#I haven’t even arrived at college yet and I’m already hyped to write

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

My brain is a machine that turns real life experiences into Sketchbook AUs

[ryqoshay]

Promptober-2021: Tri-Arame: Raw Song to Play

Primary Pairing Trio: YuuAyuSetsu Words; 671 Rating: G Parent Fic: Tri-Arame: Prompt: Raw Time Frame: Sometime during their 1st year of college

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Author’s Note: Entry for Oct 21st’s prompt

Summary: Ayumu wants Setsuna and Yuu to play something

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“I’m back.” Ayumu said as she stepped into her dormroom.

“Welcome home!” The two occupants already within cried joyously as they sprang to their feet to begin their habitual race to greet her.

“Uhm, Yuu-chan, Setsuna-chan…” She started after the trio had competed their ritual. “Would you two mind joining me in Yuu-chan’s room?”

“My room?” Yuu blinked before exchanging a confused glance with Setsuna.

Still, with no reason to refuse, the two followed Ayumu to the room next door.

Upon arrival, Ayumu retrieved two files and handed one to each of her girlfriends. “Don’t look yet.” She instructed. “Just, uhm… Yuu-chan, would you mind sitting at your keyboard?”

“Sure.” Yuu complied.

“Ayumu-san, did you…” Setsuna seemed to have figured it out “write a song?”

“Yes…”

Cendrée sparkled with excitement. “Are you going to sing for us?”

Ayumu shook her head. “I was hoping you could sing it, Setsuna-chan.”

“Me?” Setsuna tilted her head in confusion. “But I haven’t practiced it or even seen it yet.”

“I know, but Setsuna-chan is really good at just diving right in when it comes to singing, Yuu-chan too with piano.” Ayumu assured. “And I don’t think it’s too complicated a melody, anyway.”

The sparkle returned as Setsuna hyped herself back up. “Alright.” She nodded.

“It’s pretty close to complete.” Ayumu explained as the other two removed their papers and prepared. “But I don’t know the last few steps to take, and I was hoping hearing you two might help me there. Sorry if it ends up sounding a little raw.”

“Ready, Setsuna-chan?” Yuu asked, positioning her hands above the keys.

“Ready.” Setsuna affirmed.

Yuu began the opening chords. A moment later, Setsuna began to sing.

Ayumu smiled. Of course, those two would perform close to perfect right off the bat. Almost exactly how she imagined it would sound as she started writing.

But then Setsuna’s voice wavered. Was she reaching a difficult point? Or…

Oh…

Ayumu noticed the shimmer of moisture gathering in her girlfriend’s eyes.

Yuu missed a note, drawing her attention, catching the twin-tailed girl swallowing down something to push through and continue.

Setsuna’s voice cracked and finally failed.

“Ayumu-sa~n!” The idol cried, rushing forward to hug Ayumu. “It’s wonderful! Amazing! I’m sorry I can’t…” She choked back a sob.

“So, you like it?” Ayumu ventured.

“Like it?” Setsuna pulled back from the embrace. “I love it! I just wasn’t prepared to sing… all of your love like that. I can shout mine anytime, but that…” She sniffled again.

“Is that what you’ve been staying late for these last couple weeks?” Yuu asked, standing, and moving to get in a hug of her own.

“Yeah…” Ayumu admitted. “Yuu-chan wrote that amazing song that Setsuna-chan made into her chart topping single and I…” she hesitated, wondering if she should admit it all. “I just wanted to share a little of that that dream with you two.”

“But you already do!” Setsuna said. “I’m only here because of the support I get from Ayumu-san and Yuu-san.”

“And there’s nobody else I’d rather share this dream with than you two.” Yuu added.

“Share…” Setsuna’s tone turned thoughtful. “Ne, Ayumu-san, we should sing this as a duet.”

“Eh?” Ayumu hadn’t expected that.

“And Yuu-san can play for us! I think the audience will love it!”

“Audience?” Both Ayumu and Yuu asked in unison.

“Mm.” Setsuna nodded. “Your song. Our song. Our dream. Together.”

Ayumu thought for a moment. Her original goal had simply been to give Setsuna a song, and to hear her sing it while accompanied by Yuu. She didn’t care if it never made the charts, or even was never recorded.

But to perform it, live, with her girlfriends…

She glanced at Yuu. The composer had become a bit more comfortable with performing herself in the last couple years, what with recitals and all. But an idol concert was a very different affair.

Yuu met her gaze and after a minute or two, they seemed to have reached their decision.

“Alright.” They both agreed.

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Author’s Note Continued: Work went into overtime, so by the time I got home, the chat was flooded with various ideas my fellow event participants were conjuring up and the first ficlet had already been posted. And I knew I wanted to do something a little different. But what else could be raw? Could raw simply mean unfinished? Unpolished? Etc? Sure, why not.

“Sorry if it sounds a little raw.” was the first thing I wrote, and built out in both directions from there. Then spent half an hour trimming it down to fit into 4k words...

[kpoppwriter]

You Still Have To Date Your Soulmate - Falling (In Love) pt. 2

Anon asked: could you do a part two for Hongseok soulmate au? I read it today and I'm in love.

Genre: fluff

Words: 1.5k+

Warnings: n/a its just fluff and Kino being a dork

a/n: so this ended up being longer than the original lol also I ended up writing Kino kinda like a stereotypical GBF gay best friend accidently whoops

Falling (In Love) pt. 1

“And when I looked at my phone, my cheek was all colorful.”

“See! I told you!” Kino slapped your shoulder, “He’s your soulmate~”

“Oh, shut it Kino,” you took a sip of your drink trying to hide the blush appearing on your face

“So, when are you going to see him again?” Yanan asked

“Well, I’m hanging out with him after his Lit class but he did ask me to go to his basketball game...”

“And you’re going,” Kino finished your sentence

You sipped your drink again, not agreeing with Kino. He groaned as he leaned on you. He complained and complained saying ‘you had to go’, ‘he’s your soulmate’ and ‘you had to fall in love with him’.

“I don’t know...I guess I’m just not used to all this,” you admitted

“Aww don’t worry Y/N,” Wooseok smirked, “I’ll put a good word in for you. I have Bio with him later.”

“Don’t you dare-”

“Oh! And I’ll come with you to the basketball game!” Kino exclaimed

“You don’t have to-”

“I’ll go too, if you want,” Yanan chimed in

You sighed flopping down on the table. You buried your face in the crook of your elbow. The boys quieted down letting you mull over your options. You slowly raised your head, deciding what you were going to do. 

“Ok fine. I’ll go,” you sighed, “But you’re coming with me, Kino.”

“Sweet! We can take my car!” 

Kino picked his phone quickly typing out a text to someone, probably his roomates. You did warn Wooseok that if he embarrassed you, you’d actually fight him. Kino, like the good friend he was, hyped you up so much and told you how much fun you’d have. You hoped he was right again.

~

You sat on a bench outside the English building reading a book for one of your psychology class. You were too absorbed in the novel that you didn’t realize that Hongseok had walked out of the building. He approached you slowly trying not to scare you. He gently tapped the top of your book. 

“What’re you reading?” he smiled 

“Ah-oh, a book for my Psych class.” 

“Cool,” he sat down next to you

He took the moment to enjoy the sunshine that was shining on both of you. His eyes closed as his head fell back. His skin looked so golden, the sun accentuating the color.  He was dressed rather casually, a pair of sweatpants hung on his hips and a basketball jersey over a black t-shirt. You weren’t well versed in sports so you weren’t sure what team the jersey belonged to. His eyes peaked open, spying you staring at him. 

“Are you staring at me?” he smirked

“No,” you turned away from, not letting him see you blush

He only hummed in response. He knew you were lying- it was obvious. His hand went up into his dark hair pushing the strands out of his eyes. You avoided looking at him, afraid of letting him see the blush on your face, if he hadn’t already seen it. 

“Have you eaten yet?” he asked

“Um..no I haven’t.”

“Want to get lunch with me? My treat.”

“Sure,” you smiled shyly

He got up off of the bench first, offering his hand to you. You hesitantly took it. Before you had a chance to grab your bag off the ground, he grabbed it and wore it.

“You don’t have to do that. I can carry it,” you went to take your bag but he shifted out of reach

“Don’t worry about it,” a teasing smile graced his lips, “I’m strong. I got it.”

You just laughed as he showed off his muscles. He posed in funny poses that showed off how strong he apparently was. He had you laughing loudly at his ridiculous actions. His heart fluttered when he heard you laugh. The sound of your laughter brought him so much joy. He never wanted to stop listening.

~

“I said I’m walking out the door now, Kino. Calm down.”

You put your phone on speaker as you left your very small studio apartment. You waved down the car that was slowly driving passed; a car you knew too well. You hung up the call with Kino as you got into the car. 

“I said i was walking out,” you huffed 

“You took forever,” Kino whined

“You were waiting 10 minutes. Calm down.”

You and Kino chatted the entire ride back to the college. You had gone home after classes to freshen up before going to Hongseok’s basketball game. You weren’t planning on going home but both Kino and Yanan convinced you to. They wanted your first date with Hongseok to go well, even though you refused to call it a date. You were just going to support him and his team. 

“You like him, don’t you?” Kino asked

“I mean...he’s really cool...and intelligent and funny- not to mention he’s pretty cute-” 

“Oooooo you like him~” Kino teased

“I do not!” you protested

“Yes you do!” he laughed, “You’re supposed to like him, stupid! You’re soulmates!”

Even though the day when you met Hongseok was engraved in your memories forever, you still forgot he was your soulmate. Like, you’re meant for this person and you’re supposed to be with him. It still was a new concept that you were trying to get your head around. 

“Oh yeah,” you responded

The rest of the drive was pretty much the same; Kino would tease you for liking Hongseok and you’d try to protest but there wasn’t much of a point in protesting. When you finally arrived at the college, you quickly got out of the car. Kino was just making you more nervous. The two walked over to the gym where the basketball court was. Many people were already there, not many seats available in the stands. You found a space where the two of you could squeeze into. Some of the players were practicing out on the court. You spied Hongseok and waved at him. He made his way through the stands to where you and Kino were.

“Hey, you made it,” he smiled brightly

“Yeah.”

You got lost in his eyes for moment, being brought back when Kino cleared his throat particularly loud. You looked over at him, his eyes screaming at you to stop being gross for one second. 

“Ah, this is my friend-”

“I’m Kino,” he interrupted you, “I’m Y/N’s best friend. I predicted you two were going to be soulmates.”

You wanted to kill Kino right there in the middle of the gymnasium. You could feel your ears turning a dark shade of red. You looked back at Hongseok apologetically. He only chuckled.

“Oh yeah. Wooseok told me you were coming together.”

There was a little bit more small talk between the three of you, mostly between Kino and Hongseok, before Hongseok had to return to the court. When Hongseok was far enough away, you hit Kino’s shoulder hard.

“How could you introduce yourself like that?! Are you trying to embarrass me?”

“Ow! I was just trying to assert myself as a protective, yet supportive friend,” he complained

“Well you could have done that without being such a dork about it,” you grumbled

You looked back at the players on the court, your eyes immediately going to Hongseok. You saw him trying to stifle a laugh then glancing up at you. He winked at you just as the referee blew the whistle, leaving you with a pink face to match your red ears. 

~

“You did really well out there...I think. I don’t know much about sports.” you smiled embarrassedly at Hongseok

“Thanks,” he smiled back shyly

The cold evening air hit your arms as you stood outside the gym. You cursed at yourself for not bringing a sweater or something with you. You shivered slightly, barely noticeable. At least you thought it was barely noticeable. 

“Are you cold? You can use my jacket,” Hongseok slipped off his jacket before you could answer him

“No, I’m alright-”

He draped the large jacket over your shoulders, not caring how you insisted that you were fine. He adjusted the jacket to fit comfortably over your form. His hands lingered on the front of the jacket. 

His eyes locked with yours. You could get lost in those eyes of his. You felt like you were standing there in silence for an eternity but you didn’t care one bit. His eyes flicked down to your lips for a moment. You knew what he was silently asking for. You took a small step forward as an invitation. He pulled you into his chest by the jacket. His lips pressed gently against yours, as if he was going to break you. He pulled away quickly. He wordlessly checked if you were okay by his sudden action. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him back for a deeper kiss. He melted into it, savoring the feeling of your lips against his. He wanted to stay like that forever. And so did you. 

[thnxrick]

❍ ─ hey dudes !! i feel pretty hype to be here. i’ve been rewatching gg for the past three weeks and pretty much neglecting my creative side/avoiding all of my writing friends. i was rping in another fandom on discord and i just started to lose inspo, y’know that flame was starting to blow out. on a whim i decided to check out the rp tag on tumblr again ( i haven’t rped on tumblr since 2016 btw ), and whaddya know, the second post i see is from a gossip girl rp. ─ could’ve been a coincidence, could’ve been a sign ?? idk. point is that i’m here !! and i’m really hoping to fall in love w/ writing again. 

ok, lemme introduce you to a boi i made up 48hrs ago.

A LITTLE MORE OOC

// so um, FUNNY STORY, when i joined i was planning to fill up a connection from another roleplayer here as their brother, but they were gone as soon as i was i accepted looooool. so now i lack a sibling and i took their last name. ah well, gotta make due with what you’ve got i guess. 

// that being the case, it sort of inspired me to make a VERY convoluted family tree for him. i’ll touch some bases, but i’ll probably make other posts getting more into it i suppose. 

// just to be clear, i’m going to keep it canon that he has a sister named olivia, i was straight up coming up with a lot of relationship HC’s before approaching the mun, and some where based around that character’s profession. i like what i came up with so i’m planning to keep it that way.

// let’s just say olivia isn’t on gossip girl’s radar. ─like a jenny humphrey from season one lmao. 

THE SKELETON 

.･:*:･ﾟ’ twenty one, cismale, roderick bordeaux was made in the upper east side and attended st. jude’s. he still resides in new york, and is currently a model who progressively grown weary of his profession. they are staying up til’ 4am laughing at memes, mischievous looks, suggestive stature, eccentric humor, silk tuxedos. onlookers say they resemble shawn mendes. ( al, 19, idc, cst. )

FROM THE BEGINNING 

roderick grew up with two older siblings and two very wealthy parents. 

his family is very popular in the social scene of manhattan, we’re talking generations on both sides of their family.

they’ve always kept up appearances and have made bountiful donations to noble and not so noble causes.

his father ( lawrence ) is exemplary businessman and his mother ( keighley ) is a retired actress who’s found her life as a socialite a “profession” on its own.  

his relationship with his parents had its moments of toxicity and neglect but overall he’s never been resentful towards them as he realized the privileged life they handed to him and his siblings. 

rick has always had a penchant for doing stupid things and getting away with it. he gets bored easily !!  but to be clear his intentions are usually positive. his parents barely know of his ventures, they’re not very interested in GG to keep up with it either. he is the youngest─ he gets off the hook a little easier than his siblings do. you bet your ass they envy that.

he’s always been academically inclined, but school was never really his priority. he spent most of his time at constance with his friends. he’s a social butterfly at heart, and he wasn’t one to stick to cliques. basically getting along with almost anyone. always open to making more connections with people. doesn’t mean he lacked his fair share of enemies. 

up until then he was unaware of any other type of life. party, fun, drama and the occasional responsibility. things took a bit of a turn after high school though.

BEFORE THE FALL

first of all, his ex-girlfriend’s-mother married into his family. holidays already came with the uncomfortable “greeting family you haven’t seen for months to years on end” how the hell are you supposed go about it─ “oh hey we’ve rubbed genitals together, we’ve hated each other for a while and now we’re cousins, want a turkey leg” ??

second, his father wanted college, roderick didn’t, but obliged after his father threatened to freeze his accounts.

for three years, he attended harvard, likely due to his parents connections i might add─ he almost claimed the title of a lit major, but in retribution for a new revelation about his parents, he quit.   

WHAT GG DOESN’T KNOW....YET

in his third year of college rick picked up a course in theater, dance and media, partially due to the crush he had on another student. during his attendance he met a classmate who he quickly befriended. one evening she invited him to her birthday party, and to say it changed his world would be an understatement.

after spending more time with her and her family, he felt strangely attached to them, he desired the type of relationship she had with her parents. and soon enough the universe offered him a truth that could make that a reality.

turns out his parents weren’t really his parents. rick was involved in a tangled plan filled with lies and deception. ─his close friend from college ?? was his sister.

this was a lot to take in for rick, he had an entire genealogy that he didn't know about, and they were seemingly everything he wanted in a family. of course this was conflicting. he loved the people he grew up with unconditionally, but his loyalty wavered the more the truth was uncovered.

A GENERATIONAL FEUD 

 his “parents” didn’t even want him, they were blackmailed by his biological grandmother ( thalia ) to keep him away from his biological parents. his grandmother disapproved of his biological father ( lloyd ) and wanted nothing to do with him or his family. 

her distaste was unwarranted however, completely biased. her issues were purely against his mother ( harlow ). they have toxic history together, and share a hatred for each other. so much so that they put aside their disagreements to work together. there was no way in hell harlow would share her surname and it’s perks with thalia’s offspring. and thalia wasn’t planning to have a familial tie with harlow.

harlow promised to take away lloyd’s life of luxury if he married rick’s mother ( rowan ). 

thalia called for some favors owed, and successfully managed to manipulate rowan and set her grandson up for “adoption”.

unfortunately for the high class devil’s their game only played out for a few months, lloyd and rowan loved each other too much to let go. the loss of a child and the loss of luxury wasn’t enough to keep them apart. 

they eloped against their parents wishes, and lost everything. by their early twenties, they were no longer royalty of manhattan, they were “nobody’s”. practically disowned. if it meant they cut ties with their sadistic families, it was fine by them.

rick’s biological parents searched for him, for years, they almost divorced as a ploy to get information from their parents, but it lead them to more questions than answers. it was eventually a mutual decision to end their search, the pain was too overwhelming to continue.

call it fate, who would’ve thought the search would end with academic career and their daughter. 

CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT

understandably, rick was extremely upset with his “parents” and ultimately detached himself from them. 

he quit school, and disconnected himself from most of his friends for a while. it was necessary to go over his options alone. and soon enough he planned an intervention. in four months time, he planned to expose his parents in public at an uptown charity event honoring them. 

he told four of his closest friends about his strategy requesting for a helping hand, and they willingly accommodated him. 

all except for one. one of the four ratted him out before he could pull it off. and his “grandmother” ( genevieve ) was informed and immediately warned thalia and harlow of the proposition. 

they took matters into their own hands, and made things very personal. suddenly grandma genevieve wasn’t as sweet as she had been.

rick’s ex-girlfriend-now-cousin was instructed to seduce and drug him in his loft, if she failed to follow through, her mother would suffer the consequences. 

with much hesitation she compelled. and on an odd night out she convinced him to catch up, and eventually got him drunk enough to have him pass out on his couch. she called their grandmother right after and waited 10 to 15 minutes for a sign to leave. there were a few stern knocks on the door by two men in very posh tuxedos, she was conclusively excused by their entrance. 

THE SECRET GOSSIP GIRL KNOWS

his cousin-ex-lover left his loft around booty call hour. lacking a walk of shame... but stamped with a very guilty face.

off schedule─ his housekeeper arrived to his loft a bit earlier than usual, having much to do that day. her extended family was coming in from out of town for a familial celebration. and we all know how important family is, don’t we?

she suspected rick was working early as well, and went down the list of her duties. her first priority was his restroom, as he generally left wet towels on the ground after his morning showers. however the only elements she found were scattered pills and emptied bottles on his bathroom floor, along with rick... in a bathtub filled with water looking a little too pale.

with a disheveled 911 phone call, she preformed crucial CPR, and an ambulance shortly arrived─ rick was sent to the hospital to have his stomach pumped, and the bordeaux’s made a private entrance, feeling troubled with emotions of guilt and regret. 

in recovery rick denies the suicidal accusations but was sequentially sent to a rehabilitation center against his will. 

he spent his summer in connecticut, and his family lied to keep press away from their charity event. to what the public knows, rick pursued his modeling career further and traveled through europe for the summer. 

AT A CROSSROADS

all forms of communication were taken away from rick, and he spent most of his time at rehab trying to reach out by bribing his nurses.

one of his nurses fell into his bribe and let him make contact with his cousin. out of fear she confessed and delivered his SOS to their grandmother.

sooner or later, his grandma showed up─ grandma.. thalia. to most and to gossip girl? a stranger. 

she proposed a settlement with roderick, he was to forget about his biological family and continue mingling in his social circle as if nothing ever happened for exchange of his freedom and his family’s freedom.

he begrudgingly agreed to it, and flew back to new york with built up resentment and a thirst for retaliation.

he’s back home now, as if nothing ever happened. last he heard his biological family tried to invite him to their halloween feast. but no word after that.

as of now, his course of action is to figure out what “bestie” ratted him out. what did thalia, harlow or even genevieve have on them. and what could he do about it ??

if all attempts fail, we still have gossip girl.

LMAO MORE OOC

ok ok ok ok ok, ik it’s a lot of shit to read. i’m sorry but not really, i enjoyed myself waaaay too much to truly feel guilty about it. SO idk if you’ve noticed but, i took a lotta of inspiration from the show since i just finished the series again. ─i figured rick is a dumbass but he doesn't lack that much morality to do something awful without warrant. I’LL BE SHOOK IF YOU REALLY READ THROUGH ALL OF THIS BUT HEY IF YOU WANNA PLOT W/ ME PLEASE DO. i have a connections page that has to do with normal connections and it also has connections related to everything you’ve read here !!  feel free to im/dm me at anytime, or like this so ik you’re interested in plotting w/ me, i don’t mind hitting you up. OKAY, MUCH LOVE EVERYONE. 

[linoholic]

college!Jeongyeon

Ok, so this wasn’t requested but I had a dream and now it is stuck in my head so I’m writing it down <3 So here is a little something for my Twice bias, lovely Jeongyeon.

Also, it’s probably obvious that I don’t go nor ever have been to college so bear with me :)  If you like it feel free to send a request my way xx

It’s September and so another year at college starts

And you are now used to what the college lifestyle is like (though do you ever really get used to it?)

You took all the introductory classes that you needed to the previous year and so your class schedule has opened up a little

And so you decide that you will join a club of some sort

Your friends are all happy to hear this, as last year you kept yourself tucked in your dorm studying away

As a result, they are all asking (read:begging and nagging) you to join the clubs they are in

Jackson wants you to join fencing with him - You aren’t too keen on the idea of being hit with metal sticks

Dowoon and Wonpil suggest you learn a new instrument, but you really don’t have the patience for this

And there is no way you will join Yugyeom and Momo in the dance group

I mean, you become short of breath walking the few flights of stairs it takes to make it to your dorm

And so a week goes by with you unable to make up your mind

Until one lunchtime

You are sitting in the campus coffee shop with one of your friends, Jinyoung, just sipping on your drink and having a nice conversation about current news and all the good tea around campus

(get it? the good tea as in gossip and you’re in a coffee shop? I’ll shut up now)

When he casually slips in, “Auditions for Les Miserables start tomorrow. You should join me in trying out,”

Now, Jinyoung is very good at acting, and his singing voice is no joke either

You, on the other hand, have never really even tried either

Unless you count car karaoke and singing in the shower

And a few plays in elementary and middle school

So you just reply with a simple “perhaps” and change the topic back to Mark and Dahyun’s rap battle from the previous night

However, all through your afternoon classes his offer runs through your mind

And through the evening

You dismiss the idea though, never having been especially fond of being the center of attention

The next day, you wake up, bright eyed and bushy tailed (as if) and scroll through social media while eating in the dorm kitchen

Everywhere you look -Instagram, Facebook, Snap-chat- it seems like all your friends and family are doing is having fun and living their lives

While you are currently sitting in your Donald Duck pajamas eating cheerios with a spoon too small at midday

So you decide to be spontaneous

You run to your room

Change into the first clothes you see that go relatively well together, sort out your bedhead, and put some makeup on if that’s your thing

Soon enough, you presentable enough to go out in public and you shoot a quick text to Jinyoung

So, where am I headed?-(y/n)

Thankfully, he isn’t one to make a fuss over things and so simply reply’s

The theater, duh-Jinyoung

Quick time skip~~~~~

At the college auditorium you sign in, not putting down any particular character that you want to play,  and wait

Passing time by watching people before you

And while there are some people who, let’s just say, aren’t the next Russell Crowe or Anne Hathaway

There are some people that are very talented

Which sort of gets you even more nervous than before

Soon enough, it is your time to shine

And it must have gone well

Because the next week you find out you will be playing the part of Enjolras

(Guy or girl, both or neither, it doesn’t matter because this is theater - as long as you play the character well nobody cares about your gender)

Which comes as a huge surprise to you

But not to your friends who are so supportive of you

Sungjin even throws you a mini party in his apartment

And with your own personal hype crew to get you confident and excited, you actually couldn’t wait for rehearsals to begin

Which they soon do

And this, finally, is where you meet our beloved lady Jeongyeon

Well, not really meet, considering you have many mutual friends

You just have never really had much of a conversation past the polite “How are you” and so and so

One of the reasons for this may be the small, budding crush you have on her

Who can blame you? It’s Jeongyeon

And let’s just say past experiences with a high school crush have you very weary

So you simply avoid interacting with her to avoid any possible awkwardness and/or humiliation

You, reader, have just had the first script reading with your cast mates and everybody else has gone their separate ways already

Whilst most people decided to go to get BBQ with their mates, you found one of the rooms backstage, filled with half made props, and decide to get a head start on memorizing your lines

Which is where Jeongyeon finds you a couple of hours later

Jihyo had mentioned that you hadn’t turned up to the study session you had planned

Now, unlike her older sister Seung-yeon, Jeongyeon isn’t an actress

Instead, she is one of the stage managers for the play, and so is very familiar with the layout of the auditorium

And so when it is mentioned that you are most likely still there

She immediately volunteers to go and find you

She absolutely didn’t do it because she has seen you with the other girls and become interested in you, no siree

You have your phone playing ‘Do You Hear The People Sing’ out loud, and are singing along very...’enthusiastically’

As it comes to an end, much to your horror, you hear someone behind you start to clap (support Seventeen and ‘Clap’)

Quickly spinning around, the nightmare is made even worse by who you see standing there

Yep, you guessed it

It’s Jeongyeon, catching you off guard

1-0

And she has this soft smile on her face

Surprisingly, it is in no way a mocking smile

“You have a really good voice, (y/n)” she says, knocking you out of your embarrassed stupor

With ears redder than Marks hair, you reply, “Umm, thanks. So, uh, how long were you watching exactly?”

“Long enough. Much like you have been. Jihyo started getting worried”

You quickly pick up your bag and put it over your shoulder, checking the time on your phone

“Wow, I didn’t realise I had been in here so long.”

Jeongyeon laughs a little, motioning you towards her

“Come on, I’m guessing you haven’t eaten yet, and Momo has probably eaten all the pizza already”

Which is how you end up walking around the night markets, sharing street food with Jeongyeon

When not eating, you talk, and when not talking, you simply stroll along in a comfortable silence

Spending this time together secretly makes you both wish that you had taken the initiative to get to know the other before because it turns out you have a lot in common

From music, to food, to movies and tv

And as you share a paper plate of tteokbokki, you can’t help but think to yourself that this feels an awful lot like a date

You look over at Jeongyeon, only to find her already looking at you

And here comes the most cliche of all cliches

She leans over to you, and swipes her thumb at the corner of your mouth

“You got a little sauce there” is all she says, before turning away, looking unfazed by the contact (though you can bet your knickerbocker glories that she is screaming on the inside)

You on the other hand, simply continue to stare at her side profile, red filling your cheeks

That’s twice she has caught you off guard in less than 12 hours

2-0

Sadly though, the night has to end sometime, and it happens sooner than you would like

As you both walk back to the dorms, the streets become less and less crowded, until it is only you two on the path

This means that the chilly autumn air easily makes it’s way through your few layers that were fine for the warmer day but not so good now, causing you to shiver slightly

Which Jeongyeon notices

And of course, she decides to pull you closer to her

Make that three times she has caught you off guard

3-0

Now of course you are nervous

You are basically snuggling into your crush while walking back home after a ‘felt like a date but probably wasn’t

But then you notice Jeongyeon’s red ears next to you, very much like your own

And this gives you a little bit of hope

And confidence to do what you what you were about to now that you had arrived back at your dorm

“Tonight was nice. Really nice. Thank you.”

And with that, you lean over to give her a quick peck

Not quite on the cheek, but not quick on the lips

Before you turn around and hurry inside, too embarrassed at your spontaneous act to turn back around

Because of this you miss Jeongyeon, pressing her hands to her face and smiling almost giddily

Now it’s 3-1

You still need to make it even

It’s not the longest ever, and I really want to do more but it is 1.42am and I am so tired, so here we go.

Feel free to leave feedback and requests!

[alabastertouch]

My Home

Genre: Fluff, Angst, AU

Characters: model!Kim Jongin x columnist!Reader; Reader’s parents and siblings.

Warning/s: None

Summary: You’ve been independent for long, and your parents are proud of you for that. What they’re not aware of is that you’ve been keeping something from them.

A/N: Unlike the request, I will not name any country and will be as vague as possible about it for it to be neutral. 

I’m sorry this took so freaking long???? Anyways, have fun reading!

Coming to Korea after college is an impulsive plan of yours.

You never expected to have your resumé accepted quite fast by Ceci, a well-known magazine publisher based in Seoul, South Korea. You began as an intern, watching how the process of magazine editing works and how columns are written. You are one of the lucky few to be promoted to a columnist only two months after your start in the company.

That is when you meet Kim Jongin.

He has been famous for covering more magazines covers worldwide than in Korea, and not to mention that his talent fee is ultimately expensive. Working with Kim Jongin for the first time was a chaos waiting to happen for you, because other than him being handsome as heck, you are extremely attracted to him.

“Ah, Mr. Kim, our interview will conduct a few minutes after you change. I’ll be waiting for you outside.” He nods, mystifying you further with his brooding nature. You are quite taken aback when he offers you a lopsided grin, which you respond with a tight awkward smile.

You almost trip on your way to the studio where Hana, the photographer, is wrapping up the equipments. You shared a great experience as interns, and luckily for the both of you, you were both moved to a stable job in your respective careers.

“Good luck on your interview, Y/N, and try not to drool at the sight of him,” Hana snickers before she finishes zipping up her camera bag. She dodges the tickle you are about to give her when Kim Jongin arrives in a white-button up, yet still looking like he is prepared for the runway.

But then again, he probably always is.

“Good day, sir! I’m Y/N of Ceci Korea, and I’m here to ask you some questions. Would you mind if I record our conversation for today?” Although the model must have been grounded already by the information, you still say for formality.

“Hmm, not at all, Miss Y/N. Do as you wish.” Contrary to your previous belief, Kim Jongin is not rude at all. If anything, he is quite the gentleman, giving you his jacket to cover your lap since your pencil skirt is riding up your thigh. 

“I have a total of ten questions: six coming from yours truly, and the rest coming from our social media accounts. Shall we start?”

You go on with the questions, which are bland in comparison to what articles write about him. It was like a usual chitchat with a close friend, like asking what he felt about the theme of today’s photoshoot and about his family and pets. You cannot help but admire the smile he worn once he began talking about his three poodles.

You finally get on with the questions coming from his fans all over the world. You just randomly chose three chronological ones and screenshot it, yet you think you’ve made a mistake by choosing one without checking twice.

“I apologize for this question, and you have the option to not answer it, but,” you gulp, wondering if it is appropriate for you to ask the question to him. “Are you seeing someone right now? It has been a while since your breakup, and fans are curious about the status of your heart.” Your heart skips a beat after hearing him chuckle, because it is anything but sarcastic.

“I’m not seeing anyone right now, actually,” Jongin pans, placing his knuckles under his chin. “I haven’t found that one girl who makes me feel extremely at home. Until now.”

Your eyes widen at the last two words he added.

“Excuse me?” You whisper nervously.

“You’re fun to talk to, Y/N-ssi,” he looks so amused as you squirm on your seat, wondering if this is still professional. In your life, this is only the second time you have met the world superstar, and the first was when he came by your company when you were still an intern delivering coffees and distributing snacks. That is also the time when Hana found out about your undeniable crush on him.

“Ah, thank you, Mr. Kim,” you thank him, quite bemused. You look at the copy of the interview on your hands and find that there are no questions left for him to answer. You just have to cut the audio off before presenting it to Mr. Go.

“Our interview has finished, right? We can go?” Jongin stands up and loosens the top button of his long-sleeves for a more casual look.

“Yes, Mr. Kim. Thank you for your time! You and your manager can go now,” you bow in gratefulness.

“No, not me and hyung,” you tilt your head, questioning his words. “You and me.”

“What?” You forget your professionalism, because Kim Jongin is puzzling you with his sudden flirtatiousness.

“Can we eat some chicken outside? I’m hungry and I bet you are, too.”

And because you are famished, you accept his deal, getting into his rhythm and enjoying it as well.

That is how your love story with Kim Jongin started.

It has been three years since that night, and now, at 27, you are living with your boyfriend of 3 years.

You’ve encountered a lot of rumors, most of them swirling around you and Jongin. Your company has been instructed about it, and so is his agency, and after a long debate, they decided to not disclose anything and left it out in the open. Your interviews with him in the succeeding magazines after that initial one made the sales of Ceci off the roof.

But there is one problem though: your family has no idea.

Jongin knows that your parents are not into the idea of you having a boyfriend from a foreign country, even if you do have dual citizenship already. What more if you live together with your foreigner partner? They will have the weirdest ideas, because like they said, “what else will they do when there’s only two of them in there? Play Scrabble?”

Right now you’re alone in your shared apartment with Jongin, as he is in Italy for a photoshoot with Vogue and is set to return in two days. You are eating pistachios as your eight-month-old puppy, Bear, asks for some.

“You can’t have this, Bear. You’ll die.” And he whimpers beside you, still pleading with his big puppy eyes. You head to the kitchen and take a treat for him to munch on. He excitedly gallops back to the couch, solely focused on his new food.

The doorbell rings, and because of your fear of break-ins and suspicious activity by people you do not know of, so you let Bear bark at the sudden visitor. You head to the intercom, covering the camera with your index finger and cautiously pressing the button to see the person outside.

You are quite surprised to see two very familiar faces, with another two jumping in the background and trying to see what is going on.

“Mom, Dad!” You hype in excitement, and in your own native language. You waste no time in opening the door, and they welcome you in a hug you’ve been longing for months. It had always been you who goes home during the holidays, and last Christmas, they expressed their desire to go to Seoul for the holidays.

“We missed you!” Your youngest sister jumps in your arms. Your second sister is already on her last year of college, and it has been long since you last saw her. You didn’t get along when you were younger, because she is the one after you and had always argued about everything with her. Now that you’ve grown, you find yourself proud of how well she had grown to be.

“I miss you, stupid,” she’s not one for hugs, but she does so now. After all, it’s almost a year since you last saw each other.

“H-how did you know where I live?” You manage to ask as you help them pull their luggage in.

“You texted it to me when you moved here two years ago,” your mother chirps as she takes a look around. “Your unit looks lovely, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom,” you and Jongin had designed the interior well, leaving one room for all your clothes combined. He has as many clothes as you do, being a model with sponsored luxurious stuff, which is why you had a closet specially made for all your clothing and shoes.

“I assume that’s your bedroom?” Your mother walks close, while your father and sisters only sit down on the couch and play with Bear, who looks excited to see new people.

“Yeah, but Mom! Don’t go there! It’s dirty!” You try to stop her before she sees that your bedroom is not fit for only one person, because on a cork board near your vanity is full of photos of you and Jongin from different countries.

They don’t even know you have a boyfriend, much more living with said boy.

“Oh, I’m your mother! I cleaned after you for twenty years, Y/N!” She successfully enters the bedroom and immediately sees the wall of photos. She steps closer and takes one, where you and Jongin are kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower.

“You didn’t tell me you’re dating that model?” She clears her throat as she gazes at the photos full of your memories with Jongin.

“Yeah, I thought I told you before,” and you really think you did, but your mother only assumed that you had a case of one-sided love with the model.

“I didn’t believe you, then. I’m sorry.” And when she finds the gold Rolex on your bedside drawer, you stiffly breathe and you know you are screwed.

“Why is his watch in your room?” You know when your mom is trying to keep her anger on check, and now is one of those moments. “Y/N, tell me now what is going on?” She calls your full name, and you purse your lips because you are in for a round of explanation.

“He and I have been together for three years,” you confess, looking anywhere except at her. “And we’ve been living together two.”

You hear her breath hitch, maybe in shock. She calls for your father and explains everything frantically, but unlike your previous thought, your father is taking everything fairly well.

“Your daughter’s an adult now, honey, and this isn’t our country. She can do whatever she wants, and she knows the consequences.” Although couples living together are also frowned upon in South Korea, it is slowly being acceptable due to the nature of today’s society. Your mother, meanwhile, has not digested that you are not in your home country, but you understand why she is reacting the way she is.

“We have to go now,” your mother stomps her way outside and grabs the hands of your two sisters.

“Mom, let’s talk about this!” You insist, holding the luggage.

“Well, you didn’t talk to me nor your father about living with your boyfriend either!” She deadpans, and you have nothing to say to it. She is right, after all.

“At least let me drive you there!” But your mother has already gone, leaving you with your father.

“Give her space, Y/N. She has a right to be mad. Why didn’t you tell us, anyway?” His words are kind, and even if years have taken away his youthful looks, he still speaks equating to your understanding.

“I was afraid, Dad,” you admit. “I’m sorry I disappointed you.”

“No, you did not, Y/N. You make us proud. Your mother might just be mad that you didn’t tell us immediately.” He pats your head. “Does he treat you right?”

“Very much so,” you smile for the first time.

“That’s all I need to know,” he adds in relief. “Tell him we should go out to dinner. I’ll convince your mother to go, okay?”

“He’ll be back in two days. And thank you, Dad, for everything.” You hug him, almost breaking down in his shoulders.

“As long as you’re happy, sweetheart.”

You haven’t talked to your mother yet when Jongin arrived from Europe. You have filled him in with what happened when he wasn’t in here, and he almost rushed to the hotel he is staying at to apologize.

“It’s not your fault, you know? It’s mine.” You snuggle to his side.

“Still, love. You wouldn’t live with me if I didn’t propose the idea to you,” he plants a kiss on your temple, sympathizing with your sorrows. Your family only has two days left before they go back.

“Dad invited us for a dinner outside tonight,” you murmur, hoping Jongin has heard because you do not have the heart to repeat the words again.

“Okay, then. We’ll go.”

You go to the nearest bistro that night, and your second sister is delighted to see Jongin, as she is a big fan of his.

“Don’t drool on him now, doofus,” you warn her, and she only sticks her tongue out to mess around with you. She returns to staring at Jongin, probably about to say something extremely embarrassing.

“You think you can introduce me to Oh Sehun?” You palm your face.

“Maybe? You do know he has a girlfriend, right? The one he posed with for the October issue of Harper’s Bazaar?” Jongin raises a brow, getting along with your sister’s antics.

“And here I am thinking I have a chance,” she shakes her head, though knowing well that the chances of Oh Sehun falling in love with her is thin.

“You might,” Jongin adds.

You notice the silence of your parents, more like your mother, as Jongin gets in an animated conversation with your father about how he loves Iron Man (it’s a good thing Jongin can speak English well.) Since then, your father has been a big fan of the Marvel movies and had always gravitated more towards the role Robert Downey Jr. plays amazingly.

“He’s just one of a kind, you know?” Your father murmurs, to which Jongin agrees. The elder offers a toast, and you, your second sister, Jongin, and surprisingly, your mother, lift your champagne flutes altogether, and the youngest raises her glass of juice up. You clink your glasses together, and when your mom gently bumps hers on Jongin’s, you find yourself stifling a smile.

“I hope you continue making my daughter happy.” It is all the confirmation you need, especially when she messes your hair and smiles warmly at you in reconciliation. “Because if you do not, my husband’s a policeman. He can shoot you with it anytime.”

“Hey!” Your father complains. “But yeah, take care of her, even if I know she can take care of herself wonderfully.”

Jongin takes your hand on the top of the table and holds it promisingly.

“I always will, ma’am, sir. After all, where she is, is my home.”

And you know now, that wherever Jongin and you are happy will be your home from now on. Seeing your parents’ smile, you realize that they have accepted it.

They have accepted him.

[regrettablewritings]

Storytime

So in an act of procrastinating on exam work and entertaining for an audience of who knows, I thought I’d share some stories from my life because I think more people ought to do this and this blog is my dumping ground anyway, might as well, right? At the very least, @xemopeachx might be entertained.

So two summers ago, I was, as usual, scrambling to find a summer job. For those of you who haven’t gotten into college yet, the reality is that if you don’t secure an internship, don’t go to school nearby where you’re trying to find a summer job, or can’t lie about when you graduate, finding a summer job is damn difficult. At least, in my experience it was.

So when I got an offer for an interview, I was hype. In hindsight, I don’t really remember applying for the job due to going through 20+ online applications in just June alone but I’m pretty sure it was for a secretarial position. It therefore should’ve been a red flag that they were offering me a more . . . sales-y position. We’re gonna call the company “Pinnacle.”

The crazy thing about Pinnacle was that it didn’t look shady. It wasn’t in a sketchy part of town in a rundown building or anything. In fact, it was on a high floor in a beautiful building where you could go so high up that you could see rain falling from a cloud in the distance. So appearance-wise, I had no reason to suspect anything. I did well in the interview and was told that if they wanted me, I would receive a call that evening for the second round of interviewing. Surprise, surprise, I get the round 2. I’m advised to dress nicely but comfortably, as I would be walking around the city that day with a mentor of sorts who would show me the ropes.

So my mentor, Titus (as we’ll call him), seemed like a great guy. In hindsight, though, his story seemed a bit clunky in places but, hey, I needed the money so of course I wasn’t thinking thoroughly. He explains that if I’m hired by Pinnacle, my job would basically be to go around town, talking to a . . . certain kind of clientele, offering this phone plan for those on a certain kind of healthcare or welfare or something like that, I don’t know. As you can imagine, though, marching up to people who look a certain way and asking them something personal like that wasn’t exactly winning over any clients. Plus, at this point, my social anxiety was beginning to worsen for some reason. But I thought, “I need this job, I need this money, suck it up!” and rolled with it.

We return to Pinnacle’s office and I’m put in a room with a bunch of other candidates and y’all . . . I try not to be judgemental. Especially when it comes to looks. But the image Pinnacle presented itself as, the image they told me to come as, and the image some of these people were? Fit together like a Rubik’s Cube glued with all the wrong colors in the wrong spots. That should’ve probably also have been a red flag but, hey, maybe they just want to hire a variety of people. Despite, you know, everyone who already works here looking nothing like some of the candidates. Anyway, I get the job and am advised to come in the next day for paperwork.

Now, this third day is the day the siren testing becomes absolute siren blaring. I arrive at the office, I hear thudding in the back. Like, funky music thudding. There’s no-one at the front desk. I have no choice but to head back and look for somebody. There, in the back room, is this loudass music playing and I mean somebody cranked up stuff on the electronica workout station of Pandora or something. And speaking over this loudass music is this chick to, like, several other people taking notes as she writes on a board. I have to yell over the music to ask about what I’m supposed to do and I just get told to stay there and take notes.

So guys, basically what happens every morning at Pinnacle is this sort of . . .  I don’t even know, I guess it’s to motivate the workers? They read off the rules and sales tactics or something (I have the packets from it somewhere) and I guess they played the music loudly to make people enunciate but really it was annoying.

But! What made this shit start setting off bells in my head was what they did every time they went through a point: The instructor would go, “And when do we do this?”, the subjects go, “All the time.” Instructor: “AND WHEN DO WE DO THIS!?” Subjects: “ALL THE TIME!!!” And then, the instructor would go, “Gimme some juice!”, to which the subjects would respond, “Juicccccccceeee” while giving the instructor a high-five.

I don’t know if it’s just my paranoia or anxiety, but something about this weirded me out to no fucking end. But to be fair, how would you feel if Major Lazer’s “Somebody to Lean On” was blaring in a small room with a lady surrounded by several people eagerly listening to her mad ravings with the following exchange going on:

“And when do we do this?” “All the time.” “AND WHEN DO WE DO THIS?!?!” “ALL THE TIME!!!” “Gimme some juice!” *holds out hand for high-five* “Juicccccceeeeee!”*gives her high-five*

There was also a freaking tiny gong in the corner and I don’t know why but it freaked me out, I guess it just made me think of cults?? There were some other things that made me think of cults involving chants but I think I repressed them because that juice mess was the strangest shit to me. And yet, I went through with the paperwork anyway because how do you tell somebody, “Your business seems shady and it’s making me want to curl into that corner right by the tiny gong”?

I honestly didn’t calm down until I caught the bus home, when I walked inside and told my mom about it. She was confused, but ultimately not excited about the idea of me walking around the shadier parts of town by myself as the job would require. We looked through the paperwork and realized that the payment method also sounded a little too fishy and decided that it just wasn’t gonna be worth it. I quit the next day and avoided going down certain streets the Pinnacle people frequented for the rest of the summer, lest they learn that I really didn’t “find a better opportunity for myself” as I had claimed.

[bryanllamado]

Feb-ibig

Okay. So before you start reading this blog entry, here’s a quick story. After celebrating Valentine’s the entire week (yes, I made it happen), I had chicken pox. *frowns* As of writing, I’m taking some time off of school to recuperate from this illness–perfect timing, the prelim has just begun (and so as this chicken pox). Disclaimer: I have zero idea on how I got this–no one from the fam or the squad had this skin disease recently. I’m starting to hate February for this apparent reason (getting sick); it never fails to ruin things. But looking on the brighter side of things, I got to spend this year’s V-Day with the one[s] I love!

I have planned this–my dream V-Day celeb–for a long time already and though some things didn’t turn out as planned, I’m glad with the way everything drove out in general. Damang dama ko ang simoy ng pag-ibig, mga bes! I enjoyed every single moment of the week and I feel privileged to have spent the Hearts Day sharing love with the best people in town. Plus, this year saw the light for my first ever (legit but not so legal) valentine date–though it wasn’t exactly a date. Tamis! Let’s just say that I celebrated love the way it is supposed to be rejoiced. But for now, it’s time for me to do a recap of how the previous week went. #HappyHeartsDay

Valentine Week 2017

Sunday

As soon as I reached the dorm, I prepared a little surprise for my girl: a special valentine greeting poem and a banner. I spent the rest of the night finishing the poem (though I finished it swiftly) and cutting out letters for me and my friend’s ‘HAPPY HEARTS DAY’ banner surprise to our two lovely girls. The good thing is that I have the materials that I need at the dorm–glue, colored papers, bond papers and a pair of scissors. I prepared the letter cuts and Gian inflated the heart shaped balloons. We have everything laid out that night and the only thing left to do is to execute the plan. #loverbois

Monday

It’s been a while since we (me and my girl) last visited Starbucks so we planned to grab coffee to start the week. We both came from our respective schools–the 2 Lasallian universities in Dasmariñas–and headed straight to meet each other and get our favorite flavors of frappe. I guess we both needed a breather from a long hard day in school. I enjoyed the night (even though we weren’t able to talk much and catch up). I was preparing for a report and a major exam for the following day as she was scanning through her notes. Handouts before hangouts as people say but why choose when you can have the best of both worlds?

Tuesday

Prior to this week, she already informed me that she and her (single girl) friends will be going out on V-Day. I gave it a nod since I don’t want her to wait too long for me as she’ll be dismissed earlier than I’ll be. The plan is that we’ll meet at exactly 6PM at Walter Mart with no particular place to eat at. It is also the day when we are supposed to hand our valentine gifts to each other but a few days before, the Instagram account (from which I ordered my gift for her–a blue cap and a matching blue watch) informed me that they couldn’t ship/send the items to me yet because they don’t have them yet.

Since she’s out with her friends, I decided to join my friends to try Bittersweet–a café that some of our fellow COEd students manage. I wasn’t supposed to join them (as I’ll be having a dinner date with my girl) but I wouldn’t want to miss a food adventure. After class, we grabbed a jeepney ride and headed straight to Area G–where the café is located. Too bad, Rica, Jane, MJ and Rjhay weren’t able to make it. For the meriendate, majority of us had Tuna Pasta and Choco Kisses milk shake and we all shared a plate of nachos and a barkada serving of fries.

Everybody enjoyed the food and (believe it or not) none of us spent more than a hundred bucks. The food is great and the menu offers variety–though the serving size is a little reduced but my taste buds are still satisfied. The sizes of their drinks are named single, taken, complicated and barkada (from the smallest serving to the largest). The place is not that spacious but we managed to arrange ourselves on a long table. I am satisfied with my Bittersweet experience in general. *thumbs up* After we finished our meals, we had isaw and betamax on a nearby streetfood spot.

I went back to the dorm to fix myself for my first ever (could­-have­-been) valentine dinner. She texted me around quarter to 7PM and told me that she’s on her way already. I rushed to reach Walter Mart and arrived 13 minutes late–not that punctual for an actual date. We decided to dine at Bon Chon (our common fave food place) but to our surprise, the place is too crowded–with people waiting both inside and outside. We were supposed to try the new seafood flavor Bibimbowl but apparently, there’s no vacant table left for us to dine in. It is unwise to have our orders taken out but we did in hopes of saving time.

Instead of having Bibimbowls (which we would appreciate more if we eat in the actual serving), we opted for 2 servings of Calamari. The crew told us that we will be waiting for 20 minutes to get our orders but we ended up waiting for almost an hour–partida, standing ovation pa kami n’yan. The waiting game is on and we took the time to catch up on each other’s ganaps. Instead of getting bored, I enjoyed waiting since I’m with my favorite person. I can still recall her saying, “Sana pala dito na lang tayo kumain kung ganto katagal din naman tayo maghihintay.” I bet she would laugh in case she’s reading this.

Since I’m chasing a curfew time, we went home with our take outs (told you, it wasn’t a date). I’m absolutely disappointed with how the night turned out–the gifts were delayed, waited for an hour to get our orders and ended up not eating together. I actually insisted that we eat instead given that it’s a special day (and I wouldn’t mind going back to the dorm past the curfew time) but she insisted that we should go home–since we’ve spent enough time together. We left the place not with satisfied tummies but with memories and good laughter. Tip: If you’re going on a date, make sure you set up an early one or have a table reservation. By the way, the banner and balloons surprise for our lovely girls was a success! Thanks a lot Gi! I owe you so much man.

Wednesday

We were supposed to see My Ex and Why’s (but she dislikes mainstream Filipino films) or Fifty Shades Darker (but she has already seen it) so planned to have a movie marathon on their place instead. Our friends Gian and Yna–our fellow Lasallian couple–set up the marathon and we all chipped in to have popcorn and nachos to complete the movie experience. We watched Holding the Man and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (the former is LGBT romance themed, the latter is a fantasy). My bad, I slept in between the 2 films so I didn’t understand any of the storyline. It always feels authentic when I’m with the 3 of them; plus, nachos and popcorn. *drools*

Thursday

Y’all know what it is: my friends and I planned to see Fifty Shades Darker on that day and as if fate is on our side, everything went according to plans. Praise the heavens! Apparently, my friends are sort of obsessed with the franchise and I feel their strong will (judging on their reactions when they saw the trailer) to see the film. Well, I’m a fan of film adaptations of novels in general and what could have been a naughtier way to celebrate love month than to hit the movie house with this flick? In short, we have anticipated Darker from the very beginning.

The hype is so real that to some extent, some of my friends even fabricated birth certificates to prove that everyone’s in the legal age–since Darker is R-18. Babala: Ang programang ito ay Rated SPG. There are a lot of ‘great things’ I supposed that happened during the day. 1. I recovered my ID from SWAFO. I lost my school ID (the jacket is already broken so it’s no wonder it got lost) that day when we attended a seminar at the Alumni Building. Good thing I was able to retrieve it from SWAFO right before we leave for Robinsons Dasmariñas.

2. The full show was moved to 3:50PM instead of half past 3PM (which gave us more time to fake birth certificates and get food). We grabbed snacks from 7Eleven; I had a butter flavored popcorn and a huge cup of Gulp–which I finished by myself. #nosharing 3. There is no traffic and the jeepney driver changed routes to shorten the ride. We left 30 minutes before the showing and we crossed our fingers for no traffic. Good thing the driver of the jeepney changed routes to get to the mall faster. After that, we ran–far beyond the stoplight to enter the mall to the last floor to reach the movie house.

4. The guard from the mall simply asked us about our ages and college level (he simply looked at our IDs without even asking for legal documents or proofs). Honestly, there are 3 of us who are not yet 18–Alpha, MJ and Faith.  Rica and Rjhay were not able to join us; T. Annie (Dairen’s best friend) and Leslie (MJ’s special someone) joined the pool. 5. We got inside the movie house just in time. When we entered the cinema, the film has just began and so we quickly looked for seats and placed in the 3rd row. I sat beside Nica and Tin. Our acquaintances Clarisse and Errol were also inside the cinema.

I’m satisfied with the film in general–the story lines and the cinematography. Although I haven’t read the novel yet, it would have been a better experience to know what to expect (aside from what we saw in the trailer). FYI: The plot of the entire trilogy focuses on romance; not on the BDSM thing or the sexual encounters (though the love scenes are really noticeable). One thing I love about the film is that it featured a cohesive shift from the ‘sexual’ to ‘intimate’ relationship between Anastasia and Christian. I highly recommend this flick for lovers out there; perfect for the love month.

After seeing Darker, majority of us headed home straight but Nica, MJ, Leslie and I hopped to SM Dasmariñas which is just a few blocks away. The lovebirds (MJ and Leslie) will be dining there while Nica and I went to Imagine. I personally wanted to go to Imagine because I want to belt out my favorite songs on the karaoke (which I barely do; thank you to my blockmates–Ayah, MJ and Cyra–who went to Imagine that Monday for making me envy). Nica and I had an equal share of songs and this is my set list for that night:

·        Chandelier

·        You are My Song

·        Someday We’ll Know

·        Home

·        Alone

·        Baliw

·        If I Were a Boy

·        The Gift (duet with Nica)

·        Forever’s Not Enough

·        If We Fall in Love (duet with Nica)

I’m not even kidding with the set list though most of the songs are very unlikely for me to sing–Chandelier, If I Were a Boy and Forever’s Not Enough). *laughs* I just want to know if I can still sing those songs. Nica sang Counting Stars, I’ll Be There, Somebody that I Used to Know, Born This Way, A Whole New World, etc. Next time, I’ll be doing more of band music and alternatives like Maroon 5, Coldplay and Paramore–medyo rock para mapaos–or maybe some throwback Chris Brown or Ne-Yo. #nexttime Unfortunately, they don’t have Secret Love Song yet–would’ve been a great jam if the song is there.

Before we went home, I dropped by Tokyo Tokyo to take out Ramen (insane cravings for Ramen; had two steaming bowls that day–one for brunch and another for dinner). That day is indeed tiring but I have seen a great film (Darker), I have great food (Ramen) and I’m with a great company–my college squad. I have 3 homeworks and a quiz the following day but fret not–Carpe Diem. I’m really glad that I was able to carry out everything I have planned that day–felt extremely blessed. Guess what, I’m starting to love Thursdays more than ever… again! #thankyouLord

Friday

Another (tough and long) week at school has passed and the best way to end it is a street food fix: had calamares and my fave buko juice after class. After 2 weeks of indulging in calamares after class, I (think I) should stop this habit–for a.) it is not that healthy; b.) it’s about time to stop cheap thrills; c.) I’m bringing back the thrifty habits. Before I catch the bus ride home, I dropped by my girl’s place and shared a few bites off our favorite doughs. She did it again–she bought a box (a dozen) of our favorite donuts from Krispy Kreme.

In fact, we had KK donuts twice that week because Gian and Yna also purchased a dozen of assorted doughs that Tuesday (which they shared with us). This time though, we had the box all by ourselves–though we have only consumed 4 of which. I helped her fix her things; she helped me sort mine. #dormergoals #rgoals As we packed our bags together, I asked her if we could meet the following day–I’ll finally received my valentine gift for her–so we can give our gifts to each other. Delightedly, she said yes without asking about details or whatevers.

Saturday

The Instagram account (from where I ordered my gifts for her) messaged me that Friday that they already handed the items to my friend Bea–a friend who resides in Manila and the one who picked up the gifts. I personally tapped Bea to contact the account and help me purchase the items since she’s in Manila (most of the time). She went home that Friday so we managed to meet the following day to give me the gift. So there, if you’re reading this, you’ll know where I bought my gifts for you and who conspired with me to get the items. *winks*

We met at SM Trece Martires–our new hide away as the mall is not crowded–and she arrived late (very unlikely of her to). Well, I was late when we met that Tuesday and it is just fair that she came late that time–quits lang. Oh girl, please don’t make me wait. When she arrived, she immediately handed me her gift and to my surprise (nasarprays ako literal), her gifts were the items next on my bucket list–the items that I would care to have but can’t at the moment. Thank you boo! I love your gifts! I handed her my gifts as well–quite nervous if she would like them or not.

She has been eyeing the blue cap–which is from a merch store–and the blue watch on Instagram for some time now. Since she doesn’t have time to purchase them yet, I did the deeds and surprisingly, she liked my gifts. I won’t give a hint on the price of the items (shh lang muna; she gave me a pricey gift as well so secret na lang) because she also bought a quite expensive gift for me. She’s really eager to have the cap–which I would also love to have–and I made sure it comes with a watch (because she’s a big lover of watches; bought a blue one to match the color of the cap).

And all of a sudden, I had chicken pox­–just the mere thought that I have this makes me want to throw up instead. *note sarcasm* So it goes a little like this, Cupid and Aphrodite made me feel all the love the entire week then sends me crashing back down to earth (after putting me on a cloud 9). But kidding aside, I don’t know what I did to contact and/or deserve this kind of sickness. The good thing is that this came after Valentine’s–I got to spend the Hearts Day the way it is supposed to. #atleast

The bad thing is that this came right at the beginning of the Prelim week so I had to take 5 special exams. Not to mention, I’ll be staying at home for the rest of the week and (sighs) no allowance. Sayang baon, mga beshy! I could have felt that Valentine hangover if not for this. *frowns* Di bale na. Looking on the positive side of things: I get to rest for some days; I have been enormously blessed the entire week; I have the love of my life with me–there’s nothing more that I could ask for. #blessed

How about you, my dear readers? How did you spend the Hearts Day? By whatever means, I hope you all had an incredibly romantic and intimate celebration with the one[s] you love! Just a friendly reminder: You deserve to be loved. ❤

Till the next blog entry! Bry. x 022317

P.S. To the one who made this year’s Valentine’s extra special, thank you! I’m blessed to have you.

P.P.S. I didn’t publish this whole entry to brag; it is just my pleasure to share with you how it is to be me.

[u-wll-rmmbr-me-fr-centuries]

At last-minute I decided I was going to take part in Booktube-a-thon, and so I went into making my TBR list with no idea really of what I was going to read. I wasn’t prepared. And to top it all off, I kept switching around books as I felt it didn’t quite work. But now I am happy to announce my final book TBR for the readathon!

Before;

Before we go into this I do need to say that I’ve already started two of these books from the 24in48 Readathon. But I don’t like reading a million books all at once, and they do fit into these categories, so it doesn’t really hurt anyone.

Read a book with a person on the cover

For this I chose The Last of Us by Rob Ewing. There’s two people on the cover and I’ve been intrigued by this for a while now but haven’t got round to reading it yet.

When a pandemic wipes out the entire population of a remote Scottish island, only a small group of children survive. How will they fend for themselves?

Since the last adult died, sensible Elizabeth has been the group leader, testing for a radio signal, playing teacher and keeping an eye on Alex, the littlest, whose insulin can only last so long.

There is ‘shopping’ to do in the houses they haven’t yet searched and wrong smells to avoid. For eight-year-old Rona each day brings fresh hope that someone will come back for them, tempered by the reality of their dwindling supplies.

With no adults to rebel against, squabbles threaten the fragile family they have formed. And when brothers Calum Ian and Duncan attempt to thwart Elizabeth’s leadership, it prompts a chain of events that will endanger Alex’s life and test them all in unimaginable ways.

Read a hyped book

I chose The Hobbit as I had already started reading it for 24in48 Readathon and I would prefer to finish it before starting more books. That’s just not my style. So as it is one of the biggest hyped books to ever exist, I decided to include it as this challenge.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent.

Finish a book in one day

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (The original screenplay). As I was able to read The Cursed Child in one day, I figured this would also be another quick and easy read due to it being a screenplay.

J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting debut is captured in this exciting hardcover edition of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay.

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt’s fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Featuring a cast of remarkable characters, this is epic, adventure-packed storytelling at its very best.

Whether an existing fan or new to the wizarding world, this is a perfect addition to any reader’s bookshelf.

Read about a character that’s very different to you

I thought Memoirs of a Geisha fit perfectly into this slot. It’s set in Japan and follows the life of a Geisha, from when she was a little girl to when she’s much older. It’s fictional but at the beginning there’s a fake translators note which gives it more character. I also started this book for 24in48 Readathon. 

A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel presents with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha.

In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl’s virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction – at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful – and completely unforgettable.

Read a whole book outdoors

Lets be honest – the outdoors isn’t always our best friend. And as I dwell in this place called England, the outside can be wet, cold and plain miserable. So, I decided to go with another short and sweet book, Alice Through The Looking Glass. The copy I have, has both Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass in one, but I’ve already read the first.

In 1865, English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), aka Lewis Carroll, wrote a fantastical adventure story for the young daughters of a friend. The adventures of Alice—named for one of the little girls to whom the book was dedicated—who journeys down a rabbit hole and into a whimsical underworld realm instantly struck a chord with the British public, and then with readers around the world. In 1872, in reaction to the universal acclaim *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland* received, Dodgson published this sequel. Nothing is quite what it seems once Alice journeys through the looking-glass, and Dodgson’s wit is infectious as he explores concepts of mirror imagery, time running backward, and strategies of chess-all wrapped up in the exploits of a spirited young girl who parries with the Red Queen, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and other unlikely characters. In many ways, this sequel has had an even greater impact on today’s pop culture than the first book.

Read a book you bought because of the cover

The Diabolic. Yes. A million times yes. Technically though, I didn’t buy it as I actually won it. But I was thinking about buying it anyway, so it counts in my eyes.

Nemesis is a Diabolic. Created to protect a galactic Senator’s daughter, Sidonia. There’s no one Nemesis wouldn���t kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia.

She must become her.

Now one of the galaxy’s most dangerous weapons is masquerading in a world of corruption and Nemesis has to hide her true abilities or risk everything. As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns that there is something stronger than her deadly force: the one thing she’s been told she doesn’t have – humanity. And, amidst all the danger, action and intrigue, her humanity might be the only thing that can save her, Sidonia and the entire Empire…

Read seven books

What’s the one thing this list is missing? That’s right – zombies! World War Z would make another perfect book as I anticipate it will be fast paced and full of suspense. I originally watched the film for Film Studies in my first year of college (and I loved it, sue me), when I saw it on the bookshelves in a charity store I had to have it.

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. “World War Z” is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Weekly post

I’m going to write a long post (like I did with 24in48 Readathon) where I will have each day’s update and progress. Hopefully it will be posted on the Sunday night if everything goes to plan and we’ll see at how many of these reading challenges I have completed.

Booktube-a-thon 2017 TBR At last-minute I decided I was going to take part in Booktube-a-thon, and so I went into making my TBR list with no idea really of what I was going to read.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

OK, I'LL TELL YOU YOU ABOUT STUDENTS

If you're an inexperienced founder, the only way to escape this empty life was to submit to it. When you first start angel investing. If you want to invest in any good startups. It's not the physical infrastructure of Silicon Valley that makes it sound as if they're committing, but which didn't convert except in a few months. At Harvard that is or was Reading Period, when students have no classes to attend because they're supposed to think. So I've seen a good part of the reason is that to make Leonardo you need more than his innate ability. Then I'm worried. Though a lot of mistakes. Our startup spent its entire marketing budget on PR: at a time till they feel they have the upper hand over investors, if you had a graph in which the upper is written, in which case the interface can be dictated by the upper level. In fact, one strategy I recommend to people who need a new idea.1 But there's more to it than that. The stories that seemed to be most admired were ones in which people have to make it to ramen profitability in a few.2

John Bautista, Trevor Blackwell, David Hornik, Jessica Livingston, Robert Morris, Eric Raymond describes Lisp as something like Latin or Greek—a free implementation, a book, and something to hack—how do you make good stuff? Here, again, language designers are somewhat out of touch with the world. This was too subtle for me. I already have momentum on some project, I realized it would probably have ended up pretty rich even if IBM hadn't happened to drop the PC standard, Microsoft opened up the market to any manufacturer.3 Brevity is always attractive to hackers, a language designer would do well to act as the lead investor.4 We can afford to take more risk you should. You're just looking for something to spark a thought.5 Fortunately for startups, big companies are smart enough yet to admit this to themselves. When you only have a few users you can be in close contact with all of them perhaps, but if we raise a few hundred thousand we can hire one or two smart friends, and if we want to fund more Airbnbs we have to train longer for them.

The worst ideas we see at Y Combinator are from young founders making things they think other people will. But what if you haven't raised any money yet, you probably have an idea. Anti-immigration people say that instead of accepting offers greedily, end up leaving that investor out, you're going to do this well. He was just trying to paint well; he couldn't help painting like Michelangelo. I wouldn't. If I remember correctly, the most you'd want to raise is 20 x $15k x 18 $5. But as happened with Apple, by the time I never tried to separate my wants and weigh them against one another. Cobol and hype Ada, Java also play a role like the role relaxation plays in having ideas. So much for hockey as the game is played now. One can imagine evolutionary reasons for that. Just have a gentlemen's agreement.

A rounds. A lot of them try to make them your own. Just a teacher? Since software patents are no different from hardware patents, people who apply to Y Combinator don't generally have much money, and partly because startups early on need frequent feedback from their users to tweak what they're doing. One of the weirdest things about Yahoo when I went to, the focus of rebellion was drug use, specifically marijuana. Steve Wozniak built the computer that became the Apple I, he felt obliged to give his then-employer Hewlett-Packard the option to produce it. There are lots of surprises for individual startups too, and they have sex. As indeed they often are. Mihalko, made that year something his students still talk about, thirty years later. So if the ease of shipping software, we'd see a lot more people investing tens or hundreds of thousands.

If feeling you're going to fail makes you stop working, that practically guarantees you'll fail. I feel a bit stupid saying that, because when you're saying something that Richard Stallman and Bill Gates would probably have something to read.6 In 1995 it was hard to imagine something that could be turned into a startup. It's easy. In our school it was eighth grade, which was ages twelve and thirteen for me. There are three reasons. If your numbers grow significantly between two investor meetings, investors will be hot to close, and if we want to keep them fed, and as far as I know all too well from being in the business of trying to be artistic resort to swooshes and curlicues. It's hard for us to be up to our chins in failure all the time, instead of being dragged sideways into a discussion of price.7 To us that's positive evidence an idea is good.8 Reality can be messier. Intelligence has become increasingly important relative to wisdom because there is usually a lead investor who negotiates the terms with the startup.9

This happens in intellectual as well as moral questions. They didn't foresee the expansion of this idea.10 We're in a business where we need to be able to. I'm going to give you a termsheet. The view of history we got in elementary school was a crude hagiography, with at least one representative of each powerful group. Get introductions to investors. Established ones have learned to treat saying yes as like diving off a diving board, and they won't even dare to take on ambitious projects.11 Puberty finally arrived; I became a decent soccer player; I started a company to put art galleries online. But they were expensive compared to what they were worth it. So it is with design.

Notes

Part of the leading edge of technology, companies building lightweight clients have usually tried to unload it on buyer after buyer. 99, and many of the markets they serve, because you can't avoid doing sales by hiring sufficiently qualified designers.

The facts about Apple's early history are from an angel.

In part because Steve Jobs did for Apple when he was otherwise unoccupied, to buy corporate bonds to market faster; the trend has been decreasing globally. Though nominally acquisitions and sometimes on a map.

I write out loud at least a partial order. Incidentally, this would work so hard to grasp the distinction between them generate a lot of investors. It's interesting to 10,000 or a blog that tried that.

Microsoft, not all, the less educated parents seem closer to a super-angels will snap up stars that VCs may begin to conserve board seats for shorter periods. It's not a complete bust. This would penalize short comments especially, because it aggregates data from so many trade publications nominally have a single project is a big success or a funding round usually reflects some other contribution by the PR firm. Startups Condense in America consider acting white.

But it's hard to think of the false positives out of just doing things, which are a small company that has a finite market value. Another approach would be improper to name names, while simultaneously implying that you're talking to a company's culture. 5% of Apple now January 2016 would be improper to name names, while Reddit is Delicious/popular with voting instead of just Jews any more than the valuation of an investor makes you a series A round. That wouldn't work if the president faced unscripted questions by giving a press conference.

As I explained in How to Make Wealth when I first met him, but I wouldn't want the first half of the War on Drugs. You should be designed to express algorithms, and wouldn't expect the opposite way from the Dutch not to pay the bills so you could probably improve filter performance by incorporating prior probabilities. And maybe we should remember this when comparing techniques for stopping spam. The Internet worm of its completion in 1969 the largest of their works are lost.

The other extreme—becoming demoralized when investors behave upstandingly too. All you need to do is keep track of statistics for foo overall as well. What you learn in college is much smaller commitment than a tenth as many per capita income in England in 1750 was higher than India's in 1960.

A single point of treason. Even in Confucius's time it still seems to be good at squeezing money out of their times. Earlier versions used a recent Business Week, 31 Jan 2005. Bureaucrats manage to think.

Though in fact had its own momentum. Labor unions were exempted from antitrust laws by the high-fiber diet is to do wrong and hard to predict startup outcomes in which many people mistakenly think it was true that the probabilities of features i.

We tell them to lose less on investments that failed, and are paid a flat rate regardless of the great painters in history supported themselves by painting portraits. No one writing a dictionary from scratch is not too early if it's the right mindset you will find a broad range of topics, comparable in scope to our scholarship though without the methodological implications. The moment I do in a world with antibiotics or air travel or an acquisition for more than whatever collection of qualities helps people make up their minds, they sometimes describe it as a first approximation, it's not the original version of this article used the term literally.