#and they all deal with tourists and gossip in their free time | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

selfshippinglover · 5 months ago

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~Cannibal Town and Rosie HCs~

~Yeeah Cannibal town is EASILY my favorite location overall though! Between the gorgeous aesthetics, the peaceful(in Hell's standards anyway) people, and the general casual nature of like, stepping out onto the street and seeing the bloodbath that no one is really blinking and eye at since it's just their typical Sunday. Like, really enjoy the casual bloodlust of it all! XD Also, it looks like everyone there is living in really good living conditions tbh! like, they've all got whole ass houses and all the essentials! This may be the only ring living pretty but hey! There's someone living good at least XD Plus, it's a place where Alastor is bound to pop up sometimes! :DDD

~She has balls, parties, bashes, and the like year round! I think she'd prefer to keep it to the town and like, the Pride ring but also she'd invite the other Overlords as a necessity...and for some juicy gossip hopefully lol

~Because she cares so much for her people she's prone to overworking herself at times. case in point, the big as parties. She also insists on giving her subjects only the best which feeds into that! I like to think she has an assistant and they often have to remind her to take a step back and take care of herself. As well as offer assistance and low-key poke others to help where Rosie can't see sometimes.

~Rosie IS the Overlord with the most patience and care in all the rings to me tbh. Like, everyone else sees it more as a job or a way to keep themselves safe and in power. They don't see the other residents as anything more than a means to end. The one exception miiiight be Carmilla? Need more of her to feel more sure tbh

~It hasn't been shown but I firmly believe that Cannibal Town has lots of shops in it! A hat shop like the one in Howl's Moving Castle, older style barbershops, beautiful and bountiful dress shops, and the like! I like to think they're all run by Cannibal Town residents and it's like, a lot if not all of them are home run so all funds go straight back to the town! :D

~Following that, they like to have tourists! It's an excuse to get dressed up, throw a shindig, annnd go all out! Though, Rosie is quick to kick out others that won't use their manners =-='

~Cannibal Town looks like the most walkable city we've seen also tbh? Like, you don't have to go far to find the local veggie place or cozy little coffee shop, groceries anything you need is all right there and easy to get to! I think it'd be cool that if the place has public transportation it's more like railroads or trolleys! :DDD

~OOO Them having a yearly like, pagent would also be soooo cool!

~They grow the best greenery in all the rings hands DOWN! Someone for sure runs a flower shop and can name every flower species and describe their symbolism off the top of their head <333

~No one is sure how but Rosie just KNOWS ALL THE GOSSIP IN TOWN SHE JUST DOES. You have questions about a new arrival or a demon that's bee there for eons? She's your gal! <333

~Rosie is the town matchmaker and is happy to take people out of town up on thing in that ilk if they ask! Just uh, make sure she isn't busy with other things first, yeah? She's quite the busy lady! Special shout out to if you're a friend you get gossip and matchmaking completely free cause she lives for the drama lkfdhlhg

~I get the feeling that Cannibal Town doesn't have dealings or good transports from other rings unless it's absolutely necessary, she's partnering with an Overlord, (could be short or long term) and/or it's part of playing nice with other Overlords to keep peace in her town. The town is so self-sufficient it isn't really needed. Could see carmilla's weapons being an exception to this when it coems to Extermiantion day thou

~Rosie would get along well with Zestiel! Like Alastor, he's another person that values good manners, is clearly quite intelligent, speaks very eloquently,(i could SO see them writing letters to one another and/or poetry <3) and sure looks like he knows ho to dance! :D I think they'd have a great time! Pluuuus, she can get gossip from before she died and from other rings~ Only wins here!

~Speaking of dancing, Rosie really emnjoys dancing! It's a general passtime of hers, something she enjoys doing with friends, lovers, anyone she has a bond with! I think she'd be really happy to teach others too! It's a great way to bond, is a requirement at most of her parties, and is super fun! She likes to lead the town's children in dances at the balls and such <3 They're jsut so cute she could eat them up!

~Heehee Rosie is a dad pun ENJOYER as well as plenty about killing and eating! She's sooo funny and trades puns with Alastor often! Like to think Alastor is one of the few people thta can keep her on her feet in that way, actually!

~Rosie is generally for the people but also needs a bit more money than the townspeople for negotiations and construction around town. On a related note, I think thye like to keep their building as long as possible! Whether it's beacuse they're legitmately from that time period or designed to look like that, Rosie and the townsfolk care a lot about the work that goes into it so they keep em around as long as they aren't a health risk

~Rosie gives off the energy that she came from a rich family that had important duties or perhaps diplomatic roles which is why she's so good at being a leader and was quick to make a place settled under her roots.

~This is small but you'll see more personal or little touches outside in Cannibal town like suncatchers and birdfeeders. Things thta are decorative but in fun shapes

~I'm a big believer in the head canon that you can freely drift between Rings in hell, It's just you are "born" or sent to the one that is closest related to your personal sin and you have to start from there. Like, the satrting point in a videogame!

~I FORGOT! THE MAN EATING PLANTS! Those are a common sight around Cannibal Town! I like to think they end up as centerpieces and/or door guards a lot of the time :3

~Rosie LOVES musicals! She prefers to go see them live and in person ofc. It was normal for the time she's from and she feels more connected to the art that way but also she isn't willing to let Vox or any of his tech into her town >:( not only does Alastor hate the guys guts but all the Vees seems to speak with an amount of disregard and/or disdain for the past. Which rubs her the wrong way

~To be clear, that doesn't mean she wouldn't potentially befriend or even date Vox, she cares about her friends opinions but she's very much the type to make her own decisions in friends UvU,, Alastor both respects this and is annoyed by it at times XD

~I know Rosie would never allow Vee tech in her town but OUGH SHE NEEDS TO SEE SWEENY TODD SHE WOULD LOOVE ITT

#tw hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel hcs #cannibal town #cannibal town hazbin hotel #cannibal town hcs #rosie hcs #rosie cannibal town hcs #i am being so brave about dharing these #feel free to comment #agree #disagree #add on stuff!#Cannibal Town is my favorite location and i think of it lots!!

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cocktailsfairytales · 1 year ago

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Love You Right

by Julia Kent

(Love You, Maine, #1)

Publication date: April 26th 2022

Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

A missed opportunity five years ago makes for an unexpected encounter now between two people meant for each other – but who square off in a very public battle of wills in the small town of Love You, Maine, where every day is Valentine’s Day. Can love conquer all in a town steeped in it?

Kell Luview refuses to be a sucker at love again. Five years ago, he left D.C. with his tail between his legs and his heart broken. Fiercely protective of his small town in rural Maine, he’s determined to save the family tree business and avoid his feelings at all costs, no matter how much he longs to solve the mystery of what happened in D.C.

L.A. native Rachel Hart hates being underestimated almost as much as she hates this small town. She has two goals on this trip: get out of the cheesy tourist trap of Love You, Maine with a completed business deal, and avoid running into Kell, her old friend from D.C. who never became an old flame because of a huge misunderstanding.

One that still aches.

When her rental car breaks down on a logging road and Kell comes to her rescue, it’s clear he’s a changed man – and not for the good. Grumpy and reserved, he pushes all her buttons, still stubbornly convinced she betrayed him all those years ago. He’s never forgiven her, and she’s never forgiven herself for carrying a torch for him.

An embarrassing incident gets the town gossip mill going when residents wrongly assume Kell and Rachel are the newest couple to find love in the most romantic place on Earth. But the townsfolk aren’t wrong for long…

As Rachel breaks through his defenses and charms the town, he faces his biggest fear: all those pesky feelings he’s been avoiding.

Because they’re all about Rachel now.

And maybe they always were.

Can Kell and Rachel fight their growing attraction in the one place in the world where you can’t avoid love?

If you’re looking for a fun read about enemies to lovers, forced proximity, heroines who get their comeuppance and sworn bachelors felled by unexpected true love, featuring a hot bearded lumberjack impervious to poison ivy, and a city-slicker, jaded career woman with a penchant for great coffee, set in a small town in New England – then this is your book.

Grab a cup of (properly good) coffee, a can of hot cocoa mix, a jar of Fluff and maybe some calamine lotion (just in case), and get your happymeter ready as you read the very first book in New York Times bestselling romantic comedy author Julia Kent’s Love You, Maine series – where love isn’t just a feeling – it’s a way of life.

✓Standalone

✓Enemies to Lovers

✓Small town romance

✓Lumberjack and city slicker outsider

… and a cat named Calamine

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59694646-love-you-right

Purchase:

FREE for a limited time only!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KkYe7l

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-you-right-julia-kent/1140922643?ean=2940160825670

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/love-you-right/id1606788218

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/love-you-right

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Julia_Kent_Love_You_Right?id=s4xaEAAAQBAJ&hl=en_US&gl=US

AUTHOR BIO:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.

From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men's room toilet (and he isn't a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at [email protected], on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com

Social Media Links:

Website: http://jkentauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jkentauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jkentauthor

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/2PIBi9n

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jkentauthor/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julia-kent

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3238619.Julia_Kent

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Julia-Kent/e/B00A99V268/

GIVEAWAY

Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

$25 Amazon gift card

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d04251235598/

Hosted by Xpresso Book Tours

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hargrove-mayfields · 3 years ago

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Harringrove tag game! by @lovebillyhargrove

I was tagged by @mrsblackruby! tysm!! <3

1. Do they get together BEFORE MF possessing Billy or AFTER shit goes down? (Or maybe DURING😲)

Typically I say before, like at around Christmas time in ‘84. I think anybody in a small town puts aside character prejudices around the holidays and tries to make those connections with everyone, so I’ve always felt, especially since the fight was literally only a month before, that Steve would reach out to Billy the night of the Snowball and things would, well, snowball from there.

2. Who kisses who first?

Definitely Steve. I firmly stand by the hc that Billy’s never kissed a boy before Steve, and maybe Steve hasn’t either, but he’s the romantic, no way is he going to let Billy kiss him first.

3. Where do they have their first sex? (Location) (HJs and BJs count)

I don’t really have a solid answer for this? But definitely somewhere very spur of the moment, maybe somebody’s couch or the locker rooms?

4. Who says 💖 I LOVE YOU 💖 first?

Imma say Billy. Opposite of my last answer, I don’t feel like either of them would say they love each other on accident or like, in the moment. I think their first I love you’d would be very very controlled. I also think Billy has less experience with actually being in love, so when the time comes that he’s actually mustered up the courage to say it to Steve, I think he’s super nervous and practices the perfect scenario in his head a dozen times. It’s definitely not blurted out.

5. I believe this fandom is way past having hard feelings about it, so

BottomSteve! or BottomBilly?

I don’t have a strong opinion either way, but typically, I prefer bottom!Steve. No particular reason, that’s just the way I tend to read things!

6. Do they give gifts to each other?

Absolutely! Billy doesn’t have the disposable income to run out and buy Steve new things every time he wants to give him something, so I think he does a really cheesy like, giving him a kiss as a present and making a big deal out of it.

Steve is sort of the same way, in that he doesn’t like to give Billy material things, because he doesn’t want him to think he’s being pretentious or trying to hold his wealth over Billy’s head like he’s his mom or something, so he only gives Billy personal things. Old pilled t-shirts to wear to bed and a blanket to keep on the couch in his room that smells like him. Things like that.

They also try to make eachother things as presents, like food or little knick knacks in art class, but they always fail miserably and think it’s really funny when all they have to show is a smoking mess.

7. Where do they end up living? California, Chicago, Hawkins... Idk .. Alaska??)))) Any other location?

I honestly think they stay in Hawkins. I don’t think after everything Billy would be able to leave Max behind, and I also think that Steve would like having a connection to where he grew up, even if bad things happened there. If they did leave though, I see them going down south, maybe tourist trap Tennessee?

8. What are their future jobs?

In my mind that very much depends on if we’re following canon and this is post Starcourt or like, if it’s a whole new AU. Because after that I don’t think Billy would actually ever be physically well enough to work again. I know it’s a pretty unpopular opinion, bc the general hc is that he bounces back within a year or so with some scars (which is cool! I’m not knocking that I’m just sayin) but I think he'd be permanently disabled, on oxygen support 24/7, and just with all sorts of health complications from, you know, literally having a gaping hole in his chest, that would make it impossible for him to work. In that sort of scenario I usually think of Steve as a being teacher or an artist, something that he doesn’t have very long work hours or can do from home so he can be there to take care of Billy.

If we’re going with like, a no upside down or a Billy is never hurt au, I think he stays in Hawkins and just works in some sort of a mom and pop until he’s the new manager, like at an antique store maybe?

(p.s. stay tuned for an upcoming fic about Billy working in a fix-it shop!!)

As for Steve, I feel like he wouldn’t ever be able to settle on one career when he didn’t have limitations. I don’t really know what he’d eventually decide is his calling, maybe design of some sort? Jewelry making?

This is a hard question, I don’t really see them as being tied down to one career indefinitely, but I do know I don’t see either of them ever working desk jobs.

9. Who's a better cook?

Neither of them. Billy wasn’t allowed in the kitchen growing up because Neil said it’s a woman's place, and Steve is just god awful at following directions, like, can’t tell the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon or preheat the oven awful. They just eat takeout and like, cold sandwiches literally all the time until someone (Joyce) notices and teaches them how to cook on the weekends.

10. Steve Hargrove or Billy Harrington?

Billy Harrington. I don’t see him wanting to be a Hargrove anymore. He has no positive ties to the name with his mom leaving and his dad being his dad, so I think he’d want to take Steve’s last name. Also this is kinda weird but I am VERY particular about my middle name hcs (I think it’s an ocd thing? idk) and I have an alliterative name for Steve that wouldn’t work if he was a Hargrove instead of a Harrington, so that’s also part of the reason.

11. What's Max's reaction when she hears they're together?

I think probably just like, confusion. Not over Billy being with a boy, but over that boy being Steve. Like, she doesn’t know Steve well, but she knows he’s the responsible big brother to Dustin, and that’s the exact opposite of what her brother is like, so it catches her off guard. She’s definitely a little gossip though, wanting all the not-gross details about Steve from her brother. She’s basically just a little sister about it, I guess.

12. Describe in ONE SENTENCE Hopper's reaction when he hears the names Hargrove and Harrington mentioned together?

Not again.

13. Does Robin like Billy OR does Robin hate Billy?

I think she likes him. I have a little hc that she and him were together in an underground pre-gsa kinda thing in high school. She pretends she can’t stand him, but the two of them are quick best friends. (this might just be me but I think the two of them together would give statler and waldorf vibes)

14. What about Dustin?

Dustin I think actually thinks Billy is really cool. Like, he’s like a little double agent, hearing from Max all the annoying things about Billy, and from Steve the good things. He’ll gag if Steve gets too mushy over him and he’ll definitely join in with Max in calling Billy gross, and he also absolutely gives Billy a (very non-intimidating. he’s too soft) shovel talk, but I think he really likes and looks up to Billy as like, his other big brother.

15. Fav Harringrove AU?

Oh gosh, I can’t even pick. I think I like childhood friends aus best? They’re really fun to play with and it always ends up being super sweet. I’m a big fan of soulmates too for kind of the same reasons. I like mushy stuff.

16. Billy+Camaro=...??? (Not strictly Harringrove, but I can't not to ..)

I honestly don’t think Billy cares about the camaro that much. He’d be sad when it gets totaled because that was his only way of getting around and also his first car, but I don’t think the car itself has that much value to him. I mean, he treats it with absolutely zero respect, jumping curbs and driving too fast and slamming on those breaks. The camaro is just a car. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’ll tag: @lifegaurd-hargrove85! @deardmvz! and @strangebrainrot! no pressure! and as usual, if anybody else sees this and wants to participate, feel free!

#tag game!!#long post #harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #ej writer

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echo-three-one · 4 years ago

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The Bounty Hunter

Alex was one of the best bounty hunters in the country, but no one knows that. He used to work alone and had single-handedly caught every man with a reward on their heads. But this time, he needed help. Each day Barkov and Hadir's Bounty was increasing and none of the other bounty hunters had the guts to catch up to his sneaky schemes. This is his story on how he caught the most elusive criminal of his time.

I suck at summaries!

Western AU for Alex because why not. Thank you battle pass *kiss*

Part I - The Bounty Hunter, The Bartender and the Other Bounty Hunter

He groaned in frustration against the world's distractions that bothered his basic senses. The sun's rays on his eyes, which he attempted to cover with his arm, the loud annoying cheering of the crowd just below his room, the searing heat of the area making his skin sweat, the smell of gunpowder from downstairs and the taste of last night's drinks were still lingering on his tongue. It was going to be a tough day for him.

He turned to the woman who slept peacefully on the other side of his bed, wondering how she could sleep with all these things going on around. He just chuckled and made his way to the bathroom, washed his face and cleared off the taste of liquor in his mouth.

He grabbed his coat and hat by the door, holstered his gun, wore his boots and exited the room.

The inn was quiet and empty. Ever since the villainous Barkov and his right hand man Hadir were on the loose, tourists no longer visited the area, despite it usually booming with people given that this town was home to the best bazaars throughout the county.

He tipped his hat to the receptionist who eyed him differently ever since he entered the area. He was a new face to the town, so locals might just be suspicious. That or she's another one of those who gets attracted by his charms.

The Bounty Hunter pushed the double doors open to see the culmination of the high noon duel, people started going back to their places as the Sheriff, an old man with a signature moustache and his right hand man, a younger fellow with a skull mask, were already clearing up the area.

He didn't let this moment stop him from going to the bar, where he was advised by the lady he met last night that a certain bartender with an unmissable hairstyle would know a lot about the person he's looking for.

As people ran away from the sheriff, the saloon was now filled with rowdy people getting back to their businesses after the duel. Some tables were splitting bets while some resumed drinking and being loud.

Alex set his gaze on the counter where a man with a mohawk, donning a decent bartender attire, stood shaking a few bottles and wiping off the table. Most of the barmens eyes were already on Alex as he walked to the stool by the counter and was greeted by the bartender he was looking for.

"Howdy! Welcome to Saloon 141. What can I get ye?" He greeted the new face who sat in front of him. Alex stared at the man and placed a piece of paper on the table, a wanted sign with Barkov's face on it, along with a wealthy amount of reward.

The bartender looked down and looked around, suspiciously looking at everyone in the room.

"When I heard rumors of a new face in town, I half expected it to be another bounty hunter." He murmured, pouring a drink and sliding it to Alex.

"The name's Soap by the way. And judging on how you knew that I know stuff, you must be very good at this." He mused, shoving the paper back on his pocket.

"Barkov is a very stealthy son of a bitch. I once knew someone looking for him for three years now. She occasionally visits for more information, but as time passes by, I only know one thing." Soap said as quietly as possible.

"My friend works for him. He's always on the run, but every third Sunday of the month, he visits the abandoned mine on the edge of this town. He resupplies water there. Now please, if you intend to catch him, try your best not to compromise his location. This is the only thing constant in his schedule." Soap informed Alex and he gave him a wealthy tip. The bartender chuckled as he pocketed his reward for such information.

He stayed for a while as he ordered some grub to eat. It was still the second Sunday of this month so he still had time to devise his perfect plan to capture Barkov.

Alex observed everyone at the saloon. He could notice that he's being the center of gossip on most tables and didn't mind it. Maybe it's because of his flashy coat, or his foreignness, but he wasn't new to the feeling.

"Say, you got yourself some fancy clothing. Are those from the Capitol?" Soap asked as soon as he was free from customers. Alex wasn't a fan of small talk, but considering how this man helped him a lot today, he might as well share a few things.

"Yeah. Bought them after my hundredth catch." He said, not attempting to boast but Soap felt astonished.

"Damn. Hundred catches. Does that mean?" He quickly grabbed a pen and tissue, sliding it on Alex's front.

"My old man would love a signature from you. It's just miner rumors but he thinks you're the one who captured The Wolf." he said, pretty amused at his discovery.

Alex chuckled and signed the tissue. He didn't sign autographs but if some of the miners knew of him, they might as well deserve the recognition.

It was indeed him, who caught the wolf. It was also the last memory of his trusted steed, who got shot by his target. The bastard ran through the mines and threatened to kiss everyone just to evade capture. One way or another, he outsmarted the outlaw and saved the mines. That was one of his near death moments, where he realized that he'd better work alone.

He had nowhere else to go so he decided to stay at the saloon and get drunk. It was already three in the afternoon when the door opened and everyone fell quiet.

Curious as to who might be the cause of the disturbance, Alex slowly turned his head to the door, where a woman walked in. She had a green bandana on and matching wear that made her look like a bounty hunter too. Alex wondered who this woman was after and how she established quite the presence.

"You. New face. What is your deal here?" She asked, her tone was demanding and Alex wondered why she was mad.

"Just enjoying a drink." He lowered his cap and greeted. Her eyes stood out once their gazes met, there was something in there that Alex can't seem to forget.

"John. Is this man telling the truth?" Alex turned to Soap who was now referred to as John. Soap turned to him and back to the woman.

"Yes Karim. He also ate lunch here." He replied. Then what happened next was muttering between the two and the rest of the tables. Alex didn't mind as he resumed his drinking and classified this event as an awkward moment. Whoever this girl was had enough authority to quiet a rowdy crowd and Alex was to not take her lightly.

But he already had a feeling that they're both after the same person.

"A little competition couldn't hurt." He muttered with a smirk, downing his last drink, leaving his payment and exited the saloon.

[To be continued...]

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

#alex echo 3 1 #farah karim #john soap mactavish #barkov #hadir karim #horrayfic #thebountyhunter

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kdramachitchat · 3 years ago

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Hometown ChaChaCha Ep 6 Recap -

How to ignore one's feelings and crossing the line? Hyejin and Dusik deals with the aftermath of the kiss and a incoming love triangle. Having parents who are "annoying" shows that they care. Having parents is something not to regret about.

Hyejin starts to ignore Dusik and Dusik clearly knows that she remembers. She also visits the coffee shop and sees Juri with her father arguing about her grades. Chunjae is agreeing with everything Hyejin is saying and gave her coffee for free. Looks like this episode will focus on the father-daughter relationship. Dusik keeps on appearing mostly where Hyejin is like at the clinic and asks her if she caters to walk-ins. Hyejin keeps dodging him and tells him to be professional. As a professional Hyejin asked if anything has been bothering him (dentist inquiry) but Dusik tells her its about the kiss. Chunjae then spotted Dusik with a girl as well as the rest of the group at the chat.

Dusik complains that his ear is irritating him. Accdg to superstitions that means someone is talking about you. He is suddenly distracted by someone causing a ruckus at Gam-Ri’s place and it's Sung-Hyun. Dusik is surprised himself. It was all a misunderstanding and Gam-ri offered him a meal. Looks like Dusik and Sunghyun are getting along.

With the mix-up cleared, Sung-Hyun gushes over how beautiful Gam-Ri’s house is and how nice the old woman is. Well, this pure soul as mentioned by Dusik eventually goes off to stay at the Parang Guesthouse but has a awful sense of direction.

We find out that Juri ran away from her father and hid at Hyejin's house. Dusik found out and stopped over to get her because her father is worried sick. Dusik left after not wanting to interrupt her after Hyejin told him off that she can stay for the night. Chunjae requested Hyejin to take care of his daughter. Though Chunjae keeps giving her instructions. Very worried dad. Juri suddenly asks Hyejin about her parents and tells her that her mother passed away too. I think both Juri and Hyejin will be able to bond more over a lost parent. Juri tells Hyejin her own frustrations about her dad. Hyejin ran away from home too at young. She skipped school and went to the beach. She said that her dad got himself a girlfriend. Compared to Hyejin who is closeminded, Juri will support her dad more if that ever happened. Juri is more mature than we thought. Dusik decides to stop by the coffee shop and sees Chunjae crying. Dusik tells him that she probably took after her mom and Chunjae is worried. Dusik tells him that kids with parents are lucky but Chunjae eventually comforts Dusik instead. Chunjae then ask him about Hyejin. Tells him to find someone to lean on and have less of the baggage. That's something to think about. The next day Chunjae thanks her and Hyejin tells him that Juri is not a little kid anymore. That she needs her own world and time. Chunjae may have a difficulty acceptiing the change. Hyejin tells him that she found what she wants to do and shows him the sketches. Well things hit the fan after a incident on her fanmerch. After leaving the cofee shop Hyejin sees Dusik with that woman again and becomes jealous. We see Sunghyun going around like a tourist taking photos and sees the dental clinic but passes by Hyejin without knowing.

The neighbors has another townhall meeting again about the upcoming festival. The gang keeps talking about Hyejin and Dusik, Hyejin is not letting this slide and finds it irritating. Dusik defends them that gossip kills time but to Hyejin it's not to her expense. Hyejin also tells him that she doesn't just befriend anyone. She's grateful for his help and tells him not to cross the line. Dusik thought she changed for the better and is disappointed that she's still the same. Sad how things turned out because of a kiss.

At the day of the festival they both stopped by for different reasons, Hyejin and Dusik keeps on ignoring each other. Things turned sour. Though both went to support Juri and joined her on stage. They both argue and Dusik tells her that she must continue to blame on others for her own decisions and faults. Hyejin took the price money Juri won and agrees to do her braces. Juri is grateful and Dusik actually smiled. As a surprising act Juri's favorite boygroup goes to the stage but she's too busy to look at her phone, then eventually notices. Even Hyejin became a fan. Hahaha.

Hyejin and Dusik discusses about crossing each other's line. Though, Dusik tells her dont draw the line with a imaginary eraser. Juri also got injured so she got carried by Chunjae after trying to chase her favorite member from the boygroup. Juri in the end gets a compliment too and her injury didnt bother her that moment. Chunjae offers his prize money to pay for her braces, Juri tells her dad that she doesnt need to because her favorite boyband member recognizes her for her unique tooth. No matter how annoying your parent could be and vice versa they just care for you. Chunjae tells stories about him and her mom, Hyejin sees them from afar in reflection. Hyejin decides to call her dad and talk about flowers blooming which led him to be happy. Hyejin and Juri eventually meets. Dusik tells her that she's proud and what she did was a cool deed on his book. Dusik copies her words and they both are surprised to see fireworks. They call the fireworks pretty but Dusik has his eyes locked on Hyejin. I bet in his mind she's the prettiest one.

Slowly building the love triangles. Dusik tripped and was saved by both Sunghyun and Hyejin. Hahaha. Hyejin is shocked to see her sunbae. At the epilogue, when we see Sunghyun going to the guesthouse and went towards the wrong direction he actually saw Hyejin. Then dropped by the festival seeing her again. We also see Hyejin and Dusik meeting each other during their school days.

#2021 #Hometown Cha Cha Cha

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vampirespawn · 4 years ago

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𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔. 𝑨𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒍. - 𝑴.𝑯. 𝑩𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒏

How do stories die? Because they get forgotten. But if these stories live on in stone and mortar, in the small scratches in wood, in the shadows of light and the hidden nooks and crannies of a house – they too can become immortal.

The stories of the mercantile Szarr family estate had been plentiful. Tales about the undead climbing up from the family’s crypt, ritualistic murders, vampires and wailing and howling that could be heard from behind the high metal fences. How much truth laid in them was debatable, but what else was one to gossip about? Lord Cazador Szarr was told to have been a charismatic and powerful man, but also someone who shied away from the public. It was exactly that mystery that let the common folk to run their mouth.

One tale was that of a corrupt magistrate who overstretched his luck in his dealings with the family and caught the ire of the lord. Getting attacked and stolen away to be kept as a spawn, a slave to its master’s whims. And if you too would follow your own greed over abetting others, Cazador would come and steal you away in the night. After the announcement of the passing of the whole Szarr family due to an attack from a rival merchant, these tales grew even more imaginative.

But those were just stories, right? Fables to let children learn wrong from right. And what would these stories matter years later? Centuries later? Growing and regressing until there were too many versions to count or too many left forgotten.

It was old lady Sybille who had inherited the estate when she was very young and she would continue to tend to its lands like her mother and grandmother before her. But the money had started to run dry and it was through the gardener’s son Nicolai that the idea of a hotel had started to form. With the new technology she soon found out that haunted houses seemed to attract a lot of tourists and tourists brought a lot of money.

It was easy enough setting up the different rooms. Nikolai made up the listings online and helped maintaining the website. And soon the first guests arrived.

𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:

Only Sybille, Marcus the gardener and his son Nikolai are mortal and human. Everyone else working at the hotel or just “enjoying their stay” is either a ghost or undead. Though most humans cannot tell the difference, thinking the occasional red eyes a Halloween make-up leftover to help sell the hotels stories. - And sometimes even the ghosts forgot their own death.

Astarion appears as just another eccentric guest to anyone who visits, though he and Sybille know eachother well. He is also the only one who truly knows all the secrets of the house. - He is still just a spawn and not a true vampire. But he can walk in the sun.

The whole estate has a thick aura of magic surrounding it. As if everything was a little bit alive. Those in tune can feel it as soon as they take the first step on the premises.

Only the humans can leave past the fences and visit the nearby town. Everyone else is forever stuck on the grounds of the Szarr estate.

There are nooks and crannies where time seems to run differently. People vanish into thin air.

The crypts are forbidden, closed and locked. Do not venture in, you will not return.

Two forces are at war on the grounds. Those who wish to be free, to be absolved of their torment and to be able to move on from this realm. And those who feel freer now than they have ever been, who wish to continue their life and see “moving on” as another death. - Astarion belongs to the latter.

It is believed that should the estate be cleansed, everyone stuck would cease to exist.

#· » ∴ { 𝖐𝖊𝖗𝖞𝖒 ❇ 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 } · » horror verse ∴ « ·#might add more info later on #but i think this is good enough for the beginning

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hairasuntouchedaspartoftheamazon · 4 years ago

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Hear me out ----> SPN/Gravity Falls AU

A while back I saw a post(that i cannot find again, much to my chagrin) that listed a bunch of things Grunkle Stan did that have extreme Dean energy (this includes a brief but sincere attempt to make Jurassic Park real) and now a Gravity Falls AU lives in my head featuring:

Dean as Stan, who left home when he was twenty-one after a massive fight with his parents and Sam over Sam’s college shit and was a drifter for seven years until Sam called him and said he needed help in this podunk town in Oregon

Sam as Ford, who did manage to get out and go to college, met Kevin(as McGucket), and proceeded to do some real shady work with eldritch beings that resulted in both of them proceeding to get visions of some messed up shit, which causes Kevin to quit the project, leaving Sam to call Dean to Gravity Falls....we all know what happens next, Sam falls through an inter-dimensional portal and Dean is like “Okay I live here now, gotta figure out how to get Sam back”. Problem is, he only has one journal and needs two more. Where could they possibly be?

Flash-forward about twelve years; cult survivors, podcast hosts, and sorta-siblings Anna and Cas are driving up to Oregon to look at the weird shit present in Gravity Falls/The Mystery Shack and their shitty car breaks down. Cas staying to supervise the car while Anna goes and scopes out some potential material has nothing to do with the hot tourist trap guy who happens to be a mechanic, it doesn’t Anna.

Cue the pilot incident where Anna almost becomes Queen of the Gnomes and Cas gets to drive a golf cart and gnomes are defeated with leaf blowers. Car’s still broken and there is obviously a lot of weird shit going on here so why not hang out for the summer?

More below the cut, including recurring characters and some plot lines

Featuring such recurring characters as:

-Cassie Robinson my beloved, small town writer who desperately wants to break into the big time. Writes a combination of political and social critiques and the standard local stuff. We get introduced to her in the second episode, where Anna and Cas discover that she built the Gobblewonker in attempt for publicity so that someone will read the Gravity Falls Tooter(yes i just made up the name of the town’s newspaper) She regularly appears when Anna and Cas are researching local history or when a robot comes to threaten the Shack because Dean owes her money again.

-Claire, Kaia, Alex, and Patience as the resident teenage nuisances who nominally work at the Shack but actually mostly cause a lot of problems for the local-definitely gay-sheriffs. Claire and Cas are almost definitely related but they don’t know this at first, a minor plot point near the end of season one is figuring out that they are in fact related and the shocking realization that Claire likes Anna better. Anna is pretty good friends with all of them and Cas is minorly terrified, as you should be with teenage girls who live in the woods and absolutely know how to throw knives. Alex being a pyschic is a major plot point of season two especially after they become friends with Kevin and realize that hey, the shit of twelve years ago is happening again except it’s spreading to people who aren’t even involved this time.

-For that matter, collection of pyschics Missouri, Pamela, Alex, and Kevin who regularly find out weird pieces of information that sometimes become plot relevant and sometimes do not at all.

-Jody and Donna who also only do their job nominally because ACAB and mostly just maintain trails and shit around town cause they used to be park rangers but being sheriffs pays more and also they can make sure no one gets arrested for stupid shit. They regularly show up in like the weirdest places which Donna always defends as ‘we’re on a date’. No one questions this.

-Victor Henrikson as the investigating FBI agent in season two who is just like “i don’t know what the fuck is going on here but I KNOW it’s sketchy what is wrong with this town” because yes there is a witch here her name is Rowena and yeah she brews potions and stuff during the full moon no one sees anything wrong with this at all except Henrikson who was prepared to arrest a nutty drifter building a doomsday device but not prepared to deal with a whole town of people who absolutely believe in ghosts. His partner is Billie, who, like in the show, doesn’t think that some people should get to break rules whenever the fuck they want and is thus absolutely ready to rain justice down on this crazy white boy who think’s he’s gonna end the world. I kinda love her perspective cause it’s like, okay just because someone is the protagonist of the story doesn’t mean they’re special.

-Charlie and Ash as the only people in town who get wifi on a regular basis and thus show up when there’s some kind of need for tech or phone calls. Running gag that nothing works tech wise unless one of them is in the vicinity, with the exception of TVs. There is also absolutely the episode where they play a game of D&D in real life and Charlie has never been happier but Dean and Ash absolutely rig it because they suck.

-Bela Talbot in the role of Pacifica Northwest cause she’s a bitch and I LOVE HER SO MUCH.

-Kelly Kline my beloved, who’s the liason for the local Yakama tribe(cause I read a headcanon that she’s Native and that lives in my head rent free baby) who regularly reminds people that certain things are not for you to touch, there’s got to be respect there. This theme stays pretty constant throughout the show cause while after awhile Cas kinda forgets about the podcast he’s supposed to be co-hosting, Anna is still on top of things and trying to collect stories so she and Kelly butt heads a lot while Cas and Jack(who’s like eight) discuss frogs and bees in great detail.

-The Banes twins who comprise the other half of the witch activity in this town and who are very very nice but you do not want to fuck with them whatsoever. They show up extremely often and always give very strange but specific excuses to why they are certain places such as “checking the frequencies of the energy in this location” and that’s a running gag for awhile until it turns out in season 2 that they’ve been aware of the machine Dean’s rebuilding for awhile now and they’re working on protective measures to keep everyone safe no matter what comes out of it this time.

(Also, to compensate for the fact that Sam and Dean are not twins and thus someone would probably realize that there is a different dude living in the weird house in the woods, the Banes go a little Society of the Blind Eye and modified people’s memories. Because they want Dean to get the portal right and then shut it down permanently once things are the way they’re supposed to be again)

-Benny who is absolutely still a vampire, he runs the diner. The vampirism is a well-established fact and no one questions it, in fact Anna finds it hot.

Plot Lines of Season One Include:

-Bela Talbot whom I love attempting to buy/steal/destroy the Shack because she knows there’s some funky machinery down there and a lot of weird artifacts that she could make another fortune selling, yes she summons demons so that she can figure out where the deed to the place is, yes Anna gets to punch her in the face at one point because “These are my friends, you bitch!”

-Cas trying to decipher some of the stuff in Sam’s journals and figure out who the hell wrote them. This involves him thoroughly annoying basically everyone in town except Kelly because they are weird best friends who absolutely have long conversations about the difference between local mythologies and urban legends.

-Anna sincerely making friends for like the first time in her life and deeply enjoying being a kind of weird aunt to the local girl gang and the person who brings Rowena gossip and does have a weird love/hate relationship with Bela going. Like, I mentioned in the beginning that Anna and Cas are cult survivors, their social weirdness and then re-joining the world is absolutely discussed. Are they choosing some of the weirdest people ever to base their social knowledge on? Yes. They don’t care.

-Subplot of Dean genuinely trying to get Cas to go out with him but Cas does not realize this whatsoever so they’re just both awkward as fuck. Running gag of Dean walking up to Cas all smooth and trying to ask him out but Cas just...does not get slang and thinks Netflix and chill really does mean Netflix and chill. They end up watching Wynonna Earp.

#spn gravity falls au #cazi writes #spn #gravity falls #this has lived in my head for five days let me rest #but this is excellent no?#I love it but that may be because i have extremely niche crossover ideas

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adjaecent · 4 years ago

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- dreamers often lie (t) pt. 1/6

the 1996 Romeo + Juliet AU that wouldn’t leave my mind after this photoshoot and this interview

pairing: romeo!jaehyun x ofc!juliet

genre/warnings: romance, tragedy, violence, tries to be a little geographically accurate and fails at it, no smut (sorry lol)

summary: His fingers traced her cheek lightly, eyes dancing as if to say, “Well, now you have my attention, what are you going to do with it?”

The ringing of her alarm sounded hours after Juliet had already awoken. Her eyes stared blankly at the lacy canopy of her bed, her mind still trapped in the memory of her dreams. If she could stay trapped in those memories, if she could just drown in them all and never wake up again, she would be more content than she felt now. She could even be happy.

She heard the sound of their housekeeper and the woman who had practically raised her making her way down the hall. Chung-sook reached Juliet’s door and shouted loud and true that her young charge was slacking her day away and would be late for school if she didn’t hurry up. Then she cackled loudly, the only sound that could be heard in the entire house. Juliet raised her voice, if not her head, so she could be heard, “I’m awake, I promise! I’m sorry, I must be so distracted I forgot to turn off the alarm.”

Her voice trailed off as Chung-sook laughed again, “Oh, I know your tricks, Miss! You had best wake up right now, I have breakfast ready and I will be very sore if you leave in a rush without eating any of it!”

The housekeeper walked away, thoughtlessly humming under her breath and Juliet finally reached over to silence her alarm. Her dreams had already begun slipping away, slowly like water between her fingers. Yet, just like water, the feel of them remained even afterwards, her hands soaked in their metaphorical thoughts.

She had dreamt of him again.

Her mind drifted as she buttoned up her uniform shirt, her fingers deftly moving up the garment. He had been bent over a book, his graceful fingers moving over a passage as his mouth moved to read the words. She had been sitting nearby, but he hadn’t noticed her. Even her dreams kept that consistency to her normal life. But unlike her real self, she had reached over in her dreams and she had plucked the book from his fingers so that when he looked up in surprise he would have to look straight at her.

His brown eyes were wide in their shock, the warm sunlight illuminating every speck of color. His face was puzzled before it had smoothed over to an amused and expectant look. Her heart was beating so fast she could feel the book start to slip from her twitching fingers and before she could set a goal, before she could act, he moved.

His fingers traced her cheek lightly, eyes dancing as if to say, “Well, now you have my attention, what are you going to do with it?”

She had woken up as his thumb touched her bottom lip, the words stagnant in her mouth.

“Everything, anything, please.”

Juliet sat at the modern dining table, leaving space between her and her mother. Her father would typically sit between them most mornings, but he was currently in the midst of a PR disaster. Some of his shadier filings involving shops he owned in Itaewon had come to the media’s attention and they talked of illegal contracts and bribery. Nothing that wasn’t true, of course, but everything that should never be said out loud.

She knew only one family that would dare to sell information like this to the press. The feud between their families was ancient, something that went as far back as their time as merchant traders in the kingdom of Silla. Both families tried to ingratiate themselves to different sovereigns at different times, to appeal to different traders and foreigners, and to own the coveted trading routes at the Han river. Their last names were a symbol of their trading prowess at this time, political marriages made at different junctures to benefit their status–the strange Chos and Jeongs of Seoul.

Her own family had kept a tradition of naming their daughters using foreign names from the past. Juliet was used to the double take people made when they read her name and then actually saw her, their disappointment always keenly felt. She never lived up to the excitement or the poetry of the name she was given, even if she was expected to live up to the honor of the last name she never sought.

She stood after dutifully finishing her breakfast, making sure she left nothing on her plate so that Chung-sook would not worry. Her mother leans her cheek towards her for a perfunctory kiss, her fingers scrolling quickly on her phone, and Juliet left after her quiet goodbye was left unanswered.

Her family’s driver moved to open the door for her, his smile wide even as he stood in the slightly chilly morning air.

“Good morning, little princess. Ready for school?”

Juliet smiled at Mr. Park and shook her head, both an answer and an admonishment. The nickname was one spouted by her family and by her enemies alike and in her mind it was just another name she couldn’t hope to live up to.

They drove to her cousin’s home as was their normal routine to school. Rosaline walked demurely to the car, disregarding Mr. Park as he opened the door for her. She was older by two years and beautiful, her mind as sharp as steel and the focus of it honed over years. Rosaline was preparing to sit for her university exams this fall and she had already planned her future law career out to the next ten years. Nowhere in these plans was there room for either marriage or love and neither of them ever talked about how Rosaline was free to make this decision as the daughter of the youngest Cho son.

Juliet held no wishes like that for herself, she knew exactly what marriage meant for her and for the future of her family.

The first time she had ever seen him was with Rosaline next to her. Her thirteenth birthday had just happened and Rosaline had taken her out to celebrate the gain of a little more of her freedom. They had been walking in Itaewon which was a neutral zone for both of their families. It held none of the expectations of tradition and of order that the Cho areas north of the Han river did for her and none of the animosity the Jeong areas south of the Han river did either. Here, hidden behind the tourists and the foreigners, she could almost escape all of it.

She had been dragging Rosaline towards a taiyaki stand, the fried dough one of her favorite treats when she was outside the house, when she heard his laugh for the first time. She had turned her head to see a boy making loud and angry sounds in the middle of the street, almost as if he was fighting a shadow. His movements were exaggerated and Juliet couldn’t help but laugh at one of his dramatic stumbles. She was amused watching the show until she heard the laugh again and this time her eyes wandered to another boy standing at the center of the crowd, his body leaning against the front of a shop as he stared at the funny display that was most certainly for him.

Juliet stared transfixed as his happiness spread on his face, the smile pulling at his face to end at the rivets of two symmetrical dimples. Every thought and every feeling was laid bare in his smile and she couldn’t imagine what that would have been like, to express so freely that your own face had certain tells for others to see. For happiness to be something so easy to find in your smile.

His eyes moved to them, most likely sensing her stare, but they quickly flitted past her to her cousin. She could see the recognition in his stare and the sudden excitement at seeing Rosaline, but her cousin only huffed before moving past her. She kept her hand on Juliet’s arm so she wouldn’t be lost in the crowd as she shoved through it. Juliet turned to glance at him one more time, to see his face fall as Rosaline ignored him. His eyes moved downwards and she caught his attention this time, his face curiously blank when he looked at her before Rosaline succeeded in getting through the crowd and the contact was finally broken.

Juliet felt that she might be able to breathe again now that the strange spell was broken, but she found that even the taiyaki her cousin had gotten them tasted like nothing in her mouth. Rosaline glanced at her before sighing, “Don’t you dare tell anyone about this.”

She looked up shocked at her suddenly whiny tone. Rosaline was always regal in the way she spoke, especially to her younger cousins.

“That was Jaehyun, a Jeong, and not just any one of them, but the one to inherit it all. He has this asinine idea in his head that he’s in love with me because I rejected him yesterday and that our family histories don't actually matter,” she scoffed, “The history between our families is one of the only things that matters as far as I’m concerned. He’s insufferable. God, if he would only use his brain for once.”

Juliet remembered the sheer breadth of emotions that she saw on his face before Rosaline pulled them away. She couldn’t imagine being so brave as to go against her family’s wishes. She couldn’t imagine being so brave as to put emotion and passion before logic or reasoning.

She couldn’t help but to admire him, even then.

The gossip reached them even before they reached their school. Juliet was distracted with a kitty collecting game she’d downloaded to her phone, she found a lot of joy in feeding each cat that found its way to her little yard and would play it for hours embarrassingly enough. She heard Rosaline gasp at her social feed and suddenly had a new phone shoved into her face. As her eyes adjusted, she saw that there were multiple posts, some with video even, of a fight that broke out earlier this morning.

As she glanced at the images she could make out their other cousin, Johnny, clear as day. He must have gone after the Jeongs in retaliation for what they leaked about her father’s business dealings, but since they were all still so young, their fights had to be relegated between their fists instead of in boardrooms. For someone as logical and cool headed as their cousin, his actions frequently turned angry when it came to their family feud. Juliet scoffed and looked away from the last image, the Chief of Police himself showing up to end the brawl in the streets.

“I can’t believe he would be so stupid,” she muttered, “It’s his last year and this isn’t what he should be focusing on. This isn’t anything important at all! Why should this feud matter more than his future?”

There was silence before Rosaline spoke, “He’s fighting because of what those scum released to the media about your father, Juliet. I’m sure your father would appreciate the support.”

Juliet could see her face flinch in the window's reflection. Her father got himself into this mess with his less than ideal business practices, why would she have to defend his honor over this? If she had ever done something as embarrassing to the family, she knows they would have had no problems disowning her, only child or not. She glanced at Mr. Park and saw his eyes quickly glance away. His professionalism kept him silent, but she wanted to know just what he thought about her austere family and their terrible places in this city.

There would be no charges filed of course as neither family would want to invite them and the police themselves would ignore it so long as the bribes kept coming from the obscenely rich. Their feud had personally paid for most of the police equipment and cars, she was sure.

As they arrived in front of their school gates, Rosaline squeezed her arm before walking out of the car. Juliet knew what the gesture meant, they were now in front of the public and they would be scrutinized for everything that had occurred over the last week. To show weakness now would be detrimental to her family’s image.

They caught sight of Johnny waiting for them at the school’s entrance and Juliet couldn’t help the glare she shot him, even as she turned her face away so no one standing nearby would see. He dramatically rolled his eyes at her face, bringing his coffee up to his mouth as he ignored her. He never saw any problems with his behavior or his violence and the rest of the family would go along with it because he was the shining light of their family’s future as far as they were concerned. Even Rosaline only smiled at him and asked him just how much detention he was given for this new stunt and that she was sure to beat his score in the university exams now.

“Everyone in the fight has a month of detention for this, which is more fair than I thought it would be considering the Chief’s nephew was in the fight this time and on the Jeong’s side. I have no problems with Minjun, but his decision to be their friend is already a slight to our family that I can’t just ignore.”

At this, Juliet scoffed again and he moved to glare at her this time.

“Have you considered how this will affect your cram school? Will you be the one to let our tutor know or did it even cross your mind?”

She saw his face relax a little at this before he continued, “Well, obviously my dearest cousins will bring me the worksheets I missed and I’ll just have to work harder on the weekends to not fall behind in time for the exam. It’s all those Jeong’s fault, anyway.”

There was so much she could say then, how if he had also minded himself then the adults could have dealt with their business dealings by themselves and the children could be free to stay out of it, how it was not the younger Jeong’s faults that the head of their family decided to do this right when both families were fighting over a new development contract and just how dumb he was to phrase his request for his worksheets like that. They both knew Rosaline was never going to bring him his work.

Since she was in a lower grade than both her cousins, she started to walk past them to the school. She gave them a warning to not be late to class before heading to her designated locker to trade her books for her morning’s classes. There were already whispers around her, her name loud and clear in most of her classmates mouths. As much as she wanted to slam her locker and turn around to shout at them, she held herself back and gently closed her locker.

Her classroom sat at the back of the school, with wide windows that faced out into their private courtyard. It was an affluent school, known for getting its students into high ranking universities, and most of the students knew each other’s families because of their business or political relations. It was also one of the other few neutral zones for the Cho and Jeong families as neither would sacrifice the best education even for their feud.

Her assigned seat was right next to the window and she had selfishly coveted the desk since she received it. She could stare out directly at the large tree in the middle of the courtyard where most students mingled before classes and she could feel the sun stream in from the southern-facing windows. She reached her hand out to touch the window pane, the warmth of the glass warming her palm. There was a movement to her right and when Juliet looked, she had a chance to make eye contact with the same pair of eyes that had haunted her dreams this morning. With a curse, she quickly looked away, angling her body awkwardly in her desk so that she could be hidden from view.

Her heart was racing and she was reminded of how brave she was in her dream, how she not only wanted but commanded his attention there. With several deep breaths, she moved to look out the window again but he was gone and the courtyard was starting to empty. Her classmates started to filter into the classroom and Juliet shook her head in disappointment. She would do better next time.

Their tutor was not pleased with the information she relayed, his strict admonishments falling on the ears of the one person not involved in any of this in the slightest. By the time she had finally gotten all of her cousins' worksheets the sun was starting to hang low in the sky and she knew she would be late getting home at this rate. Her father was throwing a fundraiser gala tonight, some good press to negate the bad he kept accumulating and she was expected to be there and on her best behavior. Her mother had already coordinated an extensively detailed look for her and it would take hours to get ready in a way that would satisfy them both.

Curse her stupid cousin!

When she reached the room where their detention was being held, she could hear the angry voices from outside the door. It did absolutely nothing to calm her anger.

Juliet shoved the door open, the shock at the interruption silencing the group of students inside and she spared a glance to see how they had divided themselves into different areas of the room. Each group was cleaning old instruments and sports gear, their physical tasks obviously meant to keep them occupied though it wasn’t doing them any good.

She could feel eyes staring at her from her left, the group of Jeong boys and supporters most likely shocked at both her appearance as well as her loud entry. She carefully avoided one specific set of eyes that wasn’t supposed to be there, but it seemed like he chose to stick by his troublesome cousins the same way she did. He must have been keeping them company during their detention and if Juliet had known she would have made sure to check her appearance at least once before coming in. And she also might have made a much quieter entrance.

Once her eyes set on her cousin, sitting next to a pile of basketballs he was wiping down, her previous anger overtook her nerves. She walked towards him with the worksheets in her fist and practically shoved the folder at him.

“Do you have any idea the absolute earful I just got from our tutor? I’m not even the idiot who got in trouble! You owe me so much for this, Johnny!”

She could hear snickering from behind her, but she pointedly ignored their audience, choosing instead to stare at how her cousin rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry that you’re going to be late to your party, princess. We both know you don’t even like these galas.”

She crossed her arms in order not to shove at him, especially in front of their audience, “You know just how important this is to my dad right now,” she lowered her voice and finally he showed some remorse and Juliet wished the Uncle card wasn’t the only way to get through to him these days, “and you know I'll keep bringing you these worksheets because it’s important to me that you do well. This, your education, is important. Not what’s happening here…” She moved her arm to show the detention room, the pointed divide between each group. The audience behind them was quiet to this.

“But you have to tell our damn tutor that all of this was your fault anyway! I want them to leave me alone or so help me, I won’t be responsible for my actions after this.” She felt the urge to stamp her foot, but held herself back. She was already coming off petulant in her anger right now so it was best not to add annoying brat to everything else.

This caused Johnny to smile and he shoved at her to leave, “Alright, okay, make sure to tell your mom I’ll be right there after this. Go and get beautiful, we both know it’ll take a while.”

She turned to glare at him again, oh that jerk, but was interrupted by a voice from behind her.

“What is this, the Cho’s are hosting a big party tonight? And they forgot to invite me!” Minjun put his hand to his heart, acting every bit as dramatic as the time she had first seen him fighting his shadow in the streets of Itaewon all for Jaehyun’s amusement. She ignored the same boy hovering at the edges of her periphery, just like that first time as well.

“I’m sure the Chief was invited, Minjun. You’re free to come if you’d like,” her diplomatic answer betrayed her racing heart. If she could only just extend the invite to the others, if she could only have an excuse to see him outside of the confines of these walls for one night.

“But your friends are not invited.”

Juliet closed her eyes momentarily at the harsh response behind her. She moved to open her mouth before another voice spoke up. This time she had an excuse to finally (finally) move her eyes to him, giving herself the chance to drink in the picture he made without any worry that someone would catch her staring too long.

“You wound us, Johnny. I thought this detention was finally bringing us closer. You know I have no reason to hate you or your family,” Jaehyun smiled as he spoke, his deep voice calming the room.

He sat on top of one of the desks on their side of the room, the circle of people of him obviously arranged in a way that he was at its center even as Minjun held the most attention. He was still in his school uniform, but his white shirt collar was unbuttoned and his hair had been mussed up by his own hands. It was one of his nervous tells as whenever he felt the loss of control in a situation or in his emotions, his hands would move to touch his hair. His physical perfection was something he put so much thought to that to check on it was something almost ingrained in him. She wondered what about this situation made him nervous. Her own hands twitched at her side before she quickly closed them into fists. She saw his eyes flick to them and realized she must have shown a much more antagonistic picture than she meant to. She quickly relaxed her hands again, stretching out the tension and she watched as he stared at that, too.

“You know our families could never be like that,” was Johnny’s simple response behind her and it was only because she knew him so well that she could recognize the small regret in his tone. There was a time when this feud didn’t mean so much to him either, but as they’d grown older and he’d grown more attached to the family business and the family name, it had come to be the same bitter story as before. Now this feud mattered too much to him. With a sigh she turned away, she had already wasted too much time here and her mother was going to be even angrier at her accidental slight.

As she walked to the door, the boys behind her turned back to their tasks, most likely realizing they’d have to work much faster in order to leave their detention on time. She still felt one pair of eyes on her as she left, their owner left with nothing else to do but watch her leave.

#jung jaehyun #jaehyun #nct fic #jaehyun fic #kpop fic #i'll update this next week so it should be completed soon and the plot bunny will finally leave me alone lol

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supremeuppityone · 4 years ago

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This is a sequel to Chapter 81: Part 8 — Klarosummer Bingo in my Klaroline series, A Beautiful Symmetry. This was written for Klaroline Bingo @klaroline-events. Prompt: Working. As con artists, Caroline, Bonnie and Katherine knew the risks, but when the Mikaelson brothers conned them, their fight AND flight response kicked into overdrive.

Chapter 122: The Hamptons — Part 2

“It is safer to beg than to take, but it is finer to take than to beg.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man Under Socialism

Nothing was more satisfying than pushing Klaus’ shiny Jaguar over the cliff. It was the final item on Caroline’s to do list as she, Bonnie and Katherine left the Hamptons. Caroline stood with her friends, refusing to flinch as the sound of shattering glass and screeching metal collided with the jagged rocks below. She got sloppy. She should’ve realized a mid-market convertible less than $100,000 would never have been the vehicle of choice for a jet-setting playboy whose family money went back generations.

“Fucking Mikaelsons played us,” Katherine snarled, brown eyes flashing angrily. “We set up the perfect con, a final score so we could retire, only for it to blow up in our faces when we found out they were trying to con us!”

Bonnie opened the cooler at their feet, twisting off the top of the beer bottle and taking a deep gulp. “We got them in the end, though. Posted all their fake identities on that stupid Hamptons gossip site. They’re burned in the Northeast now — I even tipped off the highway patrol to be on the lookout for Kol’s Rover.”

“Did we use cornstarch or flour to mimic the coke the cops will find in the back,” Caroline asked with a mocking grin, clinking her bottle with Bonnie’s in celebration.

Katherine chuckled darkly. “Flour. But only on the bottom. The top are a few kilos courtesy of our old Markos connection.”

The women shared a laugh, but Caroline found her gaze straying back to the wreckage below. It had been years since a man had tricked her. Since she’d let a man get close. Still seething over Klaus’ betrayal, her tone was fierce as she said, “The Mikaelsons no longer matter. It’s time to move on to our next job.”

“Working shouldn’t be this hard,” Caroline muttered, her voice muffled behind her mask as she polished the alabaster jar on the lathe equipment. She carefully smoothed the sides, ensuring the machine work wouldn’t be visible.

Green eyes narrowed behind her goggles as Bonnie advised, “You should use the bow-drill next to ensure modern tool marks aren’t detected.”

“Seriously?!” Caroline rolled her eyes, certain that underneath that mask was her friend’s signature scowl. “Do you want to do this instead? It’s not like I’ve ever painstakingly crafted forgeries from five different ancient civilizations. Oh, wait — I have.” She hated how shrill her voice sounded and she knew Bonnie and Katherine were dealing with the same anger and disappointment about what happened in the Hamptons. It wasn’t fair that she was taking her misery out on them. As Bonnie started to storm out of the workshop, Caroline called after her, “Wait. That was shitty. I’m sorry.”

Bonnie sighed, distractedly running a hand through her sleek bob. “You miss Klaus.” At Caroline’s indignant snort, she shook her head. “Lie to yourself all you want, but I see it and Kat would too if she pulled her head out of her ass. And I miss Kol with his stupid limericks and crazy stories that somehow always start with skydiving and end in the back of a police car.”

“Kat’s avoiding thinking about Elijah by memorizing campus security and building schematics at Berkeley.”

The women shared a look of commiseration, knowing that Katherine’s hyper-focusing was almost as dangerous as when she spent too much time at the gun range. She didn’t forgive or forget. Elijah was fortunate that were on the other coast.

Picking up a steel file, she carefully ran it across the wide base of the jar. “I trust she’s working out the reason why there’s a huge lag time in the security guard patrols on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the Hildegard Building?”

Bonnie chuckled, “Figure drawing classes are on those nights. Nude figure drawing. The pervy old guards are trying to make some Girls Gone Wild fantasy happen.”

“Eww. Also, perfect — I can have the other three jars ready by next Tuesday and Kat can make the switch then.” Caroline was responsible for the main part of the Berkeley con — carve perfect copies of the ancient Egyptian alabaster vessels that Katherine would swap out for the real artifacts. Bonnie already had been hired by Berkeley to authenticate their latest archaeological find. She’d forged impeccable credentials as an Egyptian art authenticator with an emphasis on Old Kingdom artifacts.

Once Bonnie declared Caroline’s work as authentic, the girls would skip town, leaving Berkeley officials none the wiser that their ‘ancient Egyptian’ artifacts displayed were less than two weeks old. It was a familiar con, one they’d pulled off successfully multiple times across the States. They needed this win. The Mikaelson debacle had shaken their confidence, and the women were desperate to get things back to normal.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” Heaving a heavy sigh, Bonnie added, “I should probably go check up on Kat in case she decides setting something on fire would make her feel better.”

Shaking her head, Caroline got back to work, fervently wishing she knew what would make her feel better. She kept thinking back to the argument she overheard between Klaus and Kol.

“Don’t tell me this is just another job for you,” Klaus replied angrily, “You got too close to Bonnie and Elijah’s all but forgotten the rest of the world exists thanks to Katherine.”

Kol scoffed, “And Caroline? I saw that ring — don’t think I’m not aware of what that means to you.”

She stupidly kept the ring on a long chain around her neck, tucked away under her blouse so her friends wouldn’t see. Why did she do this to herself? Because she heard Klaus’ desperation. However the brothers’ con had begun, somewhere along the way, they’d caught feelings and everything had changed. Just like it had for Caroline and her friends.

But she also kept recalling little details that she should’ve picked up on, things that could’ve unraveled Klaus’ con sooner had she not been so distracted by how she felt about him.

With a dimpled smirk from Klaus, Caroline kept forgetting she was in the middle of a con. Despite his seductive smiles, she couldn’t help but notice the genuine excitement he showed when she surprised him with a trip to the art museum. From her extensive research into his background, she knew he had an affinity for art, including a graduate degree in art history. “Isn’t it breathtaking,” she asked, pointing out the beautifully preserved Madonna and Child canvas.

“It’s an impressive Caravaggio,” Klaus said dismissively, already eyeing the next exhibit.

Frowning, she asked, “I thought this was a Verrocchio? You’d mentioned he had been your focus when you studied Italian Renaissance art?”

A slight flush creeped up his neck, and he kissed her knuckles as he purred in his accented voice, “I appreciate a woman who can identify the rebirth of classic antiquity.” There was an endearing hesitancy in his tone as he said, “Actually, I’d like to share my latest passion with you.” With an excited twinkle in his eye, he guided her toward the next gallery, one filled with vibrant colors and bold brush strokes that instantly captured her attention.

“These are powerful,” she murmured, admiring the series of abstract portraits.

He squeezed her hand, whispering excitedly, “I discovered GyoBeom An at a low point in my life; his work is an explosive blend of constructing and deconstructing images using a bold, contemporary palette. Even though the brush strokes are strong, almost violent in places, to me, it feels like the art reveals what’s hidden in a whisper rather than a shout.”

His impassioned speech struck a chord with her, and she was alarmed to realize she’d started to tear up. There were so many things she was hiding from Klaus. So, she told him the only thing she knew to be true. “I’m honored you’d share this with me.”

Klaus looked nervous, but the sincerity of his tone seemed genuine. “You’re special, Caroline. I wouldn’t share this with anyone else.” And then he kissed her until they were both breathless.

It was a beautiful memory. And it was all a lie. Just two cons lying to each other, Caroline thought bitterly. She pushed aside the flood of memories that kept trying to break free, and instead bent her head to her work once more.

____________________________________

Caroline’s expectations for the buyer went up a notch when she got her first look at The Bitter End over on Clement Street. Not only did the bar’s name match her mood, but the grimy, threadbare atmosphere made her feel at home. Better than the pretentious clubs in the Hamptons. Her contact informed her that the dive bar was in a quiet neighborhood away from tourists — the perfect spot to negotiate terms.

The con was nearly complete — Katherine effortlessly swapped out the ancient artifacts for Caroline’s forgeries and Bonnie had done such an outstanding job ‘authenticating’ that Berkeley had offered her a coveted spot on their latest dig in Karnak, examining a newly discovered series of tunnels underneath the Temple of Amun-Ra. (Katherine was still trying to convince them it was a sign they should take their skills to the exclusive spa in nearby Luxor and run either the Heiress Special or the Desert Rose cons.)

She crossed the threshold, eyes quickly adjusting to the dim light inside the dive bar. She was there to settle the final part of their con — agree on the price for the ancient Egyptian alabaster jars. Something brushed across the back of her neck, and she turned sharply, ready to deliver an elbow to whichever drunk decided to get too gropey. But no one was there. Suddenly on edge, she headed toward the back booth, where the buyer waited in the shadows.

The scent of leather and cedar flooded her senses, making her heart pound. He was here. Bonnie would tell her to run. Katherine would tell her to break his nose and then run. Caroline’s curiosity was piqued as she contemplated a third option.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Klaus greeted her, lovingly caressing the syllables of her name with that seductive accent of his. “Are you armed?”

“Perhaps. You?”

Gray eyes twinkling, he replied, “Only with righteous indignation. My brothers and I nearly emptied our bag of tricks calling in favors to make that spot of trouble with the police and the coke disappear.” Leaning forward, his lips curled into a dimpled smirk as he added, “And then there was that unfortunate accident. Going after the car — you certainly know how to cut a man to the quick.”

Arms crossed in front of her, Caroline asked defiantly, “Clearly, you scared off my buyer, so you must want something — what is it?”

“Answers. From you and your cohorts’ actions, it was obvious you figured out what we were up to. You three don’t strike me as cowards — why not confront us?”

She scowled, not appreciating how close he’d become. He was trying to force a connection. Bastard. “A good grifter knows when to cut her losses. It turned out we were all just con artists trying to scam each other. There was nothing to be gained from staying.”

A hint of steel entered his gaze as he growled, “Or, there was everything to gain. I thought I fell for a woman that forever would be beyond my reach. The little fictions we told each other gave way to something real. And then we discover we’re even more perfectly suited than we could’ve imagined.”

Blue eyes widened at his words. What Klaus was suggesting was insane — there could never be trust between cons. “Seriously?! Are you out of your mind? We’d constantly be suspicious of each other, waiting to be screwed over.”

“Details,” he answered with a careless shrug. “Tell me you haven’t missed me every day since you ran off.”

“I haven’t,” Caroline answered flatly, refusing to give into this insanity.

She was prepared for him to lash out, but instead, he flashed her a knowing smile while digging in his pocket. Suddenly, he dangled her long silver chain between them, complete with the beautiful ring he’d made her. That he’d stolen right off her neck.

Klaus’ desire-filled gaze was intense as he told her, “Good thing for both of us you’re a terrible liar.”

#kcbingo2020 #klaroline fanfic #uppity bitch fanfic #klaroline #thanks for the ask to write a sequel!

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forineffablereasons · 5 years ago

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Read The Grinch Who Sold Christmas on AO3!

Day One: Ice Skating

Anthony J. Crowley hated a lot of things, and he was very good at it.

Took a special sort of skill to muster up enough feeling about things to hate them, he rather thought. Most people went through life with a sort of apathy about their surroundings that they occasionally exaggerated into hate, but Crowley didn’t have time for apathy. Tourists, cameras that made a big clicking sound when their buttons were pressed, gossip mags, the royal family, adverts that strobed unholy light at innocent people just trying to walk down the street, incompetent drivers, scented soaps and hand lotions in hotel rooms, scratchy shirts, dating apps, book editions that used a corresponding film poster as cover art, people who were early to meetings, pop music, burnt coffee from popular chain cafes that would have over-roasted their beans if the beans were equipped with klaxon alarms to tell when they were done, and galoshes: Crowley hated it all.

He especially hated Christmas.

Christmas, in Crowley’s opinion, was one great big capitalist free-for-all hiding under a thin veneer of religion and mandatory good cheer, plunging one-half of the country into debt as they desperately tried to keep up with the other half, complete with sky-rocketing rates of disappointed children, domestic violence, and bigotry all wrapped up in the tidy bow of nosing-into-other-people’s-business. The insistence on being nice when nobody bothered the other eleven months of the year made for the worst of false kindnesses and competitive do-gooderism, complete with simpering well-wishes from people who wanted to be remembered in your shopping and gifts of ten-quid bottles of wine from people who remembered you in theirs, and then come the first of the year it was back to business as usual, leaving everyone ten pounds poorer and richer in nothing but cheap, bitter wine. Load of bollocks, if you asked Crowley, but no one ever did.

Until this year.

“Oi,” Beez had said, poking her head into his office. “Christmas. Thoughts?”

“Load of bollocks,” he’d answered, without looking up from his computer.

“Got any plans? Never mind, I don’t care.” She’d come in, slapping a file on his desk. “I need someone to take this file. Developer wants to close their deal on a property before Christmas. Small village called Tadfield. Just a purchase on a stretch of the high street, putting in condos, offices, probably a Costa or a Pret, that sort of thing. You’re going down.”

“Rural account?” He hated the rural accounts; the countryside really wasn’t his thing. “Isn’t that Dagon’s?”

“Dagon’s busy over the holiday,” Beez had said, with a look that dared Crowley to ask busy doing what. Something involving Aruba, electric blue drinks with little umbrellas, and Beez herself, no doubt. “And I’m not asking, I’m telling. You’re going.”

Crowley had looked up. “Hang on, I don’t know the project,” he’d protested. “How am I supposed to have a whole sale in hand before Christmas?”

“By doing your bloody job,” Beez had hissed, and she wasn’t just Beez standing in his office, but B.Z. Prince, the cutthroat negotiator and ruthless solicitor that had made Morningstar & Prince a force to be reckoned with. Luke Morningstar may have been the devil himself—and plenty of solicitors certainly thought he was—but Beez has been the one that had organized his powerful personality into the firm they ran today. “You make this deal, and you’ll be looking at partner. You don’t make this deal, you’ll have a lot more problems than your high score on Solitaire.” She glanced pointedly at his computer. “You’re on thin ice.”

It wasn’t Solitaire, actually; it was Minesweeper, but Crowley had doubted that Beez would appreciate the distinction just as he doubted that she cared about the rest of his book of business with the firm—very successful, if he could add, and he knew with Beez he very well could not. “Yes, ma’am,” he’d said, with a winning grin. “I’ll do my best, but I don’t know how fast I can get it done. New counsel, new clients—might take a while.”

“Before Christmas,” she’d repeated, glaring. “Three weeks. Do the wining and dining, use the holiday angle to get everybody to compromise, you’re not stupid.” High praise from Beez. “I expect to see signatures in my email on Boxing Day. I’ll be checking.”

Non-negotiable, then.

So Crowley had closed up his office, packed up his files, and headed out.

Small English villages had learnt early how to capitalise on Christmas, and Tadfield was no exception. It was only the first of December, and already the lamp posts were festooned with greens and red ribbons as Crowley rolled past, looking for parking; already the little shop fronts had snowflakes and candles and Santas lined up in their displays. It was all a sham, honestly, intended to draw in the city folks for a weekend away and charge three times as much for a scarf marked as hand-made just because a real person had operated the machinery.

He’d gotten the last room at the inn and pub on the high street, though he might’ve preferred the Comfort Inn just off the highway, because it was one of the properties that would be affected by the sale if it should go through and it was better to know your enemies. There were a handful of little shops pressed close together, all owned by the prospective seller—a cafe, an Oxfam shop, a bookstore, an off-licence—and those proprietors would obviously be the most likely to raise a fuss and make a sale difficult, especially during the holiday season. The lights up and down the street were all on, making everything look warm and inviting and a little magical with atmosphere. Crackling loudspeakers piped old Christmas carols into the night. A group of kids rode bicycles down the middle of the street, laughing and yelling at one another, scarves flying behind them like wings.

Everything had a little bit of a run-down look to it underneath their garlands and fairy lights, as if the shops were all holding their breath for the holidays, hoping that the shopping season would put their grimy little businesses back into the black after months of wallowing in the red. He wondered if they all knew that their livelihoods were about to be sold from underneath their feet, and if they knew that no amount of praying was going to bring them a Christmas miracle to save them.

That was none of his business, Crowley reminded himself. He was here to do a job. He was here to close a deal. He was here to be put up for partner at one of the top firms in London, and he was here to do it whether it was Christmas or not.

You’re on thin ice, Beez had said, but that was fine.

Crowley will just learn how to skate.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #ineffable holiday bingo #darcy writes ineffably #most days i will just post the ficlet alone #but i felt like i had to do an intro post for this one

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mysticalmusicwhispers · 4 years ago

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AMC and Boba Tea: Prologue pt. 1

Summary: a supposed one-shot about a HongIce movie theater AU where Iceland is an employee at an AMC and Hong Kong is working at a cafe that’s known for its bubble tea. Set in California, in a medium sized city by the coast that’s become quite a popular tourist destination. Taiwan’s outfit is here. Inspired by this, this, and this (@bizarrejelly thanks for the ideas!) (also @aphchinass this is what the q was for). Also, this is a prologue, so no ship action yet (sorry! It’s because I’m a doofus who loves writing unimportant side dialogue). Human AU, human names. Emma is Belgium for those who don’t know, and the only people biologically related to China here are Taiwan, HK, and Macau.

Prologue pt. 2 here!

Warnings: swearing, and I don’t have a job so I know nothing about what it’s like to work at a cafe; it’s probably really inaccurate. Enjoy!

~~~

“Next!”

“One plain taro milk tea, with three of those fruity Danish pastries please.” Leon looked up at the voice. Xiao Mei was standing in front of the counter, wearing her usual denim skirt overalls, a light pink shirt with white neck ruffles, and a smirk.

“Surprised that I’m here?” Leon shrugged, turning away to the ice machine to start making the tea.

“I guess, but mostly I’m just grateful that you’re my last customer and the last person I have to deal with today.”

“Poor you. What rowdy customer did you have to deal with today?” There was only a tinge of sympathy in her voice, and Leon knew she wanted more of an entertaining story than anything, but he didn’t mind. They’d been gossiping about random people doing annoying things since forever, and it was as much fun for him as it was for her.

“There was this guy that came in at about nine, looking all frazzled and everything. Like his life depended on him getting whatever boba tea he wanted right that second, y’know, the typical annoying customer dude who’s super frantic and stuff.” Leon glanced over at his sister, who was looking at him eagerly. He smirked; she was on the hook fast.

“So I asked him as politely as I could—”

“Yeah, sure. When you’re at 100% politeness you still sound snarky. No wonder the guy got more pissed.” Mei was rolling her eyes, and Leon raised an eyebrow at her words, holding up his hands defensively.

“Hey, I didn’t say he was pissed off.”

“Come on, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what his reaction would be.”

“Fine. Anyways, I ask the guy what he’d like to order, right, and he asks for a cappuccino and honeydew melon boba that—”

“Who has such bad taste? Cappuccino and honeydew? Do you guys even sell that?” Leon grinned. Thank god his sister was usually on the same wavelength as him.

“Exactly! I would’ve said ‘in your dreams’ with my most fashionable eyeroll if I wasn’t getting paid to be nice.” He paused to watch in amusement as Mei erupted into laughter. When she’d finally stopped wheezing, he continued. “Anyway, I told him it’s not on our menu, and then he got really mad. Apparently, his daughter’s ninth birthday’s today and she really wanted to try a boba tea with that specific flavor and she’d get really upset if she didn’t get it. I guess the kid’s the type to get all spoiled and bratty about something that doesn’t go her way. I don’t even know why a kid would drink coffee, but whatever.” Leon paused, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, I told him no again and eventually me and this other guy basically forced him out. He was holding up the damn line. Here, your stuff’s ready. It’s 13.98.” He handed over her change, and watched her carefully tuck the bills into her wallet, then reached for the boba tea and the pastries.

“Mei, you going back home?”

“Not yet. I agreed to meet up with some other people at the park today. Emma and Matthew invited me, but I don’t know who else is gonna be there. You’re going to the movies, right?”

“Uh-huh. Yong Soo’s meeting me there. He said we’re going to watch Parasite. Again.” He turned around, holding a freshly made plain boba tea, just in time to see Mei give him a playful glare.

“That movie’s really good!” she said earnestly. “I think you’re lucky to get to watch it twice, so you better not complain like the goof you are.” He could hear the smile in her voice as she nudged him in the ribs. “You’re giving me another boba for free?” He scoffed, snickering a little.

“Of course not; this is for me, dummy.” He saw his sister’s disappointed pout and shrugged. “It’s called ‘treating myself after a hard day of work’, ‘kay? Anyways, I’m closing up. Wanna head out?”

“Yeah, sure.”

When Leon had finished wiping down the equipment and tidying up the counter, he flipped the “OPEN” sign so it read “CLOSED” and held the door for Mei. They walked down the avenue, idly sipping their drinks, sometimes pointing out a seagull or a stray cat. When they reached Central Street, Leon halted.

“The park is that way, right?” Mei nodded.

“You are going home first, right? I mean, they’d probably give you a bonus for being a walking ad with your apron on.” She was snickering, and Leon huffed.

“Of course. I have a brain, you know.” He shoved her lightly, and when she pouted, he just raised an eyebrow that said ‘you deserved it’.

“Have fun at the park. Don’t forget to tell me about anything ‘interesting’ that happens when you get home.” He made air quotes with his fingers, and Mei nodded knowingly, laughing.

“I will! Tell me about the weirdos at the movie theater!”

Leon gave her a thumbs up and turned away, heading towards the apartment he shared with his siblings three blocks down the road.

~~~

Feedback is welcome and appreciated! (this was so clunky I apologize ;.; it was just ajsifjpwoaijefjdkjfakls I had a good idea and terrible execution. Can’t write a story with mixed description and dialogue for my life.)

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nekojitachan · 5 years ago

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How to Steal a Million

This is... part three?

We’re really starting to bring the gang together here, and the plot will really kick in after this!

*******

Neil lay sprawled upon a velvet-covered divan in Allison’s humongous bedroom while she stood in front of a gilded mirror which she claimed had belonged to Marlene Dietrich (he believed her), wearing nothing but lacy lingerie (he would go out on a limb and say that she had a date with Renee later) and tossing very (very) expensive pieces of clothes about while she decided what to wear that day. “So you’re basically telling me that you stabbed some no-name thief, bandaged him up and then let him go? Oh cutie-pie, just wait until I tell Renee! She’ll be so pleased to learn that you’re turning to the light, or something like that.” Allison beamed at him as she casually threw a Gucci shirt over her shoulder.

“I’m not going soft,” Neil sneered as he sat up, “it’s just that Stuart gets so grumpy when there’s blood on the Persian rugs and I spent all of last November swiping things for Berger to make up for taking out one of his best breakers.” He sighed as he thought of how he’d just wanted to spend the month hanging out with his friends before the city got too crazy for the holidays (too many tourists and people rushing about for the season), but no, it hadn’t worked out that way, had it? “Though he was American, so I doubt he’s associated with any of the local gangs.” Better safe than sorry, though, especially when dealing with a grumpy Stuart. There was just too much sighing and whinging and ‘where did I go wrong, Mary? Where did I go wrong?’

(Neil could give him one hell of a list, but there’d just be more damn sighing and whinging.)

“Hmm, caution’s not a bad thing,” Allison agreed as she eyed a Dior skirt before tossing it aside, too. “Though I worry about you, so damn cute and barely psychotic, and what do you do when you have a guy in your home late at night? You beat him up and send him on his way.” She shook her head as if disappointed. “It’s time for us to go to work again, grasshopper.” Her glossy red lips spread in a predatory grin before she leaned into the one closet to grab more clothes.

Hmm, that… that had possibilities; at the very least, it would serve as a distraction from the whole Venus mess, and it might be a good idea to have more cash on hand because of the Venus mess. “Who’s the mark, and won’t Renee be upset, talking about the whole ‘light side’?” Was that the right term? Matt had tried to make him watch the movies about the whole ‘light’ and ‘dark’ thing, but he’d fallen asleep within ten minutes.

It didn’t help that Henry had dared him to break into four mansions the night before….

“Oh, don’t worry, the target is grade-A asshole, so much that Renee won’t mind in the slightest. Now, what shall I wear?” She pulled out a slinky black McQueen dress with straps and rivets that would cover her from neck to ankles (for the most part) yet cling to a figure which attracted men and women alike (but not Neil), and a flowing light blue Chloe wrap dress.

“Definitely the McQueen,” Neil decided. “You’re clearly giving them fair warning that you’re ready to utterly destroy them, but they’re too busy drooling over your ass to care. Plus, I think Renee finds the skulls on the purses adorable.”

“As it should be, cutie-pie, as it should be.” Allison smirked as she dropped the Chloe gown to the floor; Neil shook his head and knew that Ines, Allison’s assistant, was paid more than enough to deal with the mess. “Once I slither into this, we’ll set about dressing you into something presentable and be on our way.”

Neil groaned as he lay back down and wondered if it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing, to let L.A. kill him in his sleep last night or something.

*******

Andrew tapped his fingers on the table while he waited for his ‘contact’ to arrive; he’d kept track of her over the years, and when Kevin had ‘dragged’ him to Paris for this latest case? Reached out to her in case he had need of her knowledge.

After last night? He definitely had need of Renee’s knowledge of the city, even if she seemed to have gone ‘straight’ in the last couple of years.

Well, straighter.

He’d finished his second meager cup of coffee (really, what did the French have against a decent size of coffee?) and his third cream puff (much better than the coffee) at the café not too far from the burnt husk of Notre Dame when Renee appeared. He noticed her decent French, which she used to order coffee and a couple of cream puffs, how her hair was now bleached silver with rainbow colored ends, her clothes simple but of good quality, and how she basically… she looked good. Looked at peace with herself.

When he’d first met her, it was barely a year after she’d gotten out of prison and was still trying to leave ‘Natalie Shields’ behind; she hadn’t appreciated Andrew being pointed her way for help with a case, yet she’d obliged after a rough introduction. Andrew had thought it an act initially, her attempt to change her life, to move on from Natalie and become Renee Walker, but he’d been convinced by the time he’d solved the forgery case. She’d helped out a couple of other times, then moved to Paris to take a job at a woman’s shelter.

“Hello, Andrew. You look good.” Renee’s voice was still soft and possessed a hint of her North Dakota upbringing. Despite him calling out of the blue, her smile was warm and dark eyes bright with affection. “Do you like Paris so far?”

“It’s crowded, the traffic is terrible and their coffee sucks. Plus, I was trapped on a plane for seven hours with Kevin Day. Seven hours,” he hissed as he folded his arms over his chest and slumped back in his chair. “Somehow, he’s still alive.”

“I’ll be certain to recommend you for sainthood over that extreme act of charity,” she murmured as she pushed the plate containing the cream puffs toward him. “Especially if he returns to the States alive as well.”

“Seven hours,” Andrew repeated as he did his best not to think about the flight home – one of them was going to be doped out of their minds for it, he just hadn’t decided who yet.

Renee stifled a giggle with the back of her right hand before she sipped her coffee. “Other than that, it’s going well?” She gazed at the band-aid on his throat before she looked him in the eye. “I assume if Kevin’s here, it’s not a vacation?”

“You assume correct.” He paused to eat one of the cream puffs (at least he was walking a lot to offset all the sweets) before he got down to business. “We’re here because of the Kleber-Lafayette Museum’s latest exhibit.”

“Ah.” Renee frowned as she turned her cup of coffee around on its saucer with the tips of her fingers. “I’m not sure what help I’ll be, since I’m not… well, I’m not involved in those things anymore, not really. And the little I am, just through a couple of associates, hasn’t brought me word of any trouble with that show.”

Now that was interesting – not that Renee knew ‘interesting people’, because he expected no less of the woman, but that she was already tied into gossip about the museum. “Really? Nothing at all?”

“No, nothing, it’s free of trouble as far as I know,” she insisted with a slight shake of her head.

Hmm.” Andrew had the last cream puff while he considered that. “What about Neil Josten? Have you heard about him?”

Renee was quiet while she finished her coffee then set it down without a sound, her motions smooth and too controlled. “I’m sorry, Andrew, but I believe we have a conflict of interests here.” That time, her smile was bland. “I do know him, but as a friend. He and his uncle regularly donate to the shelter, and he volunteers there as well.”

That wasn’t what Andrew wanted to hear, not about the sarcastic, handsome asshole who’d insulted him while bandaging him up last night – after nearly slitting his throat last night.

No one should look that damn good while giving him shit and continuously threatening to kill him. Maybe Aaron was right and there really was something wrong with Andrew….

Nah, Aaron was just jealous that Andrew was the older, better-looking, smarter twin.

Yet here Renee sat and proclaimed that Josten – the guy who’d tried to slit Andrew’s throat and gave him advice on who to rob – was a veritable angel. “Funny you say that, because I think I might be checking into his uncle because of work, and this,” he gestured to the little ‘scratch’ on his neck, “is from Josten.”

Renee frowned as she seemed to think about that. “Hmm, and what were you doing to provoke such a reaction out of him?” When Andrew was quiet, she nodded once. “Neil’s a good friend. He hasn’t had the easiest of times growing up, but he’s not a bad man.” She nodded again as she stood. “And I’d be careful, because he has people who care about him, who watch over him. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to return to work. Be careful, Andrew, you and Kevin.”

He watched her go then got up to leave himself, thoughts occupied with what she’d said – with what basically was a warning.

The more he learned about Neil Josten, the more the pieces didn’t fit together; if there was one thing (actually, there was a rather long list) that Andrew didn’t like, it was incomplete puzzles. He detested things that he couldn’t easily solve, that taunted him with their jagged edges that didn’t smooth out and fit together, with missing pieces and equations just waiting for that last bit to be figured out.

Josten? Neil Josten was all of that rolled together, was violence with a friendly smile, a teasing, lilting voice that poured out insults, a gorgeous man who’d shown no interest nor repulsion in Andrew despite his mild flirting.

Andrew had a job he was paid to do and now Riko Moriyama to deal with… but damnit, he’d figure out one Neil Josten before he left Paris, he swore to himself.

*******

Neil, dressed in McQueen as well (Allison had laughed as she ‘bullied’ him into the black blazer embellished with butterflies, but at least let him wear jeans and a pale grey shirt beneath it), escorted Allison into the cocktail party they were basically crashing (as if anyone would dare to throw Allison Reynolds out of a party she deigned to grace with her presence) – a cocktail party held during the middle of the day.

Someone was trying a bit too hard.

That someone turned out to be Riko Moriyama, which explained it rather well.

“Oh yes, Renee will even light a candle for us, I’m willing to bet,” Neil murmured in French as he gazed at the Japanese-American man who appeared to be boring Agnes Caron to tears; unfortunately, it was the freelance reporter’s job to suffer such things, and she probably was there to find out if he or his uncle were opening a new office in Paris.

Or, more importantly, if Riko’s brother was opening a new office in Paris, since the Stone Mountain corporation was much more important (powerful, wealthier, etc.) than Edgar Allan, one of its subsidiaries.

Was also free of rumored, quickly buried scandals – scandals tied to one Riko Moriyama.

Neil hoped that Agnes was careful, because she was a friend of Dan’s and never reported any lies about Allison.

Then he pushed all thoughts of the woman aside because Allison dragged him further into the room, right as Riko looked their way, an expression of interest on his face.

*******

Last part can be found here

#nekojitachanfics #aftg #aftg au #andreil #we're getting there honest #neil josten #andrew minyard #allison reynolds #renee walker #how to steal a million fic #more snark #and expensive clothes #because it's allison #mumbling into the void

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honestandsincere · 5 years ago

Text

reputation part three

It’s a frosty morning in New York City. The air feels crisp and fresh, in a way that burns your cheeks as blood rushes to their surfaces in an attempt to warm you up. Each windscreen of stagnant cars is opaque with a thin layer of ice, hiding empty coffee cups or opened notebooks on backseats from the night before. Despite the chill, New York couldn’t be more awake. The city moves at its relentless pace; taxi cabs weave through streets, commuters pace the sidewalks with phones pressed to their ears, dog-walkers are out in their force at the early hour. The energy is ceaseless.

Y/n grips her cup of tea tighter in her hand, willing the warmth to seep through the cardboard and into her numbed fingertips. Her nose tingles and with her free hand, she pulls her beanie over her ears. The park bench beneath her is cold so she begins bouncing her thighs up and down to try and generate some warmth. She takes her time to people-watch, observing the clusters of people that pass her and taking in the scenes around her. Even in the heart of Central Park, everyone has a determined sense of direction, only tourists seem to dawdle and take their time immersing themselves in the early light of the day.

It must be about eight thirty by now, rush hour slowly coming to its close. Yet the park is still bustling with life as artists set up their canvases along the perimeters of the footpaths, displaying their oil pastel masterpieces for the public to gawp at. Y/n sips her tea and flicks her wrist so she can check her watch.

“Early bird catches the worm, y/l/n,” she looks up at the sound of his voice. There he stands, a few feet from her, smirking despite being red-faced and breathing heavily. “Nice of you to join me, Mr Dolan,” y/n rakes her eyes up and down his figure, taking in his grey sweatpants and maroon Harvard hoodie. “Figured I’d get a run in before our meeting,” he takes a few steps forward and then flops onto the bench beside her, “please call me Ethan, this isn’t formal.” “Any meeting with you is formal, Mr Dolan.”

Ethan laughs at her persistence, blowing air out of his lips and running a hand through his disheveled hair. He couldn’t deny that he was excited about their little rendezvous, deciding to go for a run to work off his almost nervous energy. It makes him hate y/n y/l/n. She does look pretty though. She always looks pretty. Her coat looks warm and her adorable beanie made sure he noticed her as soon as he turned the corner towards the park’s center. Y/n turns to face him, cradling the mug in both her hands. “We need to talk,” the way she looks at him makes him feel soft, he pushes this feeling aside with a lighthearted roll of his eyes. “We do, y/l/n.” “That little stunt you pulled, with The Daily Mail, that was smart,” she chuckles, “I can’t pretend I’m not impressed.” Ethan Dolan shrugs his shoulders, basking in her begrudged compliment, “I do try.” “Is there much point in me asking why?” He purses his lips, watching her watch him intently with a furrowed brow, “Hate to spoil the magic for you, but it helps with my image. I also wanted to make the first move.” Y/n scoffs, “You made a move alright, Dolan.” “You can’t deny the chemistry between us,” he wiggles his eyebrows at her. “I can and I will,” she narrows her eyes, as if she’s scanning his every detail, “I don’t think you understand how transparent you are. This was never about our ‘chemistry’, this is you trying to save your own skin.” Ethan wishes she was right.Y/n is, to an extent. If the public saw that he was in a relationship with the woman that wrote a stellar article about him, they’d go wild. The world is a huge sucker for romance, the cheesier and least realistic the scenario the better. Their photograph at Delevigne’s was too good an opportunity to pass up. LIFE Magazine sales are only increasing, people desperate to try and read between y/n’s lines in an attempt to decipher the compelling private life of Ethan Dolan. It also makes sense that they’re in a relationship; he’s successful and attractive, she’s successful and attractive. Of course, Ethan’s reputation would be saved too. Having the world think that y/n was committed to him meant that any article she published ‘exposing’ his antics would be seen as a fluke or perhaps some kind of magazine hack. Ethan could also release a statement claiming he and y/l/n have separated and the only reason she wrote the article was to spite him. He has to admit, it’s clever. But he can’t ignore the fact that it stretches beyond that. It’s not entirely a stunt to save himself. He’s grown to like y/n, he can see aspects of himself in her persistence. She doesn’t throw herself at him, he has to work to spend time with her. It’s all very old fashioned, the whole putting in the effort. Ethan Dolan is not accustomed to trying his hardest to woo a woman. Through making this statement that they are exclusive, it gives him more time with her, a chance to prove himself and change her mind. Y/n monopolizes on his silence, “I’ll compromise, if you don’t change your little business tactics, I’ll publish draft one. If you do decide to reevaluate your principles, consider the article binned.” She looks away from him, her cheeks burning with repressed anger. Y/n doesn’t like getting annoyed, she also doesn’t like Ethan Dolan knowing he has an effect on her. Ethan ponders her words, they make sense. Frankly, since he’d read her first draft he had been thinking about Dolan & Dolan’s principles as a company. He’s always seen himself as a philanthropist, even when he and Grayson were knocking down office blocks to make room for their skyscrapers, he’d offered redundant employees jobs. Granted, they were higher paid jobs with better working conditions and the paternity leave scheme is one of the greatest the city has ever seen. All he’s done wrong is lie. If Ethan Dolan was to tell the world that he makes his money through crippling businesses until they have no choice but to sell themselves to him, it doesn’t sound too great. But, if he lets everyone know that he’s rebuilding derelict communities and providing better employment for the people of New York, it’s a different matter. Y/n’s first draft is scathing, to say the least. She writes from an overt point of distaste and Ethan has to remind himself she’d planned out her writing before actually meeting him. He likes to think that maybe she was taken aback by personable he is, but he stops himself from being too arrogant. Y/n y/l/n can write, which is his blessing and his curse. She’s his own double-edged sword, a grenade that could explode any second, his secret weapon and his own downfall. Her ambivalence is brilliant. “I’m not expecting you to change, Mr Dolan. I know that it’s not in your nature to change your mind, but don’t think that this little game of mommies and daddies is gonna stop me.” “You drive a hard bargain, y/l/n,” he finally speaks, folding his arms across his chest and keeping his eyes on her side profile. “This isn’t a deal, it’s never been a deal. It’s about you doing the right thing,” y/n exhales heavily, sipping her tea. She’s tired of Ethan Dolan ignoring the truth. “I’ll think about it,” Ethan says, smiling at the way her eyes widen in shock, “but I’m gonna need you to do something for me in return.” It’s hard not to laugh when she’s brought back to reality, a scowl gracing her features. “The Robin Hood Foundation is throwing a charity gala this Friday, come as my date and I’ll talk to Grayson.” Y/n laughs, a full-bellied laugh that causes her shoulders to shake, but it’s tainted with a sense of bitterness, “I should’ve known it wasn’t going to be easy.” “New York City is convinced we’re in love, let’s give them something to talk about.” “Even if I do come with you to this charity party, which is incredibly ironic by the way, there’s no way you’ll do anything to change Dolan & Dolan.” “Never say never, y/l/n.”

----------------

The sporadic flashes are blinding, each being triggered by a shout of their names or an exaggerated compliment. Y/n bears her teeth in a forced smile, trying her hardest not to blink at inconvenient moments. “Miss y/l/n! Turn your head to the right please!” She complies, closing her mouth and placing a hand on her hip. “Who are you wearing tonight, y/n?” She’d been told not to answer questions, so she glances towards her Louboutin heels quickly to compose herself. “Is it true wedding bells are ringing?” Y/n’s eyes flicker towards the incessant flashes, she laughs. She poses again, crossing her legs like the girls Vogue rave about. Since the overwhelming success of her article, y/n has become no stranger to photographs. The paparazzi have been following her every move since Ethan Dolan declared that they were ‘exclusive’. Y/n has been greeted by ominous flashes on her way into the office, swarmed at the local grocery store and bombarded by absurd questions while clambering out of the cab. She’s learned to keep her head down, to not give anything away, not so much for her own sake but to avoid inflating Dolan’s ego. Her face being on gossip sites and social media feeds is all too familiar. Y/n's taught herself how to pose. "Have I mentioned that you look ravishing this evening, y/l/n?" a warm palm comes to rest between her shoulder blades as his hot breath graces her cheek. The shouts of the photographers become louder as y/n slides her arm around his suit-clad waist. "Too many times," she grimaces. Ethan's hand grazes down her back to rest on her hip, pulling her into his side and kissing her cheek. He enjoys the charade, milking every moment for what it's worth. Y/n wants to scold him for almost smudging her painstakingly flawless makeup, but she's remained composed for too long to ruin the facade now. He looks good, that cannot be denied. Ethan Dolan always looks unspoiled, it's genetic, but tonight he looks better. His blazer and bright crimson dress pants make him look younger than the regular black suit he wears for business, reminding y/n that he's just as juvenile as she is. He's taken the liberty of shaving, she wonders how soft his jaw is now it's devoid of stubble but catches her mind wandering. Y/n cannot afford to get enraptured in Ethan Dolan's minor details. "They love us," he mumbles, as he waves to a pap that seems familiar. "I should hope so," y/n speaks through her teeth as she smiles, her cheeks are beginning to hurt. "The world can't resist an attractive couple." "Too bad it's all an act then." She cranes her neck to kiss his cheek, slinking away from his familiar grasp and following an assistant dressed in black along the carpet. Y/n feels like she can breathe now that the cameras are far behind her. She's lead through the huge doors of Guastavino's, lifting the floating skirt of her dress in order to step into the building. The lobby is bustling with waiters and chaperones, guiding New York's elite into the reception area of the gala. Beside the huge glass reception desk, two large display boards present the smiling face of Ethan Dolan, along with other seemingly legitimate philanthropists as they are thanked for their generosity. If y/n did not know any better she'd be proud. She's researched the foundation and Ethan does, in fact, donate an unfathomable amount of money to the cause on an annual basis. It's impressive, commendable. She just wishes everything was like this, that Dolan & Dolan were as praiseworthy as they appear. "If you come this way, Miss y/l/n, I'll take you to your table," the young woman with long auburn hair smiles. Y/n follows her through the huge double doors into the dinner hall, snatching a gasp at the dimly lit room. Its scalloped ceilings are illuminated by golden lights attached to the stunning pillars dotted around the room. Tables are draped with velvet cloths and huge centerpieces are decorated with gold-tipped lilies. It's stunning, to say the least. Y/n and her chaperone weave through the partially filled tables until they reach one towards the venue's stage. She spots Grayson sat with his back to the screen playing a slideshow of the charity's patrons, his hands moving animatedly as he converses with a middle-aged man. The young girl gestures to an empty seat and y/n sits, thanking her before watching her march away. "Y/n!" Grayson cheers, his attention drifting from his discussion to her, "So glad you could make it tonight. Isn't this amazing?" "It's lovely to see you, Mr Dolan," she smiles politely. He scoffs, "Call me Grayson. You're dating my brother, we're on first name bases now." Y/n wonders if Grayson knows. He and Ethan are twin brothers, they're bound to be close, but she knows that Grayson is just about as good as a middle school girl at keeping a secret. Would Ethan risk telling him? If they're 'relationship' is destined for inevitable failure, maybe it's for the best that he believes it too. The younger Dolan shifts in his seat, "Y/n, this is David van Douglas, one of the Foundation's CEOs," he gesticulates to the man beside him. Van Douglas holds out a hand to her, she shakes it with a firm grip, "What an honor it is to meet you, Miss y/l/n. I'm such a big supporter of your work." Y/n grins, "Thank you so much. If anything I should be honored to be in your presence, Mr van Douglas. Your work is truly amazing." "We'd be nothing without the Dolans' donations," he admits, shrugging a little in his Givenchy suit. "Dave, you know it's the least we can do," Grayson pats the older man on the back, "tonight is going to be such a success." "Yes, the venue looks beautiful," y/n adds, glancing around her again. A pair of hands come to rest on her bare shoulders. She can smell Paco Rabanne's Invictus, it's unmistakably him. His thick fingers stroke her soft skin gently, it's affectionate. "I see you've met my other half, David," y/n can hear the smirk in his voice. "I have and she's enchanting," van Douglas rises to his feet and steps towards Ethan, pulling him from y/n and into a hug, "it's good to see you, Ethan." "You too, it's been too long." Y/n turns to watch the men embrace, noting the way Ethan claps van Douglas on the back, the same way Grayson had done earlier. They mumble something that isn't intelligible, so she shifts back towards Grayson. She's taken aback by the way his eyes are boring into her, a smirk plastered on his chiseled face. "I know," he mouths. --------------- "So then I said to her, 'Cecelia, you can't not have caviar at your sixth birthday party, that's simply reprehensible!' and she was completely vexed for the rest of the week!" "Oh Pierre, she sounds delightful!" "A real handful!" "Utterly adorable!" Y/n has not spoken for at least an hour. The socialites around her delve into a conversation she can't quite understand. Their lives do not compare to hers, they're topics of conversation span well beyond her own comprehension. It's a little too intense. She nods politely and forces laughter when the others laugh, her eyes flicking to the Rolex on Ethan's wrist, praying time would move considerably faster. "It's not you, it really is this boring," he whispers in her ear, his arm coming around the back of her seat in order to be closer to her. "I never doubted my judgment," she hisses. "Your mediocre acting says otherwise," Ethan chuckles. "I didn't think Ethan Dolan settled for mediocre." Words are forming on his lips when he's interrupted by a slim woman with high cheekbones, "Ethan! Do tell us how you and Miss y/l/n met!" A medley of hums of agreement spurs y/n to turn towards him, taking in his champagne-flushed cheeks and fixed eyes. Ethan chuckles, running his fingers along y/n's forearm, drawing little patterns into her skin. This is going to be interesting. "I think it was love at first sight," he shrugs, earning a chorus of besotted whines and a fake smile from y/n, "I've never been so enraptured by a human being. When we met for our interview at The Ritz, she blew me away. I was and am in awe." All eyes turn to y/n, urging her to continue their story. She's never been exceptionally good at improvisation, she clears her throat. "He's so fascinating," she begins, glancing at Ethan for approval, "I told myself I wouldn't fall for him because I adhere to my professionalism, but I guess I'll make the exception for love." The table applauds them with gushing compliments and huge grins. Ethan quirks an eyebrow in surprise, he didn't expect her to be so convincing. Y/n's eyes rake over those surrounding her until her gaze meets Grayson. He shakes his head slowly, impressed by her facade, licking his lips in incredulity. Y/n can't help but laugh, leaning into Ethan's side casually. "Tell me that was mediocre," she mumbles into his jaw, placing a kiss there for effect. Ethan is stunned. He keeps underestimating y/n y/l/n. This might be his greatest downfall, his Achilles heel in his otherwise indestructible nature. He's not weak by any means, but she makes him feel significantly less powerful. Ethan Dolan does not question himself, but part of him is beginning to wonder whether or not he's bitten off more than he can chew. Y/n y/l/n is fire and he doesn't enjoy the thrill being burned. The topic of conversation steers away from one of Ethan's lies to another. His business. The gala's guests are all deeply engaged by the Dolans' capability at such a young age, teasing information out of them as the champagne continues to flow. "So, Ethan tell us about your plans for the future." "Honestly Celine, the only way is up. Not that I can go any higher." The cackles are sickening, this is the side of Ethan Dolan that is so detestable. "How do you feel about potential partnerships?" "I don't think there's any company that could offer Grayson and me anything we don't already have. We're becoming too good at what we do." Y/n fights the urge to roll her eyes. "There are plenty of CEOs killing themselves to get some kind of share in Dolan & Dolan." "I know," Ethan takes a sip of his drink, his hand running up and down y/n's arm, "but adding other organizations into our midst seems unnecessary. It's not like we need the business equivalent of Viagra." He triggers sniggers with his crude comment. Y/n thinks she's about to burst, her mouth is working faster than her brain and before she can control herself words are spilling out in front of her. "Of course, we're all too familiar with Viagra, aren't we, honey?" Choked guffaws spring up around them. Celine covers her mouth with her jeweled hand. David van Douglas snorts. Grayson's eyes are as wide as his empty dinner plate. Ethan Dolan clenches his jaw, his fingers tracing on her skin have ceased their movement and he takes a big inhalation of air. Someone called Bart quickly raves about his steak and suddenly the table tries their best to shift the conversation away from y/n's wildly inappropriate remark. Ethan is silent, which isn't unlike him. Y/n's noticed the way he enjoys observing, it allows him to charm his audience. He analyzes before making comments, thinking out his every word. It's what makes him so alluring. Grayson fills silences with trivial small talk, Ethan's approach is always tactical. But now, he's flabbergasted. Words are not coming to mind, he's close to flipping the velvet-covered table and storming out of Guastavino's. He's been licked by y/n's flames. She feels her heart pound with adrenaline. It's a pleasant rush, she feels accomplished. Embarrassing Ethan Dolan is great fun. Y/n sips her champagne, reveling in her success. Ethan retracts his arm from around the back of her seat, she notices the way she suddenly misses his contact, feeling the weight of it on her. He raises himself to his feet. Y/n assumes he's escaping to the smoking area outside to blow off some steam by blowing smoke. The older twin reached for a clean fork on the table and his flute filled with bubbly liquid. Y/n's breath catches in her throat as he begins to tap the metal on the glass. "Speech!" a voice shouts across the room and the hall descends into silence, everyone is in Ethan Dolan's palm. "Thank you," he dips his head in a way that would be considered humble by the audience, "tonight has been truly magical, having everybody here to celebrate a brilliant cause. The Robin Hood Foundation has been doing great work for years, and to be named one of the year's most generous patrons is truly such an honor. Success is nothing without humility and generosity, which is why I can't think of anything better to do with Dolan & Dolan Enterprise's money than donate to such a worthy charity." The rooms erupts into civil applause, embellished with the odd whoop of appreciation. Ethan clears his throat and continues to speak. "As you all know, this year has been a whirlwind for my business and me. I feel as though I have become a new man, rediscovered what it is about business that keeps me so entranced and excited. Charity work is definitely one of my main motivators, but I have found a new one; love." Y/n's palms are damp, she looks to Grayson who sends her a shrug. Ethan is too unpredictable. "Y/n y/l/n is undoubtedly the love of my life. She has given the man who has everything more than he could ever imagine. I'm so so so in love with her. She makes life worth living, I wake up every morning with a new sense of passion and verve about business. I couldn't be more in love with you, y/n," he turns to stroke her cheek dramatically before facing his avid audience, "Who knows, maybe wedding bells will be ringing this time next year?" Y/n is deafened by the clapping. Everyone around her has their eyes fixed on her. Ethan pulls her to her feet and into a hug, she has no choice but to wrap her arms around his built frame. "It takes two to tango, y/l/n. I'm a great dancer." --------- "At least he didn't propose," Grayson pats y/n on the back sympathetically, "I wouldn't have put it past him." Y/n scoffs, slamming the rest of her gin and tonic down her throat and sliding her empty glass along the bar to the waiter serving them. He takes this as a signal to pour her another drink. "He's gone and extended the expiry date of our 'relationship'." "Exactly, it could be a lot worse," Grayson wants to tell her it's her own fault for aggravating his brother, but y/n is not in a state to be told she's wrong. She sends him a sarcastic smile. The number of guests that have approached her congratulating her on her stellar career and stunning boyfriend is enough to make her queasy. Y/n is sick of the words 'thank' and 'you' by now. It's all too much. Having to pretend to be civil with Ethan Dolan is bad enough, having to fake being in love with him is impossible. The devil incarnate swaggers over to the bar, his blazer discarded on the table nearest the bar. He pulls Grayson into a weird bro-hug that y/n will never understand and mumbles something to his brother about giving them some time to talk. The younger Dolan taps y/n's hand and slides off the bar stool, heading outside for some air. Y/n rolls her eyes as Ethan resumes his brother's position, shaking her head. "As I said earlier, they love us," he grins. Y/n doesn't reply, she nods a thank you to the bartender when he hands her the cold glass. She takes a big gulp and places it back down on the bar, running her finger along the rim. "It'd be such a shame if we had to end things, don't you think?" he watches her intently, perceiving the way her bottom lip is slightly pouted and her brow is drawn into a furrow. Y/n doesn't respond, her eyes staring into her drink, scorning the fact the ice to alcohol ratio is bitterly disappointing. "Listen, y/n-" "Your ego never ceases to amaze me," she snaps. Ethan is pleased she's interacting with him, but he jumps at her outburst, he doesn't bother trying to speak again. "You act like you're so much better than everyone here, your 'holier than thou' trope is getting a little repetitive. Honestly, Ethan, your hubris will be your downfall." Her hands move avidly as she talks, she's turned on her stool to face him, her eyes fiercely wide. He stares at her blankly, letting her release her tipsy rant. He thanks God that the bar is empty. Ethan notes this is the first time she's used his name. Just his name. It sounds nice, pretty in her voice. He takes her flailing hands in his, she doesn't wriggle them to release herself from his grip. She likes the way his skin feels against hers, consequently, she hates herself for feeling this way. "Unlike Lear or Faustus or Icarus, my flaw isn't fatal. You know this is a show, this is all fake; my persona, everything. You think you know who I am, y/n. You're wrong." "Don't try and win me over with literary references," she huffs. "Why? Are they working?"

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PART THREE! This has been a long-ish time coming! I took a few days off just to relax and celebrate my exams coming to an end, so a huge thank you for being patient! Once again, I am so overwhelmed by the feedback and love for this series. I’m really immersed in businessman Ethan’s world, so I hope you are too! Let me know what you think! - K xx

T A G L I S T @lukescolours @honeybeeesworld @yslbailey @quickdolan @dolancrew @dolancrew @sunflowerpseudonym @dreamergirl2727 @arrantsnowdrop @ceejay1163 @peruvian-bae @crown-jul @kinkbaby95 @takenbyheartstrings @loveyou3000-tonystarkzine @ergojenn @blackpinkdolan @sara29392 @someonedoingnothing

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