#those student led plays are always a hit

[starlooove]

Theatre kid Damian is so real

[aetherdoesthings]

I LOVE FATHER FOAKJFKANFNDBS

Okay but imagine (i dont know if reader is young enough for this butttt). Child reader wants to spend time with father, but father is busy with paperwork. So reader proposes just sitting on her lap, promising they'll stay still and quiet. And reader does. And then they fall asleep in father's lap. So father carries reader to bed, kissing them on the forehead before saying good night.

I'm in love with good parent Arlecchino 🥺🥺 Is it fanon, yes, but I love her.

~EL anon

forethoughts: ignore the fact the name is still EL anon 😭 also how are you doing buddy? it's been a while. hope you're doing well! anyways, i hope this aligns with what you had requested a while back, and i hope you all enjoy Father being sweet!

notes: gn!reader but fem!reader in mind, Father being Father, NOT A SHIP/RELATIONSHIP READER IS A CHILD!!!, sweet fluff

You were the star student amongst your peers. Always did well on your exams and tests that the House of Hearth had to offer. Everyone around you was either wanting to be close friends or treat you terribly out of spite. You didn’t care about what the others said about you; you weren’t going to remember them in your future. But there was one voice and words you did care about.

Father.

The one who found you and took you in, provided a space for you to grow in your academics and life. The one who gave you a second chance when your biological parents didn’t.

You hoped that all your work and efforts one day would be able to pay Father back for the change she had given you. Of course, you also wished to hear her words of praise and approval directed at you. You knew from the teachers that Father received the grades of all children, and closely followed after each of them. Of course Father would've noticed you by now.

It had been more than two years when you joined the House of Hearth, and already ascended to the top in the academic realm. Many of the children had already isolated you, and you had closed off everyone in hopes of achieving your goal. So you spent your free time in the libraries reading while everyone else was playing in the fields. Did you feel alone at times? Yes. but you always reminded yourself that nothing else mattered other than repaying Father.

You were reading in your usual spot, on top of the shelves so the workers couldn’t find you. You ate your dinner on the wide shelves that nearly touched the ceiling, rereading a book from the library. Normal children and workers never thought about looking up. 

But Father was anything but normal.

“You’ll get a severe injury if you fall from this height.” Father’s voice rang in your ears, your entire body sitting upright, only to be reminded of the ceiling above you. You let out a wince, the pain of hitting the wooden tiles and being caught coursing through your veins. Gravity pulled on one of your sides, urging you to go back onto the ground. In your disoriented state, you listened, as your body fell from the top of the shelf. Before your mind could process anything, two strong arms wrapped around your frame, holding you tight to a warm feeling, the steady sound of a heartbeat next to your ears. When consciousness came back to you, you found yourself in a state of moving. Well, someone was moving you, while your neck was supported, your legs dangling off of an arm. 

“Father…?” You mumbled out, eyes still trying to piece the blurry puzzle together.

“Where does it hurt the most?” 

Your heart churned at the sound of Father’s voice. You cursed yourself for putting yourself in this circumstance and led Father to find you like this. If only you could talk to her in a more positive setting.

“...M-My head..” You answered, as Father’s white and black hairs came into focus. You could’ve sworn in your dazed state that you saw a flash of worry flicker in those crimson crosses that were the last thing many saw. 

Father murmured something under her breath, as she laid you down on the couch inside her office, your head resting on mountains of pillows as the sound of Father’s heels clicking across the office rang in your ears. Father sat you up, replacing one of the pillows with an ice pack. 

“Hold it against the spot that hurts, understood, Y/N?” Father ordered, her voice leaving no room for arguments. But you could sense an underlying tone of distress.

“Y-Yes, Father.” You replied, your eyes averting the gaze of those crimson crosses.

“If anything else hurts you will tell me instantly, understood?”

“Yes, Father.”

She let out a sigh once she was convinced by your simple short answers, standing up. “Since you are so adamant in isolating yourself, you will stay here until free time is over and it is time for bed.”

You swallowed, opting to not reply. From your peripherals, you could see Father resuming her work, doing what it took to run the orphanage. You chewed on your bottom lip. On one hand, this was the moment you had been dreaming of since you joined. Not being injured, but being in the same room as Father, alone, and her attention semi-focused on you. On the other hand, you were uncertain if you were on good terms with Father enough to let alone strike a conversation.

It might as well be your only chance.

“F-Father…” You stammered. The pen scratching against the paper abruptly came to a halt at your weak voice, waiting to hear the rest of your sentence.

“...m-my hand h-hurts from holding the ice pack, a-and it’s the c-couch is uncomfortable to rest on. C-Can..” you closed your eyes, “c-can I sit o-on your lap i-instead? It’ll be really c-comforting.”

It was the only way you could get closer and spend more time with the person that saved your life. You were grasping at straws, and you knew that. But your child self was craving the comfort only Father could provide. Hopefully Father still considered you young enough that she would do so. You definitely thought you were.

“I-I promise I’ll stay still. And silent.” You added, hoping that’ll tempt her.

A low noise rolled off Father’s tongue. You couldn’t tell if it was from annoyance or (you hoped) affection, as she stood up, her figure coming closer to you. You bit your lips to stop yourself from smiling like a fool as Father took the ice pack from your tiny grasp. 

“You find a way to reach the top of your classes, managing all the work on your shoulders at such a young age. That is applaudable.” Father remarked, as you settled onto her lap, one arm firmly securing your body and the hand holding the ice pack, while the other continued to fill out the paperwork. You beamed at her praise, a feeling of relief and content at the words you worked so hard to hear. 

“However, with all that intellect, you still haven't found a way to make companions.”

Your smile instantly soured at the next sentence, your mind flashing back to the memories of the interactions you had with your other peers. You knew you were smarter than the rest, and weren't scared to show it off. Perhaps that was the reason you ate on top of the shelves everyday. But you remembered the promise of staying silent.

Father noticed, let out an approved hum, seemingly expecting you to break your promise. “I commend your academic and athletic talents especially at your age, Y/N. But don’t fly too close to the sun and forget those who walk on the ground.”

It had been a few minutes since Arlecchino said her piece, knowing that you would want to hear it the most. She knew about the efforts you had made in order to make a name for yourself, and gain her attention. And you did exactly that. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t impressed by your abilities. If this continued, perhaps the Tsaritsa would offer you a job at such a ripe age. Then again, Arlecchino would try to interfere. She knew of the Fatui ins and outs, and despite training an orphanage to work under the Tsaritsa, a part of her she kept locked away felt as if she was truly the Father to all the orphans, including but not limited to you. 

She had finished half of her work when the Harbinger decided to check up on you. Unbeknownst to her, you had cuddled up against Arlecchino’s chest, the slow rise and fall of your chest bringing a warm feeling to her heart. She set her pen down, and the ice pack, taking the moment to admire your vulnerable form. It was probably one of the moments you had allowed yourself to relax after working for years to only hear words that lasted for seconds. Arlecchino placed both hands around you, her legs taking their time to be in an upright position before strolling towards your room, making sure her heels weren’t making too much noise that would disrupt you.

Arlecchino set you down in your bed, tucking you in underneath the plush blankets as she planted her lips on your forehead.

“Sweet dreams, my little star.” 

[chiyoso]

“breaking the 4th wall”

h. star rail : jing yuan.

▶CONTENT. insomnia, self conscious doubt, comfort, self aware au, something personal for those who have trouble with loneliness, insomnia and exhaustion, jing yuan is self aware!

▶NOTE. im tired and its 3am, but jing yuan exists so have this comfort fic. also @ainescribe gift for your hardworking ass, ily aine feel better.

Your eyelids grew heavy, laid against the arm rest of the warm sofa, scrolling and tapping away at your phone for anything, any eventful thing that can spark a motivation, an inspiration to you.

It's eating you away. Death scrolling, letting the blue light affect your sleep instead of earning a sleep that your body desperately needs for tomorrow.

Yet, your fingers can't seem to stop moving, as if it had a mind on its own, causing further subconscious guilt and shame, a knowing voice gnawing and belittling behind your state of self, commenting on your disheveled, tired appearance, bags underneath your eyes, your flesh warning you of your stress and lack of self care that you couldn't find the time to do anymore. Shit, and the studying you have to do tomorrow.

All that, but your fingers never leave the glass screen.

3:25 AM Sun, Aug 6 ᯤ [▂] 22%

[Honkai: Star Rail] · PomPom: [Username]! Your trailblaz···

[Tumblr] · 16 new notes · [Your blog] ···

[Tumblr] · hiraethsdesires just posted a post...

[Weather] · 28° in [Place] Feels like 33° · Mostly Cloudy · S...

[Honkai Impact 3rd] · Captain! Your energy has replenishe...

⊗

“Finally.” You said, tapping the first notification.

You sighed, the notif reminding you of your shitty sleep schedule. It had originally updated you at the early mornings, gradually turning into afternoons, then the evening... night... and...

You were brought back to reality from the sound of the lobby theme, the Astral Express, traveling in your sight, wishing you would be reincarnated into such a life, meeting the ones who made this horrible, tedious lifespan bearable.

Once you hit tap, you were greeted with a loading screen that had Jing Yuan's fact along the bottom, earning a faint smile from you as the image of his splash art pops up in your mind.

Jing Yuan: The Divine Foresight, one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou Alliance, leads the Cloud Knights of the Xianzhou Luofu. A student of the Luofu's previous Sword Champion, though not known for his martial prowess.

You were greeted by the sight of Jing Yuan's pixels as always, greeting him bubbly and warmly as you spin him around to face you, zooming into his features, especially admiring his beauty mark under his eye.

“Pretty, so damn pretty,” You hum, moving onto other features, before resuming, checking your daily tasks.

Now what were you doing at this time of night?

You wouldn't know, you will never know, but he will always appreciate the way you greet him every day, but this day—being the observant, Arbiter General that he is, he notices your slurred, tired voice, but still coated with affection that he enjoyed quite a lot. He didn't quite like the bags underneath your pretty eyes that he will take glances of every chance he can get. He didn't like how you were feigning ignorance to your bodily needs, on how you were sacrificing sleep to play.

You led him to the cavern of corrosion; Path of the Holy Hymm once again, endlessly grinding the perfect relics for your main dps, wasting all your trailblaze powder for him. Bronya, Tingyun and Luocha snickered to themselves on how much you spoil the Arbiter General, on how much you baby him lovingly despite his commanding, superior status as the Xianzhou Luofu's face, causing his cheeks to grow hot in result of your affectionate words whenever you go to the character screen, setting and upgrading his relics.

“So strong my general...” His breath got caught to his throat upon hearing you, his blush deepening from the sudden suggestive tone in your voice.

The character screen was filled with the various people that you earned, and they were giggling and smirking slyly to your gestures, making his arms full of materials from the endless grind you did, all for him—a bonus as well, he didn't feel any shred of guilt as you do the same towards the others, but he was just your very, very favorite, and he knew all about it from your vocal prowess.

He would find your curses endearing when you get a shitty relic, but he would soon then join your annoyance as this body relic had stats befitting for a damn healer, might as well give it to Bailu since she's the same element, and fortunately a healer. (In which case you did.)

...

You worried him. Once you were done with your tasks and finishing off your remaining trailblaze powder, your eyelids threatened to shut, giving the Arbiter General a feeling that he hadn't felt in awhile, a certain dread, and a strong one at that towards the player who felt strongly about him.

Your consciousness was drifting, your lids weighing down, but the unthinkable happened.

On the top left corner under the map, a red exclamation mark appears on the chat logo, your tired eyes noticing the sudden mark, giving you a burst of little energy.

You blinked a few times, rubbing your lids gently before landing your irises upon the message again.

Was this a new message update?

A new trailblaze mission?

An event leak? Hoyoverse tease...?

You shook your head, regaining focus to check the patch notes in the game, seemingly finding nothing about any update, but your search doesn't stop there, you looked through the official website, hoyolabs, tumblr, youtube, heck even reddit—but none have mentioned a message regarding to this.

Deciding to remain quiet about this ordeal, you went back to the game to find another message, and another, his restlessness growing evident as the moonlight continues to dawn over your world.

3:38 AM Sun, Aug 6 ᯤ [▂] 19%

[Honkai: Star Rail] · 2 new messages from ▉▉▉▉ ▉▉▉▉ ···

[Tumblr] · hiraethsdesires just posted a post...

[Weather] · 28° in [Place] Feels like 33° · Mostly Cloudy · S...

[Honkai Impact 3rd] · Captain! Your energy has replenishe...

⊗

What- What the fuck?

Your throat lumped to the sight of the first notification, its whole box felt out of place from the others, yet you found your thumb nearing the glass towards the notif, accompanied with your growing blush and curiousity.

You were then met with the Hoyoverse screen once again, assessing the situation you were in as you stare into the blackness of the screen.

Was I... Imagining things? Surely not.

Fuck — I'll just... sleep all day tomorro—

...?

You were met with a slightly glitchy screen of the normal sequence of Jing Yuan's back, but he was... already in his phone. The sprite of his pixels, typing away, seeing the red exclamation mark on top of the speech bubble under the map, earning him a slight breathy inhale from you.

You click the link, losing your shit at the messages that fell before your eyes.

“Ha?”

“What the fuck? I-”

I've lost it.

Oh.

I haven't lost it?

You find yourself staring in silence, re-reading repeatedly the words that only instilled a slight fear yet wonder that was visible on your reddening face.

“But I-... How?” You spoke gently, softly. Something the General wished to hear again, and on cue, his sprite in the game chuckled, as if he was truly listening to you.

'I am only fiction to you' it rings through your head, aching your heart slightly.

You were about to speak, but another message popped up, leaving your body with disappointment and longing, gripping your phone as your eyes gloss over the phenomenon.

“W- Wait! Ji-... Jing Yu...”

You gulp down a lump, bringing your phone closer to your face, your eyes glistening, your whole senses overwhelmed with intensifying longing, warmth — yet accompanied with a growing heartache from the fleeting interaction and him excusing himself abruptly in this otherworldly situation.

...Wait.

Everythi—?

“General...” You muttered out softly, your reddening face from the embarrassing memories that flooded you, his words greatly reminding you of the times where you acted with full on eccentricity, degenerative behavior, lustful tendencies and so on. It made you wonder if other characters such as Blade, Welt — or perhaps even the Aeons heard and witnessed you all this time. It made you shiver with embaunable feelings of humiliation and continuous embarassment, making you unable to think clearly, and the way you threw away your phone onto the couch lightly to cover your heated face? Still being witnessed by the General, and a few other silent spectators of course.

Jing Yuan couldn't believe this situation as well.

This was somehow the work of Silverwolf, a wanted enemy of the Xianzhou, Destiny's Slave, but he felt the most warmth and joy since being summoned by you — no, especially this unforseen interaction with the mortal whose been taking care of everything in the universe within your phone, for taking great care of the Xianzhou especially.

... An endearing mortal at that.

The General and the rest of the game couldn't see as you apparently let go of your device, but your wails and silent squeals were still audible, as the General comes to a conclusion that you perhaps needed to calm down, but in reality, he quite enjoyed this spectacle of yours, even by only listening — in which he was once again very greatful for his grand, and sensitive sense of hearing as he listens to you.

After another, final deep breath, your hand reaches to your phone again, before beginning to press your fingers onto your screen in a frantic haze, but the joystick button was... unresponsive, as well as the others—except for the message button in this moment.

BZZT

Another messaged popped up, quickening your heartrate immediately.

“WH—” Your heart only fluttered and dropped at the same time.

He can do that?

It's... It's probably a bluff.

...

He's the Arbiter General, who am I kidding.

With a warm sigh of content, you find yourself smiling at your phone, hugging it onto your chest with the game still open unknowingly.

“...I love you all. You are all my calm and peace.”

You said quietly, sniffling and accompanied with sounds of your light breathing, drifting off your exhaustions away to fulfill your body's needs.

Finally in your slumber, your phone switches off within a few minutes, thus the floating screen on their end disappears, earning a content sigh from the General as he makes his way towards his office in the Exalting Sanctum, each step felt heavy without your sight now that you were aware he can — or his world can access yours in this small, yet impactful way, but his form grows with confidence, determination setting in his soul as his sights land upon the Cloud Knight whom guarded the way to his office.

Jing Yuan sought out to Welt Yang and Silverwolf immediately in secret after his satisfying interactions with you, informing them of what happened in full detail (though he left out the parts where you cosplayed a squealing tomato, sparing you from further humiliation) and the whole ordeal as it was successful. His subtle praises earned him multiple cheeky and cocky remarks from the criminal hacker, along with a few teasing about him being smitten by you (and to Welt as well), but what can he really do to retaliate back? She was a main source of intelligence and control who provided a connection to you in the first place.

Inevitable, but he was willing to cooperate either way, all for this world, for the Xianzhou — for you.

The three continue to dive into their conversations, planning on how he or others who are interested, can continue to interact with you further more without raising suspicion from their creators upon breaking a few bits of code and data. It was no doubt in mind risky, that was apparent, but so was their endearment and affection towards their human, their player.

In all honesty, Welt and Silverwolf also found themselves wanting to interact with you as well from Jing Yuan's stories of the first ever interaction you had to their world, but of course, if they did it consecutively, it would most definitely be noticable if a few more characters began to act on their own accord, threatening the programmed codes as numbers shift and modify suspiciously.

Though unfortunately, only resorting to using the message system for now, but Silverwolf was confident with her abilities, making use of the way she was made, using the descriptions laid for her against her own creators.

After all, Hoyoverse made her annoyingly cunning, intelligent and skilled. A mistake on their part, or rather, an intended choice of character building for players like us to create, indulge and enjoy? We'll never know.

Unless Hoyoverse put out a stream that specifies the matter, until then Silverwolf remains focused and unyielding to her program, heeding Jing Yuan's call if need be and taking Welt Yang's advices about his own knowledge when it came to multiverses and other worlds from his prior experiences. All this planning, the risk, the longing for more interactions with you — it was a motivation to the three, as well as for the others that greatly wished to converse with you.

An aloof and lazy, the general he may be, but he's a living legacy of dreams and determination for a reason.

A wielder of a great glaive with materials dropped from the remants of the Reignbow Arbiter's Lux Arrow — and tonight, as you slept peacefully, this felt like a moment of miracle once again, the fleeting moment of grace that made their world reach a state of serenity, all from the possibility of having to finally, finally interact with you.

reblogs help my audience reach, thank you.

[goldfades]

MANAGERS OFFICE: (I want to hear your individual headcannons on this so plz anyone feel free to add on)

First off, girly has snacks EVERYWHERE, so many cabinets and drawers and secret spaces with snacks in it. Something tells me the manager likes gummy and sour candies so there's lots of those.

Pr packages from brands, at one point her office was overflowing with boxes

She has one of those type writer keyboards and the girls will just be in her office chilling and relaxing/falling asleep to the keyboard clacks

Manager has a keyboard collection on the wall with different keyboards and keycaps.

Diffuserssss everywhere, the moment you walk into her office you're just hit with a wave of calm.

Baby also has candles lit and things like plants and eucalyptus.

Fluffy blankets!!!!

Comfiest couch and bean bags.

Big TV facing her desk (the girls 100% hooked up their consoles to it)

Manager also has a wii so they'll play wii sports, wii sports resorts, mario kart, and any just dance game

(Of course they're getting competitive at the basketball game on wii sports resorts)

Extra clothes for both her and the team, sometimes she just doesn't feel like going home to change, or she has a late night.

Organized as HELL, nothing is out of place and if something is she's gonna lose it. She literally needs to be organized she's the manager, assistant coach, photographer, & the media manager. If she's not organized she's not gonna have a good time.

She's an artist so she has some of her paintings/drawings, clay figures, origami just everywhere around her office. She also has the art things that old students have made her as well.

PICTURE WALL, it gets more and more full by the day.

Bookshelf that she has both hers and books for the girls

Adding onto that, next to Paige, Ice, KK, & Nika. Azzi is in her office the most just relaxing or reading. Manager always gets new books for Azzi to read or books Azzi has been talking about. They just sit in comfortable silence.

Manager's office is placed where she can see the sunset and sunrise sooo

The SKY PICTURES

OH OMG and the GOLDEN HOUR PICTURES????? I'm gonna die

I can go on and on about her office pictures alone, girly can POSE!... PHOTOSHOOT! POSE POSE

The tiktoks tooo....... don't get me started

Speaking of the windowww

Rainy days in her office must be heavnly.

The rain hitting the window (the girls watching the raindrops race <3), the candles and diffuser doing their thing, tea brewing, lofi playing in the background.

She has a fluffy ass carpet that the girls lay on.

manager has appliances in her office backroom, tea kettle, air fryer, microwave, yeah-

Let's say manager takes her pet to school (it's either take your pet to work day or she has a service animal) baby is laying on that carpet and sunbathing

Fidget toys

Manager has that big ass Snorlax beanbag

The girls always getting her new candles and essential oils <3

She has a mini fridge that she fills with drinks.

The backroom has an even bigger fridge.

Manager collects minifigures from a series and puts them on a shelf

She has suncatchers everywhere

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4e/8a/17/4e8a1738f067a8f4d18147cf08e45aae.jpg

^ like that :b

Led lights (either the strips or the lamps)

Bomb ass computer set up, I think she has multiple computers and a big ass desk

Perfume shelf with her favorite scents

She's always going to office supply stores cuz she's always running out

Manager journals and has a shit ton of stationary items for it like pens, stickers, washi tape, etc.

She keeps her space C L E A N, and WILL scold anyone who fucks it up

Something tells me she's one of those people that hate shoes in her office, like she has slippers she makes people put on or they take off their shoes, keep their socks on and put them next to the door before they enter.

All the pain medication, go to her for it, it's in her drawer.

All of the teams comfort snacks and items are in her office in case they're overstimulated/ need a break.

Makeup drawer with a little mirror incase she needs a touch up.

Her lunches are amaaazing, she kinda had to start bringing extra cuz the team

Manager has little art projects sometimes, like those DIY wisteria flowers you hand from the ceiling or that cloud LED light thing where you put cotton over the led light strips and it looks like electricity.

But they buy her fast food so she doesn't mind,,,,,too much

"KK get the FUCK OUTTA MY PASTA GIRL!"

Since manager sucks with her phone, especially when she's locked in. The girls got her a LoveNote box where the heart spins everytime she gets a message, and they're just reminders from the girls or other silly messages.

The most common one being "You better be home in 15 minutes or we're gonna drag you out."

To be honest, if I were the manager, I wouldn't want to leave my office either, working or not.

-🐹

this is. a damn masterpiece CAUSE YES

baby girl is soooo damn organized and the whole food thing is so real, they're eating her lunch and she's just like... "but my pasta..." and they're like WE NEED THE CARBS!!!!!!!!!

if i was manager i'd never wanna leave either CAUSE IT SOUNDS... AMAZING HOLY COW

[princess-of-thebes-1995]

I had a dream about this guy last night. And I am bored and cannot sleep.

1:19 am.

Prologue. Yandere Patrick Bateman x reader

Patrick Bateman was at a dinner gathering. He gave charity to schools for financial aid and housing for college students.

He then saw you...

He tried to walk up to you but reporters, writers would always try to talk to him.

Annoyed, he smiled politely and showed manners and spoke eloquently as always.

Patrick watched you move around the room talking to some girlfriends and other young men...

He felt a boiling frustration of jealousy in his heart. He felt better knowing you weren't flirting. Just talking normally.

Still. He wants to know your name and get your number

You should know the famous Patrick Bateman.

The millionaire Lawyer of New York.

But then he saw you walk around towards the door!

Crap. You were leaving. Luckily, he saw something. A little kid was playing with his car toys. After finally being away from those pesky paparazzis, Patrick used all his concentration to kick a toy car right under your high heels.

He saw you sadly trip on your face. He wanted you to fall back on your ass instead to avoid the pain.

Patrick felt guilt as you hit your cute perky nose against the floor.

Poor thing.

A crowd of people circled you and Patrick quickly walked up to your form as you clutched your heavily bloody nose.

"Are you alright, my dear?" Patrick took out his silk handkerchief and gently pressed it against your delicate nose.

Before you could answer, this stranger grabbed your upper arm and made you stand.

Patrick looked to see his business partners staring. "I'll send her home after cleaning her."

The pain was hell against your nose. You heard chatter and murmurs as this man led you somewhere. You didn't see his face yet. You saw his muscular back and tuxedo.

His hair was perfectly gelled.

"where we going?" You tried to squirm away from his grip.

"Don't worry. My office is here."

You said nothing and inside you were lead to a luxurious office that had the best vintage and antique furniture.

While there. The man made you sit and gave you painkiller pills. You were uncomfortable being alone with his stranger.

He did some small talk and you warily and out of politeness replied back.

This man obviously was fond of your name. He complimented it. You didn't appreciate it.

Then he confirmed your suspicions after asking your name. He wanted your number.

So that's what this was about.

You refused. He narrowed his eyes.

"I am Patrick Bateman."

"Who?" You titled your head in confusion.

This Patrick blinked and then his face turned red.

"Are you stupid? I am a millionaire Lawyer who funds colleges including the one you go to."

You explained how you moved all the way from California to New York. So, you couldn't have heard of him unless he was a Hollywood celebrity or someone bigger. Not a lawyer.

The Patrick Bateman guy seemed to have liked your answer. He forgave you on the inside for not knowing him. He was offended and embarrassed.

"Now that you know who I am. Give me your number. I want to get to know you."

"I don't." You narrowed your eyes.

He clenched his perfectly shaped jaw. He warned you. He can get you replaced by another student in college.

"I don't care who you are. I don't trust random strangers. You are entitled and arrogant. I hate you already."

Hate? Patrick felt as if you slapped him. He watched you leave.

You hate him already? You just met. And him....

He loved you already.

Stupid bitch.

You'll pay for that.

Patrick looked at the bloodied handkerchief in his hand. He pressed it to his nose. Your blood smelled beautiful. He needs more.

[villainessprefect]

A Twisted Host Club

★ * • .☆  ’ • ⋆

[kicks a hypothetical door down] hello I’ve been hit with a funny idea and my brain demands to write it down so here are some thoughts of an Ouran Twst AU??? It’s been a while since I’ve touched Ouran though so this is just some general ideas that came to me.

Little notes:

Magic is a thing but not too relevant?? I was thinking of this as more of a regular high school AU but has a variety of species (ie merfolk, beastmen, fae). tbh it might just be more focused on transformations and allowing other kinds of folks into one school.

MC is kept gender neutral. You can imagine them following the same thing as Haruhi or not, but thats up to the reader.

The Host Club is the main cast, but I tried to include everyone and your connection to them lol

Most of the students here have money/are rich in some form/have connections to wealth.

RSA is still a rival academy I just didn’t have too many thoughts about them to throw them in here atm.

Yuu / the reader - The rare scholarship kid at NRC. Smart and generally keeps to themselves. They are in the middle class and while not “poor” they are compared to most in the school. Initially interested in the photography club but got dragged into the Host Club after their cat, Grim, broke a rather expensive vase. You start off being a gopher for the club members, but by the end of the day you’re the pretty commoner that the rich folk flock to to get an insight at that “poor” lifestyle. Its weird but you definitely feel better knowing that you can survive in the world without money compared to those here.

Crowley - Your adoptive father who was the one that pushed you into attending NRC. He doesn’t tell you he’s the principal of the school until you actually get in. Surprise! He uses the excuse of not playing favorites yet boasts that you got in all of your own accord with no strings attached! You just have to pay for things out of pocket if you want anything, like say, a uniform for example. He is rather flaky, but he provides you a home and food, thankfully.

Grim - A stray cat that lived around Crowley’s home and that you picked up when you moved in. He’s a bit mischievous and glutton, but adores your attention. Your first day of school had him meowing out for you. He managed to get out of the house and followed you to school. Trying to keep the cat hidden proved to be difficult and eventually a failure on your part when he led you to a fancy club room and broke a priceless vase. At least he’s popular amongst the girls and now acts like a mascot for the Host Club.

Host Club

Vil Schoenheit - The infamous president and leader of the Host Club. A young star model and actor. His father had acted in the Host Club in his youth and he decided to take the reigns when it was his turn to attend NRC. He uses it as a form of training, acting for others given their wishes. But he’s also fairly strict on those in the club and those he performs for. If you want him to lend an ear, be prepared for some harsh and blunt words. Most who come to see him are more for his popularity and celebrity status, others come to learn from him, whether it be for acting or skin care routines.

Vil always seems to be angry or disappointed with you. It’s hard to tell why, yet he’s the one that cleans you up and makes you look like a whole new person. While you now physically fit in with the rest here, you must act like it too. Even if you’re simply paying off a debt, you’re part of the club and you will act like a member. He’s always keeping an eye on you though and thinks you have potential. And he may have a soft spot for you to. While he won’t say it aloud, he hopes you stay even after your debt is paid.

Epel Felmier - Vil’s forced understudy. He’s been designated to be the one to take over and lead when Vil graduates but Epel has no interest in being a host. He hates being called cute and has only recently been learning to use it to his advantage. Epel longs to be in a sports club and skips out to join in on activities when he can. Despite being from the countryside, he does have funds thanks his family’s apple business.

Epel tends to go to you to complain about Vil. You’re in the same boat as him after all! He knows he can be rowdy and drop the prim and proper act around you too. He’s someone you can talk to and not have to worry about the financial gap. You’re always the first one he offers his apples to. You also share the same classes as him, so you two are generally seen together alot.

Azul Ashengrotto - The businessman behind the Host Club. He generally acts in the background, taking care of funds and making appointments. He doesn’t generally take part in acting as a host, rather as someone who will listen to your woes and even offer to solve all your problems...for an additional price. Most go to him when they have troubles with their grades or want to win the heart of another host, which is, unfortunately, the only wish he cannot grant. He’s in charge of snacks/food offered in the club and has a different theme each week.

It seems like Azul is always finding a way to inflate your debt. You can’t tell how much you owe at any given point and it feels like you’ll be paying it off even after you both graduate. Despite all the finances, he does offer you his time. Tell him your poor woes! He’ll help you out! You’re a little wary but sometimes you do cave, for minor problems though. Surprisingly, most of his payments are through information and you can’t tell if thats better or worse than increasing your debt. Still, he is an upperclassman you can turn to if you have studying problems. Which, thankfully, isn’t something you have to go to him for.

Jade & Floyd Leech - The twins of the club and Azul’s childhood friends much to his dismay. Seen together nearly everywhere they go, they always seem to be plotting something. They assist Azul with snacks but take their own twist on it when he’s busy. Jade offers a kind hand to all those in need, but he’s a little...odd about it. He knows more than he lets on and can serve anyone. Most first timers are sent to him. Floyd, on the other hand, is for the thrill seekers. When he’s in a good mood, at least. He doesn’t really do hosting, just plays around with those that go to him. Wanna play tag? Some new commoner sport? ‘Escape’ from the cruel tentacles of Azul? If he’s in a bad mood you can usually just vibe beside him or try to lift his mood. He likes to ‘squeeze’ people whenever he can, whether they are his clients or not.

Jade enjoys surprising you in many ways. He’s usually the first to greet you at the door, always knowing when you’ll be arriving even when you’re late. He appears to be under the guise of making you feel welcomed in this unfamiliar environment. It’s hard to believe him though. He enjoys the fact that you’re willing to try out his specialty dishes despite what may be in them. Whether its braver or hunger driving you, he’s curious. He wants to observe you and learn more about the little debtling in the club.

Floyd is one that always enjoys seeing you even outside of the club. It’s not surprising to be snatched away by him. If anyone is going to ruin your perfect attendance, its going to be him. Still, he enjoys your presence in the club too. He finds you entertaining and tries to get you to break more valuables just to keep you here. When he’s in a bad mood you’re the one they call on if no one else can get him to lighten up.

Kalim Al-Asim - One of the richest students in school. He’s energetic and kind and a lovable sweetheart. He’s here really just to have fun and enjoy his youth. Being in this club was mostly on a whim but he ended up loving it. Most go to him if they’re feeling down because he has a gift for lifting even the darkest of spirits. Some try to get his hand in marriage but attempts are either thwarted by Jamil or go over his head or both.

Kalim always brightens up your day. You hate to admit it, but he really does seem to turn any frown upside down. He’s the one thats furthest away from living a normal lifestyle and takes interest in any “commoner” thing you may have. Instant coffee, while not his thing, is such a fascinating thing to him. He usually offers to share his lunch with you. You think he’s too kind, even since he offered to pay off your debt. Sometimes you wish you’d taken it but would rather not be in debt to him and his family for the remainder of your life, even if he does say otherwise.

Jamil Viper - Kalim’s childhood friend and retainer. He’s here mostly to protect Kalim but ended up being caught up in the Host Club thanks to some persuasion from him and Azul. He tries to usher more clients over to Kalim since he isn’t used to the attention. Part of him enjoys being picked over Kalim and being favorites to clients. If Jade’s schedule is filled up, then Jamil is the second one newbies go to. He’s skilled in a variety of things and generally pleases those he’s with with ease.

It was a little difficult getting to know Jamil at first. He always presented Kalim before himself. You learn that he’s smarter and stronger than he appears since he’s meant to protect Kalim, and in turn, you also learn just how important Kalim really is. Jamil finds you to be a little bumbling thanks to your situation but takes interest in how you deny Kalim. Your life could be so easy yet you choose the hard route. While his main goal is to protect Kalim, he ends up protecting you to.

Photography Club

Rook Hunt - An unofficial member of the Host Club. Despite him being in the photography club, he’s seen there more often then his own club. Azul uses him to snag pictures of the members, although most of them tend to be focused on Vil. He’s poetic and interrupts the Host Club’s sessions to praise their charms and beauty.

You try to learn about the Photography Club from him and take tips during your free time. It’s not easy with how he goes off about Vil and the others but you have to admit that he is giving you insight into the rest of the group. You learn that he’s a devoted fan to Vil and someone called Neige, the latter, you learn, is a name that should not be spoken within the Host Club. While Rook is a little odd, he does shower you in praises too. It’s nice to hear something so warm on harsher days or when you think you’ve upset Vil.

Student Council

Riddle Rosehearts - Student Council President. He’s very strict when it comes to rules. Clubs that fail to meet the criteria are known to be disbanded within hours. He doesn’t mind any of the clubs as long as they follow their intended purpose and don’t cause trouble.

Riddle is the top student in his grade and if you were a year older, you might just be academic rivals aiming for the top. He usually keeps an eye on you and your grades, you are a scholarship student after all. More responsibility falls on your shoulders than you think. 

Trey Clover - Riddle’s childhood friend and Vice President. He’s the one that most go to instead of Riddle as he’s much easier to approach. Even so, club problems shouldn’t be passed to him as they eventually meet Riddle.

You’re one of the few, if not only person, that doesn’t think to speak to him first before Riddle. He isn’t sure if he admires your bravery or not. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to offer his hand to you. He’s also never going to let you forget the oyster sauce incident.

Cater Diamond - The Secretary of the Student Council. He doesn’t seem to take interest in his role and instead post on social media. He comes off as easygoing and sociable, which makes it easy for him to learn about the other clubs.

You follow each other’s social medias and learn that he’s dying to go to the Host Club. He tries to wiggle his way out of work but Trey never lets him escape. He’s a little ‘jelly’ that you get to spend time with Vil. He usually asks for pics from the club.

Board Game Club

Idia Shroud - The elusive President of the Board Game Club. It’s hard to find him and most times he doesn’t even appear in class. Apparently he has special privileges and has to show up once a week, test days are not included so sometimes twice a week. Most mistaken him for being in the Black Magic Club, even though he’s not. He’s just timid and socially anxious, but lightens up over a good game. His club also counts as one for video games he just has to be sneaky about it whenever Riddle does his monthly rounds.

Idia thinks you’re a weird normie. You’re in a club thats out of your league and somehow socialize with everyone else?! Even him?! Neither of you know of each other’s existence until Ortho brings you together. You enjoy being able to play games without hearing really obvious questions thrown your way and other belittling comments. Idia plays because they’re fun not because he’s interested in the poor folk’s social life of how to pass on boredom. You make a great gaming partner in his eyes, although he won’t say it...thats too hard of a difficulty level for him.

Ortho Shroud - Idia’s younger brother who appears on campus more than his actual brother. He isn’t human but looks one if it weren’t for the gadgets on his cheek that give him a mask or vizor depending on how he feels. Some dote on him and he uses that to his advantage.

You meet unexpectedly, nearly running into the boy who was on a search for his brother. While it gets you in trouble with Vil later on, you decide to assist him. Ever since then, he continues to go to you whenever he wants his brother to do more things in school. Sometimes he drops by the Host Club for ‘research’. He’s curious on how this human activity works and also informs his brother on it too.

Sports Clubs

Leona Kingscholar - Captain of the American Football team. He’s been held back a couple of years but his family provides money so the school doesn’t particularly care. Vil has tried to scout him out for the Host Club before but Leona has no interest in it. While he prefers to laze around, its thanks to him that the school’s team aces every tournament. There are rumors about him using underhanded tactics, but he’s never been caught.

He seems to have little to no interest in you yet enjoys pulling you aside whenever Vil sends you out for some reason or another. It’s like he has a sixth sense, knowing just when to use you for his naps. It’s nice to take a breather from running around and trying to be some host. You do your best not to fall asleep beside him though.

Ruggie Bucchi - Vice captain of the American Football team and Leona’s ‘underling’. He’s another rare scholarship student yet seems to be better off than you, school wise at least considering he has a uniform (although it was a hand me down from Leona, but still). He doesn’t mind playing the poor card and does his best to swindle those rich suckers out of their ‘spare change’. He’s quick on his feet and a jack of all trades. He sometimes works at the Host Club for special events.

Ruggie tends to laugh at your position. Being in debt sucks, but he gets it. He gives tips on how to lessen your debt with Azul considering he works with the guy every now and then. It just costs you a week’s worth of lunch. Paying him in food isn’t so bad, plus you get the occasional snack back when he’s feeling generous. You two joke about eating the rich which is pretty fun...except when getting caught by Leona or Vil.

Jack Howl - Track and Field club member. A first year on the team that shows real promise. He’s pretty popular amongst the sports clubs and was fought over which club to join, but ultimately picked this one. He doesn’t mind helping out other clubs if they’re short a member and as long as it doesn’t interfere with his own. Most people expect him to be a jock of some kind but are surprised by his smarts.

Jack shares a few classes with you. He’s been your classmate and partner. He comes off as cold but when he warms up to you, you can see how friendly he really is. Not many stand up for you, but Jack will. He doesn’t quite like you being in debt to the Host club, but there isn’t much he can do about it unfortunately.

Sebek Zigvolt - Equestrian Club member. A newbie in the club but shows promise. He’s a little on the loud side and you know when he’s coming whether its thanks to his booming voice or thundering footsteps. He goes on about Malleus (whoever that is) and isn’t afraid to lecture others on his greatness. Despite this, he can be quite gullible. He originally wanted to be in the Black Magic Club but Lilia convinced him to expand his interests.

You catch him mostly outdoors or in the hallways thanks to sharing classes. He seems to have a strong distaste for your upbringing. While he scolds you, he does seem to have some heart underneath it all. He doesn’t understand the Host Club at all and ignores the club mostly.

Silver - Equestrian Club member. He has a way with any and all animals. The horses listen to him and so do those in the Animal Breeding Club. It’s surprising he isn’t a member of that club, although they are trying to scout him. He has a bad habit of dozing off anywhere and at any time. It tends to get him in trouble, especially during class. He’s takes everything very seriously.

You stumble upon him once while he’s sleeping. From then on you learn to be more careful. Finding him sleeping is one thing, but finding him sleeping with animals is another. You wake him up when he can and he always thanks you for it. He’s a bit of an enigma but you learn that he is adopted to. His father sounds quite...interesting. And familiar but maybe you’re just imagining things.

Ace Trappola - Basketball Club member. A troublemaker and old friend. He’s carefree and blunt which hardly helps his case. He gets in trouble with the student council president a lot. His grades are mess thanks to the fact that he doesn’t study and loafs off in class, but he can pull out surprising answers if given the chance.

You didn’t expect to see Ace in this school. You knew him for about a couple of years prior to middle school. He laughs at your misery of being a new host and how you wound up in this situation. Still he hangs out with you and causes some mischief in the club. He helps smuggle Grim into classes with you whenever the cat decides to show up.

Deuce Spade - Track and Field club member, but also unofficially in the Gardening Club. He’s an ex-delinquent and is trying to better himself since he was given this chance to be in such a prestigious school. He works hard but his old self shows up every now and then. He has a soft spot for his mother and grandmother. He enjoys sports but finds some peace in the Gardening club. He usually waters/takes care of the plants on emergencies.

Deuce is the first friend you make in this school, that isn’t Ace. He did his best to show you around and act like the perfect honor student. You cheer each other on and study together mostly. He doesn’t like trying to help smuggle Grim into classes, but at this point he’s in too deep and knows how to do it, just like Ace. He offered to fight the Host Club once when he heard you were in debt to them.

Black Magic Club

Lilia Vanrouge - Lilia is the President of the Black Magic Club. It’s more of a place to hang out and escape from the world. Although it’s a little unsettling with how much he knows about demons and curses and whatnot, as if he’s been there to see them all. He’s playful and accepts anyone into his club. He tends to give those in his club a little charm he crafts himself, usually to ward off evil spirits...or so he says.

You stumble into his club one day and he takes an interest in you. It’s been so long since he’s seen someone so out of place in this school. He listens to you and asks for nothing in return, only giving cryptic remarks here and there. He has asked for your blood once or twice and you can’t tell if he was joking about it.

Malleus Draconia Hornton/Tsunotaro - A mysterious student who is supposedly part of the Black Magic Club. It seems to be only in name though as Lilia claims he needed one more student to make the club official, so he offered his name. Apparently he wants to make his own club but doesn’t have sufficient members to join, so he’s under this one for the time being.

When you first meet him, you don’t know who he is. It’s late at night and you’ve been held back at school far too late thanks to your ‘dearest’ father. He seems to have some idea of who you are yet you don’t know him. He prefers to keep it that way and allows you to nickname him. You call him a friend despite not knowing his name and sometimes you think he’s imaginary until you pass him in the hallway. You don’t understand the weird stares you get when you wave to him and he waves back.

[meep-moops-stuff]

Sidney Crosby x Reader - Found Father

“And you’re trying to lift off the ground with those old two wheels / nothing about the way that you were treated seemed especially alarming til now”

A couple of days had passed. The team played a gruesome back to back night games home at PPG Paints Arena, the first one being a win and the second one ending in a loss.

Sidney has done this before, though, where he doesn’t go to the coffee shop during back to back games so he can focus on his pre game routine and superstitions.

He finally returned to the entrance and peaked through the glass door. He could see his reflection and the length of the line, and he dreaded having to wait.

He turned his head to the window of the cafe and to his surprise, the book girl was back in her usual spot.

He grabbed the door handle and entered in, shutting the door immediately behind him so he didn’t let the warm air leave.

Sidney stood off to the side as he watched the line only get longer, and his patience only get thinner.

He put his hands in his jacket and glanced over at the book girl in the corner, this time noticing she had a note book and laptop out.

He didn’t know what came over him, but he made his way over to the table. He approached her and realized she had earbuds in and didn’t even notice his presence.

He noticed she was in an old Pittsburgh Steelers sweatshirt that was obviously way too big on her.

Her glasses sat on the bridge of her nose, seeming to only fog up when she would drink her hot coffee. And her brown hair was held back with one of those claw clips.

The book girl had set her coffee down and looked up and made direct eye contact with Sidney, causing her to look surprised.

Oh shit, what should I say? Sidney thought.

The book girl carefully took her earbuds out and placed them on her note filled paper, hitting pause on her music.

“I uhm…hi” Sidney said.

The book girl smiled and pulled her sleeves over her hands as she sat up in her chair.

“Hi. Can I help you?” She asked softly.

Sidney was panicking, knowing how weird this looked. A grown man talking to an obviously 20 year old female? He couldn’t make things worse, could he?

“I always notice you sit in this spot when I’m here”

Yes, he did make it a lot worse.

The book girl smiled and looked down at her keyboard, rolling her sleeves back up as she laid her forearms on the table.

“Yeah well I have a lot of work to do so I come here to do it like any normal person would” she responded with.

Sidney smiled and took his hands out of his pockets and pulled out the chair across from the book girl.

She sat up straighter in her seat and leaned back into the chair.

“Ok let’s start over. I’m Sidney.” He said this time, smiling with his crooked jaw.

“I’m y/n” the book girl said.

Finally, she has a name, Sidney thought.

“It’s nice to finally know your name, y/n. I realize what I said was a bit weird about always noticing you here and I’m sorry-“

“It’s ok Sidney. It’s actually weird to hear someone say that, I feel as if I’m always invisible”

Sidney frowned for a split second then it disappeared as he just nodded.

It was just a simple sentence that y/n said of feeling invisible but for some reason, that was what led Sidney to believe that his paternal instincts were correct.

This girl needed his help. He didn’t know how to help, or what to help her with, but he had to do it.

“I’m a grad student at the local college getting my masters in social work” y/n said, smiling.

“Good for you. That seems like a hard field to work in, considering the things you’d have to see and deal with” Sidney said.

Y/n shrugged and took her glasses off, setting them on her laptop.

“I have about a year to go until I graduate and this seems to be the only place where I can focus. So that’s why I’m here a lot”

Sidney nodded and put his hands back in his pockets, leaning back into his chair.

“And I know about you. You’re a hockey captain who is always breaking records and setting new ones”

Sidney’s face got red as he leaned into the table and laughed a little.

“Well I am a captain, yes but the other stuff isn’t as important” he said shyly.

Y/n rolled her eyes and put her glasses back on, causing Sidney to smile.

he turned his head and saw the line had gone down and he could finally order.

“Well it was nice to officially meet you, y/n. But I gotta run I have to get my-“

“Your black coffee with no cream and no sugar?” The book girl cut him off.

Sidney stood up and chuckled as he stared down at her.

“You’re not the only observant one here, Sid” she teased.

He chuckled again and headed to the front of the line to place his order.

“I’ll see you next time, y/n” he said without trying to face her as he headed to the cash register.

[nidianddeepspace]

Falling Asleep (Next to the One You Love)

❥ Xavier x OC ❥ An OC remembering loving moments with the Star Baby ❥ naps with your beloved, longing, angst ❥ College/University AU, the (my) MC and Xavier as University Students

Finding herself beside a sleeping Xavier, a young woman becomes intensely aware of her feelings...and how difficult it is to confess them.

It happened between studying for the Contemporary History and Technology final and the Calculus final exam. The last thing I remembered was the two of us sitting on the bed, books cracked open, a monotone voice teaching various math formulas via the video playlist playing on my laptop. We were listening to them while "discussing" what type of questions to expect on the history exam. I told you that the professor uploaded a outline of what to expect online. You reminded me of how that same professor loves to trip up students with questions nobody expects.

The moment I opened my eyes, those memories became nothing but a blur. Instead, I was greeted with by the silent stillness of my dorm room, dark save for the streaks of moonlight coming through the blinds and the hallway lights peeking in at the bottom of the door.

I felt your presence immediately.

We were side by side, huddled together within the constraints of my full sized bed. The moment I saw you there, my sight sharpened, and my breath caught in my throat. You were lying there, still, fast asleep, blissfully unaware of how wide my eyes were or how much my face tingled, or how my heart would burst forth from my chest, my racing heart hitting the sheets with a sickening splat.

You had...that much of an affect on me.

"Xavier..." I spoke your name so quietly, I wondered if I'd said it at all.

Even as I tried to retrace the steps that led us to this moment, my eyes couldn't help but drink up the sight of you. I wanted to brush away the platinum locks of hair that dangled too close to your eyes, but I didn't want to wake you. I wondered what sort of dreams you could see within those soulful blue irises of yours. My mind was in a whirlwind. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out how we ended up asleep in my bed. You were always sleepy and were notorious for taking naps at any given moment, even sleeping upright in the middle moving from one class to another. But for all that impromptu napping, we were wide awake and ready to have a productive study session.

How did we get from calculus formulas and troll questions on a scantron to this?

"Xavier..." My voice was a little louder, but still a whisper. You stirred for a moment but promptly went back to sleep.

I was captivated by you. Your quiet, rhythmic breathing was as stirring and musical as any classical symphony. You were always beautiful to me, but in that moment, you had never been more beautiful. Keeping my feelings for you bottled up inside was as difficult as bottling a single moonbeam in a jar. I wanted nothing more than to press a tender kiss against your forehead, wishing you the sweetest dreams. I wanted to wrap my arms around you and keep you close all night, allowing the quiet melody of your breath and the harmony of your warmth carry me into the sweetest dreams. I wanted you so badly to mine that it hurt.

Never was my secret love for you so prevalent and so painful inside my heart.

I loved you so much and no matter the times we spent together, you were always just out of my reach. I wanted to tell you how I felt. So many times, I tried to do just that. But I couldn't. I was always in my own way. How could someone like me dare to confess to you? How could someone so pure and full of light (in my eyes) find that same light inside of someone like me?

It was better to keep my feelings bottled up. The last thing I wanted was to dim your light with my very presence. Tainted, broken, hollow. A shadow struggling in a sea of bright lights.

I was so far into my self-destructive thoughts that I hadn't noticed you waking up for real. "Hey...you're awake. Did you have a good rest?"

"Huh? Yes, I..." I paused, allowing his question to really sink in. "Xavier, what do you mean, did I sleep well?"

"I mean what I asked, silly." He sat up, propping a hand on his head. "You fell asleep on my shoulder watching math videos. I didn't want to disturb you, so I just let you rest. But I guess I fell asleep, too...and now, we ended up like this."

Just keep breathing, just keep breathing... "You...you could have just left. I wouldn't have minded."

"I know, but...it didn't feel right to leave you alone. And you..."

"And I...what?"

"And you...when I did tried to leave you, you grabbed my arm."

"I did what?" The moment he said that, I cursed the heavens for now having a rock to crawl under nearby. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, but it's fine." The reassurance in your eyes only added to my mortification. "I didn't want to leave and you didn't want me to leave either. And now, here we are. But I'm still tired. Studying is hard work and it took a lot out of me..."

Before I could apologize for the entire situation, you let out this large yawn and began settling back into bed. Once you were out, I knew it would take a natural disaster to wake up - and even then, there were no guarantees. I watched dumbstruck as you fell back asleep beside, as if it were the easy thing to do in the world.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

But somehow, as my felt my own eyelids begin to droop down, I could only feel gratitude for this unexpected, wondrous moment.

[zacharyja]

Friday, June 7, 2024

Kiyomizudera, Sannenzaka, and Ninenzaka

Today began at around 10am, where we showered and got ready for the day. Then we headed out to Kiyomizudera temple, which is my second time here but I wanted to show my sister around since she wanted to see the Temple and the surrounding Sannenzaka area. I appreciated the temple about the same as much as last time I went, and I enjoy this temple a lot because there are a decent amount of things to do at the temple, such as the Otowa waterfall and womb tunnel.

The pagodas are always really nice to see and we went down a different trail this time which led us to the smaller pagoda on the other side across from the main temple area. We were also able to walk up to a different temple, called “Seikan-ji” which was a lot less busy and nearly empty. We also got to see a great view from the top. On the way up to this temple we also coincidentally ran into two other UF students who are on the study abroad trip that started right after mine ended. They also happened to be friends/roommates with my buddy Rich who I met on my study abroad trip. Pretty wild coincidence running into them, and it really makes the world feel much smaller.

After the temple, we walked down through the Sannenzaka area which is always fun, albeit a bit crowded. We even got to see the Yasaka Pagoda, which I am surprised that I didn’t see last time I was here with my class.

Following this, we went on a hunt for some place to eat lunch, it took a bit to try and find a place as it seems that there’s only really dessert shops and kimono rentals in this area. We stopped along the way at a fresh fruit juice shop, where I ordered a grape/lemon juice and I was a bit taken aback to see that she blended up an entire lemon wedge - rind and all. I was not a big fan of that as it made the drink far too bitter for my liking. After some walking we stumbled upon a random restaurant called “Ivory” which had some lunch specials that caught our eye. The employees were very nice and saw us standing outside pondering if we would be allowed to eat there as the sign outside said they closed in 8 minutes, but an elderly employee came out and told us to come in to eat. I ordered a pork rice bowl, which was essentially deluxe gyudon with a pretty tasty soup on the side.

After lunch we walked back to the Kyoto Kawaramachi area near our hotel and got on the subway to make our way over to the Kyoto Pokémon Center. I think this is my 4th or 5th Pokémon center that i’ve been to so far in Japan and i’m honestly hoping to get those numbers up!! I was excited to see this Pokémon center as I am a big fan of Lugia and Ho-oh and this one in particular has statues of them in the store.

Following our shopping at the Pokémon center, we headed back over to the Kawaramachi area again and hit up a few stores near here before heading back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Once we were re-energized we headed out to walk around Teramachi street and view the local shops. We had a lot of fun window shopping and getting some new clothes from Uniqlo. Once we had built up an appetite we stopped by Coco Ichibanya to grab some katsu curry (i know i’ve had it 2 days in a row i can’t help myself), since Michelle wanted to try it as she is also a fan of Japanese curry.

After dinner, we lounged around the hotel a bit before deciding to go to Round One to play some Maimai. After the first few rounds Michelle was hooked and having a blast attempting the expert level songs which was a lot of fun. After this we hit up Rainbow karaoke, where we then spent the next 2 hours there singing songs and overall having a good time. That mostly concludes our night and I look forward to another fun day tomorrow.

[eutaemonia]

𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭

➫ taehyung x reader

ah the cliche miscommunication trope. taehyung is a famous painter and is usually followed by his manager who is at his beck and call.

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆

Hatred is a strong feeling that plagues humans and motivates them to act out. Hatred is usually too strong of a word or at least it is according to my father. I often opted for strongly dislike instead. Hatred can only be used for the person in my life, my neighbor. To be fair, who plays classical music at 3 o’clock in the morning? Who plays the saxophone on their balcony? Who makes our entire apartment floor reek of acrylic paint? Only my neighbor, it seems like I am the only one who holds this type of ill feeling as I hear the older ladies from a different floor gossiping about the casanova upstairs. 

“I heard that he’s moved here from abroad and is studying American life for a new art piece” One says smugly.“I heard he’s being commissioned by many museums!” “I hear- ” Their voices fade as the elevator doors close and I roll my eyes. After what feels like eternity from a long day I enter the apartment as the stench of paint invades my senses. “Taehyung, mind telling me why the old ladies from downstairs are gossiping about you?” I chastise as I set down the Chinese takeout box on the table.

“Not my fault that I’m irresistible” he says with a wink as he comes from around the large canvas. “Oh you brought food too! Ugh you know I often think to myself, ‘What would I do without you?’ then I realize you’re stuck with me and those thoughts are useless” he sarcastically remarks with a smug grin. 

As I resist the urge to scream I repeat the calming exercises my therapist taught me, in your nose out your mouth aaaand repeat. With a weak smile I nod and begin setting up the food.

“You know you should be a lot nicer because I’m your manager! I don’t voluntarily babysit you, buy you food, buy your groceries or even walk your dog…” I say as my head points to the fluffy pomeranian sleeping in the grandiose dog bed next to the couch. 

“Yes but isn’t that what they call perks! You’re like a built-in best friend from the company, I mean imagine how lonely I’d be if I didn’t have you!” he says with a pout as he faces me. His long black wavy hair swept across his forehead with various colors of acrylic paint decorating his shirt with a dash of sky blue on his cheek as his eyes crinkle as laughter erupts from his boxy smile. 

“I could always ask Ivy to switch me out you know, she adores me” I threaten as his eyes focus back on the canvas and not on my burning cheeks.

The first time I met Taehyung was five years ago in college. We had an art class together and he was the student who was gifted and excelled without trying. I on the other hand did not and opted for appreciating the art. He eventually got accepted into the same company I was managing at and I became his manager. He has a tall build and very wide shoulders, his tan skin contrasts perfectly with his dark raven hair that is hardly ever styled and always overgrown. He claims it’s a part of his trademark. His light brown eyes are framed by unfairly long eyelashes. It wasn’t necessarily Taehyung’s appearance that intrigued me, it was his artwork. His mother died at a young age and his father was an alcoholic after her death that led him to spend most of his time with his grandmother. She taught him many art techniques from all the places she’s traveled. He incorporates feelings and places into one. His debut art piece was a painting of the Leaning Tower of Pisa but it was held up by a small boy, it represented how he felt the whole world’s responsibility was put on him after his mother’s death. It was instantly a hit and has now earned him the title of one of the best artists and the company decided to splurge on everything for the artist that made them known. It’s not that I hate him per say I think it’s the implications of him and how he doesn’t listen and makes my life a hundred times more stressful. He was right when he said I was his only friend and only a slight pang of pity comes from that because I know it’s true. He has difficulty making friends albeit his very sociable and charismatic personality. 

As I enter Taehyung’s apartment excitement courses through my veins, I go straight to him and announce the great news Ivy told me over the phone minutes prior.

“You’re opening a new exhibition in Osaka, Japan!” I announce happily as I watch his face drain of color and the paintbrush fall to the floor. 

“Taehyung,” I murmur “W-what’s wrong? I thought you wanted a new exhibition, you have so many works ready fo-”

“I’m not doing it” he says curtly and standing up. “B-but-”

“NO you’re not hearing me Yn, I am not doing this” he says vehemently storming out of the room. I stand alone in the studio feeling tears threatening to spill as I gaze up at the ceiling. 

Taehyung sits in his room staring at the picture of his grandmother and his younger self in France. He smiles sadly at the picture, a pang of regret bubbles within his chest as he remembers lashing out on Yn. Her face crumpled in pain and confusion clouds his thoughts and he feels bad. He didn’t know how to communicate the fact he hasn’t been to Japan since his grandmother died, he swore he would never go back which is why he’s traveled the world trying to forget about his past. After his mother died his father turned into an alcoholic trying to drown the memories of her, which included Taehyung. He often wandered by himself around the neighborhood until he came to his grandmother’s house. His grandmother traveled the world due to her love for the arts and taught him the many art techniques she had learned. His grandmother was the pillar in his roughly unstable life, although she wasn’t his real grandmother he considered her as his real grandmother. She was just a friendly grandmother that looked after all the children in the small neighborhood where he grew up in Japan. She was an old single woman who said she was too busy living her life to get married and settle down. Her name was Hiromi and she treasured Taehyung because he reminded her so much of herself. He was just thankful someone was there to look after him at such a young age and he owes a lot of it to Hiromi. She made his dark childhood happy and inspired him to continue doing what he loved. At age 19 Hiromi died leaving Taehyung without a reason to stay in Japan. The day after her funeral he went to travel to all the places she told him about.

I knew seeing Taehyung after the incident would be awkward but not this awkward. As Ivy nudges my shoulder in efforts to help me stay awake during the company meeting I can’t help but let my gaze wander to Taehyung who seems to have a very easy time paying attention. The CEO continues to gloat about the company’s newest accomplishments and welcoming yet another promising artist. Applaud ensues as an attractive young man stands before everyone and introduces himself. The new artist’s name is Ryu and he mainly works with clay molding as he showcases his work. Mr. Lin, our CEO, slaps the artist on the back obviously very proud of the new addition.

“And now the one who will be overseeing your work will be none other than Ivy and if you have any questions your manager is Yn.” Mr. Lin says proudly and dismisses the meeting. As soon as Mr.Lin dismisses the meeting, I run to Ryu.

“Well well well mind telling me why you’re here!” I exclaim as he brings me into a hug.

“You know I needed a new company after helping out at the restaurant and I remember you saying you’d help me out” he says cheekily with a blinding smile as I nod understandingly.

Ryu was my childhood best friend and cousin. Our family is very close because they operate a restaurant together that serves the best fried chicken. I remember growing up within the four walls of that restaurant and pulling pranks on our parents. Ryu is set a bit higher than me with sleek, slicked back hair. He always dresses up and believes he’s the most charming person in the building. Yet with his arrogant personality he’s always been there for me and has someone inherited the artful skill that somehow skipped me.

“Why the long face Taehyung?” Ivy inquires with a quirk of her brow.

“Sigh I do not understand Mr. Lin at all, Yn can barely handle me so why add another artist?” He says with genuine confusion written across his features.

“Well for starters all the other managers are handling exhibitions, Yn also has other artists besides you, you know that… right? Plus Ryu and Yn already know each other so it’s easier for them to begin working right away. Although that’s not why you’re asking, you’re jealous!” She exclaims as she pokes his arm.

“Not jealous, I have no idea where that idea even came from. Absolutely ridiculous like honestly… But what do you mean “already know each other”?” He says in air quotes but as soon as Ivy opens her mouth to respond I approach them. Walking up with a beaming smile full of excitement and an equally excited Ryu that leaves a sour taste in Taehyung’s mouth. Dismissing Taehyung’s attitude Ryu introduces himself.

“Hello my name is Ryu, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.” he introduces politely with a blinding smile sweeping Ivy off of her feet.

“The pleasure is all mine. I’ll be here if you have any questions or concerns or anything” she smiles shyly as Taehyung rolls his eyes and I elbow him. 

“Please excuse us for a moment, Ryu I’ll meet you afterwards!” I say hurriedly pushing Taehyung in the tight hall. I glare at him expecting an answer for his odd behavior but instead I’m met with silence.

“What’s wrong now?” I ask exasperated, “Like I have no idea what you want from me honestly. You blew up on me but you’re mad? Plus you’re being mean and this isn't like you. So what’s up?”

“Look, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to blow up on you or act like this it- it’s just” he murmurs with his head hung low. I duck my head to see his misty eyes and give him a hug to chase away the tears threatening to spill. “Hiromi’s death anniversary is tomorrow… and my mother’s birthday is next week�� he says with a sniff as I feel my eyes well up.

“You dummy why didn’t you just tell me?” I murmur as I hug him tighter. “I know you haven’t been back to Japan since Hiromi’s death. Will you be okay for the exhibition? We don’t have to do it you know, I’m sure Ivy w-”

He cuts me off with a short press to my lips and his signature boxy smile with a blush atop his cheeks.

“I’ll be alright, I have you with me after all” he smiles at me. I faintly hear Ivy whooping from the conference room and I laugh.“Okay if you’re up for it” I say gazing up at him “I will always be with you.” “I hope so,” he says with a nod of his head, “By the way… who's that Ryu guy?” I shake my head laughing lightly as I walk away and he chases after me asking.

[morenapanda]

Looking Through Your Window

Billy had decided to follow you home. 

It wouldn’t be the first time he had done so but it was the first time in which he was this angry while following you. Normally he would be content with following you and watching you from your bedroom window. He had to hide himself well because your apartment was small and your family seemed to be everywhere. Even your room held no privacy since you had to share it with your brother. 

It didn’t matter though as long as he could see you.

There were days when he was lucky and he would hide outside while the house was almost entirely empty with you being the exception. On those days he got to see sides of you no one else would ever see. 

Some days it was you singing songs off-key while cleaning, others it was you dancing along to songs you played on your phone. His favorite days however were the days in which he had to actively hold himself back from barging into your room. The days where you closed your curtains and he had to get as close to the window as he could so he could sneak a peek.

The days where he caught you touching yourself. 

He can’t exactly pinpoint when his infatuation with you started. He just remembers taking notice of you after some chance encounters. The time you offered to help him with a math problem. Another time the two of you had run into each at the school library. Then there was time he caught you staring at him. 

These moments may not mean much but they meant a lot to him now.

The moment that truly led to his infatuation was when he was once again beat up by the typical bullies in his life. They had been bothering Freddy again, never seeming to get the hint that if they messed with Freddy then they messed with him. He did what he typically did, which was insult them and draw their attention to him only to make a mad dash to create some distance from them. 

Sure he could fight them and win but he was trying to take his secret identity seriously which meant sometimes taking some hits he wished he could just fight against. 

On that particular day though, he spotted you outside of class. Possibly taking a breather, you had suddenly turned towards him. He took notice of your eyes widening and a look of concern cross your face. As you began to walk towards him he wondered how bad he must look. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He wasn’t sure what to do, people didn’t normally notice him when he happened to be injured.

You cleared your throat. “Well I noticed that you seem to be hurt. You wouldn’t mind if I patched you up would you?” You asked while scratching your neck. You pulled bandages and a first aid kid out of seemingly nowhere with your other hand. 

Billy decided there was no point in saying no. “Alright, sure.”

You quickly sat down next to him and got to work. As you tended to his injuries Billy took the time to study you. You didn’t really stand out, there were moments here and there where he saw you with who he assumed were your friends but you didn’t seem to be popular. Your looks were pretty average too. You weren’t one of the prettiest girls in school but you weren’t ugly either. You seemed to hold the perfect balance in being an average student. 

“Well there you go. I hope these injuries heal up soon. I’ll see you around.” With that you quickly stood up and headed back into the school. 

Billy realized that had been the first time anyone has ever looked after him like that. Of course he has his family and they help him fight crime, and they always make sure to check up on how he's doing but this is the first time someone has patched him up like this, the first time someone who isn’t his family looked out for him. Sue him if he was a little intrigued. 

His intrigue quickly turned into obsession the more he learned about you. He remembered hearing about how easy it can be to either hate or love a person once you get to know them. Clearly he was heading in the love direction. The small things that he learned about you just made him like you more. The way you seemed to easily get distracted. The way you seemed to make faces at people without even realizing it. The way you seemed to get lost in reading. The way your hair curled. 

There was always something new to learn and figuring out how to do so without you noticing was half the fun.

So here he was, following you home as it had become routine for him at this point. Although today would be the first time he ever followed you home with you actually leading him here intentionally. 

You had shown up to school in an outfit he would never have expected you to wear. Not because you couldn’t pull it off (because you definitely could) but because you normally didn’t wear anything like it. You normally just wore the typical casual wear that just about everyone wore to school. A normal t-shirt and jeans, that was your go to. He even remembered you mentioning how you would like to wear nicer outfits to school but that there was no point. “School isn’t a place to wear a good outfit, it would be too much work for a place that drains me of all my energy. Besides, I'm too lazy to really make myself look good for school.”  That was your explanation.

Clearly you had changed your mind considering you were wearing one of the prettiest outfits he had ever seen you in. It was a baby blue, strapless dress that reached above your knees. It hugged your curves just right and made you appear even softer than before. This was the first time he had ever seen your legs so bare in public. To top it off you had styled your hair differently today. It was free and out of its usual bun, the curls perfectly framing your face.

You left him breathless.

As he got closer to the school he noticed other guys eyeing you up. Of course it wasn’t like in the movies when the girl had a supposedly huge transformation and everyone stopped and stared at her in awe. There were still plenty of people minding their business and heading off to their classes or towards their friends. Not every guy was distracted by your new look either. However , the guys that did stop to ogle at you made Billy see red.

He had learned enough about you to know that none of the guys at school had ever given you a passing glance. You were pretty much invisible to them and from what he saw you seemed to be alright with that. To think that all you had to do was wear a dress and suddenly you became someone worth noticing to them. 

Well he wasn’t going to give them the chance.

“Hey Y/N!”

You turned to look at him, confusion clear on your face. 

“Can I talk to you real quick?” You were talking to your friends but he saw some guys standing close to your group, clearly trying to find an opening to talk to you.

“Sure.” A smile flashed across your face, you seemed to recognize him. You quickly turned to your friends. “Hey guys I’m going to talk to Billy for a bit. I’ll come back if I get the chance but if the bell rings then I’ll see you at lunch.” After getting some nods from your friends you stepped towards Billy.

A triumphant smile took over his face as the guys near your group showed faces of disappointment. He quickly led you to a more secluded area of the school. 

“So what’s up Billy?” 

His mind drew a blank, he hadn’t really thought of what he was going to say to you once he got you away from the group of spectators. He was going to have to wing it.

“Uh I was just wondering how you were doing?” He winced. Seriously? This was the best he could come up with?

“Oh I’m doing pretty good, thanks for asking. How about you, how are you doing Billy?” You looked up at him and Billy immediately lost the ability to speak. He shook his head and tried to gather his thoughts before he made a fool of himself.

“I’m good too. I actually wanted to tell you that I really like your dress, it's really pretty.” Although not as pretty as you. 

“Thanks Billy.” You beamed up at him, a twinkle in your eye. “Something tells me you had something else you wanted to tell me though so what is it?” 

He hadn’t realized how obvious he was being but it probably would be for the best to just be upfront with you. “I uh, just wanted to know why you decided to wear that dress today? Usually you just wear your normal clothes.” He immediately realized how that may have sounded. “Not that you shouldn’t wear a dress or that your usual clothes aren’t nice too! I was just curious and my curiosity got the best of me.” Dang it! That came out wrong!

Instead of getting annoyed with him like he expected you gave him a small smile. “I just wanted to look pretty for once, and if I happen to get attention from a special someone that’s just a bonus.”

Attention from a special someone? Who could you possibly be trying to get the attention of? He thought the only guy you interacted with was him. He suddenly felt a surge of anger pass through him, he should be the only one you paid attention to. 

“Oh? Do I know this special someone by any chance?” He tried to sound casual but if she gave away the guy’s name who knows what he’ll do to him. 

“Maybe.” You replied coyly, playing with a heart shaped locket you were wearing around your neck. “Why?”

“Oh no reason, just curious.” He said, leaning against the wall. He studied your face as if the truth would be revealed if he looked at you long enough. 

“Hmmm, well maybe if you happen to know this guy with brown hair and hazel eyes.” You smirked up at him while he tried to remember any guys he’d seen with that description. A couple of guys did come to mind. 

“Is it Carlos from physics?”

“Nope.”

“Noah from English?” 

“No.”

“How about Kevin from History?”

“Mmm no, give up yet?” 

He could see you enjoying his struggle as you moved closer to him. He was tempted to pull you even closer and hold you in his arms but he knew that you may not be receptive to that.

“Can’t you give me another hint?” He moved closer to you and looked into your eyes, silently begging you to listen. 

“Alright, let me think. He’s really cute and loves to wear red shirts to school.” 

The first part of that hint angered him but he tried to focus on the second part to figure who he had to deal with. Red shirts. Hmmm…who wore red shirts a lot? He thought back to all the guys he’d seen around school. Many of them have worn red before but not enough for this hint to really help him. 

“What letter does his name start with?” 

You reached over and placed your hand on his chest. “B.” You whispered, you then leaned up towards his face and pressed your lips against his.

For a moment he was frozen in shock. He quickly snapped back to reality and kissed you back, placing his hands on your hips and pulling you closer. 

You eventually pulled back and studied his face. He had a couple of freckles across his nose and you could see the bags under his eyes. His eyes were unfocused and his lips were still slightly puckered from kissing. He was perfect.

You took a moment to gather your thoughts. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist, was that okay?” 

He just stared back at you, his body seeming to be frozen.

“Uh Billy?” You waved one hand in front of his face.

He flinched. “Huh?”

“Did you hear what I said?” A look of concern on your face.

He placed a hand on the nape of his neck. “Ah, sorry I didn’t. Could you repeat it?”

You had a hard time focusing as you remembered the warmth of Billy’s hands on your hips. “I asked if you were okay with me kissing you, I’m sorry I got a little ahead of myself there.”

A shy smile crossed his face. “Of course it’s okay! You can kiss me whenever you like! Wait, does this mean you were trying to get my attention?” 

He could feel the hope blossom in his chest. A kiss didn’t necessarily mean you wanted to date him or even that you liked him romantically, but you didn’t seem the type to kiss someone unless you liked them.

You beamed up at him. “Yes Billy, I like you and I was trying to get your attention. From the looks of things I did a good job.”

“I mean you did, but you already had my attention way before this.” He revealed.

You looked back at him incredulously. “Seriously?” 

He nodded. “Yup.” 

“No way, why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Sorry, I wasn’t sure you would like me back.”

“Well clearly I do.” 

That brought his attention back to your dress and how one of his hands was on your hip. He squeezed it knowing you wouldn’t mind since you apparently liked him too.

You grabbed his other hand and brought it back to the other hip. Now that you knew he liked you, you didn’t mind being bold.

“I want you to hold me.”

A blush spread across his cheeks at your words. He didn’t expect you to be so upfront. He couldn’t wait to see more of this side from you.

“Y/N, will you be my girlfriend?” He squeezed your hips, hoping he would never have to let go of you again. 

“I would love to be your girlfriend.” You quickly pecked his cheek. Your cheeks grew tired from smiling but you couldn’t bring yourself to stop. Billy Batson was your boyfriend, he liked you back!

“Hey look, I don’t want to tell you what to do but please don’t wear that dress to school ever again. I don’t like all those guys looking at you.”

Your lips stretched into a sly grin. “Billy, are you jealous?”

Billy pouted, “I think it’s fair for me to be jealous, you are my girlfriend after all.” 

He’s so cute! I want to tease him so bad.

“I don’t know-“

“Don’t play with me.” He pulled you even closer, his hold on your hips tightening. “Your mine.” 

You felt a sudden rush of arousal. Your cunt grew wet and you hoped that it wouldn’t show through the dress since you had decided not to wear any panties today. Welp, I can see a new kink has been unlocked, right next to manhandling.

You rubbed his arms, “I’m yours”, you agreed. You had to admit that seeing him act like this was doing something to you. “I’m not gonna lie Billy, seeing you be possessive is really attractive.” The possessive look he wore quickly morphed to that of shyness as his ears grew red and a blush covered his face. “Really?” 

“I wouldn’t lie to you about this.” You replied.

He beamed at you, “Well then I’m glad.” 

As the two of you basked in the warmth of holding each other close a group of other students passed, unaware of the two of you being nearby. “Dude I’m telling you she wasn’t wearing anything underneath! No panties or anything. Prettiest pussy I ever saw.”

“No way. She wouldn’t just show up to school suddenly wearing a dress with no panties underneath, she’s pretty shy. I feel like she would have to work her way up to doing that,” his friend argued. “Yeah I can understand wearing something different like the dress but I don’t think she’d go as far as not wearing any underwear. I mean we’re at school, wouldn’t she worry about being caught?” 

“Bro I swear I’m not lying. See for yourself if you want. I saw it when we were walking to History since it’s on the second floor. You have science with her don’t you? On the second floor of the science building? Just look then.” 

“Alright I will.”

As they continued past you two, you couldn’t help but shiver as you felt Billy tighten his hold on you. You peeked up at him, taking note of his furrowed brows and possessive look returning. 

“Billy I-”

“You’re not wearing any panties ?” 

You felt a sudden heat take over your face. “Well you see, I wasn’t sure if you liked me so I was sort of hoping that maybe this would get some people talking about me and I’d get lucky and you’d-”

“That’s not a good reason for leaving your bare cunt out in the open like that!” He growled, moving his face closer to yours. 

“That pretty little pussy is mine and no one else is allowed to see it.” He looked around and grabbed you by the arm. “Come on.” 

He led you over to the classrooms nearby, he studied them before deciding on the one at the very end. This class was known to be typically empty at this hour since the teacher taught only four classes and left soon after they finished teaching. He quickly strode over to the classroom and pulled you in. 

“Uh Billy? What are we doing here?” You looked around the room, all things considered it looked pretty clean. The lights were still on and while there were some papers left here and there, everything was overall pretty organized. You turned back to Billy, he stared back at you, clenching and unclenching his hands. 

“I don’t like other guys seeing you in ways that only I should see you in. I don’t think it’s fair that they got to see your slutty cunt before I did. You did this, knowing they would talk about it. I think it’s time I punished you. Now walk over to that table and bend over .” 

You couldn’t help the shiver that ran through your body, you hadn’t expected Billy to be this possessive but you couldn’t say that you weren’t into it. You walked over to the table and bent over, placing the palms of your hands on top of the table to hold your body up. As you started wondering if you were doing things right or looking as inexperienced as you felt, you sensed a sudden warmth behind you. You let out a small gasp as Billy came and wrapped himself around you, trapping you between his body and the table. 

“Since you wanted my attention so badly I’m going to do whatever I want to your body and you’re going to bear with it, alright?” Although a question, what he said was more of a demand as he started to touch you anywhere he could reach. 

“Look at these pretty tits, so perky, I can’t wait to hold them.” He rolled your shirt up to your armpits, then unclasped your bra, freeing your breasts and exposing them to the cool air of the classroom. You could feel your nipples hardening, not sure of whether it was from your growing arousal or the chilliness of the room. 

Billy immediately began playing with your breasts, gently squeezing them, occasionally pulling your nipples. 

“Ahh,” you couldn’t help but pant, not expecting to feel so good from having your breasts played with. Maybe your inexperience was making you extra sensitive? You suddenly jolted as you felt something hard press against your ass. It took you a moment to realize that it was Billy’s length. You couldn’t help but moan at the realization.

Not even a minute after, Billy began rutting against you. You couldn’t help but let out a whimper at the fast pace he set. Billy seemed to grow desperate for more as he unbuckled his pants, dropping them to the floor. He lowered his boxers in record time and lifted your dress up so that your wet cunt was exposed. 

“You’re so wet for me already, you're such a slut.” He slipped his cock between your thighs. “I bet you had been hoping for this all along haven’t you?” 

You couldn’t help but nod. “Oohh Billy, I’ve wanted you for so long. I wanted you so bad. Needed you to take me and make me yours.” You couldn’t help but spill every dirty secret you have to him. Getting off on him seeing your desperation.

“Really? How bad did you want me?” He asked. He wanted to hear every little thought you had. Have you been dreaming of him? Of the two of you doing this together? Did you like him as much as he liked you? 

“So bad Billy. I dreamt of you all the time. In class, at home, in the car. I couldn’t escape you. I dreamt of you noticing me and taking me in front of the class so everyone could see I’m yours.”

Hearing your confession drove Billy mad as he began rubbing against your wet heat even faster, letting out groans of pleasure. Your cunt was so soft and warm against his cock and he couldn’t wait to sink into you when he got the chance, for now though he’ll stick with the pussyjob. 

He held you firmly against him, arms wrapped tight around your waist to make it easier to rut against you. 

He was curious about what else you dreamt about with him. “What else did you dream about?” 

“Oh Billy you have no idea,” you groaned out, “I dreamt of you fucking me so many times, in so many positions. Of you taking my virginity. Making me your slut and personal cocksleeve.”

Billy’s brain short-circuited at your words. You were a virgin and this depraved? The words coming out of your mouth were so filthy, he didn’t expect you to be this nasty. 

It really turned him on. 

“I guess we’re going to have to make those into reality now aren’t we?” He whispered into your ear. You shivered at the thought of him fucking you dumb. 

“Yes please!” You begged as he continued rubbing himself against your cunt. You were glad that he held you against him otherwise you would have fallen to the ground already. 

“Those guys aren’t allowed to look at you like this. They shouldn’t be able to see your pretty little cunt. I can feel it absolutely dripping and we haven’t even done anything. You must be desperate for my cock.” He was so angry, you were his and it was about time that he showed you what that meant. 

“Billy please, I want you. Please don’t stop.” The pleasure of your clit rubbing against his cock left your head completely empty. The only thought crossing your mind was Billy, and how good he made you feel. 

“That’s right baby, let out as much noise as you want. After all, anyone who hears it will be able to know how good I make you feel.”

“What if someone catches us though?” You whimper. 

“Well that’ll be the perfect way for them to know that you're mine now won’t it?”

“Billy no, I don’t want anyone to see me like this.” You didn’t want to be caught naked at school but you couldn’t help the sudden arousal you felt at the idea of people seeing Billy draped over you. Of them seeing the absolute pussy whipped look on his face. The look of pure lust that he had from just rubbing himself against your pussy.

“Don’t lie to me you little whore, I can feel the sudden gush of your juice dripping all over my cock.” He growled out. “I’m going to teach you what happens when you let others see what’s mine.” 

He started sucking on the skin below your ear while he thrusted his length directly against your clit. You could feel your own body trembling from the pleasure of it all. 

“Oh God, I think I’m gonna cum.” You were a bit embarrassed to be finishing so quickly but you chalked it up to still being fairly new to this. 

Watching Billy go crazy from touching you made your arousal only grow. His arms were strong, the muscles obvious from the way he held you. The veins of his arms popping out. You tightly held onto his arms as you felt a rush of warmth run through your body as he drew an orgasm out of you. 

He drew another moan out of you as he started thrusting even faster, chasing his own pleasure. The wetness of your cunt allowing him to move as fast as he needed until he finally reached orgasm. He groaned as he managed a few small thrusts, his balls twitching as he finally spurted out his cum. Some of it landed against your pussy while the rest dripped onto the floor. 

Billy couldn’t believe what had just happened. How could he have known that when he went to school today that he would end up in this position with you. He couldn’t wait to do all the things he had always wanted to do with you and for the two of you to fulfill all the fantasies you apparently had about him.

[foundationhq]

EMPLOYEE ID 4801-9445-8; 𝑅𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅𝑆𝐸 𝐸𝑁𝐺𝐼𝑁𝐸𝐸𝑅.

𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐞 45+ 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫/𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 must   be   poc.   academic,   exuberant,   avoidant. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 open

PROFILE.

Insightful and fair, [𝑅𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅𝑆𝐸 𝐸𝑁𝐺𝐼𝑁𝐸𝐸𝑅] is, in some respects, the inspiration for The Broken Scales of Themis. Their breakthrough discovery in the case of The Wicker Twins led to the safe containment of SCP-8568 and saved thousands of human lives. This research at [REDACTED] ushered a paradigm shift, implementing Foundation-wide changes to Containment Protocol; meanwhile, [𝑅𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅𝑆𝐸 𝐸𝑁𝐺𝐼𝑁𝐸𝐸𝑅] was elevated to a chair on the Foundation’s Experimentation Committee Board. Their stalwart and moral approach to the Foundation’s scientific endeavors has been nothing short of exemplary. [𝑅𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅𝑆𝐸 𝐸𝑁𝐺𝐼𝑁𝐸𝐸𝑅]’s innovative and compassionate procedures will surely be of value to MTF Chi-00 especially when auditing security breaches and containment failures at other sites. And their integrity is surely to set a standard that their colleagues should measure themselves against. — Internal Memo from the Ethics Committee.

LAST ASSIGNMENT.

UTP;  recommendations  include  a  senior  researcher  in  the  Anomalous  Entity  Engagement  Division  (AEED),  Experimental  Containment  Research  Group,  Department  of  Mythology  and  Folkloristics,  and  Department  of  Ethnography.  May  have  been  a  contributor  to  or  senior  staff  member  on  The  Observer:  An  SCP  Foundation  Journal.  Must  have  been  a  part  of  the  Foundation  Experimentation  Committee.  Since  this  is  a  senior  scientist,  applicants  are  encouraged  to  give  an  expansive  portfolio.

INTERRELATIONS OF NOTE.

𝑂𝐿𝐷 𝑆𝑃𝑂𝑅𝑇. You’re no stranger to the bureaucrats sniffing around the Foundation’s halls, but 𝑂𝐿𝐷 𝑆𝑃𝑂𝑅𝑇 hovering around your ex-student is definitely a cause for concern. Your position as a prominent scientist and previous board member won’t save you should they dig up the skeletons you’ve fought so hard to bury.

𝐹𝐿𝐼𝑀𝐹𝐿𝐴𝑀 & №2 𝑃𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐼𝐿. Your two students, mentored in their early days with the Foundation. In 𝐹𝐿𝐼𝑀𝐹𝐿𝐴𝑀, you saw the spark inherited from your dear friends, their well-respected and much-mourned parents; in №2 𝑃𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐼𝐿, you saw the drive of an unknown raised from obscurity and your own dogged dedication to the work. In the end, you could only recommend one… and you couldn’t shake a vision of 𝐹𝐿𝐼𝑀𝐹𝐿𝐴𝑀 carrying on their late family’s legacy. With your review in hand, your student carried on rubbing elbows with the Foundation’s elite… while №2 𝑃𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐼𝐿 was relegated to the tedious, dangerous work of a field assistant, toils you remembered from your own days as a junior researcher. Perhaps you’d played favorites for the sake of those old friends of yours. Then you took another look at 𝐹𝐿𝐼𝑀𝐹𝐿𝐴𝑀’s thesis. To your horror, you realized it was based on №2 𝑃𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐼𝐿’s abandoned data — research you had told them to drop, long ago, in favor of other topics. But it was far too late. If you exposed 𝐹𝐿𝐼𝑀𝐹𝐿𝐴𝑀, your career would also implode. The shame of your blatant nepotism ate you up inside. You couldn’t bear to face your students again. So you kept quiet for years. Then the day of the MTF Chi-00 orientations arrives. Neither of your students seem to realize what you know, and both appear glad to see you again. Can you keep it this way until this assignment ends?

𝐸𝐿𝐸𝑉𝐴𝑇𝑂𝑅 𝑀𝑈𝑆𝐼𝐶. Honestly, the only familiar face that won’t give you a cardiac arrest. In fact, they’d probably save you from one. You two met at a Foundation conference and hit it off, and have been corresponding back-and-forth for years. Although the two of you don’t tell each other everything, the door’s always open, and you enjoy the company.

𝐶𝑂𝑁𝑁𝐸𝐶𝑇𝐼𝑂𝑁 𝑈𝑇𝑃. — Propose a connection between your character and any of our taken or open skeletons!

[dxsole]

😈 META : DIDI & WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HER

Was there anything in Didi's past that led her to become more id (to use Freudian language) or was she always like that? — @shesboundtobruise

The question is always nature vs nurture. The terrible thing about trying to decipher one or the other is that we only have one perspective; the current one.

From a young age, there were signs that Didi was going to be a handful. She was loud as many toddlers are, shrieking in glee and babbling loudly to anyone who stopped to listen. She also bit. Always liked to bite on something, usually someone's fingers, which wasn't a problem until teeth started coming in.

Nurture came in very early on though, and mostly from Jasper, who made many of the large decisions in the family. On paper, that would sound like the right course of action. He was a certified genius and well-respected, he was already a lecturer and so the concept of keeping Didi home for schooling was almost obvious. She couldn't get a better education.

Except for the fact that Jasper was rigid with her teachings. She was meant to be a prodigy after all. The next generation of brilliance.

She started lashing out more in her pre-teens when she realized that nothing she ever did would be good enough for that man. It was easier than expected, really, to lash out. And it felt good.

This would be a constant in Didi's life. If it felt good, she'd do it. It didn't matter who she might hurt in the process, she would always justify it because if it felt good, could it really be bad? And even if it was, could you blame her?

Didi terrorized her outside instructors; the ballet teacher, the karate instructor, and the pianist attempting to teach her a note— they all got the ire and the screaming matches. They could yell at her in their teachings and yet she couldn't yell back? It was unfair and Didi made it a point to show them how stupid they sounded. How much they were wasting their time.

Outside of the normal lessons on geography, arithmetic, and history. Jasper also attempted to teach Didi life lessons that would give her an advantage. In fact, a number of people taught her life lessons:

Jasper taught her how to conquer. Because people would underestimate her and it was always better to be sneaky and cunning in order to outsmart your opponents. She learned chess and elocution and how to lie.

Martina taught her about love and life. Because good meals tasted best when shared with those you loved and life wasn't worth living if you couldn't love anyone. She learned how to cook a perfect breakfast in bed and how to bat her lashes just right.

And dear Uncle Bruno taught her that sometimes in life, you just have to take the things you want. Honestly, Didi feels his lessons were the most beneficial; how to forge her father's signature, how to pick a lock, and how to live luxuriously on other people's dime.

And it continued like that. She wasn't socialized well as a child thanks to all the lessons and small amounts of free time spent traveling with her parents to Jasper's many lectures. She spent most of her time with adults— she could hold conversations well with the college students who lingered outside her father's class. But it wasn't anyone her own age until they were back home and it was warm enough for the other neighborhood kids to come out to play

The lack of socialization manifested in two ways; firstly, the fighting. The neighbor kids wouldn't be as cordial as an adult might be with a child. She was an outsider and so her requests to play were met with a little attitude.

And just as she did with adults who angered her, she lashed out. And lo and behold, she did learn quickly that a target her own age could be hit. It wasn't nice, she knew it, but neither were they.

And that's another constant; first impressions mean everything to Didi. Good ones mean she is more likely to emphasize and try and understand you. She'll think you are friendly, someone she could potentially trust. If things start off badly, however, she doesn't forget. Or forgive. And is prone to doing something awful.

So fists would fly and hair would be pulled. Didi terrorized those boys for an entire summer, just because she could. They'd never tell anyone a girl was kicking their ass...and Didi had already gained a bad habit from Jasper; secrecy.

Secondly, and this came much later in life, but her lack of proper social skills meant that when she succeeded in an interaction, she'd continue to act that way. Her personality is wonderfully fabricated and carefully crafted from hundreds of interactions and altercations. Most people are like that, in fact. That's how we learn. She just learned it later with one rather impactful event that happened when she went out on her own after her mother died.

Sex became a big part of that as the very first time she ever went all the way with her then-boyfriend, she noted that a) sex fucking rocked and b) attitudes changed afterward. He was even nicer. More handsy. Like he couldn't get enough of his suddenly overeager, younger girlfriend.

And as mentioned before, when Didi enjoyed something, she did it often. And that process continued— people treat you better if you're good in bed. Not all of them, and those you could gleefully punch and steal the wallet of if that was the case— but usually, when you were wanted, desired...it was better.

It all was better. Sex was a release, a need, and a means of control. Even now, she'll sleep with a friend to help them out. She'll sleep with people who interest her or who she wants to get under her thumb— she loves it, honestly. She never feels better than when she's doing her thing— in that first year on her own she had actually become an alcoholic thanks to her if it feels good, do it mentality and the only reason she's able to curb her enthusiasm now is because of sex. It's another addiction, but not one that anyone's ever complained about.

Fighting and fucking. For Didi, it's just her life— she doesn't even really notice how the cracked knuckles and bloody smiles are a problem. She doesn't even understand the danger she puts herself in when she chases after dangerous people just to feel a thrill in bed. It's normal for her. It's all she really knows. It's fine.

[earlyblackparade]

Ray Toro of My Chemical Romance

July 16, 2007 | Lisa Sharken | seymourduncan.com

Meet Ray Toro, guitarist with New Jersey’s red-hot alternative punk-pop rocker group, My Chemical Romance. We had the chance for a long distance chat before MCR hit the stage in Germany to support its highly acclaimed new disc, The Black Parade. In just a few short years that included lots of touring and self-promotion, MCR quickly grew from a local indie sensation to an international phenomenon with a loyal and ever-increasing fan base.

Toro filled us in on what inspired him during his formative years as a musician and detailed the gear he uses live. We also got the scoop on how MCR crafted its monstrous guitar tones in the studio and what’s in store for the group in 2007. There’s a lot to look forward to and no doubt that we’ll be hearing a great deal more from these Jersey boys. The future is looking bright and seems to hold even greater success for this very promising new band!

Which players had the greatest influence on your musical style? My two biggest influences have always been Randy Rhoads and Brian May. I was a fan of Randy Rhoads because he was one of the first players I can remember who mixed classical music with a metal and hard rock style of playing, and he did it very tastefully. It was really inspiring. “Dee” was just so moving because he wrote it for his mother and it was a classically-influenced piece. What I like about Brian May is that he views the guitar like an orchestra. His guitar playing is very symphonic. I’m just a huge fan of how he layers and harmonizes things like an arranger or a conductor. A little later, probably because of Randy Rhoads’ influence, I started listening to classical guitarists like Andrès Segovia and Christopher Parkening. I was obsessed with the way they would take classical pieces and arrange them for a single guitar with the way they have moving melody and bass lines that work together. Segovia was one of the guys who made classical guitar a respected instrument. When guitarists first started playing like that it wasn’t really looked upon as artistic. He traveled the world and was a champion for having classical guitar recognized as a concert instrument. Parkening was Segovia’s student and he carried on his legacy.

Have your listening tastes changed? Do you still listen to the music that influenced you when you started? Yes. I don’t listen to much new stuff. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a music snob. I think that I’ve always been very careful about listening to current music and being influenced by it. I’m afraid of stealing stuff from it. But there are a couple of new bands that I like, Muse being one of them. I love Muse. They have great guitar work and great songwriting. They’re one of the few new bands that I can listen to nowadays. But pretty much, I just listen to the same stuff I used to listen to when I was younger.

With older music, do you tend to pick out things you hadn’t noticed before when you listen now? Yes. That’s the best thing about music. Depending on what situation you’re in when you’re listening, you’re just in a certain head space and you’ll pick up on little things that you never heard before, especially when you’re listening to stuff like Queen or Pink Floyd. You’ll pick out things like harmonies or nuances in the guitar playing or singing, or you’ll hear little mistakes. I recently listened to Led Zeppelin and noticed that sometimes Jimmy Page’s guitar was going out of tune while they were recording, but it adds character. If you listen to “Stairway To Heaven,” you’ll hear how he’s doubling certain things on an acoustic guitar and he’s playing the same thing on an electric, and it’s panned left to right. These are things that I never used to pick up on when I was younger. But now I can hear those things and it gives me a different appreciation for the music.

When you had first heard these songs, was it on vinyl or CD? Most of the time you never could hear those very fine details as clearly on the original vinyl records as you could on remastered CDs, or even on the original version CDs. You’re right. The first time I listened to stuff like Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Queen it was actually through my older brother and he had all this on vinyl. He was a huge influence on me and he was the one who showed me how to play guitar. He bought me my first real guitar and he introduced me to all that stuff. He introduced me to bands like Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and also Motley Crue and Metallica. So he was my gateway into guitar playing and those styles of music.

Let’s talk about your gear. What are you currently using live? Right now I’m using Marshall JCM 2000s® the DSL100 with two 1960A cabinets. I don’t use many pedals. I’m very basic. I just have a Dunlop Crybaby wah, Boss EQ pedal, Boss Pitch Shifter to do harmonies, Boss Chorus Ensemble, and Electro-Harmonix POG Polyphonic Octave Generator, which you can set up to play one octave below, an octave above, or two octaves above. You can make your guitar sound like a Hammond B3 organ when you use that in combination with the chorus pedal. It’s a really cool pedal. My main guitar right now is a Gibson Les Paul Standard that I think is either from ’91 or ’93 which I picked up while on tour. I have Seymour Duncan Phat Cat (SPH90-1) P90-style pickups in it which are the size of a humbucker. They’re amazing. I’m really psyched about them. I have another Les Paul Standard which is probably from ’93 and it has a Seymour Duncan JB (SH-4) in the bridge position and the neck pickup is whatever came on the guitar. My brother was the person who had turned me onto the JB. It was the first after market pickup I bought because he said that I had to get a Seymour Duncan JB!

What do you like most about your Duncan pickups and what types of tones do you go for with each of them? For the Phat Cats, I call it a “meat and potatoes” tone. It’s very thick and punchy, just in the right spots. I use the guitar with the JB for songs that need a little more edge and more gain. The JB has a hotter tone and more gain than I get with the Phat Cats. It works really well for songs that are a little more riffy. A lot of our older material has more riffing going on with lots of single-note picked riffs, and there’s a lot more playing. On the new stuff, the guitar parts are a bit more simple. There are more chugging power chords and things like that. I find that the Phat Cats are better for that kind of stuff and I use the JB for the more shredding songs.

How are your guitars set up? The action is not too low or too high. It’s at that sweet point. I’ve never been a fan of guitars with really low action. I know it can help you play faster, and I get that aspect of it, but you don’t feel like you’re playing. You can’t dig in. It feels almost too easy. As far as strings, I use .011-.052 S.I.T. strings. For picks, I’ve always used Dunlop black nylon 1 mm picks. I think that’s what my brother used and I’ve used them since I started playing guitar.

How do you and Frank Iero [MCR guitarist] differ as players? What are the most recognizable characteristics you each possess? I’m more of a technical player. On the records, I play all the solos. I’m more into the harmonization of parts, so the harmonized leads on the records are usually me. I guess that’s what I bring to the band and my metal influence. Frank is kind of the counter to that. He’s very rhythmic in his playing and his lines. He plays all of the octave runs and the choruses, and the counter melodies to the main rhythm parts in the verses are his. The way he writes is very linked with what the vocals are doing. He listens very closely to what Gerard [Way, MCR vocalist] is doing and he finds a way to reinforce the melodies that Gerard is singing, but he adds some of his own things to it that either harmonize with what Gerard is doing vocally or with what I’m doing. He finds a really cool way of just fitting in the mix and hitting melodies that your ear wants to hear that fills in those gaps. He’s really good at coming up with very cool melodic lines on the verses and choruses. It’s a cool relationship that we have. Technically, he plays more of the leads, in a sense, and I play the rhythms, but I’m playing more of the leads in a solo sense. It’s just very different depending on which song it is and we do whatever works best for the song.

Did your studio rig for recording The Black Parade differ much from the gear you use live? We used the guitars we play live as our main guitars in the studio. I’m not a big gearhead. I go more on feel and I’m used to the way that my guitar feels. I’m comfortable with it, so that’s what I used predominantly for the whole record, unless there were certain songs or parts that called for different tones that my guitar just didn’t sound right for. The main guitar I used was the Les Paul with Phat Cats. When we went into preproduction in Los Angeles, my DSL100 that I use live broke down. So [producer] Rob Cavallo let me borrow a 100 watt Marshall JCM 800 series head which was the loudest and ballsiest amp I’ve ever heard. Since it sounded so good in preproduction, we used it on the recording. I’m not sure what model cabinet we were running it through, but it was a Marshall. That was the main setup. On occasion when we were going for different textures, like throwing in an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff or another distortion pedal, or any other kinds of effects, we usually ran it through a Hiwatt head. That was pretty much it. We tried to stick to the basics and not get too crazy. We did use a Roland midi guitar synthesizer for all sorts of cool sounds. We used that any time there was a heavier riff on the record. We usually doubled it two octaves lower than the actual note. A lot of the stuff you’re hearing is just straight guitar tones that are very layered. On certain songs, like “The End,” which is the intro to the record, when the tone gets really heavy and the single-note riff comes in, we stacked it by tracking the lowest octave on the guitar to the highest. It’s that Brian May-type mentality of making the guitars very symphonic. Once in a while there’s a chorus pedal or a phaser, but we’re not a very heavy effects-driven band. We like to plug straight into the amp and go. Rob has a huge collection of stompboxes and that’s how we were introduced to the POG. He’s got tons of vintage guitars too, and we used a few of them. For clean verses, like on “Mama” and “I Don’t Love You,” we were using one of his Teles. I think I used one of his Strats for the solo in “I Don’t Love You.” So we did use other guitars for certain parts, but the guitars we play live were the main ones used to record.

Using your own guitars also makes it a bit easier to recreate the sounds on the record when you go out to play the songs live. Yes. And like I said, for me, the most important thing is being comfortable. Obviously, every guitar plays different and you just get used to how certain guitars feel. I think that when you’re comfortable with the guitar that you’re playing, you’ll play better.

Do you have any particular favorite tracks from the album? My two favorite tracks are “Welcome To The Black Parade” and “Famous Last Words.” “Welcome To The Black Parade” is like our “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It’s probably the most epic song on the record. I love how it came together. It’s a song that we had been writing since the start of the band, but it started out in a very different form. It started out very similar to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” which sounds really weird as a comparison. It was very slow and very chordal-based. The melody that Gerard would sing and just his style of singing was, well the closest thing it sounded like to to us was “My Way.” And it used to be called “The Five Of Us Are Dying.” It didn’t make our first indie record because we just didn’t have the time to finish it. We brought it back for Revenge, and it was another situation where it just wasn’t feeling right. So it didn’t make that record. Then it was one of the first things we looked at when we started writing this record. If a song didn’t work for the first or second record, we like to go back and revisit it because sometimes you just don’t have it in you to write the song at that particular time. That song had about five or six different movements and the closest thing I could relate it to is Green Day’s “Jesus Of Suburbia,” where you have all these different parts of a song which all work together. When we moved to LA to work on the record, we decided that the song still wasn’t working, so we tried adding that fast punk beat and then it felt really good. We tracked the whole thing and then Gerard felt that the lyrics weren’t saying anything to him, and neither was the chorus. So we changed a few things. What’s really cool when you write music is sometimes all you have to do is change a chord progression and that completely changes the face of the song. So we basically just changed one note in the chorus and it let Gerard go somewhere else that he wouldn’t have gone, and that’s where the hook of the song came from. I just have very fond memories of that song because it started out in a completely different form. It’s been a part of this band for five years, and it took that long to really finish the song and define what it truly was about. Then on top of that, the song was just so much fun to record with all the horns, the piano, backing vocals, and do all the layering with the parts. It was a very complex and fun song to record. Five years ago we would never have thought that the song would have ended up becoming what it did. “Famous Last Words” is another of my favorites because lyrically and musically, it’s not one of the most uplifting songs on the record. I just think the song is very powerful. It’s a little simpler than “Black Parade” in a sense, but it has those same movements. It starts out very small with just the vocal and single guitar, then it grows from there and gets to this apex, then breaks down again only to get brought back up. That was one of my favorite songs to write and record. It was written very late in the writing process, and at a very hard time. I think that the song is an example of showing things that the band went through because we went through some hard times and ended up coming out on top. When I listen to it now, it makes me think of that period in the recording process.

The band has grown so much in a short time and achieved a great deal of acclaim, particularly with this album. The band has always moved very fast, even from the beginning when it was just three of us. We’ve always found ourselves in these situations where it was “put up or shut up.” I guess it’s just our attitude and where we come from as people, and what we’ve gone through growing up. We just never quit and we work our asses off. That’s what we have always done. So things have moved fast, but for us it’s like a lifetime of work. As far as the musical side of things, I think this band tends to think one or two records ahead into the future. There was a time before we started writing for The Black Parade, when we were almost writing the album that should have come out after Revenge. A lot of the songs were similar feeling and similar sounding to what we did on Revenge, and a lot of that got scrapped once we really started writing for The Black Parade. After we had written “The End” into “Dead!,” we would rehearse them and we linked those two songs together. We knew they didn’t feel like anything we had done before. We thought that those songs raised the bar for us, and a lot of the songs that we had been writing on tour and some of the songs that were written while we were in New York got scrapped after that because they didn’t measure up. The writing process was fun because we were always trying to match what we had done the week before or even surpass it. We always try to top ourselves, and not only in albums, but also from song to song.

Has touring become more exciting for the band this time around? You spend so many months writing and recording the record, and during that time the record is just yours. It’s the band’s and just the four or five guys who worked on the recording. You sometimes play it for select people, but no one actually has a copy to take home and listen to. What’s great is that finally after six or seven months of writing and recording, the record is now out there “living” and being a part of peoples’ lives. To finally be able to play those songs live for people, it’s just the best. Our fans have been awesome and just super supportive through all of this. They’re excited to hear new stuff. But we’ve never been in this position before because when we wrote Revenge we were a very small indie band and no one was really excited for Revenge to come out. We built it up to where it got, but when that album came out there weren’t many people who were excited, and we built it from there. It was completely different from this experience where we’ve now built up a fan base and they are excited to hear the new music. So it was very nerve wracking because you want people to appreciate what you did — what you worked hard for and worked hard on. The fans have been awesome and we’re finding that they are singing the new songs louder than the older stuff at the shows. It’s that support and an over all sense from people that they really love the new record. It just feels great to go out there and play these songs for people.

What does the band have planned for 2007 and what are you looking forward to most in the coming year? We’ll be touring more and more in 2007. Right now we’re doing smaller shows just to get our feet wet and play live. We were off for so long recording that it takes a while to get back in shape and you just want to ease into it. It’s been cool to get reacquainted with the fans and reacquainted with playing live. Next year is when we’re going to step up the show a notch and bring out more production, so the shows will be bigger and the songs will feel bigger. Right now we’re playing the songs a little more stripped down than we would like, but it’s just to get reacquainted and get back into playing live. In 2007 we’re going to play a lot of parts of the world where we’ve never been before. Playing your first show in a new country is the most exciting thing, and that excitement never goes away. There are a lot of places where we haven’t played yet, so I think that’s what I’m most looking forward to.

Tell us about what you recall to have been your most memorable gig or gigs with the band so far. On this tour, the first show that we played was in Bournemouth, England. It’s a pretty cool place and that gig was awesome. We had such a great time and it was nice to get back and play real shows again. We had been doing a lot of tv and radio performances leading up to the release of the record, and then after that as well. But those performances just didn’t feel like real shows. It was maybe one or two songs, or even if we played a full set, the place was lit for tv so I couldn’t get into the vibe of those shows. So this gig in Bournemouth was the first show we played in a while where it was a real My Chem show, and it felt great to play the old songs again and to finally play the new material. The audience was really great and it was a lot of fun to get back out there. As far as past memorable gigs, we played Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey, which was just awesome. I used to go to shows there all the time there to see my favorite bands like Metallica. My brother took me to that show and it was just incredible. To play places like that, those are the shows that usually go down in my memory as my favorites — when you have a direct connection to that venue or that city, it makes it just that much more special.

I’m sure there were a lot of hometown people there who were cheering you on. Yes. Our families usually end up being the loudest people in the crowd.

That can sometimes make you even more nervous compared to playing in front of people you don’t know. It is true because you definitely want to play your best and give them a good show. That’s usually what you’re thinking about. But it’s distracting when you’re looking out in the crowd and trying to find your family and all the people you know.

What advice would you give to other players who are trying to create their own identity in a two-guitar band? The best way to create your own style is to just be yourself. You can be influenced by what other people do and take the little bits that you like from the different players that you appreciate, but never completely cop someone’s style. Put your own flavor to it. Play what makes you feel good and that’s how you develop your own style. One of the fun things about playing with another guitarist is working on parts together. It’s kind of what music is about — working together as a team. When two guitar players can bring in what they do, make it bigger and better, learn from each other and influence each other, that’s a cool thing. Frank and I have been able to do that and we’ve kind of rubbed off on each other. It’s great to have that experience and it helps you to grow as a musician.

For the latest news on My Chemical Romance and updated tour information, visit the band’s official website at www.mychemicalromance.com.

[hoperays-song]

Marcus Backstory (Headcannon)

Marcus was actually born into a pretty wealthy family of private insurance brokers in the Knightsbridge neighborhood in London. As a child, he was very rambunctious, a trait that his parents were not overly fond of. Because of this, he was constantly compared to his six-year-older brother Lucien (mostly with complaints that he wasn’t like him enough), and when he wasn’t, Marcus’s parents largely ignored him. Eventually, the constant comparison and dismissal started to grate on him, especially once his younger sister Bethany started receiving the same “Golden Child” treatment from their parents. 

He started rebelling against his very traditional parents when he was around 12 years old, with the first big thing he did being to pierce his own ears. Throughout his teenage years, he was in constant conflict with his parents, to the point of being kicked out of the house several times (the origin of his abandonment issues), with the only reason he kept coming back was for his little sister’s sake when she asked him to. Marcus was pretty much a stereotypical punk during this time, which lead to even more fights with his family. When he went to University, Marcus limited his contact with his family yet still studied what they wanted at Bethany’s urging. 

The relationship grew more and more strained, and even with Marcus going into a Master’s program of his parent’s choosing as well, they eventually stopped talking to him all together, sending Lucien to act as their messenger. During one of those visits from his brother, they two were fighting again, only this time in a public space, when Lucien insulted a person playing a piano not far from them, negatively implying a lot of things about her from her economic status to her abilities as she had a cane. The young woman responded by hitting him rather sharply over the head with said cane and yelling at him in Hindi til he ran walked away. Marcus apologized for his brother and began talking to the pianist, who later introduced herself as Jia Sutar, a student at another nearby University. She eventually agreed to meet with him again under better circumstances, as long as he promised to not bring his big brother along, a rule to which Marcus quite happily agreed. 

Jia and Marcus began dating, and were extremely happy for the first few months of their relationship. However, when Marcus’s family found out about it about a year later, they reacted quite violently, considering her too low for their family due to both her economic status and her chronic illness. This led to Marcus choosing her over his biological family during a huge fight where not even his sister, the only reason he’d put up with them all these years, refused to stand up for him or even see his side of the argument (her dismissal of him and refusal to try to keep some form of relationship did make Marcus’s abandonment issues worse). Marcus was immediately disowned and moved in with Jia. They got married only two years later, when Marcus was 28.

Jia was the one who encouraged Marcus to become a licensed mechanic as well and she took up a job as a Primary School music teacher and piano tutor. About two years into their marriage, Jia’s health started declining much faster than it had before. Johnny was born a few months later, mainly due to Jia wanting to have a kid before it became too dangerous for her to. However, that did not really somber the young family’s mood about it’s new addition and Johnny was absolutely doted on. Marcus was worried about messing up with Johnny like his parents had with him, however Jia reassured him that he was always going to be an amazing father, even if he messed up from time to time. 

They moved to the East End neighborhood of London to be closer to Johnny’s Nursery School and for four years the family was fine and happy. However, one day Jia collapsed at work, causing her to be sent to the hospital, where they received the news that her illness was now progressing at a much more aggressive rate. While they both had know that it would more than likely prove fatal sooner rather than later due to how fast it had killed her siblings, Marcus was horrified at the thought of losing his wife after only having her in his life for 8 years at that point. Not even a year later, Jia collapsed again, this time at home, and was found by Johnny who called 999 (their version of 911) at his dad’s instructions. This time however, Jia was placed in long term care as her heart and lungs were very very weak. She died a few months later, when Johnny was only 6 years old. 

Jia’s death definitely worsened both Marcus’s and now Johnny’s abandonment issues and Johnny even stopped playing his mom’s piano due to how much it hurt to be reminded of her. Marcus took up a new job at a garage closer to Johnny’s school so he’d have a place to go after school. It was at this job where Marcus met Stan, the very friendly probationary mechanic at the station next to his. Stan seemed to make it his personal mission to make sure that Marcus wasn’t the lonely new guy and talked to him every chance he could, eventually even inviting Marcus to have dinner with him and his “brother” Barry after their shift one day. Marcus hesitated on that, stating he had a young son and no one to watch him, but was told to bring him along, leading to both Johnny and Marcus meeting Barry. After that dinner, Stan and Barry became more and more stable fixtures in the two’s lives. Stan and Barry were Marcus’s only friends and the only ones he trusted with Johnny when he couldn’t be there. The two slid into an almost uncle like role and treated Marcus like their big brother, which both he and Johnny loved. 

However, while Johnny now had two supportive uncles in his life, he never fully seemed to recover from losing his mother, and as years went on, it became more and more obvious in his school work. While his son remained a decent student, Marcus was constantly called into schools by staff worried about the fact that the boy didn’t seem to have any friends and never really interacted with his classmates outside of their lessons. Eventually, when Johnny was around 10 year old, a school counselor recommended potentially moving somewhere completely new to give Johnny a fresh start since staying in London did not seem to be helping the issue. For his son’s sake, Marcus applied for the two of them to move to the states with Stan and Barry tagging along.

In the states, Marcus opened up the garage and ran it legitimately for around 2 or so years. Eventually however, it was not making anywhere near enough money to support them and the three adults turned to crime as a secondary source of income, never intending for it to be a long term solution. 

Around that point as well, Johnny’s resemblance to his mother became more and more glaringly obvious. Marcus, now harshly reminded of the pain he felt from losing her, began emotionally pulling away from his son. Johnny picked up on it and took it as a sign his father didn’t love him anymore, causing a tear in their relationship.

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This continued up until the actions of the first movie. I can make a part two if anyone wants to hear my headcannons on what happened to my favourite boys in between Sing 1 and 2 and then afterwards. 

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Tar

Is Cate Blanchette’s stardom predicated upon watching one of the most put-together of all actors fall apart? That’s where Todd Field’s TAR (2022, Peacock) derives a lot of its appeal. She stars as a highly accomplished symphonic conductor, and through a series of scenes early on we get a sense that she’s something of a con artist. She’s constantly playing roles with those around her, from solicitous, charming friend to the wealthy amateur conductor (Mark Strong) who runs her foundation to the tough act she adopts to dispense with a girl bullying her daughter at school. Even the warmth in her relationship with her wife (the very fine Nina Hoss) seems a mask. Blanchett plays those roles impeccably, as ever, but the real joy is watching her transported, whether by the beauty of the music she’s conducting, principally Mahler’s 5th Symphony, or her breakdown as she starts to lose everything over charges of sexual exploitation. In one scene she takes out her frustrations by wailing away on an accordion and screaming a song to upset some insensitive neighbors. Field’s script hits a lot of the right notes in dealing with the difficulty in separating an artist from their work and the potential for sexual exploitation by people in power. And he leaves questions unanswered rather than hammer home some easy theme. Early on, Blanchett harangues a conducting class at Juilliard when a student professes disinterest in cis male white composers because he finds their culture oppressive. Is she attacking his position because of her love of their music or because she is an oppressor herself? For all the good in the film, I couldn’t help wishing Field had structured it more classically. It takes over an hour to get the dramatic action going. Blanchett is always worth watching, but there’s a point at which you may start wondering why we’re experiencing so many details of her day-to-day existence for so long. I’ve heard some people were confused by the final scenes, but I found them a witty comment on what the character’s actions have led her to. And they too leave the audience with a question to ponder: how can you continue to enjoy the gifts of a Lydia Tar without putting her in a position to harm others? Is this ending the only answer?