#even though weve been talking for years and shes been my comfort. but i think its cuz she came when i didnt expect her and she just took my
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sunday-12-25 · 3 months ago
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love being crazy. never a dull moment
#its ridiculous how i present myself and my symptoms so neatly sorted VERSUS how i actually experience that shit first-hand#we were doing some grounding safe-space exercise with my doc today n i was you know. imagining the places#n then out of nowhere i saw -her- there. i dont know why it felt so surprising but... she came for me and i was so... touched#like i... think i just... i didnt know she was real? i thought. god this sounds so miserable but i really thought i was making her do this#even though weve been talking for years and shes been my comfort. but i think its cuz she came when i didnt expect her and she just took my#hand and i. i did feel safe#it did feel like a safe space. but then i was so shocked by this whole thing that i forgot why we were even doing this exercise in the firs#place n my doc was like so! what did you see : ) n i know i could. have been quiet but i guess we were trying to mask less and i was still#so shocked that i really just told her. yes doc i... saw a... a friend. shes been with me for a while now but i was still thinking shes jus#a character or something. but she came to me and she told me she cared and im just so happy that shes real bcs i love her#ive loved her and i thought i was making her stay but she wanted to stay with me! bcs she loved me too!!#and i was like trying not to spontaneously cry bcs i legit was NOT expecting any of that. and i was also ... actually i dont think i though#abt it feeling cringe. even tho it. is a little difficult... but i DID think about how strange it felt to be honest abt it with a doctor#bcs its like... with the docs ive had and life in general its always...not about being honest but abt HOW WILL SAYING THIS HELP ME GET X#and yeah i dont trust them. even tho i... trust these doctors i guess. theyve been handling it well for years. they admit the system#still it feels so damn unsafe to mention anything cuz how crazy is TOO crazy for a person with power over you... anyway i do trust the doc#n she knew. but its still weirdddd to mention shit abt it that is not life or death. but it was so out of nowhere and i was so happy like#KATRIN!!! KATRIN SHES REAL!! SHES REAL OH GOD SHES ACTUALLY THERE FOR ME IM GOING TO CRY!!!! WHAT WERE WE TALKING ABT
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am-i-the-asshole-official · 11 months ago
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WIBTA for inviting my cousin to an LGBT meet up?
Cw: mentions of suicide and transphobia
I (18M) am a trans man and my cousin N (21F) is a lesbian who is very masc presenting. We're the only queer cousins in the family (at least in our generation) so weve always been good friends and shes been one of the biggest supporters of my transition, defended me from bigoted family members and always corrected family when they used my deadname/old pronouns. I lowkey hoped she would come out as a trans man or nonbinary as well. We dress in the same style which makes it so when were hanging out together one of us is gonna get misgendered since people asume both of us are trans men or masc girls. When N is the one being misgendered she doesnt bother fighting it since its more trouble than its worth but looking back i think it really annoyed her.
Earlier this year N was severely struggling with her mental health. I apologize for the wording i may have since i dont know the proper terminology for this stuff or any specific disorder diagnosis she may have (other than autism). She was having some sort of manic or depressive episode. She was dead set on pushing people away and making them hate her so she could take her own life without regrets.
I visited N once to give her my support during a struggling time but i stupidly told her there was nothing she could say that would push me away. She told me not to test her but i kept pushing it and i admit what happened next was my fault. She told me in a very cold voice that she was a terf, though that she didnt want me dead but that "we" (im guessing she meant trans ppl) made it so much harder for her to exist(???????). I didnt let her keep talking just and left her room, said my goodbyes to her family and just cried while driving home.
Im still not sure if she meant it or if it was part of her mental episode and just a way for her to hurt me and push me away. On one hand ig it explains some of her behavior? N sometimes complained when she got asked for her pronouns or being misgendered like I mentioned before. On the other hand, I gen do not believe she has been a terf all along esp with how supportive shes been of me. If she was a terf youd think she would try to subtly talk me out of it, but that has never happened. My friends have nicknamed her schrodinger's terf lol
Anyway, i went no contact with N for a few months for my own wellbeing. During this time i heard that she tried to kill herself a few times, which got her into a mental hospital. She was given higher doses of meds and seems to be doing way better.
We had a family reunion this week and i decided to approach her. N seemed a little hesitant to talk to me but stayed polite. I tried testing her and talked about the effects T has been having on me but she acted like she always had and congratulated me and even complimented me on how deep my voice has gotten. I wasnt satisfied cause i wanted an apology for what she had said to me so i pushed it more. She did end up apologzing but it was a very surface level apology. At this point i didnt want to keep pushing in case it set her off again so i just took her apology (plus i wanted my best cousin back) and spent the rest of the day hanging out with her.
On the way home my mom said she was happy me and N had made up and that i should invite her to the lgbt club meetings Ive been going to this year. It seemed like a good idea to me, she lost a few friends during her episode and she could make more queer friends here. If N is trans and just in denial it could help her get the resources she needs to feel comfortable coning out. If N IS a terf maybe having more positive interactions with trans ppl could change her mind on it. Overall i thought it would be a win for her.
I brought it up to my friends and some of them blew up at me. Their argument was that itd be exposing the other trans ppl in the group to a terf and putting them in danger. I truly hadnt considered this angle so im kinda conflicted now. She had never felt like an unsafe person before and now that her episode is over she feels normal again. Even if she is a terf i dont think she could actually cause harm? I want N to get better but i dont want to put my trans friends at risk.
So tumblr, WIBTA for inviting N to my lgbt meet up?
What are these acronyms?
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nitewrighter · 2 years ago
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prompt request: weve seen cindy interact with the prince, with the queen and even had a few scenes of her and brad talking, but besides the lobby scene and the narration scene of wedding planning we havent actually seen the king and cindy interact. id love a fic of these two talking and getting to know one another!
You know, I was working on a fic for the Fairy Godmother but for some reason this one came to me much faster!
Also if you’re interested in my whole Cinderella re-telling you can find the masterpost here! I’ll probably be uploading the king and queen ficlets on there as well, soon.
Anyway CW for animal death and blood. 
--- 
So it had been about a year and a half since the stepmother passed. And like, Cindy liked to think she was pretty settled in at the palace--hell, scratch that, she really worked out a flow of things. It's kind of one of those situations where like, you're comfortable, but it's also like, "This is great. I'm going to get a good grade in Princess Consort." But this was about the time when like, just when you're getting used to something, someone throws you a curveball.
Now, because they didn't have zoom or skype or tv or anything back then, sometimes it was necessary for a ruler to make a tour--partially to connect with local and foreign leaders to maintain control and diplomacy, and partially make themselves known to the public like "Hi, hello, you have a government." So anyway, that's how Cindy, found herself sitting sidesaddle on horseback in some craggy forested mountains, repeatedly feeling at the one hunting dagger the queen’s kinsmen had given her belted to her hip, hearing hounds bay in the distance, and feeling completely out of her depth even with her Emotional Support Travel Rat.
"You're sure we don't have to kill anything?" she glanced over at the king next to her.
"Mm?" the king was looking at a particularly impressive woodpecker through a pair of binoculars.
"I said, 'You're sure we don't have to kill anything?'" said Cindy.
“No, Highness,” Brad spoke up from his own destrier next to her and Cindy eased up a little, though Brad seemed as tensed as ever. There had been a very long, drawn-out argument over whether Brad would go along with the Queen and Prince or stay behind with the King and Cindy, each side insisting the other needed his protection more, until one of the Queen’s old kinsman swung an arm around the prince and loudly proclaimed he would look after the heir of his most beloved general. It was clear now that, given the quietness of Cindy and the King’s own situation, that Brad thought he really really should be on the hunt with the Queen and Prince, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now, since he didn’t know where the hunting party was.
The king lowered his binoculars to look at Cindy. "I used to think I had to--you know, 'Manly King' and all that, but it turns out the nobility around here mostly use these trips for day-drinking and letting the hounds run themselves out," he looked through his binoculars again, only to find that the woodpecker had flown off. He lowered the binoculars again, "And I've been assured the whole, 'quiet contemplation of nature while extolling the healthful benefits of mountain air' is quite fashionable these days. "
"It is beautiful out here," Cindy pivoted her horse slightly to look out at the mountain vista through the trees. The air had a damp, heavy feel, that was not altogether unpleasant when contrasted with the warmth one built up from riding, “It’s strange, when the Queen spoke of her homeland... she always made it sound like--I mean---that is to say---”
“...’flaming death pit?’” The king offers her a reassuring smile, “She undersells how much good she and her allies really did here. Though... in fairness it has been a while since we’ve all been back. Much of these woods really were burned when I first came here.” He made a sound that was half huff, half chuckle before he swung off his horse, pushing his hips out and to the side to relieve the stiffness of riding so long. “There I was, carriage bumping along with all these... blackened skeletons of trees all around me, and just when I’m thinking, ‘Hm. Well this is all very concerning.’ Bam. The majority of my guard slaughtered and then I’m clubbed over the head.”
Cindy’s lips thinned and her fingers tightened on her horse’s reins, and her Emotional Support Travel Rat balled up on her shoulder.
“Your Majesty...” Brad started.
“Right, not very appropriate, is it?” the King mused before glancing back at Cindy, “I’m sorry--That’s terribly grisly subject matter for such a lovely day out.”
“N-no, it’s...fine,” Cindy stammered, “You and Her Majesty always talk about it like it’s some... great adventure... I just... wish I could be as strong.”
The king stared at her for about half a second too long then before glancing down and saying, “...we’ve gotten very good at talking about it like it was some great adventure.” He ambled down the path a few paces, not looking at her. “The sad truth is... a lot of the time--more than we think-- we don’t have control over the things that change us. All that we can control is who we want to be in the face of that. I’d wager you probably know a thing or two about that.”
Cindy smiled a wan smile. “I hope so. It’s gotten better,” she gave a glance to the rat on her shoulder and let it sniff and nuzzle at her finger, “I think I’ve gotten a much better idea of what I want to do--it seems the hardest part is convincing people I know what I want and what I’m doing... maybe convincing myself, most of all.”
“Well... when you’re king...” he went on, “You’re afforded--forced, is more like it--a certain perspective on things. You’re constantly forced to think about things on.. on this grand scale, you can’t assume the basic reasonableness of individuals--you have to think in terms of, ‘What’s the stupidest conclusion a lot of people will jump to and immediately act on’ and mad questions like that. But when you’re observing people on that kind of scale, it almost becomes like observing a landscape--you see a lot of stupid things, certainly, but you never stop being amazed by people’s capacity for healing, for resilience,” he plucked up a small wood anemone and walked back to her, “For growth. And you learn to find that in yourself.” He held the small blossom up to her. Cindy took it, smiling, and tucked it behind one ear as her Emotional Support Travel Rat gave it a few curious sniffs.
There was the bellow of a loud horn and all three of them glanced up.
“There--see?” the King glanced at Brad, “I told you they had it handled.”
In the next quarter of the hour, the queen, her kinsmen, and the prince reunited with the king, Brad, and Cindy. The queen was spattered in no small amount of blood and was carrying the body of a massive boar on her shoulders. Behind her, also spattered in blood, and looking significantly more shaken, was the prince. The queen dumped the boar’s body on the forest floor with a satisfied, “Grah!” of an exhale. 
“Ah, the mighty huntress! I was just saying to Brad--” the king started before the queen suddenly took him up in her arms, dipped him, and kissed him long and hard enough that the entire hunting party awkwardly glanced off before she brought him upright.
 “Hah!” she made that satisfied exhale noise again and gave the king a hearty, audible slap on the ass. “I needed that!” 
“R-right...” the king stammered, adjusting his glasses. 
“Oh you should have seen your son, darling!” the queen practically whirled the king up off his feet in a spiraling dervish, “He was brilliant! We got five musket balls in the beast! Two on one side and three on the other and it kept charging towards us! But then Chazz started hollering and weaving and flailing his arms about and running around in the thickets--led it on the wildest goose chase you ever saw--gave me the perfect opportunity to climb up to the tree limbs above and plunge down onto it with a spear.” She glanced back at her kinsmen, “And that’s why you always bring spears!” She ruffled the prince’s hair, which didn’t seem to snap him out of his daze, “My clever boy!”
Cindy rushed to the prince in a heartbeat, taking him up in her arms, and he was deliriously and aimlessly spouting out the words, “Yes. Planned. Definitely planned that. All part of the plan.” Cindy kissed him on the cheek, smearing some blood on her own face in the process but apparently unaffected about it despite her previous nervousness. He blinked a few times and stared at her a couple seconds. “What happened--?” she kissed him on the jaw this time. “Am I not dead?”
“No, it would seem you did very well,” Cindy smiled, taking a kerchief out of one of her dress pockets and dabbing at his face slightly with it.
“Oh,” he said dumbly and then after a long beat he said, “I would very much like a bath.”
And so the hunting party strapped the felled boar to the back of the queen’s horse and departed from the woods for the lodge of the Queen’s kinsmen.
“Princess,” Brad spoke up from his horse.
“Mm?” Cindy glanced at him.
“You’ve got a little--” Brad gestured at his mouth and chin. 
“Oh!” Cindy wiped away boar’s blood from her face with her kerchief, “Thank you, Captain.”
A long pause passed between them. Brad glanced back at the prince, who was staring blankly into the middle distance from his horse before looking back at Cindy.
“The blood doesn’t frighten you?” Brad said at last.
“Not really,” Cindy shrugged, “My stepfamily couldn’t stand the butcher in our village, so they usually made me get any meat from him. His wife made some wonderful black pudding.” 
“It’s just, earlier you seemed very concerned about killing---”
“Oh, well I know where meat comes from. I just imagine hunting is very time-sensitive, and I would hate if everyone were hunting, and then suddenly it was up to me, but then at the worst possible moment I would--” she mimicked herself stiffening up in her saddle with a stunned look on her face, “And I would let everyone down. You know?” 
“I... think so...?” Brad said slowly. 
Cindy leaned a little closer to Brad in her saddle and lowered her voice slightly, “You don’t think it would be too presumptuous to ask to be in the kitchens when they’re prepping it, do you? I’ve been wanting to see how they season things here since we first arrived” she suddenly perked up, “Oh! Do you think they’ll let me use the sausage grinder?” 
“I’m sure we can ask, highness,” said Brad, somehow feeling just as worn out by this conversation as if he had actually been on the hunt.
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elriel-oblivion · 4 years ago
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Okay here's the thing.. I respect everyone's opinions and they can ship whoever they want but like... For Elucien and Gwynriel... I literally cannot even see how. I would gladly ship them if someone gave me a valid reason. Elain avoids talking or even being in the same room as Lucien, and Azriel had one polite conversation with Gwyn. Az is just nice to her. As nice as he would be to any female. Elriel has foreshadowing & chemistry- The roses painted on her drawer and the rose necklace...👀
Strongly agree with all of this!! My main problem with anything that's not elriel is that a lot of anti-elriel shippers completely ignore or erase Elain. With these ships, it's always what benefits Elain does or doesn't bring. It's so misogynistic, people just ignore everything she's mentioned about her own heart and how she doesn't want a mate or the bond, she doesn't care for it, but oh Lucien's had such a hard life, he deserves his mate!!!!!
😒😒😒
Surely he deserves someone who wants him as much as he wants them, no?
Non-elriel-endgame with the canon we currently have would mean Elain's choices are stripped once again since she'd have to give up/lose the love she actually wants in favour of one she doesn't want that's attached to some cultural concept that means zilch to her and her human heart. I mean, sure sjm could spin it so Elain catches feelings for Lucien and they end up happily mated. But then what is the point of having Elain constantly avoid him for three books? That's not even setting up for a good relationship bc every time they interact/meet, the communication just gets worse.
While I can honestly see the potential of gwynriel bc platonic interactions can later become romantic, I still don't ship it bc it doesn't feel right the way elriel does to me. I can def see gwynriel becoming a strong healthy friendship, but if it's endgame then Elain ends up with Lucien, whom she visibly shrinks from and has been avoiding since acowar. She doesn't feel seen by him at all - as much as I love Lucien and truly do want him to have his own HEA, we can't deny that he's really just pursuing (I use pursuing in the loosest way since he's very respectful about it 😅) Elain bc of the bond. If we take that away, there's nothing between them imo and he probably wouldn't give Elain more than a passing glance for her beauty and that's it bc she's not the type of girl he's into.
But people don't wanna think about how that makes Elain feel. This girl who previously felt seen by only one person - who then rejected her bc of that bond itself - and craves someone to see who she truly is, is being courted by someone who doesn't actually like her for her, but just the idea of what a relationship with her would entail. He's only trying bc of some divine belief she doesn't share. That must suck like hell. It's almost objectfying, the bond. And again, I don't blame Lucien at all, not even for trying bc it is something that's important to him and his culture, but it's not a mutual thing. If it were important to Elain too and she just wasn't cooperating bc of some stupid shallow reason, then I'd be angry at her. But that's not the case at all.
But with Azriel, the first person to see her since Graysen, there's so much potential for growth - for both of them. They make each other feel seen. And for all that antis say neither has grown in the time they've known each other, how did Az pluck up the courage to almost kiss Elain after having not done anything with Mor for five centuries? How did Elain initiate that kiss - ie have the courage to follow her heart again after having it torn and shredded by Graysen? And anyway, weve never seen into Elain's head so we don't know what she feels has changed within her; we can only detect subtle changes from other povs, but there might be some huge changes in her learnt from Azriel, maybe about her outlook on life/strength, that she's just keeping hidden for the time (or that no one has bothered to see bc Elain is invisible 😭). Same with Azriel. One little chapter isn't gonna tell us everything he's been thinking the past two years.
But either way, we know now that they both have feelings for each other. Why is a mutual healthy relationship shut down so quickly, one where both partners' choices are taken heed of? If Elain had said no in that moment, Azriel would've stepped back instantly, no questions asked. He probably would've have some huge internal conflict about his own self worth but he wouldn't have gone further without Elain's consent. He's already shown he respects her, he said they've been sharing looks and touches, and these are things fandom eat up, so I don't understand why it's suddenly wrong or unwanted just bc Elain makes up half the ship.
And there's so much foreshadowing/symbolism that antis seem oblivious to, which, fair enough, interpret the text how you want. But even if somebody doesn't see the spark or blooming feelings between the pair throughout the books (how do they explain away all the stiffness whenever one of them is mentioned or is in the same room or something though? Genuinely curious here), there's a lot of plot foreshadowing. The Blood Duel has now been mentioned twice, as has the idea of breaking the bond, maybe more. There's the issue with Koschei and Elain not being able to see things related to him past mist and shadow. There's all this potential conflict that could arise between the Courts if elriel pursue their love, and conflict is the driving force of any novel.
If gwynriel were an IRL couple, I wouldn't care if there were never any conflict, but if I'm reading their story, I want more than just them falling in love and having internal conflict about whether they should kiss the other or not. Especially if the backdrop is a fantasy world on the brink of war with many players. I saw a gwynriel post mentioning Merrill once and while I do think she has the potential to be a running antagonist, I don't see her as anything but a subplot/crony for/associate with another stronger villain. I don't think she could carry a whole novel at the moment. So Gwyn is tied to nothing in the overarching plot. Same with Az. Not to mention all the theories about the Koschei/Swan Lake/firebird folklore that is potentially inspiring this new series in the acotar world. Of course, this could all change as we get more info about the next book/s and all, but compared to elriel certainly, I don't think there's as much conflict with gwynriel.
Ultimately, I don't claim knowledge of the next books' content, so I don't really care what people ship, but the main thing I take issue with is how they treat Elain in the midst. A lot of gwynriel arguments I've seen portray certain acts in a romantic/positive light for Gwyn but either completely ignore or erase any semblance of romance for Elain or tear her down. Like, we shouldn't push the narrative that Gwyn as an SA survivor can't have healthy meaningful sex in the future (yeah, of course I agree), yet some of the same people who say that are also people who judge and make fun of Elain and call her too vanilla for Az without having a clue what her bedroom habits/preferences are 🤯 This is just one of many. There are so many double standards I've seen for gwynriel against elriel and I'm just tired of it. And even if they're not doing any of that, they simply hate Elain and don't want her to be with Az and so ship gwynriel as the next best alternative. Like, can they not push down Elain in favour of Gwyn, please? That's so misogynistic 🤮
For all that this fandom flaunts the series being feminist with strong female characters, they sure do a good job in tearing down females who don't fit their definition of strong, despite even Feyre stating and acknowledging multiple times that Elain has a different kind of strength 😒
Gahhhhhhh. *exhales deeeeeeeeply* Sorry this is so damn LONG!! 😅😅😅😅😅 I did not expect to write a whole bloody essay lol but I hope it was fun/comforting to read at least 😅😆 I know I fall back on elriel posts when the ship war gets too intense bc I actually enjoy shipping elriel. They've become my otp, and I absolutely adore both characters of the ship; I think most of us elriels do. I haven't really seen any elriel stans who dislike/don't care for Elain and her welfare so it's nice being in this corner of the fandom where we can appreciate both Az and Elain equally. And of course, the other characters with their due respect. I truly do want Lucien to finally get his good life, but I don't think that's with Elain 😕
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inkykeiji · 3 years ago
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Heya! Not a new follower but I never really had the courage to send anything thru your askbox (: i just wanted to say that i really love your works and love the age gaps! Reason why im saying this is bc of one ask i saw and also bc my bf is seven years older than me and literally everyone we know gives us tons of shit for it. Last week he broke down abd told me we should break up bc he doesn't want me to go thru all that bullshit for him. I'm gonna be 21 in late december and he turned 28 in early September and one of my now ex friends sent him a card saying "happy bday old geezer go fuck someone your own age". We'd been together long distance ever since I was 19 and this year he finally managed to move in my town. When we were long distance it was easier to deal w these comments but now that we can't even go out bc we'll bump into someone we know is fuckin awful. Is our relationship really not okay? I have my fair share of traumatic experiences and his family situation is actually pretty similar to Touya (he introduced me to bnha bc he really connected with dabi and before that shouto for slightly diff reasons) but like, idk my therapist says she doesn't think my traumas are influencing me to be w someone older (i cant explain it any better bc it would ve too personal) but yea I'm just so fucking scared and worried and even though your works are helping both of us it's still so hard some days. If we break up I'd rather it be bc we just don't click anymore, not bc someone doesn't like that he's seven years older than me. What do you think? Are we really doing the wrong thing by being together? Is he a bad person for bejng with me when i was 19? Weve always been fully aware of our age difference and didn't just jump in the relatiinship, we rlly talked about it cuz we know we shouldn't fall back on ppl who have too much going on to help us and for us to help them if that makes sense so why is it so bad? Sorry for this long depresing ask i just dont know where else to say it without feeling judged..
hello anon <33
first off, i want to begin by saying that i'm super happy to hear that you can find comfort in my work; that means so very much to me <3
oh gosh anon babie i am so sorry this is causing you both so much stress and anguish!! i have a lot to say so please bear with me, my response will be long!!
first of all, in my opinion, as long as your relationship is healthy and you both are happy, then it is absolutely NONE of anyone else's business. you're both adults. you both took the time to seriously think this out and made an informed decision. no two relationships are alike; they're all unique and they all depend on the participants in the relationship, you know? age gaps aren't always inherently BAD. they can be, but almost anything 'can be' bad (ie too much coffee can be bad for you, too much time spent online can be bad for you, etc.). circumstances and nuances and all of those little details matter A LOT, and they will vary greatly from relationship to relationship depending on a variety of factors. i think that there are so many people in our contemporary world that so desperately wish that moral matters such as these were easily definable and neatly categorized to fit into these tiny little boxes of GOOD and BAD when in reality morality is so extremely grey.
for example, the relationship between, let’s say, a 21 year old student and her 28 year old teaching assistant, or a relationship between a 21 year old worker and her 28 year old supervisor would have a more substantial power imbalance than the more simple imbalance in your own relationship which, based on the information you've given me, seems to ONLY pertain to the age difference. now, those examples i gave above don't automatically make those relationships BAD, it just means that there is a bigger potential for misuse of that power, etc etc. my point here being that there are SEVERAL factors that would influence an abusive or toxic misuse of that power, not always solely the age difference itself. does that make sense?
i think that card your ex friend sent him is incredibly tasteless. once again, your relationship is absolutely none of their business. also, if you've discussed this with your therapist and they don't think that it's harming either of you, i think that's a good sign!
i think it's also important to keep in mind that everyone will have different opinions on this situation, just as everyone has their very own set of morals and opinions and beliefs. everyone will have different feelings and 'truths' towards it. but your opinion doesn't have to align with theirs. YOU know your relationship best. YOU know what is true for your specific relationship and what isn't. just because one person doesn't agree with your relationship or thinks it is somehow 'wrong' doesn't mean it IS. there are plenty of people who think the content i create is 'wrong', and their opinions are fine and valid, and they're allowed to have them. i, however, 100% disagree with them, for several reasons. and that's okay, we can agree to disagree, and move on with our lives. 
i think what i'm really trying to say is: COULD an age gap contribute to some sort of misdoing (ie abuse) in a relationship? sure. does it ALWAYS? no, not at all. COULD a relationship with no age gap experience the exact same misdoings? YES, absolutely. there's so much more that goes into an unhealthy/bad/toxic relationship; so many other factors, you know? an age gap is just one of those things that COULD *potentially* be a singular factor, but is in no means and by no way ALWAYS a factor, or is this ALWAYS the case.
i totally get what you mean when you say you’d rather you break up because you don’t mesh well, NOT because of what others think of your relationship, and i agree!! i think it’s super sweet that he’s so considerate and is worried about what you might go through due to the judgemental people you’re surrounded by, but if you think he is worth the suffering, then tell him so! to answer your final questions: no, i do not think it’s wrong for the two of you to be together: this is a consensual relationship between two adults. i most definitely do not think he is a bad person; what would make him a ‘bad’ person are his INTENTIONS. if he got with you at the age of 19 with the INTENT to use the power imbalance an age gap may sometimes present to HIS advantage, he’d be doing the wrong thing. if he was manipulating you and using your inexperience or naiveness against you, he would be doing the wrong thing. do you see where this is going? his intention matters a lot more than the seven year age gap, in my personal opinion.
at the end of the day, it's your decision, and your morals, and your relationship. i can only offer you my opinions here, but you in no way have to agree with them, you know? it isn't my place (or anyone else's!!) to tell you whether or not your relationship is 'bad'. that's up for the two of you to decide. ultimately, i can only give you my thoughts based on the information you’ve given me; i don’t know either of you or your relationship, but YOU DO!! work together to make an informed decision based on the unique details of YOUR relationship, and try not to care what others think. there will always people who disagree with you, no matter what you’re doing, no matter how good you’re striving to be, and honestly that’s their problem, not yours. what matters is that YOU know the truth.
i hope this all makes sense anon, and i hope it helps a little <3 these are my personal thoughts on the issue!
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genius11rare · 3 years ago
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Chit Chat 72821 AH 13 year anniversary
Chit Chat 13 year anniversary stream 72821 with Jack Michael Jeremy and voices of Geoff , lindsay , sudden matt and Ky
Jack: welcome to our birthday stream , sponsored by expressvpn if you don't have a vpn why don't yo- and i already lost all my frames…. Its our 13th bday we are no long preteens we are teens (someone , i assume michael uses airhorn sfx) Jack: hang on i got one (sarah no sfx x7) , we also got voices of geoff , alfredo is here , weve got Ky Deafened (jeremy wheezzes) and lindsay possibly and see trevor too… ok lindblad im switchin to firefox this is broken. Geoff: earlier we had our company wide All Hands meeting talking about whats going on… i don't expect you guys to go (jeremy uh oh) but i go cuz i care , trevor gave a speech about AH history and it was great , better than i couldve done so thanks trevor. Michael: wish i had boos and Hisses on my soundboard but i don't. Jack: todays also my wifes birthday so… im actually not supposed to be here today so *laughs* thanks to everyone whos supported over the last 13 years… Ky qwasnt even born yet (Michael: and she already made that joke) i know i said that in hope to get her to respond but shes deafeand. Michael: but that's how Deafen works… Jeremy: no shes like a jedi she would feel the joke. GeoffL di you get your internet fixed this week which then broke it 2 more times (jack: no , sounds like you tho) oh i guess that's just me then. Jack: geoff you hit record? Geoff: you know i didn't! *showing lucky 13 merch , at a poker table* Jack: so now that were 13 we can gamble. Geoff: 13 is legal gambling age in some counties of west virginia and mississippi  Jeremy: and we should ALL model ourselves after those 2 states. Jack: the beacons of america. Michael: if you can see over the poker table you can play Jeremy: well guess im out Geoff: hes 5’4! Lindsay: are we sure about that? GeoffL some of us are , some of us have never not been sure . *moves onto Camp Betrayal* Geoff: out of curiosity who were your fave non AH on that shoot Alfrdo: ooohh calen (i think?) was a lot of fun but Noel surprised me the most. Michael: Kayla was fun cuz it was 3 overnite shoots so we actually somewhat hiung out… also charlotte (jack jeremy and lindsay: yeah charlotte was cool) Jeremy: is this a camp betrayal thing or a face jam thing , everytime i see someone post a pic of Eric everyone in the comments tell him to eat dirt. Michael: its camp betrayal Geoff: speaking of eating dirt  were you ever the kids that ate worms for like a trick or to be brave (jack michael and jeremy: no) i wasn't either but… i feel like Matt Bragg probably did Matt: hey you're wrong *lindblad switches to a zoomed in photo of matt from the earlier lucky 13 merch drop shoot , starts shaking camera as he talks a bit* Jeremy: nice lindblad Matt: -et fucked geoff ! “are AH crew fans of cake or pie for bday?” Jack: who eats birthday PIE?!?! Ky: im just gonna step in , what about Ice cream cake (paraphrasing)... Geoff: …. I had cotton candy for dinner last night… whole kerfuffle getting it at HEB , grabbed it and the whole display fell on my head “Whose standup in austin have you seen and whos fave?” Jack: i havent seen stand up in a long time… last time i saw a routine of some kind was Penn n Teller in vegas 4 or 5 years ago. GeoffL i  just saw Tom Seguarra (idk how to spell) in vegas a bit ago , and he moved to austin recently… *moves on to Season Pass* Geoff: talked about how i lost millie at that park once… tune in to find out if i found her. Michael: oh replaced her like Avril Lavigne? Geoff: yeah an almos identical millie… doesnt sound the same when she sings but its close….. Michael: and that's the one question… “Phoenix Edit: what has been  proudest moment at AH?” JAck: doing any live show like selling out chicago… Michael: just hanging on i mean… Ky ill jump in (jack: whats your proudest moment at AH) you mean for the last month you mean? (Michael: yeah you have it alot easier) id say representing AH in last laugh season 2 Jack: you got knocked out like immediately though Geoff: can i give a sappy geoff answer? Its the day i invited you guys to my GFs house and we went swimming (michael: oh that was cool - i wasn't there) it was basically a perfect day , everybody - well almost everybody that mattered was there (michael laughs) and THAT day was when i told Jack and Trevor i was leaving AH . those conversations were really hard to have .. and i ws so comforted by how.... Oh idk *sigh* i just - i - i just how good a hands i felt it was in and you guys seemed so ready, and i knew it was going to continue and grow without me… sorry im getting so emotional in my old age, i yelled to much when i was younger. Michael: its weird to geoff cuz i couldnt make it and you went “oh no big deal, nothings going on anyway” and then trevor told me after wards geoffs leaving , and trevor kept saying “ive been waiting for this day ive  ben waiting for this day” Geoff: he hi5 me before i even got it out of my mouth….. He fist bumped himself it was weird… Trevor: yeah did that and said “God took ya long enough”  *cue airhorns and sarah nos* Jeremy:… alright let's play golf Jack: thanks for showing support from our live shows to our.. Our… idk the shows weve done *laughs* Geoff: GET IT OUT CMON! (Lindsay: GDI *jeremy and matt laughing* )  Jesus Christ! Jack: i had weird place , hardcore minigolf i got all them stuck in my head and couldnt get out the door
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jackalopefreckles · 4 years ago
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I feel like Ive aged at least 6 years since covid started. Im angrier. Less adapted to being outside then I used to be- which is saying a lot. This time last year I was?? Actually healthier mentally then I had ever been and looking forward to having the house alone for a month which?? Was the most freedom I wouldve ever had.
A lots fucking changed. I drove halfway across the country- all 30 hours at once with my big brother AND two elderly dogs, plus my cat. All animals on too many drugs (the vet said they couldnt overdose, and then failed to give any further instruction) cami peed on herself twice, unable to move. I had to waterboard her in Phoenix, a truly terrifying hell city where all the roads are raised and overlapping and its a hot as shit cause its?? What june?? Time was so fake this year I mustve just been stoned the whole time till I ran out of weed, and since moving its been a relief to be able to turn off the spinning anxious thoughts for a few hours
my big brother joined us. He brought a new dog with him which?? Is always a lot, plus I have this pack of dogs now cause the puppy wouldnt leave the super cancer ridden dog alone, and Im able to get her cbd regularly here, so shes always comfortable now instead of just?? Sometimes which is a lot nicer. We didnt think shed make it to chrisrmas. I thought shed die with me home alone to take care of everything, like always. It was almost a relief, I wouldn't have to coach my brother through the grieving process at least, and I had already finished. Its hard now even, for me to realize she might even have another christmas (but I wont hold my breath)
I feel safer going outside here then I did in Austin. I only went out a handful of times in texas, for the last few months I was ordering almost all groceries, and only going to the store once mask mandates were mandatory (theyre not anymore. Im so worried for texas. I missed a huge freeze by mere months. I dont think my elderly dogs wouldnt survived it. If I was alone with them, Im not sure I woudlve.
My parents took my brother to mexico with them. I begged them not to go, told them how irresponsible it was to travel across boarders. To visit an island and take all the plane germs with. I told them that even if my mom and brother were staying at home all day with me, my dad was still going to work and he didnt know what his coworkers were doing. That they wouldn't know what the people on the plane were doing. That at any point they could become the stupid americans that killed half an islands population.
They left a week after today last year. The boarders were closed the next day. Their friend has been traveling back and forth ever since. I have no idea how, except for the fact shes white and rich and wont hesitate to destroy a child, so I can only imagine how shed treat costomer service.
I will no longer allow this angry aggressive woman to ever make me feel bad, and I will allow myself to finally fight back. Im an adult, maybe not all the time (cause lets be real I'll always be a bit too eccentric for most) but when I get angry and allow myself that anger, it's not a bad thing. Anger doesn't have to make me feel like Ive done something wrong. Im usually very just in my actions, and I wont allow my parents influence to tell me all anger is misdirected and hurtful for reasons I couldnt understand. Its okay for me to be angry.
I think being alone with animals for months is at least reassuring that my childhood was unreasonable if nothing else. Which of course is a silly polite society term for pretty fucked, if nothing else.
My aunt had to gall to say weve had a good 2020 cause our family wasnt hurt, and I had to walk away from the zoom call. I haven't attempted communication with any of them since, not that I normally do. Of course none of us died, all rich old white people, most of them retired and able to stay home all day (not that all of them did, I learned about my grandfathers routine and just.. Im honestly surprised no one got it yet. Of course I knew from the beginning if anyone was gonna get it and die, it probably wouldve been me. Hence the 8 months of solitude before the move.
Was the move in August?? Im so unsure about time. Even with 2020 vision.
I tried to date when I moved here. Strictly on tinder. What was the point? On and off testosterone due to the wonders of texas, hadnt changed my body nearly as much as they should've a year after being on them. I look much more handsome now. Im also allowing myself to toss gender aside completely. He/him doesn't mean man, and they/them dont mean nonbinary, so why not mix them since Im?? Not really either.
It wasnt even a thought process like that to start. Much more "this is nice" which I think more gender should be allowed to be. Dont gotta be deep just comfortable.
I wont ever allow my parents to forget what they did. I ended up with three dogs I didnt want (I was so looking forward to not having any dogs) and I ended up taking care of my brother. Again. Its easier without my parents at least. Everything always is. My dogs are even happier. Cami finally isnt anxious 24/7. Again, a sad reminder my childhood wasn't great. Daisy is healthier. Trauma can be stored emotionally or with health issues, often both. I think the cancer dog getting better and?? Surviving and thriving so much longer then the vet said (how good was my old vet?) Is another unfortunate nail in thay proverbial coffin.
Im not as soft and openly loving. Im even more touch starved somehow. Harsher. I still want to choose love and compassion, but Im not letting myself fall into the trap of being so nice people wont be nice to you. Fighting back is something I wont feel shameful about, because it never stopped me from doing it completely anyway.
I was already reaching this on my own though. This was just more coffins, more nails. This didnt need to happen. We know our government let this happen. Its still letting it happen. Im not sure when Im getting my vaccine. My big brothers sick of quarentine and keeps trying to get us to go out. Sometimes I yield, and we go to a park, or the top floor of the parking garage. I get a vegan hotdog from nearby. We talk and laugh and were genuinely just. Boys being boys.
I shouldn't have to deal with parent shit anymore. I do though, especially since two out of three are unemployed and we can really only afford to live here cause of them (they owe me if anything though. Especially with my brother and these animals) I hope I can get a job soon. Or maybe even go back to school. Im lucky I had so much saved up (for top surgery, which I guess wont happen before Im 25 like I really tried for. I wouldve done it before now, but texas waitlists and rules kept holding me up. I literally went to an appointment in dallas, a 4 hour drive, just to found out the surgeon canceled on me for the second time)
Its incredibly depressing, and I know Im lucky to have had that stash. So many people didnt have anything and lost so much. People lost people. Half a million at this point. I remember when it got to 300,000 and I just?? Felt so awful it was so close to how many people we lost to AIDS. Its over that by so many now. It doesn't really stop, does it??
Is that catholic guilt?? Or maybe just irish guilt in general. Is it something I inherited or earned through all the end of the worlds and once in a lifetime recessions Ive been through. Im not sure how many off the top of my head, theyve been coming since I was so small and its always more and more. Im not even catholic anymore. I cant stop being irish though, even though the brits tried (and succeeded. Weve lost a lot. The current royal cotastrophy is bullshit as well, the only person who deserves a royal title is from Meniappolos
My home is decorate all inside for st patrick's day. My big brother loves it so Im going all out, and its def making me feel much more irish then usual (which is a lot Im over half)
I think I just wanted to say Im not the same. I hope I can still be happy an obnoxious is public. I wonder if I remember how
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chocojjk · 6 years ago
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Eggs
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summary: badboy! changbin if you squint 
words: 7k
warnings: one mention of death by illness
a/n: this took way too long cause i got so lazy lmfao, slide into my inbox with prompts cause idk what to write after this 
not edited per usual, im lazy :(((
you and changbin lived in different worlds
changbin has always been the schools most notorious bad boy
along with his group, 3racha
he was the typical bad boy -- gets into fights, wears leather, barely shows up to class, etc.
after watching countless of rom-coms, you and i, reader, should know that bad boys like to keep to themselves
and they won't bother you unless you cross their territory, not at all different from changbin
someone bullies one of his friends???
you might as well run now , because he will be coming for your ass
he catches you talking shit?
you should probably say goodbye to your mouth and have a doctors appointment ready
the point im trying to make is that seo changbin does not take shit from anyone
which doesn't really matter at this point because everyone has learned to fear him
on the other hand, you're, what they say is a “good girl”
too caught up with your books and your grades, in the library 24/7, worrying too much about the future you envision
you stayed away from drama as much as possible, happy with the 2-3 friends that you have  
and,,,
well,,,
you probably saw this coming,, but just in case you didnt, ill say it
your two different worlds are about to collide
---------------
youve been searching for a little over 20 minutes to where he could be when you finally spotted him at the table all way in the back of the library
you let out the deepest sigh, you shouldve figured he would choose that table jfc
‘he really is sticking to his reputation’ you think to yourself as you made your way over to him
“hi, im y/n, i'm your tutor,” you say, giving him a soft smile
changbin doesn't even bother to reply to you as he got up and left
you were left standing there like,,,
what the fuck just happened ??
before you finally snapped out of your confused trance and chased after him
catching up to him you grab his arm, putting a complete halt to his movement
and suddenly the library was even quieter than it should be
every single eye in the room focused on the interaction that lies in front of them
the notorious bad boy and the goody two shoes,,, how incredibly cliche
he looks at you, his eyes dark and unreadable
the expression on his face was emotionless yet it felt like he was crushing you under his stare
finally noticing that your hand was still gripped around his arm, you quickly let go, letting out a small “ehem”
the tension in the air was thick, it felt like someone just put a dark cloud above your head and you couldn’t blow it away
god damn this was awkward
not even the good awkward where you can laugh about it later, this is the kind of awkward situation that hits you in the middle of the night and suddenly you're just cringing at every bad thing you have done in the past
“uhm, im suppose to tutor you,” you try to say confidently as soon as you found your voice, but really it was barely above a whisper
“maybe show up on time,” he says, his voice as dark and as strong as his aura
and with one final look at you, he walked out of there
you didnt bother anymore, you knew you were at fault
‘we’ll try again tomorrow,’ you think to yourself before your best friend, hyunjin walked up to you, pulling you outside the library  
“dude are you okay?”
“uhmm, why wouldn’t i be?”
“i just saw you talking to changbin”
“ok and ?”
“he’s bad news y/n,” your best friend says, warning you
“ i dont really have a choice hyunjin” you reply
you think back to 3 days ago when you were called to the principal's office
not gonna lie, you were shaking in your boots,, only bad kids get randomly sent to the principal's office
as you entered the room, Mrs. Seo was already waiting for you behind her desk
“hi ms. l/n, i dont think weve formally met,” she says, reaching out to shake your hand
“ its nice to meet you”
“ please, sit down, make yourself comfortable,” she continued, pointing to the seat right in front of her
sensing your nervousness she quickly added a, “don't worry, you're not in trouble”
phew
your brain was starting to hurt from trying to rack what you must have done wrong to be seated in the big office
“ why am i here then if you don't mind me asking?”
“ ah yes, i need you to tutor my son”
,,,,,
oh
(◎_◎;)
,,,
“umm, why me?”
“you're top 1 in the class, is there anyone better than you to do it?”
well,,, she wasn't wrong
you mentally pat yourself at the back for this, happy that your efforts were being noticed
“don't worry ms. l/n, if you succeed, i’ll make sure you get into any college that you desire “
‘pshhhh, im top 1 ms seo, i can do that on my own’ you think to yourself 
“....and fully paid for.”
well, shit , how can you say no to that offer
its literally free education right in your fingertips  
what's the catch??
“ you can do that?” you ask
“ of course. i know very important people. so what do you say?”
and after a few minutes of contemplating within yourself, you finally agreed
“ also, while you're at it, i want you to change my son's reputation.”
and there it is
“ i'm sorry?” you reply,, maybe you just misheard the fact that she literally asked you to change her son
“ i don't just want you to tutor him in english, i want you to make him a better person.”
“how do you expect me to do that?”
“be his friend. teach him the ways of life, i'm not always gonna be around to get him out of trouble. You're a smart girl ms. l/n you'll figure it out.”
without giving you a final say, she ushered you out of there but not before she added
“ one last thing ms. l/n, dont tell anyone about this.”
the way she said it was so scary, and its like a spell was casted on you and you could only utter out an
“ of course mam”
i guess from her standpoint, she made sense
“ i just dont understand why Mrs. Seo chose you out of all the people”
“ we’ve already gon over this hyunjin”
“ yeah yeah, its cause youre the smartest of the class-”
hyunjin continues to talk however you’ve tuned him out as your eyes went to focus on changbin, himself
greeting the rest of his friends, an actual smile on his face, much different from the changbin you encountered a couple minutes ago
he gets up on his motorcycle and was about ready to put his helmet on when he felt someone staring at him ( i told yall, tYpiCAl bad boy )
he whips his head around in quick search for the culprit
and for the second time that day, you found yourself looking in the dark brown eyes of the the one and only, seo changbin
his smile quickly disappearing once he found your eyes
putting on his helmet whilst still maintaining the eye contact, he quickly drove away and you can't help but continue to just watch his figure retreat to the size of a dot until he was completely away from your line of vision
the next day - friday
you were in the library, seated in the table changbin used the day before
unlike yesterday, you were there dummy early
exactly 30 minutes before the actual tutoring session
he wasn't going to get away this time
finally , the chair across from you gets occupied, a backpack loudly flopping its way unto the table
he doesn't say a word,
he doesn't even look at you
he just sits there, staring at the table between you guys
“uhm, i think we got on the wrong foot yesterday, im y/n”
you say, a wide smile on your face, trying to change the atmosphere
he scoffs at this
‘omyfuckinggod who does he think he is’
‘im gonna fucking murder this kid’
‘his mom was right when he said he needed to change’
as much as you wanted to just punch him in the face, you plastered a small smile on your face instead
“should we start?” you continue
“i guess”
for the next hour, you learn that changbin doesn’t even need tutoring
he was definitely smarter than he lead on
he knew the answer to every single question you asked and didnt even seem like he was trying 
“uhmm, changbin can i ask you something?”
he just nods at you, urging you to go on
“are you failing your class on purpose?”
and with that he stands up, giving you a small smirk, “i think this session is over,”
“i-okay- i-i’ll see you on monday!” you say even though he was already a good 5 feet away from you  
-----------
as you laid in your bed that night, you wondered why the boy chose to fail his class
but no matter what scenario you could think of, you just cant understand it
is this what privileged people do ?
they know that they can get away with anything so they dont even try ?
‘aish, why am i thinking about him,’
‘y/n stop it’
‘ahhhhh’
you tried forcing yourself to sleep, to completely shut off all thoughts
but damn that stupid smirk on his face just keeps reappearing
and with that you slapped your pillow unto your face, not at all excited for the days to come
saturday night - 9 pm
to be honest, you weren't the type to go out on a saturday night
however you stayed in bed the whole day binging your netflix shows that you completely forgot to run your errands
so now you're here, at the local supermarket, buying your weekly groceries
you may be asking why can't your parents just do it?
well,,,
you only live with your mom, and she was very busy running the night shift at the hospital + picking up extra shifts
so she's really never home 
and when she is, she crashes right to sleep, exhausted from work
so ever since two years ago, when you turned 16, this has been the life that you were used to
you weren't complaining of course, she was only working to provide for you and your future
the least you could do is help around the house
after a good 7 minutes, you finally gathered everything that you needed
eggs, check
bread, check
peanut butter, check
a bag of hot cheetos,,,, check check and check
you nodded, proud of yourself for finishing it so fast and made your way to your car until a loud crash stops you from doing so
the next thing you know, you were being dragged into the alleyway
“1!!!!1111! I- get off of me,” you say thrashing and kicking, trying to get away
‘oh god, im gonna die tonight,’
‘if there is a god out there,, pls,,, not tonight’
‘i haven't finished my netflix series yet,, plssss’
however your thoughts were cut short when your captor whispered, “shhh, its changbin”
changbin??
chaNgbIN???
chANGBIN???
he finally turns you around, making you face him
“play along if you don't want to get hurt,”
and in one quick motion, his lips were on yours,,,
seo changbin was kissing you
your eyes open, stunned at what was happening
and then you noticed it...5 men walking around the area
and hoping that you've watched the right dramas, you pieced together what you think is happening
leading you to closing your eyes and kissing him back
which honestly caught changbin off guard, “good girls” dont react this way???
but he’d never let you know that, as he pulled you closer to him,
his arms snaking  around your waist
your hands going around his neck, the grocery bag being forgotten
yall were full on making out now
too caught up with each other’s taste to even notice the 5 guys leaving
(((im really bad at writing these kinds of scenes jfc, this sounds awkward as hell pls just picture it)))
until finally after like 23823 years, you pulled away, trying to catch your breath
damn, that kiss was good
probably the best one you’ve ever had
what????
just cause you're a goody-two-shoes doesn't mean you haven't been kissed before okay,,, were not going THAT cliche
he slowly lets go of you, his eyes darting to the grocery bag on the ground
“your eggs are broken,” he says
“m-my eggs?”, you reply, still on cloud nine,
following his gaze, you snapped out of your daze
“oh, r-right, my eggs,” you say softly, a frown making its way upon your face
changbin grabs your hand, pulling you towards the grocery store
“what are you doing?”
as usual, he doesn’t reply
honestly, you should be used to this by now
he dashes around the supermarket
you were right behind him, trying to keep up with his fast paced speed
finally, he gets to his location, the egg aisle
“which one do you want?”
“what?”
“eggs, which one?” he replies
“uhm, you don't have to, i can ju-”
“i'm not doing this for you,” he replies, cutting you off
you looked at him , not knowing what he meant
‘if he wasn't doing it for me then who the fuck is he buying these eggs for, i don't see anyone else here’
sensing your dumbness he grabbed a carton of the most expensive eggs and made his way to the cashier, pulling you along  
and you don't know why, or what has gotten into you, but all you could do was watch and follow
“here. were even now.” he says, before walking away, leaving you in front of the grocery store, holding a carton of eggs
monday
and now we’re back to the start of the week
which means another week of tutoring
as you waited for changbin to show up at the usual spot, you can’t help but think back to two nights ago
the feeling of his lips against yours all a distant memory yet at the same time, one that you could still remember clearly
“hey,” changbin says, breaking you out of your thoughts
“hi?” you reply, confused as to why he even greeted you in the first place
you guys do the usual, read a couple of flash cards, learn new words blah blah blah and all that boring crap that you learn in a high school English class
at one point you guys find yourself just sat in silence, and you can’t help but ask the question that’s been on your mind since Saturday night
“so who were those guys?”
“doesn’t concern you”
“uhm, the fact that you had your tongue down my mouth says otherwise,”
changbin was shocked, he wasn’t used to people responding to him the way you just did
don’t you know who he is???
he gives you one of his signature smirks, regaining his composure
“you liked my tongue being down your throat,” he says teasingly
o_O
<(。_。)>
excuse me what
is he flirting with you ??
what’s happening ??
“who said I did?” you say mimicking his tone, not allowing yourself to back down of this conversation
after Saturday night you told yourself that you were never going to just watch and follow
if you didn’t want the damn egg, you should’ve said something, you were so disappointed in yourself
you had your own brain, you can make your own decisions
besides you were here to be in control over him, not the other way around
“oh cmon, you’re really gonna try to refute it??” he says, the stupid smirk still evident on his stupid face
god, how you wish you could just smack it off
with your mouth
wait, who said that???
“you enjoyed it just as much as I did,” you say, knowing that if you answer then he would stop
and you were right, he completely shut his mouth and let the silence envelop you once again
“they were kids from another school,”
you look up at him, shocked that he actually answered
“why were they looking for you?”
“I may have keyed their car,” he says chuckling
“Because?”
“Isn’t that enough questions y/n?”
y/n
that was the first time he’s ever said your name
and you weren’t gonna lie, you liked how it sounded
“sorry”
“it’s fine”
“i don’t want to question it but why are you being so nice?”
“you helped me out without questioning me which means you trust me. im just returning the favor.”
“so, what im hearing is , you trust me?”
<( ̄︶ ̄)>
“don’t make me have to say it out loud”
trust
you don’t know how you did it so quickly,
maybe the gods are at your side, but you finally got thE seo changbin to trust you
2  weeks later
you’ve been tutoring changbin just the same
same time
same table
same library
however, so much has changed
mostly the dynamic of your guys’ relationship
it was like he was a totally different person
like I said before, changbin was smart
but in these last couple of days, you realized just how smart he actually was,
he can honestly probably give you a run for your money
and because of this, your past tutoring sessions have ended up with you guys just laughing and joking around
weird, right ?
changbin and laughing ?
who would’ve thought ??
even onlookers were surprised
and everytime changbin laughed at one of your guys’ silly antics, you swear you can hear a pin drop
the whole room just becomes silent
at first, it bothered you how people were just listening in to your conversation, obviously judging the scene
but as the days went by and it seemed that changbin could care less, you started not caring either
and if you were being completely honest, you looked forward to spending time with him
when changbin was with you, it was just you and changbin, nothing else
he somehow manages to make you forget about reality
“lets ditch tutoring sessions today,” he says as soon as he took the seat next to you
“changbin, no”
“c’mon y/n, live a little”
“excuse you! I do have a life!”
“making out with your homework and watching Netflix shows 24/7 is not a life”
“okAy, now you’re just being mean,” you say, pouting at him
“im not being mean, I’m being honest,”
“yeAH and?? no one asked for your honesty,”
changbin laughs at this
lately he found himself laughing more
and for once, he didn’t mind it
you were doing something to him
and he liked it
“cmon, I’m not taking no for an answer,” he says, packing up your things
you sigh in defeat
you know that once changbin sets his mind to something, there's no changing it
so here you are, standing in front of an abandoned music building
“uhhhh, what are we doing here?”
“have you ever trespassed before?” he replies, a smug smile on his face
“nu-uh nope, no way in hell changbin!” you say, your attempt to stop this from happening
however, changbin was already making his way towards the door, completely breaking the lock
aannnndd
he was inside  
“c’mon y/n,” he says reaching out his hand to yours
even though all you need to do is take two steps forward and you're officially a criminal
you were scared shitless
what happens if you get caught omg
almost like he was reading your mind, he quickly says, “y/n, ive been here over a million times and ive never gotten caught,”
“i dont know changbin”
“hm, thats too bad, i wanted to share a secret with you,” he says, a hint of playfulness in his voice before he stepped out of the building and made his way towards his motorcycle
but of course,,,
you being a nosy bitch
“wait,”
“yes?”
“lets go inside”
you guys enter the building, the rooms getting darker and darker the deeper you go (this building is huge okAY)
if you weren't shitting your pants before, you definitely are now 
an abandoned building???
and its dark???
youve seen this in every scary movie out there
it never goes well
“uhm changbin,” you whisper, as you guys continue to walk
“hm”
“i-um can i hold your hand? im scared and - actually you know what its fine its dumb you dont hav-”
but before you can even finish your sentence, his hand were already laced around yours, providing you the comfort and security that you were looking for
you shut your mouth after that, just letting changbin lead the way
passing by so many rooms, each one looking the same as the other, it was starting to feel like a maze
however , changbin seemed to know exactly where to go
‘I guess he has been here over a million times’ you thought to yourself
“were here,” he says, opening the door and letting go of your hands as he reached out for the lights
not gonna lie, you were missing the way his hand felt around yours but thats not the time to think about that
“a music room?” you asked, clearly puzzled
“yeah, you might not know this about me but i can spit barsss,” he says, letting out chuckle
“eyE”
“you dont believe me huh”
“absolutely not”
“ok, watch this”
and with that he entered the recording booth, of course not after he pressed a bunch of buttons
honestly , you have no idea what he’s doing
but as soon as he put the headphones on
*cue any 3racha song because im too indecisive to choose one*
he was,,
indeed,,,
spitting bars
you could not believe your ears
who the fuck is this
you stood there, stunned at the fact the he was rapping about real shit and not something stupid and meaningless (rip wow, she is meaNinGFUL to me okAY)
after he finished rapping, the room was absolute silent
changbin felt dumb, he thought you were gonna praise him but there you were not uttering a single word,
he need you to say something ,anything,, hell, you can even laugh
he’d prefer anything over the silence  
he’s literally the ‘i just showed u my dick pls respond’ meme but its like ‘i showed u my talent pls validate me’
avoiding to make eye contact with you, he walks out of the recording booth
sitting on the couch against the wall, he finally breaks the silence
“so yeah, thats a song my friends and i wrote, its stupid-”
“its not stupid.” you say quickly
“oh?”
“since when where you into this?” you ask, curiosity filling your eyes, taking the seat right next to him
“what do you mean? music?? everyone’s into music y/n” changbin retorts, not wanting to go into detail
“hhhh, you know what i mean changbin,”
changbin doesnt know why
but he wanted to share this side of him with you
maybe because you were the first person that he has ever allowed himself to be close with
or maybe it was because you stuck around him for this long, no one, besides chan and jisung were able to do that
whatever it was, he wants to keep you by his side
he figured that showing you his true self would do just that
so after having a battle with his inner thoughts, he finally says
“my dad was really into this stuff, he taught me everything i know,” changbin beamed
“oh! thats really cool, do you still make music with him?” you say, genuinely interested, youve never really heard about his dad before
“uhmm, hes not really around for me to do that,”
aaaannd,,, thats why,, god reader smh
“oh, im sorry,” you say softly, mentally slapping yourself
“no its okay, you didnt know….he passed away when i was 11”
“what happened?,,,, y-you dont have to tell me if you dont want to,” you quickly added
“I want to,” changbin says, reassuring you
“he just,,, he just died in his sleep, apparently it was a stroke,” sighing, he looked up at the ceiling, trying to hold back his tears
“you must miss him,” you say, your voice still soft
for the first time since youve met changbin, he resembled a piece of glass
so fragile
he was giving you a piece of him, letting you see clearly a part of who he was
and all you wanna do is make sure that you won’t break that piece
“he built this studio...wanted to start his own music company,” he continued as you sat there just listening to him
“my mom hates it though, she stopped funding this place as soon as she can,”
oh
the mention of his mom suddenly brought you back to the deal that you have made 2 weeks ago
and god, you felt guilty
you were here, trying to change him, when nothing should be changed
sure seo changbin had a bad reputation but he is not bad
he’s just protective is all
to be honest, he was one of the kindest, gentlest soul you have met
“i promised myself that i would continue our dream, for him and me, but mostly for him,”
“i-is that why youre failing your classes?” you ask, everything finally piecing together
“huh?”
“you dont care about school because you already know what you want to do...where you want to be”
“hm, you truly are a smart girl y/n,” he says before nodding and flashing you a smile
those words
so similar to the ones his mom has given you
but this time you weren't in the mood to pat yourself in the back
because shit, this is thE dumbest thing you've ever done in your life
after hearing this, you made up your mind, you werent gonna partake in this deal anymore
if you were really as smart as everyone says, you can get into the school you want without any problem
sure it won't be free, but your mom aint working her ass off during her nightly shifts for nothing
and so, right when you go to school tomorrow, you were determined to end it
you’d still tutor changbin, you just won't accept any of the perks that came along with it
“thank you for sharing this with me,” you say genuinely, a smile creeping unto your face
“thank you for caring enough to listen,” changbin replies, his smile getting wider
and then it hits you,
“wait, so you mean to tell me that this is YOUR studio all along??”
and at this changbin lets out the loudest laugh
and you can't help but mirror his actions
1 week later
oof, that time jump, i thought you were gonna end it the next day reader
welp,,
you work hard, but somehow satan, aka the author, works harder
Mrs. Seo had to leave for two weeks, attending board meetings around the country, and whatever principals do,,, i'm too lazy to research what they actually do  
╥﹏╥
and so you spent another week, with seo changbin by your side
one week down, another to go
and when that day comes, you can finally freely hang out with him without all the guilt eating you up
this week you guys even hung out outside of the library
you’ve been with him so much, even your friends have started to notice it
“y/n, are you coming with us to the movies,” felix asks
“oh,, umm sorry guys, i cant,”
“who else are you gonna be with? i thought we were your only friends,” minho pointed out, a pout on his face  
“with changbin of course,” hyunjin hissed, obviously upset that you have been pushing them to the side  
“ i can hang out with anyone that i want,” you argued, really not having any of his attitude 
“ you shouldnt hang out with people like him,” hyunjin retorted
you scoffed, “what’s that supposed to mean?”
“i mean blink once if youre being held captive” hyunjin joked, as the rest of the table snickered
however, you didn't find it funny,
who were they to talk about changbin like that??
they didnt even know him
and so you stood up, leaving all your friends calling out for you
-------------
walking to the table, you flopped down on your chair, slamming your backpack on the floor
“what's got you in such a bad mood?” changbin asks
“nothing,” you huffed, getting your materials out of your backpack
you didn't want to tell changbin that your best friends think hes the devil himself and didn't want you around him
meanwhile , changbin was annoyed
it seems like he's shared so much with you since the music room yet he still barely knows anything about you
he wondered that maybe you didn't want to be in his life the way he wanted to be in yours
but fuck it, he’s just gonna spend the time he has with you enjoying it rather than filling his mind with negative thoughts
but damn, you're frown was really bothering him
“y/n,” he says, calling out to you
no response
“y/n,” he continues, poking you on the elbow
still no response
“y/n”
You sigh, looking up at him, an emotionless expression on your face, you responded with a strong, “what.”
*insert changbin doing aegyo*
and with that , you lost it
you were an absolute madman
you never expected that the one and only seo changbin
notorious badboy
would ever do aegyo
all because you had a stupid frown on yourself
you laughed so loud
changbin doing the same as soon as your melodic laugh hit his ears
which resulted to you guys being kicked out of the library
-------------
“ i cant believe you got me kicked out of my favorite place,” you say, seated in a booth inside the ice cream parlor near your guys’ school
another one of changbins ideas
“ hey its not my fault you laugh like a hyena!” he says smiling before you threw a curled up paper tissue at his face
a couple of seconds later, after your laughter has died down
“ so, you want to tell me now why you were in such a sour mood?”
you knew that if you werent gonna tell him now that would still end up finding out about it from someone else
and so you came clean
“ its just my friends,,,, they dont think youre a good influence, wants me to stop hanging out with you” you say
“ oh,”
“ but dont worry!, i didnt listen to them, i actually told them off,” you confessed
“ why didnt you listen to them? theyve been your friends longer than youve known me?” he asks
“ because they dont know you” you reply, “and im sure if they did, they would also be friends with you”
as much as he appreciated the way you stood up for him, he didnt want you going through all that trouble 
‘god, what did he even do to deserve an angel like you,’ changbin thinks to himself 
“ don't tell them off next time,” he grunted
“ wh-what?”
“ everything they say about me is true”
“ changbin, no its not”
“ honestly y/n it doesnt bother me so dont let it bother you”
“ why doesnt it bother you?” you ask, wanting to know the reason
“ because its high school. after this, literally no one would care anymore. and then real life starts, people move on and worry about bigger things, things that actually matter more than the status quo. let them say what they say.”
and just like every other time, changbin has left you stunned
the arrival of Ms. Seo - tuesday 
a week has passed since the ice cream parlor
and Ms. Seo was back in town
this was it
the day you finally put a halt to it
and you were beyond ready
you haven't seen changbin all day
you figured that since his mom was back then he was also back to avoiding the school like it was a plague
you entered Ms. Seos room, determined
“Ms. Seo -”
She puts a hand up to her lips, signaling you to be quiet
‘bitch omygod i literally cant keep doing this any longer,’
‘its already been over a month’
so you ignored her warning
“im not doing this deal anymore. I’ll still tutor changbin but I won’t change him,,,, and you can keep your stupid money,” you let out, releasing all the bottled up emotions
“is that all,”she replies
“yes”
“then you may leave”
what???
it was that easy????
you thought she was gonna stop you, force you to hold your end of the bargain
if you knew it would’ve been this easy then you wouldn’t have worried over it so much
but you don’t know a lot of things
and you certainly didnt know that changbin was on the other line
later that day
you’re seated in the library
usual place, usual time, waiting for the one and only seo changbin, yet he never showed
you didn’t think much of it
‘maybe he just forgot’ you tell yourself
the next day - wednesday
here you were again, waiting for him
still nothing
you try and think of reasons why he wouldn’t show up two days in a row and can really only think of one - maybe his mom told him that he didn’t need tutoring anymore?
but surely, he would tell you
right ???
sure you guys started off on the wrong foot but you were friends now
at least you thought so
you decided to just give him the benefit of the doubt
‘maybe he’s just busy’
2 days later - friday
you’ve tried everything you can do to get a hold of changbin
all your calls went straight to voicemail
texts were left on delivered
you didn’t even see him around school anymore
it was like your worlds never collided and he was never a part of yours
you were starting to get worried, what if he got himself into trouble
“look who decided to show her face,” hyunjin comments as you took the seat next to him
ever since the day you guys had your argument, you have never been able to talk to him about it
“im not in the mood,” you reply,
hyunjin sensing that you were exhausted,
“hey,” he says softly, “what’s wrong?”
“nothing”
“y/n please, we’ve been friends for over 3 years, you don’t need to lie to me”
“aren’t you mad at me?”
“no. im upset that you’ve been pushing us to the side for your little boy toy but im not mad,” he says giving you a soft smile
hhhhh, it was times like these you remember why he was your best friend
hyunjin was just so thoughtful, so caring
you return the smile he gave you as you pulled him in for a tight hug
“I’m sorry hyunjin”
“it’s okay, im sorry too, now tell me what’s wrong?”
“it’s just changbin-“
“I swear to god, if he even laid a finger on you he’s a dead man”
“no!” you say quickly putting an end to his assumption
“so what happened?” he asks, eyebrows going up in sheer curiosity
and then you told him
you told him about the deal with Ms. seo
about how your relationship with changbin changed along the way
how you ended the deal
and now we’re back to changbin and ignoring you
“damn, well have you tried actually going to him?”
“i wouldnt even know where -”
and then it hits you
the abandoned music building
“hyunjin, youre a genius!!!,” you say excitedly
“thanks, we been knew”
“ i have to go ill explain later, bye!!” you say, dashing out of there as fast as you could and made your way to the abandoned building
taking the bus there gave you time to reflect on everything that has happened this past couple month
how much your life has changed since changbin entered it
he pushed you to take risks, to live out of your comfort zone, to not care about other people’s opinions
he made you feel free
and most importantly, he made you happy
the good girl has fallen for the bad boy, i told yall this was gonna be cliche right?
continuing on
just as you  expected, the door was open
the dark didnt even bother you anymore, the only thing in your mind was changbin
oh,, where could he be??
could you ever find your way into this maze of a building and retrace the steps that he took when he was by your side?
as you got deeper and deeper into the building, you feel yourself start to get lost
‘fuck i already saw this door’
‘omg y/n did you really just walk in a circle’
and then you hear it
music, singing
your nightingale
you walk faster, desperate to get to the voice
and here you are now, face to face with the one and only, seo changbin
he stops singing as soon as he saw you walk in
“hey,” you whisper out yet he continued to just stand there, not uttering a single word
“your voice is really pretty, i didnt know you could sing!-”
“what do you want?” his voice, dark and firm just like the day you first met him
This caught you off guard
Did you do something wrong?
“Did i do something wrong?” you say, not aware that you have said your thoughts out loud
changbin chuckles but it was so uninviting, like he was taunting you
“ please, drop the act”
?????
“what?” you reply, completely confused
“ you dont like me ”
“ changbin, what?”
“ you're just like everyone else”
“ changbin i really dont understand pl-”
“ i shouldn't have trusted you.”
“ what?!??, no changbin, you can trust me! just tell me whats wrong!”
all the while, you guys were still talking with a glass between the two of you
ironic, since you felt like a wall has been planted around changbin and you cant reach him  
“ you think i should change”
“ no”
“ what do you mean no? I heard you y/n! I heard what you told my mom, i heard about the stupid deal, the stupid money!”
(⊙…⊙,)
“ changbin, let me explain”
“ i know im known as the bad boy y/n, but you… youre even worse than me”
“ changbin.”
“ youre a monster”
and with hearing those words, the tears that you have been so desperately trying to keep just bursted out like a waterfall
changbin too, has let out his tears
and all we got now are two broken people who can clearly see each other yet are still on opposite sides of the glass
“ you're just like everyone out there that you have resented, you judged me by other people’s words, i thought- i thought that i can finally found someone i could open up to but you never even gave me chance from the beginning”
you let him talk without interrupting him
you deserved the ache you were feeling in your heart
everything he said was true
and with that he breaks down, straight to the floor, back against the wall, hugging his knees
and all you could do was watch, until you couldn't take it anymore
you finally entered the recording booth , taking a seat on the floor right next to him, mimicking his broken figure
“im sorry”
silence
you looked up at the ceiling as you sighed
he deserves an explanation
“ yes, i took the deal, but that's because i thought i needed it changbin. I may be smart, but financially my family isn't doing well. my mom already works extra shifts but it still won't be enough. my dad isnt even in the picture, i dont know where the hell he is”
and with this, changbins head slowly perks up, looking at you with his glass-like eyes, as you continued to stare at the ceiling
you were finally opening up to him
just like how he has been doing
“ i took the deal because, you’re right, i judged you, i was stupid and i never expected us to actually be friends, clearly i was wrong. you have taught me so much. you have pushed me into doing things i never thought i could do. you made me see the world in a different way.”
he’s still just listening to you when you finally took your eyes away from the ceiling and faced him
“ i understand if you dont want to see me anymore but i cant leave you knowing that i never got to say this,” you continue, afraid of the results that were about to come
“ what else are you hiding from me?” he says, but this time, he says it softly, the furious changbin that you have encountered just minutes ago was completely gone
“ i think im in love with you,” you say, quickly looking down, embarrassed at your confession
“ y/n look at me,”
“ i dont want to”
“ why?”
“ i know you're gonna break my heart”
“ you broke mine first,” and with that he lifted your chin up, making you look him straight into his eyes before kissing you
this kiss was different from your first one
it was slow but passionate, filled with all of the unsaid words between the two of you
your guys lips both slightly chapped from all the crying
yet his lips still felt like the softest pair against yours
pulling away, changbin leans his forehead against yours, his eyes closed
yours were open though, taking the sight all in before you pulled away, wiping away his left over tears
“ god, were a mess,” he finally says out loud, before he pulled you in a tight hug 
“ im sorry,” you say again
“ i’ll forgive you if you promise to continue tutoring me?”
“ what ?”
“ continue the deal, get the money”
“ changbin, i really don't want to do that”
“ i know you dont. but we have to finesse my mom somehow,” he says, bursting into a smile, clearly joking
..
“eYE,,, i cannot believe you right now! You can't be serious!”
“ but i am. go back into her office tell her you’ll continue it and get the money for your education.”
“changbin! stop joking! I already feel bad about it!”
“Okay fine i just like it when you tutor me okay, its kinda sexy” he says
playfully slapping him, you guys laugh, the tension in the air finally gone
“ you know if you didnt buy me those eggs, we wouldnt be here by now,” you say, a small smile on your face
“ hmm, and why?”
“ because those eggs were the first time i realized that the most notorious bad boy, the one and only Seo Changbin, can also be soft,”
“ do not use my name and soft in the same sentence ever again,”
“ what are you gonna do about it?” you reply, taunting him
and so
he pulled you into another kiss
and another
and another
until a series of laughter coming from the both of you interrupted it
“im glad i bought you those eggs”
hhhhhhh this ending is so rushed and so bad i just didnt wanna leave it unfinished 
ALSO IM SEEING STRAY KIDS BITCHES!!!!!,,,,,, MY SEAT HELLA FAR BUTS ITS OKAY BECAUSE ILL STILL BE THERE ╭(′▽`)╭(′▽`)╯
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angrylizardjacket · 6 years ago
Text
and then there was light [4] {Roger Taylor}
A/N: 5060 words. part 4? part 4. it’s a bit of a darker one and before you ask, there will be a part 5, you know i wouldn’t end it on a cliffhanger and do you dirty like that.
[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]
The moment Roger steps foot into the meeting about the design of the shows for the upcoming American legs of the ‘Night at the Opera’ world tour, he’s pretty sure he’s already mentally checked out. Freddie’s doing all the talking, to literally no-one’s surprise; the man has big ambitions for his own costumes, and knows the other guys will pipe up about their own needs when they get to meet with just the costume designer. John Reid brings up the technical requirements, Roger’s got the ‘galileo’s from Bohemian Rhapsody playing on repeat in his head as he stares into the middle distance, and it’s Deaky who sits forward.
“We’ve got a pretty solid idea for the lights; Freddie and I have been consulting with a designer in America; she’s freelance, used to work for EMI, she’s reliable.” He assures, and Roger’s thinking ‘hey that sounds familiar’ but Reid seems satisfied and they’re already moving on to the staging and sound equipment needed. 
Roger doesn’t connect the dots at first; it’s been almost four years since that fateful American tour, and they’ve had other tours come and go since, and as far as the others are concerned, they’re pretty sure he hasn’t spared you a thought since arriving home at the end of that tour. But he does, even if he doesn’t mean to.
The tour after you’d quit working for EMI, someone drops a parcan side of stage, and his heart is in his throat when he realises he was waiting to hear you yell ‘okay that one wasn’t my fault’ or something similar. All he hears is a faint apology, and a call from someone to get a broom. The scheduling’s different this time around, he can’t even have a cigarette in an empty theatre without some stagehand buzzing back and forth, or a band member trotting across the stage as they practice. It would be so much easier to lay on the stage if the rest of them were confined to one place while they played, like he was behind the drums. It’d be boring as shit, he would be the first to acknowledge that, but it would mean he would get stepped on less during lunch, and that’s a sacrifice he’s willing to make with the toe of Freddie’s shoe poking at his waist.
Nothing serious had come his way in that time, or rather, he’d never found anyone who could hold his attention for more than a week or two. People became dreadfully boring when all they wanted to do was faun over him and fuck him; not that it wasn’t fun at first, it was always fun at first, but there was a lack of variety, a sinking sensation that these people were more attracted to the idea of him that left a sour aftertaste.
But now he’s here, new company, new album, second leg of the new tour, new chance to sample all different women across this great nation. He’s already a little tipsy from his multiple jack and coke’s on the plane when they land, and he’s passed out on the tour bus before it even gets to the first tour stop. Once in Conneticut, he’s dragged from the bus, and informed that as soon as the tech crew had finished their meeting, they could start loading in their instruments. 
“How long have they been here?” Brian asks the stage hand, and the guy shrugs. 
“A couple of hours; the Floor Tech wanted the drum risers set up before she gave the brief.” He tells them as he lead the band in to the theatre, where most of the crew were milling about on stage. 
“She always did have a flare for the dramatic.” John says with a grin where his eyes were trained on the stage, and Freddie hums in agreement, which only serves to confuse Roger further until he sees an all too familiar figure climbing the drum risers with a clipboard in hand.
“Alright guys, can I have your attention, please?” Even after all these years, the sound of your voice hits Roger square in the chest. “I wanna make this as quick and painless as possible, so after today we can bump in and bump out without any hassles.” You addressed the crowd with an easy confidence from your place at the top of the drum risers, tapping your nails against the back of the clipboard in your hands, wearing the overalls he’d seen you in so many times before.
“You can call me Spotlight; I’m the Head Floor Tech for the tour, as well as lighting designer; those of you on my lighting team, you’ve got a copy of the lighting plan, and I’ll be talking to you about how we’re gonna run it after this. Next time, I’ll get some help from the stage hands to set up the drum risers, I had a few people help me today to get them set up early, but that’s just because I like being tall.” With a sharp grin you pause as a titter of laughter spreads around the group, “stage management team, you’re in charge of making sure side of stage is set up with anything the band needs, and that it’s clear of unnecessary clutter and people, and running cabling for the sound guys; they’ll tell you what they need.”
After a beat, you look around the gathered crowd, and nod firmly, a gesture which a few of them return.
“If you have any questions, remember; find your Light.” You point directly at yourself. “We break for lunch at one, but until then we’ve got a lot to get through; let’s get rockin’.” Grinning brightly, you hop down from the risers into the crowd of crew members, ushering a bunch, each holding a sheet of paper, off to the side, as the others scattered like cockroaches under light.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Roger finally finds his voice where he’s still standing, a little dumbstruck, alone in the aisle of the theatre where the others had left him behind.
“Didn’t you hear her speech? Spotlight’s our lighting designer.” Freddie calls over his shoulder, eyes wide and innocent, as if he hadn’t set this all up without thinking to mention it to Roger.
“Our what now?” He splutters, jogging a little to catch up to the other band members as they made their way towards the stage. He’s not quite sure what he’s doing, or what will happen when he gets their; the last thing you’d said to him was that you were stupid to think he was above his reputation, while you were in tears, and then it had been three years of nothing. He’s not going to run, at least he’s pretty sure he’s not; he’s self aware enough to know he was in the wrong last time you spoke, that he was an asshole, but he’s not going to be a coward. Not again.
“That was quite the speech.” John waits patiently until the crew who made up the lighting team had dispersed before addressing the familiar face at the centre. You turn, eyes bright and smile brighter, casually making your way towards him and the rest of the band.
“Yeah, I really feel in my element, you know?” It’s with an easy familiarity that you pull John into a hug, giving him a firm squeeze. “Good to finally see you again.” And then you’re hugging Freddie, and then Brian, and you stop short in front of Roger. It’s a stalemate, neither one wanting to be the first to look away, but both unsure of what to do. In the end, you don’t even offer him a handshake, just nod, and you turn back to the others.
“How’s Pippin been?” Freddie asks, and you’re about to answer, but Roger cuts in.
“Hang on, can someone fill me in here? Lovely to see you, by the way, just a little confused as to how you got here.” He says, and you’re lost for words, just blinking rapidly, trying to process the whole situation.
“Did you not tell him I was working with you guys?” Your words come out incredulous as you turn your gaze upon John and Freddie, who seem just as bewildered as you.
“I thought he’d cotton on when I mentioned an American designer who used to work for EMI.” John mused, turning his gaze on Roger, who frowned, thinking back to the initial meeting he’d just mentioned.
“I did,” Brian piped up, before casting a smile at John and Freddie that was just a little bit confused, “though I wasn’t a part of this little setup.” He tried to reassure the drummer.
“In my defense,” Roger started, before his gaze dropped, “I wasn’t paying attention, design isn’t exactly my forte.” He admitted, and you had to shake your head at that, exasperated and already a exhausted.
“Pippin’s good.” You go back to John’s initial question. Pippin isn’t so much a person as it is a touring version of a Broadway musical that had opened a year ago, to great success.
It turns out a written letter of recommendation from both the lead singer, and bass player of Queen goes rather far in the industry. After taking some time for yourself, you call up EMI to beg them not to fire you, however it turns out you needn’t have; both John and Freddie had given glowing reports of your work ethic and skill, and the man on the other end of the line is just eager to know when you were next available. 
The moment you’re on site next, they tell you you’ve been promoted to Floor Tech; they hand you a roll of gaff tape and a drill and a whole new set of responsibilities, heaped onto your usual load. You don’t even remember who had been performing, the tour had only lasted a month, all you know is that they were calling you Spotlight from the moment you’d arrived; apparently it was what Freddie had called you, and John had to clarify.
John is the first to contact you again, through EMI of course, and he becomes something of a comfort when you consider taking your career beyond the company that kept you firmly in the one position on tour. Freddie calls you less often, and never about business; it’s John who gives you the courage to leave EMI, and he’s the one who helps set up as a freelance theatre and event crew member. 
People had been head hunting you from tour to tour, beyond even EMI, some smaller acts even giving you the full Lighting Designer role. They expect you to sit back, let a stage hand or an assistant to take care of it, but every time you watch someone else focus a spot, your fingers itch to be doing it yourself. Dedicated to a fault, Roger had once called you, you think about it every time you climb an unsteady ladder, and think perhaps that he’s right.
The moment Pippin announces it’s tour, and puts out calls for crew, you’re first in line for the job, putting your hat in the ring for lighting, but happy enough to take any crew role. Not that you don’t love working with bands, but there’s a certain finesse that comes with theatre lighting that you can’t get anywhere else in the world. After two years, and the support of both John and Freddie, you find yourself as the assistant Lighting Designer, as well as Head Floor Tech, and once you step foot onto the tour bus, everything else becomes history.
Speaking of history, later in the day, after the rest of the crew have broken for lunch, you’re wedged under the drum risers, running some cables, when you hear someone climb up them, taking a seat at the drums.
“If you play one beat-” You’re cut off by Roger’s yell of surprise, as he’s so startled he almost falls off his chair.
“Holy shit, who is that?” He’s breathing heavily, voice panicked, and for a moment you take pleasure imagining clutching his hand to his chest like a delicate, little grandmother.
“Take a wild stab in the dark,” you mutter, unwedging yourself from beneath the structure, raising an eyebrow as you look at him. Almost immediately he’s frowning, and you’re thrown back to the moment almost three years ago where you’d been here before, looking up at him from behind the drum risers after you’d changed out the light mid-show. Clearing your throat loudly, you break the moment, getting to your feet and making your way to the side of the stage.
“What are you doing here?” He calls, watching idly as you go about counting out fly lines until you get to the one you’d been looking for. You’d gotten here early to go through the fly-line procedure with the Duty Tech for the venue, and now you lowered the LX bar it was attached to with ease after making sure there was no-one in the way. Your focus made something in his chest tighten, and he feels like he’s being taken back in time; you’re beautiful when you work, passionate and skilled, meticulous, that hadn’t changed. Roger has to look away.
“My job,” and you just sound tired when you say it, already securing the meticulously placed lights onto the bar you’d just lowered, going along and fixing them to the metal in a neat line. An uncomfortable silence spreads between you, punctuated only by the scrape of metal against metal, and the rattle of the safety chains.
“What are you doing here?” You don’t even try to hide the snippiness from your voice, not even turning to look at his as the accusatory words hang in the air.
“I’m having a smoke in what I thought was going to be relative peace, it’s something I do, okay?” Voice defensive, you hear the rustle of cardboard and hear the click of a cigarette, your annoyance growing with each passing moment.
“No, it’s what I do. It’s what I did three years ago, you just started showing up. You stole my relative peace.” You snapped, turning to him, a blazing fury in your eyes at his words, before your lip curled in disgust, “And you don’t even do anything with it.” You scoffed, and he went quiet, sulking behind his drum kit. Sensing he wasn’t got to talk back you turn back to your work.
The moment you turn away, he sees the way you heave a sigh, angry tension draining from your shoulders, a little hunched as you concentrated. Your hands shake a little as you fiddle with the safety chains. There’s still that confidence there, the ease with which you moved about the stage, but unlike around other people, when it was just Roger - though he suspected you were pretending he wasn’t there - you just looked... weary.
After that first town, he keeps his distance for a few stops, though the other band members look to keep you company on occasion. But then... he’s there again. Quiet this time, he just watches where you hold yourself like royalty at the top of a rickety ladder, so sure of yourself. He’d forgotten the sight of you in your element, and it hits him like a truck.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” You snap when you chance a glance down and see his awestruck expression looking up at you. The shock comes when he actually looks abashed, averting his gaze, picking up his drumsticks and tapping out a rhythm that you’re pretty sure you recognise.
You’re both too stubborn to give the other one the peace of the theatre at lunch, however, while you’re content with stewing in silence as you worked, Roger, to no-one’s surprise, is not.
“How’ve you been?” He brings himself to ask. You stop where you’re replacing a gel on one of the drum riser lights, taking a long moment to consider your words carefully.
“Busy.” Tired. The subtext comes through loud and clear, despite your short answer, and once you’d finished with the light, you stand, before taking a moment to stretch your back out from behind hunched over.
“Working a lot?” I can tell. He answers after a long pause, almost sympathetic, and you know he’s not really responding to the words you’d said out loud.
“Yeah, non stop.” No subtext, just responding at face value, before your eyes up to the mostly finished rig. Afternoons were for last minute fixes and focusing, there wasn’t much left you could do, unless you were willing to ask for Roger’s help.
“When did your last thing end?” He asks, and you click your tongue as you turn on your heel, burned out gel in your hand, heading for a bin.
“Two days before this one.” You admitted. When you’re met with silence, you turn, and Roger’s frowning at you, almost disbelieving.
“You’re not still sleeping on the tour bus, are you?” He asks, and you roll your eyes before you tell him your accommodation is paid for this time around. You’re the first to leave, for the first time since everything had started, you leave halfway through to actually eat lunch, leaving Roger to himself.
When he’s drunk after the show, leaning against some local pub, with a girl leaning against him, heavy enough that the two of them would have tipped over if it wasn’t for the counter, he can’t get you out of his mind.
“I didn’t ruin her career.” His eyes go wide as the words, with something akin to revelation, escape him, and the girl makes a noise of confusion, her fingers ghosting over his chest, but he can’t even bring himself to enjoy it.
“I didn’t ruin her career!” He announces, excited and pleased in his inebriated state, sitting himself so forcefully on the arm of Freddie’s chair that he spills part of his drink. Freddie makes a noise of confusion, looking up at the blonde, and Roger gesticulates enough to spill more of his drink, ignoring Freddie’s yelp. “Spotlight! She said I’d ruined her career!” 
“When?” Freddie asks, just as John pops out from seemingly nowhere.
“Well you certainly didn’t help it. That was me.” Roger doesn’t care that John’s drunk, the way bassist says it, so serene and matter-of-fact, makes it sting just a little bit worse. His mood instantly flips.
“Can you piss off? Go be her best friend somewhere else.” Roger snapped, and he knew he’d regret being so sharp with John the following morning, but it seemed John himself knew that Roger was in a mood, and obligingly fucked off, seemingly not taking it to heart. “When we broke up, she accused me of ruining her career.” And he realises too late, when Freddie’s eyes go wide with realisation, that he’s said too much.
“Is this where you tell me exactly what went down between you two?” He asked, tapping Roger’s leg with excitement. The blonde, however, stood abruptly, glower on his face.
“No. Fuck off.” 
Roger spends almost fifteen minutes banging on the door of the tour bus before he remembers that you’re not in there, and falls into bed alone, fully clothed.
“The fuck did you say to Freddie last night?” The moment he steps foot onto the stage at lunch, you’re waiting for him, already livid. He’s tempted to turn and walk right back out the door. “Apparently he doesn’t know the real reason that I went home last ti- !” 
“Of course he doesn’t!” Roger snapped back, on the defensive without a moment’s hesitation. “It makes me look like a fucking wanker and he’d kick my ass; he adores you!” And that was enough to shock you into silence, grip loosening on the gaff tape in your hands. “They all do.” He said, and your expression turns unreadable.
“I know.” You finally said, a new, strange quality to your voice, it’s something akin to shock, but not quite, and Roger doesn’t know what to say next. “What about you?” You finally ask, voice a little defensive. It hurts to see you look at him with such a judgemental eye, though he’s well aware he deserves it.
“Doesn’t matter, does it? I could apologise a thousand times and you’d still be pissy.” He huffs, and you cross your arms, cocking your hip.
“At least once would be nice.” You level a cold glare at him and his gaze snaps back at yours, surprised. “You never once apologised, you know that?” And your voice is low, hurt and honest. “Are you even sorry for what happened?”
“It was three years ago-” He sighs, but you cut him off, shifting your weight to your other foot, swallowing thickly.
“So that’s a no. Glad to see where you stand.” And you turn to cross the stage to where you’ve already got the ladder set up, but he makes his way to you in three long strides, making to grab at your upper arm. The moment he does, however, you whirl around, slapping him, hard. “I told you to never fucking touch me; did you think I forgot?” And he sees why you were so eager to leave; there’s tears in your eyes, so close to breaking and streaming down your cheeks, your lip trembling. Something about your voice is so raw, it hurts worse than the slap.
“I am sorry.” And he sounds so fucking sincere, but you just glare at him, unashamed where the tears have begun to track down your cheeks. 
“You had your chance to say sorry; you had your chance to beg for forgiveness, but you told me I could leave; so I did, and so did your fucking opportunity.” But you can’t bring yourself to step back, frozen in place where he’s less than a foot away. Every fibre of your being is betraying you, wanting to be around him, close to him, after what he did.
“I’m sorry what happened between us;” his voice is so level, carefully controlled, you know he’s think hard about what he’s about to admit, “I fucked up, I know that; I’m sorry. It was three years ago but I’m still sorry. I’ve been sorry for a long time now.”
“Since it happened?” You asked, and he didn’t drop your gaze, answering without flinching or hesitation.
“Since I started worrying I’d lose you; I know what I’m like, I knew what I’d end up doing.” He admitted, and the words clearly didn’t have his intended impact as you stumble back, free hand clutching your chest.
“And yet you still-” And quietly, so quietly you’re not even sure he hears it, the words come out as more of a defeated whimper than anything else; “How could you not tell I was in love with you?” 
He’s in shock, and you barge past him, leaving as you can no longer contain your aching heart, and you head to the hotel you were staying at down the road, taking the rest of the lunch break to cry.
When you return, the rest of the crew has filtered in, Roger looks guilty, and Freddie and John look about ready to commit violent homicide, which was unsurprising for Freddie, but there was something comforting about Deaky wearing the expression too. In less than a week, the whole crew knows, and wherever you go, you feel yourself followed by pitying stares, which won’t go away, no matter how hard you throw yourself into your work.
“You’re working yourself into the ground.” Roger tells you a week later, watching the way your arms tremble as you focus a light, and it takes you a moment to blink blearily at him. “Don’t forget the security chain.” He adds, and you scowl, before looking at the light itself, and hurriedly affix the security chain to the rig. You insist that you’re fine, making your way down the ladder to scoop up another parcan, but you almost immediately drop it. 
“I just need some food.” You try to insist, your hands shaking as you leave the light where it is.
You don’t come out after shows, and it’s not gone unnoticed. The rest of the crew think you’re just dedicated, personable for the most part but prone to bouts of standoffishness.
“Oh you should have seen her on our first tour,” Freddie muses to an enraptured crowd at an afterparty, a few crew members listening with a bright-eyed attention, “that woman risked life and limb for our show.” And he sounds so proud when he says it, but something twists uncomfortably in Roger’s gut.
Cracks don’t show around other people, Roger’s noticed; you’re smile’s bright enough and your voice is loud enough that they don’t see the way your hands shake. Or how tired your eyes are. But then there are moments, you stand as if in the eye of the storm, gaff tape and drill in hand, watching as people follow your instructions without question, and you look up to see Roger tweaking his drums, and the two of you share a look. It’s a little indecipherable, he’s concerned and you’re just... tired. He wants to offer to help, but as soon as the moment arrives, it’s passed, and you’re off to the next task.
The air between the two of you has lost it’s angry tension; after saying your peace, after hearing his apology, there’s no fight left. Just a lingering disappointment, a quiet like the moment after a world-weary sigh. You don’t have to pretend around Roger, you both know he’d see through it if you’d tried.
“You should come get a drink after; you look like you need it.” Roger laughs, but there’s no humour in it. Without missing a beat, you decline, you don’t even bother coming up with an excuse. 
“I’m worried about you.” The tour is almost three weeks in, and you’re asleep against the proscenium arch when he walks in. You wake with a start at the sound of his voice, reaching out for the light you’d been fiddling with before you’d passed out. When you look to him with confusion, he repeats himself slowly. “I’m worried about you; are you sleeping okay?” 
“As if that’s any of your business.” You snapped back, and Roger kept quiet. It only takes him a day to figure out that sleep isn’t really a luxury you allowed yourself; you were the last out every night after bump out, sometimes staying until two in the morning, and from what the crew said, you were always the first up, running through check lists, accident reports, and going over anything that needed maintenance. 
When Freddie asks you to come out with them after a gig, you find it difficult to say no, he helped get you this job after all, but you’re there for barely half an hour before Roger sees you slip out the side door, drink untouched.
John asks if you’re okay one afternoon when you drop a stack of gel frames without warning, jumping almost a foot in the air and looking like you’re about to break into tears from shock, but seems content when you explain you’re just tired. Tired doesn’t even begin to cover how overworked you are.
The night you finally decide to relax a little, bump out having been miraculously fast, you’ve got the next day off. The others cheer you on as you down drink after drink, the alcohol hitting you hard and quickly, and the world gets blurry as you find yourself on the dance floor. It’s easy to drink too much, because for the first time in a long time, you’re relaxed, not worrying about the pretty, dickhead blonde who worries about you when he really shouldn’t. 
You’re drunk enough to admit to yourself that part of you likes the attention he’s giving you, it feels like vindication for the heartache you went through all those years ago. Part of it’s not even vindictive, part of you just likes the way he looks at you, the way his smile made your heart beat just a little faster; you call that part a fucking traitor and have another drink.
You don’t remember leaving the bar, but you come back to your body when you’re leaning against a streetlight for support, halfway through telling someone to fuck off.
“Ya’ not my caretaker, Roger,” you sneer, “you don’t need to look after me or whatever this is. Go help groupies home or to hotel or whatever.” You spit, and push off from the light, turning on your heel, almost topple over, and right yourself.
“Light, that’s the wrong way.” He calls, exasperated, and you turn again, this time actually crashing to the ground and grazing your hand on the way, before you get to your feet. He’s come over to try and help you, but you swat him away.
“You don’t get to call me that.” You stalk ahead of him in the direction he had come from, back toward the hotel, and he follows only a few steps behind.
“Fine, Y/N; you’re legless, let me help.” And after a moment of intense eye contact, in which you try to weigh up your options, you begrudgingly loop your arm through his.
“You’re still on my shit-list.” You inform him, and he hums in acknowledgement. “Why are you doing this?” You follow it up with.
“I’m not the asshole who fucked you over three years ago, and I’m not gonna let you get yourself killed for this show.” He said through gritted teeth, and you just smiled, a little dreamily.
“But what a way to go.” And he came to an abrupt stop. It took you a moment to realise, and looking back, you tugged on his arm to keep him moving. He just frowned at you, a little concerned. “Fuck, I didn’t mean it.”
“If I have to fire you to get you to take a break-” He threatened, and you scoffed, expression turning bitter.
“I’ll drop a light on you.”
“You’ll drop a light on me by accident before then anyways!” He crowed, and your expression fell, contemplative. “Just let me help; what do I have to do to make you actually rest? What do I have to do to prove myself?”
507 notes · View notes
rosepetalmark · 6 years ago
Text
Not in the Stars
2.5k words
Renjun x Reader
warnings: alcohol mention
in which you plan to confess your love for your best friend to him at a party, but the universe has other plans in store for the both of you. 
You like Renjun. A lot. 
That was one sentence in your five years of friendship with Huang Renjun that you never thought you’d say to yourself, let alone admit to. 
You don’t know where these feelings came from, but all you know is that they’re strong and on your mind twenty four seven. Everything he says and does captivates your mind, causing your feelings for him to grow even stronger.
It’s as if these feelings for him suddenly hit you like a brick one day. You were strictly best friends last week, and now you have these unexplainable deep feelings for him, eating you alive and begging for you to confess to him.
It’s not that you’re opposed to dating Renjun, it’s just that he’s been your best friend for several years and he means so incredibly much to you. You just don’t want to risk losing him or making things between you two weird if he doesn’t feel the same. 
So you suppress your feelings. As long as you have Renjun as your best friend, that’s all that matters, right?
Jaemin always makes you second guess yourself, explaining that the dynamic duo that you and Renjun are would be ten times more incredible if you were dating. Since you’re already best friends and know everything about each other, why not date? Only bigger and better things can come from it he always says.
Although Jaemin makes strong points, you’re still scared Renjun will turn you away, mainly because you’re ninety nine percent certain that he only views you as a friend, nothing more and nothing less. 
Yeah you have sleepovers  and spend hours late at night talking on the phone with one another, but that’s what best friends do. If Huang Renjun has any feelings for you, you’re sure someone would have said something by now. 
You get the typical stares from old people when you make your daily trek to school in the morning, him waiting outside your house for you at exactly seven forty two, smiling so bright the second you walk out your front door.  
You constantly get mistaken as his girlfriend whenever you go out together on the weekend, which always causes a deep pink blush to appear on Renjun’s cheeks. He’s always quick to brush it off though, making it clear to everyone around you that you’re strictly best friends, and that neither of you view each other in that way. 
Boy is he wrong.
Everything about Renjun makes your heart flutter, and that’s something that scares you.
For starters, he excels so well in school. For someone who spends eighty percent of his time doodling instead of taking notes, he aces every test and can recite every piece of information that’s been discussed in class with no problem.
He’s caring and funny, and so unapologetically himself. He takes you to art museums on your spare time, talks about the latest conspiracy that’s on his mind, and always insists you go for milkshakes every Sunday night.
And boy was he cute. The way he tilts his head all the way back and crinkles his eyes when he laughs makes your heart absolutely melt.
Huang Renjun makes you happy and positive and there’s nothing more in this world that you want than to hold his hand and kiss him in public, as well as call him your boyfriend so bad. 
It wasn’t until you were out late with him, hanging out on the roof at Jeno’s house, trying to escape the loudness that was coming from inside. Jeno was throwing a kickback to celebrate the beginning of summer, something he does ever year, in which there’s always too many people inside, and you and Renjun find yourself on the roof trying to seek solace in the stars. 
Renjun looked so ethereal in the moonlight. There was nothing more that you wanted to do than press your lips ever so gently against his, and hold his hand while staring up at the stars displayed so brightly above you both in the dark sky. 
“What are you thinking about bubs?” Renjun asked, referring to the nickname he gave you when he found out that’s the name you gave your favourite stuffed rabbit when you were a child. 
God the way his voice sounded in this moment made you weak. The tipsiness you both experienced earlier was wearing off, causing your lack of hydration to become present through your raspy voices. 
But you don’t care. You’re with Renjun, and you are warm and comfortable and in love. 
In love. 
You’re in love with Huang Renjun and you can’t keep it in any longer.
Maybe this would be the best time to tell him. Every time you’re completely sober, you push the idea to the side, trying your best to forget your feelings for him even exist. What if Jun doesn’t feel the same? What if he does but months down the line you figure out you’re better off as friends, and then when you try to get back into your non-romantic routine, everything feels off? You always worry that things will go wrong and Renjun will eventually stop being your friend.
Not tonight though. Renjun looks gorgeous in the moonlight and the little bit of alcohol that remains in your system is acting as your source of encouragement, convincing you to confess to him right now and hope for the best outcome possible. 
“Love,” you reply nonchalantly. 
“Love?” he questions, staring back to you, seemingly surprised with your response. 
“Yeah. Just wondering what the universe has in store for me, you know?” you ask, turning your body to face his direction, criss crossing your legs over one another. “The idea of love both intrigues me and freaks me out. It’s exciting anticipating what will come from it, but the fear of something going wrong down the line makes me not want to pursue it, you know?” you say, staring innocently into his eyes.
He cocks his head, an intrigued look falling on his face. He purses his lips, looking as if he’s going to say something, but remains silent. 
You both remain in silence for the next several minutes, which causes your thoughts to wander. What if Renjun has caught on? Maybe he’s thinking of ways to turn you down gently. Or he’s trying to express that he somehow knows you’re talking about him, and he’s trying to do so in a similar manner. 
But the silence is killing you, and you want nothing more than for Renjun to say something. Anything to get your thoughts to shut up, and your heart race to stop rapidly beating.
“I think you shouldn’t be scared of love,” he finally says. 
Taking a deep breath, he looks off into the sky, admiring the many stars laying millions of miles away from you both. “I get that you never know what may come out of it, but I think it’s worth a shot to know you tried, and to experience something you’re not fully sure is going to work,”  he speaks softly.
“Take a look at the universe for example. It’s so big and undiscovered, yet millions of people are fascinated by it. We’re obsessed with the stars and galaxies and the possibility of aliens- which I know for a fact exist by the way, yet we’re not afraid to spend our time discovering them and giving them our attention. I think of love in a similar manner. Yeah the thought seems so broad and scary, as there’s so many things to experience and discover, but I think it’s worth it. You’re only going to learn new things about yourself and life, so why not give it a shot?”
He clears his throat, and pays his attention back to you. He has a look of determination in his eyes, and that only makes you grow even more anxious.
“Aren’t you a wise expert on love, Mr. Huang,” you chuckle.
“Well what can I say? I do a lot of thinking on my spare time when I’m not bickering with you,” he laughs, positioning himself on his arms so he can get a better view of the night sky.
“Hey!” you shout, pushing onto his arm, causing him to lose his newly comfortable position and to fall on his back. “What are you thinking about Ren? You have this sour look on your face.”
“Well your idea of love got me thinking,” he says softly, staring into your eyes.
Nervousness takes over your body. You have no idea what he’s going to say, and every second of silence is eating you up.
“And?” you say abruptly, eager to know what he’s about to say. 
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I don’t know, I never thought much of it because I’m a wimp, but I think I’m going to ask Yeri out” he confesses, a small smile forming on his face. 
The mention of Yeri makes your heart sink. Yeri. He wants to ask out Yeri. Not you. 
Of course he likes Yeri. What isn’t there to like about her? She’s really pretty and polite, and they’re both the editors of the school newspaper, so they spend a great amount of time with each other. 
God this hurt. 
“Oh really,” you respond, with a less enthusiastic tone replacing your prior happy one.
“Yeah. We’ve been getting to know each other a lot more ever since we got asked to do this editorial on the basketball team, and I think I may have feelings for her”
“Well, um I think you should go for it Renjun, “ you reply, looking off into the stars to help keep what’s happening off your mind. If you look into his eyes, you’re certain you’ll start crying.
If it’s not you, you’re glad he has an interest in a girl with a golden heart and personality. 
“You think? What if she doesn’t like me?” he asks nervously, fiddling with the rings on his fingers.
“Like you said Ren, you never know what will come from love. Why not give it a shot if it’ll lead to potentially greater things not only within yourselves, but life in general? And if she ends up only seeing you as a friend, it’s okay. You’ll find someone one day who loves every part of you.”
And you can’t help but know deep down that that person is you. If Yeri rejects him, you’ll be right here to help him pick up the pieces, if not, you’ll still be here. As his best friend. Renjun deserves all the love and happiness the universe has to offer him, and despite being sad he shows no romantic interest in you, you’re glad he finds it in an amazing girl. 
“Alright cool, I guess I’ll ask her out on Monday when we meet up to discuss the paper then.” he says, smiling to himself. 
He looks so happy. Ecstatic even. You haven’t seen him smile this big since he won first place in your school’s art show.
“She’s here you know, at the party,” you say to him. “You should do it now.”
“You think?” he asks, eyes wide. 
Renjun was never one to act on impulse. He’s a man with a plan, and always has to do things by the book or else he’ll lose his hair. He likes structure and time, a complete flip from your bold and impulsive self. 
“Yeah, why not? You’re both here, you look really cute right now, and the stars are out in your favour, shining bright to provide you with the courage to do so.” 
This makes Renjun smile. You’ve always been a help in boosting his confidence, and you’re glad to be of assistance in such a nerve-wracking yet exciting period in his life. 
Standing up, he dusts the possible dirt off his legs. He crouches over, looking into your eyes and grabs your hand. “You’re the best y/n. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“As I with you,” you reply, a soft grin forming from your lips. “Now go downstairs and ask her out before she leaves.”
Standing back up, he begins walking to the door. “I’ll let you know how it goes!” he half shouts, pressing his hand to the door handle,  and making his way back into the house. 
You’re now left alone, on the rooftop, with just the stars and your thoughts. 
Why didn’t you bring up your feelings to him sooner, you thought. Now you’re only left sad and alone, because you were too scared to tell your best friend you’re in love with him. Confessing to him seemed so perfect in your mind a couple minutes ago, but sadly the universe has other plans in store for you. 
You decide to get comfortable and lie down, and begin to look at the constellations that are possibly present within the night sky. You can still hear the loud, most likely drunk people just a floor below you, and the vibration of the music hitting your body despite being away from the noise. But you don’t care. It’s just you and the sky, and you’re doing everything in your power to forget about the party below you, and to focus on the stars. 
As you point out the orion in the sky, you feel a buzz in your back pocket, indicating that you’ve got a text. Reaching for it, you unlock your phone, and see a notification stating that Renjun messaged you. Pressing on the messages app, you click on his name and read the following:
jun bug: she said yes!! we’re going out on tueday after we’re done editing :) (2:17 AM)
“Yes.” Yeri said yes. 
You’re happy for your best friend, but for yourself, you’re heartbroken. The possibility of dating him is now slim to none, especially since a potential girlfriend is in the mix, only making you more sad for yourself. 
You make sure to reply quick, and in a way that’ll make him happy, and hopefully provide you with the positivity that everything will be okay.
y/n: i’m so happy for you ren <3 (2:18 AM)
As you press send, you feel the tears start to slide down your cheeks. You’re happy for him, you really are, but you can’t help but wish that things went differently, and that you were in Yeri’s position. 
But as Renjun said before, love can be scary. It’s a learning experience, and if it doesn’t work out, you just need to take what you can from it, and hope for the best in the future. 
So you’ll take his words, and you’ll try your best to move on. 
It’ll be tough, but you hope to god that one day he’ll just be your best friend, and that this heartbreak won’t last with you forever. 
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ageismgood · 5 years ago
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Why wont maude apatow reply to my tweets or dms? I may believe in jesus but that doesnt mean she can discriminate against me. U think ur a big shot now cause ur on euphoria or something? If my parents were big time movie stars and directors i bet i could act but because i was born in the armpit of the united states to an angry italian family and i wont let some nasty executive have sex with my future daughter guess ill never get that chance. Ah yes lets keep doing the same thing weve been doing for over 50 years i love when families get so comfortable with their medocrity and give up all hope of doing anything remotley interesting with their lives and it affects the next 3 generations until someone like me changes the chain. It always goes back to boomers and their awful look on the world and what they value. Imagine being sexist, racist, transphobic, pro gun, entitled pieces of shits. Gow they gonna call us entitled when they are hands down the most entitled generation of all time. They were literally given everything. Want a house?? Here you go! Want a job?? Here you go! Want this “black theif rapist BASTARD” strung up by his neck or shot in the street because hes trying to make it so people with black skin can not live in constant fear of being murdered by nazi terrorists?? Here you go! I dont give a FUCK if you worked hard and earned your social security and retirement. The way you ran the country into a full septic tank makes that impossible anyone born after fucking 1989 you incompetent bald wrinkly fuck. Do any of your parents like their parents? Any of them at all? Even when they are on their deathbed these old fucks expect me to care or take care of them as they slowly wither away in their nursing home. ENTITLED FUCKING STUPID idiots need tonlearn when to shut the fuck up also. The older u get the more people just tolerate you. Im not here to make small talk with you as u struggle to uncrume ur fucking two dollar tip or withered old lady. Just take ur food and let me leave u r so worthless and boring. ALSO they never ever tipped. EVER. These fucks make me work for 8 dollars an hour if i didnt have a swag ass boss. Then they have the audacity to pull some bullshit and not give me a tip. Hahahahaha u sitting on stacks of cash from everyones taxes and ur job u worked at cor 45 years cause ur a fucking lunatic and u cant spare 2 dollars to a 20 year old pizza guy FUCK U. Hope maude sees this though for real u single .?
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frostcryptid · 6 years ago
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Reaper76 Week, Day Two: Keep Yourself Alive
--Keep Yourself Alive / OMNIC CRISIS--
“Gabriel Reyes, get the fuck down!” Tali threw a grenade towards the OR-14 units making their way towards them. Gabriel listened and kept his head down, forcing Jack down with him to avoid anymore shots. Tali just saved their sorry asses as the grenade went off, blowing the units to bits.
“Nice throw, Tal!” Jack observed the remains before deeming it safe and yanking Gabriel to his feet. The two made their way over to their teammate who gave them a thumbs up along with a cocky grin.
“Thought you two lover boys could use a moment.” Tali guffawed at the twin looks of red faces she got. “Honestly, gents, you don’t hide it very well and anyone with eyes could see the rings you both wear. And we all know very well how you’re no longer with previously mentioned lovers. I’ve known you both for almost twenty years now, it’s about bloody time you boys hopped to it.”
Jack and Gabriel were positively gobsmacked they knew without ever saying a word. Relying more on their eyes and observation all the while keeping it to themself until their friends were ready to tell them the news. Though life and death situations kind of changed that sometimes; making that one of those times.
“By the way, congrats.” Tali gave them another cocky grin as they shoved them forward. “Come on. We’ve got to make it by nightfall or these arseholes will fill us with holes.”
“Jackie’s got enough holes that need filling.”
“Not the time, Gabe!” That didn’t stop Gabe’s sly smile or how Jack’s face got even redder, if it were possible. “I swear to god.”
“I swear to all the gods and goddesses I’ve ever researched if you don’t get moving I’ll leave you both here to be filled with holes.” Tali gave both men another shove to get the message across that they were serious. They wouldn’t have any regrets doing it either.
The three marched along, suddenly wanting the mission done and over with. Jack and Gabriel knew they needed alone time and wanted reassurance they were in one piece. Tali just wanted a good meal and a full eight hours of sleep; also they knew a party would be thrown in congratulations for their two best friends after beating around the bush so long.
Once they got back to their camp, they all holed up in a room together. Gabriel and Jack not trusting anyone to take care of their partner in crime and Tali hating to be away from her friends too long while feeling unsafe. It was their way of life after so much shit went on in SEP. All three of them pulled through and swore not to abandon their little band of misfits.
“So Gabe and I finally broke down about two months ago, asked each other out. What about you, Tal? Ever think of being with someone?”
Gabriel snorted and jabbed Jack with his elbow. “Real subtle, mi sol.”
“You two remember Ana Amari? The sniper from Egypt?”
“Oh, Horus?”
Tali nodded, not cowed in the least bit but nervous in the face of them. They worried what her friends would say since Ana was a few years older than them and at least five years older than Gabriel and Jack. It’s not much but Ana might be the one for them, which sounds a little cliche even though it was true. “We’ve been talking, told her about my knack for history. She seemed really impressed with my memory of facts for Egyptian culture, old Egyptian culture.”
Jack moved over to Tali’s side before hugging her waist and his face buried in their hip. “You honestly have no idea how happy I am for you. We were both worried about what would happen if they sent us all in different directions. Now we don’t. With all of us together, it’d be a waste.” He tightened his hold slightly. “We won’t have to say goodbye.”
“What the dork means is that we love you and wanted you to stay with us. We also now have ample reason to form a team for scenarios like this.” Meaning when the omnics converge mostly in one place, often pinning groups down if they weren’t careful.
“Like a strike team?” Tali stroked through Jack’s blond hair mostly thinking about the possibility.
“Why not? We have the means and people to do it. It’s entirely up to the people we ask.” Gabriel leaned down, kissing Jack’s temple softly; the love wafting off him and Jack was palpable to the point of making tears creep up unexpectedly in their eyes.
Gabriel ran his hand through Tali’s undercut. “It’ll be people we trust and people we’re close to. You’re number one on that list, Tal. There’s no one in this world I trust more than you who’ll take care of us.”
Tali was more than honored by that statement as they knew not to take it lightly at all. They always made sure Gabriel and Jack made it out, made it back to each other. The two were their number one priority. Everything else came after, including their own safety. But it seemed they were just important to them as each other.
“You two get some sleep. I’ll take first watch.”
“We’re in the encampment?” Jack looked up at his fiancee confused. They were all safe, walls protected them. Old walls, but formidable ones. Other soldiers kept watch, walked the walls, and sent out patrols to stay safe. Why would Gabriel be worried if they were safe?
Gabriel just gave him one of his winning smiles without an answer. Jack huffed and buried himself back in Tali’s hip. The older two knew it would take a few more minutes for him to drift off completely. Gabriel forced their head against his shoulder. “Come on. We’ll talk about the love of our lives when we wake up. Or, better yet, we’ll talk about them when we’re back home at HQ. How’s that?”
“Bloody brilliant.”
They dozed off, still running a hand through Jack’s hair. Comforted by their best friends on either side of them.
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littlemisssquiggles · 6 years ago
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RWBY Musings #63: The Sleeping Prince. What if…Oscar falls into a deep sleep for the Merging of the Two Souls?
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‘Sup FNDM fam! Happy New Year from the squiggle meister! For my first theory post of 2019, since Oscar is a perfect little prince now (hypothetically speaking), consider this for a sec. 
What if...for the Merge, Oscar suddenly falls unconscious, putting him out of commotion for when the heroes begin to commence their plan to commandeer an Atlesian airship with the group unsure of what to do to wake him back up.
As Jaune said last episode, they're not leaving for Atlas without Oscar. But what would they do if the Merge suddenly happens and he’s temporarily unable to aid them with their plan for Atlas?
In the fairy tales, it's usually a kiss of true love that awakes the sleeping princesses from their eternal slumber. If Oscar is expected to fall to sleep during the Merge (because I honestly can't picture him being conscious while unceremoniously merging), imagine if… it's love that ultimately wakes him up. Not necessarily from a kiss per say but I have this little hunch where Oscar will start to merge with Ozpin but it’s the love he feels both for and from the teammates he’s grown to care about that keeps him from resisting the part of the process that’s meant to make him disappear entirely; if that makes sense.
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Remember the God of Light’s warning to Ozma before his first reincarnation? He told him that where he sought comfort, he will only find pain. In a sense, you can say the God of Light’s heed to Ozma happened twice within the cycle. For Ozma it occurred in his first reincarnation as Diggs after Salem, the former love of his life---the mother of his children---the woman he had refused the peace of the afterlife to return to, killed him with her very own hands as a final sign that she had lost herself to the darkness.
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And for Ozpin, it was recently when his own allies turned their backs on him after promising they wouldn’t upon learning the truth. The first deceit came from Lionheart, a friend and member of Oz’s very own inner circle of trusted lieutenants. The second came from the group of young heroes whose lives he had promised to protect and guide. Even Qrow, a former student and long-time friend of Oz who completely devoted to him, turned his back to him and it is his words that made the old wizard turn to grief and isolation for the third time in his many lives (counting Ambroise and Emmanuel---the second and third reincarnations).
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Who knows? Perhaps this will be a sign that Oscar is potentially doomed to meet the same fate being challenged by that same love and comfort in others that has left his predecessors crushed by grief? I’m not saying that the heroes will hurt Oscar (at least, not now after what transpired when they thought he went missing). But I can somehow imagine Oscar meeting a dishevelled and grief-stricken Ozpin again within his mental mind palace or Dreamscape and having the older soul mock his young successor for getting himself attached to the love and comfort he feels from the heroes. Imagine…that love and trust is what Oscar will hold onto as a lifeline to keep him from losing himself completely to the Merge?
While I’m aware that Oscar has come to accept his fate now, I can’t help but still feel like that’s all a front from Oscar. It could be just my interpretation, though. It’s just the way how he spoke in V6 C8 gave me the impression that Oscar had technically given up on wanting to resist the Merge while subtly foreshadowing that it could happen this same volume.
“…These past few days, I’ve been scared of the same things you were. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be…me. But I did some thinking and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left…”
It wouldn’t surprise me if in a later episode; Oscar does begin the Merge with Ozpin and will reunite with him in his mind for it. Don’t want to anticipate too much but it is a strong possibility of it happening especially since they do have the model of Professor Ozpin. I doubt they just made that for the opening. I feel like Oscar is going to meet Ozpin face to face in his mind and when he does, I think the two souls will have a confrontation that could either be just them standing around and talking (like Raven and Yang in the V5 finale) or end in them literally squaring off against each other in an all-out showdown. We’ve already seen two Maidens duke it out.
Will we get to see the two souls fight next?
I would think we should since it’s something that’s been foreshadowed since the first volume. I love the idea of Oscar literally fighting the Merge. Fighting Ozpin and fighting against losing himself. The thing that has always been hinted about the Man with Two Souls is them fighting for control. So maybe this will be part of the Merge? Oscar fighting against Ozpin for the chance to remain as himself.
We know Oscar has accepted disappearing one day but...what if… it's the love he feels from the team that convinces him he needs to fight to be himself. What if...Ruby shares another Rosebuds bonding moment with Oscar where she basically tells him to fight to be him. And since these words come from the girl we know Oscar greatly admires, it’ll hold a lot of weight and meaning in Oscar’s eyes.  
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I didn’t particularly like how Oscar told everyone that he was going to disappear soon and everyone was…I guess, so clouded by their relief of him being safe to feel the full weight of his words in that moment.
I just found the fact that there is Oscar basically talking to group like he’s going to technically sort of die soon (I mean it pretty much had that final farewell sort of tone to it, for sure) and everyone is all happy smiles. Like…what? Why are you smiling? Yes, this is a happy moment but what’s being said and foreshadowed isn’t so…again why didn’t we get the characters briefly looking unhappy when Oscar brought disappearing only to perk up when he showed them that even though it’s bad, he’s still determined to do his best like the best boy he is? I dunno. It was a little weird moment for me and one of my gripes with this episode.
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I think eventually when things simmer down and once the Merge actually legit starts happening before the team’s very eyes where Oscar gets down because of the Merge, that’s when the others will start to see the light of the child’s words and begin to truly panic about losing him.
Another thing that needs to be addressed are the group’s feelings now about Ozpin. Following the events of C5-C9 and now that Oscar has become an official valued member of the group (as himself), how does the group feel about Oz? This is why I found the happy-go-lucky smiles when Oscar mentioned disappearing for good to be off putting. The group do realize that if Oscar disappears for good, technically that could spell the team being back with Ozpin…kind of…sort of…maybe-ish. I dunno. I just want to know how the group feel about Oz now? Did Oscar’s disappearance also help them to forgive Ozpin too?
I don’t think that is the case which is why I hope it gets addressed in the remaining 5 episodes.
Overall, I just want Oscar to fight to be himself you guys. This is just my opinion here but personally, Oscar has been way too accepting of his fate. I understand that merging with Ozpin is a destiny that Oscar can’t run from. I understand that fully but…I still feel like he should want to fight to be himself if he could help it y’know what I mean? I don’t know if that’s possible or if it’s impossible for Oscar to not fight against losing himself. But nevertheless, I just want Oscar to fight to be him and for someone to tell him to fight to be him. Because Oscar is pretty great.
Plus I think that’ll be the be all end all to both Oscar and Ozpin’s conjoined stories, right? Either Ozpin’s run will conclude this volume and Oscar will take his place on the cast moving forward as his successor, now complete with his memories, knowledge, skills and magical capabilities (hopefully) while still retaining his personality.
So picture …Oscar accepting his fate but also fighting it at the same time. He wants to be a Wizard of Light like the others before him. He still wants to do everything in his power to fight to protect humanity and stop Salem once and for all. But he will not lose himself. So ...rather than Ozpin absorbing Oscar and his mind becoming dominant, it's the opposite where Ozpin becomes a part of Oscar while the former farm boy still gets to be himself.
Basically what some fans have been saying since the beginning that Oz will disappear and become a part of Oscar with our Barn Prince still remaining as himself but gaining all the memories and skills of Ozpin and all the Wizards before him.
Or…Oscar and Ozpin will fuse and this new fusion will be a perfect blend of them both signifying a perfect alignment between the two soul where it doesn’t feel like one has eclipsed the other. It’s both but at the same time it’s not them. Someone entirely new who is as much Oscar as the original while still having some essence of Ozpin in there.
Whatever the outcome, I do think the Merge could be a plot point set for the final few episodes of V6. Emphasis on could. But if it does happen, only then will Oscar’s true fate be decided once and for all. Either that or it gets delayed and Oscar goes into the Atlas Arc now fighting against Ozpin to let the Merge fully take him over. Who knows?
That's just me. Don’t know if you guys would agree or disagree. But anyways, as always, these are just my thoughts and theories. I guess we’ll see what the Writers got cooking for us when C10 premieres this Saturday.
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More Squiggles’ RWBY Content
~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)
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cosmichoneyedblossoms · 6 years ago
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White Sands
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MERMAN Shownu X Reader
Genre: Fluffy
Word Count: 2,894
A/N: Okay, so, not gunna lie, this one was hard to write, but also fun! Thank you @xkpopobsessedx for helping me create ideas for this cutie! Anyway, I hope y’all enjoy!
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Day One: 8:00 PM
“It’s been so long since we’ve been on a vacation together. What’s it been like, five years?”
“Mmm...” I hummed, scrolling through my phone. My mother tapped my leg, my eyes dragging up to see her face, “What?”
“Put your phone away. We’re going on this trip to get you out of your funk since that stupid boy broke your heart.”
“Can we not talk about Dean, please...” I asked, turning my head to look out the window.
“This four day get away at the beach should help you.”
“Yeah, because the ocean and sand can help me get rid of my depression...” 
“Don’t be like that, Y/N...” She whispered and I tuned her voice out as I watched the trees turn into beaches, tan sands fading almost to white due to the season change. The water soaking in the still warm air and bright sun, resting upon the shore line waiting to cover someone’s feet; I bet it’s starting to get cold, not like we’ll probably swim anyway. 
“We’re here.” We pulled up to a house that sat on the beach. The siding of the house colored a cerulean blue, fashioned with dark wood steps leading up to the door; even though the house was weathered, it still held some beauty. We stepped out of the car, pulling our luggage from the trunk, and then made our way up to the door. My mother opened the deep red door and we were greeted by the squeals of my older sisters, Anessa and Samantha.
“So glad you guys could finally make it.” Anessa took our mother’s luggage from her, sliding it over to the side of the couch.
“I’m sorry, girls. There was so much traffic on the highway.”
“No surprise there.” Sam grunted from the couch.
“Sorry to interrupt, but will you show me to my room, please?” I asked, Anessa skimmed over me, placing her hands on her hips.
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. I think the last time I saw you was at Christmas dinner with De—”
“All right, all right, let’s not pester, Y/N. She’s had a long week. Sam, honey, show her to her room, please.”
“Ah, okay, mom.” Sam replied, getting up from the couch. I followed her down the hall to the last room on the left and she opened the door, “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“Mmm...” I nodded and walked into the blinding room. Pale blue painted walls, dark wood flooring, driftwood colored furniture, white bedding, and a window seat facing the ocean.
Cute...
I opened my bag, unpacked my clothes into the dresser, then closed the curtains over the windows, and finally laid down on the bed, resting my eyes.
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Day Two: 4:00 AM
I opened my eyes to a dark bedroom, the sound of the ocean waves seeping into the room.
How long have I been out?
I pulled my phone from under the pillow, the screen lighting up to show 4:02 on the clock. I laid my phone down, turning on the lamp on the side table, then getting up to pull a sweater from the dresser. I tugged it on, slipping on my shoes, and stepping out of the bedroom into the dim hallway. I padded my way across the floor into the dining room, sliding the glass balcony door open, letting the sea salt tainted air kiss my face. I closed the door behind me and walked down the balcony stairs, down into the sand. The sound of the waves crashing soothed my numb mind, my body being pulled closer to the shore; I sat down close to the water, watching it roll in and drift back out, when something moving through the water caught my eye.
A person swimming at this time of night?
I watched the body move closer and closer until I could make out his features in the moonlight— shaggy dark brown hair, soft cheek bones, but killer jaw line, thick lips, and sharp eyes.
Wow, he’s gorgeous...
He came closer until his body rested on the shore, everything but his head still under the water, “Hey...”
Is he talking to me?
I looked around, searching for someone else he could be talking to when he spoke again, “Who are you looking for?”
“I was making sure you were actually talking to me.” I confessed, tugging at the sleeves of my sweater. His eyes wrinkled as a beaming smile appeared on his lips.
“What is a beautiful girl like you doing out here in the middle of the night?”
“I could ask you the same thing. Isn’t the water cold?” I asked, moving closer to him, the water starting to touch my feet.
“Not really. I live in the water so it doesn’t really effect me.”
“Ah, you mean you’re always coming out to swim—”
“No...” The water splashed behind him and I leaned to the side, the dark red color coming into focus, “I’m a merman.” I got up to my feet, traipsing into the water, the iciness making me hiss, but I needed to make sure he wasn’t playing around with me, I needed to see if he was telling the truth.
“I thought mermaids and mermen were just old sailors tales, not real life...?” I questioned as he turned over, sitting on the ocean floor, his waist submerged under the water.
“We stay hidden for our safety.” He lifted his tail, the deep red iridescent scales glittering under the moonlight.
“What a shame, you’re a beautiful creature...” I ran my hand over his scales, his tail twitching at my touch. I flicked my eyes up to his face, his cheeks ruddied and his bottom lip caught between his teeth, “I’m sorry, I touched you without even asking,”
“No, no, that’s okay. I was just shocked you actually came out into the cold ocean to touch me.” He teased, his wet locks fell onto his forehead as he lifted his hand, “I haven’t introduced myself yet, I’m Hyunwoo, but you can call me Shownu.”
“Oh,” I took his hand into my own, shaking it, “I’m Y/N.”
“A beautiful name for someone like you.” My cheeks burned at his statement, his chestnut eyes stared into mine, his hand pulling me close, “Y/N...” My name bubbled from his lips, his voice hypnotizing me, “I’m sorry, but the sun is starting to come up, so I must take my leave.”
“Oh...” I turned towards the horizon, hints of pinks starting to tint the sky, “Has it really been that long?”
He grunted to my question, “Can I see you tomorrow night, well I should say tonight?”
“Of course you can, if you want to.” A smile spread over his lips, his teeth peeking through his lips.
“Lovely. Meet here at midnight?”
I nodded, biting my lip.
“I’ll see you tonight, Y/N.” Shownu swam out into the ocean, soon diving down and disappearing.
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Day Three: 12:00 am
“You came, Y/N.” Shownu laid against the shore, just as he did the night before.
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
Shownu pondered my question then shrugged, “I wasn’t sure, but I’m glad you did.”
“I actually came prepared this time, too.”
“What do you mean by that?” He asked as I pulled off my sweater, Shownu clearing his throat, “Y/N, what’re you doing?”
“Taking off my clothes, so I can get in the water in my bathing suit and keep my street clothes clean and dry.” I laughed, seeing his cheeks flush.
“I thought you were—”
“Oh, I know what you thought.” I teased, tossing my shorts with my sweater away from the shore and stepping into the water, taking a seat next to him. He cleared his throat once more, scooting closer to me, peering into my face.
“Y/N?” 
“Yes?”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have the prettiest eyes? Especially in the moonlight?”
I laughed a bit, nudging him, “Has anyone ever told you that you’re such a flirt?” Shownu let out a chuckle leaning into me, sighing comfortably, “I do have a question for you, Shownu.”
“And I have an answer for you... probably.”
“If staying hidden was to keep you safe, why did you show yourself to me?”
“Hmm... that’s a good question...” He flicked his tail up, sucking his teeth, “Since I was a child, I could always tell when someone needed something. May it be an ear or someone to lean on, I could just feel it in my bones and seeing you last night, I could tell something was wrong, but I didn’t need to ask since it’s none of my business...” He paused for a moment, his hand ghosting over my fingers, “I’m here for you, whatever you need, Y/N.” I looked at him, his eyes catching mine.
“Shownu...” I felt a blush start to prickle at my cheeks and I looked down at my lap, soon his warm wet fingers brushed strands of hair behind my ear, “Tomorrow is my last night here so, I wouldn’t get too attached to me.”
“I’m not going to worry about that right now. I’ll make the moments you spend with me memorable, to where you won’t forget me or want to leave me.”
“Not like I could forget meeting a merman.” I breathed, moving out into the water.
“Oh, would you like me to leave then?” He huffed, moving out into the water with me.
“No!” I exclaimed and Shownu snorted, trying to stifle a laugh, “Don’t be mean.” I splashed water at him and he chuckled.
“Oh, now it’s on.” He hissed, playfully pulling me to him, his fingers poking at my sides making me squirm and giggle under his touch. I struggled to get away from him, but his hands ceased their attack and held me close to him, his warmth spreading through my back.
“Is this where you kill me?” I joked, a laugh leaving him. 
“If I wanted to kill you, I would’ve already.” I rested my head against his chest, watching the moon ripple on the water. 
“The more time I spend out here in the water, the more I feel myself wanting to stay. For a change of scenery, to get away from my home, away from the memories that linger in that town...” I ran my fingers over Shownu’s arm, his grip tightening.
“Then why don’t you stay?”
“There’s just things I have to return to... work, school... life in general. I rather spend my time here, with you, soaking up the moonlight and avoiding stress.”
“Stress? Why are you so stressed?”
“It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got three more hours until daylight, so we’ve got time.” 
“Well...” I went into deep detail of my life for the past few months since my break up with my ex and about how I’ve been dealing with it. Every once in a while Shownu would ask a question and then fall silent again; once I finished my life story, Shownu rested his head in the nook of my neck.
“I wish you never had to go through that, Y/N... You’re such a sweet girl. If I were human, I would keep you by my side forever.” He whispered, placing a gentle kiss on my shoulder.
“You’re too kind, Shownu... We just met and I feel like I’ve known you for forever.” I relaxed into him, sighing a bit, noticing the break of daylight leaking out onto the water, “Time to go, Shownu...”
“Just a few more minutes, please.” Shownu tightened his grip on me, burying his face into my damp hair.
“Just a few, I don’t want you getting caught.” Shownu lifted his head, turning it in close to my cheek, his lips grazing against my skin.
“Alright.” Shownu held me close for a few more moments, short silent moments, before he let me go and placed a soft kiss against my cheek, “Midnight, my dear.”
“Deal.” I smiled, watching him dive down, and disappear.
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Day Four: 12:00am
I sat down on the cold sand in jeans and a thick sweater, the sea salt breeze starting to get colder every night. I watched the water ripple, waiting for Shownu to appear. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I rested my head on them, my eyes getting heavy. I dug my phone from my pocket, looking at the clock that read 12:10.
Maybe he got caught up with something... He knows it’s our last night...
I hugged my legs, burying my face into my sweater to fight off the cold breeze, closing my eyes.
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“Y/N...” A gentle voice called out, rousing me from my sleep. I pulled my head up for the bright sunlight to blind me.
It’s morning?
I rubbed my eyes, blinking them a few times before trying to focus on anything around me.
He didn’t show...
Warmth spread over the top of my head, causing me to look up, a shadow looming over me, “I’m sorry it took me so long, Y/N, but I’m here now...” Shownu’s voice met my ears and I smiled.
“That’s funny... you sound like—” The shadow crouched down, my eyes focusing on the voice’s face, Shownu’s features coming into focus.
“It is me, dork.” He whispered and I looked him up and down, no tail, but human legs covered by the blanket I brought out.
“Shownu?!” I squealed, jumping from the sand to face him, “H-How is this possible?” I studdered, trying to take in his body. He stood, a little wobbly on his feet.
“When my father passed, he knew I was not meant for the sea, he gave me an elixir saying that it could make one sprout legs to walk the earth. I thought it was all a joke so I didn’t mess with it, but then I met you and I needed to at least try to see if it was real... and now...” He chuckled, “I’m here, in front of you, naked...”
“Oh shit, Shownu, let’s get you inside.” I took his hand, tugging him up to the balcony, “When did you get here? How long did you let me sleep?” I walked up the stairs and then I pushed open the sliding door to be met by my mother’s and my sister’s stares.
“Y/N? Who is the naked—”
“No time to explain, mom. Anessa, do you still have some of your husbands old clothes that don’t fit him anymore?” They stared at me then skimmed over Shownu, him shyly lifting his hand, waving— them not moving, “Y’all!” I yelled, Anessa rushing to her room.
“Let me go draw a bath for him, you must be freezing, dear.” My mother looked over him once more before going to the bathroom. Sam just sat there, ogling him, her mouth slightly ajar.
“Sam, go do something with yourself...” I growled, pulling Shownu over to the bathroom, my mother sliding out to let us through. I closed the door behind us and I sighed leaning against the counter, “They’re going to be the death of me...”
“They seem nice.”
“They can be, until they see a gorgeous man walk through the door.” Shownu chuckled at my words, “Alright, merman, get into the bath.” He looked at me and then at the bathtub.
“The what?”
“The bath...” I pointed at the tub and he shrugged his shoulders, starting to get into the bathtub with the blanket wrapped around his waist, “Oh, hold on...” I took the blanket into my hands, closing my eyes, pulling it from his body.
“Can I not get that wet?”
“I mean you could, but the bath is to wash you.”
“Wash me?” I opened my eyes to be met with his confused gaze.
“Yes, wash you. Now sit.” He sat down at my words.
“It’s hot.”
“Yup, that’s how it’s supposed to be.” I took the cup that was on the side of the tub and dipped it into the water, then pouring it over his hair. I grabbed the bottle of shampoo and he cocked his head to the side.
“What’s that?”
“Shampoo, it’s to wash your hair.” I opened the cap and squirted the thick liquid into my hand and rubbed it into his hair, creating a thick lather, and then pouring the water through his hair once more to rise it out. I grabbed another bottle and handed it to him, “Okay so this is body wash, you take this...” I grabbed a washcloth from the rack over the toilet and handed it to him, “Soak that in the water and add some of the body wash to the cloth and clean your body. I’m going to go get the clothes from Anessa.”
“Mmm.” He nodded his head and I left the bathroom, Anessa, Sam, and my mother looking at me.
“What?”
“Who is that man?” Sam crossed her arms, huffing.
I laughed a little, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, just think of him as my new companion... Anessa, those clothes?”
“Ah.” She handed me a stack of clothes and I smiled, “When we get home, I’ll send these back.”
“Just keep them. They’re too big for him anyway.”
“Thanks.” I turned back and walked into the bathroom to see Shownu standing outside of the tub, a towel wrapped around his waist, “Oh, you’re done?”
“I think so.” 
“Well, c’mon, let’s go get you dressed.” I opened the door once again, starting to walk out when Shownu’s hand gripped onto the fabric of my sweater, following closely behind me.
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Shownu sat on my bed, clothed in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, his eyes roaming the bedroom. I dug in one of the dresser drawers, pulling out another towel and I walked over in front of him, “Your hair is still wet, you’re going to get a cold, goofy.” I gently rubbed his hair, drying the dripping ends, his hands wrapping around my waist.
“Is this what it would be like everyday with you?” He nuzzled his face into my chest, my cheeks burning at the feeling of his warmth radiating through my body.
“Shownu, why did you change?”
Not missing a beat, he spoke, “Because I found someone I couldn’t live in the water with, so I changed...” He gazed up at me, his unwavering chestnut eyes looking into my soul, “So I could be with you.” 
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tk-duveraun · 6 years ago
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The Tower (Inverted) 33/?
Inquisition fic: Ancient Elf AU
Parts: 1-28 - 29 30 31 32
Thump, thump, thump, crash! Kirtida and Arlo opened the door to the Herald’s Rest a crack and peeked through the gap. Krem held a tankard upside down and was scolding The Iron Bull, who didn’t seem to notice him. The Iron Bull’s eye was closed and every muscle on his face was slack. Aquila stood behind his chair, sleeves rolled up to her elbows as she applied a thick, white cream to his horns. His leg jutted up and into the table every so often and he sounded like nothing more than a purring cat.
Kir pushed through the door and wove her way through the crowd. There were empty seats next to both Cakara and Ilena, but she didn’t trust them to not get loud at the slightest, or in Ilena’s case no, provocation. Cakara was alone, drinking wine and playing the soft song from her music box. Ilena and Terenti had their table covered in papers and magic detritus and had some spell winding up between them. It was both bad manners and dangerous, but after the Temple of Mythal, Kir wouldn’t stir up any trouble for them. Ilena’s bare forehead still felt like a slap in the face.
Arlo dragged her to sit between Juniper and The Iron Bull, Krem having wandered off for more ale. He flickered visibly in his seat until Juniper touched his shoulder and his shape solidified and his eyes turned yellow. “Thanks, Uncle. Trying to control it’s been making it worse.”
“A bit, but better control is necessary. Especially if you want to learn shapeshifting.” Juniper winked at him.
“I want to be a tiger.” Arlo raised his hands, fingers bent like claws.
Aquila laughed. “You don’t quite get to pick your form so easily. You have to study the shape for years and, judging by your drawings, you’ll need longer than most.”
“Hey!”
“Don’t talk back to your mother, kid,” The Iron Bull said, his voice drowsy and content.
“You’re just cross because you can’t tie me up,” Arlo said. He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.
The Iron Bull cracked his eye open. “I only tie up people that want it.” Three different people in the tavern - a woman and two men, all redheads - gasped, blushed and were suddenly very busy not looking at him.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“He’s not talking about tying up bandits,” Kir said.
“Kirtida!”
“Dorian, we’ve already had this conversation.” Kir sighed dramatically, but then laughed and held his hands in greeting.
“I know my darling friend, but I have to tweak your ears every now and then.” He pulled up a chair behind Kir and tilted his head back to watch Aquila. “And what’s going on here?”
“Bull was itchy, so Juniper mixed up some horn balm for him,” Aquila said. She had long since finished covering the horns, but Kir agreed The Iron Bull needed the opportunity to really relax.
“He said it was impossible to get outside of Seheron. I’ve never had a challenge thrown so blatantly my way in my life,” Juniper said. The smile lines around his eyes popped, even though he kept his mouth straight. The kindness in his face sent Kir back to that day in the musty, old library. He’d claimed to be no good at herbalism, but here they were. She smiled and met his eyes. He winked.
The comfortable conversation was shattered by Cakara’s shout. She’d stood up at her seat and Vasili was across from her, a plate of green slime sloshed between them. “What in the barren lands is this slop supposed to be?”
“Wow, rude,” Vasili said. He pushed the plate closer to her and some of the slime dripped onto the table. “For someone who grew up with such scarcity, you’d think you’d appreciate a gift of food a little more.”
“This isn’t food! This is… Paint? I don’t even know.” She shoved it back at him and it sloshed over the side.
“It’s red mash. I made it just for you.”
Cakara flipped the plate at him, coating his armor with the green much. “It’s not even red, you idiot!”
“What is wrong with you? I’m going to need a bath now.” Vasili shuddered and sloughed off as much as he could with his hands. He made his way toward the door. “And how was I supposed to know?”
Cakara followed him. “You look at it. You know, with your eyes!”
Kir bit the heel of her hand to keep from laughing aloud, but tears of mirth burned her eyes. The moment the door closed behind them, silence took the tavern… Then uproarious laughter. Kir and Arlo clung to each other, gasping for air.
“I don’t even want to know what he made,” Aquila said. “Red bean doesn’t even grow off of Amorgos.”
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naturepointstheway · 6 years ago
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“Christmas” (BatB14fics prompt)
Okay so I’m slowly but surely going through the BatB14fics, despite university demanding more of my time. Here’s another one, “Christmas”, from Mrs Potts’ POV, during the curse. 
@tinydooms @sweetfayetanner @astudyinchocolate @lumiereswig @batbobsession @morgaine2005 @dand3l1on-fluff @prince-adams-japris
Christmas under the curse was never a wholly sad affair--Lumiere made right sure of that. He refused to allow any of us to be down in the dumps come Christmas Eve, leading the way in the singing and the dancing (the dancing was mostly him, for he still had his legs, unlike most the rest of us). Naturally, dear Chapeau would strike up his violin, the instrument that sung for him, for he never liked to sing himself, even despite Lumiere’s constant good-natured pestering him about it. 
Each of us had our favourite Christmas tune--I favoured the bright, cheery carols that drew me back through the decades to my childhood, my memories swimming with snow, sleds, hands chafed and red from snowman building and snowball fights, and thick leather boots stomping through the crunchy snow, and tilting our faces up toward the sky to feel snowflakes brush over our cheeks and rest on our foreheads. 
Chip, being the dear child he is, favoured them all, as children are wont to do. Well, perhaps not the slower, heavier, more sombre-toned carols so much. But he sung along with the best of us, though at times he asked why the prince--yes, he is a beast now, but he is still human, not an animal--does not join us for Christmas celebration if he loved us all so much once upon a time. (I still believe he cares about us, even if he refuses to admit or show it.) 
Well, how to tell a child how complicated life is for us grown-ups who have weathered the storms and whirlwinds of life? That nothing is all black, but then nothing is all white? All I tell him is that Prince Adam has his own reasons not to join us for Christmas, and that he is happier alone on this merry day. Some people are just that way. 
I don’t believe for a second Chip was fully convinced about that explanation, but he has not asked me again since, so I like to think he is satisfied enough for now. For now--Chip loves to ask questions, and I know that even if he never asks a question again about how the world works or why people do what they do, he will ask again one day.
Well, that was quite the tangent. Back to this Christmas Eve, which might be like any other, were it not for Belle in the castle. I hoped she might come down at least, for we have not shared a merry Christmas without a human for a long time--yes, of course, of course we’re human, but how human can you feel when you’re a teapot and you know you might always be one? 
Oh dear. Let’s not think of such things. We still have time, I know it--surely Belle is the one to break the curse. She and Adam--I refuse to call him “the beast” or “a beast” because of all the things in the world he is, at least inside, he’s not that--they have been becoming such close friends, lost in their worlds of books, deep discussions, outside walks in the fresh wintry air, and it may have not been long, but there is that strong hint of a deep love--the true, deep kind of love--does not need months and years, no, it can be in weeks. 
Tonight, this Christmas Eve, once again, as usual, all of us were clustered in the kitchen, pretending we were not dreaming of tasting chocolate puddings and roast ham and mince pies again, trying not to think of delightful presents resting at the foot of our beds come Christmas morning, and trying not to think about the curse for once. Lumiere and Plumette waltzed all around the kitchen, Cuisiner’s stove heated the kitchen until we might have been roasting like Christmas hams were we human, Chapeau’s soothing music embracing everyone like old friends, Cogsworth listened patiently in the corner to Chip’s babbling at him, and oh, how could any Christmas Eve be better? 
Turns out, it could, for once. 
When the hour had become late, after nine--Chip would usually be tucked in his little bed in the cupboard by now, but Christmas Eve is always an exception--I imagined--or perhaps not, after all--that I heard claws clacking on the wooden floor beyond one of the doors. I fancied--or had I, after all--I heard Belle’s voice urging him not to be silly, that really, the servants--meaning us--did love him, she could see it in the way we were around him, and the way we talked about him, in our voices, in the way we’d thanked her so deeply from our hearts when she’d brought him in from the cold, injured from wolves, healed his wounds--
The door creaked open, and all our attention flew to it--even Lumiere and Plumette stopped their dancing to rush over to see who was coming. All of us were already here, who could it be? 
Who, it turned out, was Belle, peeking around the door, eyes alight in warmth and merriment, and seeing us all looking at her, stepped into the doorway. Plumette, Lumiere, and I all rushed over at once. 
“Belle! How lovely of you to come down!” 
“Miss! I was about to ask you to join us!” 
“Thank you for coming to see us on Christmas Eve, what might Lumiere and I do for your dessert tonight?” 
Belle grinned. “Our dessert.” 
“But Belle--” protested Adam from somewhere behind her. 
“Oh, really,” Belle looked over her shoulder, tugging insistently at who could only be Adam. “No need to be silly. They won’t bite you.” A cheeky pause. “I think.”
Belle walked inside, followed shortly by a much more hesitant Adam, who shuffled--more or less--into the kitchen, unsure and hesitant. 
“Good--I mean good evening? Christmas eve evening.” 
“Master!” Lumiere shouted from his place on the table, obviously overcome with jubilance, “Good of you to come down too! We’ve been waiting forever for you to join us again!” 
A look of surprise from Adam, uncertain eyes drawn to Lumiere, but he could not hold back the smallest of smiles. 
“You have?” 
“Always,” I affirmed, rolling my tea tray up to him, “Now come in and sit down, and we’ll get you and Belle a comfortable Christmas Eve supper, shall we?” 
“Yes!” Lumiere cried, almost skidding off the table in his excitement as he danced upon it, candles flaring brighter than I’d ever seen them do before, “Please! Stay! Eat! Dine! Drink! Rest! Relax! Laugh!” 
“Lumiere, calm down for God’s sake!” Cogsworth chided from where he sat on a bench with Chip, but I could tell that he was just as happy as the rest of us were to see the prince come down for Christmas Eve for the first time since--
Well, the first time, really, since the poor boy’s mother had died, and his father had forbade him to join us for Christmases in the kitchen. And even after his father’s passing, he still had never come down to join us, and we’d eventually convinced ourselves he would never do so again, short of a miracle. 
But miracles do happen, and seeing him among us again, sitting beside Belle, who laid a gentle hand on his paw, was, to me, the perfect definition of a “Christmas Miracle”. 
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