, I wouldn’t want to… be here if you didn’t want me to,” he told her. Was this awkward? This was awkward, right? He’d never been awkward with women, in fact, talking to them was a talent of his, but now he was standing in front of Deniz, and he wasn’t so smooth anymore. His eyes fell on the photo on the far wall, and he followed her towards it. “Wow,” he admired the picture before looking over at her. “It’s amazing- I mean, it’s all amazing, but this one is different amazing.” Maybe because it was her favourite. “I actually need something to go in my living room and I think this would be a great fit. I can up any offers already on it.” 

“No umm... it’s fine. I’m glad you’re here. It’s a nice surprise.” She felt uncomfortable and awkward for sure, but she didn’t want to make him feel unwelcome. They could be civil, right? Maybe they could even be friends? That could be nice, she would like that. Deniz thought she could control herself and her emotions well enough now so she wouldn’t fall for him again. It’s not like he was interested right? Wait, why did that matter? She shook her head, trying to not let him know how much his presence alone threw her off balance. 

When he complimented the picture a smile broke out on her face, reaching her eyes. She could tell when he was lying, at least before and he did seem genuine now. Or he’d gotten better at lying. “I think this could work great! I don’t know what color your decor is in, but against a white wall this shouldn’t clash with anything. I’ll let the coordinator know that you want to buy it. Thank you for supporting the cause. You’re helping a lot of people out with this.”

[denizdemir]

asherhq​:

Asher knew that this interaction must have come as a shock to Deniz, they hadn’t spoken in years and suddenly he was here. He wouldn’t blame her for asking him to leave right now. His reason for breaking up with her had been valid in his eyes, but it also made the years they’d been together feel pointless, like he’d just been using her to get to where he wanted to be, which absolutely was not the case. He’d maybe explain that another time. 

“I was in the city for some work stuff,” he told her, partly a lie, he’d moved the date of a meeting so he could come to this, so he could see her. It would’ve been easier to just randomly bump into her back home, but he’d wanted to see her work, he’d been following her career from afar for a while, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to talk to her again. He had to thank Eddie for letting him know about this. “And i heard you had a gallery on, so I decided to come down and have a look- I hope you don’t mind.” He hoped she wouldn’t. “Which one’s your favourite piece?” he questioned her. 

When he gave her his reason for being in the city she nodded once, a small smile on her lips. His career seemed to still be going well then. That’s what he always wanted. “Oh, that’s nice.” It was her career that brought her here as well, so this was an interesting coincidence. After not coming across each other for so long they met again in another country, on an entirely different continent. Him being in New York at the same time as her could be by chance, but him coming here tonight was too much of a coincidence for her to believe it. He heard about her gallery and had chosen to come here? That made more sense. Still, it was surprising to her that he came, didn’t he have some models to party with nowadays? She’d seen the tabloids. 

“Oh no, I don’t mind.” Seeing him was a shock of course, but it still meant a lot that he chose to spend his time here tonight. They broke up years ago, they should be able to be civil by now, even if it was still a bit awkward, especially since he hadn’t talked to her in a while. She could be the bigger person. “My favorite? Oh that’s difficult... maybe the one on the back wall over there? Follow me.” She began rambling about the origin of the picture and how she had come to take it as they made their way over to it. 

[denizdemir]

asherhq​:

It had been many years since he’d seen Deniz, since they’d broken up in truth, he’d of course caught glances at her when he’d been home, but they hadn’t spoken. Asher had always kept his first girlfriend in his mind, despite his reputation of being a womaniser since, he’d always cared for Deniz, and even if he didn’t contact her, he still followed her career. When he found out that she had a gallery going on in New York, he knew he had to take a visit, he couldn’t stop himself, he was meant to be going the week before and he changed his trip specially to visit it. 

He strolled around for a while, admiring the photographs, he couldn’t deny that he was proud of her, she’d come so far. It didn’t take long for his eyes to pick her out of the room, chatting away to group of people. He knew that she’d find out he was here, he knew that he’d have to go over and talk to her, so he approached her once the people had walked away, a smile on his face as he did. He didn’t even know if she’d want to talk to him, but it was worth a try anyway. 

“This is truly incredible, well done,” he remarked, glancing around again. “Long time no see, huh?” 

@denizdemir​

This gallery opening had been weeks, maybe even months, in the making and when it all came to fruition she was both nervous and excited. The prints came out well after sorting out.a colouring mistake on two of them and having to reprint them. There were more people here than she would’ve thought and it filled her with pride as she watched them taking in the photographs and donating. 

She was about to make her rounds again when she heard a familiar voice, her eyes widening in shock as she saw who was standing in front of her. Of course she recognised his voice, but she couldn’t imagine it was actually him until she was face to face with Asher. He looked great.  “Oh..um.. thank you.” Deniz was spluttering now trying to regain her balance. It’s been years since they had an actual conversation after he so uncerimoniously dumped her after he graduated college to ‘focus on his career’.  She’d been upset about that for a long time. He broke her heart. Still, Deniz couldn’t help but follow his career. He’d always have a special place in her heart, he was her first boyfriend, her first love. Asher had made it big and she couldn’t be happier for him, it’s what he had always wanted he spoke about it even when they were kids. 

“What-how- what are you doing here?” Had he been keeping tabs on her as she had on him? Or was it just by chance that he was here? 

[denizdemir]

INTRO

(aslihan malbora, female, she/her  ) — a member of the  [ Demir ]  family seeks entry to the society !  [  Deniz ]  is a  [ 26 ]  year old   [ PHOTOGRAPHER ]  who hails from  [  Falmouth, UK  ]  ,  who call them  [  THE ARTISIAN  ]  .  although their peers know them for being  [  compassionate  ]  and  [  hard-working  ]  ,  their reputation for being  [ too soft  ]  and  [  self sacrificing  ]  might hinder their relations with current society members. while the  [  DEMIR  ]  family is known for  [ owning a successful law firm ]  ,  the society’s hopeful  [  Indigo ]  is better remembered by  [ seeing chaos erupt right in front of her eyes, meditating after having a nightmare, the desire to make the world a better place, seeing the good even in the worst situations, capturing memories  ]  .  initial reports say their goal of  [  making the world better by raising money for war ridden countries ]  would be their first priority after being inducted, although who’s to say that won’t change ?    ———   (  lynn, gmt+2, 21, she/her )

History:

Growing up she’s always had a crush on a boy in her neighbourhood called Asher O’Connor and even though they went to different schools for most of their formative years they always spent time together during their respective breaks, starting to date one summer when she was 16 years old. They dated for a few years, until he graduated college, being a year older than her. When he became famous he broke up with her. They haven’t seen each other since. 

What she didn’t know until she was 18 was that she is adopted, having brought up to believe that she was blood related to her two sisters and her parents. They wanted to tell her over the years but didn’t know how to, but when she turned 18 they knew that she had a right to know, giving her the file about her birth parents.  Deniz felt like her whole life had been a lie and went through quite the intense phase for a couple of months, trying to come to terms with things, feeling like an imposter.  

She found out that her parents came from a war ridden country and had to give her up to ensure for a better life for her, something she was thankful for now. It lead her to her career as she felt like she had to pay homage to the place she came from and other countries like it. 

Her idea of doing that is showing the good as well as the bad sides, the beautiful scenery and locations while also getting into the thick of it and going through ruins, or living without electricity or in the desert amongst some of these people to be able to portray their experiences more accurately. It is important for her not to glorify of fetishise anything, wanting to show an honest portrayal of the places she has been to. She has been in several middle eastern countries now, the Arabic she learnt proving to be extremely helpful. 

wanted connections:

friends from England, boarding school, journalists she’s worked with, maybe someone else she dated for a bit, ppl she met over the years travelling, things like that 

[denizdemir]

Task 01 || Character Sheet

BASICS.

Name: Deniz Julianna Demir Nickname: / Gender & Pronouns:female, she/her Age & DOB: 26, December 5th Zodiac sign: Libra Orientation: heterosexual Nationality: English Ethnicity: Turkish Religion: Jewish Neuroses: n/a

HISTORY.

Hometown: Falmouth, UK Father:  (adopted) Henry Demir (born to Iranian parents)  Mother: (adopted) Sarah Demir (neé Rosenthal) Sarah is Jewish and 2nd generation English, she comes from a non practicing family but keeping the language was important in her home and she passed that onto her children.  Siblings, if any: two (adopted) sisters Extended family: Seren Fleming (cousin on her dad’s side)  Educational background:  Private preschool in London and then she attended the Mayfield School in Mayfield, East Sussex from ages 11-18.  She graduated college with a double major of investigative journalism and photography.  Languages spoken: English, Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi. She grew up bilingual, technically trilingual with English being the main language spoken at home. Her mother spoke Hebrew to her while her father taught her some Farsi. She learnt Arabic in school and due to it’s importance for her career and the places she has lived over the years that improved a lot. Occupational history: After graduating college she worked for a few newspapers before deciding to venture off and freelance to be able to move around where the story took her.  Achievements: While she’s shown her photographs at several galleries before, she is now opening her first solo gallery which she is quite excited about. There is also a project involving Kit Donovan that she has worked on for a while that she is extremely proud of. 

THE SOCIETY.

Codename: Indigo Meaning: Her name means sea in turkish and indigo is a shade of blue so it’s a play on that Traditionalist or Reformist?: Reformist 100% Goals in the society: She wants to actually use the celebrity shes gaining for good instead of for personal gain Opinion on the society: She believes that it’s mostly a status thing for most of them and that part isn’t what wants her be a part of it she just knows she can reach more people from the society. 

PERSONALITY.

MBTI: ENFJ Enneagram: Type 2, The Helper Temperament: sanguine Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff Inspirations/Parallels: Ann Perkins (Parks and Rec), Monica Geller (Friends), Jane Villanueva (Jane the Virgin), Irene Romero (All for Love), Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) Tropes: Extreme Doormat, Florence Nightingale Effect, Friend to All Living Things,

YOUR MUSE AS ..:

A piece of art: The girl with the pearl earring A song: How do you feel today  - Gabrielle Aplin  A book: Milk & Honey Rupi Kaur  A movie: The Notebook A TV show: Parks and Recreation A historical era: 1960s A historical figure: Princess Diana A fictional character: Ann Perkins A colour: periwinkle An animal: a sea lion  

YOUR MUSE’S DREAM ..:

Job: Honestly? Her current job. She hates seeing the despair and horrid things people go through but that makes helping them so much more fulfilling Vacation: She doesn’t get to go home to Falmouth a lot, so probably going there and spending time with her familly Day: spending time with her family and just catching up.  As a child: to marry Asher and live happily ever after Last night: Her dream was more a memory of the summer before college, when things were simpler. That they gave up on: to marry Asher and live happily ever after That they have right now: She wants to advance in her career and bring light onto injustices going on in the world

[neckkiss]