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okay-victoria · 3 years

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Status of Women in The Empire

Summary: LN gives some evidence women have a better status than they did in OTL Germany. It gives little to nothing in the way of evidence that we are in post-sexual-revolution territory. It presents little enough evidence generally that you can use this issue in your own story as you wish; however, using how humans actually work as your baseline, it would be a very definite handwave to think that gender equality is much more than marginally better than OTL would have been at the time, or that Tanya wouldn’t be negatively affected by it in some significant ways in daily life. On the other hand, the original story handwaves an eight year old enrolling in a modern military and getting promoted to a mid-ranking officer by age eleven, so as a reader, I’m obviously pretty down for handwaving some realism for the sake of a good story.

Evidence:

V1/C1

“The armed forces have a practical exception in place for just about everything.” <= I think in fanon the entire Empire as seen as this sort of “everything we do is logical” territory where gender discrimination would have had to be eliminated, but in reality it’s presented as the military, and they are making an exception for a rare and incredibly militarily useful type of person to be able to be put to use by them without gender discrimination stopping it.

V1/C4

“But in the far-from-gender-free world of “ladies first,” Tanya with her outwardly girlish appearance is, albeit only relatively, blessed compared to the other students” <= YMMV, but I would not describe modern society as a world of “ladies first”. Do people do/say it to hark back to pre-1960s chivalry? Sure. Is it really the standard we live by anymore? Not so much. Tanya seems to pretty definitely still be living in those days.

“Basically, apart from the mage branch, the army is a man’s world. Actually, even most of the mages are men.” <= this is notable because it is said when Tanya is in War College, at which point the war has been going on for long enough that available mages have been conscripted, so there is no selection bias that men have simply chosen to pursue a career as a mage more often than women. This is actually weirdly important because it either means:

Magic talent is like, an X chromosome trait and men are thus more likely to have it [in which case, it would probably be taken as natural evidence that men are superior and worsen the gender equality situation]; or

There in fact is a Youjo Konki-esque exception for married women and/or mothers. A nation has to still be relatively in the infancy of gender equality if Female Mage #102 has children with Infantryman #1,000,102 and the military decides that since it can’t leave these children parentless, it has to conscript the dude who is substitutable for literally anyone else and not the human weapon.

Tanya has a long-ish reflection on women in the military. Important points are, the rules have only been overhauled recently to make it practical for women to serve in combat. Women in combat didn’t really exist prior to this war, and women in the military were basically limited to noble/imperial families having their daughters serve out nominal duties. Whatever boost women as a whole get from serving in a capacity that people are used to seeing men in, it has not had time to transform society all that much.

V2/C2

“Women administrators are not uncommon, but in the Empire where gender equality still has a ways to go, their qualifications are always questioned.” <= YMMV as to what degree this is meant to be a statement on something that still troubles women in modern times, or something that indicates gender equality is not particularly close to modern.

V2/C5

“After all, now that I’ve been turned into a girl, I’m faced with this annoying military framework where men are superior. Just the thought of my promotions being blocked by an invisible glass ceiling is enough to dampen any desire I might have to act all girlish for propaganda…apart from that, the Empire’s personnel system has adapted extremely meritocratic principles for the war, in a way, so I’m more or less satisfied with it.” <= sort of same as above, YMMV on whether this is just Tanya realizing what life is like for a woman in modern society or meant as a “no, it was worse” point.

However, I will say this: I highly, highly doubt any men chosen for high military honors were photographed doing anything other than looking ultra manly in uniform. Women serving in modern militaries are not forced to put on showy dresses when they get their photos taken, they are treated, at least in photos, with the same respect as their male colleagues. The fact that anyone found it appropriate to only photograph the recipient of the highest military honor in cute girl clothes speaks to some deep discomfort with anyone outside the military seeing women not doing what they’re supposed to.

V6/C6

“The Imperial Army has already tapped all the population pools that can be mobilized, but it still has two options. One is to begin the general conscription of women. That said, they’ve already been mobilized in the industrial sector.” <= YMMV, again, on how willing a modern country would be to conscript women to fight a world war, but if you are as deep into a world war as the Empire is and no one’s trying it, at the least we can say the Empire is not the bastion of cold logic it fanonically is outside the military. Also, it pretty much seems like women working in large numbers has only become a thing because all the guys are off fighting, which very much sticks us in pre-1950s territory.

V8/C1

Andrew reacts surprised to see a female reporter from the Federation, and reflects that they are quite liberal in some ways <= while this is a non-Imperial guy, given his familiarity with the Empire, it would seem weird that if the Empire was particularly more advanced than his country that he would still be so surprised.

Other Working Knowledge Your Author Has On This Subject:

Women serving in the military, while certainly helpful to the cause of gender equality, by itself is not going to create a broad-based transformation in society. That sounds a bit like saying: As we all know, the US dropped any racist laws or regulations as soon as we started allowing non-white units in the military. After Elizabeth I serving as the Ruler of England, a very manly role that her tiny woman-brain didn’t fuck up too bad, the people who thought women were naturally stupider than men were quickly relegated to the margins and gender discrimination mostly became more of an annoyance than a real hindrance to the average woman’s goals. It just doesn’t work that way. And I’m not here to say that the US is a post-gender paradise, but the US, which has never had a woman president and is pretty slow about expanding military opportunities for women, nonetheless is a lot better on the gender equality front than some countries that have had women leaders and allow women a fuller range of military opportunities. There’s a lot more complexity to it than: My country respects military => military allows women => guess I’m going to stop being sexist

The same goes for something that isn’t about gender equality at large but how it relates to Tanya: The view that while gender equality may be non-advanced, Tanya specifically is exempt from dealing with it because she is “one of the boys”. It Does Not Work Like That. At All. And the further you go back in time, the less it worked like that. Within the military specifically Tanya will probably be alright, but society at large punishes men & women that break gender roles as brazenly as she does more than it rewards them. This is an entire essay unto itself, Google is your friend.

This is going to sound silly and facetious but I’m being dead serious, from what little we know of fashion in the YS world, it matches what would have been the case in the real world in the WW1 era. If society at large was really that different, that wouldn’t be the case.

There is no canon evidence that magic has made any scientific advancements outside the military sphere of influence. Before the advent of things like dishwashers, vacuums, microwaves, especially refrigerators, and especially laundry machines being common household items, the ideal family model was: one person makes money outside home, one person takes care of house. There wasn’t enough time in the day to work and run a household. Many women in poor households had to work, generally at the expense of being able to keep their own household running smoothly, and even then they often worked in capacities that allowed them to be at home or ones that allowed them the flexibility to take care of some of this stuff. It really just isn’t possible to have a society remotely approaching equality when one gender is automatically assigned to home unless necessary.

Same goes for something else - contraception. Women having access to a contraceptive device that they control is a major component of setting a society on a path towards equality. Birth control pills didn’t become widely available until the 1960s. Without being unable to at least kind of balance the outcome of sex (even between married couples) between men and women, women as a class have a hard time escaping from the housewife-mother archetype.

Not to get too political here, but the Empire matches OTL Germanic-Prussianness too much to ignore. Living under a military-worshipping, religiously-inclined traditional monarchy has not, in any real life example I’m aware of, gone hand-in-hand with anything other than a fairly conservative and patriarchal society, and I feel like the burden of proof is on the other side to explain why that isn’t the case in the Empire, and our original author makes approximately zero effort to do this.

Being X turns Tanya into a woman for the purpose of making her life worse. It seems simply illogical [although I guess Being X’s decision-making skills are questionable] that he would then drop her into a world that had undergone broad-based gender reform instead of a world that was just barely tweaked from our own in such a way that it would allow Tanya to serve in the military.

My conclusion: the most likely option is that gender equality is exactly enough better as it needs to be to allow the military to convince the lawmakers that they should be able to use a very rare & dangerous ability to be part of their arsenal without respect to gender, or age, and no more. That difference is not likely to make life for women significantly better than it was in the equivalent OTL time period.

#LN Reference

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t0ngue-tech · 5 years

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Everything Means Nothing Without You

“Namjoon adjusted himself to bring his legs out from underneath the table to you had enough room to maneuver your arms. You stood right in between his knees as you delicately wrapped the silk underneath the collar of his shirt and tied it just right then tucked it behind his vest.

‘Well, well, sir. You’re looking quite dapper.’ You complimented.”

↠ slow burn, arranged marriage AU, friends-to-lovers AU ↞

word count: 3.8k

↠ series ↞

A/N: ah yes, i have arrived with another series LMAO SUE ME. i hope you don’t mind lol. enjoy huhu.

“Mr. Namjoon, I rearranged your schedule for this afternoon.”

“Thank you.”

“The following associates are still waiting for you to forward the building plans.”

“Please kindly tell them that they will be receiving the documents by five oclock.”

“Of course and dinner has been pushed back to eight instead, the location still needs to be decided.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Oh, and sir?”

“Yes, Mr. Jae?”

“Have a good day.”

It was the same pattern every single day.

Kim Namjoon would wake up at seven in the morning to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and pastries rising from downstairs of his home. There would always be classical music playing softly just as he exits his bedroom after taking care of himself in the bathroom. As soon as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, two of the housemaids were on either side of the banister waiting to greet him.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Good morning.”

His place at the table was already set with his morning coffee ready; a splash of milk and two teaspoons of sugar. Breakfast always varied, but whenever pastries were prepared, he always had two chocolate danishes and a butter croissant. Namjoon would spend an hour eating and going over any instructions his father left for him on his business associated tablet. At this point, his assistant would walk through the corridor to fill him in with any other details Namjoon’s father may have missed in the documents.

This morning routine barely ever changed and just like any other aspect in his life, Namjoon just dealt with it.

Kim Namjoon was the next successor in Kim Corporation. His father, the president of the business, owned restaurants, supermarkets, and now with Namjoon working his way up in the business, music stores were now in the works. Kim Seokjin, Namjoon’s older brother, was in charge of multiple restaurants and had just recently opened up a restaurant of his own.

It was absolutely exhausting following Seokjin around like a lost puppy in the business world, but Seokjin encouraged him to express himself and make a name for himself rather than having their father decide everything for them. Namjoon knew what he meant, which was why he convinced his father to be open to owning music stores. Still unsure if Namjoon truly understood what he meant, Seokjin supported him nonetheless.

Despite being the son of the chairman who owned multiple business chains, receiving a degree in business was mandatory in their family. Their father could have easily taught them everything himself, but college was a must.

Namjoon had classes at a university from eleven in the morning to four in the afternoon with a one hour break between his third and fourth class. Going to class was just another routine that he went along with because it was what his father wanted and it was his duty to listen to his father.

“Hey, Namjoon. My dad wanted me to congratulate you on securing the bag on a location for a music store.” Min Yoongi, a long time friend, joined him during his break.

“Thanks, Yoongi. Give him my regards, but things aren’t really set in stone yet.”

Yoongi waved a hand in front of his face. “Stone, shmone. The developers are pretty much going to approve since it’s coming from Kim Corp.”

‘Coming from Kim Corp.’ A free one-way ticket.

“Anyway, you busy later? I’ve been wanting to try out your brother’s restaurant.”

“Sorry, I have dinner reservations at eight.” Namjoon replied flatly.

“Oh, so your dad finally found you a willing bride?”

As old school as it sounded, Namjoon’s father was keen on arranged marriages. He believed in knowing what was best for his sons, the business, and the future ahead of them in terms of family and class.

Seokjin was arranged to marry Bae Irene, whose family owned a law firm, and the two got married last spring. They lived together with Namjoon in a Kim family home and as corny as it was, their marriage was as sweet as can be despite being arranged. They were extremely compatible and gag-worthy-in-love, but Namjoon really liked Irene, she always treated him kindly and with respect.

Namjoon thought it was a waste of time. Why would he take out multiple hours of his day to go on dates with some girl his father picked out for him? It all seemed to be tiring. Being single was his best bet, but his father thought otherwise.

“Definitely not. Just dinner.” Namjoon shut his laptop. “I’ll text you when I’m free so we can go to the restaurant. I have to go to class.”

Swift, chic, and to the point.

Hours ticked on and Namjoon was now in his office of the main corporation building in a joined conference call with his father and another developer. Apparently things were smooth sailing and Namjoon needn’t worry about having his proposal rejected. This was how things usually went and it wasn’t a surprise. His father made such a name for himself that many businesses were eager to be working alongside Kim Corp.

“Did you forward the building plan?”

“Yes, father. I just sent them.” Namjoon touched the trinkets around his desk and spun a pen between his fingers.

“Perfect. Mr. Choi, we are delighted to do business with you.”

“Likewise sir. I’ll be taking my leave. Good day sir, Mr. Namjoon.” Mr. Choi spoke.

“Goodbye, sir.”

The line clicked dead and Namjoon sucked in a deep breath. He stared at his laptop screen barely reading the documents he promised himself to be familiar with. His eyes trailed from the screen, to his name placard, to a framed photograph of a sixteen year old Namjoon and his mother. He reminisced how his mother used to bring him snacks up to his room while he did schoolwork and talked about her day. She always made sure her sons had at least a few minutes of break time between any sort of work because she knew how hectic their father made their schedules. She reminded both Seokjin and Namjoon to relax before they overworked themselves to the grave at such a young age.

If only she followed her own advice.

“I hope you’re proud of me mother.”

Namjoon’s phone lit up on his desk.

“Hm?”

↠↞

“Next week?! I need the fabric by this weekend.”

“I know, Ms. y/n. Before you have a bird, I instructed them that you would take your business elsewhere if you don’t get it by Friday.”

“Thank you so much, Hye Jin. You know I hate acting that way, but Minzy is coming back from Paris on Sunday evening and I need her to approve the fabric and design herself.”

“It’s tough being a designer, but you’re doing great, y/n. Don’t be afraid to put your foot down. It’s your brand, honey. You’re in charge.”

“Thank you and you can leave for now, I’ll call you if anything comes up.”

The only reason why mornings were always so difficult for you was because you cherished sleep more than anything. You did love drinking a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, but the process of dragging yourself out of bed and exerting energy always pained you.

Mornings were never easy, but you enjoyed having your breakfast on the gazebo when the weather was right. You loved partaking in conversation with your family’s gardener and you always encouraged the other house workers to join you for a meal, but they usually declined due to their duties and you respected their decision.

Being the daughter of a famous beautician and a designer of high-end boutiques was always an adventure. Your mother found solace in trying out new hairstyles on you and dying your hair from time to time while your father always gives you access to new clothing he was going to release when the seasons rolled in. While you followed your father’s footsteps, your brother, Jung Hoseok, was your mother’s apprentice. Your parents never pressured you or Hoseok to follow in their footsteps, it just came naturally to the both of you.

Life was a roller coaster of traveling and fashion shows and you enjoyed every second of it no matter how stressed out it made you.

“Hey, you’re really not going to your classes today?” Hoseok walked up the steps of the gazebo with his fading red hair tousled in all sorts of directions.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Mom and dad are still in Milan, so they don’t have to know.” You offered him some of your breakfast, belgian waffles with an assortment of fruit. “Plus, I have a lot to do for your wedding.”

Your parents didn’t want to control either of your lives, but if there was something they had to control it was an arranged marriage. Your grandmother, your mother’s mother, was raised in that manner which was then passed down to your mother who was constantly encouraged (more like pressured) to raise both you and Hoseok the same way.

Five months ago, Hoseok became engaged to Gong Minzy who was a model for high end brands. Your father introduced them after a fashion show and they instantly clicked. Minzy also came from a family of money and reputation so her parents were more than happy to allow her to marry someone with a reputation like Hoseok.

You really loved Minzy for your brother. She always brought out the best in him and she also modeled any experimental design pieces you created. Due to how close you were with Minzy, she had personally asked you to design her wedding dress, the maid of honor and bride’s maids’ dresses. It was a huge honor. There was no way you could say no.

“Thank you again, by the way. Minzy is really elated that you agreed to do this for her.” Hoseok ruffled your hair.

“It’s my pleasure, dude.” You took a peek at your phone. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have silk samples I have to look at at the office.”

Unlike Hoseok, marriage was nowhere near your agenda. It wasn’t because you weren’t interested, but because you were pretty much married to your job and the last guy you went on a date on was a huge pervert. You didn’t have time for disgusting creeps. Your entire focus was on your well being.

Some of the employees were confused as to why you were in the office which you begged them not to say anything to your parents. Entering your office, your assistant, Hye Jin, was already laying out the silk fabric samples for you to take a look at. The fabric was for the ties of Hoseok and his groomsmen’s suits. He never asked you to do it, but it was a small wedding gift that you wanted to give him.

“Is this from the Italy shipment?” You fingered through the small stack of fabric.

“Yes and this,” Hye Jin laid out a sleek box with a deep royal blue tie tucked inside. “This is the sample design.”

Excellent, excellent.

You gently slipped it out of the box and carefully examined every stitch and fold of the tie. Hoseok was your dear brother and he deserves the best so you needed to make sure everything was perfect.

“Okay, I need this to be sampled on someone.” You carefully folded the tie back into the box. “Hye Jin, can you send a text from my phone. Let him know to meet me at our sushi restaurant, he’ll know what I mean.”

“Consider it sent.”

You were so indulged in sketching out the wedding dresses that you almost lost track of time; fortunately Hye Jin was a punctual person so she made sure she had your evening outfit ready for you on the couch in your office. Instead of a loose t-shirt and saggy mom-style jeans, you were now dressed in a pencil skirt and long sleeved blouse that flares out at your wrist.

The sushi restaurant was a high class place you frequented so you recognized a lot of the patrons inside once you walked in. They all greeted you politely as you made your way to one of the private sections. Waiting in one of the sections was a certain ashy-blue haired fellow who you could easily pick out of a line up if you were just given the shape of his shoulders. It was none other than--

“Hey Namu, sorry, I got caught up with my work.” You slid into the seat across from him and took a good look at his outfit. You instructed him to wear a light gray suit with a matching vest and a white button down shirt beneath. “Nice, you’re wearing everything down to a T.”

“It’s no problem. I took the liberty of ordering your favorites, so our food should be out soon.” Namjoon explained cooly.

You scrunch your nose. “You don’t have to talk all proper around me, you know? We went over this.”

He chuckled and flicked a few locks of his hairs out of his face. “Sorry, force of habit. Anyway, may I see the tie?”

“Nope, after dinner. If our food is coming out soon, I don’t want any uni or spicy mayo on it even if it’s just a sample.”

Namjoon didn’t protest. He humbly agreed to your decision and his politeness was something that bothered you since the two of you were in high school. Both Seokjin and Namjoon were childhood friends to you and Hoseok because your fathers were friends since college. Growing up as kids, it was natural to fight and play all the time but he changed when Namjoon turned sixteen. The both of you were just months apart in age and you always wondered why he stopped picking on you or gave you any sort of attitude. He later explained to you that it was because of how he was raised to act more proper as he got older and you thought that if you prodded at him a little while going through the motions of your high school years then maybe he would feel comfortable in acting more like a friend than a robot. It did make a small change in him, but he always still reverted back to his usual attitude.

You spoke to Namjoon about your brother’s wedding as he was one of Hoseok’s groomsmen and you expressed the stress you were dealing with because although your main worry was being a designer for the wedding, you were also working side by side with the wedding planner. This gave you a lot more work than you actually planned, but it was going to be rewarding at the end.

“Seokjin said he’s willing to do the catering or cooking for the wedding. It’s the least he could do.” Namjoon poured you another cup of tea.

“That’s so sweet. I’ll be sure to pass down the message to Hoseok. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.”

“Well, how about you? Anymore creepy guys your parents have lined up for you?”

You laughed knowing that Namjoon wasn’t trying to insult you or anything. This was him being comfortable around you. It was a rare sight to witness so you soaked up the moment whenever it presented itself.

“Ugh, no. I absolutely don’t have enough time for that, but I have a feeling that when my parents get back, they’re going to give me a phone number of someone they met during the fashion show or some big meeting.” You scoffed.

Namjoon chuckled as he signed the receipt, paying for the meal. “Most girls would be excited for marriage and spending the rest of their lives with the one they love.”

“Yeah, but I’m not most girls, Mr. Kim.”

“I know that far too well.” Namjoon raised his cup and clinked it against yours. “Ah, y/n, the tie.”

You tanked your tea, completely forgetting how hot it was, and reached into your purse. Even if the tie was a prototype, you were still nervous showcasing it to Namjoon. You spent a lot of time being nitpicky about the design—it was a damn tie, but it had to be the perfect tie.

“Allow me.” You gestured.

Namjoon adjusted himself to bring his legs out from underneath the table to you had enough room to maneuver your arms. You stood right in between his knees as you delicately wrapped the silk underneath the collar of his shirt and tied it just right then tucked it behind his vest.

“Well, well, sir. You’re looking quite dapper.” You complimented.

Namjoon smiled then looked down at his chest. “Thank you. May I see it properly?”

You gave him room to stand before taking a head-to-toe photo of him on your phone. He examined the photo and hummed contentedly.

“You’re sure this is just a sample?” He questioned.

You laughed and straightened out the fabric against his chest. “I’m sure. I still have to finalize the fabric. This particular fabric is no good for long term use and I want all of the groomsmen and my brother to use it normally rather than just for the wedding.”

Thank goodness the design looked decent on the chosen colors and thank goodness Namjoon was always available to be one of your male dress up dolls. You stepped back to take one more look at him and nodded your head.

“How about you keep this tie for keepsakes, Joon? I’m changing my label once I get all of the ties and dresses finalized, so this is the only item in the world with this label.” You plucked the tie out and pointed at a small cotton tag that had “Yours.” embroidered in cursive. “I was thinking of changing out the cursive to a typewriter kind of font and making the base color black instead of white.”

Namjoon touched the silk and thumbed the tiny tag that you pointed out. “Thank you. I’ll gladly accept this. I’ll be sure to return the favor.”

He flashed you a warm grin that made you wish you could take a picture of. This expression was rare and just like a lot of his less serious emotions, you soaked it all in.

“There’s no need, Joonie. We haven’t seen each other in a while, so I guess it’s also an apology for being so busy.” You brushed off his shoulders and straightened out his tie once more.

“I also apologize. I guess work and school keeps getting in the way.” Namjoon stroked your hair. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

↠↞

“Let’s have dinner again soon, okay?”

Namjoon opened your car door and gave you a tight hug before helping you settle inside.

“Of course. I’ll text you when I’m free. We can go to the steakhouse in the hills.” He shut your door and waited for you to roll down your window. “Drive safe.”

Just like that, you drove out of the parking lot and Namjoon let out a long sigh.

I guess that’s two dinners I have to fit into my schedule at some point.

The drive home felt a lot shorter than usual and it made him wish he took the long way home because it meant being away from any work related duties. He wanted the world to stop for a second to take a breather. It seemed like no matter what, he couldn’t escape the grimy clutches of work. Even during his dinner with you, the conversation ended up leading towards his floor plans of his music store. A break seemed like a dream that he couldn’t grasp with his own fingers.

Pulling into the driveway, there was a plain black sedan parked out front and it only meant one thing.

“Ah, Namjoon. Welcome home. Join us for tea.”

Sitting in the living room was Irene, Seokjin, and none other than their father.

“Good evening. I apologize, I already had some during dinner. Please excuse me.”

He quickly said his greetings to a few of the housemaids that were on his way to his room and flopped down onto his bed once he reached his destination.

Floor plans, item arrangements, item shipments, mock proposal for business, notes for economics, dinner with yoongi and y/n.

Namjoon’s hands flew to his face. He could already hear his mother’s voice nagging at him to take a vacation somewhere. Oh, how he wished he could erase his schedule at the snap of his fingers, but that only existed in a realm inside his mind.

He sat up and strode across his room to take a look at himself in the mirror. If it wasn’t for Irene’s holy grail skincare recommendations he would be looking like a 50 year old man. His eyes traveled to the tie you gifted him and again, he let out a sigh.

Your schedule and hardships weren’t a secret to Namjoon. You usually vented to him about everything that’s anything and even with the weight of the world on your shoulders, you still managed to smile. Your personality was completely different from his and he was a bit envious. While he moped around and kept to himself most of the time, you usually walked with a pep in your step and smiled as if you just won the lottery. It was appalling how you could easily make the decision to drop whatever you were doing to take a spontaneous two hour drive and have coffee at a random coffee shop.

Your personality clashed with his in a positive way. You encouraged him to put himself first and you always made time to have dinner with him whenever you had the chance because it meant distracting him from work. Taking personal breaks was barely ever an option, but he always agreed whenever you asked for his company. This was why his friendship with you was incredibly important. He appreciated you to the highest degree. You made him feel human.

Three knocks were heard from his door. “It’s open.”

“Namjoon, I’m taking my leave.”

Namjoon turned and made eye contact with his father. There wasn’t any bad blood between them, but there was always something in the air whenever Namjoon was alone with him. It’s been that way since his mother passed away so it was pretty much normal.

“Okay. Drive safe, father.”

His father stood there for a few seconds and took a step to leave, but turned back. “Did you have dinner with a client?”

“No, I was with y/n.” Namjoon answered.

“Oh, y/n.” His father nodded his head slowly. “Are her parents back from their trip?”

“She mentioned that they were taking a detour to New York after Milan, so they’re probably going to be back next week Thursday or Friday.”

Again, his father nodded his head and drummed his fingers along the door frame.

“Alright, don’t forget your meeting with Mr. Choi at your chosen location after your classes tomorrow. Good night.”

Namjoon slumped his shoulders forward and ran a hand through his hair after his father closed his door. Another thing was added to his to-do list.

“Good night, father.”

It was never going to end, was it?

♡ rae jagi

#bangtan boys #bts #bts scenarios #namjoon #namjoon scenarios #bts slow burn #bts arranged marriage AU #bts friends to lovers AU #namjoon slow burn #namjoon arranged marriage AU #namjoon friends to lovers AU #she bacc again #20200130 #dimplemon #rae writes

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ohblackdiamond · 4 years

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little t&a (paul/gene, nc-17) (part 1 of 29)

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13 part 14 part 15 part 16 part 17 part 18 part 19 part 20 part 21 part 22 part 23 part 24 part 25 part 26 part 27 part 28 part 29 Four weeks before KISS gets back on tour, Gene discovers that Paul’s been cursed by a groupie. For the sake of KISS’ finances, Paul’s comfort level, and Gene’s libido, this situation must be rectified. Sexswap fic.

Notes: This has been on the backburner pretty much since the quarantine started. I really wrestled with posting it at all since it’s a weird premise, and most of my fics have a more realistic bent, but I decided that if it perked me up while working remotely, eating ramen, and feeling like I was back in uni in all the worst ways (when was I in uni? why, during the Great Recession!)-- then maybe it’d perk someone else up, too. So here we are.

Gene really didn’t think too much of it at first when Paul vanished just after the tour. He didn’t take it personally, the way Peter did, and he didn’t get too quizzical about it like Ace did. The whole band was burnt-out on each other. The days where they had to share hotel rooms were gone, and the days where they wanted to share vacations were gone, too. Gene couldn’t pinpoint when it had gotten like that, and it made him a little regretful, sure, but it was just another inevitability. The Beatles had made it ten years before imploding, all those hurt egos just smushing together and screwing everything up. KISS had four years under its belt now, and already he could feel things faltering.

So maybe Paul was trying to ease all that via his disappearing act. Spend his tour break at home, probably with a bevy of girls lining up at his front porch, and come back refreshed and ready for another nine-month stretch with only a wall between him and his bandmates, assuming Ace and Peter didn’t tear a hole in it on a drunken whim. It made sense. The first time Paul didn’t return his phone call (the tinny sound of his $400 answering machine the only response), Gene wasn’t concerned. The second time, Gene assumed Paul had gone to a disco, or was spending the night at some chick’s house. The third time, Gene immediately called up Bill, who said he hadn’t heard from Paul, either.

That was cause for concern. Paul could, and did, blow off anybody but their manager. Still, Gene figured he’d give it one more day, and one more lay, before he started to investigate.

That was the plan, until he got his mail late one morning. There was always a fat stack of it. The actual sackfuls of fan mail would end up at some office, where a poor secretary was stuck stuffing envelopes with their pictures and a canned response. Sometimes a real sleuth would find his address, and he’d open those out of sheer novelty, when he had the chance, only to be disappointed when the writer turned out to be a twelve-year-old who’d spent his paper route money on several books of stamps, and mailed the same letter out to every Gene Simmons in the greater New York phone book. Every so often he’d get the good stuff, like a saucy letter from a college girl, with photos and pubic hair taped inside. “See you next time in Sacramento.” He never wrote them back, but he’d put the photos in a separate album from his conquests. Almost a hope chest of photos, there.

Gene thumbed through the newsletters and errant bills so quickly he nearly missed it. A glossy postcard, with Buckingham Palace on the front. It couldn’t have been a piece of fan mail, but he didn’t know anyone who’d bother writing him, either. He flipped it over out of curiosity. Weird.

He recognized the scratchy longhand before he got to the signature. Not that it took long. Thee address was almost lengthier than the postcard message.

“Gene—Do you know anything about curses? Write me back soon. Thanks, Paul.”

He called up Peter about it that afternoon, still baffled. He didn’t really think Peter would have any insight on it—Paul and Peter hadn’t been as close as they used to be, though that went for everyone—but he surprised him.

“I haven’t heard from him. I figured you had.” Peter was chewing gum as he spoke. Gene could hear the smacks through the receiver. “Why the fuck would he send you a postcard? You live closer to him than I do.”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

“Talking about curses…” Peter trailed. “Shit, I went over there last week. Didn’t call him up first, just thought I’d go over like I used to. I banged on the door and some chick came out and screamed at me to go away. I told her who I was and she just stared at me.”

“Paul doesn’t pick girls for brains.”

“It was kinda weird, though. Picky bastard usually gets blondes.”

“What, was she a brunette?”

“Yeah, real dark, curly hair—you don’t think he’s shacked up with her, do you? Some New Age type, turning him on to something funny? ’Cause he doesn’t usually want ’em sticking around, either, and I stopped by after lunch…”

Evidently, Peter paid more attention to Paul’s habits with girls than Gene ever had.

“I don’t know. Was she cute?”

“Yeah. She had nice tits.”

Of course she did. Gene rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

“I’m gonna look into this. I’ll let you know if I can’t get in touch with him.”

“Sure.” There was a slight hesitation. “Hey, thanks for calling me. I thought he was pissed at me or some shit. But I guess he’s pissed at everybody.”

Gene privately feared it was worse than that. If Paul had gotten a girlfriend, one serious enough he was ignoring everyone and everything else, even the looming tour, for her sake… well, that didn’t make sense, not unless she’d conned him into something. There were still plenty of cults and communes all over the place, the leftover remnants of disillusioned hippies. They’d join fringe churches or create their own religions and live in tents on the side of the road. He didn’t think Paul would have fallen into something like that, unless the girl had spruced it up with a bunch of psychobabble and talk therapy. Paul dug astrology and self-help, but it wasn’t something he’d trade his lifestyle for. Was it?

“I’ll find out. I’ll see you, Pete.”

He hung up, then dialed his chauffeur. An hour or so later, he was pulling up to Paul’s.

He told the chauffeur not to wait on him. If Paul was at his house, he’d make him drive him back. It turned out they weren’t Paul’s only visitors. Ahead of them, walking up the driveway, was a kid carrying two grocery bags, his bicycle parked in the grass.

Gene didn’t normally have an issue making his presence known. But he held back, curious. He wanted to see who would open the door—that supposed live-in girlfriend, some other chick, or Paul himself. As the chauffeur drove away, he hung back a bit, tucking himself behind a tree at the edge of the front of the house, near the front porch. The kid didn’t seem to notice.

He watched the kid—he was probably about eleven—ring the doorbell with his elbow. After a couple seconds, the door opened, a girl in a blue bathrobe walking out, shutting the door behind her. Gene recognized the bathrobe as one of Paul’s, though she filled it out better than he ever had. She wasn’t even wearing anything beneath it that he could tell, cleavage obvious, the loosely-tied bathrobe hiding none of it. Curly, dark hair—Gene wondered if this was the girlfriend, or bedmate, that Peter had seen earlier. No telling.

“How much was it?” she asked the kid.

“Eight twenty-five.”

“You have the receipt?”

The kid pulled out the receipt. The girl looked at it, nodded, then took a wallet from the pocket of Paul’s bathrobe, tugging out a couple bills.

“Here’s nine. Keep the change.”

“Thanks.” The kid paused. “I thought somebody famous was supposed to live here.”

“You thought wrong.” The girl took the two bags of groceries and turned back towards the door, trying to use her elbow to turn the knob. The kid was already back on his bicycle. As he kicked the stand up, he called back out to her over his shoulder.

“Hey, you gonna need groceries next week, too?”

“I hope not.” She set both bags on the front porch. The kid nodded, waving as he started down the driveway. The girl didn’t wave back, busy opening the door.

Now was Gene’s chance. He stepped out from behind the tree and walked to the front porch as the girl picked up one of the grocery bags again.

“Hey.”

She turned around immediately. Her eyes got big.

“Shit—Gene!”

She recognized him. That didn’t narrow it down. She looked familiar, somehow—she wasn’t a Playmate, Gene always recognized those—maybe a model, or a groupie? But Paul didn’t bring those home. Gene raised a finger to his mouth.

“Shh. Look, I’m here to see Paul. Is he in?”

“Wh—no. No, sorry.” A tense, quick smile. Definitely not a model. Only Ali MacGraw could manage to make it with crooked teeth.

“Can you tell me when he’ll be back?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know where he is.”

“So he just left you over here?”

The girl set the bag down, folding her arms. Something about the mannerism made an eerie feeling prickle down the back of Gene’s spine.

“Are you telling me I can’t be here?”

“No!” Gene pursed his lips. “Look, I don’t care who he’s with. But we’re supposed to go back on tour in a couple weeks and—”

“I know!”

“That’s great. So maybe it might be nice to know where he is beforehand.”

The girl bristled.

“I told you, I have no idea! I just—can’t you leave me alone?”

“You’re living in his house, wearing his bathrobe—that wasn’t even your wallet, was it?”

“Hey!”

Gene scrambled for it. The girl was fairly tall; he probably only had about five or six inches on her, but she wasn’t quick. He grabbed her shoulder with one hand, then jammed his other hand into the bathrobe’s pocket, starting to tug the wallet out. She clenched his arm, nails digging in roughly, not nearly hard enough for him to drop the wallet.

“Stop it! Let go of me, you goddamn idiot!”

She shoved forward, stomping on his foot. Gene couldn’t feel that much of an impact, given the thickness of his boots. He kept a grip on her shoulder as he got the wallet fully in hand, opening it up as she screamed at him.

“You don’t understand, Gene! It’s not what you’re thinking!”

Unsurprisingly, Paul’s driver’s license photo was the first thing staring back at him from the see-through plastic card slot. Eisen, Stanley B. (God, the guy still hadn’t legally gotten his name changed) printed across it. Beyond the license was a handful of credit and business cards, as if Gene really needed to thumb through them for any further confirmation.

“You stole his wallet.”

“I didn’t steal it!”

She had a lisp, Gene noticed out of nowhere.

“Like hell you didn’t. Where is he?”

“I told you, I don’t—”

She jerked back abruptly, digging her nails deeper into his arm. He didn’t let go, but his hand shifted, accidentally yanking the bathrobe down at the shoulder. The girl’s eyes got huge. One of her breasts was exposed, which would’ve been plenty distracting enough, under normal circumstances, but for once, Gene’s eyes went to her bare shoulder first.

More specifically, the rose tattoo on her bare shoulder.

It wasn’t possible. It had to be a coincidence. He only saw the tattoo for a second at best, before she smacked his hand away and yanked the bathrobe back into place, covering her shoulder.

It didn’t prove anything. But in a nice, W.A.S.P.y neighborhood like Paul’s, how many chicks had tattoos? And how many would have one like that, a Lyle Tuttle tattoo, when Lyle’s shop was clear across the country?

She looked pissed-off. Scared, too. Something about the tight, sour way her lips were pressed together seemed weirdly familiar. The way she was acting didn’t add up. She’d called him by his first name on automatic. No deference or starry-eyed behavior. This girl didn’t give a damn about him being a rockstar. Those caustic responses made it come off like—like she really knew him.

That prickly feeling down his spine was only getting worse, even as he tried to dismiss it as impossible. If Gene was right, what he was about to do was incredibly cruel. If he was wrong, he’d just owe Paul Stanley’s latest chick a sincere apology. He wasn’t sure which option was worse.

But he had to know. He let go of the bathrobe and quickly shoved his hand through the girl’s tangled, curly hair, starting just at the temple, lifting it up to fully expose the right side of her face. The abject horror in her dark brown eyes might have been confirmation all on its own, but the damage was already done. He’d already pushed back enough of her hair to see what he’d only ever been told about before.

“Gene, y-you fucking asshole!”

Not an inch past one wispy sideburn was a stub of cartilage where her right ear should have been.

He wasn’t dealing with Paul’s girl of the duration. He was dealing with Paul.

#kiss the band #kiss fanfiction #paul stanley #gene simmons #gene simmons x paul stanley #ace frehley #peter criss

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ftaramintas · 5 years

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hi friends ! i’m koa and every time you see miss jennie kim on your dash , then you’ll be greeted with the strong presence that is araminta park ! you are absolutely correct if you know i got her name from the beautiful araminta lee from crazy rich asians , and that’s that on that .

i use emojis way too much in conversations , specifically my favorites exhibit a. 🥺 , b. 🥴 , c. 🤠 , and d. 🤪 . i talk too much sometimes and i don’t find that to be a bad thing , but right now i’m listening to itzy’s new album on loop , so make sure you’re streaming wannabe or we’re gonna fight ! i’m just kidding , but without further ado , here’s everything you need to know about araminta !

statistics .

FULL NAME : araminta josephine park .

NICKNAME(S) : ari , minta , and minnie ( by her parents only ) .

BIRTHDATE / AGE : july 25th , 1997 / 23 .

ZODIAC : leo .

HOMETOWN : manhattan , new york .

GENDER : cis female .

NATIONALITY : korean - american .

ETHNICITY : korean .

HEIGHT : 5′4″ .

LABEL(S) : the queen bee , the studious , and the opulent .

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : biromantic .

SEXUAL ORIENTATION : bisexual .

OCCUPATION : architecture student at steinhardt university .

HOUSING : perry hall .

LANGUAGES SPOKEN : korean , english , french , and learning portuguese .

POSITIVES : bewitching , regiment , decorous , methodical , and distinguished .

NEGATIVES : unvarnished , zealous , cavalier , hard - hearted , and priggish .

background .

araminta’s story begins with the fateful meeting of her parents , kim seo - yeon and park dong - wook , on a cold winter’s day . they found themselves at the tender ages of 20 and 22 , attending a boring christmas gala with their parents when they would have preferred to do anything else in the world . seo - yeon was a women who knew what she wanted the moment her eyes landed upon it , so when she made brief eye contact with dong - wook , she purposefully spilled a glass of champagne onto his expensive tom ford suit and made a big deal of it . this sparked their whirlwind romance , and six months later they found themselves announcing their engagement to korean media outlets .

despite how quickly they were engaged , their parents saw this as mutually beneficial . seo - yeon is the youngest daughter of the wealthy kim family , owners of the kq group conglomerate that was worth billions in its own right . dong - wook was the only child of his parents , and came from park family lineage where their hotels and resorts were the cause of their fortune . the families were soon to be one , and the couple was the chaebol heirs that others envied . following their lavish wedding , seo - yeon and dong - wook decided that they were going to head off to manhattan to make a life for themselves . so , they transferred to columbia university , finished their schooling , and shortly after seo - yeon’s graduation from the financial economics program , the couple discovered that they were expecting .

it was a sticky summer day when seo - yeon unexpectedly gave birth to their daughter , who decided not to allow her parents time to get to the hospital . araminta was born in the bathtub of her parents’ luxury bathroom , and right into the arms of her slightly panicked but overjoyed father . from the time that she was a toddler , araminta was a very precocious child , picking up on skills quite quickly and speaking in few short sentences by the time she was eleven months old . as she grew older , araminta’s parents remained hands on despite their busy schedules , and decided that they would see what their daughter would have the most interest in . when she was four , her parents began piano lessons , and it was evident that she had a natural gift for the instrument .

years continued to pass , and araminta was always a top student in both academics and her extracurriculars . as she attended the very best schools in new york city , araminta was usually the first to answer questions , the first to sign up , and the first to complete her tests . she was the recipient of various awards throughout the years , whether it be honor roll or due to her participation in various student organizations . by the time she reaches high school , araminta is on the fast track to attending the college of her choice . this is also the time where she discovers her love for both dance and volleyball . honestly , she tried out for the dance team at her high school on a whim , and immediately fell in love with it . volleyball is her main love , and she keeps up with dance because she gets to have fun and it helps to keep her in shape .

araminta was accepted into steinhardt university during her junior year because she was absolutely the girl who took her sat during sophomore year because she wanted to get it out of the way ! so , she went through her last two years of high school not stressing over college ( and honestly i think about that scene from mean girls where everyone’s freaking out because of the burn book and regina is just standing there JNFDFHD ) . during the first semester of college at steinhardt , though , araminta was dealt a heavy blow when she discovered that her parents were separating .

they weren’t arguing a lot or anything , but they simply didn’t want to be married anymore / the relationship lost its spark , so they figured it’d be best to end their relationship . during that time , it was really hard for araminta to understand because she didn’t want her family to be broken , but as the years passed , she began to understand why they decided to end their relationship . at steinhardt , araminta is an architecture major and it’s entirely due to the fact that she wants to someday take over her father’s position as ceo of the hotel / resort company that his family owns . she’s the captain of the dance team and the right side hitter on the volleyball team !

headcanons .

definitely plans on going to graduate school once she’s graduated , and more than likely will get a degree in business !

as mentioned , she currently resides in perry hall . when it comes to the decor of her room , i’d say it’s pretty minimal with muted tones , but there’s definitely some soft pinks scattered about ! really likes having gold as an accent color ( cannot stand the marble trend ) and everything has a place !

she never leaves her dorm without making the bed or putting away dishes from breakfast / lunch . it’s mostly because she usually gets back home really late so the last thing she wants to do is have to clean before bed .

studies a lot , studies late , and studies hard . if she were to have a studygram ( yes , that’s absolutely a thing ) it would be the most aesthetically pleasing instagram on the planet . probably only uses these heavy gold pens modeled after the ones her father uses with her name engraved on it .

araminta is full on the girl who does not show up to class in sweatpants and a hoodie . i draw a lot of her style inspiration from itsyuyan on instagram and jennie’s own style . the only time she’ll ever be casual is during those trips to the library or when she’s lounging at home , and even then she’s probably wearing jeans and a tee / sweater or a coordinated pajama set .

i know jennie has since cut her hair , but araminta’s hair is long ! specifically , her hair is waist length . she drives a white mercedes glc where she’s usually taking selfies lmao but her parents got her that car because it’s #safe and honestly she barely even drives the thing unless she’s going grocery shopping or making the trip back home .

personality .

oh boys , where do i even begin with this brat !

to quote that tik tok song : i’m a bitch , i’m a boss . araminta works very hard despite misconceptions that she has everything handed to her because of her family’s wealth . she can be very prideful of all of her accomplishments at times , but definitely will let them do the talking instead of being the type to bring them up in every conversation .

she’s nice to who she wants to be nice to , and sometimes she’ll be the very opposite of nice . she can complain a lot sometimes , especially when she’s doing something that she wasn’t want to .

will respond to attitudes with the same energy and she will take no prisoners .

she is and will remain as #1 in her program ( valedictorian ) and will do whatever it takes to remain in such spot . she’s wildly ambitious mostly stemming from her father being the same way , so she’ll step on toes and sink her nails in in order to get what she believes is hers .

crazy charming , and usually it only takes her flashing a smile in order to get what she wants . however since she’s�� pretty full of herself that can be a real turn off to others who don’t care about the luxuries that can afford .

desired relations .

i would love to have almost any and everything . first , some basics that i’d love to have are as follows : former roommates , best friends , academic rivals , friends with benefits , confidant(s) , frenemies , good / bad influence , one night stand(s) , flirtationship , enemies with benefits , and a current or ex fling !

i’ve been drinking my women loving women juice recently and i’d love for her to have an ex gf ? i really feel that they ended on good terms like they might have simply drifted apart , but they remain really good friends ? there’s probably even a sprinkle of them being confidants to one another , but give me this or give me death .

i would die for literally any form of angst that you could possibly think of ? angsty friends , angsty exes , angsty anything . i love to put myself through misery so honestly ... bury me six feet under and i will literally thank you .

all aboard the heartbreak train ! this ties back into my love for angst , but some form of an ex or maybe even someone who she go close to but it didn’t really work out ? maybe even a will they won’t they ? but essentially , clearly these two have feelings but for some reason things didn’t work out for them and now they’re probably in a limbo or trying to determine where they’re headed but they absolutely refuse to talk about it ! all of their friends notice but they blow them off and ok let me relax and actually allow us to plot , but just some potential ideas !

i will have a desired relations tag that i’ll be updating as frequently as i can , but if none of these work for you or if you have something you see araminta filling , then please let me know ! we can totally brainstorm or if you want , then we can work on chemistry !

#steinhardt:intro #this is really long even without her bio i'm CRYING

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melodiouswhite · 5 years

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Classic literature vine compilations - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde pt. 05

(A/N: Another compilation, because there are too many single vines and incorrect quotes)

Lady Summers: How many times do I have to tell you not to wear the red dress, when we go to a party? Alma: Come on, this is my best and favourite dress! What do you have against it? Lady Summers: If you want to walk around like this in Whitechapel, fine. But we're going to a court ball! You can't dress in red! Hyde: Awww, why not? It looks so gorgeous on her! Jekyll: Only fallen women wear red. Hyde: So? She's not one and still looks like a goddess in red. Alma: Damn right! Thank you, Mr. Hyde! Also, sister dearest, did I mention that this Romanian Baron Cleranescu will be there? Lady Summers: … Lady Summers: Never mind, dress like a vile temptress. Alma: *smirks* Gladly! Hyde: *grins* This is going to be fun! Utterson, Lanyon and Jekyll: … Lanyon: I have a sense of foreboding … Utterson: Me too. Jekyll: I bet fifty Pound Sterling, that this evening will be a disaster. Hyde: *smirks* I'll take that bet!

Jekyll, after Lanyon left him: My boyfriend of 15 years broke up with me. Utterson: That's rough, buddy. Utterson on the inside: Perhaps now I have a chance …

Poole: Bradshaw, we need to hide all the wine bottles. Bradshaw: Another domestic with Dr. Lanyon? Poole: No, a full on fight. Bradshaw: On a scale from one to ten, how bad was it? Poole: An eleven. Dr. Lanyon broke up with him. Bradshaw: Oh crap. Poole: Yeah. And knowing our master, he will drink himself into a stupor for several days and nights, before burying himself in his work. Bradshaw: Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go hide the bottles.

Simon Stride: Lisa Carew, can this be you Simon Stride: What is this man that you have taken- Lisa Carew: Simon, shut up and listen here- Lisa Carew: You think you're cool, but you're mistaken.

Utterson: I'm the calmest person in the group. Hyde: Some twats hurt Lanyon. Utterson: … Utterson: Mr. Hyde, would you do me a favour? Hyde: Fine, because it's you. Utterson: Kill them all. Hyde: *smirks predatorily* Gladly.

Lady Summers: Alma, you need to come out, we're going to be late! Alma: I'm a lesbian! Lady Summers: Not what I meant, but I support you!

Some rando: *pointing at Hyde* Lol, look at that kid! He has women's hips! A prostitute: Are you suicidal? *quickly backs away* Hyde: *slowly turning around* What did you just say about me?! Hyde: *grabs the guy's ankle and flings him around like a ragdoll*

Lanyon: Who's in our bathroom? Utterson: I hired a drunk gremlin to compliment us. Hyde, to Lanyon: Are you a model? Lanyon: … Yes.

Lanyon: Why do we even need coming out day? I mean, everyone's a little gay- Jekyll, with Utterson in his arms: Well, I'm a big gay and today I'm coming out as the world's biggest gay!

Lady Summers, to the gentlemen and her siblings: Hey, everybody! Today my second cousin Wilhelm pushed me, so I'm starting a kickstarter to put him down. Lady Summers: *opens a chart* Benefits of killing him would be I would get pushed way less.

Lanyon, after breaking up with Jekyll: Gha! I still can't believe he did that! Lanyon: But then again, what did I expect. When was the last time he actually treated me like his boyfriend. Lady Summers: Precisely five months and seven days ago, when he surprisingly remembered your anniversary. Lanyon: *sighs* Why did I date him? Lady Summers: Because he dabbed it up with you. Lanyon: Why did I let that happen? Lady Summers: Because he got you both full up the knocker. And because you were wild young men in love. Lanyon: Why am I even discussing this with you right now? Lady Summers: *shrugs* Beats me.

Utterson: I think I see now how it happened. Utterson: Last evening at dinner, when the baron saw Her Ladyship give her rose to Dr. Lanyon, he was furious. He dropped a steak knife into his purse- Hyde: Big deal, I took a whole plate set! Utterson: NOT NOW, EDWARD!!!

Alma: Listen, you punk! You wanna fight with someone, you're gonna have to fight with me! But I warn you: I did time in Newgate. Some prisoner: Newgate's a men's prison. Alma: I know, it took my sister bailing me out a month later for them to find out. Hyde: … This was amazing! However did you pull that off?! Alma: I live and work in Whitechapel, it's not that different.

Jekyll: And that girl's father still wouldn't leave me alone! What is that with all these people thinking that a bachelor would be eager to get married at the age of fifty?! Hyde: Gee, I dunno. Maybe it's because you're rich and good-looking and a doctor? Or because of everyone is expected to marry? Then lead a dead boring marriage with a dead boring woman, while pretending that everything is sunshine and rainbows? Oh, and as the frosting on the cake, make a bunch of screaming, annoying brats? Jekyll: *chuckles* I don't need a wife to have all that. Hyde: *ignoring the last jab like a boss* What about the girl? Was she at least funny? Jekyll: She was cute and nice to talk to, but she was clearly not on board with her father's intention to make her marry me. Besides, she was seventeen! If I ever got around to marry (which will never happen), it would have to be someone closer to my age. Hyde: *winks* Like your lawyer? Jekyll: *blushes* That … that's illegal … Hyde: *smirks* But you would, if you could, right? Jekyll: … If he wanted me.

Jekyll: Babe, do the thing! Utterson: *genuinely smiles* Both Jekyll & Hyde: *breathless* Holy shit …

Hyde: I don't do other emotions besides anger and excitement. Utterson: *exists* Hyde: *blushes* Oh no, he's making me feel other emotions!

Jekyll, holding a human heart in his hand: Edward … what is this?! Hyde: A heart, obviously! I thought you're a doctor, you ought to know what a human heart looks like! Jekyll: I do, but why is it in my office?! Where did you get it from and-? Hyde: Well, today is Valentine's Day, right? I wanted to give you something special and since I couldn't cut my own heart out, I took the one of the guy who humiliated you last week. Jekyll: … Jekyll, trying his best to hide his disgust: Uhm … thank you, Edward. You shouldn't have … but flowers or a box of chocolates would have done it too.

Alma, on the telephone: Y'ello? Lady Summers: What did you do. Alma: Alright, but you can't be angry at me. Lady Summers: What. Did you. Do?! Alma: Well, first: I was minding my own business- Lady Summers: SCHWACHSINN!!! Alma: I waaaaas! Lady Summers: And what exactly happened, while you were "minding your own business"?! Alma: Well, I was on my nightly walk through Whitechapel, doing a class, when suddenly these scumbags blocked my path! Alma: And one of them said: "LIE ON YOUR BACK!" And I responded with: "I'm not your wife last night!" And they took exception to that. Buuut, you know how that song and dance goes. Alma: So I castrated all but one of them! Lady Summers: What happened to the last one? Alma: Pussed out like a bitch! Silver lining: They will never pass on their disgusting rapist genes!

Utterson, to Jekyll: So, Lady Summers told me that Hyde can take a corporeal for to a certain degree, when you're in control. Jekyll: Yes, but it only works in my lab. Why? Utterson: Where did you get that hickey on your neck? Jekyll: *blushes* Wh-wha-I-uh-I, uuhhhh- *Jekyll suddenly turns into Hyde* Hyde: *grins* Oh yeah. I totally did that. Utterson: *blushes* So … uhm … did you two … you know … Lanyon: Did you fuck each other? Utterson: Lanyon! Hyde: Nah, but we would, if we could! Utterson: … Lanyon: Whelp, there goes my mind- hey, are you okay, Gabriel? Utterson: *on the verge of tears* Oh my god, why, oh the pictures in my head, I'll never-

Jekyll & Hyde: *yelling at each other like a dysfunctional couple having a domestic* Utterson, Lanyon & Lady Summers: *watching* … Utterson: I'm slowly losing my will to live. Lady Summers: I'm slowly losing my mind over their idiocy. Lanyon: I already lost both. -_-

Lanyon: *singing* When I think about my worries and I think about my strife, here is what I simply say- Lanyon: AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Hyde: uwu uwu uwu uwu uwu … Jekyll, slowly losing his last shred of sanity: You know, I'm this close to killing myself just to spite you. Hyde: *falls silent immediately*

Jekyll, about Utterson: Sir, that's my emotional support lawyer. Utterson, about Jekyll: Sir, that's my emotional support mad scientist.

Lady Summers: Your most exalted Majesty, I would like you to meet my emotional support physician. *points at Lanyon* Lanyon: *blushes like no tomorrow* Queen Victoria: Awww! Congratulations, dear! He's not the most handsome fellow, but he's definitely a keeper! ^_^ Lady Summers: I know. <3

Hyde: It’s time for your daily dosis of pain! Jekyll: Oh no, please don’t! Hyde: *injects him a liquid* Jekyll: *whimpering* Ow.

Jekyll: Where were you when my entry got only four likes?! Lanyon: I was making four accounts, bro. Jekyll: Bro!

Henry, about Edwina Hyde: Sir, that's my emotional support delinquent. Edwina: Huh? *oblivious and confused as heck* Gabriel: *concern for husband and new friend intensifies*

Utterson: Do you want more tea, Edward? Hyde: Nah, thanks, I'm good. Utterson: Anything else? Hyde: Well, now that you mention it, there is one thing … Hyde: *points to a nearby bush* Could you tell Dr. Lanyon to stop stalking us?! He’s starting to annoy me! Lanyon: *pops out of the bush, armed with a rifle* Ohhh! You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Mr. Hyde?!

Lady Summers: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. And rats. Those little bastards will getcha.

Utterson: I have a problem! Lanyon: Throw the ring into the fire. Utterson: I don't have a ring! I have Hyde! Lanyon: Then throw the Hyde into the fire. Utterson: But I can't throw Hyde into the fire! Lanyon: *shrugs* Well, then you have a problem. Utterson: … Thank you.

Hyde: *looking at Sir Carew from afar* Hyde: How about I beat that old geezer to death? Lady Summers: *unsheathes her sword* How about you don't?

Hyde: My evil knows no bounds! Also Hyde: *witnesses child molestation* EW, WHAT THE FUCK, THIS IS TOO MUCH!!!

Lanyon: I'm pleasantly surprised. Hyde: Huh? Why? Lanyon: So you do have standards after all. Hyde: o_e Hyde: You're referring to my reaction to that pedo bullshit, aren't you? Lanyon: Yes. Hyde: … Hyde: Dr. Lanyon, do you realise that by suspecting me of pedophilia, you would accuse Jekyll as well? Lanyon: *thinking* Holy shit, I didn't think of that! Hyde: Think next time, before you jump to conclusions. You're lucky Jekyll holds you so dear. Lanyon: Mr. Hyde, I'm so sorry! Hyde: *frowns* Yeah, you better be.

Lanyon: Milady, I would die for you. Lady Summers: … Lady Summers: Listen, I know that this is supposed to be romantic and all, but please don't die for me. How am I supposed to live without my doctor? Lanyon: *speechless*

Hyde: Wait, how many lovers could an asexual doctor possibly have had? Two? Three? Lanyon: Well, it depends, what is your definition of a lover? Hyde: *grins* Any person you bring to a fevered pitch of uncontrollable ecstasy! Utterson: *stares at him* Lanyon: Oh! Fifty-six. Utterson and Hyde: *stare at Lanyon* Hyde: *lowers his tea cup* … Excuse me? Lanyon: I had about fifty-six lovers. Of course that was before I began to seriously date Henry. I probably would have had more, but I wasn't allowed to start dating till I was sixteen. Hyde: Fifty-six? Fifty-six?! Utterson: Oh god, stand back! He's gonna blow! Hyde: What do you mean, you had fifty-six lovers?! You told Henry you were a virgin, when you hooked up with him! Lanyon: Hey, you can have a lover without having to go all the way! Hyde: You cannot! If that were true, Hastie, that would mean you were a slut! Utterson: Oh come on, Edward, how can you say that? So the man had fifty-six lovers in one year, he's not a slut. Lanyon: Thank you, Gabriel- Utterson: He's THE slut! Lanyon and Hyde: *stare at him* Utterson: He's the grand Poobah of slutdom! He's the easiest man in this room! Hyde: Gabriel John Utterson, you take that back! Utterson: The slut is dead, long live the slut! *points at Lanyon*

#The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde #Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde #Dr. Jekyll #henry jekyll #Mr. Hyde #edward hyde #Mr Utterson #Gabriel John Utterson #utterson #dr lanyon #Hastie Lanyon #oc #vines #incorrect quotes

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diningpageantry · 5 years

Text

Dances

Archive Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18672919/chapters/44712844

Chapter 3/12 of Proximity (The Collision of Lonely Men)

Word Count: 2019

Chapter Summary: School events dig up old scars for both Simon and Baz alike.

The room reeks of fresh linoleum flooring and teenage cologne. It's bright--the lights fade in and out of aggressive tints of pinks and blues and greens. I don't know what else to expect from a school dance.

Granted, it's the first one I've ever been to, so I didn't plan on expecting much, anyway. Still, clearly not the greatest time, nor the greatest company, either.

I tried to protest my co-chaperone. Begged Penny to do it, or to help me find someone who's willing (since I still know next to no-one), but everyone's reaction was the same.

“Why the hell would I want to chaperone with Basilton?”

Which is, roughly, the same reason I've been trying desperately to get out of it. It isn't that I don't want to be at the dance, it's the concept that I'm stuck beside this prick all night.

In actuality, he doesn't need to be exactly beside me, just in eyesight. Currently, we're leaned up against the back wall, separated only by the snack table (which I keep bombarding every time I feel). He's well dressed--purple patterned blazer with a cream button up and the same coloured deep purple slacks. He must've polished his shoes, because they're shining with every flash of the changing lights.

I feel a bit dull next to him. I had a black button down tucked back in my dresser, and decent black trousers, so I somehow managed to find an outfit that makes me stand out the absolute least while simultaneously making me look like a waiter.

He doesn't look at me--or at least, I don't see him looking at me. The darkness of the room makes it difficult to see anything, and even though I can swear I feel his eyes on me, every time I look at him his eyes are forward. It's unnerving.

I can't do this cold silence of his anymore. I can't keep staring at him, hoping he'll talk. It’s driving me off the deep end.

My head lazily turns forward, focusing on the clustered dancing groups of students and their guests alike. They spin and laugh together, enjoying one of their few dances of the year.

I let myself breathe, thinking over each word before they start spilling from my lips. “You know,” I begin, steadying my attention on the elevated stage on which the DJ is set up. “I've never been to a proper dance before. Not like this.”

There it is again--the feeling of his attention on me. This time, I don't dare to check, fearing it'll drive him away. Honestly, I'm too scared to keep talking unless he does first.

The thump of the new age pop music drowns us both into a suppressed silence until he manages our a brief answer.

“Any particular reason?”

I couldn't be more relaxed by his voice.

“Well, I'd only been dating one girl through most of my teen years and into uni,” I start, pushing up my sleeves absentmindedly. “Agatha, or Aggie. I didn't have much else close friend-wise, besides her. Though, saying that out loud is a bit sad now. Anyway, the issue was, though, that she didn't like big public displays, you know?”

I dare a glance at him, and catch him staring back, eyes unwavering. It sets me off track for a second, catching the steadiness of his gaze with mine for an extended second momentarily. I turn back forward, adjusting my shoulders. “She liked the dresses and all the glitz--after all, her family is pretty damn well off--but she never liked us being us in public. Especially not school dances.

“I, on the other hand, didn't have that money. I knew I could borrow her dad's suit, and I always did for holiday events, but it made me feel too vulnerable to go out to a dance. As if everyone else knew it wasn't my jacket, because you can't hide that there. At the Christmas bullshit, you could blend me in, but in a place where everyone knew me? Felt like a joke.”

He goes silent for a long minute, head turning away from me and onto the spot I'm trained to in the crowd.

When he doesn't immediately answer, I get a bit scared, and start rambling more. “Aggie wasn't terrible. She and I just weren't right, you know? I was just with her for so long that. I don't know, I guess I wanted her to be right? I'd tried and tried towards the end, but it was dying. Or, I don't know, it'd been dead? I don't know if it was ever there. She’s just so pretty, and I thought ‘There she is. The ideal’, you know?”

“Stop rambling about your heterosexuality, Snow. It's unappealing.”

This time, I use the silence to stare at him, following the bobbing of his neck as he swallows. He stares off, seeming unaffected but shockingly harmful. I let it drop, my throat feeling tight as I watch over him.

It feels like an eternity that he just stares, spacing off into the crowd.

At first, I feel like he's going to tell me off, like he usually does. I don't know why he's so bitter--my old therapist would probably say some shit about coping, but I doubt that. Most posh boys cope over dumb shit, like daddy stealing their cigs.

He's got the look of someone with a “Woe is me” attitude. I wish I could shake it off him--jolt him into a new person.

Shaking him is wrong, though. And so is what I'm thinking, probably, but my shaking-thoughts are a solid distraction for other thoughts trying to occupy my mind. Thoughts like how the glittering lights catch the sharp greys of his eyes, or how lovely the falling shadows on his young face frame him in such a picturesque way.

He seems to have the mind of someone twenty years his senior, but the body of a man in his mid-20s. I wonder how all of his thoughts are carried--chaos of a young adult, or filed away like the proper Englishman he was seemingly raised to be.

It makes me feel sick, knowing how gorgeous he is. Unfair. It's unfair how pretty this man is. I want to clench my fists and pound them down on the table, asking why bitter people get model bodies and faces.

He's so stunning that even in the slow drop of his jaw, he remains flawless.

Wetting his lips, he goes to speak, not leaving his forward gaze. “I've never been to one either.” His voice comes out slow--rhythmic. Like a growing tune, built up from his long time's hesitation. “I wish I could say I have, but I haven't.”

“Why?” I ask a bit unnervingly quickly, studying his expression. It doesn't drop, or drag up to the usual sneer. Rather, it's keeping its stone-cold composure.

“I went to a posh all boys boarding school growing up, like this. My father sent me off to be out of his hair--happened every year since I was eleven. There was this dance for the older students that I'd dreamt of for years. The outfit, the hair, the dance, even. I thought it'd be the shining moment of my schooling. My grandiose exit, if I may.

“Except the school had different presumptions over my attendance, for when I went to buy my ticket, they stopped me and told me no same sex couples. I tried to take it up with anybody who would listen--I wasn't going with a date, after all, but with friends. Still, they stopped me from getting in. Said they had the authority to stop me, and, of course, they won. I never even got a glance in.”

I'm left in a state of shock, blinking as he nonchalantly goes over the event. Even as he finishes, adjusting the cuffs of his blazer, he seems completely unphased by it.

I now worry that his steadiness is a mask, pushing back old angers.

“I'm sorry,” I offer, wondering whether or not I'm the first person who'd ever apologized for it. “I hadn't… I'm… shit that's… I'm sorry, Basilton--”

His hand raises to stop me, and I get a good look at it. He's wearing a thick silver band around his middle finger, and a tinier silver band around his pinkie. Not a usual look for him, but it definitely suits him. Makes him more dramatic than usual.

His palm dances pink in the light, falling into the harsh shadow we're contrasted in. Somehow, it all feels grey.

He doesn't say another word. Just stops me and stares off, mind miles away from us. He has to be a borderline genius somewhere in there, given the sharp tongue, but the question as to where is relevant. Where is he when he doesn’t speak?

Not here, apparently. I wonder if, perhaps, it's out on the dance floor with all the students. It's swaying and laughing--having the time of its life. Just far away from us here.

I hold my hand back, only reaching between us to occasionally grab a handful of pretzels on occasion. He seemingly doesn't take notice, spacing off and staring out into the crowd.

Once the event wraps up and the students clear out, we both quietly thank the custodians before starting the walk back to the dorms. It isn't a long walk, and thankfully the sidewalk is relatively wide--just wide enough that we have a foot in distance between us. It's not a bad night. There’s the dullest shine on the pavement, remnants of the day's long rain. In fact, everything's got that early-fall coating. Even the air has a crispness to it, despite the waterlogged piles of decaying leaves.

I try to look at him, hoping he's enjoying the moment as well, but he's still flattened in expression. Cold. Still.

Even as I unlock the front door, struggling slightly with the keys (and the old, fussy locks), he's completely blank. All except for the seemingly natural downturn of his lips.

He steps in before me, and I pause, watching him walk halfway into the living room before clearing my throat. “Hey, uh,” I start, fiddling with the keys in my hand. He stops, too, and turns on his heel. He's got a good few inches to stare down from, but I'm not afraid to look up to speak. Not after what he said earlier.

“I'm really sorry you never had the opportunity to go to a dance. I sound like a bit of a dick, since I just didn't take my open chance to. You… you should've been able to. I'm sorry.”

He stares down at me for what feels like a minute, eyes traveling in the slightest as he takes his time, looking over me. Looking into me, it feels. I'm trying to be vulnerable, goddammit, and it's like he's just waiting for me to add more.

I might as well ended with calling him a cock, because that's normal. That's what we've become. A bitter spat--a back and forth. Like the shittiest married couple on the face of the earth.

I worry I may've spooked him now, since his face contorts to its usual mockery, going for the low blow. He's all set up for it now--a dark flat, the only light coming from the window and the open door. It's like his cave built to fucking haunt me.

He sort if looks like a vampire. Creature of the night bullshit, and all. Maybe I'll call him Dracula--or Vlad the Impaler (is that homophobic? I don't think so--I don't know? Anyone can impale. That’s equality.)

His hair falls into his face as he stands more upright, adjusting his jacket. You'd think it makes him more human, but it makes him look darker--brooding. Helps with the vampy aesthetic.

His lips part, and I brace for impact before he melts down slightly, shoulders slumping as he exhales. Part of me wonders if he's about to throw my for a loop, until he starts speaking softer than he ever has before. “You should have gotten a chance to have your dance, too.”

#carry on #snowbaz #fanfiction #fanfic #fic #mine #simon snow #tyrannus basilton grimm pitch #tyrannus basilton grimm-pitch #baz pitch #simon #baz #proximity (the collision of lonely men)#p(tcolm)

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morefuns · 5 years

Text

━ ✧ ( freya mavor, 23, she/her ) did you hear about loretta ‘lo’ dickens’ new record ? it’s totally bitchin' ! apparently people who have interviewed her say they’re really ambitious & resilient, but they can be sort of disruptive & blunt if you catch her at a bad time. gingham print, coffee fueled all-nighters, the rhinestone covered nail at the end of a middle finger salute. *dolly parton vc!!

howdy folks !! i know i’m super late to the game here because my work schedule today & the next couple days is whack BUT you can call me spencer or sb, i use they/them pronouns, broadcasting from the cst time zone in the american southeast ( because, of course i would be with a dolly vc afvsgbsdfv ) && i’m here to introduce you to my country music child star that’s breaking her way into the mainstream music scene !! if you’d like to plot w her, feel free to go ahead and jump into my ims or give this a like and i’ll come to yours !! this will probably inevitably get way longer than necessary so feel free to just skip to the tldr version lmao

𝔹 𝔸 𝕊 𝕀 ℂ 𝕊

♡ name: loretta rose dickens ♡ nicknames: lorie ( to her parents ), itty ( to childhood friends ), lo ( to the rest of the world ) ♡ age: twenty-three ♡ date of birth: july 31 ( yes, she’s a love crazed leo what’s new ) ♡ place of birth: sevierville, tennessee ♡ accent: southern american, specifically appalachian ♡ gender: cisgender woman ♡ pronouns: she / her / hers

𝔹 𝔸 ℂ 𝕂 𝔾 ℝ 𝕆 𝕌 ℕ 𝔻

♡ loretta rose dickens was born the youngest of six children in the smokey mountains of east tennessee. to say she was the apple of her parents’ eyes would have been an understatement. despite the fact that her father’s career as a coal miner didn’t provide them with the highest income, they made the best of the life they had, and her parents always did whatever they could to give the children the whole world. ♡ lo first discovered her love for music in church. from the moment she was able, she sang along to every song from her seat in the worn down pews. until she was old enough to join the choir, then everyone was singing along with her. she was a natural, and was doted on by all the other members for her talents. ♡ while her passion for music never waned, it never occurred to lo that it could be a career. but soon enough her parents and their friends were encouraging her to perform more publicly than just the church. by the age of eleven, lo was featured on a number of local tv programs and radio shows, and by twelve she and her mother were signing contracts to record her first few singles. suddenly, she was being played on country music radio stations across the country. it was all uphill from there; suddenly she was a teenager and going a few hours away to nashville once a week to record music while she finished school. after graduating, she moved to nashville full time, and lived there for a couple of years before bigger opportunities had her packing up and taking the cross-country trip to los angeles. ♡ since her move to la, lo has been experimenting with her music a bit outside of the country bubble. these days, most of her tunes have more pop-sounding melodies, but she never forgets to add her own southern twist. her aesthetic and music mixes elements of classic country with the gaudy, over-the-top elements that characterize the era. ( the “ it takes a lot of money to look this cheap ” dolly quote is the most lo thing ever ok ) ♡ her music hasn’t been the only thing that has changed in recent years, though. just as she mixes styles with her music, her once virtuous country girl image has been tainted with the growing sex appeal she conveys, and she had become much more outspoken and short with interviewers and critics. that’s not to mention that she’s been caught being promiscuous with a number of other stars, as well as been seen partying maybe just a little too hard. older followers of lo and more conservative country music fans ─ who make up a considerable portion of her audience ─ are alarmed ( some even outraged ) by what seems to be a spark of rebellion coming from the once pure child star.

ℙ 𝔼 ℝ 𝕊 𝕆 ℕ 𝔸 𝕃 𝕀 𝕋 𝕐

♡ to begin, lo is super outspoken and blunt. not to say she’s unnecessarily mean, because she’s not, but she isn’t afraid to tell it how it is. especially if it’s about something she cares a lot about. ♡ she also ( generally ) is a do no harm but take no shit kind of person. she’s not gonna go out of her way to be malicious but she will not stand for bullshit. she will shut that down quick. this is one of the things that’s got her put into that ‘at risk’ category, because she has gotten snippy with a bunch of reporters, especially for asking sexist questions. she ain’t gonna have it ok. ♡ a love addict ─ she wants to love, wants to be loved, wants to be involved with love. similarly, she is the biggest flirt you’ll ever meet, and has a promiscuous streak going. not good at relationships, because in the fews she’s been in she always ended up cheating. just generally a boy crazy mess. ♡ so so so ambitious and passionate. if you tell her she can’t do something, she’ll do it just to prove you wrong. demands to be taken seriously. ♡ can be argumentative for that same reason ^ always always always wants to be right. could luck getting her to concede in a fight. ♡ loves contradictions in everything, which is a good thing because she is one tbh.

𝕋 𝕃 𝔻 ℝ ;

♡ lo was a child star on the country music scene for a while before she started dipping her toe into pop-y sounds and moved to la. now she’s kind of in the midst of a post-child star rebellious phase ( think 2012 miley but slightly less loud abt it and minus the cultural appropriation ). that along with her being more outspoken about her views on feminism and other social issues upset the conservative country fans that made up a large part of her ongoing audience, which is why she’s considered ‘at risk’. really just wants to have fun and be young tbh. huge flirt, kinda boy crazy. mixes very strong and intentional sex appeal with the classic virtuous southern girl image. would die 4 her gang.

𝕎 𝔸 ℕ 𝕋 𝔼 𝔻 ℂ 𝕆 ℕ ℕ 𝔼 ℂ 𝕋 𝕀 𝕆 ℕ 𝕊

♡ best fiends forever ─ best friends who are super close but also have a habit of stirring up trouble together. probably a little bit infamous in the media for being mischievous together. could be more than one character, even; i’m always down for a badass girl gang. ♡ can’t stay true ─ messy exes, maybe on again / off again, who were together but both of them seemed to always have trouble staying faithful to one another. ( potential for another on again / off again spell if you want and it works ─ but definitely not necessary !! ) ♡ featuring . . . ─ someone who she collaborates with creatively often !! could be another performer or group, a writer, really any role that would fit could be fun !! ♡ literally anything else ( friends, enemies, role models, anything & everything ) !! if you have ideas shoot them my way or we can brainstorm !!

#this is..... so late but here we go #no proof reading we die like men #1986.intro

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crazedlunatic · 5 years

Text

Scarlett’s First (Prom) Date

“Calm down, Wes.”

“Calm down? Do you know what I did after prom, Blaine? I was drunk so I don’t remember much but there was a lot of sex after!”

AJ, who was sitting in a chair in the same room, gave Blaine a look.

“Sophie will be here in a few years. You’ll be spending hundreds of dollars on a sparkly dress so some guy can rip it off her—possibly literally— and then ravish her like she’s meat or something.”

“Please tell me you didn’t rip some poor girl’s prom dress.” AJ said. “Wesley.”

“Heat of the moment. I felt bad a few days later.” Wes shrugged. “That is not the point.”

David walked into their apartment. “Oh. He’s already started, I see?”

AJ eagerly went over to him, handing him the camera. “Isn’t she so pretty?”

“She’s beautiful.” David agreed.

“I wish she wasn’t.” Wes scoffed. “Who knew an Asian and a Mexican would make such a pretty baby?”

“I don’t know if that was a compliment or an insult.” AJ scoffed. “And just so were clear, she looks like me with slightly lighter skin. I’m pretty sure all she got from you was her skin color, her boney knees and her butt… and the birthmark.”

“She sure didn’t get her sense of humor from you.” Wes crossed his arms over his chest. “Ugh. Why are you two here? Let me be miserable in peace.”

“Wes, did you and Becky even make it to prom before you all had sex?” David grinned. “It was your guys’ first date too.”

“It is not the day, David.” Wes threatened.

“Does Tuesday work better for you? I can come back.”

AJ covered her face with her hands to hide her laughter.

“She’s my baby. She followed me around obsessively until she was eight.” Wes sulked, sitting on the couch. “And now she’s not only going to prom but it’s her first date.”

“She really did.” Blaine smiled. “She was so cute.”

“She’s definitely a daddy’s girl.” AJ agreed. “Wes, you have no reason to worry.”

“Why do you say that like you’re all knowing?”

“One, she’s like me and won’t give it up just because it’s prom. Two, she’s like me and has had protection since she started high school and has been on the pill.”

Wes stared at her, expressionless.

“And teenage boys like you are why I did it and why I put her on it. Be pissed all you want but she’s going to be safe when she decides to have sex. If she gets caught in the heat of the moment, she’s got condoms in varying sizes and she’s less likely to get pregnant.”

“If she’s on the pill and has protection she’s probably already having sex!” Wes took a few deep breaths.

Blaine sat by him, putting his hands on Wes’ shoulders.

“No, Blaine.” Wes snapped.

“Yes, Blaine.” Blaine said. “She’s not going to have sex.”

“Is she even a virgin?” Wes asked AJ.

“I don’t know. She’ll come to me if she needs to talk.” AJ shrugged. “If she wants to talk to me, I’m here. If not, I trust her.”

“You’re lying! She’s having sex!”

“Shut up before the neighbors hear you!” AJ snapped. “Get a hold of yourself. This is payback for all the girls you slept with. Take the karma and let the rest of us poor souls live in peace, okay?”

“She’s sixteen. She can’t have a baby.”

“I had sex for five years before we got pregnant. She’s on the pill.” AJ sighed.

“Honestly, Wes, if she’s on the pill and has protection…” David said. “I mean, as a doctor—”

“Woohoo you can save lives and eat nachos at the same time. It doesn’t make you more qualified than me.”

“Actually I see teenagers all the time. I know the statistics and there has been more than one girl ask me about sex and protection.” David said. “AJ has it covered.”

“Yeah if he actually covers it.” Wes muttered.

“Look at it this way. It can’t be any worse than how Matt lot his virginity and I can damn near guarantee those fifteen year old boys weren’t using protection.” AJ said.

“Wait, what?” Wes said. “How do you know about how Matt lost his virginity?”

“I’m just all knowing. That’s how I know you’re being a not all knowing asshole right now.”

“Wes, she’s sixteen.” Blaine said gently.

“Don’t you side with them.”

“I’m not siding with anyone. I’m just saying… even you didn’t start having sex on the first date until college. She’s got very smart parents and at least a mother that’s open minded.” Blaine said slowly. “I don’t think she’ll have sex on the first date because it’s prom night… but if she does, then it is what it is. She’s got protection and an open line of communication with AJ… something she will never have with you if she sees or hears you acting like this.”

“Hmph.”

“At the end of the day if she got pregnant… would it be the end of the world? Remember how freaked out you were but you all had her and you’ve never been happier in your life. She’ll have you two to support her. And that’s worst case scenario.” Blaine continued.

“Exactly.” AJ said. “But if you act all weird about her going out with guys or sex, she won’t feel like she can come to you and that may, in turn, make her afraid to come to me.”

“Exactly.” David agreed. “You need to at least not let her know you’re freaking out about it. Because she may come to you for advice because you’re her dad and you’re a great dad.”

“She asks you stuff all the time.” Blaine said. “I mean, you two get dinner alone every Tuesday and just talk… and that’s great because she’s in a position where you’ve already got this open line of communication. If you start acting all weird she’ll get nervous and that line could close.”

“Also,” AJ cut in. “You may have lost your virginity at 16 but Scarlett is super picky about where she sits in a movie theater. Do you really think she’s going to pick someone that will want her to put out on the first date? No. Because you are her male role model. The you now. And that is what she’s going to be looking for. Smart, funny, kind, and understanding. Plus, she would never bring a boy home you wouldn’t like and… I mean, come on. She’s not going to just have sex with someone because that’s not who she is.”

“Oh my God.” Wes groaned, covering his face with his hands. “I can’t handle this. Where’s the stop button? I need to rewind it to Christmas of 16 years ago.”

“Freak out to us all you want to but don’t do it around her. That’s all I’m suggesting.” David shrugged.

They all looked up when the apartment door opened. Scarlett ran in yelling, “My shoe broke! I told you I needed flats, Mom!”

AJ rolled her eyes and muttered, “I’m the one that said she needed flats.”

“Don’t get those faces.” Scarlett cringed, looking at David and Blaine who hadn’t made it before she left earlier. They had only seen pictures.

“Aww, you’re so pretty.” Blaine went to hug her.

Scarlett beamed, hugging him back and then hugging David.

“You look beautiful.” David smiled.

“Thanks!” She ran over to Wes and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry, Daddy. Not giving it up yet!”

David covered his mouth when Scarlett winked at Wes and then rushed back out of the apartment.

Wes looked between everybody, looking confused. “She just called me Daddy.”

AJ rolled her eyes.

“I know she looks like you, AJ… but in that moment she was the female version of Wes.” Blaine said.

“See? She did pick up on it.” AJ gave Wes a look.

“Yeah, I don’t care about that anymore. She just called me Daddy. She hasn’t called me that since she was eleven.” Wes looked between everyone. “Why do I want to cry?”

AJ rolled her eyes as Blaine pulled him into a hug, patting his head.

“Wes is the mother.” David laughed. “And AJ is the father today. This is hilarious.”

“No. She called me Daddy… and she’s so pretty. Oh my God. This is payback for all of the girls I slept with.” Wes groaned. “But she was so pretty.”

“She is.” Blaine nodded. “But she’s got smarts from both of you two so I really don’t think you have to worry.”

“Plus, she took the ACT early and scored higher than either of us did.” AJ chirped. “I think she’s smarter than us, Wes. She may end up being president one day.”

“Why do I still want to cry?! Can we have another one?”

“Mmh well you can’t. Sorry about your luck.” AJ laughed.

“I don’t want to mess with perfection anyway.” Wes said confidently.

Blaine gave David a smirk and David shook his head, rolling his eyes.

“I saw that.” Wes snapped.

“I’m sorry but I need to get back home. Kurt’s got pneumonia and Zachy’s not quite used to only having one arm functional so who knows what’s happened in the last hour and a half.” Blaine stood.

“Poor Kurt always gets pneumonia.” AJ frowned.

“He’ll be okay. Nick and Sophie are there.” Blaine blinked. “Yeah, I really need to get home. Zach is the one that is good at helping take care of him. Sophie just wants to cuddle and Nick is just…. Nick.”

“Don’t hate on baby Nick. I love his heart.” David sighed.

“Oh, I’m not hating on him. He’s just…”

“Nick is the one we need to worry about.” AJ chirped.

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. Light hair, blue eyes. You see how people still act around Matt when they don’t even know his personality and we’re getting old. Nick is adorable and funny. Those are two dangerous things together.” AJ said. “The girls are going to be all over him soon.”

“I’m just going to go ahead and announce this—he’s gay. Has he told me? No. Does he know? Probably not. But I have a very good feeling that he is going to be coming out one day.” Wes said.

Blaine tilted his head. Several seconds later he said, “Nah. I’ve already seen questionable sites on his browser history. It’s all been girls.”

“Yeah. There is no way in hell that Nick is gay.” David agreed.

“He has a girlfriend.” AJ added. “They’ve been dating since there were 11.”

“Okay. Well, we will meet here in about six years and see who was right.” Wes shrugged.

…

“Kurt, do you think Nick might be gay?” Blaine asked later that night, crawling into bed.

Kurt rolled over, laughing hard and coughing at the same time.

“Well that’s just rude.”

#wbuct drabble #wbuct prompt

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denimwrites-archive · 7 years

Text

Lean On Me

Prompt: I promised an anon that I would write another Dean x Male!Reader and mentioned this idea, so here it is coming to fruition.

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: Dean Winchester X Male!Park Ranger!Reader

Summary: The boys go on a wendigo hunt in a national park, and Dean may or may not fall for the ranger who leads them on their hike through the treacherous terrain.

Word Count: 2,921

Warnings: Language, violence, injury, mention of physical therapy?

A/N: As promised here it is. Sorry if it’s not super obvious it’s male reader, it kind of ended up more gender neutral, but it’s definitely not obviously feminine? Any tips for writing male readers is appreciated! I haven’t really been camping at any parks or anything, so I have no idea if this is what it’s actually like, but it works for the story so I’m using it. And I didn’t really introduce Sam and Dean by their real names until about halfway through so just in case anyone’s confused, Green is Dean and Freeman is Sam.

~~~

It was the Monday morning and you were nervously pacing in your visitor’s center for the third time that month. Your coworkers called you paranoid, but this was now the fifth couple who hadn’t checked out after camping for the weekend in the park. They all said that the campers just forgot, and left. But that had never happened, and now it was happening this often, something had to be up.

Especially since whenever you tried to call any of the guests at the number they provided, all you got was a voicemail or an automated voice saying the line was no longer connected. To say you were worried was a little bit of an understatement, and you had even filed some missing persons reports.

Some people had said they found some abandoned cars, and trashed campsites, but by the time you went to investigate there usually wasn’t much left. Mother Nature doesn’t wait for anyone. And the cars weren’t very helpful as they were just abandoned, the only clue being that they hadn’t driven anywhere.

You quickly turned as the front door bell rang signalling someone entering. You let out the breath you’d been holding at the sight of two men, rather than the two girls who checked in on Friday. Giving your head a small shake, you put on a welcoming smile and greeted the pair. “Good morning, gentlemen. I’m Ranger (Y/L/N), what can I do for you on this fine morning?”

They seemed to be well put together, snazzy suits on both, but completely out of place. They’re probably just asking for directions, you thought, already prepared to explain the easiest way to get to the highway. But they surprised you when they reached into their blazer pockets and pulled out FBI IDs.

“I’m Agent Green, and this is my partner Agent Freeman. We were wondering if you could tell us about the disappearances that have been happening in the woods?” You had to stare in shock for a moment. You didn’t think that the missing persons would be a Federal thing. Well it is a state park, so maybe it makes sense?

“Of course. Sorry, I’m just a little surprised to see Federal Agents here. I was actually about to go down to the station later today and file another report, so I guess it’s good you’re here.”

“And why’s that?” Agent Freeman, the taller one asked. He seemed very concerned at your answer, sharing a glance with his shorter partner. Cuter partner too, you can’t help but notice.

“Well there was this pair of college friends who went up the mountain to camp on Friday, said they’d leave this morning. ‘Have to be on the road before 10,’ they said, and now it’s getting on towards eleven and they still haven’t stopped by.”

“Maybe they left and just didn’t stop by?” one of them offered and you shake your head.

“We have a sign out sheet that they have to sign, and they said they would stop by before heading back so I could give them directions to a couple places they wanted to stop. My colleagues say I’m paranoid, but it’s been happening a lot lately and I just don’t know what to think.”

The two men share a glance before the shorter one steps towards you and asks, “Do you have a map of where each person camped? Are they close together?”

Grabbing one of the maps of the park and a marker, you open it and think. You knew that one of the campsites had been about halfway up the mountain, with two others being near the old ‘Wolf’s Den’. You didn’t know where the girls had been camping, and when you tried to find the other couple who had visited two weeks ago, you didn’t find any trace of them. Pushing the map towards him he saw the three nearby points and places a finger on them.

“Those are the only places you know for sure?”

“Yeah, but I was going to hike up and see if I could find the girls. Maybe if I don’t wait so long I can find some sign, you know? You two are welcome to join me if you want, I was going to head up after lunch.”

Agent Green was about to find an excuse, but Agent Freeman cut him off with a, “That would be great, thanks. Meet you here at 1?” With a quick nod from you, Freeman pulls his belligerent partner out the door without another word.

You can’t help but laugh as you see them argue through the window, Green stamping his foot and pointing at Freeman who has a satisfied smirk on his face. Taking a glance around he notices you looking through the window and gives you a wave, which you return bemusedly. Green follows his partner’s gaze and he seems to blush slightly, giving you a small wave as well. And then they’re gone, off in their beautiful car.

Taking some time to clean up the visitor center before going on your lunch break, you find your mind wandering back to the shorter of the men. His green eyes and curious gaze standing out in your mind. As one o’clock rolls around you grab a water bottle and a rucksack with some necessities before stepping outside to wait for your hiking partners.

You find yourself smiling as the classic car pulls up, the two men stepping out of the car dressed in more comfortable clothing with backpacks in hand. It’s not the proper attire for hiking, but definitely better than the suits they were previously wearing. And they still look like models, who knew FBI agents were so handsome?

“Shall we?” you asked, already starting up the path. You could hear the two follow behind you, one of them muttering under his breath. Agent Freeman easily caught up to you, and he started asking you some questions about your job and how long you’d been with the park. Explaining how you loved this park as a kid which led to where you are today, and into explaining a normal camping season, you can’t help but really pay attention to the fact that this was serious and happening.

“This is the first year that I’ve ever had anything like this happen. One of the older rangers said that something similar happened a while back, but I still think it’s odd.” He nodded and there was a lull in the conversation until you asked, “So how did you guys get this case? Did the state send for you or something?”

Green spoke up from behind you, and that’s when you noticed how far ahead you were. Slowing to a stop, you and Freeman waited for him to catch up. He was out of breath by the time he did and he gratefully took the water you offered him. While you were stopped he explained that their job was a ‘we tell you to go there and you do’ sort of deal, and you just nodded in understanding.

“So, Ranger (Y/L/N), how much farther?” Green asked.

“You can call me (Y/N), agent, and we’re about a third of the way there. They talked about going to the top of the mountain, but one of them had mentioned the Wolf Den so they might have camped closer to there.”

“Well then (Y/N), you can call me Dean, and he’s Sam,” he replied, pointing a thumb at his partner. “And what’s this Wolf Den you keep mentioning? Is it some kind of landmark or something?”

“It’s one of the attractions of the park. It’s not really a cave, but it’s a small hollow kind of nook that’s over a sinkhole. It was supposedly an actual wolf den at some point, but now there’s this legend about a guy who fought those wolves and made it so people could hunt in these woods in peace. That was over a century ago though, so who knows how true it is, right?”

“That guy seems pretty badass, did he have a name?” Dean asks.

“Once upon a time he did, but it’s been forgotten since some local historians have found some evidence that there were never actual wolves attacking hunters, but actually the guy himself. Obviously they tried to hide it because who wants to visit a cannibal’s lair, but I try to do my job well, even if that means learning the dark history of this charming place.”

And on that note you continued your trek up the mountain, at a more reasonable pace this time. There was a little more conversation, ranging from music to other things. Dean seems to have similar interests to yours, and keeps you entertained with his jokes and stories. You don’t even notice the time go by. It’s about half past three by the time you make it to the den though, and then you decide to split up to look for the campsite.

You each go on your own, giving each of them your phone number just in case they find something, and them giving you their business cards. After about twenty minutes you stumble across a ruined tent and realize it must have been the girls’. Letting out the breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding you decide to call Dean, as he was closest.

When he picks up you tell him what you found. He tells you to stay put, but before he hangs up you notice something weird and mention it, “There’s this weird footprint here, and it looks fresh. So just be careful, alright?”

“You too,” and then you’re alone with the footprint. As you scan over the ripped tent, you tentatively search around for any other signs of the thing that did this. However, in your focus on the ground, you don’t notice the rustling above you until it’s too late. Everything going black as soon as you lift your head.

When Sam and Dean make it to the campsite they immediately see your pack shredded in pieces, its contents spread across the ground. Sharing a look with Sam, Dean immediately turns and heads towards the den, determination burning in his eyes. He would not let this monster get you.

Letting out a groan of protest at your stretched muscles you blink in surprise, trying to decipher where you are. You hear the dripping of water echo around you and you realize you’re in a cave-like structure. As your eyes adjust to the darkness you finally notice that you aren’t alone. Seeing someone else hanging limply next to you, someone else on the other side of them.

Attempting to get a closer look, you move and let out a curse as a flare of pain radiates from your leg. The person closest to you stirs at the sound and you realize that it was one of the girls. Thankful you found them, you only wish you could have done something to actually help them.

The good news was that you didn’t have to wait long for someone else to do just that, the bad news was that it was done a little recklessly, with Dean jumping right into the den rather than taking the time to plan a way to get out afterwards like Sam was doing. He took the rope that was in your bag and attached it to one of the nearby trees, before slowly lowering himself down the hole.

Dean had wasted no time, flamethrower at the ready, he started calling your name. Whether he found you or the monster first, he would be prepared. You tried to call out once you heard Dean in the distance, but a sudden sound nearby caused your vocal chords to seize up. Frozen in place you could only hope that Dean would be safe if he faced whatever it was.

Attempting to stay calm, you wriggle your wrists, only to feel the consequence in your quivering knee. Something was definitely wrong with it, and you wouldn’t be of much help as you were. Looking at the people beside you, you knew that they wouldn’t be either. Please let us get out of this in one piece, you hoped.

And then there were footsteps growing closer. You let out a groan, and their pace increased. Dean finally coming into view. “(Y/N),” he breathed out, eyes landing on you. Rushing over, he started to untie your wrists, but then you see a flash of movement behind him.

“DEAN!” you yell. He whirls around, flames spewing from his hand, and you realize he was holding something. <Magic wouldn’t have been the weirdest thing to learn about today, you think before hearing the screams of the monster, that’s what you get for screwing with my park, you bitch. And then you black out.

You come to maybe five minutes later, your arm slung around Dean’s shoulders, his arm around your waist. Leaning more against him as he leads you towards a rope. Looking up you see that Sam is leaning over the edge, ready to pull you up. Dean helps you through the loop and into the makeshift seat they’ve made. Upon noticing you’re awake he tells you, “Everything’s going to be okay,” giving your forehead a soft kiss, before Sam is pulling you up.

Letting out a hiss as your leg is pressed into the hard ground, you lay back and take in the night sky. You didn’t even know what time it was, and you ached all over, not to mention the throbbing in your knee. Glancing around you though, you see that the girls are already out and tiredly resting against each other. Releasing a deep breath your eyes fall closed, or at least they do until you feel hands on your arms.

Peering up you see that Dean’s leaning over you, checking you for injuries. His hands lightly trace over your arms, resting at your raw wrists for a moment before continuing down to your legs. You flinch as he lightly traces over your knee, and his face flashes in sympathy. “Sam? Can you get them?” he asks, motioning towards the girls.

Sam nods and moves to help them, while Dean carefully sits you up. He lifts you to your feet as gently as he can, not wanting to hurt you. Resuming his position from earlier, he wraps his arm around your waist, taking your weight as you slowly make your way back down the mountain.

Sam is a few steps ahead of you, using a similar technique that Dean is using for carrying you, except he has an arm wrapped around each of their waists. It doesn’t give him a lot of maneuverability, but it gives him the most control and allows him to carry them with the least amount of pressure on any of them.

The trip that took a little over two hours before, takes over twice that long now. You can’t help but groan in frustration, just wanting to get to the bottom. Dean gives your hip a squeeze and starts to quietly talk to you to keep you occupied. You can feel yourself smiling more and by the time you finally get to the bottom of the mountain you almost wish it wasn’t over.

Almost being the important word. Sam sets the girls on a bench outside the visitor’s center and calls an ambulance. As you wait, Dean keeps talking and you feel yourself leaning more and more heavily on him, your eyes slipping closed as you keep listening to the calming rumble of his voice.

And then you’re being jolted out of your sleep by the sharp pain in your knee. You realize you’re in an ambulance and your heart lurches when you see that Dean isn’t with you. However, that doesn’t last long as you’re slowly pulled back under by the pain medication being given by the doctors.

You sleep through the night and most of the day, and learn that your knee was dislocated. Letting out a deep sigh at the thought of the physical therapy you’ll need to go through, your thoughts are interrupted by a light knock on your door. Turning, your face lights up at the sight of Dean, with flowers in his hand.

He seems sheepish, his hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “Hey, just came by to see how you were doing.”

“Well, I’m alive thanks to you, I think I should be the one giving you flowers.” He lets out a chuckle as he steps forward and hands you the bouquet. You gently rest them in your lap and give him your full attention. “Thank you, Dean, I really mean it. If you hadn’t been there today--”

He cuts you off with a sudden soft kiss pressed to your lips. Your eyes slide shut at the feeling of his plush lips and you start to follow him as he pulls away. Looking at him, he rests his forehead against yours. “I’m just as glad that I was there. Um…” he hesitates, pulling away slightly, until you grab his hand.

Intertwining your fingers, he smiles down at your connected hands before meeting your gaze. “Would you maybe want to get coffee or something? When your leg is better of course, unless you want to use me as a crutch again?” he teases.

You let out a small chuckle and give his hand a squeeze, “I could go for a coffee, anytime.”

Tag List: @helplesshansen

#dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x male!reader #dean winchester fanfiction #male reader insert #dean winchester #supernatural x reader #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural reader insert #spn x reader #spn fanfiction #spn reader insert #supernatural x male!reader #spn x male!reader #my writing #not a request

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dasebasstian · 7 years

Link

Years ago I was asked to interview one of the most unique and talented musicians around- The Reverend Horton Heat. Unfortunately the interview got lost in the editorial shuffle and never saw the light of day. Below is that lost interview.

Setting The Record Straight With The Reverend Horton Heat

Interviewed by D.A. Sebasstian

Jim “Reverend Horton Heat “ Heath has been tearin’ it up for over two decades now, with eleven albums, dozens of compilation appearances, songs in major motion pictures and even video games and cartoons! You might expect a man with that kind of success to slow down...just a little. Well sir- not on your life! The latest incarnation of Jim Heath’s band including The Reverend on guitar and vocals, Jimbo Wallace on upright bass and Paul Simmons on drums, is arguably one of the tightest and hardest working bands on the road today. I got the chance to talk with the Reverend by phone while they were in the midst of their 2009 tour...somewhere in the beautiful state of Colorado.

From what I’ve read on the internet you had it pretty rough as a teen growing up hustling the pool halls for cash-

You read the wrong bio (laughs). Lemme tell you what happened. We had just signed to Sub Pop Records back in the ‘90’s and I get this call waking me up early in the morning. It was some girl from Sub Pop wanting to ask me all these questions. She had this monotone voice with questions like (speaking like a robot ) “Where did you grown up?” “What do you like to do?” “What cigarettes do you smoke?” etc. So I told her that I was adopted, like to play pool and I smoke Merit Cigarettes. Later on Sub Pop gets this information and turns it into, “Reverend Horton Heat was an orphan who became a pool shark and smokes Lucky Strike Cigarettes.” (laughs). Complete B.S. I have hung out in pool halls, but growing up,I had a wonderful middle class family, a great extended family with cousins, aunts and uncles. You know Sub Pop had a history of that kind of thing.

Does personal experience fuel your song writing?

Yeah- personal experience definitely fuels my song writing...but then again sometimes you gotta stretch out beyond personal experience and use your imagination. You know, get a little phantasmagorical.

Besides Jerry Lee Lewis, who are your biggest musical influences?

I really love the Sun Records stuff like early Elvis and Carl Perkins. Non-Sun bands like Johnny Burnette and the Rock & Roll Trio, Gene Vincent and the Blue Cats, but ya know man...I really like music from the mid-twentieth century era. I really love Henry Mancini as well as the Blues, a lot of the Chess records stuff like Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. Its had a big influence on me. Then of course the Country Music of that era was just great too.

As a band you guys are extremely tight live do you guys rehearse or just set and play out?

The only time we rehearse is during sound check. The way we really keep it going is that we play so much...we play so many gigs. We’ve cut it back from what we used to do- but we’re still one of the hardest working bands out there as far as our tour schedule. I wish we could rehearse more but our new Drummer Paul lives in Nashville, so to schedule a rehearsal involves airline flights and motel rooms (laughs). It’s kinda crazy now. We got the new songs for the new album and we’re going to be getting together to actually rehearse it in Dallas in March. That’s really the only reason we need to rehearse, if we’re working up some new songs or going to rehash some older ones that fell by the wayside.

I love your song Galaxie 500. Are you a Ford guy?

Well I like the design of Fords, I mean I think Fords design, you know alot of people get mad at me for this, but a I just think the way their cars look have always had something just a little bit better. I think Chevy came back into the picture with the ‘55 Chevy- and honestly I have a great appreciation for all American cars. A long time ago people were like “Ford Sucks” and “Chevy Sucks” but what's funny now is like- “What abut Toyota?” “What about Hyundai?” All the sudden all that snobbery between Ford and Chevy people is out the window. It has to be or else we’re all gonna be driving Toyotas. We need to all stick together on this

You are considered by many to be the King of Psychobilly is that a crown you would wanna wear?

No no man...the Kings of Psychobilly are European bands man. The Meteors, Guana Batz, Demented Are Go, Necromantix...those types of bands We have a song called Psychobilly Freakout and when it came out alot of writers in the States didn’t really know what rockabilly was all about. So they heard the song title and were all “What is Psychobilly?” So that label got put on me. But in all honesty we do things that “Psychobilly Bands” don’t do. We’ll do a slow country song, we’ll do a slow blues song...ya know? Some of our stuff definitely fits in the Psychobilly mold but alot of it really doesn’t.

How long have you been playing Gretch and what is your guitar rig live and in the studio?

Well I really haven’t played Gretch my whole career. I had an old Guild back in the mid-80’s with a Bigsby Tremolo that eventually led me to a Gibson ES-175 with the 1954 P90 pickups. But with all the modern lights, dimmer packs and crazy electrical stuff they put in buildings for these light shows, those P90 pick ups would buzz so loud, almost as loud as the tone coming out of my amplifier. I dealt with it, I made it work, but once when I was on tour the 1/4 inch jake just broke into the guitar and at that time we were really at it- doing 275 shows a year. It was around the same time Gretch started doing their reissues. I went into a Guitar Center, saw the Gretch and noticed it was about the same thickness as the Gibson and had the Bigsby Tremolo. To me it had less of the older Gretch “nasal “ sound and more of a Telecaster vibe. That was something that i really liked and that the Gibson definitely couldn’t get. Gibson's are great for Jazz and some Rockabilly, but they just don’t have that Tele Twang . The Gretch had all that plus the Telecaster vibe, so I said, “That ‘s cool man.” Not to mention it was functional (laughs), so I ran with it. Since then I’ve acquired a lot of nice old Gretch guitars, but I don’t take ‘em on the road with me. I do sometimes play them in the studio along with my old Gibson 175 . Gretch started making the “Reverb Horton Heat” model so I play that as well.

What about Amplifiers?

I like the Silver Face Fender Super Reverb, I’ve got several mid seventies Silver Faces, but I have this one in particular that is unreal...it’s just the perfect amplifier. And so I’ve used that on every album I’ve ever done and in fact I’m gonna use it tonight. I spent more money keeping that amp in good repair...I mean it’s the most expensive amp in the world (laughs). We put one mic on that Silver Face and we’re good to go. It’s kinda funny I’m into my amps almost more than my guitars.

Your last album was the brilliant Christmas record Three Kings? Why a Christmas album?

Well for one thing our record label wanted it and for the other alot of my heroes did Christmas albums. They all did them. It was almost like part of their contract. Three Kings was a fun project. What was really interesting is I’ve got alot of record collector friends and as soon s they found out I was doing a Christmas album they all started mailing me their favorite CDs of the weirdest, craziest, most obscure and obscene Christmas Songs... like who put the Dick On Snowman. All this nasty, over the top, blue Christmas music. So at that point I was thinking, I am going to do a Christmas album and all the kids in my family...ya know I started thinking Christmas is for kids. Maybe I’ll do a Christmas album like that someday but in the mean time I’m just gonna do a straight up Frosty and Rudolph traditional album.

I’m a big rivet head so I gotta ask- what was it like working with Al Jourgenson of Ministry on the Liquor in the Front album?

Well..that was a crazy trip into an area I’d never really gone before. It was scary as hell. I mean I would leave the studio after being in there for eleven hours, working on one song, just bleary eyed and tired of working and I’d look over there and Al was about to die, the guy almost killed himself...several times. Not purposefully but you know what I mean? Al's a trip man...Al's a real trip. I mean Al and I got a little cross ways on that album but he brought a lot of good stuff to the table and alot of interesting ideas. You know that album sold more than any of our other albums so I really can’t knock him too much...but man he’s pretty out there. It’s funny though one thing about him is he knows alot about country music and obscure rockabilly stuff . He’s not just an industrial guy.

How about working with Gibby Haynes of The Butthole Surfers?

Now doin’ the sessions with Gibby, we ate so much Barbecue it was crazy...I mean every night it was BBQ. In fact we were going to this really famous place called Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que. We were buying so much every day...they had this shopping cart that they used when they would cater events and they just let us have the shopping cart full of Barbecue to use. We’d just take it to the studio, lift it out of the back of the van and roll it inside. Everyday we were buying a gallon of Barbecue Sauce...it was crazy! Gibby made his own drinks and was mixing Vodka and BBQ Sauce ...it was really nasty (laughs).

What bands do you like touring with?

Well we like touring with Nashville Pussy they’re alot of fun, then there's the Legendary Sack Shakers and Throw Rag...we’ve done alot of great tours with them. Some of my favorite tours were goin’ out with great guitar players that were so over the top good it’s kinda scary you know. Like Jr. Brown. I didn’t get to talk to him much on tour, he keeps to himself, but man what a great guitar player. I got to see him play every night. Deke Dickerson who's a monster player and Big Sandy and the Flyright Boys were always super inspiring because they are such great players and have such a great style.

Any new albums in the works?

Yeah it’s gonna be with Yep Roc, were gonna try to bang it out here as quickly as possible. Kinda on the cheap. We’re not gonna make too big a deal about it. Probably get Tim Alexander to help us do a little production and musical arrangement as well as some piano and accordion on a coupla things. The plan is were gonna go in a really old little studio in Dallas where Willie Nelson recorded “Red Headed Stranger” and “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.” I’ll give you a scoop- though I haven’t talked about too much, our new album is gonna be country...

Really?

And its not like “Well we’re goin’ country now,” because I actually have a lotta great rockin songs in the works too, but this upcoming album is just leaning heavily on country stuff. A lot of our fans that like us and are not Country fans seem to really enjoy our country type songs. We’re one of the only bands that they listen to that do anything like country music. So the guys who might normally hate country might still might like our country stuff. Many of my country songs and most of this new album have a humorous thing goin’ on with it.

I’ve always thought of your music reaching across genre borders- I have friends with record collections full of punk or metal or lounge music but they also have some Reverend Horton Heat CD’s in there too.

That was kinda the intention from the very beginning. At the time it was almost like shooting apples in a barrel. Back when we first started there really we not that many Rockabilly bands in existence. You had the Stray Cats, Rockats and Paladins playin’ upright bass and then The Blasters. Without getting into listing all the bands that were around at the time, it was pretty weird. There just wasn’t that big of a Rockabilly scene. So here we come in, doin’ original music that was Rockabilly, but a little more amped up. It really was like shooting apples in a barrel. People were like- “Whoa this band is really different!” “We never heard anything like this before!” (laughs)

Yeah but you have to be good too- I mean you could be different but if your not good your not gonna get the fans. There's a real power with what you guys do.

Well thank you. Anything you do at some point it’s gotta be entertaining

So you guys are writing the new album on the road? Yeah I’m writing as I go- yeah I’m gonna go in there and work on a new song today. So we're trying to get songs ready as we play on this tour, because we aren’t together. You know? When we’re off tour Paul goes back to Nashville. This is our time together so we get to annoy all the opening bands and crew people by turning our sound check into a rehearsal (laughs)

Do you believe in UFOs?

That's a cool question...and the answer is...no (laughter). I love to watch the shows about UFOs on TV. Its very entertaining to think about but I don't believe in UFOs. I’m one of these very skeptical persons- so until I see it myself I won’t believe it. I’ve got this thing about Government- I mean people get all bent out of shape that our Government keeps secrets from us. The simple fact of the matter is that they have too keep secrets from us or we would all die. I don’t think their keeping UFOs a secret. I think what they keep secret is the military stuff that if it came out that we had it then eventually our enemies would use it against us.

If you could rewrite the soundtrack to any older movie (say pre 1977) what film would it be?

Probably Thunder Road with Robert Mitchim. I’d keep the title song, “Thunder Road,” but that’d be a fun movie to do. When I was a kid, my Dad would take me to the car shows and the drag races and then he’d set me down and say, “You got to watch this movie Thunder Road.” After I saw it I was like, “Hey Dad what does that mean- all hopped up?” (laughs).

#IFTTT #Blogger

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stretchjournalemerson · 5 years

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It Could’ve Been Me: An Essay in Five Locations

By Allison Hoag -

I wasn’t allowed to watch horror movies growing up. When I begged my mom to let me see a horror movie with my best friend the summer before 7th grade, she recounted the plot of Silence of the Lambs. In an overconfident act of pre-teen rebellion, I proceeded to find The Human Centipede on Netflix, watched about twenty minutes, and was then unable to sleep for several days. Eventually, I was able to escape this fictional world and sleep soundly in the safe—and, admittedly, somewhat dull—suburb of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. It was a place where my parents only had to warn me to look both ways before crossing the street and watch out for potholes when I was on my bike. I felt safe, I had fun, and I was naïve: all the things you should be as a child.

I was blissfully unaware of the dangers that lurked in the shadows of cities and suburbs like mine across the country, rarely to be discussed openly. I’ve become more aware of human trafficking in recent years, but for a long time, I had no concept of how pervasive it was. Since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received 3,331 calls regarding trafficking in New Jersey, and there have been a total of 1,012 cases confirmed by authorities, many of which included multiple victims. This year alone, there have already been 189 calls and 98 formal reports of sex trafficking in the state (“New Jersey”). Reading these statistics petrified me. I know I have not always been as careful as I perhaps should have been, and in many ways, I seem to have been lucky living so close to life-altering danger.

However, once I entered high school, I felt like I was no longer able to go more than a few days without hearing frenzied warnings about personal safety, and these warnings only increased as my friends and I began driving. We whispered about trafficking in the halls, as if pretending not to speak about it would make it less real. My friend told me not to go to a Starbucks a few towns over. I heard that someone found a fake parking ticket on their windshield. A girl in my AP Gov class said that her parents stopped letting her drive to her job at the mall. Someone shared a post on Facebook that warned people about women posing as members of a religious group. My friend almost attended a Bible study group that could not be less interested in the words of Jesus. Suddenly, I realized that my very own dull state, my own sleepy suburb, held many more real terrors than any movie my mom prevented me from watching.

Although the convenience of I-95 makes my own state a hub for sex trafficking (Curry and Moticha), and I’ve been told places to avoid and tactics to look out for, I know very little about sex trafficking other than what I’ve heard about how to avoid it. Aside from a broad definition, I’m left with countless questions: Do I trust what I’ve been told about tactics of traffickers? Is there any way to share information to keep others safe without alerting these traffickers to change their tactics? How can victims be found? Are victims typically found? What can I do? Sex trafficking certainly isn’t confined to one area; however, stories of victims in New Jersey make me realize the proximity of my life to these victims of modern-day slavery who would give anything just to have the freedom I enjoy close by.

***

Tanger Outlets: Atlantic City, NJ

For the past several summers, I’ve looked forward to going to the outlets in Atlantic City with my mom, cousin, aunt, and grandmother. However, for many victims such as Holly Austin Smith, Atlantic City was not the exciting experience I looked forward to each year. When she was fourteen, Holly struggled with depression and feared her looming freshman year of high school. That summer, she met a man at the mall, and they exchanged numbers. He would call her at night while her parents sat in the next room watching television, utterly oblivious to the danger their daughter was putting herself in. Holly felt that this man was one of the only people in her life who took the time to get to know her, understand her fears, and ask about her dreams—which made the idea of escaping her life by running away from home to be with him alluring. As the summer dwindled and her fears about high school were coming to a head, Holly decided to run away from her home, her family, her friends, and her fears, straight into the arms of a sex trafficker. Within a few hours, she had been put to work as a prostitute in Atlantic City. Fortunately, the very next night she was seen by a police officer. He immediately realized she was underage and arrested her, only to later discover that she was a victim rescued from a future of sex trafficking (Smith). Depending on which study you cite and their data pool, the average age of entry into sex trafficking greatly varies; however, a 2015 DOJ study of minors sex trafficked in the U.S. reported an average age of fifteen years old (“Average Age”). These children’s lives are upended; they are unwillingly solicited for sex before they are even allowed to get their learner’s permit. Although it was only three years ago, the age of fifteen seems incredibly far away. I do, however, remember my sophomore year being a pivotal point for me. In many ways, I found this to be one of the more difficult years of high school. Much like Holly, I was incredibly self-conscious, worried about being liked, and certainly naïve. In many ways, it makes sense that many children are first trafficked at fifteen. These traffickers know to come for children when they are at their lowest point, establishing a seemingly caring and trusting relationship before taking advantage of them (Curry and Moticha).

***

Home: Cherry Hill, NJ; Rutgers Law School and Cathedral Kitchen: Camden, NJ

Although I grew up in Cherry Hill, several of my formative experiences during high school—ranging from Mock Trial competitions to serving meals at a soup kitchen—took place only a few miles away in Camden, a city known for its poverty and crime. I have witnessed this poverty during school service trips, but never its crime. However, Monica*, a Camden resident, fell victim to sex trafficking in her own city when a man took advantage of her and several other women struggling with addiction. She was brought to live in a Cherry Hill motel where her addiction was exploited, and she was required to prostitute herself under threat of physical violence. He took pictures of her in lingerie and advertised her as a prostitute on Backpage.com. She was then taken across South Jersey to finance her trafficker’s lavish lifestyle. It was only when she was brought to meet with one of these solicitors, who was actually an undercover detective, that she was arrested and able to escape the vicious cycle of human trafficking (“Trenton Man”). Unfortunately, sex trafficking remains an issue that many people choose to ignore because they view it as something that “doesn’t happen here.” It’s almost as if we are given permission to dismiss this issue because our newscasters seem perfectly fine with doing the same in favor of more sensationalist news. We live in such a hectic and fast-paced news cycle that anything that is not considered breaking news receives little to no airtime—especially something as mundane as the House and Senate sending a bill to the president. However, this past March, the House and Senate did just that, when the Senate voted 97-2 to approve legislation that strengthens the policing of internet-based sex trafficking. This bill would allow law enforcement to go after Internet sites that allow traffickers to advertise, specifically Backpage.com, which is involved in 7 out of 10 instances of child sex trafficking (Kang and Stolberg).

***

Voorhees Middle School: Voorhees, NJ

When I was eleven, I first became involved with community theatre in Voorhees, the town next to mine. I have been involved with this theatre company ever since and spend a large portion of my summers in Voorhees. This company has provided me with friends, education, and opportunities I otherwise would not have had. Similarly, Olivia* believed that she would find new opportunity in Voorhees; however, her story shows that these dreams can make you vulnerable. While I anxiously awaited the release of cast lists, Olivia’s life began to crumble as her vulnerability was taken advantage of. She had wanted to create a career for herself and a life that she loved when she was contacted by a man from Voorhees who offered to buy her a plane ticket from her home in Texas to Philadelphia and help her launch a modeling career. At twenty years old, Olivia had her whole life ahead of her and decided to seize this opportunity. However, monstrosities she never expected began the moment she stepped off that plane. This man had no intentions of helping Olivia begin a career; rather, he intended to claim her as his property. He brought her back to his apartment, took her phone and all the money she had, and threatened her with physical violence if she attempted to escape. She was given a room at a Voorhees hotel and was told that it was constantly monitored and that she would be physically harmed if she tried to run. She was forced to dance at Club Cove, a Philadelphia strip club, where she met the other two people who ran this trafficking ring. She was forced to stay at their apartment for a period, but managed to escape and ran to a local bank and call the police (“Three Voorhees Residents”). In many ways, the issue of sex trafficking naturally leads to questioning what can be done to help the countless victims in our own communities and around the world. Familiarizing oneself with the signs of sex trafficking may help, although many victims are not necessarily rescued. Holly and Monica only escaped trafficking because they were arrested, and Olivia ran for her life until she could find a safe place to contact authorities. Holly and Monica’s stories in particular lead to an interesting line of questions—most of which don’t have answers. They both escaped trafficking because they were arrested for prostitution; however, there are many people who wish to decriminalize prostitution. What might that mean for the individuals whose only chance of escape is being arrested? I don’t know. I don’t have any concrete answers, and I won’t pretend to. However, I know that learning more about the sex trafficking industry, our government’s role, and, most importantly, reading the stories of victims has led to me thinking more critically about these issues, and has left me with more questions. Something as simple as having a conversation may even help bring awareness to these victims who too often are silenced. Sex trafficking remains a societal taboo that we refuse to acknowledge exists in our communities because we are afraid of accepting the implications it presents about our seemingly safe communities. In many ways, I think we don’t want to talk about it precisely because it does exist in our communities. If we acknowledge the reality of sex trafficking, we are forced to grapple with the idea that it could happen to us or our family member or our friend. However, I very deliberately chose instances that hit a little too close to home from the countless array of stories of sex trafficking survivors. I have been to all of these places. One of them is my hometown. I have always felt safe in these places. It wouldn’t happen to me—it couldn’t happen to me. But that’s exactly the crux of the issue: it could’ve been me, it just wasn’t.

***

Coda: Emerson College: Boston, MA

As I sit in my dorm room writing this essay, I feel the same sense of absolute safety and security I felt at home. With that statement, I seem to have once again retreated to the naivety of my childhood, since I now live in a large city with its own dangers. Even as I nervously await the arrival of my first flight alone this Thanksgiving, I remain conscious of the fact that for many, the trip from Boston to Philadelphia is comprised of many more horrors than worrying whether a bag will fit in the overhead compartment. Betty’s* trip from Boston to Cherry Hill was not filled with family, friends, or holiday celebrations, but rather, it was the stuff of nightmares. Betty was abducted in Boston by a man from Dorchester and brought to Cherry Hill, where she was advertised on Backpage.com and forced to engage in prostitution under threats of physical violence. Fortunately, she was arrested for prostitution by an undercover officer at a Cherry Hill hotel after soliciting him. After her arrest, she was able to help police find and arrest her trafficker (“Man Pleads Guilty”). Discovering this unexpected link between my home and my new city was unnerving to say the least. I was not under any illusions that human trafficking was an issue confined to South Jersey. Still, the realization that these seemingly separate worlds of mine are so closely linked is simultaneously frustrating and sobering. Once again, I am reminded that my safe life is continually juxtaposed against a much more dangerous reality.

* indicates name assigned to victim who wished to remain anonymous.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Valeria Luiselli for inspiring this essay’s form, style, and content with her moving work about child immigration in Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions. However, more importantly, I would like to thank all the victims of human trafficking who had the courage to go to authorities and tell their stories. I would especially like to thank Holly Austin Smith for sharing the intricacies of her story with the world, showing us signs to look for in our own loved ones and proving that this is a crime that can affect anyone. Although trafficking remains a huge problem, these victims’ bravery made the world a safer place by taking their traffickers off the streets.

Works Cited

“The Average Age of Entry Myth.” Polaris Project, Polaris, 5 Jan. 2016, polarisproject.org/blog/2016/01/05/average-age-entry-myth.Curry, Nancy, and Sonia Moticha. “Human Trafficking in Our Schools: The Ugly Truth.”

New Jersey Education Association, NJDOE Human Trafficking Collaborative, 1 Jan. 2017, www.njea.org/human-trafficking-schools-ugly-truth/.

Kang, Cecilia, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg. “Sex Trafficking Bill Heads to Trump, Over Silicon Valley Concerns.”

The New York Times, 21 Mar. 2018.“Man Pleads Guilty in Cherry Hill Human Trafficking Case – 3/2/16.” Office of the Camden County Prosecutor, Office of the Camden County Prosecutor, 2 Mar. 2016, camdencountypros.org/man-pleads-guilty-cherry-hill-human-trafficking-case-3216.“New Jersey.”

National Human Trafficking Hotline, Polaris, 2018, humantraffickinghotline.org/state/new-jersey.

Smith, Holly Austin. “Survival Stories: Holly Austin Smith.” Richmond Justice Initiative (RJI), Richmond Justice Initiative, richmondjusticeinitiative.com/human-trafficking/survival-stories/.

“Three Voorhees esidents Charged in Connection with Human Trafficking Case – 7/20/15.” Office of the Camden County Prosecutor, Office of the Camden County Prosecutor, 20 July 2015, camdencountypros.org/three-voorhees-residents-charged-in-connection-with-human-trafficking-case-72015/.

“Trenton Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Cherry Hill Human Trafficking Case – 12/22/16.” Office of the Camden County Prosecutor, Office of the Camden County Prosecutor, 22 Dec. 2016, camdencountypros.org/trenton-man-sentenced-20-years-prison-cherry-hill-human-trafficking-case-122216/.

#culture #sex trafficking #crime #new jersey #allison hoag #stretch2019

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daintysprinkles-blog · 7 years

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THE DEGRASSI JUNIORS NOW TO BE SENIOORS

For a long time, the Juniors have been bashed, bashed and bashed again with basically everybody doubting their ability to carry the show on from the current Seniors who appear a much stronger cast of actors and written characters due to the substantial length of time that they have spent on the show. However, I really feel that this season truly let the Junior class shine. By the end of the season, each character was developing and demonstrating those open-minded qualities which Degrassi have always advocated. Unfortunately, this is easily over-looked (and a lot of the fans are overlooking this.) but lets go into a little detail. In terms of the acting, Degrassi is sorting, we have already seen that Spencer, Chelsea (we can presume that she will be returning.), Sara, Yael and Amanda are on top of their game and Parham, in particular, is a fantastic actor. The writing has been incredible and although, I once thought that Frankie, Hunter and perhaps, Shay or Lola would replace Maya, Zig and Miles/Zoe as the ‘mains’, it’s become kinda clear that if the Degrassi team are clever about this, Lola, Yael and Saad will become the ‘mains’, since - to me at least - they are currently the strongest and most impressively written and acted characters. As for the writing and storylines themselves, I honestly do not feel as if we need to worry - as I said, the character development of the juniors has been sizzling away in the background for the entire duration of season four ! Frankie is not as unbearable a character as she is being perceived - as many have pointed out, she was the only one who was noticing and trying to help Esme’s mental state until Maya spoke with the councillor. Next, Yael’s storyline was a huge step in character development of the gamer squad. For the first time, we actually see Baaz standing up for somebody without insulting someone else and we can see how he and Vijay’s words of warning to Hunter have had some kind of effect. And yes, Hunter may have been the ‘worst’ when it came to dealing with Yael’s non-binary but without providing excuses for his actions, we need to remember that these are seventeen year old kids who have not fully matured yet and he is coming from a very masculine-dominated background - when we criticise Hunter for being selfish and becoming angry over how Yael ‘affects’ his sexuality, aren’t we forgetting Mr. Hollingsworth’s denial of Miles’s sexuality ? Come on ! If we do look at promo photos and the background of the final scene, Hunter has his ARM AROUND Yael. This is hinting that some reconciliation could have occured and after seeing Hunter and Yael’s scenes together since her coming out, I really don’t think that they have broken up and I do believe that Hunter will come around to understand, but not for another few episodes if the writers are to be realistic, based on Hunter’s past and real life situations. Before this season, Hael were my ‘OTP’ and I do still ship them but only when they can separate their differences. The OTP now, of course, is Saad and Lola - I scream every time they appear on the screen, I am not even sorry. There is no point in me elaborating on why I ship them - I will be a mess ! Both bring so many qualities to Degrassi and since we have seen so much of Lola the past few seasons, she appears to bring the most and I just feel that the writing of her character and development is impeccable. Not only is she one of the most open-minded characters on the show, she is also an amazing role model. Despite befriending the gamer squad which consists of three and boys and the non-binary Yael and other characters stereotyping her as perhaps, air-headed, Lola has never changed her her love for makeup, etc. and her quirks. I really wish that I had had a role model like that when I was younger. I also think it is interesting that Lola has a lot more cop on than the rest of the gamer squad so it shall be fun to see how that turns out. The Senior class leaving also means more potential for interesting storylines ! A lot of the Seniors had been on Degrassi since late Season Eleven and as seasons go, when a character deals with a problem it is generally unlikely for Degrassi to deal with that problem again until said character has left the show, with the general exception of mental health, bullying, coming out, sex, etc. . This means that the writers now have a broader range of issues to tackle ! Obviously, we are heading into season five with Esme and possibly Hunter leading mental health, Saad with islamophobia and Yael with coming out. I’m expecting storylines revolving around an eating disorder, drug abuse, Autism or learning difficulties, sexual assault, parental difficulties, cancer and much more. Rasha and Shay have not had too large a storyline without their significant others so next season could be interesting. Personally, I can see Shay either dealing with drug abuse (this season hinted at it.) or being valedictorian. I also agree with a lot of fans who have been speculating over whether or not she will suffer some injury that jeopardises her athletic career ? Unlike Esme, Degrassi did not forge any links between Rasha and the other Juniors before the Seniors (who she is better acquainted with.) graduated which was a little strange to me. Nevertheless, I can see she and Lola being kindred spirits and Lola’s relationship (?) with Saad holds more hope for a friendship between the two since Degrassi will probably pull the whole “all refugees know each other” backstory but where were you this season, Rasha lol ? Besides that, Rasha is definitely headed for student council president in my eyes and I am so down for this ! As for Esme, we are going to have to see her mental health and backstory dealt with and loads are speculating Personality Disorder which would be such a good storyline as I don’t think Degrassi has addressed it before ? Perhaps, they may even write a variation of Fiona’s storyline and Esme could get her entire life back on track, becoming valedictorian ! The storylines for the current characters could be interesting. I’m presuming that Saad will join the gamer squad (if the others weren’t such asses, they would probably discover that they and he could be like-minded.) and he and Lola will date. It is difficult to make a good guess of what will happen for he and Lola individually considering that as so many have noted, they are both powerfully written and acted character when carrying their own storylines AND when involved in the storylines of others. Lola and Baaz has been hinted at since Season Three so it would honestly not surprise me if the writers tried to make them endgame, however, I adore ‘Sola’ and have always imagined Frankie and Baaz as a good match. At the end of the day, Degrassi always seems to have almost all of their graduating characters coupled up ! I almost forgot that Vijay existed until Episode Eight or Nine so here’s hoping that he actually plays a decent role in a storyline of his own or someone else in the next season ? He reminds me too much of how Winston was written. I would take a guess that Vijay would become Student President or Valedictorian but I also hoped this for Winston. I am guessing that if there is time allowed for it,Frankie could suffer from an eating disorder, come out as bi-sexual or be the victim of sexual assault. Before, I thought that Lola may have been to the forefront of such storylines, however, Degrassi is still redeeming Frankie’s character from Season Two and since there is no more Jonah or even Winston, it could be said that her character is at a dead end and being such a prominent character, the writers are more likely to give her one big storyline in Season Five and let her chill in the background for most of Season Six, like they did with Zoe and Miles - two characters who Frankie reminds me a lot of. Not only this, Frankie has clearly been having an identity crisis and self-esteem issues for so long that I can see a coming out or eating disorder storyline being inevitable. I can’t see the writers just letting her lay in the dust for her two final seasons. I also forgot to mention - pregnancies ! It feels as if we have not had one of these in forever but we did with Lola last season. Now, that should be ringing alarm bells in our heads. Girl squads which come in three and are to the forefront of the show have always experienced pregancies. Emma, Manny and Liberty. Alli, Jenna and Claire. Now, Lola, Frankie and Shay. We have already had an abortion storyline which leaves for a pregnancy scare, a miscarriage or a birth. And although, I believe that Degrassi portray teen pregnancies as being way more common than they, perhaps, are, it is practically a tradition they have going here with the girl squads and I’d lowkey be so disappointed to see them break it ! Like I said, I’m expecting Yael’s non-binary storyline to continue until they graduate, as well as Hunter coming to terms with this change but I can see them being endgame either romantically or platonically. I never thought that Maya, Tristan and Miles would hang out together again but here they are on amicable terms ! Hunter and Yael are such strong characters, as are their relationships with the characters around them very strong, so I’d be so let down if the writers weren’t to play with that. Having oppositional defiant disorder myself, I’d really like some closure on Hunter’s mental health. I don’t see him developing conduct disorder but I don’t see the writers blackholing his diagnosis either. As we have seen this season, the writers have obviously acknowledged the fact that the fans detest blackholing - wooooop ! Again, who knows what will happen with Baaz and Vijay ! Serious character development is needed and appeared to be happening this season so hopefully we will see more of that soon. Also - VIJAY IS THE ONLY LGBT GUY LEFT ON THE SHOW ! WHAAT ! This means that we will have a freshman dude who is a member of the lgbt community and I can SO see a parallel of Vijay and Tristan’s awkward date in Season One happening ! Degrassi, I don’t hold a Canadian citizen, but pls hire me xo P.S I am pretty sure that Season Five and Six were written last year so whatever was big in social and cultural news around then would be a great hint. This is like predicting Leaving Cert papers, ohmygosh.

#Degrassi

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inazuma-eleven-translations · 8 years

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A Present for You from the Eleven

We reach the long-awaited final stage of battle. Joined by the new addition of Tove from the dinosaur era, Tenma and his friends now travel to the story of King Arthur to gather the strongest eleven of all time! Let’s support all of them for working hard by means of Valentine chocolate! Prepare your chocolate as a present for representatives Tenma and Ranmaru ♡. Two popular representatives from Inazuma Legend Japan are also making an appearance. Valentine Talk with cast members Nishigaki-san and Tano-san is a must-see!

Great man x Eleven = Ikemen*?! There are a lot of mixi max but the coolest ones are as follows ♡ Tsurugi and Okita and definitely an ikemen

Kirino and Jeanne - Though these features would appear to suit female characters, Kirino is a twin-tailed mega-nekko**

Taiyou and Koumei By means of mixi maxing with a girl, Taoyou’s beauty has severely increased.

Nishiki and Sakamoto Ryouma Thank goodness he didn’t become chubby! Nishiki’s mixi max; his bangs and waves have made him more handsome.

*Ikemen: pretty/attractive/cool boy **meganekko: wears glasses

Ranmaru Kirino Voice actor: Yuu Kobayashi Now that he can mixi max with Jeanne and has obtained a keshin, Kirino has grown a lot. A reliable member of the chosen eleven and seems to be polishing his skills as a defender.

Tenma Matsukaze Voice Actor: Yuka Terasaki While looking at Shindou and Taiyou, Tenma’s starting to wonder if he’s an appropriate captain. In King Arthur’s world, he fights directly against Shindou…

I want to give chocolate from my heart! Kirino ♡ If you said it to him in person he’d probably get angry but one of Kirino’s most attractive points is certainly his loveliness. His keshin and mixi max are beautiful too and we’re touched emotionally by his handsome, hidden fighting spirit.

I want to give chocolate from my heart! Tenma ♡ Even in the parallel world where soccer is lost, Tenma - along with Fei, does his best. His ‘never-give-up’ heart cheers you up!

Ichirouta Kazemaru Voice Actor: Yuka Nishigaki Currently plays for Japan in the pro leagues. Due to his gentle personality, he’s just as popular as Fubuki. In the movie, along with Endou and Kabeyama, he plays the role of a protective senpai for Tenma and Kirino!

Jirou Sakuma Voice actor: Megumi Tano Working as the coach for Teikoku Gakuen, Sakuma is fighting against Fifth Sector as one of the members of the Resistance. Now that soccer has disappeared, is he protecting Teikoku?

Throughout the Chrono Stone series, Kazemaru and Sakuma are…? Q How do you think they’re spending this time? Nishigaki: I think he might be taking action in a place we haven’t seen, like in last year’s movie where he was working with Endou. I wonder is everyone working behind the scenes with commander Kidou. Tano: I think Sakuma won’t work unless Kidou says. On the contrary, if Kidou gives a command, he’ll do it immediately. If Kidou asks for 1, Sakuma will give 10.

What if both of them were brainwashed?

Nishigaki: Since he’s playing in the pro leagues, if soccer disappeared he’d lose his job. I wonder what kind of job he’d do… Because he loves soccer so much, I’d worry… Tano: As for Sakuma… Actually, even if soccer disappeared I get the feeling he’d survive (laughs). He’d probably make a job out of being a model or something.

Nishigaki: The most natural thing for Kazemaru to do would probably be track and field. But he’ll definitely want to fight for the sake of soccer.

Dream of your Inazuma Valentine! Talking with the girl cast!!

Tano-san and Nishigaki-san who play Sakuma and Kazemaru talk to us about how the guys spend their Valentine’s Day.

If Tano-san gave chocolate…? Honmei*: Genda! Giri choco**: Kabeyama, Shourinji, Kurimatsu, Domon, Someoka

*Chocolate give to a boy on Valentine’s day out of genuine sentiment *Obligatory-gift chocolate

Dream of Sakuma’s confession ♡ “Take your time. Think about it and decide.” I think Sakuma would call the person he likes and tell them how he feels. I get the feeling that he would just be straightforward and say ‘I like you,’ honestly and earnestly, without using overly romantic talk. But you wouldn’t have to answer straightaway. I feel like he’d say something like, “Take your time. Think about it and let me know.” It’s not really that modern, is it? He’s old-fashioned but isn’t that type of confession more sincere? I think he definitely wouldn’t confess by text message. (Tano)

What Tano-san thinks of Sakuma’s handmade gyakuchoco (chocolate given by a boy to a girl) Sakuma’s handmade chocolate would be 100% penguin. (laughs) He’d search for penguin molds (probably in a cookery shop in Tokyo) and when done, he’d line them up numbers 1, 2, 3 etc… But since it would be a waste to give them to someone he’d probably just eat them all by himself (laughs).

If Nishigaki-san gave chocolate…? Honmei choco: Kazemaru (for moral support!) Giri choco: Kidou

Dream of Kazemaru’s confession ♡ “Wait, I should be the one to confess…” Kazemaru’s confession would be basically the same as what Tano-san thought for Sakuma. He wouldn’t confess in an indirect way like over the phone or by text - I think he’s the type to confess directly. He doesn’t usually seem too experienced with girls and I wonder if that’s changed since becoming an adult, but I think he definitely believes: “The guy should be the one to confess.” So if he was confessed to first, he would say: “Wait, I should be the one to confess to you!” (Nishigaki)

What Nishigaki-san thinks of Kazemaru’s handmade gyakuchoco: Since Kazemaru’s the kid who asked the managers for the recipe for oden (type of Japanese dish), I think he doesn’t lack cooking skills, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’d be able to make professional-like chocolate ike Kidou… He’d make the usual chocolate. Like truffle or something. I feel like he wouldn’t show off anything unconventional. He’d make ordinary chocolate that you could tell was homemade.

Q In the movie we saw them playing soccer for the first time in a while - how was it? Tano: It was pretty amazing~ Nishigaki: When they played soccer, everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves. Since I definitely prefer to see them having fun playing soccer than worrying about everything, watching them was great. Tano: Even though their opponents are middleschool kids, they definitely won’t go easy on each other (laughs). But it’s good that they don’t.

Q Kabeyama, Kazemaru and Sakuma all unleashed a special move together! Nishigaki: 2 out of 3 are the same person. (laughs) Tano: Actually, in the TV series Sakuma and Kabeyama have never spoken to each other, so I was surprised. Nishigaki: They both probably think “We sound alike, huh.” (laughs) Q It was surprising how full of wildlife it was. Tano: They practiced it without us knowing. How did they work it out? Someone probably took the lead in deciding to do this move. I wonder who came up with the name Jungle… It’s full of nature, isn’t it?

Q Speaking of that, in last year’s movie, Kazemaru and Kabeyama survived in the jungle. Nishigaki: Ah, then Kazemaru was definitely the one who came up with “Jungle yarou ze!” (laughs) Since he’s playing in the Pros, the time he was doing special training in different parts of the world, like jungles…?

Q Tell us about any scenes in the movie that left an impression on you. Nishigaki: Definitely the scene where we became a barrier to protect the kids and told them to escape. You can really feel that everyone had become an adult. Tano: The part where Endou looks over his shoulder and smiles, he’s a really dependable guy!

Q How do you feel about the current TV series? Nishigaki: I was surprised! Tano: A bear? Daisuke-san turned into a rock? I was surprised. Nishigaki: On top of that, soccer is banned. It’s an anime about soccer, and they can’t play soccer… Tano: I want to see the kids in GO one day just play soccer without having to worry about anything. They’ve gone through a lot.

Q How do Kazemaru and Sakuma feel about Valentine’s Day? Nishigaki: I think he’d be a little intrigued. He’s not the type to be ‘cool’ - I think he’s just a regular kid. He might be a bit nervous but he wouldn’t let it show. Tano: I think Sakuma wouldn’t know a lot about it at all. (laughs) Like, “Oh, it’s that day?”. But he’d get a lot of chocolate. Nishigaki: As expected, he’s handsome (laughs)

Q Please leave a message for everyone! Tano: Sakuma is waiting for your Valentine chocolate! (laughs) I’m also looking forward in anticipation to what will happen next in the story. I think that Sakuma will continue to act behind the scenes, so please support him. Nishigaki: Since I still have the pressing image of everyone raising their eyebrows, I pray that I can hurry up and see the day they play soccer like normal middleschool kids. Everyone, please support Tenma and co! And Kazemaru and co. who’ve become adults since they’re doing their best behind the scenes for the sake of the kids. Oh, and Kazemaru is waiting for your chocolate. (laughs)

The person who would receive the most chocolate is… Fubuki and Shindou!? Nishigaki: While they were on the trip he was popular with girls, so probably Fubuki Tano: Doesn’t it seem like Tsunami would receive some? Fubuki would receive a lot of honmei choco that girls put a lot of effort into, and Tsunami would receive a lot of giri-choco. Even if you gave it to him without making a big deal (Fubuki), he’d probably accept it happily with an Oh! Thank you! He might even receive some chocolate from other boys yearning after him! (laughs) The person who would be happiest to receive chocolate would be Kabeyama-kun, right? Tano: If Kabeyama received just one box of chocolates, he would so happy. Nishigaki: He’d thank you with all of his heart! Tano: And he’d tell Kurimatsu (laughs) Nishigaki: In GO I think it would be Shindou, right? He’s cool, calm and from a wealthy family; he gives off a prince-like vibe, so wouldn’t he be popular? Tsurugi’s too scary to give chocolate to (laughs) Tano: Tsurugi definitely gives off a ‘Don’t come near’ me vibe. Wouldn’t you have to call on Tenma or someone and ask them to pass on your chocolate?

Those most looking forward to Valentine’s Day are… Kabeyama, Kurimatsu, Shishido and Shourinji?! Nishigaki: Kabeyama, Kurimatsu, Shourinji and Shishido are looking forward to it as a set. Tano: But after not receiving any “But we waited all day!” Nishigaki: Handa might be looking forward to it too, right…? Tano: He’s kind of handsome, I guess (laughs) Nishigaki: I think he’d receive a lot of giri-choco. Mixed in with some honmei choco, but he wouldn’t noticed. It would be funny if Gouenji was looking forward to it, but he has a little sister. Tano: Along with Kidou, they probably think they’ll receive chocolate from Yuka and Haruna. Nishigaki: Then react with “Who on earth could have made this~?” (laughs) In GO there are so many ikemen I bet they’d all receive some. Because of that, they’d look forward to it. Tano: Ah, Minamisawa-senpai seems popular, so I think he looks forward to it.

(Guessing how the InaIre guys would make gyakuchoco)

Endou: I think Endou would definitely aim to make soccer ball-shaped chocolate but in the end it wouldn’t really look like anything… (Tano)

Gouenji: Like the bear present he bought for Yuka-chan. You’d know straight away who the chocolate is for (Nishigaki)

Kidou: It seems like Kidou-san would make chocolate that looks professional enough to be sold in a shop! (Tano)

Kabeyama: Because he’d make something he’d want to eat himself, there’d be a lot. I worry for the person receiving them… (laughs) (Tano)

Tsunami: He’s good at cooking fish, but chocolate…? It would look like a surfboard with 273 written on it. (Nishigaki) It seems like he’d say, “There’s no chocolate I can’t make!” (laughs) “No problem!” The kitchen would be covered with chocolate. (Tano)

Hiroto: I get the feeling that Hiroto is not too great at cooking. But he seems like the type to care more about appearance than taste? (Nishigaki)

I feel like he’d make something shaped like a flower. Like a rose or something. It seems like he’d make something that when he hands it over to a girl and she opens it it makes a big impact. (Tano)

Fubuki: It seems like he’d make winter crystal-shaped chocolate. And since he’s from Hokkaido, I have an idea that he’d make white chocolate. (Tano)

Ichinose: Definitely American-style, right? Nougat-y and sweeeet~ (Tano)

Raimon First Years: I feel like Kageno would make really bitter chocolate. Since Max is skilled, it seems like he could make something like colourful marble chocolate. (Tano)

Since Max is skilled, he could make something in the shape of his hat. Shishido seems like he’d make cute chocolate too. (Nishigaki)

As for Tenma and co….?

Nishigaki: I think Shindou is good at cooking. Seems like he’d make something where both the chocolate and the package it’s in would look like something you’d buy. Tenma seems like he wouldn’t be great (laughs)

Tano: Wouldn’t he gather everyone together and ask: What should I do??

Nishigaki: Finally he’d go to Shindou in a last-minute rush and ask, “Shindou-senpai! How do I get it right?”

Tano: Tenma would make chocolate using whipped cream. Like his hair. (laughs)

Nishigaki: Tsurugi would definitely make sword-shaped chocolate, right? Shinsuke would make God Hand-shaped chocolate or something.

Also: Kirino: Since he looks like a girl you’d think he’d be good at cooking, but since he’s actually quite masculine he’s probably worse than you think.

Fei: Since the chocolate he’d make would be from the future it would be quite futuristic and mysterious. It would be colourful, emerald or turquoise, and possibly glow, with zero calories?!

Kariya: Since eating with his fingers is a nuisance, he’d probably decide on chocolate balls…?

The person with the most romantic confession is… Shindou!? Nishigaki: Since they have many love-rivals, if girls don’t push forward with all their strength, they can’t win. I think there would be girls who think “I have to give him my handmade chocolate in person!” They’d go directly to his house, or call him to the riverbank or something. Tano: I feel like it wouldn’t be strange for Shindou to give a romantic speech to his partner. Nishigaki: The two would stand together and flowers would blow in the background without it feeling out of place. (laughs)

The person with the most passionate confession is… Hiroto!? Tano: I think it’s Hiroto. Nishigaki: Because he seems used to knowing how to treat girls. He rides in a sports car, and he’s a glasses-wearing young CEO. Tano: Even though Midorikawa is always nearby standing guard over him (laughs) Nishigaki: (laughs) I think he’d be able to do it smoothly, without hesitating. He’d set the scene in a pretty place where you could see the night sky, kneel down in front of his partner and hand over flowers… or something. But because his big sister is very important, I doubt he’d get married. Because he’d definitely be looking after the orphanage kids, a little bit like a father.

Leave the delicious chocolate to Kabeyama! The person who knows delicious chocolate, is definitely Kabeyama, right? Tano: When Kabeyama becomes an adult, he definitely goes tabearuki (eating and walking at the same time, like a tour). Like, to all of the cake shops.He has his own column in soccer magazines about ‘This month’s recommended chocolate,’ Nishigaki: When he recommends something, sales go up! Tano: Kabeyama, who travels the world to eat. Nishigaki: It’s no problem to leave it to Kabeyama, even Kidou acknowledges his superiority, make no mistake. ___________

Translator’s Notes: Sorry for any mistakes.

391 notes · View notes

coolveraverto · 5 years

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Fur, Feathers, and Fins (Chap 2)

HPFT

Chapter 2: “Have you never seen a goldfish?” I ask him.“They’re made of gold??” James asks seriously.

When I decided to work for Dad’s pet shop, I was relieved that it was in Diagon Alley and not Hogsmeade because in Hogsmeade, the weekends were full of teenagers poking their business in the shop, breaking this and that, teenage girls gossiping and whispering about you, etc etc. . . But what I never even thought of was the absolute horror of this: Back. To. School. Shopping.

Or, at least when it comes to getting a pet for Hogwarts it’s First Years adopting a pet to take with them to school. This is basically the one time out of the year, besides Christmas, when the shop is bloody busy and of course, OF COURSE, it is also happens to be James’ first day.

He is SO going to quit.

When I got to FFF an hour before opening, parents and their kids were already waiting impatiently at the door. A mum literally cursed at me when I told her we weren’t opening for at least another hour. Ugh.

Dad was refilling the water bowls for the kneazles when I stepped in.

“Good morning, Kit Kat!” He says brightly.

I grunt in response. “A woman just told me she’s going to Eeylops Owl Emporium instead.”

He rolls his eyes and scratches a kneazle under her chin. She purrs happily. “How bloody sad. It’s really going to hurt our business without her. . .”

I snort and grab the step stool to reach the hanging cages to check on the four owls we have in the shop. Eeylops may have like a billion owls but that is literally all they have. At least WE have a variety of different animals to choose from. Some customers have never even heard of ferrets before. It’s what really sets us apart from the rest. The pretty little owls hoot at me and I smile.

“When is Harry- erm, the NEW guy showing up?” Dad asks me as I slide the step up ladder back in it’s spot behind the cash register counter.

“I told him to be here at 8 when we open. Hopefully the crowd doesn’t scare him off.” I tell him.

“Nah. But a woman did pinch me in the arm because she thought I was trying to cut her in line.”

I nearly gasp at the sight of James standing in the middle of the shop. I didn’t even hear the bells chime above the door. Dad chuckles and shakes his head before walking up to James and sticks his hand out. James looks a bit nervous but smiles charmingly of course.

“It’s nice to finally meet our new recruit. It’s James, isn’t?” Dad says and I nearly sigh at him trying to act like he doesn’t know his name at all. He thinks he’s slick.

“Yes, sir. I’m so grateful for this opportunity. Thank you so much for hiring me Mr. Mackenzie.”

Dad laughs and waves his hand around. “Oh please! Call me Nolan. And no need to thank me. It was my daughter that hired you. She said you had something special.”

Oh my Merlin. Why did he just say that?????

James looks in my direction with a look of surprise. “You think I’m special Kitty? That’s so sweet of you.”

I try to play it cool but I am totally caught off guard by all of this. “Yeah, well. . . lets see how you do. You haven’t had your first day yet.”

“But I AM early.” He replies with a toothy grin.

I can’t help but smile back.

And then we’re just standing there. Smiling at each other. For like. . . a minute or two, until Dad coughs and I literally turn bright red. How bloody embarrassing. Dad is trying so hard to keep himself from grinning like a mad-man. I can just tell how pleased he is that Harry Potter’s son is working here with us.

“Kitty why don’t you show James around the shop and introduce him to everyone before we open. Oh and definitely get him a t-shirt from the office.” Dad tells me. I nod my head and make my way towards the back of the shop where the office is, James in tow.

I shuffle through the box of yellow t-shirts with Fur, Feathers and Fins embroidered on them. “Erm, what size do you think?” I ask him.

“I’ll try a medium.” He says and clears his throat. This feels so incredibly awkward. I throw him a medium shirt and as if things couldn't get ANY more awkward for me, James LITERALLY takes off his sweater and is shirtless. In front of me. In a closed door room. And he has abs. And he looks GOOD.

Merlin. Please help me.

I steer James towards the left side of the shop and decide to start with the easiest. The Goldfish. James stares at the tank with his mouth open.

“Have you never seen a goldfish?” I ask him.

“They’re made of gold??” James asks seriously and I almost burst out laughing.

“No. These little guys are a popular muggle pet fish. We have magical creatures and non-magical here. I can’t believe you’ve never seen a goldfish! They’re actually pretty tough to sell. Most kids want a pet they can snuggle.”

I continue babbling, explaining what we do to care for them and a little bit of facts to get people to adopt them and I feel like a loser, going on and on about cleaning the gunk off a fish tank, but James listens intently and nods his head like he really understands me.

We continue onto the three non-magical corn snakes, the one runespoor that is difficult to get adopted because the species was once popular by Dark Wizards but the one we have is the sweetest little guy ever, then I show him the four turtles, the five little bowtruckles that I adore, the seven toads that James definitely isn’t a fan of because he makes a face when he thinks I’m not looking, then the lizards. I introduce him to the rest of the kneazles and cats and Monty leaps into James’ arms. For the rest of the tour, Monty sits happily in his arms.

When we get to the ferrets I expect him to be surprised but he says how Albus has had one since he was eleven and that he actually got it from here which surprises me. We go through the rats, the puffskeins and the knarls which I favor a bit, I will admit it, then the guinea pigs. James stops short when we get to the snidgets.

“Wait, aren’t these-”

“Yep,” I interrupt him. “The Golden Snidget is modeled after these little guys. Way back when they actually used them during Quidditch matches.”

“Wow.” He says.

I nod my head. “They’re very rare but Dad knows a guy and so forth. Only someone incredibly special will be able to take one home, keep that in mind.”

James grins. “Incredibly special like me?”

I raise an eyebrow. “I never said INCREDIBLY. . .”

He gives me a sweet little smile and I nearly melt into a puddle. “Anyway, we have just one more stop. The peach-faced lovebirds.”

“The what?” he asks and I point to the two birds. He smiles excitedly at them. “Merlin, they are so adorable!”

“Yes, they live up to their name. These two are literally lovebirds. Can’t separate them.”

“Aw.”

“Don’t be fooled by their little bodies. They have BIG personalities. And the girl one bites sometimes.”

“Sometimes?!” He exclaims. “How will I know if she will or not?”

I suppress a grin and shrug. “That’s the joy of working with animals. You never know what will happen.”

“I suppose so,” he mutters.

I hope he isn’t regretting this. But the way he snuggles Monty to his chest gives me hope he will at least try this out. I show him the loo and the supplies closet where everything is for taking care of the animals and that’s that. Once we finish, it is officially 8 o’clock and Dad is unlocking the door.

James stands beside me behind the counter and it’s weird to see someone like him looking nervous. I nudge his shoulder and send him a small smile. “You’ll do fine. The first day is always nerve-wrecking. I’ve basically lived here all my life and my first official day I accidentally left the cage door to the ferrets open and one crawled up some old lady's leg.”

James forces a smile. “Hopefully I don’t do that.”

“Yeah,” I say wistfully. “You really shouldn't crawl up some old lady’s leg. Though it would put is front and center on the Daily Prophet.”

James roars with laughter and I feel a sudden twinge of happiness that I made him laugh like that.

“Don’t worry, you’ve had first day of work before. It’s not that different.” I continue, thinking about that article in the Daily that I read a couple years ago about James joining the Chudley Cannons, though I don’t know why he isn’t still now. . .

He immediately stops smiling and frowns, looking anywhere but at me. Ugh, great. Leave it to me to say the wrong thing and ruin everything.

“I’m sorry, did I-”

James shakes his head and I stop. He tries to smile but it doesn’t meet his eyes. “It’s not for me. Now where do you want me, boss?”

“Um. . . you can set Monty down here, he usually makes his way to the counter anyway, and um, grab the broom and sweep up a bit.” Wow does it feel weird telling James Potter what to do. And he actually does it!

I’m standing there basically stalking him while he sweeps near the guinea pigs for a bit before a customer comes up to the register. I get ready to see which little creature she’s got to take home when I realize she’s about sixteen and doesn’t have a pet at all. Her eyes are wide while she looks straight at me.

“Is that James Potter?” She whispers to me.

“Um, yes. Can I help you with anything?” I ask her. The girl SHRIEKS and turns back to a group of teenage girls basically hiding behind cages and watching James. “Guys! It is him! Oh my GOD!”

They all start giggling and getting all excited. And saying how hot he is, which I mean obviously he is. I’m pretty sure everyone is attracted to that guy. Even Monty is in love with him and he hates everyone. But this is just ridiculous. I didn’t even think this would happen.

I cash out a couple people who came in to buy pet supplies/food but I notice a few new people checking out James. He doesn’t even notice. Or at least pretends not to notice. He just continues working, once refills the water for the knarls and then (I can’t believe it) cleans up the vomit that Monty lovely left beside the counter. He sends me a boyish smile afterwards and I burn all over.

Towards the middle of the day and the crowds are dying down, Dad comes by to take my place at the register so I can take my break. I look for James so I can tell him how great he is at the cleaning and keeping up with it because believe me not everyone can do it with a damn smile like he has been. But when I spot him at the goldfish tank he’s talking to a middle-aged woman and a little boy who can’t be more than five.

Of course I eavesdrop on this.

“Sweetie, don’t you want something more. . . interesting?” The mom asks her son. He shrugs all shyly in front of James and James gets on his knees to be eye-level with him and smiles.

“Did you know that goldfish are very smart, despite how small they are?” He asks him.

“Really?” the little boy says.

James nods his head, very seriously. “They recognize people and will get excited when they see you. And you can train them!”

“Is that so?” The mom asks, clearly mocking. But James continues, “Yep! You can train them to swim through hoops, mazes, and even push a ball through a net! Isn’t that awesome?”

The little boy nods his head excitedly.

“Now, if I wanted to get an interesting pet, I’d want a goldfish. Blimey, just the name itself is pretty cool!”

The little boy tugs on his mom's hand and goes, “I want one! Please mummy!”

She sighs and looks up at James. “I guess we’re taking one home.”

James smiles brightly. “Awesome! I’ll get everything ready for you and I will meet you at the register.” He looks down at the little boy. “Do you want to pick your new friend out?” Which the boy does happily.

I watch the rest of the interaction and try not to interject, hoping James remembers everything I told him to do: Grab a bowl, fill it with the correct temperature water, use the net to grab the fish, secure the bowl with a lid, grab a pamphlet about Goldfish, and drop the food in a bag before bringing it all to the register. James does it all and if possible, better than anyone I have ever seen.

The little boy and his mom leave with smiles on their faces and I feel a sense of proudness. He did such a great job! I knew he had something special.

“How do you think I did?”

I jump and whirl around to find James smirking at me. I grab a cloth and pretend I was cleaning the shelves.

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about. . .” I try lying.

He leans against the shelves and crosses his arms. I don’t know how but he looks even hotter doing so. “You’re a bad liar,” he tells me.

“I know,” I say lamely. “But you did really really great! I’m proud of you.”

James looks taken aback by my response and he uncrosses his arms and runs a hand through his messy hair. “Thanks. . . That really means a lot.” He says meaningfully.

I smile warmly. “Not everyone can clean up vomit and smile about it.”

“I was NOT smiling about the vomit,” he says with a laugh. “It’s hard not to smile while being around a pretty girl.”

My body feels like it’s up in flames and he looks down at me with a soft expression. His brown eyes flicker to my lips I SWEAR and I find myself looking at his damn lips and Merlin. . . I want him to kiss me. I don’t even care that we’re in a smelly pet shop, leaning against shelves, and Dad is standing just ten feet away at the counter.

The bell chimes above the door and the heat of the moment sizzles out just like that. I’m about to ask if he wants to take this one until whoever just came into the shop starts asking my dad if James Potter really works here.

We turn the corner and it’s Lily Potter, his younger sister, and Gavin beside her. They’re holding hands and my eyebrows basically fly into my hairline. I have NEVER seen Gavin hold hands with a girl. At least not in public. I’m shocked.

“Lils, seriously?” James asks her, a bit annoyed.

She grins widely at him. “Yes, bloody seriously! What kind of a sister would I be if I didn’t visit my big brother on his first day at work?”

“A great one,” he answers but he doesn’t seem all that mad about it.

Lily spots me after a moment and beams at me. “Hi! I’m so terribly sorry for the way I acted the other night. I’m Lily.”

“Oh. . .It’s okay. You just scared me, that’s all.” I reply.

Gavin sends me a wavering look and I cock an eyebrow at him. He shrugs back. We’ll discuss this later but from what it looks like, my best mate has finally decided to settle down.

“Lily has the tendency to scare people. It’s the red hair.” James jokes and Lily rolls her eyes about it. “Whatever. Anyway, James this is Gavin. I think you guys remember each other from Hogwarts?”

They both nod at each other like guys do sometimes. It’s kind of uncomfortable because I know that Gavin absolutely hated James when we were in Hogwarts. He used to call him Asshat behind his back. And James was always arguing with him about never practicing enough because he was always up late with some girl of the month. And now Gavin is dating Lily.

So: Awkwardness.

“We’re going to dinner at that new restaurant, The Tipsy Pixie.” Lily says and Dad chimes in, “Oh that place is wonderful! I recommend the kale soup.”

I peer a glance at him. “When did YOU go there?”

He gives me a weird look. “A couple weeks ago. I didn’t tell you?”

“Um, nope. Who did you go with?” I can’t help but ask. Dad doesn’t really do much of anything outside the shop and usually we go to places together. And The Tipsy Pixie is supposed to be a fancy place and I just cannot picture Dad there. At all.

“An old friend. You don’t know them.” He answers shortly.

Hm. Okay, then.

“We better get going, Lily.” Gavin tells her. She nods her head and tells James not to screw up too much and then sends me a friendly wink. Before they go Gavin says to me, “I’ll see you at home later.”

“Princess Bride tonight?” I ask him. We watch that muggle film like almost every weekend. It’s my favorite. Him, not so much but we’re best mates so he has no choice.

He groans in response before the door shuts behind them.

I chuckle to myself and James stares at me oddly. I touch my hair insecurely. “What is it?”

“You two live together?” He asks me.

“Yeah. We’re best mates.” I tell him. “I thought you knew that.” He did say how I used to distract Gavin during matches back at Hogwarts which is ridiculous and so not true.

“Erm, no. Actually, I thought. . . Nevermind.”

“What?”

He runs a hand through his hair. “I thought you two were together back then.”

“Well, yeah, we’re best friends. . .”

“No,” he says while shaking his head. “Together, together. In a relationship.”

“Oh Merlin,” I say out loud. “No. Definitely not. Just best mates. I can’t believe you thought that. . .”

He looks relieved. I don’t know why, but I’m hoping (praying and wishing, too) that it’s because he might have a thing for me. I know it’s probably stupid of me for thinking it, but a girl can dream can’t she?

Dad coughs and reels me back from my dreaming. “I hate to break the obvious chemistry bubbling between you two, but Monty just vomited.”

Oh my Merlin. Seriously, Dad?

#hpft #hpff #james sirius potter #james sirius potter x oc #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter fanfic #harry potter next generation #harry potter #fanfiction #james potter #james potter/oc #my writing #mine #ff #fanfic

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worldupdatereviews2017-blog · 7 years

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6 Beauty 'Guidelines' That are Truly Lies

New Post has been published on https://worldupdatereviews.com/6-beauty-guidelines-that-are-truly-lies/

6 Beauty 'Guidelines' That are Truly Lies

I keep in mind his face find it irresistible became the day past—braced mouth smirking slightly, gaze drawn judgingly just above my eyes. I inherited my father’s significantly sparse eyebrows that taper off on the arch, but I never thought a great deal of it until that very second whilst a random boy in magnificence added it up. “You’re sort of scary-searching.”

That fraction of a second—which I am clearly fine the boy forgot a couple of minutes later—sparked an extended, tumultuous courting with my brows. looking returned at old faculty pix and MySpace images is a quite painful enjoy, as I attempted each stencil form and shade to cause them to extra full (much less “scary”). It wasn’t until 12 months ago, whilst an ex-noticed me without them penciled in—a rare occasion—and instructed me how lovely I appeared, that I started to realize I had spent extra than a decade obsessing over a fallacy. A fallacy perpetuated by using a 13-yr-old boy with bleached guidelines, a puka shell necklace, and JNCO denim.

You don’t need to be a tween for society’s idea of Beauty to cut into you and leave a scar. And now that I am immersed in it as a Splendor creator, you’ll suppose I might be even more touchy and insecure. however, Clearly, the opposite is genuine. If something, the products I’ve attempted, human beings I’ve met, and pictures I’ve posted of myself online for lots of humans to scrutinize have highlighted that those mantras I’ve repeated to myself since childhood about what Beauty is—and the way you turn out to be stunning—are, nicely, whole and utter B.S.

From dressing for my frame shape to matters random strangers have informed me on the road (and that I Truely believed), right here are six of these lies. Splendor Lie #1: You’re extra beautiful whilst you smile.

As I carefully dissected episodes of The Bachelor (heck, even Rock of love) developing up, there constantly appeared to be a pervasive persona trait that men on those suggest located so attractive: constantly smiling happiness. And I get it. Who doesn’t need to be glad? however clearly, I took this to intend that if I smiled actual extensive when I used to be speak to a overwhelm in high school or college they had to suppose I used to be the happy pretty girl every man (I idea) desires to date. It worked—I’ve been labeled as the “sweet” lady several times.

Confession: I’m not Genuinely candy. I’m type of narcissistic, In reality, and absolutely, in reality impatient. I’m happy and carefree once in a while—simply no longer constantly. Once I prevalent this pretty these days, it became so freeing. It felt first rate Once I should scowl (as opposed to sheepishly smile) whilst a random guy on the street told me, “Smile, baby. You appearance better while you do.”

I’m residing. Existing. Doing. I’m now not, via definition, glad. whilst I am, I will smile. however, it received be for you. Beauty Lie #2: You appearance plenty higher when you wear less (or extra) make-up.

I’ve always been deathly scared of going out in public sans a completely completed-up face. “You don’t want to wear that plenty makeup,” one properly-intentioned guy I dated tried to convince me. “You appearance beautiful without.” I smiled in reaction, acknowledging the compliment however secretly wondering if he might turn out to be instantly less drawn to me if he noticed me with out it. With my lashes and sparkling blush, I felt like my first-rate self.

Then, an attitude trade became set into motion. After shifting to Big apple City from Arizona ultimate 12 months, I quickly found out that no person gave a rattling approximately me. No person become going to do me any favors if I batted long eyelashes their path, or treat me any in a different way from the guy carrying a trash bag and making a song off-song next to me on the subway if I didn’t wear makeup. people simply didn’t deliver a crap (that Big apple allure, I bet). For the first time, I felt empowered by using preference without effect—I ought to wear the most demanding pink lipstick I should manipulate, or definitely not anything at all.

Splendor Lie #three: You want to get dressed in your body form. “Are you a pear, banana, hourglass or apple?”

Even though I desperately wanted I were an hourglass (a.k.A. A girl with a significant bust and wide, swinging hips), I used to be most absolutely an apple (bigger inside the mid-phase). Even at eleven years old I had a sense that this changed into no longer the “perfect” body shape, and the things I examine growing up made it clear that I must conceal this “flaw”—no horizontal stripes, tight attire or bikinis.

right here’s the aspect: In case you’ve were given a tummy, you’ve got a tummy—no amount of clever concealing can cover that reality. It wasn’t till crop tops and excessive-waist pants and skirts began to grow to be popular those past few years that I started out to no longer simplest be unafraid of my waist however began to intensify it. It may now not resemble a pin-up’s, however it’s capable of cranking out a bazillion sit-using boot-camp magnificence, maintaining my body upright on a long run, and aching from bouts of ridiculous laughter. And that’s something to expose off.

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Beauty Lie #4: You need to wear the “proper” coiffure for your face form. “There’s no manner you can pull off a middle component,” my hairdresser (who turned into particularly competitive) once explained to me. “You’d should have a model’s bone shape for that.” Accepting that she changed into the professional, I caught to a deep side-component with bangs that protected half of my face for years. I have a round face (any other one of these body kind buckets), so whatever to cover that round shape changed into great through me. It wasn’t till I switched stylists that I began to study my face in another mild. “woman, we’ve got to give you a center component,” he informed me, with similarly opinionated emphasis however a more favorable mind-set. “It might look terrific on you!” So I did it. And it does.

think pixie cuts are cute, but involved you’re now not petite enough? DGAF. need to get ridiculously long extensions? Do it. need to dye your hair warm pink and shave the sides? Move right in advance. Irrespective of what style you choose, someone is going to assume favorably or unfavorably of it. So would possibly as properly do you. Beauty Lie #five: excessive-stop makeup means a 86f68e4d402306ad3cd330d005134dac face.

My love for Sephora virtually runs deep—you might even name it a dependency. however as I paintings towards weaning off my high priced makeup habit, I’m studying that simply due to the fact something is available in a black-and-white striped bag, in place of a Rite Aid one, doesn’t always suggest it’s higher.

“You certainly do not must spend loads on make-up to appearance lovely,” explains Mindy Green, proprietor of MG Splendor, a mobile Beauty enterprise presenting makeup artistry, hair styling, and wardrobe consulting. “A few drugstore merchandise paintings simply in addition to department keep manufacturers. In truth, A few drugstore manufacturers are owned through the same corporation because the department keep brands!”

As Green explains, Lancôme is the discern employer of drugstore favorite L’Oréal, with the emblem’s Voluminous mascara akin to the Lancôme’s Hypnose. She additionally recommends Revlon eyeshadows for their staying electricity and the Milani emblem for natural-searching blush. As for glosses, she says that any predominant drugstore logo works—Revlon, Milani, Cowl girl, L’Oréal, and NYX all have fantastic choices.

The great regions to splurge at Sephora, according to Green? “Primer, pencil liner, and concealer. If you have the proper merchandise as a base for applying your makeup, you’re going to get the staying strength you want.” Splendor Lie #6: There is a selected kind of Splendor you must continually be striving closer to.

I’ll be the first to admit that shaking off the disapproving or oftentimes cruel opinion of a stranger, acquaintance, or even loved one isn’t any clean feat. and I’d also be mendacity if I stated I didn’t still meticulously form my brows, have disdain for my tummy, or attempt to smile a chunk more for a lovable guy at the bar. but despite this, I’m constantly reassured via two truths. First, most of the matters considered lovely these days absolutely won’t be stunning in 10 years, or maybe in two weeks. So maybe those Splendor truths we preserve to be self-obvious…Aren’t.

The second? Getting old comes with a feel of pure and unadulterated DGAF-ness, which I love. And even as I’m nonetheless haunted (like many of us) by the hurtful experiences I encountered as a teen and in younger adulthood, it amazes me how a lot of peoples’ reviews of me have faded in significance over the years.

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