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theblacklupins · 3 years

Text

The bunch of keys in Remus’ hands jingled as he unlocked the glass door, opening the doors to the big space of bookshelves filled to the brim with leather bound books. Turning around, he smiled serenely as he looked around. Sunlight filtered through the gaps of the curtains.

He opened them, light now illuminating the entire bookstore. He sighed as he turned on the air conditioning, letting a cool breeze sweep over the entire shop.

He loved his job. He was surrounded by things he loved and it was all so calm and peaceful. Everything was what it was supposed to be.

Remus went behind the counter, clearing up any dust that had been left behind the day before. He looked at the clock.

“Eight,” he murmured, smiling softly to himself. “Gives me an hour, then.”

He shrugged on his coat, fixed his hair a bit and headed out with his wallet and phone, locking the doors again.

He headed down the street to which he’d just moved into, admiring the cute houses and occasional shop. He smiled brightly when he walked up to the place he’d been coming to ever since he opened his store.

He pushed open the glass doors, the smell of baked goods and coffee making his stomach rumble.

He stepped up behind two people who were queuing, silently pulling out his phone to scroll through Instagram. He smiled at Lily’s selfie with Marlene and Mary in the background. He commented sarcastic eye roll emojis and hearts and put his phone in his pocket when it was his turn to order.

“The usual, Mr. Lupin?”

Remus smiled shyly and he nodded, looking up only to find his breath taken away, as always.

Because in front of him was the cafe cashier, Sirius Black, wearing a white apron and a black turtleneck underneath, hair tied up in a messy bun.

“Yeah,” Remus replied a little breathlessly. “The normal.”

“Iced latte and chocolate muffin!” Sirius yelled to the people manning the food and drinks a few meters behind him. He faced Remus again, shaking his head amusedly. “Don’t know why you still drink an iced latte in this cold ass weather.”

Remus let out a small laugh. “Don’t know either.”

Sirius perked up. “Almost forgot. Now, don’t tell anyone, but...”

Sirius slid a paper bag with two warn double chocolate chip cookies in it. Remus blinked and shook his head, trying to refuse but Sirius pushed him away as another customer entered the store. Remus sighed as he took the cookies and waited at the side of the store for his order. In less than ten minutes, his name got called and he collected his order, sending a fleeting smile towards Sirius and then rushing out of the cafe.

Every day it was like this. Head over to the cafe, buy breakfast, maybe flirt a little with Sirius, run out to tend to his bookshop and be busy for the rest of the day. Only talking to Sirius once every day, and then going to sleep thinking about his smile.

It could be better, but Remus wasn’t going to start complaining.

He sighed as he bit into the muffin, deciding to save the cookies for later.

𓅰𓅰𓅰

Remus woke up late on a Friday, because he’d been up late arranging and sorting out the new delivery of books that he’d ordered. He only collapsed on his bed at two in the morning, not even bothering to change his clothes.

He woke in a panic at fifty minutes past seven and hurriedly got ready and went down his bookstore. His apartment was situated a level above the bookshop, so it was much more convenient instead of having to wake up much earlier and then having to walk. Which meant that even if he woke up late, he wouldn’t be too late.

He managed to run down the stairs, nearly twisting his foot and unlocking the doors only eight minutes late. Thankfully, there weren’t any customers yet. People usually came in in the late afternoons or just before dinner, which gave Remus plenty of time to sort out orders and deliveries for books.

But only after a half an hour, people started coming in, streaming through the doors and browsing the shelves. Remus was surprised; usually only a few people came in once a day. Why so many now, and in such a short amount of time?

“Hey!”

Remus jerked, head looking up and eyes widening.

“Sirius?”

Sirius grinned, now wearing a leather jacket instead of his usual white apron. “Hey, stranger. Noticed how you didn’t come into the cafe today. Here.” He placed Remus’ order of iced latte and chocolate muffin — plus an extra two cookies — and leaned against the wooden counter.

“Nice thing you’ve got going on here,” Sirius commented lightly, smiling at the books. “It feels like it would be calm. Well, calm if there weren’t a crowd of people here right now.”

Remus laughed. “Yeah, sorry, don’t know why either. Usually it’s really quiet until later. And I didn’t head to the cafe because I woke up late. Been up all night sorting everything out.”

Sirius pursed his lips. “I... may know the reason why you’ve gotten a bunch of customers all of a sudden.”

Remus narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Why?”

“I may have... promoted your bookstore a bit? Yesterday?”

Remus blinked. “What?”

Sirius scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I, uh, went onto my cafe’s social media platforms and uh, promoted your bookshop.”

Remus whipped out his phone and went to Twitter, searching the cafe Sirius worked at, and sure enough, a picture of his bookshop, taken while Remus wasn’t in. The light from the sun illuminated the inside through the windows, making the entire shop nearly glow. The caption above stated:

Mr. Lupin’s bookshop is a must to visit once you’ve bought from us! Books and cafe delights are something to bring peace to heart and mind. Check out Mr. Lupin’s bookshop and you won’t be disappointed, with your favorite titles about romance, adventure or fantasy at your fingertips with a cup of coffee right beside.

Remus’ eyes widened and he looked up at Sirius, who smiled sheepishly. Before he could say anything, though, a few customers started to line up. Sirius had to move to the side so Remus could help them.

Once that was tended to, Remus faced Sirius, who had sidled up next to him behind the counter. “You— you really did that.”

Sirius grinned. “I did.”

Remus smiled softly, blushing just a tiny bit. “Thanks. This... really means a lot to me.”

Sirius’ grin turned softer, quieter, more of an adoring look than a smile at that point. “You’re welcome. I’m glad it made you happy.”

An elderly woman came up to the desk, holding a copy of Anne Frank. “Hello dears, how much is this?”

Remus helped her with her payment, and when she had the paper bag in her arms securely, she asked sweetly, “You boys look very sweet together. Reminds me if my own grandson and his husband.”

Remus blushed and became flustered, trying to explain how he and Sirius weren’t together, but he was silenced when Sirius replied, “Thank you, ma’am. I like to think we look good together too.”

She smiled serenely and walked out of the store, leaving behind a stuttering Remus.

“You...”

“Go out on a date with me, Remus Lupin?” Sirius asked quietly, fiddling with his fingers. “I know— we don’t talk a lot, but I’m really smitten with you and I’m hoping—"

Remus cut him off with a chaste kiss, only pressing in a couple of seconds before parting.

“Yeah, I’ll go on a date with you,” Remus breathed. He jumped when a wolf whistle sounded through the shop, and everyone started applauding. Remus blushed furiously and shrunk back, glaring at Sirius who grinned at him and bowed as if he was part of a show that dramatically changed everyone’s lives.

𓅰𓅰𓅰

“So we’re having a coffee date right?”

“Would be wrong not to, to be honest.”

#oml #this #this i just #oh dear #yes ik james and peter arent mentioned #and marlene mary and lily could be considered invisible #but i love this fic #remus john lupin #remus lupin #sirius black #sirius orion black #wolfstar #wolfstar fluff #lily evans #mary mcdonald #marlene mckinnon #wolfstar fanfic #wolfstar fanfiction #wolfstar fic

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woozibby · 4 years

Text

In Love | Joshua

requested: Hello, I hope you’re doing good 💙 Could I maybe request a cute fluff with Joshua? Maybe something were he realizes he’s in love with the reader and tells them, if that’s okay with you~

wc: 2190

a.n. I hope you like this anon!! Please let me know if you have any more requests! <3 This is unedited, so i’m sorry for any mistakes!

SEVENTEEN MASTERLIST

You, my dear reader, are in your afternoon music lesson. You tried your best to keep focus, however, it wasn’t going very well.

So when your phone started buzzing in your pocket, that was when you completely lost focus.

Your phone screen lights up with many notifications, however, the ones that stood out were the ones from the ironically titled group chat: Oh God Why.

Mingyu: how does everyone feel about pizza?

Vernon: I could go for pizza

y/n: omg yes pls

Joshua: aren’t you meant to be in class y/n?

y/n: don’t need to call me out like that, but yeah, I’m here

Mingyu: So pizza after y/n’s class yes or no?

Vernon, y/n: yes

Joshua: fine yes. y/nie, I’ll come pick you up after class

y/n: awe, thank you josh<3

Mingyu: simp

Joshua: STFU MINGYU

So you giggle to yourself as you read the exchange and you put your phone away in attempts to refocus. The idea of food and hanging out with your best friends at the forefront of your mind.

Finally, your lesson came to an end and like he said he would be. Joshua was there, outside waiting for you to meet him.

“So, how was class?” Joshua asks as you link your arm with his and you both make your way to his car.

“It was something,” you laugh.

It didn’t take you guys long to get to the small dinner that Mingyu demanded to go to. He mentioned how it sold authentic American style pizza. That no other pizza place could now compare.

None of you bothered to fight him on it as it was just easier to go along with the giant puppies’ demands. Plus you all knew you wouldn’t be able to say no to him either.

Once you got inside and were sat down, Mingyu and Vernon instantly went for the menu and began looking over it. However, you were fine just sitting there in the presence of everyone else.

Looking over, you see Joshua already looking at you with a small smile on his face.

“What?” you asked, returning his smile.

“Nothing,” he responded, turning his attention away from you. “Guys, stop hogging the menus, let us have a look.”

Ten minutes later, you’ve all ordered and are now sipping away at your drinks as you guys talk about your day. You laughed at the jokes Vernon said and how every time the door would open from the kitchen Mingyu’s head would be straight up and looking around like a meercat.

However, what you didn’t notice was the fact how when you weren’t looking, Joshua would take the time to glance at you, smile and look away before you could notice. You were so engrossed in the conversation that you failed to notice the smile that never left his lips.

So anyways, your pizza arrives and you guys slowly eat your food- well you slowly eat your food, the guys slowly and eating are never in the same sentence.

So once you’ve finished up, you all split the bill and make your way out of the dinner.

“Didn’t I tell you that place was great?” Mingyu gushes as he walks ahead of you with Vernon.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Vernon laughs.

You continue to smile as you watch the two boys before turning your attention towards your other best friend.

“You okay?” you ask. “You’ve been kinda quiet tonight.”

Joshua hums and shrugs his shoulders. He takes a moment to think before nodding his head.

“I’m good,” The smile never falls.

OKAY so, flash forward.

So it’s a Saturday, you don’t have lessons AND since you were good, you made sure to catch up on all of your work so you could have the weekend to chill and do nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

You didn’t want to think, you didn’t want to move an inch out of your apartment. The only thing that would get you out of your apartment was if the building was on fire and even then, you’d have to think about it.

So you queued up a drama on your tv and started on making a snack or two to keep you going and once that was all done, you made your way back to the living room and plopped yourself down on the couch with a blanket thrown over your lap.

You were twenty minutes into the first episode when your phone buzzed. You ignored it, thinking that if it was important they’d call back later. So you forgot about it for another ten or so minutes until it buzzed again.

Letting out a sigh, you pause the episode and lean over to grab your phone.

Your screen was full of notifications.

Some were random things from Twitter, others were from some random app you forgot you had on your phone, but the most recent ones were a string of text messages from Josh.

Joshua: You busy?

Joshua: You doing anything rn?

Joshua: you’re free right?

You whipped your hands on your blanket before you unlocked your phone and typed back a response.

y/n: define free?

Joshua: As in you’re not out and doing something??

y/n: then yeah, I’m free

Joshua: YES okay, do you want to do something? I thought maybe we could go to the aquarium?

You began to type out a message, before pressing backspace and deleting it all. You wanted to spend the day inside, but what was the worst that could happen? Plus, how could you ever say no to him?

y/n: yeah sure, meet me here in twenty?

Joshua: cool, for sure!

Locking your phone once more, you turn off your tv and take your snacks back to the kitchen before you headed to your room to get changed.

You put on a comfortable outfit and made sure to wear a jacket over the top as you knew it could sometimes get cold in the aquarium. So, by the time you were ready, a knock on your door didn’t come as much of a surprise.

Opening it up, you smile at Josh and invite him in.

“I’ll be one second, just gotta put my shoes on.”

He nods and sits himself down on the couch as he waits for you to finish and when you come back out with a small bag, you pick up your keys, purse and phone before shoving them in.

“You ready?” he asks causing you to nod in response.

So he drives and you guys get to the aquarium in no time.

Once you get inside and your tickets are brought, you start to make your way through.

Josh laughs to himself every time you saw a new animal and ran over to them in awe. He tried his best to keep beside you, however, once something caught your eye, you were off again in a flash.

He didn’t mind though, the look on your face and the pure joy that emanated from you was enough for him. Every little thing you did made him smile, every little thing you did made his heart jump around.

It wasn’t until you guys got to the underwater tunnel and the sight of you looking all around you with the largest smile he thought he had ever seen you smile, did it dawn to him.

He loves you.

No matter how much his heart and brain fought, no matter how much he wanted to deny it- he couldn’t. Not now, not whilst looking at you like this. Not when the water was reflecting on you in a way that enhanced your already beautiful self.

Mingyu and Vernon always joked that he was a simp for you and they were right. Not that Josh would ever tell them that, they didn’t need the ego boost.

So as Josh followed you around the aquarium, he smiled. He laughed to himself and the more time you guys spent the more it cemented in his mind.

He was in love and there was nothing he could do about it.

So flash forward an hour or two.

He’s dropped you home and you’ve gone on and on about how fun the day was. How much fun it was going there with him and it makes his heart expand like five sizes.

So after he drops you off, he heads back to his own apartment which he shares with Vernon and Mingyu. When he walks through the door, both boys are sat on the couch, playing the same game they were playing when Josh left.

“How was your date?” Mingyu sniggers, he, however, doesn’t turn his attention away from the tv as Josh walks over and lets himself fall into the love sweet.

“It wasn’t a date,” Josh responds before covering his face up with his hands.

“Is that why you looked so bummed?” Vernon asks.

Josh uncovers his face and sends a look to the younger boy. Vernon, who just shrugs says nothing more.

“I realised something today and I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing.”

“Let me guess,” Mingyu pauses the game which causes Vernon to gasp. “You’ve finally realised your love for y/n and now you’re in a state of shock”

Josh’s eyebrows furrow together as he slowly nods.

“How did you know?”

Both of the younger boys sigh in defeat.

“Because it’s obvious!” Vernon laughs. “You’ve been in love with them since what? The moment you guys saw each other?”

“That’s not true,” Josh fakes a laugh as he looks down at his hands.

“Yes, it is and don’t even try to deny it.” Mingyu states.

“And so what you like y/n, what’s so bad about that?” Vernon asks causing Josh to shrug once again.

“I don’t know, maybe I’m scared it’ll ruin our friendship.”

“There is nothing in this world that could end your friendship, you know why?” Mingyu asks, but he doesn’t wait for Josh to respond. “Because your guys’ friendship transcends any other thing. You guys are practically soulmates, don’t hide your feelings because of the anxieties.”

“He’s right,” Vernon speaks. “Let’s say you did confess and they didn’t feel the same way, that’s a whole lot better than sitting here wondering what could have been.”

Josh lets out a breath of air and nods his head slowly.

What the boys were saying was true.

What was the worst that could happen? You could say no and that Vernon was right. At least you can move on from a no, how can you move on from the thoughts of a what if?

Because what if he didn’t tell her and there was a day where he began to regret that decision? How could he live with himself if he never told you how much he truly loved you?

Josh shot up from his chair and sent a look to the two younger boys.

“I need to tell them,”

Vernon and Mingyu look at each other before looking at Josh with wide eyes.

“Like right now?” Mingyu asks.

Josh nods.

“Of course, when else am I going to tell them?”

Vernon laughs and claps his hands.

“Go on, go do it! Tell them, dude.”

“I’m doing it,” Josh said before walking out the door.

He came back in a moment later and picked up his car keys.

“I’m doing it now!” He said leaving once more.

Mingyu and Vernon looked at each other once more before speaking.

“He’s seriously going to do it,”

They looked back at the tv.

“Another game?”

“Sure.”

SO back to you!!

Since you’ve gotten back, you’ve put back on your drama, you’ve got your snacks back out and reclaimed your position on the couch. You’ve finally finished the first episode and you’re only into the second one by a minute or two when the sound of knocking on your door causes you to jump in fright.

“What is it now?” You mumble to yourself as you place the snacks on your coffee table and throw your blanket to the side.

Going to the door and opening it up, you make a face to yourself in shock at the sight of Josh standing behind it.

“Oh Josh hey, what’s up? It hasn’t even been an hour and a half, miss me that much?” You laughed at your own joke, but your smile dropped at how serious Josh was. “Are you ok-...”

He cuts you off, and your mouth drops.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” you giggle. “What’s up with you?”

“No, I mean, I love you, I’m in love with you. I look at you and my heart swells and I wouldn’t want anything more than to call you mine.”

You blink for a moment as your brain tries to catch up with the words Josh is saying.

“I-I…” You try to speak, but nothing came out.

Josh begins to frown and looks down. Maybe I shouldn’t have listened to them, he thought to himself.

“I’m sorry, I shou-...”

However, this time you were the one to cut him off.

“I love you too.”

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babblingbonky · 5 years

Note

for the drabble/hc thing: Bucky asking the reader their "pussy size" when buying them pads/tampons so he gets the right ones

okay so before i start i just wanna say the wording of this really got to me at first bc all i saw at first was “pussy size” and laughed aUDIBLY

but then i kept reading and it made more sense and i actually love this idea

But the wording really got me

anyways

on to the actual hc

it had been a long day

there was a lot going on at work, schoolwork was demanding to be done, and your apartment was begging to be cleaned

on top of that, you haven't been feeling well for the past few days

all you wanted was to curl up on the couch in sweats with Bucky and watch movies and cuddle

and that's exactly what you did

until he felt your body tense and you curled up into a tighter ball

"what's the matter, doll?"

"oh, it's nothing"

"y/n…"

"what? it's just cramps, they'll go away soon"

"doll... it's not just cramps" he said, pointing to the bright red spot that was forming on the blanket

"oh Buck, I'm so sorry. I'll fix-"

"no, don't worry about it. go take a hot bath and relax. there are some towels already in the dryer so when you're finished I'll bring you one."

"Bucky really it's not-"

"please?" he pleaded

and you didn't have the energy to fight him on it, so you did as you were told

you start up a hot bath and begin to get undressed when Bucky knocks on the door

"I brought you some tea" he said as he set it down on the sink

"thank you" you smiled

"anytime" and he pecked your lips "while I was making you tea, I remembered that you ran out of… girl stuff, so I'm gonna run to the store real quick to get you some."

"thank you Bucky" you wrapped your hands around his neck. "I love you." and you kiss him again.

"I love you. I'll be back shortly. do you want anything else while I'm there?"

"maybe some cookie dough ice cream? and some cheezits please"

"you got it"

"thank youuu I love you"

"love you too"

you settled in the tub and turned on some music as you relaxed

but little did you know how stressed out Bucky was

not because there was a stain or you were getting your period- that stuff didn't matter

he forgot what kind of girl stuff you used

so he spent a solid 10 minutes in the feminine hygiene aisle before he decided to call you

"hello? Bucky?"

"hi honey, I.. uh, I'm at the store."

"and?"

"you need the girl stuff."

he tried so hard to get around it but you were being difficult and oblivious

"yeahhh that's why you went to the story, isn't it?" you laughed

"I mean… yeah… but i don't…"

"you don't what, Buck?"

"doll what's your pussy size I just wanna get the right ones. I've been here for 10 minutes trying to figure it out but I didn't know what the difference between super and regular and I almost got both but I just-"

you almost choked on tea when you heard what he said

"woah woah woah, Bucky. what'd you ask?"

"what's your pussy size?"

you laughed again at that phrase because it was not something Bucky would usually say

and he realized that too after he said it and started laughing with you

"come on. which one do you want so I can grab your ice cream and cheezits and get home?"

"just a box of regular."

and after he grabbed the rest of your things and checked out, he was on his way home

when Bucky got home, you were finishing up in the tub

and as promised, he gave you a warm towel for as soon as you got out

along with a t shirt and a pair of sweatpants that were his that were also in the dryer

before you even got to say anything, he said

"you always say they're looser and more comfortable than your clothes, so I figured that'd be what you wanted right about now"

and by the time you were done in the bathroom he had set up the heating pad for you, grabbed another fuzzy blanket and some fuzzy socks, and queued up your favorite movie. your snacks were all out on the table and he was setting down another glass of hot tea

all for you

#sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #headcanon #request

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nobody-knose--archive · 4 years

Text

so guess who bought complete demos today on a whim

yeah i wasn’t expecting this one to be over as quickly as it was either. have your liveblog

-complete demos. i bought it today & already forgot the tracklist. listening to it on the mp3 player i got for hmcrmshcidshdamsth because why not. makes pausing/typing easier that's why

-who the heck just coughed

-good lord the mixing is. and boy that's steve drumming isn't it. wow

-i mean we've got the stereo panning just like ever but this is incredibly rough. they are true babies aren't they

-oh those flutes are amazing what the hell. can people stop yelling in my individual ears

-and there's the rough megaphone. it's so incredibly clear that these aren't studio recordings but like. still tally hall!

-i think i'm finding many of these a little too funny but gotdam you're pitchbending your own voice do you really expect that to not sound so goofy at such a high pitch

-oh we're not slowing down at all, this is the same tempo as before for sure

-the flipping around audio channels is very not good at all when it comes to disguising the cuts between takes

-a sculptor you say? (is that one in the later versions? i don't remember it at all)

-nothing but rob's voices in the background and maybe 1 or two from red. no ross bits whatsoever. that's wild

-quick move into the greener intro and even quicker movement into greener itself

-well those are extra harmonies. interesting that they removed them for later versions because they're not bad, maybe a little out of place though

-honestly the biggest difference in steve vs ross drumming seems to be more a difference in the quality of the drums themselves. or the recording software but that applies to everything in this album

-it's painfully obvious that everything was recorded in really different circumstances & not mixed professionally and yep. complete demos alright. not inaccurately named in the slightest

-reminds me of the beta versions of g&e songs we heard live before they appeared on the album, makes me wonder if we could've gotten an admittedly complete demos for g&e somehow

-anyway these little different synths-

-hello there rob. alternate bridge. i have remembered this is a thing. something about tissues? a shoulder to cry on? cool

-yeah the little different synths do capture my attention from time to time

-and a basic piano for the outro? huh. sure gives it a different tone alright

-hm? who's that right at the end there- ooh! wtth time! and this still has steve in it doesn't it?

-generally more enthusiasm when it comes to that T, wonder what lost him attention in later years

-boy is that beatboxing weirdly mixed.

-lawn

-well this chorus is actually rather snazzy. the vocals seem better mixed than anything else i've heard in this album

-"who's to blame?" that's like the 4th time now i've heard someone's random voice that i can't recognize. ...it couldn't be steve, could it? i am now aware i have absolutely no clue what his voice sounds like but that seems like it could fit. hm

-zubin sounds really unenthusiastic here. just faintly unenthusiastic all over the place. still sounds more like "badiggle" than anything else

-oh shit they're falling down a well

-red's bit is hella unchanged other than the direct invasion of my individual ears & extra megaphone useage (i really wish the megaphone became more of a tally icon than it did but that's neither here nor there)

-it's rather more barebones though. less andrew keys in general. the calliope-reminiscent synth he uses is different i suppose.

-they did more stuff with funny crowd voices i think i've noticed. playing around with falsetto, as a college band dude might do

-ok yeah steve is a worse drummer. don't ask me what made me change my mind but i did

-wow a crowd that can consistently clap on the 1-2-3-4? how utterly unrealistic

-no wonky wild & weird intro to taken for a ride because i don't think it's on this album. understandable, i can't imagine what sort of wild hell the vocoder would be if it was attempted this early in its lifespan

-1st 2 piano chords of just apathy has me thinking of i know your name (deporitaz ver.) which is certainly as good a start to a song as any

-extended piano intro has me thinking of the ending of mold en mono but nope here's rob's voice to completely knock that impression out of the water

-ohoho? rob cantor swearing momence? i hadn't realized there'd be this many lyric changes

-interestingly enough this track doesn't seem horrendously mixed so far- nevermind that guitar/piano together is way too loud

-the guitar itself does have a pretty cool unique sound. obviously they hadn't had any access to string instruments at this point so given that those're the main thing separating this song from your average sade rock ballad there aren't a whole lot of notable differences here other than said guitar

-very different tone to this lil bridge. faintly reminiscent of weezer but it's not like i know anything about weezer

-sounds like the same synth from wtth being used in the bg there. what, did they have just that limited a selection so as to need repetition that frequently, or did they really like how it sounds? hard to tell with 200 (uhhhh) 4 college band dudes

-and right into two wuv. yes i had heard there's no haiku in this one but i forget what else will be missing. not sure if anything else will other than hidden in the sand. they would have ruler of everything, right? and a track that appears here but not any other albums? something like that i think

-more of that piano in the bg and more of mildly unenthusiastic zubin singing. different melody for said singing but it's not much of a secret that these guys were more untrained vocalists at this time

- .subsides?

-this chorus sounds significantly more laid-back than the later version

-the extra piano part sure moves this piece way further away from "rock love song" & way closer to "andrew horowitz song", especially that lil flourish where a bee buzzing might otherwise be

-ooh! andrew! he speaks! so does zubin! this song's two olsen boys coming in for a weird bridge bit! hell yeah oh this is adorable

-"because there's 2 of them :}"

-hm. are they actually just removing various parts because they don't have the technological capabilities to do a straight fadeout here? got dam

-i suppose letting zubin do a final solo-ish cadence works too

-uh- say it ain't so‽ w. no this is stationary love, the song that appeared here & nowhere else. cool, cool. strange but cool i guess

-i guess that can explain the multitude of weezer comparisons made for these lads. it's certainly there. honestly andrew was the only thing keeping them from being true weezer successors

-pure acoustic guitar thus far. this is my first time hearing this song of course & it seems like a pretty typical rob "homophonic heterophobic" cantor song

-nothing but acoustic guitar. nothing but rob vocals. nothing but alloromanticism. guess what! it's not my cup of tea! however i can't help but think if this song was worked on more, fixed up a la either mmmm release, with some more andrew/red touches, i could enjoy it some more

-not even any drumming. the simplicity could easily explain why it wasn't played live very often at all

-so the next thing i expect is some very funky & very weird spring and a storm which should highlight steve's (worse) drumming more than anything else i'm sure

-nevermind banana man's just getting slapped directly in here out of order compared to the later mmmm releases. this version i have indeed heard before because it's the version used in the music video

-therefore i have very little to say about it i haven't said on any of the other banana men. or other tracks on this album. the intrusions of vocal harmonies seem jarring because they're not mixed professionally, an effect that's only enhanced by the stereo panning & intense reverb

-this song really didn't change all that much over its lifespan, did it? vocal flairs were redone, but relatively few harmonies were added/removed, i don't think things like the bridge(s) were modified severely. not as noticeably as any of the other songs, at the very least

-i'm pretty sure i can hear andrew's voice in there but beyond that this is severely unsettling

-back to the chorus wahoo. relievingly familiar territory

-get out of my left ear hawaiian guitar- wait a minute are my earbuds on wrong

-no i'm good

-oh holy shit i forgot this had to be somewhere didn't it‽ i know it's just the same! ok ok

-i've heard this one but only because i had no idea it was from complete demos, it's like rather polished too so i had never considered it would be on an unpolished album like this. i also had no idea that was goddam steve drumming in there too hot damn

-and this is the only recording of it‽ that's wild i always thought it was redone at some point & just kinda. manifested in one of the vague ways miscellaneous high quality tally hall songs do

-it's another romance one but the guitar arpeggios and extra layers give it a pass in my book. man i should watch the music video for it shouldn't i

-i still think it's utterly wild how tally hall played this at an actual high school's homecoming once. wouldn't that just blow your mind

-there's not a major difference between how it's performed here & what i've heard of it in from the occasional live performance, which is making me realize i should watch more live performances of this song

-angstier prequel to hidden in the sand

-or sidequel maybe. depends really. we can tell whatever stories we like

-did my hidden in the sand sotry come out of the queue yet? i feel like i queued it a while ago but also like y'all would've said something if you'd seen it

-bit slow paced innit. much like everything else in this album, it would have gained much from a professional studio treatment, but its mixing & general quality is still surely the best out of everything i've heard so far

-working your falsetto there aren't you my dude? ooh boy

-ruler of everything.... so no spring & a storm? >{

-yeah. ok. weird glockenspiel. almost sounds like a music box

-no vocoding either! i just realized that's a thing here! curious. and... those are some heavily wonky sfx in the background

-who's singing those aaaaas anyway? it's not a chorus which i thought could surely be handled and there's really minimal reverb too; strange considering not only is reverb a jh trademark but easily doable here

-the piano synth used is mostly identical to the 05 mmmm- oh holy shit there's different lyrics & they're being beamed directly into my skull

-even more nonsensical & it's because you can hear them hella easily too. that backwards segment did not need to go on as long as it did. also

-so no zubin vocals? >{

-slapping 5 billion vocal effects on doesn't make up for a lack of the best singer in this damn band

-especially because he sounds reminiscent of goddam fred. being fred before fred was even a thing. oh how accursed

-quiet down your guitars when you're singing shouting through a megaphone if you please

-and there's the earstrain-ass reverb + vocoding on the flibbity jibber jabber reprise. i feared as much would happen. doesn't sound horrible i just need to turn down the volume on my mp3 player

-honestly thing whole thing isn't bad at all in the sense that it's mostly just strongly different from the later versions & lacks zubin

-lease stop yelling though my dude schwiggling your voice like that isn't always a good thing at high volumes

-is that the end? are we.... at the end? i heard that's the name of some song from like sketches or something

-no. how silly of me to assume as much. anyway my dude needs to fix up his ukulele this one sounds like shit

-no vocal effects makes me realize how few times we got this one live-

-now what would you call a wonky little transition like that? puts a smile on my face, even if it does take me by surprise at the same time

-but at least one of the times this was done live featured casey shea

-now for the love of god i already hate the ending of something glowing (view-monster) for its weird-ass asmr finale don't reverse someone's cough & twiddle your ukulele strings directly into my right ear to end an otherwise really nice version of hidden in the sand if you please. oh mama mia. good night

#tally hall #loolin liveblogs #joe is mentioned sometimes but not by name fyi #tis i #as usual it's recommended that you listen to the album in question as you read to get a better idea of the context #because 9 times out of 10 i won't tell you it #i feel like i come off as slightly negative for much of this. what can i say complete demos is an album of amateur demos #the songs aren't as good as their later counterparts by nature & that's all i ever have to say #to the world and back again

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rwby-grimm-guardians · 4 years

Text

RWBY Grimm Guardians Arc 3: Separated Union Ch 13

Finale Part I: Side RWBY

Welcome back to Separated Union! We’ve arrived at the end of Separated Union. Here, Team RWBY and associates reunite and discuss what to do next. This takes place a couple days after Side Red III.

As usual, please give constructive criticism and enjoy.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

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(12: 48 PM)

It was a little after noon when the virtual meeting was finally set up. Though this was NOT what anybody had imagined. “What the hell did you get into!?” Weiss shouted as Willow attempted to calm her down. Yang grinned, “Aw, she cares about your well-being.” Ruby made a similar grin, before putting her hands up in defense, “In my defense, I had no control of the situation.” “None of us did.” Summer said. “By the way, yes. I did tell her about me.”

Blake, Weiss, and Willow took note of the change of Summer’s eyes. However, they decided not to comment on them for now. That could wait until they saw each other in-person.

Weiss and Blake sighed, with the latter saying, “Thank gods, because hiding that was hard as hell.” “Ditto.” Her significant other replied, groaning. “Anyway, who’s all with you besides the moms? Ember’s washing up right now.” The faunus teenager nodded, “Gambol’s getting dressed at the moment.” “We got Uncle Qrow with us, as well as three other guests.” Ruby said. “Oscar Pine and his mom are here. His mom is my doctor and will be here soon.” The three teenagers and Willow nodded.

“The young leader then cleared her throat awkwardly, “We also got another...guest.” With that, Summer motioned her hand and Evergreen appeared in the picture. “The fuck!?” Yang shouted. “How are you…!?” “Language, Yang.” The former STRQ leader said, before sighing. “He made himself a Weapon Spirit, basically.” “You’re a crazy little shit.” Willow said, queuing the former headmaster to nod. “Yes, I know. And I’m sorry for not telling any of you.” He said.

“Why are you in a hospital?” Blake asked suddenly, her voice filled with worry as she noticed her leader’s gown. Weiss’s face also had a worried expression as her eyes widened at the sight of her partner.

Both Yang and Ruby paled. They completely forgot to tell their partners about the young leader’s condition. Judging by Willow’s sighs, the two could assume that Summer had told her...and given by the former STRQ leader’s unamused expression, she was NOT surprised that her daughters forgot in the slightest. Blake assumed that Gambol probably knew as well from Ember. “Right…” Yang started with a regretful sigh. “We....really should’ve explained what happened to Ruby to you two…”

Clearing her throat, the young leader said, “You know that Vampier chick that harmed Pyrrha? Well, she attacked us when we were trying to go to an inn.” Nodding slowly, the heiress asked, “And the kid you mentioned?” “Met him when we first arrived in Mistral.” Ruby explained. “He’s like a little brother.” “I see…” Weiss nodded. “You said that Pyrrha came back, right?” Smiling, the young leader nodded, “Yeah. She came back a couple nights ago and is still in the process of catching up with her team.”

Ruby then lifted her hospital gown to show her abdomen, revealing the bandages for the stitches, “The bullets passed right through, so all I needed was stitches, thankfully.” “Thank gods…” Weiss sighed. Blake nodded in agreement, a sigh of relief emerging from her lips. “Probably not appropriate, but nice abs…” She said, before blushing as Yang and Ruby laughed. “Thank you~.” The young leader grinned. “Weiss agrees.” Willow said, smirking as the group laughed at the heiress’s embarrassed pleas.

It was around that time that Ember and Gambol showed up, with the former saying, “Hey, kid-... Damn, you really did get fucked up…” Ruby nodded, sighing. “How are the wounds holding up, hun?” Gambol asked. The youngest of the group gave a small smile, “Sore, but it’s getting there.” “They’ll be sore for a while.” Blake said. “Just try not to force yourself to your abdominal muscles.” Her leader nodded, “So no carrying stuff or bending down, huh.” “Not alone, at least.” Willow added.

The group then heard the door to the hospital room open, before Anna appeared on the screen. “This is Anna Pine.” Summer smiled. “By the way, Willow. This is who I was talking about regarding my acquaintance.” “This is Weiss, Willow, Gambol, Blake, Ember, and Yang.” Ruby chuckled. Nodding, the doctor gave the group a warm wave, before checking Ruby’s stitches.

“Good to know that the names match the faces.” She smiled. “I do believe the former heiress has a private question, correct?” Willow blushed, before clearing her throat, “Yes.” The doctor nodded, checking Ruby’s heartbeat and breathing as she said, “Gotcha. I’ll call you after your virtual meeting is finished.” The former heiress nodded, “Thank you, Dr. Pine.” “So, have you and your mom made a decision?” Ruby asked.

Weiss sighed. She KNEW this was going to come up sooner or later. “Yes.” Willow said. “Right now...we’ve decided to wait until Jacques has left.” Summer raised an eyebrow, “You’re planning on leaving?” The heiress nodded, “Klein and Mom are getting things prepared. This place...isn’t safe anymore.” The silence following that sentence was deafening...and frightening. Not because anyone had an issue with The Schnees’ decision though.

Rather, it was because of the truth surrounding the events at their manor… Though, given what Willow said about Jacques before, Summer wasn’t too surprised. “You may want to leave sooner than planned.” Blake said. “If it’s getting that bad, then you might get out of there as soon as you can.” Gambol nodded, “Agreed. You might want to set a destination now, since we’re all here.” “You could meet up with us in Mistral.” Ruby suggested. “Or head to Vale and stay with Dad, Yang, and Ember for now.”

“I was going to suggest coming to see us.” Blake said. “But...I’m not sure if you’ll be welcomed... Some people here are not pleased with your father’s decisions.” Weiss groaned, “Don’t remind me…” She then looked to the side and nodded, “Winter’s here.” Winter appeared on the screen, her hair down as she smirked, “I see you kids are doing well...more or less.” “To some extent, yeah.” Ruby said. “This is my sister: Yang, Blake, Ember, and Gambol. This is my doctor, Anna Pine from Mistral International Clinic.”

Anna looked at Winter with a recognizing nod, only to meet Summer’s stern glance. “Be kind and say hi.” The former STRQ leader said. “I get you hate the Atlesian Military, but be nice to at least SOMEONE from there.” The eldest Schnee sibling winced, “Your mom is kind of scary at times.” “Only when the time calls for it.” Ruby smiled. “Though scary is not the accurate term, I think.” After a few moments, Anna ultimately gave in to Summer’s gaze, before turning to Winter and waving, “Hello, Ms. Schnee.”

“Dr. Pine.” The elder Schnee sister nodded politely. “I...don’t blame you for despising the Atlesian Military.” She didn’t budge from Anna’s stare as she said, “Actually, I empathize with you.” The group shivered as the tension between the two women began rising. “Could we PLEASE focus on what to do when we all regroup in Mistral?” Willow asked, noticing the tension and attempting to prevent an argument from starting. Winter and Anna looked at the former heiress, before sighing and looking down.

“Sorry, Mom…” Winter said. The doctor replied to Willow, “I apologize for my behavior, Mrs. Schnee.” Willow noticed Summer mouthing “Thank you” at her, before nodding with a smile, “Good. Now then, any suggestions?” Gambol sat back, saying, “Well, since Ruby, Summer, and their group are in Mistral and we’re already in Kuo Kuana, you might as well meet up here. This‘ll also give you the opportunity to get to know our parents.”

The former STRQ leader smiled, “How are they doing anyway?” Blake nodded, “Good. They’ll be happy to know that you remember them.” Summer chuckled, “I’m sure your mother will. That woman was like a sister.” “As were you to her.” The faunus teenager said. “She misses your baking.” The tallest woman nodded with a chuckle, “I’m sure she does. I’ll try to bake some cookies for you all when we meet up. And we can try her cooking again as well.” The two faunus nodded, both smiling.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to leave soon.” Gambol said, looking at the time. “I was….really hoping our parents would be able to finally meet some of you… One of you for the second time.” Summer smiled, “We’ll see them when we get to your place.” Willow nodded, “Seconded. Plus, we should leave soon too. Before Jacques finds out.” The group nodded, as Ruby said, “You take care of yourselves now. Alright?” Blake chuckled, “We will. Recover well, okay? Both of you.”

“We will.” Yang smiled. “Let us know if things need to be changed.” She then looked at the Schnees, “Especially you three.” Weiss nodded with a tired smile, “We will. Hopefully, it won’t come to that, but still.” Ember chuckled, “We know. Stay safe.” The former heiress nodded, “We’ll try. You kids do the same.” “Tell your parents Willow and I said hi, Blake.” Summer smiled. The faunus teenager smiled and nodded, “I will. And I’ll let them know that you’re looking forward to seeing them again.”

After Blake, Gambol, Weiss, Winter, and Willow said their goodbyes, the virtual chat room remained open as Ruby asked, “So, you wanted to talk privately, sis?” Her half-sister nodded, sighing. “So…. I’m...thinking about searching for my mother soon…” Yang said. There was silence for a good few moments, before Summer asked, “Have you spoken with your father?” Ember shook her head, “She’s been trying. Tai won’t talk about it though. Yang’s been worried about invading his privacy.”

“Not surprising… I can’t really blame him either.” Qrow sighed. The former STRQ leader combed Ruby’s hair, saying, “I’m proud that you’re taking his feelings into consideration.” “However, I do think you should bring it up with him again.” She explained. “He’s going to have to tell you about her from his point of view sooner or later.” The tanned woman nodded in agreement, “He will. Even though he doesn’t want to.” The younger blonde grunted, “I guess…”

Yang curled up her legs up to her chest, “I just feel like if I do ask him, then he’s going to have an emotional shutdown…” She then turned to her bedroom door as she heard footsteps walking away. She paled, “I think he heard us… And he was doing well too.” Summer groaned as she put her face in her hands, “Fuck…” Qrow sighed as he rubbed his eyes. This was the worst case scenario; having Taiyang find out about what Yang’s plans were...and what she was going to ask him.

“Well, what time is it there?” The former bandit asked. Ember looked at a clock, saying, “It’s getting late, so it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.” Qrow nodded, “Well, you might as well rip off the bandage as soon as possible.” “Otherwise, he’ll not want to talk to you.” He explained. “Tai’s surprisingly stubborn sometimes. You know that.” The tanned woman hummed, “Of course, I know. I was with him for several years, Qrow.” “I also know that his stubbornness, thankfully, has limits.” She explained.

“He’ll talk.” Ember smiled. “And I hope it’ll be mostly civil.”

“We also need to chat about you.” Yang said to her stepmom, Ruby nodding in agreement. The taller woman sighed, “Had a feeling Tai told you about my issues. Yes, I do remember them.” “Sorry, but we were trying to help you...and still are. In case you need it.” Her youngest daughter explained. The blonde teenager nodded, giving a reassuring smile, “All we want is for you to be happy.” “I know. I know.” The sisters’ mom said, before giving a smile. “Trust me though. I’m fine.”

After a few moments of silence, Qrow nodded, “Alright then. But just remember that if you aren’t….” “I know.” Summer nodded. “You all will be there for me.” The former bandit REALLY wished that his former leader wasn’t so stubborn as well. However, unlike Taiyang, Summer WAS more willing to talk about her personal problems...as long as it was a one-on-one or two-on-one conversation. She was less likely to have an emotional breakdown in those scenarios as well.

“You two take care of your dad now. Please.” The former STRQ leader said. The blondes nodded, with Yang giving a small smile, “We will...I hope.” After the siblings, Ember, Summer ,and Qrow said their farewells, the taller woman sighed. “So, does anyone want something to drink.” She asked. “No, Qrow. You’re not getting alcohol.” The younger Branwen twin sighed, “Fine, I’ll have coffee.” “Same.” Ruby nodded in agreement.

Nodding, the taller woman walked out of the room. As she did, Ruby asked, “What was that about?” “Much like Tai, Summer doesn’t do well with speaking about her issues.” Qrow explained. “Though, unlike your dad, she’s willing to talk about it with, at most, two other people.” The young leader nodded, thinking, ‘Ah… So it’s a problem with her being able to explain to multiple people at once. That makes sense.’ “So...one of us should talk to her later…?” She asked.

Her uncle nodded, “That would be wise.” ‘Well, looks like she and I will have another late night talk, huh.‘ Ruby thought. She really hoped THAT would be a civil conversation.

Then again, after knowing what her mother’s behavior would be like from her father, who knew what that would be like at this point?

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And that’s it for Separated Uni-!

Hmm?

Hold on a minute, my connection is-...

[CONNECTION OFFLINE]

….

[CONNECTION ONLINE]

Salem: Did you honestly think that this is the end? You still have yet to hear what I’m up to, insects.

#rwby #rwby fanfiction #grimm guardians au #rwby au #ruby rose #Summer Rose #willow schnee #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #ember celica #Gambol Shroud #Blake Belladonna #rwby ocs #winter schnee

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eastasianfeelings · 5 years

Text

all those other wolves: Jooheon

— based on Monsta X as jealous boyfriends

Summary: You just want your Stray Kids bias member to sign your lightstick. It’s not like you’re in love with him. But your boyfriend Jooheon doesn’t seem to get that.

Words: 2.4k

Warnings: jealousy, some angst, making out

It’s the first K-pop awards show you’ve been to since you started your new job as an executive assistant to Monsta X’s lead manager. Glittering ice, gleaming velvet and flashing lights saturate every corner, while screams and cheers fill the air at various intervals as the fans hype themselves up. The atmosphere is almost overwhelmingly upbeat.

So why is your boyfriend standing next to you in a quiet corner of the backstage wing with the darkest of glowers on his face?

“Jooheony.”

He doesn’t respond, just folds his arms tighter and pouts into the distance.

You give him a little prod. “Heony, I’ll just go over for a minute, okay?”

“Why bother asking me?” Jooheon sniffs and pulls away. “You already made up your mind anyway.”

“I’m not asking,” you say, torn between laughing at his childishness and knocking some sense into him. “I’m telling you because I don’t want you to think whatever you’re thinking right now.”

“How do you know what I’m thinking?” he retorts.

You give a little sigh, then reach up and cup his cheeks. “You’re thinking that I’m going to ignore you so I can go talk to Bang Chan, and you’re mad about it.”

Jooheon purses his lips even more. “Noona. You brought a Stray Kids lightstick for him to sign! You don’t even own a Monsta X lightstick.”

“That’s because I don’t need a lightstick. I have you.” You glance around to check if anybody in the darkened wing is paying attention, then rise on your toes and press a buss to his pouty lips. “Understand?”

His frown starts dissolving as his gaze falls to your mouth. “Mm.”

“Good.” You move your palm to his lips to keep him from going in for another kiss. “I’ll be right back, okay? Go hang with Changkyun.”

“Noona,” he whines, but you pull away and wave in parting.

You turn around and scan the sprawling backstage wing, where groups are waiting for the cue to walk to their seats before the show starts. You hadn’t actually expected to see Stray Kids today; you’d brought your lightstick because it was the only one you owned. But now that you’re standing in the same room as them, you aren’t going to miss an opportunity to have your bias sign it.

You spot Hyunjin’s head and make your way toward him through the bodies. As the Stray Kids members come into view, you take a breath to calm your heartrate and remind yourself, Just talk to them like human beings. You’re asking a small favour, not sacrificing your liver.

You carefully twist past Hyunjin and Felix to find yourself face-to-face with Bang Chan. “Ah, Bang Chan-ssi?” you blurt.

He looks at you curiously. “Yes?”

As calmly as you can, you hold out your lightstick and a permanent marker. “Could you please sign my lightstick?” you ask. “I’m a fan of yours.”

“Oh — sure.” Bang Chan accepts the marker from you and leans over to scrawl on the lightstick. You lean back, trying not to breathe on his extremely sculpted hair.

He suddenly lifts his head and meets your eyes from ten centimetres away. “Sorry, I forgot to ask, what’s your name?”

“Ah, it’s fine if you just sign it,” you say quickly. It’s not like you’ll get in trouble if you associate with other companies’ idols, but you don’t want anyone getting wind that you were panting after Stray Kids, just in case.

Chan cocks his head. “Why, are you going to sell it?” he jokes.

You let out a surprised laugh. “Of course not. I’d be fired if I did that.”

“Oh?” Chan’s smiling. “Why would you be fired?”

Uhhh… “It’s a secret,” you say, and break out your cheesiest smile.

“Ah, is that so?” Chan nods and fortunately doesn’t press for more. He scribbles on one side of the lightstick, then flips it over and writes on the other as well.

When he’s done, you take it back and squint at the writing. To my mysterious fan, says one side. The other says, Love from Bang Chan.

Well, you’re not complaining. “Thank you very much.” You bow your head and then waste no time ducking away into the crowd.

“Noona.” Jooheon rushes over to meet you. “What took so long?”

“Was it long?” You check your watch. “It was only five minutes. You guys haven’t gotten the cue yet, have you?”

“You said you’d be right back,” he grumbles, grasping you by the waist.

“Well, here I am.” You squirm in his hold; he’s slipped his hands under your oversized jacket and under your top, to your skin.

He slides a hand down your side and pries the lightstick from your hand. “‘To my mysterious fan’,” he reads aloud, “‘love from Bang Chan’?” He looks up at you with incredulity all over his face. “What’s this?”

You frown. “It’s not like I could give my name, right?”

“No, this is — why is it ‘love from Bang Chan’?” Jooheon splutters. “Why didn’t he just sign his name?”

“Hey, I don’t know,” you defend yourself, “I didn’t ask him to write that.”

“You should’ve told him to just sign his name and be done with it.”

“It’s not like I knew he was going to write that until he did it.”

“Then you just shouldn’t have asked for him to sign it in the first place!”

“Honestly, what’s the big deal?” You snatch your lightstick back. “It’s a few words on a lightstick, that’s it! Seriously, Jooheon.”

But he’s mad now, you can tell. He drops his hand from your waist, narrows his eyes and sets his jaw. “Fine,” he sniffs, “if that’s what you think.”

“Jooheony…”

He turns and walks resolutely back to the rest of Monsta X.

You sigh. Oh well, you have to do your job anyway. So you stick your lightstick back into your pocket and return to your manager’s side. Might as well enjoy your time here while you wait out your boyfriend’s sulking.

Two hours later, you’re running to the dressing room to grab bottles of water. Monsta X has just finished their performance for the night, and they have less than five minutes to get rid of their sound gear, change outfits and return to their seats in the audience.

By the time you’re back with the water, the next group to perform has already queued up as well. You trot down the line of Monsta X members and hand out water bottles as you go.

“Y/N-noonim, isn’t it heavy?” A sweaty Shownu accepts the bottle and looks at the bag you’re carrying.

“Don’t worry about it.” You smile at him and keep going.

“Thank you, noonim,” Minhyuk chirps as you twist open the cap for him.

Beside him, Kihyun snorts. “You can’t even open a bottle by yourself?” he pokes.

“I’ll open yours for you, too, Kihyun-ssi,” you say brightly to prevent the bickering from starting up, and push the bottle into Kihyun’s hand before he can protest.

The very last member is Jooheon. You hesitate for a second, then make eye contact and offer the bottle silently. He takes it, holding your gaze with a look you don’t quite understand.

Someone speaks up, breaking the moment. “Hey — it’s you.”

You look over to your right and literally hop backward in shock: Stray Kids’ Bang Chan is standing right there, next to Jooheon. Looks like his group is up next. Past him, you can see the rest of his members lining up as the sound staff affix mics to their costumes.

Bang Chan’s looking at you, and you instinctively side-step in case he was talking to someone behind you. No luck. Chan keeps smiling your way, and now you can see Jooheon staring at Bang Chan too. Yikes.

“Hello,” you say in as neutral a tone as possible, and dip your head politely.

“You’re my mysterious fan, right?” He quirks an adorable grin. “You ran off so fast.”

“Ah, yes,” you say with an awkward chuckle, and sidle another step away.

“Do you work here?”

Before you can answer, a hand clamps down on your hip. You look round in alarm and find Jooheon next to you, arm wrapped firmly around your waist. He’s glaring at the younger boy as though he committed a crime. It is, literally, the least discreet thing you’ve ever seen.

Now Bang Chan’s looking curiously between the two of you, so in a desperate attempt to distract him, you whip out another water bottle and offer, “Would you like some water?”

His face lights up in surprise, and then amusement. “Sure, thank you.”

But as he reaches for the bottle, Jooheon grabs it from you. “Yah, that’s for Changkyunnie,” he scolds you, and turns to stuff it in a startled Changkyun’s hands.

Both you and Bang Chan stare for a moment. “Uh, I gave Changkyun water already…?” you say.

“He’s sick, he needs to drink more. But you know what?” he says to Chan. “You can have this.”

He plunges his free hand into your jacket pocket. You shy away on instinct, but he’s already got what he wants: your Stray Kids lightstick.

He holds it out to Chan and says, “For you.”

Bang Chan stares some more, puzzled grin frozen on his face.

“Ah, hang on a moment, Jooheon-ssi,” you say with a nervous laugh. “I don’t think Chan-ssi wants his own lightstick — ”

Jooheon’s hand glides across your ass, shutting you up effectively, before reaching out to grab Bang Chan’s wrist with force. “Here you go, Bang Chan-ssi,” he says, and slaps the lightstick into Chan’s hand.

“Ah,” Chan says, one hundred percent bemused. “Right.”

Just as you’re about to die from the awkwardness, the sound engineers finally get to Bang Chan, and his attention is pulled away. One of the staff takes the lightstick from him as another begins setting up the mic.

“Monsta X, this way please,” someone else calls. And like that, Jooheon’s gone, off to do idol-ish things with the rest of his members.

You stand in the middle of the suddenly-empty hall for a good minute, bewildered, before you finally regain your senses and head back to the dressing room. Sheesh.

At 1:30 am, the show’s over. The ice and velvet and lights are all gone, and the Monsta X dressing room is empty save you and one other executive assistant. The two of you are gathering the odds and ends that the crew has left behind when the door opens and Jooheon enters.

You look at each other; no one speaks. You don’t know what he’s doing back here by himself, you don’t know if he’s still mad at you, and at this point you’re a little too tired to care.

“Eonni, I’m going to move this stuff to the van,” you say to the other EA, and brush past Jooheon to carry your box of things out the door.

You get to the company car and begin wedging in the box alongside all the others. Footsteps make you look around to find Jooheon approaching. Face expressionless, he leans into the trunk and adds his strength to yours, and together you manage to stuff the box in.

Straightening, you look him over once, but hold your tongue. If he wants to get in trouble by wandering around without his manager, you’re not going to be his parachute. You nudge him away and close the trunk, then lock the car.

As soon as you turn around, Jooheon’s stepping in front of you, a little closer than necessary.

“Noona,” he says, low in his throat.

“You’re talking to me now?” Okay, not the most mature response, but he started it.

From his jacket pocket, he pulls out a Stray Kids lightstick.

You raise your eyebrows at it.

“I got you a new one,” Jooheon says, a little gruffly. “That Bang Chan kid signed it. Just his name.”

You take the lightstick from him and inspect it. Yes, there’s Bang Chan’s signature on one side of the lightstick. Nothing else.

“How did you get this?” you ask, turning it over in your hands.

He grimaces a little. “Staff were handing their lightsticks out. I asked that punk to sign one.”

“You asked him?” Your eyebrows lift higher. “I don’t suppose you managed to apologize while you were at it.”

Jooheon scowls harder. “No. Why would I apologize? I told him to keep his love to himself and never talk to you again.”

Facepalm. “Jooheon-ah, really?”

“He’s my hoobae, he better listen to me.”

What did you expect, honestly. “You know that’s so not necessary. It’s not like I’ll ever see him again — ”

“Yah, noona.” Jooheon steps forward, crowding you against the car. “All men are wolves, don’t you know that?”

You back up prudently and manage a scoff. “Including you?”

“Yeah.” He leans in, tone lowering. “Except I already caught you. So everyone else can stop trying.”

His head angles, his lips part, and you know you’re one second away from making out in the middle of a parking lot at two AM in the morning.

By sheer force of will, you tear your eyes away from his mouth and plant a hand against him to preserve some distance. “Hang on, hang on.”

Jooheon looks down slowly. You realize you’ve got the hand holding the lightstick pressed against his chest, the Stray Kids logo visible against his black shirt.

He looks back at you.

He reaches up, yanks the lightstick from your grasp and lets it drop.

In shock, you watch it plummet to the pavement. “Joo — ”

And then your hands are pinned to the car by your head and he’s kissing and kissing and kissing you, like he wants to be inside you, like he needs you to breathe, like he’d eat you up if only he could. With a weak whimper, you succumb. How can you not? It’s Jooheon. Jooheon.

“Jooheon-ah.” His name slips from your lips breathlessly when he finally releases your mouth to nuzzle into your neck.

“Y/N-noona,” he murmurs back, and the way he says your name into your skin sends a shiver through your body until you’re shuddering. “I love you.”

Oh, Jooheon.

So. You did end up making out in the middle of a parking lot at two AM in the morning, after all.

#jooheon #lee jooheon #monsta x #monsta x fic #jooheon fic #monsta x reader #jooheon x reader #monsta x scenarios #monsta x imagines #jooheon imagines #monsta x fics #eaf original #eaf: jealousy series #eaf writes monsta x

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belshka · 5 years

Text

Complex // JJK (1)

January 16 2019

(y/n)’s POV

The clock strikes 7:00 PM. The soundcheck raffle announcement will be out soon. Why am I so excited? I must have saved the entire planet in my previous life if I got the soundcheck pass. Who am I kidding, the chance is 1 out of what, 35000? This is insane. No, this is madness. This is BTS.

It pops! The announcement post is here! My hands are cold. I saw my section, and.

And my ticket number.

My ticket number.

Should I scream? Shout? Faint? No, I take a seat on my couch. Just sit there, for 5 minutes straight, before I am able to call my friend, to break the news.

January 19 2019

This is it.

I walk into the venue, I can see the stage, and the Love Yourself World Tour banner. This is so unreal. This is massive. In just a matter of minutes I will finally see them! My heart hurts, my stomach hurts, my head hurts, yet I’m numb?

Fuck! I can hear Namjoon says hello from the stage followed by all the screams. As they walk to the extended stage where most of the soundcheck will be, I can’t help but to be mesmerized by every one of them. They’re legit god. Any arguments are invalid. I don’t know how long I’ve been zoning out until a hand shakes my shoulder from behind. “Hey are you okay? Do you need water? The security have water, I can ask for you?” Says a girl behind me. “Oh! Yes yes I’m totally fine, thanks though!” I smile back at her and bring my eyes back to the stage. Have I told you how good Jimin looks? Cause boy he looks so damn good, I actually forgot that my baby is Jungkook. They’re all my babies don’t get me wrong, even when I’m younger than the youngest but they’re still my babies. It’s been all fun and crazy how I’m able to see them like this, without make up, without the fancy clothes (although their casual clothes are still fancy). Until I notice HIM. Jungkook, with his huge ass camera, right in my direction. I -

Wait, why there is a sound of bell ringing? Am I being delusional?

Wow, I think Jungkook’s camera caught my confused and shooked face. I surely will be a meme in the BTS group chat. I try to push the weird feelings aside. You see this is weird, there is no such thing as soulmate bells or red string stuffs, or matching tattoos. I have been reading too much of fan fiction this is driving me crazy. The soundcheck ends and we are all being ushered to get back to our actual queue for the actual concert. I am so so speechless because come on, I just saw BTS! And probably gotta end up being a meme in their group chat. As I walk to find my friends, all I can think of is to call my sister, she’s also queueing but kinda far from me and my friends. “Hello?” “Oh my god, hahaha the stage is super super huge, and fuck!!! They are all so hot, sis omg, this is so unreal, I cant even believe my own eyes!” (I can’t believe my ears either) “Hahaha you had fun?” “Yes! Of course, where are you? Queuing already?” “Yup” “Okay then, I’ll see you inside!” The call ended as I spot my friends. I tell them everything, except my delulu self that heard the bell rings.

Jungkook’s POV

Another concert, another fun day. I can’t wait to see ARMY! Although I am tired from all the practices and flights, but I live for this, for the thrill, most importantly for those smiles. That I surely know are made for us, and because of us. In just a couple minutes I have to go up the stage for a short soundcheck, this is my favorite part of all because I can see them very clearly, the soundcheck was our idea, it is more intimate, although it seems unfair for those who’re not here, but this is the least we can do to get closer to our lovely ARMY. As Namjoon Hyung says hello, the crowd screams back, and I can already feel my lips forming a huge huge smile just knowing that they are here for us. I have my camera with me during every soundcheck, I feel like I have to capture every moment so I wont forget any details. The soundcheck goes well as usual, Hoseok hyung is having a little talk with ARMY as I shoot a video of him, then I move my camera to the crowd. I -

I hear the sound of bell ringing! What?! I cannot help but to find those eyes, and I finally found them, looking straight into my direction. She looks so confused, yet so beautiful. I bet she knows, I just hope she won’t go crazy. But, she closes her eyes and shakes her head. As if she does not want to believe it. I keep my eyes on her for awhile, my camera still recording her area, but I know for sure I have it zoomed in to her. She looks away first. She doesn’t believe in soulmates. I can see her head down for awhile, but I try my best not to look so obvious because I have been taught how to act if by any craziest chance I will find my soulmate like this. Which is to pretend it did not happened. To stay normal. But is it normal to ignore the existence of your soulmate? How soulmate works is weird, I don’t think the world notice it but when it comes to soulmate, you’ll never know. Every body has one, but the process is different, I don’t know about others, but surely mine is the bell.

We’re back at the waiting room, to get everything done, the make up, the script, the hair, outfits, and all. But I am still stuck. Starstruck? Is that the word? I never thought that my soulmate will be a foreigner? And an ARMY? Yes, ARMY. It feels like I’m living the best life. But also the saddest and tragic one, because I can do nothing. In this line of work, I have to stay like this. To give the best out of me. To sacrifice things. I hope in the end it will be worth the wait and sacrifice. “Jungkookieeeeeeeeeeee, why are you so saddddd?” Jin hyung asks from the couch while having his food. “Nothing hyunggggggg, just sleepy” I say as I walk into his direction and take a seat beside him. “Yah, be honest. Are you really sleepy or you found the one?” Jin hyung whispers. I can only look him in his eyes and hoping that he can read me. “Ayeeee I knew it. Which section?” He asks again. “Right side.” “Our right side or their right side?” “Ours.”

During the opening speech I try so hard to spot her, but I cant. The lights are blinding, and the size of the venue is not helping at all. I keep taking off my in ear just to talk to Jin hyung, praying that maybe he can help me spot her. As we’re about to sing Magic Shop, this is my chance to actually look for her in the pit so I walk slowly to the right stage while scanning the crowd, and I almost burst out laughing because I can see her running from nowhere into the back barricade. She’s something else. I look at her few seconds and I can see her very clearly because she is just by the barricade with her Army Bomb and her phone obviously recording ME. So I took my chance to go a little closer and I can see her friend slaps her right arm and screams something that I can’t really hear. But she’s unbothered. She’s so focus that I can tell her phone is not recording properly. Gosh she’s so funny, I can’t help but let a small giggle out while I shake my head, and walk back to the main stage. I can see her during Euphoria, I can’t really focus. She does not has her phone, I don’t know if she’s crying or not but she is standing in between her friends who are hugging her. It’s a beautiful view. Euphoria is the last time I saw her. Jin hyung spotted her during medley and Run. I’m so desperate to see her, this is my last chance. I keep on getting to the right side of the stage just to find her, until Anpanman, I can see her! I CAN SEE HER! I am so excited I can not contain my smile, I keep on dancing and hanging around the area. Last, it hits me during the closing, Answer : Love Myself, I have my in ear off and just so sad that this may be my last time seeing her. I try fight back my tears, I don’t think I sing properly, I hope no one notice. As we all walk back to the main stage, I look everywhere in her section hoping that I can see her for the last last time, shit I can’t see her. After the final bow I still give it a try, I walk a little bit to the extended stage but I still can not find her. I give up, giving my last smile before I walk off stage. And there my tears fall freely, I sit by the stairs to calm myself down because this is all too much, I have to fly to another country, leaving her, without any information. Without her knowing that I am her soulmate. My heart breaks even more, until Jimin hyung come to me and comfort me. He is truly the fairy. “Its okay Jungkookieeee, the chance will come sooner or later. You are soulmate, you’ll end up with each other. So don’t worry okay, you’ll find her. We will find her. Okay? Don’t cry, besides you did very good today!” All I can do is to let out some sniffles as we both walk back to the waiting room to meet the others for concert photo.

(y/n)’s POV

The pit is crazy, I decided to stay at the back so it will be easier for me to run around to wherever Jungkook is heading. Bitch be running wherever her bias is heading, that bitch is me. Oh fuck, this is my song. Magic Shop, I literally scream each and every word out of my lungs. When I realize where Jungkook is heading, I literally run for my life to the back barricade and thank God it’s still empty. His legs ugh, he is sweating like crazy it makes him glow even more. I have my useless Army Bomb with me, and my phone, trying to record and capture Jungkook as much as I can because who knows, this may be my first and last. But luck was not on my side, I forgot to press record. I cannot scream, but Jungkook is too close, he is too close and my friend fucking slapped my arm. I could not careless all I see is him, too close, too close. Jesus bless my pure soul cause Jungkook just giggled? Why is he so funny.

Before the concert, days before the concert. I did my research very well, I know the whole setlist and where will they perform it. The stage and all so I know right after Just Dance, will be Euphoria at the main stage. I kinda make my way towards the stage with my two friends. “hey (y/f/n), can you please record the whole performance because I don’t think I can record it..” With that being said, the lights dim a little and I can hear the intro. I got goosebumps all over my body, I can’t believe that I finally able to see it live. Woah my body will collapse soon, my tears start to fall very quick. My friends notice and laugh but they have me in between them. Most of the time I stay at the back because I want to focus on the performance, plus I’m super tired I have not eaten anything yet today so I was at the back with water from the security. But I gained my energy back during medley and encore. Anpanman! Oh my god, I can see Jungkook again! Very clear because he is always on our side. I recorded his little cute dance. The 2 hours concert feels like a minute, they are at the extended stage for Answer : Love Myself, but boy is holding back tears. I feel a pang in my heart, and my lungs are lacking of oxygen. It hurts, my eyes are burning. I know this song will always have that effect on me but I don’t know that it will be like this. They walk back to the main stage for the final final bow, I smile through my tears and when the lights bout to turn off, Jungkook walk back a little for another goodbye while scanning through the crowd. This boy, he loves army that much. He smiles before it turns completely dark and the lights back without the boys on stage. I stay for some pictures with my friends, and my sister.

I say nothing about my weird feelings and the sound of the bell cause what kind of a crazy and delusional fan am I. So while waiting for the crowd to die down a little, I sit on the grass outside the venue while looking through my videos briefly, talking about the concert. The crowd somewhere goes crazy because apparently BTS is leaving for their hotel, but I could not careless because heck I’ve spent my entire day standing and waiting, I need to sit and rest my legs. And my crazy heart.

January 20 2019

Jungkook’s POV

Today is my last day here and I have no chance to explore because I have to fly back to Seoul.

(y/n)’s POV

Today is my last day here, I explore and shop a bit at the city before heading to the airport because I have to fly back home. Thank you (country), for the unforgettable night.

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haruine · 5 years

Text

DAY6 GRAVITY in JAKARTA // 30.11.2019

OH. MY. GOSH.

Best concert ever. Period.

I just wanted to share with you guys about my experience going to GRAVITYinJKT, it was truly amazing that I still suffer from my PCD until now. It’s not that severe but believe me, whenever I heard Best Part playing accidentally on my playlist I would go sksdkddjs and try hard not to scream lmao.

So, first of all, I will tell you the background story of why I chose to attend their concert. Well, it was because I’m very curious how cool is their live performance. I watched a lot of YT videos about them and read many MyDay (and non-MyDay)’s comments about seeing their live performance. At the same time, I have just joined the fandom and falling in love with their songs day-by-day. I’m still a 5-months old baby MyDay now hehe.

When I saw their tour announcement on Twitter, at first I was like ‘oh wow they’ll go on their 2nd world tour’ but then idek why I was willing to go and watch them. Really, my decision was out of the blue. Then I introduced DAY6 to one of my close friends by watching their videos on her YT lol. Initially, she said that the songs are good and catchy, but some days later she texted me that she watched DAY6′s MVs, her bias is YoungK, and she even listened to their songs regularly. I was surprised, and even more shooketh when she finally said “you said that you wanna go to their concert, right? let’s go to their concert, shall we?”

The night before departure to JKT

On Thursday night (November 28th), I read on Twitter that the boys had arrived at Jakarta. My heart was beating so fast, remembering that tomorrow I will go to Jakarta and on Saturday I’ll see them.

Departure to JKT

After the whole stressing weeks (yes November was that month), on November 29th me and my friend flew to Jakarta by plane. My friends who knew that I’ll watch DAY6 said have fun and gave their warmest greetings to DAY6. Around 5 pm, we reached Jakarta and head off to our hotel.

D-DAY GRAVITYinJKT

We woke up at 6.30 am (if I’m not mistaken lol), respectively took a shower, applied make-ups and did our hair nicely even though no one would look at us haha. Afterward, we checked our belongings and went to the venue to get our wristbands. At the venue, we finally met our senior from college and she introduced another senior from my college that just graduated. We greet each other and stick together until we got our wristbands and went to get lunch at the nearest mall.

Around 2.45 pm, the three of us got back from the mall and entered the gate to take our queue number. Why only three of us that went back? Bcs the other one was from the yellow section, and at the mall, we met our junior from college that also watch DAY6 in the yellow section. With that, she decided to went back with my junior when the gate is opened for their section. (the three of us were from the blue b section)

After we got our queue number, we queued for the photo spot and made friends with 3 MyDays. They were chill and fun to talk to, and our queue numbers were in sequence. By that, we decided to always stick together until the end of the concert and didn’t forget to follow each other’s social media accounts. While waiting, it was raining so hard. Until finally my section got to enter the venue first, and I was really excited.

6 of us stood in front of the extended stage and we were standing beside each other. When the time strikes 6.57, the opening VCR played and every MyDay screamed. The moving screen opened and there stood five men, holding their own instruments, that I’ve been waiting to see for 3 months. Best Part opened the concert, and I couldn’t do anything besides screaming, literally. I love the song.

I jumped freely and sang their songs on top of my lungs like I have nothing to worry about. I remembered Jae saying that we should take our stress off our life first when we attend their concert to enjoy the whole event, so I kept that in mind throughout the concert.

Until when it came to them performing on extended stage, I couldn’t stop saying ‘oh gosh’ when they walked towards it. And what made me even happier was,

Jae noticed me.

Yes.

Park Jae-hyung from DAY6 noticed me.

However, I forgot to record it bcs it was so sudden :”””). Jae was squatting in the extended stage to greet MyDays, and when his eyes were locked with mine, I immediately waved my right hand at him and said ‘Jae, hi!’ while smiling so wide. Jae smiled back and waved his hands at me, I still remember him mouthing ‘hi hello’ and I couldn’t stop smiling. After he mouthed ‘hi hello’ and waved at me, he waved at other MyDays.

It was beyond my expectations that DAY6 is so kind to MyDays and their performance was sooo amazing to witness. I cried when YoungK said this on his ment,

“Honestly, with that much energy, I think you -- each one of you -- will be able to achieve whatever you want. Whatever you want in life.”

Literally, I choked up and couldn’t hold my tears. Remembering that before I came to see them, they’re my motivation to do well in college, until now they still are. Then he told us to made a pinky promise with him, he said:

“Even though I said this a lot, please promise me to always be happy and stay healthy until we meet again.”

Anddd my tears were back again when Sungjin said this on his ment,

“I trust you guys, so you guys trust yourself. Bahagia dan sehat selalu, ya.” (= always be happy and healthy, okay.)

I truly felt the sincerity in their ments, but mostly YoungK and Sungjin’s that hit my heart the hardest. What made me happier was when Wonpil suggested MyDay to sing, he said that he got two songs in mind but he forgot the lyrics so he played the notes. Guess what? He played When You Love Someone first, and the second is I Smile. YoungK asked MyDays what song that we wanted to sing first.

Since I Smile is my most favorite, I energetically waved 2 fingers and saw that other MyDays were waving their 2 fingers too. YoungK said "I see a lot of peace signs *chuckling* okay then, number 2 it is!" so Wonpil started the song immediately. After singing I Smile, he played When You Love Someone. My friend aww-ed, bcs that is her favorite song.

Even Wonpil tricked MyDays with singing JYP’s You’re The One, but we still sang it anyway. Then after he said he was joking, he started out I’m Serious. MyDays singing it with him. At the beginning, they were saying let’s make tonight a festival, and it was really a festival.

If I describe how they are when seen in person... Jae, he was lanky and he has that cute baby face, Sungjin looked handsome + dashing and he’s funny omg, YoungK is what Indonesian MyDays called gembul, which means chubby in a cute way, and his smile is so captivating!

Wonpil is indeed looked like a prince, he’s that soft and uwu, and his solo stage is my #1 among the 5 solo stages. Dowoon? He! Babie! He’s so adorable I can’t, when he sang on Wanna Go Back and Get Lucky I can’t stop squealing over his voice like for real. When he talked also screams uwu, I laughed when he fist-bumped YoungK and said “come on, come on, hit the beat” >.<

After the concert, the promotor prepared freebies for us, that is, a DAY6 postcard. I got YoungK originally, then my friend found a MyDay who willed to exchange her Dowoon postcard for my YoungK postcard. (...you know who my heart belongs to guys hahaha)

I had a lot of fun at the concert. Even though I cried when I saw on the D2 of the concert the boys went down from the stage (yeah I’m such a crybaby bcs of that lol), I still feel grateful and happy bcs I went to see them.

Sometimes it’s true, experience is a lot more worthy than anything else. If you miss a valuable opportunity (when in fact you can achieve it), the next opportunity may be different from what you expect. We can’t predict what will happen in our future, right?

If you guys were asking me, did you ever feel any regret about choosing to go to DAY6′s concert? The answer is: no, absolutely not. I’m proud that I can afford myself a ticket and accommodation with my own savings. Also, I’m sooo glad that I joined the MyDay fandom, this fandom is literally filled with kind people and they’re fun to be with.

And if you guys were also asking me, will you attend their next concert? The answer is: yes, certainly, without a doubt.

#day6 day6gravity day6gravityinjkt experience gravityinjakarta #myday

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ephrampettaline · 5 years

Photo

chatzy autumn fair log with @ephrampettaline, @freddiewatts, @ianncardero, @mayaparker, and @scarlettxruby

Maya walked through the autumn festival with Hermes still by her side. Aside from that first night at carnival, things had been pretty calm. Although she was still a little on edge. But she was determined to have fun, which explained why she was already two drinks in. She had just bought another one when she spotted a chalkboard sign for a hayride. "Oh shit," she glanced down at the husky at her side, "What do you say? Hayride time?"

Ephram watched as the couple behind him in line peeled away for some reason, conferring intensely between themselves as they left the hayride area; he caught sight of Maya waiting behind them, and said, "Oh, hey! Or should I say hay?" Ephram chortled, despite the fact that this joke didn't really translate well out loud.

Maya looked up at the sound of someone calling out to her. Or at least calling out in her general direction. It took her a second to register the joke. Her brow briefly furrowed. Hermes stood by her side, watching Ephram carefully. "Oh," she said, shaking her hand and taking a step forward, "Hay as in hayride. Sorry, I've caught up."

Ephram scratched his elbow, saying, "Aaaaaah, it was corny, I don't blame you. But at least you'll probly get on this trip, though, now that those folks moseyed off for whatever. Let's hope it ain't because they know somethang that we don't, eh?"

Maya shrugged. She didn't mind corny jokes. But he was right that the homophone pun hadn't come across immediately when spoken. She took a sip of her hot toddy and nodded. "Yeah, think I will," she agreed before adding, "Assuming they let dogs on." Glancing in the direction of the couple, she shrugged, "Nah, they were 'not fighting' about something else." She put heavy air quotes around not fighting. She hadn't been eavesdropping on purpose, but voices carried in the chilly fall air. It had been kind of hard not to.

Ephram himself had a bright pink travel mug of hazelnut hot chocolate -- pay one price and it would refill itself automatically so long as you were on the fairgrounds -- and he drank deeply from it, bound and determined to get his money's worth. "Of course they'll let dogs on! In this town? They'd find themselves slapped with a discrimination suit if they din't allow animals of any and all form."

Maya had to give him that. With so many familiars about, it would be hard to refuse animals on any ride. "True," she said, "Forgot it was Soapberry for a second there."

Ephram looked at her curiously at that statement. Historically, his asking Maya any questions about herself hadn't gone well, but ... things changed, right? So he ventured, "...you been ruminating on other places to be lately?"

The furrow in Maya's brow returned. "Have I what?" she asked, genuinely not understanding the question.

Ephram gestured vaguely with his cup. "I dunno, just ... you said you forgot it was Soapberry. In the middle of the Autumn Fair's a pretty hard place to forget you're in Soapberry, is all." Considering all the Soapberry-grade shenanigans going on everywhere they looked.

Maya shook her head. While she had been thinking about returning to New York or maybe just moving somewhere else entirely, she and Ephram were hardly close enough that she would mention that. "I just lived the first twenty four years of my life in places where pets were just pets," she explained, "I'm still not quite in the Soapberry state of mind."

Ephram nodded politely. "Ah, gotcha. It's different for me. I mean I lived thirty years in the Outworld not knowin' bout magical stuff but I sucked up all this Soapberry state of affairs like a sponge in a bucket. Funny how that works."

Maya considered before replying, "Probably just depends on the person. I've never really been the soak it up like a sponge kind of person." She nodded towards the growing space between Ephram and the line in front of him. The next cart had been loaded up and trundled off, leaving Ephram at the front of the line.

Ephram obligingly moved up, wondering aloud, "Do they got more'n one cart? Or do we gotta wait until that one finishes its route and dumps them people off first? I mean I been on hayrides, but those times was always just the one cart. Small town style."

Maya wasn't sure if Ephram was really asking her or not. Hermes had followed them up and was now watching the crowd to their right. It seemed he had smelled them. "I've seen two different drivers, so they probably got two different carts," she offered, "Although it could've just been the other guy went on break."

Ruby had left the petting zoo with a pocketful of something small and fluffy. She thought it might be a chinchilla, but she wasn't sure. She was sure that it liked churros. Which she was currently feeding into the pocket of her hoodie as she moved towards the line for the hayride.

Hermes barked once in greeting. Maya's head whipped to see what he was barking at, almost spilling her drink as she did so. Every one of her muscles tensed, ready either to run or to fight. But then she spotted Ruby walking towards them. Relaxing, she smiled, "Hey Ruby."

Ephram lifted his pink cup at Ruby too in greeting. "Hey-ooo!"

Ruby looked up from feeding her pocket to wave at the others. She gave Hermes a pat on the head as she came over, offering the dog a piece of the churro if he wanted it. Her hoodie pouch wiggled, and Ruby gave it more food before it fell still again. "What kinda hayride they got goin'?" she asked, realizing there didn't seem to be many other waiting. "Not haunted is it?"

Maya tilted her head a little as she caught Ruby looking up from her pocket. Hermes wandered over, having long since decided that Ruby was a friend. He snapped up the offered churro. "I think just a regular one," Maya replied, "From what I heard tonight's more about cozy than spooky. Gotta let people calm down a little before the main event, you know?"

Ephram sipped at his hot chocolate. "Are they gonna turn it haunted after?"

Oh. Well, okay then. Don't really feel up to anythin' scary." Ruby fed a bit more churro to Hermes and to her pocket - apparently the churro kept slowly renewing itself - before frowning a bit. "What's the main event? And you think they will?" she asked as an addition to Ephram's question.

Maya found herself distracted again by Ruby's pocket. Her eyes narrowed a little, but she said nothing. Not yet at least. "Assuming you mean the main event tonight, it's a bonfire," she said instead and with a shrug she said, "And I think its shutting down for the night after that." She took another sip of her drink. Glancing down at Hermes, she mouthed, "What's she got in there?" Hermes just looked up at her, wearing a dog's smile. Maya shook her head, clearly the husky was easily bribed

Ephram hung back a little, watching Maya and her dog and Ruby and her pocket animal without much interest. He'd already spent an afternoon at the fair with Ciara and the other witch being distracted by Molly and the gitturns; it seemed like everybody was surrounding themselves with pets lately. Ephram pondered to himself if it was a feature of small-town osmosis, or some new stranger Soapberry thingamajiggy.

Freddie, having left Ollie chatting with Marita Cooper, caught sight of his husband across the fairground - big blond yeti-boys were hard to miss - and made his way over to the queue his sweetheart was standing in; smiling and chatting and glad-handing his way up through the waiting crowd until he came to a stop behind his darling and slipped his hands into Ephram's pockets. "Hello, love", he said, "What are we in line for?"

"So no, I guess, to properly answer your question," Maya said, "I think it's not supposed to be haunted after."

Ephram extended a leg to tap the sign with his toe, summarily having to hustle to lean forward and prevent it from falling over. "Whoops," he huffed, rubbing his nose in momentary contrition before bumping against Freddie. "Hayride, to answer your question. And a not-haunted hayride at that! You ever been on one?"

"Never in my life," Freddie said, "What do we do? If anything."

Ruby liked bonfires, and made a mental note to try and make it out. She was about to say something to Maya when her pocket gave a might wriggle and the little chinchilla leapt out and onto the ground, darting away and into the crowd. "Shit," Ruby said to herself, giving a hasty wave goodbye as she darted after it into the crowd.

Ephram handed Freddie his hot chocolate. "Hazelnut," he said by way of explanation, and then, "we sit in the cart, on a bunch of hay, while they drive us around. Hey, Maya -- d'you know if there's any special sights or anythang? On the ride?"

"Um, hi," Maya said, "And nah, you just sit and..." She weighed her next phrase before saying, "I mean, in high school we just made out so." She offered a shrug. As far as Ephram's question, she answered, "I only know what's on the sign." She turned her head as Ruby darted off. At least the small chinchilla, as far as she could tell, running off explained what Ruby'd had in her pocket.

Freddie took Ephram's cup and sipped his rather nice hot chocolate before wrinkling his nose at the lacklustre report on an activity apparently worth queuing up for. "We just sit in a pile of hay?" he asked, "Why? And where are they driving us?"

Ephram hummed. "Maybe you missed the 'making out' part of the explanation," he teased, before shaking his head. A public Soapberry event wasn't exactly Ephram's preferred place for making out, especially as the sheriff. "It's a thing to do! At fall fairs and whatnot." He looked around for one of the Carnival volunteers in their flashing green vests, hailing one and asking, "Anything special about this hayride? Afore we commit ourselves to it for twenty minutes."

Freddie pouted for a moment, knowing his husband well enough to know that he likely wasn't going to be doing any making out here amongst Soapberry's family fun contingent. "My arse is going to freeze off, isn't it?" he grumbled. "I'll need to glamour us a blanket."

Maya nodded as Freddie didn't acknowledge her greeting. She took another sip of her hot toddy. As Ephram asked if there was anything particularly special about this hayride, she listened, curious. The attendant grinned, "Of course there is. But if I tell you that'd ruin the surprise." Maya had to laugh at the over the top salesmanship of the attendant. "Alright, well that sells me," she said before climbing up on the cart with Hermes.

Ephram pointed at the attendant, looking at Freddie. "See? There's some specialness on the ride! Come on, there'll be blankets provided, I'm sure. It's a ride, not a trip to market to try and sell Pa's turnip crop." He thanked the attendant and shoved Freddie towards the cart. "You two've met, right? Maya this is Freddie, Freddie this is Maya. Just in case." Ephram grinned and settled down into the hay as well.

Freddie smiled, extending a hand to Maya, even as he laughed and playfully nudged Ephram back. "Maya," he said, "-hello, love. I'm sorry I didn't say hello sooner; it was just that your name had escaped me and I was hoping it would come back to me. How are you?"

Maya shook Freddie's hand, not entirely believing him. In her opinion, it seemed like a pretty flimsy excuse. But she wasn't about to make any indication she thought so. Instead she shrugged, "Can't complain. And you? Other than the not being overly excited about hayrides." She draped a blanket over herself and Hermes, making them comfortable as the cart started off.

Ephram tended to blanket tucking-in for Freddie and himself before taking his hot chocolate back. "This hayride's gonna change your mind on em, jes you wait and see!" he declared, despite having no evidence to back him up just yet.

"I'm wonderful," Freddie said with a warm grin. "I mean, I'd be more excited about the hayride if the making out like teenagers bit was still on the table," he teased, tickling Ephram a little as he settled into the hay beside him, "-but I'm up for anything, me. And it's a lovely night, so as long as I'm kept warm, " he paused, poking at Ephram, " - that bit's on you, sunshine - I think it might be fun."

Ephram moved closer to Freddie, wrapping an arm around his husband's shoulders. "One six-foot-two hot water bottle comin' up," he said, kissing Freddie's cheek.

Freddie grinned, leaning into the kiss. "Well, there," he said, "-now I'm already having fun."

Maya scratched behind Hermes' ears. She glanced behind them, having thought she heard rustle in the woods. But Hermes was calm and she didn't see anything. She brought her attention back. "At the very least, we should be able to see the stars out here," she said, casting her gaze upwards. The light pollution wasn't nearly as bad as New York, but even just the festival had drowned out some of them.

Ephram leaned back somewhat so he could properly stare up at the night sky. "Did you know that Soapberry has impermanent constellations?" he said. "Yeah! They show up like once every three months or somethang, a couple at a time." He lifted one arm to point, fingers describing a crescent shape. "The one right now looks like a wedge of orange. At least it does to me."

Freddie shot a little burst of fairy dust up into the sky over their heads, giving the impression of animating the constellation - the wedge of orange joining another collection of fruit to form a Carmen Miranda headdress for Cassiopeia. "Is this cheating?" he asked, "Or are we allowed to participate in the stargazing?"

A smile crept over Maya's face. She'd always like stargazing. A long time ago she used to do it with her parents from the top of Salem's lighthouse. The far away pinpricks of light reminded her that, in the grand scheme, she was small. "I think you can only cheat if there's competition involved," she replied.

Ephram crowed over Maya's comment. "I like that!" he declared. "That's a good definition. I wish I had an orange now, though. Good game, good game," Ephram said, slapping imaginary hands like it was the precursor to being handed post-match orange wedges by his little league coach.

Freddie leaned a little closer into the warmth of Ephram's body. "So what else has everyone been up today?" he asked, "Ollie and I have done rather a lot of wandering, but we haven't committed to too many activities yet."

Maya kept watching the sky pass. Partially because she enjoyed it and partially to avoid the third wheel feeling she was 95% sure she'd have if she focused inside the cart. She shrugged, "Some painting at the bakery, nothing terribly exciting." But thinking again that she heard something, she glanced behind herself into the dark woods. There was nothing. She must be hearing things. She wrapped her blanket a little tighter around herself before turning Ephram, waiting for his answer.

Ephram asked, "The bakery?" before scratching his chin in thought about what he wanted to report. "I wanted to get my face painted, but there was like an entire school fulla kids in front of me at the stall," he bemoaned his luck. "So I just did some bobbing for candy apples. I think they was candy apples. I wasn't allowed to keep the one I got!"

"Two questions, sweetheart," Freddie said with a smile, "First, what would you have had painted if you could, and second, why couldn't you keep your apple?" He turned to Maya then. "What bakery is that, love? Anything we'd know?"

"HEAD'S UP --" Iann yelled suddenly from above the slowly trundling hayride. He was half-clinging to a speeding broomstick, that was giving off sparks from the sweeping end. Iann and the broom crashed right into the hay, the cart tipping and rocking from the impact, hay tumbling everywhere. Not just that, but the sparks from the broom also caught on the dry hay, which easily and gleefully lit up as the magical cart slowed to a halt, sensing its demise. Iann went tumbling ass over tea kettle through the field, still trying to control the spasming broom.

Ephram yelped, "Jesus Christ!!" and immediately shoved Freddie, Maya, and her dog out of the stopped cart, grabbing a blanket to slap at the flames.

"Oh, sorry, I'm opening a bakery with Tuah," Maya explained. Having worked on it for months, it seemed like common knowledge to her. But of course she'd really only talked about it with friends. She was about to explain that she was working on a mural when her attention was grabbed by someone shouting. As Iann made impact, Maya barely managed to leap off before it tipped over. Hermes too jumped off. "Shit," she swore under her breath as the cart caught fire.

Iann threw himself on the wild broomstick, trying to stop it as he yelled to the other three. "It's - like - a - bucking - bronto - " No wait, that wasn't right. "Bronco! Broncoooo-oo-o- whoa whoaaaa broom whoa!!" Somehow, the broom didn't seem to obey Iann's instructions.

Freddie once he'd gotten his bearings again, sent a stream of fairy dust to surround the broomstick, glamouring it into a toothpick. "There we are," he said, smirking at his friend, "Try not to get a splinter, darling."

Ephram finished slapping out the flames with the help of a burst of silver-green magic that ate up all the oxygen around the flames, forcing them to snuff out with a resounding bang that rang in their ears for a few moments. "Dammit, Cardero!" he bawled at Iann. "Where the hell did you even get that thing?"

Maya watched as the broom tried to buck Iann off before Freddie turned it into a toothpick. "Jesus Iann, you okay?" she asked. She realized belatedly that she'd spilled her drink on herself while jumping off the cart. Luckily, there was going to be a bonfire later. She looked for Hermes, who came trotting up to her from the other side of the cart.

Iann was still laying on top of the broom when Freddie glamoured it, and so Iann could still feel the tiny thing magically bucking under him which ended up just sort of giving the impression that he was...well, humping a random rotten field potato. He shot Freddie a glare. Damn cheeky fairies. "Oh much better now, Didi!!" Rolling onto his back, Iann finally just gave up, and released the toothpick, which went zooming up into the night sky. "Okay see you bye." He looked over at Ephram, and the fiery mess he'd caused, and grinned. "There's a place giving broomstick rides for kids. I just sorta....amped up the juice on mine. Just a bit."

Ephram leaned over and slapped at Iann's hair with the singed blanket. "Goddamnit. You wrecked up the hayride cart! They're gonna take it outta your ass, these Carnival folks don't joke around with destroyin' their property."

Maya had to laugh. Of course, Iann had amped up a child's broomstick. She turned her attention though to the cart. It was indeed ruined. At least it was just hay, she supposed. Well, hay and wood.

"And how exactly did you manage that?" Freddie asked, caught somewhere between exasperation and fondness. "Do I even want to know?"

"I got this charm..." Iann started explaining to Freddie, giving Maya a nod to say he was okay. At least he thought he was. He reached up to catch the blanket that Ephram whapped him with, but then gulped hard, turning sweaty and pale immediately. "Oh. Shit. I think I dislocated my shoulder...fuck, shit, god-fucking-fuckity-dammit it, ow ow ow..." Iann rolled forward, gingerly holding his arm. "Okay, who's the lucky duck who gets to pull it right again?"

Ephram grunted, kneeling down next to Iann and reaching for his shoulder before pausing and looking up at Freddie. "Actually," he said, "probly Freddie should do it. Iffen you want your shoulder popped back in painless, that is."

"I got you," Maya said, "Give it here." She had put more than a few shoulders right in her day and now that she knew about her literally magic touch she could help with some of the pain too. She knelt and took hold of his arm. "Ready? On three. One...two," she popped it into place

Freddie would never stop wondering why so many witches eschew fairy healing for their own less-capable varieties, but to each their own. At least Iann's shoulder was fixed again.

Ephram sat back on the grass, secretly sort of pleased with this outcome. Iann deserved a little bit of discomfort for shenanigans. "Oh, shoot," he said as brightly-glowing green vests began to make their way out into the field. "Here come the volunteers. And it's a hayride, Cardero -- you best hope they don't got pitchforks."

Iann groaned and landed face down on the field when Maya popped his shoulder. "Ohhhhhhh god that feels good and awful at the same time," he said, voice full of dirt. He looked up when Ephram mentioned the green-vests, and gave a weak one-shouldered shrug, reaching out to be helped up. "You're the Sheriff - surely I'm in company that keeps the pitchfork crowd at bay, am I right?" Iann looked around, then looked at Freddie, stricken. "Where's Ollie?" His gaze slid towards the burned hay and side-turned cart.

Ephram grunted again, somewhat mollified that at least Iann showed concern for the possibility of Ollie having been hurt. "I reckon I might could tell em it was an accident," he started to say, before suddenly leaping up to his feet in shock, shouting, "My hot chocolate!!" and loping back to the burnt cart to locate his unending hot chocolate pouring out into a sticky puddle under a charred heap of hay.

Freddie followed Iann's gaze - and his train of thought - over to the decimated hay cart, and pulled a mock affronted and horrified face. "Excuse you," he said, "-but he's not bloody trapped in there! I'd have expired by now, if he had. He's having an apple cider with a mate of his. I'm to meet him later at the pumpkin contest."

"Doesn't it always?" Maya agreed. Having never experienced it, she didn't think about fairy healing. Just that Iann needed someone to pop his shoulder back in and she seemed like the best person at the time. "I've got like couple of ibuprofen worth of magic, but Ephram's right," she added. Her attention turned towards the approaching volunteers. Considering they were with the sheriff, it didn't worry her. "You do owe me a hot toddy though," she said as Ephram scooped up his hot chocolate, "I didn't spring for the self-fill upgrade."

Iann was ready to go diving into the hay to save Ollie, but was immediately distracted by the idea of Ollie having his own friends. Which Freddie had informed him of before; but honestly, every time it came up, it delighted Iann as if it was the first time hearing it. "What contest?" He looked over at the helpful volunteers, and pointed an accusing finger. "It exploded on its own! You guys should really make sure these things aren't hazardous, safety first. Think of the children - god, won't someone please think of the children." Iann tutted at the green-vests, before haughtily nodded at Maya and then Freddie. "I agree Freddie, we absolutely will not be directing our guests to the hay ride tomorrow night. Let's go now that our inspection's over."

"I put your shoulder back into your socket, I can take it out," Maya jokingly threatened as Iann referred to her as a child.

"The talent show," Freddie said before Iann was off on a tangent, distracting the poor volunteers from his own misadventures - and dragging Freddie right along into his mess. The fairy turned to the green-vests apologetically. "He gets a bit disoriented at night," he told them, "They call it sundowning. So don't mind him, yeah? We'll be recommending the entire carnival to our guests."

Ephram handed off his seared pink travel mug to Freddie, making imploring eyes-- "can you fix it, honey, please?" before nodding along with Freddie's swiftly-performed damage control, straightening and holding his arms out to herd the green-vests away from the little group. "It's fine, no harm done," Ephram said briskly. "Might wanna look into who gets their hands on those broomstick rides, though, huh?"

Iann looked innocent, if soil-stained, as Freddie and Ephram both did damage control with the politely confused (but quite used to seeing disasters and putting out fires - both literally and figuratively. Oh, the life of a volunteer) volunteers, who went to attend to the toppled hay cart. "I just realized that thing isn't actually drawn by anything," Iann murmured, noticing there was no horses attached, or tractor. He looked at Maya. "Who owes you a drink? I do, or Pettaline? Pettaline, right?" He nodded about the talent show, and then he had to ask, "Is Ollie in the talent show?"

Freddie took Ephram's mug and gave it a quick once-over - the replenishing magic was fae, so he didn't see any harm in applying a little dust of his own and glamouring it back to the way it had been before Iann Knieval had crash landed. "Here, love," he said, watching as it refilled itself, "Good as new."

"No," Freddie said, "-it's for pumpkins. People have made those horrifying pumpkinhead creatures from Return to Oz, and the talent show is for them. Ol and I are just going to watch."

Iann huffed on Freddie's behalf. "Just watch? They should've asked you and Ollie to be judges. You're esteemed members of Soapberry society and all that!"

Maya let them handle the green vests. It was usually better to let other people talk to authority. "Ephram didn't make me jump off my cart and spill three quarters of a hot toddy, soooooooo."

Ephram took his mug back with a pleased buzz, only to have it turn into a whine of protest. "I loved that pumpkinhead guy from Return to Oz!" he protested. "Him and the moose were the best. And no, Cardero, I don't owe nobody nothin' except maybe you a cuff in the head." He nodded enthusiastically at Maya's correction of Iann's willful misconception. "See?"

"Apparently we made the shortlist," Freddie said, shooting Iann a smirk, "-but Nutkin's a judge and he got us blackballed."

"Listen, I already got whapped by you in the head with a flea-infested horse blanket," Iann said as he started to distance himself from the burning ruined hayride. He glanced at Maya. "And okay then, hot toddy it is. If only to...make you stop saying 'hot toddy'. Sounds like we're in a ski lodge or something." Iann halted though as Freddie broke the news, staring in utter shock. "That fucking Bugle editor?! Oh Freddie...Freddie, that's my fault," Iann said it in a generous, magnanimous way, as if everyone didn't already know who's fault it was that Nutkin had its vendetta. "I should write a apology to that little peanut-brain..." A scathing, ranting, apology full of vitriol.

Freddie laughed, slipping his hand into Ephram's. "Oh, I think you've done enough, darling. Don't you?"

Maya laughed, "You know I have to keep saying it now, right?" She had no intention of following through or of really holding him to buy a drink. But it was kind of funny. She didn't know anything about this Nutkin, but evidentaly no one was a fan. "Sounds like you'd rather write him a strongly worded letter," she commented, "I know some strong words if you need them."

Ephram took his husband's hand, squeezing it and tugging Freddie in closer, not having forgotten his mandate to share the heat he tended to radiate in all seasons. "You watch yourself, Cardero," Ephram said, just a teensy bit nastily since he knew where he was heading with this comment: "Maya here's startin' a bakery with Tuah, so if you don't play nice with her you'll find another place you're blackballed from."

"I've written that little bugger plenty..." Which was precisely why Stonefruit Inn was in the semi-predicament it was in already. He cast Freddie another apologetic glance, pushing his hands into his pockets as they strolled out of the field, back towards where the food stalls were. "Ohhhh ah ahaha, yeah if I get blackballed from their bakery, it wouldn't be by Maya's doing. I haven't been performing very well on the ex front," Iann said with a wistful grin, and another half-shrug, not particularly minding Ephram's little jibe. It was genuine and inadvertently accurate, and for Iann that was what mattered. "But who knows. Maybe we'll be back on good terms by the time the place opens though, hm?"

Maya laughed again, "Yeah you probably got plenty on that one." Even with Tuah as her business partner and all her friends support her, she still felt nervous about the whole thing. "But, I think Tuah's too nice to ban anyone and I'm too interested in getting rich to not take anyone's money," she added. The first part was true and the second clearly a joke.

Ephram returned Iann's half-shrug, his spurt of meanness nullified by Iann's good-natured acceptance. Ephram couldn't stay poking at somebody -- even Iann -- in the face of such openness. "After the painting's done, I reckon?" he speculated, looking at Maya to say yay or nay on when the place was opening. He drank from his mug and remarked, "--that Nutkin feller's mighty hard to shut up. Although at least lately he's stopped referring to me as Typhoid Billy."

Iann grunted noncommittally about Tuah, pulling out his wallet when they got to the stall featuring all manner of cheery fall-related beverages. Some cold, some hot, all special in some way of course. "Well you're a married man now, it would be gauche or something, I guess," Iann said, squinting at the menu board. "Okay a hot toddy for you, and - what'd you have Pettaline? Hot chocolate? Spiked or not?"

Maya smiled and nodded, "Yes please."

"Oh, no, I'm fine -- mine's self-refilling." Ephram nursed it thoughtfully. "I reckon if Nutkin's stopped jabbin' at me it's got somethang to do with me bein' Sheriff now, not whether or not I'm married. The Bugle don't seem overly concerned with gauche."

Iann got himself a coffee - just normal, no funny business, Iann instructed the server - and handed Maya her hot toddy. "So what you're saying is..." Iann said, just as thoughtfully. "Is that if someone finds some reason for our esteemed Editor to be liable for...oh I don't know. Slander or libel or - oh! - harassment, then the Sheriff's Department can intervene on the injured citizen's behalf?" Because if there was anything better than skirting around the law, it was exploiting the law.

Maya took her new drink, still smiling, "Thank you." She took a sip, feeling immediately warmed by it. "Don't you have to like lawyer up for that?" she asked although she didn't really know. Plus things worked differently here in Soapberry anyway.

Ephram hemmed and hawwed a little bit before answering. "Well, yeah," he said, "but you'll have a hard time proving true ill intent. I mean it ain't harmed the Stonefruit any, the feud you'ns got going, and the Bugle's got free speech on their side. Even in Soapberry, some things still stand."

Iann blustered an imitation of Ephram, Kentucky accent and all, as he danced his arms op and down, frowning sternly, "Oh even - even in Soapberry, oh, hm, some things still stay-yand." Really, he just sounded like Jeff Goldblum with a bad Kentucky accent.

Maya took a sip of her drink and chose to stay out of this one.

Ephram sipped his drink too, placidly; Freddie, after giving Iann a bit of a stern look, said, “And on that note, loves, I’d best see what Ollie’s up to. If I’m late and he misses the pumpkin judging I’m in for a bollocksing.” The fairy gave Ephram a kiss, lingering a little, before saying his goodbyes to Maya and Iann and setting off.

Ephram cleared his throat and turned to Maya. "So you're obviously handlin' the baking part," he said, "are you'ns gonna be havin' coffee and all that too?"

Maya nodded, "Yep, the whole works. We talked about maybe getting a liquor license too. Nothing better than late night cake and champagne." She couldn't help the almost secret smile that curved her lips as she thought of the last time she'd had cake and champagne.

Iann looked dismayed, giving a short wave of goodbye as he went after Freddie. "Freddie! C'mon man..." he pleaded, disappearing from the sight of Epham and Maya.

"Cain't argue with that," Ephram said, watching Iann bolt off after Freddie. "Well, that must be pretty exciting for you both! A new venture like that, especially with somebody. Not much fun starting new enterprises on your own."

"Well that I've got about seven dollars to my name, so it'd be a bit difficult," Maya replied. She was excited, but most days she was more nervous. And with everything that had been happening lately, she wasn't entirely sure she'd make it to opening day. But she just smiled and took a sip of her drink,

Ephram made a noncommittal sound, not really sure if Maya meant that as a joke or something more serious. "Thought of a name for the place?"

Maya shook her head, "We're still working on it." She took another sip of her drink. "How're things at the station?"

"Good, good. Just signed on a new Deputy, a Joey Voeman, you know him?" Ephram found it best to assume that people hadn't met, rather than the other way around.

Maya nodded, "Yeah, we've met. He seems like a good guy."

"Very good." Ephram opened his mouth to continue, but his phone buzzed, and he checked it, clucking his tongue. "Speaking of which," he said, "I'm gettin' called back to the station for a situation. It was good to see you, though! Send the Department a flyer or somethang when you open the bakery cafe. We're always on the lookout for new places to buy baked stuff from."

"Will do," Maya replied with a wave.

#scarlettxruby #mayaparker #ianncardero #freddiewatts #//minor edit from chatzy log #//wasn't happy with what i wrote for freddie's exit line #//sorry!

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elizaviento · 6 years

Text

Assimilation (part 12/23)

Note: Some more smutty goodness for ya along with a healthy dose of angst. Enjoy!

NSFW -- 3150 words

(FYI: Additional chapters of Assimilation can be found in the Rick Fic Masterpost link in my blog description. Or, you can click the #assimilation tag in this post, within my blog, to access all additional chapters.)

*****

After I left the garage, I spent the remainder of the night lying on the trundle bed – staring at the ceiling while a steady stream of tears leaked from my eyes, down the sides of my face to soak into my hair. Every now and again, I would wipe them away but mostly I let them fall. I could hear the sounds of my family moving about in the house but I couldn’t bring myself to get up and join them. As much as I tried to comfort Morty earlier, I wasn’t very good at doing so with myself.

I felt guilty. How could I have tried to completely erase Chris from my life? It wasn’t possible; a fool’s errand. And, that’s exactly what I was – a fool. No one had ever loved me as much as he did and I doubted anyone ever would. And, what did I do? I betrayed his memory. I only hoped that my counterpart appreciated her husband more than I did mine. I’d find out sooner or later, though, once I got my hands on those goggles.

My life had become one giant cluster fuck made worse by the fact that I allowed myself to fall into an affair with someone I had no business even entertaining the possibility with. Was I strong enough to tell Rick that this couldn’t continue? Could I resist him if he came on to me again? No, probably not. Why did I ask him to recount our time on Unity’s planet? What exactly was my end game with that little request? I obviously hadn’t recovered all of the memories of my assimilation but what did I gain by learning the rest from Rick’s point of view? Most likely, he’d give me a watered down version; downplay any expectations he had or advances he’d made. I couldn’t even blame him because that’s exactly what I would do if the tables were turned. He had no clue I wasn’t myself so the humiliation he probably felt upon discovering otherwise must have been intense. Not to mention, the betrayal associated with such manipulation.

I was so deep inside my own head that I was startled by the knock on my ‘bed room’ door. It was Morty, wondering if I was okay. I lied to him, of course.

“I told Mom and – and Dad that you’re – that y-y-you aren’t feeling well,” he informed, his voice muffled as it carried through the pressed wood. I thanked him and told him to go enjoy his evening. I’d be fine, really.

At about 2:30 am, I got up to use the toilet and when I returned, I found the inter-dimensional goggles hanging from the door knob with a sticky note attached that simply read “D-79”. Feeling my heart rate increase, I snatched them up and locked the door behind me even though there was absolutely no movement in the house. I felt like a teenager about to sneak watch porn; like I was about to do something dirty. Perhaps it was dirty to spy on someone else’s life. However, as I had told Rick earlier – I didn’t give a shit.

Luckily, the controls on the goggles were pretty self-explanatory. There was a power button, a select button, a play button, a fast forward button, and a rewind button. A rewind button? The idea that I could rewind the life of my counterpart was almost unbelievable. Almost, because the idea of inter-dimensional goggles was unbelievable in the first place, yet here they were in my hands. After taking a deep breath, I pressed the power button and slipped them over my head.

I assumed that I would have to locate the dimension I needed since Rick made sure to indicate it on the sticky note, but it was already queued up – based on the tiny display at the bottom – and was playing live, right in front of my eyes. Well, it would have been if my counterpart wasn’t obviously asleep. All I could see in this moment was the back of her eyelids. Of course, she’d be sleeping at 2:30 in the morning. I felt like a moron – until I remembered the rewind button.

Without removing the goggles, I ran my hand along the outside until my fingers felt the indentation of the two backward facing arrows and pressed. Images began to flash in front of my eyes at lighting speed and I made myself wait for twenty seconds before locating and pressing the play button. It seemed like those twenty seconds sent me back to about mid-day in dimension D-79. As the images began to play back at normal speed, I was amazed at how it seemed like I had assumed my counterpart’s body instead of just watching through a pair of goggles. She was at work; the same place I had worked before moving away which surprised me, for some reason. Regardless, this wasn’t what I wanted to see, so I pressed the fast forward button for about five seconds and pressed play once more.

----------

I walk through the front door of my house and immediately kick my shoes off, sending them flying across the foyer. It was a long day at work and I just want to peel the rest of my work clothes off and drink wine until I fall asleep on the couch watching MSNBC. I hear my phone chirp and pull it from my bag to see a new voicemail from Chris. He never leaves me voicemail — preferring instead to text — so I know it has to be something important.

“Hey, babe. I’m leaving for my shift now. I don’t know if you still plan to go over to Beth and Jerry’s for dinner tonight but I’ll try to call you when I have a break. Something weird happened today that I need to tell you about.”

Shit, I forgot it was Wednesday. No wine and MSNBC for me after all. We always eat at Beth and Jerry’s on Wednesday but I’ll make sure to let them know I’m expecting a call from Chris so Jerry doesn’t get pissy if I step away from table to take it. Especially since Chris doesn’t usually work the night shifts but has been recently to fill in for a co-worker out on leave. Truth be told, I’m still paranoid of Chris working nights after that guy stabbed him. He nearly died and was in the hospital for a month. I really don’t think I could live through something like that again.

It’s 5:30 pm now so I should make my way over so I can help Beth. I wonder what weird thing happened that Chris felt the need to call me about. My gut twists at what I hope he doesn’t say when I hear from him later tonight. Trying to forget about it, I change into my favorite jeans and a t-shirt before making my way next door. I let myself in and say hi to Jerry and the kids as I head to the kitchen, where I know I’ll find Beth.

“Hello, Bethany, my love. What do you need help with?” I notice that the door leading to the garage is open so I peak my head inside and also say hi to Rick. He’s sitting at his work station with his back to me and doesn’t turn around but raises one hand in the air to greet me, which is typical.

“Can you set the table?” Beth asks before adding, “Chris still working nights?”

“Yes, for a little while longer.” I see Rick turn around on his stool from the corner of my eye.

“I – uh – I’ll come help ya, Chicken,” Rick says as he makes his way into the kitchen.

“Aw, thanks, Dad” Beth says, placing a hand on his shoulder as he passes by her and saddles up next to me as I’m pulling dishes from the cabinets. He doesn’t need to stand this close to get to the silverware drawer and I throw him a glance. He smirks and but doesn’t move away. When I have all the dishes I need, I make my way to the dining room with Rick on my heels.

The kids are already sitting at the table. Summer is tapping away on her phone, as usual, and Morty is reading a book that was assigned to him in his English class. There is a jacket cover on the book so I ask, “Lord of the Flies?”

“1984,” he replies, placing the book on the table with a sigh.

“Also good,” I confirm, placing glasses and plates at each sitting. Rick is close behind with the cutlery.

“I-I-I can’t pay attention – concentrate on it long enough to know w-w-what’s going on,” he says, sighing again. He look so dejected.

“I can explain it to you, kiddo.”

“No, he needs to read it and understand it on his own,” Jerry interjects as he enters the dining room and takes his place at the table.

“Don’t pretend she didn’t have to read – explain it to you, Jerry,” Rick spits. I throw him another glace as I’m really not in the mood to hear them bicker throughout dinner.

“Jer, I may need to step away and answer a call from Chris while we’re eating. He said he needs to tell me about something weird that happened today.”

“Oh, y-y-you mean when he was practically fuckin’ – dry humping an alternate version of you in the driveway?” Rick mentions, his tone casual.

“Excuse me?” I ask with a laugh before the expression on his face confirms that he’s not joking. “Wait… what?”

“That – t-t-that’s not what happened, Rick,” Morty says, rolling his eyes. “Some other Rick and Morty showed up here, probably to s-steal from us like we were doing.”

“And, they had an alternate version of me with them?”

“Yeah,” Morty says. “It was weird though ‘cause she was hugging Chris.”

I glace at Rick and he shrugs his shoulders. “I ran – chased them off. You’re welcome.”

I take Morty’s lead and roll my eyes. Rick can be such an ass.

Dinner is uneventful, thank god. I check my phone a few times but Chris doesn’t call. I do get a text from him right before I’m about to leave that says, “No time to talk. Not a big deal though. See you in the morning.”

It’s 8:00 pm now and I’m exhausted but I can still enjoy some wine and catch the remainder of my favorite political shows, which excites me. I then realize how boring I must be to become excited over cheap wine and politics. Suddenly, I hear the whirl of a portal opening behind me and I turn to catch Rick as he steps through before it pops out of existence. I don’t have time to open my mouth to speak before he closes the distance between us, places his large hand on my mouth and shoves me against the wall. He’s already hard and I wonder for how long as he places a gentle love bite to the junction between my neck and shoulder.

“Mmm, I-I-I know you want this cock, baby,” he says, grinding it against my thigh.

Then, he removes his hand so I can reply. “What took you so long?”

Now, positioning both hands on the small of my back, he glides them down to cup my ass before hoisting me up. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck as he carries me down the hall to the master bedroom. When we reach the bed, he gently sits me down on the edge. As he straightens, I’m already unbuckling his belt, my mouth is watering. It takes mere seconds to get his pants and briefs around his ankles and my mouth around his cock.

“Ah, fuuuck. T-t-that’s nice, sweetheart.”

He rakes his fingers through my hair before gripping at the scalp. I flick my eyes up to meet his and hold contact as I blow him, taking him as far down my throat as possible – just how he likes.

“Christ, you know how to suck a dick,” he encourages as he uses the grip on my scalp to bob my head on his length. I let my mouth fill with saliva as he fucks my face and it begins to slip out and roll down my chin to the expensive Persian rug below. I paid way too much for that rug but can’t give a fuck about it now.

Far too soon for my liking, Rick pulls his dick from my mouth to command, “Strip. Bend over. Palms flat on the mattress.”

Of course, I comply – pulling my clothes off as fast as I can – and soon, he’s rubbing the head of his cock up and down my slick cunt. I moan and fist my hands into the comforter when I feel him slowly press his way inside. But, suddenly he stops and pulls back.

“What the fuck?” I whine, looking over my shoulder at him. I guess he’s decided to be a tease.

“I wanna put – stick it in your ass tonight, sweet girl. Pound t-t-that ass ‘til you cry. Would you like that?”

“Oh, yesss,” I hiss, turning to face forward again, lying my upper body on the mattress while he retrieves the lube from the night stand beside my bed. I watch as he strips the remainder of his clothing while he’s on his way back to his position behind me and a moment later, I feel the cool substance drip down the crack of my ass. It makes me shiver and giggle.

“Shit, you – y-you’re fucking sexy,” he growls, rubbing his callused palms down the curve of my ass before spreading my cheeks wide. When he gently presses a thumb over and inside my puckered entrance, I groan at the intrusion but I know it’s nothing compared to what he has in store for me. He then removes his thumb and replaces it with an index finger, then a middle finger. The stretch is amazing and now I’m panting, dying for his cock. Of course, he takes notice and chuckles.

“You’re ready now, huh?”

He doesn’t wait for my reply before positioning his cock and pressing forward. I cry out and press my face to the mattress when he breaches the ring of muscle and pops inside. Then, he stops to rubs his hands up my ass cheeks until he reaches my waist and continues forward slowly toward my tits, his cock sliding deeper inside. When he finally reaches my nipples – rolling them between his fingers – he’s fully seated inside my ass and my pussy is already aching.

With his chest resting against my back, he whisper in my ear, “Don’t y-y-you dare touch your clit until I say so.” Then, he straightens, grips my hips, slowly pulls nearly all the way out and then presses all the way back in even slower. He continues at this pace for what seems like an eternity – until I’m losing my mind and begging him to speed up.

“Oh god, Rick, please!”

“Please what, baby?” he asks while slowly pressing back in. Yes, tonight he’s going to tease.

“Go faster! Please! Just fuck me already!”

“Mmm, you – you sure?” Slowly dragging out.

Too overwhelmed to reply with words, I sob and press my face to the mattress once more. He has apparently decided he’s teased me enough, however, because the next thing I know, he’s quickening his pace. I cry out in gratitude; sparks of pain and pleasure radiate through my lower half and my pussy is clenching, dying to be filled.

“Rick,” I groan, “Please… fuck my pussy with your fingers.”

“Is she – is she feelin’ lonely, huh?” he asks, sliding them up my slit. “Fuck, you’re dripping.” Finally relenting, he pushes them inside, hooking to effortlessly locate my g-spot and press rhythmically, in time with his thrusts.

“Oh my god…” I continue to sob as tears prick my eyes. He’s going to make me cry, just like he promised.

“Who makes you feel this good, sweet girl?”

“Oh fuck! Just you!”

“Rub that clit for me. I w-wanna feel it – feel you squeeze my dick and my fingers. Do it, baby.”

I snake an arm down my body and the moment the pads of my fingers make contact with my swollen clit, I cum. It’s so sudden and intense and I can feel my entire body tremble with the force of it; my cunt and ass clinch in time as Rick sings my praise –

“Oh fuuuck – oh Christ, that’s it baby you – you’re g-g-gonna make me fuckin’ cum!”

He leans over again to grip my shoulders, ramming my entire body back, impaling me on his dick. Then he groans and collapses on top of me as he fills me up.

Soon, I feel him going flaccid inside me and my stomach rolls with guilt. The afterglow is always so short.

“You should leave now,” I say, feeling desperate to get him off and out of me.

He doesn’t reply. As he peels his body from mine, I feel him slip from my ass along with what feels like a gallon of his cum. My stomach rolls again. I rise from the bed and stand, pulling my robe from the back of the closet door and watch as he hastily gets dressed. A moment later, he’s shooting a portal at my bedroom wall.

“Yeah. See ya,” he says, stepping through.

----------

I removed the goggles with shaky hands. Holy shit. She was fucking Rick and obviously had been for a while. She was cheating on Chris and didn’t even have the decency to use one of the guest bedrooms. Was that the life I would be living right now if my Chris hadn’t been killed? Would I have Chris but not appreciate him to the point that I’d have an affair with Rick? My entire life, I thought I was a good person; that I tried my best to do the right things. It had all been bullshit.

The thought occurred to me that there are multiple versions of me who are currently banging a Rick. I could scan through dimensions and find out how many of my counterparts are so fucking ungrateful of their loving husbands that they willingly fall into the arms of Rick Sanchez. I could torture myself with it all night long. All week long. All year long. Until the day I fucking croak.

Rick had warned me that this was a bad idea. Did he know? What an idiotic question. Of course – of course – he knew.

To be continued…

P.S. A huge thank you to @porkchop-ao3 for letting me borrow her inter-dimensional goggle technology tweaks from her amazing story Someone Else’s Shoes, which you can find under her Ao3 account username PorkChop.

#rick and morty #rick sanchez x reader #rick sanchez #fanfiction #assimilation #sister smith series

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thestudyof5sos · 6 years

Text

When Uber Becomes Tinder (tinder!Ashton) - part 2

When Uber Meets Tinder, by @larryologymajor Read Part 1 here.

Part 2: Friday.

Ember awoke Friday morning feeling refreshed. From bed, she blindly swooshed aside the black out window curtain in her bedroom. Although Ember couldn't clearly see anything, she scrunched her eyes shut at the sudden influx of sunlight that signaled the end of the snow storm. She rolled over to grab her glasses of the night stand and climbed her way out of bed. Peeping through the window shade in her bedroom, Ember admired the sun glistening off the snow like tiny diamonds crystallized on the ground. Quietly she stepped into her fuzzy slippers and snagged her robe that was draped over the headboard of her bed. She picked up her phone and slid it into her robe pocket then made her way into the kitchen where she blindly stabbed at the power button of her Keurig. Her eyes refused to focus. Clearly Ember needed her daily boost of caffeine.

Ember grabbed her favorite coffee mug from the cabinet, not caring that the words were long faded and the rim had a weathered chip in it. Her best friend, Anna, had given it to her many birthdays ago and, although they lived states apart, drinking from that cup somehow made her feel like they were in the same room together sharing their favorite blend and laughing like old times.

After Ember sucked down her first cup of coffee, she stretched out on the couch and turned her attention to her phone. She vaguely recalled receiving that lost item text last night from Uber, so she chuckled as she again read the words her flirtatious passenger had written. Ember admired Ashton's courage to send it, but damn she was confused.

In her two years of driving Uber, that text was by far the most interesting thing that had happened to her and it was certainly her first fake "I forgot something" aka "let's hook up" message. Curiosity was on Ember's mind and she wanted to know more about this guy. Ember reached over to grab her laptop from the shelf under the coffee table and powered it on. Once it booted, Ember opened two tabs in her browser: Google and Facebook.

Ember first typed Ashton's phone number into Google but didn't really find any interesting hits. Next she typed his phone number into the Facebook search box. The results popped up and after scanning the names and tiny picture thumbnails, Ember silently cheered when she located a match to what she was looking for.

She clicked on the thumbnail of Ashton's smiling face. Her mind was a complete whirlwind of disbelief as she read through his profile. Ashton Irwin. Music/Band. 5 Seconds of Summer. Drummer. World Tour. 415,000 likes. Billboard #1.

Ember closed her eyes and shuddered from head to toe. She gently closed her laptop and reached over to pet her kitten who was curled up next to her, lightly snoring. "Who is this kid??" she asked out loud to no one, although her kitten rolled over and blinked an eye in her direction.

Ember spent the next several hours on her couch, in pajamas, surfing the internet. She was convinced that she had gone to the end of YouTube and back learning everything she could about Ashton Irwin, the hot young Australian with a quirky personality from a famous pop rock band. Ember sat on her couch grinning. How did she become so enamored? Ha, wait. She knew that answer. His performer personality was sparkling, smile wide and bursting with pride over his work and band mates, eyes bright, and laughter loud. God, she didn't really know the guy but she was in love with his laughter. She wondered if his real-life personality was anything like his stage persona.

Her head was throbbing from staring at her computer screen, so she shut it down and grabbed her phone. She opened up Spottily and queued up a 5 Seconds of Summer playlist. Ember walked to the bathroom and tossed her phone on the counter commanding her Amazon Echo Dot to take over playing the Spotify list. She gulped down a few ibuprofen to mitigate her headache and eye strain before stripping off her pajamas; then Ember jumped in the tub to take a relaxing bubble bath.

Forty-five minutes later, Ember was out of the shower and changing into clean clothes. She laughed to herself as the song "She Looks So Perfect" poured out from the Echo Dot in her bathroom. Standing there in her underwear, she settled on her favorite dark wash skinny jeans and super soft maroon Henley. Ember loved how the three delicate snaps on the front crept from her cleavage to collarbone to accentuated her breasts without flaunting them.

Ember's stomach growled and she realized it was nearly dinner time already. She skipped breakfast in favor of coffee, and she was much to occupied with her Ashton reconnaissance to eat lunch. She rifled through her freezer until she pulled out a frozen dinner.

When the dinner tray was in the oven, Ember returned her attention to her phone again, internally debating if she should message Ashton back. She reasoned with herself that she should message him back in case he was going to be cranky and report to Uber that she stole something he lost. Ember clicked open a new text message and carefully composed a message: Hi, this is Ember from Uber. Sorry you 'forgot' something in my car last night. ;) It was a pleasure chatting with you during your rides, hope you have a great day!

Less than a minute later, Ember's phone dinged with a reply. Her fingers shook nervously as she unlocked her phone.

Ashton: Hey. lol I wish I could have gotten it back last night ;) hope your day has been good!

Ember's heart raced. Was he trying to flirt with her? She quickly tapped out a reply: I put my phone on do not disturb and went straight to bed. I'm too old to stay out late haha.

Again, another reply from Ashton: Lol understandable but I wouldn't say all that.

Ember was baffled beyond belief; she quickly shot back a reply: Why's that?

Seconds later, Ashton replied: Age doesn't mean anything.

She was confused. So so confused. But she put on a brave face and silently thanked all of her friends in the undergraduate program for her keeping her young during grad school. Quickly she tapped out another reply: Definitely not. I'm a firm believer that you're only as old as you think you are.

Several long minutes went by, and Ember's oven timer sounded, letting her know that her frozen dinner was ready. She was pulling it out of the oven when she heard her phone ding, vibrating in place on the couch. She peeled away the foil cover to let it cool for a few minutes before returning to the phone. Ashton agreed with her theory.

Ashton: Exactly, that's a great belief to have.

She read Ashton's latest reply and let the conversation quietly die.

The rest of her afternoon was business as usual. Homework, laundry, errands. She was in a great mood and almost ready to login to her Uber app. She grabbed her jacket and shuffled down the hallway and out to her SUV. She drove over to the gas station across the street where she needed to top off her gas tank, wash her windows, and grab her customary Diet Coke.

Within a minute of logging into her Uber app, Ember was off to her first pickup of the night. It was Friday night and business was hopping! Several hours went by but Ember didn't even notice because the back-to-back pickups kept her busy. 10:30pm rolled around and the app was quieting down. Ember took advantage of the lull and pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant open 24/7 to sneak in and use the bathroom.

As she approached her car, her phone dinged, signaling a new text. It was Ashton: Driving tonight?

Ember wasn't sure what to say, so she tapped out: Yes

Ashton: Lol I just ordered one, wish it was you.

Ember rolled to a stop at a red light and quickly replied, feeling brave: Cancel?

Ashton fired back: They just pulled up....

Ember spotted an empty parking spot and carefully swooped in so she could focus on her phone.

Ember: That's tragic...

Ashton: Wish I could see you

Ember: Where are you heading?

Ashton: Downtown

Ember was at a loss for what to say. She was thinking when her phone dinged again.

Ashton: Don't you want to see me?

Ember: Well..... maybe if I get a drop off downtown I'll message you for your location and stop by to say hello.

Ashton: Just to say hello?

Ember knew she was sliding down a slippery slope, but chatting with this boy was outside her comfort zone and it excited her.

Then without warning she got a pickup request at a bar 15 minutes away from her. Knowing the crowd who patronized that bar, she was probably heading out to the countryside at least 25 minutes from town to drive them home.

As Ember pulled up to the curb at her passengers pickup location, she clicked the button to confirm her arrival. She minimized her Uber app and shot Ashton one last message: Heading to drop someone off out in the country. It'll be at least an hour, maybe longer, until I'm back downtown.

Although it was dark, Ember expertly navigated her way through the countryside with her passengers. A sleepy, and likely inebriated, late 20-something male sat immediately behind her. His female counterpart sat beside him in the back seat. She chatted animatedly with Ember, completely convinced that she and Ember had met before. Finally, Ember pulled into her passengers driveway and put the car in park so the duo could get out safely. Once they were out the car she shifted into reverse and stepped lightly on the gas. Nothing happened. Ember was stuck; her poor SUV was billowing smoke out from the engine. She quickly popped the hood latch and jumped out of the car while her male passenger came running over and they both stared at the engine in disbelief as it spewed an unrecognizable fluid all over the driveway. It was black out and neither of them could tell what was going on with the car. Ember wanted to cry.

The wife urged her to come sit in the kitchen with her while they figured out what to do. Reluctantly, Ember followed her into the house and dialed her roadside assistance hotline. While she waited on hold, she tapped out a message to Ashton: Raincheck on seeing you. My car is acting weird and I'm stuck out in the country waiting for a tow.

Moments later, her phone dinged. It was Ashton: Do you want me to call you an Uber? Ironic, huh...

Meanwhile, Ember was patched through to towing dispatch. "What do you mean you can't get a truck out here to tow me for three hours? It's already 2am! What if I find someone local? Can I pay them myself and submit for reimbursement?" Ember pleaded to the phone. After nodding a few times, she spoke again. "I'd really like to have my Subaru towed to my apartment building until the dealership opens up on Monday morning, then on Monday I'll need to have it towed to Subaru."

Satisfied with their response, Ember promised to call back and cancel the roadside assistance tow when she found someone who could be there sooner then hung up.

Ember wanted to cry again. Tim, her male passenger, chimed in, sobering up slightly. "I'm a mechanic and my buddy lives up the road. He runs a tow company. He owes me a favor and I'd love to drag his ass out of bed. Can I call him for you?"

Grateful, Ember agreed and waited quietly while Tim made a phone call. As Tim spoke to his buddy on the phone, Ember watched Tim nod his head. "Yeah, she drives a Subaru so you'll need something that can pull all-wheel drive."

Tim turned to Ember, "My buddy Dan will be here in about 30 minutes to tow you home. Feel free to hang out downstairs until he gets here."

Ember could have hugged him. "Thank you so much for helping me out, you're a huge lifesaver."

"Ah, it's no problem. You got us home safe. I just wish I was more sober to take a better look under your car," Tim chuckled.

Ember sat back down to call her roadside assistance hotline to cancel their dispatch with the three hour wait. When she hung up, her Snapchat app notified her that she had a new friend request. Ember almost freaked out. The user who added her was @ashton5sos.

She accepted his request and sent him a selfie captioned: Worst night ever. Car is broken. Waiting to be towed home.

Within seconds she had a reply. Ashton sent a selfie back: How about that Uber? ;)

Ember immediately snapped another selfie: lol that's super ironic but I'm going to wait here with my car. I'll probably be home in a few hours.

Ashton was waiting for her snap because his response came back in rapid succession. This time, he was shirtless and the snap showed only his tanned torso and sculpted shoulders... Are you sure? I could make your night a hell of a lot better...

Ember wanted so badly to screen capture that snap, but she knew she'd look like a fool if she did so instead she tried committing it to memory. In that moment she felt too old to be having this sort of conversation with someone so young, yet alone so famous. So she sent her final snap, a shot of her shoes. Sorry buttercup, I'm going home and going to bed.

Ashton shot back another selfie, this time it was his beautiful lips posed in a pout, shadowed by the dim light. Bae? Try me when you get home. I'd love to come over and sleep. Nothing more.

Ember switched over to the chat feature, not knowing what else to snap. Bae? Oh boy, now things are getting serious. I'm much too old for that word.

She watched Ashton's emoji pop up and could see he was typing: Age is just a number, bae. *kissy face emoji*

Ember could see lights in the driveway and hear tires in the snow, so she peered out the window to see that the tow truck had arrived. She and Tim both hurried outside. When the cold winter air hit Ember's face, she clicked open the car locks and grabbed her winter jacket from the driver's seat. It was was icy cold. Why hadn't she thought to bring it in to warm up.

It took nearly 25 minutes to get the Subaru all strapped onto the tow trailer. Ember told Tim thank you, again, and said goodbye as she hopped into the passenger seat of the tow truck.

It was a few minutes past 4 am when the Subaru was unloaded into Ember's parking lot and the tow truck left. She snapped a picture of her disabled car and e-mailed a copy of her receipt to herself. Feeling depressed that she was going to lose out on time driving and she was going to spend all of her rent money to fix her car, Ember trudged her way inside. She quickly undressed, changed into pajamas and fed her kitty.

Right before she crawled into bed, she sent a text to Ashton attached to a picture of her car. Got my car towed back to my apartment okay. Thanks for try to cheer me up tonight... Goodnight!

Ember put her phone on Do Not Disturb and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

READ PART 3.

Thanks for reading! There’s more to come! If you enjoyed this chapter, I would appreciate a reblog please and thanks! <3 I’m also looking for a beta/cheerleader for furture chapters. Message me if you’re interested!

Tags: @mycollectionofnuts, @kaxseychill, @sunnysidesblog Want to be tagged? Let me know!

#5sos fic #ashton fic #ashton irwin fic #5sos #tinder!ahston #larryologyfic #larryologymajor

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