#girl help i was scrambling for screen caps. this song............ | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

calmsweetcreature · 4 years

Text

Making Out (BLURB 4/4)

A/N: These are little preference type things where someone sends me a prompt or title and I do a little blurb for each guy💙 send me ideas my lovelies! And let me know what you think!

Warnings: Mainly fluff, might be a lil’ something smutty here or there.

Luke

I feel like with Luke it would start with you both cuddling Petunia on a warm sunny afternoon.

***

You had been lounging on the couch for most of the day, listening to chill music and enjoying each other’s company. Luke had been staring at his two girls for a long time now, watching you nuzzle your nose against the top of Piggy’s head and kiss her ears.

“I’m starting to feel neglected over here.” Luke’s voice comes out husky from lack of talking, the two of you enjoying the silence and peace of the lazy summer afternoon.

“Awh poor baby,” you tease, grinning cheekily at your boyfriend as you leave Petunia’s side to crawl across the couch to lay across Luke’s lap.

“Damn right,” He smiles sweetly at you, stroking his fingers across your cheek. You lean into his hand, sighing contently as you both stare into each others eyes. Your eyes sparkle with a bright and happy love in them as you lean up to peck your man on the lips.

Luke instantly deepens the movement of his lips on yours and his fingers slide through your hair to hold your head close.

Without parting from the kiss you move to straddle his lap, your hands on his shoulders. You both want to be as physically close as you can get, with your bodies pressed up against each others. You both moan against each others mouths as your fingers tangle in his curls to give little tugs while his hands grip your neck and his thumbs rub over your jaw.

It wasn’t so much intense as it was needy, both of you playfully going between shorter pecks and long tongue rolling kisses as you wrapped yourself around each other.

You could feel that Luke was affected by your kisses and you couldn’t help the giggle that spills out of your lips, causing him to pull away and glare at you playfully.

“What are you laughing at there missy? I know it isn’t my amazing kissing skills.” You roll your eyes at his words and tug on his hair hairder making him laugh.

“Not at all bub, I just feel flattered that my superior kissing skills have affected you so much.” To prove your point you wiggle your hips causing Luke to gasp out loud.

“You’ve got me there love. What do ya say we move this to the bedroom?” He wiggles his eyebrows and gives you an exaggerated wink, causing you to laugh out loud and lean forward so your lips are to his ear.

“Sounds like a plan, but I think that it’s only fair if...” You dip your head lower to leave a long lick along the sensitive part of his neck causing Luke to shiver. “...Last one to the bedroom is a couch potato!”

You jump off of Luke’s lap and run towards the bedroom, cackling loudly as you hear Luke’s footsteps behind you.

“Hey no fair!” His shout echoes through the halls as he chases after his girl.

Calum

Our loveable soft boi at his finest

***

You had been standing in the doorway for the best part of fifteen minutes, watching Cal’s face intently concentrating on his computer screen. He had been messing around with a new song idea and had recorded bits and pieces to mess around with. He’d listen to the same ten second clip about forty times and was ready to pull his hair out. He takes his headphones off and leaves them around his neck as he adjusts his cap. He rests his head back against the chair and groans softly, his eyes slipping shut.

You sigh softly, walking over to your man and placing your hands on his shoulders. He jumps slightly before relaxing into your gentle touch as you try to soothe his tense muscles.

“Don’t think I didn’t know you were watching me, creeper.” His words are a soft murmur and you gasp, spinning his chair around until he is facing you.

“If you knew then why didn’t you talk to me?” You fake hurt for a second before a smile fills your face and you sit softly in his lap. His arms go around your waist and his hands settle on your thighs, drawing a lazy pattern up and down your legs.

“I’m sorry doll, I was concentrating extra hard. Not that it helped, I’m still not sure what to do with it and my heads fucked.” His eyes look so tired that you can’t help but clutch his face in your hands, peppering kisses all over his cheeks and mouth.

“What do you say we order food in, I run you a hot bath while we wait for it and then we sit outside with a few beers and some music and relax? You can come back to this tomorrow with a fresh mind.” You press your forehead against his and place your hands on his shoulders again, rubbing the tension away.

“You’re too fucking good to me, but you got one thing wrong sweetness.” His words are low and heavy which makes your stomach tighten.

“What’s that?” Your words are hushed as you stare into his eyes, sure he can see the longing in yours.

“You’re going to run us a bath, if I’m going to relax I’m going to need my girl with me.” You smile at his words, nodding your head softly before Calum reaches a hand to the back of your neck and pulls you in for a kiss. His plush lips move against yours softly and you sigh into the kiss.

After a few seconds you both pull away and you can see a twinkle returning to the eyes of your thoughtful boy.

“I love you doll.”

“Love you always my music man.”

Your lips meet again and you just enjoy being close, getting drunk on the taste of each other.

Ashton

I miss our cheerful man, so I couldn’t resist this scenario.

***

The music was blaring through the house as you stood at the kitchen counter, shimmying your hips and using the mixing spoon as your microphone, your cake mix starting to look as it should.

“Woah, we’re halfway there woah, livin’ on a prayer!” You spun around, your fuzzy socks sliding across the floor.

“Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear!” Ashton’s voice makes you jump as his arms wrap around your waist as he spins you around.

“Woah, livin on a prayer, living on a prayer!” You both sing your hearts out, laughing as you fall to the floor in a heap. An egg drops from the counter, heading for the floor when Ashton’s quick reflexes stop it from hitting the ground.

“So I see you’re having a productive day,” Ash’s eyes are teasing but the big smile on his face is infectious and you grin back at him.

“I’m making a cake, half of it is in the oven and I’ve just finished the second half - it’s going to be amazing!” You say proudly.

“I can see that angel, just don’t burn the house down again yeah?” You gasp, hitting him on the chest as you climb on top of him.

“Take that back Irwin! That was one time and I’d hardly call it burning the house down... it was just a little smoke!” You can’t stop the blush rising to your cheeks as Ash laughs, sitting up on the kitchen floor.

“That cake was delicious if I remember, charcoal was very on trend back then.” He smirks, planting a kiss on your nose as you growl softly at him in annoyance.

“Well let me get back to this one if you don’t want a repeat, I don’t need your distractions today mister!” You go to get up when one of his hands goes to your back to keep you in place.

“Not all distractions are bad ones.” He murmurs, his lips finding yours. You both battle for dominance but Ash eventually wins (duh) and he deepens the kiss, his tongue rolling against yours before he leans back to bite your bottom lip. You get lost in the kiss, your hand sliding under his tee to feel his chest when you hear and feel a crunch against the back of your head before a trail of slime falls down your hair. You pull away in shock.

“Oh. No. You fucking didn’t.” His grin tells all and you look down at his hand to see the remnants of a crushed raw egg in his hands. “You’re about to fucking get it Irwin.”

The two of you pause for a moment before you’re both scrambling to reach for anything and everything you can get your hands on, flinging flour and cake mixture at each other until you yet again slip and land with a crash on the floor, only this time you are both covered in food.

“Damn it Ashton! I have to start again!” You’re words are scolding but the grin on your face can’t be hidden as you stare down the love of your life.

He laughs, pushing cake mix covered hair out of your face and pulling you in for another long drawn out kiss. The oven timer goes off and he stands, switching off the oven to avoid another cake burning disaster.

“Now now my little cupcake. You know the best part about making cakes?” You shake your head, taking the hand he holds out to you and lifting yourself off of the floor. He picks you up by your hips and wraps your legs around his waist, carrying you carefully through the house. “Washing it off each others bodies.”

Michael

Our gamer lad, seemed fitting

***

You had been led in bed for over an hour waiting for Mikey to finish his game. You weren’t annoyed at him by any means but you were beginning to feel neglected and in all honesty, needy.

You come up with a master plan and start walking towards his office, shedding your sweatpants leaving you only in Michael’s hoodie, your undies and the knee high socks you know drive him crazy. You can hear him talking on his headset and you chuckle under your breath as you swing the door open slightly. He looks extra cute today in his stripey sweater and glasses, a beanie sat on his messy hair.

He pauses the game at the sound of the door opening and turns to look at you, choking on his breath when he sees what your wearing.

He lifts the mic away from his mouth, swearing under his breath.

“Uh hey baby, you okay?” He asks, his eyes on your legs as you walk over to him.

“I’m feeling needy M, can I sit with you while you play?” You don’t wait for his answer before you straddle his lap, your legs folded next to his as you bury your face in his neck.

“Of course baby, you don’t need to ask. Are you sure you’re okay?” He strokes your back softly, feeling you nod your head against his neck.

He pecks your shoulder softly before repositioning his headset and continuing his game. You sit quietly for the next ten to fifteen minutes while he plays, nestling against his chest and feeling him shake with laughter or rumble when something goes wrong.

As he really settles into the gameplay you start littering tiny kisses against his neck. You feel him tense slightly before resuming the game, every chance he gets he rubs his hand across your back. You start deepening the kisses, pecking over the stubble and occasionally finding a spot to suck on softly. You feel him lip the mic once again.

“Baby, what are you doing?” He tenses, although he tilts his head slightly to the side so that you can reach more of his neck and you know that your plan is working.

You lick where his neck and shoulder meet and you feel him shiver which lets you know to initiate the next part of the plan.

You start to circle your hips over his crotch softly and a little moan leaves his lips.

“You’re playing a dangerous game sweetheart.” He murmurs. You giggle softly against his neck and he sighs, gritting his teeth and sucking in a breath as you grind particularly hard down onto the growing bulge in his pants. He quits the game, ripping off his headset and throwing it onto the couch behind him.

He grips your jaw in his hand and roughly pulls your face to his, running his thumb over your bottom lip.

“So when you said you were needy...” His words trail off as he notices the desire in your eyes, your hips fully rocking against him.

He uses his thumb on your bottom lip to open your mouth wide, slanting his face and leaning in so that he can crash his lips hard against yours. You give in to him straight away, kissing him as hard as you can. Your tongues wrestle back and forth and its a filthy kiss with so much need involved that it sets your bodies on fire.

It’s a few minutes before you’re both pulling away and panting hard, your head resting on his shoulder.

“Do you want to go back to bed or shall we just stay here?” His words are hushed but he hears your whine and knows exactly what you need. “I got you baby.” His fingers curl your hair around his fist and he moves your head so his lips can attach to your neck as other hand trails softly under the hoodie your wearing. Let’s just say he knows exactly what buttons to press, your gamer guy.

#5sos #5sos imgaines #5sos smut #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #calum hood #michael clifford #michael clifford smut #calum hood smut #ashton irwin smut #luke hemmings smut #luke hemming imagines #calum hood imagine #ashton irwin imagine #michael clifford imagine

337 notes · View notes

thebiasrekkers · 4 years

Text

Sincerely, Yours - JJK

For the @btswriterscorner - Amor Fabula Launch Project in celebration of the month of Valentine’s Day!

Plot: Jeon Jungkook hails from humble origins, his family ranked as Laborers. Since he is the youngest of three children, his time for the lottery has not come. But when it does, he refuses to conform to society’s system and runs away. Disowned, he’s now become a fugitive, taking on odd jobs here and there as a “runner-for-hire”. What he doesn’t realize is that he will find love in the most unexpected place.

Rating: PG-13 // SFW

Genre: dystopian!au/dystopian themes | angst | romance/fluff

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Female OC (Nikita Meyers)

Warnings: Strong language, vandalism, violence, interracial/intercultural relationship

Links: FAQ || BTS Masterlist || Admin E’s AO3 || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 7,607

AN: This is the companion piece to my first story, Touch In The Dark. This is the “rebel” view of what transpires in the world that I built. In all honesty, I think I may like the MYG version a little more, but I think it’s mostly from my love of hurting my own feelings. I still had a lot of fun with this one and I hope you all enjoy it. Writing for Jungkookis is always a good time. All reblogs, critiques/reviews, comments and affection are accepted! Happy reading!

© thebiasrekkers (Admin E). All rights reserved. Reposting/modifying our work is prohibited. Translations are not allowed. Plagiarism/stealing is not tolerated by any means. Legal action will be taken in instances of theft.

~ j.j. ~

Jungkook swung his legs back and forth as he sat on the edge of a nearby building. He whistled a tune to himself, a song from a life he could barely remember these days. A former Laborer, now turned Runner, Jungkook could say that he left a life that he knew wasn’t meant for him. The Class system was such a bogus way to create order and balance in the world. The Blue Bloods stayed in the upper tier and those born in poverty or with lesser means were meant to work for the rest of their days. Throw in The Lottery Bill and that was just the cherry on top of a fucked up sundae.

A soft breeze pushed against his form as he watched the sky transform into a mesh of warm colors: pinks, purples, oranges and yellows. The sun was starting to set and the world’s light would dim, blanketed by the cobalt sky littered with the few stars he was only allowed to see as he ran from rooftop to rooftop. Running free, no longer tethered to the rules of the world that dared to shackle him to a life of meaninglessness.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he scrolled through the messages and noticed the priority one at the very top. Brushing his fingers through his hair, he sighed quietly as he glanced over the message. His newest client was scheduled to meet him in an hour. It was a standard escort job. It wouldn’t be too hard and the pay was decent.

In their society, it was a crime to “fall in love” with anyone. Period. Not even the spouse that was chosen during an individual’s Lottery drawing. Love fueled emotions that often led to the ruins of others. Passion had the potential to overshadow logic and reason. When logic and reason were cast aside, only terrible things happened. Emotions were just bad things and led to bad times.

Jungkook didn’t buy into that horseshit.

It was the main reason he abandoned his station in life and lived in the moment. He didn’t worry about yesterday. He could care less about tomorrow. Today was all that mattered and all that would matter when it was finally said and done.

He slid his thumb over the screen, dialing the number of his new “job” detail. The man answered quickly, interrupting the second ring.

“Is this Jeon Jungkook?”

Jungkook smirked at the hushed tone in the man’s voice. “It is. Is this Min Yoongi?”

“Yes,” he replied softly, as if trying to gauge Jungkook’s own tone, “were you able to secure safe passage for both my wife and me?”

Clambering to his feet, he dusted off the backs of his weathered jeans and knocked a bit of dirt off his boots. “That’s not my area of expertise, I’m afraid. That was taken care of by a different handler.”

He knew he was being a little shit, but sometimes it was all about asking the right questions.

There was a semi-long pause from the other end of the line, followed by a slow sigh of what could be presumed as mounting exasperation.

“So why was I directed to you?”

Jungkook’s grin grew a little wider. “Because I’m the one who’s going to get you out in one piece.”

“I see,” Yoongi said, as if he was mulling over something, “so you’re a Runner.”

It wasn’t a question.

“That’s right.”

“I just hope you’re as fast as that mouth of yours.”

He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “I’m faster, trust me.” Pushing back the sleeve of his jacket, he spied the time. “I’ll meet you at the Square in half an hour. Don’t be late.”

And without waiting for a reply, Jungkook ended the call. Pulling out his earbuds, he connected the jack to the phone and slipped the buds on. It didn’t take him long to find the song he wanted, cranking up the volume as the intro crescendoed slowly. Inhaling lungfuls of air, he stretched his arms out wide and then raised them up so they were parallel with his head. Once he loosened up the muscles, he rolled his neck and hopped up and down - shaking his arms for good measure.

He always had to psyche himself up for things like this.

As soon as the balls of his feet hit the ground, Jungkook lunged forward. Up and over the edge of the roof. The world rushed by him in a blur of motion, his dark hair flying off his forehead. The night was cool, but the wind stung his eyes - making them water. He quickly wiped at them, curling his body inward and then extending his limbs. The concrete scraped at the pads of his fingers, but it didn’t take him long to realign his body, forcing his lower half to swing off to the side so that he could catch the railing of the fire escape.

The bars rattled violently when his heels planted themselves onto the platform, but he was already climbing up the bars to reach the next rooftop. Once Jungkook made it over the edge, his legs pumped the ground in tandem with his heavily beating heart.

Unconsciously, his mouth spread into a wide open smile.

Free-running. They couldn’t have called it something better if they tried.

Sweat broke out across his brow and the pulse of the song’s bass seemed to reverberate throughout his entire body. With every jump, lunge, catch and pull he performed, Jungkook’s elation only seemed to climb. It would be too soon if he could never run as free as he was now.

Heaving and halfway covered in perspiration, Jungkook arrived at the designated meeting spot within fifteen minutes. It gave him just enough time to grab a bottle of water from a nearby vending machine, emptying half the contents over his head and soaking his hair. Onlookers peered at him curiously, but he didn’t pay them any attention. He almost never did. He drained what was left in the bottle, savoring the feeling of re-hydrating himself.

Craning his neck, he located a nearby waste bin and was about to toss the bottle into it - arms stretched like he was shooting a basketball into a hoop.

He stumbled forward suddenly, his body pushed forward from an unexpected impact. Grunting, he quickly pivoted on his heels to see who was responsible, but all he caught sight of was a ball cap flying in his line of sight as auburn curls flew past him. Jungkook reached out and snatched the hat out of the air as the owner turned to catch a glimpse of him.

Her dark gray eyes glared at him, catching Jungkook off guard. Despite living in South Korea, Jungkook was used to foreigners. But he certainly didn’t remember seeing someone with those eyes and soft caramel skin. Her hair looked dyed, but it strangely suited her.

Jungkook took a step forward, holding her hat out to her. Instead of taking it back, she continued to shift her gaze from him and then to the hat. He grinned.

“Not even a thank you, huh? You don’t want this back?” He waved the cap back and forth, as though he were trying to keep a cat’s attention on him. “Is this mine now?”

He hadn’t seen her move. In fact, he didn’t even realize she’d closed what small distance existed between them. Not until Jungkook felt a soft burst of pain near his stomach. The wind was knocked from him almost immediately and all he could manage was a wide-eyed stare at her.

She grinned, twisting her fist into his stomach a little more. “Not a chance, you fucking tool,” replied the girl.

Jungkook collapsed to one knee when she took a step back, her hat not back in her possession. He struggled to reclaim what air was stolen from him, one dark brown eye glaring up at her. Not to say that women were weak, but he hadn’t expected a punch from a pretty girl to hurt this much.

Hopping back on one foot, she waved the hat at him in a farewell gesture before sliding it back onto her head. She turned and bolted from the square without so much as a second glance at him. He coughed, rubbing at his chest in an attempt to regulate his breathing again.

Wow, what a bitch, he thought, but Jungkook found himself smirking once the pain subsided.

Maybe he was a glutton for punishment.

“Are you alright?”

The voice jarred him from his thoughts and he quickly scrambled to his feet. He was face to face with his temporary charge, Min Yoongi. Standing beside him was a woman with dark brown curls, hazel eyes, and mocha skin. She peered at Jungkook curiously, her hand laced through Yoongi’s. She was also a foreigner from what he could tell, and well-known through the news as the “Charity Selection” picked from The Lottery two years ago.

He folded his arms across his chest. “This might be a little difficult.”

Yoongi lofted a brow. “And why is that?”

“Well,” Jungkook began, taking a few steps toward them before circling around both of them, “your wife’s kinda popular.”

The older man narrowed his eyes. “So you’re not going to be able to help us?”

“I didn’t say that.” He held a hand up and then waved it through the air, as if shooing away a gnat. “I just said that it’ll be a little difficult. Not impossible.” Jungkook met their gazes and grinned. “I got this. Trust me.”

~ n.m. ~

“Nikita, that was reckless.”

Removing the baseball cap, she roughly ran her fingers through her curls while scoffing. She carelessly tossed the parcel onto the table. “What does it matter? I got you what you asked for.”

The man seated at the table steepled his fingers, dark eyes peering over his knuckles at her. Nikita waited for him to say something, but he merely sighed and began to untie the twine wrapped around the brown paper packaging. It was his way of dismissing her, but letting Nikita know that she wasn’t completely off the hook. He’d find a way to pay her back and it wouldn’t be pretty.

She knew this because it wouldn’t be the first time.

Not wanting to press her luck, Nikita quickly vacated the office and closed the door behind her. She rested her shoulder against the door frame, mentally kicking herself for what she’d said. She knew she didn’t mean it, and yet she continued to come off as cold and unfeeling in these situations. Nikita was about to slam her head into the door when someone suddenly cleared their throat beside her.

“Keep it up and you’re going to put Minjae Hyung into an early grave.”

Craning her neck, she cut her eyes at the shaggy-haired individual - his shit-eating grin never failing to irritate her.

“Shut-up, Taegi-ah,” she snipped, walking past him. Predictably, he followed but Nikita ignored him, focusing her attention on the warehouse.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Nikki-ah,” he whined at her back.

She rolled her eyes. Nikita hated that nickname and he knew it. She also knew that he didn’t care that she hated it.

Because that was the kind of person Yoon Taegi was.

A pain in her goddamn ass.

But she couldn’t hold it against him. Because he was the one who helped her break the chains the world decided to put on her the day she was born. Without him, she knew she would still be living the life of a woefully ignorant aristocrat - blind to the truth of society’s agenda. Nikita lived in a castle made of glass and didn’t understand her purpose outside of being a breeding agent for some future husband she would never be able to relate to.

When the day came for her to be matched with her significant other, Nikita was ready to accept that lot in her life. She was prepared to walk down the path that she was groomed for. What reason did she have to believe otherwise; to be aware that there was something else beyond the veil?

The truth wasn’t known to her until she saw a couple being arrested on the streets - cuffed and pulled away from each other. They screamed until their throats were raw, and then continued yelling for each other. They managed to share one final kiss until each were thrown into separate police cars and driven away to be incarcerated.

Their fates were declared on international television.

Taegi was the man she’d seen carted away and three months later, he broke out of prison. As punishment, the woman he loved was put to death. It was their attempt to shatter his spirit, to break him.

They failed.

Sighing, she looked at Taegi’s smug expression and couldn’t help marveling at how far they’d come. A loaf of bread, cheese and meat was all it took to barter for the truth. Taegi gave it to her and Nikita knew she could never go back to her life of privilege. Not if there were people she could help in the process. It didn’t take her long to find herself pulled into Rebel circles - all of them graciously accepting her into their fold.

hree years passed since then and Nikita didn’t regret leaving her family or her “duty” behind. She was free and she was fighting for a cause that meant something. Even if she’d never experienced it for herself.

Love.

Sliding the metal door aside, Nikita stepped into the warehouse. The smell of gunpowder and kerosene instantly filled her nostrils - causing her eyes to water slightly. She quickly wiped at them and sniffed, fishing through a crate on a nearby table. Her hands stilled momentarily as she felt Taegi’s palms slip over her shoulders. He squeezed them gently and she sighed, hanging her head a measure as her eyes stared into the box of homemade pipe bombs and hand grenades.

“Sometimes I worry that the fighting is never going to end,” Nikita said softly.

Taegi rubbed her shoulders in a comforting motion before moving away from her to lean against the table. He folded his arms across his chest, his face lifting to the ceiling. “It’ll stop one day. We just have to stand strong and in solidarity.”

Nikita shrugged, pulling out a few pipe bombs. “I just hope we’re around long enough to see it.”

She checked the fuses, gauging their length, before placing them back in the box. She set one hand grenade out, flicking a finger over the pull pin. After making sure that it was secure, she dropped it into her messenger bag and moved to the next crate. It contained knives of varying shapes and sizes. She opted for a switchblade of decent length, slipping it into her back pocket.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she scanned the message on her screen. It was from Minjae, as expected. He was sending her on another assignment. There was another potential ally they could have on their side versus running amok on the streets.

Turning to move to another table, she felt Taegi’s hand grasping at her arm. She looked at him and saw the worry lines etched across his forehead. Nikita couldn’t help but smile at him.

“You just got back and you’re already prepping to head out again.” He frowned. “You’re like a machine, woman.”

“Can’t help it,” she said, chuckling slightly, “I’m not one to sit around and do nothing.”

“It’s not about doing nothing. It’s about resting. You’ve been gone for three days.” Taegi sighed, releasing his hold on her. “Hyung can’t pass this off to someone else?”

“Nope.” Nikita shook her head. “Recruitment’s my main gig. You know this. Besides…” She paused, meeting Taegi’s gaze, her own expression softening a bit. “...if we don’t have more people on our side, what good is any of this? It’s never going to stop until every last one of us are either dead or re-educated. Numbers mean everything.”

Looking back at the phone, she opened the file Minjae sent her. It was the most current dossier on a person willingly living off the grid. They had been for some time now.

She recognized his picture immediately. He was the guy she’d run into earlier that day. The same guy she punched in the gut for teasing her when she was in the process of playing “courier” for their group.

Nikita couldn’t help the bark of laughter that escaped her. Taegi looked at her curiously but she shook her head, slipping her phone back into her pocket. This was going to be interesting. Maybe he’d hear her out despite the terrible first impression she’d given.

My job just got a little bit harder. Great.

~ j.j. ~

Jungkook lazily sprawled himself out on the largest branch of an old tree near the edge of town. Swiveling a toothpick between his teeth, he looked around at the people who passed below him obliviously. It amused him, in a way, how they could mindlessly continue with their lives. They were like sheep to the slaughter, unaware of the truth of things.

Then again, he didn’t really know what the “truth” was himself.

All that mattered to him was no longer having a label stamped on his body as though it were a badge of shame. Society deemed that he was destined to be poor. Society claimed that his ideal match would be someone of their choosing. Society was right and the average person didn’t need to question this.

Well, society could go eat a bag of dicks.

Again, his phone buzzed. He picked it up from where he had it laying on his chest to stare at it - the screen illuminating his face in the shadows. It was another job forwarded by his employer. Sighing, he opened up the dossier of the person he was sent to help this time. When he saw the picture, however, Jungkook sat up so fast that he nearly fell out of the tree.

It was her. The woman who nailed him in the gut without batting an eyelash. The woman whose dark auburn curls and gray eyes failed to vacate his mind.

He was immediately suspicious.

Normally he would forward a job he didn’t want to another Runner. It wasn’t like Jungkook was hurting for money. In fact, he was planning on taking a small vacation soon - taking himself off the grid completely for a few weeks before coming back. But his curiosity was a damning thing and he didn’t mind being damned if it meant knowing who this woman was.

Nikita Meyers. 25. Former Blue Blood. Currently wanted by authorities due to her association with various Rebel factions throughout the world.

Blinking, he read through the short blurb again to make sure that he wasn’t misinterpreting anything. But what was there to misinterpret? This woman had it all and threw everything away to be a fugitive? Like him? He didn’t get it. Wasn’t the high life a life of pleasure and carefree days?

Why would she ever want to toss it away for the gritty life?

Jungkook frowned, thinking back on the life he left behind. He refused to conform to society’s whims and ran away from home when it was time for him to have his partner chosen through The Lottery Bill. He didn’t know what love was and he wasn’t sure if he wanted any part of it if the government was hell-bent on minimizing it throughout the globe. Jungkook could admit that he did stupid things when he was emotionally unstable, hence why he was living the life he currently was in the first place. But he also wasn’t too keen on the idea of bending to the whims of others.

Even so…

Sliding his thumb over the screen, he dialed the number his contact provided for him. It rang three times before someone answered. Her voice filled his ears and he leaned his back against the trunk of the tree as he listened.

“Jungkook-ssi?”

He smirked. “Oh, are we using polite words now?”

He heard a sigh from the other line. “I won’t apologize for what I did. I had my reasons.”

“Sure you did.” His tone dripped of sarcasm, but Jungkook felt his smile growing wider. “It’s alright. I forgive you anyway.”

“You’re so gracious. So, are you gonna help me or are you gonna pass me off so I’m someone else’s problem?”

His lips formed into a small ‘O’ while he scratched the side of his nose. “Is that normal for you?”

Nikita scoffed. “I don’t make it a habit to become a problem for anyone in the first place.”

“That’s a shame,” he replied while shifting his position to stand on the tree branch, “it’s fun to be problematic.”

“I’m sure you’d know that.”

“Of course. That's why I said it.”

“Are you going to help me or not?”

Jungkook was going to help her. He’d made that decision the minute he saw her picture on his phone as the next job he was supposed to take. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have fun with her about it.

“Well, you’re in luck. I happen to have some free time slotted in my schedule.”

“Good. Now come down from that tree and meet me face-to-face.”

His smile fell from his face and he sat up again, looking around in every direction. He quickly craned his neck down and saw she was standing below the tree he was currently perched in. For a long moment, the two of them just stared at each other - each of them holding their phones to their faces; listening to the other person breathing.

Then he saw her smile up at him. It was a smile that clearly said that she knew more than he did; that she’d gotten the best of him. A smile full of secrets, daring someone to try to discover them.

It was a smile that made his heart twist sharply in his chest.

Hanging up the phone, he slid it into the inner pocket of his leather jacket. Without batting an eyelash, Jungkook effortlessly hopped off the tree branch, landing with an unnecessary flourish in front of her. Nikita slid her phone into her pocket as he slid his palms over the thighs of his jeans.

Again, neither said anything. They just took in each other’s presence.

Now that he got a better look at her, Jungkook was at least half a head taller than her. The strap to a dark gray messenger bag was pressed across her chest at an angle, enhancing the swell of her bosom. Other than that, there was nothing else about her that would elicit inappropriate thoughts. No skin showed outside of her bare neck, face, and thin wrists peeking out from the sleeves of her dark green field jacket. She wore charcoal gray cargo pants stuffed into a pair of shin length combat boots. A black newsboy hat adorned the top of her head this time.

“So,” Jungkook said, finally breaking the silence, “where am I escorting the lovely lady?”

“We’re too exposed here.” Nikita moved past him and he pivoted on his heels to follow after her.

They were heading back into the city.

Just as he was about to suggest they could go somewhere a little more private to chat, she hopped onto a nearby dumpster and scaled up the fire escape as easily as snapping her fingers. Jungkook slowly arched his neck, watching her fling herself up one iron landing until her body swung in a half arc to allow her the reach she needed to grasp onto the edge of the building’s rooftop. Her booted feet scraped over the brick, crumbling small bits to the ground until she disappeared over the edge.

“Well, I’ll be goddamned,” he mumbled, his smile returning. This woman was just full of surprises.

“Are you comin’ or not?” she called down to him.

Not like he needed to be asked twice. Jungkook made a game of it, determined to scale the building in half the amount of time she had. Once he reached the top, he pulled himself over the edge in time to see her running at full speed across the building.

“Hey!” he shouted after her, his own legs eating at the ground in hot pursuit, “Wait a minute!”

But just as he was starting to close the distance, Nikita jumped from the building and curled her body inward. Jungkook was almost to the edge and was preparing his own dismount when he saw her successfully clear the gap. She grabbed onto one of the metal pipes and swung herself into an open window. Jungkook didn’t have a chance to relish in the adrenaline pumping through his veins, his eyes memorizing her movement patterns so he could follow the trail she was leaving for him.

Dust filled his nostrils, causing him to cough from the onslaught to his senses. The room smelled of old wood and mold. The building had long since been abandoned and there was clearly no interest in changing its state of disrepair. The boards creaked under each step that was taken and Jungkook mentally worried if the floor would crack and collapse right beneath him.

A beam of bright light blinded him and he hissed, moving his forearm to cover his eyes.

“Yo, what’s the deal?!”

His words sounded snappish, which hadn’t been his intention, but what did anyone expect when suddenly rendered unable to see?

“Sorry,” Nikita said, lowering the light to give him a chance to adjust to the darkness, “I wanted to make sure you were right behind me.”

Jungkook rubbed his fists into his eyes gingerly, shaking his head to blink the golden spots away from his vision. “It’s fine.”

She gestured with the flashlight toward the stairs. “Follow me. And watch your step.”

Everything in the building seemed ancient and forgotten. Jungkook swore he heard it groan in response to their presence there. It gave him an eerie sort of vibe that he wasn’t sure he wanted to really wrap his head around.

Once they reached the ground floor, Nikita disappeared through a door to the right. It looked like an office building of some kind now that he got a better look at it. He could hear her roughly pulling at drawers from what he assumed were old metal filing cabinets. Jungkook took a lean against the door frame, folding his arms across his chest as more dust flew in the air from Nikita’s manic investigation methods.

“Need any help?”

She slammed a drawer closed and yanked at another one, fingers dancing over the folders. “I’m good.”

He shrugged, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “So what is this place?”

“Used to be a Public Records office until everything became digitized and moved to the various data hubs all over the globe.”

“And now?”

Nikita pulled out a folder and sifted through the papers inside. “Now it’s a place for squatters and a go-between for Rebel units.”

Jungkook hummed in understanding. But something puzzled him.

“So why are we here?”

Turning to face him, she waved the envelope at him. “Gathering intel for another client.”

“Wait.” He stepped inside the room. “This isn’t an escort job, but a recon mission?”

Nikita grinned, shutting the drawer closed with her hip. “Yup.”

He frowned. “Then why was I hired for this? You do know that I’m a Runner, right?”

“I know.” She stuffed the envelope into her bag, using the beam of her flashlight to rifle through whatever contents were also inside. “I know exactly who you are, Jeon Jungkook.”

Jungkook didn’t know why, but he didn’t like what she was insinuating with those words.

Nikita pulled something else from her bag, but it was too dark for him to see. Using her other hand to secure the bag’s clasp, she stepped toward the window and slid it open. Jungkook watched her poking her head out, presumably to see if anyone else was coming. It was dark and most people had normal work schedules so there wasn’t a chance for anyone to be out after midnight.

Well, except for them.

“It’s a waste.”

“What?” Jungkook slightly tilted his head, confused. “What is?”

“You left everything behind the same time I did, but all you’ve done is float through life without a care in the world.” She glanced at him from over her shoulder. “It’s a waste.”

Rolling his eyes, he frowned. “What the hell do you know?”

He didn’t appreciate her judgmental attitude toward him. It wasn’t like she knew him. It wasn’t like she understood what he’d gone through up until that point. Living off the grid wasn’t easy and it wasn’t for everyone. Sure, he could have gone back home and ponied up. He could have turned to those fighting against society’s rules and regulations, seeing refuge from a dying world. But he wasn’t about to let himself become dependent on anyone. Being dependent on others equated to marginalized freedom and Jungkook didn’t want that either.

Even if it he had to remain alone to maintain it.

“I know you’re a Runner,” she said, flashing a shit-eating grin at him, “so I suggest you do what you’re good at. Running.”

Jungkook wasn’t sure what she was getting at. But before he could question her further, something fell to the ground. It rolled across the floor and into the sliver of light that leaked in through the window from the streetlamp outside.

It was a hand grenade.

“ARE YOU CRAZY?!” Jungkook barely heard his own voice through the panic cadence of his heartbeat.

Nikita reached out to grab his hand, pulling him toward her. “RUN!”

They both tumbled out the window, rolling onto the grass in a tangle of limbs. They dislodged themselves from each other, frantically scrambling to their feet as they hurried to put as much distance between them and the building as possible. The heat from the explosion pressed against Jungkook’s back, forcing his body to lurch forward. Something cut the side of his face and he grunted as his shoulder collided with the concrete. He thought he heard someone calling him, but it was hard to make out from the soft ringing in his ears and the alarms going off.

“Shit,” he muttered as he sat up on all fours, shaking his head back and forth to chase away his rattled nerves.

Someone grabbed roughly at his jacket, yanking him up to his feet. His face was inches from Nikita’s, her stormy eyes reflecting the fire and smoke eating away at the building behind him.

“Come on,” she said, her hand reaching out to grasp his, “we have to go!”

He didn’t have time to yell at her. He simply followed her direction. Besides, he knew better than anyone that he couldn’t just walk away from this. Jungkook was an accomplice - willingness be damned.

He was a Rebel now.

~ n.m. ~

She’d be lying if she hadn’t planned it out that way. Nikita never had any intention of outright asking Jungkook if he would join their cause. Instead, she chose to be a dirty bitch about it - forcing his hand and leaving him no other option but to stand at their side. The Rebels weren’t necessarily losing, but they weren’t winning, either. The more skilled people they had on their side, people like Jungkook, the more likely they would win against society’s preconceived notion of what “success” and “happiness” was.

Nikita did it because she knew that they had to have him. That she had to have him. She didn’t feel guilty about taking him away from the life he’d chosen for himself.

A month later, however, the guilt started rearing its ugly little head. Usually in the dead of night; when the urge to smoke overtook her. She puffed on a cigarette, her thoughts swirling around in her head like a busted washing machine in desperate need of repair. Minjae told her that she didn’t need to tell him the truth about that day; what her intention was. She normally never questioned Minjae or his motives.

Now? Another month passed. She wasn’t so sure anymore..

A strong gust of wind pushed up against her body, causing her to take a half a step forward. The wind was always powerful the higher a person was. But the rooftop of their hideout was the only place she could find any solace. More and more people were joining their cause, but more people meant less space. Maybe it was the former high-privileged snob in her, but she liked being able to have a little breathing room in her life.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were here,” a voice said from behind her.

She turned to glance over her shoulder, seeing that it was Jungkook. Her brows furrowed, a soft ache building at the center of her chest. But she didn’t say anything. He took a step back, his hand reaching behind him so he could push the door back open.

Nikita exhaled a thin stream of smoke, tapping the ash off the side of the building. “Stay if you want.” She shifted her gaze back to look at the twilight sky. “You don’t have to leave.”

The door closed, but the sound of feet shuffling closer toward her caused her to release a silent breath of relief. She didn’t want the awkward feeling to continue between them, and in the last month Jungkook proved himself useful. He never demanded to leave, because the people around him wanted him to stay. It made Nikita wonder if he’d never felt a sense of community before now; if he’d always been alone.

She was decent enough not to ask.

“No assignments. That’s rare.” He said it so easily, like he’d been a Rebel for years.

Shrugging, she lifted the cigarette to her lips. “Can’t be busy all the time. Batteries need charging and all that shit.”

He chuckled, sidling up beside her but giving her at least three feet of space. Nikita cast him a sidelong glance, watching him lean against the railing with his forearms.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Jungkook reached into his pocket and pulled out a toothpick. She raised a brow, unable to force back the smirk forming on her face. It was a habit she’d never understand, but it strangely suited him. She shook her head as he clamped his teeth over the twig, making it swivel back and forth with his tongue.

“What about you?”

He shook his head. “Nah. I’m heading out in two days.”

Nikita wouldn’t ask him where. It was better if she didn’t know. The less she knew, the less likely Jungkook would be compromised should something happen while he was away.

For a while, neither of them said anything. She finished her smoke, tossing the cigarette butt off the edge. Jungkook was focused on the starry night sky, so she knew he didn’t notice her looking at him. His hair shifted in back and forth motions from another gust of wind. He looked so lost in thought, yet completely relaxed.

Anything could happen between now and tomorrow. Jungkook could turn his back on them and possibly reveal everything he’d learned to the authorities. Or he could just get captured or killed. There were no guarantees in the world they were both fighting against and fighting for.

“I’m sorry,” Nikita said, surprised at herself with how suddenly the words came tumbling out.

“Huh?” Jungkook straightened up to his full height, flashing her a confused look. “What for?”

“I put us in that situation back then so that you’d have no choice but to come with us.”

He appeared to not understand what she was getting at. Was he really so gullible? Or was he just that innocent? How had the world not broken him?!

Nikita closed her eyes tightly, biting her lower lip that was already beginning to tremble. “I purposefully set you up. I forced you to become a Rebel.”

She couldn’t see him, much to her relief. But the sound of her heart hammering roughly against her ribs drowned out the sounds of the city. If he was saying anything at that moment, Nikita was confident she wouldn’t have heard him.

“I know.”

Those two words pierced through her loudly pounding heartbeat. Opening her eyes wide, she jerked her head to face him. He was closer to her now, but still wearing that gentle expression. The one of someone who understood something that she hadn’t been able to glean. The kind of expression that told volumes about a person’s life.

About the pain they were forced to endure.

“I know you did. And that’s okay.”

She blinked up at him, gobsmacked by his words. “Wh-What?”

How could he say that it was okay? What part of what she said was okay? As far as Nikita was concerned, none of this was okay!

“Because it was only after being here, I realized why you did. To me, that’s all that matters.”

Nikita’s brows furrowed in disbelief. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. It was like she’d lost the ability to speak or even formulate coherent phrases.

He continued.

“I’m a Runner. You said it yourself, running is what I’m good at. People only ever needed me to run for them. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

She watched him take a step toward her.

~ j.j. ~

Nikita looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Jungkook felt a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach; like something was fluttering inside of it. He wondered if he looked the same. If he had that same expression on his own face. Jungkook hoped he didn’t, but he felt weirdly calm. He couldn’t quite place why, other than he believed everything he was saying at that moment.

And he believed that Nikita would hear him; truly hear him.

Because for damn near two months, Jungkook couldn’t get Nikita out of his mind.

“My family didn’t care about me running away from my responsibilities. If they did, they would be looking for me now.”

He took another step forward, his eyes flicking downward to see if Nikita was going to take a step back. She didn’t, and that strange feeling in his stomach intensified.

“My two siblings are making up for my shortcomings. They’re happy and so I kept running. Here. There. Everywhere. It never mattered where I was or how long I was gone. Because running is what I do.”

Nikita looked like she was really listening to him. He knew it because of how focused her eyes were; shaking.

“J-Jungkook,” she stammered.

He knew he should take a step back. Reassess things and think about just what the hell was tumbling from his mouth. It wasn’t like he’d planned this and he hadn’t expected for her to apologize for making him a sucker. One day was all he needed to figure it out. After the initial internal battle he had with himself died down, Jungkook was planning to get the hell out of that place. He would play nice and then bounce. Simple as that.

But one day turned into one week. Then two. Then three.

Until a month passed by.

He realized it hadn’t bothered him as much as he initially thought. Because in that short amount of time, he saw Nikita in ways that he was sure she didn’t realize was being showcased. Jungkook discovered every nuance about her as their paths crossed every single day. From the way she preferred hats with bills than beanies, to how she would scratch at the bridge of her nose when she was annoyed. She preferred dogs over cats, but had a special kind of love for horses. She liked dark liquors and she hated beer. Nikita hated mornings, but she would always get up early to see the sunrise before going back to sleep.

And she was one helluva free runner.

Taking one more step forward, there was now less than a foot of space between Nikita and him. Again, he looked down to see if she would step back. And again, she didn’t.

“For the first time in a while, no one wants me running anymore. And when I have to run, I know I have a place to run back to. Because there are people waiting for me.”

He reached out to grasp her wrists, feeling her pulse jumping with life beneath his palms. For a split second, he suddenly felt self-conscious that his hands might be cold, clammy, or all of the above. But Jungkook selfishly refused to let go. He would apologize later for it if she shoved him aside.

Or off the building.

He waited - the soft clouds of breath meeting hers as she breathed out in sync with him. Nikita didn’t move or was thinking about what to do at that moment. Jungkook knew he needed to hurry and say what was churning inside of him.

What he’d been wanting to say for almost a week now.

“Because people like you are waiting for me.”

His hands moved from her wrists, slowly gliding up her arms until his palms slid over the delicate curve of her shoulders. Jungkook even knew how strong she was under all the bulky clothes she wore. It was how people kept underestimating her. It was how she survived.

But even under that strength was a gentle and compassionate woman. A woman who cared about the people around her. A woman who decidedly left her comfortable entitlement to help anyone suffering under the injustice of the world’s system. A woman who cried in mourning for those who could not be with the ones they loved.

Jungkook’s hands cupped her neck, using his thumbs to stroke over Nikita’s jawline. He gently pressed them to her chin, lifting her face to his. He could see the tears forming in her eyes and he paused, feeling his own hands trembling. Could he afford to hesitate? Could he really let this moment pass by, only to fade away into the darkness where it would never return to see the light of day?

He had to keep trusting her. Trust that she would keep listening.

“Jungkook, what are you--?”

“I love you.”

Jungkook felt like his insides were going to fall straight out of him. He said it. His nerves felt liquefied, but he said it.

“W-What?”

“I love you, Nikita.”

Not wanting her to push him away, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He felt her gasp in his mouth and he waited for her to retaliate. To kick and scream and threaten to toss him over the side to his death. He would have deserved it. His death would be justified.

But Nikita didn’t shove him to the side. No. And he lifted his lips from hers when he felt her hands cupping his elbows. What tears were in her eyes spilled down her cheeks. Jungkook saw her brows furrow, but there was a watery smile now on her face.

And then he kissed her again, harder. His hands left her face so he could wrap his arms around her, fully pulling her up against him. He needed her close. Closer than he’d ever been able to get to her. The need was terrible and he didn’t want to chase it away. He sucked in air through his nose, drinking in the subtle smell of her shampoo. Nipping and tugging at her lips between his teeth and tongue, he relished the soft taste of ash from the cigarette she smoked earlier. But there was a hint of peppermint. Nikita always ate a peppermint before smoking because she despised the taste.

Jungkook would continue his mission of getting her to quit.

They parted the kiss long enough to get air. He could just barely see her through the clouds of their breaths. Even in the dark, her eyes seemed to glow. He loved how Nikita always looked like she could see right through him.

“I fell in love with you. I don’t know how. I don’t know why.” He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers as their noses touched. “I just did. I just do.”

Turning to bury his nose into the curve of Nikita’s neck, he smiled against her skin.

“It’s okay if you don’t right now. We have as much time as we need to figure it out. Until then, just let me keep loving you as you are now. As I am now.”

Her body shook with how roughly she was nodding her head. Jungkook pressed his fingers against the back of her neck as he held her aloft. And for awhile, that’s all they did. Hugged each other. He could feel how hard their hearts were hammering against each other. All the anxiety and hesitation felt like it was bleeding out of him.

Nikita laughed a little. “Damn,” she whispered.

Jungkook smirked. “What?”

“Guess this means I love you too.”

They shared a laugh. He leaned forward to pull her into a hug. Jungkook appreciated how good it felt to know her arms were around him. It may have been a selfish beginning, but it wouldn’t be a selfish end.

He knew things would get harder from now on. But that was okay. Because the hole in his heart was full.

Because he loved this woman in his arms.

43 notes · View notes

led123123 · 3 years

Text

I know you guys are gonna call me a sellout now

but I don’t care

https://images.app.goo.gl/c9KUTyiDkH3b7L8m8

https://youtu.be/H2okI6ZszQY?t=53

bullshit

https://youtu.be/H2okI6ZszQY?t=116

https://youtu.be/H2okI6ZszQY?t=134

https://youtu.be/z88_26M2xQk

fucking hate these fucking “cleaners” who clean vacuum clean dust

fucking cleaners..

cleaners.

trash

https://youtu.be/E4TygUpWUTQ

https://youtu.be/E4TygUpWUTQ?t=93

https://youtu.be/E4TygUpWUTQ?t=222

https://youtu.be/E4TygUpWUTQ?t=233

I wonder who is singing this part.. because there is like.. 4 girls... not 2

https://youtu.be/zdoB2TPqWxs?t=170

so this is the only song I heard

https://youtu.be/xKMT44GBaUI

because this one is fiestar

https://youtu.be/xKMT44GBaUI?t=36

she has very cute voice. and.. her voice is.. you know.. she doesn’t sound like an adult and she sounds cute but I don’t think that she’s naive

I think that she’s the type of person that.. has parents that make sure that she has everything

is this their only song I know?

they put her on thumbnails always

https://youtu.be/ShGVCembq70?t=50

I saw this on thumbnail for some reason

https://youtu.be/ShGVCembq70?t=37

these fruits were in last video..

https://youtu.be/hBNHEPI5TT0?t=435

I wonder what “iroke” means

https://images.app.goo.gl/1Sw38h3KbG94uS338

https://youtu.be/NPqtL1dtrlA

https://youtu.be/E9LkIHl-DeM

https://youtu.be/BmzrLQKocjk?t=57

https://youtu.be/beTK6vWAq8U

https://youtu.be/okqF28Rz92g

https://youtu.be/cNLToOigQoM

coaching

coaching was so funny in my games.. I was like.. I didn’t know what that was.. so I was like.. who the fuck is talking all the time.. on microphone. lol.. and we won and I rated coach “bad” xD because I didn’t know even who was talking all game. and he was mad in chat that I gave him bad review.

and then I saw that he was mad in chat on giving him bad rating. it was me who gave him bad rating because I didn’t know that he was in the game.. I was just wondering who is talking on microphone all the time because it was a new thing and it never was in before

so he was so mad that he got one bad review

he was talking all game and I was wondering who is talking.. because I didn’t know who is talking

because it’s the first time I saw it

I just clicked.. whatever to get to the end screen and there was a coach rating screen.. but I didn’t know about this new thing so I didn’t even read that and clicked “no” to get to get out of it

https://youtu.be/5OckREah0ug

because he was telling people to donate instead of subscribing.. that’s why they banned him

they don’t ban people who have contracts like ninja, “shroud” because they have a lot of subscribers

because they have a lot of subscribers..

he was trying to be a smart mouth.. and you know what they do with smart mouths

https://youtu.be/IWtnY8cHlTo?t=62

https://youtu.be/TGDILAcjBTg

mechanical vampyre made a dance video with this song too

but it’s removed

https://youtu.be/IWtnY8cHlTo?t=134

https://youtu.be/zdoB2TPqWxs?t=77

https://youtu.be/zdoB2TPqWxs?t=90

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdoB2TPqWxs&lc=UgzngOLNMa5tiW73aJp4AaABAg

one more day

https://youtu.be/zdoB2TPqWxs?t=165

https://youtu.be/ShGVCembq70?t=39

https://youtu.be/65p80XAMxhw?t=49

https://youtu.be/IWtnY8cHlTo?t=22

https://youtu.be/IWtnY8cHlTo?t=60

https://youtu.be/IWtnY8cHlTo?t=112

this is albralelie

https://images.app.goo.gl/nVAGWvpbkkSiX5Vg9

I told you that twitch bans people who don’t have subscriptions

twitch bans people who don’t have subscriptions and only use donations, because they want money

so they will ban people who don’t make them any money

https://youtu.be/IWtnY8cHlTo?t=69

that’s how that works

maybe aceu also gave away subs so he doesn’t get banned

I’m tired of watching racist commercials on twitch

https://youtu.be/5qArvBdHkJA

https://youtu.be/5qArvBdHkJA?t=26

trash.

https://youtu.be/cNLToOigQoM?t=15

I fell asleep watching

https://youtu.be/cNLToOigQoM?t=182

тренеп. xD

это баг, мне вкинуло в игру меня нелза героя выбирать

#1. everyone says that #2. nobody reads what I’m saying anyway

lol I did the thing with nade

when you throw nade high and it explodes when it falls..

I’m not feeling that good..

I play bad today. I don’t feel that good because I don’t feel that amazing

I need to stretch my back again

I’m already starting to feel good

I was sleeping a lot

every single game requires million hours of playing..

this one isn’t any better

I shouldn’t have eaten so many of these scrambled eggs..

is my pasta from yesterday still okay? smells ok

pasta saved my life

https://youtu.be/w-Wc4lPCW9s

this pasta actually tastes really fresh

I rinsed it in cold water after cooking. that’s why it tastes so fresh. because.. bacteria develops the fastest in the water that is made out of cooking the pasta.. so if I rinse all this water.. away. then bacteria doesn’t grow in the water that I used for cooking pasta

https://youtu.be/CA_EGwZY69E?t=50

make sure that you rinse pasta after cooking in cold water.. if you want it to stay fresh for more time

and also if you rinse it. then pasta becomes cold so bacteria doesn’t grow as fast in cold temperature

I already feel better after eating this pasta

I get a lot of ads on youtube.. about.. people who are asking for money for medical help

and the last one I saw.. is.. hebrew.. and.. it’s not the only hebrew ad like that that I saw.. but this time this person reminded me of yaara.. the hebrew teacher

she said that she was “diagnosed with cancer”. to me what doctors say is just lies

and she’s saying that she’s gonna die.. and.. you know.. I think that donations for stuff like that is a scam

I don’t believe it

I already feel better after eating this pasta

https://youtu.be/Fb0x8R0vb4g?t=50

xD soundboard. xD he didn’t say what he wanted. xD

https://youtu.be/Fb0x8R0vb4g?t=67

https://youtu.be/Fb0x8R0vb4g?t=115

who the f*ck is xqc??

https://youtu.be/Fb0x8R0vb4g?t=169

https://youtu.be/Fb0x8R0vb4g?t=290

nope. xD

ok you’re capping

https://youtu.be/lEiLKnK9RXU?t=334

wow. I said that before too

https://youtu.be/lEiLKnK9RXU?t=367

I said exact same thing

I was saying that I also hate blinds like.. not that long ago

I mean I was talking about like.. 3 times

https://youtu.be/lEiLKnK9RXU?t=442

“blinds are stupid”

https://youtu.be/58omwDIzqkw?t=85

https://youtu.be/58omwDIzqkw?t=429

https://youtu.be/58omwDIzqkw?t=530

https://youtu.be/58omwDIzqkw?t=828

sky was clear today

it wasn’t clear in previous days.. but day is still really short.. so.. even though it’s.. like.. even though it wasn’t cloudy today.. there wasn’t much sun you know. so usually on not cloudy days days were warmer.. but today it’s kinda like usual. it’s not much warmer than on non cloudy day

because days are short and there’s not a lot of sun anyway.. so it doesn’t get much warmer when it’s not cloudy

usually on non cloudy days it was warmer

but not any more I guess

it’s still not that cold for me

in israel.. (the place where they speak hebrew, and where yaara and this woman who asks for donations live)

it must be warmer there.. on the ad this woman has.. red cheeks and.. she looks like there’s a lot of sun there and it’s hot there

and dry.. her hair look like yaara’s hair

https://youtu.be/dKPKtvrXEfM?t=288

her skin is also.. it’s really dry place. in israel

it’s easy to get dehydrated. it’s really dry. that’s why people wear clothes on entire body. so they don’t evaporate

days are very hot and nights are cold. because it’s really dry climate so the temperature gets cold very fast because it’s really dry. and water has high heat energy capacity, which means that it loses temperature very slowly

air with high humidity wouldn’t lose temperature as fast as dry air

if there’s no water then temperature would change fast

I think that it’s the easiest to learn from all the teachers she is the teacher that’s the easiest and fastest to learn language from all the teachers I’ve seen.. because she knows english very well

and sharon also hair look similar and face too

and I read that sharon is hebrew name

https://youtu.be/eNSVKtopR34?t=49

https://youtu.be/eNSVKtopR34?t=127

I wouldn’t even need a beer to cause accident.. it’s dangerous. driving is dangerous.

https://youtu.be/DbkeeZZnTgk

https://youtu.be/DbkeeZZnTgk?t=12

who doesn’t like..

the easiest teacher to learn/understand that I’ve seen so far

https://youtu.be/DXOZDZ5-mQM?t=20

https://youtu.be/Gq5h46sIEzM?t=14

they all look similar

https://youtu.be/g_wXxS6A9T4?t=10

egypt.. there’s like.. only like.. one language in a lot of countries around this desert climate. like.. I think that 90% of people speak arabic in these desert areas

but in bangladesh it’s a different language

although rumena looks a lot like the girl from jordan

who speaks arabic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh

“bengali” is more like.. indian language

like hindi

but “religion” is 90% “islam” and only 8.5% “hinduism”

https://youtu.be/zdoB2TPqWxs

https://youtu.be/zdoB2TPqWxs?t=76

https://youtu.be/zdoB2TPqWxs?t=166

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdoB2TPqWxs&lc=UgzngOLNMa5tiW73aJp4AaABAg

https://youtu.be/zdoB2TPqWxs?t=166

https://youtu.be/zdoB2TPqWxs?t=205

I’m gonna comment “I like the part when she’s saying “one more gay”“

https://youtu.be/9hlrgjIJMpo?t=31

now totally new level starts.. in platinum..

it’s gonna be a lot more difficult this time..

if I have million hours of free time and use it to play then I can maybe get higher

because some people have 2.5k kills on one legend..

I have like.. on all legends.. I have like.. 1.6k kills.. on main account

the hoe is like.. 4k kills.. also on just ONE legend..

and I have 1.6k in total on all the legends. and a little bit on 2nd account

so I though that this game is gonna be less time consuming.. but people just don’t have lives and play this game million hours a day

they don’t do anything else than playing this game.. they get even.. food pumped directly into their veins. (some of them)

so they don’t have to waste their time eating

https://youtu.be/9hlrgjIJMpo?t=5

I hit this bitch for 83 and he’s still chasing me..

I could have full killed him

https://youtu.be/9hlrgjIJMpo?t=2

doesn’t the gold sight have smaller dot??

I though that it’s not gonna use as much of my time..

but it’s just like the other game.

I mean.. people are just.. playing 24/7

and sacrifice their lives

https://youtu.be/u85NpwLXgJA?t=80

https://youtu.be/sEbsgZyLf94

and they still didn’t say anything about the ring damage..

https://apexlegends.gamepedia.com/The_Ring

wow.. it finally says..

under “patch notes history”

“ November 12, 2020 Ring 3 damage increased from 5% to 10%. Ring 4 and 5 damage increased from 10% to 20%.“

so it’s not as new change..

omg... so ring 3 is also impossible

so they changed ring damage back.. f*cking assholes

ring 3 is 10 damage so you can pop a medkit with full hp damn they messed this up

so my syringe strategy is no longer a working strategy

but ring 2 used to be 5%.. but I wish ring 3 at least wouldn’t be as deadly

I will have to be rotating fast with team to the ring

and maybe.. use.. like.. maybe sniper rifle or something..

https://youtu.be/shtceZ5wCdw

https://youtu.be/qNdGEtJDky8?t=38

wingman vs hemlok with 3x scope.. hemlok always wins

you gotta be really lucky to win against hemlock with wingman

but you move a lot faster but if you have cover then it’s very unlikely that you hit someone with hemlok

without cover it’s easier but with cover hemlok would win

https://youtu.be/qNdGEtJDky8?t=510

wtf

https://youtu.be/qNdGEtJDky8?t=536

lol this slide.

https://youtu.be/qNdGEtJDky8?t=562

https://youtu.be/WSMKeflrcAw?t=232

https://youtu.be/WSMKeflrcAw?t=264

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/806382680?t=0h12m19s

how low is she gonna drop after not playing as much

https://youtu.be/hBNHEPI5TT0

the title says “getting ready for winter”

https://youtu.be/nEv4EuGZ21Y

I wonder if she lied.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/806382680?t=0h12m30s

she doesn’t look as bald as before

lets see how much these cards go for.. I added some ads to watch list.. and now they’re over.. well.. they didn’t go for as much as I wanted..

I mean.. no.. none of them got sold yet.. one had low price but didn’t get sold.. but my card is OC model with good cooling

and other 2 auctions are still not finished yet.. so we’ll see how much they go for. but nobody bought one card that was at quite low price

of course.. it was “broken” of course..

someone wanted to sell broken card for high price. that’s why it didn’t get sold.. I shouldn’t have added this to watch list at all

one card has no delivery option.. so also nobody wants to buy it..

one dude is selling similar card to mine.. but with 3 fans. mine has 2 fans.. but I think that the heatsink is the same as my card.. it’s just 1 more fan.. so it’s almost the same card.. and my card doesn’t get any hot at all.. it’s kinda.. same as my card.. and price. is.. not super high.. but it’s not much difference so my card should be just as good as this one

but my goal wasn’t super high too

this was kinda my goal but he’s gonna pay 10%.. so.. I don’t wanna pay that much.. so I wouldn’t sell it for this much at 10% cost

if he pays 10% then he gets.. more warranty from a site.. that a buyer won’t get cheated.. so buyer feels safer about buying stuff.. I mean.. like.. I don’t think it’s like.. doing anything if you pay 10% more.. it’s not doing anything.. so like.. but he’s selling with 10% so I would want to sell it for as much but without paying 10%

and this one is “a little bit” better.. it’s kinda the same card as mine.. 3 fans can also be a disadvantage.. because it may not fit in all cases

other people who sell this card ask a lot more so this card may sell fast.

I ask myself.. how much I would pay for this card..

I bought it cheaper.. and.. not prices are higher. but.. I take inflation into account.. 5% a year.. and.. like.. but like.. demand is high right now I guess... because it’s near christmass.. and new graphics card got released.. so other ones should get cheaper in theory

but demand is high before christmass I guess

lol this dude put.. 9.99 on the end.. xD

how much I would pay for this card.. I would buy it not on christmass.. because I couldn’t find cheap card before christmass..

https://www.tiktok.com/@emiru1/video/6803427746828602630

https://www.tiktok.com/foryou?lang=en#/@bonbibonkers/video/6685384804709436678

damn 700k followlers and 2 million folwers

this fridge has nicer sound. a lot nicer

and it’s like.. I think it just.. makes sound just.. for a lot shorter period of time and then it stops

https://www.tiktok.com/@bonbibonkers/video/6685384804709436678?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@dragon.cosplays/video/6698959246563740933?lang=en

she looks like a characters in one game. broderlands??

https://youtu.be/9KufWWMUXMw?t=8

even better than in a game

trashlands.

netherlands

I wanna eat something before sleep..

bread and butter.. there’s something called a bread diet

https://youtu.be/XS4zojyuzvI

my plan is to buy a lot of tomatoes in cans

https://youtu.be/EnFM5dxFIm8?t=371

https://images.app.goo.gl/wa22R2rvpEMhQrep6

“NOBODY touches my teammates”

“my baby” - kraber

https://youtu.be/EnFM5dxFIm8?t=762

damn living fancy

https://youtu.be/EnFM5dxFIm8?t=934

it’s called cola in america

https://youtu.be/1mITYYdTsU0?t=468

https://youtu.be/1mITYYdTsU0?t=569

https://youtu.be/1mITYYdTsU0?t=577

wingman

https://youtu.be/1mITYYdTsU0?t=1048

her computer is a xenomorph

https://youtu.be/G-WNAMpnATw?t=137

https://youtu.be/hzj8pBpW1Us

“you gotta do what you gotta do”

https://youtu.be/hzj8pBpW1Us?t=27

https://youtu.be/hzj8pBpW1Us?t=46

I need to hit every shot this time

I will remember this 20 damage. 3rd ring is 10 damage..

why somebody from my squad always pushes first 1v3

why enemy squad never pushes 1v3 but my squad teammates always do that always

and then me and my other teammate go to save him and we get f*cked

omfg my teammates.. what a fucking joke

starting fight with one squad and then starting to fight 2nd squad.

and getting staying in between these 2 squads

fighting 2 squads again on the start. xD

oh. gold 4 in team this time. nice

I knew.. there’s no point of even playing with gold 4.. he died in in 1 second to some dude with g7 scout with double tap trigger. he literally died in 1 second

this gold 4 noob

4 g7 scout shots with double tap trigger

no. it was pathfinder..

it wasn’t crypto. crypto actually.. I mean.. not crypto but mirage.. mirage use this.. invisible ressing to get pathfinder up

but mirage landed on a place with 0 loot and I didn’t even have shield but thank god I had loba so I used ulti to get it but they already had purple shield on one dude..

they had like. 2 purple shields

we all had lvl 1

but mirage did almost no damage

what is g7 scout bullet speed

what the fuck are the people doing

what are they fucking doing what the fuck.. first this dude stands behind all the time and doesn’t wanna push with us then he starts to go solo 1v3

I have someone with 3k kills on one legend this time in team

ok this time we got third partied. welcome to platinum

maybe I should use a sniper rifle I don’t know

everyone with triple take

lol. I don’t understand these plays for real. what the fuck.. why are we leave ring and go in a tunnel to get gatekept.. what the fuck.. I don’t understand

their plan was literally to leave ring and get gate kept in a tunnel

I don’t understand these plays..

and I hate hemlok

hemlok versus triple take is still shit

and I have no idea where these people are.. like.. they are shooting from everywhere..

from every fucking side..

hemlok makes me so easy to hit with triple take.. because of the ads slow..

https://youtu.be/pM9heNqzYeM

lol another coaching

https://youtu.be/pM9heNqzYeM?t=92

xD bad coaching rating for that

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/806382680?t=0h12m35s

oh right. who looks indian

2 notes · View notes

lirusstories · 4 years

Text

Once Upon A Dream Chapter 1: A Close Call - Re-Uploaded

A/N: Here is the Re-uploaded version which is now Third Person next will be the First Chapter of TKATQ or No Place Like Home.

(Word count: 2534)

Henrik is in his office frustrated and muttering “Nein” under his breath as he scribbles out another bad equation before ripping it out of the notebook. The desk was covered in crumpled papers as he ripped off another page tossing it to the side, the sounds coming from the computer causing him to look at it. He quickly writes down what's being shown on the screen before flipping the page and writing more.

His head snaps up to one of the monitors as it starts up and he quickly begins to scribble down what it was showing him, my eyes flicking to it every few seconds before I rip out the page tossing it to the side. He picks up one of the papers he set aside before leaning back in his chair, setting it down again and staring at the screen, trying not to let his frustration overwhelm him.

He holds back a wince as the soul-mark that looks like a tear in space grows warm. Not to burn but more like something big is happening. He pulls his focus away from it as he begins to write more notes down. He’s muttering “Nein” under his breath repeatedly as he rips out another page and throws it to the ground. He keeps writing down what he can until the equations change again, muttering “Nein” again. He rips that page out and throws it to the side with the rest.

He winces suddenly, my hand flying to the soul mark on my forehead, A red Heart and Diamond and a black Spade and Club, as it suddenly burns making his vision go white for a second and he can hear a faint voice sounding like they're saying his name. He quickly shrugs it off, getting back to work hastily scribbling down what he can, becoming more and more frustrated as he rips out more pages continuing to mutter under his breath, louder than before.

He finally manages to get something that works again and he flips the page over, writing more down as the meter on one of the monitors suddenly fills up with orange bars before beginning to glow letting out a high pitched whirring sound before beginning to glitch. He snaps his attention to it, heart jumping to his throat as panic begins to brew. At the same time, one of his soulmarks around his waist, a set of beautiful Emerald green wings now covered in a smokey black cloud of… something, begins to feel like someone lit them on fire and he gets the feeling someone was screaming at him to run. He forces himself to ignore it muttering,

“What is this?” Henrik whispers under his breath as he scrambles to try and stop it, the monitor continuing to glitch as he does.

“Nein.” He panics quickly sifting through the crumbled papers until he finds the keyboard and quickly typing in code hoping it will stop the glitching. He stares into the monitor hoping to fix what was going on. The screen flickers slightly before showing a swirling vortex of blue’s and orange, forcing him to freeze in place.

‘Nein.’ He thinks, panicking now despite the fact that his mind was becoming foggy.

‘Bitte, nein, nein.’ He begins to involuntarily lean forward towards the swirl of colors.

‘Ich-ich brauche, I ... need, I need to...’ The door to his office opens, a familiar feeling of dread that leaves as quickly as it appeared as the vortex forces his mind to go blank. And before anything else could happen, he feels a warm cold hand touch his back, above his heart, before everything goes black.

He can hear someone screaming. He’s not sure who but they sound familiar, He sounds familiar. There’s a woman yelling now, yelling for the man who's screaming. Flashes of a man with a slit throat laughing like a maniac with his hand through Henrik’s stomach. No. No not his stomach… but… who is it? Who is Anti-

No. Nonononono. Not him not again. Please not again. The woman is behind He- the man yelling his name. Henrik can’t make it out but she’s getting closer at a rapid pace. He can feel the man become engulfed in dark green and red flames and a scream rips from Henrik's throat as he’s pulled away, a gold and silver swiping down at the demon before everything turns to black.

“It’s time to wake up Henrik.”

The man jolts awake at the soft but commanding voice.Taking in a deep breath of air, he reaches up ripping off the surgical mask as he quickly moves to his knees, dry heaving. When nothing comes up he slowly stands up, taking off the cap and shoving both the mask and cap into one of the pockets before looking around.

‘I’m in a forest?’ He looks around seeing he’s definitely in a forest, it looks to be around right before the sun begins to set as well even though it was just midnight a second ago. He’s standing in a patch of green grass surrounded by trees and they all seem to have moss making some shapes on them, and upon closer inspection he could see that shapes were in the form of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs, all pointing in the same direction.

He goes to touch one, a Spade, when the sound of the earth shifting behind him causes him to snap around and reach for a scalpel in his lab coat pocket before realizing he forgot to grab one when he left work. There’s a path way now, in the direction the shapes are pointing. That definitely wasn’t there when he woke up a minute ago. He takes a deep breath and nearly chokes on the overwhelming smell of just… home.

Lemon cake with Lavender glaze in the spring, a garden full of more flowers than he could count in the summer, pumpkin pastries baking in the oven while we ‘we?’ sing at the top of our lungs, ‘Our?’ in autumn, and hot chocolate with freshly baked cookies of all kinds, my brothers, ‘I don’t…‘ and I just sit by a fire after being in the snow all day, ‘I’ve never…’ Listening to our wife sing songs softly.

�� ‘I-I don’t have- not anymore- no brothers-’

“But you could.” A soft Irish voice with a bit of french speaks in his head feeling like it’s coming from the soul-mark on his forehead. It’s familiar, from a life before that ended to early and a new life interrupted by a monster.

“All you have to do is keep walking. I promise.”

‘Keep walking?’ He hadn’t even realized he started and when he manages to force himself to focus long enough to see that he had indeed started walking and must have been for a few minutes by the looks of it.

“Just follow the path Hen and I promise everything will be okay.” The voice whispers, bringing him a comfort he hasn't felt for a couple years.

‘Promise?’ The thought is barely a meek whisper, sounding much like a lost child, as visions of what could be, fills his head.

“I promise.” And all at once, he snaps back to reality nearly passing out as he does so. Looking around frantically, he takes my surroundings seeing that the sun has set a bit more and he’s in a relatively well kept garden if not a bit overgrown, what looks to be hand laid stones cover everywhere that isn’t where the plants and flowers are, which smells exactly like the memory vision. He shivers slightly from the cold summer breeze as he looks at the manor in front of him, more of a castle really but he tries not to focus on the sheer intimidating size of the building as he cautiously approaches it.

When he gets to the doors he can see that the carvings in the door are soulmarks, A phoenix, a splatter of yin and yang that looks like it might be two rather than one, a pair of feathered wings and now that think about it both the one that it reminds him of and the tear in space one where rather sore. The last soul marks are a Heart, Spade, Diamond and Club with all of them seemingly surrounded by three pairs of wings, obviously from the rip in space one if the stars carved into it were anything to go by.

He takes a deep breath and he goes to knock but something stops me. He has no fucking idea why he does it but he grabs the handle to one of the doors and pushes it open. He’s immediately greeted by a small gust of wind as he walks in, the entrance room is huge, bigger than a house he’s sure, the floor seemed to be made of black, grey and white marble in star patterns all over, the walls were covered in knick knacks and paintings in some form of ordered Chaos.

There was a large staircase that led to two different directions with a painting of the carvings on the door only more realistic. He goes to walk to the stair from the center of the room but freezes when he feels two pairs of eyes staring at the back of his head. He quickly turns around, looking frantically for the source of the feeling before looking up in the rafters and for a moment, he swears he could see two people there, an adult male squatting in a red hoodie and jeans and a teenage girl(?) with a katana in her hand, staring down at him.

He swallows nervously and he goes to call out for someone when the same voice that woke him up speaks.

“Hello Henrik.” The doctor jumps, turning towards the stairs and at the top of them, there’s a woman wearing a black suit with crystals that form a skeleton four rings, two on a necklace and two on her ring finger. She had a sort of head piece, with the gem seeming to glow and swirl softly in the last bit of sunlight, half encasing her in shadow and a cane with one hand resting on it infront of her with one hand behind her back.

He can’t help but feel she looks familiar. He’s trying to remember where he’s seen her before, while trying to figure out why she’s here before he gets a flash of the furious women he saw in his dream(?).

‘She’s the one who attacked Anti…’ He realizes before asking,

“Who are you?” He tries his best to keep his voice calm while he watches her. She tilts her head to the side ever so slightly and he can see her eyes moving over his form. She pauses on his face for a second before speaking.

“I am Death. And you are in my home.” She finally answered after a full minute. He feels both confusion and a sense of dread wash over him with her answer.

“Your home?” He manages to get out although he quietly curses himself for the slight squeak in his voice. She nods her head once in confirmation, her eyes never once leaving the man.

“Yes, I… brought you here. I suppose.”

‘Why? Why in the hölle would this woman, who calls herself Death, bring me here.’

“Why?” He manages to ask through all his confusion, mind racing a hundred miles an hour.

“Because you were in danger.” She answered. What? How was he in danger… oh. Anti had found him.

“You were searching for something that Septic wanted. Something that you, let alone it shouldn’t have.” How the hell does she know what he was looking for. Wait. Septic? He goes to ask her who Septic was but she interrupts him before he could.

“Come with me. You’ve had a long day.” She begins to walk down the left hallway and he quickly rushes up the stairs to follow her.

“Wait! Where the hell even am I?” She pauses for a second and he can see she has moved the hand behind her back in front of her, preventing him from seeing it. His first thought is she has a weapon but the ache on my back, part of where the rip in space ‘wing?’ rest, right behind my heart begs to differ.

“You’re in Oregon doctor.” He feels my heart fall. How the hell is he going to explain this to Chase.

“But don’t worry, you can still go back to Brighton in the morning.” Wait what?

“Don’t worry about it.” She says as she begins to walk again just as he catches up with her. How did she-?

“Your thoughts are very loud. You best keep them quiet if you don’t want me to hear them.” Now he’s even more confused. She can read minds? What kinda-

“If you wish to keep your tongue I wouldn’t finish that thought.” Her tone holds a clear warning that sends a shiver down the doctor’s spine although that might be from the fact that he still feels as though he is being watched. He decides to just stay as quiet as possible as not to piss the woman who he vaguely remembers knowing Marvin in some way. She leads him down long hallways that are now lit by candles that barely seemed to melt. Although why candles and not something else is beyond him.

He looks around a bit trying not to make it obvious as he looks at the knick knacks and paintings and mirrors lining the walls occasionally passing dark wooden doors with carvings in Greek in them along with what they are probably associated with. She finally stops in front of a door with nothing on it.

“You can stay here for the night.” She opens the door before letting him go in first and he does so hesitantly, not wanting his back turned to her. He looks around the large room decorated in browns, reds and golds, with a large four poster bed with what look to be heavy red curtains with different shades of gold sewn into intricate patterns, surrounding said bed. There is a large dark wood desk across the other side of the room with bookshelves on either side and by the windows was a sitting area most likely for reading and eating.

He yawns finally realizing how tired he was and notices that he no longer feels the two pairs of eyes watching him anymore although he feels as if one of them had left before he walked into the room.

“Get some sleep. I’ll bring you some food in the morning.” She states from behind him. He turns to her but she has already left closing the door and for some reason that leaves an aching hole in his chest and he doesn't know why. He looks around the room one last time before walking over to the bed, kicking off his shoes and sitting on it. He looks around the room before muttering to himself as he lays on the bed,

“Worauf hast du dich eingelassen, Henrik?”

A/N: So the reason why paragraph(?) 17 is in first person is because they’re talking to Henrik.

Henrik’s translations:

Nein = No

Bitte, nein, nein = please no no

Ich-ich brauche = I-I Need

Hölle = Hell

Worauf hast du dich eingelassen, Henrik. = What have you gotten yourself into, Henrik.

What Liru was wearing. shoplook.io/outfit-preview/1572509

Tags:

@kittican

@antis-gauge

@flowers-zombie-rob

@trixie8264

@animallover4000

@i-maybe-exist

@nightanjel

@thegamerbook

@smolbean-pma

@the-chemist

@therealtiger77

@immabethehero

@miblogowo

#Once Upon a Dream #Henrik Von Schneeplestein #Marvin the Magnificent #Jackieboy Man #Jameson Jackson #Jack Mcloughlin #Antisepticeye #Septic #Chase Brody #Robbie the Zombie #Yandereiplier #Liru Mcloughlin

5 notes · View notes

howrry · 5 years

Text

malibu

i wanna be a writer™ so i wrote this on a whim. enjoy

warning: smut lmao

w/c: 2.7k

You flipped through your Snapchat stories, tapping through videos of your girlfriends dancing in cages at some bar. They'd all invited you to go, but frankly spending money on the cover fee and overpriced, watered-down drinks (only to end up sweating off all your makeup) was starting to get kind of old. And it wasn't exactly like the selection of men in those places was worth all the hassle.

For a brief moment, you wonder what your best friend H is up to, before quickly remembering that he's with his girlfriend Anya. He'd mentioned a few days prior that they'd be going to some house party (which, of course, you mocked him for. Who goes to house parties after 20?).

You liked Anya. She was beautiful yet multifaceted-- she loved playing all kinds of instruments and even impressed you by effortlessly playing a song on a harp that was out at a work get-together. You also learned of her passion for animals, as she'd spent her youth working in and out of animal shelters. She was kind and warm, much like Harry, and her sense of humor was impeccable. She even respected your friendship with H and trusted the both of you. It wasn't often that you supported H's girlfriends, but you really thought he'd hit the nail on the head with her.

You often wondered why you were so critical of his past partners. This one has no fashion sense, that one is too judgmental of H's friends, that one eats a paleo diet and won't shut up about it, on and on. Your other male friends would bring home the trashiest mean girls and you'd high five them like some kind of frat boy, yet you expected some level of perfection with Harry. For the most part, you chalked it up to being so close with him and knowing what he truly deserves. As far as you knew, he deserved Anya.

The marimba tone of your phone spooked you, and you checked it seeing Harry's face pressed up against glass.

"If ya take a picture like this and make it my contact photo, it'll look like 'm trapped in your phone when I call yeh!" He'd giddily explained before smashing his face against the shop window. You couldn't imagine the shop owner was thrilled about having to clean the glass, so you snapped it as quickly as possible before dragging your best friend away.

You smiled at the memory and slid your finger across the screen to answer the call. "Hey, what's up?" you asked, grabbing a glass and filling it with water with your phone tucked between your cheek and shoulder.

"Can we hang t'night?" he muttered without any other introduction.

Your brows furrowed. "Sure, but aren't you supposed to be with An--"

"Change o'plans," he cut you off. "Your place, ten minutes?"

"Sure. See you soon, H." The call cut off before you could even take the phone from your ear. Harry has always been a fast-paced person so you didn't really think much of this.

You drained your glass of water and did some lazy tidying up (not that H would've minded either way, he tended to be just as messy as you). The whole ten minutes hadn't even passed before you heard the powerful knocks at your apartment door.

Upon opening it, he immediately stepped in and engulfed you in a big hug, something not uncommon for him. "How y'doing?"

You pulled away and smiled. "Same as I was earlier today when you called me." You turned around and went back into your living room, him trailing behind you. "Not much excitement going on here, but I figured we could watch Gossip Girl or sommat," you offered, smirking a little. You had shown the series to him a few weeks ago, to his initial disgust.

"It's a bit garbage, don't ya think? It's like New York wankin' itself off," he reprimanded when you'd first suggested it to him. "The plot's fine but its just not realistic. Nobody invests that much time or energy into someone for the sake of gossip." You were ready to accept defeat with this failed recommendation until the next day you walked in on him watching it without you, much to H's chagrin.

"Sounds good, but do you have somethin' t'drink?" he asked, taking off his coat and scarf before tossing them on one of the chairs.

"Water, cranberry juice, I think I have a LaCroix that you left in there last week I refuse to touch..." you listed things that you remember having available, making him smile a little.

"No, no, somethin' more... adult-oriented?" he clarified, following you into the kitchen.

You couldn't help but laugh at his word choice. "I killed off the last of the wine a couple nights ago, but I think I have some Malibu left over, if that's okay?"

His eyebrows knitted together as he leaned back on the counter, arms spread out a little. "Malibu? What are yeh, a little uni party girl?"

"Piss off. You want it or not?" you asked, pulling the handle out of your pantry and presenting it to him like a fancy wine bottle.

Harry bounced off the counter and wrapped his arms around you yet again. "M'sorry, and yes, I would. I'll get the glasses." He knew exactly where all your dishes were and grabbed two identical shot glasses you bought out of impulse. Neither of you two were heavy shot-takers and would rather sip glasses of Chablis and moscato than pound back liquor, but sometimes, like this evening, the purchase proved worth it.

Harry was bartender this evening, and the two of you each tossed back three in a row before you were coughing and scrambling for the aforementioned cranberry juice as a chaser. You drank the juice straight from the bottle while in the meantime, your best friend took two more.

You wiped the juice that had spilled down your chin with the back of your hand and yanked the handle away from him before he could pull another. "Jesus, Harry, slow down. What's with you tonight?"

"Sorry, sorry," he muttered, rubbing his face with his big hands. He took the juice from you and drank some from the bottle just like you did. "Just needed t'get my mind off of work n'life n'whatnot."

"Drowning it in white rum is definitely not the best method. Wanna talk about it?" You screwed the cap back on both the juice and the Malibu and put both away in their respective spots before leading Harry back to the couch.

"Not really. Jus' wanna watch the show." He didn't say much after that, but you trusted him to open up when he was ready, so you didn't push him much further.

Your seating arrangement was fairly normal, Harry taking one side of the small couch and spreading his legs. You sat on the left of him and tucked your knees to your chest as you queued up the episode Victor, Victrola.

Without saying anything, Harry grabbed both your legs and turned you so that your legs were on his lap, making you squeal a little in surprise. This position was tried and true between you and Harry, but it had been retired since Anya came into the picture. While a tiny part of you missed the physical touch between you and your best friend, most of you respected the relationship H had. Afraid of freaking him out and making him push you off, you didn't say anything about this sudden change.

"Y/N, get upppppp," he groaned, attempting to pull the blankets off of you. Fortunately, your death grip on your comforter prevented him from exposing you to your room's cold air.

"I'm tired, and it's so cold out. The park is not going anywhere!" you groaned right back, pushing your face into the pillows even more to block out the sunlight Harry'd introduced to the room when he opened your curtains.

"Okay, then." Harry quite literally jumped into bed with you and wrapped his entire body around you, burying his face in your neck. You cried out at his freezing nose pressing into your warm skin and tried to wriggle away from him, but it was his turn to have a death grip, this time on you. "Nope, not lettin' yeh go now. Wanna stay in bed? Fine, you'll stay in bed."

The two of you watched in silence, but you couldn't help but steal glances at him. His face was fairly neutral, fixating on the screen with not much visible emotion.

"'S not polite to stare," he muttered, not drawing his eyes away from Blair giving Chuck a dance in the night club.

You inhaled sharply through your nose. "It's also not polite to hide what's wrong from your best friend," you countered, reaching up and turning his head to face you.

He sighed. "Jus' a lot on my mind. Thanks fo' letting me come over, means a lot." He pushed a ring-clad hand through his dark hair to get it out of his face.

"'Course, Harry, that's what I'm here for," you smiled, which you quickly lost when you realized he was leaning in to you. Your best friend, who very much had a girlfriend, was leaning in for a kiss.

You put your entire hand on his face to stop his movements. "What are you doing?" you asked slowly, emphasizing each word. Your hand slowly dropped, and your thumb caught his bottom lip, making it pull down and pop back into place.

"Didn't know yeh were so foreign to the concept, but I'm trying' t'kiss you," he cooed, "and maybe a little more," his big hand gripped your thigh and started sliding inwards, a move that crossed a boundary the two of you had never even come close to.

Once again, your hand stopped his advancements. "Harry, you're drunk, and you have a girlfriend!" You tried to get up off the couch but he grabbed your legs and pulled you even closer to him.

"T'be completely fair, you're drunk too," he giggled, pushing his hair off his face again (and damn him if he wasn't right). "And I don't have a girlfriend anymore."

You reared your head back in shock. "What? When did that happen?"

He shrugged. "Was at a party tonight and I lost her, so when I went looking for her I caught her making out with... with Clare," he spat.

You gasped. "Clare?! I didn't... but I thought... she--"

"Doesn' matter what we thought 'cause we were wrong," he cut you off. "But now that I don't have to worry about tha', all I can think about is how much I wanna kiss you."

You sighed, weighing your options. "You're sure this isn't a heartbroken rebound?" you asked, grabbing his hand and lacing your fingers through his.

He lifted to kiss it, leaving a small wet patch. "'M not that heartbroken anymore, was just in shock. Besides, if it was that, I wouldn't have come here," he paused to stroke your cheek with his free hand. "You mean too much to me to be a rebound." He'd almost seemed disgusted at the idea of you being something so quick and meaningless.

You smiled softly and looked down at your lap, but he caught your chin and lifted you back up. You barely had time to react when he pushed his plushy lips against yours.

He tasted like rum and mint, and his lips were so soft you couldn't help but lean in more. One of his arms snaked around the small of your back and pulled you in closer so you were now fully sitting on his lap. You wrapped one of your arms around his neck and his mouth opened, giving you access to his tongue. The kiss deepened even more, and you decided to get a little bold.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe you were just drunk on Harry, but your teeth grabbed onto his bottom lip gently and pulled it back before letting go, leaving him pink-cheeked and wide-eyed. "Darling, please, you must let me do more," he croaked, his voice a little hoarse from kissing.

You simply nodded and whispered, "My bedroom?" before he scooped his arms under you and carried you to the bed and tossed you on it.

In two swift moves, he removed your shirt and popped the hooks on your bra, leaving you bare-chested. He didn't have to break the kiss to wiggle down your shorts and underwear, and before you knew it, you were completely naked in front of your best friend. Or, whatever you were now.

The fact that it was Harry was absurd enough, but him being ten times more clothed than you left you feeling surprisingly comfortable. With any other guy, at this point, you'd be awkwardly tugging at his clothes to level the playing field, but you felt no such urges at this point.

And neither did Harry, apparently, as he immediately began kissing and sucking at any skin he could get his lips on, leaving you with wet patches and small hickies all over your chest and neck. Eventually, he sat back on his heels straddling your thighs and was carefully running his hands up your entire body. He started at the sides of your thighs before trailing them up to the swell of your lower belly, up to your breasts (his callouses stimulating your nipples but you managed not to arch your back), to your collarbones and finally resting on your jaw.

You were never quite relaxed when this kind of gaze fell on you, but with your closest friend you'd never felt so comfortable in your life. You smirked a little before asking, "What are you doing?"

He smiled back. "You're just so beautiful. Never though' I'd have you like this 'n now that I do I can barely believe it."

You were touched, but before you could reply he was moving his way back to part your thighs, exposing your center to the cold bedroom air. Harry took his time kissing around your legs, intentionally avoiding the one place you needed contact the most. You moaned softly and started giving into that earlier urge to arch your back, and, hey, who was Harry to deny what you so needed?

He gave no warning before diving into your center, eating with an inexplicable passion. He experimented with what elicited more sounds from you, from flat, soft licks to pointed strokes of his tongue. One of his hands snaked up to play with your breasts while the other held your hand, interlocking your fingers in a way that was almost sweet. Your free hand, however, wasn't quite as pure, as you laced it into his dark curls and used it as a method of grinding down onto his mouth.

"'S right, darling, use me t'get yourself off," he moaned into your pussy, making you gasp.

The sounds coming from Harry and his actions was pushing you closer and closer to the edge, and you were so overwhelmed you could barely choke out, "I'm so close, Harry."

This, of course, only spurred him on as his hand left your breast and trailed down to your core. He slipped in two fingers and hooked them up, fully pushing you into your orgasm. You moaned and arched into him and he didn't stop eating until you were trying to pull him off of you by his hair. When you lifted his head with the hand gripping his hair, he came up with a lazy smile on his face, almost childlike. His chin was dripping with your slick.

You were still heaving by the time he crawled back up to lie next to you. "Do you... do you want me to--" you tried to ask in your post-orgasmic haze.

He shook his head. "Nothin' personal, love, but 've had a lot t'drink 'n don't think I could get it up right now," he mumbled before settling into the bed next to you. You couldn't even ask anything else before you heard the soft snoring of your best friend next to you.

Wow, he was really drunk. And, best friend? Was he really that anymore? Could you two even be friends after this? You finally decided that these were morning questions and you'd answer them tomorrow. Imagine your shock, of course, when you woke up the next day and felt around your bed only to find sheets and cold air and no sign of Harry.

#harry styles smut #harry styles one shot #harry styles writing #harry styles #how do you tag these wtf #harryforvogue #jawllines #haroldloverboy #there ya go ig

215 notes · View notes

magistralucis · 5 years

Text

Rammstein @ Stadium MK, 06 July 2019 [Review]

Just over a week ago, I saw one of the greatest shows in my life.

I dedicate lengthy reviews to most concerts I’ve been to. R+ most definitely merit one, and I like to think this one turned out very nice and long, with plenty of images in between. Nevertheless, I omitted a lot more details this time than I usually do, because:

My pre-show adventures were abnormally long (12+ hours wait).

I made irl queue buddies whose identities aren’t up to me to release.

I’ve talked to people who plan to attend future tour dates and do not want to be spoiled on what R+ has planned. I usually put my reviews below a cut to prevent spoilers, but it doesn’t work on mobile as well.

So, a compromise: I commented on every song on the setlist, but I kept to general comments for new content. There are things R+ brought out this year that you really need to see with your own eyes. But I can’t completely refuse to talk about new things, otherwise that’s only half a review. Those who are wary of all spoilers, please, read at your own risk.

Read on for more. Mobile users, be warned this is a very long post.

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

The Journey (+ Queue Adventures)

This show wasn’t in London. You won’t read about London commutes or opinions about the London Underground in this section for once. Too bad the journey to Milton Keynes fucking sucked. It wasn’t commuting back and forth between Rammstein and my hotel that was the problem. In fact, going back home from Milton Keynes was very simple. But getting there? My God. Only a few things went pear-shaped, and I have nobody but myself to blame for the things that went wrong, but I was not prepared for the discrepancy between MK and the areas surrounding it. Future me, book your hotels and transport in Central Milton Keynes next time.

I will never put myself in the mercy of so many taxis in my life again. Well, I mean, two. Still two too many.

A quick note about Milton Keynes for non-UK residents. It’s probably the most organized city in this country. Milton Keynes is modern and grid-planned, unlike most other cities here which have grown organically and have alleys and hills and cobblestones all over the place. All the roads in MK are in straight lines or clear roundabouts, buildings/facilities are in logical places, and it’s widely considered to be a very easy place to navigate. It’d have been nice to experience literally any of that during most of my journey, because dumbass booked a hotel in the villages around Milton Keynes rather than the city itself. The villages are serene and calming, but they absofuckinglutely do not adhere to any such thing as a grid plan and getting around them was difficult. This was not helped by the fact that the very first leg of the journey, Brighton to London, was delayed for an hour due to an accident on the motorway. I missed the connection to Milton Keynes as a result.

Fuckign.

That was one inconvenience which was not in any way my fault whatsoever, and I’m still bitter that it nearly ruined my entire journey. At least trains between London to Milton Keynes are very common, and it’s only half an hour. So ultimately, after an extra fifteen quid, I arrived right on time. Commuting to the hotel was much harder, because it was a very hot day, and the trains to these villages come by more infrequently. But at least they were there, I hadn’t packed a very heavy load, and when I finally reached the hotel I was given a cottage room all to myself which was cool and comfortably out of the way. There was a huge bathtub. Some nice free toiletries. Complimentary brandy. Oh, hotel, why couldn’t you have been a little closer to the city centre?

But, whatever. I got there. I took the Ls I deserved, and I didn’t pay too high a price for the one I didn’t deserve. I’d brought more than enough money to cover it, because I’d known I would need to shell out extra for transport on the day of the concert. That thought process is universal among concertgoers; I think I handled that as well I could have. I ate dinner, packed a bag, and fell asleep.

That was Friday. Saturday the 6th I will cover in bullet points, from waking up to front row, because most of my Saturday consisted of nothing but waiting for Rammstein. I’m usually more detailed about my preshow life, but there’s a line between an entertaining diary entry and making people slog through fifteen hours of Rammstein-not-happening. Let’s go.

4am. Up nice and early. I force down breakfast. I have a small bag packed with necessities, and a plastic bag intended to be disposed of at the concert: the latter contains energy bars, satsumas (for hydration), some dried salami, and two bottles of water. That is all I’m going to be eating for the rest of the day.

5:45am. Taxi to Stadium MK. It costs exactly a tenner. I decide that when I’m heading back from the concert, I’m willing to pay up to double this amount. A higher price surge will mean I’ll have to wait.

6am. Queuing adventures begin. There are already four people ahead of me; the people at the very front have been waiting since 3am. I’m at Gate 5, closest to front row out of all the other available gates in the stadium. There are three queue lines already formed with metal barriers, separated by standing, seats, and accessible/disabled, but there is a taller barricade in front of it which prevents us from going in there. We are too early even for that.

Stadium doors open at five, R+ comes on at eight. This is going to be a ridiculous haul.

7am. Up to ten people in the queue. The first six of us in the queue begin talking. These people are the aforementioned queue buddies who will subsequently keep my place in line during bathroom breaks, give me much concert wisdom, and preserve our places for front row. The human capacity to spontaneously begin caring for one another at concerts is what I like best about concert culture, especially metalhead culture. Ain’t no other home I’ve found like with fellow metalheads.

9:30am. I am really tired. The people right behind me have homebrewed a sunshade out of plastic picnic mats across the barriers. Half of us are collapsed on the asphalt, sleeping.

10:13am. Bathroom break. Me and one other girl leave the queue to the 24h McDonalds to make use of theirs. I will revisit this McDonalds roughly 14 hours from now, this time to contribute actual business.

12pm. People in queue are significantly more alert because security guys have started milling around. The barricades for the main queue lines will be removed around 3pm.

1:30pm. One last bathroom break. We visit the nearby Asda, because it’s becoming evident the area is flooded with R+ fans and the restaurants are demanding they engage with actual business before using their bathrooms. Asda has no such issue.

3pm. Barricades finally open and I make it to the front of the line once more. We’re allowed a single 500ml bottle of water with us but then they FUCKING HIT US AGAIN WITH THE NO BOTTLE CAP BULLSHIT. Seriously it’s more of a hazard to have open bottles spilling water everywhere for the love of God just let us keep our bottle caps. I discard my original cap, but what I didn’t tell security was that I had a sports cap from a separate bottle from earlier hidden in the depths of my jacket. Once I’m in, I just screw that on, and I am fine and dandy.

5PM FUCKING DOORS ARE OPEN GO GO GO-

-STAIRS? S T A IR S??? AIN’T NOBODY FUCKING TELL ME ABOUT STAIRS ? 1!?@?3@?@/2?3?#

After a wild scramble I score front row nonetheless. Last time I was front row for Rammstein, I was in front of Richard; this time I choose Paul’s side.

Around 6pm it begins to rain. In the stadium.

6:30pm. I am really cold. I am shivering despite the thousands of people rubbing shoulders beside and all around me, and it’s still 1hrs 30mins until R+ show up. They cannot come on fast enough. I have never wanted so much to be toasted like a marshmallow.

7pm. The opener comes on - Jatekok, a classical pianist duo who covered most of Sehnsucht over a half-hour period. They are all the way over at the B-stage however, and while I can hear them, being a short woman at front row essentially means I forfeit anything that happens on the B-stage. It’s too far back, and there are too many people between me and the stage for me to see anything.

Rammstein came on at 8pm to a multi-language announcement asking the audience not to film the performance. The abundance of full-length videos on youtube depicting exactly that is proof that this request was not kept, but I digress. I’m assuming most people reading this review are Rammstein fans, or or know how each song’s ‘performance’ goes, so a minute-by-minute play will be unnecessary. My comments are general, but hopefully insightful.

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

01. Was ich liebe (Rammstein)

Check this shit out!

This screen will continue to be relevant throughout the concert. Half the time it’s displaying the logo, and half the time... well, you’ll have to see 😂 R+ have opted for a relatively calm start in this tour. The bandmates appear one by one to the intro, lingering at the front of the stage (save for Schneider) until Till appears.

All the bandmates’ outfits. So far a theme is uncertain. Or maybe it’s just that Flake is the odd one out. He sparkles most golden throughout the entire concert. He still has the treadmill arrangement going. If anything he’s gotten more stage-confident and hilarious since the last time I saw him.

Till’s outfit goes hot and serious and heavy. He will only keep the coat on for ‘Was ich liebe’, which is perfectly reasonable; it’s stopped raining by this time and the venue is warm-ish, though clouded. As for ‘Was ich liebe’ as a song, I’m fond of it. I am, however, surprised to see that it’s the opener. This is not a complaint: in retrospect, R+ paced out the songs from their recent album very cleverly throughout the concert, alternating between their older hits and building up to the major climaxes in the middle (songs 7-14). It was just a bit of a surprise at the time.

I see the most of this cheerful lil’ bastard through the show. Paul will feature heavily in my images of this night.

02. Links 2-3-4 (Mutter)

Storytime. Kinda. I had never watched the music video of ‘Links 2-3-4′ until the day of this concert. I’ve always known one existed, I just didn’t watch it because it’s full of ants and insects are my number one phobia. I haven’t willingly sought out things with insects in it for years, and I wasn’t going to start any time soon. This self-imposed ban on watching the video was broken in Stadium MK because while we were waiting, they were marathoning every single R+ music video on a large screen off to the side of the stage. I watched the whole thing then because I might as well; what the hell else was I gonna do, leave the front row?

It was actually a pretty good video once I got past the CGI bugs ick factor of it. This has nothing to do with the actual live version of the song. Why the hell have I written so much about this? Till removes his heavy coat almost as soon as the song begins. Paul starts properly fucking around with his mic. I’m seeing the virtues of being on Paul’s side very early on, and I finally get what people mean by having ‘met Paul’s eyes’ during the concert. It’s not that he’s focused on the one person, at least not as far as he outwardly presents himself, but he does seem to have a specific zone in which he regards the audience. He takes time to meet eyes with various people, smile, and acknowledge particular situations.

03. Tattoo (Rammstein)

Till is now dressed suitably for the Tillhammer to come out in full force. I’m not huge on ‘Tattoo’ as a song, but this is where Till really starts to gravitate towards either side of the stage, rather than at dead center. After shenanigans with Paul, as seen above, he comes over to Paul’s side (where I am) and stays for the first verse and the first ‘zeig mir deins, ich zeig' mir deins’ chorus.

I like to think we make eye contact, but there are thousands of people behind me and he’s not an eye contact person. Just a fleeting thought.

Also I just went to look at one of the aforementioned full-length videos of this concert and someone was bouncing around an inflatable shark (?) behind me. How did they get that in? Hide it deflated in one’s clothes then inflate it while in the stadium?

04. Sehnsucht (Sehnsucht)

The last strands of ‘Tattoo’ fade immediately into ‘Sehnsucht’ with no time for a break. Till removes another layer of outerwear. Fireworks burst out at every beat leading up to the main part of the song. In retrospect, discounting their fiery entrance, ‘Sehnsucht’ is really the point where you can tell they’re warming up the pyrotechnics. I don’t remember any particular interaction between Till or the guitarists, as from what I can remember Till was busy Tillhammering at the center stage; he will move around more freely later. My memories of this song are loving but blurred, because I got into headbanging with the girls beside me and their hair was grazing my arms something awful. I have similar length hair, however, so I’m sure I was doing the same to them.

God ‘Sehnsucht’ is so good. I always think of the Live Aus Berlin performance where Till was bashing the mic against his forehead when I hear this song. Hits me right in the spot every time.

Also: bonus Richard.

05. Zeig dich (Rammstein)

*sick guitar riffs* ‘Zeig! Dich!’

Fuck yeah. The heat from those firebursts are brief but incredible. Now I feel most comfortable and toasted. Black smoke drifts into the sky.

Also significant ymmv based on location, but this is only about the people around and behind me: come on guys, seriously? You don’t know the lyrics! This is the third song from Rammstein already and you’ve been quiet all three times! I however give them credit for being so well behaved through the show. People further to the right of me were getting dragged out all over the place.

06. Mein Herz brennt (Mutter)

Till trolls us with the first instance of ‘mein Herz brennt’, as the main riff doesn’t immediately begin after these words in this performance. He has a laugh about this. Other than that, the performance is as you’d expect, complete with heart pyrotechnics towards the end.

Olli comes very close to me at the halfway point. I'm starting to worry he’s going to spend the entire concert dressed like this, though the concern is unwarranted. It seems such a hot thing to be wearing.

07. Puppe (Rammstein)

ich rEISS' DER PUPPE den KOPF! AB!

ja, ich REISS' DER PUPPE den KOPF! AB!

UND DANN BEISS’ ICH DER PUPPE DEN H̷AL҉S̕ ĄA̡AA͟B̵!

E̷҉S̀͡͞ ҉̶ĢE͞͝H̷͡T͘ ̢́M͜҉I̵͜R ́͠͝N̷̴Í̷C͟͡͞H̸̀T̛̀ G̡̕U̡҉̀U̵̕U͡͠U҉UU̢U͡T̷̨̛

Make sure you see this performance live, preferably up close. It’s beyond words.

08. Heirate mich (Herzeleid)

When I was in the queue I struck up a conversation with one of my queue buddies about what songs might be on the setlist. She had been front row for the concert in Berlin prior to this, so she already knew what we were getting into. I requested no spoilers in advance, which she kept to - but then our conversation moved to the Herzeleid-Sehnsucht era and I mentioned how I’d love to see a live performance of ‘Heirate mich’ again. It was always a wistful sadness of mine that I was born too damned early to see Till doing this.

Not that I said outright Tillchard was the reason I liked this song.

In retrospect, she had a twinkle in her eye when I said this, because she knew that this song was on the setlist. I did not see it coming. I kept myself spoiler-free from day one of buying tickets to the actual concert itself, so it was a genuine surprise when the intro to ‘Heirate mich’ started playing. Surprise and confusion with a heaping side of mother fucking excuse me when I recognized what it was.

Oh I went hog wild, guys.

Till does not do the dragging himself onto his knees thing in the current tour, which I think is understandable. His knees weren’t amazing twenty years ago and they are presumably even less so now. It’s a very straightforward performance, winding down to prepare for the real showstoppers - but my old wish was finally granted, Till sounded wonderful in both song and narrative, and I came away most satisfied. 11/10 would listen again.

09. Diamant (Rammstein)

Half the band takes a break here. Flake comes down from the keyboards to sit on the stage and Olli sits beside him, providing the bass for this short beautiful little ballad. There are no fancy pyrotechnics here, nor much stage movement; it’s a sequence to make the audience aware of the overheard screen, imo, in case ‘Puppe’ didn’t do a good enough job of it. The entire performance is broadcast on that screen with the camera turning between Olli, Till, and Flake.

Till’s voice is beautiful. It’s the most legitimately serene Rammstein performance I’ve ever seen live. They have their share of ballads - ‘Ohne dich’ will also feature later in the concert - but ‘Diamant’ is probably the most low-key of them all.

10. Deutschland (Richard Z. Kruspe Remix) / Deutschland (Rammstein)

I...

???

?????

?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!

I have no words. Like ‘Puppe’, you really need to see this entire sequence live. I can say three things, however, and two are about Richard: 1) ‘Deutschland’ comes in two flavours in the tour, the second one being the glorious full version in the main album, 2) Richard avoids sounding devilish in his backing vocals (‘du hast, du hast, du hast, du hast... so heiß, so heiß, so heiß, so heiß’ etc), though I cannot guarantee he will always be as tuneful in future performances, and 3) he will not go of that coat until ‘Du hast’. DJ Kruspe is in the house and only the unrelenting flow of time can part him from his swaggity swag fluffcoat.

But I... well, I keep remembering Till’s pink shrug every time I look at it. Remember back when we fawned over that as the brand new Rammstein outfit?

Oh my God I’ve gotten so old.

11. Radio (Rammstein)

This is probably my second favourite song of the new album and they deliver. Because ‘Deutschland’ was, well, ‘Deutschland’, it comes across as relatively low-key compared to what came before (and will after), but I like it like that. During the bridge ‘Ra-di-o... radio’ part, Paul and Richard come out with their own small synths to recreate that sound. It’s so peppy.

Paul does another small dance. Why did I neglect being on Paul’s side until now? This is great.

12. Mein Teil (Reise, Reise)

I’m half ashamed to say I spent this entire performance filming it instead of rocking out. I wanted to save it that much. It was that good.

No, it’s not fundamentally different to other performances of ‘Mein Teil’. Till keeps his usual outfit, Flake’s in the pot, there is a pot, etc. However, the pyrotechnics have changed significantly, and let’s just say that Flake endures a hell of a lot more than previous incarnations.

And comes out of it more sprightly than before, somehow.

Marry me.

Also a bonus consequence of being front row: after this song, Till comes down the stage and walks along the barrier shaking/slapping hands with people. In his murderchef outfit. I was one of many who managed to touch his hand. It really is a very quick walk, so you’ll have to be ready with hand already out and in reaching distance (difficult if you’re short) if you want to partake in this encounter, but it does happen. Future concertgoers watch out for something like this maybe.

13. Du hast (Sehnsucht)

Can you really call it a live performance of ‘Du hast’ if the audience isn’t singing at least 50% of it in Till’s stead? But then, when else do we have that opportunity. Milton Keynes audience does not disappoint.

Also Till shoots some excellent fireworks that travels across the length of the stadium and back before crashing back onstage. I still hear their whistles in my mind. Night is beginning to fall for real, and it’s a fantastic time to be ramping up the fireworks. Evidently R+ think the same, because...

14. Sonne (Mutter)

Daaaaaaaaammnn!!!

I have a video of this performance, but honestly it is not that useful for assessing what’s happening onstage. There is just too much fire. The video whites out continuously from all the flames mere feet away from us. ‘Sonne’ has always been a facemelting showstopper for Rammstein during live shows, but they’ve really gone above and beyond this year: the arena truly lights up like the sun for the full duration of the song. I highly recommend getting front row for this, right in front of where you can see the pyrotechnics are installed in the above gif. (Between main speakers, essentially.) Your face will burn off even more than it usually burns off during a R+ concert, and you will enjoy every minute of it.

15. Ohne dich (Reise, Reise)

Till’s in very good condition tonight. How he pulls off the slow ballads is how I tend to gauge his voice is from night to night, and he doesn’t let us down here either. The entire front row slow waves to this song, which is something I’m proud of being a part of. The girl to the left of me is weeping. The seriousness of this song still does not prevent Flake fucking around. It wouldn’t do R+ performances justice if he wasn’t like this.

‘Ohne dich’ is considered the first ‘ending’ of the concert, meaning in reality the band’s first departure from the main stage. All six members take an initial bow before moving to the B-stage. They will return to the main stage shortly afterwards for further encores.

16. Engel (Sehnsucht)

Pros: The opening act return in their gorgeous outfits and pianos, and act as the piano instrumental for this performance.

Cons: It’s on the B-stage. I sure heard this song but didn’t see anything. God damnit I hate being five feet four.

They provide a karaoke for people exactly in my situation, though. That’s at least something 😂

17. Ausländer (Rammstein)

You thought one R+ boat ride was awesome? HOW ABOUT THREE.

I am going to cry. Look at it. It’s literally a Welcome sign. The sentiment of the music video to ‘Ausländer’ is perfectly retained as they surf across the audience from the B-stage.

Also bonus ~✨👀 unintentional Tillchard moment 👀✨~ as Richard has a little slip on his way out of the boat. He was not hurt and was back onstage quickly. All this before the song even begins. I may need to upload the video of this moment.

‘Ausländer’ itself I have slightly more mixed feelings for. The song is fantastic and I have no complaints about the album version, and hearing Till cry out ‘я люблю тебя’ is always a plus. The problem with the live version is simply that the drums are too loud during the chorus: instead of a clearly enunciated ‘Ich bin Aus-län-der!’ with a drumbeat on each syllable, one hears ‘*THUD* *THUD* Aus-län-*THUD*!’. I was wearing earplugs which might have affected the quality somewhat, but people who weren’t wearing any were talking about this after the show as well, and after watching videos of the Milton Keynes performance I’m sure the drums were too loud. Your mileage may vary on whether this is a desirable effect - it lets the audience fills in the ‘ich bin’ part, I suppose - but I feel Till was unnecessarily drowned out.

18. Du riechst so gut (Herzeleid)

For me, the highlight of this song in the live version is always, always, always Richard’s evil scream-growl ‘DU RIECHST SO GUUUUUUUUUUUT’ (example here for reference). He delivers yet again.

19. Pussy (Liebe Ist Für Alle Da)

On the whole, this performance is largely unaltered from how it usually goes. Till gestures for the audience to sing the first couple of lines, there is a dick cannon that shoots something at the audience, and Till mans the dick cannon. Last time I saw them from front row, we were all covered in a very thick white foam; this time it was bubbles, followed by a shower of white confetti. The combination was less clinging than the foam, somehow, much more pleasant to be showered with.

Only Rammstein could make me write such a sentence about dick cannons.

Speaking of the dick cannon, though, I engaged in some discussion about it while I was waiting for the performance. This cannon has had a troubled existence, as R+ fans would know: sometimes it straight up hasn’t worked, and it’s been redesigned several times, ranging from a disturbingly realistic look to a flesh-coloured polygonal creation. This current version is the least realistic of all the dick cannons R+ have ever used. It’s just like, metal. Visibly. They haven’t gone to the extra trouble of painting it flesh-coloured. My guess is that this is because it fits with their current chrome/dark aesthetics better, R+ aren’t a band to neglect that kind of detail. As long as it works and the audience is aptly showered, what’s the problem? Let’s do it quick! 😀 And now this is entirely too many words about dick cannons, so I’ll move on.

20. Rammstein (Herzeleid)

‘Ramm-stein!’

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. It is past ten o’clock and the skies have gotten dark, though not so dark you can’t see the black smoke spiraling into the air with each burst of fire. A plane flies by far above into the distance and I appreciate the poetic irony. I think I would have been happy enough if they’d ended the performance on this note, but there’s one last song left.

21. Ich will (Mutter)

I can’t think of a better finale.

This song is exactly what you’d expect, with an additional sprinkle of fireworks punctuating every pause in the lines ‘Seht ihr mich? / Versteht ihr mich? / Fühlt ihr mich? / Hört ihr mich?’. Like always, audience participation is mandatory, as is the audience showing off their hands. It is the perfect way to end the show: it’s a classic favourite, it’s neither too bright nor too grim (avoids ending on a downer note), and it’s a song exclusively written to highlight a togetherness between band and audience. ‘Ich will’ could end every R+ concert it features in, in my opinion, regardless of theme or era... and it will always be appropriate.

The concert really ends after that. It helps that Till addresses his farewell to us as ‘fucking Milton Keynes’ (in a wholly fond way) before they depart. I won’t speak about the details of how they leave, because that’s almost a small show of its own, but trust me when I say I was in tears.

I say that like that didn’t happen at least three times during the concert.

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

After it’s all over, I... don’t get to go back to my hotel and sleep. Not after a lot of waiting, anyway. Over 30,000 people are trying to leave this stadium all at once, the traffic congestion is awful and there are pretty much no taxis/uber rides available in the couple of hours following the concert. I eventually end up sitting in the McDonalds (only 24hr restaurant nearby) with queue buddies until roughly 1am until the surge goes down and I can pay the amount I promised myself for my uber.

I could have gone back earlier. I budgeted over a hundred pounds to see myself through the price surge, in case it didn’t go down as quickly as I hoped, or if I urgently needed to get myself out of danger. It was just that the predictor was showing something like fifty to eighty quid for a ten-minute ride back to my hotel and, like. Fuck that. There’s being able to ‘afford’ it, and then being able to afford it, and I can think of better ways to spend fifty pounds.

And to be honest, after over a half day of hunger, even McDonalds was one of those better places. I had a meal and a Sprite before I could get out of there. It was probably the first time I’d had something resembling a legit meal in two days and if I hadn’t been so ecstatic I think I’d have been depressed. Then I got back to my hotel. Made myself a hot chocolate with brandy. Passed out on my bed around 3am, then got back up around 7am to enjoy a nice morning bath and get myself back home. It was around 5pm on Sunday when I returned to Brighton, ears still ringing, feeling on cloud nine.

So that’s me. Future concertgoers, take as many opportunities as possible to go see Rammstein’s current tour live. Front row may be near impossible if you aren’t a LIFAD member and/or get pre-releases for the Feuer Zone (although Milton Keynes didn’t have that) but try to get as close as possible, anyway. It is not an experience to be missed.

Though also bring an umbrella, maybe. If your stadium allows it. It was a fucking trip surviving 12+ hours in the great outdoors and then immediately being rained on while on front row 😰

23 notes · View notes

ofstarsandvibranium · 6 years

Text

Kiss Me Thru the Phone: Part 2

Fandom: Star Wars (College AU)

Pairing: Poe Dameron x Reader

Summary: Having a long distance relationship sucks, but hey, at least social media and technology exists!

Part 1

A/N: No one asked for a second part, but here it is. I listened to “Lemonade” by Jeremy Passion for the first time in forever and I just thought of Poe. Anyway, this is a big fluff fest. Enjoy!

New York - 11am, Friday

Another day at school. You hated that you had class on Fridays. You always tried to avoid getting classes on Fridays, but it was unavoidable this semester. You were in the cafe again typing away at your computer. You noticed that it was 11am, which meant it was 8am California time. You immediately started calling Poe via video chat.

California - 8am, Friday

Poe was scrambling around his room making sure that he had everything ready to go. His phone started to vibrate and he immediately smiled when he saw your name. He accepted the call, “Morinin’, beautiful!”

You gave him a look of surprise, “Morining. You’re up?”

Poe nodded and ran his hand through his hair, “Uh, yeah...I..had a nightmare.”

“Oh. What about?” Poe mumbled something, but you couldn’t hear him, “Say that again.”

“Zombie monkeys!” You held your hand over your mouth to contain your laughter. Poe frowned, “Yeah, yeah. Hah. Hah. Laugh it up.”

You shook your head, “I’m sorry, babe. I just-you’re always saying you’re a tough guy and you get scared of zombie monkeys!”

“They were scary! They tried eating me and you’re making fun of me!”

You giggled, “Alright, you big baby. I’m sorry. Anyway, what are you planning after class?”

“I’m gonna go out with some friends. Relax and drink.”

You nodded, “Sounds fun. You need the break. You’re working too hard.”

Poe scoffed, “Says you. You’re doing homework that isn’t even assigned you.”

“Touche.”

Poe gave you a smug grin, “Anyway, I’m gonna go do some work then go to class. I’ll call you later.”

“You got it!”

“Kiss!” Poe exclaimed as he pressed his lips to his phone’s camera. You blew him a kiss and then waved good-bye before ending the call.

Poe sat in the passenger’s seat of Finn’s car anxiously tapping his fingers against his thighs, “Dude!” Finn exclaimed.

“Hm?” Poe asked as he turned to his friend.

“No need to be nervous. Everything is gonna be fine! She’s gonna love that you surprised her!”

Poe laughed at himself, “Yeah. You’re right. I don’t know why I’m nervous.”

“Maybe it’s ‘cause you haven’t seen her in a long time?”

Poe nodded, “Yeah. That’s probably it. I hope she likes the song.”

“Seriously, Poe, calm down. She loves you. She’ll love your song. Relax!” Finn pulled up to the drop-off at the airport, “Now get out and go see your girl!”

Poe gathered his things and gave Finn a wave, “Thanks, buddy! I’ll let you know when I’ve landed!”

“Good luck!”

It was 5pm and you just arrived back to your dorm from your class. You were exhausted, “Rose?” You asked for your friend and roommate. There was no answer so you figured that she was just out. You went to your bed, threw your bag onto your desk on the way, and toppled face first onto the mattress.

Your phone started ringing and you groaned. You turned onto your back and looked at the screen: Poe was requesting to facetime with you. You accepted and his face popped up. He had a baseball cap on and seemed to be wearing a grey cardigan.

“Hello, love of my life.”

You giggled, “Hi. What’s up?”

Poe shrugged, “Just wanted to see what you were doing.”

You sighed, “I just got back from class. I’m so mentally exhausted. I wanna sleep.”

“Oh, well before that, can you listen to this song I wrote?”

You sat up, “Of course! You know how much I love listening to you sing.” You watched Poe hand his phone to someone else. Weird. Who was he with?” He was leaning against a wall and he began to strum his guitar. After a few chords, he began to sing:

She's my sunshine in the rain My Tylenol when I'm in pain yeah Let me tell you what she means to me Like a tall glass of lemonade When it's burning hot on summer days She's exactly what I need

You smiled to yourself, knowing that every word he sang was about you. She's soothing like the ocean rushing on the sand She takes care of me baby And she helps me be a better man She's so beautiful, sometimes I stop to close my eyes She's exactly what I need He looked into the camera as he continued to sing to you. He then began to walk down what seemed like a hallway. She's my smile when I'm feeling blue She's my good night sleep when the day is through yeah Let me tell you what she means to me (She's kinda like this) Kinda like the feeling after your first kiss Except that everyday she makes me feel like this She's exactly what I need Oh yeah

As you watched him continue to walk down the hallway, you realized where he was. You held your phone in your hand as you rushed to your door and opened it. You turned and gasped as you saw Poe walking towards you. Rose, being the one who was holding his phone for him, walked passed you as Poe came towards you. She's soothing like the ocean rushing on the sand She takes care of me baby And she helps me be a better man She's so beautiful, sometimes I stop to close my eyes She's exactly what I need

You couldn’t help but start to cry. Poe was there standing in front of you, singing to you, looking at you. He was here! She's soothing like the ocean rushing on the sand She takes care of me baby She helps me be a better man She's so beautiful, sometimes I stop to close my eyes She's exactly what I need She's exactly what I need

The last notes of the song faded and Poe moved his guitar behind him, “Hi.”

You launched yourself into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder, “Oh my God!”

Poe chuckled, “I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

You let go of him and turned to Rose, “You knew?!”

She nodded, “Yup!” She looked to Poe, “You’re welcome.”

Poe smiled, “Thanks for this, Rose.”

He turned back to you and you gave him a big ol’ kiss, “I can’t believe you’re here,” you mumbled against his lips.

Poe cupped your face, wiping away some of the stray tears, Believe, sweetheart. I couldn’t wait for another month and half. I needed to see you. I missed you too much.”

You hugged Poe tight, “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I’ll always be here for you, Y/N. Always.”

#poe dameron #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron imagine #star wars #au #college au

73 notes · View notes

mirajens · 7 years

Text

a cosmic shift

paring: mirajane/laxus rating: t chapter 5 of the rockabye series part two of sandbox bullies found on ff.n

Sometimes, all it took was one action to rearrange a galaxy. For Mirajane, whose Milky Way took shelter in the adorably round face of her six year old, Yukino, the shift felt cosmic.

She'd been worried about Yukino's transfer to another class. Her girl had already been through so much with the move; was it wise to make her adapt to more change when she barely settled into the last one?

The transfer to the other class proved to be a good one. Mira wished she knew it would be that simple. Kids weren't picking on Yukino anymore and she came home from school still excited about the friends she played with. Mirajane felt her heart was swollen with joy. The whole household was drastically altered: cheerful since they left the comfort of their old lives. It felt like things were finally, finally falling into place.

The decision to leave behind the town she grew up in, all the family and friends that supported her through her pregnancy and the first years of Yukino's life, had been a difficult but necessary one. But no matter how crucial, it had been painful. There had been challenging moments when Mira considered going back with her tail between her legs, were it not for the desire to give her child a better life. In the end, homesickness couldn't trump ambition.

These days, Mirajane would settle into bed exhausted, but warm thinking of how her baby had a bright future ahead of her, how she bubbled with giggles so often or how her aura radiated. Sure, things weren't perfect, but they might as well be.

Mirajane wished she had the foresight to take better care of herself, though.

She was supposed to take Yukino to the lake today but the tightness in her chest last night turned out to be a fever this morning. Yukino only looked disappointed for a few minutes before crying from driving herself into a pit of pity for her ashen-faced mother.

"I promise I'm fine, baby." Mirajane smoothed a hand down her daughter's cap of hair, a shade nearly identical to her own. "I'll just take a nap for a while and then you can help me cook lunch, okay?"

"Yes, mama." Yukino sniffled, her nose pink and running. It almost made Mirajane laugh. Kids had a tendency to be entertaining when they were being dramatic.

"You can watch TV for a while, but don't sit close to the screen."

Yukino scrambled off Mirajane's bed and sat by the foot of it in front of the television. When the History Channel blinked into Elmo, Mirajane let her eyes flutter close, falling asleep to a song counting in multiples of two.

Mirajane startled awake a couple of hours later to the loud ding of the doorbell. She saw Yukino bolt up from her sprawl on the floor.

"I told you that you can't answer the door without me, Yukino." Mirajane sat up and put her feet into the house slippers Yukino got for her.

"Don't worry, mama, it's only Mr Dreyar," Yukino told her as she exited Mirajane's bedroom.

Maybe it was the fever, but Mirajane took a while to remember a Mr Dreyar. When she did, she was speed walking down the hall, the stairs, while simultaneously taming her hair into something that didn't resemble pulled cotton. When she reached the landing, Yukino was already smiling up at her old teacher as he hung his coat on the hat stand.

Mirajane had kept correspondence with Mr Dreyar enough that she was on a first name basis with him. There was a lot to discuss about the transfer, meetings with the guidance counselor, reports of academic process, more meetings with the new teachers, and then some. Mira enjoyed most the unnecessary but absolutely appreciated status reports that Laxus sent her about how Yukino had crawled out of her shell and played raucously with the children in her new class.

Admittedly, it was a bit weird that he was here, in her house, apparently expected by her daughter. It wasn't a bad weird, though.

"You… look like you don't know why I'm here," Laxus said cautiously when he finally saw Mirajane.

"I'm sorry, I just woke up."

"Mama has a flu," Yukino said.

"A fever," Mirajane corrected. "Did I-?"

"Yukino called me on your phone. She asked me to make lunch for you because you were sick." Laxus couldn't quite stop his amused smile. "I assumed she told you about it, and that she had your permission."

"No, it's fine. I'm just sorry to trouble you." Going down the rest of the stairs, wishing she wore anything other than the most embarrassing clothing she owned (matching yellow Yoshi pajamas that she reserved specifically for days that had zero chances of anyone seeing them), Mirajane told herself to calm down. "I was gonna call a sitter for her," she said, feeling the need to defend herself for some reason.

Laxus shrugged. "Great. I normally charge an exorbitant forty bucks an hour because I have a PhD in babysitting. But we can discuss alternative payment later. I bought supplies for lunch." He shook the bag of groceries in his hand. "I hope you're not violently opposed to soup. It's the only thing aside from Hennessy that I know is good with fevers."

The laughter that bubbled out of Mira made her temple throb. She placed a hand on Yukino's head and lead Laxus to the kitchen. "If I'm going to pay a premium, I might as well make proper use of you, shouldn't I?"

There was a funny look on Laxus' face when he stopped by the counter, one with a brow raised and a small, smug tilt to his lips. "I suppose you should. I wouldn't be opposed." He began to sort out the groceries, and then helped himself to the utensils and equipment.

Mirajane probably shouldn't be so at ease with a guy she barely knew cooking in her kitchen. Red-faced (and definitely not from the fever), she made her way to the eat in area, intent to check her email for all the work she missed for the last couple of days as she listened to the quiet noise of someone cooking.

"Do you like celery?" she heard Laxus ask. When Mira looked up, she saw him addressing Yukino who sat on the counter beside his chopping board.

Yukino stuck her tongue out and made a disgusted face in answer.

"Too bad. It's good for you, so it goes in the pot," Laxus said as he continued chopping.

"You're putting an awful lotta green in there, Mr Dreyar," Yukino remarked, her face retaining the sickened look. "You said this was gonna be chicken soup."

Laxus turned to dump the cut vegetables into the chicken broth. "It's chicken soup with vegetables." Laxus' eyes flickered up to catch Mirajane's gaze for a second, before facing Yukino again. "Some crazy old lady yelled at me because you didn't eat veggies so I'm putting some in the soup. It's my grandfather's recipe and he used to make me eat it before he let me go out to play with my friends."

"Crazy old lady, huh?" Mirajane called out.

"Yeah. White hair, angry little face. Pretty, though," Laxus replied. He celebrated internally when it got his intended reaction, which was a smile.

"I have white hair!" Yukino declared with a beam.

"You sure do, kid. Wanna go set the table for your mom? This is gonna be done in a bit."

Mira tried to relax and not hover as Yukino retrieved three bowls from the dish racks. The small girl asked Laxus for help getting the pitcher of water in the refrigerator before bringing it to her mother with a glass. Yukino sat in the curve of the nook, her legs swinging under her.

"Thank you, baby. Isn't this very nice service? And all I had to do was get sick."

Laxus hefted the steaming dutch oven from the burner and brought it to the table. It smelled good enough to bypass the nausea.

"I didn't know I was so hungry until now. Thank you, Laxus. This is great."

Laxus placed a filled bowl in front of Mirajane. "Good. Because you're gonna have enough leftovers for a few days. This keeps really well in the fridge."

Mirajane didn't make it a point for any man she was interested in to meet her daughter (much less bring him home) unless she knew it was serious. So far, none had gotten past the third date, and yet here Laxus was, no date, but already making lunch with Yukino. It was kind of surreal, wasn't it? And funny. It seemed to Mira that it was Yukino who found Laxus first and brought him to her. This time, in a literal sense.

She ate and watched Yukino collect the peas from her soup on her spoon.

"Mr Dreyar?"

"Yeah?"

Yukino gave the bigger man a sweet, heart-melting smile before putting her spoonful of peas in his bowl. She giggled when Laxus made a play at being distressed.

"Now I gotta eat peas. I don't like peas."

"Why did you put them in the soup?" Yukino asked.

"Because we're not the ones sick, so it doesn't really matter if we like peas or not."

Mirajane grinned at him over her soup. "I don't like peas, either."

"Right. I'll keep that in mind next time."

Next time. That sounded nice.

"Mama, can Mr Dreyar see Angel?" Yukino asked, already inching out of her spot in the banquette, soup untouched if not for the bits of chicken she fished out of the mix.

"If you clean the pen real quick, then yes. She wouldn't want her guest to see a dirty home. Be careful." Mira called out to her already sprinting daughter.

Laxus jogged his memory. He remembered an Angel from one of Yukino's art projects. "Her rabbit, right?"

"She begged and begged. I'm only human and I couldn't say no. I got her a pair."

"Understandable. Only a rock could say no to that face."

"I'm glad you agree." She studied his face for a bit, unabashed. She liked the way his expressions hardened, and then gave way to softer ones. "I've been trying to figure out why you look so different today. I just noticed that you're not wearing your glasses."

Laxus' lips fell into thin lines and his eyes expressed the fakest attempt at annoyance. "I doesn't go with my outfit."

His dry tone made her laugh. "Well, who really needs good vision when you're wearing a band shirt, right?"

Laxus made a not very subtle attempt to sweep his gaze over Mira. "I can see well enough." And the view looked terrific. Even in Yoshi pajamas.

The silence that passed between them was easy. For a very brief moment, Mirajane thought to herself that she could get used to this: having quiet meals with a gorgeous, educated man who got along well with her daughter. The idea made her blush before it could even pass. Hoping to clear the heat simmering under her cheeks, Mirajane cleared her throat and set her spoon down beside her empty bowl."So… about that payment."

"I was kidding. I don't really charge forty bucks an hour."

"Cool How about dinner, then?"

"Dinner as in you want me to stay a bit more and make you guys dinner?"

"I was thinking along the lines of me getting an actual sitter. We can go somewhere fancy. Maybe you can take me back when Yukino's in bed." Mira was sure her hand wasn't shaking when she reached for her glass of water and sipped. All things considered, she was being really cool about all this. She liked the man. Really, really, really liked him. The fact that he was a kindergarten teacher made her heart swell, and to make it burst was the fact that he saved her baby from bullies. He was efficient, kind and he knew how to cook soup. His ass was great in his jeans and his glasses, when he wore them, turned her on. Why shouldn't she, for once in her life as a mother, do something potentially reckless? "She's a very heavy sleeper."

Laxus looked like he was about to choke or go through several red-hued complexions at Mirajane's suggestions. "You're forward. I love it."

All Mira could do was smile proudly because Yukino chose that moment to come running back into the kitchen.

"The cage is clean!" Yukino announced, planting her palms on the table, looking straight at Laxus with the manic eyes only an excited child could possess. "Come see her, Mr Dreyar."

Laxus got up and took Yukino's proffered hand. The conversation wasn't over with Mirajane and he thrived off the promise of more.

"Angel has a friend named Racer because he's fast!"

As Yukino urged Laxus away, Mira settled back into the breakfast nook and smiled at the sight. When Laxus looked back to grin at Mira, she winked back, feeling, perhaps for the first time in a very long time, both frightened and thrilled to let someone into her life.

#miraxus #Mirajane Strauss #Laxus Dreyar #Yukino Aguria #fairy tail #single parent au #rockabye series

19 notes · View notes

holisticpanda · 7 years

Text

she kills with her guitar

Title: she kills with her guitar

Summary: She plays the guitar as though she was born with it in her hands—like it was a part of her own body.

Kurlish Week Day 2: AU

Notes: The first time I saw Bart I thought ‘huh, she vaguely reminds of Tash Sultana.’ So if you want to look up some of her vids to get an idea of Bart’s appearance and musical style, That’s sort of who I’m challenging here.

A surprising amount of people have absolutely no idea how hacking works. Most just picture a guy sitting in the dark in front of multiple screens, typing furiously for hours at a loud, mechanical keyboard while techno music blasts in the background.

And they’re not completely wrong. He is currently listening to disco, techno’s long dead ancestor, but that’s where the similarities end. What usually happens is that he types a few commands into the command line to run a program that either he or one of his fellow hacker buddies wrote and spends the next few hours fucking off while the application does its work. If it weren’t for the movies making hacking look like something only a genius could do, he’d for sure be out of a job.

A job he doesn’t particularly like if he’s being honest. Besides the moral greyness of what he does, jobs that pay well don’t come along all that often. He can usually scrape together just enough in a month to eat, pay the rent on his shoebox of an apartment, and also indulge in his more extravagant hobbies—if visiting the local strip clubs can be considered a hobby, anyway. He doesn’t lead a particularly happy or exciting life, but at least it’s a relatively free one.

He’s currently running a brute force hack into some rich girl named Lydia Spring’s Facebook account—her dad was convinced she was dating older men—when the doors to the Waffle House he’s relaxing in slam open, loud enough to scare the shit out of him even through his earpods. A woman who looks to be a little older than him, somewhere in her mid to late twenties if he had to guess, stomps into the diner.

She’s wearing a large black t-shirt that looks two sizes too big for her and a pair of rippled, baggy black pants stuffed into scuffed, oversized boots. Her wild brown hair is tamed only by a backwards blue cap while her wrists are adorned with a few beaded and woven bracelets. A variety of tattoos litter the rest of her arms that he can see, creeping up from her forearms to her biceps, and he spots the glint of a stud in her nose in the bright lighting. In short, combined with the wild expression in her piercing blue eyes, she looks like a completely deranged hippie.

Her gaze flickers about the restaurant before eventually settling on him, her face morphing from annoyance into furious rage, and she stomps her way over to his table to grab him by the front of his shirt.

“Dirk Gently, you are a dead man!”

It takes him a minute to find his voice because it isn’t everyday that a random hippie chick mistakes him for someone else and tries to kick his ass, but he manages to squeak out a reply. “Who’s...who’s Dirk Gently?”

She pauses, blinks, and looks around the restaurant again in confusion. Besides an older couple sitting at the bar and the wait staff, he’s currently the only one in the diner. Her eyes shift back to his, eyebrows furrowing. “...You’re not Dirk Gently?”

“No!” He wrenches himself from her surprisingly strong grip to put as much distance between them as possible—which isn’t much since she’s blocking his way out of the diner and his booth only goes back so far.

“What, are you kidding me right now? Why didn’t you just say ‘I’m not Dirk Gently’?!”

He can only stare back at her, incredulous. “Because I don’t know who that is!”

Frowning, she huffs and plops down in the booth across from him, looking less like a crazy, murderous flower child and more like a little girl who’d just been told she couldn’t ever eat ice cream again. Judging by the way she’s slumped down in her seat, whatever’s bothering her has her pretty bummed.

Once he’s (reasonably) sure that she’s probably not going to kill him, he considers hearing her out to see if there’s something he can do to help. Plus there’s also the fact that the faster he can fix her problem the faster he can get her to go away. He has a rich girl’s account to sift through for evidence of possible child abuse, after all. “So...why are you looking for this Dirk Gently guy? You know, beyond wanting to kill him.”

The woman scoffs but grudgingly leans forward to rest her forearms on the table, swiping a few of his fries to stuff down her throat in the process. “My last drummer quit on me so I went to that Craigslist place to find a new one. This Dirk Gently guy on there said he’d help me out, but every time we’re supposed to meet up and practice, he bails on me!”

He nods gravely, doing his best to appear interested. “I’m guessing he was supposed to meet you here?”

“Yeah, and of course the dickhead didn’t show. Again. It was the last chance we had to practice, but now I’m gonna have to cancel my gig tonight. This all fucking blows.”

After hearing her reasons for accosting him he finds that he actually feels a little bad for her. He knows firsthand what it’s like to be constantly let down when you needed help the most, and it’s no wonder she was steaming mad when she came in. Maybe she’s not so crazy after all.

He taps his fingers on his keyboard, trying to figure out a possible solution to her problem (maybe she should try Reddit?) when she snaps her head up to stare wide eyed at him. “Can you make songs on that thing?” she asks, pointing to his laptop.

He glances down at it, confused. “I mean, I guess in theory? I do have a program on here that you can make music on. It simulates the sound of nearly every musical instrument ever invented, and—”

“Blah, blah, blah, whatever. Can you make that thing sound like drums ?”

“Um, yeah?”

A sudden grin breaks out on her face. Before he can react she jumps up and drags him to his feet with a strength belying her small stature. “You’re my new drummer. C’mon, let’s go.”

She ignores his protests and pulls him from the restaurant to a yellow, beat up old car that looks like it used to be a taxi cab in another life. All he can do is hug his laptop to his chest as she books it down the street until they get to a run down storage unit in the middle of nowhere. She then unlocks and pulls up one of the garage-like doors to reveal her studio space. It looks like she also lives there if the futon, empty pizza boxes, and cases of water are anything to go by.

“Sit there, where I can see you,” she says, pointing at the futon covered in snack wrappers while she goes back to her car to get something. He clears a space on it to sit, and when she comes back, she has a guitar case slung over her shoulder. She then plops down on the empty seat next to him.

After spending half an hour turning his computer keyboard into an improvised beat machine under her impatient gaze, they spend the next two and a half going over some of her songs. Their practice session mostly consists of her terrorizing him for missing cues or having a complete lack of rhythm, and by the end, it feels like they haven’t gotten anywhere. He doesn’t even have the slightest idea what type of music she plays let alone how any of her songs go.

Yeah, they’re for sure going to bomb.

He tries to say as much but the woman rushes him back into her car so that they’re headed to where he assumes her gig is. She turns to look at him, taking her eyes off the road in front of her for an alarmingly long time.

“It’s really good you decided to help me.”

“I didn’t decide anything . You said you’d smash my laptop if I didn’t help you.”

“Well, you decided it was better to help me than lose your laptop. It was nice.”

He can only gape back at her incredulously. He takes it back. She’s insane. She’s literally insane.

It doesn’t take much longer for them to pull into a surprisingly full lot next to a derelict looking dive bar. “We’re here,” she says, shutting off the dangerously rattling car. She suddenly reaches across his body—causing him to reflexively flinch—and opens his door for him. ”Get out.”

He scrambles out of the passenger side while she takes her time pulling her gear out of the trunk, and it’s at that moment that he strongly considers making a run for it. She can’t see him with the trunk open, and he could be a full block away before she even notices that he’s gone.

But then he remembers the dozens of times he’d been let down in life; by friends, by family—hell, by the fucking world. He can’t do that to her, even if she hadbasically kidnapped him and forced him to join her band. It was only a few more hours, and it wasn’t like he had anything better to do that night.

They walk through the front doors of the rundown venue and it’s pretty much exactly what he expects. It’s dark, the air is thick with cigarette smoke, and most of the clientele already looks half drunk. He’s not exactly uncomfortable in the bar since he’d spent more than his fair share of time in places just like these ever since he’d moved out of his parent’s house at seventeen, but it’s not a place that he particularly likes to hang out in if he can help it.

She leads them over to the back corner of the building where a small stage has been built. An older woman is busy setting up the equipment and she looks up as they approach. “You two the Holistic Assassins?”

The hippie chick pulls her guitar off of her shoulder and sets it down on one of the stools resting against the wall. “That’s us.”

The older woman nods and stands, stretching out her back as she finishes setting up the last amp. “I’m Barb, the owner here. You go on in five.”

“What’s a...holistic assassin?” he asks as the owner disappears into the darkness of the bar.

After plugging her guitar into one of the amps, she turns to look at him with a pleased grin. "’Holistic’ is the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. I don't do your whole deal with structure, or finding inspiration, or writing drafts. I just...I play whatever I feel like playing all day, and if it works, then it becomes a new song.

Her eyes are nearly shining as she explains it to him, though for his part all he can do is stare dumbfounded back at her. “The connection between cause and effect is much more, you know, subtle than you would otherwise think. I mean...you wouldn't believe it. Things, they double up. They parallel . Everything is chaos, but it’s, like, synchronized? It's like, there's always something ready to mirror itself. Life endlessly turning inward.”

Yup. Crazy. “Don’t get me wrong, but it seemed like you were just playing a bunch of random notes when we were practicing.”

“I never played a bad song,” she says, somewhat defensively. She picks up her guitar and slings the strap over her shoulder. “Come on, time to play.”

He follows her onto the stage and plugs his laptop into the other amp—then tries to find the darkest shadow to hide in. They were going to bomb spectacularly, and the less people who saw him, the better.

“I’m Bart Curlish, and we’re the Holistic Assassins,” she grumbles into her mic, sounding like she’d rather be anywhere else. Which was odd since this was her gig.

He then belatedly realizes that it’s the first time he’s heard her name. What the hell kind of a name is Bart for a girl? She looks back at him and nods, giving him his cue to start, so taking a deep breath, he begins to tap out the first rhythm she’d shown him a couple of hours before on his keyboard. She bobs her head with the beat for a few seconds, eyes closed, and then begins to play. He feels his jaw drop when the smoothest sound he’d ever heard comes from the amp next to him, and then he feels his jaw scrape the ground when she begins to sing.

She’s a completely different person. Her voice is husky and gravely, just like her speaking voice, and it’s surprisingly more pleasant than he expected it to be. And it’s still only secondary to how well she plays the guitar. She plays as though she was born with it in her hands—like it was a part of her own body.

Thankfully it’s easy enough for him to keep up with her. Her music is slower than he expects, and more mellow. If he had to compare it to anything it sounds sort of like a mix of folk and reggae, but even that’s inaccurate—it’s completely and totally hers.

He makes a couple of mistakes during her short forty-five minute set, but overall, he thinks he did a pretty good job for his first time. Sure, he’s absolutely exhausted and is sweating buckets from being under the hot lights of the stage, but he’d survived.

“We’ve been the Holistic Assassins. Thanks,” she all but spits at the audience. Unsurprisingly she’d reverted back into her old grumpy self once her fingers left her guitar.

The crowd isn’t that big—only around fifty or so people—but everyone’s on their feet and clapping, even the tough looking bikers who seemed more likely to eat them than cheer her on. A few people are even bold enough to approach her as she leaves the stage but she only gives them the barest amount of attention, nodding courteously as they compliment her and shrugging off any questions they have. Eventually they all give up on getting anything more than a couple of words out of her and the owner of the bar approaches them with an excited smile.

“I had my doubts about you when you first asked if you could play here, but you know what? You put on a hell of a show.” She hands Bart a stack of dirty bills. “I know it ain’t much, but come back soon and I’ll double it.”

Bart takes the money with a grunt, gives him half, and grabs him by his arm, pulling him towards the door leading to the parking lot. It’s not until they make it back outside to her car that she relaxes and gives him a small, meek smile. “You did good.”

A little surprised by the praise—she didn’t seem the type to dish it out all that often—he shakes his head. “It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and you’re really good. Amazing, actually.”

They lean silently against the hood of her car together for a few minutes, both still coming down from the high of performing live. He’s just about to make his exit when Bart suddenly stands and turns to look at him.

“So...you did the thing up there on stage, And now that you did it maybe you’re gonna leave, and...You can do whatever you want, you know, because I forced you to help me, and...and like, it must’ve been really bad for you, you know I didn’t think about your feelings and all that, and…

She takes a deep breath and lets it out again, looking distinctly uncomfortable with everything she was saying to him. It was obvious this wasn’t something she was used to. “I don’t want you to go. I think.” Her eyes are misty as she speaks, surprising him since they’ve only known each other for at most six hours and yet she already seems to care so much for him. It pains him to admit it, but he can’t remember the last time anyone had been so sad to see him go.

He considers her request, and after a little thought, realizes that he was truly, genuinely happy up there making music on stage with her. He had been doing nothing everyday of his life and thinking it was just that—nothing. It was nothing. Even if he’s just providing a backing beat for her amazing songs, he’s found some semblance of a purpose and hell, maybe a little happiness too.

“Hey,” he says, nudging her to get her attention. “I’m not going anywhere.”

A wide grin breaks out on her face, and laughing with unconcealed relief, she throws her arms around his neck. She’s still sweaty from their show but so is he, so rather than try to squirm away from her touch like he usually would with any other person, he awkwardly returns it. She smells like musk, dirt, and sweat, and though the smell isn’t exactly pleasant, it isn’t altogether unpleasant either.

Still smiling, Bart pops the trunk to put her guitar inside. “Our next gig’s tomorrow night. Come on, we gotta practice.”

He slides into the passenger seat with his laptop and leans his head out of the window to talk to her. “You ever think about selling some merch? Maybe putting out a CD or at least uploading your music to BandCamp for people to download? I’m pretty good with a camera, so I could help you get your face out there a little more.” He’s vaguely aware that he’s being a little overeager, but he’s inspired by her. He believes in her. She has something special, and with his help, maybe she could become one of the biggest indie artists of all time. “I’ll bet I can sync my computer up to the stage lights. You know, add a little pizzazz to the show.”

She slams the trunk closed and laughs as she slides into the driver’s seat. “Pizzazz? Ken, you’re a riot.”

He rolls his eyes and shrugs. Well, whatever. He’d get her to see the appeal of his ideas eventually. He’s about to suggest they get a bite to eat before they spend the next who knows how long practicing when something she’d said stops him cold.

“...Wait, how do you know my name?”

#dirk gently #fanfiction #kurlish #barken #maybe?#AU #dghda #Bart Curlish #Ken #tash sultana #dirk gently's holistic detective agency

4 notes · View notes

the-yunhaneul · 7 years

Photo

“I’m on the platform now, I’ll be getting on in a minute.”

And then I won’t call you for a while.

Words left unsaid as Haneul hung back on the platform, watching the mix of students boarding alone alongside the few stood with parents or guardians. There were a lot more without relatives than usual, he wondered if it was their first time on the station alone, if they felt anything close to what he felt when he stood alone every term. His phone had been securely pressed to his ear from the moment Haneul arrived at the station, acutely aware that the regular calls to and from home would be coming to an end for a while, longing already knotting in his stomach.

“You’re ok with this, aren’t you, Han?” His mother’s voice soft, unsure, fed into his ear and Han put on his best smile, aware she couldn’t see it but somehow feeling she’d sense it all the way in Korea.

“It’s fine, it would have been complicated to get all the paperwork sorted for a transfer with all that happened. It’s only a few more months, then I’ll be home,” He tried to sound sure, pretend as though his hair wasn’t once again light but strikingly blue under the cap he’d pulled on, partly to keep the locks partially hidden but mainly to disguise the bags under his eyes. He hadn’t slept well the entire time he was in London. Trying to sound positive he continued quietly, “This is for the best, I haven’t told a lot of my friends yet, I wouldn’t want to just disappear.”

Like Theo. The thought crossed his mind and Han resisted the urge to sigh, closing his eyes instead and tilting his head down so his cap definitely covered them. His friend had left and he’d come back changed, in ways Haneul couldn’t quite put his finger on, he was just different and it unnerved him to think about it. He had always been a firm believer in the idea that people had to deal with their own situations, it was up to individuals to deal with their personal problems, he couldn’t focus on himself and simultaneously be a life-fixer for everyone else. It was the sort of attitude he carried with him where all his friends were concerned, people like August were a prime example, he cared a great deal for the boy and worried about him but he wasn’t going to start trying to convince him to behave differently. It was his life, if he wanted to spend it high or drunk then that was his choice, if he wanted out of that then he had to do it himself. He desperately wanted to feel that way about Theo, to stop thinking about the fact that there was so much about the boy he still didn’t know, still couldn’t really understand. Haneul ignored so much, it was easier that way, to pretend it wasn’t concerning how little the boy slept or how at times Han felt this deep, protective urge to shelter his friend from everything, as though a soft blow of wind could shatter him apart. And in London it was a hideous mix of one minute believing his friend was incredibly fragile, in need of love and care, to feeling as though Theo wasn’t even there at all, as though his presence made no difference to the boy either way. People disappeared and as a consequence things changed.

Haneul didn’t want to just disappear, he didn’t want to find things changed.

Yet, he knew too many things were already never going to be the same.

“Eomma, I need to get going. I’ll write to you when I get back to the castle, try not to worry too much, you need to take care of yourself and the baby.”

“I know, Han. Do make sure to write though, I’m going to miss hearing from you.”

“Me too. I’ll speak to you soon, eomma, I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Take care of yourself too.”

He ended the call with a sigh, turning his phone off and slipping it into the rucksack he was taking on the train with him, slinging it over his shoulder before he weaved through the students still saying their goodbyes and stepped up onto the train. Haneul found himself an empty compartment, he didn’t feel like being particularly social on the journey, he was emotionally exhausted just thinking about how ok he would need to behave when they got there. That was the problem with being an optimist, or at least trying to appear as one, no one ever expected anything else. Time alone was what he was craving, the one good thing about returning to Hogwarts was the knowledge that he could fall back into his usual routine and get back to practising, he hadn’t done much of anything since being in London, his body didn’t even feel like his own. He was used to and comforted by the ache of muscles after hours of hard work, used to clothes sticking to his skin with sweat, his heart thudding in his chest and the call of a long, well deserved shower carrying his aching bones back to the dorm. He wanted to sing too, belt at the top of his lungs and scream words out until his lungs screamed back at him, until his throat stung and he couldn’t find the energy to make any more sound. He hadn’t wanted to do much of either since London, not at all except the one night with Elliot, perhaps he should’ve clung onto those feelings tighter.

Too late now, but he’d fight to get them back.

Haneul found himself settled in the corner by the doors to his compartment. It hadn’t stayed empty for too long but the fourth years who’d filed into sit there after him seemed quite happy to let him sit quietly in the corner with his cap pulled over his eyes and arms folded across his chest. At least for a little while, Han wished he could sleep but instead he found himself listening to their conversations with little interest, they spoke about everything from their time in London to the classes they were or weren’t looking forward to taking, and eventually him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his hair blue before. One had said quietly. Me neither, still I think- A second started only to be interrupted by a third voice, I wonder if he chose it this time, sometimes it changes by itself, I’ve heard. Her friends laughed and there were a few teasing comments passed back and forth about her being nosy- he rather thought they all were at the moment- before she dismissed them with a scoff and added, I wonder what it’s like naturally?

“Black.” The word had slipped from his lips before he could help it, startling them supposedly as they made a few surprised squeaks among themselves before Han actually lifted a hand up to his cap and tilted it up. He looked at them for a moment, they looked back, all three of them looking as equally embarrassed as the next, before Haneul gave in and forced a smile onto his face. “Mianhamnida. I didn’t mean to listen but it’s black, naturally.” They tried to apologise, all three of them stumbling over each other but Han only shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine.”

It was slightly irritating actually but it wasn’t there fault his hair changed so often, it drew attention to him at times and that couldn’t be helped, at least they weren’t saying anything negative. Still, he was definitely not interested in hearing anymore so sat forward for a moment, digging in the rucksack on the seat next to him to fish out his phone and a set of headphones. He liked to save battery usually, for those rare days where he could ring his parents or if he wanted to sneak a picture of something at the castle, but he wasn’t sure he could last the journey if he didn’t have something to distract him. He switched the phone on, sat back comfortably once more as it loaded and busied himself with plugging the headphones into the device and pulling them on over his ears. Even without music on they muffled sound slightly, a relief he didn’t know he’d ever be so desperate for, usually so content with noise and sound. His phone finally came to life in his hands and Haneul didn’t even need to look at the screen to get access to his music, pressing the first track his thumb found and inhaling deeply as sound flooded into his ears. That was better, the familiar beat settled his thoughts and steadied his heart, drowning out everything else as he pulled his cap down over his eyes again and settled back to hopefully fall asleep at some point on the journey.

He wasn’t sure how long passed, how many songs played, when the commotion started. Half-asleep he almost didn’t notice at first, headphones drowning most things out, and he couldn’t see the girls scrambling to their feet. Nothing seemed wrong at all until swinging the door to their compartment open one of the girls knocked his leg and Han was quick to knock his cap up. It was dark now in the compartment, his brows furrowed in confusion and unsure what was happening he lifted his hands and pulled his headphones down off his ears. New noise filled the space and it was awful. Scrapes of claw on metal set against the panicked voices that had crowded out into the hall, people were crying and screaming, snarls and canine grunts having him tense in his seat. But Han didn’t move, he didn’t try to run from the compartment, to add to the pressure in the space everyone else had flocked to. He didn’t reach for his wand or grab at the curtains, attempting to see out. Instead he took in a very deep breath, the faint sound of his music blending with the other sounds around him, and slowly sat forward in his seat. They weren’t moving, he noticed, though he hadn’t caught on to the gradual stop they’d come to until now. His heart was pounding but it was steady, pace increased but not panicked, and he found that he felt somewhat detached from what was happening. More than that, though Han had always known it deep down, it was confirmed to him then:

He wasn’t afraid of werewolves.

For a long time he’d been aware of that. He wasn’t afraid of werewolves, he wasn’t afraid of creatures that could tear him apart and kill him, he wasn’t afraid of death or what followed after. Haneul had always been more afraid of life, of not fulfilling it, of being a burden to someone else’s. He was afraid of waking up one day and feeling as though it had all been for nothing, he feared being useless and without talent. The only thing he feared of death was reaching it and having so many regrets about his life. Perhaps more morbidly he just knew that, if the intention of the creatures was to kill them, there was nothing they could do about it. If they broke through the sides of the train and wanted to tear them all limb from limb then being trapped in the centre of the train together, wands drawn, wasn’t going to make any difference. Some things were just out of their control, he knew for a fact that even with his skills in charms and duelling he wouldn’t be able to take on a pack of wolves if they came for him. It had seemed as though everyone else’s survival instinct had kicked in, telling them to band together and fight, where his had just given up but, no matter how tense the ripping sounds made him he couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t in any real danger.

Why didn’t they use the windows? If they were there to kill them they could have crashed through the windows and slaughtered the whole train by now but they didn’t, this wasn’t an attempt at mass murder but an attempt- or success, really- at scaring them. Which was odd. Werewolves supposedly lost control of their conscious minds when they changed, they were practically wild animals acting on instinct, and if that were so why would they bother to scare them? Haneul wasn’t sure he’d ever heard of werewolves toying with their prey, layering psychological torment before they tore them to shreds... because they weren’t going to. He wasn’t sure how or why he knew but he just did, in the pit of his stomach he knew he wasn’t going to die- not like this, not when he had so much more to do.

Everything is going to be fine.

And even if it wasn’t, Haneul couldn’t do anything about it. Not long had passed since the scratching had began but Han was already settling back in his seat once more, he pulled his cap back down over his vision and closed his eyes, before finally replacing the headphones over his ears. Now he knew what was happening the music didn’t quite drown it out, he could still feel the panic thick in the air but his mind was calm, soft beats settling his thoughts again. He timed his breaths with them, feeling the thudding in his chest slow with the passing seconds. At least if he was going to die he’d do so with music in his ears. But he didn’t, in fact only for a second did his heart rate spike again when the music couldn’t quite drown out the howl that caused the other sounds to cease. He held his breath, unsure what it meant but not daring to take a look or turn his music down. When the train finally began to move again he released the breath he’d been holding and smiled a little, relieved beyond a doubt that his journey hadn’t yet come to an end.

But even with that threat, that show of power and encouragement of fear, Haneul found himself unable to be afraid. In fact, he pitied them. It must take creatures really desperate to feel the need to threaten children over anyone else, it was almost cowardly and that wasn’t an image befitting of a wolf. He had to wonder if perhaps his pity was brought forth from a childhood raised on stories and fantasies, his younger days filled with tales of pitiful creatures and beings, deprived of love and care for what they looked like and not who they were. Those mostly-human things were outcast, hated based on something they couldn’t control and he doubt most of them asked for, hunted and destroyed because people often lacked understanding when it came to anything they couldn’t pull some beauty out of. He couldn’t help feel sorry for them, were they not just Beasts without their Beauty? Phantoms without the love of Christine? Kong, dragged from where he felt safe to be made a mockery of? In the end, in all those silly stories that perhaps he shouldn’t think so much on, didn’t all those misunderstood beings just want peace? They wanted to be left alone but not to be lonely, to be surrounded by people who actually bothered to care, and they were often more scared of the people hunting them than the vice versa.

People fear what they don’t understand, Haneul.

His mother was right, people were quick to hate but he refused to be one of them.

The journey continued without a hitch, Haneul even managed to get short breaks of sleep along the way, all the while music soothed him and kept him from thinking too much about what going back to Hogwarts really meant. His last few months, the time to say goodbye. Things not worth thinking too much about while trapped on a train. When they pulled into the station he was in no rush to get off, putting his phone and headphones away and securing his rucksack on his back almost leisurely before he followed the crowds off the train. He only glanced back to see the damage, curious as to what the damage was but finding himself instead having to pause to take it all in.

Freedom.

Well, that was one way to send a message.

#han drabbles #in which my badass smol child is like 'hahaha werewolves? I laugh in the face of werewolves!'#but then someone tells him his dancing is only 'kinda great' and he's like 'A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH'#also manga caps make cute graphics #anndddddddd Han has a lot of feelings about Theo and his smol friend #Han's like protectTheo2025

1 note · View note

ladystylestores · 4 years

Text

Edtech is surging, and parents have some notes – TechCrunch

Unlike most sectors, edtech has been booming over the last few months. Flashcards startup Quizlet is now a unicorn, digital textbook company Top Hat is finding unprecedented surges in usage and student success business Edsights raised nearly $2 million from high-profile investors, all from inbound interest. Investors are so confident that homeschooling might become a trend that they just invested $3.7 million in Primer, which creates a “full-stack infrastructure” to help parents get started.

But as tired parents juggle work, family and sanity all day, nearly every day, they say edtech is not a remedy for all education gaps right now.

Parents across all income groups are struggling with homeschooling.

“Our mental health is like whack-a-mole,” said Lisa Walker, the vice president of brand and corporate marketing at Fuze. Walker, who lives in Boston but has relocated to Vermont for the pandemic, has two kids, ages 10 and 13. “One person is having a good day. One person is having a bad day, and we’re just going throughout the family to see who needs help.”

Socioeconomically disadvantaged families have it even worse because resources are strapped and parents often have to work multiple jobs to afford food to put on the table.

One major issue for parents is balancing a decrease in live learning with an uptick in “do it at your own pace” learning.

Walker says she is frustrated by the limited amount of live interaction that her 10-year-old has with teachers and classmates each day. Once the one hour of live learning is done, the rest of the school day looks like him sitting in front of a computer. Think pre-recorded videos, followed up by an online quiz, capped with doing homework on a Google doc.

Asynchronous learning is complicated because, while it is not interactive, it is more inclusive of all socioeconomic backgrounds, Walker said. If all learning material is pre-recorded, households that have more kids than computers are less stressed to make the 8 a.m. science class, and can fit in lessons by taking turns.

“Even though I know there’s a lot of video fatigue out there, I would love there to be more live learning,” Walker said. “Tech is both part of the problem and part of the solution.”

TraLiza King, a single mother living in Atlanta who works full time as a senior tax manager for PWC, points out the downside of live video instruction when it comes to working with younger children.

One challenge is overseeing her four-year-old’s Zoom calls. King needs to be available to help her daughter, Zoe, use the platform, which isn’t intuitive for kids at that age. She helps Zoe log on and off and mute when appropriate so instruction can go on interrupted, ironically enough.

Her 18-year-old college freshman could supervise the four-year-old’s learning, but King doesn’t want her older daughter to feel responsible for teaching. It leaves King to play the role of Zoom tech support, and teacher, in addition to mom and full-time employee.

“This has been a double-edged sword; there’s beauty in it that I get to see what my girls are learning and be a part of their everyday,” she said. “But I am not a preschool teacher.”

Some parents are finding success in pretending it is business as normal. The moment that Roger Roman, the founder of Los Angeles-based Rythm Labs, and his wife saw that there was a shutdown, they scrambled to create a schedule for the children. Breakfast at 6 a.m., physical education right after, and then workbook time and homework time. If their five-year-old checks all the boxes, he can “earn” 30 minutes of screen time.

The Roman family’s schedule for their child.

Technology definitely helps. Roman says he relies on a few apps like Khan Academy Kids and Leapfrog to give him some time to take work calls or meetings. But he says those have been more like supplements instead of replacements. In fact, he says one big solution he found is a bit more low-tech.

“Printers have been a godsend,” he said

The kids being at home has also given the Roman family an opportunity to address the racial violence and police brutality in our country. The existing school curriculums around history have been scrutinized for lacking a comprehensive and accurate account of slavery and Black leaders. Now, with parents at home, those disparities are even more clear. Depending on the household, the gaps around education on slavery can either inspire a difficult conversation on inequality in the country, or leave the talk tabled for schools to reopen.

Roman says he doesn’t remember a time where he wasn’t aware of racism and injustice, and assumes the same will be true for his sons.

“The murders of Ahmaud, Breonna, and George have forced my wife and me to be brutally honest with my five-year-old about this country’s long, dark history of white supremacy and racial oppression,” he said. “We didn’t expect to have these discussions so soon with him, but he’s had a lot of questions about the images he’s been seeing, and we’ve confronted them head-on.”

Roman used books to help illustrate racism to his sons. Edtech platforms have largely been silent on how they’re addressing anti-racism in their platforms, but Quizlet says it is “pulling together programming that can make a real impact.”

What’s next for remote learning?

In light of the struggles parents and educators alike are seeing with the current set of online learning tools and their inability to inspire young learners, new edtech startups are thinking about how the future of remote learning might look.

Zak Ringelstein, the co-founder of Zigazoo, is launching a platform he describes as a “TikTok for kids.” The app is for children from preschool to middle school, and invites users to post short-form videos in response to project-based prompts. Exercises could look like science experiments — like building a baking soda volcano or recreating the solar system from household items — and the app is controlled by parents.

The first users are Ringlestein’s kids. He says they became disengaged with learning when it was just blind staring at screens, leading him to conclude that interaction is key. Down the road, Zigazoo plans to forge partnerships with entertainment companies to have characters act as “brand ambassadors” and feature in the short-form video content. Think “Sesame Street” characters starting a TikTok trend to help kids learn what photosynthesis is all about.

A preview of Zigazoo, a “TikTok for kids” and its video-based prompts“As an educator, I’ve been surprised at how little content exists for parents that is not just entertaining but is actually educational,” he said.

Lingumi is a platform that teaches toddlers critical skills, like learning English. The company began because preschool classes are packed with so many students that teachers can’t give one on one feedback during the “sponge-like years.” Lingumi uses another startup, SoapBox, and its voice tech to listen and understand children, assess how they are pronouncing words and judge fluency.

“Edtech products were designed to work in the classroom and a teacher was supposed to be in the mix somewhere,” said Dr. Patricia Scanlon, the CEO of SoapBox. “Now, the teacher can’t be with the kids individually and this is a technology that gives updates on children’s progress.”

Another app, Make Music Count, was started by Marcus Blackwell to help students use a digital keyboard to solve math equations. It serves 50,000 students in more than 200 schools, and recently landed a partnership with Cartoon Network and Motown records to use content as lessons for followers. If you log onto the app, you are presented with a math problem that, once solved, tells you which key to play. Once you solve all the math problems in the set, the keys you played line up to play popular songs from artists like Ariana Grande and Rihanna.

youtube

The app is using a well-known strategy called gamification to engage its younger users. Gamification of learning has long been effective in engaging and contextualizing studies for students, especially younger ones. Add a sense of accomplishment, like a song or a final product, and kids get the positive feedback they’re looking for. The strategy is found in the underpinnings of some of the most successful education companies we see today, from Quizlet to Duolingo.

But in Make Music Count’s case, it’s forgoing gamification’s usual trappings, like points, badges and other in-app rewards to instead deliver something far more fun than virtual items: music that kids enjoy and often seek out on their own.

Gamification, much like technology more broadly, is not all-encompassing of the deeply personal and hands-on aspects of school. Yet that is what parents need right now. We’re left with a reminder that technology can only help so much in a remote-only world, and that education has always been more than just comprehension and test-taking.

The missing piece to edtech: School isn’t just learning, it’s childcare

At the end of the day, if the future of work is remote, parents will need more support with childcare assistants. Some startups trying to help that include Cleo, a parenting benefits startup that recently partnered with on-demand childcare service UrbanSitter.

“As working moms desperate for a solution to the crisis facing parents today, we were focused on developing a solution that didn’t just work for our members and enterprise clients, but also one that we’d use ourselves. After experimenting and trying everything from virtual care to scheduling shifts to looking for new caregivers ourselves, we realized the only solution that would work for families would require a new model of childcare designed for the unique issues COVID-19 has created,” Cleo CEO Sarahjane Sacchetti told TechCrunch in May.

Sara Mauskopf, the co-founder of childcare marketplace Winnie, said that tech companies trying to help remote learning need to remember that “it’s not just the education aspect that has to be solved for.”

“School is a form of childcare,” she said.

“The thing that irks me is that I see these tweets all the time that ‘more people are going to homeschool than ever before,” Mauskopf said. “But no one is going to feed my toddler mac and cheese or change their diaper.”

Source link

قالب وردپرس

from World Wide News https://ift.tt/2YgZ0fe

#World Wide News

0 notes