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1ddiscourseoftheday · 3 years

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Sun 11 April ‘21

Liam is back and in excellent form! I have missed chatty Liam, he is such a chill pleasure to virtually hang out with. He went live to answer questions about his performance and joke around. He trolled fans in his response to a question about collabs- “I’d love to do one with hmm... Niall... and Zayn... and Harry and Louis,” he teased, and joked that “they’re here! Behind this curtain! Haha no… we could have put them in virtually! Probably would have gotten cease and desist letters from their managers…” and considered who would send the first letter. “Zayn,” he giggled, but then added that in fact his next upcoming collab is “with myself, tonight!” (hmm sounds dirty when you put it like THAT Liam!) And about the performance? Liam agreed that it’s very confusing but said he’d make things easier on us by naming virtual Liam; he’s Kelvin. He said he (Liam not Kelvin) has “been away for a while, been having a bit of time” and then immediately added that in fact he’s been rehearsing and working on this performance a lot but that “it’s the only thing I’ve been doing.” He said IDK when is LP2 coming- “when I can get to LA and work” (because he doesn’t like writing on zoom), that he’s currently working on a song for a film but that he can’t tell us anything about it but that it’s with some old friends he’s known since he was 17, they were the first people 1D worked with, that he’d consider making a visual album, “maybe a cartoon or something… maybe even an NFT, who knows!” A man in touch with what the fans want, always (well except for the NFT thing), he fulfilled my wish and demonstrated making faces to program Kelvin, and he shared a picture of his mo-cap feet like SEE they look like TINY SNAKES right? And then asked people to trend tinysnakes and the fans dutifully obliged. Look out you guys, it’s a tiny snake habitat!

And the performances? Well first there was the avatar-only one and I finally understand why he kept saying he’d be anywhere you wanted him in your house, sorry- I think other people got it all along and I just… didn’t… but anyway it’s like a pokemon go thing were tiny Liam Kelvin is just perched on your dirty laundry or table or whatever you point your phone at. ANYWAY, virtual Liam is awkward and weird and not a very good lipsyncer, but real Liam sounds amazing and looks terrific and the contrast only draws more attention to how well Liam holds the space on stage and how good he looked, in particular when they put the avatar and Liam together for the main event. He/ they sang Midnight, and it sounded great and was a big hit besides, the papers loved him as the show opener and were into the gimmick.

Louis’ new friend Sergio Aguero talked about DMing with him on his recent twitch stream (Sergio’s). Being Argentinian he ofc just starts talking to him about mate (the Argentinian tea, not bros, pronounced like mah-tay) which I have to say is dead on brand for every Argentinian I have ever met; you think Louis is serious about his Yorkshire but he’s probably met his beverage obsessed match here! Anyway so Sergio is like do you like mate, and “check out my tea stuff” (and sends him a picture of the traditional gourd and straw drinking apparatus) and Louis is like “idk what that is mate” which is hilarious because what it is… is mate… which is spelled the same… which Sergio tries to explain to his viewers but anyway yeah that’s the tea! Lol. He said that Louis has reached out a while back (but he didn’t know who Louis was until he was like “I was in One Direction”) and invited Sergio to a footie match in Portugal (to play with Louis’ famous people league team we’ve heard about before I bet) but he couldn’t go and they just started chatting now, after Louis messaged again; Louis was in Mexico but they’re gonna hang out when he’s back in the UK, and Sergio will give him some mate! LMAO OF COURSE he will. Louis will absolutely hate it but I would LOVE to see him try to be nice about some unfamiliar bitter herb water served in a gourd that sounds like PURE GOLD tbh.

Anne Marie talked about the Niall teaser pic for their collab. She said she’d wanted to work with him because “I just love his voice and he’s Irish, you know, he’s hot”, lol, and that “ he was just playing guitar, playing piano, and I was like wow you’re actually talented cause you never know who’s actually talented these days” and “we wrote like three songs and they were all brilliant.” Will we ever hear the other two songs?? I mean I’m fine to start with just the one, anytime now, but something to consider...

Falling won an ADG Award, the members of the Art Director’s Guild apparently feeling that Harry’s leaky piano was better than the competition, Taylor Swift’s leaky piano, and the tabloids picked up on twitter chatter about Harry going blond for My Policeman (because the character in the book is blond some people think he will bleach his hair) and then everyone talked about it more because the tabloids said so IT MUST BE TRUE. UM, are you even hearing yourselves? They don’t know shit people this is a feedback loop here.

#Liam payne #Louis tomlinson #harry styles #niall horan #okay so now the Liam /Liam ship name is Livin I guess? Like lee-vin?#liam said on his live he was doing the first perf somewhere then rushing to the royal albert hall to do #the baftas one- FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER #wtf #even more impressive it was so good #SO anyway that’s what Louis gets up to I guess watching handsome footie players livestream and sliding into their DMs #REPEATEDLY until they respond lol thats my fave part #11 apr 21 #clone liam #sergio aguero #anne marie #THANK YOU intern for espanol translating #and no shade intended to mate I like it fine but LOUIS. will HATE it. so much lol #Harry would like it I bet #he'd be into the special straw #niall and liam eh maybe not so much #liam would get into it as a health craze thing maybe #zayn probably drinks mate all night while he works in the studio or at least he'd be super down #to get high with some argentinians and drink hella mate

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arch-venus25 · 3 years

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The Head and the Heart, Part 1

Hello everyone,

I am submitting this for @just-the-hiddles‘s The Damnit Jim, I’m A Vampire, Not A Landlord Fic Frenzy. I chose prompt “1....You can pay your rent in money or in blood.” I was inspired by all the prompts and will probably use them throughout the series. Basically I use the prompts as guide-lines.

This is the first time I have written and shared a fic online-- or ever really! It’s also the first time I’ve written anything modern so please let me know what you think! I hope I’m posting this correctly--I created the title art--LOL I’ve never done this before. I’m aiming to update the series each Tuesday. So here we go...

Series Masterlist: The Head and The Heart

Summary: The twins are taking a night off from their graduate studies-- or at least Tessa is; her twin sister, Antha, is just trying to keep her out of trouble. What starts as a night of good old-fashioned fun and flirting quickly changes as they find themselves at the doorstep of the Hollow House Bed and Breakfast.

Characters: OFCs Antha and Tessa King, original characters/vampires

WARNINGS: 18+ for suggestive themes and violence, cursing, implied drug use, implied rape, stressful/scary situations, vampires, and characters with incredible hair-- you’ve been warned. Read at your own discretion.

Word Count: 2770

Part One: Faced with Foolishness

“Well, you know Tessa, she’s being Tessa,” Antha murmured into her phone as she watched her twin sister cozy up to her flavor of the month; Tessa flipped her box braids off her shoulder, the beaded ends flirtatiously tinkling against every surface they met. As if watching a photo negative version of herself, Antha mourned her nonexistent reputation. Had she not spent years hiding in her books she may have been able to rival her uninhibited doppelganger in white hot-pants.

“Why do you let her do this to you? It never goes as planned, and next thing you know I’ll be cleaning you two up and feeding you McDonald’s at two thirty in the morning!” She didn’t need facetime to picture Doug wincing through the phone, pushing his Buddy Holly styled Ray-Bans up the bridge of his nose.

“So what you’re saying is how could I let Tessa do this to you?” She laughed, rolling her Havana twists through her fingers to fight off the June humidity. Talking to her best friend helped her forget just how long she had been holding it in line to the bathroom.

“Ant, look I don’t like that bar—you want me to come get you?”

“And leave her? I can’t do that—listen, if we don’t call you for a ride home by midnight just come get us. I’m exhausted and I don’t think she will party that long. Besides, you-know-who just showed up.” She watched as Franco the Flake appeared, wasting no time to linger over her sister—Tessa’s flavor of the month, forgotten within an instant. Antha’s eyes rolled like marbles as she turned away to better hear her friend on the phone; some fraternity boys nearby began fist-pumping into the air as the bartender served up a line of shots for them.

“Ugh, the Flake… well I can hear things are getting started on your end—I’ll keep my phone on me, just don’t drive. Leave her car and I’ll get you two—there’s maniacs out there especially on Friday night.” He warned.

“I owe you,” she groaned and hung up. Antha finally arrived in the ladies’ room, only two women away from her sweet release. She watched as the women cornered the mirror like crazed wanton things, bending and zhuzhing, adjusting their “girls” to their perkiest potential through scantily low apparel.

“Heeeyy…” She quietly greeted the woman that exited the nearest stall. The stranger gave her a haughty elevator eye from head to toe making her feel severely underdressed for a Friday night out. When she threw on a sun dress today, she never anticipated her sister would abduct her after class and have them gallivanting across town. Tessa’s exact words were “Godamnit Ant, tonight we’re gonna have fun if it kills us!” A Cheshire Cat grin spread across her face as she floored the accelerator of her Neon, then cranked up the bass as the radio station started their basement remixes. Fun if it kills us.

Antha stared at her white sandals, her nail polish was chipped and at least three weeks old. Then she looked to her messenger bag hanging on the back of the door. It was covered in Community College film badges and club stickers, per her friend’s preferences. Antha liked her graffitied messenger bag. Like a billboard, it made her appear she had a life outside of her graduate studies.

She should have been at home, text books spread on her lap, feet up. She could hear Doug’s old Buick coughing its way up Momma’s drive, then fumbling outside the door, trying to knock with a third of Popov, case of Dogfish Head, and pizza in his arms. Then he would throw everything on the coffee table and announce “I brought Casablanca!” to which she would say “Oh, more white people movies?” and unphased, he would reply “Good god woman, it’s not Birth of a Nation!” Antha smiled, thinking of their weekly ritual of pretending to do research while gossiping long into the night until Zoey and Tessa would drunkenly Uber home. The distinct shamble, like the walking dead, would scrape up the gravel drive signaling their arrival.

“Hey, you almost done in there?” An annoyed voice yelled over the door, cutting through her reminiscing. Antha could see the reds of the stranger’s eyes between the door crack.

Instead of lounging on the couch surrounded by good beer and even better friends, Antha found herself being hustled by some Fireball-turned-up twat—all under the guise of having fun. “Yeah, sorry about that.” She replied and flushed. She tightened the belt holding in the billowy fabric of her flowy, mid-thigh, sunflower-printed sundress. It was passed down from her grandmother to her mother and so on. Looking like she walked off the set of a 90’s music video, she admitted that at least she was cooler than the other girls sweating in their skin-tight jeans and heels.

Some pretty young thing burst through the door past the line and vomited into the trash bin next to Antha while she washed her hands. It was only nine o’clock. That was a bad omen. When she caught her reflection in the mirror, she realized she pouted just like Momma in those sorts of situations. She dampened a paper towel for the poor thing and could hear her mother’s words repeating in her head: “When you’re faced with foolishness—you take care of it.” Her mantra: Take care of it. Antha’s mantra: Do what Momma says. Tessa’s mantra: If it ain’t fun don’t do it.

Antha applied her vanilla lip gloss as she thought on her mother. She made a promise as Momma was lowered in the ground that they would graduate. It was her dying wish that the twins became modern women with college degrees and to have options; to escape the laboring of farming and perhaps even the rinse and repeat of corporate Delaware. That’s all there was in their state: Farming or banking.

She tucked her shoulder-length braids behind her ears; she truly missed her dreadlocks, but ever since the time Tessa’s boyfriend mistook her for his girlfriend, she cut them off. She was always the one to compromise. Not tonight she decided. Tonight was going to go her way. They would wrap up this foolishness by midnight.

Antha sighed and knew it was time to face the havoc of the bar when a chatty patron pawed at her sundress asking if it was “vintage”. She replied, “Well it’s old as hell if that’s what you mean,” and hurried out the ladies’ room into the sweltering cacophony of nightlife.

Fighting across sticky tile and sweaty rednecks she made a beeline for the bartender. “Mar, can I get two?” She bounced on her tip-toes to cut through the crowd huddled around the length of the tacky wooden bar. Maria motioned to the other side because she couldn’t reach through. Antha continued to fight her way through the herd. She could barely hear over the din of the 2016 campaign commercials and sportscasting when Maria slid two cocktails toward her. The southern comfort and coke cocktails reeked with vanilla syrup, Tessa’s favorite. Antha stared into the melting rail drinks and realized she didn’t know what to order herself because she was always the water-boy for her twin.

“Hey, did you see what’s-his-face is in town?” Maria interrupted her thoughts.

“Sure did.” She groused and tilted her head in the general direction of where she saw Tessa and Franco last. Through the bodies, for a moment, the crowd parted and the two stared.

Stepping back from her esteemed role as the older sister, by barely two minutes, Antha admitted to herself that Tessa always looked good. Her off-the-shoulder top exposed a flawless ebony collarbone, shoulder blades, and arms. As if she was the Queen of Sheba incarnate, her tiny wrists were decorated with gold bangles. Her earrings matched the beads in her hair, reflecting light in her hazel eyes. A waterfall of thick box braids fell down her back and over her shoulders, past the tops of her thighs. Her years of dance complimented the country-chic white cut-offs that revealed just a hint of under cheek when she bent across the billiard table.

“If I were a man, I’d pray for her to bite my head off quick and painless.” Maria laughed, her ponytail frizzing from the heat of her work; her hands rapidly dipping then shining high ball glasses.

“But that’s not her style.” Antha replied wryly.

“You’re both good girls. Now you keep her out of as much trouble as you can—I’ll send Kyle ‘round to your table with beers, just let me catch up here!”

Maria was right: they were good girls. All of Tessa’s shenanigans aside, she never forgot cake for a birthday and with everyone’s break-ups she always had a bottle of Jack stashed with a shoulder to cry on. Tessa was the one that painted Antha’s nails and always lent her the best outfits when the event called for it. On occasion she was even known to deliver soup when her sister ran a fever.

Tessa was the heart of the operation and Antha couldn’t begrudge her just because she was the head.

For better or worse, they were sisters.

Antha reluctantly clutched the chilled drinks and felt a pang of relief in the sweltering bar. She couldn’t see her sister at the billiard table with the onslaught of shuffling patrons, so she decided to move toward her booth. She narrowly missed being covered in appletini as the DJ scratched in one more summer top ten into his rotation. Before she could move forward a voice pinned her in place.

“Your sister’s the worst, you know that?” A nice-looking guy glared at her. His teeth gleamed pink in the red bar lights. Antha bet he had a handsome smile on account of those white teeth, but he was not smiling now. She squinted through the hazy dance floor and recognized him as the guy Tessa arrived with before Franco appeared.

“Hey John, don’t fret, Tessa’s just catching up with an old friend—he comes into town every so often, don’t get upset.” She yelled back at his face as kindly as she could manage over the blare of the oncoming band tuning their instruments. For some reason he didn’t seem to believe her and his chest instinctively puffed up.

“John? I’m José!” He replied. Antha felt embarrassed for both her sister and herself. She grimaced unintentionally, realizing she had said it all with very few words.

She tried to defend their position with a weak excuse. “José, I’m bad with names and faces—” but he stormed off before she could piecemeal a string of bullshit. There goes another Mr. Last Month.

This was having fun. Antha doing damage control on last month’s flame, while Tessa stoked a new one. All of the nice memories of her sister evaporated in the heat of the interaction. She grumbled to herself, as she had grown tired of babysitting, not just Tessa but the men-children she dated. When she finally confirmed her party’s booth, she parted the shadowy sea of basic bitches.

Tessa was giggling like a school girl when her sister dropped the sweaty glasses onto the ratty old table. Franco at her neck like a leech. I hate this guy, Antha thought to herself. He turned his hot gaze on her, “Hi Antha, didn’t see you there.” His drawl was thick like humidity. She thought about giving her drink to Tessa’s date, but now that she could see he was it, she plopped down and selfishly sipped one of the nasty cocktails without offering the second.

“Oh hey Brian,” she said playfully, “where’s your camera?”

“Ant, now you know this is Franco, stop playin’!” Tessa tore her eyes away from him for a split second, but after she threw her daggers she was back ogling him like a dog does a bone.

“Sorry, it’s hard to keep all these blue-eyed, blond, gentlemen straight.” Antha marginally resisted saying yokel under her breath.

Tessa had a type. Beyond all logic, light eyes were the buckle in her knee, the hitch in her breath; and Franco was at the top of her list. Antha assumed he was the Porsche in her garage amongst a long list of Ford’s, but she honestly didn’t know the whole story. All she knew was that Franco showed his face sparingly and only after dark. He would disappear for weeks at a time, which earned him the endearment The Flake.

Now, Antha hadn’t dated enough men in her young life to sort them by color and size, but Tessa had. To her credit, her tastes were diverse, she did her research and knew what she liked. No one blamed her either. With that hair and those legs, Tessa could have anyone she wanted. The great appeal of Franco didn’t add up to Antha though. She found him suspicious. She thought his truck was too loud, his jeans too torn, and his eyes much too heavy.

Franco made idle conversation, inquiring after the twins’ classes as if he cared. His blond, three-quarter parted hair was glossy under the dim lights. When he pulled his tooth pick from the back of his ear and chewed on it, it made him look like an old-fashioned mobster—well until that Delmar twang spilled out of his hillbilly mouth. There was an allure about him; all of his parts matched, but his smile unglued those pieces. A smile that never quite reached his eyes.

Antha found herself sizing him up, drinking the disgusting cocktail faster than she wanted. I bet he has plastic zip ties and rope in his truck bed, she thought. She didn’t truly know why the image popped into her mind, it was just a feeling she got when his eyes were on her; made her feel like a snack, as if he would eat her alive right where she sat. No more Unsolved Mysteries for me this week, she insisted to herself.

“Mmmm-hmmm.” Was the best response she could offer when he spoke to her directly. Tessa continued chatted about her business management courses as he deeply stared at her. Antha figured there was no real room for her in the conversation so she took out her world cultures text and flipped to her last page. She liked hanging out, however her final thesis was demanding all of her energy. The page fell open to vampires in the section of Egyptian mythology. She thought how ironic as her eyes shot up at the man sitting across from her.

“So, there’s this bonfire by Slaughter Bay, I thought you ladies could come with.” Franco suggested lazily like it was too exclusive to be excited about. “You can shotgun babe and we can put Antha and her friends in back.” He eyed the textbooks growing damp on the table. Antha finished the first SoCo and started the second just to cope with him. “You could call up the girls.”

“Zoey… Zoey... Zoey!” Tessa dramatically said into her drink and then laughed. Antha couldn’t help but smirk as Tessa explained to him her girlfriend was like Candyman and could be summoned via a pint of beer. The joke was partially lost on Franco.

Before Tessa could agree to go Antha piped up, a little less shy now that her liquid courage had kicked in. “Sounds awfully romantic, but we can’t.” Before she could continue she was interrupted.

“Hey girl haaayyyy!” Zoey appeared as if out of thin air and snatched one of the beers sent over by the bartender. “You goin’ nowhere without me—not after I Ubered across town!” Her two rando friends hollering and sloshing their drinks.

“How the hell do you do that?” Antha insisted, amazed that their friend appeared.

“Uhhhh, never you mind—we can make bonfire plans later—its ten o’clock, I’m here and Bieber is playing! GET UP!” Zoey declared, the glitter from her eyes dusting every surface.

“Keep an eye on my friends.” Antha told Franco as she abandoned her books to be dragged to the floor. This was the moment she decided she was getting them all out of there; she didn’t like the sound of a bonfire with him and she certainly wasn’t allowing Tessa to go on her own either. She sent a pre-written text message to Doug: “Get here.” Which was their code for its really going down, I need back up.

Twinning Taglist: If you want to be added or removed just let me know; please share with anyone that might be interested. I would love any and all feedback so I can learn and become a better writer. Thank you! I tagged some people that I thought would be interested in this. @myoxisbroken @just-the-hiddles @vodka-and-some-sass @nildespirandum @yespolkadotkitty @latent-thoughts @emeraldrosequartz @villainousshakespeare @hopelessromanticspoonie @caffiend-queen @poetic-fiasco @lokimostly @dianamolloy @marvelgirlonamarvelworld @brightsunanddarkmidnight2-0 @cateyes315 @mooncat163 @nuggsmum @plastic-heart @myraiswack @wolfpawn

#landlord vampire fic frenzy #twinning vs vamps #arch-venus25 writes

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qualidude · 3 years

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Could you post an excerpt of your writing pretty please?

I’m going to do this under the cut so I’m not just filling up everyone’s dash, but thanks for asking! It’s cool y’all are interested. It took me a while to decide what part would be good to share. I thought about trying to pull an excerpt from each of the three POVs, but I think that would get too long to share in a text post on Tumblr. This is part of the scene where the most characters are present at once. It’s told from Avery’s perspective. She’s basically the dyke of my dreams but also....not. I wrote a little more about her in response to this ask Co-author is @arabdyke ! Also, if you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, follow the link above!

One thing I will say about this book is that we aren’t going for anything fancy, more going for attachment to the characters and readability (since it’s so fuckin long lol). It all takes place in first perspective, so we are just trying to achieve something that feels natural. Let me know what y’all think!

“I’m gonna go smoke,” I say when there’s finally a lull in the conversation. “I’ll come,” Ian offers, which surprises me. I won’t turn down the company though. Amanda heads off to some other part of the house while all three of us make our way outside. I take a cigarette out, lighting it. I try to exhale away from Ian, but the smoke keeps blowing in his face. “Sorry,” I crack a smile. He just smiles back wearily. “Do you think Everest likes that Amanda girl?” I ask. He sighs and shrugs, looking pathetic about it. “Probably. I don’t know. I mean, it’s fine if he does.” “Is it?” He slumps again. “I mean, yeah, it is.” “Why isn’t it fine?” I ask, ignoring what he just said. Ian looks around hesitantly like he’s making sure we’re far away from all other ears. He seems deeply uncomfortable. I seriously feel bad for this guy. He doesn’t know what I know, but even if I didn’t, I’d never be shitty about it. He probably even knows that, but it might not make it easier.

“It’s just hard to watch Everest date anyone now...after Gwen was so awful.” “Mm,” I muse. “Well, Amanda seems nice.” Rudolf’s staring at Ian intensely like he’s trying to will him into just spitting it out already. “I guess,” Ian agrees slowly. “Nice enough.” Rudolf kind of rolls his eyes, but doesn’t say anything. Ian just crosses his arms, staring off at nothing in particular. “There are other reasons too,” he mumbles, still not making eye contact. “Like...I don’t know. I like him.” Jesus. Finally. “Aw, that’s sweet,” I tease, not wanting to act too shocked or knowing. “You guys have known each other forever. How long have you been into him?” “A long time. Too long, probably. It’s stupid, right?” “It’s not stupid,” Rudolf cuts in before I can come up with a response. “You can’t help the way you feel.” Ian just shrugs. “Rudolf’s right,” I say. “It’s not stupid.” “It’s pretty hard not to feel that way,” Ian chuckles bitterly.

“Trust me, I get it…” I continue. “I was in love with my best friend too once upon a time, but it’s not the end of the world. He could feel the same way even. You have no idea.” “Yeah,” Rudolf adds. “I mean, he did date a guy once, right? You kinda left that part out before, buddy.” “We were kids,” Ian says, getting red. “That barely counts.” “Of course it counts,” Rudolf insists. “Well, he isn’t gay,” Ian says pointedly. “He literally told me he was bi just a few days ago.” Ian gets quiet and seems confused. He looks like he’s trying to figure out how that could be possible. “He told you that?” he asks finally. Rudolf nods. “He never told me that,” Ian states. I can tell he doesn’t know what to make of this new information. Is it a good thing? Mostly he just looks dazed. “He thought you knew,” Rudolf says. “He said he thought it wasn’t a big deal.” Ian takes a deep breath. “Well, I don’t think that changes anything.”

“Dude, yeah, it does,” Rudolf keeps at it. “You have a chance. That’s something, right?” Ian doesn’t seem convinced. He just looks uncomfortable, like he doesn’t want to talk about this anymore. “Maybe,” he says simply. There’s a sense of finality in his tone like he’s putting an end to the conversation. He looks off into space again after that. I chain smoke a few cigarettes, mostly because I don’t know what else to say or do. When I’m about to reach for another, Rudolf takes it out of my hand. “We can go back inside,” he says, handing the cigarette back to me. He looks kind of shocked by what he just did like he acted without thinking. Ian sees the expression on Rudolf’s face and chuckles. “Yeah, alright, we can go back in.”I smile at Rudolf to try to ease the tension. Then I follow them inside, stashing the cigarette back in my pack. By now, it’s louder and a lot more crowded. I don’t recognize anyone, but that’s alright. Maybe it will be better if we don’t see anyone we know tonight. Ian’s surveying the room, probably looking for Everest. He gives up quickly, though. “I might go check things out in the kitchen,” I say. “Wanna tag along?” “Sure,” Rudolf nods, letting me lead the way. Ian doesn’t say anything but follows after us regardless. There are a few people hanging around the table and like Amanda mentioned, one of them’s doing trash rat tats. I greet them with a nod and then pick up some flash sheets sitting on the table, looking them over. Some of them are pretty basic, but some are cool. There’s one of a gory eyeball and another of a fat pigeon that I somehow love as much as I hate.

“Are you getting one?” Rudolf asks, glancing over the designs in my hands. “Yeah, I think so.” Ian looks along with us, but I know this really isn’t his scene. “Which one do you think you’ll get?” he asks. “Hmm, probably this one,” I say, pointing to the eyeball. “It’s so gross,” he cringes. “Yeah, I like gross shit.” “You should see her art,” Rudolf says fondly. I smile at him. “Think this suits me?” “Yeah, it’ll look good.” When the current crowd clears, the person holding the tattoo gun looks at us and asks if there’s anything sparking our interest.“This one’s pretty cool,” I say, handing them the sheet. “Sweet,” they say. “Take a seat.” So, I do. The tattooer isn’t super chatty, but that’s fine. I kind of prefer it. I decide to get the work on my arm in the small space I have left between two stick-n-pokes I got a few years back. Ian and Rudolf sit with me, but Ian just looks queasy. “You don’t have to stick around,” I assure him, but he forces a smile and asks me if it hurts. “Not really,” I say, hoping that’ll help somehow. That’s the truth. It doesn’t really hurt. You get used to it. A few minutes in, a new group of people pile into the kitchen. Amongst them, of all fucking people, is Cameron. Fucking fantastic.

Rudolf doesn’t notice right away. He’s busy staring at my arm, but after a minute, he looks up at me. I must seem uncomfortable because he raises an eyebrow and then turns around. His expression immediately slips as he makes eye contact with Cameron. Then he turns back to me, looking dead-eyed. When Cameron spots us, he wastes no time heading over. Rudolf wastes no time leaving. I wish I could follow him, but I literally can’t. “Hah, of course you’d be into this lame shit,” he says to me, ignoring Rudolf’s disappearing act. The tattooer scoffs under their breath. “Cameron, fuck off,” I say limply. “I’m not in the mood.” “Ow,” he feigns hurt. “Watch it, Avery.”

Cameron takes the seat that Rudolf was previously occupying. “Hey,” he says to Ian. “Hey,” Ian responds, looking unsure of the whole situation. “Who are you?” “Cameron Fant,” he says, holding his hand out. “You?” Ian accepts his hand slowly, giving it a firm shake. “Ian.” God. Who introduces themselves like that? Was Cameron always this annoying, or did I just not see it? “Are you one of Avery’s friends?” Cameron asks, probably prepared to make himself look perfect in the eyes of a new, handsome stranger. Ian nods, and Cameron asks where we met.

“Weight class.” “Why haven’t I seen you around before?” “This isn’t really my thing.” Cameron laughs and then touches Ian’s shoulder. “Well, yeah, this is awful,” he says. “I’ll show you something better.” Ian’s face is red again. Cameron probably loves that. He’s oozing confidence and it fucking sucks. I wish I could tell Ian right now just how awful and disgusting Cameron is, but I can't. Not without betraying Rudolf's trust. Instead, I zone out and stare down at my arm, trying not to listen. Cameron keeps flirting with Ian and it’s honestly the vilest thing I’ve ever heard. I’ve seen these moves a million times before, but now, with everything coming into the light, I can barely keep it together.“Cam, screw off, you’re not even his type,” I say before I can help myself. Cameron’s eyes snap to me and he looks pissed. Ian looks uncomfortable too, but screw them both! It’s literally just the truth. Besides, this isn’t something Ian wants to get mixed up in even for one second. He knows Cameron’s an ass, but he’s also charming as hell. I don’t want to risk Ian falling for the facade. “Oh you know fuck-all,” Cameron spits at me before turning back to Ian like I never said anything at all. Ian looks so fucking distressed and I feel bad because I know he doesn’t know how to make this stop. “So, what do you do?” Cameron asks, crossing his arms in a way that I think is supposed to make him seem laid back. “Uh, I just graduated,” Ian mumbles.“Wow, me too,” he says and he just sounds so damn sure of himself. “From where?” “U of M.” “Huh,” Cameron smiles condescendingly. “I went to the Academy of Art with Avery and Rudolf before his lame ass dropped out. I’m a sculptor.” “I heard…” Ian says, wide-eyed. “That’s...cool?” Ugh. Don’t encourage him! “It is pretty cool. Probably the best job in the world. I get to do whatever I want and make all my own hours.” Jesus Christ, he sounds so full of himself. I swear to God he’s a complete and utter fucking narcissist.

Cameron keeps talking about himself and I can’t help but notice that he sounds a little more invested than normal. I keep staring at them, trying to figure it out. Ian certainly is Cameron’s type, even if the reverse isn't true. I guess Ian looks a bit like Jackson, which is funny because Jackson looks a bit like Cameron. All these fucking white boys, man. That might be what’s keeping Cameron’s interest. He’s shallow, after all.

Just as Ian looks like he’s about to absolutely lose it, Cameron gets a text. He pulls out his phone and smirks to himself. “I’ve got something I need to take care of,” he says to Ian. “But I’ll see you around.” “Sure,” Ian responds. “Later, Avery,” Cameron says to me before leaving the kitchen.

Once he’s gone, Ian leans into me and urgently whispers, “Was he hitting on me!?”

Ugh. “Yeah,” I say with distaste. “That’s the guy Rudolf slept with, huh?” “Yep...” I say again, getting knots in my stomach. “He’s pretty crappy.” Ian gives a long nod, sitting back in his seat. “That’s what Rudolf and Everest both said.” Hopefully, that’s enough for Ian to put the idea to rest. If he rejected Rudolf’s advances before, then he’s probably not about to fall into Cameron’s trap. He’s just too nice to tell Cameron to fuck off. When my tattoo is done, the artist wraps it for me and I pull my wallet out, handing them a few bills.

“Thanks,” I say, “This is great.” That felt like forever. Usually, I enjoy the entire process, but Cameron ruined it. Now I just want to find Rudolf. I wander through the house, shoving everyone who bumps into me. I am not in the fucking mood. “Let me know if you see Rudolf,” I say to Ian. He nods, glancing around with me for a few minutes until we find Rudolf sitting on a sofa. There are a bunch of other people sitting around him, but I can tell he probably hasn’t been talking to any of them. There’s a drink in his hand and I can’t help but wonder if it’s his first or his fifth. “Hey, man,” I say. He nods, but with the way his head bobs I can tell he’s pretty fucked up. Man, this sucks. I never expected to see Cameron here. “Are you okay?” I ask.

“Fine,” he insists but his voice is high and slurry. I offer him a hand, pulling him up from the sofa and away from the crowd of folks hovering in the living room. “Cameron’s pretty full of himself, huh?” Ian says.

I think he’s trying to make Rudolf feel better, but it doesn’t work. Rudolf just scowls.

“What was he doin’? Talkin’ about how talented and popular and amazing he is?” “Pretty much,” Ian says. “Typical. Was he flirting?” Rudolf keeps wobbling against me, but at least he’s coherent. “Um...I don’t know. Maybe a bit?” Everest reappears finally, clapping a hand on Ian’s shoulder. “Hey! Sorry I got swept off! How’s it going?”

“I got a tattoo,” I say, lifting my arm. “Woah, sweet!” he exclaims. “You’ll have to show me later.” “Cameron decided to show up,” Rudolf adds, sharing a look of disdain with Everest. “Oh… ew,” Everest says slowly. “Man, that guy is so lame.” “He hung around, so I left,” Rudolf shares. “God, yeah I would’ve, too…I would’ve peaced right the fuck out.” “Yeah, plus watching him flirt with Ian would’ve made me want to puke. Glad I missed that.” Everest’s jaw slacks. He looks at Ian and then back at Rudolf.

“Are you kidding? That guy really has no shame.” Ian laughs awkwardly. “Yeah, I didn’t really know how to react…”

The tension doesn’t go away. It just keeps building. Ian and Everest don’t know how truly foul Cameron is. They think Rudolf is upset because he slept with Cameron and things went south, but that’s not even close. We stand around for a minute and Rudolf keeps drinking. Hell, we all keep drinking, except Ian who looks like he just wants to go home. “What did Cameron even say to you?” Everest mumbles, pushing a topic I really wish he’d just drop. “Mm…” Ian twists his face like he’s trying to remember. “He mostly just talked about how he’s an artist. He told me I’d like the party scene if I went places with him.” “Gross,” Everest scoffs. “That’s never happened to me before,” Ian confesses. “A guy’s never hit on me like that before.”

He seems put off, but still somehow excited. I wish he wasn’t, but I’m trying to understand. Sometimes it just feels nice to have someone acknowledge you, especially when you’ve been in the closet so long. It makes you feel less alone, even if that person is a total scumbag. “Yeah, well Cameron’s a douche,” Everest snaps. “Oh, yeah, I mean, I know that,” Ian looks taken aback. “I’m not going to keep talking to him or anything.” Yikes. I wonder what has Everest so riled up over this. Did Rudolf tell him what happened? Everyone seems uncomfortable and I’m starting to think that we should just get the hell out of here. It’s such a fucking drag that Cameron sucked the life out of our whole night like this. Too bad my best friend turned out to be an absolute nightmare of a person.

Too bad my ex-girlfriend hates me now because she can��t see how shitty he is.

Too bad I clearly have the world’s worst taste in people.

“Do you guys want to head home?” I decide to ask, hoping someone will take the bait.

“Not yet,” Everest says, his arms crossed. I look to Rudolf and he just frowns. Ugh. Jesus Christ. This is why I hate going out! This is why I hate parties. I literally never have a good time. Why do I even try anymore? I hate having to manage everyone’s feelings! “Okay,” I scuff the sole of my shoe against the floor. If I can’t get these guys to leave, maybe I can make Cameron want to. Then I could enjoy myself again.

#lgbt books #lgbt writers #queer writers #wlw #wlw writing #qpoc #qpoc artist #once again not me I’m white af but my coauthor is Lebanese 🙏🏻#book #self

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akaashisupremacy · 4 years

Text

Chapter 2: Chasing Springtime (Summer)

Tsukki x fem!reader/Oc

genre: romance, angst, friends to lovers, lowkey nsfw (wc: 5072 lol)

Summary: Kei Tsukishima, now in college is reacquainting himself with a childhood friend. Old feelings that he has long shoved aside resurface.

Notes: Kaori Miyahara is an original character, but readers are free to put themselves into her shoes! There will be more chapters to come and let me know if you have any feedback or if you want to be in the taglist.

Chap. 1 (Ao3) || Chap. 2 (AO3) || Chap. 3

Summer (July) || Sendai City || 2018

It was a warm summer evening in July. The gentle summer breeze swirled with a bit of humidity plied on Kei Tsukishima’s skin as he made his way into the train station. Usually buying a strawberry shortcake was an errand he readily undertook, but the day has been long and he was hungry that he was almost ready to neglect his errand. Besides, the anxiety building at the pit of his stomach as he walked towards the store was of no help.

As he selected a cake from the display stand, Tsukki tried to shake off his nerves. He was tired, worn and a little bit sticky, but today required special effort. Today was Kaori Miyahara’s birthday and he promised himself that he would surprise her with her (and his) favorite cake. He saw her regularly around the Sendai University campus, but he only ever hung out with her on Sundays. Today was Tuesday.

Tsukki was a second year college student playing professional volleyball in the Division 2 league. Since school was out, the training hours have extended themselves into the day. His schedule looked similar to a signed professional’s during his breaks, testing his stamina and his patience to their limits. His sport was fun, but sometimes it could be draining and Tsukki was the type of athlete who needed to rest.

The shopkeeper asked if he needed anything else. He requested for a candle to which she willingly obliged. He paid for his purchase and briskly walked in the direction of Kaori’s apartment which was located in a nearby residential street. He found his feet taking him into a dark brown door with a single pale of light lighting the doorstep. He rang the doorbell door.

A girl that barely hit the height of his chest opened the door. The smell of a maturing dinner wafted out into his Tsukki’s nose. He could hear the sizzling of meat and smell freshly cooked rice.

“Tsukki!” exclaimed a surprised Kaori. She looked like she just got home; she was still dressed in training shorts and her team shirt. Kaori trained with their university’s rhythmic gymnastics team.

“I didn’t expect you’d be dropping by,” she said. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the cooking, but her face looked drained. She too looked like she had a long day.

“I came over to drop this off. Happy birthday.” he said, handing her the paper bag containing the cake box. He tried to be cheerful in his tone, but Tsukki had never been great at being sunny.

“Thank you!” she smiled brightly, ”You really shouldn’t have-“ She stopped midway to take her cooking out of her pan and throw her windows open before rushing back to the door. The smoke from her pan had quickly filled her small room.

“You really shouldn’t have! I’m sorry to have caused you trouble on a weekday, I know how hard training is lately. Anyways, have you eaten dinner yet? Is your brother home for dinner?” she asked, with one hand holding the cake and another hand fanning herself. She had forgotten to put it down on her table.

Tsukki lived with his brother who was working in the city. They usually made dinner together.

Tsukki shook his head, “He’ll be out tonight. I’ll be heading home to get started on dinner. Sorry to bother you, I hope I didn’t distract from your cooking.” He shrugged his shoulders and put his hands in his pocket, slightly embarrassed that he had caused a ruckus in her home.

“Why don’t you stay over for dinner? I’ll make a little more teppanyaki beef. Okasan came over last weekend and she brought over enough food to stuff my fridge.” she said, ushering him in. Tsukki tried not to show that the smoke lightly fogging his glasses was bothering him.

Tsukki put down his bag and put himself to work. He filled two bowls with rice, plated some pickles and vegetables and helped her set the table as she made more beef. Kaori seemed to have run out of miso paste, so instead he made soup from powdered miso from her cupboard. This was the first time he’d been inside her home in the city.

While he helped her prepare their dinner, he quietly observed her little apartment, which was little more than a glorified room. Her dining room was her bedroom when her bed was rolled up. Her left wall was occupied by a desk and shelf stacked with books, memorabilia and some baskets of clothes. What looked like sliding doors to another room were where she kept her bed things and some clothes. Kaori was by no means big, but the room looked too small for her (at least in his eyes). The two of them making dinner off a minute counter quickly crowded the space.

Her apartment was drastically different from her old family home near Karasuno, just outside of the city which was a relatively spacious concrete home with wooden floors. The house had a backyard that was the size of a small half court. The house had multiple rooms and a wide receiving area. If Kaori did mind the size of her apartment, she did not show it. In fact, she was almost oblivious.

Once dinner was set, the absent sound of cooking begged to be filled by conversation. They sat down on her table on the tatami floor and began their dinner.

“How’s your birthday so far?” he asked. The table they were eating on was so small for Tsukki that even when his legs were folded and crossed, his knees would still touch Kaori’s toes. He felt conscious about touching her and moved himself back.

Kaori’s teammates had surprised her with some home-baked treats as birthday tokens, but other than that her training went on as usual. She proudly showed off some of the treats and told him a little about each team mate that gave it to her.

“How was your day? ” she asked in return.

“Nothing new,” he shrugged.

“Any ideas for internship plans for your senior year yet?” she asked. Tsukki was aiming to eventually enter a historical or science museum.

Kaori hesitated a bit, “When Okasan was here last weekend, she talked about her retirement plans. She is thinking of retiring in the Kansai region and I might move there after I graduated to be closer to her. I’m a bit concerned if I can get a job there considering our internship will be here.”

“So you’re moving again?” he asked as casually as he could. He could sense his nerves building while remembering Kaori’s last move. He had almost forgotten about that memory.

As far as Tsukki remembered, Kaori had moved a lot when she was in elementary. At one point her family lived overseas because of the nature of her Otoosan’s job. When she entered Junior High, her family moved into the house next to Tsukki’s family home. She stayed there until she abruptly left during their second year of high school which was the last time he saw her before college.

Kaori nodded, “Probably, if I can find a job in the region.”

Tsukki’s facial expression shifted. His face stiffened and then immediately erased any semblance of emotion.

“Is anything the matter?“ she asked, as she looked up from her food. She sensed his tension. She knew he was holding back.

“Nothing, it’s not my place to say. You should do what you like.” he said, shaking his head. He could sense his temper rising.

“Tsukki, I feel like you have something to say.” she said, treading carefully. Tsukki definitely had opinions even if he was quiet most of the time, “Just air it out.”

He put his bowl down unintentionally slamming it onto the table.

“ I can’t believe you’re moving…again! Every time things start to fall into place, you leave.” His voice was brimming with hurt and anger. His eyes were beginning to feel hot. It was taking all his control not to let angry tears roll down his eyes.

Kaori had never seen Tsukki so emotional. He kept trying to hold his outburst down without much success. Whenever he was disappointed or angry, Tsukki was always careful not to show it and now he had just exploded. She was stunned into silence.

“At least this time you’ve said it ahead of time, last time you didn’t even bother to say goodbye.” he said, crossing his arms and avoiding her eyes, “You just left.”

“Tsukki, I wanted to say goodbye. I had prepared to say my goodbyes to everyone -“ Kaori was pleading with her voice.

“You literally said goodbye to all you other friends except me!” he exclaimed with his hands.

Suddenly Tsukki felt like he was sixteen again, sitting in his high school classroom during lunch. He mentions to one his few friends that he had not seen Kaori yet after summer ended. A friend replies that Kaori had moved away during the break. Surprised that Tsukki had not known, his friend asked if Kaori had spoken anything about her move. Tsukki sits on his desk shocked and unable to process what he had just heard.

Tsukki remembered being asked to walk with Kaori to school on their first day of Junior High. His mother informed him that their new neighbors had a daughter that would be attending the same school.

“Moving to some place is always hard, it would be nice if you can be a friend to the Miyahara girl.” she said.

Tsukki grudgingly obliged to walk her to school on the said day, barely talking to her on the way there. Although he only promised to walk with her on the first day, they somehow left for school almost the same time every day. And so for all three years of Junior High, they walked to school together. Their friendship wasn’t particularly chatty, but Tsukki knew about Kaori’s dream to qualify for the national team for gymnastics and secretly thought it was cool whenever she got invited to selection camps. Kaori learned about Tsukki’s admiration for his older brother who played volleyball and was not surprised to find that he had barely made any friends in his volleyball youth group.

“Tsukki, I think your experience at volleyball would be richer if you made more friends.” she said, looking up to the sky with her hands in her pockets on their way to school, “I wish I could have teammates, you know. In gymnastics even your teammates are your competitors so it can be difficult to find lots of support from them during high pressure moments.”

Some time in their first year at Junior High, Kaori was invited to a selection camp for junior level gymnasts hoping to compete internationally. She found the experience stressful.

“Then why don’t you just join a team?” he asked. That seemed like a pretty obvious solution.

“Coach says I can better polish my individual skills if I work alone. Group routines take longer to choreograph and clean,” she sighed, “Joining a team will require me to learn a different skill set too. We don’t really do teams for individual competitions if you’re qualifying for elite.”

“See even your coach thinks team mates are unnecessary for improvement.” he pointed out.

Kaori retorted that it was because she competed in an individual sport.

“You compete with a team. You can’t compete alone.”

“Whatever, I still think I don’t need to be friends with my team.” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“It’s like you weren’t listening to what I just said,” she said with her hands on her hips as she stopped walking. Tsukki ignored her and continued strolling to the direction of their school.

“Hey! You can’t just pretend not to hear me.” she exclaimed, with her hands still on her hips.

“Yes, yes I can.” he called out, turning his nose to the sky.

“You can be such a snob sometimes,” she said, her nostrils flaring while running to catch up with Tsukki’s long strides.

Tsukki chuckled on the inside as he walked slower so Kaori could catch up.

They began drifting apart in High School when Tsukki could no longer regularly walk to school with her because he had morning training. Still they tried to keep in touch, Kaori would sometimes go to his games and he would keep tabs on her competition scores. After summer training ended in his second year, he noticed he hadn’t seen the light in their house for a while. He heard about her move at school and hurriedly asked his mother as soon as he got home to confirm if it was true. His mother validated that the Miyahara family moved away because her parents had separated. Kaori would be living with her mother, who got a job somewhere else in another city.

“I was so tired by the end of it all explaining why I was leaving them that when it came to saying goodbye to you, I couldn’t do it anymore. I was so so tired of having to keep explaining a move I didn’t even want. I felt that we had drifted apart and that was excuse enough not to tell you at that time.”

Kaori looked worn. She had not anticipated Tsukki’s reaction. With her back against the wall, she could not decide between letting Tsukki vent or airing her own frustrations about him. She decided to pick up another piece of beef and continued chewing, too tired to do more than ignore the conflict at hand.

“Kaori, we’re next door neighbors. Could you really not have said anything?!” he snapped. His eyes glared at her intently. Tsukki did not have many friends so he felt particularly betrayed by her sudden move.

His last line incensed Kaori. She forcefully stabbed her chopsticks into her bowl of rice and crossed her arms. She couldn’t believe he was laying all the blame on her. Part of the reason they had drifted apart was him too.

“Tsukki, we barely talked during High School. We were both busy and you weren’t making time for me either. Qualifying for Nationals in important and hard work on your end, but you can’t just toss people aside while you compete. You would never even talk to me at school, because you were afraid that people would tease you about it like they did in Junior High. It made me feel like you had outgrown me. Every time I tried to reach out it felt like you were pushing me away.

I know and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was only thinking of myself. I didn’t think you’d be so affected by my move. ” she said. Tears started welling up in her eyes. He realized too late that he went too far. Kaori was clearly hurt. His anger shifted to guilt.

“I was just so tired, Tsukki. My parents had been fighting all the time for years at that point and they were getting divorced during our first year. I was pretending that everything was alright even if I’ve been wearing thin all of freshman year.” she continued, not meeting his eye. She buried her face in her hands, sighing heavily.

Kaori knew from the moment she decided not to let Tsukki know that it would eventually backfire if they had met again and that moment had definitely arrived.

Tsukki slowly regained his composure. He didn’t mean to yell at her on her birthday. He hadn’t expected that he would be confronting the resentment that he held for her tonight and now that he finally did it his anger was slowly evaporating. He pulled the box of tissue beside him and handed it to her. He hated to cry and he even felt worse that he reduced her to tears.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lash out.” he sighed, his temper finally cooling. He stood up to make another pot of tea to make himself useful. After adding more cold water and some ice onto her small pitcher of mugi cha, he poured the drink into her cup and gently pushed it towards her.

“I was so hopelessly attracted to you for so long, but I preferred to just shove things down. I liked you so much that I didn’t know how to deal with it when you suddenly left. At the end of the day, you don’t owe me an explanation. You don’t even have to apologize.” he acknowledged, nodding his head.

Kaori was quiet for a long while after that. At a loss at what to do next, Tsukki awkwardly kept eating his dinner in silence. When they were done, he brought out the cake and lit a candle for her to blow. She looked at the cake thoughtfully and waited a bit before she blew it out. She silently cut the cake in half, giving a slice to Tsukki, who started clearing dishes into the sink to make room for dessert.

“Where do we go from here? What do we do now?” she said in a subdued tone, not meeting his eye. Dinner was so still that one could hear the soft clacking of utensils on plates. Tsukki was tempted to wash her dishes to avoid any more conversation.

The two only ever met up every couple of Sundays under the guise of aiming to explore more museums in the area. Any conversation they had were usually related to school work or their current living situation.

“Well…ahh” Tsukki stammered, “We always talk about what we’re doing now, but we haven’t really caught up on the things we’ve done when we were apart….”

He was conscious of his wording as not to put the blame of being away on Kaori, “Do you want to start there?”

What supposedly began as a quick weeknight dinner dragged into the night. Kaori narrated how she was injured through most of her high school gymnastics career from a combination of pacing, stress and growth spurts which made her determined to pursue gymnastics through college so that she could have another chance to rediscover her love for the sport. Since she joined her current team, her training was lighter allowing her to be healthier.

“I’m doing so much better I feel like I’m having a resurgence of sorts. Competitive gymnastics is not really a long term career so to still be doing this now makes me feel so happy,” her eyes glistened as she spoke, “I can’t do all the tricks I used to do but I’m the healthiest I’ve been in a long while.”

She turned around and lifted her shirt a bit to show him her back. It was a slim back with some athletic tape here and there.

“I used to be covered in tape, like it was the only thing holding me together. Now, I feel so much stronger.” Kaori beamed as she talked about her health. Tsukki vaguely remembered a time in High School where she lost her spark for gymnastics.

“I mean if you’ve been in sports rehab for most of High School I should hope you really did come out stronger,” he said, sipping his tea.

Kaori put her shirt back down and patted herself, “That is true, but I don’t expect you to understand since you’ve had a relatively healthy career. What about you?”

Tsukki was slightly taken aback but tried not to show it. He talked about qualifying for nationals all three years of his high school career and how he found his passion for volleyball. In Junior High, he felt like he was only playing because he needed something to do, but that changed during the finals for his first prefectural.

“Nobody thought we could beat Shiratorizawa High because they’ve been unbeatable in the finals at the prefectural level the past three years, even I thought we were going to lose. When I learned how to block his spikes and play against them, we won. That really changed the sport for me. It stopped being just a club. I realized how much I liked playing and winning.”

“It’s still not fun all the time, but it started becoming fun some times.” he added.

Tsukki briefly touched on how he was recruited to play professionally in Division 2, which was a far less exciting story than qualifying for his first Nationals.

Their conversation kept going and they began talking about their future plans for after college. Kaori explained why she was so adamant to be near her mother and how she found it difficult to be away from her so long now that she worked in another region.

“After my parents divorced, I felt very lost. I knew I was a child, but I had no choice but to be an adult. After she started getting part, I was set to start out college and she moved south. I want to get some time with my mom back. It’s very important to me Tsukki.

When she retires, she might not like it here in Japan so she might just move back home to be with the rest of her family. She said she might stay in Japan for a couple of years in her retirement to give it a shot.”

Tsukki stated that he would like to work for a museum and that he was aiming for Sendai City Museum. He wasn’t really sure if that would pan out with his professional contract, but he is quite looking forward it.

The night ended quite late with Tsukki standing just outside her door. He had felt much lighter than when he first stepped foot into her apartment earlier that evening but he also felt more exhausted. Not only was he physically drained, but the emotional weight of the evening was wearing on him.

“If you really want to move to Kansai, I’ll move with you.” he said in all earnestness. Tsukki caught himself after he made his promise, “Depending how things pan out I guess.”

Kaori was caught off guard. It was near impossible to get him to be expressive and vulnerable and here he was promising to plan his future with her.

“What about your career? How will you continue to play volleyball professionally if you move?” she asked, sounding concerned.

“We can talk more about this another time. I don’t have to play professionally. I can just find another league. I’m not sure I can keep playing like this after I do get a normal job.” he shrugged.

“Really?“ she smiled brightly.

“Kaori I just said I would,” he said, raising his eyebrows, his cool had returned after an evening of being unnerved.

“It wasn’t loud enough. Could you say it again? I don’t think I heard you right the first time,” she teased, laughing while cupping her ears closer to him.

“You’ll have to wait another day.” he nodded while tilting his head and turning his back on her, “See you on Sunday.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer (August)

Sendai City

2020

On a rainy August afternoon, the change of weather had finally eased the sizzling pavement of its heat. The unyielding sun and the dry air gave way to a cooler temperature made it an easy enough day to spend under light summer blankets.

Although there was a little bit of sun out, Kaori’s apartment was barely lit. Her curtains were drawn and the lights were off. The only sliver of light in the apartment escaped from a part of her window that could not be covered. The light barely grazed Tsukki’s head, illuminating the strands of his hair.

Despite the darkness, Kaori was aware of exactly where Tsukki was. He was laying on his side atop of her futon bed with a thin blanket covering most of him. She could see the outline of his toned body draped beside her. He had one hand on her waist and another running back and forth her hair and her spine.

“I called Okasan to tell her that I would like to work a bit in Sendai before I move to Kansai. I told her it might be easier to get my start here since I’ll be doing my internship in the area. She must have sensed that I’m seeing someone because she immediately told me to make sure that I put my career ahead of my priorities,“ she sighed her forehead pressed against his throat. She could feel his throat rise and fall as he listened to her.

“She went on a tirade cautioning me about getting into a serious relationship too early. She went on about me being in the age of curiosity - a time to explore what I like and don’t like. Now was not the time to be committing to something I might later regret was what she said.” Kaori murmured, her hand around his neck while she lay across him. She could feel his fingers continually running through her hair and bare back as she talked.

“I’m sure the advice was well-meaning.” he murmured into her ear, his fingers drawing shapes on her hips and lower back.

“Do you think she really knows?” her tone sounded a bit troubled.

Tsukki adjusted his glasses and gently pushed her away to look into her eyes, “She is probably just casting out a wide net honestly. I don’t think it’s anything to be worried about.”

In truth there was probably no repercussion if Kaori’s mother found out she was seeing someone. Kaori was just intensely private about her personal life and she felt mortified at the thought that her mother would know about her relationship.

“Do you ever get curious though?” Kaori asked.

“Curious about what?” said Tsukki, looking somewhat confused. He kicked the blankets down to his feet which were barely covered just because he was just too tall for her blanket. Kaori instinctively covered herself as her blanket slid down. Tsukki, grabbed his jacket from his side and covered her.

“What it’s like to be with other girls? Athletes have lots of fans, right?” she asked, only half paying attention.

Tsukki thought back to incidents with fans. He did remember hearing his name occasionally from the spectators during big matches. There would be girls trying to go up to talk to him every now and then and he opted to ignore them or shake them off.

“I don’t have the time nor the interest to entertain romantically interested fans frankly. Even when there were girls approaching me in high school, I thought it was just annoying,” he said, scratching his head, “I think Yamaguchi would have been a better audience for their attention honestly.”

Yamaguchi was his best friend and teammate from his High School Volleyball Club. One of his pet peeves was that girls would often approach him to ask about Tsukki. Tsukki felt that Yamaguchi was probably more suited to the attention Tsukki received from girls his age.

Tsukki was puzzled by the direction of the conversation especially considering how they had just spent the afternoon together. Just thinking about the intense pleasure he had experienced half an hour ago made tingles up his spine. How could he be thinking about other women during an hour like this?

“Are you actually jealous of my ‘fans’ ?” he smirked, then feigned shock, “I didn’t think you’d ever be the jealous type. My my!”

Kaori punched his ribs.

“You play in a Division 2 league, get over yourself.” she huffed, turning her back on him. Tsukki didn’t even play in the top tier professional league. There were more tiny children asking for his autographs than women shrieking for his attention. “You’re not Kageyama.”

“I’ve known you since we were in Junior High. If I was more curious I think I’d opt to look for someone I didn’t know as well or maybe a flashier girl…maybe I am the country bumpkin simpleton you tease me to be.” he said, “If country bumpkin equates to my lack of attachment to fame and attention.”

He tried to put his arm around her waist to draw her back to him. Kaori instantly swatted his hand away. Tsukki resigned to himself and lay flat on his back with his arms on his head.

“I mean I wasn’t even looking for a relationship, we kind of just stumbled onto each other. I really like you, I do but if we hadn’t been seeing each other I wouldn’t be actively going around searching for someone to date.”

He flipped the question onto her.

“How do you feel about your fans? Are you curious what it would be like to date one of the people cheering for you in the stands.”

“Not really? I mean I feel thankful and respectful for the people cheering me on, but honestly I’ve never thought about being romantically linked to any of them. Liking the same sport is not a good foundation for a relationship.

Also, the majority of gymnastic fans are either hardcore fans of the sport, former gymnasts or families of budding gymnasts. There are very few casual fans looking for a date in the audience, you know?” she said, turning towards him with her arms crossed.

“Oh wow, that’s very balanced of you.” he said.

“Are you not curious?” He asked, suddenly conscious of being her lover.

“Curiosity doesn’t always pay off.” she swiftly answered, “Every guy that has tried to ask me out either looks like trouble or believes me to be a different person from who I am.”

Kaori thought back to the time her friend tried to set her up on a double date with a guy that asked her to be more “kawaii” and lady-like because he felt she was taking too big a bite of her food. The boy thought she would be more attractive if she demurred herself. The experience made her shudder at the audacity of men.

“Does that mean I look like trouble?” he gasped, faking his dramatics.

“No, you’re too anti-social to cause trouble.” she laughed.

“Then are you not content with me?” he followed up.

Kaori quickly paused to think and said, “I am.”

Tsukki moved over closer to her, covering her body with his. Kaori wrapped her arms around his neck as he pressed himself onto her. He could feel her breathing in his skin.

“Then I don’t see what’s the problem.” he said, planting a kiss along her neck.

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day6imagines · 6 years

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My Anxious Cinderella

member; woosung (sammy) x reader ft. BTS Kim Taehyung ( and Day6 and KARD Matthew if you squint )

word count; 3.2k

genre; fluff (i think lol)

summary; Y/N thinks she’s about to have the worst night of her life. That’s until she meets woosung

Being the daughter of one of the most successful businessmen in the country has its perks such as always having the best of the best like best school, best parties, best clothes e.t.c. Even though you had all these things you still lived a simple life. You still had chores to do and even worked a few hours a week in the local supermarket much to your father's disapproval but you managed to convince him to let you for your independence. You walked to school every morning and walked home every evening. Your house wasn't swarming with maids which came as a shock to most guests. Your mother and father took turns cooking dinner and you did the dishes. You lived a normal life for the most part.

Today was one of those days that you were reminded that your life wasn't always normal. Tonight you would have to attend one of the many charity balls your family is invited to. You can already imagine how the night would go. There’d be drinks at the entrance and groups of men in suits and women in ball gowns catching up (business talk is not allowed until after dinner). Then there’d be a three-course meal with food so fancy and tiny it could be an appetizer. Then there'd be some live band that plays for roughly an hour and everyone dances. Then the band leaves and classical music is played through the speakers and everyone talks (this is when business talk is allowed). At the end of the evening, everyone makes a donation to the charity and leaves with huge smiles on their faces (that's a fake smile for anyone like you).

You always hated these events because you would continuously be introduced to some ‘fine young man’ whose only topic of conversation is how he's gonna own his family's company one day. It was uncomfortable and awkward. The night always felt like it would never end. Tonight would be no different. Or so you thought.

“Everyone expects you to be there Y/N.” You could tell from your mother's tone of voice that she was getting sick of you continuously asking if you could not go. “How about afterward we can pick up a pizza?”

“Fine, only if I get to choose the toppings.”

“Deal. Now you better start getting ready! We leave at six on the dot!”

Your ball gown had a v neck and hung off your shoulders. the sequins, embedded in trails from the waist down overlapped, scintillated their reflections across the room. The dress was advertised as "sky blue", but in fact was much more pastel and faded. It sat comfortably at ankle height and you wore silver strappy heels that you would later regret. The evening had just begun and you had already had to try to be interested in talking with two respected families sons. That's a record because it was normally after dinner when you were introduced to ‘potential husbands’. You had roughly ten minutes until dinner and you were already uncomfortable and wanted nothing more than to wrapped in blankets watching whatevers new on Netflix. You were about to enter the dining hall in search of the seat with your name on it when your father came into view.

“Y/N, there you are! I’d like you to meet Kim Taehyung. Maybe you guys have met before, he’s a business major in your school.”

“I don't think we have, I would have remembered someone as stunning as you. Kim Taehyung,” He held your hand and lifted it toward his face where he placed a gentle peck on the back of your hand before letting go and looking into your eyes. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Y/N. NIce to meet you too Taehyung.”

“I’ll be off and I’ll let you guys get to know each other. Y/N we’re seated at table four and Mr. Kim here will be seated with his family at the same table as us I believe.”

“Your correct Sir, we’ll be over in a few minutes.” Once your father left Taehyung turned to you and gave you a boxy genuine smile. “You can call me Tae, all my friends do.”

“We’re not friends.”

“Not yet Y/N but soon don't worry.” He winked at you and lead you to your seats.

You were finished dessert and were not having a horrendous time. Tae was super chatty (and not businessman chatty) he spoke about his dog yeontan who was the love of his life and he spoke about his best friends who were more like brothers to him. You both shared stories of college and filled each other in on gossip around the campus. He told you about a girl in his class that he was crushing really hard on but could never seem to get the courage to ask her out and whenever he tried he would get so flustered he’d somehow end up embarrassing himself. You found the time when he got so flustered he bumped into a table and fell on top of his professor who had just walked in resulting in the professor spilling coffee everywhere the funniest out of them all.

He was interesting and different. His dream is to someday become a singer but for the moment is studying business to impress his parents as well as give him time to train so he can show them his full potential. You admired him and could tell that you guys would stay close friends as you guys already planned to meet up on campus next week to meet his friends and maybe the girl he’s crushing on if he can manage to ask her this time. He promised that his friend Jungkook was even more socially awkward around girls and that he couldn’t wait to introduce you to him.

It was now time for the live band and you couldn't wait to dance with Tae because he probably had some quirky dance move that would make you laugh until your stomach hurt. Your mother and father had stayed out of your conversations at dinner and let you spend the rest of the evening with Tae which you were grateful for.

You were standing around the dance floor waiting for the live band to arrive when Tae started telling you about an audition he had in a few weeks for a company called big hit. He was really nervous and couldn't decide if this was a good time to tell his parent.

You were listening closely to what he was saying so you could offer your opinion on the matter when the live band arrived. The amps and drums were already on stage but they had to finish setting up. One of the boys had dyed white hair and had an electric guitar slung over his shoulder. For some reason, you couldn't keep your eyes off him and the more you watched the more you felt the need to get to know him. He turned around from talking to bassist in the band and something pulled him to look over in your direction and you both made eye contact. You felt the air being knocked out of you just from him looking at you and you forgot how to breathe.

“So Y/N what do you think? …. Y/N?” Taes voice made you focus back on Tae.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“I was talking about the audition and about telling my parents remember?” When Tae was talking you turned your attention back to the boy on stage who was standing in the same place and who was still looking in your direction but turned away when he saw you look over. What you didn't notice was that Tae had turned to see what you were looking at and was now smirking at you. “Wow Y/N I’m sorry that I’m distracting you, with my real life problems by the way, from eyeing up that boy over there.” He sarcastically stated.

“I’m not eyeing him I just thought I saw something over there and he happened to be standing in that direction.”

“Yeah whatever you say.”

“I’m telling the truth!”

“Suuurree, looks like they're about to start. Let’s go dance!”

It was nearing the end of the bands set and you were disappointed that they’d be leaving soon. They played a few covers as well as originals which you hadn’t heard before but enjoyed nonetheless. You had a great time with Tae on the dance floor and he continuously made you laugh. You couldn't help but turn your attention to the guitarist every now and again. He was even more beautiful when he was focused on the music and you could feel the passion he had for it. He was breathtaking and would be on your mind for days and the sad thing is you’d probably never see him again but you tried to forget about this when you danced and let the music take control.

Towards the end of their set, you started to feel a bit light headed and decided to step outside to cool down for a few minutes and return because you didn't want to miss the end of the set. There was a light chill outside that instantly cools you down and you then sat on the steps of the venue looking out on the garden. There surprisingly were a few people outside mostly couples or parents and their uncooperative children as all seemed to me whispering and trying to hide outside not wanting to be seen arguing in front of the other guests. This truly shows how fake everyone here is.

“Yeah, it really does.” You didn’t realise you had said that out loud until you heard a voice behind you. Startled you stood up to confront the eavesdropper and instantly stopped when you came face to face with the boy with the guitar. It felt like time froze as you looked at him but that was probably because neither of you had said anything. He finally spoke up after what felt like an eternity. “I notice you out there.”

“I noticed you too … out there.” noticed you?? It sounded fine when he said it but why did it sound so awkward when you said it. There were so many other things you could have said like “ your bands great” and so.

“That's cool. Emm I’m Woosung… and that’s it I guess. You probably used to that sentence ending with ‘ son of someones huge company ‘ but emm I'm just Woosung.”

“Sadly yeah but i like ‘just Wossung’ a lot better. Hi Woosung I’m Y/N ‘ daughter of someone's huge company’ it's a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasures all mine.” Although you sensed he was jokingly saying it your heart leaped and you couldn't wipe the huge grin on your face. You guys were suddenly interrupted by a voice behind you.

“Woosung you coming? We said we’d be there by now.” You turned around to see a boy you recognised as the bassist in the band standing at the bottom of the steps. Behind him was a van that you assumed the other members were in as well as their instruments. Woosung gave him a quick nod and then focused is attention back on you.

“We’re going to a friends concert tonight, would you do me the pleasure of being my date Y/N ‘ daughter of someone's huge company.’ I’d really like to get to know you a bit better and besides are fairytale story can’t end here.”

“I’d like nothing more than to get to know you better and go with you but i can't even begin to imagine how livid my parents would be. They know i despise these balls and they’d never forgive more leaving and it’s for charity and every-”

“What time do these balls typically end at?” Woosung cut you off because he could tell how anxious you were getting.

“Midnight at least, normally longer though”

“I’ll have you back by then my anxious cinderella”

In the car ride, you got to know his members. You could tell how close they all were as they shared embarrassing stories of things that happened around the dorm or at band practice. You easily get along with them all and didn't find it hard at all to in cage in the conversation which you would with most people. You felt as though you knew them for years and you were all catching up after not seeing each other for a while.

As you pulled up to the venue you took out your phone and sent a quick text to Tae whos number you got earlier telling him where you were as well as when you'll be back. He texted back instantly saying to be careful and to turn your location on just in case, which you did. He then sent a separate text saying have fun with a slightly creepy winky face.

“You coming cinderella?”

“Yep your majesty.”

At the entrance to the venue you noticed a security guard which caused you to panic because you didn't have a ticket to get in and you doubt woosung had a spare ticket and if he did then that scared you even more cause that meant he planned on getting a date last minute. Or were you thinking too much into the spare ticket. Before you could tell Woosung your concerns about not having a ticket to get in he was talking to the security guard.

“Hey Matthew, this is Y/N.” He gestured towards you and you gave a small wave. “Will I see you at the gym tomorrow?”

“You sure will! Have fun in there guys and extra fun for me who has to stand outside all night in the freezing cold.”

“We sure will Matthew! See you tomorrow then.” You bid farewell and Woosung led you into the venue. He managed to get you guys up close to the stage.

“My friend Jae is that one.” Woosung pointed to the boy who was playing guitar. He had blue hair that looked a different shade in different lights. “He makes sure I come to support his band and he also supports us. All the members get along its great.”

“Sounds it.” He continued to tell you stories about both bands as well as explaining to you things about live music you never knew. He had such a passion for it that you wanted to join a band right that second because his passion was rubbing off on you.

You both talked, laughed, sung and danced the whole time. You honestly couldn’t remember the last time you felt this carefree. All your worries were gone because all you could think of was Woosung. He was beautiful, talented, kind, funny, passionate and so much more. Seeing as you only knew him for one night and you already thought the world of him you couldn't imagine what it would be like to be with him. Him to be all yours.

And that’s what it felt like in this very moment. The both you were standing facing each other and smiling happily. The world fell silent and everyone around you disappeared. He started to lean towards you and you could only imagine how passionate this kiss would be. As you leaned in closer your lips about to touch a voice echoed in the venue.

“This is our last song for tonight! Thank you for having us.” You pulled away in panic as the concert was to end sometime around midnight and if this was the last song then that meant you were late.

“Woosung I have to leave! I’m sorry, you stay I’ll get a taxi.”

“No, I’ll take you I know a few shortcuts.”

The whole car ride you kept bouncing your leg up and down out of nervousness. You both were silent because Woosung was concentrating on the road as he was driving at a less than legal speed and you were trying to come up with excuses as to why you had left early. Woosung pulled up around the back entrance of the venue and escorted you into the building the way the band would have come in earlier.

“I’m really sorry I lost track of time. I said I’d have you back before midnight and I didn't want you to get stressed.”

“It’s fine Woosung honestly I had such a great time and I’d love to tell you how grateful I am and how much I’d like to do it again but I really need to go.” You then rushed down towards the main hall in hopes the guests would be just about to start the donations. You beant your head around the corner and saw all the families sat at their tables in the middle of making their donations. This isn't good because your seat was obviously empty and your parents know knew you were gone. You also couldn't just walk to your seat without going unnoticed.

“Hey Y/N! Remember me? I was the amazing handsome guy you ditched earlier but before you beg for me to give you a second chance while you were gone I finally got the courage to ask that girl I was talking about earlier on a date so my broken heart was quickly mended so don't worry.” Tae stood next to you and now that you think about it there was another empty chair next to yours when you glanced over.

“Tae, I’m so happy for you, really I am but all that’s on my mind is that im screwed.”

“No we aren’t, they just started when you checked.” Before you could register what was happening he was pulling you into the dining hall and giving apologetic smiles to anyone who looked over. You sat down next to Tae and your parents and before the overwhelmed you with questions Tae was whispering over to them.

“I’m really sorry we were out taking a stroll in the garden when we lost track of time. I’m sorry if we worried you.”

“That's quite alright just be more aware next time.”

“Will do Sir.”

All the tension left your body and you finally took a big breath that was a bit shaky from all the nerves built up. You finally found your voice and turned to Tae.

“I owe you.”

“You owe me big time because I also slipped that boy your number because you left in such a rush.”

“What did I ever do to deserve you kim taehyung?”

“Hey, I know have a potential girlfriend so your gonna have to get over your crush on me. I know it'll be hard but I believe in you.”

The next morning you woke up to a text from an unknown number that read

Morning Cinderella, You left behind a glass slipper and I know that it's a shoe of value so I think it'd be best if you came and collected it straight away.

You replied.

Wrong number i dont own shoes of that description

He replied within seconds

Oh sorry. How about a coffee you know for the inconvenience?

you were quick to reply with a smile on your face

Sounds good. See you in 10! x

a/n: I hope you guys liked my first sammy fic! let me know what you think or just talk/rant/ask anything in my inbox

continue reading my other works on my masterlist

#therosenet #the rose scenarios #the rose sammy #the rose woosung #the rose jaehyeong #the rose hajoon #the rose dojoon #the rose #the rose imagines #kim taehyung #taehyung scenario #matthew kard #kard comeback #day6 imagines #day6 scenarios #day6 jae scenario #day6 jaehyung

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masterofpuglets · 7 years

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Metallica Meet N Greet London 22nd Oct 2017.

Hi guys.

So as promised, i thought i would write about my meet n greet experience plus tell you all how the gig went! It was of course, amazing. What i thought i would do, is to write about the meet n greet in this post and do a separate one for the actual gig as other wise it’s gonna be as long as War and Peace lol.

Please bear with me re any spelling mistakes etc, i am shattered (i had less than 4 hours sleep because i was buzzing so much afterwards!) but i wanted to get it all written down whilst it’s still fresh in my mind.

So after a fairly easy drive and train ride down to london, we (My long suffering husband and I) arrived at our hotel 35 minutes early before check in at 2pm. My email from the met club stated i had to be at the designated meeting area at the 02 arena by 3pm, any later, you won’t be let in!

I was anxious to get checked in so i could get the tube to the 02, so as soon as it hit 2pm i was at the desk. Checked in, we quickly dumped our overnight stuff in the room, me double checking i had my id, my items to be signed, my phone and very importantly the concert tickets!

The tube only took us 10 minutes, so we arrived around 2.20pm. As we were coming out of North Greenwich train station, i snapped this picture of the Service information board.

We arrived outside the 02 arena, as it was still early and the merch shop was right in front of us, we decided it would be sensible to go and buy some stuff now rather than face the long ass queues later, especially as i didn’t know how long the meet n greet was going to be.

Merch purchased, we headed to the meeting point, where there were two other people also standing, me tentatively asking “Are you here for the meet and greet?”

“Yes”.

“Oh good, we’re in the right place!”

We stood around for the next 20 minutes chatting amongst each other, more and more people joining us, all asking the same “Are you all for the meet and greet” question.

Then 3 people from the Met Club came along, checked our id and concert tickets against their list of names and we were then issued our wristbands.

We were taken into the main entrance hall and told “if you need to use the toilet, do it now, you might be standing around for several hours”. Once everyone arrived back from the toilet, we were taken around to the side of the arena and went through some doors taking us to the back stage area. At this point, we had to empty all our pockets, have our bags searched and then be patted down for security purposes.

We then walked along a little further, right behind where all the seating is in the arena and stood along a wall waiting before we were allowed through any further. As you walked along, you could see all the tour cases with the Metallica logo on it all stacked up. The met club reps were all really nice and chatty to us whilst we waited. Whilst waiting, we heard the guys sound checking which was amazing. The drums were vibrating more my body so much! Then were heard the guitars and then the unmistakable sound of James singing a few lines into the microphone. We were all looking at each other, like Fuck! That’s Hetfield singing less than 30 metres away from us!

Finally after waiting around 30 minutes, we were moved into another corridor, double doors on my right, a black curtain on the left, so essentially we had a small contained area. We were asked to line up on opposite sides of the corridor and were informed about the rules.

1st Rule - You don’t talk about the rules!

Just joking, they didn’t say that, it was just general stuff about waiting for the guys to come to you, having your camera ready, only 2 items to be signed etc etc.

At this point, i was still feeling quite chilled about the whole thing!

Then walked in Rob.

He went to the opposite wall to where i was standing which meant i then ended up being the 2nd from last person to meet him. At this point i looked at the guy next to me and we both just laughed nervously. Rob makes his way around us, about halfway around, Lars then walks in! Toothpick in mouth of course!

Rob eventually gets to me. I quickly hand my phone over to one of the reps and shake Rob’s hand. Feeling a tad trembly, i say hello and asked him how he was. He said he was feeling great and asked how i was. “Yeah, i’m good thank you”.

I didn’t plan to ask the guys any specific questions as i thought i would just say what came to me at the time rather than stressing over what to say and knowing me, getting myself all tongue tied.

I asked Rob if he was looking forward to playing tonight in london and he said he was very much looking forward to it. I then asked him to sign my RTL vinyl and my husband’s MOP t shirt and that I loved his tribute to Cliff he did every night. Had my photo taken and we shook hands again and i told him that it was lovely to meet him and good luck for tonight. Rob thanked me and said it was lovely to meet me too and he moved on to the guy next to me. Rob really is a lovely guy and i’m slightly annoyed that i didn’t realise it was his birthday the next day as otherwise i would have wished him a happy birthday, but never mind.

So next up was Lars. Lars was the one i was most nervous to meet for some reason!But actually having met Rob and seeing Lars go round all the others, i felt fine by the time he got to me.

We shook hands and i asked how he was. he said he was doing good and then he asked where i was from (he asked everyone where they were from). I told him i was originally from Essex but was now living in Cambridge. At this point, he then points to a couple of the others on the opposite wall and then says “Oh, we have someone else from Essex here and this guy is from Cambridge too!” Lars then asked if we knew each other or lived near each other, resulting in this quite funny 3 way conversation between us about whereabouts we lived and Lars asking how near our respective villages were to each other.

Lars signed my RTL vinyl and i told him how it was my favourite Metallica record. I then asked him to sign my husband’s shirt and said that he was waiting outside and that i had to mention him because he was the one who introduced me to Metallica. Lars smiled and said “Well tell him i said Hi!”.

We had our photo taken (several actually, the guy taking the photos took a few whilst i was talking to Lars which was nice) and i have to say, he smelt amazing! I don’t know what fragrance he wears, but he smelt so good! We shook hands again and i said it was lovely to meet him and good luck for tonight and he held my hand and nodded his head whilst keeping eye contact and said “and you”.

I really don’t understand how people call Lars an asshole because he is the sweetest guy! You can tell he really enjoys meeting the fans and wants to get to know a little bit about us, he is 100% a genuine lovely man.

Lars finished up with us all and said thanks for coming before disappearing behind the black curtain.

(Lars pointing to the guy from cambridge!)

Now we were all waiting for who would come through next. I knew it would probably be Kirk, but of course, i couldn’t help but hope that James who maybe decide to attend.

We then heard more music being played further down the corridor for about 20 minutes, so whether that was maybe the guys in the tuning room? Not sure as couldn’t really recognise any of the songs being played so in hindsight it may have been the support act tuning up.

Then in came Kirk with a big “Heyyyyy!” and a big smile on his face. He is absolutely beautiful to look at in real life (not that he isn’t in photos, but you get my meaning.).

Kirk came to my side of the wall first, so i was 2nd in line to meet him.

Kirk came to me, big smile on his face. Shook his hand (his hands were slightly sweaty bless! So maybe he had been playing just before coming to us? and asked him how he was. He told me he was feeling good and not as jetlagged as he thought he would be! We laughed and i said well that’s always good. Again i asked if he was looking forward to playing tonight and he said he was. Told him that thanks to him and James, id finally started to learn guitar a couple of years ago in my late 20s. He said that was 'awesome' and to jeep it up! Kirk seemed in a really good mood actually which was really nice to see, he genuinely appeared excited to be back in the UK. He signed my items and we took a picture (a hug from kirk is amazing by the way as you will see by my face in the picture!) and shook hands again and again said “Really lovely to meet you Kirk” and he said “and you, see you out there”.

Kirk is really lovely and as i said he is stunning! Really jovial, nice guy.

Kirk made his way around everyone else and then as went to disappear behind the black curtain, he said bye and he’ll see us all out there.

(Please excuse my loony grin!)

With baited breath, we could all see we were wondering if our luck was in and would James come along, but unfortuanetly no, one of the club reps informed us that the meet n greet was over and to gather all our stuff and we would be shown back out.

Never mind, i totally respect James’ reasons (whatever they are) to not attend (probably good from my point of view because i genuinely think i would have been lost for words, or blubbed! Neither is good!).

We gathered out stuff and made our way back out the way we came. I called my husband and met him outside Starbucks and gave him a hug before telling him “Lars says Hi by the way!”

I just want to say, that despite being one of the biggest bands in the world, they are all humble, genuine, lovely guys. No egos, no thinking they are better than us, just really down to earth people, who obviously enjoy meeting their fans. I will defend them to my death the next time i hear someone say they don’t care about the fans, only money, because i genuinely don’t think that is the case at all.

So thank you Metallica and thank you to the Met Club for giving fans this amazing opportunity. Something to tell my kids about one day. Yep, Mum was cool once!

Now to just find frames to frame it all!

Thanks to you guys for reading! I’m sorry it’s long (equal apologies for my face too lol), but i hoped you enjoyed reading about my experience, words can’t describe how happy i am.

I will write up about the gig in a separate post.

#please can i ask that you don't reblog #likes and comments and asks etc are fine though!#meet n greet

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survivor-switzerland · 7 years

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EPISODE 15: AS FOR THE OTHERS, MEH - JEV

Honestly I'm so done with everyone in this game!!

Even my supposed ride or die was hiding the fact he had an idol.

Honestly I though I had changed from Bora Bora. In Bora Bora I thought I knew everything that was happening in the game but I didn't. This time I thought I had establish a good network of connections but looks like I'm still the same ignorant player I was. Even if I make to FTC which would be really funny lol, I won't win. :)

I don't have a chance of winning this immunity, how about that?! I feel dead right now but that ain't gonna stop me from acting like an emotional mess acting all hurt.

AHHHHHHH I MADE IT TO THE FINAL 6!!! Gosh i'm so proud of myself i can hardly believe it. I've never felt so proud to be in an org. I feel like i've played a really strong game throughout the entire season. I'm so close like I can taste the win. I have two more moves to make and then i can see myself sitting in the final 3. Step 1: Getting brett out. He's set to win this game and ugh we need this blindside to work. If he loses this next challenge and i can convince him to not use his idol this next tribal he's set to go home. Step 2: Get Luke out. Luke is going to win this game against anyone left. He's likable and has friends on the jury. He needs to go at final 5. Ideally i'd like to be sitting in final 3 with Ashley and Jev just because i think i could beat both of them because neither of them have done anything.

I just really don't want to be dragged to the end and then have the jury tell me i road coat tails. because i sure as hell didn't. i made my own moves and i'm playing my own game. it sucks because no one is going to respect my gameplay.

Wow it worked!! While I really like tyler he was a snitch. There is a difference between playing two sides and just being shady. I heard too many things to trust him. He obviously doesn't know my game play. I don't want to be in f2 with jev or Luke. While they are great they have not been with me since day 1. If I'm in the end I want Brett Ian or Dom. Never gotten second place so maybe??? I'm just happy I'm actually still here.

I'm getting blindsided tonight!

Well, it's technically not a blindside anymore since Brett told me his plans, but if he's telling me the truth (which, lets be honest, he is) it's going to be a 4-1 vote with me heading to jury. So that's fun!

I've tried my best to plead my case to Brett, mentioning that him voting me out tonight severs his ties with Luke, pointed out the fact that he has no working relationship with Ian anymore and also mentioned how Dom has been plotting against him for the last couple of rounds, so maybe just maaaybe that'll get him to sway even just a little bit.

Did someone say... Tyler?

Well, I tried my hardest and planted some ideas in Brett's head, but now he's not online and it's30 minutes until tribal so I'm done for I'm afraid.

I wish the best to Luke and Brett and I really hope they, or at least one of them make F3/F2 so I can at least vote for someone who is worthy.

As for the others, meh. Y'all are yet to play your own games.

EPISODE 15

Finally. Finally these people managed to all get in line and operate a vote split how it is meant to be done! The only choice words Tyler had for me were to keep winning immunity because no one plans to take me to the finals.

I mean, it makes sense. I'm not exactly known for my subtlety. I've taken the lead on a lot of votes. I've found advantages (with varying success on their use). I've found an idol. I've made allies and timely decisions. I haven't backed down. I've fought my heart out. After pulling a heist, I opt to tell 75% of the truth instead of fabricating a complete lie as a way of doing damage control. I know for a fact that I have played the best game of Survivor I have ever played. And whether it gets me 4th Place or the title of Sole Survivor, I don't have any regrets.

After Tyler left, I made it a point to address Ian. Now Ian is someone that I have lied to on multiple occasions, but Ian is easily one of the nicest people here and I did feel terrible keeping him out of the loop both times. I just couldn't risk Tyler getting wind of any of the plans I devised. I told Ian that I need him and I hope that he still finds me necessary, but ultimately I would not hold it against him if he put his energy towards getting rid of me. My ideal final 3 is still Ashley Sarah, Dom, and me, but as I'm hoping for a Matterhorn-less Final 4, I don't need Ian hopping over to Luke and Jevvon.

The immunity challenge was an endurance competition in which we had to post a particular message every ten minutes. With a full workday on the horizon, I opted to deprive myself of rest by sleeping in increments of 9 minutes and setting alarms to post on time. It worked out well because I posted every 10 minutes from 8:10 p.m. to 6:10 a.m. of the next morning. At 6:20 a.m., my alarm woke me up, but I was so exhausted, that I immediately dropped back to sleep and realized 2 minutes later that I had failed. Fortunately, I won the challenge handily.

With the vote looming, I was ready to eliminate Luke once and for all, regardless of whether he had an advantage or not. However, Dom was quick to disagree with just about the most LUDICROUS explanation I have ever heard about how we can beat Luke in the finals, but we can't beat Ian? Literally what in the actual fuck?! Ian has been out of the loop and dragged around since 9 contestants were remaining. In what universe is Ian seen as the most deserving winner? Luke then used an advantage that sent him to exile, removing his vote and his ability to be eliminated from the round. The new focus then shifted to Jevvon for me. Ian is similar to Jevvon in gameplay, but Jevvon's underdog story is warranted under the excuse that he came into the merge at a severe numbers disadvantage.

Trying to get Dom on board with this vote was easily the most frustrating thing I've had to deal with all season. He will not shut the fuck up about how he knows Ian will beat everyone. Honestly, I don't care. I don't. Ashley Sarah piped in eventually saying she thought Jev should go as well and Dom bitched and moaned and made very little sense, but ultimately agreed to respect the majority rule. I would love to go into a lot more detail and tell you just how painstaking the argument between Dom and I was, but it was so exhausting that I really don't care to revisit it.

Back when Abel was voted out, I made Jevvon a promise as the other person on the chopping block--I wouldn't blindside him. I sucked it up and paid him a message and WHOA. Of course, he wasn't thrilled. But this chatty little bugger had so much to say about how Dom offered him and Luke a final 3 deal. How Ian hasn't and doesn't trust me. How Dom offered to get rid of Ashley Sarah before Luke vanished into thin air to neutralize my power. Everything that Jevvon said is something I believe to be true, but here's the thing: 1) Me changing my mind now wouldn't buy Jevvon's loyalty since I actively tried to remove him until he maneuvered himself out, and 2) He's telling me all of this NOW when his life is on the line and not earlier just because of what amazingly close allies we were. Sorry, Jev. You were one of my favorite people by far, but I'm going with my gut on this one. And especially now that I have this information about Dom, it's extremely important I cut him. Nothing personal.

Let's talk about Dom before we go. Everything that Jevvon told me was the missing piece of information I needed to determine why the Christ our Dom would want to keep Jevvon around and why Ian is seemingly such a major threat to everyone's survival! Dom's final 3 with the Matterhorns is interesting. Kill me if I'm wrong, but in what universe does Dom beat Luke in the finals? After Luke dematerialized into thin air, Dom especially wanted Ian out so that he could play swing vote between Jevvon/Luke and myself/Ashley Sarah. Nice try, buddy. And now Dom is on my radar a lot more after this indiscretion.

#ihopeiseeyounever #confessionals

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