#i'd like to now mention it is almost 3am when i am posting this so . hope that's a surprise LOL

[ryochinst]

a doodle i think about a lot based off a doodle i did at work on a whimsy and i think if i just combine these two i'd have th perfect sketch... alas...

to give some background cuz that's totally necessary: what i find interesting about spideypool (among many things) is how deadpool sees spiderman as an ideal hero whereas spidey sees dp as a worse version of himself (see:deadpool (2008) by daniel way)

and this is furthered by joe kelly's arc(s) in spiderman/deadpool where we see dp not only turning a new leaf but also subsequently ripping up that metaphorical leaf to protect spidey's morals. and kurt and pete talk a lil bit about peter's saintliness, how he doesn't view himself a saint but could nonetheless be considered one by virtue of his near squeaky clean soul...

so obv i tried to depict that with like a placing of a crown of thorns on spidey's head. orig in my work doodle, as u might b able to tell, there's more forcefulness to it, but when i redrew it recently, it's more gentle... th reluctance from spidey i think is obvious, but wade's placement could b seen as both the veneration of spiderman and the offloading of burden from dp to spidey... i think the latter is more true for daniel way spideypool, esp w th headspace dp was in at the time...

idk if any of that made sense LOL but i think i might try to continue to refine th idea...

[supertransural]

Beyond the Mat, sort of meta?

Ok so for some personal context, I’ve been rewatching all of Supernatural and i have the firm intention to keep the show on repeat on my computer/tv until i’ve fully binged it 15 times (never fear, I am already perfectly aware of how bad a decision this is). I wrote this post with a frantic need to get all the thoughts out, but it happened to be 3am at the time, and I realized I had to make gifs and upload them which was obviously too much work for a sleep deprived brain. I put it off until the next day, but ended up procrastinating and now it's been sitting in my drafts for 3 months and I thought hey this is a good time to finish it up (it could be argued that i'm polishing up this thing at 5am and this doesn't seem to be an issue for my will to get this done this time around, although I am heavily caffeinated so maybe that has something to do with it, go figure).

Anyways that’s besides the point. At the time I had just gotten to 11x15, Beyond the Mat. I’ve seen people write a lot about how parallels between Sam and Dean’s love lives/interests are part of the subtext about Dean’s bisexuality. I’ve also read people's works about how Gunner is pretty obviously one of Dean’s youth celebrity crushes. But (and I might just be a bit blind or haven’t looked hard enough) I haven’t seen a lot about the parallel between Sam/Rio and Dean/Gunner.

So let's get down to business, shall we?

The scene I will be focusing on starts out with Dean utterly star struck, sort of mumbling awkwardly his reasoning for coming up to Gunner (x) (x). Interestingly enough, Sam does the exact same thing with Rio (x) (x), while Dean is in the other corner clasping Gunner's hand for way too long and way too tight, and giving him the “i’ve loved you ever since i met you” look (x) (x).

Now since Sam’s crush is strictly heterosexual and we all know Sam’s interest in women, he outright says it to Rio (this is, after all, the CW) (x) (x). Dean on the other hand doesn’t verbalize it in so many words (the CW), but cmon... That fluster when Gunner winks at him later on?? (x) (let's not forget the little leg pat (x) that is probably still etched in Dean's memory amongst the 20 best things that ever happened to him, behind the previously-mentioned-wink and the Cartwright Twins) Or his reaction to Gunner patting his arm, "ok ok don't panic, it's not like your childhood crush just touched you oh wait". And Literally His Unwavering Smile The Whole Way Through. Jacting choices, people, Jacting choices (x).

Sam saves himself by steering the conversation towards a type of "where are they now?" interview, and Rio follows his not-so-subtle attempt, with a heavily implied tint of nostalgia for the good old days (x). Dean pulls a very similar stunt, mentioning something about his and Gunner's past (x) (x). Rio and Gunner's faces in those clips resemble each other quite a great deal: the emotion is the same, regret.

I really love that parallel because it’s really just “in your face”. You see Dean getting all flustered, at that point you could still say “hey i love [insert celebrity] and i don’t have a crush on them, but i’d probably still react that way around them”. (First of all, if I were you, I'd go on a journey of soul searching because hello, it’s ok to have crushes on celebrities you wish you didn’t, we’ve all been 12 and we’ve all seen Twilight and we’re all ashamed, and second of all, would you really and I mean really react that same way?) But then, enters Sam and his old crush, from the same field, basically the same time period, the same place and roughly the same "community". And it’s an unapologetic crush, not just a “hhhahaha i loved your uh.... your work.... as a uh kid haha.....”. Nonono. He says it, he tells her that he “used” (i’m not sure it’s completely gone, just like Dean) to have a crush on her. And then boom, parallel.

The way the two interact with both “celebrities” isn’t that different, if anything, Sam is less awkward around Rio than Dean is with Gunner. I’m betting the reason why is that since Sam’s crush is a woman, he has 1: talked about it openly before with his family (a poster of your crush on your wall is a good way to do that) and 2: talked to other crushes like her before. Dean, for obvious reasons, has not. Not a man, maybe some girlfriends, but he was never open (specifically not to John) about a potential crush he had on the big wrestler man in the ring, because he’s supposed to be this manly manly ladies man. He’s much more awkward because he hasn’t had much of an opportunity to talk to his crushes that might have been men, so the entire ordeal is wayyy more foreign to him. And he was also just a fan, so the whole “oh my god oh my god” of the crush is added to the already existing “oh my god oh my god” of his inner (and outer let's not kid ourselves) fanboy self.

Dean’s reaction is incidentally very similar to the one he has in the Fat Spa in 9x13, The Purge, with the character called Larry, Maritza’s husband. Dean’s awkward, goes too far, slightly flustered, and he’s pretty clearly not thrown off because of Maritza in that interview room, his gaze is mostly going from Sam to Larry then back to Sam. He lightly brushes over Maritza but barely looks at her (x) (x).

I’d also like to point out that when Gunner enters the stage, there’s a hint at a bi flag created by the light show, blink and you'll miss it (x). But then again that could just be the fact that those lights look pretty together and I'm completely insane. I’m not going to push that one too far, but since Gunner winks at Dean after that, which as I said before, makes Dean look adorably happy and flustered..... Take that as you will.

There's a thousand other scenes relevant to Dean being very blatantly bi-coded in Beyond the Mat (seriously, it's almost as obvious as the siren episode) but I really just wanted to focus on the parallel this time. I might go even more in depth on that episode (or do it bit by bit) if I ever find the will to make more gifs and string intelligible words together to create coherent sentences, and give off the impression of a sane mind. Might even throw in some The Purge meta for fun. Yes my definition of fun is quite warped.

[iwishiwasfictionalblogs]

Ok so imma just write a diary esk kinda post rn cause its 3 am and obviously that's the prime time for thinking. Also who gives a shit and nobody is gonna read this. Right so like the last 3 days have been hectic cause I'm like a professional procrastinate I had and exam 2 days in a row, neither of which I studied for till the day of, and two essays due today I hadn't started (I say today but like yesterday I guess also I got everything done btw so...😏). Anyway yknow when u have like other more important things to do but I have a surge of motivation to do something completely different...like that has been my last 3 days. Also with like sleep deprivation and panic and stress but motivation nonetheless. So now I wanna like wash my hair and hydrate it, maybe try a new style (tryna go natural btw it's a struggle I'm shedding like a dog), I wanna go for a run, start a new exercise routine maybe go for hike. I wanna declutter my life but also do unnecessary shopping. Also low key high key wanna try and start selling feet pics. Ngl my money is running low and its quarantine so it's not like theres traditional jobs available. But like dont I needa give myself a peticure or something first. Isnt there a process...wheres the feet community like how do I set this up???

That being said i also wanna look more into stocks like...I wanna invest...oof I could invest my foot fund into stocks watch it grow or lose it all...who knows. I would if I researched properly I guess but it's still 3am and I have a headache.

Anyway that's been my week. Let's see if I do any of the things I mentioned above now that I have some free time.

Oh shit I almost posted this and forgot the most interesting thing that happened to me. Basically FUCKS SAKE LIKE ...okok basically my mom found my fucking vibrators. Now listen my padres are muslim and my mom is a noisy woman so like...this isn't worst nightmare but at the same time her reaction was ligit "why would u scratch in ur vagina" and my reply was just "dont worry about it" but she brought it up in front of my fucking dad and he was like holding a quran and man it was a mess. And obviously I'm suppressing the hell outta that but now I wanna throw them away cause like...AHHHH. Anyway really need some foot money so I can move out cause this ain't it. God if my parent find my alcohol stash its fucking over . Like drinking is haram man . Nah .

Anyway that's my life. I need a podcast but I'd be so unfaithful to it. Welp.

[justinsdaysinthedark]

Post #2 - Thank You

What an overwhelming 36 hours it's been. An endless amount of phone calls & messages of support got me through what was an agonising day of waiting yesterday. This blog was started to keep my family and close friends informed about my journey but it's grown into so much more.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to each and every single one of you that took the time to reach out and wish me the best of luck. A simple message of support may not seem like much to you, but when you're in a situation like mine it means so much. Thank you.

Monday night provided the worst sleep I've had in weeks. Keep in mind, i've had some terrible sleeps in that time! Why? It was nerves. Simple as that. I was nervous for the gastroscopy and biopsy. It wasn't the procedure itself but the anaesthetic side to the operation. I haven't been under since I was five and the unknown had my measure. What if they didn't put me under fully? What if I could feel the procedure? What if I woke up early? What if I didn't wake up at all?

In retrospect, I lost sleep over nothing.

With the little sleep I did have, I woke up Tuesday morning earlier than normal. I was expecting the gastroscopy between 8:30am - 11:30am and knew I was booked in for a Radionuclide Ventriculography (RVG) scan of my heart later that afternoon.

Since being in hospital, 9am has been my regular time to get up, shower, brush the chompers - y'know, get ready for the day of sitting in my little 3x3 room and watching the world go past. Tuesday however, I was up and about at 7:30 - showered and ready. I hate feeling dirty, so if my procedure was at 8:30, I'd be ready to go.

Breakfast rolled around at 8:00 and I had to politely decline it as I was required to fast from 12am for the procedure.

This is about the time when my previous blog post took off and messages started coming in for the remainder of the morning. Before I knew it, it was 11am and nobody had been to get me for my procedure yet. I called the nurse and enquired to which I was told to hand tight, it shouldn't be much longer. Whilst she was around, she did my daily observations and it was no surprise to see my heart rate up to 100+BPM (regularly around 65BPM resting) and a slightly higher blood pressure. I guarantee this was due to the nerves.

Lunch comes around at 12:30 and once again had to politely decline. 12 hours fasting thus far - lucky I don't have an appetite still and honestly didn't care! It was around this time the doctor comes around with the results of my Lumbar Puncture. This fortunately came back negative as there was no major changes to the one I had three weeks ago. White blood cells still present with a marginally higher protein count than normal. I once again mentioned about my gastroscopy or there lack of and the doctor assumed I'd already had it. He said he'd follow it up and get back to me.

Mentally, I'm okay. Still incredibly nervous and a little frustrated I prepared myself for a procedure between 8:30 - 11:30 and still nothing. Your messages of support continue to light up my phone, which certainly kept me pre-occupied and made the time fly by.

Finally! 2:43pm and somebody comes to my bed to pick me up. "Justin Smith for a procedure? Let's go." I mentally build myself up as they take me. With my heart beating the quickest it had all day, we get going. Minutes later, we get into quite a dark room with a single scanner to my left and a glass wall. The radiographer, Liv meets me and goes through the basic questions. Name? Date of birth? Address? What are you here for? "A gastroscopy and biopsy" I reply. A few seconds of awkward silence follows so I split it with an "I think..." hoping to relieve the slight tension.

Liv replies with "not quite. We're here to do your Radionuclide Ventriculography scan of your heart."

My heart dropped. I spent the past fifteen minutes mentally preparing to go under and it's not even for the right procedure; I almost feel robbed!

To give you a brief understanding, the RVG scan involves injecting a small amount of radioactive material into your blood stream where they then track it until it passes through the heart, ensuring the heart is healthy and working as it should to a level that it should. Why am I having this scan? Good question. The doctors wanted to get ahead of the game essentially. Providing the biopsy comes back positive for lymphoma, I will need chemotherapy. The level of that chemo will depend, however if I do happen to require a strong dose, it can have negative effects to the heart. This scan is to ensure they have a baseline reading of my heart and ensure it will be able to handle a high dose of chemo.

This scan took 40 minutes from start to finish and before I knew it, I was up in my ward again. By this time, dad had arrived so at least I had somebody to talk to and reassure me when the time comes to get my gastroscopy.

4:00pm and the time finally came. 16 hours of fasting, I was slightly hungry but by this stage, I just wanted to get the procedure over and done with. I was still nervous, but more relieved the time had come. Having dad there for the hour or so beforehand made me feel a lot better about the whole thing.

The operation itself involved a gastroscopy (camera down my throat into my stomach) and if they could see lymphnodes, get a biopsy to test.

Cutting to the chase, was it worth worrying for 16+ hours? Not at all. All I remember is them checking my blood pressure, putting something in my cannula and asking me to count to 10. I got to 12 and next thing I know, I woke up coughing my lungs up in recovery with a nurse next to me. Luckily, the coughing only lasted for about fifteen minutes and that was just a result of irritating my throat.

Apparently, the gastroscopy went well and they were able to get a couple of good tissues from the lymphnodes to biopsy. Additionally, they also took the following photos whilst they were inside - I have no idea what they're of or even if anything is okay, but I thought they were cool!

For the first 45 minutes after the procedure, I felt fine. I was great! I felt incredibly thirsty and hungry but I assume that was simply due to the fact I hadn't eaten. Things from here turned pretty quickly once I had some dinner and a glass of water. I started to go downhill pretty quickly - feeling incredibly fatigued and tired....essentially dopey. It was from here I knew I just needed to have some rest and I'd wake up better in the morning. Needless to say, I was asleep by 9pm and basically slept through the night...except for when the nurses woke me up at 11pm, 12pm. 3am and 5am.

Waking up this morning (Wednesday July 17th), I instantly felt a lot better than I had last night. Admittedly, I had a bit more of a sleep in than I generally would've - it was great. I use the term 'sleep in' lightly though - it's nothing like a sleep in at home! What was the plan of attack for today? Well to be honest I wasn't too sure. A doctor yesterday mentioned briefly about a bone marrow test however the nurses and doctors on had no idea about one and couldn't see one booked in. I hadn't eaten since the night prior however the nurses got me to fast once again whilst they investigated. As a result, breakfast was staring me right in the face and I couldn't even touch my beloved weetbix, milk and sugar!

The clock ticks over to 10:37 and a Young, lanky doctor comes by. "Hi Justin, I'm Alex and I'll be doing your bone marrow procedure today..." Alex went on to explain the procedure, risks and what to expect. As he finished and started to walk away I had one last burning question. "When are we doing it? Later this afternoon?" "Now" Alex replied.

Woah. Wait. What? Hang on two seconds. I'm not prepared for this. You mean now...as in like, once Alex had finished preparing? You betcha....

Now I was under the assumption I'd be getting knocked out as I had done the night before however Alex proceeded to explain they'll put some medication in my cannula that "makes you feel like you've had four or five beers" as well as some local anaesthetic. No point being worried or scared about it - if it's getting done bedside, it couldn't be near as bad as the lumbar puncture, right? Once again, like I have been for the past few weeks I was completely and utterly wrong.

First though, what's this procedure involve? Basically, blood, white blood cells and platelets are produced in your bone marrow. This can be accessed via key areas of your body depending on your age...for me it was my hipbone - left side to be exact. The aim of the procedure is to get these fresh samples of blood, white blood cells and platelets as well as get a sample of my bone marrow - generally one small sample of the bone.

Alex got me curled up in the fetal position, lying on my right and basically began straight away. A few local anaesthetic needles numbed the surface before he inserted a needle in to collect the blood samples. This part was similar to a lumbar puncture, but I couldn't feel as much internally.

Alex then stated he was starting the bone marrow collection, which was without fail the worst part of this whole experience so far. He used the large needle with a blue handle, which can be seen below.

Alex hit the bone and advised me the next part was only going to tickle a little bit. What's he do? He starts to screw into my bone. Whilst I couldn't see, it felt very similar to uncorking a bottle of wine. Whilst he went in no deeper than 1mm, christ it hurt. The worst part was yet to come. Much like the pressure behind uncorking a bottle of wine, this happened too. Alex yanked the sample out and the pressure and pain was immense! Done. It's all done. Thank goodness. Then Alex said the words I didn't want to hear next. "Y'know what Justin? We want to make sure we only have to do this once, so let's get another sample, eh?"

Oh my lord. Are you kidding me? Whatever. Lets do it. I want to get it over and done with. I don't even think I replied, just mumbled something along the lines of whatever. And thus, the process happens again. I've attached photos of the two samples below, which I thought were pretty cool!

I must admit, Alex was incredible during the procedure. I asked at the start to keep me informed throughout the whole process. I'm quite an inquisitive character when things are happening that I don't know what the process is and this was no different. Alex not only kept me informed, he did as much as he could to keep me as comfortable as I could be during such a procedure. One thing I was incredibly surprised at was how much blood was on his hands!

Not much happened throughout the rest of today to be honest. Courtney, dad and mum came to visit but that was it. The doctors advised they are expecting the result of the biopsy tomorrow afternoon (hopefully) however they said it could take anywhere up to 72 hours from the procedure - which puts it at Friday night or Monday. Where does that put me? Same boat as I have been throughout this entire process - just waiting for answers.

I was advised that the results could come back either negative or inconclusive. Whilst this wouldn't be ideal, it's unfortunately just going to be another roadblock in this venture. In preparation the results don't come back the way we probably expect the, too, I'm booked in for an ultrasound of my gall bladder tomorrow. That will be their next avenue to answers. I suspect this is because my PET scan showed up significant areas in my gall bladder and I suppose that's not exactly a vital cog of the human body...so I suspect they'll just remove it, cut it open and see what's inside. But that's nowhere near a medical analysis of what's going to happen.

Before I finish for tonight, I'll leave you with how I am mentally. How am I going despite all this? Y'know what? I'm actually the opposite to what you probably think I am. I'm in the best mental state I have been over the past six weeks. Why? I think it's because we're close to (hopefully) getting an answer or at least following a more solid path to answers.

I end tonight with a final thank you. Thank you for all the messages and endless love. It's helping - trust me, it is.

Juzz xx

[saeranlover]

Ummm am I allowed to make a request? I'd love to see you write a vanderwood story where he's shipped with MC! You could do anything that you want with it if you want or you don't even hve to take the request if you don't want to

Ahh, I don’t write stuff for Vanderwood often… It’s hard to get a completely solid grasp of his personality at times, but I thought I would give it a go for you, anon~

Oh and I posted it on AO3, ‘cause I was pretty happy with how it turned out~

The RFA party was infull swing, and you had been asked by Jumin to go about, introduceyourself to the guests, and ask how they were feeling with the party.It was a relief for you, as after spending eleven days in astranger’s apartment with only the same five (occasionally six)people to speak to, it was wonderful to be able to properlysocialise.

As you werestrolling around, you couldn’t help but notice that Seven wasslightly on edge, glancing around and tugging at his shirt’scollar. His glasses had slightly steamed up as he appeared to besweating, and his neatened hair was starting to return to it’stypical dishevelled state as he kept running his hand through it. Itworried you greatly, seeing one of the most cheerful and upbeatmembers of the RFA in such a panic.

With a concernedfrown on your face, you approached him and flicked his foreheadlightly to make him snap to attention. “Hey hey, God Seven…What’s the matter with you? Lost your chips?” You hoped thatjoking around would be enough to bring forth a grin and a joke inreturn, but… you were given a quiet sigh.

“If only… I justdidn’t get much sleep last night and it’s pretty busy in here…Hah… It feels almost like somebody is keeping an eye on me…”

“You didn’tsleep? Well it’s no wonder that you feel like that! You’reprobably hallucinating, Mister ‘lolololol let’s hack until Idrop’.”

Seven’s lip turnedup at one of the corners slightly, before he pulled his glasses offand gave them a quick wipe. “Yep… Probably…” He thencarefully placed his glasses back onto his nose, before he finallyput on his trademark grin. “Butdon’t worry about me! I shall rejuvenate with the power of PhDPepper!”

OnceSeven had quickly made his presence scarce, you began to return toyour previous task of speaking to the guests. By this point, many ofthem had gravitated towards where Zen had started singing, so youdecided to focus on those who weren’t fluttering around the musicalactor. From the corner of your eye, there was one guest who caughtyour attention in particular, so you went over to him.

Hewas… Well, he seemed to be silently scanning the crowds, as thoughhe was trying to look for somebody. Despite that, he seemed to beaware of your presence beside him. “It’s rude to stare. Can’tyou find somebody else to hassle…?”

“I-I was staring? I’m so sorry… I was just in the middle of speakingto guests, so I thought I would speak to you too… Are you lookingfor somebody?” You then awkwardly followed his eyes as they stoppedmoving, and confusion filled your face. “Are you looking forLuciel? Are you one of theguests which he forwarded to me?”

Theman began to lean against a wall, and rolled his eyes. “You couldsay that, yes… But what I am doing here is of none of yourbusiness, Miss-” He fell silent, and suddenly reached out for yourwrist. “Wait… You’re her. Apartmentlady which he stopped working over…” His voice was hushed but atthe same time seemed somewhat hostile, before he quickly beganwalking somewhere… still keeping a firm grasp of your arm.

“Excuseme, but- But guests aren’t allowed that way-!”

“Well,it’s a good thing that I’m not aguest.” You then began to panic then – a man who was nota guest, somehow gotinto the party, and knew Sevenhad hold of you, and was dragging you somewhere! No wonderSeven was on edge, he must have knew that this person was here-!“Hmm… Things should be quiet here. Now…” He let go of yourwrist once he had pulled you into a storage room filled with seats,letting you slightly stumble forward into one of the unstable stacks.

Beforeyou could pull yourself up properly, there was a slight noisebehind you. “What do you know of Agent 707’s work, MC? I knowthat you’re the whole reason he’s been neglecting his tasks –I’ve been made to keep an eye on you when I had to force him to getit done. How did you become associated with him?”

Youslowly turned around, and instinctively raised your arms slightly atthe sight of the taser which was being pointed at you. “H- How doyou know my name…?” A slight tremble began to take over your bodyas the dim light of the room meant that you could only really see theweapon, the man’s silhouette, and narrowed eyes.

“Theexact same way that I know that you joined the RFA by convenientlystumbling into an apartment which was meant to be a secret, that youare very thorough with cleaning that dusty old place, that you have atendency to wake up at 3am, and eat some rubbish food at timesprobably because you were stuck in that apartment for almost twoweeks. Oh, and that you wear some very nice outfits- Wait wait wait…This isn’t about that… This is about what you know of 707’swork. It’s your turn to speak, MC.”

Youblinked slightly at the plethora of knowledge which this man knew ofyou, before gulping. “I- I know that it’s meant to be dangerousbut he never says what it is-” Then you thought… Seven hadmentioned a good few times about the lone person who was allowed intohis home, and he had asked to keep an eye on the apartment security…“And… That you’re probably that ‘Mary Vanderwood the 3rd’he speaks of… His… maid? That’s stupid…”

Vanderwoodraised an eyebrow, before lowering his weapon. “Well he definitelycalls me a maid at times… And at least I know that you possess somesense, in knowing how idiotic that is. Tch.” Hethen folded his arms, and leaned back against the door. “So, atleast I know that you’re not much ofa threat… I wouldn’t want to have to eliminate somebody like you.It’s not often you meet like-minded, nice, and somewhat… goodlooking people…”

Why on earth wasyour face heating up?! He had just spoke about the fact that he couldhave killed you there and then, but you were blushing atthe complements?!

“God,is the light in here any better? Where are those switches to turnthem on… Oh, and don’t think of trying to run, I still have moreto ask you.” Eventually, more lights began to turn on as you heardthe click of the switches, which made you bite your lip as Vanderwoodreturned his attention to you. “Now… How do I know that you’renot going to tell people about this if I let you leave? And… areyou overheating in here?”

Youthen realised that your face was still bright red, so frantically,you sat down on a chair not stacked up, and covered your face throughembarrassment… starting the red-face cycle all over again. However,you felt his hand rest on the top of your head, alongside him givingoff a quiet sigh. “God, calm down… Take your time, we’veprobably got a good few minutes before 707 finds us here.”

Afterabout a minute of pulling yourself together, you took a deep breathand movedyour hands away from your face. “I wouldn’t tell… I- I promisethat I wouldn’t… I’d even let you watch over me if it means youknow that I won’t say anything…”

“Hmm…Well, that’s an interesting proposition… But that would interferein my work.It’s bad enough that I have to act like 707’s parent, and havehad to spend a lot of time watching you on security footage…” Hethen stepped back once more, before scowling. “Maybe I could keepyou with me… That would work… It would also make 707 get his workdone, knowing that you’re-”

Thedoor suddenly swung open, and there was a loud sigh. “Wow, MC! Youreally shouldn’t disappear like-!” You saw Seven stood in thedoorway, his eyes wide as he mouthed ‘Vanderwood’. “O- Oh, MC,I see you’ve met my maid, Mary! Haha, getting some cleaning advicefrom her-?!”

“Iknow that his nameis Vanderwood, Seven. And that calling him a maid just because youtend to slack off is a bit stupid… And according to Vanderwood, I’mactually pretty good at cleaning, based on what he saw me do inRika’s apartment.”

Sevenseemed a bit overwhelmed and confused at this strange meeting of bothyou and his colleague, andthe colour drained from his face when Vanderwood pulled you up toyour feet, and took hold of your shoulders from behind you. “Yes,she’s a pretty good woman… It’s a shame she works a lot harderthan you, agent. And also a shame that she’s mine now, as she’stoo much of a risk to the agency.”

His?!What was he even talking about…?

Beforeyou could question anything, Yoosung suddenly appeared in thedoorway, out of breath as he looked between you and Seven. “Thereyou two are! Everyone was getting worried because both of you wentmissing!” Yoosung was his typical cheerful self as he then ran overto you, and looked at Vanderwood who was still holding onto you.“Ooh, who is this, MC?”

Beforeyou could even think ofa response, Vanderwood had started speaking. “I couldn’t help butcome to the party to speak to MC, it’s scary when your girlfriendgoes missing for eleven days… We just wanted a bit of time to catchup alone, isn’t that right, dear?” Your eyes widened at theexcuse he had come up with to say instead of ‘I work with Seven’…He said that you were his girlfriend?!

“Aww,cute! We should leave them alone then, Seven! Come on, there’s somechips waiting for us in the main hall!”

“Yes,you two had better getlost… You don’t wantto get all embarrassed near us lovebirds, do you?” He then tookhold of your chin and turned your head back towards him, andmoved his lips close to yours. However, he whispered something to youquickly. “Play along,and I will keep your presence a secret from the agency…”

Youslightly nodded, before you were caught by surprise anyway as hesuddenly kissed youto keep up his act, waiting for Yoosung to leave and for Seven toback off slightly horrified by the unfolding scenes. As soon as theywere gone, you were out of breath and even more flustered thanpreviously as you quickly put distance between yourself andVanderwood.

“Wh-What was that for?! C- Calling me your girlfriend, and kissing me?!”

“Firstthing I thought of. Can’t blame me though… Anyone would be luckyto have a woman such as yourself.”