Fate had played its hand and hit them with a spell of rain just as they’d chosen to walk the pier at Santa Monica beach. “ Hey, ” Gabriel said brightly, so inappropriate for the weather. It was like another world underneath this canopy; something of the breed that only lived for a couple days before dying. Overhead, Pacific Park's roller coaster rattled across its tracks, and the Ferris Wheel's flashing lights brightened the darkening sky. Although the pier was never completely abandoned, it seemed less crowded than usual today. “ Have you heard of Robert Doisneau? ” he asked, delaying an escape by clutching to the other’s arm and bumping shoulders. Gabriel wanted to stay. Puddles formed in the sand, shallow mirrors along the beach reflecting blue clouds touched by the red grace of sunset. His heart seized at the prospect of taking a million pictures once this downpour had let up—barring that the company he’d brought with was willing to brave the elements, of course. He huffed a laugh and stuck his hand out far enough from cover to catch raindrops. “ This reminds me of one of his photographs. Right? With the rain and the pier and you and I in the middle of it all – kind of like a moment. “
a subtle pout covered the red head’s lips, the absolute last thing she was interested in right now was learning about report methods – and yet that was exactly what she was trying to force herself to do. lips w r a p p i n g around the straw of her strawberry as she scanned the room, doing everything in her power to distract herself from her coursework. impatiently tapping on the book in front of her with a pen, until it flew right out of her grip and into the drink of another customer. ‘ oh my god ! i’m so sorry ! ’
comically loud, a splattering wet plop arrested gabriel’s attention before the apology could. he drew his eyes up from the screen of his phone to source the noise—his cafe mocha, desecrated by a pen sticking out halfway from within a cloud of whipped cream—and let his jaw hang in bewilderment. “ what just— ” words seemed a hot commodity as disbelief mingled with relief; the heavy cup stood sturdy despite the scattered drops of coffee near it, and he’d somehow evaded disaster. after a beat, his gaze sought out the neighboring table, where he found a girl with echoes of flames in her red hair and a strawberry drink to match. “ …that was yours? ”
┊ 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎! self-introductions are the bane of my existence, but please call me noa or she/her. i’m a 23 year old obsessed with hozier and i live in gmt+1. this is my boy, gabe - a photographer whose poor practical skills are only rivaled by his imaginative and passionate nature. i’m super excited and looking forward to playing with y’all. beyond the cut you’ll find some groundwork info on him (still under big time construction though ;;) and i’ll be posting his wanted connections soon, too. hmu anytime ♡
☕ . ˚ ◝ ( kim taehyung. cismale. he/him. ) gabriel "k" lee is a twenty-four year old sagittarius. the photographer’s go-to order is a mocha caramel latte. they like to listen to classical music by deceased composers while they wait for their order. the employees of the deja brew think they are spacey but swear they’re totally kind as well. maybe that’s why b&w photographs, half tucked button downs, messy hair, and holding hands when you're really excited about something remind me of them.
PERSONAL
┊ 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄: gabriel lee
┊ 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄(𝐒): gabe, k (his professional pseudonym)
┊ 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 (𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐒): cis male (he/him)
┊ 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘: december 20
┊ 𝐙𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐂: sagittarius
┊ 𝐎𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: photographer (interior/real estate & freelance)
┊ 𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: bfa in photography & media
┊ 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍: queens, nyc
┊ 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄: westwood, la.
┊ 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘: american
┊ 𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘: korean-ameriacan
┊ 𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓: 180cm
┊ 𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑: naturally black, but he dyes it often (currently blonde)
┊ 𝐄𝐘𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑: dark brown
┊ 𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐒: none
┊ 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: just his ears
┊ 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐒: a tiny scar on his cheek, barely visible unless you lean in close.
┊ 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌: kim taehyung
┊ 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒: misun "missy" byun (mother) & kangmin lee (father)
┊ 𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: henry lee (older brother)
┊ 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐍: none.
┊ 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐒: none.
┊ 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒: single.
┊ 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒: girlfriends, boyfriends. no one too notable.
BIOGRAPHY
┊ 𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐏𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓. We never truly realize how much we love someone until we're at some place wonderful and beautiful and we wish they were there. Maybe that’s why we take pictures, so that we can keep a piece and give it to them. At least, that’s why Gabriel likes taking pictures.
┊ 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑. Leaving the grime and bustle of New York to attend UCLA was an adventure. Gabriel moved with the mind to grow up a little bit, but most of all he wanted to go somewhere new, to start something new. Away from the clustering businesses in Queens. Away from his hawk-eyed parents.
┊ 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘. Hard-working people who migrated to America in search of a better life, Gabriel’s parents found themselves part of the Genesis of Asian culture in Queens. Like many immigrants, they worked shitty jobs in dangerous locations to make ends meet, guarding their entrepreneurial ambitions: by the time Gabriel was nine, they’d started their own business.
┊ 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃. Two traits invested in him were diligence and dedication, but he’s never been as selfless as his big brother; studying medicine to make their parents happy. Nonetheless they grew up together, their childhood defined by a small and crowded space filled with goods imported from Asia, where his mother always stood on her feet with Gabriel and his brother clinging to her sides. Time and memory might move in different directions, but the scent of tea, roots, snacks and cooking ingredients are vividly embedded in his mind.
┊ 𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍. Despite being raised by traditionally Korean parents, in a distinctly Asian part of New York, Gabriel’s connection to his heritage waned rapidly in his early teens. Matters only got worse in sophomore year when his brother left for college and Gabriel became the sole focus of his parents’ lofty expectations.
┊ 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐋. He was a good student, but never as great as his parents wanted him to be. He didn’t have the sort of friends they approved of, he wasn’t as brilliant and promising as his older brother, and certainly not as successful as other people’s children. Demands that seemed unreasonable, their inflexible rules—Gabriel hated them growing up, and unlike his older brother, he always had a way of making his feelings known
┊ 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐋 𝟐.𝟎. Gabriel lied about attending study groups to hang out with friends. He brought his camera for good measure, snapping photos of neon-lit street corners and the sunset at Rockaway. They were just kids from school who loved to run the city’s traffic-choked streets, loitering around parks and beaches and taking the subway anywhere, really anywhere, riding New York’s frenetic pulse and only stopping for $1 pizza. Kids being kids, their carefree smiles captured by the camera’s eye.
┊ 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. Screaming matches erupted whenever his parents caught him lying. He winces at them now, mortified at the memory of his own words: “Then why don’t you two just learn English already?” Yet the fights weren’t enough to stomp out his willful spirit. He would stage small rebellions: if his parents didn’t want him dating, and didn’t approve of his first girlfriend, they certainly weren’t going to know about the boys he kissed.
┊ 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐄. Let’s face it, if you’re a New Yorker who hasn’t been robbed, you’re probably in Boston. Gabriel was photographing pigeons when they stole his camera, his phone and his wallet and left him with bruises on the corner of East 92nd Street and First Avenue. He filed a police report that same night. Nothing came of it, of course, besides a tiny but permanent scar on his cheek to serve as a reminder. But worse than that is the memory of his parents bursting into the precinct with watery eyes and bone-white faces. He was 17 and he’d never seen his father cry before.
┊ 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄. His dating history is nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe it was a little weird how he’d sneak around with his high school crushes (looking back, he realizes the thrill of getting away with something “forbidden” must have been part of the appeal; thanks mom and dad) but now that he’s older, Gabriel hates over-complicating things. He likes what he likes and pursues that. Quietly, but with heart. It starts with a spark of something—an undeniable curiosity—because people can be interesting and beautiful that way. He’s not sure if he’s ever been in love, though. Infatuated? Sure, but these days he’s much less likely to jump into relationships that he feels won’t last.
┊ 𝐓𝐋;𝐃𝐑: Sweet, relaxed yet persistent - that’s Gabriel. His parents have influenced him in every regard, for good and bad, but he had a pretty hard time relying on them for emotional support growing up. Instead, he talked to his friends, who were a source of comfort to him. Forward-thinking people with good progressive ideas appeal to his sense of idealism. Growing up, his parents tried to instill some traditional values in him, but everything that’s old-fashioned and out of date bothers him. He’d rather pursue an interesting idea, and he’s never able to completely suppress his love for excitement and adventure—the need to succumb to joyful impulses once in awhile. Granted, his inner “wild child” is more of a dork, pretty content finding interesting people to talk to and going on random trips. He’s not the type to indulge in dangerously reckless behavior… most of the time.
Winter Bear by V (2019);
Would you come fly to me. I want some good day, good day. Looks like a winter bear. You sleep so happily. I wish you a good night, good night. Imagine your face. Say hello to me, then all the bad days, they’re nothing to me with you. Winter bear, sleep like a winter bear.
ellievsbear
vaporwave
pixelskylines
romaincrisis
blakekathryn
discoholicmusic
