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citrineghost · 3 years ago

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Avoiding Scams on Freelancing Sites

Hi there! I almost just got scammed today, and I’m going to take the LITTANY of red flags from this interaction and use it to teach you all about how to avoid scams.

I am not making very much money right now. I just lost one of the accounts I was writing for, so I am not not even making enough to pay my rent. So I am desperately looking for work. And, like many people desperately looking for work, my panicking subconscious is willing to see a red flag and brush it under the rug because

“I’m probably being paranoid.”

So, to all of my lovely artists, writers, editors, and other types of freelancers who are desperately looking for work, I would like to create a comprehensive list of things that you should NOT FUCKING IGNORE while looking for a job. Actually, the list will be formatted as things you should expect from your employer/interviewer and if these things are missing, get the fuck out of there.

1. Reputable Platforms

The first thing you should be expecting is to use reputable platforms. If you’re being asked for a virtual interview, you should expect your interviewer to invite you via Skype, Discord, (Maybe slack if they’re middle-aged), perhaps Whatsapp, or whatever website you’re using to find your job.

DO NOT go for interviews on Telegram. This app has been reported as very commonly being associated with scams. This is where my recent experience took place.

2. Willingness to Verify Legitimacy

The first thing you should do when being in contact with an interviewer or HR is ask them to verify their identity.

This may not be necessary if doing a video call with someone pictured on an official company website, receiving emails or texts from addresses/numbers that are listed on an official company website, or if the job you’re being interviewed for was applied to directly on the company website. In these cases, you are not likely to be scammed, as you’re working with verifiably information.

If you meet someone on Indeed, Fiverr, Upwork, or any other freelancing/job site, keep your contact within the website’s chat system, email system, or whatever. This is how you remain protected under the hiring site’s TOS/Legal whatever. If you get scammed because you took your hiring process elsewhere, they will not help you.

That being said, if you DO take your interview off the site, it should be somewhere reputable and you should ask for your interviewer to verify their identity before doing literally anything else. The best way to get them to verify their identity is to ask them to email or text you from an address or phone number listed clearly on the official company website, by asking them to show you their state ID and checking it for photoshop influence, or by asking to do a video call for the interview and seeing for yourself that you’re being interviewed by someone who is pictured on the official company website as an employee.

3. Clear and Professional Procedures

Any professional working as an interviewer or human resources personnel will have a skillset related to communication and organization. When being interviewed you should expect a number of questions about your skills and how you’re valuable to the company, etc. However, this is easy to fake, as a scammer. What you need to look out for is that they show a clear amount of structure.

If you’re asked for an interview, no real company will demand you be quick about responding. If they’re interested in an interview, a legitimate company is not likely to ask you to do the interview immediately. They will ask you to schedule an interview time with them. They may ask if you have availabilities that day, but they will not just start interviewing you immediately.

After the interview, any professional company will tell you that they will get back to you when they’ve made a decision about your interview. No professional company will tell you to wait for an indefinite amount of time while they talk to HR peers. If a company Does want you to wait, because they intend to make a quick decision, they will give you an expected wait time, as that is the courteous and professional thing to do. They will not expect you to be on-call for this period of time. A time projection is simply to give you an idea of what to expect. For example, “I’ll be in touch within the next 1-3 hours about the results of your interview. Thank you for your time.”

Furthermore, if you are accepted for a job, any professional company will make a clear outline of exactly how they plan to introduce you into company life. They will respect your time and ask you to schedule things with them. For example, “Is there a period of 2-3 hours within the next few days where you would be available for an orientation?”

No professional company will demand you do anything at any particular time. That is not how legitimate professionals treat new employees. You will be asked to schedule things with them. Even when you’re assigned work hours, if the exact hours you’re applying for are not listed in the job description you applied for, they will ask you to fill out some kind of time sheet to outline your availabilities, then schedule you for times within that outline.

4. Doesn’t Show Signs of Money Scamming

There are two major red flags when it comes to money scams. Your interviewer should never ask you what bank you use and your interviewer should never ever tell you they’re going to send you a check, unless they send your paycheck as a check.

One of the more common scams at the moment is run by people pretending to be members of legitimate companies, hiring freelancers for things like proofreading and editing. These remote positions may require home office hardware, right? The interviewer will tell you you’re missing some hardware and software that are required for the job. Then they’ll tell you that they will send a check that you can cash and use to buy the required materials.

This is even sketchier if they email you front and back images of the check and tell you to print it and then deposit it through mobile banking. The way this works is that, if you cash the check successfully, you will then buy the list of software, which is usually completely unrelated to the job you’re being hired for, then they will cancel the check, which hasn’t cleared completely. That leaves you with ~$2k dollars less in your bank and their money right back where it started in theirs. Presumably, the scammers are the ones selling the software. So, that $2k dollars you just spent is also going into their bank account.

Professional companies will never offer to send you checks to buy products. If they have official hardware or software that they want you to use, they will buy it themselves and then send it to you. There is never a reason why a new hire should buy hardware or software out of their own bank, whether they have been given money for it or not.

Furthermore, a legitimate company will never ever pay you before you have signed and sent your contract to them. One of the obvious giveaways of the scam I was almost caught in was that I was sent the contract last night and I asked if I could send it in today, since it was getting late. The interviewer agreed. I signed it in the morning and then asked him if I should send it in a reply to the email I got the original contract from or if there’s another email I need to send it to. He completely ignored my question, asked me how I was doing, and then went into the check-related information so I could buy software.

The issue was bothering me ALL DAY. I knew there was something extremely weird about that, so I asked again a few hours later. His response? “You have nothing to worry about.” ?????? I was aghast. I wasn’t worried at all! I just wanted an answer! If he had simply told me to respond to the email I’d gotten the contract from, I might have fallen for his scam! What a terrible scammer smdh

A Non-Exhaustive List of Other Red Flags

Your interviewer shows a poor grasp on the language

If your interviewer is making frequent grammatical errors that are glaringly obvious to any native speaker, that is a huge red flag. HR reps and interviewers are hired because of their communication skills. It is highly unlikely that someone who makes non-native-like errors is legitimate unless they are actually openly non-native, in which case, it’s not so alarming.

Your interviewer is showing impatience or demanding you at certain times

If your interviewer is telling you to “report back by 8am tomorrow” without any kind of prior agreement that this is an acceptable time for you to meet, that is extremely unprofessional and shows a lack of patience. Scammers want to get to the meat of their scam quickly and will use an air of professional superiority and authority to scare you into moving faster than necessary.

Your interviewer shows a lack of opening and closing statements

Along the lines of the clear processes that I mentioned above anybody who is initiating you in the job you’re taking should show clear opening and closing statements. What I mean by this is: professionals in human resources or management positions will not keep you as a social hostage. If you’ve been discussing how you’ll begin training or somesuch, they will not just leave you hanging. You should have a dedicated time slot where you will have your discussion and, at the end of it, your supervisor should make a closing statement. For example, “It looks like our time is running out for today. What would be a good time to pick this up tomorrow?”

If you feel like you are “on-call” and unable to leave the room because the interviewer or supervisor keeps messaging, has not outlined a time slot for you to talk in, won’t seem to let you go, or shows no indication of stopping, that is a really bad sign. Either the company is legitimate and TERRIBLE at professionalism (a great sign you should run anyway), or this is a scammer intent on getting you to follow their instructions as soon as they can.

Your interviewer ignores time zones or gets them wrong

When I was contacted about doing an interview yesterday, it was 4:30pm. I did the interview and was told I got the job. Immediately after, without asking if I was free, he began listing off instructions and things I was to expect. It wasn’t until 7:30pm that he sent me the contract and asked me to review it, sign it, and send it back that I finally asked if I could do that tomorrow. The interviewer was supposedly on the west coast and knew that I was on the east coast. He agreed by saying “Alright” and then told me to report to him “by 8am your time.”

There are 3 things about this that are weird. The first is that he demanded I show up at 8am to continue where we left off. Any professional would have asked when I’m available the next day to continue. the second is that he said “your time” instead of saying EST, as most professionals in the US would be apt to do. And, lastly, I showed up at 7:50am, ready to continue, because I’m that desperate that I’m willing to be pushed around, and he showed up at 9am on the dot. He had gotten the time wrong. Nobody who works professionally on the west coast is incapable of adding 3 hours to their time. It was a rookie mistake, or a mistake made by someone in a completely different time zone than they say they are.

When asked to verify their identity, your interviewer attempts to reassure you or refuses

When I finally was fed up and knew this must be a scam, I politely asked my interviewer to verify his identity by either showing me his US ID or by contacting me from his email or phone number listed on the official company website. He sent me a photoshopped nametag with a completely different person’s name and photo on it and said it was the company ID of the HR director.

I have never seen a facade fall so pathetically. Why would literally any even remotely legitimate person do such a thing? It was sad, really. He deleted the message in less than a minute - no doubt to keep me from looking at it long enough to see how badly it was photoshopped - and then aggressively reassured me that the company meant me no harm and would pay for everything, etc. Any real professional would have simply sent me an email from the legitimate address, stating that they’re legitimate, and then continued on with the initiation process.

Learn from My Mistakes

I hope some of this was helpful for all of you lovely freelancers trying to find work. I thought I would know a scam when I saw one, and I did have a Bad Feeling about this whole thing, because it did feel too good to be true, but I was desperate enough that my judgement was heavily clouded, and that could happen to anyone.

Don’t ignore red flags - especially these ones. Stick up for yourself. Avoid confirmation bias. I looked things up repeatedly to confirm that the company was legitimate and that it’s normal to do things like mobile deposit a printed check and so on. Every time, I found an explanation that suited me. I even tried to cash the check. The only reason it didn’t work was because there was an error with the name on the check because I recently legally changed my name and PayPal was having some kind of issue updating in some areas of its website. It was after that that I realized this was all crashing down and I needed to reassess it all. Don’t let yourself get that deep into it.

#job hunting #job #interview #hiring #scams #advice #psa #important #upwork #freelancing #writing #writeblr #editing #ghostpost

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a-nice-and-interpretive-fanzine · 4 years ago

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[ID: A cream-colored banner that says "A Nice and Interpretive Fanzine: essays and art about the meanings we've found in Good Omens." There is a photo of a book page with a key on it behind the banner text. The photo source is rosy_photo on Pixabay. /end ID]

A Nice and Interpretive Fanzine: Information Masterpost

Welcome!

This is a zine for those of us who love the subtle, complex work that is Good Omens, and who’ve enjoyed the thoughtfulness of the fandom as people interpret how the many moving pieces of the story come together, creating a slightly different meaning for each of us.

To put it simply, it’s a book full of the fandom’s own analysis and commentary about the Good Omens TV show, enhanced with illustrations from our brilliant artists.

This zine is analytical in the sense that all the writers are expressing their own nonfiction thoughts and feelings about the show, rather than writing fanfic, but it is not meant to be heavily academic. Anybody who likes to pick apart the series and discuss it should be able to enjoy it.

The zine will contain essays by fans who are passionate about analyzing and interpreting different parts of Good Omens - the characters, the plot, the writing techniques for the book and script, the cinematography of the TV show, the popular content of the fandom itself. Accompanying these essays will be black and white illustrations from our artists.

How are you organizing this process?

May 1-May 15: Everyone submits their application to do writing or art through a Google form. Behind the scenes, I’ll be setting up a separate email and Discord.

May 16-20: Applicants will be screened during this time.

May 20: I’ll email everyone to let them know the outcomes of their applications. The final participants will get a link to the Discord server for the zine (totally optional, of course).

May 21: If there’s any clarification or solidifying of ideas that needs to happen, I’ll contact you and discuss with you by this point. This is also when artists will be matched up with essays.

May 22 to August 14: This will be a period of just working on our essays and art. The Discord chat and Tumblr will be there for support and for exchanging ideas!

August 15: Participants need to email their full works to the zine’s email address by this date. No special formatting is needed; I’ll do that in InDesign.

August 15 to August 31: I’ll be putting the zine together in InDesign.

September 1: Preorders will open.

September 30: Preorders will close.

October 1: The zine order will be placed!

October 15: Assuming all goes well with printing and shipping, the zines will be shipped out in waves starting on this date. If the printing or shipping from the manufacturer is delayed, then shipping will just start ASAP.

Writer Application HERE Artist Application HERE Asked and Answered Questions on Tumblr The Fanzine's Page on Twitter

Read below for more detailed information about the zine in a Q and A format!

What are the specifications for the zine contributions?

For writers, I’m starting with 3k words or fewer per essay (approximately 10 pages at the size of this book). This depends heavily on how many participants we actually get, so it may change!

For artists, I’d be looking at black and white works, 300 DPI, 5.5 x 8.5 inches or smaller. If your art is supposed to fill up the entire page (i.e. no white space), please make it a total of 5.75 x 8.75 inches with nothing too important around the edges to account for bleed during the printing process.

Can I submit an essay to this zine if I’ve already posted it on Tumblr?

Not as you’ve already posted it. We don’t want to just copy/paste the exact thing that hundreds or perhaps even thousands of people have already read.

However, it IS fine and maybe even a good idea to take the same thought from your post and refine it, preserving your same thesis. For example, a lot of Tumblr posts are just us fans jotting down 5 or 6 paragraphs of random thoughts at 2 AM, but some of them are really cool thoughts! Expanding them and turning them into a bona-fide Essay would make those posts into excellent zine chapters. And you can copy small pieces of your own language as long as the whole thing isn’t just pasted word-for-word.

How long do essays have to be? Is there a limit?

With the number of writers we have, I've calculated that each person should ideally keep their essay to about 6000 words. There is wiggle room.

There’s no real minimum for your contribution; some analytical ideas are really good but can be expressed concisely, so it’s okay if your essays only come out to a few pages typed. For reference, with our book size, a page is about 300 words.

What happens if the zine sells a lot and you end up not only breaking even, but turning a profit?

It’ll go to charity. While I’ll ask the participants what they want to do for certain if we do make enough money, my suggestion will be donating it to Alzheimer’s Research UK in honor of Sir Terry Pratchett.

I’m not really comfortable calling this a “charity zine” up front since I simply don’t know if it will raise a significant amount. For the most part, I just want the thing to physically exist, which means breaking even, and don’t want to make it more expensive for buyers than it needs to be to afford the printing costs.

What kinds of essays are you talking about? What could be included?

In short, any analytical thoughts about the Good Omens TV show - and possibly even the fandom as it interacts with the show - are possible inclusions for the zine.

To expand a bit, think about the meta posts you see floating around Tumblr. Often these involve analyzing characters, or picking up on patterns in the plot. Sometimes fans use their own background knowledge to write posts about the significance of certain costume choices or the way music plays into each individual scene. Some posts examine the ways the series approaches gender, while others might discuss ways that the characters present as neurodivergent. That’s how diverse the pool of possibilities is for subjects in this zine.

How does art come into this?

Images will be black and white, to match the bookish mood of the project overall. Images can range in size from a half page to a full page.

I’m planning to talk to the artists and authors and loosely pair artists with essays that appeal to their personal interests.

I know how to illustrate a story, but how do I illustrate an essay?

There are infinite answers to this! I’ve seen some beautiful symbolic artwork in the fandom already (e.g. a number of takes on Aziraphale munching on an apple with Crowley in snake form curving around him), and there are tons of symbolic motifs to draw from, but these are not the only options. An artist illustrating an essay about cinematography, for example, could draw a well-known scene from an alternative angle. An essay about Heaven as a capitalist corporation could be illustrated with a cartoon of Gabriel giving some sort of excruciating PowerPoint presentation. A character analysis could be accompanied by a simple portrait. And on and on. I’m not interested in limiting the possibilities by trying to make a list, but just know that there are many and you don’t have to make it complicated if you don’t want to.

If the writers can reuse their essay ideas, can artists reuse their drawings?

Similarly to the writers, if you already have an interpretive drawing that you’re in love with, artists can use the same ideas and the same fundamental composition that is present in their own existing work. However, it has to be redone in some significant way. Whether it’s taking something you drew in 2019 and redrawing it using an updated style, taking a sketch and turning it into a lined and shaded piece, or redoing a full-color drawing so it presents more strikingly in black and white, it shouldn’t be identical to the thing you’ve already posted.

So how are you choosing participants here?

It’ll be based on what people are interested in writing about (or illustrating). I’ll be looking for people who are passionate about their essays, but I’ll also be looking for variety. It all depends on what people want to offer, so I won’t know for sure what it will look like put together until everyone’s application is in.

For artists, I’ll be trying to figure out whose style looks like it would adapt well to illustrations in black and white, and also who demonstrates an interest in the same subjects as the writers.

If we don’t get a lot of applicants, I’d love to simply include everyone, but I can’t commit to that without knowing for sure how many people are involved.

Do I have to use a formal writing style to participate?

No. You should use a style that makes your thoughts and ideas as clear as possible, but as long as it’s understandable, you can also get a little artistic with it. You can “write like you speak,” though perhaps in a more organized way. You definitely don’t need to worry about stylistic rules like not using the first person. This is not academia.

Is this zine going to center only on Crowley and Aziraphale?

That remains to be seen! It depends on what ideas show up in the applications. There will be a lot of the ineffable partners for sure, but whether the whole zine will center on them or whether there’s plentiful stuff about other characters will depend on what the participants suggest.

Do we have to agree with all your personal interpretations of Good Omens to be in the zine?

No! In fact, I’m assuming that a number of essays will contradict each other, too, and that’s perfectly okay. The zine is a sampler of fan interpretations meant to inspire, not instruct. It’s not “Here’s a fan-made guide on how to understand this TV show,” it’s “Look at all these moving parts and how many meanings we can find in them. What does it mean to you?”

However, there are some basic rules and assumptions by which I’m working here.

I don’t personally have the energy to include essays that are highly critical (“negative”) in this zine. It’s analytical but also meant to be fun.

I’m pretty focused on the TV adaptation. This isn’t “no book analysis allowed” but just that the essays will end up being weighted toward subjects that apply to either the TV show or both the book and the show.

Each writer should focus on making their own points over disproving other fan interpretations. If you’re writing in an expository style, it’s normal for the essay to contain rebuttals to opposing ideas, but these should be minor supporting points, not the heart and soul of your essay. For reference, I’d say the majority of meta I see floating around on tumblr would follow this rule just fine.

Essay ideas that seem to contain bigoted or exclusionary sentiments will not be accepted (no TERFy stuff, for example).

What kinds of editing will go into the zine? Are you going to argue with us about the contents of our writing?

While I might ask you to elaborate on certain points in your writing or clarify your thoughts about your subject, I’m absolutely not here to ask you to change the thesis, opinions, or headcanons on which your writing is based. If I really have a problem with your initial idea, I’ll tell you that up front and politely decline the contribution.

While formatting the zine, I’ll make minor edits if I think I see a typo or misspelling, something small and obviously unintentional. As with any other zine, your content won’t be changed without consulting you.

Is this a SFW zine?

Yes. If people want to discuss sexuality in a theoretical way, like erotic subtext, that would be allowed. There are canon references like Newt and Anathema’s moment under the bed that might come up, too. But there will be nothing explicit, and since these are essays instead of stories, there will be no “action” going on between characters. Let’s just say sex isn’t a forbidden topic, but it will be like discussing it in English class.

As for other topics that could make the zine NSFW, like gore or extreme language, I don’t think they will be an issue. Some dark topics, like abuse by Heaven and Hell, may be discussed, but they will be warned for, and these are not stories, so you aren’t going to see violent actions playing out.

Will there be any “extras” like charms or stickers?

I’m not sure yet. I’m most inclined to keep it simple, because of the nature of the zine, but would be open to including some bonus items if there’s an artist who’s really passionate about it.

With that said, I am pretty committed to making a hardcover edition of the book available, in addition to the standard softcover version.

You’re doing this with only one mod?!

Yes. I personally find it easiest. While I’ve worked on multi-mod projects in other domains and adore all of my co-mods, it’s a little bit different when it’s a project with this many moving pieces that includes real-life components like printing and shipping. Though there are a lot of individual things to be done, I am experienced with all of them, so it’s less overwhelming to just take on the whole project. That way, I know exactly what needs to be done and when, and there are no issues with assigning tasks.

What qualifies you to run this zine?

The résumé answer: in fandom, I successfully solo-modded a large not-for-profit zine in the past, the @soulmakazine2018, and while I can’t speak for the whole fandom, it definitely seemed to be well-received. <3 In real life, I’m a case manager and this involves coordinating and communicating with a lot of different people including my 100-person caseload, budgeting services, and filling out all kinds of paperwork on the fly, all skills that can be imported into zine work.

The practical answer: well, I’m the one who decided to start this project, so if you like the sound of it, you're stuck with me. I say with encouragement and enthusiasm that if you’d like to do a different take on a commentary zine, you should absolutely do it.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #ineffable partners #fanzine #good omens zine

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love-killed-the-superstar · 4 years ago

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what the hell is this i’m so LATE for the last day of cassunzel week but here, take it

CASSUNZEL WEEK DAY 7 - HOME IS WHERE YOU ARE

Cassandra has been everywhere at this point. She has climbed mountains, drifted for days on the open sea, trudged through deserts and forests, passed through quaint town after quaint town, bustling city after bustling city. Every life is so very different from her own.

Still, after just over six years of walking this earth, nothing quite feels like home when she’s alone. Letters from Rapunzel find her easily, thanks to Owl, scrawled with child-like excitement; they document long days in the palace court and fun little mishaps with their friends in the same chipper tone, all while telling her each time without fail how much she misses her… how much she loves her.

Cass, in return, has done her best to keep Rapunzel in the loop in regards to her travels. There’s a letter sent from the peaks of the Koto mountain range, slightly blood-stained from scraping her hand on a rock during her climb; a postcard reading With Love, From Arendelle! on the cover, with warm regards from Anna and Elsa along with her own; several letters that are more ink prints of various fish she’s caught than anything, with a few words about how good they tasted and a vague grid location of whatever woodland she’s been wandering through between settlements. She’s even sent Rapunzel crude copies of maps she’s made, spinning the tale of how she’s made a small side business out of selling her maps to travellers she meets on her journeys. They don’t sell for all that much, with most travellers being just as broke and starving as she is, but it’s a small, honest living, and it does feel good to have her efforts appreciated.

She never used to be much of a sentimental type, but if Rapunzel is good at anything it’s rubbing off onto others, so for every loving letter that Rapunzel writes to her, she saves it in a small wooden box and sends her own back in return. Cass is pretty bad at writing mushy things to Rapunzel, but she does try to throw in an I-Love-You on occasion. More often than not, she writes what she knows, waxing poetic in her own special love language.

One such letter comes to her tonight, as she winds down for the day and watches the sky darken overhead.

Hey Raps,

It’s been another long day of travelling. Fortunately for me, I mapped out this area the last time I travelled through, so as long as I keep my wits about me I’ll be out of the woods in no time. For now, I’ve made camp. Owl is out hunting, so I will wait until he returns to entrust this letter to him, and Fidella is just outside the cave, grazing. I’m at the mouth, just sheltered enough so that my fire doesn’t blow out, but still with a view of the night sky. I hope you’re looking too.

I often find myself staring up at Polaris these days when the nights are clear, and I’m ever thankful for all those times you’ve taught me what you know about stargazing. I don’t have quite enough time or patience to chart the skies each night, but that’s why I’m grateful for navigational stars like Polaris. I LOVE that it doesn’t move. The other stars will stray from port, but no matter how far they go Polaris is always there like an anchor until they pass by once more. In that sense, I suppose that makes you the Polaris to my own fleeting skies.

Thank you for that. I love you.

Always Yours – Cassandra.

As she awaits Owl’s return, Cass watches that star like she does every night – the star that burns so brightly night after night, as though holding up an oil lamp, waiting in the darkness for something, some one – and hopes that maybe Rapunzel is watching that same sky with matched wonder.

Rapunzel’s reply comes a few days later, and Cass is knee-deep in a river trying her hand at spear-fishing when Owl swoops overhead, a letter clutched in his talons. She hoists herself out from the water and reaches for the letter, uncaring of the mud that squelches uncomfortably between her toes. She wastes no time in tearing open the envelope with that familiar purple royal seal.

Parts of the letter are nearly illegible; Cassandra can only imagine that Rapunzel scrawled it feverishly, so as not to keep Owl away from her for too long. But her reply is as lovestruck as ever, and Cass is unable to hold back her laughter at the adoring response.

My Darling Cassandra,

I’m glad to hear you’re doing well. Your letters have grown a little infrequent lately, I thought maybe you were somewhere new and remote, and perhaps too far away for Owl to fly or for the courier to travel. I’m grateful you wrote to me. I treasure each and every letter you send my way, I hope you know! I scrapbook them so that I can flick through and read them whenever I miss you. They’ve filled up almost an entire journal at this point.

Castle life is as it always is: hard. Everyone is wonderful and I feel like I’m making good strides, but gruelling work is gruelling work, as you perfectly well know. Entertaining allied royals and diplomats is always a treat, but they ask after my absent wife often since you’re rarely back in Corona these days. (I’ve also heard rumours that a few don’t truly believe you exist, because you’ve alluded their notice. Lucky you! They can be very boring. Oh, I know that sounds mean, but we’re just incompatible people! I’m sure they find me boring too!)

Cass laughs aloud at that. Rapunzel may be many things, and they certainly might not enjoy her company, but the notion of Rapunzel being boring, even to people who don’t understand her, is just too ludicrous.

But anyway. Let’s talk about stars.

Your words on Polaris moved me when I read them. Eugene thought I had seen a ghost! I will gladly treat you to another astronomy lesson the next time you come home. I never knew you to be such a poet, Cass, but here you are! I find it hard to pick a favourite star, but now that I know your favourite I’ll have to watch Polaris each night too, and hope you’re also looking. Watching the same sky does make me feel closer to you now. I just wish there was some way to fully bridge that gap. Do you know that I miss you when I climb into bed at night and you’re not at my side, ready to hold me? I’d give anything to have you in my arms right now.

I love you so much. Please be safe, wherever you go next.

With all my love, Rapunzel.

PS. Eugene says hi. Well, he’s actually working right now, but I’m sure if he was here he’d be saying hi.

With a heavy sigh, Cass leans back, bringing the letter up close. It smells faintly of Rapunzel, somehow – a trace of her perfume or something. Just enough that if she shuts her eyes tight, she can pretend her wife is hovering over, a playful smile on her lips, ready to kiss her.

She can’t wait any longer.

“We’re going back to Corona,” Cass tells Owl and Fidella, who seem unsurprised that the change of plan comes so soon after a letter from her sweetheart. “At first light, we’re heading east.”

I’ll be home soon, she thinks to herself, resolutely. Wait for me, just a little longer.

…

A week later, home is in sight. She passes through the Corona gates just as night is about to fall. The guards at the gates are pissed that she’s slipped through at this time of night, grumbling that it makes their life harder having to carry out ID checks by lamplight, but when she says as sweetly as she can that she’s the princess fucking consort and hasn’t posed a threat to the kingdom for many, many years now, they shut up surprisingly fast.

Cassandra feels a little bad for them, in all honesty; she used to be just like them, after all, and they’re only following orders. So she thanks them for their service and crosses over the bridge, choosing to ignore Fidella’s disapproving snort. After all, she’s so damn close.

She rides through the courtyard, nodding towards Stan and Pete and asking breathlessly if they’ve seen Rapunzel this evening. She’ll catch up with them later, but she’s on a mission that leaves no time to stop and smell the roses.

“The princess has already retired to her room for the night,” Stan begins, and Cass gives him her thanks and swiftly rides on, giving a quick wave as she goes. Owl, who has been silently perched on her shoulder the entire time, takes off into the sky and soars upwards, past the balcony of Rapunzel’s room. Cass and Fidella wait at the bottom, watching with bated breath as he disappears from sight.

She feels… disheveled. Maybe she should have freshened up a bit first? But then again, Rapunzel has seen her in just about every state of dirty, sweaty and tired known to mankind, so to pretend that she’s been fresh as a daisy this whole trip would be a little ridiculous.

Cass reaches up to smooth down her hair, self-consciously trace a thumb across the crows feet that have become more noticeable in the last few months, and for a moment she considers turning around and heading towards her old quarters to freshen up.

But then there’s the creaking of a window pane, and suddenly Rapunzel’s face, flung over the edge of the balcony, stares down at her in starry-eyed wonder. Cass stares up at her, a beacon in the fading light.

Ah, Polaris.

“Cassandra, you came back?!”

“I am! Didn’t I tell you?” Cass calls up to her, cocking her head in confusion. “I could have sworn I wrote another letter.”

“No,” Rapunzel says simply. “No, you didn’t.”

“Oh.” A beat of silence, then Cass stretches out her hand towards her. “Hey, come for a ride with me?”

“Are you sure?” Rapunzel asks, craning her neck a little further. “It’s getting late.”

“Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time we snuck out at night, would it?” Cass grins up at her. “Come on, Raps. Let’s go on an adventure.”

Rapunzel matches her grin with equal glee, and nods.

“Okay, okay, yes! Give me a moment to change, I’m in my nightgown.”

She blows a kiss and then turns, disappearing from view. Cass waits patiently, reveling in the silence of the empty courtyard, before seeing another figure peeking over the edge, looking more pasty than usual.

“Oh, look what the cavalry dragged in.”

Cass can’t fight her eye-roll back. “Evening to you too, Fitzherbert. What’s that on your face?”

“It’s an oat facial,” he retorts. “What’s it to you?”

“Well, I’m just glad to hear it’s not mould, because from here…” She waves her hand in an uncertain manner, earning a harsh laugh from him. Her face softens. “How have you been?”

“Oh, just great. I’m training some new recruits and they’re right cocky little shits. You planning on sticking around for a few days? I need someone to scare ‘em straight and you look like you have at least six facial scars at this point. I’ll tell them you were barred from the guard for extreme war crimes.”

“Sure, it’s a better story than choosing not to join after having all of my extreme war crime charges dropped in court because of my quote-unquote ‘emotional issues’.” She clicks her tongue. “So an oat facial won’t help my cause, then?”

“Cass, if you want to do facials with me all you have to do is ask, I’ve been dying to set you up with a skincare routine for years.”

“I’ll pass, but thanks for the consideration,” she says dryly.

“Rapunzel will be down in a second.” Eugene hesitates, and for a moment Cass gets the sinking feeling he’s going to ask to tag along on their would-be date, but then he adds, “You’ll keep each other safe?”

Cass cracks a smile.

“We can handle ourselves,” she promises. “I’ll be sure to get her back in one piece.”

“You’d better, because I can’t be waiting up for you two, I have morning drills at five and I need my damn beauty rest.”

“Well, I won’t keep you,” Cass says cheerily. “I only came for my wife.”

“Our wife.”

“Details, details.”

Cass hears the heavy creak of the main doors opening and closing, and turns her head to see Rapunzel approaching. In terms of physical appearance, she looks marginally the same as always, but Cassandra is pleasantly surprised by the fact that she’s donned a pair of riding trousers for their big adventure, though has still foregone any shoes. They suit her, Cass muses. She finds her gaze lingering on Rapunzel’s legs a little longer than she should, but then Rapunzel is right in front of her and all thoughts leave her head as they lean down to kiss.

“Hey there, stranger,” Rapunzel whispers, giggling as Cass takes the opportunity to pepper her brow and nose and cheeks with quick kisses.

“Hello to you too, Princess. Here, hop on.”

Rapunzel reaches over to give Fidella a loving pat in greeting, and Cass outstretches her arm to pull her up. Rapunzel hugs her waist once she’s settled down, and Cass shivers happily at the contact.

“You kids have fun now,” Eugene calls, punctuated by a yawn. “I expect no funny business, all right? Make good choices!”

Rapunzel blows him an exaggerated kiss as Cass rolls her eyes, and they take off towards the gates once more. The guards from earlier are perplexed by the sudden appearance of the princess, while being revisited by the grumpy woman they’d only just ushered in; but after taking a brief statement as per safety protocol (“A romantic rendezvous with my wife,” Rapunzel says cheerfully, while Cass simply responds, “We’re going out, what other reason would we have for leaving?”) the gates are opened, and they take off into the night.

With Rapunzel clinging to her, whooping and cheering, Cassandra feels happier than she has in a long time. She encourages Fidella to go faster, faster… the thrill sets her heart aglow, the blood thrumming in her veins.

They soar through the country roads and follow the light of the moon, and Rapunzel is squealing with laughter, uncaring of any attention they may draw from shopkeepers locking up, or drunkards leaving The Snuggly Duckling. They glide past effortlessly, and Rapunzel asks, “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Oh trust me, you’ll know,” Cass calls back. They veer off the roads and into the woodland, heading west for a while. Rapunzel’s laughter dies out once Fidella begins to slow down, weaving through unruly trees. Under the cover of the forest, moonlight barely peeking through the high branches, it becomes increasingly difficult to see. Cass blinks rapidly, eyes trying to adjust to the darkness, thankful Fidella is having an easier time of it than she is.

“You didn’t find another strange cottage with a magic teapot on your travels, did you Cass?” Rapunzel teases. “Because wherever you’re taking us…”

“Trust me, will you?” Cass says again, tilting her head back to fix Rapunzel with a raised eyebrow. “You think I’ve ever gone to someone’s creepy magic shack after what happened out on the road with those bird-brains?”

Rapunzel giggles and leans forward to press a quick kiss to Cassandra’s cheek.

“Sorry, sorry. I trust you! Wherever you’re taking us, I’m sure I’ll love it.”

They ride on in comfortable silence for another few minutes, both happily revelling in each other’s company, until they pass through a pair of old oaks.

“Ah, I see,” Rapunzel sings, squeezing Cassandra’s waist a little tighter. “You’ll go all out on the romantic gestures when it’s the middle of the night, but if I invite you to come home and spend the most romantic Coronan holiday with me…”

“Nice try, but you can never guilt me to join you for the Day of Hearts, Raps,” Cass sing-songs back to her. They follow the path as it grows narrower, and Fidella treads carefully through the gulch, raising their feet to avoid the cold rush of water. The lagoon comes into view, the moon gleaming on the water’s deep indigo surface.

“Oh, it’s beautiful as ever,” breathes Rapunzel. “I haven’t been back here in a long time.”

Cass cocks her head towards her. “You never visit?”

“Not without you. It feels weird.”

“Well fear not, I’m here now!” Cass reaches over to pat Fidella’s head. “Think you can hang back here for a while so Raps and I can have a little… alone time?”

Fidella grunts in reply, and Cass reluctantly pries Rapunzel’s arms from her waist before climbing down and reaching into her travel pack to offer Fidella up an apple.

“Good girl, thank you.”

She helps Rapunzel down and the two of them take off, running through the narrow strip of shoreline. Rapunzel wastes no time in shimmying off her trousers and wading in, while Cass hangs back to take off her boots, pouring sand out of them with a grimace and slipping down her stockings.

“Augh, it’s cold!” squeals Rapunzel. “Not like, horribly cold? Lagoon-cold? But still, it’s cold!!”

Cass laughs at Rapunzel’s shrieks, but still finds herself shivering a little once she slips her tunic off. She takes a few tentative steps in, gasping sharply as the cool water laps around her ankles. Rapunzel, at this point, has slipped off the waistcoat and blouse she’d been wearing, and flings them in the vague direction of the shore. They land, unsuccessfully, in the shallows.

“Oh, well done. You’re lucky I have some spare shirts in my travel pack.”

Rapunzel cheers. “Yes! You know I love wearing your clothes!”

“It’ll be a bit spicy,” Cass warns. “I haven’t had a chance to do laundry in the past week.”

“Eh, I’ll manage.”

Cass plucks the now drenched clothing from the water and tosses it onto shore, before following Rapunzel further into the water. She makes it up just above her waist, shivering and grumbling all the way, when suddenly the sand beneath gives away and she plunges below the surface. For a split second, panic settles in; that primal fear of sinking like a stone and never coming back up that has haunted her since she was a child. Her arms thrash wildly, trying to push herself up to the surface, when a pair of arms wrap around her waist and pull her up.

Cass gasps and splutters, and Rapunzel’s face swims into view.

“Cass! Cass, it’s okay! You’re okay, I’ve got you!”

Gulping a few deep breaths, Cass is pulled in close, and Rapunzel kisses her brow and strokes her soaking wet hair.

“It was just a sand bank that gave away underneath you. You’re okay. You’re treading water without even realising, see?”

Cassandra realises dizzily that Rapunzel has a point. She’s doing okay. She’s not drowning, not even close.

“I… I don’t normally, uh,” she begins, and Rapunzel shushes her.

“I know. It just took you by surprise, huh?” Cass nods numbly, and Rapunzel pulls back a little, hands reaching to cup Cassandra’s face. “I’ve got you,” she says again, quietly, eyes bearing into hers with fierce devotion.

Cass manages to smile, heart still pounding in her chest, her mouth dry. “Yeah. You’ve got me.”

They swim a little further out, with Rapunzel facing her the whole time and offering smiles of encouragement, and when Cass’s heart has calmed down, she leans over to kiss Rapunzel softly.

“Well,” breathes Rapunzel, punctuated with another kiss, “this has been quite the excursion, huh.”

“I aim to please.” Cass kisses her again, humming happily against her mouth. “By the way, those riding pants you were wearing? They really suit you.”

“I had a feeling you’d like them,” Rapunzel grins.

She holds her arms out, and hesitantly, Cass leans back into them. She focuses her centre of gravity and lightly sculls the water with cupped hands to keep afloat while Rapunzel lays back beside her, arms and legs spread out like a starfish. It’s only once Cass properly looks up at the stunning sky above, stars and light everywhere, that her body grows still and simply floats on the lagoon’s surface.

“What a view,” she murmurs.

“I know it’s the same sky, no matter what,” Rapunzel muses, “but somehow the stars look even prettier here in the lagoon, don’t they?”

“Corona is always lit up,” Cass explains, voice tuning in and out as the water laps against her ears. “The sky isn’t as visible in places where a lot of people gather because of the light they produce. You remember how many stars we could see on the road, whenever we spent the night between towns?”

Rapunzel nods. “It was beautiful. I suppose you enjoy views like this all the time, then?”

“When the weather permits,” Cass laughs. “But yeah. Out in nature, it’s much easier to see a full sky of stars.”

“But Polaris is your favourite!”

Cass feels the heat come to her face a little, knowing Rapunzel is about to steer this somewhere overly sentimental. “Yeah. I mean, It’s a key navigational star, so… it’s a pretty obvious pick.”

“I like that,” insists Rapunzel. “The reasoning, it’s… authentically you. I think.”

“Why, because I like things based on how practical they are?”

“Because only you could make a navigational tool sound romantic.”

“Is that a gift or a curse?”

Rapunzel giggles and Cass joins in, their hands lacing together as they stare at the patchwork sky above.

“I love the idea, though,” Rapunzel murmurs, once their laughter dies down. “That I’m your anchorpoint.”

“You’re so much more than that.”

“Oh, I am?” grins Rapunzel, tilting her head towards Cass.

“Don’t ruin it,” Cass says flatly.

“Sorry, sorry. Please, tell me?”

Cassandra stares up at the northern star, twinkling bright, and exhales. “Rapunzel, when I’m coming back to visit and I’m riding through Corona, all that I really feel is that I’m in Corona. It might as well be any other place. Sure, I’m more familiar with each side street and stray cobble, but… there’s no real, you know, connection there, not after everything that’s happened. But when I turn the corner and lay eyes upon your face, that – that’s the moment I think to myself, ‘I’m home’.”

The world is still, just for a moment, before Rapunzel lets go of her hand and changes to an upright position in the water, reaching up to smooth her soaking hair back. Cass also gives up on floating on her back, already thinking of ways to backtrack if what she said was too embarrassing, even for Rapunzel to bear. But then she notices the way the tips of Rapunzel’s ears are burning.

She turns to face Cass, all red-faced and slicked back hair and wide, longing eyes, and utters, “Cass, I love what you’re saying, but Corona and I are kind of a package deal.”

Cassandra snorts with laughter. “Yes, Raps, I know that. And I do love Corona, in my own way. But my point is that if you were… I don’t know, living life out in the marshes as a bog witch or something, I’d still feel the same way. To me, home is wherever you are.”

“If this is your way of saying you want to go live in a marsh for a while,” Rapunzel begins, a sly gleam in her eye, and Cass reaches over to splash her.

“Shut up! This is why I don’t do schmaltz.”

Rapunzel squeals and splashes back, before swimming over to her and reaching for her waist, pulling her in close. The constellations above don’t compare to the galaxy of freckles dusting Rapunzel’s nose, or the universe in her irises. Cass reaches up to cup her jaw, and Rapunzel shivers when her cold wedding band makes contact with the soft skin of her cheek.

“Cass,” she murmurs, eyes bearing into her own, almost afraid of the answer she’ll find, “do you think you’ll stick around this time?”

“I don’t know,” Cass admits. “I’m not ready to settle down just yet, if that’s what you mean. I’m… I’m getting good at making my own happiness, Rapunzel. Real good.”

Rapunzel nods, offering up a bittersweet smile. “Okay. I understand. I’m proud of you, Cass, I really am.”

Cassandra sees herself as Rapunzel sees her, just for a moment as she catches her brief reflection; an older soul, face marred with scars, eyes tired but kinder. The road has been hers for a fair few years now – the events prior to the eclipse feel like a lifetime ago, out of sight and out of mind. She likes to keep it that way, and perhaps that’s why she never stopped moving, even after the honeymoon, even after her textbook happily ever after.

She isn’t ready to give up that life yet – maybe she never will be – but perhaps she can take a short reprieve from destiny. Maybe staying in one place for a little while, being around Rapunzel, letting Corona get used to the idea that someday she’ll be around for a long time… maybe this is something she can do.

“I know you are,” Cass affirms, offering up a warm smile. “I don’t know if you’ll be so impressed with me once I start sitting in on some of these fancy diplomat dinners as your wife, though. Any training I might have had is long gone by this point.”

Her proposition takes a few moments to really dawn on Rapunzel, who then squeals, launches herself at Cassandra and hones in with a kiss, drinking her in readily as the placid water laps around them. When they part, Rapunzel hugs her tightly, resting her head against the crook of Cassandra’s neck and pressing kiss after gentle kiss to whatever bare skin she can find.

“I never said this earlier,” Rapunzel utters, dithering happily, “but welcome home, Cassandra. Welcome back.”

“It’s good to be back,” Cassandra whispers.

She holds Rapunzel close as they tread water in the quiet of the lagoon, the stars their only witnesses as they enter the next chapter of their happily ever after.

…

(Eugene is unimpressed when they finally stagger into the castle at 4:30, shivering from a night of swimming and Rapunzel in Cassandra’s grubby clothes and barely standing upright from the way that sleep seizes her. He helps Cassandra set her down on the bed, and is about to launch into a speech about how they promised to be safe and responsible in their late night tomfoolery, before catching the goofy smile on Cassandra’s face.

“What’s got you so chipper?” he asks.

“I’m home,” she says with a shrug. “That’s all there is to it.”)

#cassunzel #cassunzel week #tangled #cassunzel week 2020 #writing

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blucmoon · 3 years ago

Photo

━ ☾ ⊹ ( im jaebum, cis male , he/him ) say hello to AE YONGGUK, the TWENTY SIX YEAR OLD that seems to have a lot in his hands with HIS job as a STALL OWNER, DRUMMER AND OCCASIONAL BARTENDER! beyond that, they seemed RESPONSIBLE AND TRUSTWORTHY upon first glance. i heard someone say they’re sort of EVASIVE AND INSECURE though. HE seems to live in a 4 BEDROOM HOUSE in YUNHWA, SOUTH KOREA. anything else to add? oh, yeah! he also RUNS A STALL CALLED “KODACHROME” WHERE HE TAKES PHOTOS FOR IDS, SELLS PRINTS AS WELL AS BOOKS SESSIONS FOR PHOTOSHOOTS.

basic information

full name: ae yongguk

nickname(s): guk, yonggu (hasn’t figured out why)

age: 25

date of birth: january 6th, 1995

birthplace: seoul, south korea.

hometown: yunhwa, south korea.

current location: yunhwa, south korea.

ethnicity: asian.

nationality: korean

gender: cismale

pronouns: he / him

orientation: demiromantic, bisexual.

occupation: stall owner and drummer of a band called “crux”. sometimes he helps at his aunt’s bar in busan for some extra money.

living arrangements: house #4012, hwesakgu.

language(s) spoken: korean, english (conversational)

physical appearance

faceclaim: got7’s im jaebum “jb”

hair color: like almost everyone, he has naturally brown hair but throughout the years he’s dyed it blonde or black a couple of times. right now, it’s black and he has managed to grow it to a length he really likes below his chin. yongguk can be usually seen with his hair down and every so often he puts it up in a half updo. whenever the band has a gig, he exerts a little more effort (even if most of the time it doesn’t pay off).

eye color: brown. (likes colored contacts every now and then)

height: 179 cm

weight: 66 kg

build: lean person, with a good muscular frame.

distinguishing characteristics: two beauty marks right next to each other on his left eyelid.

tattoos: has a full sleeve on his left arm from shoulder down to a little above his wrist and another one his right forearm.

piercings: lobe and upper lobe in both ears, anti-tragus on the left one, double helix on the right, anti-eyebrow and nose on the right side of the face (won’t ever use jewelry during the day though).

clothing style: while he’s working at the stall he has a more casual style consisting of jeans, cargos, pants, button downs, sweaters. likes layering with denim shirts, flannels, jackets, windbreakers over t-shirts, etc. mostly in earthy colors, dark reds and blues, white, gray and black. no matter what though, he will always wear long sleeves, even in the hottest summer days and never roll them up, going to these lengths just to not draw any unnecessary attention. (he’s even gotten a fair amount of rash guards for those occasions when he feels like going for a swim.)

at the bar or at gigs, he’s usually clad in all black or dark tones. sleeveless shirts or those with short sleeves are his go-to, not nearly as concerned to conceal the ink over his arms from the public eye at night. he likes to choose style and comfort when performing, thus splurging a little more on his nightly outfits rather than those he uses on the daily. leather and denim jackets, bombers, sometimes harnesses, jeans in either black or leather, boots, sneakers, muscle shirts, graphic t-shirts, shirts with the first buttons undone and rolled up sleeves in dark, rich colors. style varies from street fashion to grunge to rocker depending on how he feels.

health

sleeping habits: goes to sleep really late but has no trouble waking up early to go to to work, though for the first couple of hours he’s awake and if he has gotten 4-5 hours only, he’d be kind of silent and unresponsive until getting that first cup of coffee. will likely nap before his shift at the bar only for an hour and a half tops.

eating habits: eats 3 - 4 times a day and gets easily hungry between meals. often seen snacking whatever he can.

exercise habits: doesn’t really exercise much constantly, but on the weekends he likes hiking or running around town.

emotional stability: 6/10

body temperature: average

addictions: none

drug use: experimentally a couple of times, hasn’t done it in a while.

alcohol use: socially, medium-high tolerance.

personality

label: the opaque (unable to be figured out; hiding behind a façade; not transparent.)

positive traits: reliable, responsible, hard-working, trustworthy, loyal, thoughtful, generous, creative, passionate, artistic, caring, considerate, devoted.

negative traits: defensive, evasive, cautious, indecisive, defiant, self-doubt, fluctuating self-esteem, conflict-averse, private, self-conscious, sensitive, unpredictable.

hobbies: starting songs he never finishes, watching the same show every year (avatar the last airbender) as well as his comfort movies, cloud/star gazing, jigsaw puzzles, origami, video games, playing guitar sometimes.

habits: knuckle cracking, muttering under his breath, snacking between meals, rubbing hands together, jaw clenching, gesturing while talking, rubbing the back of his neck, running hands through hair, drumming fingers, sings along to songs and sings gibberish for the parts he doesn’t know, doodles on any paper at reach, dozes off when bored/daydreams, bobs his leg while sitting.

zodiac sign: sun capricorn, moon pisces, rising scorpio (read as: impending disaster)

mbti: infp

enneagram: 6w5

temperament: melancholic

hogwarts house: ravenclaw

moral alignment: chaotic good

primary vice: wrath

primary virtue: diligence

element: water

expanded personality

yongguk has a strong tendency to appear quiet and reserved and it might come off as standoffish or easily confused with snoberish, which makes it worse when he doesn’t go out of his way to change this preconception about him. he needs a great deal of personal space, both physically and mentally, and any attempt to control him or forcibly schedule his activities will only strengthen his need for time alone.

he’s responsible, trustworthy and hardworking. relies heavily on his intuition to guide him and knows how to patiently wait as well as how to adapt to any circumstances. in yunhwa, he’s been forced to learn how to interact with the townsfolk and through the years he’s mastered the front he puts on in order to remain below the radar and not get any unnecessary attention; polite, helpful, sometimes even considered as a sweet guy, yongguk has no problem lending a hand to anyone that needs it.

however, in busan, his adaptability is also handy when it comes to dealing with customers. at the same time, it’s in these moments when he feels a little less restrained and allows himself to be less calculative: flirty, playful, sometimes misleading… he’s gotten in several problems because of this and yet he has no plans to stop it anytime soon.

yongguk is a little insecure and with a fluctuating self-esteem: sometimes he’s very well aware and confident on his skills and assets, but other times he will second-guess everything about himself. this combined with an strong fear of failure that stems from poor past decisions, makes him hesitate when it comes to making important calls that could potentially affect his future, but he knows how to play it off… most of the times.

despite appearing simple at a glance, yongguk is more than what meets the eye. friendly but private, polite but passionate about his beliefs, calm and sometimes expressionless. it’s not that he doesn’t have feelings - he actually runs quite deep and strong - it’s just that he conceals them under a mask of politeness because he’s unsure how to deal with them; he’s restrained when it comes to conveying emotion, but has a very deep care for his peers. might be awkward and uncomfortable with expressing himself verbally, but has a wonderful ability to define and reveal what he’s feeling on paper.

yongguk is genuinely interested in understanding others, a good listener, but will exclusively share his sorrows and woes only with the friends he trusts the most, unafraid to display his best and worst with them. his natural intuition allows him to sense the mood without the need of words. however, he can be quite impressionable and be easily influenced by the moods of others, which may often lead him to feel overwhelmed because of this.

incredibly curious, yongguk loves to explore with his hands and his eyes, touching and examining the world around him with cool rationalism and spirited curiosity. he explores ideas through creating, troubleshooting, trial and error and first-hand experience. yongguk can be a challenge to predict, even by the closest people to him. can seem very loyal and steady for a while, but he has a tendency to build up a store of impulsive energy that explodes without warning, taking his interests in bold, new directions.

with a good memory, he can recall experiences from the past down to smallest details. this is both good and bad: remembering the good memories is a way to ease himself when in stressful or sad situations, but he’s also prone to dwell on previous mistakes and regret them for a long time.

he’s not consistently angry. will either let the anger build up and release it all at once in an outburst or let it out slowly through small, critical remarks throughout the day. sometimes, both. he’s very difficult when annoyed, but it usually doesn’t last that long. a perfectionistic through and through, his main source of anger usually comes from things not being up to their standards. not good at sparing others’ feelings when he does become irritable. doesn’t like conflict and will go to great lengths to avoid it. in those occasions where he does have to face it, he will approach it from his feelings and mistakenly place little importance on who is right and who is wrong. yongguk will react to the emotions he’s going through and won’t care whether or not he’s right, which makes him appear irrational and illogic.

background (tldr)

his parents work in the field with doctors without borders.

yongguk was born in seoul and lived there for six years before his parents sent him to yunhwa to stay with his grandparents while they went abroad.

seven years passed, his parents would rarely contact them, much less visit them.

in the meantime, his grandma taught him how to play many instruments, being a musician herself and he was enrolled in kwangsook academy.

at thirteen they returned and guk moved with them back to seoul. around this time he became more reserved and quiet, the conversation always focused on his parents achievements and interests.

he made it his goal to become a doctor in hopes of having something in common with them. it was a way to seek their attention and approval.

a year later, a new plan was announced and yongguk was back in yunhwa with his grandparents. he was actually pretty happy about this.

started taking his studies seriously in his junior year of high school, going to the extent of dropping music and every other altogether.

he successfully managed to get into pusan national university, school medicine.

however, the whole experience was something he wasn’t ready for at all. for a year and half he struggled to keep up with his classmates and was utterly ashamed to compare his simple goal of wanting to get closer to his parents to the drive of everyone else.

he drops out after talking with his grandfather, a successful doctor himself.

initially excited to get the chance of truly discovering what he wanted to do, a single call from his father deterred his enthusiasm. he was supposed to return to yunhwa, instead he decided to move in with a friend and stay in busan… where everything goes downhill.

at only twenty and under the fake pretense that he’d get his act together, he allows himself to make mistakes and act recklessly, secretly wishing that’d be enough to get his parents attention.

he found temporary jobs all around busan and never lasted too long, but he still made money and that’s the only thing he really cared about at the moment. things aren’t great, but they aren’t that bad, or so he tells himself.

at twenty one, he gets a full sleeve on his left arm as well as many piercings. a couple of weeks after this, his grandparents decided to pay him a surprise visit and the state of his apartment as well as life… is not optimal.

coincidence or not, his parents video called them at that moment. it was the first time he heard from them in a year, and it was the last time as well.

seems like only his appearance was enough to finally trigger some sort of emotion from his father, but it wasn’t really the kind he was looking for. it was anger and he could clearly see the disappointment in his eyes. a heated argument ensues, one that ends with “you’re not our son anymore.”

perhaps it came a little too late, but it was the much needed wake up call to get his act together. not in order to mend the relationship with his parents, he knew that’d be impossible. but more so, for himself.

he perks up at a suggestion from his grandmother, one that was about a long forgotten hobby of his: photography. he remembers an old shoe box filled with polaroids and undeveloped films under his bed.

thus, he stays in busan after enrolling in a community college for a year-long photography class. around this time, one of his aunts offered him a job as a bartender in her bar and since then he’s been helping her every now and then. he says it’s for extra money, but in reality is a way to repay her from hiring him when no one else would.

after he was done with his course and had saved enough money to get a decent camera, he decided it was time to go back to yunhwa.

he returned three years ago. luckily, his reputation there remained intact and he wanted it to stay that way thus hiding the ink on his skin with long sleeves and removing the jewelry whenever he was outside.

yongguk moved back with his grandparents, this time to help them out and take care of his grandmother who started to get a little ill. he picked up playing and making music after finding his long abandoned drum set in the garage.

with the help of his grandfather, he opened his very own stall called “kodachrome” where he takes photos for ids, sells prints of his own work (mostly of yunhwa’s scenery) as well as books sessions for photoshoots.

a year and half ago, however, he had to find a new place. his grandparents decided to retire and move to jeju. thankfully, he managed to get a deal to rent a house from one of his grandma’s friends. the house was a little too big thus he decided to post an ad online looking for roommates to share the space and ease the expenses.

in the present, yongguk is still running his stall and getting contacted every blue moon by small influencers and event planners looking for his services. three nights a week, he goes back to busan to work for his aunt at the bar and every other night he has gigs with a band, which was randomly created after having far too many drinks with his roommates.

background (full)

tw: mentions of needles, tattoos, substances but nothing too graphic.

ae yongguk was the name given to you and and your endearing smiles as well as adorable dimples seemed to be more than enough to have everyone coddling and cosseting you from the get-go. nonetheless, permanency was never on your parents’ agenda. by the time you turned six, they moved away and you were shoved into your grandparents’ household in yunhwa.

it’s difficult to comprehend the sudden change, being told that you’d be living with them for some time. how much? they don’t specify, but the next thing you know is that you’re wordlessly bidding goodbye to your parents, who promised to write and come back for you soon. they didn’t. being part of doctors without borders and making it their goal to offer medical aid where it’s needed most, they put their humanitarian labor before parenthood.

the first letter you got arrived eight months after they left. there’s disappointment and there’s also heartbreak, but they don’t last long. you don’t allow them to regardless of your young age. instead, you focus on how your grandfather, despite having severe and strict ways, squeezed your shoulder and offered the small smile that you know all too well now. or how your grandmother, a renowned musician, didn’t hesitate to shower you in unconditional love. your education didn’t cease and your grandfather immediately enrolled you at kwangsook academy.

one of your most prominent traits is how transparent you are with your emotions and your grandmother easily learnt to read this. it was no surprise that the first time you saw her playing a beautiful song on her baby grand and your irises sparkled with curiosity, she immediately beckoned you closer. “hi, my love.” the elderly woman greeted while shifting a little so you could take a seat beside her. you meet her eyes and you wonder if she’s looking for anything by the time an easy smile appears on her face. “do you like music?” you’re unable to respond, but she must’ve seen something because, after that, she started teaching you the basics of piano. a couple of days later, she asked again and this time around, the answer naturally slipped out of your mouth: i love it.

for your regular classes, you were constant and responsible. sure, you enjoyed learning, but your interest wasn’t inherently there. it was just something you had to do. however, when it came to that newfound love for music of yours, you were the one with the initiative to ask for more lessons and practice whenever you had free time; first the piano, later the guitar and a couple of years later you made the stubborn decision to learn the drums.

it was nice staying in yunhwa, it brought you a comforting sense of belonging. it was the beginning of finding your own voice; discovering your likes and dislikes, some of your talents and even the chance of making friends. however, there was always a lingering question in the back of your mind and a deep sadness you rarely showed: when are my parents coming back?

they do, but only for a short period of time.

you had only turned thirteen, but the moment you saw them you were but an excited kid, joyously yelling and running to hug them, but they greeted you rather… frivolously. you try to ignore the breach between you and them, which you felt the most when you were holding your mother’s hand; her skin a couple of degrees colder than your grandma’s. they ask how you were doing and, in your frenzy, you start talking about everything that’s happened all this time only to be interrupted; the voice you were starting to grow inevitably drowned in the sea of their own achievements and stories.

it’s then that they tell you they’d move to seoul and you’re to go with them. apparently, with the intention to settle down and give it a go to having a normal family. you say goodbye to your grandparents, and unlike your mom and dad, the promises of staying in touch with them are real.

you were silent and reserved around your parents. you had to after learning that no matter what you tried to tell them, the conversation always ended being about what interested them. for a while you pretended to be okay with it, but soon you started wishing they paid as much attention to you as they did to their cause. it made you think that, by immersing yourself in that world, you might be able to keep them interested long enough or make them proud, and your very own obsession to become a doctor started right there. simple questions that had your parents perk up are what made you believe that your plan isn’t too far fetched.

luckily, you were able to retreat to your music whenever everything became too overwhelming, but even this wasn’t enough to stop an ever growing beast called dissatisfaction from making your chest its home. it increases in size and sometimes it’s so big that you’re unable to keep it in your ribcage, coming to light with rebellious little acts such as not doing your homework or bluntly strumming your guitar late at night. eventually, unspoken words and jumbled thoughts find their way into old notebooks full of an amateur’s unfinished songs.

it’s exactly a year later that they announced their new plans of moving to the other side of the world, plans that didn’t take you into consideration at all. it was disappointing, but not really surprising. still, you were able to comprehend the nature of their jobs, after all they were brilliant doctors and only a handful were willing to offer the assistance your parents did. you stop expecting things to change after the farewells you exchanged with them. you wished them the best and truly meant it.

going back to yunhwa at fourteen is something you anticipate; your grandmother welcomed you with your favorite food and your grandfather with a blank notebook. “for your songs, son” he said with that smile of his, learning about this new hobby of yours from one of the many mails you sent them. both were happy about your return and helped you pick up your studies where you last left them.

it’s in your junior year at high school when you truly get serious about your studies, medical school was your single goal. even though you’ve come to terms with the relationship you had with your parents, a hopeful part of you genuinely believed that becoming a doctor would help breach the distance.

and so you do, dropping music altogether and every other hobby that “needlessly” consumed your time and energy. it was admittedly exhausting and you were obviously miserable without playing any instrument. the sleepless nights and the isolation you brought upon yourself paid off the moment you received the news of your acceptance at pusan national university. that very night, you got a call from your parents congratulating you.

for the next year and a half, however, things prove to be extremely challenging when you find yourself amongst thousands of students whose drive and ambition is stronger than simply wanting to get close to their parents. it’s shameful, you admit and the constant pressure as well as the competitive environment soon takes a toll on you, but it was much needed for you to start questioning everything; yourself, your goals and if it was really what you wanted.

the person who helps you to fully come to this realisation is none other than your grandfather, another renowned doctor in your family. it’s shocking to hear him encouraging you to drop out and follow your dreams. truth is you were far too concerned chasing after a hopeless goal than to craft ambitions and dreams for yourself. still, you follow his advice even when you are completely at loss about what the next step would be.

if news of your acceptance travelled fast, so did the news of your departure. you got a call shortly after and all you heard was “we’re very disappointed” followed by radio silence before your father hung up. you were nineteen, about to turn twenty, when they last talked to you.

their silence becomes one of your many excuses to make mistakes and act recklessly; if your good behaviour and your previous little act didn’t catch their attention, this surely will. it’s your shield against the disapproval in your grandfather’s eyes, and that very shield is what stops him from stopping you. even when you told him you wouldn’t return to yunhwa, instead moving to one of your friend’s apartment in the heart of busan.

it’s amusing how easily your grandfather believes your fake promises of trying to get your life together and you feel awful for being such a good liar. you find decent jobs, but never stay too long. unnecessary fights with customers or blatant irresponsibility are the main reasons that force you to find a new one every couple of weeks. you’ve been many things: a busser, a server, even a mascot. you didn’t mind much as long as you were paid.

you willingly dive into a void filled with indulgence and bad decisions. all in order to not think, to not dwell on the future. you used every situation you could possibly get yourself into as a distractor from the painful reality. you were lost, so utterly lost.

twenty one comes around and you decide that, for the first time ever, you’re going to gift yourself something. a permanent work of art, its canvas your skin.

three monthly salaries were spent on black and red ink which reminded you of your favorite place. the needle pierces your skin once, twice, hundred times until your arm is almost fully covered… maybe it was a metaphor, a feeble attempt to display something bright and wonderful on someone who otherwise had long lost every trace of that. it was not enough and a couple of piercings follow in trying to beautify the sheer mess you’ve made of yourself.

some nights you question your own strength and sanity. you used to be pristine, someone to be proud of and an exemplary resident of the town you fondly call home. you were constant, had talent and a midas touch that turned meaningless words into beautiful songs, scribbles onto paper into melodies that had every listener humming along.

what happened to you, boy? says a voice in your head… or is it from your chest? is it the dissatisfaction you’ve tried to keep locked for years? all it took was to be called a disappointment once for you to willingly become one?

it consumes you and every passing day it becomes louder, but you’re stubborn and simply take it as a challenge to find new ways to drown it. headachingly loud music, poisonous substances, liquid trust or the ecstasy under someone’s fingertips… the city swallows you whole and provides you with momentary sweet oblivion but… is the aftermath of impeding remorse worth it? it is, you convince yourself while running back into it’s arms night after night.

one day, without warning, three knocks come onto your door and when you’re about to curse whoever disrupted your game, you’re met with your grandparents. your appearance is deplorable; bloodshot eyes, greasy hair and alarming signs of lack of proper sleep. it hurt to see your grandmother, as crystal clear as you wear, worried and at loss of words. a thing the city taught you was to be a pretender and so you ignore every sign of concern in their faces while smiling at them. “long time no see!” you say cheerfully.

it’s a quiet visit. they don’t know what to tell you or where to start, and neither do you feel a need to fill the awkward silence when your grandfather’s phone went off. he answers without thinking to a videocall and the voice that greets him has you freezing on your spot. father. your face falls and your eyes widen in obvious panic when he asks about you. the older man in the room seems to be equally as frantic as you when he glances at you, taking in how you look before your father speaks again.

“oh, is yongguk there? let me talk to him.” his authoritative tone was enough to have your grandfather turning the phone towards you. it’s late, far too late to fix yourself or even try to hide the glaringly bright red ink on your arm. so, in your frenzy, you decide to play cynical. what else could you lose, right? “hey, dad.” you greet with a shameless smile upon your lips. “your timing is as impeccable as ever.”

the argument that ensues forces you to retreat to your room and you thank whatever universal force that your roommate decided to have a weekend-long trip. it’s a heated fight, and you realize midway through that this is the longest conversation you’ve ever had with your father. why is it that the most display of emotion you get from him is when you don’t follow his ridiculous standards? he gets louder, so do you and it escalates to irreversible words. the last thing he says is “you’re not our son anymore” followed by silence.

then you laugh.

you laugh over the irony of an absent father saying such a thing. you laugh because you don’t want to allow him see you hurting. you laugh at how fucked up the whole situation is. “doesn’t make a difference, does it?” you say between unabashed chuckles. “not like you ever acted like a father, anyway.” and you hang up, your legs giving in and only then did you notice that your whole body had been shaking this whole time.

you muffle a scream on a pillow while feeling so alone and like the butt of the cruelest joke. you want to hate your father and your mother. you want to despise them for their horrible behavior. instead, you find yourself crying like an abandoned kid wanting, yearning for the love that wasn’t given to him. you want to run, to disappear, to hide where no one can find you.

then, two arms wraps around you and even though your grandmother is a little smaller than you, you find yourself feeling protected under her embrace. shortly after comes a pat on your head from your grandfather. you look up at those brown eyes full of wisdom and, when he tells you “everything will be okay, son.” you wholeheartedly believe him

because, a year later, things started looking up.

#INFO.TXT #YONGGUK.EXE #LOC.YUNHWA

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arizonamansions-blog · 4 years ago

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mss4msu · 6 years ago

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“Do I Wanna Know?” (Chapter 3)

Summary: On a visit to a local nightclub, the lounge singer catches your eye. Soon becoming a regular at the club, the way you look on the dancefloor gets his attention. You begin to hear stories about the notorious crime lord who owns and operates the small nightclub. When your friends worry that you’ve gotten mixed up with a mobster, you wonder if it’s better to be left in the dark and find yourself asking, “Do I wanna know?” if you’re getting involved with one of the most revered mobsters in the city.

Pairing: Mobster!Bucky x Reader

Words: 2417

Warnings: Language?

A/N: This chapter was getting long and the series might actually be longer than 13 chapters because of it. I also love ending on cliff hangers, so this chapter was almost two, but I decided nah.

Read the Full Story Here

You picked your phone up and continued to stare in disbelief at the notification. You swiped down to refresh the page, thinking there had to have been some sort of mistake. Instead you had another new notification:

WhiteWolfandtheHowlers liked your post. 1m

You double took the screen and refreshed again:

WhiteWolfandtheHowlers liked your post. 1m

“Holy shit,” you whispered to yourself.

You closed out of Instagram, set your phone face-down on your desk, and turned on your computer. Your hands were shaking out of excitement and anxiousness as you typed in your login password. As your desktop loaded you felt the table vibrate. Your heart was racing as you turned over your phone.

WhiteWolfandtheHowlers messaged you.

The rest of the text was cut off from the notification bubble. You opened your phone and entered the app, beginning to feel nauseous from anticipation.

Hey doll, what are you doing Friday night?

You stared at the message, your fingers dancing over the keyboard, unsure of how to respond. You set your phone down and pulled up your calendar on the computer. Friday Tony had you booked in the morning to prepare the conference room for a presentation, over lunch to take notes during his Skype call with business associates in Tokyo, and during the afternoon through the evening to assist with interviews for the open positions within the company. The last time you had helped with interviews Tony had left halfway through and you had been stuck in the office until 11:00pm having to complete the interviews and then type up notes about each candidate and have them printed, bound, and placed on Tony’s desk.

You looked between the message and your calendar when you heard a throat clear behind your monitor.

“Did you see my message?” James Barnes asked you.

You had forgotten how gorgeous he was in the 20 minutes since you had last seen him.

You took a deep breath and choked on your words, which started a coughing fit, “Yes, I did,” you managed to get out.

“And?” he drew out the question, his eyes piercing into your own.

“I have to work,” you squeaked out, “Mr. Stark has me booked through the evening.”

“Does he now?” James asked, turning around to look for Tony. “That’s quite disappointing news,” he turned back to look at you.

“Yeah, it is,” you couldn’t the annoyance that crept out in your response; as if your schedule hadn’t gotten in the way of your social life enough, now it was interfering with a potential romance.

Your desk phone rang, snapping you out of James’ hypnotic gaze. You glanced at the Caller ID, took a breath, and answered.

“Yes, Mr. Stark? Uh huh, yes I’ll order lunch for the meeting,” you sighed into the phone. You shrugged your shoulders and mouthed a “Sorry” to James.

“See you Friday, doll,” James winked and walked away.

You wanted to call after him and yell that Friday didn’t work, but Tony began bombarding you with requests and you had to frantically start taking notes.

The rest of the week proceeded like any other. You ran around doing Tony’s bidding all day, returning home at night to get a few hours of sleep before having to start all over again. The only difference was that you found yourself checking the White Wolf Instagram page every day, at least once every half hour. They hadn’t posted any new pictures and you hadn’t received any messages since the one on Monday, but you held out hope for something.

Friday came, you rode to work with the Stark carpool and arrived at work, as per usual. You got to your desk, turned on your computer, and set down your bag. As you stood to go prepare Tony’s morning coffee, your phone rang.

“Hello?”

“(Y/N). Office. Now,” Tony’s voice raged through the phone.

You hung up the phone and ran to Tony’s office.

“Mr. Stark, I’m so sorry I don’t have your coffee yet. There was traffic this morning and the carpool got in slightly late, but I was just on my way to make it and I’ll rush it back to you.”

“Good, but that’s not what you’re here for. Sit.”

You nervously sat down in the chair opposite from Tony’s, “Yes, Mr. Stark.”

“(Y/N), we have had several interview cancellations for this afternoon. Due to this, and lack of other work for you to do at the moment to take place of it, you are free to leave early today,” Tony said through gritted teeth.

You couldn’t find any words to answer, and so just blinked back.

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark. Thank you.”

“I expect the notes from the lunch meeting typed and printed out for me before you leave.”

“Of course, Mr. Stark.”

“Why are you still sitting here? Go get me my coffee!” Tony yelled at you, anger rising in his voice.

“Yes, sir,” you quickly walked out of the room and as soon as the doors closed ran to the kitchen to make Tony’s coffee.

You brewed the coffee and brought it back to Tony without a word, seeing the anger in his eyes. You returned to your desk, sat down, and pulled up the list on your computer of the supplies needed for the conference room set-up. As you took your phone out of your bag it vibrated in your hand.

WhiteWolfandtheHowlers messaged you.

You opened up Instagram and looked at the message.

See you tonight, doll.

You felt yourself blushing and put both hands around your phone as you thought of a reply. Another message popped up as you thought.

Remember, show starts at 9.

“Can’t wait,” you typed and then deleted it. “Sounds great!” you retyped and deleted again. You typed and sent:

See you at 9

You opened your message and sent a text to Jess and Rachel saying, “I’m off work early tonight! Dinner and that club?”

“Hell yes!!” Rachel replied seconds later.

“We’ve created a monster and I’m living for it!” Jess texted back a minute after.

“So dinner at 7? How about that new burger place?” you asked.

“Yes!” Rachel sent back.

“YAAASSS!” Jess responded.

You put your phone back in your bag and printed the list of materials needed for the conference room. You got everything in the large conference room prepared; water bottles, notebooks, pens, folders with information about Stark Industries, and printouts of the schedule at every place setting and bowls of fruit on either end of the table. You brewed a fresh cup of coffee for Tony and placed it at his place at the head of the table. You gave the room one last glance as you heard voices outside. You held the door open for all of the meeting attendees, giving Tony a look to silently ask if he needed anything else. He looked into the room and shook his head no at you.

You returned to your desk and began to prepare for the lunch meeting, making sure the lunch you had ordered for Tony and yourself would be delivered in time. You also had to ensure that the meal you had scheduled for those in Tokyo was also set. Although the time zones made it difficult, Tony always had you coordinate meals for overseas meeting attendees as a sign of good will.

The catering arrived and you took it into the smaller conference room to have it set up for Tony as soon as he finished in the other meeting. You placed Tony’s sandwich and salad on plates and poured his water into a glass. You had a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket, with a glass for Tony next to it. Tony liked to celebrate positive outcomes of meetings with champagne. The first time you had prepared for a meeting like this, you had brought two glasses, thinking you would join him. That was the first mistake you had made at Stark Industries; you were an assistant and assistants did not get to partake in celebrations according to Tony. As you were setting up the Skype call, Tony walked into the room and sat down.

“I got you your usual, sir,” you said getting the settings just right.

“Good,” Tony responded curtly.

“Do you need another coffee before the meeting?”

“No. Just sit down, you’re making me anxious, (Y/N).”

“Yes, Mr. Stark,” you replied as you sat down.

You opened your notebook and took the cap off your pen.

“Eat, (Y/N),” Tony demanded.

“Yes, sir.”

You always waited until Tony gave you the ok to eat. It had happened before that you had begun to eat and he had snapped at you for not being prepared to take notes or not paying attention. You unwrapped your sandwich and took the cover off your soup. You ate quickly, hoping to finish before the call began.

When the chimes of the Skype call began, you looked to Tony for approval to answer. You reached put down your sandwich and answered the call.

Tony conducted the meeting in his usual style, congratulating those on the call for their innovations, expressing his desire to work with them, and saying how honored he was to be chosen for a partnership. Even though it was the same every time, he demanded you take detailed notes of the entire interaction.

At the end of the meeting, an agreement was reached for Stark Industries to begin selling the tech from the new Tokyo partners and receive a large portion of the profits. Tony motioned for you to open the champagne, and he ended the call with a champagne toast. You hung up the call when he had finished congratulating both the partners and himself.

“(Y/N), get those notes on my desk within the hour,” he stood and grabbed the champagne bottle.

“Yes, Mr. Stark,” you responded as he left the room.

You quickly cleaned up the conference room, took the rest of your food and your notebook to your desk, and got to work typing up the notes. You emailed the digital copy of the notes to Tony as well as the executives in Tokyo. As the notes were printing, you drank the cold remains of your soup and finished your sandwich. You washed your hands and retrieved the notes from the printer. You three-hole punched them and placed them inside a binder for Tony.

You then took the binder and a fresh cup of coffee to Tony’s office. You knocked on the door, but did not hear an answer. You waited a minute before knocking again. You still received no answer. You waited a bit longer and stepped back when the door opened in front of you.

“I’m in a meeting,” Tony spat at you.

“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t see a meeting on your calendar. I have the meeting notes finished, but I can come back later,” you held out the coffee to him, and he snatched it from your hand.

“What’s the hold up?” a familiar voice growled behind Tony.

James Barnes appeared behind Tony’s shoulder. You tried to steady your breathing, as you couldn’t help how much it had increased upon seeing him.

“No hold up, James,” Tony replied, “Thank you, (Y/N),” he said through gritted teeth.

“Mr. Stark, do you need anything else? Or…” you felt uncomfortable about asking to be let go early.

“It looks to me as though you’ve finished your work for the day,” James winked at you from behind Tony. “What do you say, Stark? Is your assistant finished with her work?”

“You can go,” Tony’s eyes narrowed at you.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. I’m sorry again for the interruption.”

You went back to your desk and packed up your things. You logged off the computer and checked the employee car service. It was so early in the day there were no cars available. As much as you hated to, you decided you would have to take the bus home.

As you waited at the elevator, you heard someone walk up behind you. You looked over and saw James Barnes standing next to you.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he smirked. “Need a ride?”

“I’d love one, actually,” you breathed out a sigh of relief.

You rode down the elevator in silence; you didn’t know what to say to him. He gave you sly glances the whole ride down, but didn’t speak either. He held the elevator door for you in the lobby and then led the way to where his car was waiting outside. He held open the door for you, and offered his hand to help you in. Chills ran down your spine as you took his hand.

“Sam, we’ve got an extra passenger today,” James said, getting into the seat next to you.

“Do I need to make a special stop?” Sam the driver asked.

James looked at you with an eyebrow raised.

“Oh, um, yes, sorry!” you realized you needed to provide your address, which you then did.

“Alright,” Sam replied, driving off.

“I’m glad you’re free for the show tonight,” James looked deep into your eyes.

“Me too,” you responded and then thought for a minute, “But how did you know that I would be free this morning?”

“There are some perks to being someone that Tony Stark wants to partner with. One of them is having the ability to make demands for things that I want.”

“What do you mean?” you asked naively.

“I wanted you at the show, Tony was in the way. If Tony wants me to work with him, Tony moves out of the way.”

You blushed, “Oh,” was all you could manage to say aloud, but you hoped your eyes conveyed more emotion.

“Is this it?” Sam asked, snapping your eyes away from James to look out the window.

“Yes it is, thank you so much.”

Before you could reach for the door handle, James had already gotten out of the car and was opening your door for you. He offered his hand again.

“Thank you so much for the ride and for the night off,” you gushed.

“I’d do anything for you, doll,” James smiled at you.

You blushed again, “I’ll see you tonight?”

“You bet,” he replied, getting back in the car.

He rolled down the window to give you one last look before the car drove down the street and out of sight.

CHAPTER FOUR

Do I Wanna Know? Tag List:

@mrooks0205 @shann-the-artist-moon @ashtheteenagewitch @abschaffer2

Bucky Barnes Tag List:

@basementcafe

Permanent Tag List:

@sophiealiice @mrsdeanwinchester19 @thisismysecrethappyplace @ailynalonso15 @221bshrlocked @hazellnut94 @libbymouse

#marvel #fan fic #au #gangster bucky #mobster bucky #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #arctic monkeys inspired #bucky barnes #winter solider

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dreamingsushi · 5 years ago

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The King: Eternal Monarch - Episode 2

So Lee Gon found out the girl that saved him 25 years ago and hugs her. She pushes him away and she’s like what the hell do you think you’re doing? And he’s like, I am greeting you, because I am happy to see you. That she really existed. In another universe. She asks again for his ID and he says he can’t give it to her because he doesn’t have one, because he is who he is. Ah, this makes me so disappointed. Those lines are so much like the lines his character in Heirs would say. I wished for something new. I guess they know he sells well in these kind of roles so they made it like this for him =|

Okay se he tells her he’s the king of Corea (why not Korea?) anyways and he got here while following a suspicious person and if at first he was confused, now he came to realization this a parallel universe. And seeing the ads screen, that they have a queen named Yuna haha. Lol, she’s just some idol. He tells her to take him to her queen Yuna and she’s like just go get a ticket. She’s like enough with that crap and arrests him.

Jo young tries to find out how did his king disappeared.

Back at the police station, Jo Young of the parallel universe comes out and Lee Gon tries to talk to him but he’s like this guy is kind of scary. Then seeing how much o a fool he is, he’s like that’s not Yeong. The fingerprints didn’t come out with his identity either. Tae-eul is pissed of. The other girl suggests that he might be a child loss before his finger prints were taken. He tries again to convince her about the parallel universe but she’s not so much. She wants proof. He explains to her Einstein quantum something, it makes me dizzy those theories plus the screen was spinning a little. Anyways, she manages to get her saliva for his DNA while he was speaking.

Well she ends up releasing him and ask him how to contact him when the DNA results are in and he gives her the address of a very expensive hotel. She asks him if he even have any money to pay for that and he just takes off a button of his vest and says it’s a diamond, so when he sells this, he’ll have money. She doesn’t believe him, but getting in a jewelry shop, she has to be proven wrong. She sends him off, but... already the romance, I can feel it... hahaha. Lee Minho cannot not sway girls. He asks her to stay and not leave him lol. But she’s like piss off hahaha. I love her <3She leaves after receive a phone call.

Lol, the guy watching netflix. He gets called by Lee Gon. And used as a valet. But it’s okay, he gives him half of the stuff. I must say the acting for this guy is on point. Two different characters, like opposite. When he sees a family picture, he’s convinced it’s a parallel universe again.

When she comes back home, Maximus (Lee Gon’s horse) is in her yard, so she goes to the hotel to discuss this with him. Well not really a discussion, it’s more like, stay put or I am selling your horse.

Okay so the uncle did kill the little boy this time around.

Mister king is at the library studying history and has gained a huge fan club. Lots of girl gave him beverages haha. They all get jealous when Tae-eul sits down with him. And he finally realized that they don’t have a queen in this world, but a president. Anyways she leaves and he follows her... TO A FRIED CHICKEN RESTAURANT. fml. Seriously. Now I want to eat fried chicken but I can’t. One because of self-isolation and all the korean restaurants are in town, too far away for deliveries. And two, because I don’t eat meat unless I am at my parent’s place or if I go out with friends. But that fried chicken looks so good TT any vegetarian knows of korean fried chicken recipe that doesn’t involved replacing the chicken with mushrooms? Because I juste really can’t stand mushrooms... So back to the story... Usually, Eun-sop tastes his food for him, well he starts eating first. She’s like, I’m not tasting your food. He says I know, but here are my last words if ever this is poisoned: thank you for everything, I was less lonely those 25 years knowing that you existed somewhere. Can they make his characters a little less cheesy someday? =| Omg. Lee Gon discovering fried chicken is exactly me the first time I had it hahaha. Love it. He asks her why she never believes anything he says, and it’s because he spouts too much nonsense.

Jo Yeong is still looking for the prince. He asks a girl that was there a the competition for the pictures she took, but she’s like his fangirl, she almost only has pictures of him haha. I don’t see how that could be of any use but oh well!

Lee Gon is out of diamonds on his clothes to make money. Woops! And there’s is product placement haha. He goes to the Alley. I love that place’s milk tea. Now I want milk tea so bad haha. This drama is good to bring up my foodie desires when nothing is available. I DO NOT THANK YOU LEE MINHO.

But why is he jelly of that guy though? Seems she met him way back in the past. He wants to go with her, but she says he can’t. Then somehow she goes back and tells him to go back to his family because he’s annoying. Then he tells her he’s not married hahaha. Like, that’s totally what she asked. And he’s like, okay I’m taking you as my wife, to be the queen. Lol. Hahaha. Ah, Lee Minho, Lee Minho. I guess you always ends up having these kind of lines. Poor baby. She’s thinking he’s crazy. And now I wonder will all episodes end with them facing each other like that? Maybe that could be some kind of trademark.

So now, let’s see what the preview are going to tell us and let’s try to guess what’s going to happen. Even though I shouldn’t do that, because previews are always a bad idea when you have to wait for the next episode. Oh well, previews actually didn’t say much, there’s nothing really to guess. Except that she dislikes him, but not truly because they will obviously fall in love at some point. And that’s it until next episode comes out.

#the king #the king: eternal monarch #lee minho #lee gon #kim go eun #jung tae-eul #woo do hwan #Jo yeong #jo eun-seop #lee jung jin #lee rim #kdrama #k-drama #korean drama #drama review #drama recap #drama reaction

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d2myg · 6 years ago

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50 questions tag

tagged by @rysiowate thank u darling!

1. What takes up too much of your time? my hyperfixations and constantly updating all my online accounts and personas

2. What makes your day better? when i feel like ive accomplished something in a day; also, getting to go to bed after a long day

3. What’s the best thing to happen to you today? i made really good tofu fried rice

4. What fictional place would you like to go to? the shire. just wanna live in a tiny hobbit house and eat and read

5. Are you good at giving advice? depends what it is about. and also, im better at getting my points across via text, so im useless at advice irl

6. Do you have any mental illness? anxiety and depression, im pretty i have some kind of executive dysfunction and maybe dependent personality disorder, but these two are just my assumptions. who knows really im broke and too anxious to go a therapist to get diagnosed lmao

7. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? no thank god it sounds terrifying

8. What musician inspired you the most? even though i’m not an active stan anymore i’m gonna say bts because they’re the artists i’ve stanned the longest for and grew most attached to. i think they helped me develop as a person and they’ve been there for me in tough times. but also queen, because in freddie mercury i found a queer icon and role model which is very important for me

9. Have you ever fallen in love? i thought i was in love once but looking back, maybe not

10. What’s your dream date? i think this dream date business is bullshit. as long as im with the person i like, we could be doing literally anything and id still be like yeah this is a good day. like running errands or going grocery shopping or just lying in bed.

11. What do others notice about you?

idk probably my self-deprecating humour. also i if im wearing makeup that almost always gets commented on so i guess that

12. What is an annoying habit you have? just one? lmao uhhh when im super anxious about something i just shut off and like i cant function until that thing is resolved. my brain is just like ok anxiety time lets lay in bed and cry and nap for the rest of the day. also when im not in the mood to reply to someone’s text i will literally go days without replying not bc i forgot but bc i just.. yeah

13. Do you still talk to your first love? sometimes i check up on her (on her social media) but no we havent talked for almost a year since it ended. but then, was she really my first love. idk.

14. How many exes do you have? one

15. How many songs are in your playlist? i have multiple playlists and i also follow a lot of playlists; all together there must be at least 1k

16. What instruments can you play? acoustic guitar

17. What do you have the most pictures of? travelling, i have folders of pictures since last year that i havent edited yet

18. Where would you like to go before you die? hm. everywhere i havent been yet. id really like to go to canada, also like everywhere in asia

19. What is your zodiac? scorpio

20. Do you relate to it? idk i dont really read horoscopes and idk the like scorpio personality traits or whatever

21. What is happiness to you? being content with myself and what im doing.

22. Are you going through anything right now? final assignments of the semester :)

23. What’s the worst decision you ever made? getting too attached to some people.

24. What’s your favorite store? record stores are so cool. also there’s this store in brighton that sells prints of stuff like ghibli on tshirts and tote bags. not my favourite, but i like it. i dont think i have a favourite.

25. What’s your opinion on abortion? im pro-choice. i dont think it should be a debate.

26. Do you keep a bucket list? no

27. Do you have a favorite album? sheer heart attack by queen, that shit slaps

28. What do you want for your birthday? honestly not to be shallow but some coins so i can buy myself some stuff ive been wanting to buy but didnt wanna spend money on

29. What are most people’s first impression of you? idk probably that im a bitch or that im intimidating. before i open my mouth to talk. one of my best friends told me they were scared of me when we first met.

30. What age do you seem according to most people? idk i mean no one really questions my age tbh. when i was younger people thought i was older lmao cause i seemed mature or whatever

31. Where do you keep your phone while you’re sleeping? usually on my bed bc i sleep with earphones

32. What word do you say the most? uuuh……. like. when i talk i say like after every 3rd words its annoying

33. What’s the oldest age you would date? 5-6 years probably

34. What’s the youngest age you would date? ½ years max

35. What job/career do most people say would suit you? i dont talk about my career ambitions with anyone lmao it makes me anxious. my mom says i could do personal couching or psychotherapy or whatever.

36. What’s your favorite music genre? classic rock

37. If you could live in any country in the world, where would it be? sweden sounds really nice. hong kong or singapore also

38. What is your current favorite song? hm. the iron man 3 credits soundtrack. slaps. suffragette city by culture club also

39. How long have you had this blog for? uuh i remade very recently

40. What are you excited for? goin home for the summer. also rocketman and spiderman far from home. also!!! i might be going to the rocketman red carpet so

41. Are you a better talker or listener? listener. i dont really like talking about deep stuff

42. What is the last productive thing you did? did some uni work today. actually, did a lot of uni work today

43. What do you want for christmas? go to budapest with my mom weve been planning that

44. What class do you get the best grades in? my best subject in high school was english and in college it was probably psychology

45. On a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling right now? idk 5/6

46. What can you see yourself doing in ten years?

dude i dont even know what ill be doing next year after my ba course ok

47. When did you get your first heartbreak? i dont think i really had one. when i broke up w my gf, its been shit for a while and i just accepted that it wasnt gonna work so it didnt really like hurt

48. What age do you want to get married? marriage is overrated and expensive next

49. What career did you want to have as a child? i wanted to be a vet also but so much med school. ew.

50. What do you crave right now? to dye my hair bc im stressed insert this is fine meme

i also tag @hamkis also @crownedbabes also @funkysapphic, @milmercurios, @freddie-jupiter, @piscesyub, @cactustattoo, @tonyrights

#anyone else can do this to just say i tagged u!#and those i tagged u dont gotta do it #eli.txt #tag game #long post

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yimmygee · 6 years ago

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hello! i absolutely fell in love with your pharah painting for the rocket queen zine, do you think you will sell it as a print after the zine is done? i would love to have it on my wall to feel good whenever i see it!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK U OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

id like to sell it as a print--tbh ive already ordered some for the purpose of testing the colors but it was done w an older version of the painting where her face hasnt been retouched (more reminiscent of the version i posted as a preview?? lol)

i might sell these for like half off but id like to get the actual final version printed maybe w rose gold foil when preorders for the actual zine are shipped. thank u i love you

#veneficasum

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lesbiancarat · 3 years ago

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Lol ah if I ever do cross line, slap this book anon with a fish lol

PREACH IT!!! facts, facts and once again facts were spoken. You have summed up that entire section brilliantly love! Dare I say, mic drop

Onto the merch and I saw! I was surprised in a good way to see them! Hybe must have heard us complaining lol but no, they can create nice merch! While not the svt color scheme,it is very much in line to what you can think of merch for the boys. Simple and cute I think! Very bright from the orange shades i remember seeing, granted I will admit the bag is very similar to the one they sold for txt's online fan concert as well(?) So idk if this is just their common purse style they have pre-made and will change it up via color scheme wise but nonetheless, we can see decent merch being made. I think we will see over time improvements, I could very much see hybe adopting the bts album inspired merch for svt (idk how long that lasted but I do recall seeing merch inspired by their love yourself album or their tear albums so I could see maybe hybe putting out merch related to a mini series of the YMMD era? Of course please do not take my words as facts. I sadly don't work for hybe xD but just an idea I could maybe see happening and I think that could be cool! These might be a bit more pricier because I remember those merch were like limited edition so they cost a bit more which funnily could be the going svt merch idea you gave! I think that would be fun like imagine a makeup purse or a small bag based off the old pastel title screen ahh that would be cute!) Now brings us the ahem, more obvious cash grabs. Now, I will say the only time I can recall this also happening with sm artist. I always remember seeing those bday limited edition merch being sold and this was usually small items like a necklace, key ring, etc. It wasn't a t-shirt or something wild so maybe this is where hybe got inspired? Idk if this will be for all hybe artist though, would be weird if it just for svt. Like I get it, more members means more money but like ??? Make it make sense. I do agree with you, if we do have a good balance of good quality merch and have the few not so great merch it can work out? Of course call out merch that isn't ok like the plastic water bottles (I doubt that helps because fans of bts did this and welp, the resold it like I said so I doubt bighit would listen but still, we should make our voices heard!) And oohhh gotchas! Yeah I haven't hear of the rings situation at all, am happy they didn't do it. I guess in a way, I could maybe see what pledis wanted to do? But why replicas? They could have just done a simple svt inspired ring, not the personal one the boys own jdjajdjajs

Oohhh touche, while I'm personally not a fan of streaming parties, I can see why companies do them and it is valid c:

Caratland, ah yes. I keep forgetting about it fjsdns. Are you planning on watching it? I'm sure we will see some new songs being performed and knowing the boys, they will find a creative way to mix things up haha.

Before I go, I must say I remember finishing hoshi xD bro I remember seeing this happen live while my twitter gc were all watching the kcon livestream and we were all losing our minds xD like the timeline was in chaos and laughing about how they could lose hoshi but also how very on brand it was so anon, a great way to become a fan lolol

(is the slapping with a fish a reference to something or just something you like to say? dhfjfh either way it makes me laugh!)

yeah it makes sense if they would have the same template/design for basic merch items like totes, shirts, hats and things like that and just changed the color or print design. honestly that doesn't bother me so long as the basic sort of merch is in addition to more unique merch items if that makes sense.

ooh old album inspired merch is an interesting idea! although honestly I'd just settle for reprints of the old albums themselves OTL idk if that's something hybe can do directly though since they're not the original manufacturers of the old albums. like I'm sure pledis could reprint the old albums if they really wanted to, but there may be legal issues to work out if they want to switch to hybe manufacturing them + selling them permanently on weverse shop. idk how easy or hard that is since I'm not a legal expert but that would be my guess! i still hope it happens some day though... finding old albums is hard TT

yeah i wouldn't be surprised if other companies have done birthday merch, it seems like the type of thing kpop companies in general would try to make money off of dhfkf. honestly the concept of birthday merch in general I'm just like... *sigh* yeah, ok. like i don't think it's immoral to profit off of it or anything but it's just an example of capitalism at its finest you know? at this point I'm just like, if you're going to make birthday merch at least go all in with the individual member customization instead of making it all plain black TT like I'm sure some ppl do like that kind of design and no judgement there. it's not inherently bad. but its all very... professional? corporate? not sure if those are the words I'm looking for dhfkf but like they could have incorporated a lot of personal elements like the cherry motif or let cheol dress up in his favorite clothes for the photoshoot and things like that you know? also the hand thing was just weird at the very least i hope they scrap that idea for the other members if they get bday merch TT and yeah I'll also be interested to hear if other hybe groups also get b-day merch...

I actually can't remember if the rings were "replicas" in the sense that they had the members names on them/were the exact design SVT members had. it may have been a "carat" version of the ring, in which case replica may not be the right word to use. but either way they were definitely marketed as being like... the equivalent of a seventeen ring if that makes sense? and that being the case even if wasn't the exact same design it still wouldn't have sat right with me, it just feels too close to home. i do remember thinking at the time that they could have made something like a bracelet or necklace that could be like a mirror to SVTs rings but still something distinctly different. like it could still show SVT and carats connection while not intruding on SVT members status and the work they put in to get that title... but i digress!

I'm almost certainly not gonna watch it live dhfjfh for one online concerts and fanmeetings just aren't worth the cost for me... maybe if it was $20 or less id spare the money but I'm not gonna pay $50 to watch a livestream at 3am DHFKFH. and even if i were considering it, I'm traveling on the 9th so i can't be up late to watch it live even if i wanted to. i know they have delayed times for replays but if it's not live then it's even less worth it to spend the money imo. so likely I'll just keep my eyes peeled for a pirated version after the fact dhfkf

it really was so chaotic... its interesting to hear sometimes the crazy ways ppl got into the fandom or were first exposed to SVT dhfjfh especially since my own stanning story is more sentimental(?) rather than funny

#melia.ask #📖 anon

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dherzogblog · 7 years ago

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songs/17

Hey everyone. Welcome back. In a break with tradition I expanded this year’s playlist well beyond the 80 minute limit of a CD. in addition, and let’s be honest here, I did have some extra time on my hands to listen to music in 2017. So for your listening (and reading ) pleasure I present 1 hour and 50 minutes of the good stuff from the past year. I know, I know, it’s a lot. So is this blog for anyone who actually tries to read it. I’ll promise to try and get it back under control next year, but in the meantime…. enjoy! PS- Click on the bold type below for the music, extras and surprises.

Ride with Me- The Mavericks My theme song for 2017. This year was all about travel and figuring out what I was going to when I grow up. I checked ALL the boxes on the travel end, while the latter remains a work in progress. As the year began and I found myself “unencumbered”, I literally told Noreen to keep her bags packed. A few weeks later the always dependable Mavericks echoed my thoughts with this tune singing: “I gotta go… a whole world to see. So pack your bags up baby, Come along and ride with me “. And ride we did. From Havana to The Grand Canyon, Tokyo to Tel Aviv, Motown to Muscle Shoals and many places in between, It was trains, planes, and automobile’s across thousands of miles with Noreen and as well as some good friends. It was nothing but good times, and I was so grateful for the opportunity.

No Particular Place To Go- Chuck Berry In 1973 a concert film entitled “Let The Good Times Roll” was released. It was a document of the then popular Richard Nader Rock & Roll revival shows that filled Madison Square Garden regularly. The film featured performances by Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Fats Domino, The Shirelles, and Chuck Berry. It was an era of great popularity for the vintage rock sounds of the 50′s. American Graffiti, Happy Days, Sha Na Na, and even The Beach Boys had helped usher in a “oldies” music revival. It was “retro” and” throwback” before anyone coined those terms. And it proved that music that was once considered disposable as well as the exclusive domain of pimply teenagers had true enduring appeal. At the time Chuck Berry was riding the wave of his somewhat regrettable “My Ding A Long” novelty single. That song, as well as the 50’s/60’s revival in general is probably what got my 12 year old self into the theater. It was incredible to watch Little Richard climb all over the stage in a frenzy, his androgynous image predating Bowie, and his frenzied stage antics providing a blue print for Prince. Then there was Bo Diddley all in black, strutting the stage with his signature guitar chugging like a freight train, and Chuck Berry duck walking the crowd into a frenzy, it all had me mesmerized. Upon seeing the film, I was so blown away I went back to see it a second time just days later. It was the only way to see it again back then. The acts were all well past their prime and were considered mere “oldies” acts at the time. Berry was not yet 50. (He wouldn’t have been old enough to play Desert Trip) For me, it was a crash course in rock history helping me understand and process almost everything I heard after.

Champagne Corolla- Justin Townes Earle More Songs About Cars And Girls. JTE covers a lot of ground on this outing. He’s 8 albums into his career, and stepping out of the long shadow of his father.

How to Boil An Egg- Courtney Barnett One off single from Australian singer songwriter making her return to the list. More messy, jangly musings on Millenial angst. She returned later in the year with a full length album with in partnership with Kurt Vile.

On The Rock- Bash & Pop Speaking of jangly and messy, Replacement Tommy Stinson delivers one of my favorite songs of the year. Good fun.

Bad Art and Weirdo Ideas (Quiet Slang)- Beach Slang The original version of this song appeared on the songs/15 list. James Alex the band’s leader starting touring under the moniker Quiet Slang last year. This EP contains some remakes as well as covers recorded in a “Quiet Slang” setting that includes strings. I loved this song the first time around, and even more so now.

Slow Me Down- Jess Ware This year’s model. Yet another of the UK’s seemingly endless supply of soulful female vocalists. I love a good torch ballad.

Brand New Me- Aretha Franklin and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra I’m normally suspect of these types of projects. Too gimmicky. Messing with these seminal records borders on sacrilege, But it being Lady Soul, along with some of my very favorite songs I gave a listen. Pairing classic Aretha vocals with brand new backing from London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra these reboots seem to reach for something else. Imagine them as part of an Aretha Franklin Broadway jukebox musical or the lush soundtrack to an Aretha biopic. And while this particular cut doesn’t have the low key swing of the original, it does have it’s own big, brassy charm. Cinematic orchestration aside, these Aretha vocals remain stone cold classics in any settings.

At The Breaking Point- Zeshan B Remarkable debut from an Indian Muslim soul singer out of Chicago. The album, recorded in Memphis, is a mixture of obscure R&B , and retro feel originals expertly capturing a mid sixties soul vibe. Sung in three different languages , including Punjabi, the disc also features a great rendition of George Perkins Civil rights song “Cryin In The Streets”

Feeling Alive- Earl St. Clair This young man from Alabama delivers a positive and upbeat message in a modern R&B setting. Plus, I am totally down with the sentiment: “My friends say I should live a little, gotta say yes more”. From his gospel influenced singing to the fiddle heard near the end, their are echos of the deep south felt throughout.

Sweet Love- Wizkid Slinky exotic riddims from this Nigerian hip hop artist

Skin and Bone- Phil Cook I don’t know much about this guy. From north Carolina by way of Wisconsin. His previous record (this was a one off single) was mostly performed in an acoustic country blues/gospel vein. This track reminds me of a late era Sly Stone groove meeting conscious hip hop. The message is right on time, so “clap your hands”.

Birds Of A Feather, We Rock Together- Vulfpeck Vulpeck are back with all their funky, eclectic, quirky charm intact. You not be be able to get the title refrain out of your head after hearing it once.

Brutal- the Expanders “Man say it brutal out deh”. Perfect description for the world at large in 2017. This Southern California unit specializes in rekindling the spirit of 70’s roots reggae, specifically the unique sounds of the eras classic vocal trios. This is a faithful remake of the Itals track from 1981. Original Ital Ronnie Davis died earlier this year.

Ladies Nite- Bootsy Collins It’s ladies night in America folks. Bootsy always knows what time it is. O.G.Funk style.

My Old School- Steely Dan (Walter Becker) When I got to college in the fall of 1977, Steely Dan’s Aja was just about to hit record shops. It was an immediate smash upon being released. Prior to that release I knew their pop hits, but not the LP’s to a large degree. I really loved Aja. I was a big jazz funk fan and it had a lot of that influence. Later that school year, during the blizzard of 78, I have vivid memories of that record blasting from nearly every dorm room stereo and radio as we were cooped up for days on end. My next door neighbor in the dorm (from Worcester/“"Woostah" Mass) was a true Steely Dan fanatic. He considered Aja a bit of a sell out on their part. He insisted I listen to the 5 albums in their catalogue that proceeded it. So I did, borrowing from his collection one LP at a time. I liked them all, especially the magnificent Katy Lied. But the song that always stayed with me was My Old School. A funky (and and not a bit bitter) anthem with a blast of horns straight from E Street topped off with an unforgettable sing a long chorus. As of this printing the Becker estate is now suing Fagen. California might fall into the sea just yet, and but no one is gong back to their old school.

Heart Of The City- Los Straitjackets In 17 years I’m not sure I’ve ever included a rock instrumental. Los Straitjackets remain the premier purveyors of that long forgotten genre. On their latest the band tackle’s the great Nick Lowe’s canon. Super rockin fun all the way through.

Jackpot- Nikki Lane Stylish Nashville rebel with a great voice, rolls the dice and comes with a twangy and rocking winner

A Little Pain- Margo Price A slice of country soul heaven from alt country’s it girl.

Living In The City- Hurray For The Riff Raff On her latest outing band leader Alynda Lee Segarra embraces her Bronx bred Hispanic roots moving ever so slightly away from the alt country sound of previous albums. This track splits the difference nicely.

Here Comes My Girl- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers I vividly remember both the first time I saw Tom Petty perform, as well as the last time. The first was in Madison Square Garden as part of a tremendous line up at one of The No Nukes Shows headlined by Bruce Springsteen. The under card was pretty strong that night. Bonnie Raitt, Peter Tosh, and Gil Scott- Heron. I was a fan of all the acts and had seen them all play live, save Petty. I was not sure what to expect from Petty that night. At that time he had three songs garnering airplay and scratching the Top 40. There was the Byrds like “American Girl”, the AOR ready “Breakdown”, and the taught, urgent energy of “I Need to Know”. That track had me wondering if The Heartbreakers might just be another skinny tie band. In addition there was the slight confusion because punk rocker Johnny Thunders band was also named The Heartbreakers . So I wasn’t exactly sure what I was about to see. His short dispelled any notions of a the act being new wave flash in the pan. It was clear Petty was more straight ahead rock classicist. The release of Damn The Torpedoes just a few weeks later would confirm that. Petty had arrived and was thrust onto the charts and into the big leagues. I was never a huge fan. I loved the best albums and ignored the others. I never found him a great live performer, but always left his shows happy. The songs were great and the band was top notch. Somehow despite his nuanced low key approach he became an unlikely MTV video star. He made continually great clips and they dominated the channel. Despite that, he never did promotions and contests, was rarely interviewed, and his managers did not work us nearly as much as his superstar peers. He toured regularly and always seemed to have a clip in rotation. He was the every man rock star, not bigger than life, not overly political, just writing great songs, hanging with The Wilbury’s and doing his thing. It felt like he was was always there, but he never was. A huge star, yet somehow in the shadows. Hence I rarely ever came face to face. My one memory is standing on stage at Live Aid next to him, and then Heartbreaker drummer Stan Lynch as they waited like anxious school boys to see the reunited Led Zeppelin. They could not have been more excited, anxiously awaiting the set to begin. The band hit the stage and started too play. It was a disaster, just awful. Half way through the second song Petty threw Lynch a sour look. In a flash they were gone, back to the artist compound. They could not bear to watch. I saw Petty perform for the last time just ten days before he passed. I was in the first row at The Hollywood Bowl. Early on I remarked to my wife “He doesn’t look good” (although truthfully, did he ever?). His energy seemed good, and his demeanor upbeat, but he was pasty and wan. He stumbled crossing the stage a few times, took some quiet puff of a cigarette hidden on the drum riser. And he was doing a weird thing with his mouth/lips/teeth. But honestly my reaction was not unlike running into a friend you haven’t seen in a bit where they did not look their best. Like everyone else, I was shocked when I heard the news. When all is said and done for me, it was the songs. Lyrics clear and concise, monster melodic hooks, classic influences and great production. Petty had a chip on his shoulder for sure, but it fueled the hope, ambition, and longing in his best songs and allowed him to achieve pop perfection over and over.

Gentle On My Mind- Glen Campbell 1968. I listened to what ever WABC played on the radio. Around that time there were three sappy and saccharine pop hits that always managed to make my cynicism free, nine year old heart ache with melancholy. The country soul of “O.C Smith’s. “Little Green Apples”, the maudlin mush of Bobby Goldsboro’s “Honey”, and the gorgeous,”Gentle on My Mind”. 1968 turned dark quickly with the assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, the simmering controversy around the Vietnam War, and a divisive presidential election. The bright sunlight of The Summer Of Love disappeared as quickly, as did this type of 60′s pop (and psychedelia for that matter). Campbell continued to write mainstream and country hits, star in his own prime tine TV series (”Hello, I’m Glen Campbell!”), and later become tabloid fodder with his drama and drug fueled marriage to country bad girl Tanya Tucker. All of this conspiring to obscure the fact that he was a truly a tremendous songwriter and performer. I was moved recently watching the heartbreaking documentary “I’ll Be Me” which chronicles his battle with Alzhiemers on his final tour. Its well worth a watch and adds to the story of this somewhat overlooked legend.

Tupelo- Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit Beautiful ballad from the ex Drive By Trucker. A great album overall as well.

Transformation- Van Morrison If this sounds familiar, that’s probably the point. This track echoes back to Van’s great mid 70′s albums. It’’s smothered in enough tupelo honey, crazy love and celtic soul to turn on your electric light and send you into the mystic. I’m gonna guess you’re all ok with that.

Midnight Rider- Allman Brothers Band (Greg Allman) CLICK HERE for my earlier Greg Allman post (REVISED AND UPDATED)

Find Yourself- Lukas Nelson and The Promise of The Real Willie’s son and band fresh off the road deliver a promising set. This southern soul track recalls classic’s like William Bell’s “I Forgot to Be Your Lover”, and Delaney and Bonnie’s version of “Everybody Loves A Winner. That plus the pedigree gets my interest. Willie clearly raised him right.

What Would I Do- Lizz Wright The elegant and soulful Lizz Wright delivers plenty of grace on her latest set of well chosen covers like this Ray Charles gem.

Have You Heard Anything From The Lord Today- Cody Chestnutt Elusive and genre hopping Cody Chestnutt returns with only his fifth album in over 15 years. Better known within the industry than out, he always delivers something interesting. This time it’s a little bit of a little bit of faith.

Not Dark Yet- Shelby Lynne& Alison Moorer Two of country’s finest voices, and sisters, finally team up for an entire album. This is one of my very favorite latter day Dylan tunes, and they sing it beautifully. I was haunted by their version the very first time I heard it and have played it quite a bit since. I’ve always interpreted the lyrics to be the final reflections of someone getting ready to meet their maker. As 2017 brought some very tough days, there were times I couldn’t help thinking of it as a reflection of the state of our union and the planet. “It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there” I thought to myself once too often. Here’s to a better 2018. Here’s the whole thing on Spotify: songs/17 The Herzogs wish you and all of yours the very best. Look forward to seeing you in the new year. xo dh Los Angeles, December 2017

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ofsunshine-andrain · 7 years ago

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My Muse, My Love (Taehyung X Reader)

A/N: I’m finally back with a full story after almost nine months? I won’t say too much, I just hope you guys like it and feel free to drop me some comments.

Genre: Fluff/ Angst

Word Count: 8.5k

Summary: One mistake brought you to the past where you are forced to relive your past life with the uncertainty of how to get back. There, you learn that maybe staying isn’t such a bad choice after all.

Some people believe that when we die we become dust. Nothing more than dust that is stuck six feet underneath the ground. There are other people who believe that we are reincarnated when we die. Well which one should you believe?

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Byul asked you.

“I don’t think she can actually do it.” you whispered. “Its just for fun anyways.”

Without giving it anymore thought, the both of you sat on the stools that were in front of the weird old lady. She smelt of sage and dressed colorfully. Her eyes looked deeply into yours as if she knew why you were here.

Breaking the silence, the lady said “So how can I help you two girls today?”

“I want you to perform one of your sessions on me.” you answered.

Smiling, she showed you to a couch. “Lie down here.”

You made yourself comfortable on the couch. Although Byul was there with you, you still felt nervous. Your realistic side was trying to convince yourself that there was no way the old lady could pull such a thing off but another part of you was thinking what if she could.

“Dearie, what you’re about to experience here cannot be undone. So I’ll ask you another time, you sure you wanna do this?”

Giving it a thought for the last time, a part of you wanted to run but your curiosity took over which made you nod a yes.

“Now, close your eyes and drift off slowly by the sound of my voice.”

Shutting your eyes, you tried to focus on her voice. You laid there still, not really knowing what to do. After a while, everything went silent.

“I don’t think this is work-”

Blinking a few times, you wondered if you were dreaming. At that moment, you felt scared, because the old lady was telling the truth.

Now, you were in the past.

Past

Looking around, you were lost. You stood alone outside at an alleyway. Nothing here seemed familiar to you. Panic filled you once you realized that you did not know how to go back to the future. You started to curse yourself internally because you brought this on yourself. If only you had backed out at the last minute, you would not be standing there.

“___ what are you waiting for? We’ve gotta go now or we’ll be late.” a girl in her teens said to you.

“What?”

“Let’s go now!” She grabbed your arm and the both of you started running. You were not sure how to react since you were still stunned so you decided to follow her first.

After running for a solid five minute, the both of you arrived at a bus stop. At that moment, you realized that you were no longer in your t-shirt and jeans. Now, you were wearing what looks like a school uniform, the very same one that the girl was wearing. On her uniform, you could see her name tag. It read Ha Yi. Soon, a bus came and the both of you got on it.

“Thank God we didn’t miss the bus. If I’m late again, the head threatened to call my parents in.”

Not knowing how to react, you just smiled. “Are you okay ___?” Hayi asked. It was weird that even in your past life, your name was still the same.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” you lied.

“You can always tell me everything you know. We are best friends after all.” In the split second, you considered telling her everything but you were pretty sure she would think you had gone mad. Even you were doubting yourself. How was it possible to relive your past life?

The both of you got down at the next exit. Running as quickly as possible, you managed to get to school right before the school bell rang. Feeling scared and bewildered with this predicament you faced, you decided to hide in the school library.

First, you went through your things. Who were you in the past? In your bag, you found a wallet. Inside contained your ID, some money and a picture. You never expected to look the same as the person you were in your last life, but surprisingly you could see the similarity. It would take some getting use to when you saw your reflection. The ID revealed that you were in the second year of high school which means you had to relive high school all over again.

For a while, you sat there thinking. Mostly you were just holding back the tears because you felt so helpless in the situation. How were you going to go back? You did not want to be stuck here alone in an unknown environment. At that point, you pulled your knees closer to your chest and started sobbing.

A boy who was looking for a book, happened to stumble upon your crying figure. He wondered if whether he should approach you or just leave you alone.

A tickle was felt on your knee. You looked up and saw a boy offering his handkerchief to you. Embarrassed with your ugly crying face, you turned away to hide your face but gratefully accepted his handkerchief. The boy went back behind the shelves of books. After hearing the bell ring, you went to find the rest of your class. You did not have much of a choice but to live as your past self.

At first it was hard trying to adapt to your surrounding. Your family for example, were not the same people as the ones you knew. The hardest of them all was being yourself. Who were you in the past? Were you someone bright and cherry or cold and aloof? You felt scared and as if you had to tiptoe around people. What if they find out that you are not you anymore?

Luckily, not many people noticed the change in you. Only Hayi and your family members mentioned once or twice about how you carried a different aura. They did not push to ask more thankfully. People in the past had a habit of writing journals so after a little digging you found your past self’s diary. Through that, you learnt a lot more about your past self. It was weird how much similarity the both of you shared. In a way, that was an unbreakable bond you both had.

After a month of reliving your past life, you had come to accept the fact that you might never be able to return to the future. Almost every day you would wait at the alleyway where you first appeared in hopes that some unknown force will whisk you back to your own normal life. However, it only made you more disappointed each time.

“___ are you going to the festival tonight?” Hayi asked you.

“Yes?” You reply with uncertainty because no one had mention anything about the festival.

“You’ve gotta go! He is gonna be there.” Hayi said with a tinge of excitement in her voice.

When Hayi sensed your confusion, she immediately rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, just because you didn’t talk about him for the past month doesn’t mean you don’t like him. Before that you were all Jimin this, Jimin that.” she teased.

All you could do was smile because you had no idea what was going on. “So it’s settled okay? I’ll be at your place at five.” You nodded and got off at your stop on the bus.

Throughout the walk from the bus stop to your house, your mind was preoccupied with what Hayi had said. Who was this Jimin she was talking about? If you talked about him often, your past self would have mentioned him in your diary.

After your shower, you thought about what to wear to the festival. You went through the selection of clothes you had. All you could think of was how you would never be caught wearing old fashioned clothes like that. Reluctantly, you decided on a floral print dress that would have been considered a maxi dress in 2017.

For the finishing touch, you wore earrings which matched the dress you were wearing. As you were putting the earring on your left ear, it slipped from your fingers and rolled off under the bed. You crouched down on the floor to pick up the earring when a reflection of light caught your eye. Tucked underneath the bed frame was a shiny sliver cover notebook.

Picking up the earring and notebook, you sat down on your bed. Curiosity filled you as you contemplated what the contents of the notebook held. Slowly, you flipped open to the first page of the book. A smile immediately formed on your face as you went through three whole pages of hearts with the name Park Jimin on it. The next page was a detailed description of how handsome Jimin was and how he made you have butterflies in your stomach. Your past self was really a pure teenage girl.

On cue, Hayi appeared at your house at five and the both of you left for the festival after promising your parents countless of times that you would be home by nine. All you could think of was how early nine was and how the real you used to stay out till midnight.

According to Hayi, all the good looking guys were going to be at the festival and that it was her year to get a boyfriend. Upon reaching the venue of the festival, you could see how beautifully decorated it was. There were many small stalls selling all sorts of things. Hayi and you walked hand in hand around the place.

Halfway while the both of you were walking, a boy came and whisked Hayi away. If Hayi was a cartoon character, she would probably had hearts coming out from her eyes. To be honest, you were happy to finally be alone. Ever since you got stuck here, your life had always revolved around school and home. People in the past hardly had the chance to go out and do stuff they wanted.

Along the path you were walking, you found a bench by the lake and decided to stop there before continuing your walk around the festival. Seeing a school of fishes swimming together made you miss your own family and friends. What happened to you in the future? Were you in a coma unable to wake up?

“Click”

You looked around to find where the sound was coming from.

“Click”

A swish sound came from the bushes and you found yourself staring at a boy with a camera around his neck, taking photos of a duck. After a second glance, you recognized him as the boy who gave you his handkerchief in the library. Before you could ask him what he was doing, he suddenly jumped out from the bushes and started wriggling around as if there were insects all over his body.

“Never again.” the boy muttered under his breath.

“Are you okay?” you asked the boy.

“Yeah... i’m fine.

“What were you doing there anyways?”

“I was trying to take a picture of the duck but it looks like I might have broken my camera lens.”

While he was inspecting the damage done to his camera, you tapped his shoulder and returned his handkerchief that he had previously gave you.

“Thanks for lending me your handkerchief that day.”

The boy wore a confused expression on his face, staring at you.

From behind, Hayi surprised you by giving you a hug. She started to tell you about the guy she was with, before she realized Taehyung’s presence. Immediately, she apologized for her interruption. Taehyung assured her that it was fine before leaving.

“Woah, are you interested in our senior, Kim Taehyung?” Hayi said teasingly.

“He’s a senior?”

“Yes and he’s super hot.” Hayi said while fanning herself. You broke into laughter and asked her about the guy who asked her out.

“By the way, I heard from him that Jimin’s gonna ask you out soon.” she said as she ended her story about the guy she went out with.

“For your next assignment, I want you to pick a mentor which can help you with your work.” your art teacher announced.

As a university student who took fine arts as a minor, you were sure you could manage this high school assignment alone.However, you did not want to find faults or trouble with your teacher so you were thinking which art senior you should ask for help while making your way into the art studio.

A beautiful painting was on an easel stand. It was a replica of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, one you could recognize anywhere. The details of the painting was very well done and you had no doubt the owner of the painting was a talented artist. Could it belong to a senior? Maybe you could ask him or her to be your mentor?Taking a new canvas from the storage room, you started to work on your homework. The theme was nature.

You started sketching when you heard the door open. Focusing on your work, you ignored the fact that you were not alone anymore. The person walked into the studio and stopped directly behind you which annoyed you whenever people tried to take sneak peeks of your work that has yet to be completed.

“Is that the lake?” a male voice said.

“What?” You turned around to see who the voice belonged to.

“The lake where I was taking pictures of the duck.” Taehyung said.

“Yeah... how’s your camera?”

“Completely broken.” he sighed.

There was a short awkward silence before you continued your sketch. Taehyung was still standing behind you which made you wonder what he was doing in the art studio.

“What do you think of that painting?” He pointed to the Starry Night.

“Its a nice replica of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.” you replied.

After your reply, you noticed Taehyung’s eyes widen in what looks like shock or amazement. Your brain realized your blunder. Did people in the past not know Van Gogh?

Picking your words, you said “Did I say something wrong?”

“No... it’s just that not many people know him.”

“Ah... by the way, do you know who the painting belongs to?” you asked.

“Maybe, why?”

“I wanted to ask the owner for help on my assignment.”

“I guess I could help you arrange a meeting.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but bring some of your paintings to show the owner.” You gave him a confused look. “So the person can understand your style more.”

“Oh, okay sure.”

The meeting date was set the next day after school at the same art studio. You gave the painting another good look before leaving for home. The owner of the painting was definitely more skilled than you were. If the owner was willing to be your mentor, you were sure you could learn some things from him or her.

That night, you contemplated on which painting you should bring. Your past self had a few good pieces but a skilled artist could probably tell the difference in style between yours and hers. In the end, you decided to bring all of your paintings. In the past two months you had done a few paintings and hopefully that was enough to impress the person to be your mentor.

The following day after school, you hurried to the art studio, not wanting to be late for the meeting. While waiting for the person to turn up, you worked on your nature painting. When the door of the art studio finally opened, you stood up to greet the owner of the painting but the only person standing by the door was Taehyung.

“I thought you were the owner of the painting.” you sat back down and continued your work.

“I am.”

“What?”

“The owner of the painting is here. The painting belongs to me.” he said.

A bell went off in your head as you processed his words. A soft ‘oh’ came out from your mouth.

“So, did you bring your paintings?”

Nodding, you took out the few paintings you had brought from home. You felt somewhat cheated, because he could have just told you yesterday that he was in fact the owner of the painting.

“Okay.” he said after looking at your paintings. “I’ll help you on your assignment.” he smiled.

Before you could thank him he came up with a condition. “But you can’t tell anyone how you managed to get my help.” he said.

You were not sure why he had such an odd condition but you agreed anyways.

“I’m Taehyung by the way.”

“ I’m ____, it’s nice to meet you.”

“So who are you gonna ask to be your mentor for art?” Hayi asked.

“Actually, I already got myself a mentor.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Hayi said with a tinge of hurt in her voice.

Ever since you came here, Hayi has been a really good friend which made you feel bad because you have been distancing yourself from her.

“I’m sorry, I only asked him yesterday after school so I didn’t get a chance to tell you.” you said while giving her a hug.

To your relief, she smiled and hugged you back. “Who is it anyways?”

“Kim Taehyung.”

Hayi stared at you as if you were mumbling nonsense. “Why?” you asked her.

“No one, I repeat no one has been able to ask him for help. He would just ignore them. How did you do it?”

“I don’t know, he just agreed.” you said while being wary with your words after remembering Taehyung’s condition.

“Maybe, he is interested in you.” she teased. “But I don’t know, he has always been a little weird.” she continued.

“Weird?”

“Maybe not weird but he’s kind of a loner? Yes he’s good looking for sure, but he just kind of cold.” she replied. “So I was just surprised he agreed to help you.”

The school bell rang, signalling the start of class. The both of you hurriedly made your way to class. In class, your desk was by the window which was your favorite seat because you could look outside. You were about to take your seat when you realized that there was a letter on your desk.

Hayi immediately spotted the letter and urged you to quickly open it. There was a note inside containing one sentence.

Meet me at the back of the field after school.

The handwriting was not familiar to either you or Hayi so the both of you could not even guess who wrote the note.

“Are you going to go?” Hayi whispered to you as the teacher walked into class.

You shrugged not knowing the answer to her question.

After school, you were bothered with whether to go or not go. At last, you decided to go and see who it was. Nearing the back of the school field, your heart started beating a little faster making you a little scared yet excited.

“Hi.” a male voice said upon greeting you.

You found yourself face to face with a cute boy. His eyes were round and twinkled as he smiled. You knew this boy although you had never met him. It was the same boy from your past self’s secret diary. It was Park Jimin.

“Hi.” you replied.

“I hope I didn’t scare you by leaving the note on your table.” he began.

“It just made me curious.”

There was an awkward silence before he said “Do you want to go out tomorrow?”

You were not sure what to reply so you went with ‘yes’ since your past self absolutely adored him.

The first date with Jimin went well. He was very nice and gentlemanly. The both of you had a great time getting to know each other. By the end of the date, Jimin asked if you wanted to be his girlfriend. Sensing your hesitation, he agreed to give you space and time before you decided. You were in a dilemma because you knew your past self liked Jimin a lot but for you so far he was just a good friend.

“Class, that is your assignment for the summer holidays. Enjoy yourselves and remember to complete your homework too.”

Everyone made their way quickly out of the class as soon as the bell rang. You felt bad for being a wet blanket when Hayi was filled with excitement for the summer holidays. She had already started listing out her plans for the summer which apparently you were obligated to participate too.

“Aren’t you going home?”

“I’m just gonna finish the last bit of my painting then I’ll leave.” you replied.

Hayi left first after making you promise that you join her summer rendezvouses. As you walked to the art room, almost every student had gone back already. Your once noisy school was oddly quiet which made you feel a little uneasy.

The door of the art room was left ajar, so you peeped in first to see who was occupying the room. Behind an easel stand, sat a boy who was immersed in his painting. Looking at Taehyung like that, you could understand why people found him attractive. He had an aura of a mysterious artist, the one that people longed to understand more about. You knocked on the door first before entering.

“You’re still here?” he asked.

“I wanted to finish my painting.”

The both of you worked on your respective paintings. After a final stroke of your brush, you were finally done with your painting.

“Can we meet next week to discuss about my assignment?” you asked before you left.

“Sure, I’m free on Tuesday.”

As usual, Hayi was true to her words, together the both of you went to the beach with her family. The sun was high in the sky, without a glimpse of clouds. The sound of the waves made you feel calm and you slowly started to unwind. Ever since you appeared in the past because of one stupid mistake, you have been worried about everything. The short getaway was what you needed from your reality; the one where you were unable to go home.

Hayi wished you luck when she heard about your meeting with Taehyung. You did not actually think you needed luck, because honestly how bad could it be? Instead of labeling him as cold and unapproachable, you decided to keep an open mind.

There were two ways to the cafe that you were meeting Taehyung at. Normally you would take the shorter one but instead you took the other one which would pass through the alleyway. Maybe, just maybe, it could bring you back. Taking a deep breath, you turned into the alleyway, full with hope.

At first you could not believe your eyes. Standing in front of you was the cold Kim Taehyung, and he was smiling with a baby in his arms. You knew that you should probably should leave before he spots you but that image of him was too precious and rare. Eventually, both your eyes did meet. In that situation, you had two choices, one was to leave and then be awkward later when you meet him or you could go and say hi.

You picked the latter.

When you walked towards Taehyung, you saw him return the baby to her mother who ran a book store there. He was still smiling when you stood next to him which who took as a good sign. Somehow you felt as if you had uncovered one of his secret.

“Hello.” you said to Taehyung. “And hello to you.” you cooed to the cute baby, sitting on her mother’s lap.

“Are you two suppose to be on a date?” the lady who ran the book store said. “Taehyung is such a sweetie for helping me to take a photo with Hana here.”

Instead of correcting the lady’s words, both Taehyung and your focus was on Hana, who was happily gurgling with saliva all over her mouth. Sneaking a peek at Taehyung, you saw a whole different person. In fact, his smile was one of his best attributes. You wonder why he did not smile more often. Unlike some people who do not like to show their teeth when smiling, he had a wide smile which made his eyes look like two small crescents.

“Look here.” Taehyung held up his camera to take the picture.

Hana was looking at other things and refused to look at the camera despite her mother’s attempt to catch her attention.

“Hana, look here, Hana.” you called out in a sing song voice together with some claps, in hopes to attract her.

If you were looking at Taehyung, you would have seen him smile a little wider at your actions.

When Hana finally looked in front, Taehyung quickly took their picture. After the picture, Hana started wailing. Her mother tried hard to appease her by rocking her. Surprisingly, Taehyung stretched out his arms to carry her and magically she stopped crying. You smiled at how genuinely happy he looked; a look that did not come by often.

“The both of you look good together.” the lady who ran the book store said.

Taehyung carried Hana until she fell asleep on his shoulder. Slowly and carefully, he passed Hana to her mother. After saying a soft goodbye, the both of you left.

You chose not to say anything before Taehyung did. In a way, you were giving him a chance to handle what happened. It was obvious that you had trespassed in his comfort zone. He had kept quiet until the both of you were seated in the cafe.

“So what is your assignment about?”

“Human Nature.”

After ordering a cup of coffee, the both of you discussed how you could approach the topic together with the techniques you should use. Taehyung shared a few good ideas which showed you a different perspective. An hour later, you were finally done with the discussion.

Leaving the cafe, the both walked home in silence. You were waiting for him to take a different route home but he never did.

“I see you fixed your camera.” You tried to break the silence.

“Yeah, and about just now.” he started.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re really good with children though.”

“Well they’re really cute and easy to handle.”

“In what way?” you asked.

“They either want to sleep, eat or poop. Unlike adults, they’re way more simple.”

You nodded your head in agreement to his statement. With curiosity, you wondered who had hurt him so deeply for him to become who he was.

“No.”

Hayi sat on the floor of your bedroom while begging you to go to a party. She went on about how awesome it would be and tried to convince you by bringing up Jimin’s name.

“I kinda already told Jimin you were going.”

“What?!”

“Please, please, please say you’ll go.”

You groaned in frustration.” Fine, but only because I don’t want you to seem like a liar.”

The plan was to lie to your parents about your sleepover at Hayi’s place, which you did not think would work. Miraculously, it did. Hayi’s parents were out of town and they thought Hayi was staying over at your house. So the both of you would be able to go to the party and after, you would crash at Hayi’s place.

The wild party you had in mind, was actually mild. Compared to all the parties you had been too, this was nothing. There was some alcohol and music to get the party going. It was basically a gathering where people got to know each other better. Everyone had their own spot with their clique, no one daring to make the first move.

“Guess who came.” Hayi said.

“Who?”

“Kim Taehyung. And all the girls are already throwing themselves on him.”

After the first hour had passed, the host finally decided to spice things up with a few games. He started with the classic ‘Truth or Dare’ which was awfully popular in the olden days. The game was kind of boring when you did not really care about the answers.

When the bottle landed on Jimin, the person who spun the bottle asked Jimin if he had someone he liked in the room. Answering with a yes, you saw Jimin looking at you. You avoided his eye contact because you did not feel the same way as he did.

On both Taehyung’s right and left were girls clinging onto him, like a koala bear on a tree. From the girls’ eyes, you could see how much they idolized him. The fact that he ignored them, made them more than determine to get his attention. When you made eye contact with Taehyung, he smiled, to your surprise. The girls around him were ready to murder you with their bare hands when they saw him smile at you.

After a few spins, the bottle finally landed on Taehyung. Instead of choosing truth like everyone did, he opted for dare.

“I dare you to kiss the prettiest girl in this room.”

Every girl in the room except you, held their breaths, waiting for him to make his choice. All the guys were betting that he would chicken out in the end. You turned to grab your bottle of beer and had a sip. When you turned back, Taehyung was in front of you. He cupped your cheeks and leaned in for a kiss.

His lips were soft and moist. Before you could find anymore adjectives to describe his lips with, he had pulled away. A punch was thrown towards Taehyung which made him fall onto the ground. It took you a few seconds to register what was happening. You almost could not believe your eyes when you saw Jimin on top of Taehyung, throwing punches at him.

The other boys pulled Jimin back and tried to separate them. By then, everyone had got up and gravitated towards the walls. Except you, you were still sitting at the spot you sat earlier. Eventually, you got up and everyone was staring at you. Jimin stormed out of the house leaving Taehyung on the floor with a busted lip.

Slowly, you moved towards Taehyung to help him up. Everyone else got the cue to stop staring and continued to enjoy themselves, pretending as if nothing had happened. You felt bad for Taehyung because there was a high possibility that the reason why Jimin punched him was because of you. You placed one of his arm on your shoulder and helped him outside, away from everyone.

“I’m sorry he punched you.” you apologized as you got a chair for him to sit on.

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.” he replied.

“I don’t. I probably need to clear things up with Jimin.”

“It isn’t surprising though.”

“What?” you asked.

“You are pretty after all.”

His comment made you blush and your heart skipped a little. However seeing his flushed face, you knew it was the alcohol talking. It was funny for you to see a grown man get drunk on beer.

“Wait here, I’ll get the first aid box.”

Going inside the house to ask for the first aid kit, you were met with angry eyes from girls. It was as if laser was going to shoot out from their eyes. Hayi gave you a thumbs up which made you lighten up a little. Grabbing the first aid box, you went back outside to a sleepy Taehyung.

“Hey, sit properly, this will probably sting a little.” You tried to make him sit upright.

Placing some antiseptic on a cotton bud, you lightly dab on his busted lip. He flinched in pain which made him sober up a bit. Although he always displayed a cold and strong outlook, a little wound like that shook him up. You knew deep down he was probably a warm- hearted person.

“All done.” you said while keeping the antiseptic back into the first aid kit.

“___.” Taehyung groaned.

“Wha-

His lips were warm with a tinge of alcohol on it. This time he kissed you long enough for you to kiss him back. Perhaps it was because of the alcohol but you enjoyed it. Suddenly, Taehyung slumped forward onto you. You shook his shoulders to wake him up. He had killed the mood by passing out.

Hayi and you had to leave the party early to drag a knocked out Taehyung home. However, none of you knew where he lived so Hayi was kind enough to bring him back to her place. The both of you used every ounce of energy to drag him into the house. He was left on the couch to spend the night.

After a shower, the both of you were lying on the bed. You were preoccupied thinking about the events of the night.

“So...” Hayi started. “Let me guess what’s going on.”

“Jimin is in love with you. So when he saw Taehyung kiss you, he punched him.”

You groaned into a pillow. “I’m right aren’t I?” Hayi rubbed salt into your wound.

“I need to go and tell Jimin I can’t be his girlfriend.”

“What about Taehyung, do you like him?” she continued to badger you

You paused to think. Although the kiss did make your heart flutter, how do you know if it was true or not. It could have been just a drunken mistake Taehyung made.

“I don’t know.” you frustratedly said.

“I know this look. I can’t believe you moved on from Jimin to Taehyung so fast.” Hayi teased.

You groaned loudly another time and shut your eyes to sleep. The image of Taehyung kissing you appeared, making you smile. Immediately you dismissed the thought and tried to sleep.

The next morning, Taehyung awoke from the smell of eggs and toast. You were slurping on a cup of coffee when he finally realized that he was not in his home. The look of his face was comical together with his scruffy hair.

“Slept well?” you asked with a grin.

“How did I get here?”

“You have us to thank.” Hayi replied him.

“The bathroom is down the hall.” you pointed. Taehyung got up to clean himself. You could tell he was embarrassed, another quality which you found cute.

“What happened to my lips?” he asked as he came out from the bathroom.

Hayi stared at you to give him the answer but you just kept quiet.

After much persuasion (mostly Hayi), Taehyung agreed to stay for breakfast before leaving. You wondered if he remembered anything about yesterday. Grabbing the chance, Hayi bombarded him with questions to get to know him better. For once, the cold Kim Taehyung actually made a point to make conversation. Thanks to Hayi, you now knew that he loved animals and his star sign was Capricorn.

“See you on Saturday.” you reminded him about your assignment as he left.

“Isn’t he lovely?” Hayi said as she shut her front door.

On Saturday, you sat at the bus stop waiting for Taehyung to come. You had not seen him since that day at Hayi’s place. For the past few days, he had constantly been on your mind. The smallest of things would remind you of him. Whenever you saw a cat or dog, you would remember that he liked animals. Whenever you saw a mother carrying her baby, you would remember that he was good with children. From that scene, you would picture his smile, which was absolutely adorable.

The day after the party, you had gathered up all your courage to tell Jimin you would rather stay as friends. You felt bad when you saw his dejected face but you knew that it was for the best. Jimin had asked you to help him apologize to Taehyung on his behalf.

Taehyung sneaked up and sat beside you, startling you from your thoughts. You saw that the wound on his lips was almost healed.

“Let’s go to the theme park today.” he said.

“Why?”

“Don’t you have your assignment to complete?” he asked.

“What does it have to do with my assignment?”

“So many questions. Aren’t I your mentor?” You nodded. “Then just trust me.”

The both on you got on the bus that would take you to the theme park. To be honest, you did not know what to expect. Obviously it would not be as nice and advanced as Lotte World.

Taehyung bought the tickets, which you insisted on paying for yourself but he refused to take your money. You saw the usual Ferris Wheel, Carousel and Viking ship. Other than that, it was more of a fair with plenty of small booths for games and food. Since it was a Saturday, the theme park was crowded.

“Sit here.” he said as he sat on a bench.

You waited for him to say something or for something to happen. “What are we suppose to do?”

“Take out your notebook and watch.”

You felt silly sitting at a bench and watching people walk pass the both of you. However after a while you started to understand what he meant by watch. There was no better way to understand human nature than to see it for yourself. At a corner, there was a lady who was trying to appease her crying toddler. A couple that walked passed you were arguing about which ride to sit first. At one of the booth, a small girl was screaming in glee because her father had won her a dolly. These were all human nature being portrayed whether in the form of anger or happiness.

Along the way, you took down some notes about what you saw. You doodled a little to try and capture the expressions on their faces.

Taehyung smiled when you started to understand why he was doing what he was doing. He liked watching people. It enabled him to understand so much more about the particular person. Bringing you to the theme park was another side of him he was revealing to you.

To be honest, he had recalled all the events of the party once he got to Hayi’s bathroom. The first kiss during the game was purely because of the dare. You were the prettiest girl in the room and he merely played along in the game. However, the second kiss outside in the garden was genuine. Ever since he met you, he had shown you sides to himself that had always remained hidden.

“Done?” he asked after an hour.

“Yes. This was eye opening.” you smiled while keeping your notebook in your bag.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To the rides of course. I’m not wasting the money I spent on the tickets.”

First, the both of you walked around the booths and played a few games. You aced at the shooting games and won yourself a stuffed toy. Next, the both of you got on the Viking ship which was pretty exhilarating. You noticed that Taehyung was a little scared because he kept his eyes shut throughout the ride.

“Are you okay?” you asked him as you pat his back.

You left him standing outside the viking ship and went to buy two ice creams.

“This is for accompanying me to sit the Viking ship although you were scared.” You passed him the ice cream.

“I was not scared, just a little dizzy that’s all.” He tried to mask his fear with a cool approach.

By evening, the last ride the both of you took was the Ferris wheel. The line was really long and when the both of you finally got in you were just relieved because you did not have to wait anymore. The ride was slow and you could see the overview of the whole theme park. It was a little awkward in the small space and the silence did not help.

“Jimin apologized for his behavior that night.” you broke the silence.

Taehyung who was seated opposite you, came over to you and kissed you. He was definitely not drunk this time so what did he mean with the kiss? Placing your thoughts aside, you decided to enjoy the kiss. He had a tinge of strawberry flavor left from the ice cream on his lips. By that time, you heart was racing and your fingers were clammy.

You were indefinitely definite that you were falling for Kim Taehyung.

Taehyung had been confused about his feeling for you. He had never felt like that before. Most importantly, he felt like you understood him. Plus whenever you smiled, his heart felt as if it was gonna burst and he constantly wanted to kiss you. Therefore to decide once and for all whether he was in love with you, he kissed you in the Ferris wheel.

Within one second of feeling your lips, he had got his answer.

When he finally pulled away and sat back at his seat, you were blushing and suddenly it felt hot in the tiny space the both of you were in.

“Do you want to go out again next week? Not for your assignment, but on a date.” he asked.

One date came after the other. The both of you became inseparable, always feeling empty without the other. When you were with him, you were glad that you managed to come back to the past. You were intrigued by him. It was amazing how you could learn more about him each day and continue to love him even more. Before, you could never believe loving a person that much.

In contrast to his strong and cold outlook, he was actually very frail inside. He hurt easily which made him build up a mechanism to protect himself. Slowly, he let you in bit by bit. The both of you opened up and made yourself vulnerable to each other.

“I’m sorry, it’s gonna hurt a little.”

You felt a stretch as he entered you. Your tears were threatening to spill at any moment. His groan only made you determined to hold back the pain you were feeling. The pain soon passed and was replaced with pleasure.

His bare body rubbing against yours made you feel sexy yet close to him. His breathy moans made you even more turned on. When the both of you finally reached your highs, you looked Taehyung in eye and it was then, when you knew he was the one. The whole first time experience was phenomenal and made you feel closer to him than ever.

You could never forget how it felt to wake up next to him the next morning. He had placed small kisses tracing from your shoulder to your back. Holding you tightly, the both of you shared a deep kiss despite your complains of morning breath. At that moment, you wished time would stop and you could stay forever in your eternal bliss.

One of your favorite dates with Taehyung was painting at home, wearing as little as possible. It was a hot summer afternoon when the both of you decided to strip down to your undies. Taehyung accidentally smeared his hand with paint which he then conveniently wiped it on you. Immediately, you attacked back with more paint and smeared it along his chest.

Taehyung grabbed his brushes and painted your face with it. He pinned you down by tickling you and smeared more paint all over your body. You had become defenseless and allowed him to cover you in as much paint as he wanted. He leaned in and kissed you which then you flipped him over, topping him and rubbed all the paint on your body onto his.

Ten minutes later, the both of you were covered with paint from head to toe. As usual, Taehyung grabbed his camera and snapped a picture of the both of you. You kissed his cheek right before he pressed the button. He had used a Polaroid camera which immediately developed the picture and he pasted it on the wall.

“We need a shower.” you said.

“Then let’s go.” Taehyung said as he picked you up and carried you into the shower.

On another date, the both of you visited the art museum and were absolutely blown away. Both your eyes twinkled in amazement of the paintings and sculptures. People could hardly understand yours and Taehyung’s relationship with art. You however, liked to think that it was art that brought the both of you together.

Taehyung decided to pursue photography although his family opposed to his decision. His dad who had long divorced his mum had threatened to stop paying for his education but Taehyung was determined to walk down that path. With time, his mother finally gave him her blessing to pursue his passion.

It was no secret that you were Taehyung’s muse and he was yours. He always made it a point to include small hints of you in his photography. In some photos, you modeled for him. However being in the photography line, days were not always rainbows and smiles. It was tough to break into the photography industry. Taehyung promised that the both of you would visit the world once he made it big.

When you turned twenty two, you opened your own art center and taught children of all ages. Taehyung would often come and help guide the children. Seeing him in a paint smeared apron, working together with children, made you imagine what life would be like if the both of you start a family. It made you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“It’s 8am.” You buried your head into your pillow, trying to ignore Taehyung’s attempts to wake you up. Last night, the both of you were up till 3am, painting.

His fingers attacked your sides forcing you to jolt up, surrendering almost right away. He showed you no mercy and continued to tickle you till you were breathless. You were in a big t-shirt and undies, he was in his boxers when he got up to grab something from the drawer. You were rubbing the sleep from your eyes when he held you by your shoulders. He wore a serious look on his face which scared you a little.

To your amaze, he got on one knee. You were not sure if you trusted your eyes at that moment. He opened up his clenched fist and in his palm was a ring.

“___, I should have asked you earlier but will you marry me and be my muse and inspiration forever?”

Tears were streaming down your cheeks by that point. Unable to say anything, you nodded your head in agreement and leaned in for a hug. He held you tightly, delighted with your response. Holding your left hand, he broke the hug to place the ring on your fourth finger. Then, he quickly grabbed his camera to capture your reaction to keep for future memories.

The next few months the both of you were busy with your wedding. Instead of a big and flashy wedding, the both of you opted for a simple wedding by the sea with several close family and friends.

While shopping for new furniture, Taehyung came across the baby section. He was looking at some cute onesies when you joined him.

“Aww, look at how cute this one is.” you said.

“You know, we should get busy as soon as we get married.” he whispered into your ear.

Ever since the both of you started dating, you have known about Taehyung’s love for children. Due to his dad leaving him when he was young, Taehyung vowed to be a loving and caring father one day to his children.

On your wedding day, you felt excited and a little anxious. Your makeup and dress was perfect and mostly importantly everything was on track. Your mum was sobbing, looking at her little girl all grown up.

For the wedding, you had rented one of those rustic, classic cars to ride in. Hayi rode together with you in the car.

“Did you speak to Taehyung last night?” Hayi asked.

“Yeah... I miss him so much but my mum was insistent that we don’t see each other before the wedding.”

Suddenly, the car rocked violently, scaring both you and Hayi.

“Is everything okay?” Hayi asked the driver.

“There is something wrong.”

Those were the words you remember before the car spun into incoming traffic. You heard a big bang, indicating a vehicle had hit your car, overturning it. Your white dress was stained with crimson red blood. You struggled to keep your eyes open, feeling more sleepy as each second passed. At last, you gave in and shut your eyes.

Present

You opened your eyes, expecting to be in a hospital but instead you saw Byul. Byul, your best friend was once again standing in front of you. That could only mean one thing; you were back. Looking around, you were at the old lady’s place, still in the same clothes.

“How long have I been out for?”

“An hour. I was so worried.” Byul answered.

Your bewildered look was scaring Byul. At that moment, you felt as if you had lost touch with reality. Was it all a dream?

Things went back as usual. You were in 2017, which was where you belonged. Somehow, you felt sad, as if something had been taken away from you. How can a dream be so vivid and feel so real? Ever since you woke up, you felt empty and had an ache in your heart.

On some days, you would lie in bed, not wanting to get up. Even in your dreams, you could still see his face. Everything reminded you of him. Before, you used to love painting but now you refused to even touch a brush. You longed for his touch and his presence. How could you miss someone that doesn’t exist?

“___ why are you crying?” your friend asked you.

People at the gallery gave you unhappy glances due to your disruption of the peaceful environment. You stood in front of a picture, crying your heart out.

“It was real.” was all you could choke up.

Eventually you made people curious. What was so special about the picture that made that girl cry? In other people eyes, you were just a weird girl crying while looking at a picture. In the picture, there was a duck waddling in a lake and a girl who was wearing a floral dress. Oddly enough, the girl crying resembled the one in the picture.

The title of the photo was “My muse, my love.”

The photographer who took the photo had passed on due to a broken heart. His wife-to-be was killed in a tragic accident on the way to their wedding. The exhibition was a tribute to his 30th year of passing on. Before he died, the photographer managed to travel the world fulfilling the promise made to his wife-to-be.

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