#even if the game told us we probably just went downstairs to go watch youtube videos

[abimee]

every once and a while ill see smthn say nier was made because of a joke ending in a drak game but i always forget which game they say it is and never elaborate what that means but im excited to find out because what the fuck could be funny about any of this

[purplesurveys]

1827

Have you ever been afraid to get up and go to the bathroom? Yes, not because I imagine ghosts or because the night vibes are creepy – but because of cockroaches and lizards, lol. They come out at night and they will occasionally be the first thing you'll see when you switch on the bathroom lights, after which they'll frantically scurry away – and it's exactly the scurrying away that makes me jump back cause 1) you never know what direction they'll run off to, and 2) for cockroaches particularly, they MIGHT FLY.

Do you get any magazines in the mail? No, I was never subscribed to a magazine but this made me remember those little subscription leaflets they'd insert in every issue :') I never used them because we didn't have money for subscriptions.

How many websites do you have an account for? This is probably close to the 100s just because you kinda need an account for nearly every website to access their features.

Have you ever paid for any kind of online membership? Yes - I take care of my family's YouTube, Prime, Disney+, and Viu accounts; my dad covers Netflix. As for personal subscriptions, I have Spotify and a game I regularly play, for their perks lololol. Idk if it counts but there's also an animal shelter that offers a monthly membership tier and I pay for that as well.

Do you try clothes on before you buy them? No, takes too long. I just get my size and hope for the best.

Have you seen The Blindside? Haven't had any interest in watching it tbh, the plot doesn't really appeal to me.

What’s the best movie you’ve seen this year? I have seen a handful of movies this year but haven't thought of any of them as being the 'best' even just for this year. They were all just average hahaha.

Do you know how to fire a gun? Not at all.

What would you do if you knew a robber was in your house? Realistically, I'd take my phone and bolt downstairs to make sure the dogs aren't harmed; to hell with it if it makes me face-to-face with the robber. While protecting them I imagine telling a select trusted circle of relatives to call the cops, then I'll contact them myself.

Have you played the Sims 3, yet? I don't think I have. I've played 2 and 4, though.

What’s your favorite type of pizza? Four-cheese or barbecue.

Do you have a favorite local pizza place? I don't. I've only tried the big joints, and while we have a number of local ones they're all within the Makati area and it's just too far to travel to or even just order delivery from.

What are you afraid of? Physical pain and death of loved ones.

Have you ever been afraid of falling in love? Sure.

How do you let someone know that you like them? In the past, I told them in person and was straightforward about it.

Have you ever asked a friend to ask someone else out for you? Nope.

Who’d you last see in a tux? It was a formal awarding event so all the guys who were there were wearing a tux. Media, athletes, government officials... I don't really feel like expounding any more than that cause it was for work lol.

Were you sad when Tim Urban got sent home on American Idol? I don't remember being too bummed about it. Wasn't he the dude with the acoustic guitar? Not a big fan of the style so it was easy for me to move on lol.

What about Jason Castro, 2 years ago? I did not like Jason Castro as he was another one of the billion dudes who went in and out of that show with a guitar.

Do you record any TV shows and watch them later? We haven't done that since 2007 when Jump In! premiered on the Disney Channel hahaha.

Do you have difficulty pronouncing any words? I'll get tongue-tied with English sometimes but it's never a lasting difficulty.

Would you rather take a shower or a bath? Shower.

How many times do you shower in a week? These days I take a bath pretty much everyday haha so seven.

What brand’s your cell phone? Apple.

Have you ever sexted? Eh, yeah.

How many contacts do you have? A little over 200.

Do you have your own computer? I do.

Out of everyone you know, who was the most heart? Probably Andi. They pursue everything they're passionate about.

Who’s the bravest person you know? My mom is one of them.

Who would you want to have your back if things got tough? Depends on the struggle. There are things I'd rather share with my friends, others I'd rather confide with my dad.

Have your friends ever given you answers to homework, last minute? Yes.

Have you ever dated someone who was real sportsy? Nope.

Are you any good at writing? Yes, I like to write and have always wanted to be in a career where I can keep doing it.

What’s your favorite form of writing? Anything non-fiction. Have you ever given up on someone before? Yup!

Did you end up regretting it later in life? Nope!

Have you ever done something terrible, but took forever to feel bad? Not really.

Have you ever read Shakespeare? Yeah, we had to take some of them up in high school – R&J, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth.

What did you dream about last night? I'm not so sure I even dreamed anything. I slept like a rock because I had an extremely exhausting day yesterday.

Have you ever looked up the meaning to a dream? Sure, here and there.

Have you ever tried to change someone? Tried doing it once, never bothering again.

Can anyone really change anyone that doesn’t wanna change? From experience, no.

Do you think that anyone currently has a crush on you? Nope.

What profession do you admire the most? There isn't one I think of as being more significant than others.

Have you ever made a fake profile, for any reason? I don't think I have.

What’s the hardest lesson you’ve ever had to learn? The world will never stop for you, so learn how to be able to do things and deal with emotions on your own. Since my grandfather died in high school and all my teachers did were to reschedule my exams (because I needed to miss a few days to attend to his wake), I've been a bit more guarded and hardened and have tried to stop giving a fuck about other people.

What are you wearing right now? My Se So Neon tour shirt and shorts.

Do you miss your ex? Nope.

What’s the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Accent. Makes me easily tell if they're one of the rich airheads with no substance, or will be easy to talk to.

Have you ever questioned your sexuality? Sure.

If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be and why? To be old money so I can look at jobs as just side quests that I do for fun, lmao.

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Field of Flowers

Written for the Kidge Spring Event! 

Prompt 7: Daffodil | Unequaled Love, New Beginnings

Summary: It was just another normal day for Youtuber Katie "Pidge" Holt. She and her boyfriend were going to spend a few hours recording some stuff in Minecraft for their channels and then probably wrangle their friends into a few rounds of Among Us. Except Keith has a question designed to derail all of those plans. 

Also posted on AO3 under the username Kishirokitsune

��� - ❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀

Pidge settled in at her desk and took a look around to make sure there was nothing odd in the background of her webcam. There was only her cat, Tesla, who was relaxing in his carpeted tree, which was sure to thrill her viewers. On the desk in front of her were two monitors, one which displayed all of her recording details, as well as the service she and her boyfriend were using to communicate while they played. The bigger monitor was showing the main screen of Minecraft.

She put on her headphones and adjusted her mic. “Keith, can you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you. Everything all set up?” he asked.

Pidge glanced up at her webcam as she nodded. “Yup! I'm just going to put you on mute to run through my intro and then we can get started. You can hop in if you want and I'll join once I'm ready.”

“Sounds good. I'll see you in a few.”

She quickly muted the audio for his channel and gave it a few seconds to make sure she couldn't hear him as he loaded up their game. Then she sat up straight and began recording. “Hey, everyone! I'm TechOwl and today we'll be jumping back into Minecraft with the always handsome KHawkins. As always, there will be a link to his channel in the description and I encourage you to check out his stuff as well.”

Pidge hit join and easily found their usual world, typing in the password so she could join. She waited to unmute until the world had loaded in and caught Keith in mid-sentence when she did.

“...tower and arming it with bows and arrows, so I'll need to expand the chicken farm. Pidge will probably – hi, Pidge – probably help with harvesting flint,” Keith said.

“I'll see what I can gather up while I'm mining,” Pidge said as she opened her inventory to try and remember where she left off. She had a whole row of iron pickaxes and plenty of wood and coal, so she had probably come up to drop off everything in the vault beneath their house and to grab some food. “Actually, let me see what's in the Vault first.”

“You're back at the house?”

“Yeah, I think I was getting food. My bar's pretty low,” Pidge responded. She directed her character through the trapdoor in the corner and rode the ladder down 25 blocks to a room she'd carved out during their first few videos together. Double chests lined the walls and also had signs to go along with them. She went to the section for stones and took a peek into the box labeled 'gravel'. “We only have a stack of it. I'll go find more once I get some food. There's probably a vein of it somewhere in my tunnels that I haven't bothered collecting yet.”

“It'll be a while before I need it, so there's no real rush,” Keith told her. “I still have to build the watchtower and I won't get to that until I'm finished with the gardens.”

Pidge frowned as she went back up the ladder to get into the food chest in their house. “I thought we had way more gravel than that. Have you used any?”

“I used a few stacks of that and the sand to make some concrete a while back,” Keith said.

Pidge guessed that meant they were nearly out of sand as well. It was a bit of a venture to get to the desert biome where she'd harvested most of it, but that could wait for a while. “Anything else I can mine for you, oh-masterful-builder-of-the-world-above?”

“No, I think that's about it,” Keith responded, his tone light. “I thank you for your service, oh-lady-of-the-deep-earth.”

Pidge snorted with amusement as she grabbed a stack of food and ate until her hunger bar was full. She kept a few cooked pork chops in her inventory and put the rest back before turning to go back down into the complex labyrinth of her mine. She got halfway down the ladder before she swore and turned to go back up and fetch more wood, filling up the empty slots in her inventory so she could drop off the extras into the Vault. She kept one full stack of 64 wood blocks on her and then ventured through the double doors leading into the mine.

Pidge spent the next hour combing over her tunnels and collecting any gravel she came across using the iron shovels she specifically built for that purpose. She also collected a decent number of chunks of flint and took all of it back up to the surface with her once she was through.

All the while, she and Keith carried on a conversation for the sake of entertaining their audiences – their banter was often something that was most talked about between their fanbases, with numerous jokes gaining meme-like status. Their friends were fond of quoting those memes back at them whenever they played games together.

“Hey, where do you want all of this gravel and flint?” Pidge asked once she was back in the house. Once again, she had to pause to grab a snack from their food chest as she started taking hunger damage.

“Gravel can stay down there. I have a double chest at the bottom of the watchtower. The flint... yeah, go ahead and bring the flint up to me. I'm at the top. You should look over the edge and check out the garden from up here too. I'll stand on the side you should look over,” Keith said, sounding as though he was leaning away from his microphone. “Hang on, I've gotta run and get something. Go ahead and come up.”

“On my way,” Pidge responded.

She left the house and then looked up, spotting the watchtower immediately. It was a massive wooden structure that stretched high into the sky, though it didn't look like it was all the way up to the build height. She stopped at the base to drop off the stacks of gravel and then hopped on the ladder and rode it all the way to the top. It was there that she found Keith's character standing motionless to one side.

“I'll just drop these off here first,” Pidge said, cracking open the single chest that was next to the ladder. She dropped off the 24 flints and then backed out of the inventory so she could enjoy the sky-high view of the gardens that Keith had spent several sessions working on.

She hopped up on the side where he was standing and looked down. She could see the food garden off to one side, stretching down along the plot of land they took the time to flatten out. To the left of them was a field of flowers and as she looked at them, she realized they spelled something out.

“Wait...” she breathed as her mind caught up with what she was seeing.

Spelled out with red flowers was the question: “Will you marry me?”

Pidge tugged off her headphones and turned in her chair, ready to run downstairs and confront her boyfriend, but he was already there in her office, waiting for her with that soft smile on his face. “Keith?”

He walked into the room and knelt down in front of her, taking her hand with his own. “I've been in love with you from the first day we met. I didn't know it at the time. It took a few people pointing it out to me. Or, well, a lot of people,” he chuckled, “but eventually I figured it out. I never thought I would have the opportunity to find such happiness in my life and it's thanks to you that I have. I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you in it.”

Pidge hiccuped as she tried to breathe in, reaching up to cover her mouth even as tears of happiness began to spill from her eyes. “Keith...”

Keith cracked open a tiny black box and held it out for Pidge to see the slender silver ring inside. It was inset with three green jewels – not the traditional diamond, but she'd never been fond of those anyway. “Katie Holt, will you marry me?”

She nodded, swallowing thickly so she could try and get the words out. “Yes! Yes, I will.” She slid out of her chair with a breathless laugh and into his arms, unable to wait until he could slip the ring onto her finger. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and then another and another until Keith was shaking from laughter and had to ask if she even wanted the ring.

Pidge pulled away from him, a great big smile on her face as she held out her hand in response, allowing him to put the ring on her finger. And then she dove right back in, kissing him with all that she had to make up for her lack of words.

❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀

Bonus Scene

“Coran! Coran, you have to come see this!” Allura shouted in excitement.

She could hear him running down the hall from his office, where he was working on editing their newest video together, and was soon striding over to her side while asking if everything was alright. Allura responded with a smile and by hitting play on what she had been watching.

“...-ver the edge and check out the garden from up here too. I'll stand on the side you should look over,” Keith's voice came through the speakers.

Allura eagerly watched Coran and knew the exact moment when Keith's proposal was revealed by the way Coran suddenly squealed in delight. She glanced back at the screen in time to watch it fade away from the flowers and then fade back in with a photo of Pidge and Keith, who were smiling at the camera. Pidge held up her left hand so a beautiful ring could be seen. It was also accompanied by the words: “She said yes!”

“How exciting!” Coran said, grinning broadly. “We must do something to celebrate! Dinner, perhaps? I'll call Hunk and begin preparations!”

Before Allura could agree or disagree with his idea, Coran was gone. She laughed softly and took out her phone to send out a warning to the rest of the group so they wouldn't be too blindsided.

It was certainly an event worth celebrating.

[naturaldisasterfanfiction]

29.

“huh, what, what?” looking behind me half asleep, Robyn slapped my arm again “yes!?” turning around to see her “I think I am going to be sick, I need help getting up” letting out on oh, pushing the covers off of me. Robyn has been feeling like hell, she has not got out of bed for three days. I mean that could be dramatic, but she spends her days in bed, she has been feeling very unwell, the midwife said I had to watch her temperature and it’s been ok with that end but she is not doing very well, she is doubting the whole home birth thing now but I think she will be ok. She is tired, this girl is taking it out of her, she was sick just before I went to bed and I guess now again, running around the bed half asleep. I am tired and I wasn’t near enough was able to fix my dick in my boxers “come on” pulling the cover back, Robyn placed her hand over her mouth “don’t be sick here” now I don’t want that, swinging her legs around so they are hanging on the edge of the bed. Helping her sit up on the bed, she shook her head and started to cry “I don’t want to be” she probably ain’t going to make it to the bathroom “the trashcan, just hold off” running around the bed, she can least contain it in there and then I died a little inside hearing Robyn be sick, I just stopped in my tracks staring at the wall. She has been sick on the floor now; she has done it and I didn’t get the trashcan in time. Taking in a deep breath as I turned around, seeing Robyn head low as she is still being sick, why is this happening now. I am not feeling this, I am not feeling this whole pregnancy thing because honestly it is hard work this because when she was sick just before we went to sleep it went a little everywhere and I had to clean the floor, she making me work but then it makes me think, how she is always taking care of everyone else and now she needs me, but I may gag at this.

I gagged, that is nasty like it is so disgusting “oh god” I said seeing Robyn surrounded in vomit on the floor, the brand new carpet and it’s full of sick. Watching Robyn shakily wipe her mouth “I can do it” shaking my head “it’s ok, come to me” I don’t know how she will actually “wait there” climbing onto the bed “you going to need to trust me on this, stand-up” walking on the bed towards her, there is patch where we both can maybe just stand in. Climbing off the bed and standing in the spot “don’t cry, it’s ok. We can fix it” wiping her tears with my hands “I am going to pick you, just trust me” picking Robyn up, I grunted, I mean she is added weight and she is a little heavier “you lucky I work out, I mean I don’t but you know what I mean” climbing onto the bed, Robyn wrapped her arms around my neck, walking on the bed and making my way over to the other side. Stepping off of the bed “there we go, you want me to carry you to the spare room? I will do that, I will get some water for you too” carrying her across the room, I have no idea how I am going to clean that floor, because there is a lot of vomit on there.

“Don’t mind me” Monica said behind me, turning around “hey, I am just waiting on the baking soda to work. I googled it” I chuckled “I was going to do it, I came to help” I sighed out “I did it, it’s my wife you know. Who am I to not look after her, she does anything for everyone and the time she needs help, I am there. She is suffering, but the midwife said she is ok and that it’s signs that it’s coming soon. She was sick a lot, but yeah” I laughed “I am impressed Chris, really am. I hope that people see this” seeing Dennis, he would be here “morning” I said to him, Dennis is here with his camera “it stinks a little but erm, yeah. Robyn was sick on the carpet and I am cleaning it, she is not doing well. Did you see her?” I asked him “I did, she is asleep, so I came here” shaking my head smiling “just was getting the trashcan and then it happened, I died inside a little but then I got over it. It’s Robyn, I would do anything for her, not fucking up this time” I shook my head laughing, looking back at the carpet, looks like the carpet is clearing up good, it’s getting there anyway “I am so proud of my son in law” Monica said, which made me smile even more “we need to probably get a new carpet but it’s Christmas so we will wait it out. I think baby Fenty will be a Christmas baby, she wants to bless us but I think she is finding it comfy in her stomach. I am excited though” I really can’t wait to see our daughter “how are you feeling about the whole process? Witnessing Rihanna give birth, this is your first time?” Dennis asked “it’s the first time I am being able to witness the whole process and women do go through so much, I have so much respect for them. It’s scary, I feel scared but when I see my wife going through pain I get over it, I seen it all now. My love runs deep” placing my hand over my heart laughing “I feel like everyday you feel more love for my daughter, I see it. It’s beautiful to see” I cooed out “she is too kind” placing my arm around Monica “the people don’t know half of it” nodding my head.

I made Robyn some chicken soup when I said made. Monica helped me; she was there telling me what to do but I stirred it. I can make tomato soup, but Monica wanted to help me make this which smell so nice, I look like a butler with this tray in hand. Placing the tray down to open the door, peaking in seeing Robyn is asleep still. That is all she does, but I can’t blame her, picking up the tray and placing it on the side table. I don’t want to scare her awake so I will be gentle, walking towards the bed. Touching Robyn’ forehead with the back of my hand, she is not burning up so that is good news “Chris” she opened her eyes slowly “hey baby” stroking her cheek “I am embarrassed” her voice is croaky “don’t be, I got some water here” grabbing her bottle from the side “also some soup, made by me. Sit up for me” opening the bottle of water, Robyn shuffled up in the bed “I feel like shit Chris, so weak too” placing the straw in the bottle “I know that is why you are going to eat and make you better” holding the bottle as she drank “I cleaned up your sick, I did it” Robyn’ eyes widened, moving the bottle back “you didn’t? But how? I would have done it” placing he bottle back on the side table “I googled it, but I really had to scrub that shit once I scrapped that nasty shit from the floor, the thing is Robyn. I know you would do this for me, you are always there taking care of people so here I am doing this for you” picking up the tray “thank you so much Chris, like I don’t feel alone, you really are here for me. Like the way you just play around and think you can’t do it and you can, thank you. You have really stepped up as a husband, a real ass man for me” placing it on her lap “I want to do better for you” kissing the top of her head “you sitting with me?” she asked “yeah, I am coming back. I left my phone downstairs. Won’t be long” I should have bought it with me, Royalty said she was going to facetime me.

Robyn held the spoon out to me “taste it, it’s nice” looking away from my phone and at Robyn “this has really made you look better than you did earlier, you needed some good. What you wan me to make you later?” tasting the soup “hmmm anything Chris, I don’t mind it. Nothing heavy though, I just can’t take it. Something light for me” nodding my head “Royalty is on, I won’t turn it to you” answering the facetime, waiting for it to connect “oh it’s connected Royalty it’s on” Nia shouted and then walked away from the camera, pulling a face waiting on my daughter to come. My eyes widened when she finally arrived “did you see what I did!!” she shouted “a front flip? You finally did it with no help!?” I half shouted “yes, I am better then you now” nodding my head watching her run over to the camera “I just wanted to show you that” clearing my throat “you excited for Christmas baby? Uncle Barry been taking you to my house still?” Royalty pushed her hair back “yes, I went yesterday, oh my god. Dad seeing snow, you showed me that picture of snow. I am jealous, I really want to be there. Mom said if I am extra good next time I can, dad. Where is the baby? I saw meme and Acorn mom” I snorted laughing “what I say about you calling him that? Stop it, why did you see her anyways?” I know they are playing a game “I went to meme house and guess what dad, mom is not happy with me” what did she do now “Royalty, that is bad. Chris you need to tell her off” Royalty laughed as Nia shouted “I said I like Rihanna and I don’t like you, Rihanna is the best” I chuckled “oh wow, ok. Royalty you got to be nice now, we all dislike things but you need to not get involved in grown folk business” I need to be the adult “but it is true dad, where is Rihanna now. I have not seen her in forever. Doesn’t she like me?” looking over at Robyn smiling “she is here with me” I said smiling at her “oh my god!” Robyn is mean mugging me “wave to her” Robyn sighed “hey baby” Robyn reached over and waved “I told you mom, she knows me!” my daughter is so happy “you made her so happy, now stop asking” Royalty loves some attention from my wife, she is always craving it.

Dennis joined us on the bed “I have been editing some of the Chrianna doc, I think it’s fitting to call it that but just saying. And I have decided to collate the videos from youtube, from when you both was babies and in love, I think it’s something we need. I feel like it’s what the public deserve, I want to do this right. It’s such a big thing for me. So I have got some videos of you both, and made little trailer for you Instagram, when you are both ready” my eyes widened “so you want us to post this today? If we want” Dennis nodded his head “I mean it is down to you both, it’s like a coming soon thing. Fenty X Brown entertainment, it’s to show you are both serious. I made it and it’s dramatic but from what I seen when editing, there is so much of that. There is a lot sadness, and happiness equally but the sadness is what made me kind of sad to see so yes. I made this trailer and I hope you both like it” Dennis held his laptop out to me “it’s like thirty seconds to show what is to come” taking his laptop form him “I am nervous, anything Robyn looks at she hates at first” I can imagine “she will love it, won’t you” Robyn is quiet, he is feeling back pains so is not happy “just press play” Dennis came over closer to me and sat next to me on the bed “ok let’s do this” pressing play on the laptop “I feel like people only want me when I am doing good by them and it hurts, when I found out about being pregnant by a man they hate. I was scared and I shouldn’t have felt that” Robyn’ voice was the first to come up, and then the images came up of the scan and then a video of the baby shower “I just want to be happy” Robyn said in the video “I love Robyn more then I love myself and I was and have always been so unhappy without her” as the video of us in Mexico together played, looking at Dennis all wide eyed “I thought your camera was away?” he laughed “never stopped filming, I took that voice clip and I had to add it. But the video gives nothing away of marriage, so all is well” nodding my head, I feel choked up “Chris that is so sweet, baby. I love you too, I hate to know you was unhappy” putting my head down before looking at Robyn “I was lonely, but I was stuck” Robyn looked at me in sadness “I love you” leaning over to kiss her.

Robyn wants to come downstairs so I am helping her go down “my pussy feels so heavy right now Chris, not going to lie” Robyn rested her head against my arm, we are going to the elevator so we can go down “I can imagine, well I can’t but I can at the same time. I am proper sad to know how much you are struggling with this pregnancy, like I see it on movies, and it looks easy” Robyn laughed lightly “easy, it’s not. It’s awful, I just think that I have a lot of stress Chris. I just have a lot on my mind, and I want things to be good for us, I feel like I am battling everything with my life. People just continue to belittle us; they just want bad for us and I hate that. It does worry me when I do leave this bubble, how will people attack me. I want us happy too” pressing the elevator button and waited for it to come up “this is not good for you Robyn, no wonder you are actually draining yourself, you never just switch off. You are forever planning something, you are forever trying to make things better when in life shit ain’t perfect” opening the door and slide the gate open “come on” letting Robyn get on it first “it may go over the weight limit now” I joked “whatever, come to me. Stay close” stepping on and closing the door behind me, sliding the gate shut and pressing the lower floor “I understand Chris but that is just me, I like to please everything and everyone. I just can’t help it” shaking my head “no wonder this pregnancy is not good on you, you’re just so worried about everything” sliding the gate back open “I do Chris, sorry” stepping off of the elevator “hey boy” Zeus is here waiting, jogging over to him. Rubbing his head, Zeus is looking behind me and then he started to whimper running off towards Robyn, why is my dog sad. Looking behind me “oh my god” Robyn breathed out “it’s happening, she is coming” seeing the trickle of liquid on the flooring “oh no” Robyn held onto her bump.

[artisticestheticreads]

Off Script (3)

A/N: Haaaaiiii. Okay, sorry I have not been active on here.This chapter is really short but hopefully it would get better next chapter. So, this is the third chapter of the MBJ X OC series Off Script. I hope y’all enjoy it.

Warning: Super Short. Don’t judge me. I work management in retail and holiday season kicked my thick ass so yeah..

Disclaimer: I do not own rights to songs. Songs are from face claim’s own music.

Word Count: 2475

Today was the day that Candace was waiting for. The day everyone will know she was the new addition to Ryan Coogler’s new movie. She had to go to Comic Con to meet fans of Mortal Kombt with her old loved cast which made the whole thing less suspicious. She pulled out a sheer crop button down top with a pair of leather flare pants since she had to dress similar to her persona, Jade. She wore a long twenty four inch lace front with a part in the middle and tucked one side behind her ear. She showed of her right shoulder and stood in the mirror slipping into her heels. Her black bralette covered her chest nicely as always. She grabbed her backpack with water, a portable charger and her phone to make sure she was all covered. Geo walked up the steps in his usual get up and said “best friend, ready?”

“Yeah, my mom will be here taking care of the dogs since we gonna be all gone today.”

“That’s the plan. I’m real happy for you.”

“Thanks, G. Let’s get going. We needa beat traffic out there because muthafuckas don’t know how to drive.” They made their way down and Candace saw her parents on the couch. “Hey, y’all. I’m out. No parties while I’m gone, no boys, no drugs, alcoholic and no nonsense either.” Tanisha turned to her daughter and smiled. “Look at our baby, Tony. Just flourishing and what not.” Candace and Tanisha were like clones but just a huge age different. Tony turned to his women and laughed. Now, Tony could have past to be Terry Crews long lost brother due to his physique and bald head. She kissed her parents cheeks and said her goodbyes. They hopped into her cherry red 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Coupe with the top down, on their way to Comic Con. Candace asked for Geo to film like she did ever year. “Ok, guys. So today is Comic Con and the cast and I will have a real special announcement plus one for myself but y’all gotta wait for that. But let’s just say that I will be helping making history. I hope to see y’all there.” Geo made the camera pane to the sky as he cut the camera off. “Okay, now the filming crew will be there with us the whole time so you just gonna be guarding and what not”, she said to Geo and her nodded fixing his tie.

When they pulled up to the celebrity parking, she gave her key to valet as they both got out. “Alright, Terry just text me and told me they here already with Oliva and nem. We can get on the next elevator ride and meet them. After, we gotta meet with Ryan and talk about my entrance.” As she said that, Geo ran to the elevator door and held it open with his foot and left hand. “G, you are always so extra. I meant the next ride down beside it might be crowded”, she said with a laugh. When she finally made it over, she saw the cast of Black Panther II. She saw Ryan wink at her from the back as she stepped in. Lupita hugged her first before they began talking and then she turned to see Chadwick, Leticia and Danai smiling and waving with Michael standing to his Ryan’s left. “Y’all smell that? That’s that black magic”, said Leticia grinning and elbowing her on screen brother. Chadwick seemed happier since his lady Simone was no where around. Candy smiled as she laughed and said “I smell Oscars and then some.” Danai pointed to her and gave her a homegirl high five. Candy looked around and curiously asked “is Winnie not in the new movie?”

“No, he is. He is downstairs waiting for us. How come you’re here? Thought you were on vacation”, Lupita asked and Candy simply told them “well, Mortal Kombat is releasing a new project for the public. Well, I guess I can tell y’all. It’s a new video game with our faces in it. We basically are doing all the moves, voices and all. It’s pretty realistic. With me being a video gamer and anime fan, it was perfect to get involved in.” Chadwick dug his hands in the pockets of his black trousers and said “well, that sounds fun. I may have to come by the booth and check it out.”

“Please do. I would love that. Y’all can all come actually. If y’all like. Show some support, y’know?”

“I’m down”, Leticia said and so did the other except for Michael who just watched and nodded. Geo held his ear piece closed and spoke into it then to Candy. “Alright, baby girl. We arrive in five...” As he continued to countdown, Candace took a deep breath and smiled towards the door with her right leg out and hands on her hips. When the doors open, her camera crew was ready and her fans cheered her name behind the rope. She winked at her future cast and was off, doing her Jade model walk. She made it to her booth and began signing autographs. Ryan said that he would be ready at around 2:45pm and to wait by stage until he did the introduction; it was 12:39 pm, Chadwick came by around 1 pm and saw Candy. “Hey, there. Do you mind if I get a few autographs for my nephews. They’re fans of yours”, he asked handing them to her. She smiled and said “sure but I need yours for my god sons. Little boys been bugging me all week about it.” He knelt down as she signed the pictures and whispered. “Y’know, when I heard you know who got the part, I was upset.”

 Candace looked up to him and finally got what he was talking about; she looked up letting him continue. “I don’t see her like that. She can sing and dance but acting is not her thing at all. I heard it was a girl way better. She even came with her hair dyed and everything. To be honest, you would have been perfect. I’ve seen you as Jade and your videos of your African impression were spot on. And you look good in cat suit. But I’m glad you are taking time from all this to be with your family. Enjoy it while it lasts, baby girl. You have many of years to work hard. You’re still young, explore the world.”

“Thanks, Chad. I’ll be over there in a minute, okay”, she kissed his cheek as he placed the pictures in his bag and made his way. Candy smiled and bit her lip as she thought that maybe it was worth not taking a vacation for. Geo came to her side and whispered “let’s make our way. We got 45 minutes to get over there in time.” They made their way over, she stood by the stage waiting to watch them when she felt two strong hands on shoulders. She turned to see a familiar face. “Winnie”, she jumped into his arms as he swung her around. He wore a yellow sweatshirt with camouflage bottoms and yellow sneakers. He placed her down gently and asked “came to see me?”

“Of course I did, Sir Winston C. Duke.” They laughed as Angela Basset came by. “Look at my Delta baby. How are you doing, Miss Candace?” Angela gave her a big church mother hug and Candace replied with “I’m blessed.” Angela agreed with a smile and told Winston, “I’m sorry to interrupt but Ryan needs us backstage. We are about to start.” Winston nodded his hand before giving Candy one more bear hug. “Good luck, guys”, Candace waved and waited. Geo stood beside her, leaning into her ear. “They finna get a surprise on their hands, huh?”

“Sure are. Y’know Chad back there told me something at my booth a few minutes ago.”

“What he say?”

“He said I would have been perfect. But also said I have plenty of time to work.” Geo stood closer to her and asked “do you regret taking the part, now?” She looked at him and said “nah, but I am def taking a damn break after this one. A good year or so. Probably go back to Africa or something.” Geo nodded as they watched Ryan Coogler take stage. He wore black sweatershirt, jean, sneaker combination. “Hey, hey. How y’all doing”; the crowd cheered. “I wanna thank all of you for coming out to the Comic Con 2020. I am blessed to be back to direct for this new installment. We have an amazing cast for y’all and hope to top the first. Y’all ready?” The crowd cheered once again as Candace playfully covered her ears watching. “First off, we have the man himself. Give it up for Chadwick Boseman a.k.a T’Challa. KING OF WAKANDA!” The crowd went crazy as Chadwick strolled on stage being as smooth as always. He gave Ryan brotherly love and stood beside him. “Next up, we have the smartest princess of Wakanda. Give it up for Princess Shuri, LETICIA WRIGHT.” Leticia walked on stage doing a little dance that her and Chadwick did to make one another laugh and stood beside him. One by one, he called the others and lastly was everyone’s favorite villain. “Give it up for the prince himself, MICHAEL B. JORDAN.” Everyone went crazy when he approached the stage. He walked with a confident stride bowing to the crowd and do his signature hand pose.

  A woman with red hair came to Candace side and led Geo and herself to the backstage as Ryan spoke more. “Aight, so y’all must have heard what has been going on with the new member of the cast. Media been going crazy for the actress everyone thought we hired but I’m here to tell y’all none of that was true. The real actress is already here to make this announcement for you. Please give it up for one of the hardest working young ladies. Star of her own YouTube channel for fifteen years, Oscar and Tony winner, Angela Basset’s sorority daughter and her first role that got her where she is now. Give it up for Madam Slay herself… CANDACE ‘BABY GIRL’ MONROOOOOOOOE.” The crowd went crazy as Candace took stage, waving and smiling. Lupita and Angela were the first to run to her and give her so much love. Candace giggled as Lupita kept holding on to her and Letitia made her way to the group smiling and gave her a hug as well as Chadwick made his way over. He gave Candace a dap and a hug as they all made their way back in line. Candace stood next to Michael who paid her no mind. “Aight, aight. See y’all at the panel.” The cast all waved to the crowd and Chadwick was the first to step down, helping all the ladies down.

 An interviewer sat them down at a table where the women sat and the men stood. “Thank you guys for joining me”, the male said and they all nodded. “This looks a very well planned cast. Congratulations to the amazing Candace Monroe. How do you feel?” Candace smiled as she answered.

“Blessed. Blessed to be with such an amazing cast and blessed to just be here.” The man smiled with a nod and asked Chadwick. “Chadwick, how do you feel that you have a woman who does most of her own stunts like Miss Monroe here?” He stood behind her with his hands behind his back and said “feels great to have her on the team. I’ve been watching her since MK and I know she will bring a lot to the table.” Candace looked back and to the camera with her charming smile. The interviewer looked to Ryan and asked “Ryan, how was her audition?”

“She did really, really well. Madam Slay is the perfect character for her but it will also will be a challenge that I know she can handle.”

“How does everyone else feel?” Danai looked over to Candace then to the man and said “I am very happy. She is a talented individual that will do great,” Danai finished with wink to her. Angela hugged Candace’s shoulder and said “I couldn’t have said it any better.” Everyone agreed but Michael only nodded. After the questions ended, the group made their way to the panel and sat waiting for the Q and A portion. A woman dressed in a Jade costume stood at the microphone and asked “this is for Candace.” The crowded cheered and Candace leaned into her mic with a smile and said “yes, my sweet baby?”

“How do you think you would do in Black Panther?” Candace folded her hands and said “well, to be honest. I am a tad anxious. I always am when I take on a new role in anything I do. I’m nervous that I won’t bring anything to the table and let down everyone that believes in me. But, all I can do is try my hardest and do my absolute best.” The crowd clapped as she smiled small and Winston kissed her head. A man dressed as Killmonger in the museum scene said “this is for Mike. Michael, how you feel that you got a beautiful woman like Candace as your lady in the movie?” The group turned to him slightly before looking ahead. “I’m thankful. We might be a good pair but only time will tell. She got talent and she works hard so I’m a happy man.” Candace smiled a little as she sipped her water.

 Finally, the panel came to an end and the group got to just enjoy the rest of their time. Geo came to Candace’s side and asked “where to first, boss?” She looked up at him and flicked his ears. “Bwoy, you forget we friends huh?” Leticia laughed at the pair and said “well, I’m finna get out of here. I got a photoshoot tomorrow so I gotta take care of some stuff.”

“Okay, T. But don’t forget we start reading tomorrow and all month with training starting in two weeks”, Ryan said before she said her goodbyes. Candace played with her lanyard as she watched all the people pass her. She really was terrified on being Madam Slay but all she had to so was just hope for the better. “Well, I don’t know about you guys but I will be living my Comic Con fantasy and buy all the stuffies my little hands touch. Oh and get some food or what not.” They laughed expect for Michael who looked around. Ryan told her “I will text you the details in a few. Enjoy ya night, Madam.”

*𝕋𝔸𝔾𝔾𝔼𝔻 𝕃𝕆𝕍𝔼𝕊*

@muse-of-mbaku @im5ftbutmythroat66 @chaneajoyyy @melanin-samii @theunsweetenedtruth @doux-ciel @unicornluvin8765@vikkidc @wakandantings @thadelightfulone @mzamethystp@simbiann @tropicalsun10 @babydoll756 @notoriouslynay@vminax @quinsly @pinkdemolition @quietstorm-73@chaoticcashfancroissant @bugngiz @chocolatedippedinhoney@yafavcocoa @lostgalaxies @mbakuwife@youreadthatright@babygotl01292003 @acceptyourselfloveyourself @madamslayyy@yoyolovesbucky @theogbadbitch @wakanda-inspired@bitchacho25 @toniilaney @wakandascrystal@girlsneedlovingfanfics @raysunshine78 @melodyofmbaku@hearteyes-for-killmonger @silenceisplatinum @thickemadame@shookmcgookqueen @heykillmongerluhme@fonville-designs @cutewylie @allhailqueennel @10bsatatime @nickidub718 @lildashofmelanin @allhailqueennel @amirra88 @hakunalive4eva@thickemadame @ghostfacekill-monger @cherrystainedlipsbaby

[yoslavkage-kira]

Modern Day Terence D’Arby

// Request: "The only thing that sparked this idea for me was me wanting Terrence to play Smash Bros with Kakyoin actually"

"Oh, did you hear? Kakyoin's so good at playing video games!"

"Wow, what a guy! I could never do that kind of thing well."

"I know... I heard he won that contest downtown."

"Maybe we should have a tournament for the dorm!"

It was enough to make Terence go mad, as he walked down the hall of his dorm, passing by the lounge on his way to his room. The other guys were in there chatting about a guy who lived on the floor below them, Noriaki Kakyion. Terence had never met him, but had already deemed him to be his arch nemesis. Terence considered himself to be one of the best gamers you could find. He had been playing video games since he was an elementary schooler, and the years of practice had culminated in him winning a video-game design contest at the high school state level. Now that he was in college, he had a lot more time to play, and even started a video-gaming series on Youtube. Of course, none of his dorm mates had any idea of his expertise, so they were touting the skills of this Kakyoin guy.

Well, no longer. Terence wouldn't allow himself to hear any more. Clenching his jaw, he poked his head into the lounge where the conversation was happening. "You know what, go ahead and organize a tournament!" he told them confidently. "If you do... I will definitely beat Kakyoin and win!"

His friends stared at him for a moment, astounded that this recluse had actually been so bold... then they laughed. "Terry? Do you even play video games?"

Despite the teasing, Terence smirked. "Oh... you have no idea." With that cryptic statement, he turned and walked off out of sight, leaving his friends very confused.

Well, about a week later, it was announced: on Friday night, there would be a Super Smash Bros tournament in the dorm basement. A bracket was made, and Terence noted that the organizers had put him and Kakyoin on opposite sides. Perfect... Even though it would be satisfying to knock him out early on, the final fight will be much more entertaining for everyone watching! Terence loved it when the stakes were high.

The next day, he ran into someone on his way down the stairs. Like, literally ran into him. He let out a cry and managed to stay upright, but the other boy went tumbling down, spilling all the various folders he was holding. "Oops! Sorry!" Terence quickly ran over and offered him his hand. "Are you okay?" 

The boy nodded and gladly took his hand and stood up, gathering up his things. "I'm okay, don't worry about it!" The boy was about the same height as Terence and had a head of pinkish-red hair with a long, noodle-like bang hanging down. Terence felt like he'd seen him before. He smiled cheerfully. "Thank you... I've seen you around before, what's your name?"

Terence smiled back. "I'm Terence, Terence D'Arby," he introduced.

The boy's face lit up. "Oh! I've heard of you!"

Terence blinked. "Huh?"

"Yeah! You're doing the Smash Tournament tonight, right? I heard that you said you were really good! I can't wait to see you play!"

So, word had gotten out that quickly? Interesting. "Oh, yeah," he replied awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "We'll see, I guess, eh?"

"Yeah! You know I'm playing too! But I think we're n different sides of the bracket, so we won't end up playing each other uless we both make it to the finals." The boy tilted his head. "I'm Noriaki, by the way, Noriaki Kakyoin!"

The name shocked Terence to his core. What! This guy is Kakyoin?! Terence immediately stiffened, becoming a bit cold. "Oh... cool. Well, see you tonight." Without another word, Terence turned around and ran down the stairs, leaving Kakyoin behind and a bit confused at the sudden tone change.

I can't believe it! That prep is the Kakyoin? Who won the street fighter tournament downtown at the Arcade Bar? Why was he being so nice? He's probably toying with me... that condescending prick! I have to beat him now... whatever it takes!

After practicing all day, Terence eventually grabbed his Switch and headed downstairs to the basement, seeing that there were a lot of guys and girls there already, getting their equipment set up. It was a "Bring your own Switch" event, but most people had brought enough to share. Terence held his equipment close to his chest, not sure what to do, then heard an infuriatingly familiar voice: "Hey, Terence!"

He whipped around and spotted Kakyoin approaching, a sickeningly friendly expression on his face. "Ooh, is that your equipment? You use the Gamecube Controller!?" He started to get excited and pointed at the controller Terence had for the tournament. "That's awesome! I use the Joycon controller myself."

"Huh, that's great." Luckily, the event started, and Terence was saved from any more conversation with him.

Terence was filled with a cold determination, which let him easily dispatch the other players in his bracket. "Wow, Terry, you're a MONSTER!" one of his friends cheered as he defeated yet another opponent. "I had no idea that you were this good!"

"Of course you didn't," Terence replied curtly, turning away to go check the updated bracket. Everyone in my life underestimates me... but I've always proven them wrong! And I'll prove them wrong tonight!

As he suspected, there was just one person dominating the other side of the bracket: Kakyoin. He was finishing up his last match... and then it would be time for the final.

"Alright! The last match!"

Everyone cheered as someone hooked the Switch up to the projector and pulled the screen down. Everyone was gathering around the couch, excited to see who would win. Terence quietly took a seat, quickly joined by an enthusiastic Kakyoin. "Oh, yay! It's us! Isn't that great!" Kakyoin grinned, causing Terence to swallow a groan. Just one more game... and this would be over. He would win everlasting pride. "Who's your Main?"

Terence smirked and selected his character. "Ridley," he replied smugly.

Kakyoin's eyes widened. "ooh, nice! Mine is Toon Link."

Toon Link?

TOON LINK!?

"Interesting."

The match started. Terence got ready to do his usual opening move, but Kakyoin's Link immediately jumped out of the way. What?! In an instant, Kakyoin administered a deadly combo, damaging Terence immensely.

No! Wait, hold on, what's he doing? Kakyoin's fingers were like lightening, moving across the controls and hitting again and again. It was all Terence could do to jump out of the way. He jumped a little too far, sending Ridley off the edge. "Wait! No!" He failed to save it and Ridley fell off the stage, dying immediately.

The crowd cheered. "Wow! Go Kakyoin!"

Terence narrowed his eyes and glanced at Kakyoin. His cheerful demeanor had melted away into the same icy determination that Terence had.

... He's memorized every move, every combo, and every glitch this game has, hasn't he?

... I'm going to lose, aren't I?

As the next match started, Terence moved like a machine, dodging and staying alive the best he could. His mind was far away, thinking about the boy beside him. Kakyoin, who seemed like some carefree idiot... he was a badass beyond anything Terence had experienced before. Maybe there was more to him than met the eye after all. And maybe... it wouldn't be too bad to lose to him, either.

And that's what happened. Terence only managed to score one point on Kakyion before he was taken out.

"Yay! Kakyoin wins!" Everyone cheered.

"And Terry, too! He did great! Give it up for the best gamers in our dorm!"

Terence's face heated up when he realized that they were cheering for him as well. "Hey." He looked up at Kakyoin, who was standing up, smiling again. This time, it wasn't so annoying.

"Good job, Terence." He held out his hand. "Good game!"

Terence smiled, and clasped his hand in his own, giving it a firm shake as he was pulled to his feet.

"Good game, Kakyoin."

[salamandrinanana]

Two weeks into quarantine

Well, plus 3 days now. Took me a bit of time to get on my laptop without anyone looking over my shoulder constantly. 

Quarantine started for me with not physically being able to leave the house for a few days. I never expected those planned “few days” to turn into two weeks, but then on day 2 it was announced that all universities were going to close the next day, which was quite a shock to me. I didn’t expext for things to change that quickly and I don’t know how long things will stay this way. Here’s a bit about how those two weeks have been, who knows how many will follow:

- I’ve been outside for 2 hours max. in these two weeks. Felt oddly reassuring to see that my town hasn’t changed at all. First time out was on day 8 or 9.

- Stayed awake for 39 hours at the beginning of it all. Not fun. And not by choice. I was in too much pain to relax. Got myself dosed up on ibuprofen and slept for 12 hours straight.

- I had exactly one online class. I hated it. Felt really weird and I kept losing focus. Also: group discussions don’t work when you’re thrown in a seperate chatroom thing and your random group members are all afraid of turning on their mic so nothing ends up happening.

- Apart from that online class I haven’t done shit for uni. Can’t focus at home with my brother working in his bedroom a.k.a. constantly calling people and my mother watching TV downstairs when she isn’t at work.

- I’m now in week 1 of 3 of what was supposed to be my official exam period with midterms and shit. I’ve got 3 exams that are going on as normal, because I had to do those at home anyway and there’s one that’s going to be changed a bit so you can do it at home. We’re only going to get 2 hours for that though, normal time for the exam, which absolutely sucks. For the others I have 2 weeks.

- I actually started writing a story. Me. Writing. Never thought I’d get to that point. Progress is really slow, I’m only 2.5k words in and there are lots of details I’m still unsure about and I have no idea wtf is supposed to happen in it yet, but hey I’m writing. It’s about a girl discovering she has superpowers. It’s terrible. She finds out when she tries to kill herself about 500 words in. Yikes why is my brain like this. Oh right because I’m an idiot and my childhood wish of being able to fly has come back to haunt me and I’m telling myself to never try to commit suicide. Writing this is a bit of a weird way of doing it though.

- I also tried digital drawing on this Autodesk SketchBook app. I sort of finished my drawing and it kind of looks how I wanted it to, but I am never going to try that again. Three days of endless fucking pain and getting cramps in my fingers.

- My random obsession with the Chernobyl disaster is back. I’ve spent a lot of time on YouTube watching “stalkers” illegally entering the exclusion zone and staying there for a few days. Fascinating stuff. Would never dare to go there myself.

- I went back to one of those game sites for children that I used to spend hours on as a kid. Because fuck it. (Logical combo of course: Chernobyl and dress-up games; that shit happened on the same day.)

- Looks like I haven’t lost my ability to recognise a Depeche Mode song in 0.4s in the SongPop app.

I’m also pretty good at recognising Neubauten, though they’re kinda hard to find in the game.

- Witnessed Blixa Bargeld making broccoli soup. Possibly the best hour in the whole of these two weeks. He danced!!! 

- Got a phone call from my university's study abroad coordinator. Was told that none of the universities I wanted to go to (Glasgow, Brighton and Manchester) were possible for me. Which is a rare thing, that none of your choices work out; of course that shit happens to me, I seem to be a magnet for bad luck! I somehow managed to keep it together while on the phone, but I was ready to scream or cry. Not sure which. Both have not happened yet but still possible. Now I'm looking into the other options she gave me. Will probably end up going to Leeds. If it's even possible to go anywhere by that time with this whole corona bullshit situation. Well, at least I haven't been rejected...

- Ready to kill my mother and brother because they will never understand how goddamn terrified I am of phone calls. They always think I'm stupid and exaggerating, while they haven't felt my heart pounding in my chest whenever my phone rings. I'm always scared of not knowing what to say. When it's an unknown number it's even worse, having absolutely no idea of what to expect.

- Finally watching series 7 of Endeavour on a Belgian TV channel. 

And, last but not least:

- The VHS Tapes Adventure

I found a big shopping bag full of VHS tapes and dragged out the old VCR. Six of the tapes contained footage of tiny ass kid me and my brother, who’s two years older than me.

I had never seen these tapes before, so it was a bit overwhelming. I had no idea we had footage that actually included sound! All the stuff I had seen before was made with a crappy camera with no sound.

I saw myself when I was less than a day old. I saw myself walk at 10 months. I heard myself slowly learning how to talk. I saw myself in one of those typical “child tries something new to drink and is totally amazed by it” moments, drinking coca cola and immediately demanding more. I saw my now dead grandmother, holding me, playing with me, and I heard her voice again. I cried.

God, it was so overwhelming; and it was weird to actually use a VCR again, last time I did that was over 10 years ago. I had one fuck-up though followed by a bit of a panic attack. I think the VHS went in at a slightly wrong angle, there was lots of noise and then it came out with some tape sticking out of it. God I was terrified, I had never experienced that before and we don’t have backups of any of that childhood footage. I ran to my mum and cried like a baby. She fixed it and was not really worried.

Also, I was left slightly pissed off. I witnessed all of my brother’s birthday parties, starting with his first, but the only birthday party I saw that was for me was when I turned four. Also, there’s a lot more footage of my brother in general. And I know it’s completely stupid, and I get that it was different with my brother because he was the first child, but it still makes me feel bad. 

.

.

.

I know there probably won’t be anyone reading this, or getting this far, and I know all of this is not relevant to you even in the slightest, but it feels good to write stuff and share it somewhere at least in the knowledge that someone out there might read this and possibly care? We're in a weird situation right now and I don't really have anyone to talk to. I only speak to other students (I don't really dare to call them friends - we just sort of talk when we see each other but not really outside of that) when I see them in person, so I have not been in contact with them at all these past weeks. This is the only place where I can share stuff now, also because this is the only social media account none of my family are aware of. And it’s really good to have something away from them so that I don’t have to feel embarrassed.

[marigoldhotel]

Flirt Coby Brock Fanfiction

Flirt Colby Brock Fanfiction

Part 2

Colby Brock

c.b

word counter: 3,021

(marigoldhotel)

Synopsis: After Jake tells Colby he doesn’t have feelings for Y/N, things start to change.

It had been a few weeks since that night occurred. Colby would constantly play it back in his mind. The way Jake coolly told him he wasn’t interested in you. The way Colby tucked you in and kissed your forehead sweetly. The way he felt knowing he actually had a shot. It was almost as if that single night was burned into his head forever. He told Sam about what Jake had said, hoping for advice. He was met with the same response he always received.

“Just talk to her, dude.” Sam said, sitting in his room editing for a new YouTube video he was due to post.

“Okay but, what am I supposed to say?” Colby asked, pacing. “I don’t want to make an ass out myself.”

“Dude, you’re just over thinking this. It’s a simple conversation. You tell her how you feel, and you ask her how she feels. That’s it.” Sam rolled his eyes, pushing his blonde hair away from his face.

Colby kept pacing. It had been eating at him for a while. He wouldn’t say it was the only thing he thought about, but it did take a big part of his mind. He wanted to get over it already, to tell you and to get a response and be done with it, but when he saw you, his head went blank and he could only think about how cute you were. He told you it too. That had changed. He flirted with you more openly.

“You look so beautiful in that dress.” He commented one day while you were filming with Jake. Your cheeks turned pink when he said it. Jake stared at the both of you, and smirked. You hadn’t given him a response then. He kept trying.

“I think you shine brighter than the sun.” He said another time while the group had gone out to the beach. You laid next to him tanning, and he couldn’t help but stare at how undeniably gorgeous you looked in that bikini you had recently bought. You blushed even harder that time.

“Might want to get your eyes checked if that’s the case.” You responded, your voice teasing. He laughed, and the group was rooting for the both of you on the side lines. Colby took whatever chance he could get to mention how absolutely beautiful you were. You had to admit you loved when he complimented you. It made your heart race, your nerves run on end. You, in turn, became more touchy with him. You would hold his hand more often than not, twirling his rings in your hands, your head on his chest. Colby noticed you stopped flirting with Jake as much. You figured that the way Colby flirted showed you actually had a shot. The stars maybe were aligning in your favor.

“Dude, stop pacing, you’re going to break a hole in the damn floor.” Jake spoke up, standing in the hallway. Colby stopped in his tracks, groaning.

“Sorry man, I’m just over thinking I guess.”

“Your girlfriend is downstairs.” Jake said, rolling his eyes as he walked into his room. Colby ran his fingers through his hair, his heart skipping a beat. It was crazy how much he liked you. He had never felt this way about anyone.

“Have fun.” Sam said, bringing him out of his thoughts. Colby rolled his eyes and made his way downstairs. There you were, sitting on the countertop as you watched Aaron cook his egg whites. Your legs were hanging from the side, your sneakers bumping against the side of the counter.

“That looks good.” You commented, grabbing the hot sauce bottle Aaron had left out for his meal.

“I know something that definitely looks good.” Colby spoke up, and you looked over your shoulder, laughing lightly. You put the hot sauce down.

“Really? Because I see something that looks even better than good.” You retaliated, looking him up and down, biting your lip. Aaron fake gagged.

“Jesus, get a room.” He said, turning the pan off. You both laughed, and you slid off the countertop.

“Can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.” You shrugged. Colby snorted, and you sneaked a small glance at him, admiring him secretly.

“You’re here early. You usually come after noon.” Colby stated, admiring the way you looked in your outfit.

“Well, I couldn’t today!. I’m on official business.” You stated, trying your best to sound formal. Colby laughed, and neither of you had noticed that Aaron had left the room.

“Official business? Like what?”

“I’m going to film with Jake for YouTube. We are going to the craft store to buy paint and we are going to take best friend quizzes. If we get a question wrong, the other person gets to paint the person who got the question wrong. Whoever wins at the end gets free food.” You smiled, your hands fiddling with the hem of your white shirt.

“Hm...” Colby mumbled, looking up at the ceiling.

“What?” You asked curiously.

“If you really just want free food, I’ll take you out. No paint needed.” Colby smirked, and you laughed. Jake bounded downstairs, finding you both in the kitchen.

“Ready to go, Y/N?” He asked. You nodded, and Colby cursed Jake in his mind.

“Maybe I’ll take you up on your offer some other time.” Y/N winked, and made her way out. Colby watched her leave. Jake followed behind, looking back to give Colby a thumbs up. The door closed distantly, and Colby was more than excited. He technically got a date with the girl of his dreams whether official or not. It had to be a sign.

“Nice one dude.” Aaron said, putting his plate back in the sink.

“Progress, I guess.”

A few days had passed after that, and you had decided to take him up on his offer. It was the crack of dawn when you had called him. He answered, and you could hear the sleepy sigh through the screen.

“Colby.” You whispered, your nails rapping against the headboard of your bed. You had to admit, you were up pretty late. It was unlike you to be up at this time. But you couldn’t stop thinking about the way he had asked you to go out and eat with him. You wondered if he had really meant it, or if he was just toying with you.

“Hey beautiful, he whispered back, his voice raspy and thick with sleep. It sent shivers down your back.

“Remember when you said you would take me out to eat? ‘No paint needed.’” You quoted him, and you could hear him laugh softly.

“Something like that.” He responded, shuffling in his bed. He checked his clock. It was a little over 5 in the morning.He hadn’t slept very much, but it was fine if it meant talking to you. “Where do you want to go? And when?”

“McDonalds. Now?” You asked, chewing on your bottom lip mindlessly.

“Now?” He asked, even though he was already slipping on a pair of shoes.

“Could we?” You asked, sitting up. Colby agreed, and you both rushed to get ready. He was at your house in 20 minutes. You laughed, the both of you looking a mess.

“Nice shirt.” You teased, getting into the passenger side. He rolled his eyes, and you closed your door behind you.

“I like your unicorn pants. Very cute.” He retaliated, and you snorted, putting your head on his shoulder. He looked down, smiling softly. He geared his car and you both drove into the night, listening to whatever was on the radio, yelling along to the lyrics. Colby drove to the farthest McDonald’s he knew, just to spend more time with you. You guys ordered way too much food, and had the music on way too loud. It was perfect, you both thought to yourselves.

“You want to know something?” You said, turning to him, hamburger in your hand. He looked at you, grabbing a box of fries from the huge McDonald's bag.

“Yeah.” He responded, turning the blaring music off. You looked at him, his big bright blue eyes captivating you. You almost told him you loved him. You almost spilled your heart to him right there and then. But something caught in your throat, and you couldn’t.

“I think tonight might be the best moment I’ve ever had with anyone.” You said instead. He grinned at you, and your heart melted.

“I think any moment with you is the best moment.” He spoke, shifting himself in his seat. He was closer to you, and you could feel his cool breath on your skin. You shivered.

“Really?” You asked, your eyes drinking in his perfect face and you couldn’t help but notice how beautiful he looked under the fluorescent lights of the store near you. He nodded, his tongue running over his bottom lip. He neared closer to you. He almost kissed you. You were waiting for it eagerly. He was so close to pulling you closer and sealing the deal. But he held himself back. He pulled a loose strand of hair to the back of your ear and instead pulled away. The both of you were breathing hard. Your cheeks turned red, and you looked away, embarrassed. Then, an awkward silence draped over the atmosphere of the old car. You both ate in silence. He cursed at himself for missing the opportunity. You sighed, the fantasies that had been playing in your head washing out. You decided he probably only liked you as a friend. All of the flirting and the teasing was only a game. You felt so disappointed in yourself for thinking it could’ve been more. It was so quiet, you both noticed.The only words either of you spoke up after that was goodbye. He had driven you home in silence. No music, no speaking. You smiled at him weakly as you closed the door behind you, making your way up to your lonely apartment. He watched you leave, wanting to yell out to you and ask you to stay, but he was too afraid. Whatever progress he had made with you in the course of the past few weeks was completely lost. You went back to flirting with your other friends, and you and Colby went back to the rhythm that he hated. The constant staring at each other and not speaking. You hated flirting with everyone else. You didn’t feel the rush you used to. Not when you had an exhilarating moment a few days ago. Neither of you had talked about it since then. But it didn’t matter. Everyone noticed the shift in dynamic, but no one said anything.

“Did you pack the beach towels?” Sam yelled across the room, and you watched as the house was getting ready for the excursion. You had come extra early, beach ball and towel in hand. You loved going to the beach, mostly because it was with your friends.

“I think we’re ready dude.” Colby rolled his eyes, walking downstairs. “Anything else and we won’t have space in the cars to actually get to the beach.” Jake walked in behind him, carrying a huge float with him. You laughed, and got up to help him.

“A swan?” You smirked, and he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, dude. Swans are tight.”

“Definitely not.”

“Whatever, you don’t know the power of this floatie.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. You’re too cute.” You snorted, trying your best to shove the floatie in the back of Jake's car. Colby watched you, grumbling. He got in his car, and the rest shortly followed suit. You jumped into Jake's passenger seat, and played the most obnoxious music known to man. Jake got serious all of a sudden, turning the music low. You pouted, your head leaning on the glass.

“What is going on with you and Colby?” Jake asked, rolling the windows down to let the cool air flow. You looked at him at a sideways glance, and shrugged.

“We are just friends. Nothing is ‘going in’.” And you laughed, but you knew that he wasn’t buying it.

“We all know you’re both in love with each other. A few days ago you couldn’t keep your hands off him, and now you don’t even look him in the eye.”

“I flirt with everyone.”

“But you only got that twinkle in your eye for him. What happened?” He looked at you, the traffic now coming into full view. You definitely had no escape from this. You sighed, recounting that night.

“I thought I did have a chance. It was perfect. He looked so... angelic. And he was there. And he leaned closer and I thought he was going to kiss me. But he didn’t. “ Jake got quiet, his hands on the wheel. “I thought he liked me, but I guess not.”

“Just because he didn’t kiss you does not mean he doesn’t like you.” Jake stated. It frustrated you how nonchalant he was being about it. As if he knew he was right.

“He has the opportunity to kiss me, and he didn’t. That shows that he is definitely not interested in me.”

“Have you asked him?”

“No. We haven’t talked since that night.”

“You two haven’t talked at all. You guys could have a real shot if you both weren’t such pussies.” You glared, putting the music up.

“Can’t hear you!! I’m listening to this amazing song!” You yelled, clearly annoyed. He rolled his eyes, lowering it down again.

“You can deny it but you know I’m right. You’re going to lose someone you love because you’re too scared of getting rejected. And he is too. You both are annoying, dude.” He chastised you, and you sighed.

“You’re in a good mood today.”

“ I am. I just wished you would let Colby know how you feel. It’s depressing seeing you two stare at each other like kicked puppies.” His voice softened, and he cracked a smile at you. You couldn’t help but smile back. A few cars behind, Colby was driving, thinking about it too.

“I should’ve kissed her, man.” Colby groaned, his eyes facing forward. Kat was in the back, and Sam was next to him. He was swapping through the channels mindlessly.

“It’s not even that. If you would just tell her how you felt instead of wishing she magically knew, then things wouldn’t be so tense.” Sam said, and Kat agreed.

“She likes you. I think maybe even loves you.”

“She keeps flirting with everyone though, it’s hard to tell what she’s thinking.”

“She wasn’t flirting with anyone else when you guys were sort of flirting with each other. “ Kat reminded him, and he shrugged.

“What if it’s too late? She’s back to being putty in Jake’s hands. It’s annoying.”

“She’s flirting with everyone else except for you because she probably thinks you’re not interested in her. “Kat replied “They’re only friends.”

“She also only looks at you. Constantly.”

“I guess...” Colby sighed, turning towards the direction of the beach.

“You need to talk to her. This time it’s serious. You don’t want to lose your chance right?” Colby shook his head. He knew they were both right, but he didn’t admit it. The conversation changed around him, but he stayed quiet in his seat. In your car, the mood has lightened and you were singing and laughing with your best friend, and you had to admit you felt a little better. An hour later, you were all settled on a comfortable spot on the beach. Towels were laid out, and everyone was relaxing. It was hot but not completely unbearable, and the water was clear as a crystal. You were out in the water, looking for seashells seashells to take home. Colby saw this and furrowed his eyebrows. He thought for a while, as he usually did. He knew that everyone was right. If he let himself make excuses, he would lose you. It was now or never. He shouldn’t be afraid of this, not when he had done so many dangerous things in the past. He made up his mind, standing up.

“Where are you going?” Sam asked, sitting on one of the lounge chairs.

“I’m going to do it.” He said, and walked towards the direction of the water. They guys looked at each other, and Jake smirked.

“Ten bucks they’re not gonna keep their hands off each other for the rest of the night.” He spoke up, and they all laughed. Colby ran towards you, sneaking behind you. You were looking down at the water, your toes wiggling in the sand.

“Boo.” Colby snuck behind you, and you jumped a bit in your spot. You looked behind you and pouted, splashing him with water.

“Jesus Colbs. You scared me...” you whined, and he laughed, his fingers running through his hair.

“I wanted to talk to you.” Colbs admitted, and your heart started to pump faster. You looked out to the ocean, biting your lip.

“About what?” You asked, and he grabbed your hand.

“About that night....”

“I know what you’re going to say, Colby.”

“You don’t. We are both running around the problem because we don’t want to actually face it.”

“What is there to face? You don’t like me. We are just friends.” You shrugged, and Colby groaned in frustration.

“I do like you! I really like you. You’re beautiful, and I can’t get your smile off of my mind.” He spoke up, and your eyes widened.

“What?”

“I want nothing more than to go back to that night. I wanted to kiss you. But I held myself back. I was afraid it wasn’t what you wanted.” He admitted, and now his heart was racing with yours, the both of you staring into each other’s eyes.

“You-.” You paused, and you couldn’t help but laugh. He stared at you, confused. “Jake was right.”

“Right?”

“Colby. You’re the one thing that’s always constant in my mind. I like you too. Really like you. I do.” You smiled, and he pulled you closer, kissing your forehead sweetly. You looked up to him, and your lips interlocked. His hands snaked to your hips, and your arms wrapped around his neck, grinning like an idiot. You could hear loud yells from the sand, and you could see Jake running around in circles.

“Fucking finally!” He yelled, and all your friends yelled. You laughed, and Colby laughed with you.

That was a night you would never forget.

THE END

A/N: There you go! Part two has been posted! I hope you like it. It made me so soft omg I love this imagine Sm it’s so cute. Anyways, send me requests! I love hearing from you guys. Love you 😘

[btshogwartsauheadcanons]

The Chaos Next Door (pt. 2)

Pairings: Gamer!Taehyung x Pianist!Yoongi

Summary:

What happens when a famous Gamer/Youtuber moves into the apartment in front of a nationally-renowned genius pianist?

A. Lots of bickering and name-calling B. Self-discovery (the kind that only happens in fanfictions) C. The two fall in love D. All of the above

Whatever it is, it’s pure, utter, chaos.

Ratings: Fluff, slight Angst, Slow Burn

Featuring: Matchmaker Kim Seokjin, Namjoon as the Barbecue Destroyer, Hoseok being the Most Caring Boi, potential JiKook (and some betting), and much more Taegi

Word Count: 10.7k

A/N: Finally here’s the second chapter! Sorry this took so long I kind of got busy and there were quite a few scenes here that were difficult for me to write. I originally planned having a few members in the fic but now all seven of them are involved somehow :/. 

Part 2 of 3.

(read part 1)

“I can’t believe you live next door to V Gamer, the Youtuber who I’ve been following and loving ever since he released his first video, and Closet Gamer, another Youtuber I’ve been following and loving, and you didn’t even think of telling me!” Seokjin ranted by way of greeting when he and Hoseok went over to visit Yoongi.

“I did think about telling you, I just thought it would be funny not to,” Yoongi shrugged and grinned, before reaching for the plastic bag full of food that Seokjin brought along.

“No!” Seokjin yanked the bag away, making Yoongi pout. “You don’t deserve any of the special Kim Seokjin soybean paste stew!”

“Come on, just let it go,” Hoseok grinned and thumped Seokjin on the back.

“Don’t think you’re out of this either!” Seokjin huffed. 

“Yoongi-hyung probably didn’t tell you about it since he kind of hated Taehyung at first,” Hoseok nudged Yoongi. “By the way, why don’t you tell us about your night?”

“What night?” Seokjin asked.

“We got stuck in a maintenance closet,” Yoongi explained. “And I guess we had time to talk things out while we were there because we finally managed to fix the whole dilemma of having noise-related jobs.” Then, as if on cue, Taehyung’s yelling came bursting through the door.

“GOT IT! TIME TO JUMPSTART THE GENERATOR EVERYONE, AND HOPEFULLY NOT DIE ALONG THE WAY!” It was his time now to game since it was noontime. Taehyung offered to keep his DIY soundproofing up during this time but Yoongi told him not to worry about it during the day. Partly because he wasn’t sleeping, and partly because he was pretty much used to his voice at that point. Or maybe because he kind of liked it already.

“Is that… him?” Seokjin pointed at the door with wide eyes.

“That’s the door,” Yoongi said sarcastically. Hoseok burst out laughing.

“I can’t believe it… one of my favorite Youtubers… just two doors in front of me…” Seokjin reached a hand towards the door longingly.

“Hey! I thought Jimin was your favorite Youtuber,” Hoseok pointed out.

“Shut up, you know I can’t dance nor can I follow Jimin’s dance steps or covers,” Seokjin waved him off.

“Well, now that you’ve finished fanboying over my neighbor, can we please eat lunch?” Yoongi asked, reaching again for the bag in Seokjin’s hands.

“I guess you’re forgiven since we have great ambience here,” Seokjin gave the bag to him.

“Weirdo,” Yoongi rolled his eyes but accepted the food gratefully. He only knew how to cook simple meals by himself, ramyeon and egg being his most common menu item. He took advantage of the opportunity to eat Seokjin’s delicious home cooking whenever he could.

A few minutes later, Seokjin’s soybean paste stew along with some other side dishes, courtesy of Hoseok, and cooked rice, courtesy of Yoongi, were laid out on the table. It had been two weeks since Yoongi last saw Hoseok, even longer since he last saw Seokjin. The two of them knew how close Yoongi’s next piano competition was going to be so they gave him some space to work. Of course, Yoongi was grateful for their consideration but he still couldn’t help but feel lonely.

However, he did find himself feeling a little less lonely now that Kim Taehyung was around. Most of the time the two of them were holed up in their respective apartments but they did have their little interactions when they bumped into the convenience store nearby or when they picked up their mail downstairs. Now that they weren’t annoying each other, it was very rare that they knocked on each other’s doors now.

But speak of the devil.

“Do you think that’s him?,” Hoseok said when the sound of knocking interrupted their conversation. Now that Yoongi noticed, he wasn’t hearing any of Taehyung’s shouting so there was a strong chance it was Taehyung.

“Oh my god!” Seokjin stood up. “He’s here! Should I change into my cool jacket?”

“What are you, going on a date?” Hoseok laughed as he watched his hyung panic.

“Just sit tight and don’t do anything weird,” Yoongi ordered Seokjin and walked to the door to answer it. Standing outside was Taehyung wearing what appeared to be purple, striped pajamas. He seemed to have a thing for the color purple.

“Ah, Yoongi! Just the person I wanted to see,” Taehyung grinned.

“Yeah, you literally knocked on my door…” Yoongi said.

“Sorry, was I interrupting anything?” Taehyung asked.

“Not really,” Yoongi shrugged. “I was eating lunch with my friends.”

“Wow, you have friends?” Taehyung teased. Yoongi rolled his eyes but smiled at the joke nonetheless. He beckoned Hoseok and a still-nervous Seokjin to come to the door.

“This is Hoseok, you guys met before,” Yoongi said.

“Nice to see you again!” Hoseok grinned. “Thanks for taking care of this guy and not murdering him in the maintenance closet.”

“I think I should be thanking him,” Taehyung smiled at Yoongi.

“And this is Seokjin-hyung,” he continued, gesturing at Seokjin who looked like he was about to faint. “He’s a big fan of yours, as you can see.”

“Ah, Yoongi told me a lot about you,” Taehyung nodded at him. “Thanks a lot for watching my videos.”

“It’s amazing to see you in real life!” Seokjin grinned widely. “I’ve watched all of your videos! Including that livestream when you disappeared.”

“I think that one’s my favorite,” Yoongi muttered. Taehyung glanced at him and another smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Thanks again for watching. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you and everyone else,” he bowed slightly but sincerely. “Also, I really wish I could’ve changed into something other than pajamas if I knew I was meeting a subscriber today.”

“Seokjin-hyung doesn’t mind,” Hoseok said, still chuckling at Seokjin’s giddy reactions towards Kim Taehyung.

“I don’t mind,” Seokjin shook his head quickly.

“He wouldn’t mind if you run him over,” Yoongi shrugged.

“Well, I came here to invite you to my housewarming party,” Taehyung said. “I know it’s like a few weeks late but that’s kind of how long it took for me to fully unpack my belongings. I invited Jungkook and Namjoon-hyung to come and I was hoping you could make it too.”

“Gee, I don’t know,” Yoongi looked at the distance between their two apartments. “Looks like a bit of a stretch to me.”

“Is he always like this?” Taehyung sighed and looked at Hoseok and Seokjin. The two nodded quickly.

“I’ll see if I can,” Yoongi nodded.

“Oh, you guys are invited to if you can make it,” Taehyung said to Yoongi’s friends.

“R-really?” Seokjin stammered.

“I’ve always wanted to meet a fellow subscriber,” Taehyung said sincerely. “As long as you don’t disclose the location of my apartment to anyone, you’re free to come. Also, Jungkook’s a big fan of your channel, Hoseok.”

“Th-thanks,” Hoseok blushed and smiled from the appreciation.

“He just didn’t say so when he first saw you. Kookie’s a bit shy,” Taehyung added. “He also loves your fellow dancer’s channel, Park Jimin right?”

“That’s him!” Hoseok nodded. “Want me to bring him along too?”

“Sounds great,” Taehyung said. “Let’s give Jungkook the shock of his life!”

“I think we’re getting the shock of our lives,” Seokjin laughed.

“It’s this Friday, by the way,” Taehyung added. “I hope to see you all there.” Yoongi made a mental note about it. He knew he still had to practice on that day but maybe stopping by for an hour or two wouldn’t hurt. ‘Maybe I can cook something too. Something that isn’t instant noodles, I guess,’ he thought.

“See you there!” Taehyung grinned and waved before going back to his apartment.

“Yah, who would have thought I’d be invited to by favorite Youtuber’s party,” Seokjin sighed and placed a hand on his chest. “My heart feels like it’s going to burst.”

“Wow, never would have guessed,” Yoongi snickered and sat back down at the table to resume eating his lunch.

“Seriously, it’s so frustrating that my non-gamer best friend is Gamer V’s neighbor,” Seokjin pouted. “Hey, Yoongi! Want to—”

“Nope,” Yoongi cut him off before he could fully say his request.

“Come on!” Seokjin groaned.

“He’s gotten used to Taehyung already,” Hoseok grinned at his hyung. “I guess he isn’t that much of a nuisance anymore, right hyung?”

“He can still get annoying,” Yoongi looked down at his food. “It’s just that it’s going to be hard moving my piano again.”

“Yoongi’s such a tsundere,” Seokjin shook his head and resumed eating.

“Am not!” Yoongi protested.

“He is,” Hoseok nodded at Seokjin as if he hadn’t heard anything.

“Why do I even invite you over to my house?” Yoongi sighed.

“Because I make better food,” Seokjin chuckled and high-fived Hoseok. Yoongi scowled but finished the rest of his stew anyway and got seconds. Seokjin did make better food than he did.

…

For some reason, Yoongi found that Taehyung’s invitation to his housewarming party made the week seem even longer. Not even the hardest piano exercises and endless repetition could keep him thinking about what to bring to the party. He expected Seokjin to be the one who was restless but he hardly even called Yoongi to rant about how excited he was.

That meant Yoongi was left alone to fret over this simple housewarming party. And Alexa, of course. After all, there was no one better suited for helping Yoongi search for cooking recipes.

“Chicken pieces, potato starch, gochujang, sesame oil,” Yoongi read out his shopping list to himself as he climbed up the steps to his apartment carrying a bag of groceries. He had a tendency to check and double-check things, especially shopping lists, to make sure he got everything right. As soon as he got to his floor he spotted Taehyung standing in front of his apartment, still wearing his pajamas, checking his mail.

“Morning, Taehyung,” Yoongi greeted. His neighbor looked up at him and smiled sleepily.

“Hey…” he said faintly in a hoarse, raspy voice.

“What happened to you?” Yoongi frowned and pressed the back of his hand against Taehyung’s forehead. “Are you sick?”

“I kind of… exerted my voice,” Taehyung chuckled and gently removed Yoongi’s hand. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

“You must have been yelling a lot,” Yoongi remarked.

“It was a 5-hour livestream,” Taehyung explained. “But it’s for charity so it’s worth it.”

“Well, you better rest up then,” Yoongi stepped back towards his house. “Drink some tea or something.”

“Will do,” Taehyung saluted. “Oh, do you need help with the groceries?”

“No, no, I got it,” Yoongi hastily shook his head. “I’ll see you later, okay?” Taehyung cleared his throat, attempting to choke out a reply, before changing his mind and waving before Yoongi entered his apartment. Once inside, he carried his bag of groceries to the kitchen and laid out all the ingredients on the table.

“Alexa, read out recipe for spicy fried chicken,” he said out loud. Alexa beeped.

“Reading: spicy fried chicken recipe. First, wash chicken and marinate with salt, pepper, soy sauce, pepper paste, and sesame oil…”

About half an hour later, Yoongi really wished he had paid attention to Seokjin’s cooking lessons. But then again, he never really imagined himself in a situation wherein he was stressed out trying to cook for his neighbor’s housewarming party. ‘I should have just ordered some from a nearby restaurant,’ he thought as he carefully dropped a few more pieces of chicken in the frying pan.

“Ah—AHHH!” he yelled as the hot oil crackled and splattered on his hand when he dropped the chicken in. Yoongi bit his lip and shook his hand to numb the pain a bit. Why did cooking have to be so hard? He ran a hand through his hair and surveyed the mess in the kitchen that he had to clean up soon before his eyes landed on the plate of hot fried chicken. Yoongi already tried a piece beforehand and, to his surprise, found that it did taste quite good.

“Hopefully they’ll enjoy it,” he said to himself and carefully turned the chicken pieces in the pan using a pair of tongs. An image of Taehyung’s boxy grin floated up in his mind and Yoongi cried out again in surprise when the hot oil crackled again.

“Ahh! They better enjoy this!” he yelled frustratedly and backed away from the pan.

…

“You invited who?!” Jungkook exclaimed as soon as he heard the news from Taehyung.

“Jung Hoseok and Park Jimin,” Taehyung said, or rather, rasped, nonchalantly as he hung up some colorful streamers that Jungkook brought over for the party. “They were Yoongi’s friends so I thought why not invite them? You know how friendly I am around people.”

“Aish, I can tell you have a different motive for this,” Jungkook said irritably. Taehyung bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. Jungkook may be complaining at the moment, but later on he’ll be grateful to Taehyung for bringing in his favorite Youtubers. “You could have told me sooner so I would have worn something cooler.”

“Like another white t-shirt?” Taehyung raised an eyebrow at him. “How unique.”

“Shut up,” Jungkook threw a plastic cup at him which Taehyung dodged.

“You can wear my clothes if you want,” he offered. “I think I have a jacket somewhere there.”

“Thanks,” Jungkook nodded and headed to Taehyung’s room. Taehyung finished fixing the last of the streamers and fixed the plastic cups over by the drinks table. The chips and dip were ready on the coffee table and the pizza that Jungkook ordered was on the kitchen counter as well. Apart from his sore throat, Taehyung knew that everything was going to go well this evening.

“Does this look okay?” Jungkook asked, emerging from his bedroom with a black, denim jacket thrown over his plain, white t-shirt.

“You could use a tie,” Taehyung joked.

“Yeah, maybe a top hat while we’re at it,” Jungkook added. The sound of knocking on the door caught their attention.

‘Might be Yoongi,’ Taehyung thought as he walked to answer it. After all, he lived the closest. Instead, he saw his old friend, Kim Namjoon, standing in front of his apartment. Seeing him didn’t stop Taehyung from breaking into a wide smile and hugging his friend.

“Ah, hyung!”

“Nice to see you too man,” Namjoon grinned and hugged him back. “Congratulations on your new apartment.”

“Thanks! Come in!” Taehyung ushered his friend in.

“What happened to your voice?”

“I had a five-hour livestream,” Taehyung explained. “But it’s getting better.”

Jungkook-ah! You’re here early,” Namjoon greeted and hugged Jungkook as well.

“Someone had to come and help Taehyung with setting up,” he replied.

“Hey, my apartment’s not that messy,” Taehyung pouted.

“Yet,” Namjoon and Jungkook chorused.

“Anyway, I brought some meat that we can grill,” Namjoon added, holding up a grocery bag. “There are some hotdogs there too.”

“Ah, hyung’s really generous today,” Taehyung grinned and took the bag from him just when he heard another knock on the door. “I’ll get that. Can you start grilling these in the kitchen?”

“Got it,” Namjoon nodded and took the shopping bag back. Taehyung opened the door to find Seokjin, one of Yoongi’s friends, holding a huge cloth bag.

“Hello!” he greeted. “Am I too early?”

“Not at all,” Taehyung cleared his throat and shook his head.

“Let me guess, that’s from the five-hour livestream last night.”

“Yup,” Taehyung sighed and invited Seokjin in. “Nice sweater, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Seokjin grinned and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Jungkook.

“You must be one of Yoongi’s friends,” Jungkook said and waved hello politely. Taehyung could easily tell how awkward he felt being around a subscriber. He knew that the ones Jungkook met would often crowd his personal space, something that he didn’t like, which was why he was a bit hesitant around them. But based on his first meeting with Seokjin, he could tell that even though he was a big fan, he wasn’t someone who would do that.

“Wow, this is probably the climactic moment in all my twenty-seven years of being alive,” Seokjin sighed and dramatically placed a hand on his chest.

“Where’s Yoongi?” Taehyung rasped, looking around.

“He said he’s still cleaning up the kitchen,” Seokjin said. “He cooked something apparently and so did I!” he said while lifting the bag he was carrying onto the table and removing containers of food. Jungkook watched him with wide eyes.

“Wow, you made all of that?” Taehyung exclaimed.

“It’s nothing,” Seokjin shrugged. “I work for a caterer and as a part-time food blogger,” he grinned.

“AHHHH!”

Taehyung looked up with a start to find Namjoon standing in front of a flaming gas stove. “Turn the fire down!” Seokjin yelled, running quickly to switch the dial on the stove back to a medium flame. Everyone in the apartment, including a shocked Namjoon, sighed with relief.

“I thought this was going to be a literal housewarming party,” Jungkook looked wide-eyed at Taehyung.

“Sorry, everyone,” Namjoon apologized.

“Don’t worry, the meat isn’t burnt… yet,” Seokjin announced. “I can handle the grill here.” Even though he’d been standing in front of the stove for barely a minute, Seokjin was already seasoning the meat and adjusting the heat like a real pro.

“I trust you,” Taehyung grinned. “You can ask Namjoon-hyung for help too.”

“I’ll go get plates or something,” Namjoon said sheepishly.

“Hey, Taehyung-ah,” Taehyung felt Jungkook nudge his shoulder. He turned around to find the younger boy already eating one of the lamb skewers that Seokjin brought along in one of the containers. “This tastes amazing. Thank god you invited that guy.”

“Go on and tell him that yourself,” Taehyung chuckled and reached for a lamb skewer himself when another knock on the door was heard.

“Ah, that must be Yoongi,” Seokjin said. Taehyung quickly handed his skewer to Jungkook, who accepted it gratefully, and headed to the door. He quickly checked his hair and clothes before greeting his neighbor.

“Hey!” he said, wincing slightly after hearing how his voice sounded.

“Man, your house sure was hard to find. I got lost twice,” he joked. Taehyung chuckled as he let Yoongi in. He usually saw him dressed in jeans and a hoodie or a t-shirt, kind of like Jungkook. But today, Yoongi was wearing a dark blue, long-sleeved, button-up shirt and dark jeans with a matching shoulder bag. Taehyung would usually suggest not wearing dark colors all the time to his friends but he had to admit that Yoongi’s clothes played well with his skin tone.

“I’m glad you were able to still make it despite the heavy traffic as well,” Taehyung added.

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe the traffic,” Yoongi grinned and held up a baking dish wrapped in foil. “By the way, where I can set this?”

“I’ll take it,” Jungkook offered, still chewing on a lamb skewer. Yoongi handed the dish to him and Jungkook set it down carefully on the table of food. “Wow! Spicy fried chicken!” he exclaimed after peeling off the foil.

“Wow, did Yoongi cook?” Seokjin appeared from behind the kitchen counter holding a plate of grilled meat. “He must really like you, Kim Taehyung.”

“I do know how to cook, Seokjin,” Yoongi crossed his arms.

“Ahhh, you sure cooked a lot,” Taehyung grinned when he looked at the tray full of fried chicken. “I feel so touched, Min Yoongi,” he placed a hand over his chest and smiled over at his neighbor.

“It was pretty easy, cooking it,” Yoongi shrugged and scratched his arm. Even behind his raised-up arm, Taehyung could spot a small, shy smile on his face. “You better finish everything.”

“It’s really good,” Jungkook said, chewing a mouthful of fried chicken.

“Really?” Seokjin raised an eyebrow. Jungkook nodded and offered the piece of chicken he was eating for Seokjin to take a bite. The older man chewed for a while before looking at Yoongi with wide-eyed surprise. Yoongi smirked and shrugged a shoulder.

“Well, you’re already getting friendly with him,” he remarked. “Weren’t you nervous just a while ago about meeting one of your favorite Youtubers?”

“Food brings people together,” Seokjin answered. Jungkook nodded beside him.

“When are Hoseok and Park Jimin coming?” Taehyung asked Yoongi.

“They texted me saying they’re on their way,” he answered. “Oh, before I forget…” he reached into his shoulder bag and handed Taehyung a warm thermos.

“What’s this?” he asked, curiously opening the thermos and taking a sniff.

“It’s for your throat,” Yoongi said. “Ginger tea with a little bit of honey. It always works for me when I have a sore throat.”

“Wow, thanks…” Taehyung said gratefully. He decided to take a sip of the tea to hide the giddy smile that was about to spread on his face. Yoongi was just being concerned about him, why did he have to get all hyped up about it?

“So, how is it?” Yoongi asked. The tea was pretty spicy due to the ginger and sweet because of the honey but when Taehyung swallowed, he could really feel it soothing his throat.

“It’s really spicy but with a surprising sweetness too,” Taehyung described and raised an eyebrow at Yoongi. “Kind of like someone I know.”

“An annoying old turtle?” Yoongi joked.

“An annoying old turtle,” Taehyung nodded and looked over at the rest of his friends.

“The meat is all grilled,” Namjoon announced, setting the plate of grilled pork over at the food table where Jungkook was still eating. “But not by me, thank god. Seokjin did all the work.”

“Are the slightly burnt pieces grilled by you, hyung?” Jungkook laughed.

“Yeah…” Namjoon sighed.

“Don’t feel bad,” Seokjin patted him on the shoulder. “Practice is all it takes.”

“I should learn how to cook too,” Jungkook muttered and reached for another piece of Yoongi’s fried chicken. “Instead of just making ramyeon.”

“Same here,” Namjoon agreed. “Jungkook-ah, you have some sauce on your face.”

“Where?”

“Here,” Seokjin took a paper napkin and used it to wipe the corner of Jungkook’s mouth.

“Thanks, hyung,” Jungkook nodded.

“Your friend sure gets along well with other people,” Taehyung chuckled as he watched the trio.

“He and Hoseok always were the more social ones among the three of us,” Yoongi smiled at his friend. “Seokjin was kind of like the Mom Friend in our group. And apparently it still shows around his favorite Youtuber and your other friend.” As he spoke, Seokjin was handing out more paper napkins to Namjoon and Jungkook while they were eating.

“That’s Namjoon-hyung, the friend I told you about. I think you would get along with him,” Taehyung said and took another sip of tea. He could already feel his voice getting a lot less raspy.

“More than I get along with you?” Yoongi looked up at him. Taehyung, for some reason, almost choked on his tea.

“Well, we are getting there,” Taehyung said once he recovered. To his relief, he heard someone knocking on his door again. He excused himself from Yoongi for the moment and headed to the door, all the while wondering why he had that kind of reaction earlier. But then again, he had to admit he felt a bit giddy again when Yoongi mentioned that they got along.

Taehyung exhaled, as if that could help, and opened the door.

“Hello!” Hoseok greeted with a bright smile on his face. Taehyung felt as if he was staring into the sun. Beside Hoseok was another boy, roughly around Yoongi’s height, with blonde hair and a sweet, slightly shy smile on his face.

“Not at all, you guys are just in time,” Taehyung invited them in. “You must be Park Jimin, right?” he asked the shorter boy.

“That’s me,” he nodded. “I’m a big fan of yours by the way, too.”

“He jumped to the ceiling when he heard the invite,” Hoseok chuckled and patted Jimin on the shoulder.

“Well, someone else did the same thing when I invited you guys,” Taehyung grinned cheekily and led them to the kitchen area. “Jungkook-ah! Hoseok and Jimin are here!”

“Closet Gamer Jeon Jungkook…” Jimin breathed out in awe. Jungkook turned around with his mouth still full and once his eyes landed on the new guests, started to choke on his food in surprise.

“Nice to… meet you…” he greeted in between coughs.

“A-are you okay?” Jimin rushed over to his side. “Do you need water? Seokjin-hyung, could you get some water?”

“On it,” Seokjin hurriedly fetched water.

“Get ahold of yourself Jungkookie,” Taehyung bit back a smile as he patted his friend’s back. “He’s a big fan of you and Hoseok by the way,” he told Jimin.

“U-us?” Jimin looked at Jungkook in surprise. Jungkook swallowed and hurriedly took the glass of water from Seokjin.

“Aish, he’s really shy,” Taehyung explained.

“What took you guys so long?” Yoongi asked Hoseok.

“Learning a new dance,” Hoseok replied, setting the box of cake he brought on the food table beside everything else. “It’s a bit tough to learn and Jimin kept on making mistakes.”

“So did you, hyung!” Jimin protested.

“Maybe you should replace him with me,” Seokjin joked. “I’ve got the moves and the looks too!” he winked.

“Your viewer rating will rise by eighty percent,” Yoongi joined in.

“Wow, show us a sample then, hyung,” Hoseok clapped.

“Sample? You want a sample?” Seokjin challenged. He put down the plate of food he was holding and started to dance, or rather, flail around with his arms. Everyone burst out laughing.

“Namjoon-hyung can dance too,” Jungkook laughed and pointed at Namjoon.

“Dance Monster!” Taehyung cheered and Namjoon broke into a series of half-assed breakdancing moves.

“With this, the viewer rating will rise by one hundred percent,” Yoongi laughed.

“This really is starting to feel like a party now,” Taehyung grinned as he looked at everyone.

“How about you make a toast or something?” Hoseok suggested.

“Good idea,” Taehyung nodded.

“I can start serving the drinks,” Yoongi volunteered. Minutes later, everyone was gathered around the food table with a cup of soda in their hands, except for Taehyung who opted to finish Yoongi’s tea.

“Everyone, first of all I want to thank you so much for coming over to my party,” Taehyung began. “I don’t mean to brag or anything but even though having a lot of subscribers makes me feel less lonely, it’s different from having a group of friends I can eat with. And even though I’ve only known most of you for a while, I hope we can all hang out again from time to time.

“So, here’s to old friends, new friends, and less annoying neighbors,” Taehyung raised his thermos and glanced at Yoongi from the side. Yoongi smiled and shook his head but raised his cup anyway.

“Cheers!” everyone toasted.

Taehyung expected his party to be a bit awkward from the start, especially considering how shy Jungkook might be around his favorite Youtubers. But in the contrary, everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun and engaging in conversations left and right. Namjoon, Hoseok and Yoongi were talking about their favorite music while Seokjin, Jimin, and Jungkook were busy playing one of Taehyung’s board games. The last time he had this much fun was with a group of friends during college. But unfortunately, he lost touch with most of them except for Namjoon-hyung and Jungkook. Maybe this time, he had a chance to start over again with a new group of friends.

“Man, this fried chicken really is good,” Taehyung smacked his lips as he finished another piece.

“Right?” Seokjin said. “He must have really worked hard on this.”

“Earlier he said it wasn’t such a big deal though,” Taehyung wondered aloud.

“He has a thing for downplaying his gestures of kindness,” Seokjin waved him off. “But that guy is really sweet.”

“Really?”

“Yup,” Jimin spoke up. “I haven’t known him for as long as Hoseok-hyung and Seokjin-hyung but he’s been really kind to me. Once, he went with me and Hoseok-hyung to our audition at a talent show. I didn’t pass and Yoongi-hyung found me crying outside the room. We only knew each other through Hoseok-hyung at that time but he invited me out to lunch.”

“That sounds like something he’d do,” Seokjin smiled to himself.

“I know he doesn’t have much experience with failure,” Jimin continued. “But he sure knew what to say to me back then.”

“Is that so?” Taehyung looked around to find Yoongi deep in conversation with Namjoon and Hoseok.

“Yoongi-ah doesn’t show emotion much but he is a pretty sensitive guy,” Seokjin added. Taehyung remembered the conversation the two of them had back at the maintenance closet. It sure felt like Yoongi was opening up to him about things, but at the same time, Taehyung wondered what else he still kept inside.

What struck him the most was Yoongi’s story, the one that wasn’t included in the short online biographies about him. Taehyung knew what it was like to have people judge his dreams and goals in life, but here was now making them come true with ever video he released. But Yoongi, he was still stuck in a position his parents forced him into.

It wasn’t any of Taehyung’s business exactly, but he couldn’t help but want to step in.

“I’m getting more food,” Seokjin said, picking up his plate. “You should eat more too, Jimin.”

“Oh, let me get some,” Taehyung offered. “You guys just sit tight.”

“Can you get some for me too?” Jungkook asked.

“Alright, alright,” Taehyung nodded and walked over to the food table. Even though everyone brought quite a lot of food, almost all of it was finished. Hoseok and Jimin were especially hungry from dance practice and Jungkook probably finished half of the lamb skewers. And of course, everyone seemed to love Yoongi’s fried chicken. Taehyung piled some of that on a plate for the others.

“Someone’s eating for two.” He didn’t even have to turn his head to know that Yoongi was standing beside him.

“Four, actually,” Taehyung said, gesturing over at the coffee table where Seokjin, Jimin, and Jungkook were still playing the board game. “But then, their appetite probably accounts for eight people.”

“That must be why Seokjin-hyung brought so much food.”

“So, how’s practice going?” Taehyung asked. “Your competition is next week, right?”

“Yeah,” Yoongi nodded.

“You’ve pretty much got it in the bag,” Taehyung chuckled. “Your playing is perfect.”

“We’ll see about it,” Yoongi shrugged. “Do you… want to come watch?” Taehyung blinked in surprise at the invitation.

“Y-you don’t have to, of course,” Yoongi stammered. “I mean, you might be busy and the competition is a bit boring and—”

“I’d love to come watch!” Taehyung said hurriedly. “I’ve never been to one before.”

“Great,” Yoongi smiled. “We can get something to eat after.”

“How about a movie?” Taehyung offered.

“If it has something with animals in it, it’s a no for me,” Yoongi looked at him seriously.

“Very funny,” Taehyung rolled his eyes.

“I wonder what your subscribers would think if they found out about your dark secret.”

“You really are an annoying old turtle,” Taehyung sighed and shook his head while Yoongi laughed. Taehyung felt that weird giddy smile making another appearance on his face. No matter how annoying Yoongi was, he’d probably make five hundred furry jokes about himself just to see him laugh.

“Taehyung-ah! The food!” Jungkook whined.

“Aish, it’s coming,” Taehyung called back., slightly that annoyed that his conversation was interrupted. Suddenly, he heard a phone ringing and Yoongi reached into his pocket to pull his phone out. After glancing at the caller ID once, Yoongi frowned and put down his drink.

“Sorry, I got to take this,” he apologized.

“Sure,” Taehyung nodded and watched him excuse himself out of the apartment to take the call. He was curious as to who could be calling Yoongi and why he looked so uncomfortable and considered maybe eavesdropping from the door when the rest of his friends called him over to eat again.

…

“Hello?”

“Yoongi, how have you been?” his mother answered.

“I’m okay,” he mumbled and picked at his shoelaces while he was crouching down outside by the wall.

“Have you been practicing for the upcoming competition?”

“What else would I do?” Yoongi sighed as he felt himself getting increasingly uncomfortable as the conversation passed. His mother rarely called him, a good thing really, since Yoongi found himself having difficulty listening to her voice and the underlying tones of pity and sometimes hostility.

“You’re right,” she said. “You have learned your lesson after all. You’re good at quickly picking up on things.”

Yoongi fell silent. ‘And you know how to hit the right nerves,’ he thought. Of course she would bring up that gala, the only time Yoongi didn’t hear applause after playing. His parents sat in the front row on that day, it made it easier for Yoongi to see the looks on their faces.

“If you called me for a reason please say it straightforwardly,” Yoongi said through gritted teeth.

“Alright. I’ll be coming to watch your competition,” his mother finally said. “I’d like to know if you still play perfectly after all these years.”

“I can send you the medal when I’m done,” Yoongi said, disregarding how harsh his tone sounded. “There’s no need for you to come.” No way was he going to allow his mother to meet Taehyung or ruin their plans for that night.

“Don’t disappoint me,” was all she said. Yoongi resisted the urge to throw his phone. “And Yoongi…”

“What?”

“Don’t forget, this is the life you chose for yourself.” And with that, she hung up.

“You don’t have to remind me,” Yoongi whispered and put down his phone. He had already chosen the music life ever since he persisted playing piano and joining competitions. All the fame and praise got to his head and Yoongi found himself dreaming further. It wasn’t unlike that story about Icarus, the boy with wings who wanted to fly even higher. And like him, Yoongi found himself falling instead of flying further the moment the piece he worked weeks on composing was met with disappointment.

It was better for his wings to remain clipped and tied to the ground. After all, he could only go so far with music.

From where he was outside, Yoongi could still hear his friends having fun in Taehyung’s party. During his years in the conservatory, Yoongi often skipped out on parties and hanging out with his friends. He was extremely lucky that his friends were understanding about it. For once, he even thought he could actually enjoy himself in a party. But even with those things, Yoongi could only go so far.

He stood up, hesitating a bit before Taehyung’s door, before turning around and going back into his own apartment.

…

“Hey, where did Yoongi go?” Hoseok asked, sitting next to Taehyung on the couch.

“He said that he needed to take a call,” Taehyung replied and gestured at the door. “He’s outside but he’s been gone for some time too.”

“I see,” Hoseok pulled his phone out and texted a quick message.

               to: yoongi-hyung (forever brother)

               >>> hey are you okay? you’ve been away for a long time

A reply came just a few seconds after.

               from: yoongi-hyung (forever brother)

               >>> mom called

               >>> i’m practicing. haven’t done it all day

Hoseok cursed under his breath when he saw the message. Taehyung looked over at him.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yoongi-hyung said that he’s going to practice now,” Hoseok said and put his phone away. “I guess he felt nervous about it since he hadn’t practiced all day.”

“What’s there for him to be worried about? He’s a genius,” Taehyung frowned.

“Taehyung, has Yoongi-hyung told you anything about his life?” Hoseok asked. At the sound of his serious tone, Taehyung looked attentively at him.

“Yeah, he told me about the gala and his parents and why he joins a bunch of competitions,” he said.

“Wow, that’s quite a lot,” Hoseok smiled slightly. “He seems to trust you pretty well.”

“I was hoping that he’d trust me more…” Taehyung muttered. “I… I see him as a friend too.”

“You’re a good guy Taehyung,” Hoseok patted his shoulder. “I’ve been friends with Yoongi-hyung since we were in middle school so I kind of saw everything that happened. He looked so happy when he was composing his piece for the gala but then afterwards… he just wasn’t the same.”

“I can imagine,” Taehyung nodded.

“He may be a grown man but I still worry about him,” Hoseok admitted. “Music used to make him smile but now he’s just overworking himself learning pieces again and again. I know he’s talented enough to do what he loves but what happened in the gala really crushed him.

“I’ve really tried to get him back to what he wanted to do then, but Yoongi-hyung just doesn’t seem to be up for it again,” he finished.

“I don’t think he’s given up on them for good though,” Taehyung said. “When he was talking about his past, I could still tell that he longs for what he let go before. I guess Yoongi could just use a little help.”

“And I haven’t given up hope on him yet,” Hoseok smiled. “Maybe knowing someone like you will change things. But at the moment, I’m not really asking for much, do you mind checking on him from time to time for me?”

“What do you mean?” Taehyung cocked his head.

“Yoongi-hyung has a tendency to forget to eat or take care of himself whenever he’s immersed in his practice, that usually happens before a competition,” Hoseok confessed. “A month ago, he didn’t respond to my texts so I broke into his house and found him passed out from near hunger in front of the piano.”

“I-I won’t let that happen then,” Taehyung said determinedly.

“Thanks Taehyung,” Hoseok grinned. “Also, in case you do need to break into his house, he keeps a key under the mat in front of his door.”

“Got it,” Taehyung nodded.

“Thanks for inviting him and all of us here, by the way,” Hoseok added. “Yoongi-hyung wouldn’t go to parties back when he was studying at the conservatory. I bet he really enjoyed himself.”

“And we sure enjoyed his fried chicken,” Taehyung grinned.

“He must have been really excited,” Hoseok nodded. “So was Jimin when he got invite.” He looked over at Jimin who, despite his nervousness earlier, was deep in conversation with none other than Jeon Jungkook.

“Hey, wanna make a bet?” Taehyung nudged Hoseok.

“What are we betting on?”

“Those two,” Taehyung pointed at Jimin and Jungkook. “I bet they’ll be together by the end of the month.”

“Really?” Hoseok grinned. “Alright, my bet is two months.”

“Hey, can I join in?” Seokjin whispered, leaning over the couch behind them.

“Sure,” Taehyung smiled up at him. “My bet is one month. Hoseok is two.”

“Reallly?” Seokjin shook his head. “Okay, mine is two weeks.”

“Hey, isn’t that pretty quick?” Hoseok frowned.

“Two weeks, guaranteed,” Seokjin nodded.

“Alright, what are the stakes?” Taehyung asked.

“How about, losers have to appear in either one of your channels and do whatever the winner says on-screen,” Seokjin suggested. The other two nodded at the idea.

“I’ll make you guys play the scariest horror game I know,” Taehyung grinned devilishly and rubbed his hands together.

“What are you going to be if you win?” Hoseok asked. “That’s a big ‘if’ by the way.”

“If I win…” Seokjin mulled the thought over. “I get to make a food trip vlog and post it on your channels.”

“That doesn’t sound like that bad of a punishment,” Taehyung frowned.

“But, I get to choose your outfits,” Seokjin grinned.

“There’s the punishment,” Hoseok nodded.

“Deal?” Seokjin raised his hands at the two of them.

“Deal.” The three of them shook hands.

…

“Thanks again for coming!” Taehyung bowed appreciatively at Hoseok and Jimin as they packed up to leave.

“Are you sure you guys don’t need help cleaning up?” Jimin asked.

“It’s okay,” Jungkook waved him off. “You guys live pretty far.”

“Thanks again for inviting us,” Hoseok smiled. “Let’s hang out at my place next time, alright?”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Taehyung grinned.

“Ah, Jimin! You got my number, right?” Jungkook called after them.

“Yeah!” Jimin smiled back. “I’ll text you.” Taehyung glanced at Hoseok and Seokjin who smirked and held up two fingers. ‘Damn, he’s good,’ Taehyung thought.

“Safe trip!” Namjoon waved as Hoseok and Jimin left. Seokjin packed the last of his empty food containers into a bag and walked over to Taehyung.

“I have some pink onesies that I think would fit perfectly on you,” he whispered.

“Whatever, I’ll still win,” Taehyung shook his head.

“Anyway, I’ll be off now,” Seokjin said.

“Are you headed to the bus station?” Namjoon asked.

“Yeah, want to go together?” Seokjin offered.

“Sure,” Namjoon nodded. He finished off his sweeping and put the broom back in the kitchen before joining Seokjin. “See you Taehyung,” he added, hugging his friend again.

“Thanks for coming!” Taehyung smiled. Jungkook waved goodbye and the two finally left. “Well, that was fun.”

“And tiring,” Jungkook sighed and sat down on the couch. He decided to sleep over since he didn’t feel like going all the way home that night. And because there were still some leftover lamb skewers.

“It’s too bad Yoongi couldn’t stay for the whole thing,” Taehyung pouted. Almost as soon as he heard that Yoongi left, all he could hear from the other apartment was the sound of piano playing. It was going on until now.

“His fried chicken was delicious,” Jungkook nodded.

“I was wrong about him,” Taehyung said. “I really thought he was nothing but an annoying old turtle but he really is a kind person. I think he was cooking that fried chicken for the entire afternoon since he wasn’t practicing. He even brought me tea for my throat.”

“Hmmm… someone seems whipped,” Jungkook murmured. Taehyung felt his face heat up.

“N-no way! I just met the guy,” he stammered. Jungkook raised an eyebrow at him.

“You have that look on your face again.”

It was true. Taehyung could feel the giddy smile spreading on his face again. All he needed to do was laugh nervously for Jungkook to finally confirm his ‘Whipped Boy’ theory.

“It’s not that,” Taehyung groaned. “I just feel this way because I’m surprised that he’s a nice guy! That’s all.”

“Right,” Jungkook nodded, unconvinced.

“Well, what about you and Jimin then?” Taehyung pointed out. The tips of Jungkook’s ears turned pink and Taehyung knew he hit the right nerve. “You guys seemed to enjoy talking.”

“H-hey, I told you to throw the trash earlier, why haven’t you done it?” Jungkook dodged the question and dumped the bag of trash by the couch in front of Taehyung. “Go on and do it already!”

“Why, I’m the one who lives here?” Taehyung groaned.

“That’s exactly why,” Jungkook wrestled him off the couch. “Come on, man of the house.”

“Fine,” Taehyung stood up and dragged the bag of trash with him. “But if you guys do plan on dating, can you do so a month from now?”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Taehyung shook his head and hurried out with the trash. Once outside, the sound of piano playing was even louder. ‘He usually stops at around this time,’ Taehyung wondered as he walked towards Yoongi’s apartment. The two of them agreed that they would knock on each other’s door if either of them didn’t follow the schedule that Yoongi made but at the moment, Taehyung figured that he’d step back.

He stood right in front of Yoongi’s apartment and gently pressed his forehead against the door. What Hoseok said earlier echoed in his mind with the sound of Yoongi’s piano playing. ‘I haven’t given up hope on him yet. Maybe knowing someone like you will change things.’ It probably wasn’t just Hoseok who was worried about him but Seokjin and maybe even Jimin as well. And now, so was Taehyung.

“I hope you find your way back, Min Yoongi,” he whispered.

…

“Alexa, what time is it?” Yoongi yawned and rubbed his eyes as soon as he woke up.

“7:30 a.m.,” she beeped. “Reminder set for eating breakfast at 8:30 a.m.”

“Thanks Alexa,” Yoongi mumbled and got out of bed. His hands ached from playing piano all night so Yoongi stretched them gently. The competition was tomorrow and he decided to practice for only two hours and spend the rest of the day resting his hands. Despite that, Yoongi knew that resting would be the hardest part of the day since it often drove him crazy not being able to practice.

“But first, breakfast,” he told himself. As soon as he reached the kitchen, however, there was barely anything in the pantry or the refrigerator. The last time he bought groceries was when he was buying fried chicken ingredients. Of course, he didn’t think about buying actual food for the rest of the week.

Annoyed by the extra chore, Yoongi went back to his room and changed into some jeans and a hoodie. He took his keys and wallet as well and headed out of his apartment. Thankfully, the grocery was just a few blocks away across the park so Yoongi didn’t have to walk for such a long time. But during his short journey, he took his time to enjoy the sights of a city that’s just about to wake up. In the park, there were only a few people walking their dogs as well as a few old ladies doing what appeared to be yoga right in front of the fountain. Even though Yoongi loved sleeping in and hated getting up early in the morning, he’d admit that walking in the park was more enjoyable at around this time.

In the grocery, he made his rounds and went directly to the aisles he often visited. Yoongi really didn’t opt to make extravagant or complicated meals like Seokjin did so he settled for buying a few simple ingredients. But as soon as he passed by the meat section, he thought about the fried chicken he made for Taehyung’s party and how good it apparently was. It was a pain to make, but he could get used to it. With that thought, Yoongi added a pack of chicken to his shopping basket.

“Are you planning to make it again?”

Yoongi looked up at the owner of the voice and smiled to find Kim Taehyung standing next to him in the aisle. Even though his head and face were covered by his jacket hood and face mask, Yoongi could still it was him. Primarily because he was almost a whole head taller than him.

“Yeah, after all this competition craziness is over and I have more time,” Yoongi said. He looked at Taehyung’s shopping basket and found a huge assortment of energy drinks and candy in it. “You do know that those things are going to make your voice worse.”

“Yeah but I have an awesome neighbor who makes awesome tea,” Taehyung pulled down his mask slightly and smiled at him. Yoongi felt the corner of his mouth turn up slightly at the sight of that smile.

“But this awesome neighbor isn’t going to help you out when you get a toothache or diabetes,” Yoongi pointed. “Geez, and I thought I had bad eating habits. Can you put at least one vegetable in there or something?”

“Do potatoes count as vegetables?” Taehyung joked. Yoongi smacked his arm making Taehyung laugh. “Alright, alright I’ll get some vegetables or something. Wait for me, okay?”

“No, I’m going ahead,” Yoongi walked off but waited nonetheless for his neighbor at an aisle near the counter. Taehyung caught up to him a few minutes later and after Yoongi checked the contents of his shopping basket to make sure he had enough healthy food, and a little less snacks, they finally headed for the checkout counter and walked back home.

While walking, Yoongi found himself enjoying the morning even more, even though he usually was asleep at around this time. Earlier, he felt as if this today was going to be filled with restlessness and anxiety about the competition the next day. Somehow, finding Taehyung in the grocery store and walking home made it better. Yoongi looked at Taehyung walking beside him and wondered how this tall, lanky guy made his day just a bit brighter.

“So, what time is your competition?” Taehyung asked. The two of them were walking through the park carrying their own shopping bags with them. Taehyung offered to carry Yoongi’s but he insisted on bringing it himself.

“It’s at five pm and it should be done by six-thirty,” Yoongi answered. “We can leave at four.”

“Alright,” Taehyung nodded. Yoongi looked around and found a few middle-schoolers wearing baseball uniforms getting ready for a practice game. “Did you play before?” Taehyung asked, looking over at him.

“No,” Yoongi shook his head. “Hoseok did. I played basketball for a bit but my mother made me stop in case I sprained my wrist or a broke a finger.”

“I see,” Taehyung nodded. “I played basketball too.”

“The actual kind or the one in video games?” Yoongi smirked.

“The actual one,” Taehyung nudged him. “I wasn’t that unhealthy. I bet I could beat you.”

“Yeah right,” Yoongi rolled his eyes. “I bet I could beat you with one hand behind my back,” he challenged.

“Oh yeah? I bet I could beat you with one foot tied behind my back!”

“How does that even work?” Yoongi laughed. “Speaking of feet, your shoelaces are untied,” he pointed down at Taehyung’s feet.

“Aw, damn, I forgot to double-knot them,” Taehyung sighed. “Give me a second.” He put down his shopping bag near Yoongi’s feet and crouched down beside a nearby bench to tie his shoelaces. While waiting, Yoongi turned around to watch the middle school baseball players. He was just in time to watch the pitcher pitch a fast ball and the batter to hit it back. But instead of the baseball curving upwards, it flew quickly in their direction. Rather, in Taehyung’s direction.

And it was closing in quickly.

“Look out!” Yoongi yelled and ran after him. Taehyung looked up in surprise at the speeding baseball but remained frozen on the spot. Yoongi quickly closed the distance and raised a hand in an attempt to catch the ball.

But instead, it hit him squarely on the tips of his fingers. Yoongi couldn’t tell if he could really hear them snap when the ball hit but he felt the jolt of pain as soon as the ball hit. He looked down at Taehyung to find him in shock but thankfully unharmed.

“Yoongi…” Taehyung stood up. “You’re hand.” That’s when the pain really sank in and Yoongi finally realized that his right hand was trembling. He was too scared to even look at it.

“I-it’s fine. I can… I can still play…” he stammered.

“No! Your fingers,” Taehyung reached down for his hand. That’s when Yoongi finally forced himself to check. He found that his middle and pointer finger were almost bent back and the rest of his hand was bright red and swelling from the impact. ‘So that’s why I couldn’t feel anything in those two fingers…’ Yoongi thought as he bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain. For some reason, looking at it made it feel even worse.

“We need to get you a hospital, okay?” Taehyung said gently, looking him in the eye. “Don’t think about piano practice for now. We need to get your hand treated.”

“Alright,” Yoongi gasped and inhaled deep breaths to focus on something other than the pain. This kind of accident was the main reason why his mother stopped him from playing sports or learning how to cook to protect his fingers. His piano playing fingers.

And just like that, his happy morning ended.

…

“How long is it going to take for it to heal, doctor?” Taehyung asked. He and Yoongi took the bus to the nearby hospital. There, Yoongi’s hand was X-rayed before getting wrapped up with a splint on the middle and pointer fingers.

“Four to six weeks,” the doctor answered. “Try not to exert it and make sure to put it on an ice pack every three to four hours on the first day.”

“I see,” Taehyung nodded. He looked over at Yoongi who was silent spaced out for almost the entire time they were in the hospital. “Yoongi…” Taehyung said gently, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know you have a competition tomorrow but you need to rest, okay?” Yoongi only nodded slowly.

“Here’s a prescription of his pain medication,” the doctor pushing a piece of paper towards them. “Follow the instructions on when to take them.”

“Thank you doctor,” Taehyung bowed and got up. Yoongi cradled his injured hand gently and left the office without a word.

He didn’t even say anything after Taehyung bought his medications and during the short bus ride on the way back to their apartment. Taehyung could tell, however, that Yoongi could only be worried about his upcoming competition. It sucked having this kind of accident the day before such an event especially after all Yoongi’s hard work practicing for it. But surely there were other competitions he could join afterwards. Taehyung was sure that Yoongi could get back on his feet.

“Hey, since you can’t cook or anything, what about I make dinner for you?” Taehyung offered, looking over at Yoongi sitting beside him. “I mean, I’m not as great a cook as Seokjin-hyung is but I can make some simple meals. I’ll promise I won’t give you food poisoning or anything,” he laughed nervously. Yoongi didn’t say a word and continued to look out the window. Taehyung bit his lip and hung his head.

And the silence between stretched even more.

After the bus ride, Taehyung used Yoongi’s keys to open his apartment to let him in. He asked if there was anything else Yoongi wanted him to do, but the only response he received was “Please leave me alone.”

…

“Audio message received from ‘Mother,’” Alexa beeped. Yoongi was sitting on the floor of his bedroom with his back resting against the wall near his bed. He still found it hard to believe that the fingers of his right hand were wrapped up with a splint and that he wouldn’t be able to play tomorrow at the competition.

“Play message,” Yoongi swallowed.

“Son, why haven’t you answered any of my calls?” his mother’s voice filled up his empty bedroom. Yoongi felt himself curl up even tighter. “Please let me know what time you’ll arrive at the venue area and when your turn begins. This is serious, please call back.”

There was silence afterwards before his mother said one last thing. “Don’t even think about missing this competition.”

“Audio message ended,” Alexa said. “Would you like to reply?”

“Alexa, don’t reply,” Yoongi said and gazed long and hard at his fingers. This was the first time he’s ever broken them, but it wasn’t the last time he missed out on a competition.

The first time happened after the gala, when Yoongi fell into depression after his failed attempt at showing off something he created himself. He didn’t even want to touch or look at a piano. His parents left him alone during that time but his mother reminded Yoongi that his avoidance would someday stop. He loved the piano too much.

And she was right.

Yoongi stood up and made his way out of his bedroom to the piano, which looked lonelier now as it sat in the very dim light of his apartment. He sat down on the bench, lifted up the lid, and rested the fingers of his left hand on the keys. Then, the bandaged fingers of his right hand.

He remembered that one time he was playing the piano late at night once, back when he was in middle school. Instead of practicing for the piece he was supposed to learn for the gala, Yoongi felt his fingers playing a different melody. One that didn’t come from any famous composer but from himself, from his late nights of tossing and turning in his bed, from the scraps of melodies he wrote in his notebook during class. At that time, Yoongi felt himself asking the piano if it was okay for him to dream farther than the competitions his mother signed him up in. He asked if it was okay for him to create something.

And then he got the answer to that on the fateful gala night.

“Don’t forget, this is the life you chose for yourself,” his mother’s words echoed in his head.

‘No,’ Yoongi thought bitterly and ripped off the bandages from his right hand. ‘This is what was given to me.’ And with that thought, he began to play.

…

“Alright, this should be enough,” Taehyung muttered to himself as he packed some rice into a container and added it into a bag which was already filled with containers of some side dishes and soup. He didn’t have much cooking know-how but he did learn enough from his grandmother to make a few dishes.

Taehyung kind of felt bad earlier when Yoongi told him to leave the house instead of asking for help. But he also remembered his promise to Hoseok about taking care of Yoongi. The poor guy was probably still reeling from the accident earlier so Taehyung brought it upon himself to cook dinner for him.

“Yoongi! I brought some dinner!” Taehyung called and knocked on the door. “Yoongi?”

And that was when he heard the noise: the faint sound of piano playing. Taehyung froze, ‘No way, Yoongi wouldn’t be this careless,’ he thought. He pressed his ear against the door and sure enough, he was hearing the sound of piano playing.

“Yoongi! You can’t play the piano yet!” Taehyung knocked harder on the door. “You have to let it rest or it won’t heal properly!” Yoongi still didn’t answer the door and the sound of piano playing continued.

“Shit,” Taehyung cursed and put down the bag he was carrying. Remembering again what Hoseok said, he flipped over the mat outside Yoongi’s apartment door and picked up a spare key. He quickly unlocked the door and burst into the apartment.

“Yoongi!” he yelled but without so much as a response from his neighbor. Min Yoongi was sitting hunched in front of the piano. Even in the dim light, Taehyung could see his right hand shaking as he pressed the keys. He rushed over to his neighbor and grabbed Yoongi by the shoulders.

“Snap out of it, Yoongi!”

“Taehyung…” Yoongi mumbled, looking up at his neighbor. “Please, just leave me alone,” he pleaded. Taehyung looked down at his injured hand which was starting to swell again. It should be hurting like hell but Yoongi seemed unfazed by it.

“What have you done?” Taehyung shook his head at the sight. “The doctor said it takes four to six weeks to heal. You can’t play in the competition tomorrow.”

“I have to!” Yoongi cried and took his hand back. “I have to make it tomorrow and play perfectly!”

“There are other competitions out there!” Taehyung attempted to reason with him. “I know it sucks that you practiced so long and hard for this one but we have to prioritize your health. We’ll find a new one, I promise.”

“You don’t understand,” Yoongi shook his head. Taehyung could hear the sound of his voice cracking. “These people are unforgiving. Yes, they’ll call you a genius if you have talent. But after just one slip-up they’ll be all over you.”

“Who are you talking about?” Taehyung crouched in front of Yoongi gently placed a hand on his arm. Yoongi sniffed wiped the tears that were now flowing out of his eyes.

“Everyone…” he sobbed and covered his mouth with his hand. “Mom and Dad. The competition judges. The media. The audience. Everyone.” Yoongi shook his head.

Taehyung looked down and felt tears welling up in his eyes as well. He always found himself crying after seeing other people cry. Seeing Yoongi, his tough, strong-willed neighbor like this, crying in front of a piano with broken finger, made Taehyung’s chest especially hurt.

“It was so hard getting back to competitions after the gala,” Yoongi sniffed. “I stopped playing but when I finally started again, hardly anyone would let me join. They knew how much of a failure I was. But when I was finally allowed to join some, everything changed.

“I can feel them all staring down at me when I play,” Yoongi shuddered and sobbed harder. “I know they’re all waiting for me to screw up again.”

Taehyung struggled to find some words to say. All he could think about was how difficult the past years have been for Yoongi. “It must have been hard for you,” Taehyung whispered and took Yoongi’s hands in his. “And I can’t even begin to understand a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of that pain you’ve been carrying around all this time.” He knew it wasn’t the most comforting thing in the world to say, but he’d rather tell Yoongi what he really felt instead of spouting some bullshit.

“It’s so hard being on that stage,” Yoongi confessed. “It’s so hard not being able to play the piano again.”

“Don’t go back on that stage then,” Taehyung implored, lifting up Yoongi’s chin with a finger so he’d look at him. “If you can’t take it then don’t go back. I know you’ve wanted to do something much more than this. You told me yourself that you wouldn’t shit on your dreams so don’t be a hypocrite and shit on your own.”

“A dream?” Yoongi shook his head and smiled bitterly through his tears. “I don’t think I even have that.”

Taehyung sniffed and wiped his eyes. It felt as if he was the one who was crying more between the two of them. Even now, he still felt like hitting himself for not having anything good to say. But after what Yoongi said, Taehyung felt as if he was drawn back to his own high school years. He knew that feeling of not knowing what to do and being stuck in place while everyone was passionately running forward. It all felt like a race to him back then with Taehyung right smack in the starting line. But despite that, he got to where he wanted to be.

“Yoongi,” Taehyung gently rested his hand on Yoongi’s left. “It’s okay to cry about it now, it’s worth crying over. And it’s okay if all you want to do later is eat and sleep for twenty hours. God knows you deserve it.

“It’s okay to feel hurt about this and be confused because that’s the first step to figuring things out,” he continued. Yoongi wiped the tears from his eyes and finally looked him in the eye instead of avoiding his gaze. “You have friends with you and I know they’ll do anything to help you out.”

Yoongi bit his lip and looked down at where Taehyung’s hand was resting on his. Gently, he closed his fingers over it. He opened his mouth as if to say something before hesitating and pursing his lips. Taehyung smiled reassuringly and waited patiently for him to say anything. Finally, he spoke.

“Will you help me?” Yoongi looked down as he said those words before glancing up at Taehyung with a worried look on his face. Judging from that look, Taehyung could only imagine how rarely Yoongi said those words. It was an expression that Taehyung knew he used more than once throughout a day, but with Yoongi, he knew it held more weight than he could ever imagine.

Taehyung smiled and got up to wrap his arms around Yoongi.

“Of course I will.” 

this is so sad alexa play despacito

[wigglydarkness]

Did you see that? (HARRY STYLES)

You were a blogger, you posted videos on a website called youtube as a job. It paid really well so you go lucky with that, but, it also helped you meet your best friend. Harry Styles. Your channel was getting big at the time. A company had asked you to interview the band of one direction for their new album release “Made in the A.M”, you obviously the job just so you could meet the handsome boys. As soon as the day came you were super nervous, you put a red bleached flannel and black tank top with a black bracelet that would show a little bit, then light blue ripped jeans that made your butt look amazing. Your Hair was in loose waves and you had very natural makeup on. You made it to the set of the shoot, they gave you little flash cards with the questions you were supposed to ask the boys and when a small game you guys were going to play at the very end. They sat you down in a teal seat across from a teal couch. You stared at the card trying to remove the nerves. After ten minutes of you just sitting there, you heard a group of British voices getting closer. You snapped your head up as Niall, Harry, Louis, and Liam made their way over to you. Your mind began racing, Niall gave you a small smile as he gave you a hug. “Hi, I’m (Y/N), I’ll be hosting this interview today,” you said as they each gave you a hug and said there name as if you were just meeting them. “So, what’s the plan for this?” asked Liam as he sat down in the chair. “Well, I’m first going to ask you some questions, then we’re going to play a fun game to end it off,” you replied. They all nodded their heads. “Ready to film?” “Yep!” “Ok, We are filming in 3..2..” The camera guy point to you. “Hey, Guys! It’s (Y/N)! Today I am joined by the handsome lads of One Direction!” you basically yelled at the camera as the boys waved at the camera. “ I am going to ask a couple questions, forgot to tell you earlier but some of these questions are group ones and other are specifically for one person.” “Should’ve told us that earlier! We would’ve tried to be more prepared!” laughed Niall sending laughter through the whole room. The questions went great. You didn’t have to ask anything super awkward. “Now! Time for the game! The game is called “Who said it?”, basically you each get a piece of paper and a pen. You write something that you would say. You hand all the papers to me and I choose a paper and get to read it out loud. Whoever guesses who wrote that gets a point and we will play for 4 rounds because there are 4 of you. Got it? Good! Let’s play!” The game was a lot more fun than you thought it was going to be. It was the last round, Harry, Niall, and Liam were tied. “Louis! You need to get a point this round, buddy! You’re falling behind!” you laughed reaching for the papers. “I know, I know, I think I’ll get it this time!” he smiled at you. As you-you were looking through the papers you saw that they 5 papers in the pile. You about to say something until you saw the little piece of paper said You should text me after, love :)        -Harry You blushed at the paper and you put it next to you so the camera couldn’t see. At the end of the whole game, Liam won. They ended the video said thank you to you and the boys. When you were hugging them good-bye Harry was the last one, as you wrapped your arms around his neck he whispered in your ear, “I mean what the paper says.” You pulled away and put the paper under your phone case. He smiled and walked away with the rest of the boys. Getting home felt like forever, Harry’s voice kept replaying in your head, you were still dazed from the whole experience. You got into your same apartment in L.A. and quickly sent a text to Harry. He replied even before the text was sent. You two started talking and that’s how your friendship was created.    Sadly, the boys never really approved of your guy’s friendship. They always told Harry they should hang out with someone who “would help his career”, Harry didn’t care, you two still hang out whenever he was in town behind the guy’s backs. This time you two hung out it was different Harry had just started his solo career. You two were going to hang out for real without any seeking around. You phone lit up.    Harry- Almost to your flat    You- Okay, Meet you downstairs You ran downstairs to meet up with Harry. “Love!” you heard a voice say you turned around and saw Harry leaving a black car running towards you with his arms open. “Harold!” you replied running towards him. He wrapped his arms around your waist as your arms tightly wrapped around his neck. You pushed away and gave him a huge smile. “C’mon you’re going to love where we’re going.” He said grabbing your hand and pulling you to the car. You got into the driver car. Harry told you where to go and where to turn to make it to your destination.  It was around 9:45 at night, you pulled up to a dark cemetery. “Um, Harry? Are you sure this is the right place?” you mumbled. “Yes, of course, it is, C’mon yer not scared are you?” He asked flashing his bright green eyes at you. You gave him a worried smile and pulled your attention back to the cemetery. Harry jumped out of the car and ran over to your side, opening your car door. Stumbling from the nerves you got off the car. Harry had a stupid grin on his face the whole time looking back and forth between you and the cemetery. “Wait, I got you something.” He said going towards the trunk of the car. You looked around worryingly, slowly your head turned away from the car to stare at a lamp post. A figure appeared, it looked a person sitting down, legs crossed on right under the light. “Harry? Look!” you exclaimed walking towards Harry digging in the truck. “Yes?” he asked popping his head out. “Do you see the per-” you looked away for two seconds and the figure was gone. “I swear there was someone under that street light.” you told him. Harry chuckled, “You’re just scared, don’t Worry you’ll be fine, here take this.” He held out a black sweater, you’ve seen this black sweater before it belonged to Harry. He had gotten photographed many of times. You slid it over your head, it was huge it went past your knees in lengths and the sleeves basically dragged across the floor. Harry’s scent brushed past your nose as you slipped it on, it was quite the relaxing smell. “See, don’t you just look cute as a button!” He flashed you the same cheeky grin he had on his face earlier. The comment made you smile even through the horror that was filling your body. Both of you walked into the cemetery, you made sure you were close to Harry as possible. Harry wanted to find a giant tomb people would sneak into for fun. He was silent trying to remember what he read online about it. Flashlights from their phone were the only things giving light off at the moment. Harold looked back for more than a couple seconds, a lady walked towards some tombs behind them, he carefully watched the lady remembering what Y/N had said earlier. The Lady walked behind a tomb and vanished. Harry snapped his focus back in front of him. “Are you Okay? We can go back if you want? We can come back during the daytime?” you asked noticing Harry drastic change in mood. “I’m alright, love, you just want to get out of this.” He replied trying to keep his cool. You two walked for another 5 min until the tomb Harry was looking for. Y/N looked back for only couple seconds like Harry did before, she saw the lady look down at the tomb from before. “H-harry, look it’s her again.” the fear in your voice grew as you pulled Harry’s arm closer to you. You felt Harry’s body tense up as he looks towards the lady. “Maybe, she’s, um, just visiting, C’mon.” Harry reached down holding your hand tightly. He kept walking while you followed, but you didn’t remove your eyes from the lady. The Lady looked up from the tomb and stared right at you, chills were sent down your spine. Your grip on Harry grew tighter and tighter, you probably broke his hand. The lady slowly started walking towards you, progressively she got faster and faster until she was sprinting towards you and Harry. “HARRY! SHE COMING THIS WAY!” you yelled yanking him around. “Shit, Run, Y/n, RUN!”. You didn’t think twice you ran up the hill as fast as you could with Harry following right behind you. As you two we’re running the steps got faster and faster. Harry ended up running in front of you to lead the way. You two jumped over tombstones and ran faster than you ever have. Y/n could hear the footsteps right behind her. Then a cold hand reached for the back of her neck but missed. The fingers grazed against your warm skin. You screamed and dropped to the floor in a panic, causing Harry to stop. Your breathing got heavy. “What happened? Y/N answer me. What happened?” He asked trying to catch his breath from running. “She-She touched my neck. She tried to grab me.” you wheezed. Harry looked around and the lady was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t say anything, he just picked you up from the ground, you wrapped your arms around his neck, crying into his chest from the fear. He slowly walked over to the car, so, he could hear were the lady was coming from. Harry kept circling in place as he walked, on the third time he circled around he saw the lady crouched behind a tomb watching them, He walked backward never removing his eyesight from her. A car drove by, he was only a few feet away from the car. The street light lit up the lady’s face, her skin was thin, she looks boney as if she hadn’t eaten for years. She stood up making her way over to him, slowly. Harry ran super fast with you in his arms in the car. This made you cry harder because you knew she was there. You just kept your face buried in his chest and pulled tighter around his neck. Soon enough, you were in the black car’s passenger seat with Harry, turned on the car and speeding away from the cemetery.

Follow for more imagines! Request if you want a part 2!

[naturaldisasterfanfiction]

16. Part 2

I am nasty, I gagged at myself. I totally forgot about the tissue full of cum, and I just grabbed it like it was nothing “nasty” I said to myself, but I slept like a baby in my bed after that release. Robyn got me hooked, I can’t wait to go back to Mexico. I mean it’s literally been two days, but I am ready to go, I am just thinking on a lot and how I can’t trust people. Washing my hands off, I told Keeis to housesit and I have had nothing but shit, I can’t trust anyone and it’s driving me crazy. I can’t leave my dogs with nobody here; I can’t be running off like that. I just don’t know what to do, well I am running off again. Pick Royalty up and then meet Jahleel and Mel at the jet, then we can go back to Mexico. Drying off my hands, I need to make a solid plan about my dogs, I love them babies a lot too, so I need to think hard on this. Clearing my throat, walking into my bedroom “what are you doing!?” I spat “wrong bedroom” the girl closed the door, I didn’t even know there was girls here “fucking idiots” picking up my case from the side of the bed, this case has all my jewellery inside and I have another one for my clothes and another for my sneakers, it’s like I am moving out but I want to be with Robyn, so fuck this. I have cleaned my bedroom so that better be untouched, and also for the first time ever, well in a while. I didn’t watch the sunrise; I had the blinds closed. Opening my bedroom door, hearing the chatter of people downstairs. I am just stuck on what to do, I am asking for too much with these people aren’t I, to housesit and not bring girls, that is too much for them I guess. Walking down the steps “where the fuck are you going?” Sinko asked “holiday with Royalty, problem!?” I questioned “uh nah, just asking” he’s quiet now “I don’t want these girls in my home, Keeis you either do this alone or fuck off, I am not having this in my home anymore so please just go” Keeis didn’t say anything “you just didn’t mention about nobody allowed” maybe I didn’t “why are you acting brand new? You taking your meds now?” I have been wanting to beat Hoody’ ass “go back to your owner, Wayne” I said walking to the garage.

Walking towards Nia’ home, the door already is open “I am here dad!! I have been waiting, I saw you coming from the window” hearing Royalty shouting but she is nowhere to be seen, I can see her case here. She got a whole case packed “be careful now!” Nia shouted “morning, she hasn’t slept by the way. Excitement got the better of her, she is so happy to be going away with you, daddy this and daddy that. When I told her when we came back, she said he did it. He asked, I told her to be kind and not be naughty, don’t run off, and also let daddy look after you” I chuckled “yeah, I am excited, a little nervous but excited. Royalty know her stuff though, she is bright and I know she won’t play like that by running off and all that business” Royalty came up from behind Nia “I am so excited” she ran into me, hugging her “awww, you got your big backpack all ready. How many things you got?” I asked “I got boardgames in here, we can play them together. Mom said I can take them” letting out an oh “that is cool, you got some pretty dresses to put on for when we go on our date?” I asked “yes, lots!” she moved back “I will be good mom” she went over to hug Nia “you better be, call me when you get there. I am testing you, if you do not do this I will be very annoyed and then I have to ban you from holidays with dad. Send me lots of pictures of Mexico ok?” smiling at my daughter, there is one thing I did right in life and it was her, she is just the brightest kid I have created, such a big heart too and I love that about her.

Royalty is so excited, like she is just raring to go “that is so tiny! Where is the big big plane?” Royalty said while looking out of the SUV window “this is a jet baby; we are going on a jet to Mexico. Jets are smaller but I could have got something big, just think of it this way baby. We have this jet to ourselves” my daughter has never been on a jet, that is because I have never taken her away anywhere “wow, look at that. I can see lots of planes, I have been on that!” she yelped out “yeah you have, but this is different. You with me so we get private treatment” The SUV stopped outside the jet and the assistant opened the door “morning” she said, Royalty giggled getting out of the car “wait there for me” grabbing her bag as I shuffled out “put this on goofy, and hold my hand” helping her put the backpack on “it’s so loud here!” holding Royalty’ hand “yeah it is!” I shouted, it is very loud here of course “I am excited, we are going to have so much fun” Royalty jumped up and down “I know, you still my little baby though. Let me look after you ok? Don’t be doing anything” Royalty laughed, the pilot waved at Royalty “hi!!” letting her hand go “go on, get on the jet with your big backpack” she really didn’t need to bring this with her.

Stepping onto the jet behind Royalty, she is stood staring at Jahleel and Mel “get on then” I said, “but who are they?” Royalty looked up at me “they are my servants, ignore them” I laughed, motioning Royalty onto the jet, she is a little reluctant to walk on seeing two random people on here “nigga you fucking wish, we reunite finally. How was the game?” Jahleel asked, Royalty is acting shy “it went well didn’t it Roro, tell them” helping her take her backpack off “she is such an angel Chris, look at her hair. You got hair unlike your dad” Royalty laughed at Mel “see, she knows. Didn’t you tell her who we are?” shaking my head “you are mean! Chris, she is going to see you know?” Mel eyed me up “then we take it from there” placing her backpack on the floor “this is Melissa Roro, she is a friend of mine” crouching down to her “girlfriend” I snorted laughing “you think Mel and I look good together?” Royalty smiled “yes” she agreed “no baby, so Mel and I know each other from years, when daddy was sixteen. We are best friends, now this man is called Jahleel, I found him on the streets” I pointed “I swear to god, speak nicely. I picked out your suit. And I also helped with that lingerie outfit she got, she about to show out so be nice” he pointed at me, I laughed “ok, ok. Jahleel is also a friend, they are nice. You will like them both” Royalty is ever so quiet, she is not saying a word about any of this “you can call me Ja, I am nice. Just your dad thinks he is funny. Pretty little thang” Jahleel touched Royalty’ pigtails “so is she not your girlfriend dad? Because you said you been busy, and you always have girls around” what is wrong with my daughter “no! She is just a friend, ask her” my daughter is not impressed with Mel, I don’t know why “I have known this nigga since he was singing Run It, he is my friend. Nobody wants your goofy dad” Royalty giggled “I don’t think anyone is good for you dad” I chuckled “whew, she gon cry” Jahleel said, Royalty wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging her back.

I am so happy to have my daughter with me, I mean all she do is watch youtube and shit but she is happy “Roro, let daddy speak to you one minute and then you can go back to whatever you was doing please” Royalty moved her phone back “can I take a picture of you?” she asked “after you can but let me speak to you please” Royalty sighed out “ok” it’s like I am interrupting her life “ok dad” I smiled at her “so baby we are going to Mexico and there is someone special I want you to meet there but the thing is, you can’t tell anyone this Royalty. I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but I wanted my pride and joy there, I want the leading lady in my life to be with me. I think you can handle it Royalty. I think you will be ok with knowing but this is a big secret, and nobody can know, you know why? Because nobody is ever happy for me, you can’t even tell mommy or meme or anybody ok?” Royalty nodded her head “it’s just us dad, nobody else. You don’t need to worry, I promise” poking my bottom lip out “I don’t deserve you at all, I just don’t know how you will react to be honest but you will be seeing someone that is also very special to me, this person has made daddy very happy. But this can’t be told, this stays between us” I don’t know how to tell Royalty that Rihanna is waiting for us to come because even that to me sounds crazy so I will just let her see it for herself, then I can just explain “is it a big surprise?” nodding my head “very big” I laughed, I just don’t know how she would even take such a thing.

Royalty fell asleep on the jet so I thought I would come and sit with Jahleel and Mel “sit with us, did you like Robyn’ pictures? She sent them me too and I was like send them to Chris, he is going to go wild” sitting next to Mel grinning, lifting my hand up “this hand went through it, and she is so rude. She actually didn’t pick up my calls, her ass was probably snoring” Jahleel and Mel both laughed “you also noticed that but it’s the baby. I was like you ok over there but yeah. I guess you had fun with your hand. Did you tell your daughter then?” Mel asked “uhm, I told her that I have a secret to come, that it has to be between us. I don’t know how to say it to her, I sound crazy. Royalty, we are going to Mexico and Rihanna is waiting, how crazy does that sound?” Mel nodded in agreement “that does sound crazy to be honest but she will freak out when she sees her, I mean she may just be like who are you? She is sassy, I like. So is adorable though, I adore her ears” I laughed “ears like you” Mel pinched my ear “thanks, I will just let it happen, then deal with it after. Is Robyn ok with the fact Royalty is coming? I mean it’s like not her child? I don’t know, this is something she doesn’t deserve to go through, you know?” I don’t know if Robyn is happy or not “I think she is tackling it head on, she is not holding back because then she is just hiding from what is there. When is leaks out you are the father, it will be known she has already met your daughter, you have nothing to hide. She is ahead of her game Chris, trust her” nodding my head “Royalty will adore her, I just hope Robyn doesn’t hate me that I have her around or anything” Mel shook her head “she would be more disgusted if you didn’t care about her, she is a cutie” Mel has got a point.

“Come on, get off there, you’re holding up Jahleel” turning to Royalty that is stood on the step of the jet “catch me dad!” she yelped out before jumping, catching her before she fell onto the ground “catch me too daddy!” Jahleel spat “he’s my dad!” Royalty shouted, “I am everybody daddy” I said laughing “what do you mean?” Royalty questioned, placing her on the ground laughing “nothing, get in the car. Mel is waiting” looking behind me “you wrong, how you not going to tell her that she is seeing Rihanna. I am a grown man and I freaked out, she about to see Rihanna? You are an asshole; I do see it” Jahleel got into the car before me “I ain’t see what you are seeing, I am just going to go with the flow, she will be ok” getting into the car “how comfy, you sitting next to Mel now. Well I don’t mind sitting next to daddy” Royalty always looks so confused on why he keeps saying that “why do you keep calling my dad that?” side eyeing Jahleel “because Jahleel has no dad, just ignore his stupid ass. Who did your hair pretty?” Mel asked “my mom, I have to do my hair myself now. My dad only knows how to do a ponytail, but it always flops and is loose, so I have to do it myself, but I can! I can do it” nodding my head “I think that is pretty impressive for someone like him to do that to be honest” I don’t see the issue “I had something stupid to say but I will keep it to myself, I am sure we can learn Chris some more hair tips for you” I rather Mel doesn’t.

It is making me happy to see Mel and Jahleel being so involved with Royalty, it is making her feel so welcome into their circle, she loves talking anyways so this is her zone “how did you know you my dad anyways? He never bought you to my birthday parties?” Royalty is right, I haven’t “a friend of a friend, a friend you will meet at the home” Mel looked at me “this friend is well known” Royalty is none the wiser “are you staying with us? I got boardgames, am I the only child there? I don’t mind, can you swim? I like to swim; I have some new shoes my mom bought for this trip. I also got a super cute dress” Mel cooed out “I can’t wait to see your dress and I like to dip my toes in the pool, I do not want to wet this weave. But we can come to some understanding, baldie can swim with you” Mel pointed at Jahleel “I hope your dress is designer, you do make your dad spend right? Actually tell him that I can dress you like a little model, have you heard of Fenty?” I just froze, what is this nigga doing “uh, yes I do. She don’t have children clothes, my mom has Fenty clothes” well this is awkward “well I work closely with the Robyn Rihanna Fenty, I am the creative director and sweetie if you want Fenty clothes I can get you them done, we can get your pretty little face on the catwalk” Mel is in hysterics, she is in tears laughing “I think not, thanks” I added “then I get to meet Rihanna” Jahleel screamed out laughing “baby you will get to meet her, what do you think?” Royalty seems so happy “I like to design things too, I play soccer but I dress my dolls” my baby is so cute “mhmmm chile, you are in for a surprise” side eyeing Jahleel for being the biggest troll “dad can I do it?” Royalty asked “I will think about it” I mumbled.

I am super happy to be back at the house, I can’t wait to see Robyn and the little crumb. That is the new name for my daughter, that is because Robyn hates it “welcome to house of Fenty” Jahleel got out of the car “what does he mean?” Royalty questioned “ignore him baby, are you happy?” I asked her “yes, I want to be a model dad” this is Jahleel fault, I swear it is “and you are pretty baby, you can be a model. I will make it happen, so shall we go inside” Royalty got up from her seat “wait for me Mel” she said as she got out “awww, I am here. You are so sweet, your dad not so but you are adorable. I will be inside the home, wait with your dad” getting out of the car, maybe I should mention that Rihanna is in there “just put the suitcases in the front of the house “welcome back Chris!” Dennis spat; he got his camera out already “you got that out already? I don’t look pretty enough for that” I chuckled “who do we have here?” Dennis asked, looking down at Royalty “ey, don’t be shy now. Tell him who you are, be sassy with it too” Royalty smirked looking at me “Royalty Brown” she said in a whisper “you ain’t shy! Come on now, tell the white man who you are” Royalty hid behind me “how you feeling to be back already though?” Dennis asked “feels good to be me man, got my daughter here now so we good” I grinned.

[cosmosogler]

tired.

i had trouble sleeping last night again. i woke up really early. before the sun was up. dreamed about a road trip i’m pretty sure. i don’t remember the details. when my alarm went off i was so tired i set it to snooze for another 15 minutes, so i got up at 7:35.

i goofed off for a while instead of hopping to it. i had a real small breakfast because i just didn’t feel like making anything. tomorrow i’ll make some eggs... today i was so wiped from not having a big breakfast.

so i went downstairs to the gym at 9...? i was on the bike for the full 20 minutes (i even did a “sprint” thing at the end where i doubled the difficulty setting!) and then i swam 8 laps in the pool. while i was flailing around in the water i accidentally got a mouthful of chlorine water and that made me really sick about 20 minutes later.

i showered and stuff and got the laundry started. it was about 10:40 when i started cleaning the apartment. i’ve been feelin pretty sick in the mornings lately, so i figured, well, it wouldn’t hurt to give the bathroom and kitchen a good wipe-down. so i did that for a while. then it was 11:30 so i decided to head out to the bike shop.

i called mom for a quick check on the directions and it sounded like i had woken her up. she didn’t understand that there are two “7th street”s here, one on either side of main street. the bike shop was at the closer one.

at first i couldn’t find the shop. then i saw a tiny sign pointing at a back alley and i thought, “seems legit,” and walked back there. there was a door, and next to it, a 2-foot-long wooden fence that opened up into a driveway. i went through the door.

it took me a minute to find the guy. i was kind of overwhelmed by all the stuff arranged on the walls and laid out on the floor and hanging from the ceiling. eventually my timid “hello?”s got his attention. he had a single bike (out of like a hundred) that was a good size and weight for me. he didn’t have any helmets my size that i liked. 

riding the bike to test it out and see what needed to be repaired, i was struck by how i’ve... kind of forgotten how to ride a bicycle. i didn’t feel comfortable just rolling out into the back street with it, especially on game day when everyone’s looking for obscure parking, and then making a lap around the parking lot across the street was actually stressful and wobbly. 

i hung out there for a while as he fixed the brakes and i checked out some lights and locks and baskets. it ended up costing less than half of what mom had told me to expect. that was pretty cool. i rode the bike home and wobbled down the sidewalk and i might have been holding my breath for most of the 3-minute ride. there’s no bike lane on the main street and there’s... stuff on the sidewalks. 

when i got home i made a small lunch and ordered a helmet online. and i continued my laundry adventure. i’d gotten home at 12:40 so that was nice. at about 2 i went out to the grocery store. i didn’t bring my bike because i didn’t have a helmet. i forgot to see if they have bike racks in the parking lot too.

i spent a lot more money than usual but now that i have TWO canvas bags i can carry everything i need no problem. i found tofu and tempeh finally, so maybe next weekend i can make something that will be filling for lunch every day. tempeh’s SUPER good on soft tacos.

i got home at three. not ENTIRELY sure what i did until 4, but at 4 i swept the floors and brushed snoopy and gave her some cookies and made orange veggie chicken for dinner and had some peppermint tea. then i set aside about 15 minutes to stretch and another 10 to do a longer guided meditation. i fussed over my laundry for a little bit and then around 6:30...? i sat down on the smaller couch and read my textbook. i took a long break to have a snack and switch out the laundry, and then i read again and then it was 8:30. i finished more than half the chapter.

i mean, i’d meant to get more done... but i was aware that i might not get ANYTHING done because of all the running around i had to do. and reading for 90 minutes is pretty good all things considered. i arranged to do homework with keegan tomorrow afternoon- i’m going to go in to the department in the morning and work on the homework myself and then when keegan and soham get there i’ll have some questions ready. i’m stressed that i need to finish two full assignments though along with an unknown amount of textbook reading. i’ll have to pack a lot of food in my lunchbox and prepare to walk home after the bus routes end.

not riding the bike yet because i don’t have a helmet. 

i didn’t do much after i stopped reading at 8:30. i checked some updated comics at my usual 9, one of which prompted me to go back through the archives for 20 minutes because i just enjoy it so much. then i started writing here. 

you know, i actually didn’t watch ANY youtube videos today other than loading up some music. i still got distracted for a while this morning, but it wasn’t because i was watchin tv. 

i also composed a long email to my, uh, aunt linda. she’s uncle don’s cousin i think. i’ve visited with them before since they live in phoenix, i wrote about it here a few months ago, in like may i think.

i dunno i feel pretty comfortable being frank with them about how i’m doing. i guess it’s partly because i feel like it ain’t gonna hurt me if i’m honest. i, i guess, i wish i had met her and david sooner. i can’t really imagine having a reason to connect with them before grandma pearl died, i don’t think i knew they lived in phoenix or how to contact them. pearl talked about them a lot though and they visited with her fairly often. 

anyway overall i’m feeling pretty uneasy but it’s nice to be tired from running around all day again, instead of existentially tired. i mean i’m still existentially tired but i also feel like i might be able to sleep when i do go to bed.

i am not sure how well keegan and soham and i are going to be able to do the homework together. when i was working with keegan and harrison yesterday the three of us were VERY distractible. soham seems a little more business-oriented but i haven’t spoken with him personally before and i don’t know how comfortable i feel about being helpless and needy about the homework in front of him. suzanne should be there too hopefully... we do have long conversations but those usually come in between actually finishing actual homework problems.

can i actually do nine homework problems tomorrow...? probably not. but i’ll give it my best shot.

[remembermemorablememories]

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

post #386

main points:

- banana for breakfast

- colorectal surgeon appointment hemorrhoids

- buy hoagie for lunch

- figure out stuff with second broker, decide to work exclusively with them

- japan trip planning

- dentist appointment cleaning

- dinner with the fam

- asia trip planning with dimitri

- fortnite with josh and his friends (we got 3 victory royales o-o)

- smash online with sheena

- solo smash online

writing this on wednesday january 30

today i:

- woke up at 9am to my alarm. i snoozed in bed until maybe 9:30am then went downstairs and grabbed a banana for a small breakfast then went to the colorectal surgeon

- i got there around 10:15am for 10:30am appointment and checked in, made a co-pay. then i was brought in pretty quickly for height/weight, then blood pressure. i had to go to the bathroom for a bowel movement and figured it was probably good to get that done and over with before anything happens with the doctor

after i finished in the bathroom (which was watery small stool), i went back to the room. the nurse told the doctor i was ready and then the doctor came in shortly after. she asked me about my bowel movements, when i first noticed the hemorrhoids, some other basic things. then she said she will examine my bottom

so she called the nurse over to the room to help. they told me to bend over, my knees were on the foot rest of a chair that was able to elevate itself. then they put a towel around my waist and told me to take off my pants. then the doctor first applied some lubricant, then checked manually with her finger. it felt like a kind of pressure but no pain. she then said she was going to use a scope to take a look, which is a bit bigger. so she put some more lubricant and then inserted the scope slowly. it kind of hurt when she twisted it around to take a look, but for the most part it just felt like a lot of pressure and i needed to have another bowel movement. i was tense the first time she put it in to take a look so she told me i need to relax a bit so she could get a better look. then i relaxed taking a bunch of deep breaths and she inserted it a second time to get a better look and then we were done

whew glad that was over with. i put my pants back on and the nurse left the room. the doctor said that the hemorrhoids look really small, and shouldn’t be too much of a problem. i just need to add some fiber to my diet so that my stools are more soft, and to avoid straining on the toilet. she said give it 4-6 weeks with some fiber and see if it goes away. then if not, they’ll do a band ligation procedure. she gave me a small packet with info and then i headed out

i asked her briefly if she would know anything about my potential chest pain, where it hurt to breathe in yesterday, she said that’s probably better asked for my physician

so i headed next door to ask the available appointments, and was directed to call the phone service to schedule an appointment. the first one today was 2:30pm but i had a dentist appointment at 4pm. so i asked when the next one was and they said 8:30am on thursday. i was like eh okay why not (i later canceled it)

drove home and stopped by the pizzeria to get a hoagie + french fry lunch special for my lunch

- i ate half of a cinnamon bun (dad bought some from ikea yesterday) and half of the hoagie with fries + watched S2E16 of scrubs

- watched jtails lucina competitive video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3vWea0npF0

- had a call at 12:30pm with the second broker after i tried to reschedule my showings with her. she told me on the phone that she also has all of the listings that the first broker may offer and would also like to go first cause otherwise there might be holes in our tour. i feel like both of the brokers were telling me that i basically only need one broker. so i decided to go with her since she’s been so responsive and communicative (even though the other broker firm has such a good reputation). i emailed the first broker to let him know that i’ll be working with her instead

- spent some time planning out my japan itinerary. i first figured out which dates i’d be spending where. i’m gonna spend 5 days in tokyo, 2 days in kyoto and 3 days in osaka. but potentially 3 days in kyoto cause i also realized i might actually have 11 days not 10. also talked to sho/asked him for some  suggestions. i just came up with a timeline and started looking into things to actually do there. and pulling up some videos on youtube to see people’s vlogs traveling around there. i still need to book housing, figure out itinerary, and when to fly to taiwan (decide whether to spend 3 or 4 days there)

sheena also came home early, around 3pm. cause all after school activities got cancelled since it started snowing

- around 3:20pm i left the house to drive to the dentist for cleaning. apparently i hadn’t been there in a year and a half. which makes sense cause i did some cleaning in boston the past year. the woman who helped me was new and said she joined in november. she was really nice, i think from her accent she might be from japan? she also reminded/showed me how to floss and brush my teeth cause of my gum inflammation. i wrapped up around 4:45pm and then drove home

the drive home was kind of scary. it was raining earlier on the way to the dentist, and on the way back still raining. but midway through it started to snow. and then started snowing hard... rain + snow is not a good combination. and the front windshield started to fog :O so i had to keep wiping it with my hand to see. and there was also traffic / rush hour so i decided to listen to some planet money podcasts

i listened to #889 pay what you want about panera’s experiment

https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=686660129

and #690 All in about a professional poker tournament

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/03/18/470866146/episode-690-all-in

interesting stuff! haven’t listened to a podcast in a long long while

- came home and played smash doubles online with sheena for a bit. then went downstairs to eat dinner with the fam around 6:30pm. mom got back from work just as i came out of the bathroom. sheena started chem so we talked a bit about chem at dinner and other stuff, a wholesome time :D 

- went back upstairs around 7:30pm to hop on a call with dimitri. we figured out HK and beijing housing and then we were done. we just need to plan some itineraries for the locations and we’re good. dimitri also added me to a group chat with cae simon and sam cause they’re planning to go to greece in august!! dimitri and i just kind of hung out on the call afterwards. i started patching smash cause pirahna plant was just released with v2.0. but then tried to play online and it said the servers were under maintenance until 10:30pm :( we hung up around 9pm. i wasn’t sure what to do so i decided to play some botw. i haven’t touched it since 11/22/18 according to my last save file

i played for maybe 15 minutes and then sheena came in asking if we could play online and i told her about the servers being down :’( she was like darn. cause she’s free for once cause it’s the start of the new marking period. we decided to mess around with pirahna plant locally against each other

josh messaged me on disc saying they have room for one more in fortnite squads if i wanna join. i was like ooh yeah. i told sheena i’m gonna play fortnite until 10:30pm so then we can play online

so i played fortnite with them around 9:30pm. it was a solid squad, it was josh with two of his friends. the second game we already won a victory royale LOL. i only got 1 kill though and was basically carried. but the very next game we started at tilted, and i got 4 kills and we won victory royale again. then a few games later, we won a third time :D and they called it a night and we stopped

also while this was happening, around 10:30pm i told sheena our squad was on a roll so i said she could play online solo if she wanted. so she played in my room while i was playing fortnite with them. sheena was having fun/also a bit of gamer rage :p also i asked jwoos to switch my online back to my old account. cause 1.) i thought i needed my old account cause i paid for pirahna plant on there (this turned out to be untrue). 2.) i was done experimenting to see if i was good enough to get into elite smash cause i thought win-loss ratio matters (but it doesn’t). so now i’m back on my old account with all my frens on switch :’) 

i signed off fortnite around 11:30pm, then played some doubles with sheena until 12:30am. then sheena went to sleep

i should’ve just gone to sleep buuut i wanted to play snake on the old account to get him to elite smash and got him there around 2:15am. took a shower and then went to sleep

the end

whew what a long day

[oneflewovermyhouse]

I Weep For The Future

I come from a large family. I often refer to my siblings and myself as a litter, if that gives you any idea. I can recall the day that my dad brought home our first gaming system. It was an Atari 2600 (yes, I am that old). We were so excited. We had been waiting for this for what seemed to be forever; of course, this is when we were kids, so it was probably more like two weeks. We immediately hooked it up and connected the controllers – two controllers. Did I mention there were a great number of offspring in our house? And, so it began. The fighting, the arguing, the raised octaves, and this was when my parents were around. Once it was just us kids, it would often turn into what would later be referred to as mixed martial arts. The two individuals left standing would be the ones to get the first go at Pong or Breakout or Space Invaders, maybe even Asteroids if we were up to collaboration. We would play for hours; of course, this is when we were kids, so it was probably more like 20 minutes or so. Time is funny.

Now that I am a parent, I realize that a gaming console is not such a bad thing, especially when there are only two kids. We have an older Nintendo Wii at this point, but honestly, they hardly play it. Instead, we have played on phones, iPads, a 3DS, and even Chromebooks. They don’t even play games with each other. This is fine. I can remember getting a GameBoy and cutting off the rest of the world; I get it. We are often asked, “Can I get on my iPad?” or “Can I play my Nintendo?” No problem; we won’t get into the whole screentime discussion at this juncture. One day, my son was upstairs playing his 3DS by himself, and I heard a faint voice coming from his room. I just thought it was from the game, but then I remembered that he used headphones. Now, I wonder what strange person has snuck into his room and is currently having a discussion with him. I went upstairs to find him laid out on the floor with Nintendo in hand, iPad next to him, and YouTube on. The mysterious voice had been identified. My son was watching a video of a person playing the game he was playing. He stated he was watching to learn tricks and secrets. Ok, I remember cheat codes and books for Nintendo; I can actually still recite the Contra code, so I can see the value in this, except for the annoying commentary from the “YouTuber.” I went on my way, confused but accepting. Over time, I grew increasingly maddened by the voice of this video game expert emanating from my son’s iPad, not to mention the fact that this douche was making money off his YouTube channel, and silly me, I went to college. Could you imagine watching a video of a person playing Donkey Kong and giving you their expert opinion on when the best time to jump is? To be perfectly honest, this “host” probably, legally, should not be talking to children in any capacity.

I have become somewhat desensitized to this concept and often leave my son to his own devices – literally. One afternoon, he comes downstairs after changing out of his school uniform. He looks at me and asks if I would sit down and watch a show with him. An opportunity to spend time with my son and sit on my ass? Count me in. I told him that I was not watching YouTube as I was afraid this is where he would head immediately. He conceded and pulled up Amazon Prime. I know that I am not necessarily going to enjoy what he chooses, but I can tolerate it for 23 minutes. As soon as the menu came up, panic enveloped my being. All across the home screen were “episodes” of people playing Pokémon, Minecraft, Digimon, and other equally torturous games. These YouTubers had infiltrated Amazon Prime, and now they were passing themselves off as shows. I had been hoodwinked by my child. You know something is bad when you would rather watch an episode of Pokémon. I begrudgingly permit one episode based purely on my being impressed with my son’s mastery of manipulation. Pride presents itself in many forms. Forty-seven seconds in, I find myself looking for anything nearby that can render me both blind and deaf. Meanwhile, my male heir is enthralled by what I assume is a grown man playing a child’s video game and narrating it as if he was Patton strategizing the invasion of Sicily. I began wondering how long it would take me to fall asleep and enjoy a nap. There was not enough time. The “show” ended, and I immediately sent him outside to play, and I used the following moments of silence to cleanse me of what I had just endured. People often wonder what has happened to society. Every once in a while we get a little bit of the answer provided to us.

So, to recap, when I was a kid, we would have literal fistfights over video game controllers. Today, kids are merely watching videos of other people playing video games. To quote the Maitre D’ from Chez Quis, I weep for the future.

[ds4design]

Router assimilated into the Borg, sends 3TB in 24 hours

reader comments 0

"Well, fuck."

Harsh language was appropriate under the circumstances. My router had just been hacked.

Setting up a reliable home network has always been a challenge for me. I live in a cramped three-story house and I don't like running cables. So my router's position is determined by the fiber modem. In a corner on the bottom floor. Not long after we moved in, I realized that our old Airport Extreme was not delivering much signal to the attic, where two game-obsessed occupants fought for bandwidth.

I tried all sorts of things. I extended the network. I used ethernet-over-powerline connectors to deliver network access. I made a mystic circle and danced naked under the full moon. We lost neighbors, but we didn't gain signal.

Eventually, I gave in to the inevitable. After some research, I purchased a router that, I was told, would probably deliver useable signal to the outer reaches of the solar system. And it worked. The Netgear R6400 left only one place in the house with little-to-no reception. But, crucially, my wife and son were happy gamers upstairs, <Netflix flixxed, and Youtube tubed. Life was sweet.

Then, sometime in January, I came home to find my boy Adrian with his face in a book. Adrian reads a lot, but there is a time and place for everything, and this was gaming time and gaming place. "How's it going, Adrian?"

"Oh, good. I gave up gaming. I kept getting kicked. Even downstairs."

I attributed that to a busy server somewhere. My connection seemed good, and no one else was complaining. A few days later, my daughter Jennifer was home from school sick. She sent me a message saying that her laptop couldn't connect to the network. I talked her through a bit of trouble shooting, and, after restarting the router, all seemed to be right again.

I was troubled, though. Adrian had basically given up on gaming, but Netflix worked, and no one else seemed to be having problems.

I looked at the router settings, and they seemed OK. The router showed no interference from competing networks, but the amount of traffic it logged was suspiciously high. Or was it? I'd never tracked my household traffic before, so I couldn't be sure that what I was looking at wasn't the normal combined Youtube and Netflix usage of five people plus regular visitors.

In fact, interpreting the data use was more difficult than it should have been. My computer was confused about how numbers should be displayed. Applications that pay proper attention to the system settings use a point as the decimal place and a comma for separating thousands, millions, etc. Applications that only pay attention to my location use a comma for a decimal point and dot to separate thousands and millions. (This discrepancy can probably be attributed to me being a New Zealander living in the Netherlands.) So either the router had logged terabytes of traffic in the last period, or it had logged almost nothing.

I knew I would have to investigate. But I travel a lot for work, so finding time was difficult.

Suddenly, connecting to the network in the attic was impossible again. I couldn't figure out why. Then I noticed that my phone was randomly connecting and disconnecting from the network. A few days later, I got a message from T-Mobile saying that I'd used all my mobile data for the month. For the remainder of the lunar cycle, I would be reduced to data delivered by drunken sloths. This had happened before, but I'd been traveling a lot then, and I had been careful when traveling ever since—the sloths had caused fellow passengers to complain. In any case, I knew it was time to pull finger and do somethingTM.

Events intervened, and I was forced to delay doing anything useful. But everyone in the house was getting increasingly frustrated with the network. Then, on my way home from work one Friday, Donna told me that absolutely nothing in the house could connect to the network. And now she couldn't do her work. Deadlines were being crossed, and it wasn't her that was going to be dead. I got the message.

I arrived home that Friday night to find a house full of disconnected family members. Then, bizarrely, upon my arrival, everything connected. I ran a speed test from my computer and Donna's phone at the same time. On average, we obtained 150 percent of our maximum-rated upload and download speed. I declared there to be no problem right now. We decided to watch a show on Netflix while I kept an eye on networking performance.

To do this, I installed Peakhour. It found the router and started displaying traffic. It didn't look like much. Netflix started streaming, which caused a small bump in traffic. But traffic swiftly flattened out to background value. As I watched an old Star Trek episode and the network traffic, I contacted the Orbiting HQ for advice on how to figure out if my router (or anything else) had been hacked.

"When the police arrest your for distributing child porn" was the helpful response.

In the meantime, the total amount of data that I'd transmitted crept up, and Netflix choked on a particularly painful Wesley Crusher moment. That's when the first useful suggestion came from the collective Ars brain: a stranger had probably managed to connect to our wifi.

I know our neighbors, and I didn't think that was likely. But a huge number of devices were connected to the router, so I couldn't be sure. We turned off everything that could be turned off and slept everything that could be slept. That left a couple of unknown devices, which I kicked off the network.

Nothing changed. In the first half hour or so that I'd been monitoring, I'd transmitted 25GB of data. By the time everything else had been disconnected from the router and I'd checked that the TV software was up to date, I'd logged 188GB of data (up and down combined).

Meanwhile, Eric, our managing editor, had dug up an article from December disclosing a vulnerability in my router. The command that was supposed to kill the problem... didn't. Later, I discovered that if the command didn't work, you were already patched. Not only that, the only way to distribute the hack was for someone on our internal network to visit a dodgy website.

Lee suggested that I install DD-WRT. A quick search of DD-WRT's online database suggested that my router wasn't supported.

Also, there had been a firmware update since the hack was reported, and I'd conscientiously installed it. An Internet search didn't provide any hint of any other problems. The collective wisdom dictated that restoring factory settings might solve the problem, and it was about the only thing I could do in any case.

Fast forward another 45 minutes. The router was reset, and the network was set up again. By the time I was done messing around, Peakhour had my traffic clocked at 470GB. But I'd gotten rid of the problem (or so I thought). The next morning, before I left for the weekend, I checked: the total traffic was at around 500GB. Maybe I'd defeated the hackers.

That night, I heard from Donna. She'd been monitoring traffic, which was now over 3TB. And, just to make sure we had no doubt, devices were dropping off the network again.

The factory reset had not worked.

When I got home, I put the Airport Express back in place. And, in the following four days, a whole 12GB of traffic was recorded. Of course, wifi coverage upstairs was terrible. Discontent filled the air.

I examined the router logs of the R6400 and discovered that it had been contacting an NTP server just about as fast as it could. Evidently, my router was being used to DDOS someone (sorry, whoever you are). This, as far as I can tell, has not been reported anywhere. I don't have the skills to analyze the hack properly. And, to be frank, I just wanted my router back, which I still wasn't ready to give up on.

After some searching, I discovered that the DD-WRT database isn't very good, and a firmware update was available for my router model. I downloaded it, read the instructions, and followed them. Half an hour later, I had my router back on line and was monitoring traffic: silence. When my computer was idle, the router logged almost no traffic. I kept a close eye for another 30 minutes before deciding that the router was off the botnet. I could set up my home network again.

DD-WRT is not the friendliest bit of software, but I managed to fumble my way through to get everything up and running. Except for the 5GHz radio, which remained stubbornly off. I went back to the DD-WRT stock of firmware and discovered that I could update to a new version. Unfortunately, this time I did not read the instructions as carefully...

And then I had a brick. Admittedly, it is a brick that is no longer part of a botnet, but it is also not very useful either. After more searching, I discovered that I could, apparently, fix the problem by connecting to the router through the JTAG port on the router's motherboard. By this time, though, I would have just as soon stabbed myself in the eyeball with a fork. It would save time and hurt less.

So the Airport Extreme is back in position, the R6400 is in the garage with all the other bricks, and the attic is a (nearly) wifi-free zone again. Next time I'll just run cable.

I admit that I'm annoyed at myself, DD-WRT, and Netgear. I could have been more careful and not ended up with a brick. DD-WRT could have a simpler upgrade procedure. And Netgear could provide a secure router. I also discovered during this tribulation that I am not the only one who has experienced similar problems. Although there seems to be very little on the Internet, I discovered that other people in our neighborhood had had a similar experience. They, too, had been unable to remove their router from the botnet by using factory resets and manufacturer-provided firmware. They ended up replacing their routers.

Now, two experiences don't provide us with any statistics to rely on. But if my experience is common, then maybe manufacturers need to start producing a more extensive range of tools to recover hacked routers.

[jccamus]

Router assimilated into the Borg, sends 3TB in 24 hours

reader comments 0

"Well, fuck."

Harsh language was appropriate under the circumstances. My router had just been hacked.

Setting up a reliable home network has always been a challenge for me. I live in a cramped three-story house and I don't like running cables. So my router's position is determined by the fiber modem. In a corner on the bottom floor. Not long after we moved in, I realized that our old Airport Extreme was not delivering much signal to the attic, where two game-obsessed occupants fought for bandwidth.

I tried all sorts of things. I extended the network. I used ethernet-over-powerline connectors to deliver network access. I made a mystic circle and danced naked under the full moon. We lost neighbors, but we didn't gain signal.

Eventually, I gave in to the inevitable. After some research, I purchased a router that, I was told, would probably deliver useable signal to the outer reaches of the solar system. And it worked. The Netgear R6400 left only one place in the house with little-to-no reception. But, crucially, my wife and son were happy gamers upstairs, <Netflix flixxed, and Youtube tubed. Life was sweet.

Then, sometime in January, I came home to find my boy Adrian with his face in a book. Adrian reads a lot, but there is a time and place for everything, and this was gaming time and gaming place. "How's it going, Adrian?"

"Oh, good. I gave up gaming. I kept getting kicked. Even downstairs."

I attributed that to a busy server somewhere. My connection seemed good, and no one else was complaining. A few days later, my daughter Jennifer was home from school sick. She sent me a message saying that her laptop couldn't connect to the network. I talked her through a bit of trouble shooting, and, after restarting the router, all seemed to be right again.

I was troubled, though. Adrian had basically given up on gaming, but Netflix worked, and no one else seemed to be having problems.

I looked at the router settings, and they seemed OK. The router showed no interference from competing networks, but the amount of traffic it logged was suspiciously high. Or was it? I'd never tracked my household traffic before, so I couldn't be sure that what I was looking at wasn't the normal combined Youtube and Netflix usage of five people plus regular visitors.

In fact, interpreting the data use was more difficult than it should have been. My computer was confused about how numbers should be displayed. Applications that pay proper attention to the system settings use a point as the decimal place and a comma for separating thousands, millions, etc. Applications that only pay attention to my location use a comma for a decimal point and dot to separate thousands and millions. (This discrepancy can probably be attributed to me being a New Zealander living in the Netherlands.) So either the router had logged terabytes of traffic in the last period, or it had logged almost nothing.

I knew I would have to investigate. But I travel a lot for work, so finding time was difficult.

Suddenly, connecting to the network in the attic was impossible again. I couldn't figure out why. Then I noticed that my phone was randomly connecting and disconnecting from the network. A few days later, I got a message from T-Mobile saying that I'd used all my mobile data for the month. For the remainder of the lunar cycle, I would be reduced to data delivered by drunken sloths. This had happened before, but I'd been traveling a lot then, and I had been careful when traveling ever since—the sloths had caused fellow passengers to complain. In any case, I knew it was time to pull finger and do somethingTM.

Events intervened, and I was forced to delay doing anything useful. But everyone in the house was getting increasingly frustrated with the network. Then, on my way home from work one Friday, Donna told me that absolutely nothing in the house could connect to the network. And now she couldn't do her work. Deadlines were being crossed, and it wasn't her that was going to be dead. I got the message.

I arrived home that Friday night to find a house full of disconnected family members. Then, bizarrely, upon my arrival, everything connected. I ran a speed test from my computer and Donna's phone at the same time. On average, we obtained 150 percent of our maximum-rated upload and download speed. I declared there to be no problem right now. We decided to watch a show on Netflix while I kept an eye on networking performance.

To do this, I installed Peakhour. It found the router and started displaying traffic. It didn't look like much. Netflix started streaming, which caused a small bump in traffic. But traffic swiftly flattened out to background value. As I watched an old Star Trek episode and the network traffic, I contacted the Orbiting HQ for advice on how to figure out if my router (or anything else) had been hacked.

"When the police arrest your for distributing child porn" was the helpful response.

In the meantime, the total amount of data that I'd transmitted crept up, and Netflix choked on a particularly painful Wesley Crusher moment. That's when the first useful suggestion came from the collective Ars brain: a stranger had probably managed to connect to our wifi.

I know our neighbors, and I didn't think that was likely. But a huge number of devices were connected to the router, so I couldn't be sure. We turned off everything that could be turned off and slept everything that could be slept. That left a couple of unknown devices, which I kicked off the network.

Nothing changed. In the first half hour or so that I'd been monitoring, I'd transmitted 25GB of data. By the time everything else had been disconnected from the router and I'd checked that the TV software was up to date, I'd logged 188GB of data (up and down combined).

Meanwhile, Eric, our managing editor, had dug up an article from December disclosing a vulnerability in my router. The command that was supposed to kill the problem... didn't. Later, I discovered that if the command didn't work, you were already patched. Not only that, the only way to distribute the hack was for someone on our internal network to visit a dodgy website.

Lee suggested that I install DD-WRT. A quick search of DD-WRT's online database suggested that my router wasn't supported.

Also, there had been a firmware update since the hack was reported, and I'd conscientiously installed it. An Internet search didn't provide any hint of any other problems. The collective wisdom dictated that restoring factory settings might solve the problem, and it was about the only thing I could do in any case.

Fast forward another 45 minutes. The router was reset, and the network was set up again. By the time I was done messing around, Peakhour had my traffic clocked at 470GB. But I'd gotten rid of the problem (or so I thought). The next morning, before I left for the weekend, I checked: the total traffic was at around 500GB. Maybe I'd defeated the hackers.

That night, I heard from Donna. She'd been monitoring traffic, which was now over 3TB. And, just to make sure we had no doubt, devices were dropping off the network again.

The factory reset had not worked.

When I got home, I put the Airport Express back in place. And, in the following four days, a whole 12GB of traffic was recorded. Of course, wifi coverage upstairs was terrible. Discontent filled the air.

I examined the router logs of the R6400 and discovered that it had been contacting an NTP server just about as fast as it could. Evidently, my router was being used to DDOS someone (sorry, whoever you are). This, as far as I can tell, has not been reported anywhere. I don't have the skills to analyze the hack properly. And, to be frank, I just wanted my router back, which I still wasn't ready to give up on.

After some searching, I discovered that the DD-WRT database isn't very good, and a firmware update was available for my router model. I downloaded it, read the instructions, and followed them. Half an hour later, I had my router back on line and was monitoring traffic: silence. When my computer was idle, the router logged almost no traffic. I kept a close eye for another 30 minutes before deciding that the router was off the botnet. I could set up my home network again.

DD-WRT is not the friendliest bit of software, but I managed to fumble my way through to get everything up and running. Except for the 5GHz radio, which remained stubbornly off. I went back to the DD-WRT stock of firmware and discovered that I could update to a new version. Unfortunately, this time I did not read the instructions as carefully...

And then I had a brick. Admittedly, it is a brick that is no longer part of a botnet, but it is also not very useful either. After more searching, I discovered that I could, apparently, fix the problem by connecting to the router through the JTAG port on the router's motherboard. By this time, though, I would have just as soon stabbed myself in the eyeball with a fork. It would save time and hurt less.

So the Airport Extreme is back in position, the R6400 is in the garage with all the other bricks, and the attic is a (nearly) wifi-free zone again. Next time I'll just run cable.

I admit that I'm annoyed at myself, DD-WRT, and Netgear. I could have been more careful and not ended up with a brick. DD-WRT could have a simpler upgrade procedure. And Netgear could provide a secure router. I also discovered during this tribulation that I am not the only one who has experienced similar problems. Although there seems to be very little on the Internet, I discovered that other people in our neighborhood had had a similar experience. They, too, had been unable to remove their router from the botnet by using factory resets and manufacturer-provided firmware. They ended up replacing their routers.

Now, two experiences don't provide us with any statistics to rely on. But if my experience is common, then maybe manufacturers need to start producing a more extensive range of tools to recover hacked routers.

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