#I always end up spending too long on warmups so I think that defeats the purpose haha oh well! 😅

[chellychuu]

Mami warmup! 💛

[grxvitye]

magic

pairing: wanda maximoff x fem!reader

a/n: this has been sitting in my drafts for too long. I'm sorry for the long wait. mentions of natasha is included in here and filth just filth, i also might have gone overboard with this:)

warnings: smut, vaginal fingering, top/bottom undertones, oral sex (wanda receiving), hints of voyeurism... think that's it tell me if i missed anything

requested: here. (Its long)

words: 3.1k | marvel masterlist | navigation

you do not have my permission to translate nor to repost my writing on any platform. comments, likes and reblogs are always very much appreciated<3

★☆★☆

When you were a kid, you found yourself always being attracted to magic. Something about it makes you think that it’s not all illusions, that a small fraction of it might actually be true. You went to bookstores spending your whole day looking for books that talked about magic. One morning as you were about to walk in the dining room to eat breakfast, you heard your mom and dad talking about magic. It was totally bizarre hearing them talk about it as they passed the topic like a child’s play. You decided to conceal your presence and listen in. “She’s starting to be more curious about magic Dave, you can’t hide it from her any longer” you heard your mother say. Your father defeatedly replied, “Well then I guess it is time to tell her”. Your father called you up and you stared at them. “Honey come and sit, your father has a lot to tell you” your mother gestured to the seat in the middle of the table. You take your seat and your father begins talking. “Honey, we are sorcerers, magicians, if that’s what you’d like to call it.” You jumped out of your seat with joy “I knew it! That’s the reason why I am so interested in magic!” You were disturbed from your little party when your mother said “we are bringing you to Becker Street, you will be trained by Doctor Stephen Strange ''. You packed your clothes immediately and went to Dr. Strange where you got trained.

Months after training, your control over your power grew. You went out to the training grounds when you saw a man dressed in a jacket, in jeans with long blonde hair angrily talking to Strange. You walk over when he exclaims “where is my brother?”. In a surprised motion he told you to scoot over and opened a portal where a man in black came falling. “ I have been falling! for 30 minutes!” the man angrily says emphasising the last few words. Standing up he faced you “is this y/n?” he goes nearer to you, examining each feature of your pale and soft face. “How does he know my name?” you question Strange with a demanding voice. “I’m sorry where are my manners, Y/n, this is Loki”, he gestures to the man fully dressed in black. “And this is Thor,” he says, gesturing to the man in jeans and jacket. Not caring about them, you question him further, “what are they doing here?”. Loki looks at you and says”we’re here for you darling.” Inhaling deeply Doctor Strange starts speaking “ y/n, they are from the avengers, now that you have full control over your power,you should consider joining them.” You stared at him confused “what is this gonna do for me?” “It can help you grow y/n, I've taught you all the things I have learned.” You sighed obviously defeated “Fine, but it’s only just because you told me to”. You grabbed your suitcase and packed your clothes. “Goodbye y/n i’ll be sure to check up on you” Strange hugs you and you proceed to enter the portal along with Loki and Thor.

You arrive in front of a room with a couple of people in it. You see two redheads, who immediately caught your attention but you dismissed it as soon as it entered your mind. You follow Loki and Thor and you walk towards the huddle of people sitting. “Hi you’re y/n?” the redhead says. Uncomfortable with all the attention that you received you replied “um, yeah hi, i’m y/n”. Another man entered the room with a big grin saying “Hi! Look who’s finally here, I'm Sam!” The rest of the team introduced themselves and you hung out with them for the whole day getting to know each other while exchanging a few laughs within each other. While talking to the team you could feel the intense stares of the two redheads. If looks could burn, it was guaranteed the back of your head would’ve been burned off. You try to shake it away by going to the bar when Natasha comes near you and whispers “you could feel it can’t you?” the way she whispered made you feel shivers running down your spine. Stuttering you replied back “wha-what do you mean?” With a chuckle “stop acting innocent kitten i know you can feel it”. With that she left you alone. You drank your drink and went back to your seat. You could almost swear you could see the room spinning so you excused yourself. “Wait!” you heard a rush exclaim and you turned back to see who it was and it was Wanda. “I’ll lead you to your room, you seem like you’re really drunk”. You grin widely and say “well I don’t normally drink like this, it’s a surprise I even lasted this long”. You both laughed and she laid you on your bed and said “y/n if you need me, my room is right next to yours goodnight!” You didn’t get the chance to respond when your eyes closed and you drift away to a dreamless sleep.

★☆★☆

You wake up the next day with a very terrible hangover. You go down and you see Wanda cooking. “Good morning y/n, help yourself” she hands you a plate filled with food. Grateful that you were given some food, you sat down and started to eat right away. “Hey! slow down you might choke right there” she says while laughing. You abruptly stopped laughing when Natasha entered,she looked at you and Wanda and you could feel a pang of guilt as she looked at you with sadness. “Hey Nat, want some food?” you offered hoping she’d take up on your offer. Your kind smile turned into a frown when she declined your offer, “No thanks” she said and left. “Seems like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today” Tony stated as he entered the room grabbing a glass of water. “That’s goodluck to you y/n you’re training with her today”. You were caught off guard and began coughing, “I'm sorry what? training?”Steve enters the room and answers “yes now go get ready, you’re in for a tough ride”. You rushed to your room and changed into your workout clothes. Grabbing your water bottle you head to the training room and you see Natasha warming up. “Hey” you approach her while putting your water bottle on the table. “Come on and warmup” she replied, not even glancing at you. Confused as to why she was acting like this, you confront her “Hey, what’s wrong?”. “Nothing, just focus on warming up, we're starting soon” she stands up and walks away. Just like she requested, you went back to warming up.

After your warm up, she called you to start your training. You stood in front of her but you couldn’t focus as she was out of her catsuit and she was only wearing a sports bra and leggings, and everytime she breathed her firm breasts hung up and down as well. You didn't notice you we're staring until Nat called you out. “see something you like? come on focus, my eyes are here not down there.” she said with a smirk. You immediately avert your eyes to her face. Stammering you say “im- i’m sorry I didn’t mean to stare”. She laughed, “I'm sure you didn’t” she replied sarcastically. Catching you off guard she wiped her feet under yours causing you to fall flat on your butt with a loud “thwack”. “That’s for staring at my breasts too long” Nat immediately extended her hand to help you up but you didn't accept it you had other plans in mind. You stood up abruptly using your hands and started punching in a non rhythmic pattern. She immediately noticed your pattern and in no time was starting to dodge your punches very easily. She scoffed at your petty attempt and started throwing punches as well. Thankfully you were able to dodge most of her punches, when you didn’t it would end up hitting you harshly square in the face. She gave you no time to recover so all you could do was back up and dodge. You didn’t notice that you were near the wall until you felt it hit your back. Natasha gasped for breath and she was inexplicably close. You could feel her breathing near your neck. She took your hands and pinned them to the wall while roughly kissing your neck. You couldn’t stifle a low moan coming out from your lips. You could feel her smirking to your neck, she separated her lips and looked at you while saying “тебе это нравится, не так ли, котенок” (you like that don’t you kitten?). Unable to speak, you nodded frantically. You could feel a pool of wetness and you tried to hide it by crossing your legs but Natasha swiped her finger over your clothed heat and you couldn't stop but let out a small whimper. She pulled away before things could get more messy than it already is. You let out a small cry of desperation and look at her with plain lust filling your mind. “What?” she questioned you. Running off while grabbing your water you shouted “no , nothing absolutely nothing”

Panting, you opened the door to your room. You collapsed to your bed thinking of how you let Natasha easily get to you and how your core immediately reacted to her. You were interrupted from your thoughts when a knock came to your room, so you quickly threw a blanket over your body. “Come in,” you replied. You saw Wanda with her nose all scrunched up. “We’ve got a mission, it’s Hydra”. Your eyes softened as you recalled what they had done to her. “Suit up and head to the quinjet we’re going in 15” With that she left you. You couldn’t get your mind wrapped around that you had a mission- your mind was filled with lust from the previous incident with Natasha. Without thinking of the consequences, you snaked your hands to your needy core and laughed at how wet it is. Not wasting any time, you inserted your finger to your pussy and gasped at how full you felt. You pinched your nipple and you curled your fingers until you felt your orgasm coming. You released a loud gasp before cumming. You didn’t realize that Wanda didn’t actually walk away from your door and she heard what you had been doing. “What a naughty girl” she walked away smirking to herself.

You got up and wiped yourself up, changed into your suit and went to the quinjet. “I will check the perimeters and Steve and Natasha will stay on ground, while Wanda and Y/n will go in and check for any agents we can question and any casualties.” Tony said. You arrive at the Hydra base and you get off the Quinjet. “Y/n follow my lead I know where to go” you hear Wanda say in a hushed voice. You followed her lead and you went into an underground room when you heard a bunch of footsteps creeping up on you. You turn around and you see an agent with a gun aiming it at Wanda. “Wanda!” You push her to the side and you end up taking the bullet while also using your powers to cast the agent down on the floor. Crouching near your body, Wanda carefully picked you up and ran towards Tony and the others. “Y/n is down she needs help” Wanda said while panting. “Take her to the quinjet we will be right at your back” Natasha replied not taking her focus away from the Hydra Agents she was combating at the moment. Wanda ran towards the quinjet carrying you carefully. You and the others returned to the tower and they brought you to medbay. Bruce immediately checked your wound. “How is she?” Natasha and Wanda asked in sync. “Luckily it’s only a small wound, she’d be up in about 30 minutes, I suggest she train lightly in about 2 hours.” Bruce replied while looking at his watch. After resting you got up and went to your room preparing for light training. You trained with Natasha but she only made you sit for almost the entire duration of training. You could only get a few punches in ”You should take a shower and rest, you're stinky” Natasha told you while laughing. Snickering you replied “shut up Romanoff you’re way stinkier than me” you tease her while making your way out of the gym. While making your way to your room you start wondering where Wanda was, as you had seen her last in medbay. You arrived at your room and prepared your clothes and stripped out your sweaty gym clothes. You took your towel and entered your bathroom when you saw Wanda in your bathtub looking at you smirking. What surprised you was that she was naked- in front of you. You were disturbed from your thoughts when she slowly approached you and you stared at her perfectly shaped breasts hanging freely with her fully erect nipple. “Wha-what are you doing? You asked her as she began closing in on you” You could feel your pussy aching, desperately begging to be touched.

“What do you think?” she kissed your neck forcing a sweet moan to come out from your lips. “You like that hmm?” she asked, her voice hoarse from the hotness pooling in her legs. You could only nod in response. “I asked you a question use your big girl words малютка(baby)” she snarled at you harshly. “Yes I- i love it mommy” you couldn’t stop yourself from calling her mommy and you could feel her smirk against your neck. You started to grind your mound against her legs, desperate for release. You drag her hand towards your pussy, you had to let her know how much you craved her touch. “Jesus Christ” she breathed out. “You’re this wet and I barely even touched you” she mocked you. She broke the contact and you let out a desperate cry. “Patience malysh we’ve got a lot of time to ourselves” she said gesturing to the bed. “Bed. Now” she demanded.

You decided to play with fire and crossed your arms “No.” You see her narrow her eyes at you “Y/n. Bed.Now” you smirked more “make me” She carried you to the bed and laid you down “you’re gonna regret being such a brat” You couldn’t contain an excited wail of what she had planned for you. She placed her hands at your hips and slowly kissed your neck down to your breasts. Her lips quickly wrapped around your needy nipple and a moan escaped from your mouth. “Please mommy, I won’t be a brat ever again just please” you begged. “Hmm? what was that? use your words. I don’t know what you want kitten”. She went back to teasing you, getting dangerously close to your pussy. Bucking your hips, you begged “Please mommy, please, please fuck me.”

She rolled her tongue directly at your pussy and you thought you were going to cum right there and then. She circled her tongue and sucked your clit making you arch your back from the intense pleasure you were feeling. She applied more pressure making you moan out loud grabbing her hair towards your pussy urging her to go harder. You gasped as you felt two fingers enter your pussy, you felt so full. “Just like that o-oh please” you begged. You could almost visualize her smirk when she replied “do you want me to go deeper kitten?” You were so deep into the pleasure that you couldn’t form words properly and nodded instead but unfortunately it wasn’t enough for her. “I want to hear you beg baby.” Stuttering you forced yourself to beg “mommy pl-, please go deeper, please” you let out a long moan when she started to go deeper. “Just like that please just like that” you chanted. A few more thrusts you felt your orgasm nearing and you tried so hard not to cum, you didn’t want to show her that you couldn’t last any longer. “I can feel you trying not to cum kitten, let go” she whispered. That command was enough to let go and soon enough your hips were bucking up and down. That was definitely the most intense orgasm you felt throughout your entire life. You slowly started going down from your high when Wanda started to speed up her movements again, this time, adding a third finger. She combined it with flattening her tongue to your clit and flicking through it. She curled her fingers and that sent you over the edge, this time, screaming her name out loud. She lapped your juices and kissed you. “You taste so good.”

“Sit on my face” you grasp her smooth and milky legs guiding her onto your face. You could sense how eager she is when she immediately propped herself on top of you. You could smell her arousal and you started to tease her by giving slow and wet kisses to the sides of her legs, inching closer and closer to where she truly needed you. “Y/n please stop teasing” wanda slowly croaks out. “Hmm, what was that? What do you need?” you say, making her whine. “Please y/n please, just fuck me right now” she said while toying with her nipples” Satisfied that you successfully made Wanda beg, you began to roll your tongue over to Wanda’s pussy. Arching her back, a throaty moan falls from Wanda’s sweet lips which makes you groan sending jolts towards Wanda’s heat. “Oh my god” wanda exclaims with her eyes rolling back to her head. You groan once more when you finally inserted two fingers just to see how easily it slipped in due to how wet she is. You could feel Wanda tensing around your fingers as you pumped harder and harder aiming to hit her sweet spot. She began to grasp your hair, chanting your name like a prayer. “Y/n.y/n.y/n.” You take it as a sign of her being close, you add another finger into her while pumping twice as hard. She was clenching your fingers, you could tell she was really close. You placed your mouth on her clit, torturing the nub and curling your fingers hitting the spot you've been aiming at perfectly. “Ahhh y/n, fuckk” Wanda moans at the intense pleasure you were giving her. You started to pump slower and slower letting Wanda ride her high. Panting, she laid down beside you “i haven’t cum hard like that” she looked at you smiling. You swell with pride at the confession she gave you. You give her a peck while grabbing the sheets to cover yourselves up.

★☆★☆

join my taglist here.

[aomine-ryo]

Hii there...love ur blog.. Thanks for keeping knb tag rolling..i do have some requests...

Sooo whenever you feel like..

Pls consider any of the following..

And yeah Sry for bugging you.. Umm.. But if u do take up any of my request.. It can be like

1)hurt/comfort .. Kise sobbing while boyfriend mine! Is like

"I'm here babe"

2)sickfic..kise collapse due to overwork (modelling/baske) and boyfriend mine takes care of him... Or just a delirious sick Kise with ao taking care of him

♥it can be (1+2) fic as well

Or....

3) Fluff/crack/lemon

Gom have a movie night (or any kind of get together)and Aokise (especially Ao) do a lot of PDA...

Thanku author~san♡loads of love n support.. Waiting in anticipation (●´з`)♡(●´з`)♡(●´з`)♡

Oooh I love all the options ahsjdj I wanna do them all 😭 I’ll do 1+2 for now, but I might do the 3rd one for fun sometime later. I hope you like it!! xx

Scenario: Aomine taking care of an overworked Kise (aokise)

It’d been a while since Aomine had gotten a chance to spend time with Kise. Between modelling, basketball and school, the blonde always had one commitment after the other and it was nearly impossible for Aomine to have him all to himself. It didn’t help that they went to different schools either. However, Kise finally had some free time after a practice game and he chose to spend it with his boyfriend.

Kise suggested that they meet up after his game, but there was no way Aomine was going to miss a basketball match that Kise was playing in- even if it was just a practice match. It would give Aomine the opportunity to see the progress that Kise had made during his practice as well as the ability to just watch him. Aomine would be perfectly content with watching Kise do absolutely nothing for hours, and the ability to watch that model run up and down with his perfect skin glistening with sweat? Yes please.

Aomine got there while the Kaijo team was still warming up and Kise’s face immediately brightened up at the sight of him. He stopped his stretches just to give Aomine an enthusiastic wave, to which he responded with an awkward wave of his own. However, their small moment was quickly cut short by Kasamatsu yelling at Kise to concentrate, making Aomine chuckle as Kise got back to what he was doing. And almost immediately, Aomine noticed that Kise wasn’t putting any weight onto his left ankle. Was his injury back? Once their warmups were over, the blonde wasted no time in running over to Aomine and pouncing onto him and giving him a hug that made him lose his balance for a moment.

“Aomine-cchi! You made it! I haven’t seen you in so long! I missed you,” Kise greeted, voice as cheery as ever.

“Hey, I’ve missed you too, you dumbass,” Aomine smiled, holding onto his waist and giving him a peck on his lips. “Is your ankle okay? It seemed a bit off when you were warming up just now.”

“Huh? Oh that,” Kise remembered the slight ache he felt on his ankle, “it’s nothing, don’t worry about it. Anyways, are you ready to see me absolutely demolish the other team?”

Aomine was very well aware that it wasn’t just ‘nothing’ like Kise said it was, but he didn’t dwell on it too much because he believed that it wouldn’t be too much of an issue since it was just practice. “I know you can beat all those other teams but I know you’ll never beat me,” Aomine teased, sparking the start of their usual back and forths.

The game eventually began and Aomine headed up to the second floor to watch after wishing Kise good luck. As expected, Kaijo dominated the other team with ease. However, that didn’t stop Kise from showing off- Aomine was watching him after all. The amber eyed boy was giving it his all, and Aomine was definitely amused by it, but a small part of him was slightly concerned about Kise going overboard. And just that thought popped into his head, Kise collapsed to the floor all by himself. The game stopped and the coach and a few others rushed to check on him. Of course, Aomine also sprinted onto the court without hesitation.

“What’s wrong?” Aomine questioned as he got there, seeing his red-cheeked and delirious boyfriend on the floor, being held up by the coach.

“He has a fever,” informed Kasamatsu. “Do you mind taking him home and making him get some rest?”

“Home? No!” Kise protested, slurring his words. “I’m fine, I can play more!”

“Don’t worry, I can take him home,” Aomine said, ignoring what Kise had to say.

Aomine took his jacket off and wrapped it around Kise before heaving the blonde onto his back to carry him home.

“You’re such an idiot, you know that?” Aomine scolded as he left the gym while giving Kise a piggyback ride.

“I’m not! I can play more! Put me down,” Kise demanded, on the verge of tears. His body was too weak to put up a struggle though.

“Babe your body is literally trembling right now, you’re not going anywhere,” Aomine said sternly.

Kise’s head rested on Aomine’s shoulder in defeat. Thinking that it was the end of Kise’s ridiculous protests, Aomine continued walking towards his house in silence. However, a few moments later he heard a soft sobbing which sent him into panic mode. Did he just make Kise cry?

“Kise? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

“My ankle hurts,” he cried into Aomine’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, I’ll put some ice on it when we get to my house— we’re not too far, just hold on for a little longer,” Aomine instructed, picking up his pace. In any other situation, Aomine would’ve been teasing him for crying over nothing, but he was fully aware that Kise hadn’t gotten a proper rest in weeks so he didn’t want to test him.

“Aomine-cchi, I let my team down,” he continued sobbing.

“It was just a practice match. It’s fine. Plus those guys will be just fine without you, they’re all strong,” Aomine reassured, gaining only a hum in response as Kise remained silent for the rest of the walk.

They finally got to Aomine’s house, where he helped Kise freshen up and lent him a fresh set of clothes. Even when he was sick he managed to look absolutely stunning to Aomine. Something about the way that his sweater was oversized on Kise’s small body had Aomine’s heart going into overdrive. All he wanted to do was cuddle him and shower him in kisses, but he didn’t because he was aware that Kise didn’t have the energy for that.

Aomine didn’t know how to cook, so he fed Kise some heated up pasta that his mother had left for him in the fridge before tucking him into his bed. Aomine carefully placed a cold towel on Kise’s forehead as well as an ice pack on his ankle.

“Are you comfortable? Do you want me to massage you or something?” Aomine asked.

“I’m fine. It’s just weird because you’re not teasing me or scolding me for once,” Kise said with a weak smile on his face.

Aomine chuckled and shook his head, “Once you feel better you won’t hear the end of my scolding, just you wait,” he threatened jokingly, making Kise giggle. Aomine sat on the floor by the bed and began to softly caress Kise’s warm cheek, making the blonde feel more at ease as his body began to completely relax.

Kise didn’t say anything for a while; all he did was sniffle. “Aomine-cchi,” he spoke again, voice soft as ever.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t go on our date,” he mumbled as his eyelids got heavier.

Amidst all the frenzy, Aomine had completely forgotten that they were meant to be going out until Kise brought it up. “Oh, that’s alright. We can go some other time,” Aomine replied.

“Really?”

“Of course, you weirdo. I’ll always make time for you, just say the word,” Aomine said, “Now I’ll leave you here to get some rest—“

“No!” Kise said quickly, gripping onto Aomine’s hand. “Please stay here with me.”

“My god, you really are a child,” Aomine sighed as he sat back down and returned to caressing Kise’s cheek. As much as he hated to admit it, couldn’t say no to Kise. “Alright I’ll stay.”

“Thank you,” Kise smiled as he closed his eyes. The room became silent after that. After a few moments, Aomine assumed that Kise was asleep but he remained seated there, watching his boyfriend look as beautiful as ever. “Aomine-cchi,” Kise mumbled suddenly, startling him for a moment. “I love you.”

Aomine felt his heart melt as a dorky smile spread across his face, making him glad that Kise’s eyes were shut. “I love you too dummy.”

.

[catsfeminismchocolate]

So much for chivalry

I was going to draw a comic for this but it’s taking too long to get past the super sketchy stage! so.. Soon(TM). It’s not edited or proofread but it was fun to write.

The lumbering Norn crashed his way down the 10 storey tower, wailing as he fell. By the undoubtedly unhelpful railing at the top, stood a tall, fiery-haired woman with her hand over her mouth, a shocked look on her face. 

How did we get here?

It was a rowdy night at the Crow’s Nest, Lion’s Arch recently renovated bar. Perched high atop a spiraling staircase, it was the perfect place for patrons to climb up to the watering hole and be too drunk to crawl back down. Sølvi, at the insistence of her wonderful but pushy friends, had planted herself at one of the more reasonably sized bar tables for her large frame. She was thankful that the multicultural city allowed for multi-sized furniture, but was also more grateful for the appropriately Norn-sized pints the Nest provided. Here she was meant to meet someone who, Sølvi’s friends hoped, would not only not be intimidated by the Commander but also melt the ice around her heart. Or at least give her butterflies. Anything, really. 

The evening began smoothly. Live music set the tone, and not one to shy away from chanting sea shanties, Sølvi sang along. After a thorough warmup of her vocal cords (and several ales to help), she’d relaxed and let her hair down a little. Hopefully, with her tangle of red curls released, and her armour traded for a more casual attire, she wouldn’t be so easily recognised as the Slayer of Dragons (the title of Slayer of Issormir now long forgotten for her more ambitious exploits). Soon enough, the lone woman was accosted. So this is tonight’s handsome prince, she thought. Not too much of an eyesore. He approached her, drink in hand and a charismatic smile on is face. With one swift look up and down, she assessed him: tall (but still a head shorter than her), muscular but soft around the middle, hair partly tied in braids framing his rugged face. The tattoos snaking around his tanned forearms hinted at a nautical life; she could appreciate a sailor’s looks, but wasn’t too keen to put up with a sailor’s idea of flirting - particularly if he’d already downed a few. 

“Why hello, lass. Are you the one Morgana has been telling me about? She wasn’t lying when she said I’d be able to spot you in a crowd,” he said with a gruff voice. “Mind if I join you at this minuscule table?” Sølvi managed a smile — her friends, including the aforementioned Morgana, had told her this would ‘help’ — and motioned for him to join. It wasn’t uncommon for her hair to be the first point of conversation, but she hoped that it wouldn’t be the only one. “Morgana pointed you the right way. What’s your poison?” Sølvi extended her hand and the two grasped forearms. She made a mental note of his dirty fingernails. The man introduced himself as Leopold. He was drinking ale imported from Snowden Drifts’ large (and only) brewery. Not too bad. 

So they conversed, he was kind enough to buy her more drinks and she was fortunate enough that he was so impressed with himself that she did not have to say much about her own accomplishments. ‘The men in LA don’t like to be outdone,’ her friends had told her. There likely wasn’t a man in Tyria Sølvi hadn’t outdone, and she wondered why it was encouraged to spend time with people who were so insecure in themselves they couldn’t handle getting their egos bruised, but she kept the advice in mind and she kept her words to herself. 

Leo seemed to be quite pleased with himself. As the alcohol replaced his blood he grew more jovial, and more bold. So far they’d covered the weather, LA’s transformation, his work, his thoughts on music, and his apparently valuable opinion on beer. Sølvi, on the other end, had slowly but surely tuned out of the conversation. That is, until she was jolted out of her reverie by the surprise of a foot rubbing against her own. More bold indeed.  “So, what do you think of all this Elder Dragon business?” Ah. The dreaded question. She opened her mouth and began to speak but was quickly cutoff by Leo’s abundant expertise. Sølvi retracted her foot. Leo, undeterred, framed the side of her that was open to the rest of the bar with his leg. “I think it’s all a bit of nonsense. Blown up to be a big deal, you know? Zhaitan, Mordresomething and Kraalky. People call them elder dragons, but we - us Norn - know the truth. The only dragon that’s out there that’s big enough to pick a fight is Jormag, and even then, that one’s not all bad.” At this, Sølvi raised a brow. With three dragons killed by her hand, she was curious to know how exactly another one could be ‘not that bad’. “In what way?”Leopold leaned forward in his seat, beer breath becoming uncomfortably close for the woman. “Jormag is quite generous to us fishers. Whenever we go north to the Sound, there’s always plenty to catch.”“You think that’s because of Jormag, not because it’s a mostly untouched area where the Koda work to maintain balance?”He shook his head. “My Captain has spoken to the dragon, struck a deal with them. We are granted safe passage and overflowing nets, and in exchange, all we need to do is carry an effigy of Jormag aboard ship and speak of their good favour.”The alarm bells rang in Sølvi’s mind. This man could be a Son of Svanir, or at least following the orders of one. She downed her pint in preparation to leave — but she did want to ask one more question. “Do you think that the Pact Commander will defeat Jormag?”At this, he guffawed, rocking on his bar stool. Sølvi’s face turned sour. “Of course not, you funny lass. Braham’s the one who chipped the tooth, a task only a good Norn man could possibly achieve. The whole pact commander thing is pish, if you ask me, all a marketing or a diplomacy ploy. They need someone to be a face, so they’ve put that woman up there. Bad news sounds better when it comes from pretty lips.” He leaned forward again, and this time, snaked a hand up her thigh. “Say, you’ve got quite pretty lips too — what do you say, shall I take you back to mine so you can sit on my —”Before he had a chance to finish his unsavoury sentence, Sølvi grabbed his grubby calloused hand and slammed it onto the table, twisting his arm in the process. Leo stammered, drunken mind too slow to comprehend where his charm failed him. With one swift motion Sølvi kicked his chair from underneath him and he fell, knocking his jaw against the wood. She brought his arm behind his back.“Don’t speak to me or Morgana again.” Without a second wasted, the hot-tempered woman picked him up as if he weighed a feather (though the powerful rippling muscles in her arms indicated otherwise), and unceremoniously threw him off the side of the Nest. 

So we have come full circle: a man falling from a tower, and Sølvi at the top, hand over her mouth. Though it was not in shock, but due to the unpleasant realisation that this would undoubtedly be her third strike. Sure enough, a shrieking voice from behind her commanded her to “GET OUT!”. Sølvi finished Leopold’s drink, observing the bar’s stunned silence, and then saluted the band as she made her final exit. She departed to a round of cheers and hoots, and made the most of the commotion by grabbing a bottle of rum off the table of patrons nearby. She would be missed. 

[mikauzoran]

Lukadrien/Lukadrienette Drabble: Nachtmusik Chapter Eleven

A Little Night Music (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) Chapter Eleven: Dies Irae, Dies Illa

“What were you humming just now?” Marinette inquired through a yawn as she took Hugo from Luka, careful to support the baby’s head. “It seemed to calm him down.”

Luka froze. “…Uh…”

He’d been absentmindedly humming a Gregorian chant, the Dies Irae from the requiem mass. Literally, the title meant “day of wrath”, and the lyrics in Latin described the Day of Judgment: ashes and fire and punishment and despair. Not exactly the most age-appropriate lullaby for their four-month-old.

It was quoted in a lot of classical pieces, though, and, thus, currently stuck in Luka’s head.

Not that he wanted to try to explain any of that to his wife at three in the morning.

“Nothing,” he lied but then immediately repented. “It’s just a little snatch of something the Orchestre is playing at an upcoming concert.”

“Teach it to me?” Marinette requested as she got situated in the rocking chair and held Hugo up to her breast to feed him.

“How about we do Bach’s Little Fugue in G Minor instead?” Luka suggested, coming over to give the side of Marinette’s head a kiss. “He likes that one too. That’s the one Adrien always sings to him…when he’s not singing something from a musical or a video game.”

 Luka hummed softly as he gently bounced Hugo, walking him round and round the island in the middle of the kitchen.

“Why are you humming the Dies Irae?” Adrien finally inquired from where he leaned in the doorway watching.

Luka jumped.

Adrien sprang forward to steady his husband and make sure their eight-month-old son was secure in his sling. “Sorry. Sorry. I am so sorry. I thought you knew I was there. I’m so sorry, Luka.”

“It’s…okay,” Luka struggled to get out, breathing ragged.

“You okay, Sweet Prince?” Adrien peeked down at Hugo to find the baby laughing happily.

“Looks like someone enjoys jump scares,” Luka snorted in amusement, leaning in to rest his forehead against Adrien’s.

“Sorry, Orpheus,” Adrien whispered, hands going up to Luka’s cheeks to gently pull him in for a kiss.

Luka hummed contentedly into Adrien’s lips as they waltzed with his own.

“So why the Dies Irae?” Adrien mumbled, back on task the instant they pulled away.

Luka groaned, bouncing Hugo once more. “Not only is the Orchestre doing Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, but I’m also soloist for Liszt’s Totentanz, so that melody is doubly stuck in my head.”

“My poor baby,” Adrien teased.

Luka rolled his eyes.

“I loooove Totentanz,” Adrien chuckled, catching one of Luka’s hands in his own. “Play it for me?”

“Now?” Luka laughed incredulously, shaking his head at his husband’s capriciousness.

“I mean…we’re up anyway, and Hugo seems to enjoy the Dies Irae, so…why not?” Adrien reasoned. “Besides, why did I go to the trouble of marrying a sexy piano virtuoso if I can’t have songs played live on demand at any hour of the night I want them?”

Luka tried not to grin as he tugged Adrien into the front room where they kept Adrien’s old baby grand piano. “You certainly didn’t marry me for my money or my body. I honestly don’t know what you were thinking.”

“I wasn’t thinking.” Adrien shrugged. “I’m so in love with you, I’m not capable of rational thought.”

Luka snickered. “You weren’t capable of rational thought before you fell in love with me.”

“Rude. See if I make babies with you anymore.” Adrien flicked his husband on the cheek before carefully taking Hugo in his sling from Luka.

“Angel,” Luka cajoled, lifting the lid on the piano keys.

Adrien shook his head as he sat on the piano bench. “Nope. Don’t you ‘Angel’ me. I will not be seduced.”

With a shrug of defeat, Luka sat beside Adrien and began a quick warmup.

“You’re not even trying to seduce me,” Adrien pouted. “What’s the big idea here?”

“I thought you wanted me to serenade you with macabre dance of death music about the black plague,” Luka replied with a smirk.

Adrien’s lower lip jutted forward. “Well, yes…but you could at least kiss me first.”

Luka gladly obliged, and when he pulled back, Adrien looked deliriously happy.

Luka grinned, chuckling at Adrien’s expression.

“What?” Adrien pouted, rocking Hugo from side to side.

“I love your smile.”

Luka could just make out a pastel pink blush on Adrien’s cheeks in the dim lighting.

“I love you,” he added.

“I love you too,” Adrien whispered back, scooting closer on the bench to rest his head on Luka’s shoulder. “It’s good to finally just be together and happy, isn’t it?”

“Mm,” Luka agreed, content to sit there with the man he loved and their child for as long as the moment lasted.

That turned out to be about thirty seconds.

After that, Adrien decided that they’d cuddled enough and that it was time for Luka to play piano. “I’ll go ahead and sing the orchestra parts. You play the piano solo.”

 “My baby!” Adrien cooed, eliciting a happy shriek of laughter and an answering, “Daddy!” from sixteen-month-old Hugo.

Hugo reached out his arms, and it was all Gabriel could do to keep a hold on the squirming toddler.

Adrien took his son, covering him with kisses and nuzzles.

Gabriel grinned, putting a polite hand over his mouth as he chuckled.

Plagg and Nooroo shared an amused look before returning to their posts in Adrien’s left and right shoulders respectively.

“How was he? Did he wake you guys a lot?” Adrien smiled up sheepishly at his father.

“Not too bad,” Gabriel replied judiciously. “A little fussy, and he wanted you three, but Nooroo and Plagg helped a lot as far as his homesickness went. Hugo ate just fine and eventually went to sleep after we laid him down last night. He didn’t disturb us too much. Not unreasonably so for sleeping away from home, anyway. You were much, much worse at his age.”

“Good to know,” Adrien snorted, a bright smile breaking out on his lips as he hugged his child to him, bouncing Hugo slightly. “Thank you so much for doing this. Luka and Marinette are super grateful too.”

Gabriel waved the thanks away. “It was no trouble at all. You know how much we enjoy babysitting. Hugo is a joy to spend time with.”

Adrien’s grin widened. “I’m really, really happy to hear you say so.”

Gabriel shrugged. “Nathalie and I would be glad to watch him whenever you need. Tom and Sabine hog him too much, and I’m uncomfortable with you leaving him alone with Anarka.”

Adrien grimaced. “She’s his grandma too, Dad. Play nice.”

Gabriel gave a petulant scoff. “It’s a wonder that Luka managed to raise himself so well with a mother like that Gaelic witch. She thinks she has more right to Hugo than I do.”

Adrien refrained from commenting that Gabriel himself had been a little slow to embrace Hugo as his grandson in the absence of a genetic link. “Well, she’s wrong. Try to be the bigger person when we have a green-eyed baby, okay? Regardless of biological paternity, all kids of this union belong to all three of us equally, so make sure you treat them all the same. Hugo adores you, and I’m sure it would really hurt if you started giving a hypothetical green-eyed sibling preferential treatment.”

“I would never,” Gabriel snorted in disgust, reaching out to stroke Hugo’s thick, dark hair. “He may not be biologically yours, but he’s one hundred percent your son, Adrien.”

Adrien blinked, taken aback by the certainty in his father’s voice. “Really? What makes you say that?”

Gabriel chuckled. “He has your mannerisms. Sometimes he’ll do something that’s obviously Marinette or patently Luka, but, a lot of times, he’ll make a face, and I can tell he got it from watching and mimicking you.”

“Yeah? Like what?” Adrien pressed, excited by this revelation. He had never really thought that Hugo resembled him even though both Marinette and Luka had commented upon it separately before. Perhaps it was because Adrien couldn’t see himself to have a mental picture to compare his son with, but…

“His pout is a carbon copy of yours,” Gabriel sighed. “He’s got your puppy dog eyes too.”

Adrien’s smile turned pained. “Ah. I see. So all the manipulative ploys, huh?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “He has your smile too…and your sweetness with none of your mischief. He’s inherited a lot from you despite the lack of shared genes. Don’t pout so, Adrien.”

“I’m not pouting,” Adrien pouted.

Gabriel gave Adrien an eyeroll encore. “How was your date last night? I trust you three had a nice dinner out?”

Adrien immediately perked up. “It was wonderful. Thank you. It was also nice to be able to get a solid eight hours of sleep without having to get up with Hugo.”

Gabriel assumed an air of nonchalance as he inquired, “Just out of curiosity and not to sound like I’m competing with Anarka, when are you three planning on having a green-eyed child?”

Adrien’s brow scrunched up like gathered fabric folds. “Seriously?”

Gabriel shrugged primly.

“We’re not actively trying, but we stopped actively not trying two or three months ago, so…but it’s not like we’re being intentional about who the biological father is. You and Anarka really need to cut it out.” Adrien shifted Hugo onto his hip with a sigh. “Should I have Luka talk to her?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Gabriel assured sullenly and then abruptly switched topics so as to put an end to the discussion. “By the way, I’ve wondered this for a while, but…why does Hugo hum the Dies Irae? He wanted it as a lullaby last night. It was rather…odd. Not that I’m one to comment on your parenting choices, I suppose.”

Adrien gave a snort as he struggled to stifle a bout of laughter. “That’s Luka’s fault. It’s one of the most quoted musical passages in the repertoire, so it gets stuck in his head a lot, and when he’s tired and up in the middle of the night with Hugo… I think it’s because he didn’t get a lot of traditional lullabies when he was little. Anarka sang him rock and roll, so he doesn’t have the standard classics to fall back on, and he fills in the gap with music he does know.”

Adrien bit his lip. “…Kind of like how you and Maman had crappy parents who didn’t sing standard lullabies to you two, so you didn’t know them to sing them to me, so now I sing musical numbers like All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera or video game music like Zelda’s Lullaby from The Legend of Zelda to my own child. I think Marinette’s the only one who really knows traditional lullabies, and half of hers are in Chinese…which she doesn’t speak, so she’s not even sure she’s getting the words right.”

Gabriel frowned. “Can’t you tell?”

Adrien shook his head, bouncing Hugo gently. “They’re not in Mandarin. Sabine’s parents both spoke Mandarin, so that’s what they spoke in the house growing up, but her mother was originally from a different region in China before they moved to France, so the lullabies she sang to Sabine were in a different dialect which I do not speak.”

Gabriel pursed his lips, tempted to ask whether the dialects were similar enough that Adrien could make any of it out, but he remembered Adrien once telling him that most Chinese dialects sounded like completely different languages to him.

“What dialect do Bridgette and Félix speak?” he inquired instead.

Adrien shrugged. “Mandarin. I’d have to ask Sabine about the lyrics…. Well, I should probably get going. The first thing Luka asked me this morning was when I was going to pick up Hugo. I think he’s going through withdrawal,” Adrien chuckled, giving Hugo a nuzzle. “Your Papá misses you.”

“Papá!” Hugo trilled happily.

Adrien turned back to Gabriel. “Thanks again, Dad.”

“Bring him back any time,” Gabriel stressed. “Make sure you ask us before Anarka.”

Adrien shook his head, making a mental note to have Luka talk to the Capitaine about this grandparent rivalry she and Gabriel had going on. “Will do. Thanks, Dad.”

Adrien turned to go, and Gabriel hesitated a beat before calling out, “Adrien?”

“Hm?” Adrien looked back, tipping his head.

“Do you…” Gabriel worried at his bottom lip. “Does it bother you that you’re not familiar with the traditional lullabies?”

Adrien shrugged unconcernedly. “Not really. In a way, it’s more fun to sing anime theme songs and Bach and the Dies Irae. I think it makes Hugo more cultured too, so it’s not a bad thing.”

Gabriel nodded, relieved. “Good. That’s good. Take care, Son.”

Gabriel later stopped to think that his grandson was going to be a very eclectic child with so many varied influences. He wondered if the other children at school would appreciate Hugo’s uniqueness.

Gabriel winced and wondered whether Marinette, Luka, and Adrien would allow Hugo to be homeschooled.

[zukadiary]

Mugen Musou / Krung Thep ~ Moon Troupe 2019

Over the length of my trip I saw a pretty fair cross section of this show—way back in mid-March pre-Krung Thep changes in Takarazuka; the live viewing of Takarazuka raku with Miya’s sayonara show included; and last week in Tokyo, the first full day of Reiko’s absence with the cast changes in place. 

I solidly did not enjoy Mugen Musou. I love Tamaki’s Tsukigumi, I love Miya Rurika and was so glad I had the opportunity to see her last show, and no one’s treatment in Mugen Musou was able to save it for me. I think perhaps if you read and enjoyed the novel, and also love Tsukigumi, there’s a decent chance that you’ll like this. I did not read the novel, and it felt very much like I had to as a prerequisite. 

There was an awful lot jammed into an hour and a half. The flow of the show bothered me; there were so many scenes, they changed so quickly, and none of them felt very substantial to me. In Saito-sensei’s attempt to cover as much plot as humanly possible, I think he lost the characters; while I understood generally what was going on, I did not immediately get who many of the characters were, how they knew each other, or why many of them were doing what they were doing. 

That provided a poor setup for my biggest gripe: I recognize that I am an American, and I am not necessarily the intended audience, and that this is certainly a big part of Japanese history and culture, but in the year 2019, the whole samurai honor I-must-kill-everyone-just-to-prove-I’m-strongest thing is not very compelling to me. If accompanied by moving character relationships (which, I hear, the novel has in spades), I can definitely give it a pass; but in the absence of onstage character development, that as the standalone force driving the story was simply not interesting or relatable enough to me to be enjoyable.

With a few exceptions—and this probably just goes back to the overall lack of character development—I thought most of the characters were ill fitted to their actresses. I don’t even think anyone did a poor job, everyone really gave it their best effort; my hang up lies entirely with the directorial choices, and I guess the choice of this show in general. I find Tamaki the most charming when she’s fully in wholesome ideal husband mode. I finally watched Elisabeth recently and liked her Tod a lot more than I expected also, so that was a fair out-of-the-box choice for her. The samurai with something to prove for no good reason other than that he’s embarrassed about his dad did not hit me where I want Tamaki to hit me. Otsu is not really presented with much depth; she’s pretty demure, and she spends the whole show waiting around for men to come back to her and gets sad when they break their promises. I was hoping we’d get something that would allow Sakura to show off her strengths a little more in her Grand Theater debut (although she did play the flute for real). I wanted more pining between Otsu and Musashi, but I didn’t really get it, and what there was seemed kind of one-sided on Otsu’s part. Kojiro, too, was one-note; I’m not sure what there was to him other than “the strongest dude” (oh, and he wears a cross, so he’s CHRISTIAN. That’s BACKSTORY). Miya did her damnedest, and she did manage a kind of cold sexy anime boy vibe, but again, especially for her last show, this was just not the kind of character I most enjoy seeing her play, nor did it play to her strengths in my opinion (with truly all the love in my heart for this woman, I have to say she cannot swordplay her way out of a wet paper bag). On my first viewing I thought Ari was the villain, but after the other two I don’t think there even is a villain; Ari seems to be just a stern guy from a dojo (that Musashi passed through when he was weak and thus *had to* defeat in its entirety when he got strong). Again, I don’t really know what his motivation was, and the character didn’t show off any of Ari’s charms, or challenge her in a meaningful way to try something different. Very few other people got roles substantial enough to be worth mentioning. 

I DID enjoy some specific things:

Reiko’s character, Matahachi, was my favorite, and her portrayal was my favorite. Matahachi had personality, and amidst all this very serious samurai glory business going on, he had sort of his own contrary subplot that I found much more entertaining. He’s a loyal friend to Musashi, but also lazy, kinda dumb, and utterly useless. He runs away from home with Musashi in the beginning, but while Musashi is off on his quest for ultimate strength, Matahachi pretty much gives up, spends a lot of time sleeping in a brothel, has to do manual labor for 5 minutes and gets tired of it, and eventually happens upon a dying man who is trying to carry some sort of scroll of certification to Kojiro. Matahachi is thrilled at his great fortune; he takes the scroll from the dead guy and uses it to steal Kojiro’s identity, attracting hordes of women and scaring away thugs on his “reputation.” His aging parents WALK OUT OF THEIR TINY HOMETOWN with the purpose of finding him and bringing him home, and successfully find him and embarrass him in front of all his swooning admirers. I saw Oda on the first day she took over this role, and I wish I could have seen her after a little more warmup. She didn’t have the charm that endeared me to Reiko’s Matahachi, but she sure can hold her own with the rest of the upperclassmen in terms of acting and stage presence. 

Toki-chan as Akemi, a girl who Sachika’s character took into her brothel and raised, gave me the heart-wrenching yearning I wanted from Musashi and Otsu. In the very first scene after the prologue, Akemi and Musashi are walking and talking (she’s taken a liking to him). Musashi finds a bell on the ground and sticks it into Akemi’s obi. For the remainder of the show, Akemi jingles softly with every appearance and every movement, haunted via sound by the reminder of her unrequited love for Musashi, making all of her longing looks more poignant. 

There’s a scene at the end where Musashi sees a ghost/memory of his father (Shimon). Dad is like WHY DID YOU DO ANY OF THIS? and Musashi doesn’t really have an answer. Same, dad. 

I loved Krung Thep so much the first time I saw it. Then it went through some changes, and I cooled a little on it, but still thought it was really good overall. 

It’s been a 2-act heavy year so far, and Estrellas and Krung Thep (as of me writing this 2 days before Yukigumi shonichi) have been our only revues. I thought that for the most part the music in Krung Thep was beautiful, not really in a jam to the soundtrack way like Estrellas, but in a really nice ambient way; there are a lot of bells and other interesting sounds that we don’t get as frequently. It also has a dazzling gold aesthetic, the kind of spectacle you want as a Takarazuka lover going into a revue.

There were for sure some questionable moments. The boy band number (albeit this time with Sakura at the center of the boys), which, much to my chagrin, seems to have become a revue staple regardless of director, was originally THIS SONG, which I happen to know and love thanks to this Japanese version, so I forgave its presence. This was one of the three numbers that got the axe before filming day, and they replaced it with a synth remix of the Takarazuka classic C’est Magnifique. That rendered it no longer forgivable. The chuuzume was very long and set to Shall we Dance, but like... only the chorus over and over and over and over again with varying flair. It was also turbans doing absolutely nothing to disguise Daisuke’s favorite Latin ruffles, and, if not for the King and I undercurrent, it wouldn’t have fit with the rest of the show whatsoever. A King and I medley maybe would’ve been nice?

Standout numbers:

The first or second number after the prologue (depending on when you think the prologue ends) is a Reiko vs. Ari kickboxing match. It’s hammy and ridiculous and goes on for two whole rounds, which seemed TOO LONG for how awkward it was the first time I saw it... but then when the fight ends, they break into a song about “male friendship” and how they love each other no matter who wins or loses. After that I was stoked, and on subsequent viewings appreciated every detail down to their girlfriends and trainers in the audience.

There’s a beauuuutiful barefoot duet dance between Tamaki and Miya

Mayupon in drag singing in at least 3 octaves flawlessly. There’s an alternate timeline, perhaps a brighter one, where I’m just in Mayupon’s club

Admittedly one of my least favorite revue tropes where there’s a nightclub and a girl and a terrible boyfriend and a new guy who shows up and someone gets jealous and has a gun and the wrong person always dies... but this time Ari is in hotpants

The Grand Hotel numbers in the sayonara show are probably too tough a contender, but the Krung Thep kuroenbi is not only great (messy tailcoats with rolled sleeves, mmmmm) but also almost the best little taidan gift for Miya in the whole thing. I don’t know how they’re going to splice the frames together for the DVD, but it opens with Miya singing a solo, and then she goes down into the floor as the kuroenbi is starting (making it look like she won’t even be in it). The rest of the otokoyaku dance a bit, then Miya comes back up out of the floor dressed to match, and everyone else hits one of those sexy lunges in formation, and then they all turn their heads to look at her in unison. Ugh.

I’m gonna miss Miya!!!!! And I hope Reiko is doing ok.

[lunatens]

pepper partners

part 2/?

word count: 2162

genre: fluff

pairing: reader x johnny (minor ten x jaehyun on the side)

summary: you weren’t planning on joining your high school’s co-ed volleyball team, but when you find out the one and only johnny seo is playing, you can’t help but be grateful ten was able to convince you to join after all.

~~~

the week goes by fairly quickly--you practice on monday and wednesday mornings and play games with the other co-ed teams every friday after school. on tuesday afternoon, you have your weekly "study session" (which usually involves less studying and more netflix watching and gossiping) with ten and lisa. the hangout this week is hosted at ten's, and although you bring your physics textbook with you, you already know it's going to end up untouched for the next few hours. the three of you spend the night watching "to all the boys i've loved before" and having random casual conversations.

"ooh, y/n, how's your english essay coming along??" ten asks you.

"well, it's due next wednesday and... i haven't started," you reply sheepishly.

"WHAT?!? y/n, it was assigned like a month ago!" lisa pipes in.

"ugh guys, i KNOW!" you groan in frustration. "i just don't know what to write about! you know english isn't my strongest subject...i feel like i need like, a tutor or something."

ten goes quiet for a moment, thinking, then you see a playful smirk grow on his face.

"i know that look.... what are you thinking..." you ask.

"oh nothing, nothing at all y/n, just the fact that jaehyun mentioned to me today that a certain boy *cough* johnny *cough* in our english class just happens at the top of the class and is really smart, that's all."

"oh." is all you can say as your cheeks erupt in a bright blush.

"oh my gosh y/n, you're so obvious." lisa rolls her eyes at you. "you should ask him to help you though! then you'll get to spend some quality one-on-one time with him!"

"no! You guys, i hardly know him! I don't want to be weird." you whine. ten and lisa exchange a look.

"okay fine, but i can't help if i accidentally mention to jae that you need help." ten says, sipping his tea.

"you guys are impossible," you say, rolling your eyes and then picking up the remote to choose another movie to watch.

by the time the movie finishes, you realize you don't even know what it was about; your thoughts had been occupied by daydreams of johnny helping you out with your essay, alone in your room, perhaps brushing hands once in a while or exchanging shy looks, maybe you're sitting together, really close, and he locks eyes with you, leaning in slowly and-

"helloooo, earth to y/n, do you want a ride home or not?" ten asks, jangling his car keys in front of your face.

"oh yeah, uh, sure." you respond, your fantasies sadly replaced with reality. ten drives you and lisa home with promises to pick you both up early in the morning for practice. you know waking up early won't be an issue from now on, knowing that you'll get to see johnny again in just a few hours.

***

walking into the gym again, you find yourself scanning the court for johnny--although he's not hard to find, being the tallest person there. he catches your eye from where he's sitting on the floor stretching with jaehyun and waves, flashing you a bright smile. you smile and wave back, a warm tingly rush filling your body.

"oh y/n, you are WHIPPED for that boy!" ten says, patting you on the head. You swat his hand away in faux annoyance.

"i'm gonna go warm up with rose, see you guys later!" lisa says as she leaves to join the other girl, who is stretching alone in the corner, looking around awkwardly but face lighting up at lisa's approach.

"come on y/n, jae's waving us over to go stretch with them--maybe his shirt will ride up and i'll get to see his abs..." ten says, pulling you over in the boys' direction.

ten and jaehyun make (flirty) conversation as they stretch, while you and johnny stretch in silence. you try really hard to not stare at johnny's arm muscles, but you fail miserably. luckily ten is too busy chatting up jaehyun to notice your pitiful staring.

"man, those two really hit it off, eh?" johnny says in a hushed voice to you.

"ugh, i know right? It's like they've known each other for years! like, we, their BEST FRIENDS, are sitting right here!  when they're with each other, it's like there's no one else in the world," you comment, watching the pair chat happily, never taking their eyes off each other.

"must be nice," johnny mumbles, looking down at the hardwood floor. "i'd love to have someone like that, someone you just click with, someone you can talk to about anything and everything for hours, you know?" he says, bringing his head up and gazing into your eyes.

"i--y-yeah, that would be really nice. i'd love to find someone like that, but sometimes i'm worried there's no one out there for me, you know?"

"y/n, i think there's someone out there for everyone, and there's DEFINITELY someone out there for you. i mean look at you--i'm surprised you don't have more people falling head over heels for you."

it's at this moment that coach lee blows the whistle, and you couldn't be more grateful for the interruption--you have absolutely no idea how to respond to johnny's comment, but you know your cheeks are giving your internal screaming away because ten gives you a pointed look. coach lee tells you to play pepper as a warmup, mentioning that from now on you can just move straight into pepper every practice to warm up without his instruction. he blows the whistle again, and everyone disperses, frantically scrambling for their partners.

"hey y/n, let's go! i mean, as long as you still wanna be my pepper partner, i'd totally understand if you-"

"johnny, of course i still wanna be your pepper partner--i mean, we can always be partners if you want,” you reply.

"pinky promise?" he says, holding up his little finger.

"pinky promise." you reach up and lock pinkies with him, trying not to squeal at his touch. he grabs a ball, and once again you warm up together, the promise of being pepper partners forever sparking a new excitement in you.

***

practice ends, you say goodbye to johnny, and the week continues as usual. ten and lisa continually poke and prod at you to ask johnny for help on your essay, but you refuse, saying you aren't close enough yet and besides, you don't even have his number. soon enough, friday comes around, and you couldn't be more excited. the school day seems to drag on forever, and when the bell finally rings, you bolt to the changerooms with lisa chasing after you. you and her end up being the first ones in the gym, so coach lee asks you to help set up the net.

you're trying to loop the top rope of the net over one of the poles, but despite your best efforts, you just can't quite reach. you're about to call lisa over for help (ten is too short and is also talking to jaehyun, so any attempt to get his attention isfutile) when you feel a body press against you lightly as arms reach over your head, taking the rope and setting up the net for you. you turn around to face johnny--or rather, johnny's chest. the proximity has your heart racing.

"sorry, i couldn't help but notice you needed help--i didn't mean to do your job for you, i'm sure you're fully capable of setting up a net, but you're also kind of a pipsqueak." johnny says with a small laugh as he backs up a bit.

"hey, i'm only like 3 inches shorter than you, and you're a giant! I'm still tall!!

"okay, whatever you say, pipsqueak," johnny says, his eyes creasing as a huge grin appears on his face. you feign being upset, sticking your tongue out at him.

"we'll see who the pipsqueak is when my team destroys yours today," you respond.

"hah! I'd like to see you try. let's make a bet--whichever of us loses the game has to buy the winner snacks at the movies tonight." johnny challenges, sticking his hand out towards you.

"deal. i hope your wallet's ready to buy me some popcorn," you say as you shake his hand, accepting the challenge.

"oh, we'll see who's buying who popcorn," johnny says. "good luck--you'll need it" he grins, walking away to join his team. you turn to look for yours, spotting taeyong waving you over, and you can't wait to see the look on johnny's face when you beat him.

***

the games go by fairly quickly--you started at 3 pm, and each game was only best 2/3, so all 3 games were finished by 5 pm (luckily they didn't go much longer, or else you might've been late to the movies). first, your team, dubbed neo culture team by taeyong (or ncteam for short), was up against the team of juniors, or the dream team as they were called. as good as they were for a bunch of grade 9s and 10s, your team defeated them easily. next, johnny's team, simply called team daebak, played the dream team--once again, winning with no problem. despite losing twice in a row, the dream team was still just happy to be playing and learning from their seniors. finally, the time came to play johnny's team. since both of you played middle, there were times you'd be facing off against each other--you'll never forget johnny's look of shock and amazement when you blocked him, the roars of your team cheering you on hyping you up even more. in then end, your team pulled ahead and won--although it was a close game, with the final set ending up 25-23. you line up and shake hands with team daebak, winking at johnny as you pass him in the line.

ten ushers you out of the gym, calling to jaehyun and johnny that he'd pick them up at 6 after you all shower and get ready. he drives you home, parking in your driveway and coming inside with you. ten promised to help you choose a cute outfit for the movies tonight--although t's not a date, you keep reminding yourself, no matter how much ten insists it is.

you hop out of the shower, drying your hair as fast as you can, and your towel-clad self walks into your room to find ten digging through your closet, a small pile of clothes on the bed.

"okay i picked out a few options, so let's do a stereotypical movie scene where you try them on and i rate your looks--even though you look spicy in anything." ten says, throwing you the first outfit. you sigh and shake your head at your best friend, grateful he was willing to help you out.

you end up settling for a simple outfit, comprised of some ripped high waisted skinny jeans, a cute crop top (not super cropped, just enough that some skin is exposed, which ten says is crucial to helping make johnny fall for you), some boots, and a light jacket all finished with your favourite necklace.

"oh my god y/n, you look so good!! If johnny isn't already head over heels for you, he will be after tonight. i'm gonna shower real quick while you finish getting ready, then we'll go pick up our boys." ten says before hopping into the shower, leaving you alone in your room. you admire yourself in the mirror (your butt really does look great in these jeans, ten wasn't lying) and can't help but smile, feeling really good about yourself. even though it's technically not a date for you and johnny, you really do want to look your best for him, and you feel super cute in the outfit ten chose.

you finish getting ready and ten doesn't take long to get dressed--he's had his outfit planned since monday night, he tells you--so you two wave goodbye to your mom and hop in the car, ready to go. you go to sit in your usual spot in shotgun, but ten shoos you into the backseat.

"sorry, shotgun's reserved for jaehyun tonight. don't worry, you'll get to sit in the back with johnny. oh, and don't mind the boxes that conveniently take up one seat leaving only two in the back of my small car for your guys to sit!" ten says with an innocent smile.

"god, you're such an idiot ten. what would i do without you," you smile and say to him, appreciative (and slightly embarrassed) by his efforts. you pull out of your driveway, and the nerves finally begin to hit you as the realization that you are about to go on a "date" with the one and only johnny seo, captain of team daebak (and the senior boys’ volleyball team) and, more importantly, your pepper partner.

~~~ 

i really hope you guys liked part 2!! i’m not sure how often i’ll be able to update but i’ll try my best! of course please please let me know your thoughts on everything, next part will be the movies!! yay!! <3 stay tuned for more 

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[soclosewiz]

Proper Nowhere

El Salto was the place where everything changed for me on my first trip south of the American border. One year ago I traveled here expecting the unexpected, but I never could have guessed how much it would change my life. Before that trip, I had been living my life in a very predictable way: work during the week, climb during the weekends, and plan semi-annual trips with a few close friends. After a particularly successful vacation to the Red River Gorge in November of 2016, I came back to Seattle knowing I needed to get away again as soon as possible. Somehow that led to me planning a trip to Mexico with two people I barely knew that December.  

That trip changed me forever. Even a year later it’s no exaggeration to say I fell in love. Every day, in every moment, I was consciously aware that I had somehow unlocked a level of happiness I had never felt before. It lit a fire inside me for not just climbing itself, but travelling, meeting new people, experiencing new things, and all that the dirtbag lifestyle encompasses. I could feel that my life was about to change, as long as I was willing to let it; something that doesn’t come easy to me, yet I felt like I’d subconsciously been waiting for it for a long time. I eased into it over some long and influential spring travels until I was ready to fully move into my car and let the road lead wherever it did at the end of summer.

Deciding where to go on my travels came easy for a while, until suddenly it wasn’t. Cold weather and the winter holidays loomed on the horizon, and I was faced with a decision: to return to Mexico, or to attempt to find psyche in places where I either had no partners, or no desire to climb in the States. All along I knew there was only one answer, but I felt a strange reluctance to return to the place where it all started. I was afraid of what I would find upon returning to a place that had changed my life in such a big way—what if it wasn’t the same? What if it was? Christmas came and went and I still couldn’t commit to going farther south than Arizona, until finally one day I learned all my partners had cleaned out the gear we had stashed at the crag and were leaving within 48 hours to a place I knew I didn’t belong. It was time to face the music.

On December 26th as I walked out the door of the Chipotle in Sedona to knock a few hours off the drive, I got a message from a friend overseas asking if I would be in El Paso the next day and if I could help out his stranded friend. I had my doubts about picking up a hitchhiker, especially when I learned it was actually two of them plus a dog. Nonetheless I discarded my inhibitions and allowed the pair to curl up on my bed as I ferried them across the entire state of Texas. I got them through two border patrol checkpoints and a whole lot of what we called “Proper Nowhere” until we parted ways in Laredo. I thought it fitting, that my return to Mexico would start with an experience so far outside my usual status quo. I took it as a good omen of things to come, because Mexico was always about learning how much better life can be outside my comfort zone.  

Waiting for me in Mexico was a diverse blend of the usual suspects from last year, plus many of the people with whom I’d been climbing over the last few months. Both groups were people who had gone from complete strangers to like family in just the few weeks I’d known them. I guess that’s what happens when you spend almost all of your time with people, camping, eating, climbing, relaxing, even working—friendships get fast tracked. I had come to El Salto for two main reasons: to party with these friends, and to try and send a specific route: El Infierno de Dante.

I had tried the route before and walked away uninspired: long runouts at the cruxes make it hard to work the moves when you are just beginning the process and the route is at your (my) limit, plus something about it just didn’t light that fire in me to make me want to really sink my teeth in. At the same time it’s hard for me to ever really let a route go, and it had been sitting in the back of my mind for the last twelve months as reminder of a time that I had given up. Unlike other climbs of the upper 5.13/lower 5.14 range I’d done, this one I knew was within my ability if I embraced the projecting process and approached it with commitment and patience.

I find in my climbing that I go back and forth between two different phases—mainly what I consider to be project mode and vacation mode. In vacation mode I am out climbing purely for the love of the sport and all it entails. Failure or success, at the end of the day I’m still having a big dinner with my friends, drinking beer, and focusing on enjoying every moment of this beautiful life. In project mode I am an athlete, disciplined and focused, willingly sacrificing all indulgences in pursuit of whatever climb has become my latest obsession. The tricky thing about these two modes is that they both make me feel really good in very different ways, and I often wonder if I’m focusing on the right thing. When I’m relaxing, I miss feeling strong and in shape, having big successes in my climbing and feeling confident about myself. When I’m dedicated and honed in on an objective, I wonder if my sacrifices are worth missing the fun nights of drinking, staying up late, and eating excessive amounts of chocolate.

Perhaps the fiddliest part of the split-climbing-personality conundrum is that I can’t just choose to flip the switch between the two modes on a whim. Vacation mode is easy, but entering project mode requires a goal, and it has to be one that really inspires me. There’s a certain feeling I’ve found about my proudest sends during the process that made me really truly care, and it doesn’t come around all that often. I may decide to work a certain route, but at the end of the day if I don’t want it bad enough that I fall asleep thinking about it, doodle its name in the margins of a notebook, and feel my face light up whenever someone asks how it’s going, the relationship is doomed to fail.

The last spark I’d chased before Mexico was Rude Boys (which was perhaps a bit forced), and before that City Park. I’d done a few low 5.13s here and there, but nothing had really struck me on that level in many months. I did want to go out there and see just what I was made of, test my limits and try and be my best self as a climber, but I had to wait for the calling. Finally it came, and I was ready and eager to answer when it did. Day two in Mexico I quested up Dante’s Inferno and felt the stirrings of that feeling I had been so long without. I was inspired.

Dante’s Inferno is perhaps the most well-known hard climb in El Salto, which adds a certain aura of history that always draws me to a climb. It consists of 40 meters of resistance climbing, passing through two very sustained cruxes to the mid-way anchor, and then one last sting in the tail a few bolts from the top. The moves are hard, not getting too pumped is even harder, but simply keeping your mind engaged for that much climbing is perhaps the hardest part.

After a week or so of effort I slowly built up enough endurance to know I had a shot, yet I battled with bad skin that didn’t seem to recover on my rest days. After a long mid-day nap one day, I tied in with fingertips so raw it hurt to take my jacket off for one last fitness burn (aka an attempt with low hopes of success but done anyway for the training benefit). My friend Tanager had just told me that all of her best sends had been after a nap, and another friend who had just sent the route said he had done it with terrible skin as well, so I decided to go ‘a muerte’ even though it was my fifth attempt in two days and I was exhausted.

Screaming on every move, I managed to battle to the first anchors for the first time and partway to the second. By the time that I fell, I was so exhausted that I couldn’t even get through the final crux to work out beta for any redpoint attempts on the extension. It was success nevertheless, resulting in much celebration after a local adventure movie led to a wild dance party lasting late into the night.

One extremely hungover rest day and a mini break climbing on other routes later, I knew it was time to go back for the extension. The weather had gotten hot, and many people were losing psyche for Las Animas, the wall on which Dante’s is located. I had a few partners still interested, but as the morning stretched on they remained at camp, going about their day in leisurely style while I paced around in agitation. I watched minutes tick by as calculations ran through my mind—if we leave right now, there will still be time to warm up and have an attempt before the wall goes into the sun.

When it became clear that things were not happening, I left for the crag by myself, hoping to beg a belay off someone already there. Up until then it had been so crowded that you could barely weasel your way in line for a warmup, but suddenly there was no one at the wall when I arrived. I sat around for a while before deciding I was wasting my time, letting toxic thoughts flood my brain as I began hiking out in defeat.

Just then, two friends rounded the corner and called out a greeting and that they were there to belay and support. Having stopped by our camp that morning and heard of my tragic plight, they were happy to help. The sun was already creeping across the wall towards Dante’s, so I decided to forego a warmup and just go for it. I needed to work out that upper crux, so it wasn’t a send go anyway. It wasn’t a send go, except the higher I got the more it felt like maybe it could be. The rock was cool but not cold, I was fresh but not shaky, and moves that had felt desperate felt completely controlled. Before I knew it, I was staring down the upper crux with no choice but to wing it—no real beta, but I wasn’t that pumped and the sun still hadn’t made the route too hot to climb.

I pulled into the final hard moves of the boulder problem, toeing down on glassy pebbles so carefully that I knew I’d never let a fall happen because of slipping. Suddenly it was all over and I called out to my friends in excitement that “It’s going down right now!” even though I still had a few bolts of easy climbing to the top. I knew wouldn’t fall there.

Afterwards as I traded my climbing shoes for a belay device to support another no-warmup send by a friend, I couldn’t help but stare at Dante’s and feel a strange sense of melancholy. I felt like I had only just started to get to know the climb and it was already over. I was beyond proud of how quickly I’d done it; five or six days of work to clip the chains on my second 5.14 is pretty exciting, but I wasn’t ready to let go of that powerful inspiration I had finally managed to track down. I had been mentally prepared for a brutal battle, in which I fell at the upper crux dozens of times, went home in tears day after day, and questioned the meaning of life as I fought highs and lows of self-doubt. You know, the usual projecting M.O.

Ever since last year, a part of me knew that Dante’s was one of those routes that I just had to come back for. Who can say why, but there are certain climbs that sit at the back of my mind, waiting for the day when I’m ready to lay it all on the line and go to war. Luckily I still have a few weeks here to see if the next inspiration lies somewhere between these limestone tufas and calcified stalactites, and if not, to simply bask in the warm Mexican sun eating Elotes and being grateful to not be freezing in the Seattle winter rain. I had my doubts about returning to Mexico, but in the end and as always, the Wash provides.