#missing those chrome headphones :((

[userm4x]

07/04/24, Suzuka. Daniel Ricciardo prepares on the grid prior to the F1 Japanese Grand Prix 2024. Photos by Peter Fox, edited.

[being-addie]

How to have a productive study session.

When your finals are in 2 days, and you've definitely NOT studied enough, it's normal to panic. You sit down to study and get a solid 30 minutes of calculus done, then jump down the rabbit hole called YouTube. Soon enough the dread creeps up because you're still not done.

As a girl who doesn't attend school regularly due to coaching classes I go to (I'll expand on this later), it's pretty easy to forget to study for exams and projects.

But there's nothing better than getting 98% on that exam. So I'm writing this as someone who's been scoring straight As all my life. Here's how to have a productive study session:

Note: This isn't a guide for romanticising studies. This is meant for a serious, productive session. I will, however, be making a guide to help romanticise studies because I've found it helps a lot.

Before you study

Identify what your distractions are: Let's be real, almost everyone has their phone on hand during study sessions. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb and keep it in a corner of the room. Add a few selected contacts that can reach you while your phone is on DND. If you can turn off notifications entirely, do that.

Taking measures: After I keep my phone away, my brain turns to the next thing it could be distracted by. My laptop and tablet. Put those devices in focus mode, so you won't be tempted to use any other apps and use a Chrome extension like StayFocused or WasteNoTime to not get sidetracked.

Resources: Make sure you have all your material on hand. Video lectures, notes, guides, your formula sheet, and flash cards. Keep everything on hand so you won't have to rifle through papers to find that reference sheet.

Your space: Clean your desk. Keep only the things you need. Your pens and pencils, chargers, annotation material and water bottle. If you want, light a candle. Do not clutter it unnecessarily. Your desk is a sacred space. Treat it that way.

When you sit down

The checklist: Do you have all the material required? Electronics, chargers, a snack and a drink? Water bottle? Extra pen? If you have everything beforehand, you'll be less likely to lose focus because you forgot to charge your headphones.

Make a plan: I cannot stress this enough. You'll sit down and just start studying, and next thing you know, it's 7pm and all you've done is watch videos on celebrity drama. Make a goddamn plan. Write down a realistic number of chapters you can complete and then STICK TO IT.

Begin: Reread and review your notes. I usually like to rewrite my notes in neater handwriting, because my handwriting in class is appalling. To really solidify information, I recommend the 'Blurting' method. Read a paragraph, then close the book and say what you understood out loud. Reread to see what you missed and take note. I did this for my history exam and got a 100%. This shit works for a reason. Use the Pomodoro technique to maximise productivity. Set an alarm for 25 minutes, and do intensive study. Once that's done, take a 5-minute break. Return and repeat.

IMPORTANT

Take a break: Ah yes, if you don't get up every 40 minutes or so for a break, eventually whatever you're studying will start looking like garbage and you'll be back to square one. GET UP. Walk around. STRETCH. You've been looking like a croissant🥐. Eat something. Rehydrate.

Forgive yourself: If you couldn't hit your target, don't be harsh on yourself. Find out the cause: Were you distracted? Did something unavoidable come up? Then try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Study buddy: This is a double-edged sword. Studying with a friend can either increase your productivity by a massive amount, or it can help you get absolutely zero work done. When revising with a friend, make sure you study with someone who has the same goals as you and won't get distracted by things.

It's 2023, procrastination is cancelled. Go drink some water, eat a granola bar and finish that assignment you've been delaying. Be the person who finishes all their work, on time and perfectly. You can do it.

<3

[chevvy-yates]

CLUB OWNER

The owner of ‘HELL BUNKER��� wears the name ‘Garnet’. A simple man, born as Falco Ritter in Cologne, Germany.

Coming from a middle class worker family, he migrated over to the NUSA to fulfill himself a dream of becoming an artist and of owning a place of his own to show his passion to the world: Techno(ise). Garnet’s lifeblood is not only his bunker and mixing music as a DJ himself, but also his event Chrome Chamber Rave and the radio station ‘HELL BUNKER.FM’ that provides the newest tech hits as well as an online and print techno(ise) magazine named “160+ BPM” that he releases every month. Garnet is an artist and self-starter through and through! Falco has earned quite a high cred and respect in the Night City raver business as his location with mainly CCR is unique compared to other techno(ise) clubs in the city. His vision was not only to bring European, especially German, techno(ise)¹ back to the NUSA, but also to combine it with other artforms and the desire of primal energy that lies deeply rooted within us. He used to be dj-ing at Totentanz years ago which gave him a lot of inspiration for creating HELL BUNKER afterwards. Today, being a quite known underground Techno(ise) DJ within the scene and his bunker, Garnet is still down to earth as a musician and business owner who loves to collaborate with other artists to create art that moves you cerebral and visceral altogether. He also does not shy away from acting as a bouncer for his own club. So if you may have asked yourself why he’s decorating himself with Gorilla arms: It’s for throwing out those who don’t behave appropriately. Falco doesn’t make any excuses.

SET LIST

Garnet's common set list for Chrome Chamber Rave, a fictional hard technoise event in the world of Cyberpunk 2077. He still deejays at CCR. His setlist is of course all hard techno(ise) yet he concentrates to mix it with more emotions and a touch of industrial, even some lyrics and tends to venture further than that. Each song is unique to itself and can be a true experience if you are willing to let yourself soaked in and let it touch your soul.

“Technoise may not be able to save the world, but it will save your soul.”

— Falco ‘Garnet’ Ritter

—

Cover artwork by me. Steal and you will be doomed. I‘ve chosen tracks only by one artist named ‘Roman Gehrecke’. This artist is the closest to what I imagine Garnet would produce as well. So I decided to borrow the music for Falco. Of course all the music belongs to Roman Gehrecke! There's one song at the end of it I see as the one that is always played at last so the audience knows ok after that it's done. This song is also not by the artist mentioned above but has a well known melody majority knows.

Recommendation: ‚Gefallene Engel‘, ‚Anderswelt‘, ‚Stimmen der Tiefe‘ and ‚Schutt und Asche‘ ��� best listened to via headphones and making time for it should you want to try to get soaked into.

———

¹ "Technoise and its various derivations dominate much of the German scene. If you're hip, you already know about Technoise. If not, listen up. Technoise is quite popular with the discerning young punk; it was popularized by Germany's own NetWerk actually, you've got your Overlay style from London, Jazznetic from Rotterdam and Echo from Frankfurt. In addition, there are people producing Frock (Fractal Rock) all over the place. The good thing is, Technoise is quite easy to produce. You only need a small computer, some software and you're ready to buzz. Those of you with a message might miss the political attitude, but you're missing the point. Technoise is strictly for partying, tripping and dancing. People meet and dance up to the runner's point. Maybe that's a political statement in itself, oder?" — Eurosource Plus – The New Eurotheater Sourcebook for Cyberpunk

[sahilpaarty]

Netflix Watch Party: A Guide to Virtual Movie Nights with Friends

Introduction:

In a world where physical gatherings have become increasingly challenging, virtual experiences have stepped in to fill the void. Netflix Watch Party is one such phenomenon that has gained immense popularity in recent times. It's the perfect way to enjoy your favorite movies and TV shows with friends and family, no matter where they are located. In this article, we'll explore what Netflix Watch Party is, how to set it up, and offer some tips to enhance your virtual movie night experience.

What is Netflix Watch Party?

Netflix Watch Party is a browser extension that allows you to synchronize your Netflix viewing with friends and chat while you watch. It's a simple and convenient way to bridge the gap between physical gatherings and virtual interactions. With Netflix Watch Party, you can start, pause, and stop the video at the same time as your friends, ensuring that everyone is watching together.

How to Set Up Netflix Watch Party:

Install the Extension:

First, make sure you and your friends have Google Chrome installed on your computers since Netflix Watch Party is a Chrome extension.

Go to the Chrome Web Store and search for "Netflix Watch Party."

Click "Add to Chrome" and follow the installation instructions.

Open Netflix:

Log in to your Netflix account.

Choose a Movie or Show:

Pick the movie or TV show you want to watch and open its Netflix page.

Start the Watch Party:

Click on the red "NP" (Netflix Party) icon in the top-right corner of your browser.

Click "Start the party."

Copy the URL generated and share it with your friends.

Join the Party:

Your friends will receive the link and should click on it.

They will be prompted to install the Netflix Watch Party extension if they haven't already.

Once everyone is ready, the host can click on "Start the party" to synchronize the viewing experience.

https://www.netflixparty.net/

Enjoying Your Netflix Watch Party:

Now that you have set up your Netflix Watch Party, here are some tips to make your virtual movie night a memorable one:

Use the Chat Feature:

Netflix Watch Party comes with a chat feature that allows you to discuss the movie in real-time. Share your thoughts, react to scenes, and have conversations with your friends.

Headphones or Earphones:

To avoid audio overlap and echoes, it's a good idea for everyone to use headphones or earphones while watching.

Coordinate Snacks and Drinks:

Just like a regular movie night, prepare your favorite snacks and drinks in advance. You can even exchange recipes and try making the same snack.

Plan Breaks:

Consider scheduling short breaks for bathroom or snack refills to keep everyone in sync.

Choose Your Movies Wisely:

Be mindful of your group's preferences and consider using Netflix's voting feature to select the movie or show you'll watch next.

Conclusion:

Netflix Watch Party has revolutionized the way we enjoy movies and TV shows with friends and family. It allows us to stay connected and share experiences, even when we're physically apart. So, the next time you're missing those movie nights with loved ones, set up a Netflix Watch Party and create unforgettable virtual movie memories together. Happy watching!

[juju-on-that-yeet]

Unravel, Chapter 1/20

Work Summary :Antisepticeye has a plan to destroy Darkiplier, steal his power, and take over everything - and he might just succeed. What starts with Yandereplier going missing evolves into a messy web of betrayal and grief, of blood and tears, of old wounds and new faces. However this ends, Ego Inc. will never be the same again. Chapter Summary: Yandere is hunted, shaped, conditioned by a force made of static. It has a plan to control Yandere and take him over, bit by bit. Warnings: Mind Control, Kidnapping

Read on AO3

Enjoy!

~

It starts with such a simple thing: A light, tinny buzz in Yandereplier’s headphones. It’s there for a moment and then it’s gone.

Yandere’s been told by the older egos, Dark especially, to be aware of static in all its forms. But it’s so quick that Yandere can mistake it for something harmless. His headphones are rather old, it’s not strange that they might feedback every once in a while.

After that, though, the static learns. It can tell it’s been noticed, at least, and that won’t do. It reigns back, quiets, sharpens. It’s easy to penetrate a person’s understanding without their knowledge. It’s had plenty of practice. Filtering past Yandere’s awareness and crawling into his brain is child’s play. It’s tempting to go farther, to make the trickle a downpour, to overwhelm and conquer –

Patience, it reminds itself, In due time.

The static could simply take Yandere now; filter into his body like blood and move it to its whims as it has done to so many others. But it seeks a deeper control, a stronger grip, a longer-lasting influence this time.

There’s plenty of opportunity, after all. Yandere is young, he’s absorbed in technology. He plays video games, watches movies, scrolls through his phone, listens to music. If there’s a bit of audio fuzz whenever Yandere turns on Bluetooth or feedback under the sound effects in a game, he doesn’t hear it. His brain gets used to it even as his ears fail to recognize it. One day, the static crawls under the track of his favorite song, cozying up to the baseline, and Yandere doesn’t notice – that is, until the static cuts itself off two-thirds of the way in. It makes Yandere pause his music and lift his headphones to look around. He isn’t sure what he’s looking for. Predictably, nothing is amiss, and Yandere resumes listening. He can’t shake the feeling that something is off until the static creeps back in for the song’s last chorus.

The static is careful not to expose itself when Yandere is around others. It doesn’t filter through the TV when he plays video games with Chrome, it doesn’t leak into the speakers when he’s singing karaoke with Yancy. It stays away from the health monitors when Yandere’s in the clinic with Dr. Iplier, it avoids Yandere’s phone when he calls Dark during his business trips. It knows that if it’s spotted and pointed out even once, it’s all over. Dark will instantly shut it down, and the whole plan will fall apart. For that reason, it’s key that Yandere never puts his finger on what he’s hearing, key that he fails to realize that anything is amiss at all. The static makes a home in Yandere’s mind, an unending buzz that eventually, slowly, begins to speak to him.

Listen closely, it whispers, so low it barely reaches Yandere’s subconscious.

Follow me.

Hear my calls.

There’s no good way to test how well Yandere is listening straight away. The static has made its living off subtlety, it won’t do to be too direct now. As with the first stage of building audio fuzz, the words morph into commands slowly, and the static watches, learns, recalibrates. It knows it needs to make Yandere feel at ease before anything else. People are more compliant if they’re happy. It puts messages into certain songs, sees if Yandere listens to those songs more often as the messages sink in. An experiment of sorts.

Relax.

Be calm.

You are safe.

The experiment is a success. It’s not noticeable to Yandere how his body reacts to the static now, he doesn’t know why certain songs make him feel comfortable, fuzzy, tired in a pleasant way. He listens to the same songs over and over, the same songs the static speaks through. It goes further, pushes harder in small steps.

Turn off your laptop.

Say “good morning” instead of “ohayō.”

Lock your bedroom door.

Simple things that Yandere barely notices himself doing, things he doesn’t think about, things others fail to see. Yandere follows the commands easily, the static pulling him along, tugging him through the day. It continues, getting bolder.

Flush your mascara down the toilet.

Rip up the manga you’re reading.

Throw your sketchbook in the garbage.

Yandere obeys with few qualms. He does pause at tossing the sketchbook, and stands there holding it over the trash can, frozen with indecision. Fortunately, he has his earbuds in listening to music, and the static filters in to tell him relax, calm down, you don’t need it, just listen to me, you’ll feel better once you throw it out. And Yandere listens. He throws his sketchbook out and the static rewards him, rushing into his mind and settling in the cracks, vibrating at the right frequency for pleasure. Yandere returns to his room with a shiver to listen to the same songs he’s been listening to all week.

The static can afford to be louder, now, more absorbing. Anyone who listens to Yandere’s music or TV shows or video games would hear the static clearly and be annoyed or alarmed by it. But Yandere is desensitized. The first time he fully registers the static, he doesn’t have the ability to care about it anymore. The static is safe to him now. Comforting. Kind. Gentle. It dulls any pain, drowns out the world. But when the static cuts off, he can easily return to his normal behavior. As far as the static can tell, not a single ego suspects a thing.

The static is an omnipresent, comforting buzz by the time visuals are introduced.

Visuals are necessary. Even if Yandere’s ears tell him he’s safe, he’ll panic if what he sees is too frightening and unfamiliar. Fortunately, Yandere is still glued to screens, especially now that his sketchbook is rotting in a landfill. When he draws digitally, there’s opportunity for visual glitches in his canvas. When he watches TV, fuzzy gray stripes can dart across the screen. Videos of all kinds can buffer, skip, repeat frames. Games can glitch, too; characters can clip, their bodies turn inside out. They start slow, quiet, ignorable, but escalate, louder, droning, gray fuzz sloughing so heavy across the screens that Yandere cannot see what he’s watching. But the static encourages him, tells him it’s safe, it’s okay, it’s good. These glitches are nothing to worry about. These glitches are things to look forward to. These glitches are fun to watch. The static gets Yandere to watch a suddenly-signalless TV for a full minute before he remembers to blink.

It’s time, the static chatters to itself, Wait for the right moment.

There are safeguards in place at Ego Inc., firewalls and failsafes and lines of code to keep the worst of the static out. They aren’t perfect, but they’re enough to stop the static from enacting the final part of its plan. Yandere knows little of these systems, the static cannot command him to destroy them. So it bides its time and keeps Yandere solidly in its control. It gets him in the habit of locking his bedroom door. It waits.

The right moment comes before long.

An awful lightning storm swallows Ego Inc., something the static cannot take credit for. It’s purely serendipitous, and it’s perfect cover. The lightning is striking close, most of the egos are indoors trying to weather it out. Natural electricity is unpredictable, but the static is powerful enough to harness it, to join it, to redirect it. It waits, congregates in the outer reaches of Ego Inc.’s security, lurks among the storm clouds, waiting for the perfect moment.

Finally, a bolt strikes down, right into Ego Inc., powerful and bright, and the static joins it, makes it stronger. It crashes into the building with an unholy flash.

The entire building turns off.

The lights blow out, TVs and desktops shut down, security cameras go dark, firewalls go down, coding scrambles and fails.

The static, all of it, slips into the building as easy as water into a riverbed.

Yandere is in his room in the dark, recovering from the scare of everything going dark at once. He pouts and groans. He’d been watching the TV on the wall across from his bed, but said TV is now as black as everything else in the room. His phone is the only screen still on, but the battery is low, and it’ll die too before long. He wonders if he should hunt around the building for someone else to wait out the storm with.

At that moment, his TV turns back on, but shows nothing but droning static and high-pitched radio fuzz. Dull gray light illuminates Yandere’s face. Even with the thunder outside, the noise of the TV is present and commanding. But Yandere doesn’t mind it. Maybe he should turn the TV off, but he doesn’t want to. The pixels scramble and run into each other, black and white and gray, and Yandere watches them churn on the screen, phone forgotten. That familiar unfamiliar buzzing fills his ears, sends a nicer version of pins and needles through his brain. It feels good, safe. It’s light in the dark, quiet in the loudness of the thunderous storm.

Come closer.

Yandere crawls up his bed, slowly. He doesn’t want to miss a moment of swimming pixels. His eyes absorb it, blown wide in the dark, filling in gray. He sits at the foot of his bed, leaning forward as far as he can, utterly and completely taken in. Soft, quiet, numb, gentle. It’s fun to watch the pixels dance. It’s fun to listen to the static. It’s normal. It’s ordinary. But it’s wonderful. Calming. Soothing. Yandere could get lost in it. He wants to.

The static builds, congregates into the TV screen, louder, fuller, it builds into something tangible, makes itself a body, reforms, and it – he – finally manifests, hand reaching from the static like Samara. From the hand, clawed and gaunt and sharp, comes an arm, comes a shoulder clad in black, comes a head, a face, a neck sliced open and leaking blood and pixels, eyes blacker than the room around him, mouth split in a grin of huge, harsh teeth.

Yandere feels no fear. He feels no trepidation. He stares into the monster’s eyes. He’s leaning so far forward he nearly falls off his bed.

“Come here,” the monster commands, “It’s time for us to go.”

Yandere slides off his bed, takes the monster’s hand without hesitation.

When the power comes back on half an hour later, Yandere’s bedroom is empty.

[cockbiteproductions]

primed to scream PRIMES! PRIMES! PRIMES!!

f i just typed the answer to most of these questions and chrome crashed so christ i have to fucking retype all these but much condensed because i am lazy.

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

chocolate bars. but only milk. my mom buys exclusively Very Dark Chocolate though so i usually just stare at those and Wish.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

well bubblegum or cotton candy flavored stuff neither they both taste nauseating. if we’re talking about the actual stuff then bubblegum because i can pop it. this actually reminded me i have gum in the pantry from the beginning of the semester i havent even opened yet so now my roommates have you to thank for popping noises the next hr or so

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

soda bottles because i dont like to drink soda quickly and so i want to close it and not let the carbon dioxide escape. soda cans a close second because it’s satisfying to open the tab.

7. earbuds or headphones?

wired earbuds because headphones are too big and clunky and you cant easily lay on your side with headphones on. but if my next pair of earbuds break within a month i might consider Switching because ive had 3 break on me in the past month and half and im at my wits end with earbuds.

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

i dont eat much for breakfast cause i want to sleep in until the last possible moment and i get stomachaches when i eat a lot in the morning but ill eat a piece of bread and yogurt maybe.

13. lanyard or key ring?

key ring but that’s just because i havent used a lanyard before. i think i would like a lanyard. im constantly looking for my keys in bags.

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

this pair of black sandals that i have tan lines on my feet from how much ive worn them

19. sleeping position?

ill sleep however... i like sleeping on my left side. on my stomach with my head to the right. on my back with my arms crossover my chest to keep warm. at the end of the bed with my head where my feet should be. i dont move at all when i sleep so freshman year when i had a lofted bed i think my roommate was a bit concerned in the beginning when i refused a bedrail because she thought i might fall. i never fell which was nice.

23. strange habits?

oh man idk i probably have a lot of those but nothing i can think about right now when im being put on the spot.

in elementary school i used to refuse to step on the yellow tiles at school.

29. best way to bond with you?

talk to me about the stuff i love!!!! and watch the stuff i love with me!!!! i am always down to [whatever the rabb.it replacement is these days] stuff with people and just generally both yell at each other and be passionate about stuff. currently what im passionate about is the stuff im screaming over at @winstonbillions​ so talk to me about that stuff!! please. i am always 3 seconds from screaming about ANY of that stuff.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

idk about outfits to kick ass and take names but i have outfits where i get my ass kicked and name taken aka what i wear to exams. which is my tower of pimps shirt which ive deemed lucky. is it lucky in any way? no, but i’m hoping if i wear it enough to exams it might.

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

duffel bag. suitcases are so large and unwieldily. that reminds me i have a suitcase of winter clothes in my trunk i need to take out.

41. last person you texted?

as in actual texts on my phone? that would be my dad. asking him if i should drop my class im failing. 

as for the last person i instant messaged, that would be one of my mutuals through my musical theater sideblog im currently yelling at about [musical theater related interest]. im not kidding guys talk to me about the stuff i post about on @winstonbillions​ PLEASE

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

2 months ago i would have said hoodie but im kinda becoming a cardigan kind of person now. theyre just Soft and and Long and Casual and i love them. hoodies are too hard to take off.

47. favorite type of cheese?

mild cheddar, american, and mozzarella. i actually only Recently started cataloging cheeses in my brain to their actual names so for my entire life i was like i just like cheese even though there are certain ones i hate like swiss and blue cheese.

53. what is the current state of your hands?

a bit cold and a bit tired from typing all the answers to all these asks tbh. but other than that good. i just cut my nails because they were atrociously long. 

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

“worm” or “fuck” or “no!” according to my roommate

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

oh my ogdokh oym ogdos sd fdospohm to mo edf ucmign fugod mfyo uacant just ask me this im going to absolutely die

in absolutely no order, all from completely from memory, and favorite for a variety of different reasons

“fuck you, math man. if you’re such a genius why can’t you count to loyalty” - mafee in 4x11 lamster billions

“captain, he think, and feels that much more powerful” - luminousbeings in you don’t have to (say yes) the star trek fic

“more than you know, i understand wanting to walk away from the jedi”“i know.” - anakin skywalker and ahsoka tano in 5x12 the wrong jedi star wars the clone wars

“i won’t leave you, not this time.” “then you will die” - ahsoka tano and darth vader in 2x12 twilight of the apprentice star wars rebels

“there is nothing so pure as a man on a mission. when faced with the fire, never quivers or runs. there is nothing so noble as sticking together, for lonely is the life lead when sticking to its guns." - narrator in bloodsong of love by joe iconis

“now i’ve got myself a name and i’m ready to risk it with a battle cry disguised as a sing-along” - never heard nothing by joe iconis

“i’m frickin done with being the loser, the wuss, the underdog. being the misfit, the old school analog. being the oddball, the weakling freak. the failure, the sucker, the please-don’t-speak. oh i can’t hardly wait for the moment when i’m not the loser the geek or whatever, ever again” - jeremy heere in be more chill by joe iconis

“i’m tired of being the person that everyone thinks that i am” - various in be more chill by joe iconis

“q is for quantitative, baby!” - winston in 4x12 extreme sandbox billions

“the cheering is just as important as the song” - lisa and ms. werring in the black suits by joe iconis

“first, best destiny” - spock in star trek ii wrath of khan

“be proud of your place in the cosmos. it is small, and yet it is. how unlikely. how fantastic, and stupid. and excellent.” - cecil in welcome to night vale old oak doors part b

“are we living a life that is safe from harm? of course not. we never are. the questions is are we living a life that is worth the harm?” - cecil in welcome to night vale parade day

“as I turned and my eyes beheld you, i displayed emotion. i beg forgiveness.” - spock somewhere in star trek tos

“the sky collapsed without a sound. these broken pieces hit the ground.  the rain fell down around me and i drowned, but i will save you.” - part of me from dear evan hansen

“this is, after all, the story of how i died” - epsilon in the rvb13 trailer

“and while the law has many punishments for the atrocities we inflict on others, there are no punishments for the terrors we inflict on ourselves.” - the director in the s6 finale of red vs blue

that was in no way an exhaustive list but all i could think of at the moment

67. good luck charms?

not really any tbh. i try to wear my tower of pimps shirt whenever i take an exam but that’s about it.

71. least favorite pattern?

what does this even fucking mean?????? i will say the observer design pattern in programming because i don’t understand it well despite having used it twice now.

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

oh god idk why are all these questions getting harder. nothing i can think of at the moment.

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

i say school id tentatively, but neither of them looks great. my school id photo was a selfie.

83. writing or drawing?

writing. i wish to GOD i could draw and i probably could if i put in the amount of time i need to to learn how to draw but im a lazy bastard. but i’m not that great at writing either as i’ve found out. everything is way too short and out of character and too venty and i am weird about letting people i know read what i write (sorry @ all the people who keep asking me to let them read my writing.  it’s not that great you’re not missing out at all and i hate the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known) and i abandon ideas literal minutes after getting them.

89. who would you put before everyone else?

what the fuck kind of question is this?????? i GUESS the answer should be me but uh i am not even putting myself before myself as i am procrastinating on a shitload of homework with this. i guess my “close” friends. they’re pretty chill. but generally ill do anything for anyone all you have to do is ask.

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

4, my own, my home landline, my dad’s cell, and my dad’s work.

[lovemesomesurveys]

So far, how has summer been treating you? Blah. I really don’t like summer, it’s just hot and miserable and adds to/intensifies my already crappiness. It’s just not a good time. The only good thing are the times I’m able to go to the beach. When was the last time you had a slushie? I have no idea. It’s been quite awhile. Is there someone you miss right now? There’s a few people I’ll always miss.  How many pairs of sunglasses do you own? Zero. Do you prefer sticky notes or cork boards? I have a bulletin board and marker board. I use my marker all the time to put appointment card reminders and write important dates on and stuff. 

What was the last movie you watched online? Like through something like Netflix? It was a Marvel movie I think, but I forget which one. It was awhile ago. Is there much drama going on in your life at the moment? Not drama, just other shit. Are you graduating this year? I graduated college in 2015. Do you feel like doing something radically different with your hair? I just need to get it dyed again and trimmed. I’ve also been considering possibly getting bangs again, but I don’t know. Are you in a relationship? No. Did you ever think your cell was vibrating when it wasn’t? That’s probably happened before. The last person who added you on Facebook, did you accept or decline? I think it was some random person, in which case I declined.  Are you at all interested in America’s Next Top Model? I’ve watched a few seasons here and there. I watched the last 2 most recent ones, and I’d watch a new season if they decided to make another. What did you last take a picture of? My doggo. Would you like to learn another language? I’d like to be fluent in Spanish. I should start practicing it again. What type of earphones/headphones do you own? I just have the Apple ones that you get when you get a new phone. I really want to get a pair of Beats.  Your portable musical device (mp3, iPod, etc): How old is it? I use my phone for music, which is only less than a year old.  Do you own a pet that most would consider different? No. Have you ever wanted to travel to Germany? Sure. When was the last time you used scissors? I don’t recall. What’s your favorite kind of perfume/cologne? I like fruity/sweet ones, but also ones with patchouli. As for colognes, I love cedar wood and sandalwood.  Is there a movie coming out that you would like to see soon? I want to see that movie, Don’t Let Go that just came out, but I’m really looking forward to seeing It Chapter 2. Do you love buying shoes? I’m not super big into shoes, but my thing is shirts.  Do you bother making your bed everyday? It’s always made because I sleep on top of the comforter and just use a throw blanket.  Have you had your wisdom teeth removed yet? Yeah. Have you ever been drunk and regretted it? Yeppp. Do you like to do anything artistic? Coloring is about as artistic as it gets for me. What did you last cook for yourself? Ramen. Has anyone ever called you a “pipe dreamer”? No. Who was the last person to text you? My brother. Think back to your last kiss, did you enjoy it? Yeah. Are you even slightly addicted to applying lipgloss or lipchap? Nope. Do you ever make fun of your own country? Certain things sometimes. What Internet browser do you use? Chrome. Do you consider yourself to be spoiled? You could say that. I just hate that term cause I feel like it has such a negative connotation to it. What song are you listening to right now? XO TOUR Llif3 by Lil Uzi Vert.  Are you comfortable giving random hugs? No. I’m not one to initiate a hug except for with my mom. Or my doggo, ha. Who did you last argue with? More like bickering, but probably with my dad. Do you ever have conversations with your pets? Yep.  Have you ever listened to the band Rammstein? I’ve heard of ‘em, but no I don’t think I’ve heard their stuff.  Do you have any plans for tomorrow? My mom’s birthday is coming up, so my brother and I are going to go get her presents. Who is your celebrity love? Alexander Skarsgard, duh. Are you more a Twitter person or a Facebook person? Twitter. Have you ever lost a best friend? Yeah, a few. Do you own an exercise ball? It’s not mine, but I think we have one in the garage. Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii? We don’t have a PS3, but we have a PS2 & 4, and I like to use the PS4 to watch DVDs or watch Netflix and Hulu.  Are you messy or organized? A bit of both. I didn’t use to be messy, but my room has gotten a bit cluttered. Well, it’s not really what I’d consider messy, though... I just have too much stuff.  What band / artist would you love to see live in concert? I’m sad I never got to see Linkin Park in concert with Chester. :(  Are your nails painted right now? Nope. What was the craziest color you’ve ever dyed your hair? Red. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? Ha, no. Does it snow where you live? No. :( Do you have any significant scars? I have a ton of scars. I don’t know if they’re “significant” or not, but yeah. Who last had their arm around you? My mom. Are you feeling deprived of anything? Yes. Have you ever been obsessed with working out? Nope. What color is the shirt you’re wearing currently? Black. Are you talking to anyone on an IM right now? No. What did you think of the movie Avatar? I really liked it. I can’t believe it’s taken so long for the 2nd one to come out. I think we still have another couple years. Do you collect anything? Giraffe stuffed animals and knickknacks and key chains.  Have you ever feared the future? I do fear the future. What was your highest mark this year in school? Can you walk in 4+ inch heels? No. Is your significant other shorter, taller or the same height as you? I’m single. Is there a friend you would trust with your life? I trust my family with my life. Have you ever been purposely ditched? It felt that way. Do you live in a relatively safe area? My city isn’t the safest, but my neighborhood is. What was the last alcoholic beverage you had? I think it was a rum and Coke, but it was 6 years ago so I don’t really recall. Is there someone you know who is obsessed with Call of Duty? No. Is that even still a big thing now? Have you ever looked into the mirror and hated who you saw? I think that anytime I look in the mirror. I avoid looking in the mirror as much as possible. Is there a piece of jewellry you always wear? No. I haven’t worn any jewelry in like 4 years. When was the last time you saw your significant other? Sigh. What was the longest conversation you’ve had with a person? Several hours. How many purses do you own? 8, but 1 is a mini backpack I use as a purse sometimes and another is a fanny pack. Is there something you should be doing right now? Nah. Do you wish on 11:11? No. What’s your opinion on the Gulf oil spill? Is it hot in the room you’re in right now? Ugh, it’s a bit warm. Can summer please be over?? Are you one of those people who are always rearranging the furniture? I never do that, and if I wanted to I’d need someone else to do it for me. My room is small, so there’s not much rearranging that could be done anyway. Do you listen to any music that’s really old? I like a variety of music from different decades, going back to like the 50s.  Are you a fan of the LA Lakers? I don’t care for sports. When the last time you were upset and weren’t exactly sure why? I feel that way a lot. I mean, usually there’s a reason, like an accumulation of ongoing things, or something in specific, and then there’s the depression, but sometimes in the moment I’m not sure what in particular is making me upset. I guess though it’s like I said, it’s just everything.  Have you ever been somewhere tropical? No, but I’d love to go. Would you consider yourself to be a chocoholic? Not even a little. I’m really not big on chocolate. I’ll have times where I want something and then I’ll have it and be good for awhile. I haven’t had any chocolate in quite awhile, actually. Have you ever heard of Channing Tatum’s website Post The Love? Nope. Do you know anyone who’s currently pregnant? Someone on my Facebook. Are you a fan of mix CDs? I used to make them all the time back in the day.  Has anyone ever given you their business card? Yeah. What is your dream job/career? I don’t have one.  Do you have a friend who’s naturally a redhead? No, but I have a cousin who is. Have you ever had a one night stand? No. What time is it now? 7PM.

[eldritchsurveys]

378.

So far, how has summer been treating you? >> Pretty well, I’d say. When was the last time you had a slushie? >> I don’t remember. Is there someone you miss right now? >> No. How many pairs of sunglasses do you own? >> Like... four. I need to buy just one good not-cheap pair and be done with it. Do you prefer sticky notes or cork boards? >> I don’t have a preference, it depends on what it’s being used for.

What was the last movie you watched online? >> Crash (1996). Is there much drama going on in your life at the moment? >> There’s none. Are you graduating this year? >> --- Do you feel like doing something radically different with your hair? >> No, that’s way too much work. Are you in a relationship? >> Sure. Did you ever think your cell was vibrating when it wasn’t? >> Yeah, but that doesn’t happen to me as often as it would to someone who’s used to their phone going off a lot. The last person who added you on Facebook, did you accept or decline? >> --- Are you at all interested in America’s Next Top Model? >> Not now. What did you last take a picture of? >> I don’t remember, but I did take some video of the laser light show I got to see during the last storm that passed through. Would you like to learn another language? >> Sure, but not enough to dedicate myself to it right now. What type of earphones/headphones do you own? >> AudioTechnica bluetooth ones, and also a pair of wired Sonys as backup. Your portable musical device (mp3, iPod, etc): How old is it? >> I just use my phone, which is about a year old. Do you own a pet that most would consider different? >> No. Have you ever wanted to travel to Germany? >> Sure. When was the last time you used scissors? >> I don’t remember. What’s your favorite kind of perfume/cologne? >> I like those roll-on scents you get from street vendors in the city. The unfortunate thing about that -- besides the fact that I don’t live in a city anymore -- is that there’s no standardisation of the formula, so an “Opium” variant you get in Chicago smells markedly different than the one that you get off Etsy (which is a thing that just happened to me and it’s so annoying because the one I got in Chicago is my perfect scent). When it comes to amusement rides, do you get sick or can you handle it? >> I’m fine on many of them, but I did do the teacups at Luna Park Coney Island once about 10 years ago and it threw off my equilibrium so badly that I had to sit down for the rest of the day. Is there a movie coming out that you would like to see soon? >> It Chapter Two comes out next weekend and I’m pretty stoked about that. Do you love buying shoes? >> No. Do you bother making your bed everyday? >> No. Have you had your wisdom teeth removed yet? >> No, and I most likely won’t. Have you ever been drunk and regretted it? >> Certainly. Do you like to do anything artistic? >> I like to write. What did you last cook for yourself? >> I don’t remember. Has anyone ever called you a “pipe dreamer”? >> I don’t think so. Who was the last person to text you? >> Sparrow. Think back to your last kiss, did you enjoy it? >> I sure did. Are you even slightly addicted to applying lipgloss or lipchap? >> No, I apply lip balm a lot because my lips get dry a lot, not because I’m “addicted” to it. Do you ever make fun of your own country? >> Sure. What Internet browser do you use? >> Chrome. Do you consider yourself to be spoiled? >> No. What song are you listening to right now? >> None. Are you comfortable giving random hugs? >> No, I’m quite not-comfortable with that. Who did you last argue with? >> The last time I got into a real argument was over a year ago. Do you ever have conversations with your pets? >> --- Have you ever listened to the band Rammstein? >> Sure. Do you have any plans for tomorrow? >> No. Who is your celebrity love? >> --- Are you more a Twitter person or a Facebook person? >> I have neither and I never really liked either of them. Have you ever lost a best friend? >> --- Do you own an exercise ball? >> No. Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii? >> PC. Are you messy or organized? >> I’m more inclined towards organisation. What band / artist would you love to see live in concert? >> Meh. Are your nails painted right now? >> No. What was the craziest color you’ve ever dyed your hair? >> Purple, I guess. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? >> No. Does it snow where you live? >> Yes. Do you have any significant scars? >> Er... what makes a scar “significant”?   Who last had their arm around you? >> I don’t remember which inworlder it was. Are you feeling deprived of anything? >> Nope. Have you ever been obsessed with working out? >> No. What color is the shirt you’re wearing currently? >> Black. Are you talking to anyone on an IM right now? >> No. What did you think of the movie Avatar? >> I remember being extremely unimpressed by it. I remember watching it at Sylvia’s Place when I stayed there after returning to NYC from NOLA, and just... dunking on it the entire time. Do you collect anything? >> No. Have you ever feared the future? >> I don’t know, maybe. What was your highest mark this year in school? >> --- Can you walk in 4+ inch heels? >> Yeah, I’ve walked in 6″ heels before. Is your significant other shorter, taller or the same height as you? >> Sparrow is one or two inches taller, Can Calah is one or two inches shorter, and King Crimson is like a whole foot and a half taller. Is there a friend you would trust with your life? >> No. Have you ever been purposely ditched? >> I don’t know, maybe. Do you live in a relatively safe area? >> Yeah. What was the last alcoholic beverage you had? >> I’m drinking a sangria in a can, by Sierra Rose Winery. It’s pretty good, as I expected from them. Is there someone you know who is obsessed with Call of Duty? >> No. Have you ever looked into the mirror and hated who you saw? >> Definitely. Is there a piece of jewellry you always wear? >> Besides piercing jewelry, no. When was the last time you saw your significant other? >> I see two of them constantly and I see the third daily. What was the longest conversation you’ve had with a person? >> I don’t know, hours. How many purses do you own? >> Zero. Is there something you should be doing right now? >> No. I’m going to take a shower after this, though. Do you wish on 11:11? >> No. What’s your opinion on the Gulf oil spill? >> I know nothing of this. Is it hot in the room you’re in right now? >> No, the weather’s been... variable lately. And it’s been a lot chillier than I’d expected overall. Are you one of those people who are always rearranging the furniture? >> No. Do you listen to any music that’s really old? >> I suppose. Are you a fan of the LA Lakers? >> No. When the last time you were upset and weren’t exactly sure why? >> I don’t remember. I usually can trace my moods pretty easily. Have you ever been somewhere tropical? >> Subtropical, but not tropical. Would you consider yourself to be a chocoholic? >> Quite the opposite. Have you ever heard of Channing Tatum’s website Post The Love? >> No. Do you know anyone who’s currently pregnant? >> No. Are you a fan of mix CDs? >> I mean, now we just make playlists. But when I was younger and mixed CDs was The Thing(tm), yeah, I loved them. Has anyone ever given you their business card? >> Yeah. I once thought about making cards that just had all my social media info on it... now we have stuff like carrd.co that kinda functions in the same way. What is your dream job/career? >> I don’t have one. Do you have a friend who’s naturally a redhead? >> No. Have you ever had a one night stand? >> Yeah. Do you listen to the mainstream music or prefer to find your own? >> I listen to whatever I like, is all. What time is it now? >> 3.52p EST.  

[stupidpianist]

14 november 2018

It’s 16:48 right now and I’m in the music library. Idea for the Mastodon account to track ‘daily movements’ with more accurate timestamping is working well, really simplifies the process and I’m able to get a lot more precision/small details I would’ve neglected to include through that, but I’m feeling like doing today’s liveblog in a more paragraph-oriented format, sans timestamps?? ‘Throwing the timestamps out the window’ today, just feel like writing ‘off the dome’ in a less structured way, though still linear, hope that’s okay with y’all, if not, please feel free to skip today’s liveblog, please, please, come right this way, right this way, right on out of this paragraph and into whatever other thing you’re reading, pay no attention to little old me.

Woke at a semi-reliable time after ‘sleeping aggressively,’ I feel, really ‘hard’ sleep again. Woke with really heavy eyelids, which is unusual for me, usually if I’m tired I’ll just fall right back asleep, or if I know I need to wake up, I’ll feel groggy, but not tired, just ‘out of it.’ NOT TODAY, THOUGH!!! Today I was just all, whoa, it’s actually a struggle to keep my eyes open. Still somehow scrounged up the energy to make my way to the bathroom to brush, made some oatmeal, took a G Fuel ‘to the face,’ stared at my computer in catatonia until I had my meeting with one of my professors who’s helping me with recommendation letters. Oh, I also showered, yeah, that’s important, yes. Morning was spent in a state of complete stupor, entire head felt heavy and ‘anvil-like,’ I think, felt really cloudy.

Was the first actually cold day of the season, I think!! Which was exciting, I’ve been waiting for winter for a long time, if I can say something like that. Feels good to ‘don’ the ‘big puffy white jacket’ for another year. I’ve had that thing for, like, what, five, six years now at least?? Always said that once it finally wears out completely I’m going to get it repaired rather than buy a new one, that thing is staying with me ‘til the bitter end.’ Considered getting Five Hour Energy en route to campus but decided against it, and just walked while listening to Kero Kero Bonito while trying to regain some kind of cognitive ability before the meeting.

I guess as a way of ‘self-therapy’ for my unacceptably groggy state I decided on Knausgaard over Foucault to read while sitting outside the professor’s office, which is my favourite office. I wrote about it in a prose poem thing a while back, let me find it, wait:

‘My professor, Maggie, pinches at papers on her desk, and I notice a stunning array of mugs and thermoses that line this massive wooden table against her back wall. There’s one student in her class who sits in front of me and uses a MacBook Pro with a pink, soft-finish case. Without fail, at some point in every lecture, she’ll open a tab in Chrome, and start playing gigantic, full-screen, thirty-by-sixteen games of Minesweeper with such speed, efficiency, accuracy, that I’m more than blown away. On some days she managed a poker game simultaneously, and still continued to take detailed notes.

As I stand in Maggie’s office, Maggie glances up at me and says a few more things, and I thank her, then turn and leave. The floor is linoleum, and my boots make ridiculous, annoying, squeaky squelches.’

Could do with some severe editing, I feel… No longer feel ‘happy’ that I wrote this in much capacity, except for concept. Wait, let me just do a quick rewrite:

‘I’m noticing this stunning array of mugs and thermoses that line the massive wooden table against my professor Maggie’s back wall. There’s one student in the class who sits in front of me and uses a MacBook Pro with a pink, soft-finish case. Without fail, at some point during the lecture, she’ll open a new tab in Chrome, and start playing gigantic, full-screen, thirty-by-sixteen games of Minesweeper. Sometimes she managed a poker game simultaneously.

I’m standing in front of Maggie’s desk. Maggie glances up at me and says a few more things, and I thank her, then turn, and leave. The floor is linoleum. My boots make ridiculous, annoying, squelching sounds.’

Hm. Still ‘not happy with this,’ but it feels marginally better? I’ll come back to it, don’t want to ‘abandon’ this topic ‘quite yet,’ feel like ‘there’s something there,’ just haven’t really ‘teased it out’ at all.

So yeah, yeah, I met with Maggie, which took a few minutes. She informed me of the next Miltonmas, her annual celebration of Milton’s birthday, and also informs me that he’s turning 410 years old this year. Feel ‘tremendous levels of excitement,’ might ask A if she wants to go? Seems unlikely that she’ll want to for a myriad of reasons but I’m not gonna miss it unless I’m, like, severely ill.

Jesus as I’m writing this I still feel so so so out of it, probably had one too many beers last night for sure. Need to be up really early tomorrow for a work shift, so I can’t be going to bed late tonight, which is sort of, like, a blessing, so even if I wanted to stay up for whatever reason now I can’t.

After the meeting with Maggie, which went well, as they always do, Corrina OH YEAH WAIT, it’s definitely spelled Corrina unless she intentionally misspelled it on her laptop, I SAW HER NAME on her MACBOOK when we played DUNGEON WORLD LAST NIGHT yeah okay so now we know her REAL NAME AAAAAND we know how to SPELL IT yes so CORRINA was all like, ‘who wants poutine’ on the group chat with Michael, Corrina, Jasleen, Astoria, I, and I was all like, ‘yeah i want poutine’ and she was all like ‘okay meet me at the Starbucks in Eaton Centre and I went all ‘yeah okay.’ So my dumb butt walks to Eaton Centre only instead I go into Place Montreal Trust and I wait by the Starbucks, and Corrina goes all, ‘where are you’ and I go all ‘wait holy crap I’m such an idiot hold on I’m in the wrong building’ so I cross the street and Corrina finds me and we get this gigantic plate of poutine.

Sorry to report: did not taste very good. No no, probably, maybe, like, a light four out of ten? Disappointed. Second bad poutine in a row, need to pay Belle Province ‘a little visit’ to remedy the situation, need some good poutine in my stomach before I risk more bad poutine. So we finish the poutine and then decide to get caffeinated, something I really, really needed given my mental state of just complete BLAUGH, so we head to Starbucks and I completely overspend on a peppermint mocha. God those holiday drinks really GET ME, I love them SO MUCH, everything about the holiday season I ADORE. Tinsel, the music, the atmosphere, the ostensible snow, the wreaths, yeah yeah ALL OF IT, gimme, just-- gimme.

Then knew I needed to practice, even in my semi-conscious-but-more-verging-on-unconscious state, so I say bye to Corrina, who heads back to work, and I take the trek to McLennan, where I check out a copy of  Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal. There’s an amazing website which features a myriad of English translations of each poem, so I’ll be able to cross-reference all of them whilst trying to keep up with the original French. Feel excited to be ‘getting in on this’ finally, haven’t actively read poetry in a really long time, now that I think about it…

Side note: the computer that I used, or, rather, the section of McLennan in which the computer I used was in smelled like poop. Not even like body odour or anything, like, straight up feces. Was really bad, that’s when I decided I’d just use the computer to see where the Baudelaire book was, and then ‘get the heck out’ and not update the liveblog, would save that for the ‘safety’ of the music library, which I mostly prefer to McLennan anyways.

Is now 17:16. Blasting Igorr through headphones, really don’t want to go practice but know it’ll be good, or, at least, like, mildly fun. Maybe I’ll throw some Schubert under the fingers, or something?? I don’t know, I don’t have many days until I need to record prescreenings, but I’m feeling confident, maybe I’ll take a ‘rest day’ and focus on pieces I don’t need to prepare?? Keep the pieces that I need to record’ fresh’ and not just repeated to hell?

OH OH I know what I’m gonna do. Gonna print out some Thalberg to read. Never get tired of Thalberg. Thalberg, my love. Oh-so-neglected. Hahahahah I’m just spouting nonsense right now, need to leave the computer before my brain further devolves. OKAY onto the PRACTICE ROOMS see you later for the first inaugural ‘Soundtrack of the Day’

20:40: Watching livestream of Megan Boyle reading entirety of Liveblog over ~52 hours without stopping; will not be updating this liveblog any more tonight, please also tune in to the stream, link in Megan’s Twitter

[happy-theatre-anon]

Glamorous (BMC Character Headcanons)

Warnings - Makeup?

Tag List - @rainbow-anon @petal-anon @sax-anon @the-trashy-tornado @sweater-anon @bouncyscreamingnewsboys (If you want to be added, removed or if I forgot you please say! 💛)

A/N - So this is based off of some Headcanons I did a while back where I said about Jeremy wearing makeup, so I wanted to go more into detail about that, but then I thought just Jeremy by himself might be a little bland so I ended up doing Headcanons for all the characters! Please note that this probably isn't my best quality of writing, but I thought it'd just be better to put it out there before I changed my mind. Also please note that all the editing and the tags were done on chrome due to an issue, so if I missed certain parts or it looks weird - that's why. Enjoy!

____

Jeremy

- So Jeremy for sure would wear highlighter

- I can just picture it very easily?

- And it wouldn't just be a simple white, plain shade

- Oh no, it'd be any colours possible

- Pink? He'd wear it

- Blue? He'd wear it

- Green? Makes him look a little weird but he'd wear it

- He just loves how confident it makes him feels

- He'd mostly wear it at home or to parties rather than to school however

- At school he's more likely to wear blush

- Christine or Brooke were probably doing his makeup when they introduced him to blush

- It started off light and barely recognizable

- But then he discovered that if he put a lot of it on his nose or his cheeks, he looked absolutely adorable

- Sometimes he wears a lot, sometimes it's light

- It depends on how confident he's feeling

- Regardless of whether he wears blush or highlighter, he loves anything that makes him look a bit more angelic or a more like a video game character

- It makes him feel a little more confident and just good about himself

- He'll also put concealer on his acne the days where he feels particularly insecure

- On days where he's feeling particularly catty, he'll wear darker shades or a light lipstick

- Watch out for him on those days

- Looks absolutely enchanting when wearing makeup

Michael

- I feel like he would go for a look that makes him glow a bit more

- Maybe some gold highlighter or gold blush

- Maybe a bit of eyeliner

- He's great at doing winged eyeliner nobody knows how, he's just naturally good at it

- He doesn't like wearing makeup that will smudge off easily

- He likes moving his headphones around a lot, and it wouldn't be great if he got makeup on his headphones

- He just looks absolutely glowing when he wears makeup

- Some of his looks can be quite out there, but to be quite honest he does not care

- He likes to feel very confident in all of his looks so he'll spend about an hour overall in the mornings doing his makeup

- Looks like royalty when wearing makeup, it's magical

Rich

- Christine 100% taught him how to do his makeup

- I imagine them with a sibling relationship so I feel like out of everyone she would be the one to teach him

- Absolutely loves eyeshadow

- His favourite eyeshadow shades so far are a dark shade of red and a lighter more pastel red

- He likes pairing the shades together along with a red lipstick, and some black eyeliner and mascara

- Sounds like a lot of red with the red streak in his hair, but he makes it work

- He can't do a wing with his eyeliner for the life of him

- Usually Michael or Christine will help him out before he gets to frustrated with it

- Somehow always smudges it?

- He always keeps his hands away from his face when wearing makeup but then he'll look in a mirror and

- He'll have a huge streak down his face or something will be smudged or in the wrong place

- But always looks so fierce and gorgeous

Christine

- She 100% knows what she's doing when it comes to makeup

- She's had enough experience with stage makeup to know what works, what doesn't and how it works

- Loves her mascara and eyeliner

- She likes using dark colours mainly as it makes her eyes look nicer, but occasionally she'll use a brighter shade

- She likes to keep her makeup very traditional outside of any productions she's in

- She might spice her look up with a shiny red lipstick but that's about it

- But with stage makeup she goes all out

- She'll have every colour you can think of for any makeup product purely for when she needs to do stage makeup

- She's very fast with it and can do it in a ten minute time constraint and still looks stunning

- So talented with makeup and just looks absolutely amazing

Jenna

- Always goes with whatever is on trend right now

- She always tries the latest instagram makeup trends

- They don't always turn out great but if you can name a trend, she's tested it

- She has a lot of expired makeup from when she's used things and then forgot to throw them out when they went off trend

- Knows where to buy the best makeup for the best price, in every store within an hours drive

- She is amazing when coming to removing makeup stains, or which one is best for your skin type, or what colour works best for you

- She doesn't actually wear a whole lot of makeup whenever there isn't a big trend happening

- She'll wear some foundation, concealer, mascara and maybe some blush

- She just wants to fit in and she knows if she wears too much people will tease her, but if she wears too little people won't pay any attention to her

- After gaining friends from the whole squip incident she's gotten better with her confidence, but she likes to stay safe anyways

- Looks fantastic always and you can bet she knows what's trending and what's not

Jake

- Doesn't wear a ton of it, purely because he's always trying new things and doesn't know whether makeup is a good choice for that hobby

- But when he does

- You can absolutely bet he looks absolutely amazing in it

- He's really good with makeup unsurprisingly

- Most of the makeup themed tips he knows are from Chloe

- When they were dating he would watch her do her makeup in the car and then she taught him how to do it, and then he just started wearing it himself

- You can guarantee most of the makeup things he uses are things his friends bought and then never got to use because they 'mysteriously vanished'

- They all know it's Jake that takes them before anyone gets to use them but they never say anything

- Likes going for a smokey eyeshadow with mascara and maybe some lipstick

- Loves his mascara

- It makes his eyes look great, his eyelashes look great and it's fairly easy to apply when in a rush

- Of course looks dashing with or without makeup

Brooke

- Loves natural looks

- Her favourite things are a shiny pink lipgloss, and thick eyeliner

- She wasn't that big on makeup until she met Chloe and even now doesn't like to wear a lot

- Similar to Jeremy she absolutely loves highlighter

- It's just so pretty and makes her look like she's glowing

- She really loves to wear thick eyeliner on her top lid though

- It makes her eyes look a lot brighter and clearer

- She has practically flawless skin

- Nobody knows her secret to it and she won't confess it, not even to Chloe

- The truth is she just drinks a ton of water and then has naturally good skin

Chloe

- This girl knows everything possible about makeup

- She knows every hack or tip

- She knows how to mix really odd colours and make them work

- Honestly just a wonder when it comes to makeup really

- She likes to go for a heavier look compared to the others

- She’ll use foundation, concealer, contour, eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick, mascara, etc

- She doesn’t really have a consistent look with her makeup she just matches it with whatever outfit she’s wearing on that day

- Most of the things she’s learnt have been from YouTube, instagram, Jenna or just guessing

- Out of all of them she’s been using makeup the longest, so she’s definitely the ‘makeup master’ of the group

All in all when wearing makeup or when not, they’re stunning. Even if Rich, some of them aren’t amazing at it

[yehet-me-up]

Don’t Call It a Love Song

Pairing: Kim Minseok (Xiumin) x Reader (female)

Rating: (M) for swearing and explicit sex

Word Count: 16,808

Summary: It’s been two years since you opened the bookstore across from KMS Music. Two long years of falling in love with its sexy and sarcastic owner, never imagining that he might feel the same. You’ve always preferred fiction over reality; books and stories just seemed to be inexplicably better, and safer, than real life. But when an unexpected present is delivered on your store’s two year anniversary, you think you might have found the one person who can tempt you to leave the fantasy world and chase something real.

Part one of the Exodus Mall series! (Can be read independently, but you’ll get some extra backstory if you read the other parts first!)

February 4th, 1995

It’s a cold and rainy day. You’re driving around, desperately searching for a music store. You wonder if you’ve brought on the downpour with your own torrential mood. 

“On Bended Knee” by Boyz II Men starts playing on the radio, for what feels like the thousandth time that day. Their beautiful voices are normally a guilty pleasure for you, but today, in all your fury, they feel mocking instead.

You don’t want sweet. You want angry, you want pissed off; something to match the swirling emotions inside of you. You jam your hand against the power button and suddenly the only sound in the car is your sniffling. Disgusted, you grab a tissue from your purse and dab your eyes, new tears welling in your frustration. 

You can’t take it any more, working with that pig, that asshole. Seven long years you’ve worked for Dalton Books and for it’s owner Jason Dalton.

You started working there the day you turned eighteen, saving every penny you could. Long night and weekend shifts to put yourself through college. Thanks to a combination of scholarships and that job you managed to graduate debt free three years ago. Since then you’d been relentlessly building your savings in hopes of one day achieving your dream of opening your own business. 

For years you’d been applying for promotions at the bookstore, anything to make more money so that you could make your dream a reality sooner. And for years Jason Dalton has been passing you over for whatever girl he’s currently interested in sleeping with, after you made it abundantly clear you weren’t going to take him up on that offer.

You dreaded having to look for another job, so close to reaching your savings goal. But just this morning you learned that instead of promoting you to the open supervisor position he’d given the job to Megan, who’d been there a whopping three months. Unbelievable. Everyone loved you; the regular customers, the whole staff – senior and new, the vendors. You worked your ass off and always showed up with a fantastic attitude. 

Everyone knew you deserved to be promoted, but as it’s a family owned store there’s no one to go to; no HR, no higher manager to complain to. So you sucked it up and worked your shift and then drove off in search of some music to drown your sorrows.

A single story mall up ahead on the right catches your eye. A neon sign, purple with white lettering and a lightning bolt symbol in the center, shines from the closest store. KMS Music it reads and you merge into the turn lane abruptly, thanking the universe that there was no one next to you. 

You pull into the mall, admiring it’s modern black and chrome exterior, and easily find a spot out front. You sling your purse across your shoulder, adjust your denim skirt and flip down your mirror. Mascara is running down your cheeks in two black streaks. You groan and clean it up with another tissue, wetting it on your tongue. Finally presentable, you get out of the car and slam the door.

You stride across the lot and pull open the door, stepping inside onto a deep purple carpet. “Money” by Pink Floyd is playing from the speakers on the wall. You sigh in relief, no sweet pop music for you today. 

The store is spacious, orderly. Rows and rows of sleek black wood racks hold CDs, records, and posters. Colorful picture discs hang down from the ceiling, creating a bright mosaic that draws your eye. 

Remembering your purpose, you look around the store, trying to find the best category that might hold what you need.

“Can I help you find something?” a man says from the counter to your right, his hands paused in sorting through receipts. 

Inwardly you curse your luck. Of course you run into the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen on a day you look like a complete wreck. Messy black hair, piercing dark eyes, vintage Led Zeppelin shirt, tight jeans tucked into faded Doc Martens. 

He’s leaning against the counter like some off-duty rock God. When you realize you’ve been staring at him for several seconds you blush and look down. Gathering yourself together you look back up to where he’s still regarding you with a raised eyebrow, waiting.

“Yes, actually,” you start, your voice thick from all the crying. You clear your throat and carry on. “I’m having a totally awful day. What do you have in the way of angry rock? The louder the better.”

His eyes widen and his gaze roams down your body, taking in your conservative denim skirt, soft green sweater, and twin braids. You glance at the customer currently paying at the register, a tall man with a sky high red mohawk and studded leather jacket; it’s safe to assume that you’re not the type of customer he usually sees. 

He gives you a smirk and sets down his receipts, sauntering toward you. “Right this way,” he says, walking over to the CD racks labeled “Rock & Roll.”

He leans against the nearest rack on one hip, tilting his head as he starts naming off bands. A lightning bolt tattoo, a matching design to the one on the store’s sign, peeks out from behind his ear as he leans forward. “If you’re looking for straight up angry rock we’ve got some AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Twisted Sister. Any of this sounding appealing?”

You draw your lip in with your teeth, considering. None of those sound quite right, but you’re not able to articulate exactly what you’re looking for. 

“Or, I have an idea. How about some angry girl rock? Hole – Miss World,” he says, handing you the CD. “Or maybe some Garbage?” His agile fingers flip through the racks, pulling out another CD and placing it in your hands.

“Hmm, no, wait. I’ve got it.” He takes the other two from your hands and puts them back, walking down and selecting another CD. “Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill.” 

He slides out the case and walks over to a listening station. With precision he unwraps the case and pops the disc in the machine. He takes the headphones off the rack and hands them to you. You slip them over your ears and the world is instantly muffled. He leans in, hitting the play button and then the skip button to queue up the second song.

The instant the chorus kicks in to “You Oughta Know” you decide that he’s right, this is exactly what you need. 

Throughout the song he remains close, watching you gently bob your head along to the music, his intense eyes never leaving your face. The song finishes and you slide the headphones down to rest on your neck. 

“It’s perfect, I’ll take it,” you say, giving him a grin and a thumbs up.

His face breaks into a satisfied smile in return, showing his gums, making him look years younger. Maybe the rock God has a soft side, you think.

“Fantastic,” he says, ejecting the disc as you put the headphones back on the stand. 

He walks you to the register and starts ringing you up. You can’t help but observe every detail of him, separated by only a narrow counter. The sharpness of his jaw. The outline of his chest through the faded shirt. His easy, effortless air of confidence. 

You’ve been working for your dreams for so long you can’t even remember the last time you were seriously attracted to someone. College maybe? Those six months you spent with Zach junior year? God, has it really been that long? you wonder.

“I hope you have a better day,” he says gently, handing you the CD and your receipt, a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“Thanks, I think I will now,” you reply, taking your purchase and slipping it into your purse. He nods to you as you step away from the counter, breaking the spell his presence cast over you.

Rather than heading back to your car you turn the other way, wandering out into the mall. 

It must have been here this whole time, only a ten minute drive or so from your apartment, but you’ve never been in before. The walls are a crisp white color, the floors an off-white marble tile. Potted plants, tables, and groups of dark leather chairs provide seating areas every few feet.

Walking toward the center of the mall you see what looks like an antiques store next to the music store. Its windows are packed with an assortment of goods stacked precariously; an organized chaos of books, clothing, and smaller decorative furniture. The sign above reads Guardians est. 1994. 

Next to that is a busy Starbucks, a line of customers trailing out into the mall as they wait to grab their caffeine fix. The far end holds a large department store, bustling with foot traffic. Across the way you see a narrow jewelry shop with some dazzling diamond and emerald pieces on display. Next to that is a chocolate shop called Sinful, its windows filled with an assortment of what indeed looks like sinful amounts of chocolate.

A loud laugh to the right draws your attention to the large, bustling food court. A crowded pizza parlor in the center has a “Grand Opening” banner hung above its menu board. Some smaller restaurants are scattered around the rest of the space. It’s just about dinner time and the tables are almost full of couples and families talking as they eat. 

Between the food court and where you stand are a handful of other stores. A computer repair shop, a clothing store from a chain you recognize, and an entrance to a sleek looking exercise studio. The block letters on its doors read KOKO. At the far end of the mall, through the open food court, you can see the large neon sign of a movie theater, rows of marquees out front list off the current movies and showtimes.

Finally your observation turns to the store directly across from you. The gate is drawn shut and the lights are off, but you can still see faintly through the large glass windows. A “For Sale” sign is pinned to the gate, listing the contact number for the mall real estate agent. 

Stepping the rest of the way to the store you lift your hand against the glass to block out the glare from the lights, peering into the windows. Rows and rows of dark wood bookshelves line the outside ring. A low, wide counter stretches to the right. Display tables are centered around the middle of the store, looking sad and empty of merchandise.

If you’re honest with yourself, a bookstore has always been your dream, ever since you first read The Hobbit as a child. As the only daughter of two teachers you’d never had a shortage of fictional friends to keep you company. It had killed your parents that they couldn’t afford to help you out with college, but they made sure you never lacked for books on your birthdays and at Christmas.

The store is calling to you in a way you can’t describe. A tingling feeling deep in your bones that this is where you’re meant to be. You have no idea how to go about buying it, whether or not you have enough money, or how on earth you’re going to manage to hire and lead a staff at the age of twenty-five. But you’ve always been practical and able to figure things out. 

You’re normally one to be cautious, to consider all the options thoroughly before making a decision. But today something feels right, something is calling you to take action, now.

You pull out a receipt and a pen from your purse, write down the phone number, and head back to your car full of purpose. The Exodus Mall, you think excitedly, it might just be the perfect place for you. Passing through KMS Music you sadly don’t see any sign of the good looking man who helped you out before. 

You pull out the Alanis Morissette CD as soon as you get into the car and happily rock out on your drive home.

May 7th, 1995

The second time he sees you is an unseasonably warm evening. He looks up from his paperwork and it’s ten on the dot, closing time. Pulling out his keys he does a quick lap of the store to make sure there’s no customers around. 

Satisfied it’s just him and his assistant manager, Alec, he goes to lock the front doors. He pivots and moves to close the gate, bobbing his head to the strains of Jimi Hendrix playing over the speakers. 

He reaches for the gate to the mall to pull it closed, but his attention is drawn across the way by light and sound coming from the previously vacant bookstore. The gate is still closed, but the store is full of activity. Several people are milling around, unpacking boxes; its once empty shelves now partially filled up with neat rows of books.

The upbeat opening bars of “Dancing Queen” by ABBA start coming from inside and the employees give cheers of approval. When you stand up from crouching down to start the CD on the player behind the counter, he recognizes you immediately. 

He smiles to himself, thinking all over again how cute you look with your hair in long twin braids. You notice him staring and give him a small wave, quickly turning away as you’re called over by one of your employees. He stays there for a beat, thinking that of all the people in the world he’d have expected to buy the old Cheshire Bookshop, you’re definitely a pleasant surprise.

Finally he slides the gate closed and locks it, looking up once again to watch you move about the store, speaking to another woman as you gesture to the shelves with wide arms. He observes your side profile as you discuss whatever plans you’re making, remembering how he’d been drawn to you when you stormed into his store months ago.

You’d looked so upset and defeated, he could tell you’d been crying, but you seemed so passionately determined as well. As the manager he doesn’t usually volunteer to help customers, preferring to exist behind the scenes. He chooses the stock, runs the logistics, and hires excellent employees to handle the customers. 

But for some reason he felt compelled to head off Alec and help you himself. It was completely worth it, watching you bite your lip as you considered his selection. Being on the receiving end of your smile as you listened to one of his favorite songs. Feeling satisfied that he’d chosen something that pleased you.

“There a problem, boss?” he hears Alec ask from behind him.

“No. Just checking out our new neighbors,” he says, inclining his head toward the bookstore.

“Oh, nice. I’m glad someone finally bought that place. It’s about time we got some new blood around here,” Alec says and wanders back to closing down the register.

“Yeah,” Minseok says to himself. He shakes his head, smiling, and slides his keys into his pocket. He gives one last look across the mall at you before turning back to all the closing duties that await him.

May 20, 1995

After months of preparation, you’re finally ready to open Greyhame Books for the first time. You’d decided to name it after one of your all time favorite literary characters. You were so nervous in your meeting with the mall real estate manager, wearing your only nice dress; your bank statements and business plan neatly printed out in a folder. 

Luckily the woman you met with, Jill, was a fellow book lover who’d been crushed when the couple that owned the bookstore had decided to retire after their lease ended last Thanksgiving. Your fantastic credit score, sensible attitude, and consistent employment for the past seven years convinced her to take a chance on you. You had just enough money to squeak out a deposit and dashed over to the bank immediately after your meeting to get the money order and to work out a business loan.

The fierce satisfaction you’d felt when you turned in your two weeks notice at Dalton Books later that day had been short lived. Soon it was overshadowed by an overwhelming sense of fear as you looked at your miles-long to do list. 

It was a wobbly start, but eventually you were able to find your footing. Luckily one of your friends from the bookstore had quit a couple of months ago, fed up with Jason, and was still looking for work. Melanie was a few years older than you, smart as all get out and the energy and enthusiasm of a high schooler.

Together you navigated hiring an additional six employees, contacting publishing houses to set up merchandise orders, and working with contractors to give the store a face lift. Blessedly, all of the original fixtures were still in great shape and there were no major repairs to do. 

Now the day is finally here. 

As the minutes count down to nine o’clock you and Mel run around making sure everything looks perfect. When the clock hits nine you nervously unlock the gate to the mall. You take a quick look around the store and feel a surge of pride at what you’ve built and go over to the CD player behind the counter to turn on the radio. 

“This Is How We Do It” by Montel Jordan is just starting when you turn the dial to your favorite station. You smile to yourself, it’s one of your favorite songs, and decide to take it as a good omen.

Moments later a mom comes in with a napping child in a stroller. You greet her and she smiles in response, heading for the mystery section. She’s shortly followed by a group of older women who head for the fiction section, discussing what to choose next for their book club. An older gentleman with a cane gives you a gruff ‘hello’ and walks over to peruse the racks of newspapers. 

You breathe a sigh of relief, your worst fear – that no one would come – is already alleviated. The ladies in fiction call over Melanie, asking for some suggestions and she gives you an excited grin as she walks over. You smile widely back at her, turning to the entrance as a new person walks in.

Your eyes go wide when you realize it’s the incredibly good looking man from the music store next door. Today his hair is dyed an electric blue, tousled up in messy waves. You’re struck all over again by how attractive he is as his intense eyes meet yours.

“Hi!” you say, wincing at how enthusiastic you sound.

He laughs. “Hey, how’s it going? I figured I should officially introduce myself. I’m Minseok and I own KMS Music,” he says and sticks out his hand.

You shake his hand. “Nice to meet you,” you say, and give him your name in return.

“So, has anyone checked out yet?” he asks, pulling out his wallet.

You laugh and check your watch. “In the two minutes we’ve been open? Not yet. Why?” 

“Perfect,” he says with a smirk. ‘I’ll happily be your first customer.’

He looks around at the nearby display table and grabs the first book he sees. He sets it on the counter and you both laugh when you see the title – The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Walker, the inspiration for the upcoming romance movie starring Meryl Streep.

You raise an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure you don’t want to choose something else?”

“No, I’m sticking with my choice. Who knows, it might be my new favorite book,” he says ironically and you laugh as you ring him up. 

You stick the receipt in the book and hand it back to him. “Thank you for being my first official customer, I really appreciate it,” you say sincerely, meeting his eyes.

He takes the book under his arm. “Any time. I’m just over there if you need anything,” he says and gives you a nod as he walks back through the mall.

It’s a steady, but successful day and when you finally get home you flop onto your bed. You fall asleep almost immediately, filled to the brim with happiness.

August 9, 1995

Minseok wanders up and down the racks of CDs, straightening things he’s already straightened twice before. It’s a warm summer evening, an hour before closing, and the mall is practically deserted. 

He turns to walk back to the register and he instinctively looks over at your store. Without meaning to, he’s begun to feel quite protective, wanting to make sure things are going well for you. He’s only owned KMS Music for two years, but it still makes him feel like a grizzled business veteran in comparison to you.

When he surreptitiously peeks over into your store he sees you at the counter, one hand cradling your head while the other anxiously sorts through a massive stack of paperwork. You look like you’re on the verge of tearing your hair out. 

He’s taken three steps toward you before he catches himself. He shakes his head, wondering what he was thinking. He runs a hand through his hair, the messy strands falling into disarray once again.

Just be cool, casual. Ask her if she needs help, he tells himself. Looking around the store he confirms that nothing needs his attention. Alec is at the counter, stickering boxes of new merchandise that came in this morning. 

“Hey Alec, watch the store for a bit, I’m stepping out,” he says, jerking his thumb toward the mall. Alec gives him a dramatic thumbs up and goes back to pricing, his head bobbing along to the music.

Minseok walks the distance to your store, praying he’s not going to be just another interruption to you. Your assistant manager Melanie is helping a customer choose a mystery novel and another employee who’s name he doesn’t know is organizing some journals against a display wall. He walks over to the counter and leans against it, placing both hands on the smooth surface.

“How’s it going?” he asks, resting his elbows on the counter and regarding you.

You look up at him with a small smile, tilting your head in your hand and sighing dramatically. “Oh, fine. It’s just – I thought I had such a good accounting system set up. But I can’t get anything to add up and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to sort it out.”

“Want some help? I can’t say I’m an accounting genius, but we’ve got a pretty good system going at the store and I’d be happy to take a look,” he offers, hoping he doesn’t come off as too enthusiastic.

“Really? I don’t want to keep you from anything, but that would be amazing. Even just a second set of eyes would be fantastic,” you say, looking relieved.

“Totally. We’re pretty slow tonight so I’ve got all the time in the world,” he says, shrugging.

“Thank you, Minseok, I’d really appreciate it,” you say and turn to Mel, who’s now shelving some new releases nearby. “Hey, Mel. We’re going to attempt to tackle this paperwork debacle. You mind keeping an eye on things?”

“You got it boss!” she calls and you smile. 

It’s obvious the two of you get along well. He’s happy that you’ve got a good crew around you, impressed with everyone he’s met the few times he’s come in. Picking up the pile of receipts and paperwork you nod your head back to the office and Minseok follows you.

He stops abruptly. “Hang on, if we’re digging into a pile of numbers we’re going to need some reinforcements,” he says and holds up a finger. “I’ll be right back.”

You nod and he walks back to the music store, heading straight for his office. He snags his trusty boombox and walks back through the store. He stops by Alec on his way out. 

“I might be a while over there, if I’m not back by ten are you good to close up?” he asks.

“Sure thing,” Alec says, snapping and giving Minseok two finger guns. 

Minseok laughs, walking back into the mall. Alec might be a bit eccentric, but for all of his quirks he trusts him completely. Entering your store, he walks behind the counter, following the direction you’d gone.

He walks down the short hallway and finds you in the office at the end. There is indeed a pile of paperwork on the desk. Several large, neatly organized piles. You’re sitting behind the desk, hands spread out, looking ready to go into battle. 

Minseok rolls up the sleeves on his shirt as he sits down across from you. He sets up the boombox on the desk and hits play. “We Are The Champions” by Queen starts and you look up and give him a genuine smile.

“All right, what are we working with here?” he asks, rubbing his hands together.

At 10:15 Mel comes in to hand you the keys and the daily cash and paperwork from the registers, saying she locked up. She wishes you both luck with the ‘money crapstorm’ and leaves for the evening.

It takes two hours to sort everything out. Two hours of Minseok’s questions and your answers. Two hours of you surreptitiously sneaking looks at him. Your mouth practically waters every time you take in his chest, visible over the delicious V of his shirt; every time his arms flex as he flips through papers.

After two hours you’ve finally got it all sorted out. A few small mistakes had been the culprit. A batch of accounts payable receipts that got mixed in with the accounts receivable, a stack of vendor invoices had been stuck in a personnel file, and a week’s worth of paychecks that didn’t get properly accounted for. 

He helps you bundle everything up and finally at 11:25 you shut the light off and head out. You unlock the gate and you both step into the mall. After you lock the gate behind you and turn to see that KMS music is dark.

You open your mouth to ask about how his store got closed, but he beats you to it. “Don’t worry, Alec has his own set of keys to close things up when I’m not here,” he says with a wry smile.

You can’t believe how much time and effort the gave up to help you sort this out. Full of gratitude, you lean forward and give him a quick hug. Your arms wrap around his strong back and you lean your chin briefly against his shoulder. 

He lets out a breath in surprise at your enthusiastic movement. One of his arms comes around your back, holding you close for a moment before you both pull back.

“Thanks again, Minseok. I really appreciate it,” you say, blushing, trying to look anywhere but at his face.

“Don’t mention it, I’m happy to help,” he says. You walk in companionable silence to your cars and after he makes sure you’re safely inside, he walks over to his own, giving you a quick wave.

December 24, 1995

Christmas Eve, five in the afternoon. You quickly finish up the paperwork, delighted that the mall closes early tonight, excited about spending the day with your family tomorrow. You’ve been so busy with the store it feels like ages since you’ve had a proper catch up with them. 

You let Mel go an hour earlier, so she could make the train to her boyfriend’s parents for the holiday. Walking a lazy lap around the store to make sure it’s empty of customers, you jingle your keys in time to the beat of “Waterloo,” your favorite guilty pleasure song.

Satisfied no one’s in the store, you lock up and start the closing paperwork. It was a packed day, everyone doing some last minute shopping before the holiday. You finish up as quickly as you can and head back to the office to put everything in the safe. After turning off the lights as you go, you step up to the counter to quickly turn off the stereo before heading back through the gate.

You head out the south entrance by the department store, wondering if it’ll still snowing like it was this morning. Out in the cold air you wrap your coat around you and cross your arms, trying to keep in any warmth. 

Flurries of snow are falling around you and you squeal to yourself with excitement. It usually snows a bit in the winter, but it almost never sticks. Today must be your lucky day because there’s a solid three or four inches on the ground. You take a few steps out onto the sidewalk and spin around, watching the flakes fall onto your palms.

You close your eyes, laughing in delight. You’re so lost in your amusement that you don’t see Minseok until it’s too late. 

You back into him and in the tangle of limbs you both go down onto the thankfully softened sidewalk. He ends up on top of you, looking at you from above, his hands splayed on either side of your head to hold himself up.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you all right?” you ask, voice high with anxiety. He brushes the hair out of your face with a hand, smiling down at you.

“I’m fine. Though I have to say it’s been a while since anyone swept me off my feet,” he says and you both start laughing.

After a few moments the laughter dies out, but you both remain where you are. Your awareness is drawn to his hard body pressed against yours; you can feel his heat even through the layers of clothing between you. The urge to arch up into him, to remove any space that exists, rises in you. 

His dark eyes bore into yours, holding you in place. He leans down, an almost imperceptible movement, and your lips part in anticipation. Suddenly he blinks and pulls back, shaking himself, muttering an apology. He stands up fluidly and holds out his hands for yours.

In one swift movement you’re on your feet again, and though nothing has changed in the scene before you. It feels like your whole world has shifted on its axis. He brushes the snow off of himself and you copy the movement, wiping off the flakes attached to your coat and jeans.

“Have a great Christmas,” he says, his voice lower than it was just moments ago, before turning and walking away.

“You too,” you say. 

Several moments pass before the cold seeps into your skin and you finally remember where you are. Christmas Eve, heading home. Right. You bite your lip as you scurry to your car, unable to tear your mind away from what almost happened.

February 13th, 1996

Sighing, you lean your head back and roll your neck, trying to ease the tension. Another busy Saturday at the mall, the rain driving everyone indoors yet again. It’s the first time you’ve had a spare second to step into the office to grab a drink of water and take a breather. When Mel walked in to start her closing shift you were so grateful you could have kissed her.

Your stomach growls loudly, reminding you that you haven’t eaten since oh, maybe eight this morning. You look down at your watch and realize it’s now two o’clock. 

You grab your wallet from your purse and head out for the food court, checking to make sure that Mel and the staff have things flowing well before catching her attention and mouthing, ‘getting food, be back,’ at her. She nods at you and pouts, rubbing her stomach. You laugh and give her a thumbs up.

When you step into the mall you see that KMS Music is even more slammed than you are. You seem to remember that a huge hip hop album was due to come out today and the crowd in KMS does seem to include more than the usual punk and classic rock enthusiasts Minseok seems to attract. 

You take a few steps into the store and look around, standing on your tiptoes. Minseok and Alec are at the registers along with one of his newer hires Samantha. Some other employees are working the lines, making sure everyone has what they need to check out quickly. It doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down anytime.

Backing carefully out of the store you head to the food court toward Barada Pizza, your favorite. Now that the lunch rush is over you’re to the front of the line quickly. One of the co-owners Chanyeol is at the register and he gives you his signature grin. 

“Bookworm! How’s it going? Crazy Saturday, huh?” His cheerful voice and his silly nicknames for everyone never fail to put you in a good mood.

“Doing great today Channie, how are you and Soo doing?” you ask. You can see Kyungsoo in the back, working his ass off like usual, moving pizzas around in the large stone fire over in the back, his face pink from the oven’s heat.

“Same old, same old, you know how it is. What can I get for you? The usual two slices of the veggie special?” he asks and you marvel again at how he always remembers your order.

“Actually I’m picking up a whole one for the store, we’re pretty slammed today and Mel’s pretending she’s dying of hunger,” you say and bite your lip, knowing that what you’re going to ask next might set off gossip. “And while I’m here, Minseok’s store is crazy today. What kind of pizza does he usually get?”

Chanyeol gives you an appraising look before his sweet face breaks into a grin. “My boy’s a purist, just plain cheese.”

“Perfect, I’ll take three large cheeses please,” you say, looking anywhere but at Chanyeol’s knowing stare. You always figured that he’s more perceptive than he lets on and wonder if he’s picked up on how you feel about his close friend.

“All right, bookworm. Three large cheeses coming right up,” he says, his voice absent of teasing for once.

Ten minutes later you’re carrying the piping hot boxes back through the mall. You swing by the bookstore and drop one off in the break room, letting everyone know that lunch has arrived. You dodge Mel’s curious expression as she watches you walk back out into the mall toward KMS music.

The crowd is still going strong, only slightly smaller than it was twenty minutes ago. Normally crowds freak you out, but after almost a year of running your own store you’re much more confident. You hold the pizzas above your head to avoid bumping into anyone and begin making your way through the mass of people. 

Finally you break through at the register and emerge near the gap in the counter that leads toward the back hallway. Alec’s register is closest to you and he lets out a dramatic gasp when he sees you.

“Bless my heart, are those for us?” he asks, licking his lips. You smile and nod. “Hey, Minseok, where can we put these?” he calls over to his boss.

Minseok looks up from the customer he’s helping and he does a double take, his jaw dropping slightly as he realizes what he’s seeing. He hands his customer her receipt and holds up a hand to the next customer, saying someone will be with her in a moment. He snakes his way along the register toward you, calling to one of his other employees, Devon you think his name is, to take his place at the register.

“Are you an angel? This is incredible, follow me,” he says, taking the top pizza from you and leading you along the hallway. 

He makes a quick right turn into a sparse but lived-in break room. He sets the pizza on an old circular dining table and then takes the one from your hands and puts it on top. 

“Thank you so much,” he says, turning to you. “It’s been like this since we opened at nine and we’re all absolutely starving. What do I owe you?” he says, reaching back for his wallet.

You quickly wave him off. “No, this is my treat,” you insist, putting your hands on your hips. He gives you a sardonic expression and you know he’s not going to take no for an answer. 

You throw your hands up and start backing out of the room, an amused grin lighting your face. He follows you down the hall and you both re-enter the store maintaining eye contact. His expression becomes serious and he reaches out a hand to quickly touch your elbow. 

“Thank you, I meant it,” he says, dark eyes holding yours.

You nod and step back out into the crowd, reluctantly breaking from his scrutiny as you turn to leave. You hear him switch places with Alec, taking his spot at the register so the eccentric young man can go eat first. As you head back to the bookstore you add his dedication to his employees to your mental list of reasons that you’re horribly, achingly in love with him.

April 27th, 1996

Melanie looks up from ringing up a customer. The time is 12pm on the dot and like clockwork you come out from finishing paperwork in the office, check with her that she’s good to cover lunch, and head toward the music store. 

Every Monday since “the day of the pizza” you’ve wandered into the music store with feigned casualness. And every Monday at noon, like clockwork, she watches Minseok find a reason to be shelving near you, drawing you into conversation. 

Sometimes just for a few minutes, sometimes for the entire hour. Those days you rush back into the store and grab a granola bar before going back to work, a megawatt smile on your face.

When she glances up a few minutes later, there you are. Standing by a rack of CDs, not paying them any attention, talking animatedly while he listens intently. She chuckles to herself and goes back to work. 

Maybe one day you’ll both realize how you feel about each other, she thinks, hoping she’s there to witness it. 

She and Alec have a bet going about how long it will take one of you to admit your feelings. She bets that you’ll be the first to confess, but he has money on Minseok breaking first. Alec thinks it will be sometime this summer, while she just hopes it’s sometime this decade.

July 14th, 1996

Today he’s joking with a customer when you walk in, a regular that you recognize. A tall man with a brightly colored Mohawk and a leather jacked with studded shoulders. Minseok throws his head back, laughing. It’s a high, throaty sound you love. You wander up and down the aisles, hands in your pockets, trying to feel out what you’re in the mood for today.

“Hey, how’s it going?” he asks, suddenly appearing next to you.

“Good, the usual Monday, you?” 

He shrugs and tilts his hand back and forth in a ‘so-so’ gesture and you laugh and nod in agreement.

“I’m looking for something new today. Trying to branch out from my usual ABBA,” you say. “Got any suggestions?”

He laughs and stares at you from under his lashes. “You know I have thousands of suggestions. You’ll have to narrow it down a bit for me.”

“Surprise me,” you say playfully. “Dealer’s choice, anything you want. I trust your taste.”

He raises his eyebrows at the praise. He rubs his hands together. “Ooh, a challenge. All right, let me see,” he says, his sharp eyes running up and down the racks. 

“Here, try this. It’s a little funky, a little rock, very chill. Check it out, let me know what you think,” he says and hands you the CD. There’s a pink cloud of smoke on the cover, leading to what looks like a subway station. The Velvet Underground – Loaded.

You take the disc and move to walk to the register. “Looks interesting, I’ll take it.”

His hand darts out to lightly grab your wrist. “No way, it’s on the house. I’ll only make you pay for it if you say you don’t like it,” he says in his usual acerbic tone.

“All right, fine. But only if I can lend you one of my favorite books in return,” you say and poke a finger to his chest.

“Deal,” he says. For you he’d read the Encyclopedia Britannica, or the phone book, he thinks. 

You give him a sweet smile and walk back to the bookstore, studiously reading the track list on the back of the disc. He shakes his head to himself, marveling at how much he likes it when you listen to his favorite songs. How much he looks forward to these Mondays with you.

He can practically hear his friend Chanyeol’s voice in his head, calling him a wuss for not just sucking it up and asking you out. But he’s content to have you in his life in any way, not wanting to risk what he has now.

September 30th, 1996

He sits across from you in the food court, watching; his eyes constantly leaving the pages of the book you lent him, drawn to you instead. It’s not that the book isn’t interesting, it’s just that he finds he's always paying attention to you these days, attuned to your frequency every time you get near. 

Three tables separate him from you, but it might as well be a hundred since you look like you’re in another world all to yourself. Reading a book, resting your cheek in one hand while you flip pages with the other. Your lunch lies untouched next to you, ignored as your eyes hungrily scan the page.

He wishes it was his hands on your face, thinking he'd never be able to stop if he started touching you. He imagines running his hands through your hair, tracing his fingers along your jaw and down your neck. Maybe his touch would earn him a blush, a sight he's only seen twice, but both times almost brought him to his knees.

"Hey man, you ready to go?" Chanyeol's loud voice asks from above, startling him.

He quickly looks away, hoping you won't catch him watching. "Yeah, lets go,” he says, gathering up his stuff and heading toward the pub in the food court after Chanyeol.

He can't resist a look back, just a quick turn of the head. You're still enamored with your book, a pleased smile now adorning your face. Something you read must have made you happy. He feels his mouth turn up in response. Just knowing that something gives you such pleasure makes him feel like everything’s right with his world.

January 11th, 1997

You’re straightening displays in the window while you wait for your friend to meet you for lunch. You spot Minseok coming down the mall from the food court. His hair is slicked back up into a retro style, a long silver earring in one ear, his favorite tight leather jacket hugging his body. 

You bite down on your lip, studiously focusing on your task to avoid staring too long. He makes you painfully aware of how long it’s been since anyone but your cat Chewey shared your bed.

You blush to yourself. Friends of yours claim that the nineties is the second coming of the sixties. A new wave of free love; empowered women who aren’t waiting on a man to choose them, happy and free in their sexual independence. But you’re very aware that while you’re thrilled for them, it’s just not your style. They call you old fashioned and jokingly tell you you’ll be waiting for eternity if you’re looking for someone like Mr. Darcy. 

It’s not that you want some Regency hero to ride up on a horse and save you, you’re doing just fine by yourself, thank you very much. It’s just that every time your friends try to set you up with someone your mind wanders back to a certain man instead and they just don’t seem to measure up.

“So, have you told him you’re in love with him yet?” a cheerful voice teases in your ear. 

You jolt in surprise and turn around to face your friend. She’s standing there grinning at you while you frantically look around to make sure no one heard her. You give her a disapproving frown and grab her hand, pulling her toward the food court. Once you’re far away from your store you release her and turn on her with your best angry face.

“What if someone had heard you?” you demand, fighting a smile, knowing that you won’t really be able to stay mad at her for long.

She twines her arm in yours and pulls you toward the tiny vegan restaurant in the food court. “Welllll if he’d heard, you it might have forced you to do something about it. Babe, this is the nineties, you can just ask him out. He seems like the type to respect a strong, forward woman,” she teases, pulling on your arm to shake you out of your terrified expression.

“Ha ha. Can you imagine me having the guts to ask him out? Have you even seen him? What would Mick Jagger want with… with Pollyana? No, I think Mark Twain said it best, ‘it is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool that to open it and remove all doubt.’”

She gives you a playful shove as you get in line for food. “Oh, come on, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Umm, hello. We work right next to each other. If it went bad I would feel so awkward I’d have to move to Alaska to escape. No, thank you. I’ll happily exist in my fantasy world where the men are nice and safe and best of all, fictional.’

You sigh and resist the urge to look back at the music store, just in case. ‘Anyways, enough about me and my desolate love life, how are you? How’s the job search going - are you still temping?” you ask, desperate to move the conversation away from your pointless longing for Minseok.

“God, don’t remind me. I’m on my fourth assignment this month alone. I don’t know how much longer I can take it,” she says, pouting.

“You know, I heard Sinful’s looking to take on someone to help out for a while with Valentine’s Day coming up. It might not last too long, but the hours are solid and Yixing’s a friend. I could put in a good word for you if you want?”

“Really? That would be fantastic! Anything to get a few solid weeks of paychecks under my belt. I’d appreciate it so much,” she says and squeezes your arm in gratitude. 

‘Don’t worry about it,’ you say. ‘It’s what friends are for.’ Finally the line moves and you and your friend step up to order. 

January 13th, 1997

“For the love of everything holy, dude. Will you just ask her out already?” Chanyeol says, exasperated, leaning over the counter while Minseok totals receipts. “You’re killing me here.”

Minseok sneaks a look across the mall to where you are bagging up the money at the register, sticking the bag under your arm as you gather up your paperwork. He shakes his head and gives Chanyeol a rueful smile. 

“No way, she’s totally out of my reach. What would she want with a punk like me?” Chanyeol holds up a hand and opens his mouth to object, but Minseok cuts him off. “And before you say anything, that wasn’t a sleight against myself. She’s just… she’s all Jane Austen and I’m Boo freaking Radley. As you so delight in pointing out, I’m a cranky hermit who’s incapable of normal human interaction.’ 

He watches you brush your hair behind your ears and he knows you’re running through your closing checklist in your head. ‘She deserves the world, and I’m nowhere near romantic or thoughtful enough to give it to her,” he says emphatically.

“All right, I’ll leave it alone. For now. But I still think you’re underestimating yourself and how good you could be together,” Chanyeol says, throwing his hands up and going back to reading his comic book.

You step out into the mall and slide the gate closed, locking it into place. Chanyeol sees you approaching and gives you a big wave. “Bookworm! How’s it going? You’re coming to Baekhyun’s party tonight right?” he asks, drawing you in for an affectionate one-armed hug. 

Minseok narrows his eyes at Chanyeol over the top of your head and pointedly looks at his hand around your back. Chanyeol gives him a teasing look, but still releases you a second later.  

“Yeah, absolutely. I’m on my way there now. You’re both coming right?” you ask, directing the question to Chanyeol but focusing your attention on Minseok.

“Oh for sure, I’m just waiting on my boy Min here to hurry the hell up so we can get a move on,” he says, spinning his hands to indicate speeding things up.

“Awesome! Well, I’ll see you both there,” you say brightly and head toward the parking lot.

Chanyeol gives Minseok a knowing look but doesn’t say anything. 

A few minutes later Minseok’s finally closed the gate and put away the money. Chanyeol hits the lights and they exit through the front doors out into the parking lot. They both turn at the sound of your frustrated groan. Your car hood is up and you’re staring at it with a look of dismay. 

Chanyeol smacks Minseok on the shoulders and points. “Me thinks there’s a lady in need of your services,” he says with a grin.

Minseok turns to Chanyeol, trying to grab his arm, but he dances out of the way. “Sorry amigo, I’ve got a party to get to. And you’ve got a date with destiny,” he says, giving his friend a wry grin.

Minseok sighs and starts off in your direction. Crossing the parking lot he tugs on his jacket, straightening it out. He rubs his hands on the sides of his jeans, willing himself to appear more together around you than he is and hoping you can’t see how unnerved you make him. 

He can’t help but think how cute you look, lips pouted, hands on your hips, your head cocked to the side as you study the mystery that is your car engine.

“What seems to be the problem?” he asks, sticking his hands in his pocket in an attempt at casualness.

You whip your head up and smile when you realize who it is. “Minseok, oh thank goodness. I’ve tried starting it a billion times, but it just keeps making this grinding noise.” You let out a sigh. “I know how to change the tires and the oil, but this is way beyond my limited knowledge.”

He steps as close as he dares, moving next to you to peek into the hood, illuminated by the streetlight above you. He peers inside, taking in all the wires and pipes. 

He lets out a laugh. “Well, unfortunately I don’t know anything about cars. But I can give you a ride to Baekhyun’s party and then drop you off at home tonight. In the morning I’d be happy to pick you up and you can call my friend Jim from the store. He’s a mechanic and he’d be happy to drive over and take a look at it tomorrow,” he says looking hopeful.

You reach over and touch his arm. “That would be perfect, thank you.” You close the hood and go around to your passenger seat to grab your purse and jacket, locking the car. “Lead the way.”

He opens the door for you when you reach his car and you slide into the dark leather seat with a word of thanks. He tries and fails to stop his mind from imagining that this is the beginning of a date. 

But still, he hopes. That someday he’ll get to sit close to you at a restaurant, his hand finding your thigh under the table. That he’ll get to hold your beautiful face in his hands and kiss you goodnight. That he’ll get to ask you all the questions he’s been dying to know the answers to, discovering all the little details of your life that are still a mystery to him.

“Everything okay?” you ask, looking up at him with a curious expression.

Shit, he thinks. He nods and gently closes the door. He gives himself a shake as he walks around to the driver’s side. You can do this, he tells himself. 

He slides in and closes the door. Moving to start the car he notices you’ve got your hands full with his large CD case, curiously flipping through and analyzing his collection. This could be any night, you two together, about to head out on the town, carefully selecting the evening’s soundtrack. He doesn’t let himself acknowledge how much he desperately wishes it were true.

When you notice him watching you give him a sly grin. “It’s like seeing the man behind the curtain. What does Minseok, renowned music expert, listen to in his personal life?” you say, obviously enjoying yourself. 

Handing him the case, eyes bright, you ask, “will you show me what your favorite is?” 

He sighs and leans over, flipping a few sleeves until he finds what he’s looking for. He notices your intake of breath at his closeness and swallows around the lump that’s risen in his throat. He slips out a CD and switches it for the one in the player. The CD starts and he skips to the sixth song. 

The drums start and you tilt your head as you try to place the song. Then a smooth, beautiful voice starts singing, accompanied by a jazzy guitar. Your mouth parts in surprise. You’d expected the classics; Rolling Stones, Queen, Nirvana maybe. Anything but this sensual, soulful song. The sound wraps around you in the enclosed car. As the singer hits a high note you close your eyes in appreciation.

He feels like his heart is trying to leap out of his chest. You look so beautiful, your face a mask of pleasure as the strains of his favorite song wash over you. Your full lips and profile highlighted in the swath of light coming into the car from the streetlight. 

He takes full advantage of your closed eyes to drink in your face. He told Chanyeol he wasn’t romantic, but somehow you’ve twisted your way into his heart. He wishes he had the words to express how you make him feel, he’d write you song after song if he could.

The song gently tapers out and you open your eyes to meet his. The next song starts but neither of you are paying it any attention. 

“Who is this?” you ask in a voice barely above a whisper, not wanting to break the spell cast by the song.

“Marvin Gaye. Trouble Man,” he answers, ducking his head. “Probably not what you were expecting?” he asks, looking back to you, a fierce desire to know how you see him.

You giggle and shake your head. “Definitely not what I was expecting. But I like it. I feel like I’ve gotten to see a side of you I wasn’t expecting,” you say softly.

“Rock will always have my heart, but Marvin speaks to my soul. No pun intended,” he says with a lopsided smile.

You open your mouth to say something but a car starts across from you, sending light flooding around you. It’s Kyungsoo from Barada. He gives you and Minseok a quick wave and then turns his head to start backing out.

“Well, we should probably get going. God knows if I leave Chanyeol in charge of the music it’s going to be Oingo Boingo on repeat all night,” he says and turns to back out of the space, anxious to leave so he doesn’t do anything dangerous with you so near. 

Like pull you close to finally learn what you taste like.

Minseok walks out from the kitchen holding two cups of beer and stops short. The man who owns the chocolate shop, Yixing he thinks is his name, is talking to you now, holding a cup in one hand and leaning in to speak to you over the noise. You're smiling and nodding, and he feels like his blood has gone ice cold.

"What's wrong with you?" Alec asks, suddenly appearing next to him, already tipsy. He follows Minseok's gaze to where you and Yixing are talking. He laughs, a high sound, and smacks Minseok on the back. "Dude, you are so oblivious."

Minseok turns to regard Alec, wondering if his unspoken fear has come true and you are seeing someone else without him realizing it. "What, are they together or something?" He asks, feigning disinterest.

Alec laughs again and shakes his head. "No. Jesus, you really don't know? Okay my man, when you go back over there just watch her face, all right? Trust me," he says in a patronizing manner that would bother Minseok if he wasn't completely focused on you.

He starts walking over, moving around groups of people talking, not paying them any attention. When he breaks through the mass of people he approaches you and Yixing. You turn your head to look at him. It's like the sun has come out, he thinks. The bright pleasure on your face when you meet his gaze, your mouth turning up at the corners; a smile just for him. 

A second, two, you watch him, and then you look down. A blush blooms on your cheeks and you bite your lip, quickly glancing back at him before returning your attention to Yixing. He stops himself from sighing in relief. Could Alec be right? he wonders. Do you somehow feel the same way?

When he comes up to you he hands you the cup, giving you a warm smile. You take the cup and wave a hand at Yixing. "Minseok, do you know Yixing? He owns Sinful and I think I've convinced him to hire my friend for the Valentine’s rush," you say with a pleased smile, voice giddy with excitement.

Yixing reaches out a hand. “Good to meet you, I love your store. You’ve got a great selection,” he says to Minseok. He shakes Yixing’s hand, nodding in thanks.

“Just tell your friend to swing by any time I’m open with her resume. I’d be happy to meet with her. Sounds like she’d be perfect,” he says to you before nodding his head in parting and heading back into the party.

Minseok joins you in leaning against the wall and starts regaling you with the story of his latest run in with a crazy regular of his - a teenager who always tries to make off with a CD under his arm. You easily slip into a flow with him, discussing your businesses, the patrons of the mall, the books and movies you trade back and forth.

Some time later the opening beats of “Dead Man’s Party” start playing and Minseok groans. He looks over to the CD player in the corner and of course finds Chanyeol closing the Oingo Boingo case. It doesn’t matter that it’s either way too early or far too late in the year for the song, Chanyeol loves it anyways. The couples dancing in the center of the living room aren’t even phased by the change in vibe and start shaking their heads in time to the funky beat.

Chanyeol grabs a girl nearby and drags her onto the dance floor. She and Baekhyun are always laughing and joking together at the theater whenever you and your friend stop in to see a movie on the weekends. You’ve gotten to know them pretty well through various run-ins around the mall in the past few months. 

Her head tips back with laughter as Chanyeol spins her around in an uncoordinated mess. Minseok rolls his eyes, but watches them with a content smile.

Looking around the party, you realize how many people you actually know here.

 Yixing is in a discussion with Junmyeon, the owner of Guardians, nearby. Both gesturing emphatically as they argue their points. Alec and Sam from KMS are doing a shot of some awful looking green liquid with some of the staff from Barada while Kyungsoo looks on skeptically, drinking a soda. 

Baekhyun comes charging onto the dance floor, dragging another girl with him. You can’t remember her name but you’re pretty sure she recently started working at the clothing store adjacent to your bookshop. 

She cracks up at Baekhyun’s dramatic and awful dance moves, bending over, holding her stomach she’s laughing so hard. You smile suddenly, thinking that you couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to know.

You’re not usually the type to dance in public, but your good mood is demanding that you get in on the action. Setting down your cup you hold your hand out to Minseok. 

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em?” you ask and raise an eyebrow at him. 

He sighs like it’s a huge burden but then gives you a sardonic smile, sets down his drink, and grabs your hand. It’s firm warmth wraps around your hand as he leads you into the fray. He finds a spot in the middle of the crowd and you stumble into him as Chanyeol comes spinning past with his partner, bumping into you.

His arm wraps around your waist to steady you and you give him a smile in thanks. You realize abruptly how close you are. It would be nothing really, to lean forward and press your lips to his. You pull yourself back to a more appropriate distance, mentally shaking yourself out of the thought. 

The next song starts up and soon you and Minseok are twisting and shaking along with the beats.

He looks so much less intimidating this way, his wavy hair going off in all directions. His expression is joyful and open as he dances wildly to make you smile. Chanyeol makes another lap around and sees his friend on the dance floor. 

He gives a loud whoop and thumps Minseok on the back, yelling, “that’s my boy!” as he twirls his partner.

After the album finishes Minseok rushes over to the CD player to start something else before Chanyeol can put Dead Man’s Party on for a second time. A minute later everyone cheers as the opening beats to “No Diggity” start playing. 

Minseok meets your bewildered expression and gives you a wry smile. You laugh, knowing how much he loves to surprise you with music you aren’t expecting.

He makes his way back through the crowd to you. His gaze turns intent, tilting his head down to watch you through his lashes, sending a wave of heat to your core. He pulls off his leather jacket and sets it on a couch. In his dark jeans and tight black shirt he looks good enough to eat. You involuntarily swallow and look down quickly to pull an invisible speck of dust off your black dress.

When you look back up he’s in front of you, holding out a hand. You put your hand back into his, your other arm finding his shoulder as his hand slips around your waist.

He steps close to you and you both start moving in time to the smooth beats. Being this intimate with him might very well kill you, you think. You look anywhere but in his eyes, desperately trying to avoid the fierce desires battling inside you; not sure which is stronger, the need to speak the words in your heart or to beg him to put those glorious lips of his anywhere on your body.

You shake your head with amusement. What is this party doing to you? The heat from his nearness, the smell of his subtle cologne, the sensual music. After a few songs you start to feel like you’re drowning, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. You slip a step, feeling unexpectedly lightheaded.

He pulls you back to scan your face, brushing your hair out of your eyes to take in your flushed cheeks. “Want to get some air?” he asks, raising his voice over the music. 

You nod and lean against him as he leads you through the crowd to a room with two leather chairs in front of a television, filled with video game systems.

He gently helps you into one of the chairs, sitting in the other and scooting close, keeping his arm securely around your back. You rest your elbows on your thighs, holding your forehead in your hands while you take deep breaths.

“Sorry, I don’t know what’s happening. I’m not drunk – I think I might be getting sick though,” you say and groan.

“No need to apologize, can you wait here for a moment? I’ll go get our stuff and I can take you home,” he says and rises to stand.

You grab his hand and squeeze, drawing his attention back to you. “Thank you,” you tell him earnestly. 

He squeezes your hand back with a smile and goes through the hallway to retrieve your coats and bag.

Minseok comes back quickly and helps you into your coat, walking you back through the party with his arm firmly around your back. You stop to say goodbye to Baekhyun and Chanyeol who both give you sympathetic waves and tell you they hope you feel better soon.

The drive home is quiet. You give Minseok your address and he leaves the music off so you can rest for a bit, curled up against the side of his car while he drives. He pulls up to your house and hesitates, seeing that you’ve fallen asleep. Time stretches out as he wonders what to do. 

He wants to drive straight to the hospital to make sure you’re okay, but he logically knows it’s probably one of those twenty-four hour bugs that come and go all the time as a side effect of working with the public.

Eventually he puts the car in park and gets out, walking over to your side. He eases the door open and props you up with his hands, one cupping your head and one on your arm to stop you from rolling. You open your eyes blearily at him. 

“Do you think you can walk inside or would you like me to carry you?” he asks, holding you gently.

You blink a few times and seem to come back to yourself. “I can walk I think,” you say, your voice thin and scratchy. 

With his help you get up the steps and inside the house, dropping your purse on the couch and shrugging out of your coat. 

“I’ll be all right, I’m just going to go straight to bed and get some sleep. Thanks so much for your help Minseok,” you say with a weak smile.

He hesitates, wanting to make sure you’re okay. But he tears himself away before he does something really impulsive, like demand to spend the night so he can check on you. He pulls out a crumpled receipt from his pocket and walks over to your dining table to grab a pen. 

He writes down his name and number and leaves the paper for you. “There’s my number, don’t hesitate to call if you need anything, okay? Still want me to drive you to work tomorrow or do you think you’ll be too sick?” 

“No, no. I have a good immune system. A little sleep and a few big cups of orange juice in the morning and I should be good to go. Promise. How does eight forty sound?”

“I’ll be here,” he says and walks over to the door. 

He looks back and you give him a sleepy wave as you shut the door. He watches through the top narrow window as you head down the hall. He gently shuts the screen door and heads back to his car, feeling like he left part of him behind.

January 14th, 1997

The morning dawns clear and bright. He’s already been up since six in the morning, unable to sleep most of the night; torn between worrying about you and trying not to remember how good you felt in his arms. 

Finally at 8:22 he can’t take waiting anymore and heads out to his car. Of course he gets there too early, it only takes six minutes to get from his place to yours. He circles the block aimlessly for ten more minutes to kill time before finally parking out front of your apartment. He practically sprints up the steps to your door, pausing to calm his breathing before knocking.

Several moments pass before you finally open the door. He takes in your disheveled appearance. Hair unbound around your shoulders, dressed in an oversized sweatshirt and pajama pants, carrying a handful of tissues. 

You lean against the door frame, your nose red. “You know, everyone always complains about how easy it is to get sick working in a mall and here I thought I was immune to it,” you say, pouting.

He smiles sympathetically at you, that overwhelming desire to take care of you rising again.

“Just give me a few minutes to pull myself together?” you ask, eyes closing involuntarily as you try and stand up on your own without the support of the door.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he says, rushing forward to steady you. “Can anyone cover for you today? I don’t think you should try to work.”

You wrinkle your brow as you try to think through the fog in your mind. “Um, well Mel could probably come in early and I just finished training Nathan on closing duties,” you say through your sniffling.

“Perfect, why don’t you give them a call?” he asks, stepping into the apartment and shutting the door against the cold weather. 

He walks you over to your couch and gently helps you sit down. The phone is lying on the side table and he hands it to you. A few minutes later everything is sorted out and you drop the phone onto the couch with a sigh of relief. Glancing up you find Minseok staring at you with an intent look on his face.

“Okay, how about this. Why don’t you take a hot shower while I run out to get some supplies? What symptoms are you having?” he asks, scanning your face and body.

“Hmm, let’s see. My whole body just feels achy and weak. I’ve got a fever, I think. I can’t really tell with all the congestion going on,” you reply with a pout.

“Got it. I’ll be back in about half an hour, okay?” he says.

You want to object, to tell him that he doesn’t have to worry about you. But you’re too tired and sick, and you honestly can’t remember the last time you let someone take care of you, so you just nod at him and manage a small smile. He heads out and you drag your aching body into the bathroom and start the shower.

When he comes back, twenty nine minutes later, he’s carrying four shopping bags. You’re laying down on the couch, bundled up in your pajamas with a towel wrapped around your head. He comes over to kneel down at the coffee table and starts unpacking the bags.

“I wasn’t sure what you had, so I kind of bought everything,” he says pulling more and more things out. 

Ibuprofen, cold medicine, cough drops, throat spray. More packs of tissues. Several different colors of Gatorade. A large to-go container of what smells like chicken noodle soup. A couple cans of ginger ale. And selection of VHS tapes from Blockbuster.

“Do you want to eat something?” 

You nod weakly in response. He digs around in the bags until he finds a spoon. He pops the lid off of the soup and slides it over to you before twisting the cap off of a yellow Gatorade and setting it next to the soup. He comes and sits beside you on the couch, holding the towel out of your face while you eat and drink.

The soup is delicious and warms you up straight away, the Gatorade gives you a burst of energy. When you’re finished he waves a hand to the array of medicine in front of you. 

“So, first off - have you taken any medicine today? And if not, what’s the biggest pain point at the moment?” he asks, his hand gently rubbing your back.

“I took some Tylenol, but that was last night, I haven’t had anything today. The worst of it is the congestion, and this awful sinus headache that won’t go away,” you say, rubbing your temples.

“Got it. Let me grab you some water to take this with,” he says, grabbing the bottle of bottle of cold medicine and unscrewing the cap. 

He stands up and walks into your small, bright kitchen. He finds the glasses on his second try and brings you a tall glass of water to take the pills with. Once you swallow them he rejoins you on the couch, shaking out a fluffy blanket and putting it over you.

“There’s something my mother used to do when I got sick that felt like it helped. Do you mind if I try it?” he asks.

You nod weakly and he eases your head into his lap so you’re laying down, gently taking the towel off your hair and setting it on the back of the couch. You feel incredibly warm and safe, resting on his thigh. 

His strong hands start rubbing your temples and you sigh at how good it feels. He eases his way through your hair, rubbing your scalp, slowly making his way to your neck. The combination of the medicine and his gentle massage eases the pain and you can feel yourself falling asleep.

You curl up against him, moving your head to get more comfortable. In your impaired state you don’t think before you speak. “Would you sing to me?” you ask dreamily, your voice sounding far away.

He sighs and you hear him quietly mutter, ‘only for you,’ to himself. 

“What would you like to hear?” 

“Mm, anything you want. I love your voice,” you say.

He thinks for a moment and then starts humming. “Well, it’s a marvelous night for a moondance. With the stars up above in your eyes,” he sings quietly. You smile as his gentle voice lulls you off to sleep, singing one of your favorite songs off of an album he’s shared with you.

When you wake up the sky outside has gone dark. You turn your head up and see that Minseok has fallen asleep against the side of your couch, your head resting on his hip. You don’t feel all the way better, but the headache has subsided and you’re able to breathe fully again. And, most incredibly, you were having a lovely dream where he was singing to you.

You giggle to yourself. Like he would ever sing to you; he’s told you he absolutely hates singing and always refuses to come to karaoke when you invite him along with you and your friend. He wakes up at your quiet laughter, blinking his eyes as he processes where he is.

“Sorry I woke you,” you whisper, leaning up off him and settling into the back of the couch.

He rolls his neck, rubbing his face in his hands. “No problem at all. Wow, what time is it? Sorry, I guess I fell asleep too,” he says and smiles sheepishly at you.

“Goodness, don’t worry about it. You deserve it after everything you did for me. Seriously, Minseok this is amazing. Thank you so much,” you say, moved by how sweet and kind he is.

You stand up and turn on the light next to the couch. Walking gingerly over to the over to read the digital clock, you are shocked to see how late it is. “It’s six twenty. Wow, we really slept the day away huh?”

He opens his mouth to speak but a loud grumbling sound from his stomach cuts him off. “If you don’t have any plans, how about I order us a pizza and we watch one of the movies you brought?” you offer.

“That sounds perfect,” he says, pleasure lighting his features.

You spend the night watching Clerks and splitting a large pizza, half plain cheese, half veggie. When he finally leaves around nine at night you’re feeling much better already. He insists on leaving all the medicine ‘just in case’ and arranges to pick up tomorrow morning for work.

You fall asleep in bed with a satisfied grin on your face, filled with gratitude at the fact you have someone as amazing as Minseok in your life.

May 20, 1997

Finally taking a break from the busy sale day celebrating your second anniversary, you’re seated in your desk chair, feeling rebellious with your feet propped up on the desk. It pays to be the boss, you think with a smirk. 

You look over at a soft knock on the door. Mel enters, holding a package wrapped in colorful purple paper, a simple white bow on the top.

“What’s that?” you inquire.

“It just came for you,” she practically squeals, joy coming out of her every pore.

“Okay… and? Is it a delivery?”

“Nope. And you’ll never guess who just brought it over,” she teases, holding the package above her head and bouncing up and down with excitement.

“I’m not guessing, just give it to me,” you say with a laugh, holding your hand out.

“Okay fine, I’ll tell you. But can I watch you open it?” she pleads, putting the package on the desk and holding her hands out in front of her in prayer. Her over-the-top excitement makes you laugh.

“All right, all right. Fine!” you say and she claps happily.

“It was Minseok,” she says, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

Your breath catches. The past few months you’ve been desperately fighting off your growing feelings for him. That day he’d taken care of you had seriously done things to your heart and it had been hard to keep up your Monday conversations without fantasizing about him as a permanent fixture in your home and your life.

You unravel the white ribbon and peel off the paper carefully. You go slowly, partially to annoy the heck out of Mel, mostly because surprise is such a rare element in your life and you want to prolong the delicious moment of curiosity as long as possible.

You pull the paper away to uncover a small stack of CDs, still in their protective packaging. You gasp, one hand reaching for your chest without realizing it, as if preemptively trying to protect your reckless heart for reading too much into the gift.

Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette, the first CD you ever bought from him.

ABBA Gold, the CD you play over and over at closing time, distracting yourself from late night paperwork.

News of the World - Queen, the CD he played when you spent that long night sorting through the paperwork debacle.

Loaded – The Velvet Underground, one of his favorites that he suggested to you.

Dead Man’s Party – Oingo Boingo, the CD you’d danced to at Baekhyun’s party.

Another Level – Blackstreet. You blush remembering how he’d looked at you as he walked through the crowd, his eyes full of something you’d wildly hoped was desire.

Trouble Man – Marvin Gaye. He’d said that album held his soul and for such a badass punk it seemed so incongruous, but when you looked back and saw his eyes, endless and deep like they’d experienced a hundred lifetimes, you knew he was even more than you’d imagined him to be.

The last three CDs stump you. 

This Is How We Do It - Montel Jordan. You ponder for a moment and then remember; that first morning you opened. It was playing on the radio while he made your first purchase ever, you’d taken it to be a good omen. 

Van Morrison – Moondance. You purse your lips and think back. Yes, it was one of the dozens of CDs he’d lent you and yes, it was one of your favorites, but you couldn’t figure out why he was including it.

Nearly giving yourself whiplash, you sit back suddenly, hand flying up to cover your mouth. Coming to you as if from a long forgotten memory, you hear his soft voice singing the title song to you. The darkness of the room and the fog from your sick state had made you think it was a dream.

What if it was real? you wonder, heart skipping a beat at the thought.

The last one is Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd. You tilt your head in confusion, flipping the CD over to the back and scanning the track list. With a rush it comes back to you. That cold, rainy night in February, more than two years ago; walking into his store, searching for angry music.

The first time you met him “Money” had been playing over the speakers. You can’t believe you remember that after all these years.

If he remembered that too, if he was giving you these, maybe he’d been paying as close attention to you as you were to him all these long months. You shake your head, trying to rip out that silly hope before it grows roots in your mind. No, he’s just good at knowing his customers, his friends. He’s just naturally observant, you tell yourself.

Flipping through the cases again a piece of paper slips out between two of the CDs and falls to the desk. It’s a faded receipt. You can just read the name of your bookstore and the date and time. May 20th, 1995 9:04 am. The Bridges of Madison County. You gasp. You can’t believe he’s kept it this long. There’s two lines of words scrawled on the bottom of the receipt in his hurried, messy writing. Just two lines, but they completely undo you.

Happy second anniversary. I’ll always be there for you. Any time.

You stand up suddenly, moving to the door, only to stop two steps later. What’s your plan? Go over and confess your undying love for him? Mel steps over to you, turning you towards her, unable to wait any longer.

“Don’t leave me hanging babe. I know they’re from Minseok, but what do they mean? Why do you look like you’re about to pass out? And is it a good thing or a bad thing?” she rambles, eyes darting over your face like the answers are written on your flushed skin.

You force yourself to walk back to your desk and sit down, setting the pile of CDs in front of you. Propping your elbows up on the desk, you interlace your fingers in front of your mouth, thinking.

You breathe out a big sigh. “It might just be a thoughtful gift from a friend. Or it might mean… everything. These albums are so personal to me, to him,” you say softly. “To us.” 

You put your head in your hands, gripping your hair tightly to stop yourself from sprinting across that short twenty feet and into his arms to bare your heart to him.

It’s Schrödinger’s love story, one path where you do the brave thing and another where you chicken out and don’t act on it, remaining in this limbo forever. 

But you can’t sit here forever, staring at the CDs, wondering. You’re so wrapped up in your thoughts that by the time you finally look up from the stack on your desk Mel is gone and the door is gently pulled to.

A line from one of your favorite childhood books whispers through your mind. Courage, dear heart, you think and smile to yourself, your mind made up.

“Screw it, I’ve got to know,” you say to yourself and push back in your chair, standing abruptly.

You scurry down the hall back into the store. You find Mel at the registers ringing up a small line of people, patiently waiting with their merchandise. You distantly acknowledge the line of people, pleased that the sale went well, confirming once more that this was the right path for you. But a larger part of you is carried along on a wave of purpose.

You dash by Mel and she looks up. Seeing your excited face, your nervous grin, she instantly knows where you’re going. She gives you a thumbs up and calls out “Good luck!” as you rush past.

It’s only twenty feet but the distance feels enormous, your mind swirling with the possibilities. You stop in the middle of the mall. What if he turns you away, embarrassed at how much you read into the gift and your friendship? What if he’s already in a relationship and he’s just such a private person he’s never mentioned it? 

What if, what if, what if. 

Another voice rises up in your mind, demanding the others be quiet. After a lifetime spent reading and quietly observing others you’re ready to do something brave. Something else brave, you remind yourself, turning to look at the bookstore with pride. You can do this, you tell yourself.

Taking a deep breath, you stand up straighter, prepared for anything, filled to the brim with love and hope. You resume your walk across the tiled floor and into the music store, the soft strains of a Beatles song playing overhead, reminding you that all you need is love. 

Turning toward the counter you see Alec lazily flipping through a magazine. You hurry over and put your hands on the counter, causing Alec to turn and look at you.

He regards you thoughtfully before giving you a lopsided smile, shaking his head. “Lordy, you two are so alike, it’s hilarious,” he mutters. “If you’re looking for Minseok he just left, he went that way,” he says pointing out the front doors to the parking lot. 

“Go get him, girlie,” he says and chuckles to himself.

Too nervous to even speak you just nod furiously several times before your body carries you toward the doors. You put your arms out in front of you to push the door open as you rush forward at full speed. Stumbling outside, you gasp in the cool air and frantically scan the parking lot for his figure. 

There, up ahead, just unlocking his car. You’d recognize his leather jacket anywhere. You dart into the street, dodging an oncoming car that honks angrily at you. You wave a hand in apology behind you as you sprint forward. His name rises in your throat.

“Minseok!” you call, and he turns around in your direction. 

His surprised expression quickly turns worried as he takes in your flushed cheeks and fast pace. You rush up to him and he catches you in his arms, holding onto your elbows to steady you.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks, eyes concerned.

You breathe deeply a few times to calm your frantic heart. “Everything. Nothing. I mean - I got your present,” you say, watching him closely.

He ducks his head and gives you a shy smile, so unlike his usual confidence. “Oh, right. Well, it’s a big day. Most businesses don’t make it two years and yet here you are, still kicking ass. I wanted to do something to commemorate that,” he says.

You could just leave it at that, you think. Tell him thank you for the support and the friendship and the sweet gift and go back inside. But your newfound courage won’t let you cop out now.

“Minseok… did you sing for me?” you ask, voice urgent and full of feeling.

He doesn’t need you to clarify what day you mean. He blushes and looks off to the side, nodding once, twice. He looks back to meet your eyes and nods once more, slowly. 

You bring your hands up to his cheeks, joyful tears filling your eyes, and lean in to swiftly press a kiss to his lips. You linger there for a moment before pulling back. His hands come to rest on your hips, his expression shocked.

You rush to explain before you lose your nerve. “Thank you, Minseok. Thank you for helping me out so many times. Thank you for the sweet gift. Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick. I know that what I just did and what I’m about to say might change everything, but I want you to know that I’ll always be your friend if that’s all you want.” You inhale sharply, steadying yourself.

“But I have to tell you, I think – I think I’ve been in love with you for a while now, and I’ve never said anything since I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I had to tell you, even if it’s just this once. I love you, Minseok,” you say, finishing in a rush. “I love you,” you repeat softly. 

You take a deep breath and let it out, dropping your hands to his arms, waiting for his reaction.

A triumphant looks comes across his face and he winds an arm around your back. His other hand slides up to cup your face. “Thank God,” he says, his voice thick with feeling. 

He pulls you flush up against him and kisses you fully, slowly moving his lips along yours. You move your hands up into his hair, finally, finally getting to see what it feels like. His hands grip your hips, holding you close as he runs his tongue along your bottom lip. You both moan as his tongue slips in to stroke yours. 

The reality of him is better than any fantasy you could ever have come up with, you think in a haze.

“Ha! I knew it! You owe me fifty bucks!” someone yells from the direction of the mall. 

You and Minseok break apart to see Mel and Alec standing there. Mel is doing a happy dance and Alec is reaching into his wallet with a disgruntled sigh.

“Did you bet on us?” you call out to her, laughing in disbelief. Minseok laughs next to you, the sound vibrating through his chest against yours.

“Yes, but don’t worry, I won!” Mel calls back, poking Alec in the chest before dragging him back inside, brandishing the bill in triumph.

You look back at Minseok, confused. “I guess we were only good at hiding our feelings from each other,” he laughs.

“Wait, how long have you liked me?” you ask, breaking into a grin at the realization that he actually feels the same way. “Holy shit, you like me?”

He tilts his head back and cracks up, both at hearing you swear for the first time and out of sheer joy that you return his feelings. He brushes your hair back and holds his hand to cup your face. 

“I don’t just like you. I love you too,” he says in a low voice just for you. He leans in to give you another lingering kiss. “And as for the when, I’d have to say it was probably that Christmas Eve you ran into me that I realized it.”

You drop your jaw. “No way. That’s when it hit me too. I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to get here,” you say, blushing.

“But the important thing is, we’re here, together,” he says and you grin, looking back into his eyes. “Want to get out of here?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.

You nod. “Let me just grab my stuff,” you say, grabbing his hand. “Come with me?”  

It’s a loaded question, walking inside hand in hand would let everyone know how you feel about each other. You’re not sure if he wants to be so open with it yet, and you want to let him decide without pressure from you.

“Any time, baby,” he says easily, squeezing your hand and pulling you back toward the mall.

June 20, 1997

He waited two years for you; more than that if he’s counting the time since you first met, which of course you both do. He has something special planned for this weekend - well the “weekend” you share, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Two days, just the two of you in his apartment. He doesn’t plan on either of you leaving the bedroom the entire time.

The two of you have kept it mostly PDA-free at the mall, but today you’re doing things to his willpower - wearing his leather jacket over a slim fitting purple cotton dress, your hair in his favorite braids. The combination of sweet and sexy is driving him wild every time he catches a glimpse of you in breaks between customers.

He loves it when you borrow his things, loves seeing little pieces of himself taking up space in your world. It’s only fair since you’ve already invaded his life and his heart completely. A polaroid of you now lives in his wallet. It’s from a late brunch you had together last week. Your hair in a messy bun, throwing up two peace signs, giving him a wide grin.

He keeps an ABBA CD in his car for when you’ve had a stressful day and need cheering up. He imagines Chanyeol endlessly laughing if he saw the candles Minseok bought for the dining table for last Tuesday night when you cooked dinner together. But he couldn’t care less. Besides, he’s already dreaming of making you his forever, officially.

On his lunch break yesterday, while you were tied up with a delivery issue, he snuck over to Simpson & Sons Jewelers and nonchalantly looked at rings. Just a quick glance between the necklaces and earrings, wondering to himself what style you might like. 

He’s waited more than two years, and it still amuses him that you’d felt the same way about each other almost the entire time. He’s in no rush, but now that you’re his, he’s playing for keeps.

He looks up from shelving a new shipment of LPs to see you standing up on your tip toes to grab a book for a customer. Your dress rides up dangerously and he groans softly to himself, feeling all his blood rush to his cock. He glances down at his watch - 12:01pm. Perfect, he thinks and carries the box of LPs back to the counter. 

Alec is training Sam on ordering, arguing back and forth about every step. They pause their bickering and look up as Minseok approaches.

“I’m heading out for lunch Alec, you guys all right here?” he asks, knowing Alec will be patiently waiting for his turn right at one o’clock.

“Right-o boss, we’re all set here,” he says and Sam gives him a dry look. Minseok chuckles to himself as he walks over to your store, happy that he found someone who’s more than a match for the unique challenge that is Alec.

Mel’s ringing up the customer you were helping and she gives him a wave when he walks in. He nods in return and scans the store for you. He finally spots you tidying up displays around the back. As he approaches you he grins, savoring the feeling that you’re finally his as much as he’s always been yours. 

He comes up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist. You yelp in surprise, whipping your head around to see who it is. Laughing when you realize it’s him you spin in his arms and give him a discreet kiss, eyes shining with joy.

He pulls you close for a longer kiss, his fingers digging into the sensitive skin at your lower back. “Mm, what’s gotten into you today?” you ask in a low voice.

“Hmm, you’re tormenting me with that dress today, and I think I have to do something about it,” he whispers in your ear. 

You raise your eyebrows in question and he pulls you through the store to the back hallway. The second you’re past the counter his hand slides down to cup your ass through the fabric of your dress. You giggle and glance behind you to make sure no one’s watching. 

The two of you slip into the office and he kicks the door shut behind him as soon as he’s through, locking it with one hand.

He leans back against the door and pulls you flush up against him, claiming your lips instantly. You slide your hands along his waist and up to his sculpted chest, relishing in the fact that you’re now able to touch his amazing body whenever you want. You lick his lower lip, sliding your tongue inside when he opens for you.

His hands find your ass and he rocks his hips into yours, mimicking the back and forth movement of his tongue. You moan into his mouth; a high, breathy sound as you feel yourself rapidly getting wet in response to his touch.

His fingers drop to the hem of your dress, caressing their way up to slide under the edge of your panties. You pull back, meeting his eyes that are dark with desire. 

“Here? Minseok, I-” you start to say. One of his hands moves down and begins stroking your aching clit, drawing a whine from your throat. Your eyes close and you grip his shoulders to stay upright.

“I’m game if you are,” he says, and when you open your eyes he’s giving you a challenging look.

You think about objecting, but his hand dips lower and he sinks a finger inside of you. You lean closer and rest your forehead against his shoulder, breathing rapidly. “Oh, fuck it. Please, I need you,” you whimper as he slips a second finger into you.

“I thought you’d never ask, honey,” he says roughly and slides your panties down your legs in a fluid motion.

You walk backward to your desk, watching him hungrily through your lashes, kicking your panties off. You lean back on the desk, spreading your legs wide for him. He unbuckles his belt in a rush, then reaches into his back pocket for a condom, tearing the wrapper. 

He settles himself between your legs and you laugh. “Prepared, were you?”

“Around you? Always,” he says, pulling out his dick and rolling the condom on. 

His hands grip your hips, tilting you off the edge of the desk and easing the tip inside of you. You let out a loud moan and clap your hand to your mouth, wincing at how loud you were. He chuckles darkly and grins at you, delighting in how eagerly you respond to him.

You wrap your legs around his waist and lean back onto an elbow, keeping one hand on your mouth to stifle any noise. He thrusts into you, sheathing himself in one motion, biting his lip to contain his groan of pleasure.

He pulls back and slams into you again, setting a rapid pace that has your eyes rolling back. You rock your hips into his, meeting him thrust for thrust. You bite down on your finger, already close to finding your release, amazed at how quickly he can affect your body. His eyes widen when he sees you bite down.

“Fuck, that’s so hot. I’m already so close. The things you do to me,” he says with a grin in-between breaths, shaking his head in amusement.

One of his arms comes around your back to keep you upright as the other comes around to resume his attention to your clit. Your vision goes white as you reach your climax, a strangled moan leaving your mouth. He slams into you, drawing out your orgasm, before releasing himself inside of you. 

You reach up to hold onto his shoulders, resting your head against his chest as you both catch your breath. His head comes to rest on top of yours, holding you close. Once you’ve calmed down you lean back to look at him, giggling as you take in his messed up appearance, knowing that you must be in a similar state.

He grins down at you, tilting to kiss you gently on the lips. “I think we’re going to have to do this more often,” he says with a raise of his brow.

“Any time, baby. Any time,” you say happily.

[sidharth-kumar]

Types of laptop you should have in 2021 according to your use

There are a lot of different types of laptop that you can have nowadays depended upon your work. Many types of laptops increase productivity accordingly.

Laptops now come with many different features and are divided into different segments of laptops. There are laptops for content creation and editing, there are specific laptops for gaming and the main focus is on the performance of the system, not the portability. There are laptops for business work where the main focus is on portability and battery backup so that you can work remotely.

Usually, gaming laptops are very heavy and don’t have a good battery backup as there are meant to be performed at their best which takes a lot of power. And the business laptops are always sleek, lightweight, and portable that can be taken to your workplaces easily.

Types of OS

Before you choose what type of laptop you should buy you need to choose the Operating System that you are comfortable working with. There are many OS in the markets like Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS.

WindowsOS

If you choose windows OS then you will have a lot of options as many companies use windows OS. Windows laptops come in a variety of shapes and sizes. A common clamshell design and a keyboard-mouse interface are easy to find. You can easily find touchscreen models of windows even at a lower price range. In hardware line-up also there is plenty of choices. Windows OS is more open-ended than any other OS many games and other software runs on windows, which helps for a larger software library.

macOS

This OS is only used in the Apple Ecosystem, as apple is very protective and prefers to use their software and hardware which makes MacOs Laptops very safe and can diagnose any problem that arises in the laptop. The Quality standard in apple is top-notch. They built and design the laptop to look elegant and feel premium, which leads to a much higher price tag than the windows or any other OS laptops.

Upgrading storage or installing third-party applications in macOS cannot be done the hardware given pre-built is what you will use and only the certified applications are installed in macOS that makes it very secure and protected. And there is still no touch screen model in MacOS.

ChromeOS

ChromeOS laptops are known as Chrome books and are a little different from windows and macOS. It is based on the chrome browser and is more focused on the web-based application. Though it also supports so desktop software and mobile apps that other OS do. Most of the chrome books are touch screen and which perform very well and looks premium. And are also available at a medium price segment.

Budget or entry-level laptops

To be a good-performing laptop would be expensive but the manufacturer companies know that everyone could not afford a laptop that is priced more than 1lac. As the buyers who need laptops for most basic purposes will not spend 1lac for a laptop. So, there are great budget laptops that can perform the basic tasks and are price below 50k.

Budget laptops are for those who don’t have much knowledge about laptops and they just need it to do some standard task. These laptops are built with minimalistic design and ergonomics sensible keyboards and touchpads.

These laptops do not have heavy hardware on them like you will not have more GB of RAMs or high-performance graphics, and gaming also be cannot be done properly with these laptops.

Mainstream or the mid range laptops

These segment laptops are the best as they have a high processor and high-end graphics with a little spike in the price tag. Here you will get much better hardware than the budget laptop although the price will be increased it is worth it.

In these segments, you will get business as well as gaming laptops. You can get light and portable laptops which will be best for business purposes and you will also get a laptop with high-performance systems which will be best for gaming purposes. These laptops come with great displays, a powerful processor, and great battery life. These laptops are priced between 80k-1.5lac.

Premium or high segment laptops

This segment contains the best and the top-notch laptops of the company manufacturers. Everything in these laptops is the best or top-notch. Like it has the best display with high resolution, with heavy graphics like loads of memory like High gigs of RAM and Graphics card, the best processor in the market. These laptops can do many intense tasks like run high-end editing applications or Run the latest AAA title games that need a powerful system to run them which these laptops are.

Gamers and those who like premium things always prefer this segment as they need high-end systems as they run high-end software and they want zero lag or framerate drops while they are gaming or working whatever they do on their laptop should be butter smooth and lag-free.

Get laptops even at a cheaper rate

So, wonder how you get these laptops at a cheaper price than the market price, well the answer is from the classified sites here you will find great deals on second hand laptops and the prices are very low and all these are almost like a new one. All the second hand or used laptops are not good but it is that you need to check them properly before buying them but yes there are many good deals out there in the classified sites it is just that you need to find them.

Things you need to check before buying second-hand laptops

Before you purchase a second-hand laptop you would like to see the laptop thoroughly because the laptop could also be a defective one and you'll be in trouble afterward. The laptop should be checked very smartly because it may have some internal damage which will be difficult to work out. Whenever you purchase a laptop you would like to see every single detail of the laptop from the hardware to software everything. Here’s how you ought to check a second hand laptop before buying it.

 ·         Check the laptop body: Always check the laptop in-person to thoroughly check the body of the laptop. confirm there are no cracks on the laptop and no sign of an impression on the laptop. Check if the hinge is functioning properly or not and for any loose parts that occur thanks to missing screws or the other defects.

·         Check the screen: Properly check the screen for any black spots, discoloured areas, and bad pixels. Play some videos on the laptop and check carefully every angle of the screen and for better understanding, you'll keep another laptop beside to match between them.

·         Check the keyboard and Trackpad: These are the foremost used parts of and laptop and therefore the intensity of using them is extremely high. So check for any broken key parts. Type for a few time and check the key travel of the keyboard. Check whether there's any lag while using the trackpad and inspect all the gestures like 2 fingers and three fingers.

·         Test all the ports: Test all the ports like USB ports, headphone jack, Ethernet port, HDMI, and other available inputs. And replacing these ports would be very costly as they're directly attached to the motherboards. So consider before buying a laptop with ports not working.

·         Check the connectivity: Check the wifi and the Bluetooth and the wifi connectivity as a laptop without internet is nothing. Everybody wants internet on their laptop and without it, it is just not done. And Bluetooth is also very important for some devices to connect.

·         Check the speaker: Many of us buy a laptop for entertainment purpose like for watching moves or playing games therefore the sound is extremely important when it involves gaming so you ought to check the speaker of the laptop is it loud enough with none distortion.

·         Check the webcam and mic: The webcam of the laptop is additionally very necessary as nowadays meetings are one via video calling that you would like a laptop with an honest webcam in order that you're visible to others. Check the mic whether it's capturing your voice properly or not.

·         Check the battery health: This is often vital for a laptop as a laptop is for carry them anywhere in order that you'll work remotely anywhere and anytime so for that you simply need an honest battery life as you can't connect your power line everywhere. to see you ought to use it with the battery at full until it drains completely in order that you'll check for a way many hours it can run on the battery.

·         Check the OS: Check, whether the OS installed, is genuine or not as some install pirated OS which isn't good for the laptop. Check the license of the software given to you.

What is a classified website?

A classified website is one among the platforms for online advertising to market products or services connecting both buyers and sellers in one single entity. A classified portal is customized and distinguished to permit the users to look for relevant categories and sub-categories.

You can also say that classified sites are the buying and selling of used or second user products and during this platform you be the customer also and the seller also. it's sort of a hub for buyers and sellers where you'll find almost everything you would like and also sell anything that you simply don’t want anymore. it's not just like the e-commerce sites it is a little different in-fact you'll get more at a classified site as you'll also find jobs from the classified sites, and different services also.

What happens on a classified site?

On a classified site, people post ads of their mobile phones to sell them as they're up for purchasing a replacement phone. The ads were shown to the buyers who looked for second-hand phones. So on a classified site the buying and selling of second-hand products continue , not only second handphones every second-hand product is listed on classified site like vehicles, furniture, laptops, etc. you'll even find jobs and services at classified sites.

How to buy used laptops from classified sites?

Buy used laptops online from classified sites as they are very secure nowadays and are the best way to buy used laptops. Buying from a classified site is not that ordered a laptop at it reached your place it a little different let us see how to buy from classified sites.

 ·         First thing sign-up on a classified site, the best one.

·         Select the category gadgets and then select the sub-category laptops.

·         Then a lot of ads from different sellers will be shown to you.

·         Then choose the ad which looks best to you and is all that you need.

·         Read the description of the ad check for the specification and contact the seller with the details given.

·         Meet with the seller check the laptop carefully and then finalize the deal.

What are the benefits to buy used laptops?

Despite being a used laptop there are many benefits of buying them buying and if you are buying a new laptop you are wasting money by spending a lot of extra money on unnecessary add-ons. But one thing you must keep in mind is you need to buy second hand laptops online smartly i.e., checking them thoroughly. The benefits of buying a used laptop are: -

·         Get the same specification laptop at a very low price compared to the market rate.

·         It saves a lot of money for you which you can save.

·         Can get you a good laptop even if your budget is low.

·         Some deals are too good to be true but are genuine deals as the seller has no idea how much the laptop is worth it.

·         In some deals, you will also have a warranty period for some months as they are almost new.

Choosing the right site

So, classified sites are the hub for Second-hand laptops, used laptops, and refurbished laptops, whether you want to buy or sell simply visit classified sites. There is a lot of classified site in the market and you have to choose the best site among the thousands of sites, as there are frauds in the market who can cheat on you by showing you fake deals and taking money from you in-fact there are many ways to cheat so you need to be aware of that and choose the best-classified site.

What do I mean when I say best-classified sites, the good classified sites are those sites that do not entertain fake profiles and crosscheck their users. Remove spams from their sites for better user experiences and warns you about the frauds and the scams, so that you will stay alert.

Buy or sell your laptop on the best-classified site to get the best deals on the laptop, it is very important to choose the right site on which you will buy or sell your laptop.

I would recommend Cifiyah, here you can post free ads and sell your laptops in no time. Here we do not entertain fake and unverified profiles so that every user should be genuine. All the latest gadgets like mobiles and laptops are available at Cifiyah. Best buying and selling is done with Cifiyah.

Buy or sell according to your city. If you are in Mumbai then get the best-used laptops in Mumbai. Or in Delhi then buy second-hand laptops in Delhi. Or in any city of India just set the region according to your city and get the latest gadgets at affordable prices.

[juju-on-that-yeet]

Unravel, Chapter 2/20

Work Summary :Antisepticeye has a plan to destroy Darkiplier, steal his power, and take over everything - and he might just succeed. What starts with Yandereplier going missing evolves into a messy web of betrayal and grief, of blood and tears, of old wounds and new faces. However this ends, Ego Inc. will never be the same again. Chapter Summary: Yandere’s disappearance doesn’t go unnoticed. Before long, a suspect emerges. Warnings: None

Read on AO3

Enjoy!

~

No one realizes that anything happened during the storm until Chrome and Yancy come to Yandere’s room half an hour after the power comes back on. The thunder and lightning have abated into heavy rain, and Chrome and Yancy have resigned themselves to a night in.

“Yo, Yan, come hang out with us!” Yancy calls, knocking the door.

Nothing.

“He’s probably got his headphones on,” Chrome sighs, “He can never hear anything through those.” He raps the door so loud that Yancy jumps. “Yandere! Hey!”

Still nothing. Chrome frowns.

“Maybe he ain’t here?” Yancy suggests, “He might’ve tried to find us first.”

“We would’ve seen him already,” Chrome says, then calls, “We’re coming in.” He turns the doorknob. The door’s locked.

Yancy blinks. Chrome growls.

“Hey, what’s the problem?” Yancy asks, confused. “I know Yan doesn’t lock his door much, but–”

“Yandere never locks his door,” Chrome growls, “Not unless he’s changing or showering, and even then he sometimes forgets. Why would he ever lock his door during a storm like this? Something’s wrong.”

“So what do we–”

Once again Yancy is cut off, this time by Chrome kicking Yandere’s door open with a bang. Yancy yelps and puts his fists up, startled, as Chrome storms into the room.

Yandere isn’t there. The TV is on, with Netflix asking if Yandere’s still watching the anime that was playing. Looking deeper into the room shows that the attached bathroom is just as empty. Chrome even opens the closet, just to see, and finds nothing. Yancy wanders around the room before sitting on the bed to think.

“Weird,” Yancy says, “There’s no way Yandere could’ve left without using the door, unless…” He leans over and looks at Yandere’s bedroom window. “Nah, that ain’t been opened yet today, I can tell. Maybe…” He looks down at the floor, eyes sweeping over the carpet, even looks under the bed. “Nah, he didn’t dig nowhere, the carpet’s undisturbed. Or…” He goes along the walls, tapping and knocking. “Nah, he didn’t go through the walls, there’s no tunnels or passages or nothin’. Youse sure he ain’t just somewhere else? We ain’t seen ‘im in a few hours now, he could be anywheres.”

“I guess he could be somewhere around,” Chrome sighs, rubbing his neck, frustrated. “I just can’t shake the sense that something’s wrong. It feels…it feels off in here.”

“Whatcha mean?”

“It’s hard to explain, but…” Chrome looks at Yancy. “Have you ever touched the screen of an old TV and felt all the static around it?”

“Oh sure, Happy Trails ain’t upgraded its TVs since ‘92.”

“I feel like that, but all over.” Chrome shivers. “There’s static everywhere.” His gaze hardens. “There’s only one person who could’ve caused this.”

“Well, hold on now,” Yancy says, placating, “I don’t know who youse talkin’ about, but we can’t just jump to conclusions. Ain’t there a way we can find out for sure where he went?”

“The cameras,” Chrome answers immediately. “They shut down during the power outage, but they’re working now.”

“Youse guys keep tellin’ me this place is different from prison, but…” Yancy mumbles to himself as he follows Chrome out of Yandere’s room.

When they get to the control room, Google is there, finishing up security checks.

“Google,” Chrome says, “Can you help us? We’re looking for Yandere, but he’s not in his room.”

“You want to look through security footage? For that?” Google asks, deadpan.

“Something’s up, Google,” Chrome insists, “His bedroom door was locked, and the room was full of static.”

Google’s expression changes, and he immediately turns to the cameras. He looks through them all, and Chrome follows along with his eyes. They change too fast for Yancy’s human eyes to keep track of.

“So where’d he go?” he asks.

“Nowhere,” Chrome gasps.

“He’s not on any camera.” Google switches to the camera in Yandere’s room, starts rewinding footage. “If his door was locked, he was in his room at some point. I’m going to find out when he left it.”

The room stays empty, the only movement in the room is the raindrops hitting the window. There’s several seconds of blackness from the power outage messing up the camera, and then, just before it, Yandere is there, watching TV.

Google’s brow furrows, Chrome starts to look worried, Yancy is confused.

“How the…” he starts to ask, but trails off.

Google lets the footage play through. Past Yandere watches TV, perfectly content, then the screen blacks out from the outage, and when the camera resumes filming, no one is there. Google pours through footage from every camera in the minutes after the power returned, and Chrome looks too, both straining for any sight of Yandere, for any sound of his voice, for any flash of his red bangs. But there’s no sign of him.

Yandere has vanished.

Google goes back to the footage of Yandere in his room, turns up the audio, searches for clues. Once the audio is louder, all three people in the room can hear the static below the storm and the anime playing on the TV. Yancy is new, he’s never heard that static before, but Google and Chrome have.

Chrome’s expression falls. Google’s hardens.

“I’m informing Dark.” He pulls up a holographic screen, connects to the security footage, and downloads the relevant film. “You two don’t have to stay here, but be ready for Dark to find you and ask you questions.”

He leaves the room at a quick pace, leaving Chrome and Yancy alone. Chrome collapses into a chair. His hands are shaking.

“Is Yan…” Yancy begins, horribly confused but smart enough to know he should be worried. “Is Yan really just…gone?”

“Most likely,” Chrome says, voice quiet. He looks at Yancy. “Did Dark tell you about Antisepticeye when you first came here?”

“Oh!” Yancy gasps. “He did, but I…I just forgot. Ain’t never seen him or heard about him since Dark mentioned him.” He quiets as he remembers what he was told, how powerful and dangerous Anti is, how he must be avoided at all costs, how he lives to sow chaos, to ruin, to destroy, to kill. “And now…now he’s got Yandere?”

“There’s no solid sign of him,” Chrome admits, “But the static in the room, Yandere’s sudden disappearance during a blackout of all things…it all screams “Anti.”

After Dark learns of the situation from Google and listens to Chrome and Yancy’s side of things, he begins to think the same thing.

“Youse gonna call a meeting?” Yancy asks him, cautious and quiet.

Dark looks fit to reduce the entire building to rubble. His aura is barely contained, screaming and cracking and lashing out around him. His eyes shift from normal to black to normal again with every other blink.

“No,” Dark says, “I’m not going to waste time telling the others when I only need Wilford.” He turns to Google. “I’m getting Wilford and we’re going to Anti’s hideout to retrieve Yandere. Inform Dr. Iplier of the situation so he’s ready to heal Yandere if need be.”

Google nods and leaves. Dark turns to Chrome and Yancy. Yancy shrinks back. Chrome stands firm, too hollow to be intimidated by Dark now.

“You two are to keep this situation to yourselves. I do not wish to return to a building of panic. The others will be made aware of the situation when Wilford and I come back. Understood?”

“Y-Yes sir,” Yancy stammers.

“Yes,” Chrome answers, voice as dull as he feels.

With that, Dark teleports away to find Wilford.

Fortunately, Wilford’s in the first place Dark looks: In his studio, editing footage for a show.

“Hey, Darky, whatever this is, can it wait?” Wilford asks, not turning away from the computer. “I’m on a deadline.”

“No,” Dark growls, “It can’t.”

The tone of Dark’s voice gives Wilford pause. As much as he likes to tease Dark for being dramatic, he can tell when Dark is seriously angry or unnerved. Wilford swivels around in his desk chair to face Dark, and his eyes get a little wider at the look on Dark’s face, at the sight of his aura thrashing around him, threatening to rip apart.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“Yandere’s missing.” Dark holds up a flash drive that Google gave him, full of copied security footage. “It looks like Anti took him.” Dark tosses the drive to Wilford, who catches it easily.

Wilford’s expression slingshots from shock to rage, his nostrils flare like an angry bull. He plugs the drive into his computer and watches the same footage that Dark already saw. Dark walks forward to stand behind him, and rewatching the footage of Yandere haplessly watching TV as static fills the air around him makes something go tight in Dark’s chest.

He doesn’t know what Anti could possibly want with Yandere, but he already knows it’s nothing good. Wilford seems to be thinking the same; his face gets redder and his frown gets deeper with every second of footage he watches. He listens to the same static Dark did, watches the footage go dark, sees it come back to an empty room.

“He’s really gone?” Wilford asks, accent vanished. “He’s nowhere in the building?”

“No,” Dark says, “Google checked every camera, and his friends haven’t seen him.”

Wilford stands from his desk chair, rolls his neck, cracks his knuckles. His eyes are bright pink to complement Dark’s pitch black.

“I’m going to shoot a hole through every disgusting pixel on that glitch,” Wilford growls. His hand is already twitching for his gun.

“I’ll hold him down for you,” Dark replies. His aura flashes and snaps, out for blood.

The two nod and disappear from the room.

[charger-batteries]

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ is the most capable Android productivity tablet on the market. In addition to being the first to support 5G connectivity, it's also a performance powerhouse that can handle multitasking with ease. Though its starting price of $849—which doesn't include 5G capability or the carrier subscription to use it, nor the Book Cover Keyboard Case—looks steep, it's one of the few viable laptop alternatives on the market, especially if you often commute or travel and don't want to bother with a hotspot. With impressive features, incredible performance, and all-day battery life, it's the  best Android tablet  you can buy right now, and wins our Editors' Choice award.

A Beautiful, Stylus-Compatible Display

Aesthetically, little separates the Galaxy Tab S7+ from other hight end slates like the iPad Pro. The chassis and back of the Galaxy Tab S7+ are constructed of aluminum and available in black, silver, or bronze. It measures 11.25 by 7.3 by 0.2 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.3 pounds without the optional Book Cover Keyboard Case. That may sound heavy, but the weight is well-distributed, making it easy to hold for long periods. A slim camera stack and a magnetic connector for the S Pen are on the upper left corner. A word of warning: the connector for the S Pen is not as well placed or as powerful as what you'll find on the iPad Pro, making it easy to lose.

The front is dominated by a 12.4-inch, 2,800-by-1,752-pixel Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate. Color accuracy is spot-on, with vivid colors and inky, deep blacks. The screen is bright enough to use in direct sunlight without any problems.

Top-Notch Hardware and a Marathon Battery

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ chipset powers the Tab S7+. Samsung offers the tablet in 128GB/6GB, 256GB/8GB, and 512GB/8GB storage/RAM configurations. Our review unit is the 256GB/8GB version. All three support up to an additional 1TB of external storage with a microSD card.  

As expected, the Tab S7+ can chew through just about any task you throw its way. We tested it with over a dozen apps and three dozen Chrome windows open and it didn't even flinch.

The powerful Snapdragon 865 chipset on the tablet, combined with its 120Hz display makes gaming an immersive and seamless experience. We tested the tablet with Asphalt 9: Legends and PUBG Mobile and didn't encounter a single hiccup. Load times are lightning fast, and the 120Hz display means you'll never see any lag or dropped frames.

Benchmarks underscored our experience. On Geekbench 5, a suite of tests that quantify raw computing power, the Tab S7+ earned 994 single-core (SC) and 3,814 multi-core (MC) scores. That is, by far, the best score we've seen for an Android tablet sold in the US, but still falls behind the iPad Pro's 1,113 (SC) and 3,277 (MC) scores on the same tests.

Samsung packed a 10,090mAh battery in the Tab S7+ (much bigger than the Tab S7's 8,000mAh battery), which can easily carry you through through the workday with a little battery life to spare. In our battery test, which streams HD video over Wi-FI at full brightness, the Tab S7+ held on for 7 hours and 21 minutes before powering down. That's about the same as the iPad Pro (7 hours, 48 minutes), and with more conservative use you should easily be able to make it a full day between charges.

45W fast charging is with an optional power adapter. If you choose to stick with the 15W adapter that comes in the box, be prepared to let it charge overnight.

A Selfie Camera Made for Video Calls

A 13MP primary lens with an f/2.0 aperture and a 5MP ultra-wide lens with an f/2.2 aperture comprise the Tab S7+'s rear camera module. There's an 8MP sensor on the front of the tablet with an f/2.0 aperture.

With good light, the dual camera stack performs well. The 13MP lens takes an excellent shot with good depth of field and solid color accuracy. The ultra-wide lens performs nearly as well, though we did note some minor loss of fine detail.

In low light, the rear cameras do an adequate job. Our low-light test shots had some edge noise along with lens flares, but they were still good by tablet standards. That said, we doubt many people will use the tablet to grab unplanned photos when most flagship phones perform better and are easier to whip out over the dinner table.

The 8MP selfie camera is perfect for video calls no matter the time of day. It also takes a good selfie, though some of our low-light test shots appeared a little flat, with minor noise around the edges.

Immersive Audio

Samsung sells the Tab S7 in 5G and Wi-Fi versions. The base model ships with Wi-Fi 6 support. The 5G model works with every US carrier and has supports sub-6GHz and mmWave connectivity, though you'll need to pay for monthly service. We tested the Tab S7+ on a gigabit Wi-Fi network and recorded excellent results, with averages of 631.4Mbps down and 38.8Mbps up.

The four AKG-tuned speakers on the Tab S7+ are among the best we've heard on a tablet. With a maximum volume of 96dB,audio is loud enough for conference calls, and it actually sounds good when you're watching videos. There's also Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity for wireless audio with the Galaxy Buds Live or your favorite Bluetooth headphones.

S Pen Feels Great

Unlike Apple's pricey $129 Pencil, Samsung includes its S Pen in the box with the Tab S7+ Put simply, the S Pen is incredible. It comes in the box and charges wirelessly when connected to the back of the Galaxy Tab S7+.

Writing with the S Pen actually feels good. We didn't notice any lag when using the stylus, and latency has been reduced to 9ms from 26ms on the Tab S6 Lite. The tip of the S Pen is significantly thinner than the iPad Pro's Pencil, and offers a little bit of drag to make writing on the display feel more natural.

Air Actions, Samsung's set of S Pen gesture–initiated shortcuts first announced on the Galaxy Note 9, makes its big screen debut on the Tab S7+. Air Actions lets you use the S Pen to snap selfies, swipe through pages without touching the screen, and set up other custom shortcuts. If you're new to Air Actions, there's a bit of a learning curve, but it's pretty convenient once you get the hang of it.

A Pricey and Flimsy Keyboard

The optional Book Cover Keyboard Case ($229.99)is hit-or-miss. The actual keyboard has excellent travel and a satisfying tactile feedback. The trackpad is swift and gestures work without a hitch. The cover turns into a stand, with good range of motion, and has a magnetic compartment for storing the S Pen.

So what's not to like about the case? For starters, it's nearly impossible to use in your lap. The stand is made to rest against a solid surface. Even if you manage to find a comfortable spot for it on your lap, there's a lot of flex in the keyboard. And frankly, the Book Cover Keyboard Case looks cheap. From a distance you might mistake the case for leather, but up close it unquestionably looks and feels like low-grade vinyl. Anyone who's investing in a high-end tablet like the Tab S7+ will likely want a cover that gives the same impression of quality manufacture and design. The Book Cover Keyboard Case does not.

One UI Can't Save Android

The Galaxy Tab S7 Pro ships with Android 10 and the latest version of Samsung One UI. In the past, we've had mixed feelings about One UI, but Samsung has made some major changes that make it much more attractive. The latest iteration now supports live syncing between Samsung devices and PCs; Apple users are unfortunately out of luck.

Samsung's productivity apps have also gotten a significant facelift. Samsung Notes now offers easy PDF annotations with the S Pen. A handy feature that allows you to sync voice recordings with your written notes is relatively easy to use. There's also the option to sync your notes with Microsoft Outlook and OneNote, but you can easily download Microsoft 365 to the S7+ and skip syncing altogether.

Folder and file structure have been significantly improved, so it's easier to find documents if you prefer to store them directly on your tablet. There's also the option to sync your documents with Microsoft OneDrive.

One UI also improves multi-tasking on the Tab S7+. You can now have three windows open simultaneously. Multi-Active Window, a persistent tab that rests on the side of the screen, now supports app groups, so you can create quick shortcuts to open your three most-used apps simultaneously.  

Over the past year, Samsung has made some massive improvements to DeX (desktop-mimicking) mode. It's more intuitive than older versions, supports multi-touch gestures, and even connects wirelessly to compatible televisions and monitors. We wouldn't go so far as to say it can replace your desktop, but it's an excellent alternative for basic tasks.

To be honest, Samsung's One UI corrects many of the ills that hamstring Android tablets, but at the end of the day, you're still running Android apps. That means there are limited options, especially for those in creative fields, and some apps just aren't up to snuff. If you're not a fan of the iPad Pro, there are plenty of Windows 2-in-1 laptops that run full fledged versions of Adobe Creative Cloud and similar apps.

There's also the issue of updates. Samsung has committed to updating its new products "for three generations," but that's a rather ambiguous claim and it doesn't set a specific timeline for updates. Android manufacturers, for the most part, have been slow with OS upgrades, and we doubt the Tab S7+ will be an exception. Though Samsung is already upgrading some of its devices, it doesn't look like the Tab S7+ will get an Android 11 upgrade until 2021.

The Best Alternative to an iPad Pro

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ is the most capable Android productivity tablet on the market. In addition to being the first to support 5G connectivity, it's also a performance powerhouse that can handle multitasking with ease. The S Pen is a pleasure to use, and the Samsung One UI actually feels like it adds to the overall experience.

What keeps the Tab S7+ from meeting its full potential is its OS. No matter how many tweaks Samsung makes to One UI, it still runs on Android and simply doesn't offer the same seamless experience you'll find on the iPad Pro. And although the optional Book Cover Keyboard Case works well on a desk, its steep price and lackluster build quality are a disappointment.

Despite these nitpicks, we still think the Tab S7+ is an extremely impressive piece of hardware. Once you're able to travel again, you'll find it by far the best Android tablet for taking work on the road and having a laptop-like experience supplemented by an outstanding stylus. It's an Editors' Choice through and through.

[laptopoutlet]

Lenovo 100e Chromebook - 81MA0005UK

Let’s be honest from the start, there is no match for Chromebooks when it comes to portability. These snappy, good looking devices offer the perfect balance between performance and affordability. Chromebooks are perfect for those with basic needs, especially students and entrepreneurs. As compared to mainstream notebooks, you can buy a Chromebook at a much lower price. The same can be said about 2nd generation Lenovo 100e Chromebook.

Lenovo 100e Chromebook boasts Intel Celeron CPU along with an 11-inch screen and offers the real value for money. Its price, size and features are ideal for students, and you can carry it around the campus all day long. Apart from its affordable price, this small size Chromebook features a rugged design that can handle knocks and bumps.

In case you are wondering about its performance, we have reviewed Lenovo 100e Chromebook in detail. We have evaluated its design, display, specs sheet, keyboard functionality and battery performance in detail. If you are interested in buying this cheap Chromebook, continue to read on.

Specs sheet

Processor: Intel Celeron N4000 (Dual-Core) / 2.1GHz Max. Turbo Speed 2.16GHz

Display: 11.6-inch FHD (1366 x 768) Resolution

RAM: 4GB Storage: 32GB eMMC

Graphics: Intel UHD 600 Integrated

Weight: Around 2.68lbs (1.22kg)

Operating System: Chrome

It is obvious from the price tag that Lenovo 100e doesn’t carry high-end specs. Nevertheless, the hardware on the 100e Chromebook is powerful enough to meet everyday computing needs. Let’s see how it performs in the real world and where its strengths and weaknesses lie.

Design

Lenovo 100e Chromebook is relatively smaller and lighter than most of the Chromebooks. It weighs around 2.68lbs (1.22kg) and has height, width, depth (HWD) measurement of 0.75x11.8x8.2 inches. Its body is made of plastic to keep the price low but this doesn’t mean it can’t survive in tough conditions.

Lenovo has used high-quality plastic to make the 100e Chromebook suitable for the classroom environment. The company claims that it is drop-resistant and can survive a fall of up to 29.5 inches. We dropped the Chromebook at a distance of 25 inches and found the claim to be true. But Lenovo 100e is not all about sturdiness, it comes with a finely textured lid that looks stylish with the Chrome logo.

Keyboard

Lenovo 100E doesn’t have a touch screen, probably due to its low price. But surprisingly, it doesn’t have Lenovo’s trademark ThinkPad keyboard either which would have been a good addition. Nevertheless, you won’t miss it as the keyboard on this Chromebook is comfortable for typing.  

Of course, the key layout follows the Chromebook standard with square, chiclet-style keys. There is a six-row keyboard with the top row loaded with system function keys. Also, a search key is in place of the Caps Lock, which is typical for a Chromebook. The touchpad requires a firm tap but is responsive and glides smoothly.

Display

Lenovo 100E features an 11.6-inch wide small FHD display with a screen resolution of 1366 x 768p. It doesn’t have an IPS panel so people sitting beside you might experience a washed-out view. On the bright side, this means more privacy and you can work without worrying who is sitting beside you.

Overall, Lenovo 100E Chromebook offers a bright and clear visual experience. You will see bright, vivid colour with crisp visuals while sitting in front of its screen.

Connectivity

Lenovo 100E didn’t disappoint us I terms of connectivity and port selection. There is a dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11AC and Bluetooth 4.2 for wireless connectivity, which performed well in our test. Then there is Type-C Port for high-speed data transfer and charging and a USB 3.0 port. Additionally, there is an HDMI output, a headphone/mic combo and an SD card reader.

Moreover, Lenovo has added a microphone and a small 720p webcam right above the display. So, you can easily make skype calls, can do video chat and stream lectures.

Performance

Lenovo has equipped the 100e Chromebook (2nd generation) with the Intel Celeron N4000 processor, 32GB eMMC storage and a 4GB memory. The Intel CPU can offer a clock speed range from 2.1GHz to 2.16GHz. For a basic Chromebook, these are good specs that can help you with everyday computing tasks.  

We evaluated the performance of Lenovo 100e Chromebook by running Office Suit, simple media editing tools and web browsing. We were able to browse online with any difficulties but you can’t multitask on this Chromebook. We saw stuttering and lags when we opened more than a few tabs while preparing a presentation.  

Overall, the Chromebook performed well when we open one app at a time. We were able to work on the office and excel comfortably without experiencing any lags. This goes without saying that it isn’t a gaming device but you can play casual games on this Chromebook.

Battery life

Lenovo 100e comes with a 42Wh sealed battery that company claims can offer up to 10 hours of battery life. We tested this claim and were able to extract about 9 hours of battery life on a single charge. This is an excellent performance from such a small computing device.

Verdict

Coming to the conclusion, Lenovo 100e Chromebook (2nd generation) is a decent device for students. At its price, it offers great performance and we found it to be ideal for those who don’t want to spend much. If you are looking for a small, sleek laptop for basic computer needs, Lenovo 100e is the right choice for you.

[megamikethomson]

Boxing day sales hit the internet earlier than christmas day

january sales? The internet bargain hunt is already on! Stores bring ahead income as thousands and thousands of consumers forget about the festivities to seize a deal hundreds of thousands of britons will hunt for on-line deals nowadays as internet stores pass ahead traditional boxing day sales fears of lacking out on cut-charge deals imply many will dismiss christmas day traditions inclusive of a turkey dinner internet purchasing on christmas day is predicted to be up via eleven in step with cent on last 12 months to a new excessive of £728million

by way of sean poulter for the day by day mail

tens of millions of britons will hunt for on-line deals nowadays as net shops circulate the traditional boxing day sales ahead. Many will even disrupt their christmas day celebrations in the stampede for discounts of extra than 70 according to cent. Fears of lacking a reduce-fee deal will pressure the net shopping frenzy, which has already captured a report percentage of festive spending on the rate of the high road. So-referred to as ‘bargain anxiety’ is pushing apart traditions like spending time with the circle of relatives, going to church, taking part in a turkey dinner or looking the queen’s speech. Scroll down for video

as a result, net shopping on christmas day is anticipated to be up by eleven consistent with cent on ultimate 12 months to a brand new high of £728million. Maximum retailers are selling widespread fee cuts of fifty in step with cent although some are going to 70 according to cent and higher on person gadgets. The income stampede comes as figures from the workplace for national statistics screen consumer spending rose to a report £278. 2billion within the three months to september – three in line with cent higher than the same period last yr. Experts say the financial healing, reduced petrol charges, low unemployment and rock-backside interest quotes have boosted consumer self assurance. The boots sale went stay at the hours of darkness, whilst marks & spencer, debenhams, house of fraser, subsequent, currys pc global and domestic appliance retailer ao. Com release on line sales today. John lewis starts offevolved its clearance sale on line at 5pm, although its branch shops will no longer be throwing open their doorways for his or her sales till sunday. Amazon, which has suggested report income ahead of christmas, will offer reduce-charge offers from 4pm nowadays. The strangely slight iciness weather method fashion stores are sitting on mountains of coats, woollens and footwear so one can be slashed in price. In addition, high street outlets have a massive cache of products, together with flatscreen tvs, that did no longer sell on the black friday online sale weekend. Barclaycard, which approaches almost half of all debit and credit score card transactions within the united kingdom, stated a quarter of those who plan to save within the sales will accomplish that on-line nowadays. Its studies shows that as many as one in seven will forego traditional circle of relatives pursuits to seek out a bargain on christmas day itself – announcing one in three are influenced by means of the worry of missing out on the excellent offers. A 5th say they'll keep out of easy boredom, whilst one in seven declare the income deliver them the danger to replace unwanted gifts. Barclaycard coping with director paul lockstone said: ‘whilst the traditional boxing day sales stay the maximum famous day for us to splash our christmas coins, increasingly us are starting our purchasing even in advance as we fear approximately missing out at the excellent bargains.’

constrained sunday trading hours over the boxing day weekend will also improve online income, he stated. Nick jones, of retail professionals experian, stated britain had experienced report-breaking spending on line over the festive length – with the black friday and cyber monday weekends generating £3. 3billion on my own.

‘rightly or wrongly, we’ve seen extra humans than ever spending a significant share in their christmas day shopping on-line,’ he said.

‘because of the upward thrust of the use of private related devices, consumers can now save for deals on their cell or tablet once they have a spare short time – even if that does imply sneaking away from the festivities and risking the wrath of family participants.’

worldpay, which tactics net buying payments, said its enjoy suggests the height for on-line spending on christmas day is 8pm. Dave hobday of worldpay stated stores cannot have the funds for to lose out on trade – even on christmas day. ‘our findings indicate the increasing need for retailers to adopt an “constantly on” attitude,’ he said. ‘online and m-trade [mobile phone commerce] method consumers anticipate a unified purchasing revel in – even over 2nd helpings of christmas pudding.’ in which to discover the quality early boxing day income deals on-line and in keep

amazon

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if you’re a cheryl fan, then you’ll love this perfume, created to capture many facets of her character. The perfume consists of delicate freesia, peach blossom, with a base of vanilla, white need to and sandalwood. Historically, christmas eve changed into the time while panicking men could be seen racing round department shops snatching up gifts. However the upward thrust of internet shopping has changed our habits. Amazon even offers identical-day transport services in some areas – sometimes within the hour. But for the excessive road it’s been awful news, with bricks and mortar investors suffering a pointy fall in customers in recent weeks. Yesterday, the amusement store recreation issued a profit warning and style chain bonmarché has already finished the same. Spending on visa cards is concept to have hit a height of £1. 3billion between 1pm and 2pm the day gone by whilst three. 2 million transactions came about. Why such a lot of families fall out once they get collectively

why households combat at christmas has been explained through a scientist – and she has even give you a call for the phenomenon… hypercopresence. Professor melanie sales space- butterfield stated conflicts flare while family contributors are pressured to live at close quarters having spent all yr aside. Over christmas they have to percentage the equal house, the equal toilet and put up with young youngsters stampeding across the place. Family members become cranky as their autonomy is taken away through a tight schedule of walks, meals and video games. Professor booth- butterfield, a communications expert at virginia university, stated rows happened when human beings attempted to ‘strike out’ to reclaim their independence – and that hypercopresence happened when you get what she called a ‘big dose of own family straight away’. Professor booth-butterfield stated it became like a long-distance courting but in place of a lover coming domestic, you spend christmas with own family. She stated: ‘when you are in a relationship you anticipate to be together a number of the time. You don’t tend to expect to be together 24/7. Hypercopresence takes place when matters are very controlled and scheduled.’

professor sales space-butterfield put it right down to the ‘abcs’ – alcohol, lavatories and kids. The extra people and the smaller the residence, the extra the stress. Supply to charity rather than to buddies? They might not thank you

within the persistent struggle to consider unique present ideas, it’s become commonplace to present a donation to charity in place of a gift at christmas. However doing so may want to harm a friendship, lecturers warn. Whilst it could seem a great manner to avoid buying some thing in order to most effective come to be inside the bin, a observe has discovered that the pass could backfire. Researchers found the recipients of ‘worth’ gifts had been as much as 27 per cent much less satisfied than expected. Many charities provide ‘socially accountable’ alternatives to standard presents including presenting a goat or bird to a villager in a growing us of a, or planting bushes in a conservation challenge. Researchers on the college of southern california asked 151 humans to either make a £25 donation to charity on behalf of a friend, or ship a connoisseur espresso bog down of the identical value. However the givers overestimated how appreciative buddies would be – and underrated how angry they could be. Recipients had been a whole lot less glad with the socially accountable presents than expected. And at the same time as givers expected their thoughtfulness to be rated at approximately seventy four consistent with cent, the true discern changed into forty eight in line with cent. Best mainly near pals are probable to understand a accountable gift, the authors stated. Dr lisa cavanaugh, writing in the magazine of organisational behaviour and human choice procedures, said: ‘socially accountable presents honestly have the capacity to mirror a virtuous identity for the giver. This very excellent, but, might not be valued by using recipients as tons as givers suppose.

‘a recipient might also perceive a present as saying extra approximately the giver than approximately the giver’s dedication to the relationship.’ two-hour queues to choose up m&s groceries

angry marks & spencer shoppers confronted waits of up to two hours the day past after they arrived to collect pre-ordered turkeys. Many used social media to post photographs of lengthy queues each outside and inside stores. M&s seems to had been quick of manpower after it reduce returned on hiring seasonal body of workers this 12 months to keep money. Scott rose, who went to cheshunt in hertfordshire to pick up his meals, wrote on twitter: ‘2 hours to pick out up a turkey, received’t be back next yr m&s.’

james cameron from newport in south wales complained: ‘your series scheme is a funny story. Why offer a service you can not deliver?’ in beckenham, south-east london, queues almost reached the car park even as team of workers in handforth dean, cheshire, handed out mince pies to sad consumers. Other supermarkets have been mobbed yesterday. Waitrose stated tills were almost 4 times busier than an average wednesday. Sainsbury’s and tesco took on hundreds of greater team of workers to cope. Bluewater purchasing centre in kent stated it become trading ‘as standard’ after drivers faced waits of up to 6 hours to depart its car park on monday. Left, traces of pissed off consumers in cheshunt, hertfordshire. Pictured right is a similar scenario in handforth dean, cheshire

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