#anyway if anyone has specific examples that I shouldn’t forget lemme know

[boardwalk-absurdist]

Gonna rewatch Fruits Basket soon so I can finally write that “Shigure is Bastard Man” essay for my friend who, after we finished watching the entire show, said, “I just don’t see how he’s a manipulative bastard. I mean, he’s an asshole, but I didn’t really get manipulative.” May also write some meta along the way about how Momiji is possibly the most mature and emotionally intelligent character in the whole damn show (aside from maybe Hanajima and Hatsuharu) and yes that includes every fucking adult.

Also I will absolutely cry. A lot.

[cristalknife]

Kadam Week 2021 Day 5 ~ Been There, Done That, Lemme Be...

This is me trying to not start something on a platform only to post solely somewhere else aka AO3 and ff.net  you can find the complete list of Kadam Week 2021 prompts and you might find more stories on the Kadam Week 2021 AO3 collection

That said, today prompt is April Fools Day While I'm not 100% sure on this story hitting the mark, it has at least some of the prompt's elements, revolving around April fools and one of the two options, namely both Kurt and Adam hating pranking... so here we go, I present to you Been There, Done That, Lemme Be... (Or how a joke between Adam and Kurt became a new Nyada's yearly tradition.) (or read on ao3)

Adam didn't mind the differences between his home country and the states that much, not on most days at least.

April first though was the exception, usually Americans' tendencies to go overboard were amusing, but he could admit that in the past few years being on this side of the pond made him look back fondly and longingly to how things were back home.

For one, back in England, the tradition of pranking lasted only till noon, which made only half of a terrible terrible day, and easier to avoid.

But here in America, the whole day was game, and Adam didn't like how easily pranks escalated.

The fact he never had fond memories of the practice didn't help much either.

It was only by a lucky chance, that the previous years, April first fell on days when it was completely ok for him to call in sick or disappear without any suspicions.

While he blessed such coincidence at the time, it was something he somehow regretted now. Because he was unsure on how to broach the subject with Kurt, nor how it would be received.

Simply disappearing for twenty four hours without a warning, was not something he could do to his boyfriend, not when he knew said boyfriend was capable of worrying over the smaller things...

He wasn't that comfortable raising the issue, but it was something they needed to tackle together.

Adam didn't want April fools traditions to be something they got upset about and potentially snap at each other over mere ignorance.

It so wasn't the kind of talk he wanted to have, but clear communication was the key and so a talk they would have.

Without knowing it yet Kurt was facing a similar dilemma.

He never had the chance to walk away from April first, so the possibility had never ever even crossed his mind, especially since in his experience it had always been one more day where it was just more of the same…

Probably with a more cruel edge to the ‘pranks’ done to him, since apparently the date gave permission even to the kinder people to just disregard anything he might feel...

So all in all it was just one more day in his usual life.

The main exhibit example of the escalated condoned cruelty of April fools had been their outside furniture being nailed to the roof...

Everyone simply laughed it out, while his dad had to have the roof repaid adding more expenses to the list of bills to pay...

In a way Kurt had always tried to appear unaffected and bored by the repetitiveness of the jokes and pranks sent his personal way.

The substance in question might have changed during the years and the occasion, but the prank itself had stayed the same. The over unoriginal and completely lacking any creative inventive of trowing a balloon or a container filled with one of the many possibly disgusting choices.

So nothing new compared to the daily slushie facial he got in high school.

In the lucky years when he was younger, it was just chalk powder and or dirt, then the boys hit their fascination for the disgusting and the pee balloons, the slimes and eggs appeared.

The seemingly most innocuous one had been a natural blueberries smoothie… That managed to destroy a complete outfit with stains that never came out.

But now that he was at Nyada, despite having found out how surprisingly similar college was to high school, he had slightly higher hopes for this year.

If the others students were as busy as he was, then hopefully there wouldn't be any time for the traditional pranks.

At least not on school ground, and since some of his professors had been grumpy dragons on Valentine's day, by simply seeing the exchange of flowers and chocolates in the hallways, to the point that the message that not such foolishness and disruption would be tolerated in their classrooms, became the daily mantra. Made Kurt held a tiny candle of hope that he might get through that day unscathed this year.

The only uncertainty came from Adam and the rest of their friends...

The Apples were a playful and excitable bunch on a normal day, though he was pretty sure that any kind of mischief from them would be geared more toward being funny than malicious.

And despite not having known them that long, he was sure that if he asked them to ease up, they all would make everything stop immediately.

But the whole idea of the day was still making him a little anxious, with all his bad experiences, while he was always the one neither amused nor laughing, everyone else seemed to find his situation pretty amusing...

With Blaine he basically never had to worry, his ex was always too needy of being the centre of attention that never bothered to follow any kind of traditions if it didn't benefit him...

And Adam was nothing like Blaine... Which made Kurt all the more worried he'd end up flip out and explode at his boyfriend, over something insignificantly small and harmless.

But it was also exactly the reason why in the end, Kurt shouldn't have been as surprised as he actually was, in receiving a text from Adam on that subject, simply saying 'Can we please talk about April first’s expectations?'

Despite the calm 'Sure, I'll be there in half an hour unless there're troubles with the subway. See you soon xxx' Adam got from Kurt, his nerves were not as calm or collected.

Hopefully Kurt wouldn't be too disappointed. Adam knew there could be pranks not meant to hurt, but he had seen too many backfire to be comfortable with the whole principle.

His uneasiness got gladly interrupted by the doorbell announcing Kurt's arrival.

"Hellu darling" Adam greeted with a smile, he was happy to see his boyfriend even if he wasn't too thrilled about the topic they were about to discuss.

To Adam's surprise and joy Kurt hugged him and pressed a light kiss on his lips before saying "Hi there"

Adam smiled back and pointed to the kitchen where the kettle was on the stove “Tea before we talk?”

Kurt chuckled but nodded following Adam “Such a British offer, I’ll take a cup of what you’re having, thanks.”

Adam chuckled a little himself. It was more a personal preference than a real national trait, he knew quite a few fellow Brits who couldn’t even stand tea, but it was a gesture still common enough that the saying hadn’t died out yet.

Once they both sat at the table with their cup in front of them, Kurt was the first to start their talk "About April fools, is there any chance we might skip the practice altogether? I'm not overly fond of pranks and if we could avoid their cruelty I'd really appreciate it."

Adam sighed relieved then smiled nodding grateful "Believe me darling, if only it was feasible I would have tackled this year's April fools like usual, namely skipping the day altogether. It is the one day a year I miss not being back in England."

Kurt tilted his head curiously and asked "How so? And by that I mean why would you miss England on that specific day?"

Adam grinned at the quick correction, apparently Kurt had already figured out to ask clearly for things he wanted to know.

He knew it was maybe a slightly petty exercise to force on his boyfriend, but it did have the advantage of promoting and teaching how to communicate better, which was a good thing for the both of them.

"It's not like the pranks were better, if that's what you're wondering, but there is the tradition that pranks should happen only until noon and if someone pranks after noon then he is the April fool... A tradition that translating in having to hide only half day instead of the whole day..."

Kurt considered it for a moment then nodded "You know, I never thought of that solution, mainly because in my experience it wouldn't matter anyway, the only real difference on April fools compared to any other day was that more people laughed when something happened..."

Adam frowned and took another sip of his cooling tea, to refrain from offering once more to burn to ashes the kind of place that would allow such things to happen on daily basis...

“I wish we could just pass through a token space, get our stamp of been there, done that, lemme be and then be free for the rest of the day. That would be a relief if only possible.”

Adam’s outburst was more on a joking note, however Kurt was looking pretty lost in thoughts, humming softly before asking “But what if we had such place, let’s say like a table on the cafeteria with an April first menu, and at the end a pin and the request that anyone wearing a pin to be left alone...”

Adam listened interested and wondered reasoning aloud “You know, if we take this idea to the Deans we might actually get the faculty behind it and have at least the school day free of worries. It would be something… I know I’d appreciate that...”

Kurt looked up, panic evident in both his voice and eyes “Wait, you mean it isn’t safe? I thought that with the majority of the faculty acting like grumpy dragons with a toothache no one would dare... Or that at least we’d all be too busy for that?”

Adam snorted and shook his head “Oh Darling, there’re times I forget you’re still a sweet innocent wide eyed freshie... On the contrary, the odds are beyond scary... But if we get the faculty behind that then we might make it happen… And believe me, most professors would love to wear such a pin for the day and delight in enforcing the safe space.”

Kurt pouted a little at Adam’s description, but in a way he knew he was, eyes were still full of wonder for the school, despite the nasty discovery about it being so similar to high school.

But he had to defend himself so he quipped playfully “So, oh wise and jaded senior, what is your take on the idea, think we can pull that off instead and get the whole school an almost prank free zone?”

Adam pondered the question a little and asked back instead “But what could we put on the menu? I can only think of a couple of tea brews that taste like something else, one like chocolate and another like coffee”

Kurt grinned getting excited “What about variations of the theme of the meatloaf cupcakes different combination of meat patty with coloured mashed potato piped on it to seem like frosting with cherry tomatoes or parmesan on top of them as decorations.”

Adam hummed interested, “Talking of cheese it could be fun to have as opposed to those the sweet grilled cheese sandwiches, where you use pound cake instead of bread”

Kurt chuckled looking mischievously “Do you think we can manage to ask the cooks to also add apples’ fries?”

Adam snorted and playfully pointed a finger at Kurt in a mocking scolding before tutting “Cheeky aren’t we? You really want everyone to know who did it with such a signature?”

Kurt laughed carefree, almost to the point of tears “As if the gossips in our school wouldn’t have passed that information through the whole theatre social circles grapevine way before lessons start on April first...”

What had started as a half joke, in front of two cups of tea, shared by a couple who didn’t care for malicious and cruel pranks, was found by the faculty as an intriguing alternative, to a day of growling and shouting at college students acting like kindergartens.

On April first the students found at the front door the announcement that complementary ‘Been There, Done That, Lemme Be, NYADA 12-13’ pins were distributed in the cafeteria for everyone wanting a pranks free day on school grounds. Any student reported or found by the faculty, pranking someone wearing the pin would be reported to their Major’s Dean for appropriate support (read additional remedial homework) for having been unable to read and understand one of the many big announcement’s signs present on the front door and in the main halls all around their school...

In the cafeteria there were multiple choices on how to earn one’s pin. Including, but not limited to, try out one of the alumni kindly sponsored ‘surprise’ food, which for safety reasons were all properly showing the list of contained ingredients.

Officially speaking the Nyada’s faculty took the credit for the event and for the prank free April fools during the AY 2012-13.

The grocery bag containing apples, a pack of sugar, ground cinnamon and an unsigned card with just the words ‘Thank You’, found in the Auditorium 2 the next day, told Kurt and Adam that someone knew exactly who was behind it.

And from the confused faces of their Apples it was not someone from their group. ~The End~

[becamitchellsbeats]

The Other Side Of You

So, I randomly got inspired to write some Mitchsen (AubreyXBeca) and this was the result. Its my first time writing the ship so lemme know what you think. Also on AO3

Aubrey Posen was normally the person that people dreaded spending time with, it wasn't in a mean way, she was just more intense than your average individual. People felt they couldn't relax around her, she was high maintenance, and pretty demanding at times. They'd say she couldn't let loose and it was safe to say that some of the Bellas dreaded their one on one vocal lessons, but especially dreaded one on one cardio.

But Beca Mitchell knew there was no way that, that was the only side to her. She was Chloe's best friend, after all, she knew there had to be more to her than there seemed, otherwise how could Chloe stand her?

The Bellas had recently attended Aubrey's camp to re-discover themselves and their sound, and although Beca discovered a lot of things over their stay, she realized she hadn't discovered anything new about Aubrey.

Which was something that she couldn't seem to get off of her mind.

And with that thought constantly circling her brain, Beca found herself standing outside of the entrance to the Lodge At Fallen Leaves. One minute she was in her room thinking about calling the blonde to arrange a visit, the next she discovered that her body had apparently gone onto auto-pilot and decided to take her there anyway because this was quite the diversion from her usual drive back home to the Bellas dorm.

"Well, I'm here now, I might as well say hi," she said to herself more so talking herself into it as she walked in through the gates, she was quickly greeted by a woman in a beige colored uniform. She had a red scarf like tie around her wrist which clearly seemed to symbolize some form of authority at the camp because she recalled Aubrey having one just like it tied around her neck.  

"Hi!" the woman greeted her enthusiastically "what Company are you with?" she asked glancing down at her clipboard as if ready to search for the name.

"Oh," Beca shook her head "I'm uh, not with a company, I'm actually specifically looking for Aubrey Posen? have you seen her around?" Beca said whilst glancing around half expecting to hear her barking orders in the background. If she was thankful for anything it was that her hellish days of partaking in Aubrey's 'death defying' activities were over.

"Oh,  you mean our camp's owner? do you have an appointment with her? she's very busy and-" "I know her." Beca interrupted her "I was here about a week back with the Barden Bellas so, yeah" the woman's face lit up "Oh, you were with the Bellas! if you'll follow me I'll take you to her location" the woman said whilst glancing down at a map that was displayed on her phone's app, it showed the location of each captain's walkie-talkies. Which was the workers' way of locating where each worker was around the camp.

As Beca followed the woman she took in the scenery around her. It dawned on her, that It was actually a pretty nice place when she was no longer being flung into the air by bear traps or almost dying, whilst singing songs that she felt didn't belong in a playlist let alone a set. 'I need to show her some good new music to' she noted to herself before bringing her attention back to the woman in front of her.

They had come to a stop outside a small building. It was the first time Beca had seen it so she had no clue what it was used for. "Aubrey should be in here, " the woman said with a smile, as she gestured towards the door.

Beca raised an eyebrow "Aren't you going to tell her I'm here?" the woman took a step back "Well, Aubrey doesn't like to be disturbed when indulging in her private activities. if she's expecting you, you should be fine, if not, good luck" the woman then patted Beca on the shoulder and walked away.

"Well that was odd" Beca said quietly to herself as she stared at the door of the building. She was slightly unnerved by the woman's behavior but she grabbed the door handle and entered anyway.

To her surprise she saw Aubrey playing on a violin, her eyes were closed, and her face was the most relaxed Beca had seen it in awhile. She watched on in awe as Aubrey moved elegantly, swaying her body along to the music that she was creating, the sunlight coming in from behind the blinds only highlighted her how at peace she looked.

She seemed so happy, so content. Beca found herself literally seeing Aubrey in a different light, it was weird, yet endearing, but also really weird. Beca would have never of thought it was the same uptight blonde that used to hate her back in first year.

She found herself staring, thankfully Aubrey had failed to notice, for she was still caught up in her melody, a melody that Beca didn't want to disturb. But at the same time she couldn't just stand there staring at her, so she cleared her throat,

"uh, hi" she said awkwardly.

Aubrey jumped, stringing the wrong note, it made a horrid sound as she looked up in an almost panicked like state, hastily searching the room with her eyes to find the source of the voice. Her eyes quickly focused on Beca, she speedily composed herself and tried to look unalarmed.

"What are-" Aubrey's voice came out higher than intended so she cleared her throat and tried again, this time in a lower voice "What are you doing here? did Chloe send you? shes always forgetting things when she visits" Aubrey said turning around as she placed her violin back into its case on the table in front of her.

Beca started to approach her "No, no, I actually uh, came here to see you" Aubrey ensured she kept her back to her "Oh. well," she wasn't sure why it made her feel happy, but it did, knowing that Beca couldn't see her face, Aubrey allowed a small smile to tug at her lips, she then turned on her heel, facing the small brunette with a more neutral expression.

"You shouldn't have," she said stepping forward "You were here a week ago, its not like anything drastic has happened in that time. I'm fine, the same as I was a week ago, so your drop in visit was a waste of gas Beca" she said walking passed her, refusing to admit that she was slightly moved that she had dropped in to see her again so soon. Especially since that even Chloe hadn't yet revisited.

"Well, I thought maybe you'd miss the company of everyone being around," Beca said shrugging, turning to face in the blonde's direction once more "we're a lively bunch, so when we're not around I guess it'd be noticeable and I thought maybe you'd feel lonely"

"well, i'm not lonely." Aubrey said sharply as she turned to face Beca again "So, is that all? I do have work to do. I'm very busy and I don't have time for pointless conversations"

"You know Aubrey, you're as bad as me. You just push people away with bluntness and sharp words rather than putting up walls." Aubrey was quick to jolt her head away from Beca's stare, refusing to comment on what she had said "I need to go, i'm really busy today"

"For someone who's so busy i'm surprised you have time to play the violin" Beca stated, she was determined to get her to talk about something.

"I like to make time for the things important to me"

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to become important to you, then you'll have all the time in the world for me right?" Beca smirked to which Aubrey frowned, but her face relaxed and she ended up smiling involuntarily, she tried to hide it by pretending to cough but she wasn't fooling anyone.

And as much as Beca wanted to comment on it, she knew it'd only make Aubrey more conscious so she changed the subject once more "you sound pretty awesome on the violin by the way, I didn't know you could play any instruments and I certainly never thought you were capable of looking peaceful"

"Well, I guess you don't know much about me. I'm a private person after all" Aubrey said shrugging "Anyway, why are you still here?" she said trying to change the subject away from herself. She was beginning to feel she was entertaining this conversation for far too long.

Beca shrugged then smiled "I'm here to get to know everything about you"

Aubrey huffed as she started walking for the doors again "You're wasting your time, and mine, you'll only get in the way" Beca did a half run after her "I think you'll find I can be quite helpful. How about I help you run the camp today?"

"Not happening."

Aubrey was halted to a stop as Beca cut in front of her, forcing her to pay attention to her "Okay, I could be wrong, and feel free to correct me. But I don't think you truly hate having me here, I think part of you likes it" she said whilst folding her arms behind her head and glancing up with a slight smirk.

Aubrey just glanced over Beca's shoulder eyeing the door "we're going to be late" she said as she walked passed Beca and headed out of the doors.

"Did, you just say we're?" she said as she hurried out the doors after the blonde.

Aubrey and Beca had arrived at the meeting place, and Aubrey wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug expression off of her face. "Gloat in your small victory whilst you can Beca, because it'll be short lived.  Signing yourself up to work alongside me was a stupid move. If you think my Bella training was tough then you're going to hate leading alongside me"

"Gloat in your small victory whilst you can Beca because it'll be short lived. Signing yourself up to work alongside me was a stupid move. If you think my Bella training was tough then you're going to hate leading alongside me"

Beca raised an eyebrow, as she furrowed her brow with a confused look "Why would I hate it? we just bark orders and secretly enjoy the suffering of the unfortunate employees who got sent here right?"

"Wrong!" Aubrey barked.

"We work as a team," she said in a prideful voice "even as leaders we are a part of the team. If anything, we have to set examples, we have to show them how everything is done. We will be participating in all activities and you" Aubrey said with a smirk as she flicked her wrist up and down pointing at the brunette "will be demonstrating and joining in"

Beca felt a sense of dread come over her "w-wait, I have to do it TWICE" Aubrey smirked as she flicked her hair, looking smug "Precisely, I did say that your gloating would be short lived" Aubrey then directed her attention to the group of six approaching them.

"Today" she said clasping her hands together "You will be instructed by both me and my uh," she stared at Beca for a moment unsure of what to call her "colleague here Beca" Aubrey then directed the groups attention towards the lake that had a large six seater canoe boat lined up along with another two seater one, and a few single ones that were stored there.

"You are to work as a team and make your way across this lake in your canoe. Remember, this is a Team building exercise, not a race. You will not be racing the two of us"

A man snickered "I'm sorry but there is only two of you. Regardless there is no way you'd beat six of us" Aubrey folded her arms "Oh really? I do like a challenge sir" her eyes then trailed to Beca who was trying to subtlety deter her from challenging them. No matter how Beca looked at it, she knew they weren't beating a team of six people.

"Allow me to finish my explanation," Aubrey said getting back to the purpose of the exercise "The canoes has been altered if you don't row in synch its more likely to topple over, the aim of the exercise is for you to stay dry. You will need to be patient with one another and make up for each others strength's and weakness's, your arms will tire quickly, its a big lake, meaning one of your team member's arms are surely to give out. How will you compensate for that?"

The group then murmured amongst themselves as Aubrey continued.

"Me and my colleague will first demonstrate, and once you have met the initial purpose of the exercise, if you still want to race us, then me and my colleague will happily take you on" Aubrey said as she looked at Beca with a smug expression as she made her way to one of the two-person canoes.

Beca sighed "Well, if you're up for getting wet, then, by all means, force me to join in with this activity" she said as she walked over. Aubrey rolled her eyes not sure whether she was flirting or generally talking about the activity.  

Aubrey then dropped her voice to a whisper "Right now, for the first time maybe ever, people are looking up to you Beca. This is a big deal"

"ouch, that was a little harsh" Beca responded with a mumble.

Aubrey smiled slightly "what? you're small, people don't have to look up to you often," she said with a soft laugh "what else did you think I meant?" Beca then shot her a playful look as she climbed into the canoe and seated herself in the second slot.  

"You actually got me" Beca admitted, Aubrey lifted her head looking accomplished "My point still stands though, they're looking up to us. We can't fail the exercise" Aubrey said sounding more stern, Beca sighed as she looked at the lake ahead of them.

"Dude, this lake is huge! do we seriously have to do the whole thing?" she whined.

"I would have done the whole thing with or without you, it was you who insisted on helping and now it is you, who is going to complete this exercise with me Beca."

Beca sighed "Just don't blame me when my arms inevitably give out and we go tumbling over" Aubrey pushed the canoe into the water and hopped in. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall so easily" she said as she grabbed her paddle "I don't fancy making a fool of myself. We Posens pride ourselves in our work, failure isn't an option"

"No pressure..." Beca mumbled as she grabbed her paddle.

"We'll need to paddle in synch, so time your strokes with my whistle, now one, two, three"

Aubrey then blew her whistle and the duo moved their paddles in synch, things were going well, at first, the pair were moving surprisingly in synch, but around 7 minutes in and Beca's arms were beginning to tremble.

"For serious Beca! its only been 420 seconds"

"yikes, it makes it sound pathetic when you put it like that. Minutes only please"

Aubrey sighed "its been seven minutes. C'mon, even Fat Amy managed the length of this lake on her own!"

"Yeah, but I'd argue that Fat Amy has more arm strength than me, and its hardly a fair comparison, given that she rowed across it on a mission. She was passionate! and more importantly willing choose to cross it! I am doing this kinda willingly but kinda against my will, and let's be real, Fat Amy likes to be big, bold and dramatic. I however like listening to music, on a sofa, far away from water using my arms for the bare minimum of things"

Aubrey laughed, "Whats so funny?" Beca asked.

"Well, whilst you were complaining another two minutes passed, you can do it when you put your mind to it Beca, you were moving in synch without following the sound of my whistle. I'm impressed."

But Aubrey spoke too soon, for she now made Beca conscious of the fact that she was moving in synch which just made her get all muddled up "wait what?" Beca stroked her paddle out of time and the canoe went to tip over "Seriously!" Aubrey reached over and grabbed Beca's arms, she positioned her arms into a position that steadied the canoe again, she then let out a relieved sigh as she turned her head back towards the group.

"Phew, that would have been disastrous, we only had a minute to go" she said pointing out how close the shore was.

"Now on my whistle--" Aubrey lifted the whistle up from around her neck and prepared to blow, when she felt her hand get pulled away. "Its okay, I can do it. I can be in synch with you, let's just finish it" Beca said with a smile. Aubrey then let the whistle fall back against her chest, she went to smile but frowned instead "don't mess this up Beca." the two then began rowing again and before long they were finally on the shore.

As much as Beca wasn't a fan of these team building exercises, she had to admit that she enjoyed this one, it was working, she felt closer to Aubrey.

As the two climbed out of the canoe Aubrey raised her hand for a high five "Nice job!"  she said enthusiastically. Upon realizing she had raised her hand she went to lower it, but Beca reached up and slapped her palm against it. The two then smiled at one another, before awkwardly glancing away.

Beca watched Aubrey in the distance as she signaled over at the group to begin the exercise. As she reflected on their team work she felt confident that by the end of her visit that Aubrey would be interested in giving her, her time of day.

'I'll see the other side to you, Aubrey.'

- 

So this was just a snippet. If you’re interested/liked it lemme know, I have more written already so I'm good to post more :).