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prettywordsyouleft · 3 years

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The Cowboy - Part 6

Summary: Leaving the city for a rural area called Blayne seemed simple enough. Your task was to convince the people to agree with selling their land for a resort redevelopment. But once there, you soon realise that your city ways are entirely different to theirs. Winning their trust was going to take some effort, and when you start to fall for a local cowboy, you wonder if you really needed Blayne more than the city life after all.

Pairing: Jung Jaehyun x female reader

Genre: cowboy au / drama / romance / if you squint there’s some enemies to lovers up in here.

Warnings: Jung Jaehyun is a cowboy, need I say more? (a bit of angst and drama, and it sometimes might feel like you’re reading a Nicolas Sparks book, so I’m told lol) — suggestive content awaits in this part.

Word count: 2344

This series will be updated every Thursday and Friday.

Preview | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

“I’m sorry, you want me to do what now?” you asked when you answered the front door the following morning, your gaze travelling to the two horses tied up near the house. You laughed nervously and shook your head. “No, no. Just because we had a friendly excursion together yesterday doesn’t mean I’m quite ready for this.”

“It’s not that scary, I promise.”

“Tell that to someone who wanted to ride a pony as a kid. I didn’t. I was an inside only and play with dolls, type of girl.”

“You don’t need to have a love affair with ponies as a child to learn how to ride now. Stop giving me excuses and get out here, would you?!”

Heaving in a deep breath, you eyed the creatures warily before reaching for the keys to the front door. Jaehyun waved you off. “You don’t need to lock up.”

“Someone could easily walk onto this property.”

“Walk?” Jaehyun mused, and you rolled your eyes.

“Fine. Drive up the road and find it. Call it a habit, if you will,” you told him as you slotted the key into the door and locked it. You smiled over at him. “I’ll feel more at ease knowing it’s locked up. And I have a pocket for them, so don’t worry.”

“Whatever makes you happy, Miss City.”

“Back to that?”

“Well, you’re about to learn how to ride from a cowboy. It seems fitting,” Jaehyun replied, and you grinned. “Come on. Old Roger here is half-blind and safe as houses.”

“I don’t think blind and safe work together like that,” you murmured, following him over to the brown horse. You gave him another look. “And who names a horse Roger?!”

“You’re so talkative when you’re nervous.”

“Just hurry up before I back out entirely,” you confessed, and Jaehyun let the stirrups down from laying over the seat of the western saddle.

He then pointed to something sticking off the front of it. “That’s what we call the horn. Take a hold of that and stick your foot in the stirrup there.”

You reached up for the horn and then attempted to get your foot into the stirrup. Not quite making it, you turned to look at Jaehyun. “Oh dear, I’m not able to do this. Well, if you’ll excuse me-”

“Not so fast,” he said as his arms slipped around your waist and pulled you back to his side. You glanced up at him, and Jaehyun blinked a couple of times before grinning lopsidedly. “So eager to get away from me, huh?”

“So eager to hold me,” you pointed out, and his hands dropped to his sides momentarily before guiding your hand up to the horn again.

“This time, hold the horn, and I’ll give you a leg up,” he offered, moving effectively to cup your foot and pushed up. Without realising it, you threw your leg over the opposite side of the saddle and sat down. Jaehyun laughed at your stupor. “Look at you. We’ll make a rider out of you in no time.”

You smiled proudly down at him, and Jaehyun patted Roger before handing you the reins. He sorted your fingers around them before stepping away. “Wait!”

“What?”

“You can’t just put me up on a horse and then walk away from me. Shouldn’t you lead me around first or something? Take care of me!”

Jaehyun chuckled. “Thought you weren’t a pony ride type of girl?”

“Not funny! He might walk off with me! What do I do then?!”

Jaehyun evaluated the snoozing animal you sat aboard and then swiftly mounted his own stead. He looked over at you. “Oh no, what are you going to do now, Y/N? He’s going to start walking as soon as Blaze here does.”

“That’s not funny!” you exclaimed, gripping the horn of the saddle when Jaehyun clucked at his horse, and it walked off. Roger stepped off in time as the other horse, and your eyes bulged out of your head.

Jaehyun glanced back at you. “Relax. I wouldn’t put you in harm’s way. Trust in me.”

Jaehyun’s words resonated with you, and you took in a deep breath and tried to relax. Roger fell in step with Blaze, and you glanced over at Jaehyun nervously.

“Do I just hold the horn?”

“If you want to. Roger won’t do anything Blaze doesn’t. But try to relax your grip at least. Those reins lead to a bit in his mouth. You don’t want to tug too hard on that.”

You unclenched your hands immediately, barely holding onto the reins. You decided to keep one hand on the horn though, just in case. Jaehyun nodded. “There you go, now you’re riding.”

“I’m riding,” you repeated, looking forward along the track you were on. For fifteen minutes or so, you just enjoyed the feeling. It was freeing, even if you had been frightened at first, to be up on a horse with all this land around you. The morning sun wasn’t too hot, yet it felt nice upon your back. You could see yourself growing accustomed to this view. From the back of a horse, everything seemed more magical with the way the light hit it.

And then Jaehyun had to go and ruin your peace. “We’ll try a jog now.”

“A what? No, thank you, walking is fine.”

“I want to show you a place, but it’ll take us all day if we amble up there,” Jaehyun persisted. “Just hold onto the horn, okay?”

“Jaehyun, I-!”

He asked Blaze up a gait, and like clockwork, Roger followed along. You squealed with the change, trying to balance yourself with the fast and bumpier speed. Glaring at Jaehyun, you gripped the horn tightly, focusing on keeping in the seat of the saddle. The longer you jogged, the easier it became, but you were still grateful when both horses slowed back to a walk.

“You’re a jerk!” you exclaimed as Jaehyun laughed at you.

“That I am, but you survived, didn’t you?”

“Wherever we’re going better be worth it!” you told him adamantly and recklessly leaned over and shunted him.

Whilst Jaehyun was okay, you forgot for a second that you were on top of a horse. Unlike him, you hadn’t ever ridden before, and your balance wasn’t as secure. You gripped onto his t-shirt in hopes to find leverage.

Jaehyun leaned in towards you. “Trying to touch me, are we?”

“Don’t! I was just--” Jaehyun helped you back upright, and you shakily drew in another breath.

He grinned. “Hold onto that horn unless you plan on riding double with me, won’t you?”

“So this is it?” you asked when the horses came to a halt, and Jaehyun nodded. “It’s another field, Jaehyun.”

“We can’t use this field for grazing our herd on. It’s too far away from the house to travel to daily and becomes a waste of time when we already have enough to do. It’s hard as rocks during summer and bogs with mud in winter.”

“Sounds cursed.”

Jaehyun glanced at you. “It’s also the closest field we have to the mountain ranges.”

“Huh, so it is.” You surveyed the area, deciphering where you were on the internal map inside your mind. You gasped. “This was the spot I was trying to find access to!”

“Only way in currently is upon horseback,” he mentioned cautiously, readjusting his hat on his head. “My Dad would kill me if he found us out here right now.”

“You’re helping me. Why?”

“You seem genuine,” he answered honestly, gauging your reaction intently. “You’re not here to make big bucks for the company and rob the small people in the process. After yesterday, and with how many came up to us at the market to say hi, I can tell you care about Blayne already.”

“Well, its early days but I do want what’s best for everyone.”

“If we sold this land and then our neighbours gave over the adjacent property, we could build a road and put in more housing, in the very least.”

“You don’t want the resort, do you?”

“Would you? Who needs one when we have enough activities to fill the day?”

You smiled. “My first goal would be housing too. Blayne needs more workers. Workers tend to bring their family along with them. We’d need to change the town model a little to accommodate all of this.”

“The farmers here won’t accept strangers to work their lands. When Avery left, it was really hard for me to manage the herd we have. Caleb is helpful, but he’s slow from a limp to his leg. Dad wants to increase production over the next two years. It’s a joke if he thinks the four of us can manage both our property and my Uncle’s.”

“They’ll need to swallow their pride and let workers in then. I can help with that. I’m sure if we band together, we can help those living here first.”

“Things like these take more than months to execute, Y/N,” Jaehyun mentioned, turning Blaze back towards where you had travelled from. “You talk as if you will be here to change it all. It was just an idea to show you the land.”

“I’m deeply appreciative. Believe me. And whilst things might take time out here, I’m from the city. Rome might not have been built in a day, but we have construction workers by the hundreds. Progress can happen quickly.”

Jaehyun nodded softly right when the morning sun disappeared. He stared up at the skies just as you did, squinting when a raindrop fell upon your cheek. He laughed. “Looks like the weather is showing us how quickly it can change too. Ready to jog again?”

“As long as you don’t bring up this loping you talked of earlier, I’m ready!”

It took thirty minutes of trotting, and by the time you arrived back at your home, you were both soaked through. Jaehyun dismounted first before coming over to your side and gesturing to get down. You landed at his side and laughed, both of you bringing the horses into the barn and out of the weather. Jaehyun took off their gear and popped them in the two end stalls, gesturing for you to go over to the house.

“You’re going to catch a chill if you don’t get out of those clothes,” he mentioned, and you placed your hands on your hips.

“Trying to get me out of my clothes now.”

“Easy on there, Y/N. I’m being a gentleman right now,” he commented with a bite to his lips thereafter, and you shook your head with continued laughter, stepping up onto the veranda and reaching into your pocket for the keys.

Smile fading, you dug your hand in deeper. Your search came up empty. “Jaehyun.”

“Mm?”

“I’ve lost the keys,” you announced, and Jaehyun eyes widened.

“You did?”

“Yeah, they must have fallen out as we rode,” you surmised, slapping your forehead in despair. “Oh! Maybe they fell out when I dismounted before.”

You went to dash back out into the rain that was now coming down sideways, but Jaehyun stopped you, grabbing your arm and shaking his head. “Don’t go back out there.”

“We’ll both get sick if we stay out here like this, though!”

“I know a way in.”

Taking your hand properly, Jaehyun led you around the veranda to a window on the side. He let go of you then, his palms pressing against the wooden window frame. It dislodged from its shut position, and Jaehyun pushed it up into the top window, offering enough space for you both to clamber through it. He awkwardly managed to do so first, holding it open for you to follow suit.

You stumbled when you landed, and he caught you, his hands taking purchase on your hips. You grinned up at him. “How did you know to do that?”

“I was once a teenager,” he pointed out, and you laughed. “What? Don’t tell me you were a goodie two shoes.”

“What did you have here to sneak out to?”

His smile faded as he took in your close proximity. “Not you.”

The temperature in the room grew hotter the longer you stared back at one another. You were acutely aware of where your hands rested on his chest, and where his were on your hips. Slowly, you slipped them up and hooked them around his neck, eliciting flames of hunger to rise within his eyes.

“I’m here now, though.”

“You’ve only been here for a few weeks. Are you going to be here today and gone tomorrow?”

You shook your head. “I have no plans on leaving anytime soon.”

That was enough for Jaehyun to capture your lips in a fevered kiss, his body pressing into yours. You gripped onto his shoulders, and he hoisted you up, your legs curling around his waist as you continued to release all the tension that had built between you. You gasped for air, and his tongue dove in to meet yours, both blindly moving around the study towards the door.

Pulling away breathlessly, Jaehyun stared at you again. “I didn’t think we’d be doing this so soon.”

“Feels like we’ve been playing this game of cat and mouse for longer than three weeks.”

“We should stop. If we keep going on like this, something’s bound to happen.”

“Like a shower and then you taking me to bed?” you offered demurely, the man holding you breathing out a curse. You smirked. “You could stop if you want to slow things down, Cowboy.”

“I hold the fastest score at barrel racing in these regions I’ll have you know.”

You giggled with delight as Jaehyun started to ascend upstairs. “I hope that’s not the same speed that you go at during other things, Jaehyun.”

Kissing you passionately again, Jaehyun didn’t answer with words when he placed you down on your feet once you reached your first destination, simply tugging his t-shirt over his head before kicking the bathroom door shut behind you both.

_________________

Part 7

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deadlyflan · 3 years

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Figuring out the OCs from an as-yet-unpublished TMNT fanfic. Come meet my AU.

October 2 - Glass - 1,308 words. Leonardo. Nina. Helen. Rated G.

Nina kept turning the television on.

Not watching it. Not even leaving the sound on for background chatter. Just turning it on, muting it, and leaving the room.

Leonardo had been rereading his favorite sci-fi novels (a collection of various Neal Stephenson books if anyone wanted to read them too so he’d have some one to gush about them with) in the living room for about a week now. Not always at the same time. Not always for long. But often enough to notice Nina’s habit.

Any time the cluster of sisters moved through the living room, Nina would bring up the rear of the group. Nina had a limp; of course she walked slower than her sisters. Nobody commented on it; that would be insensitive. Well, Mike commented, but usually in the context of, ‘Do you want a piggy-back ride?’ and since she was all smiles about that, apparently Michelangelo got away with being inappropriate. Again.

This evening, the girls tromped down the stairs with Helen at the lead, her arm around Dinah. The twins, Peggy and Julie, followed right on their heels. Nina brought up the rear with just a slight hobble to her steps. They were headed through the living room into the kitchen where his brothers were loudly setting up board game night.

Leo would join them in a bit, but first he had to see if Nina would do it again.

Leonardo watched the girls parade by over the edge of his book (SnowCrash, if anyone liked dystopian fiction and would like to talk about it), and forced himself to not watch the twins. He’d spent the summer watching the twins. Nothing improper. He knew boundaries and honor. It was just that his eyes always seemed to find them. And, well, it had been his first summer with real-flesh-and-blood turtle women around. Surely he hadn’t done anything wrong? He deeply hoped not.

He resolved for the hundredth time to get better about that.

Tonight though, he focused on Nina and her mysterious TV habit.

Her sisters headed towards the kitchen, pulling at each other’s sweatshirts, leaning in to press hands or squeeze shoulders. Nina paused at the bottom of the stairs. Detached from their group, Nina made a detour. Past the sofa. Past the coffee table. She scooped the remote control off the floor where someone had dropped it. And casually, as if she were just tidying up, she flicked the TV on and hit the MUTE button in the same movement as setting the remote on top of the TV.

She avoided looking at him completely. Intentionally. Leonardo sat right in her line of sight if she was headed to the kitchen. Was she worried she was going to get caught? That he would be upset?

“Nina?” Leonardo cleared his throat. He needed to keep it casual. She hadn’t done anything wrong. “Wait a second.” He closed his book (he was in the chapter where the protagonist learns about machine language and its parallels with ancient Sumerian mysticism, if that sounds cool to anyone else) and leaned forward, but stayed seated. He desperately wanted to avoid coming across as an overbearing nag to their newest family members and Nina could be so nervous.

Nina froze in place. Peggy must have heard him, because she backed up in the kitchen doorway. She nodded at Nina. A little smile. An implied 'Go on. It’s okay. I’m right here.'

Leonardo’s shoulders relaxed. Thank goodness for Peggy. Maybe Nina would talk to him.

“I’m curious and I hope you can help me understand.”

She turned slowly; thick socks barely making a sound on the old wooden floor. Nina’s sharp features cast a hard profile even in gentle reading light. Her coloring had improved markedly with better food and more sunlight over the summer. Bright yellow stripes against a lush leaf green traced her brows and the very upper edge of her cheeks before flowing down her neck. But for all her health had clearly rallied, it did nothing to soften the angular lines of her beak or the strong point of her chin. Almost birdlike. Chiseled. Much more masculine than her sisters. Heck, more masculine than some of his brothers.

Maybe that was unfair of him. It wasn’t right to judge her by her looks. Not for the first time Leonardo wondered if his assessment was that of a turtle, with a turtle’s concept of gender, or if he’d just spent too long living around humans and Disney films.

Her shoulders had rounded under the weight of his attention. Her eyes settled somewhere around his ankles. “Okay.” She whispered.

“What makes you want to turn the TV on if you aren’t watching it?”

Nina stared at the old TV. It silently spooled out The Weather Channel’s latest forecast. Rainbow maps flickered behind a nice man with a suit. Light shone out of the glass-domed front and flickered across the rug in front of the TV stand.

“Um. To…” She pulled her hands into her sweatshirt. “It. Feels.” Her volume slowly lowered as she tried to explain without looking at him. “It’s safer.”

“Safer?” That worried Leonardo. The most important thing he and his family could offer five former laboratory captives was a sense of safety. They had needed security just as much as they had needed nourishment when they’d first arrived on the farm.

“Safer.” She nodded and looked back over her shoulder at Peggy. Julie and Helen had joined her. The three didn’t all fit in the doorway, so they edged into the room.

They were gathering an audience. That was the last thing Leo wanted. If his brothers got in on it too, this would turn into a whole production. Nina would feel put on the spot and he would never get an answer from her. This was too crucial to mess up. It a matter of Nina feeling protected! It went way beyond his curiosity about the TV.

“We want you to feel safe. That’s really important.” He made sure to include Helen and the twins in that. “What is it that makes you feel better when it’s on? Is it the light?” Michelangelo had slept best in the TV’s glow when he was a kid. Leonardo could understand that. “If I can help—if we can help—you to always feel safer, we want to do that.”

Nina had returned to staring at his toes. She mumbled something.

What he wouldn’t give to have Master Splinter’s hearing!

Helen butted in. “She says, 'There’s no black glass.’”

Nina nodded miserably.

“I’m sorry?”

He had given Helen had an invitation to speak and she transitioned smoothly from ‘sister-translator’ to ‘sister-spokeswoman.’ “When the TV is on, there’s no black glass. She doesn’t like it watching us. None of us do. But really Nina.” She slipped around the sofa and wrapped a protective arm around her sister.

Nina looked ready to disappear through the floor. Blushes had started darkening her cheeks and browning her stripes. She whispered something to Helen.

“I know you’re not a scaredy cat. I don’t like reflections either.” Helen lifted her chin and addressed Leonardo directly. “We’re going to go play board games now.” She threw her announcement at him like he might try to stop them. Her hands trembled on her sister’s shoulders. It wasn’t just Nina feeling nervous about the conversation.

Leonardo opened and closed his mouth around a number of replies, but went with, “Of course. Have fun. Thank you for... explaining.”

He watched his clan’s newest members shuffle into the kitchen and thought about the room the girls had been rescued from: three walls and a floor to ceiling one-way mirror with cameras and scientists on the other side.

He put his book aside and went to find the tool box. There were mirrors to be removed from the bathrooms.

The TV played to an empty room.

~~~end scene~~~

@oc-growth-and-development

More about this AU tagged #tmnt chain reaction

#oc-tober #prompt list #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #tmnt chain reaction #tmnt oc #tmnt au #sisters #siblings #found family #tmnt fic #trauma recovery #down on the farm.#leonardo #tmnt leonardo #nina #helen #medical trauma #mirror

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x-exo · 3 years

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*slides into your asks with a rose in my mouth* why hello, tis me!

Apologies for the long wait but your favorite long asks anon is here and OOF so much has happened. Let us break it down one by one lol

Monsta x our beans, welp we can officially say we are army wives for them because shownu is now at the military and just welp this feels weird lol. I lowkey forgot he was meant to enlist so when the news came out I went through so many emotions. Its why the latest comeback feels a bit bittersweet to me. It is their BEST for sure and for this year, I agree so to not see him perform right before he left is a bit sad. I don't blame him of course (if anyone does i am fish slapping you) but just a shame. I'm happy we do get content with him still? Seems pre-planned so that is nice!

Onto legends exo, fantastic comeback. I cannot stop listening to the album, its just bops full of bops to me. They broke so many records and I'm over here sipping my tea because fudge yes. It isn't a full member comeback, 2 of the members featured in the comeback are off playing call of duty and they still did THAT. While having lay properly in the comeback!? (Or at least some form, better than tempo era!) Kyungsoo my beloved, the man that can swoon you off your feet, his proper solo album. Omg I am just in love? The album feels like a Playlist that you hear while taking a walk or on a raodtrip? I love it, I just love everything about this with how much thought was given. It makes me feel warm and I'm so proud of him (I think he even got a first win) but sadly xiumin got the it shall not be named virus D: I feel so bad and I can only hope he gets better! It makes me worried because I keep seeing more and more idols getting sick and I can't help but wonder why don't the kpop entertainment just put a pause with stuff? Of course that is VERY unrealistic, I am aware that is naive for me to think but its just so idk how to word it properly (my English brain is not working I am sorry) I cannot help the feeling of while I get people are being safe and yes we need to still live like normal beings, is it worth risking idols health just for some entertainment? Idk how to explain my thoughts properly but maybe I hope I made sense!!

Onto svt! That is perfectly fine to not vibe with a comeback! I will admit, I didn't fully vibe with this comeback and it shocked me because every comeback was a hit to me. Even fear, left and right or homerun where I know many fans were split on, I liked but RTL was a grower. For me, listening to it without watching the mv, helped it alot and it is a song I like. Is it their best? No I don't think so but it is alright to say "hey I didn't bop to this, not my cup of tea" (imo I blame the mv? The mv REALLY didn't do the song justice at all, I am sorry if I sound like a fake fan but this mv Just is bad in all aspects. Sure we have some pretty shots but like it just doesn't fit at all?) So if anything listening to the song or wishing the live performances does it better. Seeing the choreography amps the song up more, cannot go wrong with their dancing. As for the rest of the songs, I admit game boy is my top favorite? Idk if it is because I am a gaming nerd and found all the production of the song so creative but yeah. We can wait for the next comeback! Svt always have something up their sleeves, plus we do have their music projects to look forward too (I wonder when we will get one? Seeing as RTL promotions stopped) some positive news with the boys is they resigned like a year before their contract ends and I'm a bit emotional :') I'm excited to see the boys future projects. We did have caratland recently! Did you watch it if I may ask? We did get in the soop confirmation so I'm excited to watch that, the boys deserve that nice break (even if it was filmed for a show fjsbsns)

Ok I think that is it for kpop updates? XD I do hope life has been treating you kindly! Life has been a bit all over the place sadly so I hope it wasn't like that for you as well! Until next time my bean!

hii!!!! omg sorry for the late reply i've been pretty busy these days 🙈

indeed so much has happened! and much more since you sent this ask omg!!

our shownu is at war *looks into the distance* *wipes away tear* *sighs* by now I got used to enlistment news (see what happens when you stan 2nd and 3rd gen groups) but STILL [[IT HURT]] when they uploaded the monchannel videos of his goodbye day like ????? what kind of twisted mind diuhdfuihdifuhs but the boys were all so cute and soft but they seemed so sad they didn't want to let go of their super leader :(( I hope he's learning lots and making new friends (and also we've got our international super spy yoo kihyun giving us small updates on him every now and then so everything's fine!). Yeah I totally get you it felt empty without him this comeback and at first it didn't really clicked with me but when the enlistment news came out i understood he had to take care of his health and thoroughly check on his eye sight in order to be 100% ready for the military so it made sense he had to be absent :( everything was so close (the comeback and enlistment) that I'm sure there was no other way for doing it I'm pretty sure he couldn't maybe postpone the enlistment day any further

onto exo! my ksoo my soft boi my romantic boi 🥺 his album is so him SO HIM i can't explain it bur it's just HIM you know it's the type of album you'd play on loop on a summer afternoon when you've taken your papers and paints outside in the garden to paint a bit with the warm soft breeze moving the trees lightly 🤧 and he signs in English and SPANISH (he did it for me) my multilingual king he's a native. Also I've been watching Honeymoon Tavern with Jongin these days and OMG i could d word for him really (if you haven's watched it go do it when you have time) he's SO SOFT and SO CUTE and he works as a waiter and a wedding planner and helps with the room preparations and is also a tour guide and he's just so cute so happy al the time the way he interacts with everyone is so 🥺🤧😭 onto more serious stuff now: yeah i was so worried about minseok catching covid omg but i'm glad he went through it with our any major complication and the rest of the boys are safe too! I guess the industry doesn't stop bc that would mean a huge loss of thousands and thousands of dollars/won/etc so as long as the gov doesn't prohibit going out or gathering like at the beginning of the pandemic, they'll keep on going with the idols' schedules otherwise the industry would just shut down having no way of earning money to sustain all the companies and idols.

as for seventeen! yeah i like the songs too! the mv sure ruined rtl and listening to it without watching it has really helped it grow on me more but still it feels kind of meh to me idk i really like anyone i think it's my favourite from the album. AND NOW WE'VE GOT A COMEBACK IN OCTOBER!!!! yayyyyy i can't wait they seem to be preparing very diligently (i hope they release a sexy bop) it's a shame junhao aren't gonna be present for this comeback but i'm soooooo happy they have the opportunity to visit their families again omg they have spent 2 whole years without seeing them in the flesh they must be so happy to get back to them again!!! it's so funny seeing them be bored at the quarantine hotel and doing lives every day duhdfiudhfiuh i hope it passes quickly and they can see their loved ones finally! and I did watch Caratland!! omg the unit switch song was the best thing ever hhu doing lilili yabbay and not being able to stop laughing idfuhdifuhs perf team doing chocolate and owning it????? hello??? performance team more like main vocal team wow! and the vocal team being a complete mess during check in lmaooo i loved it! In The Soop has finally started!!! I love these kind of "normal life" concepts I love seeing the boys being themselves cooking and relaxing I've watched the first and second eps as of today and also few clips from the third and omg mingyu and jeonghan drowning in the pond dfuhidfhidfs lmao they're so dumb i love them 🤣 i'm glad they could go away for a few days and spend time together away from their hectic schedules!

I hope you're well now and if not hang in there it'll all pass soon enough! 🥰💕 bye bye!!

p.s.: I got your request for the svt this or that gifset and i promise i’ll do it one day i just don’t feel like giffing these days dhbduusi i’m out of energy

#ask #my super nice lovely anon

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aesthyuckic · 4 years

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AVENOIR | l.dh - QUATTUORDECIM

(gif not mine - credit to rightful owner)

Genre: High School AU (at beginning) ; Tarot Reader!Witch!Hyuck

Word Count: 2.7K

Warnings: (bold if in use) slow but with a purpose, belief contradictions, mentions of r*pe, blood(??), swearing, violence(??), mentions of abuse (??)

Pairings: Lee Donghyuck (Haechan) x Reader (F)

IV OF WANDS: home, community and celebration

The following morning after the summer solstice, Cosimia walked out into the kitchen half awake. She saw the coffee dripping into pitcher below it. She smiled at the thought of Donghyuck walking up before her and putting it on for her. She went and pour herself a cup she fixed with milk and sugar after. She walked over to the ither counter only to peer over and find her friend sitting on the carpet, reading.

The trailer bumped as they were driven down the road to next location, the books scattered across the floor moved slightly because of it. The sun came in threw the window and the curtains as the boy read away on the floor. It seem to shine on him like a spotlight that graced his golden skin. He glowed like an angel in the light and appeared so warm and cozy. The image made her smile to herself, lazily in her half awake state as she started to notice everything a bit more...

The way his nose curved and was so small... it was cute and the way his plump, pink lips pouted when in thought was too... With his little moles that came to rest on him and from patterns that he said he didn’t like and the long eyeslashes, just everything about him that she could probably list if she focused hard enough... She thought he was beautiful in every way possible. It was hard not to admire.

It wasn’t long before he felt the pair of eyes on him. He looked over to find the girl, still relatively half awake, take a sip of her coffee. She was still smiling after though...

“What are you smiling at?” He asked, genuinely confused.

“You.” She answered rather boldly.

“Understandable.” He mumbled with a nod as he stuffed his nose back into his book in hope it would take the attention away from his nervousness.

She hummed, contently, as she set down her mug. She walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled a box of cereal out as well as a bowl. As the poured the puffs into the bowl she looked over at the boy again. It was only then she realized what he’d been reading all that morning presumably.

“Are you sure you want to continue practicing?” She sighed as she put down the box on the counter. “You know... after the summer solstice?”

“I’m just reading about it right now.” He informed her. “I’d only practice the regular stuff. Besides the doctor said I was fine, right? No seizure, not even a concussion.”

“Oddly enough.” She muttered under her breath.

He knew how suspicious she grew about the whole thing... He admitted it was a weird thing to happen. He didn’t even tell her what he really saw. He thought it might have worried her even more which he wouldn’t have liked at all... He may have not been psychic like her but he could always tell when she was worried, at the very least, about him.

“I promise I’ll be fine, Cosimia.” He reassured. “I won’t do anything dangerous, I promise you that.”

“Okay,” She rolled her eyes as she spoke softly. “You better.”

He smiled at her, loving the fact that she cared about him... Loving the fact that someone was looking for him. In all honesty, he had never felt so safe with someone before she came along.

“I’d never lie,” To his irony which was a lie. “Not to you at least.”

An even deeper lie. But it was white, wasn’t it?

They went about their morning as normally as they could as they drove down the road. It was warm and relaxing compared to most to be quite frank. They laid on the carpet as they just talked about random things, the sun from the window keeping the atmosphere heated around them. Donghyuck’s records played softly in the background of it all. It was another one of those times with her that he didn’t remember much other than the feelings really... He did remember her laughing a few times and how beautiful it looked in the sunlight and how warm it made him feel all over much like other times.

Unfortunately to their disliking, the pleasant morning didn’t last forever. Their trailer stop abruptly which caused the laughing to stop as they sat up. They had finally made it to their destination and now it was time to set up for the day. What made it worse is they had to rush since they’d be opening soon which made them groan internally as they helped each other off the floor.

The both of them practically still in their pajamas also had to rush to get ready as they had gotten carried away with themselves that morning. The girl occupied the bedroom to change while the boy took the bathroom to wash up. He finally came to look at himself in the mirror. His hair was unkept and it looked like he had just gotten out of bed when he had been up for hours.

He noticed the bags under his eyes. The moles on his face he was never too fond of... He started to find more things that only fed into his insecurities... His frown seemed to get bigger every time something new popped into his head. Why was this only happening today? Or why was it so bad today? He rubbed his cheeks out of frustration and as he felt them, he grew even more frustrated at the thought of how chubby they were. He huffed, putting his hands down beside him again as he stared at himself with a sadden expression.

Cosimia happened to have gotten dressed rather quickly that morning and even walked by to catch a glimpse of his frustrations. She walked into the bathroom despite how small it was. She came to stand behind him and looked at him through the mirror. She rested her hands on his upper arms before she laid an unexpected kiss on his shoulder. He felt all tingly while he seemed to stop breathing for a moment after she did that. He shivered a bit too, but in a good way oddly enough.

The whole thing made him feel high. The whole morning had to be honest. He had no idea what had gotten into her. Everything she was doing was very much unlike her but he found himself enjoying it.

“I think you look beautiful everyday, no matter what.” She cooed as she rested her chin on his shoulder, telling him what he needed to hear without him having to say anything about it. “But I can tell you don’t feel like that today... So, come with me.”

She grabbed his hand, gently, guiding him outside and through the trailers. Their coworkers going the opposite way to help set up, a lot of them greeting them. He followed closely behind the girl, trying to hide his face almost as that particular day he felt inadequate. It’s not like they hadn’t seen him before either, they never even thought much about the way he looked. Even if they did, they thought he was a handsome young man. It’s just that day everything was getting to him more than usual for some reason.

He gave her some space once they stood in front of a familiar trailer that knew as Sicheng’s. She was about to knock on the door but before she could, it swung open. Ten came out rather hasitly as he glared at them. He was red as tomato, not leaving them a doubt in their minds that he still hated them for some reason. He even went as far as to shove pass the girl which in return had her fell into boy behind her.

For some reason, it angered Donghyuck when the other did that. He felt an unreasonable amount of anger against him for shoving Cosimia like that, even if she was fine, it was still rude and uncalled for. He remembered back to when they first came, how Ten tried to fight him but his friend stopped it before anything could happen. He wondered if she had felt the same type of anger in that moment for him...

She stood back up with a scoff as she glared at Ten as he walked away without a thought of turning back. The door didn’t take long to swing back open, only this time because of their friend, Sicheng. Before he even opened the screen door he was letting out strings of apologies on Ten’s behave which he so often did. He even checked to see if they were okay.

“Wait, what are you guys doing here?” He asked, stopping what he was doing immediately. “You’re supposed to be helping everyone set up.”

“Can you please get Hendery and Lucas to cover for us?” She begged, much like a child would. “We wanted to borrow your makeup real quick! That is, if it’s okay with you.”

“Fine,” Sicheng caved rather quickly with a sigh. “Only this time am I getting the guys to cover for you. Don’t touch anything with cool tones, those belong to Ten. He’s pissed enough about the floor, we don’t need makeup on top of it too.”

He ran off in a hurry after that. Cosimia grabbed one Donghyuck’s hands with hers while the other waved despite the older not being able to see.

“Thank you!” She yelled before pulling the boy inside.

She dragged him behind her to the bathroom with a giggle before sitting him on the cool floor. Silver and red still stained much of the faux tile and even some of the whites of the bathtub and sink. The memory of it kind of made him smile to himself as he remember banging his head against the wall because of her. He was startled out of the memory when the girl threw down a big box, presumed to be full of makeup between them as she sat down across from him.

“I thought you hated makeup.” He said as opened it up and began to pick out a few things.

“On myself,” She shrugged. “This is for you and I don’t mind doing it for other people.”

“Can I ask why you hate it so much?” He questioned, softly.

She was shocked that he wasn’t opposed to the idea of makeup but rather wondered why she was the one opposed to it...

“Well, I use to cover up the bruises I had with it.” She told him, straightforward before she leaned over. “Now, look at me. I need to prep your skin...”

She had cleaned his face with some of Sicheng’s skincare products before wiping his face with a towel soaked with water. He must admit in that moment, he felt more cared for then any other time. She dried his face off too and moisturized his skin before she put on the BB cream that was slightly off a tone or two. It was a shame that they didn’t have any other color that would go well with Donghyuck’s skin... She thought it would work, only for today though.

“Makeup is to those who enjoy wearing it is suppose to make them feel more confident and powerful.” She sighed, as continued to smooth out the cream. “It was the opposite feeling for me and it irritated my skin so...”

She was soon applying some eyeshadow she had found at the bottom of the box. A golden color that shined which she found so pretty. It was only a moment before she had moved onto the lip tint that colored his lips even more pink then they were. She chuckled slightly to herself looking at the boy so close in front of her who had his lips puckered with her hand under his chin.

“What?” He asked, worrisome that he looked weird.

“I just think gold, glittery eyeshadow was made for you.” She confessed.

“Oh, do you now?” He batted his eyelashes with a pout.

“C’mon pucker up! I’m still not done with your lip tint!”

He had nothing else to stare at other than her in that moment. He felt everything around him slow down for a second as she looked up from his lips. He swore he could see a sparkle in her eye before things seem to speed back up to a normal pace. It was the same sparkle she had seen with Choerry and of course, the same with Lucas.

He struggled to breathe at even the thought. He couldn’t help himself from playing the scenario over and over in his head while his cheeks remained heated as she pulled away, finished. Even if was short in reality, at least it could live like an eternity in his mind...

She helped him off up the floor and moved out of his way after. He approached the mirror while he had a hint of nervousness in him. Once he looked at himself in the mirror, he found himself liking it a lot... It was a rather natural look but it seem to cover up the blemishes he had found to pick on that morning. Though, he noticed something right away about the look.

“You didn’t cover my moles.” He mumbled.

“I like them too much,” She replied. “I’m sorry to be selfish, they’re just so cute...”

He felt warm inside about the comment. She said she liked them before but never that they were cute... He never liked them much on himself. She happened to have some too, that he found beautiful on her. One near the corner of lips that seem to be perfectly placed and a few tiny, light ones around her lips... Thers were two next to her left eye that could form a smile if you had drawn under them and then there was a few on her chin and forehead as well. They scattered across the rest of her body too from what he could see whenever she took off the long clothing inside only to walk around in shorts and a tank top. He noticed she only let herself be exposed that much around him....

“I can’t go out like this though.” He said, abruptly reaching for the making up wipes.

“Aye!” She hissed as she slapped his hand away. “Why not?! I worked hard on it! Do you not like it?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it...” He started. “We’re in the country... You know they aren’t as progressive... They’re gonna think I’m gay when I’m not. Not that there’s anything wrong with being gay, that’s just not who I am...”

“Oh, Haechan... Having a certain interest or acting a certain way doesn’t determine something like that. I know you might understand that and maybe not everyone does but they need to learn that.”

“I just don’t want to get beat up... or worse.”

She sighed before reaching over into the box for the wipes and handing it to him, “If you really fear for your well being, here are the wipes. I don’t know how many times I have to make it clear with my words and actions, though... I won’t let anyone hurt you for any matter, especially not for something like makeup. Honestly, I’d stab them if I have to! And you could hex them too for all I care!”

He looked her in the eye, able to sense the sincerity of all her words. He could still very well see there was a part of her that wanted him to decide to go with the other opinion. He took the wipes out of her hands, carefully before he stared down at him. He thought about how good it felt and how hard she worked on it for him. She only did it to make him feel better that morning. He was too aware of the fact that she’d do anything to protect him, even if it did mess with her ability...

“Cosi knows best, right?” He chuckled as he threw them back in the box.

“Cosi?” She questioned with a tilt of her head.

“Yeah,” He nodded. “It sounds like cozy... and you make me feel that way.”

“Stop that.”

“No.”

He could see how easily the blush came to her cheeks with the comment. It allowed him to be the one who was grinning at the fact this time. He got why she kind of liked doing it now...

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janna-the-breaker · 4 years

Text

Sunscreen 🌅👙

I'm in a mood for jealous turtles today. Hope you like it!^^

It was summer, and Casey have planned a trip for a Beach house that his family owed since he was younger. It was almost in the middle of nothing, so it was safe for the turtles to go. They were all very excited, afterall, they've never left New York City before. After a four long hour car ride, you were all finaly there. The house was increribly beautiful. It has five rooms. Two for couples and the other three for inviters. And, let's not forget, the pool! That pool was wonderful! It has a waterfall and neon lights.

You decided to took a day to sun bath. You have picked your best bikini and laid down on your belly onto a beach chair at the edge of the pool.

You were so relaxed that you felt like you're gonna fly. But, after a while, the sun started burning your back a little too much, and you were too sleepy to get the sunscreen by yourself.

However, by a misterious miracle, you heard the hard and heavy steps that could only belong to the turtle you loved.

Leo💙:

"Hey, fearless" You called him with a sleepy voice. He have stoped nearby you. "Would you please pass some sunscreen on my back??" You pleaded.

What you did not know was that that wasn't your boyfriend, Leonardo, but acctualy his brother in a red mask.

He smirked greatly. Of course he didn't say anything or it could ruin this opportunity. He just grabbed the product and squished the white goo (😏😏) on his hand. He reached his three fingered hand onto your back and started spreading the sunscreen over your skin. You shrivered a little with his touch, bitting your lip as the heat of his hand spread through your body.

"Hmmmm just like that, love" You moaned a little. The big brute enjoying the sensation he was giving to you. And how smoothly your skin felt on his hand. He tried to reach to your higher back, but the strings of your bikini wouldn't let him. "Untie these, handsome. Please?"

His fingers grasped the cords and pulled the knot off until it was out of you. Now, he had the liberty to massage your back and shoulders. His pants got more thigher as he could peep your boob coming out from your bikini.

"What the fuck is goin'on here?!" Leo's voice ecooed furiously from far behind you.

You jumped in scare and sat up quickly on the chair, looking confusedly to your side. And how surprised you were when you saw Raphael instead of Leo. "Raph?!" You yelled while hidding your free breasts from his sight.

"I'm gonna kill you!!!" The turtle in blue yelled and ran towards his brother with a killer look on his face. The big brute manage to jump off and ran into the woods to escape his older brother's rage.

"Leo, i swear that i did not knew that it was him! I thought it was you!" You hold him by his arm and tried to explain yourself. He looked so angry just like the time the Shredder threated to kill Splinter.

"Yeah, you really mistook my smooth and well trained hands by those big and rough green sausages." He says with a deep angry voice. Your eyes started droping some tears.

"I didn't mean to! I was asleep. Please, forgive me!" You begged for his forgiveness.

"And you let him undress you! Do you have any idea about how this make me feel??" He was clearly hurt. But it wasn't your fault at all!

"You're the only one that i love, Leonardo! And nothing will ever change it." You grabbed his face and looked deep in his blue eyes. You leaned onto him and kissed him passionantly. It seemed to ease his anger.

"You're right. I'm sorry for being too rarsh on you. I love you so much, honey." He said hugging you and wrapping his arms along your waist. "Now, i'll go on a hunt for Raph's. And when i'm done, i'll make sure that it'll be clear for everyone to see that you belong to me, and me alone!"

Raph ❤️:

"Hello, my cuddly teddy bear." You said with a cute voice as you heard your boyfriend come to your side. "Look, the sun is kinda hurting my back. Do you mind brushing some sunscreen on it??"

Michelangelo froze there for a moment. Did you really thought that he were Raph?! He felt quite honored, but did not know what to do.

"Please, Boo, just a little. I may give you a treat later." You teased a little.

The turtle in orange gave a look around to check if there was anyone else around. There was no one near. He took the product and squished it on your back. You laughed as you felt that goo all over you. He soon used his hand to spread it over your back. "Hmmm it feels so good, babe." You moan.

Mikey tried not to giggle as you moaned to his touch. This was definetly the best day of his life. He lowered his hands on your back and stoped up on your butt. "Wanna get these off?" You suggested. He bit his lip and noded. Benching the string and pulling it slythly as he tried to reveal your ass.

"What the hell are ya doin', ya punk?!" Raphael yelled as he saw Mikey massaging you. He jumped off you and you sat on the chair in total shock. "Get yer hands off my girl, right now!"

"Sorry, bruh! Oh, y//n, you owe me that treat!" He said before running off the senario.

"I what?!" You said in counfusion.

"What treat?! Were you flirting with him?!" He asked roughly to you.

"No, Raph! I would never flirt with him or any of your brothers! He just came by and in my sleep i thought he was you. Please, forgive me!" You hugged him by his plastron trying to calm him down.

"Ya seemed to like what he was giving to ya. Am i not enough for ya??" He asked sadly. You've seen him this sad defeated before.

"Of course you are, Raph! You're more than enough for me, you are the best! I love you." You said and kissed him deeply. He accepted and lift you up on the kiss.

"Alright, bird. I got it. And you know what?" He gave your ass a slap with a full hand. You yelp loudly. "We're goin' to revenge on Mikey fucking at his bed. Come on!" He said taking you in a bridal way to the house.

Mikey🧡:

"Hey, my sweet pizza lover." You said sweetly as you felt the presence of your boyfriend next to you. "You know, this was a very long ride to here and my shoulders are still sore from the car seat. Can you please massage them for me??"

Donnie's mind buged for a moment. You thought he was Mikey?! Should he warn you that he wasn't him??

But, he felt so needy for the touch of your skin. Besides, it was just a massage. It wouldn't hurt. He put a little of sunscreen on his hand and spread it on your shoulders gently. You hummed a little with his skilled movements.

"Wow! Mikey, you are really good at this." You said hapily with the sensation he was giving to you.

Donnie smiled as he made you feel good with his caress. You were so relaxed on his hands and he was so foucused on his task that he didn't noitice Mikey standing there watching them with sadness in his baby blue eyes.

"Donnie, you traitor! What do you think you're doing?!" He yelled at his brother, who immediately took his hands off you.

"Mikey! This isn't what you think it is! I just gave her a friendly massage." He tried to explain himself.

You sat on the chair and gave a strange look at the purple masked turtle. "Donnie?! What are you doing here?!" You asked

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to be nice. I'm out of here!" He got up and jumped off the pool to the rooftop.

"Yeah! Go get your own, brah! This one here belongs to Mc Mikey!" He said as he pulled you to a hug. "You're mine! Only mine! You know that, right, angelcakes?"

"Yes, Mikey, i know. I'm yours! I'm sorry about Donnie. If i have knowm that it was him i you never let him touch me." You said wrapping your arms around his neck.

"It's okay, babycakes. You can continue to apolagize when we're on the bed." He took you on his shoulder and walked in the house with you.

Donnie💜:

"You there, my nerd? I'm in the need for a little foot massage. Are you up for this mission?" You plead for your boyfriend who sat before you at the pool.

Unfurtunatly, it wasn't the turtle you thought it may be. Leonardo only sat on there because he was on the need for some meditation. And the pool seemed to be the perfect and calm place for it. Even with you there it didn't bother him, afterall, you were just quietly taking a sun bath.

But, he did not expect at all that you would mistook him by his smart brother.

"Come on, D! I'm so tired, and only you can make me feel good." You begged for him to touch you.

He fetl awfull. At the same time he didn't want to interview in your relashionship with Donnie, but he also couldn't handle seeing you so needy for care. He grabbed the oil on a table nearby and used it to massage your feet.

"Hummm that's right, love! A little more to my ankles, please." You pleaded a little, loving the sensation you were recieving.

All Leo could do was smile. Even though you weren't his girlfriend he enjoyed giving some joy to you. But, it didn't last long as his ninja sight spot Donatello watching him from far away. The fire on his eyes as he saw his brother touching his girl could almost burn Leo. The leader in blue felt threated with his brother's falcon eyes and slowly got up, leaving the pool without saying a word.

You asked yourself what happened to your massage. You sat up and looked behind you, and there was Donnie smilling at you. "Why did you stoped?? You were doing great."

His heart hurt a little. He undertood that you didn't knew that Leo was the one massaging you. But he never imagined that he would suffer such a betrayal from his own brother. "Sorry, Dove. Lay there, i'll send you to heaven."

#tmnt x reader #tmnt leonardo #tmnt raphael #tmnt donatello #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt 2016 #tmnt Bayverse #tmnt sunscreen

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ivanshatov · 3 years

Text

double date

wc: 3.1k

it’s 11pm post-superbowl sunday night and i finished writing this fun little oc oneshot so i’m gonna drop it here bc why not? anyways, what the hell gay vampires

The sun had just barely set, but Edel was busy working away at the theatre’s lobby; stringing up lights, watering the plants, lighting the candles, cleaning away the blood, the usual cleanup checklist. With all the ruckus coming from Edel’s radio of whistled showtunes and the sound of hurried housekeeping taking place, Mia appeared in the doorway. She was dressed modestly in a corset and skirt that dropped to her heels, her hair up and traces of blood beneath her lips. “What in the name of— are you doing?” she asked, rubbing her head with a yawn.

Edel beamed, fully dressed, with petticoat, makeup, and all. “Didn’t I remind you yesterday?” they asked, lifting the sides of their gown and prancing to Mia. “Sujani’s love is coming over today. She’s introducing him to me. Is that blood on your face? Make sure you clean it, you’ll scare the poor man.”

“Sujani’s love, huh?” Mia thumbed beneath her lip and raised an eyebrow. “Well, does he know?”

“Know what?” Edel looked up from their busywork, wide-eyed and oblivious.

“Does he know about the—“ Mia gesticulated and threw up her hands. “The vampirism?”

“Oh! Oh. I’m not sure. Best not bring it up. Just to be safe,” Edel replied, twirling the broom she held and resisting the urge to strike some Fosse-esque pose. “You can come out if you’d like to say hi. Maral and Libera know too, but they’re off doing lines in the mezzanine.”

Mia tilted her head. “And the rest of the cast?”

“Laundry, props, helping Igor with the set, cleaning the apron, the like...” Edel replied, tending to a spiderweb in the corner. “I don’t want anyone eating him, so I’m trying to have them all occupied. Sujani made it very clear she will be very upset if her beau gets devoured. And then who will manage our stage if she is upset with me? This has to run very smoothly. You see? So, my dear, if some lost-looking breather is wandering through the halls, please redirect him here. No blood-sucking involved, preferably.”

“And no hypnotism, right?”

Edel turned around, leaning the broom against the wall and wrapping their arms around Mia’s waist. “No hypnotism, promise.” The couple linked pinkies and Mia rested her head on Edel’s chest.

“Alright. Be safe, dear. Check for stakes, crucifixes, the like...” she sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear. “We don’t want any guest appearances.” Giving Edel a kiss on the cheek, she unlinked her hand and started down the hall. “I best get dressed, too. Perhaps I’ll show up when I’m prim and proper. Make it a double date, as they call it these days, hm?”

Flashing a fanged grin, Edel nodded with excitement. “Oh, please do! Double date,” they repeated, eyes sparkling. “Please, you’ll look radiant. Love you,” Edel called as Mia vanished down the hallway.

Alone and back in the grandiose lobby, Edel continued to tend to the dust bunnies around the lobby, humming some musical jingles underneath her breath. As she got stuck replaying the songs of Les Mis in her mind, her eyes flitted to the clock. Fifteen minutes until 8’o’clock! Oh goodness, darling Sujani would be arriving any moment. Gathering the cleaning supplies and taking one last look around the lobby, Edel hurried back to the stage to dispose of the swiped supplies. The door slammed behind them as they entered the backstage, and a few heads downstage were turned.

“Eeeeedel!” Pasha called out, bouncing upstage and meeting Edel’s side. “Can I take those off your hands?” he asked, batting his childlike eyes.

“Sure,” Edel muttered, smiling down at him. “Please remember. Don’t start wandering. Sujani is bringing a guest with her tonight.”

“Ooh, a guest!” Olga interjected, sticking her head up from the catwalk. “A guest of what sort? A prince? Duke, maybe? The President?”

“No, her boyfriend. And, and, please don’t drop those 2x4’s, Olga,” Edel shouted, waving their arms.

Olga signaled a salute and nearly dropped the wooden planks, managing to narrowly avoid an accident with the flyweights. “I didn’t know Miss Sujani had a boyfriend,” Pasha said, saccharine.

“No, you cannot eat him. No, you cannot play some childish prank on him. Whatever your next question is, the answer is no. Alright? I’ll give you a candy later, or something,” Edel mumbled, booping Pasha on the nose and ruffling his hair.

“I can’t eat candy,” he maintained.

Edel exhaled, exasperated. “A book, then.”

“Books are boring!”

“One with illustrations,” she said with a wave of her hand, disappearing back in the direction of the lobby.

As Edel reentered, briefly admiring their handiwork, a bell chimed at the box office and sent them peeling down the hallway.

“Sujani! Sujani, darling! I’m so glad you’ve come!” Edel announced, bursting in through the threshhold with a wide grin and open arms. Sujani, relaxed and smiling, was dressed in her usual fare— a simple green sweater, a long skirt, Oxfords. Her hair was nice and curled and Edel noted the use of false eyelashes, something Sujani seldom indulged in. Her eyeliner was nonetheless bold. As Edel’s eyes met her guest, however, the color (or lack thereof) drained from her face. “I know you,” Edel mumbled, enthusiasm dying. Her eyes trailed back to Sujani, and she glared. “Luca Betschen? The Luca Betschen, of all men in this city crawling with them?”

Luca Betschen, standing opposite Sujani, with her hand around his waist and his around hers, was a short and plucky little man. His hair was curly and brown, and he had the most lovely, enticing young eyes, and was ruggedly handsome despite his unfortunate smallness. And Edel knew his face very, very well.

The Theatre has a strange relationship with the Press. The Theatre can function just fine independent of the Press, but their relationship is reciprocal. The Press is a necessary predator in the ecosystem in the fine arts, regulating the bad and safeguarding the good. But as hundreds of years pass by, between the un-dead and the living, tastes tend to change, and perceptions of otherwise fine Theatre may appeared skewed. A six-hundred year disparity, as one could imagine, would intensify these critical differences. Luca Betschen, a fresh-faced journalist at some irrelevant, wretched, Winterthur newspaper, embodies it. One ruthless review two years ago on Edel’s production of The Seagull has left them burning ever since. “Contrary to the beliefs of archaic director Edelgard Veice,” Betschen wrote, “Chekov’s works are better left boring and lifeless, not thrown into a kitschy, unexplainably Tudor delirium of color and light.”

She spotted his face in the audience opening night a year ago, received another scathing review, and has been plotting her revenge over her production. And now, that wretched man stands in front of her, alongside her darling Sujani, of all people! Sujani has no time to respond before Edel, seething, retreats back into the lobby. “I am retracting my gracious invitation!”

“Miss Edel—”

“Get him out of here!” Edel roared, stomping down the hallway in her one-inch heels.

Two humans stand in the box office of a vampire nest, hands linked. It’s a hot summer evening in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, tourists bustling on the streets and the stars shining above. “Shall we just... go?” Luca asked, clearing his throat. “I hope I haven’t upset her. That was certainly not my intention.”

Sujani shrugged her shoulders and peeked down the hall into the lobby, and then at the door marked Employees Only that led to the backstage. “Edel... tends to hold grudges for a long time. She’ll warm up to you eventually,” she insisted with another lukewarm shrug. “Hopefully.”

***

The sound of Edel’s heels clicking on the theatre floor echoed loud and clear disapproval through the walls of the theatre. She stormed past the auditorium, stomping with irate force, and up to the dressing rooms, up another flight of stairs, to where Mia should be. And, without a hint of hesitation, she slammed her fist down on the door, knocking the ancient oak with unrelenting fury. Mia swung the door open, doing up her corset, eyes wide as Edel stumbled back. “What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be with Sujani? And her… human love-friend?”

Edel slammed the door behind them and dropped down in one of Mia’s empty seat, bristling with rage and chewing on her lip.

“Edel…?”

“Do you remember,” Edel began, heated, “when that pathetic little Winterthur paper smeared my good name? That 2.5 star review? You must remember.”

“Uh, was that The Seagull, or Romeo and Juliet, or Anything Goes?”

Edel was silent.

“No, Anything Goes was one star,” Mia murmured, returning to the ribbons on her corset. When she looked up, Edel’s face was hidden in their hands. “Oh, dear.”

“She’s dating that bloody critic! That wretched critic! And they will marry and reproduce and my darling Sujani will bear wretched little critic children. Oh, Mia, I don’t know what to do! My reputation as a host will turn more repugnant than my critical reviews if I turn him away, and I will break my darling Sujani’s heart, but I can’t stand the thought of inviting him into this sacred place! This sacred place he’s desecrated!” Edel burst back into tears, taking a bloody handkerchief from Mia’s desk and blotting her running makeup.

“Don’t use that hanky…” Mia scratched her head and placed her hands on Edel’s shoulders, then leaned forward and placed her head in the nape of their neck. “My dear dead thespian. You are a wonderful host, a wonderful director, a theatrical icon, with wonderful ideas, productions… Why are you letting some breather spit on you? He’s just a breather. And you are an immortal being capable of flight, shapeshifting, and hypnosis who could suck all of the blood out of him instantly. Just some critic. And nobody cares about Winterthur, anyways. Screw Winterthur.” Mia lifted her hands off of Edel’s shoulders, working her first layer of ballgown up the crinoline hoopskirt. “Show him who’s boss. Show him those lovely host skills of yours. You worked so hard on that setup. And I saw you baking those cookies last night. See, you’re thoughtful, clever, and much better than he could ever be. No review will ever determine that.”

“Mmm. I love you.” Edel said, rising to her feet and kissing Mia on the lips, cupping her hands around her face and touching their foreheads together. Stretching out a gloved hand, she smiled and pushed the door back open. “Come with me to the breather guests?”

“Certainly.”

***

The humans had, perhaps unwisely, let themselves into the theatre. Sujani kept glancing around the many hallways, praying to catch a possible vampire before it could catch blissfully unaware Luca. He was stuffing his face with a few of the store-bought human luxuries that Edel had purchased. “Are you alright? You seem uneasy.”

Sujani shook her head and smiled. “Not exactly your idea of a date night. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I feel underdressed, seeing Miss Veice in that ballgown. That’s gorgeous. Where did she get it?” he mused. “Anyhow, I didn't really notice how beautiful this theatre is. I don’t really have the time to sit around and enjoy it when I’m here, but the architecture’s lovely.” Sheepishly, he looked down one of the halls. “May I see the auditorium?”

Sujani briefly considered a future where a mob of hungry vampires sicked themselves on her helpless boyfriend, and shook her head. “Probably not a good idea.”

“Why not?”

It was a fair question. “Technical things…” she started.

“Without a director or a stage manager?” Luca asked, confused.

“Uh…��

Fortunately, the sound of four heels clicking on the ground interrupted the conversation, and Edel and Mia appeared in the doorway. Edel smoothed her ballgown and grinned weakly as Sujani got to her feet. “My darling Sujani,” Edel began, wrapping Sujani in a tight hug and then turning her attention to Luca. She looked him up and down, and stuck out a hand. He took it, smiling shyly. “Mr. Betschen,” she said, tilting her head. “I must love you, and suit to know you better.”

“King Lear,” he correctly identified. “I shall study deserving.”

Edel eyed Sujani with reluctant approval, and patted Luca on the shoulder. She waved Mia over, who stretched out her hand to Luca. “Mia Kleinmann, my producer and my lover.”

“Mr. Betschen,” Mia said, taking his hand. “Sujani,” she greeted with a nod.

“I apologize,” Edel said, “for the rough opening. I’m happy to have you in the Theatre with me, Mr. Betschen, and I’m happy to finally meet you.”

“Please, call me Luca,” he said, taking a seat back in his chair. “I adore your ballgown. It’s so classic! It looks like a true regency classic. Yours too, Miss Kleinnman! I feel a bit underdressed, I must admit. Oh, thank you for inviting us. Sujani was dying for me to meet you.”

“Really?” Edel asked, eyeing Sujani as she forked a burnt tea cake in her mouth.

“Mhm,” she confirmed, mouth full. “Thought I’d try and ease the waters a bit, no?”

“I suppose. Nonetheless,” Edel said, drawing the curtains shut. “Pleased to have you with us, Luca. You seem a proper young man for my darling Sujani. Well-read on theatre…” She sighed and took a seat beside Mia, linking their hands together. “You know your stuff. Now, did you know I’m a playwright myself?”

“Oh? Tell me more,” Luca said, popping another tea cake in his mouth and handing one to Edel. They politely declined with a wave.

“Well—” Sujani interjected. “You know, I wanted to bring this up to you earlier, Miss Edel, but did you know Luca and I actually met after The Seagull?” She linked her hand with Luca, who grinned.

Edel raised her eyebrows and shook her head and Sujani continued, twirling her hair. “Opening night cast party. Met him in this very lobby and he took me for a drink down the street. Couldn’t change his mind on the production, though,” she said, elbowing him.

“The wheel is come full circle… Also King Lear,” he noted.

“Sujani’s third production with me,” Edel mused. “And now her eighth! Stage managing, set construction, lighting design. A real wünderkind.”

“And a wonderful costumier,” Mia added.

“You’re one lucky gentleman,” said Edel.

“Treat her right!” Mia chirped.

Sujani grinned and rocked Luca back and forth. “Oh, he’s just a gentleman. So very polite. And I love a man who loves the Theatre.”

“I live for the Theatre. Oh, I’m just some lousy critic. I hope one day I can go on the stage again,” he said, taking Sujani’s hand.

“Again, you say?” Edel asked, fiddling with her necklace.

He smiled sheepishly. “I was in some productions in grade school, and college. Mostly Shakespeare-related. I suppose I’m more techie-inclined, though, like Sujani.”

Edel brightened. “Well, you simply must try out for one of our Shakespeare productions! After my original play is staged, though. I try to cast unknowns, and broaden the scope of my casting, and—”

“Maybe not, though,” Mia said quickly.

“Yeah, maybe not,” Sujani continued, tilting her head towards a confused Luca. “Just because Edel has been thinking of staging more original plays as of late!”

“But we’ll give you a call when the Bard shows his face around here again,” Mia said with a wave. “I love producing Shakespeare. So classic.”

“Yes, so classic.” Sujani said, popping two cookies in her mouth and letting out a relieved sigh.

“Right,” Luca commented. “I’d love to be in a show again. Get a taste of your direction style from the inside. Because it’s truly unique, and very interesting,” he said, shooting a nod at Edel.

Edel cleared their throat and nodded. “Well, it’s been great,”

“Um, what?”

“It’s been great, Luca. But, erm, I think Sujani and I have some blocking to look over!” Edel said, getting to her feet. “May I walk you out?”

“I’m his ride, Edel…” Sujani said, rubbing her forehead.

“Then l will go over the blocking and you’ll look over it tomorrow! Go! Get some sleep! You hu— busy people!” Edel waved her hands and started to the door, ballgown bouncing behind them.

“Alright? Well, thank you,” Luca said, a bit startled as he hurried out, hand linked with Sujani.

“Why don’t you two visit that bar you went to? After The Seagull. Take a quick trip down memory lane! Oh, my darling Sujani,” Edel said, taking Sujani’s free hand. “May I have a word?”

Sujani looked back at Luca who shifted his weight and gestured back to the box office. Edel pulled Sujani inside and Mia appeared in the door. Luca hid his hands behind his back and stared at the pavement.

“You haven’t told him?” Edel asked.

“No?” Sujani replied, sticking her hands in her pockets. “I’m not trying to scare him off with mad ravings of vampires and the undead. I’m not doing that with him.”

“You best tell him soon,” Mia commented. “Before he figures it out. Is he into the supernatural, by any chance?”

“Not that I know of,” Sujani said. “Look, I don’t know. I’ve kept it from him this long. Well, we only started dating recently. After Anything Goes.”

“Anything Goes? Jesus. That was one star, I thought,” Mia muttered.

“Yeah, couldn’t change his mind on it. Trust me, I tried.”

Edel crossed their arms and huffed indignantly. “Well, please do tell him. Sooner, rather than later. Or just let him find out on his own. Just make sure he doesn’t have any stakes lying around. Or homemade crucifixes.”

“He’s Jewish,” Sujani replied.

“Well, still.” Edel uncrossed her arms. “Take care of it. And see me about the blocking tomorrow. Okay? I’ll see you around, my darling Sujani.”

The vampires disappeared into the lobby and Sujani exited the theatre, taking Luca’s hand. He kissed her on the cheek and tilted his head to the marquee. “They’re kinda odd, aren’t they?”

“I never noticed it.”

He pointed at the lights on the marquee, dazzling and untouched since their installation in the 1970s. “You should tell Miss Edel to turn that off. That must be a sizable electricity bill.”

“Nothing we can’t handle, I’m sure,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder and kissing him on top of his head. “Thanks for putting up with me, Theatre Kid. Want a drink?”

“For sure,” he said, kissing her back on the cheek. Taking each others‘ hands, they started down the street, the lights of the theatre behind them.

#edel veice #mia kleinmann #sujani nandasiri #luca betschen #my ocs #my writes #hello lgbt community #i have another one i'm gonna drop it rq

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jyunshiim · 4 years

Text

𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗋𝗇; 𝗋𝖾𝗃𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗌𝗈 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽༆

TW: blood

Listen to: Moonrise by Day6 | 4am playlist

➪ You wait patiently. Quarter to 7am is when you leave your mellow apartment, that you rent out, to get to your university. It was a 1 long, boresome train ride to get to Seoul University; you studied incredibly hard just to pass the entrance exams so you were always determined to be on time and not miss a day. not even one. The sun was rising, setting the city aglow and despite just being past dawn, people were bustling around in the university already, grabbing coffee from the local cafe or a sweet treat they craved that morning from the nearby patisserie for their breakfast. Seoul was absolutely magical.

8:10am: You had an early Biology lecture that morning and you barely had time to grab something energising, not even an energy drink but it was common for you to miss breakfast for the first 3 hours. The air was light and comfortable enough to walk to classes. In summer, there were clusters of sweaty students scattered on the verdant greenery of the school making it very hard to walk through. The hallways were incommodious and it was impossible to walk through without feeling the heat and stickiness of everyone skin brushing against yours and the pungent aroma of sweat. The lecturer was already in the room and a few students were dispersed around waiting for the lecture to start.You went and sat at the seat you always sit at -since first year university -and you put your belongings down on the desk and got out your textbook, small white pencil case and your apricot coloured, spiral spined notebook which you just purchased last week. you clear your throat quietly and put a strand of you dark hair behind your ear before you scroll through your phone to pass the last 10 minutes of waiting time, replying to messages from your best friends.

Coffee club-

You had a group chat with your friends; Sicheng, Hanna, Minseo, and Xiaojun. Xiaojun always treated you so politely since you were kids.you both went to the same high school and you were always seen as a cutesy couple but you both weren’t, of course.You guys were close but never shared any romantic feelings for each other, at least you didn’t. They were talking about meeting at ‘Kangmin’s Koffee’ after University; The cafe had always been a place where you all hung out after uni and shared what happened in the day over coffee. Of course you’d say yes because you love your friends so much.

10:55am:

After university, you packed up your textbooks and walked out of the lecture room sighing at your study schedule. You would notice students waiting outside the room and one of them was familiar to you,perhpas because you’ve seen him around with Sicheng and his friend Yangyang – but never actually knew his name. You signed out swiftly and walked out of campus and took a right and to the dainty little cafe cafe adorned with pink blossoming flowers and wooden chairs and tables.The cafe was opposite this beautiful florist that captivated all the local people. The flowers were always fresh and almost had a nostalgic sense to it. you just wished someone would surprise you with a bouquet but that was impossible since you never had time for relationships. Sicheng scooted up next to Xiaojun and the waitress brough over the 5 coffees that they ordered before you came. “i know you like hazelnut coffee with extra ice so thats what i ordered you,” Xiaojun smiled playfully giving a gentle nudge. You took a sip of the coffee and indulged in the saccharine coffee, the flavours mingling with one another, the caffeine flowing through your bloodstream. It was heavenly to you and only Xiaojun knew you had such a sweet tooth.

“ew stop acting like a couple,” Minseo spoke in her soft gentle voice covering her eyes jokily.

“we are not dating!” you giggle and push him away and he sits and smiles at you endearingly.

“you both look like you wanna eat each others face,” Sicheng teases and jokes with Xiaojun and Xiaojun gets defensive.

“I DONT,” his cheeks flare up a blazing red. He gets flustered and you all laugh but you comfort him. The atmosphere was entrancing, the laughter of you and your friends echoing down the bustling streets and the last bit of warmth fading into horizon along with the sunshine. September was one of your favourite months for this exact reason. Xiaojun always walked you to the train station before vanishing as soon as you board and go on your way.

You walk into your dorm. The fragrant rose scented room invited you to your cosy apartment, the white fluffy rug between your toes making you feel as if you were on a cloud, the warm fair luminescent lights hung from the ceiling giving the room a relaxing atmosphere. You sigh and sink into your mattress curling up into a ball but the chime of your phone alerted you. As you looked down at the bright screen, you drag down to see the notification. Of course it was Xiaojun.

Xiaojun: hey, get home safe?

YN: yeah i got home okay, quicker than usual to be honest

Xiaojun: okay good! what you doing now?

YN: Probably going to make dinner now, how about you? you better not be playing games again and forgetting to eat:/ make sure you eat okay

you sounded like you care too much about every aspect but it’s fine you’re just friends, you didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.....

Xiaojun: yea i will, i’m studying for my Korean writing exam it’s so hard :<

YN: you’ll do well, i promise you :< ily

Xiaojun: you too! and thanks yn i know you will always give me the support

Xiaojun offline

University was normal for the past month but as October came around, you felt this wave of motivation flood you. You wanted to change something or do something nice for yourself. A cool halcyon autumns afternoon you and your friends met again at the cafe. It was a lot breezier outside than the last month; the sky was a painted an orangey pink hue and the street lamps illuminating the streets already. Whilst walking 20 minutes earlier to the usual spot, a thought sparked in your mind. You thought to get yourself some flowers for you apartment to fit with the autumnal theme. The glass door opens and the tingling chimes sound throughout the store and a worker gets behind the counter.The various fresh floral scents wafted past you; roses, lilies, gypsophilias and other various flowers and plants. You look around to see what variety there is and what you want for your bouquet-

“hey do you need any help,” a worker speaks to you.

“i was wondering if i could get a combination of the pink roses and the gypsophilias?” You ask before whipping your head around to see a young boy, the same age as you you presumed and you paused examining his face. where have you seen him?

“wait, do you go to Seoul Uni?” you say with a sweet smile

The boy smiles and you notice his little flower brooch; Hendery. “yeah i do, I major in Media production,”

“ohh yeaa you’re in my lecture room after my Bio lecture,” you recognised him, you just never knew his name.

His dark umber hair was floppy, perfectly waved in a way which framed his facial structure. As you looked at him making eye contact out of politeness you couldn't help but notice his glossy coffee orbs and the way he smiled so.. softly. It reminded you of Xiaojun.

“ohh yeah,” he lets out a weak chuckle, “so roses and gypsophilias?” he begins to pick them up and take them to the table for the other worker to arrange them for you.

“Yes please Hendery, thank you,” you smile and go to the counter to pay for them. Of course Hendery is taking your payment. As you hand your card, his fingertips brushed against your soft skin and you retreat, panicked. He moves his eyes to meet with your and you divert your vision to none other than your phone. “Here’s your card,” he slides it across the table to avoid the contact and smiles whilst returning a small bow too. He looks up and smiles again. “ your flowers will take around 20 minutes to be arrange and packaged would you be able to pick it up soon?” he asks following store rules and protocol of course... right?

“oh yes i’m at the cafe opposite with a few of my friends so i should be able to get them!” You smile and nod your head

“ahh okay! i hope to see you soon,”

As you turn around and leave and go to the cafe opposite you can see him through the shop window mindlessly staring out of the window. You wave at him and he gives a shy one back. “yn! where’s our coffee?” Sicheng asks as he jogs over with Hanna and Minseo walking close behind him.

“oh i-” you stuttered

“she was on a secret date with someone, what’s that i smell? a new perfume,” Minseo teases

“nahh it’s definitely for Xiaojun, where is he anyway?” Hanna turns around and sees him running, holding his bag to his chest.

“s-sorry for being late,” he pants his ebony hair messy.

“why is your hair messy?” you ask fixing his hair as he sits down “ it looks cute, right guys,”

They all agree in unison and Xiaojun chuckles, “ thanks guys,”

As minutes went on, they turned to an hour. You completely forgot to pick up your flowers but you still didn’t recall until you heard rustling and a throat clear from the left of you. The group stopped talking. “uh um hey, we’re closing up now and-” he puts the flowers into your hands. “see you around,” he smiles and head off. You looked at him on his motocycle driving off and you looked back at the group smiling and whispering.

“Its not what you think!”

You friends look at you and then back at each other. “soo are you guys a thing or can i have him?” Hanna asks jokily

“NO I mean YEA I-” you try to think straight, this was really embarrassing “yeah do whatever he just happens to go to our university and works at the florist where i went to get some flowers for myself” – they all in unison said ‘ahh’.

Hendery became more talkative with you in university and as time went on you both became good friends. Hendery’s tender smile greeted you almost everyday and it was clear to see his shy barrier he had was slowly melting away to reveal his extroverted personality. Hendery was like a star beaming in a stygian night sky and his bouncy energy like a puppy waiting for a treat. Hendery had such a sweet winsome personality and you were happier than happy to be friends with him. One evening after University Hendery saw you outside waiting at the bus stop since you were on your way to meet the others at a Korean BBQ restaurant. It was colder and ever so dismal but as he walked next to you he greeted you and noticed that you were cold. “ You seem cold?” he tilts his head his soft locks being pushed back with his warm-skinned fingertips. “oh yeah well I’m a little dumb and i forgot to get a scarf or gloves. I didnt really know it’d be so cold today,” you let out a weak chuckle before rubbing your frostbitten hands trying to accumulate the body heat you had left. “Hey yn,” Hendery puts his hand on your shoulder and you feel a sudden warmth immersing you “take these,” he hands you his leather gloves “also are you sure you don’t want a lift to wherever you’re going? the buses are really full,” he informs you. You think a little bit. He has a motorcycle, you have to hold him. What will Xiaojun or the others think? You decided to take the offer. “if you don’t mind and if you’re free please join me in our meal!” you smile was gleaming and perfect. In his eyes.

You sit behind him and he hands you his helmet. “where’s yours?” you ask concerned. “oh don’t worry you wont be the cause of my death,” he jokes around “it’s not too far so we should be okay yn, hold tight okay,” he advised you. Your hands wrap gently around his waist and you felt butterflies in your stomach. Xiaojun hugged you and often playfully threw you onto the trampoline at his house when everyone was around and you were slightly tipsy. You felt a small pang in your chest. Rapidly, Hendery went from 0-60mph, zooming through the streets of Seoul. The city made you feel like you were in a movie scene running away with your true love, only right now it was a friend of yours taking you to the korean bbq place. The sun disappears and the moon replaces the suns place. The glowing orb in the sky illuminated the streets and reflected off the shop windows. It was peaceful, so serene. The abrupt stop meant that you arrived, your face slamming into Hendery’s back which made you move back quickly. “ yn, you alright there,” he smiles and lets out a little chuckle. You stutter slightly trying to pull the helmet off not knowing how you even got it on.

“wait that’s not how you take it off,” he inches closer and gets to the twisted clip that got stuck to your necklace. He untwists the necklace being ever so careful and precise. You knew for a fact your friends could see you and this ‘mysterious’ guy outside standing only inches away from each others face. This only made you think... is this how people kiss? You felt his finger lift your chin up so he could see the buckle. “ahh i see the problem,” he smiles seeing the issue. The silver chain was jammed in the buckle and Hendery was gentle with you. This was NOT what you had planned. “AH! got it, you okay?” he asks you handing the helmet on his bike. “yeah i’m okay, thank you,” you gulp and he opens the door for you and your friends all exclaimed at the fact you finally arrived. You and Hendery both sit at the table; “ohh hey Hendery i didnt know would come too?” Sicheng fist bumps him and pours him a soju shot. “ I can’t drink, i’m gonna have to drive home,” he points at his ride outside and a subltle smile paints across his face. It was a little awkward, especially because of Hanna and Minseo since they didn’t know how to keep anything lowkey. Xiaojun always put extra beef on your plate and the girls kept teasing him. “hey, shes my best friend of course i’ll give her extra?” Xiaojun chuckle and nudges Minseo. “then why don’t you act like that with me?” Minseo pouts jokily and Xiaojun sarcastically rolls his eyes “okay Miss Kim Minseo, here is your beef and an extra bit of kimchi too” Xiaojun placed it on her plate and then of course Sicheng was joking around too pretending to be the girls mocking them playfully. To you, you looked at Minseo and Xiaojun and they...looked cute together. Besides your thirsty friends and the random pit in your stomach, the atmosphere felt euphoric; drinking soju, eating luscious flavoursome food, talking and joking around with the people who you love the most. You sit and go for the water jug at the same time as Hendery and your hands collide again. why does this keep happening? You withdraw your hand away from it so he can pour himself a glass of water. “shall I?” he says holding the clear glass jug hovering over your glass and you just nod. 11:36pm. The restaurant was closing and everyone was en route home.

The onyx night sky coruscated as the heavenly bodies gleamed, the solitary moon illuminating the street you stood on along with Sicheng, Minseo, Hanna, Xiaojun and of course Hendery. “Lucas should be here soon,” Sicheng says to Xiaojun as he looks at his phone and then loking back up to the road. You all waited for each other to go home so everyone was safe especially during this time of night. “How are you getting home yn?” Xiaojun asked. You stopped bretahing for a split second, “umm i’m not too sure? I can take a night train,” you say looking for your train card. You scavenge through your purse to look for it but it wasn’t there. The paleness took over your face and you looked up in panic; “ I don’t know where my train card went?” Xiaojun looked at you and put his hands on your shoulders, “ hey, it’s okay you can probably take a taxi home or even stay with Hanna and Minseo?” you thought about that but in fact you couldn’t since the girls had a small dorm within the campus which was only enough for 2 people and there was no space for an extra person. “It’s fine, I’ll find a way home” you say a little downhearted. “If you don’t mind I can drop you home,” Hendery broke the silence, grinding the floor with his heel. Everyone glance at him as if he were some sort of hero and you were the damsel in distress needing saving - but you knew that you lived too far and this was a reason why you’d only hang out after classes. “Hendery to the rescue,” Xiaojun and Sicheng praise him (as boys do) “ We trust Hendery, he’s a safe driver,” they reassure you but all you could do is give a weak smile back and move towards the motorcycle. As he hits on, he passes you the helmet and you decline the offer, “you’re the driver, you need it more?” you insist, concerned about his safety. “yn, trust me, nothing will happen to me,” You hesitate but take it and put it on your head and sit behind him. Your arms wrap around him again and Hendery takes a deep breathe, closes his eyes for a second and smiles to himself. He starts the vehicle. “i’ll see you guys on Monday!” You say to the others, looking at Xiaojun.

Hendery drove down the incandescent streets of Seoul. Your fingertips fiddled with each other but they also rested on his stomach, the warmth of his body warmed you up on this cold journey home. For a little while, to have a break from straining your eyes, you closed them but your head unexpectedly rested in his back and Hendery’s head twitched as if he was going to turn around but he couldn’t. It was soon after midnight when Hendery arrived to your apartment complex and you felt the hasty breaks. “you’re home yn,” he says and you shake your head blinking to see your home. “ thank you Hendery, thank your for joining me for our meal i hope it was enjoyable for you,” you say handing him his helmet back and stood on the pavement. “It’s okay, anytime honestly,” he smiles - so pure. so innocent. “maybe we should get a coffee together sometime,” he blurts out unexpectedly which came to you as a shock. “of course! you don’t have my number so you?” you ask him and he shakes his head. you both exchanged numbers and you knew that he would become a part of the coffee club...

A seed has been sown – A flower grows when it has been sown deep in the ground and eventually grows roots, a stem and blossoms into something beautiful. Beautiful things have evil outcomes.

You and Hendery started talking more over text and even call and of course sometimes there would be group facetimes where he would be included too. It felt amazing to have such great people and friends who were there for you although you couldn’t help but notice one thing. Xiaojun. One evening as you were cooking on facetime, you noticed Xiaojun texting someone on his phone, smiling, but not the kind where he found something funny. The smile where someone makes your heart flutter, like it’s on a million candy floss clouds floating to - well- who knows? You didn’t want to poke your nose in his private life but since you were kids, you told each other everything? whether it was embarrassing or not like the one time you fell in a puddle because you were too scared of a bee.

“hey Xiaojun,” you say as you go closer to the webcam “why you so smiley for?” you sounded a little passive aggressive but you didn't mean to.

“Just talking to someone,” he smiles but that’s all he says and your friends notice.

“Hey yn, wanna go to the new boba themed cafe tomorrow?” Hendery asks

Sicheng gasps “OIOI let me come as well,” he says.

Hanna frowns “ I have a Liberal arts examination tomorrow after uni, I can’t go but i hope you have fun! i’ll go next time,” she smiles.

“how about you Minseo? are you free tomorrow too?” Sicheng asks whilst tackling his puppy that was trying to eat his phone.

“I have to help my mother.. with groceries” she nods with her sweet smile.

“what ‘bout you,” Sicheng tries to get Xiaojun’s attention

“o- OH me, I cant tomorrow sorry~”

You had to go offline. You declined the call without notifying that you’re going offline.

That night as you sat on your phone on your chat with Xiaojun wanting to rant to him you stopped and deleted the message and slammed your phone down on your bed. Your chest hurt really bad, was it your asthma acting up again? You try to sit up and search for your pump in the bed side table where you put all your medication for easy access although when you used it, it didn’t work. Maybe you were just exhausted so you needed to sleep. Your phone chimes, it was Hendery:

Hendery: Hey, you alright? you seemed off on facetime and then left

YN: not really...

should you lie?

YN: just going through a stressful time

HENDERY: do you wanna talk about it? i’m here to listen to you

YN: thank you but i’m not feeling well right now and i was half way through making dinner and i just can’t be bothered to continue. I wasted so much....

HENDERY: if you want i can help you out? I know Hanna has to study, idk about Minseo, Xiaojun has guitar practice now and Sicheng has dance rehearsals

YN: thats what they said after i left right?

HENDERY: yea and I’m free so

YN: I mean if you want i dont wanna force you

HENDERY: anything for a friend

The fact that a new friend care about you more than your best friend who you knew since preschool

HENDERY: I’ll be there in around half an hour what’s your house number?

YN: ahh okay, I can pick you up from downstairs

HENDERY: okay that’s fine :D

Hendery offline.

That evening when Hendery arrived, he brought extra snacks and ice cream as well as soju. “H-” you were cut off by him. “I know you like soju so let loose a little” he smiles “you didn’t need to buy me so much?” you exclaim. He goes over to your hob to see that you’re making cheesy tteokbokki with some ramen and were also half way through making a kimbap. “Easy meal, i can make this” he continues from where you stopped from. You kept looking at your phone to see if you got any notifications.. none. But you tried to forget about ti since Hendery was here to keep you company and you had someone to eat with. You felt suffocated so you opened your window a little to ventilate your apartment and you took a pump of your asthma pump and assisted Hendery with the food. The aura was serene and everything felt bright as if the stars had lowered themselves for you tonight. The food had been plated and the drinks were poured into glasses and you both sat on the couch facing the tv watching a show. “how you feeling?” he asks. You noticed that he asks you that quite often? why? “A little, you’re a good chef!” You compliment him and as you do you see his rather charming face glow up. Your phone chimed and you reached over for it and see the notification; “who is it?” Hendery asks, curious if it’s one of the others. “Oh, it’s just Xiaojun I don’t know what he wants right now,” you unlock your phone and read the message;

XIAOJUN: wyd

You felt your stomach spiralling viciously. were you about to throw up? Your chest began to hurt with affliction.

YN: nothing hbu

XIAOJUN: I was talking

YN: to?

XIAOJUN: a friend of mine

YN: since when were you so interested in this friend that you’d ignore us on face time

You could feel it was getting harder to breathe and your cheeks were burning up red. “hey yn, you’re going red? easy slowly you might choke,”he coughed

XIAOJUN: why are you so passive aggressive? if i’m annoying you i can go

YN: and talk to this friend, okay

XIAOJUN: ??

YN: nothing, I’ll go back to hanging out with Hendery, at least he cares.

XIAOJUN: you’re with Hendery!! Since when were you and him a thing! I’m happy for you :D

YN: we’re fucking not. he’s my friend... it’s a shame how my childhood best friend doesn’t give a fuck about me

yn is offline.

XIAOJUN: yn? what? what happened what did i do

XIAOJUN: lets talk this out

XIAOJUN: hello? come back online, i do care.

XIAOJUN: yn...

xiaojun is offline.

You threw your phone on the floor and got up leaving your food on the table and going to the bathroom. Quickly you knelt down at the toilet bowl and your stomach heaved what you just ate and not only that a bunch of water. It wasn’t bile, you knew what bile was but this was pure water that exited your body. You began to get chestier coughs and in this time Hendery knocked on the door. “ yn, you don’t sound well, do you want me to help you? can i come in?” Thats exactly how Xiaojun would speak to you and how much he cared for you. Your night was crashing down on you like an asteroid destroying everything that night. Hendery opened the door and saw you dangling over the toilet bowl having difficulties breathing and your cheeks tear stained. “oh my god, yn-” he rushes to get to you and tries to pick you up but your mind was a mess and your previous memories disrupted the present. “XIAOJUN GO AWAY!”

“Hey, yn... I’m not xiaojun I’m Hendery” he says gently trying to solace you. He was understanding and heartfelt. He had all the qualities that Xiaojun has to make a perfect best friend. Eventually you got to your bed with Hendery’s help and he cleaned the apartment up for you. He went into the bathroom and you heard the tap running but even closer he was heaving too? Maybe it was the cheese? who knew.. “ hey yn, if you need me you’re free to call or message me anytime okay,” thats what Xiaojun said too once. You nod and he leaves the apartment until the next day.

The growth of roots 11:43am: You had your early morning lectures and you sat on the University steps on your phone since.

MINSEO: hey where are you?

HANNA: library studying :/ hbu

MINSEO: looking for Xiaojun

MINSEO: and yn + sicheng

HANNAH: ohh okay, Hendery?

MINSEO: ohh yeah i forgot about him

HANNA: where’s yn?

MINSEO: idk??

XIAOJUN: you lot spam, i’m coming out from the back entrance, i’ll be there

*seen by yn*

XIAOJUN: i see you lurking yn

YN: okay

XIAOJUN: aren’t you meeting with your boyfriend

MINSEO: boyfriend???

YN: Hendery is not my boyfriend, can you fucking not :)

yn has turned off her activity status...

Xiaojun taps your shoulder and smiles at you profoundly and offers you a hand to help you up. “what are you doing here alone?” Xiaojun asks despite you going off at him. “i dont know i wanted to be alone?” you scoff as subtle as you could. “ well Xiaojun is here now,” he says as he wraps his arm around your waist but it felt different.. to you at least. His flawless smile made you forget why you were mad at him in the first place; as you begin to walk your phone chimes.

HENDERY: hey where are you? I’m waiting at your bus stop :D

YN: i’ll be there soon sorry for making you wait

HENDERY: it’s okay :D x

As you got to the main road, Xiaojun still had his arm around and Hendery called your name from afar but as he saw you both his smile dropped into a frown. Did you plan something without telling him to stitch him up? You writhe out of Xiaojun’s arms but he grabbed your arm. “where you doing?” he pouted and that was it. “w-with Hendery,” you gulped but your skin felt as if it were on flames and your lungs were clogged? you brought your asthma pump today too just incase. “oh yeah, he’s taking you out,” Xiaojun nods “ Have fun,” he suddenly drops your arm. You walk to Hendery not wanting to look back but Hendery saw what he saw and he didn’t want to say it....yet. That afternoon the boba shop with Hendery was diverting, it was a shame that it was just you two though...

9:21PM: you sit at your dining table and scroll through your phone before you see a photo of Xiaojun on your feed but you thought nothing of it and scrolled past it. A painful knot began to grow within your lungs? what was this pain? You didn’t know what it was but the pain was just unbearable. It was difficult for you to breathe but you used your asthma pump but it didnt work this time so you ran to the bathroom again and your couldn’t help but throw up again but this time it was strange? There were red petals and leaves and peculiar vine looking things which startled you and couldn’t stop. The feeling was worse than last time, this time is felt tighter; there was was no scientific meaning behind this. You sat against the bathroom wall and pondered who you should tell? Maybe you’d keep it to yourself since no one would believe you right and claim that you’re making it up for attention, at least you hope they wouldn’t think that. You help your phone between your trembling hands, you were terrified. Coughing was painful; it was as if tiny thorns impaled you lungs and tight vines and roots were wrapping around it more and more every day. The question is, why? The whole night you sat in your apartment alone and agony. Help me.

Your mind echoed with theories and conspiracies, were you a mutant? a glitch? or was this all a dream. The December Christmas festival was a big thing in Seoul so everything was decorated in red, white and green with snowflakes and mistletoes hidden around the street where the Cafe was. The tinsel glistened in the fairy lights swathed the tall street lamps as well as the shop windows. It was Christmas day the following week and your friends organised a small Christmas party just amongst you and your friends and they decided to book a Karaoke room and then go to your apartment since you were the only one who lived alone. “what do you think yn? are you okay with the idea?” Minseo asks her pretty dusty pink lips pouting at you. She looked twice as pretty today; her hair was loosely curled, her eyes glittering soft pink and champagne, her lips a dusty pink and her clothing all neat and pretty. “yeah, that’s fine” you nod looking down and feel you coughing start up again covering your mouth “ excuse me..” you blurt out before running to the bathroom and locking yourself in a stall. “what happened?” Hanna asked confused and concerned “should we go to check on her?”. “I think she’s feeling unwell but we can go,” Minseo adds on and Hanna immediately gets up. Meanwhile, whilst you were coughing up blood, petals and full flower buds excruciatingly your phone chimes.

XIAOJUN: hey, are u at the cafe with Minseo and Hanna? Sicheng and I are around the corner.

you ignored it since your excruciating pain didn't allow you to respond to him. Your eyes tear up smudging your eyeliner and staining your cheeks. Once you felt okay enough to leave, you fix your makeup and open the bathroom door. Opposite was the mens bathroom and you saw Hendery walk out too, brushing his thumb over the corner of his lip. “are you okay?” he asks looking at you noticing you were crying. “ i’m fine, just don’t feel well,” you lie “ your eyes are red? are you okay?” you ask him. There was a short silence. “just choked....on a hazelnut,” he responded. You knew he was lying but he knew you were too. December 24th 5pm the group met at the karaoke bar and went into the room they booked. It reminded you of your first year at university when it was just you and the girls; it was the first time you got drunk and had to crash at Hanna’s mothers house (of course she stayed with you). You all sat around the table and you were wedged between Xiaojun and Hendery. Great. Hanna and Sicheng picked a song and of course it was Girl Generation, Hanna’s favourite. You sat there next to Hendery and Xiaojun and Hendery tapped your shoulder to break you out of your dazed state. He slid a small shot glass across the table and you took it before choking on the pungent alcohol. “WOAH WOAH slow down yn, you normally never drink this quick or like this,” Xiaojun takes the shot glass from you. “and people change best friend,” you shrug his arm that sat on your shoulders off “ Hendery, please can you pour me an-” before your coughing began acting up again although this time you couldn’t run out since you were stuck between them; you felt liquid rise up your throat and thats when everything was out of your control and you coughed up blood, water buds and petals again and everyone gasped in shock and horror! “y-yn...” Xiaojun, Hanna and Minseo stopped and stared at you whilst you were trying to get rid of the flowers and buds. Hendery however put his arm around you and covered you and whispered something to you...

“hey, breathe slowly, it’s okay..” his mellifluous tone calming you.

“should we give you some space?” Xiaojun asks as he moves to sit next to Minseo and gave you and Hendery some space. Your heart ached and you closed your eyes and leaned into Hendery’s chest and he let out a small gasp. Hanna and Sicheng were back to the karaoke so the terrible singing, except Sicheng, drowned out the intrusive thoughts. Hendery hesitated putting his arms around you to form a hug, but he did anyway and comforted you. Around 7:30pm it was time to go to your apartment for the gift exchange for the secret santa you all organised. You had Xiaojun. oh the luck. Recently he hasn’t been acting the same and a pit fell in your stomach. You all sat in a circle. You sat next to Sicheng and Hendery this time. Xiaojun sat next to Hendery and Minseo. Sicheng gave his give to Minseo which was a fluffy pink purse like bag she had been wanting for months now and her face began to glow, the lights doing her all the justice. She was just... ethereal. you compared yourself to her a lot. “OMG Sicheng thank you so much I’ve been wanting this for so long” and hugged him. Next it was Hanna to Hendery; he unwrapped the gift and it was a silver plated rose pin. “ I didn’t know what to get but you work at a florist and seem to like flowers a lot,” She let out a soft chuckle. “ Its great! thank you!”. Minseo got Sicheng and got him a silver ring which looked rather expensive. You hesitated to give your gift to Xiaojun. You bought him a pair of shoes he has been wanting for a while and you wrote in your card;

‘ I hope we can step we can walk through everything together and not miss a single milestone.’

He smiles at the card - “ me too, let’s be friends even after we’re married,” but you know what he meant by that. Lastly it was Hendery. He gifted you a jewellery set which were little daisies made of silver as well as a little note inside

‘ You look absolutely beautiful in silver, I hope you wear these and think of me, Hendery x’

“Thank you so much Hendery I love them so much!” You smiled at the gift.

That evening as everyone drank hot drinks and played games together, you noticed something. Something about yourself. A deep desire that had been whirling in you mind and heart for the longest time had finally arisen and you decided that it was true. You look at him. His ebony locks neatly sitting over his forehead, his guitar bag on his back, his pearly white smile- everything about him. But he’s your best friend? you cant fall for him. This is what your heart was striking itself over and over again; your own best friend and your forbidden feelings for him. It all made sense. Whenever your eyes collided it felt like a million fireworks exploding into the sea of darkness, illuminating the void in your vacant heart making it feel vivacious. Your emptiness felt revived whenever he touched you, or your stomach would flutter when he would speak to you; his mellifluous voice echoing in your ears. That was it. You were completely in love with Xiaojun. It made sense after all these years you would grow such strong emotions for him and it was obvious now that you liked him. Perhaps he had the same feelings for you too since thats how he would act around you with all the holding and intimacy between you both and how he would care about you so much. You were certain of it. As you thought to yourself whilst in a room amongst your buoyant friends, you thought that perhaps you could confess to him. Now? okay maybe not now... maybe ask him to hang out after Christmas day? it was the best option. Eventually, as it hit 4am, everyone dozed off on the floor, couch and armchair. Xiaojun was curled up on one side of the couch, his arms hugging a cushion of yours and Sicheng on the other side. Hanna slept on the arm chair, Minseo slept against the sofa and Hendery slept on one side of your bed. Everywhere was occupied and you had no choice but to use the unoccupied space on your bed but it was fine he was your best friend so it was normal; you did this with Xiaojun and the girls multiple times.

You waited a while until New Years Eve to do what you have been planning for the remaining time that was left between Christmas and NYE. There was a firework display that was over the Han river and you and your friends went to see it. It was colder during the night time so you wrapped up warm and everyone was so effervescent and laughed together drinking sparkling Champagne or Prosecco. You stood next to Xiaojun and tapped his shoulder however he was too focused on the drink and on someone else talking to him. It wasn’t easy to hear each other since people were bustling around from town to the river. “Xiaojun!” you shout so he can hear you and he turns around smiling, his cheeks flushed a light pink. Everything seemed... different. He was glowing, his lips were a blushing pink, his skin like smooth glass. Everything had seemed to have enhanced? “I want to tell you something,” you say to him, a knot forming at your throat and you struggle to gulp your nerves. “ What is it?” he asks you lowering himself so he can hear you. His face was only inches away from your face and you wanted to do it, you really wanted to but you waited until 12am. “I’ll tell you after t-the countdown,” you stutter. He nods in confirmation and goes back to the group. Hendery talks and smiles with Sicheng but there was a fragment of pain and suffering in his eyes and you could tell when someone was hurting from a distance. He asked Sicheng to hold his drink before he went elsewhere.. did you want to follow him and ask hi if he’s okay or should you wait and tell Xiaojun how you felt. You chose him instead...

There was 1 minute left. You waited for the countdown. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

You look for Xiaojun since he wandered off closer to the front of the river. You run through the crowd of people but stop. Everything darkens. You feel empty. It felt like you feel out of heaven and everything was taken away from you. The heavenly passion, the sweet intentions you had vanished; Destroyed into an abyss of torment and pain. You felt the tear of you heart. I’m sorry. you tell yourself. You wish you didn’t have to witness what you did but.. well.. you did.

Xiaojun stood there smiling ear to ear. The smile was sweet but you never saw him smile with so much admiration and love in his gaze before. You froze and watched what was happening, the pain in your heart only getting increasing worse and worse restricting you from breathing more. You see the girl he was looking at and it was none other than Minseo... His blushed lips pressed against her peachy toned lips, Minseo tip toeing to reach him and put her arms around his neck. He lifted her by the waist and the both giggled into each others kisses. You had it. You couldn’t do it anymore. Maybe it was time for this to all stop once and for all. Xiaojun comes up to you and sits beside you. “hey yn, what were you doing to tell me earlier?” he asks tilting his head back so his locks were pushed back from his face. “oh,” you pause. What else do you have to lose? “X-Xiaojun...” you stutter and he nods. “I-I loved you,”

Your heart stopped. It skipped a beat.

“huh?” he asks “you love me,” he chuckles “I’m glad you had the courage to tell me that yn but-” he gulps and smiles again “I love someone else...”

You didn’t know what to say but your tears took over. Hendery wandered around looking for you and saw you sobbing and Xiaojun not knowing what to do. He runs up to you; “ Yn? hey you okay, whats wrong,”. You didnt speak but just cried. “why is she crying?” Hendery asks Xiaojun concerned. “ I told her I love someone else... I didn’t know she liked me” Hendery stopped whilst holding you. “she liked you?” – rejection never tasted so good.. right

Now there were thunderstorms within Hendery’s mind and heart as well as yours.

Everything went black.

You woke up. The bright light blinded you and you blinked hard to see where you were but the pain in your chest was.... gone. “how long has it been?” you ask a nurse in the room. “hmm 4 days,” You were shocked. “did i get surgery?” you ask. “ yes there was a peculiar blockage in your lungs and we had to remove them,”

You were pain free.

“ someones here to pick you up though,” The doors open to Hendery and Xiaojun. “Hey how are you now,” Xiaojun asks “I’m sorry about New Years, It’s just me and Minseo hung out once and there was this feeling i never had, i’m sorry i lead you on”

you thought for a bit. “I never liked you like that? I didn’t romantic feelings for you,” Hendery turns around and nods but leaves. “i’ll be back,”

“but you told me last night you did? i’m confused,” Xiaojun thinks

“oh, well i don’t,” You shrug

Hendery comes back and tells you both that it’s time for your discharge.

Months pass as everything is back to normal except one day.

It was a refreshing spring day, the blossoming flowers glided through the spring breeze as the sun light cascades onto the viridescent greenery. You sit outside and always waited for your friends and always complimented how Xiaojun and Minseo looked, despite the memory that had been removed from your heart and mind. Hendery gave Xiaojun a small box and a card to give to you on your birthday; “ make sure she gets these on her birthday,” he tells him “i’ll be out of town for a while....” he lied but Xiaojun didn’t know but agreed to do what he asked. But as days went by a member of your friendship group vanished. Where did Hendery go?

One evening, you received a small box and a card with it on your birthday.

“ To my one love YN,

Since the second year of university when i first laid eyes on you I couldn’t control my feelings for you. You swept me away. I’m sorry I couldn’t spend your birthday with you but i had something i had to take care of. I have something important to tell you and that is you did love Xiaojun and whatever pain you felt was something i felt too.... for you. But getting the buds, vines and thorns removed it also made you lose all romantic feelings. Im sorry but I couldn’t see you in pain anymore. But i’ll be back... and hopefully my feelings wont get in the way anymore.

-Hendery”

The silver rose was placed in the box. Hendery loved you? A rush of guilt and sadness flood through out you and now you were worried about him. He was in more pain than you were but he was strong and endured it just to make you happy. Because despite him being in pain, your happiness made him feel at ease. You called, messaged, you did everything you could. No answer at all. He disappeared. No sign of him at all and all you have left is a silver rose..

Where did Hendery go?

#hendery #wayv hendery #wayv x reader #wayv #hanahaki #xiaojun #sicheng

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xmxisxforxmaybe · 5 years

Text

Okay

Summary: Rami needs his brother to make him feel okay after the intensity of filming Mr. Robot, Episode 407.

A/N: Well, this is a bit of a grey area for me because Sami isn’t a celeb; however, the muse bit and she would NOT let go. Also, if you haven’t read @bohemian-napsodyy‘s HC about the Reader x Rami on set during Ep 407, do it. Their Anon beat my own muse by a few hours 😉

Warning: Spoiler-ish for Mr. Robot, Episode 407

When Sami stepped off the plane, he grimaced.

The air inside LaGuardia was stifling, almost putrid compared to the air of his west coast home. Sami hated coming to New York City in the summer, but when Rami had called and asked him to hang out for a few days on the Robot set, there was something in his twin’s voice that Sami couldn’t ignore.

“I’m supposed to come in July, Ram. School just let out. I’m exhausted. Are you sure it can’t wait?”

“Uh, well, uh, I don’t know. I guess so,” Rami had stammered.

Sami knew there was something his brother wasn’t telling him, but why he wasn’t telling him was what concerned him.

“Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Rami said immediately, and Sami knew that the vulnerability Rami had just let slip was being hurriedly caged away. He could practically hear the door slamming shut as Rami changed both the subject of conversation and the tone of his voice. Sami knew his brother better than he knew his own self.

And that was the thing with being an identical twin; they were quite literally your other half, and even though at times Sami wanted nothing more than to knock his brother senseless, he loved him with a depth that few could ever understand.

When they had hung up, Sami was still uncommitted to visiting the Robot set early, but an unease settled in the pit of his stomach and didn’t let go until he texted his brother later that night to say he’d catch the first flight out in the morning.

Rami’s reply was short, a simple “OK,” but Sami could feel his brother’s relief and knew it was mirrored in the way his own body had relaxed when he finally sent the text. It didn’t matter that they were literally on opposite ends of the country, 2,800 miles apart; Sami always knew exactly what Rami was feeling.

Despite having worn sunglasses, a hat, and earbuds, Sami was approached three times as he navigated his way through the crowded airport, remembering another reason why he hated New York City. In LA, people just didn’t approach celebrities like they did on the east coast, and they especially did not give a shit about the brother of a celebrity.

The first person to approach was someone who recognized him as “the other one” once they got close enough, and then comically turned on their heel and tried to walk away as if they hadn’t just made a beeline for the wrong twin.

Next, it was by someone who knew exactly who he was and asked for a picture anyway.

And finally, it was by someone who, despite his protests, insisted that Sami was Rami, clearly preparing for a new role. Sami shook his head and smiled for the camera, thinking Rami’s people would have fun with that one if it picked up any traction online.

The taxi ride to Rami’s apartment in Soho was too long, but Sami caught up on his texts, first making sure to tell his mom he had a safe flight.

Sami paid for his taxi and made his way into the building that housed Rami and a few of the other cast members, including Carly. Sami liked Carly and hoped to run into her even though his visit was going to be a short one. She never failed to tell some sort of embarrassing story about Rami, which Sami mentally tucked away for the times when Rami would get his head stuck too far up his own ass.

Rami was still on set, so when he knocked, the door to the apartment was opened by one of his brother’s assistants. It was still strange to think about the level of fame his brother had achieved. Rami had always done too much, had always been totally in control of his career, but that way of life was now forgotten, rather it had to be forgotten because way too many people wanted a piece of him now.

Sami honestly didn’t know how his more introverted brother handled it—the press, the fans, the relationships he had to build and maintain, and then the work itself. Being a teacher was hard, thankless, and often emotionally draining. But at the end of the day, Sami got to stop, got to be himself free from most societal expectations and got to hide himself away able to function in unnoticeable ways, unlike Rami.

And it bothered Sami to know that his twin was struggling to adjust to his new life, too. He felt even more guilty for hesitating to come for a visit when it had been so long since he’d even seen Rami.

Sami had seen more of Rami inadvertently than intentionally since winter. He’d walk by magazines in the grocery store or pop online and see images of his brother, exhausted and unhappy.

“Rami has a bit of a long shoot in Central Park today, but he should be home around 7. I know he’s going to be glad you’re here,” this woman Sami barely knew said.

Fuck. A stranger knows more than I do, Sami thought as he gave her a smile. He didn’t miss the way she looked at him—the same way most people who knew his brother first did. They see the resemblance and wonder just how alike the twins are.

As Sami settled in and walked through his brother’s somewhat sparse, definitely lonely apartment, he worked to stifle his guilt. It wasn’t like he could just take a few days off and follow his brother around the world. When a teacher took a day off, it was usually more work than it was worth.

Sami flipped through Rami’s mail before opening the fridge and finding next to nothing inside. He rolled his eyes, and despite his distaste for New York, Sami was glad he came. Clearly, his brother needed him, even if he wasn’t able to say those words.

* * * * *

Sami had visited the Robot set quite a few times over the years, but he had never been to set on a day like this. The entire atmosphere was tense; it felt like something dirty had slid under his skin and stuck there, and after awhile it began to pulsate until its presence couldn’t be ignored.

Rami had explained that this was it; today’s shoot was the culmination of all of Elliot’s suffering, and Sami could clearly see just how invested everyone who worked on the show was.

When Rami emerged from his dressing room, no longer his familiar twin, but as Elliot Alderson, Sami gave him a small smile which Rami returned before he wiped his features clean again, fully Elliot in an instant.

From his perch behind one of the cameras, the assistant director was watching the screen with their eyes glued to it. Sami had the luxury of looking between the screen and the set, and the luxury of letting his mind wonder. It was so strange to hear the scene delivered with the scuffle and echo of noises that would be removed during post-production. And even eerier to watch without the carefully scored background music.

Sam said, “Cut,” for the umteenth time that day, which gave Sami time to stretch, moving around to observe the other actors.

Rami had kept himself isolated today, talking only to Sam between takes. There was no joviality. Normally, Rami would be watching the playback or offering a critique, and on easier days, playing a joke on someone, or laughing about some awkward quirk of his that belonged to him and not to Elliot that he needed to erase for the next take.

Sami watched as the makeup crew rushed in to touch up the character of Vera, making his brow even more sweaty than before.

Sami found this amusing because the same effect could be produced for next to nothing by simply opening a window and having the actor stick his head into the New York humidity for two minutes.

Hollywood was weird.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his twin begin to bounce back and forth, heel to tow, before he broke out into his signature jog in place.

Rami settled in and sat down on the sofa across from Elliot’s captured therapist.

This was it.

Sami watched with wide eyes, not even realizing he was holding his breath as Krista peppered Elliot with questions—the questions that were leading him to his monster.

As Elliot began to remember, Sami forgot he was watching his brother, his mirror since birth, and felt himself completely lost in Elliot’s revelation, and Sami even stuffed his fist into his mouth to tamper down the groan of horror that threatened to disturb the entire scene.

Sami felt like he had experienced something transcendent, and instead of calling cut, Sam just walked up to his Elliot and put his hands on his shoulders; it took a few moments, but then Rami melted into his director and rested his forehead on Sam’s shoulder as he talked softly to him.

Sami swiped at the tears he hadn’t even realized had fallen, unable to take his eyes off his brother, wanting nothing more than to comfort him and bring him back to just being Rami.

But there was another take. And another.

“I can do it better. I can do it better,” Rami repeated, pouring drops into his eyes to clear the redness from crying to restart the scene.

By the fifth take, Sami was uncomfortable. His brother was pushing himself too hard, taking longer and longer to collect himself between takes.

Sam was behind the camera, his face serious, and he had his assistant get Sami.

“We’ve got the take, but he wants to do it again. He won’t listen to me.”

Sami glanced at the screen and watched the tears fill his brother’s eyes and knew that Rami had nailed it on that very first take. But he also knew that his brother had been carrying around the character of Elliot for years—he owed everything in his life to Elliot because if it wasn’t for this show, Rami would still be the weird kid who was in The Pacific and the funky little pharaoh who was in Night at the Museum, recognizable, yet still struggling for success.

Rami came out of the dressing room, once again looking like he hadn’t just performed the most gut-wrenching scene television had ever seen.

“I’m ready,” he said in a voice that said the exact opposite.

Sam said, “We’ve got it Rami. No more.”

“I can do it better.”

“Rami, it’s done. You’re done,” Sami said stepping toward his brother, grasping his shoulders and forcing him to look at him, really look at him.

Rami turned his eyes on his twin and blinked slowly.

“Done?”

“Done, Rami. You fucking nailed it.”

Rami took a shuddering breath and swayed on his feet. His eyes filled with tears so quickly it took Sami and Sam both by surprise.

Sam reached over and grasped Rami’s shoulder.

“You’ve done Elliot justice. We can see every thought. Feel every feeling. It’s brilliant—you were brilliant.”

Rami swallowed and gave Sam a heartfelt nod before Sami walked his brother back into the dressing room.

As soon as the door shut, Rami broke.

Sami was there to catch him, to hold onto him as he purged the emotions he had built up during Elliot’s revelation.

Neither of the twins moved for a long time, stuck together like they had been their whole lives, drawing comfort from the other’s warm presence.

Sami finally spoke in his mirror voice that was just a bit higher than Rami’s.

“You realize once this airs you can tell everyone who said you won an Oscar for lip syncing and wearing fake teeth to eat a dick?”

Sami felt his brother suck in a laugh, his shoulders shaking slightly under his hands.

Rami pulled away to look into Sami’s eyes, mirror eyes of the same undefinable hue as his own, eyes that never looked at him as some sort of other, a celebrity, an actor, a movie star. Sami only ever looked at him as Rami.

“Thanks for being here.”

Sami sighed, a soft smile on his lips as he pulled his scrawny brother in for one last tight hug, the unspoken you’re welcome settling over Rami, letting him know he was going to be okay.

#rami malek #rami malek imagine #Elliot Alderson #mr robot #mr robot season 4 #guest starring sami #we love our twins

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alia15 · 4 years

Text

Turning Over a New Leaf

My house is cleaner.

I’m more relaxed.

More productive.

More active.

Dare I say...happier?

Happy? In this climate?? How does one go about finding this happiness I speak of?

Well, for me, it was simple. Set an alarm.

I know, I know: what a concept. But something happened to me about a month ago and I realized that I had a lot of problems, stressors and time management issues in my life....

And I was to blame.

The thing is, I didn’t know I was to blame. I blamed my Microsoft Outlook Calendar which is jam-packed every single weekday with meetings and calls. I blamed the steady stream of emails that flowed into my inbox every minute. I blamed chiropractor visits twice a week that I had to work into my busy schedule. I blamed weekend plans and obligations and errands and everyone...but myself. Because while all the things I listed are very real, there was one person getting in the way of finding free time and well, “me” time, and that person was me.

So, I decided to make some changes. I don’t know about you, but when I make changes, I really MAKE them. They have to be well thought-out and documented. I started thinking about all the factors that were causing me grief and stress over the last few months, and tried to address them:

That’s some set of rules.

I put my money where my mouth is and instead of just making a list of goals on my iPhone’s Notes app, I actually...did the things. I set my alarm for 7am every day. I don’t have to start working until about 9ish, so that was going to give me some extra time to do... WHATEVER. Anything. Even if it was spacing out and having coffee while watching Saved by the Bell reruns, it was better than what I *had* been doing, which is laying in bed until about 9:00 (er, 9:15 some days) and then scrambling like a mad woman to start my day. Frantic. Aggravated. Rushing.

And, for what? I work from home now, and likely will be for a while. Why was I torturing myself? How many days could I get out of bed late and then turn on my computer only to realize I had a meeting in 15 minutes? How many days could I spend sitting at my desk working, and ONLY working all day, realizing when I signed off later that I never really moved much, never went outside, never took a real break?

It was unhealthy, and it made me unhappy.

I also started to wonder why I was getting out of bed so late, ESPECIALLY since my body clock typically wakes me up around 7:30 or 8:00am. If I was up, why didn’t I...ya know, get up? Physically?

I knew why.

The damn phone. We all do it. We wake up, and before anything else we grab that little device that connects us to the world with the touch of a button. What news alerts do I have; what happened overnight since I went to bed? What’s going on in Twitter World? What’s trending? Let me check Facebook and see whose birthday it is! Let’s scroll through Instagram and Tik Tok and Snapchat AND OH MY GOD IT’S 9:20???? How the hell did an HOUR AND A HALF go by??

Nope. No more. I made a ‘rule’ that I’d set an alarm, and even if I needed a few minutes (or hell, 30 minutes) to lay in bed before getting up, the one thing I could NOT do is scroll through my phone. And guess what? It helps. IT HELPS A LOT. Let me tell you all the things I did this morning: Wednesday, October 14:

dusted & cleaned some windows

rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes

threw in a load of laundry

had breakfast (hard boiled eggs & some turkey bacon) and coffee

caught up on the morning news

got ready for the day: makeup, outfit, hair

started this blog post

And I did this all before 9am.

The catalyst for making these changes happened one weekend in September when my parents were here helping me out with some outdoor cleanup and gardening. They were so helpful in undoing some of the damage Leo and I had done over the summer: we had overgrown plants, weeds, a messy/sandy deck, and we needed some serious ASSISTANCE. And while I appreciated the help, I also felt guilty. Why hadn’t I taken care of this myself? Why did I keep hearing the same phrase come out of my mouth multiple times that day while my parents were over?

“I don’t have the time.”

That was my response when I was asked why I don’t go to Home Depot to get some new outdoor fall stuff. That was my response when asked about watering plants or plucking weeds out of the ground. I DON’T HAVE THE TIME, OKAY?! I AM A VERY BUSY WOMAN!!!

And, I am. We’re all busy to some extent. And sometimes, it IS hard to find the time for things: house things, chores things, exercise things. But you CAN make the time. You can better USE your time. Since I’ve been getting up earlier each weekday, I’ve used those hours in the mornings for productivity quite often. On weekends, we’ve taken the free time we DO have (before or after plans we might have) to do the things we don’t get to during the week. Just this past weekend, before going to my sister-in-laws house to celebrate our birthdays, Leo and I went to a local preserve in our town to get a walk in. On a recent Sunday when Leo was watching the Jets, I did a LONG OVERDUE closet organization. For me, personally, spending my limited and precious free time on my phone or watching TV makes me feel shitty. Sometimes it’s okay, but I’m generally a happier person when I feel like I’ve gotten things done.

Oh yeah, and I’m happier the more I MOVE. This isn’t about weight loss or some unhealthy diet culture; this is about overall physical and mental health. Look at how little I moved in August and September. I felt it.

Let’s be real: this year has been TOUGH. We’ve had to make so many adjustments to all the curveballs tossed our way, and we’ve had to navigate the countless changes. But, despite how long we’ve been doing this whole corona dance, it’s never too late to pivot and turn things around. Since March, I’ve been trying to find ways to better myself and find ways to improve my daily life all while working around a challenging work-from-home sitch, a bad back, and a bunch of other obstacles.

This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and I know everyone is different, but if you’re anything like me and think you can benefit from some inspo, great. I wrote this post in hopes that I’d potentially motivate someone to make a change that could help make them happier. The few times I’ve shared this with people -- in person or on social media -- I usually get a response along the lines of “I need to start doing this.” Or, similarly, a coworker/friend recently DID take my advice, and wrote me to tell me:

...am I a self-help guru???

Bottom line, take care of yourself. I know it’s hard, and sometimes it takes some effort. But it’s important: especially in a year like this one.

Stay safe & healthy!

-Ali

#self help #motivation #inspiration #health #wellness #mental health #happiness #productivity #organization #2020 #pandemic

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pancake-man · 4 years

Text

i’m already cursed

This is my Pinescone Secret Santa for Pamela @ladynightmare12 ! She gave me the prompt Fairytale and I instantly knew what to do. I’ve been wanting to write something for this song for so long! Thanks so much, I hope you enjoy it!

Here it is on Ao3!

Story below the readmore!

Lyrics and Inspiration: Fairytale by Alexander Rybak

Years ago, when I was younger,

I kinda liked a girl I knew.

She was mine, and we were sweethearts.

That was then, but then it's true.

Two children, hair wild around their heads like messy halos, dirt clinging to the edges of their clothes and mud stuck between their toes. Smiles on their faces growing as wide as their eyes at each new thing. A stick bug looking for food. A deer stepping lightly through a forest. The call of a bird, shrill and loud above the gentle sounds of the forest.

Dipper’s cap is long forgotten. He doesn’t need to hide, not out here. His birthmark is clearly visible, freckles in an odd pattern, connected by a shaky line of pen. Wirt says he looks cool.

And Wirt, forever cold, even with the warm sun beating down on their backs, closed up in his cape. The ends are frayed and covered in burs, but the blue stands out brilliantly against all the green. Dipper doesn’t ask. It’s not important.

It’s a summer of laughter and running wildly through the woods, shouting Catch me, catch me! And hiding in thickets. Neither of them wants to leave.

But growing up is impossible to avoid, and both have their responsibilities. Dipper packs up his gap-toothed grin and Wirt abandons his dissonant laughter. The wind is ready for winter, and they say see you later! instead of goodbye.

I'm in love with a fairytale

Even though it hurts.

'Cause I don't care if I lose my mind.

I'm already cursed.

Sometimes Wirt is there. Sometimes he isn’t. Dipper is thirteen, his voice hoarse from changing hormones and from screaming into the silence hoping for some kind of response. He thinks he sees blue through the leaves, but it’s the sky, and he wants to give up.

A childhood of silly games and happy giggles is a fading memory. Dipper wonders if he dreamed it.

The awkward smile seems like a curse, haunting him at the back of his mind when he wonders what he did wrong.

Dipper has never been one for sitting around doing nothing, so instead he does something. He picks himself up and starts writing. He documents the way the temperature seems to drop around certain parts of the wood. He illustrates in rapidly-improving style the odd twists of the trees. He finds the money for a library computer pass and does whatever research he can. Maybe he doesn’t have time for anything else. He knows it’s worth it.

Every day we started fighting,

Every night we fell in love.

No one else could make me sadder,

But no one else could lift me high above.

Dipper is fifteen. Two years of research have given him a book of matches and bags beneath his eyes. The forest seems colder than he remembers when he steps into it for the first time this summer. Nine months of seasons and he still knows where each root and rock is, carefully making his way to the center even when he can’t see his feet.

The match casts shadows over the trees around him, turning the knotted wood into pained, twisted bodies, calling out for his help. Dipper isn’t there for them.

He steps closer to Wirt’s favorite tree, a towering mess of tangled limbs and leaves. The blaze of the match is nothing compared to the blaze of his eyes.

“Please,” comes the voice from behind him. Dipper spins around, his match extinguishing. In the shadows he can only make out the vague shape of a cloak. “Don’t do this,” the voice whispers.

“Why not?” Dipper asks, arms crossed because even if he can’t see Wirt, he knows Wirt can see him, and it’s important that Wirt know how pissed he is.

There’s a pause. “You know what I am, then?”

“I have an idea,” Dipper says, and it’s so hard to keep malice in his tone when Wirt sounds like that.

Wirt sighs and his shadow melts a bit. “I’m sorry, I couldn't-”

“Sorry?” Dipper interrupts. He actually wasn’t expecting an apology. “You abandoned me. You lied to me!”

“Lied? I never-”

“‘See you later’, that’s what you said. It’s later, Wirt! And I can’t even see you!” Wirt’s outline shrinks a bit. “I want more than ‘I’m sorry’, now. I want an explanation.”

The silence of the forest becomes deafening for a long moment. Dipper has to cover his ears, and then Wirt is speaking again. “Come again tomorrow, in the day. I’ll… explain what I can.”

“No,” Dipper pulls his hands from his ears. “Everything.”

“...Right. Everything.”

I don't know what I was doing

When suddenly we fell apart.

Nowadays I cannot find her,

But when I do, we'll get a brand new start.

Wirt isn’t there the next day. Or the next. Dipper’s research stagnates, and then one of his journals is lost when a leak in the ceiling soaks the pages beyond legibility. He’s seventeen and walking through the forest when he should be somewhere, anywhere else. He’s given up on seeing Wirt, but something about the air still calms him the way Wirt’s smile always did.

Dipper is eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Every summer he still goes back to the forest. He talks out loud to the rabbits, the raccoons, the birds. He tells them about his life, how he’s doing, asks if they could please let Wirt know he’s okay. Dipper is studying mythology now. He wants to be a researcher. The things he found on his hunt for Wirt lit something within him, and he regrew his passion into something more… productive. Dipper sits on a log, his head in his hands.

“Please, Wirt, I don’t…” Maybe he’s finally going crazy, talking to open air like this. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand, but I want to. I miss you. Wirt..”

Dipper imagines the hand on his shoulder, and dreams the cold comfort he gets from it.

I'm in love with a fairytale

Even though it hurts.

'Cause I don't care if I lose my mind.

I'm already cursed.

The forest is no place for a home, not for him. Not for someone whose clothes and hair and mannerisms are all manufactured, manmade, fake. But Dipper stays close, his useless degree at least getting him a job as a forester. He clears fallen trees, checks on the wildlife, chases away hunters(not that the forest needed any help with the last one) and more than anything, he talks to Wirt.

Occasionally Dipper needs extra cash, and he’ll venture into town for odd jobs. The people trust him with their work and nothing else. The crazy man who talks to the trees he lives with. Dipper is fine with that reputation.

And with time, he’s happy. The forest is calming and protective of him. People are difficult and scary. More and more of his home leaves the grid, until he’s surviving on rainwater and old logs for firewood. He knows Wirt keeps him safe. Wirt is the one who leads him home when the skies darken, or to bushes full of berries when he’s hungry. Maybe he can’t see Wirt, but he’s there, in the trees and in Dipper’s heart.

She's a fairytale, yeah.

Even though it hurts.

'Cause I don't care if I lose my mind.

I'm already cursed.

Dipper hardly notices as he becomes more and more a part of the forest. Leaves in his bed in the morning likely blew through the cracked ceiling, or twigs caught in his hair are from midnight walks through the wood.

His face sags with content wrinkles and his hands grow knobby. Checking on the trees becomes painful as his joints creak and scream. He fashions a cane from a branch left on his doorstep. Pamphlets advertising retirement are promptly burned. Dipper is old, and in love, and happy.

Soon it isn’t skinned rabbits or firewood on his doorstep. It’s Wirt, his age indeterminate. He’s older than Dipper remembers, though he has the body of a young twenty-something. The only tell of his true age are the bags hanging heavy beneath his eyes.

“You came back,” Dipper says.

“I said I would,” Wirt replies.

“It’s time then?”

Wirt nods. “Is there anything you’d like to say goodbye to?”

Dipper looks about at his home, a rundown cabin on the brink of collapse, nestled on the edge of the forest he loves so much. “No.”

Wirt hums, sways awkwardly. “Are you ready?”

Dipper smiles, and seeing this Wirt relaxes. He smiles back.

Two men, boys, friends, lovers, soulmates meet in an embrace as warm as the sun and strong as the trees. Years of waiting, loving, proving themselves worthy.

The townsfolk tell stories of the crazy old man who protected the forest. He talked to the trees, they say, and one day he disappeared. His body was never found. The people know the rules: Never enter the forest alone. Never hurt a living being within the forest. Never disrespect the trees.

#ladynightmare12 #pinescone #pinescone secret santa 2019 #pinescone secret santa #dipper pines #gravity falls #wirt #over the garden wall #dipper gf #wirt otgw #fanfiction #i hope u like this!!!#larquill

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suitofvibraniumarmor · 4 years

Text

Small Town Girl

Summary: Sometimes when you want someone, you have to prove it to them. Pairing: Chris Pratt x Reader Word Count: 2160 Warnings: None, unless you don’t like fluff! Challenge: This is a transfer from my multi-fandiom blog. I wrote it a while back for Ash’s ‘90s Challenge. My prompt was Shape of My Heart by BSB – I went more with the spirit of the song. @captain-s-rogers

The summer day was cool, even for Seattle. Chris zipped up his jacket and continued his trek from the pier where the ferry had docked, to the farmers’ market he visited one or two weekends every month. Sometimes he brought cuts of lamb to barter for other products, but today he came with only his backpack and his wallet.

Customers and merchants alike were bustling around the market. There wasn’t a bad time to be part of the crowd, but Chris always preferred to come out mid-morning so that he could get his purchases done and return back to his home on San Juan Island to enjoy the rest of the day.

“Mr. Pratt, I have fresh spinach bunches, just for you!” an old man called to him.

Chris smiled and made his first stop of the day at Mr. Lewis’s greens stand. “You’re too kind. Thanks for setting them aside for me.”

“Of course, of course,” the elderly man replied. “Have you seen Y/N yet today?”

“Just arrived, actually,” Chris said, chuckling through the slight blush that dusted over the tops of his cheeks. “She busy today?”

“As always,” Mr. Lewis replied.

Chris nodded and handed the man a couple of bills to pay for the spinach. He put the paper-wrapped vegetable in his backpack. He waved to Mr. Lewis and promised to stop by on his way back to the ferry.

As he made stop after stop at various stands, filling his backpack and visiting with the regular vendors, Chris took his time getting to Y/N’s stand. She sold flowers mostly, but occasionally set out fruits and vegetables if she had an overabundance from her garden. He had met her on her first day at the farmers’ market, fell in love with her laugh the first time he heard it, and did whatever he could when they crossed paths to make her smile. Her flowers often graced his kitchen table, giving him justification to think about her on the days between his visits to the market.

Mr. Lewis wasn’t the only one aware of his attraction to the woman, thanks to several inquiries Chris had made during his first few visits after meeting her. He hadn’t been told a single bad thing, and had mustered up the courage to casually ask her out for dinner — a few times, actually. Despite his persistence, Y/N always laughed him off, told him the joke was going to get old one day, and to let her know when he found an actress or singer or someone else in the entertainment industry that had captured his heart.

Until he figured out how to convince her that he was serious, he would just have to make due with seeing her during these visits to Seattle.

Backpack almost full, Chris finally made way to Y/N’s stand. She smiled and waved her acknowledgement of his while she finished up with a couple of customers, then sauntered down where he was checking out her selection of dahlias.

“These are even fuller than your last batch, I think,” he mentioned.

Y/N nodded. “I’ve been singing to them.”

“Really?” Chris raised his brow.

“No,” she laughed. “The whole crop of them would be dead if I did that.”

Chris laughed with her. “Well, you got me. How’s life, Y/N/N?”

She shrugged. “Life is life. I plant, I grow, spend time with friends and family. The usual. Oh! I only had a couple of extra heirloom tomatoes, and you’ve got to take them home. They’ll go with anything, but I’ve been eating them on their own, actually.”

Y/N busied herself with searching through the crumped paper bags with her belongings, coming up with two, plump, bright red tomatoes. She handed them to Chris, and he pointed to the dahlias.

“I’ll take a bunch of those, too.”

“Tomatoes are on the house; five for the dahlias.”

They finished out their transaction, Chris put the tomatoes in his backpack, and kept a careful grip on the dahlias. He opened his mouth to say something more, but Y/N cut him off.

“No.”

Chris frowned. “No, what?”

“Chris,” Y/N sighed. “You’ve been coming to my stand for almost four months now, and every time you’ve asked me to dinner, I tell you no. Thanks to Mr. Lewis, I’ve caught on that you’re not joking, but I still think you’re crazy. I’m happy to see you when you come by and I —” She held up her hands and shook her head. “Anyway, the point is, you deserve better than me. You’re way out of my league.”

“That was very honest,” he said, not sure what to make of her answer.

Y/N shrugged. “I’m an honest person.”

Gripping the dahlias a little tighter, Chris leaned forward and spoke so only she could hear him. “You and I are not a crazy idea, and I’m going to show you how serious I am. Just you wait and see.”

He held her gaze a moment longer, then sauntered back towards Mr. Lewis’s stand for some help with the plan already forming in his mind.

* * * * *

Y/N was packing up the few vegetables and flowers left on her table at the end of the day, ready to get home and relax, when Mr. Lewis approached her.

“You had a successful day, it looks like,” Mr. Lewis commented.

Y/N smiled and handed him the last bundle of dahlias. “For Mrs. Lewis — and you’re right, I did have a good day.”

Mr. Lewis smiled his appreciation. “Sophie will love these for the dinner table. Oh, speaking of dinner … this is a huge favor to ask, but I do hope you’ll humor an old man. The church Sophie and I attend has a father-daughter dinner every year, but my daughter isn’t able to attend this year. It’s tonight, which I know is last minute, but perhaps you’d accompany me?”

Y/N smiled. “Of course, Mr. Lewis. I don’t usually make big plans after farmers’ market day, anyway.”

“Then I’m in luck.” He waited for her to write down her address, then tucked the paper safely into his pocket. “I’ll see you just before seven, my dear.”

“I’ll be ready.”

The two friends said their see-you-laters before parting ways. On her way home, Y/N mentally flipped through her closet, deciding which dress would be most appropriate for the event. She wouldn’t have much time to get ready by the time she got home, but she would make it work.

* * * * *

Y/N smoothed out her yellow dress, primped her curls, and checked her makeup in the hallway mirror before answering the door for Mr. Lewis.

“Ah, you look lovely,” he complimented. “Ready?”

Y/N nodded, accepting the elbow he offered to escort her to his car; she noted that he was still in the same clothes he had been wearing at the farmers’ market and felt over-dressed. Not wanting to be rude, Y/N kept the thoughts to herself, instead engaging in small talk with the older man as he navigated through Seattle traffic.

“Mr. Lewis?”

“Yes.”

Y/N bit her lip, hesitating in asking the next question. “I don’t mean to seem rude or anything, but — this seems like the way to the farmers’ market.”

“Yes.”

Y/N frowned then. The man was being tight-lipped for a reason, she was now catching on. The conversation stopped as she tried to figure out what in the world was going on. She didn’t get to wonder for long as they were pulling into a parking space at the market, and Mr. Lewis was coming around to open the door for her. She stepped out and her attention was caught by the candlelight in the distance.

“Go ahead, dear,” Mr. Lewis encouraged. “And hopefully once you’re completely in the know, you’ll forgive me for this little trick. I’ll wait here in case you don’t want to stay — although I’ll be very surprised if you don’t.”

Fear never crossed her mind, only confusion. Y/N made her way across the market lot, towards the candlelight. Her breathing was heavy as excitement took over her emotions; she still didn’t know what was happening, but her interest was piqued enough to keep moving towards the candlelight.

There had to have been at least one hundred candles lit all around the area of the market where she set up her booth. The overhead lights helped, but the candles were what gave way to the whole set up: a table for two with a pretty tablecloth and two tall candles, dahlias in the middle of the table in a pretty vase, and a chair on either side of the round table.

Y/N swallowed hard, as it seemed no one else was around, except for one man standing off the to the side in a suit, with a towel over his arm — obviously in the role of a waiter. When no one else appeared, she took a deep breath.

“Hello?”

Movement to her left caught her attention; Chris stepped out from behind a market banner. He was dressed in a button-up shirt, dark jeans, and dress shoes. Y/N couldn’t help but smile.

“You,” she grinned, shaking her head.

“Me,” Chris confirmed, approaching her. He shoved his hands into his pocket and shrugged. “You wouldn’t accept a dinner date with me, and I get your reasoning, Y/N, but I had to prove to you that I’m serious.”

Her smile fell a little as she remembered her reasoning. “Why? Why me? This is all … it’s amazing — that seems like an understatement. This is the most romantic gesture of my life, okay? But I’m … I’m no one. I moved to Seattle from Small Town, Nowhere, and I live a quiet life here. Your life is — it’s big. It’s bigger than me.”

He pulled one hand from his pocket and interlaced his fingers with hers. “I don’t care about any of that, and I hope someday you don’t, either. Right now though, I’m not asking you to figure out how your life fits with mine. I’m not asking you to marry me or to even start some long-term thing. I can’t say I haven’t thought about that — the point is, I’m just asking you to have dinner with me. One meal. Then we can take it from there. As long as that dinner’s with you … that’s all I need, it’s all I want.”

Y/N couldn’t tell if she was hyperventilating or had stopped breathing all together. Though his words were charming, there was no ulterior motive behind his speech; no intentionally greased words to convince her to have dinner with him. Only true and genuine desires.

“You really were serious before,” she said, squeezing his hand and taken by slight surprise as the lump in her throat.

“Yeah,” Chris said, his other hand coming up to caress her cheek. “I was.”

Y/N let out a deep breath, blinking back the happy, excited tears that were pooling in her eyes. “I don’t want to jump the gun or anything, but if you kissed me before dinner, I wouldn’t be upset. You know, if you’re okay with that.”

Chris smirked. “You kidding me? I’ve been waiting months to kiss you, Y/N.”

He dropped her hand and reached around her waist to pull her flush against him. He caressed her face again as he pressed his lips to her, softly at first, and then with more earnest as both arms encircled her. Y/N’s hands had started on his shoulders, but slowly moved up behind his neck as the kiss deepened.

Before the kiss could turn into a full-on make-out session, the waiter cleared his throat. “Pardon me, but your meal is getting cold, Mr. Pratt.”

Chris cleared his throat and nodded at the waiter before looking back to Y/N. “Guess we should eat, huh?”

She giggled, wiping at her smeared lip gloss. “Guess so.”

The food was delicious, and the conversation even better. By the time Chris and Y/N parted ways — phone numbers exchanged and a second date planned — hours had gone by, and all of the candles had been extinguished by light breezes as they came through the market. Y/N had called a cab to take her home, and Chris waited with her in the parking lot until the yellow car arrived.

“Sure you won’t let me take you home?”

Y/N shook her head. “Just dinner, remember?”

Chris took a deep breath and let it out. His own words were coming back to bite him in the ass. “You’re right. Just dinner. And … another kiss?”

Y/N glanced in the driver’s direction as she leaned with one hand on the open car door. “Okay, but the meter’s running.”

“I’ll give ‘em my card,” Chris whispered before touching his lips to hers once more.

* * * * * * * * * *

Tags: @captain-s-rogers @the-murder-strut-murdered-me @xtina2191

#marvel #fanfiction #chris pratt #reader #reader insert #chris x reader #chris pratt x reader #fluff #chris pratt fluff #chris pratt x reader fluff #chris fluff #chris x reader fluff #random post

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greennct · 5 years

Text

johnny in a café

look at his lil face in this photo eye- !!!! anyway i love johnny i love cafés here u go i guess :))) i feel like this went on for so long i had to end it where i did, but it seems kind of unfinished to me, so if u want a part ii, lmk! 💞💖💘

(1.8k words, fluff, johnny makes a dick joke, swearing as you can tell lmao)

song rec: coffee break by lucas & jonah nilsson y'all know i had to

To be completely honest, you had never really cared for kpop idols.

Don’t get me wrong, you didn’t have anything against them, you had just always been too busy with your schoolwork to genuinely pay attention to one particular group, and aside from the huge hits which came on at every party, you couldn’t say you knew very much about the industry as a whole. It wasn’t that you disliked them, you just didn’t know enough about kpop to formulate an overall positive or negative opinion.

Maybe that was why your friend Minhyuk tolerated you working in SM’s café. He had scored the job there a few summers ago (”Due to my charming personality and unparalleled good looks,” he had informed you), and you were the only one in your friendship group that he had let in on the secret, presumably because of your indifference towards the company. You had been looking for a place to study in peace close to campus ever since your college days had commenced, and you decided that the café was an adequate spot. Since Minhyuk knew you weren’t concerned with idols’ lives, he was confident you wouldn’t cause trouble, and convinced his manager to let you stay there for hours, so long as you gave him a ride home at the end of his shift.

Although it was usually annoyingly busy, filled with tourists and teenagers attempting to spot their favourite members, and the coffee was watered-down Starbucks-esque bullshit, the seats were comfortable, and walking there took less than five minutes from your lecture hall. As long as you kept your head down, and your headphones in, you found the place was tolerable, and after a while you grew to harbour a small affection for the pink walls (although you never got used to the huge posters of the SM idols boring holes into your forehead that were replaced every week).

Unfortunately, your uninterrupted bliss was not destined to last. The end of your study salvation came in the form of a tall, permanently smirking idol, who suddenly started gangling through the café at least once a week. Whilst most of the idols who frequented the café came through as surreptitiously as they could, cap pulled over their head, mask pulled to the side as they stage-whispered their order, this boy was the complete opposite. Rattling off his group’s order ostentatiously, he made sure to send frequent winks over his shoulder at the fans almost weeing themselves at the sight of the back of his head.

The first time he came down, there were so many squeals you took out your headphones in alarm, afraid the fire alarm had gone off, or there was some other emergency. Fortunately, it was only the boy who had caused the ruckus, and you couldn’t help but to roll your eyes slightly at all the fuss.

This was probably your first mistake.

It seemed no one else in the café had noticed your unimpressed expression, apart from, strangely, the boy himself. To your utter surprise, he sent a wink directly your way, and a finger heart a few seconds later, when he realised that instead of being met with a scream, you had just frowned slightly. The ‘fanservice’ was uncomfortable for you, not only because his sudden attention drew others in the café to look at you, but also because, well to be frank, you had no idea who he was. You didn’t have a clue what he did. For all you knew, he could’ve been a particularly attractive manager the fans had taken a liking to.

Nevertheless, you simply shoved your earphones back in, and got on with the rest of your work. He returned the very next day. This time, the café was less crowded, so though there were still some scattered gasps and shrieks when he walked in, you could keep your headphones in. You made sure to keep your eyes glued on your screen for the duration of his visit, pointedly ignoring him in hopes of avoiding contact with him this time. When he left without acknowledging you, there was a fleeting moment of disappointment. You put it down to lack of sleep.

The boy didn't return for the rest of the week, and to be honest, you kind of forgot about the noisy kpop idol, mind more fixated on your looming midterms. It was only when Minhyuk practically yanked you over the counter the following Thursday morning, that he even crossed your mind again.

“Guess who asked for your name this morning!” He hissed, eyes wide.

It was clear from your deadpan expression you weren’t about to start listing possible culprits, so you were given the answer practically immediately.

“Johnny Seo!” Minhyuk gaped at your blank face. “Okay, I knew your kpop knowledge was bad, but how can you not know who NCT are?!”

Clueless at his indignant expression, you simply scoffed, grabbed your coffee cup from his hands, and sat back down, ignoring his protests, begging to show you “Just one music video!” No matter how curious you were as to who this Johnny might be, as long as you had exams, you did not have time for boys, famous kpop idol or not.

After a few hours of studying, you finally cracked. You reasoned with yourself that surely a quick Google wouldn't hurt during your 15 minute break. 40 minutes, and about 300 open tabs later, you had to admit, he was cute. Somehow he managed to look both sweet and sexy at the same time, exuding the cocky charisma that had irked you the first time you had saw him. You decided he looked less annoying when he wasn’t able to open his mouth. Planning to focus on his group’s discography next break, you were just about to close the browser window when-

“Hey.”

Slamming your laptop shut, in a desperate attempt to hide your browser history, you kept your eyes focused on your shoes. Having just watched an interview, you knew exactly who the voice belonged to.

“Hi, Johnny.”

“Oh, so you do know who I am! Guess you just got a little starstruck last week, huh, babe?”

Your nose crinkled at the sentence. No matter how good-looking Johnny was, there was no bigger turn-off to you than rudeness.

“I had other things to do. Bigger fish to fry and all that.” You kept your tone curt, still avoiding his gaze, unable to trust yourself to not accidentally reveal what you had just been doing for the good part of an hour.

“Pretty sure the biggest fish around here, is uh, standing in front of you, if you know what I mean.”

Your nose crinkled in disgust. Ugh. If you’re going to make a dick joke, at least make it funny, or at least, have some semblance of logic within its reasoning, you thought.

He chuckled, seemingly unfazed that you weren’t joining in with his laughter. “Well, listen, babydoll, I’ve gotta run, star member of the world’s biggest boyband and all that, but why don’t you take this,” he slid a note onto your textbook with a set of digits on it, “And give me a call. Whenever.”

With that, he was gone. You could finally lift your head up. Sighing, you picked up the scrap of paper Johnny had left. There was a fleeting moment when you considered selling the number, but you ended up just tossing it into the bin, pointedly ignoring Minhyuk practically hyperventilating in the corner over the interaction between you two.

Thankfully, Johnny didn’t come in for a few weeks after that. You began to think you were safe. You had realised the boy had started weeping up on you in small ways. You no longer scoffed when you saw billboards with his face on it, started listening to his music when studying, even wondering what he was up to from time to time. As far as you were concerned, the further away Johnny was, the better.

As soon as you began you relax again, Johnny turned up.

“You didn't call.”

He seemed confused, towering over you once again. You considered pretending to have not heard him, after all, you still had your headphones in, but eventually decided it was better to just reject him as early as possible.

“You didn't ask if I was going to. You just gave me your number.” You accused, practically ripping the buds out.

“Well, I didn't think-”

“No. You didn't.” Turning back to your computer, you were about to resume your music, when you realised he was still talking.

“But... Why not?” His voice faltered slightly, though you had no sympathy for him.

You scoffed, twisting in your chair, rolling your eyes right at him. “Because, though it might seem crazy to you, Mr. Seo, not every person on the planet is head over heels in love with you!" Your voice got louder, and you cursed yourself silently for being so easily riled up by him.

To your complete surprise and utter frustration, Johnny simply laughed at your little outburst, previous blip in confidence nonexistent. “Not yet they aren’t.”

You cursed how obvious your blush was. It completely undermined your statement, and both you and Johnny knew it.

He slouched off, sending a lopsided smirk in your direction as you groaned. You were going to have to find a new café.

As much as you hated to admit it, Johnny did start to creep into your thoughts more often. You kept frequenting the café, despite telling yourself that you needed to find a new one, and didn’t care for the tiny shiver of adrenaline every time you heard the gasp of someone recognising an idol. You were surprised to find yourself dismayed as the time started to stretch between Johnny’s last visit.

Running your hands through your hair, you sighed, unable to focus that evening. It had been a stifling afternoon, and since the cafés air-con had broken, you were literally the only customer in the entire building, trapped into waiting until Minhyuks shift ended. Sighing for what felt the the thousandth time today, you read and re-read the introduction to your essay, unable to be productive at all. You were ridiculously distracted by that stupid boy! Maybe you should take another class, you considered, your brain seemed to have a lot more free time than you liked. All you could think about was whether or not Johnny was in the building, whether he forgot you, whether he thought about you, what he was doing right now, why-

“Feeling as sweet as you look, Princess? Because let me tell you, it’s not exactly a pretty sight to-”

This time, upon hearing Johnny’s voice, you were shocked to have to suppress a smile. Distance really did make your heart grow fonder. There was no denying it now. You liked Johnny, the most obnoxious, self-absorbed person you knew.

“Never call me Princess again.” You deadpanned, figuring it was safest to ride out your surely temporary crush on Johnny, until he had moved on and you were safe to study in peace.

“Sure, Princess.” You tried not to notice how nice the word sounded when he said it. “Are you free?”

“What? W- why?” You prayed Johnny hadn’t noticed your stutter.

“Why not? I wanna take you on a date. Nothing’s stopping me.” A pause. “You aren’t nervous, aren’t you?” Of course he had picked up on it.

“Of course not!” You found your voice again.

“Okay, then lets go!” He reached for your hand, as if the matter had been settled.

“Excuse you? I have work! Essays and projects and a million other things that I need to do!” This was a lie. Your latest piece of homework was due in two weeks.

“So what I’m hearing is... later.”

“Whatever.”

“So, that’s a yes!” He whooped, grabbing you out of your chair and spinning you around.

Your face had never been redder in your life. Spluttering, you managed “I didn’t- I wasn't-”

“Oh, but you did! You were! I knew you couldn’t resist me!” Johnny crowed. With that he practically sprinted out of the door, and you were left flushed and wondering what in the world you had just agreed to.

Johnny didn’t come back to the café for another four weeks. You found it morbidly ironic that the when you finally decided that you wanted to see him, he was nowhere to be found. You ended up staying later than you needed to, having finished all your work and instead pottering around on your laptop, glancing around the café every few minutes. However, Johnny started to become more and more elusive. You tried to reason with yourself that since he was an idol, he had an extremely busy schedule, and even if he wanted to take you out, he couldn't. You knew he had a comeback coming out, as the promotional posters for it had been stuck all over the building. Yet as the distance between his last visit stretched longer and longer, you wondered whether you had imagined the boy’s interest after all.

Of course, after all your agonising and pining, you didn’t even notice Johnny when he actually did come into the café. Your headphones were in, as usual, attempting to drown out the boy talking loudly on the phone next to you. A light tap on your shoulder made you jump out of your skin, your terrified expression automatically melting into a smile when you saw who had been the culprit of your shock.

“Johnny!” You beamed.

“Woah, don’t look too happy to see me! I won’t be able to recognise you, from the Ice Princess you were last week.”

Wrinkling your nose slightly, you shot back, trying to distract from your flustered face “Four weeks ago, was the last time you saw me, not last week.”

“Not that you’re counting.” was the cheeky reply.

You chuckled. Touché.

Johnny flipped the chair opposite you backwards, sitting with his two legs resting comfortably on either side of the back of the chair, leaning on it’s top rail with his broad chest. You couldn’t help but notice how endearing his boyishness was.

“So, are you free now, Princess? Still up for the date I was promised?”

“Uhh...” You pretended to check your calendar app. “I guess I could spare an hour or two.”

“Wait, seriously?!” Johnny almost fell of his chair.

“You act as though I didn’t agree to it the first time you asked me.”

“I know, I just didn’t think you were actually serious! I mean,” You raised your eyebrows. “Well, we both know you’re out of my league!” It was his turn to flush. You were shocked by his words.

“You. An idol. A person whose job it is to look attractive. Thinks that I. The most average person you will ever meet. Is out of his league.” Your voice and expression were so deadpan, Johnny leaned over the table to ruffle your head affectionately, giggling.

“You’re hilarious, see? That’s what I’m talking about.”

You stood up, slinging your backpack over your shoulder. “Let's go, Seo.”

“Hey, that rhymed!”

You forgot to roll your eyes, too busy blushing when Johnny brushed your shoulders with his fingertips, wordlessly taking the bag from you and shifting it onto his back instead.

“C’mon, Ice Princess. Let’s go someplace with real food. The coffee here is awful - I only came down here to talk to you, anyway.”

#johnny #johnny seo #johnny nct #nct #nct 127 #nct fluff #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct fanfic #nct 127 fluff #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 scenarios #johnny imagines #Johnny scenarios #johnny fanfic #writings

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angsty-nerd · 5 years

Text

Echo-inspired Season 1 Playlist

So I’ve been meaning to share this for… a really long time. But I’m kind of glad that I waited so long because I found a bunch more songs to add and ended up doing an edit on this playlist this weekend, so this is where it landed. It’s a bit of a beast—40+ songs. (And it’s my shorter Echo playlist… I have another one I’m still playing with that has all of these, plus the show’s soundtrack songs, plus recommendations that I’m still considering for future Echo use…so this is the reasonably lengthen one…haha). If you just want to go to Spotify and check it out, here’s the link.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/14ZIHN2MwjfgFbA6yF3RAO?si=5vPkiahyQw-voaZjqMLWsw

If you want to read my rambles about the progression of the songs and why I picked them, along with some lyrics from each one that make me think of Echo, that beastly monstrosity is below the cut for you! Here’s just the track list:

1. Armor - Sara Bareilles 2. People Need a Melody - the Head and the Heart 3. A World to Explore - Joshua Radin 4. Missed Connection - the Head and the Heart 5. Summer Years - Death Cab for Cutie 6. It’s OK - Natalie Taylor 7. Something American - Jade Bird 8. Anchor - Novo Amor 9. Harvest Moon - Neil Young 10. Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band 11. Silhouettes - Oscar Blue 12. The Storm - The Airborne Toxic Event 13. The Space Between - Dave Matthews Band 14. Walls - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 15. Ruins - Jade Bird 16. The Last Time - Taylor Swift feat. Gary Lightbody 17. Run No More - the Talbott Brothers 18. Wild Heart - Bleachers 19. Dream - Bishop Briggs 20. Lullaby - Lord Huron 21. Watch Me - Labi Siffre 22. Grew Up Fast - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 23. 17 - Jade Bird 24. Your Hurricane - Death Cab for Cutie 25. Lose that Light - Folly and the Hunter 26. Such a Simple Thing - Ray LaMontagne 27. Make These Colors Real - Hush Kids 28. Surrender - Natalie Taylor 29. I’ll Be Your Mirror - Clem Snide 30. Courage - P!nk 31. Easy - Camilla Cabello 32. Day Too Soon - Sis 33. Truly Madly Deeply - Yoke Lore 34. Side by Side - Layup 35. Electric Love - BØRNS 36. Duet - Penny and Sparrow feat. Stephanie Briggs 37. Atlas: Two - Sleeping at Last 38. Another Story - the Head and the Heart 39. Come to this - Natalie Taylor 40. Six Feet Under - Billie Eilish 41. Hello My Old Heart - the Oh Hellos 42. Poetry by Dead Men - Sara Bareilles 43. Recovering the Satellites - Counting Crows 44. The Chain - Ingrid Michaelson

PRE-SHOW

1. Armor - Sara Bareilles

Stolen from Carina’s Liz mix, and obviously heavy on the Ortecho vibe in general. I might associate it a little more with Rosa back in the flashbacks, being proud of Liz and protective of her.

You think I am high and mighty mister Wait til you meet my little sister

2. People Need A Melody - the Head and the Heart

This song just gives me images of Max sitting at home over the years, listening to music, and then Bright Eyes comes on and it just takes him back to that day in the desert when he was lucky enough to be openly in love with Liz for one day before everything went to hell. 💔

All those books in your head, Is that all this really was? Just a role you play that you could hide behind Is it what you want? To bury yourself away Before your time goes I don’t want a love that holds us back I don’t want a life that I can’t have

Cause people need a melody to open their eyes Like a key to a memory frozen in time Holding onto everything, you’re stuck in the past Boy, when you gonna learn the world moves fast?

3. A World to Explore - Josh Radin

Liz leaves on her road trip, pushing the past away, and moving forward into her new life.

Yesterday rains came Everything’s changing The past has closed its door Well I know there’s something more I know there’s so much more So far to go On this open road, a world to explore So far to go On this open road, away we go

4. Missed Connection - the Head and the Heart

Somewhat self explanatory, I think. Mostly I just think of Max staying in Roswell haunted by all of the what ifs, and how close he and Liz came to being something real.

Did you find what you were looking for? Had to open every single door I get the feeling you’ve been here before From a missed connection Don’t tell me I lost a step Criss-crossed in the wrong direction Found myself in a conversation From a missed connection

5. Summer Years - Death Cab for Cutie

This is, like, my #1 Max over the 10 year gap song. I just hear him all through it, haunted by Rosa’s death and the coverup, heartbroken by Liz’s sudden departure, and trapped in his life.

Sometimes I’m overcome by every choice I couldn’t outrun… And I wonder where you are tonight If the one you’re with is a compromise Cause we’re walking lines in parallel That will never meet and it’s just as well

6. It’s Ok - Natalie Taylor

You know in the pilot, Max says he used to think about what he’d say if he ever saw Liz again. Meaning he didn’t really anymore. Meaning at some point he let go of the hope of her returning to Roswell. That’s kind of where my mind goes listening to this song.

It only hurts me to live this way Holding on to yesterday… Close my eyes, you’re gone And I’m the only one still holding on It’s ok I’ve got to let you go

7. Something American - Jade Bird

I have an old-school song fic just waiting to come out inspired by this song… I hear a lot of different things in it. Mostly I hear Max and the memory of Liz and Cameron in it. With a little bit of Kyle thrown in too.

In my dreams I find The stars align and they all collide And it’s you and I back in time It feels so right But you don’t call me now And I don’t think too much about you When she’s not around I can feel you’re lonely

PILOT

8. Anchor - Novo Amor

Max’s reaction to Liz finally coming home & hoping she’ll stay.

I hear your ship is coming in Your tears a sea for me to swim I hear a storm is coming in My dear, is it all we’ve ever been Anchor up to me, love

9. Harvest Moon - Neil Young

Max gets that brief smile on his face when he’s watching Liz dance in the Crashdown, before he lets her know he’s there. And this is what I hear going through his head in that moment.

When we were strangers I’d watch you from afar When we were lovers I’d love you with all my heart… Because I’m still in love with you I want to see you dance again

10. Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band

It honestly took me a long time to get on board with adding this one, because it’s such an important OG Max/Liz song. But a while back in one of her Q&As, Carina said that if she could give the pilot a title it’d be this, and even with this different version of Max and Liz it still is the perfect song and perfect metaphor for their experience in the pilot.

Lost for you I’m so lost for you You come crash into me

11. Silhouettes - Oscar Blue

I mean….

Do I need to say anything more? Okay, well here are some lyrics to emphasize my point.

She’s a diamond in the coal Something that enchants my soul Graceful and captivating Just one glance and my mind is invaded… So should I try really really hard Or just keep loving you from afar… Oh can we walk into the sunset Until our bodies are silhouettes Cause busy days cause busy lives And maybe you’ll just keep on walking by Are my hopes just gonna suffocate in my doubt Or am I being my anxious self drowning my chances out

SO MUCH FOR THE AFTERGLOW

12. The Storm - the Airborne Toxic Event

I definitely stole this from someone else’s Echo mix…but take it as a compliment! I definitely see a little bit of Liz coming home in this song, both from her perspective and Max’s. But in my playlist’s narrative I also see this as being kind of like the end of 1x02, when Liz makes the decision to stay and investigate Rosa’s murder.

I surprise myself sometimes The way the days unfold and this road unwinds You tell me you see it too And the miles seem like inches when I think of you It’s been 25 days since I’ve been gone 25 weeks since I’ve seen my home I spent 25 months chasing this song and all of this time I’ve been alone Then you walk right through the doorway You tell me you’re here to stay

TEARING UP MY HEART

13. The Space Between - Dave Matthews Band

So if the last song was the end of 1x02, that means now we’re in the awkward, heartbreaking period where Max is pouring his heart out, and Liz is pretending to feel nothing because she doesn’t trust him. 💔 Which is basically the running theme for the next few songs…

You cannot quit me so quickly There’s no hope in you for me… The space between the wicked lies we tell And hope to keep safe from the pain… We’re strange allies with warring hearts…

14. Walls - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

My brother played this song while we were driving from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon in February. It was the morning after Smells Like Teen Spirit aired, Liz had just told Max that she never wanted to see him again, and I heard this song for the first time and said to myself, “YES.”

All around your island there’s a barricade That keeps out the danger that holds in the pain Sometimes you’re happy sometimes you cry Half of me is ocean half of me is sky But you’ve got a heart so big it could crush this town But I can’t hold out forever even walls fall down

15. Ruins - Jade Bird

Just…I think about Max and that painful scene between him and Liz at the end of this episode, and how much her accusations throw him off. And the resulting explosion that caused the blackout.

How do we have to do this again? I’ll tell you how I’m feeling You’re like a cryptomaniac trying to connect the dots and the facts How do we have to be here? ‘Cause these hotels, I just can’t relax The more I bend, the worse that I snap I feel like a goddamn maniac

Tell me what did I do to deserve somebody like you? It’s too hard to tell the truth nothing’s real and nothing’s rude I’m just a product of my emotions and they’re all setting off again… You sure you wanna do this now? Oh, you sure you wanna do this now?

'Cause I mean it when I say that I don’t understand And I mean it when I say that I’m not sure who I am 'Cause one minute I love you and the next it’s all in ruins One minute thinking of you and the next my mind’s in ruins

WHERE HAVE ALL THE COWBOYS GONE

16. The Last Time - Taylor Swift feat. Gary Lightbody

Very much the Crashdown “how do you truly feel about me” scene.

Find myself at your door just like all those times before I’m not sure how I got there all roads, they lead me here I imagine you are home in your room, all alone And you open your eyes into mine and everything feels better And right before your eyes I’m breaking No past, no reasons why just you and me This is the last time I’m asking you this Put my name at the top of your list This is the last time I’m asking you why You break my heart in the blink of an eye

DON’T SPEAK

Don’t Speak is one of my favorite chunks of this playlist. I love the pre-pilot set of songs, this set, and then the Recovering the Satellites to the end set the most out of all of this whole thing. Just thought I’d share. Also 3 of my 4 favorite episodes. Hmmm… 🤔

17. Run No More - the Talbott Brothers

So, this is kind of my interpretation of Max’s POV after learning that Isobel sent Liz away. I feel like that knowledge and the realization that Michael and Isobel had manipulated the biggest heartbreak of his life, and lied to him for a decade about it, kind of freed him in a sense. And for the first time he felt like he could stop hiding and release his guilt. If Liz hadn’t been in trouble, I think he would have gone straight to her and confessed everything.

It doesn’t get easier the further I run It gets harder to carry the weight of what I’ve done I am speaking from experience I don’t wanna run no more

18. Wild Heart - Bleachers Pretty much same themes as above. These two songs to me are kind of the combo of that determination in Max. Above is more focused on his guilt and wanting to reveal the truth. This one is more about his love for Liz and his determination to find her and protect her and love her.

As I sat with the echoes of lies that I told I felt young, never changed by crooked hearts… Well, everything has changed And now it’s only you that matters I will find any way to your wild heart

19. Dream - Bishop Briggs

I don’t remember who did a fanvid to this…was it Mo? It was wonderful and it’s perfect for the end of this episode. Max running to save Liz from Wyatt Long and wanting to come clean to her, even though he knew it would likely still make her turn away from him. Liz breaking down at the end…sniffles.

Oh, I had a dream that you couldn’t hear me screaming Trying to tell you everything but it wouldn’t stop you leaving I wanna wake up where your love is 'Cause your love is always waking mine

I wanna break down where your heart gets So torn it’s almost breaking mine I wanna lay here, lost and bitter So long, I feel like I could die I wanna tell you what my truth is But it’s buried down inside

20. Lullaby - Lord Huron

I heart this song… and I think it speaks to Liz in this episode so much. The danger she puts herself in, Wyatt!Noah coming after her, Max desperately wanting to protect her…

You arrive along with the sun Where have you been darlin’? What have you done? You were out finding trouble again There’s a fire in your eyes and there’s blood on your hands Come inside and lie down to sleep You ain’t gonna run and you know that you’re beat Rest awhile, they’re coming for you There’s a price to be paid for the things that we do

Fall asleep and forget all your troubles Dream of laughter and old friends and lovers Dream of when you were innocent

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

21. Watch Me - Labi Siffre Early in the episode, when they were happy and innocent. I feel like this song just kind of captures that young love, high school vibe.

Watch me when you look my way See me smiling, be my night and day Touch me in your own sweet way Feel me tremble, you take my words away All of the time I love you Make you a rhyme, I love you

22. Grew Up Fast - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Here’s another Tom Petty song from my brother’s playlist that we listened to on the way to the Grand Canyon on the day after this episode aired. I heard it, and immediately thought of the Pod Squad (and Liz) and how the incidents surrounding Rosa’s death kind of forced them all out of their youth and into a traumatic adulthood. Also I think it kind of bridges back to the present with Max telling Liz the story of Rosa’s death and her reaction towards him at the end of the episode.

We grew up fast when lies were just a fact of life We grew up mad cause we never had a home… Hey, my brother I’ve got no fight with you, I just can’t lie down Hey, my brother I’ve got no fight with you, I just can’t lie down No, I just can’t lie down, I just can’t lie down Well, you know who I am So don’t treat me like I’m someone else… You never talk like that to no one else You never scream like that for no one else

23. 17 - Jade Bird

This…just…the look on Max’s face when Liz runs out after telling him she never wants to see him again. It’s like his heart is breaking all over again.

You asked me to be yours, well you’re tempting fate How I left a promise but it’s one I can’t make Lord knows it’d kill me if you walked away But darling my lies, they hide you from the pain Stay, let me explain why I act so mean Don’t look away, baby, it’s not all that it seems I’m so afraid that you’ll just get up and leave My heart will break like I’m 17

I SAW THE SIGN & BARELY BREATHING

24. Your Hurricane - Death Cab for Cutie

“Liz Ortecho is my hurricane.” Max is such a ball of anger and angst in this episode. This song may lean a little more on the anger side than really played out in the episode, but I still think it works, considering that Liz spends much of this episode creating the serum.

You used to be such a delicate kid A lonely fish in a sea full of squid So I can’t blame you for leaving how you did You just fell off the grid 'Cause heaven is a hole in the sky The stars are cracks in the ceiling of night But you can’t be your own alibi As hard as you try It’s a tired refrain you’re singing over and over again As you try to explain who’s at fault for your mistakes But I won’t be the debris in your hurricane

25. Lose That Light - Folly and the Hunter

I don’t recall where I got this song from…it may have come from someone else’s playlist. But it makes me think about how rough of a go Max has it in Barely Breathing and how Liz is, like, the light that kind of guides him through it, that he has faith in to save his sister.

In my arms you fell, after fighting tooth and nail. The convictions you have are all gone now. You followed that trail, just to take a chance and fail. Do not let that dark voice call you out Even if it gets hard, don’t lose that light…

26. Such a Simple Thing - Ray LaMontagne

I see this as the end of the episode, when they are so close to being on the same page, but Liz is still afraid and still puts up that wall. Max sees how amazing she is, how she’s willing to fight to save Isobel for him. And Liz is beginning to feel it as well, because the drive to do it for Max, to comfort him, was so powerful. “My heart is like paper” = Max, “yours is like a flame” = Liz.

Tell me what you’re feeling I can take the pain Tell me that you mean it That you won’t leave again Tell me what your heart wants Such a simple thing My heart is like paper Yours is like a flame

SONGS ABOUT TEXAS

27. Make These Colors Real - Hush Kids

This song just makes me think about that vibe all through Songs About Texas prior to the kiss. The heart eyes looks, the touches, how close they are to going there, even though it hasn’t happened yet. This is also the only song I couldn’t find lyrics for online so I transcribed as best I can, but I couldn’t figure one line out, so I just left it off the post! Sorryyyy…

I guess you win, I guess I’ll see you around again Locked eyes, brushed hands. I’ll lie and say we’re only friends Yes I want you but I don’t want to Cause I can’t hold you when I want to So maybe I’m selfish, maybe it’s reckless Maybe I’m out of my mind

Ooh you make me weak you, you make me seek you You’d make me dive down to the depth of your ocean Ooh if I could hold you… I’d make these colors real

28. Surrender - Natalie Taylor

Throughout this whole episode I feel like there’s a general sense of Liz giving up her fight against Max. She can’t hide how much she loves him anymore. She hasn’t quite decided to be with him yet…but throughout the episode that wall thins more and more until she finally does give in to him.

No one will win this time I just want you back I’m running to your side Flying my white flag, my white flag… Whenever you’re ready, whenever you’re ready Can we, can we surrender I surrender

29. I’ll Be Your Mirror - Clem Snide

I’m pretty sure this came from another Echo playlist…because it’s the perfect song to represent Max’s speech to Liz to reveal how well he sees her.

I find it hard to believe you don’t know The beauty you are But if you don’t let me be your eyes A hand to your darkness, so you won’t be afraid When you think the night has seen your mind That inside you’re twisted and unkind Let me stand to show that you are blind Please put down your hands 'Cause I see you I’ll be your mirror, reflect what you are

30. Courage - P!nk

That split second before Liz decides to grab Max and pull him in for the kiss…

See, I let the light in the darkest places Let the sun shine, pain goes away Nothing is permanent for me Have I the courage to change?

31. Easy - Camilla Cabello

It’s almost ridiculous how Echo’s first kiss this song is. Like, seriously, Camilla? Do you watch RNM? Are you an Echo shipper? Is this your own personal fan song?

You really, really know me The future and the old me All of the mazes and the madness in my mind You really, really love me You know me and you love me And it’s the kind of thing I always hoped I’d find

Always thought I was hard to love 'Til you made it seem so easy, seem so easy Always thought I was hard to love 'Til you made it seem so easy, seem so easy Touch me 'til I find myself, in a feeling Tell me with your hands that you’re never leaving Always thought I was hard to love 'Til you made it seem so easy, seem so easy All I know is you, heal me when I’m broken, heal me when I’m broken All I know is you, saved me and you know it, saved me and you know it

32. Day Too Soon - Sia

Liz making the choice that it is finally the right time for her to stop running. Okay, Max has been waiting patiently, but for Liz everything has finally perfectly collided.

Pick me up in your arms Carry me away from harm You’re never gonna put me down I know you’re just one good man You’ll tire before we see land You’re never gonna put me down You’ll risk all this for just a kiss I promise I will not resist

Promise you won’t hold me down And when we reach a good place Let’s be sure to leave no trace Promise they won’t track us down

Now I’ve been running all my life I ran away, I ran away from good Yeah, I’ve been waiting all my life You’re not a day, you’re not a day too soon

33. Truly Madly Deeply - Yoke Lore

Awesome cover of 90’s song? Check! Super romantic to the point of almost cheesy? Check! It’s got Echo getting together written all over it.

I’ll be your dream, I’ll be your wish, I’ll be your fantasy. I’ll be your hope, I’ll be your love, be everything that you need. I’ll love you more with every breath, truly madly deeply do I want to stand with you on a mountain I want to bathe with you in the sea. I want to lay like this forever. Until the sky falls down on me

I DON’T WANT TO MISS A THING, CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA, CREEP

34. Side By Side - Layup

Sadly, I don’t have a lot of songs for this chunk of episodes for Echo. But they’re finally together, on the same team, being awesome, so that’s pretty much all I’m getting at with this song.

And so, now I go down all these roads with you, my home And now, I’ll keep you close I hope you know - I love you most So here I walk by your side, oh, on our own time Oh, we’ll be alright, as long as we stay side by side From the coldest nights to warmer degrees we’ll get by You and I, side by side

RECOVERING THE SATELLITES

35. Electric Love - BØRNS

I mean… Alien!God Max channeling all that lightning to get the job done is fucking sexy. And then he just marches home to worship his love the way Liz deserves. *nods firmly*

Baby you’re like lightning in a bottle I can’t let you go now that I got it All I need is to be struck By your electric love Baby, you’re electric love Electric love Rushing through me I feel your energy rushing through me…

36. Duet - Penny and Sparrow f/ Stephanie Briggs

Echo love scene. Just ignore that Liz is not wearing a dress. Everything else fits. And the chorus? *chefs kiss* “Because I’ve seen you and I know you”...ties right back to their first kiss and Max proving to Liz that he isn’t holding onto some high school fantasy. “And I’m not going anywhere”...it breaks my heart because it was 100% true in that moment…but hours later Max is dead. 😭

I bet your shoulders can hold more than just the straps of that tiny dress That I’ll help you slide aside when we get home I’ve seen 'em carry family and the steel drum weight of me Effortless, just like that dress that I’ll help off I bet your back can carry more than just the weight of your button-down One by one, they’ll come undone when we get home I’ve seen you carry family and all my insecurities One by one, they’ll come undone when we get home

Because I’ve seen you And I know you And I’m not going anywhere

37. Atlas: Two - Sleeping at Last

This is, like, the most Max song ever. Especially where his head is at right at the end of Recovering the Satellites after he and Liz make love, when he is straight up in worshipful puppy mode. It makes me both 😍 and 😭, because I love how much he loves her, but I know how unhealthy his devotion is, and that it leads to him dying.

Sweetheart, you look a little tired when did you last eat? Come in and make yourself right at home stay as long as you need Tell me, is something wrong? If something’s wrong, you can count on me You know I’ll take my heart clean apart if it helps yours beat It’s okay if you can’t find the words Let me take your coat and this weight off of your shoulders

Like a force to be reckoned with A mighty ocean or a gentle kiss I will love you with every single thing I have Like a tidal wave, I’ll make a mess Or calm waters, if that serves you best I will love you without any strings attached It’s okay if you can’t catch your breath You can take the oxygen straight out of my own chest I know exactly how the rule goes put my mask on first No, I don’t want to talk about myself tell me where it hurts I just want to build you up, build you up ‘til you’re good as new And maybe one day I will get around to fixing myself too I don’t even know where to start Already tired of trying to recall when it all fell apart I just want to love you, to love you, to love you well I just want to learn how, somehow, to be loved myself Like a force to be reckoned with A mighty ocean or a gentle kiss I will love you without any strings attached What a privilege it is to love A great honor to hold you, love Like a force to be reckoned with A mighty ocean or a gentle kiss I will love you with every single thing I have Like a tidal wave, I’ll make a mess Or calm waters if that serves you best I will love you without any strings attached I will love you without a single string attached

38. Another Story - the Head and the Heart

In my head this is another afterglow, Max manic on love & power and it pushes him to do something crazy song...I both see he and Liz happy together in his bed in the morning sunlights and flickering firelight...and Max deciding to heal Rosa. 😍😭

These are just flames burning in your fireplace I hear your voice and it seems as if it was all a dream I wish it was all a dream I see a world, a world turning in on itself Are we just like hungry wolves howling in the night I don’t want no music tonight

Every time I hear another story Oh the poor boy lost his head Everybody feels a little crazy But we go on living with it

39. Come to This - Natalie Taylor

Liz crying over Max’s body 😭😭😭. There is no heart eyes here. It’s all just paaaain. 😭😭😭

How can this happen? How can this be? There is no ending, there is no peace The darkness is so close The light so quickly goes And now it’s all gone Now it’s all gone Will you hear me when I speak? Do you feel the pain with me? I’ve tried to be so strong I thought that hope would come But you’re not here

Oh, the darkness keeps its grip Oh, how’d it come to this? Oh, please come back Please come back

40. Six Feet Under - Billie Eilish

More Liz crying over Max’s body…and just love and pain and death and sadness. 😭😭😭

Retrace my lips Erase your touch It’s all too much for me Blow away Like smoke in air How can you die carelessly? Our love is six feet under I can’t help but wonder If our grave was watered by the rain Would roses bloom? Could roses bloom?

POST-SEASON 1

These are just kind of my headcanon songs of various post-S1 reactions from Liz at various different dark moments.

41. Hello My Old Heart - the Oh Hellos

I see a lot of people attribute this song to Liz at the beginning of the show, but I think it’s more appropriate at the end of the season. I’d love it if they use this song in Season 2. I see it more as Liz putting the walls she had at the beginning of the show back up again after loving and losing Max, which would break my heart. But I think it’s how she would cope while he’s gone and then those walls would come back down.

Hello, my old heart It’s been so long Since I’ve given you away And every day, I add another stone To the walls I built around you To keep you safe

Oh, oh, don’t leave me here alone Don’t tell me that we’ve grown For having loved a little while Oh, oh, I don’t wanna be alone I wanna find a home And I wanna share it with you

42. Poetry By Dead Men - Sara Bareilles

I can see this scene in my head. I can see Liz and Max both longing for this scene in their head. Just the simple domesticity of drinking coffee together in the afterglow, while Max reads poetry to Liz. Except that he had to go and die first and that just fucking sucks. So I hear some anger and a little bit of “don’t let the door hit you on your way out” in this song, and I could see Liz occasionally just having moments of anger in her grief where she feels this way. Briefly.

By the time you hear this, who knows where I might be Singing about another near-miss love that ended incomplete I was ready, but you weren’t So jump with your net from this bridge you’ve burned I wanted to tell you things, all the secrets I’ve been keeping I saw it in front of me, but then you just kept disappearing A good dream, almost, now I tell your ghost

I wanted to be your girl in a white T-shirt Over coffee, stirring in the cinnamon While you read me poetry by dead men I wanted to be your girl with your hands on my skin Stirring in the cinnamon While you read me poetry by dead men

43. Recovering the Satellites - Counting Crows

This is one of the few episode titles where the lyrics actually get to me, like in a plotty way. But not necessarily from what happens in the episode, so much as the idea of Liz questioning later whether the brief moment of love she had with Max was worth all of the accompanying pain. 😭😭😭😭

So why’d you come home to this sleepless town? It’s a lifetime commitment, recovering the satellites All anybody really wants to know is When you’re gonna come down, when you’re gonna come down But we only stay in orbit for a moment of time And then you’re everybody’s satellite I wish that you were mine, I wish that you were mine

44. The Chain - Ingrid Michaelson

Definitely stole this from someone else, but it’s perfect and I love ending with it, because even though it’s loaded down with all of the pain we’re feeling at the end of the season, it also has a little twinge of hope and possibility for that future day when Max comes back (which we all know he will)! So in other words, it’s 😭😭😍😍

The sky looks pissed The wind talks back My bones are shifting in my skin And you my love are gone My room feels wrong The bed won’t fit I cannot seem to operate And you my love are gone

I’ll never say that I’ll never love But I don’t say a lot of things And you my love are gone

So glide away on soapy heels And promise not to promise anymore And if you come around again Then I will take, Then I will take, The chain from off the door

#music of my soul #rnm echo music #rnm echo

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the-nagakenny-archives · 5 years

Text

New to the Party Pt. 2

(OOC: First part can be found here ;v; Sorry this is so long OTL, hope it was worth the wait ;v;)

A few hours later, Samantha began to feel uneasy. It was getting dark; most of the party crowd had dissipated and gone home, but there were still quite a few people chatting around a rather elegant fire pit near the back patio. Kenny was among them, grinning brilliantly and laughing his throaty chuckling laugh, eyes sparkling with mirth. Samantha drifted over, eyes scanning for Michael, trying hard not to make eye contact with anyone else lest she be invited to come sit with everyone.

To her chagrin, Kenny noticed her; his eyes lit up and he gestured to her enthusiastically. “Samantha! Come on over and join us! The fire’s warm and the company’s warmer!” This was following by a smattering of smiles and friendly affirming murmurs from everyone else.

“Uh, heheh, actually,” Samantha replied, smiling awkwardly and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, “I was, uhm, looking for Michael. Have you seen him, by any chance? We really need to, uh....get going.”

Kenny’s expression changed to mild surprise. Everyone else made disappointed noises and chimed in with more murmurs. “You’re not staying?” “Aw, how come?” “So soon?” “Oh, that’s too bad.” It made Samantha feel a little....odd. Part of her was surprised and kind of touched that people seemed disappointed that she was leaving, but another felt....well, like something strange was going on.

“Are you feeling sort of funny about the after-party, hon?” a woman she didn’t recognize asked her. She had beautiful dark hair and a very expensive-looking silvery dress on.

“I’ll admit, I felt the same way about it the first time,” a dapper blonde young man piped up. “I was convinced it was some kind of weird rich-person thing you always hear rumors about, like an orgy or something. Uh, no offense, Mr. Huggins!” He quickly interjected with a laugh.

“Oh, none taken!” Kenny replied with a mischievous grin, taking a sip of his mineral water. “Those are strictly for holidays only.”

There was an uproar of laughter at this. Even Samantha found herself biting back a little bit of a smile. “Heh, and uh, what about sacrificing a lowly intern to some kind of eldritch god to keep the fortune flowing?” she joked dryly.

Kenny threw back his head and laughed heartily. “Oh good heavens no, you’re safe,” he said cheerfully. “I already picked Jerry for that, didn’t I Jerry?” He clapped the young man sitting next to him on the back, who rolled his eyes with good humor and gave an overly dramatic shrug of resignation. Samantha found herself giggling along with everyone else. She was starting to loosen up a little against her better judgement.

She caught sight of Michael loping out of the back door of the house, whistling. Either he had been to the bathroom or--more likely--he had been in there scrounging for left-overs. She felt the growing contentment give way to relief. Now there was no question about it, she could leave.

“Ah, Michael!” Kenny said brightly as he came over. “Will you be joining us this evening?”

Samantha began to explain. “Oh, ah, he’s actually---”

“Yep! Sure am!” Michael interrupted with an enthusiastic nod.

Samantha looked at him in stunned silence, eyes wide.

“Good! Wonderful!” Kenny said, clapping his hands together. “In that case, I think that’s everyone then. Let’s make our way inside!”

The twenty or so people got up from their seats at the fire pit, chatting excitedly, and started heading for the back door. Michael noticed Samantha goggling at him angrily. “Come on, don’t be such a buzzkill,” he sighed. “This sounds like it’s going to be a fun time.”

“So what if I am?! I told you I wanted to go home!” Samantha hissed. She tried keeping her voice down so that no one would hear.

“Sam, honestly, maybe this’ll do you some good,” Michael said, looking slightly miffed. “You’ve been acting really high-strung lately. Can’t you just loosen up a little?”

Kenny overheard them arguing; he gestured for everyone to go inside without him, and he ambled over to the two of them, hands in his pockets. “Everything okay?” he asked.

Samantha felt a blush of embarrassment forming on her cheeks. This awkwardness was exactly the kind of thing she had been trying to avoid. “W-Well, Michael’s supposed to be my ride, so--”

“Oh! No problem! I’ll call a cab for you.” Kenny put his hands on their shoulders and started gently leading them both toward the house. “Michael, could you tell everyone I’ll be downstairs in a little while? I’m gonna keep Samantha company while she waits for her ride to get here.”

“Oh no, please, that’s okay!” Now she was practically burning alive from the embarrassment. Why did this have to happen to her? Things had been going so well. Now her boss probably thought she was being a pain in the butt.

“Nonsense! What kind of host would I be to make you hang around alone? This place can be kind of spooky at night, you know.”

They entered through the back door into a hallway with beautiful dark wood floors, and he led them to a huge living room area. Samantha had never seen such pristine, comfortable-looking furniture in all her life. Kenny directed Michael to another hall, and he was soon out of sight.

“B-But....really, I....” Samantha tried to stammer out another protest.

“Have a seat,” Kenny said, beaming at her, “and I’ll conjure up my cellular phone. Let me see, where did I leave that pesky thing?” Kenny gave his pockets a once-over, but was coming up empty-handed.

Samantha sank onto one of the couches gloomily, but her mood was almost instantly forgotten by the absolute decadent comfort of her seat. “Ooooo,” she said, leaning farther back into its cushions, and then blushed as she realized she had uttered that aloud.

“Comfy, huh?” Kenny grinned at her, stopping his search for his phone momentarily. “I’m of the opinion that comfort is a luxury everyone should be able to afford. That’s why I started my business.”

“Huh, yeah?” It was a little hard for Samantha to concentrate; she was distracted by the marshmallow-y softness of the couch. Good lord, if she had a couch like this at home, she’d never leave.

“Mmm-hmm. It’s a known fact that nowadays people aren’t sleeping well---stress, depression, too much work, too much technology. It’s making people sicker, sadder, and more apathetic. And I aim to change that.” He cocked his head as he looked at her, and Samantha noticed for the first time how strangely captivating his dark, warm eyes were. In fact, she unconsciously tilted her head to mimic him. “It’s part of why I throw these parties, too,” he said. His voice was soft, almost soothing. “Everyone has a nice time, and then they end the night with a nice sleep. All cuddled up, because cuddling is important, too. It lowers blood pressure, relieves stress, even helps pain. And the next day, they wake up feeling better than they have in a long time.”

“Oh...wow. Is that a fact?” Samantha asked softly. She wondered if he was making that up. Then she tried to think of the last time she had had a good night’s sleep, and how it felt to wake up feeling refreshed and like resting had actually been productive. She couldn’t remember.

He smiled gently at her. “Mmm-hmm. Helping people feel good is something I’ve always loved doing. So when I had this place built, I made sure there was at least one room where people could go for a leisurely escape. I’ve made the downstairs a perfect place to just lounge around and relax. The floor is cushioned, there’s a sunken level full of pillows and couches, and there’s plenty of room to snuggle up and just let the days and weeks of toil and hardship just melt away. Nothing but our dreams to take us to far, fantastic places, floating like bubbles on a warm summer breeze.” His grin broadened and his tone of voice changed back to its playful timbre. “But anyway, I’ve gabbed a bit too much, I think. I still need to call you a cab, don’t I?”

Samantha blinked, feeling bewildered. It was like a spell had been broken. “Ah, yeah.” She felt an actual pang of disappointment that surprised her. The part of her that wanted to leave was quiet now. Did she really want to go home and go to bed---her slightly lumpy, too firm bed---when she had an opportunity to sleep on a couch that was as comfortable as the one she was currently sitting on? And anyway, when was she ever going to have the chance to sleep over at a billionaire’s house again? Plus Michael and Dorothy would be there, so it wasn’t like she’d be surrounded by strangers. The cuddling thing was still kind of weird to her.....but maybe she could get around that somehow.

And there was Kenny, too. She hadn’t really encountered him too much at work, but talking with him at length like this made her realize there was something....magnetic about him that she’d never encountered in anyone else. A warm, inviting magnetism that radiated from him, like he was a living sun. That when he smiled, the world smiled with him.

“Uh, you know....maybe I’ll, uhm....stay after all,” she said hesitantly.

“Hmm? Really?” Kenny’s eyes lit up with delight. “Well, that’s wonderful! In that case, come along with me.” He held out his hand to her. “I’ll take you there.”

Samantha was reluctant to get up from the couch, and almost suggested she just sleep there instead, but curiosity got the better of her. She put her hand in his, and was helped gently to her feet. She found herself still wanting to hold his hand as they walked together to the hall Michael had disappeared down; his hand was soft and strong. She blushed, wondering if she was being improper, holding her boss’s hand like she was his high school sweetheart, but he didn’t seem to mind at all.

They walked down a short flight of stairs to the lower level of the house; it was a few degrees cooler, pleasantly so, and smelled strongly of some kind of potpourri or incense that Samantha found incredibly nice. She thought she could detect vanilla and lavender. She couldn’t resist inhaling a deep breath of it. Kenny said nothing, but smiled at her as though he understood.

They were soon in a small room with many cubby-holes integrated in the walls; one side housed people’s shoes and jackets, the other had neatly-folded fluffy white robes. Beyond the walls of cubby-holes was a door.

Kenny let go of her hand and began taking off his own shoes and socks, placing them into one of the cubbies. Samantha followed his example, though she kept her socks on; she didn’t know why, but she felt a bit odd being barefoot in a place like this, as though her feet would sully the floor.

“Grab a robe and I’ll meet you inside,” Kenny told her with a wink. “Have to change just a bit before we start.”

“O-Okay.” Samantha put on one of the robes and instantly fell in love with it; the material was like being swaddled by a cloud, and it smelled faintly of the vanilla and lavender that she had smelled before. Then she apprehensively opened the door and stepped through.

The room beyond was dimly lit by an ornate lantern hanging from the ceiling, casting a comfortable orange glow, but she could make out everyone gathered in the sunken living space in the middle, sitting on the couches and pillows and chatting softly with each other. She caught sight of Michael and Dorothy and walked over. The floor felt soft and plush under her feet, almost making her regret that she had opted to leave her socks on.

“Samantha!” Dorothy piped up in surprise, her voice at a reasonable volume for a change. She got up and gave her a hug. “Changed your mind, huh? I’m so glad. C’mon, come sit by me an’ Michael!” She darted over to the couch and patted the seat between them, prompting everyone else to murmur words of encouragement. Michael was smiling at her smugly, as if to say “I told you so”; she decided to ignore that. She’d deal with him later.

Samantha smiled awkwardly and drifted over, sitting down. “Uhm, so,” she said with a nervous laugh, “uh....what do we do now?”

“Oh, nothing yet,” whispered the dark-haired girl from before. “We have to wait for Kenny first. He likes to say a few words before we begin.”

As if on cue, the door opened and Kenny stepped into the room, smiling serenely. Samantha thought her eyes were playing tricks on her thanks to the dim lighting, but her heart gave a jolt as she realized he was wearing nothing except one of the white robes they were all wearing; she could see part of his muscular chest peeking through the opening, and his bare calves as he walked over to them. She hoped like hell he wasn’t totally naked under there. She glanced over at Dorothy and could tell she was thinking the exact opposite from her facial expression.

He ambled down the few steps into the sunken living space and stood in the middle of the floor, looking at them all. “My friends,” he said, “thank you all for coming.” His voice was now a smooth, crooning purr. Samantha felt her skin break out in tingly goosebumps; she’d never heard him sound like this before. “Today was a grand party indeed. Your stomachs are full, and your hearts are full. However, you know that you can’t truly enjoy a warm, snug cuddle and welcome a long, peaceful sleep when your minds are full.”

Samantha frowned to herself, deeply puzzled. A glance over at Michael told her he was just as puzzled, but Dorothy was nodding, seemingly expectant.

“For those of you who have been here before,” Kenny continued softly, “this will only take a moment.”

He cleared his throat. The atmosphere seemed to change; everyone save Samantha and Michael appeared to be hanging on Kenny’s every word, breathlessly silent, waiting for something.

To Samantha’s surprise, he began to sing in a strangely hypnotic, rhyming cadence.

“A memory of colors left behind

You see them forming in your mind

Let them set your senses free

Your mind is clear at the count of three

One.....two......three.”

Samantha watched in stunned silence as the group seemed to sigh rapturously as one, as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from them at the same time, and slump back in their seats, eyes glazed over. There was something else about their eyes, she noticed as well---she leaned over to look at Dorothy, who was drooped on the couch in the same state, and.....were her eyes changing color? It was hard to tell---her eyelids were nearly shut---but she could swear that’s what they were doing.

“They’re alright, don’t worry,” Kenny said kindly. “It’s just a lot easier for me this way. I do feel a little bad, it seems like cheating, in a way. But they don’t seem to mind it.” He chuckled.

“What the heck did you do?” Michael asked as he looked around at everyone, sounding a bit awestruck. “They.....they look like they’re in a trance.”

“Mmm, well, that’s because they are!” Kenny beamed at him with his charming, radiant smile. “You see, it’s very hard to fall asleep unless you’re in a completely relaxed state. This is without a doubt the most relaxed they’ll ever be.” He ambled closer to where they both sat; the two of them just watched, frozen in disbelief and astonishment. “They’re experiencing a residual trance though, brought about by a trigger I made specially for them. You two....since this is your first time, you get the real thing.” His eyes twinkled with a kind of ethereal mischief. “Aren’t you lucky?”

“I...wha...” Samantha struggled with her confusion for a moment. “What do you mean....the ‘real thing’?”

Kenny didn’t answer right away; instead he leaned down closer to them, his eyes never leaving their faces, and gently cupped a warm, soft hand against each of their cheeks. Samantha was still too stunned to move, though what she was feeling wasn’t necessarily fear; it was like a swarm of butterflies had been disturbed inside her, tickling her from the inside. She was glued to the spot like a deer in headlights.

“I mean,” Kenny replied, his voice now a soft, purring whisper, “thissssssss.”

As they watched, looking into his face with curiosity and anticipation, his eyes slowly changed---they began to glow with an otherworldy light, accentuated by the mood lighting in the room, and change colors in a slow, repeating pattern of ripples. It was beautifully hypnotic; in fact, as soon as Samantha looked into his eyes, she was completely unable to tear her eyes away, and any thoughts of how it was even possible slowly stopped bothering her. She vaguely heard Michael gasp softly next to her, but she didn’t turn her head to look; the colors arrested her, dominating her vision. Her head started to feel warm and muzzy; a kind of pleasant sleepiness was washing over her as she watched the colors in their eternal undulations.

“Relax-sssss, my darlings,” Kenny purred in a smooth, velvety voice. “Take deep, deep breathsssss. Let go of the weight of the world, and be at peace.”

“Mmmmmmm....” Samantha hummed with deep satisfaction, her eyelids slowly drooping. At his words she could feel everything lifting from her like so many balloons, and it felt magnificent. She’d never felt this combination of good and empty before. She sank into Kenny’s touch, into the comfy softness of the couch where she sat, into the robe she was wearing. Michael had already deflated next to her, an expression of intense sleepiness and wonder stamped on his features.

She felt something else caress against her face then. It wasn’t Kenny’s hand; that was still gently cupping her cheek. Kenny’s other hand was still against Michael’s cheek. Whatever it was brushed against her chin momentarily, warm and silky smooth, and she shuddered with pleasure. She couldn’t see what it was, however; she was still transfixed by the colors of his eyes. If she had looked, however, she would have seen it was a tail---a snake’s tail.

Kenny smiled slyly. He was slowly rising off the floor, but neither Samantha or Michael seemed to notice or care---not even when it was clear he no longer had legs, and loops of huge, thick snake coils began to fill the space. The coils slithered and undulated smoothly around and in-between the others, who sighed and groaned in their trance with relief and bliss, snuggling themselves against the soft, silky muscle that surrounded them. Some of them were asleep in seconds.

Samantha could feel the weight of the tail in her lap, wrapping around her body snugly, and she uttered a groan herself. It was like nothing she had ever felt before---an all encompassing hug, so warm and safe. She was so, so sleepy.....she wanted to lie down against the hugging coils and disappear into their embrace.

Kenny drifted between her and Michael and settled himself on the couch, his huge serpentine body shifting and rippling with subtle power. Samantha and Michael immediately draped themselves into his scaly lap, loops of coils covering them, and let sleep claim them.

Kenny closed his eyes and sighed contentedly. He gave his coils a soft, flexing squeeze around each person, causing some to make soft noises of comfort, though most were too in the throes of sleep to react. Another successful party, he thought to himself. There was nothing quite like a beautiful sleep after good food with good friends.

They remained that way uninterrupted for the entirety of the night. Samantha wore a small, enchanted smile the entire time she slept.

#ask-nagakenny #story post #gotham au #hypnosis #coils

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