#If you see me say this as chapter 1 instead of 00 on twitter no you didnt 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cillianmurphy · 5 years ago

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GIFFING 101 - YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE ON HOW TO GIF

I have gotten many, many asks before about how I gif and I finally decided to make a tutorial. This is going to be very long, very image heavy and with a lot of details and examples. I mean it, I’m going through every, single aspect of giffing that I can possibly think of. From start to finish. And please read the disclaimer at the very start.

* I use a macbook pro but this should probably work on windows too!

I hate doing this but if this helped and you want to, please consider donating to my ko-fi or if you want, commission a theme or page from me at @amaanat <3

tutorial under cut, I hope it helps!

★★★★★

- CONTENTS

disclaimer

what will you need to create gifs?

how to download videos?

extracting your scene from handbrake using VLC / built in video player

opening in photoshop

trimming, cropping and resizing videos

sharpening

colouring and psds

masks

adding subtitles

editing frames / timeline speed

multiple gifs in one grid.

actions

exporting the gif

last minute tips and extra links.

★★★★★

- DISCLAIMER

First off, this is not meant as a post where I am saying look here, this is the only and perfect way of giffing. Not at all. When I started out, there were many tutorials available that helped me figure out how to gif, and I slowly developed my own style and I would like to create an in depth tutorial that helps you grasp the basics. Heck, make your gifs whatever way you want, go absolutely crazy on colours or whatever, this tutorial is just here to guide you through the process of gifmaking, because I know it can be very intimidating to people who are just getting into it. That is why I made this and why I spent 8 hours writing this, because I want others to know too and this is the kind of in depth tutorial I needed when I was starting out 4 years ago. Thanks for reading, hope it helps and go crazy ahhh go stupid.

★★★★★

- what will you need to create gifs?

photoshop. I use photoshop CC 2020 on a mac and I pay monthly bc of student discount. There are many, many links you can find on @completeresources for downloads. You can use any photoshop you like, as long as you have the timeline option.

Handbrake. This nifty program is used mostly to convert MKV files to MP4, but I also use it to quickly extract the part of the video I want, because opening an entire movie in photoshop can quickly clog up space bc of cache and it’s a pain to find that one second scene you want with that tiny scrollbar. Download it from here.

your video (downloading explained down below)

extras: VLC, just to find how many seconds the scene is at, so we can input the time in Handbrake. You can use any other player though for that step, I use VLC or Quicktime. Download VLC from here.

★★★★★

- how to download videos

Ok so I will quickly go through a few methods here for getting your clips.

1. t*rrenting.

This is the most popular method for getting your film or tv episode. I personally get my t/rrents from rarbg dot to or if I am having trouble finding one, I go to 1337x dot to, because they compile them from different sites. I copy the magnet link and go to the qbittorrent application, import magnet link, choose the files I want and it downloads. Remember, the higher the seeder leecher ratio, the quicker it will download.

But which file should I choose?? there’s so many? Well yes there are many many files for different movies. On RAR, I found more than 40 t/rrent files for Endgame. I think that generally, the 4/5 GB 1080p copies are just fine. I have compared giffing with a 60GB Interstellar Remux (which is directly ripped from bluray) file to giffing from a 4GB 1080 file, it literally gave me the same quality and the 1080 looked crisper. So yeah don’t kill your computers space, just go for those 3/4/5GB files.

hot tip - don’t download from yify, the quality is way worse.

2. movies from twitter accounts such as logolessHD.

these accounts post MEGA links to movies and shows, but you will have to request to follow them to be able to get the links. Then you can download the movie from there. The accounts you can get these links from are here: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. The quality can be a bit less though compared to t/rrents. Here is a link to a tumblr blog with these kinds of downloads too.

3. downloading from youtube.

ok, use 4kvideodownloader for this. It is incredibly easy to use, you just need the youtube link. Always Always go for 1080p, if you can’t then 720 at the most because otherwise quality gets really bad really fast.

4. netflix / screenrecording

If you don’t want to download / can’t find something, try using netflix and screen recording. In my experience, SC only works on google chrome and not safari so jsyk!! Here is a tutorial on how to screen record on mac (or for quick access, click command+shift+5) and windows.

NOTE: quicktime screen records at 60fps, which is nearly thrice the frame rate of movies and shows, so at the end you may end up with duplicate frames in the timeline of photoshop, so you will have to delete those frames one by one sorry.

★★★★★

- extracting your scene from handbrake using VLC / built in video player

muahaha here’s where the magic starts to happen. Open handbrake and import your video. For this part I am going to use a scene of Keanu Reeves from the 2019 movie Always be my Maybe. I will demonstrate with that scene up until colouring, because then I will show how I colour different scenes!

So when you have opened the image in HB, you get this layout. (link to imgur)

it is a bit intimidating, I know. So basically, first, click on where it says chapters near the top right and click seconds. then, input the time you want to extract from the entire video. For the Keanu scene, that scene starts at 00:57:18 and ends at 00:57:21. These are not exact timings, I usually add an extra second so the entire scene is captured and I heavily recommend you do the same.

Now down below, you can click browse and edit where your new video will be saved and you can also change the name of the new clip. Always ALWAYS remember to keep the .mp4 ending do not cut that part out!!! If the ending says .m4v change it to mp4!!

Ok then I undertake the following steps to ensure the video that will be exported is of the highest quality possible:

Firstly, I uncheck all these three boxes:

Then you see this bar here right? Well I will edit the dimensions, filters and video now. You don’t have to do anything for audio, subtitles or chapters so leaving that alone is best. Lets go to dimensions first.

Here are my settings for dimensions:

The storage size depends on if your file is 1080p or 720p. Most movies are shot in a ratio of 2.35:1, so if it does not say 1920x1080 like a 1080 file should be, don’t fret. The cut off parts are just the black bars you see when watching the movie. Handbrake doesn’t recognise nor convert them so that’s one less thing we have to worry about.

Now onto filters. Literally do NOT change anything there. Leave the settings as they are, which is like this:

Finally, go to video. You will see this kind of window and these are my settings (imgur)

Firstly, leave video encoder at H264 or 265 depending on how your video is encoded. For the FPS, choose same as source for the framerate and click constant instead of variable!!! This will ensure your video is smooth. For quality, bring the slider all the way to the right. RF0 means it will be at the best quality possible. I didn’t edit the settings at the bottom at all so just leave them be.

Now click this green icon (imgur) at the top and your video will start encoding! It does not take long at all and then your video is ready to made into a nice lil gif!

★★★★★

- opening in photoshop

woohooo we got our video!! Ok now open photoshop. Click on file -> open:

now search for the file you extracted from VLC and import it! Now your screen will look like this (imgur). With a different video, of course lol.

★★★★★

- trimming, cropping and resizing videos

ok so firstly, we will trim the video. As you can see in the image I linked in the step before, the screencap you see is of someone else in ABMM, not Keanu, like I want. So use this slider:

and click and drag it to where your scene begins and shows up in the window. Then, click the following button to split at playhead.

This will split the clip and so the timeline and layers section will look like this (imgur) (mine has three sections because there was space before and after the keanu scene so I cut two parts which made three clips)

so now all there is left in trimming is delete the layers of the video you do not need! For me in that image it was layer 1 and 3!

cropping and resizing

This depends on the kind of gifset you want to make. This picture is a handy guide for resizing:

This post is also very very useful for resizing info

Ok now I will crop my gif. Click on this tool:

and now my interface looks like this. I am using the ratio 6 by 4 but you can use whatever you want.

Ok now you may need to crop some black bars but since I don’t have to, I just moved the crop area around a bit and clicked enter to crop it. Just play around with sizes and whatnot, and get a feel of what you like!!

cropping tip: crop as close as you can to the edges. The more you zoom in, the more pixels that will be visible and it will make your gif extremely grainy!!

So now for resizing, go to image -> image size or click command-shift-i

and you will get this window.

A LITTLE NOTE - I personally do not use automatic but a friend who shared her sharpening psd would prefer if I kept it secret, but automatic is what most people use and it is what I used up until november 2019 and it worked just fine.

Ok anyway now I want to make my gif 268px wide so I will input that as width and make sure you click this!! It makes sure your height and width are proportional!

ok now we have this. After you’ve done that, click ok!

congrats, you just resized a gif!! Your gif probably looks smaller now in the main window once you click ok, just zoom in to it! don’t worry about it looking bad quality, sharpening is next!

This is how my gif looks with trimming, cropping and resizing (with 0.05 speed)

★★★★★

- sharpening

Now we sharpen! Make sure your layer is selected Go to filter -> sharpen -> smart sharpen and this window will pop up:

These are my settings which most people use. Just remove gaussian blur

I have more accurate and use legacy checked too!

click ok! Now ... your gif might look a bit oversharpened. That’s why we use a bit of gaussian blur. Go to filter -> blur -> gaussian blur.

now I think most people also use a 1.0 radius so set that and click ok.

But now your gif looks too blurry. Lets fix that. Double click the icon below in the layers panel

and adjust the opacity! My go to is between 25 to 35, just so the gif looks smooth!

Now we’re done with sharpening! This is how our gif looks with sharpening with 0.05 speed:

sweet right? Now .... the best and hardest part ... colouring!!!!

★★★★★

- colouring and psds

First I will shortly talk about psds. They are photoshop files, that save the entire document which means you can share it with someone after uploading it and when they download and open it, they can edit the layers, tweak things just like they made the file in the first place. Many people upload psds of gifs with colouring so others can use that colouring. You can find so many psds on completeresources (I only linked gif psds but they have psds for icons and headers too) or allresources. I do not use psds but colour from scratch every time so I will not be explaining them further, sorry.

So for colouring, I will go very in depth into different styles. Here are the main types of colouring I have noticed people use on here:

simple - I normally use this for scenes with people in it

vibrant, bright - I use this for scenes with lots of colours in them

pale

black and white

gradients - I use this to spice scenes up a bit

colour palette

I only go for simple, vibrant and gradients and never do cp, pale or black and white, but I will link a few tutorials by talented creators who do and after that I will explain the three ways I colour by showing you three different examples :)

Some useful tutorials I have found for pale/bw/cp colouring are:

this pale tutorial by @samecoin. Especially useful read because Tippy explains how to avoid whitewashing in pale edits.

this pale tutorial by @kateausten. Very easy to read and to follow.

this colour palette tutorial by @freddyfreemen. They explain the basics and provide a psd too.

this colour palette tutorial by @stenbranlons. Very image heavy which guides you through every step of the way.

A blog dedicated to pale resources is @finesources and is definitely worth checking out!

this tutorials page by completeresources has many many tutorials on how to do different kinds of styles

Btw, this is a useful website that explains all the different adjustment layers in photoshop if you’re still getting the hang of them

ok now onto my examples for the colouring. I will first do simple colouring for which I will use the keanu gif. For vibrant and gradient I will use two different gifs. I usually put my colouring into a group so first, close the video group layer and click this to make a new group which will contain the adjustment layers for our colouring:

SIMPLE COLOURING

First I will brighten the gif up with some curves. That is this tool:

Then you get this window:

As you see, I have selected that white eyedropper tool. Using that I will brighten the image. Basically, you want to click on the whitest part of the gif using that tool. This is because wherever you click, the eyedropper will turn that part into white and adjust the entire gif that way so if you click somewhere dark, you’ll get this white bright fuzzy mess. So I clicked on the lightest place which imo is the white specks near the glass in front of his hand and now my gif looks like this:

Ok now if you look at the above image, there is a black eyedropper two steps above the white one. You want to use that to click on the darkest place of the gif bc it’ll turn that to pure black. Here is my gif when I did that:

not a massive difference but it balances things out. Now I will add some saturation. Click this icon:

which brings up this window. I have already set saturation to around 15 to make it a bit warmer:

and the gif looks like this now:

I think it looks nice, but I would like to add something extra. That is why I am going to play around with selective colour to make the background pop a bit and make the black colour more dark. So click this icon:

and you get this window and these colours (imgur). You can play around a lot with selective colour and manipulate colours! So if I turned the black dial on reds to +100, they would become wayyyy darker. However because I want the background to pop, I would use the colours magenta and blue (and black for the final touch). For those my settings are this: 1 - 2 - 3 (imgur). So now my gif looks like this:

And now i think we are done! For comparison, this is what the gif looked like with absolutely no colouring or sharpening:

And that was all for simple colouring!! Lets move on to vibrant colours!!

VIBRANT COLOURING

For this I will use an example from Thor: Ragnarok bc thor is my soft bb. I did not do much for this first example except play around a lot with selective colour and I used the exact way of adding saturation and curves as shown before. Honestly just playing around with selective is the best bet to get vibrant colouring. The gif without sharpening etc was this:

the gif after colouring and sharpening is this:

pretty sweet huh? Just play a lot with saturation, hue and selective colour and channel mixer and you can create a lot of styles that way!

GRADIENT

for this I will use another clip from Thor, but from The Dark World. It is a bare clip where it is raining and I will add a gradient on it. This is the gif without colouring nor sharpening:

now we will do the sharpening and colouring. I already applied a basic curves and saturation layer so now it looks like this:

It looks a bit better right? Ok lets get that gradient applied. Click here:

and click on gradient, NOT gradient maps bc those are different things and I honestly dont know how maps work.

now this is what will appear, I haven’t changed anything to this yet:

What style, colours, angle you choose is up to you. I personally am going for 0 angle because I want it going right. Now, to choose colours, double click on the colour shown next to the word gradient. This window will show up:

The fun part is you can do what you want here. Just experiment, click the buttons, adjust opacity etc. When you click at the bottom of the bar somewhere another stop marker appears meaning you can have even more colours! Just click on the bottom markers and edit to your hearts content! Use the top button to adjust opacities. Personally I went for this gradient:

Ok but now we have a problem because our gradient is fully covering the image and you can’t see anything. That is where blending modes come in. Right click on the gradient layer and click blending options. This window will pop up (ingur). When you click blending mode, these options appear (imgur).

Here is a good guide explaining the blending modes

I just recommend playing around seeing which one suits you. I went for overlay, which makes my final gif look like this:

and that was that on colouring!! Let me know if u have questions about it! Onto the next part, masks!

★★★★★

- masks

I will not go in depth here, but instead I will link some tutorials but the amazing @thepunisher who has explained it much better than I ever will be able to. The tutorials are all in this link. If you have any questions do lmk but idk how I could explain it.

★★★★★

- adding subtitles

although we wish we could, we can’t all lip read so we need subtitles also I’m hard of hearing and need them anyway but yeah, I will quickly highlight how I add subs! I use the font Arial Rounded MT Bold Regular.

I will first link to this post because it helped me a lot and may explain stuff better than I do.

Lets take the keanu gif we had earlier. In it, he says ‘fish flakes’. Now what I do is this. Click on this icon:

and drag a box around the gif fully. Add your text. Mine looks like this now:

Well that ... does not look like a subtitle. BTW my settings are:

*when there are two people speaking I change the colour of the second person to #ffff00 - also for 540px gifs I usually use 12/13px text.

Ok now I will add the stroke and drop shadow. Right click on the layer of text, click blending options and change your stroke and drop shadow settings to this and this (imgur). Now just click the move tool or hit V on keyboard to select it and drag the gif down wherever you want. Now my final gif looks like this:

Ok, now if you have two gifs and you want them to be the same distance from the bottom, right click the text layer of the first gif document, click duplicate layer and you will get this window:

now click on destination and depending on what files you have open in PS, you will get this window:

now just choose where you want the text to go and if the gifs are the same sizes itll appear exactly where it did in the first one and you can edit the text for the second. You can do this with adjustment layers, groups etc too!!

Now text is done! Off to the next part!

★★★★★

- editing frames / timeline speed

We are done editing, now time to convert to frame animation and edit the speed!

Ok click on the four bars on the right side of the video timeline. It will bring up a menu. From there, select this:

This will make individual layers of every frame into clips. Now, click this at the bottom left side of the video timeline:

This will convert your video timeline to a frame animation timeline. Now it looks like this (imgur). you’re probably wondering wait where the heck did my layers go well don’t fret, lets click the four bars on the right side again and click this:

now look! We have got all our frames into the timeline! Just delete the excessive frames at the front. Now click the four bars again, select all frames and then click the number at the bottom and change it to 0.05 or 0.06 or whatever speed you want:

Now we are done with this step!

★★★★★

- multiple gifs in one grid

I myself am not going to explain this, instead here are links to a few amazing tutorials that will help you further

this tut by @brolinjosh

this tut by @futurist

★★★★★

- actions

Now actions ... man they make everything so much easier. Basically actions are a sequence of steps you undertake in photoshop that are recorded which you can then save and use on multiple files. This makes the giffing process much much faster!!! For instance, these are the actions I have saved (mind the doubles lol I am experimenting a bit!)

As you can see, I have one for undertaking the entire video timeline to frame animation process and one for sharpening and the subtitles. It has saved me around 75% of the original time I put into creating sets before which is a lifesaver.

I cannot explain how to make actions bc I am really bad at explaining stuff, but here are some tutorials:

- https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/creating-actions.html

- https://completeresources.tumblr.com/post/66560261468/how-make-action-%D0%B7

- https://completeresources.tumblr.com/post/50583786863/how-to-use-an-action

- https://completeresources.tumblr.com/post/50362731526/how-to-use-actions-on-gifs

https://www.creativebloq.com/adobe/create-own-photoshop-actions-61411918

★★★★★

- exporting the gif

now we’re at the final stage! When you have your gif ready, go to file -> export -> save for web legacy

ok now the next window is this which looks intimidating I know

Well basically, those are my settings above. Make sure the looping option is set at forever. Also on the left size you see how big your gif is, make sure it is under 8mb but tumblr is unstable so keep it under 5MB and it should be fine.

I use different exporting types at times. Sometimes I use selective and pattern, sometimes diffusion or adaptive+dif. Just remember that the gif size depends on which you choose so keep that in mind. Here’s the difference (if u can even spot it).

selective + pattern

selective + diffusion

adaptive + diffusion

Personally I mostly only use selective + pattern!

btw make sure your matte is at NONE!!! This is because otherwise you have those whitish transparent borders on your gif, esp noticable on dark gifs, like shown in this tutorial by the talented @joewright !

And congrats, you have officially made a gif! Now go experiment, have the time of your life and do whatever the heck u want with your gifs. And if you want me to see them, tag me!! I track #usernums !!!

★★★★★

- last minute tips and extra links

man idk what to say here really but here goes:

@completeresources and @allresources are amazing places to learn more about gifmaking, pls take advantage of the opportunity

reminder: quicktime records at 60FPS, so unless you want a laggy gif delete the extra duplicate frames in the frame animation timeline!!

When opening import video frames to layers, do not click skip every second frame!! do not!!!!

Do not steal gifs. Try making them. I know it takes time and it can get frustrating but don’t post someone elses gifs as your own. Even the ugliest gifset in existence made originally by someone is better than a stunning set put together full of stolen gifs from various users. Don’t be that person

Don’t be afraid to ask for help pls just go on anon if u want!!

use the tumblr dimensions!!! I cannot stress enough how important this is because if you don’t, your gifs will look stretched af and lose quality so like .. don’t do that

#completeresources #itsphotoshop #tutorial #resources #gif tutorial #allresources #my tutorials

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babyboy-bangtan · 5 years ago

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By Chance Chapters 1-4

A misunderstanding gone viral puts you on BTS's radar, which leads to a series of events that finally culminate with you meeting them for the first time.

✚ Pairing: Sub!BTS/Female Reader ✚ Word Count: 3.3K ✚ Rating: M ✚ Warnings: None for now. ✚ A/N: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Read on AO3

Chapter 1: Before

Beep. Beep. Beep.

No.

Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep.

Absolutely not.

Beep beep beep beep beep!

Jesus Christ, fine.

You groan and grab your phone from your bedside table, turning off the alarm. It's not possible or even logical, but you really feel the big 5:00 A.M. on your lock screen is making fun of you.

You really want to die.

As you take a deep breath and pull the covers off of you, you get angry at your own stupidity last night. You had no business staying up until 1 a.m. watching Netflix knowing very well you had to be on the makeup chair at 6, but you went and watched a show anyway.

Actually, no, scratch that. This is Netflix's fault. It's their fault for making it so that you want to binge their goddamn shows. You're merely a victim of a very successful streaming platform.

You should sue them.

Well, once you're done filming your movie for them, that is. Once you're done with the movie and the promotion for it you'll sue them for robbing you of your precious sleep, because that's unforgivable, despicable, heinous, wretched—

Before you can continue with your methodical planning of the lawsuit you're going to throw into Netflix's face for making you stay up late at night and then get up early to film their movie, your phone ringing pulls you out of your angry thoughts.

It's your stylist calling.

Right, you asked her to call you because you were not sure you weren't gonna sleep through the five alarms you set for this morning— but against all odds, you actually woke up with the first one.

"Good morning. I promise I'm up." You reassure her before she can say anything. "I'm gonna shower soon."

"That's fine." She laughs. "I'm just calling cause you told me to last night."

"I knoow." You drawl out. "I was worried I'd ignore the alarms. But I'm up. No worries."

"Alright then. See ya in a bit, dude."

"Byeeeeeee!" You say, throwing your phone into your bed after hanging up.

Your bed, the love of your life. So soft, so inviting, so beautiful and ready to keep you comfortable for as long as you need it to. Except you need to be sitting on the makeup chair at 6, so no more bed for today. You take a deep breath and walk to the bathroom, as ready as you can be to star the day after only getting 4 hours of sleep.

"Good morning Timmy." You greet your costar with a kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning to you too." He says, biting back a smile. "You didn't sleep well, did you?"

"I have a right to remain silent." You reply, taking a sip of your coffee before walking past him. He catches up to you quickly. "Did you sleep well?"

"I got up at 5 a.m. so, of course not." He says, rolling his eyes at you. "I got like 5 hours of sleep only."

"Ha!" You say, stopping as you grip the handle of the makeup trailer's door. "I slept 4. I win."

Once you're both on your makeup chairs, you laugh as quietly as you can when you notice Timotheé dozing off while his hair is brushed, and you grab your phone to distract yourself. You can't really sleep when you're sitting up even if the fact that your stylist is working on your hair is really relaxing you, so you might as well try to get a bit more awake than you are now.

While you're telling her about the interesting article you just read, your phone vibrates in your hand, interrupting you. You quickly open the text when you see is from one of your friends, thinking that if she messaged you at 6 a.m. then it must be something important.

Or... maybe not. What you got instead of an important text is what you're pretty sure is a screencap of a Buzzfeed headline.

DID [Y/N] REALLY MEET BTS WITHOUT ANYONE OF US KNOWING?

You absolutely did not. You'd definitely remember meeting the most famous boy band in the world.

You quickly type a response.

Lmao no I didn't What's that about?

It only takes her a moment to reply.

It's just clickbait but it's like a thing right now People went nuts thinking you'd met BTS Because someone uploaded a video to youtube called [Y/N] BTS But it was just a behind the scenes video But then this tweet went viral

She then sends you another screencap, this time of a tweet with over 100k likes that's quoting another tweet with a video you recognize as the behind the scenes video you filmed for your last movie.

When you think [Y/N] met BTS but the BTS actually stands for Behind The Scenes 🤡

You actually laugh at that.

😂😂😂 my god Thanks for keeping me up to date with news about myself

She quickly responds.

No prob, Bob. Also you were trending on Twitter on #1 and #2 because of it Now you're like below the 7th but i got proof

She then sends you another picture, this time of the trending topics list. There it is at number 1, "[Y/N] BTS" and at number 2 is just your name. Below that one it's BTS alone.

As far as you know, BTS and kpop fans have the power to make anything trend on Twitter, so you're not that surprised to see they got you trending because they thought you'd met them. You're a bit surprised about the fact that it was over a complete misunderstanding, but stranger things have gone viral in the past and they will continue to do so in the future.

You wish your friend good luck at work today before you start telling your stylist about what just happened, and she just rolls her eyes and complains about people making news out of literally nothing nowadays. You agree completely— this isn't even the first time you are trending on twitter because of something silly— so you just drop the subject and go back to talking to her about the article you read. However, the thought of meeting BTS stays at the back of your mind for some reason.

You've only heard a couple of their most popular songs, which were admittedly very good and enjoyable, but you'd be lying if you didn't admit you'd love to meet them soon. They're huge right now, and even though you wouldn't call yourself a fan considering you don't even know all their names, you still recognize how incredible their journey has been and how talented they are.

Well, that and the tiny detail that every single one of them is absolutely stunning.

Chapter 2: Jungkook

"Who's [Y/N]?" Jungkook asks suddenly with a little frown as he sits on the floor after dance practice, scrolling through his phone. He's sure he has heard your name before, but he doesn't really know anything about you.

"Uhh... isn't she an American actress?" Namjoon replies, downing half of his water bottle. "I think I saw one of her movies. A period drama. She's pretty good." He pauses. "Why?"

"[Y/N] BTS is trending on Twitter." He replies, reading through some of the most popular tweets about it. "Apparently there was a misunderstanding with a video." He shrugs, opening the video in question.

It's you wearing one of those 19th century dresses, but the effect is lost because the fact that you're wearing a modern coat and sunglasses. If he understood you correctly over the awful sound quality, you were on the first day of shooting.

"What are you watching?" Hoseok asks, standing behind him.

"The video people thought was of her with us. It's a behind the scenes video of her movie." He replies absent-mindedly, focused on his phone. "I think it's from the one you watched, Hyung." He tells Namjoon, looking up at him.

You seem to be at a dance practice now, with who he assumes was your costar. It looks like some kind of waltz, and you both seem to be already good at it— there's no way this is the first time you're rehearsing it. Suddenly, the man flips you around gracefully and presses his front to your back in what Jungkook assumes was meant to be an intimate moment, but only a second later you start twerking and then everyone is laughing.

Him, too.

"Come on, we have to go." Hoseok says, tapping his shoulder.

"I'm coming." Jungkook replies, still watching the video even as he stands up. "She's funny." He says to the rest, occasionally looking up to make sure he doesn't run into a wall.

"What did you say happened with her?" Jimin asks, massaging his shoulder with a grimace.

"Apparently someone uploaded a behind the scenes video of one of her movies but since it said BTS people thought it was about her meeting us."

If Jimin— or anyone else for that matter— cared about his response, Jungkook didn't realize. He clicks on the next suggested video and keeps watching, not paying attention to anyone else. It's during his viewing of that video that Jungkook decides he'll watch the movie Namjoon mentioned as soon as he gets free time to do so, and then he'll see what other movies you've done to see if anything interests him.

The fact that you're beautiful and when you smile his tummy feels tingly has absolutely nothing to do with that decision.

Chapter 3: Jimin

The thought of the video Jungkook mentioned at dance practice comes back to Jimin all of a sudden late at night, when his mind is restless and the painkillers haven't eased the ache of his shoulder just yet. He can't sleep, so he might as well distract himself a little until they kick in.

He doesn't remember your name correctly; he misspells it several times until he just searches "Actress behind the scenes video mistaken bts band" and several recent articles appear.

[Y/N], that's right. That was your name. The names he'd been trying weren't even remotely similar.

He opens one article just for the sake of it— it's a very clickbait-y one, but he figures it's likely all of them will be— and starts reading an unnecessary long version of what happened. The gist of the article is what Jungkook already said: people confused a behind the scenes video of your movie with a video that involved them, and it went viral.

There are other suggested articles about you at the end of the one he just read, and one specifically catches his attention.

"[Y/N] gets bold on new Vogue Magazine interview: 'Gender roles are such bulls**t.'"

He quickly opens the original article instead of the mess he's sure is the one on the clickbait site, and he can't hold back a gasp at the picture of you that appears in front of him.

He figures he shouldn't be surprised considering what year it is and how normal it is to see women in suits nowadays, but he can't help but get his breath taken away when he sees a woman wearing one. He doesn't know what it is, and it's not really every suit on every woman that does it either— but the one you're wearing on that photo definitely fits the bill.

Your hair is purposefully messy— the kind of messy that can only be achieved by having a hair stylist work on you for a considerable amount of time, he knows that very well— and your face is covered in natural-looking makeup.

Except for your eyes. They did a beautiful job with them.

You are most certainly not wearing a bra and he knows that the fact that it's just noticeable enough is also very intentional, and there's something about the pose you're doing that is making his palms sweat.

Chin tilted up.

Eyes half lidded, looking down.

Mouth slightly open.

White dress shirt, with just two buttons undone.

He almost wishes you'd gone for another one as well, so your cleavage would be visible.

Almost.

The picture is perfect as it is. Can't be improved by anything.

The quote on the clickbait site isn't even the most interesting part of the article; you talk about leaving social media because the pressure of making sure people liked you affected your mental health, about going to therapy since you were a teenager, and about how annoyed you were a couple years ago when the movement #AskHerMore was in full swing and you still felt reduced to only the way you looked at the Oscars, where a movie you were in was nominated. If Jimin understands correctly, a video of you looking very annoyed at the questions went viral.

"It was very frustrating," The quote begins. "because on one hand you had what was supposed to help the interviewers realize that you want to talk more about the movie you worked so hard on, but so many of them simply didn't care. I guess what really got to me was that there were people saying that women get asked about their looks because their dresses are so beautiful and of course people notice them, but I was wearing the most generic black suit you've ever seen. And still they kept calling me bold and chic and other things just cause I had fu**ing pants on."

He opens a new tab and quickly types "[Y/N] Oscars suit outfit" before he even realizes what he's doing.

And there it is: the same feeling he got a few minutes ago when he saw the first picture of you.

Breathless, palms sweaty.

He scrolls through the image results, opening and looking at related pictures of you in suits from other events. It seems that it's a preferred outfit for you along with jumpsuits, and there's an occasional dress now and then.

He sighs and goes back to the article to finish it and look at the rest of the pictures from the Vogue session.

"It doesn't just happen to me." You say in another quote. "There are other women who wear suits and it gets treated like some kind of big deal when they're just clothes. And men have it way, way worse. At least we can wear a suit normally but if men want to wear dresses or skirts or even clothes that deviate from what so many people consider masculine, they'll have people criticizing them and disrespecting them in horrible ways. They're just pieces of fu**ing fabric! Gender roles are such bulls**t."

Jimin smiles at that, and at the fact that the writer of the piece comments that you get very passionate when talking about such things. He likes it.

A big yawn interrupts his train of thought, and he realizes his shoulder hasn't been bothering him for a little while now. He leaves his phone on his nightstand and gets comfortable under the covers, thinking it would be nice if they had actually met you, instead of it only being just a misunderstanding.

Maybe one day.

Chapter 4: Jin

Because Jin is sitting next to Jungkook inside the van, he can't really help but be distracted by the videos the younger has been watching nonstop on his phone. As it has been for the past couple of weeks, he's watching another one of your interviews.

It's astoundingly obvious to everyone that Jungkook has developed a crush on you.

"You're still watching videos of her?" Jin asks, but the taunting tone in his voice goes completely over Jungkook's head. He's too focused on the video.

"Yes. Do you want to watch?" Jungkook asks, offering an earphone for him innocently. Jin finds it impossible to resist the cuteness so he accepts it, taking it from his hand and putting it on as he wraps his arm around Jungkook's shoulders.

It's an interview, and you're sitting next to an actor he doesn't recognize.

"Who's that?" He asks Jungkook, pointing at the guy.

"I don't know." Jungkook shrugs, truly not caring even a tiny a bit about who the man is.

"Okay." Jin replies, shaking his head at Jungkook with a smile. There's really good chemistry between you and the man— you laugh together a lot, and he feels a spark of recognition at the back of his mind when he sees your smile, but he can't tell where it comes from.

"Have you seen their movie?" Jin asks, returning the earphone to its owner. Jungkook nods as he puts it back on.

"It's very good. I liked it."

So he has seen the movie, but he still doesn't know who the actor is at all? There might be a possibility that the crush is a bit more intense than Jin previously believed.

"What else has she worked on?" He pries, wondering if he's confusing you with someone else or if maybe he did see something you were on, even if it was in passing. There's something familiar about you and it's starting to annoy him to not know what exactly.

"Lots of things. Several movies. She was on a show when she began acting. I think her first job was on CSI or one of those American crime shows with a thousand seasons." Jungkook focuses on his video again and Jin pulls out his own phone, quickly searching for your name.

He opens your Wikipedia page and goes straight to Filmography, where he can see right there on the Television section that your first credit is actually CSI.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

2013.

Oh, no.

The name of your character. Jin knows it. God, he'd recognize it anywhere. The name of the episode right next to it only serves to confirm what he's fearing.

He immediately types "[Y/N] CSI" and swallows a gasp when he sees the pictures that pop up in front of his eyes, careful to not alert Jungkook or the others.

Oh god, no.

Jin knows who you are very well. He hasn't really watched the episode you appeared on in a while, but he used to do it so often that he memorized exactly what happens every single second you're on screen.

Your hair was a different color and you were younger— that's why he didn't immediately recognize you. Back when you were on that episode it was futile to try and search for more of your work; CSI was your first role and he couldn't find any information about you at the time. He didn't really search for you again after that; he was very aware that shows like that have hundreds of guest actors that sometimes end up reduced to extras for the rest of their careers.

Well, this was clearly not the case for you.

The memories of the scenes he knows so well flash quickly on his mind, and he swallows with slight difficulty as he feels his ears getting hot.

Your hand is wrapped around the guy who plays your boyfriend's throat— and without showing too much it's clear you're on top of him while you have sex. His hands are tied with a scarf to the bed, and he's blindfolded.

"You like that, baby?" You whisper into the man's ear with a smile, biting his earlobe.

Jin shakes his head, trying to get rid of the very intrusive thought of you lovingly choking a guy during sex. He's in a van with the rest of the guys, the last thing he wants is for them to notice something is wrong.

He closes all the tabs and puts his phone away, moving his head to look out the window instead, hoping the sight of the buildings and streets will distract him. He's glad the whole BTS thing was a misunderstanding and you didn't actually meet them, because he has no idea how he'd react if he had you in front of him in real life.

How do you possibly greet the person you used to masturbate to on a daily basis?

If you’ve made it here: thank you so much for reading!

#sub!bts #sub!idol #ot7 x reader #bts x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #park jimin x reader #kim seokjin x reader #kim namjoon x reader #min yoongi x reader #jung hoseok x reader #kim taehyung x reader #if you've read this on ao3 don't worry it's me lmao #my work

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duhragonball · 4 years ago

Text

‘21

Amidst all the popular hype for seeing the end of 2020, it didn’t hit me until about lunchtime what the real highlight is that I’ve been waiting for: For the first time since 1999, the year finally ends in “numberty-number” again. It low-key irritated me that we had to call it “two thousand three” and I was relieved when “twenty-thirteen” caught on, but it still wasn’t right because it was too short, and now we’re back in the sweet spot, and I should be safely dead by 2100, so that’s one less thing I gotta deal with.

Really, even “numberty hundred” rings true to me. “Nineteen hundred” sounds like a year. “Twenty-one-oh-six” sounds like a futur-y year, which is even cooler. So did “Two thousand five”, until I was actually living in it, and it sounds even worse now that it was a long time ago and adults will talk about their childhood happening in that year. Daniel Witwicky would be old enough to get married and grow a fancier beard than me. That’s nuts. My point is that, honestly, it’s the year 3000-3019 that I have to worry about, so if I ever decide to go vampire, those will be the years I hide in the ocean or force society to reset the calendar, whichever’s easier.

I spent New Year’s Eve finishing Superliminal, which I bought on Steam after I watched Vegeta play it on YouTube. It has a similar look and feel to the Stanley Parable, so if you liked one you’d probably enjoy the other, although Superliminal has a different theme. I kept hoping I’d find some secret passage that I wasn’t supposed to take, and a narrator would scold me for finding the “Chickenbutt Ending”, but it doesn’t work that way. Superliminal’s all about puzzles and awesome visuals, but it does have the same soothing design aesthetics as TSP. Honestly, I enjoyed just wandering around in Stanley’s office, and Superliminal does the same thing with a hotel and several other settings. It’s nice.

This got me thinking about how I kind of did everything there was to do in The Stanley Parable, and I sort of wished they would add new stuff to the game, but I’m not sure there would be much point to that. I could play the older version, but it presents the same message, just with different assets. The Boss’s Office would look different, but it’d be the same game. And this got me thinking about various “secret chapters” in pop culture. Secrets behind the cut.

I first heard about this idea in the 2000′s, when fans invented this notion that there was a secret chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I read a website that tried to explain the concept, and of course it lauded J.K. Rowling with all this gushing praise for working an Easter egg into the book, a literary work of “well, magic.”

That pretty well sums up my distaste for Harry Potter, by the way. These days, JKR has thoroughly crapped all over her reputation and legacy, but in the 2000′s it felt like half the planet was in a mad rush to canonize her as a writing goddess, to the point where fans were congratulating her for writing secret chapters that didn’t actually exist. The idea was based on lore from the books about Neville Longbottom’s parents. They were patients in a mental hospital, and he’d go to visit them, and they would give him bubble gum wrappers, intended to demonstrate how far remove they’ve become from reality. The secret chapter lies in those wrappers, which all read “Droobles Best Blowing Gum” or some such. What if Neville’s parents were only pretending to be mentally ill, so as to throw off their enemies? Naturally, they would want to stay in contact with their son, so the bubble gum wrappers would have to contain coded messages. Said code involves unscrambling the letters on the wrappers to make new words, like “goblin” or “sword” or “Muggle” or “Dumbledore”. The problem is that you can also use it to make other words like “booger” or “drool” or “booobbiess.” Play with it enough, and you can make the code say anything you want it to say, which means it’s no code at all.

But the idea was that the not-yet-published sixth HP book would reveal all of this gum wrapper nonsense, and Neville would decode the messages and discover all of his parents’ super-cool adventures. I’m not sure why we needed a secret chapter if Book 6 was going to explain all of this anyway in several not-secret chapters, but that was the whole point. Fans didn’t have Book 6 yet, and they were so desperate to read it that they started trying to extrapolate what would happen next based on “clues” from the previous five. That’s like trying to figure out what Majin Buu looks like by watching the Androids Saga. I guess some wiseguy would have guessed that he’d resemble #19, but that’d just be blind luck.

And when you get down to it, this whole secret chapter business is really just a conspiracy. This is literally how Qanon works. Some anonymous jackass posted vague “hints” on an imageboard, and people went goofy trying to interpret them and figure out what would happen in the future. They call it “research” because they spend a ton of time on this, but there’s no basis to any of it. It took me a few minutes to figure out that you can spell “Muggle” with the words in “Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum”, but that’s not research and it doesn’t prove anything. But all these guys keep looking for “Hilary Clinton goes to jail next week” and lo and behold that’s all they ever find.

In the same vein, the gum wrapper thing was really a complaint disguised as a conspiracy, disguised as a “magical secret chapter”. At least a few fans wanted to see more Neville in their Harry Potter books, they wanted Neville’s parents, or someone like them, to have cool spy adventures or whatever else. The point is, they clearly weren’t getting what they wanted out of the printed works, but they didn’t want to turn against their Dear Beloved Author, so they started casting about for an alternative reality, one where J.K. Rowling wrote a cooler story and hid it in the pages of the one that actually went to press. So instead of just saying “Hey, Order of the Phoenix was kind of a letdown, I hope there’s more ninjas in the next book,” they said “Rowling is a genius because I wanted ninjas and she’s definitely going to give them to me, I have the gum wrappers to prove it.”

The same thing happened all over again when the BBC Sherlock show took a turn for the nonsensical. I don’t know from BBC Sherlock, but I watched the fascinating video critique by Hbomberguy, and it sounds like the show did tons of plot twists until it stopped making sense altogether in the fourth season. If you skip to 1:09:00 in the video, you’ll hear about fan theories that suggested that season four was supposed to be crappy, as part of a secret meta-narrative plan that would be paid off in a secret, unannounced episode that would not only explain everything, but retroactively justify the crappy episodes that came before. But it’s been a few years and it never came to pass, so I think we can call this myth busted.

Most recently, I think we’ve all seen a lot of talk about the final season of Supernatural, where I guess Destiel sort of became canon but only one guy does the love confession and the other doesn’t respond. But I guess he does say “I love you too” in the Spanish dub, which means the English language version was edited for whatever reason. It’s not exactly a secret episode, but the implication is that there’s more to this than what made it to the screen. So the questions turn to what the screenplay said, what the writers and actors wanted to do, etc. etc. My general impression is that SPN fans are a bit more used to crushing disappointment, so they’re not quite as delusional about this show being unquestionable genius, like Sherlock and Harry Potter. Maybe this is an Anglophile thing? Like, if you suck at something with a British accent, people will accept it more unconditionally?

I had seen something on Twitter about how there should have been a secret Seinfeld episode in the 90′s. Someone suggested it at the time, they tape a whole episode, then wait until 2020 to air it, because by then it would be worth a fortune. But they didn’t do it, because it costs a lot of money to make a TV episode, and if you don’t air the show right away, you aren’t making that money back any time soon. Yeah, you might recoup a fortune someday, but Seinfeld was making a ton of money then. It exposes the fannish nature of the idea. A fan would love to discover a cool secret chapter, but a content creator isn’t necessarily keen on making a cool thing and then hiding it where few people would find it.

I thought about doing this myself recently. Maybe Supernatural gave me the bug, but I thought “I’m writing this big-ass story, so what if I wrote me a secret chapter for it? Wouldn’t that be cool?” But no, it wouldn’t be cool, because it’d be the same work as writing a regular chapter, and the same stress I feel when I hold off on publishing it. Except I’d just never publish it, I’d put it in some secret hole on the internet and hope that some superfan who might not even exist can decode whatever clues I leave.

I mean, it’d be awesome if it got discovered and everyone loved it. “Hey, I found this hidden chapter! Mike’s done it again!” And I could bask in the glory. But what if no one finds it? Then I just wasted my time, right? I want people to read my work. My monkey brain needs the sweet, sweet validation of those kudos and comments, folks. Once I realized that, I understood why no one else would want to do a secret chapter either. Easter eggs are one thing, but the bigger bonus features they put on DVDs were pretty easy to find, and with good reason.

I think that’s what made the Stanley Parable so appealing to play, because it teases you with the idea that you can “break” the game and find some extra content that you weren’t supposed to see, but as you go exploring all those hidden areas, it gradually becomes clear that this is just part of the game; you were meant to find all these things, and that’s why they were put here. It’s hidden, but he secret aspect of it is just pretend.

I suppose that what I like about games like TSP and Superliminal is the illusion of secrets more than the secrets themselves. I like roaming through the hallways, having no idea what I might find ahead. I kind of wish I could open all the doors, and not just the ones the game designers put stuff behind, but the reality is that there’s nothing on the other side. I used a cheat code once to explore the unused doors in TSP and it’s just a bright white field on the other side. Interesting to look at, but not much of a reveal. Honestly, the doors themselves are more appealing than anything that could lay behind them.

And that’s probably what makes secrets so fun. They could be almost anything, but once you open the present, the number of possibilities drops to one. If they had ever made that Secret BBC Sherlock Episode, I doubt it would have lived up to expectations, but fans could amuse themselves by imagining what could have been in it. In the end, though, things usually don’t justify the hype. For every Undertaker debut at Survivor Series 1990, there’s a Gobbledygooker debut at Survivor Series 1990. It’s impossible to manufacture a secret with a guaranteed payoff.

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becasbelt · 5 years ago

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Pitch Perfect (Movies) Rating: G Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell Characters: Chloe Beale, Beca Mitchell Additional Tags: Fluff, Established Relationship, Post-PP3

Summary:

Beca and Chloe get stuck in a massive traffic jam in LA. Boredom, teasing, and fluff ensue.

* * *

-5:26 PM-

“Come on! Let’s get a fucking move on, people!”

Chloe giggles at Beca’s annoyance with the traffic in front of them. “I really don’t think that’s going to help this situation at all, babe.”

Beca honks the car’s horn and glares at the person in the car next to them when they glance over. “Well it should,” she stews. “This is fucking ridiculous. I hate LA traffic.”

When Beca had kissed Chloe on the USO tour, Chloe’s entire world had changed for the better. After years of dropping hints, Beca finally figured out that Chloe was in love with her and admitted that she was in love with her, too, after opening for DJ Khalid. Fast forward a few months to now where Chloe went to vet school in West Hollywood while Beca worked on her first album. They were both living their dreams, and Chloe was still pinching herself to make sure it was all real.

Right now, though, it didn’t really feel like a dream. They had gone out for a quick grocery run at around 4:00 and were now apparently stuck in rush hour traffic. In the past half hour they’d gone about one mile, much to Beca’s frustration.

“What’s even going on up there?” Beca asks. “Why the hell aren’t we moving?”

“You know how bad traffic can be here,” Chloe shrugs as she scrolls through her phone. “This is nothing new.”

“Yeah, but I feel like it isn’t usually this bad.” Beca honks the horn again, as if that will make the mile long traffic ahead of them move faster.

They sit in silence while Beca stews and grumbles, the sounds of cars honking and the radio playing softly filling up the space around them. Beca cranes her neck to try and see farther in front of her, but to no avail. Eventually, she slumps down in her seat in defeat.

“Well now we’re not even moving at all,” the grumpy brunette laments, putting the car in park. She crosses her arms angrily over her chest.

“Apparently there’s a huge crash like three miles ahead of us,” Chloe informs her, pulling up a news coverage clip from her Twitter feed and passing her phone over to show Beca. “A bunch of semis collided and spilled stuff all over the highway. It’s pretty bad.”

Beca scowls at the device and hands it back. “Great. GREAT. This is just perfect. I love this for us right now.”

“At least we didn’t have any plans for tonight,” Chloe says, trying to sound positive.

Beca just groans and hits her head against the steering wheel.

-5:45 PM-

“Ugh, can we skip this song?”

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“It’s fine, but it’s way too happy for this situation.”

“Well, in that case, I think I’ll keep it on. You need a little positivity right now, Bec.”

“You know, if I didn’t love you so much I’m positive that I would hate you.”

“That’s the spirit!”

-6:02 PM-

“Okay, that’s it, I’m turning the car off,” Beca announces after they haven’t moved in twenty minutes. She turns the key in the ignition, shutting the engine off but keeping the music on.

Chloe raises an eyebrow. “You know, now that you’ve turned the car off we’ll probably start moving soon. That’s usually how it goes.”

“All the more reason to turn it off, then,” Beca replies with a cheeky grin. She reaches down and unbuckles her seatbelt, and Chloe does the same. “You know,” Beca says a moment later, tearing her eyes away from the cars around them to look at Chloe. “If I have to get stuck in a giant traffic jam, I’m glad you’re stuck here with me.”

A grin spreads on Chloe’s face and she bites her bottom lip. “You’re such a sap, Mitchell,” she teases, reaching over to pinch at Beca’s cheek. Beca swats her hand away.

“You see, this is why I never use sincerity,” Beca complains with a glare. “I’m always made fun of whenever I do.”

Chloe softens slightly. “That’s only because I love it so much when you’re sincere,” she says sweetly, leaning in to kiss Beca’s cheek. She pulls back to see a slight blush on the other girl’s face. “And I’m really glad I’m here with you, too.”

Beca grins and looks away shyly, turning up the music’s volume instead of answering.

-6:19 PM-

Chloe huffs and slumps down in her seat. “I’m borrrred.”

Beca, who’s busy answering emails, glances over at her. “Yeah, I know. I heard you the first fifteen times you told me.”

“Well I’m bored because you’re not paying attention to me,” Chloe laments. She sticks her hand out the open window. “I thought we were in this together, but you’re off in superstar land.”

Beca winces and clicks off her phone, setting it in the cup holder. “Sorry, it’s just Theo asking about some stuff for the album.”

A car nearby starts blasting “Elmo’s World” from its speakers, and Chloe is momentarily distracted before responding to Beca. “What does he want this time?”

Beca starts shuffling between radio stations. “He doesn’t like some of the lyrics for the one we’re recording tomorrow, so he was sending over some revisions.”

Chloe hums. “Did you like them?”

“Eh,” Beca shrugs, apparently indifferent. “They were fine. I wasn’t too attached to the original lyrics anyways.”

“That’s good, I guess.”

They sit in silence for a while and Chloe turns her attention back to the car still playing Elmo’s theme song, intrigued.

“Okay, well now I’m bored.”

Chloe looks over at Beca. “Oh how the turntables,” she says, quoting The Office with a raised eyebrow.

Beca rolls her eyes. “I hate that show,” she claims.

“Sure you do,” Chloe says, nodding her head. “That’s why I caught you watching it when I got home the other day.”

“That means nothing,” Beca defends immediately, crossing her arms over her chest. “It just happened to be on when I turned on the TV.”

Chloe hums in disbelief. “If that’s what you’re going to stick with, then good for you.”

Beca huffs. “Well, it’s the truth, so,” she punctuates the unfinished thought with a tongue click.

“You want to watch it right now?”

“…well I guess it couldn’t hurt. Since we’re both bored and all.”

-6:51 PM-

“Babe, this is your song!”

“Okay, we’re changing it for sure this time. Ow! What was that for, dude?”

“Beca Mitchell, don’t you dare switch away from this song.”

“Okay, okay. Jesus, did you really have to hit me that hard?”

“It was a preventive strike.”

“It was mean.”

“Poor baby. Do you want me to kiss it better?”

“I mean… it might make me feel a little better. It’s worth a shot, at least.”

-7:08 PM-

Chloe stifles a grin as Beca slyly places a hand on her lower thigh. She continues to flip through the car manual she found in the glove box like she hasn’t noticed. “Hey, Bec, I think I finally know how to change the time on the clock. They have complete step-by-step instructions in here and everything.”

“That’s nice,” Beca says distractedly. Her fingers begin to draw lazy circles along the bare skin on the inside of her thigh, slowly making their way farther up Chloe’s leg. Chloe clears her throat to focus herself.

“We can also change the display to show what cardinal direction we’re going in, too.”

“Neat.”

“And if you hold down the hazard button for ten seconds, the car will self-destruct.”

“Awesome.”

Chloe snaps the booklet shut. “Beca, you know we can’t start something right now,” she lectures, gesturing down at her lap, and while Beca blushes and looks guilty, she doesn’t remove her hand. “There are literally people all around us.”

Beca shrugs. “I don’t think they’re paying attention,” she says lowly, lightly dragging her fingers along smooth skin. Chloe gulps and resists the urge to spread her legs further. “No one would notice if we just…”

She trails off as she leans forward to place a warm kiss on Chloe’s jawline. Chloe sighs and closes her eyes at the feeling of wet heat moving along her neck. She weaves a hand through Beca’s hair and tilts her head to allow her more access.

Chloe’s eyes lazily drift back open and she’s met with the sight of an old lady in the car next to theirs staring right at them. Embarrassment replaces the arousal in Chloe’s body, and she hastily pushes Beca off of her. Beca looks at her in confusion.

“Uh, people are paying attention, apparently,” Chloe explains, gesturing subtly to the old lady. Beca’s confusion is immediately overtaken by shock and a blush spreads across her cheeks. She waves awkwardly to the lady and pivots in her seat to stare look pointedly out the other window.

Okay, so they definitely needed to keep their hands to themselves in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Chloe files the information away for future reference.

-7:32 PM-

Beca groans and pushes her seat as far away from the steering wheel as she can, stretching out her legs. “It’s too damn hot in here.”

Chloe, who’s waving the car’s insurance papers in front of her face to cool off, nods in agreement. “It really is. Are you sure we can’t turn on the car for a little bit?”

“We’re pretty low on gas,” Beca says hesitantly. “I don’t want to risk running out as soon as we finally get out of this mess.”

Chloe pouts but doesn’t fight her on it. She looks out the window and sees some people ahead of them standing outside of their cars talking and gets an idea. Beca peers curiously over at her when Chloe opens her door.

“Dude, what are you doing?”

“I am getting some fresh air,” Chloe states as she gets out of the car. The blood starts rushing through her legs like normal again while a gentle breeze brushes against her sweaty forehead. Chloe lets out a sigh of relief. She closes the door behind her and rounds to the driver’s side of the car.

Beca squints up at her through her open window. “You’re really going to be one of those people that gets up and walks around during a traffic jam?”

Chloe leans down, resting her forearms on the window sill and sticking her head back in the car a bit. “I don’t see any other options. It’s better than sweating through our clothes in the hot car.”

Beca glances down at her slightly damp t-shirt and plucks at it with her fingers, frowning. “You may have a point.” She turns off the car all the way and pushes open her door, joining Chloe on the road. Chloe claps her hands in excitement.

“It’s kind of neat just standing out on the highway like this, don’t you think?” she asks, turning around in place to take in her surroundings. Beca chuckles and lets her gaze drift to some cars off in the distance.

“It is a small sort of accomplishment, I suppose.”

Chloe takes one of Beca’s hands and tugs her to the trunk of their car. “I’m hungry. Didn’t we buy some granola bars or something?”

Beca opens the trunk and sifts through the grocery bags inside. “Doesn’t look like it, babe,” she says, but sticks her hand in a bag anyways. Her tongue pokes out in concentration as she tries to get a grip on something in the bag, and Chloe bites her lip at how cute the expression makes her girlfriend look. Then, a look of victory crosses Beca’s face. “Aha! I knew these were in there!” Beca pulls her hand out to produce a box of frosted sugar cookies.

She starts attempting to open them while Chloe wrinkles her nose in confusion. “I didn’t know you bought those,” she says, watching Beca fail to open the plastic packaging. “When did you add those to the cart?”

Beca doesn’t tear her eyes away from her challenge. “You were looking at that magazine cover I was on, and I snuck it on the belt,” she says, the struggle eminent in her voice.

Chloe watches her fight the box in amusement for a few more seconds before gently prying it away from Beca’s hands, opening it with ease. She hands it back to Beca with a sweet smile. Beca attempts to look unembarrassed. “Thanks,” she mutters before reaching in and taking a cookie out, shoving half of it in her mouth at once.

They munch on the box of cookies, sitting on the hood of the car. A few people come up to them to make small talk, mostly commenting on how sucky the situation is, though none of them stick around for very long. Soon the cookies are gone, leaving Chloe and Beca to sit in comfortable silence.

Beca reaches over and pulls Chloe’s left hand into her lap, playing with her fingers. Chloe smiles softly and looks over at the brunette, but Beca’s eyes are focused on their hands. Lithe fingers run along the tendons on the back of her hand, and up and down the veins lining the inside of her wrist. Beca delicately rubs her thumb over Chloe’s ring finger with a contemplative look on her face, then brings their hands up to press a kiss to her knuckles a moment later.

Chloe hums in contentment and leans against Beca’s side, watching people ahead of them walking around and conversing with one another. Beca squeezes her hand once, and Chloe’s smile grows even wider.

-8:14 PM-

“Chlo, am I crazy, or is that an ice cream truck?”

Chloe looks in the direction that Beca is pointing in to see that, yes indeed; there is an ice cream truck in the near distance. To make it even more bizarre, people seem to be buying ice cream from the truck.

Beca and Chloe look at each other. They come to a silent agreement and slide of the hood of the car. When they reach the truck, there’s only one other person in line, so they’re able to quickly purchase two cones – chocolate for Chloe, vanilla for Beca – and weave their way through the traffic back to their own car.

They lean against the passenger side door and watch the sun slowly start to sink in the sky as they eat their ice cream. Chloe steals licks from Beca’s cone every once in a while, which her girlfriend pretends to grumble about, but Chloe can tell she doesn’t actually mind.

The ice cream truck starts playing music in the distance, and Chloe smiles as Beca starts quietly harmonizing with it under her breath.

-8:24 PM-

“If I die in this traffic jam, will you tell Theo that I won’t be able to make it to our meeting on Wednesday?”

“You’re not going to die, Beca.”

“I’m starting to lose hope that we’ll ever get out of this.”

“You’re so overdramatic.”

“Oh yeah? Well you’re under dramatic.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know. Give me a break, my brain’s fried from sitting here for three hours.”

“Fair enough.”

-8:47 PM-

Chloe glances up from her nearly dead phone and does a double take at what she sees. She slaps at Beca’s arm excitedly. “Bec, people are moving!”

Beca lurches up from her slumped position over the wheel. She rubs at her eyes and blinks groggily out the front windshield. “There is a God after all,” she murmurs in awe, starting up the car.

Chloe whoops loudly as they begin to drive, joining in with the cheers from the cars around them. Beca lets out a victory cry of her own that makes Chloe double over laughing in her seat. Chloe starts belting out “We Are the Champions” at the top of her lungs, and Beca doesn’t even try to protest before she starts to sing along.

When Beca steers the car onto the exit ramp to get off the highway, Chloe lets out a contemplative hum and says, “You know, that actually wasn’t too bad. I think that was a great way to spend our evening.”

“And I think that’s probably the craziest thing you’ve ever said.”

“Okay, rude.”

“It’s true, dude.”

“Hmm. Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I love you.”

Beca grins and reaches out to take Chloe’s hand. “Love you, too, weirdo.”

#fanfic #pitch perfect #bechloe #chloe beale #beca mitchell #repression makes for fast and fluffy writing folks #just so you know

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alphawave-writes · 5 years ago

Text

Requiem for the Apostle Chapter 1: ‘Control’

Synopsis: Kim Kitsuragi wakes up with no memory of the case he was working on, involving a corpse with strange, ritualistic markings on it. To make matters worse, he now has voices talking to him in his head (24 to be exact), who seem keen to tell him everything about the world and the case, AND his old partner, Lars 'Lucky' Langley, has since gone missing. By retracing his footsteps with Lieutenant Harry du Bois by his side, will he be able to crack this case wide open and become more than partners?

Read it here or find it on AO3. You guys can also find me on twitter @alphawave13.

If you like my writing, please do support me by buying me a ko-fi, becoming a patron on Patreon or requesting a fanfic commission from me. Any little bit helps me out a lot during this pandemic to live and study.

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN — Well, isn't this a treat? You get to bathe in warm, primordial blackness. You got your wish. You found what you were looking for in the inky depths of despair. A nugget of truth. A sprig of madness. You've done it.

YOU — What…?

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN — You're scared, but that's alright, little man. Let the darkness wash over you. Don't think. Don't breathe. Let the memories wash away like rain on glass windows.

YOU — I'm not little, and I'm certainly not scared. What the fuck are you? What memories?

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN — Don't you see, little man? This ain't your world. No need to worry about anything anymore. Forget the rules, forget the pain and suffering. Make the darkness your friend, your lover. Hehe…I'm sure he'll treat you right.

LIMBIC SYSTEM — Your tired, old meat sack is but a whisper in the wind. It's thin, pale, weak. Past its prime. With the crimson dawn, rubies spill from your lips and stain your chest with all its rich, delicious spoils.

YOU — Wait, are you saying I'm bleeding?

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN — Concentrate on the pain, little man. Don't worry about the past. Let the memories all spill down into the drains, feeding the maggots and the insects.

YOU — Enough of this. You’re hiding something from me. Spill it.

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN — You sure?

YOU — I said, spill what you know, now!

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN — Oh no, Kimchi. I’m afraid I can’t do that. See, I don’t hold the answers, I just tell you the truths you know deep down. I know everything you refuse to remember. The horrible snippets of your life, the unpaid sacrifices, played and replayed until your body slumps dead in a ditch somewhere.

I remember all that you remember.

And baby, you’ve already forgotten.

YOU — Forgotten what?

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN — See? You don’t even know what you’ve forgot. You’ve forgotten what you forgot about.

You’ve already lost.

And you’ll keep losing.

Every loss, a cut. Every cut, a bit of you is taken away.

Piece by itty bitty piece.

Better remember quick, Kimchi. Don't wanna lose control, don't you?

ENDURANCE [Godly: Success] — Your heart pumps. Life filters through the tiny vessels of your body. A surge of energy surrounds you and soon your eyes open.

YOU — You jolt up and find yourself in a hospital bed. Your skin is sweaty and clammy and the world is blurry. Whether it's from your tears or something else, you have no idea.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Trivial: Failure] — You can make out some drab blue walls and what looks like more empty beds, but that’s all. The world is undefined at the edges, colours and shapes merging together. You can barely make out the edges of objects.

LOGIC [Challenging: Success] — You only know it’s a hospital because there are fresh bandages near your throbbing head, and this is the only other place you can conceivably wake up in outside of your apartment.

COMPOSURE [Godly: Failure] — You’re not sure your vision is blurry if it’s because of the tears streaming down your face or not.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT — It’s unbecoming. Sissy behavior. You really are a faggot.

YOU — I…what are you guys? Why can I hear these voices?

LOGIC [Impossible: Failure] — You don’t know where we come from, just that you can hear us now.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] — You’d remember if you heard these voices before, but you don’t.

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] — Somehow you know that we will be here from now until death or eternity, and that you will never be able to get rid of us.

We are a part of you, and you are a part of us.

Forever.

YOU — No, wait. This can’t be right. I had thoughts; normal thoughts that didn’t involve random voices speaking in my head. I’m not a psychopath. I’m normal.

AUTHORITY — Hell yes we are.

YOU — No, not you. Just me. You guys don't belong in my head.

REACTION SPEED [Hard: Success] — Your mental debate is interrupted by someone opening a door just outside of your peripheral vision. You quickly snap your head at them.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Trivial: Failure] — You still can’t see them even when they get right next to your bed. All you see are patches of green and white and the occasional black. Even from this distance, their face is a blur.

????? — The mysterious figure reaches for something next to you.

HALF-LIGHT [Easy: Success] — Your muscles tense in anticipation, and perhaps even fear.

????? — But the figure gently grabs something on the bedside table beside you and and places it gently into your prone hand. Something small but familiar.

INTERFACING [Trivial: Success] — Your precious glasses.

YOU — You chuck them on and are greeted to the sight of Lieutenant double-Yefreitor Harry du Bois. Your partner. Your confidante. Your best friend.

RHETORIC — How far you've fallen, Kim Kitsuragi, to consider this mess of a human being your closest friend.

HARRY DU BOIS — “Good to see you’re finally awake, Kim.”

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] — Harry is relieved to see you’re OK. Not relieved enough to suggest you were in anything serious by the fact that he isn’t sobbing into your chest right now, but relieved enough that he felt the need to crouch down so he was at the same head level as you.

AUTHORITY — He might cry anyway if you let him. Don't make him.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Trivial: Success] — Now that you have your glasses on, you can now see the detective properly. His hair is clean and combed, and both his face and clothes look neat, if tacky. The only thing marring his appearance (aside from said clothes) are his ugly mutton chops, and a dark bruise right under his left cheek bone.

YOU — You reach up to your face, wondering if you’re bruised yourself…

PAIN THRESHOLD [Legendary: Failure] — …and touch a very sensitive and fresh bruise, making you hiss in pain.

HARRY DU BOIS — “Nasty scrap you were in, eh?”

YOU — Scrap?

HARRY DU BOIS — He points to your forehead, as if reading your mind. "You got walloped by a bat. Quite nastily, too. Everybody's surprised you didn't get anything worse than a mild concussion."

INLAND EMPIRE [Impossible: Failure] — You don't remember getting into a fight…

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] — …but you don't show it. It'll come to you. It should.

YOU — "How long have I been out?"

HARRY DU BOIS — "Five, maybe six hours?" He shrugs. "Not sure specifically."

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] — He hasn't been paying attention to the clock at all. You doubt he knows the time of day himself.

YOU — You stare out the window, seeing the sky flushed orange and purple and pink. A few clouds hang low in the sky, but otherwise the weather is relatively clear.

LOGIC [Trivial: Success] — It must be sunset, putting the current time at approximately 17:00-18:00 hours. If the detective's statement is correct, you were unconscious since 12:00 today.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Formidable: Success] — The colours shift and swirl like blood floating in a pool of water.

YOU — Seriously, I don't know what you voices are, but can you shut up? I can barely think.

INLAND EMPIRE [Impossible: Failure] — No.

AUTHORITY [Impossible: Failure] — No.

COMPOSURE [Impossible: Failure] — Never.

YOU — Geez, thanks for the vote of confidence.

HARRY DU BOIS — He is looking at you curiously, his lucid eyes locking onto your gaze firmly and never letting go.

PERCEPTION [Medium: Success] — Harry hasn’t been drinking or doing drugs since your first case together. Everybody says it's a miracle he hasn't relapsed.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Challenging: Success] — Instead, he’s gotten addicted to two little things: work and you.

YOU — He may be addicted to work, but he's not addicted to me. That's ridiculous.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] — Oh, but it isn't, is it? You've gotten closer to him, and he's gotten closer to you. You can’t deny that. Don't you know you're one hell of a drug? He craves you, and you're putting him in withdrawal.

AUTHORITY [Formidable: Success] — You are both cops for the RCM, and partners. Relationships between colleagues is strictly forbidden, and you will not sully yourself by associating yourself with the Detective anymore than necessary.

HARRY DU BOIS — "Are you alright, Kim?"

EMPATHY [Challenging: Failure] — Is he talking about your injury?

LOGIC [Challenging: Failure] — Or perhaps he’s talking about the fact you haven

YOU — "I'm fine. My head doesn't hurt if that's what you're asking."

HARRY DU BOIS — "That's not what I'm concerned about. I'm asking about your partner."

LOGIC [Easy: Failure] — Partner?

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Failure] — What partner?

YOU — "I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Aren't you my partner?"

HARRY DU BOIS — "No. I mean…well, yes, I was, and I am again, but…"

He pauses for several seconds, his lips pressed tight.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] — He knows something you don't, and he's worried about how you'll react.

ESPRIT DE CORPS — His suspicions aren't entirely unfounded.

HARRY DU BOIS — "Do you remember what happened earlier today? What lead to you getting walloped on the head?"

COMPOSURE [Formidable: Success] — You steel yourself, keeping your face carefully blank.

DRAMA [Legendary: Failure] — But Harry is an extraordinarily perceptive man, and he sees through the masks you wear, bixia.

HARRY DU BOIS — "Do you remember why you were at the abandoned factory at the Burnt Out Quarter?"

YOU — The Burnt Out Quarter? Abandoned factory?

HARRY DU BOIS — Harry frowns pensively. "What about your friend? Do you know what happened to him?"

YOU — "Eyes? What happened to him? Is he here?"

HARRY DU BOIS — Harry shakes his head microscopically. His brows furrow.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] — Your friend isn't here. He's never been here. Harry thought you knew where he was.

YOU — But I don't. I don't know what friend Harry is talking about.

HARRY DU BOIS — He slides something towards your hand. Another item from the bedside table.

INTERFACING [Trivial: Success] — You'd recognise your trusty notebook anywhere. Even by touch.

YOU — Flipping through the notebook, you see notes from your past cases. The last few Juvie cases you did, the Hanged Man case where you first met Harry, the extortion case, and many others you've solved over the last few months.

You flip over to the last couple of pages, detailing the case of a mysterious corpse found near the river, covered in strange, ritualistic cuts over their torso. These notes would make sense with context, but for the life of you, you can't remember a single thing about it. Not how the corpse looks like, not how you made the jump between the corpse and the Burnt Out Quarter, nor how it all connects to the abandoned factory.

LOGIC [Challenging: Success] —You must have been in a hurry to not write it down. That, or you were distracted.

HARRY DU BOIS — "Kim," Harry says slowly. "'What's the last thing you remember?"

YOU —You open your mouth, then close it.

COMPOSURE [Formidable: Success] —You swallow tightly, not making a sound.

YOU — "I remember…it was night. We'd just finished a case and you took me to a local bar to celebrate. And then you did your depressing karaoke song again and they kicked us out for upsetting the mood."

HARRY DU BOIS — "So you don't remember the new transfer?"

AUTHORITY — Is Harry trying to undermine you? He doesn't need to know you don't remember. Let him connect the dots himself.

YOU — "No," you admit. "I don't remember. What transfer? Did we get a new cop?"

HARRY DU BOIS — "I was worried about this," he chuckled. "Welcome to Amnesia town. Population: us fuckers."

YOU — "I don't have amnesia…I think."

HARRY DU BOIS — He smirks, making his ruddy cheeks ruddier. "I'd think I'd know the symptoms of amnesia, Lieutenant. Do you at least remember what happened? Any details?"

YOU — "I'm certain I'd remember if you got us both kicked out of a bar."

HARRY DU BOIS — "Humour me. Do you remember what happened?"

YOU — You roll your eyes at him, then close your eyelids.

AUTHORITY — We can speak for you in moments like this. Let me do it. I'll make sure the Lieutenant knows our memory is excellent.

YOU — Not a chance. I'm not letting some psychotic voices in my head take control of my body. I'll relay it, not you.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] — It's become a ritual of you and Harry to head to a bar to relax after a case. If you remember something specific, perhaps it will convince Harry to cease this line of questioning.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] — Harry gave you the choice of the bar that night, even though you've never drunk in front of him during these outings. You were tired, so you thought of the one place you could: La Mer. A quiet bar that is, shall we say, very welcoming of the homosexual underground.

PERCEPTION [Medium: Success] — Harry sees someone with a drink, thinks it looks cool, and gets it himself. He chugs it down, barely remembering to savor the taste. He promised himself only one, and you're going to make sure it stays one, and he's already drunk it in five seconds.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] — When Harry finds the karaoke machine, he's in his element. He croons his love song, seeded with all sorts of dirty innuendos, and you think for a moment that he might be capable of the things he sings about. When he dedicates the song to you, as he always does, he does it with a suggestive little wink.

COMPOSURE [Legendary: Failure] — Every time he dedicates a song to you, it's to make some part of your body blush. Every time he winks at you, he's trying to get a reaction out of you.

Unfortunately, he's succeeded on both accounts.

YOU — He did not get a reaction out of me. And anyways, his next song got us kicked out of the bar.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA [Medium: Success] — To be fair, Harry didn't seem to be aware the second song he was singing is attributed to Captain Novac, a government officer who led numerous campaigns against the alternative sexuality communities.

SHIVERS [Easy: Success] — The days of homosexuals being forced into hiding for their lives may be over, but the scars still remain.

VISUAL CALCULUS — Harry apologised, then offered to take you back to his apartment, as it was closer.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Failure] — But you refused. You got yourself a taxi, headed back home.

YOU — You open your eyes to find Harry observing you quietly, eyes half-lidded.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Failure] — Is he…is he falling asleep on us?

YOU — "Did my story bore you, Lieutenant?"

HARRY DU BOIS — "N-no, no. I'm just surprised you remembered all that. If that's the last thing you remember, then you don't remember that detective from your old Precinct transferring over the next morning?"

YOU — "Next morning?"

HARRY DU BOIS — "When he found out you transferred here, he wanted you to teach him. You begged Jean to let someone else do the job, but when he found out what the story is and how you both knew each other, he basically forced you both together, the asshole."

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] — There's the lightest hint of a smile on his face. If he was in a higher position and he felt cruel enough, he might have done the exact same thing Jean did.

AUTHORITY [Formidable: Success] — Jean's jealous you get to work with a sober Harry, but makes up for it by gossiping about you both to Judit.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY — More than once you've heard them call you and Harry born-again lovers.

YOU — "So who was I forced to partner up with?"

HARRY DU BOIS — He smirks. "Guy by the name of Lars Langley."

YOU — "Lars…"

COMPOSURE [Legendary: Failure] — LANGLEY?!

AUTHORITY [Formidable: Failure] — That creep followed you into Precinct 41?!

HARRY DU BOIS — "You made that exact same face the first time you were told," he smirks.

LOGIC [Trivial: Success] — He's talking about that pained, constipated look in your eyes.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Formidable: Success] — Like a fish in a pet shop, knowing and unknowing, trapped in a cage.

YOU — "I had to babysit Lucky?" You shake your head. "Sometimes I wish that guy got lost."

HARRY DU BOIS — "Funny you should mention that, because uhh…well, he's gone."

YOU — "What do you mean?"

HARRY DU BOIS — "I get a call from you directly to my place 08:00 in the morning. Don't know why you were up so early, but I assumed it must have been for a case. By the time I got patched through, you've already hung up on me. When I head to Precinct 41, Jules tells me you called the Precinct. I put 1 and 1 together, arranged a search party, and that's how we found you in the Burnt Out Quarter, unconscious and bleeding on the floor of the abandoned factory."

EMPATHY [Legendary: Failure] — There's something else in his story. A detail he chose to omit. But what?

LOGIC [Legendary: Failure] — It couldn't be anything important.

HARRY DU BOIS — "We searched all over, but we couldn't find your partner. We know he was with you though, according to what you told Jules. We think whoever bashed your head in kidnapped Lucky."

REACTION SPEED [Formidable: Success] — There's a twitch in his lips. A microscopic frown that plays on his lips.

LOGIC [Legendary: Success] — You know what the Lieutenant is thinking. Best case scenario: Lucky got kidnapped. Worst case scenario: Lucky got kidnapped and killed.

YOU — And I have no way of knowing who, or how, or why.

HARRY DU BOIS — He stands up slowly, brushing his disco pants off. He moves slowly, hesitantly, as if he feels like he should leave but he doesn't want to.

VOLITION [Medium: Failure] — You don't want him to either.

YOU — "So I guess the case is still on?"

HARRY DU BOIS — He nods. "Jean wanted me to check your condition. Thought that if you woke up and punched somebody, I could take the blow best."

YOU — "So he's afraid of getting punched by me?"

HARRY DU BOIS — "Are you kidding? You'd give him a run for his lunch money if you tried. Plus, I think he was hoping you'd punch me."

YOU — The faintest of smiles creeps up your face. "It'd knock some sense into you."

HARRY DU BOIS — He leans his head forward. An open target. "Give it a try. It might work."

YOU — If anyone needs some sense knocked into them, it's me for having these weird voices in my head.

You raise your fist up, clenched tight into a ball, and thrust it towards Harry's exposed head.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Formidable: Failure] — But it's no more than a lovetap. Like a teddy bear threw a punch.

HARRY DU BOIS — "Does this mean you need to stay here any longer?"

YOU — "Fuck no. I'm fine, really, Detective. This is my case, and I'll see it to the end."

AUTHORITY — Show him who's boss. Show him you mean business.

YOU — You take your glasses off and place them back on the bedside table beside you. Then, you tug at the bandages wrapped around your head in one swift motion, letting it cascade down like blood-stained ribbons into your lap. They spool down, spiraling, spiraling, until the bandages are all neatly in your lap.

COMPOSURE [Trivial: Success] — Harry thought that was cool.

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success] — Harry likes that.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Trivial: Success] — Harry more than likes that. You might have turned on his light switch right there.

YOU — You put your glasses back on quickly and hop out of the bed, bandages still in your hands. Harry takes it from you—

REACTION SPEED [Heroic: Success] — He shivers slightly when his fingers grazes yours—

HARRY DU BOIS — And he scrunches it all up and throws it at the nearest bin. It lands square in the middle. A perfect shot.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY — You like that.

YOU — The two of you slowly walk out of the hospital ward and down to the parking lot where, to your relief, your Coupris Kineema sits, untouched and undamaged.

HARRY DU BOIS — "You alright to drive?"

YOU — "I should be fine."

PAIN THRESHOLD [Medium: Success] — Your head still feels a little sore to the touch but it's no longer bleeding, and you didn't feel dizzy at all keeping up with Harry's brisk walking pace. You're good to go.

HARRY DU BOIS — "So…because Lucky is gone, and you seem to be all good to go—"

YOU — "—I'll need a replacement partner?"

HARRY DU BOIS —He smiles warmly. "I'm just saying, I just finished up my case earlier today before coming over here, and I'm offering my services. It'll be like the good old times of last week."

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success] — He wants to monitor your condition just in case your head injury is worse than it looks. He also likes spending time with you.

YOU — You smile. "Sure."

HARRY DU BOIS — "Wait, really?"

LOGIC [Trivial: Failure] — Wait, really?

YOU — "I might have forgotten the case, yes. I might not remember anything in the last week or so. But I've had to deal with you while you had a midlife crisis about your forgotten identity. Now you'll have to deal with mine."

HARRY DU BOIS — "Is this extortion?"

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success] — The smile on this face suggests he's playing along.

YOU — "Let's call it returning the favour." You adjust the glasses on your face. "Tomorrow morning we'll meet at Precinct 41 and discuss our next step. We might be able to retrace our steps from there."

HARRY DU BOIS — "The corpse you were investigating might still be in the Morgue. We can take a look there."

YOU — "Perfect." You head for your beloved Coupris Kineema and pause by the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, detective."

HARRY DU BOIS — Harry smiles one of his secret smiles. "See you tomorrow, Kim. And…good to see you're alright. I was worried."

DRAMA [Easy: Success] — It is an understatement. He was seriously worried and he is seriously glad to see you are well and good, bixia.

LOGIC [Easy: Success] — You could tell him about us, the voices in your head. It’s surely not the same thing as what he claims to have, but he’d understand…wouldn’t he?

VOLITION — We can’t give him the satisfaction. He already thinks we’re weak enough as it is. We don’t need to make him even more concerned.

YOU — You shake your head, chuckling softly. "Don't be," you say. "I'm made from hard stuff."

With that cool line under your belt, you slip yourself into the driver's seat of the Kineema, let the engine purr underneath you, and drive off into the streets.

—

KIM'S APARTMENT — It's nightfall by the time you enter your apartment. You flicker on the lights, lock the door behind you, and let its humble atmosphere overwhelm you.

PERCEPTION (Sight) [Easy: Success] — The furniture is sparse, but the place is far from lifeless. There is a huge collection of books near a comfy couch and an even comfier reading chair. The walls are a light cream colour that resembles eggshells, or bird poop. Behind the closed door to your bedroom are the softest orange bedsheets settled amongst fluffy light-green pillows.

YOU — You head to the fridge and scrounge up the quickest dinner you can muster: a simple omelette, and eat it quickly but politely, making sure to chew with your mouth closed, never lingering on a particular flavour tone for too long.

INLAND EMPIRE — A stern older woman looks down at all the young children before her, all different races and creeds of life before coming into her care. She pulls a girl by the top of her ears for chewing too loudly. All the other children look down and continue eating, trying not to swallow too loud. It hurts, but the children would rather endure her punishment compared to the punishments of her husband.

YOU — You finish up your dinner quickly, wash it and dry it in the sink. You head for the balcony, hands already reaching for the chestnut-scented cigarettes you always keep on hand. You take the cigarette up to your lips, flicking the light of your lighter on.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY — Oh yeah, that's the good stuff, isn't it? The sweet, sweet nicotine. Your daily bit of sin. The one addiction you will give yourself.

AUTHORITY — But we all know your true addiction is to control. You like the idea of controlling when and where you can take your daily cigarette. You crave the idea of dominating this one bit of weakness, of curbing it to a small routine that you control. You can quit any time you want, but you don't. Harry's addicted to physical things. You're addicted to concepts.

YOU — You take a slow drag from your cigarette, the grey plumes rising up to the clouds, taking away all the sadness and bitterness of Revachol and Elysium and turning it all into ash. With every puff, you feel your mind get a bit clearer, like whatever was congesting your head is now disappearing. You've felt this before, but it feels more extreme now. Like your senses are heightened.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Impossible: Success] — Colours you couldn't see before shimmer in front of you. The night and the day join as one in holy matrimony.

PERCEPTION [Impossible: Success] — The tiniest speck in one of the apartment buildings. A man, pressed against the curtains, making love to another, bigger man, their silhouettes obscuring their depraved act from all but the peepers. Well, that, and the most observant people, such as yourself.

INLAND EMPIRE [Impossible: Success] — You see a clear picture of Harry in your mind's eye, impossibly detailed right down to the leather shoes. He gives you that tired smile, the one when he's had enough, when he knows he has to try something stupid, and then he grabs your face and kisses you square on the lips.

YOU — In the real world, you take another slow drag.

In Kim's World, you force his lips away, only so you can kiss him properly yourself. Harry submits pitifully, weakly, beautifully.

INLAND EMPIRE [Impossible: Failure] — Before your imaginary counterpart might slide Harry's mouth open, let their tongue plunge deep into Harold's throat and give you an idea of how Harry might taste like without booze and drugs on his breath, the vision vanishes, and the dark skyline of Revachol opens up for you once more.

LOGIC [Challenging: Success] — The nicotine's initial kick has worn off. The world is slowly returning to normal, as are your senses.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY — You can't deny it. You got a bit excited from that image. Of Harry kissing you so tenderly. So desperately.

YOU — Perhaps…but nothing will ever happen between us.

AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] — Of course you'll never let Harry get that close. You are partners. Members of the RCM. Fraternising with your half-brother like that is incestuous and wrong.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] — Even if you weren't, you won't let yourself be so weak as to let Harry kiss you first. He needs to let you know you're in charge. You're the one that calls the shots in that relationship.

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] — There'll be less pain that way.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] — But you do want him. You've never fantasised so much about kissing one man before in all your life.

AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] — You only allow yourself one addiction. What will it be? The cigarette, or Harry?

SHIVERS [Heroic: Success] — Both will lead to an early grave.

YOU — One final drag of the cigarette, one final plume, before you butt it out into the smoking tray. You take a cold shower, dry yourself off, and then throw yourself at the bed, curling up under the covers, naked like the day you were born.

As you close your eyes, you wonder for a minute what would happen if you were given that choice. A cigarette a day, or Harry from now until eternity, sober and kind and at the peak of his prime.

You think of the rigidity of your life structure. How Harry has disrupted it from your very first meeting. You think of the cigarette, always the same, never better or worse, a stark comparison to Harry, who has his fair share of good days and bad days in the short time you've worked together. You think of Harry's horrible penchant for karaoke, and his terrible taste in clothes, and the way his sweat stinks of booze, even when he hasn't been drinking.

You want to say you'd prefer the cigarette.

VOLITION [Impossible: Failure] — But you know, deep down, that if you are given that choice, you will always choose Harry.

#disco elysium #harry du bois #harrier du bois #kim kitsuragi #This fic is SFW #but depending on how I feel it might bump up if you catch my drift #I had fun writing in the games style #Had to do a crash code in coding to form some shortcuts and streamline the writing proces #BTW other DE fanfic authors GET AUTOHOTKEY it helps out SO MUCH!#Especially for a fic like this

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justanotherloveaffair · 6 years ago

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Just Say Yes - Chapter 8 (Chadwick x Reader)

<< Chapter 7 Chapter 9 >>

A Collaboration Fic between @justanotherloveaffair/ @captainsordersfic

Summary: Penny gives you some sage advice that you immediately put into practice just in time for your Friday night with Chadwick.

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 4,042

Chapter Author: Me

Your name: Submit (what is this?)

My Masterlist

Taglist: @afraiddreamingandloving, @killmongerrss, @kumkaniudaku, @nah-imjustfeelinit, @tchallaholla, @a-heretic-child, @simplyyamberr, @wildaboutchrisevans, @fullonfrenzy, @h-challa, @theunsweetenedtruth, @ljstraightnochaser, @90sinspiredgirl, @maverickabull, @big3gocandykahn, @sarahboseman, @airis-paris14 ***Comment if you want to be tagged/untagged.

You didn’t call Chadwick that night.

After putting in an exhausting day of work, you took your laptop home and continued working in your tiny office, your face awash from the light of your screen and a single lamp. The only reprieve your lip got from your anxious chewing came when you stopped to slurp instant noodles, which was also the only time you allowed yourself to look at your phone, flicking through Instagram, Twitter, your eyes scanning but not reading, only going through the motions. You were thinking about only one thing.

He’ll get bored. Some hot girl will come along. He won’t have time for me. I’m not good enough.

You indulged in dark, brooding thoughts as you poured yourself a glass of wine and emptied it, then poured another and brought the bottle and glass over to your desk, turned the phone face-down and got back to work.

The next morning, you dug your phone out from under your pillow to shut off the alarm and saw a missed text from Chadwick at 1:00am.

Missed your voice tonight. Message me today if you can… I’m looking forward to details about tomorrow. I can’t wait to see you.

Your heart surged. “God, what am I doing?” you groaned out loud. The text message stayed with you, running through your mind over and over the entire time you got ready. For an hour you thought of and discarded a handful of responses and in the end, didn’t respond at all.

You could practically hear Penny’s voice, which in all matters Chadwick had become your conscience, lecturing you about self-sabotage. Despite all of the logical reasons against your behaviour, it really came down to one thing: you were scared. And when you were scared, you ran.

At work, you were in full preparation mode for the conference on the next day and didn’t have time for any thoughts of Chadwick as you rushed from meeting to meeting. After getting in at 8:00, the first time you got to sit and go through emails was lunchtime. You closed your office door and finally looked at your phone.

Two missed calls. And a voicemail.

With shaking hands you pressed the phone to your ear.

You have one new message. To listen, press 1…

You pressed 1 and held your breath.

Music.

The familiar opening of a song, instantly bringing you back to a single moment before Solomon Burke’s soulful voice began, making you break out in a full-body shiver at the memory of being in Chadwick’s arms, his intense sexual energy running through your veins, the brush of his lips at your ear as he invited you to his room…

When your baby… leaves you all alone… and nobody… calls you on the phone…. Don’tcha feel like cryin’, Don’tcha feel like cryin’ Well here I am honey… come on… and cry to me.

The message ended there, leaving you breathing hard and tingling.

You let out your breath and put the phone down, smiling, your body tight and tense from the sudden rush of sparks in your belly and between your legs. “Cute, Mr. Boseman…. very cute,” you murmured out loud.

His message had worked. You were squirming to call him and hear his voice. But instead of calling Chadwick, you found yourself dialling Penny’s number.

It rang four times and your friend answered, breathlessly. “Hi, Y/N?”

You covered your mouth, eyes crinkling as you withheld laughter. “Oh no… did I interrupt honeymoon sex?”

“Yes, you did...”

“OhmygodImsorryyy,” tumbled out of you and you smacked your forehead with your palm, “I’ll let you go, this isn’t important.”

“You sure? Cause Chadwick texted me to ask if I’d heard from you. Are you alright?”

You sat straight up in your chair. Busted.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve been avoiding him.”

You were silent for a few long seconds and Penny groaned with frustration, “Y/N! Why are you making this so complicated? Stop running away from him or you’re going to kill this before it even gets started,” she scolded angrily, “Unless that’s what you’re trying to do… is it?”

You were taken aback by her aggressive tone and tears stung your eyes as your silly and stupid actions were laid bare for their rightful ridicule.

“Please help me,” you said in a small, tight, pleading voice, your eyes closing as you cradled your head in your free hand. “I’m so fucking scared.”

There was silence on the other end as Penny took in your turmoil. “Okay,” she responded, more softly and your eyes opened again as your finger rubbed away the wetness gathering at your temple. “I’m going to give you a task that you have to promise to fulfil for one week. No matter how you feel at the time, no matter your doubts, you can keep stewing over them if you want but you still have to do this one thing. You promise?”

Curious, you nodded, “Okay.”

“Say yes for one week. Say yes to everything. He asks you to call him, you call him. He asks you to go for sushi, you say okay Chadwick, let’s go for sushi. He wants to fuck you in the coat closet tomorrow night, you say yes, and ask which position.”

You gasped and covered your mouth, laughing at the idea while finding her proposition exciting and alluring at the same time. “Oh my god, you’re nuts.”

She continued in a serious voice, “Let’s practice. I’m going to be Chadwick. I say, hey Y/N, how about you pull my pants down and suck my dick in the middle of this crowd of people? Now, what do you say?”

You pursed your lips to keep the giggles at bay. “Yes, Chadwick.”

“Do you want to go to a concert with me tomorrow night?”

Still smiling, you nodded again as your mind started to open up to all of the possibilities. “Yes, Chadwick.”

“Great. I want us to be closer together. How about you come to LA and move in with me?”

Your eyes widened and your laughter died in your throat.

“You say?....” she prompted.

You licked your lips imagining being asked such a thing and how you would respond, and there were goosebumps on your skin as you breathed, “Yes.”

“Good answer.” Penny replied approvingly. “Okay, you have a plan now. One week of yes’s, no cheating allowed. Maybe nothing happens, maybe everything happens. But you’re not allowed to fight it because the choice is now out of your hands.”

She was a genius. An evil genius.

“What do you say?”

“Yes, Penny.”

“Atta girl. Now call him back, so both of you can stop bothering me while I’m trying to ride my husband’s dick, alright?”

“I love you Penny.” You gushed affectionately giggling at her gruff response before you hung up the phone.

Adrenaline coursed through you as your mind went down all kinds of wild turns. Anything could happen. What if something came up you weren’t ready for? You could back out, but…. you could never forgive yourself if you didn’t at least try. You either committed fully, or didn’t at all.

You picked up the phone and called Chadwick.

He answered on the second ring in a slow drawl, “Hey, there she is.”

You leaned back in your chair, closing your eyes as endorphins flooded your body at the sound of his voice.

“Hi,” you started, sounding slightly hesitant as you prepared to acknowledge your silence. “I’m sorry Chadwick. I should have called earlier, I was busy getting ready for tomorrow.” You paused and smiled, “I liked your voicemail.”

“I figured you would,” his voice was low and sensual direct into your ear. “I’ll never hear that song again without thinking ‘bout our first kiss,” he purred and you squeezed your eyes shut hoping he wouldn’t begin something you would have no choice but to go along with, as you had a meeting in a few minutes.

You steered the conversation away purposefully leading him off of dangerous ground. “So I’m wearing a sparkly black dress with a black leather jacket tomorrow if that helps.”

“I can work with that. How short’s the dress?”

“Pretty short,” you responded in a flirty tone, “why do you need to know?”

“Cause I’ve got another night without you and you haven’t sent me any nudes yet, give me a break,” he admitted with frustration and you flushed all over at the stomach-twisting thought of him getting off to just the image of you.

Your mouth ran away with you as you taunted, “Maybe you’ll get lucky.”

He gave a gasp and you should have seen his next comment coming a mile away. “Really? How about right now?”

Shit. He was asking.

And based on the rules, you had to say yes.

Your mind started to race as you glanced at the clock, knowing you had only a few minutes and your words came out in a rush once you realized what you were about to do. “Let’s make a deal, I’ll send you one if you send me one, but I gotta hurry cause I have a meeting... call you later?”

He groaned, the sound making you sweat. “Please, yes, sweet merciful god…. it’s a deal.”

“OK I gotta go. Bye Chadwick,” you said, already yanking up your dress to your hips in preparation.

“Bye baby.” He was out of breath at the thought and it just turned you on even more, making your body thud with excitement. You hung up the call and quickly went to the phone’s camera while the other hand tugged your damp underwear down, then pulled on the zipper so you could shrug the top half of your dress off your shoulders until it pooled around your waist, leaving your torso covered by only your balconette style bra that made your tits look huge. You held the camera high and flipped it so you could see yourself, boobs filling the frame and you opened your thighs just enough to show him how naked you were underneath, leaving your hand brushing your thigh suggestively and you snapped a couple of photos looking up into the camera with your lower lip seductively trapped between your teeth.

You didn’t have time to care if you liked the photos or not before quickly dressing, choosing one and throwing it into the text message conversation as your heart raced with the forbidden thrill.

Underneath, a Delivered notification appeared and a few seconds later, as you prepared to head out to your meeting, a picture appeared in response and you quickly tapped it.

“Holy. Shit.”

Your man was in the bathroom in only a towel, pushed down low on his hips, enough to reveal his dark, trimmed pubic hair and the first few thick inches of his cock, half-hidden by the towel. Above the towel his glowing skin was on display, tailored down his toned stomach into a V, one long, muscular arm holding up the phone while his thumb on the other hand was hooked underneath the towel as if ready to tease it lower. Most enticing of all was that gorgeous face half-smiling in the mirror looking into the camera, into you, all flirtatious and aware of his godlike sexiness and you sank back against the office door preparing yourself to be at least ten minutes late.

That night, instead of going to sleep drunk on wine and self-pitying thoughts, you fell asleep worn out by multiple orgasms encouraged by Chadwick’s voice as he talked you through, step by step, everything he wanted to do to your body, saying things that made your skin burn and pussy throb, and you were so addicted to it that you couldn’t stop from getting off after just one. When you fell asleep, you were already anticipating how hard it was going to be to keep your hands to yourself at the cocktail party.

The next morning you woke an hour earlier than normal to get ready with enough time to tidy the house and practice your speech. Before leaving the house, you texted Chadwick one last time your address and reminded him of your itinerary, followed by three heart-eyed emoji’s and to your surprise at the early hour of the day, he immediately messaged you back.

Just a few more hours and then you’re mine again… see you soon.

You sighed and flicked open to the picture of him in the towel one last time, resisting the urge to set it as your lock screen background and pocketed your phone as you walked out the door.

The annual conference was full of people you either had already made connections with or people you hadn’t yet met but couldn’t wait to. You were busy from the moment you arrived handling media interviews, welcoming guests and speakers, and taking part in a two-hour panel about seminal female characters in video games. You had long gotten over your fear of the spotlight once you realized that if you were talking about your passion, you could go on for hours on end. But being so tightly tied to the schedule meant you barely got to check your phone, so it wasn’t until you were wrapping up the end of the day that you saw all of the texts.

Mom, 8:07am – Good luck at the conference today sweetie, thinking of you! Penny, 10:01am – Did you call him? How many yes’s have you done? I’m dying to know! PS I wore Chris’s dick out yesterday, he needs a break. I think I broke it :( Chadwick, 12:03pm – This day is crawling by. Chadwick, 2:08pm – Dressed in my best and leaving the house. See you soon. :) Chadwick, 3:22pm – Bad accident on the highway. Currently stopped. I’ll keep you updated but I might be late… Chadwick, 3:49pm – Still stopped. This sucks. I’m going to be late. I’ll have to meet you at the reception – I’m so sorry.

You typed a quick text back to Chadwick that it was okay, to look for you at the cocktail party and to just get there safely and when you didn’t hear back right away, you assumed he was back to driving.

In a way you were thankful, because if he showed up at your apartment you’d probably end up keeping him there. It had been five whole days through a particularly horny week and at this point just seeing his name on your phone made you wet.

You had an hour to get changed and used every minute. Your initial idea to wear red lipstick was abandoned as you wanted no reason not to put your lips on Chadwick’s the first moment you could, so you swiped on a nude gloss instead and focused on a charcoal, dark eye that went well with the leather jacket, short dress and boots with metal accents. On your way out, you paused at the hallway mirror, feeling sexy and confident and ready for whatever the night could throw at you.

The cocktail reception was at the bar in the same hotel as the convention. As well as a huge contingent from your developer studio, who were officially promoting the conference, were key people from the industry and most of the speakers. The types of women who worked in video games tended not to be comfortable in traditional cocktail dresses and like you, had dressed a bit less red carpet and a bit more Lady Gaga concert. Embracing creativity and alternative forms of expressing beauty were part of what you loved about the small, but influential group of smart and strong women.

You went straight for the bar where a group of your colleagues were standing, and they all greeted you with raised glasses as you approached.

“Hey, you killed it today!”

“Nice job Y/N!”

You acknowledged them and smiled at your mentor, Neil who was in the middle of the group. He moved forward to give you a hug. “Congratulations, you kicked ass today,” his bearded face was turned up in a grin.

“Thanks Neil, I’m glad you could come.” You let go of his hug and a moment later, felt a cold glass placed into your left hand from an unseen person.

Surprised, you leaned back from Neil and looked to see your slightly awkward co-worker standing next to him, attempting to appear suave and cool but failing. You noticed it wasn’t the first time he’d insinuated himself next to you at an event.

“Oh hey Glen, thanks for the drink.” Acknowledging your co-worker as coolly as possible you raised the drink, hoping it didn’t come with any expectations and they clinked together.

He looked ready to say something when a microphone screech seized all of your ears, and the voice of the MC called your attention. You quickly placed the drink down on the bar without taking a sip, knowing your moment was coming soon.

“…. And I’d like to introduce you all to one of our ambassadors for the event, from Capdog Entertainment, Miss Y/N Y/L/N!”

You hurried over to the microphone, starting to feel your heart beat climb and rehearsed the first few words you’d practiced to get you started, while the rest you’d planned to be off the cuff. To the sound of applause, the loudest contingent coming from your co-workers, you stepped up under the spotlight and grabbed the microphone with a gracious smile, and managed not to flub a single word as you gave a short speech thanking all of the guests and inviting them to enjoy the open bar. They broke out into rowdy applause at that while you blinked at the bright lights that blinded you to almost everything until you stepped back down, taking a few deep breaths to calm your racing heart and regain normal vision.

As white sparks were still crackling around your periphery you spotted a shape walking towards you, with a familiar slow, confident swagger and your heart leapt at the sight of Chadwick.

You nearly sank onto the floor as he made his way towards you in black slacks, with a black shirt under a sparkly blazer. His hands were in his pockets as he strutted towards you with more cool in one finger than all of the men there combined. He was breath-taking and the slow smile that came over him the closer he got made you grab the nearby table to hold yourself still.

“All this for me?” You gulped as Chadwick finally stood in front of you, your hands going straight to his forearms clutching him as he bent his head to smile down at you while you took him in, from shiny shoes up to his tight curls. “Get down here,” your hands gripped the back of his neck pulling his head down to get the first taste of him in a week, and as you did, you heard a few cheeky bastards you worked with went Ooooooooh! behind you.

Your lips both widened into a smile and his low chuckle on your lips sent a bolt through your body. Since you were in front of everybody, you had to settle for a quick press of his warm mouth on yours. “Later,” he promised, rubbing his thumb against your cheek and his dark eyes flashed as he looked at you.

“Fuck, I want it now,” you whined, but then quickly said before he got any ideas you couldn’t say no to, “come get a drink with me?”

His hands slid down your back setting a blazing trail of heat as he went and they stopped on your ass, giving it a quick, but significant squeeze.

“Sorry, had to do it.” He explained, innocently shrugging while he winked and smiled and you pulled away with a smile matching his.

He took your hand and walked confidently in the room, and you felt the thrill and draw of attention that Chadwick commanded everywhere he went. He was easily the best looking and best dressed but if he knew it, he didn’t show it. He just owned it, totally himself in his own cool energy without being conscious of the effect it had and that was part of what made your knees weak around him.

When you reached the bar, you were trying to decide what to order when you noticed a pair of elbows lean over the bar immediately to your left, close enough to be touching your elbow. On instinct you inched your arm away and that’s when you heard Glen’s voice.

“Oh hey again, you!”

Either intentionally or not, he acted surprised to see you and you tilted back to greet him politely. “Hi, Glen.” He had the pasty white skin of a programmer, permanent dark circles under his eyes and at this close distance you could smell strong cologne masking slightly sour breath. Every time you saw him, and tonight was no different, he was in wrinkled clothes, usually slacks and a pullover shirt that you imagined was picked up off of the floor right where it lived after the last time it was worn. And whereas Chadwick’s confidence came from a place of innate comfort with himself, Glen’s confidence seemed a gregarious mask of trying-too-hard-itis.

“I don’t see you with a drink yet, let me get you one – hey, bartender!”

Without waiting for your input, Glen managed to get the man’s attention and before you could stop him, he was placing an over-filled beer in front of you while Chadwick’s hand gripped your side, conveying his withheld silence and irritation as he waited for you to either react or give him some signal that he could.

You made a quick decision, grabbing the spilling-over lip of the beer glass and placing it back on his side. “Thanks for the thought Glen, sorry but I’m just not much of a beer drinker.” You felt Chadwick’s hand on your lower back giving you a squeeze of approval.

Glen accepted it in stride, coming back for another swing without having picked up on any social cues from you or noticing the man on your right whose hands were all but massaging your ass in that moment. “Oh, okay, how about vodka and soda?”

The vein in your forehead was twitching but you felt a wave of confidence hit you and you turned your head to Chadwick, who was giving you doe-eyes in return as you locked gazes extra-affectionately at each other. You said loudly, your hand creeping onto Chadwick’s bicep, “Hey honey, what were you thinking of getting?”

The bartender had stopped in front of you to put away a row of glasses when Chadwick looked between you and Glen, taking in his widening eyes with relish before coming back at you, “This is a celebration of your hard work and I think that calls for champagne, don’t you?”

“Ooh, yes, champagne! Definitely.” You clapped your hands together loudly and enthusiastically and Chadwick nodded imperceptibly at the bartender, paying for his instant attention with the strong social currency of his attractive aura and calm dominance.

“Can we take that Dom Perignon off your hands? Two glasses please, unless –“ he pointed at Glen cordially, “you wanted a glass too Glen?”

If a man could wither and die with just a few words, this would have been his final moment of mortality. He clutched his beer a bit tighter looking between the two of you and responded, deflated, “No thanks, I’m good.”

“Just two glasses then,” Chadwick nodded and as the bartender announced his total, he slid a few hundred-dollar bills from his wallet onto the counter, waving away the change coolly and placing his wallet back in his pocket while your clothes nearly disintegrated from the alpha display.

It wasn’t the fact that he could casually flash that much cash but it was the deliberate power move in a language Glen would understand, without being directly aggressive while in fact being deceptively, passive-aggressively nice about it, pissing Glen off even more.

He took his beer and mumbled goodbye, leaving you alone without another word and your eyes slid to Chadwick’s who smiled, passing you the glass of champagne and you clinked them together.

#Chadwick Boseman #Chadwick Boseman x Reader #Chadwick Boseman x Reader fanfic #Chadwick Boseman smut #Chadwick Boseman fic #Chadwick Boseman fanfic #Chadwick Boseman fanfiction #Chadwick Boseman imagine

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sorio99 · 6 years ago

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Deltarune Chapter 1: The Official Undertale AU

At 6:00 AM PST, on Halloween 2018, the official Undertale twitter account released what is essentially a demo for the next game by Toby Fox, deltarune. Between the baffling intro, the odd relationship with the original Undertale, and the implied involvement of a certain missing doctor, everything about this game was shrouded in mystery.

And I loved it.

(Spoilers and Review below the cut)

Part 1: The Story

At first glance, most people assumed this mysterious new game would be a sequel (or possibly prequel) to Undertale. After all, it involves a number of shared characters, the titular rune was prominently featured in Undertale, and even the name “Delta rune” is an anagram for “Undertale”.

However, the relationship between the two is much stranger, and the plots are largely unconnected.

After creating an avatar and having the game unceremoniously throw it in the garbage, you play as Kris (that lovely person up there), the human child of Asgore and Toriel, and younger sibling to Asriel Dreemurr. Right off the bat, about a million questions are raised, especially since later conversations indicate Kris has at least been living with the Dreemurrs’ since they were too young to know their species, but we’ll come back to that.

Toriel drives you to school, though still get there late, and Alphys (who is your teacher here) puts you in a group with Susie, the only student to show up after you, to work together on a group project. However, when she realizes she doesn’t have any chalk, she sends the two of you to go get some from the school’s broom closet. You catch Susie eating chalk, she threatens to eat your face but doesn’t, and you head off to the broom closet.

Then things get weird.

After that, it sort of follows a plot line similar to the original: you fall into another world, there’s a bunch of monsters you can either fight or spare, and you just have to keep going up and to the left to fulfill a prophecy & get to the exit, all while dealing with ambiguously evil characters who are more silly than dangerous. It is, however, a bit shorter, with only about ten unique enemies and only three areas in the whole game. But hey, it is technically just the first chapter, so what do you expect.

Of course, what really makes an Undertale is the characters. Since you’re in a different world for most of the game, the returning characters from Undertale don’t have much of a presence outside the very beginning and very end. Instead, we focus on a handful of new characters, all of whom are pretty well-rounded and developed, with the exception of Kris, our silent, somewhat-ambiguously-gendered protagonist. Susie, in particular, goes through a pretty nice character arc, going from someone who’d casually threaten to rip your face off and eat it, to an actual antagonist at one point, before eventually working her way back to being a good guy and someone you can actually be friends with! It’s definitely the strongest arc in the game so far.

There’s also Lancer!

He’s a villain.

And not a skeleton.

Just trust me on this.

Part 2: Presentation

Just to get it out of the way, the music is fantastic. Of course it is. It’s an Undertale spinoff and, more importantly, it’s made by Toby “Radiation” “I could shit out a better soundtrack than most of you will ever even imagine” Fox.

I will however say that I prefer Deltarune’s sound design in general to Undertale, though. Don’t get me wrong, Undertale still has the better OST (for now at least), but Deltarune’s sound effects JUST beat it out in my books. In particular, I felt like the text sounds for most of the characters was, on average, less annoying than in Undertale. Again, don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Undertale’s voices, but some of them could get a little ear-grating, especially for characters who talked a LOT throughout the game. Here, with the exception of one returning character (where the irritation was kind of the joke anyways), all of them work really well. There’s even a tiny bit of voice acting from a couple of the more important characters! So, big thumbs up there.

More pressingly, however, are the visuals. In case it wasn’t obvious from the above screenshots (aside from that second one of Lancer, maybe), the graphics have gotten a MAJOR glow up since the last game. Temmie Chang, aka “Most Precious Meme”, is still the main Artist for the game, and Undertale is by no means a bad looking game. However, in general, the games’ art went from “Beautiful and sometimes even breathtaking” to consistently “HOLY SHIT MY EYES ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO COPE WITH SUCH SHEER BRILLIANCE!!!”

You think I’m exaggerating, but I legit dropped my jaw at a lot of this game’s visuals. I mean, just look at this one End-game animation!

I think this one short scene has more detail and frame than Asgore’s overworld sprite got in the entirety of Undertale.

On the slight downside, however, we no longer get the full-body monochromatic battle sprites from Undertale, as enemies appear in battle almost identically to how they appear in the world. Still, with this much more detail in overworld sprites, it’s not even a slight loss.

Speaking of battle...

Part 3: Gameplay

Yep, the gameplay has gotten a major overhaul over the past three years. First, as the screenshot should make obvious, you have a team now! Yep, in addition to Kris, you can get up to three additional party members over the course of your adventure, including Susie!

In general, what you can do in battles with Kris is mostly the same; you can Fight by hitting the button at the right time, Act in certain ways to make the enemies not want to fight you, use an Item really quick, or Spare an enemy who you don’t want to kill. You also have the option to defend, which will lessen the damage you take if you get hit during the obligatory bullet-hell attacks your enemies dish out.

Where things get really interesting, though, is the team mechanics. You see, every character is different, and everyone but Kris can use magic (although some of Kris’s ACT commands kinda seem like magic?). However, only Kris can directly ACT, with other party members only being able to preform certain set spells. So, instead, Kris can command the other party members to perform actions, or Kris can ACT while the others defend, use items, or attack. If you use a Team ACT, the other party member(s) involved won’t be able to do anything else that turn, but said Team ACTs are usually more powerful or potent as a result. The whole thing can set up for actually strategic choices in battle: In Undertale, since most enemies only had one or two ways to spare them, the most strategy you could use on a Pacifist play through was “Which enemy should I deal with first?” Here, you have to figure how you’re going to handle each encounter. Do you have Kris ACT first, then have another party member spare that monster in the same turn? Or do you act WITH that party member, and next turn be able to spare at least two monsters?

In addition to the battle system being reworked, there were a number of smaller, quality of life changes:

You now have three item categories: Items (your standard consumables), Gear (your armor and weapons), and Key Items (your cellphone and a couple other important things).

You can sell at pretty much every shop in the “Dark” world, which makes sense, since you’re mostly selling food, armor, and weapons-things people in this world would need to survive.

Each character in your party uses a different kind of weapon, but all of them use the same armor, and you can give them all two pieces of armor each, so you can stack defense and get extra boosts!

Choices are mostly presented in a cross pattern, so you just have to pick a direction and confirm to choose that option.

THERE IS NOW A RUN BUTTON AND IN THE OPTIONS YOU CAN CHANGE SO YOU AUTO-RUN AND THE RUN BUTTON IS JUST A WALK BUTTON!

And speaking of which, YOU CAN ACCESS THE MENU FROM WITHIN THE MAIN GAME! THANK YOU!

You can also have up to three save files at once, although I’ve heard each file has some minor differences in flavor-text across the game, so be on the look-out for that.

Overall, I feel like I honestly prefer the game play to Undertale. In fact, with the exception of the story (which is mostly underdeveloped because, again, this is basically just a very long demo), I honestly prefer most of Deltarune to Undertale. While it isn’t technically a sequel, per se, it does do what any good sequel should do: use the original as a starting point and just improve almost everything. It’s almost like the Bioshock Infinite to Undertale’s Bioshock, if that makes sense.

(Would that make System Shock 2 Homestuck? Am I over thinking this?)

Now, with the actual review out of the way, we can get to the main event.

Part 4: Co̞͞n̤̠͎̙̥̗n̸̰̜̳͚͓͇͍e̸͈͉̳̺c̭̮̬̖̭̗̳͠t͍͓͘i̖̺͙͇̟̫o̢̰̜̦n͈̮̼͈͎͖̦s͈͝ ̹̙̦͈̯̜A̡̟̥ņ̥͙̗d̛͙̤̦͈̹̪͚ ̺T͍̞h̡̜̝̟̬e͏̱̹̲ͅ ͕̯̰͍̜͇͍D͝oc̜t̸̺̱̯͙̠o̷̱r͈̟̣̤̯

As I mentioned before, this game isn’t technically a sequel to Undertale. None of the events of Undertale seem to have occurred in this universe, including (seemingly) things from before the game even began. This becomes especially apparent after you leave the “Dark” world and can explore town, talking to various people. Character relationships are almost universally reset, there is no mention of the “Underground”, and considering Asriel is still alive and in college, it’s safe to say there is no Flowey in this world. It could almost be passed off as a complete alternate continuity, or even a reboot, if it weren’t for a few...

oddities.

Yep, among the returning characters, Sans makes an appearance, having apparently just moved into town and never having met you before. Despite having apparently met Toriel the night before in the grocery store, and having a business relationship with your teacher, Alphys. Plus, there's the fact that what used to be Grillby’s and the Bone Brother’s house both look WAY too close to there original versions (no other building looks that similar), the fact that of ALL the returning characters, only Sans looks the exact same (no redesign, visible aging, or even new clothing), and the fact that some of Kris’s dialogue choices seem to reference things that haven’t happened in this universe, and other characters notice them acting...different.

Plus, you know, there’s Chapter 1′s ending.

Yeah.

(Plus, as you might have noticed at the top of this part, there’s a monster who is the only one in either game who looks similar to this Gaster Follower)

All of this seems to point to something much more sinister going on. And, for those who haven’t seen it, the tweets leading up to the demo’s release might just explain why.

Now, we aren’t quite sure who this is supposed to be, but judging by their vocabulary and how they type, it’s a pretty safe assumption we’re being chatted to by our favorite former royal scientist. And, sure enough, most people are assuming that this entity is at least some version of Dr. W. D. Gaster. Why is he doing this? What does it all mean? Why was the Delta Rune even slightly relevant to the plot of this chapter aside from there being three prophesied heroes?

Well, I suppose only time will tell.

Until then...

L̴͙̖̠̕è̘̝͚̯̩̘ͅt͔͎͖̝͎̼͘͢ ̷͎̮͘ù̴̹̘̮̰̙̮̮̘͝s̵̷̫̠͎̯͙̥͟ͅ ͍͍̤̟͇͕̺ͅh̨̼̼͕̠ą̶̛̦̫̼v̺͞e̸͎̭̱͍̭͞͠ ͖̩̳͕͔͚͚̝̱s̘̭̩͜͟ơ҉̥͖̯͟m̞̠͈e̷͔͖̭ͅ ́҉̤͔͎̫̣̥̱͚̲ḿ̶̩̼̙̪̻̝̥͟o̗͇̩͇̠͍͟r̡͖͇̤̗͔͈̕͠e̶̝̠͔͈̭̟ ̷̫̬̺̮͔̣F̢̗̘̟̯͈̜͖͕͈͞Ų̴͍̜͚̘̠̞͈͇̀N҉̡̣̺̝̩̘͓ͅ.̷̩̹͓̯͝

S̛̪̦͉͎̙̀h̴͇͈͡á̤̣̫̬l̷̬̤͓͈͟ͅl͚͚̙̦̙̣̱̺ ̳̗̩͍̱̤̦͈̣w̡͔é͔̝̹̻̜͎̞͝?͜҉̣̣̥̫͎͎ͅ

#undertale #deltarune #delta rune #deltarune spoilers #delta rune spoilers #tagged both ways because i'm not sure which is the correct formatting #and no I will NOT stop doing this. ever

8 notes · View notes

chimchimchoo · 6 years ago

Text

Fly Me to the Moon :: Ch 1

Genre: Pure fluff crack

Word Count: 2,510

Pair: Yoongi x Jimin

Collaborated with @tayvengeance

Chapter: 1

"CHEER UP THIS SAD, EMO BOY!"

02-222-3333

Jimin stared at the note on the bathroom wall for a solid 5 minutes before he pulled out his phone and typed in the number.

authors note: we do not own any of the pictures, for better formatting so it’s more comfortable to read, check it out on AO3! AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14944508/chapters/34626863 Twitters: Tae’s Sujin’s <3 - Tae & sujin

Chat with Mochi_Moves

2015.11.15

14:00

Mochi_Moves:

Will this make you feel happier?

SUGA:

What the fuck

Who is this?

Mochi_Moves:

That doesn’t matter. Did the picture make you laugh? c:

SUGA:

No what the fuck

I think you have the wrong #

Mochi_Moves:

Aw :c

No, I just found this number and wanted to make you a happy emo boy!

SUGA:

Wait, who are you

How do you know I’m emo

Also it’s not emo

It’s grunge

Fuck you

Mochi_Moves:

But..I’m not supposed to tell strangers my name :c

Just call me Mochi

I’ll be your anonymous friend c:

Why are you a sad grunge boy?

SUGA:

Life is a bitch

That’s why.

Mochi_Moves:

Ohmygod, this poor soul

Who hurt you??????

SUGA:

Like i’m gonna tell a stranger my life story

Mochi_Moves:

But didn’t you know?

It’s easier to tell strangers

Come on c: c: c:

SUGA:

Add another smile to that and I just might strangle you

I’m kidding

But not really

Mochi_Moves:

SUGA:

Now that’s a relatable emotion

Mochi_Moves:

Okay alright

I won’t pressure you

You can tell me tomorrow c:

Instead tell me something happy about yourself!

SUGA:

I have mint hair.

I guess that’s happy?

Idk

Coloured hair makes me happier

Mochi_Moves:

Mint???? Wow!

I’ve never seen anyone with mint hair

That must look so cool *.*

SEND ME A PICTURE

SUGA:

No, what if you’re a predator

I’ve watched Catfish

I know how this shit goes

Mochi_Moves:

But I’m not! Just the hair

Pleeeaaassseee?

SUGA:

Only if you tell me who you are

Mochi_Moves:

How do I know you’re not a predator either?

Maybe you’re the bathroom janitor for all I know

SUGA:

YOU’RE THE ONE WHO KNEW I WAS AN

EMO BOY

YOU MESSAGED ME FIRST

Mochi_Moves:

I just found it in the bathroom and wanted to

cheer up a sad grunge emo boy

SUGA:

Goddammit Hoseok.

He fucking put my number on the

stall wall again, didn’t he

I’m gonna fight him

Last time he did this, I got calls

nonstop

Mochi_Moves:

Hoseok?

JUNG HOSEOK??????

SUGA:

for a week.

Holy shit.

You know my arch nemesis?

Mochi_Moves:

Yeah! I dance with him!

He’s a great friend

Annoying sometimes…

BUt wonderful c:

SUGA:

Holy shit

You’re that Jimin kid he always

talks about

The revered dancer

“God, Yoongi you should see him. The way he moves his body is

the closest humans will get to magic.”

Mochi_Moves:

He really said something like that?? Wow, he’s really pushing it

Hah..

But you exposed yourself,

Nice to meet you Min Yoongi c:

SUGA:

That’s Yoongi HYUNG to you

Well, since I know you’re not going to prey on my gay ass

Mochi_Moves:

Ah, well

Two gay boys can be friends

So don’t worry

I won’t be a gay predator

SUGA:

Fellas,

Is it gay to have gay friends

Mochi_Moves:

Let’s try it and see if it’ll answer your question!

SUGA:

Well, I showed my face.

Your turn, punk.

Mochi_Moves:

I’m not a punk :c

According to Hoseok

I’m a soft mochi

SUGA:

Is that that Taehyung kid

He’s in my art class

I swear to GOD

Loudass motherfucker

But I guess he makes me laugh

Mochi_Moves:

BITCHDV

WATCH WOT U SAY BOU

M E

I KNOW WHE REY

YOU SIT

SUGA:

Holy shit he’s been reading over

your shoulder?

Hey kid, you’re wild. I admire it.

Especially when you got the fire alarm to go off

in the middle of free painting the other day.

Idk how you did it. You didn’t even leave your

seat.

Mochi_Moves:

I hav my ways ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Next time i jasdskjf

Sdfgk

Sorry! Taehyung took my phone

When I left the room

But yes it’s the one and only

We’re roommates

SUGA:

I see. So no hanging at your place.

Haha

I’m just kidding

Not really

But yeah

Mochi_Moves:

Oh, so you do want to

come over sometime then?

Is that what you’re saying?

c: c: c:

SUGA:

I thought we had bonded over being

Hobi’s friend

I thought WE were gay pals

Without it being gay

Mochi_Moves:

Ah, you’re right!

I thought maybe

You already went onto the next base

Im so glad it didn’t turn out like that

My best gay pal c:

Second to Taehyung of course

SUGA:

I mean, you are a handsome fella

But

I don’t uh, date, really.

Mochi_Moves:

Ahhhh, does your love life

have to do with you being a sad emo grunge boy?

A tragic backstory?

SUGA:

A tale for another time.

(like far beyond this time)

Hahaha

Mochi_Moves:

So like

tomorrow?

SUGA:

Someone’s persistent

Why do you wanna know so bad?

Gonna try to fix the depressed grunge boy?

Mochi_Moves:

You’re just an interesting person

Min yoongi

I’ll figure you out c:

SUGA:

That’s hyung to you, brat.

Chat with Mochi_Moves

2015.11.16

02:30

Mochi_Moves:

Did this cheer you up?

He had too much soju last night

SUGA:

You all drank without me

What the fuck

Mochi_Moves:

I’m sorry :c

I’ll invite you next time!

It was a night out for the dance team

But it can just be us the next time

And I’ll bring taehyung

And hoseok

You don’t want to be around the dance team

When they’re drunk

Trust me

SUGA:

I’ll take your word for it.

Mochi_Moves:

But did it cheer you up????

SUGA:

How can I not laugh at his dumb face

Mochi_Moves:

Just don’t tell him

He’ll make me do push ups for days

if he finds out I have this

considering he blacked out

and doesn't remember a thing

heh

SUGA:

I told him you found my number yesterday

He screamed

Then he sent me this:

And asked how gay I was for you

Mochi_Moves:

DELETE THIS NOW

!!!!

SUGA:

No. it brings me joy.

Mochi_Moves:

Yoongi

Whyy

SUGA:

Hey, haven’t you been trying to make me

happy?

It worked.

Mochi_Moves:

That’s true..

My pain is your happiness

c’:

SUGA:

But I told him I wasn’t gay for you

AND THEN

He sent me this:

And said “how about now?”

I just need to know, what was the

occasion?

Mochi_Moves:

Why does hyung still have this

I swear

I’m going to go talk to this..

Brb

He’s in the other room

SUGA:

Tell him I said thank you for our new

Kakao chat background pic

Mochi_Moves:

YOU DIDNT

MIN YOONGI

TELL ME YOU

DIDNT

SUGA:

Mochi_Moves:

That’s..heh

I don’t know what to say to that

Asdfhjkl

That was a performance I did a few years back

For a dance competition

Hoseok hyung begged

I didn’t want to

But i did anyway, it’s hyung

I can’t say no to him

I retired the exposed chest look

So don’t expect another one

Ever

SUGA:

Not to sound gay or anything

But

You have a nice body.

Good job.

Mochi_Moves:

What about you Mint Yoongi?

What do you do?

SUGA:

Write/compose/play music

A lil art here n there

I’m skilled on the piano.

And I have some beats on soundcloud

Mochi_Moves:

Wow! I love a good artist c:

Have you released anything to music companies??

SUGA:

Uh...

Kinda?

Mochi_Moves:

You must be famous! Can I hear some of your work??

SUGA:

I’m about as famous as you.

https://soundcloud.com/bangtan/agustd103

There you go, I guess.

Mochi_Moves:

It sounds amazing!

You’re so talented

One day you could compose a song

For one of my shows???

How cool would that be?!

SUGA:

Woah, take me to dinner first

Mochi_Moves:

So are you asking for a date??

Mint Yoongi

We haven’t even met formally yet…

So fast..

SUGA:

You were the one talking about intimacies

Composing a song for someone is as

intimate as fucking them.

Mochi_Moves:

Alright alright

Just gay best pals

Who’ve never met

SUGA:

Well are you insinuating that we should get up

get out and go meet somewhere?

Mochi_Moves:

That would be a good start

Besides

Hoseoks been wanting me to meet you for forever now

I just never had the time

Let’s do it for the sake of this poor hyung

SUGA:

It’s a monday morning.

I don’t have class.

We’re getting coffee.

Also

Why is Hobi hyung but you REFUSE TO

CALL ME HYUNG

Mochi_Moves:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Meet me at the campus cafe at 10?

SUGA:

Yeah. Sounds good.

Chat With Mochi_Moves

2015.11.25

13:00

SUGA:

Hey

Heyyy

Heyyyyyyy

Jimin

Min

Mochi_Moves:

Mint Yoongi?

Hi!

What

What is it?

SUGA:

Did I leave my composition notebook

at your place? I can’t find it

And I’m honestly freaking out

I’m gonna have a panic attack

All my songs are in there

And some stuff I don’t want people

poking around in

Mochi_Moves:

Give me just a second, I’m walking back to my room

I’m almost there

SUGA:

Fuckkkkk

Okay

It’s okay

Mochi_Moves:

Oh goodness

I found it!

I caught Taehyung holding it, but I don’t think he read anything

I’ve never lurched at him so quickly

Do you want me to drop it off?

SUGA:

Yes <3

That heart was so entirely

A you thing

Mochi_Moves:

Aw c:

You’re sending hearts now

SUGA:

Did it make yours go bangya bangya

Mochi_Moves:

Just a little

SUGA:

That’s fucking gay wow

Mochi_Moves:

I’ll safely return your notebook now!

I’ll guard it with my life

And I won’t read anything

I promise

SUGA:

Jimin

You’re a true hero

I might end up composing that song for

you if you don’t watch out.

Mochi_Moves:

You want to go to the next base already?

wow

I’m impressed

SUGA:

Don’t get your hopes up, sweetie

My emotional capacity is that of a

teaspoon.

Mochi_Moves:

If you triple the recipe, you’ll get a tablespoon

I just gotta triple my love

And your emotional capacity will go up

SUGA:

Which girl group sang that

Bc that’s what you sound like

It’s pretty gay.

Mochi_Moves:

I live with a gay roommate,

I learn a lot of gay things from him

Now open up Mint Yoongi

I’m outside

SUGA:

I would yell @ you for not calling me hyung

But i want my damn notebook.

I’m coming.

Chat With Mochi_Moves

2015.11.27

02:50

Mochi_Moves:

Mint Yoondi

Min

Yonff

Ccd:

SUGA:

Wha

Are you drunk?

Mochi_Moves:

Yeff

Yessd

So muffh soju

Whaff aru yo u ding

SUGA:

Where are you?

Are you safe?

Mochi_Moves:

I jusf go t home

Tae t ae passef out

I wasa bored

And mussed u

SUGA:

You saw me like 7 hours ago

Mochi_Moves:

Oghmygo

Ohmydo

That wascd so lo ng ago

::(

SUGA:

Jimin

You should drink water and go to sleep

Please

For your health

Mochi_Moves:

Im nof tierd

Ill dinrk wahter though

Aru you still u p wrintinh musi

???/

SUGA:

As usual.

Mochi_Moves:

WHAt isi it about this tim e/?

SUGA:

My first love.

Mochi_Moves:

Fird love?

I neve r heARd anything abo ut your love life

Didi somethin rly happen to make u

An emo grunge bo y?

Can you ttell me about it??

SUGA:

Not when you’re drunk.

Ask me when you’re sober.

Mochi_Moves:

Ehehhehfdhe

You sitll won t share about yourself :c

I thoght we were best gay pals

I thoufht we got close enough to talk abuot these kind

Of things

SUGA:

Your hangover is gonna be nasty.

How about

I come over in the morning, bring some fire ramen

And tell you about me.

I just don’t want you to forget the conversation.

Mochi_Moves:

Wooooooooooow

minT yoon gi

The sweetest man

Fire ranen sounds

fantatiiiiiiifc

SUGA:

You bet your ass I’m the sweetest man

I’ll fuck up anyone who says otherwise.

Mochi_Moves:

Sweet as suga r

SUGA:

Damn right i am

Mochi_Moves:

<3/

Chat With The.V.Zone

2015.11.29

15:00

The.V.Zone:

Lstn Yoongz

I saw your notebook

SUGA:

I figured you weren’t above snooping in my shit

Trying to figure me out

Or whatever.

The.V.Zone:

I was nvr a fan of you in the first place

Ill b honest

SUGA:

Understandable.

I used to find you unbearably obnoxious

The.V.Zone

I don’’t kno what my Chim has goin on in his head

But he’s all ovr u these days

And im gttn weird vibes

I dnt feel comfortable with this situation

Bck off a little

Chim is a sensitive soul

I don’t want any1 hurting him

SUGA:

Just curious, but what did you read

The.V.Zone

Smthn abt ur first love

SUGA:

Ah.

That’s uh,

I wrote that about my piano

The.V.Zone

Wut.

SUGA:

Look, my family situation was kinda

It wasn’t great

So I played piano and wrote music

And well

I fell in love with it.

I think it’s the only thing I’ve ever loved.

The.V.Zone:

…

weLL WHY DIDNT U JUST SAY SO

LOOK @ U

A SOFT EMO BOY FALLIN IN LUV

WITH A

PIANo

Wow u r so gay

SUGA:

My name is literally sugar, why are you all

so surprised to find out i’m nice?

The.V.Zone:

U always look rly grumpy

Like ur ready 2 kill someone

I dnt want my Chim around a murderer

SUGA:

It’s call resting bitch face and I’m sorry it

bothers you.

Jimin is a dear friend to me. I would never

do anything to hurt him.

The.V.Zone:

Well

If u say so

THEN BY ALL MEANS FEEL FREE 2 CUM OVR ANYTIME

But im not kiddin bout backing off

Chims mine

Furever

SUGA:

Wait, are you harbouring romantic

feelings for Jimin?

The.V.Zone:

Am i

Am i harborinfdsf

LMMAAAAAAAAOO

Ohmyg o d

Hyung

Ur so funny

Im crying

Oh dear god no

Im happily taken

But ty for ur concern

SUGA:

See, we don’t talk so I don’t know these

things about you.

Don’t worry

You still and will forever remain Jimin’s #1

The.V.Zone:

Good

But wait

What abt u

R u harboring feelings for my Chim??

SUGA:

…

I liked it better when we weren’t talking

The.V.Zone

O h

I liked it better when we weren’t talking too.

BUT 2 LATE 4 THAT

SPILL THE JUICES

I WONT TELL I PROMISE

SUGA:

Every single fiber of my being tells me that

that is a lie

The.V.Zone:

U dont kno me

SUGA:

Yeah that’s the problem

The.V.Zone:

Okay

Rmbr Jimin’s recent performance?

U 2 sick with the flu

And cldnt go

SUGA:

:/ I still feel bad about that.

He was so excited for me to watch.

The.V.Zone

Well

I hve pics

V good pics

If u tell me ill send them 2 u

U wont regret

:) :)

SUGA:

You know, I might have misjudged you, Kim Taehyung.

I apologize for that.

The.V.Zone:

U r forgiven

SUGA:

Well. I haven’t told anyone this

but

I have

emotions

regarding a certain person

named

Park Jimin.

The.V.Zone:

*sigh*

Some1 in luv

With my Chim

SUGA:

You throw the word “love” out so easily

I’ve only known him personally for like 2 weeks

The.V.Zone:

Gr8 point

Thats why ur perfct 4 him

An intellectual

I’ll deliver what i promised

Cherish these with ur lyfe

Regrettin that flu yet?

SUGA:

Holy shit

I’m gay

#fly me to the moon #collab #fic #au #yoonmin #fluff #fluffy crack #jimin #yoongi #bts #bts imagine #bts scenarios #bts fanfic #bangtan boys #bangtan fanfic #bangtan sonyeondan #bts au #yoonmin au #personal

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bnhasoulmateszine · 6 years ago

Text

500 Followers Celebration!

Hey, everyone! Matchmaker Niki here. As Matchmaker Ellie informed you guys, once we hit 500 followers, we would celebrate by telling the story of we ended up together, and here we are. I’m going to add a “keep reading”, because this is going to be a little long. For those of you that take the time to read, I hope you enjoy this short story. :)

September 30, 2015. It was evening, and I’d been back from class for a few hours. College was kicking my ass, but thankfully I had fandoms and fanfiction. There was one fandom in particular that I was invested in. The phandom. I’d been in for a few months, and I’d started writing fanfiction. I didn’t have much posted, but I’d been working on an AU. Picture Perfect. Photographer!Dan and model!Phil. It was a story I’d been working on for a while, and I had a few chapters ready. Now I just needed to get the guts to post it. For a while, I didn’t have the confidence. The chapters stayed on my computer, unread. It took some coaxing from a good friend, but eventually, that evening arrived, and I posted the first chapter.

The response was overwhelming. I had comments pouring in with every new post. Then, I posted chapter 4, and I received a comment from cynx-17-kh. “Great chapter! I can’t wait for more!” It was the first of many that they left on my story. After a while, based on their comments, I realized that there was a high chance they might be around my age. The thing about people in the phandom, was that they always seemed to either be 14 or 25. I was 18, and I really wanted more internet friends my age. I responded to one of their comments, asking to talk via private message. Thankfully, they replied with their Twitter handle, and on November 18th, we started talking.

For weeks, we talked from the moment we woke up until the moment we went to sleep. When they went away to boot camp, we wrote letters. After boot camp, they finally got a smartphone, and the Snapchats were constant. Skype, DMs, texts, calls, everything. We spent every single day talking for every minute we could, and through it all, I found myself falling in love with them. However, there were three huge barriers. 1. They lived across the country. 2. I had never met them in person. 3. They were in a long-term relationship with a boy for over two years. Needless to say, I felt pretty hopeless.

It was April when it happened. I got a text from them that was a screenshot of their conversation with their boyfriend. The simple version, his response to them restating their asexuality was, “Oh. You’re still on that?” I was getting text after text, picture after picture showing me this awful conversation where he was repeatedly invalidating their sexuality along with trying to diagnose them with mental disorders. And of course, I did, what any 18-year-old girl with a hopeless crush would have done in this moment. Mass text the messages to all my friends captioned, “IT’S HAPPENING!!!” Yes, yes, I know I’m horrible, but we all laugh about it now which is the good thing.

It was a few days later when we were finally able to Skype. We talked for a while, mostly about their boyfriend and how the two of them were fighting. I wanted to tell them, but I knew the timing was terrible. So instead, I decided to go cliche, and I told them that a friend of mine was going through some shit. She really liked her friend, really liked her friend. But that friend was in a long term relationship, and she didn’t know what to do. They offered their best advice, which was to just tell the truth. Eventually, the call ended, and by then I knew I’d backed myself into a corner. I opened up their text thread, and I started typing. I wrote out a small confession, basically stating that obviously that “friend” was me, and I’d been crushing on them for months. My heart stopped when their text bubble showed that they were typing. The words that appeared sent me into shock, as I didn’t think I’d ever see or hear them. “I like you too.”

May 5th, 2016. It was mid-afternoon when I got the Snapchat. It was over between them and their boyfriend. I knew it would have been insane to ask them out. They’d been single for less than an hour, but that didn’t stop me from doing it. They sent me a Snapchat back, “Of fucking course!” From then on, we were long distance dating. We remained long distance until July 22nd, when I flew out to South Carolina and met them in person for the first time. Three days into being there with them, I did the craziest thing I’ve ever done, and I got down on one knee.

It was 10 months later, and we were back in May. Our anniversary was on the horizon, and I was wondering what my gift was. Little did I know that my fiance was on a plane headed my way. They showed up the night before our anniversary, so that we could wake up together the next morning and celebrate. However, there was another reason that I hadn’t been made aware of, one that my own mother had been in on. In order for us to live together (due to military rules) the two of us had to be legally married. It was the main issue we were facing at the time that was keeping us apart. Now, they were there with me, and we had 6 days to pull the trigger. On the 5th day of their visit, we did. We managed to finally get in touch with a judge in the next city over, one that was going to be available at 1:00 p.m. We put on our dresses and jumped in the car without hesitation. By 2:00 p.m., we were spouses. It all felt like a dream, something far too good to be true, and I was going to have to wake up eventually. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and by August I was traveling across the country with my mother, all of my stuff packed and stuffed into my truck.

It’s been over a year now, and it still feels like a dream sometimes. Then there are the moments when it’s all so real, and I remember how lucky I am. It’s the little moments, the times when I’m sitting in my underwear watching Cynthia completely ignore the story line of Breath of the Wild to collect mushrooms, or when I wake up on the weekends to them telling me that breakfast is ready. Those are the moments when it’s crystal clear. I found my soulmate, and I couldn’t be more thankful to the universe for giving me this amazing gift.

-Matchmaker Niki

#personal

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allthephils · 6 years ago

Text

Repose

Chapter 14/?

Rated M (adult themes, mentions of sex, seeping beauty au)

word count: 2438 / 40,051

Read on AO3

Excerpt: Phil had never felt fear like this. The room closed in, his heart beat in his ears. Tears sat in his eyes but couldn’t spill over. His arms and legs prickled with adrenaline but he felt frozen in place. He ran to his room, pulling out his dresser drawer and dumping the contents onto the carpet. Rifling through, he found Dan’s Versace t-shirt and held it to his chest. Finally, the sobs broke through and he fell to his knees, crying into the shirt with a painful force.

Chapter 14

The morning was beautiful. It had rained overnight and the world outside Phil’s window was clean and bright. He had gone to bed early, eager for a new day to spend with Dan. There was so much he wanted to tell him. He’d found a poem he thought Dan would like and had printed it to bring along and read aloud. He thought he might bring a few books to read as well. He chose the Outsiders to start with. It seemed like the kind of thing they could quote to each other later and he’d never read it so it would be new to both of them. Up earlier than usual, he took his time drinking his coffee and watched Louise’s new video. Everything felt normal, more normal than it had in a while and he basked in it. Picking up his phone, he rang his mum.

“Child.” Kath’s cheerful tone brought Phil right home.

Phil called his mother most weeks but hadn’t done since he’d first got the news about Dan.

“Mum, I’m sorry I haven’t called in a while. I’ve been busy, distracted.” Phil wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to hear her calm reassurances and her inevitable cheer leading. Instead he told her that he wanted to her soon, that they’d have to meet for breakfast because his days were full.

“Breakfast? So around noon then?” Kath jabbed at Phil but he just said, “No mum, I have to be home by noon.”

He told her he wanted to tell her what’s been going on for him, that he had good news but that it was too long a story to tell on the phone. He was done hiding. If he was going to fight this fight, he needed his family on his side. Kath was baffled at the mystery and the serious tone but she agreed and they made a date for the following week. When he ended the call Phil sat satisfied and feeling like today was the first day of something new. Something was going to change, he could feel it in his bones. He absolutely couldn’t wait to get in that car with Dennis. Phil glanced as his kitchen clock. 12:20. He’d talked to his mum longer than he thought, though that always happened with them.

Dennis had never been late before. He ran downstairs to see if maybe he didn’t hear the knock but there was nothing. No car at the curb, no Dennis. Maybe there was an accident on the road, traffic. He went back upstairs and sat on the sofa, waiting.

12:30. 12:45.

He had no way to reach Dennis, no way of knowing what was going on unless someone contacted him. 12:55. Phil’s stomach twisted into knots. He held his breath and opened Twitter on his phone. Just the usual cursed prince tabloid nonsense.

1:00.

If something happened to Dan, how would he know. He felt sick. If something had happened to Dan. What if he took a turn for the worse? They wouldn’t just leave Phil here, not knowing, would they? They wouldn’t let him find out in some awful Twitter headline that Dan had… He stop mid thought, unwilling to even consider the possibility that Dan could be gone.

1:10.

He picked up his phone and called Louise.

“Hey! They let you keep your phone today! Does this mean I get photos?” Louise was her usual chipper self but Phil broke at the sound of her voice.

“Lou, I’m not there. They didn’t come. What do I do Louise? Oh my god, what if he died? What if he died and they just aren’t coming?” Phil was near hyperventilation. He couldn’t catch his breath.

“Phil, listen.” Louise spoke slowly. “I’m on my way. We’ll go together and get to the bottom of this. Phil, breath for me sweetie. I need to know you're safe on your own till I get there.”

Phil took deep, slow breaths, gaining some small measure of control. “Ok, ok. I’m ok. I’ll be ok. Hurry Lou.”

Phil had never felt fear like this. The room closed in, his heart beat in his ears. Tears sat in his eyes but couldn’t spill over. His arms and legs prickled with adrenaline but he felt frozen in place. He ran to his room, pulling out his dresser drawer and dumping the contents onto the carpet. Rifling through, he found Dan’s Versace t-shirt and held it to his chest. Finally, the sobs broke through and he fell to his knees, crying into the shirt with a painful force. He stayed on the floor of his bedroom, playing through all the possibilities in his head. None of them were good. He heard the door slam and Louise called out, “Phil!”

When he look up, she walked past him and set a box on the bed. “This was outside your door. It’s addressed to you.”

Phil swallowed hard and stood. He shook so violently, he found it difficult to pull the tape off the box. For a long moment, he just stared at the still closed cardboard flaps.

“Phil, love, do you want me to…” Louise stepped forward but Phil held up his hand and shook his head. He carefully lifted one flap and then the others. When he saw what was inside, Phil gasped, his hand flying up to cover his mouth. The bottom of the box was littered with dirt from Loki’s pot, which lay on it’s side. The candles were there and the fairy lights, among broken glass from Phil’s terrarium. Everything was here, everything except Buffy. Phil reached in carefully and pulled out Loki, scooping as much dirt back in as he could manage, and straightening the little cactus in it’s tiny red pot. Phil stood tall, pulled his shoulders back, and wiped his tears. He closed the box and walked to the window, setting Loki on the sill, then turned to look at Louise.

“I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Phil had grown accustomed to waking up with Dan in his bed. His body was aware of the absence before his brain was fully awake. He fluttered his eyes open to see a blurry figured leaned against the doorway, arms folded like a catalog model.

“Dan?” Phil said, his voice thick with sleep. He reached for his glasses and put them on, with the sole purpose of seeing Dan. He couldn’t care less if the whole world was blurry so long as Dan came into focus.

“What are you doing?”

Dan’s smile was reserved but genuine. “Watching you sleep.”

“Ok creeper.” Phil joked, though his heart flipped, it’s one of those things people say in romantic stories and you laugh and roll your eyes. It’s not romantic, it’s creepy. Except it was romantic. If only because Phil understood the impulse. If he had a choice, his gaze would always fall on Dan. He had a twisting pain in his neck from sleeping half sitting up with Dan snuggled into his arms. He stretched and arched, cracking and popping, trying to set things back where they belong.

Dan just watched.

“You’re dressed.” Phil stated the obvious, disappointed at what that must mean.

“I have to go. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you, we were up so late.” Dan smirked, a light blush in his cheek.

“OK. Will you be back tonight?”

Dan shook his head, wistful. “I have to spend some time with my grandmum tonight. I promised.”

“Your grandmum? You’re hanging with the queen tonight?” Phil thought he’d never get used to these abrupt reminders of Dan’s actual position in life.

“I am. She wants to discuss university, my future, you know.” Dan shrugged. “I wish I could bring you. You are my future after all. It seems ridiculous to discuss any of it without you.” Dan’s phone rang out and he huffed. “I have to go before Dennis has a literal baby out there. I’ll see you tomorrow after work, ok?”

Phil nodded and smiled into the kiss Dan leaned in for.

Dan whispered I love you and left. The words drifted through Phil’s mind like soft waves at low tide, rushing in, idling out, rushing in, idling out. He heard his front door close and heard himself whisper I love you too to the empty room.

Dan was the kind of person that should listen to jazz and Brian Eno and paint in the middle of the night. He was the kind of person who chains himself to a bulldozer to save a century old tree. That’s how Phil saw him anyway. Designer trousers and penthouse parties and living in a literal castle didn’t suit him. As privileged as he seemed, and he was so careful to own his privilege, his life was oppressive to him. Phil’s free spirit, his self actualized vision for his life, it was more than Dan could ever hope for. He admired Phil and he envied him in a way.

He spent days off poking around the flat, exploring and learning Phil in more and more detail. Phil learned Dan too. He learned how he takes coffee and he memorized what he sounds like when he sleeps. He learned that he’s an incredibly loud and competitive gamer but that he smiles proudly when Phil finally beats him. And he learned that Dan’s circumstance and his family dynamic had invited more demons into Dan’s life than he could handle sometimes. He learned how to hold him and talk him through when those demons got too demanding.

When Dan showed up in the evening, his cheeks were red and he barely held back his tears.

“Dan?” Phil pulled him close held him in his arms. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Dan pulled away and paced the room, running his hand through his hair. “I can’t fucking do this anymore. I don’t want to. This isn’t who I am.” Phil watched as Dan moved about the room, manic. “But it is who I am, isn’t it? They groomed me like every prince before me, why do I have to want more? Why can’t I just be one of them so it doesn’t have to feel like this?”

“What happened?” Phil asked, trying to keep himself calm in the face of Dan’s distress.

“Paps spotted Dennis outside your place. Who knows how long they’ve been watching. They waited outside the shelter. Obviously, Dennis got me out a different way but they were out there, yelling. Asking what I’ve been up to, am I dating a commoner, am I gay? It always comes back to the gay question.” Dan stopped and sat on the sofa, looking up at Phil, his voice shook, “They stood outside a battered women’s shelter Phil. Shouting. And it’s my fault, because I won’t just grow up and fall into line, I brought that chaos to a place that’s supposed to be safe.”

Phil’s embrace knocked down Dan’s defenses and he sobbed, letting himself be held. Phil rocked and shushed him, fighting back his own tears. “It’s not your fault. I’ve got you. I’m here.”

Dan gathered himself, pulling back to look at Phil. “Phil I’m so sorry, Dennis’ threats will keep them at bay for a couple days but they’ll be back. They’ll wait outside your door. Fuck. This shit just follows me everywhere. I’m fucking poison Phil.”

“Stop it Dan. I won’t let you do that. You didn’t ask for any of this.”

“Well I certainly didn’t do anything to prevent it.”

“You spend every day helping people, every day. Then you come here and you make me happier than I’ve ever been. You’re not poison, you’re everything.” Phil’s voice cracked a bit and he drew in his own shaky breath, trying hard to keep it together for Dan but failing. “Let them wait, I never go outside anyway. In a couple days, we’ll both be gone for Christmas. We’ll wait it out. It’ll be ok.”

Dan cried into Phil’s t-shirt till there were no tears left then followed Phil into bed where he slept. It was the deep sleep of exhaustion and truly letting go, the kind that comes when the one you’re with is wide awake, holding space, helping you carry the heavy load.

They spent the next day their favorite way, in bed. The mood was heavy but they had each other and it was ok. They ordered every meal in and watched their favorite Christmas movies, Gremlins and Die Hard, not quite catching the ending of either of them. In between, they talked. Topics like the queen’s opinion on Dan’s future, university, and paparazzi, were off limits. Instead, they discussed the colors in Phil’s eyes and how he once ate fish food as a kid. They talked about the wonderful nanny that cared for Dan and Adrian as kids and how she bakes the most amazing mince pies. They listed all the places they wanted to travel to together. Tomorrow morning Dan and Dennis would drive Phil to the ferry to the Isle of Man and Dan would be on his way to Windsor to spend Christmas with his family. They’d be apart for just shy of two weeks but it sounded like an eternity.

Winter mornings meant bright, glaring sun through the window. Dan rolled away from light and into the warmth of Phil. Phil always slept so deeply with Dan there in his bed. He didn’t even stir as Dan hooked his leg around his, pressing himself close to Phil’s side, nuzzling his nose into Phil’s neck, breathing in gingerbread scented body wash. Dan pressed his lips there, feeling the rhythm of Phil’s pulse and there was a hum of sweet satisfaction in response. Phil turned his body toward Dan and his arms enveloped this treasure of his.

“It’s not daytime. Go back to sleep.” He murmured, squinting as he opened his eyes..

“It is daytime, it’s bright in here.” Dan answered.

“Close the blinds, we can pretend it’s night and then we don’t ever have to go.” Phil held Dan as tight as he could.

“Just close your eyes.” Dan said and he kissed each of Phil’s eyelids as they fluttered shut. “There. It’s night. We have nowhere to be.” Dan’s lips met Phil’s and they kissed, slowly first, then building in tension and heat.

Phil moved his lips across Dan’s jaw and and bit at his earlobe. “Good. I wanna give you something to think about when we’re apart.” At those words, he disappeared under the duvet and the quiet house filled with Dan’s sighs. Dennis would just have to wait a little bit longer.

#Phanfic #phanfiction #sleeping beauty au #repose #wip

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enaasteria · 7 years ago

Text

Answered Asks // 3

Consolidating asks as to not spam dashboards. Under the cut!

Anonymous said to enaasteria: March 29th 2018, 3:56:00 pm · 2 days ago wanted to drop by and let you know that i've been listening to 'Fool of Me' by Meshell Ndegeocello for more than a week and it reminds me so much of the heartbreaking moment in chapter 11 when Sehun made the decision to leave Ahri behind. imnotcryingyouare. i hope they become like the song 'Cheek to Cheek' (Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald version) *hinthintwaggleseyebrowswinkwink* hope you have a lovely day <3!

AHHHH REPLIES *-* <3!!! I accept the love you’ve bestowed upon me. I shall violently love you back *SHOOTSHEARTSATYOU* dont worry, I remember the what I wrote in the recs message! I was saying that I’ve been listening to this song ‘Fool of Me’ by Meshell Ndegeocello, which reminded me so much of the end of chapter 11 when Sehun decided to leave Ahri. The heartbreak is so real T_T imnotcryingyouare. I hope they end up being like ‘Cheek to Cheek’ (Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong version)! - ma

OMG SO APPARENTLY I DIDNT DELETE IT. This is how tumblr inept I am. I thought I did. It showed that I did when I was on the computer but apparently I didn’t on mobile. WEIRD. Listening to it now!

Both of these songs sound so similar. I feel like I’ve heard them before omg. good recs. I really like them.

Fool of Me by Meshell Ndegeocell

Was I blind to the truth just there to fill the space... What kind of fool am I that you so easily set me aside OMG MY HEART IS BREAKING. Why do the lyrics fit so well. Right off with the first few lyrics. I’m crying. YES I AM CRYING. This was almost the same words she thought in the chapter. Was she there only to temporarily fill the void in Sehun’s heart when she felt it was for Jiyul instead. OH NOOOO.

I can't touch you no more Can't touch you any more any more And this relates to Chapter 12 a lot how she wouldn’t really look at him or touch him and this is so sad. THIS WHOLE SONG IS SO SAD but it’s so fitting to that part when he chose Jiyul over her and IT”S GOING INTO MY APT PLAYLIST.

Cheek to Cheek by Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald

THIS WHOLE SONG. Can I just say how cute it is??? This just makes me feel like I missed an opportune moment for Sehun and Ahri to dance together at the wedding??? I kind of made it so that it was Soi and Ahri dancing puahahahha. Technically, I should’ve made Sehun and Ahri dance because he tends to dance when he’s nervous about something.

Sooooo BOOOOO I MISSED THE MOMENT. BUT STILL. It’s ok hahahahah But really. This song. The beat. THE CHEEK TO CHEEK. More like forehead to forehead between the two leads. Thank you so much for the recs!!! I loved them so much and can’t wait to add them to my playlist!!

I read chapter 17 till half past 4 in the morning. I had to sleep because i needed to wake up at 9 for a gym session the next morning. But I have sleep problems so I kept waking up throughout the night and reaching for my phone to reread 17 in my sleep-induced haze and dozing off. I had to fake illness and reschedule my gym session in the end xD. I hope my trainer doesn’t see this. HAHAH even when I was half asleep, I kept thinking that I still had so much to tell you about 17!! - ma

OMG MA. WHY DID U STAY UP SO LATEEEE. NUUUUU. Also since your music anon and the abbrev is MA, I literally scream MAAAAA LOOOOL. AND OMGOSHHHH. Please rest. Please sleeeeeep. Your poor thing. i’m so sorry that the story kept waking you up. But I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and really thank you so much. I really can’t appreciate your messages enough. They make me so HAPPPPPYYYY //runs off screaming while drinking my coffeeeeeeeee//

@sehunsmile said to enaasteria: March 30th 2018, 11:42:00 pm · 9 hours ago ENA, ENAAAA!!!! I JUST GOT HOME AND I'M FINALLY GONNA READ CHAPTER 17. I'M SO NOT READY BUT I AM! I KNOW I'M GONNA DIE, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS CHAPTER AND GOD CHAPTER 16 ENDED SO GOOD I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT BUT I'M EXCITED SO I'M GONNA READ IT NOW! SORRY FOR ALL CAPS I'M JUST TOO EXCITED AHFNJABFKSBFLSKFJDKJDFK

YASSSSS. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF IT AND I DONT MIND CAPS LOCK AT ALLLL. IT just shows me you’re really excited and I’m excited for you to read it. Many apologies for how long it took me to write it but I hope you enjoy it. AHHHH TY FOR LIKING CH 16. I remember being really stressed over it because it was so SLOOOOOOOWWWW but yas yas. Please enjoy 17. Thank you for your patience //hearts u//

@heythereitsmo said to enaasteria: March 31st 2018, 12:12:00 am · 8 hours ago Oh when Sehun tells Ahri the story of the Keepers, I remembered you wrote a piece about it and it was just — beautiful. I cried then and I cried now because it literally took my breath away. Every chapter is so stunning Ena, every word resonates so deeply in my soul. It wasn’t always easy but they’re happy together and in love and I hope on my own stars that someone will love me the way Sehun loves Ahri — even if there are flaws and hurdles. You wrote this fabulously, love. Fantastic job.

YAS!!! You caught the merge of Keepers into Apt. This and Yua x PCY are all other stories I’m working on and I wanted to weave them into apt for continuity. I like having all my stories intertwine in some manner. It’s fun but also makes my brain want to explode when I have to make it flow right LOL. YOU’RE REALLY GUNNA MAKE ME CRY. Thank you so much for reading. I really remember you as one of the readers staying with this fic for so long. i really think it’s been years for you and I’m so grateful for your patience but also all the support you gave me. I wish you all the love and happiness and thank you for loving my characters as much as I do.

Anonymous said to enaasteria: March 31st 2018, 12:26:00 am · 8 hours ago Okay but Sehun getting provoked by ahri’s ‘other men’ amuses me sooooo much THANK U SO MUCH FOR CH 17 I honestly needed some destressing with an overload of fluff (and that thick tension 😉😏) ☺️💕💓😚

I definitely had to throw in Ahri’s other men to lighten up the mood hahaha. JK JK. I just really love jealous sehun?? I think he’s super sweet and it’s not like he’s like the bad kind of jealousy. He’s just irked??? LOOOL. It’s cute when he’s just agitated. I really hope you love the fluff and slow burn for the kiss LOL

@shewantsmeshesgotme said to enaasteria: March 31st 2018, 1:35:00 am · 7 hours ago I. AM. IN. LOVE. NXKELBFKDLFNFNDNNSKDKFNFBI. I CANT EVEN FORM THOUGHTS IM SO BLOODY IN LOVE OH MY GOD ENA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!!?!? You....you are some sort of a genius wizard I can’t even...I’m just broken I love this fucking story so much and YOU I LOVE YOU THANK YOU CHRIST I NEED TO SIT AND STARE AT THE CEILING FOR AN HOUR. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

LORIIIIIIIIIIIIII. THANK YOUUUUU GAHHHH. THANK YOUU SO MUCHHHH. Thank you for your help. Thank you for reading. Thank you for the screams. IM NOT A GENIUS WIZARD. YOU ARE. BUT THANK YOUUUU. Really thank you so much for reading this fic and DONT STARE AT THE CEILING. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS. Now that I finished 17, I can get to reading all the fics that are sitting in my backlog and I really want to read all of yours. I really need to read The Boxer. It’s on my to do list foreverrrrrrr. hugss!!!

@yeolieminelli said to enaasteria: March 31st 2018, 2:25:00 am · 6 hours ago HUHUHU. Just finished Ch. 17 😭 It's beautiful. How the each traditional family story just made sense for Ahri and Sehun ❤❤❤ Thank you for writing such a beuatiful chapter for both of them. You are a great writer dear. 😁😁😁 On a side note- I was listening to an instrumental that fit so well for the last part of Sehun's surprise, it felt even more magical. I wish I could share it with you, if I discover how. 😂

YAYYYY!!! I”M SO GLAD U ENJOYED ITTT. RIGHT? I’ve had that ending in my head for 3 years now and it’s finally there. It’s finally written and can I place a pat on my back for it because I thought it was fitting for their story too. Thank you so much for your help on it and thank you for reading. What instrumental?? You can send me the title and I can look it up on YT to add to my Apt Song Rec list!!

ramblingpeaches said to enaasteria: @ramblingpeaches I CANT TAG U WHY March 31st 2018, 3:07:00 am · 5 hours ago that was such a beautiful chapter! so worth the wait- no actually way more than that! you honestly have such a way with words. your writing, your story has made me feel a bunch of emotions and you're just so so talented that i feel like i can't properly express how much i adore your writing and hope this somewhat conveys it haha. thank you for an amazing chapter, definitely made my morning! :) ♡

Thank you so much for this message! I’m so glad you thought it was worth the wait. I’m so sorry it took so long to write but I’m such a slow writer. AND I HAVE A WAY WITH WORDS. AHHHHH //SCREAMS// You’re so kind to me and this is really such a great message because it just makes all the screams worth it. AND NOOO. REALLY. You’ve done so much for me. If you read and send me a message of how you enjoyed the chapter, that really just makes my heart swell. Thank you so much for reading!!!

@yeollieollie said to enaasteria: March 31st 2018, 3:23:00 am · 5 hours ago Omg my heart that was the cutest thing ever why can’t that happen to meeee amazing!!!

Thank you so much for reading!! Wasn’t it??? It’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever written in my entire life and I kind of don’t know what to do with myself anymore LOL.

Anonymous said to enaasteria: March 31st 2018, 5:11:00 am · 3 hours ago hi chap 17 was full of fluff i literally died after reading it 💗 tq for writing such a wonderful story! :) also! how old are sehun and ahri in this story?

ANONNN. Did you know I screamed a lot while writing this chapter. I felt so bad for my followers on Twitter. They felt the main grunt of it all ahhahahaha. I almost died writing this. My heart hurt so bad from it all T_____T Thank you so much for reading and as for their ages. I heavily---HEAVILYYYY aged Sehun in this because I felt I needed his character a bit older than how he was. And since I started this fic 3 years ago, I really did age this poor boy LOL. He’s 29 and she’s 27 in the story. :)

#ma #music anon #sehunsmile #heythereitsmo #anon #shewantsmeshesgotme #yeolieminelli #ramblingpeaches #yeollieollie

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nemolian · 4 years ago

Text

'Stand Back and Stand By' Already Selling on Extremist Proud Boys T-Shirts, Thanks to Trump

Armed Proud Boys at an Sept. 5 rally in Vancouver, Washington.

Photo: Nathan Howard (Getty Images)

At the 2020 presidential debates on Tuesday, Donald Trump didn’t just choke on condemning white supremacists—he actually gave what a far-right hate group that has beat up protesters and launched street brawls interpreted as at the very least a tacit endorsement, or even a direct order. The president has since attempted to walk back his failure to condemn far-right extremists during the debate, but the damage is already done.

Prompted by the debate moderator, Fox News host Chris Wallace, to condemn racist and far-right militia groups in the wake of violent clashes with anti-fascist groups in Portland, Oregon, and a militia double-killing in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Trump landed on the Proud Boys after Democratic challenger Joe Biden suggested them by name. A neo-fascist, male-only organization, the Proud Boys has been referenced by the FBI as an extremist organization and has taken the president’s “law and order” agenda into their own hands by bringing guns and other weapons to protests, starting melees, and firing paintball guns into crowds.

Last year, two of its members were handed four-year prison sentences for offenses including attempted gang assault over their role in a 2018 street fight in New York. On Wednesday, Portland police arrested another member for allegedly pointing a firearm at, and using pepper spray on, protesters at an Aug. 22 rally. Members have also issued death threats, and they’ve coordinated with other far-right groups like Patriot Coalition that advocate brutal violence against leftists. The Proud Boys have largely been driven off mainstream social media sites, but have built up a presence on less public services like messaging app Telegram in response.

Trump pointedly didn’t condemn the Proud Boys and instead asked them to “stand back and stand by”—adding that groups like them should “do something” about “antifa and the left.” Per the USA Today transcript (emphasis ours):

1:04:23 WALLACE

Okay, you have repeatedly criticized the Vice President for not specifically calling out antifa and other left-wing groups. But are you willing, tonight, to condemn white supremacists and militia groups? And to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities, as we saw in Kenosha, as we’ve seen in Portland? Are you prepared specifically to do that?

1:04:46 TRUMP

Sure, I’m prepared to do it. I would say- I would say, almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not from the right wing-

1:05:55 WALLACE

So what do you, what do you say-

1:04:56 TRUMP

I’m willing to do anything I want to see peace.

1:04:57 WALLACE

Then do it, sir.

1:04:59 BIDEN

Say it, do it, say it.

1:05:00 TRUMP

You want to call them — What do you want to call them? Give me a name, give me —

1:05:04 WALLACE

White supremacists and, white supremacists and right-wing —

1:05:07 BIDEN

The Proud Boys.

1:05:07 TRUMP

Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem

G/O Media may get a commission

On Parler, a social media app for conservatives who feel spurned by Twitter and which has predictably served as a venue for hate speech, Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs wrote, “Trump basically said to go fuck them up! this makes me so happy”. Within an hour of Trump’s comments, one of the group’s official channels on Telegram posted a version of their logo with the text “STAND BACK / STAND BY” imposed on it, and by Wednesday morning they were selling t-shirts.

“Fuck it, let’s go back to Portland,” another Telegram channel run by the Proud Boys posted. “... Leftist f*gs are seething right now lol. It’s glorious.”

Per the Miami New Times, Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio tweeted that while he didn’t take the president’s comment as a “direct endorsement,” “stand back and standby is what we have ALWAYS done” and he is “extremely PROUD” of Trump’s debate performance. In an interview with the Daily Beast, Tarrio said it was likely “stand back and stand by” would become one of the group’s new slogans, joining prior ones like “The West is the Best” and “Fuck Around and Find Out.”

A Proud Boys channel affiliated with a Seattle chapter posted a clip from a debate livestream featuring the organization’s creator, Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, who has espoused rhetoric indistinguishable from white supremacy in the past. McInnes reacted with apparent surprise, asking, “Did he say Proud Boys? ... Really?”

Members of Proud Boys channels on Telegram also speculated about a rise in “new recruits,” according to the New York Times, though estimates of Proud Boys’ membership across its U.S. chapters have always been hazy (ranging from the hundreds to thousands). According to tgstat.com, a major Proud Boys channel that had around 7,725 subscribers on Tuesday had added nearly 660 subscribers by mid-Wednesday afternoon. It used the publicity in part to direct new users to a crowdfunding effort for members in prison.

Trump’s comments lit up the far-right web ranging from venues like 4chan’s /pol/ board to Telegram channels affiliated with other groups, but it also gained the group major exposure on Twitter. Clemson University social media researcher Darren Linvill told the Washington Post the group had been mentioned more than 1 million times on the site and was continuing to rack up 75,000 mentions per hour on Wednesday morning.

Trump insisted on Wednesday that he did not know who the Proud Boys were, but that they should allow police to do their jobs, according to reporters.

“I don’t know who the Proud Boys are. You’ll have to give me a definition, because I really don’t know who they are,” Trump said. “I can only say they have to stand down.”

Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University in North Carolina who maps online extremism, said in a phone interview that Trump’s remarks at the debate fit into his long history of encouraging violence against political opponents. Some of the president’s prior actions, such as declaring antifa a terrorist organization, have directly resulted in waves of harassment and threats, Squire said. And on Telegram, the Proud Boys are already seeing “increased numbers, increased traffic, increased views.” Squire added the president’s remarks on Tuesday are especially alarming, given he has called for supporters to show up at poll sites during federal elections on Nov. 3 and take matters into their own hands.

Trump has “done this before with, like, Bikers for Trump, for example,” Squire said. “And, you know, he’s talking about, ‘I’ve got the strongest people on my side.’ He’s kind of got this fantasy that he’s going to be defended by this working-class male, some kind of cadre or something.”

“This kind of fits with his longer-term pattern of looking forward to people defending his presidency and his authoritarianism and using their physical bodies and using street violence,” Squire added, saying it would be “extremely concerning” if the Proud Boys started “standing out in front of the polling places and watching, and that kind of voter intimidation.”

“I think that was an incredibly critical moment in this debate,” Kate Bedingfield, the Biden campaign’s communications director, told reporters on a conference call, according to the Daily Beast. “[Trump] had multiple opportunities to say he disowns white supremacy. He was asked explicitly to do so and once again he openly refused. Even after citing the Proud Boys by name, he refused to condemn that group and to condemn white supremacy.”

The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, told CNN on Wednesday that the Proud Boys are a “hate group through and through” that “traffic in misogyny, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and anti-Muslim bias. They’re violent... More than anything they have links to other white supremacist groups on the so-called alt-right.”

“This wasn’t an opportunity to condemn, this was a clarification,” Greenblatt added. “He sees these groups as his allies.”

via:Gizmodo, September 30, 2020 at 04:36PM

#IFTTT #Feedly #Gizmodo

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seven-oomen · 4 years ago

Photo

First, I swear I’ll explain about the picture in a minute.

Next, it’s totally okay, I understand completely. I, too, am prone to being a total space cadet sometimes. My top skills are remembering/thinking of things when I’m in no position to act on them (composing review questions while at work, thinking of phone call I forgot to make while driving, realizing I didn’t show my mom the sonogram my friend sent me right as I fall asleep, etc.) Really, I’m just happy finding others to talk about this stuff with who seem to appreciate and enjoy it as much as I do. :D

Omg, I’m SO EXCITED to see the necklace turn up, however that happens! And as someone who 90% of the time also uses drinkware featuring superheroes and other nerdery for their alcohol, I very much approve Derek’s choices, whether it makes it into the story or not. I also enjoyed both versions of the chapter flashback, but the first was definitely more “Oh My…”, and the redo more straight up fluffy and adorable.

And I love all that stuff in the ideas tag! With Corey there’s so much potential stuff that can be done with someone with those types of powers. I admit I don’t know too much about exactly how his are supposed to work. his powers are due to genetics and not outside forces in this, could it perhaps be connected to how Gerard has been able to do some of the things he’s done? (Could the wolves track him while invisible in the show?) And oh, my God, that is a total Moon Moon moment (resisting the urge to make a comment about why Ian was trying to fit a ball in his mouth). I choose to believe that Noah and Chris coordinated to trick Peter into doing that and managing to get it on camera. They threaten to make it part of the family Christmas card. Peter only agrees if they make it so that all the pictures used embarrass everyone equally. Which is where some of the BTS type stuff could come in. (My lord, they are all such dorks. I mean, I follow Ian, Linden, JR, and Hoechlin on Insta and or Twitter, so we been knew, really, but still. XD ) And I’m all for any plot points or incidents that allow Lydia to showcase just how awesome she truly is. Also, I will never turn down an idea that involves puppy piles and cuddle puddles. I’ve been in this fandom too damn long not to have developed a deep-seated love for damaged characters getting the affection and comfort they deserve.

I’m so glad you’re enjoying the examples of my often questionable musical tastes. ;D I think I first heard that song on an anime music video (for LOVELESS I think, of all things), and I was just like “well this is catchy as hell”. As someone whose musical tastes are all over the gd place, I like to imagine they all have some genre that they’re secretly a fan of but don’t want to admit to because it might clash with their grunge-y punk image (the other two totally know anyway.) Speculatively I’d say boy bands for Peter, bubblegum pop/pop-punk for Chris, and classic (read: dad) rock for Noah, but I welcome other opinions.

And jsyk, it really makes me happy to know that my reviews are helpful for more than just story ideas. Which partially brings me to the picture I’ve attached. I work in a pet supply store, and the item on the right is a dog toy we carry and every time I look at it, all I can think of is how much it reminds me of Deucalion. Like, I can’t not see it at this point. And nobody I work with would have the slightest idea what I’m talking about, so I finally made this so that I could share it those that might get why it’s so funny to me. So here it is. And if you are still in need of things for distractions, here is a list of some random incidents that have (mostly) occurred at my work in the last few days:

1) Someone left a 4 Iron in one of our shopping carts along the far wall of the store. We have no clue where it came from, we aren’t anywhere near any kind of golf or sporting goods store. (I checked and there was no sign of blood on it, so no one was ditching a weapon on us or something.)

2) I walked into our warehouse and asked “why does it smell like sparklers in here?”, saw a coworker standing looking out the back door, and walked over to see that there was a car on fire about a block away in another parking lot. (The fire department was already on scene putting it out, it looked like it started near the front driver’s side tire?)

3) A child ate one of the fancy dog treats we have on display (luckily that one is mainly yoghurt and peppermint extract), and then try to drink from the fountain we have set up for any dogs that come in. I don’t think mom ever noticed.

4) We now carry a special, highly filtered, and ph-balanced (and overpriced) bottled cat water (no really), that seems simultaneously like a brilliant idea (because UTIs), but also somehow one of the whitest things I’ve ever seen (and I say this as a white person who grew up basically middle-class).

5) One of the smoke alarms in my apartment started doing the dead battery warning beep at around midnight Sunday night. I unfortunately was out of the size I needed to replace it, so I just popped out the one that was in it. Turns out it’s also hardwired, so that did nothing. It beeped the entire night. I would have gotten worried about my neighbors, but they had one that they let beep for like a week back in Feb, so I decided I didn’t care. When I stopped to buy a replacement I also ended up buying two bags of candy with the justification that they were on sale and I might need them for the next chapter.

6) Our pet bathing area re-opened, which meant we finally got a visit from one of my fave canine customers. His name is Jax, he’s an American Akita, and he is a gigantic, sweet, bear of a dog. Seriously, he comes to about my hip (I’m right around 5'4), weighs around 190lbs, and is a beautiful dark brown/black brindle all over. He is also one of the most calm, chill dogs I have ever met (he’s been coming in for years), and I love to watch other people react to seeing him for the first time.

7) While searching around my music files and Spotify for suggestions, I got distracted and ended up treating my neighbors to an impromptu concert that consisted mostly of 00s divas and 60s bubblegum pop (oddly, a lot of Herman’s Hermits and Ohio Express has a very similar vibe to Bowling for Soup, to me at least), because I had headphones in, and didn’t realize I’d started singing along for…a while. I did consider apologizing for that, at least, but ultimately decided to just ignore that it happened.

Anyway, I hope you are feeling a bit better now, and that some of the weirdness that is my life at least provides some entertainment. And that the therapy session at least feels like something you think will help in the long run, even if it sucks massively right now. I’m so proud of you for going, and sticking with it (I know so many who need to who don’t, for whatever reason). It is hard, and exhausting, and I am always awed by those that are determined to see it through. (Sorry if any of that comes across weird. My automatic supportive defaults tend to be humor and awkward sincerity, and I always worry that one will come across as the other and vice versa. Social anxiety is a hell of a drug.) So, I’m gonna go ahead and wrap up the verbal flailing for now, please enjoy whenever you see this tomorrow (I think? I’m terrible about keeping track of that sort of thing. Also, how is most of Europe just one time zone?! …anyway…)

Ok, I need to find out where I can get that crocodile/Alligator. for uh, for Mo...

Yeah for Mo.

(It’s for me, I would totally buy a dog toy if I thought it looked adorable.)

I definitely toned that scene down, though I kept some necessary exposition where Chris thinks on what happened between them. Might include some teenage raunchiness later, as someone pointed out to me, Peter would definitely be like that, as would Noah (probably). Chris would definitely be more reserved, he barely got a sex education aside from abstinence. ( Because I don’t see Gerard as the type of person who’d give his son the talk, honestly.)

And as someone who also drinks alcohol in superhero or Halloween glasses and mugs, I had to throw Derek’s very mature choice in there. Batman mug stays XD

I’ll admit, that was exactly what I was thinking with Corey’s power and how I could use it in the story. So I’m curious to see where I’ll go with it eventually, but yeah, that’s on my idea list.

.. must resist Ian & JR ballsy jokes.. you are not twelve Ben.

I am.

I really am. A twelve-year-old in a twenty-nine-year-old body.

I bet Ian wanted to prove what he could fit in there. He wanted to show some ballsy moves. It’s practice for-

Okay, I’ll stop.

And they are the biggest dorks, I follow Ian, JR, Colton, and Holland on and my lord, they’re such dorks. Definitely following Linden now too though. hehe.

I can see them trying that trick with Jackson, Malia, Ben, and Scott as well. Scott just falls face first and tries to fit a tennis ball into his mouth. Ben just looks at the tennis ball, figures that ain’t gonna fit and balances it on his face instead. Malia opens her mouth, notices the camera coming out, and just poses while smiling at the camera. Jackson though pretends to not understand what he has to do until Chris shows him how it’s done and then Jackson quickly points to Chris and while Noah films it laughing his ass off.

They make an awesome Christmas card with all of them doing something with that tennis ball.

Speculatively I’d say boy bands for Peter, bubblegum pop/pop-punk for Chris, and classic (read: dad) rock for Noah, but I welcome other opinions.

SO MUCH YES.

Also, Nickelback for Chris & Never gonna give you up. They're guilty pleasures. I would also like to suggest for Peter, either the Spice girls or like the Vengaboys. Gets him going but only when he’s alone at home and he’s wearing headphones. Because God forbids someone else hears it too. And I kinda wanna say Baby Metal for Noah. Idk seems like that might fit him and it’s hilarious to think about. Some headcanons don’t need to make sense.

Also, just for shits and giggles.

Caramelldansen in English and Swedish.

Makes these dads (and Melissa and Derek) move and dance around the new house like crazy, Ben joins in, because of the funny voices.

The teenagers are mortified.

MORTIFIED.

This made me so happy,

I feel like that’s basically toddler behavior. Also, Ben did this at some point. One hundred percent. He walked into the pet section at a store and started eating the dog treats. Chris didn’t notice, Peter did, asked him about it and went; well, it’s probably not toxic for him, so whatever. He did film it. Noah and Chris yelled at him.

That is the whitest shit I’ve ever heard. And yes I’m white too from lower middle class. But still...

But maybe that’s because I live in a country where I can drink tap water so that’s what Mo gets in his fountain.

And your stories made me smile my friend, every single one. <3 thank you for sharing these.

I wish I had funny ones really. Only one I can think of is some of my customers I run into as a tech support guy.

Customer calls me to tell me they don’t have internet. I ask, “Where’s your modem and how is it plugged into the network?”

Customer: It’s still in the box I received it in.. it’s wireless..”

Me:

Cue ten-minute argument on how it’s not wireless like that and how he needs to install his modem... yeah. People and technology...

But anyway, I’ll stop rambling now because it’s 1 am here and I need to go to sleep again.

1 am is in the Amsterdam/Berlin timezone where I live in.

That is 6 pm in NYC

And 4 pm in California.

So I am 7-9 hours ahead of the US, to give you an idea about timezones.

#ben says stuff #once upon a time comments #once upon a time scene ideas #submission

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fuzzylikesmedia · 7 years ago

Text

Summer anime 2017

All the summer anime has premiered now, except for Hell Girl season 4 (7/14) and The Reflection (7/22), and I'm going to be away this weekend, so I might not watch Hell Girl until next week anyways. So it seems like a good time to write up some brief thoughts on the shows I watched, which is nearly all of them. The exceptions are:

HiDive exclusives, I didn't want to get another subscription

Netflix shows which won't be available legally for months (fuck you Netflix for that, at least I have the Kakegurui manga)

Sequels I hadn't watched the original of

Symphogear, which hasn't been announced by anyone yet (as of 7/13)

I didn’t actually finish the first episode of all of them, but I tried.

This ended up super long, because there are a lot of shows.

I’m going to go through these in order of premiere date, anything else is too hard to keep track of. I’ll include a note for the full length shows I didn’t watch as well.

Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic (on Crunchyroll, Saturdays at 12:00 am EDT)

This is a spinoff of Luck & Logic, which I didn’t watch, and I didn’t watch this version either. I really don’t know anything about this, you can check out the reviews on ANN.

Fox Spirit Matchmaker (on Crunchyroll, Saturdays at 9:30 am EDT)

I bailed out of this one less than 10 minutes in. It’s a bad romcom with bad animation, and I didn’t like any of the characters. I can’t recommend it at all, even if you like straight romcoms.

Kakegurui (Netflix, so probably all the episodes will be availabe early October)

First watch the OP (Sayo Yamamoto worked on it) right now: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5sahqn

I couldn’t actually watch the show, since it’s a Netflix license, but I’ve read the manga up to the latest chapter and I love it! (It’s the source of my icon). It’s very trashy, and often gay. There is a male MC, but he doesn’t really do much, and mostly exists to be the person who gets everything explained to him. Also because we never get Yumeko’s (the female MC) point of view. I highly recommend the manga and the anime.

Fate/Apocrypha (Netflix, it was announced at AX that the first batch of episodes would be available November 7th)

This is yet another Fate show, but I’ve been hearing good things. Apparently the source for this one isn’t written by Nasu, which is a point in it’s favor. I don’t really have much more to say, if you want to get into Fate stuff, I recommend Fate/Zero. I never really got into other Fate stuff.

Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu (on Crunchyroll, Saturdays at 1:00 pm EDT. Also on Anime Strike but why would you choose that over crunchyroll???)

I watched some of Touken Ranbu - Hanamaru last fall, but it didn’t really grab me. I definitely prefer the bloody action of Katsugeki to the slice-of-life comedy of Hanamaru. I also can’t keep track of the huge number of characters the game has, so Katsugeki’s focus on a small number really helps. If you like bloody action, I recommend it. It’s one of my favorites this season.

Symphogear AXZ (no announcement yet, hopefully Crunchyroll)

This is the fourth season of Symphogear, the first 3 are on Crunchyroll. I’m currently part way through the second season. It’s magical girl action with a music focus, and I enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would. The premise for this fourth season seems like it could go some bad places (read: could get very transphobic), so be warned. I’d recommend checking out the first season at least, though.

Knight’s & Magic (on Crunchyroll, Sundays at 11:00 am EDT)

This definitely wins a prize for the worst punctuation in an anime title I have seen. That being said, I enjoyed the first episode, but gave up partway through the second. It’s an isekai story based on a light novel, which is not a setup that inspires much hope in me, but I liked that the MC was reborn(?) as a child, rather than simply transported. If you like mecha shows check it out I guess?

Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun (on Crunchyroll, Sundays at 12:30 pm EDT)

This is a comedy sports anime that actually really surprised me. I’m probably not the best person to talk about it, so I highly recommend reading this review at Anime Feminist. I liked it, and I’m currently partway through the 2nd episode, and I think I might stick with it.

Battle Girl High School (on HiDive, Sundays at 12:30 pm EDT)

Not willing to get a HiDive subscription yet, and it doesn’t sound like this show is worth it. If you’re curious, check out the reviews at ANN and Anime Feminist.

Elegant Yokai Apartment Life (on Crunchyroll, Mondays at 11:30 am EDT)

This is a supernatural slice of life comedy, and while it’s not amazing in anyway, it’s not really bad either. If you really like this sort of comedy I’d recommend checking it out, but I’d probably recommend Inu x Boku Secret Service first.

LOVE and LIES (on Anime Strike in the US, and HiDive in some other territories, Mondays at 12:00 pm EDT)

I did not like this show. It wasn’t actually painful to watch, so I finished the first episode, but I will not be watching more. The premise is based on the idea that Japan starts assigning marriage partners when kids turn 16 based on some sort of compatibility in order to fight dropping birthrates. Actually, the show specifically mentions genetic compatibility, and the whole premise has a very eugenics feel to it. On top of that, this setting is being used for a romcom. There are probably some interesting stories that could be told with this setup, but a straight romcom is not one of them. All this being said, I’m definitely watching people’s twitter reactions to the show going forward, because I’m sort of curious what kind of trainwreck this might become.

Restaurant to Another World (on Crunchyroll, Mondays at 2:05 pm EDT)

This show was definitely very nice to look at, but I just couldn’t get invested in it. If you want a peaceful show about a restaurant that opens to a fantasy world once a week, then check it out. My favorite part was the dragon lapping stew from a pot, tiny in comparison to her.

Aho Girl (on Crunchyroll, Tuesdays at 11:30 am EDT)

(short-form, 13 minutes) Even though this is a short, I still couldn’t make it all the way to the end of the first episode. It’s very 2000′s style super fast comedy, and feels super mean spirited.

Tsuredure Children (on Crunchyroll, Tuesdays at 11:45 am EDT)

(short-form, 13 minutes) I finished this one, which was mostly cute vignettes about straight highschoolers in love, but the 3rd one made me feel really uncomfortable. Not planning on watching more.

Fastest Finger First (on Crunchyroll, Tuesdays at 3:30 pm EDT)

This is a show about kids doing quiz bowl, which wasn’t a thing at my school, but this is probably the closest I’ll ever get to a math competition anime. The main character was likable enough, though the girl was more interesting. This feels like it might become a girl who is experienced at x teaches boy how to x, and he is the best ever at x, sort of thing. I do want to check out the second episode though. An interesting thing to me was the voice of the girl. She’s apparently a rookie voice actress, and sounds very different from the typical anime high school girl voice.

Netsuzou Trap -NTR- (on Crunchyroll, Wednesdays at 8:30 am EDT)

(short-form, 9 minutes) This show is super super SUPER trashy yuri, and I loved it. I can’t really recommend it, but I’m definitely sticking with it.

Saiyuki Reload Blast (on Crunchyroll, Wednesdays at 11:00 am EDT)

This is an adaptation of the latest Saiyuki manga. I have never read or watched any Saiyuki before, but I watched this episode. It had a very 00′s feel to it, from the character designs to the dialogue. I imagine that this is the sort of thing that you watch if you already like Saiyuki, or maybe if you miss the feel of anime from the early 00′s. I’m not sticking with it.

Dive!! (on Anime Strike, Thursdays at sometime, anime strike is bad at sharing details)

I wanted to like this show, but it just wasn’t good. It’s very clearly trying to get the Free! crowd, but is hindered by bad animation and boring story. It’s this season’s Noitamina show, by the way. The most notable thing about it for me, was that it actually managed to trigger my fear of heights, which I don’t think has ever happened to me with an anime before. I think it must be because diving (off a 10 ft board) was a real thing I was too scared to do (and probably still am too scared to do).

Convenience Store Boy Friends (on Crunchyroll, Thursdays at 3:05 pm EDT)

This feels like the most boring possible show you could make from it’s title. You could have personified stores, personified products, but instead it’s just a quite boring highschool romance. They don’t even work at a convenience store! They just occasional stop by there! Also the guys working there looked way more interesting than any of the main characters. Possibly the most boring premiere I watched all the way through.

Action Heroine Cheer Fruits (on HiDive, Mondays at 9:00 am EDT)

I didn’t watch this one because it was a HiDive exclusive, but I’ve actually read a lot of good things about it, which is not what I would have expected with that name. Still not worth the HiDive subscription though. You can check out the review at ANN and Anime Feminist.

Made in Abyss (on Anime Strike in the US, and HiDive in some other territories, Fridays at 10:00 am EDT)

This was a super beautiful premiere. It’s a really gorgeous looking fantasy series. It didn’t completely grab me, but I think that’s because it requires me to be in a mode where I can actually give it full focus, which makes it harder to watch. I can’t recommend this show yet, however, because I have heard that the manga goes really bad places. I’ve heard that the first episode already removed some of the skeevy stuff, but I can’t recommend this until I can see where it goes.

18if (on Crunchyroll, Fridays at 10:00 am EDT)

I gave up about 10 minutes into this one. It’s a very dream sequency show, but it doesn’t have the animation quality or pacing to make it work for me. If you like surreal stuff in general, I’d say check it out to see whether it grabs you, but know that it might just feel really boring.

Vatican Miracle Examiner (on Anime Strike in the US, and HiDive in some other territories, Fridays at 11:00 am EDT)

I fucking loved this!!!!! It’s my favorite premiere so far, and I can’t wait for more. It’s not a good show, but it’s super fun. This review at Anime Feminist explains what I like about the show. It has the feel of some of my favorite stuff from the early 00′s, and it’s super campy, and I love it.

Chronos Ruler (on Crunchyroll, Sundays at 3:00 pm EDT)

This is not a good show. It has super bad animation, convoluted plot, overly expository and over dramatic dialogue (ok, half these things were also true of Vatican Miracle Examiner, I admit). I finished the whole episode, but I really have zero interest in watching more. It just isn’t offering anything that other shows aren’t doing better this season.

Altair: A Record of Battles (on Anime Strike, Fridays at sometime)

This is a very good show, but on that I really need brainpower to watch, which means that I will probably drop it at some point. It’s very nice looking, and I love political intrigue, but it doesn’t feel like easy watching. Check it out if you enjoy political intrigue stuff.

Hitorijime My Hero (on Anime Strike in the US, HiDive in some other territories, Saturdays at 11:00 am EDT)

This was decent BL. Not good, but not terrible either. The main couple is a student-teacher relationship, so be warned of that, I guess. It just felt super plain to me. Also super confusing. The first episode felt like it jumped around a lot chronologically, and it was really hard to understand what order things happened in. I’m not continuing with it.

Welcome to the Ballroom (on Anime Strike, Sundays(?) at sometime)

I watched the early premier of this on Twitch, which had desynced subtitles, which was super annoying. I don’t know if that’s still true of the version up on anime strike, but it’s frustrating that this is still a problem for them. And with a hyped up premiere as well!!! The show itself is a shonen sports anime about ballroom dancing. The character designs are very lanky and weird looking, but I sort of like the style. It just didn’t really grab me. I think I didn’t like the main character enough to care about him. And that I don’t care about ballroom dancing at all.

A Centaur’s Life (on Crunchyroll, Sundays at 10:30 am EDT)

This was a sort of weird show. It starts off with a lesbian kiss, and does a school comedy sort of things for the first half. The second half is that plus world building, which brings in a bunch of weirdly dystopian elements. Like talking about past injustices being illegal. So I’m going to keep on watching this for the little gay bits and to see where the hell it’s going.

Princess Principal (on Anime Strike in the US, HiDive in some other territories, Sundays at 10:30 am EDT)

I really loved this. It’s a spy show about girls, so I’m not at all surprised, but it’s still a nice feeling. The OP has hints of gayness, which is good. And the show in general is a fun spy show. It’s like what I wish Joker Game had been. I really recommend checking this one out. It’s another one of my favorites.

Angel’s 3Piece! (on Crunchyroll, Mondays at 8:30 am EDT)

This most frustrating thing about this is how good is was for a lot of it. Like I wasn’t expecting anything from the summary, but then the first half of the show was pretty neat, and the music was good, but it’s by the author of Ro-Kyu-Bu, which should have told me everything I needed to know. As should the episode title: “Heart Throbbing for Elementary School Kids!” That title probably says everything you need to know.

In Another World with my Smartphone (on Crunchyroll, Tuesdays at 9:00 am EDT)

I gave up on this one super quickly. I just don’t care about another dude dying and going to a fantasy world and suddenly getting a harem. I just don’t.

New Game!! (on Crunchyroll, Tuesdays at 10:00 am EDT)

Sequel to New Game!, which I never finished. It was a cute show about women making games though. Maybe I should try to watch more of it sometime. ANN has a review of the first episode of this.

The Irresponsible Galaxy Tylor (on Crunchyroll, Wednesdays at 12:30 pm EDT)

(short-form, 3 minutes) I guess this is related to The Irresponsible Captain Tylor? I never watched that either. I watched this, but didn’t really pay much attention. I guess if you watched the original thing check this out???

Magical Circle Guru Guru (on Crunchyroll, Tuesdays at 2:05 pm EDT)

So apparently there was an older version of this that aired in 1994, but this is a complete reboot, not a sequel, so you don’t need any familiarity with the original. The sense of humor reminded me a lot of Senyu, with a heavy focus on classic rpg video game elements as well. It’s a very fast paced shouty sort of humor, but it was a fun first episode. It didn’t really do anything I haven’t seen before, so I’m probably dropping it.

Light of the Clione (on Anime Strike, Tuesdays(?) at sometime)

(short-form, 9 minutes) I was interested in this one based on what I read of the premise, but so far it’s been two students feeling sorry for, but not helping, a girl getting bullied. Since it’s a short, it has a much lower bar to clear for me to stick with it, so I probably will. The character designs feel sort of off, though, and the animation isn’t very good.

Ikemen Sengoku: Bromances Across Time (on Crunchyroll, Wednesdays at 10:45 am EDT)

(short-form, 5 minutes) CG short about a dude who gets transported back in time. Based on an otome game, apparently. Otome games need more full length adaptations, they keep on getting these short form series instead. Anyways, this show doesn’t really have anything to recommend it.

Nora, Princess, and Stray Cat (on Crunchyroll, Wednesdays at 11:15 am EDT)

(short-form, 4 minutes) Cute short that has a harem set up, accept someone transformed the boy into a cat, and no one knows how to turn him back. Funny, cute, and short enough for me to keep watching.

My First Girlfriend is a Gal (on Crunchyroll, Wednesdays at 11:30 am EDT)

This show is not good. You should watch Please Tell Me! Galko-chan instead. Seriously, the most interesting part of this show is the bedazzled censorship objects. I bailed out about five minutes in, because I couldn’t stand the main character and his friends. There is nothing to recommend this show. Even if you want weird censorship items, you can watch Seven Mortal Sins instead.

Classroom of the Elite (on Crunchyroll, Wednesdays at 12:00 pm EDT)

I was expecting to quit out of this show partway through, since it really didn’t look at all interesting to me. I also hated the first five minutes or so. But I actually really liked the rapport between the two main characters, probably because it reminds me of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU. I curious to see where the main plot heads as well. I think it’s worth getting through the opening to see what the show has to offer, because it definitely got better after that.

GAMERS! (on Crunchyroll, Thursdays at 11:30 am EDT)

This is another show I was expected to not make it all he way through, but instead I really liked it. It’s about a high school gaming club, and the super popular girl trying to recruit the main character to join. I think what really worked for me was how relatable the main character felt at times. He’s a “casual” gamer, and feels really intimidated by how intense the club members are. I really understand that feeling. I’m looking forward to more of this show.

And that’s it! I’ll probably wait to write about Hell Girl and The Reflection until after both of them air, at which point I’ll also have a better idea of what shows I’m actually going to keep.

#this took me a long time to write #I also kept on wanting to use emacs commands while writing #I think it must be because almost all the typing I do on a keyboard is at work #and most of that is in emacs #when I started writing this it was thursday night #but I ended up finishing it up friday morning #anime season review #next time I do this I should split it up so it's not so fucking huge #long post

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feelsgood-anon · 8 years ago

Text

Eros - Bar AU Chapter 1, part 1

Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than in game or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!

PG13+ for swearin’ and boozin’.

Ch.1/2 | Ch. 2/2

Eros.

If you’ve never wandered to the outskirts of the downtown nightlife you’d think the name represented an establishment of finesse; a fancy restaurant, a classy gentleman’s club, a ritzy cocktail lounge.

But throw open the doors to the aging building during the late midday and you’d find yourself staring at a lavish open bar. You’d get a warm greeting from a handsome bartender and there’d be an air of familiarity amongst all the patrons.

You’d never know that you’d love it until you stepped into it and everyone welcomed you back, happily shouting your name.

Names.

That’s right...

There’s always a good story behind a name.

A hum of a cheerful tune echoed throughout the empty space. It was 3:15 p.m. and Zen busied himself wiping down the bar top. Sure they did work to clean up every night before locking the doors but for some reason the silver-haired man would always pass over the surfaces as soon as he walked in the next day. He double-checked the beer mugs to make sure the handles were turned at just the right angle where his hands could grab them quickly. Napkins? Check. Pretzels? Check. Receipt with the number from a gorgeous woman that had spent the entire night prior staring at him? He smiled at the legible digits and stuffed the piece into his back pocket. Check.

There was nothing more important to him in his current life than this bar but a date with a pretty lady on the weekend wasn’t far down on his list. He made a mental note to add her to the small bucket that kept the rest of the numbers he received every night in his office. It would be a shame if he were to not give this one a fair chance like the others.

His thoughts were interrupted by the chime of the bell above the door as another man stepped into the establishment. Was it already half-past three? Zen looked towards the wall clock and let out a dramatic gasp of surprise, “Red, you’re early in being late! What’s the occasion?” He pulled at two shot glasses to fill them up with whiskey, “Keep this up and you may get a promotion!”

The other male laughed a bit as he took off his jacket to sling along the coat rack near the entrance, “Seeing as I changed my schedule to come in at 3:30 p.m. instead of 3:00 p.m. I would like to point out that I am delightfully early for my shift.”

Red. His real name was Saeyoung Choi. He had bright shaggy red hair and eyes, protected by a pair of glasses, so golden they shone brightly like the sun rising in the morning but those same cheerful orbs held a bit of mischief that did well for him on the job. His usual attire? A yellow and red checkered button down and light wash jeans.

Zen slid one of the glasses down the bartop to meet Red’s hand as he passed by. It was tradition for them to share a shot before they officially opened the doors to the public so once they toasted each other they downed the liquor in seconds. “Where’s your brother? Don’t tell me he had to call off,” the man behind the counter furrowed a brow as he retrieved both glasses to wash them. “It may be the middle of the week but I still don’t like it if we both have to act as waiters as well.”

“Cool your pecs, boss. He’s just parking the car. I guess the eatery across the street is having some sort of shindig and the streets are loaded with vehicles. He’ll be here in a few seconds.” Red reached over the bar to grab at an apron to start tying it around his waist. They didn’t have a uniform of any kind but Zen was oddly particular about everyone having an apron. The man made his rounds of the space to turn on lights and make sure tables were set the way Zen liked it. “Hey, you remember about that person Duckie has coming in for an interview, yeah? What was her name?” His voice carried behind him as he had made his way to the back area where the pool tables and jukebox found their home.

Zen took a slight breath in as he had almost forgot about the interview. Could he be blamed? He was told about it the night before while he was chatting up with a busty blond at the bar, “Of course I remember! Her application is in my office. She was applying for...errr…”

“Waitstaff, boss. She’s applying to be a waitress.”

“Right! See? I remember! And you know how I feel about names around here, Red.” He shouted out towards the back hall.

“Yeah, you forget them easily so they have to leave it written down on a napkin, preferably with their number attached.” A cheeky grin was spread across Red’s face as he came back towards the bar, “Just make sure you act professional. Hopefully she’s not a looker so you won’t turn that charm on.”

Zen turned to protest but was distracted as the bell chimed once more, a man that looked identical to Red walking through the door, “This is utter bullshit. I had to park a block away in some weird parking lot. When are you going to buy that lot next door so we can have proper parking for this place, Zen? I hate having to always find a different place to leave the car.”

Zen chuckled slightly as he began to count the change in the register, “Not any time soon, Cannon, since I have to hire someone to help you. What would you prefer? Parking or a night off?”

Cannon. Saeyoung’s twin brother Saeran. He had the same bright hair but wore mint-colored contacts instead to make sure he wasn’t confused for the other sibling. His attitude was much less friendly as well, but was a hard worker. The normal attire for the guy consisted of a red V-neck t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans.

“Whatever.” Cannon mumbled as he too grabbed an apron to strap to himself, “Whoever is coming in, just hire her. She can’t be dumb enough to not be able to take orders. And if she is, it’s not my problem. I’m still taking a few nights off.” He stuffed a notepad along with a few pens into a pocket as he began to prep a few bowls for snacks, “Let her know to just stay out of my way since I don’t want to deal with her.”

Red walked around and pat his brother on the back, “Now now, you have to play nice! You’ll be training her, after all.”

“Like hell I will!”

“Boys boys, let’s not get ahead of ourselves now. I still want to interview her and if she’s not going to be a good employee then I’ll have to keep looking.” Zen closed the cash register, satisfied with the count, and looked towards the two, “I’m a pretty good judge of character so I’ll know within the first minute of meeting her if she will fit in with everyone around here!”

“You mean, within the first minute of meeting her you’ll know if you’ll fit into her?” Cannon growled out which sent Red into a fit of giggles. The twins never missed out on an opportunity to give Zen grief which the man didn’t quite know if he enjoyed or loathed. “Can I catch a break around here?” Their boss sighed as he made his way from behind the bar to walk to his office, “Just try to respect me around the potential new waitress, would yah?”

Both brothers waved him off and continued to perform their daily chores. The time passed pretty quickly as they bustled around and in no time Red had moved to switch the sign on the window from ‘Closed’ to ‘Open’. They rarely had people come in as soon as the wall clock twittered at 4:00 p.m. but today the red-headed bartender hadn’t even made it back to the bar before the door was swung open. He turned on his heels as he heard the bell and when he saw the face unfamiliar he gave a wide smile, “Welcome to Eros! What can we drown you with?”

The woman at the entrance gulped a bit at the abrupt welcome but gave Red a nervous smile, “Oh, hello. I’m not here to drink-”

“Then what are you here for? If you didn’t notice, lady, you’re in a bar.” Cannon leaned against the bartop and stared at her, “The pizza joint is across the street and we don’t hold any book club meetings here.” His brother closed his eyes for a moment even though his smile stayed steady, “Could you grab the celery from the cold storage, bro?”

The male rolled his eyes and pushed himself off to make his way towards the back as Red once again locked eyes with the girl, “I’m sorry about that, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. You were saying?”

She nodded as her attention was drawn back to the seemingly polite person who addressed her initially, “Yes...uhm...I have an interview in thirty minutes with...Zen?” She pulled a piece of paper out that had a name written along with a time and an address, “Sorry if I’m early. You know what they say: Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!”

A smirk crossed his face as he took a good look at her, “Aye. I guess we are all an unacceptable lot around here, then!” He beckoned her in, “I’ll let Zen know you are here. Please, have a seat! Let me get you a drink, on the house. You deserve it for being ‘on time’.”

“Just water would be fine, if it’s no trouble.” She took a seat on one of the stools. Placing her bag on the surface in front of her she started to look around the establishment. From the outside of the building she was afraid that the inside would look just as run down. It was a pleasant surprise how well kept it had been when she entered. “Good to know you’d be a cheap date.” He placed a glass of water in front of her as he smiled.

“Excuse me?” Her fingers clutched at her bag a bit defensively at his comment, “What do you mean by that?” Red frowned slightly as he busied his hands with wiping a few glasses in front of him, “Water is free, you know. I was just making a joke...sorry if that offended yah.” Her cheeks blushed slightly, laughing nervously while mentally kicking herself for letting the comment fly over her head that way. “Right. No need for apologies, I’m just a bit nervous about the interview.”

He snapped his fingers and he walked away towards the other side of the bar, “Oh yeah! Which reminds me.” Climbing up on the edge he shouted towards the door in the back, “Hey boss! Your interview is here!” Red shot a thumbs up at the girl, the door to the office swinging open as Zen finally emerged with papers in his hand.

Her eyes widened a bit as she finally laid eyes on the tall man. He was just as attractive as everyone said he was; sharp facial features, eyes kind even though they were a bright red, his physique obviously well kept...but what her gaze fell on were his clavicles. His light-blue dress shirt had a few buttons opened exposing the top of his chest. Zen claimed he had to do it since it got so hot as he ran around but everyone knew he did it for the attention he received. A sly grin crossed his face as he noticed the girl’s slight gawk in his direction.

The shirt works everytime.

“Hey! Welcome to Eros! Thanks for taking some time to meet with me! I’m Zen, the owner of this place,” He walked into the bar area and leaned on the counter in front of her as he held his hand out for a shake, eyes sparkling, “Nice to meet you!”

She cleared her throat as he approached, giving him a big smile before meeting his hand to shake firmly, “No, thank you for giving me this chance mister...Zen?” He shook his head in major disapproval at the title she had placed on him, “Please, just Zen. I’m not the type to deal with those formalities. Nice handshake, by the way.” His eyes never left hers but he had noticed she didn’t drop his hand throughout the entire exchange. Pulling her arm back she laughed a bit nervously, “Oh, thank you. I’ve always been told to have a confident handshake when meeting others.”

Zen mused to himself as he finally broke the eye-contact to look down to her resume, “That’s good advice. So tell me a bit about yourself. More importantly, why should I hire you?”

The woman let in a deep breath. She had been mentally preparing herself for a few days now and had plenty to say but sitting in front of this man who she found so beautiful caused her mind to go blank. “Well. I’m currently a student at SKY University. I’m working on my Masters in Sociology,” Her words came out in such a flustered jumble that Zen looked up from the paper to concentrate on what she was saying. Even so she continued on, voice gaining confidence and becoming more bubbly as she ran through her speech, “I want to work as a social worker! I love being around people and I’m very empathetic. I have some work experience, as you can see,” She leaned forward and pointed towards the middle of her resume, “I helped at my uncle’s bookstore while I was in my first years of University. He always said I had a natural talent for customer service! I can get along with almost anyone and I’m really good at calming down customers that are upset!”

Zen had placed his elbows on the bartop, his right arm bending upwards to prop his chin as his body leaned to the side. A soft smile was settled on his lips as she rattled on about herself in such an animated manner. This woman, he thought, is so charming. He found himself lost in her words and eventually stopped paying attention to what she was actually saying. He was brought back from his daze when she suddenly placed both hands down on the counter to give him a look of determination, “You should hire me because I will be the hardest working employee you’ll meet. I will do whatever it takes to learn the skills I need and I will learn them quickly. I will not disappoint, that I promise you.” She was breathing a bit heavier since she had fallen into a passionate speech towards the end.

She’s bright, like a little ray of sunshine.

“Sunny.” he cooed out.

The girl sat back in her chair with a look of confusion on her face, “W-what?”

“Sunny!” He exclaimed louder so that the twins could hear him. Red gave a few claps and ran over to the girl, “Hey! Congrats! You can call me Red! I’m the other bartender other than the big boss here.” She looked between the two still trying to figure out what they were going on about, “I don’t...understand…”

“Zen gave you a name, means you’re hired,” Cannon came around the side and got close to her ear, “So don’t fuck this up. I want a weekend off.”

Red shooed his brother off and pat Sunny on the back, “That’s Cannon. He’s the other waiter here so you’ll be working with him a lot. He’ll warm up to you eventually!” She nodded slowly and looked to Zen, “So...I have the job?”

He laughed a bit and crumpled up her resume, “Yeah! I like you and I think having you around will be great for the place! Welcome to the family, Sunny!” She put on a big smile and held her hand out once more, “You won’t regret hiring me! But, my name is-”

“Sunny. Your name is Sunny. First rule I have in this place is you go by the name I give you. Call it a quirk of mine.” Zen looked up as he heard the jingle of the bell above the door, welcoming the customers in with a bright smile. She looked behind her and watched as the two people made themselves comfortable at one of the tables, Cannon lazily making his way over to tend to them. “But why would you use a name that isn’t real?”

He directed his attention back to her, chuckling a bit, “It is a real name! It’s the name that I, Owner Zen, have given you! You should be honored!” She opened her mouth to protest some more but was interrupted by Cannon barking out an order, “Two scotch rocks, boss.” Zen nodded and pulled two glasses from below the bar with one hand, grabbing a bottle of liquor with the other, “So when can you start, babe?”

She pursed her lips at the question, moreso at the term of endearment, “Whenever you’d like to train me, of course. I’ve never worked in a bar and don’t know a lot about alcohol so I’m sure you’d like to spend some time going over basics.”

“Are you free tonight? The weekdays are normally not too busy so I can spend some one-on-one time with you. Sound good?” He flashed a smile at her, “You said you pick things up quickly and I’d like you to be good for the weekend.”

Sunny nodded and stood up to straighten out her shirt, “I’d love to start! And what do I call you, since everyone has nicknames?” Zen placed the two drinks on a tray, beckoning to Cannon, “You can call me Zen, or these guys call me boss. I don’t mind you calling me sweetie or babe either, your choice.” He shot her a wink as he threw a hand towel over his shoulder. She smirked at the act, leaning over the counter to get closer to him, “What’s your real name?”

“That I will not tell you. The only person in this bar that knows everyone’s real names is me. Red knows a few, since he handles the tabs alongside me. Don’t bother asking, it’s considered impolite around here.” He pointed a finger at the twin as he approached to pick up the drink order, “Even Cannon doesn’t know my real name!”

“I don’t care if I know your real name as long as I get my paycheck,” the waiter spit out his words with apathy, “Throw a bowl of pretzels on here, boss. Stop flirting with the new girl.”

Zen did as he was asked but kept his eyes on Sunny, reaching behind himself to grab an apron and threw it at her, “Let’s get started, then! I’ll give you the grand tour.”

******************

#mystic messenger #Eros Bar AU #mystic messenger fic #mm #mystic messenger AU

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