#i edited the shit ojt if this one

[themachineshepherd]

Creatures in Heaven

RRRRIIIIING! RRRRRRRIIIING! RRRRRIIINGG!

“Ah, Fidds, could you turn that thing off!? I’m trying to sleep…” a gruff, sleep-deprived voice grumbled from across the dorm room.

“Oh my stars! I’m sorry, Ford!” Fiddleford exclaimed, rushing to the alarm clock and smacking it until it finally fell silent.

“Augh... It’s alright, sweetheart. Just had a long night with exams. How did you sleep?” Ford groaned as he slipped out of bed, clad only in boxers.

“I slept well, hun! Ohhh, look at you,” Fiddleford chuckled, “Looking good, Ford!” He crossed the room to his lover, pressing a kiss to Ford’s cheek and handing him a steaming cup of coffee.

“Oh, quiet, you.” Ford smirked, shaking his head as he took the cup. “Always flirting with me, hm?”

“I just love you, silly goose! Can’t help it that my boyfriend is the handsomest man in the galaxy!” Fiddleford beamed, turning to grab some fresh clothes. Stanford wrapped his arms around him from behind, pulling him into a warm embrace. “You don’t get to flatter me and then run off! Come here, you!” The two laughed as Ford spun Fiddleford around.

“Let me go! I have to get dressed, Ford!” Fiddleford laughed, wriggling to escape Stanford’s hold. “Alright, alright. Go ahead, honey. You’re free!” Ford released him, letting Fiddleford make a beeline for his closet.

“You just wanted me to stay half-naked, didn’t you?” Fiddleford joked, winking at the dark brunette. Ford rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his smile.

The couple was deeply in love, having been together for about six months at the time, existing in perfect harmony.

That was 30 years ago. After college, Fiddleford’s family forced him to marry a woman, and they broke up.

Years later, Ford needed Fiddleford’s expertise to help with a portal he was building. Unfortunately, something went wrong with the portal, and Fiddleford was thrown into it, witnessing unspeakable horrors on the other side. Fiddleford begged Stanford to shut it down, but Stanford refused. Fiddleford abandoned the project, leaving Stanford and disappearing into obscurity.

As the years went by, Ford was haunted by regret. How could he have lost his first love?

As Fiddleford vanished, so did Ford, traveling across dimensions and realms. During his travels, he sought out alternate versions of Fiddleford, apologizing and expressing his love, but none were the Fiddleford he had lost.

“I’m sorry, but I ain’t your Fiddleford, Mister. I don’t understand why you did what you did, but I feel mighty sorry for him,” one alternate had told him, deepening Ford’s guilt.

One day, the portal was operational again, and Ford found himself back home. He began mending his relationship with his family, especially his brother, Stanley.

His great niece and nephew shared their paranormal adventures with him, and he listened intently, smiling as Dipper discussed his theories of the unknown.

To Ford’s surprise, Fiddleford’s name came up. The twins mentioned the robotic gobblewonker he had built earlier that summer.

“Excuse me, what did you just say?” Ford asked, his six fingers nervously tapping the table. “Fiddleford? Gobblewonker? You’ll need to be more specific, here” Mabel said, her face had confusion written all over it.

“Where is he?” Ford’s voice grew stern, laced with concern. The twins exchanged intrigued glances.

“Gravity Falls dump. Why?” Dipper asked, narrowing his eyes. “That’s not relevant… How is he?”

“Well, he’s kinda gone kookoo crazy! But Dipper and I helped him recover his memories after he lost them from getting a bit too trigger-happy with a memory gun!”

“I…” Ford’s voice faltered, “I need to be alone for a while. If you’ll excuse me.”

Ford headed downstairs to his lab, his mind racing. Fiddleford was alive, and he was at the dump. Ford had ruined this man’s life, and there was nothing he could do to make amends. He had to see him again, but when? He needed time to think and prepare.

Weeks later, a catastrophic event known as “Weirdmageddon” turned Gravity Falls into a nightmarish landscape.

Amidst the chaos, Ford decided it was time to visit Fiddleford in the dump.

Ford walked towards the dump, his heart racing with every step he took closer to his destination. Upon entering, he scanned the area, searching for Fiddleford’s makeshift “home.” “

Fiddleford?” he called out. “Fidd’s? Are you here?”

Suddenly, a loud rustling came from a small, broken shed constructed from discarded materials.

“Hm? Who’s there!? You’ll never take me alive, demons!” an elderly Fiddleford emerged from the clutter and rushed towards Stanford. He paused, eyes widening in disbelief. “H-Huh? Ford? What… what are you doing here?.. Have I finally gone mad?”

Both men’s eyes welled up with tears. The sight of his former lover, now frail and disheveled, broke Ford’s heart. “I’m here for you, Fidds. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to find you. You must hate me.” Ford began scanning the other man’s face, looking for any remnants of the once witty man.

Fiddleford tried to suppress his emotions, a bittersweet smile gracing his lips. “I’ve tried to forget, I really have. But I don’t think I realized just how much I miss you sometimes.” He chuckled softly, glancing down at the dirt beneath them. Ford’s heart ached as he saw the toll time had taken on the man he once loved.

“Oh! Sorry, got lost in thought!” Fiddleford said, breaking the heavy silence. “Come on in, have a seat! We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Ford nodded and followed the now diminutive Fiddleford inside. As he did, he took in the horrid state of Fiddleford’s living conditions.

Fiddleford gestured for Ford to sit next to the fire. “So, what brings you to my neck of the woods, hm?” he asked with a smile, though his eyes betrayed a deep reservoir of emotion from the years they had been apart.

“I needed to see you. I’ve been thinking about you since the day you left,” Ford confessed with a sigh. “I tried to find you in everything I did and everywhere I went.”

Fiddleford’s eyes softened as he felt the same aching love he had in college. “I’ve wanted to apologize for so long, to reconnect…”

Fiddleford placed his hand over Ford’s, gently rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of Ford’s hand. “I forgive you, Stanford. You don’t need to worry,” he said, his voice tender and soothing. “I still love you. I’ve always loved you.”

Ford let out a muffled sob, grasping his lovers hand tightly, “I don’t understand why, I don’t.. I ruined your life, I destroyed everything you’ve ever worked for! I made your life an unending hell, and for that, I can’t ever be forgiven.” Ford looked into Fidd’s eyes, “I hurt the only one I’ve ever loved, I’m a monster, Fiddleford..”

“No you ain’t, darlin’. Ya made some terrible decisions in yer life..but you feel remorse. You’re here now apologizin’, bein’ honest with me..” Fidds wrapped Ford in a tight embrace, “That’s more than some folks do..I forgive ya, honey.”

Ford had never held Fiddleford so closely, so tightly, in his entire life. He finally had his soulmate back, and that’s all he could have ever hoped for.

The two later moved back in together after the events of weirdmageddon, and after Ford was done traveling the world with Stanley.

Their wedding is in 2 weeks.

へ �� ╱|、

૮ - ՛ ) (` - 7

/ ⁻ ៸| |、⁻〵

乀 (ˍ, ل ل じしˍ,)ノ

Creatures in Heaven received the most votes! So, here’s a FIC!!! it’s definitely my most lengthy one! I’m going to also be creating an ao3 tonight and going to upload some of my fics there as well! (I will be going under banjopolishh still!!)

enjoy!

[arthenaa]

ikaw at ikaw (only you) — mizu x f!reader

synopsis: 4 times your team lead chose you and 1 time you chose her.

content: modern!au, office romance, you and mizu are creatives, specifically in the character and concept design department in a very very famous gaming company (take a guess), she is your creative director and lead designer and you are the concept artist, 4+1 format, FLUFF, work relations, dynamic, and position might not be accurate, forgive me, this is basically just me projecting yet again.

a/n: this is requested by @andieperrie18 ! the answer shit isn't letting me edit my answer so ill be @-ing you here. TYSM FOR ENJOYING MY WORKS !! means a lot ... u also chose pasilyo 🥹🥹🥹🥹 sunkissed lola is the best

1.

Being part of the creatives team was a nightmare.

To tell you the truth, the position for a Concept Artist with a specialty in 2D design wasn't actually all that bad. The monthly benefits and wage were something you're quite lucky to receive considering the constant side eye other departments have with the admin's treatment of the artist employees. This was also your dream job—having had to play their games, specifically, VALORANT, left you in awe and gearing to apply once you were ready for an Internship. After your OJT course, you were accepted for a position in Character and Concept Design and are considered one of the team's most beloved artists (Your followers on Twitter reckon so).

In short, the work environment was great. A solid 15/10 experience—I mean how can you beat a company that caters not only to you as an artist but also as a player? Nothing can beat that feeling of satisfaction once you see your work displayed on various monitors all around the world.

It was more of ... the relationships and interactions with that work space environment that left you grasping at a chance to breathe.

People think you're overreacting but you think it's completely reasonable.

"Yes, you are overreacting."

Your face falls at Taigen's words—watching as he plays a round of unrated in the company's leisure space decked with state of the art PC builds that could definitely beat your poor touchscreen fridge with just a move of its mouse. You could hear the familiar voicelines of Jett from VALORANT as he uses the character's abilities to swiftly enter the site and take a hold of the defenders' positions.

Taigen is part of the Gaming Development Department in the VALORANT Team. He often does routine user gameplay checks and one of its perks is that you literally just have to play the game and get paid for it. You think its unfair but then again, its Taigen. He's always unfair.

"I think you're just saying that to be mean," You frowned, eyes trained on his face—the lights reflecting back on his stupid, stupid, clear-skinned face. Taigen rolls his eyes but not an ounce of his focus leaves the game.

"Being honest equals to being mean, got it." Taigen's voice comes out in a sarcastic tone. You kick a speck of dust on the cement floor, twirling in the gaming chair you're seated on.

"I just think its a reasonable thing to complain about!" You throw your hands in the air in an attempt to get him to look at your side of things. "You're completely unfazed because your team lead has the patience of a mother with 7 kids."

You hear the familiar cue of an ACE kill as Taigen hits a headshot on the last player. The game's interface shifts to the winner screen and finally, he turns to you, pulling his headphones off and giving his best deadpan stare.

"You're freaking out over Mizu sighing over your concept design proposal for Neon and overanalyzed even the way she drank her coffee because you're obsessed with her like that." Taigen arches his eyebrow to make the situation all the more ridiculous. Your mouth closes and opens like a fish out of water. "Am I right? Wait no, don't answer that. I know I am."

"What the fuck?" Your voice comes out in a desperate attempt of self-defence but it ultimately just sounds defeated. Taigen chuckles as he turns back to his monitor to take a look at the game stats.

"Look," Taigen tries to be empathetic but you're pretty sure this is just to get you off his back. The queue for competitive is already up and running. "As your friend, I say this with the love that I have for you and your works but please, Mizu is just one woman. If my mind process went like yours, I would've assumed Akemi hated my very existence and this is coming from someone who IS dating Akemi."

You purse your lips in thought as he raises his eyebrows in exaggeration. You're not exactly sure why you approached Taigen with this problem but he was the only familiar face that you saw after walking out of the meeting room in a hurry.

But then the question in this situation is who exactly is Mizu?

Well, there were a lot of things you could associate with the familiar blue-eyed director. Mizu is your boss—the creative director for Concept and Character design for the VALORANT team. She oversees character ideas, map visuals, detailing, and the final approval for character and asset ideation before it's sent for building in the 3D and VFX departments. She is your employer but you can also consider her your friend, albeit a highly respected one (she did the character design for Jett and Yoru).

It's not that you were obsessed—Taigen is wrong, he's always wrong—it was definitely because you respected her very much. Being a Riot Design Lead is basically fucking God. You create and give life to ideas. She's part of the original team that worked on the pre-release of VALORANT during its early stages and got to see the whole thing unfold. Something you wished to see back then but glad that you were able to become part of the journey despite being a few patches late.

You respected her enough to always want to be on her good side. I mean, who wouldn't? She's talented and very... youthful-looking and one of Riot's youngest leads, you honestly think that being worried over her approval like this is just a matter of respect and definitely NOT obsession.

"You're doing that thing where you space out and I have to assume that it's probably because of Mizu, yeah?" Taigen's voice intercepts your reprieve and suddenly, a curl of your eyebrows creates a look of annoyance on your face.

"I am not obssesed with Mizu," You reiterate, but this time with your mouth. "I just... respect her."

Taigen leans back on his gaming chair, nodding as if you just told him that he didn't need to double double-click everything.

"That's the most unbelievable shit I've heard today," Taigen finally replies with a scrunch of his nose. Your jaw falls open.

"I do not!"

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too!"

"Do fucking not—Stop it."

Taigen purses his lips, and makes a motion of zipping his mouth and shaking his head. You huff in anger. Taigen was never going to believe you.

Just as you were about to chastise him again for being mistaken, a knock on the glass doors notifies you of a new presence. You turn by instinct and your eyes widen in shock and probably, dread—who knows.

"There you are," Mizu's voice filters through your ears like classical music on a good Friday evening. You stammer slightly as she enters the area, eyes trained on you through those tinted orange specs. Mizu momentarily greets Taigen who only raises his hand in greeting before turning towards the screen (only you can see through your peripheral vision that this motherfucker is laughing). "I've been looking for you."

"You did?" Your voice comes off quiet. Mizu furrows her eyebrows.

"Uh, yeah?" She replies with a confused tone. "I had your concept design for Neon approved, it was more direct compared to Matt's. I wanted to tell you in person since you just bolted from the meeting room."

You fall silent at her words. She looks a bit concerned as you try to make sense of the information.

"You seem in shock—Are you okay?" Mizu asks, eyes glancing towards Taigen who looks at her before shrugging.

You feel your heart speed up. You momentarily calm yourself before finally responding. "Y-Yeah, sorry. Just didn't think that you'd approve it."

Mizu tilts her head like a fucking cat and you're quite sure you would drop dead then and there. "Why not? It's your work."

You're not sure what she means by that but a sudden shiver runs through your veins at her praise and suddenly your cheeks are flushing.

"Ah," You're voice fills in the silence, awkward and quiet. "Thank you?"

There's a pause of silence before Mizu chuckles. She heaves a breath before pulling the glass door open.

"I'll see you at my office, Y/N." She smiles. "Great work."

The silence further pushes you into the void as you and Taigen watch her exit and disappear into another hallway through the glass windows. Just as you were a few minutes ago, you lean forward to slouch over your knees, hands on your face as you meltdown from what just happened. You hear Taigen chuckle beside you.

"Give it a few more months and she'll give you a ring on your finger with a bent knee on the ground."

You sob into your hands as Taigen erupts in heaps of laughter.

Oh my fucking God.

2.

The release for Neon was a hit. An all-time new duelist originating from the Philippines, your concept design took off without a hitch. It's safe to say that your hard work paid off as you stood over the central common room—leisure areas decked with your coworkers trying out and celebrating the release. A sense of satisfaction fills you.

"I hear you spearheaded the design concept for Neon," A voice infiltrates your sense like a lure. You can't help but smile at its familiarity. Akemi wraps her arms around your waist, chin on your shoulder as she continues. "Marketing was thrilled with the positive response. Good job."

You turn around, her arms loosely accommodating you. "Akemi," you coo.

The girl grins wide and pulls you into a hug. You return the affection in a grander gesture of squeezing her tight against you.

Akemi's part of the Marketing Department for Riot. While she often creates publication material for VALORANT, she also has cross work with League of Legends for its various strategic releases (ie. KDA).

"I just want to say that I already predicted Neon would be a sure hit, it's your work after all," Akemi pulls away from the hug with a smug smile. She grabs your hands in hers, swinging them slowly. "Marketing it was like a breeze in the park."

You laugh softly at her enthusiasm. "You give me way too much credit."

Akemi rolls her eyes affectionately. "Humility is a disease—live a little."

You shake your head at her quips, opting to smile in response. A member of your team passes by, eyes widening in recognition of you before giving you a thumbs up. Akemi watches the interaction—eyes trained on that person's figure as they walked towards Mizu who was busy talking to other creative team leads. Your eyebrows furrow in confusion at her prolonged silence.

"Who are you—?" Your words trail off as you turn to look at what she's so focused on before turning back at the sight of Mizu. "Nevermind."

Akemi raises her eyebrow with an amused look on her face. "Taigen always has a penchant for exaggerating but I didn't think it was this bad?"

Your face falls at the information. "Taigen told you?"

Akemi gives you a 'duh' look—eyebrows raised and eyes half-lidded. "Taigen's a loose lock if you pry hard enough. He basically can never keep a secret."

You give her a deadpan stare before shifting in your position. Akemi crosses her arms over her chest as she eyes you up and down—filled to the brim with amusement. "I'm fine, stop making a big deal out of it."

"Uh huh," Akemi squints her eyes playfully. You could only glare back in response.

The loud cheering at the front catches your attention as resident workers, interns, and newbies alike begin to tune in at the commotion. Akemi and you move to the sidelines, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as you tried to find out what's happening.

"What's happening?" You ask the person to your front. He turns, eyes beaming with excitement.

"The creative director for C&C got pulled in a 1v1. They're playing against Beckham."

Your breath hitches at the information. Akemi nudges you with her elbow, overhearing the conversation. The two of you move to the side, finally getting a glimpse of the two team leads focused on a custom game of VALORANT. Your eyes zone in on familiar raven locks seated on the right monitor.

A live stream of their game is projected on the monitor up front and suddenly you feel sick from the amount of butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

She's playing Neon. The character you designed.

Oh God. You watched her take kill after kill, headshot after headshot as she sprinted across the map—zapping characters with Neon's electric abilities. You've never seen someone look so fucking hot playing an FPS game before. It's doing things to your brain.

Just as you expected, the winning banner appears on Mizu's screen and the C&C Team erupts in cheers. You become entranced at the sight—a few of your co-workers patting her on the back before she erupts in smiles and laughs. This is not healthy for your heart.

And just as you think the night couldn't get any better, one of the people from the Marketing departments begins stirring up an interview.

"What made you choose Neon on the character pick? You usually go for Sentinels, no?"

Your eyes meet and suddenly you could feel your heart skip a few beats. Mizu chuckles.

"Wanted to do a duelist around for a spin," Mizu replies. "The design and character visuals for Neon was amazing and I ought to pay the artist who did it a homage."

Suddenly all eyes are on you—some of them even "ooh-ing" for being praised by Mizu. You pale at the attention before doing a hesitant bow in gratitude.

Mizu pulls the headphones off her head and smiles. "Congrats, Y/N. Hope you liked the win."

You feel Akemi stir up beside you, chuckling at the interaction.

You're going to die. You can feel it and its all because of your boss.

3.

Okay, maybe admitting that you were a little bit obsessed and crushing over your employer was a bit overdue. You weren't exactly the type to parade your feelings around the office but if people were to zone in on you acting sheepish and awkward around Mizu, there was a 55% chance that you could tell based on that alone.

It wasn't like your admiration for Mizu started on a whim. As said countless and countless times, it had a foundation of respect until Mizu started trying to get to know and interact with you and those same feelings of admiration started to change. What else were you supposed to do? Mizu is a fucking all-in-one holiday basket—you didn't have it in you to resist the charms.

It also didn't help that over the past few days, Mizu seems to have her undivided attention on you. Showering you with praises, asking if you wanna spearhead a certain project, revel in your work—all that shit. It's messing with your productivity and mindset and that's not a good idea.

The Head Director for the VALORANT Team had decided to call a night out for drinking to reward the team for the positive feedback for the latest patch. You were quite thankful for the opportunity as this was a way for you to get a moment of rest from Mizu's constant attention. Not that you were complaining, it's just a little... too much.

You were seated at the far right booth of the restaurant, keeping to yourself as you watched Ringo and Taigen begin to have a debate about team composition. Akemi grumbles beside you, clearly not enjoying whatever the fuck these two were talking about.

"Look," Taigen holds his hands out in front of him, trying to make a point. "All I'm saying is if you keep putting DPS builds on your team comp, how in the hell will you be able to maximize their kit? Supports are there for a reason."

Ringo rolls his eyes. "It's called enjoying the game, Taigen. So what if I want to put dick 1, dick 2, and dick 3, together?"

Taigen's jaw drops. "Do you know how much skill point dependent they are? I'm even surprised you could bust a skill out." The raven haired man pauses before continuing with a face contorted in disgust. "And stop calling them dick 1,2,3? It's Dan Heng, Blade, and Jing Yuan."

"Of course you'd police that as well. You look like that fucking emoji." Ringo raises his prosthetic hand, imitating pushing up a pair of glasses. "Um, actually—"

"You are as annoying as my grandmother, do you know that?" Taigen snarls, eyes pulled into a glare. Your tall huggable co-worker only grins and bats his eyelashes.

You begin to tune out the two as Akemi excuses herself to take a cigarette break—already having enough of their banter. You eye the glass of beer in front of you, watching as the liquid sloshes around with each twirl of your wrist.

You had hoped to end the night with silence but alas, you can never get everything that you wanted. You feel a pair of eyes on you—direct and unashamed. Already having a feeling on who this was, you looked up and met the reflection of the ocean.

'You okay?' She mouths, concern overflowing her features. It's subtle enough for people to not notice her sudden shift of attention but enough for you to understand her. Your cheeks flush as you nod back with the same softness that she had thrown your way.

She nods in understanding, sending a soft smile your way before turning back towards her conversation with the Head. You hang your head down, wishing that the night would end faster so that you can finally have the moment of peace you have been wanting ever since this morning.

It was as if the world decided to cast hell upon you and revoked you of your rights to peace at the arrival of yet another problem.

"L/N!" The Head Director's voice encompassed the whole area—eyes turning towards him then at you in amusement. "You're one of the star employees and yet you haven't touched a single speck on that glass of yours!"

His hearty laughter follows—giggles and cheering from you co-workers following suite. You sweat drop, eyes darting to Taigen and Ringo who both looked away at your glare before turning towards the window where Akemi sends you a gracious thumbs up, a cigarette hanging from her lips. You groan.

"I-I'm fine," You wave your hand, laughing it off. Your eyes connect with Mizu, an unreadable look on her face as she takes a sip of her chosen beverage.

God decides to punish you more as the team lead beside Mizu chimes in. "Oh c'mon! You're a great asset to the company! I suggest drink up!"

One of your team members passes a full pint of beer as the others begin to urge you to drink up. You hadn't felt the intensity of peer pressure ever since your dance recital on 10th grade and that wasn't even as half bad as this. You weren't feeling on drinking yourself to death as well so trying to down a full pint of beer was a ticket for you to the afterlife (ie. you on your bed with puke all over the floors). The previous pint you had was enough.

You tried to decline as humbly as you could, afraid that this might be the instance that you could finally be fired off from Riot. You knew that if they kept pushing a 3rd more of their attempts that you'd probably give in for the sake of never doing this again but while the need hasn't yet arisen, you'll try fighting off the urge to be a people-pleaser.

Just as you finally begin to decline for the nth time, a hand emerges to your right—pushing the pint of beer in your co-worker's hands. The table falls silent. Your breath falters as the familiar scent of lavender and probably a hint of sunlight begins to seep in from behind you.

"Stop pressuring her like that," Mizu's voice sounds so close —your heart hammering off your chest. Your co-worker gives Mizu a sheepish smile.

"C'mon Mizu, let your team live a little!" The Head laughs once more before leaning forward with a smug smirk. "Unless you'll save this one yet again?"

There's a pause of silence as your co-workers darted between them—back and forth. You feel Mizu sigh behind you before her arms encase you against the table, one arm placed on the beside you each. Your breath hitches.

"Sorry," She mutters as she reaches for the pint. You stammer, turning towards her as you reach out to her wrist by instinct. Mizu blinks with her eyes wide open, suddenly surprised by your actions.

"Y-you don't have to!" You murmured, trying to keep your voice low. Mizu's eyes are unreadable. "You don't drink—!"

The woman chuckles before patting your hand and gently pulling herself off your grasp. "It's okay." She says.

You watch with stammering breath as she gulps the pint in one go, others cheering as she did. The Head claps.

"Didn't expect to see Mizu downing a beer today but here we are," The man bellows in laughter. Mizu chuckles, wiping the residue off her lips. You could only stare at her in shock.

Mizu glances down at you with a smile before patting your head then walking off. Your gaze trails on her and somehow the hammering within you becomes all the more intense.

Oh, Lord.

4.

It was supposed to just be a little game—a past time that the others decided to force you along. You really had no qualms joining games like this but if it concerns the people around you, especially in your work place, somehow you feel the risk of being outed for liking someone in you work space.

"If you guys wanted to date someone in the office, who'd you pick?" Ise leans forward, eyes squinted as she gives you and Akemi a smirk. The three of you were currently lounging in the cafeteria during you lunch break. There weren't many people present due an event going on in one of the building's sectors, so having a conversation like this somehow was less anxiety inducing.

"Taigen, unfortunately," Akemi deadpans. Ise rolls her eyes.

"I mean! Besides him," Ise whispers excitedly. "There's a newbie from marketing that looks cute but kinda quiet, maybe he's nice."

"You mean Takayoshi?" Akemi raises an eyebrow as she takes a sip of her tea. You glance back and forth between them.

"Is that his name?" Ise watches Akemi nod in response. "Well, I'll just have to go get his number then."

Akemi shakes her head at Ise's musings and you had hoped that the conversation would end there, but Ise suddenly turns to you with that mischievous look in her eye.

"What?" You whisper out, eyebrows furrowed in innocence. Akemi side glances you, the corners of her lips upturned in a smile. God, she was enjoying this too.

"What about you, Y/N?" Ise props her arm on the table, placing her cheek on her palm. "Got someone you're interested in?"

You avoid eye contact. "No."

Ise leans forward with a gasp. "You do!"

"I don't!" You reiterate with urgency. You turn to Akemi with a frantic stare. "Tell her I don't."

Ise turns to Akemi who smiles. "She doesn't."

"Bullshit." Ise deadpans. "The moment I'd believe Akemi with a smile on her face is the moment I'd die," Akemi flashes her middle finger at her to which Ise returns generously. Finally, the girl turns to you—chair scooted over to your right as she flashes you her doe eyes. "So? Who is it?"

You Akemi chuckle against her cup as you stammer in front of Ise. "I don't really like someone though?"

"Lies," Ise declares. "We might not be that close but you got that twitch in your eye that already tells me something. Who is it?"

"Ise," You plead, eyes darting around the space. Somehow, saying it out loud meant that you're solidifying the fact that you liked Mizu—an occurrence you'd like to keep to yourself as much as possible. You loved Ise, you really do. You worked with her hand in hand in bringing Neon to life (You worked on her design while she worked on the 3D build) and have become tremendously grateful for her critique and contributions to your work. But this, this was something else. You could feel your heart speed up as she started listing some names.

"Is it Beckham? That piece of shit always too full himself." Ise places a hand on her chin in thought. "Or Ringo? Nah, he's way too focused on content map-building."

There's a pause of silence before an 'aha!' look spreads through her face. You prayed that she would get it wrong but this is Ise we're talking about.

"Is it perhaps," Ise pauses, eyes darting all over your face. "Mizu—"

"What about me?"

The three of you tense, eyes darting behind you as you turn to find the familiar stance of your boss. She leans forward, a hand on the back of your chair as she gives the three of you a curious glance. You hadn't heard her at all, and something about Ise's frantic glance towards you says she didn't expect the same thing as well.

"W-we we're just listing people we found attractive," Ise laughs uncomfortably under Mizu's stare. The creative director glances at Akemi who raises an eyebrow at her. Somehow there was a silent conversation going on between the two that left you confused.

"Really?" Mizu asks, the ends of her words trailing off as she glances back at Ise. "Who said I was attractive?"

"It was Y/—"

"NO ONE!" You exclaimed, cutting Ise off with a jump. You flush under Mizu's wide gazed, surprised at your interference. Somehow, the way you said it implied that no one found her attractive at all, and that was way too wrong so you caught yourself before you delved into a pit of despair. "I mean, w-we haven't started and was just listing people off."

Mizu nods slowly in understanding, eyes examining your face for any slip-ups. You looked away from the intensity.

Ise finally saves your ass. "Yeah. What she said."

"What about you, Director?" Akemi chimes in from your left and both you and Ise turn to her with wide gazes. She simply smiles over her cup, face contorted in a mischievous look. You couldn't read Mizu at all. You had expected Akemi to drop it—after all, she wasn't even joining in on Ise's incessant need to know everything about everyone. "Who do you find the most attractive in this office, hm?"

You can feel Mizu shifting behind you before a chuckle pulls out from her lips. You turn towards her in curiosity as she flashes a smile towards you.

"I'd pick Y/N, of course,"

Huh?

Akemi rolls her eyes, somehow already expecting the answer. Your jaw drops at her response as Mizu turns to Ise who already has a knowing look on her face.

"She's just that reliable," Mizu looks back down towards you, those shades of blue peeking from her tinted glasses. She pinches your cheek in a flash before pulling away. "Cute too."

You turn away, afraid that the flush on your cheeks might've given you away.

"Anyways, I just dropped by to see what's happening outside the event," Mizu sighs, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "I'll see you girls around."

Your interactions always end up one sided somehow. She gives and then leaves—resulting in you malfunctioning from whatever she's left for you to deal with.

Ise turns to you with a mischievous grin when Mizu finally turns the corner. "You and the Director huh?"

"Shut up, oh my God."

+1

"Why do you always do stuff like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're not leaving me any room to process the shit you do?"

Mizu lets out quiet laughs from beside you. 10:47 pm. Normally, work hours in the office end at about 9 but you've learned that staying late is where the good things happen.

"I literally just told you 'good job' the other day and you malfunctioned in front of me," Mizu giggles, leaning forward as she tapped you on the nose with the pen to her digital tablet. "And I heard everything by the way. Quite adorable of you to deny everything."

You flush under her affectionate gaze. "Everyone's so gossipy. You can't blame me."

Mizu turns her chair towards you, arms reach out to take a hold of your own before pulling them close to her side. You lean back at her sudden proximity.

"Well you can't blame me either when you're this adorable," Mizu grins. You furrow your eyebrows, finally leaning close as you cupped her cheeks within your palms.

"You even drank beer," You whisper, tone apologetic. "You don't even like alcohol."

Mizu leans into your touch. "And you don't like being pressured into something you don't want to do. I can sacrifice a little bit of something I don't like just for you."

You melt at her words, eyes darting over her softened features. "Thank you," You whisper, grateful.

"Anything for my girlfriend," Mizu teases. You roll your eyes before pulling her into a soft kiss. She kisses back instantly, hands gripping the arm chair as you take lead of the kiss. After a few pecks and chaste kisses here and there, you finally pull back—reveling in the soft flush across Mizu's cheeks.

"Also," You chime in. Mizu raises an eyebrow. "I was the one who pursued, not you. Correct that when they catch on."

Mizu chuckles at your words. "Right on. Akemi threatened me the other day, saying something like, 'I forbid you from dating Y/N Y/L/N, Mizu Tagawa!' Funniest shit, I've heard. If only she knew."

You pinch her cheeks, giggling at her words. "Of course, she's say that."

There's a pause of silence before Mizu turns to her work, a sketch of VALORANT's newest agent displayed on screen.

"Want to help me with the new guy?" She nudges towards the screen. "Heard he's French."

You turn to her monitor, dozens of details sketched on the edges with a version of her idea of the new agent. You grin, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"You could've just asked me to marry you." You tease. "Also, sure."

You turn towards the table and pulled her tablet towards you. Mizu scoffs as you take over her work.

"And if I actually did?"

"Sure, Mizu, sure."

"I'm serious!"

a/n: hey guys!!! this was so fun to write and honestly i was just inspired to do this request bc ive been drafting an office romance for mizu after the roommate thing. hope yall enjoyed ! if yall arent familiar with valorant, here are the agents mentioned or referenced (neon & chamber (french guy)). also mizu's last name is derived from master eiji's va! cary-hiroyuki tagawa!

[randomalistic]

Live action little mermaid was Good 7/10 yeah! I feel like it was probably one of the better live action Disney remakes. For Sure.

2024 edit: DISCLAIMER I AM STUPID AND I GET ENJOYMENT OJT OF THINGS that SUCK. and I hadn’t seen original little mermaid. LIKE NO STIP EHAT ARE TOU TAKING ABOJT NOOO 7/10?? THATS WAY TOO HIGH WATCH THE ORIGINAL SHUT UPPP

Sebastian was like a weird half baked cheezit that you find at the bottom of the box and they didn’t go all in with his voice or his design. It left so much to be desired. I desire him carnally. He’s like a 6/10 sebastion. How do you make Sebastian mid. ITS FINE.

They turned Scuttle into Amethyst Steven Universe . (👍) In her introduction she dived and ate a fish which is Messed Up. What if Flounder KNEW that fish personally and she just fucking killed it. That’s literally the equivalent of eating a person to him

She also had like a rap battle with Sebastian for some reason like they Really wanted to push that they’re sooo silly and you should like them . Okay

I forgot to mention Flounder. That about sums up Flounder

Under the sea song. Sebastian’s voice left a lot to be desired but it’s ok I guess.. I do not remember seeing so many invertebrates and strange sea animals in the original. like they had feather starfish and sea slugs and ribbon worms and jellyfish dancing around. It was Totally Awesome and I Loved it but not many fish?? LOL but yes this was my favorite sequence :) visually.

THINGS I LIKED.

I haven’t watched the original little mermaid in years or maybe not At All but I still knew the main plot points. They made prince Eric better. He no longer simply exists. We got prince Eric lore. His dog was also a perfect cast. Great dog. Good boy. Very cute dog. Really good dog & the dog was great. Wish there was more of the dog.

URSULA WAS AWESOME AS EXPECTED. Hard to mess her up. I wish I could’ve seen more of her giant form at the end they kind of shrouded her in darkness and CGI sad face. Great acting though and her song was SO good. Kinda sexo but don’t tell anyone I sa

ALSO THAT REMINDS ME THE FIRST HALF OF THE MOVIE UNDERWATER IS SOOOO FUCKIN DARK LIGHTING-WISE FOR NO REASON. Ariel is like. Look at this stuff ! :) isn’t it neat ! :) i’m sorry. I can’t see it. You are in an underwater cave and I cannot see the walls or anything you have created.

Ariel obviously did great :) she had a really good singing voice. Good !!!

Neptune is Okay. Idk I think he could’ve had a deeper voice and maybe be more emotional but he was aight. Also at the end he comes up to Eric and Ariel’s boat and peeks out of the water for no reason and it’s the funniest shit ever because it’s like Surprise! sopping wet old man

SPOILERS .

A CHANGE I LIKED. ARIEL WAS THE ONE TO STEER THE SHIP INTO URSULA AT THE END. I LIKE THAT A LOT MORE THAN ERIC DOING IT BECAUSE ITS LIKE ARIEL’S GETTING BACK AT HER AND ITS SOOO MUCH MORE FITTINGGGGG!!!!!!!!

The scuttle dance or what ever. If you care

CONCLUSION. they did a couple things right! (And it could’ve been worse!) but I enjoyed it more than I expected :) I will not give every live action remake this benefit of the doubt.

[eiwyn]

HI I JUST HAD THESE NATIONAL TEST EXAM SHIT THAT IS IMPORTANT AND I FUCKING HAAAAATE WRITING DURING PRESSURE EVERYTHING SUCKS I HATE MYSELF I WANNA GO HOME AND ITS THREE HOURS LEFT I WAS GONNA WRITE ABOUT THREE THINGS AND O SPENT SO MUCH TIME ON THE GOD DAMN FIRST PART THAT I HAD TO CUT IT DOWN TK TWO PARTS INSTEAD AND THEN WHEB I WAS GONNA ANLYZE THE SHIT IT WAS LIKE 30 MINUTES LEFT SO I BASICALLY ONLY HAVE BACKGROUND FACTS AND NO ANALYSE AND BO CONCLUSION OR SUMMARY AND MY ANALYSE WAS SO CRAP I WAS TOL STRESSES TO THINK I BASICALLY ”yeah theyre both right and theyre both the same but also theyre not right and they dont agree” AND AS A CONCLUSION I HAD ONE FKN SENTENCE ”im not interested in whats behind i wanna have examples of how to improve myself” FUCKING EXAMPLES CUS I COULDNT COME UP WITH THE WORD SUGGESTION OR PROPOSAL OR IDEA OR QHATEVER AND IE ALREADY USED THE SAME FUCKING WORDS 2618171 TIMES AND OMGGGGGGGG I HATE ENGLISH SO FKN MUCH IM GONNA GET A FUCKING D AND IT WILL RUIN EVERY FUCKING THING CUS MY GRADES ARE ALREADY DROPÖING I DONT BEED THIS OMGGGGG I HATE THIS SHIT AND I ALSO HATE MY TEACHER AND NOW I HAVE LISTENING AND I SUCK AT LISTENING AND THEN I HAVE SMTH ELSE AND OMFG CAN I GO HOME I REALLY FKN WANT TO GO HOME I DONT EVEN HAVE ANY FRIENDS IN MY SCHOOL WTF IM SITTING ALL ALONE HERE BITCH IM STILL SO STRESSED I FEEL LIKE IM GONNA JAVE A HEART ATTACK SOMEONE HELP ME BREATH A PART OF ME WANTS TO LAUGH ANOTHER CRY ANOTER SCREAM YEAH IDK I JUST WANT TO DISAPPEAR RIGHT NOW FUCK ME IN THE ASSHOLE IM OJT

edit: i also think i need to be sick and stay home or a week or two seriously im feeling sick and i even brought good food to school but i cant eat it cus my stomach’s all upset and my chest is stressed and i wanna stay in my bed

[benildenewsformmwrite-blog]

Interview with an intern

The following is a transcript of an interview of a CSB student who had his OJT abroad and his really bad but sometimes good experiences in the US. 

P is the interviewer, and A is the interviewee.

P: Okay then, let’s start. So can you tell me a bit about your professional background?

A: Well, I just finished my internship in the US. 1st 6 months was in a ski resort in Vermont, next 4 months was in Michigan.

P: Where did you go to school?

A: De La Salle – College of St. Benilde.

P: Do you have any prior work experience?

A: No I do not.

 P: So what where your expectations working abroad?

A: I mostly didn’t really bring a lot of expectation there so I wouldn’t be disappointed if it was bad, and I’d be pleasantly surprised if it was good. My only expectation there was that I’d earn more money there than in the Philippines.

P: How did reality differ from your expectations?

A: It was VERY different. In Vermont, it was mostly the same, you know, snowboarding and skiing after work, fun times, making friends, but that’s when the expectations stopped.

P: What do you mean “That’s when the expectations stopped”?

A:  I mean it stopped being similar to what was actually happening, because after I went to Vermont, I went to Michigan; and Michigan… I was expecting it to be this super nice place, it has a good reputation, and… just overall happy fun times like Vermont but even better except without the skiing and snowboarding. But that was quickly shattered when first of all, they broke the contract  several times when they weren’t paying us the right wages, like from 9 dollars an hour to 3 dollars an hour, and then they were cutting our hours so we were doing – especially the 1st 2 months when the other interns from the other countries haven’t arrived yet there were only 4 of us in the main dining room catering to 400 up to a thousand guests at a time. Imagine there’s only 4 of you assisting all the servers serving a thousand guests. We had to cover the lack of staff so, we would leave at 7 in the morning and we would go home at 12 midnight.

Now you’d expect, at 9 dollars an hour you’d be, you know, you’d be breaking the bank, you’d be making a lot of money, but then the pay check comes, and you only have 400 dollars which is a very gross underpay when it’s supposed to be 2,000, reduced to 400.

P: Okay, I’ll ask you about that more in a while, but first can you briefly describe how you got an internship in the Grand Hotel?

A: There’s a program in the DLS-CSB’s HRM course, it’s called “ITN”

P: Which stands for?

A: International Training Network. It’s actually a travel agency that’s affiliated to Benilde which handles all the J1 Visa applicants. The J1 Visa is a cultural exchange Visa. Basically, you have 2 choices when doing your final practicum in the course, it’s either do a local training, or you can go abroad and sign up with ITN; that’s how I got it.

P: So you chose the Grand Hotel?

A: No actually, it’s something ITN offered us called the “6-2-6 Program.” You choose a hotel first that you wanna sign up for. Normally, they show you if it’s 6 months or a whole year, if it’s a seasonal hotel for example, because Vermont, the one in Vermont was a ski resort so obviously, they’re not open in the summer because there’s no snow, cuz it’s not winter. So they’re only open for 6 months and for the people who chose the hotels open only for 6 months, they give you a choice whether you go to another hotel or if you wanna go home right after, and I chose the other hotel. The thing is, they just told us to just give them our resumé and they’ll just check once someone accepts us; we don’t really get to choose the 2nd hotel.

 P: So can you provide a summary of your experience with your superiors in Michigan?

A: Well in one word, it was trash. They treated you like you were a tool – I mean some of them were nice like, were actually pretty cool but like the Jamaican guys were huge a-holes basically

P: All of them?

A: Most of them. They were super rude. SUUUPER rude. Not nice at all. Like imagine someone having an even lower rank than you telling you stuff to do getting mad if you don’t follow them. Basically, they’re just not nice people. And since they’ve been there longer, they assume that they’re your seniors and that you have to do what they tell you.

Aside from not paying you properly and cutting your hours, you know, being treated like shit, it’s not really a nice experience.

 P: So can you describe your reaction to this treatment? Like what did you do?

A: Well at first, you know, I tried to cope with it, I tried to you know, find ways to get along with them even though they’re being rude and – but when I found out that they were cheating me of my money, I was like, nope. You can call me names all you want but the moment you steal money from me, I don’t like you and I don’t wanna get along with you. And that’s when I started to not be agreeable with them anymore. When they’d irritate me, I’d fight back or I’d answer back at them. Basically.

P: Did you ever try to tell the HR?

A: O yeah they’re useless, they’re completely useless. Basically they tell you – you talk to 1, when it’s about a problem with the hotel they basically refer you to another person. For example, you come to me, I’m HR, I’m gonna be like, alright not my job talk to this guy; and then you go talk to that guy and that guy’s gonna do the same thing and you just gonna run in circles basically. Because they don’t wanna solve the problem, ot because they don’t know it’s there but because they do. Because solving the problem would mean not getting an extra cut of the money. They’re basically crooks.

P: Who gives you your payslip?

A: The payslip comes online, basically it’s emailed to you. They way they pay you is every 2 weeks but it’s delayed a week so you actually get it on the 3rd week of every month. You get hours right? You clock in and out; and the time sheets go to your manager and that’s when they start cutting hours. Regardless of whether you worked a hundred hours this week or 40, you get the same pay if the manager says you’re gonna get the same pay.

P: Do you work overtime?

A: ALL the time, because – that’s the thing – another legal thing they’re doing: Forced Overtime. Do overtime, or you get fired. You’re basically doing AWOL if you don’t do overtime so you’re gonna get fired if you do it too many times so you have to do overtime.

P: Did you ever try asking ITN?

A: Not ITN, Intrax

P: What’s Intrax?

A: They sponsor people, basically. ITN just sends you out, Intrax is the support.

P: What did Intrax do?

A: They didn’t really believe me

P: Don’t you have your payslips?

A: Yeah but you can easily say that – because the evidence, the payslip, says that I DIDN’T work that many times. You get it? That’s the problem they EDIT the hours

 P: What about other interns?

A: It’s been happening for a while, it’s been happening for several years actually. You know the servers there actually have to lie to customs? Grand Hotel makes them lie that they’re getting paid 11 dollars per hour but they’re actually getting paid via ticket.

P: Ticket?

A: So the way they sell the dinner and lunch and breakfast is they sell you tickets. A lunch ticket, a dinner ticket; each ticket has it’s own value. I think breakfast and lunch is a dollar and dinner is like a dollar ninety or something? Each ticket is worth that much so if you didn’t get any guests, even if you worked the whole day, you won’t get paid anything.

P: So can you describe how the other interns reacted to that?

A: Well obviously everyone hated it. Some people were getting – if the boss likes you, you get paid, if the boss doesn’t like you, you’re not gonna get paid a lot. One girl there was getting paid a thousand dollars a month because the boss liked her. The moment he found out she had a boyfriend, that dropped to 500. She was doing the same hours. Does that make sense to you?

 P: How has this affected your view of working abroad?

A: Well, contrary to everything I just said, I think this actually helped me, you know? Since I already went through a lot of bad stuff there, I think the next time it happens, I’m gonna be able to deal with it better. So it’s a nice learning experience for me.

P: So you’d still work in the US?

A: Yeah, but I’d be more careful in which hotels I choose to work next time.

 P: What advice would you give to younger batches of SHRIM/CSB students planning to take internships abroad?

A: Well 1st of all, if you’re picky about stuff, about hours, about things like that, don’t work there; because working in hotels there and working in hotels here is very different. It’s fast-paced there. And I have worked in a hotel here, it’s WAY slower, way slower. And lower your expectations – not to say that the US is a bad place, but people with exceedingly high expectations often find themselves disappointed I guess. And be brave about those things. Like, if you’re not getting paid fairly – see, a lot of the people, the reason we weren’t able to – the reason they didn’t care enough about our case is that there weren’t enough of us complaining. They were like, “o you’re just not doing your job why isn’t it that case for everyone else then?” You know? So, be brave about those things, if you not getting paid, speak up, cuz if you don’t, nothing’s gonna happen. Don’t worry, the government will protect you if you do decide to speak up.

P: Okay thanks.

Extra questions asked after the interview:

P: Ano yung grounds for dismissal mo?

A: So, I called in sick a couple of times, I told him, he said, “okay.” After several times, HR calls me and asks me why I went AWOL. Turns out he wasn’t telling HR that I was leaving so I got written up and got fired.