#day made us think of each other wahhhh | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tundrainafrica · 4 years ago

Text

Title: Lovebug (3/10)

Summary:

“It might be a bug.”

“A bug?”

“Sometimes the developers of this application make mistakes. This is our first time meeting I’m sure so…Isn’t it a bit weird that we just met for the first time and it rings like this? And for two strangers to coincidentally ring each other’s alarms?“

Levi is the developer of the Love Alarm App and Hange is married to Zeke.

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Other Chapters: 1 2 4 5

Notes: So I was really planning on my posting the next chapter tonight and wahhhh right on time @renrampant posted this beautiful piece of art inspired by lovebug. I hope this chapter satisfies <3. I hope the zekehan kiss which will be coming in a chapter or two does justice to the art too.

Levi was a man of his word and he always had been. The night he created his tinder profile, such a penchant had turned out to be more than just an inconvenient truth.

Something so ideally simple as to create a tinder profile, shouldn’t have taken him more than a few hours. Yet, Levi found himself searching, grappling for the right words to say, finding some way to make himself more attractive than he actually was. It turned out with his own meagre attributes, drawing the right person was an altogether daunting task.

Maybe he was overthinking that night. Overthinking had been enough though to leave him exhausted, retiring for the night even before he even noticed he had forgotten to place the phone by his bedside.

When he came into his senses again, sunlight was streaming through the room, turning even the dimmest corners a little less black and a little more gray. The phone was a warm heavy weight vibrating on his chest.

He had to leave for the office soon.

His sleeping schedule only provided him a generous hour and a half to shower and to commute. Frustration at not being able to complete his bio the night before had him sluggish. It had him unwillingly reaching towards the back of his mind as he showered, as he shaved and pulled his light sweater on.

He considered extirpating that nagging thought. All you have to do is put a bio right? Levi thought to himself as he made his way to the subway station. He memorized the way to work like the back of his hand, all the way until the train platform He took the risk of walking straight ahead, eyes completely glued to the screen in front of him.

How it had taken him so much focus to decide on a bio. How it had taken him so much energy and thought. He didn’t know.

Levi though was a man of his word and thus, he had ended up clicking save after typing only a few simple straightforward words.

'Currently software testing. If interested, please swipe right.’

***

“So Levi, you’re a software tester?”

Levi found himself stifling a surprise snort at that question. The sound had come out as something he managed to disguise as a clearing of his throat. Hopefully it worked.

They had just settled on one of the corner seats of a chain coffee shop, a conservative choice for a first date. That is, if he were planning on impressing her. The date felt more like an obligation than an actual passion project. And obligations always had Levi’s mind running on overdrive, even with things as simple as ice breakers.

He didn’t expect that to have been the first line of conversation. He didn’t even know how to pronounce her name yet. The woman was looking expectantly though, bending a little forward. Whether she had been feigning interest or whether she had been genuinely interested, Levi couldn’t really tell.

Technically he tested software for a living and he didn’t need to really expose himself as the head engineer of the software so he settled for a nod.

“Oh, what kind of software do you test?” The woman in front of him pressed.

Levi snuck a glance at his phone under the table. Lynn. But was it pronounced ‘lint?’ Or was it pronounced ‘line?’

He was overthinking again. But when the woman had pronounced his own name correctly, it seemed almost criminal to have to mispronounce her name. Maybe he could table that question for a while.

Or never go on a date with her again. Levi thought to himself as he looked back up at her with the most casual face he could muster. “I test biology related software,” he answered. He purposely kept it vague. He had to note she was also a love alarm user. She had mentioned that part in her bio. Bringing it up in a conversation though was another issue altogether. If he brought it up, she might ask. If the conversation continued, she might ask more.

Did he want to expose then that he was the one who had designed the actual application?

“Biology sounds very interesting,” she commented. She didn’t seem interested in Biology though.

Not as interested as Hange. That quick comparison came like an uninvited visitor and Levi found himself just slapping the phone on top of the table on impulse. The clack of the phone on the table, the metal on hardwood rattled him enough to drive those thoughts away.

Lynn jumped in surprise. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Levi felt the blood rush to his face. When he was thinking longingly about someone married, and comparing her to Lynn, his date for the day, blushing seemed like an almost welcome sensation. “I heard you use the love alarm,” Levi started. When he was already making a fool of himself, might as well go straight to the point.

“You would like to check if we’re attracted to each other huh?” She asked. “But I don’t think we’d find out by the first date…”

“I said on my profile, I wanted to test a software so that’s why I’m here now actually.” Those words forced themselves out of Levi and they came out as a disturbed flow, as guttural sounds that burned in his throat. In the end, the honest man inside him prevailed.

“Test?” Lynn had been nice enough at least to mirror him and put her phone on the table. “You wanna test the love alarm now?”

Levi nodded as he fixed his eyes on the screen in front of him. He was familiar enough with the banner in the front of the screen to know with just a quick glance. The love alarm was active.

He didn’t have to open the application or pull down the banner to know the result. He was all too familiar with how the application would work even when placed on silent mode. The banner should at least appear, with the words ‘Someone nearby is in love with you.’

If there were at least two people around them then, if somebody else rang it, Levi would have been compelled to check. Both applications were void of hearts though. Levi closed the application and pocketed his phone. “It looks like we aren’t attracted to each other.” He only realized as those words escaped from his lips, how awkward or maybe how rude of a comment it came out as.

Lynn’s eyes were wide for a second before she furrowed her brows, framing those brown eyes. “Of course, we just met. I think attraction is something that can be built over time right?” Lynn answered.

“You’re not wrong,” Levi said. Really, he didn’t even believe he could be someone who could rattle off facts about love. Hange had said it herself, he was a little inexperienced.

He wanted to be right about it though. He wanted to believe attraction could be built over time. By extension, he wanted to hold on to the possibility that attraction could also dissipate into apathy. After all, all those emotions should have been in the same ballpark.

“So what do you think?” Lynn asked. She had said some words before that but maybe Levi had reflected too deeply to have processed anything more than the face of the woman before him.

If he blinked and squinted a little afterward, he could pretend that same wavy brown hair was Hange’s. Hange’s hair though was a little shorter and a little messier and when bright light shone at it from certain angles, it came off as a little red. Hange’s eyes were a little bigger and her face was a little rounder.

Lynn was just too different from Hange to ever be Hange.

When Levi let his vision blur though, let it focus on her features slowly then all at once, he could play pretend. When looking from his peripherals, settling for blurs instead of clear pictures, he could pretend the brown hair was Hange’s, the waves that fell on her shoulders as just another layer.

He didn’t even notice it, even after they had split the bill and when she turned down his half hearted offer to take her home. That was until her last greeting came out as they parted ways along the main street that led up to the train station.

Her last greeting was a long way off from a conventional goodbye but it had done its job to get Levi’s attention.

“By the way Levi, my name isn’t Hange.” She unmatched him on tinder after that.

***

Levi decided to put a small note under his name.

Software Engineer. Currently testing software. If interested please swipe right.

It turned out though, there were people who never read bios. “So, what do you do for a living?” The woman in front of him asked. His case in point.

Hange likes reading. An invasive thought tore through him then and Levi wondered how that could have ever been related to the situation at hand.

When he questioned himself, he found out why he even reflected on it in the first place. Right, since Hange likes reading, she wouldn’t have overlooked my bio if she found me on tinder.

Of course, she wouldn’t have tinder. Levi took a deep breath then, reminding himself for the nth time that he was going to have to settle for people who weren’t married to billionaire business tycoons.

He was going to have to settle for people who weren’t Hange.

But he didn’t have to settle for her either. She was underwhelmed yet underwhelming at the same time and Levi was starting to miss Lynn already as the more desirable option.

He quickly shook his head. You don’t have to see any of these people again. All you have to do is turn the love alarm on and watch it ring. But he was feeling so underwhelmed, so disappointed with the turn out of the date in front of him just minutes into meeting her. He had entertained just the thought of cancelling their food there, the only thing stopping him being the wasted food and the poor waitress who would have to clean the mess. So he decided he could at least stay long enough to at least try.

“So, have you heard of the love alarm Nanaba?” Levi asked. He may have put just a little more emphasis in her name. After all, he didn’t want the Lynn-Hange incident happening again.

“Of course, who hasn’t learned about the love alarm app? Actually I have it with me right now.” Nanaba pulled out her phone and dropped it in front of him.

Ten years of hard and stressful work made Levi immune to even the slightest compliments. “You wanna do some testing?” He asked. “Don’t you want to see if we’re compatible?”

Compatible. That was a complex word and Levi started to doubt the applicability of that application in determining compatibility. It was a love alarm, not a compatibility alarm.

Nanaba grinned. “Sure but I have to tell you, I don’t think it actually works.”

Levi raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. He hoped it seemed genuine though. “Really?” When he momentarily thought back to the numerous support tickets logged just within the past two weeks thought, his expression may have turned just a little genuine. It was a mess of an application after all.

“I’ve been using it for a few months already... And it hasn’t rung, not even once. .”

Maybe nobody likes you. Levi had some ironclad rules about testing, always start with user errors, not with application errors and that had him instinctively blaming her but he had to note, most people had one to two matches, Nanaba didn’t look particularly unlikeable either. Just with the thought of statistics, it should have at least rung once if she kept it on regularly.

Levi quickly switched from his engineering hat to his much more empathetic yet still very shitty customer service persona. “Maybe you just haven’t found the one who could ring it for you?” The words tasted so sweet they almost instantly clabbered into sour milk in his mouth. He felt like he was in some sappy Korean drama.

“Well, it rang with my friend Mike once but we don’t see each other that way…”

“Oh, really? Then why did you say it’s broken?”

“Because it rang with my best friend and that doesn’t count...” Nanaba wanted to say more. It was all over her face and her tone.

Levi was in no mood though to play love counselor. But he wasn’t an asshole enough to cancel the food and ditch a seemingly sad woman either. The food came at the right time when Levi was entertaining the prospect of just leaving.

Nanaba looked very much in the mood to speak, speak about something a little more emotional, a little more serious than hobbies and Levi found himself hesitant to force the conversation elsewhere.

Levi came out of that date with no second date, no results. Nanaba on the other hand came out of that date with new found confidence to confess her feelings to her long time best friend.

By the time they had exited the shop, Levi was already swiping again, grumbling obscenities about how testing wasn’t supposed to be that hard.

***

“Rico Brzenska,” Levi said. There were only too many ways to mispronounce ‘Rico.’ Still, two failed dates had him careful about names already. “So what do you do for a living?” And careful about other things as well.

“I’m a student.”

Levi almost spit his tea out at that. He should have been more careful. He had read her bio, she had mentioned something about a love alarm app and that had him swiping right already. He was sure if he had seen any indication of a minor, he would have swiped left. “Really? What kind of student?” He asked, having gone subtly for his phone and pushing it further under the table.

“A graduate student taking business and commerce.”

Levi only had to take a quick glance at his settings to be sure, there were no chances of him dating a minor, as long as nobody was lying about their age on tinder. Being an honest man though, Levi had a harder time looking through white lies.

Such awareness had him studying her round face, her large blue eyes for a little longer. She could have been a minor. Or he could just be paranoid.

But when dating a minor could actually mean jail time, Levi didn’t want to take any chances. “Do you have any ID on you?”

“ID?” Rico frowned. “Why would you need an ID?”

“You said in your bio you wanted to test the love alarm right?”

Rico nodded. “Yes, I just wanna make sure before I start dating someone, we already have the initial attraction. I don’t wanna waste my time with people who aren’t attracted to me or I’m not attracted to, if you get what I mean?”

In response, Levi hummed in understanding. He did get what she meant. The last thing he wanted to do though was inadvertently ring the love alarm of someone a good many years younger than him and risk jail time. He probably wouldn’t ring it anyway.

But just in case. Levi put his phone out on the table, leaving one hand outstretched as if to wait for an ID.

No ID. No Love Alarm. He was sure that was the sign he was giving.

"Wait you don't think I'm off age do you? You think I'm lying on my profile?"

"No, I don't think you are," Levi said. Maybe his expression betrayed his words.

Rico eventually let go of an ID, a school ID from a familiar university logo Levi was sure he had seen a few times. And her face then had been one of pure irritation and maybe a hint of fury.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "There? Legal enough for you?"

Still a student, still too young to be engaging in anything with an older man, at least by Levi's standards. Still, he found himself almost obligated to just test the alarm in front of her.

Rico didn't look happy at all to be heavily scrutinized, or doubted. When she activated her application, Levi saw it as a cue to activate his own.

All you have to do is press the button. Levi told himself. He knew it wouldn't ring. He felt no attraction to her but paranoia had his brain going in all sorts of directions at once. Maybe the blood that rushed through his cheeks then was love. Maybe his hands shaking then were nervousness and excitement at meeting one's destined partner.

Also Rico wore glasses. For some reason, that had him thinking back to someone else with glasses, he wondered for a second if her eyes were much larger without those on. And he wondered if it was similar for Hange.

How such a long train of thought could have occupied him in such a short frame of time, interrupted by a quick sleight of hand, Levi didn't know.

But it had ended so abruptly, almost violently with the familiar cacophony of two love alarms ringing at once.

For a second, Levi sat frozen on the table as his mind went ahead, racing over theories and potential testing methods to deduce the root behind the outcome.

Do I have a glasses kink? That had been Levi's first thought. He looked down at his own phone to see the one heart and the bright message on top.

One person nearby is in love with you.

His second thought had been a little more objective. It's a bug. He told himself. I'll just have to do further testing.

Rico’s eyes were wide in shock. For a few seconds or so, she struggled to move and he couldn’t blame her. After all, the ringing of multiple love alarms in such a silent place like a cafe on a weekday morning was a scene that definitely had the potential to catch some people’s attention.

Levi couldn’t be too sure. He didn’t want to survey his surroundings either so he narrowed his view to just his own love alarm and back at Rico. The latter went for her phone.

From his own angle, Levi couldn’t see her interface but he was familiar with the way she had swiped it, to know she had turned it off. The two love alarms continued to ring in the silence. Even with the tension and awkwardness so thick that made it difficult to slog through, his brain was still moving.

He was blessed with at least enough deduction skills to quickly figure it out for himself.

He was in love with someone else in the room. But who? He surveyed his surroundings, keeping his view closed to only one person at a time. That gave him enough time to brush away the rest of the stares that surfaced from having made such a scene with the harsh ring of the love alarm.

Only after scanning for a second longer did his spatial awareness catch up to him. The other ringing was coming from behind. Levi turned behind him, quickly enough to catch the mop of chestnut brown hair. Fortunately, he had been slow and careful enough to pull away at the last second, missing her forehead by a hair’s breadth.

“Watch where you’re fucking going!” That had been Levi’s first instinct. After all, he was still seeing red, just imagining their heads slamming into each other in the middle of a very silent cafe.

The brunette in front of him, put one finger to her masked mouth, pointing at one of the old fashioned signs just above her seat.

In silence, there is eloquence. It read.

Hange was a very eloquent person. Levi had read enough messages from her and stalked enough of her works to know that much. Any other day, maybe any other minute, he would have been happy to listen, learn a thing or two from the master of diplomacy.

But Hange had virtually come out of nowhere. In the middle of a date.

Giving her a onceover though, noting her masked face. The only two things that made her recognizable then was her mop of brown hair tied in a ponytail and her masked mouth. Still, that had been more than enough for Levi to have seen through it.

She had settled on the seat behind him. The way she looked back at him and the way she had seemed a little too relaxed with a half finished cup of coffee just in front of her, Levi was sure she had been there for a while.

How much did she hear? Levi couldn’t ask just yet. The alarms were still ringing and as soon as Levi turned it off on his end, it stopped. Yet people continued to stare. More importantly, Rico was still staring from behind him.

“Do you two know each other?” She asked.

The answer didn’t come as quickly for Levi as he would have wanted it too. They knew each other, they’ve met at least twice. They’ve eaten out together once. But technically, did it count as ‘knew?’ Did Hange feel the same way?”

“We’re colleagues, working on the same project,” Hange answered for him.

Levi almost instantly realized he liked that answer. Colleagues. It was definitely more intimate than ‘knew each other.’ While at the same time, it held more respect in one’s skills and talent than the word ‘friends.’ And it implied in its own little way that Hange cared about the project just as much as he did.

It had been difficult to muster a straight face then. Still, he pushed forward, nodding when he struggled to stifle the motions of his mouth and the blood that rushed to his face then.

“But the… the love alarm… it…” Rico continued to speak. She shifted her eyes quickly between both Levi and Hange. “And you…” Her eyes fixed on Hange then.

Levi followed her eyes instinctively. Did Rico recognize Hange? He couldn’t confirm it for himself. Soon after that, Rico didn’t say anything in response. Instead she blinked back surprise. She started to clean out her things and place them into her bag.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Levi wanted to pull her back. For a split second, he had reached out his hand, grasping his hand before pulling quickly back. He didn’t mind losing the chance at a second date. Just the thought of putting someone in such a tight and uncomfortable position had his stomach turning. He couldn’t for the life of him tell what she was thinking but he at least felt the tension.

Rico didn't have the most eloquent response either. “Sorry about this… I guess on my end it just feels wrong meddling in somebody else’s relationship… I don’t wanna be the one who’d stop people from getting together.”

Levi was quick to understand though. His thoughts flew back to Nanaba just a date ago and the long one sided counseling session which consisted of Nanaba’s long drawn monologues and Levi’s own grunts of understanding. The date which eventually ended with Nanaba finally figuring out for herself the best course of action.

You know, you’re right, Both of our love alarms rang. And that’s the whole point of this app right? If they both ring, it’s a sign, we should act on it.

And that was the whole point of the love alarm. How many times had he reviewed marketing material, love story commercials which ended with that same message?

Levi opened his mouth ready to speak up. By then, Rico was already out the door, any evidence of her presence just a second ago disappearing within seconds of her leaving. The chimes by the store entrance gradually slowed to a weak dance, the people who watched her leave eventually fell back to whatever they were doing beforehand, and Levi’s own protests had deadened into a light whisper.

It’s a bug. Besides, she’s married. The words had settled in his tongue like a familiar friend and he was sure if given the chance, he would have managed to say it loud and clear.

Levi looked back in his phone to see Rico had unmatched him, just a little too quickly.

“I think we should get that bug fixed soon,” Hange whispered. She sounded like she was stifling a laugh.

"For someone who's worried about the bug, you looked like you had a swell time ringing our alarms just a while ago," Levi said bitterly.

"Zeke's on a business trip and I'm bored and lonely."

“Well, don't take it out on me.” Levi took out his wallet and dropped the cash by the side of his drink, counting enough to pay for Rico’s drink too. He didn’t think too much about the receipt or the change.

The murmurs around him were more than enough to have him hurrying out of the cafe. Did they recognize Hange?

He thought it an appropriate time to satisfy his curiosity when they were both a good distance from the shop. “Do you think people recognize you as Zeke Jaeger’s partner?”

Hange put one finger to her mask. “I saw you outside the shop and when I thought of ringing your love alarm, I did what I could to prepare." Her eyes were still smiling though and Levi was sure there was a laugh behind that mask. "Besides, even though most people recognize Zeke, I don't think they'd notice me. I don’t join the interviews or events as much as he does,” Hange said.

Levi noticed though that Hange was the type to just get lost in her surroundings. Ort hat was at least what Levi had picked up on her the first few times they have gone together. She quickly relaxed after that short and quick question and answer, and in the way that she navigated through the crowds a little too clumsily yet a little too playfully, Levi found evidence backing up his mini theory.

Even if anybody did recognize her, she probably wouldn’t have noticed. And that little realization had made it much harder for Levi to stomach what just happened in the cafe. They needed to get the bug fixed fast. “Let’s go back to the office, maybe do some more testing.”

“Isn’t that why we’re here now?” Hange asked, pointing towards the general direction of their building. “I visited your office this morning because I didn't have much to doand I thought I could be helpful. You weren’t there so I asked around and one of the people from the support team told me you were out. She said probably in your favorite tea shop.”

“You met Petra?” Levi asked. “Redhead? Short?” He soon added, noting her confused expression.

Hange snapped her fingers. “Yes, that’s her name.”

“Yeah, she knows my favorite tea shop. Gets me my favorite mix of tea leaves every year for Christmas,” Levi said, more to fill the air with at least some conversation on the way back.

It took Levi a while to notice Hange had peeked at his face even as he averted his gaze, looking elsewhere.

She spoke up. “Say… Have you ever tried testing your love alarm on her?”

***

Petra was one of the newer employees, a little shy but particularly mature for her age. She was notably competent and had a particularly better handle of her emotions than most of the other colleagues. Her most important asset had been her level headedness even under the pressure of scrutiny. Petra was the type of person to know when she was attracted to someone and she was the type of person to admit it for the sake of a smoother testing process.

Thus, she was one of Levi's favorite volunteers when testing the love alarm.

And Levi was sure, to some degree she could have liked him. If he were to consider her words as truth, and the hearts at the bottom of the screen as some indication.

When they were testing every release on fifty employees over a one week period, putting results side by side with checklists and biometrics tests, they were as thorough as it could be. It was always the case that when it was the two of them testing with each other, Levi’s love alarm always rang, Petra’s didn’t. Every single time, Petra would tag that instance as ‘QA passed.’

It could have been a placebo effect or it could have also been just an admittance to get the testing process done just a little faster but Petra never seemed like the type, breezing through the awkward scenes that came with testing a love application like they were part of a job. If it ever bothered her, she never showed it.

Levi’s alarm never rang in any of the tests he had ever taken anyway. When he double checked though, lining up the results side by side with checklists of what to look out for when one was in love, he found that it never had been a big deal. He had never been attracted to anyone in particular anyway.

“So, I’m the only one your love alarm rang with huh?” Hange asked.

Except maybe Hange.“Yeah, when doing QA work, I’ve had to test with the other employees and it never rang with any of them,” Levi admitted.

“How does QA work?”

“We test with employees, users… All on a volunteer basis if I may clarify.” Levi added that last part for just a touch of professionalism. “We have acceptable ranges for biometrics, checklists and we have a certain number of results which need to fit there to consider a release viable.”

“Why don’t we test using the QA procedure?”

“Because the QA process is a logistical nightmare. We plan a venue. We plan a schedule and we have to get a certain number of people to show up.”

“No, I meant… What if we try it, just the two of us. We answer the checklists, we take each other's biometrics and see if that falls in the exact range for ‘love'?” Hange suggested and her excitable tone only made it seem like she was suggesting something almost revolutionary.

Levi sighed. “I’d rather we use QA testing as a last resort.”

Hange’s face fell. “Why?”

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Because…” Levi would have liked to leave it at that. As he looked at Hange who had leaned on the wall, crossing her arms and staring back at him expectantly, he remembered, it was a professional relationship. If the partner of their very important investor demanded answers, she would get answers so he settled for something seemingly acceptable yet very pathetic in the grand scheme of things. “We’re going to have to answer standardized psychology quizzes and take some physical tests.”

“And I’m sure you’d have a few samples lying around. Let’s see what information we can get,” Hange said.

There were other reasons Levi had been hesitant to suggest such an exam in the first place. It had been difficult to grasp for the exact reasons until they arrived in the conference room Levi had reserved.

The room was a vacuum that had the special power of just drowning out voices, footsteps from just outside the hallway. The tables were empty, the white board put away towards the side of the room. It was clean, empty, void of any presence or even trace of it. It made Levi just a little more painfully aware of his heartbeat, his moist palms and his wild uncoordinated breathing.

He might just fail the physical exam. More specifically, he might just fail if he took it then, at the exact moment.

Grasping for some win, or at the least some comfort in that situation, he had half the mind to run through the ‘Am I in love?’ checklist or at least what he remembered from it. If he were a little honest, there might have been some things he would have checked.

But it didn’t mean he would fail it right?

“What do you think?” Hange pressed. She had settled for one of the chairs in the room.

Levi had answers, but he couldn’t share it just yet. Inviting her to take that meant that he was entertaining the prospect that they might just be in love with her---a cursed prospect.

“Or do you have any other ideas?” Hange asked. She cocked her head to one side in thought.

“If you give me a little more time to come up with something…” Levi said.

“Petra told me you have a week or two before they release the next fix. You’ve done most of the coding work. You just need to fix this bug right?” Hange was very talkative. It turned out Petra had been just a little talkative too with the right prodding by Hange. “Why don’t you wanna just test it now?” Hange's face darkened then to something almost threatening.

And maybe Levi was a little intimidated. He quickly turned away, unable to control whatever expression would force itself out of him then.

“Levi?” Her voice was grating. The echoing in the room didn’t do much to help alleviate it. “Come on, please? I want this investment as much as you do.”

If the partner of their very important investor demanded answers, she would get answers.

But it didn’t have to be the correct answers. “Fine,” Levi said. “You know, maybe the way we test this application… the way we test for love might actually be flawed so maybe some feedback from a researcher like you could be useful.”

Hange grinned from ear to ear, the ominous face of a while ago just a memory Levi could probably forget. “So where do we start?”

***

Testing for the biological numbers was quick with the right tools.

Heart rate. Hormone levels. Stress Levels. Pain Sensitivity. They had all the right test kits on hand with a document detailing the acceptable range.

All reasonable levels, albeit a little too far from the midpoint that Levi held on to the possibility that maybe they could log it all in as some coincidence. The checklists were just a little more difficult and maybe Levi was just thinking a little too far off that he had started to have a mini identity crisis.

I think about my partner a few times a day.

Partner: Referring to the person one tests the application with. Levi was aware of that much having tested the application long before. Yet for some reason, he had to loudly remind himself of that, even within the confines of his mind.

He entertained hypotheses. If Hange were his partner, that would be polyamory and that could even start the scandal of the year, or even the decade. He didn’t want to be part of that.

So he ticked ‘never’ because technically Hange wasn’t his partner anyway.

I want to be with my partner everyday.

Hange was Zeke's partner. Just the idea of getting in between a married couple had Levi's stomach turning and it had been easy to tick never right next to it.

My partner trusts me.

It was too early to tell, or so that was what Levi told himself then.

The word ‘partner’ had been a convenient term. Zeke had been a convenient presence in his mind. And that had him ticking all the 'nevers' towards the edge of the page just a little more confidently.

Technically, Hange wasn’t his partner. Technically they just met, so words like trust, amicability, happiness, charisma, compatibility and charm, didn’t have to apply to them just yet. A few minutes later, he had checked enough ‘nevers’ to have armed himself with the confidence to look her in the eye.

Hange though wasn’t reciprocating, looking deep in thought with whatever question she had been answering. She bit her lip.

Hange eventually met his gaze. Instead of being just a little more satisfied, Levi was a little disappointed, more in himself than in anyone else. For that few seconds that Hange bit her lower lip in thought, her cheekbones had seemed fuller, her hazel eyes held an almost imperceptible yet still very enthralling glimmer, and regretfully, he didn’t take the time to relish it when it was right in front of him.

“How’s the test?” Levi asked.

“It’s fine,” Hange said.

Levi slid his own answers towards her. “We just have to calculate the number of ‘always,’ the number of 'sometimes,' the number of ‘nevers’ and just match it on the document over here.” He turned his laptop towards her.

“I can do it,” Hange said, pulling the laptop towards herself. The next few minutes passed in silence. Levi stared at the ceiling, trying to keep his heartbeat in time with the clack of the keyboard. Hange typed fast and chaotically but in a way, there was rhythm and order and that had helped him get into a position where he could just drop his shoulders and fall back on the chair behind him.

“You don’t think I trust you?” Hange asked.

“It’s too early to tell right?” Levi said. That answer had been scripted and it slipped out of his mouth easily.

Hange’s let out a light sound, a cross between with a hum and a chuckle. “Well, to tell you the truth, I put here that I didn’t trust you either.”

“Well that makes both of us, I guess,” Levi said.

Hange continued to type, filling the room with some predictable rhythm, a predictable rhythm his own wild heartbeat failed to provide. Eventually, it stopped, with one loud clack on the ‘enter’ button or at least, Levi guessed it was the enter button.

Soon after, Hange leaned back on the backrest of her own chair. “Biometrics all fall in the acceptable range. Test results all fall in the unacceptable range,” she said, her tone unreadable. Too professional but Levi surmised it could be her usual ‘research’ tone. He hadn’t known her long enough to be certain.

“Maybe we should get to know each other first and try to answer again?” Hange suggested. “We just met so I can’t fully trust you yet but I think, we could get along with the right…”

Environment? Amount of time? Mutual Processing? Levi couldn’t be too sure of the answer. She had said something else after the word ‘right’ or maybe she didn’t. Still, there was a problem that needed to be solved, there was an issue that needed to be addressed that extended beyond the need to resolve the feelings between two strangers.

Or two colleagues. Levi decided he liked the word colleagues better. “So what do you suggest Hange?” Levi asked.

“I wanna do further research with this application. We can tweak whatever processes you’re using now to QA, whatever processes you’re using to determine whether people are in love. Maybe we just have to fix that a bit.”

“This application took years to develop. It’s gonna be difficult to overturn a lot of the processes.”

“Without the right funding…” Hange said. She wagged her finger and gave Levi a knowing look.

Levi narrowed his eyes accusingly at Hange. “So how’s convincing Zeke been going?”

“That’s the caveat,” Hange said. “He’s not a very techy guy. He’s an investor and scientist more than anything and sometimes, even with the right proposition, he’ll stick to some really weird reasons why he wouldn’t invest in something. I don’t blame him though since millions of dollars are usually on the line with each investment.”

" So, I’m guessing you tried to convince him?”

Hange nodded. “I did. And it looks like he won’t budge unless you fix that ‘bug.’”

“The bug which caused his love alarm to not ring around you?” And the bug which is causing our love alarms to ring. Levi added silently to himself. “Can you explain to him that we need the money to continue improving the system?”

“I’ve been with him for years, Levi. I know how he is.”

“So what do you suggest we do?”

Hange hummed. “I don’t know how programming works but...Maybe you can program the application to make it work just the way that Zeke likes it... For the time being?”

***

No. Just no.

Those were the words written all over Petra’s expression. Levi only had to look at the other faces around him to be very much sure, everyone agreed with Petra

For posterity’s sake, he repeated those words. “I understand that the regression test is done but unless I am able to get to the bottom of this bug, we won’t be able to release the fixes,” Levi said. He kept his words soft, yet still loud enough to echo through the conference room. He said it slowly and clearly. Just in case it was a bit harder to hear through shock and surprise.

“Sir, a lot of the fixes in this release have been promised for months,” Petra argued. The professionalism in her voice was still admirably apparent.

“Erwin’s orders. I’m just repeating them now,” Levi said.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Gunther asked. “Have you found the reason behind it? I’m guessing if you do… we might have to make some changes to the code and go through regression testing again.”

“If ever that happens, I’ll handle the testing on my end,” Levi said. “It wouldn't be too hard, it’s just a blip in the code.”

“So you’ve found the cause?” Eld asked.

“Yes.” If Levi didn’t open his mouth to speak then, he was sure no one would have for the next few minutes. There was something festering in the silence, some common sentiment that he sensed among them, among those doubtful faces tinged with irritation and confusion.

He had always told them before. Always assume a user error first. And there was an apparent user error which he was sure everyone was entertaining.

What if Hange just didn’t love Zeke? A prospect that was ambrosia to Levi’s lips but at the same time a piece of ambrosia that he was sure was laced with poison. He couldn’t chew it, he couldn’t swallow for fear of just letting go for a few seconds longer, letting a smile curl up his lips during the most inopportune times.

Levi turned to Oluo in particular who he guessed would have been the one most likely to bring it up. The latter remained begrudgingly silent. It looked like no one else wanted to bring it up either. After all, Zeke was a huge opportunity for company growth, a huge opportunity for investment.

Eld spoke up.“If there’s anything we can do, just please ask. It might be too difficult of an investigation to do for one person.”

Levi shook his head. “I think this is an investigation I’d rather do alone.” There were parts of the investigation he hadn’t admitted to the team yet. All they had gotten in the report from Erwin was that Zeke’s alarm didn’t ring with Hange there but the scandal of their alarms ringing together was something he didn’t want circulating around the building.

And more importantly, there was another plan he and Hange have been entertaining, an almost unscrupulous scheme and he didn’t want anyone else involved.

***

It felt like he had run a marathon and he had been doing that slow jog for at least three days already. Or maybe it felt like he was trudging through a dessert and had been trapped there for the past three days.

He couldn’t tell for sure but his throat was constantly dry, his heart was constantly beating fast and any notification from Hange was either a water break or an oasis.

Three days ago, Zeke came back from his business trip. Four days ago, Levi sent the apk file to Hange.

“It’s a test build,” Levi said as soon as she confirmed she received it. “A test build I hard coded just for Zeke’s use.”

“Meaning…”

“Just say it’s a test build. Say I’ve fixed the code.”

“Meaning…”

“I hardcoded his data and the expected result. If he opens the alarm around you, his phone will ring," Levi explained. "It’s just a quick fix for now.”

Just a quick fix. Levi told himself multiple times. He had changed the code drastically enough though that the love alarm wouldn’t work as an expected love alarm, having customized it just to fit Zeke’s desires. For just long enough to get the money and long enough to find the actual cause of the bug.

“And tell him we’re asking for feedback before we release it,” Levi had added then.

The last time he had met her was three days ago when he dropped her the file, explained its use and when she had promised to download the apk file to Zeke’s phone.

She sent intermittent updates over the four day period. He liked it. He was enjoying it. He had confidence in the application.

Levi had to ruefully note though that the conversation never strayed too much from work. As expected from colleagues, as expected from business partners working towards the same goal.

Maybe a few times he had asked some vague questions just to get a hint of her daily life.

How’s Zeke? How are you guys?

Still, the answers always went back to updates on the application. When he was trudging to the desert or while running through some dirt track in his mind, even when the water tasted too artificially like plastic---too professional for his taste---he settled for it.

That was the only water he had after all.

Hange limited herself to ten messages a day, mentioning something about being bad at replying, apologizing for late replies. Levi had to admit though when he was working, he was guilty of a similar thing. Yet he found himself just a little irritable, a little desolate at such an outcome.

A week after he had last seen Hange, he decided to start reading the books about love again.

Love is a choice. Overused.

To love others, one must love themselves. He got that already.

Levi dropped his reader by the side of his bed and stared at the blank ceiling above him. The books on love were biased. They created for themselves an assumption, an assumption that she was his and whatever he had to deal with was some inner turmoil inside him, an inability to love. But what if he was willing to love? What if it was just a matter of circumstances just not letting him indulge in such an emotion.

He had entertained that for just a second before brushing away the nagging thought and the annoyingly sticky guilt that clung to it. Maybe there was merit in just turning off his emotions then, just discarding the overall idea of love. He deleted the books Hange had sent him from his ebook reader.

If the company got the funds, if Hange got the greenlight on her research, he would see her again, he would be forced to read those books and they would be forced to work together.

Then and there, he didn’t need to think about it just yet. He didn’t have to put himself through the pain of analyzing circumstances and emotions that left a heavy weight and an ache in his chest.

He could forget Hange until then. He could ignore her messages and maybe focus on something else like an action movie or a video game. He had streaming service subscriptions, he had game emulators on his laptop. Soon he discovered, with the right combination of focus, willpower just getting through slow starts, it was easy to immerse himself in something as mundane as a city building game.

He was halfway through building one of his farms and was already attached to the regular city goers of the small city he created for himself when his phone rang. That abrupt and grating sound had been enough of a reminder, Levi still wasn’t completely over being sad. He quickly reached for the phone on the side of his bench in an ungraceful and seemingly desperate chain of motions that had him almost ashamed of himself.

His laptop had been one of the victims, toppling over to the side of the bed but by god’s grace it had only skimmed the edges before laying flat on its side.

Levi muttered a soft curse. This message better be worth it. And the only message he decided would be worth it, would be a message from Hange which didn’t involve that stupid application.

Leviiiiiii are you free? :))))))))))

Free when? Levi was quick to reply. Now? Tomorrow? Next week? Really, he was always free, it was just a matter of asking for a leave and opening his schedule. He didn’t want to seem so pathetic as to tell her that though

Long weekend this weekend so Zeke offered to take us south to one of our country clubs.

Us?

Erwin is coming too. Levi didn't’ know whether to feel relieved or disappointed at that exposition. Before he could reply though, the messages kept coming.

Think of it as a thank you for the app ;)

And a start to a great partnership ;)

Hange had too many smileys, too many winky faces but recently, she had started to pepper her messages with just a little too much. They were colleagues, very friendly colleagues. For a second, he wondered how many smileys Hange used when messaging Zeke.

Still, Levi saw some glimmer of hope and optimism in the fact that they were creating a special bond in their own way.

And who would he be to turn down a special invite from a special colleague. I’ll see you there then :) He added his own smiley in the end, trying to forget the fact that he had wasted a good few seconds vacillating between the winking smiley face and the normal one.

Hange’s reply came quickly and maybe a little more enthusiastically. Okay! We’ll pick you up Friday night at the office :D

Levi was grateful at least he had something to look forward to.

#levihan #levihan fanfiction #zekehan

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cloneslugs · 4 years ago

Note

for the ask game!! thoughts on big boobs tatsuo

First Impression: wow he's beefy (:

Impression Now: wow he's beefy and i love him he is very dear to me and means a lot <3 very sweet and earnest and <3 him dealing w depression and everything .. he just means a lot.. i think his whole "dream" theme is the saddest for me ik a lot of people deal w saying goodbye but his just kind of hits different but it's fun watching it unfold next to Harukas bc well <3 parallels idk he just makes me heart <3

Favorite Moment: his scene w Milky on the rooftop makes me wahhhh and also his finale when hes looking at the stage <3 but he has a lot of funny moments too lot of his substories genuinely made me laugh (but a lot of the rgg5 ones for everyone are genuinely funny so..) but some of his also made me </3

Idea for a Story: um idk i write a lot about him but uh -__- ig seeing what hes up to post 5? i like to think hes just dating Daigo at that point and they both are making each other happy though nothing complex or anything <3 just happy + i love exploring his past as well either going as far back to his family (who he seems to have cut contact w along w everyone else he knew in tokyo) or his deeper history w daigo or just him making nagoya his home and all the relationships that took root there esp w milky but really w all his friends <3

Unpopular Opinion: people are weird about him… he's not like super unsanitary stupid wreck multiple instances of rgg5 talk about how smart he is.. also mine wouldnt date him bc hes poor and he hates poor people …. and shinada wouldnt date mine bc mine is well…… …

Favorite Relationship: Daigo!! and then his relationship w the rest of the rgg5 protags is just funny <3 him + akiyama + tanimura make me (: though.. milky too i love milky <3 they have a really interesting relationship i think about it a lot..

Headcanon: homo.. he can actually cook if he puts effort in, he gets sick if he drinks too much, he had really bad grades in high school bc he never tried but he usually did fine on tests if he really focused bc he just naturally retains info very well + lots of things come naturally to him, (he'd use bad grades + unfinished homework as an excuse to have Daigo help him in school though), autistic (:, very close + nearly [paternal] (on the other's part) relationship w Igarashi but also Shinada just gets attached to people easily hes very open and friendly, transgender + came out in middle school, his dad is who got him into baseball at a really young age, likes taking photos of everything and everyone his phone is always full of good memories or just small details that made him smile as he goes about his day

#ty lyric ily <3 sorry these r late and also they will all probably get kind of long *is a sicko*#asks #rgg txt #first impression actually was me and cas joking about how we hope hes as funny-horny as akiyama was in rgg4 and then getting to him and bein #g like HE IS.. HE IS HORNY..#wahh everyones getting online as i post these i dont want this </3

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deerself · 4 years ago

Note

2, 5, and 12 for the ship ask meme!

mel!!! thank you so much :3 💗💖💞 it’s...... kakashi time

2. How long did it take for you and your f/o to gain feelings for each other? Was it fast or did the feelings grow slowly? Who was the first to get romantic feelings?

i think... kakashis just always had feelings for me. starting from just an admiration crush from afar to a full blown crush and eventually love. he probably realized he had a crush shortly before we became genin and realized he loved me shortly after what happened with rin :(

i think i always had a crush on him too but i didn’t realize i did until i figured out that i loved him, which was probably some time after the ninetails attack?? i am and always will be a mess with feelings :’3

5. When you first started crushing on them, what qualities of theirs stood out to you? Was it their smile? Their eyes? Their way with words? Anything else? How about vice versa? (It can be any trait. Personality, appearance, etc.)

THIS IS CUTEEEEE 🥺🥺🥺 fbsdhbfshdfbsd my heart

kakashi i think has just always seen me as.... a light in his life. someone he always wants by his side, someone who will always be there for him. he admires how i can stay positive and how resilient i am and how i can just keep going and it inspires him, it reminds him that he’ll always have people that care about him in his life. also he just thinks im the cutest fucking thing and that im beautiful and he loves hearing me laugh and seeing me smile aaaadsjfnsdjfsd

WAHHHH where do i start with kakashi..... i’ve always just admired him so, so much. even when he was so grumpy and deadset on the rules as a kid, i looked up to him. i always thought he was just so cool and... completely out of my league. but hes always had a soft spot which he shows me and he always tries his hardest to be there for his friends and i appreciate that so much and i realized that he’s like me in a lot of ways. also his face is pretty and i want to run my hands through his hair all day. fluffy.

12. Have either of you ever sent gifts to each other with notes attached to them as secret admirers?

YKNOW...... during our genin/training days i used to find things i thought i lost, or i mentioned something to kakashi that i really liked and the next day i’d find it around the house. that was probably him.....? there were never any notes attached but it always made me really happy to see them and there’s no way anyone else did something like that and wow i appreciate him so much im gonna go tell him--

#THANK YOU FOR THE ASK MEL!!!! 🥺#💖: kojikaka #roeanswers #before dating ask game #keezree #mel 🥝🎶

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carameloveskook · 6 years ago

Text

Night

Chapter One

pairing: jungguk x reader

warnings: angst

a tale in which where jungguk and you were supposed to fix your problems but instead things just got worse.

Notes: wahhhh this is my first story and it’s meh in my opinion :3 hope you enjoy it tho! Please don’t repost <3

———————————————————————

“Jungguk we’re on vacation! For once can you put your goddamn phone in your pocket and just enjoy life for once!?!?”

You say in desperation to bond with your boyfriend at least once without his face in his phone throughout the whole day. It’s been weeks where you and Jungguk have been fighting over the tiniest things such as closing the door or turning the volume on the radio too high. Seeing that it has been taking a toll in your relationship, you suggested spending time out of the country together in hopes to ignite your love once more. However, things just seem to be getting much worse.

“Jesus y/n relax I just got a called from my co-worker and there is a problem back in the office...I need to leave tomorrow morning.”

He looks at you with a stoic expression laid across his face. Just seeing him look at you as if he didn’t care about the effort you put into this vacation made your insides boil with anger. You suggested this vacation to bond with Jungguk, not to have another argument in a different country! In addition, you were so happy that you could spend time with him for a whole week and have deep conversations about anything like you did in the beginning stages of your relationship. You hoped, that he would look at you like he did in your first date with excitement and curiosity. You could tell he wanted to know you better, know how your day was and even if it was boring, he would show the uttermost interest in it. Ever since he became the CEO in his office, he wasn’t home often and the attention and patience he had for you was dwindling down. Sometimes he would come home and head straight to bed. No “goodnight sweetheart.” or “how was your day?” You think those moments and had the determination to eliminate them forever.

“Jungguk, don’t go.” You pleaded, sitting next to him. You wrap your arm on his bicep and rub it gently. “We just got here and we barely spend time with each other now back home, I just want us to just take a deep breath and talk about our lives.” You pray that he can see the desperation in your words and if not, you look him in the eyes, full of distraught and agony as you continue to rub his bicep at a steady pace.

“y/n it’s important okay? I just don’t have time anymore, why can’t you just understand that my career is important to me just like your career is for you?”

Jungguk sits up in frustration and looks down on you. His eyes glazed upon your figure. Over the past few weeks, he and his team have been working in a secret project that can either make or break his career. He knows he’s been busy but he had hoped that you would understand. However, ever since the project began, you’ve seemed more clingy and emotional whenever he doesn’t spend time with you. Is him being home not enough for you anymore? He knows you heard about his excitement for his project’s release and yet you seem so mad at him now these days. Granted he’s been irritated with you and your habits of forgetting to close the door or distracting him from work. It would lead to unnecessary arguments that would cut into his work time. Now on vacation, he would hope that now that you got his full attention, the days at home will be quieter and less irritating. However, after receiving a phone call from his co-worker about having a problem with the project, Jungguk’s mind went into panic mode. Forgetting about everything else, he decided to head to work tomorrow morning to resolve the issue.

“Jungguk, I know how important your work is to you! But I’m tired of having a relationship with your phone! Can we please just this once, focus on each other?”

“ y/n...we can hang out soon but this is important-”

“More important than me?”

You look at him, and he just stares at you in awe. Jungguk has no idea why you would say that your importance is different compared to his work’s. Of course, you are more important to him, and yet he just stares at you at a loss for words.

But to you, you take his silence as his way of trying to debate whether you or his work was more important in his mind.

Minutes pass and he has yet answered your question. At this point, he just stares at his phone and you stare at him waiting for his response. All of a sudden his phone gets a notification from his co-worker and he immediately gets up.

“Where are you going Guk?”

“We’ll talk in the morning.”

“I said where are you going?”

“y/n...you understand right? I know you do. I’ll call you in the morning, I promise I’ll make this up. I’m sorry y/n.”

“Jungguk I love-”

And with that, he’s out of the door. You look at the spot where his suitcase used to be, he made his decision. But you didn’t expect it to be the opposite of what you were thinking. You head towards the door and see him getting inside a cab and heading into the night. Tears start to form in the corners of your eyes as you look into the never-ending landscape that your boyfriend entered. Refusing to let your tears fall, you take your sleeve and wipe them off but it’s useless. He chose work over you. Crying, you head to your bed and pull the sheets over your body, feeling the warmth of the sheets as you cried yourself to sleep.

taglist: @hopetookmysoul , @mylittleangles-bts , @mygscafe

#jeon jungguk #jungguk x reader #bts angst #bangtan

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brokemultidotexe · 6 years ago

Text

Second Chances Pt.4 | JJK

↬ Pairing: idol!jungkook x reader

↬ Summary: Even though it scared you, you knew you couldn’t walk away again. Big Hit allowed you to go on tour with the boys but with the promise to keep your relationship with the boys hidden from the public eye. The saying “good things never last” rings true as rumors of a secret romance makes its way online and suddenly the boys lives are put under a microscope and threats start pouring in. Jungkook does everything in his power to make sure you’ll stay, but what happens when the one thing you feared most comes true? [sequel to Unexpected]

↬ Word Count: 3.3k

↬ Warning: None

↬ Genre: Romance/Friendship

↬ Part: Trailer | Prologue [1 / 2] | 1 | 1.5 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

An incessant ringing startled you awake. You looked around and nothing looked familiar, you began to panic before you realized someone had their arms around you. You looked up and was met with JK’s stoic face as he slept. Your eyes began to droop as the urge to go back to sleep and cuddling up close to him became overwhelming, so you curled back into JK’s side completely ignoring whatever was causing the sound. A beep and the sound of a handle turning lightly echoed through the room as two bodies walked into the room.

“Daebak!” Taehyung’s deep voice sounded in surprise while his counterpart had a wide grin on his face.

“Jungkookie said he had talked to her but I didn’t know about this.” Jimin’s smile continued to shine as he talked.

“Shut up, I’m sleeping.” JK’s voice grumbled loudly causing you to stir and open your eyes. You caught the glimpse of a leg peeking out around the bottom corner of the bed. Your eyes traveled up the leg and landed on the owner’s face.

You squeaked in surprise and hit JK’s chest as you tried to sit up but he wouldn’t release his hold on you. “Stop moving.” He mumbled and pulled you closer to him.

“JK your brothers are in here.” You swatted at his arms trying to wake him up enough so he would let go. Those had apparently been the magic words because his eyes shot open and he sat up and looked over at his brothers.

“Morning lovebirds.” Jimin quipped.

Your face heated up causing your cheeks to flush a vibrant pink which caused both the boys to laugh as JK just glared at them, “You can’t just barge into my room unannounced.”

“Well we did ring the bell by the door but you weren’t answering so we grabbed the managers key and came to get you so you’d eat with us. If we had realized Y/N was here we would have grabbed her a plate too, but I’m sure the two of you can share. Come on you two, I’m starving.” Taehyung started patting at JK’s leg trying to entice him for the two of you to leave and join them.

“I see you guys all the time, this is the first time I’ve seen her in months and I don’t want to share.” He said bluntly.

You leaned towards his ear, “JK…” you said softly hoping to stop him from saying anything else. “It’s okay, we can go eat with them. I left the whole day open so you can get the rest of the day with me, but…” you looked down at your hands sheepishly before raising your head to look back at him chewing on your lip, “I haven’t eaten since the sandwich I had at the award show last night.”

All three heads turned to look at you, “Why not?” JK was the first to speak up.

“I’ve had a nervous stomach since last night and the thought of eating made me queasy, the same thing happened this morning so I’m kind of hungry, to be honest.”

“See, all the more reason to come eat with us. We’ll call for some more food and just put all the dishes in the middle.” Taehyung seemed happy at the revelation, but only because you would both come to eat with them now.

“We promise to leave you guys alone after we eat. We aren’t here to ruin your day together. Just food, promise.” Jimin nodded at JK.

“Fine.” He mumbled sparing a look at Jimin before looking back at you, “Are you sure you really want to go eat with them? We can just call room service to my room and eat here just the two of us.” He was silently pleading with you to not make him share.

“We’ll just eat and come back here.” You leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his lips shocking everyone in the room.

You heard clapping and looked to see Taehyung clapping his hands together, “Wahhhh” he said enthusiastically, “You guys finally did it.” You had forgotten about them being in the room for just a moment when you saw JK pouting his lips. Your face was turning red again so you looked down allowing your hair to fall in a curtain blocking your face from view.

Jimin reached out and hit Taehyung against his chest causing him to drop his hands with an ‘oof’. “don’t be an asshole.” He chided him. He looked back at JK who was glaring at Tae for causing such a discomfort for you, “We’ll give you guys a minute and we’ll meet in the room at the end of the hall. Sound good?” JK nodded but never dropped his glare from Taehyung.

The two walked out with Tae rubbing his hand against his chest with a pout, “You hit too hard.” His voice was almost nonexistent by the time the door closed leaving you and JK in the room together. He reached over and pulled back the curtain of hair and tucked it behind your ear so he could see you. He grabbed your chin softly and pulled you so you face him. The pink still tinged your cheeks and he smiled at you with a soft gaze. He leaned in and captured your lips in a soft kiss. He pulled back, “I couldn’t let you have all the fun.” You smiled at him as warmth blossomed in your chest. “Are you sure you want to go eat with them? I don’t want you to feel obligated just because they were here.”

You nodded, “Yeah, I do. I’m hungry and plus I haven’t seen anyone. I missed all of you.”

“You missed me more though, right?” he pouted.

“Yes, I definitely missed you way more.” You laughed and patted his cheek.

The two of you got off the bed and JK went to check himself in the mirror and messed with his hair until it lay flat and no longer looking like sex hair from falling asleep. He left the mirror and walked over to you and helped you fix your hair so it looked presentable. “You know this tousled look is something I can get behind.” The sexual innuendo causing you to roll your eyes at his antics. He gave you a quick peck on the cheek before walking to the door and holding it open for you. The two of you ventured down the hall until JK came to a stop in front of the room at the very end. He pulled a key card from his wallet and swiped it allowing him to open the door and walk in.

“Aye lovebirds!” Taehyungs excitement rang through the huge room. The room was a suite that had a table completely filled with different plates of food. Both of the boys had already started eating which didn’t surprise you at all. When it came to food the boys adopted the demeanor of ‘every man for themselves’.

“Shut up Tae,” JK grumbled.

Jimin stood up from the table and walked over to you and wrapped you in a tight hug. “It’s good to see you.” He was beaming when he pulled away. You could tell that he truly meant it and it made you feel like maybe he didn’t hate you for how you reacted to him when he called you.

You bit your lip, “Hey, I want to apologize for how I acted when you call—”

Jimin waved his hand dismissively, “Don’t worry about it. No harm, no foul. I’m just glad that you two were able to talk things out.” His eyes shifted to JK, “I don’t think I’ve seen you smile off stage since we left Korea.”

You knew Jimin wasn’t trying to make you feel bad but the thought of JK not smiling for so long because of your decisions and how you handled everything only tore at your heart. There was going to be a lot of healing on both sides if the relationship continued. Both held heavy guilt over how things turned out and each of them also felt hurt from the others actions. It was a relationship full of complicated emotions but you were still sure in your decision to move forward with JK by your side.

“Alright, let's eat!” Tae called from across the room.

All four of them sat at the table and started catching up on what each of them had missed in the last six months. “I’m serious you should see Tannie now, he’s not a little poof ball anymore. Now he’s a big poof ball.” Tae clutched at his heart and sighed.

“There really hasn’t been much for me, you were there for the biggest thing that’s happened,” Jimin stated which made you perk up at the reminder and started excitedly telling them about what some of the stagehands said behind the scenes and that they were all really impressed.

“I really think this is going to jump-start your career over here in America.”

All three of the boys had huge smiles on their face which made you smile as well. You continued to eat and catch up with them but mostly watched as the three boys conversed. Tae and Jimin seemed really excited that JK was now willing to hold a conversation with him and that he was eating with them. When they started talking about how JK was during those six months your chest ached.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were a vampire because you never came out of your room and you hated sunlight. The only time you even smiled was on the stage.” Tae took a huge bite of his noodles and continued, “I think the other members will be relieved.” JK seemed a little embarrassed as he continued to talk about how he had been.

“I’m really sorry for putting you guys through all of that.” You said with your eyes cast down as you messed with your sleeve. “I caused all of that and I’m—”

“Stop.” JK’s voice was quiet but held a sense of authority, “Don’t put the weight of my actions on your shoulders Y/N. It was my own fault and I caused every bit of it by not listening, so don’t apologize for something that wasn’t your fault.”

You were taken aback by how serious he sounded. “He never blamed you.” Jimin cut in, “I can attest to that because the few conversations I was able to have with him he always recognized that he was the reason for his misery. Plus, I might as well say it now…I’m really sorry for calling you that day and going off on you. It wasn’t fair to you and it was unjust, but I was desperate.”

“Jimin, it’s really okay. You had every right. Plus, it got me to go to the BBMA’s and I ended up reconciling with JK.” JK reached out and grabbed your hand giving it a squeeze and sending you a small smile.

“If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to go steal some time with my girlfriend.” JK stood up and pulled your hand making you stand up. Your face was turning bright pink at hearing him call you his girlfriend out loud around other people.

“Yeah, yeah. You two lovebirds go makeout.” Tae waved his hand dismissively and Jimin just smiled at the two of you.

“Gladly.” JK beamed and you smacked his chest causing him to laugh. He seemed so carefree, even more so than when the both of you were in Korea. He seemed more confident around you and didn’t seem to be as shy. You wondered if it was because the both of you now knew how each other felt.

The two of you left the room and JK was tugging you along as you tried to keep up with his wide strides. “JK, I have short legs! Where are we even going?”

JK was looking at each room number before coming to a stop in front of one and knocking on the door. You were surprised to see Sejin answer. He seemed just as shocked to see you, “Jungkook-ah what can I do for you?” He looked between the two of you and then glanced down at your joined hands. You tried to pull your hand away but JK only tightened his grip. “Sejin-nim is it possible for the two of us to go to the roof?”

Sejin looked between the two of you with a raised eyebrow, “Jungkook-ah”

“Please!” JK looked at him with pleading eyes. “We’ll stay out of sight and everything. I just got her back and I just want to get away…just the two of us. I know I can’t leave the hotel, so please?” You knew if you were on the receiving end of that plea you would have instantly caved.

Sejin sighed, “Hold on.” He disappeared into his room and after a moment you could hear him talking on the phone. You weren’t able to catch much of it but it sounded like he was asking someone to come over.

He walked back to where the two of you stood waiting, “Alright Jungkook-ah, I’m going to let you go up but you have to take a bodyguard with you.” JK went to argue but Sejin raised a hand causing JK to close his mouth, “I shouldn’t even be letting you do this, but…” Sejin looked at you and you knew exactly what he meant with his silence, “This the only way I’m going to let you do this. The more discreet you can do this the better. You remember the rules when it comes to Y/N.” He looked like he felt bad reminding the two of you but you understood why.

JK seemed bummed when he saw a bigger guy walking up to Sejin’s room from the other end of the hallway. You elbowed him and told him to stop, “Thank you Sejin. I promise to say out of sight.” You bowed your head slightly and he returned it with a small smile.

The two of you and your shadow headed towards the elevator so it would take you to the top floor and you would take the stairs to the rooftop access. When JK tried to kiss you, you turned your head causing him to kiss your cheek. You blushed a bright red, “Not with an audience.” JK rolled his eyes. When the doors opened you stepped aside and let JK and his bodyguard take the lead. You had discussed that you would tail along so it might look like you were staff instead of his girlfriend. He wasn’t happy about it but agreed for the sake of wanting to speed the process up so he could hold you again.

When JK got to the top of the stairs with the rooftop access he stopped when the bodyguard went to follow him onto the roof, “Is there a way that we could get some privacy? No one is going to airdrop in, so could you hangout here for a bit and we just go by ourselves?” The guy seemed to think about it and then nodded which made JK beam.

JK grabbed your hand and pulled you around him and opened the door that led out onto the roof. He pulled you closer to the edge so the two of you could look out over the skyline. “We took some pictures up here a few days ago and the skyline was so beautiful. I remember thinking that I would give anything to show you.” He wrapped his arm around you and pulled you close. You looked up at him and he was still looking at the sky which was starting to turn to beautiful orange and pink. “I found myself doing that a lot. Every place we’ve gone and was able to go sightseeing I remember thinking that I would have given anything to experience it with you.” He looked down at you, “It almost felt wrong to enjoy anything that you weren’t a part of. Especially being here and knowing you were so close.”

“JK—”

“Hold on I’m not finished.” He released his hold on you and turned to face you and leaned back against the wall. “I hadn’t realized just how much you affected me until you weren’t around anymore. I felt like I had at fifteen and just moved to Seoul where I was hours away from my family and in unchartered territory. It was like I had left home for the second time in my life and I think that’s why I struggled so much. When I’m with you I feel complete and even in our shittiest moments, I was happy. I remember thinking that maybe it had all been a dream and I went to your apartment when you wouldn’t answer my calls. The realization hit that it had actually happened when my key no longer worked, I had never hated myself more than in that moment. You had done so much for me and sacrificed so much and I was selfish and didn’t acknowledge everything that you had done for me up to that point.” He sighed, “Here I was thinking I was a man but I still acted like a little kid that didn’t get his way. The look on your face when I left is burned into my memory. I remember exactly what you were wearing and how you had your hair.” He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. He wiped a tear from your cheek you hadn’t even known was there.

“JK please do—”

He had cupped your cheek and placed his thumb on your lips making you stop.

“I’m still not done.” He gave you a sad smile, “I’ve been wanting to say all of this for months.” You nodded and he continued, “I felt like I had lost the compass in my life and suddenly I didn’t have any direction to go in. Everything I had worked towards in those six months was suddenly gone and I was left with the gaping hole that I needed to fill. So, I ended up putting all of my time into writing hoping that it would get my mind off of you, but you were the only inspiration I had. When I tried to write about something else it didn’t work. About two months ago I finally allowed myself to just feel everything about what happened and write about it. I probably spent two days crying after fully realizing what I had done to both of us. I ended up writing around seventeen songs and I realized that I just needed to accept that you were still my only muse. It was like everything in my life came full circle when it involved you. I knew that I was going to do anything and everything I could to at least make sure you knew how I felt about you and that I was sorry for ruining everything and hurting you. I knew that I had to accept that I may never get you back, but I was going to try even if I had to hire a private investigator to find you.” He laughed attempting to lighten the mood. He took a step and closed the space between the two of you, “Thank you for coming back to me.” He wiped away your tears and leaned down placing his lips on yours.

AN: Okay so i know this has taken forever to get out and i’m sorry! There were a lot of reasons but i hope the fluff filled chapter makes up for it. I’ve got some other things in the works but i will do my best to not let so much time pass on posting a new chapter.

New projects coming soon!

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sharpieismywarpaint · 6 years ago

Note

3, 5, 8, 11, 21, 30, 41, 49!!! (hope u don’t mind all da #s, i wuv ur blog sm >~

WAHHHH that is soooooo good to hear!! OMFG i loaf answering questions don’t worrey about it, they are liek, chicken soup for my chatterbox soul LOL

3. Fringes or Coontails?

ERMAGERD thats a hard 1… I think I wuld say coontails cuz they r the perf addition to any other hairstyle and the stripez r so kewl.. its DIVERSE!

5. Gloomy bear or Hello Kitty?

decisions decisions… 2 B honest I did not kno of gloomy bear until a while ago and hello kitty is a pretty prevalent part of sum kids childhoods but teh fact that gloomy bear is essentially an antithesis against the swarm of tame famileh frendly animal mascots is rlly dope 2 me… FITE THE SYSTEM GLOOMY XD

8. Have you watched Invader Zim? If so, who’s your favourite character?

YES oh my gaga have I told yu guys that teh invader zim/revenge msi animation i sed I wuz gonna do is in progress rn!? I’m so excited 2 show it 2 u guyz when it’s done!!!! mi favorite character is dib bcuz we share an interest in conspiracy paranormal bullshitt or sumthing wut wuuuuut. NO mom i will NOT take off my tin foil hat at the dinner table god.

11. Have you played Gaia?

Oh gosh maybe 1 time when I wuz 10 but the controls were far 2 confusing 4 me DX don’t take my word 4 it though around the same age I dabbled in neopetting & I was liek nothing is even freaking working this game is overrated!!! :/ but my computer didn’t even have flash turned on LAWL I wuz a dumb kid o(@~@)o

i had a frend who used 2 play gaia so it wasn’t impossible 4 me to learn teh ropes but this wuz during that precious (NOT!!!) time were every1 was calling each other gaiafags and I wuz like…. commence slowly walking backwards XD

21. Do you watch Anime?

ok I watch it in the sense that like, I have stuck a pin in a million animes being liek ONE day i will watch u pinky promise okay ONE OF DESE DAYS. I liked watching nge, elfen lied, perfect blue, osomatsu, and serial experiments lain a lot… do sonic x, my life me, code lyoko, & other psuedo animes count?? I had way 2 many boners for fake anime shit growing up. I also had this super intense lucky star phase when I wuz 12 too liek I did not shut up on facebook about it i swear a golden star sticker to every1 who stuck through everytime I updated my status to ‘KONATA RULEZ’ forreal. I also really like pretty cure max heart 2 this day, I watched the korean dub alllll the time as a baby. I also watched a ton of crayon shin chan even though it’s liek, explicitly not 4 kids :O

Animes that I actually plan on watching r paranoia agent, flcl, shadow star narutaru, and armitage III. Apparently shadow star is this show thats specifically made 2 look like the digimon/pokemon/wutevermon style but it actually gets really disturbing and gorey later on… it was written by the cereal experiments lain guy!!

30. Do you like Furbies?

O i didn’t rlly tap into the furby craze when it was still alive and thriving so i never had one for myself… they sound soo cute as a concept but i remember this time where this kid brought her furby on teh school bus and it got shook up 2 much and it basically got furby rabies!??!??! liek it was foaming at teh beak and its eyes were rolling around and making a noize like HNNGFNFGRF so ya kinda crazy in action … don’t get meh started on i-dogs tho !!

41. Have you ever played Imvu?

Yes 4 a short time but not 4 teh conventional reason. My OTHER not gaia frend had an account when we were 14 so we messed aroond on it & wuld tell peeples really randum stuff like baby, why won’t u answer meh calls!?!? or do you have a minute to let the lord jesus christ into your heart?? or BEYONCE!!!! CAN I GET UR AUTOGRAPH OMFG!!! and basicaleh just harass them & follow them aroundd eep. We were bad to the bone O.o

49. Do you like Sparkle Dogs?

YES!!!!!!! Sparkle dawgs 4 lyfe!!! One tiem when i wuz like 11 I made a sparkledog and posted it on deviantart and it TOTALLY got put onto that anti-sparkledogs livejournal page haha! Fuck you gaiz!!! But still. Sparkledogs 5ever 2019, united we stand!!

#asks #f slur

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phyripo · 6 years ago

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Your writing is so wonderful and unique and all positive stuff...! Wahhhh God I am so bad with words but I just want to tell you that your work is beyond perfect, and I love reading your works! And thank you for making me ship EstLiet! The ship is so wonderful, they are adorable! Uhhh so yeah in fact just thanks for existing...! ❤️❤️❤️

Nooo anon thank you for existing! This is so sweet, you made my day :00 EstLiet is a Great ship and I’m happy I made you ship it, heh. I wrote a little thing about them as,, thanks? And also because I love writing about them! Thank you again!!

Tolys notices the man the moment he walks intothe restaurant.

It’s mostly because he’s very tall, and hiseyes are the most peculiar shade of sea-green behind his glasses. It’s alsobecause he looks incredibly awkward, causing Tolys’s coworker to elbow him andpropose a bet on whether he’s here for a first date.

That’s a certain loss, so Tolys says no.

The tall man sits by the window, back ramrodstraight while he waits for the other member of his dinner party to arrive. Oneof the other waiters goes to ask him if he would like a drink, which hedeclines with an awkward adjustment of his collar.

When the long-awaited date does arrive, in the form of a man who is almost as tall and wearing his tie backwards, Tolys is the waiter assigned to their table, and his coworkers encourage him to bring them gossip. He smiles and shakes his head but does keep his ears peeled when he goes to greet the couple and ask if they want a drink while they peruse the menu.

Tie man is interrupted in the middle of a sentence that is either about a sibling or about an ex—and judging by the other manʼs expression, itʼs the latter. Poor guy.

“Well?” asks Tolysʼs coworker eagerly when they pass each other in the still-calm kitchen.

“I wouldnʼt start planning their wedding yet if I were you.”

He snorts a laugh. “Too bad.”

When Tolys returns next, ready to note down orders, the men seem to be having a pleasant enough conversation about music. Maybe Feliksʼs dream of starting a wedding planning business still has a chance.

Tie man is gesticulating wildly and almost slaps Tolys when he approaches; the guy with the glasses winces while he laughs nervously.

Orders taken, Tolys returns to the kitchen, and then goes right back out because more patrons are arriving. He canʼt help but pick up bits and pieces of the conversation going on at the menʼs table, though. They apparently donʼt know a single thing about each other. Tolys hears tie man ask for his dateʼs name several times. Itʼs Eduard, and Eduard sounds slightly exasperated after the third time heʼs asked. And that is only the times within Tolysʼs earshot.

Tie man is talking about the ex/sibling again when Tolys brings him and Eduard the first course, and Tolys doesnʼt think he imagines the helpless look the latter gives him as he puts his plate down. He tries to look reassuring. He has seen this before, having worked here since he was a teenager. Besides, heʼs not a stranger to disappointing dates on a personal level either. Eduard smiles slightly, so he considers it a win.

He hopes tie man does too, because he really does have beautiful eyes.

Tolys hurries back to the kitchen with flaming cheeks.

“Did you have an unprofessional thought, Laurinaitis?” Feliks jokes.

“Shut up.”

He grins. “Hey, I donʼt blame you. Dude is handsome.

“Heʼs also on a date.”

“Yeah,” he scoffs, “a terrible one. Guyʼs spent like a half hour listening to his date talking about his ex.”

“I thought it might be a sibling,” Tolys tries while he gathers plates to take to other patrons.

“Definitely not. At least I really hope not,” Feliks says with a disgusted look that makes Tolys wonder what he heard tie man recount. Poor Eduard.

Itʼs a moderately busy evening in the restaurant, but all the waiters are pretty involved with the disastrous date going on at table 19. Everyone keeps asking Tolys—and Feliks, whoʼs busy in that area too—for updates.

He can tell them that tie man—the name catches on—kept showing Eduard pictures of something he obviously didnʼt have the slightest interest in, then kept looking at his phone afterwards, and that during the meal itself, he choked on something because he was laughing at a joke he told himself and hit Eduard with stray steak he spit out.

Itʼs kind of funny, but Tolys feels for Eduard.

When he goes to check on their table, tie man is gone, and Eduard is poking at his still mostly-full plate forlornly.

“Sir, is everything according to your wishes?” Tolys asks, and the man startles, looking up.

“It is now,” he says, inclining his head at the empty seat across the table. And then, “No, sorry, that was mean. The food is great, thank you.”

“Iʼm glad.” Tolys should go now, but he shifts his weight from one foot to another while Eduard looks up at him questioningly. “And to your companionʼs wishes as well?”

“I expect so. He seems to be enjoying himself, at least.” He smiles wryly and casts a glance at the door to the bathroom. “Iʼm not sure why my brother thought weʼd be a good match. Sorry. Iʼm sorry, you donʼt need to know that.”

Tolys shakes his head. “Donʼt worry about it. Iʼve been there. My own brother has terrible ideas as well.”

“Gotta love your siblings. Not that I think heʼs a terrible guy, my date,” Eduard hastens to say. “We could be friends, but, well… He seems a little hung up on someone else at the moment. And I donʼt get his humor and it is so tiring. Sorry.”

“Honestly, itʼs fine.” Tolys glances over his shoulder and pushes some hair that has escaped from his ponytail away from his face. “Iʼll be honest, youʼre the talk of the evening among the waiters.”

Promptly, Eduard flushes a bright red that makes his light hair seem almost white, and Tolys canʼt help but smile at it.

“If it helps, we all feel pretty sorry for you.”

“I feel sorry for myself too,” he mumbles. “And I donʼt even have anyone who can call me and fake an emergency to get me out of here, because my siblings have no sense of loyalty.”

Without thinking about it, Tolys says, “I could do that.”

Eduard looks up at him with those turquoise eyes, and Tolys looks back with his heart beating in his throat. Why did he say that? That is the last thing he should have said. He opens his mouth to apologize, but is forestalled.

“Please do,” Eduard blurts. Then, he clasps one hand over his mouth and adjusts his glasses with the other.

“I…” Tolys doesnʼt know what to say.

“I am serious. I think. Yes. I am.”

“Alright,” he just says, because what else can he do. When Eduard starts patting down his pockets for something to write on, Tolys hands him the notebloc he uses to take down orders, biting his lip when the man smiles gratefully. Eduard scribbles something down in kind, rounded letters.

“Thereʼs my phone number.” He glances at the bathroom door again. No sign of tie man. “Iʼm Eduard, by the way.”

“Well, I hope I can help. Iʼm Tolys.”

“Thatʼs a beautiful name.” He blinks, adjusts his glasses again, and averts his eyes. “Just, I donʼt know, pretend somethingʼs wrong with my dog?”

“Oh, you have a dog?”

“Yes! Heʼs just a puppy.” Eduard seems to be on the verge of pulling out his phone and showing Tolys a picture, which he would be more than happy to look at—the only reason he doesnʼt have a dog is because his building has a no-pet policy—when he suddenly straightens and casts a meaningful look in the direction of the bathroom.

And sure enough, tie man comes back. He has re-knotted his tie so that itʼs the right way around. Was that what was taking him so long?

“Hello, sir,” Tolys greets him. “I was just informing if everything is according to your wishes.”

“Sure,” he says, grinning, and then he launches into a story about a place he used to go without sparing a further thought for Tolys, it seems, so Tolys returns to his job. Wasting time is not appreciated.

When he gets back to the kitchen in a quiet moment, about ten minutes have passed and Feliks keeps throwing him looks that promise an interrogation. He quickly shoots into the back room, fishes his phone out of his bag, and punches in the number Eduard has given him.

With a deep breath, he presses call.

“Eduard Mets,” comes Eduardʼs voice after a few rings.

“Hello, uh, Mr Mets.” Tolys swallows. “This is… Tolys Laurinaitis from the… Something with animals, probably.”

“Did something happen?” Eduard asks, playing along great. Better than Tolys is doing.

“Your dog, uh, attempted to fight a cat? The cat won. It isnʼt looking very great, sir. Would it be possible for you to come take a look?”

“Yes, yes, of course,” he replies, sounding honestly distressed, which Tolys finds impressive because heʼs sure he would most likely have started laughing. “I will be there as soon as possible.”

“Thank you. Iʼm sure your dog is grateful.”

“Thank you as well.” He sounds sincere. Tolys bites his lip and smiles as he presses the end call button.

Feliks is leaning against the doorpost with his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised when he looks up.

“Shut up,” Tolys says, and he just laughs.

Sure enough, Eduard is gone when Tolys goes back out. He seems to have left some money for his date to pay with, though. Tolys does feel a little bad for the man and decides to offer him a cup of coffee on the house. Maybe heʼll come back for another date when heʼs over his ex for real.

When Tolysʼs shift is over, there is a notification of a new message on his phone. Itʼs from a number with no contact attached, but he recognizes it all the same and smiles when the message contains a picture of the tiniest, fluffiest white puppy he has ever seen and a short message.

Hello Tolys, and thank you again. This is Helicopter Pilot (my brother named him). He's fine! If you want, would you like to meet him? We could have dinner to make up for tonight. Let me know. Eduard

Tolys bites his lower lip to fight down his grin—ineffectively.

That sounds great. I know a good restaurant. Can vouch for the waiters too! Tolys

His phone beeps seconds later.

I can't wait.

“So,” Feliks says loudly, from the shadows of the back room, “can I start planning a wedding now?

#things written out of gratitude #pt 2 #estliet #Phyripo writes things #most best #anonymous #quaestiones #aaaaa

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itsbaobeibei · 7 years ago

Text

SPOILERS FOR HOTARU’S "LOVER’S GUIDE” ES

Please note this is pretty in-depth so it’s a long post. Also note there may be some misunderstandings of the plot of quotes on my part. I am not fluent in Japanese, my level is probably only above N3.

This is some real cute fucking shit. So KAKUGO YOURSELF. TN: Kakugo means prepare

So this current ES theme is about deepening your love and all of them revolve around this guidebook which I’m assuming is Saizo’s Lover’s Guide but I can’t confirm since I don’t know the name of his book in Japanese.

So things start off with Hotaru and MC enjoying a morning together having fun and some light making out. MC is not really used to doing this sort of thing in the morning and gets a little embarrassed, telling Hotaru they have to get up to get ready for the day. She notes to herself she should probably tell Hotaru when it’s okay and not okay to do these sort of things because it leads to...THAT.

Later on in the day Kagetsugu, Yoshichi and Kageie are being noisy in the hall. MC wanders over to see them holding the Lover’s Guide and eventually Hotaru sneaks the book away to see what the fuss is about. MC naturally gets a little embarrassed because they somehow get on the topic of Hotaru’s love life and what they’ve done...while MC is right there. Things only get worse when Kenshin comes and decides to help Hotaru deepen his love for MC by helping them study. So they start trying out things from the book. For example first they introduce themselves and bless his poor little soul Hotaru keeps slipping up. Like he just says “Hotaru” instead of “My name is Hotaru” which is more polite. Then he has to compliment MC so he does what he always says “MC...ah no...MC-san, you’re very cute.” and Kageie’s like

“That’s a bit...too childish” and everyone suggests “beautiful” instead.

Next they have to write letters to one another and have it sent to each other. Since MC and Hotaru share the same room, they agree to split up for the time being. MC will move to a new room, they won’t speak to each other or even see one another to ensure that they are following the book properly. Hotaru will learn how to write letters appropriately and MC will decide when they are ready to meet and move onto the next step.

MC moves out but Hotaru comes to her fucking room cause HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT HER EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE IN THE SAME CASTLE AWWWWWW. He delivers MC a letter and she says “You brought this yourself? Ah, you should have someone else send it instead.” So Hotaru realizes he forgot they weren’t supposed to meet and takes out a notepad and writes “Sorry” on it, like how he was at the beginning of his MS when he would never speak out loud. MC feels a little sad and tries to cheer him up by telling him “I’ll read your letter with the utmost care” *She says 大切にする so that means to treasure/cherish it. He starts to leave but as he does so, he keeps turning and looking back at MC sadly. Wahhhh

Not too long after he leaves Tora comes to visit MC AND THERE’S A LETTER TIED TO HIS LEG, OH MY GAAAAAWD SO CUTE. HOTARU SENT TORA WITH A LETTER IMMEDIATELY AFTER HE LEFT.

MC and Hotaru continue to exchange letters as the days pass. Their letters are sort of like “How are you feeling today? I’m doing fine but when you’re not here I get so lonely.”

Now prepare your hearts cause it’s about to get real cute. It’s at night and MC sees a sudden shadow at her door. She guesses it’s Hotaru and wonders why he might be here since they can’t meet but his figure suddenly disappears. When she slides her door open she finds a flower with a letter waiting for her. In the note Hotaru writes “I saw this flower and thought of you. I hope it brings a smile to your face.”

YOU BIG CUTIE YOU! I WOULD FUCKING DIE FOR YOU

MC decides it’s time to finish the letter exchange, Hotaru has passed and new they can finally meet. She sends a letter via Tora to Hotaru (who is training with Kageie, Kagetsugu and Yoshichi telling him to meet her later. HOTARU IS SO EXCITED HE STARTS RUSHING OFF TO MC’S ROOM. But everyone calls Hotaru, telling him to come back. Poor baby boy was so excited he forgot it said “Let’s meet at the tea house later” and he starts sulking.

Then it’s finally time for them to meet! Hotaru is already waiting for MC, he says the Lover’s Guide said it was a man’s duty to do the waiting. He also gives her a flower because the book said women are happy to get them. “I wanted to see your smile so I also brought you a flower today.”

MC gets a little lonely when she sees that Hotaru brought the guidebook since he starts referring to it and reading it from it. So their conversation becomes stiffened and a bit unnatural. Hotaru goes to place the order for food and tea and some creep comes sauntering over “Oh hey babe, you alone?”

“No, I’m with someone”

“Haaa? Are you really, even though you have such a sad and lonely expression. How about playing with me? Hmm, not saying a word? Well someone’s shy. What a cutie. I know some place more fun than this, let’s go.”

MC tries to refuse but ya you know...MEN, some can’t take a hint. Luckily Hotaru comes to save the day and sends the creep off. “She’s taken.”

MC is safe and Hotaru is relieved but is suddenly saddened. He forgot to follow the rules of the book. When saving a girl, check to see if a situation becomes dangerous, if you step in you’ll look cool (SAIZO YOU PIECE OF SHIT THAT’S HORRIBLE). He despondently says “I didn’t wait and see. I’m so lame.”

"No, don’t say that, Hotaru! You were amazing! In fact, I think men who just wait around and do nothing when someone’s in trouble are the lame ones! Not everything in that guide in true, you know!”

MC feels a pain in her chest when Hotaru asks if he’s made any other mistakes with her. The Hotaru she loves isn’t the one who is desperately following the book. It’s the one who is pure and good-hearted. This lover’s guide Hotaru simply isn’t him. She thanks Hotaru for what he’s done for her and apologizes for causing so much trouble and takes his hand in hers. Hotaru starts to blush. Voltage has blessed us with 3 blushing sprites of Hotaru

OH BOI THAT LAST ONE SAYS YOU ARE MINE AND NO ONE ELSE’S

Upon seeing Hotaru blush, MC starts blushing. It’s basically whenever MC and Yukkin get embarrassed and Saizo makes fun of them for being ripe apples. For awhile they don’t even say anything. The conversation literally goes

“.....”

Hotaru then takes MC’s hand and places it on his chest. “My heart’s pounding...when you touch me, it starts beating even more. Does this mean our hearts are connected?” This is the result of their love deepening thanks to the guidebook. They’re grateful for the lover’s guide but MC and Hotaru decide to do love their way instead of relying on a book.

“I want to touch you more, is that okay?” Good for you, Hotaru. Constantly practicing consent.

“Ahh, only when we’re alone, just the two of us....also not in the morning”

“Oh...so MC prefers it when it’s dark.”

Oh Hotaru, my sweet summer child. He then starts asking MC embarrassing questions like “Does your heart also beat for me? What makes your heart race? When we hug? When we kiss?”

MC is super embarrassed but manages to avoid answering when two women gush about how cute they are and changes the topic wondering if Hotaru really ordered their tea.

Later they return to the castle and Hotaru returns the book to Yoshichi. Everyone celebrates Hotaru’s success but fucking Hotaru says “Kenshin, MC won’t answer my question. Does her heart beat when we hug, when we kiss?”

MC’s mind (literally): WAAAWWAAAWAAAAAA!!!!!

Kenshin just smiles and says “Just by thinking of her her heart’s already pounding for you.” **Translation, not sure

SO HOTARU LITERALLY PRESSES HIS EAR AGAINST HER CHEST...IN FRONT OF EVERYONE “Ahhh, it’s true!” Goddamn someone please save MC.

After death by embarrassment, MC and Hotaru return back to “their” room and talking about their experience. How they were lonely without one another but they were glad for it. They start to get touchy-feely and start exchanging kisses.

Hotaru asks “Is your heart racing?”

“Yeah.”

“Mine too. I’m glad I got to fall in love with you all over again. I want your heart to race even more. I want us to be even closer.” The story ends with MC mentally noting that:

This loud, beating heart of mine has become even more so.

END.

My rating of this ES out of 10: “I've only had Hotaru for a day and a half, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.”

#slbp #spoilers #slbp spoilers #kirigakure hotaru #hotaru kirigakure

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fantranslatorbychoice · 4 years ago

Text

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Intermission 1 - Another Worthy Opponent

T/N: Hey there Kakuriyo fan-fams, how are you doing so far? Anyway, here's the first intermission of the volume, as an o-make/bonus for everyone, before this month ends. Thank you for noticing this blog, I appreciate it very much. I wouldn’t know if this has notes though, my tumblr app is basically non-functional anymore so I just get surprised when I login. Anyways, I hope you have fun reading.

As always, I mostly didn’t translate some of the names of the ayakashi/youkai, as well as the proper nouns because uhm... They’re basically nouns. It’s like how some translated manga are done. It’s my style, I guess. Links to references at the end of the post.

Also if you like this translation, you can heart it, share the link, reblog, I just respectfully ask that DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just copy-pasted everything. I even had to build the kanji in Jisho one by one. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.

You can rave about this, rant about this, but if possible please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink as a link back to here. Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, I’d take this offline to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in.

As previously-mentioned in earlier chapters, if you stumbled upon this one, the two seasons of the anime covered volumes 1-5, so other than the extra details, you didn’t miss much stuff. OK, this intermission is a fun and light chapter. Not much food though. I want some pizza lol

P104 I, Ginji, the Young Master of Tenjin-ya whom it was entrusted to, with regards to the Autumn Festival activites at the end of October, have finally accepted the fact that I couldn't think of anything else to include in the programme and this time I don't know what to do anymore. Odanna-sama suddenly called for me, and I immediately went while I was in the middle of work. "Really, Ranmaru is coming to Tenjin-ya?" "Yes. It's because Aoi succeeded in the matters at Orio-ya, he's coming here to pay back with rewards. He just accepted Byakuya's unreasonable payment demand as it was. If Aoi hears about it, she'll surely be horrified. Regarding that payment." "Hee hee. Even now, Aoi hasn't realized the magnitude of her doing the ceremony in Orio-ya, hasn't she?" According to Odanna-sama, the fruits of Aoi-san's rewards, after covering the losses and deficits due to Tenjin-ya's prolonged break, there's still probably enough to deduct for Aoi-san's bonus commision. Naturally, it seems that the remainders will be alloted to repay the debts. "Wah, is that true?" After reading out the detailed particulars, it caused even me to unconsciously react. P105 Byakuya-san, how on earth were you able to negotiate such sums? No, it's not that but, as even I was involved in the ceremony at Orio-ya many times and I understood why, Aoi-san going there for us, the achievements of what remained to be done were enormous. Surely, Ranmaru seemed to be aware that the reward was reasonable. "By the way, Odanna-sama. Yesterday, how was your date with Aoi-san? Although called as such, it probably wasn't one." "It's not like that. Aoi was worshipped by the mountain's Kaku-zaru, we conspired with the extermination of bandits... The plans to make the fruits all around us to make a heartwarming date progressed into a disaster, but thankfully we were able to gain some information. Moreover, Aoi made cooking seem fun. We acquired ingredients from the mountain that we rarely have, it was delightful. Aoi's obsession for cooking is probably her greatest cure." "Ah, ahaha. That's Aoi for you. Anyhow, in any case, I'm relieved that you were safe." Odanna-sama just said, "Yes, I guess," and smiled so happily. Sighing, his smile just looked so youthful. I just suddenly thought it was. "Alright Ginji, your brother is arriving very soon. It's a rare opportunity to meet up with him, you’re gonna be with him." "Really, is that fine?" "You're too formal with Byakuya and I. When you're not around, it becomes deathly quiet."

P106

"Is... Is that so? I mean, yes, it is." Although Tenjin-ya and Orio-ya combined their strengths to get through difficulty, there's still a sense of tension. It's for this reason that there's still a business competition, anything that happens as a result of the rivalry, surely when imagining as such, it can lead to painful stories. No, but my worries are probably unnecessary. "Wahhhh! It's been a long time, Tenjin-ya! It's summer since we last came? Today we brought a lot of souvenir gifts-- Now where is Ojou-chan**? I want to have something to eat--" "Hattori, you're being too boisterous! Shut up--" "What the heck Ranmaru-- I just brought you here--" It seems that Hatori went along with Orio-ya's Ranmaru. Surely, due to their extreme inability to read the atmosphere, I wonder if they can fulfill their roles this time. Perhaps... Ranmaru has become like Odanna-sama, and probably doesn't like it when it gets quiet? "We appreciate you coming from so far a distance, respected Head of Orio-ya.** We welcome you." "Whaat. You're damn heartless to talk, Tenjin-ya's Master. But we want to immediately return the favor. For disturbing you lowlifes**, we apologize. Hey, Hatori." "Hey, hey" T/N: Hopefully, by this time it's easy to pinpoint out who's calling Aoi. If there's no honorrifics, it's Odanna-sama, or O-ryo. With -kun, it's Byakuya. With -san, it's Ginji, and everyone else lol Hatori calls her Miss=Ojou-chan yeah you probably get it now lol Yeah Ranmaru is technically not the master of Orio-ya's he's more or less the chief officer for operations, but he's still under Ougondouji-sama, the original founder of Tenjin-ya. Odanna-sama is more or less the chief executive officer or everything because Ougondouji-sama left Tenjin-ya in his care. Something like that. This part was explained in the anime too, before the start of the Orio-ya arc.

Also I didn’t choose to translate temee - てめえ for what it really is, I find it too harsh so I just went along with the more milder ones lolol Ranmaru is a potty mouth guys P107 Hatori-san pulled out his bag. It is totally wrapped in mystery, and our chief accountant Byakuya-san solemnly accepted it, and his sharp-sightedness was surely awakened by the contents. "Yes, it is good..." After that, the chief accountant and Odanna-sama, who do not exempt a lot of things other than this, stamped the magnificent receipt with Tenjin-ya's very important golden seal. "After this, we need to make a written report to Aoi-kun. We also have to include her bonus commision with it." Byakuya-san's sour mood seemed to have lifted somehow. The large payment was deserved, and opening his fan, he leisurely looked up. "This is Aoi-san's first commision, isn't it? She'll be ecstatic--" Once she learns that the bonus has been given, she'll be very surprised. I could imagine her shocked face, and I could only laugh about it silently in my head. "Young-master, can you hand this over? That girl can finally embezzle a lot of ingredients--" "You can't say that.." Odanna-sama couldn't help but say it with a sarcastic laugh, and bizaarely showed it to Ranmaru and Hatori-san. The two looked at each other with a side-glance. P108 “Also, Tenjin-ya's Odanna-sama. Ougondouji-sama, did she came to Tenjin-ya sometime ago?" Ranmaru decided to cut off the conversation, and changed its direction. Odanna-sama immediately shook his head. "No... I wanted something returned to the girl, and I was thinking of getting in touch. I couldn't get the whereabouts of that person, that's why it wasn't easy." "Wanted something returned?" While sipping some of Tenjin-ya's tea, Hatori went "What could that be?" "The Tengu's Uchiwa Fan.** At present, that is Aoi's property, and Ougondouji-sama should bring it here." "Ah, that, yes, yes." It seemed that up until now, Hatori-san seemed to have forgotten about it, and asked Ranmaru about it with his gaze. His eyes read "Hey, what should I do?". Ranmaru kept quiet for a bit, and opened his mouth. "Ougondouji-sama, she said that she was going to the North-western Lands." "The North-western Lands?" Odanna-sama and Byakuya-san's facial expressions changed. The North-western Lands. It is also called the Land of Bun-mon, Scholarly Gates. In that knowledge gate metropolis, there are multitudes of academicians and doctors. Really, they send out so many civil officials, there are just so many politicians in charge of that place, even inside the Hachiyo's centers and nearby areas, that land is said to have strong political powers. T/N: OK, so this explains why Aoi didn't just use the uchiwa-fan to get rid of the bandits. The leafy fan wasn't returned yet. OK, so if you're wondering too, there you go. P109 "Likewise, that place hates anything-that-is-easy-to-understand." Byakuya-san nonchalantly said that in distaste. "Ahh. In Youto's imperial court, the political authority has swayed, it's under the territory of the Minister of the Right, Ieyasu. Anyhow, Ougondouji-sama traveling to the Northern Lands must be related to her calling out for something, but it doesn't seem likely that the Tanuki would easily get moved. She probably doesn't know how to handle that." Odanna-sama placed his hand on his jaw, and let out a long exhale. "It's connected to the Northern Lands. Two days ago, even I heard the stories of the people living the mountains of the Northern Lands. For a long time there, the Great Old Sage has been a go-between in ruling that region, but that person has been bedridden with an illness and no one has been elected to be the successor. It's because of that it seems, that the insurgent forces have increased." "That grandpa, he hasn't died yet?" Hatori's lack of reading the mood appropriately went out with just a few words, and Ranmaru stared at him sternly. Hatori just pretended to be ignorant by whistling.** "I daresay Ougondouji-sama went to the North-western Lands for the sake of resolving the chaotic situation in the north. There's also the issue of opening up a vacancy in the Hachiyo ranks. There's a chance for the aristocrats in the imperial court to increase their power and influence. Currently, owing to the Hachiyos' command, each of the eight districts's sovereignty were held together by each Hachiyo, but there have been calls to abolish the Hachiyo system, and the supremacy of the Central Government will become absolute, as more people will have to make the decisions." After Ranmaru finished talking, he huffed a bitter smile after thinking, and brushed up his hair. T/N: Hatori is such an adorable dumbass, srsly, I wanna be annoyed at him but he's a sweetheart inside, apart from flirting with anybody, I mean ANYBODY lololol Also Ranmaru is such a softie with Nobunaga, I just can't - gahaha you can't stop me you all P110 "Tenjin-ya's Odanna-sama, have you ever imagined that we will be talking together like this?" "Certainly. Surprisingly, your edges have been trimmed off and you're now softer**, Ranmaru." "Tch... Leave me alone!" "Gyahahahaha--" Hatori-san started laughing. After that even Odanna-sama did too, and the intense atmosphere was flipped over, and as everyone around started making playful faces, Byakuya-san cleared his throat and silently glared at Odanna-sama. Don't destroy your dignified attitude, was what I could read from his wordless plea. Even Odanna-sama considerably had a cold sweat vibe. "I give up, can we get over with the tiring conversation? If so, let's talk about more delightful things. Here's a joyous report from Orio-ya. As a matter of fact, our Young Master and Young Mistress have been engaged, somehow." "Really, aren't they Hideyoshi-san and Nene-san**?" Up until now my calmness levels have been fine, but because Hatori-san abruptly revealed an auspicious news from my old stomping grounds, I unconsciously reacted spite of myself. Hideyoshi-san is a goblin monkey Ayakashi, and his position in Orio-ya is Young Master. Nene-san is a fire rat Ayakashi, and is Orio-ya's Young Mistress. T/N: This literally was written like "your horns/corners have been taken out and you're now rounded" but again, probably a pun because maru=round and well, Ranmaru has MARU in it. Oh well. And yeah I ship fire rat girl and monkey boy lol canon shipping ftw P111 During the time we worked together in summer, I didn't feel that kind of atmosphere around them... I saw that Nene-san especially admired Ranmaru, but this awakening of one's love is probably an exceptional case. "But, isn't this development happening too fast?" I was stunned, in reality the time period that elapsed since the engagement happened was at most, two months. "That dumbass Hideyoshi is different, he's a late bloomer." "Whaa... But in your dreams you wouldn't say something like that to the dog you're raising, won't you Ranmaru?" While Ranmaru was smirking, the profound meaning in my words propped him up, and he thoughtlessly replied. "Nonetheless, I heard it from Nene-chan, who was the aggressive one!" "Really?!" What on earth is up with that two...? "That definitely happened, when the two went back to their hometown, during the break after the ceremony." "Oh well, since the beginning those two have been comrades in their old hometown, and having surpassed the ritual, likely they were drawn towards each other. But it was a good thing for Orio-ya. If the connections between the managing staff gets stronger due to having more trust, then it's going to be more rock-solid." P112 Both Ranmaru and Hatori-san were receptive to the engagement of the two trustworthy management staff. Especially Ranmaru, his face may not show it but his speech and his demeanor shows that he's happy. Even I realized that. "Gahaha-- Well, I told Hideyoshi to mess about some more. But he seems earnest of only one way. Because he was raised in the countryside, he only knows that when you decide to get together with someone, then you get married. Even Nene-chan too, one way or another says that if it's Hideyoshi, then it's good. If it fits, then it must be suitable." "Not playing around is definitely the opposite of what you are, Hatori." "Geez, I think you're absolutely stabbing me. Leave me out of this, Odanna" Hatori-san just destroyed himself. But Odanna-sama was smiling, then he just dared to speak calmly. "Ah, I get that. From now on, it's wonderful that as employees they will be giving their best to gain happiness. But in Tenjin-ya's management staff, ever since Kikuno’s marriage, nobody has ever been married. Also, there's nobody who wants to...**" "..." Kikuno-san was Tenjin-ya's former Young Mistress, and was also doubtful about O-ryo being the current Young Mistress. It's a fact that ever since her marriage, there has been no other celebratory news from Tenjin-ya. Even hints, there's mostly nothing... Anyway, nobody was saying anything, and it got awfully quiet. "Speaking of someone, aren't you dumbasses instantly forgetting about that Shirou's granddaughter's marriage?" T/N: This is just funny AF, salty boi is salty lol but seriously if this ogre-boi just stopped messing around with Aoi maybe he's gonna be the next one to get hitched lololol well IDK what do you think y’all P113 ".. what?" Although Ranmaru pierced through and broke that silence, Odanna-sama's laughing face got frozen stiff. "If that was easy, shouldn't I be working this hard? But since I couldn't do just that, I am in trouble right now." Everyone in here went "ohhh..." and greatly understood what he meant. Guys, right now Aoi-san's thinking about that. It seems that the girl's personality and Odanna-sama's huge efforts can be easily understood in 10 minutes. "Ahahaha-- Odanna, you dumbass can't handle a young girl by yourself, that's an amusing story. It's hilarious--" "Well, that IS about Shirou's granddaughter. That Ojou-chan, no matter how often she falls, she just stands up again. Kakuriyo hasn't been more enlivened by that before." Ranmaru and Hatori-san kept hitting their knees as they laughed. Afterwards, for some time there was chatting about public news, as well as exchanging information about Kakuriyo's affairs, and apart from Orio-ya's payment contract, all sorts of souvenirs and presents were given out. Those were Orio-ya's pride, the famous products from the Southern Lands. Of course there was seafood, Kiseki beef that has a little fat and is famous with the ladies, mangoes that only grow in Kakuriyo's south, and other snacks like that. Lately there has been additional efforts in growing what is called an "avocado" and other fruits from Utsushiyo. P114 I think that with regards to Aoi-san, she'll be happy with these, but Odanna-sama and Byakuya-san seemed to be annoyed by it. "Lately, the topic of interest about Orio-ya is that your souvenirs and products have increased, and we're jealous." "Then Tenjin-ya has to quickly produce and release new products and souvenirs. People asking about old and ancient products are dwindling, you know. With regards to that aspect, Orio-ya has strength. Although we're still continuously on the road to improvement, it's because we're changing to become your worthy competitor." Byakuya-san whispered to me "Even if so..." "Young Master-dono, I have heard your plea that you haven't thought of what to prepare with regards to the Autumn Festival, have you formed any plans right now?" "About that, I think that what we usually have annually aren't interesting and fun. This year, we'll use agricultural produce of the Land of Ogre's gate, such as rice, sweet potato, and pumpkins**." "P... Pumpkins?" Odanna-sama's face became unusually disgusted. "About that.. Odanna-sama doesn't like the texture of pumpkins." "It's sweet, but can't you think of anything other than side dishes?" While we were seating together in the banquet, Odanna-sama, Byakuya-san and I were thinking about it a lot. T/N: Goodness Ginji, no wonder your catering business got whacked. I adore you but really... just hire Aoi in the creative department lol Also if she gets to make Odanna-sama eat pumpkin I really can't say so much about her now lol P115 There weren't any other things that he didn't like, and though Odanna-sama appears to be a flawless ogre, when there's boiled pumpkin I have seen that he casually places it on Byakuya-san's plate. "...Pumpkin, is it..?" "Ginji, why is your expression that of an evil fox's?" "It's not that, Odanna-sama. I just thought of something after a bit." "Ohhh, that's wonderful!" "Whooo.. Those are the words of our genius planning department manager, Young Master-dono. That is certainly going to be a fun plan!" What on earth, Odanna-sama and Byakuya-san were they hounding me for such a plan right after that. "That, uhm..." After the banquet we huddled in a circle and sneakily talked about the scheme. The three people in the management staff planned together in hushed voices, and silently laughed. Chiaki-san, the doorman in charge of footwears, after looking at the night scenery, went by and we must have made him say "Well, that's scary".

End of Intermission 1, Volume 6. Previous - Chapter 3 Next - Chapter 4

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

#kakuriyo no yadomeshi #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 intermission 1 #kakuriyo no yadomeshi english fan translations #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 english fan translations #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel translations #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 intermission 1 english translations

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kudalyn · 7 years ago

Note

I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT. Oh poor Atem my heart was already bleeding for the little bugger. I'm an absolute sap for self-doubting, self-bashing Atem for some reason. And THIS IS ME TOTALLY ASKING FOR MORE. How do Yugi and Atem become lovers? I bet Atem does some more self-angst stuff when he wakes up right? And how do they meet Jou and Ryou? What do they do make a living? What's their cover? So can Atem transform into multiple things or just Zorc-esque? Wahhhh so many questions.

Thank you for your patience!! I don’t always have the energy to answer messages right away so sorry this is late >w

A bit more chatlog copypaste and other stuff:

Atem and Yugi’s romance takes some time to fully bloom. They’ve had a mutual attraction for a long time, but many things (atem’s bad self-esteem and yugi’s hesitance) get in the way of it, and the stress of having to be on the lam doesn’t give much room for that to grow

a mutual deep respect and endless loyalty to each other, yes, but romance not so much. Plus Atem learning he’s a walking magic bomb and Yugi having to work double time in keeping the both of them cloaked while Atem’s untrained magical signature is a giant ass beacon of HEY COME GET ME doesn’t help atem’s self-image.

They end up fleeing the country, moving to a more sparce and less magic-focused country that’s more of a neutral ground than anything, so it’s a bit safer for them to hide out in. They spend a lot of time, some months at least constantly on the move till they find a nondescript town deep in the middle of the neutral country and settle down in an abandoned shack in the surrounding forest. (they clean it up surprisingly well)

atem feels utterly disgraced and distraught that this happened and that yugi's putting himself in danger for him, and many times tries to convince yugi to go back and plead insanity or something. yugi refuses, saying he'll never leave atem alone again when he needs him so badly.

so atem does his best to learn quickly from yugi, but on-the-run teaching isn’t the most thorough way, though Atem does learn best being shown and when under duress/challenge. Its difficult because yugi's not experienced with teaching and atem's magic works differently than his. students usually get teachers that are more experienced with their specific type of magic for ease of teaching.

atem is a fast learner though, and stubborn as fuck, and learns well enough to be able to control his magic enough it's not a danger. though it has different skills and uses than yugi's does. it gets to the point that it's dangerous for either of them to be seen as they are, and while yugi gets skilled at disguise magic, it's not in atem's skillset and disguising for two is very draining.

So, in a fit of crazyness (as yugi called it) and late night reading, atem gets a brilliant(?) idea. he tells yugi to make him his familiar

familiars are usually made between a non-human magical entity and a humanoid, and demons fall under that non-human entity category

and atem is a demon conduit. he thinks its brilliant! familiar owners can change their familiars form at will, familiars can hide in their owner's shadows, and the owners can forcefully command the familiar in dire situations. if atem ever loses it again (something he’s terrified of doing though while he has had some close calls he hasn’t had any relapses in his training) yugi can just tell him to stop! yugi thinks he's mad - familiar contracts are not only very binding, they've never been recorded happening between two humanoids, let alone a conduit, and demon familiar contracts are tricky and can backfire.

atem insists, he'd never set any contract lines that would hurt yugi, he's loyal as fuck, and he admits that if capable he'd willingly spend the rest of his life serving yugi. not exactly a declaration of love, but yugi understands what more or less what he means

yugi's overwhelmed, tells atem he needs to think on it. atem thinks he's fucked up in more ways than one, and they have a day or two of awkwardness but yugi eventually concedes, saying that while it is very clever, it is also very dangerous. but he wants atem to be safe, and he too wants to spend his life with atem - he just didn't see it ever happening like this. something atem gets depressed over momentarily before yugi snaps him out of it and says he will never regret making his decision to save atem

they make the contract, magical circle and all, and while the magic goes a bit dodgy for a bit, it ends up working out - but with the unrealized side effect of the two of them being able to speak/see each others thoughts via soul link

atem as an awakened demon conduit had always been hyper attuned to human's emotions and feelings, being able to smell and feel them himself, but this was a whole new step. and yugi not being alone in his head was very jarring

it puts a lot of stress on them, along with learning how the contract works - if yugi asks atem to do something, if he doesn't word it carefully it comes out as a command Atem is compelled to do forcefully

like 'atem, shut up' becomes literal even if it was meant jokingly.

he learns to use nicknames more often, but atem does enjoy the nickname yugi gave him as a kid so he doesn't mind, and he knows the command could be useful in a pinch (or bad for him if yugi is in danger and forces atem to leave, but he makes yugi swear he'd never do something like that - atem knows he's probably fibbing but its the best he can do)

another thing is atem learning to live in yugi's shadow if need be, but he hardly uses it, yugi usually transforms atem into a dark dark red cat with some gold stripes, so atem can sit on his shoulder as he goes out and about so yugi only has to disguise himself, and its easier to hide one person in a crowd instead of two

also in times like that the mental link comes in very handy, but it still takes time for them to learn how to block each other off from the others minds for privacy or other stuff. they eventually get comfortable enough being pretty open with their thoughts, but that takes a while.

-----

I’ve thought a bit on it and it’s a bit hard to decide, but I think what’ll happen is that while Anzu will be someone Yugi used to be friends with back at their old village and left behind sadly, Jou and Ryou will be two villagers living in the new town. they end up becoming friends, but friends with ‘not-Yugi’ or the disguise Yugi puts up when he goes to town. They know there’d be less of a chance of them being recognized in a different country, specially just Yugi on his own, but they don’t wanna risk it.

I think eventually yugi and atem will reveal themselves when jou and ryou prove loyal friends, but it’d be some time before they do that. For the longest time, jou and ryou just think yugi’s this eccentric magic collector who talks far too much to his cat.

Yugi and atem will make some living doing small magic practices, ending up being mostly an apothecary than anything else because it’s simple and unobtrusive and living in the forest gives them lots of supplies. also people in this neutral country trust natural remedies a bit more than straight up magic, though yugi uses it while making any potions or poultices to make them more effective. Atem with his great memory and quick thinking ends up being a walking library, (not literally) devouring any book he comes across and collecting an even larger mental catalog than Yugi does. he swears his reading is just a past-time but yugi knows better.

they do sometimes like small bounties or clearing out any dangerous magical critters from the surrounding area but they do it quietly and under disguise to keep things safe.

One of Atem’s new skills turns out to be shape-shifting of some amount (separate from the shape-shifting that comes with his familiar status under Yugi)

Mainly he has to retain some sort of bipedal form, but he can add and retract wings, a tail, horns, scales and claws and other such details. He avoids anything hulking and monstrous like what Zorc forced him into in his awakening, choosing to always keep his human face and general form. His shapeshifting prerequisites are horns, claws, and some form of tail no matter how hard he tries to keep the tail from growing. That’s when his nub tail makes its most usual appearance, the shortest he can get away with (yugi loves it)

He can do some digitgrade-ness, or specific amplification like giant yaoi hand claws and stuff for offence if need be. he can’t like breathe fire or anything easily cause it requires more amplification to his body than he likes (his face/throat/chest) but if need be he’ll use it. The wings he’s never super fond of because he doesnt quite like the feel of multiple limbs he has to keep track of and coordinate, but Yugi convinces him to at least learn how to use them in case they ever need to use them. He’s glad that he can go without them.

In any of his altered forms his speed and strength is greatly intensified, as are his senses. the more he allows himself to shift away from human the more intense his demonic urges are (aggression, hunger for magical power, general nasty emotions and urges) so he sticks to as human as possible at all times. When he’s loafing around at home with Yugi he’s rarely in any altered form unless he’s feeling in a particularly good mood (self-confident) and he allows himself to be more open.

Also: Atem has a heck of a time trying to control his vices. His main one is gambling, though he manages to get his minor drinking problem under control with yugi’s help. Gambling is something that he just can’t seem to get rid of, but Yugi helps by setting safer stakes and bets for him to get his high off of, plus Yugi himself enjoys a good game and is a good opponent for Atem always.

So, I think this is the most of what I have so far for this au. I’d love to write it up one day, but it’ll have to wait ;v;

thank u for ur love!! feel free to ask me more stuff if you’re still curious, gives me more excuses to do worldbuilding. o/

#kudask #kudawrite #magic au #ygo #skyisthelimit112

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