#the line is officially coming out in 9 days and i did not listen to the leak and i'm gonna wait

[pardonmydelays]

you guys don't even know that but i've never survived this long without listening to the leak

[peterman-spideyparker]

The Way You Look Tonight (Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader) - Sinatra Series 9/9

Author’s Note: Okay, did you guys expect me to do a series completely inspired by Frank Sinatra songs and NOT include this one?? I don’t think this is the end-end for Matt and Reader in this series . . . there might be some bonus bits and holiday specials that will come later down the line. But I also want to say a big thank you for everyone who has read this series! Whether it’s just one part or it’s the entire thing, it means a heck of a lot to me. Enjoy! :)

Summary: Every day you wonder what you did in life to not only cross paths with Matt Murdock, but you wonder what divine force allowed you to follow the same path. And every moment you have with Matt feels like the first.

Suggested Listening: The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra

Warnings: Hella domestic and sweet fluff, Papa DILF Matt, implied smut if you squint cuz he’s a dope in love

Other Characters: None

Word Count: 826

“It’s so quiet in the house without them here,” Matt sighs, wrapping his arm around you as he sits down on the sofa. 

“It’s eerie. Almost thirty years of some kind of noise from the kids, and now we’re officially empty nesters,” you muse, snuggling into your husband’s embrace after a long day of helping your youngest move into an apartment with her friends. 

“Well, we could always make some more,” he chuckles, the scruff of his graying beard tickling your neck.

“I think we’re past that stage of our lives, Matty,” you chuckle. 

His strong hands take a hold of you and sit you on his lap so you straddle his thighs, providing him easy access to your neck. “Doesn’t mean we can’t try, sweetheart.”

“Matt!” you squeal in delight as his teeth lightly nip at the thin skin of your neck. 

“Alright, alright,” he smiles, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes even deeper from age and just over thirty years of big smiles. “Maybe we could get a pet. A cat, maybe.”

“We could eventually. But maybe right now we just get to enjoy our time together,” you counter, placing a sweet kiss on his lips. 

“Mm,” he hums in agreement, lazily kissing you as his hands roam your waist, making you feel like he did on your very first date. “I have an idea.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he confirms softly. 

Kissing you once more, he moves you off of his lap and makes his way over to the bookshelf, sliding out a record and dropping it on his player.

“May I have a dance with the most beautiful woman in the world?”

“You have never stopped being a dork, have you?”

“Dork?”

“Said with nothing but love behind it.”

Matt smiles even brighter if it’s possible as he saunters over to you, grabbing your hands and pulling you up from the couch, one hand in yours while the other rests on his waist. You slowly spin in the living room, Matt resting his temple against yours.

“Yes you’re lovely, with you’re smile so warm, and your cheeks so soft, there is nothing for me but to love you,” Matt croons. “Just the way you look tonight.” He pressing a long, lingering kiss on your forehead before resting his forehead on yours. “I don’t think you’ve ever looked more beautiful than you do right now.”

“Matty . . .”

“You get more beautiful every day. I don’t need sight to tell me that. Never did.”

“I adore you. I always will,” you breathe, giving him one more peck. “And you’re not too hard to look at yourself, Mr. Murdock. The gray hair is pretty damn sexy on you.”

“Thanks,” he smirks. “I think you might be a little bit biased, but, I’ll take it.”

Your lips meet once more, Matt’s hands sliding down your curves and over your bottom, into your back pants pockets and squeezing, throwing you off balance and onto the couch. He slots his leg between yours and kisses you intensely, making your moan into his mouth and tug at his hair between your fingers.

“Matt,” you breathe as his nose sweetly traces a trail against your cheek, pressing soft kisses into the skin before reattaching his lips to yours, his tongue sliding into your mouth just as it has time after time before.

“Ew!” 

The two of you part abruptly, sitting up on the couch to find the source of the noise. Your eyes fall on your children, bags in their hands, the four of them mildly disgusted by yours and Matt’s display of affection. 

“Gross,” Nina frowns.

“I’m gone for an afternoon and you’re feeling each other up?” your youngest, Abigail, groans. “Blech.”

“I mean, it’s sweet how you still love one another like that—,” Josephine starts. 

“—but gross,” her twin, Paige, finishes. 

“We’ll, we weren’t expecting our four little angels to stop by with dinner tonight,” Matt smiles, helping you up from the couch, a gently hand resting on territory that isn’t quite your waist but also not your hip. “Friedman’s?”

“Yep, and once again, Dad is right on the money,” Josephine breathes. 

“So what are our girls doing at home?” you ask as you and Matt move to give them hugs. 

“Well, we were all talking,” Abby starts. 

“And we realized that it’d be harder for all of us to see one another now that we’re all moved out,” Nina continues. 

“So, we’ve decided we’ll do weekly family dinners. We’re all still in the city, after all,” Paige finishes. 

“Well, if it would please the jury,” Matt starts with a smile, “I think that is an absolutely wonderful idea.”

“The court rules in favor of the defense and his clients,” you agree, much to the cringeworthy embarrassment of your daughters. 

What? It’s a parents prerogative.

“How about we bring these bags to the kitchen and eat, hm?” Matt offers. “I want to hear how all my girls are doing.”

Permanent Taglist: @majesticavenger​ @steampowerednightvaler​ @themusingsofmany @just-the-hiddles​ @toozmanykids​ @dangertoozmanykids101​ @clints-worldavengers @theburningbookshop @itwasthereaminuteago​ @peter1ismybrother​ @hellskitchens-whore @dpaccione​

Sinatra Series Taglist: @darling-ghosts​ @seasonofthenerd​ @idrinkcoffeeandobsess​ @mattmurdocksscars​ @pedrito-friskito​ @briefcasejuice​ @mindidjarin​ @1800-fight-me​ @saintmurd0ck​ @redheadpixie033​ @mattmurdockstuff​ @djarintreble​ @bacatez​ @preciousbabypeter​ @aramora​ @vanessalovesonedirection​ @jelllycake​ @natashasotherhalf​ @ravenclaw617​

[blackmaylovesfries]

Korean line - Danger at Home

Words: 1434

Sinopse: Seventeen Hybrid AU - A mission goes wrong and the government loses the custody of a criminal that knows who you are… What a way to test your hybrids’ hearts, right?

Notices: Not so good English. J-Hope(BTS) and Jingyoung (GOT7) are going to the army, I don’t know why it connects with the chapter, but… ^^

Solo stories’ destiny

Masterpost

Previous / Next

After your birthday and the crazy paperwork your everyday missions resulted in, your days were as peaceful as can be with 13 men running around your house and work. The routine made you totally forget that the complication in the scarlet mission still wasn’t completely resolved. It was a sunny and beautiful day, most of the boys were at home, just the foreigners hybrids decided to check some friends at the center, when you received The call.

“What did you just say?” You screamed as you got up and slammed your hand on the table. Ren’s voice trembled.

“I.. I’m really sorry, Y/n… Baeko and Jr are already heading your way! But… Miles Blackwell escaped custody.” The poor blonde flinched with the noise you made of pure hate. “I don’t think he can reach you before our official forces get him but you should be prepared…”

“Y/N!” Jeonghan, who almost never screams, yelled your name with so much desperation your face paled instantly.

“Y/n?” Ren also sounded scared but your silence was his font of fear.

“Too late, Ren… I think I’m going to need backup.” Before he could react, you hung up the phone and ran downstairs, where the hybrids were clearly distressed. “What happened?” All 9 heads turned to you. They were obvious at edge, with tense stances and aggressiveness signs.

“Someone is coming in the direction of the house. They are fast and there are a lot of them.” Hoshi was the nearest to the window, but most of them nodded their heads to confirm his words. “I smell danger.”

—

“Do you all understand the situation?” You asked as you distributed the guns of your arsenal.

“Yes.” Seungcheol responded. "Psychopath with support of other government found info on people in the center, you included, and now is coming here to kill you and kidnap us.” If the situation wasn’t this dire, you would have laughed. But you just nodded.

“They are here.” Jeonghan was looking out the window of your last floor and saw near 15 people trying to sneak into your property. Normally you would not be that worried, since your security system is quite good but against someone with that kind of backing, you were sure they wouldn’t stop before death.

“Ok, boys. Here is the plan.” You rushed them. The movement sensors outside the house started to blow up your phone. “I need you guys to stay here, in the weaponry. They probably won’t be able to enter the house at all but better safe than sorry, I guess. Although you guys never trained with a gun, Seungcheol and Mingyu know the basics, so just in case something goes wrong.” You heard a loud noise on the first floor.

“I’ll go and monitor the situation, maybe I can take some of them even before the backup arrives.” You smiled to calm down a little. “Don’t open the door. No matter what you listen to, don’t open the door. I’ll call you when it’s all done, ok?” You let a second phone with them before exiting the room and hearing they lock it.

—

The boys, now locked inside the weaponry, exchanged looks. All of them knew the situation was grave but they also believed you and the security of their home. Still… None of them were comfortable with your line of thinking, since preparing them for an emergency could mean there was the possibility of said emergency happening.

They all had some hand-to-hand combat training but none of them really knew how to be effective with a gun. Minghao and maybe Vernon were the only ones who were able to fully understand and really help you in a situation like that. So none of the Korean hybrids were naive enough to protest your instructions and decisions.

Jihoon, Jeonghan and Wonwoo kept looking outside the window through the curtains, trying to see something but also to not draw attention to the third floor. Dino, Seungkwan, Hoshi and Seokmin were passing around, studying the room they almost never enter and trying to calm down their energy. S. Coups and Mingyu thou sat in front of the door, listening with attention to all the movement outside.

Inside the room, no one was talking, but their nerves were relaxing as there were no alerting noises and the intruders seemed to still be stuck trying to enter the house. But everything changed when they heard a shot and you screamed. All of them were ready to unlock that door and run to your side.

“Stop!” Chan held the door with his back to stop his hyungs. “She said to wait for her call!”

“Did you just miss her literally screaming?” Seungkwan animal instincts almost took over. “Do you not smell her blood?” All 9 of them could practically feel your distress. Chan just had time to shake his head before there were more gunshots… They held their breath… The shots were coming from inside the house.

They all were full alert, some with flashbacks already creeping beyond all their work in therapy these last months while others were shaking and getting away from the door. As they couldn’t hear or capture any sign of you and your wellbeing, their trauma response took control, with their survival as the only goal.

Suddenly the heavy door received a hard blow from the other side. The younger ones whimpered. This made the older ones wake up a little, deciding that they had to get out of there safely before going after you… They would be useless if dead. So Wonwoo opened the curtains of the only window.

“Oh, they are all inside here!” A greasy and excited voice sounded from outside. Jeonghan and Jihoon got the guns you had put on their hands before everything started. The two passed them to the bigger ones, Mingyu and Seungcheol, both were trembling but did their best to point the guns to the also shaking door.

“Hurry, they are all inside, I guess they think all 13 are here…” Wonwoo whispered, screaming, to the others. “There is no lookout outside, we can go down by the roof and run to the center.” The feline hybrid grabbed Dino by hand to get him to move. The others followed, with Jihon helping. “Don’t look back, just run and be careful not to be seen.”

Just as Jeonghan turned around to help the two with the guns to climb on the roof, the door broke out of its frame, revealing numerous big men in black and with bigger guns.

“Found you.” The leader sang as he faced the terrified hybrids. Coups started to scream and just shot randomly in their direction, with Mingyu following suit. The men cursed. “Don’t kill them! They’re rare ones!” A voice soared above all the gunshots.

“Run! Go!” The two wild hybrids screamed to the cat one, who was already crying but listened to them, running after the youngsters. He could hear shouts and shots behind and below him but, for a miracle, Jeonghan arrived almost without a scratch at the path that led to the center. He just had to go a few meters before finding the boys, with government backup.

Baeko and Jr, who all of them knew, were dumbfounded to see the desperate hybrids. They were always super full of energy, so it was normal to not understand what they were saying but this time… It broke the hearts of the humans…

They could get the general idea of what happened, guiding the boys to behind their trucks, so the soldiers could raid and secure the house. Only after promising to bring you back, they didn’t specify if dead or alive, the diplomats were able to actually do their work.

Back at the house, Seungcheol and Mingyu didn’t last for long with their firearm power. The duo was actually able to incapacitate some of the men who decided to stay instead of going after the others. But they soon had their guns pulled from their hands. There was more cursing and some wrestling, which would be easier for the boys to escape if they weren’t so terrified.

“We just need you alive, no one will care if you’re losing some teeth or an arm.” The leader was pissed and fighting Seungcheol. He and Mingyu started to lose their respective fights. They could feel hope leaving them as the humans pounded their fists in their heads. Mingyu was ready to close his eyes and give up when two shots were heard.

“I’m so sorry!” They could barely respond to you through their tears.

Previous / Next

Hello everyone! How are you?? I wanted to thank all the cute and lovely messages on the forms <3

Tags: @mimisxs​​ ; @moonmin-miya​​ ; @naminalati​​ ; @woohoney​​ ; @patriciaar ; @amber-thumbs​​ ; @skylions-den​​ ; @snowballbear​​ ; @restless-nights-thoughts​​ ; @haoareu ; @killcomet​​ ; @unravellyn ; @honeyylin​​ ; @blizzardfluffykpop​​ ; @luminaaz​​ ; @m00njhn  ; @cuzyourmyflower​​ ; @readers-posts ; @calixxreads​ ; @hosh1kwon​ ; @minhui896​ - If you want to be tagged, answer the first link at the beggining of this post.

[normalaboutdntm]

Death Note the Musical @ NYCC2023: Album Listening Party

As described by Playbill: "A late-night listening party of the recently announced studio concept album will follow at 9 PM, with Valdes and John-Wilson joining along with host Louis Hobson and special guest Ashley Loren (Moulin Rouge! The Musical)."

I want to emphasize that the listening party happened almost 12 hours after the morning DNTM panel and on Day 3 of the con. People were exhausted, but so many people still made it a point to come check out the new album for a show that has never been performed in the US. I got there 40 minutes before the start time and there was already a sizable queue. Anyway, here's the deets (I don't have a full recording of this since my phone was about to die so this is just what I remember):

Louis Hobson, one of the producers in London and producer for the concept album, did trivia and gave away merch. He introduced the album sneak peeks with, "Some of these tracks just came to me today and we put them in the show today."

Frank Wildhorn was in Hawaii and couldn't make it, but he recorded a brief video to say hi. I saw it shared as an Instagram story later but I can't find it now so it's possible it didn't get preserved. Luckily I was still recording at this point :)

"Hey everybody, aloha, this is Frank Wildhorn, the composer of Death Note! I wanted to welcome you all to comic con and to this wonderful adventure that we are all on. For a few years ago [sic], when I was asked by my Japanese producers to do a musical of Death Note, I wasn't so into anime and the manga world, but my kids were, and my kids introduced me to the genre, and it's amazing - it's such great source material and of course it has the best fans in the world, you guys. I'm so happy and honored to have the chance to do this for you and i hope you enjoy the experience of comic con. Much love, aloha, arigato gozaimasu, ??? signing off."

Dean John-Wilson performed The Way Things Are:

Ashley Loren performed When Love Comes:

Joaquin Pedro Valdes did not perform due to being on vocal rest but we did get to watch his reaction to hearing the final cut of Where is the Justice? for the first time:

I don't remember all the tracks they showed us but I do know The Game Begins and Kira were two of them.

They had planned to do a cosplay contest, but it was immediately evident that @seximexipapi (IG) should win:

[ID: 1. DJW crouching and JPV standing in front of an elaborate, height-accurate Ryuk cosplay. JPV holds the Death Note in one hand and an apple in the other. 2. JPV holding a microphone to the Ryuk cosplayer, who has pushed up his mask.]

JPV made this video of him walking down the aisle with Ryuk. On the left side you can briefly see Yuzo Kajiyama, the original producer of the Japanese production, standing up and filming in his L cosplay:

They closed the night by announcing the official track list:

[ID: a presentation slide that has the Death Note the Musical logo of an apple on a notebook and says "Official Track List: Overture, Where is the Justice?, They're Only Human, Hurricane, Kira, Ready or Not, We All Need a Hero, The Game Begins, There Are Lines, Mortals and Fools, I'll Only Love You More, The Way Things Are, Honor Bound, Playing His Game, Borrowed Time, When Love Comes, The Way It Ends, Requiem." ]

It's odd that they "announced" this because the track list was previously released on WhatsOnStage.com at the same time the new album was announced; however the previous track list didn't have The Way It Ends on it so I'm glad they did. Not sure why Secrets and Lies and Stalemate were cut but I'm glad to finally be getting The Way Things Are in English.

OH and I remember at the very end Hobson vagueing about big news coming soon :)

[myndless88]

[03/31] Happy birthday to my favorite Japanese songstress, Maaya Sakamoto! She's also a really prominent voice actress!

As it is her birthday, I wanted to share with you all some of my favorite songs from her (ones I've heard at least). It's gonna be difficult, but I'll keep it to ten of them. ^_^;;

This is gonna be a long post (and full of music), but I hope you enjoy anyway!

birds

Found on her album 'Easy Listening' (one of the first albums I bought of hers). It's such an amazing song! The last leg of it does make you feel like you're flying (at least to me). Definitely one of the songs I had on repeat alot in my younger years.

Hemisphere

This song is used for the opening of the anime called RahXephon. I like how the song picks up during the chorus. It just makes me so hype! Here's the opening if you're curious about the anime.

tune the rainbow

This one is the ending song played for RahXephon the Movie: Pluralitas Concentio--which is pretty much a compilation of the anime. I originally heard the unplugged version first (which is also really good). Here is an (official?) amv for the movie. Watching it again...I'm rather melancholic because of what happens in the anime/movie. I should rewatch it.

Waiting for the Rain

This song is used as the first ending for the anime The Asterisk War. I've never watched it, so I know nothing about it. But this song is really soothing, and one of few songs Maaya has sung fully in English. Here is the ending if you're curious about the anime.

Kazemachi Jet

This one is used as the second ending for the anime Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. It's got such a playful kind of feel to it. I really like the first few notes from the violin (?) and guitar. I never did finish this anime. Maybe it's time I should. Here is the ending if you're curious about the anime.

KINGFISHER GIRL - The Song of "Wish You Were Here"

This is yet another song that Maaya has sung fully in English. It comes from her album 'Shounen Alice'. It has kind of that folkish (and a little melancholic) feel to it.

Kiseki no Umi (Sea of Miracles)

Used as the second opening for the anime The Record of Lodoss War. This song is pretty dope. When it first comes on, it just gets me really hyped up! And then when the chorus comes I'll sometimes try to belt it out as well. ^^;; Here is the ending for the anime if you're interested.

Tell Me What the Rain Knows

This song is used as a special ending for the anime Wolf's Rain. It's got a sense of sadness to it. Once again, it's a song sung fully in English. Every time I hear it, I'm reminded of the last few episodes of the anime... I should rewatch it. Here's the special ending if you're interested.

Triangler

This song is used as the first opening to the anime Macross Frontier. It's an upbeat song with an opening line that has you asking: "Who are you going to kiss? Me or her?" The anime (like most Macross, if I'm not mistaken) contains a love triangle of sorts, so the title fits. Here is the opening (which was really tough to find) if you're interested.

Yakusoku wa Iranai (No Need for Promises)

The opening for the anime The Vision of Escaflowne. This is pretty much the first song I heard from Maaya. This one also has a kind of folkish sound to it. It's also one that I'll try to belt out the chorus to. And the bagpipe breakdown in the middle slaps! Here is the opening to the anime if you're interested.

(Quite a few) honorable mentions (that I also wanted to put on my list):

Himitsu (an actual mv!) NO FEAR/Aisurukoto Yubiwa Ame ga furu Hikari a-re cloud 9 Mameshiba (an actual mv!) Million Clouds afternoon repose another grey day in the big blue world Koe Kaze ga fuku hi Light of love Active Heart CALL TO ME (so romantic! now I'm dedicating this to some of my ships) Here 03 Remedy universe koucha watashi wa oka no uekara kabin wo ageru peace DIVE gravity SAVED. THE GARDEN OF EVERYTHING (feat. Steve Conte) inori

[casspurrjoybell-26]

The Contract - Chapter 21

*Warning: Adult Content*

After a long day of filming, I make it back to my trailer completely exhausted, bloodied and bruised.

The scene went perfectly, Amanda did really well during the sex scene where her dad bursts in the room and catches us in the act, then throws me out of the house.

During that scene, Dave Burrow, who plays Amanda's dad in the show apologized if he had hurt me during the throw out scene, making the whole crew laugh considering he was this 6'6 guy who looked completely terrifying.

After everyone had finished laughing and wrapping up, I was told by the director that 'Love You To Death' was currently number one on every international paid streaming service online.

When I shut my trailer door and opened my phone from the charger I found, my phone was completely blown up with text messages from Natalie and the agency stating that I was being seriously considered to star in movies, adverts and more shows.

I had photoshoots lined up for magazines for the next three months, where I'll be positioned right next to supermodels for well know perfume brands like Dior, Hugo boss and Givenchy.

My life had never been so busy and at twenty two years of living, I can finally say that I've made it.

I've finally got to where some actors only dream of.

So why couldn't I enjoy any of it?

Donovan's words ring in my ear 'I made you famous' over and over, whenever I hear about a new opportunity or that I've been offered a part in a movie.

Going through my phone, I have countless messages from friends and family I hadn't spoken to in years, not since my dad passed away, there were hundreds of them, way too much to go through every single one, not after shooting from early in the morning till 9 PM at night.

I scroll through and one thing I notice is, that I didn't get a single text or call from Donovan.

I don't care.

I should just listen to Jill and move on, focus on my work so I can pay him back and never see his fucking face again, maybe even change agencies, the thought had crossed my mind more than once during the weekend.

If I move agencies now, there would definitely be raised eyebrows about why and that's when life gets messy and people start digging for gold, they might even find out about the contract.

I don't even know what my sexuality at this point is and if word gets out that I had a sexual relationship with a famous and wealthy businessman billionaire like Donovan Steele, a well-known public figure in the industry and business world...

There's no saying what the headlines would say, or how much my life would turn upside down.

I groan, stressed to hell and rub my face roughly, just as there was a knock on my trailer door.

Sitting up and putting my phone down, I shout 'come in'.

My co-star, Mich Brenner comes inside my trailer holding two cups of coffee.

"Oh," I say, literally drooling. "You're officially my favorite person," I tell him.

Mich laughs and hands me a coffee and sits down next to me.

"Figured you needed this after a day like today. I know I do," he said grinning tiredly.

"You had no idea," I say, taking a sip and then sighing out a moan. "I'm so tired I can barely see straight."

"You even put cream and honey in it," I laugh and he shrugs.

"I've watched you make your drink every day for the past week, only you use honey in your coffee on set," he grimaces. "You're practically a freak of nature Evan."

I shrug and put the coffee down and then put my hoodie up, feeling all kinds of tired as I yawn and then pick up my phone to check the time.

"I should go or they're never going to let me leave," I joke, getting up.

Mich follows me, grabbing his coffee.

"It's getting pretty wild," he says. "I heard that they're considering you for some award. You were even on the news the director said."

I freeze and then feel pale.

"Why?" I ask, trying my best to act casual.

Mich looks at me like 'really? you don't know?'

"Dude, you're 'Connor Whitlock' The new heartthrob of Hollywood in a hit series and it's not because of Amanda, that brainless barbie doll is a sad excuse for an actress," he scoffs. "I heard she only took this role because she's drying up on offers," he shakes his head, taking a sip of his coffee. "If it wasn't for you, her career would be long dead and this show wouldn't be number one. All the other cast agree," he adds, shrugging.

I'm completely speechless.

The nasty tone in Mich's voice when Amanda came up, almost made me punch him in the face for talking shit about her behind her back.

She didn't deserve that.

I never expected any of this from Mich.

He always seemed like a nice guy, to everyone, including Amanda.

"Must be why she's clinging onto you and following you around between sets," he laughs out like it's the funniest thing ever. "She's so pathetic."

That's it. I've heard enough.

"Maybe you should keep your fucking opinion to yourself, Mich," I stop walking and snap out. "I didn't realize you were doing so well getting parts to shit on her for trying to stay afloat."

Mich's eyes widen as he stands there speechless, looking at me like I grew two heads.

"Thanks for the drink," I say dryly before dumping it in the nearest trash cash, then walk away.

Fucking piece of shit.

I hate guys like him.

He had been flirting with her during every break between sets and now he's calling her pathetic for landing a job and struggling.

Mich is just fucking sour that Amanda rejected him or some shit.

Knowing Amanda, she's not into pricks like him, the type to talk about you behind your back.

He's the pathetic one.

I should've punched him in the fucking face..

I turn around a corner and see Amanda, leaning against my trailer with fresh tears falling down her face.

Oh fuck.

I walk over to her and wrap my arm around her as she sobs into my jacket, while I rub my back comforting her.

"How much of that did you hear?" I ask softly, feeling like an asshole for not shutting him up sooner. "He's just being a..."

"He's right you know." He says quietly, her throat hoarse. "I am pathetic and washed up. T-There were plenty of other girls better to take this part, I only got it because I know the author of the book." she hiccups. "A-And it's only doing well because of you E-Evan, everyone loves you."

I want to scoff and tell her that she has no idea what she's talking about but I keep my mouth shut and stroke her hair as she lets it all out and cries into my chest.

Amanda sobs quietly, wrapping her arms around me as I try my best to console her, with thoughts of finding Mich and beating the shit out of him.

"Come on, don't cry," I say, pulling away and wiping her tears with my sleeve, seeing her tear-blotched face. "Fuck Mich. He's only talking shit because he's only jealous of you."

She sniffs out and looks up at me with red bloodshot eyes.

"What's he got to be jealous of?"

"I don't know," I scoff. "Maybe the fact that you're smoking hot and you have no interest in him." I say, messing up her hair. "So fuck Mich. You shouldn't care what he thinks, because I know and you know that you're an incredible actress."

Amanda smiles, then without warning, she pulls my hoodie tightly towards her and presses her lips against mine as her free hand goes to the back of my head.

I don't have time to react as she turns me around and pushes me against my trailer,and I kiss her back, confused, speechless,and lost in the moment as I bring her closer to me, ignoring a part of my brain, screaming at me to stop.

Her soft lips move in perfect rhythm to mine as she moans out softly into my mouth, the sound of her moan instantly turns me on because of how much I actually didn't dislike kissing her.

What am I doing? I think, as I press my lips harder against hers and rub my erection against her, making her moan out louder, making me remove my lips from hers and replace them with my hand, making her laugh into my palm.

We're both panting hard as we stare at each other, both of us not knowing what the hell just happened as we listen to see if anyone heard us.

When we hear nothing, I move my hand and step away from her, letting the reality of what the hell just happened kick in.

Fuck, Evan. What the hell did you just do?

"Do you want to come with me, back to my place?" she asks, making me turn around and stare at her completely bewildered and speechless.

Thinking of the sofa that I slept on all weekend at Robbie's makes me seriously take want to take her offer up, that and the way she's looking at me, with feelings so real and pure.

"Sorry," I close my eyes tightly and rub my face, feeling like the worst person ever as I snap out of it and back to my senses. "I can't..."

Because I still...

"I'm sorry Amanda. I shouldn't have even kissed you."

I take one last look at Amanda, trying to catch her breath and looking at me with that sad beautiful face... then I walk away, like a coward, who just made a huge fucking mistake.

[thatshrillsymphony]

First Broadway Trip!

I had my first Broadway trip earlier in July and it was really cool! I just want to ramble about it for a bit. So here’s what I saw the 8 days I spent in NYC:

Plays:

Prima Facie (on closing night)

Life of Pi (lottery win)

The Cottage (first preview night)

Grey House

Musicals:

Some Like it Hot

Wicked

Camelot (lottery win)

Little Shop of Horrors

Shucked

Of the 9 shows I saw, I saw two of them twice (Grey House and The Cottage). Going into the trip, I was most excited for Prima Facie, Grey House, and Some like it Hot. At the end of the trip, I’d say my I’d also have to add The Cottage to my list of favorites.

Some of my brief thoughts about each show:

Prima Facie

I actually chose the week of the trip based on how/if Prima Facie dates lined up with me having enough PTO. Luckily, I was just able to make it to the final show the day my plane landed. 

Jodie Comer was amazing; the reviews describe her as “Tour de force” and that’s accurate. The play itself deal with the topic of sexual assault in the context of legal processing of it and all that. It was such a powerful performance; I knew I was going to cry but holy shit. I cannot fully stress how phenomenal the everything about it is. Truly grateful to have gotten to experience it.

Grey House 

I wanted to see as soon as I heard about it from Sophia Anne Caruso’s instagram. I went into this blind. I knew MatPat posted a theory video about it and there was a subreddit but that was about it. I did get some of the jump-scares spoiled for me just by over hearing people talk about the play right before curtain, but there nothing I could’ve done to avoid those. I just had the misfortune of being in earshot. It was still really eerie and suspenseful and more gore than I expected. Honestly, I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it after seeing it. I decided to see it again (if i was able to get discount tickets) just because there’s so much to unpack there. It ended up working out and I’m glad I did see it again. I decided I really liked it. It’s definitely not for everyone and is the most unique production I’ve seen.

The Cottage

I saw this because I saw Elizabeth Teeter post about it in support of Dana Steingold. I also saw it was opening the week I was there and I thought it would be neat to be able to see a show on its first preview. 

This was the funniest thing I’ve seen. I loved it, so much that I saw it twice. I’d see it on official opening night and closing night if I could. Side note, The Hayes Theatre also had the nicest bathrooms lol.

Life of Pi

I didn’t actually have this play on my radar. I just had a night were I didn’t have anything plan and decided to enter more raffles and see what happened. I ended up winning. I’m glad I went. I was blown away by the puppeteers.

Some Like it Hot

I started listening to the soundtrack because my friend mentioned that this old movie that they watched with their dad was being made into a musical. I loved the soundtrack so much. I wanted to see it so badly and couldn’t want for the tour to (hopefully) come to my city. Since I’d be in NYC, I knew I would be seeing this show. There was actually the understudy for Sugar that night and she was so good! The musical was everything I wanted and more. No complaints just phenomenal. It’s fun and funny. The set design is so cool and I love the train car scene so much. I’d see this again in a heartbeat. I’m excited to see how the crew/creatives are able to modify the set design to something functional for touring.

Camelot

I got an instagram for this and Phillipa Soo was in it, so I’m like I gotta try and see it. But, I wasn’t hell bent on seeing it. I actually won lottery tickets; the seats were sooo good. I love Phillipa Soo. Beyond happy that I got to see her.

Little Shop of Horrors

Honestly I got tickets to this because a friend of mine liked it. I’d seen the movie musical a couple years ago and enjoyed it; but I didn’t love it. Seeing it live was really cool! Joy Woods as Audrey; amazing! I got to talk to the puppeteers for Audrey II at Stage door for a bit and they were really nice. The puppets for Audrey II were all really cool. Tbh I want a plushie of the little Audrey II (like Act I).

Shucked

I knew it was about corn and it was a comedy. I got tickets from the TKTS booth because I wanted something chill and thought why not. After seeing the musical, I must say it’s corny and a little horny. It’s just a fun silly musical about corn and marriage and rocks.

Wicked

My friend was obsessed with this musical when we were in middle school. So, it just made me think of her. I really enjoyed the set design and all the effects and costumes and the performers were really good! I just was really baffled by the plot/pacing among other things. Nessa’s character deserved better. 

I have a lot™ of thoughts about some of these shows, that probably warrant their own post so I’ll probably do that.

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

7/9/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription

Isaiah 1-4

Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological. I’m China. Today is the 9th day of July. So great to be back here with you. So excited to be here, reading the word of the Lord to you and with you. Excited- hope that your July has been going well for the past nine days. We are officially more than halfway through this year, and while that feels right, it also feels wild that we are already here. But here we are and I'm so glad that you're here and that you have stuck with reading the Bible, regardless if you've listened every single day, or if maybe you know you listen here and there, or you had to take a break for a second, or you know, whatever category it falls under. It is OK and just encourage you to find what feels like a good rhythm for you, and there's no shame in whatever works best for you. Obviously we encourage to be in the Lord's word daily and that's what we've- our family has committed to providing for people all over the world and so yeah, happy that you're here today. What we're going to read and just how it's going to speak to us and just know that the Holy Spirit is always loving and faithful and committed to just revealing who the Lord is further and further more. So today, and this is, this is great. Like, if you maybe are just coming back into it today, welcome. We're starting in the book of Isaiah, and we're going to be in chapters one through four. Since it's a new week, we switch translations. We're going to be in the Common English Bible for this week.

Commentary:

So today we have started the book of Isaiah and we've entered into the book of the Prophets. And typically in in this time, the prophets were someone typically, not always, who brought words from the Lord that were of correction and of warning. And so I feel like modern day prophets, where we're at now is like prosperity gospel and you're going to get a promotion, you're about to get a car. And those things like they can happen and that can be the Lord's will for us for sure. But it's very different than the prophets, the books of the prophets that we're reading that we're, that we're getting into and that we're about to continue to get into for the a little bit. And so if you're like, wait, wow, these prophets are completely different than like my experience or with what I've seen or whatever. Yes, there can be both and these prophets, the visions about Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah Amos' son saw in the days of Judah's kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. So over the timeline of these 4 kings and we see rebels being condemned. The hands filled with bloodshed and Zion will be redeemed. The Lord's mountain everyone's brought low. And your leaders misled you. And then as Zions glorious future, and so this is what I have noticed in the Bible is that whenever there is a correction, there is this warning of a of a downfall or this is what's coming. And then there's always this promise of rebuilding. And if we look back throughout the Bible, we can consistently see that theme. We see it in the garden, we see it in the flood. We see it with the Israelites. And then just that family line continuously, the Lorf you know, bringing forth. There's always warning, there's always correction, and sometimes there there's a lot of destruction and then there's this promise of rebuilding, and that's... And so we're getting into Isaiah. We dip our toes in today. And you know, there's there's a lot in here that we can get lost in. There's a lot in here that we can be like, what is going on? I don't even live in Jerusalem, and even if I did, it's different than it is and when I'm reading it. But I just encourage you, if your heart really is, to figure out more and to dive deeper into that and research the text a little bit more through the culture, through the time, through whatever it is. And also just to go back and reread it too. That's always helpful. You know, we read things once and we can kind of retain them, but if we go through and read it again feel like our brains are more likely to remember something that we didn't even read the first time

Prayer:

But God, I thank you for your word. I thank you that we have it. I thank you that we get to read text of long ago prophets that are reading exactly what or speaking, writing down, recording exactly what you have asked of them, exactly what you have said. And Lord, I just pray that we would have eyes to see and ears to hear. And God, that we would, just as we are on the other side of these stories, that we'd be able to see all the promises that you have fulfilled, all the things that you shared with Isaiah. And how they have come in to pass, and I just thank you that you are God of your word, you're God who cares, and you're God who wants to speak to his people. I thank you that you chose prophets to speak through. And Lord, I just thank you again for your word and it's in your name we pray. Amen.

Announcements:

So I know last time that we talked we were getting ready for the Long Walk and now we're a couple days post. And I just, I loved reading all of where you were walking and seeing all those pictures. Hopefully you got to scroll through them. If not, I definitely encourage you to go to the Daily Audio Bible, Chronological Facebook page and then just the Daily Audio Bible page. And to look at all those comments and to look at all those pictures, you may find that somebody was close to you. And I just, I love that so that that post will stay up. So feel free to to go back in and look at those. But just curious, did that make you want to carve out more time to be silent and to go walk with the Lord or you like you know what I can commit to doing that? Once a year. Or are we like I hated it. I'm so glad it was over. All of those reactions or responses can be pretty normal, but hope you enjoyed it and that it was meaningful and impactful in your life and in your relationship with the Lord. That is all for today. I'm China. I love you, and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Line:

Hey, DABCers. This is Kira. Contrite spirit and One beloved daughter. I heard your message, and also my I've I've been on antidepressant medications in the past, so I know exactly what you're talking about. Not being able to feel and cry and praise God he's he's healed me. I haven't had to be on those for for many years, but my son Nish is on an antipsychotic medication which is highly tranquilizing and it basically it cuts off like the all the you know the whole front area of the brain and and and I think you know different parts of the brain it damps it down and and a side effect is he he is not able to feel. He never ever ever smiles. He does have you know some deep anger which you know the the medication is kind of a a Band-Aid and it's you know he he's he's been weaned off of it. You know part way. But he last time he weaned down another step he became manic. So we're still I'm praying that he'll be able to get off of it but in the meantime you know and and I pray that for complete healing for everyone on these medications if they can to be able to come off it but in the meantime I pray against those side effects of not being able to feel in the name of Jesus. And I pray and I bless you, One beloved daughter, to be able to to feel and to be able to cry. I don't care if you're on the medication or not. God can touch you and God can produce that in you to be able to laugh and cry and and feel compassion in the name of Jesus. And I pray this for my son as well, that you know God can reach him..

Hi everybody. This is Noah. Envision growth out of New York, I just had to call in wonderful testimony from hopeful from my Wyoming about being basically a earthly Angel to a woman during her trip in Africa and how she basically saved her from death and went from one extreme to the next. From death to her redemption and from a lost soul to salvation. What a wonderful testimony. I literally just yelled out like praise God. I just thank you. And it's so interesting about the reading today that China did about our actions on earth. And God is a loving God. He's also a God that judges and what we do on this earth. And to know that you guys did such a wonderful thing, like that's all counted for. So I pray for you and pray for all the missionaries who you know who go to other places. Continents are in their own respective states, and area are just earthly angels. God bless you and us all when we do these good deeds. What a wonderful testimony. I'm also praying for I think her name was Carrie from...I forgot where she's from, but her son-in-law is from New York and he is now paralyzed. I just really pray that during this time, him and her daughter would find salvation through this tragedy, knowing that you know he's paralyzed but he is alive, and maybe even introducing them to the DAB and knowing that they now have a whole community throughout the whole world that's praying for them both. OK, that's my time. Love you guys. Bye.

Good morning, Daily Audio Bible Prayer Warriors. This is Elizabeth from Delaware calling in and I just wanted to ask for your prayers for my husband Dan. We have now got seen the doctors at Rothman Institute and it turns out that my husband has an infection in his knee and that's why he has not been healing. And so the next step is to have major surgery where they take it all the parts out his knee and...And now I would ask your prayers that the doctors can treat this infection and that, this infection, that God Lord, that you would take it away even before the surgery. As the surgery is either a 5 day stay or a 10 day depending on how much infection. So Lord we are praying that there's no infection in the knee, that it humorously remove this and permanently take it out of his body. In Jesus name we pray. Thank you for your prayers. We know we're in good hands, but it's a, it's a long journey and but God has us and I just wanted your support as well knowing your prayer warriors and God hears this all. Hello, this is Minita. Hopeful for my Wyoming, thank you for sharing your story about Africa. The lady in Africa, the woman who got baptized, and yeah, that woman you you saw on the road. Ohh my goodness I love that story. Praise God. Praise God that he found her. That she found him, that she found Jesus. Oh my God. I love stories like that. You know that. Thank you so much for sharing. I love you. Take care and God bless, Keep calling in and keep sharing your wonderful stories. God is so good. And this is how we preach the gospel by sharing, you know, stories as beautiful as yours. God bless. Love you and your mom. Bye bye.

Good morning prayer warriors. This is Melissa from California. A few weeks ago I called and asked for prayers for my friend Susan and her grandson Thomas, who had been in a terrible motorcycle accident. While I have incredible praise report, his birthday is July 1st and that young man was able to be at home and celebrate his birthday. He's out of the hospital. He's on his road to recovery. He's gonna be starting physical therapy. Praise God. Praise God. He is an awesome, awesome God. I am so thrilled and so excited, and I want to thank each and every one of you who called in and prayed for Thomas, who called in and shared your gospel, your word for him and for all those silent prayer warriors out there like me. I'm the Silent Prayer Warrior. Thank you. Thank you so much. And Thomas is in a few casts. He's on crutches, but he's home and he is starting his road to recovery. And I'm so excited. And seeing the power of God is incredible. And seeing the power of prayer is incredible. So thank you, prayer warriors. Thank you for everything. God bless, Enjoy.

[holidays-events]

The GIF Calendar: March 2023

3.3: Music fans, get ready! After a six-year hiatus, Grammy-winning artist Macklemore debuts his third solo album, Ben. Also, don’t forget to hit the theaters to check out Michael B. Jordan in his directorial debut of the next film in the Rocky series: Creed III (also, step into the ring…er…our official page for the film).

3.6: We’re celebrating the start of Purim, a two-day holiday celebrating the survival and strength of the Jewish people. Join in the celebration with festive meals, carnivals, and gifts!

3.8: We never need an excuse to celebrate women worldwide, but we can do *even more* celebrating this International Women’s Day. Started by the Socialist Party of America over a hundred years ago, this global holiday is an excellent way to celebrate the great women of the past, like trans rights activist Sylvia Rivera and feminist activist Gloria Steinem. To quote Beyoncé’s line in the chorus of her 2011 hit song: “Who run the world? Girls!”

Also happening on this date is the Festival of Love, the Festival of Colors, the Festival of Spring: It’s the Hindu holiday of Holi! Honor the eternal and divine love of the God Radha Krishna with community and colors!

3.10: Horror fans rejoice: the next installment in the popular Scream series, Scream VI is here! This time, our heroes face off against Ghostface in the Big Apple (and, yes, we have an official page for this movie too).

Also, don’t forget to listen to pop star Lana Del Rey’s new album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd because it’s out today!

3.12: Cinephiles, it’s the most important day of the year: it’s the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars! First presented in 1929, this ceremony celebrates the best of filmmaking — and we’re all excited to see who wins this year.

But before the show, don’t forget to fix your clocks because Daylight Savings begins!

3.14: It’s the best time of the year for college basketball, March Madness! The 2022–2023 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament begins today and concludes on April 3. Who do you have your money on?

While you pick your favorite team, why not enjoy a slice of pie to celebrate the mathematical holiday, Pi Day!

3.17: St. Patrick’s Day, the world’s favorite Irish holiday, falls today and honors the Patron Saint of Ireland. Enjoy the day with some four-leaf clovers or with a corned beef sandwich — and remember to wear green or you will get pinched! After you celebrate the holiday, check out the new DC Extended Universe film Shazam! Fury of the Gods, where the original cast is joined by Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren (who you can get a glimpse of on the official page for the action flick).

3.20: C’mon get happy! This International Day of Happiness, don’t forget to acknowledge the things that make you happy and how important it is in your life. Better yet: Celebrate this holiday every day!

3.21: Happy Nowruz! Also known as the Persian New Year, this festival celebrates the beginning of a new year on the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar. World Poetry Day also happens today, so celebrate by reciting a limerick or coming up with a haiku.

3.23: Prepare yourself for a cuteness overload as National Puppy Day arrives today. Celebrate pups by adopting a new dog, treating the one you already have, or maybe just petting a new friend while you’re out and about!

3.24: After four years, Japanese kawaii metal band BABYMETAL returns with their fourth studio album, The Other One. Also returning is our favorite assassin, played by Keanu Reeves, in the long-awaited John Wick: Chapter 4 and, yes, there is an official page full of GIFs from the entire franchise.

3.25: Today the world gathers together for Earth Hour, a day to honor the globe by turning off non-essential electric lights for one hour, from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Join in this last Sunday of the month as a symbol of commitment to the planet!

3.31: This Transgender Day of Visibility, make sure you are uplifting and highlighting trans people and their stories. Then, fly to theaters to check out the new movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves based on the popular roleplaying game. Follow a group of thieves as they stop a great evil from taking over their fantasy world!

Happy March from Tenor! What are you most looking forward to?

[happilylovingchaos]

Post-ep Thoughts: Last week was… let’s say, could have been better if I hadn’t been a coward. But hey, silver lining: with help from this illustrator Chika Miyata Sensei, a few ref pics and this ep, I’m starting to practice doodles again! Last week:

Blake Family Mystery:

I think so far, Liv has been acting like she’s in an independent art house mystery movie and not a procedural drama. Maybe that could be one way of looking at how stilted some people consider her acting to be? But on that note, I think her more emotional scenes as she found Iris’ belongings in the truck, then listened to her 9-1-1 calls… they all hurt to watch. And Lyndsy indeed stole the show! Side note, I am a little wary about portrayals of mental ailments (specially knowing what we know now about the first 4 eps in season 4), so I kinda refrain from commenting about the manifesting schizophrenic signs. But, all in all, this was the best part of the mystery arc. (Also, “Michelle ‘Blue Eyes’ Blake”… “Sad Eyes”… I might have aggressively HM’d in the episode 7 discussion comments about that connection. But the last scene? That was why.)

Buttercup Arc:

I feel for big fluffy dogs living in tropics/ warm inland environments. It’s really easy for them to get dehydrated, and that feeling rubbed off from my mom— Hawai’i in summer plus a mountain dog equals potential hyperthermia. But undeniably, Buttercup is officially now the goodest boy in the 126! And he definitely sensed that TK needed a hug deep down— maybe that, and he shared Owen’s smell. Might just be me, though. (“This hoomie smells like my new master but sadder. I want to be your friend because I love you and want to comfort you 😍😛”)

And yeah. TK, eventually, you will also be headcanonned as similar to your new canine friend— innately cute, little-kid-at-heart, mischievous, and so. So. Assertively. Compassionate. Things and the state of them are perpetually impermanent, and that’s always hard to relearn. (But Owen, come on. You didn’t realize TK might have still been processing the cancer bombshell? Did you see how fast he deflated when you brought up Buttercup’s same cancer!)

Featured calls: The call with Trevor, in hindsight… I’m not sure how much I have to say w/o being armchair psychiatrist again, but I feel the character was in the middle of emotional decompensation in the days following his mother’s death. Michelle and her team did what they could

With Bruce and Amy and the elderly family… even if it was a little contrived, I felt for both parties. I think ultimately, accountability doesn’t fully matter; that kid who shot TK after Bruce was talked down and out of the house does have some responsibility for what he did, but that was a scary situation— he and his grandparents couldn’t have known they weren’t the first people to live in this house. Bruce’s dementia also brought to mind the Huntington’s plot point, so… make of that what you will. I just thought it was a bit of a sad possible call forward.

TSP:

General timeline: Late May-early June 2019: Owen and oncologist —> adopting Buttercup (I think this takes, like… this appointment could have been back in the middle of February or March 2019. Owen needed to have let Buttercup be processed, given a clean-ish bill of health to bring home, and let the dog get used to one place at a time, from the adoption center to the firehouse; by this ep Buttercup is cleared to go?) —> dog shenanigans (1-2 days) —> mistaken identities and TK’s shooting —> coma #1 or 2 (considering next eps, maybe a week and a half if we’re suspending some disbelief)

Michelle’s timeline: same months. If it’s a fast-tracked investigation of the truck, possibly half of that same week in late May 2019 (2-4 days) —> phone call listenings (day after) —> “American psycho call 1” —> visiting mama Blake (same night) —> mistaken identities and TK’s shooting (same night) —> sanctuary hearts reveal (same night. Ooof.)

Week Four: 1x07: Bum Steer / 1x08: Monster Inside

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[moonstonediaz]

Let the Ghoul Times Roll

For 9-1-1 Halloweek 2021. Day 2: Ghosts

word count: 1.8k

read it on ao3

Eddie isn’t sure what he expected when Buck suggested a spontaneous weekend trip to New Orleans. Drinking all night on Bourbon Street? Sure. Tickets to a game at the Superdome? Sign him up. Eating their weight in beignets at Cafe du Monde? Who wouldn’t?

Eddie didn’t think twice before agreeing to one of his best friend’s many whims. But now that he finds himself facing a vast expanse of elaborate above-ground graves, he starts to wonder why he didn’t ask more questions before boarding the plane.

“Tada!” Buck spreads his arms wide in front of a small plaque that reads: SAINT LOUIS CEMETERY NUMBER ONE.

“Buck,” Eddie sighs, putting one hand on his hip, “please tell me you did not fly me two thousand miles to New Orleans just to visit a graveyard.”

Buck taps the plaque, a huge smile still plastered on his face. “Cemetery,” he corrects. “A graveyard refers to a burial ground within a churchyard.”

Eddie pinches the bridge of his nose. “Why do I get the feeling that you have about a hundred different facts ready to throw at me?”

“Because you know me so well.”

Buck swings an arm around Eddie’s neck and begins dragging him inside the cemetery walls. Eddie leans into Buck like it’s second nature, because it is, and resists the urge to wrap an arm around his waist.

“Fact number one,” Buck drops his arm as they cross the threshold, much to Eddie’s dismay, “built in 1789, this is the city’s oldest—and still active—cemetery.”

Eddie rakes his eyes over his surroundings. Dilapidated mausoleums and crumbling tombs tower over them; the haunted faces of statues that stand guard had certainly seen better days.

“You don’t say.”

“See this?” Buck pulls Eddie’s attention over to a concrete wall lined top to bottom with windows laid over with brick. “These are called wall vaults. Each of these bricked over sections are actually burial sites. And here, look!”

Buck crouches down and points to the ground. “See how this one is about half the size of the others?”

Eddie nods when Buck looks up at him, unable to hide his fond smile.

“Some of them are only partially visible like this because the rest are underground.” Buck stands and bumps his shoulder lightly against Eddie’s. “They used to be above ground. That’s evidence that New Orleans is slowly sinking.”

Eddie has always been interested in anything Buck has to say. He could recite the phonebook and Eddie would be enraptured by just the sound of his voice. But this is actually turning out to be a pretty interesting trip and they haven’t even made it far into the cemetery yet. Must have something to do with the company.

They walk deeper into the maze-like grounds, their shoulders or hands brushing every other step and sending thrills through Eddie everywhere they touch. Eddie’s happy to follow Buck around and listen to him prattle on with more facts and details about New Orleans tradition than should ever be allowed in his brain. They could be the last two people on the planet and Eddie would never notice; he would be too consumed by Buck’s presence to care. That’s probably why he doesn’t notice that they’re completely alone in the cemetery.

The sun is beginning to set when Buck starts slowing down. His steps come to a halt in front of an off-white, nondescript tomb that’s stacked three-high.

“They say,” Buck says in a low voice, turning to face Eddie, “that this is one of the most haunted cemeteries in the country.”

“Do they,” Eddie intones, unimpressed.

“Mhmm.”

“And who is supposed to be haunting us?”

Buck steps closer, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and tilts his head so his lips are at Eddie’s ear. Eddie sucks in an audible breath, goosebumps ghosting over his skin as Buck whispers in his ear.

“You’re standing at her grave.”

A shiver snakes down his spine and he jumps back half a step, his nerves officially on edge. Buck steps to the side and sweeps an arm out at the plaque that reads:

MARIE LAVEAU

THIS GREEK REVIVAL TOMB IS

REPUTED BURIAL PLACE OF THIS

NOTORIOUS “VOODOO QUEEN”.

A MYSTIC CULT, VOODOOISM, OF

AFRICAN ORIGIN, WAS BROUGHT

TO THIS CITY FROM SANTO DOMINGO

AND FLOURISHED IN 19TH CENTURY.

MARIE LAVEAU WAS THE MOST

WIDELY KNOWN OF MANY

PRACTITIONERS OF THE CULT.

“They say her spirit wanders all throughout New Orleans,” Buck is at Eddie’s side again, facing the tomb with his arms crossed loosely over his chest. “But she’s also been seen here many times walking through the tombs. You can tell it’s her by the red and white turban she wears on her head.”

Buck turns his head to smirk at Eddie, which he matches with a raised eyebrow. But Buck’s expression changes then; his eyes widen slowly, focused on something just over Eddie’s head, his mouth agape.

“Oh my god. Eddie,” Buck gasps, tugging roughly on Eddie’s sleeve.

Eddie whips around just in time to see—

Absolutely nothing.

“Dammit, Buck!” Eddie gives him a hard shove and walks a few steps away to try and ease his heart rate back down.

Buck is doubled over, laughing so hard it’s silent. Eddie plants his hands on his hips and glares. “You’re an ass.”

“I can’t believe that got you!” Buck howls.

Eddie scrunches his face. “It didn’t–”

“It did!” Buck straightens, still laughing, and tries working his way over to Eddie who turned and is now walking away. “Oh, come on, it was funny. You don’t even believe in ghosts!”

That stops him. Eddie drops his shoulders and tilts his head back, waiting for Buck to catch up. “I’m taking your window seat on the flight back.”

“Lucky for you, I already gave you the window seat.”

Eddie was ready to be annoyed with him for the rest of the night, but it’s kind of impossible when he’s so thoughtful and selfless without even trying. He looks up at Buck fondly, a soft smile settling on his face. Buck tries ducking his head to hide his blush, but Eddie sees it anyway.

“Alright, come on,” Buck takes Eddie’s hand in his and tugs him forward. “We don’t want the Voodoo Queen to take you.”

Every one of his nerve endings have been vibrating with the need to touch Buck, so he grips his hand tighter.

“Wait, she doesn’t…actually take people, does she?”

Buck gasps in mock horror, a delighted smile spread over his features. “Edmundo Diaz, are you implying that ghosts are real?”

“No, I just—I mean…you know—I, uh…”

Buck graciously cuts off his incessant rambling, pulling him along to a different aisle. “She isn’t known to be aggressive, no. Only to those who insult her religion or her beliefs. Some people have been known to be scratched or pinched, some even shoved.”

Eddie isn’t sure what to say to that. He’s a skeptic, always has been, but there’s something about the atmosphere here in this towering city of the dead that makes him wonder what could be possible.

They’re still holding hands. Neither of them have made any attempt to separate and for that, Eddie is thankful. His stomach is so full of butterflies, he feels like a damn teenager. It would take an army of ghosts to get him to let go any time soon.

They walk like that, hand in hand, through the labyrinth of mausoleums and tombs, just as the sun sets and paints the entire cemetery in darkness. The only light comes from the occasional spotlight or vigil light along their path.

“Omnia Ab Uno,” Eddie reads as they stop in front of an impressively tall and gleaming white pyramid. “That’s, uh…interesting.”

“It means ‘all from one’ in Latin,” Buck says softly. Eddie tilts his head in question and Buck smirks. “This is Nicolas Cage’s tomb.”

Eddie turns his head back to the pyramid, eyebrows scrunched together. “Nicolas Cage is alive.” Then, a panicked look crosses his face. “Right?!”

Buck laughs and laces their fingers together. “Right. Remember what I said at the beginning of this date? It’s still an active gravesite. Anyone can buy a plot.”

“Really?” A date. A date. A date. This is a date.

“Yep, if you’ve got forty grand to spare, anyone can be buried here.” Bucks runs his thumb across the back of Eddie’s hand.

Eddie’s heart rate spikes and he’s suddenly very interested in the structure of the pyramid. He thinks he’s sweating. He probably is sweating—it’s south Louisiana in October after all.

“Would you want to be buried in a pyramid?” Eddie blurts and mentally kicks himself.

“Eh, I think I’ll pass on the above-ground structures,” Buck chuckles.

Eddie’s silent for a few moments. He doesn’t understand what’s wrong with him, why he’s so nervous all of a sudden. It’s his best friend; it’s Buck.

Because it matters, says a voice in his head.

Eddie remembers something from earlier and turns so his entire body is facing Buck, their hands still clasped. “Why is it so empty here?”

“Oh. You know. The…ghosts,” Buck fumbles, looking anywhere but at Eddie.

Eddie pulls at his hand, pulls him closer, and Buck finally looks down. Eddie’s eyes are soft, his eyebrows drawn together in question. That’s ultimately what has Buck folding like a lawn chair.

He sighs deeply, “Fine. I–I know someone, okay?”

Eddie nods, “Oh, sure. You know someone. In the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Yes, I’m following.”

Buck rolls his eyes, grinning. “I’m serious. They got me this special pass so we could come here after they closed.”

“...For our date.” Eddie watches him for any sign of backing out, but Buck only smiles bigger and moves closer.

“Yes. For our date.”

Buck drops Eddie’s hand only to cup his cheek. He leans in until their noses brush, waiting for Eddie’s reaction. Eddie’s breaths are shaky, but he’s not going to pull away. He tips his head back slightly and that’s all it takes before Buck is gently pressing their lips together. He moves his arms around Eddie’s waist and Eddie threads his fingers through Buck’s hair, deepening their kiss until they’re both breathless.

Eddie smiles against Buck’s lips, pulling back only to rest their foreheads together. “Did you just kiss me in front of Nicolas Cage’s pyramid tomb?”

Buck laughs and wraps his arms tighter around Eddie. “Yeah, I think I did.”

Eddie hums and cups Buck’s cheek gently in his hand. “Do it again.”

Buck does as he’s bid, slotting their bodies together from head to toe. Eddie never would have considered a cemetery to be romantic before tonight. He thinks he would fly four thousand miles to visit all the cemeteries if it meant he could keep kissing Buck like this.

[theyreonlynoodlesmike]

A Reading: Part 9 (Poly!Lost Boys x Fem!Witch Reader)

<- Previous Chapter Next Chapter ->

Warnings: cursing, mentions of death, implied past abusive parents,

Word Count: 2.7k

Trying to finish a spell when Paul was around was proving to be difficult. You and David had already gone over everything once with eachother, and then again with the others. What you'd told Mr. Emerson and Mrs. Johnson, what you were going to do, and a few ideas as to how to do it. Really, letting them have Max wasn't going to be difficult. They just didn't have to get in Mr. Emerson's way, and he needed to do it before Lucy could be turned. If anything, the ball was in his court.

The only thing that was an issue was whether or not they'd go back on their word. The boys could let the Emerson's do what they needed, but how could they trust they'd listen to your logic and not come stake them during the day? Plus, your deal with them had put them in a semi-undesireable situation. Sure, the boys didn't really want to leave, but now they were being forced to stay. If only for the sake of holding onto the territory. So, they didn't have the luxury of leaving town to put distance between them and the Emerson's, and it wasn't like they didn't know already where they lived. That's where you came in.

It's why you were warding the entire front room. You'd gone with David to get your trailer and driven it to the top of Hudson's Bluff. They'd assured you no one would touch it, and you'd emptied anything that you'd really wanted to keep. And anything you would need to protect the boys. You'd done most of the big spells already. Made it so no one would see the entrance, done some warding to make them confused and turn back, and you were even considering making a spell that only allowed those that were invited to enter. You'd grinned when you suggested it to David, but he didn't find the subtle joke nearly as entertaining. Or, at least, he didn't show it.

You were sitting on the floor, trying to put up some minor alarms, but Paul had wrapped his arms tightly around you waist as he sat behind you. He was nosing at your neck, his cold lips and stubble making you ticklish. When you tried to pull away, letting out a soft noise at the feeling, Paul only responded by rubbing his cheek against your skin and tickling you further. You squeaked, reaching around to swat at him and turning to look at him. Quickly, you said,

"Stop it. I'm trying to focus." But your words were hardly firm. He was smiling at you. A curl of his lips that lit up his face. He moved closer, resting his chin back on your shoulder.

"You've been focusing for hours." He said, a whine in his voice. You tried to suppress your smile, but it was hard. It hadn't been hours, but it hadn't just been a few minutes either. Paul was clearly the most needy out of the boys. He always needed something to do, someone to bother. And it seemed that the others had been taking turns for years, so they were more than eager to leave you stranded with him.

"Do you wanna be safe or not?" You asked, having finished tying up a knot. Paul huffed at that, pulling you closer to his chest. After a second of silence, he slowly began to rock the two of you from side to side. It seemed he could either stay still or stay quiet. Both wasn't an option. You turned around to give him a look, and he let out another huff.

"We'll be fine. We got a super hot witch to protect us." He said, and you could already hear that the smile had returned to his face. You rolled your eyes, turning so you could flick him in the forehead. He gave you a pout, quickly saying, "That wasn't nice. Kiss it better." And it earned a laugh from you. Though, the blonde didn't stop pouting until you did. 

"There." You said, half turned around in his arms. He gave you a grin afterwards, cupping your chin with one of his hands and drawing you in to meld his mouth over yours. You let out a giggle, humming and pressing closer to the slide of his lips against yours. Your hand came up to wrap around his shoulder, holding him close. It was just a short slide of your lips, and a peck to both sides of his mouth afterwards, but Paul was hesitant to let you escape. He kept drawing you back in, even if the kiss was chaste and left him only wanting more. You pressed kisses to his cheek, reaching up to hold his face so you could turn it. He'd let his eyes close, giggling softly as you kissed him all over before pressing another short, sweet kiss to his lips. "Now, you have to let me work, okay?" You told him, cupping both of his cheeks. He nodded, a smile still on his face and his eyes slowly opening. You turned back around, content to finish you work, and Paul cuddled as close to your back as he could. 

When you were officially done, Dwayne was forcing you to eat. Truthfully, you'd forgotten. So much had been on your mind, you hadn't even realized that you were hungry. You knew Marko was going out, vaguely remembered him asking you what type of food you liked, and you hadn't connected the dots before the brunette was pulling you up from your spot on the gravel, detaching you from Paul in the process, and insisting you eat some of the takeout they'd gotten. 

He sat besides you on the couch, if not to just make sure that Paul didn't distract you. Marko passed you a water bottle as well, kicking Paul's leg to make him scoot over so he could steal the spot on your other side. Paul was reluctant, but scooted nonetheless until he was sitting on the arm of the couch. He and Marko were bickering, throwing comments back and forth while Markos arm went around your shoulders. Dwayne placed a hand on your thigh, one that was too high to be suggestive. You looked over at him, giving him a shy smile. He gave a small one back. You and the boys had relaxed. While you weren't out of the woods yet, the small comfort of momentary safety was too good to deny. David was already sitting in his chair, and looked as though he was about to start talking. Whatever he was going to say died on his lips, and you watched as he reached for his chest.

Silence cut though the room, and you quickly looked around. Each of the boys had a strange look on their face, a mix of pain and realization, and they'd each fallen suddenly silent. It took them a moment to shake it off, with Paul being the first to do so. He quite literally shook his head, rubbing at a spot over his chest before he said,

"Huh." You gave him a quizzical look, seeing that the rest of the boys seemed to be slowly recovering as well. At first, your mind had gone to the worst. That Mrs. Johnson had decided to go back on her word and do something to hurt them. You still didn't know what happened, but, before you could ask, David said,

"I guess Max just dropped Lucy back to her house." And you didn't have to guess what had happened after that.

***

The boys were quiet, the feeling of peace and calm having left. You didn't know what had replaced it, or if it had been even replaced at all. The boys seemed to be going through the motions, trying to adjust. They weren't quite empty or hollow, but a piece of their lives was gone. They seemed shocked, like they'd expected more. You'd expected more. After everything over the past couple of days, you expected something dramatic. Maybe the boys would even be tasked in helping with their sires demise. From what you knew, they might not have minded. You'd expected to have to do more. But, it'd been taken care of. Fate had followed its predetermined path, with or without the boys. It was a little underwhelming to say the least.

Still, you had seen the looks on their faces when it happened. The feeling of their sire dying, of their sire suddenly being gone. You had gotten a little information about him out of David, and you imagined that it was like someone had suddenly cut the strings off of a puppet. At first, none of them knew what to do.

The first day, no one had come. You'd stayed up, kept your alarms wound tight, but not a soul had come even close to the entrance of their cave. And when they awoke for the night, the four of them were tugging you along. They drove to a house in the suburbs, one that was bigger and nicer than the other witch's. They undid the gate, and David led them up to the door. David, out of habit, went to toss his half finished cigarette. It took him a second, the second after he pulled it out of his mouth, for him to realize that Max wasn't there. He wasn't going to say anything if David smoked, especially if he smoked in the house. David put it back between his teeth, and reached for a key hidden under a plant. 

When they opened the door, you jumped when you heard the barking. You moved behind Marko, who was holding up the back of the line. He laughed and gave you a smile, putting an arm around your waist to keep you from running too far.

"It's just Thorn." He said, and he slithered through the rest of his brothers to get on one knee and greet the dog. But, as you stared at the white beast, you knew that wasn't just a dog. Hellhound. It screamed, especially when it seemed to only be growling at you. "Hey, bud." Marko said, scratching the dog behind its ears. "She's a friend of ours, don't worry about her. You were probably here alone all day, huh?" Marko said, and it almost as if he sounded a little bad for the beast. You were wary around the hellhound, but Paul was intertwining his hand in yours and tugging you forward. 

The house was nice. Really nice. It was a staple of 80s taste, with artwork hanging off the walls, a jukebox in one corner, and all different kinds of light fixtures over the walls. You looked around again, wondering just what kind of man, vampire, Max had been. Even though you were sure the boys had heard you, none of them seemed to care to answer. As you looked around more and more, you saw how odd it was to have the boys standing inside of it. Everything seemed purposely placed, if not a little empty in some spaces. The only thing that didn't seem to fit inside was the boys themselves.

Marko was leading Thorn to the kitchen, presumably to feed him. Paul let go of your hand to hop over the couch, landing on it with a huff. He laughed to himself, reaching for one of the perfectly arranged magazines and flipping through it. Dwayne stopped in the living room, looking around for a moment. His eyes and face were unreadable, but you watched as he reached into his own coat pocket. He pulled out a cigarette, and you watched as he lit it. Dwayne wasn't the chimney that David was, and seemed to only smoke occasionally. Suddenly, it became hard to look at him, realizing he must've been having a moment to himself. Quickly, you looked to David. He had paused just the same to look around, but, when he caught your eye, he flicked his hand to motion you to follow him.

You did, following the flutter of his black trenchcoat as he led you through the house. He went to what you assumed was Max's office, and went to one of his bookshelves. He grabbed one of the books, pulling it, and you watched as a fake line of books opened to reveal a safe. David didn't need to look to find a combination, as he seemed to have it memorized, and pulled out whatever documents you must've come for. You stood besides him, looking over his shoulder to see that Max had written a will. You arched a brow, and then looked up at David. He didn't say a word, just pulled the cigarette from his lips to let out an exhale of smoke. You tried not to think about whether it was intentional that he'd blown it right at the will.

David ripped it open and pulled the document out. You watched as he read, and David let out another long gust of smoke. He pulled the cigarette from his lips, and extinguished it on the document. Under his breath, he muttered,

"Dick." And passed the documents to you to hold as he passed by you. You opened your mouth, but David was already half-way back down the way you'd came. You looked down at the document, figuring David wouldn't have given it to you if he cared whether you read it or not. You looked down at the bottom, where it detailed who would get his possessions. You furrowed your brows, wondering why David's reaction had been so adverse. As far as you could tell, Max had left them everything.

You went downstairs with the document in hand, and only caught the tail-end of their conversation. To your surprise, Paul said,

"Fucking dick." As he sat up. He threw the magazine to the side, and you gave them each a confused glance. Marko was sitting on the couch, having dug into Max's pantry and taken a bag of chips, and you watched as Paul yanked it from him. You honestly didn't understand why they were upset, but you were almost too afraid to ask.

"It's 'cause," Marko paused to pick at his teeth. "He knew how we felt about all this shit. We told him time and time again that we didn't want it and now-" He stopped himself, gesturing to the room. He didn't have to fill in the blanks for you to know what he meant. Now, they had to take care of it.

"It's his last attempt to get us to do what he wanted." Dwayne said, and your eyes flicked to him. He ripped the cigarette from his lips, throwing it to the floor and crushing it under his shoe. "Take care of the store, live in his house, make something of ourselves. His capitalist dream." He continued, and you could see the frustration in his brow. From what you knew, Max seemed like a tyrant of a father figure. You approached him slowly, taking his hand in your own and giving it a squeeze. He glanced over at you for a moment, before he sighed and eased up on the cigarette he was trying to grind into the floor. David added,

"It's why he wanted Lucy. Figured he could make us listen if we had a mom." David said, and you could hear the resentment in his voice. You looked at all of them. They seemed to be simmering, half-way towards boiling and spilling over. So, with the will in one hand and Dwaynes hand in the other, you said,

"Fuck him." And the boys looked at you in surprise. Those words had definitely caught their attention. "He's dead, you're not. So what? Either you guys are loaded now or you can burn this will and forget about it." The second you suggested it, most of the boys seemed to prefer the latter. But, still, the life hadn't truly returned to them. You thought for a moment, trying to think of something that would truly lift their spirits. It only took a second before you said, "Either way, nothing's gonna change. Not unless you want it to." And that seemed to be the best thing you could say to the group of vampires.

[maatryoshkaa]

young god | epilogue

chapters: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | epilogue

word count: 4.4k

description: it’s been five years since the Miroh Heights murder cases came to a close — and five long, bittersweet years since you’d caught a glimpse of Han Jisung. Things in Miroh Heights have changed drastically since then — but when Felix sets you up on another blind date in an attempt to help you move on from the past, you realise that, once again, you’ve signed up for much more than you bargained for.

masterlist

recommended listening: stray kids - “sunshine”

epilogue.

“See ya, Miss l/n!”

You turned to wave back at the little girl who had called your name, her round eyes visibly bright from the waiting room of your clinic. Seven years old, front teeth just beginning to come in. One of her hands clutched a half-unwrapped lollipop as her mother held onto the other. 

The first time you had seen them, the child had been unwilling to speak — bullied relentlessly at school, her mother had informed you through a veil of desperate tears — but now, her laughter filled the warm air, traumas that had once been etched into a too-young face already beginning to heal and fade.

Evening sunshine warmed your cheeks the moment you stepped out of the building’s doors, a light breeze rustling the papers in your hand as you quickly tucked them into your bag. “Five years of graduate school hasn’t made you more organised,” Felix often teased you, and you would smack his shoulder in retaliation.

Five years hadn’t changed your friendship in the slightest, either—and you had to admit you were beyond grateful for that.

As always, the city around you was humming with life: evening rush hour, with people darting here and there, frantically flagging down taxis and catching their buses. Usually, on days like these, you should have been hopping into the first cab home and collapsing like a corpse as soon as you reached your apartment. But today, you remembered with a sigh, was not going to be one of those days. 

“Hey, Doctor l/n!”

You whipped your head towards the voice, a smile spreading across your tired features as you saw who it belonged to. In a slightly jaded Mini Cooper—second hand, of course, but worked just like new — Yang Jeongin waved at you from the driver’s seat.  

“I’m not a doctor, ‘innie,” you reminded him playfully as he unlocked the passenger door and let you climb in.

“Not a doctor yet,” he corrected you, grinning. “Besides, ‘child therapist’ doesn’t have as much of a ring to it.”

You rolled your eyes, laughing, and waved at another one of your patients as Jeongin started the engine. “You really didn’t have to offer to drive me, you know — the streets are a nightmare during this hour.”

“It’s not that far,” Jeongin protested, “Plus, I barely get to see you now, you’re so busy.” You didn’t have the heart to argue. The kid loved being behind the wheel so much, he made it seem like you were doing him a favour.

You watched Jeongin turn onto the main road, squeezing the car in between a van and a motorcyclist. He really had grown up over the last few years — his hair was darker now, remarkably sharp cheekbones overtaking his once-rounded cherub cheeks — but in some ways, nothing had changed at all. He still had that natural knack of brightening whatever room he stepped in — the Yang Jeongin effect, Hyunjin called it. And his heart was still too big for his own good: you remembered how he had adamantly refused to take the money Jisung kept offering him after the case had finally closed, and when Hyunjin had asked him why, Jeongin had simply replied, “After everything that’s happened, it doesn’t feel like he’s the one who owes me.”

On the other hand, Jeongin had been more than happy to take Prosecutor Kang’s compensation money instead, and had finally visited a car dealership with you and Hyunjin. 

The moment he had seen the Mini-Cooper — a beat-up thing from the 90s that you were amazed was still running — the younger boy’s eyes had lit up. “It’s just...it looks like the one our family used to have, before...the incident,” he had explained sheepishly, making you and Hyunjin exchange a look. And so, after a fiery back-and-forth between you and the salesman—not to mention a few sleepless nights at the mechanic’s — the rest was history.

The light turned green, and you spotted a photograph wobbling on the dashboard — a laughing child you recognised immediately as Jeongin. Behind him, a woman with a familiar wide smile had her arms around a man with eyes resembling a fox’s, with none of the slyness. “How’s your dad these days?”

“Mostly stays at home taking care of my mum, but he swears he wouldn’t have it any other way.” Jeongin turned his head to you excitedly, as if a thought just hit him. “She got out of bed a couple days ago, you know? The first time ever since my dad left.”

Your mouth fell open in a surprised smile, and Jeongin continued, “He’s real excited he got to teach me how to drive, too. I think he feels like he missed out on a lot of things, like...walking me home from school. Teaching me how to ride a bike. Graduation.” He shrugged. His words might have sounded sad at first, but you could see the way the lines of Jeongin’s face were more relaxed now, at peace. 

“Mind if I make a quick stop?” Jeongin asked abruptly, and you checked your watch before shaking your head lightly.

“I’m still about twenty minutes early. We’ve got plenty of time.”

He turned onto a familiar street, and you rolled down the window as Glow Cafe slowly came into view. It was just as busy as it had ever been — even the cars were stalling by the curb — but Hwang Hyunjin spotted you almost immediately, waving through the glass window. Quickly hopping out, Jeongin popped the trunk open, and you watched him haul two crates of coffee beans into the bustling cafe. The once-famed “delivery boy” of Miroh Heights only really did deliveries for Glow Cafe now, after Hyunjin had offered Jeongin a position as a barista until he graduated—and although he wasn’t the best with his hands (or his memory, for that matter), Hyunjin didn’t mind in the slightest.

“Him being here is more than enough for business. You should see the students flock in here every morning just to catch a glimpse of him.” The former barista snorted. “What’d I tell you? They’re eating him right up.”

They waved at Jeongin now as he jogged obliviously out of the cafe, Hyunjin’s laughs muted by the glass as he threw you a knowing wink. He had graduated himself, two years ago, officially inheriting the business after his grandmother had passed away. Glow Cafe had since come a long way, with Hyunjin always at the forefront of new design ideas and enthusiastically telling you about his plans to expand even more in the future.           

“Get this: ‘CEO Hwang, the most eligible bachelor of Miroh Heights,’” Felix held up his hands as if picturing a giant headline, giving his signature wolf whistle as you burst into laughter and Hyunjin kicked the blond man in the shin. “Ow!”

“How did you even get into the press with those cheesy titles?” Hyunjin  groaned.

“Not just ‘get into the press’, ‘jinnie,” you reminded him, giggling, “he’s the head journalist now!”

It was true—with his impeccable wit and seamless way with words, it came to nobody’s surprise when Felix maneuvered his way to the top of the local press in a matter of years. The head of the press still loathed him with a biting passion— “I can feel her glares all the way from her office,” Felix retorted — and rumour had it that the two seemed to fire shots at each other all day long. The image of a powder-faced, middle-aged woman bickering with your notoriously insufferable best friend made you laugh, but you also knew deep down that Felix always took his job more seriously than he let on. His eloquent articles had gotten his name out across the city in no time,  and so you took comfort in knowing that — no matter how hard the head of the press bared her teeth—nobody could touch Lee Felix now. 

Five years, you thought to yourself wistfully, eyes catching a familiar detective’s office as Jeongin drove past. What a trip down memory lane. You’d seldom come by this part of town since then, and seeing the familiar buildings sent a flood of memories and mixed feelings stirring in your chest. 

The well-loved Detective Bang, much to the disappointment of adoring students and professors alike, had moved abroad to a bigger city—whether he had been taken by a new precinct, or a new big case, you couldn’t be sure. “Rumour has it he’s doing undercover work now,” Seungmin had mentioned to you once in passing, “We haven’t heard from him in a while, but he’s making a big name for himself out there, that’s for sure.”

The District Nine police station whizzed by you in a blur, and more of the prosecutor’s words rang through your head.

“Meanwhile, the chief of police keeps insisting he’s glad to be rid of him, but we all know he secretly misses Chan.” Seungmin had shaken his head, and you had smiled at the image of the stoic police captain—chief, now—grudgingly sulking over the loss of his best friend.   

Jeongin made one last turn, and the narrow buildings opened up into the heart of Miroh Heights—the oldest part of town, where the roller rink, record shop, and the diner were. The sight of Mia’s Diner made you sink down instinctively in the passenger seat, and you couldn’t keep the raw dread out of your voice as you let out a long sigh. 

Jeongin gave you sympathetic look. “For someone who’s going on a blind date, you don’t sound too happy.”

“That’s because I’m not, Jeongin. I don’t even know why Felix keeps insisting on these. The last time I agreed to one was—” you broke off before you could finish what you were saying, the unspoken words echoing in your mind. The last time I agreed to one was when I met Jisung.

That’s right—the last official blind date you had been on, you had met Han Jisung — and he had turned your entire world upside down. For years afterwards, you had told yourself that you wouldn’t take that day back for the entire world, but now...now, you weren’t so sure.

After all, how could you be sure of someone you hadn’t heard from in over five years?

The rehabilitation centre didn’t allow letters in or out— you had learned that the hard way after your first letters had been sent directly back to your doorstep. Usually, they had told you, if things went well, patients could start correspondence again after a year or so—but you had gotten absolutely nothing. Not a single word. 

Five years—he should have been out by now. He could have been anywhere, doing anything—but he certainly hadn’t remembered to write or even call you. 

Had he really forgotten about you?

“Five years is a long time, y/n,” Felix told you gently, after you had adamantly refused the blind date he kept insisting on. “People...change, and maybe he’s—moved on.”

Moved on. 

You didn’t know how to tell Felix how much the thought of that hurt more than you were willing to admit, how this was the sole reason why you hadn’t been able to go on a single date for the past five years. You didn’t know how to tell him that Jisung hadn’t left your mind since the moment he had disappeared from your sight, five years ago, in the corridor of that courthouse. 

“I’ll be waiting,” Jisung had said.  And yet he was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Felix wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“You’re in your mid-twenties now, y/n. Loosen up a little, yeah? You’re allowed to go on dates, for goodness’ sake.”

“I’m hopeless, ‘lix. I’m pretty sure the stray dog on the street has a more interesting love life than me.”

“Maybe,” Felix mused, “I think I saw it running around with a litter of puppies the other da—ow!”

“You okay? You look kind of sick,” Jeongin remarked, pulling you out of your thoughts. “Got everything you need?”

You resisted the urge to laugh. If only Jeongin knew how you had prepared for this date—by mapping out all the ways you were going to end it as quickly as possible. Faking food poisoning? Check. Arrange a time for a friend to call you and pretend an emergency came up? Check— although Hyunjin had had a strange glint in his eyes when he had agreed to it. Worst comes to worst? Pepper spray, check. You let out a slow exhale. “Sure. All set.”

You thanked Jeongin with a hug and hopped out of the car. Just as you began walking towards the diner, you heard him call out behind you.

“Oh, yeah, Felix told me pass on a message — from him to you.” You turned back, and Jeongin gave a boyish grin that was half apologetic, half laughing. “‘Go get ‘em, tiger!’”

You gave an exasperated cry and yanked open the diner door.

━━━━━━━━

You were beginning to wonder if you’d been stood up.

Mia’s Diner was usually busy, bustling with students and townspeople alike, and tonight it truly was: booths packed with couples both old and new, laughter and the smell of food wafting through the warm air as friends and families celebrated the start of summer. The jukebox was on and playing an old disco song you liked but didn’t know the name of, the checkered floor tiles clicking with the sounds of brisk waitresses’ heels and dancing feet.

You didn’t know why Felix had insisted on coming here, of all places, what with the mixed emotions and memories you had tied to it, but you had to admit that the jovial atmosphere of Mia’s Diner on a Friday night never really disappointed. You found yourself relaxing slightly—just slightly, bobbing your head lightly to the music.

“Mia’s Diner?” You repeated incredulously. “Seriously, Felix, do you only know one date location? For the so-called ‘Matchmaker of Miroh Heights’, you’re sure lacking in the variety department.”

“Easy, tiger. Just trust me on this one, okay? You’re gonna owe me one.”

“I’m not—” you began indignantly, but Felix continued.

“Plus, the poor guy in question hasn’t been on a date in years, either. You both need this.”

“Years? Are you setting me up with a hermit?” 

“Oh, yeah. A big-time loser, seriously— but don’t tell him I said that. Just — indulge him a bit, okay, y/n? I promise you won’t regret it.”

And so, for the second time, Felix’s schemes and pleading puppy eyes had gotten you here—sitting at an empty booth, waiting for a blind date. He hadn’t even bothered to show you a picture of the man in question. You couldn’t help the smile from slowly slipping from your face as each minute passed, and you nibbled your lip anxiously.

Your date was thirty minutes late.

You peered out the window, at the lights of the town glowing a faint neon  against the clear evening skies. Each time a car filled in a parking space, you sat up, craning your neck to see if it was him—before slumping back down in disappointment. Five years, you thought to yourself glumly. Five years, and you still had no luck with dates. Maybe you just had no luck with love, you thought dryly. You imagined Felix laughing later when you told him about it and sighed, a twinge of worry replacing the dread in your gut.

Had something gone wrong?

After turning the waitress away for the eighth time, you fished out your phone from your pocket, tapping on the foreign number Felix had given you. Zero new messages, zero missed calls. At least I can tell Felix I tried, you thought glumly. Maybe I should just call Jeongin again, and ask him to pick me up. And then you could drop by Glow Cafe for a bit, before trudging back to your apartment like a fallen soldier.

Just as you were punching in Jeongin’s name, feeling a sense of guilty relief wash over you, you vaguely registered the diner door swinging open beneath the lively music, and a pair of footsteps trying to shuffle past the dancing couples.

For a split second, you thought you saw a pair of tattered black Converse—laces untied, soles worn—but the mirage disappeared, and was replaced by a pair of dress shoes that eventually came to a stop at your booth. You sighed, fighting back the tears that had suddenly threatened to well in your eyes. Shit. This is not the time to be thinking about him. Why were you still thinking about him? And why on earth had you agreed to this? 

You lifted your gaze, trying to muster up a smile, hoping your disappointment didn’t show on your face— 

And immediately froze.

“Hello.”

Standing before you, looking almost like an apparition — a golden silhouette against the backdrop of the dim diner — was Han Jisung.

You had to blink several times to realise you weren’t hallucinating again. He looked...different, and yet in some ways, he looked entirely the same: his hair was shorter, but tousled as it had always been, cheeks flushed and breathless as if—as if he’d been running through a storm.

You felt your body moving before any intelligible thoughts could form in your head, pulling you forwards like a magnet until you were standing face-to-face, your shaky eyes darting across his features, not daring to believe what you were seeing.

All of a sudden, the glint in Hyunjin and Jeongin’s eyes made sense, Felix’s words replaying in your head as overwhelmed tears began welling in your eyes without warning.

“The poor guy in question hasn’t been on a date in years, either.”

“A big-time loser, seriously — but don’t tell him I said that. Just — indulge him a bit, okay, y/n? I promise you won’t regret it.”  

“Y-you—are such a dork,” you stammered out, one hand weakly hitting Jisung’s chest as you felt the tears finally spill down your face. “Han Jisung, you are such a d—” 

Your words were cut off when Jisung pulled you into his arms, his head falling to rest in the crook of your neck. Your shoulders shook with muffled sobs as you buried your face in his chest, memorising everything about this feeling, not wanting to take a single second for granted, memorising everything about him. Jisung no longer carried with him that scent of gasoline and fire — instead, he smelled faintly of lemongrass, and a hint of warm, fresh laundry.

“I missed you,” you finally whispered hoarsely, “I just—missed you, so much.”

He chuckled in your ear, the low, familiar hum stirring faint, faraway memories in your head, and you gripped onto his shirt harder, as if he would disappear completely if you didn’t hold on tight enough.

Jisung had found you in the crowded diner before you had seen him — just like the first time he had met you. And just like the first time, he had felt his breath hitch in his throat, hands hesitating on the door, wondering if he should turn back instead. He had watched you bob your head gently to the music, a small, tentative smile on your face.

You looked good — no, amazing. Different, and yet entirely the same. Kind, worried eyes catching him completely off guard, like the flash of a camera.

Just as bright.

Just as brilliant.

The truth was, there hadn’t been a single day where he hadn’t thought of you — of your voice, your touch, your laugh. Jisung had asked Felix for help the moment he had gotten released, but what he hadn’t forseen was your reaction.

“She won’t go on a blind date, mate,” Felix had informed him exasperatedly, “Took weeks of convincing. Good news, though — she finally caved. You sneaky, hopeless romantic bastard.”

She might have forgotten me, Jisung had thought. And even if you hadn’t, you might not even welcome the sight of him—after all, he hadn’t been in touch since he had left, all those years ago. But in the end, the inexplicable pull in his chest had grown unbearable, and he found himself walking towards you, wading through the crowd, feeling the ache in his heart softening with each step he took. All the way back to you.

You pulled away slowly, vision blurry as Jisung lifted a hand to cup your face, never taking eyes off yours. He had grown in the time you had been apart—he was taller, his once-lean frame stronger—and, most of all, there was a light in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“Hey, pretty girl,” he murmured softly, and you laughed in disbelief, “I think you’re my blind date.” 

“How—w-why—”

“I told you I wanted to do this all over again, didn’t I? And I promised that I would try to do it right this time.” Jisung smiled apologetically, wiping your tear stained cheeks with his thumb. “I’m sorry it took so long.”

You shook your head, eyes widening when you saw what he had been carefully clutching in his other hand: a small bouquet of sunflowers, their golden yellow petals as tousled as Jisung’s own blond locks. 

“Apparently they symbolise new beginnings,” Jisung said, pulling a stray petal from your hair and chuckling, “Keeping promises. Eternal happiness. That kind of thing.”

“Why didn’t you write?” You whispered, as Jisung tucked the bouquet into your hands. 

“I wanted to...to heal. In every sense of the word. I didn’t want to show you, until I...knew I was really better. Believe me, I wanted to.” Jisung’s voice dropped to a whisper, as if he were fighting back tears. “I wanted to, so, so badly.”

You shook your head, mumbling something about how much of a stubborn idiot he was, and Jisung’s laugh made a hesitant smile tug at your lips. As if sensing the lightening atmosphere, the waitress had promptly appeared behind Jisung and meekly cleared her throat, setting down the menu. Jisung turned back to look at you, his grin growing playful.

“I hope you’re hungry?”

The diner seemed to come back to you all at once in a flood of senses, the music and murmur of restaurant goers sending a pleasant hum through your veins as you and Jisung sat down. The night went by in a warm blur, Jisung telling you about his life at the institute, the unlikely friends he had made, the dreams he hadn’t realised he had. 

“I’m going to go back to school,” he admitted, one hand rubbing the back of his neck shyly. “I’ll be a bit behind, but...I want to study something I actually like this time.”

You had told him about how you had been working in a child therapy ward ever since you had graduated, about all the children you had met and loved and cared for. As you talked about them, you saw a wistful look in Jisung’s eyes, and a thought crossed your mind. “Have you heard anything from—from Minho?” 

He gave a small smile, but shook his head. “Rarely. It hasn’t been long since he was released, but he said he was planning on going abroad. Doing some travelling. I think...he’ll reach out when he’s ready.” He then added, as an afterthought, “And if he doesn’t, I wouldn’t blame him.”

The sad simplicity of Jisung’s words stirred a strange feeling you couldn’t quite place in your chest, and your mind flashed back to the cold-eyed coroner and his stiff smiles; then, to the raw pain that had cracked through his strained features the last time you had caught a glimpse of him. Maybe you would meet again one day, or maybe that truly would be the last you ever heard of him.

Healing of the mind, you knew, was a strange process—one that always took much longer than you would expect. There were always scars that reopened along the way, old hidden wounds that surfaced right when you least expected them. There would always be answers you might never find, you mused sadly, closure you might never get.

But sometimes, you thought as you listened to Jisung talk, memorizing the feeling of his fingers interlaced with yours, sometimes we can only hope to hold onto what we already have. 

The end of the night drew closer, and when Jisung and you had stepped outside the diner, the city was swimming in the dark ochre of the setting sun. Eventually, the two of you ended up back in the wide garden behind the hospital, your laughs and giddy conversation slowly hushing into softer murmurs. In the distance, the rush of cars on the main road grew sparser, the windows of the buildings around you flickering to life one by one like young stars. Here, though, as you rested your head on Jisung’s shoulder beneath a willow tree, the world seemed to stand still, and all was quiet.

You heard Jisung yelp suddenly and looked down to see a familiar dog pattering around your feet—a stray, with scraggly fur like an overgrown teddy bear that had been through the wash one too many times. It immediately pounced onto Jisung, beginning to lick your boyfriend’s face like no tomorrow.

“Oof! Hey there, old buddy.”

You laughed, scooping the dog off—only after it had gotten a few slobbery licks in—and shivered slightly as a cool night wind swept past you. Noticing, Jisung shrugged off his jacket, draping it over your shoulders as you raised a teasing eyebrow at the cliche move.

“It looks good on you,” Jisung insisted, and you laughed incredulously.

“Your jacket?” You asked, ruffling the dog’s ears as it curled up at your feet.

At that, Jisung looked back up at you—seeing the faint outline of your smile in the dark, your eyes sparkling as you looked back at him expectantly, obliviously—and in that moment, Jisung wondered what he had ever done to deserve someone as perfect as you. 

After a beat, he replied, “Happiness. Happy looks good on you, love.”

Your mouth parted in surprise—both at his words, and at the unexpected name—and Jisung took the chance to lean in and kiss you, pressing his soft lips to yours. Gently, at first — carefully, but as you began to kiss him back, you felt Jisung slowly relax. You kissed him the way you had wanted to for so long, feeling the years of distance, of heartache, of endless waiting finally unravel beneath your lips. His hands reached up to gingerly cup your face, pulling you closer into him as if he never intended to let go. 

Happy looks good on you, too, Han Jisung, you wanted to say once you pulled away, forehead still lightly pressed to his. And you deserve it, more than anything. You watched Jisung’s features come back into focus beneath the dim moonlight. His gaze was fixed on yours, filled with nothing but pure adoration, and you felt a sudden surge of warmth coursing through your chest. 

I love you, you wanted to tell him, more than you could ever know — but something in the warm yet playful look in Jisung’s eyes told you that he was already thinking the exact same thing.

So you just smiled, and leaned in to kiss him again.

                                                YOUNG GOD | END

ryu says: to you — yes, you, who has reached the end of this series! this epilogue is my way of saying a big thank you to those who stayed along for the entire wild ride that was young god. thank you for loving the characters, the world of miroh heights, and of course, the story! there are easter eggs and full-circle moments all throughout this epilogue, so i hope you enjoy and have fun finding them all ^^

disclaimer: in my opinion, all epilogues are open to interpretation: i’ve left some characters’ stories untold, some loose ends untied for this exact reason. miroh heights’ story has finally come to a close here, but what happens to the characters from this moment on continues in the reader’s mind now. 

all that cheesy, pretentious stuff aside, i hope to see you in the next story!

[avinaccia]

A Completely Objective and Logical Ranking of Every Hetalia Character Song

New character songs are dropping,  I have too much time on my hands, let’s go. 

Also here’s a Youtube playlist for the ~✨nostalgia✨~

Bring it on in the tags 

71. Ah Legendary Class⭐The Awesome Me Highway [Prussia]: Absolutely tearing it up on the drums and on the vocal cords alike (I pray for Atsushi Kousaka). Great for the memes. 

70.  Happy Thoughts Museum [???]: This is listed as an official song but I had literally never heard of the title. Then I listened to it and BAM! Smack back to 2013 watching the teasers for the show on Funimation. Not sure I’d count it as a character song though...

69. (Nice)  My Song that is written by me for me [Prussia]: Deafened me but I can appreciate the industrial grind.

68.  My House is...Quiet. ~With the Trolls~ [Norway]: I have never heard this song, nor can I find any version of it online. By default it goes here and I am so sorry Norge.

67.  Make a Wish to Santa♪ [Sealand]: The discordant notes and childish exuberance only serve to make this sound like a demonic plea to Santa to eliminate the singer’s enemies.

66.  Heaven and Hell on Earth [Rome]: Rome sounds like he’s been in the corner of a restroom. Extra points for the metal version, minus points for the fact that the beach scene was replayed like 1764 times.

65. Canada Complete Introduction [Canada]: Quiet af until Kumacheerio shows up and blows out your speakers. they did you dirty my darling 😔

64.  It’s Easy!!! [America]: I don't think any video of this has ever stayed up for more than 20 seconds. Sounds cool, but like I was listening to 20 different genres at once, someone make him calm down.

63.  Bù Zàiyì the Small Stuff ☆ [China]: I cannot for the life of me find the complete song anywhere, clips have a cool beat though

62.  Let's Boil Hot Water♪ [Italy]: Exactly what it says on the tin..though a bit too close to elevator music for my tastes.

61.  The Fragrance of Early Summer [Japan]: Very ‘from the books’ Japan-esque song

60.  Peace Sounds Nice…[Baltic Trio]: All well and good until the radio demon shows up

59.  W●D●C ~World Dancing~ [America]: How a song can sound like it’s from 4 different decades at once is beyond me

58.  Overflowing Passion [BFT]: This is just drunken karaoke and I have 0 clue what’s going on #iconicforallthewrongreasons

57. Ren●Ren●Renaissance♪ [Rome+Chibitalia]: Wholesome Grandpa with Grandson content - barring the fact that Italy sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Rome has had too much wine.

56.  Roma Antiqua [Rome]: Similar energy to any one of China’s songs - there’s a part of the song where it sounds like he’s singing in the shower, and I will never not laugh at [CENSORED]

55.  Country From Where the Sun Rises, Zipangu [Japan]: Very chill, very Japan, but just meh for me.

54.  Moon Over Emei Shan [China]: Good message, okay song.

53.  My Friend [England]: What a mind palace you must have Mr. Kirkland

52.  With Love, from Iceland [Iceland]: Three words: Heavy. Metal. Puffin.

51.  Having Friends is Nice...♫ [Russia]: Russia is the cutest thing ever

50.  Mm. [Sweden]: Smooth transition from WWE Smackdown to shopping at IKEA.

49.  Why don’t you come over? ~Beyond the Northern Lights~ [Iceland]: I don’t want to be mean but...this does sound like the second closing theme to an anime whose first closing was much more popular (à la Soul Eater)

48. Gakuen☆Festa [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Sounds like a 60s song of the summer but oh dear their voices do not go together. Hella cute though.

47.  Wa! Wa!! World Ondo [Main Cast]: One time I travelled 10 hours in a coach bus with a bunch of teenagers to a city of note in my country, and the only souvenir I bought was the fucking PAINT IT WHITE DVD. Perfectly chaotic, UN ĐĕùX~~

46.  In the Bluebell Woods [England]: In the album cover for this song he’s holding a guitar but this is not a rock song. Still has ‘running through the hills’ levels of dramatism though.

45.  Poi Poi Poi♪ [Taiwan]: You’re telling me that Taiwan, someone whose has *ONE LINE* in Beautiful World (which is criminal tbh what kind of representation-) managed to get an eNTIRE CHARACTER SONG???????

44.  White Flame [Russia]: There’s something to be said for a song that is 3x the length of any Hetalia episode

43.  Ich liebe… [Germany]: Baking cakes for your friends has never been so wholesome.

42.  We Wish you a Merry Christmas [America, China, England, France, Russia]: Nice to see they’ve gotten their shit together since United Nations Sta-hmm.

41.  Ah, Worldwide à la mode [France]: Sounds like a Disney Princess song, hard not to picture France frolicking in a field of flowers.

40.  Che Bello! ~My House is the Greatest!⭐~ [Italy]: Would not be out of place in an advertisement for Sea World.

39.  May You Smile Today [Japan]: THE feel good song of the summer

38.  Let’s Look Behind the Rainbow [Italy]: I will protect you.

37.  I'm your HERO☆ [America]: “Anyone who’s sad or sullen will be arrested” did NOT age well.

36.  Mein Gott! [Prussia]: Alternating headphone effect at the beginning is cool, so is the confidence...the actual singing on the other hand...

35. Nihao⭐China [China]: Listen, all of China’s character songs are great, I just can’t vibe with this one like some of the others.

34.  Pechka ~Light My Heart~ [Russia]: I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this and Winter were released at the same time.

33.  Pukapuka⭐Vacation [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Seems just a bit too much like they’re running on a treadmill that’s picking up speed and trying to sing at the same time. Peppy.

32.  Santa Claus is Coming to Town [Germany, Italy, Japan]: This is unironically the best song sung by this trio; can only vibe with for two months out of the year though.

31.  Excuse Me, I Am Sorry [Japan]: Japan’s character traits speedrun. Gives me barbershop quartet vibes for some reason but is catchy as hell.

30.  The Story of Snow and Dreams [Russia]: A superhero anime opening in the making

29. England’s Evil Demon Summoning Song [England]: Sir that is not how you roast a marshmallow, don’t cut yourself on that edge.

28.  Moi Moi Sauna♪ [Finland]: Exactly the type of song you’d expect and it’s wonderful

27.  United Nations Star⭐ [America, China, England, France, Russia]: This isn’t as much of a song as it is a four minute struggle for everyone to sing without America yelling every 5 seconds...Like a particularly musical episode of Hetalia.

26.  Paris is Indeed Splendid [France]: Paris-pa-pa-pa-paris

25.  Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman [England]: Poppy, rocky, polka-dotty

24.  Vorwärts Marsch! [Germany]: To quote the comment section: “This sounds like a German version of I’ll Make a Man out of you.” There’s some truth to that.

23.  Hamburger Street [America]: The product of America’s rapper phase. 8/10 because he’s trying so hard and because I can unironically sing along to all of this.

22.  Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy [Hong Kong]: A song that would absolutely destroy the ankles of anyone in DDR.

21.  I Am German-Made [Germany]: There was once a version that had Germany and Prussia singing at the same time and it sounded positively demonic and Broadway could never

20.  La pasión no se detiene ~Unstoppable Passion~ [Spain]: Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping...

19.  Fall in Love, Mademoiselle [France]: Sounds like it should be in Mozart Opera Rock, I have kiss kiss falled in love.

18. Embrace the Très Bien Moi [France]: This is the definition of SELF LOVE PEOPLE. 

17. Carrot and Stick [Belarus&Ukraine]: Absolutely DRIPPING in 2000s power ballad energy. The type of song that plays on repeat in the mind of the widow whose millionaire husband ‘mysteriously disappeared’ (and the only legit character song ever acknowledged by the anime)

16. C.B.C (Cowboyz Boot Camp) Vol. 1 [America]: AH MAH GAWWDDD

15. Winter [Russia]: Heavy metal fever dream and the perfect song for an angst-ridden teenager

14.  Seychelles Here ⭐ Vacation Island [Seychelles]: UN👏DER👏RA👏TED SONG👏OF 👏THE 👏SUM👏MER👏

13.  Nah, it will settle itself somehow [Romano]: One day I aspire to reach this level of chill

12.  Let’s Enjoy Today [England]: I will never not feel happy when listening to this.

11.  Einsamkeit [Germany]: Ludwig manages to air every single one of his worries about not being good enough compared to his friends and always being perceived as mean or uptight when he’s actually just a softie and now my heart hurts. 💔

10.  Aiyaa Four Thousand Years [China]: A very poignant and beautiful song about the passage of time and the inevitability of its passing; comparable to an ancient ballad complete with explosive crescendos and meaningful lyrics.

9.  Bon Bon Bon❤️C’est Bon C’est Bon! [France]: Peppy, cheerful, adorable, groundbreaking; has been my alarm tone for six years and I’ve yet to tire of it. 9/10 The moaning interspersed throughout has been an interesting wake-up call.

8.  Let’s Enjoy! Let’s Get Excited! Cheers! [Denmark]: This is on par with Everytime we Touch by Cascada in terms of rage potential unlocked (the good kind)

7.  Dream Journey [Japan]: Whoever’s playing the shakuhachi is absolutely KILLING IT. Dramatic, wonderful, great metaphors.

6.  Gourmet’s Heart Beginner Level [China]: Absolute banger, I’m a vegetarian but this would inspire me to eat shumai.

5.  Always with you...Nordic Five! [Nordic FIVVVVVEEEE]: Everyone harmonizes beautifully except for Denmark. Extremely catchy, number placement seemed appropriate. 

4.  Pub and GO! [England]: I love this trash man

3. Maji Kandou⭐Hong Kong Night [Hong Kong]: If you thought Denmark’s song was a banger JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL BLOW OUT MY SPEAKERS LISTENING TO LO-HA-SU.

2. Steady Rhythmus [Germany]: THIS SONG IS METAL AF. Seriously, if it can be classified as ‘hardcore’ by my father and his group of 50-somethings who have decided to single-handedly gatekeep the metal and hardrock genres, it can do anything.

1.  The Delicious Tomato Song 🍅 [Romano]: Beautiful, absolutely awe-inspiring, poignant, catchy lyrics with an extremely deep meaning that only years of meticulous research and analysis can unlock, Romano I love you.

BONUS: Closing Songs

5. Hatafutte Parade (World Series) 

4. Hetalian⭐Jet (The World Twinkle): The song is good, the dancing is cursed 

3. Chikyuu Marugoto Hug Shitainda (World⭐Stars)

2. Marukaite Chikyuu (Hetalia: Axis Powers): nE NE PaPA

1. Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (The Beautiful World)

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Pawn: Eight

Bucky swallowed hard when you appeared in the doorway. You looked good. The LBD you were wearing clung to your frame in all the right ways. It emphasized a body you typically tried to hide. And it emphasized your youth. Your curves. Your money.

Things that you knew Winnifred was going to envy. Things you knew were going to get under her skin. And he could appreciate that. And the curves. He was a red blooded male and he’d be lying in that dress didn’t do something for him. Though he doubted that had been your intention. You didn’t seem that… interested in catching his eye.

And one look at his mother told him she was furious. That was also satisfying.

“I’m so pleased to officially meet everyone,” you say, after the introductions have gone round. And when Winnifred sniffs disapprovingly, you turn and smile. It’s a dazzling smile. It’s poised. Practiced. Polished. The kind of smile Bucky figured that came from a posh boarding school. If he had been younger it would have terrified him. But now it thrilled him. Just a little. He’d love to see you smile like that baring down on someone that was sitting in his office.

“It must be so hard for you, finding a mother of the groom dress that’ll be comfortable on such short notice,” you tell Winnifred. Ignoring that Steve inhaled his drink and started coughing.

“I was thinking something in white,” Winnifred said, sipping her wine.

Bucky opened his mouth to say something again but shut it with a snap when you turned to smile at her. That same intimidating smile.

“Well, if you’re going to wear white, I suppose I could change the color of my dress,” you muse.

And Winnifred’s mouth dropped open. “You wouldn’t wear white?”

“Well. I’m not a virgin so it doesn’t really matter, now does it?”

_______________

You lounge on your sofa and reach over Morgan’s shoulder to grab a handful of popcorn, munching happily.

“Sissy?” she asks, turning to look up at you, “Is this our last move night?”

“Why would it be, booger?” you ask, smiling a little and throwing a single piece of popcorn at her forehead affectionately.

“Bucky-”

“Bucky ain’t gonna tell me what to do, boo,” you tell her, throwing another piece of popcorn at her to make her giggle. “If we wanna have a sleep over, we’re gonna have sleep overs… until you get to old to want to hang out with me.”

And when she jumped on you and threw her arms around you, “I’m never gonna be too old for you,” she promised. But. You don’t say anything, you just hug her close and kiss her chubby cheeks. You don’t want her to keep growing up. You’d love to keep her this age forever. All colt legs and chubby cheeks. Your booger. But that’s not how the world works. Some day, before any of you are ready, she’ll be too old to watch Shrek 2 and sing along with the Fairy Godmother.

But for now, you’re going to enjoy it. Because all too soon, things are going to change in ways you know she isn’t ready for. And when your phone rings on the kitchen counter, it sounds almost like a death knell for life as you knew it.

Morgan scampered into the kitchen and plucked your phone off the counter, “Hello-”

She pauses for a moment and you hear, “No I’m Morgan. Y/N is laying in the living room.”

You strain your ears, trying to listen. But all you can make out is a deeper rumble. Tony? Maybe Bucky or Happy? You want to know so when Morgan hands you the phone, you put it to your ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, Doll,” Bucky said, “Baby sitting?”

“Movie night,” you answer, not really feeling like explaining.

“Sounds exciting,” he said, exhaling a cloud of smoke from his cigar. “No bachelorette party?”

“As much as my mom loves drag shows, Morgan is still a little too little for that,” you snort.

Bucky chuckles, “You girls feel up to coming out with me tomorrow?” He had a sense that Morgan might be the key to your good graces. And he couldn’t, at night when he laid in the bed, staring at the ceiling, he couldn’t see himself with a wife that didn’t like him. Sure. It was true. You might not love him. But. He needed to at least be your friend.

He wanted better than what his dad had had with his mom. If he learned nothing else at dinner, he learned that. Watching his mom look down her nose at you and try, time and time again to penetrate your walls and rattle you. But she didn’t. You maintained your smiling, calm composure. And it was… satisfying. He was suddenly… grateful to your mother and to Tony for doing whatever it was they had done that gave you the confidence to stand up in the face of his Mother’s acid tongue.

“What do you think, Boog, you want to get Breakfast tomorrow?” you ask.

“Pancakes?” she asked.

“Well, duh,” you tease, tickling the back of her neck. “We’ll meet you at the diner around the corner from my flat before I take Morgan home in the morning,” you tell Bucky.

“Perfect,” he said, smiling a little. “Say 9?”

“Eh, we better make it 10. We still have some movies to watch.”

“10, then,” he said, “Good night, Doll.”

And when the line goes dead before you have time to say anything you toss your phone carelessly onto the coffee table.

“Ugh, Morgan. Boys are dumb.” you sigh.

“All boys?” she asked.

“Not all boys. Papa is pretty smart. And Rhodey and Happy.”

She grinned, “So mostly just Bucky?”

“Yeah,” you snort.

She got quiet. Thinking and you let her have the quiet moment while she tried to work up the never to ask you something.

“Sissy?” she asked.

“What’s up, Boog?” you hum, turning to lay on your side and be face to face with her.

“Why do you have to marry Bucky?”

You consider your words carefully. Morgan was 8. There was only so much she knew about what Papa did for a living. All she knew was that he made a lot of money. And that Happy drove her to school and picked her up to keep herself safe.

“Papa asked me to,” you say, “As part of a business deal.”

She looked at you, scowling. “Sissy-”

“Huh?”

“You don’t love him?”

“Love- Baby that’s,” you stop and take a deep breath. “You don’t always have to love someone to marry them.”

“But daddy-”

“He knows what he’s doing,” you soothe. “I promise. Someday when you’re older you’ll understand.” But you can tell from the pout that papa is going to be in for an earful.

[putschki1969]

Wakana Spring Live ～magic moment～ 2021 Review

Note: I FINALLY got my package. Now that I watched the full live in HD, I thought I would share m thoughts and a little present below the cut ^_^ As always, I would like to encourage everyone to SUPPORT Wakana by BUYING her Blu-ray!!! Her sales numbers aren’t the greatest which is a huge shame since this is a solid release.

Overall thoughts: I got the Limited Edition of course since I couldn’t resist the pretty sleeve packaging, the bonus documentary (so insightful) and the photobook (scans coming up soon). It is quite pricey but totally worth the money, especially if you are among those fans who liked “Magic Moment” much more than Wakana’s debut album. The release comes with a gorgeous clearfile as tokuten so be sure to get it! Try going for the Regular Edition if you want to save money. As for the live itself, it was a pleasure to watch and I can see myself rewatching it a lot (skipping a few songs though :P). Wakana’s voice coaching lessons are definitely starting to pay off. She has so much stamina these days. Can you believe that this was her SECOND live performance of the day? Her vocals were solid, even during her high-demand power ballads. At rarely any point did she sound overly-screechy to my ears, there were certain sections that didn’t sound 100% smooth but those parts definitely didn’t take away from my  overall enjoyment. On a side note, this live was a feast for the eyes, Wakana looked absolutely beautiful in her white dress and I even liked her encore outfit even though it was a little “out there” XD During the more up-beat songs, her smile literally lit up the entire hall. Seeing her have so much fun on stage is healing. I feel like they may have gone a little overboard on the blurry filters from time to time but I guess that was on purpose. 

1.揺れる春: 6/10. This is obviously the perfect cute intro for a Spring Lives so I understand why Wakana put it here but I would have much preferred “breathing” as a grand entrance. Still so sad that this is the only song from the “magic moment” album that didn’t make it onto the setlist of this live. I know, we already got an official audio recording but I would have loved some video footage to accompany it :P Anyways, back to Yureru Haru. I haven’t really warmed up to the song yet. It’s not bad and I honestly love the verses since they are super precious and feel kinda nostalgic but the chorus doesn’t stand out imo. Also, her singing style during parts of the chorus isn’t my favourite and not overly flattering. 2.where: 4/10. Oh no!! I was hoping Wakana would be singing the “ohhhohhhs”. She could have easily done it during the start and middle part of the song since it wasn’t overlapping with her other vocals. This seems so rushed? Is it just me? I haven’t listened to the studio version in a while but I know that I quite enjoyed that and it definitely didn’t make me feel as fidgety as this. Don’t know what it is exactly but it keeps me from getting into the song. I guess this is the biggest disappointment for me because I wanted to like it. 3.君だけのステージ: 4/10. I will admit it, this is not my favourite song. It’s just way too long :P But it is a very good and energetic performance, really no complaints when it comes to Wakana. But experiencing it live at the venue would have made it so much better for me. Oh well, nothing that can be done about it. The scat part at the end was a pleasant surprise. Would have loved to hear more of that. 4.442: 100/10. Honestly a masterpiece. One of Wakana’s best solo songs up-to-date and so very perfect to show off her vocals. Hearing it live like this with a band arrangement is a revelation. I love the wailing in the beginning and all the strength she conveys throughout the rest of the song. 5.ひらり ひらり: 3/10. Another song I haven’t warmed up to yet. No real thoughts. It’s one of those songs that’s just very forgettable, not bad per se but there is just nothing at all that attracts me to it. :-( As you can tell, I wasn’t entirely happy with some of the setlist choices. Wakana obviously wanted to include all the album songs but some of them are just not my cup of tea T_T 6.夕焼け: 6/10. This is one of the pieces that gets better every time I listen to it. And the latter half of the song is generally much nicer. I am always surprised by how much I actually like it when it’s over :P 7.アキノサクラ Acoustic ver.: 7/10. I am distracted by that harmonica sound-alike thingy Satoshi Takebe is playing XD Still, I have come to really like this song last winter so it is always appreciated, especially the acoustic version. Wakana is struggling a bit during the ending but nothing too bad. 8.myself: 100/10. Utter perfection. So much better than the studio version. And I am not saying this because I disliked the studio version, quite the contrary actually, I LOVED it but these two versions are honestly miles apart. Wakana’s live performance feels so much more raw and emotional. And her vocals in this are pretty much flawless, I can’t even begin to describe how this song makes me feel. A perfect ballad for Wakana. 9.メロディー (Cover): 8/10. My first reaction was boring. But by the third listen I was totally smitten and now it’s among my faves from this live. Be sure to give it a few tries, it really grows on you. I can tell why Takebe would choose this for Wakana. 10.元気を出して (Cover): 8/10. Ahhhhh, so freaking cute and old-school. Nothing beats a nostalgic, fluffy pop song from the 80s. I am here for this content. The “lalalas” at the end are LOVE. 11.オレンジ: 6/10. I like the song but I have to be in the mood for it. And here we have that fake harmonica thingy again. I enjoy the sound of a harmonica about as much as the sound of an accordion (which means not at all :P) but it fits the vibe of the song so I am okay with it. The bridge is usually my favourite part but Wakana’s delivery wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked. It was nice to have this right after “Genki wo Dashite” because both are encouraging pick-me-ups. 12.恋はいつも: 10/10. One day I wanna hear her sing the “baby, baby” part!! Please! Another absolutely highlight, you all know that I ADORE  this song, I could listen to this FOREVER. It’s such a shame the corona guidelines do not allow the audience to sing along because the ending is so much more powerful if everyone is actually singing instead of just clapping. 13.Happy Hello Day: 8/10. Such a feel-good piece. Initially I didn’t like it much but seeing it performed with an audience during her Music Party and now here, has really made me fall in love with it. I have mentioned it before in my initial reaction to the YouTube leak but I wish she would have sung some lalalas at the end just as she did during her Music Party. 14.magic moment: 9/10. I KNEW I would love this song more once I got to hear it live. I still feel like the composition is a bit choppy and thus not as flowy as I would have liked from a power ballad like this but OMG, Wakana’s live performance is EVERYTHING. Blown away by her powerful vocals, she OWNS this song 15.時を越える夜に: 10/10. Two power ballads back to back. What more could I ask for? I know not many people liked Wakana’s solo debut but I personally always thought it was perfect for her. I consider this to be one of her best songs. Say what you will about Takebe but he certainly knows how to make Wakana shine, at least in my opinion. And the song has only gotten better with every live performance. Although I think I preferred the version from her Voice Tour. So very glad we got at least one track from Wakana’s first album. The original setlist actually included Kinmokusei and Kioku no Hito which are two of my faves (they were later exchanged with the two covers). 16.春を待つ (Kalafina Cover): 8/10. Despite this being one of Keiko’s favourite Kala-songs I never could bring myself to really appreciate it. It’s just an okay song for me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy it quite a bit but I don’t go out of my way to listen to it. However, I very much loved Wakana’s cover though, she does a good job singing everyone’s lines and since the original doesn’t have any harmonies her solo performance doesn’t feel too lacking. 17.あとひとつ: 10/10. Always a treat. Can’t believe this STILL hasn’t gotten an official release :P  But I understand Wakana’s reasoning, she wants to keep this song a unique live experience and it really is. I can’t help but tear up whenever she is singing this.

Documentary: I haven’t watched all of it yet but OMG, this is so cool. The first 20 minutes are dedicated to rehearsals. I love seeing Wakana like this, just being her cute dorky self. But poor baby, it was hard seeing her this exhausted after the big studio rehearsal (that’s what the gif is from - being her overdramatic self, she literally dropped dead to the floor). The second half of the documentary is Wakana talking about the production of the live and the different songs of the setlist. 

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Wakana Spring Live ～magic moment～ 2021 Google Drive (3,11 GB) 🎁

Documentary of Wakana Spring Live ～magic moment～ 2021 Google Drive (1 GB) 🎁

Wakana Spring Live ～magic moment～ 2021 MP3s Google Drive 🎁

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