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perpetuallyconfused10 · 1 year ago

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Drive My Car (1/2)

GIF by rqgnarok Part 2

WARNINGS: None. Just two idiots in love. And maybe Hotch is a little too soft.

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“Fuck.”

The voice is low enough that you think you’ve imagined him at first, but there he is, standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to his office with one hand pressed to his forehead and staring at the phone in his other like it’s burned him.

“Hotch? Are you alright?”

He turns to look at you, appearing about as startled as you imagine he ever can. “I’m fine,” he says. “I didn’t know you were still here.”

In his defense, you didn’t expect to be here this late either. The others had left the bullpen over an hour ago, having finished their paperwork much before you.

You hold up the culprit for your staying behind, a Use of Force report that had ended up taking a lot longer than planned. “Just finishing up. Are you sure you’re okay?”

The hand on his forehead moves to his hip, and he studies you for a few seconds. Then he sighs. “My car’s in the shop. Jessica was going to bring me home, but Jack’s gotten sick and she doesn’t want to move him from his bed. I’m going to call a cab.”

That explains why he’s leaving so early. You’ve never heard of him leaving before eight or nine.

“Poor kid. That’s never fun,” you say with a wince. “But you’d be lucky, Hotch. It’s seven on a Friday night. Everyone and their mother is calling a cab.”

“It’s quicker than the subway.”

His voice is flat, worried. You make the decision in a second. “Not quick enough. Let me drive you.”

Hotch’s brow furrows as he considers your offer, mentally calculating the distance from your apartment to his. “I couldn’t ask you to do that for me. I’m miles out of your way.”

He’s right. He is miles away, but that doesn’t deter you. As wonderful as Jessica is, from what you’ve heard, you know Jack idolizes Hotch. He’ll want to be with him now.

“I’m not doing it for you,” you say with a smile, knowing you’re about to play your ace. “I’m doing it for Jack, who is sick and should see his father.”

There’s no room to argue with you. Hotch picks up his briefcase and thanks you. With long strides, he leads the way out of the bullpen and towards the garage.

Ten minutes later, find yourself rushing to stack empty to-go-cups and loose papers, shoving them away as Hotch climbs into your car. “It’s no problem, really. Sorry about the mess.”

Hotch shakes his head. His lips are a little less downturned than usual, which in your mind almost constitutes a smile. “Consider it noted,” he says, “We’ll talk during your next performance review.”

Fighting a smile, you can’t help it. You hit his arm. “I take it back. I’m not sorry.”

“It really isn’t a mess,” he says. “And you really shouldn’t be sorry. You should see my car. You can’t move for Jack’s toys.”

You hum, hands gripping the wheel as your reverse out of the spot, “Be careful what you admit around me. You might be my boss, but I can always snitch on you to yours.”

An amused huff is the closest you get to making him laugh, but you take it. He shakes his head. “I’ve had too many uncomfortable conversations with Strauss to bother counting. I’m sure I’ll survive.”

“Not if I have a hand in it.”

Neither of you says anything for a long while after that, and neither mind. What the protocol is for driving your boss home outside of work, you aren’t sure. If there is something in the FBI manual about it, you’re quite sure Hotch knows it – but asking him feels a little on-the-nose, and so you keep quiet and put the radio on.

You’re also sure that there isn’t anything in the FBI manual about what music is appropriate to listen to with your boss in your passenger seat. If there were, you’re certain the songs on at the moment – half of which you vaguely remember Morgan and Garcia dancing to on one of the team’s nights at the bar, and the other of which might be their next choices – don’t make the cut.

Feeling your face heat up, you clear your throat. “I think I have a couple Beatles albums in the glove box if you wanna look for one,” It isn’t so much a suggestion as it is a request — maybe even an order – and you know he senses that. With a nod, he reaches over to open it.

“You’ve got eclectic taste,” Hotch says after a moment, raising an eyebrow at you as he pulls out one of the CDs buried somewhere in the pile. “I didn’t take you for a Mozart fan.”

The corner of his mouth pulls itself into a smirk. It’s the kind reserved for non-working occasions, or, alternatively, occasions that don’t require the wearing of a suit jacket. Like now. Not that you’ve noticed the broad lines of his shoulders in his dress shirt, or the movement of his Adam’s apple as he speaks, more easily seen with the top two buttons undone. And if you have, that’s nobody’s business.

You shrug. “I’m not one, really. Reid likes it.”

For a long second, he looks at you. “You keep a CD in your car for Reid?”

“He doesn’t like the radio. It’s distracting. I don’t particularly like it, either.”

Hotch doesn’t let up, “That’s…very thoughtful of you.”

Keeping your eyes on the road is more of a task than you’d like.

“They’re only a couple dollars. I just buy them when I see them.”

He takes another look in the glove box, grabbing a beaten-down copy of The White Album and pushing it into the player. But before the opening to ‘Back in the USSR’ is even over, he’s pressed pause and shifted in his seat to look at you head-on. Silence stretches between the two of you again. The dull hum of the engine and the rain battering the windows sound, of a sudden, much louder.

“What? You’re making me nervous.”

He is. If becoming skilled in the art of dangerous driving weren’t a side-effect of working with the BAU, you might’ve crashed the car by now.

You chance a look over at him. His expression is set in a frown. Over your short tenure with the team, you’ve fallen witness to enough of what Morgan deems his ‘Hotchner frowns’ (trademark implied) to know that this one is different. There’s something softer about it, more considerate than displeased.

“Those other albums…Sinatra, Radiohead, Stevie Wonder…you’ve barely touched them. Not compared to the others.”

Damn profiler. The stubborn part of you — which was a larger part than you’d like to admit — wanted to ignore him. Even so, you know it’d never work. Hotch is just as stubborn as you are, and worse than that, he is far more patient.

“They’re not my favorites, no, but—” you relent.

Gently, Hotch cuts you off. “No, they’re not. They’re Rossi’s, Prentiss', and Morgan’s. I’m sure you’ve got records in there for JJ and Garcia. And–”

You look down again at your hands where they rest on the wheel. The skin of your knuckles pulls as you tighten your hands around it. In a sigh, you admit it. “—And for you too, yeah.”

He tilts his head. When he speaks, his voice is soft. “Why?”

Retreating into silence again, you turn the corner onto his street. But even off the clock, Hotch’s presence is commanding, his stare on you unassuming and exposing all at once.

You laugh. “Remind me never to end up in an interrogation with you again. You’re terrifying.”

“You haven’t learned enough from them if you’re still deflecting,” he says, ignoring your jibe. Instead he folds his hands in his lap.

You could double down, tell him jokingly to fuck off and then claim that swearing at him is entirely acceptable in non-working circumstances. What it is stopping you from giving him the answer he wants, you’re not sure. This isn’t the office. It’s not neutral ground. This is your car, your territory. Forced out of the context of work, Hotch is no longer just an abstract concept, your hardass of a boss — he’s a real person. Your friend. And something about that pulls at you.

“I had a little trouble adjusting, at first,” you say, stretching the words out until they become unfamiliar things. “More than I’d expected. I knew when I took the job what it’d be like. On paper, at least. But the first few cases…it was another thing to be doing it, you know?”

It’s the truth. The early days, right after you joined the team, were rough. They’d been a constant guessing game of when to speak up and when to keep quiet, when to shove down all of the stress and the fear and the self-loathing and when, if ever, to let yourself feel it.

Hotch stays quiet this time, and you can’t bring yourself to look at him. Was it too honest to admit that? His presence has gone to your head, like wine on a summer evening.

“I never let it affect my work–” you say in a rush, self-preservation instincts in full swing. You stop halfway, let the words wither in your throat.

One of Hotch’s hands twitches as if to reach for you, but retreats at the last seconds, remaining limp in his lap. He hums, his voice a low murmur. “I know that.”

You’ve come this far. Might as well finish this. “We’d come home from a case, and sometimes I’d drive Reid back so he didn’t have to get the subway. We’d drive back to our apartments with the radio on. But the news…”

Hotch sighs, “...Another robbery, another murder. Another thing out of our reach.”

There’s no judgment in his eyes, none of the sharp analysis profiling demands. It hits you again that you aren’t talking with the man that conducts your performance reviews, but the man who rolls his eyes at Reid and Morgan’s bickering, the father who’d drop anything to make his son happy.

A smile feels a little out of your reach as you remember those early months, so you settle for a nod. “I picked up a CD or two after the first couple weeks. Then I found out Reid liked classical music, so I looked for some. And it made sense, if I was giving Morgan or Prentiss or Garcia a ride too. I guess it got a little out of control.”

Hotch shakes his head. “That’s not out of control. It’s kind,” he starts, then stops for a second, his features rearranging themselves into a frown once more. “You know you don't have to do nice things for people to get them to like you, don’t you?”

Eyes widening, you almost think you’ve heard him wrong. “What?”

He tilts his head, his gaze on you soft as you put the car into park in front of his apartment complex. “Maybe you don’t do it anymore, but towards the beginning…I got the feeling you thought you’d have to move mountains to get the team to like you. And you didn’t.”

He’s right. You really had felt alone, for the first few months. You’d done everything you could to make yourself tolerable: memorized Garcia’s miles-long Starbucks order, lied about where you lived to Reid so he didn’t feel guilty about taking a lift from you, nodded along when Morgan told you about his housing projects even though you hadn’t a clue about property development. You’d done it all. And it had worked.

Maybe you hadn’t needed to do it. But over time, obligation had morphed into affection, and you liked to. Hence the music.

“Hotch…”

You’re glad he speaks before you can get any further, because you really have no idea what to say. “I mean it,” he says quietly. “Anyone with sense would do that all on their own.”

“Thank you,” you say, swallowing. “I hope Jack feels better soon.”

“I’ll tell him you said hi. He’ll appreciate it.” he says, checking his watch. “I’d better go check on him. Thank you for driving me back. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

You nod. “Tomorrow.”

He climbs out of the car, head bowed against the rain, and you wait for him to get inside before you pull away. You’re not mad about the Beatles. The White Album wouldn’t be your pick of their records. But the drive is long, long enough to let yourself think, and you leave it playing until you’re home.

#hotch x reader #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner #criminal minds #thomas gibson #aaron hotch fanfiction #how the fuck does tumblr work #soft hotch #aaron hotchner x y/n #aaron hotch x reader #ssa aaron hotchner

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eunseoksimp · 4 months ago

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Between the Lines; Song Eunseok

Pairings: Boyfriend!Eunseok x Fem!Reader

Genre: Angst

Description: the importance of communication and understanding, and the consequences that can arise when those elements are lacking. a relationship in turmoil, leading to frustration and distance between the two individuals.

Warnings: strong language, brief mentions of sex but nothing suggestive

. ݁ ˖ ࣪ . ⋆ * .♡ *:･ﾟ. ݁ ˖ ࣪ . ⋆ * .♡ *:･ﾟ. ݁ ˖ ࣪ .

��we don’t even make love anymore,’ you had been questioning the physical intimacy between you two, claiming that it had diminished.

eunseok sighed, bending down to undo the laces of his shoes, barely making it through the front door before you had started. it had been a long night, and the initial idea of you staying at his place sounded enticing when it was first proposed this morning, but now he wasn’t so sure.

‘see, you can’t even correct me on that.’

he was starting to get tired of this cycle that you had started, blaming him for something that had gone wrong in the relationship, having heated arguments that often left both parties ridiculously irate before ending up in each other's arms by the end of the week.

it was beginning to become more frequent now, the times where you would take a perfectly good day with minor bumps in the road and turn it into a session where a part of your relationship was at the forefront of the discussion. it also seemed to be a pattern of eunseok bearing the burden of the wrongdoer, having to listen as you droned on and on about ways he could improve.

at first he was reactive, quick to combat any accusations you threw at him, eager to resolve any discontent that lay in your heart, the price to seeing you become at peace, to step away from the teetering edge of your rocky relationship and return back to safer grounds. but everyone had their limits.

‘i’m not answering because i don’t want to argue with you tonight,’ eunseok said through gritted teeth, taking a few seconds to calm himself down before moving away from you into the kitchen, a technique he had recently adopted so that he wouldn’t wrongfully take his anger out on you.

‘stop fucking walking away when i’m speaking,’ you’re following after him, one shoe still on your foot as you engage in some type of awkward hobble in attempts to keep up with his longer strides, probably looking like a crazed woman with the added look of your dress now slipping down your shoulders and the hair that you had spent so long pinning up falling past your shoulders.

‘please, can you go one day without picking a fight with me,’ his back is still facing you as he reaches into a cabinet, inspecting a glass cup for a couple of seconds before slamming it onto the counter. he says nothing else as he manoeuvres around the kitchen, all while you watch him, getting a jug of water from the fridge and filling the glass to the brim before raising it to his mouth and gulping it down, wiping the drops of water on the corner of his mouth away with the back of his hand when he’s done.

‘how can i, when there’s always issues? you heard what they said today, every couple is intimate but us,’ your purse is thrown onto the counter and you move from the spot you had been standing in to stalk closer to him, snatching the cup out of his hand just as he was going to pour himself another glass, just so he could pay attention.

‘you don’t find it weird that we’re meant to be in a relationship but you barely want to do anything with me anymore,’ you’re relentless, refusing to give up until you receive a satisfactory answer from him. it’s silent for a moment, with you looking at him expectantly, waiting for something, anything really. why won’t he say something?

another sigh leaves his lips as he rubs the bridge of his nose, his ears starting to ring. he couldn’t gather the strength to stand in this relatively chilly kitchen to explain to you that basing your intimate life on other people’s experiences was weird. he would much rather prefer to put the whole argument to rest and resign to his comforting bed sheets to sleep.

‘you obsess over the same thing. over and over again,’ he said, his frustration shortening his sentences, a warning that the conversation should be concluded soon for fear of becoming more explosive than it needed to be.

‘i’m sorry i can’t be the picture perfect boyfriend that you so desperately want me to be.’

‘no one’s asking you to be perfect, i’m asking you to fucking love me,’ he could tell you were also getting irritated, your words coming out a bit harsher and you were starting to fiddle with your necklace. he wasn’t so sure how your relationship had turned into this, where his every move was questioned, scrutinised, brutally by you. it made no sense why you were trying to change him.

‘you don’t even say the words, like a fucking coward,’ you chuckle, but not out of amusment, rather disbelief, almost like a coping mechanism to keep any other emotion from creeping in and making you vulnerable. it exposed the root of all your issues, the reason why something so small had blown into what it was now. eunseok had never said the words i love you.

you understood at first, given that you were normally the starry-eyed lover, falling quickly and deeply, and accepting that the way you loved was often different to other people. so when you said it the first time, you didn’t expect much. but two months had passed, and it appeared that maybe you were the only one, and that was when fear started to creep in.

‘what’s so amazing about those three fucking words that make you want to fight me everyday,’ eunseok’s temper was starting to escape from him and he pinches the bridge of his nose, eyes shut in an attempt to calm himself down, but it only fuelled your anger even more.

‘don’t swear at me,’ your finger jabbed his chest as you pushed him back a little and he grabbed your hand before you could do it again, chest rising and falling as he looked at you with a lack of belief in your actions. you were demanding respect but refused to show him the same courtesy.

‘so it’s okay when you do it? but a problem when i do?’ he scoffed, lightly pushing you away from him so he could walk away. he knew that this dispute was going nowhere, and the best thing to do would be to retreat for the night, in hopes that you would eventually drop it.

‘i’m not done yet song eunseok,’ you tried to physically stop him, getting in his way so it was harder for him to leave but he was much stronger than you.

‘cant even get peace in my own house,’ he mumbled as he brushed past you, picking up his coat that had been abandoned on the neighbouring couch and heading towards his room, slamming the door after entering, leaving you standing alone in the dim hallway all alone.

part of you wants to barge right in, to continue the argument, to reach some sort of conclusion that would satisfy the anguish nestled deep inside of your heart. however it was futile- you knew that nothing other than a heated conversation and venomous words would arise out of that, and as much as it seemed to be the contrary you were tired of fighting him too.

you exhale, debating whether it’s worth joining him in the bedroom or just heading home for the night but you know that leaving here by yourself would only anger eunseok even more.

so despite the rage burning inside of your chest, you trudge all the way over to his room, opening it just enough for you to stick your head in first. he was already under the covers, his body facing the wall. you can’t see his face clearly, but you assume by the way the sheets rise slowly before falling that he was sleeping.

this fight would just have to wait for another night. pushing the door so it was now fully open, you trail inside, the air thick with the remnants of your argument, feeling as if the walls themselves were imbued with the tension that now defined your relationship. the soft, steady sound of eunseok’s breathing was the only indication that time had not completely frozen in the wake of your emotional upheaval.

you undressed quietly, slipping out of your dress and into an oversized t-shirt that felt like a security blanket against the coldness that had settled between you and him. the bed was a large expanse, an ocean that divided you from eunseok’s distant form.

he faced the wall, the curve of his back a silent statement of his retreat. you slid under the covers, the sheets cool against your skin, feeling the vast, lonely chasm of the bed between you.

memories of better times flickered in your mind, taunting you with images of laughter and whispered secrets, of nights spent tangled together both physically and emotionally. those moments seemed so distant now, buried beneath layers of unresolved issues and unspoken words. you ached for those days when love felt simple and untainted, a stark contrast to the convoluted mess it had become.

you watched the shadows cast by the moonlight through the window, dancing on the ceiling, your thoughts racing. the silence between you and eunseok was heavy, oppressive, filled with everything that had been left unsaid. you longed to bridge the gap, to reach out and touch him, but fear and pride held you back, chaining you to your side of the bed.

the words you had exchanged replayed in your mind, each one a jagged shard that cut deeper every time you thought about it. the accusations, the hurt, the frustration—it all circled around like a storm, leaving you exhausted and emotionally drained. you had both become masters at wounding each other, knowing exactly where to strike to inflict the most pain.

you turned to face his back, whispering into the void between you, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he would hear the silent plea in your words.

‘i just want you to love me,’ you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper. ‘i just want to feel like I matter to you.’

the silence was deafening, each second that passed a nail driven into the coffin of your dwindling hope. you closed your eyes, tears slipping down your cheeks, and curled into a ball, seeking comfort in your own embrace. the weight of your unspoken fears and desires pressed down on you, suffocating in their intensity.

sleep came in fits and starts, fragmented by dreams that mirrored your waking turmoil. you dreamt of eunseok, of moments when he held you close, his warmth a balm to your troubled soul. but even in your dreams, he was slipping away, an ephemeral figure you couldn't quite grasp, always just out of reach.

when you woke, the room was bathed in the pale light of dawn. eunseok was still there, his form unmoving, but the divide between you felt wider than ever. the ache in your chest had settled into a dull throb, a constant reminder of the unresolved conflict that hung over you like a dark cloud.

you lay there for a while, listening to the world waking up outside the window. birds chirped, cars drove by, and life went on, indifferent to the turmoil within these four walls. you wanted to reach out, to touch him, to find some way to reconnect, but you were paralyzed by the fear of rejection, of opening yourself up only to be met with more silence.

finally, you couldn't stand it any longer. you slipped out of bed, the cold floor a stark contrast to the warmth of the sheets, and padded to the kitchen. you needed something, anything, to distract yourself from the crushing weight of your emotions.

the kitchen was still as you had left it, a silent witness to the argument that had played out the night before. you filled the kettle, the mundane task grounding you somewhat, and set it to boil. the rhythmic tick of the stove was a small comfort, a steady beat against the chaos in your mind.

as the water heated, you leaned against the counter, staring out of the window at the world beyond. it was a grey morning, the sky overcast and heavy with the promise of rain. it felt fitting, a mirror to the storm brewing inside you.

eunseok emerged from the bedroom, his presence filling the space. he looked as weary as you felt, the lines of tension etched into his face. he glanced at you, a flicker of something—regret, sorrow, maybe even love—passing through his eyes before he looked away, focusing on the kettle instead.

the silence between you and eunseok was palpable, thick with unresolved tension and the remnants of countless arguments. you sat at the kitchen table, your fingers tracing the edge of your coffee mug, the steam curling upwards like ghosts of your past grievances. eunseok leaned against the counter, his eyes distant as he stared out the window at the drizzly morning.

it had been a night filled with restless sleep and fragmented dreams, and the weight of your unresolved issues hung over you like a dark cloud. the conversation from the previous night replayed in your mind, each harsh word echoing in the quiet of the early morning.

‘we don't even make love anymore eunseok. it’s like we’re falling apart,’ you had said, your voice tinged with desperation and hurt. eunseok’s response had been a sigh, a gesture that spoke volumes about his weariness with the cycle of blame and argument that had become the norm in your relationship.

you couldn't help but feel the sting of his dismissiveness, the way he seemed to brush off your concerns as if they were insignificant. the lack of physical intimacy was just a symptom of a deeper problem, one that neither of you had been able to articulate fully.

he turned from the window, his expression unreadable as he finally met your gaze.

‘i don't want to argue with you,’ he said, his voice tight with restrained emotion. ‘i’m tired, and I just want some peace.’

‘peace?’ you echoed, a bitter laugh escaping your lips. ‘how can there be peace when there's always something wrong between us? we don't talk, we don't touch, we don't even look at each other properly anymore.’

his jaw tightened, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. ‘you’re always so quick to find fault,’ he muttered, turning away from you to pour himself another cup of coffee. ‘always looking for something to fight about.’

the frustration inside you bubbled over, and you pushed back your chair, the screech of wood against tile jarring in the quiet kitchen.

‘i just want to feel like you care, eunseok. like i matter to you.’

he set down his cup with a bit more force than necessary, the clink of ceramic on the counter sharp and angry. ‘you think I don't care? you think I don't want this to work? i’m trying, but it's never enough for you.’

‘trying?’ your voice rose, a mixture of incredulity and hurt. ‘trying means actually putting in effort, not just going through the motions. you don't even say you love me.’

the silence that followed was heavy, the unspoken truth hanging in the air between you. it was the crux of your anguish, the reason why every small argument escalated into a full-blown fight. eunseok had never said those three words, and the absence of them was a constant ache in your heart.

‘you knew from the beginning that I'm not good with words,’ he said finally, his voice quieter but no less strained. ‘i show you I care in other ways.’

‘other ways?’ you repeated, frustration giving way to tears that you hastily wiped away. ‘what other ways, eunseok? ignoring me when i need you? making me feel like I'm a burden?’

his shoulders slumped, the fight seeming to drain out of him. ‘i’m doing the best I can,’ he said softly, his eyes pleading with you to understand. ‘i care but I don't know how to make you believe it.’

the words should have been a balm, a soothing relief to your tormented heart, but instead, they felt like a hollow echo of what you had longed to hear.

‘saying it isn't enough,’ you whispered, your voice breaking. ‘i need to feel it, to see it in the way you look at me, the way you touch me.’

eunseok’s frustration flared again, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. ‘i’m not some perfect boyfriend out of a romance novel,’ he snapped. ‘i’m a person, with flaws and limits. I'm sorry if I'm not living up to your expectations.’

‘that’s not what this is about,’ you shot back, your own anger rising to meet his. this is about feeling loved and wanted. it’s about not feeling like i’m constantly begging for scraps of affection.’

the room seemed to close in around you, the walls pressing in with the weight of your mutual anger and hurt. eunseok turned away, running a hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration. ‘i’m tired of this, of us always fighting,’ he said, his voice weary. "maybe we're just not meant to be.’

the words hit you like a physical blow, the air leaving your lungs in a rush. ‘so, what? you’re giving up?’ you asked, your voice trembling. ‘after everything, you're just walking away?’

he turned back to face you, his expression a mixture of sorrow and resignation. ‘i don't know what else to do,’ he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. ‘i care about you, but this... this isn't healthy for either of us.’

tears spilled down your cheeks, and you wrapped your arms around yourself as if to hold the pieces of your breaking heart together. ‘i don't want to lose you,’ you said, your voice small and vulnerable. ‘but I can't keep living like this, feeling like I'm not enough.’

‘i do… you know,’ he said softly, the words on the brink of being set free. yet, something small was holding it back. ‘i just don’t know how to show it the way you need.’

tears welled up in your eyes again, but this time they were a mixture of relief and lingering sadness. ‘i need to hear it,’ you said, your voice breaking. ‘i need to feel it.’

the kettle whistled, a sharp, insistent sound that cut through the silence. eunseok had always struggled with commitment, and try as he might, he could never bring himself to say that he loved you. it was a word that hung in the air between you, tantalisingly close yet perpetually out of reach.

his silence on this matter was a chasm you could never cross, a void that swallowed your hopes and left you feeling perpetually adrift. the fight had laid bare the fundamental disconnect between you.

it wasn’t just about saying he loved you; it was about everything that word represented—commitment, vulnerability, trust. you had always been open with your feelings, wearing your heart on your sleeve, while eunseok had kept his emotions locked away, guarded by walls you could never breach.

he sighed, a sound that seemed to come from the depths of his soul. ‘i know you’re disappointed,’ he said finally, his voice rough with emotion. ‘i know, and i’m sorry. i just...i don't know how to be what you need me to be.’

his admission hung in the air, a bitter truth that neither of you could deny. you had always known that eunseok struggled with expressing his feelings, but you had hoped that in time, he would learn, that he would find a way to bridge the gap between you. but hope, you realised, was not enough to sustain a relationship.

‘i wish I could say the words,’ he murmured. ‘i wish i could tell you that i love you. but every time i try, it's like something inside me locks up. you know how hard it is for me.’

his confession was a knife to my heart, cutting through the last threads of your hope. you reached across the table, taking his hand in yours. his skin was warm, familiar, and yet it felt like you were worlds apart.

‘maybe,’ you said gently, ‘maybe it's time we stop trying to force something that isn't there. maybe it's time we accept that sometimes, love isn't enough.’

the tears that had been threatening to fall all morning finally spilled over, blurring your vision. your body shook with the force of your grief, eunseok’s head hung low.

the reality of your situation settled over you like a shroud, heavy and suffocating. you sat in silence, holding on to each other for a moment longer, as if by sheer will you could delay the inevitable. but eventually, you pulled your hand away, the finality of the gesture striking like a death knell.

his gaze finally met yours, and for a moment, you saw a flicker of something—regret, sorrow, maybe even love—but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. ‘i never wanted to hurt you,’ he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. ‘but i can't be what you need.’

the finality of his words hit you like a physical blow. you had been clinging to hope, believing that if you loved him enough, if you were patient enough, he would eventually open up to you.

‘why?’ you asked, the single word carrying the weight of all your unanswered questions. ‘why can't you love me the way I need you to?’

eunseok looked away, his jaw tightening. ‘it’s not that simple,’ he murmured. ‘i have my own issues, my own fears. i can't just change who I am.’

‘but i need more,’ you pleaded, tears streaming down your face once more. ‘i need to feel loved, to feel wanted. and you...you can't give me that.’

he rose from his seat, taking a step towards you, then stopped, as if an invisible barrier held him back. ‘i’m sorry,’ he said again, the words sounding hollow. ‘i never wanted it to end like this.’

you wiped your tears with the back of your hand, your heart shattering with every sob. ‘neither did i,’ you whispered. ‘but i can't keep sacrificing my happiness for the hope that you'll change. i need to let go, even if it kills me.’

the pain of those words cut deeper than any wound. letting go of someone you love, someone you had dreamed of a future with, was a torment beyond description. it felt like tearing out a piece of your soul, leaving a raw, bleeding wound that would never fully heal.

eunseok took another step forward, his eyes filled with a sorrow that mirrored your own. ‘i wish things were different,’ he said softly. ‘i wish i could be the man you deserve.’

for a moment, you both stood there, the distance between you insurmountable.

‘goodbye eunseok,’ you said, your voice breaking. ‘i hope you find what you're looking for.’

he squeezed your hand gently, then let go. ‘goodbye,’ he replied, his voice thick with emotion. ‘take care of yourself.’

you lingered for a moment, your eyes sweeping over the kitchen one last time. the table where you had shared countless meals, the counter where you had stood side by side, cooking and laughing, now seemed like relics of a past life.

with a deep, shuddering breath, you turned away from him and walked towards the door. each step felt like a monumental effort, your legs heavy with the weight of your grief. the hallway stretched before you, a tunnel of memories, each one more painful than the last.

you reached the front door and paused, your hand hovering over the doorknob. you could hear eunseok’s quiet breathing behind you, a final reminder of the life you were leaving behind. swallowing the lump in your throat, you opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. the door closed with a soft click, a sound that seemed to echo through the empty hallway, amplifying your sense of loss.

the world outside continued its relentless march forward, indifferent to the turmoil within. people passed by, oblivious to the silent agony tearing you apart. you stood there for a moment, letting the cool breeze wash over you, trying to steady your breath.

the weight of your unspoken words crushed your chest, each step echoing the finality of your parting. the chill of the evening seeped into your bones, a stark reminder that some endings were never meant to be rewritten.

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hearts4leeknow · 10 months ago

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memories || Bangchan X Reader

Warning(s): none(?)

Genre: FLUFFFF

idol!Bangchan X pregnant!Reader

Summary: After lunch you find your beloved husband, Bangchan and child upstairs in your shared bedroom watching videos on their ipad along side Chan. You admire them standing in the door way until you see your kid look over to Chans phone in interest, Channie seems to notice and he starts explaining what hes looking at. You look at them in awe, it was such a cute moment you had to snap a photo. And so you did!! You and him knew he would be the perfect father, what he didn’t know was he would be a father of 2 in a few months.

!!LOWERCASE INTENDED!!

a/n: got the idea from some friends while they were commenting on my baby photos iwth my dad! (guys i was gonna make this a new years post but ig nvm)

“baby” chan hums hugging your waist

“yes?” you smile while you finish up washing the dishes.

“me and naomi (ur child’s name) will go up stairs” he mumbled quietly resting his head on your shoulder.

“okay! ill come up soon” you kissed him on the cheek.

you then heard naomi run up stairs with chan giggling trying to catch her. oh how you loved them. a while later you decide to go upstairs to join them. You took your time walking up the stairs to your shared bedroom, you grabbed your phone from the counter then entering the bedroom. Suddenly you stopped in your tracks when you saw naomi smiling while your beloved husband was talking about what he was doing at on his computer. You couldn’t help but smile at the scene happening in front of you. You were quick to open your phone snapping a photo as a memory, they looked adorable and you adored both of them oh so much. naomi was your first child and you had yet to tell chan you were carrying their second child. You were surprised he hadn’t notice your stomach grow in size, you were 1 month and you had found out 2 weeks ago.

“baby!” Chan exclaimed, with a bright smile pulling you out of your thoughts.

“mama, look at what daddy’s doing!!” naomi called you over, you walked over looking at chans laptop screen. He was making a song.

“wanna listen to it?” he pinched you cheek.

“I wanna!!” she jumped on the bed.

“sure” you giggled at naomi’s behaviour. bangchan then played the song, it was beautiful, so beautiful you teared up a little. when the demo of the song ended he had then mentioned it would be releasing in an upcoming straykids album.

“waah!! dadas song is so cool!! i wanna be like dada!!” naomi exclaimed obviously showing her enthusiasm for chans song.

“thank you omi” bangchan smiled giving a kiss on the cheek to your daughter. you were in awe about the moment unfolding in front of you, you also wondered if it was a good time to chan that naomi will soon be a big sister. suddenly you were pulled out of your thoughts when chan asked; “baby, whats up? i can tell you’re spacing out there” you contemplated for a second before responding.

“naomi is going to be a big sister soon” you had a faint smile staring into bangchans now widened eyes.

“actually?” chan gasped in disbelief.

“yes” you looked at him with the most loving eyes as his eyes started forming tears.

“mama why is dada crying?” naomi had asked with concern written all over her face.

“omi, baby, your going to be a big sister” chan gave a bright smile lightly holding naomi’s shoulders.

“really? mama is this true??” she asked you jumping up and down holding your arm.

“yes omi, it is” as soon as you told her that she jumped onto to you hugging your arm. this time. it was chans turn to watch in awe, he took out his phone and took a picture of the two of you laying down as naomi was hugging your arm. this was a memory he wanted to keep forever;

“channie come join, its a group hug!” you waved your hand inviting him to join the cuddles. bangchan hugged your waist and you played with his hair, at this moment you two knew this is what you both wanted, a happy and loving family of your own.

FIN !!

a/n: FINALLY THE FIC IS OUT enjoy bbys!!

#hearts4leeknow #skz #i love you #stray kids #i love skz #kpop #fiction #fluff #bang chan #christopher bahng #skz x reader #bangchan x reader #bangchan fluff #skz fluff #bangchan fic #bangchan fanfic #skz fanfic #skz bang chan #skz imagines

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runnning-outof-time · 1 year ago

Note

Congratulations K 🎊

So for the 3 word sentence

“Are you jealous?”

With any Shelby brother of your choice

Thanks so much for sending this in, Juli!! I chose to write it for Arthur because I actually got this prompt for both John and Tommy also - it’s going to be fun to try and think up different scenarios for them…so if you didn’t like the direction I went here, there are the other two brothers coming! Enjoy! :)

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Part of my 3.5k Celebration — find more stories here!

What A Chain of Events

Arthur Shelby x Reader

Warnings: language, drinking

Word Count: 985

Summary: Dancing at the Garrison turns into arguing at the Garrison, which then turns into…feelings being confessed?

(Y/N) didn’t know the name of the man that was currently spinning her around the floor of the Garrison, but she wasn’t letting that stop her from having the time of her life.

She loved when the energy would be high like this; when the patrons of the establishment would drink and dance and be merry. Events like this seemed to be occurring more frequently ever since Tommy assumed his duties in Parliament…not that she was complaining.

As she was being spun around on the floor, Arthur was sitting in the corner booth, sulking. Finn was sitting by him, but the brothers were paying no attention to each other. Instead, Arthur had his eyes fixed on the dancers, one in particular.

(Y/N), a longtime friend of the Shelby family, was smiling and holding on tight to the man who had swooped her away from the table she was at and, for some reason, Arthur hated it.

Deciding he had had too much, he grabbed the bottle of booze from the table, forgoing the cup and bringing it right to his lips to take a large drink. His eyes rolled to the ceiling as he tried to look anywhere but at the dancers.

But his eyes just couldn’t stray away for too long. They returned at the worst time possible. Just as the song was finishing, (Y/N) pulled the man she’d been dancing with into a hug.

Now he really had had enough. After one more swig of alcohol, he got out of the booth and made a b-line for the snug. A huffed breath left his lips once he was behind the closed door.

(Y/N) sent one last smile to the man she’d been dancing with before they parted ways. Immediately she searched for Arthur. His usual spot was now empty, which confused (Y/N) because he’d been sitting there only a few moments ago. He wasn’t behind the bar either, which meant that there was only one other, plausible place remaining: the snug.

That’s exactly where she found him; sitting with a scowl on his face as he stared at the table. The energy he was throwing off made her brows furrow. “Arthur?” she said his name hesitantly. “Has something happened?”

“No,” his answer was abrupt as he shook his head.

“Why’re you in here then?” she asked another question.

“Does it matter?” he countered with a question of his own, his one eyebrow raised as he shifted his gaze to her.

“Yes, it does,” she answered with an exaggerated nod, her eyes widening. “I was looking for you.”

“Oh?” Arthur sounded surprised, “I thought you’d be too busy with your dancing partner.”

(Y/N)’s brows furrowed at his statement. “What do you mean my dancing partner?”

“The man who’s been spinning you around the bloody floor all evening,” he clarified.

“It was only for two songs, Arthur,” she corrected him.

“Two songs too many,” he mumbled, but she heard him.

His words made her drop her hands to her hips as she got to work on putting the pieces together. She’d never really seen him act like this, and the chain of events that just occurred was really stumping her. Until a lightbulb went off. “Are you jealous?” she just had to ask.

“What?” his question came out as a snort, and he hoped that his facial expression didn’t betray him. “Why would I be jealous, huh?”

(Y/N) bit on her cheek to conceal her smile. “Well I asked because I thought that maybe you were upset by that man getting me to dance with him,” she explained her reasoning.

“I was upset by it,” he answered in a matter of fact tone.

“So you were jealous of him…?” she trailed off, her eyebrow raising.

“Jealous? No. I just know that you can find far better men to dance with, (Y/N),” he defended his thought process.

“Like you?” she suggested.

“Like me,” he affirmed without second thought.

The smile spread across (Y/N)’s lips at his response. Silence hung in the air for a few moments as she let him keep the upperhand for just a bit longer. “You’re jealous, Arthur,” she then delivered the blow.

“Fuck, alright, so what if I’m jealous, huh?” he conceded dramatically, throwing his hands up in the air. “I couldn’t take watching him spinnin’ you around any longer and that’s why I came in here. Seein’ you with that man bothered me, (Y/N). It bothered me because it was him out there with you and not me.”

(Y/N) kept her eyes on him as she let his words seep into her mind. The fact that he felt that way about her made the butterflies in her stomach flutter uncontrollably. She bit her lip to stop the wide grin from forming on her face, hoping not to fully give her thoughts away.

Arthur’s heart hammered in his chest as he tried to gauge (Y/N)’s reaction. He’d been harboring those feelings towards her for too long now. It felt good to let them out, but at the same time he was worried that they’d be unrequited. He knew that the ball was in her court now though…he just had to wait for a response.

To his luck, it came sooner rather than later. “Why don’t you ask me to dance then?” she asked him, effectively returning the ball to his court.

He wasn’t going to miss his shot this time. He stood from the booth and made his way over to her, stopping in front of her before he asked his question: “will you dance with me, (Y/N)?” He accentuated his question by holding his hand out to her.

(Y/N) let the smile form full on his face this time, and she wasted no time in placing her hand in his. “Yes.”

Tagged: @the-anxious-youth @mystcldydrms @look-at-the-soul @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @shelbydelrey @theshelbyslimited @peakyswritings @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @stevie75 @dark-academia-slut @zablife @cillmequick @letal-y-poetica @depxiety @shelundeadxxxx @areyenotfondofmelobster @padfootdaredmetoo @crabat-the-queen @sebastianstangirl01 @everythingelseisextra @kmc1989 @papichulo120627 @brummiereader @adaydreamaway08 @kissforvoid @raincoffeeandfandoms @peakyltd @johannelis2302nely @just-a-blackhole @anotherblinder @christinasyellowflowers @insanitybyanothername @daisyblinder @wotcherpeak @call-sign-shark

MASTERLIST

#arthur shelby #arthur shelby x reader #arthur shelby x y/n #arthur shelby blurb #arthur shelby fanfiction #arthur shelby fanfic #peaky blinders #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinders x y/n #peaky blinders blurb #peaky blinders fanfiction #peaky blinders fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #k’s 3.5k celebration

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jjuwuni · 9 months ago

Text

shortcut to heaven | yang jungwon x oc

pairings — yang jungwon x reader

genre — fluff, angst, college!au, fake dating trope, drama, occasional smut (minors dni please)

summary — Two strangers seemingly cross paths, everywhere they go.

Would they find their heaven among their chaotic lives?

“ That’s right, I’m talking to you, ” Jungwon, THE Yang Jungwon, with his arm, outstretched, index pointing right at me, “ Do you want to be my girlfriend? Fake girlfriend, that is, so make sure you don't end up falling for me. ” With his right dimple in full view, he smirks at me.

And that was the day my whole life turned upside down.

warnings — a SOCMED AU but with heavy narrations, fake dating trope with some twist n' turns, compared to my other stuff this one is definitely more on the cute, fluff side hehe so not much warnings in terms of content ! OT7 enha is present, as well as probably other 4th gen idols, will use nwjns minji as the faceclaim for y/n, alcohol, drunken mishaps, profanity, there might be slightly dark themes surrounding family and love, no mnc i assure you, making out, smut etc. will happen so minors 👀 watching you !

[ preview ] | [ 1 ]

A/N: hi there ! back with another update ! enjoy ^^ it's another jam-packed type of update hehe let me know what you guys think of it ! please don't be shy to comment or talk to me or anything, i always love it when i hear from you. also, taglist is OPEN! for this.

taglist: @jwnghyuns, @sparklingsjy

A FEW DAYS LATER .. (party time 🥳)

NARRATION — READER'S POV

Jin could only sigh, she knew her older brother was very protective of her and she couldn’t do anything about it. Her brother used to study in the same school, but later on, dropped out as he decided to pursue his music career. His band, “Spring Memories” got their big break from one of their songs going viral on social media, and he opted to be a full-time musician instead.

As much as their parents were against the idea of him dropping out, they were still supportive of him. Even though the money wasn’t consistently coming in, her parents have always been very encouraging people, showing both their kids their support in whatever it is they want to do.

One thing’s for sure, her older brother had always been there for her, even though they rarely see each other now.

@Vampire 🧛🧛🧛 ft. creepy dude

NARRATION — READER'S POV

To Jinae’s dismay, half of the night was spent trying to run away and hide from people. She wouldn’t say that she was the most popular girl in her school, that was Han Sooyoung’s title, rightfully so. Much like the four guys, she held as much influence as the other guys did – belonging to the top 1% of society, poised to inherit a huge company, beautiful, smart, the works.

Even so, she would be lying if she said she hadn’t received offers to go out here and there.

“Ugh, it’s so hard being this pretty, right? I can relate.” Says Sunoo as she sits beside him once people finally leave her alone. Jinae mustered out a grin with a small laugh, happy that her best friend had made light of the situation for her.

“I just don’t get it, why does this happen?” She responds, her face sullen.

Sunoo could only roll his eyes, sliding a glass full of whatever kind of cocktail they were serving, “How many times do I have to explain this to you?” Sighing out heavily, he leaned over so that they’d be shoulder to shoulder, speaking loud enough over the bass-boosted music so that his best friend would get it through her thick skull, “Why do you think so many people come to watch you dance? You’re the best female dancer out there Jin, it's no question that you have people’s attention.” He couldn’t even fathom how his bestie hadn’t picked up on this all.

“Plus, you know I have the latest gossip around school, right?” Sunoo takes a small sip before continuing, for dramatic effect, “Well, I heard people have been talking about whether you’re Team Sooyoung or Team Jinae. People talk about you two being the prettiest girls in school. It’s as simple as that.”

Even though Sunoo had laid it out piece by piece and even spelled it out for her, she still couldn’t understand why. Looking back, all her life she has heard that she was pretty, with her parents and friends even trying to convince her to go into acting or being an idol, or even join those survival shows on TV.

But that just wasn’t her, it wasn’t her thing. As cliche as it was, Jinae didn’t want the attention.

All she wanted was a quiet university experience, and for her to be able to graduate so she could get a good job to secure her family’s future.

Unable to come up with a response to Sunoo, she proceeds to down the rest of the cocktail in the glass she was holding onto, before reaching for another one.

Minutes passed and the pace at which she was drinking, coupled with the dizzying strobe lights and deafening music all contributed to her feeling intoxicated.

Jake was nowhere to be found, and Sunoo eventually got bored of sitting around and decided to take to the dance floor, being the life of the party as per usual.

Meanwhile, Jinae decided it was time to go to the bathroom.

Given, that she didn’t frequent this particular club much, along the way to the bathroom, she got lost, not knowing where to go.

But it was there that she was met by something that changed the course of her night, or in this case, someone.

THE FOREVER "WTF HAPPENED LAST NIGHT" QUESTION

THE NIGHT AFTER (ft. the cutest wallpaper)

WHAT HAPPENED??? 👀 (we finally get the answer)

HAPPY MONDAY! 😆

NARRATION — READER'S POV

It was Monday morning and Jin's mind was everywhere but in the present moment. Sitting in class, she was currently in the process of spacing out, caught in her own little world inside of her head.

Truth be told, ever since that night at the club, she had been out of it. She hated it - the fact that she was still ruminating over what happened between her and Jungwon in the janitor's closet.

It all happened so fast, that her intoxicated mind couldn't keep up with it. All she could remember was finding Jungwon somewhat sulking in the closet, then engaging in a conversation with him about the dance club and her spewing out that she hated people like him.

The next memory she had then was her pinned up against the door. She could still remember that moment clearly, Jungwon's arms encasing either side of her head..

"Miss Park.."

His face was so dangerously close to hers. And in that moment she remembered thinking how beautiful the male's eyes were upclose. They were cat-like, almost as if he drew on some cat-eye on himself with an eyeliner.

"Hello?! Earth to Miss Park Jinae?"

And he smelled so damn good, too. Like musky, but with that shower-fresh smell. It was intoxicating, moreso than the god-knows-how-many glasses of cocktails she'd had that night.

Thankfully being pulled out of her trance by someone tapping her on the shoulder, she looked up, mouth slightly agape when she realized that she had been daydreaming this whole time.

Daydreaming about Jungwon, no less.

"Well, I'll see you later. I have to drop these off at the student council room." Jinae grumbled with a sulky expression, waving goodbye to Sunoo as best she could while balancing the high stack of papers on both her arms.

Because of her little trip to daydream land a while ago, their professor assigned her to do this as punishment for not listening during the lecture. Their teacher happened to be the student government's adviser, so it was only fair that she was given this task.

And as if her day couldn't get any worse, one second, she was on her way inside the student council room, and the next, she was on the ground, with sheets of paper flying everywhere, hearing a loud WHACKing sound before falling on her back on the floor.

It didn't quite register just yet that Jinae had been hit hard by the wooden door, not until she felt a stinging feeling on her forehead.

"O-ow.. what the fuck..." Was all she could say, trying to get her bearings and propping herself up with one elbow from the floor, while her other hand reached to rub at the painful spot in her head.

You know those teenage romcom movies where things suddenly go into slow-mo mode, as this tall, handsome guy approaches you and kneels down to check on you? Well, that was what Jinae was currently going through.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't see you." Said the slender male with white alabaster skin. He had a white button-down on with black slacks, and silver-rimmed glasses to match.

Jinae stared at him, blinking her eyes repeatedly, as it finally dawns on her who the perpetrator was.

Park Sunghoon.

THAT SAME DAY... 😳

THE PLOT THICKEMS...

INTRODUCING ... SUNGHOON'S DUMP ACCT!

ANOTHER EYESEMOJI MOMENT?

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sentientgolfball · 1 year ago

Text

Need To Bleed

I couldn’t not write about this pic

18+ MDNI

Pairing: Phantom/Swiss/Cirrus

Word count: 5877

Tags: self deprecation, mentions of puking but nothing graphic, mommy kink, sub Swiss, oral

Summary: the new guy looks like he’s about ready to pass out at the end of his first tour. Swiss and Cirrus take care of him.

Phantom’s breathing comes in short and heavy as the sparks fall around him and the ghouls drag out the last notes of the song. He did it. He made it through the first leg of his very first tour. He felt like he was going to get sick or pass out or both. The lights and the roar of the crowd didn’t help either.

Once everything settled and the ghouls went backstage to return their instruments before final bows he tried to sneak away to find a quiet space to collapse in. His ears started ringing as he handed the techie his guitar.

Why was this happening? He thought Everything went perfectly. I should be happy! I should be excited! I’m gonna puke. He had to choke down the bile rising in his throat. He started to creep his way closer to the door to the outside when he felt someone pat him hard on the back.

“Where do you think you’re going? Stage is this way!” It was Swiss. Of course it was, he had been the most enthusiastic about breaking the ice and welcoming the new ghouls into the pack. That’s not to say the others didn’t like the new summons, but for most change is something that takes time to get used to. Swiss was not most, however. He was always eager to spend time with the two new ghouls trying to help them fit in and find their places. Phantom had been a bit wary of the multi-ghoul for the first few weeks once he had heard about his reputation from Aether, and even more so when he heard the pleasured cries of Aurora late one night when he couldn’t sleep.

It’s not that he didn’t want to do that sort of bonding with the others, he was nervous. Terrified is probably a better word to use. He was constantly reminded he was not Aether every time he did…really anything. He wasn’t as big as him, he had to crop the sleeves of the old uniform he was given. He wasn’t as gifted with his quintessence, it took him minutes to heal a cut Rain had gotten during rehearsal. He didn’t play the same, every time Dew had rolled his eyes at him when he messed up parts of songs in the months prior to the tour he felt another drop of his confidence evaporate.

So, he spent all of his time learning the songs by heart so he could do the one thing he was summoned to do. It also helped to keep his mind from wandering too far whenever he heard the pleasured sounds of his pack. It was just another thing he’d be compared to with Aether. He knew the others didn’t resent him for taking the older quintessence ghoul’s spot after he was asked to take charge of the abbey’s nursery, but he was terrified of disappointing them. He wanted to be just as great as his predecessor. He wanted the others to like him. And they did, but he was too clouded by self doubt to see how badly they wanted their newest packmate to stop hiding away and join them.

The first few days of the tour were rough for everybody, but a system was developed that helped everyone calm down. With the forced proximity of the tour bus, the other ghouls and Phantom started to become closer. He was also able to get over his aversion to Swiss after a heavy make out session to celebrate the first show that ended with cuddling instead of fucking. Besides Rain, Swiss had become closer with him compared to the other ghouls.

That’s why when he put his hand on Phantom’s back and spoke to him he had no shame in bursting into tears. Swiss quickly drew his hand back before gently turning him around to face him. With the helmets still on it was hard for Phantom to read his expression, but he could smell the concern radiating off of him. He opened his mouth to try to explain in any way but all that came out was a pathetic whine. Swiss just looked at him for a moment before pulling him into an embrace. He was never the best at comforting others, but it hurt seeing the little ghoul break down like this.

“Do you think you can get back out there for bows?” Swiss asked calmly. Phantom shook his head with another small whine. He was convinced that if he let go of Swiss now he’d fall over. He was about to say something to Phantom when another voice interrupted him.

“What’s takin’ so long boys? Oh…” Cirrus came up slowly behind the two. She sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose at the smell. She cautiously approached the pair and put a clawed hand on Phantom’s shoulder. “What’s wrong, sweet thing?” She kept her voice low and gentle as she spoke.

He shook his head. “‘S too much.” His voice came out in a high-pitched whine as he buried his face into Swiss’ chest.

“What’s too much, little bug?” Swiss asked.

“Everything,” He choked out

“Can you be more specific?” Cirrus asked, gently running her thumb over his shoulder.

He shook his head again with a whine. The two ghouls exchanged a look of concern and confusion before Cirrus spoke up.

“Hey, it's alright Phantom. It’s the last show for a month then we get a break. All we gotta do is our bows and then it's over. Can you do that for us?” She moved her hand from his shoulder to his head holding it gently.

He wanted to. So badly. He wanted to be proud of how far he’s come in only a few months, but he felt like he was untethered from his body.

“I don’t have to let go. I’ll carry you out there if you need me to. Me and Cir will be right there.” This was the most genuine that Phantom had ever heard Swiss sound. The soft rumble of his voice helped to ground the ghoul squished against his chest. He felt tears start to burn his eyes again, but he blinked them away and took a deep breath. He made it this far. He was going to go out there and take his final bow if it killed him. He felt secure with the support of Swiss and Cirrus. He could do it if not for himself at least for his packmates.

He detached himself from Swiss and nodded “Okay… Okay, let’s go.”

He smiled despite the mask covering his face. It was more for himself anyways. He was trying his best to muster up as much confidence that he had left in him. The other two still looked concerned, but they walked out there with him. They followed behind him in case they needed to catch him.

They arrived just in time for Dew to throw his last pick into the crowd and the others started to line up. The ghouls grabbed each other's hands and paused for a moment before taking their bows. Phantom then realized he made a mistake coming back out. He felt his knees give the second he stood back up. Swiss quickly scooped him up to make it look like a hug, and not that he was about ready to fall over.

“I got you, bug,” He whispered, holding him steady. Cirrus came around the other side of them and reached out to help Swiss. He gave her hand a squeeze. “I got him Cir, don’t worry.” There was a hint of laughter in his voice.

“I need out,” Phantom mumbled against his shoulder. Swiss nodded and led him offstage, keeping an arm around him. Cirrus quickly followed, wrapping her hand around the other side of him.

The two ghouls navigated expertly through the crowded backstage to the dressing room. They gently put him down on the worn sofa and took his helmet off before discarding their own.

Phantom laid his head back and closed his eyes trying to keep himself calm with deep breaths the way Aether showed him. His concentration was broken when he felt a hand on his arm. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Cirrus sitting in front of him with a rag. Swiss stood behind her tail flicking with worry.

“May I?” She looked at him with such adoration he felt himself be pulled closer to his body. He nodded and reached out to Swiss. The multi-ghoul eagerly complied and sat down next to him, careful to not touch him anywhere as to not make the overstimulation worse. Phantom, however, practically threw himself onto Swiss the moment he sat. He felt grounded by the warmth of his body and the scent of him. Once he was settled Cirrus took the rag and started to gently clean the show makeup off his face.

“I’m so proud of you for finishing the show, sweet thing,” She whispered as she ran the warm cloth over his face. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to be brought back down by Cirrus’ words and the feeling of Swiss all around him. He let out a small trill as praise fell from both of their lips. After Cirrus had cleaned him, he let Swiss help him into a more comfortable outfit.

He had no idea how long they all had been in the dressing room or when they left the venue. He didn’t really come back to himself until he was told they were home. The entire ride back to the Ministry was a complete blur to him. He might’ve fallen asleep, but he wasn’t even sure about that. He blinked slowly and raised his head off of Swiss’ shoulder looking around in confusion. Cirrus laughed softly from beside him.

“You passed out the moment we stepped foot onto the bus,” She explained.

“You also drooled all over me,” Swiss teased.

“I…sorry about that, but also thank you. Both of you,” He looked at his packmates with affection, feeling a purr kick up in his chest.

“Don’t thank us yet. We still have to get you back to the den without breaking you, or Aether will kill us,” Swiss said as he started to untangle himself from Phantom and Cirrus.

Phantom stood and stretched himself with a few loud cracks that earned a shudder and a groan from Rain as he passed by.

“You gonna be able to make it back to your room okay?” Swiss asked carefully, watching him move about.

“Yeah,” He smiled, “I think I’m feeling better.”

He took a step forward towards the door of the bus and his vision went hazy. “Uh-oh,” was all he could say before he felt himself stumble backwards. Cirrus quickly caught him before he fell.

“Yeah, you’re better alright,” She said with a laugh as she hoisted him up.

“Okay, so maybe I’m not as stable as I thought.”

There was a hint of amusement in his voice. The slight wag of his tail showed that he was feeling better than before, however. Swiss cracked a wide smile as he walked over to Phantom and Cirrus before bending down and scooping him into his arms. He let out a gasp as Swiss threw him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing.

“Come on bug, let's get off this smelly bus.”

He carried Phantom to the ghoul den while Cirrus carried all of their luggage. The rest of the pack had already settled back in lounging around in the common area. They all turned to look at the three as they entered, but Swiss paid them no mind. He just kept walking past them heading straight to Phantom’s room with Cirrus following close behind. The other ghouls laughed, and shouted congratulations to him for somehow managing to get both Cirrus and Swiss into his bedroom. Cirrus just rolled her eyes at them as she closed the door behind her.

Once inside Swiss carefully laid Phantom onto his bed and curled next to him with a soft purr. He looked at Cirrus with a smile and shifted around to make room for her. She wrapped herself around the other side of Phantom allowing him to rest his head on her chest. The two twined their tails together and let them rest on his lap. He sighed deeply and melted into the feeling of the bodies pressed close to him.

“You guys don’t have to watch over me like a sick kit, ya know,” He said, speaking flatly with no malice in his voice. He felt bad for the care he was receiving, like he was more of a burden than an equal. His body betrayed him though and the other ghouls could sense it. He wanted nothing more than to continue to have his packmates close to him. That was obvious from the way his tail hadn’t stopped wagging since Swiss picked him up.

“We know,” Cirrus began, “But we want to. Let us take care of you, sweet thing.”

She began to gently scratch at his scalp with her claws. He immediately leaned into the touch. He could try to deflect all night, but he had no more excuses left in him. So, he stayed silent apart from a soft purr and let the two bigger ghouls dote on him.

After some time, the peaceful silence was broken. The muffled sounds of furniture scraping against the floor and moans drifted in from the common area. Phantom’s eyes snapped open and looked between Swiss and Cirrus whose ears were perked at the noises.

His ears dropped as he sighed, “You two should go celebrate with the others. I appreciate what you did for me, but I’m actually feeling better this time.”

They both looked down at him with soft eyes.

“Why don’t you join us, little bug?”

It was both an offer and a genuine question. Phantom bit his lip trying to think of an excuse that wouldn’t make the two ghouls worry even more. When he took too long to answer, Cirrus gently turned his head to make him look at her

“We’re not leaving unless you really want us to, but that’s not what you want, is it?” Her voice was low and silky when she spoke. She was right. Phantom didn’t want them to leave, he wanted them to stay right there with him. He wanted both of them. He wouldn’t admit that though, he couldn’t. He was convinced he would be a disappointment to both of them, or any of the other ghouls for that matter.

“Tell us what’s wrong, sweet thing,” Her voice was still soft, but firm. A command, not a request. She still held his chin in her hand.

He closed his eyes with a whine and huffed, “I’m not Aether.”

Cirrus’ eyes flicked to meet Swiss’ before looking back at him

“Of course you’re not Aether.”

“That’s the problem. I’m nothing like him. I’m not stupid. I know you’d all rather have him here.”

“We don’t expect you to be him, sweetness,” She moved her hand from his chin to hold his cheek, “We miss him, of course, but it’s also exciting having you here. We want you to be a part of this pack in your own way.”

“You’re definitely not like him, but that’s a good thing” Swiss spoke as he pulled Phantom closer to him, “You’re a hell of a better kisser.”

He laughed as Cirrus smacked him over the head.

“Really?” Phantom’s voice was quiet when he spoke. The comment brought a blush to his face and made his stomach flip. The two bigger ghouls exchanged a look and a grin before turning their attention back to Phantom. They could smell the arousal on him. Cirrus trailed her fingers down from his hair back to his chin making him look at her again. The feeling brought a shiver through him.

“So that’s what this is about. You just wanna be good for us, huh?” She grinned when Phantom nodded his head with a desperate whine.

“What was that, little bug? I didn’t quite catch that,” Swiss started to slowly drag his claws down his back to rest at his hips. He growled in satisfaction at the scent of Phantom’s arousal getting stronger.

“Yes I do… I just wanna be good. I don’t wanna disappoint any of you.”

The confession came out of his mouth so easily. The desperation in his voice made Swiss’ cock kick in his sweats. Cirrus hummed in response pulling his face closer to hers so they were only a breath apart

“Then show us,” She whispered before closing the distance.

He melted into the kiss with a pathetic whine. She bit down lightly at his bottom lip making him gasp. With his lips parted she snaked her tongue into his mouth and pressed against his. He brought a shaky hand to the back of her head, more to ground himself than anything. He felt Swiss shift beside him and let out a groan that was swallowed by Cirrus when he felt how hard the multi-ghoul already was just from watching the two.

Without breaking the kiss Cirrus hooked a leg around Phantom and moved to straddle him. She smiled with a huff when she felt his dick straining against the fabric of his lounge shorts. She tilted her head to adjust the angle to allow her to practically shove her tongue down his throat. She licked around the inside of his mouth with expertise learning the taste of him. When she was satisfied, she slowly pulled back, letting her tongue drag on his before she leaned all the way back to look at him. She used her thumb to swipe the bit of drool that collected on his lips. He whined at the loss of contact as he looked up at her with big eyes.

She shushed him as she slowly dragged her claws down his torso and under his shirt. His breath hitched when he felt her lift his shirt at a leisurely pace. He involuntarily started to thrust up against her, searching for any type of relief. She clicked her tongue and removed her hands from his body.

“Patience is a virtue pet. All good things come to those who wait. You wanna feel good, don’t you?”

He nodded his head with pleas dripping from his lips, “I’ll be good for you. Please just keep touching me. Please.”

Swiss was the one to oblige him. He picked up where Cirrus left off, dragging his claws to his chest before rolling a nipple between his fingers.

“Come on Cir, listen to him beg. Give him what he wants.”

Cirrus hissed and smacked his hand away with her tail.

“Down boy. You’ll get your turn with him when I say so.” Her voice turned stern when speaking to Swiss. She didn’t even look at him when she spoke. He growled in response but didn’t dare to disobey her. She then turned her full attention back to Phantom.

“Do you want me to continue?” Her voice was thick and sweet.

He nodded eagerly. He had to force himself to stay still under her as she took his shirt all the way off with a feather light touch.

“Will you do as I say?” Her hands were resting on her thighs as she waited for his response

“Yes– fuck– yes, I’ll do anything you want,” His voice was shaky as he spoke.

“Yes what?”

“Yes mommy.”

Cirrus let out an amused trill.

“Not what I expected, but I can work with that,” She smiled down at him as she rolled her hips forward over his clothed cock. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he let out a groan. She did this a few more times before turning to Swiss who was currently palming himself through his sweats.

“Don’t you think it’s a little unfair he’s the only one half naked?” She mused.

The multi-ghoul immediately understood what she was implying. He sat up and started to take Cirrus’ top off for her. He went slow with her bra, making a show of it as Phantom stared with blown out pupils and his mouth slightly open. When her bra was off, he couldn’t help but cup one into his hand with a squeeze. She grabbed Swiss’ wrist with force.

“That's twice. Break the rules again and I’ll have to tie your hands behind your back,” She smiled menacingly at him, “But you’d like that, wouldn’t you whore? Go play with yourself until you’re needed.”

He flicked his tail in faux annoyance. He was grateful she was even allowing him to touch himself, he knew she could be worse to him and he didn’t want to test that. Not yet at least. Not before Phantom was taken care of. He slid his sweats off and shoved his hand into his boxers as he watched Cirrus grab Phantom’s hands and put them on her chest.

He greedily squeezed her breasts before rolling both her nipples between his fingers. A wide smile plastered his face when he heard her breathe out a soft moan. She gently guided his hands from her tits down her torso to the tie on her pajama shorts.

“Take them off,” She softly encouraged him. Despite how badly his hands were shaking, he made quick work of the knot and started to slide them down her hips. She raised up to help him get them off of herself. Before setting back down, she hovered her hands over Phantom’s shorts tracing a finger around the waistband, silently asking permission to remove them.

“Please,” Was all he could manage to choke out.

She bit her lip with a smile as she took both his shorts and boxers off. He shuddered at the feeling of the cold air against his flushed dick. Swiss groaned from his spot on the bed at the sight. Phantom looked over and saw that he had taken himself all the way out, squeezing the head of his cock as he watched Cirrus slowly wrap her fingers around Phantom. He gasped and threw his head back into the pillow. His hips bucked slightly as she dragged her claw tips from the base to the head, before she swiped her fingers over the slit to gather the precum that was pooling. She hummed as she rubbed it between her fingers, spreading it over his whole dick.

Phantom was breathing heavily as he focused on not thrusting up and fucking into Cirrus’ hand. She squeezed at the base before running her hand up and down the shaft slowly at first, tracing a vein on the underside of his dick. His whimpers turned to moans when she started a faster pace. His tail started to twitch involuntarily as he began rhythmically rocking into Cirrus’ fist. Pre was leaking down his dick and over her hand as she continued to stroke him from root to tip.

“Mommy, please, I’m gonna—“ He was cut short by Cirrus completely letting go of him. His head snapped up to look at her with desperate confusion.

“Aw, come on, be nice to the new guy, Cir,” Swiss huffed with his hand wrapped around his dick.

She just laughed lightly at both of them, “Can’t train a new pet by giving it what it wants all the time.”

She looked at Phantom waiting to see what he’d do. He started to reach towards himself to finish the job, but she stopped him with a tsk.

“Not that… Try again sweet thing.” He paused for a moment before bringing his hands to her hips grabbing the waistband of her underwear. She gave a trill of approval and once again lifted herself off of him so he could take them off of her. She gently sat herself on his thighs once her underwear was tossed to the side. Phantom groaned at the feeling of her wet cunt against him.

“Tell me what you want, pet,.” She rolled her hips.

“I— fuck– make me cum please. I want to. I need to.”

His head was thrown back into the pillow trying to focus on anything else besides his throbbing dick.

She laughed, “I know you want that pet, try again. What else do you want?”

She continued to roll her hips over his thigh. He bit his lip trying to think.

“Close. I want you close,” He whined out. She seemed pleased with this answer stopping the roll of her hips.

“Sit up then,” She whispered.

He quickly obliged, sitting up to rest against the pillows and the headboard. Cirrus turned herself around and leaned back against his chest and reached down to guide his cock to her slit. The weight on the bed shifted when Swiss sat up to watch with hungry eyes as Phantom slowly went inside her inch by inch. She took him slowly, giving her body the chance to stretch and get comfortable with the feeling of him inside her, before she started to rock her hips. Phantom’s hands immediately gripped her hips with a bit more force than he intended as she lazily rode him.

She looked over at Swiss, noticing he was about to cum all over himself, and huffed a laugh.

“Get over here and make yourself useful.”

She used her tail to spread Phantom’s legs further apart to emphasize her request. He quickly let go of his dick and positioned himself in between the pair’s legs. Phantom tried to peek around Cirrus to see what she intended Swiss to do.

The multi-ghoul ran his hands over Phantom’s thighs before he heard a hiss from Cirrus, “I didn’t say you could use your hands now did I? You wanted to touch so badly without permission, this is what you get.”

And there it was. Of course she wouldn’t actually tie his hands around his back for breaking the rules, it would only add to Swiss’ pleasure. No, she had to find a way to break him instead.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Her tail darted forward and wrapped around the base of his dick just a bit too tightly causing him to let out a mix of a gasp and a moan, “You can only cum once both of us have finished. Better get to it.”

She smiled cruelly down at him as she started to rock her hips again on Phantom’s dick.

“Swiss fuck please. I need to cum.” He whined when he realized he wouldn’t be getting anything else from Cirrus at the moment. “Aw come on listen to him beg” she mimicked Swiss “give him what he wants.” She emphasized her words by squeezing her tail tighter around Swiss’ dick. He groaned before he put his hands behind his back and bent down so he was between the pair of legs. He held eye contact with Cirrus as he licked a trail from the base of Phantom’s cock to where the two were connected before circling around her clit. Phantom cried out at the feeling and bucked up into Cirrus causing Swiss’ nose and tongue to be dragged down her cunt. She bit her lip to stifle a moan as she laid her head back to rest on Phantom’s shoulder.

Swiss continued to circle his tongue around her clit before taking it between his lips. Phantom's hands reached forward wrapping his hands around Swiss’ horns and gently started to scratch at the base. He moaned against Cirrus’ cunt at the feeling, pulling a groan from the other two ghouls as his voice vibrated around them. He started to rut into the mattress trying to find stimulation, but it was a herculean task with how tight Cirrus’ tail was around his dick. He was only spurred by his own desire at this point. He licked at her clit again before trailing his tongue down to where the two ghouls were attached. He feverishly flicked his tongue between Cirrus’ cunt and the base of Phantom’s dick, moaning loudly when he felt the grip on his horns tighten. He could tell Phantom was getting close by the way his moans turned into soft whines and pleas. Being so desperate for his own release, Swiss trailed his tongue down lower and licked at Phantom’s balls. That combined with the way Cirrus was still lazily rolling around him sent the quintessence ghoul over the edge with a lascivious moan. His cock kicked inside of her as his orgasm crashed into him. Swiss quickly trailed his tongue back to where the two ghouls were connected and licked at where his cum was spilling out of her.

Swiss dragged his tongue around her folds before circling around her clit once more. He continued to suck and lick at it while Phantom rocked deeper into her pressing kisses of gratitude into her neck. She couldn’t stifle her moans at the feeling of the two working in unison in an attempt to satisfy her. She snaked a hand around the back of Phantom’s head and held him close to her. Her thighs squeezed around Swiss’ head as she came around Phantom who was still buried inside of her. Swiss continued to roll his tongue over her clit to drag her orgasm out.

When her thighs stopped shaking she slowly released her tail from Swiss’ dick and pulled him to look at her by the chin. He grinned and licked her slick off his face. She peeled herself off of Phantom and bit her lip at the feeling of his cum dripping out of her when she stood. He watched it slide down her leg with hazy eyes. His head was too fuzzy with pleasure to even fully comprehend that it was his.

She gently cupped Phantom’s face in his hand and gave him a chaste kiss. “Be a good boy and take care of him while I get cleaned up, okay?” She didn’t wait for a response as she bent to gather her discarded clothes and headed to the bathroom right outside of Phantom’s room. He wasted no time crawling over to Swiss. He looked at him with blown out eyes waiting for him to tell him what to do. Swiss ran a finger over his lips tugging slightly at them. That’s all Phantom needed. He pushed his lips against the head of his dick letting it slip into his mouth. He hollowed out his cheeks when he felt Swiss grab a fistful of hair, letting him use the other to satisfy himself. Phantom pressed his tongue to the bottom of his dick as Swiss used the grip he had to make him bob his head. “Shit just like that little bug.” He hissed when he felt Phantom cup his balls, mimicking what Swiss had done earlier for him. He pushed him down until he gagged. The muscles contracting around Swiss threw him over the edge. He shot his load against the back of Phantom’s throat as a mix of curses and praises tumbled from his lips. He tried to swallow as much as he could, but he couldn’t breathe anymore. He pulled off Swiss quickly with an obscene pop and started coughing. The multi-ghoul gave him a few firm pats on the back with an affectionate laugh.

When he finally stopped coughing Swiss swiped his thumb over his cheek catching the tears that had fallen when he choked. He got up and dug through Phantom’s stuff before he pulled out a small towel from his dresser. He used it to clean both of them off before tossing it into the laundry basket. Phantom was still too hazy to protest or help with the clean up, but Swiss didn’t mind. He just carefully helped Phantom back into his clothes for a second time that night and pulled him tight against his chest once he laid back down on the bed. He peppered the quintessence ghoul with kisses muttering praises in between.

The two ghouls looked up when they heard the door open. Phantom’s face lit up seeing how Cirrus looked at them in adoration.

She walked over to the bed and curled in next to them giving both of them a kiss “So good for me, both of you.” She wrapped an arm around Phantom’s waist and tangled her tail with Swiss’. The little ghoul started to feel the weight of the day catch up to him again, but this time he didn’t feel like he was going to fall into the void. He felt safe and content with the feeling of his packmates around him along with the sound of their purrs. He was about ready to drift to sleep when he heard Swiss break the peaceful silence

“So…was that your first blowjob? Hey!” Cirrus smacked him over the head the moment the question came out.

“Damn it Swiss have a little bit of shame…but was it?”

Phantom’s face flushed a deep shade of purple, his eyes open wide. He tried to stammer out a response, but the longer the question hung in the air the more embarrassed he got. He groaned and covered his face with his hands when the other two started to laugh at his reaction.

“That’s all I needed to know” Swiss smiled and planted a loving kiss on the side of his head “next time I’ll give you a better demonstration.” He couldn’t help the way his tail wagged at the idea of a next time. He wasn’t a disappointment to them, and for once he didn’t feel like he was being compared to Aether. Cirrus pulled him closer with a soft hum and whispered her goodnight against his ear before closing her eyes. It wasn’t long before the other two followed suit, sleeping peacefully through the rest of the night.

The next morning Phantom walked into the kitchen area of the ghoul den only to be met with a smug looking Dewdrop. Part of him considered turning right back around and burying himself back into the cuddle pile. The other part of him was curious to see what Dew had to say to him. So, he stood there in the doorway waiting for him to speak.

Dew just smiled, took a long sip of his coffee and walked past him but not before patting him on the shoulder.

“Oh one thing” he turned back towards Phantom “next time there’s a fucking party, don’t hog the two best ghouls.” He then left the kitchen with a laugh as Phantom stared at him slack jawed floundering to come up with some type of response. He sighed and gave up when Dew was out of sight turning back towards the kitchen. It was then that he saw Rain sitting at the table sipping from a mug.

He jumped, “How long have you been there!”

“Long enough” he smiled “glad to see you’re starting to get along with the others. ”

Phantom paused for a moment processing the words before smiling back at Rain. He was right. The other ghouls had been patient with him, and now he finally started to feel like he was a real member of the pack. He couldn’t wait to spend more time getting to know them.

#the band ghost #ghost bc #nameless ghouls #swiss ghoul #cirrus ghoulette #phantom ghoul #smut fic #mdni #golfball writes

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wellgoslowly · 1 year ago

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Hello! I love reading your stories and I was wondering if I could get a request please. It’s for Lockwood and Co. One day, Lockwood stumbled into a small bookstore because it was raining and there he finds the reader (and her dog, a boxer please) who owns the bookstore and they start talking and the reader doesn’t think anything about it (because she talks to all her customers the same way) but Lockwood starts showing up more often at the bookstore to just to talk to her and slowly but surely they start falling for each other. Thank you so much!!!

Bookstore Girl

a/n: this is by far the longest request I've written to date! I'm very proud of it and I'd defo be interested in writing a part two. I also just love me a good bookstore romance so this was super fun to write! i listened to the song bookstore girl by charlie burg a lot while writing this!! also there's quite a bit of tea related discussions and I have never made tea so pls don't scream at me I am simply american and unexperienced.

pairing: lockwood × fem!reader

word count: 3.3k

warnings: none

notices: a character in this oneshot uses neopronouns [ey/em]!! if you don’t know what they are, please check this out- and if you don’t support people who use neopronouns, do not interact. If you comment hate, you will be blocked. neopronoun users are valid and loved on my blog, and I won’t tolerate hate of any kind. if you use neoprouns- know that I love you and you will always have a place in my writing (as a person who goes by they/she/ey)

tags: @ikeasupremacy @oblivious-idiot @givemea-dam-break @tangledinlove @neewtmas @losticaruss @waitingforthesunrise [if yall want to be tagged when I post requests, lmk in the comments! also sorry if I forgot anyone!!]

It was a slow, rainier-than-normal London afternoon when you first met Anthony Lockwood.

“Hi there… Would you happen to have anywhere I could sit and… dry off?” You had been shelving what was left of a new shipment of classics you had just received when you’d heard a distressed patron behind you. “Oh yes, of course.” You said as you turned to face the customer, suppressing a laugh at the sight before you. A handsome figure stood behind you, their dark long coat absolutely dripping as they wrapped it around themselves, trying to salvage some sense of warmth. “We have a cafe in the back, follow me… and try not to drip too much.” You joked, and goddamn, of course the pretty customer had a pretty laugh.

“Apologies, uh… ma'am.” He said, noticing the pronoun pin on the strap of your apron. “I was just walking home and the storm came out of nowhere and one of my roommates broke my umbrella last week… long story.” They explained as you led them to the small cafe situated in the rear of the store. “Would you like anything? Cocoa, Tea?” You offered as they sat down at a small table near the entryway. “Oh, tea would be perfect, thank you.” They spoke, and you couldn’t help but notice the rapier attached to their hip as the sheath scraped gently across the hardwood floor.

“How do you take it?” Nellie, your best friend, business partner, and head barista, asked from behind the counter. “Hm- surprise me. However you take it is fine.” The customer said with a smile. You slipped behind the counter, brushing past Nellie as ey flitted about looking for the secret stash of eir favorite tea that ey always keep hidden, only taking from it on “special occasions”. Nellie winked at you as you slipped into the backroom, looking for the spare blanket you always keep back there for cold winter days. You rolled your eyes and shooed Nellie away, causing em to laugh. Finding the soft reserve blanket, you turned to take it to the sopping wet customer, only to find Nellie blocking your way.

“What are you doing?” Nellie asked, a slightly mischievous glint in eir eyes. “Getting our dripping wet customer a blanket. Why?” You asked, suspicious of Nellie’s train of thought. “He’s nice. Asked me my pronouns and told me he goes by he/him. He’s pretty cute too.” You scoffed. “What does that have to do with anything?” You laughed, causing Nellie to roll eir eyes at you. “You never let anyone use your blanket, not even me.” You laughed again. “Yeah, Nellie, well, you’re never sopping wet when you ask. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must attend to our customer.” You say, brushing past Nellie and ignoring eir laughter as you walked out of the backroom.

When you returned to the main floor, you noticed that the customer was no longer alone. “Bruce, leave the poor guy alone.” You laughed, watching as your dog, a Boxer, jumped up, front paws landing on the customer’s lap as the customer laughed. “It’s not a problem, honestly. He’s quite cute.” You smiled, handing the blanket to the customer, who took it with a soft “thank you” and an appreciative smile.

“I'm glad you think so. Some of our older patrons don't like that we have a dog around, but I could care less.” You say, bending down slightly to pet Bruce on the head as he jumped down from the customer's lap. “Is he yours?” The customer asked as he wrapped the blanket around his body. You nodded, sitting down at a chair opposite the patron.

“Yep. This place, too.” You said with a cheerful smile as Bruce jumped into your lap. “Oh! I had no clue I was in the presence of the owner.” You laughed, scratching behind Bruce's ears. “No, I'm serious, that's really cool. I run my own business too, but it's not… quite like this.” He chuckled, almost to himself, glancing down at the rapier on his hip.

“Wait- you run your own agency?” You asked, intrigued. You had vaguely heard of agents running their own agencies, but you hadn't necessarily believed that someone your age was capable of running something like that. And yet it kind of made sense, taking in his appearance- the long coat, white button down, black tie, and slightly too-tight pants gave the desired effect of making him look slightly older and a bit more authoritative.

He smiled and stuck out his hand. “Anthony Lockwood, of Lockwood & Co, at your service. Most people just call me Lockwood.” You smiled, shaking his hand in turn as Bruce grumpily whined at the loss of your hand. “[Name], of Read Rose Books. Pleasure to meet you, Lockwood. You know, I think I've heard of you. You did the Annabelle Ward Case a while back, right?” He nodded, a sparkle appearing in his eye at your mentioning of hearing of his agency. “Yes, that was us. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, [name].”

“And I'm Nellie.” Nellie had a knack for sneaking up on you at the worst times, and that day was no exception as Nellie had somehow crept up behind you without a sound. ~~The customer~~ Lockwood himself didn't seem to notice Nellie's presence, jumping about 3 feet in the air at eir arrival. Nellie set down Lockwood's tea, and he thanked em before taking a sip.

“Oh my god, this is amazing.” He said, turning to Nellie. “How did you do that? I've never tasted anything like it before.” You could see Nellie beam at Lockwood's praise, and you couldn't help but smile. “Secret recipe” was all Nellie said before ey flounced back behind the counter.

Lockwood chuckled, taking another sip. “George- one of my housemates, would love em. He's really into cooking too- makes all sorts of elaborate meals that always taste amazing.” You chuckled, looking back at Nellie. “Even I don't know what Nellie puts in there- ey've never told me.”

“If there's anyone who could get the recipe out of Nellie, it's George. He's an insanely good cook, and he loves tea more than the average person.” You both laughed softly before Lockwood spoke up again.

“Speaking of George, do you have a phone I could use to call home? Just to tell my housemates where I am.” “Oh, of course! Follow me.” With a distressed whine from Bruce, who had to depart from your lap, you got up off you chair and led a blanket-clad Lockwood over to the front desk, where your store phone was located. “Thank you so much, I should be quick.” He said, picking the phone up. “Don't worry about it, take as much time as you need.” You assured him. “I'll be right over there stocking some classics if you need me.” He nodded, and you walked back to where you had been dutifully stocking the beautiful new editions of Pride and Prejudice, making a mental note to leave one aside to purchase later for your own personal collection.

You were still within earshot, so you could hear most of the conversation that Lockwood was having (not that you were purposefully eavesdropping, of course- it was very quiet in the store so it was very hard to try and not hear his conversation. You did try, though.) Lockwood's conversation started with a “Hi George, I wanted to let you know that I'm ok-” before Lockwood was promptly cut off by a loud voice shouting at him, causing Lockwood to jump and have to hold the phone away from his ear for a moment.

“Hello to you too, Luce. Look, I'm fine- I got caught in the storm and *someone* broke my umbrella on that case last week so I had to seek shelter before it got too bad. Don't worry- I'm at that bookstore in town… The one George has been wanting to check out? Read Rose? The staff has been very nice and helped me to warm back up but I'm not sure when I'll be able to come home with how the storm is going.” A moment of silence followed as someone- Lucy, you assumed- spoke to Lockwood. The quiet was broken only by the sound of books being pushed into their respective slots on the shelves.

“No, no, Lucy, you are not coming to get me. I don't care if you broke my umbrella, I won't allow you to walk over here in the rain- Lucy? Lucy?!” And then Lockwood let out a frustrated sigh and put the phone back down on the receiver. You looked back up at him, stifling a laugh at his exasperated expression. “I guess one of my housemates is coming to retrieve me.” He laughed, running a hand through his still-wet hair as he looked outside at the still raging storm. “From what I could hear, they sound very stubborn.” He chuckled. “Oh, she is. Lucy is insanely stubborn, believe me.” You laughed, liking the picture you were putting together in your head of this Lucy already. “To be fair, something tells me you're fairly stubborn yourself.” You chuckled. Lockwood gasped, putting a hand to his heart. “You wound me.” He said, and you both fell in to laughter.

Your laughs subsided after a moment, and you fell into a comfortable silence as you stocked and Lockwood walked around, perusing the aisles of books. You two stayed like that for a couple of minutes, and you had never been more content to just be quiet with someone before. “Now I understand why George has been bugging me to visit here for so long. We haven't had much time- cases have been piling up so George is either at home or at the Archives most of the time these days.” You nodded in understanding as he took a book off a shelf near you and examined the cover.

“I get it. Not the agency work- I don't have any Talents. The stress, I mean. My grandmother owned this place and passed it down to me when she passed. Every day there's something new to take care of or a new problem that comes up.” You laughed as you put the last book on the shelf. Lockwood laughed as well. “I know exactly what you mean. You love it though, don't you?” He asked, turning to you. He smiled as your eyes met his, and you gave him a smile in return. “Yeah,” You said softly. “I really do.”

He grinned, and was opening his mouth to say something when there was a sudden noise at the door, and then there was a borderline soaked girl holding an umbrella standing breathless in the doorway. This must be Lucy, you thought to yourself. She was obviously righteously pissed, her hair dripping as she tried desperately to control the bangs that were matted to her forehead. “Lockwood, you idiot.” She said, shoving the umbrella at Lockwood and turning to face you. She sent a look Lockwood's way, which you translated to say something like “who is this?”. Lockwood smiled.

“Lucy, this is [name], owner of Read Rose Books. She and her friend Nellie have been very welcoming and helped me to get warm. [Name], this is my associate, Lucy Carlyle.” Lucy rolled her eyes, elbowing Lockwood in the ribs and whispering something like “you can just introduce me as your friend, you dickhead” before she turned her attention to you, smiled, and stuck out her hand for you to shake. You did, softly saying “nice to meet you”, as did Lucy. “Thank you for taking care of this one.” Lucy said after your handshake had ended, pointing to Lockwood. You laughed. “It was no problem at all, really.”

Lockwood moved to return the blanket you you, but you refused. “You need it more than I do. Just make sure to return it whenever you can, ok?” He smiled appreciatively, nodding in understanding before Lucy grabbed him by the arm ans hauled him to the door. “Thank you again!” Lockwood yelled at the same time Lucy said “Have a nice night!”, and then they were out the door and the shop was silent again.

Nellie was there within seconds, pressing a warm cup of cocoa into your hand. “I'm never getting that blanket back, am I?” You asked em softly. “Probably not, no.” Ey agreed.

---

It was a week until you saw Anthony Lockwood again.

It was sunny outside this time, and you had a pretty nice crowd going inside the small Read Rose venue. You were just finishing up a customer's transaction, barely had the words “have a good one” out of your mouth, when you saw him enter the store. He had on the same outfit, but his hair was more styled, in a totally not attractive way. He was entering the shop with someone who you didn't recognize. They were slightly shorter, with brown skin and curly dark hair and glasses.

You noticed the second that Lockwood found you, watching his eyes light up and a smile form on his face as he waved. You waved back and returned the smile when you saw what Lockwood was carrying in his left hand.

“I was thinking I'd never see that blanket again.” You joked as Lockwood and his companion walked up to the front counter. Lockwood chuckled. “I see how little faith you have in me.” He spoke as he passed the blanket over to you. “Well, she's not exactly unfounded. Remember that time I leant you a sweatshirt and I didn't get it back for a month?” You laughed as you placed the folded blanket on a shelf beneath the counter, not seeing Lockwood sharply elbow his companion in the ribs.

“Anyways, [Name], this is my best friend and business associate, George Karim. He's the one I told you about that's really good at cooking. ” You reached out your hand for George to shake, but he ignored it and turned to examine your store. Within seconds, he was walking away to an aisle that had caught his eye, leaving you behind with Lockwood as you yelled out a rushed, “it was nice to meet you!”

Lockwood smiled apologetically. “Don't mind him. He's au- he can be a bit brash, but he's a good guy, once you get to know him.” You smiled back as you waved your hand in a dismissing manner. “Don't worry about it. I hope I do. Get to know him, that is. Lockwood & Co. seems like a very fun bunch.”

All Lockwood could do was smile before George returned, informing you that they would be back soon but they had a case that night that they had to prepare for. You nodded in understanding. “I'll look forward to your next visit. Be safe out there.” One last dazzling smile from Lockwood and he was gone, being borderline pushed outside by George as you laughed.

---

It went on like that for weeks- at least once a week, Anthony Lockwood would wander into your shop, only once or twice actually buying a book. You got to know each other fairly well- you learned that he hated sugar in his tea, that he always wore pink socks, that he didn't always wear suits, and that he started wearing [favorite color] ties whenever he came to visit after you told him it was your favorite color.

You learned that his favorite genres were classics and mystery (and that he had a bit of an obsession with gossip magazines). Often times, he would come in right before closing a couple times a week and sit and read with you to pass the time before you closed and walked you to your flat a block away.

Every time this happened, Nellie would leave work a half an hour before you and give you a set of totally non-subtle winks before flitting off into the sunset. Lockwood never seemed to notice eir suggestive winks, and if he did, he never appeared too flustered.

Nellie would corner you every morning after, grilling you for every detail. “Why do you even care?” You would say, laughing as you unlocked the storefront. “Because a super hot guy is obviously falling for my best friend!” Ey would exclaim, and you would roll your eyes and laugh it away, making sure to change the subject while you tried not to dwell on the possibility that Nellie was right.

---

“Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite bookseller. Do you ever take a day off?” You laughed from your perch on one of the bookshelf ladders, looking down to see Lockwood standing below you, a smile on his face and his hands on his hips. You laughed. “Hi, Lockwood. To what do I owe the pleasure?” You bent over, grabbing a book to put up on the top shelf.

“I was sent by George to search for a book he was looking for.” Came the reply, not an uncommon excuse. You turned to reach for another book to stock, but you realized that Lockwood was holding out a book for you. “Thank you.” You said softly, and he looked up from the synopsis of a book in his hand to smile at you. “Of course. It seems you're a bit of a workaholic- I'd love to help in any way I can.” You laughed as you shelved the book.

“You're one to talk. Pretty much every time you come in here you've got that getup on and intense bags under your eyes.” You joked as you descended the ladder, taking the empty box from Lockwood's hands.

“Well, one needs to be a little bit obsessed to lead a top agency, don't they?” He asked, following you to the cafe. Nellie brightened as ey saw Lockwood trailing after you, calling out and asking if Lockwood wanted anything. “Yes, please, Nellie. Could you by any chance make your secret recipe tea to go? I really need to get going, but I was in the area and I just wanted to stop by.” Nellie smiled. “Aye aye, captain.” Ey said before they started the tea making process.

“I thought you came in to look for a book for George.” You said, turning to him with an eyebrow raised and a smile on your face. You giggled as you watched Lockwood flush. “Ah, yes, well, you see-” He was so caught up in his mumbling that he didn't realize that Nellie had appeared next to him, a bag in eir hand. “Jesus, Nellie.” Lockwood jumped, and Nellie chuckled. “Not Jesus- people do often get us confused.” Nellie joked before pushing the bag in front of him.

“What's this?” Lockwood asked, cocking a brow. "A gift for you, George and Lucy. For being such great patrons.” Lockwood smiled. “You really don't have to-” Lockwood started to speak, but Nellie interrupted him. “I insist.” Ey said before turning and running away before Lockwood could fight anymore.

Lockwood turned to you and scoffed. You chuckled. “Ey really like making baked goods for people.” You explained. Lockwood smiled, and the two of you lapsed into a comforting silence, taking in the slow crowd that filled in and out of Read Rose Books.

After a moment, Lockwood broke the silence. “Are you- would you be amenable to visiting Portland Row tonight?” His question caught you off guard, but you smiled nonetheless. “I could be convinced. Why? What's in Portland Row?” You asked, turning to look at him. He smiled softly, a soft flush dusting his cheeks. “Lockwood & Co. We just finished a pretty big successful case so we're throwing a small get together at the house, if you wanted to come?” He asked, and you could sense the nerves radiating off of him. You smiled, nudging his shoulder as you turned to face away from him, trying to draw attention away from the blush that was slowly spreading across your face.

“I'd love to.”

eeeek thank you so much for reading!! pls leave feedback, it truly makes my day :) also if you want to request or see my other works, my masterlist is linked in my about me post which is pinned :)

I love you all so much, remember to stay hydrated, and I hope yall have an amazing day!!! mwah

xoxo linnie <3

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alaffy · 3 months ago

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Only Murders in the Building, Ep. 4x04 – Two for the Road (Spoilers)

The cats are back in the opening. I swear there weren’t that many in the first three seasons.

Most of this episode was the trio hanging out with their movie counterparts. It was funny, but I’m not going to recap any of that. So, this is just going to be more of a random explanation of what was important.

We find out that the F.B.I. has taken over Sazz’s murder case because they think Jan is the killer. But Detective Williams doesn’t believe that to be the case. So, she tells the trio that a bullet casing was found, that the people in the apartments did hear the shot (but didn’t call the police?) and they’re saying that it couldn’t have been Dudenoff as they are out of the country (which is convenient).

Charles and Eugene investigate the man with Pink Eye. He really does have Pink Eye. He also has a picture of everyone living in those apartments, with one person’s face scratched out. That person is also holding the pig from the apartment in the picture.

Mabel and Eva visit Christmas Guy. Turns out he’s an Influencer who’s theme is Christmas. He actually hates it (and, given the fact that they thought he might have wanted Charles dead because Charles had real Christmas trees banned in the complex…well, that’s a no go). But, we do have two things that happen in that apartment. First off, he has his own Ham Radio that suddenly plays the theme from Perfect Strangers (this I’ll come back to in a moment). Second, Mabel shows Christmas Guy the tinsel. He tries to set it on fire and it doesn’t burn. He explains that tinsel is very flammable, so this string isn’t what they think it is.

Oliver and Zach hang around each other (Zach hating every minute of it), while Howard listens to the Ham Radio. Howard writes down everything he hears in a notebook that he gives to Oliver. He also mentions he heard the theme to Perfect Strangers.

Mabel gets the idea to squat in Dudenoff’s apartment. She believes the apartment isn’t abandoned and if she squats in it, it will force Dudenoff to come back. However, long story short, the trio eventually realize that both Mabel and Howard heard the theme song. They look at Howard’s notes and discover a channel, that they put into the Radio. There they make contact with a woman, who seems to be Dudenoff. They start asking her questions, but she says they need to stop or else they’ll end up like the last person who asked (indicating Sazz).

Now, obviously, Dudenoff says this is a way that makes it sound like she’s threatening them. However, we know this show won’t reveal the killer so soon. That being said, obviously she knows something about Sazz’s murder. The question is, of course, what does she know? The interesting thing to me is that she said that, if they continue, they would end up the same as Sazz. Well, if Charles was the target, it wouldn’t matter either way. I think Sazz was right about another murderer, but wrong about the fact that they were trying to kill Charles. But her investigation riled this person’s feathers, and they killed her.

Because one of Sazz’s notes seems to indicate a poisoned dog. It was Oliver’s dog who was poisoned in season one and a letter was left. But Jan denied being the one who did it (and given the fact she was willing to talk about her other exploits, I feel like she’s not lying). So, who poisoned the dog? And why? And why go silent after Jan was caught? Did the trio get close to something in Jan’s case, maybe some sort of secret, that they didn’t in the others? (I mean, the writers literally broke Jan out of jail for this…I have a feeling we might see her again).

#only murders in the building spoilers #only murders in the building #mabel mora #oliver putman #charles haden savage #detective williams #howard #eva longoria #eugene levy #zach galifianakis

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saikokirakira · 1 year ago

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Part 1 of 2: Pagtingin (Feelings) [Steve Harrington x Reader]

a/n: let's pretend this hasn't been sitting in my completed list since ferbruary. it was initially a 3-parter, but i decided the 3rd one to be part of the sequel. guess who's the dumdum who doesn't have a title for it? i'm using the Ben&Ben song I listened to while writing this chapter. it was either this or "baka sakali (Maybe, just in case)". it also annoyed me because "pagtingin" means "look; gaze" but in its context it means "(hidden) feelings," so it's neither wrong or right. language, ammarite?

summary: based on this blurb on a hanahaki au/flayed!reader

word count: 2.1k (brace yourself because the next chapter is almost 5 times long. yep. you heard me.)

warning: steve is an oblivious himbo; unrequited feelings / pining; minor violence; implied underage drinking (it's season 2, ykyk?); stranger things season 2 canon

You had a crush on Steve “The Hair” Harrington. Then again, who didn’t have a crush on King Steve?

Growing up with Steve, albeit shy of two years from the senior, had you following him around like a puppy. You watched him jump from one girl to the next before he surprisingly settled with Nancy Wheeler last year. “She’s different,” he had said before asking you for help on how to woo her.

Stop flirting with other girls around her. Actually listen to her and try to be interested in what she says. Get to know her instead of treating her like another girl. Surprisingly, he listened to your advice – everything you wished he would do for you – and got the girl.

Steve always got the girl.

However, something strange happened when Nancy’s best friend, Barbara, went missing, not much later since Will Byers as well. With your overprotective parents dropping a curfew on you, you barely hung out with Steve anymore. You knew nothing good will happen when you left him too long with Tommy and Carol, and you were right.

Much to your surprise again, Steve and Nancy lasted until his senior year. You couldn’t argue that being with her made Steve want to better himself. You even got to know Nancy for a bit, and for someone quite reserved, you actually liked her.

“Haven’t you ever considered dating?” she had asked you once.

You hummed for a bit, pondering on your answer. “Steve knows most of the nitty gritty on the guys on Hawkins High,” you explained. “He scares the bad ones away, and the ones that are decent are too intimidated with him being my friend since forever.”

“You never thought of dating Steve?”

You laughed lightly. You had a crush on Steve, but you didn’t like him enough to act out on it. “What an odd question from his own girlfriend,” you pointed out, and interestingly enough, it made her uncomfortable. You guessed a lot of Steve’s exes were also pretty intimidated by your friendship with Steve.

“Nope,” you lied smoothly. “Steve never asked me, and we never had the conversation on crossing that line in our friendship.” Still, the pinched look on Nancy’s face remained, and you began to wonder if it was more than just jealousy… or if she was hiding something else.

That inkling you had took form in Jonathan Byers half-carrying a wasted Nancy during a Halloween party. You asked around for Steve only to find out that he also ditched you. You aggressively poured yourself a glass of spiked punch before catching yourself, pouring the contents back in the bowl.

“Smart move.”

You didn’t need Steve to tell you that Billy Hargrove was bad news.

“Harrington ditched you, pretty girl?”

“What do you think?” you shot back. You walked out of the kitchen to find a house phone, only to find a couple making out right against it. “Seriously?”

Billy snickered right next to you.

“You’re still here,” you sighed in exasperation to show your annoyance. “Why?” You narrowed your eyes at the blonde.

“Oh, please, no need to be short with me, pretty girl,” Billy said, flashing you what he probably thought was his charming smile. “Harrington isn’t here for you to be his loyal lapdog.”

“What are you talking about?”

Billy stepped closer to you, and you were overwhelmed by the smell of beer and cigarettes from his person. “From what I saw earlier, Wheeler and Harrington seem to be over,” he whispered in your ear, “so you might actually have a chance this time.”

Rage quickly filled your veins, and you shoved his bare chest, pushing him away from you. Your reaction only amused Billy further. “You don’t know anything about me,” you spat out.

“As a matter of fact, I know everything just by looking at you,” Billy retorted, giving you a once-over. “I don’t often help out girls like you, but you’re just pitiful. Pathetic even.” He continued, “Guys like Steve don’t stay single for long. Takes one to know one, pretty girl. Best make your move soon.”

You hated how you knew Billy was right. Nancy clearly had feelings for Jonathan, and it wouldn’t be long before Steve would be looking for a rebound. Maybe if… maybe if he could see how you and him worked so well over the years, Steve might also see you as someone worth long-term. Even longer than Nancy.

For the next two days, you muddled over how you would tell Steve how you really feel. You settled for simplicity. Just give it to him honest and straightforward. With a motivated resolution, you drove to his house and caught Steve just in time as he was leaving his house.

“Oh, perfect timing,” Steve smiled, pulling his keys out. “Come with me. I need your help picking out something. I’m driving.”

Ten minutes later, you and the florist locked eyes, seeming to have an understanding with each other, while Steve fawned over the bouquet that you chose for Nancy.

There’s just something fucked up over choosing a bouquet you want for your crush to give as a reconciliation gift for his ex.

Mysteriously enough, Nancy wasn’t at her house, but Dustin Henderson, a friend of her younger brother’s, was. You observed how the boy dragged Steve over to the car, where you were waiting, and talked about “a baseball bat with nails.” Steve succumbed to Dustin’s demands and opened the trunk of his car.

“Why the hell do you have a baseball bat mace, Harrington?”

Dustin directed his attention to you. “Are you good with pets?” he asked randomly.

“I used to have a cat and a dog?”

“Perfect. You can come with us.”

For the next three hours, you and Steve followed the boy in his storm cellar, finding a tunnel dug by an animal too big to be a dog. Dustin explained to you about a monster he cared for as a baby, until it ate his cat. Now, he made plans that you and Steve would come back the next day to find it before it was fully grown.

By that point, you simply indulged Dustin and his games. It was all just bad unskippable side quests on your way to confess to Steve. … right?

When morning came, Steve picked you up, telling you that Dustin called him to buy meat to bait his rogue monster pet. Again, you indulged them and came along. If Steve was losing his sanity over his breakup, so were you by still trying to confess in these conditions.

“Why are you still friends with me?” Steve asked all of a sudden, his eyes were focused on the road to the way to Dustin’s house. “I’m no longer popular. My girlfriend broke up with me. I’m currently hanging out with my ex’s brother’s friend finding a cat-eating monster.”

Tell him. It’s the right time. But what if it’s not? Of course, it is. What if he’ll think I’m only taking advantage of his situation? What if he’ll think I’m only friends with him for that reason?

“Don’t be full of yourself, Steve,” you snorted, picking at your chipped nail polish. “I’ve known you since you were a loser. It isn’t so different now.”

“You’re such an ass.”

Your heart mellowed at the sight of Steve’s soft smile. Maybe I don’t have to tell him. These quiet genuine moments didn’t have to change. You loved it as it was.

“You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who... who you just met?”

“You have to admit, Steve, that’s pretty metal,” you commented, bumping Steve’s shoulder.

“What does that even mean?” Steve asked while still tossing pieces of chopped meat along the abandoned train tracks.

“It means it’s an awesome gesture,” you said, patting Dustin on the back. The boy smiled at you, preening from your support. From the past hour, you held a soft spot for Dustin who lacked in confidence but still put himself out there for a crush.

He’s younger but definitely had more guts than you.

“I just feel like you’re trying too hard,” Steve admitted.

“Hey,” you elbowed your friend in the side in warning.

“Well, not everyone can have your perfect hair, all right?” Dustin said quite glumly.

“The key with girls is just…” Steve trailed off, while you cut in, “Oh, I’d love to hear this.” He continued, “… just acting like you don’t care.”

And you burst laughing. You laughed for a good minute with tears leaking from the corner of your eyes. “Oh, for goodness’ sakes,” you said, “stop giving the boy bad relationship advice, Steven.”

“Are you telling me you never chased after a boy who didn’t show that much interest?” Steve asked, but just as he shot the question, he immediately followed with, “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

“I wanna know,” Dustin piped in.

“Just one boy,” you whispered in the boy’s ear but still loud enough for Steve to hear. “It doesn’t matter because he doesn’t like me that way.” Before anyone could catch your hidden meaning, you added, “Besides, I only go for guys who genuinely adore me.”

“As they should!” Steve exclaimed, pointing a finger at you. “Remember what I told you: Never take less than what you deserve.”

“As I was saying,” you emphasized, pointedly looking at Steve for interrupting, then crouching to meet Dustin’s eyes, “just be true with your feelings and yourself, and the right girl will come around for you.”

“I mean, that works too,” Steve mumbled. “Some girls are just special.”

“Like Nancy?”

… and that was your cue to walk ahead of them. You should’ve known that a wholesome moment wouldn’t last. Unfortunately, it would only go downhill from there.

In the next few hours, you were being chased by reptilian dogs, rendezvoused with Chief Hopper and the Byers, and met a punk kid who had mind powers. If you weren’t constantly fighting to stay alive, you would’ve demanded context from Steve. And now, you were in a tunnel under a pumpkin patch farm that led to an evil alternate dimension.

Some side quest for romance.

Steve led the group while with you last in case something snuck from behind. You were all careful not to breathe too hard, and you made sure to avoid touching anything on the walls, keeping eye on the kids as well. Doing so proved more difficult the further you went down the tunnel looking for what Mike called “the hub.” The vines and plant bulbs for some reason looked aware of your presence in the tunnels. In fact…

“Dustin, watch out!”

You shoved him to the side only to be sprayed with spores from the flower bulbs. Coughs and wheezes broke uncontrollably from your mouth as you tried to expel what seeped through your kerchief mask. You just hoped that you managed to get most out when you did.

After the little mishap with the flower, your group – much more carefully this time – finally succeeded in setting fire to the tunnels. You ignored the burning in your lungs when it did, especially when you ran back for Mike who got caught by one of the vines as its last resort. Running on instinct, you snatched Steve’s bat and rushed over to the boy.

“Grab him!” you barked at anyone. You stomped the offending vine with the heel of your boot and swung over and over. You screamed and cried out, not knowing whether it was out of aggression or from the burning in your lungs, until Mike was freed and the rest of the vines retreated back to God knows where.

Steve stared at you in awe and slowly approached you, retrieving back his bat but keeping his other hand locked with yours. “That was awesome,” he chuckled, squeezing your entwined fingers.

Unfortunately, the moment didn’t last because a pack of demodogs came barrelling down the tunnels in pursuit of us. Interestingly enough, one of them still managed to listen to Dustin – D’Art. So, he was real... Their reunion and goodbye were enough time to escape to the opening of the tunnel.

Steve climbed out into the farm first, and you began hoisting them up, saving yourself last. You barely managed to get Dustin out, who was putting up a fight to see D’Art until his last moments. Then the strangest thing happened…

The demodogs just stared at you.

It remained that way until they dropped dead, signalling the gate finally being shut.

You were frozen and was only pulled out of your stupor when Steve hoisted you out himself.

The way those monsters clicked and growled at you felt familiar. As if they knew you. Yet you didn’t have to worry about it anymore.

It was over.

#steve harrington x reader #stranger things fanfic #hanahaki au #flayed au #flayed!reader #hanahaki!reader #stranger things angst #steve harrington fanfic

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mxngldmxdnsss · 2 years ago

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The Hunt - series

Chap 4. Thinkin Bout You - Recom Miles Quaritch

LMFAO i couldn’t find a song to match the chapter so I just went with this also I had the best mango smoothie while writing this omg

pairing - recom miles quaritch x omatikaya!fem!reader

cw! masturbation

sexual content ahead : proceed with caution!

Taking a shot at your plan was a complete and utter fail. You felt your face warm with embarrassment after the days events. Today you were supposed to help the Colonel learn more of your language.

You two spent the whole time bickering over whether or not he was horrible at speaking Na’vi. Laughing when you heard his accent meshing with the words. Eventually Miles had enough and left, leaving you to your own accord. Telling you over his shoulder that Spider might be a better teacher.

You figured he wouldn’t come back so you laid back down in your cot and got comfortable. What you didn’t expect was for the thought of Miles to purge your brain. Being so up close and personal to you. You almost died when he would lean in, trying to soak up whatever sounds and vowels you made. You could smell him even at a distance, it you feel tingly inside.

Swallowing nervously at the thought, you pulled a blanket over yourself and tried to sleep. Only for the images of Miles become even dirtier. You could picture him doing just about anything and it would make you burn up inside. Just him glowering down at you made your thighs tickle. It was wrong, you knew this, but the fantasy you were replaying inside your head was even worse.

You could picture Miles, pushing you face down and tail up as you two mated for the first time. It was exciting, feeling your stomach churn at the thought. Maybe he’d push your belly into the grass and take you like that. Or maybe against a tree. Or perhaps in one. You squeezed eyes closed, not wanting to be distracted from getting rest, but it only worsened.

Sitting up, you took a look around the room, making sure there were no cameras hidden within a corner. Laying back down your dipped your hand beneath the blanket and pulled your bottom to the side. Shuddering when you felt how wet you were. After a hesitant moment, you ran your fingers down your slit and stopped when you reached your clenching hole. You’d done this before but for some reason, with Miles on your mind, the action was somewhat intimidating. Pushing your fingers into your cunt, you whimpered out.

Giving yourself time to adjust, you began to thrust your digits inside. Panting out, you brought your legs up, clenching your thighs together around your arm. You kept the image of Miles in your head, feeling your walls clench around your fingers when you brought back the fantasy from before.

You moved your other hand beneath the sheet and began your best effort at rubbing your clit, hoping for a quicker release. Finally you felt a pressure release in your belly and you rode out your orgasm with a soft moan.

You were embarrassed to find you’d soiled your sheets, the damp area a soft white sheen. Bringing your out of the blanket, you did your best to wipe off the remaining slick before relaxing against the pillow. You began to drift off to sleep, only to be surprised by Spider and the Colonel.

You heard the sound of the door creaking, and with it the sound of even louder arguing. Gasping, you jumped up from your spot and fixed the blankets. You hoped they wouldn’t notice the redness of your cheeks, or the look on your face of horror. Before you could compose yourself correctly, Spider bounded over to you, angrier than ever.

“Y/n, you’ve gotta take him back. You’re a better teacher than I am.” You sighed waiting for the two to calm down in order to explain to you why they were bickering. “It ain’t my fault you’re bad teacher.” It was ridiculous, watching them fight like five year olds.

“Fine.” You spoke, voice cracking as you blocked off their view of your cot. The two perked up and looked at you. With Spider smiling triumphantly and Miles looking annoyed as ever. You watched as Spider began to make his way back to the doorway. Confused when Miles sat atop the table in the room.

Nervously you bid Spider goodbye and looked back at Miles, his face bore a weary expression. Almost as if he was going to regret what he was going to tell you. “Is everything alright Colonel?”

Miles sighed and looked back up at you, eyebrows furrowed. “Tomorrow, we have a task.” You tilted your head, frowning as he stood and paced around the room. “What kind of task?” You followed after Miles, watching his shoulders tense when he realized you were behind him. His tail swished from side to side in an aggravated manner. “Colonel?” Your voice was meek and filled with underlying fear.

Before you could begin to muster another question, Miles stopped abruptly and turned to you. He glared down at you. “We’ve tracked a signal of something to the water clans. You’re going to help interpret for us.” Your breath caught in your throat. There’s no way. The Sullys would never let themselves be tracked like this. They’re careful.

But why did they bed you, Spider was fluent in Na’vi. Though you’d guessed why they might need you. Na’vi weren’t exactly trusting of any humans, your presence may calm them. You gaze fell onto the floor, too choked up to answer the Colonel face to face. “Okay.”

After hearing Miles leave your room, you made your way back to your bed. Sitting down with your face in your hands. What force were they going to use on these innocent tribes. You saw what they could do. And it was only a matter of time before they tracked Sully down now that they had his relative location. You could only try to catch your breath and fight down the horror for what you were going assist in.

Chap 5. Decode

#Spotify #recom miles quaritch #avatar miles quaritch #miles quaritch x reader #miles quaritch #thinkin bout you #frank ocean #the hunt series

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hagnanimous · 4 months ago

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I read the book that Ice Nine Kills got their name from!

They’ve stated in interviews that their name is a reference to the fictional substance ice-nine in Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, the author of Slaughterhouse Five. I decided to read the book and find out what it is. (I got rained on with the book in my bag, that’s why it’s so damaged.) (Also there’s some light spoilers ahead, but not anything you couldn’t get from a blurb.)

What is ice-nine?

First, the book: Cat’s Cradle is a satire about a number of world issues during the Cold War, but it is primarily about nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear apocalypse. The book focuses on the children of a fictional scientist who created the atomic bomb and the people that surround the family. However, the main threat in the book isn’t the bomb, it’s the substance “ice-nine.” The fictional science goes like this (I am a mathematician, not a chemist, so I apologize in advance):

Any solid material is made up of a crystal lattice structure, which is the pattern in which the molecules stack against each other. These lattices - their shapes, how the molecules are organized - determine physical properties of the solid, like, for example, melting point. Ice melts at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but what if that’s not the only possible lattice structure of water? What if that’s only ice-one? There could be an ice-two with a slightly higher melting point, an ice-three… all the way up to ice-nine.

These new lattices can be “taught” to any kind of regular water - when exposed to any amount of water, a small piece of ice-nine could immediately spread its structure to the water, freezing it all. If it were to enter into a river, a lake, an ocean, it would freeze all water on earth.

Even the idea of ice-nine was a secret, but the fact that the scientist actually made it was a secret he took to his grave—but not before leaving his deadly weapon to his children with near-giddy excitement.

In short, ice-nine is a blue-white crystal with a melting point of 114.4 degrees Fahrenheit that has the power to eliminate all life on earth.

Does it even matter in the book?

This was a question I had when I first heard where the name came from. It’s not even the title of the book! But yes, ice-nine is a very big deal. It’s explained within the first 50 pages, but it’s not actually seen until 200 pages later. For the entire book, ice-nine is a looming threat. One interesting technique that Vonnegut uses is the hindsight of the narrator. Often, he describes a seemingly normal scene, but he adds on that a character was secretly carrying around ice-nine, which the narrator only learned later. It makes ice-nine into this unseen, unconfirmed, but ever-present danger.

When considering the overall themes of the book, ice-nine is also an important symbol. It represents nuclear bombs, of course, but it also represents what happens when scientists do not assume social responsibility. The scientist who makes ice-nine does it out of personal curiosity. Vonnegut argues that science cannot be only for the sake of knowledge itself. Scientists and the institutions they are a part of must consider the potential impacts of their research on the world.

Does ice-nine, in fact, kill?

Yes, it definitely does. It’s what causes the end of the world. Aside from the deaths from ecological damage, people die when ice-nine gets near their mouth, like if their hands were contaminated with it and they touch their lips. People freeze solid, hard as marble, with a blue-white sheen over their eyes and mouth. Even though it seems like a strange substance to be a stand-in for the atomic bomb, it is deadly, and some of the scenes in the book are a bit disturbing.

What does this say about the band’s name?

Honestly? Not much. I’ve listened to every song they’ve ever made, and I’ve never really picked up on any nuclear disarmament themes. I think they definitely chose the name because “ice-nine” sounds cool, and as they’ve said in interviews, they added the “kills” because there was another band in their area that was also called Ice Nine.

The best I can guess is that one or more of the original members had read the book, maybe in high school. If that’s true, then they might’ve picked the name for the sake of the gruesome danger associated with the term in the book.

Do you, an Ice Nine Kills fan, need to read this book?

No, definitely not. Please don’t read this book just because you’re an INK fan. It’s a fine book, but it’s not great. I enjoyed it, but I had wanted to read a Kurt Vonnegut book anyway. Do something else. Read Breakfast of Champions or Slaughterhouse Five or just go on AO3 and read slasher movie fanfiction.

#ice nine kills #thoughts #music #books #kurt vonnegut #cat’s cradle #spencer charnas

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lemoncrushh · 6 months ago

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Wild Horses - Five

Summary: Amber Crosby didn’t end up with the life she’d expected, but that didn’t keep her from following her dream. A young, up and coming country recording artist, she and her band set out to do just that. Trying to leave her past behind, it wasn’t until meeting Harry Styles that she realized just how her life could take a turn and alter her future forever.

A/N: Please note all portions in italics are meant to be flashbacks :).

STORY PAGE

Chapter Five Word Count: 4.3k+

“Who’d ever thought that I would have the guts to change…” - Maria McKee; I’ve Forgotten What It Was In You (That Put The Need In Me)

“So what city are you in now?” asked Faith.

“Wilmington,” Amber replied.

“Delaware? What the fuck is in Delaware?”

Amber chuckled. “Beats me.”

“When are you coming down south?”

“Well, I’ll be home for Christmas, as the song goes. But we don’t play Atlanta until February.”

“Oh, that sucks. But at least you won’t be on the road for the holidays,” remarked Faith. “I don’t think I could live like that. City to city.”

Amber rose from her hotel bed and dug inside her suitcase for her cream sweater while Faith continued to chatter through the speaker. Although she’d been on the road before, Amber wasn’t prepared to give her cousin a response to her comment. She’d only been on the Harry Styles tour for two cities so far, Wilmington being the third. While she missed Pauline and Laci, this had been her dream since she was twelve. Being on the road, living in a suitcase...it was just part of the life that she’d accepted, if not actually looked forward to.

“So are you gonna tell me what he’s like?” Faith asked.

“Who?”

“Fucking Orlando Bloom. Harry, you idiot.”

Amber laughed. “He’s great. Really, really sweet. Every good thing you’ve ever heard about him is true.”

“Yeah? Even the size of his pecker?”

“Shut up!”

Amber heard Faith cackle through the phone, a little squeak at the end like a tiny mouse.

“You know I’m messin’ with you,” she said. “Although inquiring minds do wanna know.”

“I’m sure you do,” Amber muttered as she tied the laces of her Nikes.

Finishing up her conversation, Amber semi-promised Faith she’d make sure she had a ticket to the Atlanta show before hanging up. She wasn’t really sure why it mattered to Faith at all, seeing as she hadn’t bothered to come see her perform since she’d moved to Savannah, and probably hadn’t ever listened to her music - or Harry’s for that matter - but there was still a certain comfort that came from chatting with her cousin that she couldn’t explain. So somehow, deep down, Amber felt an obligation to be kind to Faith.

Just as she was dabbing on some lip gloss, a knock sounded on her door. She knew who it was before opening it. For the last couple of days, Carter had been oddly nice to her. Though he never mentioned his mood at the first concert, nor the night before when he’d pushed her against the wall in his drunken state, he’d seemed to find some kind of resolve, perhaps finally admitting to himself that they were just friends and bandmates. He’d also been showing Jeff and Harry some kindness, always shaking their hands when either of them walked into the room, though he never seemed to stick around for more than a minute or two.

It was a start, Amber decided, and the smile on his face when she opened the door only reassured her more.

“Mornin’,” he greeted, an arm stretched out against the door frame. “Are you hungry?”

“Starved.”

“Good, me too. John and Bren are already downstairs.”

“You’re chipper this morning,” Amber smiled.

“I’ve been up a while,” Carter shrugged. “Went to the gym.”

“Look at you,” Amber raised her brows in amazement before shutting the door behind her.

“Yeah. Styles was there.”

“You worked out with Harry?” Amber asked incredulously as they reached the elevators.

Suddenly, the image in her head of Harry working out made her flushed, and she pretended to look down at something on her phone.

“I wouldn’t say with,” Carter chuckled. “But he was there. I talked to him for a little bit. He’s a nice guy.”

“Yes, he is,” Amber nodded as she stepped onto the elevator.

“He asked about us.”

“Us?”

“Yeah, you and me. I guess he wanted to know if we were a couple.”

Her stomach lurching, Amber glared at Carter. “What exactly did he ask?”

“He was curious about our history.”

Rolling her eyes, Amber ran a hand through her hair.

“He probably meant how we met and you became my drummer, Carter. Not if we were together!”

A smirk grew on Carter’s face as the elevator doors opened.

“Maybe so.”

“Carter!”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him anything.”

“Yeah, because there’s nothing to tell.”

Fuming, Amber strode briskly past Carter and toward the hotel restaurant. She knew Carter’s pleasant mood had been too good to be true, and she was pissed off that it had taken him all but five minutes to ruin hers. She stopped when she walked into the restaurant and saw Brendan and Johnny sitting with three other gentlemen and two women. Harry and his band.

Stealing a glance back at Carter who’d followed her, Amber silently gave him a warning to which he merely shrugged. With a deep sigh, she put a smile on her face and walked through the tables toward Harry’s. When their eyes met, she instantly felt her rage dissolve.

“Good morning!” he greeted before she had a chance to say it first.

“Morning,” Amber said softly, taking a seat on the other side of Johnny, across from Clare who smiled up at her.

“Oh, it’s nice to have everybody!” she cheered. “What a treat.”

Amber couldn’t help but grin back, relieved that Carter had chosen to sit at the other end of the table.

“Harry doesn’t usually get to join us for meals, and last time was a fiasco,” Clare continued with a chuckle.

“Was that the night in Nashville?” Amber asked, recalling the evening she’d met Harry.

“Oh yeah, he was mobbed right outside the restaurant,” Mitch pointed toward the doorway.

“It wasn’t so bad,” Harry shrugged. “I still made it inside.”

“After what? A hundred autographs and selfies?”

Amber heard Mitch’s words, but he might as well have been sitting at another table. Harry’s eyes met hers again, and with the added smirk on his face, she couldn’t seem to look away. She suddenly felt warm and cool all over at the same time, and if it hadn’t been for the waiter coming around to take her drink order, she might have continued staring.

“Wasn’t that many,” she heard Harry say after she ordered coffee.

Clearing her throat, Amber reached for her water glass and took a sip, her gaze finding green eyes once again. She knew she had to be blushing, just as she’d been that night in Nashville when her eyes caught his staring at her from across the room. Perhaps it had been the other way around, she admitted to herself. But either way, his emerald eyes were like magnets pulling her in.

The rest of breakfast was filled with light chatter as the two bands got to know each other a little better. Amber found Clare to be delightfully friendly and pleasant, a calm aura about her, much like Harry’s. She suggested that when they get to the next city, they do a bit of shopping together since they had a couple of days.

“If Jeff lets me out of the hotel,” Amber remarked with a smirk before biting into a slice of bacon.

She heard Harry chuckle next to Clare. She eyed him, knowing he caught the sarcasm in her tone.

“I reckon you should be okay,” he offered. “Jeffrey will have a car if you need.”

Giving Clare a smile and a shrug, they agreed to make plans.

When all the plates had cleared and Amber couldn’t swallow another sip of coffee if she’d tried, the gang rose from the table and said their goodbyes. While Harry stood chatting with Mitch, Amber secretly hoped she could walk out with him and possibly get an idea of what exactly he and Carter had discussed earlier. She wasn’t quite sure why, but she didn’t want him to get the impression that she and Carter were an item. Feeling a hand on her back, however, she dropped her shoulders and sighed.

“What time’s soundcheck?” Carter asked.

“Two o’clock.” She gritted her teeth, knowing damn well that her drummer was aware what time soundcheck was.

“Oh yeah,” she heard him say. “You ready to go?”

“Go where?” Amber asked, finally turning her head. She saw Carter wasn’t looking at her at all. Instead, his gaze pointed toward Harry and his guitarist who were still having a conversation.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, giving her a side-eyed grin. “Breakfast is over.”

“Ugh,” she scoffed, turning for the exit.

“What?” Carter called after her. Catching up with her at the elevator, he stood between her and the doors. “What did I say?”

Amber crossed her arms, her jaw tight. “It’s not what you said, Carter, it’s what you’re doing.”

“What am I doing?”

“I don’t know exactly,” she rolled her eyes. “But it’s pissing me off.”

“That’s nothing new,” Carter muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Huh?”

Carter puffed out a breath and shook his head. “All I ever seem to do is make you mad. I can’t win with you.”

Furrowing her brows, Amber considered his comment. “Yeah, you’re right.”

The elevator doors opened then and an older couple stepped off. Giving them a fake smile, Amber ignored the scowl on Carter’s face as he stepped in.

“Are you coming?” he asked, holding the door.

“No.”

“No? What the fuck is with you? You can’t even ride on an elevator with me?”

“I wanna be alone right now,” she replied.

Carter scoffed. “You always wanna be alone. You used to need me, Amber. What happened?”

Blinking, Amber dropped her arms and stepped back.

“I grew up,” she said.

Rolling his eyes, Carter released the door. As it shut, Amber heard him mumble something about her becoming a bitch too.

With a shutter, Amber sniffled, realizing she had tears in her eyes. Quickly wiping them, she waited a few moments before pressing the button for the lift to come down again.

“Hey, everything okay?”

Jumping when she heard the voice, Amber cringed, hoping he hadn’t seen or overheard the exchange.

“Um, yeah,” she nodded, turning to meet his concerned face. Or maybe she was just imagining the concern. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Thought you’d gone,” said Harry.

Amber tried to think of the best excuse she could in two seconds, but only came up with, “Not yet.”

“Oh,” Harry smiled gently. “Good then, because I just got a text from Jeffrey, and he wants to talk to you. We’ll go up together.”

“Okay,” Amber managed a breath as the doors opened.

“I chatted with your drummer this morning.”

Biting her lip, Amber braced herself for Harry’s reveal. She watched his ringed fingers as he pressed the button for his floor, and the doors shut again.

“An interesting lad, that one,” Harry added.

“Carter talks a lot,” Amber blurted, unable to control herself.

Harry grinned. “Actually, I found the opposite. I tried asking him several questions, but his responses were short and minimal.”

“Oh.”

“You sure you’re fine?” Harry asked with apparent concern. “Your eyes are all…”

“Oh. Yeah,” Amber lied. “It’s fine. I have allergies. Not used to this cold, either.”

“Ah yes. I get a fit of hay-fever myself from time to time.”

Amber smiled meekly and wiped her eyes, completely embarrassed.

“Anyway,” Harry chuckled low, “it wasn’t until I asked Carter how you met that he finally started talking.”

“Oh.” Amber felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She was afraid to ask what Carter had said.

“You two have a history?”

Amber wasn’t quite sure if it was a question, though Harry’s inflection did rise a little at the end.

“History? Um…”

“I mean, you’ve been through a lot together, it’s no wonder.”

“I’m not sure…” Amber pulled at the sleeves of her sweater, worried she might confess what had not actually been confessed.

The door opened then, and Harry held it as Amber stepped off. Waiting for him to lead the way, however, she was surprised when he stopped next to her.

“He’s quite fond of you,” remarked Harry.

Amber glared at him, her mouth agape.

“He said that?”

Harry shrugged. “In so many words. He didn’t really have to, though. I could tell.”

“Hmm…”

“Although…” Harry added, his eyes shifting toward the opposite wall. “He might seem just a wee bit...possessive.”

Amber gasped. “What?”

“Perhaps possessive isn’t the right word. Protective, maybe? But I can understand that, I suppose. I mean, after all you’ve been through.”

Narrowing her eyes, Amber crossed her arms.

“What exactly did he tell you?”

“Oh, don’t worry, love, it wasn’t anything bad. No intimate details or anything,” Harry smirked, and Amber swore she saw the color rise in his cheeks. “He just told me about your desire to become a singer, your ambition. About your mum and your baby sister. How you were determined to make a better life for them. Which I find very commendable, by the way.”

“Oh,” Amber mouthed, blinking hard. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. You’re very strong-willed, Amber, and I like that about you.”

Knowing her face had to be bright pink, Amber felt like a dumbass.

“C’mon,” Harry gestured. “I’ve said too much. Let’s go see Jeffrey.”

“Whoa!” Carter laughed as he wrapped his arm around Amber to keep her from falling.

“Oops,” she giggled. She tried her best to stand upright, but she only managed to do so for a second or two before starting to sway again, her knees giving out.

The band had played a good show that night - a damn good show. Amber had been in her element, taking requests from the audience and singing them as they if she herself had written them. Anything from Tanya Tucker to Pat Benatar to Elvis, she’d performed them all with a certain amount of both grace and audacity, proving she was worthy of being up on that stage.

The drinks had started coming after the first request and hadn’t stopped until she’d said goodnight into the microphone, her weak limbs and last call from the bartender the only things keeping her from letting the night continue.

“Probably shouldn’t have had that last tequila shot,” Amber giggled again, planting her palm on the brick wall before twisting and resting her back against it.

“The last shot was over an hour ago, Ambs,” Carter chuckled. “I think you had a few more drinks after that.”

“Were you keeping score?” Amber asked, her eyes merely slits.

“Nah,” he grinned. “Just noticed.”

“Are you as drunk as me?”

Carter laughed again, stepping closer to her. “Not even, babe. I’m drunk but...it’s kinda hard to keep up with you from behind the drums.”

“Oh,” she blinked, letting the sound of him calling her babe roll around in her head and make her tummy flutter. Or maybe it was just the alcohol.

“You were great tonight,” he declared, letting his hand rest on her hip.

“Thanks,” Amber said low. Then with a groan, she reached out and grabbed a fist of his shirt.

“Help me to my room, Carter,” she insisted. “I’m too wasted to walk.”

With another chuckle, Amber’s drummer gladly obliged, wounding his arm around her again and leading her down the hall to her motel room.

“Where’s your key?” he asked when they arrived after a few stumbles.

Amber groaned again, trying her damndest to remember where she’d put it.

“Um...back pocket.”

Carter smirked, letting his hand linger a bit on her butt cheek as he retrieved her key. He smiled wider when she didn’t slap his hand or pull away.

Sliding the key inside the lock, he waited for the green light before pushing the door open. Then guiding Amber toward the bed, he set her down.

“Where are you going?” he heard her ask as he started to back away.

“Um…” he hesitated. “You should probably drink some water.”

Carter walked to the sink, poured a glass of water and handed it to Amber.

��Thanks,” she muttered before taking a sip. Realizing how dehydrated she was, she soon gulped down the rest of it, handing the empty glass to Carter.

“Want some more?” he asked.

Shaking her head, she reached down to remove her boots, but she found the movement too difficult. Carter set down the glass and knelt in front of her.

“Let me help,” he insisted.

When he’d removed both of her boots, he looked up and met her blue eyes, wider than he’d seen them since they’d left the bar.

“Please don’t leave,” she whispered.

A small smile crept up on his face. “You want me to stay?”

With a tiny nod, she grasped Carter’s bicep and pulled him towards her. Stumbling slightly, Carter kicked Amber’s boots away just as his lips met hers. As she reached for him, he paused only to kick off his own boots before joining her on the bed.

“I need you,” Amber cried in his ear as his hands roamed up her sides and underneath her shirt.

“God, yes,” he moaned, nipping at her neck. “I need you, too, babe. So bad.”

Soundcheck went off without a hitch, giving everyone more time to rest before the show. As the band made their way to the backstage parking lot, Amber stopped Carter, letting Brendan and Johnny take the car back to the hotel.

“Hey, can we talk for a sec?”

“What for?” he scowled.

Amber frowned. Okay, so he was still mad at her, despite having a decent rehearsal and soundcheck. At least he was able to remain professional, she told herself.

“I wanted to apologize,” she sighed.

“Oh yeah?” he quirked a brow.

“I talked to Harry.”

“Oh,” Carter’s expression faltered, the scowl returning to his face.

“He told me what y’all talked about. And I just wanted to say, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.”

“Okay,” Carter crossed his arms.

“I was afraid you’d...told him things.”

Rolling his eyes, Carter shook his head. “I told you I didn’t. You always think the worst of me.”

“I know…” she hesitated, looking down at her hands. “I guess that’s not really fair. I’m sorry.”

Amber heard Carter sigh before he stepped closer to her, his hands grazing her arms.

“Ambs…” he said, making her lift her head. Her blue eyes questioned him as he ran his fingers down her wrists and took her hands in his. “We’ve been through a lot together. I want this band to make it as much as you do.”

“I know,” she nodded meekly.

“I guess I…” Carter paused. “I guess I just don’t want you to shut me out. Talk to me. Hang with me.”

Carter playfully twisted back and forth, making Amber dance with him. Cracking a smile, she nodded again.

“Can you still do that?” Carter asked.

“Yeah.”

“C’mon,” he grinned, tugging on her hand. “Let’s go grab a burger or somethin’.”

Amber crinkled her nose. “I was actually thinking about a nap.”

“Hmm,” Carter sounded. “That sounds good, too. Your room or mine?”

“Carter.”

“I’m joking! I swear, I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

Making a face, Amber thought for a moment. “A burger does sound pretty good.”

“I’ve got the keys to the van,” Carter beamed as he slipped them from his pocket and twirled the keyring around his finger.

“A good one with everything on it,” Amber announced as she followed him outside. “Mayo, no mustard.”

“Of course.”

“Maybe with avocado. Or mushrooms.”

“Whatever you want, babe,” grinned Carter as he opened the passenger door.

“No bacon though,” Amber added when she crawled inside and grabbed her seatbelt. “I never understood why anyone wants to add more meat.”

“Now you’re just being ridiculous,” Carter chuckled as he rounded the front of the van and climbed in his side.

Harry made his way down the hall, hoping to run into Amber to wish her luck before her set. He’d also hoped he could ease her mind a bit after the chat they’d had on the lift before the meeting with Jeffrey. The look on her face had been a mix of astonishment and embarrassment, maybe a little bit of relief in there as well. He wanted to reassure her that everything was fine, though he wasn’t quite sure why himself.

Perhaps he’d given her the impression he was leery or even jealous of Carter, and that certainly was not the case. At least not the latter. While he still didn’t know the man very well, from their short exchange in the gym that morning, he’d gotten the feeling that Amber’s drummer was more than just a bandmate. If they were romantically involved, he was still unsure, but he definitely could tell they had a history together.

He was just about to her dressing room door when it burst open and he heard a loud, boisterous laugh.

“Shut up!” he heard Amber say emphatically. “You’re a tool.”

“And you love it,” chuckled Carter.

Stopping in his tracks, Harry watched Amber stumble out of the dressing room, her drummer’s arm around her.

“Oh, hey man!” grinned Carter. “How’s it goin’?”

“It’s going well, thanks,” said Harry. “Everything okay here?”

“Yeah, man.”

“Just fine,” added Amber, tucking her hair behind her ears as she tried her best to stand up straight.

Harry could detect the glossiness in her gaze. She was definitely more buzzed than he’d seen her that evening after sharing the bottle of champagne.

“You sure?” he asked.

“Mmhmm,” Amber nodded, blinking her eyes. “I feel great. Ready to get this show on the road!”

Carter smirked, pulling her closer to him. For a moment, Harry considered suggesting to Carter that he make sure his singer was actually ready to take the stage, but seeing as she wasn’t falling over or slurring her words, he reckoned it wasn’t his place to step in.

“Alright then,” grinned Harry. “Just wanted to come wish you luck. Have a great show.”

“Thanks, Harry,” Amber beamed her pretty smile at him, and for a split second he forgot the other man was standing there.

“Thanks, man,” Carter offered his fist for a bump.

Harry obliged before watching the duo make their way down the hall. Just as he was turning away, he heard her call his name.

“Are you gonna watch again?” Amber asked, her head turned to look at him, Carter’s arm still stretched across her shoulder.

“Always,” he grinned.

Keeping his promise, Harry watched Amber’s show the way he had the first two nights, from the side of the stage, behind the equipment. To her credit, and a little to his surprise, Amber seemed to use whatever alcohol she’d consumed to fuel her performance. She no longer seemed to be the somewhat shy girl he’d met that summer in Nashville. She had attitude and grit, and if he was being honest, a bit of sex appeal. He even caught her making a few jokes with the audience and found himself laughing at her audacity.

Still, when he watched her make several trips to the drum riser to grab another drink of beer, or whatever was in the cup, he felt the urge to protect her take over. And when she turned around to face Carter for a count-off, and he saw her wink at her drummer, his own stomach began to turn as though he’d just swallowed an entire bottle of whiskey.

When Amber was finishing her set, introducing her final song, Harry felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Where’ve you been?” he asked his manager.

“Out there,” replied Jeffrey. “I wanted to watch her from the audience this time. She doesn’t know, though. I didn’t wanna make her nervous.”

“I don’t think you could have,” chuckled Harry. “She’s a little firecracker tonight.”

“Stop using my words.”

“Your words?” Harry raised a brow. “Did you coin that phrase?”

“No, but I just said it to Sarah and Mitch.”

Harry laughed again just as his band joined them.

“Where has this girl been?” asked Sarah.

“She’s come out of her shell,” Clare commented.

Crossing his arms as he nodded to the beat of the song, Harry agreed with the others. Amber Crosby was certainly in her element tonight. Even the rest of her band seemed to be feeding off of her energy, playing the best they ever had. Harry had to admit, he was proud, and he hoped to continue seeing her like this.

The crowd went wild when the song was finished and the band took their final bows. When Amber met Carter halfway and he slung his arm around her again, however, Harry was reminded of the sour feeling in his stomach.

Standing back, Harry allowed his bandmates to congratulate Amber, each of them hugging her one by one. When it was his turn, she gave him that same beautiful smile from earlier.

“You were a-” he began before he was interrupted by Carter.

“Is my girl the shit, or what?” he cheered.

“Absolutely fantastic,” Harry replied. He felt his jaw set, but immediately dismissed it. He had no real beef with Carter.

“We’re gonna go watch you from the audience tonight, Harry,” Amber said. “Is that okay?”

“Oh yeah, sure, of course. Hope you enjoy.”

Amber beamed wider. “I know I will.”

Before he could say another word, Carter pulled Amber to the left and down the hall where the others had gone, leaving him alone.

Running his hand down his face, Harry took a deep breath and headed toward his dressing room. He could hear the chatter from his manager and bandmates, but he wasn’t in the mood to join them. Instead, he shut the door behind him, poured two fingers of tequila and sat back on the leather sofa. He quickly realized his jaw was clenched again, so he dropped it, wiggling it back and forth to loosen it. He knew it was no good to let the tension build in his muscles now, not right before a show.

Taking a long sip from his glass, he sighed, leaning back on the couch as he took in the smell of his candle. It reminded him of her now. Closing his eyes, he could see her pretty face smiling back at him.

“God damn it,” he muttered to himself.

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tomorrowxtogether · 2 years ago

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The inner workings of idol casting are what brought TXT and EN- to the world

When it comes to scouting, it’s all about plucking stars from the sky

2023.04.10

BIGHIT MUSIC Casting head Hong Seung Woo can still remember the first time he caught sight of future TOMORROW X TOGETHER member BEOMGYU. “Even though I was far away, I could see he had really strongly defined eyes, nose and mouth as he ran for his parents’ car, and I chased after him with all my might knowing I couldn’t just let him go.” His sharp eye, which he used to find TOMORROW X TOGETHER members BEOMGYU, TAEHYUN and HUENINGKAI, as well as ENHYPEN members JUNGWON, HEESEUNG, JAY and SUNGHOON, is a testament to how important scouting and, more broadly, casting are in the K-pop world. MOA, the fandom of TOMORROW X TOGETHER, often asks how BIGHIT MUSIC was ever able to find five members with their looks, personalities, backgrounds and capacity for growth, as well as how different they are from one another. If TOMORROW X TOGETHER were made up of different people, it’s unlikely they’d be anything like the group they are today. If ENHYPEN didn’t include former figure skater SUNGHOON and taekwondo buff JUNGWON, it’s likely the performance styles and even seemingly trivial in-house content items may have been impacted. “From management to production, things only move forward when the casting’s done the right way, and that’s what makes it the first step of everything in the entertainment industry,” Hong explained. “That makes the casting team an important pipeline that’s tightly integrated with all other areas.”

Every possible way is utilized for casting: open auditions held by labels, visits to K-pop academies and even scouting on social media. Of all the approaches available, you might expect chance encounters with future talent through street scouting to yield low results, but there’s a surprisingly active effort toward it. It’s exactly how Hong discovered BEOMGYU in front of his middle school in Daegu and where he handed his business card to future ENHYPEN member HEESEUNG as the idol-to-be left the entrance exam for an arts high school “wearing a red padded jacket” but whose “face is what immediately caught my eye.” While good looks are an important factor when it comes to street scouting, it’s what comes next in the process where the true casting takes place. According to Hong, although neither BEOMGYU nor HEESEUNG had ever had any training whatsoever, they showed clear potential during their auditions. “As soon as I heard BEOMGYU’s voice, I knew he would be great with some training,” Hong said, “and you could tell HEESEUNG had a feel for singing right from the start.” He could see what direction and how far the two boys would go after training with BIGHIT MUSIC (then Big Hit Entertainment) despite their as-yet unpolished abilities and that’s what led to the label signing them on as trainees. HEESEUNG had the skill and the attitude to make him, in the other ENHYPEN members’ words, the “model image and paragon of a trainee,” placing him top of the trainee class every month. BEOMGYU was not only ready to debut after a short time of preparation but also the song he wrote while first learning the craft, “Maze in the Mirror,” was included on one of TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s albums. Cases like these demonstrate why Hong emphasizes each person’s “potential” again and again. “There’s so many times that someone thinks they can’t sing or dance but they actually have a talent they don’t know about. We’ll even ask candidates to sing the national anthem or their school song when needed. We also have them rap or act. It’s impossible to say what talents will turn up where so we keep every door open.”

With the increase in people who want to become idols, the number of auditions has increased as well, giving them an opportunity to have their skills and potential judged directly. It’s for this reason that there are academies that specialize specifically in preparing students for the K-pop audition process entirely separate from those for music and dance alone. “We used to focus on vocal or dance skills, or teaching for school entrance exams, but now we provide training exclusively for idol auditions,” a representative from one such academy said, explaining that there’s now a demand for “training that prepares people for the audition screening process.” Their academy has come up with a system that focuses on teaching idol hopefuls to put on “a performance that most effectively shows off what makes them unique by taking a balanced approach that doesn’t prioritize either vocals or dance over the other,” and they coach students in how to maximize their individual visual appeal, too. For example, if someone aspires to join BIGHIT MUSIC and has something about them that reminds of YEONJUN from TOMORROW X TOGETHER, they receive help on crafting “a similar image, using YEONJUN’s hair and styling as reference.” As K-pop idols continue to become more skilled and the expectations in scouting and auditioning for labels have followed in tow, thorough training for a high level of aptitude across a wide spectrum of talents has become an integral part of the process for attaining the idol dream. In that sense, scouting and auditioning are equivalent to a job-hunting process in the eyes of prospective idols today, the academy rep said. “Everyone finds the process of looking for a job hard. You have to have the right stuff on your resume and put together a portfolio. What these people are doing is making a portfolio made up of singing, dancing and themselves.”

With everything idols-to-be put into training to try and become one of the labels’ trainees now, being selected through scouting or auditions is more and more about the amount of effort they’re willing to put in. It’s becoming less and less likely to be selected on looks or first impressions alone. “These days it’s hard to make it to the end, even if you look good, if you don’t have talent,” the academy rep said. “Naturally, talent tends to be proportional to the amount of practice you put in. So few people are actually scouted and it can take more than a year to be signed as a trainee, especially with the major labels, but those who continuously set goals and put in the time and effort make it in the end.” Some labels monitor how well probationary trainees are coming along before officially inducting them, and trainees in this situation are especially aware of this reality. “For those who get feedback from the label telling them where they can improve and that they should work on it, if they take that and make a real effort to improve, they usually make the final cut.” Some people therefore have the “potential” that Hong pointed to, but others can also reach the same level on their own sheer willpower. In ENHYPEN leader JUNGWON’s case, Hong received his photo from another trainee’s mother and was immediately “surprised by how cute he looked, so I had to at least check this kid out, even if it’s just because he’s so cute. They set up a proper meeting after JUNGWON had finished training with another label and Hong casted him after seeing he had “a good overall balance of singing, dancing and looks.” After Hong wrote a report on JUNGWON for the label, he was concerned how “his cuteness unfortunately didn’t come across as well as it could” and Hong suggested he go on a diet. The eventual ENHYPEN leader instilled renewed confidence in Hong, making a “drastic change in a really short timeframe thanks to cutting out his nightly ice cream completely and working out.” Hong felt “from now on he could do anything if he’s that driven and persistent.”

The academy rep said there’s been an increasing number of young hopefuls who “find the right academy and program by themselves and register after getting consultation on their own.” Teen stardom seekers have become very active in the process and it’s having a positive effect on their personal development, including in nurturing their talents. “Their one goal training to be an idol is to debut, but they also have a lot of fun doing it. They feel alive because they’re doing something and they end up knowing how to do more things in the world.” It’s also become possible thanks to “parents becoming much more aware about K-pop idols due to world-famous groups like BTS.” Hong added that he can feel how “the acceptability has clearly gone up because of this generation of parents having a comparatively strong understanding of K-pop culture.” JAY from ENHYPEN has previously talked about how he had given careful consideration to his future plans after wrapping up his previous training, at which point he had taken lessons with the goal of being a part of Big Hit Entertainment like BTS before him, practicing hard before finally passing the audition. “He stood out more than anyone his age,” Hong recalled upon having met him. “He was especially good at rapping and came across as shy at first but it was amazing to see how confident he looked as soon as he started rapping—like he had never been shy at all.” It was at that moment when all the effort he had put into, as he said, practicing for months to sharpen those skills, finally paid off. The representative with the academy stressed the importance for there to be safety measures in place to protect teenagers at a time when it’s become so commonplace for them to pursue the dream of becoming an idol. There’s fairly open access to relevant information now compared to how shrouded in secrecy the label audition process was in the past but there are still some questionable people who prey on kids’ dreams of the idol life, which is why the academy rep works so hard to share information about all the different trainee ecosystems, including their scouting and auditioning processes. “For aspiring idols, the more information, the better. I think it’s on the adults to create a healthy culture since this is a world for people in their teens and 20s.”

Generational changes have had a progressive impact on the casting process, but changes in the K-pop market have had an impact as well, as HUENINGKAI’s own experience shows. “HUENINGKAI looked particularly young for his age but it’s his voice that really stands out in my memory,” Hong said. “He had the pop vibe Big Hit Entertainment was going for at the time and I thought he would go a long way to making the team succeed not only in Korea but worldwide.” TOMORROW X TOGETHER was intended to appeal to a global audience directly from the debut and so Big Hit Entertainment was looking for trainees who would have global appeal right from the scouting stage. According to the academy rep, “It used to be that companies like overseas labels came looking for training or auditions, but now there’s far more individuals contacting us because they want to become idols in Korea.” As K-pop spreads the world over, people from all around want to become K-pop idols and, at the same time, the industry is looking abroad to scout for and cast people, which is exactly why the global BIGHIT MUSIC NEW BOY GROUP AUDITION is being held: to find future members of the successors to BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. Hong said the auditions for BIGHIT MUSIC’s third boy group has an identical set of standards for all potential talent, whether Korean or not, and that “anyone who dreams of being an artist can try out.” The academy rep offers what could be another tip for those looking to audition: “The labels never used to give much thought to things like academic performance but nowadays I think they’re accounting more for grades and the ability to speak multiple languages. I think they’re paying more attention now to those who show themselves to be individualistic and self-motivated.”

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When TOMORROW X TOGETHER member TAEHYUN talked about his own casting experience in the group’s promotional video for BIGHIT MUSIC NEW BOY GROUP AUDITION, he said he chose BIGHIT MUSIC over all the other labels that were trying to court him because he “felt certain that I would receive wholehearted support.” That was after the casting team spent a lot of time and effort to persuade the future idol at a point when he was refusing to become an idol trainee. Although he didn’t scout TAEHYUN personally, Hong was the one who first told TAEHYUN’s scout about him. “TAEHYUN’s so shrewd that he already had his whole life planned out despite being so young,” Hong said. “He was really passionate about his studies and was determined to get into a good school. He was mature and realistic, so we didn’t feed him an idealized version—we told him everything straight and we were realistic about it.” SUNGHOON was making a name for himself as a figure skater before he eventually debuted with ENHYPEN—again the result of Hong “pouring everything I had into” getting the future idol on board. Hong spent a significant amount of time talking with SUNGHOON’s parents, trying to persuade them with various possibilities including that he take on his careers in sports and music simultaneously. “In the end,” Hong said, casting is all about “sincerity.” Casting directors must come prepared with a full vision for their hopefuls and concrete steps the trainees-to-be can take to fulfill it, and be confident in their decisions at the same time. It’s that confidence that led him to persuading SUNGHOON, who already showed many different talents, to try out to be an idol. “I figured he would pick up dance quick thanks to all his experience figure skating and, seeing as he was an athlete, I was confident he would be responsible and competitive. People with that kind of ambition always end up doing well.” Hong’s confidence went on to completely reshape someone’s life.

Back when they were still known as Big Hit Entertainment, the label had just one team taking on a new artist’s every need—from casting all the way to training and management. Now, BIGHIT MUSIC has a separate, specialized team for every concern, and they continue to iterate on their casting process to this day. According to Hong, the BIGHIT MUSIC Casting team continuously researches new methods on the best paths to cast artists, evaluation standards that are in line with the latest trends and approaches to promotion and scouting in addition to actually casting group members. “For casting, you can’t get stuck in an outdated mindset and you have to be quicker than anyone at picking up, and then keeping up with, new trends and especially those that are unique to and popular with teens,” Hong explained. That’s why the casting team “goes out and interviews teens directly about what they like to do, their patterns, what they’re interested in and more,” developing new avenues for scouting based on the information they amass. “Using apps like ZEPETO and Bondee that are popular with teens” is something else they consider when making contact. “We take many different possible approaches to casting, researching the trends of today and doing market research like plotting out the appearances of idols by generation and the characteristics of each country and making guidelines for that.” Hong said that casting is “mostly intuition- and feeling-dependent” and it isn’t absolutely required that they make concrete, systematic decisions for such a subjective and abstract job. Still, the reason for taking the approaches they do is clear. “If it could be in any way helpful, we just try it. We’re always eager to discover people’s latent potential and help them explore their dreams of becoming an artist. That’s also why we work hard to cultivate casting professionals by establishing a system for casting and improving on that process.”

Last year on Teachers’ Day, JUNGWON expressed his gratitude toward Hong on the EBS radio show Listen, calling Hong a memorable mentor and explaining how he spared no effort giving advice and encouragement from the time JUNGWON was casted to the day he became an artist. When artists he casted reach out from time to time to tell him they’ll never forget his efforts, Hong said, “any sense of feeling tired or drained goes right out the window and I think about how I made the right choice getting into this job.” But for anyone working in the field, that same sense of joy is accompanied by an equally serious sense of responsibility. “I used to go full speed, fearlessly, into casting, but since then I’ve necessarily started to think things through a little bit more and be more cautious,” Hong said. “My decisions change the daily and long-term lives of countless people.” Not only does the decision to cast someone in the role of idol have a profound impact on that person’s teens and 20s, but that one person in turn will have an influence on innumerable others. That’s why happiness for casting directors like Hong is their discovered trainee blooming into an artist. Hong and others can also rest assured they made the right choice when they see those artists grow. “I’m always rooting for TOMORROW X TOGETHER and ENHYPEN,” Hong said. “I feel as proud as a dad. When the members I casted myself and continue to cherish—people I realized were the one—continue to grow as artists and I see how much they’re loved by people …Is there any feeling in the world better than that?”

#txt #tomorrow x together #230410 #weverse magazine #soobin #yeonjun #beomgyu #taehyun #hueningkai #ENHYPEN

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