#a little something to balance those gaming posts from few days ago
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Back to the regular programming. Have a wip! Still working on that thing. Things still progress as they were - sometimes I sit and draw a lot in one go, then I have to put it off for many weeks at a time; or I simply just don't have that much energy/focus to be creative - just life being life. But I'm forging ahead. With the help of my friend, all typos or grammar mistakes are now fixed, too, so that's one thing I thankfully don't have to think about anymore. Now I "just" need to keep and keep and keep on drawing, until it's all finished. Wish me luck.
#kokichi ouma#kokichi oma#ouma kokichi#danganronpa#v3#ndrv3#my art#wip#a little something to balance those gaming posts from few days ago#it's a very happy boi who's totally not coping or anything#I wish I could show something more esp Gonta but ghhh every panel feels like a spoiler so I want to hold back. this is likely last teaser#maybe instead I will just make another compilation of other wips and sketches like I did at the end of last year?#(thank you for such a warm reception on these by the way I'm always really happy seeing your thoughtful and enthusiastic comments!)#or perhaps I will just make something new randomly because I DO need to take breaks from making this comic - i don't want burnout
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Hello everyone!
Next Day
A month ago I saw a post by @scrambledmeggys (I hope you don't mind me tagging you!) for a month's worth of prompts for Self Shipping with UF! Papyrus. I originally wanted to try my hand at art but I am much better at writing imo, so here is what I've come up with so far!
I missed Day 1 so now I'm uploading that and Day 2 at the same time. I'm planning on continuing to write a continuous storyline with these prompts but I am pretty much making things up as I go lol.
Edit: I actually drew something for this chapter here if you want to check it out!
Day 1: First Meeting
You walked carefully through the snow, cringing slightly from the loud crunching sound it made, interrupting the otherwise quiet winter morning.
You were in a tough spot to say the least.
The fall had been an accident. One moment, your little friend was innocently kicking stones down the sink hole, and the next, they'd slipped and fell in. Of course, you'd tried your hardest to catch them but then you lost your balance and plunged in after them.
Against all odds, you'd both survived the fall. While your friend had thankfully only sustained a few small cuts, especially because you managed to shield them from the impact, you on the other hand had hit your head pretty hard. The bleeding had stopped by now but you still felt weak and rather lightheaded.
Still, you had to keep going. You had to find a way to get Frisk back to the surface. They were still a child, barely six, and had their whole life ahead of them afterall.
Speaking of, Frisk lightly tapped your shoulder and you paused so they could tell you what was on their mind. Shifting them from your back around your body until you were facing them, you flashed them a small smile.
"What happened?" you asked quietly.
Frisk's face reflexively screwed up. "You died again..." they signed slowly.
Your smile fell. "I'm sorry..." you murmured and let out a sigh.
You didn't understand how or why, but ever since falling down here, Frisk had seemingly developed an amazing power that allowed them to reset time to previous safe points. They didn't really know how to explain it but they claimed it was sort of like reloading a video game.
You didn't know how many times you'd apparently died so far, as Frisk hadn't been keeping track. You were instead focusing on doing your best to keep moving forward. Still, you were pretty concerned for them.
While you didn't remember any of your deaths up to this point, you knew Frisk did and while neither of you was discussing it, you knew this was something that would need to be dealt with. Once you got back to the surface, you would need to get therapy and figure out how to do the same for Frisk. They would definitely benefit from it at least.
Frisk patted your shoulder and you realized you'd zoned out. "It's alright, I'm getting used to it." They smiled but you knew it was a forced one.
"I promise I will keep you safe. No matter what happens, we will get through this together," you said.
Frisk nodded and their expression took on a more determined look.
You took a deep breath. "Let's do this again then," you muttered and started to shift Frisk back into a piggyback hold.
"Watch out for the skeleton up ahead," Frisk signed before wrapping their arms around your shoulders again.
You raised an eyebrow. Was that who'd killed you? Frisk hadn't elaborated further but you didn't blame them. You'd died a couple times to the traps in the Ruins and many times during your escape from Toriel. Many of those had apparently been pretty grisly if how shaken Frisk had been afterwards was any indication.
< ~ - . - ~ >
Someone was stalking you. While you were trying not to think about it, you were getting pretty anxious. Frisk hadn't said anything else so you just focused on continuing forwards.
Until you came to a narrow bridge with wooden bars across it that is. While you could still get through the gap between the bars with little effort, before you could do so, you heard footsteps approaching from behind you.
Frisk tightened their hold on your shoulders and you quickly turned around to put yourself between them and this new person.
It was a skeleton but not quite like what human skeletons looked like. He was only slightly taller than you were, but his bones seemed thicker and sturdier which gave him quite a bit of added bulk.
He was wearing a gray hoodie with a fur fringe, a red turtle neck sweater underneath, a pair of basketball shorts, and a pair of high tops. His smile was filled with sharp teeth, one of which was gold, and there was a pair of crimson pinpricks in his otherwise empty eye sockets that regarded you suspiciously.
"well, well, what have we here?" he drawled as his eyelights flickered over your body.
You narrowed your eyes in response, feeling a wave of disgust at the way he was eyeing you up. "My eyes are up here, thank you very much," you muttered through grit teeth.
The skeleton chuckled, "ah, my bad." He held out his right hand and added, "name's sans, sans the skeleton. and you are?"
Before you could actually shake his hand though, Frisk squeezed your shoulder. You assumed they were warning you not to, so you didn't.
"Rihanna," you said in response.
Sans raised a bonebrow when you left him hanging but seemed ultimately unbothered, which was a relief. "i'd say it's nice to meet ya, but that'd be a lie," he said and flashed a slightly menacing grin at you.
If you weren't holding Frisk, you would've crossed your arms, so instead you just gave him an unamused look.
Sans chuckled and started to walk around you, "ya know, i'm supposed to be on the look out for humans right now, but i don't really care about capturin' anyone."
You remained facing him as he walked until you'd essentially swapped places. You held Frisk a bit closer as well, just in case you'd have to run.
"now my brother, Papyrus, well, he's a human huntin' fanatic," Sans continued. He glanced through the wooden fence and added, "go on through, he made the bars too wide to stop anyone anyways." He turned and strode casually across the bridge as if to demonstrate.
You glanced at Frisk over your shoulder and they nodded. Well, at least he didn't seem like he wanted to immediately kill you like most monsters you'd met so far. So you followed him, although you maintained a safe distance just to be on the safe side.
Sans paused near a wooden booth up ahead and looked further down the path. As you walked over to him, he made a quiet "huh" sound. "ya know what, i think that's my brother comin' this way now..." There was a slightly amused tinge to the tone of his voice as he spoke which sent a wave of irritation through you.
You glanced over where he was looking and immediately spotted a tall skeleton wearing black armour with red accents approaching. Even from this distance, you could tell he was pissed and it sent a shiver down your spine.
Frisk squirmed in your grip to be let down and while you didn't want to let go of them, you relented and let go. They thankfully stayed behind you and clutched onto one of your pant legs.
You knelt down next to them and ruffled their fluffy hair a little. Flashing them a small smile, you whispered, "We doing this?"
Frisk got a familiar determined look and nodded. "I'll help you! I think we can talk him down if you say the right things."
You chuckled and stood up again, ready to face this new opponent. You could get through this, in fact, you would get through this...for Frisk's sake.
Papyrus certainly looked familiar and part of you wondered if he was actually the one who'd killed you last time. It would make sense, as he definitely looked more dangerous than Sans.
He was at least a foot taller than you were and looked quite a bit different from his brother. He still had sturdy bones but his frame was a lot more angular compared to Sans' more bulky look. He had sharp teeth as well, although his eyelights were a slightly different shade, maybe a scarlet? His left eye socket also had two long scars across it, presumably from a fight.
Besides his black chestplate, Papyrus also wore long red gloves, a red scarf that was more of a cape, and tall red boots with heels surprisingly. If you weren't battling to remain calm, you probably would've complimented his bold fashion sense. You didn't know of anyone else who could look so menacing and...hot at the same time.
"Sans! You Lazybones! You Have Not Reset Your Traps Yet Today! What If A Human Comes..." He paused mid rant when he took in your appearance.
Sans bristled and the corners of his smile fell slightly. He seemed like he was about to retort in kind but stopped himself.
Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets at you as if he was scrutinizing your appearance. He slowly strode forward, stopping a few feet away from you. "Why Does It Feel Like I Have Met You Before, Human?" he asked in a chillingly quiet tone.
You stared up at him unblinkingly and crossed your arms. "I could ask the same actually..." you answered.
Papyrus glanced at Sans, who merely shrugged. "don't ask me, bro," he hissed.
Frisk tugged at your pant leg to get your attention. When you glanced down, they quickly signed what was on their mind. "Flirt with him."
You had to bite your tongue to keep yourself from retorting and drawing too much attention. Why would they suggest such a thing? Where had this child even picked up the concept of flirting? If this worked, you were going to have a serious discussion with them at some point.
"So, Papyrus," you started to say, catching his attention once again. "Do you have more bones than the average human or would you like to find out?" You mentally kicked yourself for that one but tried to maintain face and batted your eyelashes at him.
Papyrus stared at you for a solid five seconds before the meaning of your question seemed to set it. A dusting of scarlet flickered across his cheekbones and he stepped back from you, covering his mouth as he did so.
You smiled and stepped slightly closer to him. Feeling slightly bolder, you called upon everything you had learned from sucking up to college professors and your boss.
"If I may be so bold, I think you also look very cool. Like seriously, humans dress so boring in comparison." You made a bit of a show of looking him up and down, nodding approvingly. "I'm actually jealous of how cool you are."
Papyrus opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it. The scarlet blush wasn't disappearing no matter how hard he probably wished it would. He stammered and stepped back again.
"You... Your Flattery Will Not Save You, Human." He scoffed and turned on his heal. As he stormed off, you heard him mutter something along the lines of, "Not Being Able To Talk Your Way Out Of My Traps."
You couldn't believe that had worked. You scooped Frisk into your arms and hugged them tightly. "You have some explaining to do later, kiddo..." you muttered but Frisk only grinned at you, clearly proud of themselves.
"wow, i can't tell if you're insane or just lucky. either way, i'll be keepin' an eye socket on ya, human..." Sans said quietly.
You chuckled and flashed him a triumphant grin, which caused him to huff and walk away in the direction you had come from. You'd survived just a little bit longer it seemed.
#selfshipufpap#undertale#underfell#reader#named oc#underfell papyrus x reader#underfell papyrus#thwbd#the hand we've been dealt#alternate universe#raccoons drabbles
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I'm already laughing at any social media posts ava and bea might have, the internet woso gays would go so wild for them
[little ch4 preview]
//
you’re at dinner, sitting by yourself because you’d gotten there a little late. you don’t mind it: you like the quiet, and you’re reading a new series of essays in german you’d been waiting to dig into since ava gave it to you a week ago, when your phone dings.
instagram: avasilva has tagged you in a post.
you take a deep breath — shaky, and so sure — and then click on the notification. it’s a carousel of pictures of your time in the alps: the field in early morning light; the view of the lake from your deck, the mountains glittering double in the distance; a pile of pastries ava had come home with one morning; ava with her favorite regulars at the bar you’d dance at. the seventh picture is of the two of you laughing, a ball between you, your foot up on it and your hands on your hips, ava in a sports bra and your shirt faithfully tucked in. hans had taken it, one day, just before ava had convinced him to turn the sprinklers on so you could run through them after you’d finished training, barefoot and free. it doesn’t mean anything, really, if you weren’t paying attention, but you had shared your home with her. you’re looking at her like you’ve never wanted anything else in the world: ava silva and football and the hazy summer sun.
avasilva had the best off-season convincing @beatricexin to take a break from running around with a ball & instead try every croissant in the alps 💅 i can’t wait to play for everyone soon, lfg!!
it’s funny, and endearing, and you did in fact eat a lot of croissants. you like the photo and ava sends you a text with a string of emojis that are mostly hearts and smiley faces, a random planet and dog thrown in, and a few mountains.
i love you too, you text back. in bed that night, you think of how ava’s unabashed joy had turned your life on its head: you want and want and want, now, without remorse, something other than football. something bigger than football.
bea <3 <3 <3 (9:06 pm)
Hello, is it okay if I post something?
I can send you a draft.
Ava (9:08 pm)
yeah!!!!!!!!! of course :) as long as it’s not a nude do your thing
;)
those stay between us
you roll your eyes but don’t let your hidden folder of nudes ava does enjoy sending you distract you from the soft pictures you’d taken of her one night, as the sun was setting. she’s wearing a hoodie — one of your hoodies — and shorts, her cap on backwards, barefoot, doing silly tricks in the small patch of grass behind your lakehouse next to the deck. you had asked her how, after all the complaining she did during training, she still wanted to be playing football right now, and she had laughed and flicked the ball over her head, then trapped it deftly. ’training is football,’ she’d said, ‘but this is fun. the beautiful game, bea. don’t forget.’
you pick your favorite: ava smiling at her own trick, standing still with the ball balanced on her foot, the hydrangeas around the same purple as the dusky sky. your instagram really is only pictures of you playing or sponsored content, most of which zuri posts herself or sends you copy for. there’s the occasional picture with your teammates after you’ve won something, but — your life has expanded far beyond your carefully pressed kits and the six foam rollers in your home gym, the stack of tupperware in your fridge.
beatricexin Jogo bonito @avasilva
ava calls you laughing, delighted, and then tells you all about her day; you turn off all of your instagram notifications and fall asleep to the sound of her voice.
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For the story ideas folder "You Drew Stars Around My Scars" have definitely caught my eye!
Also hope you are doing good, Elm!
First of all, Crys, hiiiiiii! I'm doing okay! I hope you're well! ✨ Second, I just want to thank you for asking about "You Drew Stars Around My Scars" and to apologize for the person I'm about to become.
Are you ready for it?
"You Drew Stars Around My Scars" is a The Elder Scrolls V/Baldur's Gate 3 crossover that will likely never see the light of day for several factors, such as the number of WIPs I have, my original novel, school, and, oh, the fact that I've never played BG3 My MacBook Air cannot handle those demands. DESPITE THE EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES!, I just think the game is neat and have been sucked into it in part by Astarion. Mostly Astarion . . . okay, entirely.
Background information: Ever since I started writing Keeping Count, I knew Bishop was lifted from Neverwinter Nights and that it was a D&D-based game. And I guess that's why someone mentioned Astarion as a palette cleanser to me a few months ago, shared universe and all. And my initial perception of the character was so cool that I vaguely entertained an alternative Keeping Count where Astarion shows up, seduces Leara from Bishop, and probably sexy stabs Bishop or something. And then I didn't really think about it again. For months.
Then my brain went back to it and Astarion and BG3 and I cried a bit when I realized that my laptop couldn't play the game. I'm fine. And you know what? @cosmermaid is right: Leara deserves a better companion than freaking Bishop. Also please forgive my minimal BG3/D&D knowledge, 95% of which I've absorbed since like last Monday ish.
SO! "You Drew Stars Around My Scars" features Leara getting picked up by the Mind Flayer ship post-Sovngarde and taken via dimensional travel to Faerûn where, following the crash, she joins the usual party on a quest to get rid of the parasites. This Leara is very specifically taken after the planned Chapter 15 of Keeping Count for Reasons. Can Leara use magic in Faerûn since she's not able to draw it from Aetherius? No idea. Can she Dragon Shout? Also no idea. Transdimensional magic mechanics are weird. Regardless, Leara probably mentions something about being Dragonborn and gets weird and confused looks because her definition of Dragonborn is totally different from that in the Forgotten Realms. Linearly, I have no idea what would happen, but overall, Leara and Astarion both suffer trauma from following people who hurt them and they have complicated relationships with sex. They could have what could be a very cathartic relationship. Or I think so, anyway. Also, I kinda want to know if vampires react differently to the Dragonblood.
Symbolism in the story could heavily involve stars and light. Leara means "Light of the Sea" while Astarion means "Little Star". Leara is dependent on the stars for her magic but she's lost them, while Astarion wants to walk in the light even after the parasite is gone. There's no balance and it has to be found. They're both so cold and have lived in the shadows for a long time. There are dark versions of themselves they don't want to be anymore.
There's the possibility that, given her background in the Blades and Dominion, Leara might see through Astarion's mask in Act I. But she'd end up helping Astarion (and probably not giving on that she's on to him until later) because she's a bleeding heart. Two other very important things about this underwhelming but brain-rotting story: First, Astarion wouldn't ascend. We would need a Leara Disapproves sticker because she would not be for Astarion doing that. The second thing is, well, since motherhood is an extremely important part of Leara's character, I did pick out a name for a possible child. If Leara and Astarion had a daughter, her name would be Ilmarien, derived from Quenya, Ilmarë, meaning “starlight”.
Because after all this time, Tolkien elves still make the most sense to me.
#i am not tagging his character in this because I am too embarrassed#it is taking all my willpower to tell myself that sharing this is okay and that I'm not being too much or annoying#it's okay i felt the same way when I was fixated on legolas and loki as a teen I just figured i'd have outgrown it oh well#oc: leara roseblade#azura's ask box
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♕ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʇɐᴚ ʇǝǝɹʇS ǝɥ⊥—ᴀ ɢᴀᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ sǝuoɹɥ⊥
♕ A/N: Ahhh I always get so happy when I complete these little mini stories because I have a terrible habit of not completing them despite have a full story ready to go. Send me any questions you have! I have already been gathering some of them and I am going to do one large overview and answer them all in a post. That will be posted in a few days. Sorry for the wait I didn’t realize how long it had been this definitely could have been ready days ago. Anyhow here is The Prince and the Street Rat—A Game of Thrones, the final chapter—well more like an epilogue.
♕ SUMMARY: The world works in mysterious ways and so does the residents of Kings Landing. One never knows what they find in the alleyways and rooftops. Whores, drunks, knights, thieves, sometimes even Princes.
♕ WORD COUNT: 2.3K
♕ WARNING: None
previous — Masterlist — next
♕ TAG LIST: @jasontoddorjasongrace @luluga @mizfortuna @ellathefriendlyalpacaaa @out-of-life @dark-night-sky-99 @graykageyama @lepoulpe-blog @s0urmarvel @singitoutgirl26 @buttercup-beeee @omega-horus @linkpk88 @millies0bsimp @ly17 @hydrationqueensworld @skinmittensgoblin @herfantasyworldd @burningshewolf @reneehillary69 @minttea07
The young Stark walked without words, the taunting words of the Kingslayer still fresh in his mind. His slow gait through the icy corridors muted, offering curt nods to those who pass him. The air somber, the walls knowing. He opens his sister's chamber door without warning, the steel beneath the cloth in his hands nearly weightless.
“Septa Mordane says I have to do it again. My things weren’t properly folded, she says. Who cares how they’re folded. They’re going to get all messed up anyway,” Arya scoffs, throwing a cloak into the wooden case, a deep frown across her features. Jon glances at her white and grey direwolf pacing about, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s good you’ve got help,” He says, his tone low and gruff with a boyish hum, a gentle reminder of his youth. The amusement in his words reaching his sister but likely being lost on a stranger.
“Watch. Nymeria, gloves.” Arya’s frown falls, a smile taking her lips as she squares her shoulders. Nymeria stops in her tracks, taking a seat as she stares with a blank expression. The silence persists for a few seconds before Jon turns back to his sister.
“Impressive,” He says, a smirk ghosting on his lips as Arya tells him to shut up. She tries once more, but Nymeria merely tilts her head. “I have something for you. It has to be packed very carefully.”
“And I you,” Arya says, rushing across the room. She tosses several things onto her bed. A blunted wooden sword, an incomplete knitted cloth with a sloppy direwolf sewn atop, and many parchments. Her grumbles fill the room before a chuckle supplants it before returning before her brother with furs covering her hands. She places it on the bed, nodding toward him, “You go first!”
“Close the door,” Jon instructs, chuckling as Arya practically skips across the room. Her eyes never leave the cloth in his hands. Barring the door, she says no peeking. He removes the fabric, assuring her he will not look as he turns, holding up the dainty steel. Arya beams as she steps forward while Jon removes the sword from its sheath, “This is no toy. Be careful you don’t cut yourself.”
“It’s so skinny,” She takes it from his hand, her eyes traveling up the blade.
“So are you. I had the blacksmith make it for you special. It won’t hack a man’s head off, but it can poke him full of holes if you’re quick enough,” Jon says, smiling as she gently waves it in the air. Her eyes locked upon her sword. She says she can be quick. “You’ll have to work at it every day. How does it feel? Do you like the balance?”
“I think so,” She fiddles with the base before looking up at her older brother. The two with the most Stark likeness besides Bran and Rickon. Jon leans down, placing his hand on the side of Arya’s face.
“First lesson,” His eyes lock with her own he speaks as though a sensitive secret sits between them. Small Arya clinging to his every word, so enthralled she fails to notice the smirk that threatens his lips, “Stick them with the pointy end.”
“I know which end to use,” Arya rolls her eyes as Jon hums a softness to him that the gods would soon wipe from the earth. He leans back up, dropping his hand, taking in every little detail of his sister as his future looms beyond the walls.
“I’m going to miss you,” He says, a silence sitting between the two before she steps forward, arms out wide. Jon flinches back, calling out careful as Arya’s sword swings ahead on his right. Arya places it down on her bed, looking up at her brother before jumping up. Her arms around his neck, he holds her from the ground as the two embraces. Jon mutters, “All the best swords have names, you know.”
“Sansa can keep her sewing needles. I’ve got a needle of my own,” She squeezes Jon a second time. Silence takes the room as the two hold each other. Arya pulls back first, Jon gently placing her back on her feet as she announces she must give him his parting gift. She nudges him to the side, removing the furs revealing a book. The cover shows beautiful sketches of dragons above a skillful drawing of Kings Landing. Jon’s eyebrows furrow, his fingers running over the title, Lady Calamity.
“Do not mistake my confusion for lack of appreciation, but why have you gifted me a book of—Targaryen history, I think?” Jon says, flipping open the cover sits a faded sketch. His eyes bounce over the assiduousness of the drawing. Many people appear to scatter around the couple at the center. A Targaryen cradling a bride in his arms, a dying woman.
“When people speak of the Dance of Dragons, we hear the same names and the same stories. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the Black Queen. Prince Aegon Targaryen II, the usurper. Prince Aemond One-Eye, and Princess (Y/n) the beloved. The tales never speak the full truth. This Northern Sept dedicated his life to studying this through journals and parchments at the Citadel. Did you know Princess (Y/n) was a bastard from Flea Bottom?” Arya’s eyes shine with excitement as she speaks with nothing but confidence. Jon’s head snaps from the page to his younger sister, who beams at him. “No one can say for certain the relationship between the Princess and Prince Aemond, but there was a parchment from Queen Alicent to her father of an unbecoming friend of the Prince years before the war. The book believes it was the Princess. Some say they were friends and loved each other, and some believe the Prince to have an obsession. The reports are conflicting, but she is known in history as the third person to die in the Dance of Dragons. Hers and Prince Lucerys’ deaths sparked the war. Aemond one-eye torched Riverlands, the people rioted, and the realm became one of violence.”
Jon's eyes flick to the bottom of the drawing, the words staring back at him. The final moments of Princess (Y/n) Targaryen. The bells rang that of the swan song.
“Who killed her?” Jon asks, his eyes flicking back to the dying Princess. The drawing puts more emphasis on their faces rather than the movement around them.
“No one can really say. Many Septs challenge each other’s recounting of this history. At first, the realm blamed the Black Queen for the assassination of their Princess and the butchering of Aegon the Usurper’s eldest son. Sept Umberais debunked this in his research. While officially, the Black Queen and her forces are still credited, Lord Otto Hightower was executed by his grandson for the murder. It was incorrectly reported that Otto was beheaded during the fall of Kings Landing, but Queen Alicent's private journals reveal otherwise. The book goes into far more detail, but I think you should really read it. Sept Umberais found everything he could on the Princess. A bastard who shaped history. I do not wish you to die shaping history, but I do believe you will do great things, brother.” Arya flips the pages of the book, landing on another sketch, one of a statute. “During all of this madness, a statue was made in the Princess’s honor where she was laid to rest. Many believe her place of rest is one of misfortune if not given the proper reverence. I am going to visit it when I arrive at King's landing. Maybe receive a blessing for our family. Even King Robert was too afraid to desecrate it as he did the other Targaryen emblems.”
Arya flips to the final page, her brother’s eyes widening at the sight. The line work reflects an unmatched talent, the detailing almost intimate. Jon frowns, his chest aching as his eyes study your features. He cannot remove his gaze from the soft smile that nearly negates your forlorn eyes, “Princess (Y/n) Targaryen.”
The departure from Winterfell arrives with a heavy fog of naivety. Every Stark oblivious to the storm cloud lingering high above their home. Jon’s face of stone keeps all who travel around him without an inkling of his thoughts. When the opportunities arise, he opens the book, clinging to every word of the limited information on your life.
He cannot explain it, nor can he shake you from his thoughts. Besides his father, Jon cannot find another name that sparks this move in him. The journey to the wall consists of him wondering if you knew when it all began for you—if he will know. Your stories stay close even within Castle Black. It’s nothing like he imagined and everything Tyrion Lannister warned him of. Many nights, tales of your short life make the cold watches warm and the long days tolerable.
Arya’s journey south, her eyes bounce along the tree lines and hillsides. Her curiosity childlike and eager. Sansa rolls her eyes, sitting with perfect composure, a clear divide between the Stark girls. Their days in Kings Landing persistently absent from the others’ company. Arya walks the corridors picturing moments in history she’s read more times than she can recall. She treats the Red Keep more like a museum than a current resident to many, including herself.
“Must you always talk of a dead Targaryen Princess? Do you not fear slighting the King?” Sansa questions. Arya rolls her eyes, telling Sansa of the crown’s respect for the Princess. Septa stops their bickering, commending Arya’s knowledge while scolding her unladylike behavior.
She focuses on her dancing lessons and fails to convince her father to take her to your statue. Lord Stark, only hums, nodding his head to all her reasons but never answering the question. She’s sure it’s merely amusing to him, a laugh threatening him. The days blend into a smokescreen of routine, blinding the Stark girls from how swiftly the walls around them concave.
Arya’s heart hammers through her body with a ferocity that rattles the entirety of her entire body. She steps out into the road, the ding of the bells and chatter of the streets nearly nauseating. The few who pass her move with urgency leaving her in the dark.
“Hey, where’s everyone going? What’s happening?” She calls out. The two little boys who speed past her skid in their tracks, talking over their shoulder with glee.
“They’re taking him to the Sept of Sorrows!” The boy continues rushing up the stairs, Arya’s inquiry of who almost not reaching his ears, “The hand of the king!”
Arya drops the pigeon from her hand, rushing with the rest of the crowd. A few become many, and the back of their heads becomes her main view. The unfamiliar courtyard does little to halt her movements. She steps onto the side of the statute, not sparing it a single glance as her fathers brought out and escorted through the crowd. The mob screams words of malice, waving their weapons, but Lord Stark’s eyes lock with his daughters. In the group, many faces blend, spitting insults. At the pull of guards, Eddard scans the crowd warily. His eyes land on Yoren, bumping into his chest. He yells, “Sorrows. Sorrows!”
The moments fleeting, and the air stale. Silence consumes the crowd as Eddard’s voice booms throughout the courtyard. The gruffness of his tone clear and paced. Despite his lies to appease the few, the public still grumbles with resentment.
“As we sin, so do we suffer. This man has confessed his crimes in sight of Gods and men. He has confessed his sins before the Sept of Sorrows. He has given reverence to the resting place of a girl given to this world by the Gods. She is a reminder of the poison in treachery but also the failures of acting without mercy. What is to be done with this traitor, your grace?” Arya frowns. She cannot grasp why this occurs here and now. The Queen mother shifts uneasily as the young King grins like a madman. It’s all so wrong.
“My mother wishes me to let Lord Eddard join the Night’s Watch. Stripped of all titles and powers, he would serve the realm in permanent exile. And my lady Sansa has begged mercy for her father. So I bring you all here today. A sad day for a very sad excuse for a man. In this place lies dead a woman who could not be protected by her husband nor her King! Today I mark a new beginning, a King who will protect those deserving, one where no treason shall ever go unpunished. Ser Illyn, bring me his head!” Joffrey’s words fill the ample space, following a roar of excitement like no other. The cries of Sansa and the pleas of Cersei falling on deaf ears as Arya’s eyes sweep the crowd in disbelief. Arya climbs off the statute navigating the crowd with quick feet, her tiny stature bobbing and weaving without pause. It becomes less dodging and more pushing as her throat and eyes burn ceaselessly. A hand wrapping around her wrists, jerking her back, forces a gasp from her lips. Arya squirms to no avail, her father getting further and further away as her vision blurs and refocuses.
“Let me go!” She screams, blocking her view from the front. He forces her head toward the statue. Her struggles do nothing against his rigid grip. The indiscernible chatter of the crowd and Sansa’s screams fill the air. It lasts for seconds before a swift silence sweeps the crowd, and everything stills. Arya grows as straight as a pencil. She stops fighting Yoren’s hold her stare shape. The lump in her throat nearly suffocates as everything numbs. A part of her wants to laugh at what captures her eyes, a sick irony—a cruel one. The blue sapphire gem sparkling and vibrant, unlike the bleak air that lingers.
Princess (Y/n) Targaryen Rivers
#hotd imagine#house of the dragon#house of the dragon imagine#house of dragons#house of dragons imagine#aemond targaryen#aemond targaryen x reader#hotd aemond#hotd fanfic#aemond targaryen imagine#aegon targaryen#aegon targaryen imagine#aegon targaryen au#helaena targaryen#helaena targaryen imagine#rhaenrya targaryen imagine#jacaerys velaryon imagine#lucerys velaryon imagine#daemon targaryen imagine#game of thrones imagine#game of thrones#arya stark#Arya stark imagine#jon snow#jon snow imagine#Ned stark imagine#Sansa stark imagine#Joffrey Baratheon imagine#Cersei Lannister imagine
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A Picture to Burn
Book: Open Heart: Second Year (Post 2.12)
Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Genevieve McClure)
Word Count: 2806
Rating: T
Category: Hurt/Comfort
Trope(s):
Summary: While secretly staying at Ethan’s apartment after the attack, she discovers something she shouldn’t.
Warnings: allusions to adult activities
A/N: For the anon who asked how G would respond if she found photos Ethan had kept of his exes. This is how. And yes, it’s considered part of my canon, aka Saraland.
She watches the weather shift from the living room windows, the blanket suddenly unable to keep her warm, despite it being all she needed up a few minutes before. Now, desperately wishing she hadn’t forced Ethan to go to the store and he was there to hold her.
Genevieve had been staying at his apartment, secretly, since Bobby and Daniel’s funeral two weeks ago. After their intimate encounter in his car, he drove them back to his place. Where they fell into each other’s arms again and again, making up for lost time. And perhaps reminding themselves that Gen had survived.
She’d gone home the following day to pack a bag, lying to her roommates that she was going home to Maine for a few weeks. Ethan himself, had gone to the hospital, and told Naveen he needed the next two weeks off, giving him the ability to be with Gen twenty-four seven as they both heal from their trauma.
They spent the fourteen days playing board games, watching movies and cooking shows, reading quietly in each other’s arms, baking a million different treats. Simply enjoyed the uninterrupted time they had together. Allowed themselves to be just Ethan and Genevieve, two people navigating a new relationship.
It was healing for them both and they were dreading Ethan’s return to work in the coming days.
Gen looks out the window again, watching the frozen rain begin to fall. It wasn’t uncommon for it to snow in mid-November on the upper East Coast, and it made her glad they’d decided to try a new soup recipe they’d seen on TV that afternoon.
Which was why Ethan was at the store now, picking up what they needed to make dinner.
Deciding the blanket was no longer enough, Gen ventures into the bedroom. Hoping she’d remembered to pack a hoodie two weeks ago. She rummages through her duffle bag, still on the floor beside Ethan’s dresser, her search coming up empty.
It’s then she remembers Ethan’s old Hopkins sweatshirt that she’s seen him wear a handful of times when they met to discuss Naveen’s case the year before.
She quickly makes her way to the walk-in closet, laughing at the difference in his closet compared to hers.
Hers is a jumbled, disorganized mess, while Ethan’s is a color coordinated, organized masterpiece.
She searches the closet for the hoodie in question, finding it tucked away on the top shelf. Gen reaches up on her tiptoes, fingers just barely grazing the worn material. Cursing her – whatever he is to her--’s height for what seemed like the thousandth time since arriving at his place.
She reaches up again, seeking leverage from a lower shelf, finally able to grab her prize. She tugs it forward, perhaps a little too hard, losing her balance as the sweatshirt and something else hit the floor.
It’s a manila envelope, clearly old and worn. And as it hits the closet floor, a collection of printed out photographs spill out.
Gen freezes, her heart racing as she realizes that she has accidently found something she never meant to find. Against her better judgement, she kneels down beside the pile of polaroids and flips one over.
Her heart sinks the moment her eyes land on the photo, her stomach dropping as if she’s on one of those tower rides at an amusement park. Except this time, the feeling doesn’t come with a thrill, it comes with dread and despair.
Because the photo in question is not only of a woman, but a very beautiful woman, dressed in lingerie and smiling seductively at the camera.
Trying to steady her breathing, she sits on the hardwood floor completely, taking three deep breaths. Her shaking hands reaching for another photo, and then another, and then another. Until every one is in a pile in her lap and her stomach is in her throat.
They’re all of women, some have Ethan in them as well, but they’re mostly photos of women. Dressed in lingerie, in a bed sheet, in a dress that reveals every asset and probably costs as much as her rent.
Gen has always known Ethan had exes, they work with one of them, but knowing and seeing the evidence of his past are two different things. Seeing it feels like something sharp in her heart, the sting of a betrayal she has no right to feel.
It has her brain swimming in a sea of questions, why did he still have them? Does he get up in the middle of the night to look at them? Does he wish Gen was more like them? Does he regret his decisions and wanted to be with them instead of with her?
Because she was clearly nothing like these woman, some of whom she recognizes. Socialites and television reporters. They’re all beautiful and successful, and in a league lightyears away from Genevieve.
She was a stupid girl who made even stupider decisions. Like running into the middle of an assassination attempt and staying with a man who abused her – hoping that if she just gave him another piece of her he’d change.
She was tainted, in more ways than one, and no where near deserving of a man like Ethan.
And she has the photographic proof of what he does deserve sitting in her lap.
“G?” Ethan’s deep voice breaks her out of the fog of anxiety and self hatred, echoing in from the front door.
She quickly tries to clean up the mess, shove the photos back in the envelope and hide the fact that she found something she shouldn’t have.
“What are you –” He’s behind her before she gets everything back in order, stopping mid sentence when she turns. “How did you find those?”
“I was looking for a sweatshirt to borrow because I didn’t bring one and I was cold even with blankets and this fell when I grabbed your Hopkins one and I –” She stops to take a breath, her eyes linger down to the yellow envelope, one of the more salacious photos peaking out. “Why do you have these?”
“Why were you going through my personal effects?” His once calm voice quickly turns to anger, an accusatory tone dripping from every word.
“I wasn’t. I didn’t mean to – I…” Gen looks up from the photos, but when their eyes meet all she can see is him with those other woman.
Taking off their clothes, kissing them the way he kisses her, hovering over them in his bed. Wondering if he’s made them cry out in pleasure the same way he’s done with her.
Suddenly feeling sick to her stomach, all she wants to do is retreat. Escape from the man in front of her. “I’m gonna go.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re mad and I’m…” Try as she might, she can’t stop her gaze from falling down to the photos again. Her eyes now burning with unshed tears as her stomach does somersaults once more. “Uncomfortable now.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to be harsh. Look, this thing between us is still new and…” Ethan pauses, his blue eyes falling to the photos in her hand. Something that she can’t quite place flashing across his face.
Regret, longing, sorrow…
Whatever it was, it makes her want to be anywhere but the slowly shrinking closet.
“I’m sorry.” Gen quickly takes a step towards him, shoving the sweatshirt and envelope into his hands and pushing past him into the bedroom. “I’ll go.”
“Hold on a second.” He’s quick on her heels, tossing the offending material onto the bed without a care. “Don’t leave.”
“No. I should go. I’ve been smothering you and you need space. Like you said, we’re not even really a thing, so, I should leave.”
“I don’t want you to leave. I want to discuss what’s happening right now. Why are you upset?”
“I’m not upset. I’m uncomfortable.” She maneuvers around the room, picking up her scattered clothes and duffle bag.
“They’re just photos, Gen. Old photos.”
“I know that.” She shoves her things into the bag, not bothering to make sure they’re folded. Zipping it up without a look in his direction.
She can’t look at him, afraid of what her broken mind will come up with if she does. “It’s fine. Really. I’m gonna go home.”
“Gen.” He’s watching her every move, struggling to figure out what to do. He doesn’t want her to leave but he’s never been the type to force a woman to stay when she doesn’t want to. “Talk to me. Please.”
“It’s fine.” Gen swallows back the tears rapidly forcing their way past her defenses, briskly walking past him once more and out of the bedroom.
“It’s clearly not fine.” Ethan is behind her again, following her every step.
“It is. I shouldn’t have snooped. Besides you need – I…” She grabs her phone off the coffee table, scanning the room to make sure she isn’t forgetting anything.
Retreat. Run. Hide. Is all her mind is screaming. Save him and yourself from inevitable heartbreak.
You’re no good for him.
You’ll never be like the women of his past.
“I need what? What is going on?” His eyes follow her around the room, but she ignores him.
Instead walking to the front door before he sees her cry.
“Geneviève.” Ethan calls after her. His voice vibrating off the walls.
He never uses her full name anymore. It’s always Gen, or G. But mostly G, because he knows she loves it. To hear her full name leave his lips, in the correct pronunciation, finally makes her stop her frenzied pace, but her hand stays on the door handle. If only to keep her standing.
“What is going on? Thirty minutes ago we were talking about making dinner. I go to the store and come back and now you’re leaving. Saying you’re uncomfortable around me.”
“Not around you, Ethan. That’s not what I meant.”
“Okay, so then what did you mean?” He takes a cautious step in her direction, as if she’s a wounded deer.
And she is in a way, wounded from her own stupidity and curiosity. And carelessness.
“They were…” Gen drops her bag to the ground, lifting her head just enough to catch his eye. “They were not PG rated photos.”
“Not all of them.”
“Most of them.”
“Which is why I didn’t just throw them away. And the ones that aren’t are… good memories.”
“Right.”
She can feel him studying her, the intensity of his gaze like the light from a microscope. It makes her feel more exposed than when she’s laying naked in his bed.
He’s already seen more of her than any man she’s let before, and now after weeks of pretending like she isn’t wounded, he’s finally seeing the broken part.
The anxious part.
The part she’s always been ashamed of.
Normal people don’t spiral like her, they don’t see a pile of photos and jump straight to the worst case scenario. A normal girlfriend, if that’s even what she is to him, would probably tease him for it, make jokes and feel secure.
He takes a deep breath, forehead creased in worry and debate. “This is the first time that I can’t figure out what you’re thinking.”
“I don’t even really know.” Her body practically folds in defeat, her stature shrinking as she lets go of the door handle. Looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Alright, so sit down for a minute and talk to me.” Ethan takes another step in her direction, his face twisted in the same look of concern she’s seen for the last three weeks.
“How do I compete with that?” Genevieve whispers into the space between them, looking away from him as another wave of shame overtakes her.
Swallows her whole and drags her down to the ocean floor.
“Compete with what?”
“That!” Gen points towards the bedroom, her hands still shaking. “Them. I’m nothing like them. They’re successful and beautiful and smart and take sexy photos for you. I’m a stupid child compared to them.”
No longer able to hold it in, she lets the tears fall. One after another until she’s a sobbing mess in the middle of his entryway. “I go to burning buildings to find stupid stuffed animal frogs, and steal medicine for patients, and jump in the middle of assassination attempts. I –”
She catches herself, before she blurts out the worst part. He isn’t ready for that yet, and neither is she.
“I watch Disney movies when I’m sad and stay up late in mismatched pajamas playing board games.” Gen takes a breath, wiping furiously at the tears on her flushed cheeks. “I’m not sexy and sophisticated like them. I’m…”
“A breath of fresh air.” He speaks gently, a half smile gracing his handsome face. “You’re right, you’re nothing like the woman I’ve dated and that is what makes you, makes this, so special. “
“You’re just saying that.”
“No. I’m not.” Ethan takes the final few steps to finally put an end the metaphorical and physical distance between them. “Those women are all the same, they all offered me the same thing. Sex and mindless conversation. While I won’t deny that they’re all beautiful, and at one point I was very attracted to them, it doesn’t negate how I feel about you.”
He takes her hands in his, thumbs stroking gently across her skin.
Like they had a million times before. Like they did when she was on her death bed and there was a layer of plastic between them and he confessed his deepest regret. "You are also beautiful and sexy, but you offer so much more than that. G, you challenge me, force me to step outside my comfort zone. Remind me that there is more to life than work. You’ve reminded me that it’s okay to have fun, to watch Disney movies and play board games all night.”
He chuckles softly, but quickly sobers up. His ocean blue eyes drawing her in, locking with her emerald green. “And feel things I’ve never allowed myself to feel before.”
“But, do you ever wish I was like them? Is that why you still have those photos because even if I offer you all those other things, I’m still –”
Ethan cuts her off, his lips pressing into hers while his hands take ahold of her face.
He’s never kissed her like this before, so adoringly and softly. Like she’s a priceless treasure that he’s unworthy to hold in his hands. He pulls away after only a moment, but he doesn’t go far. Resting his forehead against hers has his fingers wipe the remainder of her tears away.
“I don’t wish or want you to be like them, Gen. I want you exactly the way you are. I…” He takes a breath, the words he wants to say, the ones she wants so desperately to hear, dying on the tip of his tongue. “I’m sorry you found those photos, and that they upset you. But they mean nothing, absolutely nothing. If you’d like, I'll get rid of them. Put them through the shredder or burn them.”
“No. You don’t need to.” Gen wraps her arms around his waist, closing her eyes. “It’s not my place to ask that of you.”
“You’re not asking, I'm offering. And it is your place.”
“So, you won’t be mad if I say yes?”
“Not at all.”
She goes through every possible outcome of her answer. The one where she says yes, only for them to break up one day and he regrets letting the photos go. The one where she says no, but the thought of the envelope stashed away in his apartment haunts her for the rest of their time together. And the one she hopes comes to fruition.
The one where he’s telling the truth, offers her peace and never judges her for the way she thinks or feels.
“Then I’m saying yes.”
“Okay.” Ethan pulls back to kiss her forehead, lingering as he takes a deep breath.
When he moves away their eyes meet again, and for the first time since finding the envelope she doesn’t see him with his exes, there are no flashes of made up emotions and dalliances that aren’t with her.
All Genevieve sees is her Ethan. The one that was scared to lose her, the one that’s spent every minute of the last fourteen days right beside her. Making her feel safe in a world that no longer felt that way.
In that moment, and every moment since the met, she’s all that’s mattered him. And maybe, it will always be that way. Maybe they’ll heal and grow and be together for longer than they ever dreamed.
And maybe she’ll take photos for him too, one’s that he won’t ever have to throw away.
A/N: Spoiler Alert - she takes a whole ass boudoir photo shoot for him... packaged neatly in a little book that says “For My Husband..”
Again, thank you to the anon who sent that question. I hope, whoever you are, you see this and like it.
Also, I know I owe you guys chapter 4 of Long Story Short, I’m gonna try to do that next. But I also have that fic of Ethan asking Gen out on their first date... which was supposed to be done for their anniversary literally a month ago from today. So maybe that will be next and then LSS. IDK we’ll see
(tagging separately)
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Find the Word Tag!
So, I was tagged by @mrsmungus a few days ago for this game. The rules are simple - find the word (or something close enough) in a fic (WIP, published, whatever works) and share the excerpt it is in!
Words I was given: master, pulse, shiver, smile, end/ended
Your words to find: drink, black, sun, laugh, silence
Tagging to play (no pressure, of course): @sliebman10, @tsunderewatermelon, @axolotlsupremacyowo, @udaberriwrites, @hylianjo, @lena-hills, @kayedium-writes, @precambrian-sea-pancake, @oceangirl24, and anyone else who feels like joining with the open tag! Really, I just tagged so many people lol
NOTES:
*All the excerpts are from my long-fic, Apricity. I wanted to include context, so this post does run a bit longer...
*NSFW warning for the third one - "shiver". This is in an erotic dream.
*I combined the fourth and fifth ones - "smile" and "end/ended" - so I went with a longer excerpt for those two words.
*Discord Server Folks! (you know who you are XD) - the last excerpt is a scene that is setup for the paint fic ('We Need To Talk About Rosalie'). Tbh, that scene is all the context you'll need for the fic, so I did include the entire scene to spare y'all in the future~ XD
Now, with all of that out of the way... onwards!
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Master - So... I went with 'mastermind' for this one. I did find a "master bedroom" mention in the first chapter when Beau was moving into his new house, but this was much more interesting~
[From Mocha Hypothesis - Apricity, Ch 9]
Was Edward a bad guy?
“… you’re not wrong. I suppose you could be a bad guy.”
Confusion marred Edward’s features. “Then why do you-”
“It depends on what you mean by bad, though.”
Edward looked incredulous.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What kind of bad could I be, then?”
“Bad as in inferior? No way. Not with your looks or abilities.”
“Haha, fair enough,” Edward chuckled.
“Bad as in unpleasant? You’ve had your weird moments, but we get along well.”
“Maybe… with you and your friends in bio, at least.”
“Bad as in evil? Not impossible, but I doubt it.”
Edward clicked his tongue. “Isn’t that careless to dismiss?”
“Right, because an evil mastermind would live as a high schooler in a small town.”
“…I suppose it would be difficult to carry out evil plans.”
“Bad as in dangerous, though… maybe. Magic is dangerous, after all.”
“Do you think I’m dangerous?” Edward asked, looking on edge.
"Hmm... I don't know, but I don't think so. Not from what I know of you, at least."
"You don't know very much about me."
"True, but everything I've seen so far points against it. Same goes for your brother."
"My brother?" Edward scoffed. "Carlisle's easily the most dangerous of all."
Beau's breath hitched, wondering what Edward meant by that.
-
Pulse - Found it in the hospital scene/inciting event, naturally. Also found it in the NSFW chapter, but most of the incidences are actually in Sangria/Midnight and are in spoiler-ish parts, so I'll pass on those.
[From Cerise Blossom - Apricity, Ch 6]
He turned back to face Beau. "Did you feel any pain or have any issues with balance?"
"No, it went well. I didn't notice any problems."
"And now? You mentioned a mild headache earlier, but do you feel anything else?"
“I’m a little dizzy,” Beau looked down. “I just noticed a slight chest ache too.”
“Alright. That is not abnormal.” The doctor set the folder down and maneuvered his stethoscope. “Take a few deep breaths for me.”
He pressed the chest piece to just under his left collarbone, causing Beau to shudder as cool fingertips gently brushed against his skin and moved across his chest with each breath. Beau closed his eyes and tried to calm the racing heartbeat he was certain the older man could hear. It was a futile effort, though, as the spikes of heat that blossomed beneath the man’s fingers only fueled his already racing pulse even faster. Combined with the alluring scent - of sandalwood and vanilla with a hint of spice and a trace of disinfectant - that invaded his senses with each deep breath, Beau felt a soft haze set in.
“Now breathe normally. I need to listen to your heart function.”
That only made Beau’s heart race faster. The only thing keeping him grounded was the knowledge that the doctor, Edward, and his dad would be able to see his every reaction.
-
Shiver - This one showed up 6 times... with half of them from Azure, the one NSFW chapter I have so far (erotic dream + vampire sex). Since I'm here, might as well do the most NSFW of the three XD
[From Azure Mystique - Apricity, Ch 11]
'Open for me, beautiful boy'
Unable to resist the siren’s call, Beau felt his legs simply fall apart as he collapsed onto the warm earth, when slick lips captured his own once more. A stronger metallic taste permeated the kiss once more as the man’s hands wandered even lower. Just as Beau was about to give into the haze once more, the man pulled away abruptly and another rip of fabric reverberated through the forest. Goosebumps spread rapidly and shivers rippled across skin newly exposed to the cold air. It felt empty, alone - something was missing. Beau looked up at ruby red eyes with an unspoken need for something he couldn’t name - for something he didn't even know.
Within seconds, the being descended upon Beau ravenously, interspersing harsh bites and deep marks with deliberate kisses and teasing licks. Feather-light fingers plucked purposefully at delicate rosy peaks on his chest like harp strings, as more possessive fingers caressed his hips, his waist, and soon dipped lower over the swell of his body, pushing more firmly inside, to a deeper place the man was all too familiar with, given their numerous amorous encounters. Lost within the maelstrom of pleasure, Beau jolted sharply with a single touch, arching his back at the series of sharp twin stings along his inner thighs before an ever-rising rush of ecstasy melded with the pain, elevating his carnal desires to an even higher peak.
The sensations were all too much and yet still not enough.
-
Smile - This one showed up 66 times!
End/Ended - This one showed up 100+ times!
Fortunately, both showed up in the same scene, and that scene happens to be the only major context the Discord folks need in order to understand the premise of my paint drying fic. So here we are - the awkward, tense, yet hilarious conversation between Mike and Carlisle about a certain blonde girl and the meaning of friendship XD
[From Midnight Freefall - Apricity, Ch 14]
Satin - or perhaps, a slight shimmer.
The sapphire tint shifted subtly, introducing a new dimension to the previously matte sensation. Either way, something had changed and something else would happen.
The next change was one Mike could note with his bare eyes - the eerie stillness of the past few minutes finally broke. The doctor hadn't moved, but the threatening, baleful edge that mirrored his own sapphire's phantom cold had taken a different charge.
Still so sharp, anticipatory, and inhuman... yet somehow neutral and vaguely familiar.
...
“You are exactly as they described you.”
...
Those words… they were familiar alright.
“Edward, I take it?” Mike paused for a beat then continued. “And Elle too, I suppose.”
The doctor quirked an eyebrow and allowed a small smile to form across his lips.
“Edward has a lot to say about you and Eleanor seems to enjoy your company.”
Mike was going to have a word with that suspicious guy before the night ended.
“However, it was Rosalie that spoke to me at length about you.”
“…Rose did?”
“Yes, she did. Why are you surprised by that?” the doctor asked, looking him over again.
Being on the receiving end of such scrutiny… though Mike didn’t feel on edge as he had earlier, that sangria gaze and deep voice still unsettled him, keeping him far off balance. He took a deep breath to regain his composure before responding.
“Rose and I don’t interact too often outside of school-related matters.”
“Interesting. She regularly corresponds with you. Do you not consider her a friend?”
“A friend…”
‘Friend’ wasn’t the first word that came to mind. He and Rose worked well together in the few classes they shared. Group projects often had them meeting outside of school hours… and a few personal things probably got mentioned every now and then… and they did text each other random stuff… and there was her warning from that morning…
Huh… maybe they were friends of a sort after all?
“You’ve come to a realization.”
This man wasn’t even trying to hide his true nature, was he? Of course not - there was no reason for him to do so. Not when Mike was the only one around to see or hear him.
Hell, the vampire even sounded a bit amused by Mike’s confusion.
“I didn’t think of it that way before, but I suppose we are. Friends, that is.”
“I would agree, based on what Rosalie has told me.”
Figures Mike would be subtly lectured about friendship by some ancient vampire he was meeting for the first time. Someone was clearly playing mad libs with his life.
#tag game#my tag games#find the word tag#mizuka's tag games#my writing#my excerpts#winter light excerpts
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downsides of being besties with a soft boi tiktoker (tsukiyama hc)✨
[ inspired by this tiktok. all links in this are animated tiktoks except for the inspo video ☺️][beta’ed version on ao3 💖]
yamaguchi has always been more expressive online. he isn’t as quiet as kenma or as socially awkward as kageyama in real life. he’s still shy, it took him months to speak up more with his friends. but when he did, they were greeted by the boy’s puppy-like energy. there was something about talking through the internet that helped him grow out of his shell a little more.
it was only natural that yamaguchi ended up making tiktoks.
at first, he only downloaded the app because his online friends kept sending him links to videos and opening it up on chrome became a chore. then, his friends started to do group transition videos even though they all lived in different countries and asked him to send in his part. it slowly escalated to yamaguchi participating in trends and dances on his own account.
yamaguchi tadashi the volleyball player was a bit of a wallflower. don’t get him wrong, he loved the game and he loved his team. except, didn’t feel like he stood out yet so he felt more comfortable watching from the sidelines. slowly, with every practice, his skills and confidence grew bit by bit. his itch to be on the court more often grows every time he hits a good serve.
yamaguchi tadashi the tiktok creator was a different story. in the comfort of his own room, yamaguchi liked to let loose a little. his mum was used to walking in on him dancing with his headphones on, singing along to youtube videos or excitedly talking to his online friends for hours, laughing loud enough to be heard from outside his door. his tiktoks ended up radiating the same type of carefree energy that he usually had once he got home from school.
the freckled boy wasn’t a completely different person. no, infact he was just as anxious as he was when he was in school. his small following noticed the boy’s tendency to ramble or backtrack whenever he got nervous in a video and it just built his soft boy image more. however, they also noticed his snark (which was inevitable when you were tsukishima kei’s best friend) which made some of his videos just a little more interesting (specifically his occasional story times)
soon enough, his videos started getting better and better as he got the hang of it. he bought a tripod instead of stacking his books, decorated his room by adding a few plants and lights (including one ring light), started playing around in editing and even did some collabs with other smaller tiktokers.
his first viral video was of him doing a little dance that he saw while scrolling through tiktok on his way home. once he entered his room, he didn’t even change out of his volleyball attire and started recording himself trying out the dance. after a few (multiple) tries, he uploaded the first one he recorded and set his phone down to go and take a shower. it was exam season so he avoided going on tiktok too much, temporarily muting his social media notifications til exams were over
yamaguchi didn’t think much of it, he was too busy balancing exams, volleyball and the anxiety that came with both of them. it wasn’t til two days later than tsukishima brought it up.
“you know that dance video you posted? the most recent one?”
“yeah?”
“nii-san sent it to me.”
“oh? that’s weird but i get it. did he find me or follow me or something?”
“you were on his ‘for you page’. did you know you got over twenty thousand views on that?”
“WHAT?!”
yamaguchi nearly dropped his meat bun while grabbing his phone out of his bag. tsukishima looked at his best friend with amusement as he opened up the app and noticed the bustling inbox. yamaguchi turned red as he remembered how he had some pretty cringe-worthy content from a long time ago and screamed, scrolling down as far as he could to delete those.
tsukishima laughed at him, calling him a strawberry but putting a hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder to calm him down. both boys were surprised that yamaguchi went from a few hundred followers to a few thousand followers in only two days, but tsukishima wasn’t too surprised. he always knew yamaguchi thrived on the internet. he should know, he’s always making sure his best friend never got cyberbullied or ended up on the wrong side of the internet.
later that day, tsukishima and him popped on a call together to go through yamaguchi’s account and make sure he didn’t have any personal information lying around in his captions, comments or videos. tsukishima argued that he should take down the videos of him in his volleyball uniform so that people won’t be able to know which school he went to, but yamaguchi claimed that even if he did, it probably won’t be too hard to find him since all of them on the team are on google (they checked). he eventually gave in to tsukishima’s request, knowing his best friend was just worried. plus, he didn’t want his classmates finding his account anyway.
after that video, both boys figured it was a one-hit wonder type of video since his views went down and plateaued for a while. it didn’t bother either of them, yamaguchi did get a little (extremely) overwhelmed by the flood of new followers in those few days so when it started to slow down he calmed down again and was able to post the videos he enjoyed making without overthinking again.
then he had another video blow up. then another. and even one from something he posted months ago. tsukishima got more protective and frown-y and yamaguchi’s online friends started teasing on him whenever he’d join the call, calling him “yamaguchi’s guardian angel”. in all honesty, yamaguchi did appreciate his best friend for his protectiveness. tsukishima had access to his account so he would go in to delete any hateful comments (not that there were many) before yamaguchi got to see them.
he can’t prove it, but he’s almost 100% sure that tsukishima also deleted some simp-styled comments.
(he tested it by posting a video of him dancing in a skirt and watched as how comments beyond the simple “that’s so cute” or “you’re adorable” seemed to disappear. smirking, yamaguchi called him out on it on the way to school and enjoyed the way it made tsukishima blush. the taller boy turned it back to him by asking him about the skirt.)
in a few months, his followers hit 90k. his online friends were a little baffled how their sweet little yamaguchi became a content creator while also balancing volleyball and high school. not to mention, his team was not aware (or did not bring up) his new-found tiktok popularity. even in school, he was only approached about it three times and all three of them did not mention it to anyone else. yamaguchi just explained how he tends to record videos when he feels like it, and when he does he records a lot of them and various different types of videos. he has a decent amount of prepared videos in his drafts to post daily and last til his next burst of inspiration. that way he was able to focus on school and volleyball. it helped that yamaguchi still saw it as a hobby so he never felt compelled to stick by a certain regiment.
occasionally, yamaguchi would post storytimes. sometimes it would be about volleyball, other times it would be about school and very rarely he talked about something personal. his followers were quick to pick up a common denominator; his best friend. yamaguchi never referred to him by name, but tsukishima came up in almost all of the storytimes. they wanted to see who this “tall and cool and intelligent and protective and talented, volleyball-playing best friend” was.
yamaguchi wanted to show them tsukishima as well. when he found out that tsukishima was never against the idea, he immediately asked him to do a dance with him. the blonde immediately took back his words and started to walk away. it took a lot of convincing, but they eventually agreed on just posting one of yamaguchi’s bloopers that featured tsukishima from a few weeks ago. yamaguchi was going to record a short video in the gym while the team was still changing when his phone fell off the bench. he was laughing as he picked it back up and panned to the side to show tsukishima standing there, waiting for yamaguchi to finish up.
the comments immediately started flooding in and this time, tsukishima wasn’t online to delete them.
YAMA YOU DIDNT TELL US HE WAS HOT
… tall man… with glasses… and headphones… and plays a sport…
THIGHS
i smell something fruity in the air
I WANT HIM TO BE MY BEST FRIEND WTF
the,,, height difference yall,,,, THE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE
tsukki? help that’s such a cute fucking name
yamaguchi was was very pleased that his followers saw tsukishima the way he did. tsukishima on the other hand, was mortified. “this is borderline sexual harassment, yamaguchi.” tsukishima muttered as he went through the comments beside yamaguchi as they laid in his bed. he scrolled even furthur down and his eyes went wide. “never mind, this is sexual harassment. if i see one more comment about my thighs, i will disable the comments.” yamaguchi turned his head to look at his best friend, ignoring how close they were. “gomen, tsukki. ill disable it myself, don’t worry.” tsukishima turned his head towards yamaguchi and went red when he saw how close his face was to the smaller boy. not to mention, the wide and honest eyes he found staring back at his own. he flushed and turned back to his phone, claiming that he didn’t care and that he didn’t need to do that. (yamaguchi still did, anyway).
despite that (and yamaguchi’s strongly worded comment about not objectifying his best friend), his followers wanted more of tsukishima. however, his best friend absolutely refused to participate in a dance, a trend or “anything else you guys do”. however, no matter how cold and collected tsukishima was, even he wasn’t invulnerable to yamaguchi’s pouting. especially if he did it every time he asked. he eventually gave in, but still refusing to do anything for a video.
after some back and forth, they decided on posting a video of him from yamaguchi’s gallery since he had a habit of taking random videos of his friends. after scrolling through yamaguchi’s gallery for a while, something caught tsukishima’s eye. he pointed out to a thumbnail of him sleeping and saw yamaguchi blushed from the corner of his eye as he clicked on the video. it was a video of tsukishima asleep in yamaguchi’s bed after he slept over since they had a late night study session. it was obvious that tsukishima was deep asleep despite the sunlight and wind coming through the window, emphasising the softness of his hair. his glasses were on the window still so half of his soft face was nestled into the pillow. after a few seconds, yamaguchi’s hand comes into the frame and softly combs through tsukishima’s hair. both boys were red as they watched what was on the screen, yamaguchi was so sure that his ears were going to melt off.
“i- i…”
“… post that one.”
“… what?”
“post this video.”
before yamaguchi could process the request, tsukishima turned away from yamaguchi and tucked the blanket around himself. yamaguchi recognised it as tsukishima’s ‘im going to take a nap now’ position. he could see tsukishima’s red ear poke out of the edge of the blanket and turned his attention back to the screen instead (or he might not stop himself from spooninghisbestfriend). yamaguchi watched over the video a few times, picked a song to add in the background and wrote a short caption before posting it.
@yamayama 🍓|| by the way, his name is tsukishima. only i get to call him tsukki ;) #fyp #besties
YAMA WHAT IS THIS WHATS GOING ON
wtf why is this so soft and precious what the fuck
YAMA?!?!?!!?
oo, he’s possessive 👀
BITCH REALLY SAID #BESTIES
man, today is a good day to be gay
TSUKKI WAKE UPPPP I DONT LIKE THIS, TSUKKI WAKE UPPP (jk let him sleep he’s adorable)
yamaguchi put his phone on focus mode, which muted his tiktok notifications but allowed messages and calls to go through. he got out of bed to grab a book so that he can read beside tsukishima while he was asleep. while picking out a book, his phone pinged really loudly and he silently dashed to the bed and putting it on silent mode. peaking over and making sure tsukishima was still asleep, yamaguchi sighed in relief and checked his message.
sugawara-san: hey, yamaguchi! could you call me whenever you’re available? ive got a question about your latest tiktok video…
sugawara-san: before you start panicking, don’t! if you don’t want to talk about it either, we don’t have to!
yamaguchi definitely panicked. there he was, thinking that no one on his team knew about his videos. turns out his own senpai watched his videos. and he posted a video with one of his teammates in his bed. if it weren’t for tsukishima sleeping on his bed, he would have dived under the covers and screamed. unfortunately, the bed was occupied which meant that yamaguchi probably had to handle the situation. he let suga know that he’ll call him in 5 minutes then proceeded to find his coat and head out the door, not before leaving tsukishima a note. once he walked out his front door, he pressed the call button on suga’s contact and felt his heart rate spike.
“hi-“
“yamaguchi! hi! im sorry, were you busy?”
“no, no. im just on a walk right now.” (“because tsukki is asleep in my bed and i didn’t want to wake him up” goes unsaid).
“nice, nice. well, im going to cut to the chase and ask if there’s anything going on between you and tsukishima.”
yamaguchi blushed again. he swears he blushes so much he probably has more blood in his face than he has in the rest of his body at this point. rubbing his neck and looking at the sky, yamaguchi replies with a soft “no”.
“but you want to, don’t you?”
sighing, yamaguchi nodded. then he remembered suga couldn’t see him so he hummed in agreement. out of all his senpais, suga has always been the most perceptive of them all. infact, he was the second most perceptive one on the team when it came to yamaguchi. tsukishima taking the top spot.
“would you like to talk about it?”
“i… i don’t think so. i think we both are aware on each other’s feelings.”
“i figured. what’s stopping you guys from making things official?”
yamaguchi had to pause for another moment to think of his answer. him and tsukishima have always been there for each other, and they’re damn sure they will continue to be there for each other in the future. hinata and kageyama may have that thing where they aim to go to the top of the world together, but yamaguchi and tsukishima have always planned to go against the world together. he knows that he won’t get rejected if he did confess, but he also knew it wasn’t the right time.
“i think tsukki and i have a lot more growing to do. we’ve changed a lot since middle school, but we still have more to grow. and for that to happen we need to do most of it on our own. when we do officially go out, i have a feeling we’d tell people we’ve been together since we were kids. besides, it’s not like either of us will date. tsukki’s the one for me, he’s always been.”
it was silent on the other end and yamaguchi nearly started freaking out from embarrassment. thankfully, suga didn’t leave him hanging for too long.
“wow, yamaguchi. here i was thinking id be your amazing senpai and help you guys get together but it turns out you guys already have it all figured out. that was… that was so sweet and… you definitely fit your ‘soft boi’ role… and…”
“suga-san… are… are you crying?”
“NO! it’s just… the wifi is weird, that’s all.” based on the voice crack, yamaguchi didn’t believe him.
“anyway, im so proud of you yamaguchi. not just for this, but for growing so much. i don’t think you know this because i don’t use my name on social media, but ive followed your account since that first viral video. ive been wanting to bring it up but kept forgetting. seeing you slowly grow more confident on screen and on the court makes me so proud. keep it going and i can see you wearing the #1 jersey in 2 years.”
yamaguchi paused in his steps. he knows he’s changed, but knowing his senpai has been watching him this whole time and was proud of him… it filled him with warmth. yamaguchi looked to the ground and felt a smile grow on his face as his eyes started to water “wow, thank you suga-san. now you’re going to make me cry.” suga chuckled and yamaguchi could hear him wipe his tears on the other end. he reminded yamaguchi that it was getting dark and that he should go home. yamaguchi wiped his tears and listened to his senpai, turning around to make the walk back home and ending the call with suga. a few seconds after the call ended, his phone vibrated.
sugawara-san: text me when you’re home! if i don’t hear from you in 20 minutes, you’re doing extra laps tomorrow!
sugawara-san: but be safe, don’t try to run across any roads.
sugawara-san: and watch out for anyone suspicious!
sugawara-san: (p.s. you should totally do a tiktok dance with your other half)
sugawara-san: (p.p.s. ask him when he’s sleepy. that’s how i got daichi to let us have a pizza party that one time.)
sugawara koushi really was the best senpai.
when yamaguchi got home, he threw his coat over the couch and went up to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. he went into his room to get his clothes before taking a shower and peaked over at tsukishima. he was curled on his side of the bed with the blanket only covering half his back. his glasses were on the windowstill which meant that he woke up at some point and removed his glasses. yamaguchi held a soft smile as he went up to adjust tsukishima’s blanket before going to take a shower.
after his shower, yamaguchi turned off all the lights in the room and crawled into bed with tsukishima. usually he’d just lay beside him and fall asleep but today, he felt a little bit more affectionate. lifting the blanket, yamaguchi wrapped his arms around the other boy and nuzzled his face into his back. it wasn’t the first time they cuddled, but yamaguchi was still surprised when tsukishima wrapped his arms around yamaguchi’s. mainly because he thought tsukishima was still asleep.
“nngn… t’dashi?”
“gomen, tsukki. did i wake you up?”
“…’es… where’d you go?”
“suga-san called me and i took it outside. it’s nothing important, don’t worry.”
“mmm… ‘kay…”
yamaguchi felt tsukishima snuggle up closer to him. there’s almost nothing yamaguchi loved more than a sleepy tsukishima. tsukishima hates sleeping cold so he usually has two blankets on his own bed, but whenever he’s sleeping beside yamaguchi, he forgoes one of the blankets for the body heat of having yamaguchi beside him. yamaguchi could tell tsukishima was about to fall back asleep and remembered what suga told him. he smiled with a slightly evil glint in his eyes as he adjusted himself so that he could free one of his arms and used the other thumb to rub one of tsukishima’s arm.
“tsukki?”
“hngg?”
“could you sleep over tomorrow too?”
“mm… yes, tadashi…”
“and could you help me cook breakfast in the morning too?”
“….mmmkay, t’dashi…”
“and do a tiktok dance video with me?”
“mmm… s’re dashi…”
yamaguchi grinned evilly as he stopped the recording he secretly took on his phone. he’ll ask him again in the morning when tsukishima was completely awake. he wouldn’t force tsukishima if he was vehemently against the idea, but if he wasn’t, yamaguchi knows that having that recording would help. he placed the phone on his bedside table and went back to cuddling his tsukishima.
[ fast forward to the next morning ]
“no.”
“pleaaaseeee tsukkiiiiiii”
tsukishima glares at the recording on yamaguchi’s phone in disgust. he liked to ignore his soft side once he’s properly awake and yet... “i can't believe you asked me this when i was barely awake.” “gomen, tsukki”. tsukishima could still believe it, though. yamaguchi was not all sweet and innocent. not after that many years with each other, at least.
yamaguchi stared at tsukishima’s frowning face and sighed. “kei,” he started and reached across the breakfast table to place his hand above tsukishima’s, “if youre actually uncomfortable with it, i won't force you to do it. im sorry that I've been very persistent about this. i guess i just watched too much tiktok videos of couples dancing and kinda wished we did one too.” yamaguchi was sincere in his words that he didn't notice his slip until after he finished. once he did, his eyes widened slightly and he started to pull his hand away.
“i’ll do it.” tsukishima turned his hand upward and stopped yamaguchi from pulling away.
“wha- no, no! it’s okay tsu-”
“i didn't want to do it before this moment because i only saw it as something embarrassing and i thought you only wanted me to do it with you the same way you'd want any other friend to do it with you. but if it’s a little more than that, then i want to do it.”
yamaguchi grinned and nodded, picking his phone up and scrolling through his tiktok favourites at a swift speed to find something him and tsukishima could do. he started adding more and more tiktoks to an album for them to look through together later. tsukishima sighed and went back to his cereal to hide his soft smile at how excited yamaguchi was.
“by the way, i refuse to do anything remotely close to a thirst trap.”
yamaguchi paused, frowned and started to remove half of the videos from the album.
+
suga and daichi were about to reach the gym when suga’s phone vibrated. he pulled his phone out of his pocket while daichi digged his sports bag for the key to the gym. suga was surprised to see a notification from his internet-popular kouhai because he knew that yamaguchi tended to post his videos in the afternoon. he had his post notifications on for him, of course. he has them on for all of his kouhais that he stumbled across on the app.
noticing that daichi was still opening the door, suga clicked on the pop up and let the app open. he was incredibly surprised to see tsukishima on screen with him. he remembered telling yamaguchi about it the previous friday, but he didn't expect tsukishima to agree that fast. yamaguchi and tsukishima were an enigma indeed.
suga let the video play and snorted out a laugh by the end of it. yamaguchi was dancing at his regular energy level while tsukishima seemed to be doing the bare minimum, but still trying. if yamaguchi was at a 90%, tsukishima was at a 30%. tsukishima tried to walk off halfway through the dance and yamaguchi dashed off to grab him back in. unfortunately the taller man stumbled as yamaguchi dragged him back into frame. suga laughed even harder the second time around.
“what are you laughing at?”
“nothing... nothing...”
suga paused the video and put his phone down to change his shoes. when he picked his phone back up, the video was paused on tsukishima getting dragged back into frame. he smiled again.
“you know, suga. one would think youre getting messages from a significant other from the way youre smiling.”
“hey!”
daichi chuckled and walked into the gym with suga tailing right behind it. a spark suddenly appeared in suga’s eyes as he stared at the back of daichi’s head.
“hey daichi, have you heard of tiktok?”
#haikyuu#haikyuu!!#tsukishima kei#yamaguchi tadashi#tsukiyama#drabble#fanfic#?#headcanon#mentions of:#sugawara koushi#daichi sawamura#OKAY THIS WASNT SUPPOSE TO END UP WITH 4K WORDS#honestly I saw one video (the very last link) and it ended up w this#tiktoker yamaguchi
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Cee lost 68 pounds
New Post has been published on https://eazydiet.net/cee-lost-68-pounds/
Cee lost 68 pounds
Transformation of the Day: Cee lost 68 pounds. We started following her transformation journey in 2017. Over the years, she faced the loss of loved ones, PTSD, depression, and the challenges that come with a busy life and a growing family. Despite all this, she was able to prioritize her health and fitness.
Social Media:
Facebook: Cee Duncan
Instagram: @naturally.cee
It was January 27, 2017, when I submitted my initial submission to BWLW. For those of you who are not familiar with my story, let me catch you up on my backstory: My fitness lever was placed on the back burner because everything else was more important at the time:
Working full time
College classes full time
Managing my own growing family
And being one of three caretakers for my aging parents.
Looking back on it all, I would’ve done exactly what I did. However, as life often does, my juggling act would eventually lose its balance.
I lost my mother in 2009. Then, in 2012, I lost a sister to suicide and my dad from bone cancer a few weeks later. I would eventually develop PTSD and depression, which forced me to take months away from my job.
With the help of a wonderfully gifted psychologist and medicinal therapy from the VA, I managed my fledgling mental illness. It was a few years afterward before I felt normal and could focus on my physical self. My “house” wasn’t normal. I was 5’2″ and weighed 196 pounds.
My 2014 fitness journey began with a Zumba class at the Hayes-Taylor YMCA. My eyes were drawn to how everyone exercised together and had fun doing it, as well as the encouraging smiles of the group teacher. Everyone was doing something a little different, and it didn’t matter. I was hooked as soon as I eased into the back row and got lost in the music.
In the next few years, I would become a Les Mills Body Pump Instructor, a Silver Sneakers Instructor, and a Certified Personal Trainer. I wore a size 6-8. I was feeling great! I never thought I would do this in my 50s. I weighed 140 pounds and felt amazing!
Then Covid. The world stopped. And I wasn’t sure what to do.
I am naturally a social person, but as much as I tried to wing it on my own around my family (I became a proud grandmother during the Pandemic), the continued isolation and my carefully cultivated routine added to my depression. Twenty-five pounds seamlessly crept back on. I couldn’t go to church. I gamely walked and did online classes. I kept on trying, and my mind was eased. My control was gone.
As the world slowly opened up in mid-2021, so did my heart. The Y’s classes resumed outside and inside the gym. As we masked and socially distanced, we all cautiously came together with a common goal: to become what we once were or as close as possible.My goal before and now is the same: to be my best self. To FEEL better.
I began with a prayer to my Lord because a “weight journey” is a stressful undertaking. I started taking (in my case, “teaching”) three classes a week. I remember how hot it was outside, but I was so happy to move. As I found my footing, my confidence in myself and my ability to regain control over my body returned. I ceased focusing on the end result. Instead, I focused on my strength; at 61 years old, I needed to! My weight slowly came down, and with sensible portion control (no pills), lots of water, and less fried foods/more veggies, I returned to my pre-Covid weight of 128 pounds. Because I am older, I was able to lose those pounds in about a year.
My fitness routine consists of teaching six classes weekly (Thank God for Les Mills Body Pump!). I have both the socialization and the energy of the class to drive me. It’s a win-win! I also walk with my husband and with my dog.
My “a-ha” moments were simple ones: my inner thighs stopped rubbing together. It is much easier to climb up a set of stairs. A few months ago, I was with my grandson, and it was huge! As much as I love my many selves, I have mad appreciation for it now. I am healthier, adventurous, more energetic, and living life with all I can. (Can I say “skydiving”??)
To that sister who’s ready for change: before you became someone’s sister, friend, girlfriend, fiancee, wife, mother, coworker, boss, employee, confidant, etc., it was you. We, as women, are taught to be selfless and to place ourselves last. You are one of The Lord’s babies, and she needs attention as well. Keep moving. Find something you like to do and do it. Invest in you. Believe in your own hype. Don’t stop. Never give up. You are precious. You are worth it. DO YOU.
Read more about Cee’s transformation journey.
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Brand Crush - Sea Clothing + This & That
Happy Friday from Germany! Baldy and i have been visiting our daughter and her sweet little family, including Sarah’s husband, Will and our adorable grandson Bristol! Bristol turned two in January and is such an amazing little boy! He has personality for days and we’ve been entertained by him the whole time! We hadn’t seen them since December so we’ve been savoring every second of our time! Thankfully, at the end of this month, they’re moving back to the states and will only be three hours away from us, so we’ll get to see them much more often and spend holidays with them!
We’re in Vliseck Germany right now, but headed to Prague tomorrow for a short sightseeing trip and I couldn’t be more excited!
Today’s post is a jumble of different things that I’m loving right now from my new brand crush to my favorite hair oil and more! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m making some real lifestyle changes and choices. My focus is on purchasing more environmentally friendly clothing and more local products, including food from local farms. Our choices in life, the way we spend our money say a lot about who we are and it also speaks to what we want to bring forward and manifest.
The environmental impacts of the fashion industry, agriculture and most everything we purchase can be lessened when we choose companies who are doing their part to care for Mother Earth. It’s so much easier these days to shop at local farmer’s markets for everything from in season veggies to meats to honey and so much more. I’m sure you’ve noticed my post about our local potters - Haand Ceramics! I’ve absolutely loved getting to know them and it’s been so much fun to style my food in their fabulous dishes!
When it comes to shopping for clothes and shoes…it’s easier than it was, even several years ago to buy clothing that’s ethically produced and more environmentally friendly! Does this mean that I’ll never shop at Zara or Target and that I won’t pull into Starbucks every now and then…probably not, but I am trying to be more conscious of my purchases and choose wisely.
Let’s start with my new to me brand crush - Sea Clothing! I’ve known about this company for several years but this beautiful embroidered dress is my first purchase! I saw it and immediately thought it would be so perfect for late afternoons at the beach! I love to put on something comfortable but still cute after a day at the beach and sit on the porch (of course with an afternoon cocktail). This dress is made from organic cotton and couldn’t be any more perfect for those on the porch beach afternoons and it would also take me straight to dinner! When I tried it on and realized it had pockets, I was sold…pockets totally change the game for me! I’ve already worn it several times and it really dresses up with the sky high Stella McCartney espadrilles I’m wearing! I would, of course be barefoot on the porch at the beach!
And a little about Sea…
“Sea is born out of the friendship between childhood friends Sean Monahan and Monica Paolini.
Together, they share a vision that is distinctively Sea—combining Monica’s eye for vintage-feeling pieces and Sean’s leaning towards more modern, clean styles.
Their considered perspective forms an aesthetic that is quietly inviting and elegantly balanced.
Classic silhouettes with a distinctive use of lace, embroidery, knits and technical fabrics result in collections that are at once both effortless and optimistic, romantic and boyish.
Each season, the duo continues to refine and reinvent their own language, developing a cherished connection with their global, modern customer who relies on the brand for their day-to-day wardrobe. They stay focused on the world of Sea, exploring, evolving and building the brand.”
And…here are a few more random summer “essentials” - in no particular order!
I have to leave you with at least one recipe! This one for Pesto Pasta Primavera from Camille Styles is next up on my list of easy weeknight dinners! It’s sounds so seasonal and fresh and I can’t wait to make it!
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Last up…Baldy and I are so exited to watch the new season of Queer Eye! It’s been one of our favorites for so long! It’s heartwarming and such a positive show in a world that is desperately in need of positivity!
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Corpse’s Girl
Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)
Warnings: Bullying, Swearing, Derogatory Terms
Genre: Angst, Fluff
Summary: Y/N’s life as a regular college student is forever stripped away from her when her relationship with the famous YouTuber Corpse Husband is accidentally revealed during an online class of hers. How will she cope with the sudden spotlight and the unwanted attention, some of which crosses into bullying?
Requested by my amazing Tumblr friend @itsminniekat 🥰 She’s been reading and liking my works since day one and I honestly couldn’t be more grateful. If you’re reading this, all I can say is thank you, darling. Thank you so much for sticking by my blog even when I posted some crappy fics. I’ll make sure this ain’t one of them. Love you with all my heart. ❤❤❤
P.S. - I named the mean character with my name so I hope no one who reads this has the same name. Wouldn’t want any of you feeling like the villain 😘
Who knew online class would be even more boring than being physically present for a lecture? Seriously, I find myself doing the weirdest of crap to entertain myself - like trying to balance a pen on the tip of my nose for example. I jot down some notes every now and then but that’s basically it. My mind can not fathom the concept on concentrating on whatever my professors are going on and on about. Well, full disclosure, I couldn’t concentrate even if I wanted to, especially with my boyfriend streaming in the other room.
He’s currently playing Among Us with his usual gaming squad. Listening to his input during the discussions, I can always tell when he’s lying. I honestly find it hilarious that his friends can’t pick up when he’s bullshitting them. I sometimes wonder if he has brainwashed them. And that’s one of the main reasons we don’t play Among Us together - he can’t lie to me. Not only do I pick up on his con with ease, but he always says he feels bad when he lies to me which is just the sweetest thing. Also, I refuse to play cause I’m shy. His friends are all well-known content creators and I’m a literal nobody. Every now and then I find myself wondering why Corpse is even with me. He’s always quick to push those thoughts out of my head and make sure they don’t return on a long notice, but they do interrupt my peace from time to time.
“Y/N, do you know?“ The sound of my professor saying my name takes me out of my eavesdropping of Corpse’s stream.
I panic, but quickly improvise, “Sorry, my internet is slow, you cut out for a second. What was the question?” I feel my face heating up, making me glad we are allowed to keep our cameras off.
“Question number 15 on page 82 in your textbook. Do you know the answer to it?“ My professor repeats himself, his tone annoyed.
I look down at the page that’s already opened in front of me. I let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the question is rather easy.
“Yeah, um, it’s...“ Suddenly, Corpse’s laugh reaches my room loud and clear. There’s no doubt my mic picked up the noise, especially since the door to my room is open.
The color drains from my face as I hurry to say the answer and remute myself. My eyes are wide as I stare at my screen, hoping no one will acknowledge that very recognizable laugh.
“OMG Y/N, are you watching a Corpse Husband stream in class?” One of the bitches in my class, Vy, speaks up, “Not a very goody-two-shoe move on your part, dear.”
I purposely unmute my mic to mumble a quick ‘Shut up, bitch’ that somehow manages to fly under my professor’s radar and the class continues. It’s the first time something like this has happened and I’m not sure if I handled it properly or not.
The class ends shortly after, allowing me a sigh of relief as I disconnect from the meeting.
“Fucking finally.“ I mumble to myself, leaning back in my desk chair. Tilting my head backwards, I see Corpse standing in the doorframe. I grin, not only because his presence itself makes me ten times happier, but also because he’s upside down from my viewpoint. “Well, hello there! How long have you been spying on me?“
He struts over to me, leaning his face over mine, “Long enough.” His lips linger above mine without any actual contact before he pulls away, allowing me to sit up straight and proper in the chair. “You still have classes?”
I nod my head while disappointedly rolling my eyes, “Yeah. One more. Shouldn’t be too bad since it’s English Lit. You’re done streaming?”
“Yeah, I just have some other things to do. I haven’t done a narration video in a while, I miss making that type of content.“ He plops down on my bed, running a hand through his messy black curls.
“Weren’t you recording some lines a few days ago?“ I frown as I try to recall if what I’m referring to actually happened or my brain is too fried to decipher reality from my bootleg perception of it. Online class, man - messes with your head like sleeping pills - makes you disoriented and exhausted with barely doing anything other than trying to wrap your brain around a lecture or two.
He hums affirmatively, “It’s not a finished project and I don’t even know if I’ll use those or rerecord them. I’ll have to listen to them again before I make a final decision.“
I tilt his chin upwards with my pointer finger, a gesture he has told me he finds very endearing, “I’m sure they’re great and you just refuse to be satisfied. Everything you do is great.“
He smiles a small, shy smile, his fingers gently wrapping around my wrist, holding my hand in place, “You’re biased. You like me too much to tell me when I do some bullshit.”
I scoff, “You know that isn’t true. If someone’s gonna kick your butt in formation, it’s gonna be me.“ I give him a quick kiss on the forehead before pulling away from him, “Go on, now. I have a class to attend. You distract me enough while you’re in the other room, I can only imagine how hard it’d be for me to focus if you were right by my side.“
He smirks, bowing a little as he makes his way out of the room, “You flatter me.”
I playfully roll my eyes, getting my headset back on as I tap the last class for the day. We have an assignment due to the start of the class which we’ll have to present if the professor approved of it. We basically had to write a psychoanalysis of a character from any book of our choice. I chose Heathcliff from ‘Wuthering Heights’ which is one of my favorite books of all time. I’m proud of what I wrote and the way I wrote it, but I’ve always barely scraped by with a B in this class, a B+ if I’m lucky, so I’ve never gotten any major credit, even when I put my 110% in the assignments and projects.
Well, color me surprised when the professor calls on me first to read my work, complimenting it on its detailed and specific nature. I get my printed assignment out in front of me and unmute myself.
“I wrote a psychoanalysis on for Heathcliff, a character from Emily Bronte’s novel ‘Wuthering Heights’.“ Just after I say this line, Corpse’s voice booms throughout the whole apartment, no doubt being picked up by my mic. It doesn’t sound like he’s actually talking, he can’t be that loud. I put two and two together when I recognize the lines he’s saying - the ones he recorded a few days ago. They’re coming from his computer speakers. He probably didn’t check the volume before playing back the recording.
I mute myself as quickly as possible, but it’s too late. The voice dies down as Corpse probably turned down the speakers.
My professor, who is already done with this lecture, just annoyedly remarks, her words overdosed with sarcasm: “Read your assignment and you can go back to whatever it is you are watching.”
“Wow, Y/N! Again?! Are you one of those crazy obsessed fans or something? Is Corpse Husband all you watch?“ This bitch is really poking a stick at me, huh? The only crazy obsessed fan here is her, and my friends but they are allowed. Little do all of them know, I am obsessed but not simply over a YouTuber. I’m obsessed with my boyfriend who just happens to be a YouTuber.
“No commentary, please.“ The professor scolds her, “Go on, Y/N.“
I finish reading without any other disturbances. The professor compliments my essay again when I’m done, the small incident at the beginning forgotten already. Well, not by everyone. One of my friends shot me a quick text to joke about it which only earned an eye roll from me.
My friends don’t know that I’m dating Corpse either. As I said, they are simping HARD over him while I act the most indifferent on the subject. Whenever they ask my opinion on him I either say ‘he’s OK’ or just avoid answering completely. I know saying anything more enthusiastic than that would turn into a snowball rolling down a snowy hill - I’d just keep babbling about how nice, amazing, wonderful and a gift to this world Corpse is, inevitably revealing our relationship in the process.
I’m afraid of revealing my relationship with Corpse in front of these people. They are all run on jealousy and selfishness and I can only imagine how mean they’d be about it. I’m already not too fond of them, it would only be worse if any of my personal life was exposed.
When the class finally ends I remove my headset, putting my forehead down on the desk, barely missing the keyboard. I groan in frustration and anger at myself for not fighting back. I could’ve and should’ve said something - ANYTHING. But what? That’s a question I can’t find the answer to.
“Hey...“ Corpse’s hesitant voice comes from behind me, “You ok?“
I straighten my posture, turning to him with a smile. “Yeah, but these people suck.”
I get up from my chair as he approaches me, basically falling in his arms. The comfort I feel radiating off of him makes me relax, forget the past hour or so. He has always had this effect on me. Like my own personal kryptonite to my anger and anxiety.
“Did I get you in any trouble because of that?“ His voice shows clear concern and guilt.
I wrap my arms around him tighter, burying my head in his chest. “No, don’t worry about it.“
And I really wasn’t in trouble. Not until now that the video is officially posted....
I can call these people dumb all I want but they sure put two and two together awfully fast. They recognized the lines they heard during class as the same ones from his new video that came out almost a week after the incident, aka two days ago. It’s safe to say I haven’t touched my phone or computer since.
“This is all my fault.“
Of all the horrible things I suspected would happen this has to be the worst - Corpse is blaming himself for it. I am prepared to take all the shit these people have to throw at me but seeing Corpse beating himself up over this is killing me. No amount of convincing can change his mind. Nothing I say helps.
“Please, stop doing this to yourself. Non of this is your fault, Corpse.“ I’ve repeated this sentence more than a thousand time these past forty eight hours, each time saying it more and more desperately.
“All of it is my fault, Y/N. I’m so sorry. I hate myself so much.“ Has been his reply single time.
I can’t watch him be so mean to himself. It’s the most conflicting thing when the person you love most is torturing themselves. It’s easy if it’s someone else doing it, you just kick their ass. But what are you supposed to do when the person you want to protect is the same one you need to protect them from.
Corpse has shut himself away in his recording room these past few hours and though he clearly needs to be alone, he still left the door open just a crack cause he knows I’ll be worried sick otherwise.
While I’m alone in the living room, I’ve finally managed to brace myself and build enough courage to power up my laptop. Last time it was on it was going mad with notifications.
“It’s digital. Only digital. It can’t hurt you too badly if it can’t touch you, right?“ I mumble to myself, already frustrated despite not having yet seen all the horrors that await me.
And horrors there were. Everywhere. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook.
My grades. Some pictures of me no one has ever seen. My school files. People from my class tweeting Corpse to ‘expose’ me for the ‘slut’ or ‘bitch’ I really am. Corpse hasn’t touched social media either and I plan on making sure it stays that way. God only knows how much worse he’ll get if he sees these claims.
And then, like a notification sent straight from hell, an email from my professor.
Practical lectures on Friday. Be here at 9 AM. Don’t forget your mask and gloves.
Good thing I opened my laptop when I did. Friday is tomorrow and I need to prepare for this day. Not only do I need to hit the books but I need to toughen up a bit. I can’t go there looking like I feel - like a mess.
Alright, time to put the brave face on. No more wallowing in it, at least not until tomorrow afternoon.
I make a study plan and hop in the shower. I feel the need to apologize to my hair for washing it so roughly, basically yanking at my strands from frustration that has been suppressed for too long.
I get our of the boiling hot shower, red as a lobster, and change into some clean comfortable clothes and put my ass in study mode. I remove all the scary expectations of the morning to come from my mind and let the information the textbooks has to offer seep into my brain.
* * *
I’m about to head out and, despite my put-together composure, I am a wreck inside. I actually put effort into my appearance, I mean - I even styled my hair. A pretty façade to hide a ruin.
I saw my friends’ texts last night, all three of them ending their friendship with me because they felt betrayed. I haven’t yet decided how to feel about that. Doesn’t matter at the moment, there are more important matters at hand, aka surviving the next three hours.
My college is within ten minutes walking distance from our apartment. That ten minute walk has never been so stressful, not even during exam season. The air feels a little harder to breathe, the path a little shorter to walk. And my moment of reckoning a little too close.
I feel eyes on me the second I start walking through the park of our campus. Sure, I could just be paranoid, but the feeling is too real to be just my imagination in overdrive. I’m glad I have my hair down and a mask on so the redness of my cheeks and neck isn’t on display. That’s a sign of weakness right now.
We have two an hour and a half long classes between which we have a snack break that’s half an hour. I usually enjoy that period but I’m dreading it now. These assholes can only be so mean in the presence of a professor, but during lunch break they can increase that tenfold.
“Well if it isn’t Corpse’s girl.“ I hear that a lot. The whispers are not so much whispers as intentionally loud enough for me to hear remarks. I’m not bothered by them, it’s the least they can do. If I let such a simple thing get to me, I’d be crumbling by the end of first period.
I hear some shuffling behind me and out of the corner of my eye I see, yeah you guessed it, THAT bitch. She’s standing as close to me as she can without violating Covid regulations. A mask is covering her face but the menacing look in her eyes tells me all I need to know about the interaction that’s about to go down.
“I’d ask how much he pays you for the hour.....“ her long nails tap the wooden desk, “but that’d be rude. I bet it’s tough being a maid. Do you just clean or are you a multipurpose lap dog? No offense, I’m genuinely curious.“
“Vy, would you be so kind as to give Y/N some room to breathe?“ The professor asks as he nonchalantly walks in.
Vy rolls her eyes, batting her eyelashes at me, “Talk to you later, sweetheart.” With a fake friendly wave she’s out of my hair, at least for now.
Remember what I said about these people not being as dumb as I pegged them to be? Yeah, scratch that. These fuckers actually tried getting away with taking pictures of me with flash in broad daylight. Like, HELLO! I have two functioning eyes and a brain, I’m onto you. Sadly, me having figured out their childish but hurtful methods of humiliating me doesn’t change much. They still posted the pics they took, using the most derogatory terms they could find in the English language, always making sure to tag Corpse and me both.
Needless to say, these were the longest three hours of my life.
* * *
Shutting the door to our apartment behind me causes relief of the highest levels. I feel like I’ve locked out all the bad shit I have had to deal with these past twenty four hours.
I’m tired. I’m fucking exhausted. I feel like a discarded piece of paper.
And it all starts crumbling. A wall is bound to start slowly falling apart after being hit over and over again, each time feeling the blows with a stronger intensity.
I slide down the door sitting down on the floor and slowly taking my shoes off. I put my bag beside me and wrap my arms around my knees, hiding my head in the space between them and my chest.
One tear slides down my cheek.
Another follows.
And another, this time accompanied by a choked sob.
A pair of arms wraps around the ball that my body has been shaped into. One of his hands comes up to stroke my hair gently, feeding me the comfort I have been longing for since I left the apartment this morning.
“I saw it. All of it. All the shit they talk about you. All the names they call you. And I’ve never wanted to beat so many people up simultaneously.“ His words make me raise my head from its low position, giving him a knowing look. “I wish I could. I would, but that would land me in jail. Which doesn’t even sound so bad cause I don’t like going out. Only problem is you wouldn’t be with me. I wouldn’t want you to be there with me, don’t get me wrong, I’d never want you to end up in jail. I-...” I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. A quick kiss that says so much but mainly shows the immeasurable gratitude for his support.
Seeing those awful tweets and comments had the complete opposite effect on him. He no longer blames himself but the people who actually deserve the blame - all those jerks from my college.
I pull away, giving him a small smile. “I would never let you go to jail.”
He smiles back at me, overjoyed that my mood is slowly being lifted, “Come on, I have a nice crowd that would like to meet you.”
I know exactly what he means. Felix, Sean, Rae, Dave, Sykkuno and the rest of his friends. The people I’ve been so shy and afraid to meet since day one. Being shy doesn’t really make sense now, seeing as how they know I exist and that I’m a part of Corpse’s life.
What do I have to lose?
“Guys, this is my girlfriend, Y/N.“ Corpse’s black avatar runs around my cyan one in the Among Us lobby.
I can’t help but giggle when I unmute my mic, “Hi everyone! It’s so nice to finally meet you.“ They each introduce themselves, expressing how happy they are to be meeting me too.
It’s the first time in what feels like a while that I’m truly having fun. These people are wonderful, each so unique and lovely. They never brought up the scandal nor acted as though they knew about it. I know they did and I am beyond grateful that they never mentioned it or treated me any differently because of it. Also, Corpse was streaming the whole time. I had my phone on his stream, my eyes nervously scanning the chat every now and then. I couldn’t believe it. Corpse’s real fans were just as wonderful as his friends - they were nothing but supportive and happy to have met me.
Now, I can either choose to believe these people were being so nice to me out of sympathy or I can believe they really like me and appreciate me for who I am and not for what happened to me.
I choose to believe the latter.
And while I’m still getting accustomed to this whole new spotlight, I know I’ll be able to handle it as long as I’m holding Corpse’s hand in the process. All I need is to have him beside me and I’m prepared to tackle anything.
“They love you.“ Corpse tells me once the stream is done and we’ve hopped out of the Discord call, “But I love you more.“
His arms wrap around my waist while mine instinctively find their way around his neck, “I love them, too. But they’re at the number 2 spot.”
He smirks at me, “I wonder who’s at number 1.”
I push up on my toes, putting my lips an inch away from his, “Hmm, I wonder...”
He doesn’t let me finish, silencing my teasing with a sweet, loving kiss.
@susceptible-but-siriusexual @simonsbluee @save-the-sky @hacker-ghost @bi-andready-tocry @imtiredaffff @jazzkaurtheglorious @hereforbeebo @fandomgirl17 @chrysanthykios @maehemscorpyus @loraleiix @letsloveimagines @annshit @i-cant-choose-a-username-help @enigmaticmaze @divine-artemis @waterlilypat
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if fans wanted to include peach in stuff they write, would that be okay? and how would they write peach's personality? aside from "FIGHT ME" anyway, i think that much is a given lol. i only really write the anime characters 'cause that's what i know, but it sounds like it'd be kinda fun to try making a version of ash that fits into this blog's universe! nerf'd Obviously, but i think she'd probably appreciate how hands-on he gets when training his pokemon!
Ok, I get a lot of these messages, and I often hear folks wanting to throw peach into their stories and comics and writings, and I will always simply ask that if it’s published online publicly, to be linked to it so I can snoop and enjoy the content too. If someone asks about her in your work, let them know about the blog I guess? But literally I love that people take this stuff, these characters and stories, and make new stuff with it. No ones making money off my work here? So where’s the issue? Go for it buddy, knock yourself out, I’m all for it.
For you, and all the others out there who want to add peach, and other characters to your world building, I will give you a detailed rundown of the main lot, and how they behave, what they do, how they function. You can use that, use bits, or use none of it, I do not mind at all. If you’re creating something, you’re in control, not me.
So, peach doesn’t actually fight people as much as you’d think. She’s very aware most cannot and do not want to do that, and so she likes to keep to herself with regards to that aspect of her life, she doesn’t ask to spar with people, or even bring it up at all, but people ask her all the time, even if they clearly would lose or become hurt should she miscalculate during the fight. She looks at people like they usually create problems, and often has a somewhat reserved nature to other humans. You have to work quite hard to get anything more than formalities out of her. She will dead-pan handle people with blunt and very to-the-point statements, aid whenever possible, but very quickly get back to handling the Pokemon she so carefully tends. Her focus is clear, she’s all about hard work, her very small select family, and the Pokemon.
Her brutal, loud and brash personality only comes out with friends, family, difficult humans, OR any Pokemon. She will joke and laugh and play with Pokemon, but clam up around humans, maintaining tight body language and generally will be a little cold by regular standards. She does however have some weaknesses in this emotionless shield she puts up. When peach was young she was always angry, which swung so fast to sadness, back and forth. Her teenage years it just got worse and worse, it was crippling at points. She is to this day, full of fire and rage, even sadness, but now she has learnt to control it, to use it. When she sees that in others, it’s familiar, and she is pushed to drop the front, and be very real with the person. Underdogs I suppose, people who get bad reps, but deserve the same as everyone else. She can’t ignore it.
Once you start to pry open her personality, you’ll find she’s a lot more laid back and fun than originally appeared, you just have to work hard to find that side of her. She will meme reference, can’t dance to save her life, loves her coffee, and can be caught in quiet contemplation while gardening. This hobby is her calmest, and often is why she can stay so level headed when her quiet rage boils up again. Without time outside she will become grouchy, a little snippy, and lethargic. Will not go in the ocean for any reason other than life or death, is fine with ponds and rivers, or water at wading height. Likes the rain.
With regards to her training others, they usually have to tolerate her somewhat strict nature. She is a little....unforgiving, holds a grudge if you make a lot of mistakes, and has no tolerance for ignorance in the age of information that we all live in. In previous posts I’ve mentioned she’s only recently selected two students, after many years of testing kids who want to learn from her. Hundred tried out, only two have ever been approved. How she teaches is very fast paced, be prepared to get some scrapes and bruises, she will test your physical and emotional tolerances with intense tasks, carefully watching students like a hawk. Bad posture in your stance? She’ll be the first to tell you to sort it out. Not hearing your Pokemon partner? Right, now you spend the day without using words trying to communicate, let’s see how you like not being listened to.
This is a woman who has spent her life saying very little, and watching everything, she watches Pokemon and can see an issue from a mile off, and in battles, her observations are why she can react fast, and chose effective strategy to avoid damage and achieve results. Don’t let her body fool you, her strongest asset is analysing, watching, planning. Those skills have over the years transferred to people too. As a student, mistakes don’t go unnoticed with this professor.
Her methods are harsh but fair, and should you prove yourself, she will protect you with her life.
Because of her disinterest in kids and lots of noise, she does pass the training of students on to the other staff members whenever possible. Grey takes on the lions share of battle lessons, he is far calmer, more open and friendly, with patience for people, and an empathy that peach sometimes struggles to have. When you go through a lot of harsh training, and difficult events, it’s hard to change how you feel or think, with peach, well, she’s been through it. Most do not come out the other end in one piece, but she did, and it made her strong. You may think I mean strong like buff and big, and yeah sure she is, but I mean it mentally more than anything. Peach will not quit. She has learnt to destroy the boundaries that stop people getting hurt, gone is the fear that freezes you in your tracks, that feeling that you’ll pass out if you go one more step. She’s learnt to ignore it.
This means she’s a little forgetful at how it is to be normal, to be vulnerable and soft and squishy like students so usually are.
She has her issues, but for the most part, visitors get a laugh, a smile, a calm assertive confidence, and facts. She will indulge those who have genuine interest, or show a connection with nature, an understanding of the balance that needs to be struck for everyone to live well together.
Despite her many flaws, she’s fiercely protective, and will go above and beyond to defend the island, it’s staff, the Pokemon and the visitors. Injustice is her biggest gripe, along with littering, and she doesn’t stand by quietly if something happens that seems unfair.
You will not see her without Valka, her vulpix, close by. That Pokemon doesn’t like to be touched by strangers, at all, and will run the second someone comes at her with that intent. Peach will scold you for pushing yourself onto her, should you persistently try to get close to pet Val. They are in sync, if peach is sad, Val is sad, if Val is stressed, peach is stressed, and so on. They are inherently connected, it’s just been that long, the psychic bridge between them has been built, and reinforced over the years.
The only other Pokemon who follows her so endlessly is Booker, a teddiursa who’s pretty rough looking. He quietly trots behind, grouchy and stoic, they fight closely together a lot. He lost his mom a long time ago to poachers, and peach took him in, and changed her whole life for him. Not many people know, but Booker was the reason she left the rangers, changed career, and got so strong. Will tolerate people petting him but isn’t keen at all, grumbles a lot and tries to move away.
You may also need to know about the others, for the sake of writing, she here a few more bits that may be important to you, or others wanting to do this.
Grey is very tall, very burly, composed, tells bad dad jokes, is a bit of a goof if allowed to be. If he sees a pun, he’ll say it. Can’t help himself. Very nice guy to work with, good at keeping people calm and grounded. Pokemon are drawn to him like a moth to a flame, he gives off warm energy, and has inhuman amounts of patience. If you wrong his family however, he will snap back.
He grew up in the city, loves to swim and hike and cycle, can snowboard, is really sporty. A total brain box with held items, and boosting stats. He will explore many paths, to make sure visitors and students get the information they need, in a way that can be remembered and retained for later. Is a huge guy, but will get on the floor to play with a tiny Pokemon. Treats big “meaner” looking species like babies, very good with all pokemon.
His free time is spent either tinkering, swimming, or trimming his bonsai trees. This guy stares at screens a lot, so appreciates time away from them. Peach built him his own little greenhouse for his trees and tools, which he keeps clean and loves dearly.
His methods as a teacher are built around fun and games, he makes hard work easier to do by distracting trainers from the difficult bits, and focusing in on something more interesting or compelling.
His most commonly seen Pokemon would be a houndoom, Saxon, old battle veteran, retired now to herding and being a good boy. Very gentle, loves a pet.
Pari, now a fully fledged nurse, often oversees the labs front desk and pokecentre features, such as healing pokemon, and informing trainers who come to visit. Her skills with eggs and hatchlings is high, she’s great with younger Pokemon, and hands out good advice to trainers a lot. She’s not a fighter, never was, but can find any file, any study, any book, and any refrence you may need. A true bookworm, loves her romance novels, chat shows and upbeat celebrity gossip mags. Will cry at a lot of stuff, be it sad or happy.
She’s got a seriously upbeat personality, but if caught off guard or shocked, she gets a little flustered. Too much chaos will overwhelm her, but usually she’s on top of things. The years spent on the island have made her better at maintaining composure in emergencies. With lots of siblings, she’s very competent with others, and has a good ability to disarm cagey people with her jolly nature. Because of this, she can sometimes gain information from trainers that some of the more harsh professors may not have access to. Charming is a word for it.
Her partners are an eevee, and a happiny. They are quite sweet and well adjusted, the eevee gets a bit bouncy if you get it too excited.
#if you dont want to use the refs#im really cool with it#just enjoy yourself buddy#pokemon#prof.peach#peach talks#prof.grey#pari#dotaku island#dotaku staff#PLEASE#just ask me if you dont know something#or feel i missed something in what i wrote
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𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝
The way home becomes turbulent with an unusual encounter...
decided to post it given that a few people did seem interested!
and at the end of the day, i am a writer before anything else, so this was only a matter of time...i wanted to work with the odd balance of Gallopers character that we have been given, with the tales about him in-game and the recent comic! it was fun to try and lean more into the little slivers of personality we got from the comic.
i just really wanted to write something with this location & a bit of a different take on the man himself for the fun of it! i did not strive for perfect lore accuracy...
gender neutral MC! nothing romantic but if you’re crushing on the man, i hope you have a field day :D
words: 8.3k
cw: description of injury, but nothing bloody or gore related! an absolutely ridiculous abundance of creative liberties, straight up ignoring some canon lore and/or making up my own things,
english is not my first language, so some of the horse-related terminology might be off! i apologize!!
➝ pt. II
The moon hangs low above the horizon as fog crawls along the landscape like a starving snake on a hunt for prey.
It would have been pitch black, had it not been for the moon's bright light. By no means a full moon, but large enough to lend you the light that you needed to find your way. The atmosphere around you feels lonely, yet far from threatening as the sounds of an occasional gust of wind accompanied you.
Next to the rushing sounds of wind sing a few corvids as they flutter their wings in the tall, tall trees that stand imposing all around you. Their shape warped by the shadows in obscure patterns, but nothing you are not.
With every step your horse takes, the leather of its tack creaks and grinds against itself as the bag over your shoulder is a steady weight against your side. The hard hooves of your horse sounding muffled on the dirt path that stretches ahead of you.
A mixture of sounds that nearly lulls you to sleep - And the soft, gentle rhythm of your horse's walk is not helping with that fact.
It is a familiar path, as you have been here countless times before - The fresh night air is welcomed by your lungs after a long day. The falling leaves a nice, calming visual as they flutter in the low light of the lamp you had unceremoniously stuffed into your open saddlebag.
Your breath is visible in a small cloud that dances before your face, before it disappears, only to be replaced by the next exhale.
A small, annoyed groan escapes the back of your throat as you wiggle your toes in your boots - You should’ve worn those extra socks that Lisa gifted you. It truly got cold up here by the mountainside, and each year your poor toes would go numb as soon as the temperatures begin to dip lower.
The thought of Lisa makes you crack a small smile, you hope her and the others were home safe by now. You had parted ways by the Fishing Village not too long ago. The girls decided to take the last, late ferry back to Jarlaheim and stay with Linda for the night - But you had different plans, your schedule for the morning is packed with helping Conrad down in Moorland. You had promised to help him with a few things.
You notice how your horse's ears turn back toward you, clearly having noticed the noises you let out at the cold. With a gloved hand, you reach forward to pat your trusted companion on the neck, reassuring them nothing is wrong. Their warmth is even noticeable through the material of your gloves as you run your fingers over their fur.
“We’re gonna be home soon.” You assure while giving a few final pats before sitting back up straight in your dark saddle. “You’ve been doing so well, I might just get you some extra treats tomorrow morning.”
As if to respond in joy, they give a small huff out of their nostrils and raise their head for a moment.
The action forces a laugh out of you as you grin down at your horse and shake your head in bewilderment. The amount of personality behind those pointy ears and warm, brown eyes never fails to amaze you.
But it is not long before your comforting silence is broken in the most undesirable way; A wolf howl echoes, long and haunting.
Once again, the ears of your horse perk upwards - But this time pointing forward as their pace seems to slow down. With a gentle, reassuring tone you encourage them to keep going before they could come to a full stop.
Wolves are nothing rare in Golden Hills, the pack roaming the area is something you had come face to face with a few times. They are reserved and tend to stay clear of paths that humans frequent, only really coming out to be spotted by sheer coincidence or if you were to threaten them and their young.
As confident as you are in your pathway choices, an unsettling feeling creeps up your spine as you glance around the area. You really do not need a life threatening encounter with a canine tonight…You could do without that.
You are able to feel your horses' nervousness as their body language shifts, but they seem to relax bit by bit as you keep talking to them.
“It’s okay...We’ve heard it before, we’re not even close to them up h-”
A loud sound snaps you out of your words as it cuts you off, forcing you to sit up with your heart in your throat - An owl call echoes from close by, mixing with the whining of the wind.
With a certain relief at the realization that it is simply a nocturnal avian friend making itself known, you slump in your saddle a bit.
From here on outward, the mood of your ride home shifts intensely - The calming night air becomes bitingly cold on your face, every dry leaf that is broken apart under your horses hooves sounds too loud, the shadows given by the trees move too much and the distant scuttling noises of small woodland creatures turn into beasts waiting to devour.
While you were nearly dozing earlier, now you are unable to stop looking around.
Another wolf howl pierces the clear night's silence, a hauntingly beautiful melody that makes you grip the reins tighter in your hands.
Bushes around you rustling with movement feel like a dreadful warning, but each time you would remind yourself of the small animals lurking and scavenging for dinner.
That is until your horse abruptly stops and pulls their head back, clearly upset with something ahead. Surprised and confused, you train your eyes on the area before you, only to spot nothing.
You are surrounded by trees and bushes in all tones of red, green and gold. Every breeze forces more and more leaves to come tumbling down, you even had pulled one out of your horse's mane just a few minutes prior.
While you look around, your confusion and worry grows steadily as you could not spot anything in particular that they would usually shy away from.
”It’s just some bushes, come on buddy!” You encourage, wanting them to move forward. The hooves of your horse meet the pathway in a stubborn rhythm as they shift their weight.
With the help of your leg against their side, you try to encourage them once more, hoping they would keep moving, only to get a similar result.
“Don’t make me do this…” You mutter, letting the reins in your hands go slack as you drop your arms down. Your horse did nothing to ease your suspicion.
Huffing a bit, you move yourself off of the saddle.
Your boots hit the forest ground with a dull noise, the dirt giving way a tad and making you slip. Luckily you catch yourself on your horse, who seems unbothered by the short push you give their side to save yourself from the tumble.
Gently moving the reins over your horse's head to grab them in your hand, you begin to lead your companion past the bushes, logs and rocks ahead of you.
The gentle uphill angle of the path gets more and more steep as you dig your heels into the ground to keep yourself from falling again, as your horse nervously steps alongside you.
Foreboding and ancient, the dark bridge looms above you. You have crossed it many times, with friends or alone. You had seen it by night before, you had passed underneath it during the Light Ride, even.
But given how on edge you are, the tall structure seems more threatening than magnificent. The fog nearly hides the top of the bridge as you can vaguely spot the few lights glowing at the sides of it. You silently wonder who keeps up with the old oil lamps up here...You mentally thank them for keeping the path illuminated in weather like this.
Once you are directly underneath it, the stone surrounding you causes every noise you and your horse are making to echo slightly. Every step is doubled, every small breath and huff echoed back to you just a split second later.
Ahead of you stretches the long gap that cuts through stone, illuminated by small iridescent creatures. After pondering for a second, you carefully lead your horse around the corner - You are going to take the bridge, you do not have the blood pressure to make your way through there at this moment. The idea of having to round so many sharp corners with no idea what lurked behind each one makes you shudder in displeasure.
You take a few more steps leading your horse before stopping near the large stone pillar of the bridge. With one hand on your hip, you turn to face your horse.
“Are we good to keep going now, hm?” You gently pet their nose with one hand. “No more spooky bushes.”
With a few hobbles on one leg you manage to push yourself up and over, right into your saddle. You let out a groan as the bag smacks you in the ribs.
After a second of adjusting yourself, you find the right position in the leather of the saddle. You take a second to weakly rub at the spot the bag had been assaulting.
The bag is filled with an empty thermos, your keys, some book that Linda let you borrow and a few broken earphones that you were long meaning to throw out.
The hard metal of the thermos really has it out for you tonight, you feel.
A few moments after, you and your horse are moving again, following the winding path up the side of the bridge. This path is always something you are vary of, never wanting to slip or get injured.
But before you could make it past the underside of the bridge, a blur of movement rushes past the corner of your vision.
With a gasp, you twist your upper body and force your horse to stop with a slight pull of the reins. The ears of your horse immediately perk upwards as they look toward the direction of the noise, mimicking you in their own way.
Your breath stills in your chest and eyes go wide, you can feel the blood rush in your ears as you stare at the area where you had seen...Something.
A shriek escapes you as your entire body tenses up, watching something lunge forward from the darkness. In the same second your horse panics, moving around wildly in fear as it wants to flee the scene. You feel their uneven movements throw you around as you use your legs to stabilize yourself on their back.
The thrashing of your body is hard to control as you try your hardest to not collide with the large brick wall just to your left. With all you have in you, you keep your head leaning to the right stiffly to avoid a collision.
Soon, the red fox that had jumped out from a small gap in the thick bushes rushes away from you and your horse on quick paws, it’s thin body disappearing between the trees as it does not even spare you a glance..
Realizing you are not about to become some beasts dinner, you shift your focus to calm your horse.
The turbulence threw you out of your proper position in the saddle, forcing you to readjust with heavy legs as you shush your horse and reassure them.
It seems to work as they calm down, huffing a breath out their nostrils and shaking their head as they seem to regain their bearings.
One of your hands flies up to your chest and you immediately feel your heart drumming wildly behind your rib cage as your entire body feels a bit fuzzy from the short moment of panic and adrenaline.
You curse under your breath as you try to ride out this tail-end of fear, taking a second to just sit in silence.
The way home is still long, you and your horse are both anxious by this point, your thermos is asked to be chucked across the field and the wolves still howl their melodies in unison with the ravens and crickets that surround you.
After taking a small mental note of every detail of the situation, you’re not quite sure if you feel better or worse. But you have to keep moving nevertheless.
Getting your horse to get into a comfortable walking pace once more, the two of you make your way up the side of the pathway, the gravel and dirt shifts underneath the weight you put upon it, creating crunching sounds with each step.
Down the path and way uphill, you spot a light that you have not noticed ever before. It is neutral in hue, much colder than the lanterns that still are burning brightly at the top of the bridge.
The fog blurs and smudges the light as it seems to bop up and down. It reminds you of a small lamp people might carry with them, or a lit dog harness. It’s hard to spot how high it is off the ground, leaving you to ponder.
Part of you feels relief at the sight of what might be another traveller - Maybe someone you know! You are admittedly tired of being alone for now.
With new hope and some confidence mixed with vigor, you spur your horse forward in a soft canter as you two make your way up to approach the moving light. The rhythm of your horses' hooves now way faster and louder.
Maybe it is someone from Cape West? You are curious. You are not necessarily looking to hold a conversation, but just to linger near another human.
If you find it to be an unpleasant stranger, your backup plan is to steer your horse into a gallop and race home. It would at least help with killing the building dread of the current situation.
Your companion slows down to a trot at your small, vocal command as you reach the top of the hill, only to see no trace of the small lamp that was so happily luring you up here.
A disappointed and confused hum escapes your throat as you come to a full stop. Was it a trick of the light?
Chalking it up to the lighthouse beam getting scattered through the foggy night, you allow the idea to calm you into a sense of reality. A nagging voice creeps into your mind, reminding you of how the lighthouse beam rarely reaches past these mountains, but you swat it away like a bug buzzing by your face.
Up here, the path is old cobblestone, broken apart. Covered in dust and gravel before it eventually gives way to the pure brick road of the large bridge.
“You can’t even see the castle in this fog…” You voice out loud to yourself as you motion for your horse to keep moving now. The castle stands further inside the mountains, standing high up above all of Golden Hills and even visible from Silverglade. It seems large enough to put their own castle near the village to shame. The pathway is long blocked off, but no one ever explained why it is. Maybe it is worth an exploration some day, you muse.
After squinting up to the left side to try and see the castle, you turn back to face forward as your horse steps onto the bridge. The sound of your horses' rhythmic steps immediately grow louder thanks to the hard stone surface replacing the old gravel.
Suddenly, the lost light appears right in front of your face.
With a loud, startled neighing your horse comes to a full stop as it rears in a panicked frenzy. You let your guard down as you had been lost in thought about the fog and the castle, causing you to struggle to keep your grip on the reins and your horse.
The light is seemingly gone as soon as you blink, but that does not stop your horse from immediately taking off, causing your messy balance and hold on the saddle to completely disappear.
You land with a harsh sound as the stone floor stays unforgiving under your weight, the air is violently knocked out of your lungs and leaves you wheezing. A yelp escapes you at the painful collision with solid rock.
Your horses' steps move along the bridge as they continue to run, the echo violent as it throws the sound around in various directions thanks to the cavernous heights underneath.
“No, no no!” You call out, not as loud as you would have liked, thanks to the booming pain in your body and the lack of air in your chest. With a hiss of pain, you turn onto your side and look after your horse with despair as it disappears down the small path on the other side of the bridge, the small light in your saddlebag slowly fading between the fog.
You call out their name once. Twice.
Nothing.
Tears spring to your eyes as the pain in your arm becomes more and more acute, but they do not spill as you took a deep and shaky breath.
You mentally prepare yourself to look at your arm, hoping you are not going to be greeted with bone sticking out or some other kind of horrific injury.
The thick material of your jacket hides your arm from you as you look down at it, still lying on the floor of the godforsaken bridge. With a curse and a groan of pain, you shift yourself to sit at the right side of the bridge and lean your back against the cold stone. You are just glad you hadn’t hit your head on the edge of it.
Using your left hand, you move to roll up your sleeve as you feel your right wrist throbbing with pain. On the back of your left hand you notice a few scratches from your harsh landing. You wince at the knowledge that your entire body is going to hurt tomorrow.
God, what are you going to tell Conrad?
Before you can start to roll up your sleeve and grimace at whatever had happened to your poor arm, a familiar noise causes you to pause and look up immediately.
Slow hooves are audible nearby, but no horse is visible just yet. The sound is somewhat muffled, leading you to believe it must be on the nearby pathways of dust that surround the old bridge - But the echo makes it hard to locate it exactly.
A relieved sigh escapes you as a small smile graces your face. Your horse is coming back after having calmed down and realizing what had happened.
You look toward your right, down the way your horse had disappeared just half a minute ago. The trees stand tall at the cliff side and the moonlight filters through the fog, moved only by the breeze. It is hard to make out anything inside the thick layer of fog that still has not subsided, so you squint a bit and try to catch a glimpse of their familiar coat or movements.
An uneasy shiver shakes your entire body as your brows furrow, your mouth goes slightly agape in sheer confusion. Every hair on the back of your neck stands on edge. The noise is not coming from ahead.
As the sound grows closer and closer, it becomes more obvious that it is in fact coming from the same direction you had come from.
For a second, the thought of your horse having looped around enters your mind, and that it is nothing to worry about - But the impossibility of such a feat is clear as soon as you entertain the thought.
But when you turn to face the other side of the bridge, you are just greeted with the same, thick canvas of fog that made it nearly impossible to see anything beyond the bridge.
The only telling point are the various lanterns by the very end of the bridge, as they flicker with their own flames.
You stare as you sit frozen in place, unsure of what to do but trying to rationalize the situation as your anxiety picks up speed with each passing moment. You are hurting, worried about your horse and maybe about to be kidnapped. The lump in your throat reminds you each time you try to breathe.
Sure enough, a few seconds pass before the fog gives way to the shape of a rider on horseback, once more causing a mix of relief and dread to enter your veins as you gently hold your hurting wrist in your healthy hand, where it lies resting on your lap.
Your eyes are forced to move further and further up as the broad and tall nature of the horse gets clearer. With a small noise from your mouth, one of your legs straightens out on the floor, your boot grinding against the stone and the bag resting next to you shifting a bit.
Shock fills your system as it becomes clear that some of the multiple, warm lights you had thought to be the lanterns by the end of the pathway, are actually the eerie and beastly glow of the horse that is seemingly approaching you without a hurry.
It is clear now that only two of the lights you had seen are actually lanterns.
Out of fear, you tighten the grip you have on your own arm, causing you to wince loudly and involuntarily arch your back forward, as if to curl in on yourself. That fall had messed up your arm pretty badly, but you can’t even do anything about it for now. You wish you could ignore it, but the pain is acute and not allowing you to forget it.
With a pained expression you glance back upwards, spotting the dark and formidable horse stepping onto the bridge.
Its hooves are heavy and loud, echoing much louder than the ones of your own steed as you finally manage to catch a glimpse of the rider.
Every tale and rumour you have heard about the man floods your mind at once. Every warning and story Linda would tell is now blaring against your common sense with full volume as you feel your body press itself back into the stone behind you, as if to try and make yourself invisible.
Your breathing gets more shallow as your hands tighten into fists across your lap while your eyes stay glued to the impossible phantom in front of you.
A small voice tells you that you just hit your head, you’re out of it. But the more prominent pieces of your mind remind you of everything you have gone through on Jorvik ever since you arrived - And how this could not only very well be real, but also very well be the last thing you ever get to see.
The calm, slow pace of the fiery mare nearly manages to drive you insane, the dread building under your skin making you want to vomit.
Maybe they haven’t noticed you, you ponder hopefully.
But that hope gets wiped out mere seconds later as both the rider and horse seemingly turn to face where you are curled up against the edge of the bridge, the mare's strides coming to a halt just a few steps to your left. You go entirely stiff to the point that your muscles ache in protest.
Fear strung itself into every corner of your mind like an intricate spider web that caught every rational or calming thought in its traps.
And as you look up at Thompson, you know he can tell.
You barely spot the slightest movement of one of his legs before his dark horse begins to slowly step forward again - But this time, stepping closer to the side where you are stuck in the less productive cousin of fight or flight. Fright.
The moon is still the only real light, but the glow of Thompson’s mare illuminates the stone of the bridge - And the wispy green of his neck mixes with the swirls of the fog in the most grotesquely beautiful ways.
All these small sources of light lend a hand in making you painfully aware of the large sword strapped to the man's back.
Even if you can not see it, you can tell he is peering down at you - As are the mares bright green eyes. Her eyes have not left your form ever since they landed on you for the first time, and under her strong and unreadable gaze, you find yourself intimidated like rarely ever before.
Are you going to die tonight?
Your leg flinches in surprise as you feel it grow warm. A fearful look down to where your foot has been resting shows you just how close the mare’s glowing legs are to yours. As soon as you notice, the horse comes to a stop.
There is still a good 50 centimetres between you and the seemingly fiery hooves that stand in front of you, but yet you can feel a warmth radiating already.
“I-I’m sorry.” You speak out for the first time toward the two of them. You are not quite sure what the apology is directed toward; Maybe the fact that you stepped up here so late in the night? The flinching of your leg?
Now having stopped right by your side, Thompson and his mare are still facing down the path but both twisting themselves slightly to look down at your shaken form.
It isn’t until a few moments later that the nose of the large horse nudges your arm, reminiscent of how horses treat foreign objects that they aren't quite sure are alive or edible. Her flaming mane is kept from touching you thanks to the winds, but you can still feel the heat of them lick at your skin.
The pressure is minimal, but it is enough to move your hand and cause you to gasp in pain.
Ears perking toward you and then backward toward her rider, the mare straightens her neck back out and stands tall.
With teary eyes and furrowed brows, you grasp your arm and look up at Thompson who...Somehow seems to be confused. His upper body is slightly leaning over to the side, leading you to believe that if he could, he’d be cocking his head.
The Mare looks toward you, and something about her gaze tells you there is a question lingering in the cold, night air.
“I fell.” You speak, voice shaky as you glance toward where your horse had run off to and left you behind on the cold stone. You have no idea if this is what you are meant to say or do, but you feel as if there are not many other options on the table.
Once again, Thompson and his mare look over to follow your gaze in unison, as if they understand what had happened. You look down at your own hands when you do not know where to keep your gaze, not sure if you should keep staring at the headless phantom or not.
After a moment of silence, you startle and throw your head up to look. Thompson has gotten off of his horse and his boots hit the ground of the bridge next to you.
Trying to swallow around the lump in your throat, you watch as he calmly pets the side of his mare, similarly to any other rider you had encountered. The calm, humane action throws you for a loop, but you are not blessed with much time to think before the next thing throws you out into the cold water.
With a gloved hand, the man motions for you to stand. Bewildered and nervous, you try your best to follow the command swiftly. Your feet find their hold on the ground and you push yourself up with your knees - And once again, your thermos smacks into your side. But this time, you have more concerning things to worry about.
You stand stiffly, not wanting to move an inch too much in fear of it setting something off that might cost your life.
As you stand at your full height, you realize Thompson still manages to tower over you as you look at him and then over to his horse. You are clueless on what to do as you stand with your injured hand by your stomach. The warmth of the fiery mare spreads across your right side.
Once more, he gets your attention by motioning with one hand - He holds his hand out to you, palm facing upwards.
Confusion is clearly visible on your features as you look down at his hand. Does he want you to give him something? Pay him in return for sparing your life? Does he think you have something that he wants?
You involuntarily lean back a bit as you shake your head with a small shrug; “I- I don’t…”
Thompson moves his hand slightly, angling it and using two fingers to point toward your aching arm.
You blink a few times, before hesitantly and very shakily holding your arm out the best you can without moving your wrist. Every synapse in your brain feels like it is firing on the highest signal, causing every movement to feel extreme and every noise you make to sound like nails on a chalkboard.
With racing thoughts and adrenaline causing your entire body to shake, you hold your breath when you feel his gloved hand grab your arm. The cold of his hands is noticeable even through your own gloves and coat. You involuntarily shiver and hope he doesn’t pick up on it, but the short pause of his movements tells you otherwise.
As if it is nothing, he moves your sleeve upwards halfway to your elbow, just enough to show the damage done. Your wrist looks terrible, causing you to wince out loud.
A brutal, red and purple bruise stretches around your entire lower arm like a tight bracelet. Different shades of bruised skin form a pattern that is painful just to look at.
The mare next to you huffs and gives a quiet neigh as if she is reacting to the nasty injury, her eyes seem trained on you and your arm.
Under the moonlight, the injury looks cold and purple, but you figure at home it would show as an angry red. You nearly scoff at the idea of making it home…But you will, right?
Your fearful thinking is interrupted as Thompson pulls your sleeve back down and lets your wrist rest unmoving in his palm. The cold of his hand nearly feels soothing on the fractured bone.
He slowly moves your arm, much to your confusion, but you are too scared to intervene with whatever he is trying to do with your broken wrist. Yet, you cannot help but flinch and instinctively try to pull your hand away.
Tales of brutal torture resurface in your mind and you try your hardest to ignore them, not wanting to think about what he could do. How he could worsen your injury with just one hand or -
But despite all the terror in your body, Thompson angles your arm back toward your own torso and pulls the strap of your bag forward. He lets go of your arm and you wince, but after a second you find your wrist resting snug on top of your bag, the weight of your hand held up by it. Thompson’s gloved hand returns for a second, giving your arm a nearly awkward pat.
Speechless and wide eyed, you blink down at your injured hand - He had helped you.
A breeze sweeps across the bridge in the moment of calm and you feel your hair move along with it. The chill of it caresses your neck and face, leaving the cold to bite at your skin as you try to understand what is going on.
Surely, if he had helped you, he will not harm you now - Or at least that is what you try to tell yourself as you still stand still, nauseous with fear.
With confused and slightly less scared eyes, you watch as the man mounts his horse once more. The mare shifts her weight, seemingly content with having her rider back. Her glowing, fiery mane flickers along with the movement of her neck.
The sound of her hooves echo as she begins to walk, imposing and proud with her head high and her eyes brighter than the moon above.
You stare in disbelief and shift your weight, unsure what to do. This entire encounter has been feeling like hours that crawled onward, but realistically it had been merely a minute or two.
Much to your surprise, Thompson and his mare stop in their tracks just a few steps away from you. With a light shift of the reins, the mare turns ever so slightly to look at you, similarly to how Thompson is turning his upper body.
Your left hand is clinging to your right upper arm while you do not move from your spot on the bridge. You curse this night. You want to find your horse, make sure they are alright - But you feel that if you run off now, it will only end terribly.
Your lips press together in a thin line, your eyes meet the gaze of the mare as you figure you can do nothing but wait. A lonely wolf howls in the back once again, filling the silence.
It is subtle, you might have missed it had you blinked in the wrong second, but you spot the way Thompsons shoulder and arm move. He is beckoning you over.
An unsure ‘ah’ escapes your throat while you keep staring at the two standing ahead of you. A few seconds pass before you take unsure but rushed steps to catch up with them.
As soon as you are next to them, the mare falls into a rhythmic walking speed next to you, similar to the one you heard when the headless horseman arrived at the bridge.
Your own boots sound dull in comparison to her large hooves while the echo of your steps is drowned out by hers. Being close to her side like this makes your freezing body feel warmer, as if you are walking next to a fireplace. With a shaky breath, you look around the foggy forest.
The treetops visible from up here on the bridge are covered in misty, white fog. Only occasionally you can spot a bird move out of the fog and up into the dark skies. You know that if it weren't for the fog, you could see the lights of the Vineyard in the far distance. You force yourself to keep your gaze away from who is accompanying you and instead watch the forest below.
But it does not take long before temptation wins you over, causing you to glance over and upwards to Thompson - Only to spot his mare looking back at you, making your shoulders hike up and look back to the ground. You mentally scold yourself for doing it in the first place. You really should not test your luck while already dancing a tightrope.
You just hope your horse is okay.
A sharp yank at the back of your coat causes you to yell out and stop in your tracks as your healthy arm flies upwards. Panic rushes back into your thoughts like it did various times this night before, but this one bitingly more acute as you feel your life is at stake for good.
The mare had stopped walking and is now looking over to you, giving a displeased huff and snort. Thompsons hand is grabbing a handful of your big coat near your collar, forcing you to stop dead in your tracks - But as soon as you stop walking, his hand leaves your back and you hastily turn to face him with an unsure expression and your heart in your throat.
You find the direction him and his mare are looking toward and you try your best to follow their gaze.
Forward and down the path, you are nearly on the other side of the bridge now, the opening of the forest and the windy path visible through the fog. But there is something else besides the tall, arching trees and old rocks - Lights.
At first you only spot one or two, but the longer you look and focus, the more you can see. One or two turn into dozens of small lights fluttering between the fog.
The very same light that had lured you up here.
“Wisps…” You mutter, gaining yourself a small glance from the rider and his mare.
A pit forms into your stomach. You have heard about the Will o’ Wisps of Jorvik before, the Keepers of Aideen and Pi had warned you of them. Elizabeth once told you stories about them, too.
Tales of their ability to lure and hypnotize innocent, unlucky bystanders.
Thompson had stopped you from walking into a swarm of Will o’ Wisps. You nearly feel bad for shrieking and starling so severely, but for a second you had truly believed your head was about to roll. The thought makes you swallow around the lump in your throat.
You find yourself trying to think of what to do, debating turning back around and going the other way - But your horse is still in this part of the forest.
All you have to do is not look at them, you figure, but that is going to make looking for a lost horse much harder.
Through the fog you spot the way they dance, they nearly look like childish fairies as their glow illuminates the fog and a few leaves when they get close to any of the nearby trees.
You grit your teeth at the situation ahead of you. Why couldn't you have stayed with the others? You could be asleep on a cozy air mattress somewhere in Jarlaheim.
Now that you are properly aware of the dangers ahead, you give a small hum as if to confirm that you know what to do. The mare’s eyes linger on you for a second, nearly as if to second guess your confidence, but after a moment the three of you are moving again.
With a heavy gulp, you decide to raise your left hand up to your face and cover your eyes, hoping it will kill any chance of accidentally looking at any of the flying little light spectacles. You can feel your own hand shaking as you rest it against your face.
Now that you are left in the dark of your own shut eyelids, another issue quickly rises to prominence - Orienting yourself on the uneven path. The rocks of the bridge are uneven, some broken from centuries of wear and lack of care. It is the perfect terrain for your boots to get caught on various small edges as you try your hardest not to fall.
Every few steps, you catch yourself mid-stumble, regaining balance just moments before losing your footing completely. Your only real guidance is the sound of the mare’s hooves and the warmth she is lending to the air surrounding her. You figure you’d be going on the right path as long as you do not lose her.
The absurdity of the situation sounds like a mocking voice in your head; Following Galloper Thompson blindly. In the most literal sense.
With a certain unease, you shift your shoulders a bit. Now you are too deep in it to regret your choices. Maybe you should’ve made a run for it and followed your horse earlier.
A small gasp escapes you as you feel something solid hit the front of your left foot, causing you to stumble more harshly than the last few times. Out of instinct, you remove your hand from your face and open your eyes to see the obstacle in your path.
Lying at your feet is a rock, not very large or noticeable, you probably would have completely ignored it had you been on horseback. But it is enough for your foot to get caught on.
You grumble to yourself while you look back up to continue walking. Training your eyes onto the fog ahead as you regained a proper pace after nearly getting hurt for the second time tonight.
You never notice your mistake, you never feel the dread or regret of keeping your eyes open. The Wisps sway just a few meters ahead, so close you feel like walking up to them to catch one.
Involuntarily, you lean your head to the side and allow your wide eyes to keep watching, entranced by the beauty of the mimicry of the night sky just outside your reach.
With a loud sound, the mare's hooves hit the stone in front of you, her body blocking your path as you finally startle out of your trance and stumble back a few steps. The way you jump causes your arm to ache from the tension, you duly note.
Still wide eyed, but this time not out of awe, you hastily look at the mare and her rider, wondering what could have caused the abrupt reaction.
It does not take long before you realize what had just happened and all the color drains from your face. Thompson’s mare gives a loud neigh, seemingly frustrated as her body language matches her displeased demeanour.
You feel meek under her stern gaze, but force out an explanation; “I kept - I had to see where I was going.” Out of the corner of your eye, you swear you can see the horseman's shoulders drop, as if giving a sigh.
As you stand and clench your jaw with a knit in your brow, Thompson once more hops down from his mare's back and finds his footing on the ground near you. A hesitant curiosity as to what his plan is enters your mind, but not without the initial fear that you have overstayed your welcome with him.
The now strangely familiar gloved hand of Thompson enters your vision once more. Looking between his hand, his mare and himself, you grow unsure of what is asked of you. That is, until he motions for you to step closer, and you realize.
“No, I can’t-” You quietly try to argue, not sure what the best plan of action is in such a uniquely bizarre and risky situation. The rest of your words die in your throat and you simply look up at the man with involuntarily fearful eyes.
He makes no move to pull his hand back as he stands and waits for you, unlike his mare who seems to be growing impatient as she gives a sharp neigh and stomps her back leg against the stone floor. The sound echoes harshly before it disappears.
Giving an unsure look around, as if to find another way around this, you end up coming to the conclusion that there is not much you can do. So with a gulp, you hold out your left hand to him once more.
With ice cold fingers wrapping around your forearm, you pray to Aideen you would see morning come. Allowing you to watch your step, he holds onto your arm but makes no move to force your movements. More wobbly than you would have liked, you step closer.
As soon as you step forward to Thompson who stands between you and the fiery mare, his hand leaves your arm. You watch as his left hand grabs onto his horse's reins, ready to lead her on foot. A small part of you wondered if he even had to lead her, or if she would follow his every step no matter what.
Your train of thought is cut short as you feel his right hand come to rest over your eyes, the glove cold and their leather texture worn. You gasp at the sudden loss of vision and random contact, leaving you stiff as a board.
Thompson’s cold hand and arm in contrast to the warmth the horse is radiating feels unreal as your heart is stuck in your throat. He has no real grip on you, you realize, his hand merely resting over your now shut eyes. Even his arm behind your shoulder is barely noticeable.
You feel as if you are resting in a lion's den, yet no part of Thompson’s behaviour gives you any reason to believe you will find your doom tonight.
A conflicting spiel of emotions and thoughts races through your head as your feet carry you blindly. Linda and Avalon - Hell, even Ydris - They all had told you countless horror stories, told you that any glimpse you were to catch of this phantom would be the last thing you’ll ever see. Stories of the lives he had taken, the bloodbaths and screams.
Nothing matches up with what you are experiencing in this moment and it once more brought back the idea that you had gotten a concussion or are out cold, even. Or maybe you are putting yourself into an un-payable debt, but you’d rather not think about that.
You can hear and feel that you have left the bridge as the ground underneath your boots changes and the sound of the horses hooves become more dull. Stepping further into the forest allows for the insistent sounds of the crickets to grow louder all around you and for the trees to shield you from the cold winds.
While you can not see the Wisps, you can hear them. You hear their whispers and their small sounds as they seem to sway wildly all around you and your unlikely company. Every now and then Thompson would use the hand he has on you to guide you out of the way of any obstacles and guide you down the windy path.
At some point, you do stumble lightly as the ground seems to dip underneath you, your foot not finding the gravel as soon as you had hoped thanks to stepping into a small hole in the path. Once again, the extra balance of the second person by your side helps you stay upright.
Soon after, Thompson removes his gloved hand from over your eyes, allowing you to look around once more. You blink your eyes a few times, having them squeezed shut causing stars and blurs all over your vision as you need a second to adjust to the dark.
You are standing at the end of the Old Kings Road, out of the forest where the downhill path winds before it disappears down into the Valley. The wooden sign nearby is weakly lit by a dying lantern hanging above it.
In the corner of your eye, barely visible between the fog, you spot what you assume to be a wolf leaving the clearing and vanishing between the rocks. What was your main concern earlier, now is merely an afterthought.
With a gasp, you stand up straight as you spot your horse, grazing off to the side as if nothing is out of the ordinary.
You fight the urge to scramble and run off to rush to your dear friend, but remembering who is with you kept your behaviour more meek and calm. With the first non-stiff body language you give that night, you nod toward him and as if in response, he steps aside to let you walk past.
On hurried steps you walk past Thompson’s mare - Not without glancing at her - And soon break into a run toward your own horse.
Immediately, their head perks up as you rush to their side, checking them over - But luckily they seem completely fine. You give your horse a one armed hug, filled with nothing but relief and love. They move their nose to inspect your makeshift cast, making you give a teary giggle.
“I take back what I said about the extra treat earlier.” You watch your horse's ears stay alert as they give a small snort, nearly seeming offended as you gently scratch their nose.
You grab your horse's reins when you suddenly begin to hear the familiar sound of heavy hooves. Spinning around where you stand with the reins tightly grasped, you watch as Thompson and his mare begin to move back up the path you had come from.
After fiddling with the reins in your hand and your horse confusedly nudging your back once, you call out: “Wait!”
Immediately, you feel as if ice water is thrown on your entire body. You question your recklessness, but surely enough, the headless horseman stops. Him and his mare turn toward you for the final time this night.
With your horse on high alert and staring at the giant mare over your shoulder, their reins grasped in your healthy hand and the distant hooting of an owl accompanying you, you tell him: “Th-Thank you.”
His mare gives a shake of her neck and a huff as her eyes don’t leave you, until she rears with a strong neigh. You watch Thompson move along with his mare as she stands tall.
With a loud thud, her front legs return back to the forest ground and immediately the duo takes off in a gallop. Your eyes follow them until they disappear up the path. Even afterwards, you can hear her fast, strong steps fly over the bridge you had your fateful encounter on, until its echo fades out into the mountains and no trace of the rider and his mare are left.
You find yourself smiling in disbelief until your horse nudges the side of your face with their big nose, causing you to shift your weight and turn to them.
“Alright, alright! Let's go home.”
#sso#star stable#galloper thompson#gunnar thrymson#i havent posted writing for a fandom in so long this is the most nerve wrecking thing#lila drabbles#long post
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Hi I just read you’re tsukishima story and it was so cute omg but I have an idea
Let’s say y/n has a huge crush on tsukishima since they were children right. But tsukishima never rlly liked y/n in that way. So he would always like be kinda aggressive but like not in the physical way, like he would be cold to her whenever y/n would constantly say something abt them dating. In reality he did like her but he didn’t realize it. Then suddenly a new guy shows up, he’s like really handsome and he’s in a small band, he plays the bass. Y/n actually listens to that band and she was so excited so the two of them click really easy, that’s when she starts being distant with tsukishima and stops the talks abt them dating, tsukishima starts to miss everything y/n would say to him and he wanted to get y/n back, but when he tries he sees y/n and the guy sharing a peck 😔‼️ sorry if this was longgggg ugh
a/n: ahhh! I’m glad you thought so, haha! don’t worry about the length, specifics are always welcome! <3 this is a really good idea! i think it ended up on the longer side, but yk, more content is good? i also ended up naming him, so it’s easier to refer to him. i keep holding on to highschool settings i’m sorry LMAO- i haven’t finished season 4 and i’m not reading the manga yet :( but anyways, here’s a bit of angst/unrequited love to balance out my recent fluff posts !
asks/requests: open !
word count: 2.6k
warnings?: some angst/unrequited love
worth a try.
- TSUKISHIMA KEI -
growing up with tsukishima had been a whirlwind of experiences. ever since you had moved and transferred to his school the last year of primary school, you’d been drawn to him. the tall, blonde kid with glasses. you found his pride in volleyball admirable, and you even found him to be so much cooler than you ever would be.
you originally didn’t know anybody when you first moved, but you fit right in with both tsukishima and his own friend. it was a strange combination, but it worked somehow. while tsukishima was rude, and yamaguchi timid, you were loud and energetic. you were lively. you challenged him just for the fun of it, you poked and prodded, just having fun being around him.
you were his self-declared best friend.
looking back on it, you probably always had feelings for tsukishima. back in those days when you tried to get into volleyball yourself. wanting to be like him, you tried your best, but you weren’t all that good. he would make fun of you for it, but you weren’t bothered by settling for being supportive of him and your freckled friend. You were just as passionate as they were about it.
you were even there when that passion jaded. watched as he stared at his brother from across the game.
it was when you started junior high, that you came to the conclusion that you were in love with your friend. but unlike most people, you did nothing to hide it. why would you? you were always open, always honest and straight to the point. you just weren’t one to hide that.
“go out with me, tsukki!” you poked his side with a cheeky grin, your eyes bright. your friend wasted no time in rejecting you.
“no.”
“aw, you sure?”
“i would never date somebody so stupidly annoying.” you shook off the blatant insult, laughing instead with your hand on your neck. a small thing you picked up from your other friend. yamaguchi.
“you’ll come around one day!”
“i doubt that.”
it went on like that all throughout your remaining years until high school. a constant back and forth that became a schedule at that point.
it was decided that tsukishima would be going to karasuno, as would yamaguchi. and so would you. you would go where they go, you’d never thought about leaving them both. you’d stay with them as long as possible, holding on to their friendship like it was your lifeline..
and holding onto tsukishima even more so.
you were there with them on the first day, when they joined volleyball club. that first practice match against aoba johsai.
you weren’t always watching their practices, since you had your own club duties to attend to of course. but you always made sure to stop by the clubroom while the boys were getting ready, just to say hi to everyone and to a certain someone.
“hey, hey!” you poked your head from around the door, waving a hand. the team greeted you cheerfully enough, minus tsukishima. who looked annoyed to no end.
“tsukki, wanna go grab something to eat after your practice? i know a really great spot!”
he didn’t even look at you, only giving you the middle finger.
you laughed, shrugging. “worth a try.”
the first time the team had witnessed your very forward approach to asking the extremely salty and crude boy out, they were surprised. the way he turned you down so effortlessly too, threw them off. the added shock of anybody even liking him was the cherry on top.
“is this normal?” sugawara asked, a chuckle falling from his lips. asahi was beside him, sweatdropping at the sight of your affectionate display, and tsukishima’s obvious lack of reciprocation.
yamaguchi smiled awkwardly, nodding. “well- yeah, actually. It’s been happening for years.”
“i’d kill to have somebody all over me like that! lucky bastard!” tanaka held his fist up dramatically, as if clenching his heart in it. he even had a tear in the corner of his eye.
“well then, i’ll be on my way! good practice, everyone!” you chirped, finally leaving them.
“l/n’s got some serious determination.” tanaka whistled.
“misplaced determination. they won’t shut up about dating, it’s annoying.” tsukishima didn’t sound as impressed as his loud senpai was.
yamaguchi tilted his head to the side. “really? i would’ve thought tha-”
“shut up.”
a small laugh. “sorry, tsukki.”
it would forever continue, it seemed like. you never thought you’d give it up, you always knew that you liked tsukishima. your heart would pound, your stomach would feel fluttery. but even though you’ve been with him since you were children, it didn’t seem like he’d grown to feel the same. it would get you down sometimes, his mean and harsh words whenever you’d bring it up. either casually, or intentionally.
you couldn’t help being so hopelessly whipped!
you were walking down the sidewalk with yamaguchi and tsukishima, humming along to a new song that had been dropped recently. you were so into it, strumming your fingers like you were the one playing in the recording. tsukishima watched you with critical eyes, but yamaguchi watched as if this was entertaining.
“new song, l/n?” yamaguchi asked you, and you paused the music. you nodded right away, grinning.
“yeah! there’s this kind of new band I found a bit ago, i think around the time you guys met nekoma for that first practice match? their music is so cool!” you could go on and on about them, to be honest. they may be small, and very underground, but you liked them anyways.
“wahh, they sound cool- right, tsukki?” yamaguchi and you both looked behind at him, faces expecting the same sentiment.
he only scoffed.
you roll your eyes playfully, sidling up to him for the first time today. “you want to go get some ice cream, tsukki?” you wished, hoped for him to just say yes for once. your heart was begging at this point.
“get out of my face, l/n.” he said coldly.
with a defeated sigh, you walked a few steps quicker, before unpausing the music. the humming resumed, and yamaguchi glanced back and forth between you both with a weary expression.
“you could try to be a bit nicer, tsukki-”
“they can’t take a damn hint, it’s not my job to be nice about it.” He said stubbornly.
yamaguchi sighed himself, nodding along. there wasn’t a point in continuing the topic; he always shut it down whenever yamaguchi brought it up. he’s never been so aggressive about something before.
interhigh had come, taking up your friend’s time with it. you were upset that they’d be so busy now, but with the new tournament coming, came a new student.
he was friendly, and cheerful, and honestly probably one of the most charming people you’ve ever met in your life. he even looked familiar to you, like you’ve seen him somewhere before. you couldn’t figure it out, so you just opted to the conclusion you must have just passed him down the street at some point. or some strange case of deja vu? either way, he was in your class now.
you were just coming back from the bathroom, your earbuds plugged into your ears like they usually were nowadays.
“l/n, please take your earbuds out, it’s class time.” iour teacher scolded you gently, and you pouted a little. It was just getting to a good part-
you had tugged on them a little too hard, and instead of just getting them out of your ears, they came out of the headphone jack completely.
you were embarrassed as your new favorite band’s music started blasting out of the phone’s speakers, and you hurried to turn it off. You were blushing, laughing at yourself as you went to go sit back down.
ahh, dang! everyone heard that! you were just laughing at yourself in your head now.
there was a tap on your desk, and you turned your face towards the hand. it was the new kid, and his face looked bright.
“you listen to my band’s music?” he whispered to you, his face beaming, and you gasped quietly.
“is this you?” you pointed at your pocket, where your phone rested. he nodded.
“that’s so- wow, i go to school with one of the people in my favo-”
“l/n, do you have something to say about the lecture?”
you shook your head violently, holding back a huge grin. “n-no, miss!” your teacher sighed, and continued past the interruption.
the looks you both shared didn’t go unnoticed by tsukishima.
everyday now, you were hanging around the new kid. you had come to learn his name, which was ishiwaka teruo. you both had hit it off instantly, it was like you guys had known each other forever, and not just a few weeks. it was almost like some crazy twist of fate, or luck. you guys were both alike in a lot of ways, held similar passions, too.
“see you, ishi!” you waved a hand, grinning as he waved a goodbye back. you guys didn’t take the same way home, so he ended up leaving the opposite direction, while you walked with tsukishima and yamaguchi. you were humming again, one of ishiwaka’s band’s songs.
“you seem pretty happy, l/n.” yamaguchi chuckled, watching as you danced a little.
“oh yeah, you bet! ishi actually invited me to sit in for one of his practices, isn’t that so cool? he plays the bass, and he even offered to teach me a few chords. i don’t really mess with instruments, but-”
“can you shut up about him? all you do is just yap on and on about this guy, hanging out with him isn’t enough for you? what’s so special anyways?” his tone was harsh, and condescending. “if you’re just going to talk about him all the time, i’m not walking with you guys anymore.” your eyes widened as soon as you heard what tsukishima had just said. your heart was pounding, like it had been caught in the act of something terrible. you even felt slightly ashamed.
“wow, nice, tsukki. sorry for being excited about something.” you muttered, clutching your bag straps tight. what did you expect at this point? he didn’t like you as much as you thought, if he was so ready to just leave you behind. yamaguchi sensed the tension between you both, which made him uncomfortable.
you were all quiet for the rest of the way home.
interhigh came and went, the loss against aoba johsai stung the volleyball team, leaving their spirits broken, and cracked. you hadn’t been to the game that day, busy with a certain band member. and your missing presence hadn’t been looked over.
“where were you?” tsukishima had confronted you in the hallways, while you were walking with ishiwaka to the water fountain. it was break, which meant he could freely talk to you now.
you looked away from him, a nervous air around you that wasn’t like you at all.
“i’m sorry i couldn’t make it, tsukki- i heard that you guys lost, and i’m really sorry i couldn’t have been there!” your words were careful and slow, like you were thinking on how to say the right thing to him.
the blonde closed his eyes, and looked off to the side. he didn’t look pleased in the slightest. “were you with your precious band member? like some kind of groupie.”
ishiwaka raised an eyebrow, and you just shook your head. tsukishima was really doing this right now? you said sorry, what else were you supposed to say?
“you know what, yeah. i was with him. it’s not like..it’s not like i have to be around you or yamaguchi every second of the day, okay?” you sighed. “look, i’ll make it to your next practice, and skip my club activities. is that fine?”
he hesitated, before giving you a curt nod. you smiled in relief. “great! i’ll see you then. now, about that specific measure-”
you had left him behind, and tsukishima had been hit with a realization.
you hadn’t mentioned going on a date at all. not today, not even within the past few weeks. was something wrong with you? he’d gotten so used to that, but now even that wasn’t a constant.
it was like you were slipping away from him, day by day.
and he realized that he didn’t like that.
as the days went on, thoughts about this ran rampant through his mind. it was maddening, he was trying to focus on school, and now, as he was walking to the clubroom, volleyball. he was scarily silent, and yamaguchi caught onto it right away.
“tsukki?” he asked quietly, not wanting to push. but he wanted to know. ever since tsukishima had come back from break that day, he’d been acting strange. he was even saltier, if that was possible.
“am i not enough for l/n?” he spit out the question, like it was a disease.
taken aback, the freckled boy could only blink. the two stopped walking, looking right at each other now. “what?”
tsukishima barked out a laugh, running a hand over his face in frustration. “you heard me, yamaguchi.”
yamaguchi’s jaw dropped. “do you miss them?” was he for real? was this jealousy actually coming from tsukishima?
“hell if i know.” he muttered. but he knew the answer, and that’s what upset him.
“i knew it. tsukki, why did it have to be now, though?” he shook his head in disbelief. at the utter obliviousness of this boy. yamaguchi knew himself that there was something there in tsukishima, something resembling feelings for you. but of course it was when you were no longer always around that he saw it.
“what?”
“l/n isn’t a puppy anymore, they’re not following after you. if you haven’t noticed, they’ve given up. you need to do this yourself, and fix it.” yamaguchi stated. he wouldn’t be lying if he said that he’d been frustrated with the back and forth between you both, it was so obvious to him, but apparently not obvious to tsukishima. or you, for that matter.
“i know that.” he muttered. he would have to confront you about this. was he stupid? why didn’t he get this before?
“then do something about it.”
tsukishima was quiet.
it was decided by him that he’d catch you outside of practice, since you said you’d be coming to watch. it was a quick, and impulsive decision from him, but he needed this to be figured out. his head was at it’s most unclear, and that was affecting him.
you were affecting him.
he looked around the outside of the gym, trying to see if he could spot you coming. it took a minute, before he saw a figure off to the side. it was you, he could tell by that bag anywhere. he stepped out, only to be met with the full picture.
you were with ishiwaka, and you were kissing him.
tsukishima hurried back into the gym with a stone-cold expression. oh. so this is where he stood now.
no longer at the top of your list, no longer important.
you walked into the gym, beaming. it angered tsukishima, more than he should have been. he yanked your arm, and held you by them with a vice grip. you looked up at your friend with nervous, maybe even scared eyes. you hadn’t seen tsukishima like this before.
“what is he to you?”
you blinked. “wh-what?”
“who is he to you? that little bass player.” his eyes were searching yours, for anything, anything that he could hold on to. you didn’t respond, only looking away from his intense stare.
your eyes didn’t hold that same look that they used to whenever you looked at him.
he had his answer. and he didn’t like it. so he let go of you, maybe for real this time. things had changed so much, right under his nose. and he had let it happen.
#tsukishima x reader#tsukishima angst#haikyuu x reader#haikyuu x reader angst#tsukishima x reader angst
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Free Guy Review
!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
If you haven’t seen the movie Free Guy (2021) stop reading right now! Drop what you’re doing and go get yourself a ticket! You’ll thank me later!
I loved this movie! I saw it this weekend for the second time because it’s that good! I first saw the trailer on YouTube a while back and then when theatres reopened a few weeks ago I saw the trailer again and my interest was piqued. I had high hopes for this movie based on the fun looking trailer, the premise, the cast, and the sense of fun and escapism that the movie seemed to embody and it did not disappoint. It’s always nice when you have high hopes for something and it meets or exceeds your expectations.
Free Guy is just such a fun and joyous movie. Never taking itself too seriously, packed with lots of heart, cool cameos, full of gaming and pop culture references, and it’s fueled by a unique concept that is well executed. There are just so many things I loved about this movie! It was a ton of fun to watch and the actors clearly had a blast making it. During the movie I kept trying to figure out where I knew most of the actors from but couldn’t place them. When I got home, I googled it and I instantly realized why. The roles are just so different and the actors embody their characters so completely you lose yourself in the film and get completely sucked in.
I was honestly so surprised when I figured out what I knew most of the actors from because the roles that they’re known for are so different from their characters in the movie. Their appearances, established ages, and even the accents are so different that I literally did a double take, but that’s what makes the movie so good! Because the main actors obviously didn’t need the paycheque they were just there to have fun and it shows. I think if the situation had been different and the actors involved had been desperate for money or took the role for some other reason it wouldn’t have worked. The film would have come off as cheesy, forced, cringeworthy, or just plain bad. Free Guy is none of those things.
The film stars Ryan Reynolds as ‘Guy’ a bank teller in a video game called Free City, Jodie Comer whose best known for playing Villanelle in Killing Eve as programmer Millie Rusk and her avatar Molotov Girl, Joe Keery whose best known for playing Steve Harrington in Stranger Things as programmer Walter ‘Keys’ McKey, and Taika Waititi whose best known for playing Viago in What We Do in the Shadows as the Head of Soonami Studios and the film’s main antagonist and villain Antwan. Rounding out the cast are Utkarsh Ambudka as programmer Mouser and Lil Rel Howery as Guy’s best friend and bank security guard Buddy.
In a nutshell, Free Guy is about a bank teller named Guy who finds out he’s a non-playable background character (NPC) in an open-world Grand Theft Auto style video game called Free City. Guy becomes the hero of his own story after meeting Millie, the girl of his dreams, and winning fans all over the world by racking up points by being the good guy and helping others. After leveling up and helping Millie escape a dangerous situation in the game, Guy wins her over and she falls for him thinking that he’s another player. But when the world that Guy knows and all of the people in it are threatened, he teams up with Millie to save his friends before it’s too late. In the real world, Millie enlists the help of her former programming partner and best friend Keys in a race against time to stop their code and all of the sentient characters from Free City from being deleted by Antwan the developer who stole their code when the game’s sequel launches.
I love that the movie had a unique premise and didn’t overcomplicate things. There are so many movies that I’ve gone to see over the last few years with such excitement only to be disappointed. For example, I loved Wreck It Ralph, but was so disappointed by its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet. The trailers made it seem like it would take the premise of the first movie and move things into the online gaming world, and I was excited for that. Instead, the sequel left the premise of the first movie behind entirely and way over complicated the plot and the end result was extremely cheesy and disappointing.
Free Guy’s strength is that it’s a self-aware movie made by self-aware people who are excellent at what they do. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, nor should it, and that allows the story to flow and the characters to feel real and genuine. The movie achieves that perfect balance between being entertaining and telling a cohesive and important story because while the movie never takes itself too seriously the people behind it are serious about what they do. This was very clearly a passion project for all involved, especially Ryan Reynolds, and it shows!
As he’s spoken about in interviews and on Twitter, Reynolds called on a lot of his friends to be in Free Guy and help him out and the end result was fantastic! I loved all of the cameos! The Chris Evans cameo was by far the funniest and the Alex Trebek cameo got me right in the feels. When I saw the movie in theatres me and everyone else in the theatre gave a collective “awww” when he appeared on screen.
Enlisting real YouTubers to show up as fictional versions of themselves to talk about Blue Shirt Guy’s popularity was a nice touch and you’ve also got blink and you miss it voice cameos by John Krasinski, Dwyane The Rock Johnson, Hugh Jackman, and Tina Fey. Channing Tatum appears as the avatar of player Revenjamin Buttons which for the most part was hilarious. One of my few criticisms of the film is that they went a bit overboard the avatar’s antics as Guy and Buddy are attempting to leave and it got bit a cringeworthy. But I know other people found it hilarious so to each their own.
I love all of the little details and references in the movie. Just listing them all would be a post in itself. If you’re someone that loves pop culture references and Easter Eggs this is the movie for you. The characters are fun and believable, and you get attached to them quickly. The actors commit completely to their roles which is makes the humour, romance, and heartfelt emotion of the film work. You buy it. 100%. Something that I absolutely loved was that the characters felt realistic and that the dialogue, attire, and settings for each character really felt authentic. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched a movie or TV show and walked away thinking, “The person who wrote that clearly never meet a kid, teenager, or twenty something in their life! That was so unrealistic.”
The slang’s all wrong. The dialogue is so eloquent everyone sounds like they did Shakespeare in the Park last summer. You walk away thinking, “What the hell was that? No one talks that way!” What I loved about the characters in Free Guy is that they felt like real people you could actually run into or walk past on the street. I’ve read in interviews that in addition to the written dialogue the cast did a lot of ad-libbing and improvisation and the end result is both hilarious and relatable. The dialogue feels real because it is. The big exception to this of course is Antwan who is altogether off the wall and ridiculous.
Antwan is such an outrageous, absurd, vulgar, and cartoonish character. He’s so fun to watch and the actors clearly had a lot of fun with his scenes! I’ve read that a lot of his lines with Keys and Mouser were improvised and I believe it. When he goes all Jack Nicholson on the servers? Lord. He’s such a great villain to watch. The characters that are established to be in their twenties like Millie, Keys, Mouser, and the other employees at Soonami Studios talk, act, and dress like they’re in their twenties.
The actors that are in their forties are styled to look like they’re in their thirties and honestly, they’re in such great shape it works! I mean I was honestly shocked to find out Taika Waititi’s real age. I love how the costuming really fits each character and allows you to learn more about them. Keys’ clothing is your typical gamer chic which makes because as we learn from his interview with Millie coding is his life and what gets him up in the morning. From Mouser’s clothing we learn that he’s a sports fan, but also isn’t afraid to take risks like with that blazer ensemble he wears in his final scene at Millie’s apartment.
Millie’s clothing shows the contrast between her and her avatar Molotov Girl, and Antwan’s ridiculous coat enhances the overall wackiness of his character. Guy’s clothing tells us something too. He wears the same thing every day until he meets Millie in the game at which point, he starts deviated from his Free City programming and chooses a different blue shirt. I also really love that they put thought into why Keys needs to wear glasses. Something I noticed on rewatch is that Keys is far sighted which is why he has his glasses on when he’s looking at his laptop or computer and sometimes when’s talking to other people, but not when he goes to see Millie at her apartment or when he goes to get them coffee at the end of the movie.
Another interesting aspect of Keys’ character that I noticed on rewatch is self-confidence is really something he struggles with in contrast to Millie and Mouser who are very confident. Millie is a genius programmer and Mouser is excellent at what he does, and they are both very confident in their coding abilities, but Keys isn’t despite being every bit the genius that Millie is. At the beginning of the movie when they first notice the issue with Guy Mouser jokes that Keys needs to be better at his job. In response Keys meekly says he thinks he’s pretty good at his job and trails off at the end. Mouser is just joking around, but because Keys lacks self-confidence comments like that hit him hard.
Mouser is moving towards his own desk as he talks so he doesn’t notice how self-deprecating and uneasy Keys’ response is. In the interview from the indie games conference that Millie plays for Keys at his apartment, he brushes off the interviewers comment that he’s a genius and says Millie is the real genius because she created the AI engine and he just wrote the code to make it work. Later on, when Keys helps Millie get into the stash house, she calls him a genius and he tells her that as he’s currently sitting on a toilet stealing user code he doesn’t exactly feel like one. Millie responds offhandedly that he never does, but luckily, she knows better.
When Keys realizes that Millie was right, and that Antwan did steal their code and their game worked he tells Millie they need to celebrate because once everyone sees their build she’ll be celebrated and she could win a noble prize. Both Millie and Keys are geniuses in their own right. The game wouldn’t have worked without both of their skills and Guy wouldn’t have come to life without both of them working together. Millie’s AI engine made his sentience possible, but Keys is the one who gave him hopes and dreams so that when he met Millie in the game, he came alive.
When done right the settings we see tell the story just as much as the characters do and I love how realistic the settings in Free Guy look. The floor at Soonami Studios where Keys and Mouser work looks like a real office and I love that the desks have clutter and personal effects on them like real cubicles do and that they show Keys taking a box of his stuff with him as he leaves. The lobby with the moving water videos and Antwan’s massive but largely empty office fits perfectly with the obnoxious, zany, and over the top character that he is. I also love the contrast between Keys and Millie’s apartments and how those settings tell us a lot about each character and where they are in their lives when the film starts.
When Keys comes home from work to find that Millie has broken in, we see that he lives in a stylish one bedroom apartment with an open concept kitchen full of stainless steel appliances, a large living room centred around an expensive wall mounted TV and entertainment system, with his computer and gaming station set up in the corner. On the walls we see artful clusters of black picture frames, through a partially open door we see a bedroom off to the side, the apartment is full of black and white furniture including a plush couch and nice lamps, and features a textured silver accent wall.
All of which makes the fact that Millie managed to break in even more impressive because it is clearly an expensive apartment in a nice building. Keys’ style is minimalist and upper scale and based on what we learn about the events that took place before the start of the movie this indicates that Keys got the apartment and all of the nice stuff in it using the money he received when Antwan bought his and Millie’s game. In contrast, Millie lives in a bachelor apartment and spends her time in coffee shops ordering one single black coffee over four hours. This tells us that she kept her original apartment that she had from before the game was sold and is living off the money she got from the sale while she spends all of her time trying to find the proof she needs to win her lawsuit.
When we see Millie’s place, we find that it’s cozy, full of plants, throw rugs, quilts, and comfy furniture. She’s got a bike in the corner, you can see her bed from the centre of the room where she’s got her computer and gaming station set up adjacent to the coffee table and the rest of the living room furniture. Her kitchen is smaller and full of wooden cabinets and her bathroom door has DIY multicoloured square panels on it. Keys and Millie’s apartments are very different and through these settings we see the contrast between where these characters are in their lives, their wealth, and their personal style.
The song ‘Fantasy’ by Mariah Carey is featured heavily in the film and is guaranteed to get stuck in your head in the best way! Jodie Comer’s cover of it is amazing! It fits the moment where Guy makes it to the island that is Millie and Keys’ original build and shows it to the world perfectly. This movie made me appreciate Mariah Carey’s music in a whole new way and I can’t be the only way. After watching the movie, I went looking for the song on Apple Music, wound up listening to the Mariah Carey Essentials Playlist, and I’ve become obsessed. I knew some of her hits, but after listening to her music more I get why people love her so much. Her five octave vocal range is amazing, and her music is just so fun to listen to.
The film has a really great soundtrack overall and I’ve had many of its song on repeat since I saw it. Something I really loved about this movie and the reveal at the end that Keys is in love with Millie and is desperate for her to notice, but she’s been oblivious the whole time is that they don’t do the supposedly nice nerdy guy whose really a jerk trope. So many movies do this where you have a nerdy male character whose unluckily love, looked over, or his love is unrequited, and we’re supposed to root for him because he’s a quote “nice guy”. But really, he’s not. He’s a jerk who feels slighted because a woman in his life doesn’t love him back or notice him and he feels as if she owes him something.
The scene at Millie’s place where Millie tells Keys he looks cute when he brags, and Mouser encourages him to tell Millie how he feels is super frustrating to watch but it’s so important to Keys’ character. He asks Millie out for coffee and when she turns him down to jump back into the game, he doesn’t make a big deal about it even though Mouser wants him to. Instead he gets up and goes and gets her a coffee anyway. She goes to tell him her order, oblivious to the fact that he’s memorized it, he tells her he remembers, and goes to get the coffee anyway much to Mouser’s and the audience’s dismay.
This is big because Keys clearly doesn’t want to be walking down the street by himself to get coffee. He wants to be getting coffee with Millie so that he can tell her how he feels to see if she might feel the same way, but when she turns him down he goes and gets the coffee anyway because he truly loves and cares about her and he values their friendship enough to put his own feelings aside and suffer in silence rather than lose her and what they’ve built. So, he takes the opportunity to get some air rather than continue to sit there in disappointment.
Which is why he’s so confused when Millie runs after him and calls out to him from across the street. He doesn’t understand what she’s doing there. She turned down his offer to get a coffee and he already knows her order so why is she there? I love that they chose to make that scene non-verbal. I think if Millie had come out and made some big declaration of love it would have felt cheesy and overdone. But her running after him and silently communicating through her smile and body language that she understood and that she felt the same way was perfect. It was subtle and beautiful and perfectly acted.
It also felt realistic to the characters because in real life when you’ve known someone a really long time and you’ve spent a lot of time with them you don’t always need words to convey what you mean. What Millie wanted to express in that scene was so big and so all-encompassing she couldn’t find the words to say everything that she wanted to say so she didn’t. She just stood there and smiled knowing that being the genius that he is he would understand. It’s like Keys says in their interview, words will fail you, but code never does.
His coding worked and now she understands so rather than try and say it all and fail she just looks at him and smiles to show him that she finally gets it. She finally understands what he’s been trying to say to her all this time. And you can see the exact moment Keys realizes why she’s there. The moment where he goes from being confused as to what she wants to realizing that she saw the video and she knows how he feels and that she wouldn’t be standing there smiling at him like that if she didn’t feel the same way.
When I watched the scene the first time around, I was anxiously clutching my nachos the entire time because when Keys ran towards her my immediate thought was, “Oh my god he’s gonna get hit by a car and they’re never gonna get to be together! Oh my god!” But then he didn’t get hit by a car and Millie ran out to meet him and for the first time in their relationship she met him halfway and they kissed and it was beautiful! I think because Free City had so much violence in it that’s where my mind went and I’m very glad they didn’t go that route.
One of my only criticisms about the movie is that I wish they had stayed on Millie and Keys just a little bit longer. They kiss and embrace and then very quickly they cut to black. I wish they’d linger on that moment just a little bit longer because I love those characters so much and in the scene that follows where Guy and Buddy are reunited we see them hug and then walk away together to start their new lives and I wish we’d gotten just a bit more time with Millie and Keys. I also really loved the parallel between the different kinds of relationships within the movie and how platonic relationships are just as important as romantic ones.
The reveal at the end about Guy being Keys’ creation and a love letter to Millie and her realizing she’s been loving Keys vicariously through Guy and them finally coming together and being on the same page is beautiful because from the very beginning the movie is full of clues, hints, and foreshadowing that all comes together at the end. Meanwhile, we see the friendship between Guy and Buddy and how important that friendship is to him because it’s something that he created on his own. His love for Millie is born out of the programming that Keys gave him, but his friendship with Buddy is something that Guy created all on his own of his own volition.
Which is part of what makes Buddy’s death on the bridge so tragic. I cried when Buddy disappeared. Reynolds and Howery play their characters with such sincerity that his death pacts an emotional punch you don’t expect. I love that the security guards at Soonami are so moved by Buddy’s heroism and are so captivated by what’s happening with the live stream that Millie is able to sneak past them into the server room and stop Antwan from destroying what’s left of the game. Something else I noticed on rewatch is that during the final battle after Millie gets booted from the game and Guy has to fight Dude on his own the glasses he’s wearing are very similar to the ones Keys wears in the movie which I thought was a cool nod to Guy being Keys’ creation.
This really is a movie in which you find something new every time you watch it. For instance, the second time around I noticed that the foreshadowing that Keys is in love with Millie, but she’s oblivious to it because she’s so focused on the game was really well done. In the video from the indie game conference that Millie plays for Keys at his apartment when asked by the interviewer about their chemistry Millie responds first and says that their friends, their relationship is completely platonic, and laughs off the idea that they have chemistry. In contrast Keys falters and is silent and then eventually says meekly that they’re just friends. Millie is looking ahead at the interviewer and to the side away from Keys as she’s laughing and so she doesn’t see Keys’ reaction.
At the end of the apartment scene after Millie breaks in to ask Keys for his help, he tells Millie he cares about her and he almost says something else. It feels like he’s about to say, ‘I love you’ but then he catches himself and instead tells her that she needs to leave. When Keys visits Millie’s apartment to tell her that she was right and they’re sitting on the couch he reaches out and puts his hand on her knee and then snatches it back when he realizes he’s gotten too close. He wants so desperately to be closer to her and in his excitement, he gets closer than he normally would before realizing that putting his hand on her knee in that close proximity is not a platonic gesture.
Millie is so caught up in the realization that Guy, the person she’s fallen in love with, is an AI and not a real person that she doesn’t notice. My heart broke for Keys in that scene as he realized that Millie had fallen for Guy and kissed him and was so upset about it and meanwhile, he was right in front of her desperate for her to see how much he cares. It must have just wrecked him to go home that night and realize that Guy was based on the lovelorn character he created and that Millie had fallen in love with his creation while at the same time being so oblivious to his real world affection for her.
In the scene at Millie’s apartment after they’ve gotten the server from Antwan and Mouser encourages Keys to say something, I noticed on rewatch just how weak and meager Keys’ attempt to ask Millie out is. He stumbles his way through asking her to get a coffee and trails off at the end so it’s no wonder Millie doesn’t clue in that he’s trying to ask her out. And in Keys’ defence he sent her a whole video confessing his feelings for her and all of the little things he loves about her and then told her to watch it and he has no idea if she did or not. We the audience know that Millie only saw half of it, but Keys has no idea if she saw none of it, part of it, or all of it. He knows she got Guy to remember, but she’s also sending him mixed messages.
One minute she’s saying he’s cute when he brags and the next, she’s turning him down for coffee to talk to Guy. From the outside it’s so obvious that Keys is in love with Millie, but she doesn’t see it because she’s always looking the other way, not paying attention, so caught up in the game, and too focused on their work to see what’s right in front of her. On rewatch one of the big things I noticed is that Keys is always on the edge of telling Millie how he really feels but he always stops himself because she brushes him or the idea off and because he’s scared of what will become of their work and their friendship if she doesn’t feel the same way. It’s a huge leap. If Millie doesn’t feel the same way it’s going to make their relationship incredibly awkward and could potentially destroy their partnership so Keys decides it’s better not to say anything or only hint at how he feels rather than run the risk of ruining everything.
Something else I noticed on rewatch is that in the interview they give Keys says he thinks of himself as an author and that code is what gets him up in the morning and that he loves the ones and zeros of binary because words can fail you and let you down but code never does. At the end of the movie when Millie goes to talk to Guy in Free Life he tells her that he loves her and while he knows that’s his programming he’s realized that he’s a love letter to her and that somewhere out there in the real world is the author. Such a great callback.
All in all, I can definitely say that Free Guy has been my favourite movie so far this year! Definitely my favourite movie of the summer. I went to see it twice in theatres and I’ve never done that for any other movie before. I’ll rewatch them at home sure, but I’ve never actually paid money to see something twice on my own. I’m very excited to see the sequel and my hope is that it will be just as good as the first.
Until next time.
#free guy#free guy movie#free guy spoilers#review#Thoughts#critique#millie rusk#Walter keys Mckey#walter mckey#guy#free guy keys#buddy#antwan#mouser#ryan reynolds#Jodie comer#joe keery#taika waititi#lil rel howery#Utkarsh Ambudka#alex trebek#jeopardy#mariah carey#fantasy#it's so good#go see it
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Fuchsia-Colored Sunglasses
Summary:
Your life is turned upside down when you’re transported into another reality by the enigmatic and mysterious old woman named Cyan. You find yourself an up-and-coming makeup artist whose latest client is the cocky fuchsia-haired rockstar Yuta Nakamoto. You struggle to find balance as Yuta is your most difficult client yet and you can’t seem to stop losing things in your apartment.
Meanwhile, Yuta is at the top of his game with his record-breaking band that’s about to tour and his perfect celebrity girlfriend. But he can’t shake the feeling that something is missing. When he meets you, however, he finally feels..at home.
In a reality where soulmates so rarely find each other, is it possible that the two of you will see the signs?
Pairing: Rockstar!Yuta x female reader
Genre: Soulmate AU, Fluff, comedy, a little smut, a tiny bit of angst
Word Count: 28.5K
Warnings: profanity, minor character death mention, alcohol mention
(A/N: we are so excited to finally post this for you guys!! It is for a collaborative project (A Colours AU) organized by the wonderful @neo-cult-ure . THANK YOU so much for inviting us to do this!! Please visit her tumblr for a complete list of all of the amazing works included in this project that we all worked so hard on❤️ with that being said, we hope you enjoy!! Thank you for supporting us!!)
[colours masterlist]: Click here to enjoy several amazing journeys :)
——————
It really hasn’t been your day. There was just one problem after the other being thrown at you at work. Books often went missing at the library, but today an entire section was missing romance novels and no one seemed to know where they had gone. So you spent hours collecting them from other sections in the library, placing them on your cart as you moved through each lane. It doesn’t sound like a lot of work but for a library with 16 floors, it was just enough to make your head spin. Your day was long and boring.
And now, you learned that your favorite cafe was fresh out of your usual drink, an iced caramel latte, the perfect drink for a pick me up.
fantastic.
A sigh left your lips as you turned around the corner of the bathroom and walked face first into someone.
smack!
You stumbled back and then felt something wet on your clothes. Great.
“I..I’m so sorry about that.” A lady’s voice caught you off guard as she quickly tried to clean up the situation. She reached forward and grabbed your hands. A bit weirded out by the situation, you tried to pull your hands away but she didn’t let go, pulling you in closer so she could look into your eyes and capture your full attention.
“Dear, don’t be frightened, my name is Cyan and I am so very sorry...” Her eyes had a mysterious glow about them that you couldn’t understand. She seemed...otherworldly.
“Let me make it up to you.” Cyan said. “Here, pick a colour and you’ll meet your soulmate. However, you should be aware that each colour represents a different reality, and you only have one chance to bring them back to this reality.”
“Really?” you asked, clearly suspicious of the entire situation.
“Yes, now which would you choose?” she asked as she held out the tablet for you to pick a colour. You tilted your head to the side before just agreeing.
You typically liked to lay low, keep things normal and safe for your sanity. And love? Soulmates? Those were concepts that you never really thought too hard about. If it comes, it comes but you weren’t going to go out of your way for it.
But today was unlike any other day, everything went wrong, so what if...you did things differently for once? What if you took the chance to experience something...new? You had nothing left to lose, right?
You reached forward to choose.
“Fuchsia.”
^_^
You sat at the kitchen table, your Bluetooth speaker playing your favorite song, “Breeze”. It was by the artist Mountain Man, whose identity was a mystery to the entire world. Your roommate Delilah came in to grab some orange juice from the fridge.
Delilah laughed. “I swear I dream of this song from all the times you play it.”
You replied, “This song is a religious experience. You should be so honored to dream of it.” You took a bite of your Fruity Pebbles.
Delilah joined you at the table as she searched something up on her laptop. “Today’s the bid for the Bulbasaur card I’ve had my eye on. I’m so nervous. I can’t go past eight five dollars so let’s hope my competition is just as cheap as I am.”
You rolled your eyes. “Eighty-five dollars for a trading card? Really?”
Deililah shook her head. “Sixty-five dollars for foundation, y/n? Really?”
You shut your mouth and keep eating your cereal. You and your roommate had your impulses...Well, your passions. Besides, an investment in good foundation only made sense given your profession as a makeup artist.
Delilah scrolled through her phone and frowned. “That’s weird. This looks just like your Hermosa Vida palette.”
That was impossible. You had the only one in existence. Last month, at the cosmetics brand launch for Hermosa Vida, you received a limited edition palette from two of your favorite makeup artists, Sol and Luna, who teamed up for their growing cosmetics empire. They gave you the limited edition trial of the palette before the official palette was released in stores. You were so excited to try it out but misplaced it two weeks ago. You knew you had to clean your room more often.
In fact, you’ve misplaced a lot of things recently: a pair of your favorite My Melody socks, a bracelet from your trip to Jamaica last summer, a pair of your reading glasses, and more. You knew people were bound to lose things but it seemed to happen more often to you. You didn’t think much of it as you were busy applying for your new job.
You stood behind Delilah so you could see the palette on sale for yourself. It was shaped like a clam shell and was rose gold. It even had Sol and Luna’s autographs on the bottom.
Just like yours.
You scanned the description of the product to find the username of the seller: 1026you.
“Wait, I thought I was the only one who owned this palette. It doesn’t make sense. If there was more than one of these palettes in existence, then there would be more on sale. But this one...looks exactly like mine,” you said.
“Maybe it’s a knockoff,” Delilah offered, “You know how people will fabricate anything to get extra cash.”
“The thing is...I lost my palette. It’s almost as if…”
Delilah scoffed. “You don’t think someone broke in and stole it?”
You considered it. “I don’t know, Delilah. I’ve been losing a lot of things lately...I think we should install some cameras in here. Just in case.”
Your roommate nodded. “Fine with me. It’ll make us both feel safer.”
So you and Delilah had cameras installed around the apartment. You hoped your first paycheck with your new gig would come in quickly. You contacted the seller and asked about the palette, asking where they’d bought it and how they had access to it. You asked so you could have some sort of proof that it couldn’t be the same as yours. But it looked exactly like yours. And it bothered you. Unfortunately, there was no response from the seller.
A few days after that, your Siamese cat Totoro disappeared. You weren’t too concerned as Totoro was an outdoor cat and he tended to wander. He would return soon, you thought.
^_^
Meanwhile across your hometown of Los Angeles, international rockstar Nakamoto Yuta stood in his bathroom, dumbfounded to find a portrait of a young woman looking over her shoulder.
Yuta said to himself. “Where the hell did this come from?”
His girlfriend Ashley called from the living room. “What’s that, babe?”
Yuta responded, “Nothing, Ash.” He’d rather not freak out his high-maintenance diva girlfriend.
It was strange how random objects kept popping up in his apartment. He asked Ashley about the palette but she denied it was hers. A bracelet appeared on his nightstand a few weeks ago and Ashley denied again, growing suspicious that Yuta was having someone over. But he didn’t owe any explanations to her.
Yuta always came up short with his security footage. There were glitches with the footage. The objects just...appeared from one frame to the next. This had to be some kind of joke.
Seeing a whole portrait pop up in his bathroom of all places was just part of his daily routine now. Guess I’ve got another thing I have to sell online, he thought.
Then again… He looked carefully at the painting. The woman in the painting was stunning. He wondered what her face looked like in reality. Gorgeous, he was sure of it. The woman wore an oval-shaped ruby necklace. The painting gave him both a sense of comfort and excitement. He couldn’t explain this clearly new but somehow familiar feeling. He decided to hold onto the painting for a while. He could always change his mind.
Ashley let out a blood-curdling scream. “Yuta! Get in here!” She sounded scared for her life. Could it have been the people who managed to break in and leave the painting among all of the other random objects? He ran into the living room to find Ashley standing on his plush couch.
“Is that...a cat?!” Ashley hissed as she looked down at a Siamese cat.
The cat watched her from the ground, swaying his tail back and forth. He simply watched her. When the cat saw Yuta, he walked up to him and rubbed himself against Yuta’s legs as he purred.
Yuta crouched down and pet the cat behind his ears. “Hey there, buddy. How did you get in here?”
“Yuta, you went and bought a cat when you know I’m allergic?” Ashley asked as she sneezed.
Yuta sighed. “I swear to you I have no idea how he got in here.” It was possible he ran in when Yuta opened the sliding glass door to his yard.
“Well...” Ashley sneezed as she grabbed her handbag and stormed out of the multimillion dollar mansion. “You better get rid of that thing if you ever want me to set foot into this house again!”
Ashley slammed the door and Yuta laughed as he sat down on the couch. The cat laid on his lap and pushed his head into Yuta’s hand so that he could pet him.. Yuta brushed his fingers through his fur.
“You know what, I think I’ll keep you.”
^_^
It was your first day of work with the world famous band Skylark. Sky High Entertainment reached out to you when they watched your most popular makeup tutorial. Now, you would be their makeup artist for their future engagements. Your first few weeks would be to assist the band in preparation for their first set of tour dates in Los Angeles for their Heaven on Earth World Tour. You were to meet the group and their team at the Staples Center. You weren’t too familiar with Skylar’s work because you were either fixated on the YouTube MUA community or repeatedly listening to Mountain Man’s music. You arrived early, too excited to start, and the band’s manager Baekhyun Byun told you that you were welcome to watch the group rehearse.
To say that the band was attractive was an understatement. You knew of their names and faces from the occasional Twitter posts. Plus, you had to memorize their names and faces for the job. However, seeing them in person was a whole other experience.
Drummer Johnny Suh’s muscular arms and intensity were reminiscent of Hercules as he twirled one of his drumsticks with ease. Mark Lee was the guitarist, looking like he was about to be cast for the next Spiderman with his sweet and goofy demeanor. He played a random guitar solo with his tongue out to get a reaction out of his cousin Johnny. Dong Sicheng was focused at the keyboard, looking as elegant and regal as a vampire prince. Bassist Jung Jaehyun’s every glance was more seductive than the last as he tuned his bass to perfection.
Last but not least was the frontman with the fuchsia colored mane: Yuta Nakamoto. His walk to the microphone at the center of the stage was unintentionally seductive, considering he was in a black hoodie and sweatpants like the rest of his band. He was at least six feet tall as his long strides made him walk with such grace and elegance. A man that was effortlessly gorgeous was definitely trouble. At this point, your jaw was on the ground. Every man on that stage was a god but Yuta was the frontman for a reason. He was undeniably the cutest of the group. In his all-black attire, he was the emo prince of millions of girl’s dreams: his slender face, his sharp cheekbones, his piercing brown eyes, a smile so bright it could make you go blind, his rockstar piercings which included a navel piercing and caused your thoughts to drift to places that weren’t suitable for the workplace…
From time to time, the band goofed off. Mark made a paper plane from the set list and threw it at Johnny. Jaehyun danced the latest TikTok dance while Sicheng filmed it with his phone. Yuta laughed as he borrowed the keyboard and wrote some notes down in his notebook.
When they got down to business, the boys completely transformed. They channeled angst and heartache when they began rehearsal. You recognized the song as their latest single: “Lost and Found”.
When Yuta sang, goosebumps ran down your back and your stomach twisted. Alarms were ringing in your head but they weren’t out of fear. But out of...excitement? You couldn’t describe this strange sensation.
Yuta transformed into a man who was heartbroken and confused. His voice danced into your ears and hearing it live made the lyrics more meaningful. Every word that left his plump lips lingered in the air. You couldn't get enough and felt your heart squeeze.
Yuta looked out to the audience as he always practiced how he would engage with the crowd. He earned several thumbs up from the staff, as expected. Then he turned to your section and could barely make you out as a silhouette in the darkness.
You saw that he focused on your section as he sang the second verse. Your heart skipped a beat. You’d have to listen to more of Skylark’s music from now on because they were fantastic. And maybe lurk on Yuta’s social media.
After rehearsal ended, Manager Byun introduced you to the rest of the team, including the other makeup artists. He walked you to the dressing room to introduce you to the band. For the first time in years, you were about to freak out like a fangirl.
“Boys, this is y/n. She’s our newest makeup artist. Please, I beg of you, don’t make her run for the hills.” Manager Byun laughed. You hoped he was joking.
The boys greeted you and shook your hand. Johnny was the most outgoing. “Pleasure to meet you, y/n!”
Jaehyun winked at you as he shook your hand. “Hi.”
Winwin gave you a childlike smile. “Thank you for joining us!”
Mark stuttered as he greeted you, “Uh, hi, it’s uh, really nice to meet you.” His cheeks were flushed.
You were overjoyed but knew you had to conceal your excitement. Still, you couldn’t help but hope for Yuta to greet you.
You all turned to Yuta who was busily texting away on his phone in front of his mirror.
Johnny cleared his throat. “Yuta, say hi to y/n.”
Then, you noticed he was wearing his AirPods. Johnny tapped him on the shoulder. Yuta looked up at him. “What? I was on the verge of a breakthrough, and now I won’t get it back. Thanks a lot.” Yuta rolled his eyes and looked back at his phone.
Johnny cleared his throat and you could see his smile twitch from his reflection in the mirror. “Say hi to y/n. She’s our new makeup artist,” Johnny said carefully. He sounded a lot less sweet, then.
Yuta sighed. “Fine.”
He got up from his makeup chair and walked up to you. His sour demeanor quickly shifted to bright and breezy. His megawatt smile appeared as he shook hands with you. “Hi, y/n. Pleasure to meet you.”
It was insincere and you knew it. You didn’t even bother faking a smile. “Pleasure’s all mine.”
It was the smile you’d seen all too often with celebrities and YouTubers whose egos grew faster than their subscriber count. It was the kind of smile they used to please sponsors and fans. A means to an end.
Yuta’s smile faded as quickly as it appeared. He quickly turned away and went back to his chair, put his AirPods in, and returned to his phone. You spoke too soon when you thought Yuta was your favorite member.
Mark whispered, “Don’t take it personally, y/n. Yuta is in his own little world most of the time.”
You weren’t surprised. Chances were one of these boys wasn’t what they seemed. You were disappointed it was Yuta, though.
For the most part, your first day went well. Everyone was warm and welcoming. You shared tips with the other makeup artists. But then, they dropped a bomb.
“You’re assigned to Yuta,” Manager Byun told you as you headed down the elevator. You just came back from a break.
You couldn’t control your initial facial expression.
Manager Byun laughed. “He won’t bite.”
You composed yourself. “Oh, I know…”
He understood. “He’s been working on a lot of projects. Some of which I don’t even know the full details of. So I apologize on his behalf for his rudeness.”
You shook your head. “But Manager Byun-”
He raised his hand. “Please, call me Baekhyun. Manager Byun makes me sound like I’m a father of three.”
You laughed. “Okay. Baekhyun, you don’t have to apologize for him. I get it. He’s a workaholic. I’ll gladly be his makeup artist.” It wasn’t like Yuta insulted you. He just wasn’t what you hoped he would be. Plus, you were there for a job and nothing else. So professionalism was always key.
Baekhyun put his hand on your shoulder. “Thank you, y/n. If he gives you trouble at all, the makeup team will make sure Yuta gets the wrong shade of foundation.”
You and the rest of the makeup team headed back to the dressing room where the boys were sitting in their chairs. They needed to get their makeup done for the filming of their tour diaries entry for this week. Yuta was still glued to technology. This time, he was on his laptop, and he was in the middle of producing a track, it seemed.
You gulped and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Excuse me, Mr. Naka-” You began.
“Yuta’s fine,” he barked back.
“I have to do your makeup,” you said as you started off with his primer.
“Fine,” he said as he closed his eyes, “Make it quick.”
His tone was even crabbier than this morning. You told yourself to keep it together. You wouldn’t let this diva jeopardize your job. He was a challenge and you would overcome this bastard.
Because Yuta was quiet and as still as a statue, doing his makeup wasn’t a problem. You made sure you were swift but neat. You didn’t want to poke the tiger again. All that was left was his eyeliner. You gave him an elegant winged eyeliner for his left eye. You were halfway done with his right eye when he interrupted.
His voice boomed. “Seriously, what part of ‘quick’ don’t you understand?”
He startled you so much that his liner shot straight up to the middle of his forehead.
You bit back your anger and your tears. You said calmly, “I was almost done, Yuta. If you hadn’t startled me for ten more seconds, I would’ve finished.”
Yuta looked in the mirror, his venomous tone matching the anger in his face. “You clearly lack experience if you let one thing I said get to you. Well? Don’t just stand there. Fix it.”
The rest of the staff and the band stood there, stunned to silence. You swallowed your pride and redid the liner on his right eye. He said nothing when you finished. He left the dressing room first.
You turned to everyone else, feeling humiliated and fearing what everyone would say. “Why is it so quiet?”
“Because you didn’t run for the hills,” Sicheng replied, smiling at you in admiration.
“Huh?” That wasn’t the reaction you’d expected.
Rin, your fellow makeup artist who was working on Jaehyun right beside you, said, “The last makeup artist Lily only lasted a week. Yuta’s been…”
“A stuck up bitch,” Jaehyun finished.
Rin sighed, “His words. Not mine. Before Lily, there was Halle. Halle was Yuta’s makeup artist for three years before she left for another project. Even before Halle left, Yuta was in a mood. No one knows what’s bothering him. He’s not usually-”
“A diva,” Mark added.
Rin applied some setting spray on Jaehyun’s face. “Once again, not my words.”
You worried if you crossed a line by talking back at him like you had. “Was I not supposed to say anything to him when he yelled?”
Everyone laughed. Johnny said, “Are you kidding? We dare you to tell him to stop bitching if he snaps again.”
You thought about it. “I just hope he gets over whatever he’s going through.”
^_^
Days passed and the sixth day of work went just about the same. You were in your element and over the moon with all of the high-end cosmetics at your disposal. Not even your sourpuss of a client could dampen your mood.
During one of your breaks, you sat alone in one of the unoccupied meeting rooms and listened to “Breeze” on your phone as you read some of your emails.
“The breeze made your hair sway. I fell in love that autumn day,” you sang aloud.
Yuta was headed to a meeting with Cartier but at the sound of your voice singing “Breeze”, he froze in his tracks. He pressed his ear against the door of the room you were in. The cracks in your voice were endearing. He smiled to himself.
He peaked through the window and hoped you didn’t notice him. You were seated at the table. Your legs were propped against one of the other swivel chairs. You tapped your fingers against the table. You smiled as you sang. Your smile was lovely. Your eyes were so full of joy and passion as you recited the lyrics, and for the first time, he actually looked at you and took in your features. Your singing voice wasn’t as calm and soothing as your speaking voice, but he still enjoyed hearing you. For the first time in a long time, he felt..something.
Seeing you smile that way made you the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, he realized.
He couldn’t believe how much you loved his song. “Breeze” wasn’t doing as well as he hoped. The company CEO thought about scrapping his anonymous side project all together. He didn’t understand. Had he released the song with Skylark or under his own name would “Breeze” have charted better? It pissed him off. He was so proud of his composition. It was the first time he let himself be so raw and vulnerable. Because he wanted this project to be anonymous, he chose not to tell his bandmates or anyone else, really. The couple of staff members who did know were sworn to secrecy. It killed him that he couldn’t vent to anyone.
When the song ended, you said to yourself, “Oh, let’s just play this on a loop.” You played “Breeze” again and stretched your arms.
Seeing you love the song as much as he did made the dark cloud that loomed over his head fade a little. Perhaps he had been too harsh on you, he thought.
^_^
A few more days pass and you and Yuta seem to be getting closer. He’d actually put his phone down when you did his makeup, watching you as you patted his foundation in. For you, it was strange, but for Yuta he was mesmerized.
“I’m bored..let’s play 20 questions.” Yuta said as you spritzed his face with primer water one day.
“Uhhh..okay.” Your brows furrowed.
“Favorite movie, go.” Yuta asked before closing his eyes.
“Uhhh. Titanic?”
“Ew. Okay favorite group?” He smirked.
“Well..it’s not Skylark..” You huffed.
Yuta took in a sharp breath and held your wrist to stop you. “It’s NOT Skylark? Then who is it, who is worthy?” His eyes were intense, like you hurt him deeply.
“Hmmm...One Direction.” You were just messing with him, but you wanted to see his reaction.
He rolled his eyes and let go, leaning back in his chair and rolling his neck. “You can’t be serious...”
“What? They make good music! And isn't it my turn to ask questions now?”
“Shoot.” Yuta closed his eyes so you could do his eye shadow.
“Hmmm..what’s your favorite color?” You started.
“The color of your eyes...”
You froze for a moment, but then chuckled. “Yuta..seriously?”
Yuta’s eyes opened as he laughed. “I’m serious! They’re beautiful.”
You pouted. “I’m done playing this game if you’re gonna mess with me.”
“Are you going to ruin my eyeliner again because you don’t like my compliment?” He let out in a faux British accent and high pitched tone to mimic the queen. You couldn’t help but laugh and shake your head.
Yuta smiles widely when he hears your angelic laugh, your eyes crinkling and your cheeks becoming so round and full.
What was this new feeling that he had?
^_^
You’d be working with Skylark for a month now and you were enjoying your time with the team. However, it was pouring for the first time in a month in LA. While you would’ve been happy about it in any other circumstance, you were annoyed and on the verge of freaking out. Your second bus was running late to take you to the arena. You decided not to wait for the bus and make a run for it.
Your umbrella was helpful to a certain extent but you were drenched regardless. The rain continued to pour unforgivingly. When you were preparing to cross the street, a black Mercedes pulled up beside you. The passenger window came down and you recognized Yuta.
He was sitting there, looking amazing as usual. Only this time, his long, neon pink hair was thrown into a bun and he modeled a pair of heart-shaped, fuchsia colored sunglasses to match.
The way he held the wheel with one hand made your heart shudder for some reason.
“Get in!” He said.
You hesitated for a second. However, dryer clothes outweighed your pride at this moment. You hopped in, closed your umbrella, and shut the door.
Yuta grabbed your umbrella and put it in the backseat. “You’re soaked. I’m going to turn up the heat on your seat.”
“Thank you,” you mumbled.
Yuta drove you to work. He was surprised he could recognize you through the pouring rain. He had this inexplicable anxiety when he was at the red light before he saw you. He couldn’t explain it. He was doing okay for the most part. His last song for his first self-titled mini album was almost complete. Ashley was a pain but their respective managers were working towards a day when they could announce their breakup. His band was at the top of their game. His new cat was keeping Ashley away.
So what was this feeling that came out of nowhere?
And how did the feeling disappear just as quickly when you looked him in the eyes?
“Thanks for the ride,” you piped up.
Yuta cleared his throat, feeling shy all of a sudden. Very unlike him. “We’re both headed the same way.” That was Yuta’s attempt at sounding cool. He didn’t realize it could make him sound like a tool, you thought.
There was an awkward silence that suffocated you both. The traffic was unbearable so it looked like you would both be late for work.
Yuta blurted, “I don’t think I’ve said this before but...I’m sorry..”
You turned to him as he stared straight ahead. You were shocked that he was apologizing. You figured this man never apologized for anything, especially when he carried on with you at work like he hadn’t snapped at you on your first day. “Are you?”
He sighed as he slowed down. “Yes. I was a jerk and you were just doing your job. I really have no excuse.”
You replied, “Well, as long as you’re aware. Do you promise to keep the sass to a minimum? Or at least until after I’m done with your makeup?”
Yuta nodded. “Yes, I promise.”
You noted how down Yuta looked. Beneath the hostility and sarcasm, there was frustration and sadness. “I forgive you.”
Yuta smiled. “Thank you.”
Another awkward silence followed. And the rain poured down even harder so Yuta drove even slower. He turned up the radio and you both recognized “Breeze”.
You both sat back and listened to the song in silence. Without you realizing, Yuta snuck glances at you as you hummed and bobbed your head to the beat of the song.
“I love this song,” you blurted.
Yuta smirked. “Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?”
“I would give anything to meet Mountain Man. His music is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. No one knows who he is. His identity is top secret,” you sulk.
Yuta beamed with pride that someone could be a fan of his mysterious persona. Without knowing his face or his true identity. It truly made him feel special.
Yuta bit back a laugh. “I know who he is, actually.” He wondered if he would regret telling you this.
You looked at him in shock. “What?”
“I can introduce him to you if you’d like but you have to promise me one thing.” Yuta was elated to see you so thrilled.
“Wait, really?!” You exclaimed as you unconsciously moved closer to him. “You’re not messing with me, are you?”
Yuta shook his head as he finally turned into the arena parking lot. “When we break for lunch, I’ll take you to him. I’ll call him over.”
You gaped. “Oh, you don’t have to. He must be so busy. He doesn’t have time to meet me. I-”
Yuta felt a flash of jealousy over your consideration for someone whose face you didn’t even know (even if it was his other persona). “He won’t mind, I promise. Now promise me one thing when I introduce you.”
“What is it?” You asked cautiously.
Yuta put his car in park. “Promise me you’re free tonight. I need to go over some looks for my concept photos next week. I know it’s after work but I’ll buy dinner.”
Yuta did a full 180 on his personality. You were still recovering from the whiplash. And now he was doing you favors and confiding in you? You were on the fence but if you could meet Mountain Man, surely it would be worth it.
^_^
When it was lunch time, Yuta took you to the conference room. “Take a seat, y/n. Mountain Man just texted me. I’ll bring him in.”
You sat down in your unofficial swivel chair and fought the urge to pick at your nails. You were so nervous. To be in the presence of such talent. To be in the presence of the man who touched your heart with a three minute and fifty five second song. You had no idea what to expect.
Yuta came back quickly. With no one. He looked at you expectantly.
You got up to check if anyone was behind Yuta. “Uh, Yuta?”
“Uh huh?” He asked.
“Where’s Mountain Man?” You frowned.
He threw his arms up. “You’re looking at him.”
You got up from your chair and wrapped your arms around your chest in frustration. “Come on.”
Yuta was shocked at your reaction. “You don’t believe me?”
You shook your head. How can such a high-profile celebrity be an anonymous artist?
Yuta rolled his eyes. “Wow, you’re really making a guy work here, aren’t you?”
“I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t you just release your music with Skylark or under your real name? Why the anonymity?” You asked as you went back to your chair and collected your belongings to leave.
“Wait, don’t go,” Yuta pleaded, “I can prove it.”
He offered his notebook to you with lyrics that dated back two years.
“This is your lyric book?” You asked.
Yuta nodded as you flipped through the pages. “Songs I’ve written for Skylark. Songs I’ve written for my solo mini. And songs I’ve written for Mountain Man.”
You sat down and carefully absorbed all of the contests inside. You went to the first pages of the notebook and found the early drafts of “Breeze”, which dated back to a year ago. And right after those lyrics, there were the lyrics for Skylark’s Grammy-nominated song, “Hope and Flame”.
You looked up at him. “You…”
“Yeah,” he said as he put his hands in his pockets. “If you’re not convinced, I’ll take you to the studio and show you how I’ve used a voice modifier. Plus, you’re looking at lyrics of songs that won’t be released until next year. So if you’re willing to wait until then to see your proof, well…”
Well, he hoped those songs would be released next year. He prayed you would believe him.
You choked. “I...believe you.”
Yuta exclaimed. “Really?”
Yuta was acting very childlike today, you observed. You thought it was kind of cute. He may have dropped one of the biggest secrets in the industry but he was still your moody client.
“I can’t believe…you’re Mountain Man…”
Yuta sat down beside you. “You owe me.”
“After you introduced me to...you?” You laughed in disbelief.
He nodded. “You said you would give anything to meet me.” He was smug as he gave you a knowing look.
You scoffed. “I didn’t think you’d use it against me.”
He replied as he leaned back on the chair. “I’m not. I just thought I might impress you.”
“And why would you want to do that?” You teased.
He leaned closer and shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure. I guess I just wanted to.”
You blushed at his proximity and quickly turned away. “There you go again with the teasing.”
Yuta smiled wide. “So what do you want for dinner? Pizza or Chinese?”
^_^
You helped Yuta explore a few looks for his upcoming photoshoot before dinner that night.
You were adding some final touches to his heart-shaped lips. “Your lips are so pretty,” you said without realizing.
Yuta knew to hold still but his eyes opened at hearing you say that. You were so caught up in making up his face that you didn’t realize you were thinking out loud. Yuta chose not to bother you. He owed you that much.
“Okay, I’m done,” you said, “I gave you a more understated look. More neutral tones in your eyeshadow and highlighter. And I chose a brighter shade of pink for your lips. I get more of a romantic vibe from this look,” you said as you looked at his reflection in the makeup mirror.
Yuta looked straight at you. “I love it.” He was impressed with your careful attention to detail and how natural you made his makeup look. Out of all the makeup artists and stylists he’d worked with, you were the most attentive and cooperative. You always surpassed his vision for his look. You asked him for his opinions in case you needed to change anything. Most of the time, though, he was very satisfied with your work on the first go. You were the best makeup artist he’d worked with, he had to admit.
“You don’t want more eyeliner? What were you thinking with your piercings?” You asked.
He shook his head. “It’s perfect, y/n. Every look you showed me is perfect for the shoot. I just need you to be by my side when it starts. No one else touches this face but you.” Yuta explained with no trace of mockery in his voice.
Yuta was so open with you all of a sudden and all you did was breathe. How was that possible? And you felt a little more intimidated now that you knew that Yuta was behind your favorite artist. You remembered that first and foremost you were his makeup artist so you shoved your confused feelings aside. You would panic when you got home.
Blushing and still processing, you said, “Thank.”
“You?” He finished for you.
You blushed even harder. “Yeah.”
He laughed as you tried to compose yourself.
You removed his makeup so his skin could get a break. “What’s next?”
Yuta sighed. “We’re done, y/n. Let’s order something and I’ll drive you home. It’s late.”
You cleaned up your supplies while Yuta ordered pizza. You both liked extra Mozzarella cheese on top.
“So,” you said, “Can I ask you something?” You’ve been dying to ask him questions for hours but you’ve done so well to hold it in. You figured you’d indulge by asking at least one.
“Yeah?” Yuta sat up straight.
“Did you compose all of Mountain Man’s releases?”
He nodded.
“What instruments do you play?” You dared to ask one more question.
“Guitar, piano, drums, violin,” he said as he got up and grabbed his guitar from his case. “Thanks for reminding me. I have a melody stuck in my head, and I want to see if I can make something out of it.”
Yuta tuned his guitar and hummed to himself. He played a few chords.
“Whoa,” you said. “Just like that?”
He chuckled in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“You can make something so incredible and unique in an instant?” You asked, clearly in awe.
He shook his head. “I could only get to this point because I practiced every single day in grade school.”
You heard how lonely he sounded, then. “That must have been…”
“A pain in my ass, yeah. I gave up many trips to Chuck E. Cheese just so I could master the piano,” he grumbled.
“And you never gave up on practicing?” You asked, impressed. Had it been you you would’ve given up and found the next hobby.
“My parents pushed me hard from a young age,” he started, “They wanted me to become a world classical musician. Family honor and all.”
“What changed, though? Skylark isn’t exactly classical,” you observed.
Yuta replied, “I didn’t tell my parents but I started a rock band when I was sixteen. Johnny and Jaehyun have been by my side from the very beginning. We rehearsed in Johnny’s garage until we graduated.”
You grinned, just thinking about teenage Yuta rebelling against his family’s wishes. “That’s sweet.”
He laughed. “Yeah, Johnny and Jaehyun claimed they joined to meet girls but I knew they loved music just as much as I did. Johnny’s cousin Mark and Mark’s best friend Sicheng joined us a few months later and we were a force of nature. That was our first band name, by the way.”
You bit back a laugh. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Force of Nature,” Yuta replied, deadpan. “What’s so funny, y/n?”
You laughed, almost falling over in your seat. “That is so cute. You guys thought you were being edgy.”
Yuta grabbed a throw pillow and threw it at you. “I won’t tolerate mockery from the staff.”
You gasped. “I won’t tolerate a DICKtator.” You grabbed another pillow and threw it at him.
You both laughed so hard. Yuta grabbed an eyeliner pencil you forgot to pack up.
“You know, y/n,” Yuta started as he moved closer to you. “You’re alright.” He took your hand and slipped the eyeliner into it.
“You, too, Nakamoto,” you said, “You’re still paying for the pizza, though.”
Time passed as you two talked about your childhoods, your hobbies, and all about Skylark and Mountain Man.
“Man, what I wouldn’t give to go back in time and learn the guitar,” you said as Yuta mindlessly strummed his guitar and produced heavenly melodies.
Yuta innocently offered, “I can teach you.”
You raised your eyebrows. “In exchange for?”
He laughed warmly. “Nothing. Come over here and sit down.” He patted the seat next to him on the couch so you could join him.
You sat down and he placed his acoustic guitar over you. He moved closer to you, moving his arms over you. You could feel his chest against your back. He radiated warmth and your throat almost went dry.
Yuta took your left hand. “Now...you’re going to place your fingers up here. These are called the frets. I already tuned the guitar, okay?” His voice was very close to your ear and for a moment, you held your breath.
He took your right hand and placed it on the body of the guitar. “Let’s try an A chord.” His deep voice lowered even more and you felt your face heat up.
He took your left fingers and adjusted their positions. Never letting go of your hands, he instructed you to strum the guitar.
The chord sounded more beautiful than you’d expected it to be. “Whoa.”
“Nice,” Yuta said, “Then again, I did most of the work.”
You turned your head to him and his face was mere centimeters away from yours. “You are so-”
Yuta moved even closer. “Finish your sentence, y/n. I’m dying to hear what you have to say.”
You retreated. “Irritating.”
Yuta’s phone rang. The pizza arrived and you two fought over the last slice. He was ridiculous, considering he ate four slices to your three. It was only fair you’d eat the last slice. Yuta got creative and used a plastic knife to cut the last slice in half. You accepted but you were determined to get your revenge.
Yuta drove you home. The night was calm, and the traffic was light.
“You live pretty far if you’re walking to the arena for work, y/n,” Yuta said as he pulled up in front of your building.
“I take two buses. Normally, it’s not a problem. It was complicated today because of the rain,” you said.
“Yeah, I thought we were going to get a massive flood,” he said, “It’s very unlike LA.”
You nodded as you took off your seatbelt. “Well, thanks for the ride.”
Yuta smiled and tipped his imaginary hat. “Thank you for your help tonight.” His smile was at its most radiant, then.
^_^
You wake up the next morning thankful for the weekend but a little sad that…Wait a minute.
You didn’t miss Yuta, you told yourself. The boy gave you whiplash and you were only beginning to get to know him. You had time to do some cleaning around the apartment. Maybe you could find a lot of your missing stuff so you could put that eBay account out of your mind.
It was already 2 PM and you couldn’t find the palette, your primary concern. You sighed. You looked around your spotless room and found some solace in the fact that it was clean and organized. Tidying up was its own therapy.
You called your mom and asked her about her day. You went through your jewelry box.
Your mom chattered on, excited like a schoolgirl, “Anyways y/n, Fred wanted to take me to a costume party tonight so I wanted to know...Do you think the black flapper dress would be better than the mod dress?” Fred was her serious boyfriend of three years. You had a feeling that he would propose anytime now and you were happy for them.
That good feeling quickly dissipated. “Oh, no.” Your most prized possession was missing. You knew it was missing because you always kept it in your jewelry box.
“y/n? Honey, are you okay?” Your mom asked over the line.
You couldn’t tell your mom that your grandmother’s ruby necklace was missing. “Yeah, sorry mom, it’s nothing. I got a little dramatic. Ran out of whipped cream for my sundae.” You lied.
You finished your conversation with your mom. You had no choice but to log onto eBay again. You searched 1026you and your suspicions were confirmed.
Your grandmother’s one-of-a-kind family heirloom was for sale. For one hundred dollars. It was a priceless heirloom that was worth at least ten times as much. You clenched your fists. “Son of a bitch.”
You messaged the seller again but knew he would never answer you. He’s ignored your other messages so what made you think he would respond to this one? You read through the site’s terms and conditions and there was no way to contest that the item was yours. You noticed that the item was up for bid and the bid would end in…
Ten minutes.
The current bid was at $100.
You scoffed. “Why the hell do I have to bid on an item that’s mine?”
You swallowed your pride and prayed that no one else would bid higher.
You placed a bid for $101.
Right away, someone else bid higher. $102.
This went on and on until your competition outbid you and won the necklace for $127.
“Son of a bitch!” You cursed again.
You sent 1026you ten consecutive messages telling them that they stole your necklace and begged them to respond as soon as possible. You knew it was hopeless.
^_^
You knocked on Yangyang’s door. He lived a few doors down from you and Delilah. You used to babysit him when you were in high school and college. Yangyang was a child prodigy, having graduated from MIT with a master’s in computer science at age sixteen. His parents still needed you to babysit when he was acing Physics at age ten. He always insisted he didn’t need a babysitter but you two developed a bond. It was to both of your surprise that he became your neighbor. He had a side hustle as a hacker. You hoped he could help you track down 1026you so you can give him a piece of your mind.
He opened the door. “y/n, what’s up?” He smiled wide. He still had that boyish wonder in his eyes.
“Hey, I hope I’m not interrupting,” you started.
“Not at all, come in,” he moved to the side so you could walk into his messy apartment. Video games were scattered all over his living room floor. He was in the middle of eating a bowl of ramen.
“Yangyang, I know I’ve been relieved from my babysitting duties for a while now but...ramen is not a proper meal,” you said.
“Shut up.” Yangyang laughed. “I’ll grill some meat later. Don’t worry.”
You laughed as you sat at his kitchen table. He gave you a can of Pepsi, knowing it was your favorite. “I need a favor, actually.”
Yangyang rejoiced. “At long last, you need my help. Never thought the day would come. You never let me help you with precalculus, even though you definitely needed it.”
Ignoring his roast for once, you responded, “Well...I need your hacking expertise. I know that this is going to sound crazy but...someone has been stealing things from my apartment and selling them online.”
Yangyang’s smile faded. “What the hell? So that’s why you installed security cameras at your place.”
“I didn’t get into it because I thought I was crazy but my grandmother’s necklace is missing and it’s one of a kind. And now…” You showed him the item that was sold.
“That’s your necklace,” Yangyang replied in shock. He recognized it from having known you for so long. You wore it on rare occasions like birthday parties. You preferred not to be photographed with it because you wanted to preserve it and keep it secret from strangers and acquaintances. You never knew who you could trust.
“Can you help me track down the seller?”
“y/n, that goes against eBay’s terms and conditions,” he replied.
You sighed. “I know but-”
Yangyang chuckled mischievously. “This should be fun.”
Yangyang worked magic on his computer to track down 1026you’s location. He was in Los Angeles, to your surprise. “Can’t get you the seller’s name but will an address do?”
“It’s perfect,” you said.
^_^
Yuta woke up from a nap on the couch. Totoro was sleeping on his stomach. He chuckled as he pet him. Yuta’s phone rang, indicating a notification. He checked his phone and saw that the ruby necklace he put on sale was sold to the highest bidder at the deadline. He also saw a bunch of messages from one account claiming he stole the necklace and he’d better respond to her.
“Crazy,” Yuta said as he ignored the messages.
^_^
“What do you think I should use for today’s luxurious bath, Totoro? The ‘Cotton Candy’ bath bomb or the ‘Madly In Love’ bath bomb?” Yuta carefully picked Totoro up from his lap and placed him on the cold marble floor before standing up and stretching.
Totoro let out a loud “meow” and walked away from Yuta.
“I completely agree.”
Yuta threw his shirt off and headed to his bathroom, but he jumped once he opened the door. He had completely forgotten about the beautiful portrait that leaned against the counter. He stopped and tilted his head, really taking in the depth of color in the painting. He gazed at the stunning profile of the woman and the necklace she had on. He couldn’t understand how he had this undying urge to remember a memory he never had, to remember the moment he met this strange woman from the portrait.
He shook his head and started to run water for his bath, oblivious to the eyes that watched him through the small opening of the door.
^_^
You watched a shirtless Yuta stare at something for a few seconds. You couldn’t see what it was, but you really didn’t care, for Yuta’s abs were the real star of the show. Your mouth fell open, your heart started to race. Yuta was perfect in every way, and the twinkling piercing in his navel was the cherry on top.
But...wait.
You had to remember why you were here. Yangyang’s research found that this was the address of the person that was selling your precious necklace so you had to work fast. You already got lucky when you found a window in a first floor bedroom that was open.
You were shocked to see that it was Yuta’s house that you would have to break into, but once again, you just had to get your priceless possession.
Was Yuta messing with you? How could he do this and when could he do this? When would he have had time to sneak into your place and steal your necklace? Or was it his girlfriend?
Yuta shook his head before turning it to the side slightly. You jumped out of sight by moving to the side quickly. He interrupted your thoughts, but you had to get moving before he got out of the shower.
You looked around his enormous mansion, heading for what seemed to be his bedroom, for it was the biggest one at the top of the grand staircase.
Surely, there had to be an explanation for how your possession became his possession. Nonetheless, you were pissed that he decided to ignore your message and proceed to sell it. How could he steal something so meaningful to you then sell it? It’s not like he needed the money.
You looked on top of the California King-sized bed and then under it to see if you could just catch a glimpse of the shimmering ruby stone. But you found nothing. You then looked at his black dresser before stopping to gaze at his extensive earring collection. It was incredible.
A case full of hundreds if not thousands of earrings and jewelry stood beside the dresser. Your mouth fell open and your eyes widened. What if he stole jewelry? No-no, you shook your head at the absurd thought. This man had way too much money.
Then you heard him singing in the bathroom beside his bedroom. But his voice grew louder as he exited and entered the hallway to make his way to his room.
“Shit,” you whispered.
Your heart started to race. You're just moments from being caught so you look back to the dresser and spot it.
Your necklace.
It’s next to the small brown bag that it would have been sent in today, but you grabbed it just in the nick of time.
“BABAY!! Why DON’T YOU JUST MEET ME IN THE MIDDLEEE??” Yuta sang in the hallway and thanks to his boastful voice and the large ceilings that allowed for a beautiful echo, you heard him when he was just about to enter. You quickly dropped to the floor and rolled under the bed.
You covered your mouth to muffle your heavy breathing. He was pacing about, walking to and from his closet.
“Nah, don’t like this…” he threw a flannel onto the bed. He went into his closet and grabbed a black T-shirt, the 56th black T-shirt in his collection, to be exact.
“Nice.” Yuta continued to hum while spritzing on some cologne.
Yuta smelled amazing, like vanilla and roses, but you couldn’t help but be worried that you would be late for work if you couldn’t get out of his house right NOW.
“Hey, babe..” You heard a female voice say. It was his girlfriend. “Damn it,” you mouthed. Ashley was known for being one of the most gorgeous celebrities alive today. She had the perfect face with a dazzling smile to match, but rumor had it that she was a complete bitch behind closed doors.
You heard Yuta sigh and you could almost feel his eye roll. He was thinking of how much he hated himself for ever giving her a key to his house.
“What’s up, Ash?” He spoke to her like he was being forced to communicate with an Uber driver.
“Oh, don’t sound so excited to see me…” Ashley responded. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Yuta was fixing his earrings onto his ears when she embraced him. He looked at her through the mirror in front of them and gave a look of annoyance when she tilted her head to lock eyes with him.
“So...where were you yesterday? You missed our dinner date at the Venetian...Do you know how much it cost me to lose that reservation AND call off the paps?”
“I’m sure you can afford it.” Yuta walked away from her and looked at the dresser with a puzzled expression. Something’s missing, he thought.
You watched Yuta’s footsteps as he hesitated for a moment, but then he continued on into his closet.
Your eyes grew. Did Yuta really blow off his date at the most expensive restaurant in the city to be with you? He ditched $1,000 caviar and steak just to eat $12 pizza with you?
“You really like making me beg, don’t you, Mr. Nakamoto?” Her voice lowered as she leaned against the dresser and watched Yuta put his socks on.
“Where were you, daddy?”
Yuta hesitated for a moment. He didn’t like the fact that she thought he had to report his movements to her. She acted like she had to know everything that went on in his life. She was overstepping and Yuta wasn’t about to fall for it.
So he decided to piss her off.
“I was with..the new girl.”
Ashley stood up straight and crossed her arms. You nearly yelped out under the bed and revealed yourself.
“Who’s the ‘new girl’?” Ashley asked and you could just hear the fire in her tone. Even Charizard would be jealous.
“The new makeup artist..she’s sweet, I bought us food and we talked.” Yuta smirked and walked closer to Ashley who didn’t even try to hide her jealousy. Her perfectly plucked brows furrowed.
“I taught her how to play the guitar...she’s lovely, really. We had a great time.” Yuta was definitely twisting the knife and you couldn’t tell if he spoke of you fondly just to piss her off, or if he genuinely meant it. Either way, his words filled your chest with butterflies, and a smile tugged at your lips.
“Yuta...baby, you missed our date at THE Venetian to spend it with some talentless random who probably has a failing Youtube channel?” Ashley pouted. “Let me show you what’s lovely, Mr. Nakamoto.”
Yuta was about to protest, but Ashley held his chin and tilted it down towards her before placing a kiss on his lips.
The sound echoed in the large room and made you roll your eyes. She insulted you without having met you? What a bitch, you thought. No wonder Yuta was miserable.
She then took his hand and led him to the bed, pushing his chest lightly so he’d sit on the soft surface. She dropped to her knees and ran her hands along his thighs.
Oh no...please don’t do what I think you’re about to do. You squeezed your eyes tightly and prayed that Yuta would tell her to wait until later.
Yuta huffed and puffed but indulged her, allowing her to have her way because he just couldn’t be bothered. She unbuckled his belt while looking into his low eyes.
“You’re stressed, baby, that’s why you spent time with a total stranger. But don’t forget you have me.” Ashley licked her lips before taking his pant zipper in between her teeth and dragging it down.
“I can’t wait to taste you, Mr. Nakamoto.” Ashley kissed his pelvis. She was too busy to see Yuta cringe at the name she called him. God, did it feel weird.
“Just...m-make it quick. I have to go.” Yuta licked his lips, letting his head fall back as he closed his eyes in anticipation.
Shit. You mouthed again. You were about to hear the most disturbing sounds of your life and there was nothing you could do, nowhere that you could go. Could you sneak out on the other side without them noticing? Shit shit shit shit.
Ashley sneezed before she could place her mouth on Yuta again.
Yuta looked down in annoyance.
She quickly swiped at her nose then retook her position.
She puckered her lips to lay a kiss on his growing bulge, but she sneezed again.
Several more sneezes followed and Yuta was getting frustrated. He slowly became turned off.
“Damn it, do you still have that ugly cat? I’m suffering here!” She yelled before laying out four back-to-back sneezes.
“So am I.. I gotta go, Ashley.” Yuta rolled his eyes and stood up. He brushed past her, where she still knelt on the floor, and walked towards the dresser.
“Make yourself useful and mail this-” Yuta’s sentence trailed when he didn't see the necklace. The brown envelope was there but the necklace was no longer beside it. “What the hell, I could’ve sworn...”
He looked into the brown bag then onto the floor and the rest of the dresser. Sure enough, the necklace was gone. “So it disappears just as quickly as it appeared? Shit.”
Your brows furrowed. What did he mean by “appeared?”
“Have you seen-?” Yuta was about to ask.
But suddenly, your phone started to vibrate in your back pocket. You quickly reached towards it to silence it so it would no longer make that grinding sound while shaking on the floor.
Luckily, Ashley was still sneezing so it covered up the sound..or so you thought.
“What was that?” Yuta turned and looked about the room for the source of the sound.
Ashley finally stood up and walked towards him. “I’ll just drive with you to work! We can finish what we started...” She gave him a wink before sniffling.
Yuta grimaced and grabbed his keys, brushing past her once again to head out the door.. “Whatever you say, Ash.”
Ashley practically skipped behind him. Finally, the room was empty. You swiftly dragged yourself from under the bed and stood up.
You heard them argue downstairs so you decided that you would climb out from the patio attached to Yuta’s room. Yangyang made sure to deactivate Yuta’s entire security system, including his cameras, so you could enter and leave without detection.
You took a deep breath before jumping from the porch and into the bushes below it. You tried not to scream as loudly as you wanted to. How you didn’t break your legs, you weren’t sure, but you were somehow able to leap back onto your feet and book it for the main road, sliding through the gate while Yuta and his girlfriend waited for the garage door to open so they could drive out.
By the time you got to work, you were covered in sweat, leaves, and dirt. You smelled and looked like you had been camping for at least 23 days in the Appalachian mountains, but it didn’t matter. You finally had your necklace.
“You good, y/n?” Manager Byun gave you a puzzled expression as you hurriedly took your tools out of your kit and placed them on the vanity for Yuta. You were somehow able to get there just minutes before him.
“I’m okay! Had a slightly...difficult time getting here, but I’m ready!” You gave him a smile so forced, you thought your face would be stuck like that forever.
He nodded slowly but still looked confused.
Just then, Yuta entered. His smile was bright and so beautiful. You melted like chocolate in his sunny smile when his eyes were glued to yours as he entered.
But your feelings of admiration soon dissipated when you saw his girlfriend behind him. She held up a compact mirror and was fixing her lipstick as she walked in.
I guess they did finish what they started...
Your smile fell. You didn’t know why you were sad and disappointed. It’s not like your one night with Yuta actually meant anything. He had a girlfriend, and not just any girlfriend. A celebrity girlfriend that was just listed as the person with the second most beautiful face in the world, behind Zendaya of course. Yuta was lucky, there’s no way he’d drop her for you.
You looked away as he walked over. He could feel a shift in your mood immediately. Your eyes were so big and bright when he entered and now you shifted your focus to organizing your makeup and covering a look of sadness that he could clearly see.
Yuta said ‘hi’ to everyone but stepped quickly over to you.
“Hey...y/n...it's nice to see you again.” Yuta gave you a half smile that really tugged at your heartstrings. How could he manage to make you so weak?
“Hey, Yuta.” You gave a short answer, and he could tell you were upset. You weren't nearly as cheerful as you were yesterday. Then..he noticed how disheveled you were.
His face became serious. He touched your arm and it felt like sparks dancing along your skin.
“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly while the other members and the manager went about their business.
You tried to avoid his magnetic gaze, but couldn't.
Your mouth opened as you looked into his eyes. “I’m-”
“Hi! Nice to meet you, are you the new makeup girl?” Ashley pushed herself in between you and Yuta and obnoxiously smiled in your face to push you further away from Yuta.
“Yes.” You pucker your lips and glance at Yuta who looked beyond annoyed.
“Well, you certainly don’t look like a makeup artist..” Ashley chuckled.
You scoffed. “What?”
“I mean, look at your nails.. Are you sure you want to touch my boyfriend's perfect face when you’ve got an entire ecosystem under your nail bed?” She grabbed your hand without warning and held it up for both you and Yuta to see the dirt that had gotten under your nails when you had jumped off of his patio and held on to the ground for support. You were running late so you didn’t get a chance to go to the restroom to clean up, but of course you would wash your hands before touching his face.
“I-” you started, but she interrupted you once again.
“That’s not very professional of you...”
“Ashley! Stop, don’t you have a photo shoot to get to?” Yuta took your hand from her and lowered it to your side, but he didn’t let it go. He stood beside you and looked onto Ashley with disappointment. Your heart became warm as he squeezed your hand to let you know that he had your back.
Ashley chuckled. “People come and go pretty fast here sweetie..let’s see how long you last.” She rolled her eyes before pushing herself in between the two of you, breaking off your linked hands in the process. How could someone so beautiful also be so ugly?
“I’m so sorry about her.” Yuta turned to you.
You nodded. “She’s right. It's very unprofessional of me to come to work like this.”
Yuta shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, y/n. Things happen..Let me show you where the shower is.”
^_^
Yuta led you to the locker room where the shower was. He handed you a tshirt and sweatpants that he had asked the manager to keep in a locker for him just in case he needed to change after sweating too much.
“Why are you dating someone so...mean?” You asked while you followed Yuta. You didn’t think twice about your question, and really, you had no right to ask him. He was just your client, not your friend.
Yuta chuckled. He turned to you and raised his eyebrows. “I smell some jealousy.”
You rolled your eyes. “Yeah, she’s pretty or whatever, but trust me I am not jealous. I just don’t understand how you could be with someone like that..”
“I’m not a saint either, y/n..we’re perfect for each other..or at least our agencies think so.” Yuta paused. He wondered if he should let you in on yet another secret, but he didn’t notice that his eyes had trailed to your lips, adoring the way they formed a small pout.
You laughed. “You have a point, you weren’t exactly the nicest to me when I first started working for you...”
Yuta grinned when he saw your bright smile and your doe eyes as you laughed again. You were like a breath of fresh air, unlike anyone he’d ever seen. His spirit was instantly drawn to you, for you calmed him. You were just a stranger yet you felt like home.
“I’ll make it up to you...How about I teach you more about the guitar after the shoot?” He stepped closer, anxiously awaiting your approval like a boy that just asked his crush to prom.
You started to blush, his face was so close to yours, you had to look into his eyes.
You took in a sharp breath. “Are you sure your girlfriend will be okay with that? I don’t want you to stand her up again, she’ll probably stab me with an eyeliner pencil.”
“Again?” Yuta’s brows bunched together, but he still gave a teasing smile.
sHIT.
“O-oh i mean, surely you’ve stood her up at some point, right? She’s a total b-”
Yuta burst out into laughter.
You looked at him with worry on your face. “W-what did I do?”
“You’re adorable, but I just can’t take it anymore.” Yuta reached his hand out to the side of your face and gently removed a long vine that was tangled in your hair. He then removed a large, green leaf that stuck out of your disheveled do.
He calmed down. “There we go..much better. Even nature loves your beautiful face.”
Beautiful face.
Your heart began to race for the third time in one day. Too much was happening, you thought you would pass out. Did Yuta really just say that you were beautiful?
He cleared his throat when he realized that the words he was thinking actually came out while the two of you stood awkwardly in the locker room.
“Yuta?”
He smiled, just the sound of you saying his name made him weak for some reason, what was happening to him?
“What?”
“You’re staring..” you chuckled.
“I’m getting inspired.” he gazed at your eyes then your lips as he spoke in a softer tone.
“By what?” You tilted your head.
“By you.”
“Mountain Man, you really have a way with words, I bet you say that to all your groupies.” You rolled your eyes and brushed past him, walking towards the shower.
He spun around and grabbed your hand. Your breath hitched when you turned to look at him, his full lips parted and eyes begging for something.
“I...have to tell you something..”
He looked so serious for once.
“Ashley and I are in a fake relationship. It’s all a publicity stunt that our labels set up. I don’t love her...But I’m telling you because I feel like..I can really talk to you.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised, Yuta.” you gave a small smile. “I’m just your makeup artist, but if you want to talk to me, I don’t see why not. You’ve already told me two major secrets.”
Yuta laughed out at your response, a strand of his beautiful fuchsia hair falling into his forehead, making him look even more handsome than he did before.
He stepped closer.
“Wash up quickly, for me..the shoot starts soon.”
Yuta winked and walked away leaving you a blushing mess.
“Also, remember we have a guitar lesson later.”
For me.
Why did he have to say it like that? Wait, why were you even affected by that? Could your heart calm down when you were around him for more than five seconds?
^_^
You walked into the dressing room in your new comfy outfit and headed straight for your section. The sweatpants Yuta gave you didn’t have pockets, so you had to wear the necklace around your neck. You tucked it under your shirt to make sure that no one would see it on you.
“Wow, I wish I was wearing that instead of leather pants right now...” Johnny pouted when he saw you in Yuta’s Nike sweats.
“You look great! Always remember, beauty is pain,” you gave him a wink and continued to place your tools in order.
“You must be in pain all the time then, y/n.” Yuta exclaimed as he approached his seat.
Everyone in the dressing room let out ‘oooooo’s’ like primary school students.
You blushed but turned away quickly so he wouldn’t see. “Always teasing me, I swear one day you’re gonna pay.”
“Can’t wait for that day.” Yuta relaxed into the chair.
You leaned forward and started to place the concealer under his eyes with a small brush. You took your time and blended carefully, but felt your face become hot when you realized that he was staring at you intensely.
You couldn’t hold it in anymore. You stepped back to laugh and shook your head.
“What’s wrong? Am I making you flustered?” Yuta smirked.
You rolled your eyes then leaned in towards his face. He suddenly sat up straighter, moving forward so that his lips would be just a few centimeters away from yours.
“Stop teasing me. We don’t have time.” You blushed once again and stepped back.
Yuta bit his lips and chuckled. “Oh, so demanding.”
You were doing his eyeliner when you tugged at the collar of the men’s shirt. It was choking you slightly because it was higher than a regular T-shirt. That’s when your necklace popped up and rested on top of the shirt instead of under it.
“Wait...where did you get that?” Yuta leaned back.
“What?” You narrowed your brow, for you didn’t understand why his demeanor became so serious.
“That necklace...”
Shit.
“Did you steal that..from me?”
Then it all clicked for Yuta. You were in his house. You eavesdropped on his and Ashley’s conversation. That’s how you knew that he stood her up the night before. And that’s why you came to work all sweaty and out of breath.
“What are you talking about?” You backed away from him, but he stood up quickly and snatched the necklace from your neck furiously. The sound of the chain breaking frightened you and you became just as furious. This bastard had no idea what he had just done.
“Yuta!”
Everyone turned to you two once your voice rose.
“What the hell are you doing? Give it back!” You demanded.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he examined the necklace, the shape and cut of the ruby stone and the unique gold chain that it hung on.
He compared the necklace to the picture he posted on his eBay account, and sure enough, it was the same necklace.
“You stole this from my house! You stole from me! I thought I could trust you! What are you, some crazy stalker?!”
“Wait, you’re user 1026you! You’re the crazy one! You stole from me so that you can sell MY jewelry online! You also stole my limited edition eyeshadow palette!” Your voices escalated and everyone else in the room became quiet.
“This crazy bitch! Why the hell would I steal from someone like you?” Yuta gave you a look of disgust and looked down on you like you were a poor dog. You really hated his guts now. He towered over you as he yelled, but you weren’t scared. You were just angry that he had the audacity to lie in front of everyone like this.
“I can’t steal something that was already mine!”
“It was never yours! It was in MY house, and I have the proof right here!” He held up his phone as Manager Byun walked over.
“What’s going on here?” The manager was both puzzled and surprised that you were in a yelling match with the member that no one dared to fight.
“This delusional girl that you decided to hire is a stalker! She broke into my house and stole my necklace.”
“YOUR necklace? You’ve really lost your mind! You stole it from me first.” You shouted back.
“Okay, okay everyone calm down. y/n.. Did you break into Yuta’s house?” the manager turned to you.
“No-I mean, yes, but only because he was going to sell it and it’s precious to me. He ignored my messages and blocked me on eBay before I could explain!”
“You broke into my client’s house?” Baekhyun gaped.
“She sure as hell did. Security!! She tricked me and got close to me just so she could steal from me and learn my secrets. How much were you gonna sell this for, huh? But the worst part is that I trusted you like a fool,” Yuta stepped forward as he spewed hateful and untrue words.
Your eyes started to water, you struggled to hold back tears. “Yuta, you know that’s not true. The necklace was never yours! It belonged to my grandmother and means so much to me.”
“Prove it.” Yuta was angry beyond words, he felt betrayed.
You struggled to think of any way to prove that it was yours. The security guards took your arms and placed them behind your back while pulling you away and out of the room.
The only thing that could prove that the necklace was yours would be the painting that your grandmother made of you when you wore the necklace. The painting that you just now realized had also gone missing.
“No! Don’t do this! I’m not a stalker.” You struggled to stay still as the guards dragged you out.
“She’s delusional! How could you hire someone like that? She put me in danger!” Yuta marched off to the bathroom so he could cool down.
“Yuta-wait. y/n...We will be pressing charges, I’m calling the police.” Manager Byun pulled out his phone.
^_^
A few hours passed and the news broke of what happened.
Crazy Stalker poses as Makeup Artist to Break into Yuta Nakamoto’s home!
BREAKING: MUGSHOT OF DELUSIONAL STALKER OF YUTA NAKAMOTO RELEASED
How did she pull off the perfect plan and is Yuta Nakamoto in danger?
You sat on the bench in your cold cell and wiped your eyes. Everything went bad so quickly. Yuta and basically the entire world thought you were a stalker and there was nothing you could do to prove your innocence. Yuta had the audacity to accuse you of stealing something that was never his to begin with.
And now, you could hear his fans chanting hurtful messages.
“She’s a crazy stalker, We will protect Yuta!”
“Yuta, we love you!”
“SHE DOESN’T DESERVE FREEDOM”
You were so confused, but the part that hurt the most was that your most prized possession was gone and probably in the air on some shipping company's airplane being delivered to some oblivious buyer.
What could you possibly do to make everything right at this point?
Yuta, on the other hand, was at home being coddled by his oh so caring girlfriend.
He laid down on his plush, velvet couch and pouted.
“It’s gonna be okay, Yuta. I swear we’ll get the best lawyers. She’ll never see another day outside!” Ashley got up from the couch and paced about.
“I knew I had a bad feeling about her.”
But Yuta disagreed. He never had a bad feeling about you. He thought you were sweet and kind, he thought everything about you was genuine especially when compared to the fakeness that surrounded him in his lifestyle. How could he have been fooled like this?
He told you two major secrets and now he’d probably have to drop the charges in exchange for your silence.
You really got to him because you seemed to be the biggest fan of Mountain Man, you seemed to appreciate his hard work, but now he didn’t think any of your praises were genuine. He couldn’t even go on social media. All the hashtags were ALWAYSHEREFORYUTA, WEWILLPROTECTYUTA, CRAZYSTALKER.
And they just reminded him of how weak he became.
“LOOK! TMZ just got her mugshot! I’m so happy they’re exposing this bitch, I hope they release her address and family information.”
Ashley smirked when she pulled up the picture of your mugshot on Yuta’s phone.
“Ashley...you need to leave...” Yuta sat up on the couch and looked at the floor. He couldn’t take anymore of Ashley’s annoying voice and he really wanted to be alone to relax and decompress after what happened.
“Oh, my poor little meow meow, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.” Ashley sat back down on the couch beside him and tried to take his jaw in her hands but he backed away.
“Not now, Ash..I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ashley scoffed and slowly got up from the couch.
“Okay...let me know if you need anything.”
Yuta breathed a sigh of relief once he heard the front door close. He could hear tons of fans outside of his front gate cheering for him when she opened the door and it made him sick. He doesn’t feel proud. Because the truth is, the necklace wasn’t his. It just “appeared.” But here he was defending his possession of it and it didn’t feel right.
Yuta bit his lips then looked down at his phone which was still open with the article that included your mugshot.
He looked away at first, but then looked back down when something caught his eye. He looked more closely at the photo.
Your eyes.
He’d seen them before. Of course he had, but this time..they were different. They reminded him of something, someone.
The color of your cheeks and the depth of your beautiful eyes, the tone of your gorgeous soft skin and the curve of your lips. He had seen it before.
It took him a moment to realize.
The painting.
You were the woman in the painting that found itself in his bathroom. You were the same woman that wore a necklace just like the one he sold.
He looked over the messages you sent him on his seller account. It was like clockwork, every time something appeared in his house and he posted it online, you would message him about it to ask that he return it.
She was telling the truth. Yuta thinks to himself. He could punch himself right now. He was so rude to you for no reason. It was your stuff that kept popping up in his house and he didn’t understand why, but he knew that you were innocent. The painting was huge so it’s not like you placed it there by yourself to mess with him.
He threw on his jean jacket and headed out the door to go to the police station.
He had to fight through the screaming fans outside of the station that were waiting for a chance to attack you, the police officers gathering around him to move him through the hectic crowd.
Once inside, he went to the front desk and immediately told the officer that he wanted to drop all charges against you.
“You’re one lucky girl...” The officer said as she opened the gate of your cell.
“What?” You looked up at her questioningly and stood up from the wooden bench that had made your butt sore.
“He’s here for you..you know, the good looking rocker dude.” She unlocks your handcuffs and walks you out of the cell.
You’re relieved but can’t seem to smile, what’s going on?
Yuta was signing paperwork as you walked up to him.
“Yuta..you asshole.”
“That’s no way to speak to the man that just got your ass out.” Yuta looked up and sighed.
You scoffed. “You’re the one that put me in there! And I’m supposed to thank you?” You pushed past him and headed for the door. You started to walk down the stairs, but you were quickly stopped by the officers that stood out front.
“What the-“ you started when you saw the enormous crowd outside of the station. They were Yuta’s fans and paparazzi. They rapidly snapped so many pictures of you, you had to close your eyes and cover your face, the flashing lights being all too much for you. All you could hear were the thunderous ‘boo’s’ of Yuta’s fans.
Yuta was used to noise and flashing bright lights so he quickly came up behind you and turned you around. He held your head and pressed it onto his chest lightly.
You started to cry when you heard the names everyone was calling you over a simple misunderstanding. How could you be a ‘normal’ person after all this? All you wanted was your necklace and now you were overwhelmed by this new and unwelcoming spotlight.
“Shhh..don’t cry, it’ll be okay..I got you.” Yuta whispered into your ear as he patted your head softly.
You relaxed into him more, enjoying the comfort of his broad chest.
“Put your arms around my neck. Just trust me, okay?” Yuta’s soft tone made you shudder even though you still hated him.
But you did as he instructed.
He then picked up your legs and held you in his arms bridal style. The fans roared even louder but Yuta ignored them. He marched down the stairs towards his car while police blocked them from the two of you. He was able to lay you down on the backseat of his Range Rover before jumping into the front seat and speeding away from the madness.
Once the two of you were somewhat safe and far from the police station and his fans, Yuta exhaled.
He turned to look at you when he got to a red light. You were huddled up with your back facing him while you laid down on the surprisingly comfortable backseat. You had stopped crying, but you were still angry.
“Listen, I’m just as frustrated as you are. But we need to talk about this. What the hell is going on?” Yuta let out.
“I don’t know, maybe we should’ve talked before you had security take me away. Then all of this shit wouldn’t have happened. Oh and frustrated?” You scoffed.
“Did you just spend over 8 hours in a cold prison cell for stealing a necklace that belonged to you in the first place?!”
“You’re the one that broke into my house! Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I tried to message you but you insisted on being a jerk to make quick cash off of someone else’s belongings.”
You pulled your phone out of your pocket.
“Have you seen this shit? Your girlfriend just had a press conference and is calling for all makeup brands and agencies to swear to never hire me! I hate you, I can’t believe you put me in jail and essentially, ended my whole career!”
Yuta sighed. “I’m sorry, y/n. I really am, don’t look at social media right now, and your career isn’t over, we’ll get this sorted out.”
“How did you find out the truth anyway?” You asked.
“I recognized you in the painting, you had the necklace on.”
“The painting? Wait, you have that too?” Your eyes widened.
“Yes, and I was stupid to not realize it was you sooner. I—was an idiot, y/n. I hope you can forgive me. As a matter of fact, you can expose me as the Mountain Man if you want, you can expose everything.” Yuta was genuinely sorry for what he put you through. The whole world knew who you were now. You were famous, but not in a good way. Yuta had millions of fans and you were pretty sure you were the second most hated person in the world on twitter right now, behind Donald Trump of course.
“Yuta...I don’t want to get even with you, I want my life back.” You closed your eyes and started to drift off into a deep sleep while he drove.
Yuta cursed himself, he felt a bond being created with you and now he ruined it. And he had to admit that he had started to admire the woman in the painting, the woman he wanted to know even though his soul felt he already knew her. And now, the beautiful woman was right next to him, and yet, so far away.
^_^
When you got back to Yuta’s place, you entered through the garage so no one could see you get out of his car.
Yuta took you to his security room where he could watch footage from all of the cameras inside and outside of his house.
He reached for your hand to guide you through the large mansion, but you didn’t take it this time.
You huffed and rolled your eyes.
“Explain to me why you keep taking my stuff.”
“I don’t take anything. It just..appears.” Yuta walked quickly to the room.
“I'm gonna prove it to you right now.”
Yuta pulls up footage from the night the painting appeared in his bathroom, but every time he fast forwards to the exact moment that the painting appears, the footage cuts out.
“Did you see that? The second that my camera cuts to black is the moment that the painting just magically appears.”
You blink rapidly. “Play it again.”
Yuta replays it and you both watch the unexplainable. Chills run down your spine as you are creeped all the way out.
“I’ll show you the night your necklace popped up in my kitchen.”
It felt like you were watching something from Paranormal Activity and although you were a big fan of horror movies, you sure didn’t like being in one.
The same thing happened. There is a second of footage that is cut out and right after, the footage plays again with the new item in frame. It didn’t make any sense.
Yuta looked at you as you stared at the screen and tried to make sense of what he saw.
You were so beautiful, your long lashes batting slowly, your pursed lips and cute nose. Why was he so drawn to you? The magnetic pull he felt towards you became even stronger now that he knew you were the woman in the painting.
“Where is it now, Yuta?”
“Where’s what?” Yuta was only thinking about your face. For a moment, he forgot what you were even doing there.
“The necklace.” Your doe eyes shifted upwards to his.
Yuta sighed and looked away to the floor. “I—was upset, so I already sent it to the buyer.”
You closed your eyes and let out a slow breath.
“Yuta...we have to get it back, you don’t..you don’t understand.”
“They won’t give it back to me, y/n. They already know that I’m the user that sold it, it’ll be even more valuable now.”
“But it’s priceless to me, Yuta!” You yelled before tears ran down your cheeks.
“y/n..” Yuta stepped forward to hug you, and you let him. His arms held you tightly. “We’ll work this out, I’ll get it back if it means that much to you.”
“My grandmother was a painter, she’s the one that created that painting for me. She was the best..” you sniffled as you rested your head on his chest again.
“She was the one that taught me about creativity, color and believing in your art.. she’s the one I looked up to when I was growing up. I spent most of my time with her when my parents would fight..which was pretty often.”
Yuta smoothed your hair as you spoke.
“But one day, she lit a candle..she forgot to blow it out before falling asleep on her couch and a fire started to spread..”
“y/n..I’m so sorry.”
“The oil paintings allowed for the fire to become huge and made it impossible for her to escape..she died before firefighters could get to her, the only thing that survived the fire was that necklace. She held onto it..for me. She said she would give it to me one day when I was old enough.” You sobbed once more.
“y/n..I promise you I will do everything I can to get it back.”
You sniffled then looked up at Yuta. “Please, Yuta.”
He nodded. “ I promise.”
Just then you felt something walk between your ankles. When you looked down, you were startled to see your cat, Totoro.
“What the hell? Why do you have my cat? I’ve been looking for him everywhere, but he’s old and just kinda does what he wants.” Totoro’s abrupt entrance makes you stop crying.
“What? YOUR cat? He’s in my house, he’s mine now.” Yuta says sternly.
God, why was he so possessive?
You looked back up at him and pushed his chest away, you suddenly remembered the kind of man Yuta was.
“He’s MY cat, you fool. You didn’t even raise him. You probably lured him in here by giving him food!” You picked Totoro up.
You still hated Yuta, however, it was like a weight had been lifted once you told him about the significance of the necklace.
You turned to leave Yuta’s place through the back entrance you entered through.
“Prove it, prove he’s yours, what’s his name?” Yuta looked hurt that you were taking Totoro away from him.
“It’s Totoro, bitch.” You rolled your eyes and continued walking straight-faced with your cat in hand.
Yuta’s eyes grew, he was left speechless.
The two of you finally got to the garage.
You turned to him.
“You owe me a ride home, and after that, I never want to see you again.”
^_^
Yuta drove you back to your apartment, apologizing multiple times. This day he apologized more times than he has ever apologized for anything in his life. It had to be some sort of record.
You were tired because this truly had been one of the longest days of your life. You wanted a warm shower and to hug Totoro to sleep.
Yuta parked his car in front of your building and turned to look at you. “y/n...”
“Thanks for the ride back,” you muttered as you and Totoro walked back to your apartment.
You looked so dejected and devoid of any emotion. This entire misunderstanding did a number on you. And it was his fault. He had to act fast if he was going to make this up to you.
Little did you know that a pair of serpentine eyes watched you from across the parking lot. Ashley laid low in a car she typically wouldn’t be caught dead in and watched her man drive that freak home. That was when she saw that you were carrying that mangy cat in your arms.
“So it was her cat?” She asked herself. She pulled out her phone as she took pictures of you leaving Yuta’s car and pictures of Yuta’s license plate.
Once you were out of sight, Yuta just idled there. For a little too long. It drove Ashley crazy. How could Yuta be so kind to this nobody? After everything you did?
You were inferior to her in every way, Ashley thought. Yuta was a fool for looking at anyone but her. She had to do something so you could be out of the picture forever.
She would be damned if Yuta left her for an unemployed, disgraced nobody. Ashley pitied you because she wasn’t finished with her reign of terror on you. Not by a long shot.
^_^
A few days have passed since your name became the most searched on all social media platforms. You prayed something juicier could distract the public so you could become insignificant again.
A news article came out that Yuta dropped the charges against you and that you were innocent. Unfortunately, the deranged and delusional members of the public (aka the Yutastans) already made up their mind about you. And today, shit hit the fan once again.
Delilah sat with you on the couch as you binge watched Riverdale. It cheered you up to roast the show with your best friend. Things almost seemed like they hadn’t changed.
Delilah checked her phone and nearly choked on her glass of water.
“What is it?” You asked. “Are you okay?”
Delilah set her glass down as she stared at her phone. “That’s our apartment complex. Fuck.”
“Delilah, what’s wrong?” You had a bad feeling.
“y/n, it’s going to be okay. We will get through this,” she began and you motioned for her to hand you her phone.
Delilah reluctantly handed it to you as you read the article on her phone.
Yuta Nakamoto’s Crazy Stalker Is Actually His Side Chick?
That was the headline and your heart plummeted. There were pictures of you holding Totoro as you got out of Yuta’s car when he brought you home.
“What the hell,” you started, “Who took these?” You demanded.
Someone knocked at your door and you shrunk into the couch. Delilah looked at you in concern and she went to answer the door. You both feared who it could be.
She checked the peephole and exhaled. “It’s Yangyang.”
She opened the door and Yangyang ran in. “y/n, are you okay? I saw-“
Shutting the door. Delilah raised her hand up to stop him. “We just saw the article.”
Yangyang cursed. “Someone leaked those photos to the paparazzi. I‘ll help you track down who did this, y/n.”
You sat there in silence. What could you say? What was the point? It was your word against the public who never believed in you. Not only do they think you stole things from Yuta but they now considered you a homewrecker.
And it was only a matter of time before your home address was leaked.
Delilah and Yangyang looked at each other in concern. Delilah deliberated. “She came home with Totoro that day. It was last Thursday. Around...4 PM?”
Yangyang nodded and sat down at the kitchen table. “It’s been a while since I’ve hacked into the complex’s security footage.”
That got a reaction out of you. “You mean you’ve done this before?”
Yangyang smiled wide, happy to see you react to that. “Someone paid me a hefty sum to catch their cheating husband in his shenanigans. I use my powers for good. You know this.”
Delilah scoffed. “You are such a little weirdo.”
He rolled his eyes at the word “little”. He typed away at his keyboard. He chuckled. “Amateurs. They changed one number in their password. Lazy.”
Yangyang navigated through the parking lot security footage. Based off of the angle of which the photo was shot, he was able to pinpoint where the culprit was hiding.
“A 2019 Lexus,” Yangyang said, “License plate ASHL3Y.”
Delilah let out a sarcastic laugh. “Golly gee, whoever could that be...”
You got up from the couch and checked the footage with Yangyang. “I believe it. She hated me even before she met me.”
“She’s the crazy stalker, if you ask me,” Yangyang said.
You sighed. “What will it take for her to leave me alone?”
Your phone rang. It was an unknown number and you chose to ignore it, knowing damn well it was probably a Yutastan who was going to cast some sort of evil spell on you.
Then, immediately you got a text.
Answer the phone. Unless you want an angry mob to break into your apartment tomorrow. -kiss emoji-
^_^
“Thank you for agreeing to meet me,” Ashley started. “Can I offer you a glass of lemonade? Some Brie and crackers?”
In Ashley’s penthouse suite, you sat with her in the living room. She sat across from you in a leather loveseat while you sat in a massive L-shaped leather sofa.
“What the hell do you want? You want to throw it in my face that you ruined my life and put not only my life in danger but my friends’ and family’s lives in danger, too?” You snapped.
Ashley laughed. Her voice was as irritating as that of any early 2000s socialite. “Don’t be so dramatic. No one knows about your family. Your friends at the complex are safe with some of my best security guards.”
“Gee, thanks,” you said as you rolled your eyes.
“None of this would’ve happened if you knew your place and left my Yuta alone,” she said, “So, how long?” She demanded.
“What?” You asked in confusion.
“How long have you two been screwing around behind my back?” She asked.
It was your turn to bust out laughing. You almost cried. “I helped him with his shoot last Wednesday night. The closest I’ve ever gotten to Yuta was when he gave me one guitar lesson. He drove me home twice. Once from work and the second from when he picked me up from my jail cell. It was the least he could do after selling my stuff and oh...I don’t know...SENDING ME TO JAIL.“
Ashley didn’t believe you. “Right. Well, whatever happened between you two...It ends now. Or else I will keep making your life a living hell and destroy the lives of everyone around you.”
“Ashley, the last thing I want to do is see Yuta. I want to be a makeup artist and go back to the life I had before I met him.” Damn the connection you thought you two had. It would surely fade as quickly as it appeared.
Ashley began, “Which is why I have an opportunity for you.”
You frowned. “What?”
Ashley filed her nails as she spoke to you. “Timothée Chalamet’s new horror film begins production next month in Paris. There is an opening for the makeup team, y/n.”
You coughed. “What are you-“
She interrupted you, “Take the job and your name will be cleared. Your friends and family will be safe. Your dreams of becoming a successful makeup artist will come true...”
You knew she wasn’t finished so you waited for her to continue. She was so melodramatic.
“In return, you never come back to LA and leave Yuta alone forever,” Ashley said.
“I’ll have to come back to the city. You can’t ban me from visiting...That is, if I take the job,” you deliberated.
Ashley scoffed. “If?”
You sighed. “Ashley, LA is my home. It’s a big city.” You figured there had to be a way to compromise.
But you realized you were dealing with an unhinged diva.
Ashley said, “It’s a big city, sure. But as of now, every single person knows you as Yuta’s crazy stalker. It will stay that way if you don’t take this opportunity.”
You kept your mouth shut.
“I think I’m being pretty generous, all things considered,” she said as she flipped her bleached hair behind her shoulder. “You would be stupid to turn this down. Want to stay a jobless pariah? Be my guest.”
Your hands were tied. As much as you despised Ashley for making things so much worse for you, she had the answer to your problems. And since you were done with Yuta, agreeing to never see him again didn’t even feel like a big price to pay. And Timothée Chalamet was a mega Hollywood Star. Participating in his film would surely open doors for you. If Ashley kept her word to clear your name. And Paris? You’ve dreamed of going to Paris for years. Your grandmother told you incredible stories of when she studied abroad and lived there for a few years. It was a chance to be closer to her. The sightseeing and the art were enough to make you giddy.
You refused to let this girl drag your name through the mud and jeopardize your loved ones’ lives because they were associated with you. It wasn’t right. This way, everyone could win.
“Okay, you win,” you said.
“Actually, y/n, we both win,” she said as she clinked her glass of champagne at you and drank from it.
^_^
Ashley’s driver took you back to the apartment. When you unlocked the door to your place, you were shocked to see Yuta seated on the couch with Totoro on his lap.
“What are you doing here?” You asked.
Yuta shrugged. “You break into my house. I figured it’s only fair I break into yours.”
You sighed as you took your shoes off as you sat beside Yuta. Naturally, Totoro left Yuta’s lap to greet you.
He nodded. “Delilah let me in. I had to check up on you.”
Yuta kept in touch with your best friend without your knowledge. You realized that now. You’d have to talk to her about that later.
“Well, that’s nice and all but you have to leave,” you said as you averted your gaze from him.
Yuta ignored you. “Where did you go? I was worried sick.”
“I’m fine. I…went to an interview,” you said. There was no way you’d tell him about your meeting with Ashley. He had the mind to intervene and you didn’t want things to escalate any further.
He stared at you in disbelief. “What? For another job? y/n, I told you that you could come back to work with us.”
You shook your head. “If I so much as go to the same supermarket as you, there will be a bounty for my head.”
He shook his head. “The charges have been dropped, y/n. What happened today was…”
“The second of many hits to my career if we don’t stop this now,” you said.
Yuta replied, “y/n-“
“Which brings me to this…Did you get my necklace back?” You asked. If he said no, then you had the ammunition to kick him out. If he somehow got your necklace back…you would have to get even meaner.
Yuta’s face fell. “No, y/n…I reached out to the buyer and they haven’t responded.” He wondered if the buyer already sold it for more or if the buyer was biding his time to ask Yuta for money. “I traced the buyer’s address but they disappeared without a trace. I am so sorry.”
You sighed. “Okay.” You got up from the sofa and headed for the door. “Then, I guess that’s all that needs to be said.” You opened it and motioned for him to leave.
Yuta got up from the couch. “y/n, please we can fix this. As crazy as this sounds, I think I’m falling-“
You stopped him. “Yuta, we can’t. You need to go. You can’t get caught in this complex again. For your safety. And if you care at all about mine.”
Yuta froze. “I will do everything I can to clear your name. Please give me time.”
You couldn’t respond to his sweet voice. You had to resist. As much as you denied it, you felt something for Yuta. From the moment you heard his song “Breeze”, you connected with him before you even met him. His hard work, his talent, his sense of humor, his admiration of your work, his way with words with you before everything went to shit, even the way Totoro gravitated towards him. There was something special about him. Given other circumstances, you would’ve considered exploring a friendship with him. But even that was out of the question. “Goodbye, Yuta.”
He slowly walked out the door and looked back at you. His captivating brown eyes trying to pull you in again but this time, they were full of hurt and longing.
You shut the door, not waiting for him to walk away.
^_^
A couple of days have passed as Yuta reached out to multiple media outlets to clear your name. He admitted that he accidentally sold your necklace. Unfortunately, he couldn’t explain exactly how he’d come into possession of your necklace. So he said the best thing he could come up with: a family friend bought it at a garage sale and thought he might like to have it. Yuta started the account 1026you to sell the items he found around his home in order to raise funds for the LA LGBT Center. Aside from his regular donations from his earnings, Yuta thought he could sell your stuff to make some extra cash for the organization. Had he known that these random items belonged to you he wouldn’t have done that. Which begged the question:
How is it that you lived all the way across town and your stuff just magically appeared in his house? And why?
It seemed like some kind of divine intervention, if anyone asked him. For you two were connected and he only wanted to grow closer to you.
Except now he couldn’t. He failed to get your necklace. You were still blacklisted no matter what he said to multiple companies. He was thankful that you were still able to get an interview like you told him. He wondered if that company hired you. He hoped you were doing well.
Rehearsals for Skylark’s LA shows were still underway. Lily was rehired and Yuta apologized to her for being so rude. The dressing room wasn’t as lighthearted as it’d been when you were around. It was a short time that you were there but he missed you so much.
With Yuta’s heartache, he used music as an outlet. He thought about the night he first taught you how to play the guitar. There was one melody that lingered in his mind every day since. Now he took his time to work the song out of his mind. It was a song that you inspired him to write and he knew it was his best work. He hoped he could play it for you soon.
Yuta missed Totoro’s presence in his home. He didn’t realize how lonely he was until he lost you and your cat. Ashley popped in every day, insisting she stay over. So he begged his sister Suzuka to let him babysit her cat Thorn. Yuta claimed it was out of his hands to babysit Thorn so Ashley stayed less frequently.
Yuta drank a cup of green tea at his kitchen island. He had the day off before his solo press conference. His management wanted him to promote his album but he would also take the opportunity to clear your name.
He pleaded with his agency to let him cut ties with Ashley but Ashley’s agency wouldn’t budge. If Yuta broke up with Ashley, then Ashley’s agency would cut ties with Sky High Entertainment.
He hoped to convince Ashley to cut ties with him today. It was almost as if she was avoiding the conversation as the minute she came in, she ran into the bathroom to take a bubble bath.
“Yuta! Can you be a doll and rub this shower gel on my back?” She asked suggestively.
Yuta knew she was trying to get him in bed so he wouldn’t be able to think straight. These days Ashley seemed more repulsive than usual. Yuta was getting tired.
“No!” Yuta yelled outside the door. “When you finish up, meet me in the living room.”
She didn’t respond right away. She lowered her voice. “Okay…”
Another hour went by and Yuta still waited in the living room. Ashley was avoiding him. He was fed up and he went to look for her. Surely, she’d be out of the bath now. She couldn’t afford to let her skin prune for that long.
He overheard her laughing in his bedroom. “I gotta tell you, Melissa. You should’ve seen the look on her face when I picked her up from that ghetto apartment complex.”
Melissa laughed over the phone. Yuta recognized those nails on a chalkboard from whenever his band had a fan meeting. Melissa Lee, his fanclub president. Yuta frowned and tiptoed as quietly as he could.
Ashley continued, “All I had to do was offer her a job in Paris. Frankly, I’m being way too nice for my own good.”
Melissa replied, “Well, at least you got her out of Yuta’s perfectly shampooed hair.”
“That I did. So when are you going to post the YutAsh tribute video to your website?” Ashley asked as she fell onto Yuta’s bed.
Paris? What the hell did Ashley do?
He remembered how you were unaccounted for that day he went to see you. She said you had an interview. It was interesting how this interview fell on the exact same day those photos of you leaving his car were leaked. Who followed you two that day?
Of course, it was Ashley. Yuta realized how stupid he’d been. She’d basically conspired against you right under his nose. And he was furious.
But he had to be strategic. There was only one way he wanted to take Ashley down. And it would be in the way that hurt most.
^_^
Yuta’s press conference was at The Grove. Hundreds of fans were lined up from the night before. The media was in a frenzy. Your members and team were also in attendance so this was the talk of the town.
The announcer called you in. “Ladies and gentleman: Yuta Nakamoto.”
Yuta, in a gray custom-made business suit, radiated elegance and lethality, which many of his fans said was his unique charm.
Yuta got up to the podium and adjusted the microphone as he spoke into it. “Hello, I’m here to announce the release date of my first solo mini album.”
The crowd roared while the cameras flashed. There was a lot of talking from the journalists in the front.
He smirked. He was ready to give them something to talk about.
“The album comes out July 15th. Ashley and I have been fake dating and I’m here to say that it’s over.”
The crowd was in an uproar. The press yelled out questions. Yuta’s team was full of mixed reactions. His bandmates cheered and laughed. Baekhyun looked panicked. The company executives looked paler than they’ve ever been.
Ashley, who couldn’t have been more obvious as she gossiped with Melissa, almost fell over in her Jimmy Choos.
Yuta laughed. “I’ll take a few questions.” He pointed to a representative from Teen Scene Weekly.
“Yuta, is your breakup with Ashley because of y/n?” They asked.
Yuta sighed. “First off, Ashley and I dated to strengthen our respective companies. We were friends. We had a good time. For a while now, I’ve wanted to cut ties with her but out of respect for my company, I held on a little longer…However, after I politely asked for a breakup, I was denied. Now tell me…do you think that’s fair? After everything Skylark has given to the company? That we get used this way? I’m fed up with it.”
Yuta knew he only had a minute at most before he was pulled off the stage. Ashley yelled out, “Yuta, please stop!”
He continued, “Which brings me to y/n. She never did anything wrong. As I have gone on record to say twenty times in the past week, she never stole from me. She lost her necklace along with other possessions. Friends and family got these possessions for me from garage sales. That’s all I know. y/n is innocent. I made a huge mistake by having her arrested. She is an excellent makeup artist. One of the best in the business. I should know because I’ve been in this industry for seven years now. So if you’ve blacklisted her, then the joke’s on you. Because she has more talent than most of your employed artists ever hope to have. Lastly, to answer your question…y/n is not the other woman. She never was. I started falling for her but I never acted on it. Until now.”
The crowd was in a frenzy. A lot of the fans were crying and it made Yuta wonder if he had any true fans at all. If they cared so much about who he dated, then they didn’t see him as anything else other than their property.
Skylark’s security guards went to pull Yuta off the stage but he walked out on his own with his hands up in surrender. The guards escorted him to his car.
Yuta got into the driver’s seat and nearly screamed at seeing Ashley in the passenger seat.
“What the fuck?” He demanded.
“I had extra copies of your car keys made,” she said like she knit him a pair of mittens.
“Get out,” Yuta said with clenched teeth.
“You ruined me, Mr. Nakamoto. How are you going to make it up to me?” She asked. Her eyeliner ran down her cheeks. Her critically acclaimed face made her look like the wicked witch from Snow White.
Yuta laughed humorlessly. “I don’t owe you anything, Ash. You ruined y/n’s life and pushed her away from me. You knew I never loved you so why? Why keep this charade up?”
“We need each other We are perfect together. With your music and your bone structure and my beauty and me being a triple threat, we would be unstoppable. We can only help each other. Why can’t you see that?” She traced her fingers over his chest.
“I’ve heard enough. Please leave before I call security,” Yuta said in a low voice.
“Security?” Ashley scoffed. “Fuck off. No one calls security on me.”
Yuta rolled his eyes, already having dialed Tom, one of the security guards. “Yeah, Yuta?” He asked.
“Come back. Ashley broke into my car,” Yuta said quickly.
Ashley grabbed his phone. “Yuta! What have you done?”
Yuta sighed. “What I should’ve done a long time ago.”
He unlocked the door as the guards came running over to pull Ashley out of the car. She put up a good fight but the guards successful got her out.
She yelled out, “Well, you’re too late! Her flight to Paris leaves in a couple of hours.”
Thankful that Ashley always had a big mouth, Yuta backed away from the scene and raced to the airport.
^_^
You were on the plane, happy to have the row to yourself. You had to find some joy somehow. It wasn’t like you were being exiled from your hometown.
Totoro stayed with your mom. Once the shoot finished, you would get him back so you can relocate from LA. It still hurt to leave everyone.
Yangyang and Delilah agreed to move in together so he could save on rent and she wouldn’t have to pay for the apartment by herself. But you had a feeling there was something they weren’t telling you. You couldn’t wait for updates from both of them.
In a matter of eleven hours, you would be at the Charles de Gaulle airport, ready to embark on a new chapter in your life. You put your earbuds in and put your music on shuffle. The first song from the shuffle was ironically “Your Type” by Carly Rae Jepsen. It was a song about unrequited love and you were tempted to skip. Instead, you chose to wallow.
As much as you suppressed it, a part of you held onto thoughts of Yuta. Losing your possessions and finding them in Yuta’s place. You were both confused. Part of you wondered if there was something paranormal about it all. Maybe paranormal wasn’t the right word. Maybe…something magical?
Even so, too much damage had been done for you two to return to the friendship you had for a such a short but sweet time. And Ashley drove an even larger wedge between you two by threatening you. As much as Yuta frustrated you with everything else, you were even more frustrated that he was still with her. If it was fake, why did he keep it up? Didn’t he want to be with someone he loved?
Well, it wasn’t your problem. He was a big boy. He should be able to handle problems like this since he talked such a big game all the time.
So irritating, you thought, but also irritatingly cute.
Unbeknownst to you, there was a commotion on the plane.
“Sir, your seat is in 5A. Come back here!” A flight attendant yelled.
“y/n!” Yuta yelled as he ran down the aisle looking for you. He wore a large beanie and sunglasses so no one could recognize him.
The passengers looked alarmed at the disguised man yelling frantically. Yuta realized screaming wouldn’t help his case so he scoped out for you.
And then he saw you.
Your face was made up but you still looked like you lost many hours of sleep the past few nights. But still, you were the most stunning creature he’d ever laid his eyes on. Your eyelashes brushed against your cheeks as you slept. Your lips slightly parted and Yuta bit his lip.
The flight attendant caught up to him. “Sir-“
Yuta raised his finger and nodded towards you.
The flight attendant calmed down. “You’re assigned to 5A. Why are you all the way back here?”
“Can I switch with whoever is supposed to sit here?” He asked.
The attendant frowned. “Why would you want to-“
“Please,” Yuta pleaded, “Sitting towards the front freaks me out.”
The attendant sighed. “Well, sir, you’re the last one on the plane so that seat appears to be available. Go ahead.”
Yuta smiled genuinely. “Thank you.”
The attendant was stunned and she had a feeling she recognized him. She shrugged it off and resumed her duties to get everyone situated on the plane.
Yuta exhaled in relief as he sat beside you. You looked so cute curled up in your chair but also very uncomfortable. He was tempted to offer you his shoulder but that would ruin the surprise.
Half an hour went by and you turned to your right to see the seat had been occupied by someone in glasses and a beanie. So much for having the row to yourself, you thought.
The stranger beside you said, “Morning, sleepyhead.”
You frowned as you opened your eyes more. “Hi…?”
But when you sat up, you saw his piercings and the curve of his lips. “Yuta?” You whisper-yelled.
He flashed his perfect set of teeth at you as he lowered his glasses. “Hey.”
You laughed in disbelief. “What are you-“
Yuta shrugged casually. “I felt like a trip to Paris.”
“Right…Who told you?” You asked. You dropped your defenses. For now.
“Surprisingly, it was Ashley. She may be a schemer but she’s never been the sharpest tool in the shed.”
You looked at him, noticing how disheveled he looked. He was soaked in sweat. He must have ran through the airport to catch this flight.
“Why are you so sweaty?” You asked.
“I ran,” Yuta said as he realized he must have looked as gross as he felt. And taking off his beanie was almost out of the question since his fuchsia hair dye made him stick out like a sore thumb.
You felt for him so you pulled some wipes from your bag and gave them to him. “That beanie looks uncomfortable so take this.” You handed him a cap instead. It was a Dodgers cap.
“Thanks,” Yuta said as he swapped the beanie for his hat and cleaned himself up.
“Well, good night again,” you said as you turned to the window and shut your eyes.
“I’m sorry, what?” He asked. He mistook your acts for kindness for wanting to talk to him.
“We’re done here, aren’t we?” You asked. “You shouldn’t have come.”
“y/n, I…You can’t move to Paris,” he started.
“I accepted the position, Yuta. I can’t go back from an obligation.” You turned away from him and stared out the window. The attendants were giving their airplane safety spiel. You know you were about to ascend. “Unless you have a schedule in Paris, then you should leave. Before you’re stuck on this flight.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be, y/n,” he said softly.
His voice sent shivers down your spine but you pushed your feelings down. You couldn’t let him get to you. “You hurt me.” You let it out. Maybe if you kept this up, he would leave you alone.
Yuta sighed. “I know and I’m so sorry.”
Upon hearing him apologize, you perked up but you chose to keep your back turned.
Yuta went on to say, “I screwed up. Getting you arrested, fired, and hated by everyone. I screwed up even more by selling your grandma’s necklace. And I hate that I couldn’t get it back. More than anything. I know what Ashley did to you. It was wrong of her. She had no right. I finally broke up with her. In front of everyone.”
You turned to him, worried about the repercussions of the break up. “By everyone, you don’t mean…”
“At my press conference…”
You put a hand to your mouth in shock. “Ashley must be furious.” What did this mean for you now? What if Ashley retracted the offer and then you were truly left without a job or a home?
Yuta chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re worried about that witch.”
You shook your head. “If you broke up with her, then she’s on the warpath.”
Yuta replied, “She’ll find another big name to terrorize soon enough. I’m close to contract termination anyway.”
You gaped. “What?”
“At the conference, I told everyone that Ashley and I were a fake couple. I broke up with her and then…I told everyone how I felt about you. I really like you, y/n,” He turned bashful, putting his hands in pant pockets.
“Yuta, are you crazy?”
He didn’t expect that response.
“How could you jeopardize your career for me? You barely even know me. Sure, we shared pizza and…we had a moment when you taught me guitar…But that’s not enough reason to put everything on the line.”
“y/n, you don’t understand. I feel like we really know each other. I can’t explain it,” he said, “Why do you think it is that your stuff kept popping up at my place? There’s some sort of cosmic connection between us. That’s not something we can ignore.”
He thought the same way you had about the things you lost and later found. But you were scared. Ashley made you a human target and you knew you could end this stress by leaving. You didn’t want to jeopardize anyone you loved.
You didn’t even want to jeopardize Yuta. Especially since he just risked his entire career for you.
“Yuta, we can’t. Being with me will ruin your career,” you said. The plane started moving across the tarmac.
“y/n…”
Now you two were stuck on the plane. You weren’t planning to budge and you prayed that when you landed in Paris that Yuta would catch the next flight back to LA.
Hours passed. You were so exhausted that you nearly fell asleep the entire plane ride.
Apparently, so was Yuta. You woke up finding yourself leaning against his shoulder and his neck was nuzzled against the top of your head. He still smelled like roses and vanilla, even after working up a sweat to get onto the plane. He was a fool, you thought to yourself.
But you were an even bigger fool because you didn’t remove yourself from him.
The pilot announced overhead, “Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Paris. Bienvenue à Paris.”
You realized you’d been awake too long and hadn’t moved away quickly. You felt Yuta move so you pretended to have just woken up from the announcement. You quickly pulled away from him. Yuta rubbed his neck and watched you.
You left the plane with Yuta trailing behind you. You picked up your bags at baggage claim. Yuta grabbed one of your bags.
“Yuta, it’s fine. I have this,” you said as you pointed to the luggage cart.
Yuta relented and helped you put your bags on the cart.
He followed you to the arrivals section where drivers had their posters with the names of people they were picking up. You saw your name and identified yourself with the driver. The driver helped you with your luggage.
“Bye, Yuta,” you said quickly, not about to linger. You turned away when he took your hand.
“y/n, please…” He begged.
“Take care, okay?” You said as you pulled your hand away and caught up with your driver.
Heartbroken but unrelenting, Yuta was about to follow you when someone pulled his hat off.
“Oh my God, it’s Yuta! C’est Yuta. Skylark!” A girl yelled.
Yuta ran for cover, the gears shifting in his head for his next move with you.
^_^
It’s a few days later that you finally get to explore Paris. You haven’t heard a word from the fuchsia-haired boy, but you were trying to get over him anyway so you didn’t mind.
You had to realize that at the end of the day, he had his devoted army of fans and you..only had yourself. He didn’t need you, so surely he’d forget about you soon enough. You two had only known each other for a short time, regardless of it feeling like an eternity.
You breathe a sigh of relief when you get to the Eiffel Tower. It’s kinda cold, but the dreamy sunset draws in.
When you felt a sudden gust of wind, you closed your eyes and remembered Yuta’s warm chest on your back, the way his long fingers comforted and guided yours on the stiff strings of the guitar. His breath dancing along your ear while you shivered and felt goosebumps expose themselves.
The echoing bass in his voice that hit your heart..and other places too.
The sun was slowly retreating from the sky, but it was still bright..as bright as his smile, you missed it, even when he only showed it during his sarcastic, asshole moments.
His lips so full and soft, even the brush you used over them had a difficult time coloring to perfect something that didn’t need perfecting.
Ashley was one lucky girl. It was only a matter of time until she and Yuta got back together.
You looked to the ground and sighed. Why did you have to think of him? Even when one of the most beautiful pieces of art towered over you.
You couldn’t shake the feeling that you were missing something so great in your life now. The connection you felt with him hit you like a train and there was nothing that could compare to it. It was so strong, it could probably compete with the earth’s gravitational pull to your body.
“Yuta..I hate you, I really do.” You whispered to yourself as you clutched your long jacket around your body. You tried to convince yourself that this was true so that you’d finally be at peace. Key word: tried.
In the front of the Eiffel Tower was a board that read the rules, opening times etc.
“Le Jules Vernes Restaurant..’closed tonight for a special event..damn it.” You had planned on treating yourself to a meal at the top of the Eiffel Tower so you could take in the view as long as some fresh air. But lucky for you, it was closed for that evening.
You licked your lips and sighed.
Would you ever have things go your way?
You were about to walk away when you heard a speaker being plugged in. The feedback was obnoxiously painful and loud, and got everyone’s attention. You all turned to see the source.
A guitar riff played soon after and you heard a chorus of whispers from people on the lawn.
“Oh my God..OH MY GOD ITS YUTA NAKAMOTO FROM SKYLARK!” A girl screams as she runs past you with another girl in hand, just barely holding on.
Shit.
You squint your eyes to look at the person that a crowd begins to form around and sure enough, it is your nemesis with the pink hair. He’s smiling widely and saying ‘hi’ to everyone as his bodyguards put their arms out to stop anyone from getting too close. His guitar is in his hands and his microphone has already been set up.
“Time to go back to the hotel.”
You turn and start to brush past all the people running to see Yuta perform.
“Yuta?! What is he doing here?”
“Holy shit! Yuta is about to perform for us!”
“Yuta from Skylark? Aren’t they about to go on tour?”
You overhear some of the comments and the last thing you want is for them to realize who you are, the infamous “crazy stalker,” so you duck and push through.
You don’t feel his eyes peering the crowd and eventually locking into your body as you walk away. His smile fades and he realizes he has to act quickly.
He strums out one chord on the guitar and the girls go into a frenzy.
“This song..is for someone that just entered my life. It’s only been a few weeks, but she’s changed it for the better. She knows me more than anyone else does and I honestly don’t know how I lived without her before.”
Yuta speaks into the microphone, making the growing crowd of listeners go silent.
You slow your pace but still don’t turn around. There’s no way he could be talking about you.
“Who is he talking about? Didn’t he just break up with Ashley?” You hear a few girls whisper.
“She doesn’t know it yet, but I don’t plan on living without her anymore..she makes my head spin, she makes me forget the words to songs that I’ve sung everyday for the past 3 years, she gives me the WORST case of butterflies...she truly is a nuisance, but I need her. y/n..”
You stop in your tracks and stare at the grass below your planted feet.
“Please don’t go..” Yuta’s eyes are wide, he just needs you to turn around and look at him, to give him a second chance.
The people turn to follow his line of vision, eventually seeing your body standing alone and far away.
“Oh my god it’s her.” They whisper.
You start to walk again when you hear the whispering yet overwhelming gossip. You’re just so tired of all of the attention you’ve been getting. Yuta was trying to make some grand statement to get you back, but he didn’t realize that this was the opposite of what you wanted.
“She’s like the rain on summer days when the garden needs some nurturing...” Yuta strums his guitar and sings.
“She’s like a constellation of stars, oh she’s beautiful, and very gorgeous to me.”
You’re still walking but he continues.
“But I don’t even know her name, I only see her in a frame, yet her face is stuck in my mind..she’s the girl in the portrait, the girl with the necklace..the girl with my heart, but the girl I don’t know..I could give her the world, but it’s not like she needs it from me. She’s a work of art, she’s the only thing I see.”
You stop again, this time turning around to finally face him.
“No one knows me like you do, yes, you see the right through..and I know you won’t forgive me, I just hope you won’t forget me..because I know I’ll be thinking of you, yes you, the girl in the portrait.”
Your eyes start to tear up. The Mountain Man, the singer you so adored had written a song about you. And the melody was just as charming as his other songs. Were you that important to him that he created this song for you?
You stood there frozen as ice and stunned, with a thousand eyes on you.
“That was The Girl In the Portrait, I wrote it for y/n, because, well, it’s a funny story actually.” Yuta said as he put his guitar down and stood up. The crowd chuckled and clapped but people were still focused on you and waiting for your reaction.
This was one level above a public proposal and you didn’t know how to feel about it.
“Please..” Yuta said quietly.
You cursed silently. Your heart felt weak and you couldn’t just turn away like your conscious told you to. Your heart told you to forgive him and start over.
Yuta went all the way to Paris for you, he wrote a song for you and ditched his first tour date. He did it all for you. If that didn’t show his sincerity towards you, you weren’t sure what would.
‘I Hate You’ you mouthed before smiling.
Yuta ran towards you abruptly, making his bodyguards scurry behind him to push his fans away from him, they struggled to keep up as he dashed like Bolt towards you.
You braced yourself for impact from the 6-foot something man about to collide into you.
Yuta’s teeth showed brightly as he held out his arms and wrapped them around you. Wrinkles formed at the sides of his eyes.
He’s so filled with excitement, he lifts you three feet about the grace and bends backward.
“Yuta!” You laugh out at the sudden move, but he chuckles and brings you back down.
You breathed in his amazing scent before closing your eyes and adoring his warmth. You felt so at ease in his arms, everything faded away. The cries as well as cheers from his fans soon faded into the background. You rested your head in his chest and exhaled.
You lifted your limp arms that were once at your side and wrapped them around him while he rubbed your back. Having you in his arms tonight made it feel like Christmas Day. He never wanted it to end. Even with all the people staring and all the phones recording, he didn’t want this moment to end. He prayed that you would stay in his arms forever, for you were the only thing that made him feel comfortable and happy. You did for him what music could no longer do.
“y/n...”
“Mhmm?” you hummed, your eyes still closed while you enjoyed his embrace.
“I want to kiss you..”
Your neck nearly snapped when you looked up at him.
“What?” Your eyes widened.
“But not here..up there..will you let me?”
Yuta smirked and tilted his head towards the tower.
“Nice try, user 1026you, the restaurant is closed tonight.”
“For a special event, I know...that’s why it’ll just be me and you.” Yuta chuckled when your brows furrowed.
“Yuta..”
“I’d give you the world if you let me.” Yuta grew serious as he searched your eyes and swallowed hard. He ignored the fact that his bodyguards were having an increasingly difficult time with holding back his fans.
The two of you were surrounded by complete madness, but you felt alone..lost in each other’s eyes.
Your mouth was open slightly, you couldn’t believe that he actually booked the entire restaurant just for the two of you.
“So..You gonna let me give you a night in Paris to remember?”
You laughed and Yuta felt his chest weaken by the sight of your smile.
“You owe me big time..”
Yuta’s teeth twinkled. “We gotta run, ready?”
He took your hand and the two of you hustled to the entrance of the Eiffel Tower.
His fans ran after you two while you laughed and held onto each other tightly.
Everything happened in slow motion, the two of you moved like runaway lovers, chaos surrounded you but it didn’t matter, for you had each other. You looked over to see Yuta’s goofy smile.
The tour guide at the entrance was able to quickly let you in and close the door behind you to stop anyone else from following.
You found the elevator and got on.
Once at the top, you let go of Yuta’s hand to walk around and see the magnificent view. A million tiny lights decorated the streets of Paris. It was darker outside now, but you could still see the large crowd that surrounded the tower start to dissipate.
They looked like ants below you, slowly dispersing from the ants nest to get more food.
You were so stunned by the view, you didn’t notice that Yuta was watching you, your eyes gazing in amazement, your hair blowing softly in the wind and your bright smile that made even the moon seem bleak.
“y/n..” he called your name. There was something he wanted to see.
You turned to look at him over your shoulder.
“Yeah?”
And there it was. The pose from the portrait. You glancing over your shoulder so intensely. Your eyes large with wonder, your lips full and slightly parted, your hair shining in the moonlight. You are beautiful, Yuta can’t describe it, but he knows he is happy to be able to see an artwork come to life.
“Yuta?” You turned to him full and walked over. “What’s wrong? You’re staring again” you giggled.
“I’m happy.” Yuta smiles and looks down at you.
“Well, we’re in Paris at the Eiffel Tower! Of course you’re happy.” You chuckled and turned to look out at the city from a different angle, but Yuta took your hand in his and spun you around.
You tripped and fell onto his chest before looking up into his eyes.
“No...I’m happy because I’m with you.”
He whispered and your body felt weak. Luckily, he was holding you up so you could balance yourself.
He held you close and looked onto your lips which were just a few inches from yours. His breath slowed to match yours, you look into his lips and swallow hard.
“Y-Yuta.”
He leaned forward, placing a small kiss on your lips. Your eyes closed, his kiss made you feel like fireworks had been set off right there in your chest. It was magical even though it only lasted for a second.
Yuta was nervous, he wasn’t sure if you were ready. You held his head in your hands and looked into his eyes.
You then kissed him hard while tilting your head to the side. Yuta finally relaxes in your hands and kisses you back, opening his mouth so that he could lick your top lip.
His lips were fluffy and felt exactly like how you imagined them to feel. Silky, smooth. Even as he pressed harder, you couldn’t help but feel fragile like you’d collapse at any moment, your legs threatening to give out at any moment.
Soon, your tongues found each other and playfully danced while you struggled to keep your breathing stable.
Time slows down once again as you kiss for what feels to be days.
Yuta draws small circles and lines on your back as he pushes your body into his more. He wants more, so much more. He wants to feel you everywhere, and he can’t get enough of your touch, the way your dainty fingers play with the hair on the nape of his neck.
But you have to pull away to breathe.
“Wow..you could’ve gone on for days, couldn’t you?” You try to catch your breath as you look up at him.
Yuta smirks. “I’m a singer, it’s called breath control.”
You rolled your eyes. “It’S cALleD BrEATh coNtRoL.” You mocked him.
The two of you laughed. Yuta took your hand to guide you to a table that had been set for the two of you.
It was weird being so high above the rest of the world. But you liked it. It was just you and Yuta. Nothing else. There was no Ashley, no fans, and no drama.
Yuta rubbed his reddened lips with two fingers.
“Let’s hurry up and eat..I want to finish what you started.”
“What I started? Sir, I recall you being the one that started that kiss!”
“Nah you gave me those eyes..” Yuta was teasing you again.
You rolled your eyes and sat back in your chair.
When you finished eating, you looked into the city again and felt an internal peace. There was something so comforting about being away from the madness. Yeah, your life wasn’t what it was two months ago, but you sure as hell felt all the madness was worth it.
Getting Yuta was worth it.
You leaned forward, placing your jaw on your hands.
“What are you thinking about?
Yuta watched your eyes searching the city again. The moonlight and single candle lit on the table brought out your smooth skin even more, as well as the outline of your nose and lips. He could watch you all night.
“I like the view,” you answered softly.
“You do?” Yuta’s brows raised.
“Yes..” you nodded.
“You’re my best view..” Yuta smiled widely.
You blushed. “Ehh.. I don’t know about that line.”
“Okay how about this one?
“I wish you didn’t have a name..so I could call you mine?” Yuta leaned forward to match your pose and place his head on his hands.
“Oh no..it’s getting worse.” You held your face in your hands, feeling the heat in your cheeks rise. You’re both a little tipsy from the alcohol you had at dinner.
“Are you from Paris? Because Ei-FELL for you..” he smirked and took your hands in yours so he could see you blush.
You laughed and melted into your seat. “Oh God, Yuta make it stop.”
“Okay, okay I’ll stop..but before we leave, I have something to give you.”
You sat up straight and gave a puzzled look.
“I’m sorry again about your grandmother’s necklace. I tried..I even called up your hacker friend YangYang for help, but he couldn’t find it either..I’m so sorry. I know I can never make up for that.”
Your face straightened and you blinked slowly as the reality settled in that you would never see your grandmother’s necklace again.
“But..I did get you this..I hope her memory can still live on through this..”
Yuta reaches into his pocket and hands a small box. When you open it you find a gold necklace with a shining stone surrounded by small pearls as the pendant . The resemblance between it and your missing necklace is strikingly similar. Your mouth falls open.
“My grandmother’s necklace was the only one of its kind...how..how in the world did you find this?”
You looked closely to see that the one difference was the stone in the center.
“I searched online and went to a few antique stores and met this strange lady..what was her name again? Was it Celeste or Cerulean? Hmm..wait! It was Cyan! Yeah I showed her a picture and she found it in her store for me.”
“Yuta..that’s amazing.”
And that’s when you realized what the color of the center stone was. It’s not purple, nor red. Not pink, nor magenta..no it’s..fuchsia.
Yuta was your soulmate..that’s why your things were disappearing. The universe was pushing you to him. You were destined to meet and fall in love. How could you not realize it sooner? That’s why you felt this undeniable pull towards him.
“What’s wrong?” Yuta grows concerned when he sees your eyes start to tear up.
“Nothing..nothing..it’s perfect, Yuta.” You decided not to tell Yuta because you couldn’t really explain it. Things were finally falling into place and you just wanted to spend time with him, for you didn’t know if you’d have the chance to be with him again..in this universe..or in another one.
“Let’s go home.” Yuta kneeled down and wiped your tears with his finger.
————
Yuta helps you out of the limo once you get to your luxurious hotel. He had the driver take you to a back entrance so his fans wouldn’t see the two of you.
“Thank you.” You let go of his hand and are about to start walking but Yuta grabs your waist and throws you over his shoulder. You yelp out in surprise. Your ass is in the air as you dangle over him.
“Ahh!! Yuta!”
“Shhh we came through the back for a reason.” Yuta chuckles then gives your ass a hard smack with his hand.
“Ahh! Damn it, Yuta!”
You lay out a string of curse words as Yuta gets into the elevator. He only smiles while strangers stare and wonder what in the world is going on.
When you get to the room, Yuta flips you from his shoulder and onto the bed. You plop down and feel your body bounce back up from the plush mattress.
“I swear to-“ you start but Yuta leans down over you, attacking your lips as soon as you open them to make some snarky comment.
He liked hearing you talk back to him, but he liked kissing you even more.
You lick his bottom lip, then kiss his lips again, enjoying the way both of your lips grow wet from each other.
He was just as playful with his tongue, letting it place kitten licks on the soft surface of your lips, he kissed softly, teasingly. It was almost ticklish. You felt your chest rumble.
You closed your eyes and traced your hands up Yuta’s back, pressing him into you more.
The bitter taste of alcohol stayed on your lips and your head felt light, you both felt like you were getting drunk all over again.
Yuta presses into you more, running his hands along your sides before holding your face as he guides the passionate kiss.
You pushed your body upwards and grinded onto Yuta, feeling his member poke through his jeans. You placed a finger into his belt loop, pulling him downwards. You then wrapped your legs around his waist and crossed them over his back to bring his body closer to yours even more.
Yuta took the hint and pushed into you slowly, grinding his covered member against your covered, but increasingly wet entrance.
You moaned into his mouth when you felt him press onto your weak spot teasingly. You trembled under him, hands shaking as they clawed at his back lightly.
It felt like a bouquet of flowers were slowly opening up in Yuta’s chest. You were the most beautiful melody, the graceful echo of godly chords being played in a church organ, you were the angelic singing heard all the way from heaven. That’s what you felt like to Yuta. And he had to write about you, he had a hundred songs already in mind to write about you.
He prayed that you wouldn’t stop kissing him this time, that you wouldn’t have to pull away to breathe.
He didn’t know that you felt the same way, that he felt like a day at Disney that you didn’t want to end. He felt like a birthday surprise happening over and over and over. He was the glass of water after a long run. He made you feel euphoric just from an embrace like this. With the two of you finally being alone together, it was like the stars had collided to create something so beautiful, extraordinary and new.
But still, you were scared. Now that you found your soulmate, would he disappear? What if this was your last night in this universe? You couldn’t remember anything about your life before, but you knew that you were somewhere else before all of this.
And could something this good last? Were you really away from all of your troubles?
You were deep in your thoughts and without realizing, you kissed Yuta so hard, you accidentally bit his bottom lip.
Yuta pulled away. “Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?” He rubbed the blood from his lip, eyes growing wide.
“N-no, Yuta..I’m sorry. It’s just..” you swallowed hard then licked your lips.
“What if..this is it? What if we won’t be together after tonight?”
You played with the collar of his shirt to distract yourself.
Yuta tilted his head then placed his hands on either side of your head to hold himself up.
“y/n..I don’t plan on letting you go..ever. You make me feel..” Yuta didn’t know how to describe it either.
“Amazing.” But that wasn’t enough, it was much more than that. So much more. No word in the entire dictionary could suffice for the feeling he had.
“And if the universe allows..It won’t be the last night. It’ll just be the first of many.” He gave you a wink. “What do you say? Let’s give it a try?”
You nodded and licked your lips.
“And uh..how far do you want to go because I..” Yuta looked down at your linked bodies.
You blushed when you realized what he was looking at. It was the outline of his member sticking out in his jeans and aiming towards the apex of your legs.
You thought about the chances of this being your first and last night together, and knew you wanted to experience it with Yuta. If just kissing him made you euphoric, how would making love feel?
You nodded. “I want you to make love to me Yuta, love me like it’s the last time.” You rubbed his flexed biceps and he grew weak. The combination of your gentle touch and doe eyes while those sweet words left your mouth made him feel like he’d lost all feeling in his legs.
“It won’t be the last time, but it will probably be the best time since we’re in the city of romance. Don’t expect too much from me when we do this again, okay?”
You nodded, giggling as you held his belt again. He glanced down at your hands as they fiddled around.
He chuckled then looked back up at you. “Is your name Paris, because I think my Eiffel Tower belongs in you?”
“Yuta!! I swear to G-“ you started again, but he quickly placed his mouth on yours, taking the air as it left and circling your top lip with the tip of his tongue.
You both ran out of patience, taking each other’s lips in between your teeth. You shimmy out of your jacket and Yuta tosses it to the side. You tug the hem of his black t-shirt and help him take it off over his head, his hair becoming rustled in the process but it gives him a cute, messy look. You can’t help but laugh.
Yuta smirks and rubs his hands up and down your thighs while gazing into your eyes, pressing into the soft squishy skin to massage them.
You bite your swollen lips, knowing that he’s watching your chest rise up and down under him.
“I could stare at you all night.” He whispers.
“I know..but I want you to make love to me first.” You say as you start to unbutton your blouse.
Yuta watches your fingers play with the buttons, allowing for several inches of your skin to be revealed each time. He licks his lips but waits for you to finish and reveal yourself to him, gripping the crook of your knees while he waits.
“Yuta..” you breathlessly call out his name before biting your lips. Your voice makes him dizzy, he wants to hear you say his name over and over again like a broken record, because you just sound so..heavenly. No song could compare.
He leans forward, placing his hands on yours and gripping the bow separated fabric. And it’s like he’s opening his curtains to see a bright, sunny day after a scary thunderstorm.
He opens it slowly, staring at the small space between your breasts that he wants to decorate so badly.
You stare at his neck and then his abs, all the places you want to kiss passionately while listening to his low groans.
Yuta takes the sleeves of the shirt down your arms, his fingertips lightly touching your skin but still leaving an intense rush flowing through your veins.
You lock eyes as he tosses it to the side with the jacket.
He lowers his head to your chest and breathes over it, leaving a steamy breath over your nipple. You shiver under him and let out a moan.
“Yuta..” You arch your back, desperate to feel him on you. Having him inches away from your skin just isn’t enough, especially when he’s shirtless and daunts his stunning body over yours.
But Yuta doesn’t respond. He licks your nipple and looks up to see you tremble once again. He can feel the response from your body under him even though he’s not touching you.
“Please..” you put your hand onto his back and rub it softly to push him along.
He kisses in between your breasts, then sucks hard, biting the skin to leave a mark.
You cry out his name again, this time, your fingers going through his thick hair as he moves on to suck your nipple.
He presses his tongue firmly and flat against it, then pleases a sloppy kiss onto it.
He massages your other breast while his mouth continues to work on the first, sucking hard so he can hear you say his name once again. He circles around the areola with the tip of his tongue at a pace so slow, you start to go insane. He then flicks the tender tip with his tongue as you throw your head back and moan.
You push your body upwards but Yuta pulls away. As expected, he teases you, wanting to draw this moment out for as long as possible.
“Yuta..please touch me.”
He looks into your large eyes as you beg, but then he looks down to your breasts and isn’t satisfied so he pays attention to the other breast, switching between gentle and firm sucking. Your moaning gets louder and louder, and you’re happy that Yuta paid for the suite that takes up one floor.
His large hand cups your breast, his fingers pressing into the skin and pumping it slowly.
His plush lips kiss everywhere, lighting fires of feeling across your sensitive skin.
Yuta then starts to grind down into you. Your opening is still covered by the rough fabric of your jeans, but aching nonetheless. The sudden contact made you jolt upwards. You’re so wet and needy, you’re sure you’re soaking through your jeans at this point.
Yuta quickly drags your jeans down your legs, you start to kick them off and let it fall to the floor.
“You’re so wet, baby.” Yuta stares at your soaked panties and smiles.
He retakes his position, placing his hands on either side of your head again, and sucking on your nipple.
This time he sucks harder, humming as he grinds down into you to hear you whimper loudly. The vibrations allow for a tingling sensation to echo through your skin, you feel lightheaded, your jaw locking, and your vision fading.
“Yuta!”
You say before releasing. Your grip on his hair tightens as he continues to suck on your skin while you cum. You moan loudly and breathe heavily..you slowly start to come back to Earth.
“Oh, you’re loud..but I like that.” Yuta gives you a wink then runs his fingers over your underwear.
“I didn’t even touch you and you came.” He says smoothly.
You jerk at the feel of his fingers parting your folds to collect your essence.
“You cocky bastard.” You say breathlessly.
Yuta only smirks as he walks around the bed and to a wall beside it.
“I forgot to show you this..” he presses a button and looks up at the ceiling.
You kneel on the bed and move to the center of it.
The white covering separates from the center, opening up to reveal a window.
Your eyes widen and your mouth falls open when you see the beautiful night sky, dazzled by twinkling stars. And even though it is late at night, you can still see traces of sapphire blue and small, faint lines of indigo.
There’s nothing like it. You can see why Van Gogh painted Starry Night.
“So we’re gonna fuck in front of the stars?” You ask bluntly, gaining a loud chuckle from Yuta.
“I promised to give you the best night you’ve ever had so..yes.” His eyes squinted when he laughs again.
“Yuta..this is..”
“Amazing? Legendary? Extraordinary? Yeah I know” he put his hands on his hips as he watched you gaze.
You roll your eyes and turn to him. “Come here..”
You head over to the edge of the bed and get on your knees. Yuta walks over to you, watching your hands unhook his belt and tug his jeans down.
You lean back and fall into the center of the bed while waiting for him to kick off his jeans and get on the bed.
Yuta nearly trips and falls as he struggles to take his jeans off while watching you. You start to take your panties down your legs but Yuta stops you.
“No! I wanna unwrap the present.”
“Ugh, you’re so weird.” You hold your face in your hands again.
“Look at me, sweetheart.” Yuta grabs your ankle and squeezes hard.
“Oh!” You yelp out at the pain and look down at him, watching as he crawls over your slowly on the plush bed.
He takes the waistband of your panty in between his fingers and slowly drags it down while looking into your eyes. Your heart starts to race again. He’s so close to your wet and needy entrance, but you feel the sharp, icy slap of cold air once you’re exposed.
“Beautiful..” Yuta adores your naked body below him.
He traces his fingers on the surface surrounding your folds, just pressing shy of them to make you writhe.
“Yuta..please.”
He rubs two fingers along your folds painfully slow, using the side of his long fingers to part them.
Yuta retreats his fingers and puts them into his mouth.
“So good.” He breathlessly lets out. He teases your entrance again, his spit and your essence now mixing as he presses nearly perfect circles into your core.
You can feel the knot in your stomach start to build again. Your mouth falls open as you moan.
You arch your back and hold onto the sheets with a grip so tight, you felt your knuckles become white. You look up at the stars and think to yourself how beautiful it is out there. You feel your spirit start to ascend while Yuta plays with your clit.
Your legs start to shake and threaten to close completely as you grow more and more sensitive to his touch.
Yuta uses his other hand to pump then align himself with your opening.
His length glistens with pre cum, the tip red and veins pumping fiery blood through it.
He’s more than ready now and you can’t wait to take him.
“Open up for me.”
You don’t hesitate to spread your legs further apart so your hips align with his.
He leans down and holds himself over you with both hands, looking into your eyes before kissing you enthusiastically, tugging your lip between his teeth so you can call out his name again.
He pushes into you slowly while you kiss.
Yuta drinks in your moan and groans when he feels your silky walls surround him.
He lets go of your lips and buries himself into the crook of your neck. He breathes deeply, pushing into you again.
“So tight, fuck.” He whispers.
You take a deep breath and look at the stars above you to stop yourself from coming already.
He starts to thrust into you again, but you let out a quiet whimper.
“Shit..I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Yuta. K-keep going.”
You rub his back to push him along.
He begins to rub your clit, your mouth falling open into a silent cry.
He pushes all of himself into you then pulls out, groaning once again when he buries himself back inside.
He grinds against your silky walls while holding you close and rubbing small circles into you.
Your heated bodies comfort each other as they are finally connected, working towards the same goal.
Yuta smells like a combination of amber and musk, but feels like a soft blanket during winter, his muscular arms holding your body still while also hugging you in the most passionate embrace you’ve ever experienced during sex.
His heart beat matches yours, his breath attaches itself to your neck. His throaty moans begin to get louder and louder.
Your fingers run through his hair while you whimper.
You’re so close.
Yuta moves faster, harder, pushing into you so hard, the bed starts to move.
He lifts himself from your chest and looks down at you. Your saddened by the coldness you feel between your bodies now but Yuta is so beautiful. His magenta hair now wavy, some strands sticking to his forehead, leftover eyeliner smudging and bringing out the depth of his eyes.
He grabs your ankles, completely enclosing his fists around them before placing them into his shoulders.
He grinds into your entire body at a different angle now, the pressure on your g-spot increasing significantly. “That’s feels good, Yuta..oh my G-“
You start to clench around him, making him groan and push into you harder.
“y/n..” he whispers while looking into your eyes. “You’re beautiful..in every way.”
His surprisingly sweet words make you smile.
You gaze at the stars, but your vision starts to blur. You can’t think of anything but Yuta, the feeling is so amazing, you can’t describe it. To be filled up by him, to be completely enraptured by him, there is nothing like it. The knocking of the headboard against the hotel wall and the sounds of skin on skin brings you to the edge.
You grip the sheets tightly as your eyes close.
They roll into the back of your head and your back arches. The euphoric feeling takes over and you swear your spirit leaves your body for an entire minute.
Yuta fucks you through your high but pulls out and releases onto your belly soon after, experiencing the same overwhelming feeling in his spirit too.
He collapses onto the bed beside you and looks up at the stars, taking your hand into his and squeezing it gently.
You look over at each other and laugh, it’s as if you were both thinking the same thing. How did you climax so hard?
Several minutes pass and you’re about to get up to get a towel but Yuta holds your hand.
“I’ll get it, just relax, baby.”
He comes back with a wet washcloth and gently cleans you up.
“I love you..” he says quietly.
“Yuta..it’s a bit early for that.”
He nods while cleaning up the strings on your belly. “I know..but I can’t shake this feeling. I think you’re the one..I think you’re my..soulmate.”
You’re stunned to hear Yuta speaking like this. If he realized you were soulmates, what would happen now?
“I mean, I don’t know if you believe in that kind of thing, but..”
“I agree, Yuta..I think you’re my soulmate, which is why I’m scared to lose you..good things never last.” You say quietly and avoid his eyes.
“Don’t say that, we’ll be okay..I know we’ll be okay. Just trust me, okay?”
Yuta crawled over you and gave your forehead a light peck.
You made love again then cuddled all night, but when morning came..so did reality.
————
You jump up at your desk, startled by a harsh gust of wind against your back.
What just happened? Where are you? Where is he?
You look around you and see towering wooden shelves filled with books.
How did you end up here?
“y/n? You okay?” You hear a young voice call to you.
You turn to see Charlotte, the 13-year old volunteer at the library.
The Library
Shit. You’re back.
You hold your head in your hands and wail.
Charlotte rushes over to you, hugging you tightly while shushing you.
“Y/n! Y/n! Be quiet! We’re in a library, you can’t be loud like this!”
You sniffle. “I know! But it was so good! I was so happy there!”
“What? Are you talking about your dream?”
That’s all it was..a sweet dream, an imaginative universe you only had a quick taste of...nothing was real now. How on Earth would you find him? You were back to reality.
Totoro walked across the desk and meowed.
You looked at him and pouted.
You knew who you were..a boring librarian that owned a cat named Totoro..but who was Yuta in this universe?
How would you find him?
“y/n?” Charlotte called out to you. “Do you want to go home?”
Several weeks passed and you slowly started to assimilate back into your old life. You googled his name but found nothing, he was nowhere to be found.
You just had to accept that it was a dream, a dream followed by the nightmare of reality.
You hoped that you would find your soulmate again, but you knew the chance was little to none. So you did what you did before. Work, eat, spend time with your best friend and roommate Delilah, sleep, then wake up to do it all over again.
Love didn’t have a place in your life, could you even come to accept a loved other than Yuta? Damn him for giving you a night in Paris to remember.
———
“The true crime section is in row 13.” You pointed to a large sign hanging from above reading “TRUE CRIME NOVELS.” You wondered how anyone could miss it, then again old people were usually the ones that needed the most help when they came to your library.
You turned back around to your returned-book cart that you were taking books from to stack the shelves with. But you noticed that it was now empty.
You were 75% sure that you didn’t put away ALL of the books before turning to help the senior citizen, yet all of them were gone.
All..except for one that had fallen to the floor. It was open when you picked it up. When you looked at the page that it was open to, you realized that it was a book of poems.
The poem it was opened to read:
She’s like the rain on summer days when the garden needs some nurturing...
She’s like a constellation of stars, oh she’s beautiful, and very gorgeous to me.
But I don’t even know her name, I only see her in a frame, yet her face is stuck in my mind
You squint your eyes, where have you seen this before?
she’s the girl in the portrait
the girl with the necklace
the girl with my heart
but the girl I don’t know
I could give her the world, but it’s not like she needs it from me
She’s a work of art, she’s the only thing I see
The girl with the necklace..
That’s it! It’s Yuta’s song! He wrote this, he’s out there somewhere. Perfect! Now you could track down the author and find him-
But wait.
You looked down to see the author’s name.
The One in the Middle
“Shit. It’s just like him to not put his real name on his work.”
You opened your laptop and immediately went to google.
“Who is the author named ‘The One in the Middle’?” You said as you typed.
Nothing. Nobody knew who he was. Many asked about his other poems, but there were no answers, only fan groups that praised the mysterious writer. ‘No one knows who he is but that adds to his ‘sexiness’ that’s what their Facebook post stated.
And none of his works were posted or published electronically, so you couldn’t ask someone to track his IP address like you did the first time.
You sigh and hold your head in your hands. “Damn it Yuta, why do you make things so difficult?”
It was comforting to know he’s out there somewhere, but you couldn’t help but lose hope. Was the universe messing with you?
———
A few weeks pass again and Delilah decides to drag you to the opening of a new art gallery downtown. Normally, she’d take her boyfriend with her, but he had basketball practice tonight.
“Thank you for coming with me, y/n! You know my professor, always making us look at other works for “inspiration” I mean, why can’t I just look at works online?” Delilah spoke as you two walked around. She was a musical theatre student, but had to visit an art gallery at least once a week to pass her art appreciation class.
She didn’t see the point in it, but you always had a connection to art that you couldn’t explain. No one in your family was a visual artist. Unlike in your “dream,” your grandmother wasn’t a painter and passed away before you could even meet her.
Nonetheless, color and technique was something you grew to appreciate.
There were about 50 people in the gallery, all high class looking. You felt underdressed in your black turtleneck, black jeans and jean jacket. That’s one thing that you did miss, wearing color all the time like you did in your dream. Now, you were back to wearing black. It was like a metaphor for how you felt. Your colorful and intense world has turned to black.
The only thing that stood out from your outfit was your necklace.
“I’m going to the restroom, I'll be right back!” Delilah skips away.
You nod then walk around a wall in the middle of the room. When you turn the corner, you see..yourself.
It’s the painting from your dream..the one of you slightly turned around. Your necklace is still in it too except..
You step closer and see that it’s different. The stone isn’t ruby anymore, no..
“It’s fuchsia..” you whisper. You glance down to see that the author’s name is The One with Many Friends.
“It’s funny because I was thinking it was more magenta, but you’re right..it really is fuchsia. You’ve got good eyes.”
You slowly turn when you recognize the voice.
Time starts to slow down. You can’t believe your eyes. It feels as though the world has stopped moving and it’s just the two of you once again after so much time.
It was Yuta.
Yuta smiles brightly when you look up at him, he recognizes you right away as you make the same pose you have in the painting.
“Yuta..” the name barely leaves your lips.
“It’s you..y/n.” He walks towards you, pace increasing with each step before taking you in his arms as all of his memories flood his brain. He had seen your face every night in his dreams but he couldn’t remember who you were. He painted you in an effort to figure out who you were, but it didn’t help.
Now finally, he got his answer.
Everything that was missing found its rightful place.
“I read your poem, but you used a pseudonym..again! I thought I would never find you.” You cry into his shoulder while holding onto him tightly.
Yuta smiles and caresses your hair.
“I told you...just trust me, we’ll be okay.”
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