#also I had a feeling there was something sus about this man's business model if he was able to afford an expensive car from owning

[mattzerella-sticks]

Okay Okay OKAY.

I knew Dave had to be there. I KNEW - he was in the shop when the tape started, of course he'd be inside the action world. But as what I couldn't guess. I was going to let myself enjoy the ride.

But now...

Given what we know, about the Shadow Falcon protocol, the Archimedes Files...

I think Dave will do either of these two things

Rob the world and remain inside as the President for all time but also the emperor of reality given the abilities we've seen in the preview

Rob the world and LEAVE with all that world's money

I think number 2 might be more plausible than number 1 given how St. Jude had the belief that there was a new world waiting for him even after his 'death'. However, is it likely Dave lied to all the members of the Shadow Falcon protocol that he could take them with them, just so he can use them to further his own schemes? Possibly.

We also have to ask if Dave was ALSO aware of the power of 'Never Stop Blowing Up'. Because - think about it - how was Dave able to gather together the resources for a criminal conspiracy if he had only been in the world for the same amount of time as the others from Elsinore?

In fact... how has Dave been able to maintain a video rental store in the town of Elsinore for so long?

What if this wasn't the first time he's run this scheme? And the only reason the video rental store has survived for so long is because he's been robbing 'Never Stop Blowing Up's' inhabitants blind every time he enters the world? It would explain why he keeps Usha around, whose reticence for technology would mean an easier and less traceable way to funnel stolen funds into his pocket.

But because of Barsimian holding onto the tape for so long, he wasn't able to plunder the world for cash in time to pay the rent and has been FORCED to close the store.

It would also explain why he was so insistent on getting the tape back, despite it not making a difference because - why put so much effort into one tape when you're going to be dumping all your inventory anyway?

And if Dave and Barsimian were using the tape at different times, of course Barsimian was never aware of the Shadowfalcon protocol. He was enjoying the world, never questioning why - never wondering who was behind the drugs and the capers. It was all Dave.

And I wonder if there's going to be a connection between Dave and Wolfman Anne?

All things to ponder and I hope are explained in the coming episode.

[puckpocketed]

ok the stick story is this

according to The Hockey Media, who as we know do not actually follow any teams closely so know NOTHING, ovechkin was finally hit by father time. he's finally slowing down. he's a shell of his old self. he has old man syndrome. blah blah blah

as a caps fan, i know that this is false, because our russian machine never break. he's a freak. who btw had like 13 goals disallowed or something crazy like that in the first half of last season but i digress

gee i wonder why ovechkin's goals went down? is it because his longtime center and future hall of famer nicklas backstrom retired in all but name? is it because our other top 6 center in evgeny kuznetsov had by far the worst season of his career (from point a game to not even half a point a game) and then went into the player's assistance program before being traded to the canes and then bolting for the KHL?

actually, as it turns out: no.

i mean probably those were factors, but there was another factor. a factor that many caps fans are very aware of but almost no one reported on for some reason (probably because they were too busy writing about how SiDneY CrOsBy was having SuCh an AmaZiNg season for a 36 year old despite ovechkin literally having just as a good a season the year prior at the *checks notes* age of 36. also this is a reminder that one of those two actually led their team to a playoff berth and it wasn't crosby)

ovechkin is, among other things, an elite shooter. like many elite shooters, he is EXTREMELY picky about his sticks. he has been using the same CCM model for the last 7 seasons...and prior to this season they discontinued it.

the first half of the season (roughly), ovi was constantly trying out new sticks from CCM, from Bauer, whoever. he tried quite a few different sticks. results: 8 goals in 43 games.

then, ovechkin found an independent supplier. apparently (i can't remember where this info came out, maybe 32 thoughts?), these guys have an "ovi pro curve" model based on his old stick with CCM and he bought it and tried it out. curve was identical, and it felt right to him. started using those. results: 23 goals in 36 games.

am i saying that he is going to continue on that pace this coming season? probably not. do i think that the rumors of his demise as a goal scorer are greatly exaggerated and almost surely mistaken? yes. am i optimistic that with some stability in our center depth and stability in stick choice, ovechkin will have a 40 goal season again and possibly break wayne gretzky's all time goals record? YES.

what this means for PLD our beloved failhorse wife: he's not getting some washed up old man former great on his wing. he's getting the greatest fucking goal scorer in the history of the sport. and i, for one, am excited to see what they can do together.

link i thought about this all morning during baking and while i was out!! thank you for the stick explanation and all the sources i LOVE citations i am eating them up like theyre cakes at teatime....! more under the cut but heres what i was thinking about when i read this:

thinking about how,, particular some players get about their equipment, how superstitious, it's crazy to me that a manufacturer can just do all that. if it were me and MYE special stick got discontinued id be suing for damages

i was super interested in what actually changed in the second half of the season because i saw ovechkin was back to scoring basically at-will again, so really thank you for explaining.. the bond between a hockey and their stick is so beaugtiful <3

cr-sby is my babygirl-in-law and i fear i will always be fond of him because of this, so i shall tread carefully here (pens friends look away) it DOES suck that they're not recognising your old man for his achievements while that old man gets hyped. is it like, weird anti-russian sentiment? or a more general anti-caps bias? every team fan space i dip into feels unfairly maligned one way or another - which, yeah! clenching my fist of rage.......

you spin such a tale and im VERY excited to see how next szn shakes out in light of all this and also . grabbing dubois by the scruff of his neck like i will stan either way but PLEASE dont embarrass me in front of my cool new friends kjlasdklasdkl....

thank you so much for stopping by and for the warmest welcome ever <3

[tim-hoe-wan]

Balenciaga definitely crossed the line. I think that these advertisements are inappropriate, and even disgusting. I hope that this backlash prevents the fashion houses from using children in their ads ever again. I feel like all of parties involved were fully aware of these documents. Thought I highly doubt that they predicted that it will reach the general public, and more importantly that the right-wings conspiracy theorists “journalists” will accuse them of being part of a paedophile gang and that they will be taken seriously by the Twitter / Instagram / Fashion folks. I think that they wanted to be that name of everyone’s lips as they always do tho they haven’t thought it through this time. Since they’re so out of touch they also had no idea that most people feel sensitive and want to protect kids.

Also It looks so ridiculous when their representatives claim that it wasn’t the idea of Demma and that all of these highers up at Balenciaga/Kering didn’t know about it so they’re suing the set designer of this ad, only to put a blame on someone (who isn’t even decisive or important). As if Balenciaga isn’t know for their provocations. Cowards. If they want to be soooo edgy they should bear the consequences. Especially after they’ve been showing in our throats for years how edgy, transgressive and provocative they’re. Which proves me once again that Demma and his collaborators lost a touch with reality a while ago. I’ve always thought that he’s just a desperate man who is selling hoodies, bags and jackets while making models look sick and drugged cause he wants to present some ass weird apocalyptic visions at his fashion shows to convince everyone that he’s that visionary artist. I feel like many influential celebs/people etc. put him on a pedestal without any criticism so they’re partially guilty in some sense in my eyes.

As for Lotta I knew that they will come for her one day. She’s too successful. Agree some of her Instagram posts are weird however half of shit which is posted on that thread about her which gained around 60k likes on Twitter is made up. Ex. the girl in a red dress with two babies is not her and Lotta actually doesn’t work for Balenciaga since 2019 as far as I know.

Also I think that Kering should have a better pr team. I think that it’s a bad sign that people are associating his name with a cruel head of a big devil corporation. I don’t claim that he isn’t one and I don’t feel sorry for him. However he fumbled a bag big time from a business point of view since people now who he’s.

That’s my thoughts :)

Fashion labels doing this shit always make me feel conflicted cause sometimes I want to react, but my friends who work in the industry have all talked about how labels and their creative directors totally love pulling the shock value card to give them attention. So reacting and giving the brand clout is definitely what they want you to do. The rationale is half a classic pr move, and half of it being their argument that artist is all about provocation and how much they can push it to the limit. With Demma, I feel he’s definitely at his wits end in how to get Balenciaga to keep up with other high fashion labels but at the same time doubles down when things become negative.

I know Balenciaga is considered within the world’s hottest brand right now, but I think what Demma is doing and what Alessandro did for Gucci in terms of overall impact will be pretty short lived. I can’t remember the last time these two brands put out something that I feel will become a classic and stay beyond the short lifetime of fashion in the influencer era. They’re no Tom Ford Gucci and John Galliano Dior for sure so the constant either shock value or teaming up with hypebeast brands always feel shallow and a last ditch attempt to do something iconic.

[citroncynique]

Honestly thank you so much for adding onto this haha

I genuinely love Dori for her bastardly personality. She's a deeply flawed person who became so because of trauma. None of her actions are excusable, but all of her actions are very much intentional. She's unapologetic and puts up a hefty façade to trick everyone, including herself, that she's entirely remorseless about what she does.

There's a lot of reasons why people don't like her, and imho some are more valid than others.

Criticism of her orientalist design is one reason I will always agree with. No questions asked. It is the most valid reason to dislike/hate Dori as a concept.

The only caveat is that, on the subject of orientalism, Nilou was very quickly forgiven because she's a pretty anime girl.

(If it were entirely up to me there's... a lot of stuff wrt Dori's design that wouldn't be like that. I really wanna work on a redesign for her.)

If the issue is her personality, I can get that too, she's not for everyone- though on the other hand, a lot of Genshin fans who play Honkai Star Rail are very much into Sampo (who is quite literally Hot Man Dori. I'm sorry, it's true.)

It's speculated that Pantalone might be very much similar to her with regards to how he handles money. We won't see people hating him as much. People like who they like and all, and that's valid!! It's just. If it's the tropes you dislike, double standards are there.

I think the Dori hate also comes from a very performative form of virtue signaling for people who wanna show that they aren't into l*li type characters. People were mad that Nahida was the chibi model, people were angry way back when some theories that Shinobu would have that model popped up. There's always an initial loathing for those types bc it's sus for people to be excited for chibi model characters.

It's entirely understandable to want to distance yourself from that kind of stuff if you're averse to it. I've had to sift through a lot of content I'd rather not have come across if I wanted to see some Dori art that wasn't done by me lmao. I like Dori the way people like annoying little mascots and whatnot, personally.

There's something uncomfortable with how vitriolic some people are about Dori. It escalated to the EN VA being sent death threats and being accused of being a white supremacist (when they're. not a white person. nor are they in any case responsible for design or writing of this character. They just do Dori's voice and their delivery is absolutely stellar imho).

There's hate towards the character and towards the VA, but criticisms against HYV themselves have just. Faded away. The fandom was fed pretty characters and whatnot, and moved on. Soon enough Dori hate stopped being about (rightfully) criticizing a character for their orientalist design and inspirations, and just became a punchline.

With that being said, HYV didn't do Dori any favours. Her backstory makes room for a lot of complexities that just... aren't used, narratively, on actual on-screen quests. We barely see her genuine grief and anxiety aside from teapot companion voicelines. Everything interesting about Dori is stashed away in her character stories (and one of Kaveh's character stories- and the Kaveh+Dori business partnership is a whole other can of worms. I'll touch upon it at some point if prompted lmao)

Re: Kaveh, all I'll say for now is that HYV hasn't made their arrangement clear. Many people still think Dori scammed Kaveh, when the situation is far more complicated than that (and doesn't involve scamming at all).

I feel that HYV may have held back on writing more for Dori bc of the general backlash received. Instead of rounding her out, they flanderized her and kind of.... used her as little as possible.

I appreciated her in Cyno's SQ, I kind of wish we had a little more meat to her writing in Kaveh's hangout, but aside from that she hasn't been used to her full narrative potential. Fuck's sake, she's friends with Alice, of all people, use that! Her design is extremely reminiscent of Liloupar's bottle, and she has a little Jinni as a familiar- what's going on there?

I have a bunch of Dori doodles I never actually posted bc I knew how hated she was, and it's unfortunately only now that the Sumeru versions are coming to a close that I'm daring to post more of her haha (this isn't an act of immense bravery or whatever, it's just how I personally feel about my own art)

ANYWAY.

TL;DR Dori is disappointing as a character bc she's a waste of narrative potential. Also Orientalism is bad. Also people are quick to forgive the flaws of characters who are conventionally simpable. Also people can like or dislike whatever characters they want!! If you still hate Dori after reading this diatribe, godspeed!! I'm just throwing ideas into the blue void of tumblr and you owe me nothing! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Thanks for coming to my TEDxTalk. I swear I was not sponsored by the Almighty Merchant Lord Sangemah Bay to write this PR piece for her.

I decided to give Dori a snazzy outfit (to go financially extort Kaveh with what a girlboss)

[127-mile]

DANS LES CATACOMBES | IN THE CATACOMBS. the sign above the door was written in french. it read: ARRÊTE! C’EST ICI L’EMPIRE DE LA MORT. - paul aertker, brainwashed.

PAIRING: Hanse x gender neutral reader.

GENRE: Established relationship, horror, angst.

WARNINGS: Mention of bones, drugs and alcohol, non-explicit mention of cults, blood and human sacrifices, mention of deaths, of the use of a ouija board and voices.

PLOT: You thought a walk in the catacombs would be a nice date, but how wrong you were.

WORD COUNT: 1.5k.

A/N: This is part of the Legends never die, the untold stories collab hosted by @nayuyeons. The tags are a lot scarier than the fic.

“At the end of the 18th century, major health problems linked to the city’s cemeteries led to the decision to transfer their contents underground. The Parisian authorities chose an easily accessible site, then located outside the capital: the old quarries de la Tombe-Issoire, under the plain of Montrouge. The first evacuations took place from 1785 to 1787 and affected the most important cemetery in Paris, the Saints-Innocents.”

“The bones, previously left loose, are carefully organized in the walls, on the model of quarrymen’s hagues. On the front, the rows of shins alternate with those of skulls, while behind the facings pile up the remaining bones, often very fragmented by the consequences of their fall.”

“There are 6 million skeletons stored in the catacombs ossuary, which is about 3 times more than Parisians! The Municipal Ossuary of the Catacombs is one of the largest ossuaries in the world.” (i translated these parts from the catacombs website back from my doyoung catacombs fic, i just used them again)

You barely hear the guide's voice, far too busy trying to ignore Hanse's lips on the back of your neck, his hot breath against your skin, and his hands gripping your waist. Several times you have tried to push him away, but the lack of movement does nothing other than to prompt him to stay glued to your back.

"That's not what we're here for." you whisper as you step on his foot hard enough to make him wince.

"I'm bored, I already know everything he's telling us." he responds by letting his arms fall to his sides.

You know, he knows it, you were next to him on the plane when he was reading the catacombs website. But it is an obligatory passage before the special visit begins.

Because yes, it is not a visit like the others.

Normally, the Paris Catacombs tour happens during the day, when the sun is high in the sky, and only the accessible and secure parts are visited, but today is a special day.

The tour takes place at night, and what will be visited will be the caves where strange events are said to have happened.

"Do you think the rumors are true?" he asks in a low voice, he refuses to be heard by the guide, he prefers you answering him, rather than hearing the boring and slow voice of the man who has been doing this for far too long.

"Some people were traumatized by the caves, but they were also drunk and on drugs, so I don't know how much we can believe the rumors."

And the events happened more than fifteen years ago, so water has flowed under the bridges, and who knows if the rumors haven't changed over time.

He nods, and finally the guide starts moving so you take his hand in yours and you follow the group.

"Are we allowed to use professional equipment?" someone asks, and you hear the guide chuckle.

"I do not advise you to do it, the caves are very unstable, we do not want interference, or too strong waves to cause the caves to collapse on us. That would be sad, especially because you signed a waiver that   forbid you from suing us."

Always read the waiver before signing it, you think, looking around. The man stops in a first cave, and he clears his throat. You have the impression that a mere burst of voice could bring the place down. Everything echoes, even your breathing.

“Apparently in the 1980s a cult found a way to get to the catacombs to perform sacrifices. You would like me to tell you that these were animal sacrifices, but no. Authorities found remains of humans that have been drained of their blood right in the middle of this cave."

Looking over the shoulder of the person in front of you, you notice a dark stain on the floor, but it's not strong enough evidence to prove that it happened. It could be a wet stain, or some idiot spilling something on the ground years ago without the guide seeing it.

"Do you have something that has been proven? Because we are wasting our time."

Your eyes widen when you hear Hanse's voice. He really isn't the most patient person when it comes to a guided tour. You suddenly remember when you went through the most haunted museum in the United States, he practically pushed the guide aside to make the tour himself.

You don't blame him, you don't even get mad, it actually makes your heart beat a little faster.

"If you wanted to get to the good stuff immediately you should have entered illegally." the guide responds by continuing the tour.

About twenty minutes pass, the guide tells more stories as strange and impossible as the other. Hanse is getting more and more annoyed, you can feel it by the way he squeezes your hand every time he enters a new part of the catacombs.

"There are loads of haunted places in Paris, why did you choose the catacombs?" he mumbles, and you shrug your shoulders.

"Maybe because you've always wanted to visit them?"

"And here we are in the last cave. This one is dedicated to our impatient young man in the back of the line."

If Hanse had less restraint, he would certainly be insulting the guide, but instead he steps further into the cave. "Come on, surprise us with another made-up story."

"This one is not made up." he says in a firm voice, and Hanse throws his head back laughing. His laugh hits against the walls, and the echo makes you shiver in an unpleasant way.

"So you admit that the others are made up? What are you willing to do to make money." he answers, and you wonder if the guide will hit him when he clenches his fists.

"You gave me your money to hear these stories, so shut up and let the others enjoy."

"Come on baby, let him do his job." you whisper as you take his arm, your head resting against his shoulder.

“In the early 2000s, a bunch of teens decided to enter the catacombs illegally, and they got lost. Unfortunately, when they were found they were already dead. Since then, the people wandering too far away in the catacombs, or people who come to renovate say they hear voices."

Everyone is silent, even Hanse, which is strange.

"A video was found, a video that was never allowed to be shown to the public in an attempt to trace the identities of these people, but the police were allowed to watch it, and informations were leaked."

"In this video you can see the teens running, presumably being chased by someone. Or rather, by something."

Whether this story is true, or made up, your eyes widen, it's crazy.

"Some people can still hear the teens calling for help, screaming and crying because of the thing chasing them."

There is silence in the cave, and you look around, frowning. You don't know if it's because of the story, or some trick played by your mind, but it feels like you are hearing a claw all around you. As if someone was scratching one of the walls.

"Do you hear that?" you ask near Hanse's ear who nods his head.

“People, so called paranormal professionals came with a ouija board. And by wanting to talk to the teenagers, they called something more powerful, something even worse than what caused the teens' deaths."

Your blood freezes when you hear a sudden cry. The scream is so loud, and so close to your ear that you are sure if you turn around you will see someone behind you screaming their lungs out, but there is no one there. You do not feel any presence behind you, and even Hanse who is looking around, does not react.

"What was that?" you ask, panicked.

"One of the teenagers. They want to get out. They are tired of being locked up in the catacombs. And I understand them. It's hard to always be here, to have to listen to the cries of the grieving souls without being able to go out."

A new scream is heard, and this time, you have no choice but to put your hands against your ears to muffle the noise that could make you cry because of how loud and so full of pain it is.

"Stop it, make it stop, please!" someone exclaims.

If you are paralyzed, Hanse seems unable to stay still, he is ready to pounce on the guide who is scaring everyone. Who is scaring you, you, whose heart hasn't even raced in the most haunted places you've visited in the past three years.

"It's okay, we got it, you know how to tell stories, and you know how to scare us, now bring us back to the surface!" he growls, and the other tourists seem to agree with him.

Except that..

Except that when you turn in the direction of the guide, he is gone.

[nightswithkookmin]

Hi! Goldy, do you know why are jikookers making such a big deal out of jk saying “I’m hyung ‘s copy cat”. I’m I missing something here , why is everyone acting like they just confessed their love , if anything vmin were more sus 😂

Lol shippers...

We are like a bunch of boohbahs on crack every day. We get excited over everything and anything- which I think is the point of shipping though. Lol.

Not sure what you are missing as I haven't seen the show in its entirety yet...

But off the top of my head, I'd say it's probably because of the blushing and the whole Kook's ear turning red bit when JM was addressing him about copying him.

He did the same thing in the Be.TS Vlive when Jimin put him on the spot about posting on his birthday. Jimin makes him shy

It's been several years and Jimin still has an effect on him. I think it's cute.

Also, the bit about them confessing...

You actually not wrong. Lol.

JM used to say JK copies him because JK liked him and so JK would deny that all the time. To accept that he was imitating JM would mean he was admitting he liked Jimin- that he thought Jimin was cool, had impeccable style yadda yadda.

Jimin might as well had asked JK to confess he liked him.

They both had a habit of trying to get the other to confess their feelings for them in the past.

JM: I am Army.

JK: Do you like me that much?

JM: I had blue eyes first.

JK: No. Mine is bluer

JM: Stop imitating me.

Do you like me that much?

Jk: No

It was their way of flirting. So I guess in effect, in admiting he imitates JM, Jimin sort of got JK to officially admit he likes him🤷🏽‍♀️

'Do you like me?'

'Do you?'

'Do you?'

And he acted so innocent about it too.

This man! Lol

That innocent pout afterwards my God. Lmho.

There's just a lot of history between those two. A lot, and it's nice to see them remind eachother of that.

And I think it's the history and memories, the nolstagia he evoked in JK with that comment that had JK blushing hard especially if he read double meaning in that request.

From, his reaction I'd say he did.

All these double entendres chilee.

Its intriguing JK had such a strong reaction to something seemingly less intense or even cringe. That comment was supposed to be a safe bet. The safest conversation JM could have with Kook in front of new audience to not make things awkward in the room and yet...

There's no hope for JK. Dude is gone. Bid him farewell to gay boulevard🤧

Jimin was like why are you blushing it's nothing heavy or something like that and that reminded me again of that whole, 'did I scold you" bit from New Jersey.

Jimin had a strong reaction to what JK deemed a trivial issue- Which I gotta smirk at. Smirk.

It's interesting that of all the things he could ask Jk, this is what he chose to ask him. I think he genuinely believed it was a safer conversation to have- Y'all think VMin was wilding, wait till you meet the Jikooknims.

Imagine if JK had said what V said to JM or if JM had said that to JM. Imagine that...

I mean I get it, if they are going to be regulars on traditional SK media now, they have to be able to interact 'normally' within the group without the members or eachother panicking and acting like Jikook be spelling the nuclear codes with their butts.

We've discussed the gradual shift in BigHit's marketing model but it seems with all the Asian hate crimes, racism, stigmatization of Asians and Asian Americans in the wake of the pandemic, it's become imperative that they redirect their focus and attention to SK to solidify their presence and hold in their home market.

I'm afraid we might be seeing a shift towards the company pandering to their roots and adhering to traditional media practices with mostly one foot in the international market, and one foot in their home market.

And if that's the case, Jikook would have to be able to tether the line of their closet without making things awkward for eachother and the members lest they risk exposing themselves to the gay hateration and criticism rampant in Korea.

Bang PD have made it perfectly clear, he is not about the risk taking life. That he prefers as a company to play things safe- I wonder if he's stance on that has changed in recent times.

But I don't think when it comes to it, he'd risk it for them. He's not gonna shove their alternative lifestyle in conservative spaces like that. Chilee.

Anywho, Jimin likes to rile JK up and watch him squirm sometimes but naa I don't think that was the agenda this time around...

Then there was this bit also

Which I think my guy spilled right there😏

I've been saying for the longest time BigHit staff take stock in the Jikook business. There you have it.

They style Jikook. They style BTS. So all the times they've appeared in couple outfits, matching shoes, complimentary hairstyles, all the time they deliberately cut from JK to Jimin or Jimin to JK, all the times they've paired Jikook up, isolated them from the group so Jikook can give them a moment-

When I say BigHit is intentional in the way they brand Jikook within the group and in the way they push those two not as friends but as a 'couple'

And because of this people scream Jikook is fan service blah blah nonsense.

But the question have always been, why does these two grown ass men go along with it. Do they not know what it means when of all seven they are the two that are constantly marketed as 'lovers?" They are not twins, neither are they twelve and so why the need to match their fits?

And how come none of them object to this?

Why don't they ask questions???

Bet. Bet there's a reason for that.

As for Vmin all I have to say is...

Tae Kook who? Tae Kook WHERE?!

Lmho. Vmin, TaeJin, (Tae kook) VHope, Taegi

In that particular order for Tae's ships. The last three are fluid with Tae Kook alternating anywhere from 3rd to the last position lol.

I saw their shippers bust out their go to, 'Tae was being sarcastic" he hates Jimin rhetoric - like

GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE.

Tae talks some strong Vmin agenda.

We been knew. We been said it

He flirts Jimin hard to gay proportions too.

'In love with my Soulmate- a memoir written by Kim Taehyung. Coming soon to a bookshop near you. Lmho.

If Jimin catches feelings for Tae one day it's game over for us all🤣🤣🤣🤣

'We need to stop. This game is dangerous.'

Then he proceeds to gulp on top of it 🤣🤣

Reminds me of when JK was asked if Jimin wasn't his style and JK was fumbling and Jimin said, cut the cameras. Deadass. Lol

'Jk don't answer that' 🤭

Why shouldn't he answer that?

Jimin is a funny guy. A funny gay guy🤭

And did y'all see how hard Yoongi screamed when Tae said that?

Lolololololololololololololololololololololololol

Tae doesn't need to convince me he has feelings for Jimin. I'm convinced all by myself 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

And is it me or did Tae look like he didn't believe Jimin when JM said he liked him too??🤔

I can't wait to watch the whole thing.

I love their relationship. I hate when people invalidate it. VMin does not invalidate Jikook nor does Jikook invalidate VMin or even Tae Kook. They all are, unique and they are beautiful me thinks.

They ought not be compared in this way but celebrated.

It's not a competition.

Talk of celebrating ships, did you see Tae and Kook too??? 🤭🤭🤭🤭

I love seeing them in a good place in their dynamic like this.

It's the look he shot JK when the envelope ended up infront of him for me😂

Tae is hilarious I swear! Lmho.

I kinda lowkey wished it was for him I won't lie.

It's the same energy as when JK grabbed his neck and said he wanted to ride in the car with Tae. (If those subs were correct. Can't trust any unofficial subs on any Tuktuk moment💀)

Tae was like 👀 waeyo? Lmho.

I'm off to ship Tae Kook and VMin.

Keep your eyes on the gays for me.

Bye🤣

💜💜💜💜

Signed,

GOLDY

[ibijau]

Suyao’s happy evil life in Japan, because I think they deserve that / also on AO3

warning for jgy having some very condescending views about Japan and its culture

The damn house wasn’t even haunted, Jin Guangyao thought as he performed the ritual. It had been abandoned for a few years, certainly, and it had a certain creepiness still clinging to its walls as a result, but that was nothing that a good deep cleaning and more recent furniture couldn’t solve. 

Not that Jin Guangyao would say as much. If the tradition in Japan dictated that abandoned houses had to be cleansed before they could be used, he’d do just that. Business was business, and it wasn’t impossible that a pre-emptive ritual ensured no future ghosts would appear there. And even if one did, he’d come up with something, blame it on the family, on some fault in the landscape. It wouldn’t even be a lie. This house’s fengshui was a complete disaster… but he wasn’t being paid for that, and he didn’t particularly like this lord. The man had made disparaging comments against Su Minshan more than once, and Jin Guangyao had made note of that.

He wasn’t about to do Awata no Seimei any favours. In fact, Su Minshan and him had already agreed that they’d make the man pay more for the exorcism, even though they didn’t particularly need the extra money, not the way they’d done their first year. But then, in that first year, they wouldn’t have dared to aggravate someone as high ranking as Awata no Seimei, supposing they could even have gotten such a patron in the first place.

It had been hard, that first year, but neither of them were the sort to give up just because things weren’t easy. Besides, they’d had to survive, if only to spite the enemies they’d left behind.

Inflamed at the memory of that shameful flight, Jin Guangyao stomped a little harder than strictly necessary, which appeared to catch the attention of his spectators. Good. Let Awata no Seimei think he was working hard to purify that house he’d bought, it would justify the higher price.

It was mid-morning when Jin Guangyao decided he’d put on enough of a show and could announce that the house was now safe for ordinary humans. As soon as he stopped the ritual, Su Minshan rushed to his side, offering some cool tea, one of the local types that Jin Guangyao had become so fond of. As he drank, Jin Guangyao realised he was parched. It was still early enough in the day, but the heat was rising fast. It would soon be unbearably hot and damp, making Jin Guangyao regret that he’d wasted so long on this empty ritual.

“Master Kin Kouyou, what a splendid ceremony,” Awata no Seimei said in a too deferential tone that Jin Guangyao despised for reminding him of his own. “You have my thanks for your help, I could not have asked anyone else. Truly, there is no one else who would do as well as master Kin Kouyou.”

Jin Guangyao shot him a cold look. Before he could try guessing what Awata no Seimei might want from him next, Su Minshan came to stand between them, arms crossed on his chest, towering over the nobleman.

“Zongzhu just conducted this ritual for your house,” Su Minshan barked. “Please understand how draining this is, the house had been left untouched for many years, and there were traces of a fox spirit in there.”

Well, there were fox droppings in one of the bedrooms, Jin Guangyao thought, biting his cheeks not to grin. He couldn’t laugh in public, not when he was supposed to be exhausted from his great fight against evil, but the look of horror on that noble lord’s face at the mention of a fox demon was priceless.

“Of course I am grateful to master Kin Kouyou,” Awata no Seimei said. “I will make no further requests today. Then, regarding the master’s dues...”

“Don’t bother Zongzhu with that either,” Su Minshan snapped. “Come see me tomorrow, and I will deal with the payment. Zongzhu isn’t to be disturbed with such trivial matters. Zongzhu needs to retire now, unless you have any real reason to keep him here.”

Awata no Seimei didn’t. Between Jin Guangyao’s growing reputation now that the emperor himself had hired him and Su Minshan’s attitude, those nobles knew to keep conversations short. It had worried Jin Guangyao, at first, the way Su Minshan couldn’t bother being polite to these people, but in the end this played to their advantage. People expected foreigners to be a little odd, and the locals seemed to enjoy knowing that however talented those two Chinese cultivators were in magic arts, at least they had better manners.

Having finished their business with this old house, Jin Guangyao and Su Minshan headed back home. Awata no Seimei, quite generously, offered them the use of a pair of kago, which struck Jin Guangyao as rather suspicious. The man definitely had to have another service to ask of them, and probably one they wouldn’t enjoy performing. An onmyouji he’d become friendly with had warned him that some of those important people could become overdependent on divination and rituals, and Awata no Seimei seemed just like the sort who would ask the heavens what he should have for breakfast.

It sounded very annoying, Jin Guangyao thought as he stepped onto the travelling chair, but until Awata no Seimei actually started making requests, he wasn’t above taking advantage of the man’s generosity. The less he had to walk in this heavy, wet heat, the better. And he could tell that Su Minshan was getting uncomfortable, scratching his chest often. Summers were hard on him here, especially with his condition.

Eager to distract the other man from his discomfort, Jin Guangyao started chatting with him while their kago were carried along the streets of Heijou-Kyou, asking what else they had on their schedule for that day.

“Music lessons for the disciples this afternoon,” Su Minshan said, hands clenched over his knees in a futile effort to resist the itchiness. “Aside from that, nothing much.”

Jin Guangyao hummed, letting his gaze rest on the scenery. He’d been told that the city had been modelled after Chang’an, and many people had asked him if it looked as good as the original. Having never visited the capital at home, he always had to invent some polite lie about Heijou-Kyou having its own grandeur, but privately he wasn’t impressed. The original was always better than a copy, except in one specific case… and that case was sitting on a kago next to his own, suffering because of this country's climate.

“Minshan, take the rest of the day off,” Jin Guangyao said after a little while. “I’ll deal with the music lesson, you should have a fresh bath and rest. You’re really feeling bad today, aren’t you?”

Su Minshan looked away in shame, but nodded shortly. If it had been possible, Jin Guangyao would have reached out for him and taken his hand to comfort him.

“I’m fine,” Su Minshan said. “There’s no need to trouble yourself, I can take care of the disciples.”

“And I’d rather you take care of yourself,” Jin Guangyao countered. “I like teaching them, anyway. They’re good children.”

About half the disciples they’d recruited for their new sect were sons of minor nobility, because that paid, and because it never hurt to have connections. But a few were youth of genuine potential, who had in them the making of true cultivators, if they applied themselves.

The noble boys only came to study some of the days, and were sent back to their parents after lessons. The true disciples lived in their house, so they could be taught proper cultivation without inducing jealousy in those spoiled little princes who would never even come close to forming a golden core. Two of those boys Jin Guangyao had straight up bought from their family, something he couldn’t decide how to feel about. But they’d have been wasted as peasants, and they were grateful to their masters, and…

And Jin Guangyao wondered sometimes if this was what it had felt like for Nie Mingjue, picking the lowest person he could see and bringing him higher than others. Knowing you could change someone’s life was a potent drug, and it made Jin Guangyao want to fight to maintain their current position, so he could keep doing it. He’d been on the receiving end of pity for so long, he quite enjoyed being the one who could bestow it upon others at last.

“Do take the afternoon off,” Jin Guangyao insisted. “And I’ll send Haruto to buy some refreshing treats. He’ll be so happy to be of service to you, don’t refuse him that pleasure.”

“But…”

“Don’t refuse me the pleasure of spoiling you, either,” Jin Guangyao said, and with that Su Minshan could only nod meekly, defeated. 

They reached home soon after. A light lunch was served to them, after which Jin Guangyao ordered that a bath be prepared for Su Minshan. Haruto and Minato, the two peasant boys, acquitted themselves of that task before going to prepare for their afternoon class. Jin Guangyao too went to prepare, but only after making sure that Su Minshan had everything he needed, and that the room they shared wasn’t too unbearably hot. Mostly, he enjoyed having someone to fuss over, something Su Minshan always resisted a little out of some fear he’d be relying too much on Jin Guangyao and become a burden.

A ridiculous notion. Out of everyone Jin Guangyao had ever allowed close to him, Su Minshan was the only one whose company had never once felt like a weight on his shoulder. Right from the start they had been equals, their temperament matching, as well as their hunger from more than the world was willing to give them. Jin Guangyao's few loved ones had all held him back, Qin Su with her unfortunate parentage, Lan Xichen with his principles, Jin Ling with the threat he represented... but Su Minshan had always been the perfect person to stand at Jin Guangyao’s side, and now they could do so openly.

The afternoon lesson passed quickly. Due to the humid heat, the boys were a little less attentive than usual, but then again so was Jin Guangyao. He was only too happy to free the boys for the day. Jin Guangyao only took a moment to send Haruto, his favourite student, on a few errands, while he went to do some accounting. 

He’d been carefully managing their finances since they’d arrived in this country, and finally things were looking up. Jin Guangyao hoped that in a year or two they might buy a small house in the mountains, where he was told summers were fresher. Hopefully, he might get parts of the expense dumped onto some idiot prince or other, in exchange for teaching one of their dull witted sons. Back at home it wouldn’t have worked, because people understood money couldn’t buy cultivation, but here… here, any idiot with gold to waste thought they would learn magic.

It was fine to scam these people, Jin Guangyao told himself. Taking advantage of powerful men was nothing at all like those people who had sold his mother fake cultivation manuals. He wasn’t hurting anyone. Or at least, no one that particularly mattered.

When Haruto returned, Jin Guangyao took it as a sign he’d worked enough for the day. He thanks the boy for his effort, and gave him a few of the just purchased treats to share with the other disciples. The rest he took with him as he went to the room he shared with Su Minshan. As always he knocked on the wall to announce his presence, using a certain code between them so Su Minshan would know he didn’t need to cover himself.

When he came in, Su Minshan was sprawled inelegantly on a futon, and desperately fanning himself, his ruined chest glistening with sweat. He looked so miserable like this, though his face lit up when Jin Guangyao put down a box on their low table, and opened it to reveal some fresh shaved ice.

“I could kiss you,” Su Minshan said, all but crawling to the table.

“I hope you will,” Jin Guangyao retorted, picking some of the shaved ice with a spoon so he could feed it to the other man. “I also have some cold noodles, and some rice wine.”

“You are a god among men.”

Jin Guangyao laughed, and started chatting about their students, the ones in which they placed true hope, the ones who were there only for their parents’ fortune. Su Minshan was delighted to hear they might be able to buy a secondary house. With his thousand holes curse, heat and humidity were particularly hard on him, sweat and friction chafing his skin nearly to the point of bleeding sometimes. They really needed that house in the mountain, Jin Guangyao decided. He'd start looking very soon, and maybe drop a word to one of his richer patrons to ask for advice on such a purchase.

For now though, the two men enjoyed their shaved ice, then moved on to some delicious cold noodles. The local food was different from the one back home, but it was something they'd both taken to rather well, unlike that blasted climate. Then, after eating, they started drinking their wine, and the two men found themselves chatting about the place they would always call home, even if they should live in Japan for a thousand years.

“I wonder how A-Ling is doing,” Jin Guangyao mused, staring into his cup of wine. “Poor boy, he must have run the sect to the grounds by now, unless someone more competent got rid of him.”

“Maybe your enemy killed him,” Su Minshan retorted. “If they couldn’t get you, at least they’d get your next of kin.”

Jin Guangyao grimaced. “Probably. After all, they got Qin Su and that little idiot Mo Xuanyu, why not Jin Ling as well? Unless…”

“Unless?”

Jin Guangyao hummed thoughtfully. “I’m still wondering who it could have been,” he said. “I had my enemies of course, but there aren’t many who could have been bold enough to come after me like that. They all hated me of course,” he added with a joyless laugh. “But hate is not enough to go after a man who will slaughter your sect if you stand in his way. It takes a certain type of man to stand up to someone like me.”

“Could have been Lan Wangji,” Su Minshan predictably suggested. “Righteous prick, he didn’t particularly like Nie Mingjue, but he’d avenge him just to feel morally superior.”

“The fact that his lover was brought back certainly is suspicious,” Jin Guangyao conceded, sipping some wine. “And he never particularly liked me, either. To be fair, I don’t think he likes anyone, except that murderer. Still, I’m not sure he would have let Mo Xuanyu kill himself, he does have principles. No, I have another theory.”

“I’m listening.”

Jin Guangyao smiled, and poured more alcohol for both of them, letting the liquid flow as slowly as possible, allowing the suspense to rise a little before he dropped his bomb.

“Jiang Cheng,” he then said.

Su Minshan blinked a few times, frowned, then severely nodded, glaring at his cup of wine.

“It would make sense. Good way to make sure you don’t get rid of his idiotic nephew.”

“Our idiotic nephew,” Jin Guangyao corrected, who had put too much effort into becoming a Jin to disown his last direct relative, even if the boy really took more after his other uncle. “And everyone knows he’s obsessed with finding Wei Wuxian, right? I wouldn’t put it past him to just take things in his own hands and bring back the man who killed his sister, just for a chance to kill him himself, once he was sure no one stood in the way of A-Ling’s inheritance. Too bad he didn’t count on Lan Wangji. Ah, I almost wish I could go back and check on conferences now, it must be quite the show.”

The thought of Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng, who had always hated each other, forced to act half polite even though they both wanted to lock down Wei Wuxian and keep him to themselves… it might have been the wine, but Jin Guangyao couldn’t help chuckling a little. He was so glad that he didn’t have to deal with that sort of mess. For this alone, he was almost grateful to his mysterious enemy.

It was an odd feeling, actually, but Jin Guangyao had come to enjoy his life here, in this foreign land. It wasn’t as good as home, nothing compared to the near absolute power he’d held back then, but… but his eyes fell on Su Minshan, naked from the waist up, looking in a rare good mood, and he smiled. There was definitely something to be said for this simpler life they had here. There was so much less scheming to be done, fewer enemies to deal with, and Jin Guangyao was finally free from the looming menace of Nie Mingjue’s resentful head hidden in his secret room.

Life here really wasn’t so bad.

“You know who it could have been?” Su Minshan asked, grinning like a fool, his cheeks flushed from the heat and the wine. 

“Who?”

Su Minshan beamed, the way he usually did when sharing a nasty story about the darker secrets of Gusu Lan.

“Think about it. Someone who would have wanted to avenge Nie Mingjue. Someone who might have been able to wander around in other sects without attracting attention to collect information, because nobody cares what he does. Someone who Mo Xuanyu might have met before, who was there when Wei Wuxian came to Jinlin Tai to accuse you…”

Jin Guangyao, who had expected his lover to blame Lan Xichen, burst out laughing.

“I think you’ve had too much to drink, Minshan. Really? You’re accusing Nie Huaisang now?” Just saying it out loud, Jin Guangyao laughed louder. Nie Huaisang had never had a single idea of his own in his entire life, and didn’t even get along with his brother when he’d been alive. Su Minshan might as well have blamed a very stupid dog. “That poor boy, I bet he would have taken my defence to the end. I almost miss him, you know.”

“No you don’t,” Su Minshan retorted, which made Jin Guangyao laugh again.

“I do! Ah, Minshan, let’s get a cat and call it Huaisang.”

Su Minshan scoffed, and reached out for the wine, only to find they had already finished it. It was probably for the best, if they were so drunk that they could consider the possibility of Nie Huaisang being their secret enemy.

“It’d have to be a fat cat then,” Su Minshan grumbled, stretching in a way that called attention to his chest. It was funny, Jin Guangyao thought sometimes, how he should have been disgusted by the effects of the Thousand Holes curse, but wasn’t at all. “ And one too lazy to even run after mice, or do anything but sleep in the sun, or else the name won’t fit.”

“Minshan, you’re so mean,” Jin Guangyao fondly said, taking the other man’s hand and pulling on it, wanting to go to bed now and enjoy some more this very mean-spirited man he was lucky enough to share his new life with. “Please, never change.”

[gisellelx]

Ok what do you think the deal was with Carlisle’s feelings for Esme after their first meeting? It was always left kind of open, but SM did specify in MS that Esme loved him that whole time, and it was a “surprise” to Carlisle, implying that he either didn’t think the same way, or wasn’t aware that he did. I think it would make more sense (and prefer) if he did have feelings for her...but that age gap is a little sus, whether you count it as 23 and 16 or 200 whatever and 16...

Okay so. I’ve had many thoughts about this over the years, and they’ve been actually quite consistent. In the 12 years since I first read Twilight, I was introduced to the Split Attraction Model (by my undergrads. I love Gen Z so much. You make my life better.) and started to have some names for things I’ve long felt are true about Carlisle. 

Carlisle is in my opinion somewhere in the gray ace arena of the asexuality spectrum. In his vampire years, he was just not into it. I imagine this as being yet another thing that Aro bothered him about; he would arrange for Carlisle to “accidentally” see a female guard member naked and then get a little peeved when Carlisle was totally modest and embarrassed about it. Of course, just like the human blood thing, it mostly served to make Carlisle upset, and also to make him feel like there was something wrong with him. And this is just kind of who he is--he meets other vampire women whom he does get on with, like Siobhan, Tanya, and Carmen, and they all pretty quickly realize that yeah, no, Carlisle Cullen just doesn’t do sex. And he makes a quiet peace with that. 

So in 1911, he’s just going about his business, and he treats this girl who’s fallen out of a tree. And she’s fascinated by him. She asks him all sorts of questions which he finds as endearing as they are wildly inappropriate. She asks about his name, and he’s forced to reveal that he suspects it was his mother’s maiden name but he’s not sure, and then she asks why, and then she’s got him talking about his mother, which scares him. (Aside for another headcanon--it wasn’t his mother’s maiden name, but his mother’s father’s name. He got it from two or three generations back when a (great)grandfather received a location-based name of something like “John Carlisle” meaning “John from Carlisle” which was very common in the 15th and 16th centuries. But Carlisle doesn’t know where it came from because he didn’t get to know his mother so he’s made up an untrue story about it.) 

And yes. I like “sus” that’s a new word for me, thank you, I collect them, and yes it’s sus. And he knew that. He experiences this weird thing that is attraction and it’s to a young girl and he can’t possibly turn her of course, because he can’t cut her life short like that, plus he’s disgusted that he’d feel that way given their age difference, and he’s disgusted that he would feel that way at all (the boy is a Puritan, after all). So he turns tail and RUNS. SM wrote about Esme going to her follow up appointment to find that the doctor she saw for her leg had left town like it was a coincidence. Maybe she really did think it’s a coincidence. But one of the biggest lessons I’ve ever learned in writing is that fiction actually feels fake if it’s too real. In real life, things can happen by coincidence. In fiction, they need to happen for a reason. If there’s an effect, there was a cause, and so to me, that was the cause. He experiences this thing with Esme and he is so freaked out by it he runs all the way to Chicago and tries to forget it ever happened. 

It doesn’t work. He’s well and truly in lust at that point, which he hates, and spends a lot of time trying to flog it out of himself. This of course accelerates his spiral into loneliness and despair. 

So he meets Edward’s mother, and turns Edward. And Edward unlocks his heart. Edward makes it possible for him to see himself as something other than a damned being. The intensity with which Edward looks up to him...reading that was a true delight of MS for me. It’s transformative for Carlisle. And three years after that, he finds the girl. Except she’s not a girl, anymore, she’s a beautiful woman, and the worst possible thing has happened to her. I think in the moment, it was mostly panic which drove him, but also the sense that the last time he left her the world got very dark for him very fast.

And he finally finds himself in a place where he can start to reconcile sexuality, and damnation, and Esme’s attraction to him. But it takes time because the man has just spent a decade telling himself that all of this is wrong, and he’s spent a few centuries prior just assuming that sexual attraction is not a thing that is ever coming for him. So when he finds out that Esme’s been attracted to him all along, he is mostly surprised. And he still doesn’t think he deserves it, which is something Esme has to break through, to this day.  I wanted to go back and read the section in MS before I answered this one and it took me a few days to have the time to find it. I remembered it jiving strongly with the way I think about things. The only departure I suppose is that SM, as she often does, left it feeling sort of pat. Although that could be ascribed to Edward, honestly. Edward needs things to be pat, so it would be easier for him to go “It changed the way he looked at himself” and not “They’re a hundred years into this relationship and that she will someday suddenly realize that he did something dastardly in turning her and leave him is still his greatest fear.” So yeah. The attraction was mutual...but it was much less complicated for Esme. 

[passionate-reply]

Great Albums is back! This week, we’ll take a look at one of the greatest electronic albums of all time, Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine, and try to avoid getting sued by Ralf Huetter! Full transcript for the video can be found below the break. Enjoy!

Growing up, my main genre of choice was 80s synth-pop, and while the deep influence of Kraftwerk is as significant there as it is everywhere else in electronic music, I was one of those people who initially saw them as somewhat "intimidating." Today, moreso than ever, Kraftwerk are held up as one of those more high-brow or cerebral groups with a philosophy that transcends mere pop or dance music, which makes them seem respectable, a kind of “model minority” in the world of music outside rock. While I don’t buy into the judgmental quality of that sort of praise, which damns so many of Kraftwerk’s greatest fans and imitators, I did get the sense, as a child, that these hoity-toity Germans, working with primitive equipment way back in the 1970s, might not be what I was looking for in a new favourite band. That was before I heard The Man-Machine.

While it’s certainly true that Kraftwerk were a highly experimental band in their own time, they’re one of those acts whose ideas have deeply permeated contemporary music, to the point where their actual work is extremely approachable and listenable to today’s ears. Of all the fairly early electronic acts, who started making this kind of music before it began to become mainstream in the late 70s, Kraftwerk are almost certainly the ones people nowadays listen to for pleasure the most, and that’s no accident. While their earlier albums like Trans-Europe Express took more overt inspiration from classical music, The Man-Machine was their first great foray into the arena of pop, which I think is key to why it resonates with people. For evidence of that, look no further than the biggest mainstream hit of Kraftwerk’s career, “The Model.”

I think it’s easy to see why “The Model'' became a hit single. Sure, it may not have the most traditional pop song structure, let alone instrumentation, but unlike a lot of what Kraftwerk had done before, it’s got a lot of lyrics and a real sense of narrative. Plus, that narrative we get is about a person and not a machine--a good-looking person, in whom the narrator is sexually interested. It’s the perfect pop material. Of course, I would be remiss to mention that “The Model” didn’t achieve all of its success until the single was re-released in many markets in 1981, and in those few years, the idea of “synth-pop” advanced significantly in the charts and popular consciousness. By the time “The Model” was a hit, Kraftwerk admirers were already taking over: look no further than Gary Numan’s "Cars” or OMD’s "Enola Gay,” two synth-pop classics that, it must be said, are still about vehicles!

That aside, though, not everything on The Man-Machine sounds like “The Model”--in fact, it’s surrounded by tracks that have much more in common with Kraftwerk’s earlier LPs. Literally surrounded, in the track listing. I think that adds to this album’s appeal as an ideal entry point into their catalogue: it has some things that sound familiar, while also preparing you for what else you’ll encounter if you choose to probe deeper into the band. The Man-Machine has the least homogeneous profile of any Kraftwerk album. While most of their other classic albums are highly cohesive “song cycles” that almost blend into one long song when you listen to them in full, The Man-Machine doesn’t really have those repeated melodies and motifs that tie its tracks together. While many people, especially fans of psychedelic and progressive rock, really like those cohesive albums, I think this change is a welcome one. It gives the individual tracks a bit more room to breathe and express distinctive identities, and makes the album feel a bit more pop, even if the material itself isn’t always all that poppy. *The Man-Machine* actually only has six individual tracks; they range in length from the three-minute pop stylings of “The Model” to the urban sprawl of “Neon Lights,” which luxuriates in an almost nine-minute runtime.

Given that the average track length is around six minutes, I’m almost tempted to think of The Man-Machine as six tiny Kraftwerk albums, or at least, musical ideas that could have been expanded into full LPs in another universe. “Neon Lights” and “Spacelab” feel dreamy and easy-going, with floating melodies that draw from the “cosmic music” scene, one of the many emergent styles that began as something uniquely German and spread throughout the world--in this case, becoming an important forerunner to ambient electronic music through acts like Tangerine Dream. Meanwhile, the hard, tick-tocking rhythms of “Metropolis” and the title track point to the newfound focus on rhythm and the so-called motorik beat that made the music of Neu! so compelling.

The Man-Machine can serve not only as an introduction to Kraftwerk, but also as a sort of crash course in this entire period of electronic music, showcasing some of the most distinctive and influential features of the German scene, as well as the shape of synth-pop to come. It’s a complex and busy historical moment with huge ramifications for almost all of subsequent electronic music, and The Man-Machine really creates a microcosm of that whole environment. There’s also the fact that each side of the record has one track from each of my three broad groups, like an expertly-designed sushi platter or charcuterie board for us to sample from, and they both follow the same formula: a pop appetizer, a cosmic *entree,* and motorik for dessert.

*The Man-Machine* also has what is almost certainly the most iconic cover of any of Kraftwerk’s LPs. This is how lots of us still picture them in our minds, and it’s inspired tons of parodies and riffs over the years. I think all of that acclaim is deserved! Emil Schult’s graphic design for the album was heavily inspired by avant-garde Soviet artists of the 10s and 20s, chiefly El Lissitzky. These visual artists used their art to express their hope for a new world, defined by the promise of technology, and their literally revolutionary philosophy--so what could be a better match for Kraftwerk’s electronic revolution in music? Lissitzky used bright, primary colours, straight lines, and geometric shapes to convey the “built environment” of modern cities and man-made architecture, and you’ve got all the same sentiment on display here. The use of strong diagonals really draws the eye and lends this image a lot of continued visual interest. It’s also worth noting the extent to which Kraftwerk’s aesthetics inspired later electronic acts almost as powerfully as their sound. When you picture an electronic band, and get a mental image of stiff and stone-faced musicians behind synthesisers wearing shirts and ties, you can certainly thank Kraftwerk for that, as well.

I also love the title of The Man-Machine! The relationship between people and technology is one of, if not the, most central themes in Kraftwerk’s entire discography, which is full of references to anthropomorphic machines as well as mechanically-mediated humans. The particular choice of the phrase “man-machine,” as opposed to words like “android,” has a fun vintage flair to it, which matches the use of early 20th Century visual art quite nicely.

As might be expected from the album’s stylistic diversity, *The Man-Machine* would prove to be something of a transition point in Kraftwerk’s career. Their 1981 follow-up, Computer World, would return to the song cycle format, but with increasing emphasis on ideas from the pop sphere, championed by percussionist Karl Bartos. By the time of the last classic-lineup Kraftwerk LP, 1986’s Electric Cafe, they had not only amped up the pop, but also incorporated influence from the electronic dance music of the time. Ultimately, Bartos would leave the group, chiefly due to discontent with his treatment by founding members Ralf Huetter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, and their persistent lack of musical productivity.

On a somewhat lighter note, my personal favourite track on this album is its opener, “The Robots.” Per my typology from earlier, I classified this as a pop-oriented song, and it certainly is an approachable one that’s proven to be quite popular. But it’s got just enough more experimental touches to keep things quite interesting. From an ominous, dissonant intro, a slightly more pop form, hinting at a verse/chorus structure, soon emerges and contrasts. I love the groove of the rhythm and percussion here, as well as the very heavy vocoder, rich in texture and certainly a Kraftwerk staple.

While the lyrics can be read as sort of light and silly, I like to think that the robots in question might also be dangerous. The track “Metropolis” seems to reference the seminal 1927 silent film of the same name, which is famous for its portrayal of an evil, mechanical doppelganger. Likewise, the choice to translate the lyrics of the song’s interlude into Russian is likely inspired by another great work of art from this era: the stage play R.U.R.--Rossum’s Universal Robots. Written by Karel Čapek in 1922, it’s the progenitor of the “robot revolution” trope in science fiction, the source of the word “robot” for autonomous machines in almost every human language, and one of the first entries in the illustrious career of an author who helped make Czech a true literary language. While the titular robots take time to assure us that they’re programmed to do what we humans want, should we really trust them...?

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Flash Forward: Other bits

Lila

Lila was sitting in a white room dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans. She was eating a meal and looked bored as she did so. Once she was done she looked up.

“If you are finished mask on,” a voice said through the walls.

“You can trust me. I won’t do anything!” Lila replied, sounding charming.  “Miss Rossi you do not have permission to leave your room without a mask. Mask on.” Lila stared at the ceiling before a look of utter rage passed over her face, startling the watchers. She grabbed something sitting next to her and put it on, tying it behind her head. It was a half mask, with slits in the front. Putting it on, a click was heard and she growled, the mask showing it also had a voice program as it came out distorted and computerized. “Thank you.”

Waking out of the room when the door opened, Lila carried her plate and utensils, heading to a window in a wall she put them through. Around her others dressed like her were walking around. Only a bare few had masks though.

“Rossi,” one said, walking by.

“Smith.” She responded, heading through the room and out a door, to where a fenced-in outdoor area was. Lila sat on a bench and just watched people before someone walked up to her. It was Chloé, wearing similar clothes but with gloves.

 “I thought you were avoiding me,” Lila said.

“I was.” Chloé said simply. “But I have news.”

“Oh? The Justice League realize they made a mistake and are letting me go?” Lila mocked. “Please. You knew your magic had people listening to you and believing you no matter what you said. You willingly used your magic on others and turned out to be working with a magical terrorist since you were fourteen until eighteen. The one time they let you go unmasked here you used your magic to spark a riot.” Chloé snorted. “You deserve to be here like I did.”

“Did?” Lila asked.

 “I’m leaving next week. Parole.” Chloé told the girl and Lila snared, the sound menacing in her mask.

“You sided with him just like me! Hell you willingly let him cast magic on you- that’s why you have those damn gloves!” Lila said.

“I know. I was a petty and jealous brat who wanted to be special. I was so mad I would never get the Bee Miraculous back, I was so mad Ladybug didn’t like me. So I foolishly didn’t think of anyone but myself and sides with him.” Chloé told her. “It took me nearly killing my dad just by hugging him to realize what I did. Lila, how do you feel knowing your mother is sick to her stomach when she sees you because of how much magic you used on her?”

“It wasn’t that much.” Lila snapped and Chloe shook her head.

“Your mother can’t be in the same room with you without going into shock.”

“Your mother-“

“Is in jail for insider trading and child abuse,” Chloé said coldly. “And good riddance. But this didn’t about that. This is about me and you.”

“What could you possibly want with me? You hate me.”

“I do. But sadly you’re my only friend here.” Chloé said. “And we’re similar. We both fucked up. Difference is I realized it and am trying. I’m getting out. I’ll never not be able to not wear gloves. My touch with either kill or paralyze anyone. That’s fine- I got offered skin right and skin coloured gloves I’ll be wearing. I get to change my name and appearance and integrate back into society as long as I keep in contact with Canary. That’s great.”

“And you think I can too?” Lila sneered. “I can’t turn off my magic.”

“You can control it you just don’t want to. You’re damn lucky they gave you a mask instead of casting a spell to permanently silence you and you know it.” Chloe told Lila who glared at her in answer. “Lila don’t let the mistakes you made as a teenager affect you now.” Lila didn’t answer as Chloe stood and left her alone in the yard.

Alya

Alia was sitting in a cubicle, working on something. She looked different with her hair in a short bob and wearing a set of business casual clothing. She looked fairly focused as she was typing, only stopping when someone stuck their head into the cubicle.

“Hey, someone’s waiting for you in meeting room B.”

“Thanks,” Alta said, standing up and heading to the room. She looked puzzled as she entered it before a smile crossed her face. “Rose!:

“Alta!” Rose looked older, with her hair longer then it was currently, and her outfit a white sweater and jeans. “It’s good to see you! Sorry about dropping in on you at work…”

“It’s fine. I don’t have any cool stories right now- mostly the normal stuff and that’s pretty easy to write.” Alya told her. “Why are you here?”

“Juleka and I are getting married!” Alya squealed and threw her arms around Rose who laughed and hugged back.

“God! You guys beat the odds! I’m so happy for you!” She pulled away with a smile.

“Thanks! We wanted a reporter covering it- famous model marrying a charity worker so we thought of you!” Alya squealed again and hugged Rose again who laughed. “But uhh…”

“If it’s about Nino it’s fine. It’s been years- we broke up and we can be civil.” Alya said in amusement. Rose winced. Alya frowned at her.

“It’s Marinette.” Alya frowned at Rose.

“Me and Marinette are cool too.”

“You guys stopped being friends so suddenly-“ Rose began but Alya lifted a hand.

“No. We stopped being friends earlier then we thought. Neither of us realized it though until after Lila’s bullshit. It took her telling me to my face she was over Adrien and her realizing I hadn’t talked to her about anything not about the blog for us both to admit we’d stopped being friends. It was new kid friend syndrome. We were buddies but didn’t have a solid enough basis in common interests to remain besties. And that’s fine. It happened.” Alya chuckled. “Didn’t know you were still thinking we had issues.” Rose shrugged but smiled.

“I’m glad you’re okay with that.” Alya chuckled and her smile grew.

“Yeah same.”

Adrien  

 Adrien was working in his classroom, marking papers.

“Ugh,” he sighed, rolling his eyes. “What is with teenagers.” He finished the last paper and stood up with a sigh. He put the papers into his desk and begun to get ready to leave when the door opened. “Mylene! Hey.” The woman smiled.

“Hey, just wanted to see if you were staying late. How’s your first month?��� The woman came in to sit on a desk, still smiling.

“Pretty good. Thanks for vouching for me. Might not have got the job without it.”

“You could have.” Said Mylène in reply. “You’re a good teacher Adrien- much better than our examples.” Adrien laughed a little bitterly.

“Well not hard.” He shook his head. “... ever hear from anyone?”

“Well, you did get the invite right?”

“Yeah Rose and Juleka. I’m happy for them… just not sure if I want to go. Not sure if everyone wants me.” He looked down at his empty hands for a second. “... after everything.”

“You messed up Adrien. But you were a kid. Rose wouldn’t invite you if she didn’t want to give you a chance. If any of them wanted not to see you.”

“I… Mylène what I was like, what I did… it was wrong. It was disgusting. It took me literally being slapped by Ladybug, by Marinette and being sued for me to get it through my head. Not to mention-“

“That’s not your fault Adrien. Don’t blame yourself.” Mylène got off the desk and went to place a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good man. C’mon- I’ll buy you a drink. Us teachers are all going. They want you to come.”

“... if you’re sure.”

“I am.”

Nathanael

Nathanael was bent over a desk, drawing something with a focused look on his face. He barely paid attention to Marc who walked in, the man laughing quietly.

“Nath, you’re going to hurt your eyes drawing so close and in such bad light.” Marc told him, putting a hand on his shoulder, a wedding ring on his hand.

“I’m fine Marc, promise.” Nathanael smiled at the man, patting his hand. “I think your husband’s-“

“Nathanael, don’t do this.” Marc sighed.

“Do what?”

“Do this ‘I want to wallow’ thing.” Marc shook his head. “Look yeah you were a shitty boyfriend in high school but that was mostly your own issues being bi and all the crap your parents gave you more than anything. And the whole Lila crap- in case you forgot I believed her to until she managed to say one lie I knew was wrong and you snapped out of the magic when I showed you it was wrong.”

“I… I dunno.” Nathanael sighed. “I think I’m just tired.”

“Yeah well no wallowing my friend. C’mon- Marinette called and she wants to see us before Rose and Juleka’s wedding.” Nathanael looked pleased.

“That’s good. Is she still willing to help with talks about our book becoming a movie? I’d rather her or her boy toy being there.”

“She’s going to kill you if you keep calling Tim a boy toy.”

“She grew over six feet tall and she still wears heels. Tim is 5’6”. I will never stop. Jason lets me.”

“Jason likes riling up his girlfriend. She pins him better.”

“... how do you know this?” Nathanael asked his partner in business.

“I’m married to Roy- Jason’s best friend? We talk.”

“... how much can we use for our porn books?”

“Where do you think half the ideas came from?”

Kagami

Kagami was setting up her office, smiling as she put a photo frame down that had her on a podium with an Olympic Gold Medal around her neck.

Pulling back, she looked around the office and smiled.

“Fuck you mom,” she declared. She looked pleased as she set the final piece down, a plague declaring her name.

“Someone sounds happy,” a blonde stuck her head in, grinning. “That exciting to be heading your own company?”

“Of course. I worked hard for this.” Kagami smiled at her. “And stealing Kara Danvers is just a bonus.”

“You’re only saying that because you think it’s funny.” Kara laughed. “Wouldn’t leave you for the wolves after you saved my ass.”

“Anyone else would have done it or well anyone we know.” Kagami told her. Kara gave her that with a shrug.  “What’s on the plan for today?”

“Well business wise we have a meeting with Tim Drake-Wayne- he’s currently trying to get permission for some sort of body armour to be made for teens that can be a hoodie or a sweater.”

“It disgusts me we need those. Let me guess the government won’t have it?”

“Not unless he has back up, or if he agrees for the military to have it to for free.”

“That’s disgusting and I’m going to rip them to shreds.”

“Yep. And for pleasure, you’re meeting your girlfriend at that waffle place she likes.” Kagami grinned, looking pleased. “And your other girlfriend is meeting you guys later. She’s busy with helping her youngest brother with something- wanna tell?”

“Damian is proposing to his boyfriend later. And yes you can call in with this info to hangs your bets.” Kara pumped her fist.

“Yes! Clark and Bruce’s families finally join!”

“Dare you to tell them that.”

“I will gladly do so.”

Luka

Luka was busy tuning his gut air when the door opened and Nino stuck his head in. “Yo, Luka- your sister is here.”

“Nice.” Luka grinned as Juleka came in, Nino following. “Jules!”

“Luka!” The two hugged. “Ugh, how’s the recording going?”

“Really well. How’s the wedding planning?”

“Better now that we took Marinette’s advice and hired her friend Bart- he’s amazing at it.” Juleka told her brother. “Rose wants to adopt him I think.”

“Bart? Yeah he has that sort of feel.” Laughed Luka. Juleka shook her head.

“Of course you know him. So… dating anyone?”

“Not really. Sort of dating this one guy Conner but we’re not that serious.” Luka shrugged.

“Aww. Hey how about you Nino?”

“Nah man, I’m flying solo still. Busy with my music and helping Luka out.” Nino told them. “Though I do have a date so… later!”

“... one night stands?” Juleka asked Luka who laughed when Nino was gone.

“Yeah. He’s having fun.”

“To each their own,” Juleka said. “... he’s not-“

“Juleka. He and Alya broke up and I will not let you two hatch a matchmaking scheme at your wedding. It’s about you, no one else.” Luka told him. “As well Nino told me there’s some stuff he doesn’t like talking about with their relationship. And he doesn’t want to get back together.”

“... Alya says-“

“Different people Juleka. Different people and Alya may not be saying everything either.” Luka told his sister. “Aren’t we talking about me?”

“You and your music career making a killing while you also run around with interesting jewelry?”

“Says the one with her fancy rings.” Luka teased. Juleka laughed and smiled. “And the fact she’s a world-famous model now.”

“Yeah we are really killing it aren’t we.” Juleka smiled, then frowned. “... heard about Chloe?”

“Yeah. I think we can trust her though. There are telepaths working there.”

“I know it’s just…” Juleka made a face. “Viperion and Black Claws might need to step in.”

“Maybe. Hopefully not but maybe.” Luka sighed. “... I’m glad you saw through Lila so fast.”

“Got lucky with Rose knowing Ali… he’s coming by the way.”

“King at your wedding. Nice.”

“I know.”

[calypsoff]

Twenty Eight. Part 4

Why doesn’t anyone see how fucked up this is, he is practically saying I leaked this so now do an interview so we can make money out of it, I am blaming him. I know it was him, I am so fucking angry and Robyn talking about calm down, I can’t fucking calm down. I have not felt so much anger in me since that day I got locked up, I was angry as fuck and refusing to go for something that wasn’t even my fucking fault, I mean yes I had to drugs but that was it. I am going to knock his ass out, walking back inside the suite from the balcony. Pulling back my cigarette “Chris” Mel said my name which made Robyn look at me and she knew it, it’s like she premediated my thoughts because I was going to knock his ass out “Christopher, no. Just stop, I want to speak to Chris. Come” Jay Brown turned to me, I glared at him “you are close to getting knocked the fuck out nigga, you are so fucking close” placing my cigarette back in my mouth “I haven’t leaked anything, I really haven’t. You are getting the wrong end of the stick here, that is horrendous. I would never do that; this is my client. I witnessed her tears myself, I didn’t” I think it was him “Chris, come” Robyn grabbed my wrist “I am watching you nigga, you ain’t going to play in my face like that. I ain’t Robyn, I will fuck you up nigga. You don’t play on my baby like that, you on my books now” Robyn yanked my arm “stop it, please. Stop speaking, get out on the balcony, now for me” blowing the smoke out from my lips, throwing my cigarette, hope it don’t land on anyone but fuck it. I am very angry; I don’t like that shit. I do not like they are putting Robyn in a position; I think I am going to flip if Robyn comes out with something stupid herself now too.

Sighing out “are you ok?” I asked finally, I mean I am not any calmer than I was before but calm enough to speak to Robyn “are you?” she retorted “I didn’t expect you to act the way you did, I think I am more shocked at the way you reacted then anything. You care way more then you show, you have shocked me. I mean I know you cared but this much, you are ready to rip his head off Chris” I sniggered “I am a calm dude Robyn, you know that. But I don’t play with something so foul as that, I didn’t want a baby we get it, but I have become accustomed to the idea and I know how much you were hurting through it and for him to come out with that. I will never let anyone fuck with you; I will kill anyone for you. They don’t play with what is mines, yes I do care Robyn. I care for you so much more then I care for myself. And that nigga in there will be beaten the fuck up, silver spoon having ass. He doesn’t know what it’s like on the streets” Robyn placed her hands on my chest “calm down, please. Things like this does happen, it really does and that is something I can’t stop but I won’t, we won’t acknowledge it. I am not doing an interview on something I am still mourning, but the story will go out. I can’t stop that, let it happen and we just continue to be us. This was my fault, I was so caught in the moment with you, I said it out loud but let it. what happened is something future me could probably talk about but no, I am not right now. What is the worse going to happen? People feel sorry for me. That is all it will be, but I just want us to spend time together. Move from this, but believe me, it does hurt that information got leaked, it was my story to tell not anyone else’s. I will be suing them, because that information was mine. But I don’t want you angry, just shocked me seeing you like this. You care for me that much” rubbing the top of my head laughing “I mean duhh, why wouldn’t I? niggas get me angry, I don’t like dude at all” shaking my head.

Robyn rested her head on my chest “I don’t think it was him Chris, I can promise you it wasn’t. He has been around me for far too long and plenty of other things could have leaked with him around, he apologised to me and he knows it’s sensitive and his wording was off, but I don’t think it was him, so I just want you to not hate him so quickly please” rolling my eyes “you want me to stick around on the tour for longer?” Robyn moved her head back “what?” she said all shocked “for real? You need me right?” Robyn is shook “I want you to stick to the plan, Rorrey will come to me. You go and do what you need to do, you have your own business to run. You have that opportunity for that in Cali, I want you to settle in and be comfortable there. I am ok, I am happy you’re here for now. We can discuss overseas” nodding my head “I am here if you need me, I will fly out to you as soon as I can. I don’t play with you” staring into Robyn’ eyes “I love you, you know that” Robyn smiled lightly “is this what morning sex gets me huh?” I chuckled “erm, I suppose” I really want to tell Robyn how skinny she is becoming but I will just keep quiet for now, I ain’t going to shy away from telling her that “finish off here, then you can rest” Robyn shook her head “I need to meet my tour manager, discuss some things. But now you are calm, may I leave you with my friends for a few hours?” rolling my eyes nodding my head “I suppose, just come back quick please. They will have me drunk” Robyn groaned out “don’t strip naked please, my god” I can tell Robyn is having flashbacks “I barely did, you are tripping but come back and then you can relax” Robyn pressed a kiss to my chest “I will” this woman of mine doesn’t rest.

Walking behind Robyn, I am going to be quiet now. I am going to remain calm for Robyn and Robyn only, Jay Brown looked at me but I just made my way to the couch area, I will just sit here quietly “mhmm the lioness has tamed her lion, this is some shit” Yusuf said which made me laugh, sitting down on the couch with a smile on my face “I am going to go and meet my tour manager, Tina come with me and I will be back. Entertain Chris, not too much please. Just enough to make him smile, he is grumpy now” trying to refrain myself from smiling as Robyn looked at me, I just put my head down “he is an actual lion, they get tired after being all angry, but we will look after him. We will be good, we promise” Mel added with Yusuf nodding his head, they are about to be act out. Her friends drink a lot, they are crazy in a good way “I will be back Chris” nodding my head, winking at Robyn as she smiled at me, I will be a good boy for Robyn “so what are you drinking boo?” Mel asked “ah, see. I am joking!” Robyn glared at her, they will be giving me a drink, I know it.

I thought I would have a little whiskey, I am just sipping on that “I won’t even lie, I did get scared. I was like Yusuf, get your ass in the way. I thought Chris was going to beat Jay’ ass, you didn’t do shit. For a skinny guy you sure so have a temper” Mel is right, that I do “I just got angry, that is my girl and I felt she was getting attacked, that is my wife you know” they all gasped “wife? Oh my god, really?” nodding my head “I ain’t play, not when it comes to Robyn. So yeah, I just got angry because of it, I mean come on. I am the same dude that jumped Rakim, I can be like that. Robyn knows what I can be like, but I am a good guy, I have good intentions” placing the glass down “it’s so sad that happened to Robyn, she is the sweetest girl I know. She deserves everything and more” Robyn’ stylist Mel added and then smiled “I just feel for her, ok I am putting it out there. Robz has lost vast weight. Like she is skinny, like she snorts lines at night skinny” looking over at Mel as her stylist mentioned “she has” Jen agreed “same, but she don’t sleep much either. She takes on everything when she goes on tour, she is on a break but yet working and then sleep. I mean maybe it’s me, I woke her and I shouldn’t have, I woke her for sex but knowing she is like that I should have left her” I shrugged “I hope you wearing protection young man” Jen pointed at me “what is that?” I frowned “y’all doing this during a tour, oh come on. Let’s not be reckless now, nobody is stopping her from having a baby but nigga you need to think. If she ends up pregnant during this tour where it’s a little stressful you are putting her in that position again, you both need to think. I get you want sex but think of her, she may not be thinking like that” Melissa said, licking my top lip “and I wear protection then what? She will question me, if I pull out she will also question it” I can’t win “talk to her, both of you like adults. Talk, Robyn needs to get back to a healthy balance, you need to talk to her, after the tour. Shoot up her club, go for it” picking my glass up from the table, they got a point this is why I am so quiet; they are right.

Sitting atop of the kitchen counter “ever thought of being a model?” Robyn’ stylist asked “me? Nah” I laughed shaking my head “I ain’t a model bruh, look at me” he pointed smiling “you are wrong there, your cheek bones. You got the look, if I get my camera and take a picture. I can change your mind. Can I?” nodding my head “go for it” he rushed off, shaking my head smiling “model Chris Brown, I see it. I hear you get a lot of girls pon your Instagram. Robbie telling me, she been nosey on your page. You are popular” trust Robyn to be nosey “I don’t really have that many girls, just people being desperate I guess. They can try all they want; I would never cheat on Robyn. I would be crazy to do that. Imagine it” Mel came back with his camera “you being real huh, so what you want me to do? Get naked?” he laughed at me “you want me fired by Robz, just be yourself” how can I be myself when there is a camera in my face, Melissa held out the blunt to me “get your pose on nigga” this is awkward as fuck, looking at the camera I ended up laughing “yo, how people do this. Like people just be staring around us” lifting my foot up on the kitchen counter placing the blunt between my lips “blow the smoke out and look at me” he said, I can’t believe I am doing this. This ain’t me but let’s see the hype and see if he is right.

I am fucking impressed “wow” is all I said, “and I shall post these on my page, feel free to take them to use” I look good as fuck, he meant it “I ain’t big headed but I look sexy bruh” Jen laughed out “I get it” nodding my head “is Chris in one piece?” Robyn is back “he’s naked on the balcony!” Jen shouted; Robyn will probably believe that too “I swear to god!” see what I mean with her “I am here fool, you good?” I asked, Robyn walked into me. Pressing a kiss to her forehead and lit my blunt “yeah, everything went well. How is your time with these?” nodding my head “they cool, your stylist said I can be a model. He took pictures of me naked forcefully” Robyn wrapped her arms around me “don’t lie like that, stupid” placing the blunt between my lips “he is such a liar, but I took some pictures of him and honestly. He looks so well, his cheekbones. I am uploading them to my page” I winked at him, he is cool people “I can use his cheekbones for when I do my makeup line in the future” pulling a face “no ma’am” passing the blunt to Robyn “shall we go back to our room, you tired yeah?” Robyn nodded her head, good to know she is.

I stifled out a yawn, I am still tired after sleeping all of them hours. I feel even more tired, like how does that even work. I thought when you sleep all of them hours you feel refreshed “look how small your eyes are” looking over at Robyn “my face looks puffy as hell; I seem so rough, but I slept all them hours. Even longer than you, dang” picking ay my chin hair “ready for a day with your girlfriend? Just you and me and some cute walks” oh god “walks now? I mean does that mean we have Rich creeping behind us too” Robyn nodded her head “he has to be there, he is my support system but yeah eat up” she is saying eat up, but I am so damn tired still, I am yawning like crazy “I wanted to speak to you actually, like I want us to discuss this because it was bought up and it got me thinking, and they ain’t wrong you know. But I don’t want you to be all annoyed with me” I know how Robyn can be “I am listening” Robyn said, she seems unimpressed already “got me thinking like we been having sex, unprotected right now which is reckless and selfish of me when you’re on a tour right now. If you became pregnant you would be stressed the fuck out about it all, I ain’t saying like it’s a bad thing to have raw sex but right now is not good, you are stressed out. You are healing, you have been losing weight like mad. You are extremely skinny; I mean you have been skinny, but this is peak skinny. Your waist is tiny which I love you for how you are but you’re clearly taking this out on yourself. If we are doing this, then we need to do the healthy way and I think” I dragged out not knowing what to say “I will take a tablet just to make sure, don’t worry” she is taking it the wrong way “see you are just being childish, I don’t mean in the wrong way. I just feel like you are acting like you are ok but you’re not and you are not looking after yourself, I want to help you, but I am not helping you which is wrong of me. You’re not there just for sex and shit, I need to think of you” Robyn is annoyed “see, this is why I shouldn’t have let you stayed with my friends, they really do the most for no reason, it has nothing to do with them” clearing my throat “but they are not wrong Robyn, I see it but haven’t said shit. I am not saying no, I am saying we do this the right way. I was being selfish and dumb, I want you to be healthy and happy” rubbing my hands together just feeling a little sad about me not saying anything “I rather just concentrate on my tour anyways, you right” Robyn worries me, she does “you need to start thinking of yourself, I am being deadass Robyn. I will stay on this tour to make sure you sleep and eat” sounds like a threat but I am being deadass because she needs too look after herself.

[pengychan]

[Good Omens] Winging It - Jeremiah 17:9

Summary: Shockingly, attempting to destroy an angel without consulting God first comes with consequences. There is more than one way to fall, and a thousand more ways to inconvenience an angel and a demon who just wanted to be left in peace. Characters: Gabriel, Crowley, Aziraphale, Beelzebub, Michael, Uriel, Sandalphon Rating: T  

Prologue and all chapters are tagged as ‘winging it’ on my blog.

A/N: No vintage pornography was mistreated in the making of this chapter.

(A scene was partly based on and amazing comic by @hyunlou, because I loved it so much I could no longer picture the scene going any other way,and also @lunaescribe on my birthday with art - check the fic tag to see both!)

***

“... Is that what they asked you? If you had carnal desires? Were those their exact words?”

“Yes,” Gabriel said, and shifted a little when Łukasz let out a groan, rubbing his temples.

“Why do they speak like they came out of some shitty BBC period drama?” Fabrizio asked, only for Łukasz to entirely ignore him and look back at Gabriel.

“And you said no.”

“I said I don’t think I do-- I am not sure-- and then they left before I could suggest we go out for the evening, and I have no idea why. But they did take the mugs, so--”

“Jesus Christ, mate, they were making a pass at you!”

Gabriel blinked. “... They were making a what?”

Fabrizio cleared his throat before speaking in the fakest, poshest British accent imaginable. “I think what my esteemed colleague is trying to say is that this… what’s their name again?”

“Beel-- Bill.”

“Right. This Bill was trying to politely gauge whether or not you may, perchance, be entertaining the thought of shagging.”

“Shagging?” Gabriel repeated. He was familiar with the term, of course - working in warehouse near the docks had taught him a vast array of terms all generally referring to the same things - but he had no idea why Beelzebub would be asking if he entertained the thought of-- 

“Shagging them, specifically.”

Gabriel stared. He opened his mouth, gaped a little more, then blinked. “They-- were?” he asked, sounding every inch as bewildered as he felt. The notion was so alien to him, it was hard to wrap his mind around it… and yet, now that it had been clearly spelled out for him, Gabriel felt a sudden desire to reach back into the space-time continuum and smack himself in the back of the head. Unable to do that due to his current limitations as a mortal, he just blinked again. “But... why?”

Forehead firmly pressed on the table, Łukasz snickered. “That’s an excellent question,” he said. “I’m starting to suspect your friend is a rabid moronsexual.”

“A what?”

That caused Fabrizio to burst laughing so suddenly and violently that Gabriel was left with little doubt that he was supposed to feel insulted by the remark. However, he was too baffled to.

“That was never-- it never came up,” he protested.

“Hah! Well, it did now. They brought it up. So, are you?”

Gabriel opened his mouth. 

“... Before you go ‘am I what’, allow me to make myself clear. Are you interested in the offer?”

Ah. “I’m… not certain it was an offer, I ought not assume--”

“Let’s say it was. Are you?”

Gabriel hesitated, and this time they didn’t press him for an answer. Which was good, because he honestly did not have one yet; there had been something when he’d held the Prince of Hell in his arms, something that had made him wish he didn’t have to put them down… but the notion of carnal desires was so foreign to him, he had no idea what that would even feel like. 

In the end, he sighed. “... I’ll need to do research,” he finally said. 

If Łukasz and Fabrizio found it an odd response, which they probably did, they said nothing of it. 

“All right. But, my friend, let me tell you something. Whether you want to shag them or not, you’re so smitten it’s not even funny,” Fabrizio said. Gabriel didn’t even try to argue he was not.

Lying is, after all, a sin.

***

Indulging in carnal  pleasures was, quite obviously, not the immediate ticket to the lowest circles of Hell that many mortals seemed to believe it was.

It was in some cases, of course, whenever someone forced their own lust on somebody who was anything but a willing participant; those souls had a circle of their own, which was rather cramped as well as boasting a frankly astounding amount of Catholic priests. 

A good number of them may have been tempted by demons, though Beelzebub suspected it was a minority, but even in those cases all the forces of Hell had really done was put some rather non-specific lust in their heart; how they let it grow and then acted upon it was entirely their choice.

It was not a circle of Hell Beelzebub had ever had much to do with, as lust did not precisely fall under their expertise, and therefore they did not know the minute details of what was the exact line between simple carnal pleasure and sinful lust. However, they felt reasonably certain in the assumption that carnal relations with a Prince of Hell would, at the very least, be a prominent enough sin to tilt the balance of the scale towards Hell.

And I may be more successful in doing that than I was trying to convince him to push an old lady under the bus. 

Just maybe. There were demons who made seduction their weapon of choice when it came to gaining influence over mortals, but Beelzebub was not among them. Plus, when asked if he did have carnal desires, Gabriel had said he didn’t think he did.

But he hadn’t said no, either, which had been his immediate reply whenever they had tried to talk him into any kind of serious sin, and therefore Beelzebub concluded it would be foolish not to make at least an attempt. So they would - but first, they needed to do some research over what carnal relations precisely entailed other than just choosing one out of two models of genitalia and make them fit with the other’s. 

They would come across as rather stupid, after all, if Gabriel accepted and they had to reveal they didn’t know the first thing about what they’d just proposed.

*** 

The dancers should stand facing each other, keep their feet loose and relaxed, standing so that they are facing each other with about an arm's length of space in between them...

By the time he got to the second paragraph, Gabriel had begun to suspect that guide - Learn How To Shag In One Minute - was not precisely what he was looking for. With a frown, he went back to the search results and looked around a bit further. 

Ah, so apparently shag dancing was a thing. It looked rather awkward and had no relevance to his research, doubly so as angels did not dance and he certainly had not picked up the habit since becoming mortal, so in the end Gabriel sighed and just put his phone down.

All right, it seemed that the Internet was not a reliable source, regardless of the large amounts of porn that, he had been informed, could be found in it. He had absolutely no intention to come across as a fool if - when? - Beelzebub brought up the matter again, and therefore he needed better sources than dubious websites with excessive amounts of Xs in their name.

A book. Books are more reliable.

Of course Gabriel was not so gullible to think all books could be trusted - he had seen too many outlandish editions of the Bible not to know better - so he would need to be certain the book he got his hands on would be a reputable one.

And he just so happened to know an expert in the field.

***

“Lord Beelzeb--”

“Nothing!”

Dagon blinked, taken aback, when Lord Beelzebub let out a noise that was only slightly more dignified than a shriek and slammed their laptop shut. They had been sitting on their throne, staring at the screen with such keen interest they hadn’t heard her coming in - and now, for some reason, they were sitting on the laptop. 

… All right. Dagon would assume that whatever they were looking at was a private matter and not ask, then. She cleared her throat and somehow managed to keep a straight face despite the utter surprise; she had never seen the Lord of the Flies caught so off-guard. 

“What do you want!” Beelzebub barked, looking one step away from trying to turn her to ashes. Not that Hellfire could destroy a demon, of course, but it would hurt quite badly and Dagon liked it better when she was not hurt quite badly. 

“I, uh, am here concerning the meeting to review the performance of our demons this month,” she said. “If it suits you, we can move the time--”

“You can chair that stupid meeting,” the Prince of Hell snapped. “Now leave. I’m busy.”

“Oh. Is it anything I can help wi--”

“You can help by chairing the meeting in my stead.”

“Ah. Does that mean I am authorized to choose who to punish and what bonuses to award--”

“You’re authorized to do whatever the Heaven you want, as long as you leave me now!”

The flies around Lord Beelzebub’s head buzzed furiously as though to underline the unspoken threat, and Dagon was clever enough not to argue further: a quick bow, and she was out of the throne room as fast as her legs could carry her while still maintaining some composure. 

Once alone, Beelzebub let out a groan and rubbed their eyes. They stood, picked up the laptop from their throne, and opened it again. The screen was cracked, but then again the entire thing was so busted it was plainly not supposed to work in any capacity, and Beelzebub had yet to meet a piece of technology that would defy their order to work when they were supposed to. 

It sure worked now, as Beelzebub turned it back on and to look at their most recent searches. 

how to do courtship how to court human how to court idiot how to kiss human genitalia how penis work how vagina work how to have sex tutorial

The last one led to a rather educational video depicting a man and a woman on a large, round bed. If they squinted, the man even looked a little like Gabriel. 

Beelzebub supposed it would do for now, in case they decided to acquire female genitalia for the occasion, but they were still on the fence about that and would probably need to seek more varied videos. Just to make sure they had grasped the main idea, of course. 

“Unnecessarily complicated, is what all this is,” Beelzebub, Prince of Hell and Lord of the Flies, declared loudly. Then they leaned back on their throne, reached for one of the mugs Gabriel had bought them, and hit play again.

For research.

***

“Gabriel! It’s good to see you.”

“He doesn’t mean that,” Crowley muttered. 

“Come, sit. I’ll make some tea.”

“Feel free to decline, we won’t mind.”

“Tea would be much appreciated, thank you,” Gabriel said, to Crowley’s annoyance, and sat, to his further annoyance, while entirely ignoring his remarks, to his utter annoyance. He looked around the cottage, and if he dared say anything about the decor Crowley would chew his head off, especially after seeing what kind of minimalistic nightmare Heaven was.

“This is… cozy,” Gabriel finally said after a slight hesitation, leaving Crowley just a little miffed that he didn’t, after all, get a good excuse to chew off his head. Yet. 

“Oh, we’re still in the process of moving everything,” Aziraphale was saying, picking up the teapot he’d put on the stove only minutes before Gabriel had showed up at the bookstore. With the portal-door between the store and the cottage wide open, the sound of him knocking had carried over and Aziraphale had let him in before Crowley could stop it. 

“We will keep the door open between here and my bookstore, it is such a convenient place to store all my books and I am not ready to give it up just yet. Crowley still needs to move some paintings out of his flat, that garish throne and the decoration he stole from a church--”

“I didn’t steal it, the church was bombed.”

“I remember. It was an eventful evening,” Aziraphale said lightly, putting the teapot on the table. “I almost got discorporated, but Crowley came to help me out. He saved us all upstairs so much paperwork.”

“Ah,” Gabriel said, clearly not sure what to say to that. “I mean-- thank you.” 

Crowley gave him a long, unimpressed look, and he cleared his throat. “Anyway… where’s here, exactly?”

“That’s on a need-to-know basis and you don’t need to know,” Crowley said, crossing his arms. They both had agreed that neither Heaven nor Hell would ever know where their cottage was, and while Gabriel was technically part of neither, he still counted as a stuck-up archangel as far as Crowley was concerned. Now that he knew about the cottage, something would have to be done about the door connecting it to the bookstore. Maybe a seal, the kind that would keep out anyone who was not the two of them…

“It’s good to know you’re doing well,” Aziraphale was saying, clearly speaking for himself only, and poured tea in all three cups on the table despite the fact Crowley had elected not to sit yet, instead glaring at Gabriel in hopes he would feel uncomfortable enough to leave. “Now, what was that you mentioned about needing research books?” he asked, and brought the cup to his mouth. 

“I need pornography books,” Gabriel declared, and the excellent tea Aziraphale had just sipped was sprayed right back out on the table in a fine mist. From his corner, Crowley raised both eyebrows up to almost his hairline. 

Well. That was not what he’d expected to hear.

Aziraphale looked down at the mess on the table and on his own clothes before he gave Gabriel a very, very weary look. “You know, don’t you, that there really is no need for codes now?”

Gabriel shook his head. “No, no, it’s not a code. I do need some pornography books.”

Aziraphale stared.

“... For research. As I sa-- Aziraphale?”

No answer: Aziraphale stood, without a further word, and was out of the room within moments, hands up in the air. Whether to find someplace to scream in peace, stare at the wall for a few minutes while scrubbing the mental image out of his brain, or try to clean the tea off his clothes, Crowley was not sure. 

He would check on him in a minute. First, he had questions.

“Research, huh?” he said, leaning on the table across a rather bewildered Gabriel, who had somehow expected a different reaction to him asking to borrow pornography books. He grinned, wide enough to almost make his cheeks hurt. There was some amazing mocking material there, he could feel it. “And who is this about? A new friend? A coworker?”

Still stunned by Aziraphale’s reaction, Gabriel answered without pausing a moment to ponder whether he should answer that question. “Beelzebub,” he said, like he was answering a question on what kind of tea he preferred.

Ah.

For a few moments Crowley could only stare, the grin frozen on his lips. He was startled out of it by a sound like breaking glass that, he realized rather belatedly, came from inside his own brain. 

No. No no no no. Nope. Nope. Abort, abort. 

“Angel!” he called out, his voice a little strangled, and went to search for Aziraphale to make him share with him whatever bleach he was now using on his brain. Behind him, Gabriel spoke up.

“Uh, so can I borrow a book--” he tried to ask, but a slamming door was the only reply he got for a good while.

*** 

“Oh, this is never going to come out…” 

Aziraphale sighed, looking down at his waistcoat, whose front was currently drenched with tea. Of course he could miracle it away, with Gabriel no longer in the position of writing him strongly worded letters about frivolous miracles... but he could feel a headache build up just thinking about Gabriel and looking around for a clean napkin was a rather welcomed distraction.

Until Crowley stepped in, eyes wide. 

“Beelzebub,” he blurted out, causing Aziraphale to nearly jump out of his skin and frantically look around. God knew, the last thing he needed to deal with was the Lord of the Flies in his bookstore.

“What-- where??”

“No, I mean--” Crowley let out a pained noise, rubbing his eyes like he hoped to get an awful image off his retinas. “It’s about Beelzebub. Gabriel’s research. On pornography.”

Ah.

“Ah,” Aziraphale said. He needed a few moments for what he’d just heard to entirely sink into his brain. When it did, he barely repressed a shudder. “That is… not… what I was expecting.”

“The Archangel Fucking Gabriel and Beelzebub. It’s in my brain now. Can you miracle it away?”

“I’m afraid that goes beyond my abilities,” Aziraphale said, reaching up to put a hand on his own head to calm the building headache. “If your head also hurts something awful, though, I can help with that. If you can get the tea out of my waistco-- oh. Thank you.” He smiled as Crowley took care of that with a snap of his fingers, the other hand still firmly on his eyes. 

“You’re welcome. Now, can we throw him whatever book he wants and then throw him out?”

Aziraphale was very much opposed to throwing books, of course, but shoving a pornography book in Gabriel’s hands and firmly showing him the door seemed the best course of action.

***

“... I can explain.”

“No offence, but we’d really rather you do not.”

Gabriel shifted a little, a heavy leather-bound book in his arms. “Right. Well, er… thank you for the book. I’ll return it once I’ve--”

“Feel free to return it whenever. You’re very much welcome,” Aziraphale spoke quickly, and while he didn’t physically shove Gabriel through the door, he very much did get the message that he really wanted him to leave sooner rather than later. “Best of, er, luck. With your research,” he added quickly, and closed the door behind him.

Gabriel stood on the spot a few moments, blinking in slight confusion, but in the end he shrugged it off - maybe he had caught him in a busy moment - and opened the book to have a quick look.

… Huh. Could a mortal’s spine actually do that?

There was laughter, a couple of children running past him, and Gabriel immediately closed the book. Right, right - looking at pornography in public was frowned upon, so he ought to wait until he was back home. On the way back, he’d purchase a pen and notebook. 

In case he needed to write something down. 

*** 

Once their research was completed, Beelzebub was still not certain what it was about the act that so many humans found irresistible - but, they had to admit, their curiosity was piqued. Perhaps a carnal act with Gabriel would pave the way for his descent into Hell, perhaps it would not, but either way they would get to know what it precisely was about, so they would be getting something out of it. 

The only thing for them to find out was whether Gabriel would be a willing participant, which was a rather important point because they may be the Prince of Hell but they also had standards. And, all things considered, they got the answer to that rather quickly: they couldn’t be many other reasons for Gabriel to be sitting at his desk with an open book full of pornographic images and a notebook half-filled with notes.

At least, they hoped they were not. Beelzebub found that the idea Gabriel might harbor carnal desire for someone else left them distinctly annoyed. 

“I can explain,” Gabriel blurted out as soon as he recovered from the mini heart attack Beelzebub’s sudden appearance in flames and smoke had given in. Quick recovery, they had to give him that. “This is, uh-- this is-- research, for--”

“You’ve given my question some thought, I see.”

“Well--” he finally regained composure, and cleared his throat. “I have.”

“And…?”

“I’m not certain I do have those, uh, inclinations, but I’d be open to give it a try. If you’re so inclined,” he added quickly.

“I see,” Beelzebub said, their voice perfectly collected. Inwardly, however, they felt very much like a Jehovah's Witness who’d just been invited inside to talk after knocking: hadn’t really thought they would get that far and had already forgotten just about everything they had planned to do in the event. So they said nothing else, and stared. 

Gabriel said nothing else. And stared. 

Needless to say, that was not a promising start. 

“... Which one?” Beelzebub finally asked.

“Huh?”

“Which set of genitalia.”

“Oh. I have--”

“I know what you have, I have seen you showering. I’m asking which one I should get now.”

“Ah.” Gabriel glanced at the book as though hoping to find an answer there. “Er… either? We can throw a coin,” he muttered, and dug a coin out of his pocket and handed it to them. “Head for penis and--”

Beelzebub threw the coin, caught it, and looked down at it. “Tails.”

“Right. Well--”

“Do not presume for even a moment I will allow you to be above me.”

“I’m not presuming, I just-- what are those?”

“Notes,” Beelzebub muttered, more than slightly irritated at having forgotten their own script. They shuffled through the clue cards they had pulled out of their back pockets, rather wishing their handwriting did not look like a dying fly had dragged itself across the paper after being dunked in ink.

 “... Right. So we have come to the agreement we both consent. At this point, we’re supposed to--” they began, and trailed off when Gabriel did the unthinkable. 

He laughed.

“What are you-- hey! Stop laughing!” Beelzebub buzzed furiously, their face suddenly really, really hot. They crumpled notes in their fist and glaring up at Gabriel. “Cease this instant!” they ordered, and were a moment away from kicking him in the shin - how dare he laugh at the Lord of the Flies? - when Gabriel spoke, his laugh dying down to a snicker. 

“I-- heh. My apologies. I just--” he gestured to the papers crumpled in Beelzebub’s fist, and then at his own notebook on the desk. “One way or another, we end up with paperwork. I suspect humans are more spontaneous about it.”

Beelzebub huffed. “Well, I am not human,” they muttered, but the anger died down, and they crossed their arms. “If you don’t plan by the book, how do you know if you’re getting things right?”

“Well-- sometimes you don’t know. Humans take chances all the time.”

A scoff. “What a disgustingly human thing to say. Is that how your mind operates now?”

“... I do still find it somewhat frightening,” Gabriel said, quietly, and whatever mockery Beelzebub was about to utter next died in their throat. The look he was giving them was surprisingly open, and he looked painfully vulnerable.

In the end, when they spoke, their voice was just as quiet. 

“You have no reason to be frightened,” they said, and burned the note in their fist, letting the ashes fall on the floor. “I usually do punish failure, but I’m willing to make you an exception, I suppose.”

A chuckle, and Gabriel lifted a hand, holding it up almost close enough to Beelzebub’s face to touch the skin. “May I?”

“... You may,” they replied. The touch was warm, foreign and familiar at the same time - did he touch their face like that a long time ago, when they were still Ba’al? - and leaning into it, finding out where it all led, was so very tempting. Ironic, considering that they were supposed to be the one doing the tempting and… and…

No.

“Wait.” Beelzebub reached up to brace a hand against Gabriel’s chest, keeping him at a distance. He immediately stopped, and looked down at them in confusion, their faces only inches apart. “There is a chance this may count as a serious sin.”

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Shouldn’t have told him. He’ll call it off. 

Gabriel blinked, and the confused expression turned into a smile. “I figured,” he said, and tilted up their chin. “I think I’ll take the chance.”

… Well, they had given him a fair warning, so their conscience was clear. Would have been clear, if they had one. “You’re a fool,” the Prince of Hell informed him.

“I figured that too,” the fool replied.

What followed was a bit messier and significantly more complicated than expected, but given enough time and attempts, they did figure that out as well.

*** 

A good while after they had both caught their breath and Gabriel’s heart no longer felt like it was trying to burst out of his chest, Beelzebub had yet to say a word.

But they were still there, even if silent, accepting Gabriel’s arms around them and his quiet breathing against the nape of their neck, and he supposed that was a sure sign they had no complaints. In the end, he dared break the peaceful silence. 

“Can you stay for the night?” he asked, his voice low. 

“I am Prince of Hell. I can do as I wish.”

“... Do you wish to stay for the night?”

“I can’t see why not,” they conceded, causing Gabriel’s lips to curl into a smile. He said nothing, kissing the back of Beelzebub’s shoulder instead. Of course, they could tell he was smiling right away. “What are you smirking about?”

“Well, it was-- pleasant, was it not?”

Gabriel felt their light snort more than he heard it. “Bragging already, are you?” they muttered, and turned in his arms to face him. Their skin was pleasantly warm. “Do I have to remind you who was leading?”

Of course, there was no need. It wasn’t often that Gabriel found himself in the position of having to look up at the Lord of the Flies, and he hadn’t minded the change. He hadn’t minded at all. 

“Oh, I never tried to take credit.” Gabriel dropped a kiss on the bridge of Beelzebub’s nose, gaining himself a frown and a buzzing noise - but no attempt at all to shove him off them. He was dimly aware of the fact that there was a folder in Hell bearing his name which perhaps had just gained a sin in red ink, but he found he couldn’t even begin to feel concern. 

“Next time,” Beelzebub was saying, “I’ll try the other set of genitalia.”

“Heh. So there will be a next time?”

The Lord of the Flies did shove him at that, flat onto his back, before they rolled on top of him. They propped themselves up on their elbows, which rested on his chest. It wasn’t the most comfortable predicament, but Gabriel’s muscles still felt like cooked asparagus and he wouldn’t have bothered to protest for anything short of being raked over hot coals. 

“We both have researched a great deal more than what we have put in practice, and I don’t see why the time spent on it should go to waste,” they said, tilting their head. “Don’t you agree?”

A smile, and Gabriel dared tilt up his head to try and catch their lips again. He missed, and his mouth rested briefly on their throat instead before he pulled them down against his chest. 

“I do,” he murmured. “Wholeheartedly.”

***

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”  --Jeremiah 17:9

***

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[kurowrites]

Hello! If you feel like it, wangxian with 36 would be lovely. :3 Have a great day!

Prompt 36: You throw a snowball at a friend but missand hit them instead.

Wei Ying was out for revenge. His stupid brother had gotten the dropon him last week, and he couldn’t let this injustice stand. He was going toabsolutely drown Jiang Cheng in snowballs this time.

It was probably rather childish that they still got involved intosnowball fights every year during wintertime, but whether he was twelve or thirty,it was fun to make Jiang Cheng eat his words (and snow) every year. He had areputation to maintain, and he was ready to defend it. It was, basically,tradition at this point. So he had prepared a small army of snowballs, and hewas ready to use them on Jiang Cheng with extreme prejudice.

He had planned it all out so perfectly, so meticulously, and thenJiang Cheng had to spoil the entire thing by moving at the worst moment.And that was how Wei Ying ended up throwing a snowball with full force into theface of a perfect stranger.

Everyone froze for one moment, even Jiang Cheng’s eyes widening inshock.

The next moment, Wei Ying ran over to the stranger in a panic.

Shit. It wasn’t just the snow. This attack must have actually hurt; thesnowball had been pressed tightly and he had thrown it with full force.

“I am so sorry!” he exclaimed before he had even reached thestranger. He reached out with his glove to help wipe the snow off the man’sface, and then checked him in a slight panic. The skin had become reddenedalready from both the impact and the cold, and Wei Ying was half fearing thatthe man was going to have a nosebleed.

“Oh my god, I cannot apologise enough,” Wei Ying said, a littlequieter this time, and he cursed himself internally. He had smashed the face ofa really, really handsome man. This was the kind of face they would want toprint in magazines. This man was probably a model or something like that. Justhis luck. He would be getting sued any moment now.

“It is alright,” the stranger said stiffly, wiping the last bits of snowoff his face. “I am sure it was an accident. Be more careful next time.”

“I will, you can believe that!” Wei Ying promised him. Then he hoveredaround the man uselessly, trying to figure out if there was something he could do.He did feel extremely sorry about the whole event, after all. He’d just wanted totake revenge on Jiang Cheng, not assault unknown but good-looking men. “Can I…I don’t know, can I help you?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” the stranger replied, fishing out some snowfrom the collar of his long white coat.

Wei Ying couldn’t be content with that reply, however. He had reallydone a number on this man’s face, and while he would have probably laughed atJiang Cheng’s misery if the same thing had happened to him, he held no grudgesor ill will against this man. He also didn’t look like he was accustomed togetting pelted with snowballs, so he felt additionally terrible about it. Itfelt like bullying a cute pet, somehow. He was the worst.

“Can I maybe offer you some warm beverage from that café over there?”he asked in his desperation. “Maybe it helps you warm up a little. You’re halfdrenched in snow.”

It wasn’t entirely wrong, too. The stranger’s clothes were damp now,his hair a little tousled, and his face still red.

The stranger opened his mouth, no doubt ready to decline the offer,when he suddenly stopped and scrutinised Wei Ying intently, as if to gauge hisintentions.

Wei Ying made his best ‘I have never done a bad thing in my life andI am very sorry’ pitiful face.

It seemed to work. The stranger sighed once, and turned towards thecafé.

“A tea would be agreeable.”

“Yay! Okay! See you later, Jiang Cheng!”

And with that, he jogged after the stranger who was already headingtowards the café with quick steps.

They found vacant seats immediately and sat down at the small roundmetal table decorated with a small bouquet of flowers. The interior of the caféwas rather hipstery, but Wei Ying knew from experience that they made very goodcoffee.  

“So, what’s your poison?” Wei Ying asked. “Choose whatever you want,it’ll be my treat.”

“Just tea is fine, thank you.”

Wei Ying raised an eyebrow. “Here is your chance to take revenge onme and order the most elaborate concoction you can think of, and deplete myalready severely stressed wallet to boot, and you order tea?”

The stranger looked at him with what Wei Ying chose to interpret asa very flat version of offense.

“It is not my intention to exact revenge on anybody.”

“Mmmh, I see you’re a good person, unlike my brother who would havemilked this for all its worth.”

He smiled at the stranger, got up and went to the bar to order: onepot of tea for the handsome stranger, one very black coffee for himself.

As he returned to the table with the beverages balanced on a try, henoticed the stranger was watching his every move with intent. Was he afraid ofany more sudden attacks? Wei Ying had reached his limit for the day, thank youvery much.

“I really am very sorry about that, by the way,” he said again. “Iusually don’t go breaking the noses of handsome men to get their attention.”

“I do hope so,” the stranger said, and then he was silent again,still watching Wei Ying as he placed the tea pot in front of him.

Wei Ying coughed nervously. “My name is Wei Ying, in case you werewondering.”

“Wei Ying,” the stranger said, as if testing out the sound of thatname. Wei Ying had to admit that he kind of liked the way this man said hisname. With intent. “My name is Lan Zhan.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying smiled, happy that the man didn’t seem entirelyaverse to conversation. “So, tell me, Lan Zhan, what do you usually do when you’renot busy getting your face battered? Have I ruined your livelihood bydestroying your most important asset?”

“No,” Lan Zhan said. “I am an assistant professor. I could teach evenwith a broken nose.”

“But all the students would cry if their handsome professor gotmauled! Oh god, are they going to hunt me down?”

“Doubtful,” Lan Zhan said, taking a careful sip of his tea. “I donot believe they care.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re entirely mistaken, Professor Lan,” Wei Yingsaid, amused. “The students have to be wild for you. And the rest of theteaching staff as well! You must be very popular.”

“No,” Lan Zhan answered, looking a little doubtful. “I think I am…too stiff for that.”

“Not so,” Wei Ying said confidently. “You’re drinking tea with me,after all. Not stiff at all, see?”

“Hn,” Lan Zhan agreed. “Perhaps the trauma of being assaulted by asnowball made me act irrationally and out of character.”

Wei Ying gaped at Lan Zhan for a moment in utter disbelief.

Then he saw the tiniest uptick in the corner of Lan Zhan’s mouth. Hegasped loudly.

“I can’t– I can’t believe this! Was that a joke at my expense? Ah, what abetrayal! Now I hope you had been a stiff fuddy-duddy! How dare you!”

Lan Zhan took another deliberate sip of his tea.

“Perhaps that will teach you not to use projectile weapons in publicin the future,” he said primly, but there was a glint in his eye that made WeiYing’s heart beat faster despite his words.

“Fine,” he conceded with a dramatic slump in his chair. “I willagree to exercise restraint, if you promise me to shield me from any studentsplanning bloody revenge for disfiguring their favourite teacher.”

Lan Zhan considered that for a moment.

“That can be done.”

And then, to Wei Ying’s utter astonishment, he pulled out a business card and a pen out of his leather bag, andwrote his personal phone number on the card before he handed it to Wei Ying. WeiYing was almost sure he saw the bastard smile.

“For any protective services.”

[hs-devote]

15. L O V E   I S   I N   T H E   A I R

Moodboard // Content // Masterlist

Disclaimer:

All characters and situation in this story are fictitious. Resemblance to any person living or dead is only God knows.

Previous chapter;

The tape was five minutes long and it was intense. Harry didn’t show his genital but the woman's bare chest was everywhere. Yes, their entire body wasn’t exposed but it still made her uncomfortable. They seemed to enjoy it very much and no doubt or worry was shown when the recording was made. She could clearly identify Harry right away and the lady was pretty. Y/N felt she had seen the woman somewhere but she couldn't put a finger on it. He was rocking the woman so hard made the headboard banging loudly against the wall. Their naked top was on display but the duvet covered them from his waist until down. They were so loud made she could feel their intensity.

15. LOVE IS IN THE AIR

It was 9 p.m when they had just left the office. The meeting was long and tiring since they had to devise some plans to anticipate the impending impact on Erskine. Harry and Y/N weren’t surprised when the faces of the directors were slightly different while looking at him. The couple assumed that they already knew the gossip. And of course, Harry had to clarify without justifying it.

The street that night was still crowded and a bit jammed made Harry's fatigue increase. He was tired of work and wanted to get Y/N's house quickly and then he would get home immediately. He grunted when the car could only move forward a little. Being stuck in traffic made him spacing out about what had happened to him in the past few weeks or months. This was one of the hardest things he faced while being in the work-life. Not only his work, but also his personal life.

While Harry was busy behind the steering wheel, Y/N who was sitting beside him suddenly remembered what Victoria had said that time. She thought back her words about Harry forced his girlfriend for a sex-tape at that time. As this case arose, her curiosity increased.

She was a bit hesitant to say it but she had to try, or her curiosity would haunt her. "Harry, I just remembered what Victoria Selley said when she came to the office. I forgot to tell you because our conversation at that time wasn't important."

“You met her? I don’t remember her going to Erskine after her first visit?” he asked, glancing at her every so often while turning the wheel. He sighed in relief when the road was less packed.

“She came when you were taken away by the police, not long after that if I’m not mistaken.” She shrugged, “We didn’t really talk about the work or anything related. She refused to talk to me and asked for you. Of course, I didn’t tell her where you gone. I convinced her but she still refused and even accused me of sleeping with you because I was so defensive about your whereabout. She thought I hid you from her.”

“She’s not wrong though. You were fucking me." He joked, "Well, she was a possessive and jealous person so it's not strange if she was like that."

"She's obsessed with you, H. I could feel it." She rolled her eyes, "But, did you know what she did? She was accusing you of being an abusive man and you had a habit of making a sex tape with your girlfriends! And she said you weren't hesitant to hit them if they didn't obey you."

He frowned, eyes squinting while biting his lips. He said nothing as his hand straighten the wheel when the car entered her apartment complex. “I didn’t make that with her if you want to know.”

“I know, H. She also told me that.”

The car stopped when he parked next to a silver sedan. He unbuckled his safety belt but the soft roar of his McLaren engine was still heard. His fingers were tapping to the wheel, "What kind of conversation did you have with her? Why does she sound like she was spitting out unimportant things?"

Y/N stared at him who also looked at her, "I just said to her that you were out of the office and I didn't know when you would come back. She started to act like I was hiding you and protecting you from her. She said we have affair and you're not as kind as I thought. She began to ramble about your bad past including your hobby of making sex tape even you had to force those women.”

"Well, about the sex tape. I would admit that. Yes, I made a sex tape with my girlfriend at that time but it was pure for a personal documentary. Nothing more. I did that when I was in my bachelor study and I did that no more than four times, I swear. I don't even have the tape anymore. I immediately deleted it when I was about to graduate." He clarified, "But I never laid my hands on them for the tape, never."

“You had other three sex tape?” she gawked at him, “And all happened when you were in university?”

Harry saw the look of disbelief from her eyes, and that made him quite insecure. He never thought this would drag him closer to his past that himself was disgusted with. His head felt throbbing like someone had punched him with a hammer.

"I did four. Yes, when I was in my first and second year. I had deleted the three since I was the one who kept but the other one wasn't in me." He shook his head, "But, how come she knows all that? I never told her anything about that."

He began to get suspicious about what Victoria was talking to his girlfriend. When he was in a relationship with Victoria, he never brought it up. And impossible for him to talk about the disgrace of his own past.

“She said that one of your ex-girlfriends is her best friend. And she was being told that you’d love to record that thing when you had sex.” She shuddered, “Which I don’t believe, at the first.”

“Absolutely bullshit. I never once force them. I admitted about the sex tape but I never force or laid my hands on them for the tape.” He scoffed, shaking his head on Victoria’s crap, but he quickly thinking something so fishy for him, “I don’t know I dated her best friend. This is ridiculous.”

Y/N nodded, “So, you were dating your ex-girlfriend’s best friend. The world seems so narrow.”

“Did she know she dated her best friend’s ex-boyfriend though? Don’t you girls like a sister code? Like never date your best friend’s ex or something like that?”

“I think she knew?” she mumbled, “But, that’s none of my business, H. I once asked her why she still dated you when she knew about that, she just said she believed you changed when you were with her. She also clarified that she dumped you because you cheated on her, with having a one night stand.”

"What an utter crap. I dumped her because I didn't like her attitude," he deadpanned, "She was the one who had her hands wandering to another male, not me."

"Okay, I don't want to hear from her again. Any news from Allen about the tape?"

“He’s still looking for the woman in the video. But, he told me that a mysterious man sold the tape to the media who first published the news. I’ll also sue the media who bought it.”

“Is there a possibility that the woman sold the video to him first?”

Harry shrugged, “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it once we found her.”

“Are you not keep in contact with her? I mean, it’ll be easier if you’re the one who approached her.”

“No, I don’t have her contact but I remember her name.”

“And her name is?”

“Elle. Elle Powell.”

Y/N's eyes widened when the name slide out from his mouth. The name was popular. Ridiculously popular. No doubt she had a feeling she knew the woman. Who didn't know Elle Powell? It wasn't surprised if the news became the main headline of several online news. Not because Harry alone was involved in the scandal but there was another name who also highlighted.

“Are you kidding me? Elle Powell? The fucking model?”

Her jaws dropped while Harry stared at her confused, he looked at his girlfriend like she just grew a horn. Elle was one of some women he dated while in university and the woman on the tape. He didn't aware that she became a model and he never wanted to know.

"A model? I don't know she's a model now. All I knew is she studied Philosophy when we were in Cambridge and I heard she moved out of the country in the third year." He frowned, "How's she a model here?"

“You didn't know she's a model? Really? She walks for Burberry and Prada!” she cried out, “She's also besties with the Jenner.”

Elle Powell was a British-Brazilian popular model not only in the U.K, but also in the U.S. She walked a lot for world-famous brand and rumoured to be a Victoria’s Secret angel. She was effingly beautiful, her friend's circle made her even more famous. She was close to the Kardashian-Jenner clan, not to mention a few experienced supermodel.

“I don't even care.” He mumbled, “That might aggravate the situation.”

Y/N shook her head, didn't think this would get any worse. The woman was a popular model and she believed this scandal would be easier to blow off. Her head felt like it would explode when thinking about all these problems. She didn't understand why Harry could be this strong. It all started with Dale filing the violence accusation, then the unknown messages, the falling of Erskine's clients, and now the sex tape. All because of Dale, except...

Hold on.

It was Dale, wasn't it? - her inner goddess gasped

“Harry. Something's fishy here.” She mumbled, “This was the first time Dale filing a case against you, right? I mean, you once punch him the night after gala dinner but he didn't anything. Then, he sued you for hitting him in the night club. Why is he only doing that now? Why he didn't sue you right after the night's gala accident?”

"Because he had CCTV footage from the nightclub while he couldn't ask the footage from the gala, even if there were people there. It couldn't be used as solid evidence." He sighed, "But, yes I agree. Everything is very coincidental and that makes me suspicious."

“What if this is all Dale's doing? What will you do?”

“I just hope he won't go any further if he wants to be safe.” . . . .

Allen had submitted the file regarding blackmail messages and all the evidence that led to Dale. Now, both Harry and Y/N just had to wait while they working on another case. They had been distraught since many companies were backing out because Harry's sex scandal had been up to the public. The Erskine legal team was asked to focus on the company while Allen tried to contact Elle's management.

Elle's management was very cooperative when Allen contacted them. They already knew about the scandal and currently asking for confirmation from the model. Unfortunately, Elle was still out of the reach.

Erskine itself has begun to get worse. Harry could no longer stand to see his employees threw disgusted glare to him although their mouth was shut closed. Who dares to talk about their boss?

The man felt he was going crazy from all these problems and now of the many Erskine's clients, only a few that they could save and it could be count by fingers. This was the lowest point he had ever experienced throughout his career. He was ashamed of his family, with the degrees he received from Cambridge and Stanford. Moreover, he was ashamed of himself. It never occurred to him what was left for him, it was a backfire for himself.

His sleeping schedule was messed up. Really messed up. If everyone worked during the day, he would sleep since he worked up all night. A night for him was daylight, and the daylight for him was the time for he drifted to sleep. It wasn't surprising if he forgot to take his medicine. He might forget when the last time he took it and he should have had new prescription by now. Of course, he kept grumpy and couldn't control his temper, making Marcel happy to switch positions.

That's why now Y/N took her boyfriend for a long walk in St. James', not really only the two of them but she asked Niall to help with Harry's temper. Since Harry became super busy, he had missed his therapy and it worried her a little. She also knew that Marcel would have refused if he was asked to see Niall. So, Y/N thought to bring the Irishman over and do their session like having a normal conversation than a therapy session.

The park that afternoon wasn't so crowded. Harry's mood also looked better so it wasn't Marcel there, she kept praying Marcel wouldn't ruin the day. The woman looked out Harry and Niall talking a few steps in front of her while she didn't want to disturb both of the men. She just watched them from behind while enjoying the fresh air.

Little she did know Marcel didn't like it at all. He just watching from the darkness.

"You don't even take the medicines and didn't come to me. You look skinnier, you know?"

Harry sighed, "I'm sorry for that. I try to balance work and life. I'm exhausted for real since I have to work out a lot of problems now."

"You know you have Y/N now, right? Share your thoughts and I'm sure she won't be mind. She will definitely help you." Niall advised, "She's not only your employee to do the work, H. She's your girlfriend too. Let her in."

That's the problem. Harry never really let her in. He always thinks to himself and that made him anxious; the overthinking that disturb him whenever he was about to fall asleep. He only let Y/N saw the way he exploded his temper, not showing how depressed he was because he didn't want to burden her.

"It's just the two of us now, H. Y/N is far behind. So, tell me everything that bothers you."

Harry tilted his head towards Niall who now looked at him. Niall's blue eyes gave him encouragement and assurance. As always. He sighed before lowered his head, looking at his footsteps. Both his palms in his pockets felt sweaty while he was thinking to spill whatever he thought right now and in past weeks. He lifted his head, jogged his shoulder before looking around. He smiled faintly of how his Y/N  chose this place rather than a restaurant or wherever. Nature always had its way to calm the human nerves.

“This gonna be long, I guess.”

“I'm all ears.”

Later that night, Harry was more relaxed. After they got back from the park, Harry fell asleep and woke up at dinner. Y/N temporarily stayed at Harry's penthouse to look after him in case Marcel did something. She was preparing the dinner when Harry watched Netflix on TV, and made sure her boyfriend away from his laptop. Or, he would go back on working something.

When she was about to call him for dinner, Y/N saw Harry on the phone. Her smile got bigger when she realised Anne was the one who called him. She slowly sat next to him, watching him smiled when talking to his mother. This was the first time Harry has smiled since the problems got bigger.

“I'm fine, mum. Really. You don't need to worry. I'm sorry I messed up Igor's legacy but I'm trying to get it back to normal.”

"I don't know. I forgot and now you called me I just remember it's only a week from now. I don't even know if we can do that."

“I know, mum. Maybe I'll think about it and let you know before the deadline?”

“Okay. I love you, mum.”

"Dinner is ready. I made your favourite." Y/N hummed after Harry ended the call. 

"Thank you. Anyway, mum sends her hello to you." He spoke, put his phone on the table. His big hand took her small one, led them to the dining room. His eyes closed smelling the aroma of dishes that look delicious.

“Thanks. It feels like ages ago since the last time I saw her.” she nodded while fetching his food. Harry thanked her once he got his full plate.

“H, does Anne know about all.. these problems? I mean, your article is everywhere?”

“That's why she called me earlier. She read all the news but fortunately didn't see the video.” He shrugged, “Which I'm grateful now. She would be more upset if she watched them.”

"And she reminded me of my cousin's wedding next weekend. Since it will be in Mexico, I don't know if I can come." He added, "Mum told me to think about it. She said it can be a short escape for me."

"I think Anne has a point. I mean, Mexico is quite far from the U.K. It's quite good for you travelling afar from here to relax. You don't have any meeting next week. You can take a few days off." she advised, "If you're worried they will talk about you, believe me, it won't happen. They're your family, and it's a wedding!"

Harry said nothing after that, just eating his food while thinking about it. He didn't want her cousin upset if he didn't come to her wedding but it didn't sit well with him if he left his company at a time like this. Well, he had the best employees at their level so why didn't he entrust them for only a few days?

"I'll check the invitation and my schedule. If we have a chance, we'll go there."

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows.

We? What did he mean by us?  – her inner goddess widened her eyes

“Of course, I'll go with you, darling. I will have no date if I come alone.” Harry chuckled seeing his girlfriend stared at him bewildered.

"You.. want me to come with you?" she asked in a small voice, couldn't believe what she just heard. She wasn't even sure if she was invited.

"Correct. The invitation is for me and the plus one which is you. It's Lisa's sister who gets married so at least you know each other."

“And bring some bikinis since it will be a beach wedding.” He smirked.

. . . .

Y/N didn't know if this will be a good idea or not. For the past few days, Harry, or Marcel was being awful. She didn't understand why Marcel was more dominant when Harry had already taken his medicine and slowly get his sleeping schedule back at normal. Even herself almost couldn't distinguish between Harry and Marcel because he was very good at manipulating. As in the past three days, Y/N could count how many hours her boyfriend had in his body and that wasn't nice.

Meanwhile, Marcel really enjoyed his time in Harry's position. He was satisfied with yelling to everyone who upset or angered him. It boosted his pride and ego, obviously. He had been there for days and he would play well if he didn't want Harry to take the position yet. He was tired of succumbing to Harry. Because of that, he pretended to be Harry so that everyone would believe him. Even he managed to have his eyes brighter than usual; close to Harry's.

As now, he was in an impromptu meeting with several of his directors. He wanted to curse their stupidity but he couldn't do that or, Y/N would be suspicious. He didn't care if they would judge him as bipolar. A minute he was good, a minute later he would be a bad-tempered man.

"This meeting is dismissed, gentleman. Thank you for your time." Y/N smiled before picking up her iPad.

“They must be tired.” Marcel spoke after everyone left them alone. He was still in his chair, watching the woman in front of him cleaning the table from the papers.

“At least these days they didn't overwork like before.”

"It's because they gave up on the client."

Y/N frowned, Harry never said something demeaning like that. This wasn't the first or second time Harry had to underestimate his employees. This past week, he didn't show any excessive temper, but often scoffed at them like it was normal. Harry almost never did it unless they have to be reprimanded.

“Why did you say that?”

He shrugged, “Because I'm telling the truth. We wouldn't lose more if they wanted to work harder. They should be ashamed of you because you were working late lately and they weren't.”

“We shouldn't talk like that behind them” Y/N shook her head, “I'll go back to my office.”

Marcel exhaled loudly, pinching her bridge nose after Y/N closed the door. It was easy to pretend to be Harry, but not when he had to deal with that woman. She was too smart than he thought. He even didn't sure whether Y/N knew that he wasn't Harry or not. But, from the way she behaved, his guile has been going smoothly.

Then, he remembered how she handled the meeting earlier. She talked more than him who just kept quiet and watched because he wasn't interested. Marcel always underestimated every woman Harry used to be date. But, this time he had to acknowledge her ability.

Marcel didn't realise he was thinking about Y/N until the sun had set and the sky was already dark. He didn't know he was daydreaming about her that long.

When he walked past Y/N's office, he saw her door was open. Without making the slightest sound, he peeked inside and saw that his girlfriend still busy and a little frustrated in front of her screen. Her hair was tied in a high bun with sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, the sound of a song accompanied her in solitude at that time.

Y/N was already very sleepy but her work was almost done just a little more. Keeping in her mind, she could go home on time tomorrow onwards. Her eyes had ached from staring at the screen for too long but she cheered her up and continue her work.

She startled when a cup of coffee placed next to her mobile phone. A sigh of relief came out of her mouth when her eyes recognised the familiar ringed fingers coiled in the cup along with her favourite perfume on him.

“Thank you, H.” Y/N took the hot drink but her eyes were on Harry, slowly pressed her lips to the tip and let the liquid ran down her throat.

“You can finish them tomorrow morning, you know.” Marcel leaned casually in the front seat of her desk. His eyes were still watching the woman enjoying the drink.

Marcel wasn’t lying that the woman in front of him was beautiful and charming. Maybe she wasn’t as pretty as Harry’s previous girlfriend, but she had things that make her different.

“I know. But, I have to get them done so I won’t have any work to pile up for the next few days.” She yawned before rubbing her tired eyes, “Finished soon.”

Shortly after, she sighed happily when the document was done, safe and secure in the folder. She was relieved because no workload for the next few days so she could relax for and no burden when in Mexico later. Little did she knew, Marcel watched her every move.

“I thought you left me alone,” she murmured as she shut down her computer, “you’re not in your office.”

“Why do you think so? I couldn’t leave my girlfriend alone.”

“I tried to calling you but you never picked up.” She shrugged, “I was thinking about using Uber to home.”

“It's a crime if I let you go home this late alone, darling,” he whispers, “C'mon. Let's go home.”

“Let me finish my coffee first.” Y/N winked before sipping the last drop of her coffee. Marcel smiled sweetly and offered his hand to her, only for the woman to take and hold it tight.

The corridor was so quiet and creepy even though the lights hadn’t actually died. This was the umpteenth time she got home late but she still felt afraid when she was alone in the office at night. She whined sometimes why her building was so far from the main area made her still had to pass through many walls and corridors before setting foot in the lobby.

When they reached the main lobby, there was no one in the floor at all even security or the cleaning operator who supposed to be standby was nowhere to be found. The good thing was, they could act like an actual couple without having no care to worry. Marcel had her hand on him, tucking into his pocket. He was used to doing this – this wasn't the first time he had pretended in front of Harry's girlfriend. He even took the advantage to kiss them when Harry was weak. At first, he was uncomfortable but he got used to it.

“Do you want to stop by first for dinner or just want to order?”

“Why don't we just cook?”

He shrugged, “You're tired and cooking will only make you even exhausted.”

“All right then. I think Chinese take away would be fine.”

“But, I think I want my appetizer now.”

“What?”

A second later, Marcel pulled her face closer to him. Licking her soft lips before he pressed his mouth on hers. Y/N amusedly smile as she pulled her hand out of his pocket and grabbed his neck with both hands. Her jaw was held by Marcel when he deepened his kiss.  They both softly hummed on each other; the way their lips collided into one was the best feeling aside from the union of their tangled bodies. But, what Y/N didn't know, wasn't Harry who was currently savouring her lips. . . . .

Mexico was beautiful as she imagined before. The warm air of middle May kissed Y/N's cheeks when she just landed at Cancun, her heart was impatient of the fresh sea breeze that she would feel within the next hour. She and Harry were the last guests to arrive in Riviera Maya, the place where Harry's cousin would get married. Other families had arrived first yesterday while they had to finish their work first.

According to her boyfriend, Kelly – his cousin, only invited families and some friends to attend her wedding. So, this would be more intimate since only the closest relatives were present.

Her eyes looking in awe when they arrived at the hotel where they would stay for three nights and also being the wedding venue. Good things they arrived at noon so she could enjoy the view that so spoiled her eyes. The place they would spend at, offered the natural beauty and traditionalism hospitality. It was a beach resort exactly in Mayakoba, the most luxuries one in the area. The eco-resort offered the rich of mother nature but still with five-stars services and facilities.

She never thought she would go along the river with mangrove forests all around while the resort was right by the beach. The soothing sounds of river and birds chirping made the mood and mind became calm. The ideal place for Harry to relax.

“The beach isn’t really accessible by foot. So, we have complimentary bicycles to get around.” Harry mumbled, “They should have been delivered to our villa.”

“I can see that. The river almost surrounding the villa but I can hear the waves from a distance.”

A private villa with its own pool and jacuzzi would be a place they would spend the next few days. Their bedroom and living room separated by a walkway with an outdoor bathtub in front of the small garden. Yet, her favourite thing was their pool overlooked to the mangrove garden and facing their bedroom, with terrace and sundeck on the left of it.

Yes, their Italian villa was exceptional but this one is something else.

“I love this place already,” Y/N sighed as she plopped down to the bed, “I would spend two weeks here if I could.”

“When Lisa told me Kelly was the one who chose this place, I never thought she would choose here. I mean, Kelly loves expensive things and there’s Los Cabos in the top tier.” Harry spoke while putting down their suitcases, “But, I must admit she has taste.”

“Definitely,” she agreed, “Speaking of Lisa. Has she come yet? I can’t wait to see her newborn.”

"We will meet them at dinner tonight. Clementia is here, too. She's staying with mum." He answered as his hand opened the refrigerator beside the bed, and took a coke.

“It’s been so long since the last time I met her.”

Harry nodded, “She can spare her time and come here for a holiday too. It’s nice to meet her again.”

“Are you hungry? We haven’t had lunch yet. I’ll order room service?” he added, looking at his girlfriend who was sitting on a hammock on the terrace.

"Sure!" she yelled in a smile, before averted her gaze to the mangrove garden in front of her.

. . . .

The waves that afternoon rolled to sweep the shore, along with serene orange hue painting the skies so beautifully. Several wooden chairs lined the beach area facing the rustic arch where the bride and groom would vow to each other in front of the priest and witnesses. Everything looked so pure and beautiful with the white decorations. Flowers and dim candlelight lanterns arranged in such a way as to add modest yet romantic ambience. Pictures of the bride and groom hanging on some dried branches stuck in the sand. Everything so flawless yet modest in their own.

Kelly and David, her soon-to-be husband, agreed to have their ceremony before the sunset and immediately have their reception right after. The pair also asked everyone to remain seated when Kelly enters, in honour of David's grandparents who were in a wheelchair.

All the guests were already seated filling the chair. David and the priest were already standing in the front and everyone was waiting for the bride to come. Y/N and Harry sat in the second row, it gave them the advantage to see the couple very clear. Speaking of Harry, the man himself was busy with Lucy who was sitting on his lap. They were both giggling around and engrossed in their own world. Lucy's parents sat right next to him. If Lisa was busy admiring her baby boy in her arms, her husband shook his head to see how attached his daughter is to Harry.

Once in awhile, Y/N glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, praising how handsome her boyfriend is. The businessman was wearing a navy suit with a black shirt underneath the fabric; hanging low to his chest, made his two cross necklaces peeking out among his swallow's tattoos. A pale cream-white boutonniere tucked on his lapel, identical with her corsage in the left wrist.

Y/N herself wore a baby blue lace dress. The dress featured a pussy bow collar and a sheer torso with short sleeves hung until her biceps. The skirt was only reached above her ankles, showing her shiny fancy sandals. She didn't want to slip in the sand if she wore high heels, so she opted casual footwear.

Soft music began to hum along with everyone’s head turned around, looking at the bride in the back ready to enter. Thomas slowly lifted Lucy up so the little girl wouldn’t bother Harry anymore. Unconsciously, Y/N grabbed Harry’s hand just as Kelly slowly walked down the aisle. The bride was so beautiful in her wedding dress, smiling widely to every guest. Her father also looked happy even though Y/N was convinced that the old man surely had a feeling of sadness having to let go of his daughter.

“Kelly’s so beautiful,” she murmured, smiling softly to Harry, “I bet she’s nervous wreck right now.”

“I heard she didn’t sleep all night. But, she looks fresh now.” He said while rubbing her knuckles, “Maybe Lisa forced her to sleep after breakfast.”

“Mhm. She indeed looked like a mess this morning.” She nodded, “But, still looked beautiful.”

During the ceremony, Y/N watched closely without releasing her hand from Harry's grasp. Everything went smooth and solemnly. No wonder many guests shed tears when the bride and groom read their vows, and laughing along when David did something funny. Without her noticing, all the time her eyes looked at the couple with joy, Harry looked at his girlfriend in awe. His eyes didn't focus on the ceremony but the woman beside him.

In his daydream, he saw them in black and white standing on the altar – staring at each other deeply. Ignoring all eyes on them. He saw himself lifting her veil once the priest announced them officially as a married couple, and kissing her so dearly. He saw the night skies were so clear and they were dancing under the starry night, barefoot in the soft sand. The sound of wild waves being their music for dancing all night long until their feet hurt. He saw them being the happiest couple and life happily until eternity.

Was that what he wants?

Does she want that too?

Hell, Harry did not doubt love for her. But, Y/N?

He was madly deeply in love with her yet he was scared to tell her. Is it wrong for him falling in love with her not even a year into their relationship?

Is it a crime if he was dreaming of a marriage with her?

Is it just a wedding fever?

Or, he really does mean it?

In his vision, Harry showed off Y/N proudly as Mrs Styles. The one and only who was captivate his heart, his love, and his world. He saw her always standing next to him in every situation. Even the worst one. He saw the two of them settle down and ageing together.

The roar of applause woke him up from his sweet daydream. He reflexively clapped his hands, and just realised that Kelly and David had legally and officially become a husband and wife. When he averted his gaze to Y/N, he frowned to find his girl shed tears without busy to wipe them. She still looked beautiful despite her red eyes and wet cheeks.

“Why are you crying, baby?” he murmured while his thumb wiped her wet eyes. The girl just shook her head, sniffling softly, “They’re so beautiful together. So happy, so in love. I’m just.. touched.”

Harry laughed softly, “Oh, darling,” bringing her head to lean on his shoulder, “Stop your crying or everyone will assume I hurt you.”

"You have indeed hurt me, H."

“I.. have?” he asked her dumbfounded, blinking a few times – didn’t understand what she meant. Slowly, Y/N brought her lips to his ear. He felt goosebumps around his body when her soft breath blew his earlobe.

“Yes, you were. You had no mercy on me last night until we broke the lamp.”

Oh…

Harry smirked after get what she meant. He arched an eyebrow, looking all smug and cocky, “You weren’t complaining last night. After we broke the hammock, it seemed you didn’t want to stop. We literally marked almost all place.”

“Not with the pool and jacuzzi.”

“Save the best for the last,” he shrugged, “But, the one in the bathtub was so dirty.”

Her cheeks reddened, “That was beautiful because the clear and starry night was being our roof.”

Both of them laughing softly before Y/N covered her mouth. They shouldn't be talking about their topic at someone's wedding. But, they couldn't help how funny yet sexy last night. Yes, that was wild and dirty. The couple couldn't keep their hands to themselves. Both of them were so eager until the hammock and the lamp destroyed. It was like every time they were on holiday, it became their tradition to had sex in almost every corner of the room or villa in this case. It was only the first night, they still had two more nights and who knew where they would do it again.

They didn't realise that only the two of them were left by the beach, everyone had left the place and headed to another site where the reception would be held. The sun has disappeared at the end of the ocean and the orange sky had become darker. Ready for the moon and stars replaced the mighty sun.

The couple walked hand in hand along the shoreline with other hand carrying their footwear. Feeling the cold wind hit their face and warm water kissed their feet. Say they were selfish for being busy with themselves enjoying the beauty of the dusk, while at the far end the reception would start shortly.

“Don’t even start, H. You don’t want your Gucci suit get wet and dirty of water and sand.” Y/N laughed when Harry playfully pushed her to the middle.

“Harry!” she shrieked while lifting her skirt so it wouldn’t get wet, “I really want to play with you but we still have tomorrow.”

“Too late, the tip of my trousers is wet already.”

Rolling her eyes, she pushed Harry away from the water. “We don’t want to late and being a centre of attention because we’re soaking wet, do we?”

Being the cheeky man he was, Harry just grinning before pulled her head to him with one hand. Landing a kiss on his lover's lips while the sky above them was darker than before, the moon shining beautifully yet wasn't compared with the girl in his arms. Their clashing lips was their main focus despite the soft waves hitting the rock to create a romantic atmosphere. Y/N threw her sandals away for her hands could sneak into Harry's soft locks.

“You have no idea how much I want to stay like this and looking over the stars above,” he mumbled in her lips, “But, we must still present there.”

Y/N cracked a smile before licking his wet lips, her eyes stared at the pair of green irises piercing into her soul, “I know. We can sneak out when people don’t realise our presence. For now, I think your mum is looking for us.”

“Well then,” he shrugged, taking her sandals and locking their hands together, “Let’s go, darling.” . . Please excuse some errors Talk to me :)

[eyeslikefoxglove]

Episode 21 - The PTSD is strong with this one & we need more braincells

Hello hello! Welcome to the commentary. How’s everyone? I’m frozen solid because it’s mid-June in Spain and yet we had 11°C yesterday. Fucking awesome!

I AM NOT WEARING MASCARA SO I CAN CRY ALL I WANT. I DONT KNOW IF THATS GOOD OR BAD THO.

Can I just take a second to appreciate how much this big strong powerful men emote? I mean, I know this isn’t western media where the tough guy can’t show emotions, and I don’t know that eastern media has the same hangups about men emoting but just... it’s so refreshing.

Huaisang bb you’re so sweet.

Oh, oh the PTSD is strong with this one.

Also, bless both JC and NHS, they absolutely noticed WWX flinch and, in their own ways, went and steamrolled over it so WWX wouldn’t feel scrutinised.

WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST TO INFORM YALL THAT I GOT A KITTEN ON MY LAP. (She’s kneading my boob, which, ow, but...)

*BICHEN GRIIIIIIIP*

How do y’all think the guards go deliver bad news to WRH? Like do they paper-rock-scissor it? Draw straws?

NMJ did you have to?

And once again I wonder what would’ve happened if JFM had let sect leader Yao kick it.

Ughvhfnevus it’s this clown. Same as with Su She, if you see a bunch of screaming it’s just me not wanting to listen to Jin ZiXun.

The Nies: let’s throw a banquet to honour WWX’s return

Every asshole there: *gossips about WWX while in the room with him*

Once again I wish I could transmigrate (and speak mandarin lol) and just start delivering tongue lashings.

Listen, I have no idea how to play Guqin, but I did play the guitar for years and even from here I can see how much YiBo’s hands don’t match the melody. Nothing against him but why does this always happen? I know they got classes, so was the music not written by that time or something? Because one thing is not hitting the correct notes, another is plucking slow notes when the tempo is much faster.

JC: Since yours and LWJ’s unhappy separation...

My dumbass: do you mean breakup? *eyebrow waggle*

You will pry my “JC knows his brother is pinning after LWJ, he probably doesn’t want to know anything else” hc out of my cold dead hands thankyouverymuch.

WWX: *spouts a bunch of misdirection to avoid giving JC a straight answer*

JC: Bull-fucking-shit.

Should I count how many times WWX PTSDs all over the place or would you like me to leave your hearts intact? That’s two so far.

Ok ok, I feel that, if someone with a bit less trauma and a bit of insight (NHS maybe?) had seen the bit where ChenQing fucking hurts Shijie thing would’ve gone differently. I mean, yes, LWJ keeps warning WWX that this shit is gonna fuck him up, but as I said in my previous commentary LWJ also has the communication skills of a hermit crab so that wouldn’t work, and JC would be too wound up and WWX too busy trying to conceal his lack of golden core for that conversation to go anywhere. But if someone who WWX knows is a good egg (I’m not gonna say trusts bc paranoia) had sat him down and told him “your new instrument that you use for your new form of cultivation just hurt the person you love most please be careful when you use it.” I think it would’ve worked wonders towards his health overall.

I know Shijie says it’s like Zidian, but she’s not working with the fact that this thing is made for and by the Dark Side of the Force and I’m sorry but I can’t help but see ChenQing as a bit of a horrocrux almost. Or like, if you like me think the Burial Mounds is an Entity, something that’s a bit more sentient that it lets on.

Speaking of reputations and NHS being a good egg, I have oh-so-many ideas (I won’t say plot bunnies because I can’t write for shit) in which NHS for Reasons (time-travel? Letter from the future? His massive brain?) realises just how much damage WWX is doing to his public image. And he might be a sheltered dandy, but he saw what being the son of a sex worker did to Meng Yao despite how hard he worked (I’m assuming he doesn’t know about the whole betrayal business). This is way fucking worse, like hell is he going to let one of his best friends paint a target on his back. So he pulls back his sleeves, engages his slytherin brain and proceeds to lay down a plan to throughly destroy WWX’s reputation as a powerful genius.

I’m guessing LWJ and JC protest, and maybe WWX, and NHS just hits them with “do you want him respected or alive?” And they shut tf up. He glues himself to WWX, and brings up as many instances in which their behaviour can be compared as he can (we got drunk and punished at cloud recesses, we slept in class, we skipped to go fishing, I don’t carry my sword either). And, because assholes be assholes, people like Sect Leader Yao or Clown Cousin are quick to start spouting their own derogatory bullshit and thus WWX the untamed powerful prodigy dies a fiery death. Now he’s just a mouthy kid with a quick mind that “does tricks instead of battle” (I’ll never get bored of using that Thor quote). I also like to think that people who personally know WWX and are not pieces of shit go give NHS a tongue lashing for messing with what they thought was his friend, NHS takes that as a test of good eggness and bring them into the plan. Soon the whole Cloud Recesses class is swearing up, down, left, right and centre that all the shit WWX has ever successfully pulled is just an insane amount of luck and quick thinking.

I don’t know how would they work him into the battlefield (disguise? Mask?) to unleash his demonic cultivation but that’s Plot and I don’t do that.

Also, because I’m a terrible human being I want to say that people assume LWJ is on “pretty but useless” WWX like white on rice because *insert derogatory comment about being good in bed and sexual favours*. Because y’all know the assholes here are Like That. And WWX is horrified because holy fucking shit he’s gonna drag LWJ’s reputation down, he can’t have people thinking HGJ is ok with having him as a concubine pretty much. But before he can act LWJ politely all but confirms that yeah, he’s tapping that, y’all wish you were but he doesn’t share and none of y’all are good enough for his Wei Ying anyway. CUE FAKE/PRETEND RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE I AM INDEED TRASH FOR THAT TROPE.

Muahahahaha y’all thought I was gonna devolve into my personal hcs and not include my fave trope? Shouldn’t y’all know me better by now?

(Btw I like this bit ^ so I might polish it a little and post it separately as well, just a warning if you find yourself reading an eerily similar post by me)

WuJi is playing and LWJ is pining so much. Also, if LWJ did not just realise that, just like Yu the Great, WWX had no other option but tame resentful energy I’ll eat my blanket.

I refuse to believe Jiang Yanli didn’t become the unofficial war camp therapist/sounding board/only sane person/everyone’s mum/I just need a hug and a corner to cry in peace. There are not enough fics about Shijie being her gentle BAMF self while in the camp and it’s a pity. My crops are dying y’all!

Also, I will fight anyone who scoffs at Shijie being the epitome of the “gentle woman who cooks and waits for the men to come back from war”. Look at her mum, do you think it is easy for a kid (she was a kid in the flashback when WWX ran away) to see that day in and day out, to have that as a “role model” and decide that she was not going to be like her mum? That she didn’t like what she saw in her so she was going to be kind and gentle? And do you think it is easy for a person barely in their twenties to deal with years of verbal and psychological abuse for again, being gentle and kind, and not grow a hard shell of bitterness to protect themselves? And to keep being gentle and kind while at war, with your parents dead and your siblings unraveling before your very eyes? Shijie is so fucking strong and I love her.

Hey look, the White Walkers!

“Resentful energy is just energy” ok, valid. But my dude, you’ve got black ghost smoke coming out of you and can hear people screaming in your head. I’m not saying it is evil, like someone’s uptight set in his ways arrogant uncle; but it sure as shit ain’t healthy.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH (that’s a Clown Cousin scream btw)

Ok ok, just one little thing: IF SOMEONE ELSE CALLS WWX WEI YING AS A SHOW OF DISRESPECT IMMA SCALP THEM.

...are those crows eating that man alive? Yikes on bikes.

(Assume my comment about YiBo’s Guqin playing also goes for Xiao Zhan and his flute. I can’t play the flute but the tempo doesn’t match his fingers)

I’m just gonna say it, I think 3zun (well, 2zun as of now) suspect shit went down badly for WWX, that’s two questions by both of them in a very soft conciliatory tone. They are genuinely interested/worried about the topic, and don’t seem to come off as chiding or judgemental. I mean WWX is a weirdo irreverent kid and they’re sect leaders, they outrank him so much it’s ridiculous. I’m also counting the fact that both their baby brothers like him towards them being so kind. But I also think WWX just triggers all their big brother instincts the second he walks in.

Oh there’s a thought, Shijie, Wen Qing, NMJ and LXC take a look at everyone’s shitty parents and just decide to adopt everyone.

What happened at Yiling was a traumatised teenager (is WWX even 20?) PTSDing all over the place with the Dark Side of the Force whispering in his ear and an all powerful trinket at his disposal. Not saying I approve of all the torture and murder but he clearly isn’t revelling in them.

That is some outstanding bit of big-brothering on LXC’s side and I love it. Also, my dumbass just realised LWJ probably wasn’t quoting WWX when he was being punished (what is white what is black?) I think he was quoting his big brother. Which is magnitudes deep too, but in a different direction and I might love that scene even more.

Ok fuck it, I’m gonna tangent. So I had a terrible boyfriend when I was 15-18. He alienated me from my friends, sunk my self-esteem to the molten core of the earth, tried to convince me my parents were abusive and encouraged (aka threatened manipulated and cajoled) the slow tanking of my high school marks. I have A Problem when I see media where someone latches onto their significant other and everything they are shifts towards that person. Now, love, true genuine love, is powerful, and I believe it can be the catalyst for shifting your world-view for the better. I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t have a problem with people sticking with their romantic partner if it is clear their previous “family” is so much shit. I don’t have a problem with LWJ coming out of his shell and defying corrupt precepts because his love for WWX made them see they were wrong, or getting sassy and unrepentant during his punishment (I have a problem with the punishment bc that’s abuse but...). But I do side-eye WangXian being the only thing in their orbit. People need people, and WangXian have other good people around them. So I kind of love that yes, WWX showed him the system was corrupt, but it is the words of his brother he is sticking by to the defy said system.

Let’s go back to our scheduled slew of held pinning glances shall we?

LXC after That awkward run-in: WangJi I wasn’t gone that long, what the fuck did you two oblivious pining idiots do?

(LXC has “bitching” tea sessions with Shijie and you can’t convince me otherwise)

LWJ: *is being dramatic and not knocking on WWX’s door*

Me: oh my god you fucking idiot

Shijie: *walks in*

Me: oh thank god someone with a braincell.

Ah yes, there we go triggering WWX’s paranoia again. Why would he get a break.

OH MY GOD YOU PAIR OF FUCKING IDIOTS. THATS IT, FUCK THIS SHIT IM OUT.

@ LWJ: bitch wtf was that? I know you’re shit at talking but have you thought about writing it down? Letters anyone? It worked for mr. Darcy.

(Yes LWJ is mr darcy and now I want an au where LWJ writes WWX letters and just pours everything in them, WWX finds them, any everything is sunshine and rainbows)

While this bullshit fight/misunderstanding is all on LWJ’s shoulders, I’m also going to scream at WWX. Because yes, he is in PTSD hell, but he trusted LWJ before, and yet he can’t get past his perceived notion of LWJ’s character (and his own inadequacies) to trust him again and ask for help. Plus, you know, he thinks he doesn’t deserve he’ll bc *waves hand at WWX’s trauma conga line*

These episodes can’t be good for my BP.

Thanks for reading!

[ourneverendingpossibilities]

It’s Always Been You

Anime: Kuroko no Basuke Pairing: Kasamatsu Yukio x Reader Rating: K+ A/N: Here’s another chapter!! Ah, there were many ways I could have written this scene.. But this fit it best.. I really hope you guys like it!! (I love how I’m writing Kasamatsu in this series.)

____________________________

Coming to the mall was a big mistake.

In the back of your mind, you know you could've waited until Saturday to give your brother his birthday gift. You were holding a party on that day for the two of you so it wouldn't conflict with your busy schedules. But you also know that Kise would've complained about you not giving him a gift on his actual birthday, as he's done in the past.

Leaving you in this predicament.

You were crouching inside a bookstore, trying to hide away from the four boys standing about a hundred feet from your location. Of course Kise would be hanging out with his senpais for his birthday... That's the kind of guy your brother was... And then to have his fangirls make a huge deal... Right in front of the store you were forced to hide in... You rub your temples, trying to find a creative solution to escape... Releasing a heavy sigh, you take out your phone, sending him a text.

"I'm in the bookstore behind you... Come in alone... At the back."

You watch from behind the shelf as he opens his phone, wishing you could read his expression... His back was towards you, and you try very hard to keep out of sight of his teammates... You feel stares on your abnormal behaviour, and you ignore it, secretly hoping your brother would hurry up and come in the store... You breathe a sigh of relief when he comes towards you, watching the way a certain individual handles the crowd, with reddened cheeks. You weren't sure if it was out of embarrassment or anger, probably both, but you found your eyes drawn to his form for quite some time.

Until you hear a cough beside you.

Standing up straight, you turn your head up, staring at your brother with a look of embarrassment and annoyance. 

"Really Ryouta? You brought your senpais with you?"

He pouts, golden hues bright with emotion, "I..Is that any way to address your older brother, ____--cchi! I don't know why you won't come out and meet them!"

You roll your eyes, arms crossed with the gift in your hand. "We're from different schools, Ryouta… I highly doubt they'd want to meet me." 

Though a certain captain already knows me...

You bite your lip, feeling guilty for not telling Kasamatsu about your relationship with Kise. You sigh, knowing he wants to say something else, when you thrust the gift in his hands. 

"Here... I wanted to give you this. I have to get back home now... But please... PLEASE... Don't say where you got it from..."

He blinks, watching your posture with curious eyes, "But why ____-cchi?"

You open your mouth, as if ready to retort when you stop, shaking your head instead. "Just... I don't want any attention on me... So go back to your senpais, enjoy your birthday and we'll see each other on Saturday okay?"

He can tell you're hiding something, but chooses to remain silent... He wonders if his senpais are intimidating you, and that's why you don't want them knowing you're giving him a gift...

"Okay... If you say so..."

He proceeds to leave, gift in hand, before he pulls you into a soft hug, resting his head on yours.

"Thank you for the gift, ____-cchi…. Happy birthday..."

You feel a smile tug on your mouth, thankful your hood is up and covering you from the unwanted stares.

"Thank you, Ryo-chan..."

You watch him walk out of the bookstore, joining up with his senpais, almost giggling loudly when Kasamatsu kicks him for ditching them. It's then, you sneak towards the front, watching the four men walk away from the store. You feel a tinge of loneliness at the display of affection your brother receives.. Particularly from a certain raven-haired male, who's yelling at Kise for whatever it is he did... 

"You have good senpais, Ryouta… Please treasure them."

When a large group of people walk by, you take that as your sign to leave, blending in well with the crowd. Amidst sneaking past, you didn't notice your bracelet snapping from being pushed forward, doing your best to leave this mall and get on the next train to Tokyo... You just want to retreat home, spend the rest of your birthday in peace without any drama.

Unfortunately, that's the complete opposite of what happened.

__________________________________

He's never felt so hurt and angry in his entire life. 

Kise begged him to spend time with him at the mall for his birthday.. Which resulted in them being swarmed by a group of fangirls, and then he hastily vanishes for several minutes inside a bookstore. When he came out, he was holding a gift, with a tender expression in his golden hues.

"From my biggest fan-su… She personally came by to deliver this gift."

The same gift you bought while shopping with him a couple weeks back.

The memory of that day is now tainted when he realized that gift was for Kise…. He should've known... You were much too pretty to be single... To think a guy like him would even stand a chance... He sighs, trying to quell the anger in his veins... But the anxious expression in your eyes when you bought it flashes in his mind, making him bite back a growl in his throat. His hand clenches the bracelet now resting in his pocket, having noticed it on the ground as they were leaving the mall after another group of Kise's fangirls became too much. 

Against his judgement, he decides to head to Tokyo, realizing it'll be late by the time he gets home. But at this point, he doesn't care. He NEEDS to know... It's driving him crazy, not knowing what your relationship to Kise is... And why you chose to keep it from him instead of being open. The anger in his veins is at war with how he genuinely feels for you.. And his mind goes back to the time at your house, when you fell asleep on him, bundled in his jacket. The hand he was using to massage your head wound up in your hands, as you half cuddled him in your sleep.

His heart didn't beat the same after that day.

You haven't left his mind since. And it's been driving him crazy, to the point he wants to scream. To yell to the sky how much he likes you... He sighs, almost bumping into you as you run towards the train station. Instead, his hand grabs your arm, and he's dragging you to the nearest park, ignoring your cries and pleas. He needs to know... God, he has to know... Or he'll go mad.

"What is Kise to you?"

The two of you are at the playground, abandoned due to the setting sun and his blue hues are glaring down into your golden eyes. They're bright, like the sun, and he watches them flicker with several emotions, it leaves him breathless.. The silence is deafening, and yet, he finds he can't comprehend what your expression means, because it's giving him mixed signals... It's leaving him confused.

Your mind is reeling, trying to come up with an answer to give him... You can feel the anger, the seriousness and what appears to be pain in his eyes.. That's the one thing you can't quite pin down... Why does he show pain within those beautiful eyes?

You swallow, trying to breathe... But with him standing so close, the desperation within his voice ringing through your mind, you're left immobile. 

"I know you're the one who gave him that gift, _____... You can't fool me." he pulls out your bracelet, pressing it into your palm, "You dropped this on your way out..."

You couldn't take your eyes off him, feeling yourself shrink at his anger.. God.. You want to speak... Want to tell him that it isn't what he thinks... He's the one you really like..

And yet... your voice is lost.

"S....Senpai...."

His eyes soften a little at your voice, but they immediately harden once more. He pulls away, distancing himself from you, never tearing his eyes from your widening ones.

"Look, I don't care what your relationship with Kise is. But I don't need anyone ruining his concentration for the Inter-high." He begins, voice slightly quivering, "Our priority is winning first, and I can't have any girl coming between my ace and the team, understand?"

The tone in his voice hurts. You can feel your heart slowly crack, as if he's telling you he wants nothing to do with you... Just like.... your brother last year... You told yourself you wouldn't cry, no man could ever make you cry... But damn, his words take you to the time your brother abandoned you, putting all his focus on modelling. He distanced himself from you, the same way your friend/crush is now...

"I...." you stop, biting your bottom lip before shaking your head, walking towards him with anger in your eyes. It's dulled by the tears, but you don't waver, not when the man in front of you matters more.

"What Kise is to me doesn't matter." you finally say, grabbing his jacket roughly to hold him in place. "You want him to focus on basketball? So do I. Because we made you a promise that we would face you at the Inter-high, and I'm not going to back down from that promise."

His eyes widen at your words, the conviction behind them, "H...How?"

"Hyuga-senpai told me." you declare, voice even, "I would never come between Kise and his team. I never had any intention of doing so. But I will make myself clear."

Your eyes harden, voice stern, "It's not any of your business what he is to me. Because my relationship to him, has absolutely nothing to do with my relationship and feelings towards you, Yukio-senpai."

You let go of his jacket, shoving by him and wanting to go home... You're tired, exhausted, and just want a good night's sleep. To just start tomorrow off right. You want to return to your dreams, where Kasamatsu is running his hand through your hair, lightly massaging your head as you lay beside him, the two of you alone. To hell with this drama, with Kise somehow ruining your chances of even dating before it begins...

You don't hear the rushed steps, or the low growl in the back of his throat, so you're completely caught off guard when Kasamatsu grabs your wrist, twirling you to face him. You don't have time to escape when his hands grasp the sides of your face, holding you in place as he crushes his mouth on yours, a half whimper leaving his occupied lips. You wince a little at the force, but rather than fight him, you ease into it, your body melting at his embrace. You weren't sure what spurred Kasamatsu to act like this, but you'd be lying if you say you didn't want this to happen. Your fingers find purchase on his jacket, holding him close as you move your mouth slowly against his. 

However, just as quickly as it happened, he withdraws from your lips, staring down at you with half-lidded hues. His thumb rubs the corner of your mouth, lightly panting as he fights to regain breath he lost from not only the kiss, but the emotions overtaking his mind, body and heart. Kasamatsu's heart races when your eyes open, revealing glazed golden hues, full of emotion mirroring his own, and he can't help but lean down again to press a soft, lingering kiss to your mouth. You reciprocate his actions, feeling yourself floating on cloud nine, until you pull back, meeting his gaze with your own. You lick your lips, releasing a shaky breath, before burying your face in his jacket, cheeks burning darkly at the display of affection.

"Y...You really know how to make a girl feel special on her birthday, senpai...."

Your words bring him back to reality, and he blushes, shaking his head at your words.

".... S....Shut up.... brat..."

Your giggles make him fluster further, but he pulls back, staring down at you with a look of confusion, "You share a birthday with Kise?"

You blush, avoiding his gaze with a pout, "It's rather annoying... He gets all the attention..."

He snorts, pulling you into his chest resting his head on top of yours. "Be grateful you don't get the same attention as Kise… I think I'd have a heart attack if I had to chase boys away from you..."

You burst out laughing, holding him tighter as you bury yourself in his chest, feeling oddly secure and protected.... He's always made you feel this way, but after sharing that surprisingly good kiss, your first kiss as well, you find yourself addicted to him. In ways you can't begin to describe.

"Someone sounds rather... jealous..."

He frowns, blushing at your teasing tone before lightly bonking your head. He smirks when you pull back, pouting at his playful teasing, before leaning down to sneak another kiss from your pouty lips.

"Coming from you, that doesn't mean much..." he winks, pulling back from your reddening face and snakes his hand between yours. 

"I'll walk you home, birthday girl... Maybe we can stop at the bakery on the way home to get you a small cake."

He watches as your eyes widen at his words, before you're beaming at him, nodding your head happily. "I...I'd like that, Yukio-senpai!"

And once again, his heart races in his chest, this time because he has all of your attention, and he'd be an idiot not to keep you with him.