#did i do a photoshoot with the movie ticket that i always keep with me in my phone case? yeah why | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

justmywritingstuff · 5 months

Text

Speechless Changes~Number 5

Summary:

When you always have done whatever it takes to get your goals, it's very hard to change or surprise people--even harder to leave them speechless.

In other words, the six firsts of Shadybug and Claw Noir's relationship that left someone speechless.

AO3

Warnings: language, panic attack

Word Count: 6.9k+

Author's notes: Hi! Sorry this one took a bit longer with work and the holidays and everything, but this part is at least a bit longer to make up for it. It's going to start as a little fun but then it's going to be a very quick tone change. Also a slight look into how I picture some of the other characters in this universe that probably won't really come up in this series. It came out a little choppy, but I really like it--I based some parts of it on something that really happened, so it's a little different. Lots of POV shifts in this one, so remember a line break means a shift in POV! Enjoy!

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

Number 5: Alya (first time they find the words for what they are)

Adrien is not off to a great start today. His photoshoot this morning was a complete mess and he no doubt would probably get an earful for his behavior later, nothing new there, but it threw his plans for the rest of the day for a loop.

He’s running late because of the stupid photoshoot and it’s very important to him that he manages to finally befriend Nino as Adrien with a ridiculous movie, if it works, it’s well worth skipping his Chinese lesson today. He’s tried several times already but something always happens, one of the Supreme’s minions starts terrorizing the city to get his and Shady’s attention, he got the address wrong and couldn’t ‘accidentally’ bump into Nino, he did something embarrassing and would rather die than be in public.

Why is this so hard? He’s just trying to coincidentally bump into Nino right when he’s walking home from school at the street by the movie theatre and coincidentally have tickets to see Nino’s favorite movie on the day Nino just so happens to be free because Adrien memorized his schedule…he’s aware how creepy it sounds when he says it like that, but that’s literally his most logical and least fucked up route.

Since he can’t join Nino and Marinette’s school until the next school year, he needs to improvise a way to meet Nino that isn’t ‘oh hey, you should be my fucking friend because a me from another universe told me we’d make great friends and I have shit social skills, so I really want that! Wanna see a movie I know is your favorite with me?’ Yeah, no, that isn’t an option, that’s how he gets sent to a mental institution and never sees his Bug again—even Plagg agreed that was a terrible idea.

He considered for a bit asking if maybe Marinette could find a way to stealthily introduce them to each other, but she’s just as socially inept as he is and is trying to do something similar with Alya—granted she’s made more progress than he has, but still not a great option for this.

Today is the day that it would finally work if he could just get to the right spot in time. His plan is perfect, he’ll literally bump into Nino by ‘accident’ and drop his movie tickets, Nino would pick them up and they would start talking and then he would casually mention that he had an extra ticket and invite Nino and wa-la! Friendship!

At least, that’s what he keeps telling himself as he’s run-walking to the spot he’s supposed to ‘accidentally’ bump into Nino. If his stupid photoshoot hadn’t run late, he would have had time to get there on time and not worry about missing his chance.

He turns the corner, seeing the street he plans to cross to look more casual when running into Nino—cross the street, turn to the right, walk right into Nino’s walking path and into Nino because he’s checking his phone, he’s gone over the plan in his head hundreds of times. He hopes he doesn’t say the wrong thing and embarrass himself, he might die and crawl into a hole if he fucks this up.

He sighs in relief as he sees Nino walking the way he walks every day, distractedly looking at his phone like always. He takes a deep breath and crosses the street putting his plan in motion, this is going to work.

He turns to the right and pulls out his phone and the movie tickets, but right as he does so, a pigeon flies into his face.

He leans back in surprise, trying to get away from it, and loses a bit of balance. His nose starts to itch and he sneezes so hard it hurts, and the momentum from his sneeze propels him forward—falling face first to the ground in the most ungraceful, embarrassing, and ridiculous way he ever could.

He prays to every divine entity in existence that Nino didn’t see that. If he did, he’ll never want to be Adrien’s friend because Adrien is too much of a dumbass. If he’s lucky, Nino will just keep walking because he was too busy on his phone to notice and Adrien will take his idiocy to his grave—Nino never needs to know that it was Adrien.

—

Nino isn’t doing anything today, normally he’d go meet with Betterfly or hang with Alya, but Alya is helping Marinette with something and Betterfly didn’t need him until later, so today is a do-nothing-and-play-videogames-by-himself day. Maybe he should make more friends he can hang out with for days like this?

He got along fine with his classmates, but he didn’t really spend time with any of them outside of school. Neither did Alya, really, they’re both always so busy working together with the resistance that friendships were kind of harder to keep. He hopes that she and Marinette might be good friends, Marinette has always been quiet and kept to herself (which he couldn’t really blame her with everything with Chloe), but she had been a bit more receptive of other people lately and her and Alya could probably get along pretty well. Nino, however, didn’t really have any great options to consider in that department. Nathaneal is completely antisocial, Ivan is too cheery and always with his scary girlfriend, Kim is a jerk who tries to hang with Chloe, and Max is always busy with his robot death matches.

He sighs as he walks home from school about to pass by the movie theatre. He just wants some dude who will chill with him and watch a dumb movie or something every now and then.

He puts his phone away and looks up to see some guy on his phone that looks incredibly familiar walking toward him. Is that…Adrien Agreste? The angry model dude?

Before Nino can be sure of that, a random pigeon comes flying directly towards the guy’s face. The guy leans back like he’s terrified of the thing and then sneezes so hard he’s pushed forward, falling face first into the concrete.

On the one hand, Nino should make sure he isn’t hurt or anything, that should probably be his first thought as someone who fights with the resistance for hope and all that. On the other hand, though, that is the funniest thing he’s ever seen. So, laughing his butt off is what he does first.

“Dude,” Nino says as he closes the distance between them between laughs, “I’m s-sorry. I’m trying really hard not to laugh. Dude, are you…are you okay?”

The guy groans and slowly raises his arm up to give a weak thumbs up, causing Nino to laugh again.

“Here, dude.” Nino says, finally calm enough to speak. “Let me help you up.” He grabs the guy’s arm and helps to pull him up. Now that he’s face to face with the guy, he’s certain it’s the model guy, Alya is gonna have a field day with this when he tells her. “Hey, aren’t you that Adrien Agreste guy?”

Adrien’s face turns a deep red and he nods. He grits his teeth and turns around, sprinting away at full speed.

“Huh.” Nino says to himself, confused at whatever just happened.

He looks back to the ground and notices the guy had dropped something. He kneels down to pick it up and sees that it’s two movie tickets for next week to his favorite movie that Alya refuses to watch with him.

“Weird guy.” Nino says. “Great taste in movies…maybe I can meet him next week to give him back his tickets.”

Nino puts the tickets in his pockets, hoping the guy is okay and will still come to the movie theatre next week so he can give them back to him. Nino did say he’d like someone to see a dumb movie with…maybe this Adrien guy would let him tag along?

—

It was a terrible, horrible day, the worst day that Adrien’s had in a long time. It was the kind of day where one bad thing happened after another, each worse than the last. He lost his temper at a photoshoot that went longer than it was supposed to, he missed one of his lessons, he had badly embarrassed himself in front of Nino when he tried to invite him to the movies, and to top it all off he had to follow his embarrassment with Nino immediately with a long difficult conversation with his father.

Truthfully, the other stuff was bad, but talking to his father is what really pushed him over the edge.

Before the other universe, he would deal with a bad day with incredible violence or screaming matches with Shady, anything he could throw his anger at really. Now though, whenever he has a bad day, all he wants is to spend time with Marinette and just be around her—whether as Adrien or Claw, he didn’t care as long as she’s there. If she’s there with him, then that’s all that matters and he could be okay.

He thought that being contacted by Betterfly at this time at night would mean exactly that, that one of the Supreme’s minions is running rampant and he and Shady could go beat someone up then she would sit with him, and they would talk or kiss for hours and the world would feel less shitty because he was with her. He was excited for some super-powered person to be out and about fucking shit up, he wanted that. Is that a fucked-up thing to want that to happen? Yes. But, that’s his life, he has to find happiness or whatever somewhere. So, that’s what he was hoping for when Betterfly contacted him.

This, however, is not what he wanted after the day he had.

He didn’t want to listen to Betterfly lecture him and only him on all the things he’s trying to be better at. He didn’t want to listen to how much hope can make things better and what a great job he’s doing. He didn’t want to hear this man who is good and kind and cares about everything tell him how much he worries and cares about him and all the things he’s noticed while they fight for a better world. He didn’t want to hear a stranger tell him how he’s doing a great job when his own father just spent all his time ignoring him and tried to lecture him on how he was worried about him making mistakes and hoping that he would change for the better. His own father ignored him and ignored the pain he felt about his mother then had the gall to look him in the eye and tell him that he wanted him to change because of a stupid Chinese lesson.

Before speaking to Betterfly, he would have dealt with everything he was feeling like it was anger. But with the way Betterfly is almost saying the perfect opposite of what his father told him, what he’s feeling is starting to feel more and more like pain.

How could he sit and listen to a stranger that reminds him so much of his father go on about how much he’s improved and changed when his own father had told him how disappointed he was that he hadn’t? That thought in itself is too much, he can’t do it.

“I can’t be here.” Claw growls in the middle of Betterfly’s sentence. He stands from the chair across from Betterfly in the debriefing room.

“I’m sorry.” Betterfly says. “Did I say something insulting? I swear, I didn’t mean—"

“You didn’t.” He answers with clenched fists.

He knows it’s not Betterfly’s fault, he knows it really isn’t and that Betterfly means well. But, he can’t help but think of his father around him and right now he can’t be here because of that. He can’t think of his father right now, he can’t let himself get dragged down that rabbit hole. This isn’t anger, this is him about to fall apart into a shit ton of broken pieces and that can’t happen—not here.

He grits his teeth and walks to the door.

“Is something wrong?” Betterfly asks, sounding genuinely concerned.

He can’t be here, he can’t deal with this now. The longer he stays and listens to Betterfly complimenting him and saying things he wishes his father would say, the harder it is to breathe.

“I can’t be here.” He says again as he steps out the door, barely holding it together.

He doesn’t know where he’s going, but he just needs to leave.

He bumps into someone in the halls of the resistance headquarters as he’s trying to keep his feet from giving out under him, but his vision is starting to blur so he pays no attention to whoever it is. His breathing is picking up and he doesn’t know what this is, but he just can’t focus, he needs to get away to somewhere, away from everyone. Before long he finds himself in a secluded room in the resistance’s headquarters, one that led into the sewers nearby.

His hands shake as he grabs his baton from behind him, he can hardly see what’s in front of him but it’s like his shaking hands are working on their own as they use his baton to call the one person he needs to see more than anything.

“Hey fleabag,” Shady’s voice answers. “What’s—”

“M-M-Marinette?” He barely croaks out.

“Stay where you are.” She responds immediately. “I’m coming.”

He nods, even though he knows she can’t see it, and slides his back down the wall. He hugs his knees to his chest and covers his ears with his hands.

Everything is so loud, even the silence is deafening, and he can feel himself shaking as tears form in his eyes.

He hates it. He hates himself for losing it. He hates that his father’s voice is always in his head. He hates that his father ignores him. He hates that his mother is gone. He hates that he feels so alone and empty sometimes. He hates that this feeling never really goes away.

His chest feels tight and for a moment he’s afraid he’s having a heart attack, or maybe the disease from overusing his powers is coming back. He doesn’t know what’s going on, he just knows that everything feels wrong.

—

Marinette needs to be Shady tonight, she needs an escape from the day she had. It wasn’t the worst of her days, but with Chloe and her parents, it was definitely a long one and she needs some fresh air. She isn’t expecting Adrien to join her as Claw, though she certainly is hoping he might, she just wants to see where the night will take her.

Her yo-yo vibrates and she smiles, seeing Claw’s familiar face on the screen. She’s excited he happened to be out at the same time as her, maybe they could have a relaxing night together just the two of them until sunrise since she hadn’t seen him all day like she desperately wanted.

“Hey fleabag,” Shady says, answering her yo-yo. “What’s—”

She’s interrupted by a barely audible croak on the other end from Claw, “M-M-Marinette?”

“Stay where you are.” She responds immediately. “I’m coming.”

She checks his location on her yo-yo and immediately starts jumping over rooftops and sprinting to get to him faster than she’s ever gone before.

She and her partner aren’t normal when it comes to a lot of things, whatever it is that they are is one of those things that can’t really be explained to anyone else. So, to pretty much the rest of the world, the things that they both did or said weren’t easy to see the meaning of. To her, though, her partner is a puzzle that only she can put together, a book she knows how to read.

One thing that has always—always—been a big part of their ‘more’ situation is that their real names are never said lightly, even if they aren’t in the costumes, they always use one of their hundreds of nicknames for each other. She never questioned it, it’s just one of those things they never really needed to talk about. But the unspoken rule between them has always been that the use of one of their real names meant it’s time to be serious, time to be a bit vulnerable together, time to be honest, or that something is very very wrong. Hearing her partner’s broken voice saying her name like that…she knows that something is wrong and she doesn’t know what, but whatever it is, she knows she has to get to him fast.

She finally yo-yos her way to the resistance’s headquarters and into the secret entrance. She checks his location frantically as she runs down the halls, running past Betterfly, Nino, and some of the other members. She crashes into Alya for a moment, which brings them both to the ground.

“Hey!” Alya says.

Shady doesn’t answer, she’s already getting up and continuing her sprint to find her partner—she’s so close and she’s already taken way too long to find him. She couldn’t stand the thought that something is terribly wrong and he’s all alone.

She turns down several different halls at full speed until she finally finds herself in a secluded room that leads to the sewers where Claw is against the wall, shaking with his head against his knees. She’s never seen him look so broken, so vulnerable.

She sits beside him and pulls his head against her heart, holding him like he might slip away.

He takes a shallow breath and slowly wraps his arms around her, still shaking—he seems like he might be crying, but if he is, she wouldn’t dare comment on it.

She gently pets his hair as his grip tightens. She can feel him sobbing against her chest and every inch of her body is screaming at her to help him, to stay with him forever.

“I’m here.” She whispers. “Stay with me. Breathe.”

She’s never seen him like this before, which, unfortunately means she doesn’t know the right way to help him. She would give anything to take away whatever is wrong, she’d take it all on herself if she could—there isn’t a thing in this universe or any other for that matter that she wouldn’t do for him. She doesn’t know what happened or why, but she hopes the words she tells herself when she falls apart on her worst days are enough to calm him down too, that’s all she can do for him.

“I’m here. Stay with me. Breathe.” She repeats with a slight squeeze to show him it’s true.

His breathing slows down, getting less erratic, and he starts nuzzling into her chest as he seems to calm down.

“I’m here.” Shady says as she pets his hair and kisses his head. “I promise I’m here.”

Shallow breaths against her chest send vibrations through her whole body as she lets him rest in her hold. She couldn’t tell you how long they stay like this, it could be seconds or hours or days, but she doesn’t care—she would stay like that for months or even years if it meant that her partner would be okay.

As Claw’s breathing finally evens out, he hugs her tighter like she isn’t close enough to him. She couldn’t blame him, when she sees him after she breaks down it feels like he’s never close enough…not even when there’s nothing between them but skin.

“I-I’m not fucking crying.” He says into her chest.

“Course you’re not.” Shady answers.

They were taught by the Supreme and everything else in this fucked up world that crying meant weakness, and despite the fact that they both know now that isn’t true in the slightest, it’s hard to unlearn things like that when it feels like the whole world is falling on you. So even though she knows that he is crying, she would never dare contradict him if he says otherwise and God help anyone else that fucking dared to comment on it.

Claw hums and nuzzles into her chest again. He presses his ear to her heart, listening to her heartbeat as she sees him close his eyes.

She takes a deep breath so he can feel her chest rise and fall, so he knows that she’s there with him and he isn’t alone.

“…You haven’t asked.” Claw whispers after a long bit of silence, his eyes still closed as he leans against her.

“Do you want me to ask?” Shady whispers back.

His lip quivers and he tightens his grip on her.

“…No.” He says weakly.

“Then I won’t.” She answers.

She keeps petting his head, trying to give him as much comfort as he needs.

If he wants to tell her, he’ll tell her when he’s ready, if not then she’ll still be there to keep his head out of the water no matter what. The two of them are anger, violence, always have been and maybe always will be. What people often forget she figures, is that also means they’re angry and violent to themselves, so they break harder when they hit the ground. She knows that’s how she’s always been, it’s how she keeps going—she’s so broken that she breaks all at once over everything instead of all the time. People like her and Claw…one small thing could break them into millions of pieces because they spent so much time trying not to be broken. She’s never seen Adrien like this before, so she knows something set him off that broke the dam. Whatever happens or happened, she’s there and would never leave him to deal with it on his own.

They both stay quiet for a long time as she comforts him and he calms down.

“I-I missed a lesson today.” Claw finally says.

“Oh?” Shady answers, letting him speak on his terms and only answering to show him she’s listening intently.

“I get angry a lot…have a nasty reputation for it.”

“Hmm.”

“I cause trouble and chaos sometimes.”

“Yeah?”

“But I’m trying. I’m trying so fucking hard.”

His voice comes out scratchy at the end of his sentence and she leans her head against his.

“I know.” She says, and she did, she knows how hard it is.

“He-he can’t stand me.” He chokes out. “All of that and all he cares about is that I missed a lesson…that I’m going down a bad path and need to be better.”

“Oh.”

“And then Betterfly…he-he’s proud of me and…and…” Claw trails off and squeezes Shady again, clearly fighting fresh tears.

Shady grits her teeth and tightens her grip on him, realizing what set him off.

Betterfly had pulled him into a lecture about how much he improved and was doing good…which in itself, would probably be whatever on a normal day. But he missed a lesson today, which meant that likely sometime today before Betterfly lectured him about the good he is doing, his dickhead father had lectured him about how he needs to change and be better.

How could he not see how hard Adrien is trying? Marinette definitely isn’t the best person for advice with a parent—she couldn’t even bring herself to talk about the issues she has with her own—but when it comes to Gabriel Agreste, she wishes she could just grab him by the shoulders and scream in his face ‘Hey fuck-head, your son is a fucking masterpiece work of art who’s doing his best and you’re an asshole for ignoring him. Stop being a fucking dickhead.’ It broke her heart to know that this man could make her fearless partner crumble so easily and didn’t even think for a second that he was doing it—it’s enough to make her want to cry.

“Maybe he’s right to ignore me.” Claw says. “Maybe I’m not worth knowing.”

Oh, hell no. At that, her heartbreak turns to rage and protectiveness. Shady is not letting her partner think something like that about himself for a single second.

“Hey, listen to me.” She says as she grabs his cheeks to bring his eyes to hers. “You are amazing exactly as you are, if your father doesn’t see that, then fuck him.” She leans her forehead against his. “You are the reason I can see the world getting better, the reason I’ve come this far. You are incredible, and if the rest of the world can’t see it, then screw the whole damn world. You’re trying to be better and you’re making a difference.”

“But I’m a—" He tries but Shady cuts him off with a kiss to his lips.

She pulls back a bit so she can look him in the eyes so he knows how badly she means it.

“What you are is my partner, my best friend…my everything more and inbetween.” Shady says with determination. “You are so important to me, and I love you more than anything, so know that I’m here at your side no matter how shitty things get because I’m with you no matter what.”

He blinks at her, taken aback by her sudden bluntness. He leans back into her chest and pulls her into his lap so she’s straddling his hips, holding her in his arms. It’s something he’s done before, usually when his lips were on hers like they were animals and things were about to get incredibly heated, but this time she knows it’s just because he needs her close—nothing more and nothing less. He moves his head up to her shoulder, resting his face in the crook of her neck like he’s trying to memorize her scent.

“Hmm.” He says into her neck, his voice scratchy from crying. “You always smell like fresh bread…it’s how I know I’m home.”

She hums in response, melting into his arms. They had never said that out loud before, it had always been another unspoken thing between them—for them, home would always be a person and though they don’t know when it became the case, they both know that home is each other.

He’s calmed down enough that now all he wants is to be with her, just have her close to him—it’s the clingy protective side of him that comes out when the lights are low and their voices are silent, the side of him that pulls her closer when they sleep next to each other like he’s afraid he’ll wake up and she’ll be gone, the side that no one but her gets to see.

She moves a hand up to the back of his neck to scratch his head comfortingly and a low purr rumbles from his chest. She smiles, she already knew that he purrs sometimes, but he isn’t always aware that he’s doing it. Normally, she might tease him about it when he stops, but given how he’s feeling today, she decides to let him do anything he pleases without any remarks as long as it helps him.

Claw takes in an uneasy breath and nuzzles his nose into her neck.

“That’s the first time you told me you love me.” He whispers like he might start crying again.

She blinks, suddenly realizing what she had said to him. She didn’t even realize it…it had just slipped out. She could deny it, say she meant something else in case it was a mistake, but then that would be a lie because she meant every word. As frightening as saying her feelings out loud is, when it comes to Claw, she thinks he deserves to hear it—even if he doesn’t say it back.

“Yeah, I guess it is.” She says back.

“Did you…did you mean it?”

“…You know I did, Cat.”

He sighs and she can feel the slight smile he has against her shoulder.

“I love you too, Bug.”

She lets out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding in.

They always had trouble saying how they really feel, they left so much unspoken and were so unsure of themselves that direct communication like this is rare. This isn’t how she pictured this…she always figured they would say something in the heat of battle or when one of them got hurt. She never would have thought it would happen when he had been crying into her chest and it would just slip out as easily as a hello. She’s relieved he said it back, but there’s no fireworks, no dramatic declarations, no big emotional ‘I love you, I love you’s. It simply is and was, as nice as it is to hear it, she didn’t need that and she didn’t think he did either—they both already knew.

They stay like that in silence for a minute, content just to be.

He hums a tune she doesn’t know then pulls back from her shoulder, resting his forehead against hers as her hands move to his chest.

“That’s what we are…you are.” He says, breaking the silence.

“What?” She answers.

“I’ve been trying to put words to what we are, but nothing seems to fit for how much we mean to each other. I call you my partner but…girlfriend, lover, friend…none of those feel right for what we are, but what you called us? That sounds perfect to me.”

“What?”

He looks down and moves one of his hands from her back to her hands, entwining their fingers as they both look at them.

“My everything more and inbetween.” He says as he meets her eyes.

She smiles at him and pulls his hand to her lips, gently kissing his knuckles.

“Yeah…” She says, “I like the sound of that.”

—

“Hey!” Alya growls as Shadybug crashes into her in the Resistance headquarters.

Shady doesn’t answer, she’s already getting up and continuing her sprint to wherever she’s running to so panicked.

Alya huffs in aggravation and quickly gets up, following after her. She can’t be up to anything good to be running like that in their headquarters.

Despite what Nino told her and the fact that he’s suddenly very supportive of Claw Noir and Shadybug being a part of their team, Alya is having a hard time believing that the two former villains could ever be anything but evil. After whatever happened when Nino was alone with them in the debriefing room, he’s been cheering them on and acting like their advocate. He keeps trying to tell her to give them a chance, that they’re just teenagers like them that are trying to be better—though they’ve been helping the Resistance, she hasn’t seen anything to point to them being more than murderous brutes.

She follows Shadybug down several different halls, barely keeping up with her. Shadybug finally stops in a secluded room and Alya stays by the entrance, trying to catch her breath and not let Shadybug know she’s there.

Alya expects to stumble on Shadybug meeting with one of the Supreme’s minions or find her with a beaten hostage or see her dragging a dead body or some other terrible villain thing that would explain why she was running to get here. The last thing she expects to see, however, is Claw Noir against the wall, shaking with his head against his knees. She blinks, not sure if she can trust her eyes, he looks so…broken.

Shady sits beside Claw and pulls his head against her heart, holding him gently like you would hold a kid. He takes a shallow breath and slowly wraps his arms around her, still shaking—he seems like he might be crying.

Alya blinks, confused. Shady wasn’t running to hurt someone or deal with something she did…she was running to Claw. She…she cares about him? How could that be?

Alya thought they hated each other, even with the weird incident with Nino, she couldn’t see them NOT hating each other. Not even two days ago she saw them screaming at each other before Shady had tackled Claw, she left before anything else happened, but she imagined things got very violent. But with the scene in front of her…maybe Nino has a point?

She watches as Shady gently pets Claw’s hair and he sobs against her chest. It seems like a private moment that she shouldn’t be there for, but she’s never seen them look so incredibly…human. She can’t bring herself to look away and poises her ears to listen, the reporter in her needing to know more even though she should probably leave them be.

Claw’s breathing slows down, getting less erratic, and he starts nuzzling into Shady’s chest as he seems to calm down.

Shady says something in a whisper, something Alya tries and fails to hear.

“I’m here.” Shady says as she pets Claw’s hair and kisses his head—at normal volume now, so Alya can actually hear. “I promise I’m here.”

Claw’s breathing finally evens out.

“I-I’m not fucking crying.” He says into Shady’s chest.

“Course you’re not.” Shady answers.

She hears Shady take a deep breath, then more whispering she can’t hear.

“…No.” Claw says weakly, loud enough that she can hear it but soft enough that she has to strain her ears to do so.

“Then I won’t.” Shady answers.

Shady and Claw stay quiet for a long time as she continues comforting him and he calms down.

Alya doesn’t know how long she watches them sit in silence, and frankly, she really should go. This seems like something incredibly private, and even if the two of them are supposed to be these ruthless and crazy villains, this seems like something that comes from pain and Alya can’t help but feel a bit heart broken at the sight of a broken boy who looks like his world is crumbling. She should leave, she really shouldn’t eavesdrop on them in a moment like this, but she can’t bring herself to move from behind the wall she’s watching them from.

“I-I missed a lesson today.” She hears Claw say after awhile.

“Oh?” Shady answers.

“I get angry a lot…have a nasty reputation for it.”

“Hmm.”

“I cause trouble and chaos sometimes.”

“Yeah?”

“But I’m trying. I’m trying so fucking hard.”

His voice comes out scratchy at the end of his sentence and Shady leans her head against his, his scratchy voice pulling at Alya’s heart strings like a kicked puppy.

“I know.”

“He-he can’t stand me.” Claw chokes out. “All of that and all he cares about is that I missed a lesson…that I’m going down a bad path and need to be better.”

“Oh.”

“And then Betterfly…he-he’s proud of me and…and…” Claw trails off, clearly fighting fresh tears.

Alya’s heart breaks a little more at that. What is this poor boy dealing with at home? Is that why he’s so angry all the time? Because of what his civilian life is like?

If Claw is dealing with this kind of thing, maybe Shady is too, maybe that’s why they’re always at each other’s side, because at least they have someone who slightly gets it. Before, Alya tried not to admit it, but Shady does sometimes remind her of Marinette, her new friend. Marinette is a bit socially inept and has a temper, but Alya could tell that she was dealing with something that puts her in a bad place (Alya assumes it’s the pressure of working for her parent’s bakery way more than she should), and she’s been trying really hard lately to come out her shell—like how Shady might be trying to be better, to be good.

She sees Shady grit her teeth. Shady must have a really good idea of what he’s dealing with at home, maybe that’s why she fought so violently sometimes—she’s protective. Actually, thinking about it…all the times Shady got too violent against one of the Supreme’s minions, Claw had gotten hurt or hit. This is dangerous, seeing them like this, seeing them in such a human way. Alya’s already starting to doubt what she knows about them, it’s dangerous to let her guard down so easily.

“Maybe he’s right to ignore me.” Claw says. “Maybe I’m not worth knowing.”

Oh, now that’s messed up. Is he talking about his dad? Before Alya is able to think about that, she sees Shady’s face flash with anger.

“Hey, listen to me.” Shady says as she grabs Claw’s cheeks to bring his eyes to hers. “You are amazing exactly as you are, if your father doesn’t see that, then fuck him.” She leans her forehead against his. “You are the reason I can see the world getting better, the reason I’ve come this far. You are incredible, and if the rest of the world can’t see it, then screw the whole damn world. You’re trying to be better and you’re making a difference.”

That doesn’t sound like something you’d say to someone you hate. That almost sounds sweet enough to be a confession of affection. She’s comforting him and building him up, even if it is a bit intense, she seems so angry that he would talk about himself that way. Maybe she’s starting to genuinely care about him?

“But I’m a—" Claw starts to say but Shady cuts him off with a kiss to his lips.

WAIT. THAT WAS A KISS. Alya just watched the two people who hate each other more than anything KISS. Was Nino right? Are they dating?

Shady pulls back a bit and looks Claw in the eyes.

At that, Alya’s mouth opens completely and she’s gaping at them like a fish, completely speechless as they don’t even really react to the bombshell Shady just said that’s taking a wrecking ball to Alya’s brain.

Claw blinks at Shady and leans back into her chest, pulling her into his lap so she’s straddling his hips, holding her in his arms. He moves his head up to her shoulder, resting his face in the crook of her neck.

“Hmm.” Claw says into her neck, his voice scratchy from crying. “You always smell like fresh bread…it’s how I know I’m home.”

Claw whispers something Alya can’t hear. Not that it really matters, her whole world view is shifting as she witnesses all of this.

Shady hums and says, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Did you…” Claw hesitates. “Did you mean it?”

“…You know I did, Cat.”

Claw sighs and says, “I love you too, Bug.”

Alya blinks, finally snapping herself out of it.

Nino was right…they, they’re together. More than that, they’re in love. They aren’t the crazy vicious villains (okay, maybe they are a bit a crazy and vicious, but not as much as Alya thought) that Alya knew them to be. They’re just two people who are messed up because of their lives and who are trying their best. And they love each other, maybe just starting to feel each other in something new and complicated that they don’t understand. Whatever the case—new relationship or not—they genuinely care about each and that in itself meant there’s more to them than just being evil murderous villains.

Claw hums a tune Alya doesn’t know then pulls back from Shady's shoulder, resting his forehead against hers as her hands move to his chest.

“That’s what we are…you are.” Claw says, breaking the silence that had Alya’s mind reeling.

“What?” Shady answers.

“What?”

Claw looks down and moves one of his hands from her back to her hands, entwining their fingers as they both look at them.

“My everything more and inbetween.” Claw says as he meets her eyes.

Oh. Wait. Oh no.

Shady smiles at Claw and pulls his hand to her lips, gently kissing his knuckles.

“Yeah…” Shady says, “I like the sound of that.”

Oh God. Oh no, no, no. She shouldn’t have heard that. They’re not dating, no, that’s not what they are. They’re existing for each other like there’s no one else in the world, like nothing matters without the other.

Alya turns around with a blush on her cheeks, anxiously trying to leave the couple without either of them noticing.

How is Alya supposed to look them in the eye knowing that they’re the most beautiful thing together? She’s in love with them as a couple, freaking ‘everything more and inbetween’. Who says something like that after having a breakdown? How is she supposed to cope with the fact that the two most violent bloodthirsty people she’s ever known make a couple so sweet she wants to cry?

And just like that, Shady and Claw go from being two people Alya could never trust to becoming the two people in a relationship that Alya is determined to protect.

#speechless changes #claw noir #shadybug #miraculous ladybug #fanfic

4 notes · View notes

luxsocialite · 3 years

Text

Goddess’ guide to dating yourself

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but ladies we need to start dating ourselves.

Whether you are in a relationship or not, you need to do this.

Why?

Because your best relationship in your life should be with yourself. In fact, your longest relationship is with yourself. Show your self some love! Fall in love with yourself. Dating yourself can help you become more confident and secure with yourself. It can help us know our worth.

1. Find something you are passionate about and hone in on it! This is your chance to do and try new things until you find something you like and even when you find something you like, keep trying things. Go back and do things you used to do and see if you still like it. Try painting, photography, yoga, reading, guitar, knitting... the list is endless.

2. Become more independent!

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but never did because you were waiting for someone else to do it with you? This is your time to do it by yourself. Life is short, you don’t have time to wait for someone else to do something with you. Go take that class by yourself, go see the world by yourself, go shopping by yourself, take yourself to that new restaurant.

3. Get to know yourself more!

In more ways than one, you should get to know yourself. My favorite way to do this is to answer those question prompts from pinterest. They can help you find your passions, your limits, your dreams, your desires. Find your limits and boundaries. Things that you will and won’t put up with anymore and stick to them. Also, Masturbation, ladies. Know how to make yourself feel good. Your pleasure shouldn’t be solely dependent on someone else.

4. Get in tuned with your body and mind!

Try meditating, journaling, yoga, vision boarding. Learn what your body likes and dislikes. Do your makeup a new way. And then do it again. Get a massage or facial. Or DIY it. Wear that killer outfit you’ve been saving. Do a photoshoot. Find your angles. Do breath work. Affirmations. Therapy can do wonders for your life.

Date ideas?

1. Take yourself on a picnic. Pack a cute basket of your favorite snacks and foods. Grab a bottle of wine and a blanket and sit with yourself in the park. Maybe read that book you’ve been meaning to.

2. Watch a movie. Years ago, I used to buy matinee tickets, buy popcorn and watch movies at the theater by myself and it was wonderful. You can do the same at home.

3. Go to a restaurant. I know the allure of take out will be hard to resist but do it! Dress up in your finest outfit. Make your makeup and hair killer. Take yourself to the cute cafe or restaurant you’ve been dying to try. Order something new. Savor your food.

4. Take yourself to the store. If you’re a bookworm like me, I’d suggest Barnes and noble or another book store. If you’re not a book person, try a clothing store or a tea shop or other specialty shop. Go to a store you’ve never been to. Take your time, look around. Take pictures of everything. Imagine yourself buying something. Actually buy it, if you can. Take note of all the things you want in that store.

5. Organize. Hear me out here. Make a date out of de-cluttering and organizing. Turn on your favorite playlist or tv show or podcast. Start clearing out things you don’t need and make room for new things. Sing at the top of your lungs. Dance like no one’s watching. Make a fashion show out of it. Make your house cozy and smell good. Let it become a place you enjoy being in.

Get out there and do the things you love to do! Fall in love with life!

4K notes · View notes

iu-jjang · 3 years

Text

[TRANS] 211028 Elle Korea Magazine Interview with IU

‘I feel Gucci’ means I feel really good right now. Was there any moment today that you felt that way?

IU: The styling and size (of the photoshoot) suited me well, so I was able to pose confidently. I imagined myself to be a lady who wants to stay single and is quiet and loves riding horses (laughs).

I heard that you finished filming for the movie ‘Broker’ and the overseas shoot for ‘Dream’ has been postponed to next year. I get the sense that as a musician, you take the initiative without a doubt, but as an actress, you willingly offer yourself as a resource (for the film project).

IU: Ever since I took on the role as an album producer, I’ve become someone who tells stories on my own. I think taking on the producer, lyricist and performer roles gives me the benefit of the freedom to express myself independently. Yet, at the same time, the disadvantage is that it is hard for me to bring out something from within me. On the other hand, as an actress, my role is comparatively more defined. In the process of exchanging ideas with the director and other actors, there have been moments that I had unexpected strokes of luck. Both of the roles are always stimulating and tormenting me in their own different ways.

While you have emphasised the range of your abilities, there was a time when the 3-level high note defined who you were. Are you still concerned about improving your vocal techniques?

IU: As I was preparing for my 5th album ‘LILAC’, I put in effort to not neglect that aspect. I felt that at some point, I began to put more focus on conveying a certain message than on the vocals. Thinking that it’s high time that as a singer I should work harder to study vocals, I tried singing every track many times and thought hard about them. Without losing my identity, I plan to keep experimenting with new genres. Besides doing it for the listeners, it’s also something I have to do so that I myself would not get tired of it and can have fun doing music.

I don’t think we would get tired of listening to IU’s music though (laughs). Was there a definite turning point in your career?

IU: It was when I released ‘Palette’ at the age of 25. Back then, I felt that for the first time, I became someone who can’t be easily put aside. I think celebrity IU had taken an exam of a certain level and earned the ticket to be able to proceed to the next level.

You described it as an exam, so there were times when you had to be evaluated or when you received hate right? Although you’ve now become someone that people approve of and feel a sense of affinity towards. What does the public mean to you?

IU: They are people who lived through this era together with me. From writing and sharing honestly about the emotions and changes I felt as a person, I think I was able to naturally develop that sense of affinity. Of course, I think that my heart is more anxious though. The public is represented by different opinions and appearances, depending on the age group, but there’s only one of me standing in front of everyone throughout the past 13 years.

Even so, it is clearly true that for this particular generation, the IU impact is crazy. What’s something you want to tell girls younger than you that “it’s ok, they don’t have to be like that”?

IU: Trying too hard to make others satisfied. It seems that living in our society, at some point we would suddenly have this period when we become cynical or tough. It’s the moment when we realise that trying hard to receive that much favour and concern from others is honestly not that important in our lives. I also want to tell them to not be too afraid of embarrassing themselves. I think I missed out on quite a lot of fun because of that.

In the final song of the final album of your 20s, ‘Epilogue’, you wrote, ‘I won’t be anywhere, but perhaps my traces will be everywhere’. Your lyrics give the impression of being rather aloof. What kind of listeners did you have in mind as you wrote these lyrics?

IU: The listeners (I had in mind) for ‘Epilogue’ are all the people who loved me entirely, even if just for one brief moment. These are people who exchanged sincere feelings with me at least once. While the nuance of the song title might have watered it down slightly, it’s actually words I want to leave behind when I leave this world, which I selected and wrote as a letter, kind of like a final will.* It’s not a subject that came to my mind when I was feeling empty or lonely. Instead, I was in a ‘full’ mental state.

* (T/L note: An epilogue is a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened. The meaning is slightly different from a will left behind by someone.)

You once said that there is no opposite to the concept of ‘loneliness’. Have you perhaps found your answer yet?

IU: I feel like my answer is wrong every time. I thought ‘elation’ would be the furthest in meaning from loneliness, but when I’m elated, I actually feel more lonely. What about ‘focus’ then? When I’m in a focused state, I don’t think I’ve ever felt lonely.

How do you feel about so many people laughing and crying and feeling happy and consoled by your songs?

IU: It’s a medal I cherish the most that cannot be replaced by anything else. There are times when I am motivated by the positive feedback of the listeners and also times when I am motivated by my own satisfaction (with my songs). It’s a close match between both types of motivation, I think. Self-satisfaction brings about a more fundamental happiness or sense of achievement. Feedback from others makes me more humble and objective.

Many people look forward to the depth and range of your understanding of emotions. What is it like when others are overflowing with sincerity towards you?

IU: In those moments, I become weak. For some reason, I feel sorry and melancholy as well. That’s why I received it negatively when I was young, since it made me weak and sad. I’m fine with it now though. I like the fact that someone else’s sincerity makes me feel weak and I like that it makes me feel like crying and if I do cry, that’s even better.

The current K-pop scene seems to be dominated by performances with strong visuals. One could say that artist IU’s position is specially regarded (in the K-pop scene).

IU: It’s fascinating. From the perspective of overseas audiences who don’t share the same language as us, it’s only natural that there’s a preference for concerts with amazing performances. My concerts are mainly my voice and narration, yet my concert team and I are proud that my overseas concert audience numbers keep increasing and the concert venues are getting larger. I’m always so touched by the effort that my audience put in to learn Korean and fully understand the lyrics to my songs.

What qualities do the people who assist you in your music and that you trust and work together with have, besides talent?

IU: Producer Lee Jong Hoon is one of my closest friends and who has had a big influence on my way of thinking and values since I was 15 years old, so I will use him as an example. Whether in the past or nowadays, when we meet, we would sit in the studio with delicious food in front of us and talk about this and that for a long time, until we have nothing else to talk about and only then would we start to craft something. We are not embarrassed about worthless ideas or meaningless ‘rubbish’. I think it’s something that is true across all the people around me whom I have worked with for a long time. Besides talking about work, there are many things I want to talk to them about. They are a bunch of very charming people.

[IU’s Homebody Signal 2 with Kim Eana, EP2-2

IU: “I’m sure there are people who do have wrong ideas about me, since there are so many people. But of those people (who like me), there is a good number of people who know about me. As complicated as my thoughts are when it comes to certain matter, other people have complex thoughts as well. So people don’t think that simple (they’re not naive/ one-dimensional creations). For instance, for the reasons that people like someone, they don’t just like that person for their kindness or their wits or smartness (just one aspect of that person). Everyone is complex (three-dimensional) enough to recognise someone/ thing that is complex (three-dimensional).”]

Q. In IU’s Homebody Signal 2, your conversation about “other people (fans) are as complicated and three-dimensional as I do” with lyricist Kim Eana was memorable. When did you begin having this thought?

IU: “Because I myself alone am someone who is three-dimensional and complicated (already). The majority of the people who understand me well also acknowledge that.* Because I feel less suffocating** facing these people, I work hard to look at them and try to understand them (three-dimensional creations) from (a three dimensional perspective) like they do. (IU asking herself) ‘Others think as deeply as I do. Why do you (I) ruminate on what they’re thinking as well?’*** If I think this way, I’ll have less matters to get mad about and less hasty anticipations. I’ll have faith / come to trust that person’s judgement, too.”****

(TL note:

*People in here refers to those who are three-dimensional and complicated. It takes a three-dimensional to recognise another.

**The original wording literally translates to ‘breathe easier’. IU’s trying to say that because these people understand her well, she doesn’t have to worry all the time that they will misinterpret / have wrong ideas about her action / words. When she’s with them, she’s in her comfort zone. (An example would be sharing her thoughts casually on fancafe 😆)

***IU’s trying to reassure herself that these people are not as one-dimensional as she thinks. Because they are three-dimensional, they think as far and complicated as she does, so there’s no need to worry about anything, let alone guessing what kind of ‘one-dimensional’ thoughts they might have.

****Judgement over the things that she worries other people may misinterpret of. Th judgements may also include stuff that she has to make decisions on. These people probably also take into account of all the things she can think of before arriving at a certain decision / choice like she does. She isn’t the only one who’s thought about this and that, weighed the pros and cons of certain matters to come to a certain decision.)

If you were to pinpoint a time when you experienced a really deep affection and love from others?

IU: Occasionally, my concerts last 5 hours. We call it en-encore when I take song requests from the audience and sing them. The audience is so sharp that if I slightly overdo it, they start yelling that it's alright to stop (singing). They would be like "it's fine to stop singing now", "you've worked so hard". During those moments, I would wonder exactly what the feelings of the people sitting in the audience are like. Even though they support me, love me and are proud of me who is standing on stage, they also feel bad for me, worry for me and wish that I don't take on too tough a battle... I sense all of that. I feel grateful for their feelings, which is why I work even harder. When I wrap up my concert, I can't help being filled with a love for mankind.

Just like the lyrics in ‘Spring of a Twenty Year Old’, which you sang at the age of 20, it’s hard to continue to have just innocent feelings as you get older. Do you anticipate that you will meet your soulmate?

IU: I’m actually optimistic about the future of (my) love (life) as I get older. I think I was more defensive when I was young, but nowadays, I’m filled with slightly more anticipation towards (my) love (life). I have occasional thoughts that it would be great if somehow I could meet someone who understands everything and we can give each other a safe sense of happiness. But, well, a really passionate and fiery romance that burns the whole house down would be fine too.

What if one day people don’t listen as much to IU's music?

IU: At 18 years old, I topped the charts for the first time with ‘Nagging’ and right away with ‘Good Day’ again and I thought, “Perhaps my life is going to change from now on”, since then, I have been kind of training for this in my imagination. I’ll feel slightly bitter for a very short while, but I think I’ll be able to accept it soon after that. Since I’m someone who adapts so quickly that it’s like I have no feelings of affection (laughs). “To be honest, for a really long time I’ve taken what doesn’t belong to me*”, I’ll think as I praise myself once and then go and check out the most popular music that people are listening to.

* (T/L note: IU is being humble here and feels that she doesn’t deserve all her achievements, so she has ‘taken’ them without permission, so she is fine with letting go of them.)

I recall that you said during one of your concerts, “I hope that even if there is less affection in the world, people would still love each other as they live on.” Where does this expectation and affection for the world and people come from?

IU: From the flawless type of love that I have received in my life and the love I have given someone else before, I think I became convinced that people are worth loving. Or perhaps that’s what I would like to believe. One might regard humans as not worth loving and that life is purely a punishment, but I wouldn’t want to live my life being so cynical. I want to love and be loved.

Your popular song ‘Dear Name’ comes to mind, so to IU, the name ‘Lee Jieun’ is...?

IU: Reliable. Just like how I have lived, I think (a person with this name) will be able to fight on and lead a good life.

BONUS questions from Elle Korea’s online homepage

You have been constantly keeping in contact and connecting with other musicians. In particular, you’ve really been looking out for musicians who are your juniors, like AKMU and Oh My Girl. What did you have in mind which led to all this?

IU: Initially, I was grateful that they like me (as a singer), so I started paying attention to them and watching them progress. Anyway, they are great people, so as I watched them, I became fans of them too. When I was a rookie, I received a lot of love and support from senior musicians and that gave me motivation. I felt that I wanted to become someone who could pass those feelings on (to others). Even though until now I still don’t quite believe I have the career experience to be called a ‘sunbae’ (senior).

I’m happy that as a Korean, I can understand what IU’s lyrics mean right away. Have you ever felt like you completely understood the meaning of a text being conveyed, with no filter?

IU: A song comes to my mind right now. It’s the song ‘Harim - A New Love Helps You Move On’. When I first heard this song, I recall myself stopping in my tracks to listen to it. I was only about 15 years old then and had no real experience of being in love, yet I felt the empty sadness like someone who broke up with a lover after 7 years of seeing each other. Based on that, it seems that one does not necessarily need to have experienced something to be able to relate to it.

I’ve said that as we get older, we tend to become more stubborn. Do you feel worried that as your influence becomes stronger, it gets harder for people to speak to you frankly or give you advice?

My attitude is that I’m not domineering towards others and I keep watching out for whether the person is just giving me an obligatory response. Even if it might be a totally contrasting opinion, I would say let’s finish listening to it first. Recently, someone told me that even if I intend to add variety to my pronunciation, the person hopes that as a musician whose lyrics are to her advantage, even for a song with a strong rhythm, the lyrics should be conveyed clearly. I paid attention to that during the recording and mixing of my new song and I think what the person said fits this song well. Once again, I felt that the sensible feedback by people who care for me is that important.

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

#IU #elle #korea #magazine #interview #2021

112 notes · View notes

watchmegetobsessed · 3 years

Text

Never Have I Ever - Harry Styles (part 5)

uh ohh, part 5 baby! im quite enjoying this story so far and i have some fun things planned for it, so i hope you’ll stay with me for them! in today’s part, our fav new celeb couple takes it all the way, though i chose not to include the actual sex part, however im still treating you all with some dirty stuff so enjoy!

pairing: Harry x actress!reader

word count: 4.6k

warning: NSFW content

SERIES MASTERPOST

masterlist

New couple alert?

Harry Styles and Y/N Y/L/N have been spotted having lunch and grabbing coffee several times in the course of the past few weeks. All the outings looked casual and friendly, they gladly stopped for fans that approached them and the word has it that they’ve been getting closer to each other, though neither of them confirmed anything.

Harry Styles has been known to be single for a while now, only faint rumors swirling up sometimes, but none of them were proven to be true, the young actress is the first woman he has been linked to in a long time. Y/N Y/L/N has been focusing on her blooming career and has been single since her split from long time exboyfriend and fellow actor, Levi Hudson. The pair dated all through 2018, splitting in the beginning of 2019. Hudson has admitted their hectic schedules made it impossible to maintain their relationship while Y/N did not confirm anything.

Styles is going on his world-wide tour soon, while Y/L/N is currently between two projects. The young celebs seem to be enjoying each other’s company and fans have been quick to jump into speculations about their alleged romance, however there is no evidence as of right now.

“Thank you so much for your time, it was a pleasure to talk to you,” the young interviewer smiles at you, holding her hand out and you shake it with a warm smile.

“Thank you for having me! And I really like your shoes, by the way,” you point down at her electric blue pumps that you’ve been eyeing since the start of the interview.

“Oh, thank you! Got them from a vintage store,” she beams, a slight blush playing on her cheeks clearly a little starstruck from your compliment.

“Love those little stores.”

“Me too,” she giggles collecting her papers and notes. “Someone will contact you and your team soon about the photoshoot and I’ll email you a draft of the interview in about a week.”

“That’s perfect, thank you so much,” you nod at her grabbing your purse from the side table next to you. Grabbing your phone from the depth of it you smile to yourself upon seeing the text from Harry.

“Call me when you’re done with the interview Xx.”

You say your goodbye to everyone before heading out of the building. Lawrence is at the front waiting for you in the car and he greets you with a warm smile when you sit into the backseat. As he starts the car and heads back to your home, you call Harry, who picks it up after the second ring.

“Hey! How was the interview?” he beams brightly, his voice immediately making you smile.

“Great! This young girl did it and she had some exciting questions.”

“Sounds lovely. Can’t wait to buy a Cosmopolitan with you on the cover soon,” he says and you can hear the grin through his voice.

“Will look good in your hands for sure,” you chuckle.

“Right. So I have a question for you.”

“Go for it.”

“I’m doing this very small show at Beacon Theater this weekend, kind of a practice before the real tour begins and I was wondering if you’d be up to come. Would love to have you there.”

“When is it exactly?”

“Saturday at nine. I know it’s a short notice and I get it if you have something else going on, just wanted to ask.”

“I think I can make it work,” you smile, thinking back at what your day looks like on Saturday. “Can I bring someone?”

“Of course! Just let me know how many people so I can have the tickets sent over to you.”

“Thank you. It’s sweet of you to think about me.”

“You know I always think about you,” he murmurs and his voice sends a shiver down your spine. Crazy to think how much he can affect you with just his words, he just has a special spell on you, it seems.

“Still such a flirt, I see,” you chuckle, feeling your cheeks heating up as you hear his soft laugh on the other end of the line.

“For you, always.”

“Alright. I’ll text you about the tickets and thank you again. Can’t wait to see you perform finally.”

“It’s been due for a while now, right? Kind of promised you some tickets on Ellen, if I remember correctly.”

“You did!” you laugh thinking back at the time you met him. How funny that just one short game on a talk show led the two of you here. You have to thank Ellen though.

“Now I’m finally keeping my promise. Talk to you later then, Love. Have a great day.”

“You too, Harry.”

You manage to convince Sydney to join you for the concert, she sounds excited when you ask if she had anything to do on Saturday. Seeing Harry perform before his tour kicks off is a thrill for her she wouldn’t pass on for anything, so she is really grateful that you thought of her as your plus one.

Harry has your passes sent over to your place on Friday and it comes with a bouquet of flowers as well as a card.

“Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. What’s your favorite song? I’ll make sure to perform it just for you. –H”

He never fails to make you feel like the only woman on the planet and you can definitely see why so many fall for him even without meeting him. The man has all the power to charm anyone with just a smile.

You put the flowers into a vase and leave them on your dining table before grabbing your phone and sending him a quick text.

“It’s Only Angel,” you simply write, hoping he’ll get it why you just wrote that. Luckily, he does.

“Straight to the setlist. Dedicated to You.”

Finishing up the last touches to your makeup you bop your head to the song blasting through the stereo. It’s Only Angel, of course. You’ve had it on repeat all afternoon and now you can’t wait to actually see Harry perform it live.

Just as you are about to get changed, Syd arrives so you let her in with a beaming smile and when she hears the music upon walking into your place she cheers in excitement.

“Yes! This is such a jam!” she smirks, doing a little dance as you lock the door behind her.

“You look fantastic, Syd,” you tell her. The black short dress looks amazing paired with the lilac oversized blazer. Her makeup matches the same color and you are obsessed with the fishnet tights. She will surely make men wish she was into them.

“Thank you! Spent two hours figuring out what to wear, so I hope I look fantastic,” she giggles.

She helps you put together your outfit as well. Wide legged flaming red pants that make your waist look snatched, a black sheer top tucked into it with just a black bralette underneath. You already know Harry will be a fan of the skin you’re showing, you can’t wait to see his face when he finally spots you.

You quickly pack your essentials into a black Chanel purse along with stuff you need for a possible sleepover if things might take a pleasant turn, and you finish with everything just when the doorman calls up through the intercom that Lawrence has arrived.

“So, what’s the deal with you and him, if I may ask?” Syd questions in the car, not in a nosy way, more like a curious, friendly way.

“We are… getting close,” you say, tasting the word on your tongue. You haven’t labeled whatever you have going on with Harry, nor do you really know what it should be called. You’ve been trying hard to make time for each other as much as possible, making small lunch and coffee dates a regular thing. He came over to your place one evening for a movie and that’s the only time you were able to be alone with him, though nothing sexual happened. Yet. The real deal is yet to happen and if you are being honest you are running short on patience. It’s getting harder to hold yourself back and keep your hands to yourself as well when you are out with him, but you agreed to keep it lowkey out in the public.

Tonight, however, you have a feeling what you’ve been waiting for so long might actually happen and you can only hope Harry is planning the same thing. You are absolutely ready to bluntly ask if he wants to spend the night at your place.

“But you’re heading… somewhere, right?”

“I hope so,” you smile shyly.

“That’s amazing. I think you two are a match,” Syd smirks at you.

By the time you arrive to the venue the gates have been opened so people are busy getting inside, giving you the chance to walk inside through the backdoors without any fuss.

“Miss, Harry requested me to usher you to his dressing room when you arrive,” the girl at the door smiles at you with a clipboard in her hands and a headset covering her ears.

“Oh, alright,” you nod, turning to Syd. “You go ahead and get us a good place,” you tell her and she nods walking away with a wave as she heads up to the second floor that’s fully reserved for friends and family.

Following the girl down the hallway you are led to a room that has Harry’s name on it. She gently knocks on the door and a few moments later it flies open, revealing Harry in a colorful suit and a simple white button-down shirt. He looks breathtaking, hair fixed perfectly and the wide grin stretching across his lips when he sees you standing there.

“You’re here!” he breathes out, grabbing your hand and pulling inside, snatching you away from the preying eyes. Once the door clicks closed behind you, he is quick to press his lips to yours in a sweet welcoming kiss. Ever since your first official date he hasn’t passed on any chance to kiss you whenever you had the luxury of privacy to yourselves, which hasn’t happened too much, leaving you both with a growing hunger for each other every time you meet.

“Mm of course I am,” you smile against his lips before pecking them one last time and leaning back. “Looking great, Mr. Styles,” you grin, taking your time to wander your eyes down on him.

“Yeah? Like the suit?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, I love your outfit as well. M’gonna have a hard time not thinking about you on the stage.”

“Please think about me,” you breathe out with a coy smile.

“Don’t fucking say that to me, you are giving me a hard time,” he groans and you just chuckle at the tortured look on his face.

“Sorry,” you mumble, but your face doesn’t meet your words. He squeezes your waist gently, pecking your lips in a rush before he lets go of you.

“I need to go over a few things before we start, so just go ahead and join Syd. Meet me here after the show?”

“Yeah, perfect,” you nod smiling. “Good luck out there,” you wink and he grins at you with bright eyes. His hands grab onto yours before you head out, pulling you in for one last kiss before you leave.

You feel flustered and you take a few deep breaths on your way up to the gallery to find Syd who managed to get an amazing spot at the front on the left side.

They offer everyone up on the gallery some champagne before the show starts and looking around you see a few familiar faces, but no one you specifically know. You stick with Sydney who is over the moon about the show and you are kind of sharing her excitement.

When the lights go down and the music finally starts, you can’t help but join in with the screams that fill the theater.

You’ve seen videos of him performing, in One Direction and solo as well. You’ve seen pictures and you’ve heard the words about how amazing he is on stage, but none of those live up to the actual experience. The sensation that takes over you just by seeing him appear on the stage as the whole theater chants his name as one, it completely sweeps you off your feet and for a second you wonder how you could live a life without this experience.

When his voice starts to flow through the massive speakers you need to take a deep breath, a shiver runs down your spine and you chug down the rest of your champagne so you could get rid of the glass and hold onto the railing with both hands because you feel like you need to ground yourself before you shoot into the sky.

Song after song, he performs perfectly, bringing every single person in the audience to that euphoric state they’ve been probably seeking their whole life. The experience is surely one of a kind, something you’ll definitely be thinking about for a long time.

Time seems to stop, though it cruelly carries on even when you forget about it completely. The concert is nearing its end and Harry takes a breather as he places his guitar to the stand behind him. You watch his every move as he walks back to the microphone, his gaze moving up to the gallery, roaming through the people until they find you.

“This last song is dedicated… to my Only Angel,” he murmurs into the microphone as the audience erupts, blows up at once and your heart skips a beat when his eyes linger over you for a little longer before the music starts to play.

You faintly hear Syd screaming next to you, probably aware that the dedication was addressed to you, but you can’t tear your eyes off of the man on the stage.

He nails it perfectly, looking like an absolute rockstar that he truly is and for a moment you can’t believe you have his attention and interest. How can such a precious and unbelievably talented man be in your reach?

Because I deserve great things in life, you tell yourself, a little mantra you’ve gotten around to repeat every time you found yourself doubting your success and happiness.

The concert eventually ends and though no one in the room desires the end of it, Harry leaves and you are abruptly brought back to reality.

“That was… something else truly,” Syd breathes out as the two of you linger around a little longer, trying to come down from the high you just experienced.

“Yeah. He is so fucking talented it’s almost unfair,” you chuckle running a hand through your hair.

“This tour will kill thousands of people all around the world,” she muses and for a moment, reality sets in and you realize that Harry will leave for his worldwide tour very soon, leaving you behind.

You get rid of the thought, not wanting to stress over something that’s not relevant just yet and you don’t want to ruin the evening either. Fears and stress can wait a little longer.

The two of you make your way backstage, walking into a bit of a chaos as all close friends and family want to congratulate to Harry and the band as well. Standing at the side you let everyone have their time, barely even seeing Harry in the sea of people in the spacious green room. Syd keeps you company as you wait and about thirty minutes later it seems like the crowd is starting to loosen up.

Harry spots you and excuses himself immediately from his conversation with a couple, heading in your direction with the widest grin you’ve ever seen on his pretty face.

“Congrats, that was mind-blowing,” you smirk as he reaches you, a hand curling around your waist as he leans down and places a kiss to your cheek, keeping it as moderate as possible, though you both just want to jump at each other.

“Thank you, Love,” he nods, a blush tinting his cheeks from your words. “Hello Sydney, so great to see you again,” he greets the girl next to you and they share a short hug.

“Hi! Loved the show so much!” she giggles in excitement.

“Thank you for coming.”

The three of you chat for a while before Sydney says she is gonna call herself an Uber, so after saying her goodbye she leaves you alone with Harry, as much as you can be alone with a bunch of other people around.

“I wanted to ask you something,” he clears his throat as his hand finds its way back to the small of your back.

“Go for it.”

“We are gonna grab a drink at some bar, but nothing over the top and I wanted to ask if you would want to join.”

“Sounds good,” you smile, feeling a little disappointed. This is not exactly what you wanted him to ask. Luckily, he is not done with his questions.

“Also… I-If it’s cool by you, I thought that… maybe you could come over?”

“Mmm, go over and do what?” you tease him, your smile stretching wider with each passing moment.

“I have plenty of ideas, Love,” he breathes out, making you laugh. “We could drop by your place if you need anything to stay over.”

“No need. Packed a bag,” you slyly grin at him, taking him by surprise clearly, but it’s surely a pleasant one.

“Always a step ahead of me, huh?” he smirks, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

It takes some time to actually leave the venue and head off to the bar with a close group of friends of him and the band. A secluded area was already reserved for you that has its own bar, so you could enjoy the evening without worrying about preying eyes of strangers or fans. You really weren’t in the mood to keep your distance from Harry, this way at least you were able to touch each other in a more intimate way without speculations swirling up immediately.

You get to know his band and some of his friends, they are all genuinely amazing people, but you weren’t expecting anything else. You figured he only surrounds himself with people like him. His hands often find your waist and he doesn’t shy away from kissing your cheek or giving your hips a gentle squeeze, just letting you know you have his attention and he appreciates that you’re there.

It’s nearing one am when the guests start leaving and soon enough you find yourself in the back of your car with Harry, heading to his place, while you try your best to keep your hands away from him. You wouldn’t put Lawrence through the trauma of having to see or hear something he shouldn’t.

But that doesn’t stop you from kissing, something you’ve been dying to do all night. Your hand rests on his thigh while he has an arm curled around your shoulders, keeping you tight by his side, delicately brushing his nose against your hair every time your lips are not connected.

“Thank you, Lawrence. I’ll call myself a taxi in the morning, have the day off,” you tell your driver who smiles in your way thankfully while Harry grabs your and his bags from the back of the car.

“Thank you, Miss. Enjoy your night,” he nods in your way as you shut the door closed.

You try to take your duffel bag from Harry, but he insists to carry it as the two of you walk inside his house.

“Want something to drink? Water, tea or something?” he asks, setting the bags down near his giant, comfortable looking couch. Your thoughts immediately wander to a dirty field, picturing him sitting on that very couch as you kneel in front of him, pleasuring him so good that his eyes roll back…

“Yeah, water please,” you say clearing your throat. Some hydration will come handy after the drinks you chugged down at the bar.

You follow him as he shuffles into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and a bottled water from the fridge for you, pouring some into the glass before handing it to you.

“Thank you. You have a nice place for yourself,” you tell him, looking around in his home.

“Thanks. Been working on it for a while,” he chuckles softly. “Feels a bit too big for just myself though.”

You finish the water and set your eyes at him, feeling your hunger for him grow with each passing moment. Placing the empty glass to the marble counter you take a step closer to him.

“You feel lonely often?” you question in a low voice. His eyes return to you and you are happy to see the same lust in them.

“Would say so, yes,” he nods, running his tongue over his pink lips before he reaches out and grabbing you by your hips, he draws you close to him. Leaning down his lips brush against the shell of your ear, a shiver runs down your spine when you hear his whisper in it. “Hope it’ll change soon.”

At a loss of patience, you grab his face and angle it perfectly so you can kiss him hard. And by hard, you mean real hard. He stumbles back from the force, but manages to keep his balance, returning the kiss just as vehemently as he receives it, a tug of war starting between the two of you.

His hands work fast on the sheer fabric of your shirt, pulling it out from the waistband of your pants, getting rid of it eagerly as his lips wander down on your neck, collarbones and chest. He easily turns the two of you around so you are pushed against the edge of the countertop, his hips pushed against you and it’s clearer that daylight just how excited he is to have you here tonight. Your eyes flicker over to the couch again and the desire to please him with your mouth just bursts, you can’t hold yourself back anymore.

So you push him away from you, grabbing his wrist and yanking him after you, heading towards the couch. You push him down and his lustful eyes follow every move of yours as you kneel in front of him and he realizes what you are about to do. He doesn’t stop you when you work to unbutton his pants, but his hand finds your chin and he pulls you up for a swift, but passionate kiss.

Once you successfully undid his pants he lifts his hips and you spare some time and energy, pulling them down along with his underwear, leaving him only in his vintage printed t-shirt as his cock springs free. You push your thighs together just at the sight of him, the way his eyes burn down on you, how his lips part when your gazes meet and the way he sucks on his breath when your fingers dig into his thighs near his crotch as you situate yourself closer.

“I believe I owe you an orgasm, don’t I?” you ask with a cheeky smirk before wrapping your left hand around the base of his shaft, giving it a gentle squeeze, just enough to get him even more excited. A whimpered moan slips from his lips and you lean closer, giving his cock a lick from bottom to top, wrapping your lips around the head as you swirl your tongue around it.

“Fuck hell!” he breathes out, clearly enjoying himself, hands fisting the cushion next to him, but you bet they’ll be buried in your hair soon.

You’re not an expert in the field of blowjobs, but it’s been your thing to come barging right through the door and jump the easy teasing whenever you were on your knees for a man. So with your hands fixed on his beautiful face, you sink down on him, his cock gliding into your mouth right until the tip reaches the back of your throat, earning the loudest moan you’ve heard from him. Shutting your eyes closed you keep him like that for a second until the urge to gag starts to set in, so you slide him out, your saliva dripping down his erection as your eyes meet his and you can tell you shocked him with your bold first move.

“Do that one more time and I won’t last for a minute,” he warns breathing heavily and you just smirk up at him before going into action again, this time only taking a smaller portion of him, pumping the base to make up for the lack of deep throating, but it appears that he enjoys just the simple part of it equally. As you keep bobbing your head, taking as much of him as you can without gagging, his right hand flies to your hair, taking a handful of it as he gently guides your head, keeping it in the rhythm that works the best for him and you happily let him do whatever makes him feel good.

When your free hand goes to gently massage his balls your name erupts from him in the most voluptuous way you’ve heard him call out for you. As if he just cried out for God himself.

“Y/N, fuck, I won’t last long,” he warns you, but that’s all you want. You need to see him come undone under your touch, you want to be the reason his breath hitches. Picking up your pace you see him whimper some more, head falling backwards to the back of the couch. It’s a heavenly view and you wish you could take a picture of his beauty as he enjoys himself on this intimate level. You’ve never wanted to please a man more than him and just seeing him in this blissful state makes you wet through your underwear.

When his breathing starts to get uneven, chest heaving wildly, you take all of him again, his head poking the back of your throat and you push your tongue against his length as you slide him out, picking up the same pace that you kept before, both hands working hard on him.

“Fuck! I-I’m gonna cum!” he warns again and just a few seconds later, you feel the evidence of his satisfaction spurt into the back of your throat, eyes falling on you as you give him one last lick before swallowing everything that’s in your mouth.

“Holy shit,” he breathes out pulling you up, eagerly kissing you without a second thought, his hands cupping your cheeks to keep you in place. “You surely know how to kill a man, yea?” he huffs making you chuckle.

“Think you can go for a second one?” you sheepishly ask, blinking up at him from under your long lashes.

“I’ll have enough time to recover while I eat you out like you’re my last meal,” he bluntly replies, and a moan almost slips from your lips.

“Show me what you got, Styles,” you challenge him and he doesn’t need more, he easily picks you up, wrapping your legs around his waist as he heads straight to the bedroom.

“As you wish, Angel,” he mumbles against your skin, peppering your neck and shoulder with featherlike kisses along his way until he throws you to his bed, ruthlessly tearing the remaining of your clothes off your body.

PREVIOUS PART

NEXT PART

#harry #styles #harry styles #harry styles series #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles imagine #harry styles au #harry styles smut #harry styles oneshot #harry styles one shot #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x actress!reader #never have i ever series #harry styles never have i ever #harry styles never have i ever series

1K notes · View notes

quicksilversquared · 4 years

Text

The Substitute Ladybug: Chapter 10

After Lila takes things too far and Marinette ends up with a broken leg, Paris is going to have to deal with a different superhero arrangement for a bit. Having to share her superhero identity with her parents before Hawkmoth can be defeated isn’t something that Marinette had planned on doing, but- well, it might end up being a bit of a blessing in disguise.

links in the reblog

It seemed like the final week was stretching on forever. She was so close to getting her cast off, and yet each day inched by, time slowing down as if to prolong her time before the cast could come off.

The two mid-week akuma attacks helped break up the trudge down the final stretch, as did her friends' efforts. They had taken note of her flagging mood and tried to help, sending her funny pictures and popping in for visits and now, they had arranged a trip to the movie theater to try to distract her.

"Don't worry, we chose a fun movie," Alya told Marinette as they headed towards the theater. She and Nino were walking slowly so that Marinette could keep up without struggling, but they were going almost too slowly. Marinette tried not to sigh.

They meant well, that was all that mattered.

"Yeah, no horror movies," Nino agreed. He glanced over at Alya. "Though there is one with pretty good reviews running right now. Maybe for our date this weekend...?"

Alya nodded, grinning. "Yeah! That would be cool. I might not be able to stay on for, like, lunch or dinner afterwards because of the twins, since Nora took over my babysitting today, but we could at least get out for a movie."

Marinette shuddered at the thought. Horror movies on a date? No thank you. She dealt with enough monsters and scary situations in real life, thank-you-very-much. There was no need for her to go watch scary movies and kick-start her overimagination into worrying about less magical threats like serial killers, too.

Or supernatural threats that (probably) wouldn't exist outside of an akuma setting, like evil ghosts and zombies and skeletons and- anyway.

It wasn't her idea of a good time, and she hoped that when she went on dates- in the future, after Hawkmoth was no longer an issue and she wouldn't be interrupted all of the time- that any visits to the movie theater would be for fun movies, not creepy ones. Alya always said that the jump-scares and creepy scenes were a fantastic excuse to cuddle close to a boyfriend, but was that really worth the nightmares? Couldn't the air-conditioned chill of the movie theater be enough of an excuse for a cuddle?

"Anyway, it's a very family-friendly movie, sure to be 100% Marinette-approved," Alya added after another minute of date-planning with Nino, clearly realizing that- well, it wasn't exactly pleasant to turn Marinette into the third wheel. She nodded down the block, to where the movie theater had just come into view. "And, well, I think the company is going to be Marinette-approved, too."

Marinette blinked, confused, and then she followed Alya's gaze. There, in front of the theater, stood Adrien's bodyguard. And in front of the bodyguard stood Adrien, looking very relaxed and at ease. He lit up when he saw them coming, waving cheerfully as they approached. He looked a bit tired, but Marinette couldn't blame him. Adrien had missed the entire afternoon of classes for an extended photoshoot, and from what she had heard, those kinds of shoots were absolutely exhausting.

Not as exhausting as they had been when Lila was there and constantly gumming up the works, maybe, but still exhausting.

"Dude, I'm glad you made it!" Nino told him, reaching over for a fist bump. After a second, he fist-bumped Adrien's bodyguard, too. "I thought you were going to text if you got permission to come!"

"I was just about to, honestly," Adrien told him with a laugh. "Just in case I missed you and you had already gone in. And then I saw you coming and- well, it wouldn't have made sense to text then, right?" He grinned, then nodded towards the theater. "Should we go in now? Then we can try to get good seats."

They went, and the Gorilla followed them in. Marinette almost asked about that, but it didn't take a genius to figure out why he had come along instead of just dropping Adrien off. The last time they were in a movie theater, Adrien had practically gotten mobbed by fans. Maybe that had been because he had just been featured in a perfume ad- one that had been heavily featured across Paris, not that it made much of a difference once people actually started trying the fragrance and found it rather lacking (and once people found out that no, Adrien: the Fragrance wasn't actually what Adrien the model (and occasional voice actor) actually wore)- but it was better safe than sorry. Hopefully the presence of the Gorilla would keep the pictures and mobbing to a minimum.

Inside, a line had already formed in front of the ticket counter. Not a long line- it was the middle of the week, after all- but they were hardly the only students who had just gotten out of school. Alya grumbled for a moment, but a nudge and a quiet murmur from Nino got her to settle down while they waited. It wasn't a bad wait, really, and then they were headed through the lobby.

"Snack time!" Nino cheered, veering off towards concessions. "Anyone else getting stuff?"

Marinette and Adrien both shook their heads, though Adrien's had been after a pause, after he looked to his bodyguard first. Marinette wouldn't be surprised if he just simply wasn't allowed to have junk food, which- well, most of the time she would say that was a pity, but movie theater junk food was just terrible in general. He really wasn't missing out on anything.

Alya groaned. "Nino, the snacks here are terrible. Their popcorn- I don't know what they do to it, but it just tastes awful."

"I was thinking of getting something chocolate, but- yeah, I guess if no one else is gonna get anything, I'll pass." With one more glance towards the concessions stand, Nino hurried back to join them. "Okay, so which room are we in? The fourth screen, right?"

"Yeah, that's what the ticket says," Alya confirmed. She started making a beeline towards the right door, only to come to a screeching halt a couple meters away when she realized that Marinette wouldn't be able to keep up. "Oh, sorry! I went too fast-"

"You could go ahead and scope out seats for us," Marinette suggested. She nodded towards her foot. "Just remember that it'll be easier for me to get to a seat on the end of a row instead of in the middle."

"Ah, good idea!" Alya grinned at her, then snagged Nino's hand and pulled him after her towards the usher waiting at the screen's door, only pausing to glance back and wink at her. Marinette rolled her eyes back, knowing full well what Alya was trying to do.

But did Alya seriously think that Marinette was going to ask Adrien out when his bodyguard was right there?

"I'm glad I was able to come," Adrien commented as he stepped up next to Marinette, letting her set the pace as they headed after Alya and Nino. "I've gotten so used to photoshoots running overtime and then I can't make it to outings, but this one ended on time- early, even! It was a nice change."

Marinette frowned. "I would have thought that your father would run a tight enough ship that going over wouldn't be an option unless something went really wrong."

"Yeah, it- well, that's the way it usually is, admittedly," Adrien told her. "It was really just when Lila was there that things always took longer than they should have. Unless there was something that she really wanted to be at, that is."

Marinette wasn't even a small bit surprised.

"And then the last few shoots, I guess part of the problem was that we had to re-do shots from earlier shoots, where Lila was modeling," Adrien told her. "I think originally Father was just hoping to get away with using those pictures and then just not use Lila as a model going forward- not that he could, since she's not even in Paris anymore- since not that many people would know what she had done. But then Alya posted that article on the Ladyblog about how much of a fraud and a bully Lila is, and people were starting to put two and two together. So all of her photos got scrapped."

Marinette cringed. "Even now that she's gone, she's still causing problems."

"I think you're feeling the effects for the longest." Adrien fell quiet for a few seconds, then nodded towards her leg. "But at least the cast is coming off pretty soon, right?"

"Two more days," Marinette told him, unable to keep from smiling at the thought. She was sure that those two days would drag out endlessly because of the anticipation, but there wasn't much she could do about that. It was getting increasingly hard to not just jump the gun and ditch the crutches- she could probably walk on her leg by now, considering Tikki's (and Sass's) healing boosts and how close she was to getting the cast off, but she didn't want to risk anything before the doctor could look at it again. "I can't wait."

"Yeah, I remember the feeling from when I broke my leg. I swear time slows down when cast-off date gets close." Adrien handed his ticket over to the usher, then passed Marinette's over as well. "You're doing better than I did, honestly. I tried to ditch the crutches as soon as it had been a couple of weeks and my leg wasn't really hurting, and it took the doctor threatening to leave the cast on for even longer to get me to stop." He laughed. "For some reason, I had been convinced that if it didn't really hurt anymore, it must be fine. And maybe I had weeks left in the cast, but I just must be a super-healer!"

Marinette giggled. "You practically read my mind. I was just thinking about how it's been getting harder and harder to remember to grab my crutches when I want to hop up and grab something or just walk a short distance. Part of me wants to think that there's no possible way that I could re-damage something at this point, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"That's smart," Adrien agreed. He dropped back behind Marinette as they approached the wide steps leading up to where Alya and Nino waited, ready to steady her if she had trouble going up. "And, uh, did they tell you that you might still need crutches even after the cast comes off? Because they dropped that particular bomb on me when they were in the middle of taking the cast off."

Marinette groaned. "No."

"Maybe you'll be lucky and not need it, since you've been following directions and taking care of your leg better than I did." Adrien's hand rested against her back, pressing a little more firmly as soon as she wobbled and retreating after she steadied herself. "And you didn't have a terrible break in the first place, right? That should help, too."

That, and she had the power of tiny gods on her side helping her heal, but Marinette wasn't about to tell anyone else that. "I hope it does. I'm so tired of crutches."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, then."

Marinette smiled as she stood back to let Adrien slip into the row next to Nino before she took the aisle seat. "Thanks."

The movie itself positively flew by, and before she knew it, it was over and they were waiting for the majority of the audience to leave so that there wouldn't be as much risk of Marinette getting knocked into.

"This was fun," Adrien commented once the crowds had thinned out and they had gotten out of their seats, making their way down towards the door. "We should do it again sometime."

"We do it all the time, dude, you just gotta get your father to agree to it more," Nino told him. Adrien just shrugged helplessly.

"He can't always spare the Gorilla to come out with me. And honestly, it's not necessary most of the time, but he's paranoid." A shadow crossed Adrien's face for a moment, and then he shook it off and perked up. "So, have you heard that Marinette's cast is coming off in two days? I think we should go out for ice cream or something to celebrate afterwards!"

"It'll be late when I get back from the doctor," Marinette warned him, carefully navigating the last low step before making her way towards the door. "Since we wanted to wait until after school and my parents didn't want to close the bakery too early if they could avoid it. And that might not be a problem for me or Alya or Nino to come out, but..."

Adrien grimaced. "Yeah, Father might have a problem with that. Uh, the next day, maybe?"

"Sounds good!" Nino agreed. "Or whatever works with our schedules. We gotta keep it flexible. But a celebration would be great! Andre's?"

Adrien shook his head. "His moving around could make things difficult. And Marinette probably shouldn't be running all over the city after an ice cream cart right after her cast comes off."

Marinette hid a giggle. Running all over the city had actually been in her plan after getting the cast off, as long as the doctor cleared her for walking on her leg again. But running around with a Miraculous and running around without on were two very different things. Especially since Marinette could always ask Tikki to add a bit of extra support for that leg, just in case.

"Besides, sometimes Andre has some really odd flavor combos," Adrien added, his eyebrows furrowing. "And I get that it's because of the love thing, but then sometimes he starts mixing it up and talking in riddles and- anyway, sometimes I just want a plain old cookies and cream cone, you know?"

"And Andre's double- and triple-scoops are sometimes a bit much for a snack," Marinette added. She appreciated the thought behind Andre's ice-cream cones, but sometimes she was a bit over ice cream by the time she got partway through the last scoop. "And my favorite is raspberry chocolate chip, but I never get that there. He doesn't take requests."

Alya groaned. "The point of Andre's isn't the ice cream flavor, it's the experience! But I suppose we could mix it up and go somewhere else. There's a place near Marinette's house that has a pretty good selection. My little sisters love it."

"We'll plan on that, then," Nino decided. "And figure out a day and time later, once you talk to Nathalie. And if they don't let you come out then, maybe we can try to sneak a trip in over lunch on Monday. We'll make it work."

Adrien nodded, a grin lighting up his face. "Yeah! Yeah, that sounds good."

Marinette smiled, watching Adrien's face. His smile was real, unrestrained and completely happy. She wouldn't be surprised if he had been bracing himself for his father refusing to let him come out and not being able to come to the outing that he had come up with in the first place. It would be nice, of course, if they could go over the weekend- they could take more time to talk and linger instead of rushing- but if waiting until Monday meant that Adrien could come along with them instead of video-calling them while nibbling his way through a scoop of ice cream from his chef at home, then it was completely worth it.

As much as she hated to admit it, as Cast-Off Day approached and then finally arrived, Marinette had found her excitement competing with more than a little apprehension about her return to superheroing. She wasn't worried about being rusty on strategy- after all, that was what she had been getting a ton of practice with- but she knew that she was going to be out of shape. It was inevitable. She had even lost muscle tone in her good leg, she could tell, and that one had been used on a regular basis to hop along with her crutches. Sure, the supersuit provided bonus power- a lot of bonus power, considering the jumps that she and Chat Noir made on a regular basis- but being in shape as a civilian certainly didn't hurt.

Marinette could only hope that six weeks hadn't dulled her fighting instincts too much. She had worked hard for those instincts, thank-you-very-much, and getting set back would just plain suck.

There were other concerns, too. Akuma attacks would most likely be returning to their regular lengths once she returned as the Ladybug holder, and she didn't know how that would be received. And- her most recent concern- was about how the month and a half of a different routine would affect her partner.

Chat Noir had been following her directions during fights for every single akuma battle since- well, since the first week after her leg got broken. Maybe there had been some fights where he hadn't really needed much direction- some where he ended up holding off Hawkmoth or Mayura while Coccinelle dealt with the akuma, so as long as he didn't get overpowered or hurt, Vipera had just let him be- but for the most part he had been, as he said, her puppet. How that- and how having the safety net that was Vipera there to erase his mistakes and gambles that didn't quite pan out- affected his ability to function in normal battles remained to be seen.

It had only been five weeks, really. Hopefully- hopefully- Ladybug's break and their different approach wouldn't throw their teamwork and ability to fight into unexpected shambles. Maybe if they took that into account when Ladybug came back instead of assuming that everything would slide into place easily, then they could account for some of the places where they might be weaker.

She could talk to Chat Noir about it, and maybe her mom could step into the Snake position for the first couple of fights just in case. She wouldn't direct the fight like Vipera had, but if she could tap into that sixth sense that Vipera had used for the first few fights to know when to activate Second Chance, then that could help cover the worst of their slips. If there were slips.

Hopefully there wouldn't be. Hopefully it would be easier than Marinette thought to re-adjust.

"I can hear you worrying from here," Mrs. Cheng told Marinette as she steered the van through traffic. She spared a quick glance to the side. "You know that Tikki said that you were healing well. The doctor is hardly going to look at the x-ray and immediately turn around and slap the cast back on your leg."

"It's not getting the cast off that I'm worried about, really." She was really looking forward to that bit, to getting to wash off her leg for the first time since the cast came off and hopefully, hopefully, getting the all-clear to actually walk on her leg again. "It's re-adjusting to things again. It'll be easy to return to normal on the civilian side, but I've been worrying about how re-adjusting to battles will go."

"Well, if a fight isn't going well, you can always pull back and trade with me," Mrs. Cheng told her. "We might need to figure out who will need to hold on to what Miraculous so that we can do that quickly and safely, but considering that Hawkmoth just attacked earlier and- well, and what happened during the attack- I think we'll have a few days to iron out plans before he sends out another akuma. And if he sends one out sooner, before we have a plan in place..." She glanced over at Marinette before returning her eyes to the road. "I know you're eager to get back out there, but I can always handle another fight or two if needed."

Marinette knew that, and maybe it would be a good idea to wait for a fight or two to further throw off her recovery timeline in the public eye, but- ugh, it was easier said than done. She was just eager to get back in shape and to get a better read on what they needed to do to re-adjust (if anything), sooner rather than later so that she wouldn't be catastrophizing unnecessarily. And then there was also the whole matter of- well, Paris was getting increasingly impatient and unsettled as they got closer to a week with no Ladybug after the press conference.

Clearly the public weren't thinking along the same lines of what might have happened as her classmates had. They weren't reading between the lines like Alix about when the injury might have happened, and therefore not considering injuries like Marinette's as a possible clue to Ladybug's identity. That was a good thing, but it was really only a matter of time before more people started thinking the same way as her classmates.

Alya had shown the good sense to not put up the class's theories about the timeline of Ladybug's vacation versus the injury on the Ladyblog- well, after both Marinette and Alix had pointed out that there was no reason to undo any of the work that the superheroes had done with obscuring potentially identifying details. But Marinette had still heard some speculation starting up, and while her teammates were really good at countering the questions that were flung at them, it would probably be better if Ladybug just showed up herself.

Her mom's favorite tactic in response to the pestering was asking why people wanted Ladybug to put herself at risk by rushing back. It's not a good idea for pro athletes, Coccinelle always pointed out, so why would it be any different for superheroes? And if people really cared about their superheroes as people, then why did they not seem to care about their health- or their safety, considering that the general public seemed to want the superheroes to give up potentially identifying information?

People shut up pretty quickly after they got asked that, particularly if they had been trying to interview the superheroes live.

Thankfully, though, Marinette suspected that her mom was right and that she would have a couple days to get her bearings before another akuma popped up. The akuma that had attacked only that morning- well, it hadn't been alone. So Marinette's dad had gone out with the Turtle again (and Chat Noir with the bee) and then spent most of the battle cheerfully giving Hawkmoth a very through beatdown. In fact, there had only really been a little bit of actual fighting at the start, and then Hawkmoth spent the rest of the time cowering under heavy, repeated blows from the turtle shell until Mayura rescued him and they dashed off.

At the very least, Hawkmoth probably wouldn't be coming out for a few battles. He was nothing if not a coward, and coming probably his closest to defeat should make him rethink not hiding entirely behind his akumas.

"Don't let the public pressure you if you decide that you need more recovery," Mrs. Cheng added after a long pause. "Your safety is more important, always. And remember that it's not just your safety, but Chat Noir's as well."

Marinette had to laugh. "You really do know exactly how to get through to me, don't you? Okay, I'll do my best to be realistic about what I can handle."

Mrs. Cheng looked pleased.

It didn't take long for them to get to the doctor's office and get sent through to do her check-up. Marinette got an x-ray taken first, and when the doctor comes back in with it, he looked impressed.

"Well, good news, you are a very quick healer," he told her, settling down in his chair. "Possibly one of the fastest I've ever seen. Your leg has moved past the stage we would normally expect at this point and with the type of injury you got. I'll tell your physical therapist that we can go a bit more intensive on your therapy. You'll be able to handle it no problem. And while you'll want to ease your way into more intense activities, you can start working your way back."

Marinette grinned, nodding. This was definitely the news she wanted to get.

"And you won't need to keep using your crutches," he added. "But you'll want to keep them around, just in case your leg starts feeling sore. If you're going to be doing a lot of walking, I would definitely recommend that, at least until you've built up your endurance again."

"That's fantastic," Mrs. Cheng said, beaming at Marinette. "Do you have any exercises we can maybe start doing at home?"

"Yes, I'll print off some along with the care instructions later." He smiled, then pulled out what could only be the cast saw. "Now, let's take that cast off!"

As soon as her leg was in position, the saw whirred to life and started cutting into her cast. Marinette had to look away as her doctor worked, doing her best not to accidentally twitch or anything.

She was sure that he had loads of experience and was very good at his job and there were safety measures with the saw and all, but sharp blades near her leg was just a big load of no thank you in her book. When he finally put away the saw and picked up a pair of scissors to finish the job off, Marinette couldn't stop her sigh of relief.

"And all done!" her doctor announced, finally pulling the cast away from her leg. "That went nice and smoothly. You can hop down now, if you'd like."

Marinette nodded, glancing down at her leg and immediately having to do a double-take.

She had known that her leg was going to look odd after being in a cast for a month and a half, every single site that she had looked at had said so. But reading it and seeing it were two very different things.

Her skin looked weird. The hair on her leg looked weird. The muscle- it had shrunk even more than the muscle on her other leg, which was maybe to be expected but still made Marinette wonder how long it would take for her to get it back to something resembling normal. And now that the cast was off...

Well, she would be washing her leg tonight, that was for sure. Marinette didn't want her sheets to smell like that. Besides, the skin just looked- and felt- gross.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette slid down off of the table, taking the entire impact of the landing with her good leg. Then she took her first normal step in a month and a half.

It didn't hurt at all. Thank you, Tikki.

"I'd like to go out into the hallways now and have you walk up and down it. I want to see how even your steps are," her doctor requested. "Then I can send that to the therapist and she'll be able to tailor your plan to what you can do."

Marinette nodded at once, following him towards the door and trying not to over-analyze how her steps felt. Overthinking might just end up in her walking weird when she didn't have to, and- well, that wouldn't help anything at all.

"Okay, you're looking good," the doctor called to Marinette as she headed up the hallway. She felt a little off-kilter, but the doctor seemed pleased. "There's a bit of weakness in the one leg, but that's to be expected. With exercises and use, that should even up soon enough."

Marinette bit down the urge to ask how soon. She didn't want to seem impatient, especially since she was doing so well with her recovery already. Besides, her physical therapist would probably be able to tell her more after she actually started doing her exercises.

"I'll print off a care packet and some exercises for you to add to your routine, and then you'll be good to go," he told Marinette as she returned. He grinned. "Good job on the healing. Now, please- do at least try to not overexert yourself."

Dinner that evening was takeout, a rare occurrence in the Dupain-Cheng household, but they wanted something special to celebrate Marinette's cast coming off and something fast so that they wouldn't spend a large chunk of the evening cooking and cleaning up.

"Your dad and I can move things back up to your room tonight," Mrs. Cheng told Marinette as she finished up the last of her meal. She smiled at Marinette. "I'm assuming that you're eager to move back up there, since you're walking well. And while we do that, well..." She reached up, pulling the Ladybug earrings off and handing them to Marinette. "Chat Noir is expecting to have someone join him for patrol tonight, as usual. I didn't tell him that you would be the one coming, just in case you weren't feeling up to it, but I suspect that you might want to go out."

"Yes!" Marinette pulled out her placeholder earrings- she hadn't want anyone to notice that her ever-present earrings had vanished while she was on crutches, so she had found a lookalike to wear instead- and popped in the Ladybug Miraculous. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling since she had been wearing them most nights, but knowing that they were going in to stay there now was great. Then she paused. "...but then people will see us and that might give away my recovery timeline, since Coccinelle was seen earlier today."

"You can always temporarily modify your costume to look like Coccinelle's outfit!" Tikki suggested. "Then from a distance, people probably won't notice that you've switched off. And since it's dark, that should help, too."

Marinette nodded, her grin inching back onto her face. "Okay. I'd definitely love to do that, then! As long as you and Dad don't want help moving things, that is."

"We'll take care of the moving," Mr. Dupain assured her, reappearing at the table with a large cake. He deposited it in front of Marinette and pulled out a knife to start cutting pieces. "Partially so that you can go out and have fun with your friend, yes, but also because we'd really rather not have you trip over a blanket while carrying it upstairs and have you sent back to square one."

Marinette opened her mouth to protest that, considered it, and then closed her mouth again. As much as she hated to admit it, her dad... had a point. "Okay. Thank you so much!"

"Anytime, darling." Mr. Dupain paused, considered that, then tried again. "I mean, I'd rather it not be necessary again, but if you need any help, we're here for you. And if you want to have us come out on patrol ever, or come out on fights with you..."

She had to laugh. "You've gotten over your fear of running over rooftops, then?"

"It's growing on me. Slowly." Mr. Dupain served up three generous slices of cake, passing them around before sitting back down. "And I can't say that beating Hawkmoth up wasn't entirely satisfying. I'm definitely more than willing to do that again."

Marinette nodded, making a mental note of that. Her dad couldn't really come out often, probably, since the bakery needed to keep running, but if he could join them at random sometimes...

It was something to keep in mind.

"I wish I could have watched," Mrs. Cheng commented, scooping up a forkful of her cake. "And no one got any footage of it, either! Such a pity."

Marinette had to laugh. "It was quite satisfying. Honestly-" she made a few fast mental calculations, a list of pros and cons, and then came to a quick decision. "You could probably keep the Turtle on you, and just come out if we're struggling or something and you have some time to spare. It would be easier than me having to come back and get the Miraculous out for you."

Her dad looked vaguely offended. "If you're struggling and if I have the time? Marinette, if you and Chat Noir are struggling, I will make the time. And if I have the time, if there's an attack when the bakery isn't open or I'm not needed, I'll be there. I'd love to beat up Hawkmoth again."

"If you start vanishing too much during akuma attacks, your employees are going to notice," Marinette pointed out. "And it's going to be for more than a few minutes most of the time. Not like what it's been for the fights you've gone out for before."

Her dad looked a little stumped. "Hmm."

"If I have access to the Horse, I could drop him off and collect him," Mrs. Cheng pointed out. "That cuts out travel time there and back. And it could be an element of surprise, too- if Tom is transformed and knows exactly where I'm going to Portal him to, he could ambush the akuma or the sentimonster or the supervillains with almost no warning."

Marinette opened her mouth, about to say something about how it probably wasn't a good idea to have too many Miraculous out and active in one household, then shut it again. That- actually, why wouldn't it be a good idea? If, heaven forbid, Hawkmoth and Mayura found out who any of them were, then they could all jump in and defend themselves right away. Maybe Master Fu wouldn't have approved, but Master Fu wasn't the Guardian anymore, was he? She had to do what worked best for her. "Actually, I like that idea. And if I need any of the other Miraculous for backup, I could text you and you could just Portal it right to me, no need for me to come back here."

That was a really good idea. The fewer trips she made to the bakery as Ladybug, the better. And it would be faster, too.

Why hadn't Master Fu thought of that? It would have made so much more sense than her having to disengage herself from the fight for at least fifteen minutes to go to Master Fu's house, with the potential of having supervillains spotting her and figuring out where she was going. There would still be a pause while she found the holder she wanted for that particular Miraculous, but that really couldn't be avoided.

"You know what I would love to see?" Mrs. Cheng told Mr. Dupain after a minute of quiet eating. "Your mom with a Miraculous. I'm not sure how effective of a fighter she would be, but can you picture her scolding Hawkmoth?"

Mr. Dupain laughed. "I think you underestimate her. She's taken more than a few self-defense classes over the years. Partially because she tends to travel alone or in groups of people she's not super familiar with, and partially because it's part of experiencing different cultures. Or that's been the excuse that she's given me, at least."

"D'you think, if she transformed while on her motorcycle, that would get magic powers, too?" Marinette asked, the picture of a Superhero Nonna Gina zipping around and running over Hawkmoth with a superpowered flying motorcycle already floating through her mind. "Because that would be super cool."

Tikki giggled. "Probably not. Unless...?" She tilted her head, considering. "I don't know, actually. You'd have to try it. I don't know if anything like that has been attempted before!"

...she was a responsible Guardian, and she will not find an excuse to give Nonna Gina a Miraculous the next time she's in Paris and try to get her to attempt to transform with the motorcycle. She will not, she will not, she will not.

"Oh, that's a picture," Mrs. Cheng chuckled. She scooped up another bite of cake. "We might be able to test that with one of us and a regular bike, maybe on one of our days off. Just for curiosity's sake, you know."

"Research," Mr. Dupain agreed cheerfully. "Very important, you know."

Marinette had to laugh at that.

They finished up, and then her parents shooed her off as they started the work of carrying things back up to her room. Marinette still snuck in a couple trips with some smaller things, and then she hauled herself up to her balcony. She exchanged an excited look with Tikki, taking a deep breath to steady herself.

This was actually happening. After weeks of longing to be back out on the rooftops, running and swinging around, she was finally returning.

"Tikki, transform me!"

In a flash of pink light, Ladybug replaced Marinette on the balcony. She took a moment to make sure that her outfit looked more like Coccinelle's than her own regular outfit, and then she was off. The yo-yo went out, Ladybug jumped, and she was flying through the air again.

It. Felt. Amazing.

Ladybug grinned, resisting the urge to whoop with joy. She had to keep her return low-key for now, which meant that she wasn't quite free to do whatever she wanted yet, but that was fine.

She was back, and that was what was important. The whoops and cheers and fancy swings down low over the street could wait until she had made her official return.

It didn't take long at all to reach the place where Mrs. Cheng had told her that she and Chat Noir would be meeting up for patrol. Ladybug landed- carefully, her good leg first and the healed leg second, though it didn't hurt at all- behind her partner and bounded forward, unable to keep the grin off of her face. Chat Noir had perked up as soon as he heard her land and he almost tripped over his own feet in his hurry to turn around. He stumbled, catching himself almost right away, and his eyes landed on Ladybug. His expression turned puzzled for a moment when he caught sight of her outfit, but the confusion was wiped away and replaced by straight-up excitement as soon as he caught sight of her face.

"Bugaboo!" Chat Noir exclaimed, pouncing on her at once and nearly bowling her straight over in his excitement. "You're back! Is it- is it for good? The cast is off, you're clear to come back?"

Ladybug grinned, nodding. "Yeah! I just got it off today. And I couldn't wait to come out, but I didn't want to give all of Paris a timeline for me being back if they spotted me, so-"

"Thus Coccinelle's outfit," Chat Noir finished for her. He straightened, pulling Ladybug to her feet. He grinned at her. "That threw me off, I'll admit, but it's not a bad look on you at all."

Ladybug grinned, doing a little spin just because she could. "Thanks! I- oh!" She tripped over her own feet and stumbled. Chat Noir caught her at once, putting her back on her feet.

"Careful! You only just got back out!"

"Oh, gosh, not a good start," Ladybug said with a small giggle. Thankfully her stumble hadn't been because of her leg acting up, just one of her normal stumble. "If that happens during battles, maybe you'll end up wanting Coccinelle back! I don't think me stumbling around will help make the battles any shorter."

"Don't say that." Abruptly, Chat Noir was serious, grasping her hands in his own. Ladybug blinked, taken aback. She had just been joking around, but her partner clearly wasn't, and the intensity in his eyes had taken her off-guard. "Don't worry about the time fights take, Ladybug. Seriously. Having you back and fighting at my side? That's more than worth it."

Ladybug smiled. "Thanks, Kitty."

"Of course." Chat Noir beamed at her, bright and happy and excited. A few moments passed, and then he nodded across the rooftops, grinning. "So. Are you ready for patrol?"

"Are you kidding? Let's go!"

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #The Substitute Ladybug #marinette dupain cheng

60 notes · View notes

damfinofanfiction · 3 years

Text

Chapter 7: The Shoot (V.2.)

The note is at the end of this chapter

Gail walked into Benjamin’s Photography studio and looked around the place. It had the size of a warehouse. She had a dress borrowed from a friend laid on her arm and had brought makeup to use on the set. With her free hand, She waved to Benjamin, who was still setting up the equipment.

He then noticed the refined curls on her locks, “Darling your hair looks ravishing!”

“Thank you, I was just at the salon.” Hesitant to put her things down and getting ready, Gail informed him, “I have this dress for the shoot. Do you have a changing room?”

He pointed to where it is, “Yes, it is to your left.” She thanked him as she walked to the door.

Having already mounted the equipment, Ben saw Gail emerge from the room in a dress printed with large roses and with light makeup on her face. Ben liked what he saw on her, took the stool for her to sit on the backdrop.

When she sat down, he told her, “How about you try several different headshots to find out which is best?”

"That would be perfect.," Gail nodded. She and Ben were discussing each pose before proceeding with the photoshoot.

As he instructed her, Gail turned to her side looking up, and then a flash came from the camera. When she turned her head to the camera, she smiled a bit. Flash. Turned all of her to the front. Flash. Got up to lean on the seat. Flash. After all that, Gail was feeling hot from the lights. Ben gave her a paper cup of water for her to drink.

After she took hydrating sips she asked him, “Do you have any more ideas?”

Ben took the now empty cup from her when he suggested, “How about you show some more skin?”

Shocked, she shook her head, “No!”

He took his hand on her shoulder, “It’s only the shoulders. Take those straps down.”

She brushed it off, “No, that’s not the image I’m going for, Ben!”

He implored her, “Ladies like you pose nude in photos.”

“Ladies like me?!?” She stood in retaliation. “Is this what the photo session was about? Me out of my dress?”

He shouted, “No, I’m only helping your damn career!!”

Seeing Gail upset, he realized he had offended her profession. He stuttered, “I-I didn’t mean that.”

Fumed, she declared, “We are done here.”

She went to the dressing room to collect her stuff she didn’t bother changing back because she wanted to leave immediately.

Ben grabbed her arm, but she brushed it off, “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. Can I at least make any amends?”

Before storming out, she requested without maintaining eye contact, “Just send me the photos as soon as they’re developed so I know what I’m looking at, and don’t talk to me again.”

**************

One month later.

Caruthers was helping Buster get dressed for the Seven Chances cast party. It has been usually possible for him to dress up on his own, but he was not accustomed to putting on a tuxedo without help. Earlier today, Keaton was informed that he and his wife Natalie will be riding with her sister Constance, nicknamed Dutch, William “buster Collier, and his mother-in-law Peg Talmadge. The elder sister, Norma, and her husband Joe Schenck were at their place setting up the party. Keaton didn’t mind riding with the former two as Collier was his friend and Dutch treated him as a brother, but Peg was harsher than her husband; she wished her daughter would've chosen a better suitor than a man who made a living by throwing himself to get some laughs. Anyway, he was relieved to have finished his least favorite movie. But hoped it will be profitable enough for his next feature.

He heard a few knocks from his bedroom door, “Yes?”

His other butler called through the door, “The Vehicle has just arrived.”

When Keaton started working on his tie, he said, “Tell ‘em I’ll be right over.”

Soon as he exited the room, Natalie came out the door next to him wearing a rose-colored evening gown with pearls dangling on her chest. Her handmaid carried the hemline of her dress so she wouldn't trip down the stairs, while Buster followed them. He and Natalie bid good night to their young sons when their governess brought them from their playroom. The governess, who was holding the year-old Robert, and the oldest son, Jimmy watched the parents leave the mansion for their ride before she took them to their nursery.

As the car drove through Muirfield road, Buster had a chat with the other Buster while the missus converses with his in-laws. When Dutch pardoned herself out of the casual talk to cuddle with Collier, Keaton made a move by placing his hand next to Natalie's, having them touch. Even though she almost flinched, she didn't want to be interrupted.

After she finished her, she whispered to Buster, “I wish you wouldn’t try to touch me.”

He replied, “I’m still your husband aren't I?”

“It's a good thing or you'd be out with someone else.”

They both knew if they were going to fight it wouldn’t be the place and time since they’re in a crowded vehicle. Buster soothed her, “But I’m here. That’s all that matters.” He was going to put his hand on hers, but backed out at the last minute. He added, “And thank you for coming along.”

“Why shouldn’t I? It’s at Norma’s, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And besides, Mother thought if I went with you, the guest would see how we were doing.” Natalie looked out the window.

Crestfallen he asked, “Are we okay?”

After a pause, she replied, “It depends.”

Buster got her attention back when he nudged at her, telling her, “You look lovely.” Though with a stern face, she took the compliment. Natalie lent her hand for him to kiss it, then she gently whisked it away, having no more than one.

When the Keatons arrived at Joe and Norma’s residence, they pretended to be an ideal couple as if nothing was wrong between them like Buster always wished for.

*****************

"Hey, give her a free ticket," Sally demanded to the ticket vendor, although Gail mentioned beforehand she didn’t mind.

The vendor shook her head, “Sorry, It's against policy.”

“She’s in that movie.” She pointed to the lobby poster of Seven chances.

Gail added, “It’s only a bit role.”

The vendor asked, “Were you an extra?

Gail answered yes. The vendor said, “I still won’t allow a free ticket, but you can pay half.”

After receiving her ticket, Gail and Sally went to the theater and sat down. The Pianist started playing when the film started. The audience and even Gail were surprised to see that the Prologue was in color, but grew confused when the rest of the film was played in black and white. They were amazed at the camera tricks which has always been a favorite for her. There are plenty of laughs throughout the feature, especially when Keaton’s character James wanted to get married by 7 pm to inherit millions of dollars but his proposals always fail. She felt bad for the main character. When the brides’ scene played, Gail was looking out for herself. She pointed Sally where she was. Gail always loved seeing herself in a film. When she started watching films, she imagined herself as a character in that film, but now she appeared in several shorts a year though she was in the background. At the end of the film when it was thought that James failed to get married in time and sulks in shame. Gail almost cried, but then lights up when he finds out the actual time and marries his beloved sweetheart in time. The audience was enabled to applaud as the end title came on.

With the picture over, the friends got up from their seats to leave, but stopped when they saw Benjamin in the theatre as well. “I thought I might find you here,” he said with a sheepish tone.

Gail had not spoken to Ben since the photo shoot, and he kept apologizing to her. She still avoided him. He even sent her flowers to win her back. When he sent her the photos for her to look over, in a note that came with it, he recommended the one where she looked up with the spotlight shining on her. Gail did write back saying she liked that one too.

Gail was less angry than the last time they saw each other. she asked, “How did you know we’d be here?”

“You usually come here whenever a new movie is released, including the one with Keaton. Can we talk?”

“Well, not here.”

The three walked to the nearest drugstore where Gail and Ben sat at a table by the window. Sally was by the checkout, purchasing cookies while keeping an eye on them like a hawk.

“Look, I was an ass that day. I should’ve never offended you and your job.”

“I promised my grandmother, I would never let California change me. I didn't want to alter my image.”

Ben nodded in agreement, “I was merely trying to help you advance your career.”

“And I do appreciate it.”

He took her hand, “There is another reason I wanted to see you.” When she asked why. He told her, “I will be going to New York City for business next Monday.”

“How long?”, she sat up straight.

“If something happens, a month."

“That seems long. I think that’ll be plenty of space.”

“If you want I will write you as soon as I get there.”

“Sure, I never got to thank you for the headshots.”

“You’re welcome. I made more copies so I could send them to the studio.”

“That’ll be enough.”

Gail hugged Ben goodbye when he got up from his seat and he waved to her while leaving the drugstore.

Sally took his now empty seat, “Did you two break up?”

Gail slouched as she replied, “I’m not so sure. We didn’t bring that up.”

The blonde took a sandwich cookie out of the package, “Hey, Bae, do you want a Hydrox cookie?”

She accepted the treat and ate it. Contrary to their talk, Gail was unsure about her future with Benjamin but at least he was trying his best.

Note: I have written an alternate scene where they go to a cast party instead of a premiere since it was actually held at the Capitol in New York. I kept the original for archival reasons. Chapter 13 is at the beginning stages but I’m afraid that I have another case of the writer’s block. i’m hoping to get it done at least before I go out to another vacation next month. if you have any ideas and questions, let me know and hope you enjoyed my chapters.

#Buster Keaton #buster keaton fanfiction #buster fic #buster keaton fandom #buster #actor RPF #silent era #silent comedy #silent film #Seven Chances

3 notes · View notes

surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

Text

Survey #313

“i’m your turbo lover / tell me there’s no other”

Where are you located at this moment? In my bed. What if you found out your ex was having a child with someone else? If it was Sara, I'm finding out who the fuck I'm flying up there to punch his face in. If it was Jason, I'd either faint or be in the bathroom vomiting. Or both. I can almost promise you at least one or the other while I have an absolute emotional breakdown. I'm not at the point in my recovery where I can hear that and be entirely okay. I'd be happy for any of the others. At what age do you think you'll be ready to have children? Never. When was the last time you couldn't stop laughing? Why? I don't recall. Which of your friends do your parents get along best with? I guess Girt, since he's known my mom the longest of the friends I still have. I don't know about Dad; he barely knows any of my friends seeing as I don't live with him and see him rarely. Is there anyone in your friendship group that your parents don't like? No. Can you recall the last time you were extremely disappointed? I surprisingly can't remember, even though I know it was recent. Who was the last person to un-friend you on Facebook? I don't know, it's not like I go hunting people down if I notice the number has dropped, lol. Do you know why he/she decided to un-friend you? I'm certain it would've been something political. Are there any food wrappings, boxes, containers etc. in your room? No. Do you know anyone who does have cancer? I don't think anyone who currently has it, no. I may know someone via association, but idk. What is the worst medicine you've ever taken? There are two that very strongly stand out: the first one was in middle school, and the second sometime last year. I was put on an antidepressant that made me absolutely love life in the morning, like I would practically prance through school, but come afternoon, I was a fucking demon. Mom took me off that shit so fast. Most recently, my birth control was changed to have more estrogen for some reason I can't recall (maybe it had to do with mood?? idk), and it made me... I'm just gonna say I was a ~mess~. I slammed on breaks with it so fuckin fast. Safe to say I returned to my normal pill. Has your house or where you stayed ever flooded? My childhood home came very close during Hurricane Floyd. Thankfully the water never got actually inside the house, but it was an absolute lake outside. What was the last event or special occasion you participated in? My niece's birthday was actually a couple days ago, so we celebrated at my sister's house. What do you find yourself reminiscing about the most? I'll give you one guess. Do you have a favorite pianist? No. Song you listened to last is...? I have "Turbo Lover" by Judas Priest on right now. What's the last type of cookie you ate? Uhhh I would assume chocolate chip. Do you have your own computer? I have my own laptop, and I'm possibly getting an actual computer come May?? One of my WoW friends knows the hell I've been through with this laptop, and she and her husband are getting new computers then, so she's basically pushed her husband's old one on me, lol. Apparently it works just fine, he just wants something better. I've told her again and again to make some money off of it, but she's pretty much giving me no choice lmao. I appreciate it a whole lot, though. It'd be pretty nice to separate games onto an actual, capable desktop versus making my laptop sound like it's screaming for God's mercy if I boot something up. Describe your computer chair? I don't have one. Well, there's an old one in the extra room I'm going to end up using, but all I know is it's black. I've never paid closer attention to it. Do you sleep with your door open or closed? Open. I feel too isolated with it closed. Are you going to keep your last name when you get married? God no, it's very unlikely. I hate my last name, take it away. Does it bother you when people beg? Why are they begging, and how insistently? It depends. Do you have any weird rings? I have two, but neither I consider weird, at least. Well, I suppose the one with "bitch" carved on the inside would confuse non-Supernatural fans, haha. Are you anything like your siblings? Not really, no. At least, my two immediate sisters. Mom says I'm extremely similar to her eldest daughter though and wishes we'd talk more, but yeah, I just don't have anything to talk about with her. I'm so bad at initiating conversation. When was the last time you shaved your legs? October for when I was doing that witchy photoshoot with a friend. I absolutely hate shaving my legs and pretty much only do if anyone else whose opinion would affect me may see them. What would be the best surprise you could receive right now? Uhhh I guess all the "upgrades" I want to make to Venus' enclosure: a 40g tank and a nice, accurate hygrometer and thermometer, as well as the proper kind of lamp for her. I feel like such a "bad snake mom" still having her in her current terrarium because, while it's perfectly liveable and not dangerous, it's too small for her. It's pretty much always on my mind to some degree nowadays, so just like, dropping the terrarium and extra tools off would be a massive weight off my shoulders. Did you ever skip a grade or get held back a grade? No, but I was able to skip the intro Writing course the last time I was in college; I just started in Writing II. Who took your profile pic? Anywhere where it's a picture of myself, odds are me. I hate getting pictures taken, but if it's gonna happen, it'll be through myself, knowing my "good" angle and such, lol. Have you ever been fishing? Do you know anyone who likes fishing as a hobby? I've been fishing many times, especially as a kid with my dad. There are pleeeenty of people I know who enjoy it. I don't anymore. Do you own any cats? What color are their eyes? Yes; his are a light blue. Is there a rose bush in your garden? What color are its roses? We don't have a garden. When was the last time you spent over $100 in one transaction? What did you buy? Over $100 with my own cash, a plane ticket. My recent tattoo deposit was exactly a hundred. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Would you judge a grown adult for doing so? No; Roman would NEVER allow me to cuddle anything else, and I am not even remotely kidding. I couldn't care less if any adult does, though. Would you rather read an erotic novel or watch an erotic film? Ew, neither, but I guess a book would be better just so my eyes weren't forever scarred. What’s your favorite way to make your home smell good? Do you spend a lot of money on making this happen? INCENSE!!!! God, I love incense burners. I don't light it anymore though because Venus' terrarium is also in my room, and it's not good for snakes. What are the main two colors in the room you’re currently in? Did you pick these colors out yourself? Just... white. That's it. Well, my furniture is brown. I didn't pick either. How often do you wake up in the night needing to pee? Usually once, sometimes not at all anymore. I guess my bladder actually grew a pair. If you live in a household with pets, who is responsible for their care - both in terms of finance and the physical tasks involved? As far as the physical care, me. Mom does help me do a full clean of Venus' cage sometimes, though, because I don't trust myself to both keep her around my neck while I scrub the tank, hide, bowl, etc., with a cat that is my absolute shadow. I don't want to be bent over the tub and Roman tries to do something; he's shown very little interest in Venus, but still, I'm one hell of a paranoid snake mom that doesn't want to risk her life. Full cleans only happen like twice a year, so I don't mind too much asking my mother for some help. I should point out that Mom doesn't want to hold her, so we can't reverse roles. Do you have anything hanging from your ceiling apart from lights? Not anymore, no. At my old house and the one before, I had lots of Pyramid Head gift tags hanging, but our landlord doesn't want me to do that here. Would you describe yourself as neat, messy or somewhere in-between? I'm in-between. If you have pets, when was the last time one of them needed to go the vets? Venus had to go to the vet about a year into me having her because she was showing symptoms of an RI in strange breathing episodes, which can be fatal to a snake. Thank God, nature, whatever, that she didn't. There were warning signs, but closer watch over her humidity saved her. Roman, meanwhile, was taken to the vet like a year ago to be neutered. When the pandemic is over, what is one thing you can’t wait to do again? I barely ever left the house beforehand, so... I guess go to the movies. What’s one thing (aside from essentials) that you spend the most money on each month? Has anyone ever told you you’re obsessed or addicted with it? N/A What’s your favourite genre of TV show to watch? What’s your favourite show that’s not from that genre? If I had to pick, uhhh... yeah, idk, due to the whole "not into TV much to begin with" thing. Would you rather be employed or self-employed? Why? Self-employed, though taking care of all business matters yourself is/would suck. I just really want to be my own boss for the sake of photographing whatever I want. IIs your hair naturally curly, straight or somewhere in between? Do you wish it was different? It's straight, but on the wavy side, and I wish it wasn't. Do you ever play online games with your friends? Which one(s)? Just WoW. In the last week, have you had any alcoholic beverages? Which? No. Do you ever wear accessories in your hair? Which ones? No. Do you feel free to post your views on social media? Yep. I honestly don't care who it pisses off. What is your favorite work of historical fiction? Well, I don't really know what you consider truly "historical" in age... That, and I'm bad at dates to begin with. There are lots and lots of older books and movies I adore, though. Old Yeller is one of my favorite books ever, for one. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas makes me sob, too. What cartoon character looks like you? I remember when Hotel Transylvania came out, my ex's mob pointed out how much she thought I looked like the daughter, especially when my hair was dyed black. Do you have hope for the future? Some days I do, some days I don't. Do you believe in yourself? Ehhhh... debatable, idk. Do you have trouble letting go of your past? Oh yes. Were you happy in high school? It's funny, I was very depressed in HS, but due to Jason and friends, it's one of my most cherished time periods. Were you ever a teacher's favorite? I mean it modestly, but I was almost always pretty obviously one of the teachers' favorites. I was a good student. Are you popular? I wasn't. If you won a title in the senior class polls, what was it? I didn't. Have you ever had a medical condition that made you unable to work? My social anxiety is so debilitating that it's made it questionable. It ruined my very short-lived previous jobs. What makes your life worth living? My future goals, family, friends... What is your favorite Bible verse? I don't have one. List five careers you've considered. Paleontologist, vet, game designer, author, and wildlife biologist are all past ones. Do you have any unusual talents? If so, what? No. What do you get compliments on? My hair and my art, mostly. What have people told you you should be? I've heard "a vet" most in my life. What is holding you back? My (mostly social) anxiety and extreme fear of judgment. Do you have anyone purely evil in your life? Hell no, I wouldn't allow that person to stay in my life. Have you ever felt threatened for your life? I've felt scared for it, yes. While riding my bike once, I ran into a guy in my old neighborhood who had a criminal history, including assault, just asking what I was listening to on my iPod. I stopped because I was scared to keep going, and he wound up asking for my Facebook, but guess who didn't accept THAT friend request. List ten positive words that describe you. That's too much thinking, man. List ten negative words that [you feel] describe you. And that's too much negativity to fish in. Are you a good person or a bad person? I mean, I try to be a good one. Have you ever contemplated being a bad person? I've done bad things, but I've certainly never deliberated tried to be an overall bad person. Have you ever resorted to vandalism because you didn't have a voice? No. Have you ever egged someone's house? Wow, no. Do you want to egg someone's house? Also no because I'm a fucking adult. Have you ever seen a piece of graffiti that you are thankful for? What an odd question. I mean, no? Name three people who hurt you and didn't care. I am quite positive Colleen doesn't care about the many times she did considering she's always right. Was your first crush sexual, or no? No, I was just a kid. What would you do if you got pregnant right now? I honestly can't say I know. If I was God forbid raped, I'd probably have an abortion because I psychologically could not handle that without being scarred for life. If it was by my own stupidity, I feel I'd probably have the baby but give it up for adoption. I just can't raise a kid. Do you have a medical condition that you are embarrassed or ashamed to tell people you have? No, I don't think so. What do you get asked the most? Hm. OH, WAIT, THAT'S EASY. I get asked a lot if my lip piercing hurt. Have you ever stood up for someone else who was being bullied? I know I have before, but I don't remember the occasion. What tragic news stories that you've heard has touched you the most? Man, that's a lot to think about. You see news articles on Facebook all the time, and a whole lot of them touch me, so I dunno. What is your favorite thing to order at Taco Bell? I like the cheese quesadillas, and whatever those cinnamon bites are called are really good. I'm still tilted they got rid of the fiesta potatoes, because I adored those. Where do you have cutting scars (if you have any)? I only ever had them on my wrist, but you can't see them anymore. Do you like cotton candy? Not very, but I mean, I can have a bite or two. It's way too sweet to eat a lot of it. What's the best piece of graffiti you've ever seen? I'm unsure, but I've definitely seen beautiful work, especially online. Do you like tattoos? "Like" is a colossal understatement. Do you like piercings? Yep yep yep. Have you ever made someone so mad that they broke something? No. Those are not people I hang around with. Who is the last person you slow-danced with? Slow-danced? I don't think I've done that since Jason.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''turbo lover'' by judas priest

2 notes · View notes

gemstoneconstellations · 4 years

Note

I love your fanfics! And I was wondering do you have any tips for original fanfic writing or just writing fics in general?

wow this actually ended up a lot longer than i thought it would, but here we go!

Original fanfics, hmmmmmm....

What I generally do is base things off of my own personal experience. Like all my iida fics are stuff that happened between me and my husband before we got married. Can’t help falling in love fic with bakugo, that was a previous relationship i had (which there is more to that story). Caught with todoroki..... thats how i got out of a ticket with a cop and how i learned that when i half check someone out and half start thinking about what i would do to that fine man in uniform (curse my uniform kink) that i glare/make a suspicious face. and when he confronted me about what i was doing, ready to write some kind of ticket for whatever i was doing wrong, i was so embarrassed that i blurted out that i found him very attractive and what exactly was on my mind and how i wanted to take that uniform off him.... that has happened with a emt too, i missed the green light looking at his bulging biceps after he rolled up his sleeves to write on a clip board.... he waved and i proceeded to squat in my seat and slam my face against the stirring wheel. escape artist cat was actually a dream i had, someone was taking off my cat’s pretty ribbon collars and putting ugly ones on her and i woke up sooooo mad, but i turned that dream into a romance story (reality kuiper was taking her collars off herself cause she was a brat) Stories about yourself, no matter how small you think it is actually has great potential to become a fic.

its also okay to borrow ideas from other forms of media. I do. example, Silk Maiden, based off of an old batman episode from the early 2000s. its completely okay to do that. I’m not saying copy and paste the exact scenes. Just take the premises and then change it. some examples, like the movie Brave is the Scottish version of Aladdin. the princess who wants to be free and live her life beyond her princess duties needs to get married and she is not having it and wants to change the rules and runs away to find something new. premise is the same but how the story is told is different, one denies every prince and find her own prince in the streets of her kingdom and the other finds a cake that turns her mom into a bear that helps them understand each other and appreciate each other more. a weeb example is isekais. There are sooooo many isekais. japan, Korea, and china are all mass producing isekais right now. the premises are all the same, someone from one world now in another world primarily thanks to magical truck-kun who is probably could be branded as a mass serial killer at this point. I read a lot and i love korean isekai romance novels. I have read an isekai where the character was a villain who then was reincarnated with the memories of her villainous previous life who decided to live her new life by repenting by helping others but guess what? truck-kun came in the form of a airplane crash and she wakes up again in her first life’s preteen body before she became a villain. I’m reading an isekai isekai, author of an isekai met truck-kun and woke up inside the body of one of her characters in her isekai novel. all the same premise but told in a different way. i want to write an isekai for bnha! take a premise and write what you wanted to see happen between those characters if they were in that situation.

same for some fanfics, like you read a fanfic and you like the story that you read but you wished for something more. You like the idea but you wished that it went in this direction or you wanted different types of interaction, its okay to write your own fic with the same premises. i’ve done that. (side note: but if you are gonna base off of it where a lot of the stuff is the same the give the proper credit where it deserves. no stealing peoples hard work) thats what fanfic was originally made for, fans wanted something more from their favorite works or wants something different (Thank you star trek fandom who started all this). I’ve read a lot of villain deku fics and i was craving a specific type of villain fic where “he really isnt a villain but is one but there is a reason why hes being evil cause it is for the greater good cause of deku’s savior complex and border line martyr complex he’s had since he was a child” with a side of “hero/villain romance”, “surprise quirk” and “badass” and a healthy scoop of “bakugo becomes a better person on his own without deku at UA through the power of friendship cause he has that potential without deku’s constant interference”. no one had what i wanted, so i started writing it myself.

also dont worry about being original. you can write a common idea that everyone sees a thousand times a day, like isekai, and people will love it. focus on how you are telling your story, dont put so much effort in being different. actually, common or typical tropes/ideas help make the story more relatable. two books can be equally as good but one person can like book A over book B because they felt more connected to the characters in it. they could relate to the emotions that were being conveyed.

now writing tips....hmmmmm well not everything works for everyone but this is what i do

I write notes down, lots of them. I have notebooks full of notes for my fics. some people can just sit there and start writing, but i like notes to keep me on track and remind me of stuff i wanted to add. Writing it down makes it easier not to forget, cause you are just lying to yourself if you think you’ll remember the idea for later. i got dialogue, scenes, plots, random quirk ideas, diagrams, (12) oc profiles, outlines, lists, and a event idea that i have that i want to do some day, all in my notebook. If you are going to write a long fic i strongly encourage that you do this. Outlines are your friend, they are bones of the story Ex:

Hero By Another Name original outline:

meet at a fire, firefighter impresses kiri who will later seek her out

kiri is becoming popular and wants to share the fame

they bond some how(?)

firefighter kiri, kirishima needs to wear a firefighter uniform

firefighter turns out to be a mega fan of red riot

photoshoot

kirishima finds out shes a nerd and is cool with it

firefighter is now popular

camping with baku or bakusquad?

miscommunication

kirishima does a big confession

I always start off with the key things i want for sure to happen. then i start adding to it. I write out the scene i definitely want to see or i can see clearly in my head. i just keep adding to it till its at least three pages long of just outline that has some images, random dialogue i want someone to say or little summaries of the scene i want.

its okay to jump around when you write. there are some parts that you know you need in a story to help it move a long but it can be boring. so i write one scene that i want to happen next and then i think of what needs to happen to get to that point. like how in hero another name where kirishima shows up unannounced to her apartment and finds out she hoards all his hero merch while not wearing pants. how do you make that not sound creepy and have kirishima be okay with it? by adding bits of how much of a fan she is through out the story! when they first have dinner together i threw in that red riot shirt to help break the ice and that he would then know that she was a big enough fan to buy his merch and that she admires him and that he is an inspiration for her. then later adding that interview where she talks about how she became his fan shows that she has years of dedication to him as a hero. so when he sees all the merch she has, it would make sense to him that she had all of that and not go “huh, will i be able to leave this place if i enter?”

if you dont know it, look it up. research. i wrote a fic before where the reader was pregnant the entire time, i started at two months to birth. I knew nothing about pregnancy on how it can affect your daily life and what it feels like beyond what health class and child development class taught me. So i looked it up. there is seriously so much that doctors look for during those many ultrasounds cause there are so many things that can affect your health and the baby’s and did you know there is pregnancy diabetes? you can become diabetic only during pregnancy, like after you give birth it can go away or stay, the human body is just tripy. but thanks to that research, people who have had children before left comments going “yessss, i remember feeling that” or “god, this was my sister in this scene, it sucks”. Its that relatability i mentioned before that really helps and it makes the story more believable.

(this is just my personal opinion mainly here feel free to ignore) when it comes to smut, write what you know and not what you fantasize about. im not calling anyone out but i can tell from how someone writes sex that they never had it and they are most likely younger than me. i’ve experimented a lot in my 25 years of life and i find myself going “oh sweetie, thats not how the vagina/anus works” when i read fics sometimes. there are guides online that are very informative and tell you what the feelings are like that you would expect. dont rely on porn too much on how sex works physically, maybe for dialogue. (i think of porn as just live action fanfics for the human mating ritual fandom). its okay to use other smuts as reference tools as well, especially if you dont know anything of the bdsm lifestyle.

beta readers help a lot. if you are unsure of ideas that you have, talk it out with a friend. I sometimes do this for myself or help others with their fics. its actually a lot of fun with a group of people where you just keep shooting off ideas together about stuff and just go all out fangirlling to the point you are rolling on the ground smiling. this can help with writers block or motivate you to keep writing. also having another pair of eyes to look at your fics, not just for corrections but for input on the story can help make it better. someone can see things from a different angle and point stuff out to you, plot holes or things that you can add.

im not sure what else to say other than stuff like format and spacing. sometimes i see people who write too long of paragraphs or there is no clear separation between them. thats killer on the eyes and makes me not want to read at all cause all i see is this wall of text thats just overwhelming. i want to call who ever formatted textbooks cause thats how they do it and it makes it so hard to concentrate on reading and absorbing the info. if i see fics with no clear breaks or long running paragraphs, i usually give up half way cause i just cant do it. its hard to keep track where you are reading and you start trying to focus on it too much that the story is just lost on me. it is hard on people like me who have dyslexia (who ever called it that is just cruel to people who have it cause you can never spell it without spell check and pronouncing it is just ugggh)

i hope this helps

#my weebs

16 notes · View notes

my-emotional-self · 5 years

Text

Forever Ago Chapter 6

Pairings: Chris Evans x OFC

Warnings: Angst, Swearing, Underage Drinking

Summary: After losing touch with your childhood best friend after graduation, he comes crashing back into your life 15 years later. The feelings you’ve had for him never left you. But do you forgive him for all those years he ignored you? Or do you decide he lost his chance with you for good?

A/N: For the sake of this chapter, cause I didn’t even think about the damn dates and times, Chris is 18 ok!!! LOL and because of that fact that in real life, he is not really 18 until June 13th of 1999, I’m not going to go into smutty detail in this chapter. Don’t worry though, I promise there will be some smut still in later chapters.

Over the next week you kept really busy, trying not to think about going back home. You had a lot of packing to do because you didn’t know how long it would take you to get the house ready for you to sell. You also had two photoshoots booked up.

By the end of the week, you were on a train heading to Boston. You loved taking the train; it was the least anxiety ridden form of transportation for you. It was also nice to just sit back and relax without having to deal with the panic of being in a car.

When you first moved out here with your parents when you were younger, you were so nervous about everything. But then you and Chris became friends and the nerves went out the door. Now as you were on your way back home, those nervous butterflies began to stir in your stomach.

Chris had texted you a few times over the last week, checking in to see how you were doing. The first time he texted you, you were unsure if you were going to bother answering him. After all, that’s what he did to you all those years ago. But you couldn’t stop yourself from texting him back; although you were rather short with your words.

The train pulled into the station and you grabbed your suitcase. As you made your way off the train, you walked to the side, not wanting to be in anyone’s way as you pulled your phone out to call for an Uber; but you stopped when you heard someone calling your name.

Looking up from your phone, your brows furrowed as you saw Chris, clad in a baseball cap and sunglasses, walking towards you. “What are you doing here?” you asked, confused.

“I thought I’d pick you up so you didn’t have to call a cab or an Uber,” he stated with a smile; his hands placed in the front pockets of his jeans.

Nodding your head you walked with him to his car. You got in the backseat as he got in the driver’s seat and started the short journey to Sudbury.

The ride was quiet for the first half of the journey. “So how was your trip here?” he asked as you saw him looking at you through the mirror.

You shrugged, “It was fine.” You had taken the trip many times before. It was about a four and a half hour trip and it gave you plenty of time to either think about things, or to get some work done.

“Ma wants you to come over for dinner tonight,” Chris spoke from the front seat.

Looking down at your phone, it was already after four in the afternoon and you were dead tired. You had a lot of last minute packing to get done. You were also getting some stuff delivered to the house tomorrow to get started on everything.

“I don’t know Chris. I’m kinda tired,” your voice was soft as you spoke. You did want to see Lisa, really bad as it had been so long since you had seen her. It had also been forever ago since you last ate a nice home cooked meal; your stomach grumbling just thinking about it.

Chris nodded his head. “I understand. The invitation is open thought if you’d like to come over. I think she’s making lasagna.”

Chris pulled into the driveway of your home; your heart clenching just looking at it. The memories you shared with Chris and your parents all came rushing back at once and you had to stop yourself from crying. You didn’t want to cry anymore in front of Chris; you wanted to be strong. You wanted to get this house ready, sell it, and be done with it all.

As you walked up the walkway, you pulled out your keys before turning to face Chris. He was standing by the car, arms folding in front of his expanse chest as he gave you a soft smile. “So, I’ll see you around then?”

Giving him a curt nod, you replied, “Sure Chris.”

~~~

After unpacking your suitcase, you took a short nap before waking up feeling more refreshed. Traveling on the train always made you tired, but nothing a short nap couldn’t fix. Looking around your room, it gave you a longing; for things to be how they used to be.

With a smile, you got up off the bed and headed to your closet. Inside your closet was a secret door, so well hidden that nobody ever found out about it. It was where you would hide things from your parents.

Opening the door you grabbed the shoebox you had hidden in there and brought it back to your bed. Upon opening it, you laughed as the memories came rushing back. The first thing you pulled out was a movie stub ticket. It was from a movie you and Chris had seen; it was the same night that he kissed you on the cheek; the night you started growing intense feelings for him.

The next thing you pulled out was your prom ticket, along with a few photos from prom. Your eyes glossed over with tears as you remembered that night.

Spring of 1999

It was time for prom and you had been so excited! Chris asked you to prom, wanting to take you instead of some other girl because he knew the two of you would have a blast together.

You were in your room at Lisa’s house. It turns out your parents had asked Lisa to be your legal guardian if anything were to happen to them. After your parents died and the will was read, you were shocked to say the least. The two of you talked and you didn’t want to see your childhood home, so Lisa helped in renting it out until you either turned 18, or decided what to do with it. Since you turned 18 a few months ago, you decided to keep renting it out; you would sell it when you were ready to, or move in.

Placing the last of your makeup on, you took one last look at yourself in the mirror before joining everybody downstairs.

As you made your way down the steps, you could hear the murmurs of the Evans clan talking in the living room. Rounding the corner, you stood in awe at how great Chris looked in a tux.

“Wow Jess, you look beautiful,” Chris beamed as he came over to hug you.

“You look pretty handsome yourself,” you replied with a smile.

He placed the corsage over your wrist and the two of you took pictures together before leaving for the prom.

The night was spent with laughing and dancing. Your favorite part was the slow dances with Chris. He was the best dancer ever as he held you gently, the two of you swaying back and forth. Feeling him so close to you, his breath fanning your face, it took everything in you to not lean up and kiss his gorgeous full lips.

The two of you were a giggling mess as you made it back home. Instead of going to bed, you two decided to head down into the basement and keep the night going. Chris had begged Carly to get him two bottles of champagne, under the promises he would drink it at home after prom and not leave the house. Chris was always good on his word so Carly hid both bottles in the basement.

Chris corked both bottles and you each took one. “To an amazing night, with the best company I could ever ask for,” Chris said as the two of you clinked the bottles together.

The two of you began to talk and you couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling of wanting to be with Chris. It was such a cliché to have sex on prom night, but over the last couple of years, you always knew you wanted to lose your virginity to Chris; because Chris actually meant something to you. You knew there was feelings of love from both of you; you just may have felt the feeling a little bit deeper, but it didn’t matter at this point.

You knew Chris wasn’t a virgin. He was a player or anything; he wasn’t the type to sleep around. But you knew for a fact he wasn’t a virgin.

Taking one more sip of your champagne, you decided to ask him. “Chris,” you spoke softly, nerves getting the best of you. “I know it’s kinda stupid and all…,” you began to say but he quickly cut you off.

“Jess, nothing you say is stupid.”

“Promise you won’t make fun of me then? Or think I’m weird?”

He took your hands in his, giving you a smile. “Jess I could never make fun of you. You’re my best friend and I love you.” He had said those words before to you, and you to him; but you had a feeling your words were a little different from him.

“Will you have sex with me? Tonight? Right now?” you blurted out, wanting to get this part over with.

His brows rose at your words. “That was…not what I was expecting you to say.”

You pulled your hands from him. “Ugh, just never mind. Pretend I didn’t even say anything,” you said, feeling embarrassed as you began to get up from the couch.

“No wait, Jess that’s not what I meant. I just wasn’t expecting you to say that,” he said, coaxing you back down onto the couch. “I mean, are you sure about this?”

Biting your lower lip, you nodded. “I want my first time to be with someone special. And there is no one else out there more special than you. I trust you Chris, and I know you will make it better because we are so close and have that trust.”

Chris stared at you with his deep blue eyes; your heart starting to pound in your chest. You weren’t sure if he would go for your idea, but it didn’t hurt to try. He glanced down at your lips before meeting your eyes with his again.

He leaned towards you, taking his hands and placing them on either side of your face. Slowly, his lips connected with yours. It was like a burst of fireworks went off as you closed your eyes. His lips were soft against yours as he tilted his head to get a better angle. The kiss deepened and you felt your belly doing flips of happiness.

Chris parted his lips, tracing your lower lip with his tongue. You hungrily opened your mouth for him as his tongue explored yours. A soft moan escaped your throat at the feeling. Chris pulled away, a smile tracing his mouth. His eyes searched yours as if asking permission and you gave him a nod. But the way his eyes were looking at you, made your heart flutter. He had never looked at you with such adoration before; it gave you hope.

End Flashback

That night had been, without a doubt the best night of your life. Your first real kiss with Chris. The way he held you as he made love to you. The way he looked deep into your soul. For one small second, you thought maybe things would progress in your relationship; but it never did.

Even after Chris ignoring you after all those years, you never once regretting sleeping with him. He had made your first time special, and that was all you wanted.

Now you were horny and sad as you sat in your childhood bedroom, thinking about how amazing your first time with Chris was. Wiping your tears with a Kleenex, you were startled by the doorbell ringing.

Tag List: @chrisevansfanfic @jinoraskies @patzammit @brastrangled @miss-cap21 @princess-evans-addict @remember-that-one-blog @the-real-kellymonster @white-chocolate-mocha-fan @pumbibaby @guera31 @zohoffman @kanupps06 @libbitinasdeath @hispeculiartreasure @sincerelyfan @projectxhappiness @ssweet-empowerment @sfreeborn @jjle @badassbaker @sophiealiice @poerebel @mrs-captain-evans @crushed-pink-petals @supernatural-girl97 @laochbaineann @esoltis280 @coffeebooksandfandom @joannie95 @3dsaunt

#chris evans #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x reader #chris evans x ofc #chris evans x you #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfic #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you

86 notes · View notes

topweeklyupdate · 6 years

Text

TØP Weekly Update #62: They’re *Really* Back (9/14/18)

We knew going into this week that there was a real storm coming, and that was an understatement. Though the complete Trench album is still waiting to be released, it really feels like the band is back more than ever.

This update is a novel-sized doozy. Grab your new merch, and let’s dive into it.

This Week’s TØPics:

A Complete Diversion in London Brings Trench (and a Flaming Car) to the Stage

The Boys Speak to the Press: Rock Sound and Alt Press Announce Special TØP Issues, and the Boys Hop Back Onto Radio

First Details Emerge About “Neon Gravestones”, “Pet Cheetah”, Clancy, Nico, and More As the Press Hear the Album for the First Time

Major News and Announcements:

The big one finally hit: after over a year, Twenty One Pilots returned to their home on the stage. They started making flex moves before the show even started. They arrived in London two days in advance, rehearsing and playing soundchecks into the night that die-hard campers could hear from outside the venue. They arranged for folks in Bandito uniforms to dispense 150 tickets to those that showed up at the box office. The venue delivered food to the queue, and the Clique in turn donated their blankets and duvets to a local soup kitchen. Pretty darn sweet.

The real event was even sweeter.

Twenty One Pilots did not quite pull out all of the stops for their first performance in over a year. The set was just over an hour, did not debut any never-before-heard songs, did not include any special guests, and mainly stuck to the skeleton of the Blurryface Era setlist. And you know what? There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. If anything, Tyler and Josh keeping things focused on dusting off the old gears and introducing a few new elements for the Trench era resulted in a tight and emotional return for today’s greatest band. (Shout out to Ohio Clique for editing fifteen different Periscope and Instagram Live streams together to make a cohesive concert movie.)

Highlights of the show include:

There were no screens present in the smaller venue, but the production crew did make sure to bust out a ton of other great production elements, including tons of lights and, most notably, the car from the “Heavydirtysoul” video that bursts into flames at key points during certain songs- including, at one point, when Tyler was standing on it.

The Clique brought the production value in the crowd, too: beyond all the folks dressed up as Banditos and Bishops, you also had plenty of people bring in yellow screens for their flashlights and yellow flowers and petals to offer Tyler.

The setlist was pretty sensible, with the four new Trench singles plus all of the songs that you would have expected them to play at an old festival show (minus “Guns for Hands” and “Tear In My Heart”, no I’m not sweating, why?). It is interesting that “WDBWOTV” and “The Judge” were played, but I suspect that it was mainly to justify bringing out the ukulele for “Nico”; if there are more uke tracks on Trench, I would not be surprised to see one or both of these songs dip out of the regular rotation.

Tyler had to stop the show twice to help people out of the pit- it was that kind of show.

The show opened with Josh coming out on stage in full Bandito regalia, torch in hand, looking like a badass. After sitting down at the drums and playing a few simple sequences, a masked man with a bass guitar walked out on the stage, started playing “Jumpsuit”’s gnarly riff, and yelled for the crowd to “GET UP!” Awesome. Twenty One Pilots is back, mate.

Tyler stumbled over a few lyrics in “Jumpsuit” and “Levitate”, but he successfully played it off- only the most diehard fans would have caught that he wasn’t just pausing for breath or to hear the crowd.

Tyler actually yelled “Why’d you come, you know you should have stayed?” at the end of “Heathens”, and it sounded damn good. Hope it sticks for future shows.

Tyler’s “WDBWOTV” pre-speech was a pretty good inaugural address for the Trench Era. He let the rabid audience know that he had been watching them since before the concert (both literally and metaphorically), joked about needing to get back in “show shape”, and thanked London for being a home away from home for them. In gratitude for hosting them, Tyler even announced that they were adding a third arena show at Wembley and joked that Mark should tweet it or something (he did).

Prior to playing “Nico”, Tyler adorned a bright yellow jacket over his usual uke kimono; Josh helpfully banged the drums dramatically for every successful button.

Tyler and Josh did the handshake during “Nico”, because of course they did.

For “My Blood”, Tyler drew from the old playbook and attempted to direct the two halves of the audience to sing harmonies. It worked even better than it used to with “Doubt”, much to Tyler’s evident glee- his smile and little dance to everyone singing his new song back at him was probably the best moment of the whole show.

The Trees Speech was short and sweet, with Tyler promising that he’s written “pages and pages” of things he wants to say, but for now all he can say is that they’ll be coming back on the new tour with “things we’ve never seen before” and that the fans look so good.

#YellowConfettiConfirmed

In the last bit of major news: new merch (that Josh stitched himself, be nice) and a new yellow Trench vinyl that I’m sure won’t immediately sell out. Have fun spending your life savings, kids!

Other Shenanigans:

The band was active in other spaces this week, of course. After Zane Lowe broke open the floodgates last week, both Rock Sound and Alternative Press announced that they would release some exclusive Trench Era Content (tm). Rock Sound’s came in the form of a thirty-page mag featuring a lengthy 22-page feature comprised of the first interview the two bands gave together since before the hiatus, Tyler and Josh’s first full photoshoot in over a year, and tons of awesome posters and Clique art. It definitely is not available in any form on the Internet that I’m afraid to link to lest I get pegged for copyright and sent to jail. Highlights of this interview that I certainly haven’t read include:

Lots of typical Rock Sound purple prose, in which the writer goes off on more tangential metaphors than even Tyler Robert Joseph.

The reporter describes Tyler’s house as “quite stunning” (yeah, with that Blurryface money combined with Columbus real estate values, I should hope so).

Josh laughs at the memory of some of their old costumes. “Those suits were so hot,” he says, as if those heavy coats aren’t a billion degrees inside.

Tyler: “There’s something healthy about realizing that the world keeps turning. Sometimes it can feel like the whole world is revolving around you- I think we all selfishly get to that point. When you have those moments, when you stop and realize that even if you weren’t there those other people would be, it lifts a weight that can feel very heavy. It motivates you to want to come up with a reason why you’re here.”

Tyler says they cut out social media during the hiatus in part because “removing the ability to run straight to it was important. For me, writing music is the thing I want to run to when I feel compelled or inspired. Whether it’s frustration or anger or compassion, whatever it is that I wanted to express, I wanted it to live somewhere new. I didn’t want one drop of meaningful expression to live anywhere else.” Additionally, they did want to test whether the Clique would stick around, and even kinda hint that they wanted to shrink how crowded some of the rooms they entered were becoming.

We are assured, however, that the next “hiatus” will not be the exact same as this. Tyler: “Going away broke my heart. It hurt that we weren’t able to tell people why we had gone, but I’m an advocate of showing people what I’ve been working on rather than telling them how hard I’m working. [...] That said, though we don’t know what the timeframe will be or if we’ll take another break, the manner in which we left... we’ll never do that again.”

I’m just gonna leave this here: “He tells us also of the beautiful relationship he has with his wife, Jenna, and the role that she played in helping him unlock the words and the sounds that would form the basis of this new chapter; of the times he would hand her the phone while behind the wheel of his car to allow her to record anything from melodies to simple poems.” Yeah, will someone sweep up all the pieces of my heart that are just lying on the floor, that’d be great.

Tyler has long had the idea to tell a geographic story, much longer than since the end of the last cycle, and he didn’t always intend to tell it through music. “I feel like in our mind there are places we learn we shouldn’t go.”

Tyler says that there are lots of songs that he writes that never see the light of day because he has moved past the season he wrote them in by the time it comes to record them.

Rock Sound is positively glowing in its brief advance review of the album, saying it is undoubtedly the best project of 2018, “a labor of love”, “a varied, often spectacular collection” with some of the band’s all-time greatest moments. It will be even more sonically diverse than we’ve come to expect: “Morph” is described as “old-school R&B”, “The Hype” “anthemic indie-rock”, “Pet Cheetah” has “stomping beats and a fiery rap verse.” The highlight, though, is apparently “Neon Gravestones”, “a piano-laden spoken word masterpiece” with lyrical content that “will save at least one person’s life”. Damn.

Alt Press will also be releasing a 24-page cover feature on the band and were even nice enough to include a fun video ad from the boys. They’re so cute, and I’ve missed them so much. (Also, Tyler’s checkered pants are a quality meme.)

After the Complete Diversion, Tyler and Josh performed a mini-press tour. First, they gave five-minute interview with Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 and an Instagram Stories AMA on the station’s account. Highlights of this quickie include:

Josh and Tyler joke that specifying the exact number of months they’ve been away sounds like a mother saying their kid is “14 months” instead of a year old.

Tyler notes that this was the first performance in a long time that they’ve felt truly nervous, as they could no longer rely on muscle memory to carry them through after the long break, particularly with the new songs.

Annie references her last interview with Josh, where he confessed to be nervous about whether the fans would return. When asked if the first show helped them overcome those nerves, Tyler replied honestly, “To an extent, yes.” They chuckle about it, but the implication remains thick: the dedicated fanbase certainly turned up, but there is no assurance that they’ll have long-term mainstream success in the future. They seem cool with that.

Tyler states that they chose London specifically to make their return because, besides Columbus, it’s the only city where they have played in every size of venue, from the Barfly club to the Ally Pally and everything in-between over the course of fifteen shows. That type of home atmosphere made it feel right to start the new era there.

Josh says they played a bowling alley in London once. He did not wear bowling shoes in the set nor when he bowled afterward, which, as Tyler points out, is very punk rock.

Tyler reflects on how this show represents years of preparation and practice teaching them how to “trim the fat” and master the tempo and flow of the concert to appear as confident as possible and bring the audience along for a well-planned journey.

“My Blood” is one of the most challenging songs for both artists to play, particularly Tyler, as he has to balance the difficult falsetto with keeping that bassline groovy and consistent.

The IG answers were mostly just the dudes trying and failing to answer basic questions like “Are you happy to be back?” and “What’s it like to be famous?” in as few words as possible without giggling, hugging, and tickling each other. Best Q/A: Why did they watch the Grammys in their underwear? “We didn’t have air-conditioning.”

South African DJ Rob Forbes from Radio 5FM also conducted a truly fascinating interview with the band, the first that dives into the lore and one that gives us even more of a glimpse into some of the future songs. Additionally, Mr. Forbes briefly posted the tracklist w/ time-codes, revealing that both “Chlorine” and “Bandito” go over five minutes- get hyped, kids. Highlights from this interview include:

When asked about Clancy, Tyler responds with a pregnant silence before asking how the the interviewer knew about him. DJ Forbes stutters an answer about having listened to the record, but Tyler replies that Clancy’s not on the record. All he does say about Clancy is “I’ve heard about him, and I know we’re from the same place.” What is up with your cryptic nonsense, Tyler Robert Joseph?

The band intentionally left the Trench Trilogy open-ended to be able to continue it in the future. Tyler did not mean to make the timeline confusing, but did note that its cyclical nature left it open for the Clique to pursue that interpretation.

Tyler is careful with choosing his words to describe Nico. He admits the whole thing is pretty confusing (his grandma asked him once, “What’s a Nico?”), but that was his intention: he wanted to give the Clique a lot to think about and discuss as a reward for waiting so long. He does seem to confirm that Nico is Blurryface, or at least an aspect of him that represents how much more familiar Tyler has become with the nature of his own insecurities as he writes about it.

Tyler denies that the final verse of “Neon Gravestones” has a specifically political bend and actually sounds a little offended that something so important to him could be cast in that light. No idea what that means, I need to hear this song.

The interviewer says that Tyler calls his “Pet Cheetah” “Jason Statham” within the song itself in a fun rap verse. Tyler laughs and says that came from an inside joke between him and Josh that he was excited to bring to life. I am SO confused, you have no idea.

Tyler says that they had plans at one point to come to South Africa for a show that fell through at the last second, but that they’re still interested in going at some point in the future.

Additionally, the music production interest site Mix did a small spotlight on the producers behind Trench. We already knew that Paul Meany was handling main production duty; Darrell Thorpe, whose credits include Radiohead, OutKast, Paul McCartney, and Foster the People, joined him as an engineer while the band captured the album’s drum tracks at United Recording Studios in LA, the only studio they used outside of the one in Tyler’s home. It’s always cool to see the dudes who bring the band’s music to life, but, to be honest, the best part of this short little article is Tyler’s dad socks in the photo.

Oh, and music video director Andrew Donoho told Billboard that he can’t spoil the album or Tyler will burn down his house. So... yeah, okay, moving on.

Chart Performance:

After its first full week of sales and streaming, “My Blood” secured a debut at #16 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart ranking the songs that have yet to reach the Hot 100. The song gains at all metrics, and according to some industry sources like Headline Planet, it is receiving a concentrated marketing push to pop and adult contemporary markets that its predecessors have not. “Jumpsuit” continues to fade, but its run was respectable, and I remain optimistic about Trench’s commercial prospects going forward, especially in the midst of this hype wave.

Whew. That was a long run. Congrats to everyone who made it all the way to the end. We’re so close to Trench, you guys. Keep powering through. Stay alive. And power to the local dreamer.

|-/

#twenty one pilots #tyler joseph #josh dun #trench #rock sound #alt press #a complete diversion #bbc radio one #pet cheetah #neon gravestones #top weekly update

12 notes · View notes

heaven-delight · 6 years

Text

[INTERVIEW] TRANS: 2018/04 - Red Velvet Yeri CéCi Cover Star Interview

Warm Colors, Red Velvet Yeri

The facial expressions of Yeri, a 20-year-old who doesn’t want to push things back until tomorrow.

“You don’t turn 21 after being 20 years old. You turn into a person in your 20s.” This is a sentence from the introduction of Kim Yeon-Soo’s short novel, “20-Years-Old”1. You don’t have to give meaning to each passing year, but there are times that whiz past you even quicker if you don’t keep track of them.

It seems a bit too early for Red Velvet’s Yeriㅡwho just turned 20 years oldㅡto be associated with the word ‘youth.’ Yeri, whose freshness can be still found underneath her bubbliness, is a different person from last yearㅡwhen she posed for her high school graduation photosㅡand a different person from yesterday. She’s no different from any other 20-year-old, for she’s the kind of person who laughs out loud after saying “I only want to give love,” a person who seriously contemplates over what kind of birthday present she should give her motherㅡwhose birthday is coming up soonㅡand also a person who is embarrassed about her old taste for food. But she’s also a person whose unique color is destined to become even deeper as she feels the world around her richly, for she also continues to explore herself deeply. Through this article, CéCi recorded what the Yeri today is like, what the today of a person who would surely make any time of her life meaningful is like. Like how there’s one springtime that lasts in your memory even longer out of all the ones that come each year, we hope that Yeri’s 20-year-old life would be like that.

How was your trip? Did you just go with Saeron?

Yeah. I went to Bali with just Saeron. Because both of us wanted to use this trip completely for resting, as soon as the dates for my break came out, we thought a lot about where we should go. Bali was really hot, and although the two of us had to constantly put sunscreen on in order to not get sunburnt, we had fun resting. I don’t think I’ll be able to forget about this trip easily because eating good food and casually mingling with the other travelers helped me get rid of my stress and feel better.

It looks like you’ve been to Gangneung too. Have you already decided where to go next?

Before heading to Bali, I watched “Youn’s Kitchen 2,” and I found Garachico so pretty that I actually looked up plane tickets. But it took 35 hours round trip, so I gave up. (Laughs) I have a weak stamina so being on a plane for 35 hours didn’t seem to fit the purpose of the trip which was ‘rest and recuperation.” But next time, I’m going to go to Spain or Italy for sure.

You turned 20 years old this year. But honestly, has that made you feel anything different?

Yeah, whenever I got questions about turning 20 years old, I always said that I don’t know what’s there to be so different, because it’s just time passing. But after thinking hard about how I could’ve changed recently, not when, I found out that one thing that I’ve changed is that I started to eat jokbal2. (Laughs) I’ve never eaten jokbal until last summer. I ate it for the first time last summer, while practicing for the concerts. I was starving and drenched in sweat, so I just took a bite of it but it was super delicious. After that, until the end of 2017, I always ate jokbal at least once a week.

You ate gamjatang3 often too. (Laughs) Two years ago, when Red Velvet had a group photoshoot, you said that you wanted to live healthy. How’s your health these days?

I want to stay healthy both physically and mentally, so I always try to look for something that I like to do. That’s why I often try to work on making songs in the studio when I’m not promoting, play games as hard as I can, and go outside a lot to take pictures.

You look like a person who has various interests and tries to actively search for new things to enjoy.

I am a person who’s always looking for new things to try. (Laughs) Actually, from when I was a trainee, I tried to label each emotion I felt and wondered what names they had. That became a habit, so recently, I’ve been thinking harder about that these days. Eventualy, I realized that I was looking for an emotion called “stability,” and that I wanted to be stable in many aspects, such as in my way of thought, and my actions. At the same time, I also felt very thankful at the fact that I was able to find the “stability” that I’d been looking for.

It was your birthday a couple of days ago, wasn’t it? Did it feel different since you got to spend it with your fans?

This year, I really want to meet the fans, to the point that I started scheduling it enthusiastically from two months ago. Normally, it’s hard to talk to the fans face to face, up close and personally. So, through the birthday party, I wanted to talk a lot about the things that I couldn’t say before. Although it was a bit embarrassing, I also read a letter that I wrote out loud.

Even if it wasn’t your birthday, I think events like those would’ve filled your heart up.

A lot of people think that the fans would like these kinds of events more than me. But, after meeting fans, I don’t feel just happy. I feel calm and extremely energized. Because of that, I wanted to meet the fans even more, and it was actually a very pleasant time for me too.

We have to talk about your friends, since you always manage to win the hearts of those around you. Are you the kind of person who approaches people that you want to be friends with first?

I often get asked about how I manage to have so many friends. But, I always haven’t been able to give a clear answer, because I always don’t know what to say. Because I’d been a trainee from a young age, I don’t have a lot of friends that are the same age as me.

No matter how hard I think about it, I can’t say that I really do have a lot of friends. I think it only looks like that because all of my friends are famous celebrities. Most of the friends I have are people that I’ve known for a while, because once I get to make new friends, I tend to stick with them for a long time.

I don’t think there’s a special secret behind how I have so many friends. Rather, I think it’s important to not be biased when you meet someone for the first time. Honestly, I only want to give love to the people around me.

“Wanting to only give love.” I guess that’s the truth and the secret to having so many friends.

Usually, I don’t reach out to other people first. But I try to show as much affection as I can to the people that I adore. I don’t get to meet them a lot because everybody is so busy. So, I try to contact them often and talk to them sincerely. Everybody each has their own troubles and sorrows, so I want to only give love to the people around me. I guess that could be the secret behind why the relationships I make last long.

You also revealed songs that you created, and on top of that, you’re also into games recently. Do you have any other things that you like to do, Yeri?

There are three things that I promised to do this year: studying foreign languages, song and lyric writing, and honing my piano and guitar skills. I know achieving all three goals looks impossible, but still, I want to give it a shot. Also, I always liked writing the stories inside my head out into lyrics and making them into songs.

I was surprised after listening to 1000, the song that you created, because it was better than I expected. How long did you work on that song?

Really? Thank you. It feels great to hear that. I have the habit of writing down whatever comes to my mindㅡeven if it’s only just a sentenceㅡon my phone’s memo app, so I have a bunch of stories. It didn’t take long for me to come up with the lyrics to 1000. I was up during dawn one night, and I found out that it was my 1000th day since debut. After that, I wrote the lyrics while thinking of the fans. I thought that if I’d create a song out of these lyrics, it would become a great present. It didn’t take long for me to write the lyrics and come up with a melody to go along with them, but I got a lot of help from my friends who did music while recording the song and mixing it. After thinking about when to release it, I decided to do it on my birthday. Whenever I have time to spare, I use it to work on songs. It’s so fun that I can’t break the habit.

Didn’t you also write the song and lyrics for Ragoon’s “Story?” You’re a real hard worker.

That’s just how my personality is. If there’s anything that might help what I do, I want to try it out. The reason why I mentioned that I want to get better at playing the guitar and the piano is because they can help me make songs better. I want to keep having fun making songs in the future too.

Do you always work on making music whenever you have time to spare? How do you usually spend a normal day?

I have a regular pattern. First, I meet my close friends and eat something nice for dinner. It’s one of the small joys of life. Second, I go to the bookstore and spend my time there. Then, there are times when I just head straight to the studio. I usually spend my time like that.

Do you still buy and read lots of books?

I have so many books. (Laughs) Even last night, when I saw the empty space on my bookshelf while I was organizing it, I was sure that that space was going to run out soon. I go to the bookstore often, but recently, I spent a whole day trying to get my hands on “Castella” by Park Mingyu. I’m going to read it soon since I managed to get a copy of it. Also, I was impressed deeply by the movie “Your Name,” so I’m thinking about reading the novel that it’s based on.

Four years have passed already after you’d debuted as a member of Red Velvet. What was the most fun thing you’ve experienced while performing?

I think it was easier for me to perform when I was 17, because everything was new to me and I didn’t know anything. But, one reason why I think I’m better off now compared to back then is that I got to know myself better. It’s because, in order to do better at work and music, I need to know myself well.

Also, I’m not just saying this because my fans will be reading this, but the biggest difference between before and after debuting is that fans exist. Because I was young and I only went back and forth between my house and the practice room during my trainee years, I couldn’t help but feel lonely. I mean it when I always call my fans as friends. I feel reassured knowing that I’ll be able to spend time with them, just like now. That’s the best thing that’s happened to me after debuting.

“I made good friends.” Doesn’t that sound really warm? I made my dream come true, and now on top of that, I made friends. Even if you’d achieved your dreams, if you don’t have friends or people that you like close by, it really means nothing. It is thanks to my fans that I’m able to have fun while being a part of Red Velvet.

CREDIT

Editor: Go Hyung-Gyoung

Photographer: Kim Hee-Joon

Makeup and Hairstylist: Go Woo-Ri and Soonie from the makeup salon, Soon-Soo

Stylist: Lee Ha-Jeong

1 Offical English title not yet released. The Korean title is “스무 살.” 2 Pigs’ feet. 3 Pork Back Bone Stew

#red velvet #rv #red velvet translation #rv translation #rv trans #red velvet trans #heaven-delight #m:yeri #e:theperfectredvelvet #t:interview #3YearsWithYeri

161 notes · View notes

ryuuppai · 7 years

Photo

[i7] Tenn Photobook: Special Interview

"I've learned a lot as well."

Riku: Kujo-san, thank you for the photoshoot!

Tenn: Thank you for producing it, as well. Were you able to shoot it according to your expectations?

Riku: Yes! It was really wonderful! I thought, as expected of Kujo-san......

Tenn: I'm glad. Being praised so straighforwardly, like this.

Riku: Ehehe......

Tenn: Well then, Nanase-san. Shall we get right to the interview?

Riku: Ah, yes! I'll do my besht! ...I mean, sorry! I'll do my best!

Tenn: Relax, Nanase-san. We're the same age after all, so take it easy.

Riku: Th, that's right...... Thank you.

Tenn: I was looking forward to it myself.

Riku: For real!? ...I mean, really!?

Tenn: Heheh. Yes.

Riku: I'm glad it wasn't just me...!

Tenn: Then, please feel free to ask me a lot of questions.

Riku: Yes! Let's start with our first question. How was the photoshoot for the cover? Please tell me your impressions!

Tenn: Let's see..., You were doing your best to give me detailed explanations regarding the pose and camera angle, so it was easy for me to imagine them. For that reason, shooting was very easy.

Riku: Really!?

Tenn: You do nothing but get surprised, don't you...

Riku: Ah, it's just, I often get told that my explanations are hard to get, so......

Tenn: I see. I personally didn't think so.

Riku: That makes me happy, Kujo-san...!

Tenn: You get somewhat stiff when you speak formally, don't you.

Riku: W, we're the same age so, I was wondering if it'd be okay to speak to you casually, since it shows that we're buddi- that we get along well.

Tenn: ...Though, if you speak formally, you may sound more like an interviewer.

Riku: That's true......

Tenn: Don't make such a sad face. After the interview ends, shall we talk without using formal speech?

Riku: Is that alright!?

Tenn: You're surprised again. I have another job after this, so I can't take too long, so if you may.

Riku: Yes! Alright, I'll be making this quick!

Tenn: We're getting off-topic.

Tenn: Ah, aaaah...... Um, once again, I will be interviewing you! During the shoot for the cover, what were you thinking about, in order to sink into that pose and expression?

Tenn: I got a little surprised at that time, but you requested me to "bring out an angelic and devilish feel at the same time," didn't you. Because of that, I wanted to give some two-sidedness to the pose and expression.

Riku: I see...... I'm learning a lot!

Tenn: I've learned a lot as well.

Riku: Though..., I'm sorry, hearing it again, I guess my instructions are pretty abstract......

Tenn: Not at all, you've pulled out your vision from deep inside yourself. It was really worth the work.

Riku: Kujo-san...... During the photoshoot, I've gotten you to make adjustments so many times, after doing camera checks, but you really are different from me. I thought, you're so cool and strong.

Tenn: Envying me won't help you with anything. But changing the angle of your neck by one degree, increasing the grasp of your fingers on the cushion by one gram, doing that completely changes how you come off.

Riku: So you've been thinking that far. I thought that all of your cuts were cool...

Tenn: Getting Nanase-san to produce for me is a rare and valuable opportunity, so I wanted to make it as perfect as possible.

Riku: Ah! In that case, let's do a Part Two!

Tenn: Huh!?

Riku: Both you and I were happy doing it, so I think it'd be fine to do a Part Two!

Tenn: Hehe. By all means. It is unusual for an idol to produce for another idol, but the fact that this is across different groups is rare, after all.

Riku: That's true! There's only the "Iori Photobook" by Yuki-san, the "Kujo-san Photobook" by me, and the "Momo-san Photobook" by Tsunashi-san, that are produced across different groups, after all!

Tenn: We went in order of birthdays this time, but thinking about it, it's true. I should be thankful for coincidentally having the same birthday as you, Nanase-san.

Riku: I have to thank God, too!

Tenn: You're exaggerating.

Riku: Ehehe.

Tenn: Talking about God... It seems that during the photoshoot, you told the staff "Isn't Kujo-san an angel?".

Riku: Wh-, y, you knew......!?

Tenn: I was told "I get asked a lot so I got embarassed." Even though I'm the one who was embarassed.

Riku: Urk, the fact that you knew is super embarassing...... Let's change the topic!! Here is the next question!!

Tenn: By all means.

Riku: How was your other photoshoot?

Tenn: What a sudden change of topic..... Hmm, the photoshoot at the movie theater has a nice date feel to it. But even if I'm saying this, I've never gone on a date to the movie theater, so I thought that eating popcorn together must be nice.

Riku: If I saw Kujo-san bringing me the popcorn and drinks like that at the movie theater, I think my heart would beat fast!

Tenn: If that were the case, it would make me happy, as a man.

Riku: I think it's dreamy!

Tenn: It's dreamy, isn't it.

Riku: Then, what kind of person do you like, Kujo-san?

Tenn: Let's see, if I have to say it, then someone who understands the entertainment industry. Right now, my goal and dream is to continue charming the fans as TRIGGER and as an idol, so I can't afford to think about love though......

Riku: Somehow, that's a cool answer that makes me go "An entertainer!"......!

Tenn: Thanks, you and I are both entertainers, you know.

Riku: Y, you're right...... I made me think that the way you answer is completely different from mine, so...... I mean, I just answered "Someone cheerful."

Tenn: Isn't that a wonderful answer. I'm sure that all your fans love the you who can't and won't lie.

Riku: It would be nice if it were true......

Tenn: I'm just one person, but I do think so.

Riku: Somehow, I feel better......!

Tenn: I'm glad. I also feel better when I talk to you, Nanase-san. Please keep get along with me, from now on, okay?

Riku: Y, yes......! Um, next is a standard question but, in your line of activites up until now, has anything sad happened?

Tenn: I apologize if it's vague, but I did some things thinking they would do good, but they backfired, and that made me sad.

Riku: That's painful, isn't it...... I also bought merchandise of the anime that Nagi likes before coming home, but it seemed that it was an enemy to the character that Nagi likes, so I made him sad...

Tenn: That is unfortunate...

Riku: I felt sorry, and I didn't mean to make him sad, so I got frustrated...... Did you feel that way too, Kujo-san?

Tenn: Yes. Seeing that I'd hurt Gaku and Ryu, I regretted it.

Riku: Yaotome-san and Tsunashi-san got hurt!? That's serious... But you didn't have any ill intentions, so the two of them didn't get mad, right?

Tenn: That's right.

Riku: In that case, you don't have to worry!

Tenn: I wonder. It'd be nice if it were true.

Riku: I'm sure it is!

Tenn: Hehe. I wasn't planning to talk about this, but I become able to answer frankly when you're the one asking me.

Riku: Huh, is that true!? I'm sorry for asking. But I've been thinking that despite being the same age as me, you're always calm, so knowing that even you have regrets ironically gives me more courage!

Tenn: I'm not that perfect of a person. I do think I'd like to be, though.

Riku: I respect how strict you are towards yourself, Kujo-san! Well then, next, please tell me about something good that happened!

Tenn: Receiving an award is an honour for TRIGGER, but also for me personally, and getting to see the fans smiling brightly from watching my performances from the stage makes me more than happy. It makes me think that I'd like to be there forever.

Riku: I understand...! We can see everyone's smiles unexpectedly well from the stage, right.

Tenn: It's curious that we can see the faces in the audience clearly, even though the light is so dazzling where we're standing. For that reason, to all of you reading this, don't cause any trouble during concerts.

Riku: Please don't appeal to the fans with an idol’s smile so suddenly! I was startled!

Tenn: Did your heart beat faster?

Riku: It did!! To everyone who got live tickets, Kujo-san is telling you this, so you shouldn't cause any trouble~! Ah, though, I'd be happy if you could refrain from causing trouble at IDOLiSH7's lives too!

Tenn: They wouldn't be able to cause trouble.

Riku: Ehehe. Even though seeing you in real life is amazing, I always watch TRIGGER's live DVDs at the dorms with Sogo-san and Mitsuki, and we get so excited that we can't act careless even if it's a DVD!

Tenn: I'd like to hear which parts made them excited, from Osaka Sogo-san and Izumi Mitsuki-san.

Riku: Sogo-san and Mitsuki's hearts will be throbbing if you ask them that question!!

Tenn: Izumi Mitsuki-san is the only one that you call without honorifics, isn't he.

Riku: Ah, that's because the first time that I met Mitsuki, I thought he was younger than me, and that impression stayed... So I kept talking to him casually like that! When I told him that, he got mad at me and said "I'm older than you!" though.

Tenn: Is that so. Izumi Mitsuki has both a sweet side, and a manly side to him, doesn't he.

Riku: He does! When he's with us, Mitsuki always...... I mean, sorry! Even though it's Kujo-san's interview, I'm talking non-stop...

Tenn: Not at all. It's fun.

Riku: But if I start talking about it, it'll get long, so let's talk later in the dressing room!

Tenn: Yes. Shall we do that.

Riku: Yeah!! ...Well then at last, Kujo-san, please deliver a message for the fans!

Tenn: Yes. Everyone, are you enjoying my photobook? For this project, I've looked back at a lot of old pictures, and I was able to feel once again how many experiences I've been able to have. That is thanks to all of you always supporting us. Thank you so much. Each of my memories with you is one of my treasures. I hope that from now on and forever, I can keep enchanting you by being your best Kujo Tenn, no matter what.

#idolish7 #trigger #kujo tenn #birthday photobook #scanlation

351 notes · View notes

liesfromalover · 7 years

Text

Hair, Sex, and Make-up

Being the youngest hair and makeup artist for the idol boy group BTS was your dream. Since you finally got to achieve it things were great and although it was hard being the youngest on the crew you knew that they loved you. You became close to the boys, but more so to Jungkook since you were the same age. However it seemed like things were going to change.

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 6k

“Yah, ___. Can you grab my makeup bag for me?”

“Yes, unnie.” You frowned in concentration and looked at Yoongi apologetically before running across the room and grabbing the forgotten make-up bag. Being the youngest hair and makeup stylist for the idol group BTS had it's ups and downs. The boys loved you and you were close to many of them but the older girls bossed you around a lot.

You gave the older girl the bag and bowed slightly, returning to Yoongi to finish his hair. “I’m sorry oppa, I’ll try to finish quickly.”

“It's fine, take your time. We still a couple hours before the shoot, I just wanted to get it done and over with.” His voice was deeper than usual and one look at his face let you know he was tired.

“Were you up late again, oppa? I told you that’s no good for your eye bags. They’ll just get bigger and require more makeup to cover them.” You bent over slightly and looked at his eyes, pouting as you noticed there were darker bruises formed under them. He blinked a few times at your closeness then smiled and rubbed your hair.

“I’ll try to catch up on some sleep today. Go do the kid’s hair. He’s waiting in the corner.” You looked and sure enough, Jungkook was sitting in the corner of the room playing on his phone, waiting patiently. None of your unnies ever wanted to do his hair because they claim every time they try he acts like a brat but he was never like that with you. In fact he was really kind to you, kinder than the other boys. Maybe it was because he was just a few days older than you were that made you so comfortable to be around. Whatever the reason, you were thankful.

Sometimes he brought you water or shared his snacks during their shoots, whether it was for a music video or just a photoshoot. You smiled and walked over to the boy, bending over to look at his phone. “What are you playing?”

He blinked and his face turned a slight pink but he smiled and looked in your eyes, although his eyes kept darting downward you figured he was just trying to focus on the game. “I was playing piano tiles but you distracted me.” His voice was deep enough to have a nice warm feeling to it and he always spoke to you comfortably. Maybe if he wasn’t famous you would have been best friends.

Smiling and standing up you rubbed his hair, making a face. “Let’s go make you look pretty.”

“Oh? So I don’t look pretty now?” You looked at him with the slight acne on his face that seemed to be clearing up since you changed the foundation you used and the way his lips were curved in a smug smirk.

“Hmm, you look cute, but your fans want you to look perfect. Let’s give them what they want.”

He made a face but followed you to take a seat at the mirror, putting his phone in his pocket. He sat down and leaned his head back, closing at the ceiling and waiting patiently as you gathered some clips for his bangs and your makeup.

“Hmm, can we do something different today?” His voice was soft so the others couldn’t hear. Your back was to him and you were bent over, digging through your bag for the last clip. You turned your head and looked over your shoulder at him and found him staring at you. Blushing you stood and frowned, clipping his bangs out of his face.

Pumping some foundation on the back of your hand and applying it to his face, you frowned as you thought about his request. “What do you have in mind? Different hairstyle? Or different makeup from the others?”

He was silent while you applied the foundation and stared in the mirror, more than likely admiring how smooth it made his skin. You bent over and brought your face really close to his, making sure to blend the foundation properly. He swallowed loudly and licked his lips, an act which immediately made you narrow your eyes at him.

“How many times have I told you not to do that Kookie?”

“Sorry.” He sat still as you fixed the area that he licked away. Once you stood and leaned against the counter, making sure everything was even he spoke softly. “I meant after this. We should hang out. None of the hyungs want to go out with me and I have an extra ticket to the movies.”

You blinked and your eyebrows shot up into your hairline. “Jungkook, I don’t know. I mean I would love to but-”

“I already asked and they said it would be fine if you did. It's not like it's a date or anything. Everyone here knows we’re close friends so it’s ok to show it outside of the dressing room.” You grabbed the eyeliner and bit your lip, waiting for him to close his eyes but he just stared at you. You frowned and waved the brush slowly. “Close your eyes, Jungkook.”

“Not until you give me an answer.”

You groaned and applied the eyeliner to his water line first, cursing at yourself for leaving both your glasses and contacts at home so you had to get really close to his face to make sure the liner was straight and even. His face flushed and he closed his eyes, you smiled amused and finished the eyeliner quickly.

When you applied just enough eyeshadow to make his double eyelids more obvious you pouted and looked for the tinted chapstick that he always fussed about wearing. He saw it and frowned. “Do you really have to use that again? It makes my lips sticky.”

“It's either this or lipstick, which do you want? And I use this stuff all the time, the stickiness only lasts for like 2 minutes before it absorbs and softens your lips. Besides it helps keep your lips nice even when you aren’t wearing it. Haven’t you noticed how soft your lips look now?”

He stared at you in silence as you applied then rubbed his lips together and smiled at you. “Is this how you like your guys to look?”

You frowned and scrunched up your nose, shaking your head slowly. “Not really. I like guys better without makeup, it holds character.” He frowned and looked at himself in the mirror then looked at you again.

“Can you answer my question now?”

You sighed heavily and brushed his hair, parting it so you can straighten once the flatiron was hot enough. He was staring at you expectantly, waiting for your answer and every time you tried to straighten his hair he would pull away.

“Jungkook please. Just sit still.”

“Not until you answer me.”

You puffed out your cheeks annoyed then released the air. “Fine. No I will not go with you to the movies.”

He blinked slowly then looked down sadly. “I see. You’re just like all the other noonas here. You just pretend to be nice to me because you have to. It's fine. Just finish my hair.” He took out his phone and you could see he was really hurt. You sighed softly and did his hair quickly, debating on whether or not you made the right choice.

You saw him as a friend, truly and it hurt you to know he thought you were just pretending. During the photoshoot he hardly talked to you when he was off camera, just staying in the corner and drinking his water. “Yah, ____! Stop daydreaming and touch up his makeup, he’s starting to sweat.”

“Yes unnie.” You sighed and ran over to Jungkook. He looked at you hopeful then his expression fell as you grabbed the sponge to dab away the moisture from his face. He didn’t look at your face and you frowned. “When is it?”

“When’s what?” He looked at you confused.

“The movie. When is it?”

It took a moment for the realization to hit him but when it did his face lit up. “Does that mean you’ll come with me?”

You nodded and smiled a little. He hugged you tightly then smiled brightly, his bunny teeth showing in full. The sight made you laugh. “Ok, so it’s going to be at 8 and it's the theater a few blocks from the dorm, you that one?”

You bit your lip in thought and looked up at him. His expression changed slightly and he blushed realizing he was still holding you and let you go quickly. You blinked and tapped your foot, still thinking. When you finally remembered the theater you smiled and nodded. “I know that one, it's actually really close to my house If this goes well maybe we can hang out more often outside of work.”

He blushed and smiled bigger, if that were even possible. “Do you promise?” He held out his pinky and stared in your eyes. You locked your pinky with his then touched thumbs. You leaned down and kissed your thumb. “I promise.”

He blinked then kissed his thumb, releasing your pinky when his name was called. “I gotta go. Meet me in front of the theater tonight at 7:45. Don’t be late.”

Nodding you shooed him away, laughing at his retreating form. He was always such a silly boy.

When you reached the theater at 7:30 you frowned at how early you were but it was best to get there earlier so you could buy your snack and everything before going in for the movie. You changed out of your typical jeans and blouse for a nice black dress that stopped mid-thigh and a cute jacket to cover your arms. The dress was sleeveless and your chest seemed to have grown so there was no need to wear a bra and you thanked the higher being for being kind to you on this day. Your legs were covered by the red and black striped thigh high socks you wore and you finished the outfit with black combat boots.

Frowning in line you ordered a large popcorn and a large slushie, smiling when they finally gave it to you. You eyed your watch and pouted, it was 7:45 and you didn’t see Jungkook anywhere. ADjusting your glasses on your face and searching the faces you find one that looks familiar, smile lighting up on your face as you carefully jogged over to the tall boy. “Hey, you made it. I bought us popcorn and we can share this drink. I got two straws.”

Jungkook looked down at you and the relief from hearing your voice was quickly replaced by something else. He looked you up and down, making you blush under his scrutinizing gaze. “Wow.”

“W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You look really pretty. I’ve only ever seen you in jeans or shorts.” His voice was soft but then he avoided looking in your eyes, taking the popcorn. “Come on, the movie will start soon.”

Pouting you nodded and followed him, walking into the theater to go watch whatever it was he was bringing you to see.

“Oh my god! That movie was amazing. No wonder you didn’t want to see it alone, you were scared most of the time.”

“I was not! I was just pretending so you would hold my hand.” Jungkook blushed and laughed. You looked at him then grabbed his hand gently.

“You don’t have to pretend to be scared for me to hold your hand.” You smiled and started walking down the street. Jungkook followed you, smiling to himself and hummed softly. You looked at him and smiled. “You want to come over for some chicken? I hear it's better to eat with friends.”

He blinked and looked at you carefully. “Don’t you have other friends?” You blushed and shook your head slowly.

“I do but they don’t come over to my place very often. Their jobs aren’t like mine and sometimes they get jealous because i get to hang out with you and the rest of your members.”

Jungkook nodded slowly and squeezed your hand. “I’d love to have some chicken with you.”

You grinned and started swinging your arm slowly, giggling and looking at the dark sky. “Thank you, Kookie.”

“For what?” He was watching you but you were too busy admiring the stars.

“For taking me out tonight. I needed this. My boyfriend broke up with me last month and it's just been really hard for me.”

He stopped walking and you felt the jerk, frowning you looked back at him, his expression confused and hurt. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

You furrowed your eyebrows and let go of his hand, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him along. “Come on, we’re almost there. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to bother you with the details of my boring life. He wasn’t a good guy anyway.” He stared at you, walking along reluctantly. When you reached your house he looked at it and smiled a little.

“It's cute.” You looked at it and smiled proudly. It was a small two bedroom with a nice little yard. You loved that you were able to afford it all on your own but it got lonely sometimes.

“Come on, I’ll show you the inside.” You opened the door and took off your shoes then gave him a quick tour, showing him your bedroom last. You sat on the bed and smiled up at him. “What do you think?”

“I think it fits you. Look I don’t think I should be here much longer. We can have chicken another time.” He looked at you nervously then started towards the door. You frowned and stood up, wrapping your arms around him in a back hug gently.

Your voice was sad and needy. “Please don’t go. You’re the first person I’ve ever had over. I’m sorry that I’m so awkward but I consider you a really good friend.” He place his hands over yours and and rubbed them slowly, taking in a deep shaky breath. He pulled them away slowly and turned to look at you, putting his hands on your shoulders.

“Don’t do that. Don’t say those things to me. You keep doing all these things and it's driving me crazy. Don’t you notice what it does to me?”

You frowned and looked at him confused. “I don’t understand, what am I doing?”

He looked at you desperately as if staring at you would make you understand. “Do you really not notice how often you tease me? That I’ve had a huge crush on you for months now?”

You blinked and blushed deeply, shaking your head slowly. “I didn’t know.. Then. Tonight. Was this really a date?”

He nodded and licked his lips slowly letting you go and turning back to leave. You frowned and watched him for a moment, trying to figure out what to do with this information. You wrapped your arms around his waist again, tighter this time and buried your face in his back. “I don’t care that you like me. You’re still my friend and I want you to stay.”

He sighed frustrated and pulled away from you roughly, glaring at you. “I don’t want to be your friend, ___.” He pushed you against the wall, staring at you with a dark expression. He didn’t say anything, didn’t move at all. Just stared in your eyes just a few centimeters separated the two of you. You licked your lips nervously and his eyes darted down to look at your moistened lips then back up to your eyes. Something was stirring in you as he stared at you, a slow burn that started in your core between your legs spread throughout your whole body.

His hands finally touched your waist and pulled you against him gently, making the fire that was sparking in you burn brighter. His hand was hot through the fabric of your dress and you wondered if every time he had ever touched you if it felt this good. You looked at the face you’ve been staring at for months but finally felt a pull of attraction in the way his plump lips were a light pink and always shining from his habit of licking his lips. His large, round eyes were staring at you with a combination of emotions swirling within them, lust, desire, annoyance, joy, anger.

“Jungkook…” Your voice was barely above a whisper and his expression softened slightly, eyelids fluttering shut as he pulled back slowly. You bit your lip and watched him start to leave again, his voice was quiet and dark.

“If you try to stop me again, I don’t know what I’ll do to you.”

The area he touched felt too cold as you watched him walk towards the door, your entire body calling out to him. You ran to him again and grabbed his arm gently. He turned quickly and pulled you against him tightly, pressing his lips against yours. They were softer than they looked the way they were moving against yours sent chills down to your core. His hands were gripping your waist gently and he pushed you against the wall again, forcing you to gasp. He took advantage of your open mouth and slid his tongue in, playing with your tongue and moaning softly in your mouth. The sound excited you and your hands went up to his hair, tangling your fingers in the locks and pulling gently. Your body started to react to him before you could stop it, moving your hips slowly to rub his growing erection against your belly.

His soft moans filled your mouth as his hand moved sides slowly, grabbing your jacket and sliding it down your arms. He broke away from the kiss and trailed fluttering kisses down your jawline to your neck until he found your bare shoulders, licking the soft skin before biting it playfully. You bit back a moan, letting the jacket fall to the floor and pulled at his shirt, desperate to see his skin and feel it under your fingertips.

The things he made you feel weren’t normal. Even your ex boyfriend didn’t drive you crazy with lust like this. Jungkook kissed the sweet spot under your ear and sucked on the sensitive skin gently, making you moan softly. You slid your hands under his shirt and ran your fingers over his burning skin, loving the way his toned stomach felt to your skin. He moaned and pulled away long enough to remove the shirt, smirking at you. You pouted and licked your lips, dragging your nails down his chest to his waist. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He licked his lips and he rubbed your side slowly, finding the zipper to your dress and unzipped it slowly watching it fall to the floor and took in your topless figure. His expression changed to one full of lust and awe as he pulled you against him and kissed your neck, murmuring against your skin. “You’re beautiful.”

You blushed and bit your lip, gripped a handful of his hair while your other hand ran down his back, gently dragging your nails across the smooth skin. He bit your neck gently and sucked at the skin harder, probably leaving bruise. His knee went between your legs and parted them gently, his hand slowly ran down your side and found your panties, slipping his hand in and rubbing your wet clit. His chuckle vibrated against your skin as you moaned at the sudden pressure of his hand on your sensitive bundle of nerves. You moaned softly as he rubbed slow circles between your legs, making you get wetter with every stroke.

Your hands hovered over his stiff member, rubbing it slowly over his jeans. He moaned in your ear, his hot breath tickling you and making you shiver with pleasure. “Go ahead, take it out if you want to.” You bit your lip gently, undoing his belt quickly and unbuttoning his jeans. Unzipping them slowly you pushed them down and rubbed his erect length through his black boxer-briefs. He moaned and chuckled softly, looking in your eyes with a lustful stare. “Take. It. Out. ___”

His fingers slid to your opening and slid right in, making you gasp and you felt the heat spread to your face from the way he was staring at you. You obeyed and slowly slid his boxer-briefs down, looking at his massive length in full. You blushed deeply and looked back up in his eyes, feeling yourself clench around his fingers in nervousness as he rubbed your g-spot gently. You moaned softly and bit your lip, looking at him shyly. He took his free hand and grabbed yours gently, guiding it to his member and wrapped your fingers around it gently. His eyes fluttered for a moment but they stayed locked on yours. He made you stroke him slowly, leaning in and biting your lip gently. He removed his hand from yours and let you stroke him, slightly tightening your grip and going a little faster, using the pre-cum that beaded at the top as lubrication.

He moaned softly and rested his forehead against yours, sliding another finger in you and thrusting them deeply in you. You moaned and bit his lip, sucking on it gently and making him groan in pleasure. He thrusted faster in you, kissing you deeply as your moans increased in volume. You felt your orgasm coming from his skilled strokes that were currently abusing your g-spot, grinding your hips into his hand as you stroked him a little faster. He groaned more then pulled his hand away from you, picking you up. Your legs wrapped around his waist as your arms went around his neck. Jungkook carried you to the bedroom, kissing you slow and deep, full of passion as though he imagined this moment so many times before.

Laying you at the edge of the bed he knelt down and kissed your thighs eagerly. You watched him shyly and licked your lips while your hands found his and entwined your fingers. His lips found your dripping core and licked it slowly, smiling up at you lustfully as you moaned. “You taste so damn good.” With that he dove right in, lips enclosing around your clit and began sucking hard. You arched your back and moaned loudly, squeezing his hand gently. The high you felt just moments before quickly returning. He alternated between sucking on your clit and sliding his tongue as deep as he could into your core. Both were having you worked up more than you could ever remember being. One of his hands slid away from yours and he slid two fingers deep into you, curling his fingers slightly to rub at your g-spot as he sucked roughly on your clit. Your moans were loud and your hands went to his head, gently pushing him deeper into you as you felt your high coming. His hands thrusted in you faster and harder and he moaned softly, sending vibrations through your being. You felt the tight coil within you become tighter and tighter.

“Please don’t stop. Oh my- Fuck! Please don’t stop!” You moaned as you felt your high coming closer until finally you felt the sweet release. Your thighs shook and your moans softened and your breath was ragged as you leaned back and looked at him, smiling shyly. He licked his lips slowly then licked his fingers, savoring every drop of you that was on them.

Jungkook smiled at you then leaned up, bringing your face to him and kissed you gently. “Thank you.” You looked at him confused then rubbed his still hard cock. He blushed and licked his lips, a moan sounding deep in his chest. “You don’t have to do anything else for me. I’m fine with knowing you’re satisfied.”

You blinked slowly and frowned. “Jungkook, I may be really oblivious but I never start things and not finish. And.” You looked away shyly, a warm blush spreading across your face. “I want to taste you.” He smiled and sat on the bed next to you, rubbing your thigh slowly.

“If that’s what you want to do then I’ll gladly let you.” You bit your lip and slid down in front of him, taking his length in your mouth slowly until it hit the back of your throat. He groaned loudly and squeezed your hand gently. “Fuck.” His voice was thick and it made your eyes flutter with pleasure. He was a little salty but mostly sweet, probably from all the fruit he ate. You bobbed your head up and down slowly, hollowing out your cheeks to tighten around him as you went up. His groans were deep and his hand went to the back of your head, rubbing it affectionately.

Something about the action made you want to speed up, so you did. Stroking what couldn’t fit in your mouth with your free hand at a slower pace than what you were sucking him. He bucked up and moaned softly, gripping your hair gently and pushed you down farther. You closed your eyes, feeling them water as he forced you down, the tip of him repeatedly hitting the back of your throat and making you gag. Removing your hand you allowed him to thrust up into your mouth, relaxing your jaw to let as much of him in as possible. He stayed in the back of your mouth and you swallowed around him, making him twitch with pleasure. “Mmm, do that again baby.” You wanted to smile but couldn’t, simply obeying him and swallowing around him again. He twitched again and you heard the soft moan followed by his chuckle. When he released your head you slid him out and took a deep breath, stroking his length quickly with the ease of your saliva around him. You looked up at him lustfully, feeling the wetness pooling between your legs. He moaned softly and rubbed your cheek gently.

“I’m sorry it's taking so long, I can finish it later.” He looked away and blushed gently. You stood up slowly and turned his face back to your, kissing him gently. Feeling bold you climbed on his lap slowly, lining his shaft up with your opening and eased down on him. Both of your moans filled the other's mouth as he filled you up. There was a slight pain because he was so big but it was immediately replaced by the pleasure that flared through your body as you started grinding your hips against him. His hands gripped your the soft flesh of your ass tightly as he broke the kiss and looked in your eyes lustfully. You stared in his eyes and lifted your hips then slammed back down, repeating the motion and bit his lip, holding back your moans as you felt every inch of him fill you.

He groaned loudly and thrusted up in you hard, making you whimper with pleasure. You arched your back and bounced on him, the sound of wet skin slapping together and your moans filling the room. His voice filled your ears as you bit his neck gently, being careful not to leave any marks. “God, you’re so fucking tight.” You smirked against his neck and clenched around him, making his thrusts falter as he moaned softly. He chuckled darkly and squeezed your ass, thrusting up harder in you. “Is that how you want to play?”

“Mmmm, maybe is it. Real question is are you man enough to handle it?” Your voice was husky and lustful. Even to your own ears it seemed sexy and by the way he held you against him you could tell he thought so as well.

“I’m more than man enough to handle it.” He thrusted up in you deeper, pushing your hips down hard. You gasped softly and your eyes fluttered shut, clenching around him and holding it for as long as you could. His soft moans filled your ears and you whispered daringly.

“I don’t believe you. I think you’re still a little boy.” He stopped thrusting and held you there before pulling back enough to look at you, his eyes darkened with anger.

“What did you just call me.”

Some part of you wanted to take it back and have him move in you again but this stupid bold side wouldn’t shut up. “I said you’re still a little boy.”

He growled and stood, picking you up with him then dropped you on the bed. You pouted at the sudden emptiness you felt and looked up at him. “Get on your hands and knees.” You obeyed then lowered your chest all the way down the bed, laying your arms by your side. He climbed behind you and rubbed the head of his long shaft against your wet folds. “I’m going to fuck you so hard that you’ll never be able to say I’m a boy again.” You were going to retort but he shoved himself in you quickly, the moan that left your mouth was almost a scream and you gripped the blanket tightly.

“Oh no, none of that.” He grabbed your arms and folded them behind your back, holding them tightly and started thrusting deep and hard in you. You felt him deeper in this position, the pleasurable pain spreading throughout your entire body as you moaned loudly. He didn’t relent, using your arms to pull you against him with each thrust. You bit your lip hard, trying to hold back the tears that were forming in your eyes from the overwhelming pleasure you were feeling. His free hand slapped your ass and you yelped, feeling the sweet sting radiate to your wet core as he started thrusting faster.

Your eyes closed as the first tear fell, moaning loudly as he slapped your ass again, harder this time. His breath was heavy and he pulled you up to him, wrapping his hand around your neck as you kissed your shoulder. You felt him so deep in you and it was unbearable how great it felt. His breath was hot against your ear as he groaned and moaned your name so sweetly it was a polar opposite from the way he was pounding into you, making you scream his name over and over. The all too familiar tightening let you know you were close to your climax. His rapid thrusts were becoming irregular and erratic as he tried to focus on making you reach your orgasm first.

Jungkook’s hand moved from your neck down to your clit, rubbing it slowly and gradually gaining speed. Your free arm went up to his hair and gripped it gently, moaning his name as he thrusted harder into you. You were so close, it was almost there, just a little more and you would be able to fill him cum in you. You bit your lip and closed your eyes, feeling the tight coil within your core quickly come undone, flooding you with so much pleasure your eyes were blinded by a white light and your moans were desperate. He kept thrusting in you, riding through your orgasm as your already tight walls clenched and pulsed around him. He moaned your name softly and released his load deep in you, his legs shaking gently against yours.

You collapsed on your stomach and smiled, completely satisfied. He slid out of you slowly, moaning inwardly at feeling and laid next to you, gently pulling you onto his chest. You cuddled into him and relaxed, letting your breathing return to normal. Reaching up and running your hand through his hair slowly you smiled and kissed his cheek. He looked at you then smiled back, running his hand down your back slowly then slapped your ass gently. His voice was deep and sexy. “What did we learn today?”

“Mmm, that you have a big cock and you have a child complex.” You grinned and kissed his cheek as he frowned. “Also that I really like you and maybe there could be a future for us.”

“Oh there’ll definitely be a future for us. I can promise you that. We’re just really good together.” He smiled and held you tightly against him. “The only way you’ll ever get rid of me is it you quit because I will stick to you like tree sap.”

You frowned and looked at him. “Really? I love my job.”

“And I love you.” He blushed deeply then groaned and looked up. “I mean I- ah fuck.”

You giggled and rubbed his cheek. “It's ok, you liked me for a long time right? It's fine for you to feel that way. Just be professional at work.”

His face lit up and he nodded eagerly. “You got it, ___.”

The next morning you went in to work your body was sore but you couldn’t complain, you were happy that you had a new boyfriend that most girls would kill for. You made sure to cover up your hickey well with makeup and wore your typical jeans and a loose fitting blouse. Your hair was pulled up into a bun and the other stylists stared at you then one of them walked over. You bowed politely and waited for her to speak.

“Something’s different about you. Did you get a new boyfriend?”

You blushed then nodded. “Why? Is it obvious?”

She shook her head and smiled, squeezing your shoulder gently. “I noticed how down you’ve been lately and today you seem to be glowing.”

You blushed deeper and smiled, waiting for the van to come to take you to the venue of the concert today.

When you reached the venue there was a giant stuffed teddy bear waiting in the room. You frowned and looked at it, thinking it was for one of the boys. The only card on it had your name written on it in neat handwriting. You frowned and picked it up, opening it and reading it then blushed deeply as the smile grew on your face. It was from Jungkook.

“Thank you again for coming with me to the movies last night and thank you for letting me spend the night at your place. And for this morning. And after that. Basically just thank you and I hope you keep this and cuddle with it whenever you miss me and I can’t be there.

Anyway, I don’t want to embarrass you so I’ll be good today but I just wanted to tell you one more time. I love you.

~JK”

You smiled and folded the card back, slipping it in your purse. When the boys entered the room they all eyed the bear confused.

“What the heck is that?” Yoongi looked at you with the most grumpy confused face ever. You giggled and hugged the bear tightly.

“My boyfriend gave it to me and told me to hold it whenever I miss him or something cheesy like that.”

“Uh huh, well just turn it away. It's giving Hoseok the creeps.”

“It is not, but the eyes keep watching me.” Hoseok chimed in then shuddered softly. You nodded and put it in the corner, facing the wall and patted its head gently. Jungkook walked in last and though he was grumpy when he entered the room, the second his eyes found yours he brightened. He walked over quickly then stopped himself just a few inches away from you, his voice was eager and low.

“I really want to hug you right now.”

“I know but it's ok, we can hug later on” You said softly and played with his hair, smiling.

“So… Do you like it?” He bit his lip nervously and you feigned ignorance.

“Hmm? Do I like what?”

He groaned softly and pointed towards the bear. “Do you like the bear, ___?”

“Ahh, that.” You forced a frown and shook your head. “I don’t know, it seems kind of childish.”

His eyes darkened and he grabbed your wrist. “What was that?”

You grinned and pulled your hand away. “It's childish. Just. Like. You.” You smiled at the lustfully dark expression on his face. “Unnie. I forgot my stuff in the van, I’ll go run and get it.”

“Fine, but hurry. Sound check is in an hour.” Nodding you looked at Jungkook and smirked, rubbing your hand over his hardening bulge as you went out the door. A few minutes later Jungkook followed you out. “Come on, there’s an empty room down the hall. But we only have about 20 minutes.”

He grabbed your arm and pulled you down the hall. “That’s more than enough time for me to pound the fuck out of you.” You blushed deeply and smiled at the shivers of pleasure that ran down your spine. You could get used to this.

#jungkook smut #bts smut #noonanet #repost #jungkook #jungkook scenarios

937 notes · View notes

lifeofpalace · 5 years

Text

Rushed Hours: Tokyo Drift

Not sure if it was sheer brilliance or plain stupidity but I landed in Tokyo Narita for a layover but I had to depart from Tokyo Haneda, a completely different airport.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

After securing my eight-hour layover in Tokyo, I contacted Natsumi, who just finished her year-long abroad study in Los Angeles. I asked her to recreate the stairs scene in Kimi No Na Wa/Your Name and show me around Shibuya, since I never had the chance to during my first trip last year. In exchange, I agreed to bring her some snacks and sweets that she misses from Los Angeles.

First mistake - self check-in. I completely forgot the deal with luggage tags. You get three stickers, one to wrap around the handle, one to stick on the suitcase, and one for you to keep to locate your baggage. My naïvity posted both stickers on my suitcases so when I asked the flight attendant where I'm picking up my luggages (in Narita or Changi), she couldn't find out unless I had my luggage tag. Woe is me.

Eventually, I had to pick up my luggages from Narita and check them in for my flight leaving Haneda, which means that I had to carry my suitcases throughout Tokyo. With two checkin luggages and one hand carry, I arrived in the warm Tokyo summer weather starting to be drenched in sweat. I connected to the airport Wi-Fi before planning to buy my Keisei tickets to Nippori Station.

My phone exploded with notifications.

"GUYS THE NEW GRAD APPLICATION IS UP"

"THE BOARD JUST SENT ME THE APPROVAL TO REGISTER FOR THE NCLEX"

Great. Just as soon as I left the country and was halfway across the world.

I graduated with a Nursing degree last month, and hospitals would release their New Graduate Residency programs at different times so we had to be on a lookout constantly. I was eyeing this OR program for one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country and prepared all my application requirements the day prior to my trip. I had a feeling that it would be posted while I was away in Asia, so I gave all my information and documents to Simi so she could apply for both herself and me.

"Done. Sent Chris's application too". Simi commented on the group chat.

To be a registered Nurse in America, graduates must take the Nursing Certification and Licensing Examination, colloquially called the NCLEX. Students do not get to choose their test dates until the School of Nursing approves of their degree and sends the transcripts to the Board of Registered Nursing, in which they would, then, send us the thumbs up to register for a test date.

While I was en route from Los Angeles to Tokyo, the Board sent out emails for the approval to register for an exam date, and by the time I arrived in Tokyo, all of June was booked.

Luckily, I wanted to take the exam this July, so I could have a bulk of my summer to prepare for it and managed to snag a test date towards the end of next month.

I would have approximately five weeks to prepare for the biggest exam of my entire career (and life).

I walk through Narita Airport, completely covered in tarp - apparently the whole airport is under construction, perhaps in preparation for the Olympics next year. I bought my Keisei tickets to Nippori Station from a lady who could only speak Japanese and was yelling at me for not realizing the meanings of her body movements and hand gestures. I got lost while looking for where to board the train and on top of that, my string bag ripped because of how heavy it was becoming from my selfie sticks and umbrella.

Flustered with the multiple situations I had to deal with right after arriving from a 12-hour flight, I sweated through my search for a seat in the train; before I was told that each seats are assigned in their appropriate train car. Great. More things to deal with.

Two hours. It took me two hours to go through arrivals, deal with my residency applications, and getting lost looking for my assigned seat before being on my way to Downtown Tokyo.

I repressed the memories from last year when I had to carry an entire summer's worth of suitcases all around the city, but I had to relive through traumatic experience because I found myself carrying all my suitcases up and down a lot of stairs once again (Shinjuku Station and Yotsuya-Sanchome Station, I'm referring to you).

I toured around East Asia last year with my friend, Simi, where we visited Hong Kong, Macau China, Japan, and South Korea - with that, I rationalized the fact that I had to bring my entire closet with me so I'd have something different to wear everyday. Being the first time traveling outside the country without my family, my mother managed to convince me to carry around a portable pharmacy in my suitcase complete with diarrhea, constipation, allergy, and pain medications. I managed to check-in two large suitcases with my duffel bag; yet little did I realize that I had to carry them around East Asia for the next two months.

I never made full use of the elevator or the ramps for reasons unknown, but it's usually the flight of stairs that greeted Simi and I whenever we step out of the subway cars.

This was prominent in Yotsuya-Sanchome station this time around when I followed the signs leading to Exit 3. There was neither an elevator nor an escalator on site, so I had to carry my luggages down one floor and up another floor. This lead to my reunion with Natsumi being red as a tomato and drenched in sweat, but even in that state, we were on our way to the iconic stairs in the movie under the dimming Tokyo skies.

Three hours down.

"I went to check the route earlier so we're good". Natsumi gave me brief descriptions of the places we passed by on our way to the stairs of Yotsuya Suga Shrine. She talked about the houses in Tokyo and how different they are than the ones in Los Angeles; and asked me which Japanese foods I was willing to eat with her tonight.

"Takoyaki". I answered lacking hesitation. I spent a huge amount of time and money eating takoyaki during my Japanese trip last year. Wherever I found myself (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto), I was chewing on the octopus balls during the day, under the sweltering afternoon heat, and again before going to sleep.

The last time I had takoyaki was in Los Angeles at this nice cafe in the 626, an Asian enclave that is packed with Asian restaurant in every nook and cranny of the area code. I was with my friend, Lesley, sipping on floral teas when I decided it was a good idea to pay $6 USD to eat four pieces of takoyaki - a price that does not turn heads in the area since that was the normal number.

Not in Tokyo - for obvious reasons. With $6 USD, I could feed myself and two other people enough takoyaki to last us the rest of the night. I will never pass on any opportunity to get takoyaki every time I find myself in Japan.

"Great - I know of a good place in Shibuya that specializes in takoyaki".

We turned left and found ourselves in the middle of a Shinto shrine, apparently the Yotsuya Suga, and Natsumi pointed at an unfamiliar set of stairs. I climbed it up and down and gave her the disapproving shake. "I don't think this is the one", I muttered while confirming with Google Maps that we were indeed at the right location.

We decided to exit the shrine and enter through a different area when I recognized the red railings just a few feet away from the wrong set of stairs.

"THAT'S the one!" I ran to the area, where I found myself at the top where the familiar scene took place. Each corner in my visual field found itself embedded within the animation of the movie: the houses, the streets, the trees, the sea of homes that stretched towards the horizon.

The sky was preparing for sunset as it engulfed it in pink hue. There were elementary boys using the staircase for their exercise and they stopped and rested out of view once in a while as Natsumi and I recreated the scenes on the stairs.

Four hours out of the airport and I was halfway through my layover time. As long as I make an hour before my departure, then I should be safe - that means I had three hours left.

After the photoshoot, we took the Fukutoshin Line to Shibuya eat at Gindaco Highball Sakaba, specializing in takoyaki from different Japanese prefectures. Natsumi also had me try a sweet alcohol called omeshu (お目しゅ), made from plum.

Here, I learned how to ask for more of something, おかわり/okawari or も一つおねがいしあす/mohitotsu onegaishimasu; I also found out there's a different word for water (水/mizu) used mostly in restaurants (お冷/ohiya).

After takoyaki, we headed to her favorite purikura (プリクラ) for pictures and managed to take and edit eight photos which we gave each other as a memorabilia of tonight's visit.

One hour remaining - this will be the rush hour.

Before crossing back to Shibuya Station, we took some time to take pictures with the crowded Shibuya intersection as our background to showcase Japan's busy lifestyle. In relative to the last time I crossed the intersection, there were less pedestrians, but the vibe was retained - Tokyo never sleeps, there's always a reason to be preoccupied within the megacity.

The Shibuya intersection is the busiest of its kind in the world - sometimes reaching up to 1,000 people crossing at one time. From the area's brightly-lit streets leading to restaurants catering to both the local and foreign faces of Tokyo to the loud buskers at the street sides, attracting a crowd large enough to pique the curiosities of the on-lookers, constantly wondering what's going on.

A group of cyclists crossed with me to the middle of the intersection where I posed in-front of a marquee that promoted the Japanese boy group V6 and their new single that was being released within the next week.

Not even a few seconds passed by when a red flag on a stick protruded above the sea of people held by a young lady where she made way to the middle of the intersection, yelling at the people forming a line behind her in Chinese. Oh great, this tour group is about to take over the intersection, in which they did. The crowd eventually blocked every photo opportunities for the rest until the red stop sign signaled the end of the cross.

Time is running out and I might miss the window of comfort for me to go through check-in and immigration comfortably.

We headed inside Shibuya Station right after when Natsumi bid goodbye, then I was on my way to Haneda International Airport.

Wait -

"I FORGOT TO GIVE YOU YOUR SNACKS". I texted her halfway through my commute; she laughed it off.

#tokyo #japan

0 notes